Ramblings of a SAHM

Monday, October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween!

Emily as Minnie Mouse, Kyle as Stitch, Kelly as a bunny, Ally as the Little Mermaid, Zach as a vampire.

Katie at 8:05 PM

Eureka!

I have a plot for this year's NaNoWriMo novel! My first plan was a historical romance, a woman whose son is taken by her ex-husband so she has to go across the country to retrieve him. While on her journey she meets up with a thief on his way to the same place for a get rich scheme. Romance between the two, etc... Set sometime in the 1800's.

Except I couldn't get the main character to talk to me. She was turning out to be too frail to make such a journey. She was above getting down and dirty in the Old West and I didn't want the whole book to be one bumpy ride on a train across the country. I always think historical romances will be easy to write but my female characters all seem to end up being too "put on a pedestal" and not "real" and I just want to kick them in the ass for being prima donnas.

So in the back of mind there was this spunky character that wanted a story. She wasn't a beautiful maiden or a warrior or even particularly good at anything. All she wanted was a sheep farm with her twin brother and for both of them to be out from under their evil step-father's thumb. The story begins when she is kidnapped. And sold into an army. Mistakenly. Because they were suppose to take her twin brother instead. But they keep her and off we go with our story!

I haven't decided if I'm going with historical (Medieval?) or fantasy (toss in a few wizards and so forth) yet. I guess I'll see what happens as we go on. I can't wait for November 1st now!

Oh yeah, Happy Halloween! I will post a picture of the kids tonight. :)

Katie at 10:44 AM

Sunday, October 30, 2005

I'm having a grumpy day.

First it's Daylight Savings Time which is the stupidest idiotic idea of man's ever. Well Barney wasn't too bright either but we'll go into that another day. Anyway I grew up in Indiana where they don't subscribe to this madness (only they do now, starting in the spring *sobs*). Listen people, we have the same freaking amount of sunlight no matter what time you decide to call it. Flipping your little LCD alarm clocks forward or backwards does not change the laws of physics no matter how high and mighty you think you are with your opposable thumbs. In my opinion we should just stay on "summer" time since we get our "extra" hour of sunlight in the evening which is way more practical than sunrises at 6 freaking in the morning. Yes, that is the time my kids were up today. Thank you the geniuses of the world who invented Daylight Savings Time. (I warned you I was grumpy.)

If I may continue my ranting (and hey it's my blog!), it has come to my attention that there are other blogs titled "ramblings of a stay at home mom" out there. Which is all fine and dandy except that search engines are pulling them up before mine. Probably because I use SAHM instead of the long version. Anyway this is not fair, I was here first and I have the archives to prove it! Can't people be more creative than "ramblings?" I know I'm crappy at titles but sheesh, does everyone else have to be as well? It makes me tempted to think of a more interesting title for here but one, like I said I'm crappy at names and titles (we had a cat named Kitty and a guinea pig named Piggy, okay?) and two, I'm kinda branded with "Ramblings of a SAHM." I'd have to redo all my graphics and ask you all to change your links and so forth. So I guess I'll just be grumpy about this and remind you all that when you search for "Ramblings of a SAHM" that you go with the original (abet unoriginal at titles), me!

Just for the record, I'm not grumpy with Greg. He is a sweetheart and I will cherish him forever (no sarcasm here so you stop laughing).

Happy Freaking Daylight Savings Time! (insert sarcasm again here...)

Katie at 6:57 AM

Friday, October 28, 2005

Halloween costumes... Check!

Big plastic pumkins for trick or treating... Check!

Haunted house being built in the neighbor's garage... Check!

Cute $5 Halloween T-shirt from Target for me... Check!

Halloween candy...

Halloween candy?

Who the heck forgot to buy the Halloween candy?!?!?!

Oh. That would be me. *runs off to the store*

Katie at 9:07 AM

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Sewing

Okay so I'm not the neatest seamstress ever... I'm almost done, be back later.

