oops

Nate and I were in St. Louis for four days this past week. Whilst packing, I put this tweet on the twitters.
The tweet said "Things I excel at: Packing" with a link to a Twit pic that I took on my phone of my suitcase. It SHOULD have looked like this:
(I wanted to showcase my stellar pile everything on top of a suitcase and cram it in skillz.)

Instead, our friends at Twit Pic somehow linked my followers to this image:
Which, while I'm sure this is a picture of a very nice man (and a firefighter!), is not exactly what I had in mind to pack in my suitcase!

Karl called me about thirty minutes into my drive laughing hysterically. I made him post a corrective tweet with my suitcase image! Ahhhh I love it when the internet has an accident. I wonder if someone hoping to see a picture of their firefighter was disappointed by the image of my hastily packed suitcase.

St. Patrick's Day pics shortly...

goldfish soup

For lunch, she wanted Goldfish Soup.

He obliged.

glorious

These images represent me shouting from the, uh, mountaintops (er, back porch steps): Look! We're OUT of DOORS. Hooray. Feel the sun on your cheeks! Take off your jacket!

We have spent no less than all day every day outside engaging in various outside activities. Today, we spent some time "cu-kin" (cooking) "sup" (soup...er, leaves) in the dog bowl (stirred with a stick spoon). We also played basketball (for hours) and pushed around the lawnmower (what? it's EDUCATIONAL.).

God, I love the outside. Can Spring stick around forever?

alive and well

Fun Places I have been since Thursday:

• The VFW for a dart league. Yep, dart league. At the VFW. Where you have to knock and sign in at the door.

• Up and down Kavanaugh Blvd Friday morning (b/w the early hours of 5:30 and 6:00) for a 3 mile run with my friend and running partner Julie.

• An extremely fun Friday date on an extremely gorgeous day with our friends Shannon and Nash at the LR Zoo. It started out as a comedy of errors. The Zoo wasn't open when we arrived (and we got there well after the specified opening hour). The geese were scary and breeding (SIGNS: CAUTION: ATTACK GOOSE! DO NOT PET!), the petting zoo was closed because of an infectious disease, the bears were still hibernating, the pavilions were under construction, the fish food was empty. But despite (because of?) all these things, we had the best time. Lots of birds and big cats out, diabetic monkeys, gorgeous weather, and a train ride made us more than happy.

• A t-shirt making party with my friend Erin followed by a birthday dinner for her husband. (Not Nate's finest dining experience, but, eh, you win some, you lose some.)
  

• A made-up 10K (6 miles) on Saturday morning with my friend Jenny! (We wore the aforementioned t-shirts. It's not a race until you have t-shirts!) The race was a tribute to our friend Melissa's move to LA. (This is her final weekend in town!) We based our t-shirt design after a night of debauchery in which Melissa made, oh, three thousand inappropriate 'your mom' jokes (specifically about my mama, Linda, and Jenny's mama, Libby. Hence the "Linda and Libby 10K" title. Also, we think Linda & Libby would be damn proud of our running achievements. Here is a shot of us after we made it home from "the race." One of my bloggy friends suggested I host a virtual 10K (maybe 5k?) and make us all t-shirts. I send you the t-shirt, you send me your race picture for the blog. Oh, we're doing it! We are SO doing it.
• 

• Dinner and drinks for Melissa's going away party. I have no words to type about Melissa going away in fear that I may burst into tears as I type.

• The Little Rock Marathon this morning to cheer on aforementioned friend and running partner Julie! If you've never been to a Marathon (just to watch or cheer even if you don't know anyone), I highly HIGHLY recommend it. I welled up with tears of inspiration no fewer than three times. (There was a woman runner with a prosthetic leg PUSHING what looked to be her son in a wheelchair! We saw her at mile 23. Yea.)

• Karl and I volunteered to do childcare at our church service tonight. One four year old, one three year old, three two years olds, and two one year olds. (That is seven kids 4 and under!) It was a nice reminder of what a patient, loving man I married. (It was easy peasy and the kids were all great; I'm just bragging on Karl's 'dad' mode.)
  

It was such a wonderful, laughter filled weekend. We were able to focus on friends and family and fun. I'm so appreciative that I have the opportunity to do that.

You have a baby. In a car.

I sat down today to write a fluffy, lovey dovey post about Nate, but am distracted by something that happened to me a few hours ago.

Nate and I were in the car on our way home from the bookstore this morning and stopped at a red light, waiting to get on the highway. Karl is in DC this week for a meeting so I pulled out my phone to see if he had called. The VI (very important!) meeting was this morning so I was hoping he had called to update me. The second I whipped out my phone, the woman next to me started honking. I glanced over to find her waving at me. She mouthed (very clearly) "You have a baby" and then made some imaginary texting/phone motions with her hands and THEN A "tsk tsk" motion with her finger. I looked at her in disbelief as she repeated "You have a baby" again, pointing to Nate in the backseat. I mouthed back "I know" and pointed to the red light to indicate traffic was stopped. She again shook her head and repeated the baby thing. Yes, lady, got it. I have a baby. In a car. I am aware. He is properly buckled into his properly researched and installed car seat.

I was INFURIATED. I wanted to follow her, talk (yell?) to her face to face and list out all the activities and precautions and time and stress and LOVE (always love) I pour into my child's life. I wanted to scream "You don't know me!" (and not in a funny way). I wanted to not feel judged. It stings to feel criticism of your parenting - even from a complete (maybe crazy?) stranger - who I am sure thought I was an irresponsible teen mom (not that all teen moms are irresponsible) with my 12-year-old face, messy bun, baseball hat, and beat up old car. Maybe she did not think that but I get insecure sometimes when I'm out with Nate - like people won't believe I am his "real Mom" because I look young. And, also, because, at only 20 months 'in' I still sometimes feel like I have NO IDEA what I'm doing when it comes to parenting and occasionally feel like a poser. (I swear he came out of my body!) Both silly, I know, but the parenting waters are murky, and fear/insecurity occasionally rears its ugly head (particularly when prompted by the smallest of incident such as this.).

The thing is: Maybe I shouldn't have checked my phone. Maybe I shouldn't have it out at all in the car. For the record, before I even glanced at it, I had ensured that the person in front of and behind me were fully stopped. I don't text and drive. I do occasionally check my phone at stoplights. I also talk on the phone while I am driving. Maybe these are wrong of me. Either way, it's not her business, right? It's a decision I make and I feel okay about it. I mean, if she knew how much I hate driving and how much of a GRANDMA I am around town (It seriously takes me ten minutes to make a left turn across traffic. Road must be totally clear! I avoid most interstates because I HATE CARS!), maybe she wouldn't have felt the need to TSK TSK me. Additionally, can she say she has never changed her radio station at a stopped light because my glance at my phone at a STOPPED LIGHT has to be the equivalent to that, right?

