Love her

I heard Mandisa sing at the Women of Faith Conference in September. Her music is inspired, and awesome, her voice is phenomenal. Really, check this song
Love her. She has so many amazing songs. Aparantly she was an American Idol contestant, but they did not love her cause she kept singing songs about God. Simon said that it was indulgent to do so...
I happen to love her.

Snow Day Pictures

My 3 guys. Q wearing a super Y mask that my sister got for him.

Our Snowman named "Snow Angel"

The smallest boy, getting ready to 'help'.

Snow Day

Gosh, I feel old. I used to love a snow day. I vividly remember being a kid, staring out the window at night watching the snow, and excitedly thinking that tomorrow would be a snow day. My parents would most often let us stay up late in anticipation of no school, and then we'd only be disappointed that school was still on, not even a 2 hour late start. I only remember one or two school cancellations due to snow back then, and I know it snowed more than it does now...or at least until now. Anyway, I loved snow days then. Oma used to make us hot chocolate and hot oatmeal w/ apples for breakfast when it snowed. I specifically remember going sledding down 'dead man's hill' in Penny Pack Park, and being scared out of my mind. I never liked sledding, I don't like that feeling of careening down a hill in a piece of plastic with no ability to steer. I also remember my brother taking our crazy dog, Friendly, and holding on to him and letting him pull him down that hill. I also recall my brother being in a full leg cast skiing down our street. (crazy boys, I hope that's not what my boys will do!)
As a kid, I could play in the snow all day long. My mom or somebody would pack me into a hand-me-down snowsuit and out I'd go for hours. We'd build snow forts w/ the neighbors and snow people.
But not now, I'm old. I don't like being cold. The thought of getting snow in my boots is irritating, but something back then I ignored until I could no longer feel my ankles and feet. I also don't like that now that I'm old, snow brings responsibilities. Like shoveling and packing kids into snow suits and hats and gloves. The thought of it is exhausting. However, yesterday, we had an AWESOME snow day. It was great despite the fact that I'm old and grumpy about snow now.
On Saturday when all the snow began, we hung out at my mom's and made gingerbread houses and Christmas cookies w/ my sister and her family and my mom and dad. We packed it up and drove home, and stopped for videos on the way. Sunday we woke up to cancelled church services. Yahoo. Ordinarily I love going to church, but when its an On week for Scott, I don't love it as much, so I was glad it got cancelled. We fed the boys breakfast and turned on the T.V. while Scott made me a delicious breakfast. We got to hang out uninterrupted upstairs and chat, while the boys watched Mickey Mouse downstairs. Scott got Q all bundled up and took him outside to shovel. They were out there a while before I got myself and B together and joined them, but apparently S was annoyed that it took me so long to come out. He showed this by ringing the doorbell repeatedly to signal me to get my arse out there and help him. Q, while trying to be helpful and clean off the cars, he was undoing the shoveling that Scott was doing. Scott was getting frustrated and tried to get us all to play out back, but the snow was too deep for Q to walk in, let alone b. We got 23" of snow I think, and B is only 32" tall. And every time Q took a step, he fell forward and couldn't get up. I thought it was funny, but Q could only tolerate so much. Then B took off his mittens and dove into the snow, then screamed cause his hands were so cold. So we went back in after only 5 minutes of B and me being out there.
We decided to try sledding later that afternoon, w/ a revised game plan and a pair of long socks on B's hands under his mittens. The socks worked out great cause they go up to his elbows and don't let snow get in that gap between the coat and mitten cuff. I think I'm going to design some glove/mitten liners and market them, it really worked well. Ha! Well, the boys LOVED sledding. And I actually did too. I took B down w/ me on his first ever sledding trip. He laughed the whole way down and at the end said "again!". Q was brave and went by himself, but then had big trouble walking up the hill and carrying the sled. The hill was perfect, it wasn't too steep and it was long (we went to Bible Fellowship, it was great!). Both kids didn't want to go home, but I was sweating from carrying B up the hill and Scott was exhausted from 2 hours of shoveling our walk and getting our cars out. I have some great pictures from the day, but I have misplaced the camera. It was a fun day. We came home and had hot chocolate and Christmas cookies.
So, I think that as much work as snow is for me now, that I still enjoy a snow day. Its nice to not have anywhere to be and to hang out as a family.

*Sigh*

Well, not to be gross, but this household has been riding the barf train for 3 weeks now. Starting with Scott on Thanksgiving, then B w/ his 10 day long bout of it, then Q, who was fine for 5 days, then another 5 days, started the party again this morning. What. The. Heck.? I have no idea what is going on. On top of it, both boys have a cold starting as well.



