Kandi's Confessions

I'm late in posting these, so let's just get to it!

• I owe Andrea some serious money for taking care of things these last 2 weeks.  This is a best perk to having more than one person.  While I was having a nervous breakdown, she took over!  Thanks Andrea.  I owe you BIG TIME!


• Our local newspaper misprinted the start time of the fireworks on the 4th of July.  Thankfully, we'd left early to see them.  The kids were none the wiser.


• Last week I was gone for 4 days.  While gone all hell broke loose at my house.


• I'm referring to the sewer line back up.  It was all over my basement floor.  Chuck cleaned it up, but I had to do the deep cleaning.  It. was. g. ross.


• Calling an emergency plumber to come out isn't cheap.  Not cheap at all.


• Finding out that your pipes need replaced from the street to the house is downright expensive.  Just cut off my arm and leg now.


• Our replacement is more expensive than most because we live on a hill.  The have to dig deeper.  This is probably the ONLY time I've regretted our house on the hill.  Ugh!


• We took the kids out on the boat for the first time yesterday.  They had a blast!  They've been on pontoon boats before, but this one is a ski boat.


• A is officially a fish.  She loved being pulled on the tube.  She was even steering the tube over the wake so she could jump.  I on the other hand, was terrified.


• Ren is becoming a fantastic swimmer!  He has a life jacket on, but was doing his best at freestyle swimming.


• CS, well, she adored the tube as well.  Getting into the water to swim was a different story.  She loves to swim, but would not get into the lake for anything.  Instead she sat on the platform and splashed us.


• Chuck got up on water skis for the first time in about 10 years.  I was impressed!  Memories flooded back of when we dated.


• I put on flippers and did some swimming around the lake.  I got a pretty good workout.  I'm so sore today!


• These confessions are late.  Chuck and I got up around 8 and the kids were still sleeping.  So, we took advantage and went back to bed.  We all woke up around noon.  I think we need to go boating daily.  :D


• Ren officially turned 6 on Monday.  He got about 8 new LEGO sets and money to go buy more.  Someone has a LEGO issue.  ;)


• We had his party on Saturday.  It was h-o-t!


• Ren wanted a "splash pad" party, so Chuck got out the slip and slide, the little pool and set up the sprinkler.  Instant splashing fun!


• It's hot in Ohio.  Super hot.  It hasn't been this hot since I was a teen.  At least this time I'm not a "bagger" at Kroger required to go "round up carts".  That sucked!


• Why yes, I did work at Kroger while in high school.  It was a fun job and I am still friends with quite a few people I worked with.

That's all for this week.  My house is a hot mess and needs cleaned.  I'm sore and want to do nothing.  The kids are "bored" and Chuck can barely raise his arms after attempting to be "super skier" yesterday.

Have a great weekend everyone!  Stay cool and hydrated!

It's my birthday!

30-something years ago my parents were blessed with none other than me!  Obviously I was loved from the instant I appeared.  What's not to love?  I was cute, chubby and burped like a man!

In honor of my 34 (I cannot believe I just wrote that number), here are a couple of oddities about me or random things I've noticed about turning 34.

• On most forms/surveys I'm about to enter a new age bracket.  Most range 25-34 together.  So next year I'll get lumped with the older folks.  I'm screwed!


• I have more acne now than I ever did as a teen and I'm not thrilled about it.  Ever explained a pimple to a curious 4 year old.  Yeah...


• You'd think my cooking skills would be better.  Nope.


• My entire mindset on younger kids has changed.  Really.  I just noticed it this weekend when I looked at a group of teens and thought "Geez, they need haircuts!".  Y'all, I was a teen in the early 1990's.  You know when Kurt Cobain rocked it out!


• I think my birthday should be a holiday.  We can call it Kandi is awesome day!


• I'm closer to 35 than 30 and that terrifies me.


• I know when I was 20 I would tell everyone I planned to "age gracefully" and never color my hair when the gray appeared.  I lied to each and every person I may have told that.  I now see more than just a couple of random gray hairs.  I'm making an appointment to get it dyed/highlighted.  I may be getting older, but I'm not ready to look like my Grandma just yet....


• It always rains on my birthday.  My grandmother kept a dairy of the temps, daily forecast, and a little oddity for every day of every year (all the way back to the 1960's, it's kind of cool).  Anyway, with the exception of 3 out of my 34 years it's either rained or snowed on my birthday. 

 

It's a short list, but I thought I'd share.  I'm hoping you may have gotten a small giggle or laugh.

Happy Birthday to the greatest guy I know!

Happy 33rd Birthday!

to 

The man...

• that after 11 years I'm thankful to call my friend. 


• who makes me laugh daily. 


• who aggravates me to the point of anger, only to turn into a sweet heart the second he realizes he crossed that line. 


• who understood the importance of his wife choosing to staying home with the kids while he worked a thousand times harder to make it happen. 


• the one that amazes me daily with his genuine knowledge of computers and how they tick


• who has no problems tackling those super tough discipline cases that seem to overwhelm me.


