Monday, December 22, 2008

Fun with Pipe Cleaners

We had our first day of no puking or diarrhea yesterday, and it was the first day since last Thursday. That's right, eight days straight of something. We have basically lived in a petri dish of viruses and bacteria. But we are back to good health and look forward to the upcoming holiday. We should be 100% just in time to go out of town for a week, and all come back sick.

Ann got out some pipe cleaners the other day and showed the kids what kind of fun we used to have as kids.

"Well kids, when I grew up we had rocks, sticks, paper, and on special days, we got pipe cleaners. We walked to school barefoot, uphill both ways. And for Christmas we received socks and underwear."

The encouraging thing is to see the fun that can be had with those old pipe cleaners. For example, you can make funny eye glasses like the ones seen in the pictures above. Not only that, you can also see what you will look like in a few years if you have eyes like daddy.

This is Scottie when he dresses himself, which is quite often as of late. We are on a two week stretch of "hoop pants/shorts" (when he does opt to wear clothes). Definitely has Daddy's fashion sense. Hey, it does match.

I am not here say whether little boys should play with dolls. However, when Scottie recently started playing with a particular doll he had made in Sunday School, I had no hard feelings. I mean how can you not appreciate when your child wants to make a manger bed and care for little baby Jesus. That being said, I will draw the line if Barbie ever enters the conversation.
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Monday, December 15, 2008

Freakin Cold

What else do you do in the middle of December when the weather outside is single digits? Well, you layer yourself in every piece of winter clothing you have, and you go to the store for Christmas cookie ingredients. That's what Scottie and I did after dinner tonight. Since Maggie caught Scottie's case of barfitis today, I decided to keep him busy by making some Christmas cookies.

Note to self: Never move north of Oklahoma City. Cold weather is for the birds.


Ready to face Old Man Winter

The finished product.
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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Sick Day

Well, this ain't your typical Thursday. Scottie woke up about 2:45 last night with a case of the barfs, I'm at home studying about Hepatitis for my new job, and Ann's day of errands was completely shot. We are hoping the spewing is over, but he has a little fever now. Ann has been ubersympathetic with Scottie, and this is something I don't get to see during my sicknesses. So it is nice to know that my kids don't get the gasps and rolling eyes that I see when I am a little under the weather. It is pretty sad and pathetic to see the little fella so down and out though. Here's to hoping he gets to feeling better soon.

*Notice the name on the bowl. This was an old practice passed down from my mom. I don't know if it is to keep from getting lost or if she is afraid it will get stolen, but growing up 'McNellis' was written in every piece of athletic gear, clothing (especially underwear, what??), book, toy, hat, kitchen utensil, etc. we ever owned. After garage sales and donations, who knows how many people in this world have something that says 'McNellis' in permanent marker.

No, Maggie is not happy Scottie is sick. Just glad to be able to crawl around without being tackled.

Last weekend, we went to Kansas City to see the fam. We went and saw Grandma McNellis and spent a lot of time with Ava and Quin at my brother's new house. Then on Saturday, the entire Hendricks (Mom's side) family came over to Ryan's for a Holiday get together. It was great to see everyone.


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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Clothes, I don't need no stinkin clothes!!

I think of myself as having a pretty good memory. However, for the life of me, I cannot remember the last time I came home from work and saw Scottie with clothes on. What a life. I don't have a problem with it, probably just bitter jealousy. And don't be intimidated by the fine physique, he has been working out.

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I won't bore you with the details of the blessings in my life, but trust me, I have more than I could ever deserve. We are spending this Thanksgiving weekend in Bartlesville with the Befort family. Everybody (Grandma, Papa, Jon, Amy, Ella, and Allen) is here and it is good to be together. Next weekend we will be going to Kansas City to see the McNellis fam and to have a family reunion with the Hendricks (Mom's side of the family). I hope you can all find something to be thankful for this year and enjoy your Thanksgiving Day.



Here are some pictures of Scott and Maggie on Thanksgiving Day.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Good Joke

Yesterday, I came across a good blog. It is www.treymorgan.net and he has some pretty funny stuff. He is a pastor in Childress, TX and that's about all I know. He was good enough to make the blog roll and I will be keeping up with him from now on. He had a great joke on there and I am a sucker for good jokes. Since I am always up for a good laugh, I thought I would steal the joke and post it here.

So here it is, hope it makes you laugh:

Nothing is funnier to me that being able to laugh at yourself or what you do. I have an arsenal of preacher jokes, but here is one of the ones that is at the top of my favorites list...

Three ministers and their wives were on a cruise. A tidal wave came up and swamped the ship; they all drowned, and next thing you know, they're standing at the gates of heaven before Peter.

The first minister came with his wife and stood before Peter. Peter opened the book of life and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, I can't let you in. You loved money too much. Your life was only about money. You loved it so much, you even married a woman named Penny.

"Then came the second minister and his wife. "I'm sorry, I can't let you in, either. You loved food too much and you know what the Bible says about gluttony! In fact, you loved to eat so much, you even married a woman named Candy!"

The third minister turned to his wife and whispered nervously, "It doesn't look good for us, Fanny."

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Do you ear what I ear?

This week consisted of a burst eardrum for Scottie and a double ear infection for Mags. Dr. Stecklow, it is our pleasure to keep you in business. Any ideas on how to get 5 ml of antibiotics to a three year old will be gladly accepted. Hope all is well for everyone else out there.


Here's a sampling of what's going in our children's bodies this week.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Half a Year

This post serves two purposes. The first is to show how lovely my baby girl has become after six months. The second is to make sure that scary freakin eye picture is not the first thing you see when you log on to this page. By the way, the eye is getting better. It's just changing colors like a bruise. So right now it is still pretty bloody with shades of that disgusting greenish, yellow color. But again, it does nothing to take away from my wife's beauty. So far she has skipped church and MOMs group to avoid the "what the heck is wrong with your eye" question.

