happy idol day!!

it has happened. i have become a fan of american idol. i think, what, 11 seasons into it and i have finally watched my first episode and now decided that i need to go so far as to tivo it. i wont lie, i am a wee bit embarrassed. i wish it hadnt come to this. its just that darn david cook. so cute, such a good performer, the way he drags the microphone across the stage. pretty dang irresistable. i have to work tonight so i will be missing the live show, but you can have no doubt that i am tivoing it and will be watching it first chance i get tomorrow. i have to work tomorrow night as well, during the results show. man...maybe i should quit my job, its not very conducive to being on top of the american idol game. it even prevents me from voting...not that i would actually do so, i havent gone that far into the deep end yet, but hey, i would like the option to vote. tonight is neil diamond night on idol. i am interested to see what they all choose to sing. although, nothing will compare with dc's rendition of mariah carey's "always be my baby" - swooooon. hahahahahaha.

as far as the rest of life...its good. really good actually. i finally got my car back yesterday and i was almost giddy about driving. simply going to work was a really, really good time. i was seriously so happy to get in my car when i got off work, it was almost like i was 16 again. 5 days without a car when you are single and live alone is a very, very long time. i was pretty much under house arrest all weekend...getting out only to walk and get food and then to church. pretty exciting stuff. i managed to get out of the mechanic's without too much damage to my bank account which is really good news considering there isnt a whole lot to damage in that bank account.

in other news, i have one more week of school left. i took a test yesterday and then i have finals next week and i am home free. i will be the one singing 'schools out for the summer' really loud in my newly fixed car as of next wednesday afternoon around 12:30. i am really looking forward to enjoying my summer and not having to worry about the endocrine system. i think i am actually going to have a super fun summer planned. i have a busy month of may, bonnaroo in june, camp discovery in july and then hopefully chicago in august and potentially boston in september. i am kind of like a world traveler. a broke one, but a traveler nonetheless. i would always rather spend my money on fun trips than anything practical. that makes sense right?? hey, you only live once.

keaton just got back from coachella and said he loved it which is making me even more pumped for bonnaroo. i am afraid of the sweating that i am bound to endure over the weekend, but thats okay, thats what the fountain is for right?? sleeping in a tent makes me laugh and lindsay and i already have some fun things up our sleeves. it really is gonna be a blast...and only like a month and a half away!!

i am going home next weekend for mother's day. i am excited to be able to spend the day with my mom. i havent been home for any of those kinds of holidays in like 8 years!! that is a super long time. plus wfalls just makes me laugh these days. carly's graduation should be super fun and it means getting to go out in wfalls and celebrate her being a nurse and everyone being around...it will be like her wedding weekend all over again. minus the whole bridesmaid dress at old town thing.

so much crawfish and so much fun!!

whoa...i have become a bad blogger yet again. shocking. so, its been a week since the crawfish boil and i am just now getting around to talking about how AMAZING it was!! i seriously had the best time ever. it exceeded all expectations. and i think i had a lot...i mean, i talked it up for weeks. and pretty much just kept inviting people like it was a free for all. so i will start with the beginning and describe it in as much awesome detail as possible.

so...the day started off with my dad having to run around and get a bunch of things done so i offered to help, ran to the liquor store and go the stuff for dirty martinis. an obvious essential to any outdoor cooking extravaganza. run home, shower, put on my party dress and head over. i am so psyched at this point. i cant stop staring/poking/prodding/bothering the crawfish in their little bucket. i have brief (mind you, very brief) moments where i actually feel sorry for them that we are going to pour them alive and well into boiling water and then eat them, but i am really more than okay with it. we start getting the pot and water ready and people start coming over. my little brother and his girlfriend madison came and brought some of their friends, my dad had some people over, the jennings came, lindsay came and brought allison. carly and slate came after she got off work. it was quite the shin dig i must say. so the crawfish start getting underway, everyone is hanging out, having a good time laughing and talking and drinking...

and then the jello shots come out!! i am not sure what happened with this whole jello shot business, i think the youngsters were a bit skeptical about even having them at the boil, but oh no, they went over big time with the adults. i never thought i would actually witness my own mother doing a jello shot...and yet...i did. more than once. despite her claims that they 'taste like hairspray' she managed to get more than one down. atta girl mom. hilarious. so the adults are doing jello shots, the college kids are doing jello shots, the 20 somethings are doing jello shots. it has turned into a party and a half. and this was all before the crawfish were even done boiling!!

the sun goes down, the crawfish are ready and people just start attacking them. i have never seen crawfish go so fast, we are all just gathered around in droves digging in and ripping crawfish bodies and sucking heads and its a great time. we had a lot of people there who had never done it before so it was fun to teach them and watch them and see their faces. i think everyone actually liked the way they tasted though. i know i did...i couldnt stop eating. i dont think i could ever stop eating crawfish...it never gets old, i never get so full that i have to stop. i mean, that was half the reason for the party dress so i wouldnt have to unbutton my pants or anything, i could just keep eating until my hearts content and never worry about my pants being too tight cause i had my loose dress on. smart planning ahead katelynn.

