Ramblings of a SAHM

Friday, April 30, 2004

Hmph, again no new Friday Five and the past ones are "offline." So I'm attempting to make up my own:

1. What's your weather right now? rain and mid 60's

2. What do you do when it's sunny? squint a lot

3. Raining? I actually like the rain, I love sleeping while it rains or curling up with a good book

4. Cold? whine... I hate wearing layers. I try to stay inside as much as possible

5. Hot? wear a tank top, shorts, sandals and sip ice cold drinks and be happy that it's not cold

Katie at 8:15 AM

Thursday, April 29, 2004

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned scrapbooking in a while. I don't know what happened but I haven't been in the mood. Well, there are a few possible reasons. One, I've been spending way too much time on the computer. Two, I'm a tad disappointed that I'm not able to attend the Great Lake's Scrapbook Mega Meet or the National Scrapbooking Day crop at a local scrapbook store this May. Three, I canceled my Club Scrap membership which isn't a big deal but without their box of paper showing up once a month, scrapbooking is easier to forget.

That said, I'm forcing myself to scrapbook last year's Easter pictures tonight. I've finished Kelly's and it shouldn't take me too long to do the other 4 layouts. I made the background paper with chalk and flower diecuts (Kyle and Zach's will be blue and yellow, I think). At least I'm still only a year behind...

Katie at 7:50 PM

I know the world is unjust. People die, bad things happen to good people. But Evan's story, is just heartbreaking. His mom Dawn is a member of the forums I frequent and I was shocked when she posted this yesterday morning:

A custody trial, without us able to fight for our son anymore, is expected in the next month or so. In the meantime, the biofather will get Evan for 3 weeks out of the next month... for one full week in two weeks, and then for two weeks in June... This IS a transition before a custody decision is ever made and it excludes Evan's birthmom entirely. This is a clear sign that the judge intends to give this man custody of our son. The judge did not care that Evan is three years old, only knows me and hubby as his parents, and has not had more than one supervised overnight a month with biofather.. and did not care to know how that once-a-month overnight went either. We had a videotapes of Evan telling us that biofather was hitting him (among other things) and we never got to play it for the judge.

I thought about it all day yesterday and I'm still confused and upset. Evan is not an object to be traded by the courts at the whim of laws and paper. He is a little 3 year old boy who loves his mommy and daddy. I can not imagine someone telling me that I had to give up one of my children to a complete stranger because a piece of paper wasn't filed or a law had been changed. It's insane that a judge decided Evan will be better off with his abusive, unemployed biological father over Dawn and Skip who have loved and cared for him since birth.

I'm mad at the courts and I'm very angry with the biological father. Donating sperm does not make one fit to be a parent. I don't believe that since he shares Evan's DNA, he has the right to disrupt the poor child's life. He left the biological mom when he knew she was pregnant, he gave up Evan right then in my opinion. There are no "take backs" when it comes to something as important as a child's well being.

Dawn, keep fighting the good fight. My prayers and thoughts are with you. I hope there is a sliver of justice reserved for Evan and you can soon put this nightmare behind you.

Katie at 9:18 AM

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Like I've always said, you can sell anything on eBay. And with a good story, it'll go for even more: ex-wife's wedding dress. *giggles*

Katie at 3:44 PM

Okay, yesterday sucked. I'd rather not go into it because that's the whole reason I didn't blog yesterday. If you are really curious, the low points of the day included: an escaped gerbil, stressing about selling the house and eventual move, swim lessons, running errands in the rain, allergies, worrying about my sister, laundry, making phone calls, panic attack, cooking without a microwave, and Delphi forums acting up.

So today I have my perspective back and I'm taking it easy. (In other words, I'm being lazy.) I plan to finish up the laundry, make some lists, and maybe go grocery shopping. The kids and I will walk to the library after lunch. Tomorrow I'll hop back into the swing of things.

Quote of the Day: "Retreat, hell! We're just advancing in another direction." -Oliver Prince Smith

Katie at 10:15 AM

Sunday, April 25, 2004

Have I mentioned lately that I'm related to the Murphys of Murphy's Law? Swear to God...

