Christmas Time

It's been awhile. I've been lazy. Well, that's not completely true - I just had other writing projects (the ditty) taking up my time. It's one week till Christmas and I still have not done my shopping for the kids. Boo. I'm having a hard time getting into the "spirit" of things. Plus, it is extremely hard to participate in any activities that require being in a public place with Kellen these days. The terrible twos are looming my friends and it is going to get UGLY. This past weekend Kellen was carried kicking and screaming and crying out of 3 different places. When the little man doesn't get what he wants he behaves very badly. He cried at Walmart b/c he couldn't have a ball. He refused to sit in his chair at Nanking, so we ordered water, had a sip, and then had to leave. We had to bribe him with lollipops so he would stay in the shopping cart at HEB. Not fun. Good thing you can only surrender a newborn baby because Brian keeps suggesting we drop him off at the nearest fire station.

We gave Stepping Stone notice that we will be removing Kellen from the daycare. Shocker. He went with Brian to meet his new teachers at the new school. It went as well as can be expected with K refusing to leave Brian's side no matter how much coaxing the teacher's tried. K is going to have a hard first day. Brian will be dropping him off, because I am almost certain I will not be able to leave him without crying my eyes out and making things worse (yes Markus, I do cry, though it is rare and usually limited to decisions that have to do with my dogs or my kid or any sappy movie). Moving on...

We attempted to see Santa at Lakeline Mall. As predicted, this was a bust. We went, we stood in line, we bribed Kellen with McDonald's french fries thinking that would distract him from the big man in red. Brian tried to put Kellen on Santa's lap - but Kellen's death grip on Brian's arm prevented that from happening. We tried to bribe him with some little toys which Kellen took and then ran off. Then we left. Maybe next year. At least he didn't embarrass himself by crying like the little boy in front of us did. The more I think about it, I'm pretty sure the little boy was just crying about the ridiculous sweater vest his mom made him wear and didn't want that to be memorialized in a picture frame somewhere. Once there's a picture - it happened - no denying it.

I realize that these blogs my appear to be all about the kid. This is because we have no life outside of the kid. Well, that's actually not true. Brian and I took off work the week of Thanksgiving. We sent Kellen to school every day so we could get some stuff done. We ordered landscaping rocks and landscaped the yard on Monday. We went to see the movie 2012 which was fun, on Tuesday. On Wednesday I think we just hung out at the house. On Thursday we hosted Thanksgiving which I deemed a huge success - many thanks to all those who participated. Friday thru Sunday was a blur. I don't remember what we did, where we went, who we were with, nothing. But I am sure it was fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants fun. On December 12th my parents watched Kellen overnight and Brian and I went to the Bella Christmas dinner at Cool River. We wined, we dined and were home by 10pm. We went to bed immediately and then got up BEFORE the crack of dawn on Sunday and went to S. Austin to feed the homeless. Then we hightailed it out of the breakfast to attend a church business meeting, then church, then out to my parent's house to get K-man. Fun, fun, and more fun. We are living the life people.

Well, that's about all I can think of as far as recent news. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your families and friends. Be safe mi amigos.

McCranski's Out.

