Ramblings of a SAHM

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Um... Hmm...

It's one of those days where I really don't have anything to say but I feel I should write something anyways. As soon as I finished this lack luster post, I need to: put Kelly in her crib for her nap, clean up lunch, finish Em and Ally's dresses, bake cookies for school parties, pack Zach's hockey bag, sort the laundry, and general tidying up.

Greg's in North Carolina but he'll be home tonight. But not until after Zach's hockey practice. The new babysitter is in the Bahamas on a school project (how come I never got that school project?) and both sis-in-law and mom-in-law are working so it looks like I will be taking all the kids with me to the ice rink. It's one of those "grin and bear it" type situations. It shouldn't be too bad, I have to say that I have a great bunch of kids and they almost always behave better in public than at home. Well except Kyle and his legendary tantrums. Item #1 to pack: a huge bag of dum-dum lollipops. hehe

Quote of the Day: "If you're being run out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade." -Author Unknown

Katie at 1:23 PM

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Some blog template updates...

The bottom scroll bar and white dead space to the right that some of you noticed should be completely gone. I learned enough CSS in the last 2 hours to fix it. But if you're running 800x600 pixel screen resolution (switch, damnit!), I'm not sure what the new result will be. Feel free to post any problems with the template in Comments. I also changed the font to Times although I think Arial may look cleaner. Which brings me to this nifty blogpoll script I found... *smiles*

Katie at 11:02 PM

One Easter dress finished! I just noticed that I've only completed 5 of the 25 scrapbook pages I hoped to do this month. Drat...

On an odd note, I've decided that I actually don't care much for sunshine. I don't like winter because it's cold, not because of the lack of daylight. Reasons why I don't like the sun? Well it's bright and it hurts my eyes. (ha, where's my hermit hole?) With my allergies, I can't comfortably wear contacts at the moment and I don't have prescription sunglasses. So I have to squint when I drive, ouch. And the last time I cleaned the window blinds, the dining room one fell apart and that's where my sewing machine is and the sun is very harsh in that room. Did you notice I'm playing sweat shop seamstress again? Double ow... So you can imagine how happy I was when rain clouds moved in this afternoon. hehe It's probably a good thing I don't live in Arizona afterall (link: Sunniest USA Cities). By the way, I never said I was normal. *winks*

Katie at 3:15 PM

Monday, March 29, 2004

Ack, it was a busy day. And one of those days where I wanted to be doing something else the whole time. Like instead of sewing, I wanted to be writing. Or instead of driving all over the place, I wanted to be at home hanging out in my pj's. Crossed off my to do list: grocery shopping, bank, post office, return dvds, oil change, pick and drop off Greg at the Jeep dealership. Plus the usual stuff: running to the kids to and from school, general cleaning, taking out the trash, picking up the mail, cooking...

Back to the sewing, Easter snuck up on me. I'm half way done sewing Kelly's dress and Em and Ally's aren't started yet. Later this week, I need to do the Easter bunny shopping. Next week is the kids' spring break plus Greg's out of town so I need to do as much stuff this week as possible. Fun, fun.

Katie at 9:44 PM

I'm not sure how some kids live past 2 years old.

Be back later...

Katie at 11:37 AM

Sunday, March 28, 2004

Sometimes I wish I had all the answers. Or at least more time to figure out the answers. Cause it seems to me that if one thought hard and long enough about a problem, the answer would be found. One thing I do know is why famous philosophers were/are all men, they didn't have to change dirty diapers or cook dinner. That leaves a lot of time to figure out all the Why's of the universe.

So one of the questions I'm trying to find answer to is: Why is there hate and violence in the world? Some would answer, "It's the Devil" and I consider that a cop-out answer. Course they do say that the best thing the Devil ever did was convince the world that he doesn't exist. *shrugs* Another problem for another day...

I do know that I'm often too optimistic and idealistic. Cause it seems to me that all of us moms should simply teach our children to love and not hate, to be nice and not mean, and that if they ever did anything evil, they'd have us to answer to. *winks* So if everyone grew up with mommies like that there would be no hate in the world (either that or a bunch of rich Freudian psychologists). It's too simple but I wish it would work.

I like the phrase "Love is the answer" but deep down, I know it's not the answer. Too many wars and violent acts have happened because of "love": love of country, love of God, love of money. One could argue that those people weren't experiencing true love but if they cared enough about something to act upon it, it's a form of love.

"Live and let live" is often my motto. But that goes against too many people's natures, they like to be involved in other's lives. And sometimes intervening is necessary, especially for those who can't help themselves (orphans, the ill). Plus the lack of common sense makes the motto impractical for some, the warning label not to use a hair dryer in the shower isn't there because there was extra space on the tag.

I doubt I'll ever find the answers. But I like trying to wrap my brain around the problems. It gives me satisfaction to think about the questions that have perplexed men for centuries and understand a little more what motivates us to act the way we do. And I bet they didn't do it while singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and making spaghetti. *smiles*

Katie at 3:44 PM

Quote of the Day: "Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." -Robert Fulghum

Katie at 1:09 PM

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Go Xavier!

Katie at 1:08 AM

Friday, March 26, 2004

A few updates: the kids and I are finally germ free. So I'm disinfecting the house big time today before Erando and Talam (aka my sister and her husband) arrive tonight. I think Greg is better, I spoke to him for about 5 seconds this morning (seriously) and he sounded okay. He should be home late tonight, I miss him.

I think I'll stick with the new counter, it gives detailed reports and cool stuff like that (bottom left under "Credits"). There's also a feature to ignore my visits so it won't be as skewed as before. *winks*

No new Friday Five this week, maybe later I'll pull up an old one or *gasp* think of 5 creative questions of my own. hehe

Quote of the Day: "When you realize that 'a mother's place is in the home' is not such an anti-feminist idea after all, you've truly begun to think liberally, globally, holistically, and unselfishly. The responsibility to save the world is yours, and yours alone. And it is mine, and mine alone." -Bella Convalesco

Katie at 8:20 AM

Thursday, March 25, 2004

I'm still alive. The kids are too considering all the TV they've watched (Nintendo for Zach) and weird foods they've eaten. I'm never Martha Stewart in the kitchen but I do try to feed them healthy meals. Today however...

