tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92003841288684536632024-03-05T17:47:23.155-08:00A fish out of OregonKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-10873314576884090592010-05-22T13:17:00.001-07:002010-05-22T13:18:23.655-07:00Abusing friends and relationsHi All,<br /><br />Okay, so I know I'm taking advantage of you and your emails. But I promise I won't do it after we get our little website out there to the world. Tell all your friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances and/or people walking down the street to visit: <a href="http://www.southerngifting.com/">http://www.southerngifting.com/</a>, and the harassment will stop . . . or at least wane a bit.<br /><br />In all seriousness, I don't like abusing my friends and family, but since this is our Grand Opening week and we have no marketing budget, I have to do what I have to do.<br /><br />Seems there's been some concern about the rules regarding our little giveaway - it does not matter if you're related, friends, etc. We're a two person company, and we make up our own rule! That being said, sign up. If you don't want a monogrammed item, think of someone you know who might.<br /><br />I also wanted to let you know that Southern Gifting has issued a 10% off coupon code for this weekend (5/22 & 5/23) only:<strong><span style="color:#cc0000;"> top ten<br /></span></strong><br />If you're not in the market for anything, just do me the favor of passing it on to someone else.<br /><br />Just in case you're wondering, it's in the mid-80's here with intermittent thunderstorms. The frogs and mosquitos (but thankfully not the snakes just yet) are out in droves.<br /><br />Have a great weekend!<br /><br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-33736491136224975752010-05-17T08:33:00.000-07:002010-05-17T08:34:36.057-07:00After all, you're only as cute as your bag<div align="left">Hi everyone,<br /><br />Sorry to send a mass email like this, but it is of paramount importance . . . Okay, not really, just truly self-serving and easier.<br /><br />Despite my best efforts to lead a life of leisure and do nothing beyond drinking coffee at Starbucks, and taking naps, I have taken on a part-time job. I know, total shocker.<br /><br />That being said, I really feel like Martha would be so proud. As she started with a friend and catering business, we are starting with a website.<br /><br />Jeff thankfully has humored me through this whole process, since as of yet, it is an unpaid job . . . but we're hopeful.<br /><br />Hence this email. As we have no marketing budget to speak of, I am relying on the generous networking and emotional support of my friends and relatives. I feel a little bad that I may very well be abusing those relationships, but clearly not bad enough to not send this email.<br /><br />After many weeks and many hours, we are ready for the big unveiling of Southern Gifting:<br /><a href="http://www.southerngifting.com/"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>www.southerngifting.com</strong></span></a><br /><br />There is actually an upside to this email though. Since it's our big Grand Opening, we're doing Seven Days of Giveaways. But don't worry, those of you who are thinking, "but I don't need a tutu or veil at this moment" - we're giving away monogrammed bags. And frankly, they're pretty great bags.<br /><br />So I don't get scathing reply emails about not including anything in the email beyond advertising our website, here's a little about the family:<br /><br />Addie thinks she's a pirate and has developed quite and addiction to skull, spider, ripped flesh and barbed wire tattoos . . . Not sure if her future will be in a motor cycle gang, or as a surfer. At this point it could go either way.<br /><br />Lorelei just started standing on her own, and has even been so bold as to take a few steps. We expect her to be fully walking by the end of the week. She is also an expert growler, which I believe she picked up from Addie, as she too is quite an accomplished grunt-er and growler.<br /><br />Jeff is still at Daimler and dreams of the day when I will make enough money for him to quit and stay home with the kids.<br /><br />And by the way - if you want to buy something while you're visiting our little website, I won't stop you.<br /><br />As for me, well I still make tutus, and have expanded into capes, veils and hanging tutu topiary. I've even gone so far as to have taken a few sewing classes. Although being self-taught and reinventing the wheel is fun and all, there's something to be said for learning the right and easy way first.<br /><br />In regards to this website development stuff, well let's just say, it's a good thing I have a degree in English and a background in HR, because that's really come in handy . . . or not. Speaking of reinventing the wheel . . .<br /><br />Hope you are all well and enjoying spring (although it's practically summer here).<br /><br />Hugs, Kisses and Handshakes,<br />Kate<br /> </div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-22016710775909985812010-05-05T05:29:00.000-07:002010-05-05T05:32:07.886-07:00That emu - if that's what it is - we ain't done."Dear Loyal Readers,<br /><br />I'm so sorry I've been lax in my writing, but I assure you, this is worth the wait. In fact, the Herald came through so well, I ran upstairs (leaving the children in the care of our trusted babysitter - Senora Television), and got on the computer.<br /><br />Just a little warning, it is a rather lengthy article (bless their ever-loving slow news day hearts!), but it's worth it. And no matter where this story ends up, just remember - you heard it here first.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/05/05/2143697/wild-goose-chase-nets-emu-just.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/05/05/2143697/wild-goose-chase-nets-emu-just.html</a><br /><br />Just to give you a taste of what's to come:<br />Today's Headline: "Emu to Rockhill - Catch me if you can!"<br /><br />"I was right about gettin' up to him, Had him by the neck feathers. Wrong about the lassoing though."<br /><br />There is a second page, so be sure to click Next Page at the bottom. And of course, there's a photo gallery for our own amusement.<br /><br />And here I thought the front page headline about quadruplet lambs would be the highlight of my month.<br /><br />Happy Reading. I promise I'll write more later.<br /><br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-17854374384763889192010-02-11T11:17:00.001-08:002010-02-11T11:17:49.916-08:00Capes of GrumpinessHello there old friends,<br /><br />I realize it's been nearly six months since my last email, but in my defense, my children are getting harder and harder to ignore.<br /><br />I'll try to sum up, but there's a good chance this will be a long email, so please prepare snacks and toilet breaks accordingly.<br /><br />I know many of you only read my emails for the Bubbles update, but sadly Bubbles is gone. I realize this news may lose my some readers (you fickle cat fans you), but I couldn't go on pretending any longer.<br /><br />We like to believe she found a better home (really not hard to believe considering the number of times she ran away, and the many families she tried to adopt), but we don't really know for sure. <br /><br />The day after Thanksgiving, we went for a walk, Bubbles went with us, and she forgot to come back.<br /><br />We already know that Bubbles' sense of direction, and her ability to find home is lacking, so it is possible that she got legitimately lost. <br /><br />But as Jeff prefers to say, "we took her for a long walk off a short pier."<br /><br />Although I am of mixed emotion about our cats disappearance, it solved the dilemma of what to do with her while we went to Oregon.<br /><br />But since I am not completely cold hearted, I did jot down some kitty notes before Bubbles moved on:<br /><br />While away on a short trip, Bubbles ran away again (surprise, surprise), but showed up a few days after our return (she was waiting at the door when Jeff came back from his run). <br /><br />According to the Neighborhood Bubbles Network, she had tried to adopt a new family in a different part of the neighborhood, but to no avail. After many thwarted efforts to get into their house and garage, she jumped into their car. Thinking quickly, the Dad got in too, and drove her back to our house - and dropped her off at the end of our driveway, under the cover of darkness no less.<br /><br />Since trying to physically catch a new family (reference jumping out of bushes at joggers), didn't work, Bubbles came up with a new plan - she would hop on the hood of cars that slowed down, and stay there until she got to their house. <br /><br />Sounds a little far fetched, but I watched her do it at least twice. At first she was a little concerned when the car picked up speed, but then I swear she put her face to the wind, braced herself, and enjoyed the ride . . . all the way down the street and into the new family's garage. <br /><br />Admittedly, it makes me a little sad that I won't be writing about Bubbles any more. But at least my children will be safe from running cat tackles.<br /><br />Let's see, we've had Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas since my last writing. And as always, we went a little crazy (okay, Jeff mostly) decorating for Halloween. We dug graves, made stuffed babies and tested every noise and motion sensor in the yard. Jeff even added a chainsaw-wielding maniac this year (i.e. Jeff).<br /><br />Jeff said it was all worth it when a kid started crying even before he got through the graveyard.<br /><br />Christmas of course was another opportunity to decorate, and naturally, we had to keep up with traditions. There's something about giant ornaments hanging 20 ft. in the air that really bring out the Christmas spirit. <br /><br />And the litmus for the success of the decorations, was when people driving by would stop and marvel at the wondrous Christmas miracle, that was our front yard.<br /><br />Sometime during all of this, I continued to make tutus, and added capes to my list of accomplishments (boy oh boy, when the time comes for me to go back to work, think of the additions I'll have to my resume!). If a Tutu of Happiness can't make your day, we bring out the big guns - the Capes of Grumpiness.<br /><br />In an effort to make new friends, I made the grumpiest person I know a beautiful shiny purple cape with sequined letters on it (SG for Super Grump), and I thought surely this would do the trick.<br /><br />But strangely, she did not appreciate my efforts, nor does she engage me in conversation any longer . . . I can't imagine why.<br /><br />Jeff got a new riding lawn mower recently, and has developed some neurosis about it. <br /><br />Since Jeff is so busy doing laundry on the weekends, I thought I'd help out by mowing the lawn. But apparently I had broken some sort of Man Rule. <br /><br />Jeff flagged me down, and with a crest-fallen look on his face asked, "What are you doing? I was looking forward to mowing all week." <br /><br />Who knew? <br /><br />There I was, just trying to help, and admittedly, get a little alone time (it's a sad state of affairs when you have to get on a loud machine to get some alone time), and getting no appreciation for my efforts.<br /><br />Admittedly, I stayed on the mower another 20 minutes out of principal, but that still counts as helping, right?<br /><br />I'm fairly certain that living with a preschool-aged child is equivalent to living with a crazy person, and when I found myself responding to something Addie said with, "No Addie, I don't think juice boxes get car sick." I knew I'd moved into a place I could never fully return from.<br /><br />I started playing indoor soccer again, but have been surprised to find that four years, two kids and many pounds later, I am not nearly as light on my feet as I once was.<br /><br />Weird.<br /><br />Okay, so I may never have been light on my feet, but my body and mind were at least on the same page. Now, I'm lucky if my brain can tell my feet to kick at the ball (not necessarily make contact mind you, but make some sort of kicking motion), before I fall down. <br /><br />Not to mention that no one told me my bladder would refuse to play. Fortunately for me, I wasn't the only one, a gal with a six month old confided that she'd, "totally wet her pants" on that last move . . . I tell you, they're going about the teen sex ed. classes all wrong.<br /><br />Since I have so much spare time, I decided that the preschool ought to have a silent auction during the Father Daughter Dance, because I'd be damned if I was going to sell or buy any more cookie dough.<br /><br />I mean, it's a great way to make money for the school . . .<br /><br />That's me - always thinking of others.<br /><br />Anyway, since I opened my big mouth, I got to organize it. And as it turns out, I'm a bit of a control freak (okay, so we may have known that already, but the preschool people didn't), so I thought surely I could do the whole thing myself. <br /><br />Martha wouldn't ask for help.<br /><br />To make a long story short, I got a lot of donations, and we made a fair amount of money. And Jeff and Addie are so very glad it's finally over.<br /><br />Jeff is doing a Leukemia & Lymphoma Fund-raising Race in May, and has to raise $500. <br /><br />If it were me, I'd start making some phone calls, or set up a stand, but no one ever accused Jeff of taking the easy way out. <br /><br />He has decided to wage a one man bake sale in an effort to raise the money. That's right - A One Man Bake Sale. <br /><br />Every couple of days Jeff bakes cookies. This week it's monster cookies, last week it was sugar cookies. <br /><br />He takes his cookies, his little sign and his tip jar to work, and sets it up in the break room. <br /><br />He's apparently going to raise the $500 one dollar at a time - literally. <br /><br />I'm fairly certain that the different ways we approach our fundraisers pretty much sums up the difference between he and I.<br /><br />We flew back to Oregon at Christmas, and then again in January (for Jeff's grandpa's funeral, sadly). It's a long flight every way you look at it, and the kids did great each time - and we didn't even have to sedate them.<br /><br />The last trip out west I felt like we were the control group in how contagious infections spread. When we landed in Portland, Lorelei had a raging case of pink eye, and Addie was doing her best to catch it too. <br /><br />A long ride on the MAX into downtown helped spread the germy love even more. Meanwhile dodging questions from passengers about what exactly was wrong with our baby and had we taken her to the doctor. <br /><br />Nothing like traveling cross-country with a crusty-eyed infant to really feel like a great parent.<br /><br />Now that we've acclimated to living here in South Carolina, certain things are no longer as shocking as they once were. <br /><br />Case in point, the tuxedos and corsages at the preschool Father Daughter Dance barely fazed me.<br /><br />Discussions about going out and "killing me some terrorists" and hearing "them foreigners are always trying to cut in line" at the grocery store, just don't have the same impact they once did.<br /><br />But I still haven't gotten used to reading about the pros and cons of the Confederate flag in the editorial section each week. Nor reading, "you must be from up north" as an insult rather than an observation.<br /><br />Surely I'm forgetting some titillating and insightful tidbits, but for the life of me, I can't remember them.<br /><br />Take care,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-46188801494213902342009-10-05T13:53:00.001-07:002009-10-05T13:53:49.553-07:00Heat Packin' MommaHey There,<br /><br />Well, it's that time again - Alligator hunting season!<br /><br />Nearly a quarter of the front page of our local paper (bless you Herald and all the joy you bring to my life) was devoted to the play-by-play account of how a group of Rock Hillians brought down a terrifying 12-footer. <br /><br />"It took the four guys - working in tandem teams of two, rotating through arms warn slap out - three hours to boat the monster. . . Honeycutt ended it with a gun shot behind the gator's head."<br /><br />And naturally (what else does one do with a 12 foot alligator), they stopped at the truck scales at the Flying J Travel Plaza on their way home. <br /><br />Just in case you were wondering, the alligator PLUS the trailer weighed 11,380 lbs. Oh, what I would have given to be at those truck scales . . .<br /><br />This is been a busy headline month for the Herald:<br /><br />"Start you Christmas Liquor now." Okay, so it may have said Liqueur, but still.<br /><br />"South Carolina Rock Showing at Winthrop Delayed." This was a follow-up article to the one about the rock that's shaped liked South Carolina. <br /><br />I'm not sure what I like better, the fact that they wrote an article about a rock shaped like the state, that they are now taking said rock around the state for viewing, or that they wrote a follow-up article about the rock being delayed. It's a tough decision.<br /><br />In addition to being the most infamous cat in the neighborhood, Bubbles has managed to get herself an enemy.<br /><br />I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have someone yell at me, than have them politely tell me (with no voice inflection whatsoever) that (referring to an alleged tin foil incident on his back deck, which may or may not have involved Bubbles), "I haven't been ugly yet, but I won't put up with that." <br />I thought he was joking at first, but when he offered to, "take care of her" for me, and mentioned that it would involve "putting her in a box" (insert scary mobster here), I admittedly got a little protective of Bubbles (shhhh, don't tell anyone).