I have a potty training story for you.......

Ok, I'm in the kitchen washing dishes and here Kiersten say, "Kael do you have to potty?". I don't pay much attention, well because he's wearing a diaper and we aren't really potty training yet. So a few minutes pass and I walk through the house to get something and pass the bathroom. I come to an immediate halt when I see Kael's diaper in the floor.

He is standing directly in front of the toilet (holding it), looks at me and says "peed, peed" very seriously. I stepped into the bathroom, turned on the light and sure enough that little stink had peed, right in front of the toilet all over the floor!

Had he been a foot taller he would have peed right in the toilet!

And, yes we are getting out the potty chair........

Long time no type. . . . .

It's been awhile, but here I am. So much has gone on since I last posted. I've been to CLEET. What a time that was.......... for those of you that don't know what CLEET is, well it stands for Counsel on Law Enforcement Education and Training. I had to be CLEET certified for my job. It was about 4 hours away in Wilburton (and I thought Miami was small!!) Oklahoma and I was there from Sunday thru Thursday every week for 11 weeks. There was a lot of physical training, custody and control, weapon retention, ground fighting, legal, etc., etc., etc....... We usually had 10 hour days, and then several days ranged from 14 to 20 hours depending on the exercise we were doing.

Apparently, I am bent. This because I really enjoyed CLEET. I made several friends while there, learned I am much stronger both mentally and physically than I thought and I learned how to protect myself should the need arise.

I could go on and on about it, but don't want to bore you any further. I may try and post pics sometime soon.

***********************

As for the little divinities Katlynn just started 7th grade (*gasp* this completely freaks me out - she's getting soooooo grown up), Kiersten just started 3rd grade (my baby girl isn't such the baby anymore!) and Kael well he's generally full of piss and vinegar, onery as the day is long and just about the most adorable little guy I've ever laid eyes on....not that I'm partial or anything!

************************
Another big event in our household over this summer included losing our home in the flood. For those not from around here, some 30% of Miami was under water. Our house in particular was under 9 feet of water - it was in the attic - yes I said the attic! We were lucky we were able to get the vast majority of our things out of the house. We lost the kitchen stuff, some beds, lots of pictures and keepsakes. But all in all we were very fortunate. Now dealing with the insurance company and FEMA, well that's an experience I'll save for another day.

***********************
To finish on a silly note:

Yesterday I was putting something up in my closet and Kael pushed in behind me pushing my legs saying "mooov" (or move) repeatedly, I countered with "you move, mommy was here first", I of course couldn't move because he had me trapped, while still pushing continuing to say "mooov", I said "ok, ok, but how about you say excuse me instead of move" - his reply with a final push out of the way "mooov me". And off into the closet he went.

So here it goes...

Tagged by April with -------Ten Weird Things About Me -

1. I really, really like camo clothes. (mainly for my kids – in fact I am going today to get a camo diaper bag!)
2. I have several ½” to 1” scars on my stomach from having moles removed and then getting pregnant before they healed.
3. I can’t sleep with windows open unless the window can’t be reached from the ground w/out a ladder.
4. I really like my job.
5. It annoys me to no end to read a newspaper that someone else has already read. (to the point I have to buy another one!)
6. I like being busy, don’t get me wrong sometimes a break is nice.
7. I don’t eat tomatos, strawberries, bananas and certain other foods because I can’t stand the texture, not the taste, the texture.
8. I’m extremely flexible (albeit I’m outta shape) like put my foot behind my head, weird.
9. I can’t do spook houses or horror flicks, they give me nightmares.
10. I can’t stand for my socks not to match what I’m wearing.

This is from a "Joke of the Day" email thing - I liked it and it reminded me that sometimes we have to work a lot harder at being happy and it really is a day at a time thing.

Rex Barker here with "The Best Day of My Life," sent in by G. M. L...
Please submit your favorite inspirational stories, quotes or pieces to: RexBarker@HumorNetwork.com
Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!
There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I'm going to celebrate! Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.
I will go through this day with my head held high, and a happy heart. I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts: the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds.
Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice. Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I'll make someone smile. I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don't even know. Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for her and how much she means to me.
Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things I have already been given. I'll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in the Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine. And tonight, before I go to bed, I'll go outside and Praise my eyes to the heavens and stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon.
As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, and be thankful for the best day of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever!
This is Rex Barker reminding you that if one of your goals in life is to be happy, reread this piece every day --- and joyfully watch how your outlook changes.

Holy Toledo Batman!

Kael is WALKING! Not all the time, but more and more. The little fart is so funny. He'll just be sitting in the middle of the room and stand up. The most steps he has probably taken in a row are about 6 maybe 7, but his determination has me awestruck. It's probably a good thing he is the baby and my only boy because I have a feeling it is going to come in very handy that I can be so laid back and relaxed with him and about what he's doing. Everything he does is funny to me and watching his temperament (oh holy *St. Jude does he have a temper!), his determination, his growing personality have me convinced that he will probably be an incorrigible little heathen! However, I will make him behave in public! But if you are visiting our home I'll go ahead and warn you now that you will probably think I am a horrible mother that allows him way to many freedoms and caters to the demands of a child!! So now that we are clear on just who runs my household we should probably move on.

I finally got ahold of the photography studio Reflections here in town and set up an appointment to have the kids' portraits done. I was so proud of myself that I had finally done this! I was telling the girls and their dad last night that I had set the session up for Friday at 1pm only to find out I had to be in Pryor and wasn't sure if I'd be back by then. During this I can't figure out why he is looking at me so strangely and why the oldest divinity looks stricken! He carefully points out that 1pm is in the middle of the day as the oldest divinity screeches what class she'd be in at that time. Oops! it never occurred to me until that moment that I would have had to take both girls out of school to have their pics done. lol Such a blonde sometimes. So I am now going to try and reschedule.

And if anyone is wondering, I haven't changed my mind about my marriage and the post I put up a while back. There are however extenuating circumstances that have made it necessary to continue sharing a house for now. Sometime later when it's not so fresh I will probably elaborate, but right now it just doesn't feel like the right time.

My daily mantra has become, "Patience is a virtue, and oh how virtuous I must be today!".

Well I will bore you no longer, have a great day and smile even when it's not funny, it just makes you feel better! (oh, and you look younger when your smiling!)

*Sidenote: I'm not Catholic and would not want to offend anyone that is. I am fascinated by the Catholic devotion to Saints and feel a strong pull to the belief that many of the Saints were truly that. And my reference to St. Jude is not meant in a derogatory way by any means. St. Jude is the saint of 'desperate situations' and well I just thought it fit!

Kids are so darn funny!

We're sitting in the living room the other night Kiersten and I in the recliner, she was reading to me and baby divinity before bed and I can't remember what topic we had gotten off to, but out of kiersten's mouth comes, "It's on, like Granny's UNDERWEAR!"

She said it very seriously, without even cracking a smile. I was rolling.

REDNECK DIVA WON AN OKIE BLOG AWARD!!!

If you want details you'll have to go here! Congratulations Diva, see we keep telling you how funny you are!!
I want to go to the Okie Blog thing next year, it sounds so fun!!