The Latta Family

 I know it's Christmas, and I should be posting about all the good cheer and happiness, but I just finished baking a recipe that I HATE preparing (However, I do like eating them).  Like, I really effing hate it.  I fix it every year.  Sometimes more than once a year.   Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls.   I have a love hate relationship with them.  They're such good cinnamon rolls.  So good.  They have lots of filling, a delicious moist dough.  They smell amazing when you're baking them.  It makes a TON.  It makes about 48-50!!!  Clearly I give them away.  No one needs that many rolls- or else you'll have rolls that don't fit in your pants.  (LOL) To make them???  Well- I will say one benefit to making them is it's like child birth and you don't remember how much it sucks . . . until the next year you go to make them.  It all comes back to you.  It takes approximately 10 cups of flour and 1.25lbs of butter and 3 cups of sugar . . . so it's super healthy.  (th

 Have you ever heard the term phrase Murphy's Law?  I first heard it way back in the late 80's because there was a tv show called Murphy's Law.  Apparently the phrase means, "Anything that can go wrong- will go wrong."   Now I bet you're thinking this is going to be a blog post talking about 2020.  It's not.  It's a blog post about TECHNOLOGY BEING AN OVERALL PAIN IN MY PATOOT. Last week I had to take a video, and create an audio file for one of my classes.  When I initially learned of this event I had to perform, I assumed I would just go to school and get an audio recording device.  Turns out we didn't have one of those.  Turns out to purchase one is $100+.  I wasn't spending that money for one use.  I thought I solved the problem because the school does have a snazzy recording device and I was initially told it does do audio recordings in addition to awesome video recordings. . . it doesn't do just audio.  I was starting to get frustrate

 Alexa got cut on an alligator tooth today.  This is actually a true story.  Upon first examination of the wound, I wondered if I would have to take her to get stitches.  The cut is pretty long.  And there is a spot where the toe got hung on the tooth, that's a little worrisome.  I'm gonna keep a check on this today and see what I think as the day goes on.   Are you like- Kate, give it up.  Alexa did not get injured by alligator!  But she did.  For real.  That is a stuffed alligator head.  It was previously a real alligator- the living, breathing, predator kind.  Why is it at my house?  The story makes complete sense once you hear it.  My mother is involved.  Those of you who know my mom- are like, "Say no more Kate.  This makes total sense."  How did my mom obtain this alligator head?!  Somehow when my brother was in college, he came into possession of this alligator head.  When he packed up and went into the Navy, the gator went to live with my parents.  When Andrew

 Are y'all familiar with the children's story, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff?  If not- here's the basic premise.  The little boy, gives his mouse friend a cookie, but the mouse decides it needs some juice to go with the cookie, and the juice reminds him he likes apples, which then he has to go do . . . anyway.  By the end of the book, the boy and the mouse had many adventures all because the boy gave the mouse a cookie.  There are several similar books: "If You Give a Moose a Muffin," "If You Give a Pig a Pancake . . " anyway.   Let me preface this story by saying . . . everytime I say "need" please know- I don't actually need  any of these things and I am 100% fully aware of that, which is why I was getting so frustrated with myself.   The other day I was sitting on my couch and thought, "I should move my coffee pot."  Right now it's sitting on a make shift coffee spot, on a piece of furniture.  I

 Wow.  I am a terrible blogger.  I just went 2 months with not a word.  I didn't even tell you how the "No Processed Sugar" situation ended.  Also- I was just looking at my statistics over the last ten years, and I'm on track to have the lowest amount of blogs published in a year.  What have I been doing this year?!   1. The No Processed Sugar.  I did it.  I made it 21 days and then I went crazy and have been eating sugar like a lunatic since.  I like sugar.  I like baked goods mostly.  I love cookies and pumpkin muffins and brownies.  Do I eat candy?  Yes.  But you know what?  I don't love it.  I know.  That's some crazy talk because I do love chocolate.  Here's what I've noticed- I will eat the heck out of it, but if I really stop to think about it . . . I don't actually love it.  I like it, but frequently I find out the actual flavor of it is . . . too sweet.  I think that's why I love baked goods.  I can make them as sweet or not as sweet a

 Technically, it's not quite 14 days.  Tomorrow morning is officially 14 days.   I'll say this, I'm surviving.  And this week it's been easier than last week.  I still want treats, but not with that same level of desperation I did last week.  Last week I needed cheerleading and being talked off the ledge and I had to pep talk myself a lot.  This week . . . I haven't had to get any cheerleading.  I've also not really needed to pep talk myself much.  In some ways I am feeling positive and in others . . . I am feeling frustrated.  I have definitely noticed some patterns.  I'm feeling positive because yes! I'm doing this, and it's definitely getting easier in the day to day.   I'm frustrated because the patterns I've noticed, are going to be hard to avoid when I release myself from the challenge.  1. I want sugar when I'm stressed, but the feeling goes away fast.  So I just have to wait it out.  I can do that for the most part.  I have also f

 I'm going to start this by saying, if you can't laugh when people say nuts- this blog post isn't for you.   Andrew recently got his permit.  I am the official new driver rider.  Andrew is suddenly willing to go anywhere with me- even a few weeks ago, when I went to a store to buy underwear.  He was willing to drive me, knowing the destination would be totally awkward and uncool.  (I won't lie- that trip was totally a test to see how interested he is in driving.  Pretty interested apparently.  We went our separate ways upon entering the store, but . . . he knew his mom was buying the dreaded underwear.).   Have you driven with a new driver recently?  Holy smokes it is stressful.  You see so many things you want to warn about (there are other cars braking 1 mile away, the light 3 intersections up is turning red, don't speed in case a mountain lion comes jetting out in front us- they move fast and are unpredictable.) but . . . you can't.  You have to play it cool,

 I mentioned on the last blog post, that I had reached a point where it was time to take a break from sugar.  It had reached a pretty unhealthy level.  I cleared through a bag of Hershey Nuggets- family size, by myself in 3 days.  I didn't stop eating my nightly ice cream.  I just realized I had perhaps become too reliant on using sugar to help deal with stress.   It's not a life style I'm adopting.  I will not follow a diet where I'll never eat sugar, when the 21 days is up.  I just needed a reset.   Here's how it's going after 7 days, with 14 more to go:  1. I have not had any headaches, shakes, frothing at the mouth. puking, extreme grumpiness etc (side note- if you ever watched Little House on the Prairie, do you remember the episode where Pa helped Albert overcome his morphine addiction?  That haunted me for life.  That episode is why I'm still afraid of drugs to this day.  I never want to go through a drying out period like that.) 2. The first 2 days I

 Here's just a weird collection of "stuff:" 1. Dogs.  Boy I tell you.  Dogs are smart.  They are so good at training us dumb humans.  Our older dog would get 2 meals a day (before the puppy).  She got dry food, a drizzle of low sodium chicken broth, and a scoop of canned dog food.  It's the highlight of her day- twice a day.  With the puppy I was going to be very disciplined.  She was not going to get all that nonsense, or table food, or extra treats.  She doesn't get table food- unless she steals it (Alexa tends to not pay attention, and I'm sorry if you leave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich unattended a dog is gonna get it.).  A few weeks ago, the puppy started this weird thing.  We feed both dogs at the same time, not in the same place.  But Dixie (the puppy) would sit about 6-8 feet from Gracie (far enough to be appropriately respectful, but close enough to swoop in and check out the bowl when Gracie had completely finished) while Gracie ate.  She would

I once said Andrew's like the Motel 6 . . . he'll leave a light on, or 3. All day. Whether he's in his room, or not.  He and I have been having a bit of a struggle over the light situation.  He NEVER turns the lights out.  Ever.  I'm so tired of walking back to his room, climbing over 2 puppy gates, and turning the lights out in his room.  I do it probably 3-5 times a day.  I mean . . . why am I turning the lights out in his room so much?  It's daylight!  He's not looking at anything except his phone or the tv when he's in his room.  Neither require the use of an overhead light, a desk light, or a bedside light.  I started by saying sarcastic comments, indicating I was irritated that he never turns his light out.  But he just smiled his, "But I'm Still Your Only Son, and You Think I'm Awesome" smile.  Then I did the, "Hey- I'm kind of serious- it's wasteful.  Turn off your light." and he responded, "Ok- you're r

This will blow your mind- it blows mine- we're in the process of trying to get Andrew his permit.  I'm about to be chauffeured everywhere I go.  I'm about to change Andrew's name to Jarvis (after Howard Stark's chauffeur- Iron Man's Dad's Chauffeur).  I've been befuddled by this process from Day 1.  It doesn't help that the process has been completely screwed up by having a Global Pandemic.  This isn't the only process that causes me confusion.  Every single year I am totally confused on how to renew my car's registration.  Every year.  Why?  Does it change that much from year to year?  It seems to, to me- but here's the thing I have a very difficult time following procedures. Anything to do with insurance?  A mystery.   Which is kind of hilarious because I am a special education teacher- our job is pretty much following paperwork procedures.  Which I can do (probably because I have a LOT of opportunities to practice that paperwork) I

Well, the governor announced North Carolina's "Back to School" option, and my school district's decision of how we'll implement it has been announced.  Doug and I were talking about it last night, and he said something about "Well, in 3 weeks when you have to go back to school . . . " WAIT.  HOLD THE PHONE.  3 weeks?!!!!  That's like 20 ish days.  Uhhhhh . . . .  I know some of y'all are freaking out about what you're going to teach, or how it's going to look, or like real stuff- but I'm over here thinking: 1. How am I ever going to get out the door in a reasonable amount of time?  I don't remember how to do that skill.  For 5 months I have had excessively slow mornings.  (Even when it was still school back in April and May- I'd just wash my face and appear like I was ready and professional.  I was like a mullet.  Business on top- pajamas on the bottom) See my morning wake up routine takes like 3 hours now.  It involves lot

So, I thought I had The COVID.  My symptoms showed up 6 days after I participated in my school's face to face graduation. I stood in a parking lot of 300+, 18 year old young adults, most of whom did not wear masks, while we waited for the ceremony to start.  I helped line them up into the order they would proceed into the stadium.  I wore my mask inconsistently.  It's hard to convey directions to a large group of people, about where to line up/stand/who goes where- with a mask.  It was hot, it was sliding down my face, the graduates couldn't hear me, etc . . . Why do I say all that about my mask? It's about to be a real situation for teachers.  It's going to be difficult to be heard, with a mask.  That's just a truth.  It started with congestion.  I had body aches, a cough, shortness of breath, headache, no energy, no fever. After 4 days, I called my physician's office, and asked them what they wanted me to do.  They're so overwhelmed, they said, &qu

My mother called yesterday, while I was outside watering and letting the puppy run about.  Alexa answered the phone and talked to her and SPILLED ALL OF OUR SECRETS!  I told her she'd be eating veggies all day today as a result.   I was in a bit of a funk . . . all week.  I typically struggle in the summer with no routine.  I am not self disciplined enough to make a routine and stick to it.  Well- that's not entirely true.  I have a routine- it's even moderately healthy (much to my mother's surprise- as you'll see in a minute).  I eat healthy oatmeal for breakfast, drink plenty of water, exercise, take the puppy for walks, eat a healthy lunch that actually has veggies.  And that's it.  That's the only routine I have.  It's hard for me to get into a rhythm and I can't figure out any type of project I'm interested in attempting.  I am bored with reading (GASP!!!), and I don't generally have the attention span to watch tv. I sort of do whatever

At the beginning of the school year, we had an authentic lock-down due to a gun being on campus.  It was before the day started, and so kids were milling about all over campus.  When the announcement came over the loudspeaker, I dashed in the hall and started directing kids to the nearest room.  When it was all said and done and everyone was safe- and no injuries had occurred- my take away from that event was, "I do know how to react in a crisis!!!!"  Frankly- I was relieved!  Over the years, whenever I had encountered a "crisis" with a critter- my reaction has been to flee.  And not like- gather up my infant baby girl, or special needs students and make a mad dash for it- nope, I don't do that.  When a critter is involved, I'll probably push you in front of me as I am following the "SAVE YOURSELF" mantra.  To say I am not good in a crisis that involves a critter is an understatement.  A perfect example of this is when Alexa was approximately 6 w

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE peaches.  Love.  . . . . Love. If you have to buy those hard, little gross ones from a grocery store.  I am so sorry for you.  I live in North Carolina- and I am able to buy the most delicious peaches from South Carolina.  South Carolina grown peaches are a thing of beauty.  I'm about to say the most controversial thing I have ever said on this blog- so brace yourself- and don't be sending me hate mail.  Just keep your negative peach hatin' thoughts to yourself.  Here goes: Georgia may be "The Peach State" but they do not grow the most peaches.  There.  I said it.  South Carolina and California produce more peaches that Georgia  Did you know New Jersey grows peaches?  Me either.  Thanks to this little article , I'm now more informed, and so are you, I hope.  I live for June.  Peach season starts in June and it is a glorious time of year.  I spend anywhere between $9-$11 on peaches . . . a week.  For me.  Doug eats them occasiona

I almost never watch tv.  For real.  The tv is on constantly- but I rarely watch it . . . until recently.  I've been binge watching tv shows like CRAZY the last 3 weeks.  Here's what I've been watching:  Never Have I Ever :  It's a sort of comedy, written by Mindy Kaling (she apparently was in The Office - but I shockingly never watched that.) I'm not sure how I found her, but once I did- I've always liked her.  Anyway- it's about a teenage girl as she navigates grieving her father's unexpected death, the relationship with her mom, and boys and friends.  Why did I like it?  I love teenagers.  It reminded me a lot of My Big Fat Greek Wedding  or Crazy Rich Asians .  Kind of a coming to terms with your family, and their culture . . . and being able to love yourself.   This poor girl was innocent and clueless and brazen and . . . I loved it.   The Big Flower Fight This is a competition with flower . . . art.  There were 10 pairs of friends/couples/business

I don't know about y'all, but I've been feeling a little blue the last couple of weeks.  Initially, I assumed it was due to the 11 inches of rain that fell at my house since Memorial Day.  Except, it's stopped raining and I'm still feeling a little . . . out of sorts.  Then I thought- it's probably because I am dehydrated and haven't been exercising.  But I'm guzzling water and taking the puppy on 2 walks a day.  Yesterday, I walked, drank water, AND I had time alone to listen to whatever music I wanted, and worked uninterrupted by any of my family on weeding my garden for over an hour.  Usually all of those things totally reset me.  Today I find I'm still just . . . something.  Something's not right.  My mom called, so we could be catty about Ina Garten announcing on Instagram that she's gonna take the week off from cooking and work in her garden.  Hah. I seriously doubt she's as sweaty and dirty working in her garden as I am.  By work

Since we're living this slower pace of life- what are weird things you've noticed are different or have more time for, or made a change? Weirdly- I do a LOT (like- SIGNIFICANTLY) much less laundry.  Odd- because I make the kids wash their sheets weekly now.  It turns out- Andrew not running through 3 million sweatshirts, school clothes, baseball clothes, and coming home clothes- does reduce the amount of laundry.  Here's another random thing- we've decided to make time for . . . so about 3 months (maybe 4 because, who really knows about the passage of time right now) we got word that our trash collection service was no longer recycling glass.  WHAT?!  I am an AVID recycler.  I mean- if our recycling bin doesn't get picked up every other week . . . it's overflowing.  Well- coincidentally- the county opened a dump up within a 1/2 mile of our house.  We decided- let's stop our trash service (we live outside of city limits).  We can start taking the trash to

We got this new precious baby a few weeks ago.  Dixie is fulfilling so many needs for me right now.  #1- she's a baby and I can baby her to my  heart's content- and she eats that mess up.  She loves to take naps on us, and play,  and is surprisingly tolerant of being carried like a baby on occasion (not all the time!!! She's a lab mix- I can't be carrying her around forever!!!) #2- I am getting to teach again.  (ok, yeah, yeah, I am still employed as a teacher, but this virtual teaching is . . . for the birds!  I love to be home, but I LOVE to teach in a school building, amongst teenagers: interacting with them, telling jokes . . . that's what I need.  Not this uncertain, cold interaction.) Last week, Dixie had a rather naughty day.  We said no.  We yelled no.  We chased her.  She ran.  She nipped.  She growled.   I was frustrated and frankly- she was being a big brat.  I haven't had a puppy in almost 20 years.  And, that puppy was raised with his mom (

I am super exciting- and do wild and crazy things like: clean out my email inbox.  Organize my YouTube playlists, and this morning I cleared a TON of pictures off of my phone.  Since I cleaned those pictures off, I discovered a bunch of pictures that I had been meaning to do blogs with.  Since I have been TOTALLY slacking on blogs- I figured I better take advantage of inspiration when it happens.  We have been getting all kinds of projects done around the house- even before quarantine was even a thing.  Project #1: We put in a patio off of our screened in porch. Doug had been wanting this one completed for years.  We decided it would be a great Christmas present to each other: Before During Still During Final product Project #2: Bathroom Storage I randomly decided to do this one day. I'm pretty proud of this one, because I did a lot of it all by myself- with just a little bit of help from Doug. I decided to do a small alteration to the k

So it's Week Nine of Quarantine.  Way back in January (before we even knew quarantine was like a legit thing), I announced that this summer I would be getting a puppy.  I was ready.  My kids have asked for years, and I always said, 'HECK no!  Ain't nobody got time to parent kids and puppies!"  That is the truth.  If you have small kids and get a puppy . . . more power to you.  What changed?  My kids are older and more independent of me. (Andrew ignores me for hours at a time.  Alexa ignores me for minutes at a time.)  They're old enough to be genuinely helpful at feeding and taking 5,000 walks.  They're aware enough to understand why we have to train . . . them and the puppy.  They're somewhat observant to see when the puppy is chewing on something she should not.  And frankly, I'm sort of lost when my kids aren't around.  Once we got quarantined, Doug could see my way of thinking that now would be a good time to get a puppy.  So I started loo