"Five Question Friday"

 by Mama M 

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Rules for Five Question Friday: Copy the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then c'mon back for the linky! Remember...if you don't have a blog but would like to play along, feel free to leave your answers in the comment of this blog post, or any post along the way!

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Questions for Friday, July 30th: (Special thanks to Julianne, Ann (for inspiration), Jill, Bethany, and Tiffany for their question suggestions! We had some great ones roll in last week, thank you!!! If you want to be linked in a future 5QF, head on over here, to my community, and offer up your best question suggestions!)

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1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it? I had 2 blankies as a kid. 1 I came home from the hospital in & one I always played on or was wrapped in/slept with as I got older. I still have both of them. One is all ratty & torn and safely put in a storage box (the one I played on/slept with). The other I am embarrassed to say I still sleep with b/c I am 24y/o (the one I came home from the hospital with).

2. Do you dream in color? I have no idea. I barely can remember my dreams when I wake up, if I even dreamed the night before.

3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller? I am 5' - 5'1 im petite & love being petite. 

4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be? Oh, this is a good question. IDK who I would choose but it would be a male w.a sexy southern accent. 

5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot? I hate trying to into a parking spot & I can't b/c there is a cart all willynilly & HATE when I get yet ANOTHER ding on my vehicle b/c a random cart hit, so I return them.

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My Bestie GRADUATES today & I will be present. I am so excited. She so kindly for went coming to mine to babysit for me so my parents could be there, we didn't think a newborn would sit through a 3ish (give or take) hr ceremony. (Thanks girl!) 

CONGRATS ON GRADUATING TODAY! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! 

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"15 Reasons I Love Summer"

I Love summer so much. E & I are doing our best to stay busy. Heres a little glimpse into our summer:

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1) Mama stealing the chalk... 

2) Miss Sassy Pants- Yes we're only 2 y/o don't be fooled.

3) Puppy Love.

4) Sliding w.Nana in church clothes.

5) Bubbles.

6) Nana & Papa kicking off their shoes when they come out to play. Bare feet everywhere!

7) Pretty girls & chalk in their bike basket.

8) CHALK.

9) Barefoot pretties w.buntops & wispy bangs.

10) Messy haired, care free, tire swingers.

11) The FL sky right before an afternoon storm.

12) Can you think of anything sweeter?

 

13) My pretty taking charge, barefoot.

14) Peak-a-boo.

15) Carefree & she's only 2! Love it.

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Happy Summer!

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Wordless Wednesday"

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We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. E has so many people that love her. Her summer continues to be Magical.

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Welcome"

I was recently informed that my blog audience, if you will, is a lot broader that I originally thought. 

I knew I had single dad(s) and a few men (I am so flattered that yall read AND comment, THANKS!). 

I have also mentioned that I knew I had a large number of anonymous readers [lurkers]. Who read in the shadows of their computer screens and then leave. Thinking no one is the wiser.  

Since being 'notified' of said reader(s), a few days ago, I have been mulling over what to do.  A few of my close friends, whom I told about this 'situation', have advised me to make my blog private.

As a student of journalism since I was 14, then Public Relations in college, I am against all kinds of censorship. 

To me, making my blog private is a form of censorship. I know I don't have a huge following, but I do have a decent following. I am proud of my blog. I have been here, at this corner of the interwebz, for over 2yrs. 

I knew this was possible. I mean I post links to recent posts, to my twitter (which is private, as a few mons ago), which is linked to my FB (also private). I also had a link on my MySpace back in the days when MySpace was all the rage.  

I am proud of my blog and I have nothing to hide. In the 2+yrs I have been blogging I have changed and this blog has molded and changed with me, it has helped me get through some rough patches, like my divorce & PPD. I know I can always come to my blog, good day, bad day and for the most part not be judged for what I post. I have great readers, the ones that are open & let me know they are there, theres no question about that one. I have made some great efriends & some actual friends who I miss (Rachael- come see me). 

I am pleased with what my blog has become over the years. It reminds me of where I "came from" & hints @ where I am going. 

I don't know how long I will [continue to] blog. I do know I will do so until I feel it no longer is serving its purpose in MY life. I do it for ME. Until that time comes I hope I will sustain readership. Yall make coming to my humble corner so enjoyable.

So all-in-all I hope that YOU enjoy my blog & staying caught up w.the happenings in my life. I also want to take this time to say WELCOME, since I haven't been able to do so yet. 

