Ramblings of a SAHM

Friday, December 31, 2004

Sorry for the lack of new posts (and even worse, the lack of visiting those on my blogroll). Between the Christmas madness, having all the kids and Greg home, an out of state dinner party, and now our New Year's Party tonight (current guest count: 8 with a possible 2 more not including our family of 7), I haven't had much time to breath, let alone write. As much as I love entertaining and I know I've have an awesome time this weekend, I'm kinda looking forward to Monday when everything returns to normal. Well as normal as things get around here.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Quote of Day: "Not a day goes by that I don't say, 'thank you, I'm truly blessed.'" -Oprah Winfrey

Katie at 11:46 AM

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Kids should not receive a full 2 weeks (and 3 weekends!) off school for Christmas break, I'm just saying.

The completed Gingerbread House:

So it looks nothing like the one on the box. There's no windows, no doors, no fancy icing decorations. Mostly because the kids attacked after I iced the roof and wouldn't let me get near the house with a piping bag. Or maybe because I lost the other bag of icing mix. Whichever. Zach was in charge of gumdrops so there's a tiny bit of order with those. Em and Ally kept sticking 4lb candies on the walls of the house (even though I told them a hundred times the candy would fall off and they did) so that's why there are white blotches on the sides. Kyle and Kelly just ate their candy and stuck their fingers in the icing. *sigh*

It's done so now they can stop asking me every five seconds "When are we going to decorate the gingerbread house?" and focus on "When can we play with Play-Doh, when can we go outside and play in the snow, when can we have our 5 billion piece Barbie playsets, when are you changing the gerbil's litter?" (The last one is Zach. Don't ask, I have no clue.)

Happy Hump Day! (119 hours and 5 minutes until they go back to school...)

Katie at 9:25 AM

Monday, December 27, 2004

So last week we were buried under a foot of snow. This week it's a foot of toys. Wish me luck as I attempt to reclaim my house from the Christmas present insanity.

Quote of the Day: "The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to." -P.J. O'Rourke

Katie at 9:25 AM

Saturday, December 25, 2004

Christmas Before:

Christmas After:

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Katie at 9:54 AM

Friday, December 24, 2004

Oh my... The gingerbread house didn't quite get finished. Greg's peppermint bark recipe took up much more time than I expected and I still had gifts to wrap and kids to feed and then all of a sudden it was time to go to the in-laws for dinner and present opening.

The chimney slipped a bit and I bet the roof would leak if it rained. IF (and that's a big IF) we have time between Santa gift opening, breakfast, baths/showers, and getting ready to go to the in-laws for yet more present opening at noon, we may decorate the house in the morning. But just in case we don't, I'm not listing it to any would be house buying gingerbread people.

Katie at 11:57 PM

Gingerbread Chez Fleck

The Wilson Ultimate Gingerbread House Kit should come with a huge flaming warning label: "Requires several hours of drying time between steps. Do no attempt with 5 children on residual sugar highs." And also: "Do not assemble in California and other earth quake prone areas . Or any place else where a butterfly might flutter by and create strong air vibrations causing the house to crash to the basement."

So the kids made it 5 minutes in the kitchen with me before I shoed them out because Emily kept trying the icing bond of the two walls I had up, Zach was tired of holding his wall up after twenty seconds, Ally was upset the girl decoration was broken, Kyle kept dropping the instructions, and Kelly took a bit out of the side wall (as seen below).

I really hope no housing inspectors wade through our foot of snow to check on the building codes. The pre-baked pieces aren't lining up all that well. I had 4 walls up and then realized the 5th one wasn't going to touch two of the others (the extra wall is a support piece in the middle). Duh moment: icing is not very good cement. I'm wondering how edible dry wall spackle is.

So here's where we are at 10am. Please check back throughout the day for (hopefully non-breaking) updates.

Katie at 10:11 AM

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Please pretend this is a witty blog post. Everyone have their imagination caps on? Okay!

First the snow. Blah! Greg told me to have the neighbor kid shovel the snow yesterday (it was either the neighbor kid or me so I wasn't going to argue). Guess he doesn't read my blog very closely cause I know I've mentioned the "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." -Phyllis Diller quote at least a few times. So you guessed it, this morning you couldn't even tell it was shoveled ever. And the house is a mess. *sigh* Poor neighbor kid, poor check book, poor me.

