Get your ow
n diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

2007-07-25 - 10:37 a.m.

She�s back�

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. I re-read a few of my last posts from when I was preggo, I was still pretty funny then, even without my usual vices of caffeine, alcohol or cigarettes.

This summer has flown by, like most of them do, but this one seems to have gone even faster. I was in Lexington for 2 weeks in June for work � my NEW job that will not entail hardly any travel, overnight or otherwise. That went pretty fast but it was hard to be without Jon and Karalyn and the kidlets for 2 weeks. They surprised me at the airport which of course made me cry. I am working out of my house, specifically the dining room which is a big change from my old job, where if I wasn�t traveling the country, leaving 10 minutes early to catch half of Jake�s game was a huge deal even though I might have flown out Sunday morning (which I consider my time) and came back the week before at midnight on Friday. I LOVE the flexibility and Karalyn and I have been going to a lot of softball and baseball games.

Since I last blogged, here�s a quick list of what has transpired:

1. Karalyn has gone from a teeny newborn to a smiley, giggly, 5-toothed, bald-headed wonderful baby who can say several words, including hi, mama, dada, cake (as in patty-), nigh-nigh and a few others that she mimics very well but doesn�t say on her own. She is going to be our daredevil, she loves being spun around, swung, going upside down and being scared in a game of peek-a-boo.
2. I have realized how blessed I am to have such a great husband, step-children, job, house and family and friends.
3. Oh yeah � we bought a house, it�s really cute. It�s nice for everyone to have their own space. We did a bunch of painting and need to put an engress window in the basement where Jake�s room is but otherwise it�s pretty low maintenance.
4. My stepkids are now at our house almost every day instead of their �assigned� days. It is wonderful but boy can they and their friends eat and drink!
5. My sister is pregnant and due on Labor Day
6. My brother got married 7/7/07 and it was a wonderful day and we are very glad to have Shannon in the family
7. Jess graduated from high school, is going to UW-Milwaukee next year and is now gainfully employed as a waitress at a family type Mexican joint near our house. She played varsity fast-pitch softball in the spring, her team did ok. She absolutely dotes on her baby sister, it�s really cute.
8. Jake graduated from 8th grade, is headed to high school and is now the tallest (and cockiest) one in our family by several inches, which he likes to remind everyone of on a regular basis. He is finishing up baseball which he has done really well at, not so much the team though, I think that they have won 3 games this season. Football starts next week and that should keep us busy in the fall. Good thing I love watching sports.
9. We took the kidlets camping twice. In tents. It was a lot of fun.
10. Gary and Joanne got married in their house, it was quite lovely. I did a reading.
11. My husband built a tiki bar on the deck of our house with thatched roof and PVC made to look like bamboo, thanks to my kitchen blowtorch and some stain. It is adorable. Our friend painted palm trees on the back of our house. People think we�re nuts. It�s just paint.
12. I love being a mom, wife, step-mom. I am trying to instill more of a sense of �family� in our family, since the mom of my step-kids seems to be more interested in bar hopping and hanging out with her friends then doing mom-type activities. Sad but true.
13. I have rediscovered how good toast can be with real butter.
14. I went from a hip SUV to a mommy-van. It actually rocks. Don�t tell anyone.
15. After 35+ years of other people�s castoffs, we bought a new couch, it�s a tan sectional with a 4 foot by 4 foot ottoman. We call it couch-zilla. I love it. It takes up most of our living room. I don�t care.
16. My favorite cousin Prissy (aka Heather) is getting married in Houston in September. I am going, hopefully Jon and Karalyn are coming too.
17. Ann had a baby boy, his father is an absolute joke.
18. I had food poisoning for the first time. Scallops + Lexington = bad memories.

Things I want to do better:
1. Keep our house cleaner and more picked up, especially our kitchen island, it is my repository for everything.
2. Spend more time with just Jon � have a monthly date night.
3. Be a better role model for my step-kids and show them what being a family is all about. Implement more family dinners, schedule permitting.
4. Be a better friend � reach out to my group of friends more often, which takes effort, and is very tough with all schedules of friends, spouses, children.
5. Save more money. Buy less crap.
6. Do more Karalyn focused activities. I think we tend to focus (ok, we do focus) on the activities of the other kids and Karalyn doesn�t get the same focus. I took her to the county fair last week, the zoo both the weeks before that.
7. Read to Karalyn more and get some new baby/kid music for the car. I love Laurie Berkner but 2 CD�s get a little old.
8. Plan a family vacation for next year. I love having something to look forward to.
9. Ok, this isn�t critical but I want to re-focus on things I enjoy � card making, blogging, fantasy football, cooking new things.
10. Start going to the gym twice a week and walk Karalyn twice a week in her stroller.
11. Ah, that�s plenty to work on for now�

I'll blog after our vacation next week, we are going to the land of all that is commercial (not Disney), in the world of camping - Jellystone Park! We rented this awesome log home. The family we were going with bailed on us last week, even though we planned and booked it last summer when we were there with them. Oh well - 4 days of fun, relaxing, water-soaked family time. This is the last time we are going to go, for what it costs, we can go somewhere else for a week...


previous - next

Shoes - 2009-04-29
I'm back! - 2009-04-23
She's back.... - 2007-07-25
No longer preggo! - 2006-11-20
Sorry, middle of the night nonsense - 2006-10-28
Sign up for my Notify List and get email when I update!

email:
powered by
NotifyList.com

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!
0 comments so far