Inaugural Ball

To celebrate the inauguration of our new President, Rob and his students put together an inaugural ball. I borrowed an old bridesmaid dress from my sister in law and we headed of to the ball.  It was fun to see the students so excited about the future of our country, but I have to say it made me feel old.  I only new a couple of the songs they played and Rob didn't know any of them!  It was still fun to get dressed up and go out though.

New Couch

We finally got a new couch.  We had been looking for one since April, but could not find one we liked in our price range.  Finally after Thanksgiving we headed over to Good's Furniture and found the exact couch I had been looking and it was on sale.  The only issue was they could tell use when they would be able to deliver it, but this week they called to say they could bring it on Thursday.  Wednesday they called to tell me they would deliver it between 6:30 and 8:30 am!  I told them I had to take the kids to school at 7:30 am and wouldn't be home till 8:30 am, they assured me they would deliver it before I had to leave.  Well sure enough this morning they showed up at 6:33 am!  It looks great and I am very happy.

Happy Birthday to Me

My 35 birthday was on Thursday, so Rob helped to organize a little party for me on Friday.  We just had some friends over for cake and ice cream.  We were lucky and the big thunderstorm never came and we had a nice evening hanging out in the back yard.

Sewing

Much to the disappointment of both my mother and mother in law I don't sew.  In spite of that fact I got it into my head that I should make the girls some play dresses.  Katie is always upset that all the dresses are girly and that they never have sea animals, so I went out and found some fabric with fish on it and a matching t -shirt.  Then I searched the internet and read up on how to sew a skirt onto the shirt to make a dress.  These are really simple dresses to make, in fact I made both dresses in a few hours.  They are a little big and don't look too close as my hem it isn't very straight, but for my first time sewing clothes I think I did okay.

Three Cups of Tea

In my post about the garage sale I mentioned that the kids donated their money to Pennies for Peace.  I thought I should share with you all a little more about this organization and why we sent their money there. 

It all began when I started reading Three cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.  The book tells about Greg Mortenson's life fromthe time as mountain climber he made a failed attempt at K2 and found himself in a small village in the Karakoram mountains.  He is so touched by the people that he makes them a promise that he will return and build them a school.  That one promise leads to the building of not just the one school but many more schools and not just in Pakistan but also Afghanistan.  I found the book very moving and inspiring.  The book makes a powerful argument for education as not only a means of helping this impoverished area but also a way to help combat terrorism.  I personally have been struggling with my opposition to the war and still wanting to do something to prevent terrorism.  I found the idea of helping to bring education to this area, where before the only choice for education was to attend the Taliban run madrassa's  very powerful and inspiring.  For those unfamiliar with a madrassa, it is a school only open to boys that is typically run my extremist Muslum clerics many of whom do not posses an education themselves.  Many of these schools have become jihadist military training grounds and it has been extimated that more than eighty thousand of these young madrassa students have become Taliban recruits.  I encourage everyone to read this book and learn more about this area of the world.

Pennies for Peace is an organization designed for schoolchildren.  It costs only a penny to provide a child in Afghanistan or Pakistan with a pencil and a 100 pennies will pay a teachers salary for a day.  To date schoolchildren have collected more than eight million pennies.  If you are an adult and want to help support efforts to provide education in Afghanistan and Pakistan then you can visit the Central Asia Institute's website for more information.

Girls Weekend

This weekend the girls, Katie, Nel, Grandma, Khim and myself, headed up to Chicago for a girls only weekend.  We stayed with Veronika a good friend of Grandma's who leaves in Oak Park just around the corner from Frank Lloyd Wrights house (www.gowright.org).  It was a perfect weekend, the girls were on their best behavior and the weather Saturday was delightful not too hot or cold and the sun was out.  

We spent all day Saturday in Chicago.  First we headed to Lincoln Park where we visited the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (www.naturemuseum.org) and Lincoln Park zoo.  At the nature museum we spent most of our time in the butterfly house.  The girls loved looking at the butterflies, which kept landing on Grandma and Mom.  Nel was a little upset that they weren't landing on her and was determined not to leave until they did.  So she stood very still right in between Grandma and Mom and waited for a long time for one to land on her.  Finally we were all ready to go, but one still hadn't landed on Nel, however she declared that she felt on land on her head and that was all she wanted and we could go.  We only spent a short time at the Lincoln Park Zoo (www.lpzoo.org) where we saw camels, polor bears, bears, hippos, giraffes, lions and sea lions.  I am always a little unimpressed with zoo's having grown up in San Diego, but this was a nice zoo especially since it is free. 

    

At this point the girls were tired of walking and hungry so we headed over to Chinatown for some Dim Sum.  We had lunch at Phoenix (www.chinatownphoenix.com)which overlooks a strip of shops with a courtyard and in the courtyard they were having a special event for the upcoming Olympics in China.  They had all the olympic mastcotts and several performances by locals.  We stayed and watched a dragon dance, and some little children preform a dance before we did a little shopping in Chinatown.  