so now at this point everyone is happy and full and a little tipsy and just having a great time. the weather is perfect, the people are fun...loving life, loving the party. and if the jello shots werent enough earlier in the evening...well, here come the moms to play guitar hero. i am not sure what this night was turning into but i couldnt stop laughing. it was seriously so funny, but almost too much for me. after a while, i felt i needed to leave because i couldnt handle it anymore. so i round up the troops and we head out to tobys.

i needed to go to tobys because its one of two bars in wfalls and i had never been. i mean, come on. so we went. my first experience...a pretty good one. me and carly and slate and kevin...aka mohawk...all go and hang out. we were supposed to meet lindsay and allison there, but apparently they couldnt stay. ahem. so we are sitting around hanging out, kevin leaves to go to some other party, carly and slate and i are old and tired and debating going home about half an hour later... we kinda start getting ready to go and turn around and see mohawk just chillin' in the back of the bar!! what!?? who comes back and doesnt tell us!?? who goes with us to the bar, tells us he will meet up with us later, leaves and comes back and just sneaks by to the back of the bar!?? we seriously laughed so hard about it for like an hour. i swear it was the only thing that woke us back up and kept us out till 2am. we could not get over how amusing we found it. its cool, we had a blast without him and apparently the bank people are far more entertaining than us old folks, but we appreciated the wake up laughter it provided. so, me and carly and slate manage to stay out till they turn the lights on at tobys...impressive for all three of us...and then went our separate ways home. it was a great end to such a wonderful day.

i seriously cant even write about how much fun i had at the crawfish boil because i cannot successfully put it into words. it was such a great time, so many fun people, amazing food, hilarious stories to tell later on. i love sitting around and getting to just laugh with people i love. so, i am so thankful to my dad for putting it on...i kinda asked him if we could do it and then it all fell to him to make it happen and i think i turned it into a little more than he bargained for. but i had such a great great great time. i cant wait to do it again next year!!

home.

so, i am home for the weekend and i am always amazed at how much more i love coming home the older i get. i loved growing up in wichita falls, i think it was a great place to be a kid. i had a wonderful high school experience here, as small town as it can be, i wouldnt change any of it. its just amusing to me to come home and see it in a different light. to see people who have continued growing up here or going to college here...living in their late teens and 20s in a city that i didnt know had things to even entertain people of that age group. i spent those years of my life in places many of these people will never even vacation. college on the beach in florida, my early 20s going out in the city of philadelphia. as blessed as i know i have been by living all over, there is still something so amazing about coming home. i appreciate the little things about this smallish town and i appreciate things that i am sure used to annoy me about growing up here.

all that being said, i am having a great time being at home. its almost always relaxing. i love getting to spend time with my family. i have been able to eat the food i always miss when i am not here, spend money on things i probably really dont need, and laugh a lot. aside from sleeping on the air mattress...things are going pretty well. its amazing how i slept on this same air mattress for 2 months and didnt have a single complaint about it, but now i feel like i need a massage the minute i wake up and my body just doesnt seem right all day long. either that or i am just getting old. thats always a bummer.

yesterday i spent the day with my mom and we had a great time. went to lunch with keaton and her at samurai...amazing. then we ran around and did some shopping. i had a hair appointment that i made my mom come with me to, so we did that last night and then went and got dinner. afterwards, i went over to my dads house to hang out with him and see keaton for a bit. well, keaton ended up just breezing and going upstairs and going to sleep without so much as a goodnight. stinker. but i had a great time hanging out with my dad, played a little guitar hero. actually, i think it was more like, i got schooled in guitar hero. needless to say, dad is apparently an expert and i am a mere, mere beginner. it was fun though. i learned what star power was and how it can be detrimental to someone like me who cant seem to raise the guitar without missing the next note. also, apparently i shouldnt sing when i play because i tend to get distracted and more caught up in singing than actually playing the guitar. i have definitely concluded that rock band is the game for me...it encouraged singing and my hands are far more coordinated to play the drums. i am keeping my fingers crossed that he will purchase that before i come in town next time.

today was a lazy day...i slept for so long!! thats because i didnt sleep all night due to the fact that my moms was FREEZING!! i finally got up around 8 and found a bunch of blankets in the closet and piled them on and was able to sleep until she came and woke me up around noon. oops! i had no intentions of sleeping the entire day away. we tried to go see a movie, but it just wasnt working out so we ended up getting lunch at el chico...excellent...and then going shopping for a bit. i am always game for shopping. obviously. i really need to quit spending money - apparently i think i have it these days. so we finished shopping and came home because she had to go to work. i went over to my dads to check on the progress for the crawfish boil that is happening tomorrow and everything was in place and ready to go!! so exciting!! all we need is that delivery by noon and we are set!! i cant wait to see all those little crawfish crawling/swimming around... then madison and i went shopping for a few hours, met up with keaton and his friends at chilis and had dinner. keaton and madison and i came back to my moms to hang out, but we all got tired and they ended up watching tv and i read for a while. apparently, i am not that tired anymore considering its 2am and i am still awake writing this. actually, i was falling asleep, but this book was so good and i wanted to make sure i finished it before i went home on sunday and i wasnt sure i would have time to read tomorrow. phew. good thing i did.

