Sad and Lonely

I stayed home with Kylee today. She has 102 fever, chills, sore throat, and is sick to her stomach. Blaine's ashtma has been bad all week. Our camping trip to Ft. Davis with Dad Dad, Mom Mom, and all of our brothers, cousins, aunts, and uncles had to be cancelled. Everybody else still went. We are sad and lonely. But we are also very blessed both kiddos will recover from these sicknesses. Maybe they'll feel better tomorrow so we can drive up. It's not looking good for the girl, though.

Having the "Time of Their Lives"

Blaine really wanted to play in Kylee's room tonight. She told him he could, only if he played what she wanted. He agreed. They closed the door, and I let them play. I could hear them giggling. I didn't know what they were doing, but I didn't care. They were laughing and getting along. I soon found out what was going on when I was called in for the performance.

THE PERFORMANCE


After their performance, I told Blaine it was time for his breathing treatment so we could go to bed. His sister said, "I'll start it for him, Mom." And they laid together through the entire 20 minutes of his treatment. When I told them to get their pjs on, Kylee got his pj's for him and got him ready for bed.

Then they told me Kylee's calendar had said it was a full moon, so they wanted to go see it. The moon was so low that it was behind the houses, so we jumped in the car to drive the short few blocks to get around the houses.

**I interrupt this story for a brief annoucement. CPS (and maybe Mom Mom), please skip right over these next few sentences. Thank you.!***

I let them both ride in the front, Blaine in Kylee's lap, buckled in together. While we rode, they snuggled and giggled. Kylee told Blaine his butt bone was hurting her, and he said, "I know! It's getting strong, huh?"

***Now back to our regularly written story for all.***

After we had seen the moon, we came back for prayers and bedtime. Blaine prayed, "Dear God, please let Diddy rock the TAKS tomorrow." Then he begged her to sleep with him. So for tonight, even though it may be just tonight, they are sleeping snuggly together in Blaine's bed, and they are not only brother and sister; they are friends. And what Mom can ask for more than that?

5th Grade Drama

Katy broke up with Tristan two weeks ago. She has a new boyfriend. Tristan is texting her. She doesn't know what to say. Kylee tells her to tell him she has a new boyfriend, and ask him if he's jealous. I say, "Kylee, WHY would you tell her to say that?" Kylee says, "Because, Mom, that's 5th grade drama."

True story.

UUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Not Me! My Family Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It was not my daughter who asked Emily, "Have you had it with your boyfriend yet?" And it was certainly not me who spit out my tea when she said it!

It was not Blaine, my son, who went to see The Perfect Game and loved it so much, he embarrassed himself several times by clapping outloud because he was so into it. And it was not my Dad, the one who didn't have to be, who called me after the movie to tell me it was the first "pee-less" movie he'd ever been to with Blaine.

It wasn't Kylee who, when I showed her a sign at Kirklands that said My Mom Rocks and told her she could buy it for me, said, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen." She's not even a teenager yet!

And it was not me who defended my paying for the same 11-year old a pedicure when my Mother said, "If you are doing this at 11, what does she have to look forward to?"

MY Derek Jeter

I know I talked about how much Blaine loves baseball, and I know I'm biased because I am his mother. But, y'all, I think this boy is a natural! And he has SUCH a heart for it! It's all he wants to do! Personally, I think two games and two practices a week is too much for five six-year olds, but not MY six-year old! If he's not at practice, AT a game watching a game, or playing baseball on his iPod or DSi, he is in the backyard with his Dad or the pitching machine.

His favorite team, besides his Rangers, of course, is the Yankees. Favorite player? Derek Jeter. He's the short-stop, as is Blaine, so it's only natural, I guess that would be his favorite player. Derek hits pretty good, too!


Blaine says things like, "That was my personal best," or, "Don't get down, guys. We'll get 'em next time!" He's a great little athelete, and I'm a proud Mama!

Say Cheese!

(Shortly before braces)

Kylee has done so well with everything orthodontic from the beginning...well, not the very beginning but since she's really gotten to know Dr. Casavantes. He is amazing! And he says Kylee is the bravest patient is has. I keep telling him we don't know that child, but he can't believe us. He says when he tells her to open, she opens, while some of his other patients hesitate, ask a bunch of questions, anything to keep from doing what he asks. He says Kylee has NEVER done that to him.

