We ♥ Dairy Queen...

We FINALLY got a Dairy Queen...Again. We had one wayyyyy back when I was a kid but they shut it down wayyyyy back then. :] This one is much nicer!





xoxoAnika

Zoo Boo '07

We went to Zoo World for their annual Zoo Boo thingy with some friends... It was fun! Khiya got to see her favorite animal eveeeeer - the giraffe - so she was veeery happy.


Dead Soccer Player
Someone told her she should be in the costume contest so we had to run over to that area to register her. Turns out, she won 2nd place in the contest Whoop! Whoop! :] And the best part... She came up with her costume all on her own! She's so fabulous!!!! I just helped with the make-up & cobwebs... :]




xoxoAnika

New York City - Day 4

Day 4 - I've mastered the Subway!!! Very proud of myself since it was very overwhelming when I first stepped down into the hole. I wasn't sure if I was uptown or downtown... I didn't know if I needed to go uptown or downtown. I was lost but now I'm found because I understand this little system NY has going on. :)

Today was also the last day of class. I really enjoyed it and learned sooooo much. That's what I came to NY to do, right? Had to learn something! HA!

Lunch was at Guy & Guillard's again. That's the little Deli/Diner I mentioned before. LOVE IT! Had my create-a-salad for the last time!

After class, we went back to the hotel to change. We had one last night to spend in NY so we went back to Times Square. Tonight was the night for the wax museum which was FABULOUS!!! We had a BLAST in there! We posed with some many wax figures and took so many pictures. We couldn't tell if the "real" people were real or fake. It was crazy!

We had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant called Chevy's which was really good. You never know with Mexican food so we were VERY happy that it was good.

It also rained the whole time we were out and about but we didn't care. Times Square is amazing! It was a short night though since we had to get back to the hotel to pack. Tomorrow is an early day! It's Statue of Liberty day!! So Excited!!

I miss Khiya!!! I've called her morning and night so she knows how much I miss her!! I really can't wait to get home!!!

New York City - Day 3

Day three was pretty much a waste besides class time. Class was GREAT! Lunch was GREAT! Tracy and I took the Subway to Times Square so we could check out the MTV Studio Store. A store where t-shirts cost at least $25. Whoa! I must be SUPER cheap!

After class it was back to the hotel to change. We all started walking to Macy's to do a little shopping and found out Mariah Carey was there. Ugh! So, we went on a scavenger hunt to see her. Since Macy's is an 11 story building and her floor/section was completely blocked off, we had to go up & then down & the over & the up and then - ugh it was horrible!!! It so was not worth it. All we wanted was a tourist picture of her. We knew we weren't going to get a picture with her. You had to buy a bottle of her perfume to get that which cost $150+. And um, yeah, I don't care about her that much... :)

To sum it all up... We saw her cars outside Macy's at the Broadway entrance and waited...and waited...and waited. She finally came out, three hours later, but was crowded by security so nobody could see her. UGH @ the wasted night! The only pictures I got were a bunch of heads in the crowd. What a waste! And that's why I DO NOT support Music Artist. As much money as she made that night, she should have walked out and greeted every single person there. Rich people suck! :)

But there was a tad bit of excitement that night... Her driver hit on me. He said some very interesting things to me. He also made a couple offers but um, yeah, I could have never lived with myself. :) Gotta love having morals.

After all that excitement, we got ZERO shopping done. It was late so we went back to the hotel. Throughout the night I was calling Khiya to tell her about waiting for Mariah, seeing Mariah & being mad at Mariah. HA! She thought it was cool regardless! She enjoyed my experience for me. I love her!

Oh yeah... I almost got in a fight with a Brooklyn chick. She had that damn accent that annoyed the shit out of me... Needless to say, she came to her senses and walked away. That was a long story - short!!! Women...

New York is cool but I'm homesick. I miss my baby. I miss my bed. I miss driving. Hotels Suck! I really really want to see open land. These buildings are making me feel like everything is closing in on me. It's like I'm in a maze and can't get out. Ugh! Where is the sky?!

:)

New York City - Day 2

Woke up very sore!! I think I did more walking yesterday than I've done in my whole life. Need Motrin.

Khiya called me in the morning. :) I'm sooooo relieved that she is handling this well. I'm so proud of her!!!

1st day in class. Class was GREAT!!! Instructor is very knowledgeable.

Lunch was FABULOUS! We went to this cool Deli/Diner. They had EVERYTHING! The coolest was how they had a buffet of salad goodies to choose from. As you picked out what you wanted, they put it into the bowl. Once you were done, they mixed everything up with dressing, put it back in the container and off you went. Of course it cost $8 bucks but that's because I wasn't paying attention to the individual prices of meat and got like 3 types. Next time I'll only get chicken... HA! At this point, I feel like all I’ve done is eat and walk.

After class was over, we went back to the hotel to change and took the subway to St. Patrick’s Cathedral which was BEAUTIFUL!!! It’s an extremely old Gothic Style Church. The inside is just as beautiful as the outside.

Next we walked over to The Rink at Rockefeller Center. That was FUN! We got some ice skates and went out on the rink. That was my 1st time ice skating and I had a blast!! People were standing all around the outside of the rink watching. Most of them were laughing and taking pictures but we didn’t care. We’re tourist!!! HA! The only downfall to the whole ice skating experience, was those ice skates. OUCH!!! After about 15 minutes, my feet were killing me. Along with my shins and back but it was worth it! Just had to take more Motrin.

After that, we walked to Times Square. There were soooo many people there! Just getting through the crowd was exhausting. So I met up with Tracy from class and we went to Junior’s Cheesecake. Now I’ve heard many many stories about how fabulous this place is and blah, blah, blah. It was NOT! In the south, our cheesecake is made with a graham cracker type crust. Why did my cheesecake have a cake bottom?! Gross! I was very disappointed.

Then Tracy and I walked back to the hotel. We were exhausted. Just walking in Times Square will kick your booty! HA!

I sooooooo miss my baby. I got back to the hotel and called her to see how her day was. She had a fabulous day but misses me bunches!! I think I'm ready to go home! I miss her! XOXO

New York City - Day 1

Day 1 - We left VERY early (6 a.m.). Of course I cried while saying bye to Khiya. I started when we were leaving the house actually and just tried really hard to compose myself. I was unsuccessful once the thought of leaving her consumed me. So needless to say, I was a WRECK!! Khiya on the other hand was very cool, calm & collected. She was the one telling me, "Mommy it's okay." (I'm suppose to be the one saying that - right?!)

2 planes down = HAPPY ANI!!! I really don't like to fly but I surely wouldn't have wanted to drive to NY. No way!

My 1st thought about NY once we got outside of the airport was, "Damn y'all honk way too much!" HA!!! That's all they do in NY is HONK! I felt like I needed one of those bike honkers to fit in. :)

We get to the hotel and can't check in so we drop our bags off and headed out on our walking adventure. We had NO CLUE where we were going but we were determined to go somewhere fabulous. But first we had to get some food so we stumbled across a fabulous diner that had a really good sandwich menu. It was fabulous!! Or maybe I was just so hungry that it didn't matter. Once we were done eating, we walked down Fashion Avenue past some really cool shops and Madison Square Garden. We saw the Empire State Building in the distance so we set off to find it. It wasn't too hard since it was taller than anything else around.


Once inside we had to get to the 86th floor - the Observatory Level. Which meant tons of standing in lines. Once we got there though the view was breathtaking. Tons of buildings. There were so many people up on the Observatory level though. Very crowded = Very aggravated! So, we walked around each side, took some tourist pictures and left.

Next, we set off in a taxi to Ground Zero. Our poor little feet couldn't take walking all the way down to Lower Manhattan. So here I am in my 1st Taxi ride... :)


Overall mood at Ground Zero = Sad! I couldn't help but feel I was surrounded by death. It was so overwhelming. The site was fenced in and the fences were covered by tarps so we couldn't get a really good view. I had to stick my camera through a hole and just snap some pictures. I was also able to peep through some holes between the concrete blockades. My thought was - I can't believe it's still a big hole full of debris. I don't know what I expected to see but it wasn't a huge hole filled with debris from 6 years ago.


Directly across the street from the World Trade Center Site was St. John's Chapel. This is where TONS of memorabilia from 9/11 is kept. Everyone came to this Chapel after 9/11, leaving missing posters, pictures, banners, flowers, gifts, etc. It was a very eerie place especially once I saw the tombstone that read "Died Sep. 11th, 1976."


We were very tired at that point so we took the Subway back to 34th street. The hotel was on 29th street so we still had to walk a couple of blocks. I didn't have the Subway mastered yet. :)

Back at the hotel and able to check in was a GREAT feeling!!! I just laid on the bed trying to relax but I was still a little tense from my surroundings. I don't do good in crowds. After about an hour we set off for dinner which ended up with us walking right into Times Square. WOW = my 1st thought of Times Square!! Lights everywhere! People everywhere! One of the 1st things I see are people doing Caricatures. I HAD TO DO ONE!! I've always been nervous because of my nose - I surely didn't want it over exaggerated but I had to do this in Times Square.


We stopped at TGIFridays to eat which wasn't a very good choice. I should have known it wouldn't be since the one in PC isn't either. :) Whoa was it expensive. $20 for a salad. Definitely NOT Panama City prices.

Done with dinner so we went out into Times Square. 2ndt thought = Panhandlers EVERYWHERE! Within minutes I was able to label Times Square as the "Hustle Capital of the World". These people will sell ANYTHING!!!

*pic

We went to the M&M Factory which was FABULOUS! They had every single color you could imagine in M&Ms. $9.00 a pound. SUPER EXPENSIVE! But I did find a display of soccer balls and got Khiya a green one. :) She'll LOVE it!

*pic

Then to the Hershey Factory!! Another VERY EXPENSIVE place. But they had a huge display of Reese EVERYTHING. I really wanted to buy it all but I'm sooooooo very practical. :)

*pic

We did a little bit more walking and souvenir shopping then we headed back to the hotel on the Subway.

Soccer is over...

...Just for the Fall. :) They came in 2nd place! Congrats to the Titans!! After that, they had a dodge ball/pizza party at Renegade. It was a blast.

*insert pics*

We also went to the Jr. Museum Haunted Trail tonight. NOT SCARY!! Why do I sike myself up?!?! It was a piece of cake. Khiya had a blast!!!

Now I'm catching up on things so I can pass out. 6:00 am flight will be here soon.

Just wanted to say... I love my daughter.

XO

Hardest Day of Parenthood...

Today wasn't easy. I had to write a letter to designate custody of Khiya in the event something happened to me. Since I'm leaving for New York on Sunday it's the best thing to do, is what I've been told. It's the responsible thing!! So, I did it. Writing that letter had to be the HARDEST thing I've done to date as a parent!! It was so hard, I wanted to cancel the trip all together. But I can't do that at this point. I need to do this. This will be a great experience for the both of us. And hopefully one day I'll be able to take her to New York on my own. I plan on taking millions of pictures so she can relive the moment through pictures.

I cried and cried and cried.

I never want to imagine life without her. I never want to imagine her life without me. I pray that God watches over us for a long time to come.

XO

I love her.

3 Days into 1...

Saturday, Sunday & Monday in one post. :)

Saturday = Dang I forgot! Oh we had the Haunted House to work at on Saturday. I'm on the Jaycee's Committee so it's one of the events we get to participate in. Khiya LOVES doing it. She was in the "people in the walls" room. The walls were covered in white material and the kids were behind the walls. When people came past, they pushed out at them while making crazy noises to scare them.

I was the Greeter before the groups went into the Haunted House. Simple enough and meant I wasn't running around all night. :)

Sunday = Clean. Clean. Clean. Today was the 1st day I cleaned Robbin's house. Then I helped Elise clean the Dentist office. Made some money but it's already spent. Really wish I could win a little bit of the lottery!!

Khiya rode her bike Sunday afternoon while I tried to relax after a very long day of cleaning. Of course I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. She's so cute!!



Go Khiya Go!!

Today = lay around to recuperate. HA! I'm exhausted from the cleaning. We just went to Kohl's to look for some jeans for Khiya but we left with nothing. VERY OVERPRICED!! Even Khiya said everything cost too much. Digital price tags = Overpriced Everything!!

Next is a Dentist appointment for Khiya. She loves the Dentist. :) Thank God.

XO

Happy Friday...

Whoa this week has been busy...

After work, Khiya and I were on a mission yesterday to find the Halloween Costume she wanted.


We found it $29.99 later. Ugh! These costumes just get more and more expensive each year. But she's worth it!

Later that night, Khiya wanted to ask Kareem a bunch of questions so I suggested that she call him. BAD IDEA!! He managed to make that a horrible situation. His words, basically, were I brainwashed her, put a battery in her back and programmed her, we're frick and frack, talked bad of him, etc. He made one excuse after another for his behavior - mostly blaming his behavior on me. He then went on to blame "not having a job" and "not seeing her" on the restraining order from 1997 that he just found out about last week. A restraining order that I surely did not remember over the years... I then had to tell Khiya some of the "bad stuff" that went on with Kareem since he decided to blurt a few angry statements out about it to her. Of course he only said things that made me look horrible... Blah! I hope that this is it for her. I hope she's finally received the closure she's needed. It seems like she has.

Khiya slept with me last night because of all the drama with Kareem. He surely doesn't know how to "talk" to a child. Or what should and shouldn't be said to a 10 year old... Let's continue... As I woke her up this morning, she has a huge smile on her face. I started laughing and asked her, "What are you smiling about" because I thought she was awake. She was still asleep so I tried to wake her up again and she started smiling again. HA! So I asked her again, "Khiya, what are you smiling about?" She woke up a little and said, "I love my mommy." AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! What a way to wake up in the morning!!