Next get your "I told you so!" ready. I'm Martha Stewart-ed out. The beaded candy canes and wreaths (on pipe cleaners) were going so well until Kelly dumped her bowl of beads. And then it was pretty much downhill from there. I skipped the cotton ball placemats because I wasn't about to bring glue into the mix at that point. On to the cookies decorating... I limited them to only eating two cookies each but did you know it's physically possible to balance two inches of sprinkles and half a bag of M&M's on one small round iced sugar cookie? Yeah me either. We can discuss the significance of this scientific feat after I pull the children on sugar highs off the ceiling.

So now I have to wrap a gazillion presents, decorate a gingerbread house (tomorrow morning's project, yeah I'm a sucker for punishment), and complete a toy room purge. At least the meals for Christmas Day are taken care of, thank you mother-in-law! Oh wait, I'm suppose to bake another chocolate cheesecake. Hmmm... Think some M&M sprinkled sugar cookies will do?

Quote of the Day: "My dear boy, if God had intended for us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates." -Willy Wonka

Katie at 3:49 PM

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Okay who ordered the White Christmas? Cause it sure as hell wasn't me. According to the local paper, our area has a 1 in 3 chance of having an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas day. A 1 in 27 chance of 4+ inches. So why in the world is there a foot of the white stuff out there and it's still snowing? I'm calling my congressman...

Quote of the Day: "Winter is nature's way of saying, 'Up yours.'" -Robert Byrne

Katie at 6:17 PM

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Update on Emily's eye appointment: She has excellent vision! So who knows why she said she couldn't see the words in the book. I've never noticed her having trouble coloring in the lines or other activities like that so I was skeptical in the first place. If I had to guess, she probably did it to distract her teacher so she could get away with not trying to read that day. She's been pulling little stunts like that recently.

Thanks for the "keeping the kids busy" ideas. I'm a fan of Play-Doh but we've run out and Santa is bringing more. So that'll be one of next week's activities. Greg wants to take the Big 3 to see Polar Express, I should ask which day he plans to go. The toy clean-up I think I'll do one evening after the kids are in bed. Then I can be really thorough and throw/put away a bunch of stuff without the kids screaming, "no, no, I really want to play with that now!" hehe The placemats are an awesome idea, I know I have all the items for them too so I'll add that to craft day tomorrow. Zach requested making a gingerbread house on Thursday and they had a kit at Michaels. For $40. Ouch. I have a 40% coupon (left it at home, oops) so I'll go back or try to find a cheaper kit tomorrow.

Whew! Is it bedtime yet?

Katie at 5:47 PM

So the kids are all home for the next two weeks starting yesterday. I'm trying to keep them entertained until all the new Christmas toys arrive this weekend. Yesterday we watched Christmas movies (with popcorn), today we'll color and do some activity books. Tomorrow I have a couple of craft projects for them and I might look for some more at Michael's today. Thursday we'll bake and decorate cookies (not my usual cup of tea but my mother-in-law gave us a kit) and Friday... I'm at a bit of a loss there, we'll be going to the in-laws in evening but that leaves a huge chunk of time from 8am to 3pm where all they will be thinking about is "Santa's coming tonight!"

But first I need to take Emily to the eye doctor this morning. Her teacher said Emily complained she couldn't see some of the words in a book. That might explain her delay in recognizing letters and words. I'll let you know how it goes.

Quote of the Day: "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." -Nelson Henderson

Katie at 9:59 AM

Monday, December 20, 2004

My MeMe for the month as requested by Ben:

We Three Things

Three names you go by:
Katie
Mom
That crazy lady with 5 kids

Three screennames you have:
katiefleck
Kella (Everquest 2)
uh... I'm boring, that's it

Three things you like about yourself:
my eyes
my sense of humor
my ability to multi-task

Three things you hate/dislike about yourself:
my forgetfulness
myself without Mountain Dew
my knees

Three parts of your heritage:
Irish
German
English

Three things that scare you:
anything bad happening to my family
being alone
cockroaches

Three of your everyday essentials:
chapstick
12 passenger van
Mountain Dew

Three things you are wearing right now:
long sleeve shirt
track pants
socks

Three of your favorite bands/artists at the moment:
Bare Naked Ladies
Matchbox 20
Counting Crows

Three of your favorite songs at present:
A Long December (Counting Crows)
A Million Dollars (Bare Naked Ladies)
Accidentally in Love (Counting Crows)

