Goodbye Bo

You said hello to my little friend and now we have to say goodbye. I called the vet to make an appointment because he had a few fleas. Then I called the animal shelter just to be sure that someone was indeed not looking for him. Well, they were and they left their address and phone number. I called but no one answered and then I went by their home to see if there were any posters made. There were no posters but I went to the door and they were happy I found him.
The wife wanted us to keep the dog. They already had two other dogs and their fence was broken. All three dogs had escaped and he was the last one they needed to recover. He was a LONG way from home. She had to ask her husband. He was torn because he didn't want to break my son's heart. My son had gotten so attached to this pup but it was my job to break my son's heart. That stunk so badly.
After school I explained what happened to my son. He turned away from me while he was talking. He didn't want me to see him cry. UGH! insert mommy heart break -->here<--. We took the puppy food and toys we had bought for the puppy to his home so my son could see for himself that indeed he had a home. The wife came outside and explained to my son her husband's attachment to the dog and how they sleep together, etc. We left and on our way home he asked, "what was his name?" "Bo!" I said. He said, "Well it's a good thing!" As he pulled out an entire list of names that he and his entire class put together. He had asked me to send his teacher a photo of the puppy by email. I did and she showed the class and it became a class project! Insert dagger -->here<--. I took him to my grandmother's house to help him feel better. On our way home coming down our street he became sad again. *sigh* A little more about the dog, my estimation of 4 months was about right. He was not a full breed Rhodesian Ridgeback. He was mixed with a Blue Heeler. You couldn't tell that's for sure. He also learned how to fetch before he left thanks to our super cool lab mix Sam. Now our home and our pack can return to normal.

Today's Quote

The more you have, the more you're occupied; the less you have, the more free you are.

- Mother Teresa

Thursday Thirteen #65 - What They Didn't Tell Me

I could have doctored this photo but I didn't because it's nearly 20 years old now and it has that vintage look. I've been a mom for a very long time. Now that I actually have an adult child I feel like I can actually dole out the advice. I've earned my badge and she's out in the big big world doing her own thing whether I like it or not. I'm going to share with you my 13 things no one told me about the "motherhood."

1. After you give birth be careful when you stand. You're insides will feel like they are going to fall out. This too shall pass.
2. At some point your child will hate you, cuss under their breath (possibly) and even wish they had different parents. Develop thick skin this too shall pass.
3. You're son will know everything at age 8 and your daughter will know everything at age 12. When they do leave your house with all their knowledge you have to begin to let go. You will morn their absence and they will change into people you don't know, until they become parents.
4. You have to have a grab bag of discipline tactics. You have to change it up a bit to keep them on their toes. They will at some point disappoint you even when they know better.
5. Beware of the grandparents! In their eyes your child will be a saint, no matter what. Their discipline days are over and they have nothing left but hugs and kisses. Get use to it because you will become chopped liver when they are around.
6. Are you ready to consider someone else before you no matter what? Are you ready to give up your "me" time? Are you ready for the avalanche of new finances? Are you ready to protect and serve like a cop? lol
7. Just make it through the first 3 months and you will start to feel human again. You might possibly get sleep, a shower and a change of clean clothes.
8. You are the single most important role model and everything you do and say has an impact. The saying of "Do as I say not as I do" NEVER works.
9. You will sound just like your parents so get ready to deal with it when some of those famous phrases come flying out of your mouth.
10. Prepare to call and apologize to your parents every single day or if you are really lucky and you were a "non trouble" kid then thank them every day.
11. You're going to mess up. Be ready to admit to your child when you are wrong. Admit it if you lie, it's best to put the truth out there.
12. They are going to lie to you. They just want to avoid trouble. Careful how you phrase your questions and you might be able to decrease those lies.
13. Always keep a level of respect between you. They should never be on your level and you shouldn't try to be their best friend. Friendly yes, but they don't need to know all of your adult problems. They can't handle it nor should they have to.

