"Crazy Mommy" Moment

Do you ever say or do something and the minute after you have done it you kind of laugh and think "seriously, what was I thinking"? Well, that was me today. I took Kennedy and Kayleigh to the dentist to have their annual check-up. Well, I should say their bi-annual check-up because we missed their last appointment and life just sort of happened(time flies when you are living life at my house - or is that anywhere) and I find myself a year later calling to reschedule their appointments. Anyway, back to the issue at hand, so today we go to their appointment and I honestly was preparing myself for the worst "cavities" since asking an eleven and twelve year old to brush their teeth at night is like asking them to rip their hair out strand by strand. I mean seriously it sometimes turns into an argument with growling and whining (I am so getting bad mommy points right now because they are pre teens and we are fighting a battle that should have ended by kindergarten, but such is life at my home). Both children come out beaming with new toothbrushes in hand (I know, they hate to brush their teeth but are so happy for a new toothbrush - it makes absolutely no sense but I have learned there are some things you just don't question) and the dental hygenist just smiles and says "There teeth look great and neither one of them have any cavities".

Ok, this is where I am going to insert my "crazy mommy" moment: Instead of me smiling and saying "oh, that is great. I am so proud of you guys" I choose to say "Are you kidding me? Well, I was kind of hoping a lesson would be learned today because I have been giving them a hard time about not taking care of their teeth." I know, I thought it too!!!!! I mean, I acted like a nut because my kids didn't have cavities and I wasn't going to have to spend more money to get their teeth fixed. I made absolutely no sense and I could tell that the ladies at the clinic were thinking the same thing "This mother is crazy!!!!!!!!". Kennedy and Kayleigh just smiled making it harder for me to digest the crazy words that I had spoken. As we walked out to the car Kennedy (my son who will turn 13 on Thursday) said "Hey mom, we just saved you loads of money by not having any cavities. You could pay us for good teeth like you pay us for good grades." All I could do was smile and laugh.

Tu-Tu Cute

Kambree got two new tutu's for her birthday and I think they are so adorable. I want to take her and have her pictures made wearing them. My sister actually made the pink one -- she has become very crafty in her old age!!!

Aunt Brittney bought her this one!!!

Aunt Carey made this one!!!

Kambree's 1st Birthday

Kambree celebrated her 1st birthday "princess style". She was quite the little princess and had a fantastic time partying with family and close friends. We celebrated at our home so she could go straight to the bathtub after she enjoyed her first birthday cake. Kambree absolutely loved her cake and the photos will prove it. I bet she ate 3/4's of her cake. There was cake and icing all over that child and as she took her bath she quickly tried to lick her hands before I could get rid of all of the yummy icing.

Here are a few of my favorite photos:

Here is Kambree opening one of her presents with mommy.

And here she is with daddy - she is truely a "daddy's girl".

And my favorite photo of all is this one. She loved her cake!!!

Kambree's 1 year shots

Well, today I took my baby girl to get her 1 year old shots. I hate that I am running almost 2 months behind because she turned 1 over a month ago but her birthday just snuck up on me. I truly can't believe she is 1 year old. She is walking and talking up a storm. She has arms like an octopus and can get in to things so quickly it is hard to keep my eyes on her.

Here are a few pictures of Kambree before we went to get her shots.

And then here is a photo after her shots (notice she is sitting in her chair playing with Nanny's yahtzee game - one of her favorite toys).

She was such a little trooper. She didn't cry at all when they gave her the first shot, now after the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th there were tears and she wasn't happy but she stopped crying quickly and told the nurse "bye, bye".

We came home and she is going to spend the rest of the day with Nanny so I can go to work, but it was so nice to spend the morning with her.

I love that cutie to pieces!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

I wanted to wish everyone a "Very Happy Valentine's Day". The kiddos opened up their gifts this morning. Kambree got a Curious George book and she was so excited. She has been spending her mornings watching the television show on PBS with Nanny. Kennedy and Kayleigh each got a new bible. Kennedy's is a "Guy" bible and Kayleigh's is a "Teen Girl" bible. I hope that they begin enjoying reading, studying, and enjoying all of the extras in the bible that will help them with day to day life. My gift was that Kambree only woke up one time last night - and that is one of the best gifts ever!!! The four of us will spend the day together at home enjoying a relaxing, restfull day before we return to our busy work week tomorrow!!!
I hope that everyone gets to spend the day with at least one person whom they love and enjoy!!!

