Ramblings of a SAHM

Friday, March 31, 2006

Yesterday afternoon we drove down to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms. Wow! All the pinks and whites were beautiful against the other budding green trees. I uploaded a bunch of photos and put them under Pictures if you would like to view them. Here's my favorite of the kids:

Quote of the Day: "I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Katie at 10:32 AM

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Might as well get the bad news over with:

139

I'd like to say it's muscle since we all know that by some cruel twist of nature, muscle weighs more than fat. And while I did start lifting weights (once, on Tuesday), I really don't think I can use that excuse yet.

I slipped. *sigh* I don't really remember the weekend but I think I ate a lot. And on Monday night, I grilled steak and chicken with these two awesome marinades from Sherry's husband and finished off with vanilla lime pineapple skewers over ice cream. Oh and oven roasted red potatoes. Yum!

Tuesday I drank 3 Mountain Dews, ate Burger King for lunch, and had 3 pieces of Domino's cheese pizza for dinner. Yesterday, again with the 3 Mountain Dews. I'm now out of Mountain Dew and seriously considering being mean to myself and not buying anymore.

I have excuses! I haven't done my weekly shopping yet (hello, it's Thursday, where has my brain been?) so there's no fresh fruit in the house. I'm a bit tired of salads, I need to mix those up somehow. I was so exhausted on Tuesday that I'm not sure how I would have stayed awake without the caffeine/sugar boost. Yesterday I was too lazy to bring in the case of bottled water from the van (I hate our tap water) so I grabbed cans of pop instead. I also haven't been following the eDiets plan because they want me to buy a zillion different ingredients for one meal and I'm happy with my Cheerios and turkey sandwiches, thank you. I've just been using their "Nutrition Tracker" (a fancy way of saying calorie/fat/carb counter thing) to keep myself in the 1200-1300 calorie, under 50 grams of fat territory. Which I totally have not been in for the last few days.

I will do better. I keep reminding myself that even with this slip-up, I'm in better shape than I was a month ago. I've still been working out regularly (I've decided I love my gym and elliptical trainers) and drinking more water. This weight gain just kinda sucks, I was really hoping to buy my iPod this week. *sigh*

Katie at 8:49 AM

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Woot! I finished my first "intermediate" knitting project! Although actually... This is the second time I've finished this. The first shrug was too small and I decided I didn't like the yarn when I finished. (Anyone want an itchy country blue shrug pre-teen size?) I'm beginning to see a pattern with my knitting (sorry for the pun). My first attempt is just that, I'm never happy until I rip the whole thing apart and knit it a second time with a bunch of little changes that I didn't like about the original pattern. (I suppose the Booga Bag was the exception to the rule.)

Here's the pattern although I substituted Cascade's Eco Wool in Ecru for the Lion Brand yarn (Just say "No" to acrylic!). The gauges aren't quite the same so I had to do a bunch of calculations to get everything to work. I also made the sleeves longer than the pattern suggests so it looks more like their picture (go figure...) But it is done! And I am happy! And I really need to do something with my hair...

Katie at 11:06 AM

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Update: The mom down the street did agree to watch the kids but Greg made it home in time! So I had a lovely guilt-free Girl Scout leader meeting. :)

Why I should have found a babysitter months ago...

Actually I did find a very nice babysitter yesterday but she's not available tonight. And tonight I have a very important Girl Scout meeting that I absolutely cannot miss. So of course last night at about 9pm, Greg found out he's going to be in Virginia this afternoon and evening. *bangs head on desk*

I've made two phone calls (left messages) and sent emails asking if there will be babysitting during tonight's meeting (because sometimes they offer that). Although they are usually good about mentioning babysitting is offered if it is and I haven't seen a single word about it for this meeting.

If babysitting isn't offered... Crap. I think I'm going to call the Brownie mom down the street and see if she can come over to the house. She kinda owes me a favor, I watched her daughter for an evening while she and her husband were out.

It's just I hate asking for favors like these. I hate asking for help. I'm one of those people who avoided group projects in school because I'd rather do it all myself. Why do I need to rely on others when I know I'll do a better job on my own? (Self-centered much? Sorry.)

