It's all about Katie...

We went for a walk on Tuesday and saw a girls lacross game in progress. Katie and grandma got closer to see what was going on and Katie was paying attention and watching the game and inside I was cheering because it's my hope that Katie will be so much more "sporty" than I ever was. Well, after our walk we filled daddy in on what happened and he asked Katie if she saw the girls playing a game and would she like to do that when she gets bigger... and she said "nah", then I said that maybe she wants to be in dancing classes... again with the "nah", then maybe (oh, please oh please) gymnastics?? "Nah" Daddy said that it was okay because she's going to play basketball. There was a little pause and I held my breath... "Nah" Humph. Well, maybe I'll just have to sign her up for all of the fun things she might like and if she hates it, we'll stop. Yes, mom... if you're reading this... just like you did to me and Mike when we were kids. :)

Wednesday evening I worked late and John picked me up. We went to LaCasita and ate chips and salsa and tacos. Yum!

Jakey had a bath when we got home and he smiled through it. He does that. Stares intently and then decides that you're worthy and he'll give his best big baby grin. He's such a smiler. After his bath, I laid him on the living room floor to get him dressed and he was totally captivated by the movie on TV. Enchanted was on and he was watching it and had a tiny smile on his face. Katie likes this movie too... it's a fun combination of cartoon and reality. Jake fell asleep after his bottle and Katie and I played kick the ball (I hold him while we play.) Then it was time for daddy to take over and me to get Katie to wind down... I don't know who has the tougher job!

I was doing my usuall bathroom routine when Katie told me, very seriously, that "Daddy can't see you on the potty mommy" Well, that was a strange thing to say so I asked her why and she told me that "Its not appropriate." Huh!? She must really be listening to me because I've used that line on her before but we've never (and I mean never) discussed this particular topic. She just pulled it out of thin air. Wow.

Night of the living dead...

Jacob... what a sweet, smiley, silly baby boy... until Sunday night. He was great all day and all evening until about midnight when it seemed as if something had taken over his body. Something noisy and not very happy took over and we were left with a crying, angry, fussy, nothing-will-satisfy-him baby boy. John took the first shift until about 3 a.m. and then I heard the commotion from the living room and I got up to help with the second shift from 3-6 a.m... Not exactly what I envisioned for a Sunday night. It continued into Monday morning and early afternoon and we don't really know why he was so fussy but think it might be due to his shots on Thursday.

So, considering how not happy he was Sunday night, I was understandably a little concerned with taking him to see grandpa at work for lunch on Monday but he was great... well, he was asleep anyway! Katie was a dear and Jakey slept so we had a very civilized lunch. No one dropped any food, spit up on mommy, or screamed loud enough to clear the dining room section we sat in. And if none of the above happens during any meal, I consider it to be very civilized... and very not messy for mommy. Katie was very excited to be wearing jeans "just like mommy is wearing" and she loves her jacket from grandma and grandpa - it has a pocket for her "cool" phone and her hands go in the side pockets and fit just right... boy, if she ever falls down while walking, we're in trouble! And yes, she calls it her cool phone. She loves the thing. All of her friends call her on it and she gets to chat with them at all hours of the day and night. She wanted it last night while I was trying to get her to sleep and I had to tell her that I told all of her friends not to call her this late at night and I put her phone away. (I really just couldn't find it and I had already been sent to find her baby doll TWICE because the first time I brought her the big baby doll and not the small one so I had to get the small one too and that was a challenge because these baby dolls turn up EVERYWHERE! Finally, both dolls, small bottle, small tiny mug in hand, she was ready to snuggle down and go to sleep.

After lunch on Monday, we got home and puttered around waiting for John to get home from his appointment (the real reason I got to play hookey from work for the afternoon) which didn't happen until almost 4:15. Grammy and Grampy came over to do babysitting duty (but I think they really wanted to get in some cuddles before grandma and grandpa came home) and I was going to take off to pick mom up and get some work hours in when John came home. I still took off, Grammy and Grampy still got in the cuddles, and when I called home, everyone was still visiting and having a great time ... without me. *sigh*

Well, I didn't miss all of the fun. Later that night, after I got home, we went to Fudruckers! YUM... well, it would have been yum if it had been OPEN! There was a sign on the door saying they were closed to make labor... Well. What a dissappointment. Sooo, we decided to go to LaCasita. The ladies in one car and the men in another. Katie pointed out "boys in that car" when we were on the road. The ladies were going to stop at home for our coupons and the men would get a table. That was the plan, until John called and said that they were at Old Country Buffet. Huh!? So, we had to confirm that they weren't joking and were indeed there. We didn't plan to eat there because they closed at 8 but the men checked it out and it was 8:30 so we turned around and met them there, sans coupons. Bummer! But it was a good meal and we had a good time sitting and talking and of course eating! We got home at around 9 and got the kids ready for bed and dad and John worked on a computer thing. It was a very nice day.

Firsts for Katie and Jacob!

Yesterday was Jacob's first doctor visit. His two month well check. I won't say it was fun, but most of it wasn't too bad! He was great for the weigh in and the doctor examination and screamed during the shots. He's 15 lbs 4 1/2 oz and 25" long. He did well and so far hasn't had a bad reaction to them. He's actually sleeping in his swing which he hasn't been doing very regularly lately. I'm typing and Katie's sitting next to me saying "that's lots of words mom, you typing lots of words."

Katie's first was an exciting ride with Paige on Uncle Mikes bike cart! It was really cute to see the two of them sitting there with their little harnesses on looking around and taking in the scenery! Dad and I went for a walk with Jacob in his stroller. It was nice, we walked for about 5 blocks. Then we came home and Mike took the girls for a long fast ride and me and dad stayed home.
After that, Mike was playing on the grass in the front yard with Paige and Katie trying to get them to do summersaults and Katie would crouch down and put her head toward the ground but held her hands up - she's never liked to touch the grass. Dad went to the car to get a blanket and then she had a blast doing summersaults on that. Paigey had fun running around the yard and climbing the stairs. She's so cute and so smiley!
Finally it was time for Paigey to get to bed and they left. Katie kept asking where Paigey went or Mom, where Uncle Mike go? John tells me that she talks to Uncle Mike on her phone and talks about Paige and Jenny too. She's so funny!

Katie and the baby doll or how many diapers can one doll dirty in a day?