We first started seeing him when Kylee was 8 to correct her underbite. Our first visit was just to take x-rays. She bawled...you know, like the Kylee we know. He stopped the x-ray, and brought her out. He said, "Am I hurting you?" She said, "No, but I'm scared." He said, "I need you to quit crying if I am not hurting you because there will be times I will hurt you. And if you're crying when I know I'm not hurting you, I won't believe you when I really am hurting you. Then I'll just keep doing what I'm doing because I don' t believe you." Kylee said, "Yes, sir." And that was that. After the x-rays, he told her we were putting braces on. She cried and said, "I don't want to." Dr. Casavantes said, "Ok, I won't. I'll wait until you're in high school running for homecoming queen or in a dance competition. Then I'll break your jaw and wire your mouth shut. Because if I don't correct this now, that's what I'll have to do."

I guess he gained her respect and confidence. When we went for him to put her braces on, we had no problem. No tears, no hesitations, nothing. She just went back, had them put on, and came back out...all smiles. From that point forward, she'd march back to the back all smiles and come back out all smiles. Several times he mentioned how brave she was and how proud he was of her. We were all pretty shocked. She's such a chicken!

Then when he added her rubberbands, I asked if he was going to show me how to change them. After all, she was only 8. He said to me, "You're not wearing them. She is, and I showed her how." She was so proud of herself! Quite frankly, I'm pretty proud of her as well, even if it is totally out of character for her.

She had the first (yes, first) set of braces on from July of '07 to March of '09. This is the day they came off.

Then she went into two clear plastic retainers, one for the top and one for the bottom. They were $150 a piece. I told her if she lost them, I was not replacing them, that she could just get the cheaper ones that are attatched to silver wires that you can see.

For 13 months, she did such an excellent job of keeping up with them. No mother could ask for more from a 10-year old, really. She was so aware of where they were, when she wore them, everything Dr. Casavantes said. At her birthday party a couple of weeks ago, she was swimming,and one of them popped out. She found the clear plastic in the swimming pool! I then told her to give them to me so she wouldn't lose them in the pool.

Y'all, I left them laying on that pool table and walked away. I lost them. My 10-year old (now 11, but most of it she was 10) kept up with them for 13 months, and I lost them in half a second! Yes, I did. She panicked! She did NOT want the wire ones. I assured her that I lost them, and I was so proud of her for keeping up with them so long, and I would replace them.

When I called Dr. Casavantes (who Kylee calls Dr. Catavantes, btw), he said to bring her in and let him look at her. He then explained we were ready for the next phase of treatment. Which means all of her adult teeth are in, and it is time to put the braces back on...for 36 months! I thought Kylee would be devastated. She said, "Well, can you do it today?" I'm a proud Mama, y'all!

May the 12th, her braces will go back on, and she will have a beautiful, full smile before she starts high school. Wish us luck!

Welcome Home, Mommy...or not!

When I left Midland, I text Kylee and Joey to let everybody know I was coming home. But then I stopped in Pecos to see Mom, and then I stopped at Kyle's for a little to visit. So it actually took me longer than it should have to get home, since I was in Pecos about an hour and a half.

When I walked in the door, MY door, Blaine said, "How did you get here so fast?" I said, "Well, that's how long it took me to drive home from Midland." Here come his tears. Then I said, "Did you want me to leave?" He nodded his head, with his lip sticking out like Pops, and said, "I'm just not through having fun with my Dad!" I've figured out that when I leave ~~which is maybe the reason I don't very often~~, there are NO rules! So I said, "Do you want me to go get your sister?" He said, "Yes, please!" So off I went.

Kylee, on the other hand, was a welcoming surprise. She is usually the one that doesn't miss me and if she's with Mom Mom and Dad Dad, doesn't really care what I'm doing. This weekend, however, she actually cried and told Mom Mom she wanted her Mommy. I really am sorry she felt bad and was sad, but it makes me feel so good that she wanted ME when she felt bad!!

One outta two ain't bad, right?

P.S. Before bed that night, Blaine loved me real hard and told me he really did miss me and love me. ;-)

Welcome Home, Randa Kay

I headed to Midland this weekend...all alone...for a surprise housewarming party for Randa. I left here Friday at noon and was on my way!

Kylee said she didn't want to stay with her Daddy because, "The boys eat crap!" I really don't think that was it, but that's exactly what she said. I think she didn't want to be "one of the boys." Joey and Blaine hung out together.

When I got to Midland, I met Ryan and Dawn at Sante Fe in Odessa to see Dawn's new yellow couch. I know it sounds hideous, but it's BEAUTIFUL! Then Dawn and I headed on to Midland to Randa's new house. When we got there, Cheyenne and Stetson were there. Love that kid! After taking a tour and visiting a while, we went to get us some supper and then back to house.