Katie at 10:29 AM

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

A rather strange request but does anyone have a good beef stew recipe? Greg and I both like the Dinty Moore type but that stuff has like 150% of your daily recommended sodium intake and 60 grams of fat per bite. So basically a recipe with beef, potatoes, and carrots in a gravy like sauce (not broth). I have a crock pot (slow cooker for those of you with a different regional dialect) if that's required. Thanks!

Katie at 8:39 AM

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Not exactly the purpose I had in mind when I bought the stack of post-it notes.

I have no idea what any of them say.

Or why they had to be stuck to the toy room wall.

And the floor (not pictured).

Where did the pink ones come from? I only bought yellow.

I think it may have something to do with the fact that the post-it notes kept the kids busy and quiet while I took Zach to hockey practice and Greg stayed home.

I don't remember the reason I bought the post-it notes in the first place.

But I guess I need to buy some more now.

Katie at 9:12 AM

Monday, October 24, 2005

So I tried to stay up late last night to work on the Halloween costumes. I finished Ally's (Ariel, the little mermaid) and started on Kelly's (bunny). I cut and sewed and seam ripped and sewed and cut some more. As I was putting in the second sleeve, I was blinking and yawning to the point that I had to call it quits. At 12:30... So much for burning the midnight oil.

Zach's costume is also finished but that's because his is mostly store bought. Put down the pitchforks! He wants to be vampire and as anyone who has ever tried to sew a cape will tell you, it's much better to buy a $5 cape than spend $20+ on fabric plus the hassle of actually sewing a cape. I think this is why so many people get turned off by sewing. A cape sounds like a nice and easy project but in reality, it's a pain in the ass. His costume isn't completely store bought, I'm re-using the fancy neck and wrist lace pieces from last year's Captain Hook costume.

Kyle's costume (Stitch) is just a blue version of Kelly's bunny costume (I'm not doing the extra arms, he doesn't like those) and Emily's Minnie Mouse costume is basically a red polka dot dress (we have the Minnie ears and the white gloves are on order). So I have it pretty easy this year. In fact I hope to be completely finished today. Even if I have to stay up late again tonight. hehe

Katie at 8:24 AM

Sunday, October 23, 2005

I think I may have found one of the perks of being a Girl Scout leader. I have all the Girl Scout cookies first. Mmmm, Thin Mints...

Katie at 1:33 PM

Saturday, October 22, 2005

One soccer game canceled and one local girl scout event postponed so my day is suddenly open. Of course there is still that small matter of sewing those Halloween costumes...

Anyways Sarabeth asked for some HTML and CSS help websites. After one month of using a Blogger template, I've been coding my pages ever since. With help of course. When I'm unable to find something online I turn to two real life people, my brother in law and an old Everquest friend.

Here's the trick to HTML. Everything is a sandwich. You need the top piece of bread, the beginning code < *something* >, your stuff in the middle like Blogger code or whatever, and then the bottom piece of bread to keep it all together < /*something* >. The most common beginner HTML coding mistake is not closing with a < /*something* > ***

While HTML is required for coding, CSS is a little more optional but very helpful. It's a handy tool that cuts down on repeating HTML code. Say you have several titles that you want coded the same way (font, size, etc). You created a CSS code that specifies all those things, give it a name (header1, etc), and with the proper codes, use that name where you want those titles. Most Blogger templates include CSS, it'll be in an area marked < style type="text/css" > and uses . and { }

Confused yet? Here's my secret: Lissa Explains it All, HTML Help and Tutorial for Kids. Yes it's for kids. But that makes it super simple for those of us who don't understand the difference between padding and margins. The best part of this website is she gives the codes for basic web page templates, 2 column, 3 column, 2 columns with a header, etc. Most blog templates are just 2 columns and a header and then fancied up with graphics and colors. Check out her examples here. I always start with one of these and then tweak to my heart's content. If you want a background (like my blue stripes), she lists how to do a background code here and then you need to make your columns a bit narrower (margins and pixels) so the background picture or color shows.

Before you start going crazy with a new template, please, PLEASE! save a copy of your current template in Notepad (it's nicer to code than Word). Not only does this give you a quick way to return to your original code if you totally screw up, you can quickly cut and paste elements into your new template. Do you really want to type out the code for your 50 favorite links again? I didn't think so.

