Time Out For Family

I am not a fan of the heat...Now don't get me wrong, by January I am looking for a little warmth, but overall I like cooler weather. Most people hit the amusement parks, zoo, and other outdoor activities in the summer months. I tend to avoid large crowds in the heat....I get cranky! So usually when October hits I come out of my summer hibernation and participate in outdoor activities. It is normally much cooler, the crowds are minimal...and as a result, I don't get cranky, so we tend to do a lot of our family outings in the fall. This last three months I have been swamped with work, school, and money has been tight, so we have not done our normal fall activities. No Oktoberfest...no Lagoon...no Park City.... no weekend getaways...Nothing! My sister-in-law had some free tickets for the zoo that expired at the end of the month and I made it a point to make sure we got to the zoo before the end of the month. Thanks Becky for giving us some much needed family time......

"When Wonder Woman Left Me, and Napoleon Dynamite Took Over."

As a kid I was invincible...nobody could tell me otherwise....In fact I had a pair of Wonder Woman Underoos set that told me I was invincible. I proudly wore these underwear and camisole everywhere around the house, and if I added accessories such as gold bracelets and a cape, I felt the outfit was suited for outside apparel...much to my older sisters embarrassment. Leana (the older sister) would stand in the front window yelling for mom to come get me because I was outside in my underwear.

Really..... she should have been happy because apparently on irrigation day ( you flooded your lawn with irrigation water instead of using sprinklers and it left a lake of water on your lawn) ...I would run naked with the neighbor boy through the water. So at least with Underoos on, I was wearing something.


I am going to get off track here for a moment and discuss the irrigation water. So our neighbors behind us had a pool, and you could hear them diving off their diving board, yelling Marco...Polo..., and splashing about. We did not have a pool...we had dirty canal water. Our solution...pull out heavy duty garbage bags and make a "Redneck" slip and slide out of it.....when I look back on this memory all that comes to mind is....

..."You Might be Redneck If...."......

 
Anyways  back to my train of thought......I continued going through childhood with this same invincibility attitude...

...and then junior high hit......

So let me paint a picture. I moved to Utah in junior high...

I went from a fairly small town where I knew everyone to a big city and didn't know anybody. I was going through that weird puberty/ awkward body time. It was the 80's so I was sporting a horrendous perm. I had this perm right before I left Idaho. I believe I had it done at the local mall, and for some reason back then they found the smallest rods, and did your whole head including bangs.

So I may be exaggerating but I am pretty sure I looked something look this...

I am sure I have actual pictures around here but it was a traumatic time in my life and I try to block this period of time out of my memories. So in Utah the style was more like.....

which also looked stupid but in junior high you just want to look like everyone else.....and once again I may exaggerating but I am pretty sure I looked something like this....

I made it through Junior High...I survived...I lost my invincibility mojo along the way...I was no longer Wonder Women in my head....it changed me..


My twin daughters start junior high this year. I had anxiety walking into the school. All those years of hell flashed through my head. I felt my anxiety growing as they couldn't figure out how to open their lockers, they couldn't find where their classrooms were going to be, and they had to take their yearbook photo that day and none of us knew that....they were not picture ready....

and then...

I saw other kids struggling to open their lockers, unaware pictures were going to be taken, and confused about where their classrooms were going to be...

aaahhh junior high...that place where all your super hero attitudes seep away...

...that place where you learn just how vulnerable you truly are...

The twins will survive...they may come out a little bruised and battered like we all did...

...maybe....

I should take them to the mall this weekend and see about getting them...

..a perm.....

Call Me Crazy!

Happy July...is that what month it is? This summer is going by in a blink of an eye..is it?

Lets see, what is happening in the Brand house?...Apparently the word "energy" is difficult for Makenzie to say ...and I find her trying to say it, ADORABLE...because she is... well...adorable...

That kid cracks me up...and drives me to the brink of INSANITY most days. As of lately she is always wanting to know what we are doing five minutes from now or two weeks from now. She is not my, "live in the moment kind of girl"....she needs to know what is coming next. Even when reading her books she is trying to peek at the end to see what is coming. I think Makenzie hears me saying, "Don't worry about it, just relax and enjoy the moment!" at least twenty times a day.

