tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16958691022190562024-03-06T01:49:54.455-06:00Kelly's Life With the BoysThere's always something going on in a house with 2 boys!Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-78718777280975743532009-11-26T10:30:00.002-06:002009-11-26T10:32:26.998-06:00Happy Thanksgiving!<span style="font-family:verdana;">Today I am thankful for my family. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For Jeff - my best friend and love of my life.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For Brendan - my first born and funny man. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For Jake - my baby and wild man.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I love them all, and am so happy to have them as my family.</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-50613557042976119242009-05-18T22:04:00.004-05:002009-05-18T22:06:41.716-05:00Day One, revisited...<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">OK. I fell off the wagon. I'm not surprised, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Because you know what? Shit happens. I don't like to exercise, and I didn't feel like doing it. For the past week.<br /><br />But - I did it tonight. So there.<br /><br />:)</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-45751928753695022262009-05-10T10:55:00.002-05:002009-05-10T11:02:25.139-05:00Happy Mother's Day!!<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;">I was instructed to stay in my room this morning. The boys had something planned for me!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;">I waited for about 30 minutes, and then Brendan came in to get me. He told me to close my eyes and he would lead me to the kitchen. They had cooked breakfast for me! I had a chocolate chip pancake, and a bacon/egg/cheese burrito. Two of my favorite breakfast meals!! They were both delicious! Jeff was working like a mad man to coordinate everything, and the kitchen was a disaster. I had to smile to myself. His comment was something like, "It's really hard to do all of this at the same time..." :)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;">They had also made me a card. It had cut-out Mickey heads and rose stickers. I love it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#ff6666;">I am so lucky. I have the best family in the world.</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-72542403107504770562009-05-09T10:08:00.002-05:002009-05-09T10:12:18.483-05:00Day Seven<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I took Thursday night off, but did it last night. I'm able to keep up through most of it, but there are still points that I tell Jillian to "stuff it!" and stop moving for a couple of seconds. I still haven't seen the scale move... That part is really pissing me off! But then I have to stop and remember that I haven't completely changed my eating habits to go along with the exercise. I have made big changes (like not eating <em>as much</em> crap), but I'm still not giving up everything I enjoy. I know, I know... I need to make BIG sacrifices in order to make this whole thing work. I'll get there... Eventually.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Baby steps.</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-62308762610209069712009-05-07T22:07:00.001-05:002009-05-07T22:08:14.022-05:00Day Six<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I did day 6 last night. I'm taking tonight off. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I had a Relay for Life meeting tonight, and I'm really not feeling well. I think it's just allergies, but I still feel like shit. YUCK.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Back to it tomorrow!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-59950355011029407342009-05-05T22:22:00.001-05:002009-05-05T22:23:20.824-05:00Day FiveDay Five.<br /><br />I feel like shit.<br /><br />But I did it.<br /><br />I have to start losing weight one of these days, right???<br /><br />Ugh.Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-58501045463104239962009-05-04T21:53:00.002-05:002009-05-04T21:58:36.635-05:00Day Four, Part 2<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">So technically, this should be Day 5... But - this is Day 4 of Shredding. I can tell that I have more endurance, but I still can't keep up <em>completely</em>. I am happy with as much as I can do though. I'm definitely making progress!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I still haven't noticed ANY change on the scale. That is discouraging. I'm going to try and ignore that ugly number for now and just keep going. Things WILL get better, and I have to have faith (and a lot of patience) to get through. I just wish I would have started this sooner...</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-86994243398549759102009-05-03T21:38:00.002-05:002009-05-03T21:42:33.897-05:00Day Four<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I can't do it. Not today anyway.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">But before anyone (me - I'm the only one who reads this stuff anyway!) thinks I'm a complete wimp... We went to Six Flags today and did A LOT of walking. It was a perfect day to go... We practically had the whole place to ourselves! It was a great day, but I am exhausted! </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Day Four, part two - tomorrow!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-84518333967315312712009-05-03T09:09:00.002-05:002009-05-03T09:13:09.765-05:00Day Three<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">3 days in a row!! I did it last night, but didn't post about it till this morning. I am very proud of myself that I'm keeping up with this. I know 3 days really isn't that much to a normal person, but to me? It feels like a lifetime. Ha!