My Week (24) in Droid Photos

It's been one of those weeks, boys & girls--lotsa stuff going on that I'm not going to get into on here. So I'm just going to bombard you with phone pictures instead.

Sunday 1/22/12: PooPoo's spaghetti is the BEST.

Monday 1/23/12: Laundry baskets = cheap entertainment.

Wednesday 1/25/12: Hell yeah, that's Brutus!

Wednesday 1/25/12: Abby & Angie waiting to high-five the entire OSU team.

SIDENOTE: Those dudes have BIG hands.

Wednesday 1/25/12: The game itself was a(nother) blowout, but the commentary behind Abby & I was HILARIOUS.

Thursday 1/26/12: Sending weird pictures to Mike from work. And a bad hair day.

Saturday 1/28/12: A January Saturday is the perfect time for an indoor picnic with goldfish.

Want to link up? Head over to Amy's blog!

My Week (23) in Droid Photos

Sunday 1/15/12: Fun at Target :)

Sunday 1/15/12: Someone hit his head on a heating grate & has the marks to prove it :(

Monday 1/16/12: This day was covered here, but just a reminder of my car's "milestone" (hehe).

Tuesday 1/17/12: Healthier lunch than I usually attempt.

Wednesday 1/18/12: 15 months old. About time he started nesting.

Friday 1/20/12: Caged rabbits.

Saturday 1/21/12: A style all his own.

Want to link up? Head over to Amy's blog!

Nothing. Funnier.

I recently joined Bloggy Moms; I figured I'm a mom, I like to blog, and there are other folks out there who have the same credentials--why not interact? They've got lotsa neato stuff, not the least of which is the daily writing prompts. Today's was "The last time I laughed so hard, I cried."

Kinda funny, really, because that was just last night.

And now I need to preface this with a confession: I think Damn You Auto Correct is THE FUNNIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO THE INTERNET, PERIOD. I am sorry if you don't agree. I actually have to limit my time there because I laugh so hard I can't breathe.

But last night after the boys went to bed, I clicked on a link from my Facebook page, and then read & giggled, and read some more & guffawed, and then read some more & lost my sh*t.

Mike came out into the living room at this point and said passively, "You're on that site again, aren't you?"

I made every attempt to answer him. I really did. But I couldn't. I was bawling uncontrollably--sobbing, really. And it was over the one entry that was probably the least dirty:

via

I. DIE.


I never thought a complete stranger's text mistake--but mostly, his inclusion of a photo of a long-dead U.S. president--would make tears stream down my face for a solid ten minutes.

So there you have it. The most recent situation that made me laugh so hard I cried. Ta-Da.

If you haven't already, I HIGHLY recommend you head on over to DYAC and check it out, but I will warn you: most items posted are of a highly, shall we say, questionable nature (hence the purpose). See if you laugh so hard YOU cry.

Write or Wrong

Writing used to come a lot easier to me.

I had this friend in high school (she's still a friend, actually...I think. I should probably call and confirm that). Anyhoo, I had this friend in high school that I would torture entertain by writing stupid silly newspaper articles using the characters and plot lines from The X-Files, my TV obsession at the time. I would type one up every couple of nights & slip it in her German textbook in school the next day, then wait for her giggles from the back of the classroom. Those stories were hilarious and irreverent, and I really wish I had saved one or two. It was around that time I decided I would pursue a degree in journalism--I liked writing, I seemed to be okay at it, so what the hey?

Flash forward a few years to my Comparative Studies class as a sophomore in college; it was an English course that typically had us responding to a question posed about a book read or movie watched in the class. Typically, in true Kim academic fashion, I would write my paper the evening before (or in some cases, the morning of) its due date, hand it in, and consider it done--until the professor would hand back the graded papers. Seems simple enough, right? Nope. He always kept one paper to read to the class as an example of a job well done. And I sh*t you not: EVERY TIME, it was my paper. For the whole quarter. And I would sit red-faced in the class because everyone knew it was mine, since I was the only one without a returned paper. There was pride there, I'm sure, but in my post-adolescent haze, it was hard to focus on that above the cloud of embarrassment.

In the next few years, I finished my degree, complete with an English minor. But something had changed. My "voice" was stifled so that I could sound like a journalist; all objectivity and no personality. Blech. I got my first real job as a reporter for a Catholic newspaper, and HATED. IT. I realized I had no desire whatsoever to call people out of the blue and interview them about...well...Catholic stuff. Or any stuff. Turns out "true" journalism wasn't for me.

And so after eight l-o-n-g months, I got away from it. My degree is not central to my current job, and that's fine. I just feel like somewhere along the way, amidst the rules for writing a catching headline and the limitations of chronicling the goings-on of churches in Indiana, I lost my writing mojo. And I'd love to get it back, which is probably the root reason as to why I started this blog (whether I knew it at the time or not). I've definitely got muses--the resident munchkins offer plenty of fodder--and I enjoy the release of letting my thoughts flow in a way that doesn't involve me flapping my gums. 

