Know Thyself

Last night Katherine was suffering from a case of the Nighttime Crazies. I always sort of thought that that particular condition struck mainly cats, but apparently, little kids can get it too. Anyway, she was running around at full speed, laughing like a maniac and jumping on just about everything she saw. Then she started in on the comedy routine, pulling faces and telling jokes...at least I think that's what they were. So, here's what I said:

Kirsten: Katherine, you're such a nerd.

Katherine: (looking completely scandalized). I am NOT a nerd, Mommy. I'm a geek!

Kirsten: Are you sure? You look like a nerd to me.

Katherine: I....Am.....A......Geeeeeeeeeek! (she leaned forward on "Geeeeeeek" to emphasize it)

Kirsten: Huh. OK, so does that mean I'm a nerd?

Katherine: No, you're a dork.

Kirsten: So, does that mean Daddy's a nerd?

Katherine: No, Daddy's a psycho.

Pregnancy Brain Strikes Again

Pregnancy Brain is one of my least favorite parts about being pregnant. Not only am I already overly-emotional (thanks hormones), but now I'm a flake, too. I miss appointments, forget to call people and space out on things I have to do, like yesterday when Katherine went to church having done her own hair because I just forgot. But last night I outdid myself.

I decided to make snickerdoodles. After I made the dough, I put it in the fridge for an hour, like the recipe said. But an hour and a half later, the dough was still really sticky. It was getting late so I just did my best and rolled the sticky dough blobs in the cinnamon sugar and baked them anyway.

This was the outcome

Yep, those are my snickerdoodles. They completely melted in the oven and I couldn't get them off the cookie sheet. Casey and I examined the recipe and figured out that I had added 2 sticks of butter instead of just one. Whoops! But the good news is, my ugly duckling cookies still taste ok.

I miss my brain!

Our (Kind of ) Vacation

A few weeks ago, Casey and I went to San Francisco for a math conference. The conference was four days long, so rather than leave me at home to pine for him, my sweet husband took me along and we did some fun stuff while we were there. Katherine's saintly grandparents watched her (for which we are eternally grateful!) while we were away and it sounds like she had about as much fun as we did.

I hadn't planned on posting anything about our trip because it wasn't that exciting (no Elvis sightings or anything), but interest from my family prompted me to post some of the photos. So Enjoy, you know or whatever.

Here we are, totally lost in the Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze on Pier 39. Totally worth the $5!

Arr! I'm a scary Alcatraz criminal. I got thrown in the joint when I failed to turn in my audio tour headset after I was done. Actually they're really serious about that. They have what looks like a metal detector on the dock that you have to pass through before you get on the boat so they know you didn't steal the MP3 player thingy. And you know that cool old movie with Clint Eastwood, "Escape from Alcatraz"? You know the one where they make papier mache heads and escape through the ventilation system. Well, apparently it was based on an actual escape. I always thought it was fiction. Except in real life, they're not sure what happened to the escapees. No one ever saw them again.

Some of the last remaining sea lions at Pier 39. There used to be hundreds of them everyday, but a few weeks before we got there, they decided that they'd had enough of the area and just left. No one can figure out why. The weather's been normal this year and there's nothing wrong with their food supply either. Weird.....

At the Exploratorium. Casey said it was a little weird and gross to drink out of a toilet, but he's a good sport and did it for the camera.

At the Exploratorium again. Casey created an icosahedron out of Velcro triangles and is showing off his masterpiece. I made a something out of pentagons, I think it was a dodecahedron, but I can't remember my high school geometry.

Outside the Exploratorium. Apparently the building was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and then later (1969) turned into an interactive science museum that resembles a giant Mr. Wizard lab.

A submarine at Fisherman's Wharf. It wasn't very large but that thing used to hold 80-ish crew members during WWII. Sorry Dad, I don't remember what the vessel was called.

Lombard Street. Lots of swanky houses and squealing tires...and tourists.

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There were some other things we did that I failed to photograph. We ate some good food, saw a free magic show, saw Golden Gate Bridge from the beach and from Alcatraz, ate WAY too much taffy, rode a trolley, rode a circular escalator (I really should have taken pictures of that one), bought hairspray at THE CREEPIEST convenience store I have ever been in, and visited the Musee Mechanique, which is more or less a really old-fashioned arcade. We watched a carnival diorama come to life, listened to old old old music boxes, played baseball and had the kiss-o-matic tell us if it was true love (according to that reliable device, we were "cold fish" or something...sad!)

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Word of warning: I found one of those old view finder things that said "Secrets of the Unknown--For Adults Only" or something like that. I thought it was a joke and expected corny old photos of 5 legged donkeys and stuff, but that is NOT what is was. They weren't kidding about that adults only thing. Just do yourself a favor and don't go near that one. Shudder....

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was our trip to San Francisco. The end.

Storytime

Yep, that's my (barely) three year-old reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Now if she'd only use a toilet. I just don't get it. Reading is WAY harder than peeing in a ceramic bowl.

Team XY Has a New Player

Well folks, it looks like Katherine is going to have a brand new baby brother. Casey finally has someone on his team. The poor guy was outnumbered three to one. Even the cat's a girl. And to prove it, here are some photos of the pictures they gave me. No "boy" shots though. I can't embarrass my son with naked baby pictures even before he's born. So here's a profile (kind of....more like a 45 degree angle)

and a foot (those toes look like mine incidentally...aren't they pretty?)

and one of me that I took this morning looking nice and pregnant (this is Week 23 by the way).

Antidepressants, Anyone?

So my emotions have been all over the place, which is normal when you're cooking a baby in your oven. Everything is either hilarious or so sad I cry for hours. I feel like a crazy person and poor Katherine must think her mom hates her because she leaves her shoes on the floor and then I flip out.

I saw a commercial a month or so ago (before we told anyone we were having a baby, which is why I'm telling this story now) and it made me cry. Not just a quick sniff and a teary moment, but I was completely blubbering. This commercial is on all the channels practically all the time, so whenever I see it, I have to change the channel. Anyway, Katherine saw me and my fire hose impression and she came over to console me. She put her little hand on my knee and looked purposefully into my eyes. "It's all right, Mommy. Cymbalta can help, because 'pression hurts."

You know, she DOES want to be a doctor when she grows up, so she's on the right track I guess.

10 things you probably don't know about me

10.) I am allergic to squid.

9.) I'm named after my dad.

8.) I am a compulsive msn games player. Love that Bubble Town!

7.) I am not left-handed, oh wait, yes I am! So that also means I kick, bat, throw, crochet and open pickle jars left-handed, too.

6.)I am (very slowly) writing a novel. I have seven pages!

5.) I eat cranberry sauce straight out of the can, even when it's not Thanksgiving.

4.)I only have one dental filling. That single cavity was a souvenir of my pregnancy with Katherine.

3.)I can't curl my tongue.

2.)I have a toe ring that I've worn for 10 years. I even have a ring-shaped dent in my toe.

1.) I am pregnant! Baby number two is due May 2010. Surprise!