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I am still pretty sore, and I haven't noticed a single change on the scale (or anywhere else) yet... But I didn't gain weight over night, and there's no way I'm going to lose it in just a few days. I have to stay positive and realistic!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">We're heading to Six Flags today! Hopefully it won't rain too much on us!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-24199577010583555742009-05-01T21:34:00.002-05:002009-05-01T21:37:59.069-05:00Day Two<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I'm already doing better than expected. I did the workout for a second day. In a row. Wow!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Amazingly, it was actually easier today! I didn't have to stop to catch my breath as often, and I didn't feel like I was going to hurl. Woo Hoo! I am on a roll!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I will admit though, that it was painful to sit down and then stand up again today at work. My muscles haven't been worked out like this in YEARS. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">But let's not dwell on the past, K? I'm moving on, and doing better.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">And that's something to celebrate!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-36370425439400632122009-04-30T22:00:00.002-05:002009-04-30T22:05:00.283-05:00Day One<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Oh. My. God.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I ordered Jillian Michaels' 30-day Shred. I've had it since Saturday, but just opened it today.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I'll say it again.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Oh. My. God.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I am way out of shape! BUT - I'm going to do this and get into shape! It WILL happen! Today, my arms are weak and my legs are like jello, but it will get better. I hope.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">This DVD is only a 20 minute workout and really it's not that hard. I CAN do this. Right??</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-58060860169575777962009-04-11T20:37:00.002-05:002009-04-11T20:41:11.322-05:00So much for every day...It was a crazy idea to think that I could actually blog every day for a month! I clearly don't have that much to say... Oh well! <br /><br />I've decided to make my New Year's Resolution in April. More on that later. :)Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-30525862454936634402008-11-08T21:25:00.002-06:002008-11-08T21:28:47.379-06:00Soccer<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#333399;">Brendan's last soccer game was this afternoon. He played SO GOOD! I was very proud of him. He played defense most of the game and did really well at blocking the other team from scoring. He even took a spill at one point. That surprised me because he's not usually one to throw his whole body into the game. His team lost the game, but they played better than any other game this season. It was fun to watch!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-339220249547422932008-11-06T19:47:00.002-06:002008-11-06T19:52:33.349-06:00Oops!<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Not even one week in, and I've blown it! Oh well. Let's catch up now...</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">What to post...?? Nothing new is really going on around here. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Jake is healing from his mis-haps earlier in the week. His lip is back to normal size, and his chin looks good. His knees still need to be covered with band-aids, but they are getting better.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Brendan is doing great in school! He brought home a salt-dough map of Texas that he made. He got a 95 on it! It looks really good! We really need to work on his spelling words for UIL in the next couple of weeks. The competition is only a month away! </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">I really need to come up with something interesting to write one of these days... :)</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-44006534322199765782008-11-03T18:43:00.003-06:002008-11-03T18:48:35.655-06:00Poor Jake<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#6666cc;">Jake's luck just isn't getting any better. This evening, he and I walked across the street to get Brendan from our neighbors' house and see their new guinea pig. As we were walking back home, Jake tripped over his own feet and fell down on the sidewalk. BOTH knees are scraped now and bleeding. I was able to clean them when we first came inside, but now he won't let me near his knees to try and clean them off or put any Neosporin on them. His lip is still swollen, and he's still talking funny from yesterday's accident. Poor little guy.</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-6236691193327963002008-11-02T22:10:00.003-06:002008-11-02T22:23:27.004-06:00This blogging thing<div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">I know that no one but me reads this, so it doesn't really matter that I've decided to do this blogging thing every day for 30 days. I read a few other blogs regularly, and there's a challenge out there in blog land to write every day for the 30 days in November. I'd just like to see if I can do ANYthing every day for 30 days straight. It's not likely, but what the heck... I'll give it a shot.