I haven't actually counted the number of times Katie changes her baby dolls diapers but I think it amounts to at least 6 times per day. "Dirty" diapers were popping up all over the place, neatly rolled up and sealed into a nice little bundle. I usually go around at night to get any strays she may have left around since I have to do this when she's not around because if she sees me doing it, she tells me that they are dirty diapers, ish! Then she makes a show out of carrying the "offensive" diaper and putting it into the trash... we had to work out a special trash for these diapers so they don't get put into our real trash so she puts the diaper on her rocking chair in the dining room.

Katie is sitting with me holding a stuffed puppy... she barked for him and I said oh, that's too loud and she said Mommy... puppies bark in her cheerful voice. I let her play with this puppy even though he's Jacob's puppy... she told me that Jacob told her she could play with his puppy.

Katie wants to be a bumblebee when she grows up... she told me so last night.

Katie likes her new bumblebee game she got for her birthday. I hid... I mean, I set the game on the top shelf of the hall closet just to keep it safe and I didn't think she would be able to see it up there... but she did. She went to her daddy and said, Daddy, I want to play my bumblebee game. You play it with me? So John got the game down (after laughing over my not too good hiding spot) and was going to play it with her until I mentioned that maybe they could play with her kidconnects first. So they did that... John made three "monsters" and Katie told him what their voices should sound like and they had fun. Then John thought he was done and that maybe Katie had forgotten about the bumblebee game. But she hadn't. She was just having fun playing a warm up game before the big event! John couldn't sit on the floor anymore so I told her I would play. She was very excited. We pulled everything out and I started to stick the 1.2 million leaves in the tiny tiny holes in the honey pot and Katie played with the little bumblebees which I have to admit are very cute! She looked at me and said, Mama, when I grow up I'm gonna be a bumblebee. I was still putting in the leaves and Katie said Mama, you be the leaf keeper and I'll be the bumblebee keeper okay? I didn't know what she meant until we started to play and she was giving me all of the leaves as we pulled them out and she was keeping all of the bumblebees as they fell out of the honey pot. So precious. Finally the game was over. Katie was totally up for another round but I was pretty tired so it was story time. She picked up two books and I started to read but a few minutes into the book she laid down on the couch and seemed to be falling asleep. I told her that it was time for bed and she said "laundry" and I remembered that I had told her earlier that I needed to do laundry and she could help... but it was too late in the night and we would do it tomorrow. I told her I would race her to her room to go to bed and she jumped up and I could hear her giggling and running for her room. I laid down next to her and she said "night mommy" and we said prayers and she was asleep 10 minutes later. She's so funny and sweet... well, most of the time.
I gave her time out twice last night. She was not being very nice and she kept telling John "Scooby Doo daddy! I want Scooby Doo" and John was trying to find it on the computer but it was slow going and she was very impatient. After about 10 minutes of that, I took her to time out. She sits on the rug next to the bed and has to stay there for 3 minutes. She spends most of the time crying and saying "mama, maaaama, mamaaaaa, I get out now?" But the amazing thing is that she actually sits there and waits... I guess she remembers that one time she got up to leave the room and she had to go back and sit for 3 minutes before she was done. Well, usually the time out takes care of any attitude problems... but not last night. She had just gotten out of time out and she told me "No" in a very mean, bossy voice so she went right back in. Same thing "mama, mamaaaa, maaaama... I get out now? I want out! I no like time out!" *sigh*

Sick again.

Well, Jacob caught whatever Katie had and now me and John have it too. Bummer. It's no fun to be sick, especially with two kiddos to care for. All we want to do is sleep and that's just not happening! It's going okay though... neither of us is totally out of commission, just limping a little!
The kids are being really good and it's great that Katie is back to her own bed each night.

Katie and the turning point

I came home from work on Friday and John said "Guess where Katie peed today?" I said where... many peeing options went through my mind and I was very concerned! He told me that Katie had peed in her POTTY CHAIR! I was shocked! She hasn't had any interest in actually peeing in her potty chair EVER and we've never really pushed her but we've had it out so she knows what to do with it (and we've had to tell her that it's NOT for toy storage) but on Friday, John heard the unmistakable sound of a diaper flap being pulled off of the diaper... this is not a good sound and it was odd because Katie isn't a diaper taker-offer or at least she hasn't been one! He looked over at Katie and she was indeed pulling off her diaper... while doing a little dance. He was just about to say something to her when he saw her pull off the diaper all of the way and then sit down on the potty chair... to go potty! All by herself! In the potty! Notice all of the exclamation marks? This was AWESOME and we were so proud of her! Not only did she go during the day, but today when I got up she had gone again! And she continued to go all by herself about 3 more times today. After that first time, I put her new underpants on and hoped she wouldn't have any problems getting them off... and she did great! I took her to the Zantigo drive through without putting on a diaper and when we got back, I thought she was in her room playing with her toys but when she came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, I asked what she was doing and she said goin potty. I told her we better wipe her and she said "I did it Mommy". I told her mommy should check and she told me "I did it already" again... and she had! The whole day she would suddenly disappear and come out of the bathroom without any fuss or fanfare, just doing her business. How cool is that! We did have a moment later in the evening... let's just say that I now know what to do with poopy underpants even though that was never anything I wanted to have ANY experience with! And she knew it was icky so hopefully she'll remember that for tomorrow! These exclamation marks are NOT marks of excitement or joy... in case it's not obvious. :)
Before we left for Zantigo, Katie was playing with one of her birthday toys (farm animals with a string to pull through the middles) and just before we left, I saw her in her room kissing each of them goodbye! She's so funny!
We had a popcorn party tonight and she was impressed when mommy tossed popcorn in the air and caught the kernels! She was so excited to eat popcorn and drink her water and we sat on the living room floor and watched spongebob while we ate. I love being able to do stuff like that with her. We had a "picnic" on a towel on the living room floor a few weeks ago and ate our pizza lunch and drank our juice and just had a really good time together. She is so sweet and so special and so smart!
Jacob sat in his little chair and looked at the fan light the whole time which was funny... and a little strange too! I'm throwing in a few cute pics of Jacob and Katie since it's been awhile!

Katie wanted her gamma

Mike and Paigey came over last night to see grandma and grandpa and to show us how much Paige likes riding in the bike cart. Katie didn't get to go outside for a ride because she's been sick but she watched from the front door, then moved to the front window to get a better view. She was not happy when Uncle Mike and grandma dissappeared from view. She kept saying Mama, where gamma? over and over. She switched things up every once in awhile with Mama, I want my gamma, where she go? I asked dad where they went since they had been gone for awhile and he said that they went to the p a r k. When they got back, Uncle Mike told Katie that they would come back when she was better and she could go for a ride too. It looks pretty fun!

