Just Checkin' In

RAOK is still on going.. not easy to get in someetimes..and WHY is that? It is starting to be something that I think about all day as I try and find an opportunity. Mostly it's opening doors for people, picking something up they dropped, etc..I guess I'm just searching for something a little more.

Sweets: going GREAT! Haven't had a bite, have had some tempting things thrown at me but NO GO! So a few prayers go up for the boys..GREAT!

I have really been spending my time on the Wii lately. Just having a blast excercising. I used to really DIG running and working out everyday. I wish I had the time , energy and " elements" to make it possible the way it did when I was younger. A little movement is better than no movement :) Well, ta ta for now, got two screaming kids behind me.

A Wii bit tired..

Update: RAOK mission accomplished. This is really quite fun, makes for a wonderful day! I caught a person getting on the elevator this morning who dropped a few books, and couldn't carry all that she had to load downstairs. I pushed her cart, handed her a few books and carried her coffee to the table downstairs while pushing my cart as well...fun fun! Sweets, well another prayer went up for my DMD community as the whole bowl of assorted chocolate bars were sitting on the table at work...I resisted of course :)

Ok, came home and decided to get this Wii fit thing hooked up...OH MY WORD! What a fantastic way to exercise...LOVE IT! I will say that my character looks a little chubby..hopefully by the end of the year she wont look so bad :)

Hope you are having a great day...and try a RAOK for one week and see if this doesn't change you a bit... totally fun!

STEROIDS can be your best friend!

UPDATE: Well, so far soo good! I resisted the bowl of chocolate on the table at work, said a prayer for my DMD guys....actually had numerous opportunities for a RAOK today, but the one I am giving credit for is cleaning off the desk of a co-worker who has been on maternity leave for 8 weeks and is due back to work tommorrow. Her desk looked a mess with dust and all of our junk on it. So, I took a bleach wipe, cleaned it all down, replaced her things and made it look just like she left it... she will never know.

Ok, now for fun stuff... umm, lets see... oh I could tell you about why I didn't post last night. Here's the scoop. I have been suffereing from this terrible itch that turns out to be an allergic reaction to my asthma med. So, I ended up getting a steroid shot last night around 7 ish.. which if any of you all have had this, knows that it's bound to set in motion HYPERACTIVITY. I get home, feeling pain from my shot. I sit for a bit and WHAM.. it hits me! I walked into Keatons room ( a place most should never go) and I finally got the engery to clean it out. I started at 9 and was finished by 10:30, I re-arranged furniture, pulled out his lovely stash from under the bed, dresser and closet and would have re painted had I had any paint. I should have taken a before and after pictures... here is what I found under the bed:

1. pot tart box, minus 4 pop tarts
2. soda can, empty
3.every battery that I bought for Christmas presents and couldn't find so I bought more, lost those and bought more.. get the picture?
4 lots o toys.. no matching parts
5. some computer speakers that he " cut" with ..
6. a pair of scissors
7. Tape of course.. lots of tape
8. candy wrappers
9. breakfast bar wrappers
10. his windsheild wiper that he usually sleeps with
11. screwdriver set
12. Christian's lego box
13. Cell phone car charger
and many many more, but this was what I could remember.

Yes, I do check his room quite frequently, but during the holidays, I just hadn't had the energy to tackel it. He was quite upset at my new rule ( which isn't new, just the punshment is) that for every piece of food found in his room, I will confiscate 1 playstation game. if he has no more games left, then the playstation goes. Ta da! He called me today while I was at work to tell me that he was " checking on me" wanted to know " what time I would be home" and that he is keeping his room clean...hmmm, don't think I didn't make it to his room first thing when I came home... but lucky for him, he was telling the truth and it looked pretty much like I left it yesterday :)

So, pictures to come of the misshaps, just not tonight..don't worry, there is plenty I'm sure! Till next post friends..Have a blessed day :)

Twenty Ten Take Two...

