Christmas Countdown

ONLY 146 days until Christmas!

McKeel house

We are all doing fine.  Mom hasn't been happy with Jack lately.  We are going tomorrow to get our supplies to start closing in the garage.  I just don't like sleeping with lots of bugs.  :)  Next week we are going to grandma Cats to see LeeAnn and maybe to the hospital to see the babies.  (I think one has left already but the other two are still there I think.)   The POD is schedule to be in NC on the 7th so then I can go and get some of my stuff.  In three weeks we are back in Chicago and Wisconsin.  And finally on the 25th, Lauren and Seth start school!!  YAY  Now I just need to find something for Meghan to do and I'll be set.  :)

Playing in the water

Happy Anniversary Cindy and Jerrud

Thought you would appreciate this more than a picture.
Oh, and your dad's asleep and I hate to go digging for pictures.
Have a good one!

Kathy's Coupon Blog

So, Did you hear that my daughter is ALMOST famous? Whenever I go to Kat's Coupon Blog, I never type in the right address, so I just Google it. This is what I saw on google today.


2becouponchic.com Site Info
2becouponchic.com is ranked number 2455601 in the world according to the Alexa Traffic Rank.

Maybe one day when she is rich and famous she will put all of us on the payroll!

GO Kat go. I'm watching these numbers to see if they get better. Keep on blogging......and don't leave out Isaac's blog.

Happy Birthday Daniel

Happy Birthday "Little Nephew". How old are you now? Nineteen. Oops, you miss out on the birthday money!

Love you,
Aunt Judy

The CHILD is more important than the DOG

Sherrill: saying to Meghan.... "Don't touch my DOG"
Judy: "The CHILD is more important than the dog."

Meghan: "Grandpa, fix me a hot dog."
Sherrill: "Wait, I'm fixing Jack's dinner."
Judy: "The CHILD is more important than the dog"


Meghan: "Grandpa, Can I go ride the jeep?"
Sherrill: "Wait until I walk Jack".
Judy: "The CHILD is more important than the DOG."


Meghan: "Grandma, I've gotta pee"
Judy: "Go to the bathroom."
Meghan "Grandpa won't let me in."
Judy to Sherrill "Why won't you let Meghan in the bathroom?"
Sherrill: "Jack's taking a bath."
Judy: "The CHILD is more important than the DOG."


Meghan: "Where's MY bacon."
Judy: "Grandpa gave it to Jack"
"The CHILD is more important than the dog".

I have to keep reminding Sherrill that Jack is NOT the center of the entire world.....just his world!

Happy Birthday Nicolas!

Happy Birthday Nicolas. Hope you have a great day. I don't know what caused the picture to shrink.

Love you,
Aunt Judy

The Murray's

Wow! After reading all of the post's our life is really boring. Cameron is enjoying 1st grade. By going to before school care at the school he has learned that you can purchase breakfast at school so even though he is pencil thin he eats at both places. Olivia is being the social butterfly that she is and has had two parties to attend this weekend. She is excited about moving up the her new room at preschool. She has learned to put puzzles together so we have visited the dollar store several times. Randy was finally able to landscape a house this week but unfortunately the heat about killed him. So needless to say he has been a little grumpy this week. (lol) I have accepted another job within Rex in surgical services and pre-op. I am very excited about that and look forward to new things. Hope all survives the heat and hope to visit soon. Very proud of Dad for completing driving school.

Wendy

Just another day

Good morning World! Everything is a little quieter in the McKeel household. Sherrill survived his class, and got his diploma, and you know how he LOVES a diploma of any kind. He was the oldest one there, except for a lady about his age. She was a speeder too. There were 22 in his class, and there were 2 or 3 classrooms full. At $50.00 a head, that's a pretty good money maker.

Mandy has her POD full, her storage place in Peoria full, the U Haul trailer Kat brought full, and the Tahoe Kat drove full. Now, what's she going to do with all her other stuff? I would hate to be there for all that work. When Kat moved us out of Croom Drive, she just threw away everything. Mandy better watch out.

Christy's email sent out a suspicious email this morning. Just delete it.

Meghan is still being quite the little angel. I know that will all change when Seth gets back.

Have a good day everyone. SMILE!

Today's a brighter Day!

I got up this morning at 5:30 to get Sherrill off to Defensive Driving School. He will probably be the oldest "old fart" in class. I can imagine him sitting around a bunch of teenagers whose parents sent them there. He is convinced it will be a class full of Hispanics since that's who appeared in court. I can see him sitting there talking his form of Spanish. He does know "Mucho deniro".