Breakfast: Cheerios from the box, no milk
Lunch: Popsicles and bologna, no bread
Snack: Corn chips and water

I think for dinner I'm buying McDonalds (ew, I hate the stuff but it's the only fast food joint in town). I wouldn't be going out period but tonight is the last night to register Em and Ally for kindergarten. Since I'd rather them not grow up with only a preschool education, we're going out. As soon as I can find my Mountain Dew IV.

Side note, I'm loving the little yellow mood indicator over on the left. Thanks Mindy from The Mommy Blog. :)

Katie at 4:40 PM

TMI post, read at your own health risk...

OMG this sucks. I'm so frickin' sick that I just wanted to die last night. And it takes a lot for me to feel that way since I've lived through having kidney stones while in preterm labor with the twins. About 7:30 last night I started to feel pukey but the kids needed baths before bedtime. After talking on the phone for awhile and laying on my bed feeling green, I went to start the bath water. And puked. Oh wait, first Kyle tried to pee standing up and peed all over the bathroom. Argh! So somehow I got Zach through the shower (because he was really gross after hockey practice) and tossed the rest in bed. And then puked again. Miserable, I left Greg a message on his cell phone (although I don't know what I thought he could do from Maryland) and went to bed at 8:30. The rest of the night went something like this: every hour and a half, I'd wake up in a cold sweat (ugh, I need to wash the sheets now) and puke. Well after awhile it was dry heaves which I absolutely hated through all my pregnancies. The last puking session was about 4:30 and now I have a killer headache. Thankfully I had scrubbed the toliets yesterday morning so at least I wasn't more grossed out. Yeah I know I think of weird things while puking at 3 in the morning. Stupid "Pollyanna, silver lining to every cloud" attitude...

Back to "OMG this sucks..." Zach's going to miss school today. I don't even trust myself to pour cereal, there's no way I'm driving anywhere. I can't remember being this sick in a long time. And moms don't get sick days. So the kids are currently eating cereal out of the boxes in front the TV and I'm trying not to throw up my headache medicine. I hope this is the 12-24 hour bug that the rest of the family has had because I'd hate to go through another night like last night. Ugh, this sucks.

Katie at 7:41 AM

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

As I said, back to my normal boring life... hehe 4 tons of laundry equals 8 loads and I still need to fold the towels. Today's plans include a lot of cleaning and little stuff. Like cleaning out the broken garbage disposal with the wet vac until I figure out either how to reset the thing (which the plumber has done before) or if it needs replacing. I think it may be original to the house (built in 79) because it's a lovely brown and orange color. lol

The girls' preschool was canceled this morning because of fumes from the wood shop. They called 911 so the fire department would come and the whole thing would be documented. The wood shop is not suppose to spray or run whatever machines that cause the fumes during the morning because of preschool and the teacher said this is the 5th time it's happened. Friday I'm going to ask who to complain to in reference to the wood shop because it pisses me off. The preschool is overpriced in the first place so to be missing days because of stupid people makes me mad.

Greg's in Maryland for the week doing training classes to teach everyone how to do part of his demos. He's been there 6 months and he's doing the training now? *shrugs* Hopefully this will mean a little less travel in the future. We'll see.

Zach has his 2nd ice hockey practice this afternoon. Note that Greg signed up for this madness and he is gone. *sigh* Greg did find a babysitter (I'm so bad at that type of thing) so she's coming over to watch the girls and I'll take Kyle with us. This should be interesting, I have no idea how to help him into all his hockey gear. Good thing is that I'll be able to take pictures for his scrapbook. hehe

Quote of the Day: "A puck is a hard rubber disc that hockey players strike when they can't hit one another." -Jimmy Cannon

Katie at 9:12 AM

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Okay to save time and Adobe Photoshop work, I uploaded the majority of pictures to an album at www.dotphoto.com. Here's the link: New York pictures. If it doesn't work, let me know and I'll figure something else out.

To sum up my thoughts on New York City (keep in mind, we stayed completely on Manhattan island except for the airports): it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. So if you don't want to read the rest of my ramblings, keep that thought in mind, check out the pictures, and you're done for the day. *winks* If not, here's my journaling for our trip:

I know a lot of people live and visit NYC but I still wasn't prepared for the unimaginable amount of human beings there. I grew up and now live in a town of about 2500 people in the Midwest. In NYC, there are people everywhere! I have a weird sense of always being aware of those around me so the mental crush of feeling so many humans was a tad overwhelming.
They say New Yorkers are rude. After some thought, I realized that the majority of people were only rude outside. Indoors, most people were normally polite. I guess indoors, you have a good sense of the type of people in that particular building and being nice won't get you mugged in most circumstances. Still I felt silly being the only person on the street saying "excuse me" as I brushed past them.
The Waldorf was so cool. We had a few different hotel options with Greg's frequent traveler points and when he mentioned the Waldorf as one, I had my heart set on it. I mean, how awesome is it to say that I've stayed at the Waldorf? And we paid no where near the prices listed on their site and one night was free so don't worry that we're eating ramen noodles for the next month. hehe A note on the pictures, Greg asked for a higher floor (we ended up on the 27th) but then we got a room with a view of an air conditioning unit. LOL
Times Square, a ton of people but neat to say I've been there. Same with Grand Central, Rockefeller Center (the ice rink is below ground level and much smaller than I excepted.) Also walked past Radio City Music Hall, NBC Rainbow Room, New York Public Library (with the famous lion statues, didn't get a picture though), and Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum.
Rent was an awesome show and I highly recommend it (although it's been out for 8 years so chances are I'm the last of everyone to see it, lol). Moving Out was very good too, there's no dialogue so Billy Joel's music and excellent dancing were the focuses. The costumes were more revealing than I thought necessary (and I'm not a prude! lol) but skin sells, I realize that. Plus we had seats really close to the stage, it might not have bothered me so much if we had been further back and I couldn't count the dancer's ribs.
Empire State, just because... It was so cold though. I'll admit the view was better than the Sears Tower. I've resisted comparing NYC to Chicago (my favorite big city) so far here. It's easy to do because Chicago is often called the Midwest's NYC. Chicago's Michigan Ave to NYC's 5th and Madison Ave. Sears Tower to Empire State. Etc... I'll go out on the limb and say I prefer Chicago. The people are nicer, the pizza is better, and I always root for the Cubs. *smiles*
WTC and Ground Zero. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to go there. I still can't put into words how I feel about 9/11. For those who don't know, Kyle was born that day. We were at the hospital at 8 that morning, Greg flipped the Today show on at 8:30, just minutes before the first plane hit. And then we watched the events the entire day (Kyle was born at 7pm). I guess the hardest part for me was when the buildings fell and I realized that I had just watched over a thousand people die in seconds. How does one describe that feeling?
The site was very peaceful when we were there. Of course it's 2 1/2 years later. What surprised and amazed me is that there's a little chapel and old graveyard beside it. That this little church (built in 1766) has survived so long and in the face of such a tragedy gives me hope. Maybe I'll try to express my feelings and thoughts about 9/11 another day.
Central Park wasn't exactly what I expected but then again it's still winter for all gardening purposes so the park wasn't at its best. Plus like I said I'm from the Midwest, a field of grass and some trees aren't that impressive to me. We had brunch at the Tavern on the Green there in Central Park. The food was decent and the restaurant was something to see although the fact that it used to be a sheep barn was a little weird.
I had to see St. Patrick's Cathedral. As I tried to explain (badly) to LostInNY, it's some weird need for Catholics to visit very big and fancy and old churches. Very cool though.
Public Transportation (ha!) Okay I've been on the subway/trains of DC so no real surprises. We did see a couple of um, poets and people looking for money but it seems if you keep your eyes averted, they don't bother you. Plus remember, we stayed on Manhattan island so I'm sure we missed most of the interesting characters out there. It was fun ease dropping on other people's conversations although only the non-English speakers seemed to talk (other than above mentioned "poets") so I really didn't hear anything exciting. Taxi drivers were as crazy as I expected although the NYC blocks are shorter so there wasn't the same race that Chicago taxi cab drivers do to hit 60mph before slamming on the breaks at the next light. Merging was insane though. Geez, just pick a lane and stay there! lol
For staying on Park Avenue right in the middle of the shopping district, we didn't do any shopping at all. I did browse Saks Fifth Ave and found an awesome pair of Jimmy Choo shoes for $435 (which I did not buy). We walked/rode past some other big names places (FAO Schwarz, Tiffany's) but I never did see Macy's.
Things we missed: the Statue of Liberty (did see from a distance from the Empire State building and the plane ride out of the city), all the museums (we weren't in a museum visiting mood and the Metropolitan Museum of Art was closed on Monday, the only day we thought about going there), Little Italy, Chinatown, SoHo and anything off of Manhattan island including the Bronx Zoo, Coney Island, etc. New York is a big place! Plus we have to save something for our next trip there. *smiles*

So there you go, my vacation. I missed the kids very much. As Greg can tell you, I fondly cooed over all babies and toddlers (well, the ones that weren't screaming). Now I can get back to my normal boring blog with laundry and broken garbage disposals and temper tantrums. hehe

Katie at 10:20 PM

Sorry about the double post (Greg's work laptop has some wacky encryption software). I'll be back later to comment to the comments (lol). Right now I have 4 tons of laundry to do. :)

Katie at 8:11 AM

Sunday, March 21, 2004

I'm here! And wow, there are a ton of people in New York! Friday we flew into Newark and took a limo (!) to the hotel. Don't shoot me now, we're staying at the Waldorf. Then we walked around and saw Times Square, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and a bunch of other stuff in mid Manhattan. We were 10 minutes late to be in a lottery to buy $20 tickets for front row seats to see Rent. We bought tickets anyways and it was very good.

Saturday we met friends, LostInNY and his wife and later Greg's ex-girlfriend Juli and her husband. We saw the Billy Joel musical Moving Out. Excellent show, I loved the choreography. Afterwards we walked around Times Squares again (did I mention there's a ton of people here?) and then back to the hotel to change. We had a few hours to kill before our dinner reservations so we had sushi here at one of the Waldorf's restaurants. It was my first sushi (we had California rolls and Spicy Tuna) and it's great. Plus it's really hard to get good sushi in Ohio. lol

Dinner reservations were at Cite, Juli and her husband's pick. Great atmosphere, it was a lot of fun talking to them all. We had some sort of "wine dinner" which meant they kept pouring wine and champagne. 2 glasses of each later and I really can't tell you if the food was good or not. lol LostInNY's wife and I totally hit it off while Juli was little more quiet. We were back at the hotel after midnight and LostInNY and his wife left to catch a train home. And the room was spinning...

So this morning I was too hung over (and sick) to keep our brunch reservations but the restaurant let us move it to tomorrow. I think this afternoon we're going to the Empire State building and Ground Zero. The weather is a bit chilly for so much walking around (around 40 degrees and windy) but I'm really enjoying myself.

Back home, the twins are having so much fun that my aunt had to drag them in to talk to me on the phone. Kelly's being spoiled to pieces of course. Unfortunately the other babysitters aren't having as much fun with the boys. Friday Zach got sick at school and Tommy had to pick him up early. Then yesterday Kyle was puking. :( Huge doses of Mommy Guilt. The boys seem to be fine today according to Tommy. Still I feel I awful.

