Swimming 101

So today Kellan ventured to her first swim lesson ever. I was so proud of her getting to be such a big girl. I put her in the cutest swim suit she owned (yes, she owns more than one...). As I walked her out to the pool deck I couldn't wait to get a picture of her. I already had the scrapbook page in my head. I FORGOT THE CAMERA! Crap... I guess a camera phone will just have to do. I knew it wouldn't take the best picture, but it was better than nothing.
As I finally reached the deck, still contemplating the camera situation, reality smacked me in the face. I stood horrified like a deer in headlights. I knew the look on my face told it all without having to see it. HOLY MOLEY GORGOWITZ IS KELLAN'S NEW SWIM TEACHER. My mouth dropped. For years this butt fugly woman and her turdy nerdy husband had been the butt of soooo many jokes throughout school. Why on Earth would the City of Trenton hire THE strangest looking woman and pay her to get in a swim suit and come near children?

Horrified. Speechless. In awe.

WAC Mug Shot #57483

Today we acquired a new member to our family: Cocoa Bean the Cat. Cocoa Bean can also be referred to as "White Chocolate" because he is from the streets. He was picked up and shipped to the clinker for jaywalking across Eureka Road past curfew. Lucky for us, for a small fee of $15, we found the sweetest and most loving cat on the planet. Scratch that, the second sweetest. Our former sweetheart Rascal made the long voyage to heaven a few weeks back. Nothing can replace the void of a lost family member, but Kellan sure thinks this little guy might bring us some joy. He's beautiful and we already adore him :)

A huge thanks goes out to the Wyandotte Animal Shelter. If you are ever considering rescuing a pet, I highly recommend this facility. We looked at over 50 cats in many places and this shelter by far had the most heart into it.

P.S. Kellan has helped Cocoa discover a love of toaster strudels.

After long hours of back breaking labor...

Kellan's playhouse is finally done! I'm so proud of how it turned out. My mom and I worked our "fannies" off on this one, and boy did it need it!

Late last summer Kellan's Grandma Wieclaw picked up this playhouse at a garage sale for $10. It had a processed blue roof, red shutters and door (turned pink by the summer sun) and splashes of rust stains across it from the previous owners using well water sprinklers. It was ugly, no two ways about it. Now it's straight out of a Thomas Kinkade Special Edition collection. I like to refer to it as the "Little Tikes Kellan Knapp Gateway Cottage, 2008 Limited Edition". Here are some before and after pictures:

"Before"
(don't mind my baby downing cheese dip off to the side...)

"After"

It's very nice to meet you...

After many hints and jabs I've been given to start my own blogspot, Jana Brown has finally broken me. Being convinced that it's a great way to keep in touch with friends afar and keeping some privacy that Myspace doesn't give you to write about yourself and family, I am giving this all a try. Beware: it's not a promise.

With all that said I'll introduce myself. My name is Allison, last name kept for those who already know me. I'm a 24-year-old mother with a beautiful 16 month old daughter. Her name is Kellan Elaine, princess of Anna. I'd like to think of myself as a perpetual whirlwind of motion and playtime playmate, but truth be I'm just a boring stay at home mother trying to keep herself busy during naptime.

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Now playing: Julie Belle - Israel