I think Katie is getting better. She's sleeping better and hasn't woken up in the middle of the night for the last two nights and she just sounds better! It's pretty funny to hear a little girls voice so scratchy saying "Mama, sippy!"

It's finally the weekend! YAY!!

I laughed so hard while I read this email...

I signed up to get email from an organization/cleaning site and this was one of the messages today. I had to contain my laughter while reading because I'm at work... a little chuckle now and then is fine but rolling on the floor in giggles would probably raise a few eyebrows! Don't pay attention to the numbers... and fyi, SHE is a sidetracked home executive. :)

1. SHEs shouldn't go outside in the morning in their gowntail! We never know where your keys are!
2. SHEs shouldn't try to shimmy through the doggy doors to get back in the house! It's not fun to have the neighbors call the fire department to get you help.
3. SHEs shouldn't leave keys with the neighbors; it is too embarrassing to go ask for them after you have locked yourself out three times in two days. This could result in trying to get through the doggy door.
4. SHEs shouldn't ever leave a room with water running in a sink or bathtub that has been plugged. This goes for He SHEs too!!!
5. SHEs shouldn't preheat ovens because we forget that we have stashed the mail in there, a hidden birthday cake, or pizza box. It is not fun to see flames coming out your oven door.
6. SHEs shouldn't ever leave a car running and shut the door, especially to get the kids out. It's not fun to call the police to get your car door open. It goes without saying it.
7. SHEs shouldn't leave the house and drive anywhere with house slippers and pajamas on. You are just asking to have a flat tire.
8. SHEs shouldn't eat in the car, while driving and talking on a cell phone. For that matter, SHE shouldn't ever talk on a cell phone and drive period.
9. SHEs shouldn't leave anything cooking on the stove and walk out of the room. Salsa or spaghetti sauce is not fun to clean up if is has splatter all over the place.
10. SHEs shouldn't bake cookies without a timer! Blackened Cookies are not a Cajun delicacy.
11. SHEs should never put a coke can in the freezer to get cold quick! Exploding Coke Cans and the sticky material are hard to get off a ceiling.
12. SHEs shouldn't ever leave candles burning, unless they are in a glass jar. It is scary to wake up in the middle of the night and see a strange glow coming from your living room.
13. SHEs shouldn't ever let these words come out of their mouth, "I can do that later!" Later never comes.
14. SHEs shouldn't ever let their gas tank go below half full. You never know when you will run out of gas and be in your gowntail.
15. SHEs shouldn't ever put bills, permission slips or invitations in a pile to do later. We never look in those piles until they fall over. The regrets that fill you up as you clean them out are hazardous to your health.
16. SHEs shouldn't have houseplants, unless there is someone else in the house that takes pity and waters them for you.
17. SHEs shouldn't put leftovers in any container other than ZipLock Bags. How many times have you searched for that casserole dish and found it filled with some science project.
18. SHEs shouldn't ever wash all your husbands underwear in one load, he might have to go commando when you forget to put them in the dryer.
19. SHEs shouldn't ever boil water on high for tea. Before it boils dry, it has percolated out the spout, all over your stove.
20. SHEs shouldn't ever fry chicken in a skillet. Always use a pot with tall sides so the grease doesn't boil over.
21. SHEs shouldn't ever have a pair of navy and black pumps of the same style. Its not fun to show up at an event with different colored
shoes.
22. SHEs shouldn't ever run to the grocery store for just one item. That can of green chilies might end up costing you $82.00!
23. SHEs shouldn't ever take their wedding rings off to mix hamburger meat. You might accidentally throw your rings in the trash. This goes
for washing your hands too.
24. SHEs shouldn't ever put earrings or contact lenses on over the bathroom sink. You are just asking to drop them down the drain.
25. SHEs shouldn't ever put things in a safe keeping place. We tend to forget where we put them. I am still searching for a car title from 10 years ago, even though I have gotten a replacement title. The mystery still confounds me!
26. SHEs shouldn't ever wash towels with clothes just to save time. Those fuzz ball are hard to explain.
27. SHEs shouldn't be surprised after they find FlyLady when their husband walks right up to them and looks them in the eyes and says, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife!"