<br /><br />Now that I know there's a bounty on her head, I get a little nervous when she pulls her disappearing act. She always seems to know when we're about to leave somewhere, and hangs around just long enough for us to believe we'll be able to keep her captive in the garage, but vanishes into thin air 10 minutes from go time. <br /><br />It's one thing to be at peace with natural selection (getting run over by a car, being beaten in a cat fight, finding a new home, etc), but it is quite another to know that there is a deranged cat killer on the loose. <br /><br />I'm not sure I'm comfortable with a kitty murder on my head. And besides, how would I explain that to Addie? . . . "Well you see Addie, Mr. Spike (oh whoops, so much for remaining nameless) was angry (although you'd never know it from his tone of voice), and put little Bubbles in a box, and took her for a little ride." Or, "Bubbles in gone Honey. You see, she went for a long walk off a short pier."<br /><br />As I've mentioned before, whooping is alive and well here. I have a friend who carries a wooden spoon on the dashboard of her car. She says that all she needs to do is hold it up, and the kids fall into line immediately. Apparently the threat of the whooping stick is just as effective, and much safer than reaching back to swat the kids while driving. Now if only they made wooden spoons with extend-able handles . . .<br /><br />I totally impressed Addie's preschool teachers and fellow classmates on Addie's birthday (because, preschool is after all about showing off what a good parent you are).<br /><br />I brought alphabet cookies, alphabet gummies, read an alphabet book, and sang two songs. <br /><br />No one can ever accuse me of being anything but 100% dedicated to educational wellbeing of my child . . . provided I only have to keep at it for 20 minutes.<br /><br />I've finally met someone who's imaginary fears far surpass mine:<br /><br />The other week my cell phone dropped out of the stroller while I was walking, and a man picked it up (some of you may have received random phone calls from him). <br /><br />In an effort to find its owner, he started calling people in the address book. After three tries, he finally got a hold of my friend Christine, who arranged to meet him at the park to pick up my phone (meanwhile, I was happily unaware that I'd even lost it). <br /><br />Moments after hanging up the phone, she was convinced that this man had seen us walking the day before, had laid in wait for me, kidnapped me, was holding me in the back of a truck, and was now forming a plot to capture her as well.<br /><br />So in a heroic act of selflessness, she called her mom for backup. It's at this point in the story when you might ask why. Naturally, her mom carries a handgun, a stun gun and pepper spray with her at all times. <br /><br />All conveniently carried in a Crown Royal bag . . .<br /><br />Since one must get their neurosis from somewhere, when Christine explained the situation to her mother, rather than telling her she was overreacting, her mom simply asked where she was supposed to meet her.<br /><br />In a constant effort to amuse myself, I have taken up tutu making. I just know there's an untapped market for pirate apron tutus, that only I can fill. Never mind that my sewing abilities are less than adequate. I'm sure Martha never let a little thing like lack of ability stand in the way of her dreams.<br /><br />I've recently learned a thing or two about the third grade dating circuit. <br /><br />Apparently all it takes is for a girl to ask a boy to be her boyfriend, and low and behold he says yes. <br /><br />The next door neighbor boy just recently told me that he "got a girlfriend." To which I responded, "You got a girlfriend? What, did you go to the store and pick her out?" Because, as usual, I always remember that I'm the adult . . .<br /><br />I think this kid said yes, not necessarily because he liked the girl, but because she asked. Or perhaps he was caught off guard, and thought she was asking him something else. <br /><br />Either way, I think that this sort of approach would resolve a lot of stress in the adult dating scene. <br /><br />Something to think about my single friends.<br /><br />Yesterday I lost Addie. Granted it was here at home, but I looked and looked and she was no where to be found. <br /><br />Fortunately, a few minutes later, I came up the back stairs and heard a muffled, "help me." It took me a minute to figure out where it was coming from, but I finally did, and found Addie standing in the sink in the guest bathroom, without pants on. Her hands were covered with lotion, and there were little lotion prints all over the walls and mirror.<br /><br />Addie has recently started using the guest bathroom (thanks Jeff) and, after using the toilet, will climb up on the counter to wash her hands. <br /><br />Evidently she got up on the counter, and rather than sitting down on the edge of the sink, stood in the sink to reach the soap, but got the lotion instead, and found her hands too slippery to turn on the water, sit down, or do anything but stand there and yell for help.<br /><br />That's my girl. We're very proud.<br /><br />Take care.<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-31507710609724552602009-09-02T11:45:00.001-07:002009-09-02T11:47:35.293-07:00Choose your apron well<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyzDzwVaiUOoXTMd1mhs23Sm4mi64S5vPG7i2QZ1HrS9Ly98lSIspjJ8ZYYYHPKAt_24wwa0oh4AcwzZWjKcjxcrithhk4nsRv6OoGldgqlcNTlGGfHjg_otzfna22us4KFixWSIUBfcz/s1600-h/DSCN0234.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376943560322778946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyzDzwVaiUOoXTMd1mhs23Sm4mi64S5vPG7i2QZ1HrS9Ly98lSIspjJ8ZYYYHPKAt_24wwa0oh4AcwzZWjKcjxcrithhk4nsRv6OoGldgqlcNTlGGfHjg_otzfna22us4KFixWSIUBfcz/s200/DSCN0234.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEz-Q_Y6UBaUHmfBHULXWmwmOzjPRKa0cnY0YfaQFpI-ocpymFHdgmYyZ_4Kyu3bLR3gToBcUnuATZP3y-OWbQv5z5X8j2NGIuRddkxFOJyE9OfPjQrBWLjxyzIN4fUceXk9VSJXoOvCa/s1600-h/DSCN0179.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376943560111422034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEz-Q_Y6UBaUHmfBHULXWmwmOzjPRKa0cnY0YfaQFpI-ocpymFHdgmYyZ_4Kyu3bLR3gToBcUnuATZP3y-OWbQv5z5X8j2NGIuRddkxFOJyE9OfPjQrBWLjxyzIN4fUceXk9VSJXoOvCa/s200/DSCN0179.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Hi all,<br /><br />First off, I want to apologize in advance for any trains of thought that don't reach the station. I'm working on the fifth day in a row of little sleep (the teething demons have come to visit), and I seem to have over done it in the caffeine department today.<br /><br />I've mentioned the giant appetizer-sized insects here before, and lest y'all think I'm exaggerating, I've attached two pictures.<br /><br />Jeff killed the wasp just as it was trying to carry Bubbles off (his words), and tried to give it some frame of reference with the tape measure. Certainly this is a big one, but I've seen bigger. But instead of killing it and taking its picture, I ran for the house.<br /><br />Since there is no reference point for the big giant scary spider, let me just say that we didn't want to get too close to it, for fear of being its next meal, and although I have no photographic proof yet, I swear its grown double its size in the last few days.<br /><br />Apparently its prime location, and its bigger than life web, has enabled it to snare large enough prey (mice, squirrels, rabbits), to give it that Guinness Book of World Records advantage.<br /><br />We've even set up a safety perimeter around it's web, lest the children become ensnared.<br /><br />Since returning home, Bubbles has only run away twice, and has managed to lose three collars.<br /><br />We had a beautiful bonding moment between Addie and Bubbles the other day. Addie was in the bathroom, Bubbles walked in, Addie told me to, "close the door shut," and within seconds, Addie had managed to pick Bubbles up, and stuff her head first into the toilet. And just to make the moment a little bit more special, the toilet was unflushed . . .<br /><br />Addie seems also to be experimenting with a new game. Late at night, after she's been put to bed, the Covert Diaper Avenger strikes. Keep in mind, Addie already has a great pension for changing clothes (at least five times during the day), and apparently night time is no exception.<br /><br />In the dark of night, Addie gets up, pulls off her diaper, puts on undies, changes jammies, and lays back down. That's all well and good, but when you get up and your child is a) in different jammies than you left her in, and b) sitting in a puddle of accident, you begin to question your sanity.<br /><br />Addie is also polishing her table manners. A few nights ago, Addie stuck a green bean between her toes, and proceeded to try to put it into her mouth.<br /><br />Neither Jeff or I could bring ourselves to chastise her, as we were eager to see if she could do it. But alas, Addie is cursed with the Selig flexibility gene - that is to say, she possesses none at all.<br /><br />We were at a neighbor's house for a BBQ the other night, and they introduced us to a little goody they picked up in India - Gin in a bag.<br /><br />These little wonders are one shot each, and are about the size of a large ketchup packet. I can't for the life of me figure out why they don't sell them here, as just about everyone there confirmed what a great "parents little helper" they would be.<br /><br />One teacher even suggested covertly slipping them to some of her first graders . . .<br /><br />The dedication to on-going classroom improvement is staggering.<br /><br />Sometimes I forget that we live in the Bible Belt. But find the constant reminders refreshing.<br /><br />We were at Summerfest last weekend (in the little town of York), and they kicked off the opening ceremony with a group prayer. Never mind that the festival has no religious ties, or that they would take into consideration the varying religions of the 10,000 people they were expecting.<br /><br />But that's when I remind myself that there are only three religions here - Baptist, Presbyterian or Methodist.<br /><br />This is the very same festival I wrote about last year, where I saw the "Commemorate Confederate Flag Day" t-shirts. And this years favorite was: "Saton Sucks!"<br /><br />And for those of you who didn't want the talking Dr. Laura Action Figure, I'm sure I could round up a few of those t-shirts if you'd like.<br /><br />When considering what to prepare for dinner, be mindful of the apron you choose. I find that when I don my 50's style waist apron (reference the height of my domestic accomplishments), I seem to channel Martha (also known as the Great One), and find myself striving for culinary feats above and beyond my domestic level.<br /><br />Case in point, while emptying the dishwasher, I was suddenly overcome with the urge clean the kitchen, and make pork medallions with an apricot reduction.<br /><br />Addie had her first day of preschool yesterday, and I seemed to have been the only mother without a camera. But, thanks to Martha's example, I'm easily able to justify my shortcomings.<br /><br />After all, when one reaches the level of domestic perfection that I have, one can only focus on so many things, and one will find that something has to be neglected, and it's only natural that it be the children.<br /><br />I'm off to plan for Addie's birthday party. I am thinking of taking an internet course on basket weaving, and doing a little palm frond weaving demonstration for all of Addie's little friends. After all, it is never too early to start them on the road of domestic perfection.<br /><br />Take care,<br />Kate<br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-5406631847264044922009-08-07T12:56:00.000-07:002009-08-07T12:58:17.713-07:00America's Real Action Heroes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Rf1kMyCavxlfj0DihAxnjlc7CV6Ah-A6O1jSnKk83dCJpdxIYJjUlX3FJibEAssOLdzyNi0WMzRPoP3Hum7jRn4dtIfdOkta7-aLxpuWsVaz7rKfQiTGZyY_ira8PTiltskO_2xWQKeZ/s1600-h/DSCN0155.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367313637056528498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 157px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Rf1kMyCavxlfj0DihAxnjlc7CV6Ah-A6O1jSnKk83dCJpdxIYJjUlX3FJibEAssOLdzyNi0WMzRPoP3Hum7jRn4dtIfdOkta7-aLxpuWsVaz7rKfQiTGZyY_ira8PTiltskO_2xWQKeZ/s200/DSCN0155.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hi y'all,<br /><br />Well, we've arrived back from Oregon, and are shocked to find it cooler than Portland was. Not sure how that happened, but won't look a gift weather system in the mouth.<br /><br />As you can probably imagine, Bubbles was just thrilled to have us back. It's a good thing when you have to force a cat into the carrier, right?<br /><br />After returning from Camp Joe (where we will be sending her from here on out when we leave town), she is all healed from her neighborhood cat beatings, but I think it's only a matter of time before she's back to mouthing off and provoking another smack down. I saw Oreo (the giant Don Corleone kitty from across the street) eying her this morning.<br /><br />And I know you'll be happy to hear that now that she's all healed, the unprovoked attacks have resumed.<br /><br />Jeff lets Bubbles in the house every morning (not my decision), and upstairs she runs. Addie has taken to sprinting from her room to ours, or back again, in an effort to avoid a traumatic cat tackles. She'll even slam our door behind her, hoping (I can only assume) that the force of the door shutting will knock Bubbles unconscious before she has a chance to jump on her.<br /><br />Just this morning, while Addie sat eating her breakfast, Bubbles attacked her from behind. Not that I'm saying Addie is totally blameless in what their relationship has become, but this particular case was 100% Bubbles mania.<br /><br />I'm thrilled we found someone else besides Other Family Mom to watch Bubbles. I'm just not sure how many more times I could listen to her say, "Bubbles used to be such a nice cat before she was outside all the time."<br /><br />Although on the up side, Other Family Daughter just told me (I'm sure her mother would be just mortified if she knew) that they took their kitten to the vet in bag . . .<br /><br />Hello pot, this is kettle calling.<br /><br />Although honestly, I don't know how anyone could accuse me of being a bad cat mother. Just before we left, Bubbles went missing again (we've figured out, that if she gets more than four houses away, she gets lost). Since we were going to be gone for two weeks, and we couldn't leave the garage open for her, I saw that I had no choice but to find her, and bring her home.<br /><br />There I was in the pouring (and it pours here) rain with Lorelei on my front, fighting Addie for control of the umbrella, searching for our cat. Bubbles may be short on brains, but at least she knows to stay put. I found her almost exactly where we'd seen her last - about four blocks away, sitting under a bush.<br /><br />Outside of the torrential rain, it was the longest walk home in the history of walks.<br /><br />Are you familiar with the saying, "It was like herding cats?"<br /><br />If I had to estimate, I'd say one Addie = three cats. And let’s not forget Bubbles' keen sense of direction . . .<br /><br />Just in case any of you were wondering if I'd given up on my Martha endeavors, we threw our annual 3rd of July party here, and I made 54 lbs of pork. Martha would have been so proud.<br /><br />Now that's all well and good one would think, but when I purchased said pork (I actually bought 75 lbs, just in case), I failed to consider what one would use to cook said pork in.<br /><br />I appreciate that I'm in pork country and all, but you should have seen the look on my neighbor's face when I told him I boiled the meat . . . Keep in mind that he is a self-proclaimed southern barbecuer, and according to his gospel, pork should take no less than 10 hours to cook.<br /><br />He confessed to me later (after tasting the pork), that he thought, "Oh lord, we're havin boiled meat for dinner. This is gonna be jus' awful."<br /><br />My response was something to the effect of, "if a girl likes to eat, you aught to trust that she's not going to steer you wrong when it comes to cooking." I think my southern-side is coming along nicely.<br /><br />Coup of coups, not only did I boil the meat, I also served sweet mint tea - god forbid.<br /><br />Shortly after our big party, Jeff went into the garage and discovered the door to his kegerator was open, and the tap had been pulled. The atrocity of it - beer all over the floor and an empty keg.<br /><br />Come to find out, there had been a great beer heist in the neighborhood. Multiple cases of beer had been stolen, or attempted to be stolen from all the unlocked garages (this was on a Sunday evening). And to think, we had tried to blame Addie.<br /><br />Apparently one neighbor discovered his loss immediately, as his fridge had been left open, another chased off the hoodlums in question, and another (after a day of drinking mind you) hopped in his car and proceeded to chase the teenagers down the road. Of course he got their license plate, and by that night, four of the six kids had been arrested. The police officer, who had the privilege of returning the stolen beer, was quite proud of himself.<br /><br />And we were told shortly after our arrival home from vacation, that the other two culprits had been apprehended and arrested as well. Well, thank goodness for that.<br /><br />Some of you may have heard that pythons are taking over Florida, but apparently they're working their way up to the Carolinas too. Having just seen a python up close and personal at the Portland Zoo, all I can say is, Jeff will have to find his own way back to Oregon, because the girls and I will have already left.<br /><br />Every once in a while, the girls and I will meet up with another preschool family for a nice meal. But then reality hits, and the realization that kids suck the joy out of eating out.<br /><br />We recently met up with two other moms and their kids (making six kids under three) for Mexican, and between the tortilla chips in the ears and the quesadilla on the shoulders (and that was just my kid), the nice lunch out was somehow lost on the three of us, and those seated immediately around us.<br /><br />The picture attached is just one more example of why I believe that some girls go from three to 15 in about 10 minutes. We will be in such a world of trouble soon.