healthy american female

I love this picture

2009-11-10T13:50:42Z

katielovesjoel @ 2009-09-18T13:21:00

2009-09-18T18:30:18Z

I am non-committal.

katielovesjoel @ 2009-09-14T04:21:00

2009-09-14T09:32:37Z

I have been up 4 times tonight to help Rosemary go to the bathroom. 4 times. And it has taken me at least an hour to get back to sleep every time. That I know of, she did not have a drop to drink after dinner. Sometimes, life is hard (I know ... woe is me, right?).

Analyze this!

2009-08-17T18:15:30Z

CRAZY dream:

I was driving home from Joel's house. Apparently we were not married but still dating. He was really frustrated with me and told me it was time for me to go home (I actually have a lot of dreams that we're dating and he's really frustrated with me ... weird, eh?). I was really scared to drive home because there was severe weather and tornadoes in the forecast, but he insisted I go home.

So I'm driving home and Owen (our dog) is with me. All of a sudden, out of the cloudy gray sky, about a hundred cars start falling. First the headlights appear and then the rest of the car, and they crash into the ground. It's almost like they're trying to attack, and I have to drive in such a way as to dodge the cars. I thought perhaps it was a terrorist attack.

You would think that would be the worst part, but the worst part follows. Once the cars crash and hit the ground, a woman - either a dead woman or a mannequin (she doesn't look very real, doesn't have any blood or accident scars, just a completely blank look on her face) - bounces out of it. So not only am I dodging falling cars, but I'm also dodging bouncing, blank women.

What do you think about that?

The Whirlwind.

2009-07-30T08:29:14Z

I did really think The Whirlwind would slow down when I moved up here, but I guess it's something that follows me wherever I go. Seems it has more to do with my choices than my situation. I really thought it had more to do with my situation.

This past week, my good friend Summer came up to spend time with us. It was so good to spend some quality time with her.

The week/weekend before, we spent in the cities. We slept at Joel's parents and we visited almost everyone in the world. Or at least a good chunk of our friends in the cities.

Tomorrow I am helping a friend with her garage sale ... and hoping to sell a good chunk of stuff. I sort of wish I could sell anything and start over with the bare minimum. WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF! I did do a resweep (remember I had my own garage sale less than a month ago) of Rosemary's toys and am getting rid of a large bin full of stuff.

We took advice from some of you and started trying to get Rosemary to poop in the baby potty. She was super excited about it and would sit on it for a half an hour or more. She never pooped, but at least she was trying. But we forgot the baby potty at Joel's parents. Note to self: ask my mom to pick it up and bring it up here next week.

Next week Thursday - Saturday my mom and her friend are coming up here to stay. They want to spend Friday kayaking somewhere. Then they want to watch Rosemary so we can go out and do something fun. My birthday is coming up and our anniversary is the day after ... so I'm excited to do something in the name of those events. It has honestly been over a year since we have had a real, live date. That's just not right.

Rosemary is full-swing into being a 3-year-old. I was not prepared for this. I kept saying we skipped the terrible twos since the first 2 years of her life were so incredibly difficult. I figured maybe a collicky, sleepless baby just skipped the toddler tantrum/completely unreasonable stage. She is testing me on absolutely every level. When I put her in time-out she laughs at me. On the one hand, it's maddening and on the other hand, it's difficult not to laugh in return.

Have any of you read love and logic? The idea of reading another parenting book burns me out. I feel so tired of them. Some have been really helpful, but they just get tiring after awhile. The local ECFE teaches a class on Love and Logic and I'm considering it. At least I could read it over a 5-week structured setting in which I'm interacting with other adults.

Our vegetable garden is coming along. Things are really growing, but not a lot is ready to harvest yet. We harvested some absolutely delicious broccoli (I didn't even take 1 picture, it was just too mouthwatering to think about blogging about it) and some nasturtium, but the rest is sprouting/still growing. It's crazy. This Minnesota summer has been very stereo-typical Minnesota. Cold. Normally the stereo-type isn't so much the reality.

Ah well, I'm still hoping for a good harvest.

That's my sleepless-night random update of my life. How are you?

Franciscan Benediction

2009-07-14T19:01:12Z

My friend Cristi posted this at her blog, hazel daisies. A blog she started up to raise awareness and track her own journey as she follows God's call on her life to fight sex trafficking.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.

It is something I would like to read and pray every day.

A friendly friends cut

2009-07-14T18:23:16Z

I am going to do a friendly friends cut. I want to keep up on livejournal, but it just gets a little overwhelming. A lot of you I am friends with on facebook and I read your facebook stuff more than your LJ stuff. Others of you we just don't have much in common or much to comment on. If I cut you (and even if I don't), feel free to friend me on facebook ... just look for Kate Krebs Peck. It's just easier to keep up over there. Here, I just want/need a closer knit community.

XOXO.

Oh wise LJ, please answer my questions.

2009-06-22T23:56:21Z

We got a pool for Rosemary. I don't know the dimensions, but it's a larger, rectangular, blow-up one. It's big enough for an adult to wade in. My question is ... how long can I keep the water in before it's gross? I'm not talking dirt, leaves, etc ... but bacteria-wise? I don't really want to treat it with any chemicals or anything.

Next question. Rosemary had a pretty bad cold about 3 weeks ago. She's all better now, seemingly. Except her voice is still different. I've never noticed such an obvious symptom with her and it makes me nervous that it's lasting so long. It's nasally and a little raspy. Would you be concerned?

Swiss chard

2009-06-20T01:27:51Z

Wanna see our first harvest?!?!

Look at me being Posty McPosterson today

2009-06-17T22:23:11Z

Wanna see my garden?

Preschool and war

2009-06-17T17:11:19Z

I signed Rosemary up for a little summer preschool thing and it started today. It goes through July and is 2 hours a day, 2 days a week. I expected a little tugging at my leg and sadness that I was leaving, but ooooh no. The kid was all, 'You're cramping my style, mom. Would you leave please?' Sheesh. Just dropping her off at a school and leaving the building was way more difficult for me than for her.

Well, I guess I can say I'm so glad she's over the phase where separation from me caused her to throw up all over herself and everyone else in the room ...

I'm so glad I've gotten her involved in ECFE. It's been a really amazing thing for both Rosemary and myself.

Anyway, so I was afraid to commit to doing too much during the 2 hours that I had to myself (you know, what if I'm a second late and Rosemary burst into tears of abandonment ... yeah right). I decided the best thing to do would be to head to Coco Moon (local coffee house) and read a book. I pulled out The Irresistible Revolution and yowser. I've been reading that book for like 2 months (I'm a slow and distracted reader) and the chapter I read today really knocked me over. I was reading about the time Shane Claiborne spent in Iraq and blubbering over my latte. I mean, really just blubbering. I so deeply appreciate the way that guy is challenging my faith, my politics, and the way I read the bible. The book makes every fiber of my being uncomfortable and antsy and I am excited to see where these challenges bring me.

I just can't help but feel like there's deeper meaning to all this crap Joel and I have been going through lately. We've gotten into some serious (to us, anyway) debt. Things with our house are not going well. Blah blah blah. All this stuff that really doesn't matter except that it's refining us in some way. It's making us more compassionate, challenging the way we've viewed things, burning a seriously deep desire for community, changing our visions for what we truly want out of this life, and so on and so forth. Sometimes I want to get into a pity party for myself and then I feel this excitement ... like, all this stuff is going to so drastically change the course of our lives and although I didn't know I wanted it to be changed, I did and I do.

I've been praying a lot (well, a lot for me which is probably a little for a lot of people ...) about this desire for community and what it means. Joel just keeps saying that he feels like the only answer to all this debt that we and so many people we know are in, is some sort of community living where we all support each other, share our resources, etc. etc. ~~You all~~ Most of you know what I'm talking about, it's not a new idea. It seems like a dream that is so hard to make a reality. Why are we all so independent anyway? We need each other.

What we do on all our long car rides.

2009-06-15T16:31:22Z

(friends, I am not exaggerating)

Get in car, secure seat belts, start car, commence Rosemary:

Hey there's the broken house!
Is it broken?
Did they take it away?
Did it have wheels?
Now they're building a new one?

Look, a boat!
Does the boat float?
Do fish float?
Do feet float?
Do cars float?
Do gas stations float?
Do ducks float?
Do pineapples float?
Do stop signs float?
Do princes float?

Hey there's the park that I play at!
Do we walk there?
Do we jog there?
Do we ride there?
Do I ride in the buggy?
Do I swing on the swings?
Do turtles swing on swings?
Did I ride on a horse there once when I was little?

What's this song about?

Am I going to see a snort?*
Will the snort have tape on it?
Will it smile?
Will it be moving?
Will I see more snorts?
Will they be moving?
Will they dig up dirt?

Does Cheshire the cat disappeared?
Does his mouth disappeared?
Is he a girl?
Is he a boy?
Is he a daddy?
Does the daddy cat disappeared?
Does the mommy cat disappeared?
Does the baby cat disappeared?
Does the ant disappeared?
Does the turtle disappeared?
Does the snort disappeared?
Does the boat disappeared?

What's this song about?

What does Grayson say?
What does Daddy say?
What does Mooey say?
What does Nana say?
What does Papa say?
Is Grandpa loud?
Where's Baba?
Is Grayson a boy?
Is Wesley a baby?
Is Tara a girl?
Does Wesley have teeth?
Do babies have teeth?

Where are we going?
Are we there yet?

What's this song about?

Does the prince live in the castle?
Does Ariel live in the castle?
Does Ariel take her legs off?
Does she live under the sea?
What's Prince Erik say?
What does Ariel's daddy say?
Is he angry?

Mommy, how come you're not talking?
Mommy, talk!

Are we going to the YMCA?

Do bugs fly?
Do all bugs fly?
Do butterflies fly?
Do ants fly?

What's this song about?

Are we there yet?

~~~~~~~~~ I am dead serious. This is not an exaggeration. If anything, it's less questions than she'll ask in a normal car ride. ~~~~~

*a snort is any sort of construction machine ... steam roller, tractor, crane, etc.

compost, planting, sandbox, oh my!

2009-05-18T19:34:27Z

The boxes for our vegetable gardens are constructed. This weekend we are going to buy the soil mixture for them and start planting. Hooray! I'm not totally sure what I'll fill it up with - a little bit of this, a little bit of that, I guess. I do have some plans, but I'm okay winging it a little bit.

Joel also put together a sandbox for Romy, so that has been lots of fun. Also, a few years ago he bought me this goofy hammock swing that we had no place for in our home. I love the guy dearly, but he is somewhat hit or miss with presents. Anyway, it's been nearly 3 years without use, but yesterday he was sitting outside and it occurred to him we live in the country and there are trees we can hang that thing on. So he hung it up and I do have to admit, it is nice to sit on. Plus Romy thinks it's her own special swing, so that's a bonus. It will be nice to sit out there with a book, fer sure.

We also started composting. Something we have been talking about doing for awhile. We drive by this fireplace store that often has free [broken] pallets, so we are working on collecting 4 of them to enclose the compost pile.

This Saturday/Sunday, our good friends and their 2 kids came up to visit us. That was a lot of fun. It was Coooooold on Saturday, but fortunately our house is open and comfortable enough to just hang inside. Sunday was beautiful. We skipped going to church and walked to the park. Walking to the park is a bit of a commitment as it's fairly far away. It was ... interesting with two 3-year-olds and a 1.5-year-old, but I believe a good time was had by one and all.

I *think* that our short-sale was approved and that all we have to do now is set a closing date. There's a lot of paperwork to go through and I have also learned that nothing is done until it's done in this process. So we'll see what happens.

I did go to the house last Monday and Tuesday. It was really hard to be there on Monday. I think the reality is that it was my big, emotional PMS day (sorry guys). On Monday I was doing a bit of raking, crying, raking, crying. Spring is my absolute favorite time of year in that neighborhood. I also learned that my beautiful neighbor, Elaine, passed away. She had been fighting cancer, but the last I heard things were going well. Her partner, Susan, said it spread to the lining of her brain and her health faded quickly. I loved Elaine dearly. She actually helped me figure out how to sew the pinafores I make. And I feel badly for Susan because I'm not sure she had much family. Elaine had a couple young daughters, and I'm not sure if they will keep in touch with Susan or not.

Also, a 3-year-old was hit and killed by the park near our new house. That's been kind of difficult for me to process. It was a completely ridiculous, unnecessary accident. The kids were crossing the busy street and cars had stopped in both lanes to let them cross. A complete jackass (excuse my language, but I can't think of a better word) decided he was in a hurry, the cars were probably stopped for no good reason and passed on the SHOULDER. He is being charged with criminal vehicular homicide, but is pleading not guilty due to some sort of medical condition. I really wonder what kind of medical condition would allow him to drive and make a conscious decision to pass a bunch of cars on the shoulder? You stole life away from a 3-year-old. Sure you're probably a decent person who made one poorly thought out, hasty mistake. Somebody died ... show remorse and accept your punishment gracefully.

Well, on that note, I am going to put on my headphones, listen to Rob Bell, and clean up the house.

Happy Birthday Letter, 3 years

2009-04-29T14:08:27Z

Click here for the letter with pictures.

Dear Rosemary,

Today you are 3. When you went to bed last night, you were very excited that you would wake up a whole new number. After you fell asleep, I told your daddy what a big deal 3 seems like.

At 1 and 2 you didn’t really care about your birthday, didn’t care about cake or presents, didn’t care that a loud, boisterous song was being sung to you. At 1 and 2 you were still a terrible sleeper and I was still going through life in a big haze of exhaustion. At 3 presents and cake are huge, and I just got an even 8 hours of sleep.

In the last year, we have experienced so much change and you have been such a good sport through it all. Your daddy and I have both gone through job changes, you and I have lived apart from your daddy, we’ve moved far away from all your friends and family; and through it all you have been a very stable, mature little girl.

These days you and I are together a lot, and we’re having fun. In some ways you are my best friend in this strange new town and strange new house where we know very few other people. We play together, giggle together, shop and drink coffee together (you drink water and pretend it’s coffee) – you are good company, Rosemary. I mean that.

You make good conversation. I have to control my doting parent desires here, but I sincerely believe your verbal skills are advanced. You speak surprisingly complete sentences. At times, your grammar is more correct than my own. You are funny, you tell good jokes, and you make me laugh. You also realize when something stops being funny and generally give up on the matter.

This, I believe, is why your coordination is a little lacking. A kid can only grow in so many ways at one time. You still waste a lot of energy when you run. You enjoy riding your bike, but generally end up turning in circles because you’re so busy looking to your left and your right.

Music is a big deal to you these days. The weather has been warmer and you have been asking for the car windows to be down and the music to be loud, which is so funny to me. I’m happy to oblige, but not really certain how you know to like that sort of thing. I do not blast music, you didn’t learn this from me. You are a big fan of the banjo, violin, trumpet, and drums. Those are the instruments you pretend to play and you can even pick their sounds out of songs.

You are also really learning to play by yourself and with other kids. Your imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. You make trains drive through tunnels, your Little People and Polly Pockets have extensive conversations together, you play hide and seek (if not a little awkwardly and always giving your spot away).

You do all those things that little kids do. And that’s the thing that gets me. Somehow you stopped being a baby. Entirely. Sometimes you ask me to hold you like a baby and I can barely fit you in my arms. You are Rosemary June, 3-years-old, and not turning back. And I’m okay with that. This life we’re living is a good one and I feel incredibly blessed to have you along for the ride.

I love you to the moon and back.
Mommy

katielovesjoel @ 2009-04-17T08:47:00

2009-04-17T13:51:33Z

Be the Wizard, Stephen. Be the Wizard.

Good 'ol Minnesota

2009-04-08T01:10:13Z

Hey, if you get a chance ... head on over to my other blog to see the classic picture that I posted today. Thanks!

Only in Brainerd.

2009-03-30T21:13:54Z

I was just driving 'in town' and I saw a very large pickup truck full - and I mean FULL - of deer hides. It's moments like these that I feel incredibly out of my element.

short hair

2009-03-24T01:09:50Z

A few weeks ago, Rosemary determined that she wanted short hair. She started pointing to pictures of girls with short hair, talking about certain friends who had short hair, and asking to go visit Katie (the person who has previously trimmed her hair). She was so persistent that I decided I should go ahead and let her cut her hair ... I only felt a little sad.

katielovesjoel @ 2009-03-19T10:23:00

2009-03-19T16:29:48Z

Rosemary was painting with water colors and started saying, "Go away," every time I went near her. I finally told her that wasn't nice and she apologized without being prompted. She is having a lot of fun with those water colors.

The toilet is clogged. Really clogged. That kid has some monster bowel movements. It is currently overflowing onto the floor and it is disgusting. There is a plunger from the landlord, but it is a piece of crap (pun intended). I called Joel to find out where our plunger is, but he had to call me back. Ugh.

We are moved! The big moving day was Feb. 28, but we didn't get a big enough truck, so we couldn't fit everything into it. Fortunately, we are able to leave stuff in our old house for now. We went down last weekend (Rosemary and I stayed for 6 days) and got the rest of the stuff that was in the house. We'll have to rent another truck to move all that's in the garage. It's a low priority at the moment, since it is free storage and most of the stuff in the garage we won't use until summer.

The new place is starting to feel like home. It was really nice to come here after 6 days in the city. I wrote a little more about it over at my other blog.

I'm also trying to not covet the following bedding set for Rosemary's new room. We are fairly soon going to transition her from a toddler bed to a full bed. I wasn't even going to look at the pottery barn bedding, but I couldn't help it, the catalog just appeared in my mailbox ...

We're here and we're leaving.

2009-03-12T14:20:53Z

I just wanted to say a quick hello. We are moved in and mostly unpacked and it's starting to feel a little bit like home. We are going back down to St. Paul today and staying through Tuesday. Getting a bunch of things done and also cleaning out the house a little more. Things with the short-sale are actually progressing and yesterday we were told it should be approved in a week. Woohoo!

Rosemary just said, "Barack Obama is going to Granmooey's house in my tummy?"

Cooking question

2009-02-25T21:19:55Z

I have a recipe that requires 3 canned artichoke hearts, but the can has 10 ... any suggestions for what to do with the rest?

Thanks!

So nicely put into words.

2009-02-23T21:38:57Z

This was posted in the attached parents community. You might have to click on this twice to read it. It's worth it.

I'm taking a temporary break from my nasty sinus infection ...

2009-02-11T03:23:06Z

To wish jessypie a Happy 30th Birthday!

Consequently, that would mean it's my 1/2 birthday ... so happy day to me, too!

Scrabble/Lexulous ... need help

2009-01-28T19:57:18Z

Anyone else on here play Scrabble on facebook? I'm trying to play a game with my mom, but it doesn't show up that either one of us made a move until we manually refresh the page. I figure that can't be right ... but what's the deal?

Rosemary has sarcasm all figured out ...

2009-01-14T00:58:54Z

Me: Did you know tomorrow is a school day?

Rosemary: Yes! I like school!

Me: What do you do at school?

Rosemary: Play with sharp knives.