Vanilla had a cut on her paw that we couldn't get to heal, so she had to wear "the cone of shame" for a few days. It didn't seem to bother her, but she was running into everything, including our legs! It was really quite funny to watch. The vet said she was so good that she gave her a sticker on her cone. ha ha!
Tonight I was talking to the kids and I made the statement, "he doesn't have a leg to stand on". Myshel, my oldest, my 18 year old, looked at me with an odd expression and said, "What does that mean? Did he get his legs amputated?" Yes, she's a college student! Ha Ha
I'm not sure if I should be concerned at some of the cookies that were made this year, though and I'm really sure that they wouldn't be appropriate "Christmas" cookies for friends.
I'm blaming their dad----that definitely must have come from his side of the gene pool!!!
Chad and I had to run errands in Portland earlier this week, so we decided we'd be brave and take the kids with us. Before heading for home, we stopped and ate dinner at On the Border. (Yummy!)
The kids meals came with a kid's sundae and Noah and McKaylie chose strawberry. (Vance had chocolate--even though he didn't have a kid's meal) About half way through his sundae, Noah told me that I could have it. When I asked him why, he said the strawberries tasted funny.
I thought that seemed strange because McKaylie was enjoying hers and it looked really good. I took a small bite to see. It was really good--fresh strawberries, very sweet--delicious. I couldn't understand what he was talking about. So, I asked him what was wrong with them. "They don't taste anything like my strawberry milk."
I couldn't believe it! Chad laughed and we both agreed . . . more fresh strawberries . . . less strawberry milk.
Myshel is always complaining about eating meat. She tells us that she's a vegetarian all the
time. Which we find completely hilarious because she loves hamburgers, steak, chicken, etc. So it didn't come as any surprise when she announced to Chad and I yesterday that she was a vegetarian again. We reminded her that she loves hamburgers and chicken, so, technically she couldn't be a vegetarian.
Her answer, "Fine, I'm a pork-atarian because I hate pork chops and ham and all that stuff."
Chad (through a chuckle): "You do realize that you're eating a ham sandwich, right?"
She looked a little sheepish but avoided his question. Then Vance reminded her that she loves bacon, which she promptly countered that bacon doesn't count.
I smiled and said, "So, let me get this straight, you're a pork-atarian that eats ham and bacon."
Myshel, "Bacon doesn't count as pork."
Vance, "I think the pig would disagree."
Noah's always telling me that he loves me more than dad (Chad) and that I should dump dad (Chad) and marry him. It's very cute and makes me laugh.
Yesterday Noah was in my bed watching TV and I joined him. He was watching SpongeBob. I tried to take the remote but he wouldn't let me.
Me: "Dad loves me enough to let me have the remote"
Noah looked at me and then over at Chad and slowly hands me the remote. "I love you that much too . . . but don't change the channel."
Me after laughing a bit: "Dad loves me enough to let me watch what I want."
Again, Noah looked at me and then at Chad. Clearly trying to decide if I was worth it. In the end, SpongeBob beat me out!
He is a Webkinz Chipmunk that Noah adopted on Christmas day. Noah loves Chippy very much. Noah and Chippy go everywhere and do everything together. One day Chippy and Noah went outside to play in the snow. When I checked on them, Chippy looked a little cold and sad.
So I had a talk with Noah about talking good care of Chippy. I told him that maybe Chippy shouldn't play outside in the snow anymore. Noah was very sad about that and asked me to do something for him and Chippy. 
Now Chippy won't get cold because he doesn't go outside without his winter gear on, just like his friend Noah.
McKaylie and I were listening to Carrie Underwood's song, Cowbody Cassanova. She was singing along and then stopped short and asked, "What's a record machine, mom?"
My aunt emailed me this little story and I had to share it on here
Anyone who has ever dressed a child will love this one!
Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots? He asked for help & she could see why.
Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots didn’t want to go on. Finally, when the 2nd boot was on, she had worked up a sweat.
She almost cried when the little boy said, “Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet.” She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.
He then announced, “These aren’t my boots.”
She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, “Why didn’t you say so?” like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet.
No sooner had they got the boots off and he said, “They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ‘em”
Now she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.