<br /><br />As if that weren't bad enough, I took Addie to open gym at a gymnastic academy, and she just fell in love with the outfits. She kept pointing out different leotards, and insisting that we go and get one. She even tried to convince me that we should leave the gym, go get one, and come back. Explaining that she wanted one in purple, but if they didn't have purple, green would do. And if they didn't have green, pink would do.<br /><br />For those of you who don't know, Addie decided that it was high time she should be wearing underwear (god forbid you call them underpants or panties). And outside of finding sitting on the toilet tedious, she is doing very well. Although as many parents can attest, the automatically flushing toilets in the airport, were nearly the undoing of the potty training advancements.<br /><br />I have found two new products that very nearly put the injectable gravy to shame.<br /><br />I was at Tuesday Morning, and found Solar Vinyl Shorts (send me your size, and I'll see about getting each of you one of your very own), and best of all - a Dr. Laura Action Figure.<br /><br />I have only dreamed of such a thing.<br /><br />Apparently there is a whole line of "America's Real Action Heroes." As if the action figure itself were not enough - she talks. For those of you who follow Dr. Laura, this should be a no-brainer - she says, and I quote, "Now go do the right thing!"<br /><br />I can't imagine that this won't be on everyone's Christmas list this year.<br /><br />As if the poisonous snakes, parachuting ticks and wild animals are not enough, lighting struck a tree in our backyard while we were gone. And just in case you're wondering, lighting will in fact fry the electrical system for your irrigation, and the irrigation of your immediate neighbors.<br /><br />I'm beginning to question how one reaches adulthood here with all of the perils lurking in your own yard.<br /><br /><br />Take care,<br />Kate<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-8439823422158334722009-06-30T12:17:00.001-07:002009-06-30T12:17:46.981-07:00To catch a child by the . . . calzone?Hey y'all (I'm totally embracing southernisms),<br /><br />Just in case there was any doubt, it's hot here. Almost hot enough to keep Jeff from his weekend exercise of sprint mowing (Really. He sprints up and down the lawn, pushing the mower).<br /><br />If you haven't tried it, he highly recommends it for the cardio benefits, the tanning potential (if you're willing to perform said exercise san clothes), and for its effect on the neighbors.<br /><br />You already know my feelings about all of the creepy, poisonous bugs and the giant snakes, but it's getting so I've started having nightmares, and am seriously considering becoming a seasonal agoraphobic.<br /><br />I've been told that this is just a particularly bad year for snakes, but I think they just have a short memory.<br /><br />Up until I moved here, I had only ever seen one tick in my ENTIRE life. We have now seen three in the last few weeks - all of which were on family members. <br /><br />Last week Addie came into the kitchen and said, "Daddy, there's a spider in Bubbles' ear." Surely you can see where this is going . . . Needless to say; said spider was in fact a tick sucking the life out of Bubbles, one ear vein at a time.<br /><br />Since I'm normally such a tough and brave person, I promptly got the tweezers and was all set to pull that little sucker out.<br /><br />But as it turns out, I would rather deal with a severed limb, than have to contend with a tick. Who says shrieking like a mad woman isn't the new brave and stoic?<br /><br />Bad enough that they lurk in bushes and trees, but the ticks here are some kind of freaky high-bred. I assume the nuclear power plant is to blame for this.<br /><br />They have actually learned to parachute from the sky onto their unsuspecting victims.<br />I was standing on our front path (not tromping through the woods, or hiding in the bushes mind you), and a huge, nasty, freakishly accurately aimed tick landed on Lorelei's leg.<br /><br />EEEAAAKKK!!! <br /><br />That's all I have to say about that.<br /><br />As if these attacks weren't bad enough, we had some friends in town this weekend and decided to take the kids on a walk. And to make a long story short, it is not recommended to let your child sit on a red ant hill.<br /><br />And those giant snakes we've seen in our yard, apparently are not restricted to just our yard . . . who knew?<br /><br />Although Bubbles has not found a new home yet, she has developed a new hobby.<br /><br />I've had several reports now that a black and white cat that bears a suspicious resemblance to Bubbles, has been jumping out of the bushes at joggers. <br /><br />Since she can't sneak into a new family's house, she must have decided that she will try to catch a new family. <br /><br />More power to her.<br /><br />I just found out that Addie is the only kid in Rock Hill not attending Vacation Bible School. They really should consider printing rules for outsiders. <br /><br />I've been told that there are several parents who sign there kids up for one week after another of free vacation bible school at as many churches as they can find. Although really, since there are at least six different churches for each religion, you really wouldn't have to go outside the faith to fill the summer.<br /><br />I'm just miffed that no one told me this little secret earlier. Just think of the money I could have saved. And just think how how smart Addie would have been after a summer of VBS hopping.<br /><br />Addie has had some sleeping issues lately (okay, not so much lately as always). One fateful night there was no sleep to be had by me - partly due to a huge thunder cloud sitting on top of the house, and partly due to my fall down the stairs (I had even turned on a light) when I went to get something for Addie.<br /><br />Minus the big bruise on my ego and my tukas, I was okay.<br /><br />You know these are tough economic times when people are resorting to trucking their personal golf carts to the cheap public course. <br /><br />Though I suppose since one in five South Carolina families owns their own golf cart (not just for golf mind you. Many use it to carry their beer coolers while they cruise), it shouldn't come as such a surprise that the economic condition has forced these serious sacrifices.<br /><br />I recently had the privilege of shopping for fireworks, and wow are rules different here. In Oregon, you may only legally set off fireworks that don't shoot higher than 5 ft. As best I can tell, the rule here is they have to shoot At LEAST 50 ft. to count.<br /><br />Totally overwhelmed with what I was seeing at the Discount Firework Factory, I asked for help. I explained that I was afraid for the safety of everyone in our neighborhood, and wanted something simple and small. At which time I was directed to something with a military name and was told, "these here are the smallest we got - they only go up 50-60 feet."<br /><br />We were in Charleston last weekend, and enjoyed it very much. If you've never been, the architecture is beautiful. And outside of the 102 degree weather, the 100% humidity, and the run-in with the rude carriage driver, it was a great trip.<br /><br />Since we were on vacation, we decided to go out to a nice Italian restaurant (Charleston is known for its restaurants, and Rock Hill is not). When we walked in and they saw that we were a family of four, you could visibly see the wait staffs' faces tighten up. Nothing like a toddler and a baby to get you some fast service. <br /><br />Both girls behaved beautifully outside of one small incident when Addie fell out of her chair. Thankfully Jeff was able to catch her before she hit the floor. She would have even gone through dinner clean, had he not had his calzone in his hand at the time . . .<br /><br />Although there is a $200 fine for feeding alligators in SC. It leaves me wondering if a pet (say a cat, for example) were to accidentally fall into the water, would it actually count as feeding them?<br /><br />The Rock Hill Herald did cover the big celebrity deaths this week, but the favorite topic of course was Gov. Sanford. <br /><br />Poor Jeff feels so betrayed by the whole thing, as he really felt like he had found his political home here (and yes, we are on different planets politically speaking).<br /><br />On the bright side, it's been a little while since South Carolina has made national news.<br /><br />Here's the best joke I've heard so far:<br /><br />Governor Sanford's staff misunderstood him when he said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He really said he was going after some Argentinean tail . . .<br /><br />Take care,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-68132979857850803192009-06-15T13:33:00.001-07:002009-06-15T13:33:57.309-07:00Steak sauce and inappropriate uses for toothpasteHi there.<br /><br />It's nap time at our house, so I thought I would take a moment to write. <br /><br />Since I know y'all are dying to hear about the latest installment of Bubbles the Wonder Kitty (AKA Bubbles the Cat Who Hates Her Family), here is the latest update:<br /><br />Imagine my surprise when the "new" family Mom I mentioned in my last letter approached me at the pool and apologized for feeding our cat. <br /><br />She said she felt like she had clearly offended someone, and just wanted to make sure I understood that she was very sorry, and wanted to know what to do in the event Bubbles showed up at her door again.<br /><br />Apparently when "other family" Mom called her to tell her it was in fact Bubbles she had, and not a stray, she read "new" Mom the riot act. So, in addition to having multiple families, and fast becoming the most notorious cat in the neighborhood, Bubbles now has an agent who acts on her behalf. I guess legal owners need not be present when kitty power of attorneys are signed . . .<br /><br />And as it turns out, the only reason "new" family (for the record, "new" family will thusly be referred to as "temporary" family) fed Bubbles tuna and milk, was to get her out of their house.<br /><br />In typical Bubbles fashion, she saw an open door and ran for it. But since "temporary" Mom is "not an animal person" (her words), she was afraid to pick her up.<br /><br />"Temporary" Mom made valiant efforts to bribe her eldest son into picking kitty up, but turns out he had no idea how to pick a cat up (apparently the whole family "are not animal" people). So, for lack of a better way to do it, "temporary" Mom opened a can of tuna, and lured Bubbles out of the house.<br /><br />Safe at home, we kept her inside for three days. But Addie let her out, and off she went, again. No further sightings, and two days later, we received a call at 10:30pm (so late in our world) from a different neighbor telling us that Bubbles was at their house, and was looking lost and confused.<br /><br />Since it is purely on principal that we keep this cat (because lord knows there is no other reason), I was half expecting a ransom call that late at night . . . (imagine a deep husky whisper) "You got a cat named Bubbles? Unless you want her to sleep wid da fishes, ya better pay up." <br /><br />Perhaps I have an overactive imagination.<br /><br />We had quite an adventure last week - Addie was sick, and I had the privilege of choosing between the kid throwing up on the floor, and the kid screaming to be fed . . .<br /><br />At nap time last week, I walked past Addie's room and saw her laying on the floor (not so unusual, since she only actually sleeps IN her bed about 40% of the time) covered in something blue. Silly me asked her what it was, and she responded, "it's bottom cream." <br /><br />Upon further inspection, I discovered that in fact, it was toothpaste she had spread all over her jammies, diaper, bottom, floor, dresser and so on. When I told her it was toothpaste, and not intended for one's behind, she said, "Daddy said it was bottom cream, and my bottom hurts." <br /><br />I thought she was just using that active imagination of her's, and wrote it off as one of those things kids do. <br /><br />Well, unbeknownst to me, in an effort to keep Addie from opening yet another tube of toothpaste (she already has four open tubes in her drawer. Of course, I guess you need that many when you have eight toothbrushes that you alternate between), Jeff had in fact told her it was bottom cream. <br /><br />He should have been wary when she immediately put the tube in her diaper drawer . . .<br /><br />Lately we've been feeling like we live in some sort of wildlife park, which is good and bad. I don't mind the large turtles coming by, but I draw the line at 5 ft. snakes. At least we've been able to keep them from carrying Lorelei off. <br /><br />Good news on the potty training front. Addie has finally connected sitting on the toilet with treats. And wonder of wonders, we've had a few successes. Of course, the biggest challenge is training us. <br /><br />When the girl says she needs to use the potty, we should listen. <br />A year of sitting her on the pot to no avail, has us a bit jaded. But we'll learn, I'm confident.<br /><br />In addition to a small sweet treat, Addie also gets a tattoo if she actually uses the potty for its intended purpose. That's all well and good, but what does one do if afore-mentioned child uses the potty five or six times in one day? At the moment she only has three tats, but I'm a little concerned the conservative religious preschool she attends, will not approve of our "painted" child when she shows up to school covered from head to toe in temporary tattoos (because god forbid she let us clean any off).<br /><br />Addie is really embracing the wonderful world of her imagination, and has extended her conversations to (and with) her food. <br /><br />The other day at breakfast, she told me she had a little tiny chicken wrapped in her washclothe, and at lunch she held a small piece of ham in her hands like it was a baby bird and said, "Shhhh Mommy, this is littly tiny baby ham." <br /><br />Well of course it was.<br /><br />You'll all be happy to know there were no arrests during any of the Rock Hill HS graduations. Two people were seen being escorted out, but police could not be reached for comment.<br /><br />They reprinted the graduation expectations just for my benefit and amusement - "Attendees were to wear 'appropriate attire (no shorts, tank tops or t-shirts),' not leave their seats to take pictures during the program, hold their applause, and not stand or shout until all diplomas are awarded." <br /><br />Remember, these rules were not for the graduates, but their parents. <br /><br />In addition to the recap on the uneventful graduation ceremonies, these two pieces of shocking news headlined our paper recently:<br /><br />Sidewalk to Close for Utility Work - My favorite part about this one, was that it was not a significant stretch of sidewalk, nor was it in a heavily traveled area. Yet, there it was.<br /><br />Shoplifter escapes with $60 worth of steak hidden in his pants. But don't worry, he shoved a bottle of steak sauce down there too. I'm just glad to see we have a high enough caliber of thief that he'd think to grab some condiments.<br /><br />So just between you, me and the fencepost, that's all the news that fit to print.<br /><br />Take care,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-40278565356563814192009-06-04T13:38:00.001-07:002009-06-04T13:38:33.812-07:00Kung Fu KittyHi Everyone,<br /><br />Sorry it's taken me so long to write. Not sure what we've been doing, as I am unable to account for most of any given day . . .<br /><br />I can now say with 100%assurancece, that I am dumb. <br /><br />Daily, things are happening around me that I have no recollection of later. So much for a good memory as a key employment attribute . . .<br /><br />Addie is adjusting quite well to her new big sister role. She gets concerned if someone besides Jeff or I take Lorelei out of view, and loves to give her kisses and hugs. We often have to make sure she's not squishing her in the process, but she loves her all the same. Minus the near smothering incident, they're both doing well.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, Addie managed to cover Lorelei with every blanket and pillow she could get her hands on. Not sure if she was trying to build a fort for her, or whether she'd had enough of her crying . . .<br /><br />We also tested the neighborhood emergency response system the other day. Jeff and Addie were in the backyard. Addie was digging in the bark-a-mulch (attempting to bury one of Jeff's yard statues), and I was in the garage. Suddenly I hear her scream like she's never screamed before. Instantly my mind flashed to giant snakes dragging her away by the toes, or a colony of fire ants swarming all over her body.<br /><br />Sprinting to the backyard, I see Jeff laughing (Addie is still screaming mind you). At that point, our next door neighbor comes running outside, and a neighbor three houses down comes running up the road. <br /><br />Turns out Addie had a mosquito on her arm, and Jeff thought it was a good idea to point it out to her. Needless to say, it freaked her out. So now we can add mosquitos to the list of terrifying things Addie's afraid of - right up there with frogs.<br /><br />After seeing how quickly our neighbors came running, I wonder that all y'all don't test your own neighborhood emergency response systems.<br /><br />It's one thing when your kid is being bullied, but what are you supposed to do when your cat is being beat up? Turns out Bubbles gets beat up almost daily by two cats in the neighborhood. I've thought about having a stern conversation with them, but not sure that wouldn't make it worse for Bubbles (you know, being called a mama's cat and all). I've considered teaching her some self-defense, but after a quick search on the internet, there doesn't seem to be a great market for feline martial arts.