For example my great great grandfather Thomas Murphy was bitten by a dog. So he went into town to see his doctor. Upon returning home, he fell out of his buggy, broke his neck, and died. True stuff, I have the newspaper article of the coroner's report to prove it.

And then his brother, Father Patrick Murphy, was taking a train somewhere and realized he had left his suitcase on the station platform. He tried to jump off the train, tripped, fell under the train and was decapitated. Yep, the Murphys are an unlucky bunch...

Which brings me back to me. The microwave just died. The garbage disposal has already quit working and one of the burners on the stove won't turn on and the fridge has a bad habit of freezing the eggs. The dog has heartworms and will require 300 dollars worth of arsenic shots (seriously, arsenic... yikes!). And to top it off, I have a fever of 102F at the moment. But Greg's is higher and his throat hurts more so he's in bed and I'm up with the 5 wildly healthy kids. If they were sick too, they'd be sleeping or quietly watching a movie with the occasional whimper that their heads hurt. But at least I'm taking Murphy's Philosophy to heart:

"Smile . . . tomorrow will be worse."

*smiles*

Update at 10pm: Greg took himself to the local emergent care facility and he has tonsillitis. Since I don't have tonsils, who knows what I have. Maybe just my allergies flaring up in sympathy.

Katie at 6:04 PM

When Daddy's sick... well... he sleeps...

Poor Greg is so sick, I feel awful for him. He's been running a constant fever of 102-105F since yesterday afternoon. I paid the neighbor kid to mow the grass and Greg and I did get the garage sorted into "keep in garage", "put in attic", and "throw away piles" (the donate pile is already in the minivan). Thankfully the garbage people come tomorrow morning cause we can't park in the garage at the moment. But we didn't put the attic pile in the attic either because Greg was too sick. Plus the trimming/edging didn't get done outside, it looks like we're growing a grass fence. Normally I'd pick up the slack but I'm on strict orders not to go up in the attic alone (just cause I almost fell through the attic floor a few years ago, we remembered to add "patch garage ceiling" to the list yesterday) and Greg doesn't think I'd be able to handle the weed eater. Hmph!

Anyway we canceled our plans last night (cook out with friends at a local park) and I doubt Greg will be taking Zach to the movies as promised. (Em and Ally went with Grandma to the movies Friday night). A trip to Home Depot would be nice but we're waiting on a check from work which should arrive any day now (don't you just hate that time frame?). I'm afraid the kids are going to be wild again today like they were last night (they ended up with a 7:30 bedtime because my ears were ringing). It's pouring outside so I can't send them out to run off some energy either. It's going to be a long day...

Katie at 9:15 AM

Friday, April 23, 2004

Last year's Friday Five:

1. What was the last TV show you watched? Angel I decided to wait until Greg is home to watch Survivor (love the digital cable recorder!)

2. What was the last thing you complained about? vacuuming and dust (it makes me sneeze)

3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say? Emily and I told her that her dress-up outfit was very beautiful.

4. What was the last thing you threw away? A lollipop wrapper I found under the computer desk.

5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited? my Hotmail Inbox

Katie at 10:43 AM

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Thursday, hmm... Oh yeah, it's Survivor night! I'm still terribly disappointed that Lex is gone, for the strangest reason I liked his tattoos and piercings. I'm not sure who I'm rooting for now.

Things on today's To Do list: make two phone calls (ick!), finish cleaning out closets, yard work (darn, it's raining), laundry, put together a shoe rack, pack up sewing fabric and notions to put in storage.

Quote of the Day: "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" -Robert Kennedy

Katie at 4:18 PM

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

This is for my dear sister Sarah who for some reason wants to see our "To Do" list:

Replace corner trim in family room
Replace half bath floor
Patch boys room hole in wall (Greg did this, not the boys)
Repaint trim
Paint master bedroom doors
Replace closet desk top
Paint computer closet
Repaint any rooms that need it (about all of them)
Check into Pergo for front living room
Replace door hinges
Replace door knobs
Replace broken blinds (DONE!)
Replace kitchen faucet
Replace shower fixtures in master bedroom
Fix walls in toy room and repaint
Fix master bathroom soap dish
Patch 2 window screens and replace 1
Fill Pergo dings
Have carpets cleaned (although we may replace them)
Replace light in dining room
Paint and fix outside trim piece on garage door
Back yard gardens (fill dirt and plant something and pray Ranger doesn't dig)
Remove brush and wood from back yard
Remove stuff from chimney (satellite dish and antenna)
Fix loose trim pieces around house
Paint/seal swing set
Paint mailbox post
Seal bee nest hole in back foundation
Fix fence post
Clean gutters
Fix drain spot bracket
Fix screws in glass door
Clean out closets (almost DONE, I plan to do last 2 tomorrow)
Paint inside walls of garage
Clean out garage
Clean out laundry room (DONE!)
Have furnace inspected and cleaned
Replace stove, water softner, garbage disposal
Replace light switch and electrical socket covers

Pretty much all stupid stuff we should have done before now. *shrugs*

Katie at 8:31 PM

Ugh, what a frustrating day. First a little background on the Y swim lessons. Since we dropped the girls out of preschool, Greg thought it would be a good idea to put them in swim. Last week Ally flunked her swim test so the Swim Nazi (thanks, Pez!) said she had to be in the "Pikes with Parent" class. Em was passed to regular Pikes (without parent). The only reason Ally didn't pass was water splashed into her eyes and she pouted the rest of the test. Typical Ally behavior. But if I'm in the water with Ally, what about Kyle and Kelly, they won't stay in the childcare room. The Swim Nazi told me (and I quote): "Threaten them with their lives to behave." HUH? I was too shocked for words so we left at that point.

I managed to sign Em and Ally up for classes that ran at the same time, M/W while Zach's in school. Monday Ally was sick and stayed home with Greg. I tried Kyle and Kelly in the childcare room since I had nothing to lose that day and you guessed, they called me back after 10 minutes. Last night, Greg came up with the great idea that I sign Kyle up for the "Pikes with Parent" class too. Fine, I paid another $25 and suited up. Which brings me back to me not being able to swim. Actually I can doggie paddle and float on my back well enough to save my life if speed is not necessary. But I don't like being in the water if I can help it. And pool water, ew... Anyway I digress.

Now another "doh!" moment. I can't "parent" two kids at the same time in that class. Luckily there was a spot open in Em's Pike class and the teacher said she didn't mind trying Ally (I haven't seen the Swim Nazi again). Kelly did fine in the childcare room, Ally did fine in the regular Pike class, and Kyle did better than I expected with me. However the Monday Pike class is full so I can't switch Ally over to the Pike class 2 days a week with Em. She can either be Wednesday only or I can move her to a completely different Pike class which means another trip to the Y. I wish I had ignored the Swim Nazi in the first place and signed both girls up for the regular Pike class. I haven't decided what we'll do yet, I'm still trying to get pool water out of my ears.

Other frustrating moments of the day: the new dead bolt doesn't fit the door, it's raining so I can't mow the grass (it looks like a jungle out there), Ranger (the dog) has heartworms and needs $375 worth of shots, and I hate hanging the new blinds (they won't fit the old brackets so I have to switch them all). I think we're also going to have to put down new carpet. Cleaning might not do the job well enough for people to look past it even with a couple thousand dollar "carpet allowance." Which means a ton of furniture moving and more disorder. Hmm, I can see why some people never move. Anyway my little chocolate break is over so I'm sucking it up and moving on. :)

Katie at 2:44 PM

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Okay it's official. I'm insane.

Oh wait, you knew that.

My real news is that we've officially decided to sell the house. Note that I didn't say we are moving. One step at a time I suppose. I'm so thrilled to have joined the ranks of Chris, DMouse, Melissa, Roni, and Suzy who are all in the process of selling/buying houses as well. Did I miss anyone? I think Heidi is contemplating a move and e may be hopping over the pond to England soon. It's great to know I'm in good company.

Why am I here telling you this? Well I'm already procrastinating. Greg and I complied a list about 10 miles long of little things to do before we put the house on the market. And then silly me said "sure I can do all that by May 1st." Doh! I didn't realize that May is only 10 days away. Hmmm... I meant May 15th, really. So if the service here is sketchy for the next few weeks it's because I'm banishing dust bunnies and scrubbing baseboards.

