i don't blog: December 2005

The Jo's Ho's

5 years ago, before we or any of our friends had any kids (Samantha excepted), CJ and I led a very different life. We went to work and spent the rest of our lives doing whatever we damn well felt like doing. At least 4 evenings a week we'd meet up with friends at our local watering hole - Smokey Jo's. It was our Cheers. We'd walk in and everyone knew our name... and we'd know everyone else. We'd sit in our usual spots, the bartender would give us our "usual" drinks without us having to order. We'd spend the next 3, 4, 5 hours chatting with our good friends, smoking cigarettes, watching sports on TV and laughing! we did a lot of laughing. ... and crying (Tom, I miss you and still think about you every day). I remember when we got stranded in Jo's during a snow storm one evening. I wanted it to keep snowing all night. It was warm and cosy and I was with my "peeps".

Fast forward to now... many of us have children. Smokey Jo's was sold and is now under new ownship. It is a place for the younger folks.. a bit of a pick up joint. We are all older and tired. Most of the time we'd rather sleep than go out. We don't stay out late because sleeping in the next morning is no longer an option.

Well, yesterday morning my good friend Dawn sent out an email to all the "ladies". Who wants to go out for a drink tonight? 9:00 The Central

I was torn. 9:00? But that is so late. But then I responded.. YES! I need to go out and see my gal pals. Luckily, many of the others felt the same way.

At 9:00 last night we met up at the Central... Dawn, Rachel, Hadley, Christy, Nabila, Deb, - the Jo's Ho's! ... of course, some of the men were there too (Andy, Nick, Tim). It felt almost like old times. It was wonderful! I felt young again. I felt whole. Girls, I love you so much. We are so lucky to have each other. We all know so much about each other. We have history. We MUST make this a regular thing. No more excuses. A night out like last night is essential. Way motre important that a decent night's rest. You have boosted my spirits tremendously. I can't wait to see you all again next week.

xoxoxoxxo

- Your friend Karen

Reflections of 2005

It's been a great year. I would like to reflect on some of the good times in the past year:

- I got to spend the first 3 months of 2005 at home with my two wonderful kids. It was great to be able to spend time with Sebby when he was still little and smushy. I really enjoyed hanging out with my friends over coffee (lots of coffee) and having good chats.

- CJ became a Stay at home dad and he is better at it than I could have ever imagined. He is the best Dad and the kids are so darn lucky to have him at home these days.

- My sister Andrea fell in love and got engaged. I am absolutely thrilled about this. Andrea and Chris... i wish you years and years of happiness together.

- We had a great summer in Seattle. I really got into gardening and I have many fond memories of hanging outside with the kids playing on the playset and spending time at the beach.

- Our friend Charles came back from Iraq safe and sound. He proposed to my dear friend Sam and they will be getting married next summer. Congratulations you two.

- Our good friends Steve and Nabila welcomed their beautiful new daughter Jasmine into the world. and Dawn and Darwin (I love you guys) welcomed their handsome new man, Gregory. I love you two kids!

- We enjoyed our first family vacation. The Oregon coast was awesome.

- I found a hobby that I love - blogging and picture taking.

- I got to see CJ's band get better and better. I was able to attend a couple of their gigs, which I loved. and it made me so proud.

- My Dad finished his plane and is now able to come visit us much more often (1.5 hour flight)

- I went to Philidelphia to meet a bunch of my friends. We had such a good time. I am so grateful that I didn't pass out first!

- I made some new friends and became closer to some that I had before. I am truly blessed to have the friends I do.

- CJ impressed me so much by losing weight and getting healthy and in shape. Honey you are an inspiration.

- I was able to witness a beautiful sibling relationship develop

It's been a great year! Thanks to everyone in my life who has made it so wonderful! Here's to a fabulous 2006!

if only...

If only I could handle my personal life the way I handle work. At work I thrive on stress. When I am under pressure I am at my best. I love having so much to do that it's almsot impossible to get it all done. It's a challenge and I get a buzz from trying to get it all done. I love the challenge - I love having to think and problem solve. When I have a big deadline approaching I enter into this almost robotic mode. I put my head done and start working and I have to admit that I am pretty damn productive. I get high off the adrenaline and get into this almost giddy mood.

okay.. let's talk about how I handle my personal life. I am a friggin disaster. When one of the kids starts crying, my stress level skyrockets. Instead of thinking clearly I start to panick and can't figure out what I need to do first. If two kids start to cry I almost self-destruct. Throw in a bit of fatigue ... or better yet... complete sleep deprivation... and I seem to be incapable of functioning altogether.