**I have disabled comments for this post, I hope you understand. They will be enabled for tomorrows post.**

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Mommy & Me"

hosted by Krystyn

While Visiting Hayls in a few weeks back I bought E a little plastic bowling set ($4 can't beat it). My parents are in a league & thought they would get a kick out of it. Here we are "bowling" in Aunt HayHay's Kitchen area. E preferred to throw the bowling balls & pins then actually play but thats what having a MAGICAL SUMMER & being 2 is ALL about.  

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.
xo-Kandid Kelli

"Five Question Friday"

Rules for Five Question Friday: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them (like, totally, duh!), then c'mon back to link up! If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your answers in the comments of this post or any post along the way!

Questions for Friday, July 23rd: (Special thanks to Christy [for inspiration], Kelly, Brittany Ciara, Emily, and Sami [for inspiration] for their question suggestions! Wanna be linked in a future 5QF? Just c'mon overhere, to my community, and offer up your best question suggestions!)

1. What were your school colors? I am going ALL the way back...I don't remember my elem. school colors but middle school: Red, White & Blue... High: Orange & White w/baby blue accents College (undergrad): Navy blue & Gray College (grad- 1st semester): Red & black & white) and hopefully Gold & Black

2. What's the best compliment you ever received? That my daughter is my spitting image. 

3. Do you buy cheap or expensive toilet paper? TP is one thing I don't skimp on. It HAS to be 2-ply. I like the kind w.ridges too! LoL

4. Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? Or have you had one for someone else? I have never had one thrown for me [HINTHINT freaders!!] but in college when I lived in the dorms I threw a mini-surprise birthday party for my at-the-time bestfriend/roommate. It was fun.

5. What is one material possession that you "can't live without"? Oh lord. I would have to say my iPhone; b/c I can do everything on my iPhone... music, email, internet. So Yah im gunna go w.my iPhone.  

(From Mama M: P.S--the questions are getting a little stale over there...anybody willing to offer up some fresh ones? I can always break out the "Deck of Random Question" cards, but I like linking people up and giving credit for fun questions!!)

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I hope I am as "on-the-ball" next week as I was this week. I hope everyone has a great weekend. For the first time since I got back to FL in JUNE, I HAVE NOTHING PLANNED!! I am going to enjoy some downtime w.my pretty & enjoy what little but of summer we have left :sniffle::

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"The BOX"

Do me a favor.. if you're reading this in reader or via RSS feed... Click here. I redesigned my blog. YES you read that RIGHT... I DID IT!!!  What do yall think?

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I have mentioned to a few of you about E's "weekly box" but I have never blogged about it. I figured why not now?

When I was concerned about E being colorblind, I got such wonderful comments & E-mails from my readers with suggestions, though none of them seemed fitting for E. So I started doing a lot of research and Dr. Google & I were becoming good pals. 

I was finding that a lot of children who excel in other areas sometimes will "lag" (for lack of a better word) in one pronounced area. E's must have been colors. I mean my kiddo was counting to 10 alone before her 2nd birthday. She knows her ABCs & can sing you any nursery rhyme-y song you request. 

But colors, were/are her weakness. She knew the names of all of them but matching the name with the actual color was where she was troubled. 

So after various research and talking to other toddler/older kid moms & early childhood aged teachers; I adapted something for E. 

We call it "E's Weekly Box". It is given to her MONDAY AM after breakfast. A big deal is made about the box so she is excited to open it and see what "treasures" lie inside. 

We do a COLOR, LETTER, SHAPE & NUMBER of the week. I know it sounds like a lot. 4 things to focus on but how I have adapted it she seems to do well. I am also seeing a huge improvement on her color recognition. 

Inside the box lies a letter written by mommy [me] on a piece of paper that is the COLOR of the week. The letter states what we will be focusing on that week. E & I go over that and she moves on to her "treasures".

The contents of the box or "treasures" as E calls them are things found around the house, in E's toybox, anywhere. I am creative & keep it cheap (as in $0-$1).

Everything in the box for that week is the color of the week. To really put emphasis on the color.  

Once we have gone over everything in the box and she has had time to play with and talk about her treasures we put them back in the box, for the next day. Its done every day, at the same time. We're big on routine here. Then usually Mon or Tues we go on a hunt around the house and collect as many things that are the color, shape, START WITH the letter for that week & add them to our box. 

E likes arts & crafts and when we do arts we focus on that weeks COLOR, LETTER, SHAPE & NUMBER.

As for the numbers she is good, she can count to 20 alone now, we're working towards 25. I just want her to recognize the numbers when she sees them quicker then she does & on her first try.  We have about 4 or 5  1-10 puzzles and she does those so quick, girl loves her puzzles, but I think its different just seeing the number. 

