the Journey

M had to straighten out a love triangle in the lunchroom this morning. I wish I was kidding. C took a seat next to a girl from his class to enjoy his breakfast.  Due to the table configuration, there was no chair on his other side.  Upon entering the lunchroom, CB was immediately distraught by the idea of not sitting next to C and tried to pry a chair between C and the other little girl.  When it was evident that wouldn't work, she had a meltdown.  Over my son. Seriously. M came to the rescue and repositioned C so he could sit between both girls.  What. the. crap. I can't even imagine what drama we're in for over the next 20 years.  I'm crossing my fingers for a pro-longed adolescent awkward stage and hair that sticks up in odd directions.  I'm sure I can slip a few Ben's to the Optometrist to convince him that contacts aren't an option.  Same treatment for the Orthodontist.  A few extra months in braces couldn't hurt. Y'all think I'm not

Disclaimer:  I have not been purposefully neglectful.  Second disclaimer:  this is likely to all be random. Do you know what perfectly accents a crisp black pencil skirt, gray sweater, and black pumps?  Paint.  Paint left over from priming kitchen cabinets.  Paint that would not, could not, did not come off when washed.  I think it was in my hair for two days.  I'm starting a new trend, I've been dodging calls from Vogue all week. I left my lunch in the fridge this morning.  I'll spend all day thinking about the pasta salad that could have been. When I forget to put "Call SKBH" in my phone.  I forget to call SKBH. Our new house has a lot more area that the townhouse we've been occupying for the last year.  This means that when I'm in the kitchen and need my chapstick, I burn approximately 300 calories there and back.  I've just found my new cardio. I naively thought that a group of 11 kids could entertain themselves quietly and without issue

This is what we've come to.  My brain can no longer create flowy paragraphs of wonderfulness, so instead, we'll just tick off some things I've been doing/thinking about. C at next to the cute girl at school again this morning.  I don't even know. Star 94.9 has changed up it's formatting and it is blissful.  It's good music, current, relevant, etc. but no trashy pop crap.  They play a little of everything.  So, if you see me cruising down Florence Blvd, belting it at the top of my lungs while having my own private dance party, just look away. I spent money on something today I never knew I needed before.  Boot straps.  As in, remember the stirrup pants of the 90s?  Well, now you can purchase a removable stirrup.  It's for keeping your pants pulled down in your boots.  When he reads it, this will also be the first M knows of said purchase. I'm fixing to make my eight move in nine years.  No one should have to pack up their life that many times. M

Our theme for the next 11 days:  Finish. Finish laying baseboards, finish touching up paint, finish painting the kitchen cabinets/door/drawers, finish building the kitchen cabinets/doors/drawers, finish cleaning, finish installing appliances, finish packing (who am I kidding - start packing), finish my meltdown, just finish. Do you have a good picture of my current mental state, uh huh?  Also, my husband called me this morning after he dropped C off at school to inform me that C bypassed sitting by his best bud in the cafeteria this morning in favor of sitting next to a cute little girl.  What in the actual crap? There aren't enough caramel filled chocolate Dove squares in a five mile radius to dull the pain of that turn of events. Our theme after the 12th will hopefully shift to:  Breathe.

I know that when I checked my email, my Facebook, my phone, my text messages, my work email, and my work calendar that they all say today is Tuesday.  However, based on the first three hours of my morning, I declare them all to be wrong.  I must attest, it has certainly been Monday so far. I woke up exhausted.  That really shouldn't happen.  I don't know if it's allergies, the impending move, fall tax season, or something else.  I'm just tired.  That thing that some of you are thinking it is, it's not.  She came last week. The morning can only get better when your two year old wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.  I don't know why it irritates me so for him to move at a glacial pace no matter what it is he's doing, but it drives me bonkers .  I try very hard not to be the constant "hurry up" parent, I rarely use that phrase.  However, I do think it's important to learn that there are time limits!  It shouldn't take 30 minutes to eat y

