Just checking ...

Whew. I've heard rumors of several Blogger/Blogspot blogs being deleted lately, so I thought I would check to see if this still exists. It's here, even though I haven't posted in six-ish months. I blame it on Facebook ... it's much 'easier' to update my friends and family in 140 characters several times throughout the week than it is actually compose complete thoughts. Anybody feel the same?

On the eve of Katrina's birthday, I thought I would look back at what I had to say when she was born. The past five years have passed in the blink of an eye. We are incredibly blessed to have not only Katrina but also Mikayla (age 2) and another little girl due to join our family in a few short months. At age 5 - tomorrow! - Katrina:

- is excited about school, both preschool now and starting kindergarten in the fall
- likes the colors green and pink
- is 'bestest church friends' with Katelynn and Alyssa M., Katelyn and Maddy B. (and their little brother Jack), and Jeremiah K.
- loves her family - Daddy, Mommy, Mikayla (well, most of the time :)), Grandma, Papa, Grammie, Aunties, Uncles and cousins
- wants to be either a farmer or a cowboy or maybe a PE teacher (!) when she grows up
- would spend hours a day 'reading' - looking at books - if our schedule so allowed
- would also spend hours a day watching shows like Team UmiZoomi, Little Bear, Word World and others - if Mommy and Daddy allowed
- asked Jesus to 'live in her neck' (a long story) almost a year ago and is growing more and more each day in her understanding of God's love for her and what the Bible says
- likes typical 'kid food' like mac 'n' cheese and hot dogs, but also likes salmon (she calls it 'pink fish') and is starting to like kumla, much to Daddy's delight
- loves to run and play but is sometimes a little shy and gets frustrated/scared in new situations
- is NOT a performer - she does not like to be put on the spot to answer questions, sing a song, etc.

When asked repeatedly what she would like for her birthday, she only wanted a Pillow Pet. Specifically, she has asked for a ladybug Pillow Pet for her and a puppy Pillow Pet for Mikayla.

We love our daughters very much and they are delightfully unique. We praise God for the five wonderful years we've had as parents so far ... and we pray for the strength and wisdom needed for the next 15 years! :)

Pumpkin Pie

Has it really been 9+ months since I last updated my blog? I guess that's due to using Facebook more, since most family and friends are on FB, and sharing photos, etc., is easier ...

Anyway, I wanted to share a 'recipe' by Katrina. Her class created a Thanksgiving cookbook and she dictated to her teacher how to make pumpkin pie. [Note: I've never made pumpkin pie from scratch, so I'm surprised her recipe wasn't something like "Open the box that says M-R-S S-M-I-T-H on it and put it in the oven."]

Pumpkin Pie by Katrina, age 4.5

Ingredients: Apples, pumpkins, sugar, milk and butter

Directions: Cook the apples and the pumpkins on the stove for 12 minutes. Then you put the sugar, milk and butter in the pan and cook for 11 hours. Then you eat it.

Yummy!

Intruder Alert

Our dog was barking like crazy this morning and I couldn't figure out why. He often barks at the cats, but they were in the kitchen with me. The dog was going nuts barking and growling at something in the hallway, so I decided to check (I was thinking maybe a mouse?).

I laughed when I saw the subject of his distress. It was too horrid, too gruesome, to frightening for the poor dog to handle. It was ...

A toy piggy bank

Voting, according to a 3-year-old

I took Katrina and Mikayla with me to vote tonight. I'm pretty sure Katrina has accompanied me to vote every opportunity in her 3.5 years. I told her today that we have to make a very important decision - who will be President. I explained that the President is in charge of all the people in our country, and it's a very big job to have.

She ran around the saying, "I go vote! I go vote!" I quizzed Katrina in the van on the way to our polling place (all of 0.9 miles away), asking her questions like, "What are we going to do?" and "We are voting for ... ?" Her response: "We vote presents! Vote my teachers!"

This reference to her teachers puzzled me. Did her preschool teacher talk about voting last week? Surely not. Maybe she overheard some of the childcare providers at the Y playroom talking?

Voting was simple and quick. No lines, no wait. I love voting in Braddock Heights.

