Ramblings of a SAHM

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Okay not trying to knock the last post down or anything (*feigns innocence*), here's a picture of the kids taken last Sunday. I wanted to find a funny picture of the kids to lighten the mood around here but they haven't been very hammy for the camera lately. Hmph! Work with me, people!

From left to right: Kyle, Ally, Zach, Emily, Kelly

Katie at 9:24 PM

Compassion

Compassion can take many forms, it doesn't have to be a specific act as obvious as handing someone in need a twenty dollar bill. It can be a thought or hug or a simple word that makes a person feel appreciated, cared about, loved.

It was a few days after Christmas 1996. I was still reeling from the sting of my parents' disappointment that I was 19, unwed, and a few weeks pregnant. Their first born child, straight A student on scholarship at a private university was pregnant. I don't remember them being angry but the pained look on their faces as they saw all their future hopes for me dissolve with the announcement of a baby will always haunt me. Greg wasn't with me when I had told my parents but I was unwillingly there when he surprised his family with the news.

I had only even met his family for the first time a week before as they had been living temporarily in Florida. They had flown up for Christmas and were staying at Greg's grandparents' house where the events unfolded.

Greg's mom was lecturing Greg that we were moving too fast after he had told her that we were living together. I was sitting wordlessly next to Greg on the 1970's orange print sofa, trying not to show how completely nervous and scared I was. When Greg said "well if you don't like that, you should probably know that Katie is pregnant." The whole house went dead silent and I prayed with all my heart for a hole to open up underneath me and swallow me whole.

The words between Greg and his mom following that bombshell announcement I've forgotten or mentally blocked. My next memory was me in Grandma's blue kitchen watching her make dinner while Greg and his parents spoke in another room. Greg's grandma was everything I expect a grandma to be: short and a little plumb, cheerful and friendly, one of those little old ladies with her other little old lady friends at quilt shops. I remember silently sitting on a bar stool, staring off into space thinking, "they hate me, how are we ever going to get past this?"

And then Greg's grandma said to me, "I know they are all a little upset in there but I have to tell you, I'm excited. I'm going to be a great-grandma!"

I'll never know if she meant for those words to comfort me but her statement changed my entire outlook. We weren't dealing with a problem of how we were going to finish college or where we were going to live. It was a baby, another generation, the future, an important link to the family members of the past. She was thankful to be able to see this next generation and happy that Greg and I were pregnant with the baby that would make her a great-grandma.

This to me is compassion. Saying the right words to cheer a person who has lost hope. Helping someone see beyond the fear of the moment. Staying positive when the rest of the world crashes down.

I never got the chance to tell her how much her simple words meant to me. I'm eternally grateful for her positive attitude that day. From her example, I always try to find the silver lining to every dark cloud, to be caring when confronted with anger, and to spread hope when others despair. In memory of her, I'll never forget to be compassionate to those in need, especially when a few caring words can make all the difference.

Katie at 3:55 PM

I've been thinking (bear with me now)... I've realized that it's very odd for the title of this blog to be "Ramblings of a SAHM (stay at home mom)" when I rarely talk about the mom'ing aspects of my life. It's not that I don't enjoy them, being a mom is the best thing in the world that has ever happened to me (yeah yeah, cheesy, I know). It's just that the internet has always been a little escape from my crazy real life. I'm a Mom 24/7, why would I want to talk about that during my brief respite online?

As a writer, I've never even written a fictional main character who was a parent. Obviously I'm not into "write what you know." Writing is another escape for me, my all-time favorite writing quote:

"I write because I want more than one life; I insist on a wider selection. It's greed plain and simple. When my characters join the circus, I'm joining the circus." -Anne Tyler

If I had known what awesome mommy bloggers were out there (and daddy ones too) when I first created this blog, I never would have picked such an egotistical name. I don't think I do "mommy blogging" very well. First I'm crappy about remembering intricate parts of conversations (just ask Greg, he swears I can't remember what I said yesterday. And he's probably right, I don't even remember how I answered that). I'm sure the kids and I have lots of witty conversations that would make interesting reading here but unless I'm sitting at the computer typing as we talk, I can't remember them afterwards. Just call me Dory.

And second, I'm not one to brag about the kids. I adore reading other people's blogs when they gush about their child's beautiful artwork or Little League home run. But I can't make myself do it. And I should because I'm pretty quick to gripe about their bad habits (like Kyle's screaming when we shop at Target or Em & Ally's whining or Zach's "Rainman" tendencies or Kelly's need to be constantly held). See there, I'm doing it again. It's a bad lop-sided view of the kids' lives. Like I didn't mention Zach's kindergarten report card back in May. His teacher graphed the entire class's academic progress and Zach was perfect in every category all year long. Greg pointed out that she had to make the end of the year's reading level graph three times as tall to show Zach's score. Average kindergartener? 3 or 4. Next highest score before Zach? 8. Zach's reading level? 24. I should have come here immediately and blogged about it then but I couldn't do it. You're lucky to have read this part because my finger is itching to delete it all already.

So I'm trying to figure out what to do. The most drastic change would be to retitle the blog. I do ramble and I am a stay at home mom so the title does technically fit. Write more about the kids and lose a piece of my child-free internet? I shouldn't make it sound that dreadfully awful, huh? lol Cause I do have other child-free times like when I, um... There was that one time, oh wait, I was still nursing then... Hmm, I'll get back to you on that one. The kids even follow me out to the mailbox for goodness sake!

