Kimmie Kay and Kids

Priorities

2008-10-21T04:54:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to say so long for a bit my beloved blogger buddies. I need to re-prioritize some things in my life and focus more on some issues the girls and I are facing due to the divorce and everyone's general anxiety. Please don't worry, we will come out on the other side...just pray for us if you would. Hope to be back soon!

I Am Blessed With The Best Sisters!

2008-10-14T22:53:00.004-05:00

I want to start this post by reminding you all that I am adopted and am very fortunate to have so many people I consider "sisters" in my life. I have two awesome sisters in my family, a surrogate sister who grew up with us and is considered family, special sisters in my church family, and some of the dearest friends ever that feel like sisters to me. To me, blood doesn't make you a sister but the close and special relationship you share through the years, good times and bad, does!

I would like to take a minute to express how thankful I am that my surrogate sis Chris made it through her surgery today with flying colors...hooray! Let's all pray that this is the last one for her and anyone related to her. :) I'm also so very grateful that my sister here made it through her surgery today too! I know her quality of life will be so much better once she's recovered. Thank you to everyone who kept them in their prayers, I appreciate it...God is good!

I would also like to send a shout out to a special blogger sis who is struggling and needs to be lifted up in prayer. She is on a courageous journey of healing and I admire her honesty and character so very much. Hang in there, take one day at a time, and remember that I'm here with an ear anytime you need and am only a phone call away. I admire your strength, you are an inspiration to me!!!

My girls and I are doing alright. The divorce should be final in a couple of weeks and we are now navigating our way through our first post divorce upcoming holiday season. I have finally come to the realization that I cannot take care of anyone else anymore unless I take care of myself first and that doesn't make me selfish. I have to put myself first so I can be the kind of Mom that my beautiful daughters deserve. I know I'm strong and can do it, I just have to keep everything in balance. If there's one thing everyone knows about me is that I may get down and out (and have especially in the last 6 months) but I always get back up again and put one foot in front of the other. I give God the glory for this as I am saved by His grace. The last 6 months and my renewed faith have validated what I always knew before in a profound way...that family is everything! I don't care about things, I care about people and wanted to say thank you to all of the people who stood by me and supported me (and the girls) during our lowest points. You all know who you are, but I wanted you to know that we couldn't have done it without all of you!!!

I think the girls and I are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and are heading slowly to the other side and it feels so good!

Prayer Anyone???

2008-10-11T13:51:00.002-05:00

I need to take this short time out blogger friends to ask those of you with Faith to please pray for my blogger friends, myself and the girls, my family, church family, and close friends. It seems that everywhere I turn in the last couple of weeks almost everyone I know is going through struggles of some sort. I know that God doesn't give any of us more than we can handle, but I can also relate to the thought of wishing that He didn't trust me so much! :) For me, reaching out and asking for prayers or help of any kind is hard, but I have learned that it also brings comfort and peace in knowing that I am not alone. I don't want to post names of the many folks on my prayer list, but let me tell you it is a long one! If you would, please take a few moments this week and simply pray for everyone on Kim's prayer list to be uplifted. I would appreciate my fellow blogger friends and awesome sisters in Christ!

Update:The Girls

2008-09-29T14:13:00.003-05:00

Hi bloggers, sorry to haven't been around in a bit. Just wanted to let you all know that I'm super busy these days (albeit with good stuff). I wanted to brag on my sweet Kaley Rose and report that she kicked butt on her 1st progress report as an 8th grader! She got 4 A's, 1 B and 2 C's...yeah! She is working on bringing up those C's (I know she will) and since this first semester is always the hardest, I'm so happy for her. One of the A's was in math too...awesome!!!! Mom got to spend the evening with her on Friday night since Caroline was sleeping over at her BFF's house. We went to the mall (what a shocker) and she scored some major bargains at Hollister as a treat. I really enjoyed our big girl night, we came home and watched a movie. This weekend they are with their Dad, so I am hoping to get out there and enjoy some grown up time with friends.

I'm also posting to ask for some prayers for my Liney. Caroline has been struggling with anxiety and panic attacks for the last month or so. She's seen the doctor and has some medication to help, but so far it's still one day at a time. She has an appt. to see a child psychologist next week and has been meeting with her Guidance Counselor at school regularly and we have been trying to love on her as much as possible lately. I think the divorce has been hardest on her and seeing her parents begin to move on. Please keep her in your prayers, I would sure appreciate it!

Nothing much else going on around here. We will be getting ready to put the house up for sale soon and are in the process of getting ready and excited for Halloween.
I'm going now to catch up on all of your blogs...hope everyone has a great Monday!

UPDATE:
Caroline just brought home her progress report and she had 4 B's and 2 C's..way to go Liney!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-24T21:01:00.001-05:00

Two New Creatures: A Very Special Day

2008-09-21T20:52:00.002-05:00

I am so proud to report that Caroline Elizabeth made the choice to be baptized by immersion this morning after service at church. Congratulations to my baby, I'm so proud of her! The story about how this all happened is pretty amazing:
We have been having some discussion at our house about sin and baptism and the different methods (the girls were both baptized as infants as was I). So this morning, before service I asked our Pastor if he could meet with the girls and I after after worship and he agreed (not knowing what about). The service was going on as usual until I realized the sermon was about baptism (divine intervention). I was hanging on every word and exchanging knowing glances with Kaley and Caroline. I could see in their innocent faces that they were getting it too. As the sermon was coming to a close, pastor shocked the congregation by announcing that he had filled the baptismal pool earlier this morning (something he's never done before) and wanted to invite anyone that wanted to be baptized right now to come forward while we all prayed with heads bowed and eyes closed. I quietly slipped past my girls and friends and went forward. Pastor asked me a few questions and the next thing I knew my friend and one of the deacons were taking me to the back of the sanctuary and we were all crying. Pastor then called upon my friend to join me in the water and she witnessed my rebirth as a new creature up close and personal while the congregation watched from a distance. I kept my eyes focused on Kaley and Caroline and could see the impact it had on them. It was the most indescribably joyful experience of my life and I'm so happy that I did it today! Afterwards as I was dripping wet and filled with the Holy Spirit, I asked my friend to bring the girls to were I was. They came and congratulated me and said how proud they were and Pastor joined us and answered the kids questions about baptism with me. It was then and there that Caroline came forward and decided for herself to be baptized today too. She wanted it to be private, so it was after church and her sister, myself and my friend and two of her daughters all stood by and cheered for the second new creature in our family. Kaley was very emotional and decided that she would also liked to be "re-baptized" privately but would let me know when she wanted to do it. I am proud that she didn't just "go with the flow" and follow suit but rather choose to think and study more about it to make the right decision for herself.

What a blessing today was and I for one am still rejoicing in it!

Calling all Women...

2008-09-19T04:44:00.002-05:00

I meant to write this last weekend, but time got away from me (what a shocker). I had a wonderful night out last Saturday with a girlfriend from work and so enjoyed some grown up girl time! We started out with dinner at the Olive Garden (thanks to a gift card that my Mom gave me) and then headed to the movies (I had 2 free passes). We saw "The Women" and it was great! I can't urge you enough to check it out ladies! The cast is amazing, the plot and subject matter realistic (although Hollywoodized a bit), and the message is powerful and one we all need reinforced. The only thing that could have made it any better for me would have a been a Rick Springfield song in the soundtrack, LOL! Let me know if you're able to catch it as I am working on a project that I'll share here later that ties in with the movie too. There were some fab lines about girlfriends that hit home and cracked me up also, like: "putting it in the vault", and "don't be bitter, it leads to Botox"!
If memory serves, there was not one man on a single frame of this film too which I thought was kinda cool. If you are needing a kick in the rear, to be inspired or empowered, or just want to see a good "chick flick", check out "The Women"..you'll be glad you did!

If I can score some more free movie passes, the next one on my list that I want to see for me is "Nights in Rodanthe", so stay tuned as there might be another movie review in my future. Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm not getting paid to write these (LOL), just spreading the word like we women do. :)

2008-09-15T02:25:00.002-05:00

Awesome MySpace Comments / Myspace Layouts

Praises

2008-09-07T23:45:00.003-05:00

Blog and surrogate sis Chris is home from the hospital!!! Please continue to keep she, Mike (who should also be home very soon), the girls, and their entire family in your prayers as they heal and work towards reuniting as a family.

Reconnecting with an old friend of mine and Chris's from High School (thank you Patty)

A stronger sense of family (thank you for your support recently and in the future)

No unfinished business in my life that hasn't been addressed and working towards healing out of love (thanks for honest communication and forgiveness M)

God's creatures, especially those that live with the girls and I (loyal protectors)

My friends are the best in the world! Near or far, they are truly there for me and I couldn't live without them (Renata, Shelly, Patty B., Chris and Mike, and Missy)

God's Grace!

Lastly and most importantly my biggest and best blessings and true gifts, Kaley Rose and Caroline Elizabeth being the best daughter's a Mom could ever have and for coming so far in such a short time during our period of ongoing adjustment (you are both an inspiration to me)!

Answered Prayer!

2008-08-25T19:01:00.006-05:00

I am so happy to report that my blogger sis Chris that I have been asking your prayers for has made HUGE progress and is doing great...God is good! I am so thankful for her and her family! The outpouring of people lifting them up during this difficult time has been inspiring and good for my soul. You all are wonderful and I just wanted to let you know how much their family (and I) appreciate your thoughts and prayers! Please keep them all in your prayers as the healing process continues for Chris and Mike undergoes surgery soon himself...

Now that things are moving forward on all accounts in my life too, I hope to get back on track with the backlog of posts that I need to write covering our summer. Here's a quick sneak peek: The girls and I went on our first ever "mother/daughter" road trip to the mountains of NC and the Atlanta area and had a blast, Caroline got yet another new pet, Kaley went away to the beach for a weekend with her BFF and family and started some new hobbies, we went on a day trip to one of my favorite places on earth...the local rose garden, and the girls spent the first week of the summer at the beach with my folks. We all had a great experience at VBS at a friend's church this summer too and have actually started attending there and start Awanas next week. Busy busy busy as I'm sure you all are! Now that they are back in school, we are on a better schedule and routine that should leave me some blogging time. :)

I also wanted to send heartfelt thanks to my awesome, loyal, supportive, funny, (I could go on and on here) girlfriends and blogger pals for helping me get through the separation and impending divorce and especially for loving me! The girls and I are still in therapy and we all continue to cope and adjust. I am so proud of Kaley and Caroline, they are great kids and are handling this really well all things considered. They truly are my biggest blessings in life!

Hope all is well with you and yours, I have been stopping by your blogs here and there and reading to get caught up. Stay tuned for more hopefully soon, I miss you all!

P.S. Check out the new title of my blog and recent photos I've added to the sidebar!

Prayer Request

2008-08-14T09:50:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, my blogger sis and lifelong friend Chris is in the middle of a long journey with some serious health issues. Her husband Mike is about to undergo surgery himself in 2 weeks and if you recall they have a one month old and a two year old. This special family has been through more in the last 2 months than I would wish on anyone. They need your daily thoughts and prayers...please add the Bresnan Family (Mike, Chris, Lindsay and Brooke) to your church's prayer list so they will be lifted up and feel the love of so many who care about them during this very difficult time. I know they will appreciate it as will I...thanks!

Meet Baby Bresnan #2!

2008-07-12T13:24:00.004-05:00

I am out of town meeting my new niece! Click here to get to blog sis Chris's page and see pix of the latest addition to the Bresnan family, look for updates tonight! I am guest blogging for her and posting them to her page for now and will do more here when I get home. Congrats!

ROAD TRIP!!!

2008-07-09T10:56:00.002-05:00

I am taking the docs advice and taking a week off, leaving the kids with their Grandparents and Dad and am getting outta town for the weekend. Guess where I'm headed?! To ATL of course to be there for blogger sis Chris's delivery on Friday morning. Taking the lap top with me, so check back for baby pix! Can't wait...stay tuned for all the gory details soon, LOL!

Coming Clean

2008-07-01T19:00:00.002-05:00

OK, so here I am saying I'm sorry again for not being able to keep up with the blog. I am letting you all know in this post what we have been dealing with and then hope to move on to happier posts. I decided to leave my husband back in March and we are going through a divorce at this time. It's been for coming for a few years and got to the point that became clear to me that it couldn't be saved. This is not a decision I take lightly and am saddened by it. We haven't been living together for over 2 months. The girls are adjusting as well as can be expected at this point, we are blessed to have a wonderful support network including family friends, guidance counselors, therapists, and recently new friends at church. We are all now at a point where we are starting to move on and get back to some sort of normalcy, so I hope to be able to find the time and energy soon to post some of the things I've missed.

I'm not saying anything to solicit sympathy (but prayers would be appreciated), but so you all will understand if I disappear from time to time. It's just a difficult time right now. I have been reading your blogs all the while, but just couldn't find it in me to write anything, hope you all understand and will keep checking back in on the girls and I when you can. Happy Independence Day to you and yours too!!!

Please Forgive Me...

2008-06-08T02:01:00.002-05:00

I have been a very poor blogger lately. It has been a very busy time with birthdays, holidays, the end of the school year, etc. I have also been going through a very difficult and stressful peronal issue and haven't felt too much like putting on a happy blogger face. I hope you all understand and forgive me for neglecting you. I have been trying to get caught up with all of you first and then will get my update posts going. The girls are at the beach with my parents for a week and as I've had insomnia latley ( as you can see by the timestamp of this post), I should be up to speed before they get back. I am honestly enjoying the peace and quiet at home more than I thought I would so far, LOL! Hope you are all having a great weekend...please check back again soon for more to come from our corner of the world!

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY SWEET CAROLINE!! 5/16/08

2008-05-15T21:55:00.003-05:00

Yes blogger pals, my "baby" will be 10 years old in a few short hours...where did the time fly?! I will update this post later to include photos from the festivities, but in the meantime, here is the birthday girl's new school photo...I love it! Caroline, my sweet daughter, I love you very much and want to wish you the best birthday ever! Hooray for the "double digits"! :) I'm so lucky to be your Mom, you're the best!!!

C- carefree fun loving girl
A- animal lover extraordinare
R-reads the coolest books
O-open minded in every way
L-lovable and loves to snuggle
I- innocent and free spirited
N-nice to everyone she meets
E-ever changing and growing into a special young lady!

Chris's Baby Shower!

2008-05-13T12:17:00.016-05:00

Sorry for the delay, but here are the photos from Chris's baby shower. It was sooo nice! Everything was so pretty and good and everyone had a great time! Chris looked great (and very happy) and baby Bresnan to be #2 got completely spoiled! I had a wonderful time up there and enjoyed the hospitality of Missy and her family very much...I didn't want to come home, LOL! Here are some snaps from the special day:

The Guest of Honor: Mommy To Be Chris...doesn't she look great?!

The decor was beautiful and the nibbles yummy, Missy really outdid herself as hostess! I have to add that her adorable little one Graison helped too. :)

Tara, Mike's Mom and sister and Kim

Party People :)

Pile o baby gifts...wow! This baby is blessed for sure!

Aunt Kimmie made a scrapbook for Baby's first year like Lindsay got. :)

Lindsay and Evan(Tara's son from Evan's Life blog) entertained themselves during the gift opening. They were so cute together!

Lots and lots of pretty pink presents like this one!

Lindsay opens a "Big Sister" gift, she likes presents and had fun with this...

More Gifts

Chris's sister Pat brought the cutest cake...look closely, it's cupcakes!

Lindsay loves to Sit n Spin!

Missy, Chris, and Kim

Hope it was everything you hoped for Chris and that everyone enjoyed welcoming this new baby as much as I did. I have to send out thank you shout outs to Karen for taking the pictures, a very special friend for making the CD favors, Helen for bringing yummy goodies to eat, Pat for bringing the cake, and to Missy for everything!!! I'm so glad I could be there to help celebrate and get some time with The Bresnan's and Missy's family. Love Ya Girls!

Weekend Update

2008-04-27T18:17:00.002-05:00

Nothing much going on here this week blogger pals, just wanted to post so no one would worry that I dropped off the face of the earth again, ha ha! Busy and stressful week at work, plenty of unnecessary drama, and life as usual with all the business that 2 kids bring. We've had a trip to the zoo with Dad, sleepovers with BFF's, a birthday party, visit from family, and a trip to the skating rink...whew!

I am headed out of town next weekend and cannot wait...counting down the days! Details and pics when I get back. I think for the time being I'm going to have to be a "weekend blogger" as my time is less my own than usual right now. I hope you all are well and had a great weekend!!!!

Godspeed Angel Our Beloved Chick!

2008-04-20T09:05:00.004-05:00

Well blogger pals, today is the day that the chicken Caroline raised goes to her new home. We are thrilled that friends of my sister are taking her in and that Caroline will have liberal visitation. :) They have land as well as other chickens, turkeys and geese so Angel will be sure to shake a tail feather or two there, ha ha! Caroline is doing alright (although she will miss her lots) knowing that this is the best place for her and that she did a great job as her Mom. Here are some pics:

Just for comparison, this is what she looked like 6 weeks ago when we got her...man she grew fast!

Angel and her Mommy this morning...how sweet is that?!

Farewell Angel! Have fun in your new home, we can't wait to come visit! :)

HOORAY for KALEY: She Got HONOR ROLL too!

2008-04-20T08:57:00.002-05:00

I am so extremely proud of Kaley for making honor roll in 7th grade this semester...she has worked so hard! She totally earned every A and B she got completely on her own, which is fantastic! She has overcome her struggles enough in math to get a B and got an A in Advanced Language Arts...way to go! I'm so happy to know that although she has entered the world of teens where your friends are everything, she is still working hard in school and growing up to be a wonderful young lady...love you Kaley Rose! Congrats!

LONG OVERDUE: Easter Pix!

2008-04-20T08:39:00.008-05:00

This Easter, Caroline and I tried the sunrise service and although it was dark at first when we arrived, it was quite moving. We came home and colored eggs with Kaley and then all went to my parents for the annual brunch and egg hunt with the littlest members of the family. My girls helped their little Nieces, they had a blast and I have never seen so much candy in all my life! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too. Here are some snaps from the festivities:

Here's what the girls woke up to bright and early on Easter...hooray for goodies!

Sisters checking out the loot on Easter morning...

Ouch!

Caroline gets down to eye level with chickie to teach her that pecking feet is not polite. :)

I think this picture of Kaley is beautiful!

This is my favorite shot of Caroline! She looks so pretty in her dress and is smiling so proidly with her chick in the basket. :)

Honor Roll Award-HOORAY for Caroline!

2008-03-23T16:52:00.006-05:00

Last Thursday, our Caroline Elizabeth got an award for academic Honor Roll and for being a "star student" according to her teacher. We are SO proud! She has struggled this year with both her grades and behavior as many of you know, so a celebration was in order. After the award ceremony at school, I took her to the mall for yet MORE Webkinz as a reward. Here are some photos from the ceremony:

Check Liney out with her award (top left), she's so happy!

Here is our smarty pants with some of her 4th grade friends...

Grandma and Poppy came to support Caroline too!

Here is one proud Mom with her star student! :)

GO CAROLINE!!!!!

Kaley's Birthday-Part 3 (the last)!

2008-03-20T16:14:00.004-05:00

We had part 3 of Kaley's birthday festivities last night...to celebrate her on the day. She requested spaghetti, salad and garlic bread for dinner and we included her Grandmother and her new friend in the fun. Grandmother brought her a cake (vanilla-her fave) so we blew candles out again and wished her the best 13th bday ever! Here are a few snaps...didn't get many as the camera was acting up (or was it the photographer...I really need to read the manual for my new camera, ha ha):

Kaley & her sister's chick...can you believe how big it's getting already?!

Doug's Mom and her new friend Joe helped celebrate on Kaley's actual bday on Wed.!

I love this pic of the birthday girl! :)

Kaley's 13th Birthday- Part-2

2008-03-16T21:51:00.007-05:00

We had a lovely brunch with my entire family today and finished the rest of the huge cookie cake from the day before with everyone...

Carolie picked out this very pretty purple candle for her sister...sweet!

Whoa...awesome! A new 20" TV for her room from Mom and Dad!

Kaley got a DVD player from Grandma and Poppy to go along with her new tv!

Kaley is a very special young lady and is so blessed to have a family that loves and spoils her the way they do! She made out like a bandit and has been the center of attention (something she is shy about) all weekend...I think she's relieved to have 2 "regular" days before she officially becomes a teenager on Wed.! :) Stay tuned for part 3 soon...

Kaley's 13th Birthday- Part 1

2008-03-16T21:32:00.012-05:00

Kaley Rose celebrated her upcoming 13th birthday this weekend with a great skating party with her friends. I think they all had a blast! Caroline was very brave and although petrified, didn't give up and ended up doing very well for her first time. I, on the other hand, only lasted on the ice for about 30 minutes...my ankles were killing me, LOL! I gave up and let my sister Lisa hang with the kids on the ice while I took pics and video. Kaley was most excited that her boyfriend Austin came to her party and was a good sport being the only boy there. He gave her a sterling silver heart necklace too...I've never seen her smile so big! She has some wonderful girlfriends too, so thanks Brooke, Sheryl, and Jordan for helping Kaley have a great birthday! I'll post some video, but here are some snaps from the fun:

SURPRISE! Look What Was Waiting For Me When I Got Home...

2008-03-07T19:50:00.006-06:00

Yet ANOTHER Update (sorry, no pics yet)...

2008-03-04T21:11:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've been down with the new flu strain that's kicking people's butts around here. It comes with the oh-so-much-fun side effect of extreme dizziness, LOL! While I was in bed with a high fever and spinning head, I channeled "Super Mom" (visual the air quotes people) long enough to get Kaley's bday festivities planned in 2 weeks. Can't wait to blog those pics as she is having an ice skating (her new fun hobby) party with some of her BFF's. I printed out a cool invite with a graphic of skates and she and I made a CD with the same graphic on the label called "Kaley's Skate Mix" as thank you's. I must have been delirious from the fever to have been that creative...I was impressed with myself and they turned out great too! Thanks to a special far away friend with the consult on those too. :) I now have only a handful of days left too process the fact that my firstborn will officially be a teenager, yikes! How come no one ever told us Mom's that we have to grow up again (and learn to let go) as our kids do?! I'm strapping on my seatbelt for what I know will be the scariest but best ever roller coaster ride of my life...wish me luck!

Update

2008-02-28T18:39:00.002-06:00

Hi bloggers! Just wanted to pop in to say I hadn't forgotten about you, but have been busier than usual with the usual "life" stuff. Our family from Norway sadly left for home earlier in the week and we miss them already! What a cool thing that was to get to know and spend time with Cousins that live halfway around the world that we haven't seen in 15 years?!

The girls have also been busy with friends and their activities and the statewide school test here recently. Haven't taken any pics since the Norway family, but will get back on the blogging track soon. Now I'm off to catch up on everything I missed in your lives...check back soon and have a good weekend everyone! :)

Shameless Plugs

2008-02-18T19:04:00.002-06:00

Just had to pop on real for a few shameless plugs of some new stuff that I am in love with. The first is a conditioner from Bath & Body Works. It's a volumizing conditioner called "Tranquil Mint" and it totally rocks! It makes your scalp tingle and the refreshing mint smell is soooooo nice. I can't live without it now and it sure does help a tired Mom come to life in the morning. :) What's even better is that I got it 75% off for only $2.50 (no more than I would spend for the regular stuff), man I love a bargain too!

The second is one of those things they sell on TV that intrigued me called the "Ped Egg". Have you seen the commercials? Well, in the South where I live being out in public in flip flops (which can be worn year round by law, tee hee) it's a major crime to have ugly feet. I never have the time for spa pedicures, so this thing is a gem! I also walk around barefoot a lot, so if this little miracle works for me, I know it will for you too friends. I walked into my local Walgreen's and almost tripped over the display and took it as a sign that it was mean to be that I get one. :) I highly recommend you try both of these if you can...sorry I'm feeling too lazy to post pictures, LOL!

Advice Needed!

2008-02-16T09:49:00.002-06:00

OK bloggers, I have to be careful what I say as I promised my kids I wouldn't talk about this (in regards to them), so I'm just gonna ask for some general advice on the topic. I'm wondering what it means when kids are "going out" these days? Y'all know I am self admittedly overprotective, but this makes me feel uneasy to say the least. I trust our daughters and am glad that we have an open relationship and that they talk to me about everything (this topic included), but it's the boys and their parents that we've never met that make me wonder if they feel the same way as I do. So...let me hear if you have teenagers in your life what you think about things like this. Or, let me know what it was like when you had your first "going out" experience (how old you were, what did it mean). I am trying to be a good Mom while at the same time instilling boundaries and guidelines for what behavior is acceptable and what is not at this age. And I guess I should confess that I'm soooo not ready for this, but I'm trying to remember what it was like to be their age and that this too is part of their growing up experiences. This has been heavy on my heart lately, so let me hear from you blogger pals...

Happy Hearts Day!!!

2008-02-14T07:53:00.004-06:00

Birthday Shout Out: To The Best Mom EVER!

2008-02-11T20:34:00.000-06:00

My awesome Mom is celebrating her birthday tomorrow on President's Day, and I want to take this opportunity to tell her how much I love her and hope that she has a special day! My Mom has always been there for my siblings and I (and her grandkids) and still is...she truly is the glue that holds our family together. She understands me and although I was horrible to her when I was growing up, she had influenced my life tremendously. I am the good Mom that I am to my girls because of her and for that and much more I thank you! Words can't express how grateful I am for everything you've done for me and my family. Not only is she a great mother, but my Mom is a cool person too! She's absolutely the hippest Grandma I know and I'm so blessed that my girls get to spend so much time with her. So here's to you Ma...Happy Birthday!!!!!!! :)

Norwegians In The House!

2008-02-11T19:53:00.001-06:00

My family and I were so honored and excited to get a very special visit yesterday from some cousins from Norway! They flew half way around the world to meet Mickey, see the sights and visit us...how cool is that?! The last time we saw them was 19 years ago when my Mom, sisters and I went there. They are all such easy going good people, we really enjoyed our time together and can't wait to see them again before they return to the "land of the midnight sun". Here are some photos of us all together:

This is the whole family together: Lars, his wife Aila (in the middle), their 3 boys Marius, Brede, and Sondre and Aila's sister June. Aren't they beautiful?!

Here's cousin Aila and I. We felt so sorry for them since we had a marathon photo shoot in Mom and Dad's backyard with the whole crew in various combinations. :)

This was the first time our girls got to meet the family from Norway so of course I had to capture the moment on film. I love this picture!

And finally, here are all of the adult cousins: my sis Shelly, moi, Aila, June, my sis Lisa and my bro Greg. I think we are a good lookin bunch! :)

We hope they all have a wonderful trip and are so glad that they came to see us and look forward to the next visit in a week or so. WELCOME TO AMERICA!!!!

A Real Grown Up Night Out...Hooray!!!

2008-02-11T18:52:00.000-06:00

What a whirlwind the last couple of weeks have been! I've been so busy I haven't had time to blog with birthdays, my trip to NY and a visit from some relatives from Norway. I wanted to share a few snaps from a wonderful night out that Doug and I had this weekend. We attended the annual banquet for Schwans at a local Hilton hotel and it was awesome! We got to spend the night for free, and enjoyed a wonderful semi-formal dinner and dance on Saturday night. Considering that my hubby has been working 12 hours a day, we thoroughly enjoyed the alone time! We had a lovely three course dinner, open bar, and a midnight snack. The company gave out tons of cash and other awesome prizes to boot too. The live band rocked the 80's tunes (which I lived) and the room had an awesome big flat screen TV and the comfiest beds on the planet! I was struggling to find time to get a dress, but Dillards came through for me at the last minute and saved the day. I had to go to the hotel straight from working all day Sat. too which explains why I look tired in the pictures. I think we clean up nice though! :)

Doug's Birthday Shout Out!

2008-02-07T09:05:00.000-06:00

Our wonderful husband/father is celebrating his 46th birthday today (yup, only 8 days after mine), so we have a special message for him from his girls:

Thank you for everything you do for us: working so hard, driving us to school, making coffee, keeping us laughing and being our protector, and the million other important things you do to make our lives better...

Thank you for being such a cool person: we all love to hang out and be silly with you, tell jokes, and play games (not to mention the pranks we pull on each other)...

Thank you for putting up with us: we know it's hard sometimes to swim alone in the "estrogen ocean" around here (even the dog is a girl, tee hee)...

Thank you for loving us...we know you're not the "mushy gushy" type, but we know how much you love us and we love you right back!

Thank you for being YOU! We love, respect, admire and appreciate you and we hope you have a wonderful day!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

All Our Love,
Kim, Kaley, & Caroline (and Cheyenne too) XOXOXOXOXO

Tales From the Big Apple

2008-02-05T20:44:00.001-06:00

I am back from NY and had to share some pics from the trip, I had a blast! Pull up a chair, I got crazy with my new camera, LOL! I think I was the only one on the plane coming in that was excited to hear that it was 30 degrees when I arrived...I LOVE the cold weather! I actually had to buy a coat for this trip as I didn't own one since it never gets cold where I live and I'm always hot, ha ha. So I had to snap this first shot of what was on the ground (it's the closest I got to snow):

I was so happy that I got to stay with my BFF Renata for this trip...this is her pretty home. It was great getting to spend time in her world!
I was really excited about this "old" snow that was in her front yard too. :)
This is her back yard, her pooches are lucky to have tons of land to run free in. (See M, this really is her yard, tee hee).

After I got in, we met Renata's friends Jean and her daughter Lian for dinner. This is the absolute cutest 4 year old ever trust me! :)
The next day, we headed into town for some shopping and pampering, here's BFF striking a pose...isn't she beautiful?!Love ya Ree!
I thoroughly enjoyed strolling through town in the cold shopping and was able to rack up some good gifts for the kids there. This was such a refreshing change of pace from the big city...

Then we hit the nail salon for mani/pedi's...that was pure heaven and our toes were too cute!
Later that night, we met at the drinking hole where we grew up with some friends and had a great time and stayed out waaaayyyy too late. I paid the price the next day (Cuppa Joe you would have been proud) my friends. I just have to say that these guys were friends of my friends but treated me just like they knew me forever too and really made me feel at home. They get extra good points for putting up with me as I don't get out much either, ha ha!

Here's friend Risa and I...I hadn't seen her in 9 years! We used to go trick-or treating together and have sleepovers back in the day. :) (sorry for the blurriness but there were libations involved, what can I say?!)

Kim, Renata and Risa...together again...hooray for old friends! Thanks for a great night girls!
And what would a trip down memory lane be without a snap of the house I grew up in...it was the greatest. It was so cool to drive around and see everything now (even with a hangover, tee hee).
Here's our silly self portrait (tradition)...me and Ree...she is THE best friend a girl could ever have! One of these days I should do a picture post of just these of us through the 30+ years we've known each other...

Lastly, I'll leave you with a warm fuzzy...this is Quincy, Renata's "puppy". How adorable is he? He slept in the bed with me my first night in NY and was a perfect gentleman...his Mom was right when she told him he was a good alarm clock for visitors. :)Well, if you're still with me thanks for reading blogger pals, hope you enjoyed my recap!

Shameless Plug

2008-01-30T20:27:00.001-06:00

I am on my way to NY tomorrow for a visit with my BFF to celebrate my birthday tomorrow, but had to brag on my hubby for a minute. He started a new job over the holidays with Schwans. Do you know them? They deliver top notch frozen food in those adorable yellow trucks? Well the hours have been grueling for him but he loves it. If you knew him you'd understand why as he loves to eat , LOL! Their specialty is ice cream which is something he indulges in every night before bed (how does he stay so fit?!). Blogger Sis Chris and her hubby can attest to how yummy their ice cream is since they got a taste while they were visiting recently. So I just wanted to share these pics of him and thank him for all of his hard work and let him know that even though I may gripe sometimes we appreciate everything he does to take care of us! Here is our Schwans man:

Here he is with his truck in our driveway for a visit...

Doesn't he look cute in his uniform? :)

OK, I also wanted to send get well wishes out to little Lindsay Cecile who had tubes put in her ears today...you are all in our thoughts Chris!

I will hopefully get a post up from the Big Apple soon so be sure and check back in blogger buds and have a great weekend!

Variety IS the Spice of Life!

2008-01-26T13:22:00.000-06:00

As I sit here on a cold and rainy Saturday, feeling hungover from the girls sleepover last night, they are getting ready to go for a walk (cabin fever has set in I guess). Something dawned on me as I watched and heard them prepare to leave the house. Kaley will wash her face, laboriously brush her hair, and put on a designer hoodie and flip flops. Caroline quickly changes out of her pajamas, throws her hair into a ponytail, puts her sneakers on, and grabs her toy mouse while her sister finishes getting it together. Then, iPods in hand and dog on leash, they head outside to enjoy the rare and brisk weather. I yell out for Kaley to take her cell phone and wish them a good time.

I've always known that my girls are as different as they can be, in looks and personality. Caroline looks like my "mini me" as we're frequently told and Kaley acts exactly the same way I did at her age (my Mom's best revenge, tee hee). I have also often described the sister relationship as "love/hate", no matter who I am referring to (myself included). I see it in my girls too. Although they are complete opposites, they would go to the ends of the earth for each other (again as I would for my sisters) no questions asked and I truly love that about them. Sometimes I wish that the "hate" part of sisterhood in our house could disappear, but today I realize just how boring that would be.

This simple act of going for a walk together on a cold and rainy day, reinforced that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being different! In fact, I am so glad that my kids accept each other for being different as they do their friends. That makes me proud and happy for them for I know if they remember that as they continue to grow into young ladies it will serve them well.

I think this post goes into the category of yet another thing that my children have taught me. :)

Creeping Towards the Big 40 (kicking & screaming)

2008-01-24T20:38:00.000-06:00

OK blogger pals, maybe I've had too much time on my hands to think since I've been home sick for a few days, or maybe it's because my 39th (and last acknowledged) birthday is in 6 days but I am stressing about 40 already! Anyone felt like this? I know most of you are younger than me, but I took 30 very well but I guess I'm not ready to bid farewell to the 30's in a year. Once I start thinking about all of the things I still want to do before the dreaded day approaches, I start realizing how fast the time flies and how much my kids are growing up seemingly overnight and it freaks me out. Most of my friends have younger children than me too, so that in itself makes me feel old, LOL! Lately I notice constant silly reminders that I am soon to be a dinosuar by our society's standards. I sure hope someone can relate and put my mind to rest. I know that I am a great person and am blessed with a wonderful family and support group of the best friends ever, but can't get the words "over the hill" out of my mind. I would guess that I'm like most busy Mom's...too hard on myself! Here's hoping I start to accept the inevitable over the next year and eventually embrace it. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest friends...whew!

UPDATE: After chewing on what you all had to say, I realized I shouldn't "sweat the small stuff" and God knows I have better things to worry about than how old I am, LOL! Seriously, I figure it's out of my control so I have to let my anxiety about it go and try my best to set a good example for the rest of my friends who are right behind me. Thanks for the reality check! :)

More Lindsay pictures and a New Poll

2008-01-22T18:59:00.000-06:00

So, Chris and family are off at Disney now and we miss them already! We got to spend the dat together yesterday (although I was under the weather) and had fun on a "girlie day". Lindsay showed off her musical prowess on our piano...how cute is she?!

She was actually playing the keys with her forearms, it was precious!

Little Miss basking in her applause during her "concert"...

Finally, here is Linds and Mom with Kaley & Caroline. Katie- check out how color coordinated everyone was and how my girls matched?! It will never happen again I'm sure, ha ha!

On a side note, I have found a few cool new blogs. Animal lovers will enjoy Teachings of the Horse and all Mommy's will get a chuckle out of This is How We Roll and Mommy Doodles. Check them out, you can click on their names in my blogroll on the right. Also, since we dragged out the Valentine's decorations today, I put up a new poll for your curiosity. Hope you all have a good week and remember to check Chris's blog later in the week for Disney pix!

Linday's IN THE HOUSE!!!!!

2008-01-20T13:28:00.000-06:00

As if you don't see enough photos of Lindsay on blogger sis Chris's blog, I have more for you, LOL! These are special though cause these are of the little Miss in FLORIDA, hooray! We are sooo happy that the convention Mike goes to is in Orlando this year so we get a visit with the Bresnan family! Aunt Kimmie even got Lindsay her 1st Minnie and Mickey dolls to commemorate the trip. After a hellacious and exhausting experience on the way down (I'll let Chris fill you in more on that when she gets back), here's our first glimpse of everyone yesterday morning:

How cute is this tot? She was ready for a nap by the time we got there but was still sooo sweet.
Mom-to-be again Chris is looking great too, I can't believe that you can barely see her bump. :)

Once Lindsay adjusted to her new surroundings, she figured out something was up (a birthday party for our niece) and really liked the balloons. :)

Once we got all 3 of the family's youngsters down for a nap (including Caroline), Kaley, my niece and I took Chris for a slurpee at 7-11...a Florida tradition as Chris is addicted to them and can't get them at home! Part of the fun is also her collection of 7-11 photos too, ha ha...

Here's Linds digging in and making herself at home at Grammy's house with all of the toys. Grammy's house (my Mom) is THE best place to hang with kids as she has everything a parent could ever need for little ones. Lindsay really had a blast with her cousins and all the goodies there.

I think Lindsay inherited her Daddy's sweet tooth, he thought this piece of birthday cake was for him...silly Mike, tee hee!

This last shot was from this morning at my house. Linds slept most of the time, but sure was a happy camper when she got up. She truly is adorable and we are all so thankful for the time we get to spend with her (and her parents) this weekend. They are off now to see other relatives, but we have a fun girl's day planned tomorrow, so be sure to check back for even more pics and hopefully some adorable video!
Hope everyone is having as much fun as we are this weekend...

Quick Update

2008-01-10T20:08:00.000-06:00

Hi bloggers! It's been a fast and furious start of 2008 here and I've been too busy to write. After getting the kids back to school, hubby headed out of town for 2 weeks for training for a new job he started. I have been on my own and as a Mom who works full time in the home and out, it's been busy. Kaley also had her first piano lesson this week...it went well and her teacher was impressed. She wasn't too happy to find out that she now has to learn how to play "the right way" but she is sticking with it and we are proud of her. She also has an art workshop at school tomorrow evening which she is excited about and a sleepover bday party for her BFF on Saturday. Caroline went on a field trip to St. Augustine...it was a very long day for her but she had a blast! She also had an "Introduction to Guitar" clinic at the local music store which was fun. So we've had a busy busy week here (I had an unusually busy stressful week at work too) and there are no signs of it slowing down for a while. The kids have semester exams next week, then we have my niece's bday and a visit from blogger sis Chris and her family...can't wait for that! Just touching base to let everyone know we didn't forget about you all and hope everyone is having a great week! We will post more soon...

A Happy, Silly, Fun, Family New Year's Eve!

2008-01-01T09:36:00.000-06:00

We decided to stay in last night and indulge in our favorite New Year's past time...appetizers and board games. :) Grandma and Grandpa, and my sister and nieces came over to join in the fun too. We started off with a scrabble match of my Dad and I vs. my Mom and Caroline (a first time player)...of course Grandma's team won as she is the Scrabble Master of the family, we had fun. Kaley and Caroline got their little cousins into some hilarious rounds of "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Duck Duck Goose" too, they are so cute! We nibbled and had a toast with our sparkling grape juice before our guests left. Then the 4 of us cracked out our new "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" game while watching the festivities on TV. That is one fun game I tell ya! Caroline outsmarted us all! We had another family toast for a wonderful 2008 while the ball dropped and called it a year. Hope you all had a safe and Happy New Year and I wish many blessings in 2008! Here are some photos from the silliness:

Caroline and I were the champs of this game, here we are showing off our new hair do's too!

How cute is she?! Everyone says with her new hair cut she looks even more like me now. :)

Looks like I'm raising a couple of lushes here, LOL! Grape juice people...sister toast!

This is our hysterical attempt at a family portrait with Kaley's new camera...LOVE it, ha ha!

I'll leave you with a video toast from Kaley and Caroline...Happy New Year One and All!

Bragging on Kaley!

2007-12-28T08:38:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that my daughter could play this song so well after only having a piano for a month and teaching herself. I shot this video with Kaley's awesome new camera. Now that the holidays are over, I have to get the piano tuned and sign her up for lessons...just had to share this! I promise now that I have figured her new camcorder future videos will be better. :)

Happy BDay Blogger Sis Chris!

2007-12-27T09:33:00.000-06:00

Chris is celebrating today, so I had to send a shout out to my blogger sis. We've been friends since we were 14, so I thought we (and all of you) might enjoy a little walk down memory lane via photos. Happy Birthday Chris from all of us, we love you!!!!!

1987 (yikes!)...High School Graduation

At a Rick concert in Hotlanta (I think about 7 years ago)

Chris with Linds and my girls last year...

Chris and I at another Rick Springfield concert on 6/29/07!

Meeeerrrrrrrryyyyyy Christmas!!!!!

2007-12-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

Hi bloggers! Sorry I've been MIA for a bit, but I was busy getting ready for the holidays. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Although we don't know each other in person, you are all thought of often and are highly regarded...so I hope you all enjoyed the holiday with your families as much as I did with mine. Kaley and Caroline are officially spoiled now (as if there was ever any doubt) and are both very happy with everything Santa brought them. I am home with them for the rest of the week on vacation, so we are doing some fun girlie things while Dad is at work. Here are some photos (rest assured more will appear in a later post too) from Christmas morning at our house:

This is what the girls found when they woke us up at 6:30 to let us know that Santa came...

Here they are showing off their new "K" and "C" stockings filled with goodies!

Kaley got some cute sweater and shoes and plenty of gift card to shop with (her fave)!

Caroline finally got the Chia Pet that she has been begging us for since we can remember. :)

Kaley got an awesome digital camcorder, she is a budding movie producer. :)

Caroline got an acoustic guitar so her Dad can teach her how to play, can't wait until she can serenade me with her sister on piano! We are signing them both up for lessons soon.

This is one of my favorite photos from the day: the girls giving Cheyenne her Christmas stocking with a huge bone for her. Kaley also made homemade cheese and bacon dog biscuits for all of the pooches in the extended family for the holidays too.

Hope you all enjoyed these, there's more where they came from so stay tuned...

Look What We Made!

2007-12-16T18:46:00.000-06:00

Mom got this gingerbread house kit at Publix and we put it together today...cute, right?!
We just HAD to taste it, so we'll be getting another one to make for Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma's. :) Mom says to please ignore the ugly cookie sheet we put it on. We had a Christmas movie marathon with our cousins today and were couch potatoes.
Hope you all had a good weekend too...Santa's almost here!

Kaley & Caroline

Wrap Up on the Weekend (Literally)...

2007-12-10T07:24:00.000-06:00

Well blogger pals, it was a busy weekend here. Friday night a co-worker, Kaley and I headed to the mall for dinner and shopping and had lots of fun. We were on mission "Secret Santa" for our work party and Kaley for her sis. Saturday I worked (I logged over 60 hours this week, ugh) and then took Caroline out to get her prezzie for Kaley. I really enjoyed the one on one time with my girls. :) Sunday we went to Grandma's for a girlie pizza party. The Grandkids all decorated Mom and Dad's tree and baked holiday cookies. Last night I had a huge wrap fest, so everything is ready to go...whew! Here are a couple of photos from yesterday at Grandma's:

Happy Birthday Missy!!!!

2007-12-03T18:25:00.000-06:00

I have to send a Birthday Shout Out to my friend Missy whose celebrating today...Happy Birthday Girl! Missy survived her "Rick Indoctrination" at her first show with me and the girls last June...the telltale sign of BFF material, LOL!

I know it's cheesy and all, but here's my little attempt at a poetic tribute to the BDay Girl:

M-arvelous "Mother of the Century"
I-ntelligent and inexplicably cute no matter what she's doing
S-uper sport, takes daily stress in stride
S-kinny (I hate you) and both serious and silly when need be
Y-ou are an awesome person I'm proud to call Friend~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
XOXO MUAH (as R would say) :)

Weekend SURPRISE!

2007-12-03T18:06:00.000-06:00

Grandma had the best early Christmas present ever delivered on the sly Saturday afternoon for Kaley...check it out:

"What's going on Grammy"? OH MY GOSH...it's a PIANO!!!

Grandma and Kaley both cried (OK, I teared up too)...how sweet!

Look at the smile on that face while she checks out her new toy. :)

TA DAH!

And here it is all cleaned up and decked out for Christmas...isn't it beautiful?! Kaley has been wanting a piano ever since she was little, she has taught herself to play a bit and is always playing on Grandma's when she visits. We got her an awesome keyboard for her last birthday, but it's just not the same. This was such a wonderful thing...we are so happy for Kaley and can't wait to find her a piano teacher! Thank you sooooo much Grandma and Poppy!

Need Your Ideas: Holiday Gifts

2007-12-01T10:51:00.000-06:00

OK Blogger pals, I know how creative you all are so am calling on you to help me with suggestions and ideas for inexpensive but thoughtful holiday gifts for the kids teachers. I say inexpensive since Kaley has 6 teachers this year and Caroline has 2, so I have to buy/make 8 of whatever we come up with. The challenge is to not repeat something that's been done a million times, but give something that will be appreciated.

So what are you all giving the teachers, day care staff, etc in your lives this year?
Katie- what do you appreciate most as a teacher gift?

There is only 2 more week of school here, so I have to be able to put these together in that time frame too. If it helps, all of the teachers are female also. I would sure love any ideas you all might have... :)

Black Friday Shout Out

2007-11-29T07:23:00.000-06:00

I have to comment about the shopping experience that I had this year on Black Friday because it was actually pretty positive, more so than any other year I've done it. Overall, the people were more friendly and not rude (didn't see any pushing or grabbing) and everything I got up early for was there for me to buy, nothing was sold out, yippee! I left the house at 4 a.m., hit 3 busy stores and was home at 7 a.m., not bad at all. I couldn't sleep and ended up being up all night, but it was worth it as I'm pretty much done shopping for my kids already. :) * NOTE* if you are a die hard bargain hunter and Black Friday shopper, I found out that rather than sleeping you can now head to the mall on Turkey Day as it opens at midnight. I met some ladies who cleaned up their Thanksgiving Feasts, tucked their kids and husbands in bed and headed out at 10:30!

What really made a good impression on me was what happened at Old Navy. I'm sure you've all seen the commercials that if you spend $20 you get a free mp3 player, right? They opened at 5:00 a.m., but when I got there at 4:15 there were already about 40 people in line. By the time the store opened, there were over 100 people in line. So rather than a mad rush at the front door, the store manager came out and passed out wristbands and thanked everyone for coming.
I was already impressed! Then he said that we could redeem our wristbands and get the mp3 player anytime that day, so if we had other bargains to hunt we could come back anytime before they closed and our mp3 player would be reserved for us...wow! Very smart on their part since we now could take our time shopping and probably ended up spending more $ there. The staff was all decked out in red too, so it was easy to spot them if you needed help and they had plenty of people on registers so we didn't have to wait forever to check out either. I must admit that I don't normally shop at Old Navy regularly, but they sure did make a great impression on me!

Anyone have any other cool Black Friday stories or shout outs? Let me hear from ya...

Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T20:07:00.001-06:00

This year our family Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful! We (or should I say my Mom) decided that we all didn't need to go "all out" with the fancy side dishes and dressed up outfits and that we should be more casual and relaxed. It was sooooo much better and less stressful...as they say, Mom is always right! I only have pictures of my family and my folks as everyone else was shy. but here goes:

Kaley and Caroline pour Dad some spiced cider...yummy! Their tradition is to make the place cards every year, this year Caroline added a sign for over the table that read, "Thanksgiving Feast"...cute! She has called it that ever since she could talk. :)
Hubby and I getting ready to dig in!
The two things in this world that we are most thankful for...Kaley & Caroline!
This Thanksgiving wasn't just Turkey Day for us, it was also my parents 45th Wedding Anniversary...wow! That's just amazing to me and my siblings, what an accomplishment!
We are all going to a dinner show as a family to celebrate this coming weekend, but we also read them a sweet poem/toast at dinner, gave them a family tree with all of our pictures and various other silly gifts and a cake. Here is what they looked like 45 years ago on their special day:
And here's what they looked like 45 years later, adorable! Congrats Mom and Dad!!!
This is the cake my brother brought for one of the many desserts. Can you believe that after the huge meal we had, everyone still managed to find room for some cake?! :)

Our family is extremely thankful for everything that we have and everyone that touches our lives this year and always...that includes you blogger pals. Hope you all had a wonderful day too!

Festival of Trees

2007-11-24T23:18:00.001-06:00

These are some snaps from last weekend when we checked out the Festival of Trees. I should warn you now that there are lots of pictures as I love Christmas and decorating, so this show was right up my alley!

What made it even more special was that we hosted my BFF since 4th grade Renata that weekend who was visiting from up North. We had a great time and the kids now know why I love her so...we miss you already Ree! She's a very talented photographer and was sweet enough to take all of these photos for us, so pull up a chair and enjoy:
Starting off with a self portrait R took of herself and my girls...I love this one! :)

Here's Liney showing off the "nature tree", she was drawn to the red cardinals on it...

Kaley and Caroline standing in front of the "love tree"...isn't it pretty?

Here's Doug's fave of course, the "sports tree" (who saw that one coming?) The only thing that could make this tree better would be if it was covered entirely with Dallas Cowboys gear!

On to Kaley's fave, the "Disney Princess Tree", this one was all pink and fru fru shee shee and very girlie. You could actually buy tickets to win it in a drawing (we did) and it had $400 of gift cards on it...

I liked this tree with it's unusual color palette of magenta and "grinch" green, it's pretty whimsical just like Caroline!

If you look closely, you can see that this tree is covered with plush animals, making it Caroline's fave (go figure). I liked the shape of the tree (alpine, tall and skinny) myself.

This is my favorite tree since it would match my house perfectly and I adored the cream and amber tones, it was soooo pretty!

The girls show off the pretty "winter wonderland tree" with it's blue, white and silver theme...

The self portrait tradition continues...how cute are we?!

We all liked the "music tree" as we are a bit inclined in that area...cool, right?!

This "believe tree" was stunning with feathers and crystals...love it we did.

The sign above Kaley's head says it all in this one, tee hee...any girlie girl would love to have this tree for sure.

If you're still with me thanks! To end, here is a photo of my best friend and my daughters in front of the "florida tree" (see the palm frons). I love this one! We had such a great visit with "Auntie Renata" and hope we get to do it again soon...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

2007-11-22T10:11:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to take a moment and wish all of my blogger pals a wonderful and safe holiday...I'm so thankful for all of you!

It's been a busy week again, but I promise to get some pics posted from Festival of the Trees last week and today's festivities over the long weekend.

I also want to send a special shout out to my awesome parents who happen to be celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary today too...we love you Mom and Dad!

More soon...

I've Been Tagged!

2007-11-13T19:40:00.000-06:00

Katie at Cuppa Joe tagged me to list 7 things that I am grateful for since it's near Turkey Day and all. Everyone that reads this blog and/or knows me knows that I practice gratitude every single day. I am extremely thankful for my family of four, my parents and siblings and the dear friends that have blessed my life over the years. I thank God for them every day and frequently tell them how much they mean to me (overly sentimental I guess). Now with that said, I chose to make this list a bit more lighthearted and silly...so these are 7 little things that I am thankful for:

1) Pampered Chef Coffee- the blend of vanilla, hazelnut and cinnamon not only smells heavenly but can wake me up on my most tired of mornings...love this stuff.

2)My iPod- This makes a walk a pleasure and I can listen to my 80's tunes whenever I want without disturbing anyone else! If it's a bad day, I take it to work to help me ignore my co-workers too, LOL!

3) Girls Nights Out- I love getting together with friends and my sister (who is my best friend) to hang out and chat. I've been known to host a Skip Bo tournament or two for Girls Nights too, tee hee!

4) Sugar Free Russell Stover Jellybeans- love these soooo much! Think Jelly Belly without the sugar, I have and always will be a jelly bean fan. Cool beans!

5) People magazine- There is nothing I like better than getting home on a Friday with a fresh new People to read. Let me tell you too, I don't just flip through...I read the entire thing cover to cover. It's my "me" time after a long week and I look forward to getting the scoop and chilling.

6) Technology- I just know I'd die without my cell phone in my possession at all times, and owning a lap top and digital camera. Anyone else with me on that?!

7) Last but not least, I am so grateful for the spontaneous fun and silly times we have around here. I love to laugh, joke and play pranks and I have totally rubbed off on the rest of the gang!

So, my list ended up looking like the things I couldn't live without I guess (other than the humans I couldn't survive without listed above). This was fun Katie, thanks! OK, now everyone on my blogroll...consider yourself tagged, you're it!

School Portrait

2007-11-13T07:25:00.001-06:00

This is our Liney's 4th Grade school photo. It was taken in October, she's 9 and a half now. She's not my "girlie girl", but she asked me to curl her hair that morning...the poor kid is cursed with her Mom's stubbornly straight hair that won't hold a curl (she hates hair spray too).
I think she looks cute and she was happy with the blue background since it's her favorite color! Just wanted to share since I posted Kaley's school pic a while back...

Sweet Sisters- Caroline reporting

2007-11-12T19:48:00.001-06:00

Meet my new mice, Butterscotch and Patches! Patches is the one with the brown and white spots and the brown patch on her eye. Butterscotch is the one with the white stripe on her face. Aren't they adorable? My Mom and my Sister surprised me with the cute pair on Saturday while I was at a sleepover. Here's some pics of my new mice and me too:

I'm so happy to have mice back in the family, can you tell?! :)

Playing Catch Up...

2007-11-10T11:42:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to apologize for falling off the map in Blogger Land this week. It's been busy with more home improvements, recovering from Cody's departure, a cold on my part, long week at work and sleepovers last night with marshmallows roasted in the fireplace for the girls and their BFF's.

I'm thrilled that I got my blogroll and other assorted extras back up on this page, woohoo. Please check out my new poll (to the right of this post) and vote cause I'm curious. :) I added a couple of new blogs to my blogroll that are Blogs of Note, check out A Girl and Her Netflix Account for movie reviews and I'm an Organizing Junkie for some great tips on how to make our lives less cluttered and more sane and manageable.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Has this ever happened to any of you?????

2007-11-04T09:02:00.001-06:00

OK bloggers, this weekend was the 2nd yard work marathon for us. But this time something very interesting happened...while we were all outside this adorable little dog comes running up to greet us all. We loved on him figuring his owner would come walking by calling for him in a minute. Nope! We put him on a leash after about an hour as we live on a busy street where drivers do not obey the speed limit for fear he'd be hit (he's pretty little). So...we kept him outside with us while we worked until sundown asking every walker & biker that came by if they were missing a dog or knew anyone who was. We called our friends & family in the neighborhood too and no one recognized this little guy. We ended up bringing him inside when it got dark, went and got him some food at the store and he has been with us since 2:00 yesterday. He's wearing a collar but has no tags. He is getting along well with our beloved Cheyenne and we are all getting attached, but I know someone is missing him. I keep telling the girls that if our dog got out and we couldn't find him we would want someone to care for her until we found her and that is what we are doing with this little guy, but that he does not belong to us. My research indicates that he is a Papilon (an expensive toy breed) and as he is so well behaved and groomed I know he's just an indoor pooch that escaped somehow. I have placed an ad already in the local paper, am calling the local Human Society to leave our name and number when they open later today and we are on our way out now to put flyers up on the telephone poles along our street. Anyone have any experience with this? Should I be doing something else? What do we do if no one claims him?

Here's a snap of the adorable little visitor:

Kaley and the puppy
Caroline takes a turn too
So is this photo pulling at anyone else's heartstrings?! He is truly a sweetheart!

Bloggers, you're comments, suggestions, and ideas are welcome at this point and I will keep you posted on any developments in this "doggy drama". Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Our 100th Post- Happy Halloween!!!!

2007-10-31T20:03:00.000-05:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! How cool is it that Halloween is our 100th post?! I even changed the blog template to celebrate. :) (I will get my blogroll up again soon)
We had an unusual holiday here since Caroline's tonsilitis came back and she had a 101 temp today, so we stayed home. She had to sit out the trick or treating with the family this year, but her generous sister and cousins loaded her up with candy. She and I got to chill at home and pass out candy instead...it was actually a nice change of pace I thought.

Here's Kaley in her rocker chick costume again posing at Grandma's before they head out:
And here's how Caroline got festive to help hand out candy at home. :)
This is Caroline's pumpkin that she and her Dad carved last night...they have strobe lights inside, man are they cool!
And here is Kaley's...
That's about it for me tonight bloggers, off to bed. Hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch & A Tribute to Cup of Joe

2007-10-28T16:26:00.001-05:00

The girls and I finally headed to the Pumpkin Patch today with my Mom, Sister and Nieces since it was the last weekend before Halloween. It was a "Girls Day Out" since the men had to work, we did lunch too and had fun. It's still so hot here that we can't carve our pumpkins yet, but picked them out before there were none left. No big farms here, but below are some cute snaps I got of our girls today...

The girls and I named the pumpkin on the left "pimpled pumpkin", it tickled us!
Our Girls, this was my fave shot of the day.
Kaley Rose 12 and 1/2
Caroline Elizabeth 9 and 1/2

OK now, here's the tribute to Katie at Cup of Joe. Before you see the photo, this is all in fun, ha ha! Plus Katie, I want bonus points since we have 2 people in our photo taking up your challenge. Here's goes:
Do you like our pumpkins? They're real. Our pumpkins. :)

Have a good week bloggers and Happy Halloween!

Our Rocker Chicks-Ready for Halloween!

2007-10-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

Kaley & Caroline went to a Halloween party tonight and had a blast, they were the talent since they dressed up as rock stars. :) We worked pretty hard to come up a Kelly Clarkson/Avril Lavigne vibe here, we had fun. What you can't see too well in the photos are the stick on crystal nose piercings they have and tattoos on their faces. When my 4 year old Niece saw these photos and I had to explain that they sprayed colored streaks in their hair, she said, "those crazy girls"!
Couldn't have said it better myself...

