The Lawn Mower

Katelynn loves to watch her daddy mow the lawn. She stands at the back door with her little face pressed up against the glass, staring and sometimes squealing in delight. Her watching stamina is actually quite amazing, especially when you consider this kid will still only watch Sesame Street for about 5 minutes at most. She will even run back and forth between the back door and the kitchen window so she can get the best view. And mom can actually get something done for the 20 minutes it takes dad to mow the backyard!

Terrible Two's Already ??

We have noticed a recent trend that has rapidly developed over the past two months or so. Our little Katelynn has turned into a full fledged toddler with an iron will. She was a difficult baby too, but this is different. This has turned into clear and direct disobedience of mommy and daddy, with major tantrums if she doesn't get her way. Last week she threw herself down in the middle of the mall when she didn't want to go into the store I chose. It was quite a moment for me as a parent.

We're reading up on child development books focused on discipline! We definitely need a plan with this one.

Canine Fitness Camp

This funny email from my good friend Sarah... she is so witty in her wording. I just had to put it in print for her:

Today, I was behind a van that said (and this is not a joke)"Canine Fitness Camp"and then below: "Boarding, Swimming, Nature Hikes"and I thought that the economy can't be so bad if aplace like that is in business - clearly people arepaying for their dogs to take "nature hikes."

When Laurence was alive, we called that walking him orletting him out so he could have a poop :) Now it's anature hike. I can't handle a dog that is so high maintenance that it needs a hike....

The Silly Ghost Game

One of Katelynn's favorite games:

1. Enclose head with the changing table cover.

2. Walk around the house like a zombie.

3. Run into things and giggle.

4. Run into things and cry.

You can buy ANYTHING on Amazon!

Today I was browsing for Mother's Day gift ideas in the "Home and Garden" section of Amazon. I had to chuckle when I came across "1,500 Live Ladybugs" !!!

This part of the description made me giggle especially:

RECOMMENDATIONS: Ladybugs may be kept in a refrigerator after they are received (35 to 40 degrees F.) and released as needed. Ladybugs received March through May should not be stored more than 2 or 3 days since their body fat has been depleted. From June on, they may be stored 2 or 3 months. It is normal for there to be several dead Ladybugs in the container, especially those received from March through May. These bugs have reached the end of their life cycle. We have included many extra bugs to compensate for this.

I guess you can find just about anything on the Internet.
My parents tell me this is not strange, but I still thought it was worthy of a post!

Farmer's Tan

Katelynn and I are usually outside most days, at least for a little while. (As noted in previous posts, she would live outdoors if she could. Today she threw a temper tantrum when we had to come in; it was an impressive one, about a 6.9 on the Richter scale.) She has her daddy's beautiful coloring. Recently I noticed she is sporting a mean farmer's tan! She has been getting bronze without my realizing it. It's pretty cute. But I guess I should start spraying her with sunblock, especially now that it is nearly May and those rays are gettin' hot!

A Sad Note

Katelynn goes to "Kids Day Out" one day a week at a nearby church. There are two teachers and five kiddos, all her age. It seems to be pretty structured. They have Bible story time, Spanish lesson (!), music time, etc. Then they all have their own cribs for naps at noon. When I pick her up there is a sheet of paper in her bag telling when she ate, peed, pooped - everything! Also they usually leave a cute note.

The note from this past Thursday made me depressed as a mommy. It said: "Katelynn had fun riding the dolphin toy in play time. She is starting to be more comfortable around all the kids and played with them today."

So, I know you readers are probably thinking -- what's up, it sounds like a sweet note! But my mommy reaction was: "She has been going to this place for nearly 3 months and this was the first time she played with the other kids?" The little peanut has had a very tough time with group child care. She still screams every week when we leave her at the church nursery. I just feel bad that my little girl seems to spend most of her time at these places upset!

Childhood Memories

Last night, I was flipping through the guide on the TV and one of the movies caught my eye... "The Neverending Story". 1984. The FIRST movie my brother Griff and I ever watched at home on a VCR! (Oh my, I am clearly dating myself.) I think we watched it at least a dozen times. I flipped to it and set myself up to be disappointed, as I figured the special effects would be laughable now.

Well, the special effects obviously were dated. But really, I was pretty impressed. That movie was pretty good! I guess that's why we had the wisdom to watch it a dozen times or more. (That and "Rad". OK, maybe that doesn't say too much about our wisdom in movies.)

Bye Bye High Chair

A couple of weeks ago, we had friends over with little ones and busted out the portable high chairs. One of them is basically a booster seat. Katelynn went crazy over it. She spent the next couple of days playing in it. She then refused to get back into her high chair and has been using her booster seat, pulled up to the table, ever since! Our little baby is turning into a big girl...sniff sniff.

It will be nice to get the high chair out of the kitchen.... I need to take it outside and give it a good hose-down first! I'm sure there are many scary food particles wedged in all those cracks.

More Crazy Texas Storms

So, this storm hit my parents' house about an hour ago. They were hiding in the bathroom other than my dad dashing out to get these pics! It is nearly here in our town and I have to do something to keep busy here; these things always get to my nerves! It doesn't help that the City has been blasting the storm sirens for over 15 minutes straight now. I hope I don't have to swoop Katelynn from her crib again... (And by the way, why didn't their crazy neighbor get the vehicle into the garage?!)

The Body I Want

So, this is Billy Blanks' daughter, Shelly. (For those curious and maybe a little confused, he adopted her...) She is in all his DVD's. I want her body.

I actually think I (theoretically) could achieve her body; she is long and lanky like me but with lots more working out, and probably a lot less fat in her diet. She has such pretty muscles!

So, this is my reminder to keep doing the BootCamp workouts!