We borrowed my father-in-laws telescope and set it up the other night to get a close up view of the moon. The twins were in awe of the craters and the magnificence of it,  Makenzie seemed disappointed after her view through the lens. I asked her what is wrong and she said, " Well, I thought there would be more to see....like an astronaut or something!"....sigh...that kid....I wonder if life will ever live up to her grand expectations?


The twins went to their first girls camp...I think they enjoyed it? They are in that teen grumble grumble stage. You ask questions and either you  get a grumble or something that resembles an answer.  I usually get the full story over a course of a few days because I am persistant and keep asking until they surrender and share with me. Most of their days are spent with friends.....and at this point I am the person that provides a bed, food, and electronic devices. They also drive me CRAZY most days with their inconsistent moods but who said living with teen girls was easy.....

I am gainfully employed at a skill care center....I will continue working through school...so I am thinking by the time I hit Christmas break from nursing school and working 12 hours shifts at the care center I should look something like this....so BE WARNED.....

I am finding a theme in this post so far ...."CRAZY".......

So lets go ahead and finish this post off with one of my CRAZY ideas....

So I have discussed my fascination with "Fancy" chickens in previous posts and my need to own some...but I have decided now that I can't just stop at the chickens I need something else to go along with the chickens......

I need fancy chickens.....

I also need a a pack of alpacas that I can shave various hairdos on.....

I also need a pack of fainting goats.....

Call me "CRAZY"...but how entertaining would these barnyard animals be? After a long day at work, I could sit on my porch look out on my land (I would need to move to a house with lots of land to fullfill this barnyard need)...and see all these animals and automatically my day would melt away and all I could do is smile......

a "CRAZY" smile..........

79 DAYS....79

Summer has officially begun. The kids are home for the next 79 days.....79 days.......79

Supplies, verbal exchanges, and  nourishment  needed for day one so far has been.....

*  3 bowls of Lucky Charms

*  2 AAA batteries for mini Wii remote

*  2 tsps children's ibuprofen

* 1 hug and TLC for child that upchucked her Lucky Charms and children's ibuprofen

* 1 blankie, teddy bear, and pillow pet to console sick child

* 2 cold cut sandwiches

* 2 glasses of milk

* 2 band-aids for child doing dishes and slicing finger on a knife

* 1 glass of ginger ale for sick child

* 1 hug and TLC for child that upchucked her ginger ale

* 2 bananas with nutella

* 3 verbal smackdowns involving  threatening grounding for summer if chores were not done today

* 2 reminders to brush teeth

* 1 hug and TLC for child that upchucked who knows what at this point

* 1 bedroom now being used as an imaginary " HIGH FASHION CORPORATE OFFICE"

* 1 round of Wii London Olympic Games gymnastic competition

* 1 threat to stop demonstrating  Olympic wrestling on the couch

* 2 BBQ burgers and a handful of sweet potato fries

* 2 glasses of crystal light

* 1 hug and TLC for child that upchucked nothing.......just dry heaves at this point...

* 2 bowls of orange sherbet
 
* 1 small glass of Gatorade for sick child

* 1 used notebook now filled with numerous drawings and scribbles

* 2 reminders to brush teeth and wash face

* 3 I love you's and goodnights

* 1 book read to sick child and hopes of healthy tomorrow

* 2 books read in bed

* 3 lights being turned out to rest up to prepare for the .....

next day.......

79 days....79

Why is it?

Why is it.............

That when you are try to make food lifestyle changes...oh hell, lets call it what it is, DIET!.. That everything in your life that you should not eat suddenly becomes an insatiable desire that will not go away? I have three sugar cookies sitting on the counter that make me salivate every time I pass them. I swear one spoke to me and said, "C'mon...you know you want be baby!".....and I swear I answered it back, "Mmmm....yes I do"...as I licked my lips.......