Three things you want to try in the next 12 months:
use my passport
make a quilt
move to a new house

Three things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
sense of humor
respect
stick-to-it-ness

Two truths and a lie:
I really did want 5 kids.
I was salutatorian of my high school class.
I love the cold and snow. (hahahahaha)

Three physical things about the opposite (or same) that appeals to you:
eyes
hands
smile

Three things you just can't do:
knit
sing
remember anything Greg tells me *winks*

Three of your favorite hobbies:
scrapbooking
writing
sewing/quilting

Three things you want to do really badly right now:
finish Christmas shopping
snuggle with the kids
have ***

Three careers you're considering:
uh...
oh I've got it!
a biology lab assistant (I'm pretty happy with this SAHM gig though)

Three places you want to go on vacation:
Ireland
Bahamas
Italy

Three kids names:
Matthew
Caroline
Gwyneth

Three things you want to do before you die:
see Europe
skydiving
become an aunt *winks*

Three people who have to take this quiz now or die a slow orgasmic death:
Snapper
Heidi
Kym

Katie at 10:17 AM

Sunday, December 19, 2004

We survived our trip to Erie, PA and the family Christmas party! No one puked and nothing was broken so I consider it a successful weekend. *winks*

Katie at 6:58 PM

Friday, December 17, 2004

One of my all time favorite songs, A Long December by Counting Crows from their Recovering the Satellites CD:

A long December and there's reason to believe,
Maybe this year will be better than the last.
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving,
Now the days go by so fast.

And it's one more day up in the canyons,
And it's one more night in Hollywood.
If you think that I could be forgiven... I wish you would...

The smell of hospitals in winter,
And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls.
All at once you look across a crowded room,
To see the way that light attaches to a girl.

And it's one more day up in the canyons,
And it's one more night in Hollywood.
If you think you might come to California... I think you should...

Drove up to hillside manor sometime after two a.m.,
And talked a little while about the year.
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her.

And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe,
Maybe this year will be better than the last.
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself,
To hold on to these moments as they pass.

And it's one more day up in the canyon,
And it's one more night in Hollywood.
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean... I guess I should...

Katie at 10:39 PM

What's my motivation again?

It's been one of the crappiest mental weeks for me ever and yet I didn't really want to write about it all week. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. *shrugs* I mean, how do I write about Kelly's epic proportion of dirty diapers, Kyle's screaming fit through any and all stores, Ally's constant need to color and then crayon mess afterwards, Emily's bouts of crying at school, and Zach's annoying habit of telling me what to do all the time without sounding like I'm whining? It's just stupid things: Kelly constantly taking off all the Christmas ornaments within her reach, Kyle eating all the sliced cheese, Ally and Emily jumping on their bed when their suppose to be sleeping, Zach demanding every single item advertised on TV for Christmas.

I'm not really enjoying life. Like on Wednesday, there was a beautiful sunset here and I thought to myself, sheesh I'd really like to take a moment to watch that. But I couldn't because we were running late to hockey practice because Kyle wet his pants and Kelly made a poopy diaper right as we were heading out the door. That was after the lovely tasks of getting the kids from school, snacks, homework assignments done, and the hockey gear together. All that to sit in a cold ice arena for an hour with 4 children who wanted to do anything but sit still.

This morning the kids have a scheduled 2 hour delay for school. So of course they were out of bed an entire hour earlier than our normal wake up time. Kyle, who I've had to wake up at the last minute to toss in the van in his PJ's to take the kids to school all week, was the first up. It's like Chinese water torture on my tired brain. Or one of my favorite quotes: "Raising children is like being pecked to death by ducks."

I don't want to cook, I don't want to clean, I don't want to fold and put away laundry, I don't want to spell "bear" and "Barbie" one more time, I don't want to answer emails, I don't want to change diapers, I don't want to think about Christmas, I don't want to make phone calls, I don't want to do anything. I just want to sit quietly all alone for several hours in a nice clean spot. And maybe sleep. I need a break from the constant demands of everyone in my life.

Why do I always have these break downs at the worst possible times? I can't take a break from anything. This weekend we'll be in Erie, PA for a family Christmas party. Today I need to bake a cheesecake, do laundry, pack, and wrap presents for that. After of course I get everything together for the kids' school Christmas parties today while keeping Kyle and Kelly from destroying everything. Tomorrow bright and early, the fun begins: 6 hours in the van, trying to keep the kids nice and presentable and out of trouble at the party, trying to get them to sleep in a hotel room, and on Sunday 6 hours back home in the car so that I can do more laundry and deal with tired and cranky kids because they didn't sleep in the hotel room and were stuck in the van for 12 of 48 hours. Mental butterflies and daisies, let me tell you.

