Our Country Home

After Hours

2011-10-21T17:03:00.000-04:00

Last night Andy and I were watching tv together after the kids had gone to bed (or so we thought). When checking on them all before turning in ourselves, we realized that one of them had stayed up late making a "train track creation." Hmm, I wonder which one of our children it was?

Cakes, Snow and Good Clean Fun!

2011-02-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

I've been getting busy with cakes again. Business slowed over the holidays, but it's picking up again-How Fun! Here are the cakes I've made in the last couple of weeks.

Oops! Mixer malfunction! I meant to turn it off when the powdered sugar started sloshing out, but accidentally turn it to "High" instead.

Here's Ben using his new bow and arrow.

What do you get when you mix a can of shaving cream, a kitchen table, and a house full of kids? FUN!

Hat Day at our Elementary School! Here is Joseph in the hat he chose to wear in school all day. Cute!

It Was A White Christmas

2011-02-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

I spent a wonderful Christmas Season as part of the Old Opera House production of White Christmas. I met some of the most talented, kind people I'll ever know. It was the perfect way to get in the Christmas Spirit.

3 Months Worth of Kennedy Fun

2010-12-30T11:46:00.001-05:00

Halloween

From left to right

Jenna(Rapunzel)-Emily(a witch)-Isabelle(Abby Sciuto)
Charlie(a fireman)-Ben(a knight) & Joseph(a dragon)

I made this Belle birthday cake for a friends daughter.

Didn't it turn out cute?

Our Piano Recital

Robyn and I had a piano recital for all of our piano students. One of the songs Jenna played was "Frosty the Snowman"

The Cast of White Christmas

I spent the last 3 months with these wonderful people at the Old Opera House in Charles Town doing White Christmas. I was in the ensemble and had a great time singing and dancing.

Andy and Katie in front of the Christmas Tree

The obligatory Christmas morning photo on the stairs. As you can see, Joseph is just a little bit excited about going down to see what Santa Claus has left him.

Disney World Day 6

2010-10-01T18:06:00.000-04:00

Day 6 found us at MGM Studios, which is now actually called Hollywood Studios. Ben and Charlie met Lightening McQueen, which was the highlight of their trip.

We did many fun things at Hollywood Studios, like ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster and watch the Muppets 3-D movie. Jenna's favorite was The Great Movie Ride, especially the part with "The Wizard of Oz". It rained most of the day, so we were only able to do things indoors, but this park had many indoor options. My favorite was the performance of Beauty and the Beast live on stage. It was fantastic!

Disney World Day 5-The Magic Kingdom

2010-10-01T17:45:00.000-04:00

Today we went to The Magic Kingdom! We were able to see all of the kid's favorite characters, too. Joseph was a little sceptical, though. When we first entered the park, Pluto was dancing around for the crowd. Joseph said, "He's fake! I can see his zipper!"

The girls were thrilled to meet some of the Disney Princesses.

Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella

And Belle!

We were shocked that Ben and Charlie, being only 4 years old, LOVED the Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster. Here is a picture of Ben with his hands in the air (while I hold on to him for dear life). You can also see Emily sitting in the seat behind me.

And this is Charlie, completely thrilled and not at all scared to death as we would have thought. Both of the boys wanted to ride the roller coaster over and over again. The beauty of going to Disney World during the off season is that there are no lines! So we road the roller coaster several times, as well as Splash Mountain.

Disney World-Day 4

2010-10-01T16:19:00.001-04:00

Today we visited the Orlando Temple. I love visiting the temples of our church when we travel. They're always so beautiful! The temple grounds showed off the plants of the region, with palm trees and even several orange trees with fruit. There were even little lizards running everywhere, too!

Back at the hotel, they had some fun activities for the kids. Face painting and balloon animals were their favorites.

My favorite was the hotel's Lazy River! Here we are, linked like a big inner-tube-convoy.

This is a video of Andy playing "Minute to Win It". Without using his hands, he had to put 4 pool noodles on top of a table. I wasn't sure how in the world he would do it, but as you can see in the video, he has proven his creativity. I was very impressed!

Disney World Day 3

2010-10-01T14:46:00.001-04:00

On our first full day in Florida, we went to Cocoa Beach. The water was great and everyone had a wonderful time!

Here are Ben and Charlie playing in the water.

Emily, Isabelle, Jenna and Joseph running away from a wave.

It was a great way to spend an afternoon!

Our Disney World Trip-Day 1 & 2

2010-10-01T14:23:00.000-04:00

This past week we've been in Disney World! We had a wonderful time, even on the drive down. We rented this 12 passenger van for the trip, so that we could all travel together. The 6 of us and our friends the Liddells, who have 3 children of their own. We took 2 days to drive down, stopping overnight in Florence, North Carolina.

The girls all took a nap on the way down-So Cute!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this souped-up ride. By the way, if you think this is great, you should have seen the owner of this beauty as he cleaned it up the next morning with no shirt and a pair of suspenders.

Memories to never forget!

Is Exercise Really Worth It?

2010-09-13T15:21:00.000-04:00

I pretty much took off all summer from the gym, and started exercising again last week. This morning I took a class called Body Pump, in which you spend 1 hour and 15 minutes lifting a dumbell over and over and over and over. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning. I also know that they say "No pain, no gain" but I just wish that after almost 2 years of running, lifting, crunching, squatting, and lunging, I had somthing to show for it. Basically what I want is to have the body of the instructor that has been yelling at me to lift, crunch and squat harder. Oh, well! I just keep going and making the other gym-goers feel better about themselves.

Happy September!

2010-09-07T15:36:00.001-04:00

Okay, I will openly admit that it has been a LONG time since my last post. I'll just say it was a ridiculous summer, full of doctor's visits and lots of antibiotics. Joseph gave me a get well card "to get me better from the 'Ramonia' " Now it's over and I am happily getting back to normal. Yeah!

Here are the lovely flowers that all of the children at church made me. They sure helped get me better!

I did read an unusually long list of books during this last few months, which was very fun, the most enjoyable being "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." As a stalwart Jane Austin fan, I put up quite a fight for the last year, absolutely refusing to read something that would make Miss Austin turn over in her grave (slight zombie reference), but the book was hysterically funny and every day I read passages to my husband and friends, as we all laughed together. If you loved "Pride and Prejudice", you're bound to get quite a kick (another pitiful reference) out of this book.

School has once again begun. Here are my 4 children on their 1st day. Our youngest, Ben is in preschool, Joseph is in 1st grade, Jenna 3rd grade and Emily is in 5th grade (I still can't believe it!)

Just for the record, Ben is not eating a corn dog for breakfast. It is a sausage and pancake on a stick (which is SO much more nutritious!)

Here is Jenna with her best friend Isabelle. They are in the same class, ride the bus together, go to Sunday School together, and already have plans to be college roommates and have a double wedding where they will marry the 2 most wonderful guys on the planet who will have to be brothers.

It has been a busy week for the Tooth Fairy at our house. On Tuesday, Emily and Jenna both lost a tooth, which was a fun coincidence. The Tooth Fairy came that night and they each got a dollar. Three days later, they each lost another tooth! It could have been another coincidence, or maybe they realized a very lucrative business venture. Either way, they each put a tooth under their pillow, but this time the Tooth Fairy didn't come. I told them she probably forgot, or thought they were trying to trick her. Luckily she came the next day, so all is well. For the past few days, Joseph has been aggressive wiggling his loose tooth to "get in on the action".

Busy-Busy Summer!

2010-06-15T20:16:00.001-04:00

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since my last posting! Here's what we've been doing.

The kids are out of school for the summer and have enjoyed their time at home playing and swimming. I've been busy making cakes, usually making 2 or 3 a week. If you haven't seen my website yet, go to http://www.katiescakery.net/

We have some fun things planned for the next few months, and hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures so you can enjoy our summer fun with us.

Until then...

The Kennedys

SPRING BREAK ACTIVITIES!

2010-04-14T12:18:00.002-04:00

During spring break, we had some friends come to visit. We went site seeing in Harpers Ferry, went for ice cream at Nutter's, played in the woods, made smores in the yard, and all-in-all had a fantastic time. Corinne is also a very talented photographer (and should someday do it professionally). This means we have some great photos of our fun.

