What is your Christmas Eve dinner?

We started a new tradition last night for Christmas Eve and I think it just might stick. Put away the chips and salsa, return the antipasta tray, meatballs move over and say hello to Christmas Eve Breakfast. Yup...we rolled out the waffle maker, fried up some bacon, and turkey bacon for Dave, and I took my spot by the stove and made omelets to order. Yummy!!!

We had to miss church because of an ice storm so we had our own little service with Christmas carols and even the traditional candlelight version of Silent Night. (Each kid holding a Yankee Candle jar counts, right?)

We opened our Christmas Eve PJ's and played a new board game ImagineIf and then tucked all the kids in for their long winter's nap.

(IF YOU STILL BELIEVE IN SANTA DO NOT KEEP READING)

Then..we rearranged furniture and pulled out all the gifts and set them up under my Mom's tree. It is about 2 and 1/2 feet tall but it sits on a pretty table and so the presents are actually "under" the tree. With 14 people it is safe to say there are a LOT of presents.
We wrote the note to Santa for my cutiepie niece Aubrie and Emme and I even helped Santa out by eating all but the crumbs of the Sticky Bun which Santa receives at our house. I drank his milk dimmed the lights and retired for the night.

I"m pretty sure before I went to sleep I heard "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night". OOPS...sorry for eating your Sticky Bun Santa...

:-)

Apply these rules only during the holidays!!

HOLIDAY EATING RULES
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffettable knows nothing of the holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots,leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You cannotfind it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that ithas 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turninto an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have onefor me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's the holidays!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point ofgravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out ofyour mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk orwhole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sportscar with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to controlyour eating. The whole point of going to a holiday party is to eat otherpeople's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and NewYear's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling thebuffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat ofeggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, likefrosted holiday cookies in the shape and size of Santa, positionyourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can beforebecoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair ofshoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat, Pecan. Have a slice ofeach. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin.Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with themandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, havesome standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the partyor get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-readtips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
Rememberthis motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention ofarriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather toskid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up,totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO, what a ride!"

author unknown...

A Day in the LIfe of...Me

Awakened from a dead sleep:
Mom-Mom I set my gym clothes out last night, but Kyle is wearing them!! Please get up and help me. (They actually wear the same size except for pants.)

Getting ready:
Mom, Did you pack my lunch?
Mom, where is my backpack?
I can't find my other shoe...
Are you ordering me 2 hotdogs for lunch?

Driving to school:
Mom, I'm freezing. I'm hot. He touched me. Tell him to be quiet. She just slapped me. Mom, please go over my spelling words. No, do MY Bible test. No MY TEST IS TODAY... Did you bring money for my hotdog?

At school:
Mom, can I please watch a video? Actually I want to color. Can I have a snack? I'm thirsty Mom. I have to go to the bathroom...Is it time for aftercare yet? NO, Teagan it is only 8:30 and yes you may have Another Lolipop!

Walking through the hallway:
Hi Mom, my belly hurts.
Hi Mom, my test went great!
Hi MOm, I got a cut on my finger!
Mom, can I play with a friend after school.
Did you order me a hotdog?

Driving home from school:
I'm hungry. Mom, please tell me you have snacks. I'm thirsty. She stole my pencil. No, it was my pencil. Stop singing I'm trying to do my math problems. Mom, can you time me for 1 minute. Here Mom, please check this math paper. (Remember I'm driving here!) Mom, I NEED a snack. I have to go to the bathroom.

At Home:
Look Mom, I made a picture for you! I even cut it out! SEE!! (I see the mess in the other room where all the pieces are all over the floor I just mopped.) Mom, thanks for cleaning the Living Room, it is much more fun to jump in here now. Can we ice skate on the floor mom? Are we having a snack tonight? She kicked me. He punched me. Can I have a sticker? Where are the Sharpies? I'm starving.

Bedtime:
I'm not tired. Can I have a snack. Will you snuggle with me? We didn't read. I didn't get to play today. My belly hurts. Mom, come tuck me in. Mom, are you coming in my room next. Mom, can I get a drink. Mom, I need to talk to you. BZZZ the dryer is done, BRRing the dishwasher is going...scrape scrape the dog wants in...PANG PANG goes my head. Goodnight children!! Please go to sleep now. I love you all very much.

Mom...I'm still hungry....

Mom...what is for lunch tomorrow?

Mom, can we go to Applebees tomorrow night for dinner?

AHHHHHHH....

I'm going to bed and dreaming about children with full bellies.

KT

practical

This morning I was getting ready in my bathroom when I spotted my husband's phone randomly placed on the bathroom counter. I decided to be goofy and call him downstairs and ask if my coffee was ready yet.

So I did.

Rhia - hears him talking on the phone to me and says, "I can't believe she called you from upstairs. She has 2 feet why didn't she just come down and talk to you?"

My ever practical and often tactless daughter's wisdom reigns once again!

KT

Dates

So yesterday morning I took Iain on a date. We went to Starbucks and I used my birthday gift card from Emily Stover (Thanks Emily). Iain had a Ginormous Rice Krispie Treat and I had a large coffee. We sat and talked and read books and just enjoyed being together. I love spending time with my kids one on one.

Iain is started to put letters and sounds together and guess what, they make words. Reading is so fun! I can't believe my little boy is reading words and almost 1/2 way through kindergarten.

Last night I was getting them ready for bed and Iain comes out of his room yelling, "Look, Mommy, my P.J.'s growed into me!" How cute it that. They were Kyle's old PJ's that had been too big.

Saturday I took Rhiannon to see the Nutcracker and then we went out for Chinese with one of her best friends Taylor. Her face was very intense while she watched the dancers and I know she enjoyed the entire show. Clara was played by a girl in our school so we were able to say hi to her afterwards which was pretty neat. While at the Chinese restaurant Rhia looked around and said, "Mom, why do all those people look Chinese?" Well, Rhia, because THEY ARE! :-) She was also very distraught because the napkins were folded so they sat like a cup on the table. She eventually asked me for a real napkin. I laughed and told her that the napkins could be UNfolded! :-) You can dress them up but you can't take them out.

Kyle declares he is next for a date and somehow I have a feeling his date will eventually have us at Walmart looking for some new something or other. Teags? Well, she gets to spend all day with me all the time so I'll have to think about her date. Maybe we'll go to the library or something.

Dates with the kids are so fun.

Now, I MUST schedule a date with my hubby!

Christmas Gifts

The Gift of Christmas Past:
The Clapper
Kyle would like a new light for his room for Christmas.
Clap on...Clap off...Clap on.Clap off...THE CLAPPER.....(You know you are singing it!)

The Gift of Christmas Present:
The Snugie
Order 1 now for $19.95 and we'll include this great flip light for your bed. Available in 3 favorite colors. Keeps you warm while giving you full use of your hands! You should really get one. In fact they sometimes have a buy 1 get 1 free deal. Be careful though, they are tricky...we are now the proud owners of 4 of these delightful new products currently in shipment!! :-)

The Gift of Christmas Future:
The Flying Car
Hey Mom, when they come out with the flying cars can we get one?
Sign up for one. You know we did!!