Ok, day two of twenty ten and so far so good. Although, I will say that what I thought would be the hardest of my two NYR is not the hardest after all. Avoiding sweets is not the problem, it's finding an opportunity for RAOK everyday. I ventured out at one point hoping to have an opportunity, but didn't. I did however loan out some windex to a neighbor and when she tried to pay me, I declined. I guess this could count.

Now I must go get off early tonight, I know only day two and I'm cutting it short. But I am waiting for a " date" with my brother and parentals on SKYPE...so, ta ta for now! OH and a BIG THANK YOU to my FB buddie and now blogger friend, Kat..who is reading my blog!

Happy New Year!

Ok, LOOOOONNNG time no write. I know, but I vow to make this year a little better in the life of the " blog".

For starters, let's talk about New Years Resolution. Yep, I made one... crazy me. I REALLY want to see this through this year though. Here it is, I only made two:

1. ELIMINATE ALL SWEETS for an ENTIRE YEAR.

Ok, wow, I know what you're thinking..impossible. Not exactly. The idea behind this is not to be on some crazy diet, it's meant for me to suffer a little bit. I decided that the guilt of living a normal, typical life with not much in the way of discomforts has distrubed me. Thinking of Christian and his daily struggles continues to wear on me. I want to help him, wipe this thing away, but I can't. So, my plan is to fast for him this year. To deprive myself of all sweets, to pray for him and my DMD community. To have daily discomforts ( hey, I work in an office full of women that LOOOVVVE sweets). That's the plan.


2. Do one RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS everyday this year.

It doesn't have to be a BIG noticable act..just something that may spark a " pay it forward" type of deal. I just want to be a better person this next year, thought this would help.


OK, so this blog thingy is going to first list my two Resolutions and then contain whatever else tickles my fancy. I'm sure it will have some contents of Keaton and his crazyness and tales of Wanita and Christian...so stay tuned..if anyone is even out there that reads this thing anymore..

So far today I have stuck to the code and have not consumed any sweets and performed 1 RAOK first thing this morning. Here's what I did. Typically, I take Wanita for a short walk in the cove first thing in the morning before I head off to work. This stimulates the poopy thus helping us all out. So, I had started getting the newspaper for two of my neighbors as their paper is generally thrown at the curb, and with it being butt freezin cold it only makes their morning a little warmer. Both are older, and read their paper with coffee first thing when they get up. This morning I was a little late getting out there, but I decided to add another person to the list, another neighbor. I know she doesn't particularly have time in the morning to read the paper, nor have time for coffee I'm sure. It's easier for her to get it, but this morning it was on Wanita and myself to get if. So, there is my first RAOK... I'm just getting started!


Sooooo..... Bring on twenty-ten!

Odd but true....

More of Keaton's obssession with "TAPE" and "FANS" This is a shot of tape hanging from his air conditoner vents with tissue on the ends.... why??

For some strange reason, he uses the tape as kinda like a flag... he sets this up EVERYWHERE! I have banned tape from my home. I step in it, I wash it in the washer, it gets on my clothes and in the car, it has even been removed from my clothes at CHURCH!!

Yes, strange indeed! OK, this next shot is of Waffle, who no matter where he is, runs to my seat after I get up. I come back and this is what I have to contend with....

He is an odd little ( well, maybe not little) kitty. He rarely goes anywhwere without his buddy, the scorpion puppet. He will look for it at night and call to it before coming to bed... Here he is with his buddy...

Well, that should be enough Oddness for now, believe me ...there is plenty more left. If anyone can figure us out, please let me know...... am I this odd????

Boo-hoo!!

Sad Sad day for me!!!

I am officially off jury duty! :( I called today and was told this was the last recording as I no longer have to call the number, I am no longer a perspective juror, my service has ended!!!


