Summer Camp days 7,8, and 9

Day 7 – What’s your favorite thing to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Do you read food blogs or would you ever consider writing one?

My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is cereal. It really doesn't matter what kind. My favorite cereals seem to be everyone else's least favorites, because they stop getting made. (Frosted Flakes had a cinnamon version for a while. Best. Cereal. Ever.) I could eat Mexican food every day. I just can't get enough.

I would never write a food blog. I'm too much of a picky eater. It'd all be about potatoes!

Day 8 – If you had to teach something, what would you teach? (If you DO teach, when did you discover your love for teaching/the subject?) Do you think blogs can play a role in education?

Well, I do teach. 4th grade. I teach spelling, math, reading, writing, grammar, social studies, and science. I also unofficially teach manners, respect, and sarcasm. I would really like to teach middle school or high school English or History, but I look too young to teach high school, and I'm too nice (read: weak) to teach middle.

I think blogs can be a great tool in education, if they're used effectively. In fact, I plan on having a class blog this year that the students will write and maintain. It's going to have newsletters, book reviews, and other good stuff I haven't thought of yet.

Day 9 – What is the most important lesson you learned from your own mother (or other primary caretaker)? What do you imagine the name of your Grandmother’s blog would be and what would she write about?

The most important lesson I've learned from my mother is kind of hard to put into words. I suppose it's that we are stronger than we look. My mom lost her husband and her mother within 15 months of each other. One was expected, one was not. And yet, 13 years later, she still manages to get up in the morning. Not only that, but she lives. I can only hope to be that strong.

I have no idea what my Grandmother's blog would be. Either of my grandmothers. I would assume that Grandma would read every cross-stitching blog out there. And Granny would read mine. She would probably leave comments on every post. They were amazing women. I just can't imagine them writing blogs.

Summer Camp, Days 4,5,and 6

Day 4 – What has most surprised you about being an adult? What have you learned about yourself through blogging?

Sadly enough, I think the thing that has most surprised me about being an adult is underwhelming it is. I forget that I am 27 years old. I don't feel that old. I feel like I should be a better, more well-rounded person at 27. While I realize that I have definitely grown and matured since my teenage years, I don't feel like an adult.

I'm laughing at myself for the second part of this question. I'm sitting here telling you I've grown and matured, but this blog has shown me that I'm still moody, whiny, and melodramatic. Haha.

Day 5 -What do you prefer to do on your birthday?

I really don't care. My birthday is in February, which limits choices a lot, but really, my birthday is not that big a deal to me. Not sure why.

Day 6 – When was the last time you tried something new? What was it and what was the result? Have you ever done something just so that you could blog about it?

I tried a new resturaunt yesterday. It was called Ramen Republic, and quite frankly, it was a little bland. But, in doing so, we found out that one of my favorite pizza places is opening up across the street. Baked Potato Pizza, here I come! This past week I also tried on some new (to me) clothes, tried to make a grocery list with coupons, and tried a new Mexican food place. (Also slightly bland.) I tried a new formula for Cate (awful), tried out swimming with Cate, and tried out sleeping with her upstairs. I try new stuff all the time. Usually food. But still.

Summer Camp, Days 1,2, and 3

Day One: Provide a photo or sketch or dramatic rendering of the space where you normally blog.

Well, this is it. Yes, I sit in that incredibly hard antique wooden chair. And yes, that is a cup of moldy Diet DP. It's been there for about a month. This picture has inspired me to get rid of it. (Finally!) I like being able to look out the window while I'm on the computer, and when Cate is with me, she likes it too. She can't get enough of leaves.

Day Two: What were you like in high school? What extracurricular activities, if any, did you take part in during high school? Did you consider yourself a writer?

Ugh. I was miserable in high school. I was an outsider. I wanted so badly to be a part of something, but I never really was. I took drama every year, but only had one line in one play ever. I played clarinet in the band, and made first chair my senior year, right before I moved. I was moody, angsty, and melodramatic. I had a grudge against the world because my dad had died. I worshiped a boy who didn't have the time for me. I was convinced I had no friends, but looking back, I see that I had tons, many of whom hung out with people they didn't like, because I brought them together. I was luckier than I thought.

I wanted to be a writer in high school. I didn't have time for journalism or the creative writing team, but I was (and still am) forever starting stories I'll never finish. I have a head-full of stories and books and epics in my head, but no patience to write them down. Oh well.

Day Three: What are your guilty pleasures?

Ooooh, I like this question. Let's see. I think of guilty pleasures as things I actually feel a bit guilty about...like the movie "Overboard". I realize it's stupid, but I still watch it every time it comes on TV.

Pedicures. I would get one every day if I could, but I've never walked away from one feeling ok about the money I just spent.

Hannah Montana. Enough said.

Make-up and nail polish. I l.o.v.e. buying this stuff, but I hardly ever use it. Doesn't stop me from wandering the cosmetic aisle every time I go to the store by myself.

Earrings. I have 200+ pairs of earrings. I like quirky ones like my squirrels and my cassette tape earrings, and I like big dangly flashy ones. I like them all. I should really stop buying them though!