Let's talk about friends.... I love having people over and socializing, but after my friends leave, I always think about the things I should have said or when I acted badly (e.g. stopping a conversation midsentence because one of the kids needed me). I seem to be really bad at prioritizing what needs to be done in social/personal situations. I am afraid that my friends think I'm rude, and my kids will think I am a bad mom.

I go back to work tomorrow. I am actually looking forward to it a bit. I feel a bit like a failure after being home for the last 6 days. I found it really tough. I had all these great hopes for my vacation. Now that it's over I only remember the times when I didn't act/parent the way I feel I should have.

anyhow... that's my post for now. It was Kenzie's birthday today. I think she had a pretty good day. I don't want to cloud the memory of her day with my current sad thoughts, so I'll write about her birthday tomorrow.

Good night.

better now

I'm feeling better today than I did yesterday. I think I was overtired. CJ watched Sebby yesterday afternoon and let me have a nice long nap. Then he gave Sebby his bottle last night and let me sleep through. I feel like a different person today. NICE!

This morning we took down the Christmas tree decorations. I am craving order today. I think I'll feel better once all the Christmas stuff is put away and the house is tidied.

The kids painted this morniong. It was Sebby's first time and I think he did a great job.

Right now my Dad is taking Sebby for a walk with Madison. Kenzie and I made her birthday cake... and now she is watching Sponge Bob.

Still not sure what we're going to do this afternoon. It all depends on the naps. I'd like to take the kids to the Children's Quest Museum but it closes at 5:00... fingers crossed that it works out.

Tomorrow my little girl is turning 3.... I love her to death.

the day after

well Christmas is over. As always, I feel a little sad. I get so excited for Christmas that when it actually comes it feels almost a bit anticlimatic. No one in our house is sleeping well.Kenzie has been up in the middle of the night the last two nights because of her cold. CJ and I have both been dealing with insomnia. I think it's a combination of Christmas excitement and other things going on in our lives. Work is really busy and stressful for me these days. And Andrea's wedding is coming up very soon and we are not ready. We still need to buy flight tickets, buy a flower girl dress for Kenzie, a suit for CJ and a matron of honour dress for me. Which brings me to my next thought... I'm fat. The holiday season was not good for my waistline. I'm already having problems losing pregnancy weight and now I think I gained about 6 pounds (I am too scared to step on the scale). I am going to look like a fat cow compared to tall, skinny Andrea at her wedding. I am starting another Isagenix cleanse today. Hopefully I'll get through these 9 days and feel better about myself afterwards.

anyhow... backing up a bit. Yesterday we had a fairly lazy day at home. The kids played with their new toys... and of course the old standard... pots and wooden spoons are always a hit....

Then we had some friends stop by for a visit. The kids all had fun playing together and I enjoyed hanging out and talking to "our peeps".

Halfway through the party Kenzie decided she needed to change. This is what she came up with... She refused to put pants on.

Steve brought over his XBox remote and a game so the men-boys had fun playing car chase games.... [sigh.....] boys!!! Ha ha.. i was teasing CJ about that but in reality it made me happy to see him enjoying his present.

So today, I may take Kenzie shopping for the flower-girl dress. Depending on everyone's mood, we may even paint the toy benches that the kids got for Christmas from granddad and grandma. CJ did a fantastic job putting them together. We are going to put their names on them and then let the kids paint them... you know.. hand & foot etc. It should be fun.

Merry Christmas to All....

... and to all a good night.

Excuse the knife :)

Merry Christmas

It's 2:00 am on Christmas Eve and I can't sleep. Combination of being sick, excited and the really loud rain that's pouring down outside.

I CAN NOT wait until tonight!!!! I feel like a kid again, I am so excited!

The plan is that we are going to hang around today until after naps when we'll head over to Christy and Andrew's Open House. After some socializing and Christmas cheer, we will come home. When we get home we will enjoy some appetizers and a drink or two with the Wheelers and open a few gifts.

At some point before we get home from the Open House, CJ or I need to move "something" to under the tree. Kenzie asked for one thing from Santa this year... a giant pink unicorn (they have these at Fred Meyer and she's been drooling over them for the last month). Well, what would Christmas be without getting the one big gift you asked for... (we currently have a giant pink unicorn in the garage hidden under a big blanket).

Kenzie is going to be beside herself with excitement. I can not wait to see her face when she sees it. Oh my God.... this is going to be sooooooo fun!