And now the rest of the links I find helpful:

HTML Color Codes Basic color codes, although there are more colors out there if you change around the numbers and letters, make sure you always have 6. (The background behind this text? #CED6DE)

HTML and CSS tricks

CSS: An Interactive Tutorial for beginners

Starting with HTML + CSS Similar to the above link, helps you write your first style sheet (CSS) and incorporate it into HTML.

Mandarin Design Advanced tricks and tips.

Google When all else fails, google what you want + HTML (or CSS) + code. Sometimes it's good to add in "free" because there are websites out there that will sell you the code you want. And there's definitely someone out who will have your answer for "free."

Soon you'll be coding in your sleep! < head > < /a > < font color="#000000" > < br > hehe

*** Minus the spaces, I just added those so the code would actually show.

Katie at 11:55 AM

Friday, October 21, 2005

Random questions asked this week.

What type of toilet paper do you use?
Charmin Ultra

When are you going to have another baby?
Never

What's your NaNo novel going to be about?
I have no idea. I'm thinking that with the sudden surge of Mommy Lit that I might be able to write something marketable instead my usual fantasy "for myself" novels.

You are selling both Boy Scout popcorn and Girl Scout cookies?
*sigh*

What are we having for dinner?
Food, quit asking.

Are you really that skinny?
No, it was a weird angled picture. See how I'm tugging at the tight material around my hips? I ordered the next size up.

How do you run your Brownie meetings? What sort of activities/badges are you working on?
This is my first year ever so I'm still trying to figure out the best way. We meet right after school so the girls need a snack and a bit of unwinding. The first meeting went something like this: introductions, a bit about Girl Scouts, learning the Girl Scout Sign and Law, snack (smores, a Girl Scout treat), coloring a book about the Girl Scout Promise, and creating tote bags to carry their books and uniform. As for badges, we're doing a bit of everything, next meeting is science and then music (I'm finding a concert to go to) and then another arts & crafts and so forth. In the spring, we have some outdoor type projects but we probably won't camp this year. I'm required to do an overnight camp training class before going with the girls and I haven't taken the class yet.

Can we go outside and play?
No, it's raining.

Why's it raining?
Because the gods hate me.

Where's the coloring paper?
We're out, take the rest of the paper from my printer. Note to self: don't try to print anything today.

Why don't we have school today?
Because the gods hate me.

Are the Halloween costumes finished yet?
The correct question is: Have you even started the Halloween costumes yet? And the answer is still: Ha! No!

And that finishes this session of Q&A with katiefleck. Please save all other questions until after she finishes the Halloween costumes, gives an offering to appease the gods, and buys more printer paper.

Katie at 8:54 AM

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Quote of the Day: "This must be a Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays." -Arthur Dent, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Katie at 8:15 AM

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

My first Brownie meeting went wonderfully! I hit it off with the volunteer mom (she is adorable, I want to lock her in my closet) so we were as chatty as the girls. hehe The girls were fabulous, I think they had as much fun as I did. Since the meeting was at my house (stupid county school administration and their 1 month wait on school use approval), I did have one girl who just wanted to go to Emily and Ally's room the entire time. Until she realized all the toys were in the basement and then she wanted to go there. It's not a play date, sweetie... I was so excited and nervous about the whole thing, I totally forgot to take pictures. Not to post on the internet (against Girl Scout privacy polices) but I want to give each girl a little scrapbook at the end of the year. Ah well, there's always next time.

Pleytime was right about meeting with the guidance counselor. It's not as bad as I had made it in my mind but both girls do need some help. He offered several suggestions and he will met with the girls individually once a week to keep tabs. He himself is a twin so I'm happy to have his opinions on everything. We probably won't switch classes to get them in the same one since eventually they are going to have to learn independence. The teachers and I are going to email a few times a week about their daily behavior rather than me being hit out of the blue with "your daughter is dreadful!" (Well not what she said but it kinda felt that way.) We're all going to try to give them tools to deal with their emotions and try to head off meltdowns when possible (which is what I tend to do at home but not always possible in a classroom of 20). It just makes me wonder at what point did they miss learning this coping skills? Mommy guilt is an evil thing.