Quote of the Day: "The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of New Yorkers, common sense snuck in at number 79... When it's fall in New York, the air smells as if someone's been frying goats in it, and if you are keen to breathe the best plan is to open a window and stick your head in a building." -Douglas Adams from Mostly Harmless, 4th book of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Katie at 1:59 PM

Friday, March 19, 2004

So today's the day. Greg's bringing his laptop with us so I should be able to update this over the weekend. I'll post pictures when we get back, I don't feel like bringing the camera software and cable. I have to admit I am a bit nervous, I'm not exactly scared of flying but it makes me very uneasy. I mean, flying isn't normal for humans and I have issues with my control freakiness and letting other people drive. At least when I'm driving I have some control although I know I can't do anything about the other idiots on the road. So putting my life in the hands of some pilot and flying thousands of feet from the ground at 300mph makes me a little short of breath.

In case you were wondering about the kids, Em, Ally and Kelly are at my aunt and uncle's (they have 4 children, 13-7 years old). I dropped them off last night and it was very hard leaving Kelly. This is her first time being away from me overnight. She just gave me a look like "Please don't leave, Mommy." *sobs* Em and Ally were excited, for them it's like a mini vacation so I knew they would be fine without me. Zach and Kyle are staying here at home with my brother, my sister and her boyfriend. I figure Zach will keep them in line and translate Kyle speak so they should all be fine too.

I guess that's it. I need to go wash some sheets, shower, repack the suitcase (thanks, Greg! *sticks tongue out*), feed the boys, empty the dishwasher, feed the dog, and drop Zach off at school. And then... NYC or bust! hehe

Katie at 7:28 AM

The Friday Five:

If you...

1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve? um, American?

2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell? Scrapbook Supplies!

3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be? fantasy

4. ...ran a school, what would you teach? common sense

5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it? pop/Top 40

Katie at 7:18 AM

Thursday, March 18, 2004

The meme de Jour:

If you call me Katie, you're anyone I've ever introduced myself to.
If you call me KK, you're my sibling.
If you call me Katie-did, you're a friend from high school.
If you call me Kate, you're my Confirmation teacher and I hate that nickname.
If you call me Molly, you're one of my ROTC friends.
If you call me Catherine Rose, you're my mom and I'm in trouble.
If you call me Lady K, you're an EQ friend.
If you call me the Dish Fairy, you're Greg.
If you call me Rosie, you're "Roxie" (actually you're my high school best friend Shelly, those were our "code" names.)
If you call me K-K-K-Katie in a sing song voice, you're a 70+ year old man.
If you call me Mom or Mama, you're one of my kids.
If you call me Mrs. Fleck, you're Jennifer at the drycleaners.
If you call me that looney chick with 5 kids, you're right.

Katie at 9:36 AM

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Before my Grandma Nolan (maiden name: Donnelly) rolls over in her grave (one of her favorite sayings),

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Katie at 6:04 PM

It's been one of those mornings...

Let me start by saying I love Kyle to pieces. But... He is an extreme child. I can't entirely blame this on being 2 years old either. Since his birth, he's been like that "girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead." In other words, he can be the sweetest funniest little boy imaginable but when he's upset, he can (and will) throw a temper tantrum to rival Genghis Khan. There's no middle ground with this child, it's all or none.

To set up this morning, I have a gazillion little things I need to do before our flight to NYC on Friday morning. I woke up with itchy allergy eyes, a runny nose, and menstrual cramps the strength of labor contractions. How I have pollen allergies with everything buried under 3 inches of snow is beyond me. And I'm out of Midol so I gave Tylenol a try but that's like chaining a pitbull with a piece of thread. Oh I should mention my sore back and arms from shoveling 3 inches of wet snow (which is much heavier than dry powder snow) from the driveway and walk yesterday. But things need to be done and *looks around and sees no one else* (Greg's in Pittsburgh), I'm the one to do them.

Fine, I dropped the Big 3 off at school without incident. Kyle seemed cheerful enough when I told him we're running errands and we spent most of the drive discussing favorite colors. It went something like this:

"What's your favorite color, Mommy?"
-Blue
"What's your favorite color me Mommy."
-Kyle, what's your favorite color?
"Um, black. What's your favorite color, Kelly?" Kelly doesn't answer so he continues, "Kelly's favorite color is purple. What's your favorite color, Mommy?"
-Blue
"What's your favorite color me Mommy."

Repeat, repeat, repeat. First stop, JoAnn's fabric store. I know this place like the back of my hand so it was a quickly completed errand. Buttons, white cardstock, album page protector refills, $6.64, done. My first clue that maybe I was going to have trouble with Kyle was when I had to pick him up off the floor and half drag him out of the store when I wouldn't buy him a lollipop. But things need to be done so off we went to Target.

This is when things started to fall apart. Kyle didn't want out of his carseat and tried to buckle himself back in. No can do, kiddo, I have money to spend. He ran around the parking lot a bit and kept saying "Don't walk me, Mommy!" Um, okay. We made it into the store and I plopped Kelly into a cart. I turned around to grab Kyle and he was still in the entrance looking at the automatic doors. Obviously I was on the wrong side to open them and Kyle wasn't getting near the sensors to do it on his own. A helpful worker noticed us and went outside and then back in so the doors would open and I grabbed Kyle. Of course I picked the only cart with the straps all tangled up so I struggled to hold Kyle down while I adjusted the straps to buckle him in. And we're blocking the door and he's screaming at the top of his lungs. Did I mention my runny nose, itchy eyes, cramps, and sore back? Add a headache.

