Ramblings of a SAHM

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Okay, time to get the audience involved again.

You can ask one question (in the comments) and I will answer in the next day or two. I know sometimes people ask questions in the comments and I suck because I rarely ever answer them. I'm not good at returning emails either, sorry. Something about 5 kids and a husband running around...

Anyway here you go, what do you want to know to which I may have the answer?

(Stupid English teachers beating into me never to end a sentence with a preposition. Although obviously they didn't keep me from writing in sentence fragments.)

Quote of the Day: "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -Albert Einstein

Katie at 3:55 PM

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

I'm alive! Just buried under laundry and a bunch of other little things.

The shower went very well. Although I'm still laughing that the registry place screwed up their records and my sister received 3 hand mixers (and 1 stand mixer).

I'm bummed I didn't make it to Skyline for a cheese coney. I'd have said a "three-way" just to freak out those who don't know Cincinnati cuisine but I like the cheese coneys better.

Driving 26 hours out of 96 wasn't too awful.

I drank in a bar in my hometown for the first time ever. (I went to college at age 17 and never came "home.") And then got kicked out.***

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of May.

I saw Steph for like 2 nano seconds. Thank you for the help at the bridal shower! (Same goes for all you bridesmaids lurking.)

The kids are out of school on June 15th. A bunch of people asked me over the weekend and I didn't know. Although sending the kids out to the bus stop until the bus stopped picking them up was a perfectly good answer I think.

*** The real story is not that interesting. We went to the K of C (tiny tiny town, not many "bars" to chose from) and the only people there after 10pm were my sister, her fiance, my cousin, a groomsman, and me. The bartender was an old man and I think he just wanted to go home. He wouldn't serve us any more drinks at 11pm and then started turning off lights and locking doors at 11:30pm. So we were essentially "kicked out." Fun stuff...

Katie at 3:18 PM

Friday, May 26, 2006

133.2

No time to chat, will be driving to Ohio in about 20 minutes. (And then to Indiana tomorrow morning.) See you on the flip side!

Katie at 8:44 AM

Thursday, May 25, 2006

HNT

Maybe this is also an after picture (although I didn't take a before). 5 kids, a bazillion crunches... I'm very blessed to have good skin tone and elasticity. The stretch marks are on my breasts (*sigh*), not here. Very very old jeans... The tattoo that survived 2 pregnancies...

Click for picture (work safe, probably)

Katie at 8:22 PM

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Ha!

I figured out why Greg was so sweet and made breakfast over the weekend. He pulled the Cub Scout meeting trick again! Except this time he's in Texas (I forget which city) and he had signed up to bring smores to the end of the year campfire for the whole pack. (Den=6-10 boys, pack=all the dens)

But I have to admit, as nervous and worried as I was about bringing along all the kids and dealing with wild Boy Scouts around a fire with sharp pointy sticks, the meeting went really well. Luckily all the other parents in attendance had the same concerns (minus the "my kids along" part).

And men... They make me laugh sometimes. I arrived early because I wasn't sure exactly what the deal was with the fire. If Greg had gone, he probably would have been starting it. As his replacement, I wasn't sure if I could do it easily. So I cheated and bought one of those duralog fire starters. One of the leader guys was collecting twigs and such when I arrived and his wife had a stack of newspapers. I dropped the duralog down near him and said I brought it just in case. He chuckled at my naive way of fire making and continued with his twig and newspaper wadding tepee.

About 10 minutes later, the duralog was in the fire pit. Ha!

In the end no one was burned, no one poked anyone's eyes out, and 2 jumbo boxes of graham crackers, 36 chocolate bars, and 3 bags of marshmallows disappeared faster than I can say the Boy Scout Promise (which is actually longer than you would think because I keep mixing up the lines with the Girl Scout Promise). And it was a wee bit fun. So I got breakfast made over the weekend and enjoyed a campfire out in the middle of the woods (in the middle of suburbia). Go me!

Katie at 9:34 AM

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

So back to this scrapbooking thing. You may have noticed that I have a "Scrapbooks" tab up there that has um, never been used. I blame my computer. Greg and I used to share a computer in another room and I had a scrapbook desk. When I got my own computer, the scrapbook desk became my computer desk. I went from making 25 layouts a month to 25 layouts a year. Sad...

Anyway I've been looking for a reason to get out of the house and I found a scrapbook store near the gym. They have crops every weekend. So last Friday I went. It was overwhelming at first, I haven't really scrapbooked in over a year (or two) so it was tough getting back into the groove. But it helped that there wasn't a computer right next to me (no Club Pogo, no IM's, no blogroll...) and also that I could just buy whatever I needed as I needed it. (Spent $40, I can't believe I got out of there so cheaply!)

Here are three of the layouts I have since completed. I also started 3 pages of "Christmas 2003" at the crop that I hope to finish today. Times 5, mind you because each child has their own album. So 30 pages... Hey, I've already beat my yearly quota. *winks*

(Click to enlarge)

Katie at 12:26 AM

Monday, May 22, 2006

Please don't wake me if I'm actually in the Twilight Zone.

Greg made breakfast both days this weekend. Yes, I am as shocked as you are. (For those new here, Greg's version of cooking is calling for pizza delivery.) He made eggs, sausage patties, and biscuits on Saturday and pancakes Sunday. And to continue the madness, I slept in yesterday. I never do that! (Saturday morning I had a Girl Scout Camp meeting.) It was kinda like Mother's Day a week late and very nice. Today I feel so well rested to...

Take out the trash and go grocery shopping. Guess this means I am out of the Twilight Zone. Have a nice Monday!

Katie at 8:29 AM

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Tagged by Becky:

I AM: tired
I WANT: a million dollars (and a green dress)
I HATE: whining
I MISS: my family (parents, siblings, in-laws)
I FEAR: being alone
I HEAR: the guy next door mowing his lawn and Noggin (it's Preschool on TV!)
I WONDER: if everything will turn out okay in the end
I REGRET: trashing my diet and exercise plan this week
I AM NOT: a mind reader
I DANCE: in the kitchen while heating food in the microwave
I SING: badly
I CRY: whenever I hear of helpless children being hurt
I AM NOT ALWAYS: as organized and put-together as I pretend to be
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: awesome clay turtles
I WRITE: what I imagine I could do and be in another era, time zone, country...
I CONFUSE: the proper use of lay and lie
I NEED: a really good vegetable peeler
I SHOULD: run the dishwasher and start a load of laundry
I START: stories without endings
I FINISH: every craft project I begin (although it may take several months or a year)

Steph agreed to be tagged (hehe) and anyone else who feels the need to carry on this meme madness, feel free!

Katie at 2:17 PM

Friday, May 19, 2006

Ugh... Do we have to do the weigh-in this week?

136.4

*grumbles*

It's that time of the month which always makes me retain water. It's been a 2 Mountain Dew a day week. Greg bought me a big box of Godiva chocolates for Mother's Day. At our last Brownie meeting, all the moms brought in treats (cupcakes, chips, brownies, cookies). I haven't been to the gym since last week. I'm probably lucky I haven't gained more weight.

I'll do better next week, starting today. *sigh* (Have I mentioned how much I hate hormones? I did? Well I still hate hormones.)

Katie at 8:54 AM

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Sorry, I don't feel like writing today. A combination of being a bad mommy blogger, hormones (that time of the month), and the fact that a Girl Scout Brownie (who I adore) may not be back next year due to two other bratty clique-y girls (I can't kick anyone out of the troop by the way). It's a long story and it just makes me mad, sad, and frustrated.

Katie at 2:39 PM

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

I suck at this Mommy Blogging stuff.

A lot of moms have lovely posts about their Mother's Day and how much their children mean to them (good and bad). Today I decided I should write something like that. And then all I could think to say was:

The kids are great!

No wonder I didn't get one of the ClubMom blogger jobs.

So I thought harder. Surely one of the kids has done something very cute or equally exasperating. Maybe Kelly with her "I need snuggles" (her way of asking for a hug and cuddles) or the twins and their constant whining (I swear some day my eyes are going to be permanently stuck in the "rolling eyes" position from the daily drama!). And then I'm back to:

The kids are great!

Zach's doing well in school, he's in the gifted and talented class and enjoys the challenge. Kyle is no longer wetting the bed at night (*knocks on wood*). And then, you guessed it:

The kids are great!

Finally I came to the horrifying realization that I'm missing everything! I go through my to-do lists and housework. I help the kids with their homework and tuck them into bed at night with kisses and hugs but am I really connecting? Am I paying attention? I feel like I've been on auto pilot: wake the kids up, make breakfast, give them lunch money, do the laundry, load the dishwasher, run errands, make snack, help with homework, make dinner, clean, tuck kids into bed. Where are all those wonderful moments that other parents write about? Where the heck are they?!?!

Yeah, freaking out here just a little bit.

Maybe it was bad having them so close together. I do have a built-in play group so why would they need Mom to play PS2 with them? And beyond spelling lots of words for Em and Ally's homemade books, do they ever ask me to draw a picture? (They do read their books to me, that is sweet.) Even Kyle and Kelly are happily playing with their stuffed animals in another room as I type.

Okay maybe we've just reached another life stage. I have been working towards the kids' independence all this time, right? Sleeping through the night, weaning, potty training, etc. It's good that all they need me for are laundry and hot meals. Although after I teach them how to do their own laundry and cook, what then? ACK! They won't need me!

No more auto pilot. I am going to find these moments that everyone else seems to easily have. They have to be there and I'm just overlooking them. Pay attention, woman!

Tonight we should have lots of opportunities: Brownie meeting, Zach's baseball game, and the twin's soccer game. (We have nothing going on the rest of the week nor yesterday or Monday, it's all happening tonight!) Tomorrow we'll go to the library. Maybe we'll plan a little picnic or hike at a local park this weekend. I will be a good Mommy Blogger!

Now if only I could teach this pesky to-do list to take care of itself...

Katie at 9:48 AM

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

I have a feeling that today is going to kick my butt.

Tomorrow is the last Brownie meeting of the year. I'm trying to get all the paperwork and money from the parents for next year. I've only been bugging them for this for the last 2 weeks. Plus I'm trying to put together little photo albums for the girls and clean the house (still dealing with sand from the weekend) and plan some outdoor activities (the Brownies wanted a picnic party). Although I guess if it's an outdoor meeting, I really don't need to clean the house...

Tomorrow I will clean, today I will run errands. What errands, you may ask?

Camp store (returns)
Target
party store (fun party picnic stuff for tomorrow and bridal shower items, eek, that's next weekend!)
car wash place to vacuum the sand out of the van
bank
Blockbuster
dry cleaners
Walgreens (Brownie photos)
Girl Scout store (I want to pick up some little gift items to give the girls and rewards for the very helpful parents)
Girl Scout leader's house to pick up patches
Boy Scout leader's house to drop off Zach's camp registration

And last but not least, the grocery store because we are out of food. *crossing fingers Kyle and Kelly behave*

Katie at 8:55 AM

Monday, May 15, 2006

Edit: Photos and more information about our trip are up under Pictures.

Hi, we're back! And happy belated Mother's Day to everyone!

Okay so the beach camping trip. We went to Assateague Island, a barrier island just south of Ocean City, Maryland. I think we picked the perfect weekend to go, it wasn't too busy and the rumored bugs weren't out yet. There are these wild horses that live in the marshes (hence the bugs) and we saw about 10 of those plus lots of deer, rabbits, and a few crabs. Oh and tons of seagulls and a few white egrets. Saturday evening, we drove up to Ocean City and walked down the board walk. If you ask the kids, they'd probably say that was their favorite part. They also braved the chilly 52 degree ocean in their swimsuits, crazy kids.

So let's see... Sand in everything, check! Sunburned ears, check! Napping on the beach in the middle of May, so worth it.

I will post pictures and more details later, right now I'm shaking sand out of everything and try to catch up on laundry and emails.

Katie at 11:05 AM

Friday, May 12, 2006

134.6

I think last week's weight may have been a fluke. And the stomach thing threw me off my diet. As a holdover from having been pregnant 4 times (gotta love the twins!), whenever my tummy is upset I eat to make it feel better. It actually works but I usually end up consuming alot of unnecessary calories.

The great thing is we're going camping this weekend so that means lots of working out by setting up camp and hiking. And less food to eat because my kids become ravenous dingos and devour everything within 20 minutes of the tent going up. I'll post "where" and pictures after we return, I don't need anyone stalking me while I'm laying out on the beach (yep, there's a beach, woohoo!).

TGIF and have a great weekend!

Katie at 9:27 AM

Thursday, May 11, 2006

I think I've kicked my own butt the last few days. I am tired. Yesterday I did two loads of laundry, mopped the kitchen floor, tailored a pair of Greg's pants, and dropped him off at the airport all before 11am. After that Kyle, Kelly and I went to Costco, "Chick-n-Play", and the gym. The kids came home from school and we went to the camping store, Home Depot, Blockbuster, and ate in at a Chinese take-out restaurant (I had a $25 gift certificate that could only be used "dining in").

Today... Well there's nothing big that needs to be done other than picking Greg up from the airport and the twins' soccer game tonight. Although we're going camping tomorrow night (woot!) and that means there are batteries to be charged and ice packs to freeze and all that fun prep stuff.

Time for a serious to-do list.

Katie at 9:19 AM

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Mommy Blog to bring you exciting news as a Knitting Blog!

Green Gable Sweater (in Mariner Blue)

I've knitted my first sweater! The toughest part for me was learning how to "knit in front and back". (Which makes me sound like a total n00b in knitting.) The sleeves were easy, you actually just knit them along with the sweater body (this is knit from the top down) and then you pull them off onto waste yarn (I actually just used a couple of circular needles) and finish with few rows of ribbing. And the best part of this sweater is no seaming, I'm terrible at it. Oh and if you knit the size 34, you only need 2 skeins, I have about 4 yards left of the second skein. Ta da, my first sweater!

We now return you to Mommy Blogging...

Katie at 10:05 AM

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

My kids were playing a game with me this morning. There's no other way to explain the craziness they put me through. I think I've figured out the rules:

Breakfast, Time to Drive Mom Crazy!

Refuse to get out of bed until 10 minutes after Mom wakes you up: go ahead 2 **Bonus** Complain it's too early (8am) when you woke Mom up on Saturday at 6:30am: go ahead 5

Sit on the stairs looking exhausted and blocking your sibling's trip downstairs: go ahead 3 **Bonus** Ignore Mom when she asks you three times to move so everyone can walk past: go to Twitchy Eye Mountain

Fight over cereal boxes: lose one turn (how unimaginative!) **Bonus** Steal sibling's box and knock over another box and spill a cereal bowl: go ahead 5 and everyone else loses their turn

Chew with your mouth open: go ahead 1 **Bonus** Chew with your mouth open after everyone at the table has yelled at you to stop a dozen times: go to Rubbing Forehead Temple

Sit as close to your siblings at the table as possible to make them yell at you even though it's an 8 person table with only 6 chairs: go ahead 2 **Bonus** Sibling kicks your chair causing cereal spillage: go to Milk Lake

Complain about the school lunch menu: go ahead 1 **Bonus** Complain about the lunch Mom will make for you: go ahead 4

Leave jacket at school when it's 40 degrees outside: go ahead 1 **Bonus** Leave spare jacket at school as well: go to Mom's Getting a Phone Call Because She Can't Dress her Children Properly Avenue

Forget to brush your teeth: go ahead 1 **Bonus** Forget to brush your teeth, your hair, wash your face, and use the toilet causing multiple trips back inside to let all the heat out and the cold in: go to Mom's Gritting her Teeth Cave

Swing your backpack around and hit sibling: go ahead 1 **Bonus** Draw blood: go ahead 5

Fight at the bus stop: lose 1 turn **Bonus** Fight at the bus stop loud enough that neighbors step outside to see what's going on: go to Mom's Embarrassment Land

The winning square? Mom lays down in the middle of the kitchen floor mumbling incoherently and refuses to move until tea is made.

Here, I even drew up a game board (click to enlarge):

I just hope there won't be any more versions today... (Dinner, Bedtime, Homework)

Katie at 9:33 AM

Monday, May 08, 2006

I caught a stomach bug... Can I go back to bed yet?

Katie at 8:20 AM

Sunday, May 07, 2006

A weekend post, don't act so shocked!

The twin's soccer game yesterday was awesome, Ally scored the first goal and Emily scored the last. Their team won 5-2. I'd love to say that Em and Ally are just that go-get'em but really the other team's goalie always tried to kick the ball out instead of pick it up. Our team's goalie on the other hand is a fearless little thing. She'll throw herself on the ball even though girls are kicking at it near her face. Scares me to death every time.

A knitting update: I never heard anything from the 911 online yarn store. Greg insisted that I cancel the Visa card (what a pain in the ass, the card canceling not Greg) and I re-ordered all the knitting needles through JoAnn.com. I also finally found a place to order the yarn for the Green Gable pattern, I was really nervous about trying another unknown online store. My local knitting shop was less than helpful about ordering a color of yarn in a brand they carry, whatever... So I now give my stamp of approval on Flying Fingers Yarn Shop. Great site with big colorful pictures of the yarn (I hate those tiny swatches some places use). They also sent me a cute little tape measurer, I love free stuff. The Green Gable is about halfway finished, I'll post a picture when it's done.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Katie at 12:30 PM

Friday, May 05, 2006

133.4!

As promised, how I lost weight:

The beginning is here and the point where I joined eDiets is here. Also the inches I've lost on April 21st.

Basically I did the boring "eat less, exercise more" plan. I honestly had no clue how much I was eating a day until I started counting calories. To be 128lbs, I only need 1200-1400 a day. That's like one big meal at a fast food joint. So no more fast food! I also didn't follow eDiets exactly, I just went through their meal plans to find ones similar to what I was already eating and then adjusted my original portion sizes to what they suggested. I also worked in my 170 calorie Mountain Dew a day by cutting back on a piece of bread here or half a chicken breast there.

Exercise-wise, I shot for 120 minutes of cardio a week and then started lifting weights. But to be completely honest with you, I haven't worked out once yet this week (unless pushing Kyle and Kelly around in the grocery cart yesterday counts).

Um, other things... I try to drink at least 48 ounces of water a day, that's three of those regular sized store bought water bottles. Just put the bottle in front of you while you are on the computer or working out, it's amazing how it'll just disappear. No snacks after dinner time (although I'm not a big snacker in the first place). Eat one cookie or 5 M&M's, not 6 cookies and half a bag of M&M's. Make little goals for yourself: I celebrated when I was under 140, bought myself an iPod at the halfway mark, I'll be thrilled to be under 130 in a few more weeks, and then have a nice reward for yourself when you reach your final goal. New clothes I think will work well because then you'll have more incentive to stay at that weight so they'll still fit!

Also know you are going to have bad weeks. My period always screws with my weight. I was stuck at 137-139 for weeks. And it sucks to put weight back on. But if you took it off once, you can do it again. You didn't gain 10, 25, 50 pounds overnight, it's not going to go away quickly either. I also like to weigh myself daily, once in the morning when I'm my absolute lightest. Seeing a loss of as little as .2lbs helps you get though the day. A gain of half a pound (or more) would motivate me to try harder.

