Monday, March 31, 2008

Seven Cont.

I was ready for you this time, Kasey! After completing this blog-world-blah last time, things kept coming to mind of stuff people don't know about myself, Russ and E-beast. So, here you go:

Seven Random things about myself:

1. This post is the first that I've ever successfully made a link! It turned out to be not so hard after all, thanks to my husband.

2. Apparently, it's not super normal but when we open a bag of chips we cut off the excess bag so as to provide better access to the goodies within. We've always done it, and didn't really realize it was quirky until mentioning it to a friend who'd never heard of it before. Anyone else?


3. My college publishes a year book each year since the population is so small. My freshman yearbook came out and in the freshman section was a half-page spread about me with the title, "KatieBird!", as if it were a common thing you'd hear people refer to me as around campus. There was one girl on my floor who called me this one or two times. I was unaware that a yearbook staffer would a.) write anything about me as a feature or b.) observe one of the few times this name was used. It also refers to my blue-eyes (mine are green) and states that I 'take time out of my busy schedule to pose for their cameras' which is the caption under my Student ID photo. Obviously by the time it was published, it was too late to do anything about it. This is something I would have forgotten about, but my friend Heather loves to bring it up now and again.


4. The summer before my Senior year of HS, my friend and I decided we wanted to get in shape. We figured that the best way to do that would be to join a fall sport, where we would have to train at practice. Neither of us were athletically inclined so we brainstormed which team to join that wouldn't be negatively affected by our lack of skills. We came up with tennis. So, never having played it before, we joined the tennis team. Jennie turned out to be quite good. Me, on the other hand, not so much. Each day at practice, it became my job to collect all the tennis balls while the others finished up their practice game (don't feel sorry for me, remember my goal was to get in shape, not win any trophies!). When it came time to buy my equipment, I found a cute tennis skirt, of course, but was unable to find any bloomers in my size so I had to settle for a size bigger. Now, if you've ever watched girls play tennis, you know that they keep extra tennis balls in their bloomers to keep the match going. One day at practice there was an excessive amount of balls after a drill we ran so I began to see how many I could fit in my bloomers rather than try to carry them with my hands. Surprisingly, I was able to fit over 70 tennis balls in my oversized bloomers, making my skirt look more like a tutu and entertaining my 'team' after a long practice. At the end of the year, I received the "Most balls in her bloomers" award.

5. As a child I wasn't much of a risk-taker. I was rather fearful of getting hurt so avoided all situations that could lead to physical pain. As a result, I went my whole life without a broken bone or stitches. Until age 29. I was at school taking my lunch break. Opening a snack-sized can of peaches, I pulled too hard too quick and cut my finger pretty deeply. The school nurse said I needed stitches so my principal drove me to the urgent care. I felt ridiculous every time a new person would ask me what I did. It's amazing how many people you have to tell your story to between the front desk and the actual doctor! They gave me a huge packet to fill out since I was a new patient but I was unable to write so my principal had to fill everything thing out. This created a somewhat awkward situation as they ask some pretty personal stuff. Thankfully, Vicki was gracious about it. There was a page with a drawing of a body where they want you to pinpoint where you're in pain and to what degree. Vicki circled the finger and wrote a ten and then kept writing looking quite happy with herself. Then she turned it so I could see it and proudly showed off her drawing of my hand holding a can of peaches with a funny caption.


6. I've known Russ for 12 years and never seen his chin. He's always had facial hair so I've only seen pics from his younger years. I assume it's still there and that he's not running some covert chin operation.

7. I dream. A lot. Almost every night, actually and they're vivid and very detailed. I remember how things in the dream made me feel, and thoughts I had. Sometimes I talk in Spanish in them. Sometimes they're so real that I wake up still feeling like I did in the dream. Sometimes that means I'm pretty angry at Russ for absolutely no reason. Sometimes I wonder if I should read into certain ones or if I just have so much going on in my brain that it just gets pretty muddled. Who knows?


