I'm Not Even Irish

Nate and Harrison got into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day early, by wearing their green to church the Sunday before.




The last 2 years, I've celebrated St. Patrick's Day like a true Irish woman. Even though I'm not. I just like the excuse to have a party in the middle of March. Plus, the theme is too easy to resist. (You know I love a good theme). And it's not a family holiday, so I don't feel like I'm intruding on people's traditions and special moments. So it's become my thing to throw a St. Patrick's Day Green Lunch. Green food and clothing only please.


We had lots of moms.


And kids.



And gorgeous weather, which allowed us to have it at the park (much easier than having it at my house!)

Let's close up on that cute little lass in the dress.


Here are Mina and Logan.

Mina, Julie and Haylie.


Andrew and Hudson.


I long for the days of eating a sugar cookie with reckless abandon and then licking the frosting off my face with my tongue, in public. Now, I can only do that in the privacy of my own home.

Me and the kiddos.

Why is Harrison so grumpy in so many of these pictures?
Well, he was a naughty little leprechaun and decided to drop his drawers and pee in the sandbox (as another mom somewhat rudely informed all of us in the middle of our party.) I've since been informed by several moms of boys that this is normal behavior and might not pass quickly. However, I treated it as the serious offense that I think it is (after all it is disgusting and inappropriate), so he was very upset about his consequence of not watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD we checked out from the library for the rest of the day (a big deal considering he had been watching it non-stop since we brought it home.) As a mom, when you're wondering which consequence to pick, you know you hit the jackpot when your kid bursts into tears and cries for 20 minutes. I know that sounds mean, but really, I'd rather never be informed that he has peed in public ever again.


Please excuse the lame leprechaun pin. First of all, I needed a little green on top of my outfit. Secondly, Harrison made it at school last year, and I wanted to make him feel special by wearing it.

Harrison eventually got over his funk and enjoyed the party. Here he is with his best buddy and partner in crime, Logan. I think they look like brothers.

Harrison came home from school with lots of St. Patty's Day treasures that day.

We did our ritual of taking a picture with them so I could throw them away later when he wasn't looking.

Storing the memories digitally takes up a lot less room.

Elizabeth wanted in on the action of getting her picture taken, so she got to pose with a decoration.

She's still perfecting the art of posing with things.

So that was our Day O Green.

Next year I'm making a pin that says "English/Danish/German people deserve kisses too!" (Especially if they go out of the way to celebrate a holiday that's not really theirs.)

A Pricey Pedicure

Like my pedicure? (My brother, Matt, would be throwing up in his mouth if he saw this picture. He can't handle feet. ) I went my usual frugal route and painted my toes myself.

Then I made a fatal mistake.

I left the polish bottle out.

At a height that could be reached by a two year old girl.

Who had been found trying to paint her own toes earlier this week.

At which point I moved all the polish up to a higher shelf.

Why oh why didn't I put this bottle back on that high shelf???

As soon as I smelled that distinct nail polish smell, I knew I was in trouble.

Wow, that pedicure just got a whole lot more expensive.

Based on the evidence, it looks like she started with painting the top sheet. Then spilled on the fitted sheet and onto the floor. Then tried to clean up (there were lots of cotton pads rubbed pink that I assume caused that biggest part to be so smudged.) FYI, pouring finger nail polish remover and then rubbing just makes everything worse.

Here she is making a pretend phone call. I guess she wanted to tell someone all about it (wonder where she gets that from).

I don't know why these pictures came in like this, I even redid it and it didn't work. Kat(e) more advice?

This picture is to show that it's on her face and in her hair. I haven't tried to get it all off yet (other than a bath). She recently developed an eczema type thing and I don't have the heart to put acetone on her.

So, hot pinkish-red paint all over is her new look. "Cherries in the Snow" to be exact.

I really couldn't get mad at her. This one was totally my fault. I dreaded calling Nate, but he was really calm about it. I'm glad I'm married to a mostly mellow man.

The plan is to move the "bed," AKA white trash mattress on the floor, to cover the stain.
That's a pretty white trash plan.

Some friends and I were trying to come up with a more PC term for that racial slur.
We decided on "one who would be comfortable in a trailer park."

But I don't know if that's quite right, because despite some of my white trash decorating decisions, I've been to trailer parks and I do not feel very comfortable there.

Maybe taking my nail polish covered daughter with me would help.

Haircuts!

