My Scrapbooking Playlist: Favorite Songs to Listen to in my Scrapbooking Room

I don’t think I have announced it but recently I started thinking about the versatility of our garage and how we should turn it into a more functional area. With a couch already in their I decided to make the space into a Scrapbooking room. So the kids and I spent one Saturday dragging everything out and spraying down the garage. We even dried the floor. We sprayed for all the bugs and before we actually “move in” I am going to bug bomb the place. Katelyn and I have poored over dozens of ideas for the new room and I will of course post the “how to’s” and before and after pictures shortly. For now I am going to post my New Scrapbook Playlist for Opening Day. I anticipate that our first day in our new room will be September 1st but that is only if I can find some carpet for the floor. I still have some stuff to buy but the hard part will be covering the wall and getting the furniture just right. But we are almost there.

1.Cry Me A River…Justin Timberlake
2.Waterfalls…TLC
3.Youth of the Nation…P.O.D.
4.Let Me Let You Know…P!nk
5.Diamonds and Pearls…Prince
6.Break It Off…Rihanna
7.Rendez-Vu…Basement Jaxx
8.Gasoline…Rob Thomas
9.Better Life…Keith Urban
10.Everybody Have Fun Tonight…Wang Chung
11.Ready for Love…India.Arie
12.Goodbye,Apathy…One Republic
13.Sunshine…Kirk Franklin
14.How Long Gone…Brooks & Dunn
15.Instead…Stacie Orrico
16.How it Feels to Fly…Alicia Keys
17.Shining Star…Earth, Wind & Fire
18.Unwritten…Natasha Bedingfield
19.Save Room…John Legend
20.Weekends…Black Eyed Peas
21.Saturday Night…Bay City Rollers
22.Picture This…Danity Kane
23.Nothing’s gonna Stop Us Now…Starship
24.Forget Me Nots…Patrice Rushen
25.Beautiful…Christina Aguilera
26.Express Yourself…Madonna

What’s in a name?

Brandy: English in origin: Meaning, Burning wine: Brandy is a spirit made from distilled wine or fermented fruit juices. The name "Brandy" can also be taken as a feminine form of "Brandon," though it is usually taken more literally as the alcoholic beverage.

Katelyn: Gaelic in origin: Meaning, Pure

Kenyon: English in origin: The etymology of this surname is uncertain. Kenyon is the name of one of the main characters of Hawthorne's novel "The Marble Faun." It is also the name of a small liberal arts college in the U.S.

Kayne: Hebrew in origin means a spear: Welsh in origin means beautiful, fair: English in origin means Reed, cane or tall thin person; French in origin means battle pain

Kenyon and Kayne both have very unique names. Katelyns name became very popular in the early 2000s and has become very common. They have names that fit their personalities. Katelyn is pure at heart, sensitive, caring and smart. Kenyon is strong, energetic, determined, strong-willed and talented. Kayne is loving, funny, friendly and bright. I have raised 3 very well rounded children. I can't wait to see what they become.

Top 100 Movie Picks

I have this never ending list of movies that I want to watch. At this point I am watching between 8 and 12 movies (sometimes television series) per week. The list started with 100 movies and has grown to over 1400. Today I’ve been thinking how for the longest time Man on Fire has been my all time top favorite movie but after starting this task of watching all these movies my top favs have shifted. So here are my top movie pics.