So if you are feeling rather Scroogish, remember, just order Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future and you'll soon be saying God Bless Us, Every One~

CLAP OFF (Darkness filles the room.)

helper

Yesterday, Rhiannon decided to be a my helper around the house. She just wanted to be with me and do what I did. We loaded some laundry in the wash, swept the floors, folded the blankets on the couch, cleared the kitchen table, made some beds, and finally ended up at the dishwasher. As we were loading dishes Rhia stopped and looked at me. With pure disbelief she said to me, "Mom, do you do this EVERY day?" I chuckled and said, yes, basically I do. Then she asked a very challenging question, "Mom, do you LIKE doing this every day"?
I paused and then said, I love taking care of my family and this is part of taking care of my family, so Yes, I like doing this every day.

Thanks Rhia for the fresh perspective on my daily tasks. I hope that she will grow to enjoy helping me take care of our family and one day enjoy taking care of a family of her own. What a blessing she is to me!

Momokrit,
KT

gift ideas

A few gift suggestions for anyone with kids:

Stockings - yes, the kind you hang from the mantle. You can get cheap ones at Walmart. Just give them to your kids and see how creative they will be. They make great hats, arms, ornaments, and best of all ice skates on hard wood floors. Have a first aid kit nearby. Our Christmas decorating isn't complete until someone gets hurt from our annual "skating".

A new "throw" - the kind you buy to put over the couch and use when watching TV on a cold winter night! These gifts are full of uses. They make great hiding spots. You can also use them when building forts or playing dress-up. My favorite use is the "sled". All kids except 1 pile on the blanket and the remaining child tries to pull the "sled" around the house. Hilarious!!

Today I plan to return all the gifts I purchased and just buy a few additional throws and stockings. Think that will work?

Momofkrit,
KT

um Excuse me?

Studying with Kyle:

Kyle did the Spartans and Athenians get along?

No. enough said.

Well, actually your study sheet talks about the resentment because of their influence.

Well, I realize it says that on the study sheet, but I just don't think historians have figured out yet why they didn't get along.

Um, excuse me? You don't think historians have figured out something you learned about today? Wow...we have some major work to do in the area of humbling.

Kinda funny though!
KT

Tea Party

A few weeks ago Teagan and I enjoyed a tea party with my Mom, My sisters Amy, and her baby Jonah and Erin and her daughter Aubrie, and Amy's mother-in-law, Jackie and her friend. We were celebrating Jackie's 60th birthday! The tea shop had hats for customers to enjoy during lunch and the girls had a great time choosing hats for themselves and everyone else!

Jackie and Amy's baby, Jonah

Is Teagan under there?

We tried to convince my mom to wear this hat to work later that day, but she didn't.

Katie and Erin - both with their eyes open!

My Mom, Amy and Aubrie!

Thanks for the tea party Jackie! Let's do this again when you turn 61! That was fun!!

KT

More than just cereal?

This morning I opened a new box of cereal before any of the kids came downstairs. Inside, I found a toy. To many of you this is not unusual, however in our house, the toy is usually gone before I even place the new box in the pantry.

Anyway, I tucked the toy away and when Teagan came downstairs after the others had left for school. I gave her the toy. OH WHAT GREAT DELIGHT! She was amazed that there had been a toy in the cereal box. She pointed to the picture on the box and exclaimed, "Look Mommy, it is just like this picture here!"

Lessons learned:
Poor Teagan has never experienced the simple joy in life of finding a toy in a cereal box.
Kyle Beware! Teagan now knows......

KT

Elmo

Yesterday I told Rhiannon I had tried a new dish at our Chinese restaurant called Sesame Chicken. With wide eyes and confusion she said, "Does that mean it has Elmo in it?"
I laughed for about 2 minutes straight.
The things kids say...

confusion

(Last night I bought a new 3 pack of gum.) ((My kids LOVE gum.))

8:25 am - Mommy stumbles downstairs after enjoying her sleep-in morning.
Iain comes running up with the pack of gum. Mommy, Mommy, can we have this now?
No, Iain, it is too early in the morning.
Ok, Mommy, can I just open the package for you so you won't have to do that yourself?
Ok, Iain, just be careful with those scissors.
Mommy, I'm just going to take the plastic wrap off this pack of gum so it is ready for you.
Mommy, I'm just going to give everyone a piece of gum to hold onto until you say we can eat it.
Mommy, everyone has a piece of gum now, can we please eat it?

(Still not quite awake) What? Oh, ok, I guess it is ok to eat it now.

Did I just get scammed? I'm a bit confused.... and for some reason I am chewing gum!!

mom of sneaky kids,
KT

quick update

It has been forever, I know. I have all these pictures to post and stories to write, but it is cold and rainy and everyone in my house is asleep except me so I'm going to bed. But first a few things:

Kyle tested tonight for his next belt in karate. He is now an orange/green belt and I couldn't be prouder of him. I'm not just proud because he got the belt but because he has been really dedicated to his karate and he works REALLY hard at it. It warms a moms heart to see your child really enjoying and working at an activity that you have researched and prayed about and then paid for. He is getting very strong and building muscle and although he might not be a famous baseball player or the first pick for the soccer team or pick-up basketball, I would certainly choose him to walk with me down a dark road!

Rhia is desperate to loose her first tooth. It is so loose. In fact the adult tooth is almost completely in behind it. Her cousin Aubrie lost her second tooth over the weekend when we were together and oh the sadness!! What a sweet moment I had when I found her crying in a corner and I was able to just hold her and tell her it was ok...Life can be so hard....


The kindergarten teacher at school pulled me aside this afternoon and gave me the biggest compliment. I think I will tape it to my bathroom mirror so the days when I think I'm totally failing and want to quit I can read it and keep going. She told me that all of my kids were so special and so nice to have in class. They stayed focused on the task at hand, were obedient, and a joy to be in class. Although she hasn't had Teagan yet in her class, she has taught all 3 of my other kids and what a joy to hear those words. My children are well behaved and obedient and focused. She said Iain is a great student and she can always count on him doing exactly what he is supposed to do and setting a good example. So Mrs. P. if you read this, THANK YOU THANK YOU for encouraging me today with your words. Raising children is a thankless job and often the job review comes in the form of negative comments from the kids themselves. What a blessing to know some of what I am teaching them and working so hard to instill in them is indeed getting in there!! Praise God!

And Teags...oh I just love that kid. She rocks....

Happy Mom,
KT

Uh...HELP

so this evening when I asked my kids to move all their stuff off the kitchen table, the response I got, was this: well that binder in not actually mine; it is God's.

How exactly does one respond to that without either laughing or totally flipping out?

Thankfully, Daddy was here and responded because I just stood there and looked like a fool!!

Crazy kids,
KT

take your parent to karate night

Yup, that pretty much sums is up. If you've read my blog in the past you can probably just stop now because you can guess how the night went down. However, if you need a good laugh or aren't familiar with my family read on....

I arrived at the karate studio right at 6:15 with 4 kids. A class of 9 students was getting ready and Master Kloss was trying to convince parents to join the class. 2 other brave parents were ready to go, a mom and a dad. Ok, I thought, I can handle this. I'm not the only parent, this won't be so bad.

