The Great Blizzard of '13

No school today....working from home. Cat in my lap, dog at my feet, blankee tucked in around me....cardinals on my deck....kids frolicking in the snow.

From Face Book Today

Carlie Mae Pool

All I see is white and footprints . Why,why,why me !!!

Brenda Morgan

LOL Oh Carlie!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Does it look like she's  unhappy with the snow???

Switch-er-oo

 

I can’t ever have a get together with Margie without something crazy happening. I left after work on Friday and it was dark for most of my drive down there.

 

I was listening to my book on tape and cruising along. I’ve been that way before, but I don’t know the area particularly well. Margie calls me on my cell phone. She wants to know if I’m almost there. I go “Well, I think so. There’s a city up ahead.” She says “What do you mean? Are you in Oklahoma yet?” And I go “Ummmmm…..I don’t know! I just know there is a city up ahead and it’s probably Coffeyville.

It wasn’t five minutes later and the low tire warning lit up on my dashboard. The tire didn’t feel obviously flat. Sometimes the light comes on when it’s cold anyway. So I decide to drive on in to Coffeyville. I pull up at the first convenience store. It’s definitely low. I try to put air into it and I hear “Pssssssss…” coming out of the tire. Now I’m in a well-lit place on flat ground, I could change it myself. I call Margie to tell her what happened and then Bob.

I told Bob that I couldn’t decide whether to try to change it myself or call roadside assistance. He goes “Well I can’t help you from here.” Duh??? I know that. I’m just thinking out loud. I decide to call roadside assistance. It was so cool. They found my location using the GPS on my phone. They got my cell phone number from it too. Then they sent me a text stating who was coming to fix my tire, when he would be there and what he looked like!” They later sent me a text asking if the tire had been fixed and was I safely on my way. But anyway….I digress.

Margie is calling several times to make sure that I’m safe, offering to come stay with me until the roadside guy shows up. I talk to Bob and he says “Glad you called roadside assistance. I’m tired so I’m heading to bed. Night.” Wait a minute!!! My bestie is worried about my safety and you are just going to bed without even making sure that I get to her house okay???

 Paula meets us at Owasso the next day and we put my tire in the back of Margie’s car and drop it off to be repaired while we are eating lunch. The tire company calls back to say that the tire is ruined and they’ll have to replace it.

When I go to pick it up, I ask them to give us the new mounted tire and the old one as well because I have road hazard insurance. It was cold and starting to sleet, so Margie backs the car up to the loading bay. They throw the tires into the back of the car and off we go to Margie’s house. Her son, David, offers to put my new tire on Sunday morning before I head home.

I’m all packed up and he comes back in the house with a funny look on his face. He says “Guys, there’s an old ruined tire in the back of the car, but where is the new one?” They had only given us the ruined tire and forgot the new mounted one. Not only do I not have a good tire, they have my WHEEL too. LUCKILY the place happens to be open on Sunday or I would have been in a real mess. I show up and they look rather befuddled but place the new tire on my mini-van and away I go.

 

Your Cheatin' Heart

I don’t get to have a girls’ weekend with my girlfriends in Oklahoma very often. For some reason, Carlie was very anxious about me going down to Margie’s house for the weekend. I used to travel for work, and they stay with their grandparents all the time, so I wasn’t sure what was up.

Finally the day before I was ready to go, I was working at night on my laptop at the kitchen table. Carlie sits down next to me with a bowl of cereal. I was concentrating on my work, so I wasn’t really paying attention.

Eventually she says “Mom, about this weekend….” On autopilot I reply “What?” Then she said “Please don’t cheat on Dad while you’re gone, okay?”

Now THAT got my attention. I told her “First of all, I would NEVER cheat on your Dad. And why on earth would you worry about that anyway?” Carlie said “Well you said you were going to go down there and have a good time, and I was just worried you’d cheat on him.”
 

 

So I finally get to Margie’s. We talk until 1am. I wake up in the middle of the night in a strange bed and someone is in bed with me snoring so loudly it actually woke me up!  The is something warm pressed up against me.

I feel around and it is Margie’s Boston Terrier named Murphy. LOL.

