Little Cabin in the Big Woods

Aaahhh! The sweet smell of mountain air! I was fortunate enough as a kid to expedience this mountain air just about every holiday and summer. My grandparents had a cabin in the Sequoia's and from the time I was around 8 or 9 til I moved out, our family vacations mostly consisted of going to the cabin. The rules first started out as NO TV was allowed. Grandad thought that the great outdoors should be entertainment enough. He was right! Some of the best memories I have were from our family hikes..like Darryl almost drowning, Dave getting hit in the lip after my dad was FREAKED by hornets...( ok, so he's deadly allergic..he had a right to be afraid), and of course hiking to the waterfall with grandma and finding bear tracks...fresh bear tracks.. Yes, those were the days! Crazy, scary stuff like that is what makes memories. I really do cherish the time spent there and had always dreamed of my boys having the same experiences. But, the cabin has been sold and we are no longer living in California...

Still having this in the back of my mind, I decided that this year the boys were going to get some "cabin exposure". Oh, I've been planning this for months! After my failure camper attempt, there was no other choice than cabin time. Usually, Charles has to work during the holidays..which leaves me and the boys alone. Sooooo, why not go to the mountains and do something different for a change? Let's start the countdown now and let you all in on mistake #1...the words RUSTIC implies ALONE, no TV, No civilization, no HELP...yes, there are neighbors, but not during Christmas!

The plan was for the boys and I to go up on Christmas Day and then Charles would come the next night after he slept from all night working. We would stay til Sunday and then come home. The week of Christmas, I kept an eye on the weather in hopes for some "vast amounts of puffy white stuff..snow!" But no such luck. I did however see that there would be some rain the day after Christmas ( Friday), but nothing major. Ok, no big deal... mistake # 2.

Well, Thursday went mostly without incident. However I was totally excited about being at a cabin that I was too quick to go exploring with the boys and locked ourselves out. Now, NO ONE is around, we are the only Crazy's to do this little trip over Christmas. So, I hoisted Keaton up on the back balcony and had him climb ( lucky for him and me that he can climb) over the raling and go through the back door that I was praying was left unlocked. Thank goodness it was! No car keys, no people around...on the CHILLY side...and of course...no cell phone. Yep, could've been disastrous! Mistake # 3.

After this little exciting adventure, I decided it was best to keep the keys with me at all times..just in case. Our first night was fun, we had popcorn, watched movies, played with the legos, a few card games..ate leftover Chicken and Dumplings, hot dogs, hamburger and of course our staple food item.. oreo's. When we finished, I thought it would be cool to disperse our leftovers outside off the back deck so that Christian could use his night goggles to maybe catch a glimpse of wildlife. Yep, mistake # 4... Umm, what kind of wildlife do you REALLY want to see?? I would say it was around 10:00 or so when we heard this loud screaming, shrieking noise out back where we threw the leftovers. Quickly I try to reach my friend and wildlife expert and I get NO RESPONSE...still more screaming and shrieking going on..yet too terrified to step out back and look. Christian thinks it must be some dogs mom.. umm, No son, it's deer. They make this certain noise when they are finding their young..now go to bed. Ok, I have no DOUBT that wasn't a deer, and dogs..yes, but not your standard domesticated dogs...how bout, coyotes or wolves..hmm, yep, after the hot dogs and meat that we threw out for the squirrels.. Dah! Do squirrels eat meat??? Stupid Stupid Stupid !! Umm, later...I was told it most likely was a mountain lion....once again, Stupid Stupid Stupid!!!

So, the rest of the night, we had the fireplace going ( coolest thing EVER, all I had to do was turn a knob..who knew??) and huddled together. I might bring to your attention that the temps were in the low 30's most of the day...a bit on the chilly side. remember mistake #2 and the weather.

The next day we spent it driving around, and made our own Indiana Jones road with it's bumpy, curvy twistyness...we found other crazy folks who were visiting a cabin down the way and talked with them for a bit, we also saw some wild turkeys and did some exploring on the banks of the lake. Temps rising and now a "fire" in the fireplace would make us too hot.. remember mistake #2..it should be raining today as the weather predicted, lucky for us ( i thought) it didn't.. All was good..and then Charles called.