I got angry. I thought about crying. Then I thought: YOU AREN'T GETTING TO ME LADY!! I am a parent and a damn good one and I won't let your overly coiffed hair and your overdone make up and your MORE WRINKLES THAN MINE (take that!) and your enormous shitty van ruin my day! Instead, I will blog about it while my child naps (safely in his crib which I am sure would also not pass your rigorous safety standards!) and get it out of my system. Then, when he wakes, I will take my child to the park or color pictures with him or read books and continue to spew love like I normally do.

There.

I feel better now.

Thanks for listening.

the retro room: no longer retro

Welcome to the story of the longest room renovation known to man.

We've lived in our house for five years. It's safe to say that, while we don't consider ourselves "home renovators" or "project people", we've changed this house a lot to make it our own. It needed a lot of love. We (uh, Karl) have painted every single inch of wall space (save for one bathroom which will be painted before we move out!). We redid the kitchen (well, we picked out the flooring and cabinets and counters and paid for it anyway.). Before we even moved in, we tore out most of the carpet...discovering gorgeous hardwoods in great shape. (Down with carpet! Down with allergies!)

About three years ago, we tore the remaining carpet out of this room,
discovering this old school retro square awesome green and yellow square pattern that I love desperately. When we moved in, this room also had disgusting wood paneling. (Thank you 1970s! I do not like your wood paneling trend!) We painted over the wood paneling - and man did it look AWFUL. But we left it that way for, oh, a year or two (maybe three?), mostly because we were just at a loss of what to do in this room. Karl used it as his home office. I used it as the Room to Put Shit that has no other place. Various couches and desks have graced its floors. I tried desperately to make SOMETHING, ANYTHING work with the floors, but it just was not happening. We finally decided to make this Nate's playroom (future bedroom?). We filled in the crevices between the wood panels with a heavy texture paint and painted it (atmospheric is the color name; hoping for a robot theme!). We decided to have floors put down. They were laid this week. They look like this:
It may take us another three years, but the trim will eventually be painted white. I'm really happy with the finished product, but sad that my retro floors are no longer. Mostly, I will miss the way the very, very OLD glue beneath them crunched with each step across the room.

Slowly but surely, this house is turning more and more into our home.

blow to the dryer

Contrary to what you might think from that top photograph, I paid to have Nate's hair cut professionally. He freaked out when the, uh, child stylist took a blow dryer to his locks (which they have never done before). The, uh, professional asked him, "Doesn't your mommy blow dry your hair?" in snooty hairdresser language. (hairdressese?)

UM, NO LADY.

I do not blow dry and style my 20 month old's hair. When I explained that I never had to her, she shook her head sadly and in disbelief. DISBELIEF I tell you.

Am I missing out on some must-do baby blow drying technique!? (Ha.)

Because, if so, I refuse.

FLAT OUT.

Disclaimer: I realize not all stylists speak snooty hairdressese.

Also, if you want to blow dry your toddler's hair get on with it. No judging.

Level of Whine: Gold Medal Winner

So, when you accidentally pop (birth? that's probably a better word than pop, but I like the disgusting POP image you all have in your heads right now!) (You'reeeeeee welcome!) your baby out in your bathroom, people (ahem, Karl) begin to think you have a skewed pain scale.

::cue curtain::

This week I have been plagued by some ear infection issues. Like a good little wifey, I have been complaining ENDLESSLY to Karl. Last night while getting ready for bed (the same bed I haven't left much in the past two days b/c of said ear issues.) I think I reached a new Level of Whine. He started to ask me very specific questions about the pain and the location of it. I admit I was totally enjoying outlining every little twinge. Usually I ball up and don't come out until I'm unsick, but this time it was nice to discuss my ails. I must have gone into a little too much detail, because I'm pretty sure he wanted to pack up and head to the ER.

ER? Psssssh. Have we learned nothing? Pass me two advil and some Gatorade and I'll be good as new in the morning!

Hope everyone had a decent Monday. This is Karl's final week of coaching his 9th grade basketball kids - their single elimination tournament starts Thursday and, though it's his fourth season coaching and he loves it so, I think we are both kind of hoping they lose this year! That's terrible, I know, but it's a huge time commitment and we are ready for our Monday nights, Thursday nights and Saturday mornings to be a little more, uh, TOGETHER.

(Also, how do people get sick with more than one kid and child obligations? I mean, really, how do people do anything with more than one kid?)

i can.

So apparently I can cook dinner for ten and watch Nate at the same time.

BOOSH.

I hosted a gathering at our house on Monday evening (shocking I know; no one EVER comes to my house.). It was my turn to host Book Club this month. I admit that I was totally skeptical of the whole Book Club concept when we first started tossing around the idea. I am an obsessive reader but I don't generally dissect and discuss... it's more like toss it aside, forget the plot and start the next book. I skipped the first couple of months (in protest?) and then decided to give it a try. It has forced me to read books I would never pick up (next month: sci-fi!) and has been a great way to share book nerdiness that I didn't fully realize existed amongst our friends.

DOUBLE BOOSH.

My meal wound up being perfect for the day - it was cold and snowing and raining and windy and MISERABLE. So we had a Soup Party - which might be the best 'food theme' I have done in a long while. I made beef stew, chicken corn chowder, and potato (lots of starch for my vegetarian friends!). We also had plenty of bread and salad . I wound up starting all the soups way too early so they were all mushy and thick and hearty by the time everyone arrived. Warmed everyone right up.

TRIPLE BOOSH.

I took no pictures as I was too busy running around the kitchen with Nate on my hip and a spoon in my hand. (Though neither barefoot nor pregnant. Now wouldn't that have been a pretty picture?)

what the buzz?

So, yes, I don't normally write tech-related posts on my blog (maybe I should? Tuesday Techies? Techy Tuesdays?) but I am terribly geeky about social media and admit freely that the Google Buzz launch got me all hopped up (and I didn't even need coffee!). If you aren't interested at all in The Internet, or if you are still using some SUDDENLINK or SBCGLOBAL email account, kindly skip this post. (And, yes, I typed those words scornfully and sometimes judge people on the type of email account they use.)

My own personal verdict on the product? To Be Determined. (Just what you wanted to hear, right?)