Finally he's trapped and we're shopping. At this point, I've given up on a stop at Old Navy for a white shirt for me. Something at Target will do. Found three shirts, guessed my size and went to the dressing rooms. Which are the size of shoeboxes. Now Kyle was screaming he has to go potty. ("You just went at home!") I couldn't maneuver the shopping cart into the dressing room so I just left the door open. Once you're a mom, you've already lost all modesty anyways. One shirt was the wrong size, one shirt was totally the wrong style, the last one would do. And if it won't, I don't give a shit at this point.

Unfortunately I wasn't finished. I still needed a mop sponge refill, gifts for the birthday party the twins are attending tomorrow night, and diapers. Of course I own the only mop in the world that is impossible to find replacement sponges for. I should probably just buy a new mop but I already have $10 invested in the handle of this one and I do rather like the design. So cheap me, no new mop or mop sponge today.

The toy aisle went better than I expected. Kyle was winding down from his fit so he sat relatively quietly while I figured out what the heck to buy. The twins wanted to give the birthday girl Care Bears. My dilemma: one big gift from both of them or two little gifts from them individually? The most expensive Care Bear item was $15, not quite a big gift. So I went with two smaller "beanie" Care Bears for at total of $12. I grabbed the diapers and gift bags and we were almost home free.

And then we got to the check out. Whoever decided that's where to put the candy deserves to be seriously beaten and shot and then revived and beaten and shot again. Yeah I know it's good marketing but they are cruel evil people. So of course, Kyle wanted a lollipop. He has not been good enough for a lollipop. Both children have now worked their way out of the straps and Kyle's laying on the ground by the candy and Kelly's standing in her seat. "No, I don't want a Target card. (Kelly, sit down.) No, he's not picking out candy." Just shut up, ring up my order, and let me out of here!

$40 later (eek!) I grabbed my bags, pulled Kelly out of the cart since she was not going to sit, picked up her coat that she's also wiggled out of and cheerfully (through gritted teeth) told Kyle, "Let's go potty!" He ran to the bathroom and I juggled Kelly, her coat, two bags, and my purse. Did I mention the sore arms and back and cramps? Kyle went potty, Kelly's back in her coat, and we were almost done. I started to feel relieved that this fun was almost over. And then...

Kyle realized he didn't have a lollipop. He ran screaming like a mad man back to the check out lanes. Kelly pulled off her coat and threw it on the floor again. At this point, I didn't know whether to hysterically laugh or cry. Taking a deep breath, I stuffed Kelly back in her coat, readjusted the bags I was carrying, wrestled the candy out of his hands, and picked Kyle up. Ow, the pain... Kyle is not a small child, he's 3'6" and easily 40lbs. He's bigger than some of the kids in Zach's kindergarten class. I can only imagine what the other people in Target thought as I carried Kyle out kicking and screaming while Kelly pulled off her coat again.

I don't think 4 days is going to be enough. Maybe 4 years? *sigh*

Katie at 11:15 AM

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Do not read if you become easily addicted to online games. My latest favorite time waster? WEBoggle My sis Sarah got me hooked on the real life game of Boggle so when Melissa mentioned this online game in her blog, I thought I'd give it a try. It's a lot of fun and if you play, I'm "katiefleck." (So original, I know, hehe)

My other favorites: Lemonade Stand and Bejeweled.

Katie at 4:37 PM

What the heck?!?!

View from my front door this morning.

Zach's school is closed and we're suppose to get another 3 to 5 inches today and tomorrow (I estimate we have 3 out there now). I wanted to post a picture of my crocuses. *pouts* Just imagine little cheerful yellow flowers under the tree instead of the white stuff. lol March weather in the Midwest is always unpredictable like this.

Quote of the Day: "A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." -Carl Reiner

Katie at 9:55 AM

Monday, March 15, 2004

Pink

I don't admit to be a fashion guru (the word "fashion" and I don't even belong in the same sentence) but while shopping on Saturday, it was painfully obvious that pink is the HOT color this season. Yesterday's paper confirmed it in their Life section with the following statement: "if you are afraid of pink, you should hibernate this season." Where's my pillow?

According to the newspaper, pink should be paired with black or worse brown or worst lime green. *cringes* The article cheerfully talks about the vibrant hues of flower prints and polka dots that will be all the rage this spring. *gags*

I do really want to be fashionable but pink and lime green with my pale Irish complexion? Some one might as well get the embalming fluid ready now. It's pretty obvious to anyone that I'm a "winter", I look best in dark colors, especially navy and burgundy. With a little makeup, black and white don't wash me out too much. Certain reds are also okay, but nothing light like pink!

I know, I know, I should have seen this coming. Cause spring is always about pastels. Which is okay because I can usually find a pastel blue that will work until the pastel spring insanity is over and I can wear red, navy, and black again during the summer. Periwinkle is usually a decent choice. But is anyone selling anything in periwinkle this season? Nope! It's like they completely forgot blue exists on the color wheel. Everything is pink, lime green, bright yellow, or the worst color ever on me, orange. Hibernating is starting to sound like a really good idea. Or adopting the Goth look for a few months. I think I have some black nail polish around here somewhere.

So I apologize in advance for not being fashionable this spring. I tried, I really did but no one was willing to meet me halfway with a decent pastel blue. I think I'd rather look a little out of season in burgundy than a washed out ghost in lime green. If it helps any, I promise to dress the kids in all the bright colorful fashions. Cause at 5 years old and running at the speed of light, any color looks good. hehe

Color coding help by Visibone

Katie at 1:10 PM

Sunday, March 14, 2004

I'm not feeling so hot today so I'm going to keep this short. I think I'm fighting off a cold or something, this last week I've felt more worn out than usual. I hope I can get over this before our trip this weekend. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll end up really sick and want to sleep the whole time.