HARPERS FERRY

The sites of Harpers Ferry are right at the spot where the Potomac River meets the Shenandoah River. We took the kids across the bridge to play along the C&O Canal. Their favorite part of the day was throwing rocks at the wall in the dried riverbed of the canal. I guess that was more fun than the museums.
Can you blame them? A huge wall? Rocks? It's the perfect combination!

Ben's favorite part? The train, of course.
What a nice train conductor!

Me and my friend Corinne.

(Her son Xavier is looking at a book)

NUTTER'S ICE CREAM SHOP

This was their window display. So cute!

It's set up like an old fashioned shop (and their prices are fantastic!) We love going to Nutter's!

Playing in the Yard

We had our first barbeque of the year. I love eatting outside on the deck.

After dinner, we went for a walk in the woods and played by the fort we built with the kids.

We built a fire in our fire ring and made smores. Yum! Any excuse to build a fire and make smores and we'll do it.

Busy Cake Day!

2010-04-14T10:09:00.001-04:00

Yesturday was a busy cake day. I made two of the most fun cakes I've gotten to do yet.

PINEWOOD DERBY CAKE

The cars were solid frosting and the wood grain was white fondant streaked with brown food coloring using a paint brush.

ACCORDIAN CAKE

I went ahead and used the wood grain technique on this one too. And of course you have to see the back. No accordian is complete without the buttons!

Next weekend I'm doing an Electric Guitar for Andy's birthday, a Dinosaur for Ben's birthday, tiny baby chick cupcakes for Jenna's birthday, and a Thomas the Train cake for Ben's friends birthday. I LOVE MY JOB!

I'll be posting them on my website at KatiesCakery.net-so check it out.

More Spring Break!

2010-04-14T09:50:00.001-04:00

Last week we spent a lot of time at the park. There's a fantastic park about a mile from our house that we love to visit. The kids played and I took the pictures!

At home, Ben spent some time coloring in his giant Diego coloring book. What a cutie!

Easter Dinner

2010-04-14T09:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

Here is a picture of our Easter ham. It had a brown sugar glaze and plenty of pineapple slices with maraschino cherries in the center. Yum!

Spring Break is Here!

2010-04-02T17:04:00.004-04:00

Spring Break 2010! Yeah! I love having the children all home from school, and to top it all off-the weather is PERFECT!

We started our 1st day of fun by going to see Emily's work of art that is on display nearby. Such cute owls!

Next, I took the kids and their bikes to the C&O Canal. We stopped after a little while and played in a stream along the tow path.

Afterwards, we had a picnic at a playground near our house (I forgot to take pictures-sorry!)

I even started a sunburn! Now I know that summer is just around the corner.

Oh, the things they say!

2010-03-30T20:26:00.002-04:00

Joseph: "I wish Ben was ice cream"
Yeah, I know, it didn't make much sense, but it instigated this next little gem.

Ben: "I wish I had super powers so I could throw a house at Joseph"
My my! What an imagination! If only he could use his powers for good.

Jenna's Gets Whacked...

2010-03-25T20:25:00.006-04:00

...on the head. Don't worry, Jenna is fine and getting hurt is a normal part of growing up (and living with 3 siblings). She and Ben were fighting over a large metal set of stilts, Ben got a hold of one and whacked her on the head with it.

This said, we've learned two things today in the Kennedy family.
#1 Head wounds bleed A LOT!
I'm talking covering the face, all over the clothes, hands, arms, trail of red from the driveway, through the garage, into the kitchen...you get the picture.

#2 When one of my children is bleeding profusely, I may faint or throw up, or both.
Luckily Andy was close by to take over and I was able to sit down on the floor for a minute, clean up and pull myself together. It's just so terrible to see your child so hurt, and apparently I'm not as tough as I thought I was. (Just for the record. When Ben got his front tooth knocked out 3 years ago, I was the only adult in the house and I did just fine thank you very much).

It's inevitable that something like this will happen again, what with having 4 children and all. I just hope there's not quite so much blood next time.

Mom, she's fine, I promise. There will probably be a scar but her hair will cover it completely. No, we did not take her for stiches, though they may have done 1, she was freaking out about getting stiches and the cut was only about 1 cm long. Seriously, Mom, she's fine! No, Mom, it wasn't your fault. I know you bought the stilts for her but they can get hurt with any toy, at any time so don't blame yourself! You're a wonderful grandmother and Jenna still loves you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's a crazy red day at the Kennedy's!

2010-03-17T17:08:00.005-04:00

In honor of the holiday, I've become a red head (temporarily). It's fun to do something different, but boy is it hard to choose an outfit with red hair!

Me and my red headed mother. Go Irish!

My sister, Libby, with her albino, red eyed guinea pig. I've heard of pets and their owners resembling each other but this is ridiculous!

Happy Birthday Mom!
Here she is with her mail truck birthday cake. Not only was it cute, it was yummy, too!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2010-03-07T18:10:00.002-05:00

As many of you experience as well, I often hear my children say the funniest things, and quickly forget them because they were not recorded. I will now repent of that and record todays little gem entitled "Justice in the mind of a 5 year old."

Emily: Ouch! MOMMY, JOSEPH PUNCHED ME FOR NO REASON!! (notice the large lettering, she was obviously yelling)

Joseph: I DID TOO HAVE A REASON!

Well, in that case punch away right? Poor Emily! I just couldn't get made at Joseph while I was laughting (with my face covered of course-I don't want to encourge him). Feel free to reply with your own cute stories.

Super Fun Saturday!

2010-02-27T23:14:00.007-05:00

What have I been up to, you ask? Well, I've been up to my elbows in cakes. Here are my latest creations.

Our super fun Saturday also included Joseph's first skiing lesson right in our own backyard. Notice Andy's lovely pajama bottoms. It's so great having such a huge yard with no neighbors close enough to see exactly what we are wearing. I've been able to run outside in the craziest outfits without a bit of worry of being seen by a neighbor. On the other hand, I saw a pretty crazy get-up on a gal at Walmart yesturday, so maybe this is the style here. Oh well, I'll just go with it. It makes getting dressed a lot faster. Yeah West Virginia!

Joseph did great and even tried his first ski jump (which he insisted doing after having watched the Olympics the night before). He did get air (about an inch) and did fall down (with no tears). Watch for Joseph in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games!

A Thousand Words in Black and White

2010-02-24T22:49:00.002-05:00

My friend Lis took this picture of the boys. Isn't it beautiful? She's taking a photography class and is taking pictures of children in black and white for a big school project. I'm going to have this printed and hung in the boys room and in the family room and in my room and in the kitchen...I just love it! It's such a sweet moment when they're coloring together. I love how a picture can capture a moment of peace, when there's no fighting or whining-just a quiet moment together as brothers.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! and snow and snow and snow...

2010-02-07T16:14:00.006-05:00

Wow! We have a LOT of snow! How about you?

Here's a riddle. What do you get when you use your tractor to plow the Kennedy's very long driveway?

You get a cake that looks like YOU-plowing the Kennedy's driveway!

Meet Nick, our very kind neighbor who (lucky for us) enjoys using his tractor to help out the rest of us that don't have our own fun "snow toys" yet. I think this looks more like a zamboni than a tractor, but who's going to complain-it was free! Enjoy the cake Nick!

And, in keeping with the spirit of the day-a Super Bowl Cake. I made this on Thursday, in anticipation for the client not being able to pick it up any time after that due to the 10 feet of snow outside (Yes, I know that I am exagerating, but 2 1/2 ft might as well be 10 when you're shoveling it off your sidewalk!)

Go Colts! (Hey, don't get mad at me if you don't like them, I root for any team that has a family of fans that love them enough to pay me $50 for a cake!)

And finally, if you find yourself bored or going stir-crazy with cabin fever after being cooped up in your house for the last couple of days, you have to visit a new favorite website of mine. http://www.cakewrecks.com/ Someone clued me into it and it has given me hours of laughs. Check it out!

Easy Marshmallow Fondant

2010-01-27T15:35:00.005-05:00

I never knew there was a way to make fondant at home. That is, until a friend shared a recipe with me for marshmallow fondant. I worked on it, simplified it, and know I want to share it.