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">Today was a good day until around 5pm. I had gone over to Milly's for her party-thing, so Jeff took the boys to the airport (with Scott and his kids) to hang out at Founder's Plaza for a while. I get a text from Jeff that says "Injury to Jake. Brendan caused it. Busted chin split lip and teeth into lip. Blood. Driving home and Mia pukes in the damn car." Holy crap! I came home about 30 minutes after that text, and Jake's lip is all swollen. The bleeding had stopped, and he seemed to be acting fine. His chin was scraped a bit, and so was one of his legs. Apparently, Brendan was swinging around on something and knew that Jake was going to be in the way. He asked Jake to move, but he didn't, and Brendan swung around anyway and knocked Jake to the ground. He hit the concrete with his chin, and bit his bottom lip. It looks like his leg got scraped on concrete also. Poor little guy... </span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#330099;">This picture was before the "incident". So sweet...</span></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264281838854875026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiR3n6zlZRV8BVNcozG_772T4br70AISvNoN_ZaftYpFIA1qGtTOFMJDT8Y2BEDHi2kUI9EsgnSnC2u1mV6ZrDyH-sIug_1cLyfLEdchSdpP3kT-pnjvgym8vBHZ14P1z3ImNEg5dnFBM/s320/IMG_1844.JPG" border="0" /></div>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-53298912620449244402008-11-01T20:19:00.004-05:002008-11-01T20:23:28.754-05:00Halloween 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWsWjVbZHH9euJmIigRPV4eMh_wxPR1zG9PMRdabmd-LpArR_8balk9ZrXvKRy9Cznj6xmVAMa3IkhU0m0eshAilBqSeq3bUkxluPZy-XcTPWIhl0NZwclCNm5UYN8Tada4ETGdNKD-s/s1600-h/IMG_1780.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263864151480410210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWsWjVbZHH9euJmIigRPV4eMh_wxPR1zG9PMRdabmd-LpArR_8balk9ZrXvKRy9Cznj6xmVAMa3IkhU0m0eshAilBqSeq3bUkxluPZy-XcTPWIhl0NZwclCNm5UYN8Tada4ETGdNKD-s/s320/IMG_1780.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">The boys had a blast last night! Brendan was Captain Rex from Star Wars/Clone Wars, and Jake was Buzz Lightyear. We walked the entire neighborhood, and came home with quite the load of candy! Jeff even dressed up - as a hockey player! We had a great time, even though the temperature was in the high 70s! When we got home, we ended up turning the A/C back on to cool us all down. Then we were comfortable enough to enjoy some candy! :)</span> </div><br /><div></div>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-37033765269291272102008-10-24T21:23:00.002-05:002008-10-24T21:35:20.249-05:00Chaos<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#6600cc;">Tonight we watched the 3 M's for a while until Scott got off work. The kids were all playing together well, and Scott came to get them around 7:30. At about the same time, our next door neighbor came by to give us some mail he had gotten by mistake. While he talked with Jeff at the door, a bird that had been napping in the wreath decided to come in our house to look around. AAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#6600cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#6600cc;">This poor little sparrow was so lost! Jeff, Scott and our neighbor all came in and tried to catch the little guy - or at least guide him back out one of the doors. He flew around here for at least 15 minutes! He ran into several things, including the ceiling. The windows were open in the living room, so Scott went outside and took the screens off. At one point, the bird flew out one window and right back in the next one.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#6600cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#6600cc;">Meanwhile, all 5 kids are screaming and running around every time the bird moved. It was absolute chaos in here!! Finally, the bird flew out the back door. There were tiny feathers everywhere in here - including on the ceiling. Luckily, he didn't make any messes worse than the feathers!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-27453286279785911912008-08-25T20:56:00.005-05:002008-08-25T22:05:07.724-05:00Happy Birthday to my 3 year old!<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Jake is our little surprise baby. I guess "surprise" could be an understatement! For years, we were under the assumption that I wouldn't be able to have another child. My medical issues are under control, but the possibility of getting pregnant was still pretty slim. It took some time for me to come to terms with that, but I did, and we were cool. </span><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">December 2004: Jeff and I were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. We had decided to take a long weekend trip to Disneyworld by ourselves. Mom stayed at the house with Brendan, and we were off. As our gifts to ourselves, we bought annual passes to Disneyworld. We were planning to go again in March for Spring Break, so we would buy Brendan a pass then. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Jeff and I had so much fun exploring our favorite place! It was a very different trip without a kiddo with us. We missed him, but enjoyed spending time just the two of us. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Let's fast forward to January 2005... Due to my medical conditions, I wasn't very "regular" - so I would take a pregnancy test every once in a while just to be sure. My doctor had told me that it was highly UN-likely that I would ever get pregnant again, but there was always a VERY SLIM chance that I could. Well guess what? On January 4, 2005, I took a test and it was POSITIVE! I was half asleep, and had to blink a few times and shake my head in disbelief. And then I took another one. Same result. I couldn't believe it. By this point, I really didn't want another child. It had taken a long time for me to accept that I would have only one child, but I had done it. Now our world was being turned upside down. We were in shock. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Jeff was actually speechless! He did not say a word to me the whole drive in to work that morning. It was around 9:30 or 10:00 that morning before he spoke to me again. He was just stressing out about the whole thing! His biggest concern was the money issue. Obviously, it would cost more to have another kid. We just weren't prepared for that. Looking back on it now, I really feel guilty that I felt so bad about it. It didn't take long though to start getting excited about having another little person in our family. We would figure out the money thing somehow. In the grand scheme of things, the money was a tiny little part. We were having a baby!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">The funny part about finding out we were going to have another child was discovering when he was conceived. I found a calculator online and put in my due date. The date of conception turned out to be December 4, 2004! Hmmm... That happens to be that weekend we were in Disneyworld! Jeff liked to say that Disneyworld was not only the "Happiest Place on Earth", but also the most fertile! </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">We waited a few weeks before we told Brendan about it. I wasn't sure how he would handle it, but he was great! He was excited about it, but told me that he wouldn't change any diapers! </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">August 22, 2005: We show up at the hospital at 9:00 to have a scheduled c-section at 10:00. We ran into several delays, and finally Jake was born at 3:28pm. I was awake for his delivery (unlike Brendan's), and there was some pain!! I remember the anestesiologist telling me that as soon as the doctors got him out, she'd give me the "good stuff". And she did! I heard him cry and then I fell asleep for just a few minutes. I was wheeled into recovery and then my room. One of our friends had picked up Brendan from school and brought him to the hospital. He was excited to meet his brother, but didn't get to that day.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Jake had a minor problem with his heart, so there were several hours after his birth that were spent running tests. They had called in the pediatrician-on-call to come in and check him out, but he didn't arrive until around 2am. I didn't get to see my baby until after that! AND, the worst part of it was that none of the nurses would tell me WHY I couldn't see him. It was awful! I was so upset after I found out the truth about what was going on that night, and I talked to my doctor about it. She spoke to the head nurse and then she came to see me. I let her know how stressful the situation was and that I hoped this didn't have to happen to any other mother!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">I'm not a doctor, but this is what I know about what was going on with Jake's heart... There is a valve in the heart that typically gets closed during birth (it's supposed to). The pressure of going through the birth canal usually forces this to happen. Sometimes, with c-section babies, the valve doesn't close properly. Most of the time - at some point after the birth - it will close on it's own. In rare cases, the baby may need surgery to close it. Luckily for Jake, the valve closed on it's own within a day. In the end, he was perfectly healthy and we went home on time and he's had no other issues. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">What an amazing little baby we had! He was adorable and so sweet. Brendan was so good with him. He was a proud big brother! </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">I am so blessed to have my two boys in my life. I love them both so very much and I can't imagine what life would be like without BOTH of them here with us. Life is good!</span></div><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238654022433567554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxobx7338kBPco2SqfpXyZvRN7lEZz1XZ-LppJMVaJzBP0PfWCxlykxnDgtQQxOtlA7eFyIO6csg_10tUb_uuaf8IC9MbJ_QRjlWo5LB0h_dlnBgPi5SddlNQbrnT20GRlsn-3WSUPYYU/s400/DSC01401.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">I love you Jake! You're 3!! What a big boy! Now, let's talk about potty training... :)</span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-31895571657410897882008-08-14T18:12:00.001-05:002008-08-16T09:52:31.868-05:00Frustration<span style="font-family:arial;">I hate credit card companies. They lure you in, and then they screw you over. They start young, too! They came after me in college. I was young, and liked to have fun. (typical 18-year-old!) I didn't give too much thought to having to pay back what I "borrowed". But anyway... I digress. Let's fast forward a few years - to present day.<br /><br />We have credit card debt. A lot of it. Too much, I know. A couple of months ago, we realized just how bad it really was and made a vow to change it. Easier said than done. I was looking through statements one month and noticed that a certain bank had raised our interest rates - quite a bit!! Almost double - to be more precise. What the hell??? Why would they do that? Because they can. This happened to 3 of our cards - and they all happen to be from the same bank. When I called to question this move, I was informed that it's because they noticed that we had too much debt (in their not-so-humble opinion). Well, no shit! I'm fully aware that we have too much debt. We are striving to lower it as we speak, I tell the guy. His response was that the bank was doing this to everyone, meaning - reviewing accounts and adjusting things as they saw fit. How nice of them.