First, it's been almost two weeks since my last post.  So sorry to all five of you, life's just been kinda crazy. Is anyone else out there a How I Met Your Mother Fan?  No?  Get out.  No, but seriously, there's an episode I completed related to all day Saturday.  The gang has a tradition of watching the super bowl together and one year had to attend a funeral instead.  So, in order to preserve their tradition they declared an all-day media blackout the day after the super bowl and planned to watch the game together that evening.  The episode details the ups and downs of that endeavor. I had my own media blackout on Saturday.  We painted baseboards and shoemolds, and got the kitchen cabinet boxes installed along with most of the trim.  So, it took us until about 7 to finish up.  I had the DVR going for the Bama game, chili in the crockpot, etc.  So, at 2 p.m. I declared the beginning of the blackout and spent the next five hours avoiding any contact outside of the three

Our area got some really great news last week.  There's a new music venue that has opened up downtown with the purpose of providing a great place for local and outside talent to perform.  We have a grand history in music, but currently no great place for that music to be heard.  Thanks to some great people, we now have that place.  Friday night they held a free concert of some up-and-coming talent, and M and I jumped on the chance for a *free* date night.  Actually, it turned out to be fairly expensive because after a long and hard day at work Friday, I drowned my sorrows in the sales racks at Belk.  It was all in the name of needing something cute to wear on our date.  I saved more that what I spent.  You'd be surprised how little comfort that provided to M.  Nonetheless, I looked great for our date.  There were a couple of opening acts, one was awesome, and the main show was wonderful. I should mention that one of the people responsible for this new venue by way of a new r

I really wasn't that into the boy bands when I was in middle school.  Sure, I religiously watched TRL every afternoon like any self-respecting teenager, but I didn't chose sides, or have a favorite band member, or go to the concerts. However, I can admit, without shame, that at the very first glimpse of the member of N*Sync rising to the platform during last night's VMAs, I was bouncing up and down on the end of my bed like I was front row at one of their concerts circa 1997.  I don't know why, I guess is was all the anticipation built up from the will they/won't they rumors over the past week or so.  It was pretty awesome.  And, thankfully, afterwards I was free to turn off the VMAs without fear of having nothing to talk about with people on Monday morning. Seriously?  I really don't listen to or watch that much main-stream music.  Is this what's out there right now?  C may never leave the house once he turns seven.  Miley, really honey?  I know your Dad

Was it hard? Was it runny? Was it normal? Did it smell really bad? Was there a huge mess? What it discolored? No one tells you when you're in the beginning stages of falling in love.  Nobody wants to shatter the fairytale/"The Notebook" illusion you've created in your mind.  They just don't have the gumption to confess to you that one day when your beloved calls you at work, the above may be the extent of your entire conversation.  They don't tell you that you'll feel completely normal discussing "it".  They wouldn't dream to explain how interested you could be in "it".  Nope.  These people, these ones who've paved the way before you, who've told you your whole life that "it" is not an acceptable topic of civilized conversation, they never let you in on the secret.  One day, you'll have complete dialogs about poop.  Ah, how romantic. C has had some stomach issues off and on this week. I got called to c

Seriously, where has the time gone?  Wasn't it just Memorial Day?  I have to start thinking about Halloween costumes?  Why didn't I learn to sew!!??  I seriously have to start buying candy every week from now until then.  Apparently Halloween in our new neighborhood is to little kids what Black Friday is to adults.  I've heard of numbers exceeding 700.  SEVEN HUNDRED KIDS.  I don't even understand that.  Then, you gotta turn around and cook turkey.  Then, it's Christmas.  If you've waited until after Thanksgiving to start shopping, well you might as well go ahead and get your name on the waiting list for the Betty Ford Clinic.  Making the list, shopping the sales, fighting the crowds, perfectly wrapping the presents in matching paper, it WILL drive you insane.  But hey, it's only the 3rd week of August, we've got time. Your home remodel update (and I promise it'll be brief), the floors are coming along, and we're working steadily on all project

Is it sad to be glad to come back to work on Monday just so you can sit down in a comfortable chair while the air conditioning keeps you at a reasonable temperature?  Yes, that is sad?  Well then, I'm sad. I'll back up a little first. You didn't hear from me on Thursday - you're welcome.  I promise it was better that way.  I would either have cried or killed you with one look, it was too hard to tell. However, Thursday night was wonderful.  M and I went to parent orientation at C's new preschool and left knowing he was going to have a great year.  This will be the first time my baby has to  have a backpack, with his own snacks, and learning objectives, and, and, just pass me the tissues.  My baby is too big. Friday I was in Hville for a CPE class which was about as exciting as you're imagining it was.  We had a wonderful evening at home eating a gourmet meal and watching a family movie.  No.  That's what normal people do.  I walked in the door from C

