The party

As I said in my last post, my oldest daughter turned 8 last Saturday. I always struggle with what kind of party to do for her birthday since it is in the dead of winter. I'm not a fan of home parties (too much work for me and a lot of mess) and something outdoors is not an option since we never know what the weather is going to be like. My other 2 kids were born in May and June. It's so easy that time of year to have a party at the park or the pool. We have to be a little bit more creative when planning Kristin's parties.

This year she decided she wanted to have an ice skating party. We said she could invite 4 friends. They all met here at the house, we had cake, opened gifts and then took off to the ice skating rink. It turned out that 3 out of the 4 girls we invited had never ice skated before. 2 brought helmets. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I first heard that one girl was bringing a helmet. However, as it turns out, it might not have been a bad idea for her to wear it. She was a bit like Bambi on the ice. I've never seen someone so determined to ice skate and fall so much. In the end, she was returned to her father with 2 shiners on either side of her face. Yep. She looked like she'd been in a vicious fight. And lost. She was a very good sport about it all and was determined to skate by herself. I just hope her parents let her come over to our house again.
So on Saturday, we had 7 little girls at our house. All talking and squealing at once. It was loud. Kristin had a good time though. All in all, it was a good party.

Kristin and her friends at the skating rink.

8 years ago

Last Saturday my oldest daughter turned 8. ( I intended on posting this sooner, but the snow derailed my plans).

My pregnancy with her was not a smooth one. Around 12 weeks, they discovered a cyst on one of my ovaries that looked suspicious. They decided it needed to come out. So at 15 weeks pregnant, I had surgery to remove this cyst. By God's grace and mercy, it was not cancerous as some of my doctors had feared. They surgery was successful and I was back teaching in 4 days. That was the first hiccup.

The second came at 25 weeks. I went into preterm labor. They were able to stop it, but I had to go on medication, a home monitor and bed rest. Bed rest for 12 weeks. Ya. Fun, fun, fun. So, I had to quit my job as a first grade teacher to stay home and rest. The only time I was allowed up or out was for my weekly Dr.s visits. I have never been so happy to see my GYN (and have not been since). At 36 weeks, my Dr. took me off of the medication and predicted then that she would arrive in a week. 7 days later, at 10 PM, just as we were about to turn in for the night, my water broke. After racing to the hospital that was all of 5 minutes away, 12 hours later at 10:14 AM, we had our first born child. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz and 19 inches long. She had a mess of black hair and the cutest little squished up face you've ever seen. It was an exciting and scary time.

Now, a short 8 years later, we have a beautiful, young lady. She's gotten to that age where she doesn't quite look like a little girl anymore. Her face is maturing. She's got grownup teeth. She wants to do her own hair. She has her own style. She has an air of intelligence about her. She's very logical and loves to explain her logic in excruciating detail. She loves to explain everything in excruciating detail. She's a morning person. She's a talker though most adults outside our family may not know this. She's shy with adults but makes friends very easily with children. She is very social. She loves her friends but says her sisters are her best friends. She loves our cats. She is passionate about a lot of things. She makes it a point to try to eat healthy. She is very conscientious. She's the boss, or at least thinks she is. She's a little OCD. She likes things a certain way and that way ALL the time. She is organized. She loves to read. She loves school. She's a people pleaser. She's a good big sister, often encouraging her little sisters when they are scared or nervous or when they need a "good job." She's very loving. She likes to hug and snuggle. She loves the Lord. She's a good daughter.

We love her more than words and are very proud of our not so little girl.

Kristin wanted chocolate on chocolate for her birthday cake. We also got these really cool candles that had different color flames.

This is the group we took ice skating. They all seemed to have a good time. Kristin loved it, so I guess that's all that matters...and that no one came back with a serious head injury.

Snow, snow, snow!

Ok, Ok, Ok. I guess since we've had the biggest snow storm since I've lived here, I need to do a post about it.
We are on day 2 of no school. I am 1/2 way not expecting to go to school tomorrow. The roads still look pretty icy to me. I've seen them cancel school for a lot less reasons.
Although, I do kinda need to get to Target. Well, not need to go, more like want to. Since we've been stranded at home, I decided to make use of my time and organize the girls' rooms. It's a MESS! Our upstairs hallway is virtually impassable. I've made a list of several bins and organizational type items that I need that would really help me finish knocking this job out. I guess we'll just have to live with the mess until I feel brave enough to get out on the road.

Fortunately, since we just had Christmas and Kristin's birthday, the kids have plenty to do here at home. They have kept busy playing and occasionally braving the cold to check out the snow.

Here are some pictures of our outdoor snow day adventures.

This is a table on our deck. It seems that we got about 4-5 inches of snow.

We can't have any amount of snow, be it a dusting or a blizzard without a few snow angles.

We even got come sledding in, southern style, on a plastic bag. Don't judge. It worked!





We even managed a snowman. The original plan was to make one as tall as me but building a snowman is a lot of work! I decided pretty quickly that this was not going to be a grown up snow man. It's cute though, right?