But I want to be so much better. There are blogs out there that just FLOOR me; the writing is so candid and raw and hilarious and heart-wrenching. I'm really inspired by those folks that I don't even know, and wouldn't know about, if it weren't for this crazy activity of blogging. What a crazy thing!

So maybe it's a little odd that this is on my mind while all this SOPA and PIPA crud is running rampant on the interwebz? I don't know. What I do know censorship is rarely a positive word, and would really hate to see the connectivity and the collaboration inspired by the web damaged. I rarely get political on here, but I've definitely voiced my opinion to my legislators on this one.

I may even write an anti-SOPA/PIPA article featuring Special Agents Mulder & Scully and send it to that high school friend. It might be nice to hear her giggle.

A full day off

I love a good three-day weekend as much as the next person, and as much as I'd like to spend that third day lounging in my jammies & eating donuts, that's an extra 12 hours of daytime that I can get stuff DONE. Today was no exception.

We ventured out bright & early this morning for Nolan's 15 month well visit. (NOTE TO SELF: Next time, doctor's appointments on days off DO NOT need to be scheduled at the butt.crack of dawn.) He's chugging away just fine, weighing in at 22 lbs (15-25 percentile) and measuring at 31.5 inches (50th percentile) with a big noggin (75th percentile). The pediatrician told us to keep on keepin' on; Nolan's doing great.

And he was doing great, until he had three vaccinations. *SHUDDER* Oh, how I hate those cries. Luckily, we he recovered pretty quickly, and after Aiden begged Dr. Brown to play Angry Birds on my phone, we were on our way for Tim Bits & hot chocolate.

After a little time at home, we hit the road again for some errands, lunch, and haircuts for my mop-topped munchkins. We ate at Raising Cane's first:

Then we killed some time at Hobby Lobby before heading over for the boys' haircuts:

Much like the early doctor's appointment, I was an idiot and scheduled the haircuts during their typical nap time, so the boys were getting quite cranky by this point; not even the balloons could perk them up. So we headed home, and on the way, this happened:

Only took me 7 years & 9 months to reach that milestone (though I didn't do it all on my own; my darling Cavalier had already had 9,000 miles when I bought it).

So now, the boys are down for their much-needed naps, and me? I'm enjoying a glass of wine. At 2:30 in the afternoon. On a MONDAY. Because I can. :) I still need to figure out what's for dinner & work on some laundry, but for now, I'm taking a few moments for myself.

My Week (22) in Droid Photos

Monday 1/9/12: My new Kindle Fire sleeve arrived. LOVEEE.

Tuesday 1/10/12: Last week it was a Lego box, this week a drum.

Wednesday 1/11/12: "All the other kids with the Pumped Up Kicks..."

Friday 1/13/12: Stuff is starting to arrive for Aiden's 4th birthday party :)

Friday 1/13/12: Date night, and Mike is hiding behind the condiments.

Saturday 1/14/12: Finally starting to look like January. Yech.

Want to link up? Head over to Amy's blog!

A Brief Chat with the Nolanator

10 Things I Think I Think, First 2012 Edition

10. It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. BOO. I was SO enjoying my (relatively-) warm, snowless winter! The first day of spring can't get here soon enough.

9. I'm proud of myself for sticking to my workout routine. Granted, I'm only a week & a half in, but that's a week & a half longer than I usually make it! My problem, though, is that the treadmill is absolute MURDER on my knees. Trying to get some advice from some co-workers on how to handle that, but I may have to make the jump over to my elliptical. Limping around work is not cool.

8. Mike started his new job on Monday, so the the boys started back at the sitter. Unfortunately, I got a note that same day saying that as of the first of March, she will no longer be babysitting. Ugh. I HATE looking for a sitter. Unfortunately, that's probably going to be the way we'll go since I just can't make the cost of a day care work within our budget, short of me getting another job. So frustrating.

7. I've done nothing but complain so far in this post. If you've clicked off, I really don't blame you!

6. Hmmmmm, positive things...I LOVE my Kindle Fire! Definitely a good purchase, especially since we got a new cable/internet provider with wireless that actually works. And I think Aiden enjoys it more than I do! He's an Angry Birds fanatic, but there's also a memory game I've downloaded that we play together. Good times.

5. Plans for Aiden's fourth birthday party are coming along. I'm trying to go a bit lower-key than I have in the past, but there's some cute stuff out there! Wants & needs, wants & needs...

4. Thumbs up for two good new episodes of NCIS in a row. I was getting worried there for awhile. The February episodes sound quite interesting, too :)

3. I've tried two recipes this past week that I found on Pinterest; one was this potato soup, which was delicious, but makes A LOT of soup, so invite folks over if you try it! The other was this broccoli pasta, which I also thought was yummy, but Mike was on the fence a bit. It probably would have been better with some grilled chicken.

