Puppy Playdate

Cajun, meet the peeps.

Peeps, meet Cajun.



Ain't he cute? He is the Aussie for Hub who came for a playdate today. Unfortunately he's not old enough to stay yet, but in 2 weeks or so he's ours.

So he came over for an hour and a half, pooped and peed on the floor, cuddled and met the cats. After all that he fell fast asleep in my arms....and at that moment....

He had to go back home.

bummer.

Man O' Man!

Bye Bye Heath.

Poo woes

Please help me figure out how to get my boy to poo in the toilet. Please help me figure out what to say/do before he explodes. That would suck, bad.

And by explode, I mean literally. explode.

As in crap all over the walls, etc. Explode.


Happy visual! :)

Busy Busy as always

Hi there.

I have fantastic news today.

Yesterday I rode my horse for the first time. My wild horse, people...I rode him, and it was fantastic! I was on top of the world, and I am so stoked for being so close to hitting the trails with him! He's my best horsey pal, and I love him a lot. So much so in fact that he has his own blog. You should check it out.

Also in other news. This. Everyone on cue now....awwww.

Hope all is as good for you as it is for me right now.

Hard labor

Last Sunday was B-E-A-utiful! The sun was out and it was rather warm! When better to go out and shovel horse poo?

Unfortunately being a member of this family, you must pull your weight, even if you are only 3.

(Pic above is not poo. Just the masses of mud that lives here too. )

Or 34 , in the other case.

As much as we complain about the work involved with having horses, I LOVE being out there and doing chores. Especially when it's all of us out together.

**He's looking right at the camera AND smiling. Told ya the diet works!!**

My dreams of a ranch, lots of chores and lots of kids are obviously not possible anymore, but on a much smaller scale, this is perfect.

Good News

Lots to report today. Go get your coffee and meet me back here in 5.


Alright, glad you made it. I have some fantastic news. Actually a few fantastic things to share.

1. I'm getting a new niece, from China, How cool is that? I have the shopping urge something HUGE, but can't justify it since we (meaning my sis) don't know what size of clothing she's wearing. As soon as I get the word pray for me and for the thrift store. There's nothing better than shopping for little girls!! Oh, and I know her name. Ms. Ella Beth Crawford. Awww......that makes her double cute already. Maybe I'll go swipe her pic off Sis's blog for you. Hold one.
See, I wasn't kidding! She's too cute. Makes my uterus ache. I want another. Well I wanted another. Now I'm content to live my dreams through my Sis. :)

On to the big news of the day. The Boy, MY BOY! is nearly potty trained. Yeah I know that might not be big news to you. In fact you might giggle or roll your eyes. Before you do that remember that he has a "diagnoses" and that he was absolutely petrified of the toilet before we went dairy free. Now you have a glimpse of how over joyed we are that he's decided that it's alright and that there is nothing to be afraid of. He also is more confident in public, he says "Hey! Who's that guy?" when he sees someone new now instead of trembling and staring at his feet. It's amazing, and we are so encouraged that we are on the right track. YEA BOY!!! GREAT JOB!!

In other news.....I resisted the urge to crawl in bed after the bus left this morning. Last time I sat on the bed to watch the Today Show I woke up 15 minutes before the boys bus got here. Yikes! That was a 3 hour nap! I compromised with myself and instead of getting in bed and the alternative of getting dressed and makeup on, I ran my errands in my sweats and crocks, make up free. Yep, I did it and it was so nice!!

Hope y'all have a great Monday!!

Maybe it's interesting, maybe it's not

Just stopping by to drop off some stuff on the blog. It might not be worth your time to read it, but here it is anyhow.

