Have you seen my rope?

I was at the end of it on Tuesday, but now, it's just gone. Thank goodness for the weekend and the return of Hubs!

The kids have been *normal* but they are driving my batty!!! Typical for their age, but they just feed off of each other and make me want to put myself in time out. But then, as I type this, Strip just said, "You have a beautiful face!" Redeeming moments, but mainly driving me batty.

Anyway, Tuesday night, Strip could tell I was stressed. As I was getting her ready for bed, this conversation happened:

Strip: Mom. Are you angry?

Me: No, I'm not angry, I'm just frustrated.

Strip: Why?

Me: I just don't understand why I have to ask you 47 thousand times to do something, then yell and scream and THEN you do what I ask. Why can't you just listen and do what I say the first time.

Strip: Well. Mom. I can't help it. YOu know, this is just the way God made me.

I think I bit a hole in my lip trying to keep a straight face. I told her that yes, God made her to be a sweet girl, but he also made her able to make good or bad choices, and lately, she hasn't been making good ones and that made mommy sad.

She said she'd work on it.

Steps forward and steps back

Zoe's been here 3 nights now and it feels like three years. She's just slipped into our lives so easily it's hard to believe we just got her.

The kids are having a blast with her. They LOVE playing fetch with her, although Nugget likes to play along; he'll throw the ball while triumphantly exclaiming, "Now goooo get it!!!!" but then runs after the ball himself (Zoe always wins). Strip drew a picture of Zoe and took it in for show and tell, and yesterday, the preschool office staff got to meet her. She did really well and didn't pee on them! Yay Zoe! The kids were hanging in the front office because I got caught up at the vet and they were asking about the new dog. Nugget told them, "Er name is Zoe. She is orlange and brown spotted." I'm sure they were wondering what the heck kind of freaky Dalmatian we had adopted. As we were standing there chatting about her, three little kids came over to pet her and she did beautifully! You'd think she'd been around kids her whole life!

The vet was as great as ever. He was so sweet! We chatted about June then he looked over Zoe. I was there for an HOUR AND A HALF and most of it was just chatting about all things Zoe. LOVE my vet. I'd take my kids there if he'd let me. On a side note, did you know that the well-child check-up of a free, healthy dog cost 50% of the cost to do diagnostic testing, labs, ultrasounds, mri's, euthanization and cremation of a dog with cancer? I'm looking into pet insurance as I type. AND, the vet JUST CALLED to say all of her lab work came back perfect! AND she's eating and drinking like a normal pup! Hooray for Zoe!

So steps back? Today, the kids were playing outside with Zoe when Nugget came in, walking funny.

Oh.NO.

Me: Did you poop in your pants?!

Nugget: Umm. Yeeeessss.

Me: UGH! WHY did you poop in your pants?!?!

Nugget: Zoe poop out schide in the yard. I poop out schide in the yard.

Awesome. Nugget has gone from potty trained to housebroken.

I blocked myself from Petfinder.

But I forgot to block Facebook.

A week or so ago, one of my high school buddies on Facebook posted that he had to find a new home for his baby. I saw he was online and proceeded to berate him via instant message. How could he give up his dog!? What is WRONG with people?!

Then I realized that he really was upset, and I made it my mission to find his baby a new home. What if it were June that needed a new home because we were moving? I would be devastated! High School buddy lives 4 states away, but his status said to "check out her pictures," so I did. I had to giggle when I saw this:

Not exactly the finest sales pitch for her :-)

I asked all the questions to try to find her a good home. UP lives near him and I thought he might have some dog lovers that could take her, so here are the stats:

* She's a brittnay spaniel

* She'll be 2 in July

* She's house trained, crate trained and has basic stuff down

* She doesn't pull on the leash

Hmmmm. Sounds promising.

The more I thought about the next pup for us, the less I liked the idea of a puppy. Sure, puppies are cute, but adopting a pound puppy is like playing Russian roulette. With June, I got her at 3 months. She weighed 5 lbs. Every vet appointment, her doc would say, "I don't think she'll get much bigger," and she would inevitably double in size. I finally told the doc to be quiet, a 40lb dog was all the dog I wanted!

Also, puppies will require all of the basic training. Sure, I got June broken in fine and quickly, but that was 10 years ago!! And then there's the chewing and the barking and the tearing up of things. Did we really want to go through all of that again? I had been looking at older dogs to rescue, but they were all 8-10, and I just didn't have it in me to adopt a dog to bury. I wasn't ready for that, and I couldn't put the kids through that.

But back to this baby! I put out my feelers and started researching the breed. The definition of BS's? AWESOME!! They are about 35 lbs max and love to run and play. They are super smart and easy to train. They are extremely loyal to their owners, but are great when re-homed because they bond quickly. They are great family pets and sport pets.

