The Latta Family

I never used to understand what that phrase meant, until recently.  There's a war that goes on in my house.  I bet it goes on in yours too.  It's called . . . "The Clutter War."  I might win a battle here and there, but overall, I am losing the war.  Miserably.  I am a Feng Shui person, living with pack rats.  All of them.  Even the dog (she's just as bad as the kids about leaving her toys all over the house). At one time I thought Alexa would be my partner in this war against clutter.  She's a complete disappointment. She's one of the worst offenders of the group!  I find her stuff EVERYWHERE!!!  She likes to just kick her shoes off right as she walks in the house- right in the middle of the doorway. The other day I thought I just might lose my mind- but before I went on a cleaning rampage, I photographed the clutter to share it with you: This is my mantle- covered in 4 year old birthday party supplies, and material to make a...

I met up with a college friend earlier this summer and she put words to many things I had been feeling lately, but hadn't thought of the words to go along with them.  One of the wisest, and most true things she said, was the biggest trouble she faced as being a parent, is that her introvert self, was forced to be somewhat of an extrovert. I understood her completely. Well, somewhat so. I'm not a complete introvert, I'm a teacher.  I like to be the center of attention in my classroom. I like being the entertainer. However, once I leave school- I require downtime. I require a significant amount of time to unwind and gather myself.  As my children get older, I am forced to be more extroverted- not only because they require more interaction with me, but also because we hang out with their friends and families a lot more now. Doug is under the misguided impression that during the summer, I lay around all day and do nothing.  This is somewhat of an issue for us every s...

I was finally able to convince Andrew that Harry Potter is AWESOME and we have been listening to it for the last few months.  It's taken us awhile to get through the first two.  However, I finally figured out that we can listen to it on cd's we get from the library.  Oh how lovely it is to listen to the reader's British accent for chapters at a time.  It has most definitely sped up the process for us (I love JK Rowling, but she's really detailed and I would get tired of reading before Andrew was tired of listening).  I LOVE listening to this with Andrew. I love experiencing it through his eyes. Andrew and I had taken the dog for a walk along one of the local greenways the other day and after frolicking in the creek, he comes to me and says totally out of the blue, "I know Harry Potter is fiction."  The part of me that wishes Harry Potter is real, and that I'll be getting my letter from Hogwarts any day now, was a bit sad for him.  The boring, teacher...

I must warn you, this post is going to be NEGATIVE.  Negative Nancy invaded my house and wrote this. Do you know what the fun cart is?  You don't.  Probably because you realize that thing is straight up from the Devil Himself and there ain't nuthin' fun about that aggravating pain the a$$ and so you are smart enough to never use it.  That didn't clear it up for you?  Here's a picture. Ooooh.  The "Fun Cart." I HATE the "Fun Cart."  H. A. T. E. it.  Alexa LOVES it.  When she sees one, she runs screaming to it, "IT'S THE FUN CART!!!!! YEAH!!!!!"  Why do I let her use it?  Because she's spoiled rotten.  The whole time I am pushing that horrific thing through the store, I am cursing it silently in my head.  I am thinking sarcastic comments about it. Why do I hate this type of cart so much?  There hard as pooh to steer, for one thing.  It's a whole body work out. Try turning that thing around a tight corner...

After my brother was born, my grandmother came to stay with us for a week or so, while my mom adjusted to a newborn.  I don't remember a whole lot about that visit, but I do remember 2 things: she introduced me to "Days of Our Lives" which paved the way for my mom continuing to let me watch it (and then watching it for me, and updating me when I got home from school.  I was 11 years old.  What was my mother thinking?!), and she made me the BEST most fabulous, special dessert.  I'm feeling particularly nostalgic about this dessert this summer, because this is the first summer I can't call and thank her for introducing me to such a wonder. What the heck is that loveliness?  It my friends, is a peach parfait.  While the ingredients are simple, the brands used, and the amounts are pretty specific.  First you need perfect peaches.  Dice them up.  Next you need a special glass.  Then you need Breyers Vanilla ice cream.  It absolutely...

I have debated on whether this is an appropriate spot to say I'm taking a new teaching position.  After thinking about it, I decided I wanted people who I worked with to know, but it felt self absorbed to send it in an email because what if people I thought would care, don't care at all?  Then how did I decide which people would actually be interested?  Then I decided I would just put it on the blog, because I have a lot of guilt about this decision and maybe by putting it "on paper" I would come to terms with it. So . . . yes I changed schools and jobs.  Why?  It seemed like I really liked my job. I do. I did.  However, there was one part of the job I didn't like. Last year it became more and more apparent.  I was totally isolated.  I was an island unto myself.  My students were self contained, and so was I.  The loneliness was too much.  I walked into my classroom every morning at 7:20am and that's where I stayed until 2:55pm. ...

I had a big list of movies that I was going to watch this summer.  What have I watched . . . "Walking Dead." What am I a bit obsessed with?  "Walking Dead."  What is the best show and I can't get enough of?  "Walking Dead"- obviously. I have no idea what has attracted me about this show.  Typically I'm more of a . . . Hallmark Channel sort of girl.  I like the happy ending.  I like the love.  I like the . . . clean characters.  From the first episode, "The Walking Dead" caught me and I couldn't quit it.  It's rare for a show to maintain my attention for as long as "The Walking Dead" has.  I think some of it is the characters.  Particularly two. Michonne, who I am planning to be just like.  I am going to use those kattans and take out some serious zombies.  Those zombies won't want a piece of me.  The other character I love, is Daryl.  What do I love about Daryl? So much. But particularly his arms.  Wh...

You have heard me reference Lovey a time or two on Facebook and here on the blog.  It's time some questions were answered about ole' Lovey.  What is Lovey? That square blanket with the ribbon tags is Lovey.  Oh Lovey, how we love you.  You have been the soother of all emotional and physical troubles.  You have calmed the beast, aka Alexa, when no one or nothing else would or could.  You've been around for awhile:  Here Lovey is with Alexa when she's around 1 year old Here's Lovey when Alexa is around 2 years old (they're watching fireworks) Here is Lovey on the first day of 3 year old pre-school Alexa got Lovey from a lady we went to church with.  It was an almost instant attachment.  Lovey has been through the ringer.  About 6 months ago, Doug went to check on Alexa before he went to bed, and discovered she had one of the ribbons wrapped around her finger- almost cutting the circulation off (thank goodness he went ...

I remember when Andrew was a little older than Alexa is now, looking at his small face and getting a bit emotional about it.  At the time, I thought it was perhaps due to pregnancy hormones.  However, since I am not pregnant right now, and therefore do not have those hormones wreaking havoc on me, I cannot explain why when I look at Alexa's sweet face I feel a tad bit emotional.  It must be because I know she's growing up and I am almost at the end of her preschool years and that she'll never be this innocent again. The boys went off to do boy things and so Alexa and I stayed home to do girl things.  We were playing on the play set, working in the jungle (aka: garden), and then we moved to the front yard to play with the water table and squirters.  Suddenly she sits down next to me to blow some bubbles and her little face had to be captured so I could remember the: innocence, sweetness, darling-ness, and beauty of her almost 4 year old self. ...

I had the weirdest dream this morning.  I woke all kinds of discombobulated and mad at Doug.  It didn't help that it was thunder that woke me up, and then when I looked at the radar I realized there was a big old hurricane sitting off the coast.  Where the heck did that come from?!  And how did I not know about a hurricane?  I have got to start watching the news or something.  Back to the thunder:  if thunder wakes me up, it's stressful.  Not because I am scared of thunder.  I am not.  I LOVE a good nighttime or early morning thunderstorm.  However, Alexa is completely freaked about thunder.  So I know if there is thunder I am in for a good 30 minutes of sweaty, "snuggling" (or her trying to climb inside of my body, while hiding under a quilt). Anyway, I woke up mad at Doug, disoriented, and generally out of sorts.  The dog was desperate to get outside, which caused me a real dilemma on whether to hurry up and get the do...