Meetings, the good kind

Kate, upon settling into the back seat and observing Andy and dad as fellow travelors, remarked: There are three of us, it must be a meeting.

Dad: A meeting? What kind?

K: A fun one.

D: Well then, we must be in the right place, yes?

K: Yes we are!

Top 5 Reasons Why No 2007 Christmas Card

For the past 10 years, I have dutifully mailed Christmas cards. They were sometimes late but always contained a picture of my hooligans and, occasionally, the whole family. Not this year. Fate had different plans, and so, much to Justin's chagrin, I will share the reasons why you did not receive a Christmas card from the Merediths in 2007 (and it's not pretty):
1. Andy was hospitalized for 10 days with pnuemonia in October and stayed in the ICU for 5 days. I'm not going to sugarcoat it; that was just plain scary. I knew it was bad when they drew blood and he didn't move a muscle, but he did get tons of presents from his teachers and classmates at school.
2. The Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta moved in October, so, as the Co-President, I was left to lead the charge as a volunteer until January. It has been fulfilling, exhausting, productive, frustrating, and educational, but I only have 8 months, 6 days, and...left.
3. I taught two classes at Reinhardt to save up for a fabulous Disney vacation in September. We stayed on the property and got the free meal plan; we were set. That is until Justin's e-mail server went down and the baby stayed up half the night. Then, once we all fell asleep, Justin and I awoke to the best alarm clock in the world—the sound of Andy wretching and vomit hitting the floor. This continued until noon the next day, so I took the girls to the park planning to meet up with Justin once Andy felt better. After, we finally found each other in the afternoon, I proceeded to lose my phone and my Disney passports (no I don't ever change), and then Disney was struck by torrential downpours that flooded the Main Street Parade. Fortunately, the Lilo and Stitch breakfast the next day was a huge smash.
4. You'd think we'd know better at this point, but we planned another vacation to spend Thanksgiving with the family in NY. After a wonderful morning at Central Park watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, all the cousins met up to play at a playground in Central Park. It was an absolutely gourgeous day until Kate took a tumble down a hill. When her uncle Steve checked her head to make sure she didn't get hurt, he noticed creepy crawlies in her hair. You guessed it, Kate had lice, and so did Andy and I. After frantically searching NYC for lice shampoo and combs, we finally returned home where my patient new sister-in-law Jenn spent 6 hours plucking lice from my head. Don't let anybody fool you, seriously, a good lice comb is the key to getting rid of lice. Also, Justin has sworn off family vacations for the next year, and he means it.
5. Did I mention that when Andy got pnuemonia, the baby got pnuemonia at the same time? This was particularly difficult as a mom to split myself in two. Fortunately, my dad and my absolutely amazing ward friends pulled through and helped me get through it, but, alas, there was no time for Christmas cards. Hopefully, next year I will get them done before Thansgiving (as I always intend to).

Ode to the Kitchen Bathroom

I love my kitchen bathroom. At approximately 2 ft. by 5 ft., I can clean it in 10 minutes flat, including the baseboards and the grime that collects around the edges of the faucet. It is an instant feeling of accomplishment while the dishes collect in the sink and my laundry sits in a pile on the armchair. Sometimes success comes in measures.

The Kate formerly known as Artist

Kate: My name isn't Kate. It's Artist.

Dad: Artist?

K: Doctor.

D: Doctor Artist?

K: Yes. Doctor Artist.

A good lookin' kid

After application of a number of images to a project I'm doing, it turns out I have a few left over. Here's a shot of my very handsome boy with a glorious blue sky behind him. Gotta love that Georgia sun.

A good start

So, given a choice, what does Lily Jane request for breakfast? Why, cookies and milk, of course.



This is primarily to embarrass Stephanie, who didn't participate in the staging of this picture. Regardless this is still her child.

More beach pictures

Because it's warming up everywhere, I thought a few more pictures of the kids' frolicking would be appropriate. (Images courtesy of the iPhone, whose battery life is longer than the Canon's.)



Andy articulating the sheer size of the Atlantic. We must have spent hours calculating the volume, but the drive home gave us that time.



It's hard to spot, but Kate is actually moving backwards here. She's quite talented.



Jane was more excited than some-outlandish-thing-here-in-the-South. She and I chased each other for at least an hour.