Oh, my therapist appointment? Canceled. She had minor surgery and her doctor didn't want her at the office tonight. Darn... *winks*

Katie at 6:17 PM

Advil Migraine to the rescue! Kyle, Kelly and I had a ton of errands to run so I really couldn't stay home and sleep in a nice dark quiet room (although I'm not sure "quiet" is achievable here). I feel fine today so yep, we have more errands to run. And I'm getting the house ready for our first Brownie meeting after school today! Yippee!

I also have two therapist appointments today, one with the school guidance counselor about Emily and Ally (more in a second) and one with my new therapist. I go back and forth about whether it really helps me or not. I don't like the dreadful feeling before going, it's kinda hard to explain I suppose. I think I was prompted to find a therapist here because I was going through a weird rough patch with the whole move and hormones. Me and my hormones don't get along well at times. Anyway I feel fine right now. Maybe she'll write me a doctor's note that says I am sane and be done with it.

Emily and Ally... I got a late night call from Ally's teacher that Ally had a complete meltdown during school yesterday. It could easily have been Emily's teacher because there have been vague mentions during routine phone calls that Emily is whining and crying at times but nothing more in depth. The guidance counselor stepped in yesterday with Ally. So I called this morning and set up an appointment to talk with him today.

The first thing is that they don't do this extreme behavior at home. We ignore whining or crying or they are sent to their rooms to calm down. The teacher can't ignore it as it disrupts the rest of the class and there's no place to really send a child to calm down. Next I think it's for attention, kinda like the soccer practice meltdowns (which we haven't dealt with because soccer practice has been canceled for the previous 3 weeks due to rain). Yesterday's problem was the result of the perfectionist streak the girls occasionally have. Ally misglued something on her paper and rather than move on, she wanted a new paper to start over. The teacher didn't have a new paper so the problem couldn't be solved that way. Ally refused to move on from the mistake, throwing a screaming and crying fit instead.

So... I feel terrible that the teachers are having to deal with this. And I'm not sure how to help it. My few thoughts on the subject are that we need to work on problem solving. I'm guilty of sometimes ignoring the problem when they whine or cry instead of calming them down and trying to help them work through it. I think if we talk through possible issues (one at a time) while they are calm and then give them examples of actions they can take (other than crying or whining), we may be able to head off meltdowns. I've done that occasionally but probably not enough to be effective. Emily's and Ally's line of thinking seems to be: have a problem, cry or whine for attention until someone solves it or takes the problem away. Which is typical for a 2 year old but definitely not good behavior for a 1st grader.

The only other idea I have is that the twins need to be in the same classroom. They were excellent in pre-kindergarten when they were together. Their kindergarten teachers noted that the girls were often better behaved after recess when they had seen each other. I originally thought they needed to be in different classrooms to promote independence. However they don't look to each other for academic help (in fact they refuse help from each other during homework), they may just need the physiological boost from seeing the other across the room. It might have been too early to expect them to handle breaking that emotional bond between them.

I think these meltdown problems need to be solved now or they are going to start losing friends (who wants to play with a whiny baby?) and be known as the problem child in their classrooms. They are also at a very critical academic period, they are emergent readers and are starting more challenging math lessons. If they are crying and whining, they aren't going to be able to learn.

Sorry for the long winded post, I'm very upset and worried about this. I hope the guidance counselor will have some helpful suggestions and we can start working to fix this. And as much as I hate to say this, I can't help thinking why can't they be more like Zach? Who is doing well, he's beyond grade level in reading (at least 5th grade level) and above grade level in math (3rd grade-ish). No complaints from his teacher other than the first homework assignment that he turned in late (and that was mostly my fault because it was lost in the shuffle of back to school madness). He is enjoying chess club, hockey, and cub scouts. I guess it just goes to show that everyone is different.

Katie at 11:23 AM

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Ow, migraine...