speaking of tomorrow...i am so excited!! i have been looking forward to this crawfish boil for weeks!! a lot of fun people are coming and a lot of them have never had crawfish before. its always fun to teach people how to eat them and even more fun to watch them try them for the first time!! i am excited to dump those little suckers into the boiling pot. i am gonna get up and go to lunch with my dad and then try and go for a run because i keep not doing that and i am really feeling like i need to. then shower and head over to dads house for the rest of the day and for a good time. crawfish...dirty martinis...old friends. what could be better??

back in the swing of things.

ahhhh...back to my own life. which unfortunately at this point only means working a lot, but thats okay because there are no 10 and 12 year olds around and no extra dogs and i am in my own bed sleeping as late as i want. and i am actually really happy to be back at my job. i have missed the hospital and the kids a lot. so...yea!! i got off mom duty on friday night and went and hung out with kathryn at her high school where she teaches...so basically i went from elementary school kids to high school kids. hahahaha. she was sponsoring a group of her high school kids who were doing the relay for life fund raiser overnight. we actually had a good time laughing and hanging out, in tents...on a high school football field. hahahaha.

then saturday i slept in for as long as i could possibly sleep and it was grand. i ran around and got some errands done, but basically i just really enjoyed hanging out on my couch and being in my apartment. i watched the masters, baked some monkey bread, and then i took a late afternoon nap and then had to go work the night shift at work.

work was soooooo long. hahahaha. we had all brought food and eaten so much that i think it was a bad idea because no one could stay awake. we took turns taking naps in 15 minute intervals. it was bad. really bad. so, a long night and to make things worse, i for some reason had signed up to run a 5k with alyssa on sunday morning. what was i thinking!?? i got off work at 7am and then went straight downtown to do this run. 12 hour overnight shift and then i am gonna run!?? i am crazy apparently. and of course it was like the coldest night it had been in weeks...44 degrees outside!! regardless, i was pretty proud of myself for even showing up and i had it in my mind that i was going to be walking part of the race, but i surprised myself and ran the whole thing!! i finished in right about 30 minutes and did not stop to walk once!! thats huge for me! and the best part about it was, i felt so accomplished after it was over and so proud of myself for going AND i was home in bed by 9:30. perfect.

i slept all day, got up and had to work and overnight shift again sunday night. this one wasnt as bad as saturday night and i managed to get through it pretty quickly. i left work this morning and came right home to sleep and then of course...had to go right back today at 3. this is what i mean by just always working now that i am off babysitting. work, sleep, work, sleep....

tomorrow i have the day to myself and then i have to work the night shift again at 7 and then wednesday i have class and then i think i am gonna hit the road to wichita falls. yea!! i am really looking forward to going home and seeing my family and random friends and more importantly the CRAWFISH BOIL!! yea!!

so thats really all...nothing exciting to write about due to all the work and then sleep when i am not working. i am gonna spend some of my money that i made last week on plane tickets. one to philly and one to chicago!! yea!!

the only 26 year old in an elementary school...

wow, i am really ahead of the game in the blogging world today!! i am actually writing this on the day it happened...that hasnt happened all week. well, its my second to last day, i can go to sleep tonight and know that its my last night to have to set my alarm for 6am. my last night to be responsible for 3 dogs and 2 kids. my last night to sleep in a bed that is way too big for me and way too hard for my liking. my last night to have to worry about school lunches, fight the shower battle and clean up the plates and clothes and shoes that seem to accumulate all over the house. yea!! i have almost officially survived.

i had to study again last night, but i wasnt that productive because i was so tired. i managed to get a little bit done, but i had to call it a night and get in bed early. well, i felt super sleepy until i laid down and then i couldnt manage to actually fall asleep. i finished my book, watched some tv and still didnt feel tired. annoying!! i knew i would be at 6am. i eventually fell asleep a little after midnight only to be awoken by barking dogs at 3am. that was fun. that is such a scary way to wake up, convinced that there is someone in the house and then trying to get them to all shut up. when one starts, they all join in. i was debating getting another dog so lexi could have a playmate, but i think i might be set with just her...

the kids woke up pretty easily today so that was a nice treat, but then they were moving so slooooow this morning. i felt like i was saying 'come on' about a thousand times. chris didnt want to eat breakfast, i didnt even care...i just didnt make him. although we had to do the sherbet stare down again. and the hair brushing again. today was chris' school project thing so he was excited about that and we had to get him in his outfit and we actually managed to get them out the door on time. lunches without asking what the wanted?? check. pink lemonade instead of yellow?? check. homework covered with jelly?? check.

i drop them off at school, come back in the pouring rain and try and take a little nap...i didnt really fall asleep soundly, but i had to get up after about an hour because i was responsible for going to chris' school and taking pictures of this presentation thing. the 4th grade does this thing they call the wax museum where all the kids pick anyone from history that they want and dress up like them and line the hallways. they have little cans in front of them for change to raise money for the make a wish foundation... then they all strike a pose representing their character and stand frozen like they are made of wax until you come by and put your money in their can...then they come to life and give you about a 30 second bio of the person they are representing. i felt kinda silly going at first and very awkward to be in the school and to not be a mom, but it was actually very very cute. some of them very so creative and some were amazing. chris was stevie ray vaughn and he had a leather jacket, guitar, cowboy hat and everything. my favorite by far though was the little kid playing ray charles. he was seriously incredible!! he sat there in his tux with his black sunglasses, frozen at a keyboard. then you would give him your change and he would just start playing 'georgia' on the piano. and as he was telling his life story he was mimicking ray charles perfectly...head back, shaking, looking at the ceiling...it was so hilarious and adorable. and then he played and SANG the chorus of 'georgia' and it was amazing!! i was so impressed!! i kept standing by him just to watch him do his performance for other people. there were tons of crazy people from history there...some expected choices - william shakespeare, anne frank, isaac newtown, einstein, davy crockett...but then there were some random ones - houdini, arnold schwarzenegger, ladybird johnson, the girl who's arm got bit off by the shark while surfing, mary lou retton, coco chanel. it was quite a collection and so cute. i am putting pics of chris and the ray charles kid so you can get an idea of what i am talking about...

i did my duty as a proud, picture taking mom and then i had to go back to my life as a student. my real life. i went to my apartment - to check on it and mainly just because i missed it and my tivo...hahaha. and i studied there for about an hour and then went to school and took my test. it went pretty well, i was happy with it. then i came home and got about an hour of laying out done before the kids all came home from school. i thought it was going to be another long afternoon, but it has actually flown by. the kids played outside all afternoon and i was able to take a shower and read a magazine. thats the kinda mom stuff i like to do. hahahaha.

i convinced the kids we should order chinese food cause i have been craving it and they were surprisingly up for it...i know, i too was shocked. they played till the food came...everyone just finished eating and its almost time to head upstairs and get ready for bed. i feel like there might be some sort of hiccup in that process as the day/afternoon has gone far too smoothly. homework is done, kitchen is clean...hmmmm...maybe i should suggest showers just to throw a wrench into the mix. nah...hahahaha.

i am so happy tomorrow is friday...aka payday and freedom!!

hump.day

its official...i am have become one of those parents who cant talk about anything else but their kids and who only seem to have one brain wave and its always tuned to their children's channel. is this what happens to all parents?? i am laying in bed and i cant sleep because i am planning out their school lunches in my head...debating yogurt over peaches and goldfish over chex mix. seriously!?? i lost a solid half hour of sleep because i couldnt stop making their lunches in my head!? what is going on here!?? thats terrible news.

wednesday was a looooooong day. we had a very hard time getting up in the morning, i only slept for 3 hours because of studying...abby tried to stay home from school because she has convinced herself she is sick. no fever, no throw ups, no coughing...out the door she goes. chris did not want to get up this morning, no amount of motivation would do. finally everyone is downstairs and we do breakfast, we argue over the remote and we actually leave the house a little early because i was sick of listening to it and ready to pass them over to someone else. i have learned my lesson, i didnt even ask what they wanted in their lunches...hence why i stayed up the night before planning them in my head. i didnt give them a choice, just made their lunches and put them in their backpacks.

oh, but i did mess up...of course. not only do they get a lunch in their backpack, but their mom packs them a snack with a lemonade as well. well, apparently i made a big mistake on tuesday because i made abby regular lemonade and she only likes pink lemonade. but she forgave me and said she tried to drink about half of it. what a selfless person she is. so, i didnt make that mistake today...pink lemonades all around. i definitely dont want to screw up mid-day school snack time.

also the other debacle of the morning...cause we all know there couldnt be just one. abby's hair. apparently the child never brushes it. she has hair that goes all the way down her back and i looked at her before school yesterday and was like, no, we need to brush that. it was a flashback to my own childhood...and not a good one. i thought i was going to have to do what my dad did and take her to supercuts in her pajamas to chop it all off because she had HUGE knots all over the place. it seriously took me 20 minutes and soooooo much detangler to get a brush through her hair. then i just put it in one braid down her back so we didnt have to ever go through that again. at least not on my watch.

the kids are at school and i come home and study some more...being a mom and being in school just dont mix that well. i was so tired. i studied, went and took my test...which went surprisingly well and then came back and tried to get in a little nap before they all came home. that didnt last very long, i think i was barely dreaming when abby was ringing the doorbell. no after school activities today so i knew it was going to be a long afternoon...with the rain and plenty of hours before bedtime. we manage to get homework done early and everyone kind of does their own thing until dinner time.

dinner was the easiest it has ever been and things went so smoothly i wanted to check their foreheads and see if they were feeling okay. chris actually ASKED for dinner...a first. he never wants to eat. abby had leftovers from the night before...it was a breeze. strange. i didnt even try to bring up the shower idea, heaven forbid we take one two nights in a row...i figured they both walked in the rain a bit today...the night was going so well, why ruin it with hygiene??