• who is tightly wound around two little girls fingers


• is one of the few people who can truly look at our son and talk to him on a level that baffles me


• holds the weight of issues larger than him on his shoulders, yet doesn't let it interfere with our everyday life


• who may not be the overly romantic type, but more often than not surprises me with romantic gestures


• that blew me off on our first meeting at Miami, only to come to my rescue a few days later.


• who stopped going to college for 2 years so that I could focus on my degree (he graduated exactly a year after I did!)


• who has the best eyes ever!  Technically they are hazel, but change with his mood and clothing color choice


• that pushes me to be better than I am


• who will never (unless you pay off the best man like I did) be on time for anything.  Ever.


• that promised me our new bathroom would take 3 months to build.  2 years later and it is still no where close to being finished (this one is for guilt only!)


• that held a leg, counted, cut the cord and cried each time we were blessed with another child


• who puts up with my serious mood swings when my favorite person visits.


• that over-thinks and researches everything.  Much to his "jump first, think later" wife's annoyance. 


• sees so much of himself reflected in Ren


• always drives the P.O.S. vehicle so that I can drive the safer, more reliable one.  For the safety of the kids.


• has fulfilled every little girl dream I ever had and then some.  (it's okay to gag a little here)


• that with the flash of a smile you can tell if he's being serious, devilish, or sneaky


• claims to "wear the pants in the family", but if you press him will actually say we have a 50/50 household


• who will listen and take in a situation before speaking.  Good or Bad.


• that has a man cave that could use a little work


• who loves his computer games


• who never walks out the door for work without taking time to kiss and hug each of us while saying "I love you"


• that has supported me in this blogging adventure since day 1.  Even if he didn't understand it at first.


• who needs haircuts more than any normal person ever should


• gives up the gift he wanted at the family's white elephant gift exchange to score his wife (who didn't participate) a new Vera Bradley purse.  That's love!


• that crawled up under a desk to fix a computer on campus and didn't pay any attention to me burning a hole in tush in the process.  (yup, now you know why I was initially attracted to him...LOL)


• who is walking through this journey called life hand in hand with me, which makes me the luckiest girl on Earth!

 

Happy Birthday Courtney!!

Happy 3rd Brithday Courtney! 

My dear sweet little Courtney.  You are such a happy spirit.  So full of life, love, laughter and the occassional temper tantrum.  I wanted to write you some cute little story or some post to let the world know just how special you are, but the words are failing me.  I don't know why.  As I sit here typing, I am looking at the pictures of you and thinking "wow, 3 years already!".  You were an unexpected gift for our family that we thought was complete.  Now we couldn't imagine how we ever thought something that ridiculous.  Our family is ONLY complete because you are part of it.  You have this way of making Dad and me laugh and smile each day, almost like it's a goal of yours.  You are free spirited, yet know exactly what you want and how to get it.  You admire your sister and brother, although they don't understand that quite yet.  Oh, and you are sas-say (although I'm pretty sure I know how you got that *ahem*).  I love that you, at the old age of 3, still think my lap is the coolest seat in the house.  Snuggles and saying "I love you Mommy" are also high on your list of priorities.  To just put it bluntly, our house has become a whole lot more fun and interesting over the last 3 years.  Thank you for completing our family Courtney and for allowing us to watch you grow.   

Monster Jam!

Saturday night, after Ren's birthday party, we all got into the "Swagger Wagon".  (yes, we have a Sienna, no, it's not a new one.  It's well over 10 years old!  We love it just the same and crack up at the Sienna commercials).  We were on a mission.  A mission to go see some Monster Trucks!  Monster Jam headed to Cincinnati for Saturday night to "rumble in the jungle" (That's a Bengals reference for those not in the Cinci area).

I'll be honest, I was a little naive about Monster Trucks.  I have 3 brothers, but they somehow missed the whole monster truck phase.  I was thinking little trucks with huge tires.  Yes, that was the case, but oh my.  It was much more than just trucks and tires.  There was jumping off of ramps.  Crushing cars.  Crushing a large Winnebago with a picture of a coney on the side (another Cinci reference).  The roar of the engines was loud!  The height those heavy trucks could achieve was mind-boggling.  The roll-overs and tire losses made me gasp.  All in all, the kids LOVED it!  Hubs and I really enjoyed it as well.  This was something fun for the whole family. 

The point of the night I really liked the most though, was when one of the drivers was interviewed and he said he was dedicating his ride to a sick child at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.  He had the opportunity to meet this particular child and thought it would be wonderful to dedicate his ride to the child.  My Mom heartstrings were momentarily caught and right there in the middle of all the chaos that is a monster truck show I thanked God for the 3 blessings in my life. 

All together, we had a fabulous time!  The pictures below are of the fun we had.  Well, hubs time could have been a little bit better I assume.  Towards the end, CS had a slight *ahem* accident from her diaper.  It may have run down his leg and gotten on his shorts.  You can tell his *slight* frustration in the picture below....me, well, I cracked up.  Things like this happen to him all the time!

