Play Time with Brayden

Brayden, Aunt Dawnie and Uncle Billy came by for a visit a few weeks ago. Bray and Katherine played on the swingset at the house for a while. The weather was gorgeous so we went downtown and walked on the Promenade. We saw boats, ducks, squirrels, and a groundhog. After lunch we had ice cream at Bomboy's! Yummo!

1st Visit to the Dentist

Katherine had her first visit to the Dentist. We had been prepping her for a while and thought she was ready. Dr. Fritz said he would only do what she let him. If that meant just counting her teeth, that would be fine. Mark's Mommy, Ms. Megan, works with Dr. Fritz, so it was nice to see a familiar face too! (Mark is one of K's buddies from church) Katherine was a little nervous but a very good patient. Dr. Fritz was able to count her teeth, check for cavities, polish her teeth, and even floss her molars!!! She was such a good patient, Katherine got to pick a prize from the box. She picked out a sparkly tooth fairy box. Woo hoo!

Easter 2009

I know, I've been negligent as a Mommy and haven't posted in a while.

Easter was a blast! Katherine enjoyed dressing up, including her bonnet, gloves, and purse. She also got the hang of hunting for Easter eggs. It helped that the youth group at church stuffed the eggs full of great candy! We topped off the day with a luncheon cruise on the Lantern Queen!

Float Like a Butterfly Sting Like a Bee!

We had the pleasure of cruising on the Lantern Queen to celebrate St. Patty's Day! The music was great and Katherine danced the entire time. After she had worn out all of the adults she could, K found a little friend. They danced together and even convinced her older brother to join them.

By Wednesday, Katherine's graceful moves had left her. She tripped and fell outside and smacked her face on the driveway. She busted her lip pretty good and got some scrapes. Here she is sporting her fat lip.

Running Inspiration

So I follow this blog written by a woman in California that has 4-year old triplets and a 1-year old singleton. She works part-time as an environmental compliance person for Exxon (I believe it's Exxon although she's never really said), has recently started home-schooling her kids, and is currently training for a marathon. Whenever I think that I can't conquer an almost 3-year old, I read this woman's blog and I know I can do anything. If nothing else, her posts are entertaining.

I couldn't help but copy a segment of one of her recent posts on here. She has a problem with her feet falling asleep while she's running. She's looked into tying her shoes "correctly", etc. She has recently gotten inserts that may help and then she will pursue nerve tests. Anyway, this part of her post is discussing her challenges with treadmills and her numb feet. I was laughing out loud and felt that I had to share. Enjoy!

I had only run on a treadmill two times, previously. The first time, I stumbled and inadvertently disconnected the magnetic safety piece that shuts the treadmill off. In doing so, the track came to an almost instant stop and I pitched forward and landed on my knees. The second time, I disconnected the magnetic safety piece five times and had to restart my run, losing all record of the total time, distance covered and calories burned.

Yesterday when I was running, I decided to not affix the leash for the magnetic safety piece to my body and instead, left it dangling over the back of the treadmill. Surely I wouldn't fall on the treadmill. And besides, I didn't want to run the risk of losing all my data should it become accidentally disconnected.

At some point around three miles, I could feel my feet start to go completely numb. And it seems that when your feet go numb on a treadmill you become a little unstable. I was about to slow my pace from 5.5 to 2.5 and step on to the side rails, when suddenly my numb feet which weren't being picked up high enough to take a step, snagged on the track.

If my magnetic safety piece had been intact, I would have just tripped and stopped.

But because the track was still moving at 5.5, I pitched forward before falling backwards and then was whipped off the treadmill. The rest is kind of a blur although I do remember seeing my feet at eye level as I flew through the air.

I landed on the ground with a THUD a solid seven feet behind the treadmill I had been on and the woman who was on the treadmill next to me, looked back with her mouth wide open and asked, "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OK?!" The gym staff who were working in the glass enclosed office came running out and tried to help me up.

But I jumped up off the ground and feeling only slightly embarrassed quickly shot out, "OH YES! I'm sure I'm fine! I ... I ... I have a little problem with my feet. They like to take a nap whenever I run. But oh yeah, I'm totally good! I'm actually training for a marathon. And look at that, I made it three whole miles before getting hurled in to space!! WOO-HOO!!"

Childhood Carry-Overs

Do you ever do something or say something without thinking and then immediately catch yourself, knowing exactly where that came from? I've realized that several of my behaviors or responses to Katherine have come directly from childhood. Here are a few examples:

While driving to and fro, especially to the office in New Jersey, I instinctively play the "license plate game" in my head. It has amazed me how many people are driving through MD, DE, and NJ from other parts of the country. Some of this can probably be attributed to military personnel and their families, but I also wonder if people are driving more instead of flying because of the economy. Just this week (2 commuting days) I have seen cars from MD, DE, NJ, PA, VA, NY, MA, ME, VT, CT, NC, SC, FL, TN, CA, TX, WA, AK, OH, KY, SD, and LA. And why are there so many people from Quebec driving through this area?! Just yesterday, I saw no less than 15 cars from Quebec!

