Brandi's Place

At 6:05 this evening, Keith and Heather became parents. And I well up with tears as I say it because my heart is overwhelmed with more excitement than I know what to do with.

Today, we are so proud to welcome our new nephew, Virgil Stone Koskie... we will call him Stone. This is a family name and I don't know if we were surprised or not that they chose it. He weighed in at 7lb, 11oz and 20" long. We're told he is very sweet and very cute with a little blonde/brown hair. Like a true Koskie, he wasted no time making friends and apparently looked around and cooed at everyone.

(Ok, the welling up with tears has passed and now it's just bawling!!)

We got the call at about 1:30 that Heather had finally gone into labor and had been admitted to the hospital. Shelton and I debated whether or not to make the trip down this afternoon being that the only way either of us could miss work tomorrow were if our faces fell off. Being her first baby we figured it would be at least tomorrow and we would have wasted a trip.

But when the little booger decided to show up so quickly, we were both more than bummed that we had missed little Stone's arrival. But now we think we'll give everyone a chance to hang out with him this week and then Aunt and Uncle train is coming to town Thursday night.

In any event, with Stone's arrival, grandparents were made today. Parents were made today. Aunts, uncles and new friends. Shelton I thought it was funny how this little guy had only been in the world for a short hour and within a moment, his little life has already touched so many.

Our prayers were answered for a healthy pregnancy and healthy delivery. We pray that today is just the beginning of many perfect days for Stone, Heather and Keith.

Congratulations you guys... we love you!!!

Posted by BrandiK at 5/29/2006 09:26:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Shortly after I started at the agency I found a bowl that I thought would make a perfect candy dish. I bought it. Shelton scowled. Ever since then there rarely passes a day that the bowl isn't full. And people seek it out. And when it's empty I get dirty looks and sighs. I've had people bang the empty bowl. I've had notes like "An empty candy dish is just a bowl" post-it'd to the bottom.

My desk is right on a main thoroughfare in the office, so I get a lot of traffic all day long. And a bowl that was loaded up at 8a.m. leaves a little to be desired around 5p.m.

I try to mix it up. I've rarely had the same thing in it twice. I like to hit the Nifty Nut House and find delectable edibles. Sour balls, double-dipped dark chocolate malt balls, runts, hot tamales and others are popular choices.

The Nifty Nut House is this UNREAL candy mecca in Wichita. It's like a huge warehouse full of candy. Every kind, size, flavor, WHOA MOMMA!!

In any event, a few weeks ago a guy stopped by and grabbed a few sour balls. Moments later he was holding his crown in his hand. Because of my sour ball. I felt so bad for him. I even made up a fun little rhyme:
BRAD SMITH STOPPED BY BRANDI'S DESK
TO GRAB A HAND FULL OF SOUR BALLS
HE BIT ONE DOWN
AND BROKE HIS CROWN
AND THE DENTIST CAME FOLLOWING AFTER

This week, the sweet-of-the-moment have been Nips- a yummy little carmel hard candy in a variety of flavors. All week, jokes that would make HR blush regarding the Nips at Brandi's desk (go on, use your imagination) have been running like wildfire. This afternoon, John dropped by my desk for a Nip. Again, he turned around to show me a golden crown sitting in the palm of his hand. It was quickly announced that John broke his tooth on one of Brandi's Nips.

I've since placed a warning label on the candy bowl letting everyone know that I am not responsible for their dental work.

Posted by BrandiK at 5/25/2006 10:03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I was a ball of panic yesterday, all day, dreading my trip to the dentist. I rushed out of the office 15 minutes before my appointment only to get stuck in the rare standstill traffic jam on Kellogg. Poor little doggy was hit by a semi, never seen anything like that in my life.

So with that lovely picture in my head I made it a few minutes late. The nurse asked how I was and I replied- not good at all. I said this was my first cavity and I was completely freaking out. She was super nice and made me so comfortable. She didn't make me feel like the big, giant baby that I was being.

She gassed me and turned on Dr. Phil. A few minutes later she told me my cavity was really tiny and that I wouldn't need a shot unless I wanted it. I told her that I wanted as much of whatever they could give me.

My anxiety and nerves were the worst part... as always. The actual drill and fill only lasted about 3 minutes.

My jaw is pretty sore from the shot. Other than that, I've survived my first cavity.

Posted by BrandiK at 5/16/2006 10:47:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I loathe going to the dentist. Probably more than most people and probably more than is necessary. I was supposed to go three weeks ago, but I got so nervous about going that I called and pushed the appointment back a month. When they called to confirm my second appointment, I considered pushing that one. But, I put on my big girl panties and confirmed.