So we greet each other and come to attention and say stuff in Korean (which Kyle understands) and then do jumping jacks...Bonus...I can do those. We move on to pushups. I can pretend to do those. But hey, if you've seen my son do pushups, mine don't look too bad. A brief moment of rest and the parents exchange quick hello's. (Grrr...the Dad over there takes karate but is on break for an injury...he doesn't count) The Mom is nice and I'm glad she is there. Moving on to some sort of blocking. Ok, cross your arms and then block, wait how do I hold my hands? Bend your knees, face front, thumbs up, no down...."MOM! HOLD YOUR HANDS RIGHT".
(At this point I am really wishing that I could crawl in a hole a die. Why is the mom next to me getting this so quickly?)

Ok, now the fun part. The kids have these blocking and whacking things and we get to kick and punch and block each other. This will be fun. Punch, BONK, hey, why did you bonk me on the head? Kyle is laughing hysterically and continues to bonk me as I attempt to punch the proper way. This scene continued for several minutes as we took turns doing different blocks and punches. I tried to beat up on Kyle, but he is good at punching and blocking so I didn't succeed.

Now kicking...I hold this blocker with my arm and let you kick me? What if you miss and punch my face? OUCH he kicks hard...be strong Katie...be strong. (What is mom doing over there? Man she is good.) Who is this new dude coming to class? Oh another blackbelt...great he is trading places with mom...now I am truly the only one out here who is clueless...
MOMMY....Teagan get off the floor go read your books....Where is Iain? Oh, there he goes running to the bathroom....Why did I sign up for this?

More stretching and jumping and kicking and finally class is over. I survived. At least for the first part of class I wasn't the only crazy clueless parent out there...I think Kyle had too much fun beating up on me!

As I rounded up my kids and said goodbye to the instructor he smiled and said, "Thanks for playing" Hmmm....I said goodbye to the nice mom who had been my clueless partner and as we talked she shared with me the fact that before children she studied karate for years and was one step below a black belt. NOW YOU TELL ME.....No wonder all those other parents just sat in the chairs watching....

Alright kids let's go..I've lost my dignity here and it is time to leave...
I think the fact that I was the only clueless parent willing to join my child during take your parent to karate night earns me some points toward mother of the year, don't you?

crazy, clueless, mom who loves her son,
KT
KT

one rolled over and they all fell out

So let me state at the outset that NO one actually fell out.

However, the song would not get out of my head. You know the song, ..."and the little one said, Roll over, I'm squished, so they all rolled over and one fell out..." last night at 3:30 my 3 youngest kids and I had a little party in Mommy's bedroom. We all took turns using the bathroom and then tried to get comfy in Mommy's big bed. Only problem was there were 3 kids and 1 dog and only 1 Mommy. I posed this dilema to the kids and Teagan in her half-awake state offered a solution, "I know Mommy, I can just sleep on top of you!" Lovely...just lovely....
I somehow managed to bribe Iain to sleep on the outside with the promise of switching him with Teagan at some point. Once we were all settled and ready to fall back asleep Fionna took Teagan's advice and crawled on top of me.

I went to sleep hoping no one moved or woke up again and when the alarm went off a few hours later the only change was that the kids were squishing me!!

I know, I know, I could get rid of this situation by removing them from the bed...but I'm just not ready to give up my snuggly kids in the middle of the night. Besides it usually ends up being just 1 kid a night. However, if we continue to have 3:30 am parties I might have to put a stop to this snugglefest!!

Tired Mama,
KT

so happy and so sad

I can't believe that my little nephew Kaden is 1 year old today.
A year ago I held his little body just minutes after he was born. That night my sister Amy and I painted his nursery to surprise Erin for her birthday on the 13th. What a great day!! I was so happy that day to meet him and see my sister with her precious baby boy.

A YEAR?? How did that happen. My own kids birthday's seem to come quickly but somehow this birthday came REALLY fast. I'm so sad I can't be with him today. Happy Birthday Kaden. Aunt Katie loves you SO much and can't wait to give you a BIG birthday hug!!

kt

NEW TABLE

7 years ago we moved into our house. In addition to the house we also purchased the refrigerator, the kitchen table, and the Ford Winstar van from the owners. While the van and the frig were new, the table was not.
We used the table.
we really used the table.
I have 4 kids who really used the table.
I sanded and painted the table.
I cleaned the table.
The table is dead.






This evening my brother-in-law David and his wife Kathie delivered a new table to our door. My Mom and my sister Amy generously gifted me with this gorgeous table 6 chairs.
I can't tell you how excited I am and how blessed I am.




Dave was here so Dave did what Dave does....Tighten and attach and fix things. I love how Dave always seems to be here when I need a fix it guy! dave you rock...




Flip that table boys, but don't scratch or drop it!!

Ok, baby, you and me how is going to win???

From hand wrestling to 3 hand wrestling...Katie loses.

Oh yeah, we're gonna love our new table..

Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas to me!!!

KT

Pics from Halloween

READY FOR TRICK OR TREATING

Standing beside a scary ghost BOO!!!

Kaden the Lion

Teagan the Baby Princess Bride

SIR IAIN, the KNIGHT



Aubrie, the Princess Bride

Rhiannon, the Renaissance Girl

Kyle, the SPY

ALL TUCKERED OUT Whew that was exhausting.

The Martin family colleced 8 pounds 2 ounces of candy!!

That just simply is not right.

KT

washing with soap

YOUR MOUTH that is...

You see after school today my kids heard another kids say, Oh Cr*%. As this child is not mine, I explained to him that we don't say that word in our house and he made him sit quietly till his ride came.

My kids thought this whole scene was entertaining. Iain tried to take the word and make a new word with it. Teagan just kept saying it over and over. I carefully explained to them that we do not and WILL NOT say that word and if I heard it ever again from either of them they would get their mouth washed with soap.

Teagan looked at me like I was crazy. I suggested she go and ask her older brother about this experience which happened but once to him, but she just smiled at me and said, "Oh C&$P". My jaw dropped open and I just looked at her in disbelief.

Anybody still use soap bars? We don't. What in the world do you use to wash a mouth? Hmmm....motherhood is all about thinking on your feet. Let's see what is at the kitchen sink. Anti bac...no that can't be good. Dish Detergent with bleach, no that isn't good either.
ARBONNE...pure, safe, and beneficial. Who cares that it is shampoo, it is pure safe and beneficial. And no child has ever died from getting a bit of shampoo in their mouth.

So I put a little on my finger add some water, make her stick out her tongue and apply a little bit of pure, safe and beneficial to her tongue. Let me tell you, friends and family, that tongue is clean! It has been purified, it was safe and definately beneficial. At least until the next new word is discovered.

If you have never done this with your child, you have never seen what follows this procedure, but it is quite funny actually. They cry, and then it bubbles, then they spit and want a drink, but that makes it bubble more. It is quite effective. It just takes time to go away and they remember washing with soap!!!

I'm a mean and nasty mom......but I hear some moms use tabasco sauce...yikes, never tried that.

KT

misc...

Kids are funny...

Mommy - Teagan, why did you run when I told you not to?
Teagan - Because I wanted to Mommy.

alrighty then...