To tell you the truth, I am really sad about this! I enjoyed my experience! I now have to wait 2 whole years before I can serve again :( boo hoo!!!!! HOWEVER, I was told that I could be called in any time for Federal Jury!! Wow, that would be some BIG BIG cases...keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Is it the end???

Well, I think my jury duty days are almost over. I was kinda glad that they didn't call me for this last case. It appeared to be a bit "overstuffed" with info that I could not control my ADDness for. I can only stay tuned for soo long and then.... oops, you lost me, I was somewhere on the beach. That wouldn't be too good for the poor person on trial.


Now, a little update on the Canine Companions thing...oh who am I kiddin, no one reads this thing anymore..I'm acting like I have this audience when I am basically talking to myself.

Well, who cares...so, Canine Companions...we have officially been ACCEPTED!! Yeah! Now we just have to wait to see what class we are in . Every Feb, May, Aug, and Nov they hold 2 week classes. We are hoping to be in the May class as this works best for Christian as far as school and spending the days at home with the dog without little brother around. ( Brother will be busy this summer terrorizing counselors at the YMCA)...

Well, that's it for now, I do have some funny video's to post, maybe this evening...maybe not. I have to get two boys baths, help with homework, and your typical evening stuff...
Tah Tah for now!

Jury Duty

Hadn't written in awhile but felt compelled to write about my Jury Duty experience. The story starts like this...

Now, I have never had to serve on Jury Duty before. But going along with everyone elses attitude about serving, I though I Would surely hate it. I got my little notification letter, went to the fist calling where we were informed that a Juror typically serves 3 months, however we were the so called " Lucky Ones" to get a break and only have to serve 2! wha- hoo!! ( or so I thought). I was to call in every night from January til the end of February. The sucky part of it all was not knowing if I had to go in til the night before, so any of my meetings with work ( which I have LOTS of) may not happen and I would have to cancel with these poor families. But, this is my " Civil Duty" so chin up and serve well fellow citizen!

So, all goes pretty well until the big day....January 20...Inauguration Day! I will NEVER EVER forget this day, not because it's our first Black president ( although he isn't black because his mama was white and on the birth certificate they HAVE to list the mother's race as the race of the child, therefore he is WHITE you people!) but because of the tragedy that I went through!

I found out on the 19 that I was to report for Jury selection the next day. Still the same attitude of: This is stupid...I am dreading this...yada yada yada... ok, so now I show up ( a little early) and have to sit outside the court room because court is in session. Great, gives me time to complain with the other perspective jurors. But as I look around and more and more start showing up, I am a little concerned with who they have to pick from. I mean, you've got a guy to my left who looks like he slept in the bus station last night, smelly, greasy hair and talking about his family that are all locked up. Who is he talking to? Another guy who smells like he just got out of a bar. Then there's pops, who comes with his walker, can't hear anything and is completely outta breath by the time the doors open. I thought he was gonna croak right there by his raspy breathes and shaky self.

Once inside, the judge explains that he has a case and will call 13 names to sit in the jury box. Or at least that's what I thought I heard. Mind you, by this time I was in complete utter shock that gramps over here is still with us and that the stinky greasy bus station guy is handing someone gum ( or is it??) to some other disgusting figure. All of a sudden, the first name the judge calls is .... "Mrs. Kristina Powell". Nice. Juror #1 of course! oops, what am I supposed to do again? I stand up, walk up front and look around, thanking the convict that I now have to sentence with a slignt nod, he points me in the right direction. Great.

So with all 13 spots filled ( greasy bus guy sits in front of me), the prosecuting attorney starts her spill. I'm trying to give it my best and fight my ADDness. Judgie poo then talks to us and each one of us has to tell him a little about ourselves. GREAT, in front of the felon! At least we didn't have to give our address etc. So, a few jurors get voted off by the prosecuting attorney and the other lawyer dude and wham, we now have our 13. Me being #1. Prosecuting attorney lady asked me a question, lucky for me I was paying attention and she smiled and now she is really checking me out. Pay Attention Kristi, don't mess this up.