Katie at 8:31 AM

Monday, October 17, 2005

Wow, what a weekend. There was much giggling and drinking and eating and giggling. I can't tell you how happy I was to land in Indiana Thursday night. For those who don't know me well, I'm such a small town Midwestern girl at heart. People probably thought I was the biggest goofball because I smiled every time I heard towns like Bloomington, Muncie, Huntingburg, Terre Haute, Vincennes. It was even cool to see people wearing Ohio State Buckeye shirts and the dreaded University of Michigan ones at the airports (I had a 2 1/2 hour lay over in Detroit on my way home). Maryland may be nice but Indiana and Ohio will always be "home" to me.

We also saw Elizabethtown. It was so-so. The best parts were the scenes about Kentucky and Lou-a-vulle. And that's just because I grew up on the Indiana side of Louisville so I "got" the jokes. The romance between Orlando Bloom's character and Kirsten Dunst's wasn't very good but then again, I swear Kirsten Dunst just plays a more fashionable version of herself in all her movies (Greg thinks the same about Nicholas Cage). It's a renter movie, spend your theater money on something else.

It's great to be home with the kids and Greg again. I'll be honest, I missed Kelly the most. She has the cutest little phone voice and it was breaking my heart not to be able to snuggle with her. Greg just kept repeating, "never again, never again." hehe Everything went well for him although when I came home last night, Kyle was wearing Zach's clothes (3 sizes too big) and had his shoes on the wrong feet (which happens about half the time when I'm here so I can't really blame that one on Greg).

Today I'm back to the grind. Laundry, phone calls, Brownie stuff, Market Day, hockey practice. Oh and the Halloween costumes that I haven't even begun to think about beyond Zach wants to be a vampire, Emily: Minnie Mouse, Ally: the Little Mermaid, Kyle: Stitch (he kinda wants to be the Elvis version, we'll see), and Kelly: a bunny. I swear it was October 1st just yesterday...

Quote of the Day: "Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration." -Charles Dickens

Katie at 9:43 AM

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Katie with the Pink Dress, Pink Dress On

The actual dress for the wedding will be a dark cranberry/garnet/burgundy (how many names are there for dark red?) and my hair will be done and...

Anyways, the other bridesmaids (minus my other sister who was taking pictures, click to view): Beth, Jolene and Jessica.

Katie at 9:30 PM

Friday, October 14, 2005

So I'm here in the Land of a Thousand Babies*. Also known as Stephanie's daycare. The flight to Indianapolis (through Detroit) was uneventful although I was stuck in the middle seat. Steph and I stayed up later than we should chatting so I'm a bit tired especially since her first daycare kid arrived at some ungodly hour (like 5am?).

Tonight I'm catching a ride to Terre Haute (one of my sister's friends is driving through Indy on her way there). I can't wait to see my sisters. It's been months since I've seen them and I miss them more than words can say. On the agenda tonight is girly things followed by girly bridesmaid dress shopping tomorrow morning followed by more girly things followed by me leaving Sunday morning to fly home. (Which isn't that girly but whatever.)

And Greg? Is supposedly bored to death at home with Kyle and Kelly. Maybe he should take up knitting.

* actually 10 (including Steph's own twins)

Katie at 12:20 PM

Thursday, October 13, 2005

I'm not sure who's coming or going anymore. Nothing like seeing guests out the door, then immediately going to make pizzas with 12 Cub Scouts and their siblings, both by 10 in the morning. Now we're home so I can clean, cook, and do laundry before packing for my weekend in Indiana (flight out 6:30-ish). With the Big 3 home from school (Happy Yom Kippur!) to "help". Yee-haw...

Katie at 11:03 AM

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Pictures!
(Maryland Renaissance Festival)

Ally, Kyle, Zach, Emily, Kelly

Kelly gnawing on a turkey leg

3 princesses, a warrior, and a wizard (Zach's wand not pictured)

Katie at 8:24 AM

Monday, October 10, 2005

As much as I'd love to stay and chat (and it pains me to say this), I have a busy, busy week ahead and probably won't have much computer time.

