Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Everyday news
At 9:00 am on a weekday.
By myself.
While the kids were at school.
And be home in time to pick them up at the end of their school day.
I've been looking forward to this season in my life for a while. I'm grateful we live where we do and that it allows me the opportunity to spend a morning in such a way. Here's to more similar Tuesday mornings!
A friend introduced us to these chips. I'm obsessed. I can only find them locally at WinCo.
Finally found a salon I'm comfortable with and got myself a haircut.
Posted by SLO Rober at 9:55 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Hide and Seek Laundry
Last night for Family Home Evening we played Hide and Seek. It's been a while since I played. So when I was asked to hide for the first round, I didn't feel like cramming into a tiny, cramped space. So I hid under my covers in my bed.
Brilliant.
The next round I was chosen to be "It" (by way of my name being drawn out of a hat by Ty). The person who was "It" was assigned to count to 60 in the laundry room. The laundry room because there's not really any good hiding places in there. So I went and started counting loudly to 60...
It was at about 5 that I realized the boredom of standing there for 55 more seconds doing nothing was going to drive me nuts (curse you iphone! You have destroyed my ability to wait. Patiently.)
It was at 6 that I realized I had put a load of white rags in the wash earlier and never switched them to the dryer. A classic Kate move, as my college roommates can attest to. So I moved the laundry over. Then I sorted some laundry. Then I looked at my pretty catchall bowl of items I collect from pockets.
Then, before I knew it, the 60 seconds was up! It's amazing what you can get done in 60 seconds!
(FYI: the tennis ball was not found in someones pocket. I put it in the dryer to speed up drying times. It really works. As long as your tennis ball is clean.)
PS. Ashlynn was behind the kitchen curtains, Briggs behind the living room couch, Ty I looked over at first in between the living room bookcase and the wall, and Brian, lastly, in the loft, next to the toy shelf, with the candle stick...
Posted by SLO Rober at 8:21 AM 0 comments
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Groundhogs Day
Posted by SLO Rober at 10:31 AM 2 comments
Labels: Kate
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Why I Could Use a Little Chocolate...
So it's been 4 weeks since we started this new adventure where Brian lives somewhere else during the week and only comes home on weekends. I'm not sure I can even think of anything clever to say, I'm so exhausted, so I'll just lay it out for you:
Week 1: I was running on adrenaline and faith and the week went surprisingly well.
Week 2: This week was post-bank failure so I was reeling with the emotional backlash of 12 years hard work with nothing to show for it. Any savings and retirement are gone. Add to that a huge lack of respect and ignorance from the community and you get one angry week.
Week 3: I'd like to call this the jaded week. This was the week I said, "Brian? Brian who? Are you talking about my husband? I'm doing just fine on my own. Who needs a companion?"
Week 4 (the present): Never mind what I said last week. I'm lonely. I'm impatient. I'm over my kids.
So now that I've laid out my raw emotions for all of the blogosphere to read and judge, I will tell you that despite my complaints, I know that what we are doing is the right thing, and because of that some blessings have come.
I have been empowered and able to do things that I normally wouldn't do if Brian were here. Today one such task involved a crescent wrench, a socket wrench, and a Makita drill. I fixed a fence and I fixed it good.
I've dealt with sub-contractors and gotten some drywall work done in the garage.
I've dealt with real estate agents, and quite frankly, gotten this house ready and on the market by myself. If this house sells (and I stress the if ) it will be because of my efforts. That may sound arrogant and self-centered, but that is only because of my weak mastery of the written language, because it's supposed to sound confidant.
That is another blessing. I don't normally do confidant.
Up until recently, I've done ok with the kids. I've been able to pace myself and they have really stepped up to the plate. But recently, I find myself feeling pecked to death by the incessant questions because I'm the only one around to answer them. When I texted Brian how tired I was of the questions (because that's how we communicate) he cutely responded, "I'm realizing that smart kids come at a price." Cute. But no consolation when you are expected to answer simultaneously, and in rapid fire, questions like:
"Mom, what color do you get when you mix blue and purple?"
"Mom, how close together were your contractions right before you had me?"
"Mom, what happens if you shoot a monster?"
"Mom, what time of day was I born?"
"Mom, what were the last five books you have read?"
"Mom, do you have an unlimited amount of money on you debit card, or do you eventually run out of money?"
"Mom, where's my (insert 5 million nouns)?"
And what's the first thing I hear in the morning when I wake up in my lonely cold bed?
"Mom?"
You do realize that's a question, right?
(For those just tuning in, the bank Brian worked for here in San Luis Obispo for the past 12 years was recently taken over by the FDIC. Because of that he was forced to take a new job in the Sacramento area. The job started one month ago, but we decided that the kids and I would stay behind in order to finish school and get the house sold. So Brian lives with my parents during the week and comes home on weekends so we can try and act like a normal family for a couple of days. Once school is over, we will be moving the family to the Sacramento area, or more specifically, Elk Grove. We think.)
Posted by SLO Rober at 5:05 PM 3 comments
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"The Winds of Change" Finally Revealed
So many changes have been happening in our lives that I have found it difficult to keep up with my blogging. The things we have been dealing with have left me overwhelmed, and to be honest, made blogging seem very low on the priority list. Brian's mom's illness and passing were so emotionally charged and all encompassing that it was hard to put all of that feeling into a trivial blog post.
But the loss of Grandma Caroline hasn't been the only major life changing event we have been having to deal with. Brian has worked at San Luis Trust Bank since the day they opened their doors 11 years ago. He spent so much time there I would have to correct my children, when we would drive by and they would say, "That's where Daddy lives!"
Friday was his last day at San Luis Trust Bank as the controller.
Today, Brian started a new job at the Bank of Rio Vista.
What does this mean? It means Brian will be gone four days of the week while I am here alone with the kids. It means that me and the kids will remain here in SLO to finish school and hopefully sell our house (any takers?). It means we will be closer to my family when we move to Sacramento! It means we have to change our entire lifestyle by leaving a place we have lived longer than any other in our lives - where all of our children were born- and that has been recently celebrated as the "Happiest Town in America" to start a new life.
Cool and scary.
It means that maybe my blog posts will be more frequent and filled with mundane happenings of the day in order to fill my husband in on what he is missing!
Monday, July 5, 2010
If I Had $100 Burning a Hole In My Pocket...
I. would. purchase. this. print.