< sarcasm > Joy! There's nothing better than scrubbing baseboards! < /sarcasm >

I'll get into the reasons for moving later, now I need to get back to bleaching the grout between the tiles in the shower.

Katie at 3:24 PM

For LostInNY, here's a current picture of the crab apple tree in our front yard. Blogger's Permalinks don't work (grrr...) but in the March archives, there's a snow covered image of the same tree if you want to see it.

It smells wonderful too, I love this tree. There's also a set of cardinals nesting in it, how sweet! Happy Spring! :)

Katie at 9:20 AM

Monday, April 19, 2004

Ugh, not a great day here. See numbers 11, 37, 40, 76, 96. Ally's sick, she's running a fever and generally "out of it." I have a million little things to do around the house but first I need to go buy ~~chocolate~~, ~~mountain dew~~, milk, diapers, and dog food. Can I borrow someone's Super Mom costume for the day?

Katie at 12:06 PM

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Ai yi yi, no time to blog today. Here, go make a Disney T-shirt: Disney InkShop

Katie at 7:51 PM

Saturday, April 17, 2004

I hate the edge. Everyone has their own line, the one to avoid crossing and falling off the deep end. Somedays my line is miles and miles away. I can't see it and everything is sunny and happy and I marvel at how wonderful life is. Other days, I know the abyss is there but with that awareness I'm able to find little ways to take full steps back when I find myself inching near it. And then there's the scariest days when everything seems fine and one little thing goes wrong and suddenly I find myself staring down into the never ending darkness and thinking, how the hell did I end up here? Those times take my breath away. In those moments I can see how easy it would be to lose it, to cross that line, to fall over the edge.

Anyone who tells you that they aren't a little bit crazy is completely crazy. Everyone has a mental disorder, some are just easier to diagnosis. Sure I've been depressed, who hasn't? I think it's possible to fit all the people who have never been depressed at some point in their lives in an elevator. The amazing thing about depression and many other mental illnesses is that you seriously don't know you have it while you have it. It's the ultimate conspiracy in your head. It's like being in the eye of a hurricane, you know something isn't quite right but everything seems okay. It's only after weathering the storm and viewing the destruction from a safe distance that you can see just how far lost and unstable you were while in the eye.

The mind and emotions constantly play tug-of-war. You can't know true happiness without knowing sadness. It's impossible to appreciate what you have unless you've lost something precious to you. I don't believe life is about balance, who wants to go through life being neither too sad nor being able to be too happy? I'd be an idiot to say I'm not trying to stack my deck with more happy moments than sad. I truly believe that you are as happy as you let yourself be. Want to wallow in misery? It's much easier to do. As they say, misery loves company. To try to be happy when you are at the absolute lowest point ever is the most amazing quality a person can posses. But it's equally important to know that occasionally the world is going to suck and there's nothing you can do about it. Tomorrow is another day.

** Just so you know, everyone here is fine. I'm okay really, don't send the men in the white coats after me. I am running on a few hours of sleep and unfortunately "Greg Gone" insomnia has set in. So I think. And I write. It's what I do. Some drink, some sleep, some flip channels. Whatever it takes to keep yourself firmly on the safe side of that line.

Katie at 12:12 AM

Friday, April 16, 2004

Note to self: When the clock says 3:30 and you think: "dang I'm late giving the kids snack" and then you realized it's 3:30 in the morning, it's way past time to be in bed. But I wrote about 8 1/2 pages (single spaced) or 6,300 words for you NaNo'ers. The story would be considered a modern fluff romance novel if I ever finished it. They are as much fun to write as to read, all entertainment but embarrassing to admit you do either. *blushes*

Thankfully we have no plans today so I can veg out on the sofa. Or more likely outside on a lawn chair because the weather is suppose to be gorgeous. A little sun would be good on my ghost white legs, I might get enough color to be considered pale white. Or freckle to death, gotta love my Irish ancestry. Happy Friday y'all!

Katie at 8:48 AM

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Cousin: safely home.
5 kids: in bed.
Dear husband: Vegas.
House: clean.
Mountain Dew and pizza rolls: Time to write, woohoo!

