If you want to know even more about my life....

I've joined the Twitter bandwagon.....

http://twitter.com/kimspiegel

So Brant was the star of the show.....

This Christmas morning, we went to church at 11am here in Buda. For the homily, Father Deane wanted to talk about the birth of Jesus and needed a prop, a baby. He went to 3 other babies. Two of them cried immediately, so he didn't pick them up. He held the next one for a bit and then he continued to cry. So he passed him back to his mommy.

Then he noticed Nathan holding an almost asleep Brant at the back of the church and motioned for him to come up front. Nathan passed Brant to Father Deane and stood off to the side. Father Deane held Brant in the middle of the church and talked for at least 10-15 minutes before he finally handed Brant back over to his daddy.

While Father was holding Brant, he stared, cooed, and smiled. We were all in the pew laughing. My dad was so proud and touched that he was crying. It was such a beautiful Mass.

What a great day we've had. The kids got such a loot of gifts. My dad is 70 and doing well. We are happy. We are healthy. We are blessed.

Merry Christmas!

(Pics to come soon of ALL of our Christmases!)

Now only is tomorrow Christmas....

It's my dad's birthday as well. This year he's 70! This is what we gave him last weekend. We had Christmas with my mom's side of the family and everyone signed it. I bought the frame and Lisa went into her storage and got my dad's military photograph. He loves it. He cried when we gave it to him.

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you more than you'll ever know.

Oh and by the way, my house is full of company right now. The gang's all here! :)

Day 1 of Christmas vacation....

And the hoodlums are already driving me INSANE. It's gonna be a looooooong two weeks. Hopefully all of their Christmas gifts will keep them busy and argument-free!

Giddy. Just plain giddy.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD


"I know who you are, Gambit." hehe! So do I. So do I. ;)

I think the onesie says it all.....

This is my nephew, Brant. I miss him terribly. I'm so glad that I get to see him this weekend and then next week for his 1st Christmas!

Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus....

This was taken at Budafest this past weekend. We waited FOREVER (he had taken a LONG break), but it was well worth it (because now we don't have to go to the mall!). Maeve sat there and rambled on and on and on as if she were talking to friends that she hadn't seen in a while. It was too funny.

For your viewing pleasure.....

Favorite scene of FNL from season 3 so far. Love the subtle pants drop! ;) It's been over a year and I still can't believe that I met Taylor in person!

So much for decorating early.....

My house has been decorated for Christmas for almost 2 weeks now. I just wanted to be early this year since we are hosting Richard's family for Christmas on December 13th.

So I thought that everything was good until this morning. I turn on the tree and the middle strand of lights is EXTREMELY bright. Uh oh.

Richard said that the bottom part was like that a year or two ago. He had to completely restrand the lights and fix the problem.

He's not doing that again.

So off he went this morning to get a new pre-lit 6 foot Christmas tree.

Kyra is beyond excited to decorate a tree for the 2nd time. Ugh.

I can't complain about this tree though. We've probably had it for 3-4 years and Richard paid $25 for it at Lowes on a Black Friday.

Not too shabby.

Update: Richard left, but didn't buy a tree. So when he got home, we took the top part of the tree off and started replacing the blown bulbs in the middle of the tree. There were A LOT. But the tree is back to normal now and looks great! Thank goodness we didn't have to go the other route! I love my handy dandy husband! ;)

Well hello there!

Maybe I'm a bit biased because I'm his Aunt, but is this one good lookin' kid or what? By the way, I'm starting to see more of his Daddy in him now. He has these LOOOOONG eyelashes just like his Daddy. But from the nose down, he's ALL Mama! ;) And just FYI, he's now 9 weeks old!

Happy Thanksgiving

More updates on the dining room....

View of the dining room from our kitchen. Richard bought us a cheap table with a granite top. He got it off of Craig's List. The guy wanted a trade for our laptop. DONE. We will be upgrading with a newer laptop in the future!


This is the left side of the dining room.


This is the church in St. John (where my dad grew up). I took a picture of it, turned it into B&W and printed it as an 11X14 and then framed it with a mat around it. Easy and artistic, right?

The right side of our dining room. The walls look really orange in these pictures, but they are actually a dark brick red. I think the light fixture and the painted ceiling makes it appear much lighter than it really is. It looks much better in person! ;)

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

Look who came to visit me this weekend.....

Can you believe he's already 8 weeks old? I wish he could have helped out his Red Raiders tonight. :(

There's still some good in the world.....

I called my mother-in-law last night. She said the night before that she, my sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew all decided to treat themselves by eating at Red Lobster. This is something that they don't do very often because when they do eat there, I usually hear about it in some way soon enough.

They indulged and had a very nice meal. It ended up being pretty pricey at about $70 or so, but my MIL said that she didn't care. She said that for some reason, she did notice a man at another table with some friends/family, but didn't really pay close attention.

She should have.

The man got up and left with his group. When it was time for my MIL to pay for their meal, the waiter said, "It's all taken care of. The man at that table paid for your meal before he left."

WOW.

They have no idea who he was. They have no idea why he did it. My nephew is 11 years old and is in a wheelchair and has CP, so I don't know if he did it for reasons like that or not.

But they were shocked and pleasantly surprised.

So I still have faith that there are good people in the world. I still believe that there are angels out there.....near and far.

And as MIL got into the van to go home, this song was playing.

Chills.

Church tales....

I take the girls to church regularly and really can't complain about their behavior. They are very good. What works for us is sitting about 3 to 4 rows from the front because Maeve insists on seeing everything that goes on. She behaves better too that way. She has no choice.

I bought Kyra a little prayer book in addition to the one that she already has. This one is bigger and geared for kids her age. Since she's preparing for her 1st Reconciliation in January and her 1st Holy Communion in May, I decided to try and let her learn as much as possible. She attends Religious Education on Monday nights, but one hour a week isn't enough in my book. So we talk a lot about it here at home.

So yesterday Kyra proudly takes her book to church and Maeve has to hop on that bandwagon too, so she took a book as well.

Maeve still thinks that the priest's name is Jesus. She hasn't gotten that concept down yet. It's just funny to hear her say, "Look Mommy, there's Jesus!" whenever she sees a priest.

The other weekend at church, Maeve noticed the big round Host that the priest receives. When he held it up, Maeve says loudly, "Mommy, that looks like a tortilla!" Oy.

Since we do sit so far up at the front, when it's time to give the Sign of Peace, the girls get out of our pew and walk around to others and shake hands. Last night, I had them walk all the way up to the front row where the Eucharistic Ministers were sitting to shake their hands. I think they got a kick out of that.

Their favorite part of the Mass is singing the "Alleuia". I've never heard two little girls sing so loudly! hehe!

I have told Richard time and time again that if something ever happens to me, he is to take these girls to church and make sure they receive their sacraments ON TIME. That's all I ask of him.

Isn't she beautiful?

2nd grade....Fall '08. I love my Kyra!

He got what he deserved....

Heard about this this morning.

Good.

That's all I have to say.

I've been silent long enough....

I usually DO NOT want to bring up things like this because I like to keep my blog free of such harsh issues, but because I'm so damn angry about it, I have to vent.

I'm hurt, sick, and upset about all of the racist texts and emails that I've been receiving about our President-Elect. It really saddens me that such an issue still exists in our world today. Here we are, generations later, and racial tensions and slurs STILL exist. I don't get it. I do not understand why people are so ignorant. African-Americans are people just like you and I. Only they struggle to just be themselves because they are looked down upon all of the time....all because of the color of their skin. There are no words to describe how utterly sick I feel about this.

My dad is one that talks badly about them and I have BEGGED him to NEVER mention that talk to my girls. They should NOT have to hear someone that they deeply trust and care about say such hurtful things. I want to teach my girls that color doesn't matter. We are all equal in the eyes of God, so why shouldn't we be equal in each others' eyes?

Kyra's best friend is half African-American. She's also adopted and I think that makes her even more special. She comes over to our house several times a week. In fact, tomorrow evening, I'm taking her and my girls to see a movie. I love her to pieces. Kyra and Maeve adore her. Do I even think about her color? HELL NO! It doesn't matter. She's a person just like you and me. She should NEVER be discriminated against.

I guess since we live up here around Austin, we are more aware of different cultures. I have very unique people that come into the gyms and into my classes and I embrace each and every one of them for who they are. Most of them are very interesting to me and have such great stories to tell. I think that having them in this world just makes it that much better.