 The girls were very tired at this point and we headed back to Veronika's house, they slept the in the car, so we drove around Oak Park a bit and looked at some of the beautiful houses.  That evening we had a quiet dinner at Veronika's and then headed out for a walk around Oak Park.  Oak Park is a beautiful town, I think I could live there if only I could afford a house.  In addition to Frank Lloyd Wrights house/studio there are many more of his houses around town and it was fun to walk around and try to spot them.  Sunday it was time to head home, which was not so fun as it was pouring down rain and very windy.

Oprah

So about two weeks ago I sent an e-mail to Oprah for last minute tickets and on Friday during the snowday I got a call aksing if I could come on Tuesday for a taping and that I could bring a friend. I was so excited!!

Yesterday was the big day. We had to leave at 3:30 am to be up in Chicago for the morning taping. We got there no problem and even found free street parking right next to the studio! The show was about clutter and how it can make you fat. The author of "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" was there and they followed a California family as they decluttered there house and began the road to weight loss. Most of the show was watching clips of this family and their journey. The show is set to air on Thursday, February 7th so be sure to watch it and look for me.
After the show Oprah talked a little more on the topic and then she talked about the election. Illinois is one of the Supper Tuesday States so she had voted that morning and we all know who she voted for, Go OBAMBA!!! The neatest thing was she showed a clip from You Tube of a Barack Obamba music viedo set to one of his Yes We Can speach.

When we were all done with the taping we headed to Michigan Ave and had lunch at the Grand Lux Cafe which was really yummy. I was surprised I hadn't seen it before as it is right across from the hotel I stayed at with my parents for New Years in 2007. Then we went back to the Oprah studios and checked out Oprah's new gift shop that just opened last week. After that we were on the road and home in time to pick up the kids from school.

Free

Who ever said you can't get something for nothing never shopped at CVS. I decided that I wanted to try to bring down our grocery bill this year and so I have been trying my best to work coupons and deals. To help with this I have been reading Money Saving Mom's blog. She does a far better job than me, but here is my first CVS haul.


1 2 litter of Coke

1 2 litter of Diet Coke

1 2 litter of Sprite

1 2 litter of Rootbeer

1 20 oz Coke

1 20 Coke Zero

5 Boost Smoothies

2 Bags of peanut M&Ms

1 Box of Slimfast Meal bars

1 8 oz Purel Hand Sanatizer

After coupons I paid out of my pocket $7.29 and got back $8.00 in store credit. Like I said I am new to this but if you want to learn more visit, http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

California

The kids and I headed to California after Christmas. Poor Rob had to stay home and study and work on the kitchen. Hopefully all our remolding will be done soon so I can post pictures of everything. Anyway back to our trip. We had a great time in California the weather wasn't the best but we kept the grandparents busy.

This visit we went to the Zoo. Chet wanted to see in the baby Panda so we stood in line for about an hour. Khim was able to see some animals she had never seen before, polar bears and koalas. Katie got to see lots of turtles/tortoise including the Galapagos tortoise which are always one of my favorites. Nel also enjoyed the day but her favorite part was stopping at build a bear on the way home to spend some of her Christmas money.
















On New Years Eve we went to Legoland, but we weren't able to make it to their New Year party which was at 6pm, the kids were too tired! We still picked up the noise makers and did our own countdown and the kids were asleep by 7pm. I took a second trip back to Legoland with just Chet since they gave us a free pass to come back. It was nice to get some one on one time with Chet.



On New Years day we watched the Rose Parade in the morning and then swam in the pool until it was time for the game to start. I think we should have stayed in the pool and skipped watching the game.


Other highlights of our trip included a trip to La Jolla to see the harbor seals at the children's pool and a trip to Swami's beach to see the tide pools. As well as a trip up to LA for me without the kids to check out Olivera St and the garment district. We spent our last night visiting my cousin and his family, then it was time to head back to Illinois and the real world.

New Floor

Before we moved into our house 4 years ago I had told Rob that when we own our own house that I wanted to install Pergo flooring. So when we moved into our house and the carpet/linoleum had seen better days I knew I would be replacing it soon. The first spring we were in our house, Rob and I began to talk about making some improvements, he wanted a deck and hot tub I wanted new floors. We priced things out and quickly realized we couldn't do both at the same time. Rob convinced me that the hot tub and deck should come first and that we should wait until the kids were a little older and we didn't have a dog. Fast forward, we have now been in the house 4 years this July, the kids will all be in school this fall and the dog has been gone for 3 years. So I am finally getting my new floor!

