I don't watch the news that much anymore.  I find that when I do, I get annoyed by it.

Usually, it's the morning news shows, like GMA, that I'm able to catch because Katie is still asleep.

I remember, last week or the week before, one of the top stories was that Miley Cyrus wasn't wearing a seat belt in her recent docu-movie thingie.  Parents were upset about the influence this would have on their children.

Ugh.  Don't get me started.  Aren't there, like, a million other more important things going on in the world right now besides Hannah Montana and her lack of a brain?

Another point of contention that I have had with the TV news is their need to always find out the "WHY" of things.  For example, "WHY" did that quiet, unassuming kid go on a shooting rampage at the college campus?

I always thought to myself, "Who the "F" cares WHY?  He was obviously "F"ed up and shouldn't be getting any more coverage than is absolutely necessary.  He killed people.  They are dead.  End of story."

That all changed yesterday.  I learned that a man that I used to work with was murdered over the weekend.    

I admit that I really didn't know much about him, even though I worked in the same building as him for about five years.  But, we were a pretty small office, so everyone felt like family after a while. He was shy, but always seemed to have a smile for you.  He didn't speak much English, but was trying really hard to learn.  He also had this laugh, man.  What a laugh.  I have never heard anyone laugh that hard.  Once you got him going, he couldn't stop.  He would be hysterical crying, but STILL laughing at the same time.  He was also really easy to pull practical jokes on.

I've read the newpaper stories about the ongoing case.  They give the latest updates and such. But, I find myself just wondering one thing over and over and over...

Why?

Super Snail Speed

I am in the worst shape of my entire life.

I feel extremely, horribly, totally guilty about it too.  I guess that's why I feel I have to put it down in writing on this here blog.  I could've, should've done a wee bit more in my Katie-free time to get my bod back to into pre-baby shape.  But noooooooooo.  I had to sleep, and clean toilets, and write blogs.  Man, what a dumb-ass I am.

We've had a nice Spring weather preview here in the Great Northwest.  It's been sunny the majority of the week with temps ranging from 50 to 60 degrees.

I decided to head out to The Trail and do a bit of jogging.

Ugh.  There were ducks that were walking faster than I was jogging.  For cripes sake, I should've just hopped in the baby jogger and let Katie push me around.

I jogged a total of 2 miles.  I say "a total", 'cause there was quite a bit of walking going on.  And when I mean walking, I mean w-a-l-k-i-n-g.  Slowly.

On second thought, I wouldn't really call it a jog.  Maybe a really fast foot shuffling.

Oh boy.  Tomorrow I am gonna be SOOOOOO sore.  What the hell was I thinking?

Just Words

I know there are some of you out there (and you know who you are) that just look for entries with pictures or video of Katie.

  

Does that mean that you just pass the other entries by?  Do you turn your nose up at my hard thought out discourses, as Huzbend would do to a dessert buffet table?  Do you at least skim them for any nuggets of knowledge that I may pass on?  I could have told you the meaning of life (which I DO know, by the way) back in October of last year and you wouldn't even know it.

You're probably not even reading this right now.

Katie has a rash.  It started as diaper rash on Sunday and then on Monday it became a bunch of red spots.  Those red spots spread from her butt to her knees and are now popping up in her elbow pits and on her wrists.  Today, I took her to the doctor.

I explained what we did on Sunday (a big hike, diaper changes in the back of the truck, old wipies that weren't as moist as they should be, and lots of kitty hugging/kissing/petting).  They took her temp, looked in her ears, examined the rash and had NO CLUE what caused it.  

They told me to get Benadryl and cortisone cream for her and to call them in 3-4 days if it didn't get better.

Sigh.

After trying all morning to figure out the stupid dosage for the Benadryl and dealing with a cranky Katie, I decided to head out to the local playground.  I needed some fresh air.  

I thought taking Katie might be a good idea too. 

For some reason, toddlers LOVE to slide down a slide and then try to walk back up the slide part.  I have no idea what causes this compulsion.  Maybe it makes sense to them to just stand up at the end of the slide and walk back the way they came.  Don't know.

And so it was that Katie tried to do that very thing.  I told her that in order to go down the slide again she needed to use the stairs.  She kept trying to walk up the slide.  I picked her up, placed her in front of the stairs and said in my Mommy voice, "Katie, you need to use the stairs please."

"NO!"

I asked her again and again I got a, "NO!"  This was followed by a nice loud cry.  It didn't last long.  She got distracted by a dinosaur thingie across the way. Lucky me.