<br /><br />I ask the guy how I could be penalized like this when I've ALWAYS paid on time? I've ALWAYS paid at least the minimum required. I've NEVER gone over my limit. He said that those things had nothing to do with it. Well, why the hell not???? Those good things should count for something, shouldn't they? If I had consistently been paying late, then of course I would deserve a penalty of some sort. If I couldn't pay the minimum required, I should be penalized. I know they charge over-the-limit fees, and I would understand being penalized for that. But NONE OF THESE APPLY in our case! We've played by the rules, and now we're being screwed over. AND WE'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!! YOU (the bank) offered us credit. YOU approved us when we applied for credit. YOU increased our spending limits - BECAUSE WE WERE SUCH VALUED CUSTOMERS. And now, because YOU have determined that we have too much debt (that YOU allowed us to have), you are penalizing us. Thanks a lot. I'm so glad that we chose to do business with you.<br /><br />So, I ask the guy if anything can be done about this. I point out once again all the things that we've done right regarding our accounts (everything). And I ask him to explain to me once again all the things that we've done wrong (nothing). He agrees that we've done nothing wrong - except to actually USE the credit that was given us. How is this wrong again?? He doesn't have an answer for me. He tells me that the only thing we can do is "freeze" our accounts and they'll lower the interest rates. "Freezing" the accounts means that we can't use them. Well we can, but the first time we do, they'll jack the interest back up again. He said that as soon as we get to a zero balance, they'll be willing to "negotiate" with us for a low rate and unfreeze the account. Wow. Thanks for working with me!<br /><br />I let the guy know how I feel about this whole deal, and he just listens. I know that it wasn't actually HIM that did this, but he's representing that company, and he got an earful that day from me. I point out to him that while I'm fully aware of the fact that I have too much debt, raising my interest rates (and subsequently the minimum payments) is only going to make it that much harder to actually pay the bills! I ask what sense this makes... ?? He says he understands, but there's nothing else he can do. Well, great. I tell him to freeze 2 of the accounts for now. Times are REALLY hard right now, and I feel like I need the flexibility to keep that 3rd card available if I need it. So it's done. 2 cards are "frozen" with somewhat reasonable interest rates. The 3rd card is still "un-frozen" and available for use. Of course, the interest rate is an un-Godly rate of 24.99%, but what can I do?<br /><br />So, where are we? Since April, we've been living with those 2 cards frozen and the 3rd with the ridiculous interest. Fine, we're struggling - but hanging in there. Then, last week, we get some lovely mail from this bank. They've decided to LOWER our credit limits on 2 of the accounts! The one that we left un-frozen was lowered by about $1000, and one that was frozen was lowered by about $4000. They had determined that we carried too much credit (in general) and felt it was in their best interest to lower our limits. What amazes me is that I haven't used that one frozen card (either frozen one actually) since April, and they lower our limit by $4000!! I haven't charged anything on it in months, but yet it's in their best interest to lower it?? Please!!<br /><br />And the hits just keep on comin'...</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-81268645787365782102008-07-30T20:44:00.002-05:002008-07-30T21:32:53.905-05:00My Kind of Town!<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">I love Chicago. Love it. Love it. If it weren't for the winters, I would live there. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">We went to visit Jeff's parents last weekend. They live in a suburb with a beautiful yard and a nice patio in the back. The first night we were there, we sat outside watching the birds and "critters". My first reaction to the word "critters" was EWWW!! I thought she was referring to mice or rats or something. And why on earth would she enjoy watching them?? Actually, they are ground squirrels. That's not so bad. They're actually kind of cute. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">Jeff and Brendan were able to go flying with his dad on Thursday. They had a great time. We (me, Jeff's mom, and Jake) didn't have such a great time. On our way to meet them at the airport, Jake threw up in the car. That was awful!! (I should have known something was up when he fell asleep in my lap before we even left the house. He never does that!) Poor guy was not well at all for the rest of the afternoon. The evening improved though, and the boys all went to the playground in the neighborhood after dinner. Jake loved the swings, and Brendan ran around the tennis court chasing stray balls. Easy and cheap entertainment! :)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">Friday we all met up for lunch at Portillo's near Woodfield Mall. What an awesome place! They have a HUGE selection, and everything was delicious. We will definitely go back again! After lunch, we split up again and the big boys went home to hang out at home while the ladies and Jake went to the mall. I stopped in the Disney Doorway to Dreams. It's a storefront which is used for the Disney Vacation Club - Disney's version of a timeshare. They have mock-ups of 2 different rooms at the Animal Kingdom Villas. They are absolutely beautiful! Jeff and I would LOVE to be a part of DVC. Unfortunately at the moment, we can't afford it. I really wish we could! Disney World is the place where we, as a family, can all go and have a great time together. We ALL love it, and hopefully that won't change for a long while. Maybe one day they'll be saying "Welcome Home" to us!