It still took a lot of convincing to get Rob on board, and I am not sure that he really is just yet, but this week while the kids were at the grandparents we went shopping and picked out our new flooring. We have settled on tile in the kitchen and laundry, and a maple Pergo for the rest of the downstairs. As bonus to the new flooring I am also getting new granite counter tops. We had planned on re-doing the top of the island in our kitchen if we could find a scrape piece of granite the right size. What we found was that Home Depot had green granite tile on clearance for $1.97 a square foot, so for under $200 we purchased enough granite tiles to do all of my counter tops.

I have a feeling this whole project will take a lot longer than I want it to, but at least things are finally in motion. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Friday Afternoon

Friday I had a busy morning, cleaning, grocery shopping and working. So when the girls came home I was ready for a break. It had started to rain outside and the girls where beginning to bounce off the walls. They wanted to go to the library, which normally I encourage, but they were so hyper I decided that it might be better to go to the play area at the mall instead. Plus while we were at the mall I could do a little shopping. I purchased two things I thought I never would. A Webkinz, which I promised to share with the girls and a pair of green Mary Jane crocs. We will just call them my Mother's Day presents. The girls had a great time playing and burned off their excess energy. When we were done at the mall we picked Chet up and came home to play Webkinz.

Tagged

Okay so my friend Joanna tagged me, so now I have to share 6 weird things about me and 6 things that make happy.

Six Weird Things About Me

1) I was in a bike accident in the sixth grade and knocked out 3 teeth, 2 of which where permanent. I now have two fake teeth. Next time you see me try and guess which ones.

2) Speaking of teeth. I didn't lose my first tooth until the 3rd grade and I lost my last one on my 15th birthday.

3) My first crush was on John Travolta. I loved him in Welcome Back Cotter and Grease.

4) I can only read a book if I am in a perfectly quiet room all by myself. Which doesn't often happen with three kids.

5) I have a fear of Drive-Thru's. Although since having kids I am starting to get over this, but I prefer going in to order my food face to face with a person most times.

6) Birds freak me out. I think this goes back to watching the movie The Birds as a young child. I can't stand their eyes and those beaks.

Six Things That Make Me Happy

1) My children of course. The amaze me on a daily basis. Chet has such a great sence of humor, Nel is so strong and gracefull and Katie just always nows what to say to bring a simile to my face.
2) Chocolate

3) Being at the Lake in Montana on a warm summer day.

4) Sleeping children, especially when they are mine. They just look so sweet and innocent.

5) Ordering Pizza, having a beer and watching a movie.

6) Completing a task. I am a horrible procrastinator so when I actually finish a project it feels really good.

Photo Contest

Thanks to everyone who expressed their opinions as to which pictures I should enter. These are the three I choose. I will keep you posted as to how they do.

Photo Contest

Today in the paper I saw an add for the Best of Show. It's an amateur photo contest, and I have always wanted to enter. So I went threw all my pictures from the past year and picked out my favorites and I am having trouble narrowing it down to 3. That's where you come in, take a look at my slide show and vote for your three favorite pictures. Thanks for your help.

Chicago II

The kids and I rang in the New Year in Chicago. It was a very busy trip. We took the train up and meet my parents, sister, two of her boys and my parents neighbor. The kids got to experience all kinds of transportation trains, buses, taxis and of course walking. Their favorite way of getting around was bus. We finally were able to go see the King Tut exhibit. I have to say I was a little disappointed, but I think I had built up my expectations too much. In addition to the Field Museum, we also went to Adler Planetarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. At the Planetarium Chet was excited to check out the shoot for the moon exhibit, where he and I got to experience what it would be like to jump on the moon. The highlight for the girls was going to American Girl for lunch. They had a great time taking care of their babies, April and Christina during lunch and then picking our new clothes for them afterwards. Chet also had fun that day with the big kids at ESPN Zone where they watched the Rose Bowl ate and played games. We did many other things, there was never a dull moment. The kids always amaze me when we travel, they behave so well. But I have to say it was nice to get home and sleep in my own bed.

The Nutcracker

On Saturday the Kirby ladies (Nel, Katie, myself and Grandma) went to see the Nutcracker. This was the first time for all of us to see the Nutcracker Ballet so we made a special day of it. We dressed up and went for lunch at a nice restaurant and then went to watch the show. We all had a very nice time. The best part was watching the girls and listening to Katie explain to Grandma each of the characters. When we got home they were still excited, so Chet put on the Nutcracker music for them and all three danced around the house.

Meet Darcie

(here I am holding a monkey in Thailand, the monkey is the one on the left)
Hi, I am Darcie. I am the mom in the Kirby family. In addition to being the mom I also work part time at our towns Recreation Center, creating and teaching childrens programs. When I am not working or mothering I enjoy reading, hanging out with my friends, cooking and of course traveling. As I mentioned earlier my favorite places I have traveled are Thailand and Montana. I love the Thai people and their laid back attitude of Mei Pen Rai. In Montana I love spending time outdoors the scenery is gorgeous and I like spending time with my extended family. If I could travel anywhere right now I would either like to go Italy or back to St. Petersburg, Russia.