Okay...I will stop before this turns into the next Fifty Shades of Grey novel....but instead called, Fifty Shades of Frosting......

Why is it..........

That sometimes a child can be more profound than the most brilliant of adults?  I was driving in to Costco so I could get some healthy snacking items in my house, so that me and the sugar cookies would stop flirting with one another. My youngest car seat has been in the same place in our Ford Expedition forever now. She has decided that she is tired of this spot and every time we get in the car she moves her booster seat to somewhere else in the car. Really she only has three other spots she can move to but these small moves are apparently profound to her. On our ride in to Salt Lake she says, "Mom, moving my car seat is good for me." ...... I play along by saying, "Why is that?".....She responds by saying, "Because it gives me a whole new look at things, I can see things I have not seen before...she pauses.....and says, "Everyone should move to different seat every once in awhile so they can get a new look at things."

I know the statement was literal for her....she just thinks that everyone should see a different scenic view every once in awhile...or... that was her hint that she would like to ride shotgun at some point in her life. However, the statement made me smile...so simple.....so right. So many hot button issues in the world...maybe some of us should just look at things from a new place...and just maybe we could gain a new perspective.

Why is it.....

I can go over my legs with a razor 50 times and still miss a patch of hair on the back of my legs?

Why is it.....

I had a huge list of things I wanted to get done this summer before I head back to school this fall.....and I have done none of it so far? I will try to cram it all in to the last two weeks of summer because that is how I roll!

Why is it .......

I really want to make this now .......and eat the whole thing...four key words...Pretzel, Cookie, Peanut Butter, Pie...enough said

Why is it....

I will never have abs that look like this?................

.....four key words......Pretzel, Cookie, Peanut Butter, Pie.....enough said!

Where Will You Be In Ten Years?

I am an activities leader in my church. Basically twice a month I have to entertain some girls between the ages of 8-11 for an hour and half.  The last time we met it was my turn to lead the activity and come up with what we were going to do. The women in the church are putting together a time capsule. The women in the church are encouraged to place a current picture, family history, and share something about themselves in the time capsule. The time capsule will be opened 30 years later ( that would make me 66 when it is opened). So my idea was to have the girls make a mini time capsule for themselves, to be opened when they are 21. I had them include  a testimony or their feelings about the church,  I had them fill out some information about themselves, where they see themselves in 10-13 years from now, and I took a picture of them. They are to put it somewhere they won't lose it and open it sometime in the future ( I suspect most will lose it or open it in a month).

In the process of doing this project I showed the girls some of my own personal items, pictures, and how much life changes over a ten year period, and how quickly life moves. I showed a picture of me at age 8 and things I had scrapbooked from that age. I then showed a picture of me ten years later.....it was my wedding photo...and ten years (plus a couple more years) after that......I had my family portrait with my three kids gathered around me....

First..... of all I discovered I have definitely hit that "middle age" mark. One of the questions I had the girls answer was, what is your favorite song?  One of the girls said her favorite song was by some group.....a group I had never heard of......a group that apparently is very popular right now...a boy bandish type of group. I said, "I have never heard of that group."...the look I received from all the girls was look of horror..a look of....."HOLY CRAP YOU ARE OLD"...kinda look. I gave that same look at that age to older people..... that same look if they didn't know all the songs by Michael Jackson or The Police......I am now that same "older" person......sigh........

Secondly.....Eventhough I was trying to show the girls how fast time flies, I think I was more in shock about how much life can change over ten years.....

Ten years ago I had sweet two year old twins that kept me on my toes at all times. They ran around speaking jibber jabber and getting into anything they could get their pudgy little toddler fingers in to. I was in a full on mom mode...baking....cleaning....playdates....scrapbooking....it was wonderful and I am so glad I was able to be with my kiddos. However; over the next ten years economic changes happened...I became a bit restless at home.....I knew I needed something else.....I needed something a little more in my life....

so...I went back to college......and now we here we are....ten years from that toddler totting momma....

 .....I no longer have toddlers...I have two young women who are taller than me and are turning in to beautiful women.......