1. Alpha Dog
2. Man On Fire
3. The Hangover
4. The Sandlot
5. Dirty Dancing
6. Annie
7.Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
8. Friday
9. Go
10. Clueless
11. Babe
12.I am Legend
13. Over the Hedge
14. What Happens in Vegas
15. Bad Boys
16. Grease
17. Leaving Las Vegas
18. Titanic
19. 16 Candles
20. Night at the Roxbury
21.Diary of a Mad Black Woman
22. Beetle Juice
23. Monsters Inc.
24. Finding Nemo
25. Three Kings
26. Edison Force
27. The Other Boleyn Girl
28. Road to Perdition
29. Simon Birch
30. Gran Torino
31. Camille
32. Hatchi
33. My Sister’s Keeper
34. 16 Blocks
35. The Blind Side
36. Everythings Fine
37. Death Sentence
38. The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
39. City of Angels
40. Night to Rodanthe
41. Stepmom
42. Changeling
43. Uncle Buck
44. Four Brothers
45. Back to the Future
46. Romeo + Juliet
47. Daddy Daycare
48. Curious George
49. Nanny McPhee
50. Something New
51. Happy Feet
52. The Proposal
53. Casper
54. Romeo Must Die
55. Face/OFF
56. Shrek 2
57. My Best Friends Wedding
58. Madea Goes to Jail
59. Toy Soliders
60. Varsity Blues
61. American Pie
62. Avatar
63. Be Kind Rewind
64. Enchanted
65. Faithful
66.The Truman Show
67. Harry Potter series
68. Uptown Girls
69. Alvin and the Chipmunks
70. Mean Girls
71. The truth about Cats and Dogs
72. New Moon
73. The Butterfly Effect
74. The Mirror Has Two Faces
75. R.L. Mostly Ghostly
76. Knowing
77. BandSlam
78. Flash of Genius
79. Sex and the City: The Movie
80. 2012
81. Premonition
82. The Jane Austen Book Club
83. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day
84. Pineapple Express
85. Kids
86. Money Talks
87. Weird Science
88. Along Came a Spider
89. Antwone Fisher
90. Awake
91. The Devil Wears Prada
92. Disturbia
93. Fast and Furious
94. Hitman
95. Paranormal Activity
96. The Prestige
97. The Secret Life of Bees
98. Taken
99. Things We lost in the fire
100. Secret Window

Summer 2010

Alright I'm back. I have let the blog slip this year and it saddens me. I just caught up with my friend on Wednesday and I hadn't seen her daughter in 3 months so the fact that she grew so much in that 3 months made me sad. Luckily, she keeps up with her pictures so I can see her. But still its not the same. So I told her that we needed to start blogging again. So I am starting today. This blogs for you Kellie :)

January

What a month! I celebrated my 32nd birthday. Yes sir! I am 2 years into my 30's and boy has it been a ride. The kids and I went to our 2nd Girl's basketball game at CSU against BYU. Sadly, the girls lost again this year but the game was really good. We are hoping to make this a tradition. We had a sleepover with the Klosowski family. Katelyn got to spend some much needed time with her dearest friend Lilly and I got to catch up on several hours of Jersey Shore. Also, I got to meet their new dog Whitney. Such a sweetie! Kayne celebrated his 5th birthday and he had a Ice Skating Party at Centerra. After Skating we went to Culver's and enjoyed burgers, fries and ice cream :) After indulging in a much needed nap, we headed down to Aurora to have a birthday dinner with the Hayden and Pell family. Grammy went out to dinner with me and the kids and we ate at Bono's BBQ. It was delicious and topped off a wonderful month for us.

February

This month was uneventful. We took up a new activity, Letterboxing and this got us exploring Loveland. We searched for 3 Letterboxes but only found 2. We tried to take up Letterboxing before we moved from Denver but spent all day looking and couldn't even find one. So after we found our 2 we ended our day at McDonalds. I started a Letterboxing scrapbook so hopefully we can add more pictures and stamps.

March

Was the Molly and Jason wedding. I was so appalled when he broke up with Melissa on television and I was refusing to watch the wedding but yea...don't judge me I broke down and watched it :) I am glad though it changed my opinion about the both of them. You can't help who you love and yes we all are imperfect and are capable of making bad choices. And Jason did. He let the little bird on his shoulder tell him that Melissa was 'the one' but deep in his heart he knew better. So all's well that ends well. The kids and I got into a new show this month. The Big Bang Theory is hilarious. We have gotten through Season 1 and 2. I think this might Kenyon's favorite show. Also, I promised my brother, Tony, that I would scan all the pictures I had of him growing up and send to him. The project blossomed into a trip down memory lane. I scanned all sorts of pictures and posted on Facebook. They were hilarious to see. Funny how time can make you forget about so much. Katelyn and I watched My Sister's Keeper and cried our eyes out. I am glad that I waited to watch it on DVD. I was a wreck after seeing that movie. It made me realize how much I miss my sister :( But we are taking a trip to Dallas to see her and my niece and nephew. Sniff Sniff

