25 Random Things about Me...

I must confess that I have recently become an addict...of facebook. I know; it will be hard to break the addiction. However, one day, I shall overcome.

With that off my chest, I was tagged. I must list 25 random things about myself. So, here I go...

1. I love being a mommy...not a mom or mother or momma...but Mommy!
2. Being a single mommy, my kids inspire me to keep moving forward. They have been through so much over the past 3 years. It is amazing to me how they have dealt with it all with a smile on their face most of the time.
3. I recently moved back to my hometown and am currently teaching geometry and algebra 2 at the high school with some of my former teachers. It's a little different, but fun.
4. I have taught high school for 11 years and working on my 12th. I taught at Brandon for 5 years and Ridgeland for 6 years.
5. I played fastpitch softball for 11 years where I was an all-star for 10 of those years and coached for 5 years. My first year was the only year that I didn't make all-stars. I played all positions, but you could say that my main position was pitcher.
6. I played flute and twirled flags in the band beginning in 7th grade and all the way through graduating college.
7. I have an older sister, Monica, who will be having baby #4 this week. Since we both moved out of our parents house many years ago, we are like best friends now.
8. I LOVE to scrapbook. It has to have its own room; however, right now it is in the middle of the living room.
9. I am adventurous with some persuasion. I have secret goals set that I am determined to meet one day. There are so many things that I still want to do with my life.
10. I love to laugh! I can't say anything else because I'm laughing just thinking of it.
11. I have a hard time saying no...to anything. I am working on this though. Someone recently has been giving me lots of practice.
12. When I moved into my current house, it didn't have a finished kitchen. Actually, it didn't have anything but cabinets! Not even a sink! My dad remodeled the whole house completely just for me. I was determined to get moved in while my kids were staying at their dad's for the week...so that meant no kitchen sink...for a month. After a month, the stove and refrigerator got put in and about 2 months later the oven and microwave. Meals were quite interesting at times.
13. My dream vacation is to take about 2-3 weeks and go to every possible part of DisneyWorld with someone special...without kids! I want to take my kids one day too, but not for that long.
14. I was shy growing up. Now, I have definitely come out of my shell.
15. My sister accuses me of being the "sweet angel" growing up, but secretly I know she's just jealous that I always got away with it all. haha! Love ya sis!
16. I have turned into a night owl lately. I can stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning and still get up at 6. What is up with that?
17. 7 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter, Lizzi, we had a shower where everything that was given to me was pink. Not by my choice, but just because. I was determined to not have a girly girl. However, as soon as she started walking she acquired the nickname "Miss Priss." Girlfriend can still knock you down with that natural bootie shake!
18. My birthday is on Halloween!
19. I love to hear Reid tell me that he missed me while he was gone. Sometimes after school, he will come give me the biggest hug and say those words. It makes my day perfect from there on out.
20. I love to get my nieces and nephew to ask me for something by first saying..."My favorite Aunt Kim..." That way they know that they're my favorites too!
21. I live behind my sister. Our backyards back up to each other, and we have a fence that adjoins the yards. It is the ideal situation for family that live in the same town.
22. I love Clinton, but I really never wanted to live in MS for this long. One day, I'm going to pack all of our stuff and go somewhere to start new. But yes, for now, Clinton is perfect for us...I need the help of family!
23. I love to hear my children read. It reminds me of how much they have grown over the years.
24. I love surprises! That is one of the best feelings in the world.
25. I am currently the happiest that I have ever been. I hold strong to the fact that I know that through all of my trials and tribulations I am a strong Christian lady who can endure anything that God puts in front of me.

Prayers of Patience

I am in need of patience. I have been praying for this for awhile. School seems to be harder on some children than others. Apparently, that is the case for my son. The academic part is great; he is already reading above kindergarten level. It's the behavior part that seems to be troubling him. So, my family is in need of patience. Reid - patience to listen and follow directions. Lizzi - patience in waiting. Me - patience to calm down before reacting to the problems.

Thanks for your prayers. I'll be praying for you too.