Katie at 8:36 PM

I love Google. Check out the nifty Google toolbar I use. Even though I've heard it's a spyware program. But I really don't care if they know I searched for pink teddy bears or child buying gypsies in the USA. *looks innocent*

I wish I could say my blog was being found through cool searches like Mindy at The Mommy Blog. Although I do find this one funny: why do we proscratinate. Note to self: Blogger's spellcheck sucks...

Or how about this one: minus the shoe. I wonder what that person was looking for in the first place.

This one makes more sense but I'm afraid I've never offered good advice on the subject: sahm routine. I think that blog post actually refers to my lack of routine. Oh well...

And did you know that Kelly wasn't the first to use the word Berbils? Fun stuff, I could Google all day. hehe

Katie at 9:27 AM

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

My writing muse is back in town but so is my 15 year old cousin. She's staying here for a few days of her spring break. Her friends crossed the border to Cancun, she crossed the state line to stay with us. Hmm, beaches and sun or 5 kids and gloomy Midwest spring weather... Tough choice, ha! Although a trip to Mexico is a hell of a lot more expensive than staying here. Still I don't know why anyone would willingly spend their spring break with us. Maybe the "not so normal" genes spread to other members of my family. *shrugs*

So I feel obligated to entertain or at least not sit on the computer all day and ignore her. I hope the writing muse will stick around for a few days.

Quote of the Day: "If everybody contemplates the infinite instead of fixing the drains, many of us will die of cholera." -John Rich

Katie at 8:51 AM

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Quote of the Day: "I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error." -Sara Stein

Katie at 1:32 PM

Monday, April 12, 2004

You may remember my mop woes of a few weeks ago (not being able to find a replacement sponge and the fun of dragging 2 kids in and out of stores looking for one). So today I broke down and bought a new mop. Mostly because I'm tired of spot cleaning the kitchen floor on my hands and knees with a sponge. The new mop is blue and about the same as the old one I loved, a yellow sponge with a handle to squish the dirty water out. It didn't have the green scrubber part on the front of the sponge but I figured I could live without that feature.

So I cheerfully prepared the kitchen to use my new mop. I stacked the chairs on the table, swept the floor twice and filled one side of the sink with hot soapy water. I let the new mop soak up the water for a few minutes and then pulled it out to squeeze out the excess. And the @*$&@^!*! plastic squeezie handle broke off in my hand! *#&@^!*@!

I mopped the floor anyways, using the broken handle to squish the water out (and getting my hand wet in the process, ick). Since I bought the stupid thing this morning and I still have the original packaging and receipt, I'll be returning it. And so I'm back in the market for a new mop again. *sigh*

Katie at 4:18 PM

Day Six of Spring Break: Huh?

Yep, the kids are still on vacation. Greg's home at the moment (he flies out this afternoon) so I was able to run my errands with only Kyle and Kelly as normal this morning. Well as normal as it gets around here. *rolls eyes*

Quote of the Day: "As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" - probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on." -Woody Allen

Katie at 12:46 PM

Sunday, April 11, 2004

Happy Easter!

Sorry the picture is a bit blurry, my digital camera is having issues this morning. lol Have a great day and don't eat too much chocolate!

Katie at 10:39 AM

Saturday, April 10, 2004

One of the stupid Berbils is missing. I took a flashlight along the edges of the walls and under everything and didn't see it. So then I took a tea break because between mowing the grass (why am I so cheap that I can't pay the neighbor boy to do it?!?) and playing with the kids outside yesterday, my allergies are kicking me in the head big time today. My eyes are all squinty and red and if I move farther than 5 feet from a box of tissues my nose starts dripping like a leaky faucet. *sniff*

Where was I? Oh yeah, the missing gerbil. I don't suppose my usual lost item attitude will work: It'll turn up eventually. Greg would probably not be too pleased with that plan. So a gerbil hunting I will go... Be back later. *sneezes*

Edit: At 5:30pm the rogue gerbil was caught and returned safely to its cage. I give all the credit to having watched way too many cartoons as a child. A box held up by a stick with a string attached to pull really does work! Bait: sunflower seeds, every gerbil's vice. LOL