When I get home, I told Carlie. “I hate to tell you this.   But at Margie’s house, I spent the night with Murphy and I had to kick him out of bed because he was snoring so loudly!!”

For just a second her eyes got wide, and then she narrowed them and said “Don’t mess with me Mom. I think Murphy is a dog.” Smart cookie

Snow White and the Who?

 

The other day we were watching Snow White and the Huntsman. It’s a different spin on the Snow White story, but basically the same. Libby kept asking these weird questions “Why are there seven little guys there?” “Those are the seven dwarves?” “Why is she asking that mirror questions?”

 

Bob finally says  “Libby haven’t you heard ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall who’s the fairest one of all?” Libby says “She doesn’t look very fair to me, she’s being unfair to Snow White.”

 

Bob tries again "LIBBY! Haven't you ever seen the movie "Snow White and the Seven Drawves?"  She goes "OH!!"  

 

 

Then Carlie slaps on the back and says "Don't worry, Genious, I got your back.  I'll explain it all later!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romance....in it's various forms

 

Does he get credit or not?

 

 

 

Been married almost 12 years. My Mom asked me what I got for Valentines Day and I told her a bag of chocolate last week. He wanted to get it taken care of early :-) 

 

My friend Margie's Valentine's Day present was being enrolled in open carry class.  MEN!!

Sometimes Ignorance is Bliss

I've been trying to ignore the fact that I am in my 40s now....age is a state of mind and all that.

Even so it has caught up with me. I went to the eye doctor and had to go to bifocals. The cool thing about this is that they have really cool contacts now that blend everything in and you can't even tell the difference.

The bad news is....that I can SEE!!! I left the eye doctor's office and almost screamed when I saw how dirty my dash and steering wheel are.

Now I am afraid to go home and find out what I will SEE there. Very afraid!!!!

Who's Sonya?

We have always teased Libby over the years about the goofy things she says.  She's a smart girl, studies hard and makes great grades...but boy can she say the silliest things!!!

One of the best things about Libby though?  She can always laugh at herself.  Which gives us the gift of laughing with her.


Libby said she was drawing a mansion in art class.  I asked her what it looked like. She said the coolest thing about her mansion was that it had a hot tub AND a sonya!

I gotta tell you...I love hot tubs.  But those sonyas are way too hot for me.

 

Time Out

It's been almost exactly a year since I last posted.  That was when things with Frank started to really go down hill.  I just didn't have the heart to write any more.  But this is something that is good for me and I have committed to blogging again.  My kids get such joy out of reading the older books I have created from years past.  I want them to continue to have those memories.  I'm going to back date some posts going back to January, and then I'll go forward from there.

Duck Lips

For whatever reason, this morning I decided that I wanted to post my picture on Facebook in the mirror taking my picture with my phone...like the teens do.

Here is the first one that I posted.

Now I thought this was pretty good and got some comments and likes on Facebook.  But then my sister informed me that good self pics on Facebook needed to have "duck lips"  so I tried again.

 

This is not as easy as it looks!!!

 

 

HA - Finally!  I did one BETTER than the teens. Pic in the mirror in bathroom at WORK - WITH duck lips. Didn't get caught either!! —  Notice the potty in the background.  Hehehe

The Pool brand of Stubborn!!

 

 

I am tired of the Pool brand of stubborn tonight!!! First I chase Carlie all over the living room this evening with a wooden spoon trying to get her to clean the living room up. It should have taken 30 minutes.  But I had to stand over her for TWO hours to make her get it all done.

 

Then Pepaw Pool decided that he was going to leave the hospital tonight whether he was signed out or not. He snuck out on them and got in the hallway and wouldn't go back to his room. They brought him a wheelchair so he wouldn't fall down. He stayed out there FOUR hours. Bob had Libby with him and Bob was SO tired.  He's been trying to visit him Dad twice a day in the hospital and we are taking turns staying with Memaw as she needs 24/7 care.

 

He told Bob and Libby that if they loved him, they would take him home.   Bob told him "Dad you know you can't just walk out of this hosptial without checking out."  Pepaw said "No, I don't know that."