everyone up to bed without too many complaints and i think they actually fell asleep by about 9 which is a miracle. i guess maybe as the week wears on they are getting more worn out and that is definitely working in my favor. unfortunately as the week wears on, i am getting more worn out too!! i have another test and i have to attend the 4th grade wax museum presentation. good news is that i am only 2 more days from retiring my life as a chauffeur and chef and hairdresser...yea!!

day 3...only yesterday...

the days are all starting to run together into one giant whine fest and struggle with showers and meals and homework. i am gonna seriously consider having children and then giving them to someone else from the ages of 6-16. i dont know if i can deal with this. then of course there is the old thought that your kids wont be like that...i mean, is it programmed into every 12 year old to leave dirty tissues lying all over the floor and for 10 year olds to not flush the toilet?? i dont understand...

yesterday morning was a little tougher was far as getting them up for school, but we managed to all get downstairs without killing each other. breakfast was another battle...luckily i remembered to cut the crusts off abby's sandwich so i really avoided a potential situation there. chris of course did want to eat anything, i cant seem to get it across to him that because he is a diabetic, he needs to eat. i finally convince him to eat a go-gurt. can we talk about go-gurts for a second?? who thought it was a good idea to put a thinner, more liquid form of yogurt into a straw like container for kids to suck if out of?? that was a seriously gross and horrible idea. regardless, i was happy he was willing to put something in his mouth. then, there are a thousand medications that each child has to take in the morning and at night...abby has no problem getting hers down, but chris has severe issues with swallowing pills. so what do we do?? accommodate him of course!! and the trick, as told to me by his mother, is to break the capsule in half, exposing all the little balls of medicine inside and to "hide" it in a spoonful of lime sherbet. okay...done. except he hates it. and he literally sits there staring at the spoon for a solid 10 minutes...its dripping everywhere, and he is fake gagging. i was like, chris, hold your nose, do something, its one freaking bite...take it and move on with your life. he said he couldnt do it, i told him i had fed plenty of babies in my life so i had no qualms about putting that spoon in his mouth. ah ha!! that did the trick and he ate it. and then proceeded to keep it in his mouth and do the throw up gagging swallows...i was like, come on kid...just SWALLOW IT!!! ugh...what a production. i dont even care if you take the dang medicine.

i also made the mistake of asking each child what they would like in their lunch...yeah, dont ever do that...you should just not give them a choice...if they are hungry, they will eat what you packed. and of course abby uses different peanut butter than chris does and she likes her sandwiches cut in some circle shape with a cookie cutter and chris likes his cut into triangles. oh my heavens...this is not a full service culinary kitchen!! lunches packed, backpacks ready...load up in the car. do the carpool drop off and at last i am alone again.

i came home and napped because i almost dont even remember driving the kids in the morning because i was so dang tired. then i got up and laid by the pool for a long long time. looking at my itinerary for the week, i already knew that tuesday was gonna be my favorite day of the week because both kids have after school activities until 6:30pm. they were each dropped off around the same time and i had even made them dinner...i was pretty proud of myself. oh, but chris had already eaten so he didnt want any, but at least abby was appreciative. and by appreciative, i mean, she actually ate it.

then we did homework and pretty much had to start getting ready for bed. so i forewarn chris that he has to take a shower and he literally throws himself prostrate onto the couch in protest. the whining continued for 30 minutes!! i was like, you do not have a choice in this matter, it is not an option, you are showering. to which he informed me that his mom didnt make him shower this much and i said, um, every other day?? i should hope that she does. so i have to almost physically drag him upstairs and get him into the bathroom...where of course he takes a bath again, but hey, thats a battle i was willing to lose. i do the required reading and am so happy that another day has passed.

i have learned my lesson and dont even try to take a bath because i know for a fact it will be ruined. and of course, i was wrong. i threatened abby about coming downstairs and i guess she actually listened. then again, she wasnt feeling well and again asked me to promise that i would come and check on her and take her temperature every 15 minutes. once again...not happening my friend. either way, they didnt make a peep and i was able to sit downstairs and study for hours and hours and hours. until about 3am...normally not a problem, but 6am came awfully early this morning.

parenting isnt getting any easier and remind me of this week when i think i might wanna try it again...hahahahahaha. how am i ever going to consciously decide that this is something i wanna do and commit to?? i better have a darn convincing husband...hahahahaha.

the second positive thing...

we all know i am loving the xm radio, but that isnt the only bright spot in my week thus far...my other favorite thing here is the tassimo coffee maker. Its seriously has to be one of the greatest inventions i have ever come across. i have seen these before and never really thought about them, but this whole 40 seconds to make one little cup of something is AMAZING!! i have been enjoying cups of hot chocolate and chai tea on a nightly basis...its lovely. this is definitely going on my wish list...

day 2...better late than never...

i apologize for the delay in the blog, but being a pseudo-parent has not allowed me the time to sit down and write out lengthy blogs on a daily basis. that and i have had a lot of studying to do in the past 2 days...