HONORABLE MENTION goes to: "The Spare Key":
After reading about all the SHEs that locked themselves out of the house, I decided to hide an extra key outside, just in case. I had always had this in the back of my mind to do, but being a SHE, never got around to it. As I stood on the front porch, I tried to think of a place that the average thief wouldn't think to look. Then I
remembered someone telling me that they kept their key under a rock in the flower bed. When I lifted the appropriate sized rock guess what I found? A key to the house, hidden by me about a year ago! LOL I was so embarrassed. I thought to myself, "Apparently, I would have to find a more memorable place to hide the key." So I settled on the flower pot on the front step. To my amazement, there lies another house key hidden by me over three years ago, when we first moved in!
This time I laughed so hard I peed my pants.
As I recounted my story to my husband that night at dinner he started laughing so hard, he started to cry. I started to get a little upset with him. Being a SHE I can laugh at myself but I don't want any one to laugh at me. My husband could see my expression changing and said, "Honey, I am not laughing at you! I'm laughing at ME!" He stood up from the table, took my hand, and lead me to the front door and onto the porch. Still laughing out loud, he pulled back the corner of the Welcome mat and there was yet another shiny house key. He had put it there after he had locked himself out of the house about a month ago. Not only had I not remembered that I had hidden a key outside, twice; I had never told him that I had. They had been there the morning that he had been stranded outside for two hours while my sister dove to our house from a neighboring town with an extra set to open the door. Will we SHEs ever learn? Flybaby babe, Salem, OR
# 11: She's shouldn't go to work in the morning and forget to tell their DH(who has she tendencies.) that DS 17, stayed home in bed ill . When DH cmes in for breakfast, and stray cat runs in, DH (because of rabies in the area) and in a moment of sheness may try to protect his home with the first thing he sees (a mop). After running through every room, and under every piece of furniture, you guessed it . They end up in ds's room where he is at the time sound asleep,(not for long). DH goes in yeling and waving the mop," I told you to get out of here you so&so!!!!!!! ! At this my ds was instntly awake standing on his bed with his eyes bulging out of his head. DH calmly says oh hello son I didn't know you were home.
# 10: SHE shouldn't use a lighter to light a burner that won't light on a gas cook stove and then lay the lighter down beside the stove top. The lighter could leak gas and blow up when it hits the flame on the stove and catch her hair on fire making her think that the stove has blown up, and run screaming through the living room and slapping herself on the head trying to put out her hair when she remembers to " stop, drop, and roll" which she immediately tries to do between the couch and the coffee table in front of her shocked husband who doesn't know what is happening. Glad to say no major damage just singed hair, a very embarassed SHE wife and a lesson well learned about lighters and gas stoves. Flying in Ky
# 9: She shouldn't start her mini van at 7 o'clock at night when it looks like a snow cone, to just let it run for 1/2 hour to melt the ice off after a huge ice storm. When she is 20 min late in getting 4 kids off to school, she might in her frazzled state open the front door and say to her 2 older ds's wow who started the van for me? When they answer I didn't. She might just need a second but it will hit
her with horror. Oh my, my van has been running all night! Over 13 hours to be exact! It burned 7/8 of a tank of gas. The van was definitely de-iced and too toasty we had to roll all the windows down to ride to school it was like summer time in the van. Still a she but a flying she! I kind of enjoy laughing at my she-ness now that I'm flying! Ontario Flybaby
# 8: SHE's shouldn't leave the unlabeled container of bathroom cleaning wipes conveniently on the back of the toilet tank. Her very SHE auntie might, while a houseguest, assume that said cleaning wipes are for "personal" use (to put it delicately). Then SHE might have to spend a very, very long time on the phone with the customer service department of the manufacturer of the bathroom cleaning wipes. After which, the SHE auntie might have to spend an additional very, very long time standing in a rather awkward position in the shower to properly flush the "personal" area and remove any potentially caustic chemicals from her person. This was an honest oversight on the part of the SHE, but SHE should have seen it coming since the auntie SHE had already put glue stick on her lips, washed her hair with
conditioner for a month and couldn't figure out what was wrong with her hair, and eaten pet snacks due to the fact that she is too impetuous to read a label! My husband is really concerned that it runs in the family! I do, however, keep the cleaning supplies safely in a cabinet and make sure everything keeps its labels. Beginning to FLY in VA
# 7: A SHE should not try high-tech solutions to her DH's snoring problem before she fixes her own.
SHE should not strap a snore-responsive microphone/shock device to his arm, because it will pick up the sound of the SHE's snores, and shock him all night long. (Much better for the SHE to exercise and take bubble baths so she sleeps soundly, and to have the peace which decluttering brings, so that when she does wake up to DH's snores, she can waggle his head and then go right back to sleep again.) - Flybaby in North Carolina
# 6: SHE's shouldn't let themselves get too tired -- Last week I was going over some homeschooling with my 11yo DD when I realized I hadn't seen or heard my fast-crawling 13 month old DD in a while. I said, "Anyone know where the baby is?" My older daughter just looked at me and said, "Mom?" Lo and behold, I'm nursing the baby! - in Colorado
# 5: My husband just loves waterbeds, especially during the winter when our bedroom gets drafty and the waterbed is so nice and warm. A few months ago, during some of the coldest, bone chilling days of winter and while my husband was out of town, we sprung a minor leak and I called the serviceman. Our mattress was still under warranty, so he simply replaced it but with a better, higher-end mattress that was made from a new, more pliable, material.
He set up the new mattress and started filling it. As we were chatting, a snowstorm was brewing and weather advisories were being posted on the t.v., so he decided to leave. He told me to check on the mattress every ten minutes or so, and when the mattress top was level with the bed frame, to just turn off the water and proceed as
usual.
I sat in the bedroom as the mattress filled, watching the weather reports, and I decided to go call the airlines to see if my DH was, indeed, going to be able to fly home later that night. I had to go downstairs to look up the phone number, and while I was in the kitchen I started to empty the dishwasher, wipe down the stove, and
generally pick up. I heard that his flight had departed and was on time so far, and I was so relieved that--you guessed it--I completely forgot about the waterbed.
By the time I went back upstairs to change the baby's diaper two hours later, the mattress was so full of water that it was taller than I was--and I'm 5 1/2 feet tall! It had burst the bed frame, which laid shattered on the floor, and had blown the footboard five feet across the room. In another ten minutes, I'm sure the mattress would have exploded and flooded the bedroom.
I stopped the water and immediately called the serviceman and left the message that I...uh...had overfilled the mattress and needed to talk to him. I drained the water and I got the mattress fairly empty.
DH came home and I told him that I had overfilled the mattress and broken the bed, and he asked how much I could have overfilled. I just said, "well, the new mattress is made of really strong material!" and when he felt the mattress he agreed, although he didn't think that was a good explanation.
The next day the serviceman came and I was too embarassed to tell him how long I had let the water flow, so I just said that it got "pretty high, maybe almost to my chin level or so..." and he said, "luckily it didn't get to above your head, to five and a half feet or so, because that's about where these mattresses explode."
Then he said that I'd be surprised at how many people have this happen, but most of the time they try to lie and tell him that their bed frames exploded after the mattresses were only slightly overfilled and either their kids, or their pets, or their spouses just felt the need to jump on them. He said that most people wouldn't
admit to overfilling it as much as I had. He fixed the bed frame, restarted the water (the mattress was fine!) and made me promise not to leave the room this time. That night, we slept in a nice, warm waterbed again while the wind howled outside, and I was giggling in bed just thinking about what could have been...but I haven't been able to tell anyone this story because it would make me look too stupid and I had already covered up the worst and most humiliating of the facts! Flybaby in Pittsburgh, PA
# 4: A SHE should not eat too many pineapples when on holidays in Hawaii while nursing a newborn baby. She may try to take the baby to the toilet in the back of the airplane on the way home to change a diaper, and find that the baby now has a very runny diaper which drips onto the mans shirt in the next seat while climbing out. Fortunately, he was sleeping, but when he awoke, he didn't know what the stuff on his shirt was, and everyone was too embarassed to tell him. He put his finger on it to feel it, then tasted it with a puzzled look, then looked up to see if something had leaked onto him from above - of course while the people in the seats around him were all hiding behind their magazines, and too embarassed to tell him.
# 3: SHE's with very smart talking parrots should be ready to fling open the door for anyone at a moments notice, or else when said SHE is having a party, the parrot will put on a little skit that goes something like this "ding dong doorbell) "SHHHHHHH! Pretend we're not home! SHHHHHH! Pretend we're not home!" in her own voice while 40 of her friends, family & coworkers laugh hysterically.
# 2: My husbands face began to get flushed on a Sat, even got worse on Sun. We decided he should stop taking all of his vitamins to see if that was causing the problem. Mon. it was still bad, of course we know it takes some time to get things out of your system. We bought a blood pressure cuff to check out the pressure, which we need to monitor anyway. That evening I was just finishing getting ready to retire for the night when my husband pops into the bathroom, he was almost screaming at me " Where in the world did this come from?" So nicely stuck on the cheek of his backside was my estrogen patch, just as though it was put there on purpose. We laughed so hard to think that this was causing all of his problems. And how did it get there? Well our kids don't even want to go there, after all mom & dad just
don't have sex,especially in there 60's. I had lost my patch, but didn't think anything of it, after all it was time to change it anyway. Hope you enjoy as much as we have.
# 1: SHE's shouldn't leave chili unattended on the stove because SHE would end up having to put the burning pot outside to cool off in the snow. Of course SHE will forget it's out there. SHE then would hear her very nice neighbor scream when he hits it with his snowblower and thinks it's the cat being splattered all over the yard.