I'm almost done Christmas shopping. I think the kids are done, I just have to get a couple things for Scott and my mom, our good friend and maybe something for my sister. I had a hard time buying for the kids this year because they really have everything. A lot of the gifts are joint presents they both will use. I got a few gifts just for Q, but only one for B only. I felt so guilty about that (and I know he won't care or even know), so I went out and bought more for B yesterday. I get excited for Christmas morning again. I used to when I was a kid, but once I got old, I really lost that so excited you can't sleep feeling. It has returned though, and now I get so excited to see the kids reactions. I'm extra excited for this year, now that B is a little older and may be into opening presents. Q has finally caught on to the Santa thing. We previously haven't made a big deal about it, and had contemplated not doing Santa at all with the kids.

I was sitting on the fence until I read an article by some somebody w/ psych credentials in a Christian magazine who said something like: We haven't really done the research, but we know way too many well adjusted adults who believed in Santa to think that its a harmful tradition. I thought that was a good take on it, and I too know most of my friends and family who have believed in Santa at one point, and are no the worse for it, and it was FUN!

So we're doing Santa, and I'm having fun with it.



This post is so random. I feel so bleh lately. I've been doing my quiet times mostly daily, but I feel like I'm doing it to get it done, and haven't been able to focus lately. I lost my one bible study book, the one I really liked. The other Roman's study hasn't been that easy for me, and now that study is off for a couple of weeks, I haven't cracked that book open in a while. When I was in the depth of the study a couple weeks ago, I just sat and thought, "well, this is all very interesting, but I'm not into this." (oh man, did I really think that and just type it?) Sitting in bible study that week, we were discussing Romans, and why we really need to memorize most of it. Why? So we can share with other the Gospel. Oddly enough, the Holy Spirit hit me right between the eyes that day. I felt Him speak to me, "Katie, don't take this lightly." I shouldn't take it lightly. I need to study it in depth to know it, to share it. To share it. When's the last time I did that? Really, when I think about it, it was high school. High school.

So, ending my random post with a heavy sigh. You know, that attention seeking sigh you give your husband so he asks you "what's wrong?" but then when he doesn't you stomp away mad. Yep, that's what I'm doing. I'm just tired and feeling bleh. and I have nothing better to do but blog about it...ha!

Mean Girls

I was reading Shay's post about drama queens and it got me thinking. At first I thought, things are so different now, kids are so mean. But the more I think back to my childhood, the more I remember how untrue that is. The girls in MY day were awful mean too (except for me, of course!).
Middle school seemed to be the worst time for me dealing with drama queens and mean girls.
In eighth grade there was a WHK club. Can you guess what WHK stood for? The We Hate Katie club. Yes, oh yes. I seriously remember these 4 girls whom I thought were my good friends (one was my 'best friend') writing WHK on their notebooks and desks and whatever and giggling. I did not catch on until I was over another friends house, whom I normally did not hang out with. She invited me over which I thought was weird, she was the smartest girl in school and didn't have many friends. We were having a catch in her backyard when she told me what the WHK stood for. I was dumbfounded.
Now granted, I now KNOW why these girls claimed to hate me. I was a bossy, self-righteous b. I thought then that I was just being a good girl and knew better than everyone, but I had no idea I was offending people. I also was super sarcastic, and thought I was funny and made other people the brunt of my jokes. And therefore, I was still the victim of a hate group...
In other evidence of mean girl antics- again in middle school, getting off the bus everyday for a couple weeks, some girl would kick or punch me in the back of the head. I did not know this girl, still don't really know her name, but I remember hearing her say, "I'm going to punch that girl." I don't think she knew my name either. I stopped taking the bus.

Another time, I remember a girl threatening to kill herself by flinging herself over our church balcony during an overnight youth group event. She was upset that her boyfriend was breaking up w/ her. I was in 7th grade at the time, I remember the church and my parents having us sit down and talk about it (she didn't make it over the balcony, she leaned over it, and somebody held on to her). I remember too because we were friends at school, a bunch of us having to go to the school counselor too. But seriously, in 7th grade, your boyfriend was the kid you held hands with and talked to on the phone. I have no idea why the drama in the break up, she was not an unstable person, and I don't think ever intended on jumping over the balcony, but whatever.

I'm just guessing that the drama and mean girls have always been an issue. I do feel like it starts earlier now. I have no idea if the same shit goes on with boys. Scott never mentions stuff like that to me, but he's a guy, they don't talk about feelings, and in reality, if it did happen, I don't think he'd remember it. It seems to be a girl thing to totally internalize every comment someone makes about you and harbor it for 22 years. Dude, I'm still sitting her stewing over the WHK club and it makes me want to find those girls and punch them in the face.