monday morning was our first attempt at getting up for school...and katelynn's first time to wake up at 6am in seriously 8 months. miserable. i was so tired my eyes were burning, but i managed to stumble upstairs and get the kids up without too many complaints. dont worry though, the complaints came when it was time to make breakfast. no one could decide what they wanted, they couldnt get off the couch...it was grand. not only was i trying to get them to pick something for breakfast, i was having to make their school lunches and trying to get them to decide what they wanted to each for lunch that day as well. abby decides she wants peanut butter toast...great. i make peanut butter toast, put it in front of her and she flips out...crust on the sandwich makes her throw up apparently. i looked at her in the eyes and said, no it doesnt, i find that hard to believe. yet i still cut the crust off. parenting...ugh. then chris decided (after seriously half an hour of prodding) that he wanted cereal. easy enough...done and done. oh, but wait, he gets to the table and throws a fit because he doesnt like milk in his cereal. i am sorry...what?? then you arent really eating cereal for breakfast... so i have to dump the cereal out and pour a fresh bowl of dried cereal for him, which he eats about 3 bites of and then throws away. great, not wasteful in this household at all.

i manage to get them both dressed, abby's hair somewhat brushed, their teeth supposedly clean and into the car. then i cant figure out how to release the emergency break off the car. oh good. i dont drive big fancy SUVs so i was completely dumbfounded...luckily after feeling around for a good 5 minutes, i managed to find the lever hidden about where my knees go under the steering wheel. phew. and we are off. drop chris off and then drop abby off, but not before bickering about listening to radio disney on the entire 4 minute drive. i head back towards the house just so happy that it is quiet for a few minutes.

i enjoy XM radio all the way back to my apartment, change clothes and do a few things and then head to my doctors appointment. you know its bad when a trip to the gynecologist seems like a vacation just because you know there wont be school aged children there. this is how exhausted and pathetic i was at this point, i got the doctor a little early and ended up FALLING ASLEEP in their waiting room in their super comfy leather chair. how embarrassing is that?? they woke up me up by calling my name, i wiped the drool from my face and tried to stutter out that i was housesitting/babysitting for the week and had to get up at 6am. yeah...i looked awesome.

all that said and done, get home and relax by the pool for a bit before i have to go get chris from school. i get the kids home and then refer to my 17 page typed instructions to see what is on the agenda for this afternoon...oh good, piano lessons. the mom informed me that she usually just stays and hangs out and listens. lucky me. so, we go to piano, each kid takes their turn and what does katelynn do?? falls asleep on the strangers couch...impressive that i could sleep amidst the horrible plunking on the keys, but like i said, super tired.

guess what happens next?? we get to start the dinner conversation/arguments. yea!! i was so looking forward to another meal time as a family. abby wants to go out, chris wants to eat in...we compromise (i am really good at being a mediator apparently) and i drop the kids off at the house and go pick up food to-go. the drive to the restaurant was so pleasant for me. everyone eats dinner, we have done homework...its almost time for bed. thank goodness. oh wait, chris doesnt have his diabetes testing kit...awesome. i have to call the piano teacher, who isnt home...and then end up driving over there at 9 at night to go pick it up. all the while having abby inform me that chris cant go to bed without testing his sugar. obviously i know this...thanks abby.

speaking of abby, she was starting to feel sick apparently...it sounded like allergies to me, blowing her nose and whatnot, but she was convinced she was coming down with something. she asked me to please check on her and to check her temperature every 15 minutes throughout the night. hahahahahaha....what?? um, no ma'am. how hilarious and ridiculous is that?? i think i assure her she will be fine and that i will check on her AT SOME POINT. we do the reading, we check the sugars, we brush our teeth and get our water and say goodnight to the dogs and find our appropriate stuffed animals and...finally, i am able to walk back downstairs...alone.

i waited it out for half an hour or so, convinced everyone was in bed for good...ran a bath to relax and of course...why dont i learn?? here comes abby knocking on the bathroom door. i dont even know what she wanted because i sent her back upstairs so fast. bath ruined yet again...why do i even bother?? i was so happy to get in bed at like 10 that even when i found the ketchup bottle on the nightstand in the room i was staying, from abby earlier in the day, i wasnt that annoyed, just pushed it aside till the morning and set my alarm for 6:02 and tried to mentally prepare myself for the next day...ugh.

the best thing so far...

a real quick little note to say that there are some positive things that are happening during my stay as a mom. they have nothing to do with being a mom and everything to do with the amenities that come with this house, but i thought i should mention one or two of them sporadically so people realize that i am not completely suffering over here. the first being XM satellite radio in the car. its amazing. i have been rocking out to the 90s, the 80s, the all michael jackson station. its great. i do have to endure radio disney when the kids are in the car, but the minute they get out, its all mine. i am having the best time with it and i am convinced i need one.

more positives and a day 2 recap to come after i go back to bed for a few hours now that the house is quiet...

and its only been one day!!

oh my, i have only survived one day and its official...i may never want to be a mom. i dont do well with school aged children. i need kids who love me unconditionally and still take naps - essentially people under the age of 3. you think i might enjoy exerting my authority, but really it just annoys me to have to do it. there were moments this morning when i actually felt bad for being such a picky child. do kids do that just to annoy their parents?? is that why i did it?? here is a recap of the past day with a few highlights pointing towards why i am debating the whole offspring issue...

