Thanksgiving has come and gone. One word describes it ... DRAMA. 'Nough Said.

And on a very sad note .... I noticed today that all four of our frogs were deceased. Dried up. Turned Dark Green. Even Shrunk in size. Nasty. Apparently, frogs don't survive without light or water ... I'm being facetious, you must know this by now about me .... So, there they were. I was sooo sad. Kadi was mad at me. I put them on my hosta outside ... maybe they'll be good fertilizer. Sad. So very sad. I can't tell you how sad.

We are now a household of 9. Kimbra and the girls are here. We're all enjoying it. Khiana and Koelly are best friends.

Koel is sick. He threw up once a day for three days, then since has had diahrea once or twice a day for three more days. Wierd. He's just not himself. Then, this evening about 7:45 I went to look for him because he was very quiet ... he was asleep on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Wierd. I think if he isn't improved tomorrow, we will definitely go see Dr. Finn.

Night ... I'm off to bed ... hopefully I'll be in it before 9:00!

IT is SNOWING!!! It is November 24 and it is snowing!! We don't know if we are going to leave for Webb City or not .... Kyle has to decide about the weather. The weather report I saw said it could snow off and on until Midnight. We'll see.

Karen said we could eat with them tomorrow if we end up not going.

My kids have been playing snowball fight outside! Hilarious! And they've been making a snowman .... I'll get a picture if he turns out good.

Wierd. Just wierd. Snow. I hope this is an indication of things to come!!!!

I had a fun time with Kadi today. We went to Northwest Plaza ... Bath N Body Works. We pushed Koel in the stroller. Sometimes she did, sometimes I did. We laughed a lot. She loves the escalator too! We walked around and around in BNBW trying to decide what to buy Aunt Kimbra for Christmas and what to get Keenan, Kennedy, and herself ... I told her she has to forget! We'll see ..... It was fun. She said she could forget! Chocolate shampoo & lotion! Not edible, but the scented kind! Very fun! That's what she wanted. So ... that's what she gets.

I am officially done shopping for most everything I needed to buy this year. I still have a few stocking items to purchase ... and with Oriental Trading Company's help ... I'll have that done ... ASAP ... Felicia, Lauren, Kimbra, and I will split it all up .... costing us pennies a piece for the fun little things! Most items in the O.T.C. catalog come in a dozen ... so there you go! Fabulous! Of course, being that I have the most children, it will cost me the most. That's okay. I'm excited about it! A deck of cards shaped like a snowman? Come on! Too fun!!!

I'm cooking Venison for the second time right now in my Crock Pot. It is marinating in 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup, A red onion sliced into rings, 1/4 cup Red Wine, and an onion soup mix. It smells good. It is supposed to be served over rice. I'll make my observation later for those of you who are dying to know about my culinary adventure! I'm hoping I can eat it. My tummy is still a bit leary of it ... the memory of the head in the garage and all. That really truly grossed me out.

Kit & Linda will be here soon. I'm excited to watch Titus and Koel play. I hope it is good. I'm nervous and excited. I want them to like each other the way Khiana and Koel like each other. They're best buds! Cousin relationships have always been special to me ... well a certain few. It's like having extra brothers and sisters. Fun stuff.

Okay ... back to the land of my family .....

Wendy caught me after worship time for the kids this morning and crossed her legs. Immediately I knew I was in for a funny story. She and I understand the crossing of the legs after having given birth all too well .....

I was right .....

Apparently Kadi caught Isaac's eye about 3 songs before the end of the worship time and blew him a sly little kiss.

Wendy, leading the kid's worship, witnessed it and had to keep her composure for three more songs!

"I was DYING ..." She said.

Oh, how I wish I would have seen it too!

Kadi and Ike ... they're destined to be.

It is bedtime ... but I had to report about the fabulously lazy day I've had. The morning was actually rather hectic ... but at 2:00 p.m. the kids and I headed across the street to Scott & Felicia's. The kids played for hours! Felicia and I watched 4 movies! Elf, A Mighty Wind, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Goonies ... actually we left before Goonies was over ... I realized it was 10:30! Oh my word! Time flew! We just sat and watched t.v. It was so relaxing! And we watched Skyler and Koel. They're hilarious! They just love each other. I HAVE to go to bed ... I'm about to fall over .... I just wanted to make note of my day! I enjoyed it.

