Honey, Where is My Cup?

Notice that the cup is EMPTY. Why, oh why, can’t I just wash it??

I hear it every day. Multiple times a day. “Honey, have you seen my cup?”

“Was it one of the empty ones on the table?”

“Yes”

“Then I put it in the dishwasher.”

“Awwww! I was still using that cup!”

I don’t get it. But when he went to the lengths of scrawling on a napkin “ACTIVE CUP! Please do not wash!” I figured that even though it made no sense to me, it was important to him.

An empty cup should be on this side. Or, ideally, simply put to wash by the drinker.

Today I made him a little something to help both of us. A coaster, of sorts, just for him. And the other side has an “all clear message” (with a bit of a reminder to him that that side isn’t actually necessary).

I printed two pages with both, folded in half, and ran the two cards through the laminator. Quick trim and … voila! No more “lost” empty cups. If you’re just dying to make one, I’ve attached the pdf (Leave this cup alone PDF). Let me know if my husband isn’t the only one always trying to hang onto empty cups.

What Did the Dohls Do in 2012?

It was a busy year. New schedules, new schools, new job, new travel destinations… there is never  a dull moment! We had a year where we made full use of our passes to the zoo, Busch Gardens, Children’s Museum of Richmond and Shenandoah (at least for Keith hiking!) Here’s a little look back at some of what the Dohls did in 2012:

January

Kourey discovered Spider-Man “and his Amaaaaaaazing Friends!”

Katherine went to the Elvis at 21 exhibit at VMFA with Belinda (and saw this guy… that’s clearly not Belinda)

All January posts

February

Katherine went to see “The Lion King” Broadway in Richmond with Kris – amazing!

Keith joined Facebook, and promptly became addicted to Words With Friends

Keith took the girls to the Beauty & the Beast Father/Daughter Dance

All February posts

March

Katherine started appliqueing

We kicked off the Busch Gardens season with St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

Kaitlyn performed “Arise, My Love” with the God Rod Squad at church before the Passover Seder (and also at the Easter Egg Hunt)

All March posts

April

Keith took Kaitlyn to the Girl Scout Father/Daughter Dance (that Katherine designed the patch for!)

Kaitlyn and Kourey were introduced to baseball at the Flying Squirrels season opening series. It was a hit.

We got a new camera. Wheee!

Katherine started a new job at Trinity UMC

Katherine and a group of ladies filled a bus to go to Winston-Salem for the annual Junior League Rummage Sale – and got to hang with Grandmama and Aunt Jean, too!

Keith & Katherine celebrated their anniversary with their customary anniversary hike – this year with wild ponies!

All April posts

May

Kaitlyn and Kourey showed off their singing chops at the Sing for Spring concert

Keith and Katherine rocked out with the Richmond Symphony presenting the music of Queen.(Hey, it’s one way to get Keith to the Symphony!)

Katherine discovered meringue pies. Keith helped eat the discovery.

The girls showcased their dance skills at the “Gone Country” dance recital. Kaitlyn did a tap routine to “Girls’ Night Out” and a jazz routine to “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” (a country remake on the “Footloose” soundtrack); Kourey did a ballet routine to an instrumental lullaby “Old MacDonald”

All May posts

June

Kaitlyn finished up 1st Grade with a Dinosaur Project; “Stegosaurus could have been purple with pink spots… no one knows!”

Kaitlyn and Kourey journeyed to NC with Grandmama for Camp Sunshine/Camp Gingerbread

We joined them at Grandmama and Papa’s for a family visit to NC- including trips to Old Salem, Tweetsie Railroad and the Spencer Train Museum, plus visiting with Uncle David and Uncle Stephen!

All June posts

July

Kaitlyn and Kourey VBSed it at Trinity UMC, then FamJam-ed it at our home church, MPBC, with “The Pirates of the I-Don’t-Care-ibbean”

We refinanced our house – just 10 more years until the mortgage burning party, y’all!

We visited Nana & Pop in PA – including daytripping to Dutch Wonderland, bowling with the Joneses and picnicking with the Simas

Kaitlyn and Kourey began their obsession with Olympics – especially Team USA Beach Volleyball and Swimming

All July posts

August

We went to to Walt Disney World!