But since this is a makeshift journal about everyone here at the house, I do plan to write more about the kids. I think I used to, I've just fallen out of the habit lately. It's very hard to ever get a chance to talk about me and believe it or not, I'm not a self-centered person. I think it would be nearly impossible in my position. Besides there are many aspects of the kids that I would like to share with you all plus record moments of their lives somewhere other than their scrapbooks. Obviously my memory is pretty crappy so I better not rely on it too heavily. *winks*

I don't know why I feel the need to explain myself but there ya go, a truly fitting rambling from a slightly insane, never ever childless stay at home mom.

Anyone still out there?

Katie at 8:12 AM

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

I feel like a big wuss at the moment. So far today I've put up two mini-blinds (love the cordless power drill!), replaced two toilet seats, installed a dimmer light switch, replaced many electrical socket & light switch face plates, programmed the water softener, changed the gerbil litter, done three loads of laundry, and made six phone calls. But I can't get the freaking pipes loosened to replace the kitchen sink faucet or one of the bathroom sink faucets. *pouts* One of the reasons I keep Greg around I suppose. *winks*

Quote of the Day: "Might we not say to the confused voices which sometimes arise from the depths of our being: 'Ladies, be so kind as to speak only four at a time?'" -Madame Swetchine

Katie at 4:48 PM

Crap... I'm a wanted woman. And not in the good sense either.

Remember that speeding ticket? Well I haven't paid it yet. My excuse? Um, wait, I can come with a good one, give me a minute. Oh yeah, they wanted proof of insurance for the van since I didn't have an insurance card back when I got the ticket. Why not? We only bought the van on May 28th (it still has the frickin' temp plates on it for God's sake!) so the insurance company has been taking its slow sweet time sending out the new card. And I couldn't exactly call the insurance company and say "hey I need the damn card now cause I got a speeding ticket!" Um yeah, can you say "through the roof insurance rates?" *sigh* I know it'll still happen but it's another month with the lower rate this way. ha!

So in yesterday's mail I received a lovely letter from the Willoughby Hills Mayor's Court:

You are hereby summonded *their spelling* and ordered to appear at 9:30AM July 7, 2004 at the Willoughby Hills Mayor's Court. If you fail to apear *their spelling* at the time and place stated above, a warrant will be issued for your arrest. There is a $10 fee assessed for the cost of this summons.

Except the letter is in all caps. (I hate typing in all caps, I couldn't make myself do it here, sorry).

So crap. I even have a case number! Me, a boring stay at home mom of 5 who just happens to drive a little fast. I did pay Greg's ticket though. Yeah, he got one a month ago. And his was paid even later (his fault, he wouldn't give me the stupid ticket) than mine is currently overdue but did he get a warrant issued? Noo... I think these people at Willoughby Hills (how do you even pronounce that?) have nothing better to do than pester me over 130 bucks. I mean, don't they have an old lady to help across the street or some donuts to eat? Or learn how to use a spell check?

So I'm priority mailing the money order first thing in the morning. And then calling the court and saying I've already sent it and I don't know why I'm receiving such a threatening letter? *acts sweet and innocent* And see, I won't technically be lying even though the letter will still probably be sitting at the village post office. (my Catholic upbringing shows itself in weird ways occasionally)

Do you think if I'm arrested that the kids will have to come along with me to the jail? Surely not... Hmmm, maybe I should rethink all this. *winks* Oh hang on, I look ghasty in orange.

*waits impatiently for the post office to open*

Katie at 12:09 AM

Monday, June 28, 2004

Woohoo, we have water! Woohoo, we have a new range! And the cool thing is that they dinged the side during delivery so they refunded us $100! Since the whole thing sits in between cabinets, it doesn't really matter what the sides look like. Woohoo!

Course now I need it installed. It's never enough with me, is it? *winks*

Katie at 7:12 PM

I'm wondering if this should be Monday Afternoon Meandering meme but I guess that doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Anyway, off we go!

Anything but Ordinary One of my favorites, she always has the best posts about the latest geek toys and tools and cool celebrity gossip not to mention awesome online links. And she and her husband just bought a house, congrats!

Dandelion Wine Cool title, I love dandelion wine! (Seriously, it's good) She has some great movie reviews, check it out.

Snazzy Kat I like this site! The first post has a picture of her cat snoozing, awww... And then her dad found a working 1922 Victrola in the trash, what a treasure! This one will probably make my blogrolling list soon.

Pink and Green Sorry couldn't really get into this one. Nothing against her but reading about 30 year old engaged woman who teaches in Cambridge and gets manicures and buys Lush cosmetics isn't really my cup of tea.

And last but not least and the only guy on the list this week, Wading in The Velvet Sea Great writing style, I could lurk here for awhile and go through the archives. Plenty of pop culture references, I like that. And he has his own Buffy blog!

There, I've wasted enough time. Now I need to go stand by the door and fume over the lateness of the stove delivery guy (but not installer) and water softener plumber guy.

Katie at 4:06 PM

Blah, it's Monday. You'd think after 3 hours at a water park and 2 playing at Grandma's yesterday that the kids would have slept in this morning. Nope, they woke me up at 7:30. *grumble*

So far Kelly and Kyle have eaten all the bananas (like 7 between the two of them), I've pissed Greg off, and there's a crack in the leather chair. The water softener install guys may arrive today, Greg's doing his best from his convention in Nashville.

Ah, I looked at the calendar and I'm week out from that time of the month. That would explain the sudden 3lb gain and my crappy PMSing mood. *grumble*

Quote of the Day: "Pessimist: One who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both." -Oscar Wilde

Katie at 9:09 AM

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Air conditioning? Check... Garbage Disposal? Check... Internet? Check... Van? Check... Electricity? Check... Water? Water?

We're going to have a problem here.

I swear I live in the world of irony. In case you missed it, we lived without A/C for 3 weeks of 80+ degree temps with Midwest humidty back in May. The day the new A/C unit was installed? It was 60 degrees, overcast, and windy.

