Overdue Squeaks

They just say the best stuff.

EVA

Me: "Eva, do you want to sing a song with me?"

Eva: "Yesh."

Me: "Well, what should we sing?"

Eva: "Bicky Bicky Bider"

(Itsy Bitsy Spider)

MIA

(10pm.  Two hours post bedtime)

Mia: "Mom?"

Me: (shocked to see child wander out this late) "What?  What's the matter?"

Mia: "If Pop-Pop had a horse, and that horse had a horn on its' head

[otherwise known as a unicorn], and it turned me into a horse,

would you still love me and tuck me in at night?"

Me: "Yes.  I most certainly would."

Mia: "Okay.  Goodnight."

(seperate occasion)

Mia: "Mom?"

Me: "Yes?"

Mia: "Why does Eva always smell like mac 'n cheese?"

Me: "Umm, don't know."

ALI

(Ali is Star of the Week for school.  Here is what she shared about herself to her class.)

Name: Natalie

Parents: Katie and Joe

Birthday: July 27

Birth Place: Lincoln, Nebraska

My favorite book:  all Annie Barrow's books and Dr. Seuss books

My favorite animals: Kittens

What I do well:  talking!!

My favorite food: Jolly Ranchers

A person I admire: My friend Claudia, becasue she's smart and funny.

What I like most about our school:  That we have no bullies in our school.

My wish:  is that the Corn Huskers would win the World Series.

Cracks me up.  I love being a mom.

A Quick Trip

Spring break came and we couldn't bear the thought of being the family that didn't go anywhere.  Again.  The girls had been saving their birthday money and all the change they could dig out of our pockets to go to Sea World and so we obliged them. 

 We drove the four hours to San Antonio and hit the park with about half of the state population who also had the same great idea. 

The weather was perfect, the lines were long, the shows were great and we had a fun time.
We stayed the night in a less than "Quality" Inn and drove home the next moring!  Daddy can pick the hotel next time. 

Another One Turns Five!

Big Party

House of Mouse

Bring your appetite,

Bring your tokens,

Bring your sisters.

Just BE THERE.

Handsomest birthday boy I've ever seen.

Dang, we love that groovy mouse!

James had a fab time too, I think.  As long as Chuck E. kept his distance...

And I'm gonna sneak this in here at the end.

If you're still with me, good for you.

Last week, I turned 30.

It wasn't pretty.

I don't think it's a number thing for me...

See, my twenty's were all about building a family.

I got pregnant and tried to get that way as often as possible after that.

Now, when most of my friends are just starting families, I am done.

That stage is over.

It's a blessing, but to this midwife, it's also a curse.

So I cried.  A lot.

And tried to figure out what my thirty's were going to be about.

One night Joe and I had a conversation that went something like this:

Joe: "I feel really bad that I didn't plan a big party for you.  I didn't think you wanted one."

Katie: "Yeah.  It's okay. I just wanted to turn 30 in a big way.  Ya know?"  (sniffle)

(sob, sob, sob) (Yes, I'm serious about the sobs.)

Katie:  "Maybe I should go get a tattoo."

Joe: "Sure!  Go for it!"

Katie: "I can't decide what I want.  (sniffle)  Something sentimental about my girls and my family and birth and midwifery and my life right now.  I don't know."

Joe:  "Like a tree maybe?"

Katie: (pause.  Nose blow.) "A tree?  Yes.  A tree!"

So my sister came and took me out for dinner and I got a tattoo. 

 A big one.  Of a cherry blossom branch which symbolizes life and feminine strength. 

With three blossoms in various stages of blooming representing my girls, of course.

  And I love it.

I was unsure about whether to disclose this new artwork,

but you're gonna notice. 

Sooner or later.

I still don't know what my thirty's are going to be about.

But I feel better with my new tattoo.

And it fits my image

People expect me to be a little "alternative",  eccentric and on the fringe.