Katie at 9:44 AM

Friday, April 09, 2004

Day Five of Spring Break: Random Thoughts

I don't like margaritas. Tequila shots are better. I suppose this will make me a bad Parrot Head at the Jimmy Buffet concert this summer.
Hats are hard to sew. I've finished the Easter dresses and I'm procrastinating big time on the hats. Course dumb me, I told everyone the girls would have matching hats this year so I now have to make them. *sigh*
Em and Ally are doing awesome with the homeschooling ABC stuff. They have such pretty handwriting too. Here are the sites I'm using for worksheets: ABC Teach and Learning Page I'm going to need to buy a new black printer cartridge in the near future. On second thought, I kinda like this teaching stuff. hehe
I hate dream filled nights. It's like a movie theatre playing in my head and all that's showing are B rated horror and drama movies with very untalented casts (usually my family and friends. Sorry all, you can't act). I wake up feeling very unrested and disturbed.
We're dyeing Easter eggs today! I love dyeing eggs although I try to curb my enthusiasm a little bit because it's suppose to be for the kids. I'm bringing 3 dozen and Mom-in-law has another 3 dozen. The cool thing is that we do it at her house, she gets to deal with the mess. *giggles evilly* It was her idea. Really.
I am a Fisher Price Little People freak. We were at the 4 story Toys'RUs store in Times Square and I went down the aisle, "have that, have that, have that..." We have almost every set available. And the other couple I plan to put on Christmas and birthday lists. hehe I do miss the little wooden ones with the round plastic heads of my youth but the new ones are pretty cool too. And the best part is they are quiet!

Quote of the Day: "Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap." -Barbara Jordan

Katie at 11:03 AM

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Day Four of Spring Break: Love is All You Need

Greg is home! And he brought a box of Godiva chocolates! If I loved this man anymore, I would explode. It's so comforting to have him home. All my grumpy feelings that I've been fighting for the last few days seemed to melt away when I saw him waiting outside the airport. Cheesy but there it is. And my night felt so much better, instead of me staring bored at the computer monitor, we stretched out on the sofa and watched American Idol. Life is good. :)

I'm not sure what the kiddos and I are up to today. I have a few errands I could run and I tentatively thought we might go to the Y's padded room. I'm also one pictures short to finish my Q&A Photographic Interview, found at The Mommy Blog. I hope to post that on Saturday. And don't forget, it's Survivor night!

Quote of the Day: "Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Katie at 10:05 AM

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Day Three of Spring Break: Today is Another Day

This morning we're going to a local park. And then I hope the kids will play nicely in the backyard while I clean up the flower beds. Zach has hockey practice this evening and I'm without a babysitter again. Oh well... Greg's flight is suppose to land at 10pm and we're picking him up at the airport. Way past the kids' bedtime but since they don't have school tomorrow, it's not a big deal.

I know we have bad days to remind us just how good the good days are. But still... They suck! Actually yesterday was a fine day until about 4pm. Then it was like someone threw a screaming/fighting/crying/whining bomb in the middle of the room. Afterwards it was like trying to prevent an inevitable train wreck with a hair scrunchie. I'm tired of being the bad guy. This is why children have two parents, it's very hard to play the meanie all the time. I'm thrilled that Greg comes home tonight. He's a good meanie. *winks*

So I'm going back to the bare bones rules today and letting the rest slide. No hitting, no climbing on the furniture, no throwing toys. Everything else I'm ignoring for my sanity.

Quote of the Day (repeat but it fits): "If I didn't have writing, I'd be running down the street hurling grenades." -Paul Fussell

Katie at 9:54 AM

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Ai, ai, ai... Anyone have any chocolate to share?

*sigh*

Thank God for 8pm bedtimes.

Katie at 9:32 PM

Day Two of Spring Break: Reading is FUNdamental

Today's plans include a trip to the library. It's within walking distance and the weather forecast says we should reach 60F. We're actually at the library fairly often (like every two weeks, sometimes once a week) so it's not a *special* trip. But it'll be a nice walk around the block.

Which brings me to my next subject with a big dose of Mommy Guilt. Yesterday we were all a little bored after dinner so I pulled out some old flashcards out for Em and Ally. Their kindergarten screening is in a month so I wanted to see how they were doing. And they know nothing! Argh! What the heck has the preschool been teaching them? Nothing, it seems! I can't believe I didn't catch this sooner (huge frickin levels of Mommy Guilt!).