And I didn't want to mention this either, but both Richard and I voted for Barack Obama. I sat down and seriously took a look at all of the issues and where I stood on them. And I agreed with most of what he wants for our country. I voted for him because I believe that he will do a great job as President. I never even considered the color of his skin. I bet half of you ignorant people out there don't even know that Obama's mother is Caucasian. Yep, she's as WHITE as you and I.

So please stop all of the hurtful nonsense. It's bad enough that you send it, but it's worse that you are having a racial influence on your children. Because yes, they will grow up with the same beliefs that you have and the cycle with never end. There doesn't have to be racism in the world. Let it stop with you!

And let's ALL get behind our new President and support him for the next 4 years!

PS- Did you know that Sarah Palin didn't know that Africa was a continent. Seriously? Now that's ignorance!

Grocery store conversations....

This conversation is happening as we are wandering down aisles picking up items. Usually, Maeve sits in the basket, but today she didn't. She and Kyra walked beside me the entire time.

Kyra: "Maeve, don't step on a crack or you hurt your mama's back."

Maeve: "Ok!"

Kyra: "Maeve, you stepped on a crack! Mommy, does your back hurt?"

After a short pause....

Kyra: "Maeve, that's ok. I stepped on a crack and hurt mommy's back one time."

Maeve: "I've done it two times..."

Lord! Will these two ever shut up? First of all, Kyra did say "hurt" instead of "break", so that's a plus. And don't even get me started about the guy in dreads that we saw. Maeve yelled, "Mommy, look at that guy's hair!" Needless to say, we quickly shuffled off to another aisle. Oy.

These kids kill me. Never a dull moment!

And for those that are wondering, my back woes of the last 2 1/2 months are so much better. Lisa and Nate suggested some strengthening exercises for me and they are WORKING!

Hehe!

Go here!

This is a blog of a local DJ here in our area. He asked for a list and I delivered! I'm still in disbelief. It's weird to see me on his blog! Richard is still giggling in the shop!

Maeve isn't so popular right now....

Kyra wrote this the other day about Maeve. I think she's tired of her antics. If you can't read what she wrote from right here, click on the pic. I purposefully didn't resize it to be too small to read.

Oy!

Wanna lose a few pounds?

And no, I'm not going to get all infomercial on you.

I've lost 5 lbs. in a month. How did I do it? By chugging a TON of water throughout the day. I decided to quit feeling bloated and made a commitment to drink more water. It's worked. I know that the weight loss is just water weight, but I don't care. I feel healthier. My skin feels fantastic. It was just a great move.

Now if I could just lose more. Hopefully my thyroid will be nice to me and allow that to happen! ;)

It's done!

Remember this post?

Well, Richard worked his butt off this week and it's finished! Well, there's still stuff to be put on the walls, but I'm going to take my time with that.

Let me talk about colors. The baseboards and chair rail is white....as white as white can be. The walls are a color called "New Brick" by Behr paints. The ceiling is a color called "Chai Latte" and it's also Behr.

The inspiration for the dining room came from a show on TLC called "Moving Up". The specific episode was called "The Lottery Winners". I NEVER watch this show, but saw this episode and was inspired by the room on there.

She's still here....

I'm talking about my mom. I'm starting to notice how small the world really is and I think she has a hand in it. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.

First of all, my sister will be going back to work soon. Their new house is being built and soon they will live about 20 miles from where they are now. Their house is on land that's been in our family for years. It belonged to my grandma and grandpa, got passed down to my dad, and now Lisa and Nate own it.

So, when it came time to decide who would take care of Brant, they came across an old friend of the family that we've known for years. In fact, she and her husband were big buddies with my parents long before Lisa and I were even born. They used to vacation together and everything. She's since lost her husband, but she will be the one keeping Brant during the day when Lisa and Nate travel doing home health. Strange, huh?

A while back, Nate's mom came to Austin for some sort of convention. She was sitting in a room full of hundreds of people. She sat by a lady and ended up talking to her and asked where she was from, etc. Turns out that they lady was my mom's best friend from high school! Nate's mom couldn't believe her luck! I mean, really. What are the chances of that happening?

It truly is a small world. I miss my mom dearly, but I know that she's watching over us. Even through all of the rough times in life, I feel tremendously blessed.

I, the babysitter.....

Aunt LaLa and Uncle Nate came up on Friday evening because they wanted to get some shopping done on Saturday. Guess who got to babysit for 5-6 hours on Saturday? The girls and I! They were so excited. Mr. Brant was very good and even had a few firsts. He's been pretty fussy on the initial formula, so they switched him. This picture was taken after a feeding when he was just so darn content and went back to sleep! And guess who took this picture? MAEVE! lol! Not bad, huh?

Since their vehicle was loaded down on Saturday, they left their 3rd seats here. She will come tomorrow and stay Tuesday night and Wednesday. We want to take the kiddos to the pumpkin patch here in town. After all, Brant needs some pumpkin pics too for his first Halloween!

We have a vistitor right now. Miss Calli got left behind. I *think* she's enjoying her time here. She pouted initially, but she's getting along with Mia and Zoe pretty well this time around. I'm sure she'll be happy to see her mommy again tomorrow though!

I couldn't make this stuff up.....

Maeve: "My bellybutton talks to me at night."

WTF?

"Zoe" by Kyra

***This is something that Kyra wrote the other day. I will type it as it's written. It's waaaaay too funny not to share.

I am Zoe. I live in (our hometown). Wach this I will stell food. My ownur said "Bad Dog go in your crate!" So I did. I don't know whey she is mean? I will try something els. I now I will rip the pellow. My oner said "Bad Dog go in your crate!" So I did. The next day I was calm. For now on I was a good dog.

Kyra LOVES writing stories. Below this one was a picture of Zoe with a pillow in her mouth! ;) I think she'll write quite a few childrens' books. Good. Maybe we'll all be rich one day!

Things I love.....

Some local DJs had this really cool idea to make a list of their favorite things (a la Oprah) and read it on the radio. I thought it would make a great blog post. After all, we all have our favorite things. Here are some of mine. To make it easier, I've hyperlinked everything that I could. Enjoy!

1.) I love itunes. I have it pulled up right now. I have no idea where my life would be without it. I don't want to know.

2.) I love my ipod video nano. From running to teaching at the gym, it really helps me out. Richard wanted to upgrade and I'm glad he did. It also makes learning my Body Flow choreography a breeze. I can take it anywhere.

3.) I love my Ryka N-Gage Studio shoes. I use them for any kind of floor aerobics or stepping that I do at the gym. I love them because they are very light. I got introduced to them by a professor that I had at A&M ages ago and I have loved them ever since. I tried a black pair once and now I'm hooked. I'll never buy white Rykas again! ;)

4.) I love my Saucony running shoes. I got introduced to them when I used to run with my boss in Victoria. She wore them and swore by them. The thing that I love most about them is that they are for bigger, wider feet. And they are affordable!

5.) I love my T-mobile Dash. Richard got it for me and at first I was skeptical, but it's really the best phone that I've ever had. It's Windows based and very ease to use. Thank God. That Treo drove me nuts. I could never figure it out. Richard got finally sold it because he didn't like it either! lol!

6.) I love Natalie Walker. I just discovered her music through itunes and love it. It's very soft and sensual. I think it would be well suited for Body Flow. I must let Jackie know. ;)

7.) I love massages. My friend Cherrie that I go to in Kyle is awesome. My back pain is almost gone. If I would have gone to the doctor, they would have given me muscle relaxers and sent me on my way. It's so refreshing to have someone want to take care of the root of the problem!

8.) I love the internet (duh!). Here are some of my favorite websites:
Perez Hilton
Dlisted
The Weather Channel
Games 2 Girls (a safe way to keep the girls occupied)
TWOP FNL forum

9.) I love Z' Tejas. If Richard and I ever have a night alone, this is where we eat. Their appetizers are the best. Shoot, I go there just for the skillet dumplings!

10.) I love my Dish DVR. It has made life a lot easier. The kids tape their shows and I tape mine. We never miss a show. You can record up to 100 hours. Oh, and every once in a while, one of Richard's shows stays taped on there. ;)

11.) I love Purpose Gentle Wash. One of the local DJs mentioned that his wife was using it. A dermatologist recommended it to her. This stuff is amazing! And it's cheap...$5.99! And you can find it at HEB or Walgreen's!

12.) I love my Ped Egg. Skeptical? I was too! But this thing works! I use it all of the time....in between my monthly pedicures.

13.) I love the Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer. Thanks to Jen for getting me hooked!

14.) I love vinegar. I've decided to "go green" and wean away from all of the harsh cleaners. I use vinegar and water to clean my floors, so why not everything else? Plus, it's cheap!