Things Children Will Say...

My favorite moment of Christmas morning...Reid had asked for only a few things from Santa this year. A few of them requested at a very late time. I had explained to Reid that Santa had probably already organized and sorted the presents to make sure that all the children had the right amount to get from him, since you know, Santa likes to be fair. Sometimes, late requests just don't make the cut. So of his requests was a dog; Lizzi had requested a trampoline for the two of them for a year. Santa had a year to prepare for this one so it wasn't that unreasonable. Time goes on... Christmas comes, and we do all of the rituals that our family does. We realize that Santa had left a note to go outside. Reid and Lizzi were both very excited! What could it be? A TRAMPOLINE! The kids are running towards it and realize that they hear their cousins in their backyard (which is directly behind ours). Off they go...Lizzi to the trampoline and Reid to the fence. All of a sudden...Reid stops cold! He doesn't say anything for a moment. You can hear excite from all 5 kids. Reid has noticed...LUCY!

So, this sounds great, right? Wrong! Lucy wasn't in Reid's yard, but in his cousin's yard! So Reid says that he knows exactly what happened and decides to tell his two and a half year old cousin, Kade, just what it was...Reid yells across the yard...

"Kade, how did you get a dog? I asked for a dog! Santa must have gotten the wrong yard!"

Don't we just love the thoughts of our young children!

Better Than...

When Lizzi was 5, she discovered that people can bake their own cakes. I know, pretty sad, huh? I just never made sweets for the house; we just always went to other peoples house who would have sweets. I'll never forget the day she discovered it... We were at my sister's house, and she had a cake with icing on it. It smelled delicious. We were talking about what type of cake it was, and Lizzi's eyes got so big. She looked at Monica and said "Did you MAKE that cake? Mommy, can you MAKE a cake, too?" We laughed for a long time about that. Now, I don't bake cakes very often, but when I do, I always remember this time of discovery in Lizzi's life.

So today, I am baking a cake. This is not just any cake...this is my grandmother's "Better Than Sex" cake. There is a story here too. Wanna here? Grandmomma would bake the cake for every gathering that the family would have. We have a large family, I have 2 aunts and 1 uncle who each have 2-3 kids. One day, in the kitchen, the middle grandchildren (that's me and a few of my cousins) were talking with grandmother about the name of the cake. We bravely had the discussion with our parents in the room. My grandmother then said..."It is only a better than sex cake compared to who you having sex with!" We didn't know what to say! We just kind of all got up and left; we couldn't really face her for a little while after that.

So for those of you that are interested...Here's the recipe!

Better Than Sex Cake
Ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix, 1 small box instant vanilla pudding (dry mix), 4 eggs, 1 (8 oz) carton sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup water, 1 bar German's sweetened chocolate shredded, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 (6 oz) pkg chocolate bits

Directions: Mix first 6 ingredients together and beat with electric mixer until smooth; add next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes. Use toothpick for doneness. Let cool; remove from pan. Keep covered with foil or wrap for freshness.

Enjoy!

Happy Times

Happy New Year's 2009! It is going to be a wonderful year; I just know it. The kids have been gone since Christmas afternoon, and I am soooo ready for them to be back home. They should actually be getting here shortly.

I spent part of my time away watching old home movies and putting dates and such on them. (I want to get them copied to dvd's) I know, it could have been a little depressing and more so if I'd had a bottle of wine to go with it. But, I didn't have the wine and so it was really not that bad. I just love babies! I was never that way before, but here in the past couple of years, I have really wanted another one. Watching the videos just made it a little bit worse. Now, I know what you are thinking, why don't I just go and take care of this yearning? Yeah right! Did you forget that it takes two to do the mombo! I have it taken care of though. You see, my sister, Monica, is about to have #4 towards the end of January. She lives in the house behind me and so...I can visit any time.

Happy times are soon to come thanks to old movies and a new baby niece. And well, hopefully, some good luck along the way.

OOPS! Gotta go...supper is done and the kids just got here!

So thanks to old movies