Christmas Shopping Today

My husband and I are going to try to finish our Christmas shopping today. I stole this from my friend Fa'a's status on Facebook today and am using it without permission:

"Dear Santa Clause whoever and wherever you are. I would really like to meet you face to face and crack you for taking all the credits and making me broke. I am telling my kids who you really are- Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, and the Swap Meet....punk"

My feelings exactly.....

Grasp of the Obvious

At 5:30 the other morning as I shoveled half a foot of snow off the driveway I heard the back door open and the following conversation transpired with my 6 year old:

"Hey, Mommy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I just thought I'd let you know that it had snowed."

"Um, yeah, thanks dear."

Giving Thanks

Sometimes during the night my husband gropes me and then has no memory of doing so in the morning. When he wakes me up when doing this, it ticks me off. When I have just come to bed it makes me laugh.

Today I am thankful that my husband still finds me so gropeable.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

My four year old informed me yesterday that now that Halloween was over, it was time to put the chicken decorations up.

Bring on the Chickens!

My witch and her little black cat!

Dear ILM:

Thank you for existing and making our moving watching experience so interesting.

And for giving my 4 year old the terminology for the conversation:

"Mom, I had the coolest dream. I was playing with my puppy and then there were cool special effects in the background making rainbows."

So, thanks for changing movies (and dreams)!

Katrina

Dear Mr. Preece:

Remember that time when I was being terrible in my 8th grade Social Studies class. I was being disruptive and talked back and you gave me a talking to in the hall.

I totally deserved it and I am sorry for my behavior.

Especially because my husband is now an 8th Grade and 9th Grade Social Studies teacher. And it is awful when his students are disrespectful and disruptive. I wish I could tell him I was a model student. But I probably treated you as badly as my husbands worst nightmares.

Sorry again,
Katrina

Dear Honey:

The other day when you came home and the dishes weren't done and the house was a mess, you thought I had been on the computer all day. But I hadn't. I had been reading Catching Fire. And it was fabulous.

Love,
Me

Dear Fiona:

The other day when you dropped my daughter off, I didn't come to the door because I was still the same PJ's as the day before and I knew well enough to be ashamed. You probably wouldn't have noticed, but I did!

Thanks for loving me even when not only do I not get dressed, but don't change my PJ's for two days in a row!

I'll work on it!
Katrina

Dear United:

I am really sorry that one time I flew on a ticket someone else purchased without following the proper channels to get the ticket put in my name. (Hawaii was a blast!)

I now work for an airline. I still pay very little for all of my tickets, but when I have to buy a ticket next time, I will buy from you to make up for it!

Thanks,
Katrina

Dear Mom and Dad:

Thanks for having 10 kids. It often lead to some good times.

Like that time we left Hans in Pocatello and got all the way to Idaho Falls before we realized he wasn't in the car.

I'm sticking with two kids. It will be much easier to keep track of them (I hope).

Still laughing 20 years later!
Katrina

More Confessions

It's about time for some more confessions....in the form of the letters in my head I never send.

Dear Mrs. Robinson:

You were a great 5th grade teacher.

Member that time I was chewing gum in front of you and gum was against the rules? And you asked me if I was chewing gum and I quickly swallowed it and said "no"? Thanks for not ratting me out.

Sometimes it was really good to be teachers pet.

Thanks,
Katrina

Lovely Number Idiosyncrasies

I have to have the alarm set to an odd number like 6:57 or 7:23. It makes me feel like I have stolen a few extra minutes of sleep.

I can't remember numbers. My husband can tell me the time and three minutes later (literally) I have to ask again because I have no idea what he just said.

I can't do simple mathematics either. Please feel free to test me. I will have to pull out my trusty fingers to add 5 and 7.

As much as I can't remember numbers, I like to play games with the clock.....like "oh, it's 12:34, cool it's all in order," or "it's 2:24.... 2 plus 2 equals 4, sweet." And of course the all important making of a wish at 1:11, 11:11, 2:22, and so forth. Good stuff.

But when it comes to reading, I don't have a problem with numbers at all. I don't use a book mark but can almost always open my book to within 1 or 2 pages of where I was.

I guess it boils down to personal motivation when it comes to me and numbers.

What are your lovely idiosyncrasies?

Why I hate the Internets:

I found out my grandmother died today.....from a facebook status update.

Why I love the Internets:

On the day before our glorious pioneer day celebration, Emma stepped on a rusty nail. It went a good 1/2 inch into the bottom of her foot. After some very loud expressions of displeasure from Emma we were able to investigate the wound and get it cleaned out. And then we went to the Internets. After a bit of research, we found that as long as she was up to date on her tetanus shots, we were probably okay not to take her to the emergency room. My sweet girl was a bit of a hop-along over the course of the weekend, but we were able to keep her foot clean and she was fine by the next Monday. The Internets saved us a $200 trip to the ER.

Next, my sister thinks of me as her personal DI. She lives in NYC and it is easier for her to pack up all the stuff she doesn't want and fly it to me, than get a taxi to her local Goodwill. Ah, the benefits of working for an airline (her and me). Recently included in her DI pile was a camera; cute little digital point and shoot. But every time you turned it on it gave a zoom error message. I put the camera type and zoom error into my google tab and I found out that if I tapped the camera on my wrist whilst turning it on, the error could go away. Low and Behold two minutes later I had a fully functioning $200 camera. Cost to me: $3.50 for a new USB cord mailed from Hong Kong. (I did call and ask my sister if she wanted her camera back....she'd already replaced it....too bad she didn't do any Internets research first!)

