tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70853133028820753902012-01-11T23:03:05.350-06:00Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.comBlogger661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-46342335040660698382012-01-11T12:02:00.000-06:002012-01-11T12:37:45.413-06:00

One of my goals for this year is to find a good balance between flexibility and structure. I seem to be caught in this loop lately: I realize that I need to give myself lots of choices and keep things very flexible, or else I start to feel boxed in or trapped or confined by "have to's" and start rebelling; but, leaving things too flexible leaves me too much room to not do anything at all, so I

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-23779467394078657372011-12-06T21:09:00.001-06:002011-12-06T21:12:02.955-06:00

I've seen a lot of folks lately talking (or, I guess, typing) about wanting or needing to spend less time on their social media habits - some, even to the point of going cold turkey OFF of them altogether. I can see the value in that - I will fully admit that I occasionally realize I'm spending way too much time surfing Facebook rather than, say, well, doing absolutely anything else, and every

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-58983255261925775942011-11-30T21:16:00.001-06:002011-11-30T21:44:30.055-06:00

Today is the last day of November, and thus, the last day I will be posting daily. Of course, by "daily" I mean "mostly daily," obviously. While I didn't necessarily meet the goal to post "daily," I'm honestly not too surprised by that; I have a history of problems with "have to's," even if they're my own "have to's" that I've given myself, and for some reason I just seem to have this vague need

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-80946494339543051102011-11-29T21:37:00.001-06:002011-11-29T21:55:58.287-06:00

It's been one of those days -- lots of heavy, irritated sighs, and lots of muttering, "Really?!" This is something I still struggle with. Not that I struggle with having the occasional bad day -- I mean, I do, and I'm always striving more and more to see the bright side, opportunities, positives and lessons. What I struggle with is being okay with myself when I'm not 100% optimistic. I used to

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-60524424198994905172011-11-25T23:31:00.001-06:002011-11-25T23:57:16.341-06:00

One of the funnest (yeah, I said funnest) things about having a kid, is making everything new all over again by seeing the world through his eyes. Before he was born, I'll admit it: I'd become a pirate. (You know, all grown-ups are pirates?) Especially around the holidays -- I just didn't enjoy them, with all the "have-to's" and family bickering about presents and schedules and worrying about

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-70568210301819453912011-11-24T17:23:00.001-06:002011-11-24T17:35:15.549-06:00

I am so stuffed. We ate at noon, it's approaching 5:30, and still, I am so stuffed. Oh man, I love food. I'm not sure if it's cliche, obligatory, or both to do a list of things I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving, but I have a lot to be thankful for today. Including: I am thankful that when family asks me, "How you liking the new job?" I can honestly tell them that I love it. I am thankful that I

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-23978952907391866322011-11-22T23:17:00.001-06:002011-11-22T23:24:18.744-06:00

Apparently all the lack-of-writing I had been doing in the months previous to November had left me with a backlog of mental back-burner ideas. To be more precise, about twenty of them. Now I kind of feel like I'm grasping at straws, trying to think of anything worthwhile to say. It's getting to be slim pickings now, topic-wise. Want to know anything about my cats? They meow a lot. Their names are

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-85106689922304915462011-11-20T17:53:00.001-06:002011-11-20T18:28:12.326-06:00

(I took Friday night off for date night, and Saturday off because, um, because it was Saturday? Basically family time was priority, and I'm cool with that.) My poor kid. Friday afternoon he told us he was losing his voice. He sounded fine to me, but sure enough, when we picked him up after Date Night was over, he was, in fact, losing his voice. The poor kid just seems to get colds way, way too

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-71524242245314828262011-11-17T22:36:00.001-06:002011-11-17T23:35:04.186-06:00

I'm doing that thing again where I see connections in seemingly-unrelated things. For eleven or so years, I did a lot of trial and error to figure out what was causing some of my health problems, and how to fix it. Lots of doctors, lots of naturopaths, lots of getting very very frustrated, lots of searching the internet for ideas. As it turns out, my symptoms fit a lot of different conditions --