got here yesterday morning at 6:30am...both kids awake. on a freaking sunday mind you!! what is that?? i proceeded to half watch cartoons, half doze on the couch until about 10 when i finally decided it wouldnt greatly pain me to physically open my eyes. i cant convince the boy to eat breakfast, normally wouldnt be a problem, but he is a diabetic so he needs to eat. i finally manage to get everyone somewhat settled with breakfast in between the screaming fights over the remote control and computer games. i fake ooh and ahh and pretend to be interested in their webkinz (sidenote, what internet genius came up with stuffed animals you could pay to feed online??) lunch was another battle of not wanting to eat and i just gave up. i checked the kids sugar and it was fine so it was something i wasnt even gonna fight. it was gorgeous outside so i decided the troops should all head out and enjoy the day. mainly for selfish reasons because i figure if i am here enduring early wake ups and picking up a strangers dog poop, i should at least benefit somehow by getting a tan. and of course, abby doesnt want to go outside yet because she wants to wait till 1pm. why?? no one knows. chris wants to go, but then doesnt because abby doesnt. alas, i tell them we are going outside anyway and what do ya know...abby wants to play in the front yard and chris wants to play in the backyard. awesome. i realize that i cant win, i put my bathing suit on and park myself on the lounge chair out back trying to imagine that i am somewhere, anywhere else but in a strange backyard surrounded by skateboards and star-shaped pool floats.

everyone seems relatively happy which at this point is all i am really shooting for. so i come inside an hour or so later determined to get lunch going and get some food into these children. i couldnt have their parents coming back to malnourished kids. so, i think...hey, its sunday, a relaxing day, lets order some pizza! i thought that would be fun and cool of me...i was responded to with less than enthusiastic grumbles. after an hour or so of convincing, we decide that fine...we can order pizza. oh but wait, thats too easy. one likes papa johns and the other one wants pizza hut because "papa johns makes her throw up." of course it does. so pizza hut it is and 45 minutes later, everyone is somewhat happy again and full of pizza. then comes time to get chris ready for his lacrosse game which i thought i was taking him too which meant abby had permission to stay home alone while we were gone. trying to make a strange 10 year old wear a cup and understand the importance of said cup is not something i care to ever have to do again. and then to my surprise, his teammate came by to pick him up for the game. yea for me!! no good for abby. she was seriously so upset that i wasnt going, she actually asked the parents of the teammate if her babysitter could go with them to the game. um...no ma'am. i had to use my mommy authoritative voice and explain to abby that she would have to get over it because i was staying home. she was like, but i dont want you here, i wanted to be home alone. i said, i am going to go lay by the pool so there ya go, it will be like you are here alone anyway. geez.

lacrosse game is over, abby has forgiven me for staying home and now we are in the homestretch of the day...praise the Lord. chris comes home all sweaty and tries to sit on the new couch and throws a fit when i tell him he isnt allowed to because he is so gross. then we proceed to have a 20 minute argument about him taking a shower versus not taking a shower. he claimed that he had one last night so he was fine....to which i replied that his shirt was soaking wet with sweat and um, no...he would be showering tonight. i had to bargain and promise him no shower the next night. whatever, they arent my kids...i dont care if they are the smelly kid in class. dinner was yet another struggle...what is it with kids and eating!?? obviously the left over pizza was gross...heaven forbid we eat that. so i made two different dinners...corn dogs for abby and chris, after an hour of prodding and debating, decided on a baked potato. oh, and then convinced i didnt know how to make one, called his mother in the bahamas so she could tell me how to make one. great.

finally it is time to get everyone upstairs for bed...i never thought this moment would come. of course chris runs and gets in bed, little does he know that i am actually not completely ignorant and i do in fact remember that he needs to take a shower. and by shower, i guess that means taking a bath and sitting in his own filth. whatever. regardless, his skin was touched by soap so i will take it as a small victory for me...and to be honest at this point, i was just trying to get them into bed. i have to do some reading aloud for both kids and even bored myself with that whole thing. then it was lights out and doors closed and a sigh of relief for katelynn.

i could feel every muscle relaxing a little bit with each stair on the way back down to the kid free zone and the quietness. i waited it out for about half an hour and then i was super excited about treating myself to a bubble bath in their huge whirlpool bathtub. i was all warm and relaxed in the bathtub with the jets going and my book...and i should have known from my one day experience as a mother that this was far too good to be true and never going to last. luckily i had the foresight to lock the door before getting into the bath because 'lo and behold, a knock at the door and alas, abby is there talking about how she didnt say goodnight to the dogs. mom voice came back into play as i had her march back upstairs.

my bath being pretty much ruined, i drained the tub and put on my pajamas just trying to make it to bed all the while trying to forget that i had to set my alarm and get up by 6am to start this whole thing over again. day two recap to come pending my survival...

and the sun is shining once again...

we havent seen the sun in austin in like a week...the weather has been warm, but overcast every single day. no good. well, today is the day...the sun is shining and its amazing outside!! i worked the night shift last night and got up this morning and only let myself sleep for about 4 hours because i have to start babysitting tomorrow at 6:30am!! thats right...6:30am. ugh. its gonna be a long day/long week. i am with the kids till friday. i can already tell its going to make me never want to have school aged children. although, i think i already feel like that...hahaha. i love kids till they are like 5 and then i am kinda over them till they are around 15. is that bad?? i am sure i will enjoy my own school aged children. at least i hope i do.