You have to say that like the camel in the commercial. Yesterday on my way into work the weather person on the radio announced that the high would be 88, but it would feel like 97.  You know what that is?  A lot of humidity, a lot of wasted time on fixing hair that would look flat and lifeless at the end of the day.  Thankfully, I had my much needed hair appointment yesterday afternoon.  I got a fresh new color and cut, and I feel much better.  I know you guys don't understand how that happens.  It's ok, we don't really want you to understand because it's our party and you're not invited. C is at the age where he can have me rolling in the floor with his humor.  The other night to encourage him to eat the main part of his meal, I would give him one chip for every bite he took of the good stuff.  Stop your judgment immediately; you do whatever works at this age.  At one point he had three chips on his plate, one large, one medium, one small.  He pointed to the

My brother is on my list.  You know, my "it" list.  We all have these lists, and it's not through positive actions that you land on the "it" list.  I'll explain later why JT has been banished (pronounced bani-shed for dramatic Shakespearian effect), but first a couple of items of background. Early on in my relationship with M, I aggravated him purposefully.  A lot.  He couldn't figure it out.  I wasn't mean to him, I just liked to pick at him.  The car ride home after he met my brother for the first time, he confessed that now he understood perfectly. My brother has a PhD in aggravation.  (Let me stop and say that I know the correct grammatical term is "irritate" not "aggravate".  You can only aggravate in a medical context, but since that's the common turn-of-phrase, we're going with it.)  I don't think I did that much aggravating on my own while I lived at home.  Apparently though, if JT wasn't around I was per

Thanks to a friend who has a double black belt in interior design AND finding a good deal, bedding for Cohen's room as been found.  Also, a paint color.  I know, someone stop me before I overdo it.  It's going to be super gorgeous.  I'm stoked. Also, since I'm in the business of putting your minds at ease, I've made a hair appointment.  My roots will no longer be a problem effective Tuesday afternoon. Someone in my household is a big fan of "The Devil Wears Prada".  It's not me.  I like it fine, but not to the same extent.  However, I think of the movie almost daily.  Remember that scene where they go look at the up-and-coming designers new line and Meryl Streep's facial expressions are the indicator of approval and disapproval?  The kiss of death is pursed lips.  If you get that look, back to the drawing board.  When I scroll through some of the apparel and clothing designs on Zulily, I often think to myself, "Someone should have pursed

I truthfully am feeling a ton better, but you wouldn't know that by listening to me.  Although they aren't very painful, my swollen tonsils have left me with a less-than-pleasant sounding voice.  A few years ago I had no voice for almost a month  I'm hoping this is not a repeat. I have been on my medication for a month, and in that time I have lost thirteen pounds.  That's ten from my original starting point back in March.  I'll be honest, I had hoped for more.  I know that's ridiculous, and at some point I have to be grateful for any and all progress.  I'm down almost twenty-five inches since this journey began, and I notice a big difference in the way my clothes feel and look.  I know had it not been for the exercising, I would never have been able to contribute to the house renovations the way I have been.  I'm sure Matt's thankful for that, also.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll post a picture, you'll just have to wait and see. Do you know what

I had a good reason for not being back yesterday as promised.  Two words:  stomach virus.  Four more words:  I felt like death.  I won't even elaborate.  The memories are too hard. There has been a ton going on the last couple of weeks, truly too much to summarize.  I'm just going to detail out this past Saturday and you'll get the picture. Saturday: Get up at 6:00 a.m. - already, you should be tired.  Take shower, get semi-presentable. Go to the grocery store for items needed for Saturday supper. Return home by 7:30 a.m. so that Husband can go get JR, and they can go take all the trash they loaded up the night before to the dump. Get toddler ready for the day.  Drive thirty minutes to the floor store to purchase all the new downstairs flooring. Pay for all the new floor. Entertain toddler while Husband and JR load all the floor (2 and 1/2 pallets worth) onto the trailer.  The boys head to the new house to unload flooring, I head to take toddler to his grandpar

No caption needed.