Kadi and Koel both had to get shots today. That was really tough. Kadi and I decided we'd have Koel go first ... we thought that would be smarter to keep him from being scared. So, Koel had his turn, and it totally freaked Kadi out ... oh how she cried. I cried. We were quite a threesome. Poor nurses. Kadi received four shots. Koel had two. It was awful. Just awful.

So, we came home and made an icecream shake ... I figure she deserved it.

Awful. Just awful. I hate making decisions that I know cause my children pain ... even though I know it is for the best ... that doesn't make it any easier.

It's Kyle's Birthday. He doesn't like to make a big deal of it .... but I love birthdays ... so I'll share my excitement here. I think there is something fun about a birthday. It's YOUR day. Kyle would rather it just pass. He says he isn't a scrooge, but he's this way about most holidays. Why, I wonder? I don't get it? Why not find the fun in things? I wish he could loosen up on the scrooge thing and let himself enjoy stuff. He just doesn't/won't. Oh well ......

Thing is .... now I'm looking at the fact that if I want Christmas lights up on my house I have to do it myself. I did last year and my legs shook so much that they hurt for three days afterward. Ladders are scary. This year we don't have a ladder here at home. Ugh. So, maybe I'll just put my Christmas Tree smack in the window. I like festive! Really, what is wrong with just enjoying the fun of the season? Yes, I believe Christmas is commercialized. Yes, I realize that so many people don't really know the true meaning of Christmas. Does that mean I can't enjoy a few of the things that make my heart happy just about the whole season. I know full well what Christmas is all about! I'm not going to feel guilty. I'm even doing Christmas cards this year! I haven't done that in a while!

Time to get the kiddies ready for school ... I could spend all day blogging .... once I start writing I find that I really do have something to say!

Elf came in the mail today! I am so very excited!

Felicia and I had another great adventure this evening ... actually it wasn't great ... it was awful. Basically, we BUSTED her tire. Accident. Pure accident. She hit a concrete sewer thing beside the street ... it was right on the street and we were parking! Then she lost her keys ... we've decided maybe we shouldn't go places together!

The deer meat (venison) is most in the freezers now. It's all ready for my touch now. I've been searching out recipes. And honestly, I am getting excited about fixing it. I'm nervous. I remember eating it when I was a girl and it was NASTY! But, I've been researching how to get rid of the 'game' taste ... so we'll see.

My fingers are sore today ... I hand sewed Keenan's cub scout patches on his shirt. Am I supposed to machine sew them or hand sew them? I'm not sure. I don't know how that would work with a machine on that small sleeve.

Koel had two naps today ... he's wired. It's late. Argh. Maybe I could watch Elf. No ... I'll wait til tomorrow ... I really can't wait to watch it with Keenan! I know he'lll love it! The girls watched it tonight while I was gone. I'm kindof sad ... I really wanted to watch it with them ... but there'll be more times I know. It is destined to be a Christmas season classic!

Well ... off to bed ... atleast to try ... Koel can dance on my head and I think I could still fall asleep ... it's the idea that he might be up to no good that could keep me awake.

Kyle is in the garage right now ... with Marty and ... his deer. My kids are watching. I just can't. What is it with me and gore? What is it with me and stress? I was just at Lauren's playing Nancy Drew with her on the computer ... my face is completely pink from the 'intenseness' of a game made for 10 year old girls!!! Good grief! I just feel like someone is going to jump out at me at any moment .... like they did in one game I was playing of Nancy Drew ... bonked my right on the head they did ... now I'm shell-shocked! Knocked me clean out. Well, not me ... really ... me as Nancy. Though I don't know that I'm an effective Nancy. Lauren and I together do well ... and it's a game for 10 year olds and up!!! Lauren will probably be up pretty late trying to crack Connie's veneer! So far we broke into the teacher's lounge and visited the boiler room ... that was spooky! We almost blew up at the restaurant. That was intense. Actually we did blow up ... but we had saved the game previously ..... close call! Always save your game periodically as you're playing! I have learned that much!