Autumn Report

Hi all,
It's my favorite time of year - Fall! Thanksgiving is a few weeks away which = good food. Christmas is a few more weeks away which = more good food AND gifts (seriously what could be better?) Then, we celebrate the new year, and yes, again with the good food! But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Brian had his birthday and is now 29 years old. We had friends over, hung out at the house and watched some Longhorn football. The boys, as usual, had several debates about who's who in the sports world, the when and where of the upcoming Bachelor trip/party, reminisced about past bachelor parties and some chic named Jazzy Faye - boring. Us girls gabbed about weddings, rings, the infamous and yet to happen girls trip, and of course we made fun of the boys. Good times people. Moving on.
Halloween was fun. Brian and Warren (Missy's dad) spent some quality time pumpkin carving with their Guppy (Kellen) at Stepping Stone one afternoon. Brian and I also enjoyed a little Halloween party on the 30th at Kellen's school. He is the cutest animal - no lie. In fact, I've remarked on Kellen's cuteness several times, always qualifying it with the standard line "but I'm biased." But other people always assure me that he is indeed extremely handsome. In light of these disclosures from "others" I am deeming it to be a matter of fact. Let the record reflect that Kellen is cute. And, just to be clear that this is indeed an unbiased sampling, the "other" are people who are NOT friends or family. On several occasions, complete strangers have remarked "how cute" or "he's adorable" or "awwww." These are but a few of the responses the sight of my littlest dog elicits from others.
On Halloween we had a busy day. Kellen and his BFF Lexi enjoyed a two hour sojourn in the park. They played ball, frolicked on the play scape, rode around in the wagon, had snacks, had drinks -all in all - the perfect play date. His butt was dragging and he was all too happy to succumb to his crib for a nappy when we got home. After a 3 hour siesta K was fresh to assume the role of Superman. We traveled to Tera Vista to partake in Halloween festivities with Brian's family. Good times. Then we headed back home to hand out candy. It was a great day. (On a sad note, the pumpkins that were painstakingly carved by dad and Brian were stolen off our front porch that evening. We are offering a cash reward for their safe return.)
I welcomed my "dirty thirties" on Nov 4th. Brian cooked me a special chicken dinner (winner, winner...) and I even went a little wild and had a Mike's Hard Cranberry-Lemonade. Good stuff. But as you can see the thirties are already taking their toll. I remember back in my twenties I could polish off a couple of Mango Smirnoffs AND a couple of Mike's Lemonades. To think that was just two weeks ago. Ahhh the memories.

But, enough about us.
McCranski's Out.

Dog the Bounty Hunter Meet Max the Skunk Killer

Oh no he didn't! Oh yes he did. Skunk Numero Dos went down in flames at approximately 2:09am Monday, Oct. 5th. The poor dude didn't stand a chance. Dogs went out. I heard the splish, splash, as their feet hit the wet weather creek that is our backyard after it rains. Then, there was no mistaking the sound. Rrrrrrurrrrr, RRRRURRRRRR. Max came into view, with a huge, putrid, nasty ole skunk, shaking that mother like a polaroid picture (all you beyonces and lucy lui's get on the floor...) I digress... where was I. Oh yeah. As the stench hit my nostrils it must have also registered in Max's cuz he dropped the skunk and ran around the yard like a chicken with its head cut off. He dove to the ground, army crawling thru the grass trying to rub the smell off his face. Dirty, Dirty, dog.
So - after Uno (skunk number one for those of you who are slow) bit the dust a few months ago, Brian was familiar with my whispered shouting (don't want to wake the kid) "Brrrrr-ian! - Max got another one." Folks, this ain't our first rodeo. We are almost professionals. Brian went to round up the necessaries (plastic bags, hydrochloric acid, etc.) and I went back to bed. Just kidding. We tried to leave Max outside for the night, but stinky started crying (Max - not Brian) so out we went in our skivvies to give Max a quick bath. Then back to bed with our stinky dog in his cage - in our room - and yes - we lit a candle.
The joys of parenting. Raising my dogs has been way more challenging then raising my little boy Kellen. Maybe Kellen could teach Max how to just eat rocks. In fact, both Max and Gus could take a lesson. At least K only eats things he can PASS. Not socks, or underwear, or tampons. Seriously.
Kellen is now opening doors. And lucky for us we have the doors with the easy pull down handles, so if he wants to open the front door and wander out into traffic - he can! Sweet, right? Note to self and any who enter my home from now on: FLIP THE DEADBOLT BEHIND YOU. (This has been a public service announcement).
For all those who are interested or may know someone who is interested - you may purchase our OU tickets on ebay for another 2 days and 9 hours give or take. Bart would be extremely happy if someone would outbid him. Sucka.
FYI - my husband, the love of my life, whom I couldn't live without (ok I could, because I did, for like 16 years - but you're missing the point cuz, I wouldn't want to) is turning the big 2-9 on the 24th of this month - so get out your checkbooks - I mean, be sure to call and wish him a happy birthday.
Later friends.
Missus McCranski Out.

Boys will be Boys

Hola All,

It's finally fall! And I'm so glad - but the office is already alarmingly boring. The phone just stops ringing after school starts. It's nice for the first week, then really boring for the next 3 months.

K-man is growing! According the the Pediatrician he is "chunky." I'm not buying it. Some days he is a little "rounder" than others, but, aren't we all? He's a stout young lad. I'm not concerned. And, I happen to think he looks cute with his little baby pot belly. Hopefully when he gets older he'll inherit his father's washboard abs. Hehehe.

Actually, there may be a good reason he is a "chunky" kid. It turns out, our little dude eats rocks. And he has a serious problem. Some kids are on the juice, ours is "on the rocks". It all started this past Friday. We are hanging out at the house and K's off poopin somewhere (yes, he is wearing a diaper, but he hides to take care of business). Next thing we know, K is crying, soooo sad. We go check him out and lo and behold in his diaper is a little rock and a not so little rock. The latter is about the size of a marble but not as smooth. (ooh!) Turns out passing rocks isn't all that easy.

At this point we are sad for him, but not overly concerned. (wait for it...) Until the next morning. Brian changes the diaper and notices nothing. (here it comes...) But, I change his diaper later on and it's full up of "not so fruity" little pebbles. Like the concerned parent I am, I mention to Brian that we should examine all his previous diapers for foreign deposits. Naturally, I have a poor gag reflex, so the diaper duty is left up to Brian. And wouldn't you know it - he found the motherload. We washed the rocks, bleached them, and put them in a little evidence baggie.

Today I confronted the daycare about my son's deviant eating behaviors (Brian begged off to go to Mexico for work - whatever - priorities, priorites). My little baggie of rocks in hand, I explained to them, both in a letter and in person, that this is very concerning to us, mostly because of the obvious choking hazard. The daycare personnel expressed their sincerest apologies along with wide-eyed astonishment at the number of rocks K-man ingested. "We're so sorry, Marissa. We watch him constantly. He always spits them out when we tell him to. All the kids eat rocks." Blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

Here's my thinking (and several people agree with me) Baby Playground + Rocks = Babies Choking on Rocks. Babies Choking on Rocks + Pissed off Parents = Lawsuit. Follow me? After all EVERYONE knows that kids will literally put ANYTHING in their mouths. Doesn't it just make sense to remove the temptation? Seriously.

What a gross story! Hope none of you were eating while you were reading this!

McCranskis Out

MackBrown-TexasFootball.com

MackBrown-TexasFootball.com: "Days08Hours09Mins32Secs"

Nocturnal Visitor

Hola my friends,

Last night we had a not-so-friendly visit from a di-stink-tly unwelcome trespasser. Brian and I were enjoying the movie Appaloosa, courtesy of our new HBO channels when Max whined to go outside. I removed myself from my comfortable, reclining, couch potato position and let Max and the puggies outside to conduct their "business." I walked back to the couch and was just about to sit down when Max starts whoofing and hollering outside. I knew something was amiss. You see, Max never barks unless there are varmints about. I walked back to the door and vaguely saw three shadowy bodies (it was dark) snarling and attacking our fence. (The three figures to which I am referring were Max and his pug cohorts). I said to Brian "Those pugs've got something out there - go see what it is." Brian grabbed the flashlight and ventured forth into the murky abyss that is our backyard around 9:17pm. "What is it?" I shouted from the doorway. I could see the pugs runnig to and fro barking like mad while Max was viciously scrapping with the culprit. Then it hit me. The awful stench coupled with Brian's reponse "It's a skunk! Max has got it!" Right then, Max ran from the dark recesses of the yard into my line of sight and the light with his prize dangling from his frothing mouth. He was thrashing his head vigorously from side to side playing with his new toy. Brian shouted "Max drop it, DROP IT." Finally, he did. I had run into the garage to get a rake so we could pick up the dead skunk. I was thinking of hurling it over the fence into the neighbors garden (he, he, he - surprise!). But instead, Brian made me get some plastic bags so we could throw it into the garbage can (boring). Luckily, before we did so, I was able to capture a picture of the stinking varmint.

As luck would have it, neither Max or the pugs got sprayed too badly from the skunk. But Max was a mite stinky and got a rather vigorous scurb down with shampoo and the hose. The pugs too, were scrubbed down in the shower - just in case. Needless to say, all the dogs slept in their own beds last night.

My littlest dog, Kellen, slept thru all the shenanigans. Lucky.