I'm compiling a list of 7 things about Russ and E to entertain you with this week, too!

Oh, and since I've figured out how to tag/link people, I'm choosing these blogs:
Erin, Kelli, Heather, Sharon , Sheri, Erin M., and Amanda!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Subbing story

Setting: Walking to nearby YMCA with 4th graders

Me: Boys! Catch-up with the class!

no response

Me: Boys! Catch-up! Let's Go!

Boy 1: I don't even like ketchup.

Me: Fine, then mustard up! Move it!

Boy 1: I prefer Barbeque sauce, actually.

Boy 2: I'm more of a Worcestershire man myself.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Mom!?



"Mom, you do NOT need another kiss before I leave for work, okay?"

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Counting Down to Monday...

Russ here. I know, I know, it's been awhile.

Not too many people get excited for Mondays. But Monday can be a great day of the week. Penn Station offers by-one-get-one sandwich free (or "BOGO," as Katie would say) on Mondays. Tony's BBQ has all you can eat on Mondays. Ice & Fuel has 1/2 price wings on Mondays. Mike Duffy's even has free beer on Monday nights! Oh, and after weekends away with the band, Mondays are mine and Eliot's day to kick mom back out of the house for some guy time.

But this Monday is special. This Monday is one of my favorite days of the year. Yeah, like Christmas.....



This Monday is Opening Day for the 2008 baseball season. The Mohr boys are very excited. Also known to Cubs fans as "next year." [And before you go typing comments, trying to be funny, making Cubs jokes, please beware that you're dealing with a lifelong die-hard Cubbie fan here. No amount of your cute little Cardinal humor or sarcasm could ever penetrate my super-thick, heavy-duty Cub fan armor. Take your best shot.] This is our year.

No, really. REALLY!



The funniest part for me is knowing that as far as Eliot is concerned, the Cubs are always among the best teams in the National League. After all, shortly after he moved to the States, the Cubs won the National League Central and made the playoffs during his first October as a US citizen. As far as he knows, the Cubs are in the playoffs every year (and the Cardinals are not)!!!! And that kind of naive optimism is exactly why he is primed to be the perfect Cubs fan. Katie's already got him saying "Go Cubs!"



But that's not the point. The point is, it's almost baseball season. It's March Madness. It's spring! The best time of year. No matter who you cheer for, first or last place, baseball is the best. Opening Day! Only October is as great (esp. when the Cubbies get to play!) We overheard a little boy (maybe 10 yrs old) the other day trash talking with his dad about his NCAA tourney brackets and Katie smiled and reminded me that some day Eliot and I will be able to have funny little conversations like that. That is so awesome.



I'm excited. It's the absolute greatest time of year, and now I've got a little buddy to enjoy it with!!!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Happy Easter!


Last year we were celebrating Easter over quesadillas at Sky Cafe as the processions went through the streets of Antigua while talking of heading to the pool. This year, we woke up to snow falling in the good ol' midwest! People at church were greeting each other with Merry Christmas.



(Some favorites from last year!)

Eliot has been asking me for years to buy him a necktie so I finally caved. Now there's no more Eliot because I ate his cute little face. I couldn't help it.


We went to church and then out for our annual brunch with the Seibels. It wasn't the same without Kyle and Erin. Eliot played his "I can't hear you!" game over and over since he had willing participants. So silly!




Then after a rough naptime at home, we headed back to the Seibels for the egg hunt and dinner. After dinner, Eliot pretty much went over the edge. Not sure if it was the lack of nap or just the natural 'center of attention' monster we've created, but he got super silly halfway through changing into his pj's and RAN around the house half naked for the next hour. (Hence the celeb-lookalike pics in the previous post.)



By the way, Eliot was way more interested in chucking the eggs back across the yard instead of collecting them. What are we in for?