Say Hello To My Little Friend

Right now he's asleep right here next to me at my desk. Hang on I can explain! Monday I just wanted to go for my one mile walk at the track. It was raining in the morning so we went later in the day. I had to take the entire family for this walk. As soon as we got out of the van there he was and the kids went nuts. There were some little girls on the playground calling to him. Insert sigh of relief it's their dog! But wait, why aren't they coming to get their dog. He's following my toddler who is running and he keeps knocking our poor little guy over. Oh and then our oldest boy chimes in "oh can we keep him?" "NO!" I say. "Isn't he cute?" he says to me. "Yes, he's cute but it's not about cute. What if our three other dogs don't like him?"

We asked every person we passed on the track, "Is this your dog? Do you know who he belongs too?" No, No, No! *sigh*

We brought this bundle of brown cuteness home with us and my dh gave all the dogs baths. We introduced him to the female alpha. She's fine with him. Then we introduce him to our male terrier mix. OH BAD!!! Puppy submits but our dog doesn't care at all. OK - remove crazy dog and introduce puppy to our other female. No problems she is fine with him too.

I begin Tweeting and Googling puppy introduction etc., and wishing Cesar Milan would hop the next flight to Texas and whisper something into crazy dogs ear to make him play nice!

I'm not sure if we are going to be able keep this puppy yet. I would say he's about 4 -6 months old? We haven't named him yet. We've tried Buddy, Michael (he has this one white paw - get it?) Duke, Bruce, Diego and nothing is really doing this puppy justice yet. This dog appears to be a full breed Rhodesian Ridgeback. Well what would you name him?

We had Alexandria (Alex) for three years and her sister Antonia (Toni) is going to be 12 this year. We also have Maximilian (Max) and Samantha (Sam) and they will both be 11 this year. If you have any suggestions for names throw them our way and I will see what the pack says! If this dog would have been a girl, I would have named it Julie because I'm her #1 Fan! rofl...

Wordless Wednesday - Story Time

Today's Visit - The Dentist

How cute is this? It just goes to show you that you can have story time any where. Yes, even in the dentist's chair. Our boys went for their check up today. Our eldest is going to have to have some teeth removed in a couple of weeks. Poor little guy. I wonder if I can explain to him that The Tooth Fairy is experiencing this recession. You think he will go for it? Maybe an IOU?

Tip The Scale Tuesday - Week 2

Oh yes, I've got a 2 pound loss this week. I ate poorly most of the week and Angie our hostess for Tip The Scale Tuesday posted about food journals. I don't like these because then I have to pay more attention to what I'm eating and how many servings, blah, blah! I just want to be young where I could eat anything and burn it off. Now back to reality I started the food journal yesterday so you only get my one day posted.
4/27
8am - Little Hungry
1 Strawberry Nutri Grain Bar
1 Packet of Cinnamon & Spice Quaker Oats Oatmeal (Mmmmm)
8oz. Green Tea

11:30am - Not Hungry
1 Apple


12:00pm - Hungry
Grilled cheese sandwich
1 Banana

4pm - Not Hungry
16 oz. of water
(Mom brought over box of Snicker Doodle cookies)

5pm - Not Hungry - Thinking about cookies
8 oz. of coffee

6pm - Hungry
Italian Casserole with Italian Sausage, lots of tomatoes and pasta topped with Mozzarella cheese.
1 Apple

10pm - Hungry
2 of those darn Snicker Doodles cookies. ROFL!!!!

Yesterday I was at the park with my little people and I began to remember some exercises from boot camp. We worked out at the same park and we did exercises on the playground. There I was doing push ups on the back of a bench and doing tricep dips using the seat of the bench. I took advantage of this giant brick wall and did several wall sits! Then I pretended like I had a jump rope and started jumping. I must have looked like a wacka doo but I didn't care. I moved on to lunges while I was pushing the baby in her stroller. I worked up a nice stinky sweat! I'm really dreaming of a Wii along with the EA Sports Active game. I need go see what the Wii Mommies are up to! There are freebies up for grabs from Julie but you have to be her #1 Fan. I think I'm well on my way. See Julie thinking about it? If you don't know her she is the Goddess of weight loss with a Wii. Read how she lost 60 pounds with her Wii.