15.) I love my digital camera. It's probably the best one that I've ever had.

16.) I love Jimmy John's. Their sandwiches are yummy! My favorite is the Beach Club. I wish they had a location down south for us!

17.) I love "Europop". These are pop groups from abroad. My favorites are Girls Aloud, Rogue Traders, and the Sugababes.

18.) I love Caffe D'Vita French Vanilla Cappuchino. You can get it at the grocery store where all of the coffee is. Instead of drinking it hot, I add water and ice to the powder and put it in the blender. It's soooo good. It's my newest obsession.

19.) I love "Friday Night Lights". Another given. I am watching new DirecTV episodes somewhere online. The rest of you can see it on NBC in the springtime. ;)

20.) I love Mary Kay cosmetics. I no longer have to go to the store to buy makeup. It comes to my front door! :)

21.) I love Gold's Gym. Duh! It's where I am mostly every day! And I teach there too!

22.) I love Les Mills fitness classes. My favorite class is Body Flow. And I teach it too!

23.) I love Bali bras. They fit wonderfully and look very sexy and feminine for us girls that are a little bit more endowed. ;)

24.) I love Opi nail color. The names of the nail colors crack me up every time. I want the job of naming them! Fun!

***I was trying to get to 25, but my list is complete! If you're reading this and are bored, then you make a list too! And then I want to read it!

Enjoy your weekend!

Hopefully, you'll have this stuck in your head all.weekend.long. Brings a smile to my face every time!

What kept my husband busy this week....

He worked on our dining room. It's no longer all plain walls anymore. Notice the chair rails! Next project is to paint the chair rails white. Above that the walls will be a brick red color. I have decided to paint the ceiling a very faint mustard color. The fan will go and be replaced with a hanging, elegant dining light. The table will eventually go too. It looks nice, but the kids have ruined it over the years. Luckily, their work isn't visible in this picture! lol!

And there you have our work in progress. More updates to come!

When radio was king....

I have wanted to post about this subject for a while now, but somehow never got around to it. That is until the emails between my dear friend Jen and I seemed to escalate. We share a lot of emails that begin with the words, "Gosh, do you remember this?" or "Holy crap! I haven't heard this one in a while!"

I'm talking about music. Mostly 80's music. Sure you hear some songs being played on the radio once in a while, but I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about the little gems that NOBODY plays anymore. I'm talking about one-hit wonders. I'm talking about the songs that were lesser known by popular artists. I'm talking about songs that you almost don't remember at all.

When I was a young girl, all we had was radio. Sure we had TV, but when we would sit in our rooms just being girls, the radio was on. We got to buy a cassette tape every once in while if we could convince mom to let us get one. Something I *do* remember is sitting by the radio with a blank cassette tape and listening to "Rick Dees Weekly Top 40" on the weekends. When a song that I liked came on, I recorded it off.the.radio. WOW. How times have changed. Now if we like a song, we go to itunes and download it. Then we transfer it to our ipod. If we want to burn to a CD, we create a playlist and hit a button. It's as easy as that. And let's talk about sound quality too. The music is crystal clear. Hearing music taped from the radio allows for very poor quality. But back then, we thought we were so cool!

It seems like there was more of a variety on the radio back then too. Now, we just hear the same songs over and over again. What's sad is that I wouldn't want to buy the songs/CDs that I hear on the radio because I get so sick of hearing them. Maybe we heard better music because it was the 80s and pop music was gaining popularity back then. Or maybe we heard better music because there wasn't all the "red tape" like there is now. In any case, radio was our life.

As for TV, this show was very popular in our house on Friday nights if we were lucky enough to stay up after my mom finished watching "Dallas" and "Falcon Crest". This was also something that we watched on TBS. In fact, I remember the day that we got cable and there were more than 13 channels on our TV!

I'm happy to say that radio is still an important part of my life. There's a lot of crap out there, but there's a lot of good stuff too. You just have to pick your battles. ;)

Tagged by Emma.....

The lovely Emma tagged me.

The "rules" of the game are as follows:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

******************************************

1.) I'm anal about setting all of our stuff out for the next day the night before. I'm a "grab and go" gal because you never know what the morning will be like.

2.) My new favorite drink is a cold, blended french vanilla cappuchino. I make it daily. It's just water, ice, and the powder. I've never used my blender this much! Because the powder goes a long way, it's sooooo much cheaper than Starbucks!

3.) I've already started Christmas shopping. I've bought 2 gifts so far.

4.) We sleep with the air down to 71-72 at night. We like to sleep COLD. And I use a pillow for my head, one between my knees, and a sheet, bedspread, and old comforter to cover up with.

5.) And yes, our doggies sleep with us. In fact, I don't think I could sleep without them!

6.) I'm very tired of all of the political emails I've been receiving lately. I love my family dearly, but I really don't care who you're voting for. I have my political views and you have yours. Expressing political views is like telling someone what church to go to. You just don't do it.

***Let's see. Since a lot of my readers don't have a blog, I really don't know who to tag. But if you do have a blog and read this just now, then consider yourself tagged. GO!

Apparently, the Nintendo DS has ears.....

We were in the car on our way to the gym when I heard Maeve say, "I don't like you Mario! You keep taking away all of my points! You are mean!"

PIMP!

Yes, Richard is a sucker and bought Kyra a new game over the weekend. Now the girls are fighting over it. Great. He's already talking about getting Maeve her own DS. Uh buddy, I don't think a 3 year old needs her own video game! One that's over $100 to boot!

I got my apology yesterday....

Just as BIL walked in the door yesterday with half of his house with him, he said:

"I apologize for all of the times when I made fun of you for bringing half your house along with you when the girls were little. I totally understand now. It's not easy traveling with an infant."

I just nodded.

And laughed.

Just wait till Christmas.....

Strange children, weirder ideas....

Kyra's "make shift" dollhouse constructed out of computer paper. See the tape in the background? lol! I find this so funny because Maeve has a HUGE dollhouse in her room for them. Maybe it was a vacation destination or something! ;)

Another pic....

Let's add'em up.....

My new nephew got me to thinking about how many great-grandkids are in my families. First of all, I am the oldest grandkid on my mom's side and I'm the second to the youngest on my dad's side (my sister is the youngest). So as you can imagine, there are a lot more on my dad's side. I'll name ALL of them below starting with the oldest to the youngest.

Great-Grandkids on my dad's side:
-Christopher
-Clayton
-Cassie
-April
-William
-Kyra
-Kalyn
-Maeve
-Nadia
-Brooke
-Isabella
-Brant

***Holy moly! There's 12 of them now!

Great-Grandkids on my mom's side:
-Kyra
-Maeve
-Haylie
-Holdyn
-Brant
-(And another one the way in Dec./Jan.....Mike and Megan are expecting #3!)

***So there's 5 right now but soon the count will be 6!

Honestly, I think that my mom's side will one day outnumber my dad's side. I have 5 cousins on each side. But I think that my dad's side of the family is pretty much done having kids....well except for my sister. She'll have at least one more!

So there's your geneology lesson for the day. ;)

My new nephew and I.....

OK, so I held him for almost an hour today and stared at him and I've come to the conclusion that he looks EXACTLY like my sister when she was born (I wish I had a pic!). The only difference was that she was quite a bit pudgier at 9 lbs. 5 oz. and she had a TON of black hair. Brant has some hair, but not a lot. He must take after his daddy in that department. ;)

Good news all around!

First of all, I'm an AUNT today which I'm very excited about!

Brant Thomas Redman
6 lbs. 8 oz.
20 inches
2:42pm

We are going to see him tomorrow in the hospital and then on Sunday at home. They'll come home on Saturday afternoon. Daddy is proud and mama is elated! She said that she feels great and can't wait to walk around for a bit!

***********************************************************************************

It's PROGRESS REPORT time already! Have 3 weeks passed since school started? Geez! Time flies! Kyra is doing very well! 2nd grade is soooooo different than 1st grade!

Language Arts- 97
Reading- 100
Science- 95
Social Studies- 97
Math- 95

She's really struggling with Math and Science more this year. Looks like she'll be just like her mommy! ;) I have a conference with her teacher tomorrow. I hope to hear nothing but good things about her!

Grocery store fun.....

I saw a little old lady wearing a t-shirt with this logo on it at the grocery store just now! LMAO! I love the grocery store. I like to "people watch" and get the biggest kick out of things like this! Some people have no shame.....

Their new favorite place.....

Looking out into the front yard from Maeve's window. Zoe can jump on the bed easily, but Mia needs a little help. They LOVE the sunshine in the afternoons!

Major deja vu.....

