For Sheila...

Because if I go 48 hours without letting my "bestie" know I am still alive I start to feel really, really guilty. lol!!

Different day, same story...trying to keep cool and avoid being out in all the tropical storms that keep knocking out tree branches and our power.
Actually I can hear one right now heading our way which is kind of sucky because Kolin has his first football practice tonight. Bummer. :0(

Kody's Neurologist appointment went pretty good yesterday. He is doing great and we are going to try a new medicine to see if it will help with the eye tic's.
Unfortunately we can't get this medication local cuz it it hard to find but fortunately our nurse, Mista Carlos, found some at a specialty pharmacy they just started using and it will be mailed to us within 24 hours.
How cool is that?
Also, his yearly EEG is scheduled for July 19th, early in the morning cuz it has to be a sleep study EEG, that's when he is most likely to have seizure activity.

Leaving you with the photo of the day which was actually taken yesyerday.
My fish kidlets...



Don't you love the way the goggles stretch out the faces. LOL!!

Anyway, that's about it for now. Looks like that storm is getting closer so there is no telling if Kolin will get his practice. Plz let it leave teh building quickly!! :0)

Have a great day everyone!!

Busy Days Crazy Days

OK I have promised myself once again because I am Sheila's addiction I am really, REALLY going to try to be more diligent about this here blog that I've been neglecting too often.

Some days I swear are soooo chilled out, like those days when we hang out in the pool and eat PB&J's on the back porch for lunch, come inside when we're completely water logged and watch movies.
Most days though are spent running here and there, errands, more grocery shopping {yea my food bill had doubled since school let out}, people to see, appointments to get to.
Those are the days I look at the computer and say "Damn, I did it again, I forgot".

So, today I'll say to myself once again, I'll do better.

Yesterday was one of those crazy days. Bear had a pool party to attend and he really had a great time. Especially since he was invited by the hostess who just so happens to be his "gal". Your more then likely to see pictures of those two soon cuz we have a photo shoot coming up. Just waiting on Miss K to get her hair did in a week or so, she is very punk and it's going to rock, plus she wants Kody in the pic's too. :0)

In the meantime, right now I just pulled out the most deliciously smelling coffee cake out of the oven and I am about to go deliver it to my man Vinny {Karlio for all of those who haven't caught up in out mad insane world yet} and his boss and his wife. Nothing better then sharing food with friends on a Sunday morning at a truck fixin' shop. lol.

Here's one of Kody that I took before he left yesterday...



Yep, that's me reflecting in his eyes. :0)

Speaking of Kody, we have a 9 AM neurologist appointment in the morning. I'll let you all know how that goes tomorrow.

Have a beautiful day everyone!!

Crepe Myrtle

After cutting back our Crepe Myrtle tree this spring, because of it doing real bad during the hard freeze we had in Feb., I honestly thought we'd lost that tree forever.
Imagine my surprise when it grew back, healthier then ever and gave us this beauty, and a whole bunch more just like it...



I think I just may like the color pink again. :0)

Have a great day everyone!!

Dreamin'...

Here are a few things I'd like to do...

1. Get a pedicure with bright orange polish.
2. Have a banana split and eat the whole thing without gaining an ounce.
3. Visit Starbucks once a week without kids.
4. Relax on the beach.
5. Stay overnight in a KOA campground cabin.
5. See my favorite lil' diva Firecracker before her 3rd b-day in August.

Will I be able to do any of these things any time soon?
I doubt it.

But a girl can have her dreams, can't she?



Have a great day everyone!!

PS. Sheila, that's weird I didn't even see a comment from you yesterday. Blogger has been giving me some issues here lately. :0(

A New Week

On behalf of me and my BFFL we'd like to wish you all "Good Morning".



Yes, my BFFL is a coffee machine.
Yes, I am considered a dork.
But, in my defense I am a very entertaining dork and one you might even like to have around for Sunday dinner.
Unless you serve root beer, then you may want to reconsider.

"BURP"

Enough said.

Have a good one everyone!! :0)

Happy Dad's Day

Happy Dad's Day to all of our Dad's friends out there.

And of course to our Vinny who is our...



Yo Vinny!
Happy Father's Day Dude!!
We love ya!!!!