Back in the van on the way home, I put two and two together. Katrina was not saying "I go vote," she was saying "I go boat." I finally figured this out when she made a sad face and whispered, "I go beach, Mommy, please?" She thought we were going on another cruise to the beach! Ah, my child. She's a funny one for sure. I clarified that I was saying V-O-T-E, and Katrina replied, "Oh, yeah! That's funny, Mommy."

The end. :)

And the Angels Rejoiced Greatly

My pocketbook is rejoicing greatly, too. I saw a sign yesterday that said, "Coming soon: Aldi"

We're getting an Aldi here in Frederick! Yay! For those of you who don't know, I'm from the Midwest, where it seems like there's an Aldi in every town. Aldi is a super-cheap grocery store. You won't find name brands, or much variety, but it's fairly good stuff. Aldi was great for surviving summers on campus without food service.

Until now, the nearest Aldi is in Hagerstown, about 30 minutes away. Not a big deal, but I've never managed to get over to that store. We have a huge Aldi warehouse or corporate building outside of Frederick that tricked me the first time I saw it.

I was wrong.

For quite awhile now, I have thought that Mikayla is much bigger than her sister Katrina was at this age. While the girls were very close in birth weight (Katrina was 6 lbs 10.5 oz and Mikayla was 6 lbs 12 oz), Katrina stayed scrawny for a very long time. Even today, she is very lean and muscular. On her third birthday in May, Ryan accidentally dressed her in her sister's size 3-month pants, and they fit her like shorts! Mikayla put on weight much faster, and earlier, than her big sister did, or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this comparison:

02/15/2005 - Katrina's 9-month well visit
Age: 9 months, 2 days
Weight: 17 lbs, 2 ounces
Length: 29 1/4"

09/23/2008 - Mikayla's 9-month well visit
Age: 9 months, 4 days
Weight: 16 lbs, 12 ounces
Length: 29 1/2"

It's only a difference of 6 ounces and 1/4", but I thought for sure that Mikayla (or Baby 'Kayla, as we call her) was growing bigger faster than her sister. Looks like we are in for another banana baby.

I haven't done a good job of keeping the gallery up-to-date. I did recently post some new pictures of the girls on Facebook. Let me know if you aren't on Facebook - I think I can share the album with you anyway.

In other news, we booked a vacation today ... for next week! It's a 6-day Bahamas cruise departing from Norfolk, VA. We leave on October 5th and return on the 12th. I would link to it, but the stupid Carnival Cruise website doesn't work on my computer (Firefox for Linux). Katrina is very excited about going to 'the beach.' Let a crazy week of packing begin! I've never cruised with a 9-month old ... any tips on what to do (or what not to do)?

First Day of School

I had this great plan of getting a picture of Katrina wearing her backpack, smiling, etc. Yeah, right. Mommy's plans + strong-willed child = tears. We did get a few good pictures, though.








































(Note the beloved new sneakers. She slept in them the first day we got them. Literally. She refused to take a nap until Daddy helped her put her sneakers on - then she went right to sleep.)

And the outtakes ...

"Hold me, Mommy, hold me!!!"




















"No take my picture."














Tears.















If you look closely, you can see her fat lip. It's almost healed now. Wednesday night we were playing in the living room when Katrina hit her lip on the hardwood floor. Instant fat lip. Those pictures are on our other camera, but I'll post them soon. Of course she gets a split lip right before the first day of school. When Ryan was praying with Katrina Wednesday night, he said something like, "Help Katrina's lip feel better soon." Katrina interrupted him and said, "Mom did it, Dad." She blames me for her hurt lip! (We were roughhousing ... and she tried to dive on top of me and hit the floor.)

I can only imagine what she will tell her teacher today. She'll probably say that her mom hurt her lip, and her teacher will call Children and Family Services.

'Twas the night before preschool ...

Katrina starts preschool tomorrow. I think she's all ready.