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-52781461973041078622011-11-16T21:21:00.001-06:002011-11-16T23:27:45.927-06:00

I remember The Hippie Housewife mentioning once that she had been working with her son (who is just a few weeks younger than mine; we were pregnant together online!) on using scissors, and he just couldn't get it. She realized one day that they hadn't worked with them for a while, and felt like she should, so he could get some practice. The next time he used scissors, without having had any

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-57695239692929062952011-11-15T22:02:00.001-06:002011-11-15T22:33:23.797-06:00

So, let's say you've realized that things need to change in your life. You're not happy where things are. You have a vague concept of what could be different. You feel like you should be doing something else. You feel that you have every power within yourself to improve things. You might even have a vague concept of how to go about it -- what specifically you could be doing to improve yourself,

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-63308070028550165422011-11-14T21:28:00.001-06:002011-11-14T21:50:30.709-06:00

I'm calling Day 13 a wash and not double-posting today. Mostly because I am exhausted, and I'm just gonna go ahead and see that as a valid excuse :). After weeks of insomnia, the opposite has been the case the past week or so and I seem to be barely able to stay awake past 9:30. (So, given that it is currently 9:29pm, you'll forgive me if this post trails off into random characters any minute

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-1702628819273063802011-11-12T20:21:00.001-06:002011-11-12T20:21:58.533-06:00

Occasionally my kid will have a day where nothing is good enough. It's not that he's necessarily unhappy with what he has, it's just that what he has isn't enough. He has a million Star Wars Legos, but not the new Boba Fett; the picture I colored for him was good, but he asked for the lava to be orange and part of it is red; we're on our way to get ice cream and he's holding a toy in each hand,

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-61857498708396960372011-11-11T17:41:00.001-06:002011-11-12T09:28:35.067-06:00

I don't even know how to explain this. So, there's this movie, Manos: The Hands of Fate. In short, it is the worst movie ever. I only wish I were exaggerating. It really, really is. And it's not just bad like "wow, what a total waste of time" bad, or bad like "wow, this is so bad you can laugh at how bad it is" bad. It's the kind of bad that sucks out your soul moment by moment, makes time slow

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-2747717183795796502011-11-10T22:51:00.001-06:002011-11-10T23:09:00.776-06:00

I mentioned the other day that I have some food sensitivities; add in my husband's and the tastes of my four year old and cooking around here can get pretty creative. I had a similar transition on a low oxalate diet as I did when I first went gluten free: a general panic that I can no longer eat ANYTHING and that there is no way to eat a healthy diet by removing all the foods it seems I now need

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-71510965710572967132011-11-10T22:19:00.001-06:002011-11-10T22:49:06.063-06:00

It always amazes me seeing how people respond to their circumstances -- how some folks react outrageously to things that seem small to others, how some respond calmly and see opportunities in things that would be devastating to others, how different people can respond to the same exact thing in completely different ways. A friend of mine and former metaphysics teacher had his foot amputated last

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-76240390018821672252011-11-08T23:20:00.001-06:002011-11-08T23:20:11.830-06:00

A hand-made present from your kid is always the best present you could receive. A pie made entirely from scratch, made for people you really want to enjoy it, always tastes better. A greeting card is more appreciated you spent the time to pick out the perfect one, and it shows. What if you decided to hand-make your day from scratch, with love, and spend time picking out the perfect message you

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-70352217871909332822011-11-07T22:07:00.000-06:002011-11-07T22:07:37.207-06:00

Since writing Day 6's (late) post earlier today, I've been thinking about the concept of "failure." In the School of Metaphysics, we learned -- and I'm totally paraphrasing here -- that there are no mistakes, only opportunities to learn. There is so much you can learn from the "mistakes" and "failures" in your life -- if you choose to. I would be willing to bet that not one person out there