 

I finally went up there at the 3 hour mark and we finally got him back to his room.  I used the Momma-Guilt-Trip skill on him that all women automatically get when they become Mom's.  I told him that Memaw knew he was sitting out in the hall and she wouldn't go to bed until she knew that HE was safely in HIS hospital bed.  (She knew no such thing....but he didn't know that).  Finally about 9:30pm we got him back to his room.

 

When the doctor came to see him the next morning he told the doctor "You'd just best let me go home today or I'm going to sit outside in the hallway again today until you do."

 

 That's some kind of stubborn. I told him that Carlie gets that from him!!!

Musical Chairs

Friday, Feb 1st, the took Pepaw to the ER by ambulance.  He had sores on his legs (from diabetes) that were infected.  The infection became sepsis.  His blood sugar, blood pressure and fever were fluctating.  Saturday Libby had a tournament in Mulvane and both little girls had basketball games.   Memaw cannot be left alone, so when he's in the hospital we have to scramble to make sure someone is with Memaw 24/7.  So we got the weekend covered and got all of the girls to their games.

Then Monday night, they had to take Memaw to the ER.  She had been to the doctor that day and they had changed some of her medicine.  Her blood pressure had spiked very high which is particularlly dangerous for someone who has had a stroke.  So Bob had already picked Libby up from her basketball practice after school, so she and Bob were already up at the hosptial with Pepaw when Lena called to say they were taking Memaw to the ER. 

I was at basketball practice with Madi and Carlie.  So Bob took Libby to stay with Amira at Memaw and Pepaw's house while Lena took Memaw to the ER.  Memaw was still in the ER at 9pm.  They'd told us that they wouldn't admit her but they wanted to run a bag of IV antibiotics through her before they let her go home.  Libby needed to go to bed so she could go to school the next day.

So Bob picked up Libby AND Amira and brought them to our house.  By the time Memaw was done at 10:30pm, no one felt like trying to get Amira back home.  So she spent the night with us.  Then Bob took her back to Arlena early the next morning when he went to visit Pepaw before his school started.

Whew!!!

Sleeping Beauty

Carlie is 9 years old and she still crawls into bed with us.  She's like I was when I was young....she doesn't sleep well and has a bit of anxiety.  We seldom let her go to bed with us, but several nights a week she will creep into bed between us in the middle of the night.  She doesn't wake either of us up or I might send her back to her own bed.

When she comes to sneak into our bed, she always brings her blanket, and her leopard (Zuri) and usually and eye mask.  I have no idea why she likes these so much but she has several and wears them all the time!!

I always buy them the cheap blankets at Walmart every year.  They are soft and light and they go on sale for $2.50 each after Christmas is over.  That is what Carlie carries around. 

When I bought her a new one after Christmas this year, she told me that it took a while for her to attach to a new blanket each year.  I asked her how long it took her to get fully attached to the new one and she said "About two weeks!"

One night I was lying still in bed, but I wasn't asleep.  I saw the door crack open, but the cats do that all the time when they come into our bedroom.  So I just laid there and in a few seconds, I felt something tugging at the covers.  I thought, well it must have been the cats and they are down there playing under the covers.  I was just about to close my eyes again when I see a head pop up on the side of the bed near the bottom.  It was like a spy movie. LOL.  I didn't move a muscle as I watched her creep stealthily across the bottom of the bed, climb up towards the middle and snuggle in.

I caught her in bed the other morning.  Notice Zuri in the picture, the new red blanket she just got good and attached to as well as the eye mask that makes her look like she has sunglasses on and a bow in her hair.  She was sound asleep.

The World Has Moved On

I was standing at a sink this morning at a training center waiting for the water to come on. I wave my hands around....no water.

Hhmp.  I waive them around again....still no water. I probably looked like I was attempting to conduct a symphony.

 

Finally I realize you actually have to lift the handle!!!!  One day I will tell my grandkids about the good old days when you actually had to turn a knob to get water out of a sink and you actually had to flush your own toilets!!!

Nevada or Nebraska? That is the question....