Her lunch is packed:
















Her backpack is ready:




















She has a nametag, so the teacher can learn her name:















We've read some stories to get ready for the big day:




























Homework is done:













*Her class will read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, so our homework was to trace a parent's hand and send it to school on the first day. I, of course, went overboard and traced everybody's hands - Daddy's, mine, and Mikayla's. I couldn't get the cats to sit still long enough to trace their paws.


And Katrina is fast asleep, resting for the big day ahead:














The question is, am I ready for my little girl to go off to school?


Edit: Blogger is driving me crazy. I can't fix the layout of the text and photos. It looks fine in the preview, then is all messed up when published. Grr.

Life at Warp Speed

Suddenly life has gotten very busy.

• Work is picking up again ... it's the end of the Government fiscal year on September 30, so everybody's trying to allocate money ASAP.
  
• Work is busy for Ryan, too. He just got home around 9:00 tonight. Thankfully he's able to work from home tomorrow.
  
• We rejoined the YMCA with some friends, yet ironically, haven't had time to go together. I'm trying to go three times a week. Exercising has become my "me" time. I can read, listen to music, or watch t.v. ... without interruption. I can shower without interruption, too! Gym childcare is a blessed invention.
  
• I have some major forms/paperwork to fill out for Ministry Assessment in January. Ministry Assessment is a requirement of the Mid-Atlantic District before being granted a district license. It's meant to be a time of, well, assessment. The paperwork includes registration forms, records of service, some pretty intense questionnaires ... yikes! Those are all due by October 1.
  
• Katrina starts preschool on Friday and dance class on Monday. She'll go to preschool one day a week (Fridays) at a church near our house from 9:30 - 1:30. She is growing so fast! I keep forgetting that she is only three. We went shopping this weekend for 'school clothes' and she was so funny. Her response to just about everything I held up for her to look at: "It fit, Mama! I like it!" I couldn't get her to choose any new pajamas, though! She turned down every option. Pictures of Katrina in her dance clothes will follow soon ... she's too cute!
  
• Mikayla is nearly 8.5 months old (today? tomorrow? sometime soon) and a sweetie. She has two teeth on the bottom and more are coming. She HATES baby food with a passion and only wants her bottle and whatever 'table food' we happen to be eating. Oh, and Gerber Puffs. She's a little crack addict with those things.
  
• Women's Bible study starts on Monday. We'll be studying Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado.
  
• I'm thinking of taking the girls on another trip to Illinois in early October, if it works out at work. Or maybe we'll go on a 'real' vacation, if we can find the right cruise. We love cruises. Haven't taken one with the girls yet, though. Could be interesting ...
  
• I've decided I want another baby. Not necessarily any time soon. But I want a chubby baby. I'm serious! Both of our girls are/were skinny babies (especially Katrina). I want a baby with chubby cheeks and cute baby tummy rolls. More baby to love, right?
  

How's that for a random list? This started out being about how busy this month is and ended on the topic of babies.

Signs of ADD

How's this for signs of ADD? I tried taking a nap this afternoon, but two little girls had other plans and naptime never happened (for anybody). The next few hours looked like this:

1. I started a load of laundry. I noticed the laundry room was a mess and decided to straighten it.

2. Went upstairs to tell Ryan my plan. He was emptying the dishwasher. (Thanks, Honey!) I noticed the cabinet where we keep Katrina's plates and cups was a mess and decided to straighten that first. It was really REALLY unorganized and really bothered me. Ryan decided to work downstairs. (He probably saw the crazed look in my eyes and decided to run far, far away.)

3. Then I thought I should finish emptying the dishwasher so I could reload it and run it. You know, multitask. Wash dishes while straightening a cabinet.

4. While putting away the silverware, I noticed the silverware drawer needed to be cleaned. I proceed to take out all of the silverware, vacuum the drawer then clean it with spray cleaner, and then replace the silverware. I also sorted out mismatched utensils to go in the Goodwill box.

5. Then I loaded the dishwasher.

6. 30 seconds after I started the dishwasher, Katrina handed me her empty juice cup. *sigh* I decided to hand-wash it, as well as some not-so-clean baby bottle nipples. (They don't get clean in the dishwasher!)