Trains - When I am stopped at a train crossing, I automatically start counting the number of cars on the train. Mom used to do this with me, probably so I'd be more patient with our delay.

Responses to Katherine - When we're getting ready to leave the house to go somewhere, we tell Katherine to go to the potty. Sometimes she says "but I don't have to go". My response is "TRY". (Thanks Dad) Sometimes Katherine asks "Why?" incessantly as most toddlers are known to do. After exhausting all of the real answers, I sometimes end up responding "Because I said so!" (Thanks Mom and Dad)

To this day, when I eat a ripe plum (one of my favorite summer-time treats!) I instinctively walk outside before biting into it. Apparently Mom used to send Scott and I outside to eat our plums so we wouldn't dribble the juice all over the house!

What habits do you attribute to your childhood?

Florida Vacation

We took a vacation to Florida a few weeks ago to visit Aunt Jan and Uncle Paul. We were adventurous and decided to make a road trip of it. Rob C. was kind enough to let us crash at his place in Raleigh, NC on the way down and back up.

Jan and Paul showed us around Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Ormond Beach, St. Augustine, and Daytona. We were lucky enough to see Right Whales migrating while we ate lunch one day. They were beautiful! It was great to visit with Jan and Paul, and great to relax for a while. We had a great time! We also enjoyed the semi-warm weather down south. (it was colder when we left NC for FL than when we set out on our adventure from MD!)

Katherine said that her favorite part was digging on the beach. (However, I think Daddy and Uncle Paul did most of the digging!) We can't wait to visit again!

Links

I added some links to the left side of the blog. One is for Victory Gardens and the other is for a blog about a family who is trying to live on $1500 for one year. I thought they would be of interest to everyone who may be trying to tighten their belt a little. ***The family living on $1500 a year has discontinued their blog for "personal reasons".

Snow

Katherine has enjoyed the snow we've had this year. She particularly enjoys "sleighing" (sledding) and "scraping" (shoveling). Her sledding involves us pulling her around the backyard in her sled. She's a pretty good scraper though! We're willing to hire her out to anyone that needs their snow cleared.

Cookie Conundrum

Are they Samoas or Caramel deLites?

Our family has a MAJOR weakness for Girl Scout cookies. One of our favorites is the second-most popular cookie, behind Thin Mints. We have noticed that they are called Samoas some places and Caramel deLites in other places. In the past we wrongly assumed that they had changed the name of the cookie to be more Politically Correct (I guess some Samoan was offended that a delicious cookie was named after him). Anyway, we indulged in both cookie names this year, and I wondered if it was a regional thing as one box was purchased in NJ and the other in MD. Otherwise, the MD girl scouts are passing off REALLY old cookies. So I did some research.

There are two baking companies that make cookies for the Girl Scouts. ABC Bakers is in Richmond, VA and makes Caramel deLites. Little Brownie Bakers is in Louisville, KY and makes Samoas. I guess it depends on what bakery is supplying which troop.

From experience, both cookies taste alike. However, I have found through my research that Caramel deLites are healthier with 140 calories as opposed to the 150 calories in Samoas. Both packages list the serving size as 2 cookies! Who can eat only two?! I can easily polish off a whole box in one sitting if no one is watching!

I have also learned that Girl Scout Cookies are Kosher. You can also claim them as a tax deduction if you pay for the cookies but leave them with the troop. What's the fun in that?!

I propose that we organize a taste-off of the various types/names of Girl Scout Cookies. Anyone want to share a box with me?

Tinkle, Tinkle, Little Star

Katherine is well on her way to being completely potty trained. She very rarely has accidents anymore and when they happen, it's because she's very preoccupied or overly tired. As a precaution, she is wearing pull-ups during naps and nightime. But they are usually dry when she wakes up. Woo hoo!

I came across this handy little item tonight.

It is an ancient Greek potty training chair. There is some speculation whether it was a potty training chair or high-chair type device. Given the holes, I am leaning towards potty training. Either way, it doesn't look very comfortable. Given the amenities that come with some training potties these days, it's hard to believe that anyone was able to learn on something made of clay.

2009!!

Here is our New Year Baby!

Need I say more?

Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. It wasn't nearly as hectic and rushed as normal. Katherine got her beloved "cooter" and "puter". Otherwise known as a scooter and computer. That's what she asked Santa for. Her computer is a Vtech laptop that she can grow into. It has all kinds of modes to work on letters, numbers, words, etc.

She also got all kinds of other great gifts and she adores all of them.

Maybe Santa was so nice because of the cookies and milk she left for him, and the carrots she left out for the reindeer. Santa even left a thank-you note.

Here are some pictures of her on Christmas morning at home. She was also able to try out her scooter a few days later when it was unseasonably warm. Can you tell she loved it?