And this means I need to make more phone calls... The phone, the bane of my existence.

Katie at 9:02 AM

Monday, March 27, 2006

Because a crafty person just can't have a plain gym journal:

It was a $1 spiral notebook from Michael's (it had an ugly brown and purple butterfly on the front) that I recovered with a pretty blue/green paper. It wasn't too hard, this gives me hope that I won't totally screw up making the kids' new scrapbook albums (this weekend's project).

As for today, I have 7 phone calls to make not including how ever many numbers it takes to find a babysitter (I have a list of 5 potential girls). Blech, I hate phone calls.

Katie at 10:34 AM

Saturday, March 25, 2006

I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yesterday afternoon, I had one of those "wow" moments. We had finished cleaning the toy room and Greg took the boys outside for baseball and the girls snuggled up on the sofa to watch a movie. For an hour I had complete peace and quiet in the house. No one needed me, no one yelled for me, no one demanded my attention. It was surreal.

We've slowly been coming out of the "OMG babies and toddlers everywhere!" stage for awhile. The diaper bag holds books with words instead of only pictures, fruit snacks instead of jars of baby food, crayons and coloring books instead of a dozen diapers and baby wipes. I actually carry a purse nowadays instead of throwing my wallet and cell phone in the diaper bag (which almost always stays in the van). It's practically not a diaper bag anymore, it's more of a "distraction/emergency supply" bag now.

There are no more nap times. No more nursing bras or bottles or sippy cups. We've moved on from buying a hundred diapers a week to 10 or so pull-ups. The kids' clothes no longer have "month" in the sizes. I don't have to keep an eye on the kids constantly, a potty break for me doesn't include taking the baby with me or making sure the toddler isn't climbing bookshelves. An overnight trip doesn't involve porta-cribs and strollers.

There are still less than perfect moments. Kelly opened my 6 month supply of sponges and soaked them all in soapy water yesterday. Kyle has accidentally spilled an entire gallon of milk on the kitchen floor recently. But there's no baby spit-up or ripped books. We've moved on from baby "oops!" to little kid mistakes.

I feel like I'm on the verge of joining a new club. I've always been in the babies/toddlers group and it seems so odd to be moving into the school age only category (Kyle and Kelly will both be attending pre-school in the fall). Middle of the night feedings and constant well baby check-ups are a vague memory. It's now "where's your homework?" and "let's go to soccer practice!" The kids are 8 1/2 years, 7, 7, 4 1/2, and 3. Of course that's going to be a different game plan from 5 1/2 years, 4, 4, 1 1/2, and 4 months.

I'm actually ready for this next stage. For years Greg and I have been saying "it'll be easier when Kyle's a year older" or "look where Kelly will be in another year" (comparing her to Kyle at his current age, they are 14 months apart). 3 seems to be the magic age everywhere, Kelly doesn't need a special reservation at the gym (babies do), she's old enough to be a tag-along at Girl Scout camp, she can be in an actual pre-school class, and most sports/library programs only accept children 3 and above. 3 has always been my lucky number. *winks*

To those still firmly in the baby/toddler camp, it does get better (although still tricky in a different way). It's bittersweet for me moving up though. I can't help but smile at a mom with a baby on her hip and a toddler hanging on her leg at the store while Kyle and Kelly hold hands and walk on their own. But as I look to the parents of only school age children and their freedom from carseats and pull-ups, I'm in awe and a little eager to see what it is like.

Parenting is like moving to a new country. You are completely lost at first but with maps and guides and "let's try this!" you slowly begin to find your way around. And then as things become more comfortable and familiar you can enjoy the different little unique aspects of your particular location even through there's always a roadblock or detour to overcome. I feel like I've reached the comfortable stage and understand a bit about where I am. And now I'm ready to go exploring and see what else is out there.

Katie at 11:09 AM

Friday, March 24, 2006

137.6!