This is what we got going on today.  Headed to the Tenneesee Aquarium for J's birthday. Uncle Matt and KK have the dual DVD player, so we got the kiddos. We're looking forward to a great day.  I'll be back tomorrow.

Y'all.  How long do your roots have to be before you have to do something about it?  I'm asking for a friend. That's not true.  It's me.  I could see that you really believed that it wasn't me, and I couldn't let you be mislead that way. So seriously, what's the rule?  I mean, they're not bad, really.  It's just that between taking out a mortgage on a new house, remodeling a kitchen, and replacing all the flooring, we're not exactly rolling in the hay right now.  Can you believe that stores actually expect you to pay for things?  Up Front?  I know, I was surprised too.  So, shelling out the Benjamins for a color visit is not on the list of things the hubs is currently willing to say "yes" to.  I really don't want to box dye it all one color because I have a pretty color picked out for the fall and don't want to damage my hair.  Truthfully, I'm hoping you all will say, "sure, you can go another eight weeks into Septe

I grew up in a pretty traditional household, but as an adult our family shifted and I became part of a bigger, blended family.  Marriage brought with it more family, and now we have six places to be for any given holiday.  I enjoy being a part of each of these families, they are each unique and special to me.  My paternal grandmother's family is so special based on size alone. My great-grandmother, my Mama Young, gave birth to eleven children on nine different occasions.  She had not one, but two sets of twins.  Back-to-back.  My grandmother is one of those twins, and anytime someone announces they're pregnant, we all hold our breaths waiting for that twin gene to pop up. (A side note, Matt's paternal grandmother is also a twin, so if I make it out of my child-bearing years without any it'll be a miracle.)  Of all my great-grandparents, she is the only one I remember.  The others all departed this life before, or shortly after my arrival.  I got to have nine great yea

But, that's what happens when you cram four full days of activity into one blog post.  It gets lengthy. Thursday we had about the same fourth of July experience as everyone else - wet.  We did have a great time with family, but my anxious husband decided a day off could not be wasted on folly alone and home renovations could take place. So, he and I spent a couple of hours Thursday night pulling up carpet.  The file you're looking for is labeled - Lame; subclass - Super Lame.  Here I am getting ready to get my work on.  These gloves were the smallest Home Depot had and were promptly exchanged the next day for a smaller, pink pair from Lowes.     Let me state that the "poof" was a function over form thing, and I try really hard never to let that much of my forehead be seen on a daily basis.  Don't I embody the image of a renovation diva?  Yes, I do, thank you.   Here are some pictures of Thursday's progress.  Thankfully, none of the carpet pad w

I know I've been sparse the last few days, what with jet setting all over the southeast and figuring out how much money it's going to cost us to do the renovations on the house.  Let me just tell you, dwelling on the last part has left me mortified.  Yes, it's truly exciting to get a new kitchen, floors, lighting, etc., but geez that stuff gets pricey.  We happened upon another money gem when we went by the house last night to take a few measurements and discovered the downstairs A/C was blowing hot air.  Nice.  Since the house was a foreclosure, we have no idea exactly how old either A/C units are (there is a small unit for the two upstairs bedrooms).  There is a sticker on the big unit that says "2001-005", so I'm hoping that's an indication of age.  Twelve years is an older unit, but at least it's not twenty.  And, as you would suspect with a foreclosure, it's been sitting empty for some time.  We're praying it's a small issue, and not

In case you all missed the dozen instagram and Facebook photos, this is what I did yesterday. It was blazing hot, but it was an awesome game. Today's agenda-shopping.