Here are some pictures of Maggie from the past week. She turned six months yesterday and had a big week of new things. Also Scottie has randomly started calling her Sadie. Whatever?? Here ya go.

Isn't She Lovely

She had her first bath in the big tub


She tried rice cereal and spit it all back up as expected

And she got her first Harley-Davidson headband
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Friday, November 7, 2008

Disgusting Eye and Great Cereal

Ann has issues. In the past, she will have an occasional blood vessel bust in her eye that causes a little bit of redness. This, on the other hand, looks like her heart exploded and all the blood tried to escape through her eye. Don't worry, she did go to the doctor and after saying 'Wow' three times, he did say that it is not a big deal unless it happens again any time soon. For those of you that know me, this ain't good. I haven't looked at my wife in two days in fear of passing out cold, but I do still love her.
By the way, this post will not be at the top long because I just can't handle it. So enjoy.


Also, there is no doubt in my mind that Golden Grahams tops the list of 'World's Best Cereals'. Walmart just put them back on the shelf. I don't know what the issue happened to be (probably something to do with Walmart showing how big and bad they are), but I am thankful they are back. This is just an FYI, but if you haven't had a bowl of GGs in a while, I highly suggest a box next time you are at the store.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Good, Solid Weekend...

Let's just say my ultimatum paid off. Going to Lubbock for the Tech/Texas game was one of the better decisions I have made in my 31 years. It was the best game I have ever seen and the entire day was good stuff. For those that didn't get to see it, I am sorry. For those that did, don't you wish you could have seen it live?

Kevin and Tera (my bro and his wife) drove down from KC on Friday night, then I did a little trick or treating with the kids, before we headed out. We got to Lubbock about 2:00 am, woke up for Gameday at 7:30 am and then hung out at the tailgates and game until about 11:30 pm. Asleep by about 1:30, up by 7:30, and drive home. The longest day/weekend of my life, but well worth it. And no I did not rush onto the field. I am way too mature for that, and I was too busy high fiving and hugging the complete strangers all around me. Check out this ariel view of the stadium after the game was over. Good times.

I also accepted a new job on Friday before all the trick or treating and trip began. After 7 years in my current position, I will be changing roles after the first of the year. I will be moving on to sell immunizations. My territory will switch to Oklahoma City/North Tulsa, but I am excited about the opportunity. It is still the same company, GlaxoSmithKine, but a little change in job structure.

All in all, as the title says, it was a "good, solid weekend". Halloween was great with Jeff Gordon and the cutest little pumpkin you have ever seen. Here are some pics:

Nascar man and his sister

The Fam

My two favorite kids in the whole world.
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Monday, October 27, 2008

Ultimatum, that'll fix em...

Well, sorry again for the delay between posts. Couple crazy weeks. Nobody cares that I have been in North Carolina for a week. All I keep hearing is, "when are you going to blog again?" So I will catch you up on things, but first things first.

Texas Tech is currently 8-0 and hosting #1 Texas in Lubbock this weekend. College Gameday will be there, a million Tech fans, as well as myself. Now this did not come without a price. Files called this morning and said his wife had given him the green light for the weekend trip to Lubbock. I needed very little persuading, but I did need at least a yellow light from my wife. So when I got home I approached the subject. "OK," Ann said with disgust, "but here's the deal." Uh oh, the deal. "If you go, you can only watch two football games per week until the end of the season." It didn't take long to decide that I will be headed home to Lubbock for the weekend. I haven't been back to Tech in 3 or 4 years and who could miss the biggest game in school history? So if you watch the game, look for the goofy looking fool in the black Tech shirt.

In other news, here are some pics since my last blog.


Grandma and Papa took Ella, Amy, Scott, and Ann to the Circus in Tulsa. Unfortunately, I had to stay home with Maggie (and I caught a little football while I was at it).

Maggie with her cousin Ella.

Scott and Ella at the Pumpkin Patch in Bartlesville.

Scottie and I got some tickets to the OKC Thunder's first preseason game. He made it until halftime, but that wouldn't have happened without the pack of M&Ms.
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Monday, October 13, 2008

Ridiculous


Sure she has her moments (what woman doesn't), but this picture tells me one thing. Maggie McNellis is the cutest little girl ever, even with that huge thing on her head.

Happy 5 months Baby Girl. I love you.
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Sunday, October 5, 2008

A Cut Above

Not to cause any concern, but Maggie has had some issues this past week, and the doctor told us that if it got any worse to head to the ER. Well, it hasn't gotten any worse, but we decided to visit the ER anyway. With our other child. Scottie was overly excited watching what else, NASCAR, and slipped and busted his head on the corner of the speakers by the TV. Blood came gushing and when we stopped the bleeding, you could almost see his brain through the small hole in his head. So, off to the ER we went. He was really good and stopped crying when the blood stopped. Luckily, they were able to glue it so there won't be major scarring. Mommy was a little worried about Senior Pictures, but Dad told him scars make a man. Also, he was able to score the Jimmy Johnson Lowe's car since he was so tough. Not a bad trade, Jimmy Johnson for a hole in the head. Isn't parenthood great?

There goes that perfect baby face
Remember, son, scars make a man
Jimmy Johnson, Score!!
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Personal Best!!

Here it is folks. Over the weekend, I actually got away to partake in a round of golf. Not only did I play, but I 'played'. Now keeping in mind that my previous best was 80 (about 5 years ago), let's just say I shattered it. One birdie, four bogeys, and the rest pars for a solid 75. No mulligans, no drops, no nothing, just a legit 75. Now you may think of this as bragging, but please don't. This is pure astonishment. Here's the proof:
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