I immediately begin to judge all interested families.

Hubs leaves for another week of travel and it's just me and the kids. I am so lonely. I am so sad. Even my new baby wasn't perking me up. I couldn't sleep and I quickly realized it was because I was on edge with Hubs away. With June, I knew I had a bark and a growl to alert me, but without her, I had nothing (and I'm a heavy sleeper!).

I broke down, swallowed my pride and emailed Hubs professing my love for this pup. Hubs managed to avoid and evade the issue all week.

He had me second guessing her from the moment he walked in the door Friday. We sat down with our calendars and plotted his trips. Nothing but big lines saying, "Hubs in ________" week after week after week. UGH. I couldn't stand the thought of being alone that much. I wanted this dog. I needed this dog. He wasn't even going to be around, heck he might not even notice if I got her. At least until July!

Then Saturday, our anniversary, he gave me his sweet card. And in it, he said he had talked to my buddy and she was ours if I wanted her!

Hubs got up at 4 am this morning and started driving. He went 2 states south and our buddy went 2 states north. They met in the middle and we became a family of 5 again.

The kids and I went to church, then lunch and made a stop into Petsmart to get a few little things for our new pup. Every person we met along the way, they had to tell that, "We have to get home! Daddy will be here soon with our new doggie!!" Hubs called after he picked her up to tell me, "She's not your dog. She is SO my dog!"

They arrived in the driveway at 5:29 and by 5:30, she had us wrapped around her paw! You could tell that she was well loved, and she was a little skittish at first, but she warmed up quickly to the family. We let her out in the backyard, and she.took.OFF! WOW that dog is fast! Strip initially wanted her middle name (since she already came with a name) to be Daisy, but after 10 minutes with her, she said, "I think her middle name should be Zip! She's so fast!"

My main hesitation with her was that she had never been around kids before, but you wouldn't know it! She's been great with both of them, although I'm keeping a super close eye. She's better behaved than Nugget and she loves to be loved. During one of our chats, Trey told me, "She's so intense. It's like...she wants to be inside you...she gets that close." And man he wasn't lying! Is there such a thing that's closer than a shadow? Whatever it is, it's this dog. She LOVES to be loved and snuggle. As I type, she's managed to weasel her way into Hubs' lap and is lying on her back, paws in the air.

She'll never replace June, and she'll forever be Trey's baby, but we are welcoming the opportunity to have her in our family as well! So meet the newest chick in the mommychick family, Zoe!

I'll try to get some better pictures, but Zoe "Zip" is quick, even for my Nikon!

I know she won't replace June, but...

**June Bug "playing" cars with Nugget**

We have a new addition!

Hubs has been out of town all week, and I'll admit, I've been kind of down. Tomorrow is our anniversary, so I decided to treat myself. I loaded the kids in the car, and we headed across town to pick her up! He doesn't know I got her yet, so we'll see what he says when he gets home tonight/tomorrow.

She's War Eagle Orange and white, so we've named her Weagle, and she's just adorable. The kids adore her and love taking turns playing with her. She's so quiet, sometimes I forget she's here, but am so happy to have her around after my messy kids eat and drop crumbs all over the floor. She's quickly made herself at home in every room of the house, but rests nicely in the laundry room.

So, without further ado, I present, Weagle:

What? You thought we got another dog? Not yet. But the crumbs were killing me, so I've been hoarding Target gift cards for months. In fact, I sat on my newest prescription from my nephrologist just in case there was a coupon in the paper! After a busy morning with the kids on a hiking playdate, we headed over to Target and picked this bad boy up. Yup, cordless vac with a little dust buster on board, which the kids love (so obviously, I love!). The docking station charges it, and it has pretty good suction for what it is. Obviously, it's not putting Dyson out to pasture, but Weagle definitely holds a special place in my heart! We might be in the honeymoon phase, so I'll give another review once she's been with us a while.

Feeling like Noah

So the flood has made me go a little nuts. We saved important things (like Noah) and had all the wasted stuff washed away.

Actually, it hasn't been washed away. It's all sitting in the garage. But at any rate, it's made me think. The kids have lost 85% of their toys. They have a few special things in their rooms, a few things on the main floor, but most of their stuff was in the basement.

And they had a LOT of stuff. Since the splash, though, they've been playing with the same things. Strip has a few princesses, Nugget has a few cars and they both share art supplies. And they? Have been happy as larks. Strip told me today, "It's kind of nice having the basement all messed up. Know why? We don't have to clean it!"

Couldn't agree more. So we are in the process of re-doing the basement, but are covering the basics. Re-buying the stuff they love and keeping it simple.

