Me and My Two Girls' Coming Adventure.

Three summers ago my girls and I went on an All Girl Road trip from Southern California to Utah, Colorado, and Nevada... We visited relatives - best friends -we climbed over 7000 feet up in the Colorado Rockies, Jet boated along the Colorado River in Moab, Utah, went down a water slide at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas a million times and created memories that will last a lifetime...

This past summer was a difficult one for my family - as you know my husband had lost his job in March and we needed to be on a very tight budget.... I own a mortgage loan processing business and I was working in excess of 80 hours a week - accepting new clients and basically not having time for anything else... It was my time to support the family and thank God - it worked out fine financially but emotionally and physically I suffered greatly... my kids suffered missing their mom. We did not do anything extra -we stayed home - thankfully we have a pool but that got old fast.. My husband (D) was lucky enough to travel to Mexico for a week and fish... The trip had been planned for a year and the timing worked out great. I like to tease him that his interviews in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Oregon were actually vacations and not work related...

I promised my girls that when we get back on track that we are going to have a Great Adventure.. This is what we are going to do - I'm so excited...

In July we are flying into Washington DC - We are going to spend a couple of days with a wonderful friend and mentor of mine... She also happened to be my oldest daughter's 2nd grade teacher.. We adore this wonderful Lady... We will then travel to the heart of DC - and visit all the places I have always wanted... The White House, The Lincoln Monument, The Veterans' monuments, The Mall, Arlington Cemetery and the Smithsonian....

We will jump on a train from DC to New York City... My oldest has always wanted to visit Time Square... We will climb to the top of the Empire State Building, take a stroll in Central Park, visit the Statue of Liberty, go to Ellis Island where my grandparents immigrated from Scotland, and to top off the two and half day stay - We will see Westside Story on Broadway! Then...

We will jump on a train from New York City to Boston... We will explore the Commons, ride on a Swan Boat, walk the Freedom Trail, eat a Lobster Roll at Faneuilhal Hall, Visit Paul Revere's home, see Bunker Hill, explorer The USS Constitution, and visit my sister's family- The cousins get to catch up and My sister will show us the "Real" New England.... can't wait!!!!

I am looking forward to spending time with my girls and making more memories!

We will see..

The New School Year..

First Day of School....


I am happy to report that I have two incredibly beautiful, talented, and smart daughters... many times I take it for granted how blessed we all are.. Blessed that they have their health... their God given talents and their love for life and their huge loving hearts...

With the new school year - we have had to face a couple of unexpected challenges.. Every year of my kids' academic lives they have both achieved "A" averages... My eldest had to work harder for her grades - but she is blessed with the love of reading and a steel trap for a brain... she does not forget anything - unless - it's something she wants to forget.. like chores.. Somehow, she is forgetting to study.... and has received her first F!!!! Talk about knocking me over with a feather... Since then she has received an "A" on her last history test and that has raised her grade to a whopping D plus.... Lessons are being learned by her and by me..... learning to be a better organizer... has become a top priority... I do have to say though... that all of her other classes she is getting A's.......

My youngest - hates hates hates to read but can retain everything that she learns is class... and her mind is a human calculator... the kid has got math.. The problem is now that she is in the 6th grade - she has to study independently.... and find the answers herself.. There lies the problem.... and with that problem or better word... challenge came her very first ever... D.. At first I was livid... she is too smart to get a D... what the heck is going on???? But after thinking it through - I am thinking it just might be a blessing in disguise..... because now - she realizes how important good grades are..... since she has received her D - she has earned three "A" papers but they have only risen the grade to B status.... which I am happy to report is driving her nuts and her beautiful competitive nature will have none of that...

I am thinking although they were off to a rocky start - lessons are being learned.... education and knowledge is being better appreciated.... and everything will be good... I recently received these pictures and wanted to share...

Their cousin's wedding.... Aren't they lovely???

My Kid Is Becoming Me.....

I am beginning to think that I have become old.... To my thirteen daughter's horror - I have no problem going to the store sans make up... sans brushed hair - a clip holding my hair away from my face is okay for me.... and my clothes.. who cares .. I'M GOING TO THE STORE!!!!

The other day - I picked up my car keys to go to Target.. my kids of course ask if they could come.. sure I say - Nikki, (the 13 year old) runs upstairs... Nikki - I'm going now - are you coming or not.... Coming I hear.... still no Nik... Okay - I'm leaving without you - I holler and proceed to go to the garage... open the door... get in the car... and here comes Nikki - she changed from casual shorts and tee shirt to her favorite skinny jeans and a duel tank top number.... her once clean and wholesome face is now covered with make up... Her hair styled.... She gets in the car and whips out her make up mirror and continues to groom herself... I roll my eyes... she rolls them back at me......