Posted by SLO Rober at 7:19 PM 1 comments
Thursday, January 21, 2010
What Constitutes and Emergency?
Ty must have learned about 911 at preschool today because this is the question he posed to Brian this evening:
"Dad. If you got pee on the ceiling, would it be an emergency and would you have to call 911?"
To which Brian blindly walked into it with the question, "How would you get pee on the ceiling?"
"Well. You just point your privates at the ceiling."
Briggs must have learned what "teleported" meant at school today because when he showed up seperately at the bank from Ashlynn, and she asked him how he got there he pointed at the van and said, "We teleported! In that!"
Also, we aren't quite sure what to do with this rainy weather lasting so long. This morning I opened my sock drawer to put on a pair of socks, AGAIN, and realized I only own 4 pairs of socks. Rarely do we get more than four days of rainy or cold weather.
Hmmm.
Posted by SLO Rober at 7:50 PM 5 comments
Friday, December 18, 2009
Super Powers

I'm on the tail end of what I'm hoping is just a 24 hour flu bug. I will whole heartedly admit I don't make a good sick person. When I'm nauseous I'm miserable. And I'm sure that I whine a lot.
So last night as I was curled up in bed, trying to keep my clothes and the blankets from touching me because my skin hurt, Brian was folding laundry on the bed, trying to keep me company. He commented that the clothes were much more static-ee than normal. I should mention, before I get to this next part, that when I'm sick, I'm a little punchy.
The first thought that popped into my head was, "Maybe I'm getting super powers!"
That's right. A little bit of a leap. I jumped right over the obvious explanation of "weather patterns" and went straight to the realm of science fiction ("The influx of powers coursing into my body is causing the unusually high amount of static electricity in the air!!)
Why not. I felt like crap and this was helping.
Who wouldn't sacrifice 24 hours of nauseousness for some superpowers?
Then to further divert my attention from my fever, I launched into a brainstorming session of what super powers I would want to become a Super Mom. I know that most super heroes only have one main power, but moms are supposed to be able to multi-task, so I want a whole range of super powers.
Here they are, in no particular order:
1. I would require only a few short hours of sleep. (I tried for no sleep, but Brian interjected that I would want some down time with him.)
2. I would have a deep love for cleaning and organizing along with a great motivation to do so.
3. I would always be patient and never have the desire to lose my temper with my kids or slow people.
4. I would have an extremely fast metabolism that would make it almost necessary to indulge regularly in chocolate.
(side bar: as I'm brainstorming these outlandish and recognizably make-believe powers, Brian is of course giving his practical opinion on these matters. Things like, "Well you wouldn't need a high metabolism because you won't be requiring much sleep, so you can get up early and exercise..." Oh, Brian. You don't get it, do you?)
5. I would be able to point to any recipe and VOILA! it would be prepared faster than you can say, "Martha has a whole staff that does that for her!". No shopping. No prep time. No clean up.
6. I would be able to stop time any time I wanted to.
Now this brought the converstations to a grinding halt, because I have always fantasized about this super power. Who hasn't. (Remember that Saturday morning show "Out of this World" where Evie is half alien and can stop time?) And it really made me think. If I had this one superpower, would I really need all the rest? Of course Brian had some practical bankers advice about this, but I decided I needed to come to my own conclusions about this one.
Which was:
7. No doing laundry. Ever.
What super powers would you like?
Posted by SLO Rober at 11:47 AM 6 comments
Labels: Kate
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I Think I'm in Love or An Ode to Dr. Seuss

nook, nook
What is a nook?
nook, nook
It is a book.
It is a book?
A book, you say?
I do not understand a book this way!
You do not understand a nook?
Just click right here and take a look!
Take a look! Take a look!
Take a look at this ebook!
Kate has fallen completely in love...
So, Brian... please click the link above.
(really. check this out at nook.com)
Posted by SLO Rober at 5:23 PM 2 comments
Labels: Kate