• Come tax return time I am donating my totally out of date wardrobe which consists of solid colored tees and jeans to a thrift store. I'll be replacing it with 21st century fashions including pants which are not denim and shirts with some sort of "flair". Maybe I'll go with some stripes....maybe not. What's in anyway?
• We had the flu over Christmas. That was God awful, as you can imagine. We passed it around the family once, twice for my son. Oh, by the way, we have learned he's on the spectrum, as in the Autistic Spectrum. Lots to learn in between visits to the....well you get it I'm sure.
• So yeah, he's very mildly autistic. PDD NOS to be specific. We are going Dairy free, which is the first step in a new diet that is very highly recommended by Moms in my shoes. After a month or so of non dairy, progress will be noted and we will be eliminating wheat also. Pray that we get a good enough change with Dairy cause I really love my bread!
• I think I'm supporting Ron Paul for prez. None of the dems are doing it for me so far. I thought I'd like Hilary, but turns out not so much. Ron's got some interesting stuff/views on his site. But that 's all I'm gonna say about that. Well except that I'd be voting Republican. God, please let him be a 3rd party candidate so I don't gag after casting my vote.

In between me and the kids and Hub being sick I was snapping pics like crazy. Here are few for you.

Grammy and the girl.

Grammy and the boy.
Santa hit the jackpot this year, a bike and a scooter!
Here is my Baby demanding food. Isn't he cute?

So there it is in all it's boring entirety. You asleep? Or maybe you clicked away long ago.....no one can be sure.

Falling apart

Good Grief........

Everything is just falling apart around me. I just need to vent.

The defrost in the van isn't working, along with the brakes needing fixed. The carpet shampooer sounds like a jet engine. You can't live in a house with 3 cats, 2 kids and a husband with out a properly working carpet shampooer. My computer has some sort of virus (I'm on Hubs laptop) it says I need the Windows install CD, which I can't find anywhere.....The stupid cat had to go to the vet with my sewing needle in her throat, that was a nice happy check I had to write them. ugh.

How come all this stuff just piles on and on and on? Can't a gal catch a break?

Add the stress of flying to get Hubs Grammy on Friday, a bus trip across state that I really want to happen, that might not work out for my Grammy's 80th, I'm just STRESSED!!!!!

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Love Saturday

I'm jumping on the Love Saturday wagon. Wanna jump too?

• Love that the cat's life was saved, I guess I love the cat.
• Love that my little man is such a musician at only 3.

• Love that today I had more done by noon, than in most days period.
• Love that we are on the verge of a breakthrough with our son.
• Love that I am confident I can help him, more than a diagnosis can.
• Love that the gal had time to spend with her horse today.
• Love that my horse let me pull his tooth out. How cool is that?!?
• Love that 2 people have requested that I update Henry's Blog.
• Love that Mom has helped with the start of the boys new diet. Thanks Mom!
• Love that I had a chance to scrapbook today!
• Love my new banner that I designed myself!
  

Just tons to be grateful for! What do you Love today?

No words

Kanji: Sadness, Sorrow, Grief

Yesterday one of Robs best "kids" from work was killed as a result of a horrible motorcycle accident. He leaves behind a wife, who watched it all from the car behind him.

There just aren't words. I can not imagine being in her position. I don't have any idea what to do/say. I just want to be there for her in some way. That might be intrusive. My thoughts and prayers are definately with her today and for many more days in the future. Thankfully her parents live close and were there almost immediately.

Makes me stop and be truly grateful for all the blessings I have in my life right now. I am one lucky gal, and I need to remember that more often.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

I hope that you are all able to count your blessings and enjoy the special time with friends and family.

Out of Surgery

We are back at home now from the gals oral surgery. Ghesh, nothing easy about that this morning. I am a planner, and when things vary from the plan I start to get a bit freaky. The plan A anesthesia did not work because the nurse could not get an IV started. So plan B was a shot, different drug and I definately prefer not to use that one ever again!

See, it causes comatose. Her eyes are acting weird, she has no bodily control and can not talk. Not what I was prepared for at all, not to mention the gal!! Complicate that by the surgeon wanting me to take her home like that and, well, just not good....

We've been home about an hour and a half and she is coming around. Some nausea but I had expected that. She is talking and moving which is a relief to say the least. She sure is a trooper and will be getting a very special trip to the Build-A-Bear workshop tomorrow after school.

Right now she is up in bed with Dad who decided to stay home and help me after he realized she was in no condition to be left alone for even a moment. Thanks sweetie pie!