Tuesday Toot Meme #40

Toot Toot! Check it out, I bring you my cookie cutters. I seriously felt like I needed an aluminum flashing bending class by the time I was done. In case you forgot I'm working on my gourmet cookie project. It's taking longer than I thought. There is a lot of drying time that takes place for the glue and the Plasti-Dip. The instructions say that your cutter doesn't have to be a perfect outline of the shape that you are trying to make. That's not possible for someone who has even a trace of being a perfectionist! I was getting really mad and frustrated and I didn't want to cut my fingers but I think I did ok. The rose is to go with the instructions and I want it to be a surprise Mother's Day gift and the Captain Rex helmet is for my son. Now on to the Plast-Dip. By the way the aluminum flashing can be found in the last aisle of Lowe's and the Plasti-Dip is in the paint section in aisle 2 also at Lowe's. I'm trying to save you some time here. If you're trying to "Just Say No!" to cookies, join the Wii Mommies and get support! Thanks to Julie Maloney for starting the forum. That's why I'm her #1 Fan.

Family Time

What's that sound?
Is that what I think it is?

It is! He tooted. Now we must laugh like children.

Group shot, minus the baby because she wouldn't cooperate. Dear Julie, do you see those folds under my chin? Yes, I thought so. I'm going out on a limb here to show you that I am in fact your #1 Fan. I need that game to begin my own 30 day challenge and begin removing those folds. It's not pretty! rofl....

Tornado Toddler Strikes Again!

Just in case you thought he disappeared, oh no! he's still here. Today while I was sending a "quick" email to daddy my little guy managed to do the following:
Pull chair up to pantry
Find bag full of Dum Dums
Take bag to table
Remove all the wrappers
If I remember correctly I'm the one that threw them on the plate. The boy is smart and he's fast. I had no idea this was going on. He's very quiet and sneaky!

Oh and if you are wondering who is Julie Maloney's #1 fan is...that would be me!

The Big Sleepover - Part 2

All was quiet in the house with the exception of our baby girl who was WIDE awake. She finally passed out in our bed in between the two of us. I never sleep well my kids are in our bed. As I lay there I could hear whispering and I tried to ignore it. I thought I was going crazy or dreaming but finally I had to answer my curiosity. I arose from my comfy bed to see the glow of the monitor outlining these two little heads.

I gently put my hand on each shoulder and said, "Boys it's 3 o'clock in the morning. You boys will go straight up to bed and be thankful it is me and not your Daddy who found you!"

Needless to say they are both tired and I had to tell the boy's mother at church today what happened. Both of them are VERY grounded and the password on the computer will be changed. My son will sit down and write out a series of apology letters after he wakes up from his nap. It's going to be a very long day today. We have to reset his clock.

The Big Sleepover

Tonight we had the big sleepover. My son had his buddy and his buddy's sister here for dinner, a movie and a hot game of Monopoly. We figured this would go rather smoothly except for being a little tired. My hubby had to take our son to the ER @ 3am for pain in his ear. It's the joyful onset of yet another ear infection. Back to the story! Everything was all set by 10pm and we sent them to brush teeth and to go to bed. Sounds like a perfect evening right?

Today's Quote

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.

- Chinese proverb

Lists of 8's

Tag I'm It! Thanks to Dorene at Occasional Rambling. Are you ready for my lists of 8's? Here we go...

