moooooooon-dey

another weekend past, another work week started.

i am happy that spring is here (to stay!) and that summer is to follow. i close my eyeballs and see nate in the park, nate in the pool, nate at the zoo, nate here and there and everywhere. karl and i walked to the Chic-Fil-A with Nate in the Bob Revolution. Best. Stroller. Ever. That makes two three mile plus walks in the past two days thankyouverymuch. Maybe one of these days I will take it up to a jog. Probably I should just sign up for a 5 or 10K. possible motivation, right?

i have decided on a theme for Nate's first birthday party... some of you know... maybe I mentioned it on the blog... i have no idea who i tell anything to anymore! anyway, theme thoughts: bookworms, bugs, and bumblebees. i am going for a park party with lots of little bugs... AND LOTS OF DELICIOUS DIRT CAKE...books only as gifts. yes, no, stupid? he just doesn't really NEED anything. and books are cheap and fun. what do you think?

it's a mini karl

sunday sweets cominatcha.

WBW on Thursday? THE HORROR.

since i missed Way Back Wednesday, but do intend to participate in the future, here is a semi-way back kind of picture of me and my hubby. Christmas 2005, shortly after we were married. St. Louis with my parents and family.

today he:
fed nate a bottle at 3 a.m.
shared his breakfast shake with me.
took out the trash.
worked all day (and is currently working.)
made dinner. (side dish: one handful of nacho cheese doritos. yow!)
went for a run.
talked to me on the phone the whole six block walk to the dentist office b/c i was nervous.

i am sure there is more, but i didn't want to be too moey-goey on my first WBW post.

i am finding some great shots of olden days to scan in for future humps days.

blah. blog. blah. work. blah.

dear blog, please forgive my brief hiatus.

i have been busy. i have had people (wonderful, fabulous friends) in town. i have been tired. i have been thinking. i have been ordering a new battery for my computer. i have been reading my junk mail in the inbox - pottery barn, fred flare, ideal bite... stuff i normally glance at has been getting thorough click-thrus this week. i have been ETSY obsessed and even ordered a few prints for my walls. i have been reading my google reader subscriptions, and OBSESSING about mint.com. (it keeps a budget for you -automatic - and estimates your net worth. thank you, mint.com, for making me feel less stressed about my financial situation. no, really, it did. it's pretty amazing. i kept reading reviews about it, but i thought i could NEVER give up my Excel budget spreadsheets! but, mint, yea, i think i just might! i kind of love you, mint.com.) i have been working. i have (in a burst of MEMEME) have done normal ME things like make a dentist appointment and an eye appointment. i have booked a vacation for ME and karl.

all of these are semi-valid EXCUSES, right?

alright, fine, i have been avoiding you BLOG. i admit it. and i am not sorry. i have been completely uninspired to write anything in the last couple of weeks. it takes committment to write a decent post. AND. AND i feel fat. (i don't often complain about this b/c i generally have a pretty great body image, but JESUS, i kind of understand why some mamas put on some weight/feel frumpy. in the words of jessie spano THERE IS NO TIME. THERE'S NEVER ANY TIME. mom guilt is a dangerious thing. must. work. out. because. I NEED IT TO MAKE ME FEEL HEALTHY & HAPPY not b/c i need to fit in a size 0 please and thank you.) nate has been driving me bananas - he is STARVING all the time, he wants so terribly to crawl and is on the verge, but for now it is just fussing b/c he can't get from here to there fast enough. my sister is in town to see us and watch him this week b/c daycare is on spring break (cue image of nate and my sister on a party barge floating down the arkansas river, hipster PBR in hand (bottle? surely nate should drink beer out of a big boy sippy not a baby bottle, right?) (and why does daycare get to take a spring break and NOT ME!?)

here is how the week has been so far:
mon: happy. play. walk. eat. sleep. kiss kiss.
tues: repeat.
wed: repeat.
thurs: my sister's 25 year old immune system takes a direct hit from the baby. vomiting ensues. (that is where we are right now. she is in recovery. ish. i think the smell of the burgers karl made for dinner sent her back over the edge.)

and, in other news, i heard McDonald's in introducing a Cadbury Egg flavored McFlurry. Can anyone validate this rumor? I kind of want one. (hm. how many miles would i have to run to neutralize a mcflurry? i'm going to go with six. maybe seven.)