Yep, Chuck got lost. We had to go out and find him in the dark. He was already out of the park by the time we reached him. I guess if you would've asked for directions, this wouldn't have happened!! We got back to the cabin, ate some burgers ( didn't throw anything out this time) and then to my objections... he showed the boys how to gamble. Thanks grandma for sending the gambling chips and dice...nice. Well, of course, Keaton had a blast with this game. I tried to re-direct with a nice game of Crazy 8's.. No go, Keaton is stuck on gambling. I have visions of him taking this new profound knowledge to school... AND of course, Keaton goes nowhere without his new Radio..and what is Chuck encouraging in the music department?? HMM, Fat Bottom Girls makes the Rockin' world go round!! Like I need Keaton going to school singing this and then gambling in the cafeteria.....

Well moving on... no loud noises that night. All was good even though we are HOT..remember mistake #2.... Something going on with the weather and the tempts...hmm cold to hot, what does that spell? TOR NA DO??? Nah!

Next morning, we get up ..do some exploring, playing around on the play equipment. Check out these next few photos and see the talent!

Christian first down the slide.. Then Keaton...


And then......Charles..

With perfect form, I give him a 10 for not spilling 1 drop of his coffee! You go Chuckie boy!

Ok, so by now...it's hot, and VERY windy. Tornado feel.. Lots of clouds rolling in. But lots of wind all day and no precipitation. Wow, how we lucked out, not much rain on our parade... what was I thinking?? The rain CLEARLY was making it's way IN!!! No mention of tornado...it's all good!

So, say around 6:oo Saturday night, while watching Narnia, Prince Caspian... the power cuts off. Windy, yes, but no rain. It's all good. A few looksy looks and all appears to be good. I make a few calls to see if we are in a " severe weather" path..umm, yes we are but nothing big( as I was told). Ok, I could go with it. A thunderstorm, some rain...no big deal.

Since the movie was being played on my computer, we were good to go for another hour. Just about at the best part of the movie..my battery dies. AND the wind is HOWLING by this point.. our little cabin is vibrating some. I make some more calls...but it's now not going through. You guessed it...this is mistake #2. Never Never trust the weather man... if they say rain, expect STORM and if they say Friday..try SATURDAY and ALWAYS bring flashlights and VALIUM...not for me of course, for the kids! And it doesn't help when Charles goes around saying Freddy Krueger is coming!! Yikes is right! I look out and I see a few car's down the way LEAVING! We are still here, major rains, thunder, lightening...WIND oh the WIND!! Later found out that the wind was traveling around 50 to 60 miles per hour! Isn't that classified as a tornado?? It should be to a cabin in the big woods!! Well, no flashlights, no power, what is left but to go to bed and hope for the best. If only Chuck would shut up about Freddy Krueger, we could all go to sleep!

Finally, the storm dies down and it's just rain. Keaton is in our bed, I am on the edge as there isn't enough room in this double sized bed. And everyone is finally asleep but me. I'm still a little on edge making sure we don't have another round of the storm. So, It must have been around 3 and I reach up to scratch ( not pick) my nose and WHAM...something is running out my nose. YIKES! It's a flood of blood. Too much drama for me and I have this blasted bloody nose. I can't see ANYTHING, blood running down my face..I trip over someones shoes to the bathroom and just as I get in there.. I almost fall over my socks. So, after getting this in control. I decide to try and sleep with Christian on the sofa bed. Ugh! The springs were NOT comfortable. I think I only got about 3 hours sleep. But the next morning, it looked like a murder took place, my DNA is all smeared in the bedroom, bathroom ....EVERYWHERE! Ok, time to go home.

So, really besides all this...we had a great time. I really enjoyed having quality time with the boys, playing games, legos and taking a few walks. The storm will be a memory for them like the ones I have from my cabin days. The sun of course was shinning the next day.. today...and all is good. Can't wait for the next trip..anyone wanna come?? Bring your flashlight!

Camper Success....Finally!

For those that remember the camper story ...well, my friends decided to get me a camper since the duct taped beauty didn't quite work out... After many long hours searching the web for that perfect camper... Woo-lah!

