Just leaving this here.

It's good to have a sister who will hold your hand...

because you are on a walk together
because you are giggling together
because you are having a hard time
because you miss her
because you are frustrated
because you are friends, no matter the distance, no matter the fight
because you help each other.

Glad I have mine. Glad they have theirs.

Hello 2016!

Hi 2016! You have been good to us so far- so good that I haven't made the time to document much here. Here have been some of our highlights so far, since we are nearly halfway through (say what!? how did that happen?):



January: There is nothing quite like ringing in the new year with a Bunko Party at the Cutler house. So fun to have my two little experience it a little more this year (still not the Bunko part, but isn't it amazing that they slept through it!?).

February: Can you believe we had some nice enough days to squeeze a bike ride in with the bike trailer? (Thanks Miss T for that! The trailer, not the weather...) Mr. P got a year older, and when people asked my age, because he had turned 29, I aged myself early accidentally. 30 here I come! I'm ready.








March: Lot's of usual busy March stuff. Not many pictures from this house were taken in March. Oh. Except this one, which I guess it kind of a big deal. We are excited to get another sibling (sister anyone?!) for our family. Due mid-October.

April: Too many pictures to choose from in April. What a good month! A visit from my dear Australian friend, visits home to Boise, meeting my newest most adorable nephew, taking a 4-generation picture of Homer women with my G-ma and Mom and daughters, playing outside at parks, the list goes on and on.

May: Halfway through May, it's already hard to pick what to highlight here. Maybe this chalk picture does it best, because our outside play hours are picking up and changing us all for the better!



We are excited to see the rest of what you bring 2016!

XOXO
Kk

Avoiding

Hi Miss T-

Tonight I am avoiding. I tried calling you to chat so I could avoid. Just, you know. Those things that pile up at night that you know you need to do, but you just don't want to.

Dishes, laundry, making up Christmas dance recital routines, doing something with the zucchini monsters on my counter, doing something with the many tomatoes on the counter (I know. You convinced me I am capable of making tomato sauce, and I want to do that, I am just...avoiding it right now), cleaning up under the table, washing bottles and nipples, tidying, changing our closet lightbulb, doing stuff for church, more dishes and more laundry.

Yeah. Those are all the things I am avoiding right now. And I am avoiding it by choosing to document cute pictures of my girls dressed up and at a pumpkin patch. Because I remember all the times you have taken adorable pictures of your boys dressed up and/or at pumpkin patches, like this time, and this one, and this time, and this one. I LOVE IT.

So we didn't take any pictures with the nice camera, nor take the time to make sure we were in the nice scenery portion of the patch, BUT if you have cute subjects like a skeleton (thanks for the outfit!) and a cat, then it works out anyway.

Ok. I better be done avoiding now. Until next time,

KK

My American Girls

Dear Miss T,

Remember your American Girl Doll? You had Samantha, right? 

I always wanted one...but never got one (not because I wasn't loved...probably because I wanted other things more).

Well, now I have two of my very own. Meet JT and CC.

 How cute are these matchy matchy outfits?

 CC was good enough to sit still for a solo shot. 

JT didn't get a single portrait, but that's not my fault! I sure tried.

 Going for a double shot. Mmmm. Could be cuter.

Here is their furniture set you can buy with them. A couch with an all-American quilt!

What do you think? Clearly worth their own spot in the magazine catalogue.

Love, KK

We LOVE Visitors!

 


It has been a busy summer for us already.  We have had a lot of fun visitors!  We love showing off our beautiful Oregon.

The month of August is wide open - anybody else want to come visit us? We will show you a good time!

-Miss T

Super Kids #2

Happy Easter!

Aren't sisters the best?

You can always count on that younger sister to be stealing your eggs.

Sister's Blessing Day

Dear Miss T,

Today was CC's blessing day. Today she was held in the arms of her father, her two grandfathers, and an uncle, and was given God's blessing to live and thrive and love while on this earth. Her spirit is beautiful already. Her potential excites me. And I am so grateful for God's power to bless her now at the start of her life.

 The Chatterton Family

Miga and CC

CC wore the dress that Miga made and JT wore last year. It actually fit CC better at 4 months and 13 lbs than it did JT at 2 months and 9 lbs. CC smiled a lot of today. Which was equally irresistible and celestial, really. 

Miga loves your boys for sure, but I think she likes that some girls have joined the equation. JT handled the day really well- meaning she didn't seem super jealous that CC got to be the star of the day. I hope these two sisters can always be there for each other's special blessing days, and all the other non-special days too. Like you are for me.