Keenan and Tyler did a very funny thing today ... Kyle has some fake deer antlers ... Tyler held them up to his head and began running around ... Keenan crouched low and became the hunter ... he aimed and Kapow .... down went Tyler .... facetiously of course ... Keenan then went and stood over him with a foot on his chest ... I SO took a picture! They were laughing and laughing. Hilarious.

Right now it is WAY past bedtime ... I really much be going and get them all off to bed ... hey, maybe I can get them in bed and sneak back over to Lauren's ... now that's a thought!!!!!!

This past Saturday was Isaac Lankford's Birthday party. I did not tell my children about it before hand ... I hate for them to be disappointed if something falls through ... so when I told Kadi ...

"Kadi you need to get dressed, today is Isaac's Birthday party ..."

She said ... with much enthusiasm mind you ....

"Ikey? My Boyfriend? I'm going to hug him and kiss him ....."

Now imagine a five year old with a large smile on her face dashing to her room to make herself pretty .....

Too cute. I, of course, called Wendy immediately and we had quite a giggle.

The party was fun. They jumped on the trampoline and did whatever 5 year olds enjoy doing ... under adult supervision of course. Pizza and cake ... Mmmmm ....

The next morning in Sunday school class ... I overheard Isaac ask Kadi ... "Kadi, didn't you think my party was fun" ... to which Kadi replied "Yeah" completely nonchalantly. Could this be the same little girl. Oh, how she doth string the poor little boy along!

Outgoing (E) 68.42% Withdrawn (I) 31.58% Imaginative (N) 60.61% Realistic (S) 39.39% Emotional (F) 74.19% Intellectual (T) 25.81% Organized (J) 57.14% Improvised (P) 42.86% Your type is: ENFJ You are a Persuader, possible professions include - entertainer, recruiter, artist, newscaster, writer/journalist, recreation director, librarian, facilitator, politician, psychologist, housing director, career counselor, sales trainer, travel agent, program designer, corporate/team trainer, child welfare worker, social worker (elderly services), interpreter/translator, occupational therapist, executive

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It was raining after school ... well who am I kidding ... it rained all day. Back to the story ... I waited in the car for 3:25 to roll around. It did ... and the children came pouring out of the building. Kennedy came out fairly quickly. Then, I began my search of the crowd for Keenan's face. I found him. Boy was he smiling! As he approached me, I saw why ..... the boy had his good green pants tucked into his soccer shin-guards! Proud he was! I said "Keenan! What is that???" And oh how he laughed. He thought he was too funny! I'm becoming more and more convinced that my boy is a leader and doesn't give a flying fig what others think of him. He is an individual. Fine by me ... shin-guards and all!

I'm BACK!

Well ... time certainly does fly. It has been a crazy school year. So many funny things have passed and not been written down. I am sad about that ... but it is never too late to start again!

Today I moved the honking big desk out of Keenan's room and put it into the office. I took it apart to move it. Then gradually let it make its way down the stairs. Pretty scary. I took down my door/desk contraption. Now the closet doors are where they belong ... on the closet in here in the office. It really is quite nice now that it is all finished. I'm pooped though. I also had to clean up Keenan's room.

How does one lose a gameboy and all his games? That is the question of the last two weeks. Keenan has misplaced his gameboy and all his games. I have the case they all belong in, just not them! It really is quite perplexing. Ah well .... maybe tis a lesson in taking care of one's things.

What is it about Bologna? Sometimes I crave it, other times it nauseates me. No, I'm not pregnant ... it is just Bologna. Today I fixed it for lunch. Nasty stuff. But then tomorrow I may fix it and just love it. What is that?

Actually I've promised Kadi that we'll have PBJ. That is her favorite she says.

It's time to get the kiddies from school ... escuela.

Ta-ta for now!