So back to no water here (yep, no water!), the water softener sprung a serious leak yesterday. Greg made two late night trips to the Home Depot to no avail. The ironic part? Yesterday afternoon when he bought the new stove, he bought a new water softener to be installed later this week. I'm speechless, the irony is absolutely killing me.

Since we're getting a new one installed so soon, Greg didn't want to pay $200 for the plumber to make a weekend house call to bypass the old water softener so that in a few days we could pay the plumber again to undo the bypass and install the new one when it is delivered. Greg couldn't get a later flight today to stay home and attempt to fix it again before he left for the week. I'm under strict orders not to fix it myself. *grumble* Actually I probably don't have enough brute strength to loosen or tighten anything anyways.

It's not too bad so far, I can turn the water on when necessary (I had to take a shower this morning!) but the leak is slowly getting worse every time I turn the water back on. Thankfully the water softener is located next to the sump pump so the water drains away quickly on the concrete laundry room floor. My in-laws have taken pity on me and invited us over for dinner and baths for the kids tonight. Another plus, I did all the laundry on Thursday so the kids and I have clothes for several more days.

Still... The water softener springing a serious leak the day a new one was purchased? I'm not mentioning the new stove anywhere near the old one, just in case.

Katie at 1:14 PM

Saturday, June 26, 2004

This has been bugging me for awhile, maybe you all can help me find the logic in this. What is up with cartoon movies and the lack of women? Yes, I know there are the "Disney Princesses" but I'm talking about mothers and sisters. Good mothers and sisters, I should clarify.

First we start with Snow White: evil step-mother who casts her out and then poisons her with an apple. Very bad...

Then there's Cinderella, big case in point: evil step-mother and two evil step-sisters! A Fairy Godmother that show up once doesn't count.

Sleeping Beauty: mother briefly mentioned but doesn't play a big role (at least she's not dead or evil I suppose). The Disney version has the cute fairy sisters but that's back to "fairies don't count."

Beauty and the Beast: no mother

Aladdin: no mother

Ariel: no mother, although the TV show gives her semi-normal sisters

Bambi: mother is killed

Finding Nemo: again, mother is killed, geez...

Not to downplay a father's role but most of these movies do have great father figures, a lot of times that's a main part of the script. The only movies I can think of with decent moms (The Lion King, Mulan and Peter Pan) downplay the mother/main character relationship. Lilo & Stitch is fairly unique with its sister theme. Score one out of a million for sisterhood. *sigh*

Don't even get me started on the fact that there's never been a movie with two strong female leads. Sure the "Princesses" are nice and all but do they ever have a great female friend to share their adventures? Now switch to main male characters as friends and there are oodles: Toy Story, Brother Bear, A Bug's Life, Hercules, Shrek, The Jungle Book, The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, Emperor's New Groove, Sinbad, Spirit. And those are just off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm missing some.

Of course I don't expect my girls to learn how mother/daughter and sister relationships work from the movies. But throw us a bone here, can't we have one fantastic cartoon movie with a happy mother/daughter team or at least a couple of sisters who aren't evil? Can the writers not come up with a mother's role in a movie that doesn't involve killing her off in the first ten minutes or hating her daughter? Plus women can be extremely good friends, isn't our gender known for that? Wouldn't it be awesome to see a female Woody & Buzz duo?

It just frustrates me. I don't understand why good female relationships have never been addressed in a cartoon movie. Maybe I should switch writing genres. I'll title it: "Kickass Mom and Daughter with Awesome Supportive Sisters Save the World." Okay I know, I've always been crappy with titles but you get the idea... *winks*

(If you want to look up any of these titles, go here: Internet Movie Database. Sorry, I listed way too many movies to go through and link them all.)

Katie at 10:02 PM

OMG! Greg spent $462.43 at Lowes yesterday. I'm going to have a busy week installing:

3 toilet seats
2 mini-blinds
9 regular door knobs
6 closet door knobs
1 bathroom sink faucet
1 kitchen sink faucet
1 shower head with drain switch and knob
1 box of sticky backed bathroom floor tiles
1 piece of molding
10 cream colored single light switch faceplates
3 cream colored double light switch faceplates
2 white light switches (the actual switch)
5 white electrical sockets (again the socket itself, not the faceplate)

I still need to paint the boys' room, our room, the kitchen cabinets, the majority of baseboards, and all the doors. Plus strip all the paint off the door hinges. The carpet guy will measure the rooms on Monday and Greg's buying a new stove today.

Did I mention Greg flies out at 6am tomorrow morning for the whole week?

Katie at 10:22 AM

Friday, June 25, 2004

I think the kids may have watched Brother Bear a few too many times. First if you haven't seen it, you should. The two moose brothers steal the whole show in my opinion. I mean, what's not funny about gangly mammals with Canadian accents? My favorite lines of theirs:

I can't believe you totaled a mammoth.
-- Hey, that mountain came out of no where!
Next time, I'm driving.
-- It was in my blind spot!

hehe Anyway driving home earlier, I overheard Em and Ally talking...

Em: I see something green.
Ally: A tree! My turn. I see something tall.
Em: A tree! Okay, I see...
Ally: A tree!
Em: Aww...

I almost snorted Mountain Dew out of my nose. And that would have been bad, eh?

Katie at 7:49 PM

This would be filed under "I'm an idiot" if I had nifty categories. Which I don't but that's another rant for another day.

