I'll just keep my Vicky Secret's a secret from my boys!

Why did I think that forcing my boys to go underwear shopping with me was a good idea?

So we're in the mall. Just me and the kids because Hubs had pulled an all-nighter at work the night before and I wanted leave him at home with some peace and quiet, you know cause I'm thoughtful like that.

I'd gotten up and taken the kids to the FOX kids fair that they were having. Free rides = Free fun. But it wasn't as exciting as I thought, although these pics of Runnin' Man falling off the mechanical bull were a little humorous.

Anywho, after taking them for a day of enjoyment I figured I could sneak in some enjoyment for me.

Hubs had bought me a gift card to Victoria Secret for Mother's Day after hearing me talk about how I haven't bought matching bra and undies in way too long and I'm down to wearing either black or red every day. (go, Hubs for listening!)

So, we get to the front of Victoria Secret and both boys stop in their tracks.


Sir Talks-A-Lot: N'uh uh, Ma. I'm not going in there! No way!

Runnin' Man agrees.

Me: Come on here, ya'll! Ain't nothing wrong with going in here. Now bring your butts on!

They start to grumble and groan as I pave the way into the store filled with undergarments and nighties.

Runnin' Man grabs my arm and closes his eyes, like I'm his seeing eye dog.

Runnin's Man: I don't want to see all this.

I can't do anything but laugh.

Me: One day you'll change your mind.

Runnin' Man: Why would I EVER want to look at ladies' underwear!?!

I'm cracking up to myself by this time. Thanking GOD that they are really still to young to enjoy looking at Ladies' Underwear!

I continue walking through the store trying to find something on sale, then something on sale that is CUTE and then something on sale in a D cup. It was pretty limited.

Runnin' Man: Ew, Sir Talks-A-Lot! Why are you looking at that lady?

He was referring to a dummy (dummy statue, not a real dummy lady, of course).

Sir Talks-A-Lot is my more, let's say, curious child. He the one that I am SURE will have a girlfriend first, the one that will peak when I am changing my clothes.

Sir Talks-A-Lot giggles: Ewww, Miss Missy! Why are you picking up that big bra?!! Mom can't fit that!

I'm pretty sure it was a D.

It went on like that for a while as they giggled and complained. Sir Talks-A-Lot trying to see what the women were doing in the dressing room, Runnin' Man groaning get him out of here, and Miss Missy just trying to find mommy a bra.

Miss Missy: Mommy is this your size? Mommy is this your size?

It was a job just to concentrate on underwear when there were so many complaints coming at me from left and right.

Runnin' Man: Awww Man! I wish I could just stab my eyes out!

Me: Okay! Let's GO!

Randomness and a Must-See picture of Miss Missy

I have a secret addiction to Zingers. I say that I'm buying them for the kids, but they are more for my own personal indulgence. It's the one thing in the house that I wish they WOULD eat up!

We have been really slow this summer about the summer reading program, which I believe is a step up from last year when we didn't get involved at all.

I cooked a fabulous dinner tonight of Broiled Chicken, White Rice, and a fabulous vegetable mix of zucchini, yellow squash, portebello mushrooms and Vidalia onion. The nutrition aspect went out the window with the tons of butter it sat in. I find that omions give me gas. Actually the older I get it seems more things I eat tend to have that effect. TMI, right?

I find that the Sirius satellite radio in my new car is really cool. Found some funny comedy channels I woulda never known about. Would I pay for it after my 6 free months is up? Probably not.

Is my mother just trying to pay me back for never answering my phone? She hasn't answered my calls or texts in two days.

What is so hard about young girls understanding that birth control is a MUST? Why is it that there comes a time in so many teenage girls lives that they think that they want a baby at suck a young age? And it seems that once they get that in their heads, they are destine for doom.

Should I be nervous to find out that the young boy that lives next door to me joined the Bloods. Younger suburban kid wanna be wouldn't have a chance in the real gang world. His mother sent him away for a few months to try to get him out of it. Says he doesn't affiliate with it anymore now that he's back. But I still don't want him right next to me and my very influential boys.

