This is my kid. My middle schooler who turned 13 last Tuesday. Yeah, I am feeling a wee bit old. Isn't he cute? Yeah, the girls think so.
In fact, last month, we went to the carnival in town. Brandon and his buddies go off on their own and are to meet back with me and Zac. Well, he meets us and I notice his hat is gone. So I ask him, "Hey, buddy, where is your hat?" SO, he gets all bugged and says, "Some girl took it. She's with Kaitlyn." I know who Kaitlyn is, so I tell Brandon if I see her, I will get it. About an hour later I see some girl wearing his hat. I look next to her and see Kaitlyn (just so I know I have the right girl). I walk up to this nice girl and say, "Hi. May I please have my son's hat back?" She says, "Oh, you're Brandon's mom?" I tell her yes I am and she says, "Oh, I have talked to you on the phone. I am Jessica, Brandon's girlfriend." I just look at her and she says, "OH, I guess Brandon didn't tell you about me. He said he was going to tell you." He had told me about this girl, but he told me she thought he was her boyfriend but he didn't like her. Anyway, I said, "Oh, the reason he didn't tell me about you is probably because Brandon is not ALLOWED to have a girlfriend." She just looked at me like a deer in the headlights and walked away. I found Brandon, gave him his hat and told him the story. He says to me, "Dude! Mom, you rock! Thanks for doing that!" Then on Monday, he told her he can't have a girlfriend and "broke up" with her. Now he's getting all kinds of calls from girls and stuff. Man, I hate it. He's a little boy for cryin' out loud.

OH, also. On October 10 I went and saw New Kids on the Block in concert. I know, I know. Don't be jealous. Especially don't be jealous that I am going to Seattle in November and going AGAIN. Yep, I am THAT cool.

Thank YOU HolleeAnn!

I got an email from HolleeAnn just because she misses me and I realized that I needed to post an update.

I have so much to say, too. I may have to do it in phases.

Grammie is doing great! She moved out of her house and into a Retirement Community. It turns out the reason she was dizzy and passing out is because she didn't have the energy to eat anymore. She could eat, but she couldn't cook. So she was eating 3 crackers with peanut butter each day. Now, she walks to the Dining Hall three times a day for her meals and if she misses one, she gets a phone call and they bring her food. She turned 90 on the 30th.

Here she is at her party:





Just try and tell me she isn't the cutest thing you ever did see. Don't worry though, we scolded her for the shortness of her skirt. We were there looking through old pictures and things and there was a photo of her in a BIKINI. OMGosh you guys, she was so flippin' cute! At one point, Zac's cousin says, "Wow, Gram, you have always been a hottie!" Gram says, "Oh, yes, Katie, I really have always been." Good to know all this trouble in her life hasn't caused any self esteem issues. LOL!

Thanks for thinking of us all and I will absolutely get back on the blog ball! I need you guys! And thanks again, HolleeAnn. You made my week (10 days ago!)

I know it seems like I've abandoned ship...

and I guess I sort of have, though not intentionally. I fully intended to take a month off to get everything together for the kids when they started school (July 28th they went back). However, since then, Grammie has not been doing well. At all. And honestly, I am doing everything I can just to stay afloat. I am very, very sad and every time I think about her, I cry. She has been hospitalized twice in the last month and a half, and she has gotten dizzy and passed out a number of times. I know she is old, but I am not ready to lose her. I have only had her for 10 years! Please forgive me for not checking in. I will try to check in more often if I can. And please, please PRAY for Grammie. She is an angel and deserves the best. There is so much more detail involved, which I really can't get into, but Zac and I are trying to persuade her to move in with us. Please keep in touch if I am not on here, through the email in my profile.

Photo Story #4

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

If you have ever read any posts about my son, Nolan (aka Ninja Boy), then you know he is a handful, to say the least. He is all boy and already at 6, he doesn't take crap from no one. No one that is, except for his "best friend" Jaydin. Jaydin is a little DIVA. She is absolutely, positively 110% G-I-R-L. You'd think that they would hate each other given the fact that they are polar opposites.

I know why Nolan likes her. She's the only person (besides family) that has put him in his place, and my boy LOVES a challenge.

Jaydin's mom, Monica (my BFF) took Nolan and Jaydin to a friend from Preschool's birthday party and then to another party for a family friend last summer. At the family party, Nolan and Jaydin decided to get in the hot tub. As they are getting in, a friend of Jaydin's family said, "Oh, Jaydin, is this your boyfriend, Nolan?" Nolan immediately pipes in and says, "NO!" Jaydin, at the same time, says, "Yes." She hears Nolan say "no" and she glares at him and says, "Nolan, you ARE my boyfriend, and THAT'S just the way it is!" Dude, I hope he keeps this girl forever!!

