Kids Say The Cutest Things

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

Yesterday we were playing ball outside.  The ball ended up over our neighbors fence (I think hubby did it on purpose as we were ready to go inside and Minnow wasn’t).  We told Minnow that the ball was gone and that we’d have to get it later. 

Minnow goes up to the fence and tries to look through a small knot hole in the wood.  He backs up and puts his hand up to his mouth and yells “o dewey”  (Oh Toodles). 

 For those of you who have kids and watch Mickey Mouse Club house you know who Toodles is.  For those of you who don’t and are wondering what is so cute about that–Mickey Mouse has Toodles who is a character (tool box of sorts) who brings Mickey and friends Mouskatool (tools) to help them with things they couldn’t do on their own.  I was laughing so hard.  Minnow just didn’t understand why Toodles wasn’t coming. He yelled a few more times and asked “where did dewey go?”  I had explain that Toodles only comes when Mickey calls for him, etc. 

It was adorable.  Yes, he watches entirely too much tv.  But it was cute just the same. 

My hosting company here is moving to a new server this weekend.  You all can still find me and read me, but I am advised not to post this weekend while they are moving.  So I will be back on Monday and will post about our dinner party tonight, our easter egg hunt and coloring on Saturday and Easter.  I also post some pics of Minnow helping me paint. 

Have a great and safe weekend.  Talk to you soon. 

Minnow Has Been Tagged…

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

It’s been ages since I’ve had a meme around here.  Minnow was tagged by his bud Micah.  So I now give you Minnow….

So here are ten random things about me. 

1.  I am magic.  I know crazy isn’t it.  But I help Mickey Mouse make his clubhouse appear every day.  When I say the magic words (sometimes my mom helps) the clubhouse comes out of the ground.  Can you believe it?  I wonder what other magic I can do?  I’ll have to practice. 

2.  I love dogs.  My dogs–chip doggy and putt doggy–are the best.  Chip doggy lets me crawl all over her and sit on her and everything.  My Grandpa Mike and Grandma Lori have 2 dogs and they are crazy.  They lick me all the time just like I was an ice cream cone and I don’t like that much.  It’s cute a couple times–but their breath is stinky and I don’t lick them so I don’t get it. 

3.  I love to play music.  After listening to lots of music, I have realized that the music people make the music and sing to.  So, now when I play daddy’s guitar, I strum it with the pick (I call it a wee because its fun but mom and dad says its a pick. That is a really dumb and boring name for it, but whatever) then I sing.  I am an awesome singer.  Sometimes I even scream like the rock and roll guys do. I am way cool.  Oh, yeah I can also play the harmonica and the bongo drums.  Ladies, lock up your daughters.  I am almost 2. 

4.  I like drawing.  I don’t like coloring books that much.  The coloring books already have the drawing done and your just suppose to color.  That’s not very creative.  I like to create.  I draw Mommy and Daddy and my doggies and Spongebob.  Sometimes I even have to write my name.  My mom and dad aren’t as smart as I thought they were, as they always have to ask me what I am drawing.  They’ll learn.

5.  KETCHUP.  Ketchup makes everything taste better.   I put ketchup on everything.  Well not everything, just everything on my plate–hot dogs, eggs, potatoes, avocado, strawberries, grapes, pineapple.  I love ketchup. 

6.  I love to be scared.  My mommy jumps out at me from behind the wall sometimes and I scream and then she tickles me and I laugh so much that I sometimes pee in my pants.  It’s good that I wear a diaper. I don’t know what will happen when I don’t wear a diaper.  Um no diaper?  Nah, I like the convenience of a diaper.  Back to being scared.  After mommy does it once.  I make her do it over and over.  I make her chase me around the house until she is tired and then I usually get to watch Mickey Mouse and practice my magic. 

7.  I am a big brother.  I have a sister.  I don’t know what a sister is or even what a big brother is.  But my sister Peepers is in Ethiopia.  I don’t know why, they don’t tell me that.  Or maybe they do.  I don’t always listen.  My mommy and daddy talk a lot.  They tell me my sister Peepers is coming to our house someday.  I like having friends over–I hope she doesn’t stay too long.  Is it a bad sign that my mommy and daddy are making a room for her? 

8.  I am a boy.  I am all boy.  I love to jump off furniture (if there are soft cushions to land on)  I climb up on our window sill behind the couch and hid behind the curtains to try and scare my mommy.  I love to wrestle.  It is fun.  Especially when daddy is not expecting me to come and throw myself on him.  It is awesome.  My favorite thing to do is climb up my daddy’s recliner when he is laying in it and stand on the foot rest and propel myself at him.  It is awesome!

9.  I like to climb.  Now that the weather is getting nice, my mommy has taken me to the park a few times and there are these metal walk ways you can climb up instead of taking the stairs like a little kid.  I tried it once and it was a little scary, but my cool mommy helped me instead of just putting me on the top like another mommy did.  It was scary at the top on the last rung but I did it.  I like doing that.  I did it lots of time and each time my mommy helped me and told me I could do it.  She’s pretty smart that mommy of mine. 

10.  I love girls.  All girls but especially girls that are older than me.  I prefer girls in the 5-8 year-old category.  I like them to have long hair preferably blond. This isn’t to say that I don’t already practice the fine art of flirting with all girls.  But the one that are older but not too old.  I love them.  I hug them and follow them around. Even it I don’t know them.  They seem to play hard to get, but I will keep trying.  One day they’ll be sorry that they didn’t want love from Minnow. 