Katherine got another year older. Macauley Culkin got the same year older. It’s weird how that happens every year.

All August posts

September

We went to the Craft Family Reunion weekend at White Lake, NC – and Papa won his little Rapunzel-loving granddaughters’ hearts all over again by bringing floating lanterns

Kaitlyn started 2nd grade and Kourey started Pre-K.

Girl Scouts started up, with Kaitlyn as a new Brownie and Kourey as a Daisy.

All September posts

October

Katherine went to the E-Women conference – hung with some awesome ladies, saw Candace Cameron Bure (aka DJ Tanner), Casting Crowns, and Lysa TerKeurst (among others)

We went apple picking at Carter Mountain Orchard

Keith got switched to day shift – hooray!!!!

Keith turned… a year older

The girls rocked out their Halloween costumes: Rapunzel and Batman-as-a-girl-with-tutu (NOT to be confused with Batgirl)

All October posts

November

Kourey turned 5 with a Superhero party, complete with a Superhero Obstacle Course that was fun for kids AND adults.

Katherine and the girls waited 100 minutes in line to vote; they were rewarded with Mexican food. Keith waited less… and without company; he got no Mexican food.

Kaitlyn started Sign Language Club at school

All November posts

December

Kaitlyn turned 8 with a Rapunzel painting party that put a gaggle of girls in smocks and turned them loose with paintbrushes, acrylics and canvases in our kitchen

Kaitlyn’s class is the featured class of the month for the dance studio

Katherine sprinted to NC for the day to see Kent graduate and visit the Millerhaus

We celebrated Christmas at home, with visits from Nana & Pop (& Co.) the weekend before and from Grandmama & Papa (- Co.) the weekend after

We “rang in the New Year” with appetizers, games, a grape juice toast, New Year’s cake and a 2013 countdown…at 8:30 pm

All December posts

We Voted!

After 1 hour 40 minutes waiting in line (not to mention the hike from parking), I marked 5 ovals and cast the 1370th ballot at my polling precinct today.

The second half of the first of four legs of the line

The girls were remarkably well behaved. They read the two books they brought, then switched, then Kaitlyn read aloud. We read all of the projects on the school’s walls. We played “I’m going camping…” I braided Kaitlyn’s hair.

Hallway braid

Even though they didn’t get to cast a ballot, the girls got “I Voted” stickers for their patience. And then we celebrated our exercise of freedom with quesadillas at Don Pepe.
I remember going to vote with my mom. I don’t remember such very long lines – I joked with my sister-in-law today that when I was a kid and stood in a 2 hour line every fourth year out meant I was about to ride Space Mountain – but from a world-view that’s a very easy path to democracy. I hope my kids’ path to the poll remains easy (and maybe even quicker), but that they never mistake easy for optional or their freedom for something without cost.
Who knows when we’ll know “who won” today, but at least I know I did my part!

Posted from WordPress for Android

CMoR and Belle Island

When my mom came up for a quick visit over her spring break, we surprised the kids with an afternoon trip to the Children’s Museum (CMoR), followed by a leisurely stroll about Belle Island before we met Daddy (who was at work) for dinner. What an awesome day!

We Love WeGiveBooks.org!

We love books. The library is our friend, because we could not afford our book habit.

Recently we found a new (at least to us) resource: WeGiveBooks.org. Not only can we read books – new books, classic books, really good books – in their entirety online, but after reading the book a donation of a physical book is made to one of several worldwide literacy campaigns.

The site is backed by the Pearson Foundation, and the books available are Penguin and DK Publishers books. Some titles rotate.

Kaitlyn was thrilled to pick “Llama Llama Misses Mama” today for her reading choice, and already looks to “Skippy Jon Jones in the Doghouse” tomorrow. Both girls loved a quick read of “Mommy Loves Me” during snack.

Sing for Spring

Kourey and her friends were so excited to perform “Sing for Spring” a few weeks ago at church. The Preschool Choir put on this cute little musical (about 10 minutes), and invited their friends in the Children’s Choirs and Motion Drama team to join them in their concert.

First the preschoolers gave their performance, complete with several songs, a mini-God Rods (Holy Chopsticks??) performance, and several other props. Kris told Kourey that if she wanted ice cream she should sing loudly. As a friend of mine said “I guess she wanted TWO ice creams!”