<br /><br />To top it off, we thought we'd lost Bubbles for good. She was missing for five days, and the neighbors who we've mentioned as Bubble's "other" family, we're asking and calling around. Not that we weren't concerned for her, but frankly, between being beaten up by bully cats, and being accosted by Addie, I can't say I blame her. <br /><br />As it turns out, she had found a "new" cat-loving family, just the other side of the road, and they had been feeding her tuna fish and milk. But the "other" family came to her rescue, and called the "new" family and told them to stop feeding her. Although, as I understand it, that was after a heated debate as to whether it was in fact Bubbles, as the "new" family claims the cat they were feeding looked unkept and homeless . . . Fortunately for us, she had a distinguishing injury on her right leg (from her most recent cat fight).<br /><br />So Bubbles got hungry again, and when she found the tuna/milk supply had been cut off, shbegrudginglyly (you should have seen the look on her face) came back to us. <br /><br />Being the responsible owner that I am, quicklyly went out and purchased her a brand new shiny collar with a little bell on it. But frankly, I think I just gave Bubbles another reason to hate me.<br /><br />When a friend explained to me that she had taken her son's toys and books away when he had thrown a fit (the kind that only a 2 1/2 year old can throw), I thought, "what a good idea." <br />Except that Addie doesn't play with traditional toys. <br /><br />It's not for lack of toys mind you, just lack of interest. Of course that got me thinking, and I'd thought I'd share some of the things Addie prefers to play with:<br />+ Used tin foil<br />+ A wet wash cloth<br />+ Batteries<br />+ Empty packages of any kind<br />+ Any box left unattended<br />+ Nearly rotten limes<br />+ Placemats<br />+ Band Aids<br /><br />Keep in mind, these are not little things she picks up and plays with for a minute - she'll carry on an entirdialogue with and about each of these things for hours on end. <br /><br />I like to think she chooses these types of things because she has such a vivid imagination . . .<br /><br />About this time last year, Rock Hill made national news for arresting several people at a high school graduation for . . . (drum roll please) cheering when their family member received their diploma. <br /><br />Since it's graduation time again, and fearing repeat offenses, the newspaper and radio stations have been putting out public service announcements about rules and regulations for graduation ceremonies held within Rock Hill city limits. Granted, some DJ's were less than kind in there delivery, but can you really blame the city officials for wanting texpeditete the graduation ceremonies?<br /><br />Take care,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-63150557701651535902009-05-11T12:36:00.000-07:002009-05-11T13:01:14.863-07:00Furry ears and a unibrow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbiou-XnmDWooaXQcJ6UpndQzp-jl3YrMMDohaYafo4mbEbROWDChA_AUr1esK3lRdxev7HWLBdYl166_VzbW4S24E-sBTevEKYeL-QvEsOGC3mKRElMufjy7J-7M0TiZkiOU_39MzFBN/s1600-h/DSCN0058.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334658914606885122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbiou-XnmDWooaXQcJ6UpndQzp-jl3YrMMDohaYafo4mbEbROWDChA_AUr1esK3lRdxev7HWLBdYl166_VzbW4S24E-sBTevEKYeL-QvEsOGC3mKRElMufjy7J-7M0TiZkiOU_39MzFBN/s200/DSCN0058.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hi Everyone,<br /><br />I've been meaning to write sooner, but I find there is limited time these days. Unless of course I neglect my children . . . which I am considering.<br /><br />First off, I wanted to share a unique thing I heard today. In order to truly appreciate it, you must imagine a stressed out mother with a VERY deep southern accent (I'm mean really deep). And I quote, "I like pancakes so much y'all, that I could put them in my bra and carry them around. I mean really y'all."<br /><br />I'd like to say that put into context, that would have made sense, but alas, it wouldn't have helped at all. This particular friend has a wide variety of colorful sayings ("warn slap out"?!?), but many are not suitable for mixed company.<br /><br />Things are going relatively well, considering. I caught Addie with a toy drill in her hand, leaning over her sister, and pressing it up against her forehead. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "I just drill holes Mommy, I just drill holes." Nothing quite like a do-it-yourself lobotomy, right?<br /><br />Although I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, considering she has taken to pretend eating the cat. I use the word "pretend" loosely, as she often comes up with kitty hair on her nose and mouth . . .<br /><br />On that note, our neighbors (the ones who have been trying to coerce Bubbles to come live with them) got a kitten of their own last week. Now I was thinking this might be the end to the Bubble-napping, but no, apparently it just means that Bubbles has been upgraded to her very own room . . . I kid you not.<br /><br />The mom over there told me with a straight face (albeit, with slightly slurred words, as she'd had several cocktails), that all we needed to do was give Bubbles a bedroom of her own, and she'd be perfectly happy. Huh. Well, that might have been when I reemphasized my feelings about the cat, and might have told her that Bubbles has a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order in the event she is injured.<br /><br />Now that summer (spring here is as hot as summer anywhere else) is here, we must be mindful of all of the aggressive and poisonous animals/insects/snakes/critters.<br /><br />We've just discovered a giant fast-as-hell black snake living in our down spout. We think it's non-venomous, but are not 100% sure. But in the event that this guy decides to attack, we're SOL - I think he can run (slither) about 300 mph.<br /><br />Jeff and I also had the unique experience of having a full-grown copperhead snake try to attack our car. Needless to say, although they might be aggressive, they are no where near as fast as our new neighbor, Mr. Fast-as-hell Black Snake. Thankfully.<br /><br />On the upside of the aggresive animals that live in the south (is there really an upside?), Alligator hunting season starts soon. Hunting permits can be had for a mear $10. Who knew?<br /><br />I'm considering getting one. Not because I want to actually kill an alligator, I just think it would be neat to have a stuffed one sitting in our living room. How much do you think it costs to stuff an alligator? Maybe for a few extra bucks, they'd cut cup holders into it (because afterall, everything is so much cooler with a cup holder).<br /><br />Now that Addie can dress herself, she has also learned the fine art of undressing herself. In addition to the 5+ costume changes she makes daily, she is also experimenting with nudity. Case in point, we had Naked Lunch the other day. My only solace was being able to convince her to wait until we were finished with our walk to start said naked lunch.<br /><br />In addition to her new found dressing independence, it seems we have a drama queen in the making (I wouldn't have any idea where she gets that, regardless of what my mom might tell you).<br /><br />The other day Jeff and I watched Addie sit in front of the mirror and practice saying, "stop mommy." Considering I hadn't done or said anything to her to incite this type of thing, we were flabbergasted. She must have said it about 10 times, with different facial expressions and voice inflection each time.<br /><br />As some of you may know, sometimes baby girl children have breast buds, and can actually produce milk from said buds (I know, I think it's totally weird too). Although the doctor said it was nothing to worry about, what I really want to know is, does this mean she could nurse herself?<br /><br />Considering I contemplated feeding Lorelei the left-over kitten formula, the whole nursing herself thing isn't such a bad idea . . . Needless to say, I don't love nursing, but am married to the self-appointed La Leche League President.<br /><br />As several of my more observant readers (remember, I'm a reality TV star, and you are all my adoring fans) quickly pointed out, I forgot to explain the power of Elmo undies. First off, I am only operating on half a brain, so please excuse me. Second, we thought we found the key to potty training Addie, but instead just succeeded in creating a monster.<br /><br />Jeff thought it might be a good idea to let Addie wear some big girl underwear, and when she had an accident, she'd understand the feeling of needing to pee, and thus potty training would be accomplished.<br /><br />Well, as it turns out, Addie seems to understand the concept quite well, but just has no interest in sitting on the potty (you should hear the list of treats she'll get IF she ever actually goes to the bathroom on the toilet). To further said underwear efforts, we explained that if she successfully used the potty, she would get some new Elmo underpants. Needless to say, all that did was send her into a screaming crying fit, demanding Elmo underpants. Have I mentioned that 2 1/2 is a rough age?<br /><br />To date, there are no potty successes to be had. And at this very moment, Addie has regressed and wants to be changed like a baby, instead of using her pull-ups (or in our case, I had been magically turning her diapers into pull-ups. But god forbid you call them diapers or that would start an entirely new fit).<br /><br />Lest I forget to write about this month's subject:<br /><br />Addie has started growing a fabulous unibrow, and Lorelei now has nearly braidable length ear hair. I'd like to be able to blame these hairy phenominons on Jeff, but alas, the hairy beasts come from my side of the family (thanks Dad).<br /><br />Do you think it's too early to start waxing them?<br /><br />One more thing, I was happy to see that the local chapter of Friends of the NRA meets at the club house in our subdivision.<br /><br />Take care,<br />Kate</div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-48255346345498852092009-04-19T13:51:00.001-07:002009-04-19T13:53:37.040-07:00The power of Elmo underpants<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiRXX9naCRlgAHUctL_SqZMCHiCjYX57WxaCwZWtvyweIY-2keQAEd7z_76fvJNR_xSa7j0_tZzg66r-vI7tns1AlMtEN0kQ69GaLImhvjjRd-B5tJrR6eN-3vlqUTnufv7XtH3U1w_yL/s1600-h/DSCN2284.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326508499623592818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiRXX9naCRlgAHUctL_SqZMCHiCjYX57WxaCwZWtvyweIY-2keQAEd7z_76fvJNR_xSa7j0_tZzg66r-vI7tns1AlMtEN0kQ69GaLImhvjjRd-B5tJrR6eN-3vlqUTnufv7XtH3U1w_yL/s200/DSCN2284.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinA29W-cFIaa5Rd_J5VgOwnrA_QEkmDh3ko9YdL5mnUQ48VP2QKmBOVAeMs-96Dj4CiNjcMmO45PCVhb15XUJPp2Bywx82vJG_8M7wxl7CEdAVMY9HSG9Rj0FNItTWZEGyRfx6i1CYO5QV/s1600-h/DSCN2276.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326508497531848242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinA29W-cFIaa5Rd_J5VgOwnrA_QEkmDh3ko9YdL5mnUQ48VP2QKmBOVAeMs-96Dj4CiNjcMmO45PCVhb15XUJPp2Bywx82vJG_8M7wxl7CEdAVMY9HSG9Rj0FNItTWZEGyRfx6i1CYO5QV/s200/DSCN2276.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Hi there,<br /><br />As some of you questioned my "free minute" to send an email, I felt compelled to explain. At the time, Addie was asleep in her mini-tent and I was dutifully ignoring Lorelei's crying.<br /><br />I figure there's no time like the present to learn that she has a bad mother . . .<br /><br />Actually, poor little thing has severe gas bubbles that make her cry for long painful (for all of us) stretches of time, so in the interest of my sanity, I thought it best to take a moment out.<br /><br />In an effort to stop the crying binges (hers, not mine), I have taken myself off dairy products. I am on day one, and am now frightfully aware of how many dairy products I consume in a day.<br /><br />Jeff was supposed to help me remember what to eat and not eat, but so far he just succeeded in making me two lunches with cheese.<br /><br />Now that I am no longer pregnant, and have two little ducklings to attend to, I can no longer indulge in my favorite pass-time of napping. But never fear, I have now taken up power eating.<br /><br />Since I am nursing (for now, but that's a different subject all together), I find myself practically starving nearly every hour. Thus pre-breakfast and pre-lunch have been introduced - smaller, quicker meals that can be consumed while real breakfast and lunch are being prepared. I have also discovered the joys of having a toddler who doesn't know how to count or keep a close eye on her Easter basket haul.<br /><br />Before #2 came along, Jeff and I had harbored fantasies that Addie would be a wonderfully adoring, gentle older sister.<br /><br />Considering her reputation with Bubbles, I can only assume we were having sleep-deprived delusions.<br /><br />Although she is vocally a supportive loving sister, she is a little aggressive, and I find myself having to say things like, "don't sit on your sisters head" and "don't smother her with the blanket."<br /><br />Shel Silverstein's poems One Sister for Sale and Someone Ate the Baby often come to mind.<br /><br />Now that Addie has a sister to pick on, I also would have thought that she might leave the kitty alone (that, and Bubbles is now spending EVERY night at the neighbors and only comes to our house to eat and when they are out of town), but no. The other day, I actually heard myself say, "Addie, don't lick the cat!"<br /><br />Clearly I have been living in a fantasy world.<br /><br />Most of you have heard the gory details of my labor and delivery, but I want to take this moment to re-emphasize that those of you who willingly had drug-free deliveries are insane.<br /><br />While at the hospital, we learned some colorful terms from the nurses.<br />1) Baby Low Jack System - that's the ankle security bracelet they slap on the newborn so he or she does not walk away. But I am left wondering if there will be any long-term ill effects that might involve house-arrest and ankle bracelets in the future . . .<br /><br />2) She has a suck like a Hoover - No joke, this is actually what one of the nurses said to me, about Lorelei upon our first nursing effort. It could have had something to do with the fact that she very nearly sucked the nail polish right off her finger, but I'm not sure.<br /><br />Just in case any of you were wondering what kind of food they serve in a North Carolina hospitals (that's right, we moved ALL the way across the country to South Carolina, and our child was born in North Carolina), they do in fact serve grits and sweet tea as standard fair. Sadly they were plain grits, which taste nearly like soggy cardboard.<br /><br />While at a Babys R Us before #2 came along, I discovered a whole quarter machine (you know, the ones normally reserved for gum balls and candy) filled with glow-in-the-dark crosses. They were kind of like those necklaces and bracelets that you "brake" to activate, only they were small crosses. They weren't even necklaces as far as I could tell.<br />Outside of some mid-night proselytizing, I can't imagine what they would be used for (okay, I can imagine, and it's something along the lines of Children of the Corn and scaring the hell out of your neighbors).<br /><br />I just can't believe there is a market big enough for such things that there would be an entire (and it wasn't a small one) quarter machine devoted to them. Actually, that was only a minor thing in comparison to what they sell at Hobby Lobby for Easter.<br /><br />Who wants a Jesus Loves You paddle ball in their next Easter basket?<br /><br />I'm afraid there hasn't been a whole lot happening locally to report in the news, but I'm sure you'll all be as pleased as I was to know that Bake Sales have their own column on the Community Events page.<br /><br />Take Care,<br />Kate </div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-81761821203998303612009-03-14T07:53:00.001-07:002009-03-14T07:54:24.616-07:00Wet t-shirt contest for pregnant women<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYPdItyrf215aqk_bvPKol1h3Rrzs2gMVwrDVqCn18W9aDuDiZUKYw5vjZrDEsheH12Prqeo9Yx5Xk8AoW3ZexXKzGrrhPVrrm5VRKYJQTuKeejjgHz-n1QqvxZGhJ22J2XEAprMpUw7O/s1600-h/37+weeks+3-13-09.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313056889180865458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 154px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYPdItyrf215aqk_bvPKol1h3Rrzs2gMVwrDVqCn18W9aDuDiZUKYw5vjZrDEsheH12Prqeo9Yx5Xk8AoW3ZexXKzGrrhPVrrm5VRKYJQTuKeejjgHz-n1QqvxZGhJ22J2XEAprMpUw7O/s200/37+weeks+3-13-09.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Saturday March 14, 2009<br /><br />Good Morning,<br /><br />Let me start off by saying - no baby yet. I officially have three weeks left, but am doubtful (as is everyone else in my neighborhood) that I'll make it that long. Attached is a recent picture, and in an effort to bring the group together, and make me feel a little more connected to friends and family, I am now accepting wagers as to when you think #2 will arrive. The winner will receive some fabulous prize . . . or not. Just depends on how I feel (nothing like being at the mercy of a pregnant woman).<br /><br />Although my brain may have checked out as of late. Thankfully, I'm still able to channel Martha Stewart. After all, what does one do if they are unable to cultivate their most domestic instincts?<br /><br />That being said, I have finally finished my quilt (after a long and arduous battle of wills), and even managed to bake three loaves of Friendship bread to put up in the freezer. As if those two feats aren't enough, I managed to bake and quilt at the same time. I know, I know, I very nearly put Martha to shame.<br /><br />Never mind that I've only managed to make waffles and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner . . .<br /><br />We've had some mad weather here lately, and as a result, find it quite confusing to dress appropriately (of course, the bigger I get, the more limited my options are). On Sunday night we got six inches of snow, the temperature fell to 15 degrees, and then was up to 78 degrees by Friday . . . Fortunately, we got a great snow day, and Jeff got to stay home for a half a day (he actually worked from home, but we got him for breakfast and lunch).