We ended each snow venture with hot chocolate by the fire. Yummmm...

I just heard that school will be cancelled again tomorrow. Yeah because I get to sleep in. Boo because I am getting a bit of cabin fever, not that I don't have plenty to do, I'm just ready to get out.

I resolve to have no resolutions

I've never been a new years resolution kind of girl. I am, however, a girl who can appreciate a fresh start. And what time better to get a fresh start than January 1?! The holidays are wonderful and magical and loads of sugary fun, but let's face it, CRAZY might be a better all encompassing word to describe it. Any semblance of a schedule or routine is thrown out the window a few days before Thanksgiving and in our house anyway, does not even begin to creep back in until school starts after the Christmas break. There is just too much shopping to be done, parties to attend, food to make/bake and then eat, presents to wrap, houses to decorate, then messes to clean up, new toys and gifts to organize, family to visit....I could go on and on. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. School starts in 4 days. Not that I'm so excited to get rid of the kids, but the start of school brings with it routine and normalcy. Ahhhh.... I can almost breath again.

Like I said, I do like a good fresh start. I wouldn't say my husband is a resolution kind of person either, but he is a goal setter. That's one thing I simultaneously like and dislike about my husband at the same time. He is always pushing er uh, encouraging me to be better, do better, do more, etc. There is no status quo. We've always got to be striving to be better people, better parents, better spouses, better Christians. Which is good. I know it is. It's just exhausting sometimes. I have a hard time keeping up. Sometimes I feel like I've got to a good place and I'm happy not moving for a bit. Not with Paul. I find that the times I feel content are the times when he is feeling like "go go go!" He's always reassessing our lives always wanting to set goals for our family. You go, hun.

I on the other hand am a little skeptical about setting hard and fast goals for myself. I'm a little pessimistic about actually being able to achieve any of these goals, so why set them. I don't want to set myself up for failure so it's best to just stay put, right? (hint of sarcasm here).

So, instead of setting goals, I'm going to set some plans. After all, plans are thwarted all the time, right? So it's no biggie if my "plans" don't work out, right? I plan to lose some weight before the summer time. I plan to exercise 4 days a week. I plan to blog more often (cause I know yall are always, "why doesn't Katie blog more? I LOVE reading her stuff!") I plan to read the Bible everyday. I plan to spend more quality time with my kids. I plan to be better organized with my time so that I can spend quality time with my kids. I plan for my husband and I to spend more quality time together. I plan to do a lot of stuff.

I know these don't sound like lofty plans but one thing I've learned about myself over the years is that if I am going to set any goals or make any plans, I need to set small, attainable ones. I can get discouraged easily. I'm also a cynic in some areas. I know this doesn't help in my aspirations but it's true. That cynicism that says "you might lose 5 lbs, but you'll gain it back. Just thank the fried foods and sauces you some times crave or Coke" , that cynicism is there and it's stubborn and won't go away.

But I do have plans. Maybe if I talk about my plans out loud more I'll be more apt to keep them. If I could just some how figure out a way to add just 2 more hours in a day then all this would be easy! Setting hard and fast goals would be a breeze.

I do realize as I reread through this before I publish it for all the world to see, that I sound like a wussy, little noncommitted, lazy waif who is just content to wallow in her extra pounds and messy house. NOT true. (cue the rocky music). I know I can do it!! right? YES I CAN! do you think? Sure! GO, Katie, GO, GO, Katie, GO!

All kidding aside, these plans I have for myself are not only plans, but prayer requests. I am confident that nothing I strive for can be achieved but for the grace of God. His plans are the only ones that really matter. That is a bit of a relief. I am glad it's not all up to me. I am a sinful human being who continues to fail time after time. I will disappoint. But He won't. Amen! He still loves me. That's my ultimate plan/goal; to love like Christ loves. If I can do that, what more could I ask for?

And another one bites the dust.

Well, here we are at the end of another year. Time has always been my enemy. It's stealing my children from me. It's stealing my youth, my energy, my zeal. It's making things sag and behave in ways that are not becoming of a lady.

All that aside, 2010 was a good year. We got to go on a fab Disney vacation (that the kids still talk about even though it was way back in May), Grace started Kindergarten **sniff, sniff, wiping tears**, Kristin started 2nd grade, Elliott started pre-k and for the first time ever I have 2 days to myself. No one broke any bones. No one had to go to the ER even. We got to spend some time in the mountains over July 4th and then sometime at the beach over Labor Day. We were fortunate enough to not largely be effected by the bad economy (praise God) and even more fortunate that Paul got a new job (which he squeezed in a few weeks before Christmas, another story for another post). We got 2 new kitties. We got to go camping. I got my wisdom teeth out. Alabama beat Florida in football. My sister is pregnant with her first baby, another girl for our family.

