ABCs Of Me

A - Age: 27

B - Bed size: queen

C - Chore you hate: cleaning the tub

D - Dog's name: no doggies for me, only kitties!

E - Essential start your day item: cereal and milk

F - Favorite color(s): blues

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5'9"

I - Instruments you play: flute, piccolo, recorders

J - Job title: Mom

K - Kid(s): Jordan (2 years 2 months) and Ben (15 weeks)

L - Living arrangements: military housing; me, dave, kiddos, cats.

M - Mom's name: Sandee

N - Nicknames: Katie-Kates, Katiebear, KJ (old nickname, not used really anymore), mom

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: a few for mental health years ago

P - Pet Peeve: Whining, loud chewing with mouth open, bad drivers... oh wait, I was supposed to pick 1?

Q - Quote from a movie: I don't have any favorite quotes...

R - Right or left handed: right

S - Siblings: One wonderful big sister

T - Time you wake up: Around 6am

U- Underwear: a size much bigger than I would prefer it to be... =(

V - Vegetable you dislike: eggplant isn't one of my favorites.

W - Workout style: Stroller strides, walking, hopefully I can get to the gym again one of these days!

X - X-rays you've had: chest, ankle, wrist

Y - Yummy food you make: Apple pie, macaroni and cheese, cookies, baked ziti, the list goes on!

Z - Zoo favorite: the big cats!

I'm so Facebook Cool

I am so cool that I have created a Facebook account for my mom.. er yeah, I suppose I am NOT really cool at all. But I am ok with this. Especially since I am no longer a teenager trying to hide my wrong-doings from my parents. I am legally allowed to drink, I am married therefore I obviously have sexual relations (well, maybe not as obviously as my husband would prefer!), I am a role model to my children so I do nothing illegal, etc etc etc. So, if you happen to know my mommy, look for her on Facebook and be her friend! =)

Parental Figures

My parents arrived last night from Pittsburgh. My posts the next few days will probably be pretty lame, I apologize. We are having a good time, especially Jordan, more people to play with!! Ben is, of course, showing off his wonderful smiles and laughs!

Feline Fridays... Where's Kitty?

Can you spot the cat??

New Stroller

It's a hit so far!! I was a bit worried having ben in the seat w/out the car seat (can't put car seats in this stroller) but he seems quite comfortable and sleeps nicely in it. Jordan is pretty comfortable as well, though tends to use Ben as a table sometimes. OOPS! I love how the stroller handles and how easy it is to turn. Now if only the weather would cooperate and I could use it more outside.

What Would They Say About Me?

Ever since we moved I have been watching more TV than I did in Pittsburgh. Fridays I have been watching Wife Swap. No idea WHY I watch this as it is a stupid show and all the families are a bit batty. But the show always makes me wonder what a stranger would say about my family and the way I run my household/raise my children. Would they frown upon Jordan watching PBS so I can check my email/blog/clean? Would they think I was a slacker when I give my child chicken nuggets multiple times a week (by multiple I mean nearly every day... thankfully the waffles she eats every day are homemade with whole wheat flour!!!)? Would my relationship with Dave be judged? Am I a good wife/mother? These are questions I ask myself every day... and often, in my incredibly judgmental mind I am a disappointment to myself. Why do women do this to themselves? And since they already judge themselves, why add the judgments of others to make us feel worse? I really wonder why anyone would volunteer to be on that show.

I Love My Fellow Mommas

Today we went to the Brookfield Zoo. It was a big zoo, we didn't have enough energy to see every exhibit. Some of it was just ok, but I was blown away by the monkey house. Especially one room that had two very special monkeys... Mommy monkeys. This baby was born April 3rd.


Dave and I absolutely adored this momma who was nursing her little one.


I find a special joy in seeing animal mommies. Their mothering abilities are completely natural and never seem to falter. They don't second guess themselves or guilt trip themselves unnecessarily. Of course, I doubt their toddlers are nearly the handful that human toddlers are!

BEDA: Truth or Dare!

My friend Sara, who challenged me to BEDA (Blog Every Day in April) has missed a day! According to her rules, if one of us misses a blog, they get "punished" by the other.

So, Sara... your punishment....


TRUTH or DARE?

Pick one for your next blog post, and then I will respond with what you must do! =)

Baby Legwarmers by Kate

I have resumed knitting. Now that Ben is sleeping a bit while not on my chest in the evenings, I have a bit of time. Also, knitting keeps me from snacking too much. I had this pair finished, but had not sewn up the sides so I finally completed them. I am about halfway through the first leg on his second pair =)

They are a bit long for him at the moment, but surprisingly a little snug around the thighs. He's a fatty!!

I Got Nothin'

As per the rules Sara has put out for me, I have to post every day this month. I am drawing a blank today and can't think of anything worth posting. I apologize. I have seen other moms make posts about poop lately. I would just like to say, I am always thankful when Ben poops in the cloth diapers as opposed to the disposable. My children are pros at blowouts, but the cloth diapers manage to keep the poop in. Woohoo!