Kyle - Mom, did you know that the Dictionary has BAD words in it?
Mom - Like what Kyle?
Kyle -Naked, Nude, Buttocks
Mom - when were you looking these words up?
Kyle - we were finished with our spelling words so I was reading the dictionary...
Mom - great....


Mommy - Rhia hurry up, you are in a parking lot...
Rhia - continues walking slowly...
Mommy - RHIA hurry up.
Rhia - Mommy, I'm coming, I'm thinking very hard about what to bring for show and tell.
Mommy - RHIA that is in 3 DAYS!!! Hurry up.
Rhia - Mommy, it is important that I think about this and am prepared.
Mommy - right...let's think in the car ok!!!

Iain - Mommy, I know what I'm brining for show and tell this week. CARROTS because I love carrots and want to eat them every day.
Mommy - that is great Iain. But what is your phonogram of the week?
Iain - K so carrots is perfect.
Mommy - hmmm....well...


For those of you who are very proper just stop reading at this point....................


In our family we laugh at "toots". We try to blame them on each other or the dog.
The boys, with the exception of my very proper husband, find this hilarious.
This evening someone tooted, I'll remain nameless, I mean....
anyway, the boys decided to get up close and personal in order to find the buttocks (BAD WORD) that produced the toot..

BOYS ARE GROSS!!!



momofkrit,
kt

new invention

I'm going to invent a new machine. It will sell to every home in the United States.
Here is how it works:
You have a piece of dirty clothing that you place in a laundry shoot. It goes through the shoot and it automatically deposits into the appropriate color basket. Once the basket reaches the full level the basket is automatically emptied into the washer and the washer starts on the appropriate cycle. After the clean laundry is transfered to the dryer and dry it is then automatically folded and placed in a clean basket. The clean folded laundry is then put away in the appropriate drawers.

How much do you think that cost? WHAT? You say it is free?

Oh right, it is free, and it already exists. It is called a MOM!

sigh...
kt

Go....

Phillies!!! Although I fell asleep at 1:15 and missed the end, I woke at 2:45 to check the news.
since when did I become a sports fan???

see them sleeping

I overheard this today and loved it. So I will now take it and claim it.

People often tell me how sweet or cute my kids are. I often have teachers or staff or trainers or coaches or parents or strangers tell me something nice about my kids. It is so great to hear these wonderful positive comments since as the mother I see all the other bad stuff too!! I am learning to thank people for their compliments and use the opportunity to encourage my children. Too often I am catching them doing something wrong and I forget to "catch them being good".

Today I overheard a mom say, "My children are so sweet and you should see them when they are sleeping!" Even if you've had a terrible day, if you creep into their room at night you can't help but be filled with love for that precious child.

You know, this is how Jesus sees his children! He rejoices over us with singing and He quiets us with His love. So tonight as I "see them sleeping" I will be thinking of what a blessing my children are and also thinking of the great love my Father has poured out on Me allowing me to be called a Daughter of God.

kt

thanks and you owe a quarter

I really enjoy my job. I don't really have a specific job description except to help my boss however I can. This works for me and I like the freedom I have to give ideas and use my gifts.

This week we had about 80 thank you notes to send. These were already later than we had wanted as I had been sick and unable to get all the addresses last weekend. So, on Monday of last week I volunteered to take all these notes home, hand address them, label them, stamp them and mail them. Monday night and all day Tuesday I worked to complete this project. By Wednesday they were all in the mail system.

Friday, there was a returned envelope on my desk. Hmmm....I thought, I must have put the wrong address on this... Wait, that says postage due... What? OH NO!!!!!!!!

You see I had 2 rolls of stamps in my drawer...I grabbed one and used it. Never looked at it. Didn't remember one of my rolls was a roll of 17 cent stamps.

So yes, I sent 80 thank you notes to grandparents of our students thanking them for coming to grandparent's day and yes, I put insufficient postage on every single one of them. So...they will either be returned, or worse, delivered to an unsuspecting grandparent who has to pay a quarter in order to be thanked.

Although we work on a smaller budget and we are responsible for fundraising, let me assure you this was neither an attempt to save money or raise money!!! :-)

Oh how embarrasing....

kt

missing you

A more personal blog this morning, but hey, it's my blog I can write what I want, right? :-)

I miss my niece and nephews! My niece is in kindergarten and very busy in gymnastics and I miss her imagination and story telling. Her brother is almost 1 year old! He is starting to talk and I just want to hold him. My other nephew is crawling and standing and I so want to see his great smile and the twinkle in his eye.

I miss my sisters. We really need a sister weekend.

I miss my mom. She is working a lot this fall and I'm so proud of her. But I miss her.

Hugs and Kisses through the cyber world dear loved ones!
KT

the beauty of dogs

Yesterday afternoon while experiencing a summer day in fall I left the front windows open while we went to karate. I wasn't thinking about Fiona's friend Jasper across the street...



We came home and found Fiona outside. Inside we discovered a screen with 2 holes. I guess she wanted to play.




Why are there 2 holes?

One to get out and one to get in???

"who me"

Dogs are great. Man's best friend.

Ever wonder why man's best friend eats the trash, likes to roll in poop, eats your crockpot dinner, eats your neighbor's chicken and pancakes, and makes holes in your screens?

confused dog owner,
KT

red spices can be tricky

This morning my father-in-law drove my children to school. Every Tuesday he drives them and my mother-in-law makes them breakfast for the car ride. (so sweet!) Anyway, apparently my kids got to school a bit late today even though they left on time. The reason?

The cinnamon sugar container was apparently switched with Old Bay Seasoning! OOPS...So they made a stop to get a new bagel.

I think that is the best excuse I've ever heard of for being a few minutes late for school! :-)

I sent the above e-mail to the kids teachers and this response came from Rhia's teacher:

wow, the old "we swithched the cinnamon with the old bay" excuse again..... third time this week!

I love her sense of humor.

overheard

* While driving home from school Rhia was in the back between 2 five year old boys. They were goofing off and eventually starting blowing kisses around the car. Then the 1 boy said, "let's kiss Rhia!" Iain responded with disgust "NO WAY". Rhia, with her fists to her chest, responded by saying "IF YOU DO I'LL PUNCH YOU!" you go girl...

* Last night at dinner Rhia announced that she needed to get to bed early because she is student of the day and needs to write the date on the board. "I don't want to fall asleep while I'm writing the date!"

* Early this morning Rhia asked "did the Philips win the baseball game?" :-)

* "Daddy you are awesome!" Teagan this morning- making her daddy's day.

Lessons learned:
My Little girls need lots of sleep, think their Daddy is the only man in the world, and are happy that Iain's baseball team won regardless of their name.


Blessed to be momofkrit and woj,
KT

up for qualification

This morning I fixed the ducks. You can sort of see here the fading ducks on our wall and my new addition. Of course I don't have yellow paint and although I have the duck stencil which my sister made me keep in case I had any more children, I'm not a great artist so I improvised.

I used my publisher feature made a duck to attach to the wall. Isn't she cute!!

TEAGS WAS VERY HAPPY!!!!

So she wouldn't feel slighted, I also made a little spot for Fiona our pet. Iain likes to call her fifi.