Well actually that was yesterday's weight, my electronic scale's batteries died shortly after spitting out that reading. I suppose we've had the thing since 2003 so it deserves a new set of batteries. *scribbles on her to-do list*

And now the week in review:

On Wednesday I finished sewing badges on the kids' scout items and entering receipts into Microsoft Money. 4 more crappy things left to do...

My new cell phone arrived yesterday and it works wonderfully! It's a Sanyo VI-2300 in Ice Blue. Do you know how hard it is to find a plain cell phone, no cameras, no crazy flipping things, etc? I picked this phone because all the reviews say it has a great long battery life. And since I forget to charge my phone all the time, I figure that feature would be helpful.

Today and this weekend's plans include cleaning the house, hockey (yeah I thought it was over too, hmph!), baseball, and random stuff like "cleaning the guinea pig cage" and "ordering yarn." Soccer for the twins starts next week. I suppose that's all. Have a lovely weekend!

Katie at 9:02 AM

Thursday, March 23, 2006

I know you all woke up in anticipation of the exciting witty post I am writing right now. And I'd really hate for you to be disappointed. But the best topic idea I could come up with is that my children do not understand how to flush the toilet.

It's all my fault really. The Big 3 once knew how to flush toilets. But it all went down the drain (ha! sorry, couldn't help myself) when we went without water for 3 days in June 2004. I practically had to lock them out of the bathrooms to prevent them from flushing and screwing up the plumbing. I remember yelling "Don't flush the toilet!" at least a dozen times a day. And since that time? They have never again flushed another toilet without a reminder.

I guess I could look at it as conserving water. And the toilets do get flushed eventually. By me. My friend Steph and I talk on the phone alot during the day and occasionally she'll hear 3 toilets flush in the amount of time it takes me to walk between the kids' bathroom, my bathroom (okay so Greg forgets sometimes too), and the half bath. "Doing the toilet run again?" *sigh* "Yep."

Is there any way to retrain the kids to flush the toilet? I worry about what this kind of behavior means when they visit other people's homes. Or school. When I drop my child off somewhere the warnings are "Don't talk or go off with strangers, don't do anything you don't feel comfortable doing, you can call me at any time, and please remember to flush the toilet!" It's embarrassing...

Course then there's Kelly. Who has regressed in the potty training department in a very odd way. She will go potty whenever we are out and about, never having an accident at the gym or store or wherever. But as soon as we are home, she won't use the potty. In fact once I was carrying her into the house and she peed on my arm. Why?!?! Please Lord, help me understand my children and their wackiness about toilets.

I think if we ever build a house, I'm installing self flushing toilets. And Kelly might just still be wearing diapers around the house (but not any where else!) when she's goes off to college.

Katie at 9:37 AM

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

I have had the same six crappy things on my to do list for weeks... Enter receipts into Microsoft Money, recover the fabric toy room chairs, iron/sew scout patches on uniforms, call potential babysitters, go through the kids' spring/summer clothes, and sew the girls' jumpers (which isn't really crappy, I just haven't been in the mood to deal with fabric). It was actually seven crappy things until yesterday when I finally cleaned the showers.

So I guess instead of doing any real blogging today, I will try to knock a few of those items off my list. On tomorrow's to do list: a witty entertaining blog post.

Quote of the Day: "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." -Mark Twain

Katie at 9:26 AM

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Ack, the day got away from me...

We went grocery shopping (didn't happen yesterday obviously). And then I put away the groceries. Afterwards we went to the gym. And then I got a call from the school nurse saying Ally was running a fever. We picked her up and came home.

So how is it 3:15pm and all I've accomplished today was the weekly grocery shopping and 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer? I swear I ran into a time wormhole somewhere along the way.

Katie at 3:15 PM

Monday, March 20, 2006

Fun stuff: Being at "Chick-n-Play" (Chick-fil-A for those not familiar with Kelly speak) on a Sunday for a private party. You would not believe how many people parked and walked up to the locked doors trying to come in and eat (I counted at least 30 in an hour and a half). Learn to read people, each door had a huge "Sunday: CLOSED" sign on it. The confusion was plain on their faces: "But, but, there are people in there! Why can't I come in?" Also do you often see everyone in the restaurant standing around chit-chatting with each other? I'm easily amused by people's stupidity.

Today's plan is to wash all the bedding, work out at the gym, and buy some groceries. I know, a stay at home mom's life is so glamorous. Have a nice Monday!

Katie at 9:18 AM

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Lesson learned: After 3 weeks of healthy eating, a night of fried seafood/fish will make a person very, very sick. And there are 4 more weeks left in Lent. I think I'll stick to pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches.

In other news, I bought a new cell phone. Well sort of. It's "New In the Box" from eBay. I can't imagine spending $100+ at an actual cell phone dealer. Seriously if your cell phone dies and you don't want to mess with getting a new plan in order to receive a new "free" phone, go to eBay. (My current one doesn't hold a charge and won't charge at all unless you hold it upside down and tape the charger cord into the phone.)

It looks to be a pretty boring weekend here, I'm going to sort through the kids' old spring/summer clothes today and maybe sew the girls' jumpers (which has been on my to-do list for 2 months now). See ya Monday!

Katie at 10:13 AM

Friday, March 17, 2006

139.4

Finally under 140 again! Although I have a small complaint. So I've lost 3 and a half pounds so far, why do my clothes all still fit the same? Hmph!

I'm not feeling real well so I think I'll leave this post at that. Although I do have to admit I am a wee bit jealous that my brother-in-law Patrick happens to be in Ireland. Today. Ah well, I guess I'll just be green with envy for the holiday. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Katie at 8:17 AM

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Greg's home with a migraine, it's probably due to the weather. It was 80 degrees on Sunday and tomorrow we are suppose to have snow. I'm surprised I don't have a headache too.

So Kyle, Kelly and I are skipping the house today so he can rest in peace (doh, that doesn't sound quite right...). I have random errands to run (bank, post office, dry cleaners) and we'll probably spend extra time at the gym, maybe do some spring kids' clothes shopping, and eat lunch out. If I can stand the chill and it's not too windy (did I mention we had 50mph winds yesterday? Wacky weather!), we might go to a park for awhile. I should plan more days out like this. It's just there's usually house work to do or my computer chair is so darn comfy... hehe

Quote of the Day: "The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it." -Franklin P. Jones

Katie at 9:15 AM

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Ack, how is it March 15th already? I swear it was just 2005 the other day...

Today was a Brownie day so I spent all morning cleaning and all afternoon preparing for the meeting. Our Try-It badge was "All in the Family" so the girls wrote/drew on blank postcards to send to out of town family, filled in a mini-family tree, made coupons for family members("I will clean my room", "I will read my little sister a book", etc), and decorated a family time capsule. Family, family, family.

And now I'm ready to ship mine to Siberia because they have become a pack of wild animals. Screaming over homework, climbing on tables, fighting over the box of Cheez-it crackers, knocking each other over, breaking pencils. *groans* Well I guess I should be glad they saved this terrible behavior for after the Brownie meeting.

Katie at 5:11 PM

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Nifty stuff:

As seen at Hey, you, Word Clouds!

Click here to make your own. Chose "custom" (the eyeball picture) and don't worry about the $18, the Word Cloud is free, you have the option to buy a t-shirt at the end. I think the idea is that they scan your website and pull your most used words and rank them in font size. Cool, huh? Although I notice "Mountain Dew" wasn't included on mine...

Katie at 7:45 AM

Monday, March 13, 2006

Okay! Monster head cold here in addition to allergies. Darn it, I was hoping I wouldn't be allergic to Maryland. I woke up with my tongue like sand paper (and I kept having dreams that I was CEO of some big company, talk about a nightmare!). So between the runny stuffed up nose (how can it be both? I don't know, it just is) and the spacey medicine brain, I'll keep this short.

Zach won 3rd place overall in the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby and 1st in his Wolf division. Here are pictures.

The Brownies (including Emily and Ally) and I had a fabulous time at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. They have special programs just for Girl Scouts, it was wonderful! If you live in/near a big city, you should definitely see if your art museum offers something similar.