Over all I am very pleased with how this is working, as I have expressed to some (Candice did a similar idea with her son). E really enjoys the box. She knows she gets it after she eats her breakfast. I really like mondays b/c its all new.  E is just so animated, about everything. It really makes doing things like "the weekly box" that much more fun. 

Even better she has no idea she is learning. 

**Tell me, Do you do anything special with your littles to keep their brains firing & get them ready for pre-school? (OMG thats in about 8 mons for E...growing up too fast!) 

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Wordless Wednesday"

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 I don't know what's gotten into me, but I love it. I am on a roll this week. I'm on top of my to-do lists... Im on-top of helping E have the most Magical Summer ever & I am still finding time to blog AND read my book. Summer is good. Now if the rest of my life would fall where it should.   

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"The Big Time"

Thats right kids, E is now in a BIG GIRL BED. No more cribs in this house. 

(4-in-1 crib to toddler bed)

[Yes. I . Cried.]

[you would've too, don't judge me]

This is a HUGE step. A step that basically happened overnight.

It didn't happen b/c she was climbing out of her crib or b/c I couldn't get her in there b/c she was too heavy (E is a peanut weighing in at 24lbs), she was actually quite content in her crib. 

It happened b/c we like to go visit Aunt Hayls & did frequently when E was small enough for her PNP. We used the hell outta that thing (THANKS JoLynn & Aunt Dottie!). We used it until she was oh IDK 17/18 mons and she was just so uncomfortable in it & wasn't sleeping well b/c she was too BIG! 

We couldn't visit HK anymore. Tear. 

While I was in PA I missed HK so much & so did little E, once we moved back Hayls was visiting us (catching up for lost time). A lot. I felt bad, and frankly I missed going to see her. Getting away for a weekend. I used to live in the city Hayls lives in, as we both attend(ed) the same college. I miss it [the city], sometimes. 

So I started searching out travel sleep options for toddlers and after reading countless reviews, I had found one. I had seen it in a catalog before I left PA but just briefly looked it over. When I finally decided to order it I got it on sale. Thats how I knew I made the 100% right decision. 

It came quickly, I wasn't ready for it to come so quick, but we did have a trip to see HK planned. I waited a day or two to introduce the travel-bed to E. I wanted to let her "try-it" before the trip. I wanted her to be comfy and familiar with it. I also didn't want to get 2hrs from home and her freak out, b/c shes never seen this thing before. 

I made a big deal about the new [travel] bed and what not. She loved it. She actually had about an hr of quiet time on it. Score!

(quiet time on her new travel bed)

(shes growing-up too fast)

So I threw it in my car, for Hayls house. E slept like a champ for 3 nights & 3 days worth of naps, no problems. Almost too good. 

(snuggles w.my pretty on her travel bed)

I didn't think much of it, except how great E did & that we would def. be visiting again. Soon.

Well E had a different thought. She thought that since she slept in a 'big girl bed' for 3 nights that meant she got to sleep in one at home too. 

Once we got home and I tried to lay her down for a nap, in her CRIB, she screamed "NO CRIB, Me want big-girl bed!! I a big-girl!" It was a fight it get her to take a nap. Promises of a big girl bed got her to lay down in her crib that she normally loved. 

I hoped that she would forget about my promise of a new bed, before bedtime that night, she didnt. 

Her crib was a 4-in-1 but we never bought the conversion kit and the company who made her crib went out of business, so after a week of promising my begging little, a big-girl bed, M & I went toddler bed shopping. Hoping to find one that day to take home with us. Unfortunately, since we needed cherry wood, it would have to be ordered. That was not going to work.

I promised that she would sleep in a big girl bed THAT NIGHT. I couldn't lie to her anymore. Frantic I called my mom we decided to use the 4-in-1 crib from PA, we had the conversion kit for that and it was cherry and matched the furniture in "E's room" at my parents house. I will just have to buy her an actual toddler bed when I move (soon).

So M & I disassemble her crib in about 20 mins no problem. The problems came when we didnt have the instructions anymore for the PA 4-in-1. It took us an 1.5 hrs to put together, but the look on E's face when she saw it was worth it!

(looking at her new bed for the first time)

(Laying in her bed for the first time)

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I can't believe she is in a real bed now. They grow-up so fast. Whats next? 

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Mommy & Me"

hosted by Krystyn

Last weekend E & I went to visit my bestfriend, E's godmother, Hayls. 

We had a BLAST. 