Tonight: put together Girl Scout cookie orders (due today!), 3 1/2 hour Brownie Leader meeting, Zach's hockey practice
Tuesday: create Brownie Troop checking account at bank, drop sister-in-law off at the airport, Zach's chess club, The Back of My Mind and The Wife arrive
Wednesday: twins' field trip, TBOMM and The Wife here
Thursday: No School (Happy Yom Kippur!), TBOMM and The Wife leave, Boy Scout outing at Uno's (Chicago style pizza place), and in the evening I fly to Indiana to go bridesmaid dress shopping with my sisters over the weekend
Friday-Sunday evening: pray the kids and Greg survive alone without me in Maryland *winks*

I also need to start working on the Halloween costumes and plan the first Brownie meeting for next Wednesday (the meeting with the parents went very well the other night). It's going to be an interesting week to say the least...

Katie at 9:57 AM

Thursday, October 06, 2005

For a good cause:

(Main page is always "safe" to open.)

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, a great group of people created this website to raise money for breast cancer research (and also Hurricane Katrina victims this year). Bloggers send in donations as well as pictures of their um well, boobies.

And since it's also Thursday which some of you may know as HNT (half naked Thursday), I am um, giving you my Boobie-thon submission (pictures are completely anonymous on their website). This is only a one time HNT because I have way too many family members and Greg's co-workers reading this to embarrass all the time (Hi Dad! Hi Greg's Mom! Hi Maggie!). Click here if you aren't related to me (mostly work safe, just a bra shot).

Whew, I'm glad that's over with. Now go donate!

Quote of the Day: "You start out happy that you have no hips or boobs. All of a sudden you get them, and it feels sloppy. Then just when you start liking them, they start drooping." -Cindy Crawford

Katie at 7:50 AM

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

"I'm scrapbooking again!" (vaguely sung to "Good Times are Here Again")

Zach's Pumpkin Patch Layout from October 2003

And since I scrapbook all the kids' layouts at the same time, here are the other 4 (Kelly only has one page).

Thank you Steph for all the help. Now if only I can keep up with your scraping fool ass. *winks*

Today? Walk to School Day. And House Clean Day. And Weekly Grocery Shopping Day. And Pick Sister-In-Law Up at the Airport Day. And Girl Scout Service Unit Meeting Day. And Pry Off the Shift Keys Day.

Digger may be right. I may be exceedingly compulsive. Or have entirely too much going on. Or insane. *shrugs*

Katie at 8:06 AM

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

And no, we're not Jewish but the interesting part about living in a diversified school district is that the kids get all sorts of holidays off. Which also explains why they go to school until mid June. And I'm thinking they should just continue going to school until the first day of school of the next school year. And Christmas. I'm seriously thinking about skipping Christmas break. If other districts can have classes on Rosh Hashanah then I think it's my right to send the kids to school on Christmas. Bah Humbug!

i.e. The kids are driving me insane and it's only 11:30.

Katie at 11:32 AM

Monday, October 03, 2005

Happy two year blog anniversary to me! (First post if you are interested)

I wish I had something witty to say about this important occasion (ha!) but I don't. So you can do it for me, how did you find/are related to/know me? And if you feel like it, why do you stick around? (It can't be for the moldy cheese and stale crackers. hehe)

Quote of the Day: "I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once." -Jennifer Yane

Katie at 8:16 AM

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Oh boy... October is going to be a nutty month. I take back everything I ever said about having 5 children at home all summer being difficult. And I currently only have three in school and activities. Why, oh why did I have five children?

I have a 3 1/2 hour Girl Scout leader class this Monday and another next Monday plus a Parent's Meeting on Thursday. Zach has ice hockey on Monday nights, < insert Super Greg to the rescue here > and thankfully the girls' soccer practice has been canceled for this Thursday (something about the coach being out of the country...)

No school this Tuesday or the following Thursday due to Jewish holidays. Weeee!

3 school field trips. Me out of state for 3 days. Conflicting Cub Scout and therapist visits. Market Day, Wee Praise, Chess Club, "former New York now Rhode Island" friends visiting for 2 days, church potluck dinner, sister-in-law visiting for a week, Walk to School Day, 2 day soccer tournament, religion classes, I think I've run out of room in my day planner for anything else...

And oh yeah, 5 Halloween costumes to sew in (eek!) 29 days. I'm not sure there's enough Mountain Dew in the universe for this.

Katie at 4:31 PM

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