Easy Marshmallow Fondant
1 package mini-marshmallows
2 cups +1/2 cup powdered sugar

Pour marshmallows into a large plastic mixing bowl and microwave for 1 minute.

Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar

Wet your hands, and continue to mix the dough with your hands, kneading it in the mixing bowl as you would bread dough

Knead the fondant on the counter for about 5 minutes, sprinkling first with powdered sugar and continuing to add powdered sugar to keep the fondant from feeling sticky

Form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap until it's needed, or use immediately

span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">I hope this turns out to be a new and fun way to decorate your cakes. Many people don't like the taste of store-bought fondant. I think this recipe tastes much better, and is also easier to work with because it's softness.

My Latest Two Cakes

2010-01-21T13:42:00.003-05:00

Garfield and His Lasagna

Belle Cosmetics

I've been having so much fun in my kitchen! I just finished the Garfield cake this afternoon. I think it turned out well. Cartoons are hard to do with cake because the color and look has to be perfect or else it won't look like the character. I think I got pretty close.

The "Belle Cosmetics" cake was for Jenna's best friend Isabelle. Her family calls her "Belle" so I thought up this idea. I used a lot of pearl dust to make it sparkly, and it was DELICIOUS!! Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. YUM!

I just got my own website, so check it out. KatiesCakery.net

Happy Baking!

I'm Back!

2010-01-15T22:57:00.007-05:00

I know-I know! It's been a while since my last post. The holidays were fun and busy, and now I'm back.

I'll try to update you on the latest in the Kennedy family.

I have a new website, so check it out. http://www.katiescakery.net/
Here's the latest cake. I just made it today. It's the Transformer "Bumble Bee" Car. Cool Huh?

Ben got a haircut, and I snapped some pictures. Here's the cutie in action, trying to wiggle away.

Ben and I have been doing a Co-Op Preschool with some friends. This week we had preschool at the Liddell's house. Here is a picture of Robyn reading to the group on the couch. Afterwords, they played at the table with shaving cream and matchbox cars. Ben loved it!

As many of you know, I did something completely crazy and went to an open casting call for Survivor. Here is a picture of me and my "line buddies" sitting in the mall. We waited in line for almost 7 hours, but I was prepared with a crochet project, a comfortable chair, and a good book. I had a great time and made some fun memories.

This is my application that Emily and Jenna decorated for me.

I haven't heard from Survivor yet, but if they call me you'll be the first to know. I still have my fingers crossed. If they don't put me on, they're making a big mistake!

Katie's New Business

2009-11-15T19:27:00.006-05:00

Wow! I started my own business. It's called "Katie's Cakery" and I do custom cakes for special occasions. I think I should change my business cards to say "Katie's Cakery-anything but weddings." I want to do fun cakes for birthdays, holidays and other fun celebrations. I don't want to do wedding cakes for stressed out, grouchy brides and their mothers!

I started yesterday by setting up a display table at a Bazaar at my children's school and taking orders. My goal was to give out business cards, get possible future clients and get 1 order, but I ended up with 4 orders by the end of the day! I'm so excited! Everyone was very enthusiastic about my cakes and seemed to be interested in remembering me for their next party.

Here are some of the cakes I did for the Bazaar, and a link to the blog I created especially for Katie's Cakery.

http://www.customcakesatkatiescakery.blogspot.com/

This is a picture of my complete table display. Many people told me they didn't realize they were cakes until they read the sign. One lady thought they were pillows, and another thought I was selling toys. My table was popular with the children and several took business cards to give to their parents. Peoplewere even taking pictures!

"Cheeseburger and Fries"

This was a favorite for many, and it was also my first order! A boy

and his mother ordered it for his birthday in January.

"Zebra Purse"

This cake was especially fun to make. I made it will all

white fondant and "painted it" with food coloring.

"Lightening McQueen"

This cake is Ben's favorite, of course. At least I

already know what to do for his next birthday!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my cakes. I sure had fun making them! Wish me luck on my new adventure in self-employment!

The Latest in the Kennedy House

2009-10-21T09:22:00.010-04:00

The Latest Cute Craft. It's a mini-muffin pan turned into a Christmas Countdown Calendar. So Cute!

Here you can see how each square has magnet strips on the back to hold it over the openings. The mini-muffin pan was $4.50 at Wal-mart (you just have to drill 2 holes in the top). Now I just have to find small enough candies to fit four in each space.

The Latest Cake. It was a baby shower for twins. Smartest idea yet-I bought the cake at Costco and bedazzled it with fondant.

The Latest Field Trip. Ben's turn this time-Preschool trip to Ridgefield Farms and our search for the perfect pumpkin. Luckily we found it!

Here's the finished product. Ben accidentlly broke off the stem-Oops!

The Latest Golf Outing. We went with the Liddells and it was Robyn's first time behind the wheel of a golf cart. We only had one mishap taking out a couple of elderly putters but they're fine (just kidding). Andy won (of course) but I was happy with my score (mostly because we applied the 8-swings-per-hole-max rule).

The Latest Girl's Trip. Time-Out for Women in Richmond, Virginia. Here are the ladies from my ward in Harpers Ferry that I went with. I've landed myself among some of the most happy, kind, fun, Christ-like women I've ever met. I'm lucky to have made so many new friends so quickly.

The Latest Mommy-Daughter Project. Knitting hats with a loom. The girl's love it and I love that they're learning a hobby. Emily's making me a hat, I've made her a hat and scarf and they've each made a hat for the Keck twins.

I had to add this picture of Jenna with her best-friend-in-the-whole-world Isabelle. Friends make life so much sweeter!

"Freedom's Run" 10K Race

2009-10-07T08:38:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday Andy and I ran in the Freedom's Run 10K race in Shepherdstown, West Virginia (about 10 minutes from our house). The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. It was all ran on the tow path of the C&O canal.

Here I am in the home stretch on the path heading back up to the road from the canal. It was a lot of fun. Anyone want to join us next year?

Who Wants to Be LARGE!?!

2009-09-21T07:33:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else have a problem with clothing sizes? I can understand "small"- that would be an outfit a girl would be happy to buy, and MAYBE "medium" but I don't know who would feel good about themselves buying anything that is labeled "large." I want to have a word with the man that decided to put that on any woman's clothing label. And as if that's not bad enough, they add insult to injury by having "extra-large" and "extra-extra-large." They might as well put "pachyderm" on the back of your shirt. Honestly, we need to change all of the sizes. Who's with me? I think "small" is fine, we can leave that one, then maybe the next size up can still be medium, because if you're fitting into it you already feel just fine about yourself, but we have to do something about "LARGE." Let's put something on the label that will make you feel proud to buy that outfit. I say we change it to "voluptuous" and "ultra-voluptuous." Who wouldn't want to be "ultra-voluptuous?" With this one change we may be able to derail the entire diet industry. Who's with me?

Happy Birthday Robyn!

2009-09-06T21:18:00.000-04:00

We had a very fun birthday party at our house for my dear friend, Robyn Liddell. It was actually a surprise party, and boy was she surprised. During the planning phase, I was always worried that she was going to find out, or that she had already found out, and was constantly watching what I said around her to be sure I didn't slip up. Well, the look on her face and the tears in her eyes were proof that it was indeed a surprise. Since Robyn has a special love of Panda bears, I made her a cake with that in mind. It's a 2-tiered chocolate cake with chocolate icing and crushed oreos, decorated with bamboo on the sides. A second cake stands next to it, decorated with fondant to look like a panda, and it's eatting the chocolate cake. Robyn loved it and it was DELICIOUS! Happy Birthday!

1st Day of School...sort of

2009-09-06T20:34:00.000-04:00

My sweet children had their 1st day of school on Wed. Aug. 26. Joseph started kindergarten, Jenna is now in 2nd grade and Emily in 4th. My little children are getting bigger and bigger!

Luckily, they love school and are all doing very well so far. The funny thing about these pictures, though, is that they were actually taken the 2nd day of school, because my camera's battery died before I could get a single picture off on the 1st day morning. Either way, their clothes are still very cute and otherwise they look the same so it doesn't really matter, right?

What's Your Favorite Children's Book?