Well first totally unrelated to the idiot part, Greg got home at 2:30 this morning. No, he wasn't out with the boys or anything cool like that. That's the time the airlines decided to get him here from Denver. Yesterday I told him he should look up Lee at the Denver airport but then in the next rambling breath before Greg could ask who the hell Lee was, I said "oh nevermind, he's having a baby today!" Go look, Jayne is such a cutie! I'm not having newborn envy. Really. Well not much... Aw, who am I kidding? I so am. *sigh* Just look how tiny and perfect she is!

Anyway back to the idiot part. This afternoon the kids and I are driving to my aunt's house in Indiana to pick up their dog. I completely forgot I had said "sure we'll watch Copper" a few months ago when she asked us to dog-sit. This is the same aunt who gave us gerbils because I'm an idiot and said "sure we'll take some", thinking that the gerbils wouldn't mate. The idiot part this time is that we're watching Copper for 3 weeks. 4th of July falls in those 3 weeks. We were sort of planning to go to my parents house for that weekend (4 1/2 hour drive one way). I can't kennel Copper nor can I leave him and Ranger alone for 3 days with the neighbor kid watering/feeding them (Ranger can be a little too playful, he's a big 80lb lab, Copper is a little 20lb terrier mutt). And I'm not taking two dogs along with us. Doh... I'm an idiot.

Katie at 10:15 AM

Thursday, June 24, 2004

The house has gone to hell in a hand basket. In other words, I really really need to clean! Actually the family room and toy room look awesome, if I had the new carpet, they'd be showcase home perfect. That is if you don't mind stepping on legos.

The kitchen, eww... I crunched two cheerios underfoot earlier and there's some spaghettios from yesterday that Kelly hid under her chair. The sink is a mess because I've been hastily cleaning brushes and rollers without cleaning the sink itself afterwards. A little Comet will have it quickly FlyLady shining again.

The rest of the house needs a general decluttering and dust/vacuum/mop/wipe/scrub/sanitize (pick one or more). The laundry basket is applying for its own zip code. The front flower garden? It should be named the weed garden. And Ranger (the dumb dog) has tracked dirt all over the back patio.

Well I better get cracking, there's no time like the present.

Someone update their blog, please?

Katie at 9:44 AM

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

lalalala *watches paint dry*

And just so you don't think I've sold the kids to the gypsies in exchange for paint brushes, here's my Kelly Belly:

She's really lost that baby look, huh? *sniffs*

Oh paint fumes...

Katie at 9:59 PM

I think the paint fumes are getting to me. I just realized it's 3:30 in the afternoon and we're all still in our PJ's. Um, yeah, I meant for it to be a PJ day...

Quote of the Day: "Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid." -Jules Feiffer

Katie at 3:31 PM

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Things I forgot from the last time I painted...

Don't wear glasses. *furiously rubs paint splatters off lenses*
Don't talk on the phone unless you want as much paint on the wall as on yourself and the floor.
Pull the blue tape off while the paint is still wet.
Buy a taller step stool. *rubs kink in neck*
Make sure all the legos are picked up off the floor first.
Bring the gallon of paint into the room to avoid four trips out to the garage to refill roller pan.
A toddler and two infants may have been stressful but nothing compared to three school aged children who can talk:

"Wha'cha doing?"
--Painting.
Five minutes later:
"Wha'cha doing?"
--*grumble* Painting!
"When can we come into the toy room?"
--Tomorrow.
"It looks dry."
--It's not, don't tou... *grumble* Let's go wash your hands.
"You missed a spot."
--*sarcasm* Thanks.
"It's three!" (snack time)
--I'm almost done.
"You got paint on the floor."
--It's okay, go play.
"It's three oh six!"
--*grumble* A few more minutes.
"Wha'cha doing?"
--What's it look like?
"I dunno."
--*sigh* Painting!
"You got paint on your arm."
--Okay, thanks, go play.
"It's three oh nine!"
--You'll get snack when you get snack, you're not going to starve!
"You got paint on your clothes."
--It's okay, go play in the other room!
"It's three fourteen!"
--*grumble*
"Wha'cha doing?"
--ARGH!

Katie at 5:32 PM

Monday, June 21, 2004

Let the painting begin!

Since we are still planning to put the house on the market this summer (although Greg says we should probably wait until next year to move, I'm not sure what the logic is with putting out a sign this year then. It's better not to ask questions, methinks), I decided everything could use a new coat of paint. And then I realized I haven't painted anything for 5 years! And we moved into this house 5 years and 1 month ago! I don't remember painting being too hard the first time around although back then we only had furniture for 4 rooms and 3 kids (a toddler and two infants). *counts 5 children with every room full of furniture* Eek, what did I just get myself into?

So the plan is to paint the toy room tonight (I spackled last week) and then the family room tomorrow night. Unfortunately I forgot to consult with Greg on the colors for the master bedroom and the boys' room so those two rooms will have to wait until next week (unless I get bored and start emailing Greg scans of paint chips). In the time being I have the rest of the house plus woodwork and trim to retouch. Oh and the carpet should be installed soon. And I need to pick out my new stove/oven. Exciting times here, let me tell you.

Quote of the Day: "In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move." -Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Katie at 6:13 PM

I don't have much hope for today being a "good day." Greg left for Maryland at about 4 this morning. It's going to be a long week but we'll muddle through.

I threw away all the sippy cups in the house yesterday and Kyle is going through withdraw. I would have had him off them sooner but he would take Kelly's away if he didn't have one of his own. So he has pretty much been screaming at me since he woke up.

Actually all the kids are grumpy and whiney, the after effects of staying up late and eating too much sugar over the weekend. When visiting other people, I only have so much control. We even sent our kids to bed an hour or two before A's (but their kids will nap, mine won't) and Greg told his mom to keep the sugar to a minimum last night at dinner. Still Ally drank about 6 cups of Kool-Aid (I hate the stuff) because she'd hit up a different adult for a refill so no one knew how much she had already had. I know it's a grandparent's prerogative to spoil but I hate being stuck with the aftermath.