All this does make me think, I sure hope that I'll know what to do and how to handle a situation like this w/ my kids in a Godly way.

Observation Notes

The boys have been doing some funny stuff lately, I have to document it before I forget.

Q:
"Betendly": to play pretend. as in "Look mom, I betendly cut B's hair."

When watching T.V., every commercial Q states: "Ooo, can I get that for my birthday?" (he still hasn't grasped that Christmas is days away, and to put them on the Santa list instead...
During a commercial for Oxyclean detergent, he asked me "Look Mom! Do you want that for your birthday?" No, I do not.

After an episode of him vomiting I returned home with Gatorade, popsicles and his favorite crackers. He asked if he could have them, and I told him yes, "when you're sick you should drink Gatorade and eat crackers for a little while." He says: "Awesome!!" He's loving having a stomach bug.

"Mommy, get off my nerves!" I wonder where he got that from? A moment of weakness on my part...but mine was more like, you're so ON my nerves.

B:
Talking more and more everyday,
B mis-says things, only he can get away with.
"I shit": Can be either "I sit." or "I see it."
"I shit down": I sit
He also says "Nope" instead of "No" these days which is soo cute.
His version of 'frog' is pretty funny and bad at the same time.

He likes using the potty to pee in. And now every time I change his diaper, he pees on demand, whether or not there is a potty in sight. And he laughs maniacally when he does it, which makes me laugh every time.

This and That

Why is it that when B gets sick, like upset stomach sick, its a bizarre event. Thursday am, like around 3am, I heard a noise in his room, but couldn't identify it, and he didn't wake up and cry, so I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. When I got him at 7:30 that morning, he and and the crib was covered in dried up puke. Gross. I thought nothing of it cause B pukes all the time when he has congestion. And because he didn't cry that's what I thought it was. He acted fine, ate breakfast and then 2 hours later, puked 3 times in a half hour. Well, I thought OK, he's got a stomach bug, but he was acting so normal and was begging me to eat. I didn't feed him for a couple hours and gave him sips to drink and he didn't puke again.

So, two days later (he hadn't been sick since Thursday am, now its Sunday???) it happens again, I awake to him calling me like normal, and when I get him, again, puke everywhere and an added bonus of poo. I ended up throwing out the PJ's and hosing him down. I took all the bed linens and scooped them up and put them in the wash. Little did I know, that his favorite book was in there too. So if you ever wondered what it'd look like if you washed a board book. Ugh. Does it get any better?

We have had a great weekend so far. But it seems the Christmas tree fairies were against us this year. Friday we went to our new favorite Christmas tree farm, Jug Hill to search for our tree. We got there in time for there still to be daylight out and walked in circles for a good half hour before deciding on a tree. The problem was, none of the big trees were labeled with their height and price, so we picked a tree "sure, that'll fit" and asked the dude how tall it was. "About 10ft". OK, so we purchase said tree and haul it home. When we get it in the tree stand and stand it up, it was a Clark Griswold moment. No, it did not fit. It was quite funny though. Fortunately we only had to trim off the top a little. So then when we go to put on the lights, I swear to you, only one strand of about 5 that we use to put on the tree worked. And the angel won't light anymore. What the heck happened in our attic this year? How do they all decide to not work at one time? I guess they are 9 years old, but its just weird they all went kaput at once. We tried to go trade them in for LED lights, but they were all sold out. The bonus is that new lights were only about $1.50 per strand.

Decorating the tree was fun. We only broke 2 ornaments, and I did one and Q the other. We had to put B to bed for a nap and do most of it, cause all he wanted to do was climb the latter and play with the power strip the lights were plugged into. The boys got to pick out new ornaments too and Q picked out a Hot Wheels ornament and B a Mickey Mouse one. The bottom of the tree is nothing but unbreakable ornaments and I let the boys decorate the bottom half. I love that there's like 10 ornaments on one branch, and that its soo heavy its sagging to the floor. I love the tree and how it looks. But I noticed over on Kelly'sKorner that those people have neatly coordinated trees that look like they're from a department store. I guess I'm not sophisticated or stylish or whatever they are, cause I don't like them. They also have multiple trees in their house. Crazy. It must be a southern thing. I like a simple (although large) REAL tree with ornaments collected over the years. I'm not a tinsel or garland person either. I'm quite opinionated when it comes to a Christmas tree. Here it is, I happen to love it!