James and Abby will be taking Meghan to Lowe's today for their building clinic. Today they are making UFO's. There's gonna be a whole lot of hammering going on.

Christa comes this morning. We have some errands to run, then her regular stuff to do around the house. Maybe she will help Meghan clean up her room. She keeps kicking toys under the bed.

Now, concerning yesterday's post.....
Kat got her new AC unit installed.
Mandy got her POD fixed.
And...the renter gave Sherrill another money order. Doesn't quite come up to the full amount, but I guess he's trying.
So, today WILL be a brighter Day. I'm smiling already!

Have a great day everyone, and I hope you are smiling too!

What else can go wrong...........

So, today has been a little stressful. I am usually an optimist, and Sherrill is the pessimist. We start out our day with a call from Kat.......she has a broken AC and will need a new unit. Then we get a call from Mandy......she broke the POD. Now, how do you BREAK a POD? Then we get another call from Mandy...... her POD is almost full.. Oops, have to take out those automotive parts. And, where are they going to go? Then Sherrill goes to court. Because he was speeding more than 7 miles over the limit, they won't reduce his ticket unless he goes to driving school. So, tomorrow he will spend 4 hours in driving school! Has to pay the court costs and fine AND has to pay for driving school. Then he goes to meet the guy renting the trailer. His mother offers to pay his deposit. Talking to her on the phone she sounds like a lovely lady, but when Sherrill meets her, he said she looks like a crack addict.
He brings her check home, and I notice it is on an out of state bank, so I call the bank just to make sure everything is OK. And guess what......NO FUNDS AVAILABLE ! ! ! I wasn't having the best of days anyway, but I called this lady and let her have it!
When was the last time you witnessed a "Judy fit"? Well, there was one today. I had to call Sherrill, because he said he felt something was wrong with these folks all along. At least he got a big laugh when I told him the story. So, we have a guy moving in, with a no good check, with rent due on the 1st. I'm going to hate to have to evict him so early. I've never evicted anyone.

Oh well, my trust in people is slowly fading away. Why do some people just want to be scammers? Aren't there any honest people out there anymore?

Hot as ..........

Boy is it HOT. Need I say more? Try wearing a dress all afternoon in this heat! Sure am glad the AC at church is strong. Girl dog had another of her episodes. She gets in the sun, then falls asleep, and just falls apart. Abby had to send Carter over again to save her. Sherrill refuses to let me have her put to sleep. I don't know what I am going to do. Remember the nice little pen with the picket fence in the back yard.... he doesn't want her to stay back there because she will be by herself. Oh well, nothing more for me to do except move her in the garage with Mandy!

Sherrill goes to court tomorrow in Clinton for a speeding ticket. He's going to try to have it reduced. Keep your phones on. If he has a "Sherrill fit" someone will have to go bail him out, and I already told him it won't be me. I don't own any property in Sampson County to stand his bond. I'm sure he will keep his cool. He just HATES to give up that money.

Mandy is packing her POD. Any idea what the first thing she is packing ...automotive parts. Why? That girl has some explaining to do.

No other news here. Poor Sherrill was on "Gwwaammmaaww" duty this afternoon. I don't think he liked that. She did it herself, but made a mess. Oh, the love of a three year old!

Have a good day everyone, and please stay out of the heat!

Meghans dinosaur

Yay, it fits in the car!!  Mom, please tell Meghan so she will be happy.  :)

No pictures

Well, there are no new pictures to post. I can't find my battery charger to my camera. I haven't seen it since the last time Christa came over. I usually keep it on my vanity in my room where I charge cell phone, camera, etc. Christa cleaned up the area, and I can't seem to find the battery. I'll have to keep looking.

It's been so hot I have been doing much of nothing. Meghan walks around asking for a
"Hot bath", meaning she wants to get in the hot tub. At 98 degrees, where else would you want to be?

Sherrill is out putting a new roof on the storage barn, and Meghan hangs out with him. Every time he gets on top, she finds a reason for him to come down. She still professes to being "Grandma's girl" instead of "Papa's girl"! He will have her all afternoon while I am at church. They will probably take a nap, or lay around and watch cartoons.