Kelly's screaming at me now and we really have to run errands (oh joy...) so I better go. Let's hope that everyone's mood improves or I may be calling those children buying gypsies.

Katie at 10:34 AM

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Off to Sherry's house for the weekend. Happy Father's Day to all you great Daddys!

Katie at 8:46 AM

Friday, June 18, 2004

Argh, the procrastination bug has bitten me big time. I am getting the little things done (laundry, general cleaning) but I can't get motivated to do any big projects. Like taking apart the toy room to paint (bookshelves and stuff need to be moved) or reorganizing the attic (it's hot, *whine*). I'm also putting off the yard work (weeding, fixing the back gardens). And few more things: cleaning off my scrapbook desk, scheduling an appointment with the dentist (again), calling my cousin to help out on our Florida trip. Blah, I feel like a slug.

That said I need to go put the sheets & blankets back on the beds (I washed all the bedding earlier), make dinner, vacuum, and pack for tomorrow's overnight trip. Maybe I'll get to all that other stuff on Monday.

Yeah, right...

Quote of the Day: "Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking distance." -Author Unknown

Katie at 5:47 PM

Genuine mentioned Randi's Ramblings concern over blog cliques and how high school never really ended. Trust me, high school ended, I have the pretty little diploma to prove it. *winks*

The whole conversation had me reminiscing about my high school days. It seems that most people either loved the whole high school experience or hated it. Oddly enough I'm indifferent. For me there were more good times than bad but I wouldn't want to go through it again. The only bad experience that comes to mind was my freshman year when this one girl decided it was fun to push me into the lockers between 4th and 5th period. After a few days, I stood my ground and demanded to know what her problem was. She backed down and never did it again. To this day, I still don't know why she picked on me or why she stopped. At 5'3", 115lbs I wasn't that intimidating.

I've always thought I had a rather unique high school experience though. I grew up in a small town in southern Indiana. Think the movie Hoosiers set in the present. Basketball is everything, the high school gym seats 6,000 (note: the town is 2,000) and the head basketball coach was the winningest high school coach in the state (he retired a few years ago). Everyone knows everyone and the kids I graduated with were all there from kindergarten. There were cliques but for the most part everyone was civil (no Mean Girls). And being in the band was cool. I know everyone will laugh at me but a huge chunk of the high school (100 out of the entire 330 students) were in the band so it had to be cool, right? I played the flute and no, I never went to band camp. *sticks tongue out*

I suppose for the sake of classification I was the cute brainy band chick on the dance team. I was the class salutatorian and the guidance counselor stuck me in the all the advanced classes with the top 5 who happened to be 3 Brians and Kerri. Although Advanced Physics and Calculus were Euchre 101 and Euchre 102. We were in a distance learning program where the 5 of us sat in a room without a teacher to watch classes on TV for 2 hours in a row. So everyday, someone would bring a deck of cards. Somehow I still learned enough to ace college physics and calculus.

The dance team... Now there was a clique and I wasn't truly a part of it. But I made the team every year because I was a good dancer so they put up with me. If I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn't have tried out. It was fun but not worth the uncomfortable feeling of not being popular enough to hang out with the other girls after practice.

My high school years in a nutshell. I've barely kept contact with my "best" friend from high school, we send Christmas cards. My 10 year reunion will be next year and I don't plan to go. If anything the cliques have grown worse (I went to my 5 year reunion) but now it's "those who stayed in town" and "those who went to the same college." I was the only one who went to an out of state college and stayed here, that tells you how far removed I am from the rest of them now. *shrugs*

Maybe if I'm bored later, I'll scan my high school Senior pictures. Now college... That was fun and I'd go back in a heartbeat! *grins evilly*

Katie at 10:29 AM

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Happy Thursday y'all! Man, I miss Survivor.

I have exciting plans for today. Zach has a pool party at noon, I need to dig up and split the hostas to give half to my mother in law, and Greg needs a ride home from the airport at 8pm. Oh and it's my mom's 51st birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!

Plus there's the not so exciting stuff: the toy room needs cleared so I can paint, a gerbil is still living in the kitchen, the hummingbird feeder is empty, and the kids need fed, dressed, and entertained.

So now if I could only find a bottle of Motivation, I'd be all set.

Quote of the Day: "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back." -William D. Tammeus

Katie at 10:49 AM

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

I want...

The original purpose of this blog was for NaNoWriMo back in November 2003. Since then it has dissolved into an odd collection of daily journaling, my rambling thoughts, nifty internet links, and the occasional quiz and meme. But I want more. So I'm writing this down to remind myself to do the "more" part. (Did I ever mention I'm huge fan of lists? Oh yeah, I did)

I want to write down more of the cute things that the kids say. (Mindy is excellent with this at the The Mommy Blog) At my kids' ages, everything they say is adorable. Well except for "MOM-MEEE!!!" And the constant: "Zach won't let me play with him" or "Ally is whistling, make her stop!" or "Emily has all the legos!" or "I have to go potty!" or "Ish me be baby." Okay the last one is Kelly and that one is pretty cute.

I want to start a photo blog. I've come across too many cool ones to list all the links but they are out there and they are so cool. Course I'm a pretty crappy photographer (I'm a step above having my thumb over the lens in every picture). Since I have a digital camera and Adobe Photoshop those should make up for my lack of skills. I hope. Plus now that I have my own domain and a server, the sky is the limit. Right, Talam? hehe

I want to average 100 hits per day. Okay that one is completely the selfish egotistical side of me...

