Category Archives: Kids
Sibling Chair Laughing Fun
Siblings having a swinging good time
At an impasse…
Katie was swinging and Owen asked if he could, too. (Of course he doesn’t need to ask but he does.) This wasn’t quite what I expected:

Then he was all about pushing Katie. He’s never really wanted to before…so…YAY!
First, a hug. 🙂

Then a few pushes.


Then he decided to twist her—and OH the fun both of them had!!
More twisting!
Pushing…and getting kicked…and loving it!
Swinging together! He’d get her moving then hop on his own swing!

Finally, Owen twisting himself!
I’m glad they’re enjoying the swings…but why did Owen have to start liking them NOW? A year after we got the playset and a month before we have to sell it? See? The guilt. 🙂
Bug watching
Owen found a roly poly out in his playset and asked if he could bring it up. Of course! Then it fell off the table and Katie got involved…and excited! 🙂
Then Owen had to go put him back so his mom and dad wouldn’t miss him. 🙂
I love that she sleeps with her bear.

Moving guilt.
I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again—I hate change. Most changes I can roll with even if I don’t like them—or I get used to them—but moving is always ALWAYS a big change.
Yes, I’m a little excited to have a different house with a bunch of amenities this house doesn’t have…but on the same note, I just keep thinking of the little things about our new house that are going to be different…that I’m not sure how it’s going to work.
Bikes, for example, and learning to ride. Where we live now? Big, mostly flat driveway on a flat cul-de-sac road. Where we’re moving? Hilly and short driveway on a hilly road. I didn’t really think about it until I bought Katie a tricycle this morning and starting wondering just where the hell she was going to ride it?!
And Owen’s police car? I think I’ll sell it. He doesn’t ride it much and now there won’t be anywhere TO ride it (at the house). Well, there are sidewalks…but since he doesn’t really ride it, why even bother moving it with the HOPES that he will magically start riding it? I had hoped Katie would take to it but she hasn’t…so I’m ready to give up on it since it was a big waste of money. Damn kids. :p
So I’m just feeling major guilt about the kid stuff. Yes, they’ll have a bigger indoor space to run around (including a full big basement)…and a pool and playground a bit of a jaunt away…but they’re losing their own big back yard, their front yard, their awesome playset, their pool, and their driveway. I mean I could literally cry about it.
Obviously people have kids in places like these but my mind just kind of shuts down and I can’t even imagine. My friends assured me they grew up in similar places and turned out fine. They also assured me that kids are flexible, won’t care nearly as much as I do about any of it, and will accommodate quickly no matter what.
I’m sure they’re right and the kids will be fine…but still. The guilt.
I’m just having my typical second thoughts about our house selection…and general apprehension and anxiety about the move. I mean, I’m even worried about stupid things like the kitchen sink (it’s not as big or deep as what we have now), the pantry (it’s an awkward shape with those stupid wire shelves so I’ll still need my garage pantry), the gas stove (I’m excited to have gas again, but it looks old and it’s in the island without much counter space so that’s annoying), and the stupid pedestal sink in the half bath (so nowhere to store anything).
I know I’ll get over it all and once we get settled in things will be just fine—they always are!—but this is why I can’t sleep at night.
Katie + a walk + flowers




Introducing Katieisms!
Welcome to the first installment of Katieisms— she’s moving beyond words at this point (though she still obviously learns new words) and she’s such a cute little bug and makes us laugh and is too smart…so she needs her own posts like Owen’s Owenisms. I didn’t particularly care for Katieisms but nothing else I brainstormed hit me, either. So…to make life simple…she gets Katieisms.
🙂
I was looking at a picture Owen drew:
Face!
Owen was building things with his magnets:
Amazing!
As Tom was leaving to take Owen to school:
Can I come please?
After he walks out the door with Owen:
Daddy gone! Mama! I want my daddy!
Chasing Bella around:
Come back here Bella! Where are you Bella?
Tom was playing with the fart gun.
Daddy did you fart?
Tom had Sesame Street paused when Katie walked in.
Katie: [Stops and points.] That’s Sessa Street!
Pushing her in the swing.
Me: Ready?
Katie: Ready set go!
We were at the dinner table and Tom was pretending to sleep.
WAKE UP DADDY! WAKE UP!
Katie is too smart
I was unloading and loading the dishwasher and she opened the under-sink cupboard and pointed to the detergent pods and said “Mama!”
Then, I went into the garage for a minute to get something out of the freezer and when I came back in…she had actually gotten out a detergent pod! Which means she had to lift the lid of the container (which is weighted down with two spray bottles). BUT…she also managed to pull out an automatic soap dispenser AND UNLOCKED IT and had soft soap all over her and the floor. 😐
Then, she was being a poop about other things, so I told her no TV. She asked for the iPad and was playing a game…and after I left the room and came back, she was watching a movie.
And I’m sure it’s only going to get worse.
I will never let you go again!
Owen was trying to help Katie up the playset steps.