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">Saturday we took the train into the city to go to Navy Pier. Brendan, Jake and I rode the big Ferris Wheel and took in the sights. We had fun walking around and checking out the shops and then we ate some lunch. We spent most of the day there, and then took the train back home. It was a hot day (by Chicagoan standards), and we were all tired and ready to get home.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">We flew home on Sunday and had to take a connecting flight through Shreveport. This wouldn't mean anything normally, but if we didn't have to stop there, Brendan probably wouldn't have done what he did. We got off the plane and set our stuff down in some chairs near the wall to re-charge the DVD player. Brendan wanted to finish watching the movie he had been watching on the plane, so he sat down and watched for about 10 minutes. I was watching Jake play and then noticed that the plane we had just been on was taking off to head back to Chicago. Right then, Brendan came over near me and said "Oh no. Mommy, please don't hate me." WHAT? Oh, please. What could you do that would ever make me hate you?? He starts digging through his bag and then quietly tells me that he thinks he left his DS on the airplane. OMG!!! OK, I don't HATE you for this, but I am certainly going to be a little upset! Sure enough, it was not in his bag. Or my bag. Or Jake's bag. Or Jeff's backpack. We checked. Twice. So not cool, kid! </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">Jeff got on the phone with everyone he could think of to try and help us locate it. No luck. 2 people met the plane and called him later to say they couldn't find it. My guess is that the person sitting there (or maybe near-by) found it and stuck it in their bag and figured it was just their lucky day. I really wish that there were more decent people in the world that do the right thing. I really wish that maybe the person that took it will have a change of heart and turn it in so that we could get it back. I realize that Brendan was at fault for leaving it in the seatback pocket in the first place. But when you find something like that, the right thing to do is to turn it in because you know it's expensive and IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!! OK, rant over.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">All in all, the trip was fun. We don't get a chance to visit them often, so it was nice to hang out for a while. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc33cc;">Pictures to come... :)</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-91836295646394151092008-07-06T17:30:00.002-05:002008-07-06T17:35:36.840-05:00Our New Swimming Pool<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000099;">Yes, we finally got a pool... It's wonderful! The boys love it and I like it because it's easy to keep clean. Actually, Jeff keeps it clean - I just watch him do it. :)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220033145023703522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJRV0ZItuU2I3ydE79saFad_Llak2niN_Je51WyGgRf1lYlW1u-nMjHqUHhEnaE-k3UF4349GaL8ohCwOHwp3Btl5yn-F5TdM0z7S9WiO2y_S8WD10wu1WcTHvSwOq3wMw3PyZvlpMAo/s400/IMG_1315.JPG" border="0" />Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-6999583115696440492008-06-18T19:47:00.003-05:002008-06-18T19:51:59.988-05:00I'm addicted......<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#993399;">...to Guitar Hero. It's true. I cannot stop playing that stupid game! We got it for B for his birthday a few weeks ago, but <em>I</em> keep playing it! I've only been able to finish songs in the "easy" section, so it's not like I'm very good at it. But it's fun! I've gotten 100% on one song, and only missed 1 or 2 notes on a couple of others.</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-83044718059460822832008-06-15T22:10:00.001-05:002008-06-15T22:11:52.309-05:00Happy Father's Day!<span style="font-family:verdana;">Happy Father's Day to my awesome, funny, sweet (although he wouldn't want anyone to know that...), loving husband!</span>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1695869102219056.post-68398558330172808952008-06-01T22:02:00.002-05:002008-06-01T22:07:14.176-05:00Happy Birthday to my 10 year old!<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#003333;">We had Brendan's party this afternoon. We did laser tag at Main Event. Jeff and I even got to play! We teamed up against the 6 boys and beat them! We all had a great time!</span><br /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207115002756861266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHQIvaCBvS14LqpFqzZuAZJJq7DLTPeSgvAY7Z11asV8rJyWbfEDQvF1DfUsnqTrMrNwMw43D1HixqsI0qjE73YcpWuFsww-rto-y93qhvKbeGmvVSEB2tSCzfQMBV-E4t8ewZrAUx6s/s400/IMG_1250.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207115011346795874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPgIgGGJTxGldtM4xp8T3fj8aH5sVCkKZyFljYNLLEoNm-q351RakBHP7_cPIgrPv1fOwJaxYr_ZJGZPMUJQPy3OUuZ87K2KlKD58f3EZD5qYgX9v5uJ4CFmh8Prl_gRwIid0t9vYJjY/s400/IMG_1259.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div>Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11308713343806833320noreply@blogger.com2