You may now send in my nomination for mother of the year. Oh wait, nope, hold off on that, Teags already made her lunch this morning. Maybe tomorrow....:-)

momofkrit,
KT

NOT mother of the year

It's true that I work for a great mom who was Mother of the Year in 1995 I think.

I, on the other hand, do not qualify. Did I make dinner? Yes. Did I do laundry? Yes. Did I play games? Yes. Did I give love when she hurt herself? Yes.

So what makes me NOT mother of the year? I didn't make a Teagan duck.

You may be wondering why that is a big deal. Well you see, in our kids bathroom we have ducks stenciled on the wall and 5 ducks are personalized and named. Daddy has a tophat. Mommy has a bow. Kyle has sunglasses. Rhia has two bows. Iain has a cool baseball cap. There is no duck for Teagan. There isn't even a duck anywhere close by that could count.

I didn't worry about this when she was first born. She couldn't read and didn't know. I didn't even worry about this when she turned 2 because she wasn't talking yet.

However, this evening after she brushed her teeth I saw her looking at the ducks saying, Daddy, Mommy, Kyle, Rhia, Iain, hmmm....
she didn't say anything. she just looked sad.

Tomorrow I'll be stenciling a duck. A BIG duck with a tiara!!

not mother of the year, but mother to my kiddo's, poor things,
kt

This pretty much sums up the life of the 4th child.

When Kyle went to kindergarten I sent him a personal note every day in his lunchbox.
When Rhia went to kindergarten I sent her a personal note at least once a week in her lunchbox.
Iain is in kindergarten and I am following a once a month note in his lunchbox.
Teagan goes to school with me every day and she packs her own lunchbox. :-)

eagles v. wolfs

Today is our last day of soccer. At the end of practice/game, there will be pizza and awards. Iain was complaining that he isn't good and no one ever tells him he is good at anything except defense. Figuring he didn't know what defense was I tried to describe it to him. He then launched into...

"Mom, I know what you are saying, it is like when the Eages are playing the....Wolfs. The Eagle comes running with the ball and the Wolf stops him. That is defense."

Ok, we've got the concept and we've got the home team. Any ideas where the Wolf Team is located?

In need of a sports parent for my son,
KT

PJ's with friends

This evening I ventured out being so very tired, but looking forward to spending time with friends. I went to pick up my friend Liz who is turning 30 tomorrow, well, today, and we stopped at Starbucks for a treat and then headed to another friends house for dessert.





With 5 ladies from our couples small group last year we celebrated with Liz and even got to talk to another friend in Ohio who recently moved away and had her 4th baby boy this afternoon. CONGRATS CARRIE!!





Pumpkin cake, apple pie, cookies and more...it was so delicious. But the best part was sitting with friends in our PJ's talking about life. Yes, we really wear our Pj's, I even went in my big fluffy purple slippers!





We left at 11:30 and I'm home now at 12:30 and about to get ready for bed. What a crazy late night in the middle of the week, but what a treat to refresh and renew with sisters in the Lord.





When I came home it looked like this... guess the evening at home wasn't quite refreshing and renewing...




Do you think I should move them?

Nah....sleep well my loves.
Thanks for the fun, girls.
KT

lunch

So today was an early release Wednesday. (Every other Wednesday the kids get out at 12:40.) Wanting to do something special with them, I talked to a friend and together we took 7 kids to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.
It was fun.

for them...

After claiming a table for the boys, a table for the girls, a table for the younger boys and a table for the moms we took orders and ordered food. Forgetting our manners, there were many requests such as, "where is my ketchup, I don't like that drink, I need mustard, where is my food?" Once we were settled it was better.

for them...

We still ran around like maids serving this and that and cleaning up this spill and getting more whatevers. Then came the bathroom break. One after another they came and asked to use the bathroom. Finally, one child asked if we could just take an official bathroom break from our lunch. :-)

Gathering all our trays and kids we left the restaurant saying to ourselves, "This was fun. This was fun." You see, when you take 7 kids to a fast food restaurant it will be fun. It must be fun. It has to be fun. For the kids....

Andrea and I desperately need a girls coffee night....
momofkrit,
KT

E sometimes really means E

When the gas gauge says E you should really pay attention. Otherwise you might be on a special outing with your 7 year old daughter and run out of gas.

You should also not lose your own keys so that when calling your husband for help he is stuck because you have his keys.

Calling a neighbor to borrow a car is a great idea, assuming their car is reliable and won't get stuck behind your car, unable to start.

Happy to have made it home last night,
KT and Rhia

pancake

Yesterday after church we let our dog outside.
she returned a few minutes later.
With a fresh half eaten pancake.

We didn't have pancakes for lunch.
We didn't have pancakes for breakfast.
We didn't even have pancakes for dinner the night before.

My apologies to the neighbor who lost their pancake. I can only hope it was either on their deck on in their outside trashcan. Yikes....

Not claiming my dog,
KT

E for Effort

My husband is great. He really is. I have a shirt that I like to wear which says, MY HUSBAND ROCKS. I love telling the world how great he is.

Ok, so all perfection has a flaw... that would be my cooking. Or at least that is what I am told. This evening my hubby told me he had the best meal of his week at lunchtime today. He was tailgating at a football party!! How good could it be?

What does that say about my cooking? Not much. Questioning my hubby as to what that says about my cooking his response was...well...fast forward to where he politely told me that I get an E for EFFORT.

We have already established that I don't like cleaning.
I'm not good at cooking.
Laundry is my Nemesis.

hmm...good thing I found a day job cause being a housewife doesn't sound like it fits me very well!!

momofkrit and woj,
KT :-)

finder - giver

So what is it about being a mom that allows you to have this amazing ability to find things?

Mom, where are my sneakers?
Uh...check under your sister's bed.
Yup, thanks mom!

Mom, where is my DS?
Uh, look in my computer bag.
Yup, thanks mom!

Mom, have you seen my ballet shoes?
Yeah, try your shoe bin.
Yup, thanks mom!

Honey, have you seen my keys?
Try the table beside the couch.
Great, thanks.

Mom, where is my mine?
Teags, try the toy room.
Yeah, thanks mom.

Mom, where is my Latin book?
Try the car.
Yup, thanks mom.

Where are my pokemon cards?
Uh..that's easy, look on the floor in your room.
Oh, yeah, thanks mom.

It is a great joy and pleasure to have the "mom-sense" and ability to be the finder and giver in my family. I love being able to find things and give my family joy.

momofkrit and woj,
KT

Best Friends

So last Saturday my little, big 9 year old had a joint party with his best friend, Trevor. We had a BLAST!

The theme of the party was a Spy Training Camp. When the boys arrived, they were identified, presented with a kit of supplies, a uniform and an "agent-in-training" button which was used to enter and exit rooms throught the camp.

Once all the boys had arrived, we ate pizza and then got on with the fun

This cake, was the beginning of fun. You see it looked like a cake, it even smelled like a cake. We lit the candles, sang happy birthday, and when we cut into the cake..........................

IT WAS STYRAFOAM!!!!