The launch was somewhat messy, but, without a doubt, showcased the Power of Google. (Additionally, the Power was shown in the three/four days post-lauch when Google responded immediately to changes in privacy issues- they have 38 million Gmail users in the US alone; no easy feat to implement a change.)

The Buzz release was different and much more viral than Wave or Latitude (which are other recently launched Google products. Surely you knew that right?) Anyway, Wave and Latitude were "invite" products much like Gmail was in the beginning (Does anyone remember that? I vividly remember the dreamy, long ago day I got my Gmail invite. UH EXCITED. By long ago I mean 2005.)

Anyway, the Buzz about Buzz was crazy Buzzy. Then a bunch of privacy issues arose and everyone was all F YOU GOOGLE and I HATE IT. People were (are) confused. WHAT DOES IT DO? IS IT TWITTER BUT WITH MORE THAN 140 CHARACTERS ? DO I NEED ONE MORE THING TO CHECK AND UPDATE? PEOPLE CAN FIND ME!

So what does Buzz DO?

It aggregates a lot of content in one place and places it in a stream (similar to Facebook and Twitter and pretty much any other site dedicated to Social Media. Many compare it most closely to Friendfeed). Buzz 'connects' to sites you use and pulls the feeds to your Buzz stream. (If you do not know what the word feed means please stop reading and email me and we can chat. Er, type.) Anyway, Buzz does not place feeds in your stream unless you choose to do so.and you can choose which contacts see what. It's particularly easy to connect if you already have a Google Profile. (Which you should.) It also allows you to "share" items from your Shared Items in Google Reader in your Buzz stream. Additionally, it allows you to create orignial "Buzzes" which is basically a status update (FB) or a tweet (Twitter.) Individuals can respond to your Buzz similar to commenting on a blog - conversationally and post-specific.

Currently Google Buzz can pull data directly from the following services:

– Flickr
– Twitter
– Picasa Web
– YouTube
– Blogger
- Shared Items on Google Reader


So, for example, my friend Jenny and I currently share all these things online: photos, videos, blogs, and our twitter accounts. Instead of having her send me links or instead of visiting or subscribing to FOUR separate sites it could all be in my Buzz stream. WHICH IS IN MY GMAIL INBOX. For me, that sounds convenient and awesome. Anytime I have my laptop open, my Gmail Inbox is open. There is a Buzz tab directly below my Inbox tab within my inbox that shows the number of new posts/buzzes that I have to look at. Additionally, if someone responds to a Buzz I posted or a Buzz I posted a comment on, it sends a notification/email to my inbox.

Additionally, Buzz 'autofollows' your most frequently emailed contacts so you don't have to "friend" them like on Facebook or "follow" them like on Twitter. For me, I like this feature and am totally fine with it. But I use my gmail account mainly with friends and family and not professionally or as a method to forward/funnel other email accounts into one account. It has definitely been the feature that has received the most criticism. It allows your followers to see both your email address and discern your email habits. Think: A reporter whose "anonymous" sources could be revealed. Or: A recently divorced person who needs the ex to see none of their personal information. The recent changes to Buzz now auto-suggest as opposed to auto-follow and allow you to block it/disable it completely.

Here is a link to a recent Mashable article re: the privacy concern changes.

I really feel like this is Google's attempt to GET IT ALL IN ONE PLACE. This appeals to me as I have accounts for upward of 3oo internet services. (That might not be that far of an exaggeration. When it comes to the internet, it's safe to say I try it all.) I also have no qualms about sharing information on the Internet. I AM TRANSPARENT.

I should add that I think if you have your own blog domain/feed or Wordpress, it doesn't appear to be able to pull into Buzz at this point. A suggestion I have seen to combat this to this: subscribe to and "share" your own blog posts through Google Reader.

So, here are the problems I have with Buzz. (Feel free to contribute your own if you made it this far!)

In no particular order:

1. DUPLICITY. It already annoys me when people update Facebook and Twitter with similar thoughts (or the exact same.). So, now I run the risk of seeing a Tweet, a Status Update, and a Buzz? Shudder. Many people are not pulling their Twitter feeds into Buzz b/c of this. There is no way to pull your FB updates. There also will now be Duplicity with Buzz RSS feeds and my Google Reader Feeds. I adore Google Reader and not sure I like the (inevitable?) convergence of the two.

2. BLOG COMMENTING. When my blog post comes up in Buzz, people can comment on it there. This is fine but I think but has the potential to detract from a true discussion on a particular post.

3. TWITTER. People are just getting used to Twitter and it's varying clients/applications (TweetDeck, EchoFon, UberTwitter, etc.) Twitter is not going anywhere, so it will be interesting to follow the interactions (battle?) between the two services. They are different.

4. FILTERING. There doesn't seem to be a way to filter or tweak what others share to avoid the OVERSHARE.

I hope I didn't lose you and that I maybe helped you understand it a little better? If it was all a foreign language, I apologize! If you leave a comment (with your email) about Google or Buzz, I will send you a piece of snail mail to show you LOVE and that I don't just live on THE INTERNET. (What? I'm well rounded! Snail mail is an important communication tool too!)

Final note: If anything I reported on Buzz is incorrect please email me and I will make a correction.

the big red dog is missing (for real)

So, as most of you know, we are big into books in our house.

Nate is currently obsessed with a "Where is Clifford?" book.

Plot: Emily Elizabeth is looking for her big red dog (how do you lose Clifford?) in various places around town. (Ahem, Birdwell Island in case you were wondering. They packed up the family car and the Howards left the city.)

It's a flap book so at every location (page) you have to lift the flap to look in the barn and the school and the theater, etc. At every page Nate says "NO CLIFFORD!" and shakes his head.

The last page is, of course, Clifford's doghouse, where Clifford is supposed to be but where Nate ripped him out the first day he got the book.

Every time, we lift the flap and Nate looks at me very solemnly (yet somehow sort of proudly?) and says "I BROKE IT!"

Every. Single. Time.



On an unrelated note, I am working on a post about the Google Buzz craze - will be up soon.

sharing the story: a different take on Battle of the Moms

So, I've totally met people in real life that I began relationships with via the (gasp) internet. (Mostly from twitter. At events called tweetups. No, i am not lying. What? Stop laughing at me!)

I am fortunate to have met The Woman with The Best Twitter Name Ever, @amybhole, a few times. While I don't know her that well, I do know this post she wrote is important. It's about the (quote, unquote) Real Mom Wars and one man's journey to raise awareness about homeless kids and teens who are about to age out of the foster care system.