I can't bring myself to take pictures, it just doesn't seem right. Here they are together on Vets day after her school assembly. Aren't they cuties!!??

Kitty to the grindstone

What would one do without kitty supervision? Chip, one of the 2 kitties we kept, was all about keeping me on task while working on the new place mats for Thanksgiving. I'd pull out the project and poof, there he was like magic or something! Maybe chip should be on Phenomenon
(It couldn't make that show any worse)

Speaking of that show...Did you see that trick with Ross's credit card? OMG, not that I watch that show or anything but that was WAY cool!




Anyway- the place mats were started on Sunday during football and they got nearly completed today. I still have to stitch closed the opening used to pull the fabric through. Isn't there are name for that hole? Interesting...I can't think of it.


Enjoy the pictures. I'll be moving on to Christmas place mats after I rebound with some scrap booking.

ETA: What in Sam Hill is up with the font in this post? It won't change to all be the same. Arg.....drives my perfectionist side CRAZY.

Carving Smiles

Last night was the boys pumpkin carving night at his new pre school. They got to dress up in their costumes and go make a filthy mess. It was great fun. I caught myself smiling a lot, which I might have forgotten how to do for awhile. Did I mention it was FUN!?

Yes, the boy has no hair after a nightmare haircut. Poor kid!
Mums the word, he doesn't know anythings different!

The boy, aka Murray Wiggle, wanted nothing to do with the goo inside the pumpkin. Eventually we got him to take some out with a spoon, and then what do ya know? The goo wasn't so bad after all and he was a sloppy mess like his sister, aka Ms. Veterinarian.

My gal is cute, but check out the cutie behind her!

In other great news, I am proud to announce that I have finished the Felt Stocking I was working on! I really like it, but have not decided who's it is yet. Since that was finished I have been working away on scrapbooking for the kiddos. I seem to binge every now and then and get quite a few pages done in a shorter amount of time.

I'd also like to take a minute the thank those of you who offered advice on the FIL situation. It really takes a lot to get comments when the post isn't cheery and happy, but you all came through for me and I appreciate that more than ya know! As of right now, it's a bit better and that is good enough for me. [hugs]

Hormones start at 7

Today was the gals 7th Birthday party. We were ready, had invited 5 girls, and thought that this was the year everything would go smoothly. Afraid not, someone always get left out. In this case it was the poor sport of the party that ended up in the corner crying and milking me for all I was worth. I'm exhausted. But what can you do?

I've decided I'm done planning parties. I'll throw a few for my son to make it even, then we are off to BK or Chuck-E-Cheese, or somewhere other than my home.

Here are some pictures of the good times.


There was also a Pinata, pin the tail on the Donkey and bracelet making. I have no pictures of those events though. Oh well.

Dear Abby

I really need some advice here folks, I'm at my whits end and feel like I am about to boil over. Advice is appreciated. Just a heads up, it's gonna be long and whiny.

Most of you know that my Father in Law lives with us. He moved in last November after being evicted from his Tucson AZ apartment. He called and beat around the bush about the problems, and I ended up telling him to come here and stay with us. The other option was to put him out on the street, not an option at all.

We sent him some gas money and he started the drive up after putting a few belongings in storage. After settling in and transferring his job we depleted our savings account, bought airfare and all the other expenses associated with moving. Add on several huge money surprises and we were broke. Anyway- he's been here for a year.

He's been working, and paying rent with just a little nudge until we moved. He and I talked about this move before hand. We discussed that this house was quite a bit more expensive and that this rent would go up quite a bit. We discussed transferring his job locally and after some conversations and meetings with the boss he said that it would all be fine.

Except it's not.

The transfer did not go through for whatever reason. We've been here 2, nearly 3 months and he has not paid rent. He does misc work for the landlords, but has never offered to work in exchange for rent, or a credit to our rent. He offers no money, blows all his money and then has the nerve to say that he is going to buy and Xbox for himself. In the next breath he mentions that he needs gas money to get to the $8 an hour job that he managed to get. ($8 part time doesn't even come close to his rent) Add to that the $300 hole he is in at the bank because he is writing rubber checks and you can see where the frustration is coming from I assume.

