The Giggles

Here is a video of Karenza and her giggles tonight. She had them for an hour!!! My stomach hurt from laughing so hard, and tears were running down my face. I only captured a minute or so of it, but it was for a straight hour!! She definitely got the giggle bug some where.

Girls and Their Shoes...

If any guys read my blog this may be one that may not interest you so much, but feel free to read anyway.

So ladies, you know that feeling you get when you get a new pair of shoes? Isn't it a great feeling? You are hoping they aren't going to hurt, leave blisters, hoping to get so many compliments and that they are going to go with the perfect outfit (whether you have one at home they can go with or they are just too cute to pass up that now you have to find an outfit to go with them!) I got to thinking about this tonight on my way to get Karenza. I had on a new pair of shoes. Really cute ones for a great price (they are pink!). I was just wearing a white shirt and jeans. I had no make-up on and I had my hair pulled back in a pony tail. But I felt great because mama had on a new pair of shoes! I probably was walking with a smile on my face and didn't even know it. But, it got me thinking that when I have a new accessory whether it be a new pair of shoes, a new purse, new earrings, or bracelt, even new make-up or perfume that you feel a little different. Nobody else probably notices (by that I mean probably not even my husband) knows that you are carrying a new purse or have new shoes on but that you feel like you are walking around while your accessory is just glowing/beaming and everyone should know that you have on new shoes or are carrying a new purse. Only your close girlfriends notice, because us girls just have that kind of sense. I just felt great walking to my truck (15 feet) driving to get Karenza, getting out of the truck to get her, and driving back home and walking into the house. No one even saw my shoes, but as the sun was shining and my sunroof was open on the expedition I could feel my shoes just beeming through the sunroof as I was blasting Mariah Carey through my stereo. Its just great to be a woman isn't it? I can't wait to share these things with my daughter! :-)

P.S. My mother found another great deal too, that just happens to be on a pair of shoes. They were too big for her, too small for Holly, but just perfect for me (as I just typed that it seems almost the line to Cinderella!). They were $65 shoes on sales for $34 plus another 40% off of that. Mom said that she would fine someone to where the shoes, they were just too good of a deal to not get them. They are so cute and fit me perfectly! Holly is hoping I can break them in and then get too big for me that then they will fit her. So we'll see.

Karenza Put To Work...

Karenza wanted to vacuum, so I put her to work yesterday! She did pretty good, but just kept wanting to drive straight and not back up. Can't wait for her to start doing more chores! Is that wrong of me to think? :-)


After I was done cleaning up I walked by her room and saw her room pictured above. It was all picked up and her bed was even made (with the blankets she had on there)!! I couldn't believe it!! She totally shocked me by picking up her room. She picked everything up off of the floor (that is what I always tell her, is that mommy needs to see the floor) and she did this with out even being told! Books on the shelf, toys in the bin, and some things weren't were they usually go (like babies on top of her kitchen), but hey I'll take this any day as long as its picked up! What a little stinker. :-)

Happy Birthday Mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! (Karenza wanted it in your favorite color!)

We love you with all our hearts! Wishing you a wonderful and happy day!

Love, Miranda Randy and Karenza

Shortage on Rice...........Really?

Can you believe that there is a shortage on rice, and Sam's Club is limiting your purchase? I think this is freaking some people out because when I stopped at Wal-mart I actually didn't need rice, but I went down the rice aisle and there was hardly any rice on the shelf! There is always rice on the shelfs. I did grab two bags of rice though, because if we ever ran out at home Randy would probably be beside him self. We eat a lot of rice (probably 3 times a week). Just weird! And last time we went grocery shopping I did notice that price of rice had risen. The bag of rice we usually get is only 50 cents, and now it is 78 cents. I did end up buying the bigger bag of rice only because that was my only option. It's probably just a ploy to boost the rice industry!

This week has been pretty low key. Not much happening, ever since basketball is over. Randy has been home at night pretty much this whole week. It's nice. Besides for the hour he trains some of his clients at the YMCA. Last night Randy was to have his first softball game, but the weather was really weird. It was raining/sleating and really windy. We took Karenza to Mom and Dad's after I picked her up from daycare, and I came home to get Randy. The game ended up getting rescheduled but we did stay for a couple beers. When we went to go get Karenza at about 7:45pm she was not ready to come home. She was in her little Senorita dress (if you have been following my blog you saw pictures from Easter with this dress on) that she absolutely loves. She had bracelets on, and was looking fabulous I must say. Mom said Karenza could see us driving up the road and she ran into the other living room and started crying. Mom asked her what was wrong and she said "My mom and dad are coming to get me!" We stayed for a little bit to try and tell her that she did have to come home and sleep in her own bed. I mean why would you want to leave Papa and Grandma's house? Plus, my Dad had only been home for about 30 minutes and that wasn't enough time for Karenza (or Papa). It's Mom's birthday tomorrow so we all are going out to eat at Paradiso. This weekend is another soccer game for Cassidy, and the NFL draft. I better get the steaks on I have marinating in the refrigerator for supper. Have a great weekend....

Drum Roll Please....

It's a Girl!!!!! We are delighted and extremely happy to be welcoming another little girl to our family August 27th! Cassidy is extremely excited to be having a sister! They got great pictures of her that were really cute. The baby girl gave a great profile. They also got a CD/DVD of the sonogram of the baby actually moving around! That must be new because that wasn't offered when I was pregnant with Karenza. How cool is that? There is a little concern about the baby's heart, and she has another ultrasound on May 15th to make sure that it has fixed itself. It's called Echogenic intracardiac foci (EIF). They said that they tell this to 3 out of 10 families that come in and only .5 of them ever have to worry. According to the research we have done it will probably be okay. It seems to be a greater issue for women over 30. Holly was really upset about this, and I tried making her feel better. But, her has a Mom and person I know how she is and I know she will be worried until she knows for sure. I would be the same way. Everything will work out for the best. God has special plans for this little girl, and we can't wait to meet her! Now I can begin planning the baby shower! :o) Congrats Jer, Holly, and Cassidy.

Boy or Girl?

So tomorrow is the day we find out if our family will be welcoming a baby boy or another baby girl! I have attached a picture of Holly that I just took over lunch today. Doesn't she look so amazing? She is at 21 weeks, and is just glowing! I love rubbing her belly when she stops for lunch. Holly said that if she has any motherly instinct at all she thinks it's a boy. And according to the Chinese Birth Calendar she has a 58% chance of having a boy! So we'll see. We will be happy to have whatever, and just the new addition of having a baby in the family is exciting in itself. I told her she should wear blue tomorrow like she did today and see if that helps. Anyway, I can't wait to hear the news. Her appointment is tomorrow at 1:30 and so I can't wait to get the call! Hopefully I will be able to stand it waiting to get the call.

This weekend went by so fast. Cassidy won both of her soccer games, and by the time we got up to BSC where Randy's basketball game was at it was already over and they had won by 22 points. So we went to Applebees for lunch and back home again until they played again at 4:00pm. They won their second game by 17 points. So yesterday they played at 11:00am and won 60-7 and then they played for the championship at 4:00pm yesterday and won 67-17! It was nice that they ended the season that way. After the game the parents presented Randy with a picture of the team in Dickinson that they took with all their 1st place trophies. They also gave him a gift certificate to the Dairy Queen to take his family out for a treat on Chaos for the time Randy was away from us. This is all in addition to what they have paid Randy for being their coach. They thanked Randy for his sportsmanship he showed to the boys, his dedication, expertise, and his time with the boys. The parents really appreciated Randy doing that, and the boys really enjoyed their time with Randy. They really look up to him I can see. The parents and boys hope he will coach the next 3 years for them. Which he will. He can coach them up until they play on a varsity basketball team. Once they play on a varsity team they are not allowed to play on a traveling basketball team for fear of injury. It will be nice to see these kids grow up, and watch their basketball game develop. From when I saw them last year at Prairie Rose games in Fargo (which was last July) they have come a long way! Very proud of my husband and the work he put into those boys, and all the nice things the parents had to say about him. So now with basketball over it will be softball (I think Randy is playing on two teams) and then it will be getting ready for the Midget Football Season in August. Randy is thinking he might hold some conditioning camps this summer for the kids. A lot of parents have asked him to do this, and he can make some good money doing this. Our hope is to one day have him run his own business doing this because he has so many clients now and he has to turn away some families. Our biggest obstacle right now is finding a building to be able to do all the things Randy wants to do. So we are keeping our options open and doing some research.

Also - I will have to post some pictures of my new dining room set my mom and dad bought me. My mom is the best person at finding deals I swear! She saw a sign that said 60% off of Broyhill furniture. With me working for Conlins Warehouse in college I know that Broyhill is great furniture. It was Conlin's number one seller. She told me she went and looked at what they had and she saw a nice dining room set for Randy and me. We have been looking at getting a new set for some time now. The one we've had since we first moved in together isn't cutting it anymore. Anyway, my mom (and dad) saved a lot of money on this deal! The whole set should have been over $1500! ($705 for the table, and each chair was $189 a piece). She paid $465 for the entire set (table and 4 chairs)! She said she watched some show on TV that said you should always ask if they can come down anymore of their price (even if it's 10% it's better then nothing). At first when she asked they immediately said no, and that this is as low as they can go since it's already a steal. Mom then asked to speak to the Manager, and the Manager at first said no. But my Mom's uncle works at this store, and then the Manger said she could give mom Ray's employee discount of 20% off of the total. After the cashier rang everything up I saw that when she put in the 20% off the total the savings was $116! All together she saved over $1000! She is the best deal finder I know! And it looks great in my house. Its the high table and chairs what I had been looking at and wanting. Thanks again Mom and Dad!! I better get going to start supper. Have a great night.