Happy Camping!!

It's NOT the gift that counts...

It's always a good idea to make a Christmas list for the hubby, so you don't get any unexpected suprises....

Is it starched...how does it stay that way??? Do I really need to know??

Just for the record..this is not mine... found it on FB...

Warning : Danger Up Ahead!

Well, since my camping ideas went down the drain with the duct taped camper... I had decided that I would comfort my sad self with renting a cabin for Christmas. Oh yeah!! I have been sooo excited about this, everyone that knows me knows where I am going to be over the Christmas break. But all I keep hearing is... it's going to be cold you know, are you sure you want to do

this? When is Charles going to get there... what are you going to do with the boys???? Have faith in me PEOPLE!!

Well, OK...I've got plans! Sure, Chuck isn't going to arrive til day 2..which leaves me in charge of a fire ( scary thought I admit) But the boys and I are going to do board games, make hot cocoa, watch a few movies, make cookies, take a walk..where's the damage in that?? Oh did I mention that there is NO TV and NO PHONE?? It's all good. I have a cell phone, supposedly it's in range... and I have a computer that will play DVD's ...AND their own DVD players...so all should be good.....right?

Does this look like two innocent faces that you want to be cooped up in a cabin for 4 days with?? Surely it will be alright..if not, I have my blog I can document on... Stay tuned!

What is THAT?????

Ok, SERIOUSLY folks, I did NOT make this up!!


There was a time when Christian was around 4 when my friend Kathy brought her new boyfriend to our house ( along with his son) for us to meet and get to know. The kids played pretty well together and all was good until the boyfriends son came out of Christian's room with a hanger with something stuck to it...



What in the world???? To our Ghastly horrors...it was poop! Yep, poop folks. He found it under Christians bed. Well, I just helped out my friend Kathy loose the boyfriend. It's ok, I knew he was toast when he showed up with a mouth full of braces..but none the less...poopy was the kicker! Need help loosing a special person in your life?? Just invite us over for a bit, we can help. So this little story here gave me a flashback when Keaton came out of the room tonight with a pencil and something on it... good gracious, if it's poopy, I'm gonna loose it!! Well, I only wish it was poopy... see if you can make out from these photo's what it was ....

Of course he found it in his bed.. thought he could keep it as a pet. It's a slug. UGH! Hey boys wanna see what salt does to a slug?? Well, needless to say it went out in the butt freezing cold rather than in a jar.

Seriously though, we have had this problem off and on since we have been living in this house. Here a slug there a slug everywhere a slug slug..Oh the Powells had this house, E I E I OOOOOO. Where do they come from?? How do they get in?? Are we living on a Slug Mound?? Don't they hibernate or go to slugville for winter??

Waffle is on slug patrol!

Cookies and Milk

Well...It's been rough the last couple of months. oh, who am I kiddin...the last 11 years more or less...The boys have just about driven me crazy and I have no other choice than to resort to my only option at this point...The Jesus picture with the moving eyes no longer works...


ELF POWER!


Now, first let me begin how I heard of the little elves. I have a couple of friends who have frequent visitors that appear after Thanksgiving. A letter arrives first of course. It's from Santa dah, who else! Santa informed my friends children that he was sending his special little elves to observe behavior and report back to him. Sometimes the elves get into mischief and cause a little mess here and there..BUT it was the children's responsibility to clean it up. My friend reported that their little elf got out underwear and put it up all over the Christmas tree..ok, this could be fun, seriously, I can have some REAL fun with this.. ahem, I mean..the Elves of course, not ME..


So, somehow Santa heard my cries and decided that this year he was going to let it ride since it's soo close to Christmas and all... and just send a letter addressing the issue and letting them know that next year they would have a visitor. Oh, and miraculously he sent the little elf already so that he could make at least 1 appearance before the year is over. He's authentic of course, original, one of a kind.. even has to be registered..you know, Santa has several hundreds and thousands out right now, monitoring. Gotta know where everyone is, keep track..you know!