sunny sundays

the weekend was so delicious i can't even talk about it. i won't do it justice. i shall get back to you b/c i am going to revel in its goodness right now.

here are some pics of naterade atop the (wye) mountain. i was digging the up angle. (pics unedited.)

nate is getting closer to crawling. but much prefers to stand and drunk wobble walk. (with help of course.)

chubbybunnychubbybunnychubbybunny

why does my child think that eating the Gerber Puffs is like a chubby bunny contest?

as many as possible in the mouth.

fatty fatty boom ba latty.

that is all.

st. patricks day eve

on the eve of all things green and orange, i present you with this photo of st. patty's days past.

today was a rough day.

i dropped the baby off at school. somedays this is easier than others. this morning i had a wicked bout of seperation anxiety. he was fine. i, clearly, was not.

work was bonkers. it went fast, but i didn't care too much about what i was doing. for sure it was agoingthroughthemotions kind of day. also, i had an evaluation at work this week. it went great, but did not inspire The Motivation. New mommies are not the best employees.

i ran. like in the outdoors. two times. (yesterday and today.) my legs are probably not going to function tomorrow.

S-U-N day SHOES.

so. we broke down and bought nate some pedi peds (SHOES!). i still intend him to be a shoeless hippy-child for the duration of the summer (as he learns to stumble around), but sometimes, shoes are necessary, right? and these shoes? cute, right?

sounds of sunday:
baby laughing. stroller wheels swishing. basketball bouncing (on the television). tipping on the tippy tappy (computer). bathtime water splashing. wine glasses clinking (not b/c we are clinking them in some quest to be The Perfect Suburban Couple who makes Steak Dinner and toasts with Chablis on Sundays... just b/c they make noise when they come out of the cabinet.). telephone ringing.

smells of sunday:
steak on the grill. fresh air through the windows (still too cold.) new bottle of shampoo. clean laundry.

8 months, 2 weeks, 1 day

dear post pregnancy body

dear post pregnancy body,

i do not mind the extra flab around the tummy.

i do not mind the weight i put BACK ON after quitting breastfeeding. (sigh.)

i do not mind my hair falling out in clumps for weeks and weeks post-partum.

all of these things i can handle.

but I DO MIND these pseudo-bangs. WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE STUPID WISPYS?! THEY ARE ONLY ON ONE SIDE OF MY HEAD. AND THEY DONT EVEN COVER HALF OF MY FOREHEAD. I don't get it. i look like a freaking sixth grader. where did they come from? why are they here? and what am i supposed to do with them?

every time i look in the mirror i want to scream. (or take the scissors to them.)

i have NEVER had bangs and i don't intend to start now. it feels weird to even say the word. BANGS. i am that unstylish. it makes me shudder a little. BANGS. who even picked that word to describe hair fringe? (bang. bang. bang.)

(and don't you dare say it's hair it will grow out!)

i know there are more important issues in the world, but really hair? really?

sunday sweets

sunday picture overload - trying to make up for last sundays miss.

also, from my last post, karl did not remember DEAR days in school. first person to comment with the meaning of DEAR shall win my respect forever.

what is there to do in arkansas?

Email between my sister and i.

(as follows)

eh-eh-ahem.

her:

These are the things I want to do while in Arkansas:

- Make Nate Walk (crawling is acceptable, but slightly disappointing)

- Go to the Restaurant with Ranch/Red Pepper Dressing

- Make a Paper Machee Volcano

- Have a Jimmie's Sandwich

- Go to a bar one night (you are required to go out one night. no choice)

- Get a Tan

- Meet Bill Clinton

- Catch Fireflies (do you know that we don't have those here?!)

You're turn for suggestions.

me:

- Play a drinking game whilst watching the 5 o clock news based on the # of ya'lls stated.
- Read a book. (DEAR day!!)
- Watch ANTM and Biggest Loser TOGETHER (not in real time, mind you.)
- Cook you pasta. And make you mashed potatoes.
- Force you to lose repeatedly in silly games like teeth-tapping and leg-swing-over and push-you-down. (these are the official names).

The Paper Mach Volcano project sounds amazing. who wants IN? tia? tamera?

one fun fact about me and my sister: we're both from the midwest. she lives north. her friends call her a southerner. i live south. my friends call me a yankee.

'midwestern.'

it JUST sounds so uncool.

(but i promise it's great.)