so, i am up and i am about to go head out the door and meet sarah for lunch. i havent seen her in so long, i think only maybe once since she got married and that was over a month ago!! ridiculous. then, i was hoping to lay out, but its not that warm outside yet. its lovely, but still a bit cool. i am really hoping to get some serious pool/laying out time this week while i am staying with the kids. they have an amazing backyard and its supposed to be 84 degrees tomorrow. fingers crossed!!

off to lunch...

headed out to run....

but i had to stop and post this first because the other day alyssa asked me what i listened to when i ran and i said 'girl talk' and she was like, that sounds stupid. so i had to post this video so everyone could see how awesome it is and how obviously great it would be to run to. girl talk is a dj group that just mixes awesome songs...its a whole cd and its unreal. so, this video is made by some stranger on youtube and not actually the group, but its my favorite song on the album when i am running... get into it.

when did i start trying to pretend i was a runner??

i am so sore i cannot move. it is seriously unreal how much my body hurts. i am having a hard time going from sitting to standing...and i walk like my legs wont bend. its interesting. obviously i got up and went running this morning and obviously my body hates me for continuing to do so. but i refuse to give up!! hahahahaha. i am actually about to head to bed so i can set my alarm and get up and go again tomorrow morning before class. not only is this the most running i have done in months, its also the most showering i have done in a long time. i am freaking taking like a shower every 12 hours. what is that about!?? so un-katelynn like. that my be my least favorite part about running. hahahaha.

ran...class...work. looks like i am back to my old schedule. class was stupid and i hated it. it wouldnt be so bad if i didnt have the worst professor in the history of teachers. i am always just so glad when each class is over because i am that much closer to not having to see him ever again. then i went to work where it was so slow it was almost silly. i mean, we had like 7 patients on the entire unit at one point. i was able to get my homework done at work though so that was nice when i got home. i got to watch a little tivo and then do some studying, but not keeping myself up too late with homework. yea!!

caitlyn kirby came by and visited me again at work tonight and that was super fun. i get excited when its tuesday because she usually comes up and says hello and it always really brightens my day. man, i love my job.

i am getting really excited about going home for the weekend...i am excited about the crawfish boil and seeing my parents and my little keaton. i am looking forward to hanging out and relaxing a bit and getting to see people i never see and hang out with people i never hang out with. i keep inviting people to the crawfish boil...my poor dad. hahaha. who knows if anyone will come, but thats fine...i will obviously eat their share of the crawfish. its gonna be awesome.

life is good.

and the vacation is over...

awww....sad news. i am done with my week of not working. back to the grind tomorrow. booooo. hahaha. actually, its probably good for me - i have noticed that by not working, i am getting much less done than i actually should be with all this spare time. i am more productive when its a time crunch and i have a schedule. right now, i just sit around and think i have all the time in the world so i never seem to get anything done. no good katelynn.

today was a great day though!! it has seemed so long, but in a good way. enjoyably long. i got up this morning...set my alarm and everything...and went for a run with alyssa. my legs are still so ridiculously sore from yesterdays run, but i was determined to get up and go this morning. the weather was looking like it wasnt gonna hold out, but it ended up just being overcast and actually perfect for running. not too hot cause there was no sun out. then we went and grabbed lunch at taco deli with her husband paul...my first experience at taco deli and it was a tasty good time. it actually did start raining on us a bit when we were eating outside there, but that was okay because alyssa and i were disgustingly sweaty and it was probably helping our cause. hahahaha. then dropped alyssa off to get her car and came home to lay down. my legs and body were exhausted.

i am so sore its completely unreal. my whole body hurts to move. sitting down, standing up, walking...its all very painful. i look so awkward just trying to get from one place to the next. i am trying to convince myself that its a good thing and will all be worth it because i am seriously determined to keep up with this whole running thing i have started. i am planning on going first thing when i wake up tomorrow morning as well. i really hope the determination is there in the morning.

i got home and rested my bones and my body and took a little nap on my couch...then i got up and got some laundry done. i needed to at least be a little bit productive today. then i had plans to meet up with kathryn to just hang out for a little bit and catch up. sarah goes to bed super early so she didnt come, but it was so good to see kathryn and get to hear about her life and catch her up on whats been going on in mine. and to be able to make plans to hang out again and to know that hopefully we will all be able to hang out again now that wedding season has come to and end and get this grub club thing back up and running!! we only have a few months before sarah and ryan leave!! and then will and adrienne are next...ahhh!! it will be down to just me and kat and ta...thats when i am bringing alyssa and paul into the mix.

i am home and after phone calls and dinner and showering and cleaning my kitchen, i have basically done everything i can to avoid doing my homework. so, alas...now i begin my homework. i am determined to get a little bit done tonight that way i am not completely overwhelmed tomorrow night with all that is due on tuesday. is school over yet??

back to school, back to work...back to the real world...