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To

1. Being out of debt
   
2. Losing weight
   
3. Shopping for a new wardrobe
   
4. U2 coming to concert in October
   
5. Seeing our baby P take her first steps
   
6. A playground for our backyard
   
7. Finishing any of the books I'm reading
   
8. Sunday
   

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Ran my checking account into the negative
   
2. Picked up my son's first pair of glasses
   
3. Went to Sam's Club to stock up on diapers
   
4. Made pizza for dinner
   
5. Read more of The Shack
   
6. Went to bed at 8:00pm
   
7. Took my son to soccer practice
   
8. Visited with my grandma
   

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. Sleep
   
2. Wear shorts again
   
3. Learn Spanish
   
4. Play the drums
   
5. Make more money
   
6. Be at peace
   
7. Get rid of my freckles
   
8. Organize my home
   

8 Shows I Watch

1. Lost
2. House
3. Medium
4. The Biggest Loser
   
5. Housewives of *.*
6. Millionaire Matchmaker
   
7. Tough Love
   
8. Rescue Me
   

8 People I Tag

I'm tagging some really cool bloggers from my Google Reader for this one.

Ann

Shake The Salt

Elizabeth

Jenni

Joss

Carissa

Brandy

Pamela

Freebie Friday - Week 5

Are you hosting a contest? Great! Post it here on Freebie Friday. What better time to search and enter contests than on the weekend? Sign in so that others can find your giveaway. I will be hosting Freebie Friday each week from now on so be sure to drop back by. Now go grab your tasty beverage, sit back and relax and contest hop with me!

Aloha Friday #40

Kailani at An Island Life has created this really fun idea. If you are interested in joining in, please visit her site for more details.

Today's question is:
If you could catch up on one thing, what would it be?

Flash Back Friday #40 - REO Speedwagon

Where did REO Speedwagon go? That group was all I ever heard in the 80's. I have so many great memories of this group. This was more in my middle school years. Ah good times, Six Flags Astroworld was still open. My friends and I lived there. That was another time when the world was a bit more safe. At least I have my memories. Where does REO Speedwagon take you?

It's Written In The Sky

Why do I refer to myself as a dork you ask? Simple. Remember that post where I told you that I had to turn on my comment moderation because the title of this post brought out the pervs? Well, here I have been for days without any comments on my blog which is not normal considering all the memes. Today I finally figured out I had them all sitting in this little window waiting for my approval. I had not put in an email address letting me know that I needed to approve it. ROFL!!! And there you have it, why I am a dork.

I found my plasti-dip at the hardware store for my project. I'm ready to try my hand at making a cookie cutter. I hope it goes well. And one of you asked me about where the beer prop was in this photo. That should tell you something! If he can pass out without any beer then you know he's working hard and very tired. Friday is coming! Are you ready?

Thursday Thirteen #64 - Happy Birthday

We love balloons! I don't know if my hubby likes them but the kids and I always have a great time with balloons.

Normally I buy a Kroger cake but this year we went home made. Here is our boy frosting the cake and it was so yummy!

Our toddler picked out the birthday theme. Yes, he went with Spider Man.

I can explain! My hubby is not 67 but I didn't have a number 2 candle so we made a math problem out of the candles we did have. If you're married to an engineer they would think it's funny.

He's overwhelmed by all the boxes of Whoppers!

Aren't they cute?

Guess who this present is from?


He says he is going to put this Jet Works - design your own jet engine on his desk at work.
Live long and prosper!

This is some goofy singing card our toddler picked out.

Here are the boys making sure the party favors are working.

It's a gift card to his favorite coffee shop. It's local not a Star Bucks.

Then it was time to head off to Scouts! My grandmother and hubby have a special bond over bacon. My son cracks me up!

The Latest Gadget

I'm really liking this LinkWithin Gadget! I have noticed it on a few other blogs and the photos caught my eye. When I clicked over and found that I could put it on my own blog I went for it. It is the coolest. I've been blogging for nearly two years now. It's neat to see some of the old photos and posts. I can really see how much my kids have grown. There's always something new and cool to add.

Wordless Wednesday - Partied Out

There's A Party Going On Right Here

It's party day here at our house. We are getting ready to bake the cake, make the special birthday dinner and decorate! This year's theme is none other than Spider Man, chosen my the little guy in the house. We have presents to wrap as well. I've got 2.5 hours to pull all this together. Wish me luck! Check out my Wordless Wednesday post to see the lucky birthday "MAN!"