Here is an excerpt from her post (you know it's an official excerpt because it's in ITALICS. Fancy!):

Raising children means going out onto the battlefield every day and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Us moms are fighting so many enemies -- our partners, our lack of a partner, the media, our jobs, our joblessness, our expectations, our pasts and our personal demons. We're all waging this war every day, and unfortunately, some of us are losing.

Full post HERE.

Her words are as honest and real and true as his mission. (You can follow him on twitter here; I think he is somewhere in Ohio right now.)

I think we all know raising children does not apply to just moms or dads or to biological parents or grandparents or whatever your situation might be. While I believe it's important to talk about and examine topics like working vs staying at home and formula vs nursing (and on and on and on the mommy wars go) so we better understand one another, those topics are NOT as important as building relationships with our children (those of our own bodies and those of our friends and families.)

I hope that you will take a minute to read!

soppy about snow

So, compared to the feetsies of snow in other, more northern areas of the country, I know our measly four-five inches might not seem like a lot, but here in the great state of Arkansas it is. Particularly because it wasn't predicted.

I woke up around 2 a.m. (okay, let's face it I hadn't gone to bed yet. WHAT? I was reading! Remind me I'm not allowed to complain about being tired this week!) and peeked out the window to find the ground covered in fluffy white. This morning the sky POURED SNOW for a few hours. It was the beautiful, big fluff I remember from my childhood (youth? younger years? DAAAANG this is making me sound old!er!) - the fluff of snowpeople and red skin and hot chocolate and teeny marshmellows. I love fluff snow b/c it makes everything quiet and bright and you can hear the flakes popping against the hood of your jacket. I know all my Arkansas friends are laughing at me right now as they are reading this because I generally only complain (very QUIETLY as is my way) about snow. But I maintain that is because the "snow" we get here is generally more ice and of the half an inch variety and people really do PANIC like the world might end.

Early this morning, Nate and I sat by the window and watched the snow fall for a bit. We also went outside for a bit. A very short bit. (I don't really have snow appropriate clothing for him (and he hates hats) so it cut our time out of doors a bit short despite my attempt at heavy layering.)

Little Rock is apparently breaking accumulation records from, uh, forever ago and more snow is predicted throughout the week. In the six years (6 as of Feb 1!) I have lived here I can't remember this much. I'm going to attempt to enjoy it and try not to fret about the impending CABIN FEVER as pretty much every activity Nate and I have planned for the week has already been canceled!

if you don't have anything nice to say

My mama taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, best to keep it zipped. So, again, we've been quiet, but are about to GET REAL LOUD here soon! (Like maybe on March 1. The Day February Ends.)

Nate and I survived Karl being out of town last week. We, ahem, watched way too much PBS kids and ate as we pleased. We played with various friends and read "If You Take A Mouse to the Movies" more times than humanly possible. Nate has been quite lovey-dovey this week and I am soaking up every head-on-shoulder moment.

Since I have been feeling a little lazy (did I mention it's February? and COLD? And Nate is starting to HATE sitting in the jogging stroller for more than ten minutes? And, that, additionally, he FREAKS OUT when I put the plastic weather shield over the stroller?), I have been remembering how ACTIVE I was while the pregs and marveling at it. I was looking back through some belly shots and found this one from May 31 (less than a month until N's June 26th birth.) from a 5K that almost killed me! At the end of the race (the cop car was RIGHT behind me and a few other stragglers), my fingers were so swollen (it was hot. cause it was May. NOT February.) that I immediately plunged them in the bins of ice containing bottles of water and juice for the runners. I probably stayed with my hands in and out of those bins for a solid five minutes. It was such a simple thing and everyone I was with laughed at (with?) me. Ah, it was sweet, sweet relief.

A friend and and I have been running 4 miles once a week for the last few months (5:30 in the AM on Wednesdays!). She is training for the upcoming Little Rock Marathon and I am trying to fight the never-ending battle of outrunning my calories. (cue: I'm a Loser, Baby!) For her, it is her light and slow day. For me, I just try to NOT DIE. It's true. (I have you all fooled, right? So not hardcore!)

At the end of September, my friend Jenny and I pledged to run to one another's house. She lives in Tulsa. I live in Little Rock. The mileage between the two houses/cities is 268. We are giving ourselves one year to complete our little project and we are both about 20% of the way there. (Read: TIME TO STEP IT UP!). You may have notice the ticker on the side bar of my blog. If you have a burning desire to track us, you can check our mileage there. If you want to participate, let me know and I can help you set up your own cheerleader jumping next to a thermometer.

She is visiting Little Rock in early March and we intend to run a 10K (6.2 miles) together while she is here. The problem is: there is no "official" race scheduled for that weekend so we are going to create our own. Like a WE WANT TSHIRTS create-your-own-race. This leads us to another problem: We would like to come up with a fun and creative name for our 10K. (You know, FOR THE TSHIRTS! which will, clearly, be homemade.)

Thoughts? Help?

The Little Rock Don't Die 10k?
Will Run for Beer 10k?
Beer Belly Begone 10K?
Kathleen and Jennifer are Slooooooooooooow Trail Run?

Here are my inspiration images:
1. Where can I get some shorts like that? (Also, file this under THIS GUY MIGHT BEAT ME! I have been passed by men and women three times my age (and one mom with TWO children in a jogging stroller. bitch.) during races. I try not to cry about it.)
And #2 which is actually actually described on the stock art site as 'Young woman drinking water after fitness exercise' because that is OFTEN how I drink water. Especially after fitness exercise. HELP!

We are fully amenable to supporting a cause! Beer, babies, nipple cream, organic baby food, tires, WHATEVER MAKES A FUNNY TSHIRT, really.

Unfortunately, The Rabies Awareness Fun Run is already taken. (Who doesn't love a good Office reference? This was one of my favorite epis of all time.)

I leave you with this (disconnected from my post yet hilarious and, uh, inspirational) quote:

Myth – three Americans die every year from rabies. Fact – four Americans every year die from rabies. How many of you know someone that has been afflicted or affected by rabies? Show of hands. One, two, three… too many to count. It is truly the silent killer. No, it is the foaming barking killer. - Michael Scott

gloom and doom

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans," right John Lennon?

I have been sitting here for the better part of thirty minutes (wasting Nate's nap time being completely unproductive!), staring at my computer screen, checking twitter, checking facebook, checking my google reader AND ignoring this here bloggity blog blog because I don't know what to say. When I get out of the habit of blogging, it feels like THIS BIG THING. And then I feel guilt about not writing a blog post or not posting pictures. I know it might be a little silly but I miss not putting it out there and connecting when it's been a few days.