You see, someone had stolen the cake!! But inside the cake was a letter requesting the agents-in -training call British Spy Headquarters in London. After talking with our spy contact the boys received a coded message and part of a code translation and then they were left to find the missing dessert.

The coded notes took awhile to decode, but the agents-in-training caught on enjoyed running out in the rain in search of the next clue. At one point the boys were instructed to take 25 paces West and look up.....

This one took a long time as the clue was hidden under Mr. Baines hat! :-) Yes, we parents actually took great delight in watching the boys trying to figure this one out. It is true.

The girls at the party actually knew where the clue was and Rhia enjoyed "being in the know" but pretending to be a spy anyway.

After running around in the rain and solving more clues the boys were finally directed to the missile training room i.e. the pinata painted to look like a bomb. When the candy finally fell so did the last clue directing the agents to call headquarters to receive their final clue. At last the boys looked in the big box which gets very hot in the kitchen and they found the REAL DESSERT. They were then congratulated, presented with new buttons and allowed to eat the dessert.

Before all the boys had even left, Commander Martin and Commander Baines collapsed on the couch. It is a touch job getting agents in training to follow directions!!

Once all our friends had left Commander and Lt. Commander Martin and Baines and their new official Spy Agents posed for a picture.

What a fun day. I hope the boys all had fun. I know I did. It is quite possible that the adults had more fun than the kids.....

Blessed to be momofkrit and woj,

Lt. Commander Martin

Spy Trainer

funnies

Here are a couple quick little funny scenarios in our house this week:

After 4 hands have been raised to pray for dinner, Daddy finally picks Iain. We all bow our heads, close our eyes and wait. Silence..... Iain?...... "Um, Start me out out Daddy" :-0)
Iain then thanks God for the food and good behaviour that day in school and lastly for Kyle since it is his birthday. In case God didn't know, Iain specifically mentions, "Thank you God for Kyle's birthday. He is turning 9 today!!"



Sitting in the ballet studio doing homework with Kyle...
"We have to study now, Kyle"
"Mom, I'd rather do this at home."
"Well tonight I need to make your birthday cake for the party on Saturday"
"But, Mom, I don't want a cake. I don't like cake."
"True, but the cake is important to the theme of your spy party."
"But Mom, I want the frozen apple pie in the freezer. Can't we study tonight?"

(My fault for letting the conversation continue after saying time to study now....but funny in hindsight!) How can I make an apple pie look like a magnifying glass? and if the main spy mission is to find the missing cake an apple pie just won't work. Of course he doesn't know all these details! SHHHHH don't tell him.


Once again this morning found Mommy frantically running around the house searching for something that started with a "W" for show and tell for Iain. (Someone needs to write a book with show and tell ideas!!) Finally I pull out a Noah's ark puzzle hoping to see a walrus! Yes, there is half of one! Searching, I find the matching piece and TADA, a walrus. I run into the other room saying, " I found something Iain." Carefully putting the pieces together I say, LOOK, if you hold these together you have a walrus!

Kyle looks at my puzzle pieces and says, "Hey Mom, why doesn't he just take the one piece with the whales on it?" Punk...... (Of course, the second puzzle piece has 2 beautiful whales on it.)

Daddy comes in the room and says, Why didn't you just grab a water bottle, Mommy?

I officially declare my show and tell days OVER. Sorry, Teags...ask your siblings or your Daddy. I'm done. My 9 year career of last minute show and tell discoveries has just ended.

Happy to have retired, but sure I'll be pulled out of retirement next week,
Momofkrit and woj,
KT

3285

That is the number of days which God has blessed me with an incredible little boy named Kyle James Martin. September 23, 1999, is one day I'll never forget. That day marked a new and exciting chapter in my life and one that although I had dreamed of, I could not have imagined.

33 Hours is the length of time which Kyle spent trying to decide if he was ready for this new world. 33 hours is the length of time which I worked waiting to see the precious face of this new life which God had created. Oreos is the smell which I remember permeating the air. Aghast is the emotion I saw on my hubby's face when he saw the distorted face of our little boy. "I need help NOW" were the words I heard the doctor yell through the intercom after my baby was born. Fear was the look in my mother's eyes as she watched the doctor work. What is wrong with my baby??? Was the thought in my head. Seeing my baby calmly placed in my mother's arms, the thought changed to, "What is wrong with ME?"

My beautiful baby boy was born at 7:53 pm weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and 21 inches long. (Yes that is the only measurement and time I know by heart.) Aside from a few very close to the eyes bruises from forcepts, he was perfect. The distorted alien look of his face which my husband has first seen was now gone and only a very awake and very alert baby lay in my arms. He stared at the lights for several hours after birth. The fear in my mother's eyes was replaced with relief and joy. Satisfaction was written on the doctor's face as he completed a birth that he said, "Doesn't get any harder than that!" Overwhelming joy, exhaustion, relief, Praise, and anticipation filled my mind as I tried to process this new life in my arms, a birth that almost caused me to bleed out, and the responsibility that now lay on my shoulders as mother to a child.

12 Weeks was how long it took my body to recover from this birth. 12 seconds is how long it took me to bond with this little guy! You see, I had to bond, and Bond, and Bond. He NEVER slept! Never. It wasn't until Rhia was born and took naps that I even knew that babies actually slept. :-) Kyle was always awake, always alert, always intense, always charming and engaging. He went everywhere with me and together we grew into our roles as mother and son.

At 21 months, Kyle became a big brother and took the responsibilty seriously! He took great care to warn his baby sister of outlets which only "MOMMY AND DADDY" could touch. He read the book Goodnight Moon to her since he had memorized it long ago. I even trained him on how to work the VCR (Yes it is true), so he could entertain himself while I took care of the house.

At 3 and 1/2 Kyle again became a big brother and this time to another baby boy. Kyle was so proud to have a brother. He helped me so much with cleaning up and running errands (To get clothes and diapers). All the while, Kyle remained alert, awake, intense, and endearing to all he met.

During his second year of preschool, Kyle again became a big brother and took on this role with his traditional sense of responsibility and love. Loving this little sister in a special way, he began a bond with her that remains to this day.

Fast forward to today, the year 2008. My little 7 pound baby is now 9 years old. I look at him with complete amazement and love and still have overwhelming joy, exhaustion, praise and anticipation as I look at my responsibility to care for and mother this child. He is getting so old, and yet is still a baby. He is so quick and smart, and yet just a novice. He has the beautiful faith of a Child of God, but still the immaturity of youth.

I love my Kyle-bug. I love him more than words can express. He will probably never know how much he changed my life or how God used him as a miracle in my life. But that is ok. All I want for my son is to know the incredible love of God, the best love a sinful mother can offer, and to walk in the will of the Father whom he serves.

On Kyle's first day of kindergarten he walked up to a woman, who is now my boss, and said, "Hello, my name is K-Y-L-E, Kyle." He left that day waving goodbye to students and staff from grades K-12 and to this day he continues to know students and teachers alike in his school. I wait with great delight anxious to see what God has for this little boy. How will God use him? Where will He send him? What struggles will have to encounter along the way?

I don't know the future, but I know what is true today. God blessed me 9 years ago with a gift that is more than I could have asked for or imagined and as God gives me life, I will treasure that gift and love him to the best of my ability. As he grows, as he learns, as he fails and as he succeeds, I pray I will be in the background smiling and saying, that is my son, one of the 4 greatest gifts God has given to me and my husband.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY K-Y-L-E KYLE!! I love you.

Blessed to be momofkyle,
KT

Yesterday

So Sunday night I went to great efforts to prepare for Monday morning. All the backpacks were ready AND in the car. The lunch boxes were packed and in the outside frig. My bags were packed AND in the car. Everyone's clothes down to belts and shoes were out and ready to go. I had even ironed my clothes and the boys shirts for the week. (If you don't know, I don't often iron!!)

Saying to my hubby right before bed that I hoped all this prep work would make our morning easier, I joked that someone would probably get sick or something because after all this is my life. I then immediatly prayed that God would spare us any sickness. He did indeed, Praise the Lord, and He also gave us a bit more sleep than expected. In spite of efforts to set 2 alarms we all overslept and my hubby woke us all up at 7:00 AM! In case you don't know, we are supposed to LEAVE at 7:00 AM. AND I had to take the kids which meant I was working all day.

In 15 minutes flat we were all dressed and in the car with all our supplies. We even made it to school in record time arriving at 7:58 am. Good thing I planned ahead! :-)

Momofkrit,
KT

guest author

New York, New York

So about 15 minutes ago I sent my oldest, Kyle, out the door at exactly 6:00 am to go on the biggest adventure of his life thus far. He and Aunt Helen are headed by train to visit the big city, NY.

Amazingly, he was wide awake at 5:30, dressed and ready for his big birthday trip. They are going to visit the biggest toy store in the world and have lunch. He is very excited. Everyone is excited, or at least everyone was awake with us. Yup, it's Saturday morning at 6:15 and the whole family is awake. hmmm....why can't they wake up on school mornings?

We reviewed with Kyle some of the NY safety points, like not talking to strangers, or walking away from Aunt Helen, and Kyle looked completely confused. I know he thinks we have lost our minds telling him things he already knows, but New York is much different from our little town!!

Reminding Kyle not to point or say anything out loud if he saw something strange, Kyle replied, Like a tatoo? Well, maybe, I responded not wanting to introduce anything into his still naive young mind. :-)

So now, we are all going to try to go back to bed. I originally suggested an early morning trip to Perkins for breakfast and although the idea was nixed, I fully believe that in about 2 hours after fitful noncontinuous sleep I will have wished we went with my idea.

Off to sleep...maybe,
MomofKYLE,
KT

Christmas in September

Sorry If my last post sounded a bit like a Christmas insert letter!
It's been a pretty uneventful week in our house...at least funny story wise...
KT

updates and quotes

Teagan - "Mom, can I have another snack?"
Teags is doing a good job adjusting to her new fall schedule of going to school every afternoon and some mornings too. She is working on charming students and staff alike and if there is food around, she is good to go. In spite of all the toys and books and activites offered to her, she would prefer to just do whatever I'm doing and be wherever I am. Sounds like a typical 4th kid!

Iain - "Mom, It's hard to be good all day at school!"
Iain is a great student and very well behaved - at school. The transition from 3 days of preschool to 5 days of all day school with a little bit of aftercare too is making Iain very tired, but he is adjusting nicely. While his classmates and teachers sing his praises at school, Mom knows he's still a 5 year old boy and what doesn't come out at school, comes out at home. :-) What a great kid.

Rhiannon - "Mom, I know what the "D" stands for in daddy's name - Aaron D. Martin."......
wait for it........."DADDY!!! :-)"
Rhia is working very hard at school and brining home great papers every day. She is quietly enjoying all the learning although she would probably tell you that school is too hard and she doesn't have enough time to play with her friends. She is also continuing her ballet education and has added tap dance this year.

Kyle - "Amo, Amas, Amat......"
Kyle can be found repeating his Latin chants every night in addition to practicing his recorder, studying for "reading writing and arithmetic", and doing his karate forms. Now an orange belt, Kyle is at the top of his beginner class and enjoying this new skill very much.

Katie - "Be quiet and sit down or I will Swack you with this spatula!" This was uttered during a pancake dinner on one of the nights Daddy was gone and Mommy was all done. If you don't know the meaning of Swack - see a former post.
I am loving my job at Tall Oaks Classical School and especially enjoy the daily adult interaction. My house suffers since I don't enjoy cleaning and I don't have much time to clean! Oh well. This afternoon I attended a Latin for Parents introductory overview of Latin so I could figure out how to help my son study. Did you know that in addition to conjugating verbs, Latin also conjugates nouns??? And that there are 5 different kinds of these conjugations - called declensions? And did you know that nouns have gender? OH my, I sure hope my kids pick this up in school, my brain hurt just from the 1 hour overview.

Aaron - "BY the way, I have a 6:00 am meeting tomorrow morning and you have to take the kids to school."
AHHH...on the day I wasn't going to go to school but work from home. Oh well. Anyway, back to Aaron. He is doing well, enjoying some upcoming changes in his law practice, working on some interesting cases, doing some latin on the side, driving kids to school in the mornings, you know, your basic great Dad!

Fiona - "Wonder where that crockpot went and I wish they would stop putting the trash behind that shut door. What is a dog supposed to eat around here?"


Blessed to be momofkrit and woj,
KT

Kindergarten Tales

On Friday Iain's Kindergarten Class had a Tea party to celebrate letter T. The boys all wore ties and the girls wore hats and gloves and they all used fine china and drank real tea with tea cakes. It was SO cute. I was the snack mom so I got to watch the whole thing and it was adorable watching these 5 and 6 year olds behave like ladies and gentlemen.
Would you trust your china to this Dennis? He did a great job!
Iain was such a gentleman as he helped his partner get seated in her seat.

Teagan joined the party with me and although she didn't get a teacup she was delighted with her hat and teacake.

Last week was also a special week for Iain as he was the leader of the week and got to use the very sought after "pointer". He did such a good job and looks like a professor!

Blessed to be Mom of Iain the Leader and Gentleman,

KT

conjugations and Ranch Dressing

This evening at dinner our family engaged in a new kind of communication. Latin.
My husband was in a particularly good mood and was making Latin vocab words quite entertaining. The whole family was involved and we were all trying to memorize the Latin vocab words for Kyle's test tomorrow.

Now when I say whole family, I don't actually mean all of us. There was one little girl who doesn't know what the word "fatherland" means in English, much less Latin, and she was entertaining herself with her food. I happened to glance her direction and caught this sweet child drinking the ranch dressing straight out of the bottle. Yes, the bottle top was in her mouth and she was helping herself. Catching my hubby's glance, I nodded in her direction trying to hold back my laughter.

Daddy wasn't so kind. He immediately yelled, "Teagan what are you doing? What do you think you are, a dog?" Teagan removed the bottle from her mouth, smiled and said, "Woof, Woof".

I'm confidant I"ll never remember the Latin word for fatherland, but, Teagan drinking the ranch dressing? I'll take a quiz on that any day.