<br /><br />As a result of some highly technical and advanced snowman building on Jeff's part, his status has been elevated among the neighborhood boys, and now when they know he's home, we have little knocks on the door, and request for Mr. Jeff to come out and play. Addie is also often included, and I, sadly, am last to be asked for. Oh well, I suppose if I have to choose between being domestically gifted, and favorite playmate, I'll stick with Martha. After all, I'm fairly certain she has never been asked to come out and play.<br /><br />In the midst of our 80 degree weather last weekend (it is now 40 degrees and rainy), after Tom Sawyering the neighborhood girls into washing our cars (who says you can't buy labor with a juice box and snacks?), we innocently supplied them with 100 water balloons, and may or may not have introduced them to the concept of sabotage.<br /><br />Needless to say, those poor boys never knew what hit them, and by the end of the fight, the smart ones were trying to defect to the girls' team.<br /><br />Only one broke down in tears for being accused to joining the "girls team" (as we all know, there is no bigger insult for an eight year old boy than being accused of siding with girls). We were quick to inform him though, that he joined the winning team, girls or not.<br /><br />Anyone who has been pregnant knows what and where the pregnancy stain threshold on your shirt is. For those who haven't experienced it, it's the place just below your chest where your belly sticks out that seems to attract anything and everything (normally the offending item would just fall to the floor, but because of the protruding plateau, all items stop mid-air). Sadly, most stains remain unseen until you've been out and about all day.<br /><br />But I digress. Last week as Addie and I were going to Plaza Fiesta to meet some of her preschool friends, I managed to drop my mocha mid belly. Not only did it empty it's contents all over my shirt (thankfully midway between what would have looked like lactating leaks and broken water), it also managed to triple it's volume and cover our backpack and my purse. Needless to say, walking into La Plaza was a bit humbling. Fortunately, there is a great amount of sympathy for the pregnant and most people just gave me pathetic pitying looks. Except of course from my friends - they just burst out laughing.<br /><br />It's times like that that those little hand dryers are useful (because we all know they're not useful the rest of the time). Too bad they were all at kid levels which required a complex and ornate bending and balancing act on my part (because after all, pregnant woman are really quite graceful and flexible). It's a wonder more pregnant woman aren't asked to participate in wet t-shirt competitions, because let me tell you, people couldn't keep their eyes off me.<br /><br />Sadly, there are those out there who don't sympathize with pregnant woman, and instead try to extort their "condition". And by condition, I mean their inability to lift a full keg of beer<br />into the back of a car.<br /><br />Since South Carolina has the Blue Law, and a variety of other confusing laws about alcohol, the Package Stores (aka booze emporiums) close at 6pm, so I (with my infinitely flexible schedule) have been elected beer schlep. On one of my trips to the package store to buy a keg for Jeff (don't laugh, it's a lot cheaper than buying cans), the man who wheeled my keg out to my car asked me if I had any cash to tip him for loading my keg.<br /><br />After asking if that wasn't in fact part of his job, and he had informed me, no, it was not, I was left open-mouthed and flabbergasted. On my early trips to said package store, they (including this particular man) had loaded my keg without so much as a word. Had I actually been able to lift the keg on my own, I would have tried - after all, I have been known to do things in spite of my best interests. I was envisioning something like telling him off, then summoning up all the strength and energy that is normally directed at growing a healthy baby (and of course, bending at the knees), I would have hoisted the keg over my head, grunted like an Olympic power lifter, and gently place said keg in the back of my car. Then, just to make sure he understood that he was the one who forced this course of action, I would have gone into labor right there on the spot. That would have showed him.<br /><br />Instead, after my dumbfounded silence, he told me that I had better bring cash next time.<br /><br />I know you all look forward to our local news updates, so I feel like I should explain something about our little Rock Hill Herald. Only a few of you have had the pleasure of reading it, so the rest of you aren't aware that it only has two sections four days out of the week - the front page and sports. On Saturday, they expand it to three sections which includes the Religion section. I can only assume that it's size limits it's ability to report on world news, so they are forced to choose which stories get top billing on the front page.<br /><br />That being said, here you go:<br /><br />"Fort Mill man escapes burning tanning bed." Now keep in mind, this happened the same time as the shooting in Alabama and Germany.<br /><br />If that wasn't tantalizing enough, the follow-up story (again, front page center) was, "Officials: Tanning bed fire was first on record in S.C." Well thank goodness for that.<br /><br />As titillating as the tanning bed fire story was, I had to search further back in the paper for this one: "S.C. man cited for hyena in yard." Now the really interesting thing about this article was that he didn't get in trouble so much for having said hyena, but for "displaying a wild and exotic animal." So much for the wild and exotic animal peepshow I was planning . . .<br /><br />Take Care,<br />Kate </div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-5951250893988222372009-02-24T13:10:00.001-08:002009-02-24T13:11:44.161-08:00Prom for Preschoolers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietslEr5dKX4y98hglddHSD2DbqQu8Xgk5g4Nq2ffKiHONHuALad0Cp0UXYhsUDT2mYgTepnP3Q39mYgAxTYe_NUl-0m2mo4nr-yY-z_k1PARSOAtVTnzJvJhlLqn_zPXUbDap3Hwo0984/s1600-h/Addie's+first+haircut.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306474487425264914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietslEr5dKX4y98hglddHSD2DbqQu8Xgk5g4Nq2ffKiHONHuALad0Cp0UXYhsUDT2mYgTepnP3Q39mYgAxTYe_NUl-0m2mo4nr-yY-z_k1PARSOAtVTnzJvJhlLqn_zPXUbDap3Hwo0984/s200/Addie's+first+haircut.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Feb. 24, 2008<br />Subj: Prom for preschoolers<br /><br />Hello Everyone,<br /><br />Happy Tuesday. I know I've been remiss about writing more often, but the fact of the matter is, I've been actively avoiding the bonus room (where the computer is), for fear that the quilt I'm supposed to be making (yes, another one, but this one is supposed to be for Baby #2 - or as the girls in the neighborhood call her, "Adeline 2) will jump into my lap and insist upon some attention. So as a result, I have been using this time to perfect my napping skills.<br /><br />We've been having more computer problems, and I suppose it could have something to do with the bubble wands Addie inserted into the fan area of the hard drive, but I just can't imagine how something as low tech as bubble wands (that's right, not just one, but two), could effect such a highly scientific and advanced thing as a computer hard drive. I'm more inclined to believe it's the quilt (it's not even a quilt yet, just a pile of fabric, but in spirit it's a beautiful baby quilt) exacting it's revenge on me.<br /><br />Little does it know I can still go to the library to use the computer. It has no idea what kind of procrastinator it's dealing with - I will overcome!<br /><br />Addie's preschool hosted a father/daughter dance for Valentines, and moms were only allowed if they were helping out with something. Of course Jeff wasn't going to go unless I was there, so I dutifully signed up for ticket taking, dressed Addie in her finest Christmas dress, and off we went.<br /><br />Now, since this was a preschool function (although it was open to the public), we thought Jeff would be fine in a sports shirt and slacks. Of course, we forgot to adjust our thought process to east coast time. Jeff was by far, the most under-dressed of all the 100+ dads there. Suits are of course the most logical next step up from a sports shirt, but there were dads in tuxedos (remember, preschool dance here). And at least half the girls had corsages and outrageous up-dos (also known as Prom Hair). Many of the girls had visibly spent time at the beauty salon, and had even had their nails and toes done for the occasion.<br /><br />After watching all these dolled up kiddos come and go, I realized that this must be where beauty queens come from . . .<br /><br />Aside from all the outrageous hoopla, there is nothing cuter than a room full of dads dancing the night away with their exhausted little girls (the dance didn't start until 7pm, so most of us didn't have a fighting chance to last the whole night).<br /><br />Good news, we took a hospital tour, so now we know where to go when #2 is ready. And, as luck would have it, while I was sitting in the maternity ward waiting room, I had a chance to peruse my new favorite magazine, "American Rifleman." It truly is the "world's oldest and largest firearm authority." Do you think a lifetime subscription the American Rifleman would be a more suitable birth gift than a quilt?<br /><br />Jeff and I have taken up bicycling on the weekends, and have quickly discovered that in fact, we are invisible. You'd think that two adults and a bike trailer (which we refer to has the princess chariot because Addie loves it so much) would be at least a little visible, but every time we try to cross an intersection (mind you, from the sidewalk, when the hand is green) we nearly get creamed by someone trying to turn right. But the good news is, we have found what we believe to be the only bike rack in the whole city. Conveniently, it's located in front of the local hippy market in town.<br /><br />Addie had her first haircut today, and she did wonderfully. Admittedly, Great Clip's haircut sale was really what spurned me into action (you just can't beat $6.99). That, and I didn't want to have one of those kids who goes through school with their hair wrapped around their waists because their moms just won't let them cut it. And, I think if Addie's hair got too long, it might become problematic in the potty training area.<br /><br />Speaking of poo, (let those who don't have children be forewarned - we will be talking about another well kept parenting secret), I had another one of those moments when I just sat back, and thought, "good lord, how did I get here?"<br /><br />As if catching vomit with your hands isn't bad enough. . . Addie had a little bottle in the shower, I looked down and it had a little dark thing in it. Clearly not thinking, I picked up the bottle, looked at it, dumped it out into my hand, and realized almost immediately, that I had poo in my hand. Of course the first question I asked myself was, "how did I get poo in my hand?" But the second question that I know you are all asking yourselves is, "how did the poo get in the bottle in the first place?" I wish I knew.<br /><br />Somehow I think the answer to that would lead to all the answers to all the most difficult questions out there.<br /><br />In the headlines this week: "Fort Mill teen charged in Dairy Barn Burglaries."<br /><br />If you're anything like me, you were probably hoping for some great modern day cattle rustling story, but alas, the story didn't actually have anything to do with cows at all.<br /><br />I'm afraid I have nothing more to report. We pretty much stick to a rigid schedule of eating, napping and playing. It's grueling and exhausting, but someone has to do it.<br /><br />Take care.<br /><br />Love,<br />Kate </div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-59842430405189008822009-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:002009-02-24T13:14:19.946-08:00Move over DAR . . .Jan. 31, 2009<br /><br />Good Morning and Happy Saturday Morning,<br /><br />I've finally achieved Martha Stewart level 4 Super Homemaker Status . . . Envision if you will, a pregnant and barefoot Kate baking cookies with a '50's style waist apron tied around her ever-expanding belly, whilst a gaggle (or is it herd) of girls sit at the breakfast table nicely playing with Playdoh. I know, I know, you're all a little bit jealous. Okay, so maybe some of you are gagging a little too - Domestic perfection is not for the faint of heart.<br /><br />There are times in all of our lives when we sit back and think, if someone had told me this is what I'd be doing in X amount of years, we all might have headed for the hills.<br /><br />I've never been known for great patience, and have already expressed my issues with potty training, but today we reached an all new high (or is it low?).<br /><br />In an effort to optimize potty time, I've taken to noting what time of day our delightful (and oft stinky) daughter has BM's (for the sake of the non-parents out there, we shall use abbreviations - we don't want to reveal all the secret joys of parenthood), thus making sure she sits on said potty at that particular time. Thankfully, my much-more-patient-than-I husband has taken on this task, and now sits with Addie for 30+ minutes at a stretch.<br /><br />Now you'd think with this kind of upper level science being used, we'd have more success, but alas, she's on to us.<br /><br />Bubbles was attacked by a neighbor dog a couple of weeks ago, and since she's already surpassed her life-time spending limit, we chose to doctor her at home and hoped for the best (of course each of us have a different definition of "best" outcome, depending on the number of cat bites received in the doctoring process). The very same irksome nine-year-old from the last email thought it was a good idea to take Bubbles to his house to play, and low and behold, their boxer thought he'd brought her a new toy. We've since determined that he was not in fact present for the attack, but I still think there's more to the story then we've heard. His 13 year old brother was there, is still traumatized (city kids are so sensitive) by the memory.<br /><br />Just after it happened, the mom came over practically in tears and told us Bubbles was stuck up in a tree and both cat and dog were covered in blood. So Jeff went over, ladder in hand, and dragged Bubbles home. She was in fact covered in blood, but after a nice relaxing bath with grapefruit hand soap (we all know how much cats like baths, and I drew the short straw for that particular task), she looked like new.<br /><br />Later that night, the parents came over apologizing for the attack, and since he's in insurance, trying to subtly determine whether we were the suing type. We tried to explain that it is the nature of cats to come and go, and it's best not to get too attached.<br /><br />Apparently they don't share our feelings on the subject of cats, and now think us unfeeling monsters.<br /><br />For a few days after the attack, Bubbles stuck close to home, but is now back to having sleep-overs at the neighbors. One day while their daughter was over playing, she let it slip that her mother feeds Bubbles salmon . . . See, it's not just her home life Bubbles is running away from.<br /><br />Jeff has taken to bribing the cat in an effort to buy her loyalty. Every morning when he lets her in, he gives her a piece of salami and a fresh bowl of water (I'm telling you, the cat has a weird affinity for fresh water). So far, no changes on the loyalty meter, but he's hopeful. And besides, it's a great way to get rid of expired meat . . .<br /><br />I've never been one for mixing business with friends, but since I'm still trying to make friends here, I put my personal feelings aside, and went to a Southern Living at Home party. For those of you who don't know, this is like a Tupperware or Mary Kay party, only with products seen in Southern Living magazine. This is one of those times when I've had to force myself to acknowledge what my life has become. I suppose it's all part of becoming a domestic goddess, and should just embrace it.<br /><br />Apparently there is a trend out there to "party swap," (it has nothing to do with politics as I was inclined to believe), but two individuals who are representatives for two different companies agree to exchange forcing each others products on their friends. As it turns out, I'm not a very supportive friend.<br /><br />My most recent at-home party invitation is to a Pure Romance Party (another party swap, but who thinks that "marital aids" is a fair swap with cheap jewelry?). I'm actually considering hosting this one myself, as there is nothing sexier than a pregnant woman with bladder control issues . . .<br /><br />When I'm not attending these special special parties, I've taken to going to storage unit auctions. This week I stood out in the cold for three hours watching the auctioneer sell off the contents of six storage units. The big finds that day were a large box of pornographic magazines (some lucky person picked that little find up for $3.00), and a very nice, hand-blown water bong. Since the auctioneer can't legally sell off drug paraphernalia, they say things like, "remember, you're bidding on the box only." They also can't sell off paint, so when a storage unit full of painting supplies came up, they auctioned off 5-gallon buckets, and the paint inside was just a bonus.<br /><br />In the news this week:<br />South Carolina Born Sweet Tea Vodka is Coming Home. This staple in everyone's liquor cabinet was invented here, but due to strict distilling regulations, had to be moved to Florida. Since the SC unemployment rates keep increasing, we're all thankful for any industry that wants to set up shop here. And since we've already determined that Southerns drink like it's their God given privilege, I think this little product is the real reason sweet tea is so popular here.<br /><br />For those of you who don't know, Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker's Heritage Land was erected in Fort Mill, SC (just up the road). Since Jim's shameful falling from grace, Heritage Land has been abandoned, and is now a collection of abandoned buildings, which (among other things) include several castles and an outdoor coliseum.