But I also don't want to s(ch)mear some words out there that are sad and tired.

Cause that is a little bit how I feel today - sad and tired.

Maybe it's the weather (cold and rainy here in the dirty south).
Maybe it's the fact that Karl has been in Manhattan all week for work and I never sleep as well when he's gone.
Maybe it's the fact that Nate has a vampirey tooth poking through and is low grade and cranky about it.
Maybe it's just the long and dreaded month of FEBRUARY.
Maybe it's that I sometimes feel my words aren't always articulate enough for this here blogosphere.
Maybe it's the image of Nate eating a sandwich for lunch today. (A SANDWICH! Don't laugh, but I totally burst into tears - he looked like such a Big Kid eating it! Sometimes little moments like those really get me and make me realize how fast time is flying by.)
Maybe it's because while I was rocking Nate to nap today, my lovely dog Roxy ate the last of my delicious lunchtime turkey salad I left on the counter. Indulge FAIL. (And just like that, this blog post became the perfect country western song.)

Maybe it's

(gasp)

NOTHING.

Some days I think it's just okay to occasionally be gloomy (and eat a lot) and not have a "real" reason.

So, I am just going to chalk up today as ONE OF THOSE DAYS (mama said. mama said.) and spend the rest of naptime writing some personal emails to my friends and family to reach out and say WELL HELLO THERE! because they might be having a bit of a gloom and doom day as well. What else should I do to perk up? What do you do? Retail therapy? TV therapy? Bath therapy? Workout therapy? Skype therapy? Sleep therapy? Acupuncture? Maybe I should try it all.

thank you, skype:

the men in my life

Karl, Nate, and Arlo.

It snowed and iced here in Little Rock on Friday and we all about killed each other being cooped up. We did venture out Saturday night to a concert that included songs like "Jesus & Rugers: They're Both Straight Shooters." The good news is only one drunk person fell into me while we were down on the floor. It was a good show - the band was Jason Boland and the Stragglers who are, in fact, from the great town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, but are viewed as "texas country" or "red dirt" country. I don't understand that labeling, but I admit openly to digging some of the red dirt music.

(I also openly admit my love for Taylor Swift, She & Him, Kanye, & Steeeeeeve Perry. What? I suffer from uh, Varying Tastes in The Musics.)

I am wrapping up my project today and will soon have a long and winded blog post JUST FOR YOU!

drowning in my excel spreadsheet

I'm finishing up my freelance project (procrastination rules) and have been up until 2 a.m. every night this week.

It feels a bit like college.

Only there is a baby that wakes me with his MOMMYDADDYDADDYMOMMY alarm clock voice at 6 a.m.

Wah Wah. Feel sorry for me!

(Ignore the fact that I did it to myself and BRING ME COFFEE!)

Oh why did I wait so long to work on it? WHY? Sometimes I shake my head at myself.

More blogging to come!

AND AND we might get some snow and ice tonight in Little Rock. (Does that mean my project gets a snow day?) I, like always, firmly believe that the weather won't make it down this far south and teeter tooter on the see saw of wanting it and not.

Ok back to work!

ouuuuuuussssssssssiiiiiii peeeese: familyisms

We took every opportunity we had this past week to play out of doors. I think Nate would stay outside day and night if we let him. Also, after my complaining about the pictorial documentation, I think I finally got some decent shots. So much easier for Nate to look at the camera sans flash. Photographer I am not.

Here is a Sunday snippet Naterism for you:

Nate has been stringing together two words. I know that might not sound that exciting but IT IS. It is BIG. It might be my favorite thing right now. He will say these, uh, phrases: 1. My daddy. 2. Big Ball 3. Ni Ni Milk 4. Nate's truck. 5. Mimi's knife. He continues to be real big on identifying certain people to go with certain objects. (Mimi often wields a knife.) He also says 'i do it' and 'i get it' a lot. (I'm all for him doing it!)

Here is a Sunday snippet Karlism for you:

Karl has been busy at work overhauling capsearch.com. He has been stringing together NO WORDS b/c he stares at a computer screen all day and all night. He has, however, been obsessively listening and purchasing country music albums (do you still call them albums?) to listen to while he works. He doesn't even pretend to like other music genres anymore. Yesterday he was listening to a song that began "It's all about sex, love, and Texas" which DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE.

Here is a Sunday snippet Katism for you:

Kat, er, I (I don't speak in 3rd person. Sorry.) have been stringing together lots of words. Lots and lots and lots of words. In my spare non-speaking time, I attempted (by my lonesome) to put air in my (deflating, leaking) tire for the first time ever. I have an irrational fear of my car exploding when the tires are being aired so I was super proud of myself for making the decision to fill it myself. With Nate in the car. It was HUGE. I was all "I don't need no man" about it until I got to the gas station and there was an enormous truck completely blocking the air compressor pump thingey. I immediately called Karl all "awwww man I can't do it today!" and, he, being the wonderful husband that he is and knowing me well DID NOT suggest I simply go to another gas station and told me to head on home.

And, just like that, January is rushing to a close!

book clubs and baby showers

We've been busy.

But not.

That's kind of how I feel about the month of January thus far. We have lots going on this month, but aren't traveling so it feels quiet. Is that strange? I don't know. I kind of like it. Ish.

(OLD.)

This week I had both book club and a baby shower.

(OLD.)

Our book club read "Precious (Based on the novel Push) by Sapphire. Heartbreaking. Disgusting. Intense. Awesome. I loved it, and we had a great discussion about it. I also used book club as an excuse to consume several beers. I stayed up till Midnight. ON A TUESDAY.

(NOT SO OLD!)

This resulted in a bit of a head ache and a burning desire for both Sonic tater tots and Coca Cola Classic for breakfast. And a nap. (Alas, I was up with Nate bright and early and got neither of these things.)

(OLD.)

Our little group also held a baby shower (tonight!) for one of our own who is due with boy/girl TWINS! within the next couple of months! Excited. It was an offbeat baby shower planned by this girl...idea borrowed from this offbeat mama post (aptly titled ONSIE DECORATING THAT DOESN'T SUCK.)

Here is one I made:

Melissa, a twin herself, with the WOMBMATES:



Audra's Octo:


A GEEE-taur:
I don't want to inundate you with thousands of FREAKING ADORABLE onsie photos for the twins but there were many, many more. Like this many:

Every one just as cute as the last.

(WE ARE YOUNG AND HIP.)