Blessed to be the mother of a Latin student and a ranch loving daughter,
Momofkrit and woj,
KT

Latin is great

For some...
I don't get it.
I don't know how to help Kyle with it.
I'm very frustrated by it.
Why do we study a dead language anyway???
(Please don't send me the responses, I know all the answers......)

sock monster

So exactly how does the sock monster work?
and WHY?

Before school started, I purchased 6 pair of socks for each child for their school uniform. I made a special drawer for their socks and reviewed the importance of putting both socks in the laundry.

so how is it that we are only in the 3rd week of school and each morning I'm scrambling for socks? It seems even when I have them laid out for the kids they disappear.

I really hate socks and I really don't understand the sock monster.

kt

bedtime prayers

Imagine 4 beautiful children all in clean PJ's with clean combed hair sitting nicely on a bed listening quietly while taking turns sharing highs and lows of their day. Imagine them now bowing their heads and praying beautiful well expressed prayers before bed.

*Ok, I'm sure that scene took place somewhere tonight, but it wasn't my house.
*There were 4 beautiful children. (It's my blog and they are my kids so I'm allowed to say that.)
*They all had on PJ's of sort but nobody had clean hair and it certainly wasn't combed.
*We were all on a bed but sitting is probably not an accurate verb.
*Taking turns sharing highs and lows, yes, listening quietly to each other? Um...no...

Mommy was trying hard to listen. This was especially hard to do with Iain's feet in my face, Kyle chasing Fiona off the bed, Rhia giggling because Teagan was taking SOOO long, and Teagan declaring she had 3 highs and 3 lows! (At this point I must explain. We do this every night usually at dinnertime. But tonight Daddy was at a meeting and Mommy was anxious to get them upstairs so I decided to add this to bedtime. Teagan doesn't really get it. She shares something about her day, but the whole highs and lows is still a bit too abstract for her. HOWEVER, she will vehamently argue with you if you try to tell her that what she is describing is actually a high and not a low. AND if you interrupt her OR laugh she will INSIST on starting over.)

*Bowing heads and praying? Yes. Well expressed? Well, I truly believe that God loves to hear little children talk to him no matter how they express their words. One child was thanking God for all the expensive gifts he might receive in the future, while another was praising God that no one in her class got a tally today. A third was pleading with God to help 2 of his friends in school not get their bears down (the discipline system), and a 4th insisted she would do it on her own in spite of 3 offers to assist her. In fact with each assist, she started over! All the food we ate today has been very blessed and although there was a request for Mommy and Daddy to learn to obey "me", I trust that God knew the heart of this request.

Of course this time of praying took a few minutes and it was not without incident. Mommy even included in her prayer that Teagan would put her head on her own pillow and stop playing with Rhia's eyes and that Iain would stop touching Kyle with his feet and at one point Mommy even slapped the leg of a guilty party. (As is turns out, I slapped the wrong leg. So then I prayed for forgiveness.) Once we were finished the kids burst into laughter at the fact that I, in their words, "Whacked" the wrong kid. I didn't like that word so I tried to correct them and say "slapped" but it came out, "Swacked" which brought about an addition round of laughter.

I finally got everyone to their own rooms and settled in their own beds. What a night. I bet that Mom I mentioned at the beginning has all her laundry folded and put away, her house is dusted and organized, and she has meals planned for the next 3 weeks. Yeah, well... like I said, not my house.

Blessed to serve a God who listens to the hearts of our prayers and loves my children,
Momofkrit and Woj,
KT

GUEST AUTHOR

This was written by my sister and posted on her blog after my post yesterday. Thought you all would enjoy...:-)

Clothes
I love to share Aubrie's clothes with my niece Teagan. It's so fun to see her wear the clothes that Aubrie has outgrown. Occasionally, though, Teagan manages to find an outfit or item of clothing that we have not actually given to her (yet) and she likes to hold onto it. Usually this is a result of one of our many trips to visit family and understandably things get lost along the way. Usually I don't even notice they are missing...but then my sister posts a picture of Teagan wearing the "stolen" item of clothing on her blog and now I remember...hmmmm...So THAT is where that dress went....hmmmmm.....what to do.....I know...I'll just call my sister and ask her if she could (in her free time) please wash and press the dress and overnight it back to me since she has so much free time and extra money. I mean seriously...have you read her blog? She doesn't have ANYTHING going on in her life. It would actually be kind of me to give her a little "project." You know...something to get her out of the house. I'll call her first thing in the morning. Yeah...good plan. Never planning to get the dress back but so thankful for my sister,Erin
Posted by Erin Thorne at 10:48 PM

People in my eyes

Seeing the world through the eyes of a 3 year old is a wonderful experience. She frequently tells me at night time that she doesn't want to close her eyes because there are "people in my eyes".
This morning she came running down saying, "Mommy, the people in my eyes was Aubrie, my cousin, and we were playing together!"

Dreams must seems so strange when you are 3 and describing them as People in my Eyes is just brilliant.

MomofTeagan,
KT

What was I thinking?

After church, my hubby wasn't feeling so well due to his cold so he headed home. However, the kids look forward to the mushroom festival all year long so.....I took all the kids by myself to the festival. Now, I realize most people don't know where our town is or care about it. However, the mushroom festival draws people from ALL OVER THE PLACE and it one of the biggest festivals across the country. since it rained yesterday the festival was a 1 day event this year. So, imagine all the people.

ALL THE PEOPLE , LOTS OF PEOPLE, MANY MANY PEOPLE, and there is me with 4 kids. No stroller. We park about 1/2 mile away, walk and search for hotdogs. Getting 2 we eat those and keep walking looking for hamburgers. No hamburgers in site. we walk back to get 2 more hotdogs. We look for ice cream, see our karate studio with spiderman, find icecream, get our picture taken by a reporter, and finally about 3 hours later make the long trek back to our car with a bag of popcorn for daddy in hand.

It was quite an event. I didn't see anyone, I was too busy looking down counting heads.

What was I thinking?

Crazy mom trying to make my kids happy,

momofkrit and Woj,

KT

mushroom festival

Today was the annual mushroom festival.
Our church always hold our services outside at the park during this festival and it's one of my favorite services of the year. There are so many people and I like to look around and imagine what it must have been like when Jesus talked to the thousands or when Moses preached to the people in the dessert. As I look around and see moms feeding babies, and older siblings chasing toddlers I imagine the scene would have been similar as parents tried to shh their kids and all the people were gathered together to praise God. It was an awesome service.

Miss Lindsay returns

Miss Lindsay was our nanny/babysitter for several years before she moved to Texas. Recently returning to the north, she is now working in D.C. Tonight she came to visit us and the kids were THRILLED. They were so excited they didn't even change out of their uniforms. We had a great time together. We love you Miss Lindsay!!

Shhh...Teagan

This morning Teagan and I had a date at Starbucks. While there we watched many people come in and out. At one point a very tall skinny lady walked in. She was wearing extremely high heels, extremely tight pants, and an extremely tight fitting-short halter top. Teagan, appaled at this sight, stood up from her seat, pointed at this lady, and yelled, "Mommy, that lady forgot her top!". Trying to smooth things over, I replied, "yes, dear but look at her pretty shoes, Time to go now...."

Blessed to be mom of a 3 year old,
KT