(i mean, i know nelly.)

what do YOU make important?

the word important has changed for me lately.

who is important? (not you, stupid lady in your big-ass SUV on your cell phone not using your DOESNTCOSTEXTRA blinker.)

what is important? (not you, dear laundry pile growing higher everyday. well, at least not until we run out of underwear.)

when is important? (not you, 8:00 time slot on Wed for the new cycle of ANTM. oh, wait, you, yes, nevermind, you'are, in fact, VERY important.)

where is important? (not you, silly office, after 5pm these days. Alright, fine, 4:30. i gots a baby to get home to that trumps any pending paperwork.)

and, veering in a totally different direction b/c i can't decide what is important enough to blog about today (or if i should blog at all today! i am feeling the bloggy blahs lately.)

things that annoy me in the infant world and beyond (in no particular order):

a. the newest cover of american baby. it comes to me in the mail. screen shot here.

is it a baby or a "reborns"?

1. PGD. preimplantion genetic diagnosis as a form of genetic or social selection. it was on the news tonight. the thought of parents trying to make their babies tall/short/blond/brown-eyed makes me want to vomit.

2. my inability to articulate how PGD really makes me feel b/c i don't feel like i know ENOUGH about it to truly comment. (short answer: angry. just one more way the medical community is intervening in the most natural thing EVER.)

3. my lack of commitment to doing something awesome. and the blah-ness that surrounds that. (real specific, right?) (cue: i am my worst enemy lyrics. followed by: don't cry for me argentina.) (both of which are horrible song examples but you get were i am going, right?)

b. my inbox. both personal and work email. FULLED UP. but all i want to do is take a bath and read a book.

so, i am going to do that now.

(veering again.)

every article of bedding and half of nate's clothes have been laundered in the onslaught of vomit and, um, other excretions. (see? my washing machine does work! this laundry falls in the IMPORTANT category.)

doctors appointment in the a.m.

March madness....

March 1. Thank you for your vomit.

Both Nate and I have been doing our best to ring in march American teen princess style.

Rockin the tummy bug!

It is awesome.

Sunday pics CLEARLY moved to Monday.

Stay tuned.

Weekend vomit count: 6. (nate:3. Kat:3. Karl:big fat 0.)

i got nuthin.

hmph. february, you are getting OLD. go away, please. (but please do my laundry and clean my bathroom before you go, k?)

(here are some flowers to show you the door.) (goodbye with love/hate.)

doing a lot of thinking...

reading a lot of blogs....

hoping my dear friend sarah pops a baby out...
happy for my dear kristen who did amazing on some recent tests...
thinking about dear e and her prof stress...
loving my little m's mushy gushy new love...
liking a recent lunch with S to unload about working and babies and boobies...
wishing dear b didn't have to deal with lawyers...
pining for mid-march when visits from both mere mere and leeetle sister are occuring...
appreciating my 8 conversations a day with j...
praying for our friend r as he is working through some pain...
crying for a who lost one grandparent less than a month ago and now stands to lose another (the spouse) this week...
wanting desperately for b to have a successful homebirth...
wanting desperately for a to wade through some infertility issues and find some solace or resolution...

feeling sad that karl has been sick (and equally happy and annoyed to be working harder while he is resting)...

i know i keep editing the list but there are so many intentions in my heart i just have to get them out there...


contemplating how the different places we are in life make us both worse and better as friends... being thankful regardless that these folks and many more call me friend. sorry if the initials are cryptic... just trying to get the point across... ELLIPSIS ELLIPSIS ELLIPSIS.

blah.

the end.

and the nominees for best hair IN THE WORLD...

nate or yertle (the turtle). you decide.

7 months, 4 weeks

Nate's first day on the Job.

drinking already...

oh where oh where has my little dog gone

i have no idea where this blog title is from. it's in my head.