7. I found that we are almost out of dish soap, so I started a list for Wal-Mart.

8. Putting away the now-clean nipples made me realize the baby bottle stuff sorely needed straightening, too, so I did that.

9. Then I straightened the cabinet with Katrina's dishes. Katrina tried to 'help.' It was all I could do to not scream, "I've got it!!" (I'm very OCD about some things, in case you haven't realized that yet.)

10. Finally, I spent 20 minutes straightening the laundry room. And went to Wal-Mart and got more dish soap.

What should have been a 20-minute task took approximately two hours. I don't know if it's ADD or what, but this is seriously what my life is like. All. the. time. I start one task and end up on some weird tangent with multiple half-finished tasks behind me. My dear friend Laura says it's a sign of being too messy. I agree. But where do I start to make it better? I know not to start in the laundry room! :)

If I had a camera with me ...

... I would take a picture to show you Mikayla, curled up asleep on the hardwood floor of my office.

I'm here working on some miscellaneous items - printing documents for a training session tomorrow, finishing up a few tasks for a proposal due Monday, etc. I brought Mikayla with me because Cayden and Reagan are at our house to play with Katrina, and bringing the baby with me would help out Ryan. I let her crawl on the floor for a little bit, then I noticed it was very quiet. I looked down, and she is sound asleep.

World's Most Interesting Olivetian

For all you Olivetians out there ...

The World's Most Interesting Olivetian contest

The World's Most Interesting Olivetian
Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Promotional Contest

Olivet Nazarene University is in search of “The World's Most Interesting Olivetian.”

Defining the term “interesting” is up to you, and might include persons who have a unique career, hobby, traveling experience -- or all of the above!

Finalists will receive commemorative t-shirts, interviews on Shine.fm, and ONU apparel.

The winner, as determined by popular vote, will receive two free tickets to all Homecoming 2008 events, a starring role in an upcoming feature film (aka a 2-minute promotional video on YouTube) and the title of “The World's Most Interesting Olivetian 2008,” to be announced during halftime of the Homecoming football game.

To nominate yourself or someone you know, CLICK HERE.

Amerithrax

Are you following the Bruce Ivins story? It's getting more and more bizarre. Check out the latest - that Dr. Ivins was obsessed with a sorority and 'theoretically' could have driven from Frederick to Princeton, NJ, and back (a 7-hour trip) 'after work; to mail the letters. Ummm, okay. Kara and Charlie, love ya, but I'm not driving up to Princeton after work tomorrow to see you and then back home, 'kay? Sheesh.

(The article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/04/anthrax.investigation.ap/index.html)

Also, no offense to CNN, but I love how the article ends:

"The social worker also has a minor criminal record, according to court records. She pleaded guilty in April to driving under the influence and was fined $500 and placed on probation for nearly a year. In October 2006, she pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was fined $580. A 1992 charge of possessing drug paraphernalia was dismissed."

That's FNP-style writing, folks. (FNP is the Frederick News Post, the local newspaper. I swear they hire fifth-graders as reporters. No, I take that back. A fifth grader could write a better news story than some of the FNP reporters.)

Sunday evening

Quote from Katrina to Ryan, after being hit (gently) in the shoulder by a Frisbee: "Why you do that, Dad? You hurt my elbow!"

(Later, when she grazed her arm on the swing as Ryan pushed Mikayla, she ran off in near tears. When Ryan apologized, she said, "No you do it! Mama do it!" Ummm, no, it was Daddy. :) )

Just now, both girls were in their respective beds (er, toddler bed and crib) when I heard Mikayla chortling. She has figured out how to look at Katrina from her crib! She managed to roll over, turn 180 degrees (her head was at the opposite end of the crib) AND push down the crib bumper enough that she can peek out at her big sister. She's a resourceful seven-month old!

On a completely random note, does it gross anyone else out that infant formula contains vegetable oil? I noticed it on the ingredients list on a can of Enfamil. Yuck. I understand that's the fat source for formula, but seriously, that's gross. It's like giving a baby American "cheese," since that's just milk and oil, too.

Frederick on CNN.com again

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/01/anthrax.death/index.html

and

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/01/anthrax.suspect/index.html

My To Do List

July is almost over, and I haven't posted. Sheesh.