I'll muddle through, I always do. I guess it's good to vent since there's nothing else I can really do to change any of the above. I'll get my pecking ducks in a row and go on, trying to shrug off the mental hits of daily life along the way. Greg said something about a trip to the Bahamas in a few months, just the two of us. Warm beaches, drinks with little umbrellas, no one yelling "MOM!" So if I look a little spacey for awhile, I'm day-dreaming of a tropical island. Or Brad Pitt. One or the other. *shrugs*

Katie at 10:13 AM

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Random Stuff

What the heck? Franklin Covey completely discontinued my dayplanner style. I'm not that picky, I just want weekly pages without daily time lines in the compact size. So I had to pay an extra $20 to "Design Your Own Pages". Oh well, at least they will be blue...

Today is Zach's first ever school play. The production is something about the 5 Christmas Senses. His part: Sight Elf 1. He's suppose to throw glitter. He even has a line: "A world without sight is no delight." Start engraving that Tony statue!

I forgot to mention the twin's big birthday gift from us. DDR! (That's Dance Dance Revolution for those of you out of the know). So far... Fun but frustrating. Kyle and Kelly like to jump on random arrows and mess the girls up. It's suppose to be good exercise too, I might have to give it a try. hehe

Quote of the Day: "Happiness is good health and a bad memory." -Ingrid Bergman

Katie at 12:58 PM

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Happy 6th Birthday Emily and Ally!

6 years ago today my water broke early in the morning. It had already been an interesting pregnancy: spotting, an ultrasound at 13 weeks revealing the twins ("What do you mean there are two babies?"), another ultrasound the next month showing two girls and then so many ultrasounds after that I lost count. Plus I had kidney stones and pre-term labor at 26 weeks that ended me up in the hospital for five days. So at 33 weeks and a few days, I was nervous.

We drove down to the hospital and yep, Emily's water sack had broken. Greg's parents arrived shortly after to take Zach (who was 16 months old at the time). We were given two options: start a pitocin drip to start labor or stay in the hospital on bed rest and pump fluids until labor started naturally. Since I'm not one to lie around hospitals and we didn't have someone to watch Zach for who knew how long, we decided on the pit drip.

The rest of the day passed easily, I was given an epidural early just in case an emergency c-section was needed at any point. Around 4 or so in the afternoon, Emily's vitals started dropping. They were concerned about pressure on her umbilical cord and actually inserted water to help elevate it. Finally at 4:51 pm, she was born, 4lbs 4oz. Ally was born 3 minutes later, 4lbs 12oz.

While they were in no immediate danger, both had breathing problems and were on and off oxygen for several days. They were fed through a tube for a couple of days until their suck reflex kicked in. One of the hardest things I've ever done was go home without them 2 days later. They stayed in the NICU for a total of 19 days, over Christmas and New Years.

And now six years later, they are healthy cheerful little girls. Their check-up yesterday went well, both are 45lbs, Em's 3'7", Ally's 3'8 1/2" (Ally's always been a tad taller). We had their party on Sunday, first swimming at the Y's indoor pool and then pizza and cake at home. Oh and a pinata! hehe

I can't believe it's been six years. This seems like just yesterday:

Emily (in front) and Ally, 14 days old

Katie at 9:43 AM

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Okay after my nice little "how in the world am I suppose to do all this?" breakdown yesterday, we're moving forward today. Well not that I have any choice in the matter. If I had my way, I would have stopped the world at 7 this morning and stayed snuggled up in my down comforter for a few more hours dreaming about a childless trip across Europe. But time marches on and waits for no one or however that country song goes. Sounds like it's time for a good old fashion To Do list. Doh, I left my day planner out in the van.

*goes to the van stopping to pull Kelly off the dining room table, spells the word "and" for Ally, grabs dayplanner, pauses to clean up a half eaten slice of American cheese, pulls Kelly off the dining room table again*

Okay here we go:

5 trips to the school
Emily and Ally's 6 year check-up at 10am
Laundry
Wash bedding
Empty dishwasher
Water and feed the dog
Call Best Buy concerning van's dvd player
Pay the bills
Sew a seam in Greg's pants
Order Christmas ornaments online
Bake cookies for the girls to bring to school tomorrow for their birthday
Soccer practice at 7pm
PTO meeting at 7pm (hmm, probably have to skip that one)

I'm not running errands today. It snowed an inch and while I'm fine driving it in, every other yahoo in the world decides it's time to drive like a maniac to the store to stock up on bread and milk. *rolls eyes* I thankfully stocked up on both (4 gallons of milk, 3 loaves of bread) yesterday.

Katie at 9:23 AM

Monday, December 13, 2004

Quote of the Day: "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." -Mark Twain

Do you ever have that feeling that you're holding everything together with a tiny bit of string and you're managing but barely and then along comes a huge tidal wave and you're left drenched and confused and holding a tiny bit of wet string and everything you were holding together with that tiny bit of string is in complete chaos?

*raises a drenched hand holding a tiny bit of wet string*

I think I never completely got back on track after the insanity of Halloween costume making (I moved the fabric bins out of the dining room into the garage yesterday and they are actually suppose to be in the attic. The costumes themselves are still in a pile waiting to be washed and put away). I feel like I've been running a hundred steps behind the last runner in the race for two months. Just when I seem to catch up, something is thrown in my path and I end up even more behind. Some of it's my fault (Everquest 2), some of it wasn't (all those flu bugs and head colds). Then there's all the stuff that just happens: birthday parties, school projects, laundry, holidays, weekends out of town, soccer and hockey practices, kids wrecking havoc on the house, grocery shopping.

My life has overwhelmed me. Little things are constantly being forgotten and we always seem to be running late. Two of my biggest pet peeves. I never claim to have it all together all the time but I've slipped so far that I can't even see where I started falling. I haven't scrapbooked in months, my writing has suffered. The house that was so organized over the summer is in complete disorder again. My dayplanner is almost completely blank for the last several weeks because I haven't even had the time to write my daily lists. My health is suffering, besides all those illnesses, my kidney are complaining because of my lack of water intake and I can feel my muscles slowly melting into fat (let's not even talk numbers on the scale, not good). At least the kids are faring better but not by much. Last week Emily went to school one day without her hair brushed, Ally's homework wasn't turned in on Friday, and today Zach went to school with his shirt on inside out. Kyle's hair has needed cut for weeks and Kelly is hell on two toddler feet, teetering from one mess to another in ping pong ball fashion.

I need the impossible. I need a week alone in the house. A day to clean. A day to reorganize everything. A day to do laundry. A day to sort and fill out all the paperwork and bills. A day to write. A day to scrapbook. A day to sleep.

And while I'm dreaming the impossible, I'd like another week to see each of my family members one on one. A day to just be with Greg and not be dashing off to run errands or break up fights between the kids. A day to hang out with Zach and do science projects. A day with Emily to play soccer and dress Barbie dolls. A day with Ally to color pictures and pick flowers. A day with Kyle to answer all his questions and build block towers. A day with Kelly to play the itsy bitsy spider until our fingers fell off and sweet toddler snuggles under a quilt. A day to sleep. I really need to catch up on my sleep.

So now I'm going to do what people have been doing for hundreds of years. Gather up all the stuff in my life and carefully begin tying it back together with my tiny bit of damp string. And maybe take out flood insurance.

Katie at 5:08 PM

Friday, December 10, 2004

A quick question. What the hell happened to the color navy blue? And why can't I find a shirt or sweater of that color anywhere? I um, know one of my Christmas gifts (to be opened on Christmas Eve) and on Christmas Day, the gift would be perfect to wear with a pair of khakis and a navy blue top. I don't want black, I already have a ton of red shirts, white is dangerous with little kids (or should I say little kids are dangerous with white), and pastels completely wash me out. And for that matter, I haven't been able to find a nice green shirt either. Who the hell thinks lime green is an acceptable color to wear during the winter anyway?

On a happy note though, I finished up all the kids' Christmas outfits and Santa presents during today's shopping trip. My list is down to 4 Christmas ornaments (I bought Kelly's today) and 2 $10-ish items for an extended family gift exchange. Everything else, done! Now if we talk about Greg's list... You'll be seeing him at the store on the 24th.