Hugz, Kisses and all that other gushie stuff,

Izzy
Giada
Kayara {who has yet to earn her name lol}
Vinny Jr.
Catalina
Vito
Victor
Firecracker
and
Alona

Have a great day everyone!!

Homemade Cookies

When there's not much else to do, we bake.
OK, I bake and they eat.

And eat....

And eat........

And eat..............



Peanut butter {without the criss cross lines cuz I forgot}
Oatmeal with cranberries & raisins
and
Chocolate Chunks

Oh, if your thinking I'm all that and mixing up things from scratch, ummmm...Not!

I think it's Betty Crocker or someone who puts out cookie mixes in a bag {in the cake section}
All I did was toss in an egg, some water and a stick of butter and Ba Da Bing, cookies anyone can be proud of.
Oh wait, I will happily take credit for adding cranberries and raisins to the oatmeal ones. Gotta toss in the extra healthy stuff when you can, plus it tastes totally awesome. :0)

Busy day today, as Friday's always are.

Hope your T.G.I.F. is a good one!!

Record Breaking Heat

Today in order to ward off the record breaking heat and while we're waiting for the water guy to come and fill up our pool, can you guess what we'll be doing?





LOL, yeppers....a good old fashioned water balloon fight. :0)

More on that later on.

Have a great day everyone...stay cool!!

Bella Collina Part Two

We could have walked around all night and not been able to see everything this country club had to offer.

I have no idea who these people are, this was a patio with a pool...



See, there's the pool and a bar with unlimited tequila shots, which none of us partook in, seeing as we are an alcohol free family and all and three of us are underage anyway...



Looking over the balcony, across all that water is the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. When we were leaving we stayed for a while more and watched the fireworks...



This was the VIP tent set up for the auctions and where Kody had his interview. It was air conditioned which was soooo nice....



These looked too perfect to be real, but they were for real. I touched them. Don't tell anyone...



While Karlio and Kody were meeting with the TV guy and going over his interview me and the other two kidlets stayed put. mainly because I was wearing 5 inch stilettos with a 1 inch platform and honestly, I didn't travel much although I looked really damn hot...



My last baby with the pretty eyes who carried my camera bag on his back the whole night and hardly complained all...



Itty little bitty baby oranges, aren't they adorable?



Me and mini me...



Izzy and Vinny, true luv 4 eva....



We are a family who likes to eat, and eat and eat a lot. If you ever have us over for dinner, you might want to buy three times more then what you thought was enough. Or, just give me the word and I'll do your food shopping, no problem...



Dancing horses and carriage rides...if I could have taken him home I would have in a New York minute {the horse not the man}...



Bear's interview with, of course, his trusty sidekick, Kolin...



Soon after that interview and posing for a couple of magazines we split. We are not night people in any way, it was like 10 o'clock and yeppers, we were tired. LOL!!

Hope you all have a fantastic day!!

The Start Of A New Week Begins....

You know how you just know it's going to be an insane week?
I just know...I just really do know.
It's all good though.

Let's see, the Cattle Baron's Ball was WONDERFUL!!!

OMG it was located at a gorgeous country club called "Bella Collina" in Monteverde, FL. honestly, it was like walking straight into a beautiful Italian village.
I have so many pictures to get web sized so I can post them and for sure I'll be setting some time to be working on that today.

So, some highlights...

The food was EXTRAORDINARY!! There were I think, 9 or 10 caterers there and there is no way I could possibly pick a favorite. Although, I am pretty sure Kody's was the Bella Collina brick oven pizza and Kolin was definitely into the Sirloin Marsala from Carraba's. I'm pretty sure Karlio gave the two thumbs up to Aramark's smoked BBQ beef brisket. As for Kaysha and me...Ummmm, we loved them all. LOL!!

Kody's interview with FOX 10's TV host came later into the night, right after the live auction. He was being interviewed about his tumor, the past 8 years and especially R.O.C.K Camp {which is part of Boggy Creek, ROCK standing for "Reaching Out to Cancer Kids}.
Every year when Kody and many other children attend summer camp, they are in part sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
So, the whole point of the ball was a fundraiser event for the cancer society and ROCK Camp. This event benefits, not only adults but children with cancer as well. There are so many things the cancer society does, I could honestly be here all day talking about them.