Cheyenne and Dawn went home, and Randa and I just hung out in her living room...on Facebook. You would have thought we were drunk, but we hadn't had a drop. If you want to see the full story, head over to our Facebook profiles. Again, I promise we weren't drunk! Did I mention that Randa's 82-year old neighbor does the belly dance with a real sword on her head AND has fake titties?? That's the truth! At midnight, Randa decided she wanted to paint her bathroom since Dawn said she couldn't. I had to somehow talk her out of it since the party was the next day, so I vitoed it and said I wanted Taco Villa. Randa decided she better call to see what time they closed. They were closed. :-( But Randa talked them into making me a burrito and we raced over there to get it.

The next morning, we were supposed to meet Mary in Odessa to pick out a mattress and pick up the bed that was Randa's birthday present. She called at 8:30 and said they were leaving Pecos at 9, so Randa and I went to pick up her laundry and Starbucks. When we got back to the house, we were drinking our coffee and visiting. Then we looked at the clock and realized it was 9:45. Mary was going to be in Odessa in 15 minutes. It's a 20 minute drive from Midland, AND we hadn't even showered! Yup, we were in trouble. We jumped into gear, got ready, and headed out.
We made it to Odessa in 11 minutes. Damn, we're good!

When we got to Circle P to pay for Randa's bed, I, of course, got enthralled in my favorite store on the universe. I had no idea they were ready to go until they said, "Hey, we're leaving you! We're going to lunch." This is the one store on the planet that I would skip lunch for....so I did. They went to Logan's, and I shopped. Then I picked up Randa, and we headed back to Midland. I told her I had to go get my rings from her house, because I really did forget them, but also, we had left the house a mess! The beds were unmade, make-up thrown about, etc. We were in a hurry, remember? And I knew Dawn would KILL me if she walked into the house looking that way, since my only job in this deal was to get Randa out of the house so they could set up.

So we went back to the house, got my rings and made beds and picked up. Then I told Randa to take me to SteinMart to show me the bedding she wanted. When we were headed back to the house, we got about two blocks from the house, and she said, "What are all those cars doing at my house?" Then she said, "And why are those people {she really said names here, but I can't remember them since I didn't know them} walking up to my door?" haha! Surprise!

The party was great, and she got lots of neat stuff,including a money tree.
{See that little girl behind the money tree, the 82 year old neighbor who does the belly dance gave that to Randa because she said it looked like her. umm....ok?!?!}

Dawn and Mendy (seen here with Mendy's mom) did a great job!

As the party was winding down, Melissa, NinNin, Dawn, Randa, and I sat down at her kitchen table and were visiting. Later Nin Nin told Mom we blew her skirt up and curled her hair. That c.r.a.c.k.s me up, and I'm not even sure why. Then we wanted to take a picture of the cousins, and Dawn hollered to "do the leg." Melissa totally couldn't figure it out, and that cracked me up, too.

I think my giggle box was turned over this weekend, because I was just silly. Maybe it's Randa! It really was a fun party.

Randa later had to go to Hobby Lobby to spend some of her money, Ryan, Dawn, and I went with her, then to Dawn's to sit in the hot tub. Great day!

Sunday morning we got up and went and spent more of Randa's money, went to lunch with Dawn and Ryan, and I headed home. I always say I'm going to do that more often. Maybe I will.

So I guess there's only one thing left to say:

Welcome home, Randa Kay and Palin, welcome home!

Evil Personified?

So this morning on the way to school, we passed a girl walking to school. My sweet, kind daughter said, "Mommy, you see that girl? I hate her!" I said, "Kylee McK! You do NOT hate anybody. That's awful." She said, "Well, I REALLY don't like her!" I said, "Why?" Kylee said, "She's evil! I'm pretty sure she has horns growing out of the back of her head!"

Well...alrighty then! Maybe she's not as sweet and kind as I thought! Or maybe she's just growing up and peer pressure is setting in. Or maybe she's my daughter. Nah, that's not it! I'm going with peer pressure!

Sister of a County Commissioner

Who knew this kid would grow up to have this kid
, win the election, and make me the sister of a County Commissioner?
Congratulations, County Commissioner Kyle Taylor!

Roochie Roll, Anyone?

As we left the t-ball game tonight, Blaine said, "Mommy, can I please have a roochie roll tonight?" Thank goodness another Spanish-speaking mom was with me because I had NO idea he wanted a churro!

Kylee's 11th Birthday Party

For Kylee's 11th birthday party, she had a slumber party at the Marriott. She wanted to have it at a hotel with an indoor pool. The party was Saturday from 7 p.m. until 10 a.m. Cecy and Lisa agreed to stay with me and help me with all those girls. We all went up to the hotel about 4 so the boys could swim before all the girls got there. Dad Dad and Mom Mom went, too, so McKenzie and Blaine could swim. (Blaine wasn't supposed to stay for the party.)
Blaine and Kenzie having a picnic.
Blaine and Mat

When all the girls got there, they IMMEDIATELY got in the pool;

then the hot tub;

then the sauna;
and over and over again.