I took Elizabeth for her first "real" haircut. I've always done it myself up until now. I had wanted her to have an A-line bob (kind of like mine, but with bangs). I think I didn't communicate as clearly as I should have, because we ended up with more of a bob than an A-line bob. Or it might have been that it's really difficult to cut the hair of a 2 year old who won't hold still. Plus, her hair is so fine and thin that it wouldn't have looked like mine no matter what.


The more I looked at it, the more I realized that the front was a little shorter than the back instead of the other way around. And I started to think that I wanted to fix it.

So I spent over an hour trying to get the back shorter than the front. (Trying to wrestle with your two year old while holding a pair of scissors is a dangerous endeavor!) The front was already so short that I didn't have much to work with as far as truly making an angle. I even had to get out the clippers and shave her neck. But I think I got more of the look I was going for. Now we just need the whole thing to grow out a bit (especially the front). I will say I'm getting more used to it. And I'm coming to grips with the fact that I'm going to have to round brush it every time I want it to look cute. (For the record, these pics are of 3rd day hair that's been slept on 3 times and round brushed twice, the ones in pink are right after I round brushed it from wet to dry, so that's why those are fluffier. I'm hoping that when I do this from wet to dry, it will look better.) Nate also FINALLY decided to cut his hair (thank goodness). He decided to first give himself a mullet! Business in front. Party in back.

He wanted to leave it for a day, but I talked him out of it, using the logic "you wouldn't want to have to clean up hair twice."

Interesting observation: No one at work noticed, or at least they didn't say anything. EVERYONE at Enrichment noticed last night when he came to get the kids. I guess LDS women are either A) more observant than male engineers or B) appreciate a clean cut hairdo more (probably both).

Harrison also got a haircut and I got mine done 2 weeks ago, so we are a family full of new do's.

Vintage Couture

Elizabeth Watabe was spotted today in a vintage Karen Harrison design. The wine colored velvet dress was a couture design in 1982 for Michelle Harrison Watabe (Elizabeth's mom and the designer's daughter). It was also worn in 1999 by Kathryn Harrison (Karen's youngest daughter, Michelle's sister, Elizabeth's aunt). Our sources are unsure whether or not the designer's middle daughter, Laura, ever wore it.

Another source has just reported that Elizabeth's cousin Gwen wore the dress a few years ago. Elizabeth's look was updated with pigtails and patent leather boots.

She accersorized with a bracelet made from garnet Swaroski crystals and pearls that she reportedly got as a Christmas gift from her paternal grandmother. The bracelet was handmade by Sherri Shinsato, her father's cousin, specifically for her, using garnet because it's her birthstone.

Elizabeth was smashing in this look, and we are excited to announce that Elizabeth's stylist has confirmed that she will be debuting her very own Karen Harrison couture design for Easter (if her stylist and the designer can find time to collaborate in the near future!)

2 Weeks of Birthday Celebration 2 Weeks Later!

As I previously mentioned, my 30th birthday celebration lasted 2 weeks. It was a big one, so I guess it warranted 2 weeks focused on yours truly. I'm realizing February was a very self-absorbed month for me, with all the birthday stuff and then the sickness and surgery. It definitely reflects in my recent blog posts which have all been ME. And this one is probably the worst of all, just to warn you!

It all started the week before my birthday when I went to Utah to visit my dear friend, Erin. We had so much fun hanging out, talking, doing pedicures, going to Cafe Rio, seeing a movie, and making this amazing 5 layer chocolate "cake" which was mostly frosting with a tiny bit of cake (didn't stop me from eating more than my fair share). Oh, and when I say we made the cake, I mostly mean Erin made it, while I watched and occasionally gave my advice on what she should do (it was her first time making it), some of which wasn't the best (notice how the frosting is sweating -- that was from the salt we added to the frosting made with unsalted butter. Long, funny story, but I'll spare you the details, this is going to be a long enough post already - did I mention it was 2 weeks of celebrating?)

Anyway, this is Erin and me.