My sister called this afternoon after her dr. appt. She's still dilated to just a centimeter! I've been there. I know the frustration. So what they are going to do is go ahead and admit her this evening into the hospital. Overnight, they will try to ripen her cervix with cervidil. They will start pitocin in the morning. Lisa is only 39 weeks, but so ready to have this baby. Her doctor decided to induce her last week already. Nate's mom and stepdad drove down this morning from Seminole.

What she's going through is similar to what I went through with Kyra. They admitted me on a Thursday evening and gave me cervidil as well. Friday morning, they started pitocin. At noon, they broke my water. But I never did dilate past a 3 or 4. I labored all day on Friday and Friday night. After 22 hours of labor, my doctor suggested a c-section. So, she did a c-section on Saturday morning and at 9:30am, Kyra was born.

I'm kind of bummed that she won't be having him this evening or overnight. My plan was to drive there tomorrow when the girls are in school to see her and the baby. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Now I'll have to wait until Friday evening or Saturday morning, which is good. I'll take the girls with me and they'll get to meet their brand new baby cousin. I just wanted to see him while he's in the hospital. Oh well. I don't think that Maeve is old enough to go to the hospital anyway. Lisa said that they have to be at least 5 years old.

So the waiting begins......I'll keep you posted.

Well who else is there?

Maeve: "Mommy, this book has a rip in it."

Upon further investigation, I noticed that the COVER had a tiny tear.

Me: "Maeve, that's ok. It's small. Just don't tear it anymore than it already is."

Maeve: "Mommy, someone else did it. I didn't do it."

It was very obvious that she did the damage. The book didn't look like that a few minutes before when I saw her with it. I wonder who she thinks did it. I bet she'll blame it on Zoe. She blames EVERYTHING on Zoe. I think I'll go ask her who did it.

Update: She blamed it on Kyra! LMAO! Kyra isn't even here. She's at school! I guess she thinks that Kyra damaged it at another time! Um, no!

She's such a liar, that one. I sense that there are about 10 new gray hairs on top of my head right about now!

"The boy" is coming this week!

I call him "the boy" because that's what his daddy referred to him as yesterday when we had lunch. Maeve and I met Lisa and Nate at Serrano's yesterday for a nice lunch.

Lisa has a dr. appt. on Wednesday and said that her doctor is likely to admit her and induce. So we just might have Baby Redman here by Wednesday or Thursday!

I'll keep ya posted.

Oh really?

Last Wednesday, I taught two Flow classes. They both went well. The first one I subbed for a friend. The second one was my regular Wednesday class downtown.

After class, I thank my members for coming and I tell them to come and talk to me if they have any questions or comments. Usually they just scoot on out of there with a "thank you", but some stay and chat.

Last week was a totally different story. A girl who I had never seen in class before came up to me after class and said, "I have some suggestions on how you can do the Sun Salutations better. The ones that you did seemed weird."

I explained to her that our gyms have the Les Mills programs in them and all of the choreography is pre-choreographed. We learn from a video and notes. I told her that I didn't make it up. Apparently, she didn't hear what I had just said because she didn't stop there.

She told me that I should have had my hand behind my foot in this pose. Yes, it can be changed to where the hand is behind the foot but the choreography in this certain release had it in front of the foot. What bothered me the most is that she was calling it Triangle Pose, when it was an Extended Warrior Pose. Triangle Pose looks like this. It's easy to see the differences between the two. In Triangle Pose, the front leg is straightened so that you feel more of a stretch through the hamstring.

I was bothered by her "know it all" mentality. I study the notes and choreography. I watch the education tips. I learn the release like the back of my hand. After all, I've been certified for more than 5 years now. Granted, I have a lot more to learn, but I think I know my basic poses. Clearly, this girl didn't know what she was talking about. I almost hope that she was a bit embarrassed after that conversation. And now I wonder if she'll ever show her face in class again. If she does, she needs to understand that I don't need suggestions on how to "change it up." ;)

Uh oh.....

http://euler.atmos.colostate.edu/~vigh/guidance/northatlantic/track_early1.png

He's brewing and he's getting BIG! This track worries me A LOT. I've already heard Ike being compared to this hurricane.

So scared. Pray!

I had to get my obsessive fix.....

So the girls and I were on our way back from my sister's and I had been wanting to drive out by the airport for a while now that FNL is back in town. We pulled up and there are trailers EVERYWHERE. I felt kind of weird just pulling up to the stadium (today wasn't a taping day....it's a Sunday) and sure enough, a guy in a car pulls up next to me and asks if he can help me. I told him that all I wanted was to snap a few pics. He seemed hesitant, but then said, "Make it quick." These are the three that I took. I hope to get more of them when they don't have all of their stuff out there. I wanted to shoot one of the "Dillon Police" car. But look what I pulled right.up.next.to! Riggins' truck! OMG! I freaked out! I also saw Landry's station wagon which I chuckled at because it was set on fire in season 2.

Oh, and for all of you that have DirectTV, I am so jealous! Hopefully there will be episodes bootlegged online for the rest of us to see.

All in all, an exciting day! ;)

GO PANTHERS!

2nd year of preschool.....

There are no words....

So we have been watching Hurricane Gustav coverage all weekend. This was a conversation between Richard and I yesterday.

Me: "They give these hurricanes such stupid names. They need to come up with names that are more up to date. I wonder who the genius is that comes up with these names."

Richard: "But I thought that the first person to see the storm is who they name it after."

OMG! WTF? Dude, are you for real? I really wonder where he thinks this "person" is. LMAO!

I went on to explain that they have lists that they alternate every 6 years (the Atlantic and Pacific each have their own lists). These storms aren't named after anybody. If a strong enough storm hits that does widespread damage, then they retire the name. Yep, the name Katrina will never be used again. I am shocked that Claudette is being used next year again. It hit the Texas coast in 2003. My dad had 100+ mph winds at his house. It came in as a Cat 1, but with research, they did find that it had some Cat 2 winds.

Honestly, if I were naming hurricanes, I would go down the alphabet and give them names of people that I don't like. LOL!

More about naming hurricanes:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics/naming.shtml

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

My husband is an idiot. He should be embarrassed. Shoot, I'm embarrassed for him. I'm weather-obsessed. I guess I need to give him a few pointers. ;)

Lazy Labor Day weekend.....

Just a few random thoughts/musings/happenings....

-My back is still bothering me. It's much better today though. I don't know if that means that it's actually feeling better OR that I'm dealing better with the pain. I don't know what I pulled, but it has to be something pretty deep for it to hurt this long. I plan to do a "light" Body Flow workout this afternoon and see if that loosens me up a little. It just feels like something is tight through my low/mid back. Abs are somewhat sore too. I wish I felt better. This sucks.

-I rearranged the furniture in Maeve's room and was declared "awesome" by both of the girls. It's the little things....

-This damn hurricane is fascinating to me. Weather is fascinating to me. I'm obsessed. I can't turn off the TV. I keep flipping back and forth between the Weather Channel and CNN. Pull up a seat gang because things look like they will get very interesting within the next 48 hours or so. I sincerely hope that these damn forecasters are somewhat correct with where they think this thing is going to go. I'd hate for people to be caught off guard. I just saw the 5 day models of Katrina and Rita and they were waaaaaaaay off. They expected Rita to go into Rockport! Lord!

-Kyra was up at 6am this morning. Um, newsflash kid: IT'S.A.SATURDAY. And then I can't get her up on the days that she has school. WTF? Luckily, she kept quiet in her room and let Maeve and I (she slept with me last night) sleep in till 8:30.

-It's almost September, so you know what that means. The baby waiting officially begins! I can't wait to meet my nephew! He'll be here soon!

-Dogs are driving me batty. They bicker and can't decide whether they want to play/fight, go outside, or sleep. They confuse me. Shoot, I think they confuse themselves. All I know is that by 8pm, they are OUT.

-I really feel for New Orleans. It looks like they'll be on the dirty side of the storm. And if that storm veers a little farther to the east, they are really screwed. Thank God things seem a little bit better organized around there this time around. I've heard that their levees are only a third built right now. That's not good news.

-My dad is so funny. He was talking about Hurricane Claudette that came into Victoria in 2003. He was without power for 9 days. He's freaking out about Gustav right now. Um, dad I don't think you have anything to worry about. He was telling me last night how "our house" has survived the worst of hurricanes....namely Carla and Beulah. He'll always worry though. That's just how he is.

-The first week of school was a total success. Kyra did great. She adores her teacher. Maeve had Open House on Thursday and will start on Tuesday. Her teacher is a sweetheart and I expect her to have a great year as well. Her class and another class are the "big kids" in the building, so they will be eating lunch in the little cafeteria. She's so excited about that.