Get Positive

I was so excited when I walked in my house today and not only got to see my sweet, smiling, baby girl but also because I got a package from Amazon that I had been waiting for. Inside the package was my new bible and devotional book that I ordered. The devotional is a year long book made for busy women (hooray, that is me) which not only will encourage me but also will help lead me through my studies of the bible. I dove right in and read the first 3 days worth and studied the scripture that followed. My reading gave me alot to think about and an opportunity to begin walking in the right direction. I am so looking forward to my new beginning and the journey I will embark in!

Snow Days

Ok, I know these are old but I had to post them.

The last snow we got was fantastic. The snow was deep and crunchy and we had to go outside and play in it. Kennedy and Kayleigh love to play in the snow and enjoy making, and more importantly, eating snow icecream. Kambree on the other hand was not to keen on playing in something that was wet and cold. We had a great time!!!

Karma

I can remember being in highschool and having a huge crush on a guy in my class. I remember writing him notes and cruising past his house just hoping he would be outside. I would go to the football games and cheer for him and try to bump into him in the hallway. So highschool!!!!!
Well I am now learning how absolutely abnoxious and annoying that behavior was. My son has a group of girls who keep calling the house so they can talk to him. They leave silly mesages on Facebook and drive him crazy at school.
Now my son is only in the 6th grade, which really makes me nervous because it seems like kids are doing things at such an earlier age then we did when I was in school.
I just have to say: "I am so sorry J.C. Veach. I realize how annoying I had to have been in highschool and I am living in karma right now. Each time I answer the telephone and hear 3 or 4 girls laughing and asking to speak to Kennedy I get a flashback to highschool." Please don't let Kayleigh be like this next year when she enters middle school!!! We are going to have to have a mommy - daughter talk tonight!!!

My Cute Kiddos

I was looking at pictures of my kiddos and thought I would add a few to my page. I enjoy spending time with my kids and have a job that allows me the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with my family (amen - the student loans are soooo worth it).

Here are my kiddos doing some of their favorite things:

Here is a photo of Kennedy. He is such a fantastic athlete. He is very fast and totally understands the meaning of team. He doesn't try to show off, but definitely gives his all in every sport he participates in. I hope he catches the eye of a college coach some day!!!

This is the perfect photo of Kayleigh because no matter what she is doing she is always smiling. She is such a fantastic helper. She is really interested in fashion and is pretty talented artisticly - I honestly don't know where she gets it but I love watching how intent and interested she is in it.

This is Kambree's favorite past time - taking a bath. She loves to play in the bathtub and cries when it is time for her to get out. She will sit in the water until it gets cool to the touch. She loves to splash around and chew on the washcloths. It is honestly one of my down times. I just sit and relax while she splashes around.

And as I search through old photos I have to post some of my favorites:

RazorFest


Kambree's 1st Pair of Sunglasses
Kambree's 1st Birthday



Kayleigh and I at the Red and White Game

Kiwansis Football and Cheerleading

Swimming



Kennedy's 5th Grade Graduation

Hooray for No School

O.K. At 6 am this morning I acted like a total 10 year old. I so did not want to go to school today, not because I don't like my job (I absolutely love my job) but because I really wanted a break. I teach at a school that follows a continuous learning calendar which simply means instead of having 9 weeks off in the summer we have 6 weeks off with the additional 3 weeks mixed into our calendar called intersession weeks. During an intersession week the students have an opportunity to either take the week off or go to school and attend a morning class and an afternoon class. The morning class is academic based and the afternoon class is interest based. This week is an intersession week and I am having to work (each teacher must volunteer to work 1 intersession week in a 3 year span fully paid of course), as glamorous as additional money sounds and having an opportunity to work in a smaller teacher to student ratio is fantastic but sleeping in and staying in pj's all day is much more wonderful to me. So at 6 am I ran in to the living room and opened the front door, the ice glistened and my heart raced because it was looking like I was going to get my wish - "no school". I then turned on the tv and my computer and got really excited because the big 4 opted for no school today -- Hooray for me and my kiddos.
Now Kayleigh was very happy because the snow day for her and I means no more additional days added on to our school year because it is an intersession week for us. Kennedy, on the other hand is in Middle School so this day will count against him. But by the looks of it, I think he wanted this day off as much as his sister and I did. And sweet Kambree was happy to get to spend the day with her mommy, and big brother and sister.
So, for all of the parents out there that are so disappointed that school was canceled - "I'm so sorry!" But I was super excited!!!