 ......we have another addition to our family who begins 1st grade next year....the sky is limit for this little one.....

....I am still madly, deeply, truly in love with this man.......

....and me...well...here I am... older... maybe a little wiser...and a graduate of college with honors....

Wow! .......Ten years......gone in a blink of the eye......

.....Wonder what life has in store for the next ten years?

.....I am not sure but I am ready for the adventure..........

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

~ Steve Jobs

Life with Makenzie

Makenzie.....I talk about Makenzie a lot because lets face it she is no further than 6 feet from me most of the time and she never stops talking,  so she is easy to talk about. Here is some recent highlights of Makenzie, because we love her, she is thoroughly entertaining, and border line annoying  all wrapped up in an adorable 5 year old..........

1). Valentines lists came home early last week. It had all the kids name in the class and a request from the teacher to make sure they fill out the cards ( good handwriting practice).....It took till Sunday night to finish the last of the 21 cards. To get her to focus is like...well......I can imagine a gnat focuses easier than her. Before, during, and after of every single card I had to hear every detail of that person whom she was sending the card too.  I heard about Billy's nose picking expertise...Mary's lack of sock wearing...Stevie's affinity for bad words...Hannah's inexcusable line cutting....and then once she was done doing that her attention would quickly shift to another subject...this equates to 2 cards every six hours!!!!!!

2). Conversation in the car after listening to bickering children in the back seat:

Me: "Do you know what my life was like before children?"

Makenzie: "I bet you and dad sat around playing kissy face all day!"

Me: "Well that would explain where the twins came from!"

Makenzie:" I don't get it?"

Me: "Good, someday you will."

Makenzie: "Oh......it was an old people joke."

3) I am leaving in a couple of weeks for a cruise...Makenzie's parting words for that trip was:

"I hope you get sea sick!"

.........I don't think she is thrilled I will be gone for a week.................

4) There is little doubt that Makenzie is truly a girly, girl...she loves pink, sparkles, shoes, makeup, finger nail polish, Disney princesses, and long flowy hair. She loathes...LOATHES...reptiles or bugs. So upon finding a bug on the window we asked her to get it.. and the following resulted...

I would like you to pay full attention to about the 10 second mark and notice the quintessential girl arch in the back...boys don't do that arch when running away from something..that is truly a girl thing and she has it down to an precise art.

( please note the bug was eventually placed outside and not actually put on the child, once she went downstairs she rolled on the floor and yelled at us for mocking her for at least a half hour...but it was worth it..it really was....)

Dear Life, Here is everything I really want to say!

I had to pay a parking ticket that I did not deserve so I paid it but I included a letter and proof why I did not deserve it. The parking ticket was only ten dollars...so why all the fuss..because..I could..I could write  a letter expressing my feelings...I began to wonder if I could do that with everything else going on in my life because I can honestly say I would feel a lot better....

I had to go do my Utah CNA skill certification...I won't know if I passed until next week...I am pretty sure I passed...I feel like I did everything right and I know for a fact my testing on the vitals was perfect .....but of course the pessimist side of me will sit and dwell on it until I get my official certification. I need this to be official because I am required to add it to my nursing application. If I fail because I did not say one specific word, which has been known to happen they will get a letter that goes as follows:

Dear Utah CNA certification department,

Remember this...someday.....you will be laying in a hospital bed...and I will be your nurse someday...I will remember you as one of those people who delayed my nursing application...bwahahahahaha!

Sociopathic potential nursing student,

Michele

I am taking a pathology class that is kicking my butt. The professor has decided because he has added an extra hour on to the class it will allow him sufficient amount of time to go through a 1132 pages worth of material.  We meet a total of 4 hours a week for 4 months....this equates to basically a test once a week...4 chapters worth to study...weekly...very detailed chapters...that take me days to dissect and figure out.........he used to do a lot of take home tests...but no not this semester......"sigh".... So all this means I am studying every weekend and other endless hours with my face in a pathology book. I would like to say to my professor:

Dear professor,

I know you have a nerdy passion for gram negative bacteria and a flair for pronouncing any Latin word that we come across with a heavy Latin accent that ends in copious amounts of spit spiddling from your mouth but I feel I need to remind you this is entry level pathophysiology not graduate school advance pathophysiology. I cannot process the information being given to me in the short amount of time I have been given...you are slowly chipping away at any amount of sanity I have left...I am on the edge...I am clinging with a pinkie at this point.....