His name is Cookies and Milk. We will call him "Cookie" for short. Probably to be in his good graces, he might have to have plenty of cookies throughout his stay at our house. Also, since he is original and one of a kind his little note will address that he should NEVER EVER be touched!



Cookie allowed me to take a couple of photo's of him so that I could let everyone know about the Elves..

He has little "wings" too yep this sucker's gotta fly alright, get out of harms way... See, he's holding the "authentic" note.... just in case you doubt my story...



Yep, I can see it now...oh the Elf stories to be had!! Hope this here blog will last a whole year. I have a feeling that it will, there is NEVER nothing to write about. It is just a timing thing. I need to limit to at least once or twice a week...too much time spent on the computer is too much damage to my home!


Umm, did want to let you all in on my pathetic Christmas Tree. For the past 3 years, we have had an issue of keeping ornaments on the tree and the treee actually standing erract. Artificial yes, if it was real, it would be worse, imagine a cat "marking" a tree..hmm, not a good thing.

You see, we have a FAT and FURRY elf running around, one that frequently climbs up the tree and knocks it down. I am tired of replacing tree's and ornaments..etc. So, the past 2 years, I have refused to add any ornaments. In fact, stupid me, I decided that we needed a newer tree last year and replaced it. Same deal, limbs no longer stay upright because it can't afford to hold a 20 lb cat...so it looks pitiful yet once again. Here is a visual of the darn thing. Notice the no presents underneath. well, that is if you can see under it....Umm, that could be because the overweight furry thing, likes to tear things up ( even without nails) and of course, Keaton. Christian, just stands there and "looks" even " directs" on opening the corners etc... then will report to me what Keaton or the cat had done. Nice. Good luck with that Cookie! You've got your work cut out for you!!



First, here is the predator.... Don't let that cute furry face make you feel sorry for him! It's a disguise...he is as much of a handful as the boys....









Came home to this the other day...well, most days since Thanksgiving. See him?? The tree is actually in our front dining room. We have a couch and a chair along with my treadmill in there..






Found him climbing this morning. Caught it just before it fell...




Tree down! You can't see him, but he's underneath it just hangin out.




So, there ya have it. I could lock Waffle up all day, that wouldn't be nice. Santa might not get me something :( So, I just assume that one day he will out grow the need to "climb". Right. He's a cat. Well, if anyone wants to know about the elves and might need one to come visit your home... just email me and I can let you know where I found him..aghemm, I mean...I can let you know how to get in touch with SANTA to send you one...

Disturbia

Disturbia...my word for FAR WORSE THAN disturbing ...

So, I know this may shock you all..but I have to share it because it's funny. And this blog thingy is about funny..so I must share.

Keaton (you guessed it), is a master at mimicking things and people.. always a recipe for disaster!! Ok, he can mimick the lunch lady, his teacher, the librarian...but NEVER oh sonny boy..NEVER mimick your MOTHER!!! NOOOOOO!! knock yourself out mimicking dad ( and you know there's a lot you can do with that), not me!

It's like this. I am just like every other women out there... and don't deny this ladies you know it's you too, but every once in a while I get this hair that kinda shows up on my face...shocking I know, it's not like I could get a second job at the fair or anything...but you know, it has to be ugh, plucked. Yep, that sucker ain't leavin the house on this here face!! YIKES!

So, the other night, here I begin to pluck that badboy out and Keaton is all eyes.. Not really paying attention, I hold my mirror and do my thing. Well, he decides to take my tweezers to school with him. He put them in his pocket and off he went to class, me "clueless".

So, a few mornings go by... and then the teacher ( along with the Principal behind her so he could hear her) came to me in line up when dropping him off and said... " Oh, I took this from Keaton the other morning. He was doing something with it on his face.. I was afraid he would hurt himself, he said "mommy does this".. full smile on her face...NICE!

oh, gee...thanks he must mean his daddy, I'll be sure to give this back to him. All the while the principal stands a little closer to listen ( or examine my face!) GREAT!! SECRET OUT!!!

So, now everyone knows about the hair and some other unmentionables about me ...(other posts) If you come up to me and examine my face, well...just remember .. you have kids too and what are they telling about YOU??? hmmm???


ummmm, no picture with this one.