Cherished Words from My Daughter

My daughter, Katelyn, gave me this book a few days ago. It's from my favorite latter-day apostle, Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I love listening to him talk and reading his words of encouragement (and as an added bonus...he is easy on the eyes). 

I didn't realize until after Katelyn had gone home that she wrote inside of the book.

 

Be. Still. My. Heart.

My daughter is one of the remarkable souls talked of in this book. I love you Katelyn!

Golden Retriever Puppy

Like an art form, I create boards on Pinterest so I can save things that inspire me. Therefore, I have created recipe, home decor, and holiday boards, along with boards regarding subjects that I am passionate about...for example: Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Coca-Cola, Disneyland and Puppies! My daughter, Katelyn, was quick to inform me that she didn't think I needed a puppy board, to which I rebutted, "Yes I do!" 

It didn't take long for Katelyn to come to her senses. Now that she is married, Katelyn has her own "puppy" board on Pinterest and, even more recently, she and her husband have become parents to their own living, breathing, adorable Golden Retriever puppy. 

Meet Ruger!

And yes, I am blogging about Ruger just so I can pin him on my "Mom! You Don't Need a Puppy Board." Wanna bet that Katelyn ends up pinning him on her "puppy" board too?

 J

Katelyn's Breakfast Burritos

Since graduating with her bachelor degree in the spring, Katelyn (my daughter) landed a job in her field of expertise and moved directly into the 40 hour a week workforce. Because she is now a busy career woman and wife, Katelyn now plans ahead for harried week-day mornings by preparing and freezing breakfast burritos on the weekend. Last night, she sent me these photos and a link to the website that gave her the idea.

For ingredients and detailed instructions, click here .

What Makes It All Worthwhile?

After work this afternoon, I came home to find this surprise waiting for me in the refrigerator...

Although she was long gone, Katelyn was thoughtful enough to pick me up a Diet Coke with crushed ice.

It's small and simple things like this that make me feel I've done something right in the parenting department.

The Tables Have Turned

Somewhere along the line, Katelyn has taken upon herself the mothering role.

Last week Don and Chase went to the market to get a Coke but came back with energy drinks instead. You should have seen Katelyn's face when she declared "Daaad, YOU DO NOT need an energy drink!"

So, on our way to Las Vegas this morning, I sent the following picture to Katelyn's phone after Don and I picked up a couple of Monsters at the gas station.

Her only reply back...

"Oh boy oh boy".

The icing on the cake, however, is when I asked Katelyn to proofread this post, she said, "Mommm! Did you really each get your own drink?" and when I answered "Yes" she said, "It's not funny mom. This is serious!"

I just kept laughing.

:)

Happy 20th Birthday Katelyn!

Katelyn, even though I didn't make this video, it is everything I would say to you (so pretend I did)...and yes, I know this is the edited version of Pink's song, but I would have considered posting it even if it wasn't. THAT's how much I love you.

Fathers Against Daughters Dating: Top Ten Lines to Scare Your Daughter's Boyfriend

This guy considers his blog the "Dear Abby for fathers with daughters". He wrote the following laugh-out-loud article:

Fathers Against Daughters Dating: Top Ten Lines to Scare Your Daughter's Boyfriend 

Please read it, especially if you have a daughter. :)

Top 10 Reasons I Decided Not to Move Out/ Guest Post by Katelyn

1. I love my mother too much. After her post, 10 Reasons I Should be Happy She Wants to Leave Home, I realized as her one and only daughter, she needs me.

2. I am very indecisive. I often want my mother’s approval and guidance on the decisions I make.

3. I am a worrier and get caught up in the “what ifs”. Basically, I worry about what to worry about.

4. Chances are, I would be at my parent’s home every day anyway. I am very attached to the comfort of my family. I like knowing they are there for me, particularly my mother.

5. Free Rent. Free Food. Free Laundry. Free Cleaning. Free Utilities. Free Internet. Free Cable.

6. Convenience of location. My parent’s home is very close to town. It only takes about ten minutes to drive to college, to work, and to my best friend’s house.

7. I don’t have enough money to move out. I pay the balance of my college tuition, above and beyond my scholarship. I pay my own car payment, auto insurance and cell phone bill. I also buy my own gas. If I had to pay for everything listed in #5, I wouldn’t have enough money to buy "girlie" essentials, such as clothing, makeup and bath toiletries.

8. I have a lenient curfew. My parents realize I am an adult. They trust me to make good choices and to come home at a decent hour. I will admit it’s kind of sad when I come home and my dad isn’t waiting up for me (even though he was usually conked out on the couch).

9. Dad helps me with car stuff. On a cold morning, my dad will get up early and start my car to defrost the windows and warm it up. If it’s late at night and my tank is ridiculously empty, I can count on my dad to risk running out of gas on his way to fuel it up, so it’s ready for me the next morning. Also, I can usually sweet talk him into washing my car and waxing out even the tiniest scratches.

10. I hope to get married within the next few years. Why not live at home, rent free, for as long as I can?

10 Reasons I Should Be Happy She Wants to Leave Home

Katelyn is my forth child and only daughter. She is nineteen years old, finishing her freshman year at college, and wants to move out for the summer. Here's the thing. Although I know it's inevitable,  I'm not fond of letting her go. I had to wait a good, long time to finally conceive a girl.

Because Cody will be turning the big THREE ZERO in July (just writing it makes me feel sick), I'm already dreading summer 2011. Katelyn deciding to move out is just adding to my grief, so instead of wallowing in my pain, I decided to come up with at least ten reasons why I should be happy to see her go.

1) No more tripping over shoes kicked off near the front door.
2) Less laundry (quite a bit less laundry, actually).
3) Cody gets a bathroom to himself.
4) Less water bottles to wash and refill.
5) The grocery bill will go down.
6) Her bedroom becomes my workout/scrapbook room.
7) No more school books, scarves and/or hand bags cluttering up the kitchen island.
8) Less dirty dishes left in the sink.
9) I'll be the only female in the house dealing with mood swings (I think this will be more of a plus for Don).
10) I give her two weeks before she misses me and appreciates how good she had it living at home!

Even with that said, I still don't feel better  :(

Future Quilters of America

Katelyn has decided she enjoys quilting and wants to make a hobby of it. She and I spent some girl time and went to a quilt show that is in town for the holiday week-end.

This first quilt was made by a twelve year old. The girl was kind enough to let Katelyn take a picture of her and the red ribbon that she won. How cute is that!




Katelyn and I are both fond of this off center quilt.





One judge made the following quilt of her grandson. It took over 5,400 digitally created pieces. Amazing.

Katelyn adores this alphabet quilt so much that she bought the pattern and plans on making one for her future children.

She even got to have her try at a long arm machine.



I'm glad we had Katelyn's phone for pictures but wish I had remembered my camera for better quality. I loved the details on the following Christmas quilt. The light and dark red fabrics were sewn in such a way that it appeared to be ribbon winding around the middle.

There are soooo many talented people in this world. Oh, the possibilities!

Dining in the Dark

Patrick Neil Harris was on Ellen today and they were talking about restaurants. Katelyn was watching with me...well, Katelyn was watching, I wasn't really paying attention until she got excited about something Ellen said. Here is the conversation that followed...

Katelyn- They have these restaurants where everything is dark. I want to go to one. The waitress seats you and you can't see a thing! It would be so fun.

Me- Eew. You wouldn't know what your eating. There could be hair or a fly in your food and you'd never know. They could serve you weird stuff like fish legs or something.

pause...

Me- Oh. Wait a minute. Fish don't have legs.

(This is where we crack up.)

I was thinking of fish eggs and frog legs, but that's not what came out of my mouth.

Then Katelyn said, "Mom. You should try to find a clip of a dark restaurant on YouTube", so we started looking.  Katelyn spotted something and said, "click on that one". I read what she wanted me to look at and said, "No. This can't be the one. This one says blind people serve your food." Katelyn replied. "Ya. That's the whole point!"

She neglected to tell me that important piece of information. Now it all makes sense!



Kind of cool, huh?!

Finished Is Way Better Than Perfect

Katelyn decided she wanted to make her boyfriend a quilt for Christmas. She has been asking me to teach her how, so this was a good reason to embark on the challenge. The process went remarkably well, except she is a perfectionist (which drove me crazy at times). Annie, a friend of mine, reassured me that it's okay...as long as Katelyn doesn't mind ripping out seams. Annie went on to say that quilters who are perfectionists are the ones who win prizes at quilt shows. If this is the case and Katelyn keeps up this hobby, she'll have blue ribbons all over the place! I was more worried about getting the project finished by Christmas Eve. I think finished is way better than perfect :)