Then the whole complement of kids joined together for a fun, fast-paced, full of motion medley called Sunday School Swing. They sang along with a video by the Go Fish Guys to this one (you can see the original Go Fish video here).

Then the kids choirs sang a few songs on their own. The picture of them above is just before they started a rendition of “Great is Thy Faithfulness” unlike any ever sung at a Gaither concert! Next the motion drama team impressed us all with a few touching performances. Then everyone broke for a sweet ice cream social.

Many many thanks to the leaders of the preschool choir – Shelly, Melody, Miranda and Christy!!

March Madness and Brackets

click for full size

Here is my (Katherine’s) picks for the NCAA tournament.

I’m sure you were curious.

• Midwest was easy (at least who was going on to FF) – Carolina will take it all this year!
• When it came down to it in the East, I could see Ohio, FSU or Syracuse going to FF, but I think FSU would take Ohio, and I just don’t want UNC to go up against FSU again in the semi-finals.
• For the South, I don’t really want UK to be the team that goes up against UNC for the final – my pastor will be a little insufferable about it whether his team wins or loses at that point! – but look at the bracket. How does UK not go to FF? And at semis, that brings me to
• The West, where I had no strong feeling about any team. I ultimately advanced MSU over Mizzou because I wanted to use green for that section to balance the colors of my brackets. It’s true. I not only did that, but I am telling you I did that.

Funny and true, I tried to get Keith to fill out brackets, just for fun, and put both of ours up. He wouldn’t do it, but said that he might just so he could put Duke going all the way and UNC falling in the first round. Okaaaay… “Won’t that make you MAD?” he asked. Why would that make me mad? I would so win! I mean, if we were actually competing. Duke all the way? THIS year? Carolina falling at 64? Just give me the imaginary wreath of laurels now.

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

Full disclaimer: I did not write this. I’m not sure who did. I copied it from another mom on Facebook, who copied it from another mom on Facebook, and so on and so on.

If you give a mom a muffin, she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

She’ll pour herself some. Her 4-year-old will spill the coffee.

She’ll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She’ll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her… she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She’ll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.

She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her 1-year-old. She’ll smell something funny. She’ll change the 1-year-old.

While she is changing the 1-year-old the phone will ring. Her 8-year-old will answer and hang up. She’ll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some.

And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Kourey’s First Day of (Play)School!

She’s had the bookbag for months now.

And today she got to use it.

Sure it just had a change of clothes (that I correctly doubted she’d need) and a little snack, but it was a backpack! (Or, in Kourean, “packpack”)

She picked out her outfit carefully the night before. Yes, that’s a school uniform jumper and blouse. No, that is not required. She just thought it looked perfect for school – especially with her cool tights from Aunt Jean.

After taking pictures with Sissy at the door, we headed for Colonial Heights. The playschool that Kourey is going to is done through the day care liscensure program at Colonial Heights High School. That’s why I call it a playschool, although the word preschool would work fine, too. Probably not K-3. Kourey can already read simple words and all that jazz; what she really needs is a way to get used to going away for the day, interacting with other kids, following teacher -led schedule… that sort of stuff… so this is perfect for her.

The students in the program take turns at different aspects of running a children’s program, so we got to talk to three teens as we checked in, paid and got Kourey’s cubby set up.  Kourey spelled her name  for the cubby-creator, which with her little Kour-ean lisp sounds like “Kay-or-you-ahwr-Eee-why”. The little lisp coupled with the admittedly unorthadox spelling of her name meant the cubby-creater paused over the name when Kourey got to the “U”. Kourey waited a second, saw the girl was thinking about it, then said “A ‘U’ looks like… here, I can show you,” and went around to help. The cubby-maker’s classmates  thought this was hilarious; I can’t say they were wrong.

When I picked Kourey up four hours later, she came running out with a princess coloring sheet from the treasure box, and a sheaf of papers about upcoming snacks and event. Fridays are show-and-tell; Kourey is excitedly planning to bring Elefante.

Happy National Punctuation Day!

Before it officially ends, I have to acknowledge National Punctuation Day (a holiday I learned about last night, but fully embrace).

For your punctuation pleasure, check out the 90s classic (at least in my family) “I Love You Period” by Dan Baird of the Georgia Satellites: