The 80' s called...

...they want their hairspray back.
And when I say 80's, I'm really talkin' late 80's and early 90's.

I bought a different brand of hairspray this week. It is a brand of hair product I haven't used since my days of permed hair and big bangs. I'm amazed that after 20 years, it still smells the same. From the first spray, a flood of memories came rushing to the forefront of my brain. It was fun.

I was looking for some pictures of myself with some good 80's hair. I'm a little young to have really gotten into the big hair craze of the 80's, but I did get regular perms throughout my childhood. I know by sixth grade I was not only fixing my own hair, but starting to pay attention to style. I wore my bangs mostly curled backwards with a little curled under. I thought it was hot stuff.

I wore my bangs like that for my 6th grade school picture AND I wore a vest that was plaid on one half and a different plaid on the other half. Too bad I don't have that picture in my archives for your viewing pleasure. I don't actually have any pictures with my bangs curled in this manner. But I did round up a few perm pictures for you.

This was probably 1990. Our most horrible family picture ever. I'm pretty sure it never even made it on the wall. But if my hair isn't a sign of the times, look at my mom's.

Aren't my brothers studs? Check out Mike's skinny tie. And do I spy suspenders under Jeff's sweet jacket? Why were they dressed so much cooler than me?

It's all about the hair 'wings.'
Why yes, my shorts are made from the same exact fabric as my over-sized shirt. And yes, my shirt is tucked into them. My brothers are again dressed cooler...I'm noticing a theme.

No hair commentary, but I LOVED that dress.
Aren't school pictures fantastically horribly?
And what's going on in this one? Did I think brushing out my perm was a good idea? At least I got it right with the bangs.

I chose this one only because I'm appropriately holding hairspray...
...and because of the neon swimming suit in the background.

Please note...side pony tail with neon hair clip.

I dread the day THIS hair style regains popularity.

Celebrity Lullabies

Can I just say that I find this hilarious?

Am I alone on this?

Great Expectations

Parker made a sign last week that is now hanging at the entrance to his bedroom. It reads:

No Appropriate Stuff Allowed

And then he drew pictures of a whole bunch of INAPPROPRIATE stuff (and crossed them out).

His intentions were good. He meant no inappropriate stuff allowed. The sign was made following time outs brought on by a lot of inappropriate behavior from him and his brothers.

The sign was SO FUNNY and so well meant that we couldn't tell him he had it exactly opposite.

No appropriate stuff allowed is a much easier rule for these crazy boys to follow anyway. Set your expectations low and they're more likely to be met. That's a good motto. Maybe I'll have Parker make us a sign for our front door.

Snow Days

For those non-locals...

We've had a boat load of snow. Actually, way, way, way more than a boat load. Parker has had 3 snow days off school (and Spencer had 1) in the past 2 weeks. I've never seen this much snow on the ground...

...in Ohio.

But winters during my college years were filled with snow. One particular snow fall always comes to mind. Even USU was closed down. I remember getting up to exercise in my living room when I heard crazy cheering from the boys who lived next door. Followed shortly by banging on the window. Funny what a struggle it is to get up for a 7am class, but how easy it is to get everyone up early on a snow day.


My dear college friends...please confirm...that was one of the best days ever. Am I right?!!

Today while the sun shined down, we filled some water bottles with food coloring and had some fun.

Dear sky,

Don't let these pictures fool you. Despite trying to make the most of it, I've had enough. Please don't drop any more of that cold white stuff on this part of the country. I'm begging you.

Love,
Katie

Sniff, Sniff

Can anyone identify this?

Here's a hint:

Ready for the reveal?

Gray took it upon himself to make his own afternoon snack. Only slightly inedible.

I was sweeping the living room and smelt a horrid burning smell. I went scouring the house trying to identify it. Then I heard an unmistakable POP! The toaster. Gray was toasting my keys.

My Honda key no longer stays on a key ring. The key fob is useless. And mine and Spencer's library cards, Kroger plus card and CVS card are melted together in one big unrecognizable lump. Not to mention the goop permanently affixed to the inside of the toaster.

This little mischievous endeavor will probably cost upwards of $100. Plus I have to re-fill out all the rotten forms to get new key chain cards from Kroger, CVS and the Library.

Stinker!

All you need is love

So Valentine's weekend was fun.

We started our Saturday with a big Valentine's breakfast with heart shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup and a pink smoothie. (No time on Sunday before church.)

Spence and I celebrated that night with a little carry-out dinner after the kiddos were nestled all snug in their beds. Spencer scored big with me when he decided to nix the roses and buy me a potted plant for the house. A little fresh vegetation is especially nice during our THIRD SNOW STORM this month.

I saw these mini Hershey kisses made from chocolate chips somewhere on the blogosphere this week. I made some for Spencer and took it one step further by adding tiny little messages including lines from songs with the word kiss in them.

We got the kids a new movie for a Valentine's gift. I snuck out the back door and left it on the front porch and rang the doorbell. Then I snuck back in the house before the kids even noticed. They were astounded. Kids are so funny. Really, they could not figure out who did that and how it got there. I was laughing my head off.

But the best part of the weekend was the Primary talent show put on by the kids at church. Parker's confidence amazed me. He's painfully shy...especially in front of a group. I was so proud of him. He was proud of himself, too. He did cartwheels to music. It was really fun.