Why you lookin at me?

I finally got Katie to bed... John tried twice but she woke up both times so I waited for a bit before trying again. I got her to bed and went back into her room to put her pillow and blanket away. I heard her say something that I didn't understand and I thought she might be dreaming. I hung around to make sure it wasn't a scary dream when she said it again, clearer this time but I still couldn't understand. Finally I said "Katie, mommy doesn't understand what you're trying to say..." and she said "my song, sing my song". That's my cue to sing her song. I've mentioned it before. I made it up when she was a baby and she really likes it. I sang the chorus twice and the other part once and she started snoring so I switched to Jesus Loves Me just to see if she woke up, because if she's not all the way sleeping, she will wake up just enough to tell me "Sing my song!" When she was finally down, I decided to write a little and then go to bed... but she's still up so I'm still up. :) I thought she would be good for the night. I already put her to bed once but she woke up with a cough so now she's on the couch. I glanced at her while I turned the lamp off to see if she noticed. Sometimes she doesn't want the lights out so I have to tell her it's lights out and she usually is okay with that. She saw me looking at her and said "Mommy, why you lookin at me?"
I was looking at Mike and Jennys blog when she fell. She must have tried to set her sippy cup on the table and ended up missing the table but bumping the sippy cup on it LOUDLY! and falling on the floor. It was *almost* comical. I picked her up and we looked at the blog together. I told her that we could look at pictures of Paige and that she has a cute purse. Katie looked when I told her that and once she saw the purse, she said "That's not my purse" and laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

Katie is sick so she got a "get out of jail free" card tonight

When I got home today, Katie seemed to be doing better. She was a bit warm so I asked her if she wanted to take a bath. She said yes... "with my silverware Mommy!" So I told her to get her stuff to take in the bath and she came back with a tiny mug... the size of the souvenier shot glasses. She got in the tub and played with that mug for a long time till I started getting her washed up. She wanted to do it herself so I let her use her special sponge. A few minutes later she was saying "my ... something" but I couldn't understand her. Finally after she said it a few times, I understood she wanted her "scrubby" or at least that's what she called it! After awhile I told her that she needed to have her hair washed and I was told "I busy mommy. I playing." I left the bathroom and told her that we would wash her hair in 5 minutes. I walked back in just in time to hear her say "mommy so stu..." and that's when she noticed I was there. She didn't finish her sentence but I kind of got the gist of it. I asked her what she was going to say and she looked at me and hesitated... and then she said "stupid." I let her get away with it... after she looked me in the eye and smiled - because she knew she said something she shouldn't say and I couldn't stay there without laughing. But, boy, next time she's getting a time out!

Later in the evening, John went to pick her up from the couch to bring her to bed. He had just lifted her up when she opened her eyes and said "what?" He tried to lay her down but she wasn't having it!

It's now almost midnight and she's laying on the couch watching Thomas the Train. She's coughing and sounds terrible but her temp is down again which is promising!

Nothing's certain but death and...

Argh. I hate taxes. I know, that's a strong word but it's such a chore to sit at the computer and answer questions and fill in numbers from numerous forms and know that it's for the IRS! The first few questions... who are you, where do you live... that kind of stuff is easy. It just gets so hard about 30 questions in when there's a question and a yes/no button and more detail in the fine print... well, needless to say I ended the evening with a huge headache and so did mom since she's my unofficial tax person. She sat and waited patiently as I searched for my 2007 taxes, laughed with me (a little hysterically) when I returned triumphant to the computer desk with what I thought was my '07 return only to find that it was ... 1997. But I finally found the taxes and logged on successfully to the mortgage site for the other stuff and we did it! After only 3 hours and much complaining on my end. I'm still miffed that the tax site kept slipping in donation questions... I could have helped political candidates campaign, wildlife thrive, and other stuff I just can't remember now. I wish I had an "in" with the tax people... I could sure have used a donation question for "the tiessen ticket"!

The whole time I was downstairs, John had Jacob and grandpa had Katie. She was just so sick it was sad. Her voice is hoarse, she's crabby (which is unusual for her), she has been sleeping more (nice for us!) and she's just not herself! Her temp was 100.5 and getting that was like pulling teeth!

We finished at about 10:30 and I spent a few minutes setting the house to rights and then I went to bed. Whew! Dad got Katie to bed earlier so I didn't have to worry about her which was nice! Thanks Dad!

Easter eggs and the rest of our weekend

I had 12 eggs filled with coins. Katie opened the first one and was so excited! Her eyes got big and I could tell she was thrilled! She opened the second one and was just as excited. She had to open every single egg and was thrilled over each one! Then she saw her 50 pc marker set!!! She wasn't as excited as I thought she would be but she was so busy with her eggs and her basket (we gave her a little chick that chirped and a basketball hoop with suction feet and a ball and some candy and she played with the ball and hoop) that she didn't really react to the markers. Then her ball went under the coffee table where I had hidden her art set - a case filled with markers, watercolors, colored pencils and crayons. She liked that. (She spent a lot of the afternoon sitting at her dora table playing with the watercolors with grandpa.) Then she went into the sun room and hunted for her real eggs. She found them and was so excited each time... it was a blast to watch. There was one egg in a jar with potpourri and mom told me that when she saw it she said "Silly Easter Bunny!"
After that, we ate our lunch... Mom made a ham and cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, a jello dessert... whew, lots of delicious food! We ate till we were stuffed. Then we cleaned up and Katie wanted me to cuddle her (she was getting sick) so she sat with me and cuddled till she was asleep. We ended up napping in the recliner for a good 3 hours! John was asleep in the bedroom, and mom and dad were with Jacob (I guess he fell asleep too). We woke up and played Chicken Shoot (or whatever that game is on Wii) and ate a snack and then we got loaded up and went home.
We stopped at Burger King for a snack and Katie told John that she wanted fries and apple juice (that's what she gets at McDonalds) and she was very clear when she told him. We got home, ate our snack, got things put away and finally FINALLY went to bed!