That's RIGHT.

The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music (AAAAAAWWWWAAHHHHAHWHWHWA-AAA)

Sometimes, when I have a moment of BRILLIANCE (read: i think to myself 'i should blog that!'), I pop (BANG) open my blogger account and start a post. Then I just leave it there, unpublished and unedited. Then, I lose my mind and completely forget what I was going to write about..... Um, I mean, when I find myself not feeling the bloggy blog blog inspiration, I try and look back to see if I can make some sense of my ramblings.

on 12.27 I wrote this:

THE SOUND OF MUSIC
ROLLER SKATES
PAULA ABDUL
STRAIGHT UP NOW TELL ME

which makes me giggle just by itself.

I don't really know where I was going with the post. I know that the Sound of Music was on TV that night and that Karl had never seen it before and he was SUPER IMPRESSED with my recitability (new word? new word!) skills. (There's a sad kind of clanging from the clock on the wall.)

And that I began reminiscing about my Sound of Music obsession. At my 4th grade talent show, my friend Jessica and I performed a roller skate routine to SO LONG FAREWELL! (yep, in front of the whole school) whilst all the cool kids performed a hippity hoppity Paula Abdul dance. (Straight Up YA'LL.)

And then... uh.... no and thens? I have no idea what the POINT was going to be. Be yourself? Learn to Rollerskate? Just say NO to dancing? DARE to keep a kid off drugs?

There, apparently, was no point. But I like the image of myself as a wee one, hair flying behind me as we criss-crossed the stage on our Popple roller skates (gracefully I'm sure. As most everyone who knows me can attest, I. am. GRACEFUL.). AHHH. I can still smell my gym teacher's cigarette smoke from 'her office' in the wings of the stage. I decided to share b/c it got me all HOPPED up - what will Nate DANJAHANDZ Hills will want to perform at his first talent show? I can't wait to see it. And VIDEO TAPE IT.

Boys Learn in Motion

These days when Nate sees the big ole camera making an appearance, he runs. Well, come to think of it, pretty much he just runs all the time so maybe it's not the camera. Either way, picture taking is not the easiest of tasks. Most of them end up like so:
THAT BOY IS A CLIMBER. Thus far, I have found him on chairs, tables, toilets, our hutch, our bed. I don't even understand how he SCALES these things. So far, he has not made it out of his crib. (Though now that I have blogged it, it will without a doubt, 100% happen within the week.)

Or, if I can catch him in my lap for a brief moment, i get faces like this (from the both of us - YIKES.):
Sometimes, I can catch him on my phone. Like when his hands are full of paint.

Sometimes I can catch him prior to bed. Though his blurry legs are still moving even in this shot.

We were at the library for story hour a few weeks ago and there were three little boys and three little girls (all around N's age.). All the little girls were sitting pretty prim and proper on their mama's laps listening to the story. All the boys were running around, touching the book and running in circles (and into each other.) The librarian mentioned (casually) that it was okay for them to run around because children, PARTICULARLY BOYS (she said as she glanced around the room), learn in motion.

Oh, yes, trust me Ms. Rhonda, we know all about motion. Nate is in MOTION all day every day. Even in sleep he is a tosser.

That's all I really got today.

It's been a busy and slow and restful and exhausting week and I have loved (almost) every minute of it. (Cause there was that one minute I had to clean poop out of the bathtub. I didn't love that minute.)

keeper of the calendars

one of my favorite things about a New Year is a NEW CALENDAR! (Not in the figurative sense; nope, as literal as can be.... a new 'planner' or 'diary' would be more appropriate terminology I guess. What do you call it? An engagement calendar?) Anyway, I adore planners. Exhibit A: My Collection of Hello Kitty Planners:
Last year, I bought Andy Riley's hilarious Bunny Suicides planner and was entertained weekly by images of bunny suicides, like so:

I like to keep my planners. I have boxes of old planners in my closet and some on my bookshelves, and I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you how entertaining they are to look back through. Some of them have fun memories like "Party at E's house" or "Wedding Shower for J" or "BUY SHOES!" Some have post-its stuck to certain days/weeks and some have little nonsense doodles around the dates. Some of the older ones, when Karl and I were focused on paying off our debt, are FILLED with numbers re: how much we could pay that month and how much/little we needed to live on. (Glad that's over with!) Some are mostly empty, but I can't bear to throw them away (dramatic much?).

I find my attachment to sit-down-and-write-it-out planners somewhat entertaining since pretty much everything else I do is connected in some way to technology. I blog, I twitter, I blip, I foursquare, I have ALL digital pics, I shop mostly online (after two stores yesterday, I am even considering purchasing laundry detergent online. Where the F is your Tide Free HE, huh, Target? Kroger?).

Karl and I do share a calendar on our iPhones, and I will admit to using it more and more in the last six months. I GUESS it's easier to whip out your Magic Phone to schedule your next dentist appointment or your next book club instead of lugging around an enormo planner and digging for a pen or asking for one. Sigh. It IS easier to put it on the phone. I admit it. And Karl and I being able to share a calendar that easily is pretty invaluable. DAMN YOU technology... you win again.

HOWEVER, my friend Amanda found this gem of a 5 Year Calendar/Diary that I am hopelessly and totally in love with. I ordered it the second I read about it. Honestly, it's more of a DIARY which is what I love the most about my planners - looking back in them. So, now that I have the techno-phone-calendar for keeping day-to-day schedules and appointments, I intend to use this one like DEAR DIARY: TODAY KARL TOLD ME I WAS PRETTY. HIS HAND WAS SWEATY BUT I LET HIM HOLD MINE ANYWAY.

It's teeny tiny. There are about six lines per day. The first page is Jan 1 and it covers Jan 1, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, right? So I have been keeping it beside my bed and jotting (jotting - what a goofy word. so casual.) a few lines every night. The idea that five years down the line a single page could be like

May 12
2010: We had spaghetti for dinner.
2011: Found out we were pregnant.
2012: We had spaghetti for dinner.
2013: Found out we were pregnant.
2014: Got a babysitter and went out for spaghetti.

makes me want to jump up and down in excitement. I know I sound ridiculous getting all jazzed about calendars (and not christmas!), but I think this silly little diary thing just sums up so much of the way I feel about life - some days are boring and full of routine and then some days are EVENTS to be remembered - but it's important to remember a little bit of both, right? And to see how they compare year to year, right? Because I've been keeping this blog for FIVE YEARS (Some things I can commit to.) and, though some of my initial posts are all pink text and Happy Birthdays every other day, I do love every word that I have written, because it totally captures SO MANY changes over this time period - new jobs, a husband, new dogs, more new jobs, new baby, better posting, better pictures, growth, change, sadness, happiness (and so on and so forth).

