Twas the Night Before Christmas REMIX

Twas weeks before Christmas and all through the apartment all the creatures were stirring...ESPECIALLY THE MOUSE!!!

So this morning started off like most mornings but quickly became more of an adventure than I bargained for. I got up and let Matti out to take care of her business. When she came back in I settled into the couch with my oatmeal to ease into this fine Wednesday. Not long after I sat down Matti joined me, which is her usual routine when I am on the couch and especially when I am eating.(see previous post). Suddenly she began digging in the corner of the couch. Again, this is not unusual. Sometimes her bones or toys get stuck in the crack and she digs until she gets them or until she gets spanked for digging and I get them out for her. This morning she was digging with much more intensity than usual and my spanking her was not enough incentive for her to stop. I pulled back the cushion just enough to see another fury little critter who was also struggling to wake up this morning. For those of you who don't know, I have had quite the mouse problem lately. This little guy that my carnivorous dog had now trapped was lucky or not so lucky #11. Gross ugh? He had obviously gotten into the poison I had out because he was not on his "A" game when it came to escaping. I would like to say at this point that I courageously grabbed him by the tail and disposed of him but NO. I called on my next door neighbor and early morning hero, Eric, to come get the mouse. Before Eric arrived the little guy did get a second wind and made a run for it and sadly enough I almost demolished my Christmas tree trying to run from him. Matti stopped him though and slung him around a little bit before Eric put us all out of our misery.

Our ladies Bible study group talked about hospitality yesterday but this is one thing I can honestly say is NOT WELCOME IN MY HOME. I hope all his friends got the hint when he didn't come back this morning and they will stay the heck away!

Beggars

So what would a meal be like without our little (and some not so little) four legged friends begging for anything and everything you would willingly give them from your plate? They love table food so much they don't even realize that the things they are lucky enough to get are the things from our plate we didn't like or were too full to eat. And why do we give in when we know it's really not good for them? Because they are so darn cute. Don't believe me....see for yourself!

This is my dog, Matti...who obviously wasn't content with her cottage cheese.


This is Lucy....Teri's dog. The not so gentle giant!


This is Roxi...my dad's dog who could balance herself for hours waiting for food.

Look A Likes

I finally got to meet Allie Michal Taylor while I was home for Thanksgiving! I cannot get over how much she looks like Brandon. For those of you who know Brandon and Marissa you will see what I am talking about. She is precious and has the funnest personality. I know she has been Brandon and Marissa's sanity since Gabe passed away. She is quite the sweet heart and is going to have her daddy wrapped around her finger...she already does. Just wanted to share at least one of the pictures I got of her during my visit.

Signs of the Promise Land

There are a few things that I get excited about when I make the seven and half hour road trip from Pineville to Birmingham. Gas stations with crushed ice fountain drinks, Chick-fil-A that doesn't require me to go into the mall to eat and drive thru STARBUCKS! Amazingly enough Clinton, MS...home of Mississippi College, has all three on one exit. I was also a bit excited by the falling gas prices on this holiday adventure home.

I must share of my funniest travel adventure this go around. Matti is such a great travel companion. She never has to go to the bathroom, she doesn't eat or drink and she doesn't have an opinion about the music we listen to. Really the only time you know she is in the car is when you go over a bridge because it freaks her out. Well I discovered something else that freaks her out...the car wash! I stopped at a gas station and fill up and without thinking pushed the button to purchase a car wash. The minute I got back into the car I knew this was a mistake but wasn't about to waste my money. Needless to say if ever want to cause a dog to have a nervous breakdown put them in the car and take them through the car wash. Matti was happily laying in the back but that quickly turned to pacing the back and hunkering down. She tried to get down behind my seat but when she was unsuccessful she jumped into the floorboard of the front seat and just whined. It was hilarious to watch and the only thing I regret is that I wasn't able to capture it on video. Here are the few pictures I managed to snap.

The calm for the storm...aka the car wash


Matti hunkered down in the back


Matti hunkered down in the floorboard

Adventures in Babysitting

Its been a few days since I have blogged and I realized that with the last entry being "we survived day one" it might appear that we didn't survive day two, three and four. Bailey, Jesse and I are alive and well. I had a blast being fun Aunt Kabes last week. Bailey didn't learn any new vocabulary words which equals success in my book. I was deceived by Elizabeth who told me Jesse would only poop every other day. That kid pooped every other diaper. We managed to get out and run several errands, have several chocolate milkshakes and wash the car. Okay, I didn't wash the car, Quinn did, but while he washed Elizabeth's car Bailey washed her car. It was precious. Here are few pics of our last couple of days before Granny came to get them. I have to admit that about thirty minutes after they were gone I found myself being sad and missing them already. They won my heart over (not that they hadn't prior to this adventure).


Bailey with a mild case of static head


Jesse demonstrating his new word, UP....while eating his mac-n-cheese and five fish sticks!


Jesse playing with tupperware...I lost count of how many times I put it all back up!


Bailey helping make pizza...she is so domestic!


Bailey washing her car

We Survived Day ONE

Just to give you some insight into the title of this entry, my friends Billy and Elizabeth left last night to go to Maui for their five year anniversary. I volunteered to keep their precious kids while they are gone. I have officially taken on the role of fun Aunt Kabes to Bailey (2 1/2) and Jesse (1). Dinner, bath and bedtime went well last night. To ease some tears of the initial shock of mommy and daddy leaving, Bailey got to take a bath in mommy's big tub. She also got the promise of something she loves....a milkshake. After getting to sleep in this morning (sleeping in being 7:30am) we ate breakfast and colored turkey pictures.The first thing Bailey said when she woke me up this morning was "I want a milkshake!" After Jesse woke up from his morning nap we took a trip to Target and to the mall for lunch. Yummy Chic-fil-A! We all had chicken nuggets and fries and then Bailey got her promised milkshake. Apparently they only have one size, which is 20 oz. and she drank the whole thing. After lunch and a stroll around the mall it was time to head home for a nap. Both kiddos slept for two hours so I snagged a nap as well and then we made a quick trip to Michael's to make use of some coupons we found in the paper. After we got home it was dinner time so I cooked a taco ring and refried beans. Surprisingly enough Bailey ate all her dinner. Jesse is always a good eater so it was no shock he ate a whole bowl of beans and a piece of taco ring (we'll probably regret the beans tomorrow!). Now we are just playing before bedtime.

This update is really for Elizabeth's sake so that she can enjoy her vacation having seen evidence that her children are alive and well. I even used my kid filter today so that Bailey didn't learn any new words she shouldn't know. YES! I have a kid filter Elizabeth. The pictures below are just of Bailey but I promise Jesse is still here and kicking. Pictures coming soon of the little guy.




This is Bailey's version of helping set the table. We didn't have 20 dinner guests but if we had there was a plate for all of them.


Bailey enjoying her chocolate milkshake!

ALL IN A DAYS WORK

So you would think that after working in Residence Life for three years that nothing would really surprise me but oh how wrong you would be. These kids never cease to amaze me with the things they come up with. Take for example this past week....I had to confiscate paintball guns because students were shooting at the walls in their rooms and all over their buildings, as well as cars all over campus. Then only two days after that I got a call from maintenance that someone had pooped in the sink in the bathroom. Now why you gotta poop in the sink when there are three fully functional toilets that you had to pass to get to the sink? Gross me out. Even worse was that our poor housekeeper refused to clean it (as she should) but something had to give so Andrew and I put on our rubber gloves and got to the dirty work.

It's not always trouble that catches me off guard...it's the funny things too. For example this Sunday night after our RA meeting we were standing outside the BCM and Sara very calmly asked if Justin and Cody could assist her. I wasn't expecting what came next. Apparently Sara had put her leg through the guard rails and then couldn't get it back out. The guys tried pulling on the bars to give her a little wiggle room but to no avail. You know why they pay me the big bucks? After twenty minutes of Sara being stuck I tried the ole "soap it up" trick and out the leg came. I got a good laugh at Sara's expense. And then there is Eric and Brandon! I love days like today when without planning it they wear similar outfits. Brandon loves it but Eric hates it so he always goes home to change. Eric just needs to realize that they are soul mates and come to grips with it.

All the above reports were documented by the camera on my iPhone so enjoy!