Reid had us all rolling. He decided the thing he is most talented at is playing air guitar. I would have to agree. He's pretty good. Reid has never really performed anything on stage before. He is quite the performer at home, but he really came alive on stage. He took things to a whole different level. I was so surprised. As he sat there waiting for his turn he was really fidgety and nervous. He shyly walked to the center of the stage. And when his music came on he slid across the floor and hammed it up. I had NO IDEA he had that in him. It was hilarious.

Luckily, Autumn got most of is on video.

I've never been more proud.

California Dreamin'

I was happy to see that Columbus made #8 on Forbes list of worst winter weather cities in America. Not happy because I enjoy living in a place with terrible winter weather, but happy to have my complaints validated. Ohio winters are miserable. I feel especially inclined to complain today in the midst of our second major storm in less than one week time.

It's not so much the snowfall that landed Columbus on the list. It's the bitter, icy cold that pierces clear through to the bone. My crazy friend Abbey has talked me into exercising with her early every morning...sunshine or snow. Only it's never sunshine. It's way too dark at the insane hours we're out and about. I've somehow adapted and if it's above 15 I don't even wear a coat. But other mornings are a testament to why Columbus is #8 and make me so grateful we're not #1 (which is Cleveland, by the way). Yesterday morning welcomed me with a thick frozen mist like needles all over my skin. GOOD MORNING!

We've managed to make the best of the storms.

We turned our snowman into a pirate. Friday had such good packing snow, we had to build a snow castle, too. Mr. Stone (the older gentleman who lives next store) likes to give me a hard time. He thinks I secretly build snowmen for myself...not so much for the kids. Is it that obvious? I lived a snowman-less childhood. I feel I have to make up for it now.

The snow is much, much, much, much deeper now.

We took the crazies sledding and had the time of our lives. The older two boys are old enough this winter to go down by themselves and they can walk back up the hill dragging the sled all on their own. Such an improvement from last time we took them sledding like three years ago. It's WAY more fun this way. I've been dying to go again.

I didn't bring my camera because who really wants to be carrying a camera while sledding? Not me. A friendly stranger who was sledding with her kids offered to take a picture and email it to me. I politely declined. The reality is, I haven't bought new snow clothes...ever. I look as though I'm about to go skiing in the 90's. I'm not blasting those images over the web.

We have spent a lot of time playing with Photo Booth on our iMac. My narcissistic children can spend hours taking pictures of themselves. (Don't know where they get that one.)

After a too much time stuck indoors, we took things to the next level. Costumes. Made Photo Booth even more fun.

Pandora is on all the time.

And we made super cute sugar cookies to deliver to the neighbors. I wish I had a picture. Not only were the cookies cute, but I packaged them cute. I was pleased with myself. And it's always nice to see the neighbors. We have elderly neighbors on both sides. We don't see much of them in the winter months.

Parker's crazy school district did NOT cancel school today despite the sheets of snow falling from the sky. Why is that? I'm pretty sure every other district in the county cancelled today. So I'm off to dig out my SUV and brave the storm to bring Parker home from school.

Send me some warm wishes.

K. G. K.

Kelly and Genny....It's your turn.

You're never gonna guess what I found in my box of pictures... this is gonna blow your mind!

I in NO WAY consider myself a pack rat. I have no problem getting rid of most sentimental things. But I have a box of old photographs and stuffed in this box is a pile of things that once hung on my bulletin board in my youth.

So thanks to this box and digging deep into junior high memories, I bring you...
...this lovely booklet made by two of my eighth grade besties.

Meet Kelly and Genny:
Whoops! And here I am blasting it across the world wide web. Tell me the truth, if you're not Kelly or Genny, are you jealous? (I did keep a few of the super secret pages to myself.)

Wait. We were anti-OPF? (Ontario Park Force) I thought we were part of this? Didn't we attempt to carve our names in a tree there?

This is getting really embarrassing... and yet I go on. What's worse is that there are a few indicators in this book to make me think it was written our freshman year of high school, NOT eighth grade.

Hmmm. I don't remember seeing Clueless. But I DO remember walking out of Bushwacked. Kelly fell in the dark isle. All Genny and I did was laugh. Can't picture it? You don't have to. There was an illustration of this event in the book.

Now can you picture it?

And to top it all off, they wrote me a song. I can actually still kinda hear the tune in my head.

It's been so fun getting re-acquainted with these cute girls through the blogging world. Not only are they even cuter now, but they have cute families to match.

Let There Be Light

My new lamp matches perfectly with my vintage chair.

At some point, I hope to have my whole living room put together.
And at that point it'll be time to start over.

Urgent, urgent! Emergency!

This morning I was attempting to enjoy ten minutes of alone time in the shower. Then I hear Reid. Mo------------------m! I ignore. Then banging at the door (which I absolutely keep locked). Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!

WHAT Reid!?! Reid came back with something incomprehensible...mostly because he's a mumbler and I had the shower running. I resume ignoring.

Bam! Bam! Bam! on the door. MOM! MOM!

REID! I'll talk to you about it when I get out!

The second the shower is off I hear Mo-------------m! again from the living room, followed by the off-balanced pitter-patter of Reid running down the hall.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!

Reid! Just wait 'til I'm dressed. (That two minute wait was filled with plenty more yelling, whining and banging on the door.)

I'm finally out. OK Reid, what is SO important?

For my next birthday, I want more Ben Ten aliens.


Urgent News. His birthday is 11 months and 27 days away.