March Madness!

Ok, so it's not the basketball March madness but there is a definite craziness around my house in March.

Starting with finishing my student's report cards, conferencing well into the evening, creating and making decorations/food/dessert for my little man's birthday, and of course, throwing the best birthday party ever!

I might be a little OCD, (but don't tell my husband) because I just have to have everything perfect just like I see it in my head. 

Does this cause me to have additional stress? Yes!

Does it cause problems in my household when something doesn't go right? HELL YES!

Do I still stay up late and stress even more just to finish something? Yes, always.

Does the party always look perfect to outsiders? Most definitely.

Is the party perfect to me? NO!

I always think that I should have done something differently, or added something or that I just didn't do enough.

Will my son ever know? Not at all, because all he cared about was having friends to play with.

Will I continue to stress myself over tiny details in the future? Sadly, I think the answer is yes.

I just can't help it especially if it is for my little man.

Do you find yourself doing this same thing or is it just me?

Can you believe this little man is 3?

Don't mind the crazy grin, he was eating some candy :)

Stay tuned for the Mickey Mouse Birthday Series!

~Katania

Life Lessons

Sometimes I take a breath and really look at my life...
It's not glamorous (I live in tank tops and yoga pants at home),
It's not perfect (I can't tell you how many stains are on my couch),
It's not always beautiful (I have been used as a napkin more times than I can count),
It's not easy (I find myself constantly exhausted and sometimes frustrated)

BUT

Aside from all the craziness, the poop clean-up (yup we are up to 10 times now), the exhaustion, the stains, etc. I see my little man's smile and hear his angelic laugh as he runs through the freezing cold sprinkler and it fills me with joy.  As he pats my clean and dry tank top with wet grass covered hands and tell me to come with, I take of my sunglasses and run through the sprinkler with him thinking that I could do this all day if he never stops laughing.  The more I jump, the harder he laughs.  No matter how fast I run or how cold the water is, he still slowly tries to run around each sprinkle of water.  I'm not quite sure if this works or not.

I'm not sure if his little pool has ever stayed clean for longer than 5 minutes.  I just think he is trying to replicate the beach with little bits of rock, sand, and some grass thrown in for good measure.

I'm not sure if he'll ever go a day without falling down, running into something, banging his head, or just tripping on something in the way.  He is a true boy and usually continues on his journey without a second thought to the new black and blue on his knee.  I know he's hurt if he comes running over to me and snuggles in for a hug and a kiss but it only lasts a moment and then he's off running again.

I'm not sure if it's normal for a child to tell me to "open, open, open," so fast and so many times it sounds like another language.

I'm not sure if it's okay for a child to take a bath with three green beans from the garden and a vacuum wheel.  I asked him to pick some toys and that's what he brought in with him.

I'm sure I'm not a perfect mother.

I'm sure I will never be a perfect mother.

I'm sure I don't want to be a perfect mother as long as my little man knows he's loved and safe and taken care of.

I'm sure that I will lose my patience every once in a while.

I'm sure I will have to clean up poop again.

I'm sure my little man will make me laugh many more times than he makes me cry.

I'm sure one day I will look back and say to myself where did the time go...

This is what I know...

Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart

Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day

But the struggles makes you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' it sweet time

[chorus]
No,life aint always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride

Life aint always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walkin' all these lonely miles

And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream, but life don't work that way

But the struggles makes me stronger
And the changes make me wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' its sweet time

No, life ain't always beautiful
But I know I'll be fine
Hey, life ain't always beautiful
But its a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride

~Gary Allen

This song by Gary Allen truly sums up my life.  Sadly, it's been a long time since I could listen to it because of the music video.  I saw the video once at the gym while my husband was in Fallujah.  One part of the song shows a soldier getting married before he goes off to war, which was exactly like my own life.  There I was crying on the treadmill after watching a music video.  If you get a chance to listen or watch the video make sure you listen to the lyrics because life really is a beautiful ride!

Ah the simple joy of collecting rocks and shells at the beach.

~Katania

5k Run Challenge: COMPLETED!!!

Me (middle) with my two running friends after the race!

Yes! I did it!!!

My goal of running a 5k has been completed!

I ran in the scorching heat yesterday (think 85 degrees and humid)for the Red Dress For Women 5K Run in West Hartford, CT. You can check out the main website HERE.  

My goal was to complete the 5k in less than 34 minutes, however, a few hills threw me for a loop plus the horrible heat (I was sweating so much I felt like I peed my pants) and I ended up finishing at 34.31 minutes.  I know you are thinking, "that's so slow", well I'm not a runner and with asthma, I am happy to run at all so this is a huge accomplishment for me. 

I am also soooooo proud of my two friends who encouraged me to sign up and have been so supportive throughout basically everything.  They did awesome and we had a great time enjoying the park and the atmosphere of the race.

Here's another close up of my gorgeous friends!!!

Can you believe the woman on the left is a grandma!!!

So now I am on to my next couple of goals...

1. Raise $500 to walk 26 miles for the Terry Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation in October.

and

2. Compete in the Run for the Cove 5k Run and beat my last time in October.

I am psyched and ready for anything!!!

~Katania



Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July!



I hope you all enjoyed the Fourth of July with friends and family.  I definitely enjoyed a wonderful, food-filled, picnic with my family but sadly was not able to see any fireworks last night.  However, I wanted to share some pictures with you of my little man enjoying our picnic.  Any excuse to share photos of my lovebug, right?

So he played a little cornhole...

 
Then took some time to cool off in the pool!

Enjoying some time with Auntie in the pool!

Cooling off in the little pool!

Enjoying the water with Uncle!

Love that little man!!!

How was your holiday?

~Katania

Just a little crazy around here...

Schooooooools out for summer!

Gotta love that song by Alice Cooper.  Totally a timeless end of the school year classic that all generations can love! he he :)

So I'm back from my completely stressed break from blogging and no I didn't take a vacation I just have been so busy lately with silly little things I haven't had the time or energy to post anything.  For you to totally understand let me tell you about my crazy whirl wind of a couple of weeks that all started right before school was let out. This is gonna be long, so find a comfy seat! 

#1. I started a tradition last year where I would burn slideshows of the pictures I took over the school year and send them home with my students as an end of the year gift.  Now last year was crazy trying to finish everything so I started early this year.  I was very pleased with my progress using iphoto and idvd until right until the very end when the program STOPPED WORKING! Yup, it would open, I could see my dvd menu, and then it would close!!! SO FRUSTRATING!  After many hours trying to fix it and them many  more hours talking with our technology friends, I was told I had to start over using imovie instead of iphoto. Ok, no problem.

#2. So, I uploaded all my photos, arranged them how I wanted them, added title pages, added a little note at the end, and finally added some cute music to play during the show.  I was totally psyched with the finished project.  So now I have to export it to idvd (which takes 45 minutes) and guess what...

it opened idvd and then CLOSED the window AGAIN!!!

So I spent some more time talking with our technology friends and realized that as a teacher I do not have the authority to use imovie and idvd! SERIOUSLY?!?!?! Apparently, in order to use the programs I needed to use a local login which everyone has access to which meant I had to create my movie from scratch
AGAIN FOR THE THIRD TIME!!!

#3 So I started all over again and was able to create the dvds and burn all of them three days prior to the end of the year. End of drama number one!
#4 During the last week of school, my son thought it would be loads of fun to remove his diaper during nap time and paint with his poop all over the walls, furniture, carpet, and bedding.  This happened on Sunday, Monday(twice), Tuesday, and Thursday.  Then it happened again this past week on Wednesday and Friday!!!  So I have cleaned and scrubbed his room six times (my husband has done it once while I was working).  I have steamed cleaned his carpet twice within the past week which means my mom has to haul her cleaner over here so I can clean up the big mess.  Bless my mom because she really has been a huge help. 
#5 On top of all this, I have been trying to finish a bunch of orders I received at the end of the school year.  I had a order for note cards, 50 invitations, 30 invitations, and 6 orders for Fundations Word Walls.  I am also trying to spring/summer clean my house but it seems like whenever I get one project done, I have to start all over again.
 #6 Lastly, I am desperately trying to train for a 5k run which happens this coming Saturday (the 9th).  I was really proud of myself running on the treadmill and increasing my stamina/endurance, time and speed until I spoke with my sister.  She really means well but after I spoke to her about my training, she informed me that I should be running on the road because running on the treadmill is too easy.  WHAT?!?! I have been killing myself running on the treadmill because I run at night while the little man is asleep and she just tells me all my training isn't going to help me.  So now I am running at an incline and I am so scared to run this Saturday because I am worried I am not going to be able to complete the 3.1miles.  SO FRUSTRATING!!!!

Ok, deep breath.. 

So now most of my orders are complete and mailed out, we have a monitor in the little man's room which allows me to see him behaving badly, and I am just going to run the best I can for this Saturday.  I am going to take up the mantra of
"keep calm and carry on" 
and do my best.  Also I have so many things I want to share with you that I have been working on.  So stay tuned for some fun invitations and crafty things I plan on creating for the summer.  ~Katania

Walk-It Challenge: COMPLETED

Well I did it! 

I completed the Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge on Sunday May, 22nd!  I walked a totally of 3.1 miles or the equivalent 5K!

All I can say is that it felt great to get out there and start walking.  It was also very motivating to walk with many people who are in the same boat as I am.  We are all trying to lose weight!

Until Fleet Feet sports posts some pictures from the event I will share with you some of the pictures I took on my phone.

Here I am with my mom. 

We are in this journey together and she definitely keeps me motivated to keep going.  I am so blessed to have her as my mom because she is one the most sincere and caring people I know.  She is always helping me out in one way or another and my son absolutely adores her.  He calls her "Mimi" and asks for her constantly.  I am not sure how I could pull everything off without her help or make it through the day without someone to vent to.

Thank you for everything mom, you are the best!

Here's another photo of my mom with her best friend. 

She joined us on our walk and was a total trooper to deal with my slightly hysterical rantings about getting lost in Hartford because of my Garmin.  Does anyone else have a Garmin that tells you to turn onto a one way street going the wrong way?  Seriously, it's supposed to have the right directions!!! ARG!

How adorable are these ladies!!! 

We even received medals as we crossed the finish line. 

How cute is that?

Well after reaching yet another of my goals, I had to make a new one to achieve.  I plan to train and then run, yes RUN, a 5k in the beginning of July.  I will be looking for a training schedule and will definitely post it if I find a good one. 

Until then... watch me run!

~Katania

I DID IT!

Okay, so it took me 9 months to gain it and 2 years and 2 months to lose it.  Seriously?  Yeah, 2 years and 2 months to lose the baby weight!!! The sad thing is that I just started my weight loss journey right after Thanksgiving of 2010 and have already lost 33.8lbs with WW.  So I am pretty psyched that I am finally at my pre-pregnancy weight!!!! WAHOO!

So here's a cheers to my pre-pregnancy weight and a moral boost to keep going.

(Thank you to all my friends and family who are extremely supportive and remind me everyday how great I look.  Love you guys!)

In order to keep going with my weight loss and motivate myself through the tough times, I create small goals for myself.

Here's my next two goals:

Lose 35lbs by Memorial Day (totally on track)

Lose 40lbs by the end of the school year (June 23rd)

Once I hit 40lbs I will be getting a new hairstyle!

Also I plan on walking a 5K on May 22, check it out HERE and I want to eventually run a 5K before next year!

What are you doing to keep yourself motivated to keep losing?

~Katania

Just a quick hello...

After following many, many, many blogs and ohhing and ahhing over each one I finally decided to create one for all my crafty/crazy/maybe cool? ideas! But before we get to the ohhing and ahhing (fingers crossed) let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I am a full-time mom (how can you not be) and a part time second grade teacher. 

Yep! That's me, Katania!  I absolutely love the beach, scrapbooking (just a tiny bit behind...), photography, FREE printables, creating something beautiful, decorating my home, and of course the two men in my life! I have been married to a wonderful man for over 5 years and together for more than 9 years!  We survived a two year long distance relationship while I attended college in NH (Go KEENE STATE), 3 months of USMC bootcamp,

3 months of USMC SOI training (yes, he's a grunt!), and a deployment to Fallujah in 2005-2006. 

Since then our life took off with buying a new car, a new house, and then came our little man in 2009!

I know I am very blessed to have my husband home safe and sound and to have a happy (sometimes crazy) and healthy two year old!  So this blog will be a tribute to all the soldiers fighting out there and their families who pray daily for their safe return.  I pray for you and totally understand!

But anyways... I hope to share with you my crafty ideas, photography, and whatever else happens to find it's way in here in hopes of inspiring someone else to make life beautiful or messy or just plain silly!  Stick around as I try my hand at printables, redecorating, and anything that I find online that I just know I can make myself.  Here's to some success and a whole lotta mess!