As we were driving to Target - I start to think that my kid has become so vain... it's driving me nuts... We can't go anywhere without her dolling herself up and then I remember a conversation I had with my sister a few years back.... My sister was telling me how frustrated she used to get with me.. why you ask... because I would never leave the house without my make up on, my hair done, and I had to have the "right" clothes on...

It's crazy how my kid is becoming me...... but it makes sense because I have become my mother... the circle of life......

The Hair Flip... already?

I had a major flashback tonight....I have to laugh out loud...
As many of you know, I run my business from my home office... and today was by the far the busiest most stressful day.....ever... After the kids got home from school - I told them I still had a few hours of work and asked them to do their homework and not disturb me unless it was very important..... well, they were great.. so I decided to take them to Round Table Pizza's family night all you can eat buffet...(Dad's on a business trip - I don't usually cook). I told them we'd go in about 30 minutes....
About a half hour later, I called the girls downstairs... and boy were they "dolled" up... Nikki my 7th grader - changed her clothes into her cutest skinny jeans and white blouse and of course her makeup was perfect... along with her hair... Kara my 5th grader had tried to sneak in a little bit of makeup and her cutest clothes... (I had to smile and pretended not to see the makeup..) So we head over to the pizza joint.....
We get there and not too many people are there...the way I like it... all of a sudden here comes a little league or junior high baseball team.... I could see my girls' eyes bug out from the corner of my eye... oh boy... What was really funny to watch was the boys for no reason at all come walking by our table and pretend to be lost......I am not ready for this... all of a sudden I see Nikki do the hair flip..... I can't believe she already knows that trick.... and Kara pretended to show so much interest in the video motorcycle game... when only fifteen minutes before she said it looked dumb... I gave the girls some change to play games or whatever and to watch them trot around the place with their big laughs and hair flipping reminded me of a mating dance.... When did they grow up and learn the art of flirting??? I am floored.
Then I had a major flashback of me and my friend Lisa when we were in the 8th grade.. We went to Lisa's dad's softball game and we did our make up and we put on our nicest clothes and we were being silly in front of the boys and the hair flipping.... and I had to laugh out loud..... I have become the mother of .........me......I'm doomed....

My New And Old Friend Janice

I recently reconnected with my best friend from the 7th grade... It was rather funny the way it happen.. I have a FaceBook account and have been reconnecting with a bunch of old high school friends and one day I get this message and it says are you Kelly Milne from Hill? If you are.. I am Janice G.. Wow talk about a blast from the past.. I loved hanging out with Janice... we met in the 6th grade and in 7th grade we were best buds.. There were many a day when I would go to her home after school to do homework or just hangout. Her mom would always make sure we had a healthy snack to give us energy to do our activities...
Later into our 7th grade year another girl entered our twosome.. She was a sweet girl named Karen...We all played together and most of the time got a long just fine.. But when you get a ring of three girlfriends..one will always be left out.... I think we each took turns being the one left out... But we were friends... We were there for each other when Karen's pet rat Ben died and we held her hand when she cried... We were there when we each "officially" became women... I remember Karen calling me up and saying, "I became a woman, today.." funny I "became a woman" a couple of weeks later...I don't know if Janice became a woman or not... she didn't share but I'm thinking since she is in her 40's and has two kids...I'm thinking it did happen at some point....
Towards the end of the school year I made a comment to each of the girls at different times... One day I told Karen, "I liked being with her the most" and a couple of days later I told Janice, "I liked being with her the most"... I honestly felt that emotion at the time...So one day Janice and Karen got together and shared what I had said as girls often do....then I got the phone call....It's Karen and she wants me to tell her which friend I like being with the most....since I told both of them the same thing... Well...I couldn't answer...I said both of you...as 7th grade girls do...that answer was not acceptable.. so the next day..Karen and I were not friends.. It's funny how I see the same emotions and feuds happening with my own daughter..
So...the last week of school happens... I am eating my lunch with some new friends I had made and Karen and Janice are eating their lunches a little ways away from me... All of a sudden something hits me on the back really hard... I can feel my eyes start to water..boy it hurt.. I turn around and I see Karen pointing her finger at me and laughing... I see poor Janice with a look of complete horror on her face...so I assume it's Karen that threw something at me...so I walked up to Karen and I punched her in the nose! Mind you this is the first and only time I had ever laid a hand on anyone...and what's more I broke her nose....talk about an unlucky punch! I was suspended from school for a few days...and Karen's family moved away...and Janice was no longer allowed to play with me...
It's sad and funny how one action can have such a huge impact on people's lives - this is something that I want my children to learn... that every action has a reaction and we just need to do the right thing... My mom used to say that I am going to learn from her mistakes... I find that is true with my own girls.. What is truly a blessing that after all these years...Janice found me.. and we just might become friends again..and I promise not to break any more noses...