The story is the felon guy was caught driving recklessly ( age 19) and tried to run from the cops. When he finally pulled over, he tried to get out of the car and run. But supremeo cop stopped him, saw the bottle of Gin in the front seat, almost empty, and smelled the tall tell sign of what he had been doing. He asked the felon, " Did you have anything to drink tonight?" " sure did" was the response.

Ok, sounds like a confession to me welp, I know what my vote is... so now the dude recants and thinks he should be left off and not get a DUI. ( not to mention that he is under the legal age for drinking). So, now I'm all about this. We get this cool official badge for Jurors..I'm important!! We get to go back and take a break, sent off to lunch to watch the Inauguration, and report back. We have the coolest break room with candy and coffee..I mean "life is good as a juror! Can I have this as my profession?? All time juror yeah buddy! I'm all about this. Court officials and officers smile as we walk by, and me..JUROR #1 Yah! I'm all excited, ran to work to show off my badge, and believe me they tried to get info about the case, but I stayed true to my duty and told them NOTHING! Top secret, for us IMPORTANT people~

So now we go back hear some more witnesses, me the only juror with a notepad and pencil. I am ALL about this!!! But there's a problem, waaaaaay back in the beginning before he called us to the jury box, Judgie poo told us that 1 juror would not be allowed to deliberate and that their name would be drawn out of the deck with all our names and whomever name comes up goes home. I kinda remember this, but not really. So, just about time to deliberate and I grab my purse, I'm ready to go back and discuss this when all of a sudden... "Mrs. Powell, you're free to go"....What??? What?? No way!!! I start to stand up and my face tells it all. Judgie Poo says " Wow, we've never had that response before." Well, I didn't even realize it at the time, but I started "pouting" ...Oh yes, pouting! Well, I work with 2 year olds all the time what do you expect!

So, now I must leave. I sadly walk by the awesome jury room, take my badge off, and head for the door. DANG!! This can't be! This just can't be! So distraught that I try to exit by way of the closet door. Thanks bailiff! Once outside the door, a police officer asks me to wait as the prosecuting attorney wanted to speak with me. hmm, ok, sure. Maybe she has a special assignment for me?! No, she wanted to know what my vote would have been. Dah, this isn't rocket science, the guy is guilty and should have his license removed...She liked that and said I could call her to know what happened.

As I head to the office, I am seriously SERIOUSLY bummed! I could barely get in the door without expressing my feelings. My boss said I could go home, all paid for by Civil Service..still didn't help me though. I came home and could not for some reason get it together... I mean, this was unfinished business for me. And that's just how the rest of my week went. All week, nothing I did worked out. I would try and call new referrals, no one called me back, I tried to see people that were scheduled, they weren't home, I made arrangements to see a mama at the hospital with a sick baby and she dodged me.. I mean ALL week this went on and I STILL could not get over this whole court thing. I later found out that the other juror's decided the guy was not guilty of drunk driving and the judge was not happy with that decision. Go figure! There would have been serious lock down if I was still there because the guy was GUILTY!! That's what you get when you leave it up to some of those crazy folks!

Now, I know this was rather long and hopefully you have stayed with me here because I have some GOOD NEWS...or not so good news...


I have to report for Jury selection AGAIN tomorrow! Now I am here to tell you that if they kick me off this time, I won't go out without a fight!! I may just start crying or something! Chances are that they won't call me again, and it won't be the same if I'm not Juror #1. But , if I am called, at least I can wear that cool badge and eat some snacks in the deliberation room that is ONLY FOR JURORS!!!

Wish me luck!!!