Zach's hockey season ended after a weekend long tourney with 3 other teams. Here he is receiving his trophy from the team mascot.

I also did some scrapbooking (finally!) over the weekend, I will try to scan and post those layouts later. This morning I need to make another sausage run (but not 120 rolls, just 6). And then there are random other things that need done: fix a cuff on a pair of pants, pull out some spring clothes because it's suppose to be 80 degrees here today, fold the laundry, mail some papers, groceries, plan a Brownie meeting, attach the vacuum hose to my head to suck out all the mucus... You know, same ole, same ole. Happy Monday!

Katie at 8:57 AM

Saturday, March 11, 2006

As seen at The Mommy Blog:

The Johari Window was invented by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in the 1950s as a model for mapping personality awareness. By describing yourself from a fixed list of adjectives, then asking your friends and colleagues to describe you from the same list, a grid of overlap and difference can be built up.

So go click on adjectives that you think describe me and we'll see how this all works out. katiefleck's Johari Window If you do one for yourself, let me know so I can try yours too.

Quote of the Day: "A puck is a hard rubber disc that hockey players strike when they can't hit one another." -Jimmy Cannon (It's Zach's last weekend of hockey for the season.)

Katie at 8:08 AM

Friday, March 10, 2006

140.6!

Brought to you by eDiets.com Last week during my blogging break I actually went back up to 143. *sigh* So I knew I wasn't going to be able to lose and maintain weight loss without some backup. So for $15 a month, I figured this was my best bet. Especially after my gym tried to talk me into a $100 an hour nutritionist. Eek!

eDiets is pretty good. They plan your menus to your likes (me: no red meat, no soy, no egg substitutes) and you can change the meals out (hundreds of choices). Pretty much for me they planned a 300 calorie breakfast, 400 calorie lunch and dinner, and a 200 calorie snack, all relatively low fat, decent in protein and carbs. I'm suppose to average 1200-1300 calories a day for weight loss in case you didn't want to do the math. The recipes are quick and easy (or you can have more convenience type foods, there are a ton of options!) and it hasn't been too hard to stick to their plan at all. I really like their nutrition tracker, I remember seeing something like it at Weight Watchers when Greg was a member but eDiets is easier. You can save favorite foods, move meals from day to day, and it breaks down each meal into its nutritional information plus totaling the entire day. With a little bit of fudging, (like leaving out cheese, taking a smaller serving of bread/pasta) I can fit one 170 calorie 12 ounce Mountain Dew into my day. Woot!

I also signed up under the Bob Greene plan so I receive exercise suggestions. So far they've been things like "Walk at least 5 minutes today" or "Do these stretches 3 times daily". These week (my second with the program) I have sets of crunches to do.

I've been enjoying my time at the gym. They offer 2 hours of free child care daily that the kids love. In fact the Big 3 are usually upset if we go during school hours and they don't get to go. I'm trying not to think of the possible germ fest the place is but hey, 25 minutes on a elliptical trainer without kid interruptions is worth it. (Remind me of that when the kids catch a stomach flu bug from there, would ya?) They have all sorts of cool weight machines but I need to "hire" a personal trainer to go through those. I like the gym, I hate paying for everything "extra" that seems like it should already be included.

If I stay on target, I should be 128 pounds on April 20th. How cool would that be? As an added bonus when I reach 135 pounds, I'm buying an iPod NaNo (probably the new 1 gig). When I reach 128 pounds, watch out mall, I'm buying a new spring/summer wardrobe! (Greg, consider this your budget warning. *winks*)

Advertisement: If you want to try eDiets.com, I can send you a referral email. I'm not sure if you'll get a cheaper rate but I'll receive $20. Which is 1/8th of my iPod. hehe

Katie at 9:13 AM

Thursday, March 09, 2006

I have stepped into the Twilight Zone. I can register my kids for "Journey to Hogwarts with Harry Potter" day camp. And then, "Year 2" and wait, there's "Year 3." And "Wizard Camp" in case you didn't get enough.