My to do list for this week, in case you are interested:

- Convince Ryan to attend picnic that's part of the missions council meeting this Sunday [I didn't convince him. I just said, "We're going."]
- RSVP for the missions council meeting this Sunday
- Convince Ryan we need to enroll Katrina in preschool for the fall [I think I accomplished this one.]
- Enroll Katrina in preschool
- E-mail church secretary with who is teaching this Sunday.
- Reply to gazillion e-mails that arrived while I was on vacation [If I missed you, I'm sorry!]
- Create August teaching schedule
- Create agenda for Children's Ministry meeting Monday night [The meeting was great!]
- Convince Ryan to attend the Frederick Keys game on Friday with the church - it's a fireworks night [It was too late to RSVP, and he has to work late tonight, anyway.]
- RSVP about Keys' game (if there is still time) [See above.]
- Work expense report (way overdue)
- FSA expense report (way overdue)
- Church expense report (the most overdue)
- unpack van from vacation [accomplished this evening, including vacuuming with my handy-dandy new vacuum purchased for $32 on clearance at Wal-Mart]
- lesson plan for Sunday [Although now it's time to work on the lesson plan for this Sunday]
- post remaining pictures from Illinois to the gallery
- Set up consultation with endodontist
- Call insurance to see how much my next dentist appointment will cost.
- Cry.
- Finish cleaning the computer room. (Ryan cleaned it while I was gone and it looks awesome! I need to go through the boxes of stuff that remain.)
- Volunteer for Community Fun Day at our church.
- Purchase supplies to donate for school bags for Community Fun Day at our church. Staples has some super-good sales for school supplies right now.
- Hire a housekeeper, because a housekeeper is cheaper than a divorce. :)

Added this evening:
- Clean up the kitchen from all the junk I unloaded from the van. Must be done by morning, before Clemence arrives. [11:00 p.m. edit: Mostly done. I can finish the last few things in the morning. I would have been done sooner, but I've spent most of the evening reading http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com and weeping.]

What Ponies Say

The follow are snippets of a 'conversation' I overhead tonight. Katrina's beloved Purple Pony* was found tonight, and of course it had to go to bed with her tonight. As I sat on Katrina's bed for a few minutes, I listened to what Katrina pretended the ponies were saying, and gained some insight into what our three-year-old thinks.

The Characters
Purple Pony - the Mommy Pony
an ugly, stuffed, teal zebra** - the Daddy Pony
a miniature pony from Katrina's Easter basket - the Baby Pony

The Setting
A grassy field (also known as Katrina's bed, on top of her green blanket)


Baby Pony: "I hungry! I juicy [thirsty]!"
Mommy Pony: "Here you cup! No spill! You drink milk, Baby Pony. It yummy."
Baby Pony, to Daddy Pony: "I go sou-side [outside], okay?" (Katrina has been adding 'okay?' to the end of most of her sentences lately)
Daddy Pony: "Okay, we go sou-side."
Mommy Pony: "Wait minute! No you have shoes on! Where you shoes?"
(mumble, mumble)
Baby Pony, to Mommy Pony: "I love you, Mommy Pony!"
Baby Pony, to Daddy Pony: "I love you, Daddy Pony!"
(pause)
Katrina, to me: "Where 'Kayla Pony?? Her MISSING!"

*Purple Pony was "hiding" in a basket with Katrina's nativity set. I spent hours one day looking for the pony in every basket, play area, and hiding place I could think of, but I didn't check the nativity set. Why would a pony be there? Katrina's friend Reagan told me that Purple Pony was "with all the Jesus toys."

**I say the zebra is ugly not because I think Daddy is ugly or because Katrina thinks that, but because I hate (h-a-t-e) the color teal. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law sent Katrina the zebra just to spite me! They also gave Mikayla a onesie that says, "Does this make my b*tt look big?" because I hate that word.