-I'm ready to get a pedicure. It's been too long. I think I'll go on Tuesday when I finally have some peace and quiet. ;)

My dancing/cheering girls....

And she's off to 2nd grade.....

*sad sigh* She's getting so big. Seems like just yesterday that we were dropping her off for Kindergarten. I always get bluesy around this time....thinking that she's already completed another year of school and has the next to look forward to.

I'm off to snuggle with my little angel who is still mine at home for 2 more years.

I promise that I don't make this stuff up.....

Maeve: "Mommy, can I drive a car?"

*I'm thinking WTF?*

Me: "No Maeve, you have to be MUCH older to drive a car. Even Sissy (Kyra) can't drive a car yet." (Thank God)

Maeve: "But I want to drive a car now! I want to go this way (making arm motions from side to side) and that way."

*By this time I'm shaking head and thinking that I'm totally screwed. I think I'll let her be her daddy's little problem! LOL!*

Movie mania....

I confess that I do not go to the movie theater very often to see a movie. I have enough patience to wait a few months till it comes out on dvd. However, now I have two little girls that see previews on TV and KNOW that a movie is coming out soon.

Kyra is sitting on pins and needles just waiting for this one to come out. We will have to see it within the first week that it's out or else! LOL! Disney got smart and decided to put it out as a movie in theaters after its debut success on TV last summer. I assume that the same thing will happen with this movie. The Jonas Brothers are wildly popular and I just can't see them doing another movie for the small screen only.

My cousin Bri texted me from the movie theater a while back and told me that I *have* to take the kids to see this movie. The previews have been showing on TV too. It comes out on October 3rd. Yeah, I'll be broke from seeing movies in October for sure.

Then there's the movies that *I* want to see. This one is coming out a few weeks earlier than expected. Since I've read the book (actually all 4 books in the series), curiosity will get the best of me and I'll have to go and see it. I'm highly disappointed with the choices of the main characters and have to see if they are any good on the big screen.

The highlight of next year will definitely be this movie. Bring.it.on. My beloved TK plays Gambit in the movie. I've seen the leaked trailer. Awesomeness. Too bad it has been taken down on most sites. But I will definitely keep you posted. ;)

Thoughts on "Back To School".....

So Thursday night, we went up to school to drop off school supplies and meet Kyra's teacher. I already knew her somewhat from working in the library last year on Fridays. Her class was one of 6 that came on Fridays. And guess what? They are going on Fridays this year too and I will help out again! Kyra is so excited!

Kyra will be in 2nd grade, so this is her last year "downhill" with the smaller kiddos. Next year, she'll be "uphill" where the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are. I can't believe it. On "Back To School" night, we visited her 1st grade classroom (her 1st grade teacher was out having a baby!) and her Kindergarten classroom too. I just adore the teachers that she had. It seems like yesterday that we were just starting out there. Time flies.

Kyra will ride the bus home again this year. It makes it so much easier on me because I don't have to get out in the afternoons. However, I will pick her up on the first day of school and take her out for ice cream. It's a tradition!

Maeve has her orientation this Thursday and starts the Tuesday after Labor Day. She's so excited too. But I think she's more excited to start dancing. We went to buy shoes and tights today. She could live at the dance studio. She asked when recital is and I said, "Oh it's not till next year. You have to learn your dances first." She started dancing around and told me that she wanted to go on that stage. Oy. She's more passionate about it than Kyra ever was. Kyra is taking cheerleading, but I told her that if she doesn't like it, then we can stop. I don't want to make her do something that she doesn't want to do and I don't want to just be wasting money anyway. So we shall see how that goes.

Kyra is my more artistic child. There is talk about an Art Club at school. I'm just waiting to hear when and where.

Maeve will be in Kindergarten in 2 years. I haven't quite decided what I will do when she's in school, but I think I'll sign up to be a teacher sub and a library sub. That way I can have their schedule and it won't be full-time and I'll still make a little extra money.

I am looking forward to having a schedule again. It'll be crazy for a while, but I'll get used to it. I always do.

How I spent my summer vacation.....

Well, the time has arrived. Summer '08 is no more as of Monday. School starts again. A month ago, I was not.ready.at.all. Now? I think I'm more excited than the kids are. Why? Because they are driving me insane. It's like they decide in advance to completely misbehave during this last week. I don't get it.

So what did we do all summer? Well, one thing we didn't do was take a REAL vacation. It's coming though, people. One day. I'm thinking of renting a condo next summer in Port A. Yeah, if this is gonna happen, then I'd better start making plans NOW.

Things that DID happen this summer:

-Kyra had her 2nd dance recital. While I was completely disappointed with her teacher, the class did ok. I put her with the same teacher this fall, only she's taking cheerleading with her. We'll see how that goes. She's not nearly as excited as Maeve is. Maeve will be in tap, ballet, and gymnastics. And our pocketbook will suffer yet again. *sigh*

-We all went down to Coleto and had a fabulous time on Richard's boat and the jet ski. The kids tubed behind the boat. Shoot, I did too. LOL! Most spent the night by camping out either outside or in the camper. Maeve and I opted to go back to my dad's. I'm glad that we did. That was a tiring weekend, but it was fun.

-Kyra went to Heroes Camp at Hays Hills. She loved it. Next year, I'm definitely putting Maeve in too.

-We attended the St. John Picnic again. Fun, but wet. And my sister STILL owes me for driving my insanely intoxicated BIL home. Kyra and I will NEVER forget some of the hilarious things that we heard that night. Lord.

-We attended my sister and BIL's couples' baby shower in Victoria. That same weekend, I got to hold the new baby of a friend of mine. Babies everywhere!

-We had a family photo session with Marcy in San Marcos on the campus of Texas State. Pics are wonderful. We bought the disk and ordered bigger prints. They are already hanging in our living room. Add in an indoor session at our church for its directory, and we are broke. No more pictures for a while! ;)

-The girls went to the dentist. It was Maeve's first time. She didn't even want me back there with her. I was floored. She LOVED the dentist. Again, I have weird children. They LOVE the doctor and the dentist.

-The girls and I attended LaLa's baby shower in St. John. What a success that was! Had a great time!

-Took the girls swimming several times. We went to the pool in Kyle and Richard and I were SHOCKED when Kyra passed the swim test there. She can swim 1/2 the length of the pool and tread water. WTF? We also went to Hil and Josh's apartment pool. We also got a hot tub. Again, my husband has a spending problem. ;)

-We spent a lot of time checking out books at the library. Kyra read a lot. She has a list of over 30 books. And most of them are chapter books. YAY!

-Speaking of books, I got through all of the Stephenie Meyer books. Yes, the popular Twilight series. I just finished the 4th one, "Breaking Dawn". It was the longest of them all at 756 pages!

-IT RAINED! FINALLY!

-And FNL came back to Austin! Eye candy is here again! Wooooohooooo!

Hope this brings you up to speed. Now we will ease into school schedules again and await baby boy Redman who is due to arrive within the next month!

Somebody remind me why I decided to have a 2nd child...

Right now, I'm really starting to rethink that decision.

It's been a hard week. What shall I call her? A mean child? A strong-willed child? A spirited child?

Call her what you want. But I will say that she's NOT my little angel this week. NOT.AT.ALL.

I really hope that she doesn't act like this at school in a week and a half. *sigh*

I get a kick out of the littlest things....

My 11 year old nephew Jerry just walked in with a t-shirt on that says:

"Homework KILLS trees. Play more video games."

Oy.

I have strange kids....

So I'm sitting here at the computer and they are in my bathroom for a.long.time. I thought that they might be doing each other's hair or something (which isn't unusual on a "good day" when they are nice to each other). Nope. They were doing the hair of their little dollhouse mommy and baby. All I could smell was Febreze. Yep, they sprayed Frebreze in their hair to "wetten" it. Oy. Water would have done the job too. After all, there was a sink RIGHT THERE.

This takes me back to the days when my sister and I used to do our Barbie's hair and dress a TON of them up and play "wedding". We'd even BEG my mom to take pictures of the wedding party and the bride and groom (Barbie and Ken). She did!

We spent hours upon hours playing with Barbies. We had the Barbie Dreamhouse, a car, a jeep, a swimming pool, and two or three little suitcases full of clothes.

It's a shame that Barbie's popularity is now a bit different. My kids watch movies like "Barbie Fairytopia" and "Barbie Mariposa". There are now video games and computer games with Barbie in them. Only I don't think she looks like Barbie at all anymore. She's some computer generated doll that I don't recognize.

I'm really thinking of buying my girls more "true" Barbie stuff so that they can understand the phenomenon a little bit better.

But I have to tackle Maeve's closet first. And that's going to be a big task.

Ugh.

Let's talk Olympics....

Usually I am never really phased by an Olympics, but after watching last night's opening ceremonies, I decided to get hooked. Did you see that? The man was lifted into the air and traced the outside of the stadium above EVERYONE (he made it seem like he was running) and then lit the Olympic cauldron. Awesome. I think it rivals Barcelona as one of the best. Remember in '92 when the archer shot the arrow across the sky and lit it? Very cool.

I just watched the opening round of women's volleyball. Those US girls nearly gave me a heart attack. But they pulled through and won the first two games. So they move on.

I really need to start watching more men's tennis. This guy as well as this guy are HOT! Why didn't someone tell me?

Michael Phelps is a MACHINE. That is all.

Also watched the medal ceremony for ladies' saber fencing earlier. A USA sweep. So awesome seeing three US flags raised!

Kyra and Maeve are really into it too. This is they first Olympics that Kyra might remember. I remember seeing Mary Lou Retton win gold in gymnastics in '84.

Speaking of past Olympics, I sat on Kyra's bed last night and actually remember where all of the games were held dating back to '76. I couldn't believe that I remembered!

I'm actually more crazy over the Winter Olympics. There's just something magical about it. Vancouver 2010! WOOT!

But for right now, I'm enjoying these games. I usually get a little sad when they are all over with.

Wait, there's more.....

What kind of language is this kid speaking?

This morning instead of saying, "I'm thirsty", Maeve said, "My breath needs some juice."

WTF?

Such a clever little kid.....

Because this is sooooo funny!

The other day Maeve burped. I didn't hear it, but noticed a funny look on her face. Then she proudly said, "Mommy, I farted in my mouth!"

OMG. I was pissing in my pants!

I laugh daily. I'm thankful for my kids. Every day is an adventure. Especially with that child.

Oy.

The dog days of summer....

Silly girls.....

Kyra: "Mommy, are you having any more babies?"

Me: "Um, no, I'm done."

Kyra: "Good because if you had a boy, I'd kill myself."

Me: "Kyra, don't say things like that. It's not nice. In fact, that sounds horrible."

Maeve: "I want a boy! I love boys! Raider is a boy. I love boys!"

Oy.

First of all, I have no idea where Kyra picks up language like that. But I know she's not serious because of the sarcastic tone of her voice. Thank God. I swear I'm not raising serial killers here or anything. ;)

Raider is my sister's chocolate lab. And yes, he's a male. Maeve is captivated by him, yet is annoyed with either Mia or Zoe most of the time. I don't get it.

But Maeve's comments about boys have me worried. Very worried. *sigh*

And in other news.....

-This Hurricane Dolly better drop some wet stuff on my yard. It's suffering miserably. I cringe when I see patches of brown grass. :( I'm so sick of watering the yard and it still looking pathetic.

-I'm also sick of Kyra walking around the house and singing, "I kissed a girl and I liked it..." Ugh. Damn radio. Such CRAP on the radio these days.....

-Maeve's behavior has been HORRIBLE lately. I don't know if it's because of her age, boredom, or a combination of the two. When does school start again?

-I'm bitchy this week, but I have a reason to be. ;) Hopefully next week I'll be back to my regularly scheduled self. LOL!

-We are taking some new family photos on Sunday. I can't wait. One of Maeve's teachers is a photographer and she's offered to do it for us. These will be outside. Then in two weeks, we take more photos at church for our church directory. Those will be inside. We even get a FREE 8x10 out of that sitting. I am excited to finally take photos as a family of FOUR. Yes folks, we are rather behind. ;)

-There is still so much I want to do this summer and I feel like we are running out of time. Ugh. I hate that. I need to make lists. LOTS of lists.

-I'm so excited that I'll have a new nephew soon. I keep buying him crap. He's gonna be so spoiled. I plan to leave the kids behind for a long weekend and put Richard in charge while I spend some time with him and his mommy and daddy after he's born. I can't wait.

-Speaking of babies, my husband thinks I'm seriously looney because I know a lot of the celebrity babys' names. Um, don't we all? I know that some of you stand in the checkout line at the grocery store and can't help but browse through a magazine or two. Am I right? (sure I am.)

Weekend tidbits....

Went to my hometown for a 4 day weekend (sister and BIL had a baby shower on Saturday). Lordy, that town (I refuse to call it a city) has changed....or has it? Hmmmmmm.....

-There are STILL a TON of old people driving the streets, which is both hilarious and annoying. You see more brand new Cadillac cars in that town than anywhere else. And OMG are the streets the WORST anywhere. I thought that Austin had bumpy streets. I was wrong. They SLOWLY fix them there. It takes a year or two, but they get the job done. The construction crews there could never build a tollway. Even the thought of that job would make their heads explode.

-I think I went to Ghetto Mall three times. I NEVER go to Ghetto Mall while I'm there. I hate even looking at it. But I HAD to go. Thank God Maeve was not with us when there were like 5 HUGE moonwalks set up in the middle of the mall for kids to pay for to play on. Ugh. And Sunday when I went there, I had to pee, so I used one of Ghetto Mall's bathrooms and people WOULD NOT move out of the way to let me into a stall. One lady was changing a diaper. Another was washing hands. Still another was just checking out of the scenery. I wanted to scream, "Get the heck out of the way!" I wish I would have had my sister with me. Pregnant woman having to pee + people not moving out of the way = some sort of altercation. Sweet. I do have to add that Ghetto Mall has quite a lovely smell (not!). I guess I'm officially a "mall bitch" now. ;)

-The price of gas dropped tremendously while we were there. We got there on Friday and most places had it for $3.80-$3.85. Saturday, it dropped 10 cents in one day. When we left on Monday, we filled up at HEB Plus for $3.69 a gallon! SCORE! We come back up here and it's back to paying $3.92. WTF?

-The humidity down there is stifling. And the mosquitoes? OMG. I was standing in the grass at my dad's house and they were swarming around my legs. HORRIBLE. I guess maybe that 8 inches of rain that they had the other week didn't help that situation at all. LOL!

-I attempted to find someplace to get a pedicure on Sunday. Ghetto Mall's one nail place had a 3 hour wait. And the people at JC Penney were just plain rude about it with a resounding "No!". And do you think that any of the other nail places in town would be open on a Sunday? Oh hell to the no! Ugh. I think I'm spoiled. Instead, I waited and went to my sweet little pedicure place here in town today. Pure bliss, I tell ya.

-I seriously am bothered by the fact that I encountered so many unfriendly people in that town in such a short period of time. I'm definitely not used to it. My little town spoils me. In fact, I walked into Walgreen's here this afternoon and was approached by 2 or 3 people asking me if I was "finding everything alright." I just love it when people actually do their jobs AND are friendly. It really makes a difference.

I don't know when my next trip to my hometown will be. I hope it will be a more pleasant experience next time. Or I might have new things to bitch and moan about! ;)

She may look cute, but.....

Let's talk Maeve. She's quite the looker with her blond hair and big blue eyes, but don't let that fool you. I am having the hardest time with her right now.

First of all, she despises Zoe. She hates everything about that dog. She loves on and praises Mia, but shoves Zoe, hits her, and usually ends up yelling at her for something. The other night, she woke me up at 12:30am because Zoe was on her bed sleeping on her blankets and she didn't want her there. Ugh. Any ideas on how to get them to bond? I love on Zoe so much in front of Maeve and I hope that she gets the hint that she really isn't a horrible dog. She's just a hyper dog. Jen, any other ideas?

Maeve also goes into these crying fits and since she knows that we don't pay any attention to her when she's having a meltdown, she goes in her room, slams the doors, and screams louder. And let me tell you, it.is.so.fake. We all are on to her game. She comes out a few minutes later, walks around the house looking for attention, and if she doesn't get it, then she does the same thing all over again. Yeah, DRAMA QUEEN!

The other day, I taught a class at the gym and left the girls in the Kids' Club. When I was done teaching and picked them up, the first words out of Maeve's mouth were, "Mommy, I had to sit in time out." Ugh. Apparently, she and another little girl were running around and were told to stop and they didn't. I don't know if Maeve followed her or she followed Maeve. Whatever the case was, I had a LONG talk with Maeve at the gym and on the way home about how she needs to listen to the ladies there. She understood. Yesterday, when I took her to another gym, she yelled, "Mommy, I was nice!" when I picked her up. LOL!

