Happy New Year!

Well my Grandpa is still at the AZ Heart Hospital and he is scheduled for major surgery on Tues. I guess only 15% of his heart is functioning. They said smoking really damages your heart. He has phenomena right now so once that clears a bit they will operate. That is as long as he can stay put. He thinks he is in the hospital so they can make money. He is a rather stubborn old guy. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers please.

All in all 2006 has been a pretty good year to us. No major problems, Lily has stayed out of the hospital and Andi is just growing and learning.
Andrew and I have a stronger marriage and am actually a "happily married couple".
We only hope 2007 continues our good luck streak!

Happy New Year to you all!

Happy Holidays!

Wow, Christmas has come and gone and I am still spinning saying "what happened?"
A few highlights from a busy weekend:

Friday night we had my family birthday dinner and I got to choose my place. Well I chose Drinkwaters City Hall. I put out no stops when I am not forking the bill. *wink* Here are a few memories of the night. My dad asked the valet if he could leave the baby in the car. Valet said that doesn't go over very well. You have to be from AZ to understand that. Long story short just across the street at Neiman’s a woman asked the valet to watch her kid while she shopped, the kid was a sleeping 2 year old. She got to spend the night in a comfy jail cell.

David Spade sat two tables over from us.

My dad said we broke a record for as far as the dinner bill went. See I hold no stops. :) We all laughed and had a great time. I think David Spade was jealous of our loud, fun table, probably not though.

Saturday I had to work at the store from 10am - 2pm, but it was with my sister and niece and I always have fun with them. Andi was not too pleased to see Miss Maria (our sitter) Friday night and on Saturday but she got over it.
Saturday night we had a party at my mom's place with both sides of my parents families, there was about 60-70 people in their house. It was over crowded and a bit too much family time for my taste but my mom wanted to have one big party and then have an "intimate" family Christmas of 18.....
Well the party was fun, overwhelming and I spent most my time making sure Andi wasn't ruining anything in my mom's house. I heard commotion about my Grandpa needing a breathing treatment but the guy smokes. I didn't take too much interest in it. We left and then it was Sunday, Christmas Eve.

I got to spend Christmas Eve service in the nursery at church. That was a blast. Of all the services at church Christmas Eve is my favorite but to be fair I am the only one with two kids in there. I have to pay my dues.
After church my family (Andrew, the girls and me) took my nieces Ariel and Skylar out for lunch which was fun and then we went home for naps. My mom offered to watch the girls while we see a movie. We jumped on that offer and we saw "The Pursuit of Happyness" it was awesome! I cried all the way through it. Will Smith is such a great actor and he didn't have to kill aliens to get the world to see his movie. I really loved the story. It was great! Then we hung out with my parents a little more and headed home.

Christmas morning was fun! Andi opened her gifts and wanted to play with them. I think we could have gotten away with a lot less but what can you do? I like to spoil my kids. Lily helped open some gifts and I think she will like her VSmile once I hook it to the TV. We went to my parents afterwards and hung out there with my sister and her family and my aunt and her family until 8pm. It was fun and exhausting. We tried playing Family Feud on DVD, but since it was turning into a family feud we stopped. It sucks on the DVD.

So I spent yesterday with the girls trying to catch up on house work and we took Andrew's truck in for installation of his Christmas gift that he was ecstatic about. I got spoiled as well, my husband he is very good at the over the top romantic gestures, but I won't brag. He loves me.

Unfortunately my Grandpa had a lot worse problems than needing an inhaler. They think he had a heart attack that night, (that tells you how crazy it was in there for me to not know and says how tough he is) and he went to the hospital in Cottonwood where he lives and they air evac (sp?) him to Phoenix Heart Hospital and is in ICU. According to him, nothing is wrong but that is not what the Dr.'s say. We will find out more today, they are doing all his tests right now. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers please. He is the last grandparent I have and he is only in his mid 70's.

So all in all we had a pretty good holiday. Very busy and I am looking forward to a milder New Years. Andrew's brother Jeremy will be here with his wife Andrea. We all get along really well so I am thinking this is a great way to start 2007!

Cheers

Quick one

So yesterday we went to the mall for some last minute gifts. Andi is into everything so while I was rang up at The Body Shop, Andrew took Andi out for a bit.
As I was just finishing up the sale Andrew and Andi walk back in and Andrew says, "show mommy, I taught you how to french kiss" I look at the sales lady, smile and raise my eye brow and jet out of there.
As we walk the mall I said "what do you mean you taught her how to french kiss?!" and he says watch and Andi kisses both cheeks, like the french do.
I said "you do know that french kiss is with your tongue right?" and he said "I forgot."

Christmas Present, Past and Future

I don't know how much I will be on before Christmas so I wanted to make a Christmas post:

Christmas Present:

My play went flawless! I couldn't have asked a better performance from myself or cast mates. Friday was great, Saturday was excellent and Sunday was great! It was a blast and I will miss my cast mates.

My Birthday was wonderful! I got spoiled once again by my husband and mom. Andrew got me two pairs of chanel earrings. I really wanted one pair and he added another for good measure. And my favorite surprise was a cat! He is a long haired siamese that looks like Jinxy Cat from Meet the Parents. He was already named Kean (I don't like that name and want to call him Jax but Andrew says I can't. He says it is like changing Andi's name all of a sudden. Yeah just like that, Andrew) He is cuddly and awesome. I got teary eyed when I saw him b/c I have been asking forever and Andrew always said no! The girls love him as well and Andi calls him Meow. My mom got me a Fendi watch. Yeah spoiled. Oh and last night we had a lovely evening at The Melting Pot (my favorite!) while my mom watched the girls.

This law suite is making a scrooge out of my dad and his partner (business, that is) and it is stressing my payroll assistant and me out. It is doubling our work and we have one day to enter 400 employees payroll. We don't have time to double our work.

Good note, I am all caught up with my shopping and I get to enjoy my 5 days of Christmas!

Christmas Past:

I have two favorite quotes from Christmas past that I want to share:

One is from my husband 2 Christmas' ago. My mom (well I mean my parents) gave us several board games to have at home, good games and I love games. Well Andrew opens those gifts up and says "next year are you getting us the friends to go with them?"

Last year my dad (aka scrooge) said during Christmas Eve dinner "well Christmas is over tomorrow".
I don't even think I need to explain that one. Do I? What do most people say on Christmas Eve? Tomorrow IS Christmas. Ba hum bug!

Christmas Future:

Alright, we all get those Christmas letters. I love them. Well most of them. I love getting pictures and letters in the mail. But we all come across those letters that make you think their child is the 2nd coming of Christ and just because of reading one of those that didn't even come to my house made me think of our letter next year. Pardon my french but no other word would really fit.

Dearest Friends and Family,

Same Shit, different Year.

All our love.

Sending Holiday Cheer

Ok so I know you all think I am just saying this b/c I am co owner of a small retail business but seriously I hate the mall! Seriously!
Since the mall is open at 9am right now since tis the season, I got to shop from 9am to 10:15am kidless, because Lily is in OT and ST and Andi went to daycare, at the mall in Mesa called Fiesta Mall. It is nothing too impressive and not where I go when I choose my location but I was there, it was there I knew I could knock several gifts. Well I had never been so annoyed and frustrated in just one hour, ever! This does not happen when I go to Chandler Fashion Center but man at the mall "the white people used to go to" sure has a lot of annoying kiosiks!
I wasn't in the mall 1 minute before some guy yells to me to come over, I ignore and keep on walking. Then I buy a gift at Bath and Body Works and the cashier has to tell me about the lip gloss for $5 and the robe I can get for $20 with a $25 purchase. "No thanks."
So as I walk out of there I have another lady come over to me and ask if she can "show me something" I say "no".
I head on my mission, I only have an hour. I get a few more gifts with out a hassle and pass yet another person who wants to "show me something for your hair?" and I finally growl, "I am in a hurry!" then I say rather loudly, "maaan!" I was so annoyed.
Reading that back doesn't sound as bad but you have to admit over selling is just wrong. If I order a medium it is to save on calories, not money. If I bring my items to the register, I am finished shopping. Please people, just take it as it is.
Happy Holidays!
My last posting as a young hip mom of 27........

Got Nerves?

I am a bit nervous. Dress rehearsal didn't go as well as we had hoped and tonight is our first performance. We have Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning to do. I have the nerves flowing. My part is the biggest I have ever had and although I've got my lines down, last night with a small audience I got thrown off a few times. I am ok with my lines getting laughed at, I think I am not ok with them not being laughed at. But seriously the coughs and murmurs really threw me off. The sound tech made a mistake and played music during my scene and I totally got thrown off.
I need some prayers and positive thoughts thrown my way, I really want this to go well!I will let you all know how it went!

Did I really just do that???

My little Andi is ELMO obsessed, like seriously, we have to watch Elmo's World in the car everywhere we go and she screams her head off when Mr. Noodle comes on the screen and I have to fast forward to Elmo again. This new T.M.X. Elmo is the gift I would love to get for the girls this year b/c of Andi's obsession and b/c he can be hooked up to a switch and all Lily has to do is hit the switch and he will do whatever it is that he does. So I started my search since Walmart is selling 4,000 of them at noon (est) every day til Friday the 15th so I tried yesterday and today but for some reason I am just not clever enough to pull it off so I said fine I am going to Ebay and paid $66 for one. Not too bad for Ebay but the seller charged $16 for s&h! $16! I am an ebayer, I know how much it is to ship things, and I am pretty sure there won't be a rush on this delivery. Oh well, I am sure Andi will play with it for about 10 minutes and I can really hook any toy up for Lily therefore proving that I am a sucker.

I need to vent once again

So I once again feel the need to vent!
Ok so you all know I am in this Christmas play for church and my time has been devoted to this. I really enjoy this and feel I am not too bad at it either. This is a huge commitment that I made to the cast and a commitment my husband made to me to watch the girls. Everything has been going well except for a few sighs and whines from Andrew, it has been working out well for all of us. Dun Dun Dun, until this week. So this Thursday is final dress rehearsal. The biggest, most important practice of all the practices, missing dress rehearsal is like missing the actual performance. So Andrew says, "my company's Christmas party is next Thursday" (said last week) "WHAT?!” I said "are you kidding me?!" This isn't Andrew's fault really, he has a company with a business partner and his partner never planned this with Andrew, he just told him the date but what I am mad at Andrew for is that he never stood up to him. He should have said "I am sorry but that won't work", but he just said "well thanks for telling me" but I don't think the passive aggressive approach is working. It wouldn't be a big deal except for our store has their invite only special Christmas sale that night which means my mom or sister cannot watch the girls. I have to ask my niece but I know that she should be helping at the store as well. It just really frustrates me, I own a company with my mom and sister and we never make decisions without each other. That is how a partnership works. I am so annoyed.

A funny side note. One of our employees is this Mexican guy with a very heavy accent and just adorable, I mean the guy looks like he walked off a Abercrombie and Fitch bag. I have for years thought he was cute and named him Cute Victor. Like when someone says "did you get Victor's timecard?" I say "which Victor? Victor or Cute Victor?" Well he knows I named him that and every time he comes into the office he says a quick hi to me and walks away real fast, I think he is scared of me. I am not going to seduce him; I just think he is nice to look at. I just think it is funny b/c most of my life I am hit on unwantedly and this guy is afraid of me. Funny.