And I? Am going crazy.

BAGS AND BAGS of clothes are piled up for the AmVets truck that's coming by. They aren't doing any good sitting in a closet, give 'em away! I have three bags of kids' clothes for two of Hub's co-workers and their new babies. I'm itching to sell my mom-mobile and downgrade to something smaller, and after our recent trip to Chicago, I really want to sell our house and buy a 600 sqft condo in the city.

I think the flood is coinciding with my nervous breakdown/realization that we will forever just be a family of four, and I'm feeling the need to clear out the clutter.

Oh, and by the way. We are a couple of hundred dollars away from the swing set! Can you say, "woo hoo?!?"

We have a new contender!

Something about our house gives helium balloons the will to live. Last year Strip's butterfly ballon from her birthday party floated up to our bedroom ceiling where it stayed for a good month. It really came as no surprise when the same thing happened to Nugget's #3 ballon after his party:

It's been up there for two weeks and two days. I wonder if it will make it through Strip's birthday.

High School

As we were getting ready for school this morning, Strip asked if she could borrow a brush. I fished out Hubs' sassy aveda paddle brush, handed it to her and watched her bounce off to her bathroom. A few minutes later, she appeared in the doorway, brushed her hair off her shoulder and exclaimed:

Strip: I look like a high schooler. Recept a little shorter

Me: Umm. Ok. What's high school?

Strip: You know. Where everyone makes music together and learns about caring.

Oh, honey, if ONLY that were the case. I think I'll let her keep the magic of Disney and the magic of high school for a little while longer. I just hope she doesn't think they all bust out with musical numbers and jazz hands there, too!

My little baby's growing up!

Nuggetpalooza has officially ended and my baby is now THREE!!! It's hard to believe that three years ago, my little Nugget and Strip were so tiny and sweet (especially when they are now constantly pulling each other's hair and trying to drop kick each other).

His birthday coincides with spring break, so we actually did his party on Good Friday in an attempt to avoid the spring break bounce house maddness. I'm a big birthday at home kind of gal, but I must say, baking a cake and writing a check was pretty sweet. He picked Cars (shocking!) for his cake theme, and I decided to make his cake Thursday and decorate it on Friday morning because I am a slacker so it would be fresh. There were just a couple of problems with this.

(1). Nugget picked the cake flavor, yellow cake with chocolate fudge marbling. I can star a cake like nobody's business. Everyone is always impressed, but really? Wilton does all the dirty work. Bake the cake, ice over the lines and star in the middle! However, McQueen had a lot of little car detailing, and EVERYWHERE there should have been a line guiding me where to pipe, there was a fudge ripple, so I was forced to freehand most of the body work.

(2). Icing colors. Mcqueen is red. No big deal. What did I need for this cake? Two batches of homemade icing, split into 9 different colors and three different consistencies. Add to it, the main colors being red and black which are the HARDEST colors to mix.

Why did i not learn my lesson?! This is Nugget's First Birthday smash cake:

John Deere Green tractor with BLACK wheels. This was stupid on 2 parts because not only was the icing a pain to mix, what person gives the most staining color cake to a 1 year old to rub all over himself?! (This was also the day I fell in love with OxyClean. RIP Billy Mayes!).

But, I guess cake decorating is like pregnancy, and you forget what a pain it is until you've already committed to it and are 1/2 way into the mess. After an additional trip to find MORE red icing gel, I told myself he loves pink, so who cares if McQueen looks a little sassy. Fortunately, it darkened as I was starring, and turned out pretty McQueenie looking:

Not too shabby.

Nugget partied like a college kid. He has had a little cough for a few weeks, which gets worse when he's running around, so no surprise, he partied 'til he puked ( not IN a bounce house, thank goodness), but just popped into the bathroom with Hubs, hosed off, stripped off his party shirt and kept on rocking like nothing happened!

Ma spent a good 2 weeks with us, and Hubs and I took an early anniversary trip to Chicago (more on that later), so yesterday was all about Nugget day. Ma was catching a late afternoon flight, so we had to keep an eye on the time. We had gone to the Children's Museum earlier with her, so were toying with the idea of the zoo. Strip told me, "I really want to go to the zoo. I told Ma just to stand up straight and she'd be fine." I asked for a little more clarity because this made no sense whatsoever. "Ma said we probably shouldn't go to the zoo because she had to fly home later that day and she didn't want to get her nice clothes all messy. So I told her just to stand up straight and she wouldn't get anything on them!" Ahhh. It all makes sense now!

To celebrate his real birthday, we took him to the Children's Museum because they have a carousel and you have to be three to ride a jumper. He picked his horse, and the carousel operator came over and carded him. I was happy to tell her that he was three TODAY and when she made the announcement to start the carousel, they gave my little buddy a shout out and everyone said, "Happy Birthday" to him. We rode it three times to celebrate being three, played for a couple of hours and took Ma to the airport.

