How Hungry is YOUR Caterpillar?

This week we have been studying Eric Carle in our classroom. We're growing our very own butterflies so it seemed the perfect time to pull out The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as well as some of Carle's other amazing critter books. We studied how Eric Carle makes his illustrations - by first painting an entire page, adding some texture and then later collaging. The kids had the BEST time making their caterpillars and I must admit - they turned out pretty darn cute.

Our wall of fame.

Painting our paper.

Adding texture with sponges, bubble wrap and even a bouncy ball!

If this caterpillar eats as much as my kids, he'll be a butterfly in no time!

In other news, we got out of our lease at our current house early so we have to rock and roll with packing and moving. We close on the townhouse June 22nd (EEP!) and need to be out of here by the 30th. If anyone feels a strong desire to help paint or move let us know!!

Happy Birthday Bubby!

Today is my Bubby's 32nd birthday. Mama and Daddy went up last night to make him a birthday dinner and I was so jealous - I wanted to be there too. He specifically told me in a text message that I was not invited and he was Batman. That's my Jeff.

I wish I lived closer to him. But I get to go to Pittsburgh at the end of July to go to the Tom Petty concert with him. It was our wedding gift. How AWESOME is that?? I want Tom Petty tickets for every event!!

So happy happy happy birthday to my big brother to whom I am indebted for a large majority of my health and happiness. :-)

Best Husband EVER

Let me preface this post by stating that although I believe Christopher to be the best husband EVER, I have never had another husband and therefore have nothing with which to compare him. ANYWAY, today was a horrible, no good, very bad day at work. My kids were out of control. I realize there are 17 days of school left (1 being field day and 1 being a half day) but still. They are little monsters. And on top of the general increase of behavioral issues, I had a few bigger and more serious things to deal with as well with one of my little ones. I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the day and could not get out of that building quickly enough. Unfortunately, the Jeep kirked out again and was in the shop so I had to wait on Christopher to pick me up.

By the time he got there I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry myself to sleep. And then I saw it. My birthday present. Yes, my birthday was over a week ago but between the United States Postal Service and Christopher's restaurant (where the package was addressed) it ended up being sent BACK to the seller and then had a few more missed deliveries once it got in town. What a mess. Needless to say it would have been here on my birthday but I'm kind of glad it came today. I really needed something to cheer me up. And... it just happened to be something pink.

My very own pink Longchamp tote. Oh I love him I love him I love him. (A bit of credit due to my sister here for helping with the idea. High five, Mo!) The picture does not do it justice. The pink is so perfectly rosy and it matches the leather so well. And it was just sitting on the seat waiting for me. "Kristi... come load me with wallets and books and cell phones and sunglasses..." Ok, now I'm getting a little out of control. But I am obsessed. I haven't been using my blue Kate Spade purse lately because it's been raining and it doesn't have a closed top. NOW I can take my Longchamp bag to work tomorrow since I can just zip that puppy right up and keep away the rain. :-)

Speaking of my sister, she is the only person who actually got me a gift and card (sent separately) that both arrived on my birthday. And, again, something pink and lovely and better yet - Lilly.

Again, the photo does not show the true beauty of this thermal mug. The pattern is called "crabtastic" and that about sums up my mood in the morning before I get a full cup of joe in my system. The kids LOVE it. They are so funny about my coffee habits. "Miss Minsterman, your coffee smells delicious." "Miss Minsterman, you spilled your coffee AGAIN?!?" They were so excited that I went from boring brushed silver to this beauty. It's good too because Stephanye comes home in about five weeks and I've been using her travel mug since she left for Israel. Now I have my very own... in my wedding colors too! :-)

This weekend Christopher will be working (as usual) so I'm going to visit my cousin Julie in Warrenton. Julie's kids Seth and Sadie were both in the wedding: Seth a junior usher (walked my mom down the aisle) and Sadie the flower girl. My family from Maryland - Tom, Lori, Jake (reader in the ceremony) and Lindsey (bridesmaid) have decided to go spend the day with Julie so I'm going up as well. I can't wait. These are some of my favorite people in the WORLD. Lori and Tom took me in and let me live with them for three months while I was in the hospital. I can't explain my love for them. And with all the stress that has been swimming around here lately, I need to get out of town!

