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Some of you may have picked up on all the hubbub on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, but Brian and I dashed off to New York City last Saturday for a pretty exciting opportunity. I was selected to join the Google Glass Explorer Program. Now, In case you are like me and never really know what's happening until your mom calls to tell you, I'll give you a quick overview of what that all means: 1) Google invented a wearable computer. It looks like a pair of glasses. They call it Google Glass (or "GLΛSS" if we're getting really specific). 2) Google then chose a select number of people to beta test this new technology. These people are called "Explorers." 3) Google thought, "Who better to wear GLΛSS than a stay-at-home mommy blogger who basically watches cartoons all day and will probably post ridiculous videos of herself using our groundbreaking technology incorrectly?" Naturally, I was invited to join the Google Glass program. I believe it was because of all my experience with cartoon explorers—thanks, Dora!

As many of you may have noticed from my social media pages, Brian and I jetted off to New York City Saturday morning and returned to Kansas on Sunday evening. The purpose of our trip was blog-related [update: read more about my experience with Google Glass here], but we did our best to soak up the city while we were there. And by "soak up" the city, I mean that I ended up sneezing black stuff for a solid 24 hours after we returned home. [Well, that was an unnecessary detail.] Seriously, New Yorkers, how do you deal with all that smog? It's so suffocating! Wait, I know how. It's the food. The glorious food! Mmmm...I could really go for some Bareburger right about now.



Enough about the food, though. That's not what stresses me out about traveling to New York. The purpose of this post is to tell you more about our hotel. Because I like to talk to fellow hotel snobs before I spend the equivalent of a mortgage payment on a hotel room. That's why.

There are three things I do far better than most women I know: 1) saving money, 2) homemade recipes, and 3) doing laundry. Wait, no. What I meant to say is that I do them worse. Worse than most women I know. Worse than all the women. Everywhere. And men. Also, most children over the age of 4. Shoot, there are probably a few species of primates that could argue their superiority in those three areas as well. But I'm probably better than most primates at arguing, so it would be a very long, cyclical debate. With lots of mud-slinging. I have absolutely no idea where I was going with this. Wait! Good thing I went ahead and wrote out the title of this post. See how smart that was? [Yes, I think what we've all learned so far is exactly how smart you are, Katy.]

I don't know if I ever told y'all this, but Katy in a Corner is actually my third blogging venture. [Wow. So, third time's a…Dirty Dancing parody? That is just sad.] My first blog (or what I called an online journal at the time) went live in 2003 and was entitled, "Postcards from Leeds." It chronicled my year abroad as an ambassadorial scholar for the Rotary Foundation. I was a serious professional back when I was 22.



You know what this photo says? "Look out, world. I've got French cuffs, and I know how to use them."

On the first Blogiversary, my true love sent to me: A book for Ms. JuliaJetSki. On the second Blogiversary, my true love sent to me: A book for DeannaMurphy. And a book for Ms. Julia JetSki. On the third Blogiversary... I'm just kidding. I won't make you sit through all this nonsense. Though, I'm really tempted to do the entire song in video form. You should be really thankful I have no makeup on right now. That's all I'm saying. Here are the random winners of the 12 copies of my favorite parenting book, Shepherding a Child's Heart:

Do y'all remember a few weeks ago when I was fussing on Facebook about potty training and how I should just write a book called, How to Potty Train in a Year and a Half?

Okay, well, it's finally happening. I can't believe it! All that time spent neglecting my children and focusing on my many, many personal talents has finally paid off. [Let me guess, you're finally joining the circus?] I have a book deal!

On August 16, 2012, I sat down at the computer in our basement and began to type. I was in the throes of "single" parenthood while Brian was away on military business, and it seems I was starting to feel the pressure:

"I would venture to say that Martha Stewart’s sentence vacation in a federal prison was more like a Caribbean holiday compared to the trenches of motherhood."

Alllllllllrighty then. But then it got worse...

This past Sunday night, while I was busy building my dream house (on Pinterest), I heard JJ scream from upstairs, "Ooooohhhhhhhhh nooooooooooo!" And while many mothers would rush to the aid of their child—who is in obvious peril—I waited to see if whatever it was would resolve itself. I waited…and I waited…and then I heard an unidentifiable sound. It sounded like a jellyfish with fat thighs running in wind pants. But I was pretty sure that wasn't it. Not at 10 p.m. Jellyfish don't like to run at night. And then I heard, "Ooooohhhhhhhhh nooooooooooo! Mama, what HAPPENED?"

I made two promises last week. One was a promise I made to myself that I will never again take a 16-hour road trip with two toddlers. Unless we move and I absolutely have to do it. And then I'll probably be in the back seat screaming the entire time. And then the kids can record me for a change. The second promise is that I would publish this video here today. But, before you view it, there are eight things you should know:

1. No two clips are the same.
2. I sent hours of this footage to Gitmo.
3. These are the happier moments I captured. (I spared you the unhappy ones.)
4. No children were harmed in the making of this video.
5. Though, children may have been disciplined in the making of this video.

This past Wednesday—the day we drove from Georgia back to Kansas—was probably the longest day I have experienced since I labored 22 hours with JJ. Except for the day three weeks ago when we went from Kansas to Georgia. Both of those road trips were much like giving birth. Long, laborious, loud, and painful. Only […]