What Happened to March?

So I looked at my calendar and realized that the end of March was fast approaching.  I looked on the blog and noticed I haven't written anything since Kasia's Birthday.  So what have we been doing with our time?

Well, we went to Corolla one weekend when the weather had turned exceptionally nice.  We walked on the beach.  We picked up seashells.  We ate ice cream.  Corolla is without a doubt the best the Outer Banks has to offer.  You should all go to Corolla.  

And spend lots of money there.  The fact that our county schools benefit greatly from the tax money generated in Corolla in no way influences my decision to declare Corolla the Greatest Beach in the World!

We spent another weekend at the Virginia Aquarium with Shawn and Chatam.  Kasia had a great time looking at all the fish and turtles and sea lions.  I had a great time watching her.  We all had a great time just looking at other things, until Kasia discovered that there was a children's play area complete with a dollhouse and a play kitchen.  From that moment on, it didn't matter that there were fish anymore, because playing dollhouse is all she wanted to do.

I also got around to a project that I've been wanting to do for some time.  I painted the ceiling in our kitchen.  For two years now, I've stared at the ceiling in our kitchen and kept thinking, "Geez, that thing really needs to get painted.  I mean, you can see purple paint from the sloppy job the previous owners did."  And so, after two years, and because I'm anything but a procrastinator, I finally painted it.  Or rather, I started to paint it.  I'll finish the rest this weekend.  But it looks good.

We also took the time to refinance our mortgage.  We've only had our place for two years, but the rates dropped to a point that it would be good for us to take advantage of it.  Of course, knowing my luck, in a week the rates are going to drop to 1% and we'll be SOL.  That's just the way it is sometimes.

Next week we take Kasia to the doctor for her three year check up.  Hopefully all is well and she's as healthy as she seems.  And hopefully it will go better than her first dentist appointment.  She did not have a good time at the dentist.  Fortunately, because she kept screaming with her mouth open, the dentist was able to take a quick peak inside and see that everything looked good.  I don't know what Kasia's problem was.  I mean, this dentist's office is posh.  Every dental chair has this floating LCD tv so you can watch whatever you want while they clean your teeth.  How awesome is that?

And that just about sums up March.  Not a lot happening, but that's ok with us.  Maybe April will provide a little more excitement.  It is, afterall, Kara's Birthday Month... so that's reason to celebrate right there.  

Beach Trip to Corolla

The weather around here has been absolutely bizarre the last few weeks.  We went from snow on Kasia's birthday to the upper 70's by the end of the week.  It's 80 one day and 40 the next.  

Fortunately we had a beautiful weekend recently, and we did what any sensible family does on a nice day.  We went to the beach.

One of the beaches that I had never been to since living here is the beach up in Corolla.  It also happens to be the only beach in the county in which we live and pay taxes in.  So we decided to take a trip down and see what our beach was all about.

As I should have known, it was gorgeous.  The center piece of Corolla is the old Corolla lighthouse, which remains in its original, unpainted state.  Of course, since this is the off season, the whole place was closed and we couldn't climb to the top or anything fun like that.  But on the plus side, since it was the off season, there weren't any crowds to deal with.  

So we wandered around the lighthouse for a little while before heading across the street and spending some time collecting sea shells on the beach.  Kasia had been talking all winter about how she wanted to go to the beach, and she finally got her wish.  She even wanted to walk in the water, despite the fact that the temperature of the water was around -2 degrees.  She just loved it.  Kara hated it.  And I was too big a wimp to get my feet wet.  I mean, it was freezing.  

Then as the waves kept getting higher and higher, Kasia became obsessed with making sure our shoes and things didn't get wet.  She kept picking them up and moving them high and higher on to the beach.  

After we got all the sea shells we could carry, it was time to have a little ice cream and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.  Easier said than done however.  Apparently most of the ice cream shops in town are closed during the off season, and finding a scoop of ice cream turned out to be a rather difficult task.  We must have stopped in five different places before we finally found a coffee shop that also served ice cream cones.  

Now, as I look outside and see it rain, and know that it's in the 40's again, I find myself longing to go back to the beach again.  Hopefully next time we'll have an easier time finding some ice cream.  

Kasia Turns Three!

It's hard to believe, but Kasia is now three years old. It doesn't seem like it has been three years since she was born, but the calendar doesn't lie.
We had a small get together over the weekend to celebrate. It was nothing too big or fancy, and basically just included cake and ice cream, which is all Kasia would eat. She enjoyed getting some new toys, and loved unwrapping the presents. It's just taking her awhile adjusting to the fact that she's three. She's been going around telling everyone she's two for so long, that it just sounds wrong when she says three. She'll get it though.
For her actual birthday, we decided to really spoil her. We gave her some more presents and then took her for a late lunch to McDonald's. We got her a Happy Meal, but she didn't eat it. All she wanted was the little toy, and to be able to play in the play area for as long as she wanted. So we let her, and all day long just basically let her get away with whatever she wanted. It was kind of the poor man's birthday party, but Kasia doesn't need a lot to be happy (which is good because we don't have a lot to give her).
So the next time you see her, ask her how old she is, and hopefully she'll tell you three. I make no promises, but hopefully she'll have learned by then.

She Wears a Dress

Kasia wore a dress on Valentine's Day. It had little hearts on it and she looked really cute (as you can see). The unusual part about it was that she chose to wear the dress, we didn't make her.
Kara came down with the dress and another outfit with pants and a shirt. She made the comment, "Well, since you probably won't wear the dress, let's put this shirt on you." To this, Kasia floored us all and said, "I want to wear the dress." What?? Whose child is this?
Kara was shocked with disbelief. She asked "You want to wear the dress? This dress? This one right here?"
"Yes. I want to to wear the dress." Wow. Ok, so she wore the dress, and doesn't she look cute? Now if only she would do this with food. I could say something like, "Do you want some peanut butter?" and she would say, "I want to eat some carrots." A parent can only dream.

MINE!

Kasia is that stage in life where everything is "MINE!" The other day when we were playing at Little Birdies, she dove on to a pile of toys, like a future Medal of Honor winner diving on a land mine, and shouted "MINE!" Of course, she mean they were hers... not that they were an actual land mine or anything. She was probably still hoping for a prize though.
Then I brought my old keyboard down from the attic because I thought she would enjoy playing with it. The first thing she did was instantly declare it "MINE!" I was not allowed to touch it or show her how it worked.
"MINE! MINE! MINE!"
Fine, I said. If this is yours, then where did you buy it?
Without thought or hesitation, she immediately said, "Food Lion."
"Really? Food Lion? You bought this keyboard at Food Lion?"
She thought about it for a minute and then corrected her statement. "Dollar Tree. I got it at Dollar Tree."

Then I went to show her how to turn it on, and I was stopped with "MINE!" Fine. It's hers.