Julie and a very sleepy Seth.

Sadie after breakdancing the entire night.

"Mo-gan" is retying her sash.

So I got a LITTLE excited to see Tommy during the bridal dance. I think I almost knocked him over.

My boy Jakey.

I swear she's only 15 and yes, has survived a brain tumor.

Hopefully some fantastic stories and photos to come after the weekend. Hooray!! :-)

One Rowdy Reception

About 1/4 of the Graft clan.

Coe stopped by today to drop off the second half of the wedding photos. Although my look went to crap by the end of the night, the pictures are a FANTASTIC visual representation of how much fun we all had. I get exhausted just looking through them. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family and friends. I wish I could explain the feeling.

Christopher and I have had a rough week. There have been some issues with our mortgage - which is really frustrating considering we close on our house in five weeks. We're fighting to get through them and get the details straightened out. Pray that it all ends well and we get into our house on time (and with a mortgage!)

Here are a few shots of the reception. It makes me happy to look at them; such awesome memories. Again, all photos are up on the picasa site! :-)

(P.S. I am now 28. My birthday was a drag this year, which is very unlike me - but I just have to wait another year and another one will come along).

500 Shots TO START!

Our fabulous wedding photographer, Coe Sweet, dropped off the first 500 of our photos yesterday. He took a total of 1800 shots but said he will narrow it down to 1000 - 500 from the ceremony and "formal" photos and 500 from the reception. I have no idea how in the world I'm going to make an album out of all of these AMAZING photographs. I have uploaded 200/500 onto the picasa site but here are just a few that I love. Thank you, Coe - we love you!!!

Hooray for May!

May is finally here and that means MY BIRTHDAY and getting closer and closer to summer vacation. Our house is supposed to be finished early to mid-June so that's just around the corner too. I'm so excited about so many things that I can't even think straight. (Nor can I get anything productive accomplished!)

My birthday is a week from Tuesday and anyone who knows me is well aware that I am OBSESSED with my birthday. I love it. I'm not one of those people who goes into this big depressive state, "wah, I'm a year older, wah." No sir. Not here. I get so excited to be a different age and I look forward to a year filled with new experiences. Seriously - while I was 27 I got my first teaching job, bought a house, and got married. KIND OF A BIG YEAR. We'll see what happens at 28... (One of my kids thought I was turning 18, bless his heart).

Birthday 27.

Tomorrow we head over to the house to do our "pre-drywall walkthrough." I'm not sure exactly what all that entails but I know a) we get to walk through the house again - legally this time, and b) we get to show them where we want cable outlets and stuff. It's also the date that we can begin to lock in our interest rate on our mortgage. Let the games begin. Rates have been hovering around 5% so it looks good but we'll see.

April 30th.

I've been talking to Steph a lot online about our new houses. (Her apartment is right behind our townhouse). We've been "designing" the layouts with furniture we don't yet own, and dreaming about semi-affordable furnishings. CGH gave me the go-ahead on this Pottery Barn bedroom set that I have been DROOLING over for months. Unfortunately we realized we still have to pay the downpayment on our house so it looks like we'll have to wait until our tax credit arrives. But how beautiful...

Images from PotteryBarn.com

Luckily Steph and Regev are coming home from Israel with NOTHING so I can hand off all my current dishes, pots and pans, silverware, glasses, etc. to her and know they're going to be put to good use. We haven't unpacked any of the gifts from the wedding - they'll be easier to move and then we can make a fresh start with Pottery Barn dishes. Wee!

I.LOVE.MAY. I love it, love it, love it. It's such a fantastic month. Let's see what it has in store for us!!