What I Do When I Am Child-Free

My three girls went to NY for the weekend to have some quality time with my family. I met my mom in PA on Friday and am picking them up on Sunday afternoon. This has never happened while I was off of work, probably because I am only off of work once a year basically. When my mom asked to have the girls for the weekend my mind raced with the endless possibilities as to what I would do not only child-free but also off of work. Shopping, binge watching Gilmore Girls, lounging with a margarita, gardening… what to do??

Well this is what I did:

1. I came home and promptly realized that Amelia and Moira’s room is a complete disaster area. Seriously, these two girls are dirt collecting, stuffed animal hoarding, clothes piling little fiends wrapped up in cuteness. So not only did I clean their room but I rearranged it so that the beds and the dresser have new homes.
2. Well because I cleaned up the hoarders, I mean my darling daughters’, room I had piles of laundry to do so I started some, cleaned up around the washer and dryer, wiped down the table where the cats eat, threw out some empty containers.. ya know, lol, just went down to do laundry!
3. I cooked myself a yummy dinner of dill tilapia and broccoli, while that was cooking I did the dishes, cleaned the counters, and tidied up the kitchen.
4. I finally realized that it was late and no more cleaning was required. So I binge watched some Gilmore Girls and painted my nails, then went to bed.
5. Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to lots and lots of dog puke. Apparently Spooky had an upset stomach… enough said. Big dogs equal lots and lots of puke.
6. I headed to Target (yay!!!) for some more cleaning supplies and to browse at my leisure while being kid-free. It was glorious. Made even more glorious by the iced coconut milk mocha macchiato.
7. Came home and gave the dogs water… which ended up with more puke… ugh!
8. Klint and I then headed out to run some errands and eat lunch at one of my favorite places- Slymans… how did I not know how awesome corned beef is until recently? I managed to convince Klint to take me to Michaels and Anthropologie too while we were out so major win!
9. We came home, Klint had to go to bed for work, and I decided to cook Spooky some chicken broth and rice. (My tried and true solution to dog puke)
10. My final act of the night was cleaning out my awesome blue Ikea cart and organizing it. It was a mishmash of nail polish, Posh products, craft supplies… topped with cat hair.

Here are some pics of my adventures… not the puke because that would be gross!

Tomorrow is my last morning child-free…. who knows what I will do?!

Let’s Try This Again…

Hello!!!!! So I am going to try to resurrect the blog one last time, if anything to help me keep track of all the cool things that the kids are doing now that all three are officially homeschooling. Also, because sometimes I feel like sharing all of the fun stuff that we do on Facebook is just a bit too much for everyone, lol.

So here is a running list of where everyone is at right about now:

• I am still teaching dance at Dancexcel and loving it! I teach all levels and all ages, which is perfect for me since I like variety. Last summer and this summer I am working at TrueNorth Cultural Arts as choreographer, again a perfect fit for me since I am a musical theatre kid at my core. AND I am working for an organization called Reach Out and Dance (aka ROAD) which goes into public schools and pre-schools and teaches dance in lieu of their normal phys ed class. This is just during the school year, although I will be handling their social media soon. Lol, oh and I am still graphic designer for Dancexcel and run their Instagram page. (And yes, I still have time to do stuff with the kids, craft, and have a life… although I have no clue how!)
• Klint is still at the Federal Reserve as a corporal with their police department, but has picked up wood working and is KILLING IT! I will definitely be posting about some of his creations as I am so proud of him (and am getting lots of beautiful pieces in my house!) And for anyone who has been here long enough… Klint is pretty much symptom free as far as his depression is concerned. *If anyone would care to read about it, I will write another post as it is an incredible story.*
• Gabby is almost 12 and officially 3″ taller than me! She is a drawing, reading, dog loving machine who has a talent for cooking and a very big help to me. She is tossing around the idea of starting her own blog about video games and such so I will share when that happens.
• Amelia is almost 9 and a source of a lot of antics here at Casa de Krebs. She has toned down the destruction and has developed a love of math and rollerskating. She takes dance at Dancexcel and has really grown into her talent. She loves horseback riding, swimming, the beach, and audio books.
• Moira has really grown up… and has the real potential to be a serious super villain! Seriously people, she is one lab accident away from taking over. She takes dance as well and horseback riding from a fellow homeschooling family, loving every minute of being on a pony her size. She has a personality that is so big, I can’t believe she will be 6 in December!

So that is where we are all at. We’ve got a zoo (literally people, to say we love animals is a gross understatement!), fill our days with trips to parks and museums, and are really just loving life. (If you want to catch up via pics- check out my Instagram: DaliMama32) I’ll try to resume posting regularly, so check back in a day or two!

 

¡Hola!

Hi friends! It seems that my blogging inspiration comes in spurts, lol. Anyhow, we’ve been super busy with weddings to attend, vacations, and tons of dance. I’m excited for the recital, sad for the year to end, but definitely looking forward to giving these knees a break.