April

Easter weekend we headed down South to enjoy some of the Easter fesitivities. We went to a church in Westminister and the kids enjoyed the Easter egg hunts, Easter bunny, free hot dogs, popcorn, lemonade and music. It was a nice day. And they loaded up on free candy. Their baskets were so heavy. I even got to have a couple pieces of laffy taffy :) And double bubble gum! After the Easter Egg Hunts we went to little Aaron's 3rd birthday part at Chuck E. Cheese. The kids had a blast and I was able to catch up with all of my friends. Then we spent the evening with the Pell family. And had General Conference on Sunday. After General Conference we went and picked up Grammy and headed to the Park to have a Easter day lunch. Kenyon taught us a fun basketball game and all the kids came and played with us. We had a ton of fun! My brother, Tony, and his wife Karissa announced this month that they are going to welcome and third baby into the Alexander family. He told me after April fool's day so there was no way that I believed him but it wasn't a joke. So I am so excited. Our family is getting bigger and bigger. I've always wanted a bog family but now they are so spread out. Veronica in Texas and Tony in Arizona. But I guess now we have a reason to visit. Katelyn and I took a mommy and daughter day and headed down to World's Largest Crop at the Merchandise Mart. I was working but Katelyn got to scrapbook. She was spoiled. My customer, Laura, brought her gifts and they spent the day together gabbing. I didn't get much done but I enjoyed the time just us girls. The boys went to Grammy's and got spoiled themselves. Kenyon got his much anticipated Webkins and Kayne got some G.I. Joes.

May

This is where the year kicked off into high gear. School ended and the kids headed off to daycare. We welcomed a new member to the family, Pumpkin. A cute little kitty. She is 2 and 1/2 years old. She hid under the bed for the first couple of the nights but once she showed Boo who was boss she stopped hiding. The kids and I spent an afternoon at Lake Loveland on the swim beach. It was so nice. I could lay back read my book and the kids could splash around in the water. This kicked off our time in the water. We headed to Glenwood Springs Memorial Day weekend and got to the pool at 9am. The Pells met us at the pool and we spent the entire day at the pool. Unfortunately, all of us got sunburned and it made for a bad nights sleep. We ate dinner at the White House and headed to Rifle Falls on Sunday. We had a picnic and watched the Falls all day. Went in the caves and hiked up the Falls. Sunday night I got a call from Tony and Veronica and we were united with our half brothers and sisters, ShaRhonda, Aubrey and Aleiisha. We have planned a reunion for later this month. Isabella G. turned 1 years old this month and Kenyon and Kayne and I went to the birthday party down in Highlands Ranch. Katelyn went to the Colorado State Education day and competed for the Boys and Girls Club of Larimer County. She competed in Spelling, Science, Georgarphy, Math and Trivia. She won 2nd place in Spelling, 1st place in Sportsmanship and 3rd place all-around. She received 2 medals and 2 certificates. We also received a letter in the mail stating that one of her poems has been selected to be published in a book. My little girl is excelling.

June

Free movie night started up again at Centerra. They have tons of games and activities for the kids and give free popcorn and cotton candy. At dusk, they play a movie and the kids and I lounge on the grass with blankets and lawn chairs. This year we watched:

~Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

~The Spiderwick Chronicles

~Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

~Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

July

This month has been crazier than ever. Katelyn turned 9 years old so we threw a birthday party for her down at Washington Park in Denver. All our friends and family came out to celebrate with us. My half sister, ShaRhonda, and her kids came to the birthday and this was the first time the kids had met and ShaRhonda and I as adults. After the party and reunion we got into the car and headed to Grand Lake. It only took an hour and a half. Unfortunately, we did not get there until after dark so we were not able to do anything on Saturday. Sunday we hung out with The Herman family and my friend Liz and went into town and had lunch. Sunday night we went out on the lake on the boats and enjoyed the fourth of July fireworks. We had a wonderful time camping but Kenyon liked to remind us that he is not a WILDERNESS boy :) Ron, Isabella and Adriana headed into town from Germany and it was great spending time with them. The time flew by too quickly. Then the following week, Miss Kellie and Dani came back to Colorado. We will enjoy some much deserved time with them before they head back to Iowa :(