<br /><br />But there's bright news on the horizon. Another religious group has made a deal with the city to take over the abandoned hotel (imagine the scene of a horror movie, and you've got Heritage Towers), and will be putting in retirement apartments. After all, who doesn't want to buy a space in a hotel that's been abandoned for nearly 20 years?<br /><br />Those of you who can claim DAR rights (privileges?), now have another group to aspire to: Dames of the 21st Century. Apparently there is a new (new to me anyway) society of women who get together to do who knows what, and the only qualifying consideration is whether your forefathers were here from 1600 to 1699. The article gave a definition of the modern-day Dame, and detailed how one might begin researching said family lineage.<br /><br />I'm just excited about finding a new hobby.<br /><br />Love,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-37468307170269796582009-01-31T07:11:00.000-08:002009-01-31T07:14:50.511-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPyrDcRwjiBSzh8Pai6t8pxgjJEdTUNHL_Dq0sAZeA7ScHOrRFj_rlchSUF5xP0kzX2cO2kHElbQf4omORFR6ISLSMRy76_TT9xvCls5W2dQO_POwUL9yATzrG1INt0n8jE0iV3T4gSb7/s1600-h/DSCN2158.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297476306403449698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPyrDcRwjiBSzh8Pai6t8pxgjJEdTUNHL_Dq0sAZeA7ScHOrRFj_rlchSUF5xP0kzX2cO2kHElbQf4omORFR6ISLSMRy76_TT9xvCls5W2dQO_POwUL9yATzrG1INt0n8jE0iV3T4gSb7/s200/DSCN2158.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZEHfA-jIm83uSfFcPZ9gNNNbKiUcKIJJrHzDwWVeICtwJOBd4ZqPf-A3hV1YBQQKyDr4_mpir8TXd-dICO1zE8g-IVusmqIWznUhbeXpVjgsJHLMZ5lRENU5bMXKMAVDzOj2xOiflGcd/s1600-h/Jan.+30,+2009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297475919418325714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZEHfA-jIm83uSfFcPZ9gNNNbKiUcKIJJrHzDwWVeICtwJOBd4ZqPf-A3hV1YBQQKyDr4_mpir8TXd-dICO1zE8g-IVusmqIWznUhbeXpVjgsJHLMZ5lRENU5bMXKMAVDzOj2xOiflGcd/s200/Jan.+30,+2009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>31 weeks pregnant and Addie throwing a fit in the snow.</div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-24163092604795371842009-01-16T11:21:00.001-08:002009-01-16T11:21:52.464-08:00More about those damn squirrels<strong>1/16/09</strong><br /><br />Hi,<br /><br />Well here it is Friday afternoon, and I have completed, and passed (at least preliminarily anyway) my PHR test - back to napping guilt free, yippee!<br /><br />Since moving here, I have learned many interesting and useful things (examples: whooping is alive and well in the south, Carolinians are bad drivers, and the merits of Confederate Flag Day), but have recently learned a new phrase and thought I should share it with you . . . Meat and Three. <br /><br />I'm still struggling with its actual meaning, but have come to understand it as dry meat and three soggy sides. I am willing to concede I could be a little bit wrong about it's meaning though.<br /><br />On a recent trip to Wal-Mart (I still want to cry every time I admit it) I discovered a new product that I can't believe has not become an overnight success - injectable honey glaze. <br /><br />This little tantalizing treat comes with its own syringe and a list of suggestions of what to inject said glaze into. I realize that food companies have been injecting meat for years, but it's always been in the privacy of their own plant. Just the idea of bringing injectable goodness out into the open is at the very least owning up to one's guilty pleasures, but more than that, it seems down right scandalous.<br /><br />Once the world gets a taste of self-honey-glaze injecting, where will it stop? Why stop at honey glaze? Why not injectable butter (at the least), or injectable gravy, or for that matter, injectable mayonnaise?<br /><br />As if that wasn't enough excitement for one trip, while I was checking out, I got into a lively conversation with the checker about the merits of gardening with Wal-Mart bags - one layer of plastic bags, one layer of dirt, one layer of plastic bags, one layer of dirt . . .<br /><br />After two weeks of staying with our neighbors while we were gone, Bubbles has decided she wants a new family. Nearly every time we let her out, she runs to the neighbors and refuses to come home. She has already spent several nights over there (they say she won't leave, and I say it's the tuna fish in their pockets), and launches an attack against me when I go to get her. <br /><br />Bubbles has a thing for fresh water, so she jumps into the sink anytime she thinks you may turn it on, and Addie has discovered the joy of "washing her hands" while the cat is in said sink (read, turning the water on the cat's head). I realize this may not be an ideal home life compared to sleeping in our neighbor's bed and getting canned tuna fish whenever you're hungry, but after spending $600 on her, I'll be damned if the neighbors are going to get her.<br /><br />I am fairly certain Bubbles is plotting how to achieve refugee status as we speak.<br /><br />For those keeping track at home, I have just won the Upstanding Parenting Award. <br /><br />We have a particularly irksome nine year old in our neighborhood who is around a lot, and has recently taken to tormenting Bubbles under the guise of trying to "make friends." <br /><br />On one particularly trying day, he told me our cat was mean and was always biting him. I then (because I remembered that I was the grown-up in the situation) told him that was because we were training the cat to attack him. <br /><br />Now you'd think I would have stopped there, but no. I then went on to tell him that in fact, we had a picture of him in the house and were working on training Bubbles to attack the picture every time we said his name.<br /><br />Upon reflection, maybe that wasn't the best way to handle the situation.<br /><br />Two recent headlines in our local paper read, "Squirrels Plot to Take Over." and the other, "The Joys of Eating Squirrels." Those are honest to goodness headlines, and both are near and dear to my heart considering my experience with the carnivorous squirrels in our yard. <br /><br />Granted, the first article was about a shortage of acorns and how the squirrels are plotting and scheming to take over bird feeders, but I think the sentiment behind the article was the same - squirrels are scary scary creatures and steps should be taken so they don't take over the world (this is where article number two comes in . . .).<br /><br />Take care and have a great weekend!<br /><br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-30437562829643588142009-01-05T07:49:00.000-08:002009-01-05T07:58:39.096-08:00Christmas recoveryWell we're back in South Carolina, after two weeks in Oregon, and although it's nice to be home (in the sense that we're back in our house and back to our routines), we both really miss Oregon. As most of you know, there was a huge amount of snow when we arrived, but thanks to the Caddy-plow, we were able to get around quite well. Who knew Cadillacs were such good snow cars? Needless to say, Jeff has totally fallen in love with them (and to this day, swears that his '79 Cadillac <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Eldorado</span> was the "smoothest ride" he ever had).<br /><br />Jeff's favorite missed things were of course beer - he opened a bottle of Mirror Pond (which we used to keep on tap in Portland), and let out a long sigh, and said, "that's good beer." Somehow the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Budweisers</span> and Natural Lights just don't seem to do it for him.<br /><br />In addition to the food (because as a companion hobby to napping, I have also taken up eating), I missed the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Portlandness</span> of it all. Whilst driving around town, we spotted a guy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">wading</span> through the snow bank, playing his guitar.<br /><br />Since Oregon is such an outdoor city, there were cross-country skiers and snow-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">shoers</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">everywhere</span>, and I even heard tell of a gal who skied across town for a blind date - that's dedication.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-35658952481852940082008-12-11T10:19:00.000-08:002008-12-11T10:20:23.789-08:00Food poisoning anyone?Dec. 11<br />Hello and happy two weeks before Christmas!<br /><br />Jeff and I both took turns having food poisoning this week, and lucky me, I had it about 10 times worse than he did. For those of you who haven't experienced vomiting while six months pregnant, let me just tell you, you're really missing out on something very special . . . and disgusting. Two days later, I'm feeling mostly better, but my insides hurt from all the heaving (sorry for the gross details).<br /><br />I know many of you are eagerly awaiting trash talk about the Laurel Creek Christmas party, but alas, although a pleasant evening, it was utterly uneventful. Though, in keeping with their reputation, my neighbors did close the party down, many of them with a hearty dose of booze under their belts (hey, if it's free, why not, right?).<br /><br />Always trying to keep up with Martha, I had to bake eight dozen cookies this week for a cookie exchange (add eight dozen to those trays you burn, plus extras to make up for less than pretty cookies, and we're talking 10 dozen). I came home with a ton of cookies, but since we were both sick, we haven't even tried any.<br /><br />Since this neighborhood goes a little wild at Christmas, I invited Addie's preschool class over for dinner and a Christmas light walk. I'm sure those of you who saw Jeff's decorations in Portland were worried how they'd fit in here in here in the south - but no worries, there's something about a big yard that somehow makes them all a bit more tasteful looking . . . Or it could be the fact that every yard has an inflatable or three, so we just blend in. <br /><br />I took the cat to the vet again (and we're due again in January), but alas, did not get put in the room with the Gun & Garden magazine. But I did have a chance to read The Christian Veterinarian, and it's all that you'd imagine it would be. I just can't believe I've gone my whole life completely unaware that these types of literature existed. And I called myself an English Major.<br /><br />On the upside of a very expensive vet visit, I did find an add for a veterinarian mission trip to Mongolia to help train local vets in small animal care. Do you think my experience with Tiny Bubbles qualifies me?<br /><br />About a week ago, Jeff and I were watching TV (okay, he was watching, and I was napping), and he poked me and said in amazement, "Do you see this?!" Normally, Jeff pays no mind to the unusual Southerners of where we live, so I was doubly amazed that he felt inclined to poke me. Anyway, the 10 o'clock news was doing a feature story on . . . wait for it . . . Jesus Christ. It was, and I am not making this up, a biography of the Savior himself. Now remember, this wasn't a Christmas special, or the religious channel, it was a mainstream Charlotte news channel just doing their part to spread The Word. <br /><br />I realize that was probably normal for these parts, but coming from the Pacific Northwest, where you can't even sing the Pledge of Allegiance, I was awed.<br /><br />The church where Addie goes to preschool puts on a huge Journey Through Bethlehem every year. It's an interactive reenactment of Jesus' birth with over 500 cast members, and since we knew the Baby Jesus, we felt obligated to go. It was well done, and definitely worth the free admission. Although we had no idea they spoke with such deep southern accents in Bethlehem . . .<br /><br />As some of you know, we've been working at potty training with Addie for some time now, and to no avail. In an effort to move things along, I switched Addie to pull-ups, which has helped dramatically, but honestly, who has the patients for this? Addie now wants to sit on the potty all the time, particularly when we're out shopping. You'd think this would be great, and a step in the right direction, but we've had ZERO successes so far. Not only that, she's also quite particularly about where and how she sits. It has to be upstairs on her potty (never mind that we have a little seat and stool set up for her downstairs), Jeff or I have to be with her, and books and/or toys are a must. I realize it's my job to be supportive and all that, but good lord, 5:40am in the morning does not a supportive mother make.<br /><br />Well, only one week and one day until we fly back to Oregon. For those of you who we won't get to see while home (ie you don't live there), Merry Christmas!!<br /><br />Much Love,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-53872236114099984662008-12-04T12:31:00.001-08:002009-05-18T11:39:55.003-07:00Carnivorous Squirrels<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHSo5BuPV-1EA0wbsUet40nLbj6FWHuSzq-i5Bn2orpDPX94QvBSY2T4qdR5tC024EjxsPazKIHplec-tGfJlfknpnpMpao3cJTpeSwIUanBoVDdHRZdYr8MKc3SKMSmfOWyGezHCGjl1/s1600-h/DSCN2043.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276035760015147042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHSo5BuPV-1EA0wbsUet40nLbj6FWHuSzq-i5Bn2orpDPX94QvBSY2T4qdR5tC024EjxsPazKIHplec-tGfJlfknpnpMpao3cJTpeSwIUanBoVDdHRZdYr8MKc3SKMSmfOWyGezHCGjl1/s200/DSCN2043.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Dec. 4</div><br /><div>Hi there and happy Thursday,<br /><br />Well, here I am avoiding studying again. It's amazing the things you can find to do when you have important (expensive) tests to study for (an Prof. in HR Certification test for those of you who don't know).<br /><br />Addie got into Jeff's deodorant this morning, and let me just say, there's nothing quite like a two year old girl smelling like a musky man . . . I'm thinking of bottling the concept for Mattel or Fisher Price. If that doesn't work, I'm considering asking Brittany Spears to be the face of the my new scent - "Guess Who Got into Dad's Dresser?"<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Christmasville</span> starts here this weekend, which features over 70 holiday events, including, "Festival of Trees Cocktail Crawl," followed closely by "Single Malt Scotch Tasting." Who knew? I had never associated <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Christmass</span> trees and cocktails, but if that's what helps you get through the holidays, more power to you.<br /><br />Even bigger news, a coffee shop opened up downtown (since moving here, I have made it my goal to seek out and try each coffee shop in Rock Hill - a task that only took me about two days . . .), which was a huge day for me. So big in fact, that I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">pre</span>-arranged to meet some of the other preschool moms there on opening day. They're off to a great start - out of three orders, they only made two mistakes.<br /><br />I'm pulling for them though. And since everyone needs and is desperately waiting for my informed opinions, I gave them mine.<br /><br />As most of you know, Jeff's alter-ego is a lumber jack, but since his dad convinced him to leave his chainsaw in Oregon with him, Jeff's been chomping at the bit to cut down some trees. Since someone wouldn't mail said chainsaw back to him (I'm talking about you Randy), Jeff got a brand new shiny chainsaw for his birthday (if anyone needs any advice on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Stihl</span> chainsaws, I'm your woman). All week Jeff had his eye on a dead pine tree behind our house (although not technically on our property, we figured dead trees are fair game), but sadly, the day before he was going to cut it down, it blew over in a wind storm (well, not really a storm, more of a strong breeze and some aggressive squirrels). You have never seen someone so crest fallen as Jeff was when he realized he wasn't going to get to fall (fell?) that tree.<br /><br />But don't worry, Jeff got nearly as much satisfaction cutting the downed tree up into logs, and chopping firewood. Jeff is never quite so happy as he is when he's swinging an ax and using is manly muscles. I'd like to be able to say I helped him, but I believe I was taking a nap instead (since it is practically my new hobby).<br /><br />I'm sure you are all relieved to hear that the tax free gun sales weekend was a big success. According to the article, the south is doing their part to keep the economy stimulated by taking advantage of no sales tax on all gun purchases last weekend. Apparently the combination of saving 7% and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Obama's</span> potential gun reform, there were mad rushes to every gun selling store in South Carolina. The weekend was affectionately referred to as "celebration of the second amendment weekend." I'm just sorry I didn't take advantage of it while I could.<br /><br />Addie has a really neat new sleeping habit (or not sleeping habit). When she wakes up in the middle of the night, or during her nap time, and can't get back to sleep, she collects anything she can get her hands on, and puts it in bed with her. So far I've found four pairs of shoes (not matching pairs mind you), a whole pile of dirty laundry (it was piled on her back while she was sleeping, so I'm not entirely sure how she pulled that one off), spare socks (Jeff had just been wondering why her socks were all of the sudden coming up with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">mis</span>-matches), every stuffed animal in her room (at least 20 of them), her belt buckle and belt (that's actually a favorite), and of course, every toy she can reach. It's a wonder there's any room for her in there.<br /><br />We've also discovered a really fun game called, "Lets see if I can pull the cat under the door." Last week Addie was in her room not taking her nap, and the cat was outside in the hall. Since both are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">gluttens</span> for punishment, Addie stuck her hands under the door, and waved them tantalizingly (like a worm on a hook), and of course, the cat bit them. Then the cat would take her turn sticking her paws under the door, and Addie would try to pull her through. Every few minutes you'd hear Addie cry and the cat howl. You'd think they'd learn, but this went on for a good 15 minutes.