I am highly anticipating the new season of Army Wives! I mean like really really REALLY can't wait to see it. I'm cutting my visit to The Ville (where most of my family lives) short, just so that I can be back in time to catch it, or at least the 12am rerun!



Okay, I really had a hard time stopping my laughter as I took this picture. As you can see, she is really mad because I made her stay put while I laughed uncontrolably scambling for my camera. She hadn't worn this bathing suit in a year and when she popped out of her room with a big smile on her face looking like this, "I'm READY!", I couldn't hold it in. She wasn't too happy that I was laughing at her. Boy is she gonna hate me when she grows up and looks back on these posts or finds this picture circulating the internet many years from now!

Where did imagination go?

Summer has kicked in and already I can see how the kids' brains have turned to MUSH. Not just my kids, but kids in general.

I can remember when summer kicked in and I just couldn't wait to get my butt outside and play, all day, every day! We played from the time our mom would let us out the door until the STREET LIGHTS came on. And I don't really remember coming in the house unless it was raining. You know why? You remember how Mama was! IF YOU BRING YOUR BUTT BACK IN THIS HOUSE ONE MORE TIME YOU'RE GONNA STAY IN!

And we didn't want to stay in! Okay, granted, I do live in the south now, and not in the north like when I was a child, and the sweltering heat may very well give the kiddos a heat stroke if they tried to stay out there as long as we did, but THERE IS A WATER HOSE OUT THERE! Do like we did. Everybody go to one person's house and take a swig from the hose and keep it movin'!

Kids nowadays WANT to be in the house! Sir Talks-A-Lot will go outside and comeback in the house in about 30minutes complaining of nothing to do.

Where has imagination gone? Where has Hide and Go Seek, Mother May I and Red Rover gone? We didn't need Rip Sticks and basketball goals to keep us occupied. We had this strange contraption called, get this..... IMAGINATION.

Remember that?

I guess that now that kids have Wii and Playstations, DS's and Xbox's, the imagination is gone. These games do the thinking for them.

I can't stand hearing how bored my kids are, even in the house because it tells me that they are not thinking.

But outside? There's a HUGE world of nothing but adventure when you walk out the front door. A plethora of opportunities to create whole new worlds of adventure. (can you tell I played by myself a lot?)

Would you believe they had no idea how to play RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT last summer?

I'm surely not gonna let them sit up and rot their brains,watching TV and playing video games all summer. They are going to have to learn to be creative and think of ways to entertain themselves like we did.

So Red Light Green Light is lame, you say? Well let's play FOLD THE STACK OF LAUNDRY, DUST THE TABLES, or CLEAN THE BASEBOARDS instead. How about that? We can make a day out of it, how about that? No one will be board anymore!

I'm hoping to bring back imagination this summer. Hoping the neighborhood kids will join in. Because my carpets can't take the constant in and out and my ears can't take one more whinin' I'M BORED!

Beyonce' woke me up at 5:30!

I am up WAY too early today and believe me, I am none too happy about it.

Somewhere in the midst of my dreams I hear, "Hey Kay, did you take those underwear back to the store yesterday?"

"No." I did manage to groan that out as I open my eyes to a blurry husband standing somewhere between the light coming from the kitchen and my place of what use to to SLEEP.

So I go to close my eyes and the radio pops on!

He'd gone into the bathroom, closed the door and turned the radio on. THE RADIO! So here I am AWAKE now because of a question about some underwear when there is a drawer FULL of them, listening to Beyonce' Uh oh Uh oh Uh oh herself away. And any other time I would got up and been doing it with her but now I'm stewing in frustration because I'm sleepy and can't get my mind back to sleep, wondering why the heck was that question so important at 5:30 in the morning when, again, there is a drawers FULL of underwear in the dresser!

The TV was already left on from the night before and now the radio was pretty much drowning that out with the bathroom door closed.

Well, since I obviously was not getting any sleep anyway, I got up and came into the computer room.

So when he gets out of the shower, of course he comes to look for me and when he finds me in here staring at the screen load he asked, "Too loud?"