This summer we were in the car discussing where we might like to go on vacation someday. We talked about Washington, DC and going back to Disney World.

 

 Eventually the topic of the Grand Canyon came up. Libby said she would like to go there and it wasn’t so far away…it was only in Nebraska.

 

 

 

Carlie goes “Uh Libby, it’s in Nevada not Nebraska.” We couldn’t convince her. Finally I asked her if it was in Nebraska, why hadn’t we just run up there to see it a long time ago. And Libby goes “Oh!”

Dooms Day 12/21/12

For some time now, there has been discussion going on that 12/22/12 would be the last day of existance....according the Mayans who died out thousands of years ago.

On the most feared of days, I decided to brave Walmart.

Sheesh. Walmart on the Fri night before Christmas = human zoo. 

This group was having a family reunion in the veggie aisle discussing whether the threat of the world ending or not was already over, because SOMEWHERE....they weren't sure where....it was already 12/22/12. I cleared my throat a few times. Finally elbowed my way in to the baby carrots. You'd think they would get the picture, but oh no!!! I finally had to shout "Would you please move from in front of the BROCCOLI!!!!!" 

They were closer to the end of the world than they knew!!!

Christmas Present From Carlie

Carlie's Christmas present to me. It says "Merry Christmas Mommy from your imaginative and very crazy and creative daughter - Carlie or Snicklefritz

She's so modest too!

Thankful

I took a challenge with some of my Face Book friends to post one thing a day that I'm Thankful for from Nov 1 thru Thanksgiving.

Day 2: I'm thankful for the wonderful kids in my life. That includes the ones I've raised, foster kids, step daughter and surrogate kids. Each of my four kids is special and wonderful in their own unique way!

Day 3 - I am thankful for having healthy young parents who are so giving of their time with our family. Luv u!!!! — with David Morgan and Brenda Morgan.

Day 4 - I'm thankful that I get to enjoy a small photography business in my spare time that is relaxing and fun.

Day 5 - Thankful that my little girls ALWAYS come and find me and blow hugs and kisses to me before they get on the school bus in the mornings.

Day 6 - I am thankful that my husband and I both have jobs that pay the bills.

Day 7 - I'm thankful to witness one of life's small miracles. My great-aunt whom we are close to has been critical ill the last couple of days. She and my Uncle had just celebrated 59 years of marriage. After 24 hours of not recognizing anyone around her, she came to herself this morning when she heard my uncle's voice. She said "Where have you been? I've been looking for you." And grabbed him around the neck. He replied "I love you, Babe!" Oh the power of God and Love.

Day 8 - I picked Madi up from school early yesterday because she was running a fever. We decided that Bob would stay home with her today. Last night she woke me up about five different times hurting and aching. I thought "Couldn't you get your Dad up? He gets to sleep in with you tomorrow?" And then it dawned on me that right now I am the most important person in their world. I'm not sure how much longer that will last, but right now I am greatful to be that important to somebody.

Day 9 - I am thankful for my health. In my hectic life it is so easy to take for granted the blessing of being able to live in my own home and not the hospital. The blessing of being able to care for my family and to go to all of their activities. I'm grateful that I can participate in my hobbies and work in the yard. I'm going to enjoy my good health today!

Day 10 - Today I am thankful for the freedom to go to church and worship. And for my church family — at H2O Church.

Day 11 - I'm thankful for my in-laws. They have always treated me like a daughter. My Father-in-law was career Army and served in Vietnam. And my husband, mother-in-law and the rest of the family lived all over the US and even Germany with him while he served our Country.

Day 12 - Today I am thankful for a warm house to sleep in with a fireplace and heater.

Day 13 - I am thankful today for our beautiful new home that we will soon be decorating for Christmas. Last year all we could manage in our temporary housing was a tiny tree.

Day 14 (early). I an thankful i was given the opportunity to lose weight. I went to renew my driver's license this morning. It had actually expired on my birthday and I had forgotten about it. The old one still had my old picture and weight on it. So I got to change the weight from 272 to 165. Woo Hoo.