Yesterday's shopping was "wow!" I was thrilled to find out that I am still a size 6 and I'm in love with The Limited store. My sister in law Liz and her friend Cindy (thank you, thank you!) were a great help although I'm still not quite over the sticker shock. For $300 (my measly Visa card limit, lol) I bought 2 shirts, dressy black pants (all 3 from The Limited), Gap jeans, Nike running shoes, black belt, black socks, silver earrings, and Lancome makeup (it was gift time too, woohoo!). Now I need to work my butt off to pay off the Visa card so I can do it all again for new summer clothes. hehe

Quote of the Day: "I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake." -Author Unknown

Katie at 11:35 AM

Friday, March 12, 2004

Life is good: Greg's home, I fly to NYC in a week, and it's Friday!

1. What was the last song you heard? Seasame Street theme song

2. What were the last two movies you saw? Pirates of the Caribbean and LOTR Return of the King

3. What were the last three things you purchased? digital picture prints, daisy buttons, and #3 sized snaps

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend? go clothes shopping!, laundry, read the Sunday paper, and um, grocery shopping

5. Who are the last five people you talked to? Zach, Emily, Ally, Kyle, Kelly (Greg's not awake yet, hehe)

Katie at 8:19 AM

Thursday, March 11, 2004

A few changes... I have a counter up (bottom left) but I might change it later. Plus about 30 of those visitors have been me since I've been fussing with my new "About Me" category. LOL The links should work although don't be surprised if I break them again later tonight. *rolls eyes*

The reason for my crazy updating today? I found a new forum: About.com Web Logs hehe

Katie at 7:14 PM

Happy Thursday! I feel a big time procrastination day coming on but I can't do it because today is my scheduled Weekly Home Blessing (aka Fly Lady style). So maybe I'll clean for an hour and then take the rest of the day off. Course my definition of a day off is slightly skewed but I'm sure you've figured out that most of my ideas are a bit odd. Plus I've been way too productive the last few days so I need to slow down and not let anyone think I'm capable of so much because then they will always expect that same high level of achievement. *winks* I mean, it's not good to actually check everything off on my to do list (like 10+ items). I have to leave something to do another day. It just wouldn't do as a charter member of the Procrastination Club (if we ever get around to forming it, hehe).

Quote of the Day: "I tried yoga once but took off for the mall halfway through class, as I had a sudden craving for a soft pretzel and world peace." -Terri Guillemets

Katie at 9:37 AM

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

eBay plug

Just a few simple scrapbook paper piecings this week. I need to get back to regularly doing this to help offset my expensive scrapbooking habit. hehe

"Sweet Dreams" Sleepy blue Care Bear with stars and a moon
blue Tooth Fairy as seen in Zach's scrapbook layout to the right under "Art"
pink Tooth Fairy pink version of Zach's Tooth Fairy. hehe

I'm debating a St. Patrick's Day set. I have some cute ideas but I've never scrapbooked that holiday and the only 2 sets I found on eBay do not have bids on them. *shrugs*

Thanks for looking! :)

Katie at 9:51 PM

I need a quick little pity party before I continue with my day. *sniff* I'm finally donating all the kids' baby clothes. *sniff* It started as an inventory of what the kids have to wear for spring and summer and escalated from there (a common problem of mine, I go to find a pillowcase and end up reorganizing the whole linen closet).

Now it wasn't quite the monumental task you might assume having 5 children within 5 years (obviously, since I did it all this morning). I've been pretty good about selling/donating/storing the kids' clothes after every season. But I've been a bit messy since Kelly's birth and I still had some odd baby clothes of Kyle's. And then all the receiving blankets and tiny socks and stuff like that from all 5. But no more! I now have one medium sized box of a couple baby outfits from each child (okay, really like 3 or 4 each) to keep forever, one box of hand-me-down twin's clothes for Kelly, one box of Zach's old stuff for Kyle, and then two boxes and one garbage bag full of clothes to donate. Oh and one smaller box to throw away, stuff that is too stained or torn (and I wonder why I saved them in the first place).

*sniff, sniff* Back to the pity party. I'm not terribly sentimental either but it's hard letting go of Kelly and Kyle's stuff. I don't remember if I felt this way when I donated Zach and the twin's baby clothes. Probably with them, I knew they weren't the lasts. But now I'll never need another size 3-6 month pink sleeper with cute bunnies. *sniff* It's not that I want another baby either because I really don't, I just have this irrational urge to keep 6 pink baby girl sleepers and 4 or 5 baby boy outfits. And all the receiving blankets. It must be something wired weird in my mommy brain.

But I know I have to let go. All the stuff is boxed and bagged, it won't make it back into the closet. I'm consoling myself with the stuff I am saving, for example: Zach's outfit he wore at his baptism, Em and Ally's first Easter dresses sewn by their great grandmother, Kyle's cute blue sleeper, and Kelly's blue jean jumper and soft pink onesie. It'll have to do. *sigh*

Katie at 12:52 PM

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

So this morning I bought a really cute litte purse to take to New York. Although I suppose it's actually pretty boring, being both black and leather (it does have contrast stitching). But I like the shape and size so I'm happy. The purse was $15 (sale price, regularly $26) and the matching wallet was $12 (not on sale). Hmm... I think I'll return the wallet and sew up a little coin purse with some scrap fabric instead. See what I mean about me being cheap? Oh wait, frugal, that's it. lol

Quote of the Day: "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." -Cicero

Katie at 1:30 PM

Monday, March 08, 2004

I'm very tired. So tired in fact, I fell asleep during The Sopranos last night. (I'm not really a fan, I was just sitting in the same room with Greg). It's been a 4 Mountain Dew day and I'm planning to crash around 9 tonight.

I'm still a bit embarrassed that Kelly and I were politely asked to leave the Saint Peter & Vatican exhibit yesterday. As you can guess, Kelly was not particularly moved by thousand+ year old pieces of Roman Catholic history. It was bad planning on my part, Kelly could have went to the Children's Museum with Greg and the other kids but I thought she'd be happier with me in her stroller. (She has on occasions been seriously upset when in a strange place without me.)