I really just couldn't think of a title. Sorry. Well, we closed on the house successfully! Now let the actual work begin.  I'm going to be posting pictures, updates, etc. throughout the process.  I know, you're on the edge of your seat, you can hardly wait.  Well, you'll have to wait until at least Monday because I'll be out of town this weekend.  It's Tomahawk time!  The girls on my Mom's side of the family are loading up in the morning to spend the night in Atlanta.  We are all avid Braves fans, and have tickets for Saturday afternoon's game.  Let's hope they play better at home than they did on the road the last couple of weeks.  It's been ugly as of late. My dream is that one day Cohen will play for the Braves, and I'll have season tickets.  Not that I'd ever be the kind of Mom to push my dreams onto my child, forcing him to play a sport he doesn't like just for my sake.  I will say, for a two and a half year old he swings t

My sweet niece recently had her second trip to the ER for an accident.  Luckily, no stitches were required.  Unluckily, she's not even two and all this excitement may both kill my brother, and keep me from getting any more nieces/nephews.  I will say that for not having give birth to the child, she does possess an alarming number of traits similar to me.  Her temper and delicate nature topping the list. When you cook as much as I do, you're bound to turn out a dud every once in a while whether it be visually, or in taste.  Well, I think we can all agree that the popularity of Pinterest has caused the dud to success ratio to tip in the favor of the duds.  I really am a good cook, but I was almost brought to tears last night by a 2 lb. sack of red potatoes.  I bought the potatoes with the intention of cutting them up and roasting them the old-fashioned way.  On a whim I decided to try and re-create the boiled and then roasted potatoes I had seen on Pinterest a number of times. 

I'm actually writing this from a local coffee shop on my smart phone.  I feel so modern. Is this what George Jetson envisioned when he created the Internet? I kid, I know the aliens made the internet right after they finished the pyramids.   Can I just brag a second on how awesome my God is? When Matt and I sold our Daphne house earlier this year, we ended up taking about $1,500 more to the closing than we had been told originally (we don't know how to sell a house and make money). Well, tomorrow we close on a new house and our final, approved HUD came back.  We are going to be writing a check for $1,500 less than we were told originally.  My creator is faithful.    I'm still a little hesitant to actually get the cashier's check for tomorrow's closing,  and I have good reason to be gun shy.  When we bought the house (built) in Daphne,  we spent the 7 months it was being constructed saving for closing, etc.  When we got the low, incorrect closing statement I

I hope you all managed to get outside this weekend and enjoy this beautiful Bama weather.  I know that we did! Thursday after work, Cohen and I headed to my Mom's to spend the night. Since Matt wasn't with us, I decided to let Cohen sleep in the bed with me rather than the crib in the back room.  I knew this would mean less sleep for me, but I needed some cuddle time with my little man.  Sometime in the wee hours of the morning I had that inevitable internal debate: get up and go to the bathroom, or suffer through the last hour of sleep.  I don't know why this debate is necessary most nights, anyone knows that 20 minutes of peaceful sleep is way better than 20 minutes of "mind over matter, Katye, you do NOT need to go to the bathroom, go to sleep!".  It was around this time that I felt some pressure on my stomach, and as the pressure increased, so did my sense of its source.  My darling son had both feet on my stomach and was pushing down as hard as possible.  I

You probably won't hear from me until next week.  Little man and I are headed to Decatur for the night and to spend tomorrow at Point Mallard.  I'm so excited.  He loves the water, and I'm going to love watching him have fun! Since I've gotten through my impending deadline of doom, I have absolutely no motivation.  Does anyone else suffer from this?  It's as though I have to be on the brink of insanity to actually accomplish anything.  It's really not a good problem to have when you work in a profession that demands you bill for your services by the hour. I know it seems like a odd thing to pray for, but I find myself praying that God will restore that motivation! I do have a fun thing to be motivated about lately, our new house!  We close next week and I cannot wait to start working to make this home our own.  We've got the luxury of about 4 months of time to renovate, paint, clean, etc. before we have to move in.  It's why Pinterest was created.  I

I thought that my morning might have to be spent calling the people at Visa and telling them that I had lost my credit card.  This would have been devastating for me.  No credit card equals having to ask the man that controls the checkbook at our house for money.  This would contradict my normal policy of just buying something and having the 5-7 business days before it arrives to convince him of why I really needed those shoes.  They were ON SALE.  ON ZULILY.  THEY GO WITH EVERYTHING.  Too bad those particular shoes don't fit my feet very well and have barely been worn.  To those who would say it is despicable that I would sneak shop with my credit card, I say let me use my credit card to order you a case of Windex for that nice glass house you're living in.  Which, I could do, because Husband found my credit card in between the seats of the car.  But first, I'd have to find where he has since hidden said card. Let's start with the good news.  Since my last weigh-in (