They went to preschool last fall knowing how to recite the alphabet, count to 20, shapes, colors, the basics. And it seems that the school hasn't helped them progress from there. It was promoted as the same program Zach took last year (but at a different location). So I was expecting them to learn to identify letters and numbers, letter sounds and maybe a few sight words. I know what they are expected to know in kindergarten and I'm completely freaking out because they are behind. I don't mind teaching the girls but when I'm sending them to a program that is suppose to do this, it pisses me off. I feel like I've been paying for very expensive playdates. And I'm kicking myself for not catching this sooner.

So I'm very tempted to pull them out. Either way I need to catch them up on my own. I hate to admit it but I'm not the best teacher (a huge reason I'm not homeschooling). Plus Zach and the girls have completely different learning styles. Zach practically picks things up out of the air. He reminds me a lot of me and so I have an easy time explaining new ideas to him. The girls... Well last night, Em started crying at the flashcard when she didn't know the letter. It's very frustrating for me, "Why are you crying at a piece of paper?" They are social butterflies, they love the playtime and friends aspect of preschool. Unfortunately that is not going to help them in kindergarten when they are introduced to reading. Ugh...

Katie at 8:15 AM

Monday, April 05, 2004

Day One of Spring Break: Oh...My...Lord...

I'm a bit shell shocked, I forgot how ~~insane~~ ~~stupid~~ fun it is to shop with 5 little kids who want to be doing anything but shopping. Of course, Target put all their spring clothes on sale this week. I'm beginning to think that Kyle has something against Target. Do they have sweat shop child slave labor practices in a poor foreign county that I'm not aware of but Kyle subconsciously picks up on and therefore screams bloody murder in protest every time we enter a Target store?

Since Em and Ally are 5 years old, I thought they'd appreciate picking out their own clothes. Oh no... Em didn't like what Ally liked but they refused to buy different outfits so they ended up with one T-shirt each (same style, one purple, one pink). I will buy their swimsuits without their input at a later date.

Zach's shopping style I like:
"Zach do you want a Spiderman T-shirt?"
-"Okay."
"Black shorts?"
-"Okay."
"These sandals?"
-"Okay."

Kyle picked out a cute surfer "orange-in" shirt, he has a ton of hand-me-downs from Zach and really doesn't need anything. Kelly happily accepted whatever I handed her while dumping out the contents of my purse. I'm now 83 cents poorer. The stop at Michael's craft store was quick, I only went in for one item (Sizzix Tag Die). Shopping with 5 kids keeps me way under my monthly scrapbook supply budget, no browsing or impulse buying allowed.

Grocery shopping went better than expected but then again, I had a list so it was mostly zipping through the aisles and tossing stuff into the cart. I let the kids pick out a box of Eggos so that kept them quiet through the candy, err check out lane. Oh and Kyle found a Sponge Bob bouncy ball somewhere and I had to buy it to avoid the melt down of the century. *sigh* All the old people commenting on the kids I could do without though. Yes I know there are five of them, yes they are mine (is anyone else in the world dumb enough to shop with 5 kids besides their mom?), yes they are twins, yes they are close in age, yes I'm a lucky mom to have such cute kids (said while gritting my teeth as Kyle opened a bag of Goldfish crackers). I think I need to ask Greg to schedule his business trips around my shopping trips. hehe

Now where's the vodka?

Katie at 2:10 PM

Sunday, April 04, 2004

Not much to report. We went to a baptism today, Kyle and Kelly were nuts through it. The party afterwards was fun. Greg's flying to DC/Maryland as I type. The house is a mess (well, according to me it is) so I plan to straighten up after I post this. Which goes against my "punch out at 8pm" motto but I won't be able to relax otherwise. I hope to scrapbook tonight, a member at my scrapbook forum posted a bunch of her layouts so I'm feeling a bit inspired. Or I need to list some eBay auctions for Greg. Whichever... Maybe the auctions can wait until tomorrow night. *shrugs*

Quote of the Day: "Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?" -Winnie the Pooh

Edited to add: Check back tomorrow for the auctions, I just remembered that next Sunday (7 days ending time) is Easter. I'm better off ending auctions another day. Procrastination scores another point. *winks*

Katie at 8:55 PM

Saturday, April 03, 2004

In the madness that is my life, I forgot to mention the newest members of the Fleck household. Meet the Berbils!