Katie at 4:25 PM

TGIF! I thought we had a little fun today with a Mad Lib. My sister and I used to fill these things out all the time as kids. Okay so maybe we were a bit weird if we thought nouns and adjectives were exciting. Anyway fill out the blanks and feel free to list yours in the comments. (The real answers are in the first comment by me.)

1. Place
2. Verb ending in -ing
3. Number
4. Holiday
5. Clothing
6. Noun
7. Verb
8. Place
9. Food
10. Animal
11. Adverb
12. Adjective

Today I'm going to the (1)_______. I'll be (2)_______ with (3)______ kids. I need to buy (4)____________ (5)_______ and (6)_______. I also need to (7)______ to the (8)_________ for (9)_______ mix and (10)_______ food. I hope the kids behave (11)________. Have a (12)_______ day!

Katie at 9:23 AM

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Today is brought to you by the number 3.

Times I hit snooze on the alarm: 3
Sips of tea I took before I forgot about it and it got cold: 3
Trips I'll make to the school today: 3
Children who go to school: 3
Days Greg has been gone: 3
Loads of laundry to do today: 3 (darks, lights, towels)
Beds I need to resheet: 3 (Kyle, twins, Kelly's)
Days until the twin's 6th birthday party: 3
Times Zach said "we're going to be late!" this morning: 3
Minutes we had to spare before the last tardy bell: 3
Doses of Dayquil I took to fight my killer head cold: 3 (haha, not really, just one. I think.)
Degrees I turned the thermostat down this morning (it was a freaking sauna!): 3
Times I wished stay at home moms had sick days: 3 gabillion

Today is also brought you by the letter Z. Which is what I'd rather be doing: Zzzzzzzzz...

Katie at 9:23 AM

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Some results from Three Pictures:

Dinner time. I think we had porkchops, noodles, and green beans that night.

My favorite place to relax with a magazine or book. Do not adjust your monitors, it is a weird green/gold color. It was a freebie and it's leather so I'm not complaining.

Looking south on our street at sunset.

My favorite place in the house: the family room. This is where everyone hangs out most of the day.

The kids in the van. Does this count as the inside of the van too?

Double duty picture: the green sticks in the cups are the girls' latest school project, corn plants. Also the view out my kitchen window.

Our mailbox. Eep, the paint is peeling.

Yep, we can fit both the 12 passenger van and Greg's Jeep Wrangler in there when the bikes are hung up and Greg needs to repaint the white wicker furniture and put them back in the girls' room.

The outside of the fridge. One of these days, we plan to buy a new one with a water/ice dispenser on the door.

I need to go grocery shopping.

Quadruple duty picture. This is my computer desk where I write my lists, scrapbook, and write in general.

The toy room. Slightly cleaned up (in other words, you could walk into it).

The Dumb Dog. Ranger Mutt. Although he's actually a full blooded labrador retriever with papers. See the blurry tail? It never stops wagging.

The kitchen. The wallpaper is whimsical country according to my father in law. He's an interior designer so sure!

The junk cabinet.

The front closet where we hang our coats and the mitten/hat basket. Kelly jumped into the picture, she likes playing with the basket.

My dayplanner. Which reminds me, I need to buy a 2005 refill soon.

So I still need the kids doing something they aren't suppose to, me in front of the house, me playing with the kids, my favorite thing, the kids making faces, Greg's favorite item in the house, the kid who kisses me first in the morning, the kids sleeping, Greg doing chores (haha), a new scrapbook layout (done! but not scanned), the kids doing wheelbarrow races, me drinking Mountain Dew, and the kids in their Christmas clothes (will probably be last years' picture unless you want to wait until Dec 26th). I'll try to finish up by this weekend but no promises. Now I need to get back to washing bedding, wiping running noses, and cleaning the carpets. *sigh*

Katie at 9:59 AM

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Okay so I thought we kicked the sickness thing good-bye in this household. *sighs* Kelly's got something, Ally's got something, I have something... I'm thinking I should rename this blog: "Illnesses of a SAHM."

Katie at 9:46 PM

Monday, December 06, 2004

Emily started extended day kindergarten this morning. Her teacher called me last week and said a spot was available and that it would really help Em catch up. While I'm glad the school and her teacher are so great about getting the kids the help that they need, I feel rotten. I feel I didn't do enough with her at home. Ally's not thrilled with the change either, she's now at home with the little 2 in the morning without Emily. I did ask if Ally could go as well but there was only one spot and Ally actually tested high and wouldn't even qualify for a spot. Tons and tons of mommy guilt here today, anyone want some?