E slept in a big-girl bed [more on that tomorrow]

We went swimming

To the movies (despicable me; which is now her fav movie- ah to be 2 again)

 We did some shopping & I found out that one of the local malls had a badass, off track, train; with it being so HOT out in FL we opted out of the playground and opted for the train. E has a LOVE for trains. She had a BLAST! (and I really enjoyed seeing her have so much fun)  

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I can't believe that JULY is almost over! OMG where is 2010 going???

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Long Days"

I may not work a 9-5 type of job. But let me assure you that raising a child TODDLER, mostly on my own, IS A FULL TIME JOB.

I don't get off @ 5... or even 8 when she goes to bed, there is no 'quitting time' when you're a parent.  If E wakes up @ 230am, I can't tell her "Mommy's "off" right now I'll get back to you at 9". Being a parent doesn't work that way.

Normally I would be in school working towards my masters, but b/c I made the decision to move back home, I had to take the summer off to get things with UCF sorted out. This is the first summer I have had off in, a very long time & I am enjoying every second I can with my babygirl. I also know this is my last free summer, until I am teaching, but even then I have considered being a summer camp counselor to help augment my teacher's salary. 

I have been working PT for my step-dad- I am trying to get the hang of the job right now. 

I love my job. I love being a mother, but I don't like that people think that since I stay-at-home that either A) It's easy or B) I don't do squat all day.  To that I say it's not easy, maybe it was when she was like 0-3mon, but by 4 she was crawling scooting, and rolling everywhere & trying to sit up on her own, she was early on everything & still continues to blow through things, she keeps me on my toes. To those who agree with the latter, that I don't do squat all day I say "HA!" you try that and see how far it gets you. 

I may not have my own home [yet]... it's in the works. I help out in my mothers home. I have to keep E's playarea(s) clean, I do the dishes when they need to be done. I have clothes that I wash as well as E's. I grocery shop, etc. The only thing I don't have is my own place, which really doesnt make a difference. 

TAKING CARE OF A CHILD(REN) IS A FULL-TIME JOB. It aggravates me when people (esp non-mothers) think I sit on my ass all day doing nothing all-day, mainly b.c I don't have my own home. I have a 2y.o to take care of. This isn't the life I had planned but things seem to be panning out [nicely]. 

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Wordless Wednesday"

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Why does it seem like summer days are shorter when in reality they are longer? I have been slacking on commenting and posting IAMSORRY!! I will get on it soon. 

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Mommy & Me"

hosted by Krystyn

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I think I birthed a fish, not a child. She would rather swim be in the water then on dry ground & I LOVE IT. This was taken on 7/03 while we were playing in the pool before her nap, great way to get her to take a good long nap. 

SN: I have been in Jax, FL since Friday [late] afternoon & Miss HayleyK has been taking tons of pics for E's THIRD, yes I said THIRD scrapbook (The first 2 will be shown later this week!) So I have tons of M&M pics! Next week will be fun.

{Photo/Credit}

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Five Question Friday"

I first learned about "Five Question Friday" by Mama M from Candice.  She does it occasionally & since I am in kind of a life/blog funk; I thought this was a great segway to the weekend. Hopefully next week is a good week. I am spending this weekend in Jax w.my fav.

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Rules for Five Question Friday: Copy the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then c'mon back for the linky! Remember...if you don't have a blog but would like to play along, feel free to leave your answers in the comment of this blog post, or any post along the way!

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Questions for Friday, July 9th: (Thanks to Megan, Sara, Emily, Nicole, and [inspiration from]Sarah for their question suggestions! If YOU would like to be linked in a future 5QF, just c'mon over here, to my community, and offer up your best question suggestions!)

1. What is one food you could eat everyday? I could eat Mexican every single day. I love mexican food... the chips, the dips, the tortillas (they have to be fresh)

2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18? No. I never thought I would be a [divorced] single mom at 24 and going back to school to get my masters in TEACHING! I started college @ 18 wanting to be an RN after one semester I switched to PR and completed my Bachelors in Communications specializing in PR. Currently I am working PT for my stepdad helping him get off the ground with some internet stuff [more on this next week]

3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and you didn't? I wish I would have traveled (w.my parents when they did) more, instead of letting my ex-husband make decisions for me. 

4. What color are your kitchen walls? I am currently staying w.my parents and they have an open kitchen and one side is all wood like leading to the pantry and the fridge have wood panels. But if you see any walls in the kitchen they are a creme-y color. 

5. Do you remember what your very first favorite song was? honestly, no. It changed(s) so often. 

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Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli