Buddy




Buddy is our new puppy. He is a sweet little pug with lots of personality. So far, so good.

Plastic Pool Party


Today was dreadfully hot, so Matt and the kids decided to take a swim in the pool. Unfortunately there was not enough room for me:(

Hello

Dear 3 Readers,
I've been living in my head the past few weeks. Hopefully soon I will feel like writing. We have been enjoying our summer break, but the heat and mosquitoes are fierce. One morning next week I will take a break from the Today Show and fill everyone in on the latest happenings with the Bergen family. Until then, stay hydrated and remember Deet is your friend. Katy

Cedar Key Rocks- Viruses Suck


















Cedar Key, Florida is a fantastic vacation destination. My entire side of the family went to Cedar Key two Fridays ago and had a great time. We stayed in a condo at Old Fenimore Mill. The rooms were all very clean and comfortable. (Highly recommended) The guys went out fishing Saturday morning and caught quite a few fish. The fishing is much better than what we are accustomed to here along the St. Johns River and Matanzas Inlet. As predicted, one of my children ended up sick. Hayden spent all of Friday night running to the bathroom to barf his brains out. I stayed with him Saturday morning while Matt went fishing. Hayden had fever all weekend, but he tried his best to have a good time. The weekend with my family was fun, I just wish I could have spent more time visiting with them. It was difficult juggling naps, lunches, snacks, and a sick child when all I really wanted to do was lounge by the pool and gossip with my mom, sister, and sister-n-laws. Motherhood is a full time job-I accept that fact, but I do not appreciate working the graveyard shift on my vacation. Viruses SUCK! Looking forward-Matt and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary on July 28th, and if luck is on our side, we will return to Cedar Key- just the 2 of us.

"The Robot" or something like that

Hayden was a little jealous that I put up a video of Josie and not him, so when I stumbled across this video that was taken a few months ago, I decided that I had to post it. This video is Hayden's interpretation of the classic dance move "The Robot." Feel free to laugh out loud and make jokes about my dirty house:)

Vitamin D and Omega 3

Happy Hump Day! I had a particularly crappy morning and a substantially worse work day, but this evening has been down right peaceful. It was a movie and a dinner kind of night. The kids chilled and Lucas went to sleep at 7:00 pm, so the house was quiet all evening. Matt and I sat down together and watched the first 2 hours of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We still have an hour more to go on the movie, but I suggested we save the rest for tomorrow night. The Bergen family has a big weekend ahead of them. Friday afternoon we leave for Cedar Key to do a little Gulf fishing. My parents, brothers, sister, sister-n-laws, niece, and nephew are coming along too. This is a big deal for us because we have never gotten all our families together for a family vacation. I pray that it goes well. I am a little worried because for the last three nights, Lucas has vomited in his sleep. During the day he seems fine, but at night he becomes ill. I'm hoping that we can all get some sleep tonight. Bathing children and washing soiled sheets is not something anyone wants to do at 2:00 in the morning for three nights in a row. Today at work I searched my desk for toothpicks so that I could prop my eyelids open. No luck. My mood has been glum and my temper short, but I'm hopeful that this mini vacation will re energize my mind and body.

Who is this kid?

Matt and I bought Josie an iPod Shuffle for her 5th birthday. She has been in a constant jam session since Friday night when she opened her present. Matt, being the great dad that he is, bought all her favorite songs from iTunes and added them to her iPod. Josie is extremely shy and never lets Matt see her dance, so when I caught her singing and dancing to her favorite song "This is Real" by Demi Lovato, I had to get the camera. Unfortunately this video has no sound, but that is not important; it is the pure joy and raw emotion that makes this video priceless. Watch for yourself and try to think about the last time you let yourself be so free.




De-stress like Mama Kate


Stress is not only my middle name, it is my first and last name as well. If you also have a problem with stress, try a few of my tips for de-stressing:

1. lay on your stomach in the bathtub (sounds really weird I know, but it is so relaxing)*
2. lay on your back and let your head or upper body hang off a bed or couch*
3. lay on your back on a hard floor in a quiet room(no pillow) *
4. lay on your stomach on a hard floor in a quiet room(no pillow)*
5. when going to sleep, lay on your back in bed, one pillow under your head and one vertically on top of your stomach and chest
6. lay flat on your back on your couch, hang both legs over the arm of the couch- the back of your knees should touch the arm of the couch*
7. stretch, stretch, stretch
The word lay appeared in 6 of the 7 tips, so I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are stressed, lay down.  Not very scientific, I know, but some of these positions really do help me feel relaxed, and two glasses of wine don't hurt either!
*do for 3-4 minutes for maximum stress relief

Reasoning at 5


Josie to Matt: It is better to say no sir than no, but you can say NO-vember.

The Battle of Poo


I'm the last in the family to be struck with a crippling stomach bug. My bowels have been in distress for two days. My large intestine has been sending out an SOS but to no avail. Pepto is not strong enough to fight this battle. It is like someone threw a stick of dynamite down a well then covered the top of the well with a concrete slab. I've diagnosed myself with an extreme case of "diapation." Hayden was in so much pain from this illness that I took him to the doctor. The doctor sent me home with 10 containers and instructed me to fill each with a scoop of poo. That was it. Those were my instructions. I spent the next two days catching Hayden's poo in a bowl, scooping teaspoons full of it into small containers filled with an ammonia smelling liquid, then shaking vigorously. Needless to say, I didn't fill all the containers and I definitely didn't do all the poop smears, but I took Hayden's bag of poo back to the lab anyways. The lady was like, "Is this everything?" And I was like, "I guess so." I wanted to say, "This is what you get, Lady. I'm a poop collecting amateur. I did the best I could with the instructions I was given. Sorry." The doctor has not called to give me the results, which is good because I guess Hayden's stool sample was fine. The whole stool sample ordeal taught me one important lesson, there is absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for my kids.

Love, Love, Love

Things I'm loving right now:

Dove- Shine Therapy shampoo and conditioner
Jergens Sunless Tanner- smells bad, looks pretty good
Granola in my yogurt
wii fit-hula hoop
Deception Point- by Dan Brown
CVS Foot File- files my hooves nicely
Lysol wipes
Method Surface Cleaner
Texas Toast Croutons
Tonic Water, Vodka, Lime Juice, Crushed Ice- Thanks Leaa
Matt's real homemade Ranch- 1 c. mayo,1/2 c. sour cream, 1/4 c. milk, 2 tbsp. chopped onion,
1 tbsp garlic, salt, pepper, 1 tsp. dill (optional), mix, shake, chill, serve, yum
Yard Crashers- HGTV

Easy Living































































A few of these pictures were taken at the Azalea Festival parade. It was definitely a small town parade, but all the more reason to love it. The parade was just a few blocks from our house, so we walked there. As you can tell from the picture of Josie, she didn't care very much for the whole affair. When she doesn't have anything to complain about, but she is in the mood to complain, she relies on her immediate and all too real life threatening need for "drink" as her backup complaint. So while we all enjoyed the smiling faces and antique cars, Josie whispered incessantly in my ear that she was thirsty and wanted to go home. The other pictures were taken at the Alligator Farm. We took Hayden there for his 7th birthday in February, and the kids had a ball. We bought annual passes, so we can go now anytime we want. The weekend after Hayden's birthday, we took all three kids to the Alligator Farm. They were amazed and enjoyed being out in the fresh air. Josie was so entertained that she didn't even mention being thirsty. Miracle! The last picture is of Lucas jamming with the headphones on. He loves to listen to music through the headphones. I think he would wear them all the time if we let him. So as you can see, we've been enjoying the weather and each other the last few months. Life is slowly getting easier and boy am I relieved.

Day Dreams

Hayden has become slightly obsessed with wrestling. He doesn't watch wrestling at home, but he has somehow managed to acquire knowledge about the sport and its' participants from commercials, toys, and friends. His obsession got me thinking about what it would be like to be a WWE wrestler. I imagined myself inside the ring with worn black leather pants and a skin tight wife beater. My signature move would involve the use of my leopard print stilettos. As for a name, well, there would have to be some surgery done beforehand, but I was thinking "Southern Im-plantation." Yes, enhancements would definitely be necessary.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, She's A Lady...

The countdown to my 29th birthday is on. I had a thought the other day. I've spent the majority of my 20's a.) wanting to be pregnant b.) being pregnant or c.) recovering from pregnancy. Seeing as how I am close to the thirty mark, I intend on spending this last year of my twenties preparing for the new me- the better me- the composed and focused me-the me who shaves everyday and gets pedicures-the me I always imagined I'd be by the time I hit 25. I guess age doesn't make you mature because at 28 I still think it's ridiculously funny to light my farts. Sometimes when I'm doing something unmentionable, I'll stop and think to myself- "Katy, your adoring husband is sitting right beside you. Yes, he loves you but he does not deserve to have this image of you in his head." So I apologize for my lack of manners and make false promises like-"I swear I'm going to try not to do gross stuff in front of you anymore. If you see me being unladylike, just thump me between the eyes. You have my permission." Good intentions, I know, but I never follow through. And because he is a good man, he doesn't thump me between the eyes, he just makes smart remarks which I definitely deserve. Being a mom came so naturally, I just thought being a lady would, too. So on April 15th I will blow out 29 candles and make a wish to finally become a lady.

So help me God

I need to go to sleep. I've been up since 4:00 am because Hayden woke up with a fever of 105.7- terrifying I know, and guess what? I still went to work. I wanted to rush him to the ER, but Matt convinced me otherwise. Hayden has a tendency to run high fevers, but this fever topped all. After a dose of Motrin and some wet rags on the head, his fever came down quickly. Hayden has been sick since Saturday, so Matt stayed home today and took him to the doctor. The doctor did blood work, but we will have to wait 48 hours before we know anything. Dr. Jump suspected it was probably a virus, and he is most definitely right because tonight Josie started running a fever- JOY! When it rains it pours. So now I will stay home tomorrow, which means I will have to call in, and I hate calling in. The minute I begin to give my reason for not coming to work my voice gets all shaky and I begin to talk fast, which are the two biggest signs of a liar. But I never lie; I just feel like the person I'm speaking with will think my story is crap. Why does that bother me so badly? I'm not sure. I guess it has something to do with me being a compulsive people pleaser. But I will put my anxiety aside tomorrow and do my mommy duty; I will call my workplace and inform them that I will not be there because I have two sick babies that need their mommy- and that is the truth so help me God!

My Jo


Josie has been so full of life this weekend. She informed me this afternoon that she likes the newborn My Little Pony I bought her from WalMart but that next time she would prefer me to get her something that will make her scream. If you are not sure what she meant by this let me explain. What she meant was that the next time I buy her a toy, she wants me to pull her surprise out of the bag and it be so glorious that she explodes with happiness and shrieks with delight. What a PRINCESS! Then tonight at the dinner table she flatly stated, "Every night it is the same thing, dinner, wii, dinner, wii." She was referring to Matt and Hayden's nightly routine. She is already such a little lady. Her funniest remark came the other day when I asked her if I was pretty. She thought for a minute then replied, "Yes, you are very pretty and I am very pretty too." You're right I assured her, we are both very pretty. Then she smirked and said, "I was going to just say that you are very pretty, but I didn't want to hurt my feelings." She is a hoot and a half. I swear she is nothing like me. Sometimes I think she is from another planet. Josie lives in a world of pretend and spends her days making up songs and dances. She is like a living, breathing Disney character. If she wasn't so shy, she would make a wonderful child actor. She understands humor and relationships and expressions. I just wish all of my family and friends could know her the way Matt and I know her. She is both a joy and a stubborn mule, and I love both because without either she would not be my "Jo."

The good, the bad, and the stretch marked

Long time no write. Much has happened and much is the same. Here are some of the highlights.
1) Bad guy who robbed our house- captured
2) Stolen lap top- recovered
3) FCAT- over
4) Matt's car AC- fixed
5) Hayden's 7th B-day- Alligator Farm
February was a difficult month. Matt and I were dealing with the whole break in drama, while at the same time I was stressing about FCAT. Fear gripped me by the frontal lobe and sent me into a month long wave of migraines and numbness. When your face goes numb after 2-3 glasses of wine, it's fun and relaxing, but when for no apparent reason the left side of your bottom lip feels like it has been injected with Novocaine, it is, well, not. Even after battling migraines for almost three years now, the numbness, muscle weakness, and speech difficulty send me into a near panic attack every time.

February is over and now March is drawing to a close. Summer is near and Spring Break is even closer- Yippee! We took a trip to the beach two weekends ago. The water was freezing, but the kids loved it. While they ran around like a flock of hungry seagulls, I sat in my beach chair fully clothed, wishing I had the confidence to at least take off my tank top and get a little sun on my chest. Each swimsuit season I look back at the previous year's photos and think, "I wasn't as fat as I thought I was." I say this every year, so by now you would think that I would just be like, "Live in the now, Katy, because next year you will be even fatter and you will look back at a photo from this summer and think- I thought I was fat, but I was pretty dope. So do it, Katy, take off that beach cover up and strut your cellulite and stretch marks because next year you'll be 15 lbs heavier and wishing your body looked like this. " Just like time, FATNESS is so RELATIVE.

Crime Wave

Sooooo, Matt calls me at work and is all like, "We've been robbed." And I'm all like, "You're joking." And he is all like, "No. I'm serious, Katy."
Okay, enough with the reenactment, but that is word for word the beginning of our conversation on Thursday, January 22, 2009 @ 1125 am. The rest of that short conversation consisted mainly of boohoos and oh my gods. Unfortunately, I was standing in front of about 20 4th graders when I received the news, and I'm pretty sure based on my reaction that they thought someone had died. I reassured them that no one had died and quickly raced home. Luckily, not much was taken- our laptop, a digital camera, a ring, a bracelet, a Vera Bradley diaper bag, some coins, two boxes of bullets for the shotgun, and a package of slice cheese. I'm serious; they took cheese! The intruder(s) kicked in the french doors at the back of the house. We think something must have spooked them because not much was taken. It quite possibly could have been Matt that spooked them because he came home early from work. I was extremely worried that the thousands of pictures we had saved on the laptop were gone forever-POOF! Thank goodness that was not the case because we had saved them all on a flash drive over the Christmas holidays. Once I realized the pictures were safe, I felt much better. Crime is WAY up in our town. My sister-n-law's house was broken into today. She lives about 5 miles away from us. When she came home from taking her kids to school, she saw that her front door was kicked in. The burglar took 3 laptops and 2 guns. Cars and homes have been getting burglarized left and right this month, so everyone in town is on edge. Since I have no one to blame at this point, I'm going to blame the economy. Although, the jerk that robbed our house probably didn't just get laid off from his job, and he probably doesn't want a job. Karma- I'm a believer!

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

Matt is at a meeting, the kids are in their room playing, and I am chillin. Drinking coffee, watching Oprah, wearing sweats- chillin. Today was a great teaching day. My students took a Reading Inventory test and ROCKED IT! Days like today make me feel like I might be making somewhat of a difference in their lives. Often I feel like the lessons I'm teaching are some form of torture I am forced to inflict upon them. I sometimes feel the urge to shout, "I'm sorry," as I dip their faces into the tub of knowledge once more. But I refrain. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe there was a chapter about it in one of my college textbooks. The chapter was probably titled "Guiltless teaching: How not to be a pushover." Maybe I flagged that chapter with a sticky note; I think I'm due for a refresher course. Chill session- over:(

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives

This morning was our first day back to work and school. Like always, as soon as I grow accustomed to the constant whining and moaning from my three precious children (by the way, it is always about food), it is time to go back work. Here is a snippet of what life is like for a working mom.

Suddenly their simultaneous cries sound like a sweet symphony, I pause to listen- eyes closed- my heart aches.

Although the two week break seemed plenty long, I still refused to tell Hayden the date because I knew he would immediately start counting down the days. I tried to explain to him that we only countdown the days for happy events, like Christmas, birthdays, or the last day of school. And that counting down the days for sad events (ex. going back to work) only drags out the misery. I think he got it.

We hopped right back into our morning routine- news, lunches, shower, coffee, dress, breakfast, hair, teeth, cartoons, news, load up, head out!!!! Lucas waved bye. Josie cried, and Hayden complained that his stomach hurt. Matt pouted, and as for me, well, I swallowed down an enormous lump in my throat and prayed that my stomach could digest it. Surprisingly, lumps of grief are easily digestible, as long as you take it down with a shot of reality!

No Thanks. I'll Pass

Resolution, Shmezolution :(

Happy New Year!