Now I am up at 5:30am in sitting in front of computer. I have no job, it's summer vacation and no reason to not be counting sheep right now, WHY ELSE WOULD I BE UP???

I must have given him THE LOOK, because to me that was a crazy question.

But you know what? Instead of a simple apology, it becomes MY FAULT! MY FAULT???

"See, that goes back to communication. Why didn't you just say something? I asked you last time if it was too loud and I didn't know it was loud if I'm in the shower and the TV is already on. You shoulda just said something."

I'm thinking, what do you mean, last time? Last time you had the radio on in the shower with the music blaring it was 8:30 in the morning, not 5:30 and I told you that it was loud but that it was okay because I needed to be getting up anyway!

At that time, I imagined myself walking into the bathroom, snatching the alarm clock radio out of the wall socket, and throwing it into the shower. HOW'S THAT FOR COMMUNICATION????

(okay, at least I was going to unplug it first! Didn't contemplate killing anyone.)

So, here's your communication, you know the silent unspoken, kind. Don't be surprised when that radio becomes MISSING!

A simple I'm sorry, my bad would have been the right thing to do.




He's gone now and I'm gonna TRY to go back to sleep!

Last One Off To Pre-K

As I sit here and listen to Miss Missy chatter on and on behind me about something I have no idea what she is talking about, I can't help but to be thankful that she is starting Pre-K next school year.

Most people think that because she is my last and because I'm a stay at home mom and won't have anymore kids at home that I'm, for some strange reason, gonna be sad when she goes off to all-day-big-girl school.


UHHHHH.......... NO!

She is finally gonna have someone else to talk to other than me! Someone else will be able to listen to her stories about iCarly and what happened to Drake and Josh. She'll be able to show and tell her teacher all about the dream she had about the cat who ate our dog, Ginger, and why the mermaid swam in our bathtub.

Miss Missy has a very creative mind, much like her mom. She plays for hours in her room by herself, talking to her dolls. I was like that too. Many times I made my little brother play with me, many times she has Sir Talks-A-Lot play with her willingly, but the whole imagination thing was all the same.

Okay, so maybe I'm not all that thrilled that my little Miss is growing up so quickly BUT you better believe that I'm gonna enjoy my free time while I got it! The kids have summer vacation and mom looks forward to school!

Deployment Approaching

It's all starting to seem real now.



When Chris first told me that he was going to Iraq, I just took a deep breath, said okay, and told myself that that time was a world away and that I'll deal with it when the time comes. That was probably back in February or something.



Now, August is approaching quickly and it's become more real to me.



It's June.

He won't be here much longer.

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



This summer we have tons of plans, so it seems. I have my family reunion coming up in July and I have to get into some kinda shape because, as many of you know, family are your worst critics when is comes to weight gain. I can just hear my Grandma, now.



Ooh, Kay, you done gone and put on a few more pounds since the last time I saw you, ain't you? You ain't pregnant again, are you?



Okay, so you can't cuss out your grandmother without severe reprocussions, now can you? And, I'm not gonna even talk about the things that go through my head, but dare not to come out of my mouth when those old folks do what they do best, which is SPEAK THEIR MINDS.



I understand that the older you get the less you bite your tongue, but why does it seem that they just let things fly out their mouth without thinking that it might be hurtful or embarassing? Old people just don't care!



So anywho, my main reason for wanting to lose weight this month is not to be healthier and feel better, but so that I don't have to hear how chunky I'm getting from my "peeps".



I haven't been to a reunion in about 6 years and everytime I go I have to PRETEND I remember folks when I really have no idea who they are. Understand, I didn't grow up around my family. My dad was in the military and we were only in Michigan on short visits. The only people that I really was close to were my aunts, uncles and cousins. Immediate family, really. So all those distant people are a black to me.



So, it's hilarious to me when My great-aunt's second cousin's youngest daughter comes up to me and say, HEY GIRL! I use to change your pampers! Do you remember me?





UHHHH........ NO!



I'm looking forward to the reunion. This will be the first one that I take Hubs to. He was in Korea the last time I went. His family doesn't do reunions because for the most part they all live in the same area and see each other all the time.



It's in ATLANTA this year, we're hosting. It's gonna be a HOT one!



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



Hubs called me a few days ago and asked me if I wanted to take a trip for a Marriage retreat to North Carolina. He didn't even get it out good and I was like YEAH!



Last year, we went on one of these retreats with the kids to Myrtle Beach. It was wonderful. The kids had a ball. We had a ball!



Okay, so it did make it all the more better that the military actually foot the bill for EVERYTHING.

The room.

The food.

The childcare during the morning classes.

Ahh, the life!



And they are gonna do it again. This time we are headed to N.C. to Great Wolf Lodge. From what I can tell, this play is gonna be even better than the Myrtle Beach trip. It's an indoor water park and the rooms are cool-like suites.

Okay, I'm excited. Can't wait to take a trillion pics.



The bittersweet part of it is that these are gonna be some of out last times that we spend together as a family for a year.

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

Okay, so the kids know that dad is leaving soon. Runnin' Man, being the oldest, understands more so than the other two, I think.

SirTalks-A-Lot is my sensative child. I know that he is going to take it the hardest. When Hubs went to Korea about 3 years or so ago, he was the one that I had to console every night. He was the one that cried for his daddy to come home, he was the one who had an emotional break down at school when he knew I had to take his daddy back to the airport that afternoon.

I'm not sure that I'm ready for this again. I know that Runnin' Man is going to try to be as strong as any 9 year old can be. And I know that Miss Missy probably won't understand just how long a year is until daddy is gone for a few weeks. But Sir Talk-A-Lot, being the emotional one is going to be the one who makes me cry. I consider myself pretty strong, but this isn't going to be easy.

The deployments are really one of the hardest parts about being a military spouse. Becoming a single mom for a year makes us stronger, but still doesn't get easier with each deployment. This will be his first time going to "war", as he has been away for a year tour to Korea a few times. This is going to be the hardest.

But I know that he depends on me to be strong. And I will. You see, I am blessed to have a strong support system. I have my parents. I have my friends. And am blessed to have such wonderful neighbors who, during his last 1 year tour, looked out for me and took very good care of me while he was gone. I am blessed to know that I am not alone. Having a great support system hopefully with ease the pain of separation.

Having resilient, well-rounded children will hopefully make the single mom period a little less stressful!

Finding Free Fun is always Good!

If you know me, then you know, I'm thrifty, frugal, or just plain cheap.

So one of my biggest concerns about summer vacation coming up so fast was that I hadn't planned anything for the kids to really do throughout the summer, during those days when there just aren't any big plans going on. I mean, yeah, I'm a stay at home mom. And I know that my joy is suppose to be spending time with my kids. Yada, yada, yada! Truthfully, if I could get rid of 'em for a few weeks, I wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't bat an eye and probably wouldn't miss them... well maybe a little... at first..

I mean, I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't love the crying, the whining, the tattling, the I'M BORED HE HIT ME SHE TOOK MY TOY I'M HUNGRY CAN I HAVE A SNACK IT'S COLD HE WON'T STOP COPYING ME SHE WON'T GET OUT MY ROOM HE PUT HIS FEET ON ME HE FARTED IN MY FACE IT'S HOT I DIDN'T KNOW I DIDN'T DO IT IT WAS HIS FAULT IT WAS HER FAULT!

I think I can get over it pretty fast!

I'm not one for spending money, because, well there just isn't a whole lot of extra dollars falling off the ever green trees this year.

I looked into the Y for summer swimming. When broken down to all that can be done with the membership, it sounds really good. Swimming whenever you want, working out whenever you want, childcare while you work out. Sounds like a good deal for $55/month. But lets not forget that $100 joiner's fee THAT I DON'T HAVE! and didn't I just buy a new car and obtain a $600 car payment???

Well, that deal just wasn't sweet enough for me.


Well, on Friday, I decided that I was gonna take the kids to the library. They've started the summer reading program and the kids needed to pick up their reading packets. First, I wanted to take them to the playground that they have behind the library for a picnic. Well we get to the park and there's a surprise waiting for us. Some extremely smart people added a water feature to the playground!

The kids were ecstatic! Now how could I tell them that they had to sit back and watch the other kids get wet on this hot day because we had NO idea this was here and didn't have a change of clothes???

I couldn't!

So even though I had JUST bought my car a few days earlier and knew that Hubs would have a FIT had he known, I let then get soaked, all the while wondering how those kids were gonna get home!

They had a ball, and for a mom like me, that's all that matters. They dried in the sun just enough that I decided not to make them walk the 15miles to our house, but we never made it to the library.

So here's the deal.

FREE water play! A very cheap day out (just the price of a picnic lunch). And at the end of it all, I get to hear, "This is the most awesome day ever!"

Kool-Aid Kid

You know, I the saying that you never miss a good thing until it's gone rings true. Okay, I'm not missing anyone, but I am missing something. And it may seem trivial or even crazy to some of you, but I really am missing something that I didn't think was important.

I'm a Kool-Aid kid. YEP! We drink Kool-Aid in our house! I'm not one of those moms that have to have 100% juice in my fridge and I'm not worried about the high frutose corn syrup either. It's fine in moderation.

Okay, so we don't drink Kool-Aid in moderation here because it is ALWAYS in my fridge. Except for the last week because I haven't gone grocery shopping.

LOVE Kool-Aid.

Grape, orange, lemonade and RED!

Yeah, you know how WE do it! Red Kool-Aid don't have a flavor to black people. It's just RED!

And who can beat the 20 cents a pack price?

Honey, it's summer time. The kids are home and, frankly, juice is expensive! My kids drink Kool-Aid!

I had it when I was a kid all the time. Mom mom has suddenly become too good to drink kool-aid and now only has JUICE in her fridge. Funny because I don't remember us having juice, except for the FREE Juicy Juice she use to get from WIC for my sisiter. Once that ran out, it was KOOL-AID.

I'm not sure that it is good for the kids, but it is certainly good for my wallet!

It's filled with water, right?

Okay, so they are not allowed to just drink it all willy nilly. Mama does make the twerps drink water as well. So there!

Okay, I didn't mean to make a whole long post about my love of Kool-Aid but........ well........ I did!

So, I'll add in those pictures of the new car I promised.

I'm rollin' now!

My blogging has been scarce lately. Where I was doing this almost every day, I now am lucky to get to sit down at the computer with time to blog once a week. Even though school is out and the kids are home, I'm still heavily involved in PTO stuff. Still trying to come up with some t shirt ideas for the coming school year.

Any ideas? What do your school shirts look like?

The answer to your question is YES I do sometimes wonder what the heck I got myself into with this PTO stuff. Yeah, they do work me a lot. Yeah, there is always a function I have to attend or help plan. Yeah, I do have to meet with the board and the principal throughout the summer. AND NO I DON'T get paid for my efforts.

But you know what? It's okay with me. I have been a stay at home mom on and off for 8 years. More on than off and before I started doing PTO, I was so anxious to get back to the work field that I was ready to go back into retail with the low pay and the late hours just to have some ME time without the kids.

I'm not so set on it now. I have something for me that I actually enjoy and I get adult interaction, something you just crave as a SAHM.

So, anywho, my summer vacation has just begun. Thus far (it's only been 3 days), I am happy to have the kids home. They are not as crazy as I expected them to be. Who knows what next week will bring.

Oh, and remember when I was in the market for a new car? Well I'm OUT!

Yes, I am a proud owner of a Mazda CX-9.

ZOOM ZOOM, BABY!

Like to hear about it? Here it goes:

This car wasn't my first choice on the list. Matter of fact, it wasn't the second or third either. Matter of fact, again, I DID NOT WANT TO TEST DRIVE THIS CAR!

So, when Hubs came home one day and said that he'd stopped by the Mazda dealer and they had a crossover, I was like....... eh.

He said that, Frank, the salesman, had told him to bring me up there for a test drive and that he was sure I would like it. I was like.... eh.