The person that I feel sorry for the most in all of this is Kyra. That poor girl does everything in her power to try and help Maeve. She's like a "mother hen" to her and tries to teach her right from wrong. She explains to her how she should be a good girl because being nice is a lot more fun than being mean. I think that Maeve hears some of it, but a lot of Kyra's lectures go in one ear and out the other. LOL! I can tell that Kyra is completely frustrated with her too. At least I'm not alone. ;)

How well does your sunscreen work?

Click here to find out. The results might surprise you.

Bowling tales....

Today I took Kyra, Maeve, and my two nieces to Gatti Town and then we all went bowling. Let's just say that the sport of bowling has come a long way since I was a kid. Where I grew up, there are two bowling alleys. One is the "old" one and one is the "new" one. The old one is where my mom started bowling on a league when my sister and I were kiddos. We had to stay upstairs in the creepy daycare. All I remember were crickets and roaches being everywhere. Yuck! You had to keep score by hand at the old one too. So naturally, that's where we went for H.S. P.E. one semester. Before I had no idea that a strike include 10 plus your next 2 balls thrown and a spare includes 10 plus your next 1 ball thrown. So I guess it taught me something!

The newer bowling alley in my hometown has a nursery too and guess who also bowled on a league many many years ago along with my mom? Richard's mom! So we were probably trapped in that hell hole together and didn't even know it! LOL!

I remember bowling a "1" one time. Another time, I bowled a "3". I was so embarrassed. Well, gone are those days!

Today's bowling included bumpers for the kiddos. Kyra bowled a 64 and an 86! Even little Maeve bowled a 43! So.not.fair. I really feel like it's "cheating". It's like not hitting a baseball and running the bases anyway and screaming, "I hit a home run!" Ugh.

But Kyra did restore all faith in me when she bowled a strike and the ball didn't even touch the bumper. You should have seen how she threw the ball to do it though. LMAO!

I bowled a 98 and a 101. I'm so embarrassed. I bet it's been 7 or 8 years since I've been bowling. We have some free passes, so we definitely need to go more often. Thank God there were only kids with me today!

But hey, at least I beat Barack Obama! ;)

All in all, a great day with the kiddos! I'm happy that I'm their "cool" aunt! LOL!

Hmmmm....what have we been up to?

Well let's see.

-Kyra just got done with a week long kids' camp. It was from 9-3 every day. It was a "Heroes" Christian camp at the church preschool that Maeve attends and Kyra attended. They had a blast. Maeve's former preschool teacher was Kyra's camp teacher. So there was a lot of familiarity. They have a camp "reunion" on Sunday at the 10:45 service. Should be fun!

-Today was our 10 year anniversary. I got Richard a sweet card and the 1st season of "King of the Hill" on DVD. How redneck is that? ;)

-There is almost NOTHING to watch this summer on TV, but two shows that always seem to reel me in are "America's Best Dance Crew" on MTV and "She's Got The Look" on TV Land. Yeah I know. I'm lame. But I think these shows stand out from all of the other ones. Too bad they probably won't last. :(

-I was sick TWICE in a week with stomach issues related to an intolerance to cream cheese. No more for me. I eat that stuff and get sick. That's the bottom line. It sucks. However, all other dairy doesn't seem to phase me at all. Well, except for ice cream. Again, THAT sucks.

-It's HOT. I seriously contemplated driving somewhere today where it might be raining. I miss the rain. We need it. BAD.

-Richard bought Kyra a Nintendo DS and the kids are OBSESSED with it. They play with it and fight over it. ALL.DAY.LONG.

-I can't believe that it's almost July. Where did June go? I'm kind of sad about that. I'm having so much fun this summer. I love being lazy. However, FNL starts taping again in late July/early August and I'm TOTALLY looking forward to that! Eye candy comes back! Woot!

-Our church across the street is having a Fiesta this weekend and the dogs are going nuts outside. I'm sure that this will be annoying by the end of the weekend.

-I really need to seriously learn Body Flow. It finally arrived this week and it's amazing. OMG. I had every intention of doing it today, but didn't get around to it. Plus, I was so tired. So I skipped working out today. I really needed it.

-My husband's HUGE outboard motor for his boat arrived today. It took 2 men and a pick-up truck to go get it and 3 men to unload the damn crate off of the truck. I'm SOOOOO not looking forward to that project.

-I think my nice HOT shower is waiting for me, so I'll see y'all later! ;)

Happy Summer!

Since I haven't updated in a while, I'll bullet this post.

-It's SUMMER! We have no set plans except to relax and have fun. The damn gas prices are so high, so there will be a lot of hanging out at home. My plan is to only go into town to the gyms 3 times a week and since I only teach two of those days, there will be lots of working out at home. I'll have to get up earlier and run since it's so hot.

-Speaking of hot, this heat is just awful. Does the sun seem so much brighter to all of you? Or is it just my eyes? Global warming is here. Ugh.

-Kyra did great in 1st grade and she's a reading fiend this summer! She's already read like 5 chapter books in a week's time! Ack! I love it though. The library has a summer reading program and we are keeping logs for that. Kyra is also going to a church day camp at the end of the month. Guess who her teacher is going to be? Maeve's preschool teacher! Kyra is stoked about that! She'll have a blast!

-Maeve is Miss Chatterbox. She's at it all day long. I don't remember Kyra talking this much. I think Maeve just has so much more to say since she has a sister. The girls play pretty well together. They have their spats, but they aren't too bad.

-We spent last weekend at Coleto in Victoria. Richard took the boat and he and Kyra and all of his family camped out there on Sunday night. Maeve and I drove back into town and stayed at Papoo's. But we all got ample boat time and had so much fun. Richard COULD NOT knock Kyra off of the tube. That child just stayed right on. She jumped into the lake just to see what it feels like! LOL!

-I really want to paint our dining room and kitchen this summer. They will be similar colors....one will be a shade darker and one a shade lighter. We'll see if I get around to that.

-There are lots of baby showers going on this summer for my sister. So we'll be busy with those. I can't wait. I'm so excited to meet my nephew in September!

-I miss Bri. Bri, come back! ;)

-I also miss Taylor Kitsch. Taylor, come back! SOON! (BTW, he should be back in Austin in July. Hopefully, I'll see him at the gym. Eye candy baby!)

-And thanks to Jen for being there for me yet again with my latest ordeal. It's wonderful to have a friend who totally understands me....and doesn't judge me either. Love you girl!

-I'm on book 3 of Stephenie Meyer's series. It's called "Eclipse". "Twilight" (the first book) comes out as a movie in December. And the 4th book in her series, "Breaking Dawn" comes out in August. I went to Borders the other day and you can already reserve your copy. Craziness!

-I think I'm going to do more Body Flow/Yoga/Pilates this summer. I enjoy it so much. I had a hardcore workout today and could tell that my thyroid had to work overtime. The gentler stuff is so much better for me physically and mentally. I was SHOCKED to see some definition in my shoulders this morning during a class. WTF? I credit Body Flow....because it never happened with anything else.

-Dogs are fine. Lazy, but fine. Zoe is calming down.....slowly. In the morning, she's the most hyper thing though and it grates on my nerves. Ugh.

-I really want a tummy tuck. I'm thinking next summer. I'm not kidding. Guess who's been doing research on the subject? Richard! He just wants me to be happy. He said that he'd gladly pay for me to do it. It's a big decision. I'm going to give myself some time. I always thought I'd want a breast reduction, but there are ways (really!) for me to make them smaller. The tummy? Not so much. I have a friend that had a breast augmentation today. I need to check with her and see how she's doing.

I guess that's us in a nutshell. I'll try to update more often. Lord knows I'll be bored. Or will I? ;)

I'm a good mother....I think...

Kyra filled out this little sheet for me at school the other day. I will write it on here exactly as she did. Her answers are in italics. It's hilarious! I had to share it with you all.....

MY MOM IS SPECIAL

My mom's name is..... "Kim"

She is special because....... "she always get my stuff reddy for school at night."

I like it when my mom...... "send me a letter on my bord."

My mom can do many things! I think she's best at.... "doing Yoga and makeing cikin spahettie."

My mom has a pretty smile! I like to make her smile by..... "doing my home werk by my sellf."

My mom is as pretty as a...... "flower."

My mom is smart! She even knows..... "how to put library books were they belong!"

I'd like to tell my mom..... "thank you for helping me clen."

Kyra.....May 6, 2008

***OK, now for explanations....

I DO get her stuff ready at night for the next morning so we can just grab and go. In the evenings, I let her pick out what she wears the next day.