In the studio, Caroline on air guitar and Kaley on vocals...
Pouty Rock Stars, this is their album cover pose.
This close up is my fave...they look legit too, ha ha! Watch out Hannah Montana...
Rocker Kaley
Rocker Caroline
Last but not least...Crazy Rock Chicks! Love it! :) Have a good weekend everyone...

Happy Fall Y'All!

2007-10-23T18:54:00.000-05:00

Tinkerbelle
Milky Mouse
Blackie

Love,
Kim, Doug, Kaley, Caroline,
Cheyenne, Milky, Janet, Blackie & Tinkerbelle, Swimmy the Turtle and the fishies...

Crazy Sleepover, Yard Work Marathon, and One Sickie...

2007-10-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Here's an update on our random weekend: started out with Kaley having her BFF for a sleepover on Friday night...man they were hyper and silly with the camera. Here's what they came up with:
I want some of whatever they were drinking that night (kidding)...here's Kaley...

...and her partner in crime (I mean BFF) Sheryl...these two are crazy girls!

As you can see our resident "sickie" Caroline has finally recovered from her tonsilitis and took part in the mayhem with Big Sis and her friend. Where do they come up with these ideas?!
I'm SO holding onto these pics for future blackmail potential. :)

Saturday I'm told I was a "slave driver" for instituting a 7 hour yard work family marathon, but man did our place need it. Doug kept reminding me that he's "Not 19 anymore" and the girls were all of the sudden in a hurry to "clean my room" and "study for a big test"...HA! To say our front yard is a jungle would be polite. :) I have to say that I am in love with the pressure washer... I kicked butt with it on the gutters, driveway, stone walkway, garage door, fence and the cars, LOL! I love how you can see right away how much cleaner things look! We also raked and bagged about a dozen bags of leaves, weeded, planted, and mulched. I then topped it all off this morning by painting the front door...you better believe I'm sore right now. :) My incentive was that we are having trick or treaters soon and a visit from a very special friend a few weeks after that (but of course this stuff needed to be done for 2 years now, but that's just what I told hubby and the kids, sssshhhhh). We still have a ways to go in the yard, but now that we started we just have to finish it all I hope. I'm not holding my breath since I'm pretty sure my family won't fall for it a second time, LOL! Here's a snap of the front door...see the horrible peach that is surrounding the freshly painted "Cup of Cocoa"? That's what the whole thing used to be...ewwww (I haven't liked peach since I was in High School)! I was trying out this color before we get the mamma jamma bucket of paint and tackle the rest of the peach trim...what do you think? The fading whitish color will also be repainted the same boring color I think.
Here's the front walkay (too ashamed to take photos of the entire jungle just yet). :) The girls planted white and red begonias and hubby picked out a cool purple flowering shrub for me that you can barely see here. Looks SO much better now...
OK, I'm off to put my feet up now, hope all my fellow bloggers had a wonderful weekend!

Making Friends...

2007-10-17T21:45:00.001-05:00

Here are some sweet animal pics to warm my fellow bloggers hearts. Below is Caroline (home sick with tonsilitis) chillin out with Milky Mouse...too cute, right?! Nothing better to cheer you up when you're sick than some ice cream, a nap in Mom's bed and a visit from your favorite pet. :)

As if that wasn't cute enough our sweet pup Cheyenne sensed Caroline didn't feel well and came in to investigate and finally started to make friends with Milky...
"What is this thing"???
"What do you want me to do with this"?
"Oh, I see, make friends"! Cheyenne was so sweet with Milky, just as she is with the other hammies in the house too. She's such a good dog and companion to us all and I just had to share these snaps from earlier today. Hope everyone is having a good week...

Fall Festival

2007-10-13T21:22:00.001-05:00

Busy weekend here so far, but here are some snaps from the Fall Festival tonight at Caroline's school. She and I went and took her BFF Crimson...I think they had fun, LOL! :)

This was a cool and huge slide that the girls raced down...
...and here's the cute pose they had for me when they got to the bottom, love this shot!

They had all kinds of carnival games, here's Liney trying to get a ping pong ball in the little fish tank...the prize was a red Betta fish she promptly named "Mellow". Just what we need...another pet in the house. :)

This slide was cool...the girls were strapped in with a rope attaching them to it. They had to see how far they could get and put the velcro bars up on the middle separator piece...ready, set, GO!

Love this action shot...trust me, this was hysterical and not at all as easy as it looks, ha ha!

I'll leave you with Caroline's fave picture of the day...she and Crimson taking a break over burgers and having a goofy soda toast. These girls are too much!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, hopefully we'll have more to post soon...

What Are We Going To Do With This Girl????!!!!!

2007-10-07T21:07:00.001-05:00

Ready For Halloween!!!

2007-10-04T20:31:00.000-05:00

It's been an exhausting and stressful week bloggers, so I'm a bit behind. Here are some more photos from what we did last weekend after the visit with our friends and Kaley & Caroline's sleepover. We got out the tons of Halloween decorations and went to town...Kaley doesn't call me "Martha Stewart Mom" for nothing, ha ha! The girls and their friends helped and considering that we have collected this stuff for over 10 years, that sure made it go lots faster. I only posted a few pics here, but suffice it to say, Halloween madness is running rampant outside and in almost every room of the house. :) Get ready bloggers, it will be here quick, enjoy...

This is what the kids and I did with the fireplace...spooky, huh? Great spot for a photo op in our house I say so it should be decked out, right?!
Kaley and her BFF Sheryl put together this display of ghosties...cute!
They then found some costumes and came out for a photo op like this. They are both festive and gorgeous!
And here's Caroline and her BFF Crimson who had to get in on the photo op too, LOL!

My kids have informed me of what they want to dress up as this year and it is NOT something I can buy at a store this time...yikes! I think I have it under control, stay tuned at the end of the month to let us know what you think...

Good Friends, Good People, Good Visit!

2007-09-30T19:50:00.001-05:00

Happy Weekend Bloggers. It was my High School Reunion this weekend (NO, I'm not that old)...we didn't attend, but we got a visit from some great friends that came up to go. Kevin has known me since I moved here in 8th grade, we went through High School, College, working together, marriage and babies together. They moved away a few years back and we miss them SO much. Kevin is actually Kaley's Godfather. :) Here are some photos from our time with Kevin, his wonderful wife Mary, and their adorable children Michael and Katie. They are good friends and good people and we had a great time with them all. :)

This is our girls and their kids together...they hadn't seen each other in 2 years. You couldn't tell though as they were thick as thieves in no time and enjoyed our "zoo".
Miss Katie has the cutest personality ever...love the pose!
Michael is so sweet, he loved the fire place and asked for this solo shot. :)
And this picture is of the two families together, my favorite! I apologize about the red eyes, my camera was acting up I guess and my software wouldn't fix them this time. Thanks for coming by friends...let's do it again soon. :)

Happy Birthday Donna & Michele!!!!!!

2007-09-28T09:59:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEESTER!!!!!!!!!!

My Sister-in-Law Donna is celebrating a birthday today...hope it's a great one and wish we were there with you. Donna, aka "Seester" is one of our family's favorite people on the planet, we love her so much and are so thankful she's a part of our lives!

Here is a snap of Donna and her hubby Dennis from a family wedding in June:
And here's one of Aunt Donna with Kaley & Caroline from a visit to our house a few years ago:

This is a special birthday for Donna too since she gets to share it with her new daughter-in-law Michele. We welcome Michele into the family with open arms and adore her...the girls especially love her (and her hubby Brandon, their cousin) to pieces! Hope you have a wonderful day too Michele...we miss you! Here is Michele and Brandon from the same family wedding: how cute of a couple are they?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELE!!!!!!!!

Birthday Shout Out & Book Review:Christmas Jars

2007-09-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

I would like to send a Happy Birthday Shout Out today to my all time BFF Renata (frequent reader of this blog). She is the best and I hope her day was as special as she is to so many of us! Love Ya girl! Here is a fave snap of the two of us from a couple of years ago...

I read a wonderful book over the weekend that I wanted to recommend to my blogger pals. It's called Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright. I saw him on Glenn Beck on CNN when I was channel surfing a couple of weeks ago, he was talking about his new book The Wednesday Letters (I have it on order from the local library). This book is a compelling story about family (how they come in all different forms) and the lessons learned through giving (by both the giver and receiver). If you are a generous and caring person who enjoys to help others, you will feel inspired to take action personally as those in this book did. It describes a heartfelt tradition begun at Christmas, but the lessons learned apply all year long. I know that I started our 1st Christmas jar when I finished the book and hope you do too. Please let me know what you think if you have read or do read this book, I'm interested in your feedback. Also, would anyone out there like to start or participate in a "blogger book club" We could pick a book and assign a due date to have it read and take turns hosting blog chats about it...sound good to anyone?

* Check out the comments on this post, the author himself left one*

Introducing...

2007-09-23T19:48:00.000-05:00

the newest members of the family that Kaley & Caroline adopted on Saturday:

Meet Milky Mouse
He is Caroline's new pride and joy. He's an albino (see his red eyes). Apparently some of the other naughty mice weren't so nice to him and he got a tiny scratch by his eye and was put up for adoption and Caroline just fell in love with him instantly. Check out his colorful new cage below. We bought extra tubes but didn't get enough...we will be getting 1 more straight piece so he will be able to run through the tubes completely around his cage...way cool!

Meet Blackie
Blackie is a dwarf hamster and is only 3 weeks old. Kaley adopted him and thinks he's a male (but it's too soon to tell yet). The wonderful salesperson at the pet store was listening to my kids talk on and on about how much they love hammies, so she brought out a cage with babies in it and got special permission to adopt them out. Kaley was ecstatic! We also saw 5 day old hammy babies, incredible! Since the babies were so little, we fell in love and actually adopted TWO, so meet Blackie's sister below:

Meet Tinkerbell
Kaley swears that Tinkerbell is a girl, aren't the siblings adorable?! The live in the same cage for now and are so sweet with each other. They are weaned and doing great with us so far.

I know you all probably think I'm insane to get more pets after the recent losses that we've had, but I just couldn't deny my girls the joy that having a pet brings...animals make them both so happy and they are very good Mommies. They have decided that I am the "Hammy Grammy", LOL! The store was having such an incredible sale that we got some different hammy toys that are too cute for words, so I'm sure we will have many crazy hamster/mouse posts to come. You've got to stay tuned, I promise a good chuckle! :)

"School Days, School Days..."

2007-09-19T21:17:00.001-05:00

This is Kaley's official 7th Grade school photo (Caroline hasn't had hers taken yet), we just got it back and I had to share. What do you think? I can't believe what a wonderful young lady she is turning into right before my eyes...where did the time go? Love you my beautiful Kaley Rose...

RIP Our Furry Friend

2007-09-18T18:16:00.001-05:00

We have some more sad news on the pet front today. After a brief illness, Kaley's beloved and famous hamster Oreo passed away this morning. Kaley was checking on him right before she left for school (Liney and I were already gone) and found him. Poor Kaley called me crying on the phone and had to leave for school and take a test today. Her Dad drove her to school, but I have to say that she is a trooper. Oreo lived a longer than usual life for a hamster and was spoiled and pampered from day one. Kaley has always been an excellent Mommy to him and he has give us all many silly moments (and videos) and fun memories to remember him by. Kaley picked out his final resting place and he is playing in Hamster heaven right now with Midnight the Mouse she says. Please keep Kaley in your thoughts as she is really upset. I know it's a learning experience and the joy that pets bring to our lives is worth it, but it hurts my heart as a Mom to see her like this. Here is a brief tribute for our sweet pet Oreo:

A favorite photo of the little critter...
This is the photo that Kaley submitted to an online photo contest that Oreo won, making him famous. :)
Finally, this is Kaley's favorite picture of she and Oreo. I love the happy smile she's showing here. So long sweet Oreo, you will be missed!

Low and Behold (It's a Miracle)...

2007-09-16T19:43:00.001-05:00

What do you get when you take a 9 year olds room + 4 hours of "Mom" cleaning time + 1 new area rug - 13 gallons of trash - 13 gallons of toys for Goodwill - 13 gallons of clothes we've outgrown - 3 loads of dirty laundry???? See answer below:

You get Caroline's room clean...it IS a miracle, LOL! Check out the new funkadelic rug from Grandma...hip huh? :)
Can you believe the child has this many toys left AFTER getting rid of an entire trash bag full of stuffed animals and another of garbage?! Yikes!
No, you're eyes are not playing tricks on you...you CAN see the bed! I am really teasing here, but anyone that's been to our place and has seen what her room usually looks like can back me up on what a monumental task this was. :)
We are a bit obsessed with furry creatures I think. I'm just so happy that you can OPEN the closet door and see the floor...

Here's silly Sis Kaley trying to get in on the act showing off the great job...gotta love that "fresh from the shower turban" look she's working.Finally, after working hard on her room and consuming way too much candy this weekend (see yesterday's post), this was Caroline when it was all said and done. We can always count on her for comic relief around here!

P.S. Now all she has to do is keep it that way, right?!

Lazy Weekend

2007-09-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

Since it's been a few posts since I've put any pics of my little angels up and considering that we've all been sick on and off for over 2 weeks AND that our extended family left for vacation today AND that Daddy is working this weekend, here is what we are doing on our "girlie" weekend:

A whole lotta nuttin, LOL! The girls were glued to Animal Planet to watch 2 back to back "Shiloh" movies in Mom and Dad's bed with their candy stash.

Kaley was craving chocolate, here's her lovely smile when I obliged her...can you say teenage hormones at work?!
Caroline is plugging her new favorite book here by Bruce Coville, Song of the Wanderer (it's part of a series that she's hooked on). It's fantasy, has unicorns and isn't too scary for her...what's not to love?!

Tomorrow's plan is to research Halloween costumes online...it's gonna be here quick! Hope you all are having a more exciting weekend than we are...more soon. :)

I've Been Tagged...

2007-09-12T21:01:00.001-05:00

by Katie at Cup of Joe to answer these questions in an effort for us bloggers to get to know each other better, so here goes:

Tell me something you really like about yourself:

Honestly, the thing I like about myself most is that I have always helped others and feel compelled to do so. I guess it's no surprise that I'm a social worker, huh?! I like knowing that I have done or given something to help someone else and I try my best to encourage my family to be the same way. This applies to charities, friends, family, strangers as well as to my clients. This can be my downfall at times too since there are always so many people that need help and so little time, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

If life gave "do-overs", would you have many? Tell me one.

I would have to say that anytime I have hurt someone I love unintentionally I wish I could do it over. The one that sticks out in my mind would be not finishing college the first time around (I started at 18 and graduated at 38 with a 14 year lapse in the middle). This disappointed my parents (and myself) and for years I felt so badly about it. I thank my parents for the support and encouragement they gave me while I finally finished. On the bright side...I did appreciate the experience so much more as an older student. :)

What would you like to be remembered for after you're gone?

Simply put, I would hope to be remembered for being the best Mom I could be to my wonderful girls! Also, the best wife, daughter, sister, and friend and as someone who always did what she could for others.

Knowing what you know now, what one piece of wisdom would you like to pass on to future generations?

I would specifically like to pass on the idea of believing in and staying true to yourself to my daughters. I think everyone has struggled at one time or another with trying to be accepted and I want my kids to know how great they are and how proud I am of them and that they should never do or be something they're not to impress another.

Is your life: a)harlequin romance b) an atlas c) a mystery d) sci-f e) other. EXPLAIN your choice.

OTHER. My life is the typical combo platter since all of my roles encompass some of these things at various times I think. I'm gonna answer this one in a different way... I WISH my life had a bit more a, lots more b, a bit less c and d and lots more comedy for relief, ha ha!

That's it for me, please consider yourself tagged bloggers and repost these questions if you can.

Notes From The Sick Ward...

2007-09-09T19:30:00.000-05:00

Well blogger pals, it's been a bummer here this week (for the past 2 weeks for me)...everyone has been sick. Yes folks, all at the same time and with different ailments...what fun! Caroline has had more trouble with her ears and is now on Sudafed and Nasonex daily. Kaley had unexplained high fevers for 2 days, and after last week with viral labrynthitis (a middle ear infection that causes problems with balance/dizziness), I came down with the flu or one heck of a cold. Doug has been a saint this week going to the pharmacy for us and sleeping on the couch to help me get rest so I could go to work at least half of the week. The kids have since mended, but I did not re-join the human race until this evening. I promptly did 3 loads of laundry, cooked a casserole for dinner and headed for the grocery store in an effort to play catch up. Sadly, it was then that I heard my hubby sneeze...oh yes, he managed to escape the germs all week only to be stricken with the dreaded cold on his weekend off poor guy! Good thing I'm feeling better so I can take care of him now. :) So, I haven't been up to blogging for a while, but am finally back in the saddle again...

Movie Review

2007-09-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm not a professional movie critic or anything, but just have to encourage everyone to check out Akeelah and the Bee...it's awesome! I have been begging my kids to watch it with me (they were less than enthused), but I caught it on late on Showtime last night and am so happy I did. Maybe it's because I've had teachers on the brain lately with school staring and all, or because I'm in the helping professions and value the sense of community, but this flick really inspired me! It's a feel good movie for sure and had bits of Hollywood "this can't possibly be real" moments, but the overall messages were so positive for kids. Without giving the movie away, it teaches kids to never give up, believe they can do anything they set their mind to and that it truly does take a village to help raise a child. It's also inspiring to adults to go the extra mile and invest in kids and their future. I will admit that I squeezed out a few tears in the end and am "forcing" my kids to sit down and watch this me and I seriously urge you all to check it out and let me know what you think...

Happy Labor Day to You!

Ridiculously Hysterical...Check This Out!

2007-09-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

While surfing around in bloggerland, I came across a link to an ebay auction that truly cracked me up. The Mom that posted the auction has 6 kids and a blog, it's truly the funniest thing I read in a while. My heart does go out to her, but I have to admit that reading about the escapades of her brood get me thinking that I don't have it quite so bad after all, LOL! Check out her hilarious blog and be sure to read the grocery shopping post (it's a reprint of the ebay auction). Here's a link to her blog called Because I Said So:
www.mom2my6pack.blogspot.com

Anniversary Shout Out

2007-08-29T20:30:00.001-05:00

My BFF Renata and her hubby Larry on celebrating their 9th wedding Anniversary today...Congrats guys, celebrate! Love Ya! :)

(Sidenote: No time to blog lately friends, busy week here as usual. I was experiencing some extreme dizziness on Tuesday and ended up at the doctor (thanks to C's insistence). Turns out that I have a viral infection in my middle ear (viral labryinthitis), that is causing the dizziness. So strange and not a feeling I enjoy at all (driving was pretty scary). It should clear up in a few days, but the meds to reduce the dizziness make me sleep like a baby, LOL! I've been home since yesterday afternoon, but will be back at work tomorrow and promise to update and post a new Barbie saga from Kaley over the long weekend. So check back soon friends...)

Continuing the Celebration of RICK...

2007-08-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

This is for blogger sis Chris and her little one Lindsay, tee hee! They have trouble getting videos on the blog and I came across this today so had to post it in honor of Rick's bday earlier in the week. We are starting Lindsay out early in the Rick fan club along with her Mom and Aunt Kimmie, enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

You KNEW I Was Gonna Do It...

2007-08-23T19:26:00.000-05:00

I HAD to wish my man Rick Springfield a very HAPPY 58th BIRTHDAY today!!!!
He's celebrating Down Under today with his family...I got the invite but couldn't get off work, ha ha ha! So here's a look at my new favorite photo of my "free pass"the birthday boy...
Happy Birthday Man, rock on, ya still got it!

Back To School!

2007-08-20T07:41:00.001-05:00

Much to their dismay and after an extra long summer, school started today for the girls. Here are some photos of what Kaley & Caroline looked like this morning before they left. Cute, huh?
Mom is breathing a huge sigh of relief that we are once again back to a normal schedule, ha ha!

Is This America's Next Top TEEN Model, Or What?!

2007-08-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

OK, I know I'm biased since I delivered this gorgeous child into the world (after 36 hours of labor I might add), but is this a pretty kid or what?! She has been asking recently that we look into modeling for her (yup, I'm a bit leery as you can imagine) and it got me to thinking about how much she loves to pose and everything girly that goes with it and always has...

Here she is posing after her last haircut with no make up at all. :)

She's posing in one of her favorite places on Earth...the Rose Garden! Incidentally, she has already informed us that we need to start saving now for the wedding she's having there, ha ha! (hubby and I wanted to get hitched there, but didn't want to have everyone die of heatstroke as our ceremony was in Aug. at high noon, tee hee.) Notice how her pink outfit matches the roses here?!

This is from an impromptu photo shoot when Kaley Rose was 3 and a half years old. I had just returned from a wedding and brought my Bridesmaid's bouquet home on the plane for her and this is what followed shortly after a quick trip to the attic:

Not to give anyone ideas (Chris, ha ha), but do you just love this? I did! I had to scan these pics while they were in the photo album already scrapped, so forgive the borders and such...

Strictly for fun, I thought it might be fun to throw one in of me in the gown from 5 years previous for comparison...

Our little adorable wannabe Bride!

I took this to show just how LONG the gown was for her by laying it all out on the couch for perspective...can you tell by the expression on her face how much she's enjoying herself?!

This is my favorite photo from the little session we had. I LOVE the happy girly look on her face and remember it just like yesterday!

BFF's- Caroline and Crimson

2007-08-18T18:19:00.000-05:00

This is Caroline and her new best friend Crimson. They have been in school together for the past year or so, but it was only 3 weeks ago that we figured out that we live a few short streets from each other. Since then, these two have become inseparable! They have each had their first sleepovers at each others house, been to a softball game, a High School Musical 2 screening party and met up at the school yesterday to meet their new teachers. AND...when they are not in each other's presence, they have discovered the phone and are on it constantly. Yikes, they are only 9 after all! We welcome Crimson into our circle of friends...

Here are a few snaps from last night, these girls are too wild for words my friends...
(Yes, I have permission from Crimson's folks to post her on the blog) :)

Here are the little darlings posing with Cheyenne...don't they look sweet?

OK, so the sweet pose didn't last long and this is their "scream" pose...

Which then led to the full on crazy pose above, ha ha!

I then captured them laughing after the madness died down a bit. They are adorable!!!!
Oh what I wouldn't give to be 9 years old again and on summer vacation, right?!

Farewell Midnight, Our Friend...

2007-08-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

Today has not been the best day here bloggers. The kids have a stomach bug and feel yucky, so I stayed home with them( I will now be working 10 hour days for the next 2 days to make up the time). Kaley has a small fever, but slept a lot this morning. Dad got stuck stuck at work and won't be home until 8 tonight, but the worst by far is that Caroline's pet, Midnight the Movie Star Mouse passed away today. :( My poor baby was so strong when she told me, then she and her sis put him in a box to be buried when Dad gets home. She covered the box in a towel so she wouldn't have to look at him all day. Then, the tears came. She only let me hug her while she cried for a few moments, then wanted to be alone in her room. I could hear her sobs 3 rooms away. I feel so bad, especially since she got him for her bday which was only 3 months ago and feels like it's her fault for not caring for him well enough (which so isn't true, rodents don't live long in general). This is a part of parenting that is sad, but also serves as a learning experience in dealing with the loss of loved ones, whether humans or animals. Caroline is closer to some animals than some humans too! So to cap off a down day, we are holding Midnight's Farewell at 8 tonight when Dad gets home from work. Oreo and Janet (his hamster friends) will attend. So farewell Midnight, we miss you already and thank you for the fun times you shared with Caroline and our family...

Well Wishes, Congratulations and More...

2007-08-12T20:23:00.000-05:00

Another busy weekend came and went here, can't believe my precious angels start back to school in 1 week (the poor things), NOT, ha ha! This has been a long summer and another weekend filled with sleepovers. This time Caroline went to a friends on Fri. night and Kaley on Sat. night. Remind me to coordinate that one better next time. :) We have some bragging to do and well wishes to make for exciting things that have happened this weekend in our family...

Our oldest nephew, Brandon graduated from college on Friday and we couldn't be prouder! Congratulations Brandon, you rock! Here he is from a family wedding in June with his beautiful fiance Michele...

On Saturday, Kaley's Godfather (and our dear friend) Uncle Kevin celebrated a birthday...hope it was a great one my friend! I've known Kevin since 8th grade, here he is when his Goddaughter was a wee babe... Happy Birthday!!!

Finally, today my Dad (aka Poppy) had a birthday and celebrated at our house. My Dad is the best ever (see my father's day post to him for mushy gushy stuff) and his Grandkids love him to pieces. Happy Birthday Dad, we love you!!!! (from your #1 daughter, remember) :)
Here he is from the festivities today....

OK, that's it from here for now. If I can get Kaley to stay at home for a minute, she might get her long-awaited next Barbie post done soon, ha ha! Busy week ahead finishing up getting ready for school, picking up schedules and meeting teachers...more when we can. Nighty night bloggers, friends, and family...

Oreo's Home Made Salad-Kaley's Post

2007-08-06T20:38:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone!
Anyone who has hamsters, gerbils, mice, or any kind of rodent should try Oreo's home made salad! First get a bowl and fruit or veggies. (I used both fruits and veggies.) You can also add things like granola or dried oatmeal and nuts. Next, rinse off the food and chop it up. place it carefully in the bowl. Serve it to your pet and remove the food when your pet is finished. (you don't want to create bacteria). Enjoy! I know Oreo did! LOL!!!!! I am currently working on some
more Barbie photos, so tune in tomorrow!

Super Sleepover!!!

2007-08-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

OK, I don't have a lot pics (I don't put other people's kids on the blog without parental permission), but have to tell you that little Miss Social Butterfly Caroline had her very 1st sleepover at our house on Friday night. It was a huge hit! She and her friend partied like 1999 and kept Mom up until after 3 in the morning, yikes! There was pizza, chips, chocolate, soda, laffy taffy and an awesome nail session. They played (loudly I might add) in Liney's room for hours cracking each other up. Kaley had her best friend overnight also, they got in on the junk food and nail action too (and even did mine for me). I went in to Caroline's room at one point to check on the little devils and this is what I found (hold onto your hats everyone).....

Hamster Hoopla going on with Janet the Teddy Bear Hamster and Midnight the Movie Star Mouse (not pictured). These girls are crazy I tell ya, ha ha!

So after the smoke cleared and her friend left 17 and a half hours later (yea I counted, tee hee), I went to check on the state of Liney's room that she had cleaned all day in order not to be embarrassed (and which I requested that they straighten up before she left) and THIS is what I saw...(again, hold onto something my friends)

Needless to say, it still looks like this as I type this...OMG! She went over to her friend's to swim for 8 hours today (holla) and showered and collapsed into bed. It was SO worth it though!!!

So other and than the before and after sleepover cleaning laundry, and grocery shopping that I did this weekend, I decided not relax (what's wrong with me...I think I was channeling Missy, ha ha) and cleaned our pig stye of a 2 car garage instead. Man did it need it and boy is the trash man gonna be cussing me tomorrow morning, LOL! Kaley helped and Doug did the laundry room and lawn. I gotta say that it feels SO good to purge, organize and cross that long standing and huge chore off my to do list!

OK, that's our update for the weekend...stay tuned for another Barbie post coming soon from Kaley...love you all!

8/1/92- "Love is patient, Love is kind..."

2007-07-31T19:39:00.000-05:00

We are blessed and proud to be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary on August 1st.

This post is a little trip through the last 15 years in photos...hope you enjoy!

To my wonderful husband Doug, I want to say that it's been a long and amazing journey (and God knows we've had our share of ups and downs-and then some), but also one that has brought me more joy than anything else in life! I respect and admire you and am proud of the great Dad you are to our daughters. Thank you for being my best friend and making the last 15 years the best...hope we have at least 15 more together! I love you "Always and Forever"!

August 1, 1992- The Big Day

Here we are in the "dating" stage...how cute and young do we look?! 1991
I have always loved this silly photo! 1991
This is one of our 2 official "engagement" photos, I really like this one too. 11/91

This is 11 months after our wedding at another good friend's wedding...we clean up good! My best friend Renata took this awesome Glamour Shot of us after we'd been married a year or so...this is our sexy look!
This is Christmas of 1994...3 months before we became 1st time parents!
Another Christmas shot after we'd been parents (two times) for a couple of years, still cute!
This was taken at an apple orchard in North Ga. on a vacation in Murphy, NC...I love the Fall!
I believe this was about 4 years ago...
This is our most recent professional portrait from 2 Christmases ago, 2005.

This is another most recent favorite snap of us taken at our Niece's wedding on 6/2/07.

I am extremely proud of the fact that we are happily married after 15 years and 2 beautiful daughters together and look forward to growing old and watching our kids grow into adults with my hubby! Pics from our celebration to come later. Hope you all enjoyed this tribute post...love you all! :)

Quick Update

2007-07-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been absent again for a bit bloggers, it's been a hellish week at work and I just can't find the time to read everyone's blog and write on my own during the week, ha ha!

Nothing much to report...we put a major dent in the back to school shopping last night and bought the girls: all of their supplies( and man was it a lot), 2 pairs of shoes each (their feet have grown over a size this summer, yikes), socks, and bras. They already have their backpacks, undies and some new clothes. We only need sneakers for PE, an outfit for the first day and anything we forgot now. Can't believe that this long summer is almost over and they are back to school in 3 weeks?! Woohoo! This Mom is looking forward to getting back to a "normal" routine as much as I love having them home y'all, LOL! We are driving to a far away mall today so Kaley can spend the money she's been saving at Abercrombie Kids for more school clothes too. This kid has more clothes, shoes, and make up than me, tee hee. :)

Trying to find the time to go out with Doug to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday too. Check back for a special tribute post later in the week...

The kids also want me to tell you that they are currently working on another "Crazy Barbie" post, so be sure to check back soon for that too. Have a great weekend friends...

You Know What They Say...No Pain, No Gain!

2007-07-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

What these crazy girls won't do for beauty, LOL! After trying a home made mask recipe from a magazine of honey and oatmeal, Kaley decided it was too sloppy and got into Mom's beauty supplies. She slathered herself and then her "monkey see monkey do" sister...too funny! :)

Caroline isn't looking like she's diggin it too much either, ha ha! She's got her new Webkinz that she got today to keep her company. What am I gonna do with these two when they actually are teenagers?! Help...I'm NOT ready!

Happy Birthday Uncle Bobby!!!!!

2007-07-21T17:04:00.001-05:00

Today we celebrated with my brother-in-law Bobby as he turned 29 on Wednesday. He had a great party today, the girls had a blast! They have always loved Uncle Bobby cause he's as goofy as they are, ha ha! Here's the birthday boy with Kaley and Caroline...

They put together a home made slip and slide and the girls couldn't wait to try it out!
Not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or the grown ups, LOL!
This is my girls with their Auntie Monica that they don't get to see much, they miss her. :)
The party had a tropical theme and had lots of beverages and munchies for young and old and I think Uncle Bobby enjoyed himself with his family and friends.
This is a favorite picture of the girls and their Uncle Bobby from the holidays...
Happy Birthday Uncle Bobby (here with my gorgeous sister Lisa-his wife)...WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Two Horses

2007-07-19T20:03:00.000-05:00

A very old and dear friend sent me this poem and I loved it so much I had to post it here. A few of my close friends have been surviving difficult times lately, so this goes out to them...

Two Horses

Just up the road from my home is a field,

with two horses in it.

From a distance, each looks like every other horse.

But if you stop your car, or are walking by,

you will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will

disclose that he is blind.

His owner has chosen not to have him put down,

but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing.

If nearby and listening,

you will hear the sound of a bell.

Looking around for the source of the sound,

you will see that it comes from the

smaller horse in the field.

Attached to her halter is a small bell.

It lets her blind friend know where she is,

so he can follow her.

As yo u stand and watch these two friends,

you'll see how she is always checking on him,

and that he will listen for her bell and then

slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she

will not lead him astray. When she returns to the

shelter of the barn each evening, she stops

occasionally and looks back, making sure her

friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses,

God does not throw us away just because

we are not perfect or because we have problems

or challenges. He watches over us and even brings

others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by

the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.

Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see.

Good friends are like this ..........

You don't always see them,

but you know they are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.

Tag, You're it...

2007-07-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

1. REAL NAME: Kim

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus "-izzle"): Kimizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal): Purple Poodle

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name and current street): Ruth Hayes

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom's maiden name): Nor Ki Rem

6. YOUR SUPER HERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Vanilla Bacardi

7. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's middle name and father's middle name - switch if you are male): Norma John

8. YOUR GOTH NAME: ("Black" and the name of one of your pets): Black Oreo (LOL)

9. YOUR PORN NAME (name of your first pet + first street you lived on): Bijou "Can't Remember"

Weekend Update

2007-07-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry that it's been a while since I've posted bloggers, but it was a very stressful week at work after being out sick. Glad to be feeling better and was able to have some fun this weekend. After helping out (as a family) at my Sisters garage sale, we kept my 3 year old Neice for a sleepover...we had a blast! She is not pictured here but I have included some snaps of my 2 crazy kids livin it up like we were 3 again, ha ha!

After a "pasketti" dinner (Neice's request), the girls had a little dance party moment. Here's one of Kaley bustin a move...
followed by her sis Caroline doing her best disco pose...
"Heeeyyyyyy-ooohhhh"
I'm a crazy girl in a crazy wooorld, LOL!
After the Solid Gold fun, we moved into my bathroom to play beauty parlor and got all dolled up and modeled our new looks. Here's Liney's grown up model stance...take a good look at the hair cause she NEVER wears it down, tee hee. :)
Kaley curled her own hair for this one, she did a great job too!
After the modeling session, we hopped in the car and headed to Sonic for some ice cream while showing off our new looks. Then after a movie and lots of restlessness on the part of my Neice, Caroline finally gave up...after getting Neice to sleep I found her like this...
After Dunkin Donuts for breakfast (Neice's request), we all headed for the pool...even Doug got in on the act below. Can you believe this man works on our pool every day and will come in the yard and watch us swim and relax in a chair in the blazing sun, but WILL NOT take a dip...crazy dude!
Caroline grabs her unsuspecting Sis and plants a wet pool kiss right on her!
Kaley grabs her right back and silliness ensues...
After a few spills on the slip and slide, Kaley decided to "wash off" with the hose...this started a whole new hilarious game for the 3 Stooges (er I mean angels), ha ha!
We finished off the day with a nap and some burgers on the grill that we shared with my parents...my hubby makes the best burgers too, yum! Hope you all had a great weekend too, I'll try not to be such a stranger this week...

Top 5 Things I Love About Having Tonsilitis

2007-07-09T18:02:00.000-05:00

1. You can eat as much sherbet as you want...woohoo! (although I think it will be a long time before I eat any again)

2. You don't have to go to work! (the work piles up, but you're just too sick to care)

3. Family members feel so sorry for you that they wait on you (thank Goodness cause I didn't have the energy to take care of myself).

4. You're throat is so swollen on the outside, that you get right to the front of the line at the local pharmacy. (nuf said)

5. Your fever gets so high that you barely remember the whole ordeal, especially when you agreed to let your kids do things you normally wouldn't (but your family members will remind you of what a baby you were).

2007-07-07T10:22:00.000-05:00