Well there you have it.  Ten very random things about me.  I could go on an on about things I like,  I have a lot in common with Micah.  I love reading and getting attention, etc.  But I had to pick ten.  Thanks for stopping by and reading about me for a change.  Leave lots of comments about how awesome I am and maybe mommy will write more about me and less about school, politics and other stuff that isn’t exciting to a almost 2 year old. 

Thanks.  I am off to help Mickey with his clubhouse. 

MIA

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

I feel as though I have been MIA from the blog world for a while–not posting enough here and certainly not keeping up with my faves.  My life has been a bit crazy and confusing, and frustrating, and exhausting.  I have so many things that I want/need to blog about–I just haven’t found the time or energy to sit down and formualte my thoughts.  I will try to do so in the coming days. 

Right now I have uncontrollable PMS and feel like ripping out my ovaries (who certainly don’t do me any reproductive good) and shoving them down someone’s throat–no one inparticular. 

Busy Busy Busy

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

Busy painting Peepers new room and the stairs and the upstairs hall–as carpet is coming Tuesday.  Busy procrastinating the writing of a research proposal for class and reading a chapter on gender and literacy.  Also procrastinating on life.  Busy drinking a delicious SF Vanilla Capp at Panera and waiting for inspiration to strike. 

So muses of academia where ever you are lurking please come and strike.  I need you. 

Reason 4,345,235,235,123 For Why I Dislike The Media

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 5 Comments

Where to start…Okay let’s just jump right in with Spitzer.  I mean really who doesn’t love a little ‘paid for sex’ sleaze?  I totally understand why he is a story.  He really is the epitome of hypocrisy in regards to this type of conduct.  Yes, he is still human, but the hypocrisy is important to expose so that we as Americans remind ourselves that those so often in power are in it for themselves.  My issue with this whole scandal is the negative focus on his wife and the labelling of the prostitute as the “woman who brought down a governor.”  I will not get into a petty debate about who went down on whom.  At $1000 bucks an hour–my money is on her being the one to go down…

But I digress.  Once the scandal broke the CBS Early Show had on two WOMEN to analyze and discuss why MEN CHEAT.  And more specifically, why powerful men cheat.  I have a problem when women who aren’t experts in male behavior–neither was a psychiatrist or a sex therapist.  Their reason was of course that men cheat and more importantly powerful men cheat because they can and because it makes them feel more powerful.  I think this is a crassly simplistic view at why people cheat.  There are many complex issues as to why men and women cheat–both powerful and run of the mill.  But that is a topic for another day.  My main problem with this CBS piece was that one of the women–a staunch radical, bra-burning feminist–railed on Spitzer’s wife for standing next to him when he was giving his press conference.  She was enraged that this woman would stand by her man [she must not be strong enough to stand up for her self she implied].  She said that by standing by her man she was sending a message to all women that it is okay what her husband did.  I too think that is a gross simplification of the situation. 

One of the things I have very recently learned and come to understand is that you can accept what people have done, feel, believe, without condoning it.  You can respect a person, institution, vows, without condoning the behavior.  Mrs. Spitzer vowed to be married for better or worse.  By standing next to her man she was not saying it was okay what he did, but she was respecting the institution of marriage.  I was impressed to see that marriage still means something.  I am sure she is angry, pained, hurt, humiliated, and a long list of other adjectives, but that is private and who are we to judge her for her choice to respect her vow.  She has more than herself to think about–her children, her own feelings about the sanctity of marriage.  We should not throw stones.  Lets focus on the real issue…Oh yeah, paying for sex is really not that scandalous it has been happening for as long as there have been money/goods to trade. 

Now onto the “woman who brought down a governor.”  Shame on you media.  She didn’t come forward and rat him out.  Stop playing it up like it is her fault.  She was just a girl doing her job.  The guy got caught–by the IRS or some other financial group looking at money going out and seeing suspicious activity.  Then when he came forward and admitted what he did, the hounds were released and they didn’t stop until they tracked this woman down.  Why the hell do we care?  Sure taking money for sex is “illegal” but come one.  Leave her alone.  It is not her fault.  I don’t think high-class escorts cold call like those annoying Edward Jones folks who canvas neighborhoods looking for business.  I am pretty sure he sought her out.  Just a guess, but I think that just might be the way it happened.  So, if that is the case…how is it her fault?  Isn’t it the fault of Spitzer who chose to spend huge amounts of money for sex?  I might be going out on a limb here, but shouldn’t we be looking at him as the person at fault and not this chick just trying to make a living? 

These are just a few of the reasons.  I could go on, as I got really pissy at GMA this morning when Chris was interviewing an Obama staffer about Obama’s retired minster’s political views.  Isn’t there still a war going on in the middle east?  Isn’t there still a terrible genocide happening in Darfur?  Aren’t people in New Orleans still struggling to rebuild?  Isn’t our countries dependency on oil crippling our economy? 

 I guess it is still sex that sells and like Kennedy learned in the 60’s if you aren’t a protestant or an evangelical christian your relgious and political values are challenged at every turn.  I happen to think Obama’s “radical” minister speaks a lot of truths that those fat, rich white fellas don’t want to admit.  What do you think?