A few days later, he asked if I wanted to go by and try it out.

Nope.

So, another week or so went by and he thought he'd try again. Realizing that he wanted me to try this car and no wasn't really an option, I finally agreed, with my arms folded and my teeth clenched the whole ride there.

When we got there, I looked at the car and I wasn't impressed. AND, all they had was white, which was the #1 NO-COLOR on my list of don't wants.

So, Frank took us on a ride. The car was comfortable. Had a smooth ride, unlike that Saturn Outlook I'd test driven a few days earlier. I wasn't impressed with that vehicle AT ALL! The salesdude at Saturn kept saying that it was "just like the GMC Arcadia, just cheaper." I beg to differ. Okay, I'm not a car chick. I just want to get in and drive. But, after initially falling in love with the Enclave and her sister, the Arcadia, the Outlook, although very similar in looks, rode like a cheap knockoff.

So that car was quickly crossed off my list.

Now if you remember, I'd said that the Enclave was choice number 1. So, everything from that point whithered in comparison, but whatever I chose was gonna have to step up their game and give me something at least in the Enclave's class.

Well, anywho, I tested out the Mazda, with Frank riding along and telling me about all the features it came with. It was......... alright. I mean, what was a ten minute drive really gonna prove?

We went back in and talked numbers. Well, as you all know, I did not want a car payment. This was the reason I was so resistant. I KNEW I'd be needing another vehicle sometime soon as the Gator has 150,000 miles and is 11 yrs young. I just dread having that payment.

Well the numbers were good. They were giving us about 9G's off of the sticker price. GM, even though they are closing down left and right and are going bankrupt, ain't trying to give up no incentives or rebates. I'm trying to help them out by buying a car, but they weren't EVEN trying to help me out!

Well, I wasn't sold. Yes, the car was pretty much decked out, aside from not having a DVD player. I just wasn't sold. The back seat seemed really small to me. It is a third row vehicle, but its more like a car to me, and coming from my old, but luxurious Navigator, I just couldn't see giving up so much space.

A few days later, the sales manager called and offered me the car for a day since I wasn't sure. They had gotten a black one on the lot. He knew the way to my heart. I agreed to give it another go, this time with the kids.

They LOVED it! The 3rd row, the heated seats, the navigation.... you'd think they'd neer had nothing new before!

So, a week later, here I am. A proud owner of my unlikely love.

The Mazda CX-9.

Would I still take the Enclave over my new car? YES!! If I had another couple thousand rolling in every month and could afford the payment and the insurance on it. But for the price and the features, I got some BANG outta my bucks! It is well worth it. I'm not disappointed in the least.

P.S. Pictures are to come when my HUSBAND gets back with my car!

Enjoy them now!

As the years continue to fly by, it seems not so long ago when I was saying, "wow! 2010 is a LONG time from now," while imagining flying cars and Jetson lifestyles.

Now, here we are with 2010 right on the horizon and, still... no flying cars!

But amazing things have happened.

On New Year's Eve 1999, the year of the new millennium, while everyone was expecting a technology crisis with Y2K, I was in the hospital in Germany all googled-eyed over my brand new baby, my first born.

"The Last Baby of the Century" was he.

My amazement is that, here I am, nine and a half years later, and ALL of my babies have grown and developed into something amazing.

Life flies by so fast.

They are doing things and accomplishing things everyday that once seemed would take light years to happen. I can't help but look at them and wish that these times would just SLOW DOWN! These times when they are young and carefree are the most amazing times of growth, development and FUN they will every have. These days should last longer.

I hope and pray everyday that I am doing this right. That I am giving them a life filled with joy, happiness and love. And that I am giving them everything they need to send them off in the world ready and able to live full, successful and accomplished lives.

Life goes by so fast, and although I have yet to see any flying cars in our skies, the fast development and growth of my kids amazes me beyond belief. And, I try everyday to remember what so many people have told me, something I never really understood, while I was hoping to put a rush on things.

ENJOY THEM NOW, BECAUSE THEY GROW UP FAST!