I want to have a site that is entertaining to read every day, that occasionally makes a small difference in someone's day, that leaves my legacy written in words and pictures to show the world that a twenty-something stay at home mom of five isn't just another boring link in the human population...

Wait, where the hell did that come from? Anyway I'm just saying I want more, more from life and more from myself. And a million dollars. *winks*

Quote of the Day: "Great minds have purposes, others have wishes." -Washington Irving

Katie at 3:06 PM

Before I forget, I have 3 gmail invites that I can send out. Gmail is Google's email account, 1 gig of storage space (!) and the ability to search though your messages. I can't tell you how well any of that works though since I've never given out my gmail address and therefore have never actually received a message. *shrugs* If you want one, post a comment with your email address. First come, first serve!

Katie at 10:30 AM

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Um, hmmm...

This site is certified 52% EVIL by the Gematriculator

Off to make fruit salad for snack. Yummy, yummy...

Katie at 3:03 PM

ARGH! One gerbil escaped while we were out over the weekend and now a second one is missing this morning! The first escapee can also get out of the non-lethal mouse trap, there's a trail of sunflower seed shells in the kitchen to prove it. I'm so tempted to buy two regular "squish 'em" mouse traps and then have only one gerbil as a pet. grrrr...

Can someone build me a better mouse trap?

Katie at 9:10 AM

Monday, June 14, 2004

Monday Morning Meandering MeMe

As if I needed more blogs to read! haha Anyway Genuine came up with this idea to go to a blog on your blogroll and then go to another blog off their blogroll and so on and so forth (minimum 5). Even though it's Monday afternoon (it's morning somewhere!) I thought I'd give it a try.

My random pick off my blogroll was My Insanity Written in a Blog Congrats on the new job!

From there Iggy is buying a house. Good luck!

Up next, Girl Come Undone A writer! Woohoo, you go girl!

A Life in the Ether Neat design. I totally understand her line of thought on living in the Midwest: In the midwest it's so easy to get lost. Grow complacent. You have no idea it's even happened until you have an experience that shows you parts of yourself you'd abandoned.

Playapixie.org A photo blog, beautiful pictures.

Try it yourself, there are so many cool blogs out there. I need more hours in the day. Or at least more hours when the kids are sleeping. *winks*

Katie at 5:14 PM

What a weekend... Do you ever have those days when you wish you could start over? On Saturday I wish we had remembered Kelly's port-a-crib and that I had paid closer attention to the speed limit on the express loop around Cleveland. 60mph speed limit on an interstate with express lanes? Talk about a major speed trap! The new van just goes too, the old minivan would shake at bit if I neared 80. $130 ticket for doing 79 in a 60mph zone. ARGH! I figured out how to use the cruise control on the way home because it's way too easy for me to creep above 75.

Oh and Kelly woke up at about 2am and wouldn't lay back down in the tent, keeping Greg and I awake for about 2 hours. If she had been in the port-a-crib, we could have let her play in it while we slept. As it was, she kept trying to wake up the other kids or stomp on me. *yawn* The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun though so it was all worth it.

So today I've already done some general cleaning, the laundry, sent some emails, and made some phone calls. Greg's off to somewhere today, he'll be back Thursday night. I plan to start the prep work for painting (sanding, cleaning, finding paint chips and color codes) and spackle the toy room dings and dents. I also have some pictures and scrapbook supplies to put together. I'm right now working on last June in the kids' books, I don't want to fall anymore behind. It should be a good week. :)

Quote of the Day: "We thought we were running away from the grown-ups, and now we're the grown-ups." -Margaret Atwood

Katie at 1:06 PM

Friday, June 11, 2004

Hey, this is post #300 for me. I've noticed that everyone else is mentioning their post numbers on their blogs and not to be left out, I had to tell you too. Just so you know. And be amazed. And wonder why I don't have something better to do...

And I do have better things to do, I just don't want to do them. *sigh* We're camping tomorrow night and I'm hoping all the camping equipment is still semi organized from the last time we went camping. I'll find out tonight at 11pm when I pack the van. Ooo, the suspense...

The boys need haircuts, I really have to do that one. The summer sausages are baking in the oven, they have another 2 1/2 hours (and they've been in since 6am). There might be laundry to do for this weekend but I don't want to go look. I did clean the bathrooms and take out the trash. And change the gerbil litter, feed the dog, and water the indoor plants. So I'm not being too lazy...

Tonight we're going to the in-laws for dinner for sister-in-law's birthday. Thankfully Greg took care of his mom's birthday gift (yesterday), his parent's anniversary gift (also yesterday), his dad's father's day gift, and his sister's birthday gift (today). June is a crazy month for us gift-wise, we also have one of my brother's and my mom's birthdays and Father's Day for my dad. Sheesh!

One last thing before I wander off to do something important. That hangover I had on Sunday ? (oops, did I forget to mention that?) Here are pictures. Just the first 8 are at my house. I'm in blue, Sarah's in black (with weird pants, haha!), Steven is in yellow, Tommy in gray, Erin in red. I think you can tell which one Greg is (Ian has mouseover comments on a few). I'm giggling again just looking at the pictures. I suppose you had to be there. hehe

Katie at 1:35 PM

Thursday, June 10, 2004

I don't feel like discussing my 2 1/2 hour wait (with 5 kids!) at the GMC dealership this morning so here's some fluff instead. *smiles* (Greg comes home tonight, woohoo!)

From Analogia: Star Estimator with this picture...

I look like...

I had to look up the first two (Laetitia Casta, super model and Parminder Kaur Nagra, from ER) Maybe on the first, on the second definitely do not have her lovely skin tone and then the third... Andie McDowell?!?!?!? Ack!