I'm not an emotional eater, I just didn't pay attention to exactly what I was eating. For cravings, I let myself have one bite and savor it. Don't buy the foods you know you'll binge on. Don't make yourself eat weird things like rice cakes unless you really like them. You'll just be resentful and more than likely eat whatever you wanted in the first place. Don't feel the need to clean your plate, quit eating when you are full even if everything on your plate is within your calorie intake for that meal.

And blog about it! Or tell friends/family and make them keep you accountable. It's easier to not have the second Mountain Dew a day thinking how I'd have to tell you all what I weighed on Friday and if I screwed up. You aren't just a number on a scale, remind yourself of that. People love you no matter what weight you are. Any questions?

Katie at 10:11 AM

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Someone pass over the "Bad Mommy of the Year" nomination sheet, I need to write myself in.

There's no milk in the house. Or eggs. And only about 3 slices of bread. Breakfast this morning was Oreos leftover from yesterday's Girl Scout Leader meeting (and without milk obviously). Oh and some terrible pancakes but only one per child because we were practically out of mix (one cup) and in my sleepy haze, I didn't notice that the electric griddle was set on 200 degrees. I think pancakes are suppose to be darker than my complexion.

I'd like to blame the rising gas prices. After the $85 fill-up last week, I don't want to go anywhere. Nevermind the fact that the grocery store is less than a mile away. Or a $.32 round trip. Do you ever do that? "Going to the gym costs $4.15 in gas" or "If we're going to Ohio, we need to plan on spending $120 in fuel one way." I think Greg's commute to work and back is $6.00 daily. "Kids, I know we don't have any food in the house but the van's tank is full!"

But it's probably just that I'm lazy and really haven't felt like fighting my way through the fruit/vegetable aisle ("it's lettuce dude, just take a head and get the heck out of the way") or deal with the crazy milk lady who pulls out all the gallons in the front to find the one marked "expires 2 weeks from now". And the cheese snobs discussing whether Fontina or Gruyere are better for melting. Let me grab the American Cheese slices and I'll be on my way, thanks.

I hear Safeway delivers. Maybe they will bring me $200 worth of groceries by lunch? I'd seriously think about it except that I like my banana bunches on the small side and have to have at least 8 and there better not be any bruises and with a little green still around the stem...

Katie at 9:31 AM

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Thanks for the compliments on yesterday's post. You made a boring little stay at home mom feel kinda cute. hehe As for the diet, remember I'm only losing about 15 pounds total so being a little over half way isn't as a big of a difference as some of my blogging friends who are trying to lose 25-50 pounds. Go cheer them on! Fridays are my weight loss blog days so I'll go into more detail about how then.

Today I have a task for you. I need you to vote on which day next week I should update my "A Day in the Life of" (me). Previous ones: Dec 10, 2004 and April 21, 2005. It's more fair if you all pick because I know my exact schedule and I'll just pick a really hard day to show off. hehe Your choices are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. No Friday votes because the kids are off school that day and therefore won't be a "normal" day. Thanks!

Katie at 8:29 AM

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Ta Da!

Scale, 134.6

Which means:

1 gig NaNo iPod, woohoo!

And also:

Tight Jeans, aka size 6 Gap Long and Lean. They are still a bit tight but I can breath. hehe

6 more pounds and I'm going clothes shopping!

Edit: Switched the scale picture to a link becuase of all people, Greg didn't want to see my feet. *shrugs*

Katie at 10:27 AM

Monday, May 01, 2006

Fighting with the computer. It seems to have eaten all our Washington DC Cherry Blossom pictures as well as half of Easter and all of the egg dyeing ones. Course I find this out the day I would be backing up the April pictures (I back-up monthly). *sigh*

Katie at 3:43 PM

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