It is sad to see it go though. As I was looking back at my 2010 calendar, I saw how I had noted Grace's last day of school which was different from Kristin's. That's because back then, in May of 2010, Grace was still in pre-k. She was still my little girl. Now she's in elementary school. And it's all going to be over if I blink too long. Still doesn't make me want more kids though. Not another baby. I just don't want the ones I have to grow up. I want them to be my sweet little ones forever. I want to always hear Elliott tack, "because I love you" onto the end of practically every sentence, especially when she wants something. I want to hear Grace tell her ridiculous knock knock jokes that don't make a bit of sense but still manage to somehow be funny. I want to hear Kristin who is really too old to believe in Santa, explain to me how she thinks he is real and how he goes about delivering all those presents.

Next year, when I'm writing my "2011 is over" blog post, they'll be even older! Elliott will be getting ready to start kindergarten! AHHHHH!

Every time their life changes, my life changes too. We are all growing together. And that's good. As much as I don't want them to grow up, I don't want to go backwards either. My sister is getting ready to have her first baby and I do not envy her in the slightest. Right now, my life changes for the most part are subtle. Her life is about to change in drastic ways that you can't really prepare for. You think you can. You can take a birthing class, buy all the baby gear in the world, read a million books, listen to all the advice in the world about how other people's babys did it, blah, blah blah. But until it's your own and it's you and you've got this little, bity thing that you can't undo, and you HAVE to figure it out, you can't know what it's like. And it's scary. You couldn't pay me enough money to go back and be a first time parent again. It's a darn good thing that's impossible.

Anyway, I need to hop back on my original trail before I get to the fork in this rabbit trail and then who knows where I'd end up.

We had a good year. Good was good to us. He was faithful. He was with us through the good and the not so good and I have faith He will continue to be faithful.

So anyway, last night we had our usual no party new years party. Meaning, it was just us and the kids (who went to bed at 8) and Paul and I struggled to stay awake till 12 only to say a quick "happy new year, honey. I love you" and then roll over and go to sleep. Before all that though, we did have champagne (sparkling cider for the kiddies) and chocolate fondue with strawberries. The kids liked drinking out of wine glasses, though Grace was a bit concerned at first that I was actually giving them a grown up drink. ~Way to just say no, Gracie!~ The kids watched a movie (mostly because it was Friday and thus movie night, not really because of new year's eve), then Paul and I watched a movie (The American, 2 thumbs down, not a great pick) and then, as I said above, we read and chatted and dozed until midnight just because.


So Happy New Year everyone! "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through out all generations, for ever and ever, Amen." -Eph 3:20-21

Going Postal

You've heard the term, "going postal" right? It stems from the thought that a postal workers job is never ending, the mail never stops, seemingly progress is never made. As a result, frustration sets in and inevitably, anger. And then of course, shooting up your workplace with an AK-47 or "going postal."

Well, I think as a mom of 3 young kids I can identify with our faithful postal service people. I'm fixin' to go postal on my house and my family. The cleaning NEVER ENDS!!! There is always junk, piles of papers, hair clips, bows, random items of clothing, books, magazines, scraps of paper, dolly accessories, cat food because some one decided to make "cat soup" for the cats this morning, evidences of Grace's never ending projects that she likes to make out of tape and toilet paper and most recently pine tree branches from outside. And that's just the stuff I can see from my computer! (I didn't even include the bits of items out of place that belong my Paul or me).

It'll all get cleaned up, either because I do it or because we force the children to. But who cares! It'll look just the same or worse in 2 hours, the details will just be different.

I clean ALL DAY LONG! I feel like I yell and fuss at the kids all the time to clean up this mess and that.

I'm tired of fussing about cleaning.

And I'm tired of cleaning.

And I'm tired of the mess.

And, I'm having a bad hair day.

I'm might go postal.

Books I've Read (and am reading)

I'm starting a new Headline for my blog entitled; Books I've Read (look up, look up! There it is!). Under this headline will be books I've read (betcha couldn't figure that one out on your own) and my thoughts on them -without giving anything away-or maybe sometimes just a yea or nea (mainly because I know me and I know that there will be many times that I can't get around to writing anything more).


So to begin my list:



The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: I'd say, yea for this one, though it is not for the faint at heart (I don't even know what that means but it sounded like an appropriate fit here). Said girl is pretty much an amoral character with a tumultuous background. It was interesting to read though and I'll probably read the next 2 in the series.


I'm currently rereading (at a MUCH slower pace) through the Twlight books. I'm on New Moon. This is my least fav book of the series. Assuming here that anyone reading this who cares, has either read the books or seen the movies, I won't worry about giving anything away here. If you do care and don't know what happens, avert your eyes.

Edward leaves her! I've already read this book once and have seen the movie more times than I care to admit but still, he leaves her! I feel the same way I did the first time I read it; I have to get Bella through this. However, this time, her pain may last a bit longer. The first time I read it, I think I did it in a record 2 days. But now that I now what happens, I don't feel quite the same sense of urgency. She's just going to have to deal.