Now I'm at work and ready to GO!!! Debi and I just took a field trip to Dairy Queen. We're both stressed out so we deserved the break!!


Happy Friday!!

Game Night...

Khiya has her 2nd to last game tonight @ 6:00pm for the Round Robin Tournament (Soccer Championships). She's so excited. This morning she asked if she could bring Elli - her elephant - for good luck. Then she asked me what other things she could bring or do for good luck. I told her she and her team doesn't need luck because they're awesome!!

More later...

-----------------

*UPDATE*

THEY WON!!! 4-0

Now they play in the Final Game on the 20th...

Yippie!!!

Day OFF for me...

Well not really but I was off from work. Khiya had school so I dropped her off in the morning and took my productive self back home. I had weeds to pull!! Ugh! I always manage to get bit by something every single time I work in the yard. This time it was a fire ant. OUCH!! That little $&!# hurt but not as bad as the spider bite that made my entire hand swell up. OUCH for real!!

So after yard work - did I do anything exciting on my day off?!? Nope. I took a shower and washed more clothes - I didn't get to on Sunday. Then it was time to pick Khiya up. I told her I'd pick her up when school got out - she LOVES being a car rider. I don't get to pick her up too often so I was sitting my happy self in the pick-up line by 1:50 - waiting for the 2:00 bell to ring.

The bell rang and here comes my sweet child. I love her! I love watching her interact with her friends. You know, the whole walking down the hall gossiping about the latest 5th grade news. HAHA!! Love it!

Then off to Wally World for some groceries. We now have FOOD!! :)

Came home. Cooked Dinner while Khiya worked on homework. Eat. Bath time. TV/Cuddle Time. Time for bed.

Oh Khiya was so sweet. I was getting up during each commercial of "Dancing with the Stars" to get the laundry. She came into the laundry room and said, "Mom is there anything I can help you with?" I said, "No, I got it but thank you." She said, "But Mom you do so much. The second the commercial comes on, you get up and do something else. You never sit down the whole time and do nothing." I was speechless. I started hugging her and telling her how absolutely amazing she is... She said more but that's the jiff of it all. I truly am blessed!!! Thank God!!

XO

Another weekend gone...

Daaaang!! Weekends go by so fast...

Saturday was fabulous. Khiya played in the 1st round of Soccer Championships with her team. They are undefeated!!! They won 3-0. Now they go on to play Tuesday in another round. They should do fantastic seeing how they've done so fabulous the whole season. She really loves soccer and truly enjoys her team...





Sunday = cleaning and washing clothes. Khiya's finger is mucho better so she was able to do her chores. :) Thank Goodness cause I'm pooped!! Did I mention she's fabulous?! She's extremely helpful to me and I appreciate her!!

Once we were done she went to her friend Selena's house to play for a while. I had to go clean the Dentist Office with Elise. Once I was done, I took a quick trip to the grocery store then picked up my baby. She really has good friends and I'm thankful of that. She picks them well. She knows who's a good friend to her and who isn't. Thank goodness for that because her mom sucks in that department. HA!!!

Time for bed... I'm exhausted - still!

xo

Exhausted...

I am exhausted. Need a break!!! Whoa!

Khiya wanted to go to the fair tonight but since I spent $50 at the fair on Monday, it wasn't happening. So we went to Chopsticks instead for dinner. YUMMY food but it hits you hard a couple hours later. HA!!!

Went to Blockbuster to get a couple movies. Then home. I'm so exhausted. It's taking everything I have not to pass out. And it's only 7:30 p.m.

Khiya's finger is healing. She said it's still sore but SURELY not as bad as it was earlier in the week. xo

Sweet Dreams...

Another Norm...

Work for me... School for Khiya... Then soccer practice... Dinner... Then Bed...

Thursday = Survivor, CSI & ER = My TV night!!

:)

Normal Day...

Nothing too exciting happened today. Work for me. School for Khiya. Homework. Some TV. Bedtime.

That is all folks.

:)

Just Another Manic Tuesday...

Whoa today was busy!!! I'm glad it's almost over!!!

Khiya's pinkie still hurts. I took the splint and Ace bandage off so she could ice it. Also gave her the rest of the Motrin. Note to self: Must get more tomorrow. Parents should really get medicine FREE. :)

No Soccer practice today since I had to work late. Also didn't want Khiya out on the field with her hand hurting her still. I know she would have ignored the pain just to play soccer but I'm more concerned about her finger healing. If it's better, I'll let her go to practice on Thursday. They have championship games on Saturday (Round Robin) so she does need to practice with her team. It's safe to assume she won't be the goalie in Saturday's game. HEHE!

Khiya has 5th Grade school pictures tomorrow. We'll see how they turn out with her having to wear that super stylish school uniform. HA!

She's in bed now. I'm so thankful! She's a GREAT kid!

XO

Fair Day...

Another looooong day.

Work for me. School for Khiya. Khiya called about lunch time complaining about her pinkie finger. She said it was still hurting her. :( Poor Baby!!! I ended up leaving work to take her to the ER. After waiting forrrrever, she was finally seen by the Dr. We explained what had happened to her finger (Soccer Game) and the Doctor ordered X-rays. They made my poor baby put her little pinkie finger in very uncomfortable positions so they could get just the right x-ray. Which I know they needed to do but I hate to see her in pain. :(

So after 3 x-rays and a walk back to our room, the doctor came in to give us the news. Khiya's pinkie finger is fractured. I felt soooooooooo bad because I should have taken her Saturday but truly thought her finger was just jammed. :( Bad Mommy!!! It's fractured where the finger meets the palm of her hand. The end of that long bone. Well not too long since it's her tiny pinkie finger. :(



Then we went home for some ER relaxation. Ugh @ that place! Some friends of mine called and invited us to the fair. Knowing my baby went through pain today, I wanted to make her feel FAB-U-LOUS. How else to do that then FAIR FOOD!?! So, we went to the fair. She had a GREAT time with the other girls and rode all the rides I use to ride at her age. I attempted to ride several of the rides but stopped after riding the "Superman" ride. OMG I thought I was going to barf. I'm getting old. HA!!!

I'm so proud of Khiya. She's such a brave/adventurous kid. I LOVE HER!!!

A little relaxation...

I made the girls pancakes and sausage... Yummy! I ate a banana. :)

The girls helped me put out the Halloween decorations. They did a great job!! Then they played PlayStation until Megan's mom picked her up. She was bummed - she wanted to stay. :)

After Megan left, Khiya helped me clean a little bit. Her finger was still hurting so she didn't have to do all her chores. :) Mommy did them for her. We pretty much relaxed for the day. Then we went to Wally World. What's a day without Wally World?!?! We had to get Khiya some ice cream to make her finger feel better. :)

I love her!!

P.S. I really could use a massage right now. HA!

Busy Busy Day

We had a BUSY day. Khiya had a soccer game at 8:30 a.m. They won. That makes them still undefeated. She had a small injury though. She jammed her left pinkie finger. It's a little swollen and sore but hopefully my expert medical knowledge is correct and it's only jammed.

After soccer I had to clean a condo for a co-worker. Khiya went and hung out with Dylan (Elise son) while we went and broke our backs. OMG is all I have to say!!!

After cleaning we had to get home because Khiya's friend Megan was staying the night. She's such a sweet girl. I really like that her and Khiya are friends. They are in the same 5th grade class and really enjoy one another. Megan came over then we went to Teresa's house so ALL the girls could play together - while the adults got some "adult" time. HA!

We stayed about an hour then I took Megan and Khiya to DAIRY QUEEN!!! Ugh @ me because I didn't have my camera. (Must get small camera to fit in purse.) :) They totally LOVED it. They got to eat their ice cream (Blizzard) before their hot food. It's something about eating your dessert first that makes it more exciting.

So after DQ we went back to Teresa's and hung out for a little while longer... Now we're home and I'm about to pass out. Literally!!

President Khiya

I came to the conclusion that my daughter is so fabulous that I should have been keeping a journal all these years. It made me pretty sad thinking back on all the different things that she's done throughout the years and I couldn't pin point the exact date. When did she take her first step? When did she first say, "Mommy"? When did she first learn to ride a bike? I can't remember the exact date. :( That makes me sad. So I've decided it's better late than never... It's all about Khiya!!!

I told Khiya my thoughts about - I should have been keeping a journal so when she grows up she'll know how she's been amazing since Day 1. She said, "But Mom you're way too busy to do that everyday." :) Isn't she fab-u-lous?!?!?!

Khiya won Class President @ Lucille Moore Elementary. She was so excited about everyone voting for her. I told her it confirms just how liked she is at her school. I never gave a second thought at how many kids say "Hey Khiya" as they walk past her but now I do. It's amazing. When I say "everyone knows Khiya", I mean EVERYONE!! Her teacher (Mr. Rudd) also pointed that out but not in a negative way - he made sure to add that disclaimer. He said that she is well known and everyone adores her. And my thoughts are "WOW, I did good!"

I LOVE HER