Love and Laughter

As my children continue to grow up I continue to experience the sweetest love and best laughter ever. Tonight I got to squeeze my sweet monkey Kambree. She is so in to giving big hugs and wet slobbery kisses and I love every minute of it. She has started walking and teeter totters around the house with her arms out like a cute zombie (zombie isn't the best word, but just picture someone walking with their arms out and that is what I mean). She has just started saying "uh oh" and I had to laugh tonight when she ate her snack and began throwing it on the floor she would look at me and say "uh oh".
My son Kennedy and daughter Kayleigh are working very hard on their chores nightly; money is very important to this 11 and soon to be 13 year old, but tonight I didn't know rather to be pleased or disgusted. My son has the chore of cleaning the bathroom he shares with his sister and tonight when I went to put away washcloths in their bathroom I see the toilet scrubber in a pitcher of water sitting in the bathtub. Now this pitcher used to be a pitcher I would put tea or lemonade in but I think it is going to have to be retired and only used for cleaning now -- Yuck!!!
In the title of my post I used the word "love" and I experienced it tonight as I watched Kayleigh sort through old photos of herself as a baby. She is taking a scrapbooking class and wanted to choose baby pictures of herself to add to a scrapbook she is creating about herself. She was really working hard and was diligent and very specific in the photos she chose - it was very sweet - she is very sweet.
Nights at my house can be very uplifting!!!

Working on the "List"

I have really been thinking about my Life List that I posted about yesterday. I have received messages from several friends inviting me to attend their church and I absolutely appreciate the invitations. It was most touching when my friends also focused on children's church because I truly want my children to have an opportunity to begin serving the Lord at a much younger age then myself. Speaking of "touching" and "Lord" I have 2 great new books that are must reads - one of my best friends brought her Women's Devotional to school for me to look at (she had earmarked a great page referring to relationships and men that I really needed to see) and she also referred me to a great study Bible that I must get!!!! Thanks so much Jill. Another friend from my hometown suggested a book and an author ("So Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore)that I have got to grab during my next visit to Barnes and Noble. I can't wait to search for it Erica!!! (I hope that sounded ok Erica "hometown friend" that wasn't too corny was it???)
Another goal I am working on is teaching my children to save their money and also focus on saving for a purpose. To often I find myself getting them everything they ask for and not teaching them that we have to work for things that we want and things that are important. Well my sons birthday is coming up and one gift he wants is a cell phone. Tonight as he searched for phones on Ebay he said he would like to use part of his allowance to purchase minutes for his cell phone if that is one of the gifts he gets. I thought that was a start, now of course we will have to sit down and look at the cost of adding minutes to a telephone and see if he is able to budget that but that is a beginning in working for things of interest. Speaking of his birthday - he will be 13, a teenager - Yikes!!!!! How scary and exciting all rolled up in to one emotional ball I will experience. He keeps reminding me that he can get his permit in 1 more year - what is a mother to do (PRAY!!!!).

My To Do List: or Life Goals for the New Year

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an analyzer. I can analyze and over analyze any situation. I call this both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. Through analyzing and over analyzing I have noticed that it really helps me if I reflect on the situation so I can grow and become stronger. Through reflection of my journey in life so far I have found that if I create a list, a "To do:" list persay, I am able to accomplish or complete the tasks at hand with greater ease. I have decided to create a "To Do List:" which consists of Life Goals for the New Year for myself. I did not make any New Year's Resolutions this year because I am not good at following through or honoring the resolutions I create but when it comes to a "list" I am pretty good at following through or completing the tasks on the list. My "To Do List" will be a list of life goals I will be working on throughout the year. These goals might not all be met or mastered by the completion of this year, but I can promise I will be working towards the goals all year long. So here they are - My Life Goals!!!!!!