2009-09-04T17:04:00.001-04:00

I want to share something with all of you. When I was a child, I loved books. Well, I guess not a lot has changed there. When my parents would read to me, I would always choose the same story to hear. "Who Wants an Old Teddy Bear?"

It's a story about an ungrateful boy who receives a gift from his grandmother. He was hoping for a rocket ship, but instead got what? You guessed it-a teddy bear. He kicked the bear across the room and went to bed. That night he had a dream that he floated through the clouds and touched down in the middle of a town full of giant teddy bears. A very nice grandmotherly teddy bear picks him up, wraps him, stuffs him in a box, and mails him to her grandson teddy bear. When the boy teddy bear unwraps his gift, he's upset. He didn't want a silly boy doll, so he kicks him across the room. The boy "doll" starts to cry, the teddy bear boy picks him up, and they become the best of friends. The boy then wakes up from his dream, finds his teddy bear and loves him from then on.

For whatever reason, this story touched my heart. Maybe it was because I loved teddy bears. Or maybe it was because I secretly wished my toys were "real." Maybe it was the wonderful illustrations, or the idea that dreams can take you anywhere, even a town full of giant teddy bears. For whatever reason, I asked for this story over and over again, and when I finally learned how to read, this was the one I would go back to again and again.

As I grew older, as we all do, those special treasures that meant so much fall by the wayside and drift from our minds. Until one day in college. I was in a children's literature class, and we had an assignment to write about our favorite book as a child. This book immediately came to my mind-but I couldn't remember what it was called. I seemed to remember the name "Andy" but I didn't know if that was just because I married an Andy. I decided the book may be named "Andy's Bear" and wrote my paper on this book that captured my heart as a child.

I asked my mom about the book, but she didn't remember it. My brother and my dad didn't remember it either. I looked through my mom's book shelves, old toy boxes, and came up empty. I could remember the exact story and could picture the illustrations in my mind, but I couldn't find the book. That was 10 years ago. Every once in a while I would search some more. I always had my eyes out for it at my mom's house, at yard sales, antique shops and librarys. I've asked every librarian I've met if they knew the book I was looking for. If only I could remember the title, I could find it on the internet, but after searching and searching through all books on teddy bears, I never could get any leads, and by now I was sure it wasn't called "Andy's Bear" and wasn't even sure if the boys name was Andy at all.

Today, while visiting the library with Ben, I asked all of the librarians here in Harpers Ferry if they knew the book I was looking for. One librarian spent a lot of time with me looking through children's book catalogues and on the internet. Though our search turned up nothing, my desire to find this book was rekindled.

At home, I tried several different google searches, and long-story-not-quite-so-long, I finally found my beloved book. It's called "Who Wants An Old Teddy Bear?" and I can't wait to get it in the mail. I ordered two, one for me and one for my library so I can share this adorable story with others.

So, what's your favorite book from your childhood?

Verizon's Automated Phone System

2009-08-19T08:01:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to be understanding of the companies of the world. I am going to attempt to write a pros and cons list reguarding automated phone systems. This blog is being written only minutes after spending some time tangled in Verizon Wireless's computer secretary, so it may sway to one side, but I'll try to remain unbiased.

Pro

You don't have to be on hold for 20 minutes waiting your turn with the next operator who can barely speak english.

Con

It doesn't help when you yell at the computer. All you'll get is "Would you please repeat that request?" said in a voice that sounds a lot like the Enterprise computer from Star Trek.

Pro

I can't think of another

Con

If you push a wrong button, you have to start all over again.

Pro

I can't think of another

Con

If what you want isn't on the list of things that the no-pulse robot secretary says, you're out of luck

Pro

I really can't think of another.

This is to all you companies that have gotten so big that you feel you no longer need to have real people answer your phones for you. Please-Have mercy on us. It's really hard to sweet talk a computer and I can use all the help I can get.

Family Vacation to the Beach

2009-08-03T21:58:00.001-04:00

We went to the beach this past weekend! My dad lives near the Jersey Shore, so we stayed with him and my step-mother, and had a fun weekend.

Here are some pictures I took today while we were at Island Beach State Park.

While we were in New Jersey, we visited my grandmother. Here is a picture of the children with their Great-Grandmother, Nana O'Neill. We all had some really good NJ pizza and it was great to visit Nana.

Blackberry Pie

2009-07-23T16:37:00.000-04:00

Yum! There is nothing better to eat than freshly picked fruit, and I've found this great recipe to making using our fresh picked blackberries. I hope you try it-you can throw it together in about 10 min. if you use the ready made pie crust.

Blackberry Pie
4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 package of Pillsbury ready made pie crust
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup white sugar

1. Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Cover the edge of the crust with a pie ring or foil so the edge won't burn.

2. Bake at 425 degree F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F, and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

National Geographic In Our Pool

2009-07-14T21:08:00.000-04:00

No, the natives aren't skinny dipping-though there was that one time last week that Ben swam too fast and his bathing suit couldn't keep up-but what I'm talking about this time, is the "wild life" that have come visiting.

We've had a mouse, 2 frogs, and some amazon sized beetles (OK, they were only about 1 inch long) swimming around our pool. The mouse story is my favorite. He was hiding in the vacuum hose and when I threw the hose in the pool and started shooting water through it, the mouse popped out the other end and started swimming around. Thank goodness some friends were there, because the older boys were thrilled. They scooped it up, but then dropped the poor thing. It then suddenly became and very comical scene, where the moms jump up on chairs while the boys chase the mouse around the pool deck.

All in all, a fun memory. I'm just grateful it wasn't a snake.

We Bought A Berry Patch!

2009-06-30T22:03:00.000-04:00

We knew that the trees that ran along our backyard had berry bushes along them, but we didn't realize just how many berry bushes we now owned until they started to bloom last week. I'll try to explain it the best we can.

We have 8 acres of property. The front 3 acres or so is lawn and house, and the rest is trees. That leaves about 5 acres of woods, which we have now learned is surrounded on 2 complete sides by blackberry, red raspberry, and black raspberry bushes. We've been picking every 2 days and are in berry heaven. We had some friends over yesterday to pick with us, and here are some pictures. By the end of July I'll be a master at making berry syrup, berry jam, berry pie and everything else "berry." I should have my own Strawberry Shortcake name. Any suggestions? Frazzle-Berry? Dingle-Berry? Goof-Berry?

Here is Ben. He spent most of his time eatting instead of picking, but what fun would berry picking be if you didn't eat as many as you brought home?

This is our little friend Jessie. This picture explains where her berries kept going.

And I thought she kept eatting them!?

Ohio State University Football Cake

2009-06-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

I think this may be my best cake yet. This cake was made yesterday for some dear friends of ours. The Candlands have a wedding on Saturday, so I made the cake for the rehearsal dinner. The bride and groom are HUGE Ohio State fans. This cake was so much fun to make, it really challenged my creativity. The cake topper is made of polymer clay molded around chopsticks (so I could easily stick them into the cake). After sculpting the clay, I baked it in the oven to harden, then painted them to look like they were all wearing football jerseys. Even the bride has a wedding dress "football jersey" on. The field goal posts were made by bending coat hangers, then dipping them in white chocolate. After they cooled, I carved away the excess white chocolate with a paring knife.

I also made "Buckeye" cake pops to go along with each slice, which are not pictured here. They're little round balls of cake, frozen, then stuck on a stick and rolled in melted chocolate and left to harden. I rolled them in dark chocolate first, then dipped the tops in light brown chocolate to make them look like buckeyes.

Here is a closer picture of the cake topper.

Kennedy Camping

2009-06-19T08:16:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we took the kids camping. I'd promised them the week before that if they went a week without watching TV, playing the computer or playing the Wii, we would take them camping with our friends, the Liddells. We had actually already planned on going camping with them, because it was the annual ward cubscout family campout, but I knew I would need something to motivate them to stick with the plan. Have a reward was really more for my own benefit, it sure cut down on the whining, and I also realized something...I LOVE NO TV!!! I've always used it to help me more than anything else, because I can get stuff done and know that the kids are busy and out of trouble. Now with the girls home for the summer, I didn't want them watching any TV during the day when we have such a beautiful yard to spend the summer in. It's been great, and we have just been swimming, playing, and READING!!! Yeah! I've been catching all of my children with books, all day long and I love it! TURN OFF YOUR TV'S AND ENJOY THE SUMMER!