Do you have your calendar for the year? Whatcha gonna remember from Twenty aught Ten?

Place Bowl on Head. Cut.

Thanks for your questions. Apparently half the world is also testing out the formspring site right now (narcissists unite?) because their site was up and then down and then up and then down. Additionally, like two days after I answered a question, I would receive an email saying "Formspring has a question for you!" and the email would repeat the already answered question. Bad form, FORMspring. I hate plugging a site that doesn't operate correctly - even when I am just doing it for funsies. It was entertaining though and I am going to leave the widget up for the time being - feel free to use it whenever.

As promised, here is a picture of Nate with his bowl cut. I pretty much hate it! (and his , ahem, chest hair peeking out - he likes to unzip his pj's like that...usually further down though. I don't believe he is going to be a Never Nude!)

I have quite a bit to blog about - nothing terribly earth-shattering, but there are words I want to, no, need to, purge!

Stay tuned?

Step Right Up

Additionally, I have been dying to do this silly (?), narcissistic (?) formspring thing that eleventy billion other people have been doing over on 'the Twitters'.

(I don't normally post twice in one day but I am still unsure if I should have published my last post about my embarrassing teeth issues so I am trying to cover that up by posting quickly after.)

Anyway, formspring is crazy interesting and I totally want to see how it works. So, um, the point is to ask questions - on anything, to me, and I will answer. So you could ask me about my favorite Apples to Apples card (Answer: Jack the Ripper. Which is weird since he murdered women, but it's fun to play to describe like "Cuddly" or "Lovable) or you could ask me "Why did you quit your stable job in a recession?" (Answer: Uhhhhhh.) or you could ask me "EZ, Why you wear your pants that way?" (Answer: E-Z access baby.)

Anyway, here is the link:
http://www.formspring.me/kat22stl

ASK AWAY my friends. YOU CAN BE ANONYMOUS. (Or not.) (And I can choose not to answer you if your question is inappropriate or hurtful, but I will try to answer all questions openly and honestly.) I am also going to put a widget on my sidebar so you can ask whenever. I'm not really sure what I expect to take from this experiment, but LET US PLAY.

(And I promise to post new pictures of Nate (and his 43rd haircut) tomorrow if you ask me some good stuff.)

things you do not expect to hear from your dentist

Soooooooooo I was at the dentist last week (prior to New Years) having my teeth cleaned.

Reasons why I am the worst dentist patient EVER:

1. I gag. A lot. (It says it in my file.) Like I can't even do the bitewing thingeys. They have to go old school and x-ray me with cotton in my mouth. Which also makes me gag.

2. I drool. A lot. I feel this is more embarrassing for me than for them.

3. I'm "slow to numb" - also says that in my file. (so proud). I had to have a cavity filled last year and the dentist and I chatted for a solid thirty minutes while waiting for the magical FOUR shots for one tooth to numb my (apparently) dense bones.

4. I had pregnancy gingivitis issues while pregs with Nate (all that gagging on the toothbrush and vomiting surely didn't help) and still have slight gum issues. Yuck.

My hygienist and I were discussing my bloody gum issues. Apparently I have strong teeth but weak gums (Just say NO to flossing!). Nothing that is a big deal or that requires more dental work, but still, embarrassing. I mean, Nate is 18 months old. No longer can my pregnancy be blamed. Momma would not be proud.

So I am talking to her about medicated rinses and she and the dentist begin to ask me questions like "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" AND I can't immediately say yes or no b/c I can't remember certain, uh, timing of uh, certain things (eek - uncomfortable! hi dad!) AND then the dentist said "I am not predicting anything but your gums look very hormonal!" and then mumbled something about he wouldn't be surprised and maybe I should go home and find out. And (I swear to god ya'll) my heart skipped a few beats and I had an IMMEDIATE flashback of myself, three days prior, biting into an enormo cookies and cream Hershey's bar that I threw in my grocery cart at the last moment. I craved (and ate) many a Cookies N Cream shake from Chic-Fil-A when I was knocked up with Nate and hadn't even thought about the combination since.

Uh, yikes.

I did go home and POAS (Pee On A Stick). (Clever acronym, o wise internetz).

It.

Was.

NEGATIVE.

I was relieved and able to drink my champagne without a worry as the ball dropped. I know I posted a few weeks ago about my increased baby fevah but there's something about Doing It All Again that I'm (clearly) still a little teeter-tottery about!

So, overall, it was one of the more AWKWARD exchanges with a dentist that I have had in my life (though one time I did have a gynecologist tell me I had birthing hips (at 17 and no more than 110 pounds!) which was WAY more awkward, but apparently, TRUE.)

Hormonal gums.

Hmph.

Off to floss for the third time today. (What? I'm all paranoid now! I can't lose my teeth - I live in Arkansas for gods sake. WE HAVE TEETH HERE.)

You say you want a resolution....weeeeeell you know

Twenty Ten Resolutions:

NUMERO UNO: To use the phrase "to be perfectly frank" more often. (And then to actually be perfectly frank.)

So, to be perfectly frank, I don't really do resolutions cause they'd be all: 1. Loose one half of body weight. 2. Stop eating. 3. Don't spend more than $5 a week. 4. Pay off mortgage. 5. Read every book in the library. 6. Tell everyone I know how wonderful they are ALL THE TIME! (via handwritten post of course!) 7. Have eight babies. 8. Run a marathon twice a week. 9. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro. 10. Save all the orphans in THE WORLD.

What? I like to think BIG! (And UNREALISTIC!)

Where did the 'resolution' concept come from anyway? The thing is I really like to set attainable goals but the pressure of it being a NEW YEARS RESOLUTION (and that you have to have like forty of them) gets me all freaked. I have been reading quite a few resolutions of online friends (not you) and I can't help but wonder how long will they stay resoluted? (That's a new word - resoluted.)

So, I do have a few - most of them revolve preeettty strictly around myself (is that wrong?). Like one is: 4. Get hair cuts more than once every year. And number 12. USE SEWING MACHINE i resolved to use last Christmas (see? A FAILED RESOLUTION!!) and 27. Use proper capitalization techniques on my blog (though it kills me and I want to type in all lowercase ala e.e. cummings ALL THE TIME). And 45. Continue Wednesday morning runs with my friend Julie.