The Alexander-Hayden’s 2009

So I was going to be a champ and blog all year about what was going on up north but got to busy to do it! So that will be the first of my many new years resolutions next year. This year I was so fortunate to find Facebook and was able to connect with friends of long ago and make new friends. This is a big deal because one friendship I had with my friend Liz and she helped me get through a really rough time in my life. And I was never able to thank her for that and let her know how much that meant to me. Now we both have children and truly know the importance of “mommies”. I have always cherished all of my friendships and I thank all of you that have been there. Even those that I have known for the last year. My friend Kellie and Jenn B, I just met at my new job and they have been like sisters to me. Kellie welcomed her first child only a few days ago and I am so happy for her. My girls, Sammi, Shannon, April, Cari, Kimmee and Adriana are the best friends a gal could have. Aunts to my children and my biggest supporters. My family of course has no choice but to put up with me. They of course are always loved and missed daily. My brother and sister being so far away L I love seeing pictures of their lives and wish them the best in the new year.

As we say good-bye to 2009 I look back on the year we have had. Definitely some ups and downs but we made it through without a scratch on us. The Alexander family welcomed a new addition to the family, Miss Liberty. The kids and I lost to family members this year. Pepper passed away tragically and Maggie ran away and hasn’t been found. Salt is growing and has got a clean bill of health so we are hoping to have her with us for quite sometime. Boo is still driving me crazy and keeping the kids amused.

The kids and I enjoyed our first CSU event this year. We attended the girls’ basketball game against BYU. Sadly, they didn’t win but we had a great time. We will be going to the game again in January so we hope they win this year but we just like the hot dogs J We took a vacation to Dallas, Texas to see my sister and niece and Nephew. We only got to spend 3 days with them but we had a great time.

Katelyn completed 2nd grade this year and was invited to be in the Gifted and Talented program at her school. She has taken a lot of tests to determine her overall level of understanding and has tested at a 5th grade level. She is very bright and she has a goal to be a Vet and/or President of the United States. She celebrated her 8th birthday in July by going to Water World with her family. Katelyn was baptized in November in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She studied very hard to prepare herself for this big decision. Her Uncle Dave baptized her and that was truly amazing. I know she will never forget it. Katelyn participated in her first Fashion Show this year and she modeled some clothes from Old Navy. I was so proud of her and she said she wasn’t even nervous. Maybe she’ll get a modeling contract and buy her mom a house J


Kenyon started Second grade this August. He has developed quite the independence. He enjoys reading and fights with me about homework. I keep telling him Santa won’t come if he keeps this up but somehow he doesn’t believe me. Kenyon turned 7 and he requested Legos this year. He received several lego sets and he had them all completed within a week. Katelyn and Kenyon joined the Boys and Girls Club at the end of the summer and have made new friends and have joined several groups there. They met Champ Bailey and received autographs and Bronco memorabilia.


Kayne started pre-school in fall 2009. He goes to pre-school Monday through Thursday from noon to 3:30. He is learning how to play with others and everyday he comes home with a humorous anecdote. His favorites are of course knock knock jokes. He likes to tell those over and over again. Kayne will celebrate his 5th birthday in January and will share it with his new friends at daycare and preschool.


In the upcoming year we will take our annual trip to Glenwood Springs and we are planning a trip to Germany in October to see The Shelley family and hopefully get some sight seeing done in Italy and Paris. It will be a short trip but of course a trip of a lifetime. We will get out to Houston, Texas next year and hopefully see my sister and her family. 2010 looks promising for our family and we are truly looking forward to it! So here's too another great year!!


We love you all!!