Harry Potter not your style? How about "Victorian Dreams Living History"? Or maybe "Fairy Magic Dance" and "Fishing". For scientists, there are "Claws, Codes, Constellations" or "Rockets" or "Dinosaurs" or "Ooey, Gooey & Yummy." Personally anything ooey or gooey is not usually yummy to me. And of course all the regular sport camps, baseball, soccer and so forth. Although there are six different camps for lacrosse alone.

I know this is a great place to raise kids and all (Have I mentioned that I've begun counting the number of sentences in a conversation it takes before the person I'm talking to says "this is such a great place to raise kids!" It's usually under 5) but this is a bit much. It's like Stepford except with kids. It's all too surreal. What happened to Computer camp? Oh I found it, "Preschool Keyboard Discoveries Camp." *bangs head on desk*

Katie at 10:27 AM

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The Big Family Band Wagon

Chris at The Big Yellow House and Carmen at Mom to the Screaming Masses currently have posts up answering the "Are they all yours?" question. I actually haven't had that question asked in awhile (perpetual motion helps cut down on idle chit chat with strangers) but here's a humorous post I wrote awhile back.

"Are they all yours?"

At the grocery store: Watch out, there's a two for one deal in aisle 5.

In the women's section of a department store: I didn't think shopping for a bathing suit was hard enough so I borrowed some children to make the experience easier.

At a restaurant: We asked for the Children Section, they came with the table.

At the park: Actually they followed my son home one day and he asked if we could keep them.

At the mall: Bill Gates will give me a $1 for every time someone asks me that question. I'm on my way to becoming a millionaire, thanks!

In a parking lot: I'm practicing to be part of the 10 clowns tumbling out of a tiny car circus act.

On the sidewalk: I'm a gypsy, do you have any kids for sale?

At home, answering the door: I have a boy and a girl. Wait... *counts the children quickly.* Dang it! *yelling over my shoulder* Tell your father to quit playing with the cloning machine again!

While waiting in line: I don't have any kids. *asked in a psychotic hushed voice* Do you see young people?

At school: I'm testing the number of children it takes to drive a person insane.

Anywhere: Yes, we're trying to take over the world.

Katie at 6:11 PM

Hey so they are in stock! (From Greg) Maybe an iPod NaNo would help me feel better... *winks*

So now everyone is all like "you sound down, are you depressed?" Ack! Okay so maybe I've been blue for about a month. But the great thing about having been depressed before (if there is anything good about being depressed before) is that it's easier to spot the warning signs. And for me the big one is wanting to run away from it all. And of course I don't really want to leave Greg and the kids for good (never!) but sometimes the urge to be all alone and away from it all is stronger than it should be. So it's time to pull back and figure out the reasons and do something about it.

I have daffodils (hehe), I found a new scrapbook store which looks similar to the Archivers I loved in Ohio, I'm working out at the gym and losing weight, and I have a list of phone numbers for babysitters. Blah, didn't I just do the whole find a babysitter crap last year at this time? This has got to be my least favorite "I have children" tasks ever. I've never been a big fan of teenage girls (even when I was one) and dealing with their parents and my kids and their crazy high school activity schedules and phone calls and blech... I can see why everyone just hires twenty-something full time nannies around here.

Except karma is looking out for me and our home phone isn't working. Which is odd because it's through the cable company and obviously the cable internet is working. But who am I to look a gifted horse in the mouth? Tomorrow I will make phone calls for a babysitter. Today I will scrapbook and hang out at the gym and do laundry and grocery shop.

Quote of the Day: "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -Don Marquis

Katie at 9:34 AM

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

So let's try this "positive" thing again. Even though I've had one fight at the bus stop (only my kids), Kelly refusing to go to ice skating lessons today, and Pinewood Derby car spray paint on the new (expensive) digital scale (thank god for fingernail polish remover).

On the other hand, the dryer is working again. It seems to be it wasn't venting properly (the hose was scrunched up funny) and that caused the heat to stop as to not overheat the dryer. So it's all better now although whoever invented dryer hoses and the crappy methods to keep them attached deserves to be shot.

The diet/exercise thing is actually going very well (*knock on wood*) but that will get a post of its own later.