Err, I mean gerbils. Kelly calls them "berbils" in an excited high pitched voice that sends the furry rodents scurrying around the cage. It's my fault we have them, several months ago, my aunt mentioned mating their gerbils and asked if we would want any. Not really thinking, I said sure! Cause I figured that the gerbils either wouldn't do the deed or there would only be a couple of gerbil babies and my aunt's kids would want to keep them. And then my aunt called a month ago and said "we have 12 gerbil babies, how many do you want?" *gulp*

It's actually not a bad thing because we've had this empty 30 gallon aquarium and stand sitting in our foyer for years. Once we had fish but Zach (age 2 at the time) decided they needed a drink and unknown to us, dumped a cup of milk into the tank. Which heated to 80 degrees and smelled really bad and killed all the fish. Now he knows that fish drink water, not milk.

So Greg bought the gerbil supplies and I brought home 3 female gerbils about two weeks ago. Notice the colorful pieces, Greg wanted to match the tropical fish background. hehe The gerbils are still nameless, we're bad at naming things. Like Kelly didn't have a name until she was a day old. We only knew she was coming for 8 months, you'd think that would have been plenty of time. So the gerbils might have a name other than "Berbils!" in about a year. *shrugs*

Oh yeah, I've already told all the kids that gerbils drink water, not milk.

Katie at 2:03 PM

Friday, April 02, 2004

OMG, I love Miss Doxie. She's too funny for words. Just go read, you'll see what I mean. And make sure to check out her old posts. Be prepared to clean your monitor if you drink while reading. Thank you, Miss Doxie for brightening my day and thank you, Snapper for finding her. :)

Katie at 4:16 PM

Bah Humbug!

Wait, can the Easter Bunny use that term? I'm starting to resent any holiday that I'm expected to buy gifts. Maybe we can become overly religious ("Jesus is the reason!") and kick Santa and the Bunny to the curb. The Tooth Fairy can stay, I can deal with handing out a dollar now and then.

So you'd think I'd learned my lesson after the last Target fiasco with Kyle. Oh no... Call me a sucker for punishment. No screaming fits this morning and I was actually more frustrated with Target than I was Kyle. But he was still no angel, he walked super slow until he would dart down an aisle and pull all the items off a shelf. Put him in a cart, you say? He has jumped out head first even being strapped in (I don't know how either). It's less terrifying to deal with him walking.

Back to the store, Target was out of half the advertised Easter toys and had no pastel colored polos. Huh? No pastel polos and it's spring? I can't put Zach and Kyle in red and navy when the girls are in pink, light blue, and light green. Yeah, I know I'm anal about the kids' clothes coordinating, so sue me.

Anyway I was so flustered about the lack of selection that I totally forgot to buy new shoes for Zach and Kelly. One of Kelly's shoes is still in Indiana from her stay while we were in New York and she needs Easter sandals. But I forgot. And I don't want to go out again. *whine, whine*

Man, if I wasn't so grumpy about shipping charges, I'd buy everything off the internet for the rest of my life.

Katie at 11:14 AM

Hmph, I'm going to have to find a new weekly meme if the Friday Five site keeps skipping weeks.

Katie at 7:58 AM

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Your shoe's untied.

Made you look! *snickers*

Happy April Fool's Day! So far the kids have played a trick on me by getting up at 6:30am. A full hour and a half before they are suppose to wake up. *yawn* I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually looking forward to that stupid daylight savings time change thingie.

Zach's also playing a joke on his classmates, he's bringing in cookies for his "birthday." He's actually a summer birthday so the teacher said he could bring in a treat whenever he wanted. I managed to keep Greg to only eating one cookie last night. Once he ate enough of the cookies that I had to go buy more dough (um, yeah, I don't bake from scratch often, lol) to have enough cookies for the whole class. *rolls eyes*

Quote of the Day: "Sanity is madness put to good uses." -George Santayana

Katie at 8:15 AM

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