Brandy, Katelyn, Kenyon and Kayne

21 Questions I asked my children

Katelyn age 7
Kenyon age 6
Kayne age 4

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
Katelyn-I love you

Kenyon-Let out the dogs

Kayne-Make good choices

2. What makes Mom happy?

Katelyn-when I help her

Kenyon-me being good

Kayne-doing everything I do

3. What makes Mom sad?

Katelyn-when I’m bad

Kenyon-me not being good

Kayne-doing nothing

4. What does your Mom do that makes you laugh?

Katelyn-repeating what I did when I’m sad

Kenyon-wrestle with me

Kayne-make jokes

5. What was your Mom like as a child?

Katelyn-you were like your mom

Kenyon-watched funny things

Kayne-she did things like me

6. How old is your Mom?Katelyn-31

Kenyon-36

Kayne-I don’t remember

7. How tall is your Mom?

Katelyn-5 feet and some inches

Kenyon-7 feet

Kayne-that big! (motioning with his hands)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Katelyn-to make cards and scrapbook

Kenyon-play with us

Kayne-check the mail and fix dinner

9. What does your Mom do when you're not around?

Katelyn-go to work

Kenyon-go to work

Kayne-drive

10. If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Katelyn-dance choreography and singing

Kenyon-a famous movie star

Kayne-Rock guitar (cross between Rockband and Guitar Hero)

11. What is your Mom really good at?

Katelyn-singing

Kenyon-talking

Kayne-Karate and walking the dogs

12. What is your Mom not very good at?

Katelyn-running into walls

Kenyon-she is good at everything

Kayne-spanking my butt (yes he said this)

13. What does your Mom do for a job?

Katelyn-Payroll Supervisor and Creative Memories Scrapbooking

Kenyon-Heska-taking care of the pets

Kayne-work very hard

14. What is your Moms favorite food?

Katelyn-fried chicken

Kenyon-cherries and vegetables

Kayne-salad

15.What makes you proud of your Mom?

Katelyn-when she does fun stuff for us

Kenyon-go to Waterworld

Kayne-when she does the dishes

16. If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Katelyn-Sandy

Kenyon-Spongebob’s mom

Kayne-Bugs Bunny

17. What do you and your Mom do together?

Katelyn-make cards and laugh

Kenyon-eat

Kayne-do my homework

18. How are you and your Mom the same?

Katelyn-we love Barbie’s

Kenyon-we like waterworld

Kayne-we like to go to bed

19. How are you and your Mom different?

Katelyn-how we look

Kenyon-I don’t tap my feet all the time

Kayne-we are different sizes

20. How do you know your Mom loves you?

Katelyn-you do fun stuff for us and give us treats

Kenyon-I cuddle up with you

Kayne-she kisses me

21. Where is your Mom's favorite place?

Katelyn-home

Kenyon-Buffalo Wild Wings

Kayne-here at home

Cute Little Stinky Boys!

As a single mother I knew there would be things that I would not be able to teach my sons. These are things that can only be taught by a male. Seriously, I thought that those days were far off until my sons were nearing their teenage years. Little did I know that some lessons were to be learned before the age of six. The first lesson being the dreaded toilet seat in the bathroom. During potty training the boys learned to sit down when they needed to do their business. My oldest son started school and found that all the boys stand up when they use the bathroom. So wanting to fit in he started standing. My youngest son seeing this decided that he wanted to stand too. Since we moved in October they now have their own bathroom so no big deal for me because I don’t have to worry about falling into the toilet or sitting on a wet seat. Unfortunately, I did not take into account the aim factor. Cleaning the house this weekend I had to complete that horrible chore of scrubbing toilets. Now me and Katelyn’s bathroom not so bad. Sweep the floors, clean off the counters, scrub the tubs and it sparkles. But walking into the boys’ bathroom it was something out of a horror film. I remembered the scene from the movie Daddy Day Care where Eddie Murphy’s character goes into the bathroom after one of the boys and he is horrified by what the little boy left for him to clean. That was me! My face was probably worth a thousand words. I could not figure out where to begin. Dis-gus-ting!! The walls, the base boards, the floors, the trashcan, the seat cover….you name it they got it! I threw on the yellow gloves, grabbed the bleach, spic-n-span, scrub brush and any other chemical that happen to be near and went to work. So the new rule in the house is I don’t care what you do at school but in this house you SIT! No standing over the toilet seat unless you want to clean up the mess. I am sure this is nothing new for mothers with sons but it was an experience I will soon never forget.