So that brings me to what to do about it....

I have no freaking clue what to do about it. The stress level is astronomically high here. Things between the Hub and I don't need to take another blow for another 7 or so years. We are already arguing about how to handle this situation. We both have no idea what to do. I can't put him out on the street, gosh sometimes I want to, but as a human, I can't. There is no where else for him to go. All the other family have "reasons" they can't help him.

Because of this we are dead broke. Stressful ass dead broke and he either doesn't get it or doesn't give a shit. We are at the point where I'm going to have to go back to work, which I don't want to do. I love being an at home Mom. I shouldn't have to be the one who has to make a sacrifice....at least I don't think so. I've made enough sacrifices turning our lives upside down trying to rescue him. It should be him that gives a shit enough to make sure he doesn't run his kid into the financial grave. ugh.

So I can talk to him about it, but I have no idea how I am going to stay ahead of my pissed off mouth. It can tend to get away from me at times. So yeah, I can talk to him and vent. He'll act like a teenager, not look at me and sulk. Worst case scenario is that he gets so stressed about it that he decides to do something that scares me to death to even think about....

I just don't know what to do about him anymore. We are definately between a rock and a hard place. I need your advice!!!

I'm tired of being his 5 star hotel, but there is no where else for him to go.....

What would you do?

It's 5:50 am, where are you?

I've been out chasing my naughty naughty horses since 4:45am.

Thank GOD Hub had to go into work very early this am.
Thank GOD that the knuckleheads hadn't made it to the road yet.
Thank GOD that they didn't bust the fence, just went through an "open" gate.
Thank GOD that they are both back where they belong.

I really need to learn how to rope. Watching Henry run and buck through the front yard was beautiful, but really at 5 am I'd rather rope you and go back to bed.

That's where I'm headed now.

Whew

First Day of Preschool

It is so quiet in this house right now. I can actually hear myself think, I can hear the heater blowing in the background. I can hear every key that I press on this key board....wow.

I walked in the door about 5 minutes ago from dropping little man off at his first day of preschool. What a big boy he is! No fear about it, just total excitement. As soon as I opened the van door to let him out of his car seat he said, "Okay, bye Mommy"

This is moving so fast. How do you be a stay at home Mom when there is no one here to "Mom" around?

Hum, I'll need a list, a to-do list to help me pass time.

1. Stitch the horse costume.
2. Create the Wiggles logo for halloween
3. Watch the horses. (Yes, I just like to watch them sometimes too)
4. Pick up boy for Lunch.

Alright, that should do it. Enjoy the picture of the proud Big Boy and his very cool Diego backpack! (argh, blogger is being grumpy, I'll post the pic later)

The Crafty side

Hi guys! I've been busy again. busy busy busy. But I have been bitten by the holiday craft bug and am well on my way to a handmade Christmas. (Gosh, I say that every year, but I still think it would be great!!)

First on the Craft list is a felt stocking for ME this year! Finally! I've been making these things for years now and every time I think that I can stitch my name up there someone else needs one. I love giving them though and there will be a need for an additional stocking this year as Hubs Grand mother will be joining us from Colorado. Alright, so maybe it's hers, dang nabbit.

Next on the list are some beautiful snow flakes found in this magazine. Many thanks to Sue for blogging about it! It's a must have this year for me as there are several projects that I just must make!

After that, I have an idea in mind for a quilted gift. My sewing machine and I have been on the outs and I'll need to see if it's willing to cooperate this time or not. A sewing machine that jams all the time is enough to send me to the sewing nut house!

There's just nothing like Holiday crafting for me, I love it and find it so relaxing to just sit and stitch or whatever.

You offer me a trail ride however, and I am out the door. No contest!

He's making progress, you should go check him out!

Henry's Home

Some funnies

I thought I'd do something quick today. Here are a couple things that have struck me funny in the last few days.

I can't get it any bigger, sorry.

**********************************************

Last night while in the living room watching TV, out of the blue I asked DD what she would think about moving to Texas after her Daddy retires from the Navy. She very calmly replied.

"No, cause we speak English Mom."

LOL