From the "how to tell when your discipline strategies are lacking" department....


ELKHART, Ind. - A crane vending machine can be frustrating enough when you're trying to snatch a little stuffed toy from its steely clutches. Imagine if the prize it's denying you is your own 3-year-old son.

James Manges II managed to climb up the chute and inside one of the machines Thursday, swinging around for an hour amid the plush toys he coveted before firefighters freed him.

James' mother, Danielle Manges, said they had paid an early morning visit to a Wal-Mart in this northern Indiana city because he had been sick and was sleeping odd hours. After she denied him money to play the vending-machine game, he threw a juice box and climbed into the machine while his mother picked it up.

"Within two seconds he had climbed through the hole, into the chute and pushed the door shut so we couldn't get him out," she said.

At first, Manges thought it was funny: "He was playing with all the toys and hanging from the bar like a monkey."

She even bought a disposable camera to take pictures, as other shoppers did. (sure let's just encourage the brat! Maybe Wal-mart should add this to their pose options in their portrait studio!) But she soon became upset when Wal-Mart employees said they did not have a key to let James out.

Firefighters removed the back of the machine to free James — who went home empty-handed.

"He definitely didn't get a toy after that," Manges said


Okay...I didn't even know that the shoot to those machines was big enough for a three year old to climb into. This was nuts, I think I would have left the kid there for someone to win...okay probably not...


posted by Tracy 12:14

It's another Saturday, but it's also the last Saturday I have before getting out of here. There's still quite a bit to do, but here I am typing instead of slaving away. I'm so close yet so far away. The movers start packing on Monday, and then Wednesday they come back to cart it all away...it will make for an interesting week.

It's so hard to believe that Friday is the day Kansas becomes a distant memory...I've been waiting for this day since I moved here nearly two years ago. It really wasn't that long ago, but I feel like I've been here forever. It's also starting to hit me that I'm leaving some great people from my church. They don't hesitate to remind me everytime they see me...it's so bittersweet...

Okay enough with that..it's hot today. I have no clean clothes left, so they're in the wash, and I'm still in long sleeved pajamas...that doesn't help with the motivation to get working. I just have so much stuff that doesn't have a place to go, so I guess it's going to be put in a sort of pile for the movers to organize. I hate moving...at least I don't have to be the one to carry everything out to the truck though. That's sort of nice.

My church is throwing me a party tonight, that's exciting. I was over at Peggy's last night and she was gathering trivia about me. I guess they're going to play a Tracy trivia game...I'm not sure how well they'll do, but it should be interesting. I'm kind of afraid that they're going to kidnap me, I guess they've been scheming ways to make me stay all week....funny...okay back to work!


posted by Tracy 13:51

God give me some motivation....


posted by Tracy 12:55

Augh! I think my room is going to eat me! I swear, my stuff is multiplying, and I'm about ready to torch the place and start over. Today I'm battling my closet, and so far my closet is winning....It's nuts! How can one person own so much stuff? The sad thing is though, there are people who are far more insanely pathetic than I am...a little over a week before this all has to be managable for moving men...yes moving MEN... :P They don't just stand still...okay I'm done with that now...

I ventured down to Target today even though I had no good reason to do so. I just wanted to enjoy some of the sunshine before becoming a prisoner to stuff. I made some completely frivolous purchases, had lunch/dinner at IHOP and drove back. The highway was really backed up due to construction so I decided to get off at Kansas Ave. because I was pretty sure it crossed K-7 which would get me back to Leavenworth. So I drove, and suddenly I was in the middle of nowhere....middle of nowhere, Kansas...yeah... So I drove for quite awhile trying to figure out where the highway was, and I ended up in Bonner Springs next to the Ag Hall of Fame (Yes Virginia there is such a place...) and I knew where I was. Yea me! It was the road past the Ren Fest park which hooked up with State Ave. which I knew crossed K-7/73...which got me back to Leavenworth...now you know and knowing is half the battle...finish that for me Kay! So here I am barrelling down K-7 at about 70mph ( no this is not a speeding ticket story) when I see something crawling across the road ahead of me. It was going rather slow, and I ended up swerving to avoid hitting it. It was a turtle, and it was about to become a very dead turtle because I seriously doubted the ten or so cars behind me were going to see it in time...poor thing. I've never seen a turtle try to cross the road before..and I had to wonder what in the world possessed the thing to do it? Hello..you're a slow moving animal, and these are fast moving cars on a main stretch of road. I named him Marvin, and I truly hope he's still alive, but I'm not so sure that's the case. I imagine it could do some damage if it got hurtled through the air by a car going 70, and then possibly smacking another car going the other way....that's a hard shell....then yesterday as I was coming back from K-mart (Yes I shop a lot) there was a frog hopping across the driveway...I had to stop and wait for him to pass. His name was Paul...what is it with me and Reptiles and Amphibians???? Maybe Marvin was the legendary long lost Spike the class turtle from my sixth grade class. Rumor has it he ventured out into the teacher's backyard one summer and never returned. Maybe he's on a cross country roadtrip...it would probably take about 15 years to get to Kansas...that makes sense....: P...Okay back to the war....possibly more later....


posted by Tracy 18:29

Ah I love thunderstorms..especially at night. I don't like driving in them though...I went to Weston to hang out with Peggy and her kids for the evening. It was fine when I drove out, but the storms began shortly after dinner, then I had to drive home. It was a little nasty, the hail wasn't too big, but it was there which was plenty irritating to me. I made it home before it really hit which made me feel better.

I'm really starting to feel the not so nice feeling of leaving the people I've come to love here. I know I whine quite a bit about not having friends out here, but really I do...my church has been wonderful to me. I feel like I'm just getting to know them even though I've been here for two years. I know I will meet more wonderful people when I get to NC, but it's still hard....


posted by Tracy 21:52

Today in my quest to pack up my life I conquered the abyss beneath my bed...fun fun...I ended up finding my other purple roo shoe...and there was much rejoicing! I have a little over three weeks to get it all done. I think I will be fine, I just need to be kicked in the butt to actually do it. It's so hard to believe that my time in Kansas is coming to an end...again there was much rejoicing!

So yes..I know it's been awhile since I've actually bothered to truly update this thing...sorry about that. I've thought about it plenty, but have always made some lame excuse not to do it. It's not that I don't love you people, I'm just lazy I guess...

I've been having a lot of dreams with The Wiggles in them...I must be secretly in love with them...oh wait it's not a secret! : P Unfortnately three out of the four of them are married with kids, and the fourth one is way too old for me. Dream on Trace! : )

I was bad and skipped church tonight...I'm still trying to get over a cough I've had for a few days now. I figured that no-one would appreciate me coughing up several lungs over the course of the lengthy service. It was the big gathering tonight, which is usually pretty long since they do two sermons...I've never quite understood that. Oh well. I feel bad for skipping though since I am leaving soon, they'll get over it...sure.

I called home today to wish my mother Happy Mother's Day, and my mom told me that they were grilling steaks and potatoes on the grill...thanks mom. I was a trifle jealous and I don't even like steak...I went downstairs and ate my bowl of oatmeal...


posted by Tracy 21:36

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