<br /><br />And lastly, the carnivorous squirrels. This is actually old news, but I keep thinking about it each time a squirrel eyes Addie on our walks.<br /><br />Jeff has two sets of mounted antlers that he got from his grandpa, and he dutifully hung them up on the trees in our yard once they were unpacked. Within a few weeks he noticed that the antlers were getting smaller, and that each spike had large (not just small nibbles) bites taken out of them. You might not think this so odd - bones (or bone-like substance) outdoors will get eaten, right? These same antlers had hung in the woods of Dallas for many years, with nary a nibble.<br /><br />Within a few minutes of close surveillance, Jeff witnessed busy-tailed grey squirrels climb up the tree, unhinge their jaws and take shark-sized bites out of the antlers (okay, maybe they didn't unhinge their jaws, but if you'd seen these bite marks, you'd be asking the same questions). Needless to say, the antlers came down, and are now safely in the garage with the petrified frogs. And for the record, I'm deeply disappointed about that.<br /><br />Tonight is the big Laurel Creek Christmas Party, so I hope no ones looking for a babysitter tonight, since some have been booked for this party since July. I'll tell you what though, if you want to start a neighborhood feud, try booking the most sought after sitters six months in advance.<br /><br />Take Care and Much Love to All,<br />Kate</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-23618265460035078762008-11-22T12:06:00.001-08:002008-11-22T12:09:02.975-08:00Best of the bestBelow are the best of the best "What have I gotten myself into" emails.<br /><br />Our Big Move, or “What have I gotten myself into?”<br /><br />July 28<br />Hello Everyone,<br /><br />Well, a week later, we finally have internet (there was no wireless to pirate, so we had to actually pay for internet). We also have a new home phone number, but they forgot to tell me what it was when they hooked it up, so I'll let y'all know as soon as I do.<br /><br />All is well here - unpacking is a pain, but I can't live in the chaos for much longer, so I suppose I'll have to suck it up and empty all of the boxes - right now our bonus room looks like a storage facility and/or dumping ground for used packing paper.<br /><br />Just in case any of you had any doubts, it's hot here . . . In fact, it's supposed to be 95 degrees today, with the added bonus of lots of humidity. Addie and I can usually only tolerate about 15 minutes outside at a time before we have to come in and enjoy the air conditioning. <br /><br />There are appetizer-sized bugs here that think I taste good, but have thankfully been avoiding Jeff and Addie. Every time I step in the grass, I come back with at least three new bug bites that itch like crazy. They have wasps here that are an inch (no exaggeration) long and look like they could carry Addie away if they ganged up together.<br /><br />We're pretty lucky, our development has a lot of green space and walking paths, so we get to see wild-life every day - loads of frogs (even orange ones that look a little poisonous), turtles, deer, rabbits and we saw a falcon in our yard yesterday. We've been told there are snakes all over, but we haven't seen any yet - thankfully! <br /><br />Although we admit we're being super judgmental, Jeff and I feel like we've moved into Pleasantville and/or Stepford (sp? i.e. The Stepford Wives). Everyone is SOOOO polite, it's enough to put you off and some of the men come off as being a little slick. On the up side, one neighbor brought us homemade bread and another brought us a bucket of peaches. Since there are so many, I thought I would make some peach pie - is it considered polite or rude to bring some pie over to the neighbor who brought the peaches? <br /><br />Just about everyone we see apologizes for how they're dressed, so Jeff and I are a little nervous about what they think of our casual wear (I've been trying to get Jeff to at least throw out the T-shirts with holes in them).<br /><br />We've haven't picked up any accents yet, but we've definitely embraced "y'all" as standard for more than one person.<br /><br />Since it's just Addie and me at home, we're getting a little bored. Although there are a lot (so it seems) of stay-at-home moms, we don't see anyone during the day. I assume it has to do with the heat, but they could just be avoiding us.<br /><br />We had our first walk-by proselytizing - We met one of the neighbors across the street, and the second thing out of her mouth was (imagine a very strong southern accent), "if y'all are looking for a church, we go to the First Baptist out on Dave Lyle. It's a real nice church, and they have a great children's program." After all the warnings we'd been given about that type of thing, we were surprised that it's only happened once so far.<br /><br />As for other adjustments, groceries are really expensive here - I paid $4.25/gallon for milk and nearly fell over. Jeff and I got in trouble for trying to buy beer on Sunday - because you can't, it's against the law. I have found the local Wal-Mart and find it just as detestable here as I always have.<br /><br />The house is fine, but with any house (new or old), we've found some small problems that need immediate attention - the toilet and garbage disposal leak and although there are closets-a-plenty, they only have one small wire shelf in each, so the storage is really poor. Needless to say, Jeff has been keeping pretty busy when he's not at work.<br /><br />We've seen some pretty fantastic anti-yankee bumper stickers - "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?" and (with a picture of a mosquito), "send more Yankees, they taste good."<br /><br />I realize this is a pretty long email - sorry. I'm just making up for not having any sort of outlet for the past week+.<br /><br />Aug. 2, 2008<br />Hi Everyone,<br /><br />Well, we've been here now for two weeks, and if I still didn't have unpacking to do, I might just go stir crazy. I think Addie is even getting a little bored with me.<br /><br />It's hot as blazes, and humid to boot, but there are some pretty fantastic storms (we've had three in the last week - something to do with the hurricanes off the coast). Jeff and I had a particularly bad Monday (see below), so we sat on our porch and watched the lighting, heard the rolling thunder, and got soaking wet. Had any neighbors been watching, they must have thought us insane. <br /> <br />Jeff and I have decided that South Carolina is conspiring to take all of our money. Not only do you have to pay property taxes on your cars (what?), they made me pay sales tax on my Pilot, even though I did not buy it in South Carolina, nor was I a resident at the time. Needless to say, I'll be taking it up with the Revenue Department. Four hours, and too much money later, I finally got SC plates . . . Ugg! That was also right on the heels of a nice letter from the city about an annual back-flow inspection for our sprinklers - who's heard of that? We may have to sell Addie for scientific experiments.<br /><br />We have some good and bad news about the house - as of Mon 7/28, Hewitt took over ownership, which means it's no longer our hassle to deal with. The bad news is, they have yet to pay us for said house. Silly us, we thought we'd get paid for our house . . .<br /><br />Our house has some very strange noises and we are not entirely sure it is free of all things supernatural. Last week, I was sitting at the computer and I swear I saw something dash past the door and a moment later an alarm clock (that was sitting in the hall) went off randomly. We also had some very strange garage door problems the first week we were here. I'd close it, and sometime later (an hour, three hours, 15 minutes, etc), it would be open. This went on for several days, and I was already starting to imagine the REAL reasons the last two families had moved out (three owners in seven years is a lot after all). Thankfully, we figured that mystery out. Turns out the old owners still have our garage door programmed into their car buttons, and since they only moved across the street, the button still activated our door.<br /><br />Our nature walks are the highlight of our day. Needless to say, once we're 100% unpacked, I will be looking for a job.<br /><br />I think that's it. Hope all of you are doing well. I'd love to hear from you when you have a chance.<br /><br />Take care,<br />Kate<br /><br />Sept. 3<br />Subj: Greetings from the Rock Hill Public Library<br />Hi Everyone,<br /><br />I realize that mass emails are less than desirable, but for some reason, since I'm not an email person, they seem to be the only emails I can reliably get out.<br /><br />Well, our computer decided to become our own private porn peep show - thus using the Rock Hill library computer. I'm supposed to back up all our files and wipe out our computer and reinstall stuff . . . or something like that. I just know we have two trojans and a virus that have attached themselves to our Windows Operating System - yippee for us!<br /><br />Addie started preschool today. Since there are so many more stay-at-home moms (or it seems that way anyway), than what we had in Portland, Preschool is a very big deal here. Almost all of the churches offer some sort of preschool program, and most seem pretty good. Addie has joined the ranks of the United Methodists - we'll see if she gets religified or not. There was a parent meeting last night and I learned NOT to go pick up your child during a tornado warning. That in fact, they would not release the child to me in the middle of a tornado . . . All these new things to think about.<br /><br />Overall things are getting better here. I'm meeting more neighbors and we're a bit more social now (not much more mind you, but a bit). After school gets out, it's a free-for-all in our neighborhood for the kids. They ride down the street on their bike looking to see who's home and able to play. Addie desperately wants to be a big kid. Thankfully, the older kids (at least the girls anyway), are pretty tolerant of her.<br /><br />On Friday afternoon we decided on the spur of the moment to drive to Myrtle Beach for the weekend (Labor Day weekend mind you). I know lots of people think the Atlantic is beautiful and all, but I have to say they don't have anything on the Oregon coast. That is, unless you like that flat beach, sun and able to swim in the ocean thing . . . We had a good time, but there were loads of people on the beaches and in the water, and I kept thinking about the fact that there are many more sharks on this coast than our old coast. <br /><br />For those who have not been, Myrtle Beach is kind of like Las Vegas, but without the gambling. There is a lot of shopping, lots of tourist attractions, and it's hot. Jeff talked me into going to Medieval Knights on Sunday night. I thought Addie would be too young for it, but she absolutely loved it! And we got to eat with our hands, since silverware had not been invented in the 11th century (or so they told us).<br /><br />For those of you who are still reading (as this is a very long and arduous email), here is the big news - I'm pregnant! Turns out I left Oregon knocked up. I'm due in early April, which makes me 9 1/2 weeks along. I realize that this is pretty early to be announcing it, but since I don't have any close friends to share the news with here, it's even harder to keep it from you all. I had my first doctor's appointment last week, and it was utterly uneventful - they didn't do an ultrasound or a fetal heart monitor, and when I asked about it, they looked at me like I was crazy.<br /><br />The only other slightly interesting news is, Jeff got his hands caught up in a fire ant nest - several non-expletives (since Jeff doesn't swear) later, he got them all off his hands and feet. Apparently we also have Copperhead snakes in our yard. Our next door neighbor came over and warned us that her gardner had just found a nest of Copperheads under their hammock, and perhaps we shouldn't let Addie go out into the backyard for a few days. She was going to put out mothballs to drive them out of her yard (right into ours I'm sure). Jeff thinks he saw a small one when he was mowing, but he's not sure. We've also been told that Copperheads are really aggressive, and instead of running away as most snakes do, they can and will take up chase.<br /><br />I think that's it. I've come to terms with the fact that my life is pretty dull, so other than run-ins with the wildlife and daily naps, our lives are pretty uneventful.<br /><br />Hope all of you are well, and I'd love to hear how you're doing.<br /><br />Much Love,Kate<br /><br />Sept. 12<br /><br />Hello and how are things? I'm still emailing from the library, and right now I'm watching a little girl in front of me (under 2 years old I think) alternate between sticking a pen up her nose, in her mouth and then try to stick it in the light socket before her mother stops her. Since I have a better vantage point than her mother, am I obligated to stop her from sticking the pen in the outlet? Such a moral quandary . . .<br /><br />As part of my, "what do I do while Addie is in school" time, I have been searching for coffee shops. Coming from the land of coffee, it's a little strange to have to drive many miles to get to one. I had a rude awakening on Wednesday - I ordered a mocha at a coffee shop in the grocery store (only one grocery store in town has one) and the girl behind the counter dutifully read off from her handy dandy reference sheet (complete with photos), "steamed, iced or blended?" It then took her a very long time to make said mocha, and in the mean time, an older (but not that old) man came up and was waiting for help and asked me what in tarnation I had ordered, and when I told him, he had said, "a what?" and infact, had never heard of a mocha. Just when you think things are safe . . .<br /> <br />Take care,<br />Kate<br /><br />Sept. 26<br />Hello All,<br /><br />Okay, so we've had our computer fixed, but it is sitting on the floor of our kitchen - apparently the subject of a Jeff and Kate stand-off. Although the Geek Squad reinstalled our operating system, we still have to install Microsoft, our security system, and all of the other bells and whistles you take for granted. Who wants to do that? And besides, I have to prove I'm more stubborn than Jeff is.<br /><br />I am sorry to inform you all, that Addie will not be performing in the Little Miss Fort Mill pageant this year. By the time we heard about it, it was too late to enter (we'd have to find her a talent, quaff her hair, get her one of those big poofy dresses, and she'd have to learn to take stage commands). But don't you worry, we'll be ready next year. I was thinking Addie seems to show a natural talent for interpretive dance, and maybe flaming baton twirling . . . Any thoughts on the matter?<br /><br />For those of you who haven't talked to me in the last week, we have a new member of our family - Bubbles the kitten. A neighbor found her abandoned under a bush, and being the suckers that we are, we took her in. She was two weeks old when we got her, and we have to feed her with a bottle every 2-4 hours. We're supposed to feed her at night too, but we decided that if she ain't bawling, she ain't hungry. <br />The real reason we agreed to take the cat was because Addie is enamored with and petrified of all animals. She thinks they're great, up until they get within 10 feet of her. We've had major steps though, Addie now pets (ie pokes and pats) Bubbles and will talk to her. She likes to have her in her lap, but won't commit to real kitty strokes, so bubbles either falls off, or crawls away. Right now, her (Bubbles that is) favorite spot is Jeff's neck.<br /><br />I don't know if any of you are following the news, but there's a gas shortage here. I think it's the biggest bunch of hooey on the face of the earth, but it doesn't change the fact that every gas station in Rock Hill is out of gas. There was some yesterday, but the two hour lines were prohibitive. I'm about three miles from the empty light coming on, but refuse to get into the panic of it all. I believe what we have here is something they call self-fulfilling prophecy. The news channels said we might run out of gas, and low and behold, the run on the stations did it. We have been told there's a big shipment of gas headed our way tonight or tomorrow, but who knows. I was contemplating my options yesterday and the only two I could come up with were, 1) use the mower gas and 2) siphon gas from Jeff's car while he's not looking. I was all set to go with number two, until Jeff informed me that we have anti-siphon gas tanks (whatever that means).<br /><br />The good news is, we had an ultrasound yesterday, and all is healthy and well (a big relief mind you), and there is only one baby (also known as an alien at this stage) in the oven. I'm past the nauseous stage, and into the gotta eat every 20 minutes phase (although I lost two pounds from appointment to appointment). Our pantry is a testament to my cravings and whims. But honestly, wouldn't you all like your own Costco pumpkin pie?<br /><br />I know mass emails are no good, but I like to think that I am on some reality show, and you are all my adoring fans waiting for the next installment of "What have we gotten ourselves into?!" Although I am open to new ideas for the title.<br /><br />Since I have lots of free time, I decided to organize a neighborhood BBQ - on Sunday we are expecting 70+ people at our house for burgers and dogs. When I was talking to my neighbor about planning it, her word of advice was, "you better check the Panther schedule first." Don't worry, the game starts at 1pm and the BBQ is at 5pm. <br /><br />When there's a Panther game on, no one goes outside, and if something good happens, you hear cheers from all over the neighborhood. We had been warned, but boy do they take their football seriously here.<br /><br />Hope all is well with each of you.<br /><br />Love,<br />Kate<br /><br />Oct. 13<br />Hi Y'all (notice the southern twang with which I speak?),<br /><br />Sorry I haven't emailed in a while. I'd like to tell you it's because we lead such busy lives, but the truth is, it's because I've started taking regular naps . . .