My stomach knots, I get queasy. I just completely freak out. The second I sit in that chair my feet start shaking back and forth and I can't stop it. The dentist usually gives me a little gas for my cleaning, just enough to calm my nerves.

So I went in on Monday and she started the ritual of poking the wire "thingy" in my molars. The thing stuck and she pulled it out and stuck it again. And she said, "Oh, looks like we've got a little cavity." And I about spit her hand across the room.

I said, "No I do not!" And she said, "Oh yes you do. But it's a little one." I told her I'd never ever in my whole life had a cavity. Ahhh, baby's first cavity.

How the hell did this happen?! I take great care of my teeth, and always have. I'm a Crest kid.

Anyway, she booked the appointment for Monday afternoon. Now, I'm completely freaking out. And I know I can't push this one back. EEEEEEEKS!!

So at least I can look forward to the gloves- the dentist wears grape-flavored gloves. Yum! And she told me- well, we'll give you a little gas if you'd like. IF I LIKE???!!! Umm, hopefully they order extra next week because I don't even want to know I'm alive. But hopefully I live through it and don't drive myself nuts.

Posted by BrandiK at 5/10/2006 08:19:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I guess it's been two weeks since we had our hail storm. I've lived my entire life in Kansas and Oklahoma, and I've never seen hail like that. Ever. I was asleep in bed when the most god-awful sound ripped me from my sleep. Hail the size of golf balls pummeled our neighborhood and in a matter of only five or six minutes, our street was solid white and looked like it had snowed. We helplessly watched our 3 cars in the driveway get beat to death. Luckily, only dents in the cars and no broken windows. It was like God had started a snowball fight and forgot to invite the rest of us.

So the next couple of days everyone talked about the hail damage to their cars and houses. I was repeatedly asked if our roof weathered the storm and I was certain it had. Following the hail came days on end of rain and since there wasn't any evidence of any leaking, I assumed our house was safe. To be super safe, we've called in a roofer and they'll do an inspection next week.

However, while everyone was concerned about damage at the top of the house, no one thought to look under it. After a good three or four days of rain last week, I made it to the basement to do laundry. All the piles of nicely separated clothes were sopping wet. Turns out all that water made its way in to the basement... as will happen when you buy a 90 year old home.

It dried up and we were sure our worries were over. Until tonight. When once I again I went downstairs to do laundry. And it has rained and rained again the last couple of days. Only this time, the water was deep enough that I nearly slipped and broke my hip. Deep enough to submerse my entire flip flop. And more wet clothes.

And it's everywhere. The center of the basement is the only dry place. Shelton wet-vacced that puddles and I nervously stood behind holding the cord to keep it dry, certain we'd both be fried to death in the basement.

God bless I love this house. But it's too much work. I wish I could come home to find it clean, organized, repaired and decorated and just stand back and say wow- look at the great job we did. Because that would mean somewhere we'd found the time, money, energy and know-how to tackle all this. That condo ain't looking so bad now.

Posted by BrandiK at 5/09/2006 08:48:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

As you can tell, I've been really bad about getting on here lately. Too many other things going on and just trying to keep my head on straight.

Last weekend we made a brief appearance in Edmond to celebrate Keith's graduation from UCO. Keith, Shelton's younger brother, graduated Summa Cum Laude and was the grand marshall for his class. I would post a photo from the evening but the distance and our camera did not a good match make. We are all so proud of Keith, and glad that we could be there to celebrate with him. He has a lead on a dynamite job and we keep our fingers crossed that it all finalizes smoothly. Hard to believe my graduation was 2 full years ago.. the time certainly flies.

He and his wife Heather are expecting their first baby in just a matter of days at this point. SO EXCITING!! So now that his last final has been taken, he can start letting those repressed new daddy nerves rear their ugly heads. No, they'll be great parents and we're SO looking forward to that new baby. I'm going to be an Auntie- everyone look out!

My sister Jenna made the trip to Wichita from Fayetteville this past weekend. It's been TOO long since we last saw her, Christmas to be exact. I guess I didn't realize I've never gone that long without seeing Jenna. We had a really great trip and got to spend a lot of time together. I also helped her get the wheels moving on the college entrance process. Hopefully she'll keep that ball rolling. So weird to be helping her. Just doesn't seem possible. And I think being an "adult", if that's what you want to call it, is treating her well. She looked great, and had a way about her that just fit. I haven't seen or heard Jenna laugh or smile like that in such a long time. It felt good to see her so happy.

Posted by BrandiK at 5/09/2006 08:39:00 PM | Permalink | Comments