Photo Story #3

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I had to actually publish this a day late (sorry!) since I couldn't actually save the image to my computer. You get a link instead, but I assure you-it's worth it.

I fully intended on sharing a different picture (actually I couldn't decide which one out of 3!) but they are all on my desktop, which, of course, won't start up for me right now. Sooooo, I am on hubby's lap top (as usual) and I had to scrounge for a 'photo story' pic. I am completely aware that nothing can top last week's (I know you're all still seething with envy, don't be hatin'), but this is what I came up with.

In the central valley of California where we live, it gets HOT. OK, not as hot as YOU in Arizona and stuff, but Hot enough. Like 112 degrees hot. The first summer we lived here (coming from the ocean where it rarely gets above 80), I *made* hubby (read: cried and cried until he agreed) put the house on the market, 'cause I wanted to go HOME! Well, for some reason (God!) the house couldn't sell, despite the reasonable asking price and the crazy hot housing market. Zac pleaded to me to try and stay one more year and if I still hated it, then we could sell it. I agreed. After that year, I realized I liked my friends and my life here and agreed to stay indefinitely. On one condition (c'mon...you gotta have conditions!). We had to get a pool. SO, we had it designed and it had a separate little shelf section that was only 18 inches deep so the babies could chill out without me freaking out. I saw the design on paper and we looked it over and couldn't quite figure out what in the world was so awkward about the design.
Finally, it comes to me. I say to the pool designer, "Um, Fred, uh, um, doesn't it look kind of like a, um, uh, penis??" My husband shot me "the glare," but he knew darn well he was thinking it, too! Fred assured me it would not look like genitalia. I beg to differ.


Bird's Eye View of my house

When you get to the page, you may need to click on "Bird's Eye View" to see the yard.

Photo Story Friday #2

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "OH MY GOD! Is that Corey Feldman with our beloved Kelly??" Why yes, yes it is. Before you get too insanely jealous, let me tell you a story about the picture. Before I do, though, Yes, I am aware the photo is pretty rough. It has definitely seen its share of cubicles and grubby, admiring hands. Don't hold it against me.

When Zac and I were dating, I surprised him with a ticket to an 80's concert for his birthday (which is TODAY, by the way.) He was turning 26. It was Flock of Seagulls, Ric Ocasek from The Cars, Berlin (still rocked) and a "surprise guest." Imagine MY surprise when the surprise guest was MY favorite 80's actor. I mean, The Goonies alone could make you fall head over heels for this 'talented' actor. Add in the Lost Boys (filmed in MY hometown) and you have the complete package.

So, after Corey's concert (apparently he thinks he can sing sings), it was announced that if we bought his CD for 10.00, we could stand in line and meet him. Well, I didn't care whose birthday we were celebrating, I was gonna meet COREY FELDMAN! So, my wonderful boyfriend stood with me in line for an hour (he likes to say it was 2, but he's wrong. Sometimes I compromise at 1 1/2 hours) to meet him. In line I met a girl who said, "Oh my God! What are you gonna say when you meet him??" Gosh, I hadn't thought about it. So, I came up with a really good one-liner. It HAD to be good since I had loved him since I was 13 and by this time I was 24. So, I get up to the front. I say "Hello" to Corey and then I say, "Corey, I have waited 10 years for this moment." He looked at me adoringly with those big brown eyes and said in his raspy little voice that I love SO much, "Awww, I'm so glad you waited." Now, I'm not sure if he really was glad I waited or if he thought I was "special" so he was just being nice. Either way, I got the reaction I'd hope for. And after all that, my boyfriend still loved me, even married me. Not to say he doesn't make fun of me, ALL THE TIME, for this experience. Good thing we both have a sense of humor!

And, believe me, Zac went up a couple notches on my "coolness" meter, too.

Happy 35th Birthday to my awesome husband, Zac. I love you more than Corey!


*Oh, and just in case you missed the first season, The Two Coreys will air its Second Season (I mean, the first season was SO good, how could they not be picked up AGAIN?) on Sunday June 22nd. See the A&E website for the full schedule!*

My morning of affirmations

Kendall sits next to me and says, "You're the bestest mom ever and I'm always gonna keep you." "And you're not fat." Hey, kid, thanks for throwing in that last part. I was beginning to worry you were trying to boost myself esteem since I'm a cow.

Nolan has pneumonia. Took him to the doctor yesterday and it was confirmed. So, he is laying low for a few days (yeah, try the whole "limited activity" with a 6 year-old boy!) I have been sleeping in the guest room with him for a few nights now to help him when he coughs all night. He says, "Mom, can you sleep with me again tonight?" I told him I miss my bed and I really want to sleep with my husband tonight (get your minds outta the gutter, people!). He then tells me, "Oh, Come ON, mom! It's not like HE's gonna miss you." See how much my kids love me??