Unstable, frantic, anxiety ridden, clueless, annoyed

Michele

My other two courses are fairly simple and I will be completely honest...I just want my A with little effort on my part because I basically don't care about the subject...I got an email from one of my professor that said I needed to participate sooner in the discussion sessions..I turn them in on time..just at last minute. I feel like sending a personal email  that states the following:

Dear Professor,

I know you like discussing this subject, that is why you teach this subject and I am glad you have found your passion. I on the other hand want to make it clear I have reached my threshold of information and sanity and will not be able to store what you are teaching in this class. You are the last of my classes before my nursing program begins and all your class is doing for me is filling my required class credit load and unfortunately pottery 101 was not available. I will get an A because my perfectionist side will not allow anything else but I will get this A with last minute discussion topics, test taking, and assigned papers. So thank you for your kind suggestion of posting my discussion topics earlier so I can get more responses from fellow students but I will have to nicely tell you "NO" and I will continue posting at last minute because I really don't care about my fellow online students thoughts and opinions.

   From your  uninterested...burned out...lazy....procrastinating student

              Michele!

And last but not least I need to fill out my nursing application and have it turned in by the end of the month....you have to include a paper about yourself..it includes accomplishments of mine...hobbies..my dreams...my wants...why I want this program...blah, blah, blah!!!! My ideal letter would go something like this:

Dear Weber Nursing Admissions,

Lets be honest I am not a typical college student with accomplishments that include university glee club, newspaper editor, and sigma phi alum, and track all star. I am 36 with a family, at best my daily accomplishments include a daily shower, less than 15 dishes in my sink, all the kids homework done before 8pm in the evening, and less than 5 loads of laundry to fold.

Hobbies or leisure activities? What is that word...it sounds familiar?! Birdwatching, mountain climbing, stamp collecting....no..lets see..my hobby is...children evading. It is simple my children yell mom at least 120 times a day and I evade them. It is a simple game of cat and mouse..it takes strategy and skill...I avoid, dodge, lay low, side step until they finally go find their father. It is truly a sport that takes time to master.

Why do I want to go to your school? Ummmm...because I have no other options and if I don't get in I am going to have to move my family to Texas...Arizona...Honduras...Timbuktu...just so I can find a nursing program that won't take me 6 years to get through.

           Desperate, exasperated, neurotic, tired, running out of time,

Michele

...oh all the things I wish I could say in a letter.............."sigh"

Carpe a couple Kairoses a day!

Fact: I love my kids with every cell in my body.

Fact: Like most parents, my kids can test every ounce of my patience some days.

Fact: I love time spent with my kids.

Fact: I like having time to myself and being away from kids.

Fact: I will miss my kids when they start to leave home to venture out on their own.

Fact: I am looking forward to my years with just me and my hubby once the kids are grown and gone.

Here is a piece of an article that my cousin posted on her website:

Every time I'm out with my kids -- this seems to happen:

An older woman stops us, puts her hand over her heart and says something like, "Oh, Enjoy every moment. This time goes by so fast."

Everywhere I go, someone is telling me to seize the moment, raise my awareness, be happy, enjoy every second, etc, etc, etc.

I know that this message is right and good. But, I have finally allowed myself to admit that it just doesn't work for me. It bugs me. This CARPE DIEM message makes me paranoid and panicky. Especially during this phase of my life - while I'm raising young kids. Being told, in a million different ways to CARPE DIEM makes me worry that if I'm not in a constant state of intense gratitude and ecstasy, I'm doing something wrong.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html

AMEN!! Thank goodness I am not the only one out there that feels this way. I know, I get the message...these days of raising my babies is going to pass in a blink of an eye. My twins are young women now and changing every day I look at them. My youngest is no longer that toddler that always found her way to my lap with her sippy cup. They are growing at a rapid pace and I try to soak in those little moments any chance I get among the chaos.