Haircuts. Getting my hair cut is one of my favorite things ever. I love everything about it. I love the smell of the hair salon, the sound of scissors cutting my hair, the time it takes. Really, I love anything that has to do with my hair, except the wind.

And, just for fun: a picture of Cate and her buddy Kreacher.

Summer Camp, Mini-Updates, and a Question

I've decided to participate in Calliope's Blog Summer Camp! I'm a bit behind, so I'll be doing a couple days' worth at a time till I catch up. I'm excited about this. If you haven't checked it out, head on over. It looks like a lot of fun!

Some mini-updates:
We took Cate to Kansas for the first time. We thought we would have to stop overnight, but Cate turned out to be a great road trip rider and slept the whole way, so we made it in a day. She was amazingly good natured about meeting so many new people and getting passed around. Then again, she is amazing. :)

She also changed her own bedtime. She was going to sleep between 9 and 11, depending on the day. For the past week, she's gone to sleep at 8. Her doing, not ours. It's awesome though, since that's what time she was going to have to go to bed when school starts again.

And the Question:
What should I name my new blog? I'm planning on starting a new one for the family that is Cate-centered. I'm going to very politely ask everyone I'm related to to stop reading this blog once the new one is up. No offense to them, but I find myself censoring things I would like to say. And sometimes, I find myself censoring baby-related stuff here. I figure two seperate blogs is the way to go. But I cannot think of a good name. So far, all I've come up with is "The Wild and Wacky Winkler World" which I know is absolutely terrible, and "Love, Honor, and Constant Vigilance" which Jeff and I like to say is our family motto, but really it's just one of our weird jokes. So help me out here!

What a Day

Today, I think Cate woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She had a rough day. She didn't want to eat, she didn't want her pacifier, she didn't want her thumb. She didn't want to sit in her bouncy chair, sit in her swing, lay on her play mat, or take a nap. She wanted to be held. All. Day.

Please don't misunderstand me. I have no problem holding her. But to hold a 14 pound baby all day is a little exhausting. Especially when that 14 pound baby is a wiggle worm who would NOT sit still for more than 2 minutes at a time. And when that 14 pound wiggle worm was sleepy and fussy and refusing to sleep.

Not that it was all bad, or really even bad at all. She woke up smiling instead of crying (a new development), laughed when I tickled her, smiled everytime I talked to her, and sat and "talked" to Jeff for a good 20 minutes today. She blew bubbles and chewed on her giraffe lovie. So maybe she didn't have a rough day. Except for the wanting to be held all day part.

In other news, I decided to stop pumping, then changed my mind, then changed it again, then changed it again. So I'm still pumping. For now. :)
I have a whole post coming (when I find time! This is the first time I've had more than 5 minutes to myself since school got out) about where Cate is sleeping and my family's attitude about it.
We're gearing up to take Cate to Kansas next weekend, and I am really really dreading it. Not the Kansas part, but the drive up there. That's a super long drive for Cate to be in a car seat, and for us to worry about her. I am super stressed over it.
I am slightly obsessed with the show Extreme Couponing on TLC. More on this later too.

I'm still reading blogs when I can, but still can't comment. Working on that in my spare time. (HA!)

How do they do it?

I am not a worrier. I don't stress out about anything. I am a very laid-back person. I have a "ehh, whatever" attitude, which has gotten me in trouble before.

Someone forgot to tell my new parent-self that. I worry contstantly. Right now, Cate and Jeff are both asleep downstairs, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to run down there every ten minutes to make sure she's still breathing. If she's asleep and I'm not, you better believe I'm worried.

I have also lost the ability to enjoy such shows as Law and Order, NCIS, and Dexter. No matter how hard I try to avoid it, my mind envisions my family in the same situations. Cate kidnapped, Cate missing...you get the idea. Despite the fact that I know they're just TV shows. They scare me, and just add to my ever-growing list of anxieties.

How do parents do it? How do they ever relax enough to let their kid go to Grandma's for the night, or a sleepover, or a field trip? How will I, when I can't even let mine sleep without worrying?

In other news....

Just a few updates and random bits from my life...

• I made Cate laugh today. Not just once, but a couple times. It's the first time she's laughed. I think I'm more proud of this than I was of anything else in my life.

• Speaking of pride, our standardized test results came in. In math and writing, exactly 1/2 my class got a commended score (meaning they missed less than 3 questions for each test) and in reading, I had 19 out of 22 commended. I'm pretty proud of that.

• I'm more proud of making Cate laugh! :)

• It's hot here. 100 degrees today. I. Love. It. Seriously. :)

• One of my co-workers asked when I was going to try for number two. (Cause, you know, Cate's 12 weeks...it's time.) I told her it would be when we could afford it. She goes on to lecture me about how diapers and formula aren't THAT expensive. I stopped her mid-sentence and said "M. We have to save to get pregnant before we can worry about affording diapers." She was like "oh yeah."

• There are 2 days of school left! It's glorified babysitting at this point. So ready to be done.

• Did I mention I made Cate laugh?