A little Housekeeping...

lol! It's been so long since I last updated that I almost forgot my password. Phew! A lot has gone on in a short period of time. Keaton has kept me busy with : tape everywhere, his makeshift fans with flags all over the house, a whole box of honey buns found under his bed...empty, every poop means he want a bath ( we sometimes have 3 or 4 baths a day, yep he poops that much. He can't stand his own smell so he pushes what's ready.. out then gets in the tub never waiting for ALL of it... ok, TMI sorry), me stepping on a lego piece and almost needing stitches, slugs poppin up everywhere ( I know, crazy..I can't figure this out), me being on call for Jury Duty..look out..and really much much more but frankly I AM TIRED and it's only the 12th ! Here is to the 2009 and trying to enjoy these crazy moments and cherish the chaos in my home because someday they will be all grown my house will be quiet. hmm, quiet? What is that???

Anyway, a little update on Christian's Canine Companion quest. We have our last (yeee-haw!)interview this coming Thursday. Technically, they have this interview at the center ( which is in Orlando, Florida) but we were fortunate enough to have a representative come to Memphis instead. So, after this interview if all goes well we should be next in line for training, which I hope is in May. Two whole weeks in Orlando...umm, I forsee some exciting adventures ahead!!! If for some reason they can't find us the right dog, then we could be placed in the Aug or Nov class. Let's hope it's May!! The dog is bred and raised by CCI, they use Labrador Retriever's, and Golden Retriever's and a mix between the two. We hope for a lab ( shorter hair is less mess if you catch my drift). I am also hoping my mom will be able to come with us. Charles and Keaton will have to stay home as they do not want siblings around because they want this dog to bond with Christian and no one else. Anyway, keep your fingers cross for Christian this Thursday and the upcoming months. As far as his strength goes..well, no major changes still holding his own :)

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.

Here's to the bird!

Ohhh, I am STUFFED! We did the traditional thing, eat till you are full..go to the bathroom, then eat some more, Full. Had heartburn all night, ugh, why eat soo much, you don't feel any better???

So, let me give you a run down on our Thanksgiving. Mostly went without incident. But, a few little funny things thatI must share.

First there is Chuck. Yep, I was able to convince him that HE needed to get up early and prep the bird. Every year, it's me. I get up, butter the butt and slap it around and cook it. I think this year...it should be him. So, after showering, I noticed he was up and in the kitchen. well for crying out loud, it worked! Went to the kitchen, and this is what I saw..

All he needed was a gun and a ski mask...someone broke in to steal the turkey!! But look again, you may have missed this......

orange knee highs....nice.

Ok, so moving along. He decided later to head to the store, in his lovly outfit, icluding socks with sandals, and get a pecan pie for work. While he was at the store, I asked him to bring home a baster. I first need to share with you what happens to my cooking utensils. For some reason, my cooking utensils make great shovels and what have you. I have lost a good portion of spoons, forks, spatulas and obviously my baster to the great outdoors. I don't think basting with a baster that was used for a mud pie would be a good idea.

So, got the new baster, checked it out and it looked a little like the "BMW" of basters. Of course, I never cook. The baster that I previously owned was a hand me down from my mom...it was probably a hand me down from grandma which was probably a hand me down from Noah. get the picture?

Excited by the new thing, I quickly cut the ties and started using. My first suction it grabbed a whole bunch of juice and stuff...but then wouldn't really release to well. what in the world?? so, try again...Charles, you bought this stupid thing and it doesn't work! It now doesn't release at all and the ball you squeeze won't puff back up! I'm just about panicking, because without basting..you get dry bird, YUCK! Here he comes.... shaking his head, he says not a word and fixes the problem.

Look at this, tell me you wouldn't do the same thing as I did.

There is something in there. I thought it was to help with sucking out the juices..some really nifty way to do it. Look at the next photo..

but nooo there is a brush that you use to clean the inside of the stupid thing...who whould have thought?. Dah! I knew that! A little FYI...it doesn't work to well with the brush in it while trying to suck up juices.

Nice little discovery. But here is the finished product!