Here are our pictures from camping-We had a great time and made many wonderful memories.

Joseph and his watermelon

Emily, Isabelle Liddell, Jenna

Jenna's 1st Grade Field Day

2009-06-19T08:01:00.000-04:00

On June 2, Jenna's class at CW Shipley had Field Day. I went to help and watch the fun, and I'm so glad I did. Jenna had a great time, as you can see in the pictures. Her best friend, Isabelle, was always by her side-those two are inseparable.

Joseph's Preschool Graduation

2009-06-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

I can hardly believe it-Joseph's going to kindergarten next year! He had a wonderful time in preschool and loved his teachers.

His preschool class put on a very nice presentation. Then we were all able to enjoy a luncheon for all of the families.

I had a lot of fun making the cake, and I think it turned out pretty well-it sure tasted good:-)

Memorial Day

2009-06-01T21:36:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day is the official start to summer, and

I LOVE SUMMER!

We were blessed with warm weather and sunny skies, so the pool was full of friends. We're especially glad that the Liddells came over, because Mark manned the grill and we ate like kings. No one can grill a chicken thigh like Mark Liddell!

This is a picture of Charlie Liddell, Ben's favorite little friend. As you can tell, he's not very comfortable in water, so we took extra measures to be sure he didn't sink.

What To Do Today?

2009-05-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

I'm having the Young Women over tonight at 7pm to do their campfire cooking certification class for girl's camp. Jennifer VanVliet is doing Chicken Enchiladas and I'm doing peach cobbler in a dutch oven. The fire pit in our yard looks great, but I definitely need to mow the lawn today or we may loose one of the Beehives in the tall grass.

I also need to clean the main floor of my house because it's shamefully messy and I would be terribly embarrassed if any of the girls or leaders saw it in this almost condemed condition.

It would be really nice if I could powerwash the deck furniture for the pool area so I can have it set up today.

I also have to hem the edge of the flag that the girls need to decorate for camp.

While getting each of these things done, I also need to get to Pam Harmon's by noon for a birthday lunch for a sister that we visit-teach named Jennifer Mayfield.

In addition to all of these things, I just found that my freezer in the garage has almost completely defrosted because I bumped the plug yesturday while I was getting ready to trim the hedges, so it's been turned off for almost 24 hours. I'll need to work a freezer clean up into my schedule.

*Note to self: When using bleach to clean ANYTHING, even if it's a tiny bit and it's not going to take very long, and even if it's in the kitchen sink, wear an apron so you don't get speckles of bleach on the front of your favorite daytime dress.

*2nd Note to self: Find something blue that stains really well to color in the white bleach spots on your favorite dress. Do they make permanent markers in "denim" ?

Jenna's Trip or The First Swim of the Season

2009-05-16T18:04:00.000-04:00

The pool is open and is in swimming condition, though the water is still a bit cloudy and the bottom still needs to be vacuumed (as soon as I can see it). Yesterday evening, though, Jenna took the first dip in the pool. Andy was working on the concrete walkway that will run under the gate, and Jenna, Emily and Ben were playing around next to the pool. The water is still in the 60's, and the air hasn't been very warm, so we weren't planning on having the kids swim for another week or two, but while Jenna and Emily were messing around near the deep end, Jenna tripped and fell in, and she was not happy about it one bit. Jeans and sneakers are not the preferred bathing gear. Luckily, she has taken swimming lessons and was able to doggy paddle to the side and climb out. Also lucky, was the fact that Andy was wearing a mask while working on the walkway, so Jenna couldn't see him laughing. She was quite a sight, dripping wet from head to toe.

I guess it didn't bother her too much, though, because the next morning she was right back in the pool, along with the rest of the kids. Summer has now officially begun in the Kennedy home, and next Saturday it's going to be in the 80's-YEAH!!!

The Kennedy's Go To the Circus

2009-05-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

Andy recently told me that he'd never been to the circus. I couldn't believe my ears. What well rounded childhood doesn't include at least one trip to the circus? Luckily, The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to town, so I took the kids and Andy to their first time at the circus. Andy got us fantastic seats, second row on the floor. We were even sitting in folding chairs (I always think the people in the folding chairs have the best seats.) We were so close that I didn't even have to zoom in while I was taking pictures.

And what's a circus without giant, stinky elephants doing tricks! Yeah!

Cakes, Cakes and More Cakes!

2009-05-13T21:18:00.001-04:00

I've been pretty busy with making some fun cakes lately. Here are a few for you to see.

This is a cake I made for St. Patrick's Day. It has 2 pots of gold (one on the side and one on the top) and a rainbow around the side. I brought this to a Relief Society activity to share.

Here is a springtime cake I made for the same Relief Society activity. I made this one with buttercream icing, and made the ladybug out of fondant.

This one was especially fun. I made it for a friend's son on his birthday. His favorite show is Stargate SG-1, so I made a replica of the stargate.

I'm Back!

2009-05-13T20:47:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted, and I have a couple of cute pictures to share.

Here are the kids on Easter Sunday all ready for church. It was a beautiful day and I'm happy to report that the Easter Bunny was very generous with the candy this year.

Here is a great picture of Emily with her cousin Beth. Beth is my brother Tom's daughter. Megan and their 4 kids came for a visit during spring break and we all had a great time.

A Cleaner Car...Almost

2009-03-04T00:37:00.000-05:00

I was running ahead of schedule today (I know, I was surprised, too). The boys and I got to the bus stop this afternoon a little early, so I decided to tidy up the front seat of my van while we waited. The boys were playing happily in the back seat, so I was able to quickly straighten up all of the pockets and compartments were I've stuck papers that weren't important. When the girl's arrived, I opened the side door to let them in, and I realized why the boys had been so happily occupied. They had been snacking on a bag of cheese doodles I'd just bought them, and they apparently got bored, so they started throwing them around the backseat and even managed to get at least one cheese doodle into each grocery bag (and there were quite a few). When we got home, I had them clean all of the cheese doodles out, and it turns out, it's just as much fun to throw them out of the car and into the driveway, then stomp on them. Oh! To be a kid again!

Katie's Latest Cake Creation

2009-02-20T22:07:00.000-05:00

I made a birthday cake for a new friend this week. Her name is Rachael, and we had a little surprise birthday party for her on Tuesday. It was very fun. A friend told her she was bringing her lunch, as a birthday treat, and instead showed up with about a dozen ladies, all carrying balloons, presents, food-and I had the cake. It turned out cute and I had fun making it. (I had even more fun eatting it:o)

Snowy Fun

2009-02-04T22:08:00.001-05:00

We've had a few snow days lately and what's a good snow day without a little childish fun, right? Andy made a sledding track in our yard, which ends with a ramp. Of course it has a ramp, any good sledding hill ends in a ramp. Ben loved it, Jenna wouldn't go near it, and I hit it going backwards ending in a magnificent wipe out. The best part was that we got it all on tape.

I Have a New Toy

2009-01-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

This may not be the most interesting blog I've ever posted, but I wanted to share my latest excitement for home care. I just bought myself a steam cleaning machine and I've been having a LOT of fun with it. I was shopping in Costco last week and it jumped out at me and said "You have to buy me because your house will be so much cleaner if you have me helping you!" With that, I couldn't resist so it jumped in my cart and I brought it home. I must admit, it has been pretty fun. There is an attachment for grout and I've been using it on the kitchen floors. I thought the grout in our new kitchen was supposed to be dark grey, but much to my surprise (and disgust) it's actually supposed to be light grey. Yuck! Here are the before and after pictures.

This is what my floor looked like before steaming the grout.

And this is what it looked like after. Isn't it amazing?

Here is a shot where you can see what I've done and what I haven't done in the same picture.

This machine is basically as close as I can get to a power washer for inside the house (and you all know how much I love my power washer). It also came with attachments for windows, floors and wallpaper removal.

No, I'm not selling them, I've just spent my entire day using it and liked it.