Easter Weekend

Katie was so fun this weekend. We went to the lake for Easter and she was so excited to be there. We stopped in town for McDonalds and slowed down the whole process when John went to the second window instead of the first because we couldn't hear what the drive through person told us and just figured we'd stop at whichever window had the person standing in it looking expectant. Well, no one was at the first window so we went to the second. Big mistake. Apparently, there is no way for them to take money at the second window. The person at the first window has to yell the amount to the person at the second window. That person gave us the total and had to walk the money back to the person at the first window. This was accomplished after the person at the second window stood and stared at us for a few seconds because he just really wasn't sure what to do. I guess they don't have a lot of people who skip the first window. We finally got it all figured out and were on our way! We ate our dinner at mom and dads and got our stuff put away. Went to bed kind of late.
On Saturday mom made a huge breakfast of biscuits, sausage, eggs, strawberries, coffee cake... whew! It makes me full to think of it all. Katie didn't eat much. She wasn't hungry I guess. After we ate, I got ready for the day and cleaned up our room and got Katie dressed. We hung out for awhile and then went to Walmart - they had an Easter Bunny there and were offering free pictures. The person in costume held three pieces of candy in her hand. Katie only took one. She's so funny! She sat on the bunny's lap and had her picture taken. Then it was both kids' turn - we put Jacob on the other side and he was really good = sleeping! Then we just took one with him. Me and mom both had our cameras so we had some pics made from the cards and then walked around for a long time while we waited for the pictures. Katie rode one of the little bikes and Jacob slept in his car seat. Katie saw a purse she really liked in the girls section and she showed me. I told her that those purses are for girls who go to school. She put the first one down and then picked up another one and carried that with her while we shopped. I was worried that there would be an issue when she had to put it away but when we finished and were going to get our pictures, we walked by the purses again and Katie said Mommy, I put this away now. And sure enough... she walked over and hung it back up. I was so proud of her. While we waited, Mom mentioned stopping at the coffee shop for a chicken salad. That sounded delicious so we did! Katie had about 3 bites of that, a few bites of a croissant, a pickle spear and 1/3 of a cookie. Not too much. Then we went to a cute store that has gently used clothes and stuff. It was very clean and very neat. I found some really nice Old Navy knee length shorts for Katie for around $6! We'll be back there for sure! Then we walked to another shop down the street and looked around. After that it was back to the car and off to the house. Every time I mentioned going home, Katie asked me if we were going back to our house! I had to tell her that I meant we were going to the lake. K
atie and Jacob had their baths - Katie had fun in grandma and grandpa's big tub and Jacob had to take his bath in the sink! I forgot his tub at home. He didn't seem to mind though!
That afternoon Mom had lots of fun things to do with Katie. She got to dye eggs and that was so cute to watch and then she got to make cookies. They turned out really well... after we figured out that you can't roll them thinner because they will stick to everything. Mom made a great frosting for them and Katie ate more frosting than she should have!
We ate dinner (steak and lots of other yummy stuff) a bit later. Well, me and John and mom and dad ate dinner. Katie entertained Jacob and kept his nuk in his mouth because she wasn't hungry. It was really good. John and I were going to see a movie after dinner but Jacob started fussing and crying at about 8 p.m. and he didn't stop till 9 or so when he fell asleep. He had some very uncomfortable tummy issues. So we didn't go to a movie. Katie fell asleep early after she bit her lip or her tongue or something while she ate her spaghetti-o's and cried a bit while I rocked her then she was asleep! Mom watched Jacob overnight and I relinquished him to mom at around 11:30 p.m. and went to sleep. Only to be awakened at about 4 AM. I heard the TV going in the living room and could hear Katie's little voice chatting with John. I went out to see what was going on and I guess she woke up at 3 a.m. and wanted to go to the living room. Ack! I turned off the TV and rocked her and talked to her in a very boring tone... John laughed and told me that the way I was talking was making him tired too! Katie finally wanted to lay on the couch and she fell asleep there for the rest of the night.
The next morning, we got ready for church and off we went. After the service, Katie was asking me Mommy, where God? I told her he was in her heart. Then she asked again and I told her the same thing... I guess that helped her a little because she didn't ask me again.
We got home and I tried to get Katie excited about looking at her Easter basket from grandma and grandpa and hunting for the eggs...
Here are some pictures of Katie dyeing her eggs...

I made it out alive.

Today was my first day back at work. It went well but I really missed being at home with the kids. I got home tonight and Katie was excited to see me and Jacob, well, he didn't cry or anything. Me, Katie and Jacob went for a walk tonight and Jacobs eyes were wide open almost the entire time... he hardly blinked because there was so much to take in! Katie walked on the curb a lot and ever once in awhile she stops, sticks her nose in the air and lifts one foot up behind her and balances on the other for just a few seconds. It's cute. We got home and John had made some skillet ham and french fries and egg rolls and veggies for dinner. Yum! While we ate dinner, Jacob laid in his little papasan chair (it used to be Hunters) and kicked his blanket off of his legs and onto the floor. I picked it up each time it fell... at least 100 times and I think he thought it was a game! He smiled a little smile at me a few times. After dinner I fed him a few oz of bottle and he fell asleep in his swing. And woke up soon after! A little more cuddling and he was asleep again but I didn't want to put him down! Katie was so funny. She watched Mama Mia! and really liked it. Tonight she was using her new brush and mirror set she got from Grammy and Grampy for her birthday and put that down and picked up a small notebook and held it to her chest and sang Honey Honey here I go again, my mom, ... so funny! Me and John talked to her about the movie and she told us that the girl sang and she danced and ran around. She's so cute! After daddy took Jacob, me and Katie played with her kidknex she got from grandma and grandpa for her birthday. We made four of the "people" and she took the last two we made to play with in the living room.
Last night I said "Katie, it's 10:00 and mommy is off duty and so is Daddy." She said "I off duty too... and so is Jakey." I sat in my chair and said "I'm off duty but I'm not off duty for cuddles... do you want to sit with me and cuddle?" She said no. A few minutes later she said, "Mommy, you off duty, but not for cuddles right?" I asked her if she wanted to cuddle and she said yes.
Back to work again tomorrow. John did great with both kids today by himself and that's a great relief for me since I can't be here with them.