On the phone beforehand, I was told it would take about 2 hours to go through the exhibit. What I didn't know is that time included an hour long wait in line before you really saw anything. In my opinion it was very poorly set up. First there were headsets (which they were frequently out of and therefore adding even more time to the wait) but those only covered a select number of pieces and you could read all the information next to the item anyways. So as soon as I could I skipped out of the headset option line, saving myself approximately half an hour wait. My next issue was the bottleneck at the beginning of the exhibit. They twisted you though a couple of hallways with a few pieces (including a 3 minute movie overview, I skipped that too) and then through a life sized replica of St. Peter's tomb. After those hallways, the exhibit supposedly opened up into more of a gallery (ha, wish I could tell you for sure) so you could browse at your leisure instead of standing in line shuffling slowly from piece to piece. I also didn't bargain for the dim lights. It makes sense though, the pieces are so old that they really shouldn't be in bright lights that could cause further deterioration.

However... Kelly does not like the dark. Kelly does not like sitting in her stroller and not moving. So after
half an hour in the exhibit (after half an hour waiting in line outside) of Kelly fussing and me seeing approximately 4 items, a guide asked if I'd like to be shown a way out. *blushes* Course Kelly was as happy as a clam in the brightly lit, noisy Children's Museum only a few minutes later. *sigh*

Greg offered to keep Kelly in the Children's Museum so I go back in (which the guide who asked me to leave said they would allow even though they have a "strict" no re-entry policy to that exhibit) but I really didn't want to stand in line again for an hour just to get back to where I left off. I have to admit, I am rather bummed that I didn't see it all. It's not so much the Roman Catholic aspect of it but the history. Like the 4th century Mosaic of Saint Peter moved me so much because sixteen hundred years ago, a man put it together tile by tile. And then the individual histories of the millions of people who have viewed the piece over the centuries. It gives me chills. If I had the time and money, I could be a huge history bluff and collector. But alas, at the moment, I can't even see an once in a life time exhibit for $13.50. *sigh*

Quote of the Day: "History is a symphony of echoes heard and unheard. It is a poem with events as verses." -Charles Angoff

Katie at 6:20 PM

Saturday, March 06, 2004

So some random stuff...

Greg spent the night in Maryland or DC or where ever. His flight was overbooked, overweight, and late so when they began offering 2 round trip tickets to be bumped he took it (after calling me first). *sigh* I'm okay with it really. He wouldn't have been home before midnight anyways and after he would slept in this morning, I'll still being seeing him the same amount when he gets home after 12. So 2 free tickets means another trip somewhere. Boy, am I going to have to be careful with my babysitting points.

I finished the jean quilt top last night. As Greg keeps pointing out, it's not finished because I still need to do the backing, binding, and quilt the whole thing. But in my opinion, finishing the top is the main part anyways. I'll try to post pictures in a few days. My next sewing project is the girls' Easter dresses.

Let's see, I'm up to 73,000 words in my novel. I'm attempting NaNoEdMo to finish (approximately 90,000 to 100,000 words) and then edit the whole mess. The goal is to work on the piece for 50 hours in March. So far I've done 5. But if Greg keeps up this business travel pace, I'll have a lot of free hours after 8pm.

Okay, Kelly's having another fit every time my hands touch the keyboard so I've suffered through her screaming long enough to type this. Hope you all have a lovely Saturday!

Quote of the Day: "Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together." -Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Katie at 8:51 AM

Friday, March 05, 2004

The Friday Five:

What was...

1. ...your first grade teacher's name? Mrs. Divine (and she wasn't, LOL)

2. ...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon? Jem and Voltron

3. ...the name of your very first best friend? Stephanie

4. ...your favorite breakfast cereal? Cheerios

5. ...your favorite thing to do after school? play board games with my dad and siblings

Katie at 10:22 AM

Thursday, March 04, 2004

Wardrobe Issues, part 2...

Okay so you're thinking: "Silly girl, surely she has something in her closet to wear!" Um, 'fraid not. This afternoon I cleaned out my closet and removed everything that was way out of style or that I'll never wear again. (Greg has a boat load of short sleeve Eddie Bauer polos and long sleeve dress shirts by the way...) Here's a list of everything left for your review (not including socks, undies, and lingerie *winks*). Red indicates an item that is over 2 years old. And more than likely 3 or 4 years old. I've been pregnant or nursing for most of the last 8 years plus being a stay at home mom doesn't exactly require a wardrobe straight off the runways of Milan.

Daily outfits
3 blue jeans (all the same brand and color, hehe)
16 t-shirts (8 long, 8 short, most plain colors from Old Navy)
3 sweatshirts (1 collared Eddie Bauer, 1 plain navy, 1 black hoodie that I didn't know I had until today, haha)
1 track suit
3 pairs of PJ pants

Summer Daily Outfits
2 khaki shorts (actually both pairs are 5! years old)
5 tank tops (only 1 I like)
2 short sleeve button down camp type shirts (are these still in style?)
1 navy blue tankini (new last summer, I love it!)