My rant for today

So I need to vent about something really annoying that is happening here at work but it is happening all over.
I understand people feeling the need to be aggressive for money. I am not like that but I understand the mind set. I know that there will always be sales people and inventors and people always trying to get my money but this is what I cannot stand...
Lawyers seeking to represent people, not the other way around. I think the term is ambulance chaser. I do not have any thing against lawyers, one of my favorite people on this planet is one and I respect her totally but I know she doesn't walk onto a crime scene and ask the murderer if he needs a lawyer.
My dad is co-owner of a large paint company in AZ. We have close to 400 employees and I do payroll for the company.
Being in AZ and especially in construction we have about 80% or more Hispanics work for us but these guys get paid and well. Not only do they get paid well for their hard work, our company is one of the few that offers the best health insurance and a 401k plan. I am not sure if any of you are familiar with construction but to offer those benefits are huge! So I am just saying that in no way does our company use our employees or take advantage of them like they are working in a sweat shop. But that didn't stop some California law firm to walk on our job site, ask these guys how they are being paid (piece work) and they say you can sue b/c they should be getting paid time and a half. Piece work (paid by job, not hourly) is not illegal but these lawyers made our guys think they are being shorted. It isn't our guys fault, they hardly speak English, they don't know what to believe, and they think every company offers health insurance and a 401k plan. Boy will they be surprised when they go and work for someone else. Anyway I was going thru records and the funny thing is at piece work the main guy in the law suite got paid more than he would have at hourly with overtime so now we can say he owes us. In the long run nothing will happen but I will have a lot of extra work to do and in the end only the lawyers will get paid, which I suppose is what they want.
Just like the two black guys that got pulled over here in AZ a few weeks ago (it was national news) the cop asked them to rap to get out of the ticket. Now of course lawyers are all over these guys saying they have a case. So stupid.

Mary did you know.....

I know it has been awhile since my last blog so I will once say it again, I suck at blogging.
I don't know if it is the impending arrival of AF, or all the Christmas music or what it is but I seem to be crying at the drop of a hat these days. Every morning on not my favorite radio station they answer Christmas wishes and I spend the morning bawling as I drive to work, then I say "stupid" every time I wipe a tear.

Last night while driving home from a very lovely "mom's night out" with the mom's from Lily's school who all have a special needs child, and I was listening to Delilah, and of course I started to cry. I was thinking about, not even listening to "Mary did you know".

Now let me back up and tell you all how much I adore Christmas. Always have, always will. I have always felt extra special b/c my birthday is less than a week away from Christmas and I have felt that this is *my* holiday. I love buying gifts, I love finding the perfect gift and watching the person you searched for open it and actually smile. I love receiving gifts as well, I love Christmas music, I love the cool weather (note NOT cold weather, I love an AZ Christmas). I love the lights, I still remember every Christmas Eve we would drive home from my aunt’s house and my dad would take the long route home stopping to look at lights. This was way before the waving Santa’s and head moving reindeers. I still take a detour at night just to see the lights.

I have always been this way but I am just giving some background so you understand my love for all things Christmas but this was before Lily. The first Christmas with Lily was in 2002. Lily was 4 months old, she had been in and out of the hospital her short life, I had just lost my Grandma, and she was still having out of control seizures. We had no idea what to do or expect for her future. We were scared and unsure. I am not saying her changed my disposition on Christmas, I still decorated the house, had a big tree and loved sitting with her and watch her look at the lights, it was the only thing I would see her actually look at. But one night I was holding her and the song "Mary did you know" came on and although I have always loved that song, I never really listened to that song like I did that night. I heard the words and I just started bawling. I felt exactly what they were saying. The song is so powerful if you give it your attention. "Mary did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?" "The child that you delivered will soon deliver you" I mean, WOW, powerful words. I sat there and held Lily, the child that I was so unsure of, the child I had no idea of her future and I thought "Kim, do you know what a blessing you have in your arms?"

Mary had no idea what would happen when she got pregnant, she had no idea what to expect from this child, she didn't know the hurt she will face 30 years down the road. She just knew she loved her child and she would hold him, love him and raise him to the best of her abilities. She had no idea those tiny fingers and toes would heal the sick and fix the broken.
I had no idea that Lily's tiny fingers and toes would touch people all across the world. I just knew that no matter what happens I had to hold her, lover her and raise her to the best of my abilities.


**Mary did you know, that your baby boy would one day walk on water? Mary did you know, that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know, that your baby boy has come to make you new? This Child that you delivered, will soon deliver you!

Mary did you know, that your baby boy will give sight to the blind man? Mary did you know, that your baby boy would calm a storm with His hand?

Did you know, that your baby boy has walked where angels trod and when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God? Oh, Mary did you know?
Mary did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, The dead will live again, The lame will leap, the dumb will speak praises of the Lamb?

Mary did you know, that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary did you know, that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know, that your baby boy was Heaven's perfect Lamb? And this sleeping Child you're holding is the Great I AM**