Monday, March 24, 2008

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Experiment: Easter Egg

I'll let the pictures tell the story:













Only a few eggs actually survived the experiment and Daisy's paw is orange. But, Eliot had a great time! He's such a boy!!!!

Easter pics to come either later today or tomorrow! We're off to Bob and Margie's for Easter dinner and our egg hunt!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Note to self....11

Buy a tablecloth.


Note to self....10

Toddlers might not be quite ready for trying on clothes in the fitting room at GapKids.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

March Madness?

In honor of my 8th grade trip to DC where I bought a knock-off 'authentic' college sweatshirt off a roadside stand, I've chosen Georgetown as my pick to win the NCAA final four champs!

And through a series of high fives, designated Matchbox car choices, and Little People preferences, Eliot finished his bracket resulting in choosing UCLA over Notre Dame in the final.

And for those of you keeping track, Russ went with his first college experience: Memphis.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Blog-iversary!

I've been blogging for a full year now! That's pretty amazing for me, I feel. I love how much has been documented over the last year. I've spent only one afternoon writing in Eliot's babybook but have over 200 posts about our everyday life including pictures! I love it! Thanks for stoping by so often and checking in! We enjoy reading your comments and sharing your stories with us. Happy Blog-iversary everyone!!

And to celebrate, I'll share a quick Eliot story. We've been using sign language with him for a year now. Some signs he uses ALL THE TIME and for some, he's moved on to using words. Over the last month I noticed him intentionally blinking at me and then getting frustrated that I'm not doing something in response. Then it dawned on me one day and I asked if he wanted his blanket. To this question, he got very excited. Ever since then if we see him blinking and hand him his blanket, he's delighted to have communicated!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Sorry!

I know you anxiously head to your computer each day to see what's new with the Mohr's and I've left you waiting. I wish it were just a lesson in delayed gratification but it's more on account of my schedule. As previously mentioned, I'm subbing at the school I worked at years ago. The good news is that I have confirmed that I don't want to go back to teaching yet!

I really have to hand it to the working moms. Truly, I don't know how they do it. While at dinner last night we were singing kid songs with E along with his cute little motions. We went through our standard few that are his favorites when Russ went into Patty-Cake and Eliot did all the motions right along with him. I've never seen him do that before. Russ mentioned that they've been working on it (while I'm at work.) Not that I need to be the one and only giver of new information/skills/cute stuff to my son, but this compounds my disdain for working. This also compounds my appreciation for my time in Guatemala and makes me more motivated than ever to get my business back to where it was at it's prime.

For those that have been curious about my subbing days, that could be a whole extra blog. "Secret Confessions of a Substitute Teacher" or "How to eat an unhealthy lunch in 15 minutes or less" might be options for the title. For the last several weeks, I've actually been in the same position each day working one-on-one with a severely autistic third grader. Hence, the lack of energy to blog. or clean. or eat well. or call anyone back. You get the picture. All leftover energy at the end of the day gets divided between Eliot and Arbonne.

Speaking of Eliot and Arbonne:

Arbonne's "Test Drive a Mercedes" Day! Can you imagine? =)

Play-doh fun! We'd put the "glasses" on him and he'd get really serious, then make them fall off and crack up and ask for more. Then we'd start all over again with the serious face, etc.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Playdate?


Cousin Laura stopped by yesterday with her new little friend, Jack. So, we had a playdate. Well, Eliot did. Jack didn't realize he was the toy. Eliot has never played with a small dog before so this made him quite giddy. The pics from my post yesterday of his hard-to-contain-giggle faces were from playing with Jack for the afternoon. Here's a few of the highlights:


Eliot was shhing him so that he could rest. How very helpful that is!


And this began the constant battle for the chair...

Jack tried a new approach in this shot since E had successfully blocked him so far...

Score: Eliot 1, Jack 0

Eliot gave him another try...

...until he couldn't take the licking anymore (can you see him giggling as he slides to the floor?)

And we have a tie...

Friday, March 7, 2008