The Scoop

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T13:15:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentines Day! I hope everyone had a good day today. I want to share a conversation Kaylee and I had this morning on the way to school. Keep in mind, we are going to exchange Valentines cards, etc this evening when we have more family time and we're not rushing out the door:

Kaylee: "So mom, Balentimes Day (yes, that's how she says it) is about love?
Me: "Yes Kaylee"
Kaylee: "Well I hope I get a Barbie Dream Castle for Balentimes Day."
Me: " I doubt it Kaylee. Valentines Day is when people give a LITTLE gift like flowers or chocolates to show their love for someone else. A Barbie dream castle is a BIG gift that would be more for a holiday like Christmas."
Kaylee: "Well if you got the the Barbie Dream Castle for me for Balemtimes Day, it would show that you have LOTS of love to give to me. So, can I have that because you always tell me you love me so much."
Me: ________________.

No, I did not cave in, she's getting some chocolate! :)

Off to Cinderella's Castle

2012-02-10T13:37:00.002-05:00

We're taking the kids to Disney World this weekend. I've been telling Kaylee that she has to clean her room before we go. We've also been trying to get Kaylee to try new foods. Last night, we had Chinese food to eat. She normally will eat the sweet and sour chicken minus the sweet and sour! She calls it Chinese chicken nuggets. In trying to get her to try the sauce that goes with it, I told her if she put her finger in the sauce and tried it, I'd help her with cleaning her room so we could go to Disney. She did it! She tried the sauce! It took me telling her that it tastes sweet like melted lollipops but hey, it worked! She actually ate two pieces of chicken with the sauce! I know, it doesn't sound like a big deal to most of you but if any of you know what we've been through just to get her to touch food, it is a huge deal. Anyway, after dinner, I got busy with laundry and helping Jennah with her homework so I told Kaylee I'd help her with her room "tomorrow". When she came home from school the next day, she went to her room and said "OOOHHHH mom, you didn't clean my room." So I just said "Well, I haven't had time yet today." She then looked at me and said "Well then, you're in big, big trouble and I'm not sure you can come to see Mickey Mouse with me and dad and Jennah."

Really? I got in trouble? HAHAHAHAHA

That's my girl.

back to reality...

2012-01-30T14:32:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago, Mike and I took the girls on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. We had a wonderful time. It's always so relaxing to go on a cruise. There's nothing to worry about. You don't have to drive, there is no wondering where you're going to eat and most of all, there's someone there to take care of the kids for you if you want to step out to visit the islands or see a show! Needless to say, the week flew by. The girls had a fantastic time getting to hop in the water while we were in Nassau to experience being close up to the dolphins. Jennah especially loved it! At the next two ports of call (St. Thomas and St. Maarten), Mike and I ventured out on our own and enjoyed some tours of both places. In St. Thomas, we took a ferry over to St. John since we'd seen St. Thomas before. There are some beautiful beaches in St. John and we'd both love to go visit there again. In St. Maarten, we sat and had a few drinks with some friends we made from England. It was nice to share stories with them. We then hopped on a bus and took a tour of the island. I always enjoy seeing how people from other parts of the world live. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Can't wait until our next cruise!

a dance with Salvador

My view from the hammock - I could have stayed in it all day!

Kaylee getting her hair braided on the way to Blue Lagoon in Nassau

St. John

in memory of...

2012-01-22T15:06:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted in a while but today, I needed to find the time. It is a sad yet happy time for us. Sad because we've lost a very dear member of our family last week - Our friend Randy. We've known him for a very long time. He was our bartender, chef, driver, photographer, cruise director, Disney tour guide and most of all, our friend- just to name a few hats that he wore in our family. Randy was and will always be a huge part of our family. He loved us as if we were his own and we loved him back the same way. He was like a step dad to me and a grandpa to our girls. He was always there when we needed him - yet never asked anything in return. We will miss him dearly but now we have a job to do. We must carry on his smile and his kindness and be happy knowing that he's in Heaven, without pain and sickness, looking down upon us. We love you Randy and will always remember the fun times we had. RIP

Randy Franklin

In search of...

2011-12-30T12:52:00.004-05:00

The girls had appointments at the dentist this morning. On the way there, Kaylee asked if she could show the dentist her first loose tooth. So of course, I told her "yes". It's been hanging in there for a long time now, being pushed out by the "big girl tooth". She then shrieked "It's gone!" We went to the dentist as planned and then came home to search for her tooth. I know it was in that little mouth of hers last night. Anyway, we looked and looked but cannot find it. I'm not sure who's more at a loss - her or her mommy! I told her we would write a note to the tooth fairy to let her know that her tooth came out in the middle of the night. Hopefully the tooth fairy will still remember to visit and will leave her something special. :)

Chris Mess

2011-12-27T23:13:00.003-05:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I hope all of you had a Merry one. Now, Chris-Mess time is here. Those of you with little children will relate. It's the time when all the taped in, twist tied, and even screwed in toys come out of the packaging one by one and all that's left in the living room is a bunch of ripped up cardboard! Seriously, does Mattel really think Barbie needs to be plastic strapped, twist tied AND taped to the back of the box - she's not going anywhere! Oh, and I just LOVE it when they sew, yes, I said sew, her hair to a plastic strip that is also taped to the back of the package! Grrrr. With all that safety "gear", I can't wait to take the trash out! Tonight, I've made my pile of papers, twist ties, plastic, cardboard pieces and boxes. It's all near the front door just waiting on tomorrow morning to come! I'd post pictures but I have taken the photos off of my laptop in fear of losing them as the laptop has seen it's days and is only working when it wants to. FYI, my new computer case is on it's way so Mike can build me my super computer. I'm sure when it comes in, it won't be near as "safety packed" as Barbie was! We'll see!

moving at a __________ pace.

2011-12-11T15:32:00.003-05:00

Time is going by so fast with the Christmas holiday approaching. I don't know how I'm going to get everything done! As I stepped outside the other day, I was looking down and saw a snail on our sidewalk! Yes, a snail. It probably made it's way over here from the pond behind our home. The kids named him Gary - after the snail from Spongebob Squarepants! Anyway, I was able to take some time out of my morning to capture some photo's of it. It was a good reminder to me that we all need to take time out of our busy, fast paced days to reflect on the small things in life, especially during the holidays~ Enjoy!

You know you're a big girl when....

2011-11-29T16:46:00.004-05:00

You know you're a big girl when you're about to lose your first baby tooth. Or at least that's what Kaylee says! Yep, it's her first loose tooth and it's almost ready to fall out. In fact, her replacement "big tooth" has already made it's appearance and pushed it's way through behind the loose one - shark like if you will! So, for now, we just sit and wait until the baby one decides it's had enough pushing around from the big one.

A few weeks ago, when we first noticed it was loose, we had this short but very cute conversation:

Us: "Hey Kaylee, do you know who visits when you lose your tooth and put it under your pillow?"

Kaylee: "Ummm, the dentist?"

Too cute!

They're here...

2011-11-28T17:55:00.004-05:00

They're here! The Holiday's that is. Last week, we enjoyed our time with family at Thanksgiving. We always have so much fun. This year, we went over to Mike's cousin's house for dinner on Thursday and then celebrated again with my family on Saturday. Needless to say, I'm done with turkey for a while! After dinner on Thursday, a few of us braved black Friday shopping from 9 pm until 6 the next morning. I typically enjoy this event but this year, it was a bit crazy with stores opening up early and having different goods on sale at different times. I still enjoyed being with my sister and Debbie (Mike's cousin) as there are always stories and laughs to go around. Of course, I also enjoy the savings I made on certain items for the kids. Any saved penny counts these days! I hope all of my blog readers enjoyed their holiday as well.

Proud soccer mom

2011-11-19T19:26:00.008-05:00

Yes, I admit it, I'm a soccer mom - mini-van and all. I'm the one on the sidelines cheering on the teams and then handing out the snacks at the end of the game. I'm also so very proud of my girls for sticking with a sport that they have grown to love. Yes, it was rocky at the beginning back a few years ago but we have watched both Jennah and Kaylee head out and bring on their best each and every week. They are both darn good at what they do and they make us proud. It's become one of my favorite things to do on Saturdays.

Mike is the "team photographer" and has taken several excellent shots of the teams in action. Here are a few of my favorite shots of my girls. Enjoy!!

CNA Class

2011-11-17T16:55:00.003-05:00

Just today, I realized there are only three more weeks of CNA classes and clinicals! Time has flown by quickly. I love our class, we have become a close knit group. Everyone has been helpful and we've all learned so much form one another. We started with 14 in our class yet only 11 of us have "survived". I'm glad I decided to take on this challenge. The class has been a great experience. I've even enjoyed my clinicals! Although I can honestly say, I prefer hospital work rather then the long term care facilities. Hopefully, I can get my foot in the door at the local hospital and get a job soon! We'll see - I still have to complete 3 more weeks, a final exam and then the state boards for certification. Whew! The photo below is our class at one of the facilities we worked at - it may seem blurry but you'll find me!

Ok, so, where have I been?

2011-11-01T21:30:00.010-04:00

Where did the time go and where has my blogging gone? Well, here is what has been keeping me busy these last few weeks:

Chef Boyardee House Party...

Birthday Parties

Publix pumpkin carving and-

Halloween treat making classes-

with the family!

Studying for college (darn, I missed one!) and classes on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.

Fall decorating and more pumpkin carving at home...

Kaylee's Fall Festival and Parade at school

Trick-or-Treating

Clinicals for college all day on Thursdays.

Kaylee's soccer practice on Tuesday nights and Games on Saturday mornings...

Jennah's soccer practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and her games on Saturday afternoons!

Not to mention, the Pampered Chef party I had last night along with the usual every day tasks at home. Whew, I need a vacation! LOL

home again...

2011-10-16T15:42:00.013-04:00

As many of you know, I typically head to N.W. Arkansas this time of year to visit friends and to shop the Arkansas craft fairs. I love it there in October. This year, however, it was just too expensive to fly and driving was out of the question so instead, Mike's cousin and I headed to Savannah GA and then on to Charleston SC. We were only in Savannah for a few hours - long enough to walk the Riverfront and head on to Uncle Bubba's for some good eats. We then headed out to Charleston. Talk about a beautiful historic city! I loved it! The homes are something else and the history of it all is spectacular. We took a tour the first morning and then attended a "Taste of the Low Country" cooking demo in the afternoon. It was great! I was even turned on to eating grits! I'm not talking the yukky ones I tried at a chain restaurant some time ago, these were REAL stone ground yellow corn grits! So yummy, I bought a bag and cooked them for Mike and the girls when I got home! The next day, we set out again for some shopping and some walking on our own. It's a beautiful place to visit and I'd go back in a heartbeat. I definitely had a great time with Debbie as usual and look forward to our trip next year to who knows where! Here are some pics - enjoy!

Uncle Bubba's in Savannah GA. Named after Paula Deen's brother.

This was what I ate at Uncle Bubba's - it's called Fried Swai and shrimp. Swai is a very mild white fish. It was wonderful.

Some Charleston history for you: All the homes in Charleston are called either Charleston Singles (as in the photo above) or Charleston Doubles (in the photo below). Singles are homes built one room wide in size. Yes, believe it or not, the above home is only one room in width. Doubles are built two rooms wide with the door in the middle. The home below, although it looks just as wide as the one in the photo above is two rooms wide - one room on each side of the door. They can be as many rooms as they want in depth. This was done because the people were taxed on how much property faced the street. Also, all homes are built with the piazza (or what we call patio) either on the west side of the home or the south side. This is so they get the breeze off the ocean. While we were walking, we did notice that this was true of all the homes - we didn't find one with the piazza facing any other direction!

A Charleston Double home.

On this particular doorway, you will see the white rope-like carving around the doorway. Back then, people liked to "advertise" their wealth this way - the thicker the rope, the more money the family had.

Debbie and I toured this home - it is as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Note, it is a Charleston Single (one room wide). It is three stories high. The owner is part of the original family that lived there many, many years ago. She lives on the bottom floor which is also the only air conditioned part of the home. The second story houses the "social rooms and dining room". The third story is reserved as a bed and breakfast. The house is pink because the original owner was the town dentist and pink "is the color of healthy gums." To this day, the current owner wears something pink every day.

In Charleston, no buildings can be torn down. They all must be refurbished. This used to be the old train depot. It is now the home of the Visitor's Center. This is the back, where the tour buses pick up and drop off visitors.

This area of homes is called Rainbow Row because the colors of the houses. If you notice on the pink house (the second from the left), you will see round things under the sets of windows. These are actually "bolts" attached to rods that run through the homes to hold them together during earthquakes!

Just about all the sidewalks were slate and the side roads were cobblestone or brick.

One of many parks in the city.

The Chalreston City Market - we did a little shopping here!

This is Ashley. She is Gullah. Gullah are African Americans who live in the Low Country region of South Carolina and some parts of Georgia. They are known for preserving more of their heritage and culture than any other African Americans in the U.S. Ashley made me a beautiful basket. You can read more about the Gullah people by clicking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah

I really liked the side of this home. It is a Charleston Single (one room wide) but here you can see how long it is. Also note, homes here are made of an oil wood. Most are then covered with stucco and left plain or the stucco may be carved to make it look like stone.

Thanks AAA and Legoland Florida

2011-10-09T16:07:00.007-04:00

Florida is getting ready to open up it's newest theme park - That's right, Legoland Florida is set to open October 15th. As AAA members, we had a chance to visit the park for their AAA sneak preview days. We had a ton of fun and loved that AAA was there to give out some goodies as well. I really enjoy being a member for all the special discounts we get for hotels, theme park discounts, and even discounts on shopping! Not to mention the ongoing feeling of security I have knowing that I'll be taken care of if I should ever need a tire change or run out of gas on the road. We actually had them come by the house when our only set of keys got locked in our car! Anyway, all of us thoroughly enjoyed our day at Legoland, it was a day full of fun and surprises. If you have kids ages 2-12, it's well worth it. Here are some pics - Enjoy!

Legoland Florida

Our personal tour guide.

Kaylee on her jousting horse

Kaylee got her license to drive at the

Legoland Ford driving school.

The girls enjoying the Beetle Bounce ride.

Einstein.

Jennah gets her license as well.

Jennah and I on the double decker carousel

The plumber..

Finally

2011-10-08T22:17:00.001-04:00

Pictures are now posted under my previous "A Magical Day" Disney post....

A magical day...

2011-09-30T16:20:00.005-04:00

Mike and I took the girls to Disney World last Saturday. The weather was perfect - no rain! I'll admit, it did get pretty hot for just a few hours at noontime but it turned out to be a lovely day! We got there just as the park opened and headed straight for Thunder Mountain! Our girls love that ride. It's so nice now that our littlest one (Kaylee) is old enough to pretty much ride everything with one exception - Space Mountain. As a mom, I don't think she'll ever be big enough to ride it! Luckily, our other daughter Jennah LOVES to ride all kinds of roller coasters. This time, was her first time riding Space Mountain! She was excited and ok, so was I! Of course, Mike volunteered to sit out with Kaylee. I believe they went on some rides while they waited on us. All in all, a very fun day with hardly any wait times in lines. Seriously, we pretty much walked onto everything!

Yay! We're here!

The girls at Liberty Square

Kaylee has her chalk portrait drawn

Kaylee enjoys the Tomorrowland Pople Mover with Mike while Jennah and I head for Space Mountain

Jennah waits in line for Space Nountain

Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride

Alone in the log at Splash Mountain.

Daddy and Jennah on Buzz Lightyear ride

Jennah and I on Space Mountain

mid week surprise...

2011-09-21T21:17:00.005-04:00

I took the girls to the college I'm going to for the monthly Kids and Sibs program. It's a program they offer to students where they can bring their children and/or siblings in for some fun. Tonight's special was a Build-Your-Bear workshop. I didn't exactly tell the kids where we were going, just that we were going to have a little fun. With all the torture of me not telling them for a few days, and them trying to guess where we were headed, they were surprised when they finally found out what we were doing. They had lots of fun making their own stuffed animals and I had fun torturing them, errr I mean surprising them! Here are some pics:

Kaylee - holding up her choice of animals, a dalmation puppy...

adding some stuffing...

and a kiss for his "heart" to give him lots of love inside. (She named him Tobey)

Jennah working hard on her animal...

adding just enough stuffing "so he's not fat."

Here she is...Jennah's newest pet monkey. She named her "Star".

Kaylee and Jennah with their new stuffed animals, Tobey and Star.

Bueller - Bueller

2011-09-18T21:16:00.002-04:00

Not a lot of exciting things to post lately. I did take my HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases class for college last week. I admit, I went in with the phrase "Bueller.... Bueller" running through my head. (for those of us that remember the teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.) I really thought it was going to be boring until I walked into the classroom and spoke with the instructor who happens to be the head of the Medical Examiners Office and used to be on the Crime Scene Investigators Team! OOOHHHH YEAHHHH! The stories this woman told were fascinating - well to me anyway. I don't know why but I do like me some gross true stories! I passed my test with flying colors and took home my certificate. I'll be hitting the real books in a few weeks. Next week, - basic life support and CPR classes - fun fun!

How was school?

2011-09-07T19:01:00.002-04:00

Since the girls have started school two weeks ago, every time I pick them up, I ask them "Hey, how was school today?" This afternoon, I had the following conversation with Kaylee on our way home:

Me: "So, Kaylee, How was school today?"

Kaylee: "Well, I wouldn't give it a thumbs up and I wouldn't give it a thumbs down either."

Me: "Oh, what happened?"

Kaylee: "Do you want the good news first or the bad news?"

Me: "Ummm, I'll take the good news first."

Kaylee: "Well, the good news is that I went to breakfast and I drank all my chocolate milk."

Me: "Well, that IS good news. What's the bad news?"

Kaylee: "I got a time out because my friend took my paper and I yelled at him."

Me: "Oh."

Kaylee: "But it's ok mom, I'll have another try to be good tomorrow."

Me: "Yes you will and I know you can do it."

Kaylee: "Yeah, I don't like time out because you don't get a candy treat at the end of the day and I like treats."

She just is too cute with her "do you want the good news or the bad news" bit.

pics from the past

2011-08-25T20:14:00.005-04:00

Nothing new to blog about today. I've been spending my day organizing photos and came across a few of my faves to share: Enjoy!

Jennah when she was 7yrs old - she ALWAYS takes a beautiful picture!

Kaylee - giving us her "really mom?" look.

Jennah always has a passion for fashion - even when fishing! (this was her first catch too)

I just love this photo - we had so much fun in Miami at the boat show.

We all got a good laugh when this was taken because she just did this pose when the camera came out!

Our girls just love Disney - Jennah and her toothless smile !

This pic of Kaylee makes me laugh with all the "bling" she's got going on - especially those clip on earrings!

Dress up is always fun at our house!

This was a picture I took and after I first saw it, I realized my baby

girl was growing up!

Jennah's favorite Halloween picture!

Kaylee with her multiple fashion going on!

This is the last picture of the night - I guess I'll call it "The end!"

routine..

2011-08-24T08:16:00.003-04:00

School has begun so we're trying to settle back into the morning routine. All is going well with that. The timing of the morning showers, dog walk, drive to bus stop and drop off at school couldn't work out any better. The kids have already settled on who gets up first and so have Mike and I. Yes, you guessed it, I get up first and right now I'm feeling the summer effects of me staying up late and sleeping in. I tried to go to bed earlier last night but then, I just can't fall asleep. Today I decided to keep myself busy and maybe, I'll be as tired tonight as I feel right now! We'll see though. For now, we'll just stick to the routine!

so here it is...

2011-08-22T13:53:00.007-04:00

Sing it with me now:

"It's the most wonderful time of the year....

With their backpacks over flowing

and buses-a-rolling;

and mom's full of cheer....

It's the most wonderful time... of the year!"

Yes, that's what my kids woke up to today! And then I said to them "Hey, don't forget, mom and dad want to take pictures." to which my new Kindergartner replies "Yeah mom, we get it." LOL

So, here they are - all packed up and ready for school: Enjoy!

Jennah (4th grade) and Kaylee (Kindergarten)

Jennah - all set and ready to hop on the bus for her hour long ride to school.

Kaylee walks us to her class - she knew exactly where to go!

Kaylee was so happy to finally be in the kindergarten class!

Here she is starting her first assignment.

bubbly...

2011-08-21T22:44:00.003-04:00

I couldn't resist posting this picture of the girls. I took it today while I was walking the dog. Jennah and Kaylee had some bubbles and Jennah was showing Kaylee how to make a whole bunch of them at once. The look on Kaylee's face as she watched Jennah is too cute... Enjoy!

As it comes to an end...

2011-08-14T19:44:00.005-04:00

Summer break for school is almost over. The girls have one more week before heading back to the books. Each year at this time, we make a trip to our favorite beach to give the girls one last get-away before they go back to school. We did things a little different this year and only stayed one night. Usually, we stay at the hotel the night before going to the beach and then another night after. This year, we confused the girls by going to the beach first and then checking in at the hotel. With Mike's work schedule, we found it more cost effective to do it this way. We still had plenty of time for a whole day of beach fun, some pool time in the evening and some shopping as well. I love these weekends - they are so relaxing for us. We don't plan anything - no restaurant reservations, no attractions to be at during a specific time or anything else like that - just pure family time on the beach and at the hotel pool. The kids love it and so do we. Here are some pics taken at the beach - other photos will show up on my blog tomorrow! Enjoy!

Mike and I

Jennah and her "dirt socks!" She's so funny!

Here she is again - mixing up a beach cake.

Kaylee - "Mom, my cake will be ready in 2 minutes!"

Seriously, how do they "sit" like that for hours?

lions and tigers and bears oh my...

2011-08-09T19:59:00.009-04:00

We live in the city. It's not a big city like New York or anything but it is a city - a small one. In the middle of the city is our house. We are one minute from grocery stores, restaurants, gas, stations and parks. The main "drag" through town is about 1/2 mile from our front door. With that said, I'm often surprised to see the wildlife that passes through our yard. Here are some photos I've taken from our home. Some were taken through our back windows and screened in lanai so they may seem a little fuzzy but I wanted to share what we get to see living here in Florida... Enjoy!

The biggest mosquito I've ever seen! So glad I had the car window closed!

(photo taken while waiting for Jennah at the bus stop in June)

A huge bee - I didn't want to get too close!

(photo taken on our front porch)

Sandhill Crane

(these are always wandering around our neighborhood - photo taken in our yard)

Red Shouldered Hawk - I LOVE these hawks! They eat snakes and mice, etc! I usually see one of these every day! (photo taken from inside our house looking out back- we didn't want to scare him away)

Suwannee River Cooter (turtle) - This big boy moved pretty fast for a turtle! He was wandering in our front yard. (Photo by Mike - he's the only one that would get that close!)

Florida Deer. These are the ones that shock me the most because of where we live. We saw these tonight right outside our back window! They were the inspiration for my post! (photo taken through Jennah's bedroom window)

Florida Lizard - or as we call them "baby dinosaurs"! They run fast but they don't mind when the kids catch them! (photo taken on my Mini-Van wheel!)

Cardinal - They are so pretty. They love when we put food out for them. (photo taken on a tree in our front yard)

Squirrel! The girls love these fuzzy animals! They sure are quick little thieves! There are so many of them here! I've actually watched them steal a block of corn and take off with it! (photo taken in our driveway)

White Ibises - cute little birds! They usually visit us the day our lawn is mowed! (photo taken at the end of our driveway)

So, there you have it. These are just a few of the wildlife animals we see often. Hope you enjoyed them as much as we do!

Jennah ...

2011-08-04T11:17:00.003-04:00

Here's a picture of Jennah when she woke up today. Yes, she wears an eye mask to bed every night. She's been doing that since she was 4. :) Seriously, she was eating her donut with it on "because she's just taking a bite and then going back to bed." She's going to be one of those high maintenance gals.

bangs

2011-08-03T10:53:00.003-04:00

I secretly took this photo of Jennah reading to Kaylee last night. It was funny to me because Kaylee desperately needs a haircut which is why she's sitting there with her hand on her forehead to hold her bangs out of her eyes! No worries though, haircut appointments have been made for next week!

As Seen On TV...

2011-07-29T14:26:00.005-04:00

Every year for the last few years, it has become almost a tradition to receive an "as seen on t.v." gift for my birthday. I know, crazy huh? But really, some of those things actually work. Last year for instance, I received a pull out tray for my coffee pot. I liked it so much, I got one for my mixer too! It's simple, store your mixer or other item on it, slide the tray out, use your item and slide it back! If you have a stand mixer, this tray is the best as it makes it so easy to move that heavy machine!

Anyway, this year, I oooh'd and ahhh'd over a spice rack I saw on tv. No, I didn't buy it after I checked it out on the internet. "ONLY $19.99! BUT WAIT - THERE"S MORE! you'll get TWO units for that low price." Ok, not really, you can get two but you have to pay shipping for each item even though you order it at the same time! So, the total would be more like $40. I wasn't going for it. So, my spice cabinet remained in it's unorganized condition until my birthday when I was handed a gift bag - low and behold ... the As Seen On TV spice rack! I seriously yelled "shut up" at the person that gave it to me. I was sooo excited! Really, I went home and re-did my spice cabinet that night. The slide out storage rack holds 20 spice bottles (10 on each rack). Seriously, what a space saver, slide it out and turn it to face you! Ahhhhh, no more falling spice jars! So, here are my pics. I wish I would have taken a before picture. Trust me, my spice cabinet was a train wreck!

here's how it looks in the cabinet...(FYI, this is only one unit w/two racks)

..and then after pulling out one side and turning it. (the other rack just flips the opposite way after you pull it out)

My gift...

2011-07-21T11:26:00.007-04:00

My Birthday is tomorrow so why not celebrate it by purchasing my first pair of ... wait for it... bifocal glasses! Yeah, that's right, I said it - bifocals! I currently wear reading glasses which I like because I can take them on and off as I please without wearing them all the time. However, being that I'm going to take some college courses, I don't want to take them off and on while in class reading, and paying attention to the instructor. So, I picked out a nice pair with the help of the very friendly lady at the optical store. She asked me if I wanted the progressive lenses (where you can't tell they are bifocals) and I said "of course, does anyone wear the ones with the lines on the lenses anymore?" She laughed and responded "only the older men who want a cheap pair of glasses and don't care what they look like!" She was too funny. I should have them in next week... here's a pic for now:

Glow

2011-07-17T22:14:00.003-04:00

My new scent of choice:

Glow - by J Lo

My excuse...

2011-07-10T23:22:00.005-04:00

Here's my excuse for not blogging lately, you mom's are going to LOVE this:

We have a pool. We have a bathroom that has a door that leads out to the pool. I love it! The kids can go in to the bathroom from the pool ninety billion times without getting my living room floors all wet. Because I'm a mom, every time they head into the bathroom from the pool, I make my "mom" announcement: "Please be careful, the floor may be slippery if your feet are wet." You now know where I'm going with this, don't you? Ok, here's the gig: I was in the pool on Father's Day and had to make a necessary trip to my bathroom. No, it's not the same one that has the door going out to the pool that my kids use. My usual "mom" announcement didn't occur to me - at all. So, needless to say, upon entering my bathroom with my wet feet, I did what I'm going to call the "slide into home base" across my bathroom floor and landed pretty hard onto my left hand. It hurt, it hurt real bad and yes, it still hurts! Now, being that this is now July and my wrist is still killing me, I'm using it as my excuse for not blogging. Yes, I'm calling my Dr. tomorrow to make an appointment to get it checked out. Oh, did I mention I'm left handed? Gotta go now, I'm making my wrist hurt more by typing...

Did you miss the wedding?

2011-06-29T20:55:00.005-04:00

Did you miss the wedding? I did! Apparently, while I was folding clothes one day, I missed a very important wedding. No, not that of Prince William; I missed Kaylee's wedding! How could I? Well, for one, I didn't know about it until she came running out of her room all dressed up and had the following conversation with me:

Kaylee: "Hey mom, guess what?"

Me: "What Kaylee?"

Kaylee: "I just was married!"

Me: (in my excited voice) "You were?" "To who?"

Kaylee: "My boyfriend Ryan."

Me: "Awww"
Kaylee: "And know what else?"

Me: "No, what else?"

Kaylee: "We have a baby now."

Me: "What? A baby?"

Kaylee: "No mom, I'm just pretending I'm married and have a baby."

Me: "Whew."

She's so into pretending now-a-days, it's too cute!

Here she is - all dressed up in her "wedding gown".

I'm really diggin' the huge diamond ring!

Caution, artist at work...

2011-06-23T18:19:00.012-04:00

Today marked Jennah's last day of Art Academy. She's been going all week. We're so proud of the talents she has! Below is part of her "collection". She did an awesome job!

Jennah showing off her workstation with her "fish print" picture...

Her mask...

and below, my favorite Jennah Warhol!

And finally, her tin can fish (above)...

She's also wearing her own screen printed and tie-dyed shirt and hand painted apron! There were a few other things that were also very nice! Good Job Jennah!!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T23:10:00.000-04:00

Mmmmm

2011-06-13T23:17:00.003-04:00

You want fries with that? Here's a picture of Jennah's Birthday cake.... yummmmm

Jennah...

2011-06-08T23:29:00.005-04:00

Nine years ago today, I became a first time mom to a beautiful baby girl we named Jennah. Time has gone by way too fast for me. I remember the day like it was just yesterday. She is still my beautiful baby girl only she's much more mature now, growing like a weed and funny as all get out. Not a day goes by that we don't crack up about something she says or does. She always has a laugh for us and always has a story to tell to go along with it. She's an artist, a comedian, a girl with an eye for fashion, but most of all, she's a caring, loving, happy daughter and big sister. I took out her baby book and photo album today and we giggled at some of the pictures. You know, the ones with her hair spiked up in the tub, baby food all over her face, and then the ones where she was sleeping in her crib. Oh how I wish I could replay it all back but now she is growing and I have to accept it. Happy Birthday Jennah, you will always be my beautiful baby girl!

And then I went....

2011-06-05T21:05:00.003-04:00

...And then I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my sister, Aunt, and Uncle! So much fun during the last three weeks! I think this should finally catch me up on my lack of blogging for the last month!

Here we are -My sister Kathy on the left- at the sail-away party. You just can't sail away without an umbrella drink!

This was a cool looking club on board - hand prints everywhere!

My favorite dessert - chocolate lava cake! Warm gooey chocolate inside the warm cake- plop the ice cream on top- Mmmmmmmm!

...and then we went to

2011-06-03T09:19:00.005-04:00

We also took a trip to the beach ...

10, 9, 8, 7...

2011-06-02T00:03:00.004-04:00

I know, where have I been right? I'm going to start with the day that we went to see the Shuttle Endeavor launch. I know, it happened two weeks ago but stay with me. I'm going to try to post something daily until I get caught up letting you know "The Scoop!" So, let me share our trip to Kennedy Space Center photos with you tonight. As a background, we were 6 miles away on the NASA Causeway which is the closest the public can get to the launch pad. It was WAY cool and I'm not talking about temperature either! Here are some pics - enjoy!

poppin in...

2011-05-14T13:00:00.002-04:00

Just poppin in for a little bit as we're getting ready for another weekend on the fly! Mike and I are taking the girls AGAIN to watch the space shuttle Endeavor liftoff. Hopefully there won't be any issues. Then, he's dropping me off at the hotel in cocoa Beach for a few quiet days before I leave with my sister and Aunt on a cruise to the Bahamas. He'll be at home with the girls all week! YIKES! I'll be back next Sunday though and hopefully will have some pics to share!

Here I am - again!

2011-05-08T19:19:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been a while since I blogged - or so I've been told. We've been a busy family these last few weeks. Most recently, we made a trip to Kennedy Space Center to watch the shuttle endeavor go up - which by the way, did NOT happen! We made lemonade out of lemons though and spent the weekend at the hotel on the beach. We all had a fun time. Now the real fun begins - chasing down a hotel as soon as they announce the new shuttle launch dates! I'm just hoping it's before my cruise in two weeks! Can't wait to go back!

FYI - I'm not sure why but I have not been able to post pics here for a few weeks. HELP!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T20:22:00.004-04:00

The kids woke up early Sunday morning loudly proclaiming "Hey dad, the bunny ate the carrots we left for him!" Yeah... That was at 7am! Needless to say we were quickly dressed and hunting eggs by 7:15! After that was finished, Mike and I went back to bed! Such good parents we are aren't we? The kids were fine watching tv. I don't think they ate too much chocolate for breakfast! Anyway, after that, it was off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Good times!

my new fave...

2011-04-18T10:17:00.004-04:00

I found something at the grocery store the other day that I thought I'd share with you... It's called MioLiquid. You may have seen it on tv. Basically it's a flavoring that you add to a glass of water. I'm not a big water drinker but since I bought this, I've drank a whole lot more water than ever and the best part - ZERO calories and Zero sodium! They have several flavors. My favorites so far are the peach tea and the berry pomegranate but I have yet to try the other 4 flavors. I also love the fact that you don't need a bottle to shake up a powdered mix in like you do with other drink mixes. Also, there are no nasty powdered clumps in my glass and this flavoring doesn't separate either. It comes in a handy little squeeze bottle with a safety opening and snap lid so the liquid only comes out when you squeeze it - perfect for my purse! Yummmmm.

my artists...

2011-04-16T23:09:00.003-04:00

Jennah and Kaylee went to a friends house for a birthday party. The theme was "A Three Ring Circus." One of the things they had, amongst a balloon man, a face painter and a clown, was an artist. She had a the kids paint lions (circus theme) on canvas which was really cute. All the kids at the party loved it. Most were ages 5-9. Here are Jennah and Kaylee's paintings - soon to be framed and hung in my office!

Kaylee beginning her masterpiece!

Jennah hard at work

Jennah's Lion

Kaylee's lion - she did have a little help from me but really, she did most of it.

Their little lions

I'm not a teacher...

2011-04-12T19:44:00.003-04:00

I've always said I could never be a teacher. I just don't have the patience for it. Even helping Jennah with her homework sometimes is too much for my patience level. Today, Kaylee confirmed that I'm not a teacher. Here's our conversation:

Me: "Kaylee, tell me something you learned in school today."

Kaylee: "I didn't really learn something. We're practicing a song."

Me: "Oh, that sounds nice. What song is it?"

Kaylee: "It's a song my teacher is singing with us. You don't know it?"

Me: "Well, what is the name of the song?"

Kaylee: "It's called the Florida alphabet."

Me: "No, I don't think I know the Florida alphabet song."

Kaylee: "Mom you just don't know it because your not a teacher. You're just a mom."

So, there you have it - I'm JUST a mom!

it was bound to happen...

2011-04-04T19:43:00.005-04:00

We rode our bikes again this past Sunday but this time, on a different trail. We rode the Withlacoochee State Trail. It was so pretty. The trail is paved as it used to be the old railroad. It winds through some very pretty farmlands as well as through the Withlacoochee Forrest for about 46 miles. We rode 10 miles this time. It was nice and shady and with it being a railroad pass, the hills were gradual and almost unnoticeable. When we got to the end of our ride, we had just started loading the bikes up when I heard Jennah make this weird noise. I looked over at her and she was walking her bike toward the van. I asked her if she was ok and then I noticed she had a banged up knee and elbow! OUCH! She had made a sharp turn into the parking lot and lost control of her bike. She's okay though, just a scraped knee and arm. I knew as soon as we let her ride without the knee pads that this would happen! Oh well, she can't wear padding forever - well besides the helmet that is!

Kaylee, with her blanket - must be nice!

Water break!

We dragged my sister out with us.

Jennah and her boo boos

Job + Money = Donuts

2011-03-30T11:10:00.004-04:00

According to Kaylee, I need to get a job. She's right in a way - it would be nice to go to work since they're both in school now and all the driving Kaylee to therapy has ceased. It was the way she said it that totally cracked me up. Our conversation went like this:

Kaylee: "Mom, can we get a donut before school?"

Me: "Not today Kaylee, mommy doesn't have any money with her."

Kaylee: "Mom, you need a job."

Me: "Yeah Kaylee, do you think so?"

Kaylee: "Mom, do you know if you have a job, and you do it nice and right, they will give you money and then we can get a donut."

Me: "Oh, is that how it works?"

Kaylee: "Yes. So you need to get a job."

So blunt and to the point! Love her! ;0)

Ride On Jennah!

2011-03-28T12:20:00.007-04:00

She did it - Jennah has learned to ride her new bike without the training wheels! I say "new bike" because her bike that had the training wheels on it was too small so we took her to get a bigger one - one that didn't come with training wheels to tempt her! She had riding mastered in just a few minutes! After she was used to riding in our neighborhood, we decided to take her on her first ride down the Suncoast Parkway Trail. It was a beautiful day and our ride was very nice. We rode for 6 miles which I thought was great since it was our first time out there and with Jennah being new to riding, we didn't know how much she would actually handle. She did well and is already asking if we can go further next time!

Mike, Jennah and Kaylee - I'm taking the pic!

Poor Mike, he had the hardest job - toting "the princess" around in the trailer.

Kaylee "the princess" who called Mike "the horsey" and yelled at him to go faster! She loves the trailer - no worries, we had the safety screen on it while riding and yes mom, she has a helmet!

Jennah and her new bike!

Spring Break show time

2011-03-23T21:00:00.002-04:00

My girls had their spring break last week so we tried our best to do something with them every day rather than them sitting in front of the tv all week. One evening, we took them to see the movie Tangled at the movie theater. We also took them another night to see Rango at the Drive-In theater. They were so funny. When we told them to get some blankets because we were going to see Rango at the drive-in, they were all excited. Then, in a split second, they stopped and looked at us and said "Ummm, what's a drive-in movie?" So funny. Needless to say, they enjoyed it. Of course, we did to. You can't beat the price. When we went to see Tangled at the regular theater, tickets, popcorn and drinks for the four of us cost us about $85.00. Two movies, popcorn and drinks for four of us at the drive-in was only $30.00. Hmmmm, I have NO problem watching a movie from the inside of the van for that price and it was so much fun to have the girls with us to enjoy it.

A Kaylee story....

2011-03-17T23:12:00.004-04:00

I took the kids shopping with me today and on the way to the store, Kaylee and I had the conversation below... remember, she's five now! ;)

Kaylee: "Mom, when I was THE BABY, and I was in your tummy, did I eat the food that you ate?"

Me: "Well, yes, in a way."

Kaylee: "So I ate the foods that were in your belly with me."

Me: "Yes, you could say that."

Kaylee: "Mom, I didn't like to do that."

Me: "You didn't?" "Why?"

Kaylee: "Because it made me sad."

Me: "Why did it make you sad."

Kaylee: "Because I felt guilty eating your food."

I finally figured out why Kaylee needs feeding therapy! LOL How funny that she would think and say that to me. No worries though, I cleared it up for her. We're all good now.

Going Green?

2011-03-01T18:32:00.004-05:00

Not much happening lately but we're getting ready for a busy month of March. First, is my nephew's birthday - the BIG 13! Eek, a teenager! Then, Kaylee's birthday is just around the corner - literally, it's Monday, followed by Mike's. They're all pretty much in the same week! Follow that up with Spring break this month for the girls and soon, it will be April and the whole Spring holiday season will be upon us. So, with that said, I tried my best to "go green" for my blog page with St. Patrick's Day coming up! I like my blog page to match the season- I'm weird like that! Quite honestly though, green is just not my favorite blog page color! So, here it is.... Not too green. Enjoy it because as soon as April is near, my page look is quickly going to change. I'm just going to deal with it until then!

Girls weekend out...

2011-02-20T15:04:00.007-05:00

Our girls had a four day weekend out of school so what better place to visit than --- Disney World! Mike had to work so we made it a "girls weekend out" with just me and the kids. We had a blast and honestly, it was easier than I thought it would be. I was apprehensive about taking them myself but in the end, I was so proud of how well behaved they were! We stayed over at Disney's Pop Century Resort. They loved it. Then we got up early and were some of the first people in the park! How cool to walk around with no one else there! We rode Big Thunder Mountain twice and then headed over to Tom Sawyers Island (it opens an hour after the park does). There we found the hidden paintbrush which was so cool. Shhh, don't tell anyone but if you find the paintbrush and bring it to the raft driver, your family gets a nice surprise! We ended up with day-long fastpasses for Thunder Mountain (which we went on 4 times) and Splash Mountain (which we went on twice). How cool is that? We had an awesome time and can't wait to do it again soon!

My other house!

Early morning in Frontier Land

Our paintbrush find!

No line at Big Thunder Mountain!

Getting ready to enjoy dinner at The Plaza on Main Street.

I'm so technically savvy -

2011-02-09T23:12:00.003-05:00

I'm so technically savvy - NOT! Or shall I say not for some electronics - like video games. I'll put it simply... I hate em! Unless of course you're talking about my Wii which I don't consider a video game because I own the Wii Fit so for me, it's exercise equipment! Anyway, back to my original story. This morning, we had some extra time before going to school so Kaylee asks me if I would turn on her video game. GULP! This is something I've NEVER done! Mike or Jennah usually take care of this for me! I begin by turning on the tv. Yay, that worked out well! Then, Kaylee (who is FOUR) goes over and turns on the PlayStation. I look at the tv and after pressing a few buttons on the game remote, I decide "Oh, it's time to go to school!" Later, when Kaylee gets back home, I ask Mike if he has a few seconds to show me how to start her game up. Yes, it's here that it goes downhill for me! Kaylee runs over (remember, she's FOUR) and says, I can help you mommy. So I look at Mike and we ask her to tell ME how! She takes me though it step by step - "press the arrow button once on the left, then press the down, again press the down, now over to the hand thing" and so on until I'm instructed to "press start now mommy" and her game begins. Mike and I look at each other in amazement and then I make him pinky swear that he won't post on his Facebook that our FOUR YEAR OLD helped me get her PlayStation game started. Yikes! I'm going to go read now! LOL

sleepovers

2011-02-06T22:40:00.002-05:00

Every now and then, Jennah and I have a "sleepover". It's not what you'd think - no giggling girls, no pizza and chips, etc. It's just a night that she sleeps in our bed and Mike gets thrown out to the spare room! Last night, Kaylee decided she wanted a "sleepover" too. I've always been afraid she'd fall off our bed but now that we have a king size bed, I figured she could be more in the middle of it and less toward the edge. She had so much fun. We hopped into bed, put on a princess movie and then fell to sleep. Jennah ended up sleeping in the bed as well. Poor Mike - it was just him and the couch! I don't know why he didn't sleep in the spare room. Anyway, when Kaylee woke up this morning, she tapped me on the arm and said "Mommy, thanks for letting me have a sleepover in your big bed." It was so cute. She already asked me if we would do it again. Of course! ;)

The end of the season is near...

2011-02-03T21:36:00.004-05:00

The soccer season is coming to an end. It's been real fun but honestly, I'm anticipating my Saturdays at home again! There are two more games left for both Jennah and Kaylee. This was Jennah's 3rd season and man, what a change we saw in her game playing this year. She has come a long way from being the gal who was out there doing her best, yet holding back, to the girl who's out there challenging the other players now. This year was Kaylee's first season. I'll admit, I was apprehensive about putting her out there with the other kids. She has also come a long way. It was hard to get her to go out on the field during game time, especially after she watched the other players get knocked around! Now, she's pretty much out there the whole time. She may not come close to the ball but just seeing her run puts a big smile on our faces. We are so proud of both of them for sticking with it!

Jennah - getting ready to belt it!

Kaylee - just so cute!

Martin Luther King Jr. - A childs version

2011-01-25T20:33:00.002-05:00

This evening, we had the following conversation with Kaylee (who is 4yrs old):

Kaylee: "Hey mom, Martin Lucas King Junior died."

Me: "Yes Kaylee, Martin Luther King Jr. did die."

Kaylee: " I know, that's what I said." "Martin Lucas King Junior died... and he was a king... and did you know what?"

Me: "What?"

Kaylee: "He was a brown king...with brown skin... and he died because we don't have school."

Me: "Well, Kaylee, he's wasn't really a king, that's his last name - like you have a last name."

Kaylee: "No mom, his name is Martin Lucas King because he IS a king.. and he died and that's why we don't have school."

I couldn't argue with that! ;)

Our conversation went on but I thought it was pretty cool that she knows MLK was brown and that "something" significant happened because they don't have school. It was too cute.

What will you be?

2011-01-20T12:59:00.002-05:00

My conversation with Kaylee this morning on the way to school:

Kaylee: "Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to get a job."

Me: "Well, that's nice, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

Kaylee: "Uggrrhh, I didn't grow up yet so I don't know."

Me: "Oh that's right, I'm sorry I asked."

Kaylee: "It's ok mom." "I think maybe Jennah will let me work with her."

So cute that she wants to work with Jennah even though she has no clue what they'll be doing.

A first for the new year...

2011-01-12T16:51:00.008-05:00

Mike and I did a first this year... We went on a 7 night cruise WITHOUT the girls! I know, I know, it was hard but only until the second day! I'll admit, the first day, I did get a little watery-eyed when talking to families aboard the ship with their little children in tow. But, I'm also going to admit, all that was over with on the second day! I guess that first quiet night was it for me! I did miss them however, it was so nice to not have to worry about who was going to take the beeper, who was going to drop them off or pick them up from the playroom or which one of us would take them to the buffet dinner before we went to the fancy steak house! I might even say we're spoiled now knowing that we can leave them with my mom and go again without them (Thanks mom and Beth)! But don't worry, we're already planning another cruise WITH them for next year!

Here we are at our first formal night

snorkeling at Grand Cayman - awesome! Love my underwater camera!

One of the many pretty sunsets

Mike in Roatan dancing with some natives

Our last dinner in the dining room with our servers.

Happy Holidays...

2010-12-29T17:12:00.007-05:00

The last few years since we've been back to Florida, my sister and I have come up with something cheap and fun to give to everyone in our family on Christmas Eve. Lets see, we've done the Echo-ing toy microphones, whoopi cushions and so on. This year, it was my turn again so I bought everyone holiday themed 3-D glasses. They were sooo cool. When we put them on, all the holiday lights on the trees, etc, turn into 3 dimensional snowmen, snowflakes or ornaments depending on which pair of glasses we had on. Everyone se

emed to really think they were cool and we enjoyed passing around the different glasses so everyone had a chance to look at all three designs!

Here we are sporting our glasses...

and here without them! LOL

Psst... don't mind the mess - we took the photo after unwrapping gifts and had to move furniture to get everyone in the pic!

The Nativity as seen through Kaylee's eyes...

2010-12-22T22:48:00.004-05:00

I took the girls to Church Street Christmas tonight. It is a city tradition that began 31 years ago where visitors can stroll down the brick paved street of Church Avenue in Dade City to enjoy beautifully decorated homes, choral groups, music, Hot Cocoa, a live nativity scene and more. It was tonight that I realized again what kind of world our children live in. Here is our conversation with Kaylee after visiting the live nativity scene:

Kaylee: "Hey mom, what was that baby's name again?"

Me: "Baby Jesus."

Kaylee: "Was the baby a boy or a girl?"

Me: "Baby Jesus was a boy."

Kaylee: "Why did he sleep in the hay and not on a bed."

Jennah: "Kaylee, back then, they didn't have a bed for him."

Kaylee: "And no house for him either?"

Me: "No Kaylee, he was born in a manger - it's like a barn."

Kaylee: "WHAT?" "He didn't have a pillow either?"

Me: "No Kaylee, he probably didn't have a pillow."

Kaylee: "And no laptop?"

Me: "No, no laptop."

Kaylee: "I don't want to live in a manger mom." "Can I play on my computer when I get home?"

I love the way she thinks!

Run, Run as fast as you can...

2010-12-17T20:14:00.003-05:00

Run, Run as fast as you can; You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man! Our annual gingerbread man decorating was tonight. The kids love this. It's easy and it's something the whole family enjoys. So here are the pics..

Kaylee's (with a little help)

Jennah's

Mike's

and mine...

A day at the Spa

2010-12-15T21:19:00.005-05:00

For Mother's Day this year, that's right, way back then, Mike bought me a "By The Sea" Spa Package gift certificate. It was such a nice gift and I FINALLY got to use it today! So, after I dropped the girls off at school, I trotted in to the Spa! First, I started with a one hour full body, aromatherapy massage. I was in Heaven for that whole hour! Then, I had a seaweed facial. Now, I've never had a spa facial before but let me tell you, I could get used to it. And honestly, it was more than the lady just putting a "mud" mask on me. There was a steam fan, some hot towels and a bunch of creams and good smelling stuff put on my face at various times! Not only was it a facial, it included a face, head, shoulder and neck massage and a foot massage as well! They did all the extras while I had the seaweed mask on. After that, it was off to the electric massage chair to have my spa pedicure and manicure done along with my drink of choice and a snack of cookies and fudge. YUMMM. Then, when I was through with that, it was on to the deep conditioning treatment, a shampoo and a style for my hair. All in all, it was a WONDERFUL 5 hours of pampering! Thanks Mike! You're the best!

Thank You All Children's Hospital...

2010-12-08T23:41:00.010-05:00

So here we are, four years from the beginning of our journey with All Children's Hospital, at our FINAL day of feeding therapy for Kaylee. I can think of nothing but a HUGE thank you to all the therapists at All Children's Hospital for this moment! Beginning in 2007 with Kathleen Tyson who was Kaylee's first therapist for PT at the All Children's Therapy Center in Tampa to Lesa Shelton and Melisa Workman at the All Children's Sertoma Therapy Center in Lecanto, who worked with Kaylee on speech and feeding, and also to Genia Pateracki and her scheduling "magic" so that we'd always have the time slot we needed. You all are the BEST and we have so much to thank you for. I think of Kaylee way back in 2007 when she couldn't sit or stand on her own, having to put her in a neck brace so she would hold her head up straight; doing all we could to get her to walk on her own -the best Mothers Day gift ever - back in 2008, on our cruise to the Panama Canal, when she stood up for the first time by herself and walked around the whole ship; the shoe inserts for her legs and feet once she did finally stand and walk; the speech therapy with "Miss Lesa", so she would use words and not hold her arms out and grunt for things she wanted; and finally feeding therapy and just getting her to touch food with her tiny hands. I remember the cool whip, the caramel and all those crazy things we tried covering up food with, just to get her to put food into her mouth. The laughs, and the tears, the hugs and the games we played with "Miss Mel" to manipulate Kaylee into doing things for us; and even "Miss Genia" who would take time out to let Kaylee pretend scare her by yelling "Boo" every time we left the office. I remember it all but mostly I remember all of you and your positive outlooks for Kaylee when at times I had my doubts. Again, I thank all of you and will never forget you as we move forward with Kaylee on our own. To all of you...

Kaylee in 2007 with her neck brace on to keep her head from tilting over to the side

The best Mothers Day gift EVER...2008, Kaylee finally did it! She got up and walked on her own!

I know, it's ice cream...but she' eating isn't she?

And now, in 2010... we're all so very proud of her.

A Kaylee story...

2010-12-01T11:10:00.003-05:00

Today I took Kaylee to feeding therapy. When we arrived, Kaylee told the receptionist "Happy Christmas!" So the receptionist replied and then asked Kaylee if we had our Christmas tree up. All was quiet waiting her response when in her loud voice, she blurts out "No, my mommy told me and Jennah that we're not hanging our lights up or putting our Christmas tree up until we clean our room." Yes, it's true, I did tell them that! The receptionist then said to Kaylee "I like the way your mommy thinks." It was too funny. Then, on the way home, Kaylee told me she wanted to sing Christmas music. I believe she was going for "We wish you a Merry Christmas" but her version was cuter: "We wished it's already Christmas; We wished it's already Christmas; We wished it's already Christmas and a happy old deer!" It was so cute and she sang it the same way over and over again.

One down one to go...

2010-11-30T20:50:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice time and had an opportunity to spend some of their time with family during the Thanksgiving break. On Thursday, we had a great time over at Mike's cousin's house with all his relatives and then spent some time at my sister's house that evening as well. We didn't get home until about 11:30pm and then I got up at 1:45am to do some holiday Black Friday shopping with Mike's mom, aunt, sister and cousin. I enjoy it and honestly, it's not the craziness some people believe it to be - well, not where we shop anyway! All in all, an excellent week. Now for some wrapping paper and bows while we wait for Christmas to arrive!

Thanksgiving - A time to....

2010-11-23T12:27:00.005-05:00

Well, it's a few days before Thanksgiving! You know what THAT means? It's time to break out the DECORATIVE Thanksgiving day plates that we made a few years ago! I say decorative because although we used markers made to write on glass, some of the drawings washed off! Of course, it was only AFTER dinner that we realized this! Also, I just remembered, Kaylee was too little to make a plate... guess I know what we'll work on tomorrow!

Jennah's plate - What child has NOT made a hand print turkey drawing!

She was 5 when she did this.

My plate - Oh yeah - Who's the artist in this family! I'm loving my flaming turkey!

Mike's plate - love the crab - on the plate that is! LOL

Place mats...

2010-11-19T09:55:00.002-05:00

Just one reason why I don't normally keep place mats on my table...

Kaylee...yes, she's the reason! LOL

ABCDEF GGGGGGGGGG...

2010-11-17T18:51:00.002-05:00

The letter for the week in Kaylee's class is "G". Here is the conversation she and I had at the table this afternoon:

Kaylee: "So mom, the letter for my class is G". "Do you know what begins with G?"

Me: "Yes." "Gorilla begins with G."

Kaylee: "You're right."

Me: "Grapes begins with G."

Kaylee: "Yes, and Jesus begins with G."

Me: "Well, no Kaylee, Jesus begins with a J."

Kaylee: "No it doesn't."

Me: "Yes, it does."

Kaylee: "No mom, listen - Geee sus." "Don't you hear it?" "Geeee."

Me: "Yes Kaylee it sounds like a G but it begins with a J."

Kaylee: "Mom, you're so silly, you don't even know the letter G."

Why is the English language so difficult?

Disney

2010-11-09T12:18:00.007-05:00

Mike and I surprised the girls this weekend and took them to Disney. They were so excited! We had dinner with the princesses the first night at Akershus Banquet Hall in the Norway section of EPCOT. That was their first surprise! It was very nice, the dining room is just like eating in an old castle and of course, who can not like dinner with the princesses! Afterward, we went to the hotel - their second surprise! We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort in one of the pirate themed rooms. It was so cool. They had so much fun pretending to be pirates, it was hard to get them to go to bed! The next morning, we woke up early and headed for the Magic Kingdom. It was very nice - not too crowded yet a bit on the chilly side - a good reason to buy some Mickey Mouse knitted hats! We had dinner with Pooh and his friends that night as well. Like I said, we all had fun. We were excited to find that Kaylee was tall enough to ride both Splash Mountain AND the Thunder Mountain roller coaster! She loved it so much, we rode it twice! Go Kaylee!

My house!

Jennah with her "chair hair"! This was so funny! I love this picture of her and her creative self!

Waiting to go on the Magic Carpet Ride.

The Pirate beds.

Kaylee waiting patiently for Donald to sign her book.

Halloween

2010-11-02T19:48:00.009-04:00

I'm a little behind but here are some of our family's Halloween pictures! The kids had so much fun going to all the neighborhood houses and honestly, we did too! The girls were cute - Jennah in her Devil costume TRYING so hard not to give the "model pose" for pics and Kaylee, who after getting candy would turn away from the houses every time and yell "Hey Mom, they gave me candy!" like she was surprised each time! All in all, a great night. I just wish I could be two places at once as I really enjoyed walking around with my girls yet I also love handing out candy to the little ones that are all dressed up! Enjoy!

Two GOOD witches!

Annie

Jennah and Annie

Kaylee and Annie

Our Family

Costume Parade

2010-10-29T11:33:00.005-04:00

Today was Kaylee's costume parade at school. All the little ones were so cute. The weather was perfect for them to walk around the bus loop showing off their costumes. After the parade, they grabbed their bags and went from classroom to classroom gathering up candy - because you can never have enough candy at Halloween time! :) Here are some pics of Kaylee - enjoy!

The cutest witch of all !

After the parade - trying to hide from the camera!

It's not my turn...

2010-10-21T20:21:00.005-04:00

I'm not an overly religious person but there are some times when I just know I'm being watched over. Today for instance was one of those times - in a HUGE way. I was on my way home from Tampa when a car on the highway came so close to side-swiping me in my lane, I could have probably touched it when it went by. I slowed down to let it pass so I didn't have to be beside it. As I watched this car cross the dotted line several more times, my initial thought was "wow, what a jerk". Then, suddenly, the car went into the median, came back across the highway right in front of me and flipped three times before landing sideways in some trees. Honestly, I don't know how I didn't hit the car or have it hit me. I ended up on the side of the highway and immediately called 911. Another motorist stopped to check on me - luckily I was not hurt at all (neither was my car!) but I was pretty shook up. We then went to help the lady in the car that flipped. I was scared to go look at first fearing she was dead but then we saw her trying to get out of her vehicle. She was disoriented and had a huge gash on her head. I'm not sure why she kept crossing over into the other lanes or why she lost control, but I AM sure of one thing, God was watching over me and it was not my turn to go. Here are some pics...

The vehicle where it came to rest... you can't tell but it's facing South -

we were traveling North!

The help arrives...

The other driver being taken to the hospital...

Kaylee's first soccer practice...

2010-10-19T22:36:00.005-04:00

Tonight was Kaylee's first soccer practice. It was too cute! She's the smallest one on her team and everyone thinks she's adorable! Well, of course, she IS isn't she? Here are some pics - wish I would have taken one of her when the coach said practice was over. Kaylee started to cry and said "but coach, I don't want to go home, I want to play soccer all night long." The coach then knelt down in front of Kaylee and said "I have to go home too but I'll be back in two sleeps to play soccer with you again." All was good after that!

...going after it - love the "tongue out concentration"...

She had so much fun...

showing Coach Becky (in red shirt) her moves...

Look how tiny she is compared to her team-mates!

She kept right up with them though!

The last big kick of the night!

Home Again...

2010-10-18T20:55:00.002-04:00

I'm back home again after my week-long trip to NW Arkansas for craft fair week. I always have so much fun visiting with friends and shopping at the craft fairs. Our week was full of fun, laughs, shopping, eating, shopping, and oh, did I say shopping?! As much as I enjoyed being away, I always love coming home again. This time, the girls made three posters that they taped to our front door welcoming me home! They were excited when I woke them up this morning for school (my flight was delayed, putting me home at 2:00AM!) Kaylee and Jennah both loved the gifts I brought them and of course, Mike enjoyed his bucket of "Daddy's Peanut Brittle." Pics to come later of the things I bought - after all, it wouldn't all fit in my suitcase so I had to ship it!

1 fish, 2 fish, 3 fish...

2010-10-03T22:17:00.008-04:00

Mike and his cousin Greg took the girls fishing today. It was the first time Jennah had ever fished. Needless to say, she was pretty darn good at it; Much like I was when I first went fishing with Mike! Kaylee also tried fishing, but the pole was way to heavy for her so she just watched Jennah. Kaylee did say she touched the fish and it was "slobbery and gooey." I love the look on her face in the first picture below. Enjoy!

Jennah's first catch ever.

...and then came the second...

...and then the third...

OnStar?

2010-09-30T21:12:00.008-04:00

Today was a weird day once Jennah got home. In fact, there were so many funny moments, I don't know where to begin. Here's my favorite:

I'll start by saying, The car we drive is a Nissan Cube. One of it's features is the doors lock automatically when you hit 10 or so mph. All the doors auto-unlock once the car is parked and the key is pulled out of the ignition. Of course, a person can also lock or unlock the doors manually by hitting the lock/unlock button themselves. I am into the habit at night to lock the car with the remote while the doors are still open so the car will not make the beep noise and wake the neighbors. Not that my neighbors can even hear it but you never know. With that said: (now's when you want to sit and put that drink down or you may spill it)...

We went out for dinner tonight. Once we got back home, we all got out of the car except for Jennah. I'm not sure what she was doing but by habit, as noted above, I locked the car. Well, Mike, Kaylee and I were standing at the front door to the house when I said to him "What's Jennah doing?" At that time, we both look over and there's Jennah with a panic look on her face banging on the inside window of the car. I hit the unlock button and she got out. I looked at Mike and said "Really? She couldn't get out of the car by unlocking the door herself?" It was then that we were reminded of the OnStar parody - BlondeStar! You know the one: the lady is in her car with the keys in the ignition and she's locked in so she calls OnStar. We were both laughing as Jennah walked up to us and said "Gee mom, you locked me in the car. It's a good thing you heard me banging on the window or I would have been there all night!"

Dear God, please let Jennah be beautiful and find a good man when she grows up!

The Hug-N-Farm

2010-09-25T20:01:00.007-04:00

Today we went to a birthday party held at Granma's Hug-N-Farm in Crystal Springs. Our girls had a ton of fun and honestly, I did too! There were lots of friendly animals to pet and play with, a pony ride, hay ride, and lots of plain ole fun! All the children really seemed to enjoy running around the open pasture with the sheep along with petting the bunnies and eating cake too! Kaylee really liked the pony ride and chasing the sheep around. Jennah loved everything about it. Here are some pictures. - Enjoy!

Jennah really loved the sheep.

Kaylee waiting patiently for her pony ride.

She really enjoyed it!

This guy was HUGE!

...And hungry!

It's almost that time...

2010-09-24T22:44:00.006-04:00

It's almost that time of year when I take my trip back to N.W. Arkansas! I'm taking Mike's cousin Debbie along with me again! Last year she and I had so much fun laughing, visiting with my friends, shopping and eating at all the places I miss out on living here in Florida. With that said, I've been busy as my trip is only two weeks away! I'm trying to get things settled and taken care of before I go. The last few years that I've gone, Mike has had help with the girls while I am away. This year, he's on his own as his previous helpers have other obligations! I'm sure he can do it ;) It's just a matter of routine and some getting used to. Of course, I'll have my cell phone with me to call him and check up on them. Below are two of my favorite pics from last year: Enjoy!

Both photos are of The War Eagle Mill. This is where I spend most of my shopping time for crafts and ideas for things to make for the holidays. It's my absolute favorite place to be in October! Across the bridge, beyond the mill, there are tons of craft fair booths -there are also tons booths behind where I'm taking the photo from.

simple storage solutions...

2010-09-21T21:18:00.006-04:00

A friend of mine posted a picture of a wreath on her front door which gave me my idea for my post tonight:

I have a few wreaths that I was tired of digging out of the garage when I switched them out every season. Yeah, you can buy those wreath storage boxes but to me, they were all expensive, too big and bulky for my wreaths so, I came up with this idea: I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought a purse hanger for my closet. It's a hook with a strap that hangs down which has 7 Velcro type loops on each side so it can hold 14 handbags (or more if you double hang). I took my wreaths, pulled the loop through and tada: my wreath hanger! I can get about 4 wreaths on each side with them overlapping just a bit. I like that they are inside my spare room closet now so I don't have to dig through the garage to get one. Here is a picture of it with just two wreaths on it so you can get the idea.

The other thing I did was I took all those pesky pant hangers that I get with the kids' clothes and used them to hang my garden flags! No more digging through a tote to find the one I want! Really, does anyone use those at home to re-hang those small pants anyway? :) Below is a pic. Enjoy!

Spoiled by daddy...

2010-09-17T20:53:00.006-04:00

Mike had the day off today so he decided to ride along with me for my daily school and bus stop trips to drop off the girls and pick them up. After all, it's something that I always take care of as he's at work when they leave and come home. Here's how my morning USUALLY goes:

7:45: get the girls in the car to take Jennah to her bus stop.

7:55-ish: head back home, take the puppy for a short walk. Make Kaylee's lunch. Finish up getting Kaylee ready (comb hair, etc)

8:45: Take Kaylee to school and head home.

Afternoon:

2:45: Head out to Kaylee's school to be up front in the pick-up line because Kaylee gets out of school 15 minutes earlier than regular school children. Read book for an hour; Get Kaylee and head home.

5:00: Get Jennah from bus stop.

Today, with Mike riding along, here's how it went:

7:45: girls in car, at bus stop, bus comes, Jennah leaves. Head to Dunkin Donuts for Mike's coffee and get Kaylee a donut for breakfast!

8:50: Take Kaylee to school, head home.

Afternoon:

3:40: (yes, an hour later than I usually leave) head to school; wait in VERY long line to pick Kaylee up (mind you she gets out 15 minutes earlier than regular school children but not today!)

4:00: Kaylee is in car (almost 20 minutes later than usual).

4:10: Pulling into Baskin Robbins for ice cream - daddy's idea!

Anyone see a strange pattern here besides me? I don't seem to remember making the extra pit stops for goodies when I make the school/bus stop trips!

Of course, Kaylee's comment was "Hey mom, I really like it when daddy picks me up at school." Well, yeah, she got donuts AND ice cream today! I told her "don't get too used to it." ;)

What if...

2010-09-14T09:04:00.004-04:00

What if you could be a bird? Yes, that was the topic for the bus stop conversation this morning between Jennah and I. It went like this:

Jennah: "Mom, wouldn't it be cool to be a bird for a day?"

Me: "Yes, that would be way cool. We could fly everywhere."

Jennah: "Well, I would love to sit on power lines and not get electrocuted." "And then I would go around and poop on some man's suit and make cars all messy."

Me: "Now that's not nice."

Jennah: "Yeah." (giggles) "But then think of the downside."

Me: "What's that?"

Jennah: "Worms for breakfast every morning...ick!"

Me: "Now that would be gross."

Jennah: "I think I'd carry around a bag of chips with my feet."

We laugh, then the bus comes and off she goes. I love that we can have these little fun moments to start our day before she goes to school. She is too funny! I can see it now... I'm going to drive her to college every day as I can only imagine these stories are going to get better and better!

A butcher, a baker... A BAKER?

2010-09-11T00:20:00.005-04:00

Last night, I let the girls bake cookies. Ok, so by using the word bake I mean: you know that frozen dough that those cute kids sell for school? Well, I bought some, and now it was time to use it and get it out of the freezer! We did use the oven didn't we? The final outcome was cookies. Isn't that baking? Kaylee is always soooo excited, even with the frozen dough. Jennah on the other hand, would rather start from scratch. I'm with Jennah but last night it was late so we took the easy way out AND made more room in the freezer! Here are the before and after pics. The cookies came out pretty good or so I'm told! I refrained from eating the final product as I'm watching my girlish figure! LOL.. enjoy!

Before....

After !

Jennah's thoughts of college...

2010-09-09T21:39:00.004-04:00

The other day at the bus stop while waiting for the bus, I asked Jennah what she wanted to be when she grew up. Below is our conversation. Now, Keep in mind, she's only 8:

Me: "So, Jennah, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Jennah: "Well, I was thinking I would be a doctor or something like that but then my friend told me I'd have to go to college for a long time - like four or five years."

Me: "That's true depending on what kind of a doctor you want to be."

Jennah: "Well, now I just think I'll be a massage therapist or a florist."

Me: "They have to go to college to you know."

Jennah: "Even for a florist."

Me: "Yes, you'd need to know all about plants and flowers and how to run a business."

Jennah: "Awwww." "Well, maybe I'll just marry a man that works so I can stay home like you did."

Great, I'm glad I'm setting such a good example for my child! LOL gotta love her!

heartbeat...

2010-09-03T21:51:00.002-04:00

We were at a restaurant tonight with my nephews when Kaylee came over to me all excited and said "Hey mommy, I feel my heart thumping!" So, I put my hand on the spot she pointed at and I said "Yes, I feel it too!" She then walked over to everyone at our table and made them feel it too. She was so happy that everyone could feel her heart thumping! On the way out, she told the lady at the door about it and then told her that she can't wait to tell her Doctor the next time she goes (which I hope isn't for a while!) She's just too cute!

Grocery shopping with Kaylee...

2010-08-30T21:19:00.003-04:00

Today, I took Kaylee with me to Publix to get some groceries. While over at the meat department, I was looking at some pork chops and she points to a pork roast and we have the following conversation:

Kaylee: "Mom, is this a little pig?"

Me: "Well, we call it a pork roast."

Kaylee: "It looks like a little baby pig with no head and no feet."

Me: "Yes it does."

Then we move on over and there in front of her is a package of pig feet! She looks at it and...

Kaylee: YELLING AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS: "Mommy, there are hands in that package!"

Me: chuckles "Shhhh don't be so loud. Those are not hands, those are pigs feet."

Kaylee: "I don't like piggy feets."

Me: "Don't worry Kaylee, I'll never buy those for us."

Kaylee: "Promise mom?"

Me: "Yes, I promise."

Kaylee: "You tell daddy not to buy those either."

Me: "Ok"

Kaylee: "I love you mom."

Sooo cute!

First week of school....

2010-08-27T20:20:00.002-04:00

We made it through the first week of school - and no one got hurt! LOL The kids are doing great so far. Jennah is in 3rd grade and Kaylee is in Pre-K again since she is only 4. They both love their teachers. Kaylee is learning the names of her new friends while Jennah is learning Spanish and scoping out the boys! I asked her on Tuesday if she had a boyfriend and she said "Well, it will either be Matthew or the kid with the long hair and glasses!" Too cute! Anyway, here is a pic of them in their new uniforms. Not a good pic as my camera battery was dead so we had to use a cell phone! Enjoy!

Punch?

2010-08-19T08:47:00.002-04:00

Every night before the girls go to bed, I have them get their hugs, kisses and a drink of water so they don't get back up because they're thirsty and so forth. Those of you that have/had children know what I'm talking about - "the stall tactics" as we call it. So, knowing that, here's the Kaylee speech: First, I'll let you know that the other day, I bought a bottle of Hawaiian Punch which she loves.

Kaylee: (just before bed) "Mom, I'm really, really, really thirsty."

Me: "Ok, lets grab a cup and get some water because it's bedtime."

Kaylee: "No, I don't like water."

Me: "Well, you must not be that thirsty."

Kaylee: "But I AM that thirsty so why don't you just get me some of that punch."

Me: "Is that any way to talk to mommy?"

Kaylee: "No, but can I have some punch please."

Me: "No, you can have water. We don't drink punch before bedtime."

Kaylee: "But I do and we should drink punch before we go to bed, like a new rule."

Me: "I'm sorry Kaylee, that's not a rule that we're going to start."

Kaylee: "Well, I like to start that rule but I'll just go to bed for now."

Don't worry, I didn't give in. I just pondered the conversation she and I just had and stood there!

her wish list...

2010-08-17T09:51:00.003-04:00

School starts in 6 days! Who's counting? ME! Actually my girls are pretty excited to go back to school. Jennah only has one issue: Uniforms! Last year, her school did not require her to wear uniforms which she enjoyed, being the fashion queen that she is. This year however, the Quest Academy for the Gifted has been relocated and is now housed in a school which does require uniforms. Of course, I'm happy about this as it means no REAL decisions as to what she can wear each morning. She's so bummed about it, when she received her Justice For Girls catalog in the mail, she went through it and made a wish list for her birthday! Cute - but her birthday isn't until next June! I'm afraid she's probably not going to find the same outfits next year! Oh well, she'll have to cope! LOL

weekend at the beach

2010-08-10T22:55:00.007-04:00

This past weekend, we took the girls to our favorite beach location - Lido Key in Sarasota. We love it there. We did this last year and decided it was going to be our yearly "last week before school" time away with the girls. We stay at the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel and like last year, we even stayed in the same room! Although the hotel is somewhat dated, it is clean and offers the best spot on the beach with a very friendly staff and plenty to do. We had a great time this year with beautiful weather. The girls enjoy playing in the sand and swimming in the water. This year, we even got to see a manatee swim by! The hotel also has two pools which we make use of usually after dinner. Here are some pics - hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed our time away!

Kaylee (being a cheese) and Jennah

The view from our room. I love that we can see the pool AND the beach.

Sunset.

Mom duty...

2010-08-05T12:11:00.002-04:00

I was eating my lunch yesterday when Kaylee runs across the living room announcing that she has to go potty. So, she runs into the bathroom and does her business after which she yells "Mom, I went potty and I need you in here!" So I put down my lunch and walk across the house saying "Oh Kaylee you have perfect timing; you always seem to go when I'm eating lunch." So, I walk into the bathroom and she says "I went poopy so now you have to wipe my butt." I proceed to do the mom duty and while we wash our hands, she looks and says to me "Mom, I'm sorry I ruined your life." So I assure her that she has not ruined my life and she says "Yes I did." Again, I tell her "No, you have not. I promise." She looks at me again and says "Oh, ok, maybe just your dinner." So we giggle and off she goes. After all she and I have been through, the basic mom duty made her think she's ruined my life. If anything, she makes me think about things I normally would not have thought about. We love her (and Jennah) very much and wouldn't change a thing. Not even if it was in the middle of my dinner or lunch!

Trading Children...

2010-08-02T16:44:00.002-04:00

The month of July is always busy for us as the kids are out of school and there are a ton of birthdays in our family to celebrate. It's also a time where the kids like to visit aunts and uncles. This past weekend, we dropped Jennah off at my mom's place and dropped Kaylee off at my brother's house. We've not had Kaylee stay anywhere without Jennah so this was a real test for her and us. Well, needless to say, she loved staying over with Missy and my brother. In fact, when they brought her over the next day, she told me "I want to stay at Missy's to be in her family so I can hang out with her." Too cute. Anyway, we took our nephew the next night so he could spend time with Uncle Mike (his favorite) and then we all took home our own children on Sunday. A fun weekend for all!

Giving it up

2010-07-27T14:17:00.003-04:00

It's a sad day for me as I"m cleaning my closet and I'm giving up a ton of stuff that I've held on to for no apparent reason but memories. I just don't have room for most of it anymore. One of the things I'm putting in the donate bag is my all time favorite diaper bag that I used for both girls. Yes, I know, my youngest is four but believe it or not, we just stopped using this bag! It's from Skip Hop and is called the Skip Hop Duo Deluxe. I LOVE this diaper bag.. it was always so roomy and held everything I needed. The best part is it comes with two straps that are "hidden" inside until you need them to hook the bag onto your stroller. I also bought the matching Skip Hop Pronto which is an all in one changing pad with a detachable side for holding diapers, wipes and other necessities. This item made it so much easier when traveling to just carry in one little thing rather than my whole diaper bag which in most restrooms, there is no place to hang. It was so nice to have these two items but for now, I'm going to donate them so someone else can make good use of them as I did. You can view these items at http://www.skiphop.com/ if you are looking for some nice baby gear.

Birthday week...

2010-07-25T21:05:00.006-04:00

That's right.. Birthday WEEK! As it should be celebrated! My Birthday was on the 22nd. I had the best one ever! Mike took the day off work - just for me! He and the girls went shopping and made me my very own HUGE birthday card (see pic). They also bought me a sweeper, some pretty flowers, a serving platter AND treated me to a day of "anything mom wants to do". I decided that we would take the girls to the water park for a while and then go out for some lunch at Chili's. Yummmm. Kaylee blurted out to the waitress that it was my birthday so yes, they all came out and sang to me and surprisingly, the waitress gave me a birthday card with a coupon for free chips and salsa -my favorite! We then went back home so the girls could take a rest after being at the water park. Afterward, we went out to dinner at Carrabba's - talk about getting a tummy full! We went out again the next day with my brother and my BFF Missy and then hopped on over to their house for yet another birthday celebration! So much fun packed into one weekend! Anyway, I'm a year older now but none the less, I'm still going to act like I'm 13 ! LOL Have a great week!

...at the water park

No need to explain... ;)

Summer fun

2010-07-18T00:10:00.005-04:00

Really, it's summer and I can't think of one exciting thing to blog about! WHAT? I know, there should be a ton of things happening with the kids out of school but honestly, there isn't. My day is like this: 5:45 - take puppy outside. 6:oo - back inside and watch t.v. until someone else gets up. Then, it's back to bed for an hour or so. Then, it's pool time, shopping, or more t.v. followed by dinner, playtime and bedtime again. See, nothing too exciting there is it? Really though, my days are wonderful and I cherish the time I get to spend with the kids. This weekend, we made an indoor slide with a cardboard box. The kids loved it and were pretty upset when I had to take it down for recycling! Perhaps we'll have more excitement in a few weeks when we go to the beach for the weekend. Until then, I'm going back to bed because I know the "puppy alarm" will bark at 5:45 tomorrow morning! LOL

Our new baby...

2010-07-05T22:12:00.003-04:00

Here she is... our new baby girl Annie! She's a two month old Bichon Frise. My reason for not blogging for the last two days! Ok, not a good reason but it sounded good! Anyway, she's a very sweet dog, hardly makes a peep. She is so good with the girls and with the cat as well! Enjoy!

wow, where did the time go...

2010-07-02T19:08:00.002-04:00

So, we're back here at home and I'm thinking "where did my time go?" I LOVE going on vacation but getting back can be rough. You all know...the unpacking, laundry, and the huge box of mail that you knew would be waiting at the post office when you returned. So, today, I finally finished up all of it. It's been a busy week for me. We got home on Monday, went to weigh in on Tuesday, took Kaylee to feeding therapy on Wednesday, took her to Physical Therapy on Thursday, had my hair done today, going to a birthday party tomorrow, having company on Sunday, and MAYBE resting on Monday! Whew.. now that I look back at my week, I see where my time went! Anyway, to all my readers, have a safe, happy holiday weekend!

another lovely day

2010-06-22T23:12:00.002-04:00

Today was another great day here in NWA. The girls and I went to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants - Lin's Garden. Jennah absolutely loves this place! They have the best Chinese food in town. We then went to a place called Justice For Girls which specializes in girls clothing sizes 6 and up. Jennah's first comment as we walked into the shop was "I'm in heaven!" She picked out a couple of shirts and a skirt. Of course, to be fair, we then went to Wal-mart for Kaylee to pick out a few things for herself. Later this evening, we went to our friends house for a birthday party. The girls really enjoyed that. Tomorrow, we're off for yet another fun adventure and maybe some pool time here at the hotel. Then we'll have dinner at our friend's house. So much fun, I hate to think about going home on Saturday!

on the road again

2010-06-20T23:25:00.002-04:00

So, here we are in NW Arkansas and having a great time already! It took us about 20 hours to get here driving straight through. The girls did real well for the long ride! Some dvd's and some snacks and we didn't here a peep out of them with the exception of the occasional potty break request! When we arrived, we ate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then took a trip through the neighborhoods where we used to live so we could show the girls. We then went to our friend's house and had a nice evening visiting with them. They kept our girls overnight so they could play with their children on Sunday morning. Mike and I slept in on Sunday and then went out to buy him some work shoes at his favorite shoe store. Off to meet the girls at our friend's house and then had lunch and dinner there as well. What a great day visiting and shopping it was. Now we're back at the hotel getting ready for some sleep.

great things happening...

2010-06-08T17:45:00.003-04:00

It was a very busy day for me. In fact, lots of good things happened:

1. My oldest daughter Jennah turned 8yrs old today!

2. Weighed in a total of 20 1/2 lbs lighter than I was 8 weeks ago! Whooo hoooo!

3. Went to Jennah's awards ceremony for school - she received her honor roll certificate.

And last but not least: Took both girls to the dentist and got reports of NO cavities for either of them! It was Kaylee's first time at the dentist - she did GREAT! I was shocked. She even let them put the bite wings in for x-rays!

Some pics - enjoy!

Kaylee holds "Mr. Thirsty" and checks out "Mr. Tickles".

Jennah with her Honor Roll certificate.

chicken face

2010-06-02T21:55:00.006-04:00

We took the girls out to dinner the other night to Beef O'Brady's. Of course, Jennah loves going there because they have hot wings. Yes, she loves the hot sauce - maybe it has something to do with when I was pregnant with her, I craved the 3 Mile Island wings from Hooters - seriously, I ate them 3 times a week back then. We took this picture as she was eating and then showed it to her and asked "What guy is going to take you out on a dinner date with a face like this?" Her response: "Well, I'll find me a guy who likes chicken wings as much as I like them and we'll both have chicken faces!" Too funny - I can picture it now...