Katie at 5:19 PM

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

OMG! I'm so excited! I'm now the proud owner of www.katiefleck.com! (Don't go there, there's nothing there yet!) OMG! I've been waiting for months for the domain to expire and then be taken off redemption hold by the hosting site. So I didn't say anything here because I didn't want to jinx myself. But it's mine, all mine! For the next two years! Woohoo!

Katie at 9:53 PM

Whew! Today was such a better day that I'm so thankful. Like "run out in the middle of the street and praise the Lord" type thankful. Although I can't say it was a perfect day because we still had the witching hour of 4-5pm. Which gave me a headache painful enough to bring tears to my eyes. Advil Migraine killed it pretty quickly though and I made pancakes and sausage links for dinner. hehe

So some good things from today:

First I declared it PJ day. We haven't had one in such a long time and the way the schedule looks we won't have another chance for awhile.

I picked up the house early this morning which meant we had time to sit and read books before lunch. I'm awesome at those "Where's Waldo?" books. hehe I finished up a Holly Lisle book that I bought at Half Price Books. It was good enough that I'll probably go to the expense of finding some of her other novels.

I fixed the garbage disposal switch! The old switch was probably the actual problem with the old garbage disposal but everything works now. And better continue to work! *threatens all household appliances*

I also washed, folded and put away all the laundry. The kids had baths and were allowed to stay up until 8:30pm to watch a Toon Disney show. Another set of digital pictures arrived in the mail but not my Two Peas scrapbook order. Hmph, maybe tomorrow on that one.

I thought about spackling the toy room walls next but I think I'll give myself the night off. Besides it won't take long to spackle ten thousand little dings and dents...

Procrastinators Unite! hehe

Katie at 9:28 PM

Blog Housekeeping:

Okay, I know my blogrolling list is getting out of control. But I feel awful unlinking anyone. And there are so many great blogs out there. I actually want to add a few more to the list... Yes, I check every single one of them every day. I wonder if anyone has formed a "Bloggers Anonymous" yet.

For Sarah for Jessica, originally found at Anything but Ordinary: Hand crafted custom beaded jewelry you design online

For the Evil One: The Stepford Wives hehe I only scored 15 on the quiz. *winks*

Have some extra money? Donate to Aid for Orphans or Alex's Lemonade Stand

My favorite html/css code help website: Lissa Explains it All Yeah, yeah, I know it's for kids but I'm at about kid level when it comes to this stuff. lol

"Famous First Words of Novels" Quiz I scored 8/13, not bad. I'm looking forward to the day I hand Zach this book:

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

Have a good day!

Katie at 8:24 AM

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

If this is what summer vacation is going to be like, someone please shoot me now...

I don't know why I had this cheerful little image of the kids playing on the swingset and running through the sprinkler while I sit in the shade reading a good book. Instead so far we've run too many errands in the heat, the kids keep fighting over the two swings, kicking the bouncy balls over the fence, and playing in the garden dirt. I hate dirt with a passion. I hate giving the kids baths every single night and then cleaning the tub and stain sticking their clothes and scrubbing their shoes and wiping down all the dirty handprints on the walls. Every day. If we stay inside, they fight over the Nintendo, the Play Station, which movie TV channel to watch. Or start doing things they know they are not suppose to do like bouncing on the furniture or throwing toys. Can you hear me screaming yet? ARGH!!!

I can't keep up. I can't keep them distracted long enough to do anything I'm suppose to do like clean the house or heaven forbid, cook dinner. I have this giant list of things to do to make the house sellable on top of the usual daily crap. I feel like I'm sinking in quick sand.

I'm trying to come up with a good plan to work through all this crap but I can't get 5 minutes alone with my brain because the kids keep interrupting: "Can we go outside? When's dinner? Does Zach really get to pick all the rides at Disney World because it's his birthday? I want to play Nintendo and Ally won't let me! Emily won't share the legos! I have to go potty!" So I sort though that mess and say "okay brain, think" and then whole drama starts over again. *sigh*

Now I'm suppose to get everyone ready and drive over to an impromptu pool party for Greg's cousin. All I really want to do is shut the world out, curl up in bed with a good book and wish I was a hermit.

Katie at 2:58 PM

Monday, June 07, 2004

I think my PMS has rubbed off on Greg. I'm sorry, babe. So to cheer you up (and me too), here's some of my favorite things about my dear husband:

His hands, being a leftie and the scar on his palm from when he cut a penny with scissors
His Eddie Bauer polo collection
His laugh and smile
The way he gels his hair after a shower
His size 14 feet *grins evilly*
His eclectic music collection
The way he think he's "always right"
His phone voice
How he always lets me drive
The way he sleeps
His knowledge of how airline travel works
His bartending skills
The way he gets excited about manly stuff (his Jeep, cool gadgets, Best Buy, his big screen TV, camping)
The two months we lived in one room of his fraternity house
His card tricks
How sweet he looked when holding our children as newborns
The way he plays hockey
His chicken scratch hand writing

Okay now I'm feeling all mushy... *sighs happily*

Quote of the Day: "Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots." -Hoosier Farmer

Katie at 8:01 PM

*blinks*

Oh my, it's Monday. Where did the weekend go? At least Zach's out of school so I didn't have to get up early. Oh wait... I did have to get up early, Greg's dry cleaning needed dropped off by 9am for same day service. We sort of forgot to drop it off earlier and he's going to the main office tomorrow. Note to self: pick up dry cleaning after 5.

Not much planned for the day. I'm crampy and don't feel like doing shit but that doesn't work well around here. So I'm tentatively going to do laundry, fix the garbage disposal switch, and take the kids to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. And write a big to do list for the rest of the week.