Kadi is funny. Lauren is funny too. Last night to keep Kadi busy, Lauren gave her two chop-sticks and my little 'Pass the Pigs' pigs. She told her she would give her a penny for each pig she could pick up with the chopsticks using one hand. She was able to pick up two, so she got two pennies. Great! She was thrilled! So ... tonight she went over to play with Mackenzie at Charly's. She took her pennies with her. Later when Melissa brought her home, she was sad because she left her pennies there. Melissa gave her a quarter instead from her pocket. Kadi said no thank you, she wanted her pennies. Hilarious. We could not convince her a quarter is worth more. She told Melissa she still wanted her penny back. Melissa said she would look for it. Kadi said she thought the quarter was hot. Again, hilarious! Melissa just laughed. We did too ... Kyle and I.

Now the kids are in bed and Kyle is playing with his phone and I am playing on the laptop, and we're both watching the Olympics. I love it. Track and Field is intense. We just watched the USA women's relay team smoke all the other teams by two full seconds! Amazing! They looked like they were having so much fun!

So, I bought Kadi's birthday presents tonight. A Leapster and a Kindergarten game/educational cartridge that is Disney Princesses. I know she'll love it. I just realized while I was shopping that I have to get her cake made TOMORROW! Yikes. Her birthday is Saturday! I was able to shop tonight with just Kennedy. I love when I am able to have time with my kids one on one. It is very special to me and to them!

I peeked in on the girls a few minutes ago, and Kennedy is reading to Kadi. So sweet.

Keenan is doing a SpongeBob madlib. He LOVES Spongebob! My oh my.

Koelly has a fever of 101. I'm not sure why. He fell asleep first out of four tonight ... which he never does. I rocked him to sleep. Poor guy. Hopefully it will have been a small bug or fighting a cold off and tomorrow he will be fine.

Okay, I'm on to play either some spades or video poker on the computer .... G'Night.

Today is my sweet Momma's birthday. Happy Birthday Momma! I love you!

Dinner at Scott & Felicia's was so much fun last night. Felicia trying to start the gas grill was a riot in itself. There was much giggling with the two of us trying to figure it out without any male help. She was lighting papertowels and throwing them in! Nuts! It was so funny! Not a good idea, but funny!

And dinner was fabulous. We had marinated chicken, BBQ pork steaks, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, garlic bread, and salad. Yum! Then, onto the dessert that I made .... I had asked Felicia what her favorite ice cream was ... Rainbow Sherbet ... so we had a Rainbow Sherbet melted ice cream cake. It was amazingly good. I think it is my favorite so far on the melted ice cream cake front!

Kyle and Scott went to prayer meeting at Scott's church. They had a great time and I was thrilled Kyle could go. He is so excited about this relationship with Scott. We all are really. It was nice to sit around after they got back and discuss our Christian walks.

Oops ... electrician is here to bid kitchen work ... have to run!

Side note ... we've had 3 contractors come by and give the kitchen a look-see. I've received a bid from one already. I think it will be right at $5,000 for the job in the kitchen. We'll see what the others can offer. Kyle and I will be doing most of the tearout ourselves. That's cool. I can handle that and he definitely can. It is sooo exciting!

I'm bothered today. Gossip. It's a huge issue. I missed the sermon on Sunday at church, but it was on my heart regardless. We all hurt each other so much. I'll be the first to admit I gossip about my husband ... ie say things that would be hurtful to him. It is wrong, and I need to stop. It isn't a 'oh my what shall I do' issue. I just need to stop.

I had a lot of apologizing to do to Keenan and Kennedy today after school. They cried, both of them, most of the way to school today ... walking is too hard you see. A half a mile is what we walk. Each had 3 thin books and a folder in their backpacks. Well, those hurt their backs. Keenan walks with his shoulders all hunched over and drags his feet like he just .... can't .... go .... on ........... And Kennedy, she cried LOUD most of the way there this morning! By the time we were 3/4 of the way, I was about to lose my mind! I, then, started yelling ... which was wrong. But I was so upset. No excuse. I know that now. So, I sent my children into school in tears and sadness. I wouldn't walk them in. I told Kennedy that she had chosen not to obey me all the way to school. I was asking her to be quiet and realize she walks with her back pack HOME from school lots of times and is fine. And because she chose not to obey, I chose to stay outside when we got to school. That is yucky of me. I know it. I apologized. I wish they would be tougher, but maybe they're jsut not. I don't want to bully them either. It is tempting, but will that get me anywhere in helping them? No, tenderness and understanding will though. Man, parenting can be tough.