Dressy Stuff
4 khaki pants (1 pair I marginally like, the other 3 still fit so I can't bring myself to get rid of them)
1 long sleeve button down burgundy corded shirt from Eddie Bauer (with a pair of khakis, this is my "dress-up" outfit)
1 pair black cords (tag still on *cringes*)
1 black short sleeve velvet shirt (older than my relationship with Greg)
1 white sleeveless ribbed shirt (seen in family picture to the left)
1 off white cardigan
1 charcoal flat front wool skirt (cut above the knee)
2 black formal gowns (one long, one short)
2 sheath floral print/embroidered dresses (both blue, one long, one short)
1 "Easter" set, plain light blue sleeveless sweater with matching floral skirt

Outerwear
2 light weight jackets (both windbreaker type)
1 black wool pea coat (new last month, I love it!)
1 winter coat

Shoes
1 pair running shoes (probably 4 years old, needs replaced)
1 pair brown casual shoes (needs replaced)
1 pair black casual shoes (new from Christmas)
1 pair navy blue high heel pumps (think Minnie Mouse)
1 pair hiking boots (new last summer)
1 pair high black strappy heels
1 pair low white strappy heels (new last spring)

See the problem? Most of the red items should be replaced but then I would literally have nothing but jeans and t-shirts. *sigh* Maybe I shouldn't have spent all my free money on scrapbooking supplies the last few years. lol

Katie at 8:10 PM

I'm in the Crafting Zone, baby! hehe I'll be back later after I *hopefully* finish sewing the jean quilt top. Zach's bugging me to use the computer anyways. And tonight Survivor's on! Woohoo!

Katie at 12:35 PM

Wednesday, March 03, 2004

I've declared today a "Do Nothing" Day so you might see me here again later. Well after I fold 2 loads of laundry, finish Pez's paper piecing, and keep the kids alive and happy. So really I'm doing nothing. hehe

So why am I back? I'm wishing I had a personal shopper. Greg just called to remind me to email one of his female co-workers (M) about my "Saturday in NYC" outfit. Blah... *slinks off to the corner and hides* I have mixed feelings about clothes and shopping in general. Yes, I like to look nice and sometimes shopping isn't too hellish. But my definition of "nice" (clean fitted t-shirt and clean jeans, emphasis on clean since the kids are usually messing up my clothes for me) isn't good enough for "Saturday in NYC". So what is? I have no clue which why Greg helpfully suggested I talk to M. *still hiding in the corner*

First I don't have the model body type. I'm short, I have hips, and fair skin. So anything that looks fantastic on a 5'10" blonde tanned, 120lb woman is not going to look good on me. Guess who clothing manufacturers design clothes for? (M resembles the model more than she resembles me, by the way) To make matters worse, I'm not *short* enough. I'm 5'3" which is right in between "petite" and "regular." Petite is often too short and regular is usually too long. See the frustration here?

Second, shopping... I've mentioned it before but I really hate to spend money. I could so be a complete Scrooge, holding on to every penny and wearing torn jeans and a paint stained t-shirt (funny... I am wearing a paint stained t-shirt). Shopping is only marginally pleasant if the money isn't mine and I can't save it or buy scrapbook supplies instead. Don't get me started on Greg's latest clothing purchases. I was mentally calculating how many weeks of groceries I could buy with the money he spent on 2 casual dress shirts.

Third, my other issue with shopping is the lack of time and too many kids. I cannot remember the last time I managed to go clothing shopping without little ones in tow. Yes, I'm the crazy lady who spends 10 minutes in a department store, 2 of them at the check out and 8 minutes trying to keep the kids in the tiny dressing room while I figure out if I'm a 7 petite loose fit or a 9 regular boot cut. That leaves absolutely no time to decide if the embroidered designer tank top will go better with the flower print skirt or khaki capri's and if that's all "so last season" in the first place.

Enter the personal shopper. I could call her up and say "I need something to wear to a Broadway play and then out for drinks afterwards with dh's ex-girlfriend and her husband and an internet friend and his wife *meeting all in person for the first time* in NYC on a March Saturday." Then she would show up at my house with 5 or so clearance priced event appropriate outfits in my size and flattering to my body style and I could try them on after 8pm (kids' bedtime). How awesome would that be?

Katie at 3:48 PM

I've been going through our music library and we have some strange tastes in this household. You already know Kelly likes "Hey ya!" by Outkast, well I caught her head banging to Rob Zombie's "Sinister Urge" this morning. Zach's partial to anything by Pink and I think Em and Ally's favorite is still "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Although they like most of Bare Naked Ladies's stuff too. Kyle, hmm... He hasn't professed a favorite yet other than anything by Dora the Explorer (does she have an album out yet? *winks*) Oh, he used to like Baha Men's "Who let the dogs out?" but I avoid playing that song like the plague. lol

A few songs on my current playlist: "Voodoo" by Godsmack, "Beer for My Horses" by Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, "My Immortal" by Evanescence, "100 Years" by Five for Fighting, "Don't Cry" by Guns'N Roses. Current favorite CDs: Eagles Greatest Hits Volume 1, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits, Chris Isaak "Always Got Tonight", Bare Naked Ladies "One Week"

Now Greg has some strange tastes. I usually stick to pop with a bit of rock and heavy metal and country on the side. Greg has CD's and songs from about every genre (although I can't recall any Opera...). For example: Barry Manilow, Metallica, Billy Joel, George Strait, Alan Parson's Project, Guns'N Roses, Britney Spears, Irish Tenors, Sawyer Brown, Frank Sinatra, Blue Oyster Cult, Marie Osmond, Eric Clapton, anything from the 80's, and several musical soundtracks (Rent, Momma Mia, Phantom, Les Mis). His poor iPod...

Now I'm in the mood to watch High Fidelity again...

*typed while Nirvana's "Nevermind" played in the background*

Katie at 10:41 AM

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Blah, I'm sure there's something interesting that I could write about. Like the strange fact that 2 of the 3 Eddie Bauer stores have closed in nearby malls (and of course, I went to those 2 malls first while trying to return a sweater of Greg's). Or that 2 year olds move at the speed of snails when you need to get somewhere but run at light speed when it comes to parking lots and crossing roads. Or how about why kids grumble the most when you try to do something nice for them? This day needs a bottle of vodka and chocolate.

Quote of the Day: "The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of people with tattoos." -Author Unknown

Be afraid, be very afraid. *winks*

Katie at 4:34 PM

Monday, March 01, 2004

Sorry, too much stuff to do today...

Quote of the Day: "I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." -Groucho Marx

Katie at 3:05 PM

BACK TO THE TOP