When we got home, I asked Katie if she was tired.  She pointed up the stairs and said, "NAP!". She climbed up the stairs, grabbed her blankets, helped put her "guys" in the crib and then fell fast asleep.

I guess that makes up for the whole "NO" thing.   

Happy Heart Day

I forgot to send out Valentine's Day cards.

  

I went out and bought them.  I really did.  They're sitting right here in front of me.  They have a cute little teddy bear hugging a heart on them.

Please accept this blog entry in lieu of a paper card received through the mail.

  

Yeah.  This is a "Green" Valentine's Day.  That's it.  Environmentally friendly. Yeah. That's the ticket.

Sneaky Huzbend got us some prezzies.

As usual, I didn't get him anything.

I've come up with something.

I just hope that it's, uh, shall we say,

comestible. 

 

Katie got a dolly camping set.  Hiker Girl, tent and squirrel included.

I nabbed a nice shirt and some yummy Chukar chocolate

covered cherries.  Mmmmmmm.

Katie liked Valentine's Day.

After opening her AND my present she had this to say.....

"MORE." 

More. More.

Here's a little somethin' to help put a smile on your face.

You've been quite down lately.  Kick back and relax, my weary friend.

Who doesn't enjoy watching a giggling toddler sledding down a driveway?

Super Boogie Sunday

We didn't watch the SuperBowl on Sunday.  I know.  We're weird.  We're, like, lame-ass parental units now. 

Anyways, in the past we would just watch for the commercials. Now, you can just wait until the day after and check them all out on YouTube.  Da internets is very niiiiiiiccccceeeee.

Just in case it happened to be a good game we decided to LISTEN to the last quarter.  As luck would have it, it WAS a good game.

I'm sorry to all you Pats fans out there.  Really, I am.  I've worked with some of you, some of you are my friends, some of you are even relatives and I feel your pain.  But..... HOOOORRRAAAYYY GIANTS!

Come on now.  There's nothin' like havin' the underdog come back with, like, a minute to go and win the game.  Nothin'.  You know it.

This weekend was our anniversary.  Something like 100 years together or whatever.  We had plans to go out on a "date".  It was going to be a fancy lunch and then maybe a movie.  Katie was going to hang out at a local child care facility.  But, alas, our daughter had the boogies a-flowin' and we decided we would be nice and not pass the sickness along. 

We went out for a quick lunch as a family and then chilled out at home for the rest of the day.  It was actually kind of nice.

Oh yeah, I guess the groundhog saw his shadow.  As the in-house joke goes, "That's 6 more years of marriage."

Ha-Ha.  We are so funny.

January by Katie

And so Christmas was over.  Just like that.  

You know what happens after Christmas in our house?

Video games.

Lots of video games.  

Marathon sessions of video game playing.

Followed by even more video game playing.

Here's me and Daddy playing a little co-op.  I could totally kick his butt.  See how I don't even have to look at the screen to play?  I am THAT good.

After we're done playing Daddy's games, we have to play Katie's games.  Most of the time this includes some form of hat wearing, Monkey and lots of screaming and laughing.

We went on a field trip with my Toddler class this month.  We visited a local fire house. 

Who wouldn't want to be a fireman when you get to watch TV in a cool seat like this?

Oh yeah, we saw fire trucks too.  They were totally AWESOME!

They were big.  And red.  And they go, "Wheee-oooo.  Wheee-oooo."

I bet you didn't know that Monkeys like to drink milk.  They do.  They also prefer it warm and hand fed.

We live in one whacky state.  I don't think it can make up its mind as to what season it wants it to be.  

One weekend we're out enjoying the sun at the playground....

....And the next weekend you get something like this scene below. 

This is snow.  I've seen it before, but not this much of it.  It's cold.  When you touch it, it's yucky. When you eat it, it's yummy.  But the best part about it is going, "Wheeeeeeeeee" down the driveway. 

The "Wheeeeeeeee" is even better when you have a Mommy (or Daddy) to pull the sled all the way back up the driveway for you.  Mush, Mommy, Mush!!!

Do you constantly have to battle the Frizz Monster like I do?  My luxuriously fine hair is prone to states of severe electrical static-dom.  OH BOY, are you in luck. I Katie, have created the first 100% guaranteed fix to this dreadful problem. 

Dudes.  Just put lettuce on your head.  It works every time.  

Now get outta here, you rascals you.  

I gotta take me a bath.