This article struck a cord with me because we all encounter those mothers...those women...who eat, breath, and live every waking moment of their children. As a mother I walk away from these mothers saying to myself, "I suck!"..."Why don't I hover over my children like that!"......"Seriously, I would kill for a week away from my children!"....."OMG!, I am a horrible mother!"....."Does she have any interests away from her children?"........"I am really not feeling intense gratitude at this moment."?"........"Where is my motherly euphoric feeling?"....."Carpe Diem, my ass!"....."Should I be more like her?"

No....I should not be more like that mother....I just need to be the best mother I can be...

So how do I balance it all and be okay with not always having the perfect mother glow oozing from my soul? How do I make sure I ingest those special moments and take those not special moments in stride? How do I survive this thing called motherhood and not lose myself somewhere in between?

The author of the article gives an excellent way to separate moments of motherhood. She uses Chronos time and Kairos time. This is an ancient Greek method to describe time. Chronos is the actual chronological time we are living at this moment. Kairos time signifies a time in between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens; it is more qualitive by nature.

Chronos time right now involves my children fighting over who is using the last pink cup in the cupboard. The youngest is screaming at the top of her lungs while the twins hover the cup above their heads running around the kitchen. I have copious amount of studying, and I have to go to class tonight, and my head is pounding with a unrelenting headache.

Kairos time.....my youngest is working hard on a birthday card for her grandpa that she adores, her tongue is slightly out and to the side as she concentrates on her masterpiece. She carefully chooses each color with care and is debating whether glitter should be used.The twins are proudly displaying their report cards on the fridge because they struggle in math and they both received an A in math and that is a huge victory for them, their smile as they handed me their report card...priceless!

So when I encounter someone who says to enjoy this time and Carpe Diem the day, or I encounter those mothers who seem to relish in perfection of this motherhood thing...I just need to nod and say, I will.... and remind myself that I am the best mother that I can be......

And as the author eloquently tells herself  at the end of the article and now I need to tell myself:

Carpe a couple of Kairoses a day.

Good enough for me.

Chips Farewell and Christmas Day

 Remember the seeds we planted?

 This is what grew from them.

 This is the smile that resulted from those magical North Pole seeds.

 Well...I have a already discussed this day in another post...by far my favorite day with the elf!

 Of course an elf's favorite game is Candy Land!

 ...and who else would you play Candy Land with?

 We made sugar cookies that day and the elf made one from himself an attempted to decorate it.

 That elf certainly makes a mess some nights.

 Chip gathered all the big Santa's in the house and hung out with them by the Christmas tree.

 The four basic food groups of elves are????....candy, candy cane, candy corn, and....syrup!

 Christmas eve night...Chips last night. Makenzie said goodbye reluctantly. Before Chip left he trapped all the kids their room to ensure no one snuck out in the middle of the night to peek.

 He left a note for Makenzie saying he will miss her and he will see her again next year.

 Sweet

....but...this is really what they do between poses!

We honestly had a great Christmas. I think Santa brought everything the kids wanted and plus a couple of extra surprises. Adrian has been working a temp job with the a company that has contracts with the post office through the holidays. When he took this job he knew it was temporary but it paid well and it was something to get us through the holidays while he kept looking. He worked horrendous hours for about three weeks but the job paid very well so we were extremely grateful for the extra money because we were not sure what the job situation was going to be once the job ended on the 24th. Anyways, He went to work on Christmas eve and the owner asked him to come back the next week he would like to train Adrian on some contract stuff he has with the post office. The stuff he has Adrian doing is a permanent contract the employer has with the post office and the guy he is working with is a full time employee so though we don't really know if it is permanent job...it is steady work for the time being...it pays well...and it will pay the bills...it really was a huge Merry Christmas present for both Adrian and I.