Positive, positive. Today is my brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Tommy! (Although I don't think he reads so I'm actually going to call later.) I'm planning my youngest sister's bridal shower (May) and bachelorette party (July), I love planning this kind of thing so I'm excited about that. I have knitting projects and scrapbook pictures along with my new Stampin Up! stamps. And the week isn't too busy until this weekend. So I need to relax, take it one thing at a time, and uh, not stress over what I can't change.

I wonder if the local florist has daffodils in stock yet...

Katie at 9:02 AM

Monday, March 06, 2006

Okay I will try to be more positive today. It's just... Everything little thing seems to be dragging me down. And it's usually dumb stuff too. Like I miss this tree in the front yard of the old house. And I know all my spring flowers there have to be at least sticking up green shoots. I love bulb flowers more than any other garden flower and I didn't plant any here. Because we're not going to be here long enough to justify $200 worth of bulbs. Blah...

Kelly's taken to pooping in her underwear and peeing when she can't be bothered to go to the bathroom. She's 3 years old! I've been wiping butts for 8 1/2 years straight now, I'm so done with it.

And the kids seem to have had their memories erased of the odd notion of a laundry basket. As in "huh? my dirty clothes go where?" I hate finding socks behind the couch or underwear just laying in the middle of the hallway. At this rate I'm going to be a hunchback in 5 years due to bending over to collect laundry.

I'm kinda tired of people asking me to do things. And I know that's the very definition of being a mother but I'm sick of it. Get your own damn spoon, you can turn the light on yourself, why do I have to be the one to run upstairs for your shoes? No wonder no one wants to let me go away for a few hours alone, they'd be sitting in the dark, starving with cold feet.

So much for being positive today...

Katie at 8:37 AM

Sunday, March 05, 2006

I really want to go home (Ohio).

The dryer is on the fritz (long story). I want all my new appliances at the old house. I hate being at least 8 hours from everyone I love. I'm tired of always being "lost". I want my trusty babysitter back, heck I even miss Ranger, the dumb dog. I'm tired of everything being so darn expensive and people don't even blink an eye at paying $5 a pound for chicken breasts or $175 for a week of half day summer camp. I want to go to my old scrapbook store, I miss having a scrapbook store.

I miss everything being "comfortable", I feel so out of place here. I have this little nagging voice in the back of my head always chanting "you don't belong here." The line at the grocery store, making u-turns 6 times a day, herding 5 kids in the new gym, this kitchen. It's not that people are rude here or anything, everything just seems slightly off. Kinda like when the sound and the pictures aren't cued up right on the TV and the person's lips move before their voice starts. Nothing feels quite "right."

I really want to go home.

Katie at 1:00 PM

Friday, March 03, 2006

Happy Friday y'all!

Thanks for understanding about the break. It's good to step back and take stock of one's life. Not that I really did that but it sounds like a good idea. Maybe next week I'll find time for that. All in all, I think Mountain Dew and snuggling with loved ones under a homemade quilt are all that matter. Maybe not in that order though. hehe

Speaking of quilts, I finished my blue quilt (picture). Treadmills make awesome temporary quilt stands. I've started knitting Christmas stockings, I'm making a version of the one on the cover of this book. I also bought some stuff through Steph's last Stampin Up! party so I really should start scrapbooking again.

Um, what else... The Brownie meeting on Wednesday went well except Emily had a meltdown over glue spots and paint mixing. Isn't 7 too old for meltdowns? My friend Maggie was in town and it was great to see her again! *waves* And today is my brother-in-law's birthday, Happy Birthday!

All the latest news with my exercise/weight/diet/blah/blah will have to wait until tomorrow because Kelly is puking. Actually she's not puking at this exact moment, she's currently sleeping on my lap after puking twice earlier this morning. So that throws out today's plan of clothes shopping (workout stuff for me, window shopping for kids' spring clothes) and instead I will be doing laundry.

See you didn't miss anything exciting afterall. *winks*

Quote of the Day: "Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake." -A.A. Milne, Pooh's Little Instruction Book

Katie at 9:20 AM

BACK TO THE TOP