So, though I confess to a bit of blog stalking, I do find the Internets useful for a lot more than blogging!

Confession #6

I have found several ex-boyfriends wife's blogs and I will never confess to them that they are stalked. And I always wonder if when people go private if it is because of me. I can't decide if that is because I am full of myself or if it may really be me.

Rock Star

Growing up my bedroom was in the attic of an old Victorian home. It was the 4th floor of the house. And there was no air-conditioning. I would beg my parents to let me sleep on the trampoline. My father feared I would be ravaged by the local boys (or more likely I would more easily be able to sneak out) and so he told me no way. He bought me an evaporating box fan that made sleep barely tolerable....on the floor, immediately in front of the fan.

Although it was high on the priority list, A/C was not a must have as we looked for a house. I don't think I would have minded a swamp cooler. Luckily the perfect house (mine!) had A/C.

And I must tell you, it is July and I love that I need covers in the middle of the night. It makes me feel like a Rock Star!

Confession #5

In almost ten years of marriage I have never watched the sunrise with my husband. Guess I'm not really a morning person.

We went to Florida to see this:

But at least I got to see this:

From Leah

As we drove by this:

my three year old says, "Hey look, the lollipop store." I guess she has a long way to go before financial world domination.

Summer

I don't think I was this happy for the end of the school year when I was actually a student. Yeah for a husband who teaches and has the next 3 months off. And amen for him spending his first official day off taking care of the much neglected yard.

Before

After

Confession #4

My daughter has two cavities. They are small. I don't floss her teeth as much as I should. I opted for the teeth colored filings so nobody else will know she has them. Too bad I can't keep it quiet and just confessed it to all of blog world.

Overheard

From my 3 year old to my 5 year old: "Let's pretend we are LITTLE kids and run around like crazy!"

Open Letter to the Editor....ALL Editors

Dear Editors:

Of the last 10 books that I have read I have found typos in 9 (and it was really late when I read the other, so who knows what I might have missed). Now, I don't claim to be perfect, but your job is to edit. Please do so more thoroughly. If you are afraid you might have missed something, please send the book my way. I'll check it out for you before you send it to the general public with a glaring mistake that would disrupt the reading enjoyment for them.

Thanks,
Katrina


(Dear readers of the Blogstalker:

Please forgive my editing missteps. I am not an editor. I am barely even a writer. I'll spell check, but my spelling and my grammar suck. There will be mistakes here, but you aren't buying my work, so you get to deal with it....:)

Confession #3

Last night I spent about 10 minutes spying on two teenagers snogging on the corner of my block.



It was getting hot and I was opening the window in my daughters room for some cross breeze. I noticed two teens on the corner with the obvious sick puppy look passing quickly between them. I watched for a moment thinking about their internal dialogue....."no one knows how much we love each other. I am going to love this boy for the rest of my life. I would die without him." She had on pink socks and black converse. His pants were down to his ankles and his bike was much too small (what is it with teenagers riding elementary school kids bikes these days?).



But I remember those days. I remember all those boys who I would have died without and who I was meant to be with FOREVER. I remember my socks in two colors and the Girbaud pants all the boys had to have.



And I am really glad I grew up.

Confession #2

I gave up trying for medical school because I knew he and what he would mean to me far outweighed becoming a doctor. And this was 2 years before I even met him.

And I have never regretted that decision.

(side confession: especially because I know I can still try for that goal later on.....)

Confession #1

-I secretly love that my children choose me over their dad when they bruise their knee or need some extra loving.

Who are these children who need me?

This is 5 year old Emma. Her intelligence often surprises me. My husband informs me that I get exactly what I deserve in her. She is high energy, with lots of attitude. It seems to serve her well.

This is 3 year old Leah. This is the day she used a brown marker to "make myself a tiger." She is sweet and inquisitive and much more mellow like her dad.

I feel blessed to be responsible for their care and upbringing. They help me laugh every day.

Welcome to My Coming Out

I am having my coming out party. I intended it to be like a cotillion with the pretty dresses and handsome boys, but I am creeping out the closet. I was outed here and figured it was about time to come out and say all the things I think but don't say in blog world.

First Emily, it is all your fault. You sent me an email link to your blog and I was hooked. I noticed all the people you had linked and fell in love with many of their blogs as well. The rest is history.

On to why I blogstalk....I love to read. Around 4th or 5th grade I realized I got to momentarily leave my life and read about somebody else for awhile. And have it all tied up in a lovely plot and finish. It was awesome. Parenthood has put the kibosh on my book a day habit. But I can read real life stories from all of you in 15 minutes a day. I see all of your triumphs and joy. I see all of the fun things happening in your lives. I get to laugh at the funny things you and your children do. And you inspire me. To try a new recipe. To read a good book (when I do find the time). To be a better, more fun, and exciting mother and wife.

I can't think of a better Mother's Day gift than the inspiration you all have been to me. It will take awhile, but I will come out to all of you who I have stalked.

So thank you. And now that I'm out hopefully something in my life can inspire you as well!