Day 15 - I am thankful for my sister because my Mom told me to put this on here. Just kidding!! She is my only sibling, and even tho we live a long way apart, I know that she will be here for me. She is also a great Mom to my awesome nephew and niece. Luv ya Sis. — with Brenda Morgan and JoLynn Morgan Noe.

Day 16 - This may sound weird to some people, but today I am thankful for my "furry" family. They love unconditionally. My cats Bug and Runt snuggled with me when I went to bed early last night with a cold. My donkey makes me laugh. Our Border Collies are unique and guard our property. Our crippled and formerly abused wire haired terrier reminds me that those who are broken and unwanted can be the most loyal of all if dusted off and given a little TLC. They can be messengers from God when you need a little kiss or snuggle or encouragement.

Day 17 - I am thankful for my husband. This stage of our life is busy and full of kids, activities, careers. We don't always get to spend as much time together as we would like to or need to. But he is my Rock. He is loyal, faithful, kind and good father and a strong Christian. I never doubt for one minute his faithfulness. Our marriage has survived alot of life's unexpected blows and it has never rocked or waivered. He makes a difference to many young men and women each year as he teaches. PS. I had to wait until football season was over before I could be thankful for him ;0)

Day 18 - I am thankful that my family (including Frank) were able to spend the day together. And that he is in a safe place where he can get the help he needs.

Day 19 - I am thankful that I woke up on the Monday morning rested and ready to tackle work today. That is unusual for me on a Monday!!!

Day 20 - I am thankful for opportunities I have had to use God given gifts to make someone's life a tiny bit better. Sometimes we don't even know that the small thing we did will have a big impact for someone else down the road. Kindness and caring and reaching out to someone is never the wrong choice even if it might seem pointless at the time.  I got the chance to help the Harrisons.

Day 21 - I am thankful and blessed to be able to spend this holiday with all of my loved ones still here with me. So many face the holidays with a special someone missing who is no longer with us.

Day 22 - Thankful for Aunt Carolyn Pool for working so hard to pull together a feast yesterday for the Pool Family. It's been a long time since so many of us were all able to be there.

Day 23 - I am thankful that I am not out there Black Friday shopping!!!!

Domestic Goddess

I totally missed out on the Domestic gene.  But Madi has become quite a good cook.

 

I taught her to make cornbread and she declares herself to be the best cornbread maker in the state.  Granny taught her how to make wonderful pies.

She made this pie all by herself.   She signed up....unknown to me....to bring pies and cornbread to our church dinner tomorrow then we had to scramble to go get the ingredients.  :0)

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Madi is going to be Marilyn Monroe for Halloween. I asked if she knew who that was and she said "Sure, she's the lady in the pretty white dress that has a statue at Spangles"

Madi INSISTED on finding a blonde wig to wear.  So the best we could find was the white one from Walmart.  But it was a long one.  So I spend 30 minutes cutting it to the length that she wanted.   And after all of that she wore it about 10 minutes into trick-or-treating before she decided it was hot and took it off. Grrrrr!!!!

Tail of Two Asses

I just had to end my weekend on an interesting note! 

John Richmond came out to the house to trim the hooves of my donkey and two goats.  Now Lizzy our donkey is tame and she's halter broke...but being a donkey she is stubborn.

We had to chase her down in a three acre pasture to get the halter on her.  Not because she was afraid of us or didn't want the halter on...but because it is fun to watch 3-4 human beings chase her around the pasture.

 

Finally 3 of us were able to get her in a corner and get a halter and rope on her.

The husband who promised to love, cherish, care for me...etc, etc....left the donkey's rope in my hand and took off. Well so did the donkey.

I couldn't let go of the rope..maybe one of those natural reflexes or something??? And she drug me around half of the donkey pen.  She considerately dragged me around a tree, thru a sticker patch and into a fence before I let go. 

I stood up spitting out a mouthful of dirt. John, to his credit, wanted to laugh but didn't. 
 
However, my dearly beloved husband about busted a gut laughing before he even asked me if I was okay!!  I don't know which of the two asses I was most angry at.

The next day I was so sore that I could hardly move and I actually had to pick a sticker out of my cheekbone with a needle!!