Today I packed up the kids for a trip to work to attend a baby shower for Jacob, Rachel's soon to be here baby, and another co-workers baby. The first step was to get Katie up out of bed and dressed and ready. She wasn't crabby which was really good! I thought for sure she would be because she got to bed so late last night but she did great! Jacob was ready in about 15 minutes and off we went. Only 7 minutes later than I had planned to get out of the house! We got there at around 11:00 and I managed to get Katie out and Jacob in his stroller without any trouble. The only problem I ran into is that I forgot I would have to park at a meter! Luckily I had $1.50 so that was good for an hour and a half. Mom saved the day by putting a few more quarters in while I was at the shower. We sat and visited until 1:00 and opened gifts - I didn't expect that... I thought we would have some good treats and call it a day but ended up getting some very cute things! After the shower, we went to grandma's office to say hi. Katie was very excited to see her, she was trying to pull me out the door at one point during the shower so we could go to grandma's office! Grandma got to show off her grandkids and then it was time to get going. We headed to the elevators to make our way out to the car when... disaster struck, or so I thought. Katie was walking off of the elevator and her new bracelet she had gotten from grammy and grampy fell off her wrist. Gulp. I heard a clink... clink........clink clink as it fell to the bottom of the elevator shaft. Gulp... again. Imagine my surprise when she didn't react at all! So we went on our merry way. Whew! Got to the car and got everyone/everything loaded up. Everything was fine until grandma said goodbye to us and started to walk away. Katie was not happy about that. She wanted grandma to come with us. I told her that grandma had to finish working but she just didn't seem to care and she cried and cried. So I did what any smart mom would do... I called grandpa to ask if he wanted us to come to his work for a visit. We got the okay so I asked Katie if she wanted to go home or go visit grandpa at his work. Of course she wanted to go see her "umpa" so we did! We spent about 2 hours there too and had a nice visit and a nice walk through the new cafeteria and buildings. Katie had a great time with her grandpa but eventually it was 4:15 and we had to leave! Katie told us she wanted to go someplace else now. I told her we were heading home... she wasn't happy and told me again that "I want to go someplace else mommy!" but finally realized that we were going home. I was very happy that there were no tears this time!

Back to work tomorrow. :( I'm not unhappy to go back to work, I just wish I could do it at home or maybe take the kids with me? Nah, that probably wouldn't work. Jacob's toots can be pretty stinky and Katie isn't quite tall enough to reach the files. Maybe we'll win a contest or something for a million bucks so John and I can stay home together with the kiddos and live a life of leisure.

Mommy needs to slow down sometimes.

Katie usually plays really well just by herself with whatever random toys she pulls into the living room so she doesn't really need a lot of close supervision or attention. I usually holler for her when it's gotten too quiet and I can tell by the tone she uses when she answers "what?" how much I'll like what she's up to. If it's kind of a quiet, unsure answer, I know it won't be good. If it's cheery and upbeat and she says "what mommy?" then I'm usually pretty safe. If not, she might be tearing pages in a magazine or opening a juice box when mommy told her she couldn't have one till dinner! It's usually the cherry and upbeat "what" which is really lucky for me!

Well, today I was trying to prepare for her party. Jacob had finally settled down to lay on the floor on his play mat after a fussy morning so I thought I could get some stuff done for her party when Katie very sweetly asked me to read a book to her. I told her I was trying to do stuff but we could have reading time tonight... and she said "Please mommy!? Will you read this book to me?" How could I say no? I would hate for her to think that it was more important to me to work on her birthday preparation than to spend time with my baby on her birthday! So, we ready two books and she was ready for me to be on my way. It was nice to sit in the sun and see her smile and hear her laugh at the book we read together and it was good for me to slow down... I hope I showed her how special and important she is to her mommy!

Here's Katie reading a book to her baby doll!

Katie knows what she wants!

Katie and Mommy went to Costco yesterday. When we were done, I asked her if she wanted to go to McDonalds and she said yes. She told me that she wanted apple juice and I told her to tell the lady who takes our order at McDonalds so she was planning to do that. Well, then I thought about it and realized that I didn't really want McDonalds again so I tried to get her excited about another place. That was a no go... she was pretty adamant that we go to McDonalds so she could get her juice. I drove around near Costco a bit to see if there were any other restaurants I could talk her into and she told me "Mommy, I want to get out of here. I want to go to McDonalds. Let's get out of this place." It was so cute. She kept telling me that she wanted to get to McDonalds and when we back tracked to Costco, she said "This place again? I was McDonalds." So we went to McDonalds!

We were playing at home later and she held her hand over her eyes and told me, "Mama, I don't got eyes, just a nose and a mouth!" Ha!

Katie and the big birthday

It's been two months since we took Jacob home from the hospital. I think back to that day and I'm still amazed that we were entrusted with this tiny little baby. He seemed so fragile and needed so much. He still needs his mommy and daddy but he's not so fragile anymore! He's doing so well and growing so strong. He's started to smile and gurgle at us, and he watches Katie play - just staring at her. He still isn't sleeping more than 2 or 3 hours each night but I just keep telling myself "this too shall pass" and it helps. It helps me to remember that I'll be looking back at this in a year and I'll be sad that he's not the tiny baby he once was. On the other hand, I'll be much more rested!

Katie's birthday party was tonight. Her birthday was great! She woke up at around 10 a.m. and I went into her room to open the shades and sing her good morning song and she got dressed and we had breakfast. She wanted oatmeal and I was going to have eggrolls which she decided she needed too. So, she had a bowl of oatmeal and 2 mini eggrolls. Yum. Just kidding - ick! Then we cleaned up our mess and she played. Daddy got up at around 2:00 (he was on baby duty last night so he earned a nap today) and soon left to pick up balloons and the cake and I tried to get the table and dishes ready. It was not easy. Jacob was a little fussy and needed to be held, which was hard to do while I was trying to fold laundry and pick up toys! Daddy got home with a helium tank and he got the balloons ready while I started dinner prep. Grandpa and Grandma watched Jacob and Katie watched daddy blow up the balloons. Everyone arrived at about 6:30 and Katie was so excited that she had presents that I think she thought it was time to open them... she started with grandma and grandpas gift but luckily her grandma caught her and stopped her! She reminds me of her grampy... every Christmas he seems to have his gifts half opened by the time it's his turn to open! John grilled hot dogs and I made mac and cheese. Mom made a really good pudding salad and beans. Great food and a fun time! Katie opened gifts and she loves everything. Then we had cake. YUM! Everyone left at around 9:30 p.m. but Katie was up till about midnight playing with her toys. She fell asleep holding onto a small bag that came with a tiny puppy in it. I had to really work to get it out of her little hand... her fingers were closed tight around the handle!

Tomorrow we're going to a shower at my work for Jacob and some coworkers who are expecting or have had babies recently. Then on Thursday it's back to work for me!

Katie is sharing!