Here is our friend Anika, who was also having a birthday. And that is the cake (frosting). Sunday night, before heading back to CO, I had dinner with Nate's family. Faith made me this yummy pound cake. I thought the candles were really cute! On the actual day of my birth I met some friends for breakfast, but unfortunately forgot to take pictures until it was just sweet Julie and I left. So here we are in front of the little French cafe where we ate very yummy food. I got an omelet with champagne sauce. I figured, it's my birthday, we might as well get this party started early! (Relax people, the alcohol cooks out). I did joke that I was going to request the sauce be cooked as little as possible, but of course I didn't do that. I do have some morals. Here's a picture of my darling Lizzie and me. She had fallen outside the restaurant and gotten a bloody lip. I got to help out at Harrison's Valentine's Party at school. It was so fun to be there and watch him in his school environment. I was supposed to be helping all the kids, but I accidentally spent all my time with Harrison. He kept saying, "Mom, thanks so much for coming to my party." What a sweetie! I wish you could see his pants in the picture. They were red too. He said, "Miss Kristie said you have to wear red or pink, and you can't wear any blue." As much as I doubted the part about the blue, we went with it. That night Nate had big plans to take me out to dinner to a surprise restaurant. It was so fun that he had a plan and I didn't know what was going on. We went to a place called Trappers. It was one of those nice, dimly-lit places with live music. Very romantic. The other special thing about this place was that you cook your own steak on a 700 degree lava stone. We got a kick out that and it was also very delicious. They brought out three sauces to dip the meat in. I am a saucy kind of girl, so I loved switching back and forth between all the sauces. For the record, the chipotle remoulade (fancy word for mayo, I think), was our favorite. I love that Nate tipped the musician on our way out. He's always cool like that. And in the elevator on the way down, a tall, dark and handsome man complemented me on my heels. Never hurts to get compliments from random strangers.

After we got back from dinner I went over to my friend Shauna's for my first-ever facial. She's an esthetician. I'm kinda sad we didn't take a picture. It was so nice of her and I really appreciated it. I was surprised how intense it was. My face was the softest it's ever been after that. As my dad said when I told him that, I've always had a really soft face, so that was impressive. Unfortunately, Shauna taught me another word to describe my face. Congested. As in, the pores. Maybe has something to do with the fact that I don't wash it at night and when I do wash it in the shower it's with stuff from Wally's. Maybe sometime in my 30th year I'll grow up and start treating my skin the way it deserves to be treated. As Shauna, 28, also pointed out, I'm getting older and so is my skin.

A week after the big day my sweet friend, Mina, threw me the funnest party. Unfortunately, I was very sick, but I still had a great time and thought it was such a thoughtful idea. We went to "Arts on Fire" (a Color Me Mine type place). And each person made a plate for me, so that I will have a set of hand-painted plates made by my friends. They also each brought very yummy food. I tasted about one bite of each thing, which was still way too much for my sick tummy, but I could tell it was delicious. Here's the beautiful chocolate mint cake that Mina made for me. Wow, that's a lot of candles.
Here's some actions shots of the plate painting. I picked the color scheme of black, white, and red because I think I'll always like those colors. It was so fun to observe how everyone's personality effected the way they went about making their plate and how their plate ended up looking. I always enjoy analyzing people and this was a great opportunity for that. The plates all looked very cute, but I can't wait to see them once they're all done. I'm planning on having everyone over to eat off of the plates, so they can all enjoy the fruits of their labors. Plus, it'll be fun. And I'll enjoy getting to spend time with the same group when I'm feeling more myself. And eating when I'm feeling more myself. I felt very special. Thank you everyone. Your thank you notes are in the process of being written. I didn't want to blow my horrible germs all over the cake, so Mina blew out the candles for me. I think I made a wish, and if I did, it's the same wish I always make (since at 15 my other standby wish that I'd made for over a year on every candle, eyelash, repeated #'s on a clock, etc. that I'd get to kiss my biggest crush finally came true. And yes, I kissed a boy shortly before I was 16, and I liked it (sing to tune of that naughty, yet very catchy song)). But don't tell my children that. Wait, isn't the point of this blog to keep a record for posterity? Oh well, I've gotta keep it real. But I digress. Since then I've been wishing that I could lose weight without any effort, and what do you know after 15 years, that one finally came true too. (Actually that came true when nursing both of my children as well, so I guess it has come true 3 times and only took 10 years to come true the first time). Come to think of it, that night I may have also wished to get better, and that came true too. Maybe I'll always have a friend do the blowing out while I do the wishing. The other key to the wishes coming true might be to actually have all the candles. I'm usually a cheapskate/lazy bum, when it comes to candle accuracy for adults. Thank you, Mina, for being neither of those. I think I've mentioned before that I think pictures of people genuinely laughing are very special. So even though there are already of 150 pictures of you-know-who in the post, I had to include this one too. Thanks for taking it, Tamara.

So that's the recap of 2 weeks of celebration. I think it's safe to say that I brought in my 4th decade on this earth in proper style and merriment. Thank you to everyone who made it so special. I really did feel the love. And I love you too.