Product of Society

Our child is definitely a product of society. We borrowed Cars from the Reynoldses and Katrina loves it! Except for the character-building parts. Every time it's the scene where Lightning and Sally look over Radiator Springs and talk about when the Interstate was built, Katrina says, "Movie over! More Cars, Mama, movie over!" I've tried to explain to her that just because the action/storyline has slowed down, it doesn't mean the show is over. She does the same thing with other shows she watches: when Dora asks, "What was your favorite part?" or when JoJo talks about what she learned or when it's curtain call time on The Little Einsteins.

Maybe this confirms what I've been trying to tell Ryan - Katrina watches too much television.

Domestic Goddess

Martha Stewart, I am not. For anyone who really knows me, you know that I am a messy, messy person. In high school, friends would come over and help me clean my room. (Thanks, Gipp girls!) My dad had a rule that I couldn't get my drivers license until I could keep my room clean ... well, it took me more than a year. It got worse in college. One night during open dorms, some guy friends found Sidra and me in another friend's room and said, "Come quick! Your room has been trashed!!" We explained that no one had attacked us ... that's how our room usually looked. I probably should have failed myself at room check (as an RA) more often, too.

I'm still a messy person. I just cleaned my computer desk two weekends ago. Right now it's piled with a Target bag (containing unmailed Fathers' Day and wedding cards), dirty dishes, baby wipe refills, and lightbulbs to replace ones that burned out approximately three months ago. The only reason our house is ever semi-presentable is because of our amazing nanny. Have I mentioned how much I love Clemence? Having her in our house every day holds us accountable to keep the house picked up AND she does light housework, too - vacuums the living room, loads and unloads the dishwasher, does the girls' laundry. It's great!

I've digressed. All of this background about me being messy supports a recent Katrina-ism. Saturday I pulled out the ironing board to press new curtains for the living room (we've been curtain-less for nearly 2 months, since some friends helped us paint). As I set up the ironing board and plugged in the iron, Katrina asked, "What's THAT?!"

*sigh*

I've probably ironed fewer than ten times in the last three years - her entire existence. Actually, I rarely saw my mom iron, either. She would press my dad's shirts every once in awhile, before going out to eat. But that was only in the spring and summer, if I remember correctly; he almost always wore a sweater over his dress shirts in the fall and winter. And since he wore t-shirts and jeans to work, there wasn't much else to iron. Ma would throw her wrinkly clothes in the dryer to dewrinkle (still does today - so do I).

I did make kumla on Sunday, though! I think it was my best batch yet. I only peeled 10 lbs of potatoes this time, instead of the usual 20 - 25 lbs. It made a smaller batch, of coure, but it also went faster. Even better, the kumla pans (12- and 16-quart stock pots) fit in our new dishwasher and they came out SPOTLESS.

I managed to burn my left index finger and thumb tonight. I grabbed a hot pan thoughtlessly. Ouch.

Mikayla turns six months old tomorrow and has a well-visit in the morning. I'll post her stats soon!

A quiet evening

Today is the 13th of the month, so it's Katrina and Ryan's 'date night.' At least once a month Ryan takes Katrina out for a date ... to the playground, out to eat ... whatever she decides is fun. The last few months have been crazy with work and such, so this is the first date in awhile. Katrina loves the time with her daddy. I can't wait to hear all about it!

I'm in the midst of yet another crazy proposal. A coworker commented the other day that I measure my children's ages in proposals, and he's right. I had just said how Mikayla is nearly six months old, and how the time has passed quickly - first it was the [NASA] proposal in February and March, then it was the [MPO] proposal in April, May, and now June. It's entirely possible this proposal will be extended again, into July. I'm thinking of taking two (2!) weeks off when work slows down, and maybe even taking the girls on a leisurely trip to Illinois. We'll see.

Funny things Katrina has said lately:

When asked what she wants to be when she grows up: "Dora"

When asked another time what she wants to be when she grows up: "I grow up and be 'Kayla! And I run! I get shoes and a purple shirt and I run! I get SWEATY!" (Ryan has recently taken up running again and she always wants to go with him when he runs. I think the purple shirt reference is from Wii Fit - her Mii wears a purple shirt.)

Upon seeing these:

"I want monkey food!"

Oops, they are home! Gotta go!!