If anyone has yucky grout I can clean for you, just let me know. :0)

Monster Jam

2009-01-24T15:24:00.000-05:00

We live in West Virginia now, so we felt it was our duty as good citizens of the great state of West Virginia to attend a monster truck rally. It was tons of fun and except for the noise, I have no complaints.

This picture was taken right about the same time that Joseph's jaw dropped open with shock in the amazing spectacle he was beholding. Joseph has long been a fan of big trucks, so it was as if the mother ship had called him home. He was in heaven!

Ben loved it, too, but thought it was a bit noisy so he used ear plugs. What a cutie!

Ben ended up falling asleep towards the end (with all that noise-I was shocked, but then again, he's always lived with a lot of noise). When Ben woke up on the way to the Metro, he was sad that he'd missed the end, but felt better when I told him I'd video taped the end so he wouldn't miss it. It was a fun night out as a family. Our next adventure is going to be taking the kids to the Circus. They saw the signs all around while we were at Monster Jam. I remember going several times as a kid to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, so I just can't resist when the very same Circus will be coming next month. I can hardly wait!

I Love Word Girl

2009-01-15T12:22:00.000-05:00

Word Girl is a show that my children like to watch on PBS, and thanks to Word Girl, I just heard Joseph say the greatest thing.

Joseph: Do you know what 'depulsive' means?

Emily: No

Me: Do you mean 'impulsive'?

Joseph: No, 'depulsive'-it means "awful, horrible, or unpleasant"

I then realized that he ment 'repulsive' and also found a new appreciation for television that instead of turning my children into zombies stairing at the tv, actually teaches them some great things! Yeah PBS!

A Very Kennedy Christmas and A Happy New Year

2009-01-07T07:03:00.000-05:00

We've had so much fun lately, I haven't even had time to post an entry. Christmas was great! My mom, step-dad Ron and my little sister Libby came for Christmas. It was really nice to have them here! Ron made me the most beautiful set of blown glasses with a matching pitcher. I love them!

This next one is the quintessential Christmas morning picture of all the kids on the stairs before going down for presents. Ben wasn't happy that we woke him up (it didn't matter what reason), Jenna's busy fixing her hair for the picture, and Joseph is already asking to see how the picture turned out (but I'm sure none of your children do that:-) We did end up with a very nice picture of Emily holding our "Santa Bunny." Jenna bought our pet rabbit this outfit for Christmas and couldn't wait to torture her with it:-)

The wrapping paper was as much fun to play in as the toys!

Our New Year's Eve was a lot of fun, too. My brother, Tom and his wife Megan came to visit with their 4 children. The cousins all had a wonderful time playing and spending so much time together. My dad, the Pop-Pop, had lots of fun with getting to see his grandchildren all together. The kids LOVE their Pop-Pop, and they LOVE each other, too. Here is Jenna with her cousin Beth.

New Year's Day also brought some fun. We had a huge housewarming party to welcome all of our friends, both new and old, to our new home in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It was so fun to have so many of our wonderful friends come up from Maryland, and it was great to see them.

We hope you all have a happy, healthy and safe New Year!

Katie's Favorite Things

2008-12-30T14:56:00.000-05:00

I have found the greatest websites, both recently and previously that I absolutely love and I can't wait to share them with you.

Pandora.com
It's a personal, online free radio. You just type in a favorite song, or band and they instantly put together a play list for you including songs that relate to what you entered.

ldsjournal.com
It's new this year and it's a free. It's my new favorite way to journal, and the best thing is you can have it compiled into a book after a while. It makes keeping my personal history much easier. This site was suggested to me by my sister-in-law, Megan, and I love it! They even send you reminder emails if it's been a few days since you've added an entry.

sugardoodle.net
I love this to help with anything for church. I'm the primary music director and it's going to be a great help for music times.

I hope you enjoy checking out these fun websites!

More Pictures of Our New House!

2008-12-28T20:57:00.001-05:00

I've been promising for a while now that I would get some pictures of our new house on my blog. Well the long awaited day has finally arrived. This is our new home. We love living here with all the space and beautiful scenery. The neighbors are really great and I've already been to 2 parties at our neighbors homes. They're all really welcoming and friendly.

This is a picture of our home from the road.

This is our family room. We enjoyed having our first "real" fireplace this Christmas so Santa could come down the chimney and see that our "stocking were hung by the chimney with care." No one received any coal in their stockings, though many threats were made.

This is my new kitchen. I love the color that Andy painted it. He spent so much time painting the whole main floor and did a beautiful job! In my new kitchen, the gas stove is on the island and the double wall oven (which I've always dreamed of) is on the wall next to where I was standing when I took this picture. These bar stools are great for when the kids grab a snack or a quick bowl of cereal in the morning. We have 4 stools so that each one of them has their own spot (we can't let Ben and Joseph sit next to each other on them because Ben fell off his stool yesturday under suspicious circumstances while Joseph was next to him.)

This is our bedroom. Can you believe it? There's a gas fireplace?! I love it! One of our favorite features is the laundry shoot that runs from my bedroom to the laundry room on the main floor. It doubles as a quick "toy elevator" and also works very well to yell for mom when she's in her bedroom. The intercom system has also become the kids own built-in walkee talkees. It just a big playhouse!

This is the view from the balcony in our bedroom. Isn't it spectacular? We own about 6 acres of the trees that you can see, which the children have great plans for. Tree houses, camping spots, hiking trails, secret forts...it's exactly why we fell in love with this home.

More will come as we complete more rooms. Soon you'll get to see the den (how exciting!)

House Pictures

2008-12-22T11:12:00.001-05:00

I finally have a few pictures of the inside of the house that I can share with you.

Here is the Living Room and Dining Room.

I'll take some more pictures and post them soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Animal Science "Joseph Style"

2008-12-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

I officially have the funniest kids in the world living in my house. I was cleaning the kitchen the other day while Joseph was playing with a truck in the family room. Out of the blue and for no reason at all he says, "Mommy, are snakes tails with faces."
I guess snakes do kind of look like tails with faces on them and I hadn't thought about it before. He'll probably grow up to be a famous snake scientist:-)

Ben's First Attempt At Cooking

2008-12-15T17:34:00.000-05:00

I have a very independent, mini Emeril Lagasse on my hands. On Monday evening, an hour before Andy was expected home from work, Ben came to me with a box of Macaroni and Cheese and asked if I'd make it for him. I told him we'd have it for dinner (thank goodness I finally got the handyman to get our stove up and running just that afternoon). He seemed OK with waiting because he walked away and I didn't hear from him again. That is until I heard the microwave oven running. I quickly ran over to the kitchen and asked Ben, who was standing on a chair with his hand near the microwave buttons (caught red-handed). He said, "Me making Macaroni and Cheese!" with a huge, adorable smile on his face. I quickly opened the microwave door and took out the bowl of Ben's attempt to make his own dinner. He'd pushed a kitchen chair over to the counter, climbed up and took a small cereal bowl out of the cabinet. He then used the counter to open the box of Mac & Cheese, put about a dozen raw macaroni noodles in the bowl, then opened the packet of cheese and spilled most of it on the floor, and sprinkled the rest on top of the macaroni noodles in the bowl. He then pushed his chair across the kitchen, opened the microwave and put the bowl in. What I took out was burned, raw macaroni noodles sprinkled with orange cheese powder. Not very appetizing, but then again, it was his first attempt. All I could do was laugh and take a picture, then I immediately started a pot of water to boil for another box of Mac & Cheese. The positive side to his first cooking project? It can only get better from here.

I Have Become the Little Mermaid

2008-12-13T17:05:00.000-05:00

No, I have not sprouted fins or started wearing a shirt souly comprised of sea shells. Nor have I dyed my hair a very bright shade of red. But after trying to organize my kitchen, I can confidently say "I have gadgets and gizmos aplenty. I have whozits and whatzits galore. You want thingamabobs? I've got 20!"