Helping him into his coat, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens?”
He said, “I stuffed ‘em into the toes of my boots.”
Her trial starts next month……..
The frogs didn't seem to mind too much. After awhile she gave them something to sit on . . . just in case they wanted out of the water. 
I swear, sometimes I wonder if these kids are mine!
Vance, Noah and McKaylie were sliding on the pool cover and then running into the side of the pool. They were having a good time but it didn't seem like it would be that fun to me.
Here's Noah and McKaylie in the pool. The boys where their t-shirts so that they won't get sunburned. I've tried to explain that sunblock works well, but they insist on their shirts.
Vance, McKaylie and Noah were playing outside the other morning. I knew they had their frogs and tadpoles and didn't think much of it. When they came in Noah told me they were throwing the frogs up on the roof and watching them jump off. I thought I'd misunderstood him, but no, they really were doing that.
I told them that wasn't nice and they assured me that all the frogs hopped away . . . except the one that stayed on the roof.
So, now I probably have a dead frog on the roof . . . nice!
I think the discussion about being kind to the Lord's creatures is in order!
Ok, This is right up there with my most embarrassing moments ever.....
I went to Target.....I love Target by the way. I was by myself, no kids, no distractions, nothing. So, I get out of my car and start to walk through the parking lot to the store. I don't know how it happened, I don't why, it just did. I tripped, my ankle twisted a little and I tripped. It was weird, too, because it was kind of in slow motion for me a little bit. I remember thinking, "what did I trip on, there's nothing there?" and then I remember thinking "is there anyway that I could just trip and some how not fall down and completely humiliate myself....nope, you're going down." I really thought all that coherently, before I hit the ground. I fell with enough force that it knocked me on my backside.....just so that you get the whole picture....I tripped on nothing apparently, fell on my knees and the rolled to my behind, contents of my purse flying everywhere..... Nice, huh.......
Well, while I'm feeling completely stupid, picking myself up off the ground, dusting myself off, and trying to inventory my clothes for embarrassing tears, I realize that the car I parked next to had 2 guys sitting in it. They had a great view of "the incident" and were rolling around laughing about it. Great, of course there's an audience! So, once I checked myself to make sure I'm ok, I start to pick up my phone, my wallet, the lotion and pens and chapstick and everything else that flew out of my purse when I hit the ground.
After I gathered myself and all my belongings, trying to muster even the smallest amount of dignity, I start to walk toward the store again. A lady jumps out of her car and rushes over to me and asks if I'm ok. I little late than never, I think, but at least she didn't sit in her car and laugh at me. She looked terrified, like I'd fallen off a cliff or something and all I could think was, I must have looked sooo ridiculous when I fell..... I assured her I was fine and that it was only my pride that was hurt, feeling ever more humiliated now because my audience was even bigger than I'd thought.
I walked through the parking lot and got to the store, turned around to look back and realized that there was 4-5 cars with people sitting in them, that were lucky enough to watch me fall on my butt! (And only one of them checked to make sure I was ok)
Chad and Myshel enjoyed my humiliation, too, when I told them about it later. It bothered me for the rest of the day!
Chapter 1: Way back in the day......when I was in high school...........I remember people calling my house and mistaking my voice for my sisters, or vise versa. There were many occasions that I would answer the phone and hear, "Hey, Debbie" and I would politely say, "this is Cindy". People calling our house for me had the same problem. My sister would answer and they would think it was me. I even had one guy tell me that he couldn't believe how much we sounded alike and it freaked him out a little. I thought it was funny, but never really thought much about it.
Chapter 2: A friend of mine called our house awhile back. She was calling for Myshel actually, something about young women's I think. She said, "Hey, how's it going this is Sister _____, and continued on with her message." When I got off the phone I though that seemed funny, that she would call herself Sister _____ when she was talking to me. Almost immediately after I hung up, the phone rang again. It was her and she was laughing, she told me that she just realized after she hung up that it was me on the phone and not Myshel. She told me that she couldn't believe how much we sound alike, "it's uncanny" were her words, I think.
Chapter 3: Myshel's friends and (boy) friends call for her and when I answer the phone, they think I'm her. One of her girlfriends used to call and say, "hey" and nothing else, until I'd say, "Did you want Myshel?" and her embarrassed answer was alway, "oh, yeah, sorry". I guess it is really strange that we sound so much alike, but I guess I'm used to that since apparently I sound, or sounded, so much like my sisters. Myshel thinks it's hilarious. I wonder if she'll think it's funny when her boyfriend calls next time and says, "Hey Myshel" and I say "Hey, how's it going?" and we have a little conversation about "things". hmmm this little querk could have some fun possibilities.
I know it may come as a shock to some, but until just recently I hadn't read the Twilight Saga. I heard all about it from Myshel and many other friends. I knew what they were about, what the story line was from beginning to end....Myshel was very thorough when relaying it to me as she read.....I'd seen the movie..... I didn't have a huge desire to read them, though. Maybe it was because I knew what would happen, I don't know....... But, I decided after Chad read them, that I would read them too. I started on a Thursday morning and I finished 8 days later----the entire saga read----all four books----2,444 pages. (It helped that I was sick part of the week and could just lay around for a good part of the day and do nothing but read.)
And, of course, I loved it, loved them! After I finished, I went back through the books and reread different parts and then reread some more. I am impressed at how these books just draw you in and there's so much to relate to on so many different levels. I think I knew I'd love them, maybe that's why I waited so long to read them, I didn't want to be a Twi-Mom!(ha-ha) I teased Myshel about them for a long time, so now, I have to eat humble pie and admit that they are great and I love them AND I am soooo an Edward fan! So, come November 20th, I'll probably be waiting in line at the movie theater, at midnight, with Myshel and a thousand other women, to get into the first showing of New Moon! Because now, I am totally addicted to Twilight!
Yesterday I was helping out with the book fair at the kid's school. I was taking the money, so when people were writing their checks, I'd get to talk to them a little bit. One teacher told me that one of her students came in that morning with a check for the book fair.
Student: "My mom said she didn't have any money in the bank, so she wrote me check."
I laughed and the teacher said, "Oh, that's not the best part. After she told me that, I thought to myself, I could do that, too! And so here I am."
I was talking with Noah yesterday, too.
Me: How was your day?
Noah: Terrible!
Me: Terrible????
Noah, laughing: No, it wasn't terrible. It was good.
Me: Aren't all days good days?
Noah: Yes, except for the bad ones.
Today I was helping out in one of the Kindergarten classes. We were working in small groups. My group was playing Rhyming Bingo. I told the kids a few words and they had to try and find a picture of something on their card that rhymed with them. Like, I would say "cat", "hat" and they needed to find "bat". I was working with one group and my clue words were "tell", and "well". One little boy yelled out "hell". I smiled and told him that did rhyme but I was sure it wasn't on his card and quickly found the "bell".
I woke up the other morning and McKaylie was sleeping at the end of my bed. Later that day:
Me: McKaylie, why were you sleeping in my bed?
Mc: I like your bed better than mine.
Me: Why, what's wrong with your bed?
Mc: You're not in it.
This morning while I was waiting for the bus, I decided to clean out the fridge. I took out all the leftovers that had been in there too long and dumped them in the sink, so that I could put them in the garbage disposal all at once. Noah watched me the whole time and then smiled and said, "I sure am glad I'm not that chicken." It was such a random statement and I just had to laugh. He's just so cute and says the cutest things. He must do the same at school because I am always hearing just how darn cute his teachers think he is. I agree with them. He is awful cute and I'm also glad that I'm not that chicken.
I opened the cupboard above my stove to pack it and there were 4 black bananas in there. Hmmmm, I know I didn't put bananas in the cupboard............I took the black, drippy bananas out just as Vance walked into the kitchen. "Oh yeah, I forgot I put those in there."
"Why did you put them in the cupboard?"
"Because I didn't want anyone to each them and I wanted you to make banana bread. Now you can make it."
"No Vance, I can't."
"Why not? I thought you needed black bananas."
"I do need ripe bananas to make bread, but I'd rather have banana bread that didn't make us all tipsy."
