Humility - Not in our House

Last night we were sitting around the table enjoying some fine dinner and ever so enjoyable entertainment, compliments of our kids. We had, what me and Jeremy thought was a hysterical conversation. It went something like this:

Jeremy: Do you know who has gotten really good on Jake's soccer team?

Karrie: So and so, or so and so? (I'm not mentioning names here)

Jeremy: Oh gosh no, are you on crack!? No, it's so and so.. He's gotten so much better at handling the ball and more deliberate in his shots.

Jake: Like I am?

Jeremy: Yeah, and boy are you humble

Jake: What's that mean?

Jeremy: When you don't think too much of yourself, you're not cocky and you don't think of yourself as better than others...(or something to that effect)

Jake: I don't think I'm better than anyone else, I am humble

Jeremy: Well if you think you're humble, then you're not

Jake: Huh?

more conversation that I forgot... then,

Karrie: Like if I said, that on my volleyball team, I'm the worst player

Jake: You are?

Karrie: Yeah, I'm getting old

Family: Chuckles from all

Jeremy: She's not the worst, but if she said she was the best, then it would sound like she was proud and not humble

Jake: Well Abby's not humble. She thinks she's the best dancer

Abby: Well, it's not me saying I'm the best dancer, it's my teacher who says I'm the best, so I am.

Karrie and Jeremy: Bust out laughing, trying hard to stifle the hysterics, but failing miserably.

I think we have a ways to go on our lessons in humility, and if Jeremy and I can grow up a bit and keep our composure for a while, then maybe we can teach them a thing or two.

Did you Know...?

Did you know...

*That we have about 50 mechanical pencils floating around our house, but only 3 with erasers, and I have NO idea where they all go.

*That when a sea star eats something yucky it leaves its stomach behind and just grows a new one. That's what Hannah learned in pre-school this week. She comes home every single day and educates me on something new. From the outside looking in, it may seem that I'm just humoring her acting like it's all news to me so she feels smart, but she really is, and I'm apparently not.

* That beads multiply in our house. Every single time I vacuum, I first pick up about 4000 beads and then still manage to vacuum up another 2000. And out of all those beads, only one originated from a bracelet that I made. I have also been very unsuccessful in re-making the broken necklaces and bracelets. I don't even try anymore and the girls don't seem to notice that they are down about 50 pieces of jewelry.

* That my kids have switched Halloween costume ideas about 4 times each this month. I have been to Wal-Mart and Target multiple times returning costumes, wigs and accessories. The beautiful thing is that we have now definitely decided on costumes and they are all borrowed or handed down, or costumes from Halloweens past in our home. I have spent 4 dollars on Halloween and will not spend another cent (unless I come across a wig that Jake can use to be a Steve Nash wig).

*That Abby now has her own room. She even keeps it clean, as do Hannah and Annie. I guess 3 girls in one room was just too much.

*That my kids are obsessed with kissing. I wonder where they get that?

They gag every time Jeremy and I kiss. So now we make-out in front of them just to annoy them. And in return, they do things like kiss a milk jug or the Big Time Rush boys on TV just to annoy me.

(These pics may give you some idea of how a typical Platt dinner goes down - always chaotic, but hey, we're together)

Twice in one day!

So I cried twice yesterday - once at the gym on the treadmill (as previously posted) and then, more justifiably, at

Beauty and the Beast.

Every year for my birthday, my marvelous husband tries so hard to make the day perfect for me. It took him a few years to realize that I'm a brat on my birthday. It's my one day a year that I'm spoiled, the one day that gets to be all about me. I always try to campaign for a birth "week" instead of just a day. This year he asked what I wanted, I told him an apron, frying pan or tickets to Beauty and the Beast. After 11+ years of marriage, I can safely say, he knows me well. I did end up getting both the apron and frying pan, which I LOVE! Anyway...when Hannah saw me open my gift of two tickets, she said, "You get to go twice" I had to explain that I was just going once and was going to take her dad. Then she started begging to go with me.

Darn it!

The play was beautiful. The sets were amazing, the songs were fun and the music was phenomenal. I was giddy when they sang "Gaston" and hopeful when they sang "Something There." I cried when Belle came back for The Beast and when he was transformed into a human. It was such a great production.

After it was over, I was ready to bolt for the door, tackle people to get outside first and sprint for the car, but Jeremy, always the patient man who gets his money's worth, insisted that we go down to the Q&A with the cast. I was a bit annoyed because we were already up way past my bedtime, but I'm glad we did. We got to listen to Gaston, Lefou, Lumiere (my three favorites), the Beast and a few others. They were so funny and down to earth.

I don't normally wish to be wealthy, but like the song "Billionaire", last night I wanted to be a billionaire so freakin' bad, (the new favorite song in our house. It makes me laugh) but only because I wanted to bring my girls. I think they would have loved it...

Maybe someday.

The joys of being a woman

Today I was at the gym. I was running on the treadmill in the midst of my usual routine: my Ipod in my ears blaring Les Miserables' "One more Day", watching, but not hearing, the TV which was turned to ESPN. As always in every SportsCenter the Top 10 Plays of the Day came on. But this time it was the top 10 plays of youth sports, sent in by parents that were recording their children, anything from a high school basketball game, to a trampoline trick, to a pop warner football run... I found myself on that treadmill, just about crying with excitement and oozing with pride and giggles as I watched these amazing plays of people I didn't know. I always get a little emotional over a beautiful play or the winning of a championship, but it has never happened while on the treadmill. Then after the top 10 were played there was a story of a young boy in Wisconsin, with cancer, that was a huge Badger football fan who was befriended by the team and the quarterback. It was a beautiful story

It started the water works really coming. Who sobs on the treadmill? I didn't ever think it would ever be me, but I guess it is and will most likely be again someday, because I am a woman with hormones and that is just what we girls do.

*by the way, I'm not pregnant

*I think jogging and crying has to burn double the calories, right? So now I'm entitled to double dessert tonight!

Happy Birthday, Annie!

Last week Annie turned 3! My baby is already 3 years old. Aaagghhh! And because she is my baby, she got 2 parties. Friday night we invited all the family that was in town (not many) for hot dogs, cupcakes and a pinata. Annie was sporting her new birthday outfit that she wore all day Saturday, too.

On Saturday morning, Annie's birthday, we went to St. Johns. It was planned long ago, but Annie thought it was a special trip just for her. When we got to Grandma and Grandpa Platt's house, Cyndi had a Raggedy Ann cake for her. It was adorable and Annie got to be the center of attention once again. She ate it up.

She got a lot of good loot, but her favorites were her new clothes, including the tu-tu outfit from Grandma Goodman, her skinny jeans from Alex, and her new bouncing baby doll.

Annie is such a great kid. She is very much a 3 year old. She is opinionated and, with her hands on her hips or her arms crossed, she will let you know exactly what she's thinking.

Each day I know how her day is going to be by how she wakes up. I ask her, "Annie how did you sleep? Did you have any dreams?" If she answers yes, then I know it's gonna be a great day because the next question is, "What did you dream about?" Always, the answer is "Crocodiles." I have no idea where it came from, but that is the standard answer when she wakes up in a good mood. Then we make up a story about the crocodiles, they were dancing, or were wearing diapers, or putting on make up, or singing Taylor Swift songs...you get the idea. We laugh and our day is off to a great start.

Annie, I love you. You may not like to be called my baby, but for now and maybe for always you are my sweet, special baby!

Do as I say, not as I do

This last weekend we went to St. John's for part of October break. While there, we headed up to Greer to do our second annual walk along the creek with Jeremy's parents. It was a great time: beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, trees turning colors, chilly creek, great company... As any good mother would do, I warned my kids over and over again to stay dry and stay out of the creek. And wouldn't you know it, by the end of the hike we had 4 wet feet coming from 4 different kids. "Deal with it, I told you to stay out of the creek," I told them. I tend to not be very sympathetic sometimes, wondering why on earth it's so hard to stay dry. With only minimal whining we made it through the rest of the hike and then the kids were back in the van with their wet shoes off and bundled up under their blankets.

(The whole crew, minus Drew who was behind the camera - Annie, Karrie, Jake, Abby, Jeremy, Hannah, Cyndi)

(Jake)

(Annie)

(Hannah and Abby)

Fast forward a few days to yesterday at McCormick Train Park in Scottsdale. We spent a lovely morning with the Ricedorff's and Goodman's playing at the playground, riding the train, riding the carousel and then finally chowing down on yummy ice cream, when wouldn't you know it, I turn around and bam - step right in the only puddle at the whole park. Every eye was on me and Joe even said, "really, Karrie, you didn't see that puddle?" Obviously not.

(The Crew in the train at McCormick Train Park - they all squeezed into the only enclosed car)

Rewind to every single time I sweep the floor (about once a month - haha) and the kids, without fail, step in my dirt pile. "Really, I told you to watch out for the dirt." I'm usually a little annoyed by their absent mindedness.

Fast forward to today when I was sweeping up the floor after Hannah's parmesan cheese fiasco last night (only one day later). What do I do? I step right smack dab in the middle of my dirt pile.

Thank goodness only Alex was there to see me do it. Boy oh boy, if the kids had seen it, what little credibility and respect I still hang on to would be history!

The Desk

A few weeks ago, we listed an old desk, that was handed down to us from Jeremy's parents, on Craigslist. It was posted for about 2 hours and then it was sold, picked up, and gone. I commented to Jeremy that I was sad to see it go and he just looked at me like I was crazy.

We got it not long after we were married. It always housed our computer until we moved to New York. That was in 2003 when Jeremy started PA school. It soon became his studying desk. We lived in a 3 bedroom house on Long Island and at the end of the hall was the spare bedroom that doubled as his office. That was where Jeremy would spend countless hours studying. And I mean 3 binders of notes open at any given time, 10 textbooks piled on the corner with about 3 open as cross references, re-listening to lectures. It was the most dedicated I had ever seen him to that point.

A typical day would go like this: Get up, eat, family prayer, go to school all day for class, come home go to his room to study, come out and play with Jake and Abby for a while, go back and study some more, come out and eat dinner, go back and study again, come out to read to Jake and kiss the kids good-night, and then go back to study until usually at least 1:00am.

He never complained, he never gave up. He worked his tail off and showed his kids by his great example the importance of hard work, and he ALWAYS found time for his wife and kids. Sometimes the kids would beg to go see him and I'd make them wait at least an hour for his study break. Then they'd storm down the hall, burst in to his office and he'd wrestle Jake and hold Abby.

The wonderful traits that came out so strongly in PA school are still there, but even better. He still rarely complains. He still reads with Jake every night. He still studies and expands his already full brain. But he also teaches Hannah to ride her bike without training wheels, wraps Abby's "hurt knee" in a towel for her, treats family and neighbors' illnesses late at night, attends church meetings all the time, takes Jake home teaching, dresses the girls' dollies, builds a treehouse, jogs the dog, brushes Annie's teeth...and on and on.

I love Jeremy. I love him for making me want to be a better person, for his patience, for his kindness, his amazing work ethic, for the fantastic husband and father he is. I'm thankful for all the long hours of studying at the old desk and that he works so hard now to provide a living for our family.

Thanks for the great example you are to your wife and children, Jeremy.