Though Blaine was not supposed to stay, he convinced his Dad to get a room at the hotel so he could be there, too. After all,


his sister went to his, right? And the girls love him, right?







So...they stayed! We were in rooms 115 and 117, right by the pool, and they ended up in room 408, on the 4th floor.

After a while, the girls were starving, so we headed outside to the grass for a picnic of pizza.
(Notice the little stud sitting right in the middle of it all!)

They all jumped in the pool for a little while longer, since the pool closed at 11:00 and we were getting pretty close to that. After the pool, it was time for cake, (Isn't it awesome!!)
Happy Birthday singing, and wish making (which was for sure the laptop she's been wanting so bad) .
The boys headed upstairs to their room, and the girls headed inside to open presents

and sign the pillowcase.

They decided they wanted to "Knock Knock Ditch" Joey and Blaine. Since I'm so cool, I agreed, and off to the elevator we went.

I know Joey heard them coming with all the giggling going on, but evidentally he decided the play along. They knocked and ran, knocked and ran, knocked and ran. About the fourth time, right was they went to knock, he swung the door open and hollered at them. All 10 girls screamed and took off running all the way down the hallway. I just knew we'd be kicked out!

We headed back downstairs, and they decided to watch a movie. Of course, we could NOT satisfy all of them, but after going through the movie selections again and again and again, we had a secret vote between The Blind Side and Leap Year. The Blind Side won. So they all settled in the watch the movie.

Only it didn't last very long! Although some of them fell fast asleep, most of them did not! At 1 o'clock in the morning, they were in the bathroomstraightening each other's hair. After an accidental burn (which if it hadn't been the middle of the night, I would have THOUGHT about them being burned with straighteners) or two, I turned them off. They resorted to truth or dare. After Kylee was dared to kiss Kellie's cheek as she slept and whisper "I love weenies" in her hair, Kellie picked up her sleeping bag and brought to the adult's side of the adjoining rooms. Who can blame her?

After I had told them SEVERAL times to keep it down, thinking if they got quiet, they would fall asleep, since now it is THREE O'CLOCK in the morning, I called the front desk. hehe. I explained who I was and what I was doing, and asked if they would call the adjoining room and tell those girls the keep it down. No sooner had I hung up than I heard the other phone ring. It wsa SO funny. Victoria answered the phone, and all I heard was, "We're so sorry about that. Okay. Yes, ma'am." Then she got off the phone and said, "Y'all have got to shut up! They are going to kick us out of here!" Through Lisa, Cecy, and I's high fives and laughs, we heard Kylee say, "Ok. Tell us EXACTLY what she said!" lol

Shortly after that, they were quiet and asleep. VICTORY! Score one for the moms!

The next morning, Cecy had to leave us early for a parent meeting for Mat. Joey had an early softball game, so he brought Blaine back down to us at 7:30. Cecy offered to take Blaine with her to eat breakfast because Mat and Chris were picking her up and eating there. Of course, I agreed. And Blaine LOVED it! He feels like SUCH a big boy with Mat. So he went to breakfast and came back to the room.

The girls were up and at 'em at 9. Pick-up was at 10, so I told them to get their things together so we could go eat breakfast. Nope! They didn't want to eat! They wanted to swim...again...before the parents came. This may be awful, but I figured it would save me some money, so score two for the moms! By 9:15, we were all packed and back at the pool...with Blaine once again right in the middle of the girls. What a ladies man!

And I was SO proud of the way Kylee handled it, too! It didn't bother her one bit to have her baby brother there.

After all the girls were picked up, we met Dad Dad, Mom Mom and McKenzie at Olive Garden for lunch. Several times Kylee told me she just "needed a moment to cry," so she did. She even went to the restroom at OG to have a short cry.

Dad Dad took Kellie and McKenzie back to Kyle and Myra since he had to work anyway, and the kid and I headed home for a nap. Kylee kept insisting she was NOT tired, had just needed some food in her belly, but certainly not a nap! I told her she had to lay on the couch for 30 minutes with no TV. She was OUT in five!

Later she counted her money so we could order her laptop. That little snot had $528!! Granted, grandparents contributed $300, but STILL!! So she and I settled in at the computer to order her own. After ordering her laptop, the green mouse she wanted, and the green cover for the laptop, she still has $128 leftover. She's SO excited. While I was sitting in the chair completing her order, she wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and said, "THank you so much, Mommy!" I said, "You're welcome, Bug!" Then she said, "Now turn around here and give me some proper love!"

Happy 11th birthday, Kylee McK! I love you properly!