Now that Cleveland finally got with the program and Spring has arrived we have been outside gardening a lot. I’ve been a HUGE fairy garden kick and together with the kids we have created not one but 3 fairy gardens!!! (If you are interested in creating a fairy garden be sure to check out my Pinterest board here!)

This is one part of the garden, where the fairies have picnics and play on the tire swing!

Also, what fairy garden would be complete without a dinosaur petting zoo?

This is where the fairies can go camping… I would love to camp here!

And at night, the fairies can canoe while paddling down the jeweled river.

And finally, this is the fairy home! It has a hammock, a mail box, and is conveniently located next to our koi pond. Ambience is important to fairies! 

 This is a bigger photo of the playground/dino area that we lit up… I love how it looks at night with the fireflies out!

Gabby even got in on the action by making a dragon garden!

 **I’ve entered the Magic Onion’s 2014 Fairy garden contest!! You can check out all the entries here or enter your own!

 ***********************************************

It’s hard to believe that in about 3 months this pretty girl is going to be 10! She is already planning her big birthday party, complete with her BIG present from us- a Bearded Dragon! (Long story short, my plan of trying to show her that pets are a big responsibility backfired and I have to keep my promise that she gets a dragon lol!)

We spend a lot of time looking for worms these days, Moira is fairly obsessed with them. I feel pretty bad for the worms however as she insists on carrying them around in her hands clutched tight. Trying to convince her that the worms are sad doesn’t work so there are worm remains all over the outside area.

I’ve been busy gearing up my students for recital. I have 10 dances in the recital, plus Amelia’s and Moira’s AND the teacher dance. Whew! My students are all really excited and I am ready to share their immense talent with everyone. It’s been a crazy year and it will be a pleasant break once the first week of June is passed.

So that’s what’s going on here at Casa de Krebs. Hopefully I’ll be back sooner than later!

Catching Up

Whew! Where does the time go?! Days fly past me and as I am laying in bed I remember things I want to blog about, only to have another day fly by so fast. In the last couple of days we have gone to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History where we had the very BEST of times…. seriously, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much!!! We learned about rocks, dinos, evolution, birds, and so much more. We took home a HUGE tote of dinosaur stuff and the girls can’t wait to show their friends their cool dino claws and all that funness.

I also made an EPIC trip to IKEA in Canton, Michigan where I bought a new bed for the littles as well as lots of other fun things. And I am sooo proud to say that for the last two nights Moira has slept in her own BIG GIRL bed, the whole night, without waking up sad in the morning. She was so proud to tell everyone that she is a big girl. This mama is a little sad to have her baby away though, Moira has slept with me since Day 1 and I loved every moment sleeping next to her.

We celebrated Fat Tuesday with a huge King Cake and paczis donuts, lots of fun music, and The Princess and the Frog! The girls loved finding the baby in The King Cake as well as seeing photos from Mardi Gras, all they talked about is what kind of float they would make. =)

Miss Penny is getting so big, yet she is so little. It is hard to believe that it will take 3 years for her to be full grown. She definitely has the personality of her breed and people are constantly shocked at how laid back and friendly she is. I love how she follows us around and is content to be cuddled by Moira, who adores her.

So there you have it, our last couple of days. Despite the unrelenting cold temps, they have been sunny and warm. Now if Spring would catch up with my mood I would be a very happy lady!! =) Cheers!

In For A Penny

What’s up friends? Whew, it has been a crazy week here at Casa de Krebs! From more icy temps to adding a new feline to our clowder, this mama is ready for some serious down time.

I am looking forward to our upcoming vacation to Atlanta, GA for one of my best friend’s wedding. The girls are all flower girls and are super excited to travel again. I am looking forward to getting out of the tundra known as Cleveland, OH. We will be also staying in TN for a few days, to try something new. Yay for new adventures!! I know a good chunk of the country has been experiencing these frigid temps, but consistently Alaska is warmer than us… Alaska people! So to try to enjoy the weather Klint and our friend Lance took the girls sledding.

Another fun part of our week was getting to pick up my Valentine’s Day present! Klint has been told countless times about all the cats that I had growing up. Ones that still hold a special place in my heart, cats that has quirks, cats that are better left unmentioned. One of the special guys is a Maine Coon that we had while I was in high school. He was my aunt’s cat so when I went to live with her he became my cat too. His name was Jake and he was one of the biggest, fluffiest, more laid back cat I have ever known. Klint got to meet him and adored him as well. So for Valentine’s Day Klint found a Maine Coon breeder here in Ohio and put a deposit on a lovely little kitten, who would be ready just in time for the special day. Sqwee!!! This is Miss Penny (official name- Cost A Pretty Penny)! She is 10 weeks old and already living up to her breed standard!

Maine Coons are the largest domestic cat breed and the oldest breed in the USA. They are known for their laid back attitude, dog-like social skills, and their gorgeous coats. They like the water, enjoy being outside and can be taught to walk on a harness, and are just awesome cats. I got to meet Penny’s father and he is the BIGGEST cat I have EVER seen in my life! I can’t wait to see how big this “little” girl gets!

I hope everyone else has a great of a Valentine’s Day as I did!!