more lilly pics...

Cheryl just emailed me more pics of Miss Lilly, so I thought I would share!

I love this one of Lilly with her big brother Aidan. It is sooo sweet.

I hope everyone is having a great week. It is almost Friday!

Introducing Lilly Grace Morris....

Michael and I are proud to introduce our niece, Lilly Grace Morris.

She was born this morning at 4:59 am. Cheryl was due on 2/17, but continued to teach dance classes all this week. She taught a tap class until less than 9 hours before her daughter was born. Isn't that unbelievable?

Lilly, with her very proud Uncle Michael

Aunt Katie and Miss Lilly

Lilly now brings our total number of nieces and nephews to 14 and they just keep coming.....! Michael comes from a very fertile family. Afterall, he is one of seven!

Win a New Vacuum!

5 Minutes For Mom is giving away an Oreck XL Ultra. All you have to do is comment on their blog (linked above) and post a link on your own blog to be entered to win. Our vacuum is completely worthless. In fact, all of our vacuums have been. This one looks AMAZING. If you are in need of one too, go comment on their blog!

36 pounds lighter…

Not me, my house. That’s right. As an update to my previous post, “cluttered ramblings” I have been very busy purging. These were my original goals:

1. Paper purge – I am going to go through the papers piling up on my desk, some of which are obvious trash. I will also go through the mail…boo. If I have time I will move on to the file cabinets.

2. Closet purge – I am going to go through my closet and dresser drawers (even though I just did this in October) and rid myself of any clothes, shoes, socks, etc. that I can.

3. Bathroom purge – I will go through the bathroom and get rid of any old bottles of hair products, makeup, etc. This shouldn’t be too hard since I don’t really keep a lot of these types of products around. Also, Michael organized our bathroom a few months ago, so I won’t have too much work to do (no, ladies you cannot have him). I know there are some items I can toss, however.

I had hoped to accomplish this all in one week, but I didn’t get through all of it.

I did spend a significant amount of time going through paper, bills, mail etc. I managed to get rid of 27 POUNDS OF PAPER!!! There is still a little bit of mail left and our file cabinet is in a really inconvenient place in our garage, so I was unable to go through it.

I went through my closet and got rid of 9 POUNDS OF CLOTHING. Yes, I weighed it. I am neurotic. I went through my sock and underwear drawers and got rid of things I never wear. I still have yet to do the bathroom purge. It is really not going to take me long, but I just couldn’t ever convince myself to do it. All in all, I am feeling pretty good about my progress.

So, did anyone see Oprah last week? She did an episode based on Peter Walsh’s new book, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? I never really watch Oprah anymore, but when I read the title of the episode, I was very intrigued. I was even more thrilled when I found out the connection to Peter Walsh. Being the organizational freak that I am, I love him. Who remembers him from Clean Sweep on TLC? The following are a couple of things he said on the show:

"People were contacting me … saying that, 'Suddenly I discovered that by clearing my space, I'm making much healthier food choices and I am starting to lose weight,'"

"Eating more and buying more is an attempt to fill the need for something more," he says. "Until you get those underlying issues dealt with, all the rest is a waste of time."

I really do find this very interesting. It is something I realized a long time ago. When my house is a mess, I feel lethargic and incapable of getting much accomplished. On the flip side, when my house is perfectly spotless…I feel like I can conquer the world.

So now that I have purged 36 pounds of ‘clutter’, will my body be 36 pounds lighter? If only…

official contract of the h2o log.

I am addicted to Diet Coke. I have no problems admitting it. It is sad. I am a little better than I used to be. When I used to be an event coordinator I would sometimes work really long shifts and would be unable to leave to get a diet coke. I would go to Sonic before work and as I was drinking it, I would already be thinking about where I was going to get my next one. I always had to make sure I had a sufficient stash. I still need the stash but I don’t normally think about my next “fix” before I have finished the current one!

Michael and I co-own a children’s performing arts academy and two of our high school students have noticed how much soda we drink. They have been giving Michael a particularly hard time about it recently. They bring him water and have evened ordered water for him at a restaurant and handed it to him to drink. Well, on Monday they took it to a whole new level. They created a contract for each of us. It reads as follows:

Official Contract of the H20 Log (Terms & Conditions)

I Katie Morris agree to drink a minimum of 3 glasses (or bottles) of water (H20) EACH DAY of the month of February (leap year included!) 2008 (starting February 5, 2008). This will be observed by Michael Morris and monitored by the contract draft/advisors, Katie ******* and Laree *****. Provided that you abide by these terms and conditions, you will be rewarded with A NEW CAR! Okay, not really, just kidding, but for real, it will be a SURPRISE prize, but trust us, it will be good.

If I had a scanner I would have included a copy of the entire contract, which includes a logo they created for themselves and a calendar on the back where we are to log our water consumption.

I just love these girls. They are such a joy to be around and always keep me laughing. I am really taking this contract seriously. I don’t want to let them down and I certainly can’t lie about it. More than anything, I want my prize!!!

Well, I am off to drink some water…..

penelope. edgar. laurel. george.

So, my ever so talented sister now has three etsy shops. That’s right folks, three. Project 8256 was the first. This, as we all know, is the shop where all artwork sold will benefit our adoption and AHOPE For Children. Several months ago she opened amelia mae. She has been selling paper goods, such as gift tags. She is now in the process of moving all of the paper goods to amelia mae paper goods and putting all of her original artwork in the amelia mae shop.

She has created a plethora of silhouettes, some of whom might remind you of the characters who have wondered into your life. She will also be adding some of her AMAZING collages, which she is most well known for. They are really incredible.

Not to leave you wondering about each of the people featured in the silhouette, she has written a lovely, and often humorous, description for each of them.

Meet Penelope...

Penelope recently left her lucrative job in marketing to become a part-time nanny/part-time bartender. In between jobs you can typically find her at her neighborhood coffee shop working on her novel...about a girl who left her lucrative job in marketing to become a part-time nanny/part-time bartender. It's only semi autobiographical.

Meet Edgar...

When Edgar was seven he informed his mother that he had decided to become an entomologist. After referencing a dictionary, and confirming that, yes, her son did want to devote his life to the study of insects, she promptly returned the basketball goal she had purchased him for Christmas. She purchased an ant farm and a book on the mating habits of grasshoppers instead. He still remembers it as his happiest Christmas ever.

Meet Laurel...

Laurel recently chopped off all of her long, beautiful hair. This was immediately after her boyfriend told her it was her best feature. She did this partly as a test, and partly because she was so shocked that he didn't mention her warm heart, her sense of humor, or her obvious love of irony. They are still together. Although he now sweats profusely whenever asked for his opinion.

Meet George...

When George was little he dreamed of being a super hero. Now that he's older and has realized his inability to fly, become instantly invisible or travel back and forth in time, he instead focuses on the day to day heroic activities--smiling at strangers, opening doors for others, and being nice to waiters. Perhaps not a super hero, but a pretty nice guy none the less.

Just a few more lovelies...