[slideshow]

Birthday Cake Success

My little Ren-man turned four last week.  Since his birthday is so close to a holiday, we usually celebrate the weekend before or the weekend after his actual day.  Let me disclaimer this by saying, I'm not the world's best cake maker.  I don't pretend to be.  I'm not that creative or have a steady enough hand for fine decorating.  For Ren's party theme though, he had chosen a Hot Wheels theme.  Yay, that's easy enough.  My idea was to make a road of some sort and then pop a few brand new Hot Wheels on the top. 

Then, I saw a picture where someone had made a road in the shape of the child's age.  A large light bulb went off in my head!  I could attempt to make a 4 on the cake.  I did it.  It looked, well, like a Mom made cake.  Mom made isn't too bad is it?  I did include the special ingredient that's been passed down through food in my family for years.  Love. 

The end result is that it turned out.  It was cake.  The kids loved it.  It was a great day for a celebration!

Here are the pictures of the cake. 

[gallery order="DESC" columns="2"]

Happy Birthday Ren!

Happy Birthday to Ren!

Today, at 7:30 A.M. my little man turns 4!

I can not believe he is actually 4 today.

I was in labor for a grand total of 7 1/2 hours.

You were 9 lbs. 1 oz. at birth.

You were born on a Sunday morning.

I cried.

Chuck cried.

Uncle Sean walked into the room at the WRONG MOMENT!

You were the first boy born into our family.

You are named after your Daddy and share his initials.

You weighed the same at 1 year as you did at 5 months.

That made you a rolly, poly little guy!

You love anything Daddy does.

We had you hearing issue fixed.

I cried the first time you heard a bird chirp and pointed to it!

You became a BIG brother.

You adore anything to do with cars, trucks, and trains.

 

We moved into our house and you got your own room and new "big boy" bed.

You caught up with your peers in speech!

Daddy and I both cried when you said "I wuv you" for the first time, complete with huge hugs!

You look just like Papaw (even if everyone says you look like Daddy) 

You are a smart little man!

You are *finally* potty trained!!!!!!

You're super excited about pre-school this fall.

You are loving the lawn mowers this year as well.

I ask you today what you wanted to be when you grow up.

Your answer was "I want to be a lawn mower guy OR a 'struction dude OR a race car driver"

My thoughts:  Thank goodness you're only 4!

Happy, Happy Birthday Rennie! 

I love you all the way to the moon!

 

 

Refelctions on Sweet Pea's 1st year of life...yup, it's sappy!

This is sappy, I know...hahaha.

Today my baby girl turns 1. She was born via induction at 5:30 in the afternoon/evening. There were lots of people there for her birth! Honestly, by the time she was born I didn't care who got a full on shot of "down there"! She was the smallest of my three weighing in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and the sweetest little face ever! It took having 3, but I finally had one that resembled me!

She was the best little thing in the hospital! So quiet and slept all the time. Thankfully from day 1, I could tell she was going to be way more laid back than her siblings. I was once told that 3rds have to be like this because there isn't enough attention to go around. I don't know if that is true or not (I'm a 1st and so is hubby), but she gets loads of attention!

I honestly can't believe she is turning 1 today. I seems like all I did was blink and she is almost ready to walk! Yup, she still crawls. Sure, she will walk behind her push toys, but prefers to crawl. I'm okay with that. I want her to stay a baby as long as possible and walking throws her full on into toddler land.

Not to say she hasn't accomplished a lot in this year! She has 2 teeth, can pick up the smallest bit of whatever is on the floor between her finger and thumb, and loves to give Mommy and Daddy kisses. She can say Dada, yeehaw (yes, she really says this...Cubs taught her how!), and on occasion she will say Mama. She can say nana, yaya, and something that resembles cat. Her hair is a light brown, and I'm thinking will have some curl to it (yay!). She has dark blue eyes that may eventually change to hazel like her Daddy's.

She gives hugs like crazy! Has the cutest smile and giggles a lot. The other two play very nicely (most of the time) with her. Sweet Pea loves her bear, has to have cheerios with her breakfast and adores blueberry fruit puffs!

She has such a sweet personality, hence her nickname! It's rare that she will wake up crying, or be in a foul mood. If I am ever having a bad day, she just has this way of knowing and gives hugs and giggles! That always makes me feel better!

This year has been packed with some issues with her as well. She was in the hospital for 4 days with RSV when she was 3 months old. She also has a very ugly looking, yet harmless, issue with her belly button. Nothing too much else has happened with her.

She's already been in 3 states. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. She is the indirect reason Mommy finally got a minivan! Loves Barney and the (oh, no!) Teletubbies. She has to have her fish book read to her daily and yes, it will take a while for a 6 page book.

Well, that's all the memories I can handle right now! Speaking of the birthday girl, she's just alerted me that she's awake from her nap. So, Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Pea! It sure flew by fast.....