Katie at 9:16 AM

Saturday, December 04, 2004

I'm still working on the Three Pictures, I haven't forgotten.

So what are your weekend plans? We just finished with Zach's Cub Scout Waffle Breakfast and Emily & Ally's soccer game (they each scored a goal!). Next I'm going to pull down the Christmas decorations from the attic (Greg doesn't fit, *winks*) and do the laundry. Tonight we're going to the in-laws for dinner and to see Santa Claus at their neighborhood Victorian Village. Tomorrow I'm helping out with the PTO Santa Shop during our town's Christmas festival and then maybe hit the mall to look for the kids' Christmas outfits. Oh and we need to decorate the house and tree tomorrow too. It's going to be an awesome weekend!

Quote of the Day: "Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons." -Ruth Ann Schabacker

Katie at 11:14 AM

Friday, December 03, 2004

katiefleck's Unofficial Guide to Surviving 3 or more children under the age of 6
Volume 7: Gift Giving

Ah, Christmas time. The time where we drive ourselves insane by hanging Christmas lights outside in freezing weather and drinking too much spiked eggnog. The time when the famous man in red visits. No, not the Devil, silly. Santa Claus!

**Are the kids gone yet?**

Whew! I mean the time when you have to buy presents for all the kiddos in your life and you haven't a clue where to begin. My first rule: when in doubt check with the parents. They may have some odd rules like no Barbies ("distorted view of plastic perfection" Huh? I never once wanted to have pointy tip toe feet) or no guns ("violence!" Never mind their 4 year old substitutes a banana and shoots you every time you walk in the door). Now if you are the parent, these ideas may make playing Santa Claus and dealing with the toy opening morning after hangover a bit easier.

My handy guide to shopping for a household with 3 or more children under the age of 6:

Buy for the lowest common demonator. This is my husband's rule and a very good one. In other words, buy the oldest child a toy that is safe to be around the youngest child. This isn't as hard as you think. If there's a baby in the house, do not buy Kerplunk with hundreds of marbles and pointy sticks. Buy Twister instead. Which ties into my next rule:
Less is More. Sure the 100 piece Farm Set sounds like a fabulous deal for only $9.99 but who really needs a herd of 75 miniature cows and 25 tractors? Would you enjoy picking all those up every night? Yeah, neither will the gift recipient's parents. The fewer the pieces the better. It means less pieces to get lost, stepped on, picked up, taken out of the baby's mouth, etc.
No Noise or at least Volume Control. I wouldn't go as far as to suggest you can never buy a toy with sound but use a little common sense. Is the toy extremely annoying all by itself? Odds are that in a household of 3 or more, the toy will be joined by several more noise making toys into an ear drum breaking, mirgrane inducing cacophony of sound. I don't know how many times my husband and I haved look at each other after one of the kids opened an annoying noisy toy and said "yeah, the batteries are disappearing out of that one after bedtime." Volume control is a must. Or if you already have a toy room full of noisy toys without volume control and you're not cruel enough to take out the batteries (remember you have to be dead to be a saint), try this trick a friend suggested: a piece of duct tape over the speaker. Instant noise control.
Quality is Important. If it looks cheap, then it will break by the end of the day and you'll have a busted toy and unhappy child. Spurge a little and buy a good name brand toy for the child. You can't go wrong with Fisher Price, Little Tykes, Lego, etc. The dollar store stuff? Just remember you get what you pay for. I think most parents agree a few quality toys that will last through children's play are better than dozens of cheap junk gifts that quickly break.

It's not as impossible to find gifts that match the above criteria. When faced with a toy purchase, run down this list quickly: Safe around the baby? More than 10 pieces? Too noisy? Too cheap and likely to break? If it fails two or more of the above questions (especially the first), put down the toy and slowly back away. Want some suggestions? Here's my top ten of favorite gifts:

Books: You can never ever go wrong with age appropriate books. I suggest cardboard or cloth books for those under age 2, simple readers or pictures books for preschoolers, and the Classics for school aged children. Amazon.com does an amazing job of breaking down book categories.
Board Games: Watch the number of small pieces but an excellent gift for the whole family. Look for your favorites in a Jr. edition.
Videos and DVD's: Ask the parents if they have started a Disney collection or own the latest Pixar movie. And hey, if you want to be educational, many PBS shows can be bought on video as well.
Dress Up Clothes (but no feather boas!): Imaginative play at its best! The after Halloween sales are awesome for this but you can still find a decent selection of princess attire and the occaional cowboy or fireman outfit at this time of year. Why no feather boas? My darling brother in law bought Emily and Ally purple and pink ones for their 4th birthday. The boas themselves only lasted a month but their 6th birthday is right around the corner and I still find purple and pink feathers around the house. Argh!
Building Blocks: Lincoln Logs, Duplo Legos (don't go with the regular small Legos yet), plain wooden blocks, etc. Sure they make get thrown around a bit and hurt when stepped on but Duplo Legos are the one constant toy with which my children never quit playing.
Stuffed Animals and Dolls: Washable is a bonus here. And boys can have stuffed animals. Teddy Bears are uni-sex, not to mention that many cartoon favorites come in plush form: SpongeBob, Pokemon, etc.
Vehicles: I'm not talking the drivable adult kind but Barbie cars, Little Tykes dump trunks, trains, Fisher Price Little People Airplanes and Buses are huge hits with little kids. Be careful of sharp metal edges and flimsy pieces that might break off. Hot Wheels and Micro Machines are still too small and dangerous for this age group, hold off on those unless the parents give you the go ahead.
Art Supplies: This is also another idea to run by the parents first, they may treat crayons as deadly weapons or abhor the scent of Play-Doh in the morning. Personally I don't mind either of the above, instead I hate markers and fingerpaint.
Restaurant Gift Certificates, Movie Passes, Museum/Zoo Tickets: Not the most exciting gift to receive as a child ("a piece of paper?") but these are great stockings stuffers. They create another memorable experience beyond the present opening moment.
Clothing: Hey, clothing can be a good gift! Buy something a little out of the ordinary: funny socks, a colorful bathrobe, logo tee's, character slippers.

A few more pointers: pay attention to the suggested age on the box. No matter if the child is Mensa material at age 4, he/she will not be able to handle a 1000 piece puzzle of Monet's Water Lilies. Any movie or video game with a rating above PG should be cleared by the parent. Plastic is better than metal. One piece or items that come with their own storage containers (a bucket of Legos, a small trunk of dress-up clothes) are fantastic. And as always, quality time spent with the child (which is why #9 above can be an awesome gift) is better than all the toys in Toys R Us.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Katie at 8:30 AM

Thursday, December 02, 2004

First, Happy Birthday dear sister! She's 25, go over and wish her a happy birthday (and germ-free day)!

Second, I'm catching up on all my emails today. I used to be so good at answering them the same day but now I've been letting them pile up until it seems I have hundreds to answer (okay I'm exaggerating but it's more than 10). So if you've been expecting an email from me, you'll get it today!

Third, it's Christmas card time! If you're not on my Christmas card list, you're missing out. My kids make my Christmas cards! (And I do the boring parts like signing and addressing the envelopes). The cards are pratically collectors items, no two are quite the same!

Fourth, I finally feel human again! Nothing like 3 weeks of sickness to make you appreciate your own voice and headache-free days.

Fifth, tomorrow I'll post another "Unofficial Guide to Surviving 3 or more children under the age of 6" on the topic Gifts. It seemed fitting for this time of the year. hehe

Sixth, sorry for all the exclamation points! in this post. I try to limit myself to less than 5 but I'm in a good mood because Greg is home. !!!!!!

Quote of the Day: "There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction." -Salvador Dali

Katie at 9:58 AM

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Blog Clean Up

Just answering some random questions that have popped up lately.

Dawn asks, "Which eq2 server do you play on?"

Ah, EverCrack... Err, I mean EverQuest 2. hehe I was briefly on Permafrost at the beginning but when they offered a server move, my guild friends and I jumped to Faydark. If you want, you can see my character and guild (Asylum's Gate) here.

Maggie asks, "Where do you find your quotes!"

The Quote Garden Awesome site!

There's been a bit of confusion about my name lately: Lisa says, "Weird aside here. One of my grandmother's friends was Katie Fleck." And Kyle Fleck asks, "Hello there i was just wondering were your family is from because i have a cousin named Katie Fleck and i was wondering if this would be her?"

"Katie Fleck" is my online name, not my real name. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. *winks*

If you have any other burning questions to ask, feel free to leave a comment. I promise I'll answer by next year. hehe

Katie at 11:08 AM

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