Why is it that each and every kitchen chore has it's very own tool. I have succumbed to the pressure to be a Pampered Chef. Well, I am calling for a kitchen gadget revolution. After living for the last several months without these said gadgets and gizmos while we've been in the moving process, I have learned how to chop onions without the help of the Pampered Chef Food Chopper. I have learned to separate egg whites and yolks the good old fashion way like my Grandmother does it, without the help of an egg separator. I have become accustomed to washing spatulas and cooking spoons when they become dirty, instead of using 5 during the course of one baking session. I have used towels as hot pads & pot holders and forks as whisks. I have peeled and sliced my own apples without the help of the Pampered Chef Apple-Corer-Peeler-Slicer and sliced my own tomatoes without a Mandolin. I have come to the conclusion that we can successfully run our kitchen with 1 dish towel, 1 wooden spoon, 1 fork, 1 spatula, a very sharp knife and a can opener.

Housewives of the 21st Century, I say we throw down the shackles of gadgets that bind us!

(as soon as Christmas baking season is over:-)

Settling In

2008-12-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

We live in the most beautiful place in the world. I woke up this morning to Emily pulling on my arm saying "Look Mommy, the sunrise!" Right out my bedroom window, over the Blue Ridge Mountains was the most beautiful sunrise I'd ever seen. The sunsets are spectacular as well. When there are wispy clouds in the sky, they'll turn bright pink and cover the whole sky. I love looking out my window and seeing mountains and trees. This is a great place to live.

We went to our new ward yesterday, and everyone was so welcoming. It seemed like everyone there came up to me at some point and introduced themselves. One wonderful woman offered to bring us dinner that evening (it was delicious!), and another family invited us over for dinner tonight. The women all organized themselves into an army and came over this morning and helped me get my home in order. The kitchen is set-up, the kid's rooms are getting more organized and even the Christmas Tree was put together. It's so nice to feel so welcomed and loved. I love this church-no matter where you move, you have friends.

A Quick Update...

2008-11-29T17:01:00.000-05:00

Just to get you all up to speed. We're in Harpers Ferry drowning in a sea of paint, carpeting and soap suds. The kids are loving every minute and Andy and I are excited about this chance to make this house our very own. The pool has been power washed, and refilled and looks wonderful-we can hardly wait for summer. The boys actually ask quite frequently if we can go swimming-I think we have a couple of polar bears in our family. We've been quite the spot for fun for the neighborhood kids, and I'm so glad for it. Yesterday, the 10 year old boy up the street said, "The people who used to live here were really mean, but you guys are AWESOME!!" I'm glad the kids feel like they can come over and play, I'm sure to turn in to the true neighborhood mom, baking cookies and all.

I hope to add pictures soon. The movers are coming on Monday and we'll take pictures as rooms are set up. Until then, back to the cleaning bucket:-)

A Joseph Story

2008-11-26T07:35:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if Joseph is so entertaining because he was born that way, or because he's a 4 year old boy, but he sure makes me laugh. At church this past Sunday, we were sitting in a row next to one of Joseph's favorite friends, Ben Petrini. They were sitting right next to each other and were actually being pretty quiet. Well, Joseph was having a little snack of dry cereal and he says to Ben Petrini, "Do you want some Tutti-Fruities?" (This is the store-brand of Fruit Loops). Ben then says, "Those aren't Tutti-Fruities, those are Fruit Loops!" Joseph then says, "No, these are Tutti-Fruities, but they won't make you toot!" He actually said it loud enough that most of the row behind us heard him and were laughing pretty hard. You gotta love the funny things kids say. I'm just glad I have this blog to keep them and not forget them.

A Night Out, And Quite the Adventure

2008-11-21T02:56:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to post everyday, so here we go. In my opinion, it's still Thursday because I haven't been to bed yet. Technically, though, it's Friday at 3am. I know what you're thinking-"What in the world is she doing up at 3am?" Well, I just got home from a VERY fun night out with my friends. It was quite the adventure. I'd spent the whole day cleaning our new house with Andy, and came back to Germantown just in time to jump in the shower and get ready for my fun night out. We all met at my friend Maricelle's house for a book discussion (The Goose Girl-very cute). We were have a great time, when the discussion suddenly went to Saturday Night Live skits they'd seen recently that were especially funny. We pulled out the computer and started watching some clips on the Internet of SNL doing Sara Palin and Hilary Clinton (hilarious). Well, I guess some of us were laughing too hard, because all of a sudden, one of the women (who happened to be 9 months pregnant) said that her water just broke. Thank you SNL. If you ever talk to a very pregnant woman needing a tip to go into labor, just show them some clips of Saturday Night Live. That'll do the trick. She wanted to just drive herself home, but the 10 mothers in the room wouldn't hear of it. I drove her back to her house in her car while a friend followed. It was pretty exciting. After we got back to the house, the rest of us went out to The Green Turtle and had the yummiest chocolate fudge brownie sundae, and other fantastic appetizers and desserts. This was all leading up to seeing the movie we'd all been waiting for-Twilight-which opened at 12:01am. We all loved it and had so much fun. The only thing I didn't like about it was the previews before the movie-they were pretty scary! I loved Twilight, though, of course. On the way home, we had some more excitement, but for my dear friend Allison's sake, I won't give any details. Let's just say the police were involved but she didn't end up getting a ticket and we'll leave it at that. All in all, it was a very fun day.

PS While at the theater, we took guesses on when we thought Carrie's baby would arrive. He ended up being born at about 1:30am and his name is Isaac (thought we think he should be named Edward since he was born during the world premier of Twilight:-)

THE BIG DAY!

2008-11-19T08:08:00.001-05:00

I did the title in all capitols because I feel like jumping around and yelling. I'm so excited that the day has finally come that we are buying our new home. We're going up to Harpers Ferry to order carpeting at noon, then we're doing our final walk through at 1pm, and we'll close on the house at 3pm. We're going to go out to dinner with the kids to celebrate, then "camp out" at the new house tonight. We'll build a fire and have a fun first night in our new home.

Tomorrow, we have the satellite company hooking up the TV (top priority:-) and some guys coming to clean out all the air ducts in the house. The previous family had cats, and since the kids and I are allergic, we're having the ducts cleaned, too, to be sure all the cat hair and dander is out of the system. We're having a cleaning lady come to clean the kitchen and bathrooms on Friday, and new carpeting going in on Saturday while we start painting. It's all so busy and exciting!

Tomorrow night, we'll come back to Germantown because I'm going out with the girls! We're meeting for a book group, then we're going out to a restaurant called the Green Turtle for dessert and going to the midnight showing of Twilight. Oh, boy! I hope I have time to run to the mall to get my "Edward" shirt:-)

Winter's Just Around the Corner

2008-11-18T22:44:00.001-05:00

We saw our first signs of winter today. When we woke up, Andy's car was covered with ice. Then, at around noon, the kids started yelling "It's snowing! It's snowing!" I looked outside and low-and-behold, there were flurries. They wanted to go out and play in the "snow" but it stopped quickly. Joseph started crying because he wanted to play in the snow with his Daddy. I promised them that before they knew it, we would be in West Virginia with all the snow we can wish for.

The day has finally come. Tomorrow, November 19, we buy our new home in Harpers Ferry. I can't wait! I'll take before and after pictures so you can see what we do with paint and decorating. What an exciting time!!!!

Presidential Security According to a 4-Year-Old

2008-11-17T13:19:00.000-05:00

Have you heard that President Bush spends a lot of time at Camp David? Well, he does (and I would, too if I were him). We often see the presidential helicopters passing over Germantown on Fridays and Mondays from the President's weekend break. On the way to Burger King today, we saw the president passing over on his way back to DC. I pointed the helicopters out to the kids and told them that the President was in one of them and the other had a bunch of Secret Service security guards. They asked why the president had guards, and I told them that some bad people want to try to hurt the president because he's such an important man. Joseph then said, "I want to be a guard! I want to be in the Secret Service!" I told him he'd be a great secret service agent and that he could definitely do that when he grew up. He them told us all, "When I'm a secret service agent, I'll just walk up to the people and say, 'Are you a good guy or a bad guy?' If it's a good guy, I'll let him in and if it's a bad guy I'll fight him." If it were only that simple.

Raising Children is Like...