And that's all I've got. Hopefully I can think of more interesting posts tomorrow.

My Chunky Monkey - 3 Months Old!

An Award!

I got nominated for this award at least a month ago and have yet to live up to the honor! Here's my post!!

The rules of the award state that I must list seven things I love, and then to pass the award on to seven bloggers I love to read. Here we go!

7 things I love - aside from the obvious or previously mentioned...(my husband, kids, family...)

1. Cats. If i wasn't married and didn't have children I would be that crazy cat lady with more cats than anything else in my tiny apartment. When I was little, all my school art projects were pictures of cats, clay cats, paper mache cats, etc. I suspect one of these days I will be cat-less as i am sure Dave will want a break once ours have passed away. But it won't last long, he'll give in to my constant pleas!

2. Chocolate. I hate our grocery store because you HAVE to pass the Easter candy to get to the checkout lines. Its a horrible thing to do to someone trying to lose weight as I just cannot resist. No wonder my diet keeps failing!

3. My house. I have never had a house I could call my own. True, we are renting, but its not an apartment and it's not my mother in law's house. Therefore I call it MINE! =)

4. Funky socks. The people of "what not to wear" would love to throw out my sock collection. I have socks for all the major Christian holidays as well as St. Patricks Day, 4th of July, Halloween, and Channukah. Not to mention lots of cat socks, patterns, and bright colors.

5. The color blue. Nearly all my clothes are blue. I love blue!

6. Mocha Lite Frappacinos. I have recently become addicted to these. If it wouldn't mess up our budget I would drink one every day.

7. A good homecooked meal. I would much rather eat a nice yummy homecooked meal with my family than go to a restaurant. yes, it is easier to do the latter, but not nearly as satisfying!

I have to nominate 7 people... I am sorry if you were already nominated!

Sara
Kelly
Michelle
Keeling
Angela
Lisa
Emily

3 Month Birthday

Yesterday was Ben's 3 month birthday. It is hard for me to believe my son was born only 3 months ago. He has filled a void in our family so nicely, that it feels like he has always been here. I love my little man!! He has now rolled 3 times, and feels that is quite enough as he's pretty sure he won't ever do it again. Jordan is more into her brother and is always handing him toys or books and likes to hold his hand. Ben has the best smile/laugh for me, all I have to do is tickle under his chin and he makes the cutest noises! He's a total momma's boy... and I am ok with that!!

3 months post-partum and I have plateaued at only a 18 pound weight loss... Not that I am trying very hard to fix this current weight situation. I keep starting to track points only to cheat or just give up, starting over a few days later. It is frustrating, but I think I need spring to hit and I realize that nothing fits me to really stick with it. I am just not feeling the motivation. Sigh.

Master Bedroom

We have yet to put anything on any wall in the house. Our poster frames and photo frames, etc, are still packed up. Hopefully this weekend we'll get stuff up. I'm not in a rush though.

Anyway, here is the master bedroom. Its pretty sparse, which I really like. I think we've always had our bedroom too cluttered. Having tons of closet space REALLY helps! Here is our closet. Unfortunately this is the only place to put the cat box in the house. I think the placement of the litter box in a bedroom is a big motivating factor to clean the box often enough and not slack off! We finally have room to hang all our stuff and have extra space. all the stuff behind those two doors are Dave's suits, uniforms, my dresses (I only have a few).


My side of the room. What you can't see is a blanket on the floor next to the bed where I put Ben when I am too tired to put him in his room and fight him in the crib, but want my space back on the bed.


Dave's side of the room. (I just tidied it, and you can't see the pile of clothes next to the bed).


We decided to not use the bed frame we acquired before moving. It made the bed really high and was a bit of a pain for Dave to assemble. I actually like this arrangement much better. I feel safer having Ben in the bed when we are so close to the floor. And our lazy cats are happy they don't have to jump far (then get very unhappy when they remember Jordan can climb in much easier now).

We have never had so much space in a bedroom. I love it!

Jordan's Room

Jordan's room is a bit bigger than Ben's. Here is one wall.


The other two walls (view from the doorway). That dresser was given to me about 20 years ago!

Ben's Room

I finally have taken some photos of the new house!! They will come in installments, so be patient. (mostly because I still have to unpack or clean the room I have to take a picture of!!!)

This is one wall (duh). To the right is a big closet that is currently full of all the clothes Jordan and Ben have outgrown that I need to give away but can't be bothered to sort quite yet. As well as about 8 boxes of clothes that Ben has yet to fit into (size 6mo-9mo up to 3T!!)


Other two walls... view from the door.

Big Sis/Little Bro

My wonderful mommy bought these shirts for the kiddos. I love them! =)

Jordan, Ben, and me... I had just exercised, that's why I look like this. I swear that I do shower on occasion ....

BRING IT ON!!

My friend Sara has challenged me to BEDA - Blog Every Day in April. I am ready for the challenge!!

I suggest all you bloggers out there try it too! =)