Nice birdy bird! Very tasty... All in all, it was a yummyful thanksgiving. For the first time, I did crock pot stuffing which was VERY GOOD! Thanks Dawn! Anyway, Happy Turkey Day to all my friends and fellow bloggers.

Charles and his Sack O Nuts!

Ahhhh come on now, get your mind out of the gutter! I was referring to his nuts that he loves soo much..lol!

Chuck has a thing for walnuts, pecans and some other funky named nuts. He said he used to get them in his Christmas stocking as a kid. ok, whatever...anyway, since it's the season for nuts ( literally) he came home with some walnuts and decided to crack away on my couch. Thanks!

So, cracking away...here comes Keaton...Watcha got there dad?...nuts, want some? hysterical laughter from Christian as he knows another term for nuts. sure dad!

Meanwhile I am in the kitchen not really paying attention to the cracking going on in the next room, UNTIL...Keaton comes in and starts this WEIRD noise that only I and one other person (Taran) knows how to do. It's a nifty way to itch your throat, makes a pretty interesting noise...anyway, here he is standing in front of me making this noise and he is saying something that I can't understand. What? come again? What's that on your face? He is now starting to look like Hitch. Member this? Big puffy face, the whole shabang!

CHARLES!!!! Nah, he's fine, give him some bendadryl. Alright, can you breathe son? Take a deep breath, are you all right?? Mom, my ears itch, I think the potatoes need to come out!

Benadryl to the rescue! Q-Tips to itch and romove potatoes.... Whew, NO MORE NUTS!! Hysterical laughter once again from Christian. So, we sit down to watch a movie and Keaton comes to me once again, looking better had been running around...and says. mom, my tummy hurts. Ok, not thinking..I say You probably need to poop, head on in there and sit for a little bit. He comes back, no luck..no poop. Well, still not thinking I think he needs a belly rub, a little massage to move the poop! So, massage I go, a little deeper, harder and then...... he gets up and runs to the restroom. Great, it worked! I am soo proud!

But NOOOOO, not poop....Vomit, all over the bathroom! Here I am trying to be the loving, supportive mom and I am GAGGING as I rub his back...every noise, I GAG some more... I can't even get the words out to Chuck that we are both loosing our cookies in the bathroom. Nice, who will have to clean this up? Should be the one with the sack o nuts!

So, I guess we now know that Keaton is allergic to walnuts. It could be worse I'm sure! Aren't you glad you check my blog everyday for stories like this? Makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy now doesn't it? Hey, at least I have no pictures with this one...

Another Note

Brotherly love at it's best! Now, I found this little note about a year ago, it now resides in my closet in an album that has the kids drawings, art projects and special little notes like this one. I discovered it one day while cleaning out Christian's nightstand. See, it's like this. On the weekends, he takes prednisone, which makes him moody and irritable. You can barely bump into him and he thinks the world is coming to an end, crying and just feeling let down. So, since Keaton is a regular in causing mass amounts of emotional let downs..I had decided to have him write his feelings down rather than let it out verbally... a little safer for us all. ( or at least I thought).



So, now onto my little discovery... I actually found this quite humorous..I hope you all do as I KNOW he does not mean this!

EXACTLY how it is written:

Dear Keaton Powell


you are a pimp and you shutup your mouth. I hate you. I dont like you.

Your not playing my game tommoww. You are a dodo.

You are a brate day ( boy). Your not geting your pencle back.

I have your big pencile. You meet me at 3:00 tommorww.

this is the end of you.Your going to pay for what you do to me.



Look out Keaton, he has your big pencil and YOU'RE NOT GETTING IT BACK..tooo dang funny!!
Anyway, I also have this posted on my board at work...keeps me laughing!
Just so that you know I don't make this stuff up... here is the proof, hard to read, but here it is!

Because he is a diligent student, who goes above and beyond...he circled several words...not sure if they are adjectives pronouns or what have you..see, I was not that diligent of a student.