Love, Kk

Mom Batteries

KK-

Today I drove Cub and his little friend to the Zoo.  As we were driving home I made a phone call using the bluetooth system in my car.  As I wrote about earlier - sometimes I have trouble communicating with the electronic voice making the call in my car.

After answering all of the questions, the last thing the voice said was "Phone battery low."

I heard Cub's friend giggle and say "Mom battery low."  I think he thought it really had said that.

Then I giggled because I did feel like my Mom battery was running low.  Really low.

I love being a mom, but they do wear me down at times.  My Mom battery doesn't last as long as I would like.  Some days I wish I had a longer lasting battery or a super charged one.

The good news, I guess, is that my batteries are rechargeable.  I recharge them with sleep, chocolate, stupid TV shows, a good book, the Mormon channel, exercise, and snuggles from my boys.  Right now the best thing for recharging my batteries is when Big D is home.

When he comes home, all is right again in the world.  He takes care of me and the boys so well.  And his Dad battery always seems to be charged.  Man, I am thankful for him.

Good luck with your Mom battery this week KK.  I hope you will fine ways to charge your Mom battery when it is running low.

LOVE YA!
-Miss T

One Thing Remains

KK-

This is kind of an embarrassing picture of me, but I love it.  I love it because it reminds me of how much I love my T Bear.  It reminds me that when I am frustrated, I really do have fun with my sweet T Bear.

Right now I am teaching a Just Boys Dance class for T Bear and his friends.  It is has been extremely challenging and fun for me.  At the beginning of the session, I asked each boy if there was a favorite song they would like to dance to during the session.  Some of the boys said, "Eye of the Tiger" and "Beat It." T Bear described a song that I didn't really recognize. 

After a little more questioning, I found out that it was a song from the radio that he loved.  We don't listen to the radio much, just occasionally in the car.  Awhile ago I decided that popular radio did not play content appropriate songs for my little boys.  So right now we listen to a pop Christian radio station.  It has been very uplifting, and this is where T Bear heard his favorite song.

Last week, I searched, found and bought T Bear's chosen song for class.  It is called "One Thing Remains." 

As I listened more closely to the lyrics, I was touched by the sweetness and truth they were telling my T Bear.

Here is the chorus:

"Your love never fails

It never gives up

It never runs out on me."

First of all, my love for T Bear will never run out on him.  I will always love him and will never give up on him.

Second, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love for T Bear will never fail.  Their love will always be there for T Bear no matter what path he takes in life.

I hope this song with strengthen his sweet testimony.  It was a joy that he chose this song for the dance class.  I enjoyed helping the boys be creative in picking their movement to this song.

With lots of love for T Bear

-Miss T (T Bear's Mom)

Me as a hairdresser

Dear Miss T,

In 7th grade I job shadowed Jil for a day, which was awesome because I got to skip a day of school to sit in her in-home salon and see her work all day. I wanted to be a hair dresser just lik her.

Well. I didn't actually end up pursuing that goal. But I am still a hairdresser. For Nellie.

This was just the start of her haircut. Aren't I good? 

I used to be Paul's hairdresser too, which was awful because I really didn't have training. It looked bad when I did it, and I hated doing it. Lose lose. But, since he is growing his hair out long he has become Odge's client. Thank goodness! He looks so much better. :)

Who is going to cut Ziggy's hair? If he needs a grooming when I am nearby, I will do it for free for you, as long as you can handle a chopped up look.

Love, kk

Crazy Crazy Crazy Life

KK-

We are entering a crazy season of life for our family.  Big D will be commuting more often for work.  This means I will be a single mom more often then I would prefer.

And so I have made a simple Pros and Cons list for this new crazy lifestyle.

Cons

• It is hard to sleep without my husband by my side
• The boys will try to wrestle and rough house with me.
• I will spend more time watching TV and eating junk food.
• I will need help from friends more often.
• I have to train our puppy.
• I will have to do all the meals and cleaning by myself.

Pros

• I get to have my whole bed to myself (except for when Grizzly sneaks in).
• The boys will have to give me extra hugs and kisses when Big D is gone.
• I will spend more time watching TV and eating junk food.
• I have great friends who are willing to help me out when I need it.
• The boys will have to help take care of the puppy.
• Big D wakes up with the boys on Saturday mornings and makes a delicious breakfast for all of us and spends the rest of the weekend making us happy.

As you can tell there will be plenty of hard times but hopefully we will have some good times too.  If you have any suggestions to help us endure and enjoy this crazy season, let me know!

We need to work on taking a nice family picture too.

-Miss T

Ticket to Drive

KK-

It is against the law to talk on the cell phone while driving in Oregon.  I know that.  But it didn't stop me from talking on my cell phone while driving the other week.

A police car pulled me over and gave me a hefty ticket.  Ugh.  It was painful.  I cried a lot.  Seriously a lot.

And now I am trying to use the bluetooth system in my car.  

This is how it typically goes:

Me: Call Mom.

Car: Do you want to change to French?  Blah, Blah, Blah... lots of French words.

Me: No. Call Mom.

Car: Do you want to call John or Alene?

Me: No.  Call Mom.

Car: Do you want Mom?

Me: Yes.

Car: Do you want to call her mobile or home?

Me: Mobile.

Car: Do you wan to call Mom on her mobile?

Me: Yes.

Car: Calling Mom...

AHHH!! Finally!!!!! By now, I have driven to my destination and don't need to use my bluetooth any more.

Oh, I feel like a 99 yr old person who can't deal with technology.

It makes me want to talk on the phone while driving again.  

There isn't a law about blogging while driving is there?  Oops!

-Miss T

White Christmas Viewing

Dear Miss T,

Had my annual White Christmas Viewing a few days ago. Thanks Odge and B-town for the company and cookies.

I just may be hoping to watch it again with you when you come in a few days.

I know you had a Merry Christmas because I know what went down at your house Christmas morning, but I would love to see oodles of pictures of your new furry friend. But Merry Christmas nonetheless one and all!!

Much love, kk

Christmas Cheer

Miss T,

I finally caught a smile on camera from this girl.

She was smiling up at Mr. P. Just a little Christmas cheer to share.

Love Kk

T.A.D.

Hi Miss T.

Any more talk about Big D's D.A.D.? After last night, I am on the D.A.D. train and fully support you getting and training one. Maybe some people are skeptical of a Diabetic Alert Dog, but let me explain my new perspective.

Last night, Nellie (typical house-dog, toy poodle breed) saved me from being the worst Mom ever. We put JT down to bed after dinner. She did eat a lot, but that's nothing new, and she went down like a champ. About 45 minutes later I was about to feed Baby C and I hear some crying from JT's room. I thought to myself, "I am just going to feed Baby C, and if she is still crying when I am done I will go in and check on her." Well, within about ten minutes the crying had stopped. So I finished feeding Baby C and got up to do some dishes.

Suddenly Nellie rushes up to me whining and acting funny. I thought "Oh she needs to go out again, but she can wait until I finish the dishes." But she didn't run to the door, she ran to JT's door and whined and ran in circles and jumped up on the door. What?! That was strange behavior. In that moment I felt like I was in a movie. Was my dog trying to tell me something? But it wasn't a good feeling like being in a movie. It was a scary feeling. A worried feeling. And also a skeptical feeling--like if that dog is wrong I am going to be ticked. I heard a cough from inside though, and got more worried than skeptical. Nellie was still frantic at the door, so I told myself "the humidifier probably needs more water anyway."

I opened the door gently and saw JT sleeping at the end closest to the door. She lightly stirred when I opened the door, but coughed some more. I patted her back and said "Lay down. It's ok." Then I went straight to the humidifier as planned. As I took it out of the room, I thought it odd that JT didn't sit up- she usually does not heed my instruction to lay down for very long. Plus it smelled weird.

I filled up the humidifier and went back in the room. It definitely smelled weird. Actually it smelled horrible. And Nellie was still jumping and whining but in the room now. I returned to the crib and reached down to JT. She turned her head and suddenly I saw that she had thrown-up a grown-up amount in her crib...and it was literally everywhere. :( POOR GIRL! Had it not been for Nellie, would I have left her in there all night with that mess!? I can't even think about it. I get sick and teary if I think about what could have happened had Nellie not alerted me, and it's not even a life or death situation.

Needless to say, I am so grateful I had an alert dog last night. These two little babies have a very imperfect mother who needs to be a little more diligent in checking on them in the night. But I will do better. And thank goodness we got everything taken care of last night. So hopefully JT will be swinging happily again soon!

And thank you to Nellie for saving me from being the worst mother ever by being my T.A.D. Throw-up Alert Dog. And I support a D.A.D. for Big D. You know I already did anyway, but that was because I am a dog person. But now I am a concerned-in-the-night-person. ;)

Love, Kk

Sisters!

Dear Miss T,

Where do I even start? My heart is so full. JT got the best gift in the world yesterday: a sister. I don't quite think she grasps at all what is going on, but she was pleasant and cute with Baby C when she met her, so I will take that good start and run with it.

This delivery (scheduled c-section) has gone so much smoother than my last (emergency c-section). Already I am recovering so much better. My nurse Zophia found out I like Oreos, and has kept me well stocked throughout her night shift. That has got to be what is making the difference!

Baby C looks a lot like JT, and all throughout yesterday I kept accidentally calling her by JT's name. However, as I cuddled her last night I can tell she is different than JT. Just like you have been telling me, they are different babies and I will be surprised about how they have their unique different behaviors and preferences. I am excited to see what Baby C has in store fo me. Can't believe we are now a family of four!

Mr. Graffiti

KK,

Meet Mr. Graffiti.  He is only 21 months, but becoming a professional at graffiti.  

So far Grizzly has colored on walls, a booster seat, walls, railing, walls, books, walls, dressers, walls, table, and more walls.

He is not picky about what he uses - crayons, markers, pencils, pens or paint.

I have been racking my brain as to why Grizzly seems to draw on everything BUT paper when my other two boys did not have this same problem.  

Finally, I figure it out.  The problem is my other two boys.  Every time I turn around, T Bear is looking for a pencil or pen to write, draw or do homework.  Cub can get out crayons, colored pencils or markers all by himself.  Then the boys leave these things out on the floor.  Along comes Grizzly, who grabs them and turns into Mr. Graffiti, leaving me love notes and pictures all over my house.

It is incredible frustrating but then I look at that sweet face, and I don't care that much.  Just means I need to invest in some more white eraser things.

Love this sweet boy.

-Miss T

*Thanks Tiffany for a great pic of this cute kid!

A Bad Mothering Moment

Dear Miss T,

Yesterday, I made a bad decision as a mother. JT found a bottle of brown nail polish in the bathroom cupboard. She was thrilled about it. I tried to trade it away from her with her toothbrush, but she was pretty insistent on keeping the nail polish. I thought to myself, "She can't get it open, she can't choke on it, she's loving carrying it around, so why not let her keep holding it?" So I did.

Big Mistake.

After about an hour of holding/playing/holding-some-more with the bottle of nail polish, she followed me into the kitchen. The kitchen has nice big tiles as the flooring. She slipped (as she often still does) when changing floor surfaces from wood to tile and fell, catching herself with her hands. Except one hand was clutching the nail polish bottle. Yes. You guessed it. It shattered.

She started screaming and I stood in shock for about 1.5 seconds. My brain was going nuts as fast as possible trying to figure out what the best way would be to even begin to clean this up. We're talking nail polish here. NAIL POLISH! Not water soluble. Even though it seemed like not the best idea, it was the only idea I had, so I scooped her up hurriedly and shoved her hands under the sink. She screamed all the more, and as you can guess, the nail polish didn't really come off at all. Instead, with her flailing hands it was also getting all over my shirt, her new PJ's, and the kitchen sink. Somehow I gathered the presence of mind to strip her and take a picture. Seriously can't quite remember all that was going on.

New PJ's. Ruined. :( But she will still wear them. For a long long time.
Not pictured here: paint on tile, paint on my shirt, paint on my hands, paint on the faucet and in the sink, paint on bins sitting near site of the accident.

For the rest of the day she looked like she was trying to have some brown skin. Can you see it all the way past her wrist on her forearm there?

Pretty much it ruined my morning. Not so much because my nail polish was gone, or the new PJ's were ruined, but because this was a dumb accident that could have been easily avoided if I hadn't had a bad mothering moment and talked my way out of taking the nail polish away from her. I had to run to the store to get some acetone so I could clean the floor and sink. I tried to blot out the stain on the PJ's, but to no avail. What a stressful and disappointing morning. But hey--at least I can say I won't let that bad mothering moment happen again! Right?

Love, Brown-painted hands Kk

Japan is in da House!

Konnichiwa Miss T-

Wish you were here in P-town so you could be here with our Japan in da house! 

Yesterday we picked up Ryo-kun, who will be with us for one week. He is polite, shy, and totally adorable for a 14-year old exchange student. 

We took a few pictures using the timer, but didn't realize the setting was set to 5-picture mode. We got a few more snapshots than we intended, but hopefully it was good practice for Ryo-kun...right? By the end of his stay we will have him taking funny pictures with us--just watch!

He came bearing gifts:

 Does this fabric remind you of Japan? So beautiful. And he folded the origami crane himself, and gave us a book so we could learn how too!

 

And what do you think of this lovely fan? I just love the feel these oriental fans give to a room when they are a part of the decor.

I will have to keep you posted on our adventures this next week. Pretty much this is the perfect distraction to get me nearly through til I have this baby!

Ja mata!

Kk