After the interview, we were photographed for a couple of magazines. I'll have more on that this week. I should be getting the photos forwarded to me and of course copies of the magazines when they come out next month.

We also met with some pretty amazing people from these mag's who want me {LOL, yea me, can you believe it?} to start getting stories out in their mag's about "Pediatric Cancer Awareness".
Sadly, not many people realize that September is "Childhood Cancer Awareness" month. We all know what the pink ribbon stands for, not a whole lot knew that gold represents our children.

So, it looks like my summer mission is to get that word out so that by the time September rolls around, more and more people will be aware all over the state of Florida.

One of the most memorable parts of the night was while we were walking out, we stopped for a few to look over the balcony and from it we watched the Disney fireworks. Totally awesome, let me tell you. :0)

Anyway, enough with the novel, huh?

Here's two pictures from Saturday night.





I'm realizing more and more everyday that Bear's got some strange issues. I think he's had that camera stuck in his face maybe a little too much over the years. And my poor baby Kolin, I forgot all about taking that pretty heavy camera bag off his back. Oops. LOL!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!!

More Kody Graduation Pix

Just a few more of my favorite 14 year old ever...









It's still so unreal to me that I have a high school freshman. I know, I know, Kody tells me everyday "Ya gotta cut the cord Mom"

But, in my defense...

Kody, My Bear,
I birthed you.
And your linebacker shoulders.
Without drugs.
Not going to happen.
Ever.
Over.

And, Bear...because I love you so much and because you know how proud I am of you and because you make me laugh everyday I only have one more thing to say..

"Balls to the Wall Baby!!!!!!"

Have an awesome weekend everyone!!

Ours is going to be crazy busy. We have the Cattle Barron's Ball for the American Cancer Society tomorrow and family stuff all weekend.
It's be fun though, I'm sure. :0)

TTYL!!!

Fist Pumpin' Time

Kody's 8th grade graduation ceremony was last night. At approximately 7 o'clock our Bear officially became...you ready for this cuz I can't believe I'm about to say it.....

A High School FRESHMAN!!!!

And, out of all the 50 plus pictures I snapped last night, this one will forever be my all time favorite...



Nothing but pure, unposed, fist pumping joy, looking at his very proud Dad, brother and sister. :0)

Today is Kolin's last day and tonight we'll celebrate as a family with some billion calorie chocolate cake, as requested by my two boys, whom, btw...I have never been so proud of in my life.
This year has by far been the best year ever and to be honest, I'm kind of sad to see it end.
Want to know who's sadder? His teachers and the faculty at his school. As much as they are happy to see him reach another milestone, they don't want him to leave them.
Want to know who's saddest? Kody is. Yep, really....he absolutely LOVES school. He'd go all summer if I let him. :0)

I'll have more pictures real soon, but that one I left today couldn't wait. I'm having that enlarged and put on display. :0)

Hope everyone out there has a great day today!!

Ohhhh Damn!

I accidentally deleted all the comments from the last post. I am soooooo sorry. I hate when I get click happy, but Sheila, Amy and CJ....thank you so much. :0)

I don't have any new pic's but I thought this was a funny alternative....



Have a great day everyone!!

Sunday Morning

For just a little while it was peacefully quiet this morning. Karlio went to put in a few more hours at work, everyone was sleeping. Eerie quiet actually.

But, as things go around here, that didn't last long at all.

Let the madness begin...



Hope your day is a quiet and peaceful one!!

I will, I really will get back to regular blogging. With the end of the school year insanity it has been crazy but...

Kody graduates on Wednesday night and Kolin's last day is Thursday.
Hopefully, I can get myself back to some what normal.
Wait, I've never been normal.
I'll try harder next time.
Normal does not come natural to me.
Over.

The "K" Boys Do It Again!

This afternoon they BOTH brought us home the news that they were picked "Student of the Month" for June!!!!

So, it was off to Racetrac after dinner for some celebratory icee's. :0)



Their Principal will be taking them both out to Ramshackles this week, which just so happens to be thee restaurant to go to, if you are ever in this part of town.

Have a great day everyone!!