(as is the rest of bloggiture you are about to read... spewed straight from my brain to my fingers to the blog. minimal edits.)

recently, i went to a "concert" at Nate's school and the song "I LIKE BEING A KID" was stuck in my head for two days. (and, yes, it is as obnoxiously JINGLY JANGELY as it sounds.) (that was a proper sentence, right?) ANYWAY, not the most appropriate song to hum (who are we kidding? i don't hum. i belt.) in the office.

what else?

yesterday, we were driving by the golf course and someone hit a golf ball onto the road. i promptly rolled down my window and said "NICE ONE!" as loud as i could and proceeded to giggle like a child. (mature.) (karl laughed too. i swear it.)

what else?

it is 3:21 on Thursday. Thursdays always mean PRESS DAY at the office for the weekly we publish so there is always A SENSE OF URGENCY (one of my bosses favorite phrases) around the office. it is also the end of the month, so we are trying to put our monthly magazines 'TO BED' as well so they can get on stands before the month begins. so i am waiting on the last minute ad changes and stragglers. it's OTD time folks. (out the door.) (what other publishing buzz words would you like to see? we get to say the word DUMMY a lot in the print world.)

what else?

i am thinking of becoming a primary grade teacher. is that less stress or more stress? i am not into stress lately. i think i would be a awesome teacher. well, once i learn to stop saying the F word. who can teach me that!? i may be having a mid-to-late-twenties crisis.

what else?

i have worn jeans to work every day this week except Monday. TAKE THAT.

what else?

maybe some nuggets?

kittens inspired by kittens (thanks, leah.)
i'm on a boat. (thanks, andy sandberg and t-pain.)

maybe i should start a nugget blog. a compilation of nuggets of internet goodness. nuggets.

what else?

karl's little basketball team is wrapping up the season. they don't have a winning record like last year, but many a game has gone into heart-breaking overtime. i will be happy when the season ends. (selfishly. i know it's wrong.)

what else?

biggest loser this week was a bit ridic. but i do like that so many are playing with heart this season. still haven't gotten to watch LOST - WILL DO IT TONIGHT!!! i am avoiding the blogosphere until then.

what else?

i am digging the recent twitter explosion.

whadddd eylse?

(one scoop or two?)

i guess that's all folks!

sunday sweets from your valentine

nom nom nom.

let's see... this weekend:
cold beer, hot wings, wranglers, skoal ring. (kidding, kidding.)

i bought a new book and it is calling my name. sorry. bye bye.

naters and nash... yum

i am drawing a blank here on what to blog. i have so, so many things but how to make them fun and quippy and entertaining? THE PRESSURE.

this weekend was (is.) (once suday hits it always feels over. even at 10am.) delectable. friday night karl and i attended an event entitled the Trailer Trash Tragedy (TTT) hosted by the beautiful Susan Mulhearn Iris Orchid. It took me a few minutes to get into character. I was Fanny Mason, mama to Wilbur and the trailer park gossip queen... complete with bright red lips, a pack of wrigleys, stretch pants, cowboy boots, and carhartt jacket. Karl was the man-whore of the trailer park, married to a tat artist but unable to keep his hands to hisself. Neither of us committed the crime (the murder of Mitzi, portrayed by a famous cabbage patch kid, found dangling in the garage. yep, this trailer had a garage. a big one too. Iris and Big Hoss had a niiiiice little setup.) More pics HERE if you read Su's blog (there are several posts). it was HIGHLY entertaining and FRIGHTENINGLY easy to dress for. (karl wore his boots and camo and cut-off sleeved tee, but, alas, he can no longer fit in his wranglers. tee hee. cowboy boots and ON jeans.. we are classy country folk. (oh and that car in the pic with karl? "the z." oh, no we didn't borrow it for the evening. it sits in OUR driveway undrivable in true redneck style.)

saturday nate and i had our first official playdate! I am not going to lie, I have always FEARED 'the playdate'. For real! I guess I always worried it would be a bunch of moms drinking coffee and comparing stats on what their kids can and can't do and how smartmineis and ohyoursiscuteiguess. irrational? probably. but you know what? the older nate gets, the more i crave the playdate. it's good to get together and chat about the babes...especially mamas with babies of similar ages. we had the best time with Shannon and the adorable Nash. it was fun. tee hee. i admit it. well, except for the part where my iPhone took a little dip in the splash pool. (it's cool; it works now.) nate didn't know what to think. i am definately learning he is the type of child that has to let his environment sink in before he dives in and plays. More pics HERE on Nash's blog.

i am sad the weekend is almost over.

happy president's day. daycare is closed again!

a nugget

to help keep our economic issues in perspective, perhaps? nugget here.

and

an old picture or two of jennifer and myself to make us all smile. i don't remember the mircophone actually being in hand. hmm. :

and this one. i can almost hear karl shaking his head and saying 'get in the truck.'