I DO send her a letter on her board. It's the dry erase board in her room. She and I write back and forth to each other on it. She gets a kick out of it.

I guess I DO good yoga and make good chicken spaghetti! LMAO!

Kyra really DOES like doing her homework on her own and I commend her for that. She comes home, grabs a snack, sits down, and reads for 20 minutes. She knows that the TV and computer don't get used till she's done. She's NEVER complained about this either. I'm proud of her.

She thinks I'm smart because I know how to put the library books back! LMAO! I volunteer at her school library on Fridays and all I do is check books out for the kiddos and reshelve books! I just didn't know that I was a genius because of that!

And yes, I help her clean. Well, more than anything, I encourage her. Now her sister is another story. She doesn't listen to ANYTHING I say. *sigh*

So this is what 3 years old looks like.....

*sigh*

Updates on us.....

I thought I'd fill you all in as to what's been happening around here lately. It's really nothing too big, but as I always say, "a boring life is good life." ;)

Richard is loving his job. He's really good at what he does and is learning a lot. He's working nights on the back half of the week again (Wed., Thurs., Fri., and every other Saturday night). He is taking the Toll to work and can't wait till it's totally finished all the way to our house! Right now, he's taking it from 71 to Parmer. He said that it takes him about 20 minutes from there! Hopefully the next phase from 71 to 183 will be finished soon. Eventually, they'll have a strip of it from 183 to 35 too.....just north of here. He'll hop right on and never have to get off! We are on the TxTag bandwagon now too. So weird.

Richard is having surgery this Friday on his nose. Remember 2 years ago when he went in for this surgery and they discovered that his heart was messed up and that opened a whole new can of worms and he had to get his heart fixed? Yeah, well now he's FINALLY having that nose surgery where it was discovered! LOL! It's an outpatient surgery and he'll be uncomfortable for a few days. But he'll finally be able to breathe! He has a LOT of cartilage in there now that has to be uncomfortable for him. Poor guy. I know he's anxious to get it done.

Kyra is great. I can't believe that it's almost the end of 1st grade! WOW! Where did the time go? Kyra's daddy taught her to ride her bike without training wheels a few weeks ago. She's EVERYWHERE now. She's lost numerous teeth this year. She's looking forward to summer and swimming and doing a kids' camp for an entire week. She's reading so well. She's always willing to learn more and LOVES school. I can't believe how far she's come since August. It's amazing.

Maeve is in preschool two days a week and loves it. She's made so many little friends. She's learned songs and sings them at home all the time. It's so darn cute! Before Spring Break, Maeve decided (with a little push from us) to finally potty train. She's a champ at that now. I can't get over the vocabulary this kid has. She's VERY vocal. But at the same time, she's still my baby and loves to cuddle with her mama. She still has her beautiful blue eyes, but her blond hair is now getting darker.....just as we thought it would. Richard had sandy blond hair as a baby too and then it darkened. I just love watching all of the changes in her.

The dogs are fine. They have a love/hate relationship. Mia is now 8 and Zoe is a year old. Mia is her lazy self. Zoe is a hyper little dog, but is SLOWLY calming down. I took them both to the vet last week. Mia weighs her usual 8.4 lbs., but Zoe is already up to 8 lbs.! I laugh at them both because once 7:00 comes around, they are looking for beds. Mia usually settles down in her crate or in our bed. However, Miss Zoe goes to bed with Kyra. A while back, Kyra verbally asked Jesus for a dog that would sleep with her. I guess that He answered her prayers and sent us Zoe for a reason! LOL!

As for me, I'm doing good. I have good days and bad ones. Lately, I've had more energy than usual. I'm still teaching one Body Flow class a week and subbing Body Step when I can. The other days, I either take classes at the gyms or run here in our little town. I love it. On Fridays, I've been volunteering at Kyra's school library. I love that. Maeve does too. She goes with me and "helps" too. I just have to keep my thyroid condition in check. I pay attention to what's going on with my body and go to the doctor when I need to. I'm seeing an endocrinologist soon for a 2nd opinion. I just want to be on top of this. I've gained a few lbs. recently and just want to look and feel my best! So off to another doctor I go!

We have done A LOT of remodeling to our house recently. We put pergo floors everywhere except the kitchen, bathrooms, and the girls' rooms. We have tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. The girls' rooms are still carpeted. We have painted walls in our living room and will do more there and in the kitchen. We closed in our carport and made it a garage. Richard put a gate beside the house there so you can't even see toward the backyard. It's awesome. I love our new look. We will continue to slowly paint more inside and maybe paint the outside next year. We also want to get new living room and dining room furniture. We shall see when that happens.

So, that's it. We are just enjoying life and taking one day at a time. Please drop me a line and let me know how life is treating you! :)

And so it begins.....

Kyra is talking to a friend of hers on the phone as I type. She got her number yesterday at school, brought it home, put it on the fridge, and just dialed her number to try and set up a playdate for next week. As it turns out, she wants to come over tomorrow instead! LOL! And that's fine. Kyra's bus driver is her mom! So it works out perfect that she can just drop the both of them off anyway!

I guess next will be keeping an address book with phone numbers. Oy! Am I really ready for this? Kimmy, help me! LOL! ;)

More house pics.....

This is our newly painted wall in the living room. It's our "accent" wall. All of the other walls will be painted a lighter khaki color.


This is the new tile in the front/girls' bathroom. The same tile is in our master bathroom. But I didn't post pics of it yet because it's not nearly as neat right now! ;)

But we were here FIRST!

According to a new astounding report, we are living in the 20th fastest growing county in the US.

When we moved out here 5 years ago, there was an HEB and that.was.it.

Now it just seems like we are part of Austin all over again. *sigh*

Drumroll please......

The view of our living room and kitchen from our front door. There used to be a table in the area between the sofas and the bar stools, but we wanted more room here, so we actually decided to use our dining room now! It's in there now! No more computers in there! WOOOHOOO!

And oh yeah, the sofas will probably be GONE by the end of the year. Hello leather! :)

The floor in our bedroom. Eventually we will get new bedroom furniture.

Sorry I haven't been around to blog in a while. The truth is, I've been around, but I have found things to do AWAY from the computer (imagine that?). LOL! I wanted to post a few pics of the floors. I'll post more of the tile in the bathrooms and the kitchen and more of our NEW garage very soon!

Have a great weekend!

Spring Break is here!

-Kiddos are gone for a week to Grandma Debbie's in Victoria. I'm so excited. I have lots of things planned this week. I am meeting Jen for lunch and pedicures on Tuesday. I have to teach 2 Flow classes on Wednesday. I'm finally getting a chance to go out and see Anna's little baby girl, Cora on Thursday. My birthday is on Friday. Yep, it's gonna be a great week!

-Maeve is potty training and she's doing a heck of a good job! I'm so darn proud of that kid. We had floors installed this week and Richard pulled up the carpet last weekend and said, "That's it, kid. Diapers are gone." She was reluctant at first, but on Sunday and Monday, she improved a lot. The only thing that we are working on is going #2. I know that will come though. It took Kyra a while to get the hang of it too. But I'm thrilled with how far she's come in just a week! She's so proud of herself too. She gets little pieces of candy for going and when the candy is gone, she gets the BIG prize, Dora bubbles! LMAO!

-With the floors getting done, tile is next. That will be installed after Spring Break. I'm so ready for all of this to be over with. My eyes have now been red for a week. There is dust galore in this house. I'm slowly piecing my house back together. I'm fixing to go to Home Depot to pick up some paint samples. Painting will be a process. I want to leave the samples hanging up on the walls for a while so that I can get used to them and have them "grow" on me. LOL!

-I plan on picking up Easter stuff this week while the kids ARE NOT HERE. They had enough fits in Target last night. Mommy likes to shop alone!

-Honestly, remodeling is kind of an addiction. I understand it now. Once you start, you can't stop! LOL!

-I plan to work out a lot this week. I'll be eating a lot, so I might as well counteract that! ;)

-This new time change SUCKS. I know I'll get used to it and I'll love it in a few weeks, but right now, it is HARD to get used to! Ugh. My kids will LOVE it this week at Grandma's though. And I'm sure I'll be hating it next week because it'll be SO HARD to get them to bed early again.

-I'm outta here! I gotta figure out how to upload DVDs to my new ipod this week! Choreography time is right around the corner again! Argh!

What's your Real Age?

http://www.embedtube.com/uploads/33101407Realage.swf

Take this test and find out. Be honest. I'm almost 31, but my real age is 11.3! LMAO! I'm expected to live till 92! *fingers crossed*

Leave your Real Age in a comment below!