Spring Break!

You remember when you were younger and spring break meant hanging out with friends, lounging by the pool, sleeping in, and doing whatever you wanted? Well, I really tried hard to snag a bit of the ol' Spring Break this past week, succeeding just a bit!


Having a week off was wonderful, although it went way too fast. The week started with a birthday party at Pump it Up, then a play date at Pump it Up, a trip to San Diego, a dinner with friends, and finally another birthday party! Phew!!!! But we did find time for lounging by the pool, hanging out with friends, and sleeping in....oh wait, there certainly wasn't any of that with my early risers around!

Our trip to San Diego was great! Nice hotel, complete with spacious rooms and free breakfast, a day at the beach and a day at Legoland. A perfect little retreat for all of us!
Here are a few pics to show off our fun.

"So I am supposed to go IN the water?"

Waiting in line....did that a lot at Legoland!

Is that the "cheesiest" smile ever????

Lots of love,

The Grady's

hoppy Easter!

We had a beautiful Easter this year. We woke up and headed out to church early. Little did we know that about 1,000 other people thought the early mass was the one to go to. We ended up sitting in the parish hall, because the church was completely packed, as well as the outdoor courtyard. But it was a beautiful service despite the cramped quarters. Then we headed to the Easter Egg Hunt with the Blacks.

Lots of eggs to be found!

Following the hunt we headed to my parent's house for a leisurely day of food, lounging by the pool (it was 91 degrees!) and watching basketball. It was a great way to celebrate in my opinion!

We hope your Easter was memorable as well!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Holidays= Injuries

So it wasn't until Tad brought it to my attention, but obviously holidays and Brennan don't mix. Let's back track a little:

• Birthday 05/05/05(that's a holiday right?), open heart surgeries
• St. Patrick's Day 2007, 6 hours at hospital with severe eye bruising and possible face fractures
• Christmas 2007, split skin open above eye after falling off the couch.
• Fast forward to Easter 2008, yes today and here we go again.

He slipped while getting out of the bathtub. He was standing up so I could get him out and smacked his chin on the side of the tub. I truly thought he had knocked some teeth out, but nope just decided to spilt his chin open instead. I think we are good with the liquid band aid and a butterfly band aid to keep his adorable face intact. So does he just need to be in a little bubble on holidays now?

Lots of love,
The Grady's

P.S. Easter details and pictures to come later...

The sweetest thing

I was tucking Emerson into bed, Brennan already in bed, our usual routine. When from down the hall I hear...

B: "Now I whay me, down to sweep"..."I pway the Lord, my soul to keep"

E: Is that Brennan saying prayers?????

M: Yes, sure sounds like it (all the while I am astounded he is practicing on his own!)

B: "As angels watch me, frew the night, untwil I wake in morning light" "AMEN!!!!"

E: (whispering) "Wow, mommy he did good!"

M: "I know!" (a little teary, he really was listening all those times!)

B: "In the name of the Father, Son,..............................Holy Spirit. AMEN!"

then silence again....

Lots of love,
The Grady's

May the luck of the Irish...

Erin Go Braugh!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

It's been awhile

since I have posted some recent pictures of the kiddos...so here you go!

A beautiful sunny day, I couldn't resist.

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Excuse my soapbox

I need to get on my soapbox for a moment...and I might just have to use my teacher's voice as well. My school district is one of many being affected by our state's budget cuts. We have a $13.4 million deficit that needs to be figured out. There have been many things that have been thrown on the bargaining table including cutting sports programs, counselors, extracurricular programs at the middle and high schools, taking away yearly raises for teachers, etc.

But, two things on the proverbial table really make me angry. First, they are proposing getting rid of 3rd grade class size reduction and possibly continuing that on down to 2nd and 1st grades as well. For those of you who don't know, at this time K-3 has a class size ratio of 20 to 1. With the removal of this, we would be allowed to have 35 students in each classroom, which is currently the limit in the 4th and 5th grades. They wonder why we struggle with raising CST test scores each year, and then they think that adding another 15 students into our classes will be a good solution to their budget issue...doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that that is completely ludacris. Second, an even more disheartening option, is the release of potentially 118 teachers, because they are "not tenured" in the district. Meaning they haven't worked for 2 complete school years. I know many teachers and friends that fall in this category. It sickens me to think that some 70 year old teacher is keeping their job, even though they certainly don't have the heart for it anymore, and someone who just so happens to be "fresh meat" is being shoved out the door. Yet, there has been no mention of the fact that administration at the district level all make 6-figure salaries that certianly could be cut. Yet, we should consider compromising our student's education because they can't find other places to cut their "budget".

I read a quote tonight from a retired teacher that really hit home. She said "To run a school it takes two elements, students and teachers. If you do away with the student or the teacher, you no longer have a school.". She is very right. Yes, I realize that we will still have teachers, but can we really do our jobs if we are outnumbered by 35 to 1? Can we do our jobs if the student's are so crammed in classrooms that they don't have room to think? Can we really do our jobs if we are continued to be looked at as the first "logical" cut in a budget? Sure makes me feel appreciated.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Random

1. Today is a gorgeous day outside, cannot believe that summer is almost here...not sure I am ready for 100+ degree temperatures.
2. I have been doing laundry for two days now and am still not done, how do 4 people dirty so many things?
3. I love mellow weekends, just hanging out with friends. Such a great time.
4. I don't really understand why Brennan needs to wear ear plugs while he has tubes in his ears. Aren't the tubes there to drain extra fluid out? So, why prevent fluid from going in, if there is not a problem in it coming back out?
5. I am dreading this week of work, I have this weird sense it is going to be a long one.
6. Jeff leaves Wed. morning for FL, I sure hope the kiddos are feeling like they want to be nice to mommy, because 5 days as a single parent is going to be tough.
7. Today is the first day in a week that I haven't had a headache and all I can say, it is heaven.
8. Can you believe we change our clocks next weekend? How great to have another hour of light at night, the kids will love that.
9. Is it weird that I am basically talking to myself right now, lol?!?
10. (just for Paige), I saw a t-shirt a few weeks back that I am still talking about because it just makes me laugh. Some big guy wearing a shirt that said "The village called, they need their IDIOT back"....(remember the book written by Hillary Clinton)

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Girls, girls, girls

This past weekend Tiffany and I headed up to Lake Arrowhead to have a girl's weekend with some moms from Emerson and Kaitlyn's school. We drove up Friday after work, straight into a nice winter storm. We were prepared for snow, ice, rain, whatever was handed to us....except the dense fog that we encountered. I have driven in fog hundreds of times, I mean we lived in Northern CA for years. But, I have never seen anything like this. You know it is bad when you can't see the hood of your own car and you are driving by the yellow dots on the left and the guardrail on the right. We made it to the top of the mountain and to our friend's house in a little over 2 hours.
The rest of the weekend was a lot less eventful, and an all around great time. We played board games, Wii, watched movies, and talked about anything you can imagine. What a great way to really get to know some of the other moms.
Can't wait to do it again!!!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Conversations with a 2 year old

Me: "Let's get you in your car seat."
Brennan: "No, ME do it!" (gotta love being 2!)
Me: "Fine, you do it, but we need to hurry."
Brennan: ...taking his sweet time getting up into the seat...
Me: "Okay, B, we gotta hurry, Mommy needs to go to work" (finally in his seat, while I am buckling him
Brennan: "But, Mama, if you go to work, who is going to drive the car?"
Me: "Well, you are!"
Brennan: "I, not big enough to drive, might crash."
Me: "Oh, okay, I guess I can drive today then." (close his door and walk around to the front)
Brennan: laughing, making car noises...."Me driving, Mama!!!!.....CRASH, Uh-Oh!"
Me: laughing...."Guess Mommy should drive, huh?"
Brennan: "Yes, please!"

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Happiest Bday on Earth!

Saturday afternoon we drove over to Anaheim with the Black's on our way to Disneyland. We met up with the Butier family, all to celebrate Mason and Kaitlyn's 5th birthdays. See, Mason and Kaitlyn were born literally 7 hours apart, on different days, 5 years ago. So, there was only way to celebrate their special days, and that would be at the happiest place on earth!
We had a great dinner at Joe's Crabshack Saturday night. That particular restaurant is a parent's dream dining place! It has a full-size playground on the premises, completely fenced in and visible during your meal. It is awesome!
Sunday we all headed into CA Adventure park for a fun filled day with rides, shows, and amusement park food. With the exception of a yummy Princess Lunch at Ariel's Grotto. The lunch was complete with apperances from 5 princesses!
You can imagine that our drive home Sunday was very quiet, all but the driver (ME!) was sound asleep before we even got onto the freeway.
Happy 5th birthdays, Mason and Kaitlyn!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Happy Heart Day!!!

Hearts, flowers, cards, candies, balloons, stuffed bears...

This is LOVE to me!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Cogential Heart Defect Awareness Week

February 7-14, 2008 has been named "Cogential Heart Defect Awareness Week". As you can imagine, this awareness week, is important to us. Please take some time this week to tell someone about this important week and what it means. Here are a couple of important facts to remember:

• 1 in every 100 babies is born with some form of a heart defect
• The cause of most heart defects is unknown, this is the reason why more research is needed.
• Most defects are not diagnosed right at birth, but often days and weeks later.
• CHD is the most frequently occuring defect in babies and the leading cause of birth defect related deaths.
• Most defects can be treated through surgery or dr. observations, although some can never be "cured".

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to bring families, health professionals, and local organizations together, and to draw attention to the needs of the congenital heart community. For more information you can look at http://www.tchin.org/

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Randomness

Wow, it has been some time since I have been here to post something...guess we have just been very busy with the craziness of daily life.
So I thought I share some of our randomness...

• Jeff took me away for a couple days to San Diego and Huntington Beach for my birthday. It was a great, few relaxing days just eating, shopping, watching the Superbowl and being by the beach.
• Emerson continues to love school and comes home each day with a handful of pages that she has worked hard on. She is now writing her first and last name so well!
• Brennan loves his blanket and elephant, yes a little stuffed elephant that goes EVERYWHERE with us. He is truly Charlie Brown's friend Linus, complete with thumb in the mouth.
• Took a field trip with my class yesterday up the Palm Springs Tramway. There was 2 feet of snow on the ground, and I think the teacher's had more fun than the kids!
• One of my best friends, Carrie, had a beautiful baby boy last night. I am SO excited for her!
• Jeff and Signarama just opened a brand new, 2nd location this past week. He has been very busy lately, but it is so exciting.
• I have a mountain of laundry to tackle this weekend....and often wonder where we accumulate all the dirty clothes!

Have a great weekend!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Parent Conference

We had Emerson's first parent conference yesterday, I am sure the first of many. At preschool, they do one parent conference a year to talk about how your child is doing. At the end of February, all the pre-K kiddos are taken over to the "big school" to be tested for Kindergarten. They are given an assessment that will test their knowledge of all upper and lowercase letters, numbers 1-10, body parts, writing their first and last name, they need to be able to tell what city they live in, and draw a self portrait with the appropriate parts. Her pre-K teacher gave them the same test to see what gaps might need filling for each student. I have to say it feels SO good to be a parent of the one the kiddos that doesn't really have any gaps. She needs to learn her city name, but that is about it. It was SO wonderful to hear that she is a good listener (not like when she ignores me at home!), that she like to learn new things, that she is very polite (instead of time like tonight when she is rude to her brother), and that she has made lots of new friends. We are so happy with this school and everything that it seems to be for Emerson too!



Lots of love,

The Grady's

Hi, my name is Kim, neurotic Mom #1

So, starting last week, I noticed that Brennan's feet seemed ridiculously cold, I mean like ice, every morning. Okay, I know, it is winter time, but really, after a night in SOCKS and under the covers it seems a little strange. Well, really the first thing that came to mind was the fact that his circulation must be compromised and his heart defect was somehow the cause. See his defect causes circulation and blood flow to be interrupted in his lower extremities, this was before his surgeries, but there is always a chance of recurrence. Now realize, that exactly 6 months ago we went to the cardiologist and got the all clear for the next 9 months. This the first time he has extended us to 9 months between appts., versus just 6, because everything has been so great. So back to right now, his feet are freaking cold. So, I call the ped. and they say, yeah probably nothing, but you better come in, knowing his history. So, we head in this afternoon and have a good listen to his heart. I mean a GOOD listen, like 5 solid minutes, all over his chest. Something to understand, Brennan's heart will never sound "normal", he will always have some sort of murmur and the amount of fluctuation with that murmur is what is important. So after the long listen, Dr. Coit looked back at his notes from previous appts. and found that his counts were within the normal range. He felt his pulse rates in his feet and his now "warm" feet (go figure!). Basically, he reassured me that all was well and there was no need to worry, yet he was glad I was attentive enough to call and come in. While we were in there, I decided to have him take a look at Bren's ear tubes, which were perfect too. Phew!

Needless to say, my anxiety over something small took over, but honestly, I would rather be safe than sorry.
Neurotic mom #1, reporting for duty!

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Kings Fever

This past weekend Jeff and I flew up to Sacramento to see our friends, Stacy and Scott. We arrived Friday night, and headed out for a late dinner at this amazing new restaurant. Saturday morning we were actually able to sleep in a bit (past 7am!!!!), which is huge for Jeff and I. We decided to go wine tasting during the day. The weather was great and the wine was yummy.