Right after Tom walks through the frame, you can hear Owen say he’ll never let her go again. Awww.
And then there was laughing
My heart is smiling.
Owen loves his light sabers!
My mother’s day do-over!
Since Mother’s Day was spent house hunting/traveling, I officially declared MY Mother’s Day would be this weekend. 🙂 So our day started with a trip to Costco, Owen’s face-painting at the farmer’s market…and then since it was a GORGEOUS day, time spent outside using the deck/pool/yard/playset (we’re trying to use it as much as we can since we will have NONE of it at the new house)…
We were playing music outside.
Owen: DJ Shuffle is in the house!
Us: Whaaaaa?!?!
Owen hurt himself with that jump/landing, but felt a little better when I showed him the cool picture I got of him in mid air!
While we were outside, Tom went and got the mail…and my mother’s day present (that I ordered for myself!) had arrived! I LOVE IT SOOOOO MUCH! (It’s an 11×14 wrapped canvas.)
Then Tom grilled super yummy BBQ chicken (which Owen tried and liked!) and I made a huge batch of our favorite tomato and basil bruschetta and we ate on the deck!
And even though I got these from Owen awhile back (done at school), I forgot to post them, so there’s no better time or place than right now!
I love his answers! And he didn’t do too badly…though I can’t believe he said salad instead of any other number of things! 🙂
So overall I had a GREAT mother’s day do-over!
Owen’s first face-painting!
We stopped at the farmers market on the way home from a Costco run…and they had face painting! Owen had never had it done, and I thought I might be able to entice him with a superhero…and it worked!!
The before:
He had a handful to choose from. Can you tell who he picked?
Katie and daddy were waiting:
Sponging on some red…
Painting some lines…
The final product—he was suddenly shy and wouldn’t look at me and wanted to go to the car. Oh well.
But once we got to the car, he had turned into Spider-Man and he was ALL SMILES!
And even throwing webs!
When we got home, he was a super big help unloading the car, and then I heard “Mama take a picture!” Yep, he had found his matching Spider-Man Lego head! 🙂
Owenisms 44
I had asked him what lunch was. I’m guessing a tortilla wrap.
Owen: I like the chicken. But outside the tortilla. It tastes like dinosaur. Or maybe chicken.
Driving somewhere with Tom:
Owen: Look! Slow turtles!
Tom was confused until he realized he meant one of these:
I handed Owen an old tattered B.
Owen: Maybe when gramma comes again she can fix it with her fixing machine.
He says stuff like this all the time:
Remember? Last week? For Christmas a long time ago? OR Remember? Last year? When I was four last time ago?
Me: What did you have for lunch today?
Owen: Hard chicken.
Me: Hard chicken?! What’s that?
Owen: It kinda tastes like cardboard.
At breakfast:
Excuse me? Last night? My dreams were a pretty little bit good.
Enjoying the playset while we can.
First corn on the cob!
iPad please?
This is what happens when you enter the wrong pass code three times.
Homework before bed
Lovin’ on Owen
Brrr! Cold!
It was too quiet.
She loves hats…and her daddy.
A small pool is still fun
Limping Girl
So Katie has been limping off and on for a few weeks now so we finally took her in (Tom came with me because he’s off this week). The doc agreed her ankle was swollen and guessed it might be a fracture so sent us for x-rays. Thankfully they came back clear, but the only recommended course of action was ice, rest, elevation, and ibuprofen (yeah, like ice, rest, and elevation are really going to happen) and to check back in two weeks if she was still limping. I guess that’s better than having to get a cast, but I’d almost rather have a definitive solution (i.e. cast) as opposed to “wait and see.”
She was a little poop at the appointment, though—you know her normal super talkative self? Who never shuts up and is always smiling and laughing? When the doctor came in, she turned to stone. No smiles, no giggles, no hi-fives, not ticklish…it was the craziest thing.
But she was a ROCK STAR getting the x-rays—she just layed quietly on the table (it helped that there was a pillow so she pretended to sleep!). The radiologist said she wasn’t used to kids who stayed that still. 🙂








































