"To Do List - Life Goals for the New Year"
1. Find a church for my family to attend.
2. Get saved and be a Christian Model for my children.
3. Continue to pay off debt so I can become debt free.
4. Take time to take care of myself.
5. Reward/Pamper myself.
6. Work on my relationship with my significant other - Choose what is "right" for myself and my children.
7. Continue to add money to my savings - pay myself first.
8. Teach my children the importance of saving and how to save.
9. Work on becoming the "mommy" I want to be.
10. Become a "reader" and read a good book.

Now some of you might be reading this and think "she should be able to complete this in no time" or "trivial list - I can check many of those items off already", but for me, not so much so. I really want to complete this list because it contains goals that are near and dear to my heart. I am going to print several copies of this list off and place them in areas where I look often so I can remind myself what my "goals" are. As I work on a goal I will post a blurb on my page so you can follow me on my journey.

In the Beginning

If I am going to open up about my life I might as well start from the beginning which could give you a better understanding of where I am currently in my life - whether it be an "up" or a "down". I come from a divorced home. My parents got along great even though they were divorced which helped both my sister and I. I have one sibling, a sister, who is 3 years younger then me. We both are so different from each other and yet so much alike it is kind of scary. I lived a very sheltered life in highschool. My mother was very protective so I really didn't experience a lot until I went away to college. Wow did I learn a lot when I went away to school. My best friend from highschool and I went to a private college our freshman year 3 hours from home. We both were used to strict rules and early curfews so college was a brand new experience for both of us and to say we broke rules was an understatement. You know many teenagers have the opportunity to test their parents and rebel, well we did not when we lived at home but we made up for it when we went to school. We were so busy experiencing "life" that we forgot we were there to get an education. Needless to say, after we brought home a poor grade point average we opted for a college education closer to home and less expensive then the private school tuition.
A new school meant new experiences - some good and some bad. I worked full time at Wal-Mart and met a guy in the process. I ended up getting pregnant and getting married (yes, in that order). We had a son and found out on his 1st birthday that we were expecting our 2nd child. After the birth of my first child I sat out of school and worked while my husband finished school. He had a full tuition scholarship to the University so it only made sense that he would complete school first and then when he finished I would go back and finish. Here is where a down occurs. My husband finished school and began working at the Wal-Mart Home Office. Life seemed to be great until I realized that this really nice guy wasn't the man for me. He was not the person I thought he was and the end of our marriage was very painful for both of us. Our divorce led me to go through a very difficult time in my life. I made horrible relationship choices and was living life like it had no consequences. I decided to go back to school and earned both my bachelors degree and my masters degree in education but still hadn't grown up emotionally. I got a job as a 1st grade teacher and thought I was on cloud nine in my career. Two years later I had the opportunity to teach kindergarten and have been doing so ever since. Emotionally I finally jumped out of my relationship depression and had hoped to forget about the past and move on - grow up when it came to being in a relationship. I met a guy that I fell in love with. We were together for 2 years and found out we were expecting my third child. We both were very excited because we both wanted a child together. We did not get married but were living our life as a married couple would - living in the same home, sharing responsibilities like a husband and wife would. I had my 3rd child and was very happy but our relationship began experiencing strains from his past. He too, had been married before and this previous marriage would slowly pull our relatioship apart. As time passed I began to realize that what we want and what we will settle for can be so different. I was living in a tangled web and would struggle with what I wanted and what was right. I continue to question our relationship and hope for the best. We no longer live together but communicate like we are a couple which sounds complicated! When I reflect on all of the mistakes I have made I can only hope that I can be forgiven for all of the horrible choices I have made and hope that I have the learned from these mistakes and grown as an adult, a woman, and a mother.
Wow - this was sooooo heavy. I hope to lighten up as I begin this journey sharing my life.