2. Nolan's got sensitive skin, and as documented previously, a tendency to poop often. Well, those two characteristics have joined forces to give him some nasty diaper rash this week. It looks OMG PAINFUL, but he acts like it doesn't hurt at all! We're doing our best to treat it, but I might have to give in & call the doc tomorrow, even though he's scheduled for a well visit on Monday. Cross your fingers it starts to subside.

1. A big congrats to my SIL & BIL on the birth of their second child, the lovely Miss Caitlin. Hopefully we'll get to meet her one of these days, and introduce them Nolan!

My Week (21) in Droid Photos

Things were a bit more typical around these parts this week, with the holidays concluding and me heading back to work. Mike & the boys got an extra week off, though; Mike starts his new job on Monday, and the boys will be back to the sitter. Time to settle in for some normalcy.

Monday 1/2/12: Watching the Buckeyes with Aunt Abby. THANK GOD this season is over.

Tuesday 1/3/12: They're both eating AT THE SAME TIME. Momentous.

Wednesday 1/4/12: See? Sometimes I cook.

Friday 1/6/12: What, like YOU'VE never picked your nose with a giant red hand?!

Friday 1/6/12: Lego boxes are PERFECT for lounging.

Saturday 1/7/12: Where there's a mess, there's usually a Nolan.

Want to link up? Head over to Amy's blog!

Not a Photographer

You may not have noticed, but even though I'm not much of a photographer, I like to take pictures.

And today, I thought I'd snap a few of Nolan, who decided post-nap that he wanted nothing more than to read a good book.

NOTE: Please excuse the out-of-season, pizza-stained top and rumbled bed-head hair, though personally, those are some of my favorite things captured in these photos. :)

*Special thank you to Megan for lens to replace the one Nolan broke!

It Starts Today

I have never been what you might call a healthy person.

Sure, I have maintained a decent figure and low weight through ABSOLUTELY NO MAINTENANCE on my part--those of you who used to see me down a pack of Reece's Cups and a 20 oz Mountain Dew for my lunch can attest to that--but luckily for me, through the first 28 years or so of my life, I had one crazy metabolism.

I kept active enough in high school, being a pretty sweet marching band and all (GO LEX BOG!), but there was a failed attempt of joining the track team as a freshman. It was one of those hey-your-older-sisters-are-on-the-team-and-they-love-it-so-OBVIOUSLY-you-would-love-it-too-maybe-you-should-join-today-okay-cool-it's-done-then! moments. Kind of a bad idea to join the track team when you hate running with every fiber of your being. I got to the point where we were told to go run a mile, and I would say "Nope!" and walk it instead. I mean, it's not like they could give me a bad grade or anything.

So I made it though high school and college, maintaining my crazy weight of around 114 lbs, never having done anything to achieve that ridiculous number (my actions might actually have you thinking I was trying to GAIN weight, really). By the time I met Mike, the old metabolism started slowing down, though I think I was still around 125 by the time we got married.

And then I got pregnant with Aiden.

I shouldn't complain about that either, honestly; I only gained 28 lbs total with him, and lost all but 10 of that after the delivery. But I never did anything to actively get rid of those 10 lbs.

And then I got pregnant with Nolan.

Add another 10 lbs to the 10 I still had from Aiden, plus an additional few just for being lazy, and we've come to wear I am today: not overweight, but not overly excited about the numbers on the scale, either.

So, I've come to a decision: I'm going to lose 20 lbs. I've got a plan. And I'm starting it this morning.

I've got realistic expectations; I know it's not going to happen quickly or easily, and I know that having carried two kids, my body shape is forever changed. Obviously, that doesn't mean I can't tone it up. More than anything, though, I just want to prove to myself that I can follow through on this.

I'm not sure how much of my story I'll document on here; I've got a bit of a hang-up about personal fitness in general because I've always felt like such a WUSS, but it might keep me honest. I wish good luck to anyone out there attempting something similar.

Ready or not, here I go...

My Week (20) in Droid Photos

Busy December means fewer photos. Oh well. I do these updates when I can, but I'm not requiring myself to complete them on time by any means. :)

Saturday 12/24: Last chance to tell Santa what he wanted.

Saturday 12/24/11: We call this look "Unsure."

Tuesday 12/27/11: Mean muggin' at his dentist appointment.

Wednesday 12/28/11: Trying to figure out what to get into next at Mimi's house.

Friday 12/30/11: Big cheeks at Mimi's birthday lunch.

Sunday 1/1/12: Teaching Daddy to play Angry Birds on Mommy's Kindle Fire.

Want to link up? Head on over to Amy's blog!