Just in case you have no clue what they are talking about, the twins are in to these things called monster high dolls...it is teen girls who are the offspring of Monsters. If it is ghoulish, monstrous, or part of the undead they love it! They are also darn near impossible to find, they are that popular, but we found the one that is the hardest to find by pure stroke of luck...that is right, I am a rock star mom in their world!!!!
Makenzie: Rapunzel's castle, and Disney squinkies
Cheyenne: Lagoona's hydration station. and Nintendo DSi
Kaitlynn: Monster High Abbey Bominable doll, and Nintendo DSi

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Week Two With Our Elf!

I am done with school for a few weeks and honestly once I was done with my last final Wednesday.. I collapsed.... I have moved from the couch, to my bed, to the computer desk...I have maxed out my laziness to the fullest extent for a few days. Last week we began our elf on a shelf adventure and this week it has gone well but I honestly have handed some of the responsibilities of the elf to the twins this week because I had no brain cells left to be creative and it may have interrupted my unadulterated laziness!

Anyways, here is part two of our week with "Chip" our elf.

Night 7: Chip left a present under the kids tree for Makenzie...what could it be?

That sweet Chip knows Makenzie loves Jessie from Toy Story so he gave her a small Jessie doll (it was a McDonald's toy I found when cleaning out Christmas stuff)...she loved it!

Night 8: It was a rough night in the Brand household..Lets just say Makenzie was trying to make her way to the naughty list and I may or may not have been on the brink of loosing it as I approached the last of my finals. She went to bed in tears and in trouble so we decided Chip needed to remind her why he is here.

Chip sat down and typed her letter to remind her to be good, kind, helpful, and honest. He also brought up the Santa tracker to show her how close Santa was to come visiting her.

Night 9: Chip left an envelope with seeds from the North Pole and requested her to plant them to see what grows.

Let me explain the thing on his head and body. Makenzie decided he needed a house. I think she thinks if she builds Chip a house he will want to stay all year, and if she built it with marshmallows he  REALLY will want to stay. I explained that I thought the house was to small; she felt otherwise......So this is Chips "house".... Do you think it is to small?

These are the seeds from the North Pole that Chip gave to her. It is a mix of Christmas sprinkles and a pack of wildflower seeds I had in the drawer.

She planted her seeds as soon as she got home from school. It takes a few days for something to grow... so this day is to be continued.......

Night 10: It apparently was party night for Chip and a lot of other toys in the house...even Mr. Potato head and Thor were invited. I actually handed Chip over to the twins for the night and let them decide and stage the evenings event. They told me they wanted Chip to have a party, so when they were done staging the event they wanted to show me...it was Chip and three Barbies...that was it??? Listen, I don't want Chip to give the wrong impression, him wining and dining three ladies is a little reminiscent of Hugh Hefner, so I kindly convinced them that for it to be a good party they needed to invite more people than three ladies...our Chip has a respectable reputation to uphold.

Chip still did manage to find himself keeping company with two lovely blondes.

 Lets face it if you are going to have a party like Chip did the night before...even an elf has got to get caught up on his sleep...So he got Makenzie's stocking and got some sleep.

 He fell asleep at the end of her bed. Here is the funny part, though she was thrilled to see him in the morning at the end of her bed, she was not thrilled to have him in her bed when she went bed that night. She said,"that kinda creeped her out and did not want an elf walking around her bed while she slept!" So we moved Chip under the Christmas tree so Makenzie could sleep peacefully!

 Uh Oh...what did Chip do?

 He T.P.'d the kids Christmas tree.....Makenzie scolded Chip and told him he really should not waste toilet paper like that.

 Cereal spilled on the counter top (Yes! Those are my counter tops...Yes! I have the most hideous 1970's kitchen in the world....and no I don't think this look will ever come back in style..."sigh")......the cereal spelled out her name....well at least her nickname.

Chip hanging out in the cereal tub

This next week will be our last week with Chip, Saturday he will be leaving for the North Pole.

Tonight....I think...something is finally going to grow from those seeds that Chip brought back from the North Pole!