Scott is the announcer for the Sacramento Kings basketball team. So, Saturday night we headed to the arena to watch him in action. To our surprise, not only did he get us tickets to the game, but really amazing 2nd ROW tickets! I mean, we were literally TWO rows behind where the Kings players sit. We were able to actually hear the coach running plays with the players. So amazing!!! Too bad the Kings lost!(No zoom lens here!)

Sunday we got up bright and early for breakfast with the Butier's and Vermillion's and then headed to the airport for our flight home.

Quite a whirlwind weekend, but well worth it. Stacy and Scott, thank you SO much for some good conversation, great laughs, we can't wait for next time!

Lots of love,

The Grady's

Imagine my surprise

When, last night during our teeth brushing chores (yes, I call it a chore!)...I find a tooth breaking through the surface in Emerson's mouth. Yes, my 5 year old. She has finished brushing and I am helping her out with flossing and way in the back, behind what I thought were her last molars, is another tooth coming in. So, my being me, rush to the computer to look it up on the computer to figure out what in the world this tooth is. Turns out our little girl is getting her first permanent molar! Amazing. She hasn't complained or anything and boy, that is a big tooth back there!! The Internet said they usually come in between ages 6-7, and since she seems to be losing teeth and getting new ones earlier than others, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. The joys of growing up.

Lots of love,
The Grady's

Pee here, Pee There, Pee Everywhere!!!

Okay, so I thought that my two week break from work would be a good time to get Brennan potty trained...but I guess I forgot to ask him if this would be a good time.

Day 1, talk about going potty on the toilet just like Emma does. Put on big boy underwear, Spiderman nonetheless. Get stock of treats ready for potty successes. 5 minutes after underwear is on, we make our first potty attempt, nothing. 2 minutes later, I hear screaming in the kitchen, pee all over the floor. Clean up, new underwear, and try the potty again, nothing. About half hour later, screaming in the hallway, pee everywhere! Give up on day one.

Day 2, same talk about potty on the toilet, big boy underwear, you all know the drill. SAME attempts on the potty, SAME accidents all over the freakin' house! Most on the tile floor, but lots on the carpet too. Finally, some actual potty success, which is rewarded with treats, phone calls to daddy and grandma and cheers and claps from mommy and sissy. Maybe we are getting somewhere...


Day 3, same ol' process, a little more success, but so many accidents still that I am just about done. I have cleaned up so much pee in the past three days, and done so many loads of laundry, I swear we went through all 10 pairs of underwear I bought him in a 6 hour time span!


But stubborn ol' me, will still attempt this same routine tomorrow...am I stupid?



Lots of love,

The Grady's

List...

Got this from another blog...go ahead, give it a try!



1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Traveled for work.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember making more than exercising and eating right. Pretty much, working out much more than I was at the beginning of the year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Aimee had Maggie:) and a bunch of friends got pregnant

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not this year thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico in February and Canada in August

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
hmmm...not sure, was pretty content in '07

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
no one date in particular

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
staying fairly balanced with home and work

9. What was your biggest failure?
ouch...I don't know

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new car:) I LOVE it!!!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The kids, they are truly blossoming

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Oh, I would rather not say

14. Where did most of your money go?
The kids! Daycare, school, dance class, diapers, clothes, etc.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Our annual scrapbook weekend, Jimmy Buffett concerts, Catalina Trip

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Kenny Chesney Summertime

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder?
Much happier. Very content.

b) thinner or fatter?
thinner

c) richer or poorer?
I wouldn't say richer by any means, but financially doing better.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
spent more time playing

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
wasted time on the computer.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my in-laws at their cabin outside Yosemite

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
A little more each day.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Grey's, Private Practice

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
While there are certainly people that make me nuts, I can't think of anyone I would use the word hate on.

24. What was the best book you read?
The last in the Harry Potter Series, couldn't put it down

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
not sure

26. What did you want and get?
a new car!

27. What did you want and not get?
An understanding of why people do certain things

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Bourne Ultimatum

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I went out to dinner. Turned 31

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Peace, all around on every level

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Comfort and cute all wrapped up together

32. What kept you sane?
making my own down time

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't fancy just one in particular, like to hear about all of them

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Immigration

35. Who did you miss?
Friends and family all around the country

36. Who was the best new person you met?
A new mom at Emerson's school, love meeting cool new people

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
I can't do it all, I really do need to ask for help sometimes

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Um...