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-27789657146988609572011-11-07T09:57:00.000-06:002011-11-07T12:11:30.440-06:00

Six days into November and I missed a day. I could look as this a couple of different ways: 1) I SUCK and I FAILED less than ONE WEEK IN and I should just GIVE UP now that I've failed because I can't even make it ONE WEEK so what's the point in doing this the rest of the month when I've already failed?! or 2) I was spending time with my family yesterday and at the end of the day, I chose for

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-7179310062710819162011-11-05T22:02:00.004-05:002011-11-05T22:02:59.550-05:00

Sometimes, the days where you do nothing productive but a load of laundry and spend the rest of the day leisurely relaxing, and it is a purposeful, "I deserve this" sort of relaxing, that is just as good a day as the days when you check a dozen things off your to-do list. Today is one of those days. What do you do on your "screw it, I'm doing nothing!" days? (Other than... nothing.) Reading?

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-4411970237657933042011-11-04T18:31:00.000-05:002011-11-04T18:31:03.755-05:00

You may or may not know that I'm gluten intolerant, and that due to my vestibulitis I also try to follow a low oxalate diet. My husband has a problem with milk products, and claims he's "allergic" to onions to better avoid them; my son doesn't like mushrooms or cumin; none of us do very well with too much sugar. And somehow we still manage to eat :). I've noticed lately a sort of amusement I

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-19586293888606527822011-11-03T23:00:00.002-05:002011-11-03T23:00:23.384-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, the four-year-old informed me that he doesn't have a scarf. This statement was followed by, "You need to make me one." Oh, how I love that my child knows that things can be made and not only bought, and oh, how I love that he is still young enough to think it's cool to wear things I make him :). I let him pick through my yarn stash and he chose, I wasn't surprised, lime

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-2414450569335444792011-11-02T16:23:00.000-05:002011-11-02T16:23:06.515-05:00

Something has me thinking. I saw a post on facebook the other day that suggested the idea of self-love and self-acceptance rather than self-help and/or self-improvement. For a second, I loved the idea -- accepting yourself for who you are, right now, sounds like a great idea! But then I started wondering... Okay, so what if "self-acceptance" were the idea of accepting you, as you truly are, on

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-40476157342173599882011-11-01T16:13:00.004-05:002011-11-01T16:14:34.762-05:00

My son is going through an argumentative phase. This phase started when he was pretty small and I get the odd feeling it will continue the rest of his life, so maybe "phase" isn't the right word, and maybe "argumentative" isn't, either. My son just has to push boundaries, to see what he can get to happen his way, and what will happen in response if the answer is that he can't. He likes to have

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-19500514408571716122011-10-29T23:03:00.004-05:002011-10-29T23:04:00.313-05:00

I haven't written here in what feels like forever, and I know exactly why: since I've gone a little more public with this blog, I feel much more conscious of what I say in it. People might see it now. Real people. This has made me very conscious of the message I am putting out there -- what the words are saying, what the undertone may imply, how much to say about me, what type of message I want

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-15899884949010288022011-09-13T21:59:00.001-05:002011-09-13T21:59:53.800-05:00

So, let's say you're used to things being less than fabulous, then suddenly your world is shaken up and though it's rough for a while, you start to settle into something amazing... But like, amazing? What? What's this about? And you have no idea what to do with the amazing. I've experienced this myself recently: at my awesome, flexible new job that I can leave at the office and never have to

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-33852921021248056752011-08-30T21:39:00.003-05:002011-08-30T21:48:30.720-05:00

Ever since the last time we were able to catch the ice cream truck ages ago, Raiden has been asking when he'll be coming again. The other night while we were reading before bed, I heard it dinging! After a pause and a second "ding-ding" of confirmation, I dropped the book and told Raiden, "RUN!!", grabbed the husband's bank off his dresser and RAN outside myself... just as the ice cream truck was

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-28695993633515537572011-08-18T14:42:00.002-05:002011-08-18T15:25:58.048-05:00

I remember reading something, or watching something, or in some other way learning something from somewhere (perhaps various somewheres; I am obviously vague on details here), about how feelings, and the chemicals your brain produces because of these feelings, can be addictive. Basically, the more you feel a certain way and then continue to feel a certain way, the more your brain and body get

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-90707027318616952442011-07-12T15:40:00.004-05:002011-07-12T16:00:29.241-05:00

Oh, man. My world is full of changes right now. Good changes! Just changes, in the middle of which is a busy schedule, so though things are fabulous right now -- really! -- I still find myself looking forward to August when all the dust settles and the changes can become routine. I've been discovering recently that I do better with routines, and when they're thrown off, so am I.(If you're curious

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-91823584553758675752011-06-27T17:17:00.003-05:002011-06-27T17:34:26.417-05:00

Sometimes, having coaching skills is awesome when you're a mommy.Admittedly sometimes I feel like That Mom when I talk about this... mostly when my coaching school, iPEC Coaching, will post something on facebook asking something along the lines of, "When was the last time you used X coaching skill?" and I'll chime in, "Yesterday, with my 4 year old!" But I did. Because it's awesome. I'm teaching

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-51168115235564026672011-06-08T15:46:00.002-05:002011-06-08T16:26:49.103-05:00

As you may or may not know, we have moved into our new house (which previously belonged to my late grandparents-in-law), but still haven't sold the old one.I've gone through a lot of different emotions over the old house being on the market and moving to the new one over the past three years (three. years.) that the plan has been in the works, mostly stagnant. It started out, "But I love this

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-17460396189516518802011-05-27T11:36:00.008-05:002011-05-27T15:14:51.201-05:00

I'm sure most of you have heard or read about the tornado that destroyed most of Joplin, MO, this past weekend. That's only about 45 minutes away from where we live, though we were lucky enough only to get some wind and rain. And some beautiful skies.After the rain had passed us by and the sky was absolutely beautiful, I was doing laundry while my husband was in the living room, keeping an eye on

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-17997242865116736842011-05-19T17:16:00.004-05:002011-05-19T17:31:32.632-05:00

Given my current job situation (the situation being that soon, I will no longer have my job), I've noticed that as a result, I've started shifting my identity into something different. For years (eleven of them) I've been The Webmaster, and I've never really liked it. I always felt the need to say that I was The Webmaster but don't blame me, it was like that when I got here and I intend to fix it

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-9239021584270714172011-05-13T14:21:00.003-05:002011-05-13T16:14:13.428-05:00

Part of being a mom is figuring out what method of discipline works best for your kids. Every kid is different (and I know I will learn this even more clearly if/when there is a #2). Things that work for some kids don't work for other kids. Things that work for your kid might not work for your kid next week. Things that work for your kid may not work for you. It's a constant act of trial and

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-67166648824254150042011-03-21T21:35:00.004-05:002011-03-21T22:53:26.418-05:00

Just recently I was commenting that I didn't really know how to be home with my son by myself all day, even though I've always wanted to be a stay- (or work-) at-home-mom. For years I've been saying that web pages (what I've done professionally for the past 11 years) just aren't my thing anymore. A year ago I bought the domain name for my would-be coaching business, and promptly created a

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-48822155817425778312011-03-07T13:38:00.005-06:002011-03-07T16:32:29.902-06:00

Our house has been up for sale for quite some time now, and though we really haven't had any activity recently, we've become restless with the state of limbo we've been in. Our new house, which belonged to my husband's late grandparents, is just sitting there waiting on us. We've put some work into it here and there -- refinished the hardwood floor we discovered under the living room carpet,

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-55152692305667959562011-01-12T15:03:00.003-06:002011-01-12T15:32:07.895-06:00

I never meant to be a working mom. Still, I have dreams of being a stay/work at home mom if/when there's ever a child number two. But something occured to me this morning.My mother-in-law, who watches my son during the day, is sick today. So am I - in fact, I'd already had serious thoughts of calling in sick today, even before she called in sick herself and solidified that decision for me. I laid

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-35954115330625937322010-12-03T15:00:00.003-06:002010-12-03T15:10:20.754-06:00

I was digging through the cabinet last night, scrounging for something to eat, as I was feeling unusually picky last night when normally I couldn't care less, but that's really irrelevant. Raiden came in the kitchen with me and started looking through the cabinet as well. He saw the bear-shaped honey container and asked, "Is this for Weston?" (Mel's baby.) I told him no, that's for us."Daddy and

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-84639899772519840392010-09-16T11:24:00.002-05:002010-09-29T14:22:20.362-05:00

I find myself thinking of this comic often: This is Why I'll Never be an AdultI can especially relate to that with my job. I did eight things yesterday! Eight! My goal is only five! That means I don't have to do anything today and then maybe I'll do something tomorrow. And not wanting to email people back for fear of reminding them that they emailed me in the first place definitely sounds

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-65231222543170379252010-09-10T10:10:00.000-05:002010-09-16T11:24:00.973-05:00

We've been very busy this week -- the husband and I both took an extra couple of days off over the holiday, and spent some family time together, doing extra fun things with the little guy. (We really like our kid.) There was a theme park involved, and a discovery that we really need to take two loaves of bread to the park when we go feed the geese instead of one. Point being, all the extra

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-39863859201692187292010-08-27T16:54:00.000-05:002010-08-27T23:12:54.628-05:00

(Long but entertaining.)Last night our Kung Fu school was closed, for as many who wanted to (including our instructor and his family) to go to Branson, to see The Legend of Kung Fu. It was area appreciation night, so the tickets were only $10 each if you live in the surrounding area, dropping an additional $5 for each canned good you brought to donate (one per person). We never eat canned corn

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-25644976638833922352010-07-14T09:49:00.000-05:002010-07-14T10:14:40.628-05:00

In three days and ten minutes from now, I will be leaving for Michigan for six days, to make my grand return to The Great Lakes Retreat, after a three-year absence. Last year I was unable to attend due to an already-high travel budget and already-busy travel schedule for iPEC coach training. The year before that, I had a 15 month old, who I was still somewhat nursing and was not ready to leave

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-67948354636768302772010-07-07T14:20:00.000-05:002010-07-07T15:18:59.598-05:00

For no apparent reason, I suddenly had the overwhelming urge to share with you all the natural, chemical-free stuff that I use on a regular basis.HairWashingI currently mix 2-3tsp of baking soda with 8oz of water. Don't laugh; I mix it in the peri bottle I got from the hospital when I had Raiden. And I only use about 1/4 of the bottle when I wash my hair.This took a lot of trial and error, and

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-18555538161187458422010-07-06T08:42:00.000-05:002010-07-06T08:43:01.000-05:00

I've been waiting for this age and this discussion, and it was as cute and hilarious as I expected.Raiden has been practicing going peepee standing up (and there is much less cleaning up afterwards involved nowadays than when we first started this endeavor), and is very proud of himself every time he "hits the target."Earlier today, after he'd gone peepee, I had to go, too, and I told him

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-85690627827811179532010-06-08T08:52:00.000-05:002010-06-08T09:02:46.828-05:00

My kid.This weekend, he started reading.Words.Last weekend, I realized that, since he knows his letters (we're still working on lower case, but he knows most of them), he could help me read the words "I" and "a".Well, this weekend, I decided to try him out with two-letter words. The first one, "Oh," was easy enough, I figured. Two letters, one sound, the sound being that of the first letter. Not

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-88558829098587965762010-04-29T15:22:00.000-05:002010-04-29T16:12:48.143-05:00

I discovered a couple of new blogs the other day. One, a blog where anyone can submit their "drive-by meddling" stories of well-meaning strangers offering them unsolicited parenting advice -- That Baby Looks Cold! -- and another, found via a story posted on the former, generally relating the funny things that happen when you're raising small children -- Parenting Ad Absurdum. The post that

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-76988197642462815072010-04-04T16:06:00.000-05:002010-04-29T16:14:43.771-05:00

He used to look like this: But now all I can find is this big kid. He can recognize all the capital letters and the numbers 0-9. He can count to 18 unassisted. He can sing ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all by himself, and a lot more songs along with someone. He makes up his own songs sometimes. And he asks me to sing William Tell Overture, by name. He knows 15 states on the US map, and can

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-44772498490180786502010-03-22T09:45:00.000-05:002010-03-22T10:51:40.689-05:00

So, as it turns out, this whole vegan thing isn't nearly as difficult as I'd anticipated. And on top of that, I actually kind of like it.We are cooking at home more and eating out less. This was one of my primary goals with the decision to go vegan for Lent: break terrible, lazy habits about food. I don't know how many evenings in our household went something like, "I dunno, whadda you wanna do?"

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-89378870972894287932010-02-18T09:02:00.000-06:002010-02-18T09:09:32.744-06:00

The short backstory: We're going vegan for Lent, which started yesterday. No, we're not Catholic (or anything, really), but a friend of ours is, he is going vegan for Lent, and we've thought about trying it temporarily anyway to see if it makes our bodies feel better, so we're doing it with him, because why not?Rich has been looking up recipes, and I've been looking up more the health end of it -

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-73066362159501684562009-11-04T20:39:00.000-06:002009-11-04T20:59:15.622-06:00

I meant to do this last week, and didn't. I meant to do this sooner this week, and didn't. I finally got around to it briefly and at the last minute and now I want to find the time to do all of it all over again.Lately I've been missing the School of Metaphysics.My coach training group call last week had the topic of "transcending the ego," this week's topic (which I admit I am listening to them

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-46361006314376549612009-07-16T08:55:00.000-05:002009-07-16T09:15:34.635-05:00

Lately, we've been halfway potty training - not really pushing it, just sitting him on the potty before and after sleep times. Within the last week, I've started putting him on the potty during diaper changes as well, so he can make more of a correlation. He has the general concept figured out, but not to the degree that when he feels he has to go, he asks to go to the potty. And he has yet to "

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-30827227431604854442009-06-09T09:49:00.000-05:002009-06-09T10:41:52.263-05:00

After a decade of knowing that I wanted to help people somehow, 8 years of knowing I wanted to help others feel better about themselves, 6 years of knowing that a profession such as life coaching exists, 4 years of talking friends through rough spots and being told I should get paid for it, 3 years of finally having put the pieces together and realizing I could get paid for it, 2 years of wanting

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-82844197815107217742009-05-21T08:19:00.000-05:002009-05-21T09:08:57.610-05:00

It seemed for a while like I was the only Mommy on the continent who didn't have the book Goodnight Moon to read to her child every night at bedtime. Hence, when I saw it at Barnes & Noble several months ago (when I was actually there shopping for a birthday present for my dad, but just had to wander over to the kids section), I snagged it, plus a book of nursery rhymes with a velvety spine. "For

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-28590616288363903032009-05-14T14:01:00.000-05:002009-05-14T14:04:08.833-05:00

I intend to fully catch up at some point, but right now I really need to say:Where on earth did this large child come from and what did he do with my little baby?!

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-28132407356605764822009-02-13T10:07:00.000-06:002009-02-13T12:37:23.517-06:00

So, yesterday was pretty much the scariest mommy day thus far.The short version: We spent 4 hours at the ER, and Raiden has 10 stitches in his forehead.The long version: I got a call from MIL at 10:something yesterday morning with Raiden crying in the background. She said he was running, "and I told him to slow down, and he didn't," and he tripped and fell and hit his head on FIL's gun cabinet. (

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-13405525134759597112009-02-06T13:50:00.000-06:002009-02-06T13:53:50.231-06:00

The husband has been working on the downstairs bathroom for a few weeks now. I could explain to you what's going on with it, but instead, I think I'll let the little guy do it for me.

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-65594845133821803352009-01-20T14:10:00.001-06:002009-01-20T14:30:25.052-06:00

A few minutes ago, I overheard an I.T. guy telling a coworker how to get to a network location by going to Start, Run, and then typing "whack whack, networkaddress, whack, folder." Whack whack? That reminded me of my recent personal confusion over slash vs. forward slash vs. back slash. I have to tell people fairly often, as well, how to get to a different network location, and I'm always

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-84070819835518341162008-12-30T14:21:00.000-06:002008-12-30T14:24:42.428-06:00

I hope everyone had as great a Christmas with their families as I did with mine.(Raiden is seriously the best toddler ever. He is talking so much it's getting hard to keep up, and I get more and more proud of him every second.)

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-47120164095901761532008-12-15T15:20:00.000-06:002008-12-15T15:52:59.037-06:00

Some months ago I became intrigued enough by a friend's talk about washing her hair with "no-poo" that I gave it a shot. Weeks and several experiments later, I got fed up with it and went back to shampoo. Weeks after that I got over my defeat and tried again, with more success. Weeks after that I got lazy and went back to shampoo just because it was there. And weeks after that, I realized that I

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-1287846623738153062008-12-10T14:15:00.001-06:002008-12-11T12:28:57.501-06:00

He's pretty much the smartest ever. Snotty nose, distractions and all.

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-48074065894137399542008-12-08T15:37:00.001-06:002008-12-08T15:41:25.657-06:00

Friday night, the husband and I were indicted into the Parents Who Have Cleaned Vomit Off Their Child And Their Bed In The Middle Of The Night club. I'm not entirely sure what that was about, as the little guy isn't acting terribly sick, but there you go.Sunday, we were given a follow-up invitation to the Parents Who Have Cleaned Up Their Child's Vomit In Public club. As a result, my blonde

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-65219656356368047272008-11-25T09:31:00.000-06:002008-11-25T11:12:27.930-06:00

Let's assume that wherever your thoughts are drawn, whatever thing or phrase or belief you give your attention and energy, happens. In short, let's assume that thought is cause.Take a few moments, an hour, a day, to notice your thoughts.What are you causing?

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-14098489598678565832008-11-20T14:10:00.000-06:002008-11-20T15:19:12.061-06:00

I was at the School of Metaphysics on Monday, and was semi-involved in, mostly overhearing, a conversation about Fruit Day. Fruit Day, the school's director was explaining, is one day a week that SoM members only eat fruit. Sounds obvious, right? Their definition of fruit, however, isn't the same as the grocery stores. From what I gathered (and I'm sure I didn't wholly gather it), "fruit" to them

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-27194369388191543372008-07-31T11:48:00.000-05:002008-11-20T15:22:43.602-06:00

I've been wanting to write about yesterday since yesterday, but I really need to finish this one project. I just have to wrap a template around a security form and then I'm good! Except for the other millions of things I need to do and the millions of FrontPage troubleshooting emails I need to respond to and the millions of political bullshit situations I need to pull Delegated Supervisor into,

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-40358755495361131602008-06-02T13:34:00.000-05:002008-06-02T13:35:08.104-05:00

me: so lately the trend isBob comes to ask me a questionI answer itabout 6 timeshe leaves my deskBeth says "Geez"and I ask, "Was I explaining that poorly?"Usually I wasn't.Josh: it's because he's so short.me: thanks, JoshI needed that tea to go through my nose.and since it's good mood teamy nose is super happy nowand dancing.Josh: /me takes a bow

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7085313302882075390.post-55929032107655135332008-06-02T12:30:00.000-05:002008-06-02T12:32:06.265-05:00

As it turns out, I'm just a figment of my own imagination.

Karynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481484074210475160noreply@blogger.com0