Kadi fell down this evening outside. She is all bruised up on her face ... her nose and the surrounding area are swollen and you can tell it's going to bruise pretty good. She was pulling the double stroller and got tangled up in it somehow ... pulling it, not pushing it. Boom, right in the kisser, so to speak. I feel so bad for her. She cried and cried, and bled and bled.

We also went to St. Louis Mills tonight with Lauren and the kids. We played at Nascar. Keenan shared his birthday tokens with everyone. I was very proud of him and everyone had a blast ... even Koel ... he got to ride the kiddie roller coaster ride/game thing. That was funny! AND with the tickets they all won, they all ate a bunch of candy! Woo-hoo!

Koel is hitting his terrible twos. He is really getting quite an angry little attititude when told no. He really tries to tell us off in his psuedo language of his. Sometimes it is cute, then I remind myself that it isn't. It is hard, but we're having to start really telling him no. AND getting him in trouble. That's no fun. He's just not a baby anymore.

Oh, update on Koel's list of words ... he said Cookie last night. So now we have ... Dada, Mom, Bubba, Didy (sissy), uh-oh, ball, butter, dirdy (thirsty), eat, kiss, hug, book, no, pee (please), deek (drink), .... maybe there are more ... hmmm .... nope, I'm blank right now. I know there are atleast two more. Point being, he is beginning to talk. Yeah!!! Of course, each and everyone can't be forced out ... he speaks when HE wants to. Little booger. He things he's real funny too!

Ah, bedtime ....

Okay, I'm really sitting here pining for the door bell to ring. I'm waiting for a contractor to come by and look at the kitchen and bathroom. He said he would try to get by today. PLEASE!!!! I'm waiting on another one to call me back. I hope they do soon. I think if they don't by 4:30, I'll call a different name on the list. We're so excited about the remodel! This is like a dream ... only there are limitations of budget ... but that is still okay! $5,000 is still $5000 I don't have myself to spend on it! Go St. Louis County!!! Keep up the value of my home!!!!

Kadi helped me clean the bathroom today. She was so happy to do it too. She said she just loves to help me clean. I took advantage and it is sparkling right now! I can't wait until it sparkles and LOOKS and IS new!!

Kadi is also doing very well with her lessons. I've known all along that once SHE wanted to learn, it would be no stopping her. I'm still having her do it slow, but she is smart as a tack. I just love this! Today we did letter C. She thought that it was funny that C looks the same whether it is big or little. I'm teaching her the sounds of course too. She really had fun with B yesterday. AND we are learning to draw our numbers. We did number 4 today. She does it beautifully! And she is writing letters and numbers on every piece of paper she sees! Hilarous! She'll ask me what it says and I try to sound it out! She laughs. She tried to write "Aunt Amy" today .... imimi.... I laughed when she told me what it was .... I said that was very close! But here's the funny part .... I haven't taught her what sound an M makes or an I. She is a listener. I'm very proud of her. We are also going through a little book about the Proverbs and I'm having her draw a picture about something from the Proverb. I think that is good. And when all is said and done, we're drawing our letter and number of the day on a piece of paper for Bubba, Sissy and Daddy to see when they get home! She's loving it! Yeah!!!!

Alright, I'm going to clean the basement now ..... invoices are done, lunch is done, Koel is sleeping, and Kadi is busy ..... Once she finds out I'm cleaning, I'll have a helper I'm sure!

It was also Kadi's first day of Kindergarten. We had a great time! Isn't she cute? She can write 1,2,3 and Aa and Bb. She also knows what A and B say. I'm proud of her. I knew she would fly through these first workbooks. Once she decides to do something, she does it! 

It is the first day of school ... actually it was yesterday ... but here they are on the first day READY to go!