<br /> <br />For good or bad, since South Carolina has no fabulous state family leave laws like Oregon, it just doesn't make sense for me to get a job, only to leave in six months, so I'm trying to come to terms with the idea that I'm taking a year off . . . Needless to say, this might be one of the biggest personal challenges I've faced thus far in my life. But being home with Addie (who by the way, the moment she turned two, turned into part holy terror), is an excellent exercise of my patience, so I'm trying to learn and grow from this experience.<br /><br />I've also decided to become one of those volunteering moms - I baked brownies for the preschool fundraiser, and I have volunteered to be a substitute teacher at the preschool as well. Who knew this is what the South Carolina chapter of our lives would be?<br /><br />We have gone overboard decorating for Halloween, and have turned our front yard into a graveyard, with new scarier additions each weekend as we get closer to Halloween. I figure since we live in an area where they really trick or treat and have kids galore, we should embrace it. My new goal is to be known as the "Halloween House."<br /><br />We just bought tickets to fly back to Portland for Christmas, and because of Jeff's awesome holiday schedule, we will get to be in Oregon for two weeks. We did have to sell Addie though to pay for the tickets, but hey, we can always make more of her . . .<br /><br />Take Care,<br />Kate<br /><br />Oct. 13<br />Subj: When did I become one of those moms?<br /><br />Hi there,<br /><br />So after many years of being a die hard pro-career feminist, I've become a brownie baking, preschool volunteering stay at home mom - who knew?<br /><br />I've decided that since I have so much free time on my hands, I would volunteer for just about everything and anything. So far I've baked brownies for a church/preschool fundraiser and have signed up to be a substitute teacher at the preschool. I had my first subbing day on Friday with the four year olds. <br /><br />Did I mention that I never ever wanted to be a teacher because, well, I don't actually like children all that much? Well, strangely enough, I thought that although staying home with my own daughter in not actually fulfilling for me, surely being around other peoples kids would be . . . And, amazingly (and I am still stunned by this revelation), it was not. Weird.<br /><br />But I will endure, as I am now looking at this time off as a chance to grow personally. Since I have never been known as a very patient person, there is no test better than throwing ones self into a deep pool of shark-like four year olds. I am kidding a little though, the 0-4’s are much preferred over the 5+ year old kids. <br /><br />One of the little girls who was the appointed "door holder" for the day, asked me if it was okay if she kissed some of the other kids as they came through her door. I told her it was absolutely okay, and in fact, they really encouraged indiscriminate kissing in a preschool . . . Upon reflection, perhaps that wasn't the wisest thing to say . . .<br /><br />We went to the state fair on Saturday, and I'm happy to report that state fairs are state fairs. The only difference being a few more confederate flag T-shirts here. <br /><br />I'm sad to report that the state fair also had a little person (they called it "Little Princesses and Princes) pageant. Where does one find out about these pageants? Is there a website for this type of thing? I really feel I've missed my calling as a stage mom.<br /><br />This pageant was on the level of Jean Benette (sp?) - Big curly hair, big poofy dresses and big (I'm talking at least 18 inches) sparkling crowns – forming a mental picture yet? <br /><br />One of the little girls we watched (and mind you, she probably wasn't more than four) came out on the stage, stepped to the center, and blew the judges a kiss . . . <br />My favorite part though, was how the judges introduced each of the girls - "and here we have little Miss Ashley Mae Carver who has blond hair and blue eyes. Ashley's hobbies include: coloring, playing with her cat, and cooking." <br /><br />I thought if Addie were to do this next year, her introduction would sound something like this: "And here we have little miss Addie Sue, a recent transplant from the west coast, but judges, please don't hold that against her, she does after all have blond hair and blue eyes. Addie's hobbies include, throwing food, drawing on walls, and let's not forget, torturing the family cat." Do you think we'd have a chance?<br /> <br /><br />Take care.<br />Love,<br />Kate<br /><br />Nov. 7<br />Subj: In the running for Domestic Goddess<br /><br />Hello everyone, and happy post Halloween,<br /><br />Although we had three hours of trick-or-treating rush, we still have a good five pounds of candy left (admittedly, I may have bought too much). Jeff is on a diet (damn him), so it's up to me and Addie. And since we restrict Addie's candy intake to one a day, it's really up to me to make sure it doesn't hang around until Christmas. We all have to take one for the team now and then.<br /><br />I realize it's been nearly a month since I last emailed, but I was waiting until I had something interesting to say. Or at least not a drop dead boring email.<br /><br />As I've mentioned, I am a sub at the preschool, and Wednesday I subbed in the one year old class. It probably would have been fine, had the teacher not kept leaving me alone with the kids. Do I look like someone capable of handling eight one year olds? The only thing I could figure out was that she really didn't like teaching, and she saw an opportunity to take long peaceful breaks throughout the day. Needless to say, I earned every one of my $18.00 that day. <br /><br />The real trouble came when she left me alone in the activity room. Two of the girls started crying and wanted to be held, and then the two year old class came in to play - which included Addie. Poor Addie has been suffering some serious separation anxiety lately, and there Mom is holding two other girls. Suffice it to say, she wanted up on my lap, and nearly displaced the other little girls (under the pretext of comforting them), meanwhile the other five kids were being beaten by the newly entered two year olds. Why did I sign up for this? I figured out that I could conceivably entertain two to three kids at a time, and the rest were on their own. <br /><br />Our friends Peter and Loraine came to visit a few weeks ago, and we went to a civil war reenactment. I'm sure it's hard for all of you to believe, but we have our very own historic civil war town/marker 20 miles away. Peter got a field shave (with strap and razor), and they finished him up with a few sips from their flask. In addition to wandering around the camp (I had to hold Jeff back from enlisting us all), they reenacted the Battle of the Wilderness - any history buffs out there know what that was? Basically it's a bunch of guys in costume running around the woods shooting each other. The highlight of the fight was a horse stepping in a hole and getting stuck. It fell over and wouldn't get up for a long time. Needless to say, we're all a little bit deaf after the battle. Between the cannons, the rifles and the pistols, we all heard ringing for some time afterwards. I realized that that was the first violence and/or gun exposure that Addie has had - if it's in the name of history, it doesn't count right? By the way, the horse was fine.<br /><br />In an effort to use my time wisely, I have endeavored to become a domestic goddess. I have started cooking again, and I had the brilliant idea of making a class quilt for Addie's preschool class. The quilt turned out fine, but with all my sewing projects, you don't want to look too closely. I had a couple of the other moms over to help put it together, and we ended up sewing it backwards twice (don't ask me how that happened). But, since I had just baked fresh pumpkin bread, had cleaned my house, and was making a quilt, I totally snowed the other moms into thinking I was Martha Stewart. Now for those of you who know me, you realize there's something wrong with that picture. Shhhh, don't tell.<br /><br />We had our 18.9 week ultrasound yesterday, and now know what type of baby we're having. Attached is one of the ultrasound pictures, if you're curious.<br /><br />I'm afraid my writing mojo is just not as free flowing at home as it is at the library, so I'll cut this email short. Before I forget, in an effort to share the ultrasound video with our families, we resorted to starting a blog. But 14 hours (and I kid you not) later, the video is still uploading (160 MB). I'll be giving up on it later today. <br /><br />Hope all of you are well.<br /><br />Much love,<br />Kate<br /><br />Nov. 14<br />Good Morning and Happy Friday,<br /><br />Well, here's another installment of "What have I gotten myself into?"<br /><br />I just got back from taking Bubbles to the vet (this cat is about $5.00 away from kitty life-time maximum spending allowance), where I found a delightful magazine called, Garden & Gun . . . No joke, it's a real magazine that purports to represent the "New South." Sadly, I didn't have time to read it, as I got sucked into Bon Appetit' - always trying to increase my Domestic Goddess standing.<br /><br />Never fear, we'll be back at the vets in three weeks (anyone want a cat who seems to think it's a dog, and may be a little brain damaged?), and I'm going to make sure I get to read it. I'll steal it if I have to. Who knows, with my new life, I may become a regular reader. I wonder if they give any free gifts away with a life-time subscription. There's a dealership here that's giving away a free deer stand with the purchase of a truck, so I figure hope springs eternal with the magazine subscription . . .<br /><br />During the election, there was a great radio ad in which Hank Williams Jr. came on and reminded all us southern folks that the two most important things were church and the freedom to bare arms, and that since Obama wasn't a southerner, and did not understand this way of life, thus inferring that he was against God and Guns (maybe a new idea for a magazine?). I really don't do the ad justice, but I think you get the drift.<br /><br />I had what should have been a very depressing day on Tuesday, but strangely, I am at peace with what transpired. Just further proof that aliens have taken over my mind and body. Since Tuesday is a non-preschool day, I try to plan one outing, just to get out of the house. At full brain capacity, I decided it was a good idea to go to Wal-Mart, and then to the mall to play. When did I become one of those mall people? Oh I know, it was last week when I was waiting for a store to open, and found myself walking aimlessly back and forth, talking on my cell phone. I should have felt worse, but I passed (twice) one of the other preschool mothers doing the exact same thing.<br /><br />Addie managed to lock herself into our walk-in closet (not sure why there's a key lock on the closet), and we don't have a key. Jeff was trying to get ready for work, but all of his work clothes were locked inside with Addie, and the cat. Periodically we’d see Bubbles’ paws poke out from under the door, hear a pained, “meeeooowww” and then Addie say, “Sorry kitty.” That coupled with "I want get out," every few minutes. Only about 25 minutes later, she managed to turn the lock button, and get herself out - which, I might add, she was very proud of.<br /><br />I'd like to say that Addie has learned to be nice to the kitty, but alas, the scratches on her face and hands are proof to the contrary. Yesterday I caught her sitting on the kitty, trying to pull her out from under her by one paw.<br /><br />Before I forget, parent tip #1: If you find yourself with permanent marker all over the business side of your CD's and DVD's, rubbing alcohol will get it off.<br /><br />We finally made it to church on Sunday, and we've all found God . . . Okay, maybe not. The best thing I can say about the service was that it was short. I was surprised, and a little sickened by how much of the focus was on money - specifically donating it to the church. Although, I suppose it takes a lot of money to keep the giant Costco-sized churches up.<br /><br />Well, I'm off to clean the house. We're having some of Jeff's co-workers over for a BBQ tomorrow, and I have grapefruit topiaries to make . . . eat your heart out Martha Stewart!<br /><br />Just kidding. I'll probably save the topiaries for Thanksgiving . . .<br /><br />Have a great weekend!<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-68516095739214934772008-11-11T16:16:00.000-08:002008-11-11T16:31:38.513-08:00Life with a toddler<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSZxYKECJwNIU1Bcg4LlwqihUimQKzoiGiUQ7Qwn2bT_8emK91Dd96U0WaECikKRjr47V_ZbesOfLMDz1F1d0HCAPcQVOUGiweXB5HyOrUNPfenPxAJSPp4wpWABzpPB3e96LwsfB6cWD/s1600-h/DSCN2012.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267561754721192418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSZxYKECJwNIU1Bcg4LlwqihUimQKzoiGiUQ7Qwn2bT_8emK91Dd96U0WaECikKRjr47V_ZbesOfLMDz1F1d0HCAPcQVOUGiweXB5HyOrUNPfenPxAJSPp4wpWABzpPB3e96LwsfB6cWD/s200/DSCN2012.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267561743545388658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTa8gLZDflXukA-H5G-9ds-o2duV2Dz4LscZxlp3n8QBCZcgmCD_sQ9aTEdHZyqGXm1OA8gs046UhO7IB0-lFFCkgNp-I9gLJguVjG3rh-uYp_0ClhjrasmYxmxsJ2fXGfo5GsOYN4-M8/s200/DSCN2002.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjmH8vMNFlKtYy2Y6OgXZIys37e_huh9rfSPX25IPs9jto0vUsW-NIYklRkfdgODMeljAQkjuaYz2HS7IORx6lDgH6Mu9j4qZFbBcB7ilU-o-ut6U8cmjRuTaquqwhvQVF4GHEW2CPkm/s1600-h/DSCN1999.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267561736463456226" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjmH8vMNFlKtYy2Y6OgXZIys37e_huh9rfSPX25IPs9jto0vUsW-NIYklRkfdgODMeljAQkjuaYz2HS7IORx6lDgH6Mu9j4qZFbBcB7ilU-o-ut6U8cmjRuTaquqwhvQVF4GHEW2CPkm/s200/DSCN1999.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267561355142117346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobCJflklYgKcKY94jbViPxdqGjncL9AYH1lJTPuDRid0gXUjj3Wwr4jxwlwnfZAHTyxfO2V5YLpB3DjBwJoZeDcoTFgHEJsQ5q42-QPAAVlpix2LYW7kCowRKkVzyVx0qPPC1b_r1J-vr/s200/DSCN1984.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267561333421120690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 160px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qXFdCaY4KFHyGRf3sRDNFyYBwhEK-4wXfW4Pxp4TrIKqRRlAW5-hIVy0q-qfpL6stRg3JH-E1EDgwQJsQRBUNPJXPl2hDGBUYH2l26Trfn2OX_Bm2ql5_PMQ3Qi85F8gzU6rhcxer-oJ/s200/DSCN1938.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b6KJQWKuiDv0sfVBXtAzv2WAbe-r3lmcfCXNiHTWvVJWn2NvvnVf5LYKvHm_yL-qJ_p4J42Gj5gibEPetNRMo78a_34fWTKsDtK_S9s3kyq7BM6vcY89tdgsfpCCsAbDBtBHh49xOUdc/s1600-h/Addie's+birthday.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267561316945849858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b6KJQWKuiDv0sfVBXtAzv2WAbe-r3lmcfCXNiHTWvVJWn2NvvnVf5LYKvHm_yL-qJ_p4J42Gj5gibEPetNRMo78a_34fWTKsDtK_S9s3kyq7BM6vcY89tdgsfpCCsAbDBtBHh49xOUdc/s200/Addie's+birthday.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div>Well, we've learned some valuable lessons these last few days. </div><br /><div>Addie managed to lock herself into our closet (why our closet has a lock, I'll never know), and we did not (and still don't) have a key. Jeff was trying to get ready for work, but his clothes were locked inside the closet with Addie, as was Bubbles. So every few minutes we'd hear a cat howl - "meeeeoooowwww!!" and then from Addie, "Sorry Kitty." That coupled with, "I want get out please." It was nearly heart breaking, but hilarious at the same time, since Jeff was standing in his skivvies (sp?) trying to coax Addie to unlock the door. Thankfully, only 25 short minutes later, she figured out how to turn the lock button.</div><br /><div>Just in case you're wondering how to get permanent marker off of a CD or DVD, we have learned that rubbing alcohol will work. Not too long ago, Addie took a Sharpie to about 10 CDs, the chair and desk. It was a good time. How can you be mad at someone who thinks they've created great art?</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9200384128868453663.post-70981468975543289212008-11-06T17:59:00.000-08:002008-11-22T12:06:09.273-08:00Guess what we're having . . .<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqb6yZir2exbwyQ7e-81x8c9VgkteOyfe8u-FA1mwBdn3WsNBSMQIbWijdZ4NvGCQrwUlbLLokvUWvPHZbNywsYmMjaV7qMUlyhwExdRnjiCX-XQbc0t8QLuVfN4cJH_NP0u5P-9jgV4CO/s1600-h/ultrasound+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266020470919564674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqb6yZir2exbwyQ7e-81x8c9VgkteOyfe8u-FA1mwBdn3WsNBSMQIbWijdZ4NvGCQrwUlbLLokvUWvPHZbNywsYmMjaV7qMUlyhwExdRnjiCX-XQbc0t8QLuVfN4cJH_NP0u5P-9jgV4CO/s320/ultrasound+2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dA_lTxGtA9XiSQVBSvpvq5Df-mrePYh9g90wPx6scrb5Y1PDPLYcPD1s_fEGHEuGUMpwj6_n6_RLw6UJMMCRIYo832zboUSZn-O8mdb_iAXQHVN3UcD1FMuoUXDa2IjBp58hXbvVvDnF/s1600-h/ultrasound.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266020346603628674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dA_lTxGtA9XiSQVBSvpvq5Df-mrePYh9g90wPx6scrb5Y1PDPLYcPD1s_fEGHEuGUMpwj6_n6_RLw6UJMMCRIYo832zboUSZn-O8mdb_iAXQHVN3UcD1FMuoUXDa2IjBp58hXbvVvDnF/s320/ultrasound.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Hello friends and family. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Well after nearly eight hours of on and off efforts, we resorted to creating a blog - we just really wanted to show you the ultrasound video . . . . Unfortunately, 20 hours later, the video had not uploaded, so we'll just have to forgo the video and post some photos instead.</div><br /><div>That, and now I have a real media outlet for the "What have I gotten myself into" fan club.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>I've really decided to become a dedicated blogger - you know, put my English Degree to work. Or something like that. Actually, it will give me real purpose when I'm sitting at the computer at the Rock Hill library.</div><div> </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917478487145096085noreply@blogger.com4