2008-11-16T21:19:00.000-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Sharpee Permanent Markers. On the one hand, they're really useful for labeling everything from lunchboxes to pool toys, and the writing will never come off. But that's the problem, the writing will never come off. My dear son, who shall remain nameless but his name starts with a "J" took a permanent black marker and made a very thick line across his bedroom wall and closet door. When Ben did this on my new office desk, it came off pretty easily with Windex. Windex doesn't work on walls and doors as well. We scrubbed at it with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and it may look OK after some paint for the walk-through tomorrow for the family buying our house.

My mother used to have a sign hanging in her house that said "Raising children is like being pecked to death by a duck" I would like to add that trying to keep a clean house while raising children is like trying to build a sandcastle while the waves are crashing in. Or trying to shovel snow during a blizzard. Or trying to bail out a sinking boat. You get the picture, and I'm sure you all can sympathize. Suffice it to say that the only time our house is truly clean is when I take the kids to visit my mom in the summer and Andy is home alone. But, a wonderful and very wise mother sent me this poem once, and I'll share it with you.

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows, little smudges on the door;
I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children and we played & laughed & read;
And if the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other;
I want to be a housewife--but first I'll be a Mother.
author unknown

So while I'm at this time of motherhood, I'll just focus on the most important thing, and that's loving and enjoying the children. One day, I'll have a very clean house, and I'll wish I had children around to mess it up.

Does anyone need anything from K-Mart?

2008-11-15T15:58:00.000-05:00

I am amazed with technology. You can buy anything you want or need by just sliding a plastic card through a machine and signing a piece of paper. You get into Disney World with a thumb print scanner (after you've mortgaged your house to pay for the tickets first, of course). It blows my mind. Today, I had two close encounters with amazing technology. I was on the phone with our satellite TV company and asked them to upgrade our DVR. I don't know how I ever watched TV without a digital video recorder. I've thought the one we have is amazing because it could store 25 hrs of TV shows, but the one we're upgrading to has the space to store 150 hrs! I was shocked! I'll never have to erase an episode of NCIS so Andy can tape the WVU football game again. Hurray!

My other brush with the future was at K-Mart. I know, not the place you'd first think to come in contact with the latest technology but I am living in Montgomery County, Maryland (for now) so stay with me. Many of you are familiar with the ultra-fun shopping carts they have at grocery stores that have a car on the front for your kids to sit in and pretend to drive while you push the cart through the store. At K-Mart in Gaithersburg, Maryland they have gone one step further. They have shopping carts with cars on the front for your kids to sit in, that have a built-in television for your kids to watch while you shop. I guess this is the byproduct of DVD players in every mini-van so kids can't be brought to school without watching a movie on the way. Now, we need TV for them to watch while we are shopping. Personally, I think it's the best idea to come to shopping since debit cards and I'll shop there everytime I need to take my children along. I actually want to come up with an excuse to go there so I can just walk around the store while they watch the cool car-TV. Does anyone need anything from K-Mart?

Joseph "Martha Stewart" Kennedy

2008-11-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

I am up to my eyeballs in paint samples. I love it when I walk into a house and you see color on the walls. Well, the new house has nothing but white walls-to me, a blank canvas. Now I just need to decide what colors to paint them. We've had light tan walls for about a year now, with a red living room and tan & red dining room.

I've loved it, but I don't want to just do the same thing in the new house. I'm sure that as soon as I walk into it on Wednesday, the walls will speak to me (creatively speaking of course) and I will know exactly what to do.

As far as the kids rooms go-they don't like white walls either. The only problem is getting them to make up their minds. Emily and Jenna will share a room, but Jenna wants her half to be Tinker Bell and Emily wants her half to be High School Musical (you gotta love Disney). We'll see how that turns out. Hopefully I can convince them to agree on what they've had for room decor in their current room, a light blue wall with a tree and flowers.

The boys are a whole other ballgame. Ben will go along with whatever Joseph wants, but Joseph wants too many different things. The downfall of being able to paint just about anything is that the kids end up wanting just about everything. Joseph wants a camping room, with outer space on the ceiling, with talking race cars, Transformers flying and a Lightening McQueen bed. Ben just says "Me Too!"

This is what their room looks like in our Germantown house.

I'll let you know how this all turns out-at least it will be interesting, and I love interesting.

Carpet Shopping or The Kennedy Kids Home Depot Experience

2008-11-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I used to love watching those old Bullwinkle cartoons from the 50's and 60's with my Dad. I always loved how they gave two options for the title of the episode. One old episode that would be appropriate for the weather we've been having is "Below Zero Heroes or I Only Have Ice for You."

Which brings me to the title of this blog. "Carpet Shopping or The Kennedy Kids Home Depot Experience." Last night, Andy and I ventured out to Home Depot to decide on which carpeting we would like in our new home. Since Emily is not yet 12 and I gave our full time nanny the evening off*, we loaded up the mini-van and headed to the store. It was surprising to me how many comments I received about the number of children I have "Wow! You brought the whole family didn't you? or Boy-you have quite a few kids!" I actually have never thought I had that many children-when you go to church with the Vincents who have 9 kids, 4 doesn't seem like that many. Plus, I have a whole 2 years between each of my kids, unlike my saint-of-a-sister-in-law who had 4 kids in 3 1/2 years (I love you Megan-you're amazing!)

So anyway, we made it to the carpet section and finally found someone who worked there (I know, a small miracle). My boys were thoroughly entertained by the giant machine that moves the rolls of carpeting around. My girls had a lovely time choosing small 4 in square carpet samples to take home for their Barbie dolls, and Andy and I chose some really nice, squishy carpeting that passed the stocking feet test. Yes, we actually put a sample of carpet padding on the floor with carpet samples on top and took off our shoes to have a feel-it's the only way to really know what you'll be walking on in your home. We successfully chose all of the carpeting with only minor bribery of McDonald's ice cream on the way home, and one stop at the Christmas section to set off every musical/light up decoration they sold.

If any of you have never had such a fun experience at your local Home Depot, I'd be glad to let you bring my 4 kids next time to help you in your shopping. It will probably only cost you an extra $6 in McDonald's ice cream.

Until next time...

Katie

*Blog Note: Yes, you remember correctly, Emily is only 8 and no I don't really have a nanny (though if any of you want to suggest it to Andy, and I would much appreciate it)

I'd like to oppologize for any spelling errors in this blog. My spelling skills are nothing compared to my vocabulary and it's impossible for them to keep up.

A New Chapter

2008-11-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

How exciting! I've always enjoy reading my dear friend Corinne's blog, and now I've taken her example and have started my own. The thing that really encouraged me was when I just read her blog about turning it all into a book and how her children enjoy hearing about what they've done in the past that was exceptionally funny. (And Corinne's kids ARE exceptionally funny). I want to have all of these wonderful things recorded, too. I think it's a great thing to keep these thoughts and memories to always look back on, and whether or not many people read it (though I'm sure the grandparents will:-) I'm sure these ramblings will be treasured in time.

Now, for the title of this blog. "A New Chapter." We're taking a huge step in our lives and have sold our home in Germantown, MD and are buying a home in Harpers Ferry, WV. I think what ended up pushing us to this decision was that our children are getting older. They're now 2,4,6 & 8, and we needed to decide where we are going to raise them, in the city or in the country. Andy and I are country folks at heart and given the choice, we want to raise them in the country. We'll be 40 minutes from where we live now, so hopefully will keep in touch with the dear friends we love so much.

We've lived in Germantown for over 10 years now. When we moved here, Andy and I were newlyweds, and Andy was starting his first "grown-up job." I graduated from Montgomery College and we started our family. Emily was our first and when she was 6 months old we moved into our brand new home. Jenna, Joseph and Benjamin each came along every two years, keeping us busy and very happy. I feel like I've grown up here, because I really did. I came here a kid and now I'm a wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister. I've served in callings that have pushed me forward spiritually, like Young Women's President and wife of a seminary teacher (yes that's a calling, too:-) and Primary Presidency Counselor. I've learned from truly great priesthood leaders and have had my testimony of our church blossom and grow. I am so much a better person for having lived in the Quince Orchard Ward, and I'm so grateful for everyone I've served with and known there.

And now for a new chapter. Next week we buy our house in Harpers Ferry, WV. It has a breathtaking view and all the fresh air you could ever want. There are more stars there at night than I knew were up there-it's amazing. It will be an adventure. I'll keep you posted...