As we were heading to dinner with Hubs, Nugget asked, "Mommeh. Where my birthday cake is?" which broke my heart. I didn't have a chance to make him another one, and I felt so bad! Hubs reassured me, as he looked in the rearview mirror, that Nugget was fine. He joyfully sang, "Happy Birthday to ME!" the whole way to dinner.

So cheers to Nugget! And cheers to the mommychick fam. Nugget will always be referred to as Baby Nugget or Nugget Baby, but the reality is, we're pretty much baby free (and I'm pretty much ok with that now). No more diapers, bottles, formula, sippy cups, cribs, baby swings, pack-n-plays, wipe warmers, bottle warmers, special food, special milk, little spoons, little forks, diaper bags, the list goes on and on.

Right now, the only down side to being baby-free is we ALL have to pay for a ticket to Disney World! Oh well!

Happy Birthday, Nugget!

Pity Party Road Trip II

***This is my t-shirt design. Steal it, and I'll hunt you down. That is all.****

Last time, I packed up my pity party, it was because my dog died and I went to visit my friend whose husband is in a coma. This time? Oh! My basement flooded! Boo hooo! Pity party packed, I headed to Nashville to visit my friend. She's 29 and just gave birth to her second (BEAUTIFUL!) baby girl. She was induced 2 weeks early because of a breast cancer diagnosis.

Yeah. I'll take the flooded basement any day.

I arrived 3 weeks postpartum. Her due date was her double mastectomy surgery date, and her maternity leave has now been inundated with doctors appointments, wig selections and chemotherapy schedules.

On 2 selfish notes, I was thrilled to get alone time with one of my best buds! AND I was going to get 100% snuggle time with a newborn. Word on the street was she had reflux, so I was keeping my fingers crossed that she would make me 100% glad that my "baby" was 3. WRONG! She was adorable and wonderful (thank you new formula) but I still got to have her all to myself every night I was there.

My buddy, G's, family is amazing. I was also super excited to get to see her parents and her sweet "baby" who is now 7. We had a good few days of laundry, cleaning, hugging, consoling and laughing. I stalled as long as I could today, but finally headed back to my family.

5 hours in the car.

Alternating belting out the soundtrack to Wicked and sobbing.

I cried for everyone. For G having to go through this (which sucks on it's own, but right after having a baby? Double suck!). For the new baby who probably saved G's life. If it weren't for the pregnancy, maybe they wouldn't have found the cancer so quickly. For her sweet first born who love, love LOVES her momma more than anything. For her husband who just lost his father a year + ago to pancreatic cancer. Who has to go through a cancer fight with TWO of their loved ones so close together? For her parents. OH for her parents. Her mother is looking at a time capsule, because this is the exact cancer she and her sister beat (woo to the hoo!) 26+ years ago, but still. Really? G starts her battle after giving birth to her second daughter and her mother did the same a couple of decades prior? And her father, knowing he went through all of this with his wife and two young girls years ago, only to have to go through it again now with his own daughter and his grandbabies.

Not that I would wish cancer on anyone, but this family rocks. Hard core. They are so committed to each other, and I have no doubt that we will be celebrating remission soon. I am so glad I got to go hug my friend in person before her summer of chemo begins.

And on a "yeah, we're insane note," we had a pass the wig party today before we left. G had already shown me her wig which looks VERY much like the hair she has now (I was really hoping for pink). Before I left, she was showing it to her older daughter and tried it on. She looked like her awesome self. Then she asked if her daughter wanted to try it on, which what little girl wouldn't?! Little bit looked like a mini hannah montana rock star! Then Grandpa tried it on, and he looked like an 80's big hair band leader.

My turn!

I looked like a transvestite. Note to self, do NOT go long and brunette. NOT a good look for me. At all.

So if you're the praying type, please add this family to your list. And if you're not the praying type, email me and we'll chat. And regardless, give your boobs (or the set closest to you) a squeeze for good measure. It could save a life.

Excuse my asses.

It was brought to my attention while I was out of town (and away from the edit button) that I've been showing a wee too much "ass" here on the blog. More embarrassing than a dangling participle, I have interchanged "asses" (aka plural for donkey (or booty)) for "assess" (aka take a look at).

Whoops.

Must learn to spell check more carefully. Or not blog late at night. Or not blog while sipping 2 buck chuck.

Anyway, please excuse my asses while I assess the blog (which after a search yielded FIVE posts with asses) and edit a little. Back with my pity party road trip in a few.

PS thanks for the heads up, UP.