Anyhow, backing up a bit.... Dad arrived last night with "stinky Madison". Maybe I am getting used to him, but Madison really doesn't seem too stinky this time. Kenzie of course was so excited to see her best friend again.

She was also so happy to see Opa. It amazes me how she is so shy and timid with so many people but she just LOVES her Opa. From the minute he walked in the door, she was all over him.

She had to put on her Tigger costume for him.

Of course, it had to be OPA who read her book last night before bed. I think dad is loving all this attention from his granddaughter. It's so sweet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Love Karen

Happy Christmas Eve, Eve, Eve

It's my last day of work before Christmas! I have two things I HAVE to get done... I am going to do then right away and then call CJ and he's going to pick me up from work. I am hoping to be done by 3:00 today. WOOT! Let the fun begin!

A couple interesting tidbits of information.

1. CJ and the kids drove me to work today. As I was walking from the car to Starbucks, I slipped and fell (damn wet hills in Seattle). If that wasn't humiliating enough, I peed myself when I landed. I don't care if everyone on the Internet knows this. It's a fact of life. After women have kids they pee themselves often (think... sneezing, coughing, falling, laughing.... breathing). HA! So, I am now going comando. Just wanted to share.

2. In Starbucks this morning, there were three big burly construction workers sitting at a table having their morning coffee. I was listening in on their conversation as I put the cream into my coffee. They were talking about Christmas cookie recipes. For some reason that touched me. It was sweet and amusing at the same time.

.... the end.

Christmas coutdown

okay, so we'll be opening gifts in 81 hours and I still have to buy most of the presents. CJ is sick, I am sick, Sebby is sick. The house is a mess. Dad's arriving with stinky dog in 2 days.

this is a shitty way to start a post....

the good things about christmas....

- we have lots of parties and socializing to look forward to
- the kids will LOVE getting gifts and playing with them
- I get 6 days off
- hopefully we'll be feeling better

I can't do this... head is too cloudy with cold medicine.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas.

Love K

could you get mad at this face?

CJ's run

CJ started up running again recently. Within a couple months of running he is up to doing 5+ miles 3 or 4 times a week. I am very proud of him.

Today was his first official "race". It was a 5K in Kirkland. Poor CJ has a cold and so is feeling under the weather. He also didn't sleep well last night. But he still wanted to do the run.

So the whole family went. The kids and I went to cheer him on. Here he is before the race. (It was pretty chilly out... the kids were pretty bundled up) :)

The kids and I left to let him warm up. We went off and grabbed a quick breakfast at our favorite place - George's.

We finished breakfast just in time to walk outside and cheer Dad as he came around the corner (we were about 3 blocks from the start). He was looking good... very energetic.

After he passed, we headed to the finish line which was dopwn by the water. Kenzie enjoyed feeding the ducks and Sebby had fun just crawling around and looking at rocks.

So, we were just getting ready to leave the water and head to the finish line. The clock said 23:00. I figured CJ would be crossing the finish at about 27:00... but nooooooo... i look up and there he was running towards the finish. I grabbed Sebby and ran over to take a picture but I was too late. CJ finished the run in about 24 minutes. That's under 8 minutes/mile. I was so proud.

This is him right after we met up with him, getting a congratulatory hug from his kiddos.

I'm very proud of you honey. I love you! :)

Now, we are off to relax and watch football all afternoon.

Happy Birthday Gabby

Kenz and I went to Gabby's second birthday party this morning. CJ (who has a cold) stayed home with Sebby (who was napping). Poor guys, being left at home :(

The party was great. It was held at a new Children's Museum a few miles from home.

The kids started off with some playtime and ended the event with cake, snacks and opening presents. Birthday parties these days are so much fun. I am getting super excited for Kenzie's party in a couple weeks.

The Children's Museum was fantabulous! (I know that's not a word). I bought a family pass so we can go there lots. I am psyched! I can't wait for CJ to see it. I hope he has fun bringing teh kids there lots.

Here are some pics.

Happy birthday Gabby! Looks like you had a blast!

Kenzie and Phoebe were inseparable

This is the best leaf slide ever!

Climbing the ladder to the tree house

The floor window in the tree house

Engineers in training

This trainset was awesome

I have a friend

... a wonderful friend. and she is sad. She has a beautiful heart and is a beautiful person. It kills me that she is sad. I have a lump in my throat. I want her to be happy and know she's loved.

Sebastian's First birthday

- Kenzie and Sebastian started fighting over his birthday toy before it was even unwrapped. From what I gather from CJ this behaviour didn't get any better throughout the day.