The kids made it home from their weekend with grandma and grandpa. It was a nice break for mommy and daddy but we missed them a lot. Katie went in her potty chair a few times (with a few more accidents) and she was so proud! She and grandma called us to tell us the exciting news!

Today is birthday day for Katie. We're having her party tonight and everyone, except her grammy and grampy who are in Florida for the winter, will be here. John said she was calling people on her cell phone yesterday and he heard "Uncle Mike, you be here for my party? Okay, bye" and I guess she "called" Jenny, Paige, grandma and grandpa and Uncle Mark and... needless to say, her phone was busy. She got a cookie from grandpa yesterday and was breaking little pieces off and saying "one to me, one to mommy, one to Uncle Mike, one to Jenny, one to Paige, one to me, one to daddy, one to John, everyone going to eat cookies" and we were supposed to have cookie at her birthday. I asked her if we should have cake too but she said no, cookies. So when I told her that I could cancel the cake order, she decided we should have cake first, then cookie. I guess it's a moot point anyway since someone (nonchalant whistle from mommy here) started nibbling the cookie pieces last night and there may not be enough for everyone!

Home Alone! AAAAArg!

Katie and Jacob went to the lake with grandma and grandpa today. What will I do with myself? Well, I'm sorting some baby clothes passed on to us by family (yay!) so I'll probably so laundry today and tomorrow. Sleep will probably be a big part of both days and I also have to plan for Katie's birthday party on Tuesday. Aside from that, there's not a lot on the agenda! Whew. It feels so strange to not have a little voice asking me "Mom, mommy, mama, what you doing?" every 10 seconds! And I keep thinking that I hear Jacob making noise in his crib! Ahhh, I think it's almost time for a nap so that's the first kid free thing I will do.

Jacob needs to take it easy on Mommy!

Jacob has started spitting up between bottles. He's gotten pretty predictable but it doesn't make it fun. At least our burp cloths are absorbant! He's also excercising his neck now. He has been pretty good at lifting and then holding his head up when he's on his tummy but it gets wobbly when I'm holding him standing up and his head bobs around. He's getting good at aiming his noggin just at the right angle to hit me in the chin and two nights ago, he bumped his head right against my tooth. Luckily for him, my lip was covering my tooth and it cushioned the blow for his little head. I was worried but realized that my poor lip was probably more hurt than his baby head.

He's been giving lots of smiles lately too - big, gummy grins. His beautiful eyes light up and he gurgles - I'm sure he's telling me how wonderful I am and how much he loves his mommy.


I wish he could be happy baby all of the time but we still go through the 3 hour mad baby window. I tried something different yesterday that seemed to help, at least he slept for an hour instead of fussing! We went into our bedroom and I rocked him in there. It was supposed to be quiet time for Jacob and mommy but Katie really needed to be in the room with us and since listing to her throwing a fit outside of the bedroom door wasn't conducive to quiet time, I let her in and she climbed onto the bed. And proceeded to whisper Mommy... mama... mommy... mom... mama... till I whispered "what?" and she whispered "I need my baby doll" so I said go get her and Katie climbed off of the bed and came back in a minute later with her baby doll. She got back on the bed and sat for a minute then started to unwrap her baby doll. This is not usually a good thing because it means she's got to get her re-wrapped and that can be tough since it must be done a certain way or she's not happy. She'll tell us she's mad or fustrated (I taught her that word and she uses it a lot!) and usually makes a loud argh noise. Well, luckily the blanket cooperated and she got baby doll rewrapped without any trouble. Then she started again with mom... mommy... mama... mama... mommy... mom... etc, etc. Finally after about the hundredth "mom" I whispered "what?" and she looked at me and smiled. I don't think she could remember what she wanted in the first place! Well, about 20 minutes into this quiet time, she was ready to go watch cartoons with daddy. Yes, it was a bribe. Every time Jacob's eyes would roll back in his head, she would whisper something and he would wake up! Finally at the end of quiet time when I came out to the living room, she came over to me and said Mommy, I left you alone didn't I! And was so proud of herself for staying out of the room so I had to give her a squeeze!

Katie has been a joker lately. I tell her "I love you Katie" and hug her and she matter-of-factly tells me "I don't love you mama." I bet Jacob will never say that! I'm still amazed that these two little beautiful kiddos belong with me! Every day is new and different and so busy that I have to wonder what I did with my time before I had kids!

Katie and her work friends

Katie has some new friends. I don't have the heart to point out to her that I can't see them so I've been playing along. It's hard to keep a straight face though since I tend to walk on them a lot... since they are INVISIBLE! Their names, from what I can tell, are Honey and Gaga. She has had them over to the house quite a bit but they haven't reciprocated. They chat on the phone too but they have been calling late in the evening. As a matter of fact, last night Katie had to get a little firm with Honey.

We were in the living room and I was laying on the couch and Katie was on the floor (I was willing to share the couch but she told me she wanted to lay on the floor) when I heard her say "ring ring" and she answered her cell phone and said "Hello? Mommy's sleeping on the couch and I am sleeping on the floor. It's late, we're sleeping. Don't call me anymore. We're sleeping." Then she put the phone on the coffee table and fell asleep. How cute is that!!!

We've made a routine for the evenings. We read a book, I refill her sippy cup, we read another book, then another until Mommy's eyes are about to shut or until I tell Katie I'm off duty. She actually understands that... and then she says that she's off duty too and we both do whatever. I usually watch tv through my eyelids and she plays with her toys. Then she falls asleep wherever she happens to be when her eyes shut. Then I carry her heavy 34 lbs to her bed where she snuggles in for the night. Whew! In the morning she'll call for me when she wakes up and I go in and open the shades and sing Good Morning, good morning, it's great to see you're face good morning good morning to youuuuu! She wakes up with a smile every morning. I go back to work on Thursday so I'll have to sing to her on the weekends.

The cartoons I watched as a kid... whew, I don't remember so much violence!

Katie loves to watch Scooby Doo. She loves it so much, she knows the theme song. Tonight she was watching cartoons (she can watch cartoons while I watch my tv show on hulu) and I turned it to Boomerang. The cartoon preview looked kind of scary and I said that out loud. Katie said "I like scary mommy... oohhhh scary. I like scary shows." She seems to like the older cartoons (tom and jerry and yogi bear and scooby and a lot of the other oldies) and they are more violent than I remember! But she doesn't seem to be too scared...

There was a time when she would have bad dreams about monsters but I think it helped that her daddy sprayed "monster juice" on the house so no monsters can get in. (I made that up and it seems to help her.) No bad dreams since then.