Katie at 9:39 AM

Friday, June 04, 2004

I think I have the menu figured out for this weekend. It wasn't easy since the kids don't like "adult" food (except when I only make enough of something for the adults and then they love it). Greg's on the South Beach diet (low carbs, no breads). And the guests have various issues of their own and even worse, I've forgotten what some of their issues are... Does Steven dislike tomatoes? Do Erin and Ian like mushrooms? Sarah has problems with sandwiches. Beef hates me. And then there's Tommy who hardly eats anything so I tend to ignore him. As long as I have Pepsi in the fridge, he'll survive. And Steven prefers Dr. Pepper, Sarah bottled water, Erin Mountain Dew, Ian Mello Yello. We won't even get into the breakfast teas...

Plus I'm not much of a cook. I lucked into having a fabulous Martha Stewart-like mother-in-law so I've learned to borrow all her recipes and pretend. Any meal you had here and left thinking I was a great cook, it was all a hoax. The kids and I eat raman noodles and bologna sandwiches when no one is looking.

After an hour of indecision:
Saturday
Breakfast: Company Breakfast Casserole (MIL's recipe)
Lunch: hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, jello salad (from the deli), salad
Snack: chili/salsa/cheese dip with corn chips
Dinner: grilled chicken with Montreal seasoning, asparagus, noodles (store bought mix), salad
Dessert: chocolate cheesecake (thank you, Roni!) and strawberries for the kids

Sunday
Breakfast: crescent roll breakfast bread (friend's recipe)
Lunch: lunch meat sandwiches (Sarah will just have to suffer *wink*), french fries, salad
Snack: watermelon
Dinner: stir fry chicken and veggies with brown rice

I haven't killed anybody yet... *crosses fingers*

Quote of the Day: "Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables. They probably get jet-lagged, just like people." -Elizabeth Berry

Katie at 7:56 PM

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... Be back later, I need to mop the kitchen floor and feed the kids lunch (but not in that order).

T.G.I.F!

Katie at 11:38 AM

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Woohoo, I think the migraine is gone! Hopefully it won't attack someone else in the blogging community.

So I scrapbooked 4 whole pages and folded 2 loads of laundry this afternoon. And then Greg reminded me that I need to clean the minivan before this weekend (my parents are buying it and one of my siblings will drive it there Sunday). Ugh... Where's that headache when I need it? LOL

Quote of the Day: "I don't think it is so much the actual bath that most cats dislike; I think it's the fact that they have to spend a good part of the day putting their hair back in place." -Debbie Peterson

Katie at 7:18 PM

I can't shake this migraine. It's one of those throbbing types that shoots pain into my brain whenever one of the kids speaks. Ow... And I've lost my appetite but that's probably a good thing since I seem to have gained 3 pounds over the weekend (curse you, evil scale!).

Today's Zach's last day of kindergarten. *sniff*

Aug 27, 2003

June 3, 2004

I'm now the mom of a 1st grader and 2 kindergarteners! Only 82 days until school starts. Not that I'm counting... hehe

Katie at 9:09 AM

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

I have a case of the "blahs." I guess not everyday can be sunshine and daisies. Maybe I'll go write some grumpy scenes in my novels. Or scrub the bath tubs.

Quote of the Day: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

Katie at 9:52 AM

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or proud...

How Compatible Are You?
I'm an apparently intelligent, moderate, disgustingly generous, seizure-inducingly boring spod!
See how compatible you are with me!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

It scored me as 75% compatible with Mindy from The Mommy Blog. Hmph.

And another from the Rum and Monkey site since I'm trying to not lose my mind (30 minutes until the kids' bedtime!):

At 4145 miles from your furthest extremity to the Mediterranean Sea, you outdo the Amazon to become the world's longest river. The piranhas hate you. Beneath you lies an underground river with six times your volume. You kept this remarkably quiet for several thousand years. In fact, you're full of mystery; your source wasn't discovered until 1862. You're also full of water. And crocodiles. And nuclear pharaoh machines that run on light and can see through time.
Which Extremity of the World Are You?
From the towering colossi at Rum and Monkey.

There's my quiz quota for the month. Aren't you glad I got it all over with on the 1st?

Katie at 7:30 PM

Random Stuff...

I have a new pet peeve. I cannot stand people sitting on the arms of sofas and chairs. Get off my furniture!

So I was being all careful with the new van and parked out in the middle of nowhere this morning at Meijers. We came back out and some dumbass had parked directly behind me, about 6 inches from my bumper. How the hell am I suppose to open the back doors to load the groceries? Looked to the right, tons of open spaces. Looked to the left, tons of open spaces. Grrr... I did buy a new mop and broom, woohoo for me and my clean freak alter ego.

Greg's off to... *checks her handy dandy Greg locator Word document* Philadephia and then Raleigh for the week. At least this trip makes a little more sense than the one he did awhile back, Montana to Connecticut.

Zach has 2 days of school left. I came up with the brilliant idea that the kids and I should try to do a little day trip once a week all summer for something educational and fun. And free! Or nearly so since we do have the Disney World/Florida trip in August. I heard this website advertised on the radio moments after my epiphany: Discover Ohio. It's fate! hehe I need to poke around the site some more but it shouldn't be too hard to find 10 or so things to do cheaply this summer.

From The Zero Boss, Pop vs Soda vs Coke, the generic names for soft drinks, data county by county across the United States. I say pop by the way.

On today's To Do list: trip to the library with the kids, change the gerbils' litter, fold the towels, win one more hand of Euchre at Pogo.com, tape a TV show off the DVR. Completed: moved minivan's stuff (CDs, maps, etc) to the new van, grocery shopping.

Quote of the Day: "I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top." -English Professor (Name Unknown), Ohio University

Katie at 2:00 PM

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