Have a great day everyone. Oh, Tomorrow is Grandma Cat's and Grandaddy Joe's anniversary, followed by Nicolas's birthday on Monday and Daniel's birthday on Tuesday. Aunt Louise's Birthday was the 13th of July, but I never found a picture to post of her, and she is one of my favorite Aunts! Aunt Wilma's birthday is the 26th.
Cindy and Jerrud's anniversary is the 27th. Ah come on folks, you can help me to remember some of this stuff!

Could someone else please post some news and views? ! ?

Gwammaaawww

Everyday around 5:30 PM I hear "Gwammaaawww". I usually ignore it the first time, but by the third time, I know I better get moving. Meghan goes to Sherrill's bathroom and sits, and sits, taking care of business. The toilet tissue is NEVER in the holder, because Jack likes to roll it off. So, I know she is ready to get up, but can not reach the tissue. Here's where "Gwamaw" comes in. I have to get up, just to go give her the tissue. Wouldn't you think there would be a simple solution? One of these days I will learn to put it in its place right after she eats! She has gotten pretty good at this "Gwammaaawww".

Mandy Is Home.......

Mandy made it back home to Arizona about midnight last night. Rosie the hamster survived 2 months of living on her own. All was well at the house, except for NO water. Today she is boxing up the bedrooms upstairs. By lunchtime, she was still in Meghan's room. She has a busy week ahead of her. Oh, she had quite the experience here. Going through Santa Rosa New Mexico she came across alot of debris in the road. Along with this debris was a little girl. Mandy stopped, along with some other traffic. Mandy called for help. A Spanish speaking guy got the child out of the road. Two ambulances had to come. A car with a family of five had evidently run off the road or something, throwing the little girl onto the road. She will have to tell the story about this one!

Christy is still sewing, sewing, sewing, and selling her stuff on Etsy. All was well until her machine broke. Kathy was smart, told her to box it up, and take it back to the store. So, she did, and got a new machine.

Kathy is running through business ideas. She is always coming up with something! Watch out, she might be giving you a call! And oh, Eli got in trouble at school last week for kissing a girl. He said he had to do it because it was "A double dog dare".

James is still playing "Chicken man" and working on weekends doing home improvement jobs for teachers in Wilson he use to work with. That boy sure loves making MONEY!

Sherrill is off work this week, and is at home doing odd jobs and watching Young and the Restless. If he misses it at 12:30 he can see it again at 4:00. If he misses it then, he can watch it on the soap channel at 7:00. Sometimes he might watch parts of it three times a day!

I'm not quite sure what the Murray's and Blegens are up to. I'm sure Wendy is staying busy with work and Cameron and Olivia. Kelli will have to catch us up on the Blegens! I just told Sherrill he needed to check in on Cindy.

Hope everyone is having a nice HOT day!

Meghan and Grandpa

Sherrill and Meghan have gone off to town, Bank, Paint store, any of those places where men like to hang out. She was happy to get out of taking an afternoon nap.
Since Mandy has been gone, she has only mentioned her once. This morning about 2:00 AM she sits up and says, "Where's Mandy, Is she bringing me my big green dinosaur or not!"
I told her that Mandy would be back in 10 days and she would just have to wait. We had spent the afternoon reading to her, so at 2:00 AM I am sitting there quoting the
"Where Do Spiders Sleep" book to her. I know it by heart from reading it to Lauren and Carter so much. After that, she was back off to sleep! She slept in this morning until almost 10:00. Yeaah for Grandma! But, did I mention that we are up 'til after midnight almost every night?!

I really stopped!!

For those of you that don't know, I love driving.  I always drive straight thru so I don't have to spend money on a motel.  Today, I left Chicago and Seth and I decided to keep our promise to mom and stop.  We always stay at the Holiday Inn, just so I can keep earning free night stays.  So we are now outside OKC and this place is sweet!!  They only had king suites left so that's our room.  :)  

Mom and dad, thanks for keeping Meghan.  She sounds like she is having a blast.  We miss yall.

Happy Anniversary Larry and Cathy

No picture.
Just Happy Anniversary!

Brooke on Facebook

Everyone meet Brooke. Brooke is the daughter of Travis......my very first nephew. Travis is the first son of my very best only sister Debbie. So, Brooke is a very special young lady that I don't get to see nearly enough of. She found me though on facebook. So......this is Brooke Stokely!

day in Chicago

So we are in Chicago for the day.  We got in last night and plan on leaving in the morning.  Today, Seth and I went to the Zoo while Dan was working.  After he got off, we rode the train downtown and tried to get a peek of the Transformers 3 filming.  We saw a lot of stuff and cars.  Even some actors.  Seth was loving it!!  Then we went to the top of the Sears tower.  Well, it's now called the Willis tower.  That was awesome.  Then, Seth didn't want to leave so we took a taxi back over to the film set.  I thought we were going to crash sooooooo many times.  I was so ready to get out of the car and we only went about 3 miles!!  We walked so much today.  So we looked at more cars and walked back to take the train back to where we had left the car.  I much rather take the train then to drive into the city!!

I posted pics on fb but here are a few.

Happy Anniversary Kurt and Christy

Happy Anniversary Kurt and Christy. How many years have you been married now.....FOREVER? Sorry that Kurt isn't there home with you Cricket. Maybe next year!

Mandy's off to Chicago

Mandy and Seth left today to go to Chicago. They will be there for a couple of days, then I think they will leave Sunday headed to Arizona. She has a lot of packing to do.

Magpie is here with me and Sherrill. We went out this morning to go see Rudy. As we were going down the path she said, "Grandma, I think we are lost. All I see is corn."
Now, how did this girl know what corn is? I know she hasn't seen corn in Arizona!
We left there and went out shopping. She was the perfect little travel companion!

All is quiet at the McKeel house........for now anyway!

Kathy Goodwin Hebert

Aunt Wilma sent me this link. It's of our cousin, Kathy. She will be leaving next month for Panama for stem cell transplant. She is dying, and nothing seems to be working. Adult stem cells are her last hope.

You have to watch the commercial first!

McEwan crew

Here a pic I got from Christy

Happy 18th Birthday Cindy Evans!

Happy, Happy birthday to a beautiful niece. Love you girl!

driving dad CRAZY

hehehe.  Some lady calls this morning at 9 am about the trailer.  She asks when someone can meet her.  So I look at dad and ask him.  He says he doens't care.  So the lady decides NOW.  :)  So I say okay and tell dad he has to go.  Let's just say he wasn't happy.  After going to his room and getting dressed, he tells me for the rest of the day, I have to set up times.  

I guess now he'll watch what he tells me.  :)

Have a great day everyone.  And no worries mom, I'll make you the cookies before I leave.

POD's ordered

Mandy got her POD ordered today. It is set to be delivered on July 22. She will leave Friday for Arizona, pack up, load the POD, then head back when all of that is done.
Sure am glad it is her and not me. I'm just too old to move! They said it will take about 9 days to travel across the country.

We have had 65 calls the past couple of days about renting the trailer. Today they came from Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Dudley.......ALOT from Dudley, and most of you know all about the people in Dudley. Sherrill has been going to show the trailer and pass out the rental applications. I am so tired of talking to all these people. I wish this would hurry and end!

Have a good day.......and be sure to answer your phone. You never know when I might forward a few calls!

Can your kid do a front roll?

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Whoopie pies

Just found this recipe. Looks pretty good doesn't it?

Whoopie Pies

Cream together:

* 2 cups flour
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1 cup milk
* 6 TBSP Crisco (vegetable shortening)
* 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
* 5 TBSP cocoa
* 1 tsp. salt

Drop by generous tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Filling:

* 1 cup marshmallow fluff
* 1 cup confectioners sugar
* 1/2 cup Crisco (Butter can be substituted)

Beat the above, adding small amount of milk until desired consistency. (Which would be something like frosting....)

When the chocolate halves have cooled, pair them up by size and shape. Generously spread filling on one side, top with mate and wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap. If you're serving them immediately, you may choose to place them on a plate, unwrapped, as in the top photo. However, they are moist and cakey, and do tend to stick to one another if stacked for any period of time. Yield: approximately a dozen and a half (18).

Mandy.....where are you?

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

I know where I wanna move to...

Lake Norman!!!  I'm here with Jessica, Tracey and all the kids.  It is so beautiful here and the kids love it.  

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

I thought I was Dying!

Allergies are always getting me down. So, I pop a Sudafed which causes the blood pressure to go up. So, I pop a pill to make the blood pressure go down. Three days pass, then the blood pressure drops to 108/62. Now, this is NOT a good blood pressure for a little old fat lady. So, I'm convinced I am dying, I call Kat's house 3 times. She never returns my call, so I go to bed assuming I will just die in my sleep. But.....guess what, I didn't. Woke up this morning just like I always do. Still don't know what's going on with this blood pressure stuff. If I do die in bed, please TRY to convince Grandma Cat that Sherrill DID NOT kill me. And, please help me remember in the future NOT to take blood pressure pills for 2 consecutive days, it can kill a person. You know.....I guess I could cut them in half!

That's all for now. Don't feel like playing on the computer, don't feel like sewing, don't feel like doing anything. Ever had one of those days?

Happy Birthday Mommy!
"I've got to go out to the truck to get your birthday card"
We love you, Lauren, Carter, and Isabella

Happy Birthday Abby

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ABBY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Hope you have a great birthday today.  Sorry no pic montage.  As you know things are crazy here.

Taking a Break

As you have noticed, Mandy has been doing all the posts. I have been a little under the weather. All is relatively quiet at the McKeel house, being that it is almost lunchtime and almost everyone is feeding their face. It was hopping this morning with Lauren and Carter and Seth and Meghan running wild. They were just so full of energy, writing their ABC's was not very appealing. Mandy did pull out the bubble wrap and let them pop bubbles. 4 kids, 4 bubble wraps, lots of excitement, and noise!

mom update

Mom is feeling better. She was even up all day. She played on the computer and was even playing with her quilt stuff today. :)

I don't have any pics. Seth went to scouts tonight and earned his first badge. He's so excited. He'll get it at the end of the month.

Okay, that's it for me.

Pet spider

While I was at the trailer today waiting for Jourdon to finish cleaning carpets, I walk outside and this is what I see.  This spider is the size of Meghans hand.  Really!!  It's web stretches about 5 feet long.  It's body is yellow and black and looks really cool.  Just not cool enough to play with.   :)

We had a blast in Elizabeth City today.  Nicholas drove the go cart and took the kids for a ride.  They had so much fun.  

And of course, you can't go without riding a tractor.   Seth didn't get to ride the tractor but he did ride the go cart.  I just didn't get pics.

Happy July 4th everyone.  Abby made the girls matching skirts for the 4th and they wore them to church today.  They were so cute.  

Then it was off to their house to play dress up.  The kids had fun and even Seth played.

My kids and I are off to Elizabeth City in the morning.  Mom is taking a day off to rest and dad is working.  Have a great week!!

Yay for Eli.

Thanks for the pics Christy

Silly bands....and Poor Little Meghan!

The other day we were eating, and Meghan was refusing to eat. Mandy and Seth went on to get in the hot tub, but Megan was at the table screaming. I popped her on her butt twice (Bad Grandma) and told her she was going to sit there until she ate.
I wouldn't let her get up. After about an hour of screaming, she finally ate.

This morning Mandy was after her again to eat her cereal. She looked at me, "Grandma, will you sit here and make me eat it like you did the other day." What is wrong with this child? I just told her, eat 10 spoonfuls, and she would be finished.

Poor child is BEGGING for discipline. Seth is still earning his quarters for good behavior, and loosing them for talking back. He finally earned 5.00 so he could go shopping. He can't spend his money until it reaches the $5.00 mark.

And, Thanks to Cameron for introducing the silly bands. Just try to figure out when you find a stray silly band on the floor who it belongs to. There are only 4 kids around here now wearing them. Oh yeah, and Cameron, we found one of yours you lost in the car. I'll mail it to you.

Hope everyone has a great 4th!

Who needs ghostbusters when you have dad

PLAY DOUGH ANYONE?

We invited Seth and Meghan over for play dough FUN! We are so glad to spend time with our long, lost cousins :)

locked out at Food Lion

I went to Food Lion and locked myself out of my car. Actually, I put the groceries in the trunk and locked the keys in there. So I call dad. (He was home with both my kids. Seth playing PSP and Meghan sleeping.) So I tell dad, he tells me to call Kathy to see if she has AAA and can help. A few minutes later, dad shows up. Another old man that was parked beside me came over and tried to help dad. After about 5 mins with no luck, a Mexican guy walks by and dad asks him if he's good at breaking into cars. The guys speaks no English and just smiles. A few seconds later, he comes back with a slim jim. :) Within just a few mins the car was unlocked. YAY!!!

and that's the adventures of Mandy for the afternoon.

Today's Thursday.....that means church

Well, I'll be off soon to church. Mandy and the kids are out shopping, and Sherrill is working. OOppps, I hear the pitter patter of feet as I type. Guess they are back already.

Hope everyone has a nice day. I sure hope it stays a little cooler today.