~McCranski's Out

Record Temps

Is it hot or what?! Holy smokes - I think all the soles are melting off my shoes because at least two pairs of my shoes have the soles peeling off. Time for new shoes.
Not a whole lot going on lately. Kellen's doing well in school. He has learned several animals and the sounds they make. It is the cutest thing - well to us anyway. It's not hard for him to impress us - I know, we are biased. Naturally, we think he is brilliantly smart and have aspirations for him to be a rocket scientist or a successful business man, or, well the list goes on and on. I'm sure to everyone else he is just your average, run of the mill, little toddler. But what do y'all know?
Work is the same both both of us. Boring. It pays the bills.
Brian's guy trip is coming up very soon. They'll be off to Detroit this year to take in Notre Dame v Wolverines game or something like that. Our Longhorn tickets are in the mail! In fact, they are at the post office this very minute waiting for us to pick them up. It's going to be a great Longhorn season folks. Stay tuned.
My mother has gone green. Yesterday, she turned in her "clunker" for a 2009 Prius. It's cool. She's even going to be able to play her iPod in the car - something I can't even do in my Lexus. You know what I'm thinking...I need a new car... Someone better stop me!! I can't help myself, I have a problem. The first step is to admit it, right? That's something.
My good friend from childhood, Jenny, found me on Facebook. Man that is some kind of website. I must admit I am addicted to a game called Farmville. I have this little farm, with little animals, and I harvest my crops, and get money and buy things. It's quite taken over my life. I'm almost over it. Almost. Anyway, I digress - it was really good to hear from Jenny! I haven't talked to her since college days and it looks like she is doing great. I also tracked down another college friend, Christy on this Facebook site. It's really cool to see how people are faring all these years later. My friends, you can't have too many friends.
Well, I guess that's about it. Here's a short video of my little dancing man! I'm smitten with him (no, it is not Brian)
Laters y'all. McCranksi's Out

Mmmm Spaghetti

Poor Guy

Hi all,

Well Kellen's been under the weather for a couple of days. Not eating well, a bit fussy. Not sure what's going on there. I know his little teeth are busting through and his mouth looks so red and sore. Poor dude.

Work is very slow and very boring right now. Middle of the month lull (i hope). I'm ready for a vacation - just a short one. Nothing to exotic, but it would be nice to get away for a weekend. Vegas keeps sending Brian emails offering freebies. Hmmmm. Maybe.

We have a snake that has taken up part-time residence in our yard. I'm not too happy about this for obvious reasons. Last weekend, I was outside, training my moonflower vines to grow up the iron fence out back. So, there I was just humming away, gently winding the vines around the fence when I look down to see the snake, also hanging out under the moonflower vines. I screamed. Jumped up, twisted my ankle (okay, tweaked it) got goose bumps all over, and went hopping through the yard and into the house. (I get shivers just thinking about it). I'm pretty sure he's just your garden vareity snake, but he really needs to find a new place to hang out. Or lay around. Whatever.

I've taken up song writing. It's kind of like writing ditties, but with a tune. No - I'm not that good. But I get a good 45 minutes a day in the car to just sit and do nothing, so I sometimes find myself making up little musical ditties. Now if I can just figure out how to write down the music.

Well, that's all I have for now. Laters.

~M. Mccranski Out

Dog Days

Hola Todos - It's been a while.


July 4th was good times - Just hanging out with friends eatin some shishkabobs. Mmmm. Shishkabobs rock!

Kellen likes to swim. Okay -float. I mean flirt. We went to the pool at our old apartments (yeah that's right - we kept our gate opener) and Kellen was making eyes at this blonde girl the whole time. Smiling, laughing, POINTING. Rude little dude. She was eatin it up, waving at him and talking to him. He's only 13 months and he's got the ladies eating out of the palm of his chubby, little hands. Sick. Finally her boyfriend had to lay on top of her so she would pay attention to him and not Kellen. Needless to say, once the smooching ensued we left.
Kellen is getting mucho grande. He is growing so fast! He has recently learned what a cow says (ooooooh) and makes the cutest attempts at making a fish face when you ask him what a fish says. We are working hard on teaching him different animals and sounds. He has a little stuffed pug dog that he loves to snuggle (go figure) and takes it to bed with him and in the car too.