Photo Story Friday

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

There's no way I can post just one photo of this amazing woman. So, you're getting three, and you're gonna have to like it ;)



Proceed with Caution: Long winded-ness ahead.

This is Grammie. She is my husband's 89-year-old grandmother. She is nothing short of magnificent. I am not able to tell just one story about her because she has made such a huge impact on me in the 9 1/2 years I have known her. I know that she will not be around forever, and when she does go, I want the world to know how much she meant to me.

I remember when Zac and I started dating. I called him one day and he said, "I'll call you right back, I am on the phone with my grandma." I was thinking, "What? He talks to his grandmother?? Growing up, I had NO relationship with either of my grandmothers and the idea was so foreign to me. So, imagine my surprise when he called me back TWENTY minutes later, saying, "Oh, sorry I just got off the phone with her. We talk about 3 times a week." Whoa, what on EARTH would anyone want to talk to their grandmother about for THAT long?? And three times a week? I was beginning to think this guy was gonna be a dud.
A few months went by, and Zac wanted to introduce Brandon and me to his grandmother. Zac was a bit scared since Grammie was 80 and her only grandson was dating some chick with a kid. I was so nervous, because if he was scared, then there HAD to be a reason (I soon figured out that Zac is quite the over-reactor). We walked in and Grammie hugged me and hugged Brandon and she was just ecstatic to meet us. She sat us down and wanted to know everything about us. I knew at once what it felt liked to be welcomed with open arms. And I knew at once that I wanted this woman to be MY grandmother. She reminded me of the grandmother on 'Happy Gilmore.'
Grammie had a hard adult life, but you'd never know it. She takes everything with stride. Her husband left her and her two boys when the oldest was about 5. Grammie was a single mother and she never, ever dated again. She knew that her job was to care for her boys and not let anyone else get in the way of that. She did a wonderful job, and her boys are now taking care of her. The respect they have for their mother is admirable.
This is just a little teeny piece of Grammie, but there is SO MUCH MORE. I am sure I will share more about her, but for now, since I am tearing up already, this is gonna have to do it. I will say that I am a better person for knowing this amazing woman.
I tell my husband all the time, " I only married you for your grandmother." He thinks it's great. You know what's even better? Now, I have a Grammie that I talk to three times a week!

I've come to the realization...

That I am not able to keep up with blogging when we have a lot going on in our lives. I have thought about it and thought about it. I've even said to myself, "I should TOTALLY blog this" several times a day and by the time I got around to picking up the computer, I was too tired to DO it. And I miss doing Thursday 13, too. Since the last time I posted, my two little ones had birthdays. My son, Nolan, aka NINJA turned 6 years old. And my only daughter, Kendall, aka PRINCESS, turned 4. So, on this Wednesday (since who knows if I will be able to get on tomorrow) I am going to do a list of 13 things about each of them, for their birthdays.

Kendall 5/24/04
1. She is ALL girl. I have never known a more girly girl. You'd think with three brothers, she'd be a tomboy. But no, she loves dresses ALL. THE. TIME. Babies, Barbies, Weddings, Princesses, you name it.
2. She is so proud that she has the "same eyes" as her mommy. She's the only one that got my brown eyes and she tells me all the time. It's a special connection we have.
3. She sings all the time. Her "favorite kind of song" is 'Bubbly' by Colbie Caillat. She makes up songs when we are driving around and sings them, annoying her brothers to no end.
4. She is SO smart. She is my speller =0). She saw one of Nolan's papers from Kindergarten and was so mad because he spelled something wrong and she caught it. Do you think this is my kid, lol??
5. She LOVES strawberries. We went to my cousins wedding this past weekend and her beautiful white sweater was white with red strawberry stains by the end. She must have eaten about 30 strawberries.
6. Kendall will play by herself with her babies and her Barbies for HOURS. I can always get things done when it's just her and me at home.
7. She is a toucher. She always wants to be touched. I am NOT a toucher, at all. It's hard for me when she is all over me. But it melts my heart when she says, "Mom, when I sit by you, will you just touch me on my arm?"
8. She will sit still and be quiet when I need her to, unlike the boys at this age. We had a promotion ceremony last week for my oldest (to 7th grade, wow!) and it was 1 1/2 hours long in the heat, and she was SO good the whole time.
9. Kendall potty trained herself at 20 months. I seriously didn't do a thing. Her brother was still using the kid potty and she wanted to, also, so she did. From then on, it was panties. Loved that!
10. She is SASSY. If anyone gets in her way and screws up her little routine, she will SCREAM, a blood curdling scream. You'd think someone was killing her.
11. She loves BABIES. Kendall is a nurturer and any time she sees a baby, she comforts and loves them.
12. Kendall is a pleaser. She is helpful and she really does what she's supposed to 90% of the time.
13. Kendall really, truly thinks she is a Princess. No one told her she was, but she is absolutely convinced she is. I am not about to burst her bubble.

Nolan 5/30/02
1. Nolan is stubborn. In fact, I don't know anyone quite as stubborn, besides his father. No real examples here, but you can imagine, I'm sure.
2. He is determined. The kid taught himself how to ride a bike on a whim one day.
3. He hates reading writing and spelling (boooo!) BUT he LOVES math.
4. The kid is his father reincarnated. He looks exactly like him. See 1, 2 and 3. He also has his dad's weird mannerisms AND sense of humor. It's a good thing I love my husband as much as I do, cuz I have two of him!!
5. Nolan does not know how to walk. He runs and jumps EVERYWHERE. He jumps all over the furniture (which drives me crazy) doing gymnastics.
6. Nolan understands things way above his age level. It's crazy how complex his mind is. He understand adult humor, especially, so we really have to be careful what we say in front of him, or he may just tell his preschool teacher, "Hey is that a banana in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?" Oh, wait. He did THAT already.
7. He is compassionate, which is something I did not really realize until this past weekend. We went to my cousin's wedding and my aunt has an 18-year-old foster daughter who is severely mentally challenged. Nolan was so nice to her and so attentive, I was floored.
8. His favorite food is artichokes. He likes them dipped in butter and garlic. (so do I!)
9. Nolan has piercing blue eyes. Everyone who meets him talks about how beautiful his eyes are.
10. Nolan is a homebody. He does not like spending the night anywhere besides home and anytime we talk about moving (which we aren't going to do anytime soon) he gets all upset. He really likes his room. He says when he gets married, they will live at home and his wife can sleep on the pull out under his bed.
11. He is VERY protective of his sister. She might bug the crap outta him, but he is always looking out for her. He'll never admit it, but he loves her dearly.
12. Nolan has bruises from head to toe. So much, in fact, that every time we go to the doctor, I get questioned. I finally asked the doctor, "You wanna come over for dinner sometime? See for yourself."
13. Nolan is my little booger. As active and crazy as he is, sometimes he will just sit close to me and play with my hair. It calms him down.

I love all of my children more than I could have ever imagined possible. Each one of them bring something special and different into my life and I do thank God every day for choosing me to be their mommy. I am so blessed.

I just can't believe my BABY is FOUR!

What I've been doing...

Quick little play by play of the last week...

Went to the gym every. morning. I have been doing 1 1/2 hours of cardio every morning. And before you say it, I KNOW that lifting weights burns more fat than cardio. BUT at this point, I am happy with the results I am getting from Cardio alone, because I also know that muscle WEIGHS more than fat and I am not willing to gain any poundage just yet. Thanks for the concern, though. My motivation for going? I am reading a book, and I read the first two by the same author in the few weeks prior to this one. It is 'Such a Pretty Fat' by Jen Lancaster. I am so into this book that I tell myself that I can only read it on the elliptical. So, every morning I hop up and practically sprint to the gym. Except that I am in the car. Not sprinting. You get my drift. If you love snarky and just plain HILARIOUS, you too will pick up her books. Read them in order. Too funny!
Also, CRazyMama hosted a Giveaway a week or so ago, and I won! I love winning! I got the lotion a few days ago, and can I tell you I just LOVE it??!! So, Piper from Moonvine Organics...if you are reading this, THANK You! I do adore this lotion, and I love it for my children as well. Great on the eczema. Thanks again, Julie, for hosting this!
Funny thing about the giveaway. I have won a couple of giveaways lately from soe favorite bloggy friends. Each one emailed me and said, "I swear I didn't cheat..you won fair and square" or something along those lines. So either, I am super rad and they love me to bits, or I think I am super rad and all-deserving of winning contests, and they caught onto that! Either way, Whoo hoo...I love winning. The other contest I forgot to blog about. Thank YOU Cecily for the amazon gift card.
And one more thing on the home front. My MIL bought ME (ok, the kids, but I play it most) a WII. Dude, I love it! Just L-O-V-E it! Golf and bowling are my faves. Haven't bought any games besides the sports one it came with, but I am very content with those! I can beat anyone in this house at bowling, and I am getting better at golf, but Zac is a wee bit better. Don't tell him I said that.
SO, that is what has been happenin' over in these parts. I will really really try to post more and Comment more. This year end of school is crazy for me!