Friends with Skills

Having friends with great photography skills has its fringe benefits! Check out the adorable Easter pics that Tony took at his house. He loves photography so they decided to invest in some backdrops and lights, and save a few bucks at JC Penney (since they have a peanut of their own). Thanks Tony & Cheree! (NOTE: We would love Tony just as much even if he didn't have photography skills!)

Quads of Steel

Katelynn's favorite word is "UP." She wants to be carted around all the time. And she is pretty smart about sensing when I am about to put her back down. She uses her legs to make an iron clad grip around mom's waist. It is amazing how strong she is!

Duck And Cover!

For those reading this that don't know about Texas weather, we get some pretty big storms every Spring. There is at least one big hail storm every year, and you just pray your car is in the garage when it happens! We are also prone to tornadoes. I remember hiding under a mattress in the hall at the home where I grew up on multiple occasions. In elementary school we even had "duck and cover" drills, similar to those the baby boomers may remember for air raids!




It has been a long time since I have had to "take cover" due to a storm. This morning at 3:45 though, I woke up and had a knot in my stomach the second I heard the winds. It was so scary! Then I turned on the radio and the first thing I heard was "Tornado forming in Farmers' Branch. Take cover immediately." Farmer's Branch is 3 miles east of our house! I immediately bolted upstairs.


Poor little Katelynn; she had no clue what happened. This was no gentle awakening, just mommy scooping her up and running down the stairs very quickly! We hung out in the master bedroom closet for 20 minutes and then it was all over. It is under the stairs so it is the best spot in the house. I bet most people who live in Texas know the "best spot" to hide during a storm.


Katelynn cried and was very confused about being in the closet. After a diaper change, a glass of warm milk, and some snuggling she finally returned to her slumber in her crib.

Well, this was definitely a serious storm. The power will be out at our workplace the entire day so Gene is working at home. Tons of the high tension power lines went down, and the news is showing lots of big trees on cars and houses. Our neighborhood was spared but just barely! Gene saw big chainsawed tree limbs just a couple of miles south of our home.

I hope there are no more duck and cover events in the middle of the night for a LONG time!

A Tip for those Formula Coupons

EBAY THEM! I have been (happily) shocked to discover I can typically get 50-90% of face value for them! Try running a search on "formula coupons" and see how many others are doing this as well!

I recommend a 1 day auction that ends on Saturday or Sunday evening.

I Love My HandyMan Husband

Gene is super handy. Overall I am very thankful for this, though it does come with a few "cons" too.
Pros:

• Can fix/install stuff cheaply without having to call "the man". Examples of projects he has done: change out all the light fixtures, replace the plumbing connector things to all the toilets, install nice storm doors, put in brick and mortar borders for our yard, fix drywall/texture... and at our last house we also installed flooring and tile ourselves.
• Saves me much aggravation because he does many things for me that I do not have to figure out.
• Puts lots of annoying baby contraptions together.

Cons:

• Sometimes I have to be "assistant girl" and fetch things, which I do not enjoy. Gene is looking forward to "assistant toddler" once he can improve Katelynn's knowledge on types of screwdrivers, hammers, etc. Maybe she won't complain as much as assistant girl.
• Sometimes have to wait forever to get a project done, since we won't hire "the man". Especially if it is a project I want done but Gene doesn't really care about!
• There are a lot of tools in the garage. I do not have a clue what many of them are. They get pretty disorganized, which this anal wife does not like. However I can't clean it up too much since I would accidentally throw away many useful tools!

Most recently, we had a quote on beefing up our insulation levels to get our summer air conditioning bills down a bit. Gene looked at the quote and said "I can do this much cheaper."

Several hours of online research and a few trips to Lowe's later:

Our garage...that is a LOT of insulation!




Calvin & Gene prepare for battle. Calvin gets
dragged into many of these projects with Gene.
Thanks Cal!

Baby Bows!

Katelynn will now keep a headband with a bow in her hair for a little while, and it makes her look much more girly since she still doesn't have much hair. Those bows are expensive though if you purchase them! I googled "how to make a baby bow" and had fun making them on my own with some headbands that my parents got from Wal-Mart for Katelynn's Easter basket.

Words, Words, Words

Katelynn's vocabulary is rapidly expanding, so I thought I would make a list of the words I have heard her say, at least those I can think of off the top of my head.

-Rocky (my parent's dog...her first word)

-Mama/ Mommy
-Dada/Daddy

-Woof

-Quackquackquackquack

-BOOM!

-Byebye

-Hiiiiiiii

-Mmmmmmm

-Ut oh

-Outside

-Weeeeeee!

-Whoa!

-Go-go-go-go-go

-Poppi, Pawpaw

-Ears

-Teeth

-Nose

-Eyes

-Nightnight

-Nanna

-Swing

-Bubbles

-Baby

-Bobby (her future husband)

-Ball

-Ba-ba-ba (Barbara Ann song)

-Vitamin (this one blew me away!)

-Tea

-Car

Ladylike - A Little Bit!

Katelynn is a pretty rough-and-tumble little girl. But she does have her feminine moments. For some reason she has always crossed her ankles in such a pretty way when she is in her high chair. I decided I should snap a photo to remember!

When the Grocery Game is EVIL

I LOVE getting my crazy bargains through www.thegrocerygame.com as you may have read in previous posts. But sometimes it has evil side effects.

Last week I got six bags of Russell Stover "Private Reserve" triple chocolate mousse for $0.15 cents each! (Regular price $3.79 each... go Katie, go Katie!)




But unfortunately this chocolate is very good and I am eating way too much of it every afternoon! It takes a lot of Billy Blanks to wipe out just a few Russell Stover treats!