Author Archives: katherine

About katherine

This is where the bio info goes

When one thing goes wrong, a million other things do too, but then you get to buy something new!

You know when one thing goes wrong it’s like a million things go wrong?

Well I feel like that happens to us all.the.time. And right before, or was it right after, Christmas was no exception. Andy was on his way to cut firewood with my dad in our Suburban and they got home way to soon. Something had to be wrong. Oh and it was…they were lucky to have made it back home. The Suburban broke down on their way and they had to turn around and come home. We knew the Suburban was going to need a new motor sooner or later, I mean it’s a freaking ’89 for cripe’s sake, but we were banking on the “later” part. Anyway, off to the mechanic it went. And stayed for a few weeks. We were, thankfully, able ot bandaid it and put of the new motor for at least a few more months.

That same weekend, we were told by our renters that there was a leak in the roof of the house. Well, eff. The leak pretty much ruined the new laminate flooring Andy had JUST installed in July before they moved in. Luckily, he was able to pretty easily fix the leak and the floor doesn’t really need to be replaced, it’s just a little bit warped in one spot.

Well, then, right after we got the Suburban back from the mechanic’s I went to start and warm up our ’88 Buick {seriously, y’all, I told you we be glamorous high rollers} in the morning before work. I noticed it did sounds like it normally did. I headed back in the house to grab my stuff and give kisses goodbye only to come back outside to find the Buick not running. What the whaa? So naturally, I tried to start it again. No dice. So to the mechanic the Buick went. {Side note, our mechanic freaking loves us}

At this point it was right before the end of the year and not knowing what the deal was with the Buick we started talking about getting a new car. Could we afford it right now? We haven’t had a car payment since a month after we were married, so that’d be a major adjustment. But, my student loan would be paid off within the next 3 months, so well…could we really afford it? We decided we better wait to hear back from the mechanic before making any decisions.

But, being the dreamer I am, I was on Toyota’s website looking at new cars the next day.

Here’s our {or my} requirements for a new car/Buick remplacement:

Must get good gas milage-right now the Buick gets 27 miles/gallon.
Since the Buick is currently Andy’s main daily driver and I normally just drive it on his days off/summer/winter break, this would be a car for him. So a new car can’t be anything lame and…not manly. {granted, he’s been rolling in an 88 Buick Le Saber for the last 3 years, so anything will be a step up, but he draws a hard line at the smart car!}
We rarely let Rylee ride in the Buick, so it’d be nice to have another “kid friendly” vehicle.
It’s gotta be budget friendly…we haven’t had a car payment in a long time. Lots of “things” have happened since then in regard to finances in our house. Will Andy still have is “head teacher” position next year? Because if not, that’ll be a reduction in pay. Oh and there’s the minor detail that we’re having another kid! so yea…budget friendly is a must.
It has to last…I mean duh, we have an 89 suburban and an 88 buick and right now our newest car is a 2004. We keep the vehicles around for a while.

Ok, so based on our criteria I’m thinking, when the time comes to replace the Buick, we’ll be looking at something along the lines of a Corolla or Matrix on the lower end or, maybe we’ll even think hybrid {I mean the man does drive 70+ miles a day}…and go with the surprisingly affordable, family friend Prius V.

Image Source: http://www.toyota.com/priusv/

At this point it’s just a waiting game, but let’s hope when the Buick does make it’s last ride, that’ll be the ONLY thing that goes wrong.

{And by last ride, I mean I’ll be throwing a party and doing a happy dance}

Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the TWIN community through a program with Clever Girls Collective. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of the Toyota.

Sooo…lately?

2 Replies

Wow, has it been a week already?

Work has been insane, so my typical lunchtime blogging has gone by the wayside, hence the lack of posting.

So, here’s the quick and dirty of what’s been going on our little life…

Please to be noticing the epic outfit choice. Full of awesome, no? {For the record, she’s informed me she’s no longer wearing her jeans or carhartts and ONLY sweats and leggings because they are the most comfortable.}
Someone has figured out how to write her own name…at 3.5 years old…and loves to write it all.the.time.
We’ve also been making cards. Just for funsies.
The weekends have consisted of a LOT of this.
There’s also been a wee bit of daddy-daughter baking going on.
Oh yea, and SNOW! Last week.
Ry’s totally into my Kindle Fire.
Remember how I said works been busy? I’ve been a final packaging fool!
All that snow quickly turned into rain. Lots and lots of rain. And flooding. Andy’s school was even evacuated one day!
Oh yes, and ice cream. Because…obviously.

Let’s see…what else? Oh yes, I’m fighting a cold right now. It sucks.

I’ll be headed back out traveling for work in February. It’s a show I’ve never been to in a state I’ve never been to. Should be an adventure!

I’m ~~not so~~ patiently waiting for my bloat to turn into a bump…I’m down to only 3 pair of jeans that still fit mostly comfortably. I’ll be washing up my maternity pants this weekend…so, any day now, right?

Oh yea, and today one of the posts I wrote over at Liberating Working Moms about leaving stress at the door is being featured on BlogHer.com‘s home page! I know some, if not most of my readers won’t know what BlogHer is, but I promise, it’s something to get excited about!!

So yea, there’s the update. Oh, also, it’s Tuesday! We’re having tacos and I’m pretty sure there’s a new episode of NCIS on tonight!

Here We Go Again…January Update!

18 Replies

I feel like it’s kind of funny giving you a “January Update” already when we literally just made the announcement two weeks ago, but, I figure since I’m not going to be doing weekly updates, I’d fill you in on the details after each of my doctor appointments. An well, yesterday was my “12 week” appointment, that I had at 13 weeks, hence the update.

My appointment went great. Since it happened to be on MLK day, Andy had the day off so him & Rylee came too! Oh my goodness, seeing Ry’s face light up when she heard the heartbeat was amazing. I SO wish I could have got that on camera. It’s very cool to have her at an age that she mostly understands what’s going on and is so completely over-the-moon excited!

And holy crap, my next appointment is already going to be the big ultrasound! February 20…mark your calendars, folks!

I promise to start getting better photos…and my goal is to do them weekly. For real this time. With Rylee it was so sporadic.

How far along? 13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +0 {I was shocked…and stoked, so I celebrated later by eating some chocolate chip cookies.}
Stretch marks? Nada
Maternity Clothes: Not yet, but I have outgrown some of my pants.
Sleep: Not the greatest…and I’m already getting up 2-3 times per night just to pee.
Best moment this week: Seeing Rylee’s face when she heard the baby’s heartbeat at our appointment yesterday. She is so excited to be a big sister.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Gender: Don’t know yet…but we’ll find out on February 20!!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Food Cravings: Taco Bell chicken quesadillas dipped in nacho cheese sauce are my weakness…and the only thing that ever sounds good most of the time!
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Feeling normal…I hate feeling nauseous.
What I am looking forward to: The ultrasound! And for this nausea to go away.
Baby Milestones: Fingerprints have formed. Baby is about 3 inches long and weighs in at almost an ounce.
Other Goodness: Baby’s heartbeat was 168 beats/minute.

Work With…Style?

4 Replies

I’ve had a ton of fun linking up and “playing along” with Liberating Working Moms “Working with Style” posts.

But lately? Style?…well, let’s use that term loosely.

At first, it was easy to share my favorite outfits/looks. But after a few weeks, there were lots of repeats. And not too long after the repeats were plaguing me, I got pregnant, and while all my clothes still fit fine, I was really, really tired, work was extra busy/stressful and I just fell into a slump.

There’s been a lot of jeans a sweatshirts lately…

Once in a while there’s a glimmer of home…look! Something besides a sweatshirt! {Forget about the fact that my face & hair are a total mess..hence not being pictured}

Oh hey, here’s one where I’m even wearing my hair down. BAM! But, welp, there’s another sweatshirt. So…half-win?

Next Saturday I’m the one hosting the link-up so I promise I’ll make more of an effort!

Now, here’s hoping the second trimester is more friendly to me than the first.

Somewhere In The Middle

Mostly Average Accounts of the World's Okayest Mom.