Honestly, (AWW CRAP. I mean 'to be perfectly frank') I am not going to put a lot of pressure on myself to keep any of them, but it was fun to make a list. I really just have great feelings about 2010. I'm excited to say goodbye to 2009. I want to use 2010 to focus on treating myself better, treating my marriage better, and trying to find a better work/life balance for all three of us. (Oh, and NOT TRAVELING. YOU HEAR THAT UNIVERSE? NOT TRAVELING THIS YEAR.)

What do you do friends? Do you make em? Do you write em down? Do you hate it when I type in all lowercase? I REALLY, REALLY MISS IT.

Wrapping Paper Continued...

Karl and I took Nate to his 18 month well check up at the doctors this morning. I, ah, confess: We let Nate play with the nasty toy table thingey in the waiting area... something that, every time I have visited the doc office, I swore I would NEVER do (ha. never say never - my one piece of parenting advice!) until I had a loud, rambunctious and uber wiggley 18 month old boy that I would give my germ-infested right arm to if it meant he would stop moving for twenty seconds. Aforementioned table was in the "well child," ah, section of the room (Because the germs can not travel from the blue chairs to the red chairs in the same room. Clearly.). It kept him entertained briefly. Surely it's fine, right? I washed his hands the second we got to the exam room. (I swear I try not to be a germ phobe but the pedi's office makes me NERVOUS. We all have our things! I promise I let him roll around in dirt and eat sticks and jump in puddles on a regular basis.)

Anyway, once we got into the exam room, we let him rip up the paper on the table and throw it in the trashcan. He thought it was the best. thing. ever. It was JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS! (Er, well opening Christmas presents from other people, because we didn't actually wrap our gifts to Nate.) The appointment was nice and boring - just the way I like them! Nate is 26 pounds and 33 inches. Tall and skinny. Huh. Weird. Wonder where that's from. He is meeting and/or exceeding his 18 month old milestones. Since we had delayed a few vaccinations, he did have to get shot up a bit, but stopped crying with the help of some, um, Wintergreen Altoids, my new bribery technique! (That totally works. Don't judge.)

Happy and Healthy. Thanks for listening (er, reading?)!

crunchy yum yums

I've been performing a little science experiment on my own pretty little head.

I have been patiently waiting for my (dove) shampoo and conditioner to run out, so I can go 'poo-less.' Today is Day Seven of the NO SHAMPOO and NO CONDITIONER experiment. Let me rephrase that. I have been washing my hair. Just not with your, ah, typical shampoo products? For shampoo, I have been using a mix of baking soda and water (1.5 tbs to 1 cup of water). For conditioner, I have been using a mix of apple cider vinegar (1tbs) and water (1 cup). I found the ratios here. (Thanks to Maria and Brooke for inspiration!)

I have to say my hair has not behaved this well in YEARS. I finally feel like I am doing something right with it! This excites me to no end. It hasn't even had much of an "adjustment period" and it's WAAAAAAAY less frizzy than normal. It feels a little heavier but it is behaving so much better and it seems to dry MUCH faster. Additionally, my scalp has been a tad itchy, but nothing terribly noticeable and I expect that to go away soon. SERIOUSLY I can not express to you how awesome this is for me and how I wish I had tried it earlier. (My hair is thick and frizzy and dry and THERE IS A LOT OF IT. As a general rule, I only wash it every other day. And I don't use a blow dryer very often.)

With the poo-lessness you are supposed to be able to wash it less and less and less (I am washing everyday right now.) and some people eventually are able to just rinse with water, but I'm not sure I will ever get there. My only future concern is the smell - like you know how when you have been playing outside/running and your hair gets that (metallicey? outdoorsy?) scent to it? How do I avoid that? Anyone? Anyone? Maybe I shall cross that bridge when I get to it - YOU WILL TELL ME IF MY HAIR SMELLS, RIGHT?

Now I can't decide if I should cut it all off like I intended to do at the first of the year! This experiment has made me want to wear it all long and hippy dippy for awhile! I'm going to give it at least two more weeks before I decide.

Self involved hair post ends NOW!


BOOSH.

well thank god that's over with!

Nah - I am teasing.

Christmas eve and Christmas day were both wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

...Even when my father-in-law and his wife called at 4:00 on Christmas Day (after we had been celebrating all day) to push Christmas Day dinner back from 5:30 to 7:30. Thanks for the notice. My cranky, overstimulated 18 month old child would LOVE to start dinner at his bedtime! Honestly, it wound up being fine. Karl and I gulped down a LARGE glass of wine each and made do. Nate was (surprisingly) better there than he was anywhere else - Karl and I were kind of hoping for a tantrum or a meltdown so we could be all SEE? IT'S PAST HIS BED TIME!?! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!, but that was not the case. He ran around all happy like for an hour and even ate dinner. Sigh.

It's just A THING with Karl's dad and his wife.

(STORY TIME!)

One Christmas several years ago, they were over two hours late to a Christmas dinner - I believe it was the week before Christmas actually - at a restaurant here in Little Rock. By the time they arrived at the restaurant (never called to say they were running late) (and all the other patrons were leaving), Karl and I had consumed two bottles of wine and were working our way through a third. I don't remember much about dinner BUT I do remember when we got home that Karl left me on the kitchen floor where I wanted to cuddle with Arlo (I'm sure I was being obstinate about it; Karl doesn't make it a habit to leave me passed out places...not that I do that, erm, often.) and I woke up completely alone (thanks ARLO) and freezing on the floor around 4 a.m and spent the next day alternating between sleeping and puking. MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS! Hahaha. Ah, holiday memories!

2009 was much less dramatic. As mentioned in previous posts, we stayed in town, so there was no packing (hooray!) and no driving (hooray!) and no flying. There was no snow (hooray!) but there was much rain (eh.). We didn't really "do Santa" with Nate. I don't know, I mean I guess we did? As in we gave him some presents when we woke up Christmas morning, but we didn't necessarily say "these are from Santa" or build up the whole Santa thing too much. He is obsessed with his Little People (that are NOT so little anymore by the way!) Farm. He got some other fun stuff, we got some fun stuff, we had fun with our families. (Dare me to use the word FUN again? FUN.)

We were able to Skype (video chat) with my family in St. Louis quite a bit, including a nice loud call with EVERYONE on Christmas Eve. Here is a photo of Nate showing my sister his new track hoe. It was real fun teaching him to say track hoe. I don't really know what a track hoe is or what it does so I hope he never asks. Please excuse our outfits. We were cleaning. That is my imagetcrazywithsomecleaningproducts shirt.