On the 9th of July, he had tubes put into his ears to help them drain. Too many ear infections! Surgery went smoothly - took all of 10 minutes. Brian stayed home with him that day and they had boy time. Just hanging out and playing.

Brian is the same. Working hard trying to get ahead in the game of life. He is probably going to have to travel abroad for work again to either Malaysia or China by the end of this year. Missy does not look forward to him being gone.

I am the same. The summer real estate market has been good. Not as good as past years, but I can't complain. Okay - I could complain, but I won't.


We are ready for some football!!! The tix have been bought and we can't wait to see our Longhorns play. Give em hell, Give em hell, make em eat... I mean Go Horns Go! Please pray that it cools down for the first game. Or three. Otherwise the skin might melt off our bodies. Gross.


That's it for now folks.

McCranski's Out.

So Tired

It's been a crazy few weeks! Kellen turned one on May 30th. He had a birthday/blessing party on May 31st. We hosted it at the house and had good friends, food and fun. That little dog was so worn out by the end of the day! He went to bed a 6pm that night. Brian and I were wiped out. Kids are fun, but they can wear you out.

After the party Missy caught some kind of Summer flu. Yuck. She even had to stay at home from work which she NEVER does. I think she just needed some R&R after the crazy weekend. Not to be outdone, both Brian and Kellen also caught a little bug (compliments of Missy I'm sure). Oh well. What goes around comes around.

Kellen has moved up into the next class at school. Yeah! He is no longer a Minnow - he is now a Sea Turtle. He is motoring along pretty good now too. It was like overnight he just decided to walk. It's fun to watch him totter around.

Brian has been working hard and is studying to become a project manager. His new softball season kicks off tonight at 6:30. Go team!

It's summertime in real estate and Missy's been busy, busy walking properties and trying to grow the business. Time are tough for people in real estate. She also started up a little play date group for the kiddos. Just a small group so far - hoping to grow this group a bit too!

Well - that's a quick update for now! Mccranski's Out.

Ode to Firsts

Well, it's almost here...Kellen's first birthday. The year went by fast! Here's a little ditty for our precious, little kiddy.

Ode to Firsts by Marissa

A year of firsts
But not of lasts
So much happened
Oh so fast!

First cry, first wail
First little coo
First smile, first giggle
First diaper pooh

First stretch, first yawn
First snuggle up
First step, first squat
First down then up

First tooth, first cut
First belly laugh
First word, first grunt
First talking smack

First swim, first stroll
First point and yell
First night of sleep
First night from hell

First overnight
First day of school
First time to hike
First time to drool

First angry face
First little pout
First tantrum thrown
First time to shout

First swing, first slide
First cry of glee
First falling down
First scraped up knee

First cough, first cold
First fevered night
First doctor’s visit
First parent’s fright

First finger painting
First photo op
First taste of dirt
First taste of rocks

First food, first bite
First messy face
First throwing food
First pug dog chase

First hurt feelings
First feeling sad
First invincible feeling
First getting mad

First church service
First grocery trip
First bluebonnets
First good grip

First ducky tub
First wet dog kiss
First big boy bath
First try and miss

First wagon ride
First baby crib
First bike around
First baby bib

First baby blessing
First birthday feast
First baby’s cake
First meet and greet

A year of firsts
For you and us
A year of trials
A year of musts

You’re our first born
You’re our first son
You’re the first, best thing
We’ve ever done.

~Mccranski's Out

Play Ball

Roar

11 months

Holy cow! How time flies. Let's see...

Easter

Brian and Missy served breakfast to the homeless at the South Branch of the Community of Christ. Kellen stayed with his Aunt Dawn and had Easter fun at her house while we were at the breakfast. We rushed home in order to get ready for Sunday Service. Kellen was soooo tired! His Auntie and Mei Ping wore him out! He slept thru the entire service waking up fresh and ready to party at his Grandparent's house. He had a small Easter egg hunt and the McCracken's house. He was more into banging the eggs then finding them.

Kellen is constantly getting germs and colds from his daycare. Sigh. I think we miss one to two days of work every other week staying home with our little sicko. Poor kid! Aside from this he is a really happy little dude. Very mischeivious. No fear of his parents - we tell him "no" and he laughs in our faces and goes for whatever it is he sees. He's growing fast and is bound and determined to try learn to walk. His right foot is a bit pigeon-toed which I think is making the walking task a little difficult to master.

He got his first fish this past weekend, a Crowntail Male Betta. He likes to watch it and Missy's trying to teach him how to purse his lips together to make a fish face. He newest and only words are "duhg" and "guhh". Everything he points to is either a "duhg" or a "guh" with an occasional "doog". I think it's obvious what he thinks of his dogs/pugs, don't you agree?

Brian is the same. But without braces.

Missy is the same. She's never had braces.

That's it for now! McCranski's Out.

It's Spring

Hi All,

It's spring and I love this time of year when all the trees are turning green and the flowers are starting to peek out. Unfortunately, the blue bonnets seem to be a bit shabby this year - I'm thinking cuz we've not had much rain. But the past week did bring some showers, so maybe a few more bonnets will sprout before the season is over.

I finally got to take about 30 minutes and plant my elephent ears in the backyard. I have so much gardening to do and it's just about impossible with Mr. K - but I will prevail! The deer are very rude in these parts and will munch on just about anything so one must plan a garden carefully and put deer resistant plants in the ground.

Kellen turned 10 monthos old yesterday! He's almost a year old - time sure does fly. He's growing and has turned out to be quite demanding. I keep telling Brian "we've got to quit spoiling this kid!" Folks - we've created a monster. Sigh.

Brian had a quick trip to San Jose for a business meeting. Just an overnighter - sounds like corporate waste to me... But I am not complaining as long as they keep employing him they can "waste away"

Real estate is mostly solid here in Austin. The leasing market is very steady. The sales market is very slow. We are hanging in there in these tough economic times.

My pugs keep getting bites on their little toes. I'm not sure if it's ants or spiders, or chiggers, but their poor little toes have bites. I'll have to watch them closely - those pugs are always finding themselves in shenanigans.

I have played and lost (badly) a few tennis matches. Basically I suk. I suk because I don't practice enough. I don't practice enough because I find it very hard to do much of anything with a 10 month old at home! Excuses, excuses... I've really got to shape up. I've languished in Lazyville to long now.

Onward and Upward. More soon.

McCranski's Out

March 5 Update

Hi All,

Just a few quick updates:

Kellen

• Kellen just turned 9 months old - man he's growing fast
• He is growing and according to his doc is 45% percentile for height, 30% for weight and 23% for head circumference... that is in comparison to other 9 month old kids...
• He weighed in a 19 pounds - very solid
• He also has a double ear infection - poor guy!! He's on his antibiotics and we hope the infections will clear up fast

Missy

• Not much new here just working and gearing up for the summer real estate market.
• On the Mean-Eyed Cats tennis team - lost the last match in a 3 setter. It was REALLY windy and felt good to get out and play - need to do more of that! Playing again this Saturday.

Brian

• Working hard pulling lots of late nights and participating in lots of conference calls! We are very happy he has a job - can't complain
• He is playing softball again this season and most nights he says his team wins...

That's all for now folks!

McCranski's Out

New Home

On January 28th we closed on our new home! Finally! It's been a whirlwind but we are finally in our new home!! We are so excited to be back in a house instead of a tiny apartment.

We brought the dogs over and the first thing Max (the boxer) did was run around the yard as fast as he could go. He was stoked at having a yard again. He's been waiting months to run. Watching him was fun and I'm so glad he's happy again. Poor Gus (the pug) - it was all he could do to stay out of harms way - otherwise, I'm sure Max would have trampled him! I also finally got my little pug girl Miakoda back. She's precious and I definitely need her otherwise the testosterone level is way too high!!! Brian disagrees.

Kellen too, finally has his own room - awesome! We can finally get our kid a bedroom set. We really need to set up his room so he has something other than white walls to stare at... onwards and upwards!

There is still some unpacking to do but we are mostly settled in. Time to decorate - yuck... my wallet already feels lighter.

The house is minutes from Brian's work which is really nice. In fact it's minutes from Kellen's daycare which is really nice for us!! Brian drops him off on the way to work and I pick him up on my way home. It works.

We are right around the corner from Missy's sister Dawn which is also great news as she loves to babysit! Yeah! It's going to be fun walking/biking/jogging/dropping by her home whenever we want.

Later y'all~

McCranski's Out