Santa, Fun???

Conversations

Hallie: "What is misery?"

Me: "misery is when you are totally miserable. Think totally uncomfortable, miserable awful."

Hallie: "I thought it was a state"

That's My Girl

Yep, no doubt she is mine. Should I be worried about OCD?

Addy is such a "little mama" she follows me around and has to do whatever I am doing. It is really special and oh so helpful when she "helps" with the dishes. Usually by the end of it I have a pool of water on my counters and floors. But, oh how she loves it. She also helps empty the dishwasher by putting the silverware away. She pushes a stool over to the counter and organizes all of the silver. I just wish that she would understand that not all spoons and forks are the same. Some are bigger than others and have their own place. She fights me over this aspect and insists that all spoons big and small and all forks big and small should be put together. Whenever I go to start the laundry she follows right behind, pushes the step stool over and has to help put the clothes in the washer. She also likes to pickup any wet clothes that don't quite make it to the dryer, I can't help but love that, less bending over for me! Hehe.

Summer 2010 (So Far) in Pictures.

I have been a blogger slacker lately, this is why:

In June we went up Springville Canyon and spent a week at Hal's Uncle's cabin, it was FANTASTIC! The kids enjoyed every single minute of it! No cell phones, T.V. or friend's to distract us from spending time together as a family. We played LOTS and LOTS of games, shot some pool, learned how to shot bb and pellet guns, built a fire pit with bricks, played with a TON of vintage toys all circa 1970-1980; Hal and I enjoyed going down memory lane playing with these toys. We put together our fair share of puzzles and enjoyed 3 meals a day together sitting around a table. FANTASTIC!

We also were visited by a bear. It came during the night and threw garbage all around the porch. It left greasy footprints and claw marks to let us know it had been there.

Paw print


Hallie learning how to shoot a bb gun


Trenton and Hallie playing Battleship


Jack going on one of MANY "Bear Hunts" with his pop cap gun. Funny thing was that when he started hunting for bears we didn't actually think there was one up there!!!


A week after we got home from the cabin, Hal's grandma died. It was a beautiful service for a wonderful woman. I loved being with Hal's family, getting to know Uncle Jack & Aunt Diane and their children better was definitely a highlight. Why is it that we have to have a tragic thing happen to get to know family better?


And of course we had our annual trip up to Payson Lakes. We stayed
3 days and 2 horrible nights, let me just say the "little's" were NAUGHTY! Hallie ended up going to her cousin Lucy's for the weekend, so we made a switch and took Lucy's brother Parker with us, Kyler also came, so we had 3 BIG boys with us to help keep camp, haul stuff to the water and entertain us with their marshmallow wars and Phase 10 skills.

Jack enjoying the dirt. I swear dirt is a kid magnet, especially for Jack. He just can't get enough of the stuff!







Just last week we went camping with some cousins of mine. We went up Fairview Canyon, it was beautiful. The little's slept better, thank goodness since Hal and Trenton were not with me because they went to Scout camp. I don't know why this is one of the only pictures I got of camping up Miller's Flat, but it probably has something to do with DIRT! There was this fantastic dirt pile right in the middle of our camp, it had special dirt, dirtier dirt, dirtier then normal dirt. It used to be a fire pit, so it had ash mixed in with dirt, not to mention broken glass, and trash. NOT a good combo for trying to keep kiddo's safe and trailers clean. Can I just say that there are certain outfits that are not even worthy of donating to DI because of this dirt! Thank goodness that no one got cut on broken glass, but what a challenge trying to keep a bunch of kids away from this dirt! On our last day there, we found out that some one had constructed an awesome swing. The older kids (and even Jack with an adult) all enjoyed swinging. I even took a turn. Sad that we didn't know about it a few days earlier.


Anyway, add to this a working again (YAY!!!), Hal being made 1st counselor in the young mens, a few trips to parks, grandma's and playing with kiddo's equals one super busy, tired mama.

Summer is coming to an end WAY too fast!

A Tragic Ending

We have had a little Robin couple move into our tree in the backyard. It has been SO much fun watching them build their nest. They fly around the back yard squawking, picking up twigs and mud. They built a beautiful nest.


And then, the mommy bird started laying eggs. Oh what fun! The kids have been watching all of this happen and ask everyday if the birds have hatched. Jack asks over and over "see eggs?!?!" He loves being held up to look at them. We watched as she laid 4 eggs, one each day. And then she started laying on them, spending hours upon hours keeping her little ones warm. Hoping for them to hatch, so that she could feed her babies. We watched the papa bird, bring his mate food. Watch over her and squawk at everyone who came too close. We have had the pleasure of being able to keep our bedroom window open the last few nights to enjoy the fresh air. We also enjoyed hearing "our birds" sing.

The Mama


The Papa



All 4 eggs



Today, I looked out the window and didn't see the mama sitting on her eggs. It was eerily quite from our open window. I didn't see either the mama or the papa. I wasn't too concerned. Maybe they were out looking for food. Well, a couple of hours later I looked again, still no mama or papa. I went to take a closer look. This is what I found.

First a missing egg


The guilty looking party


And the proof



I hope the Mama and Papa come back and sit on the remaining eggs. It looks like one of them is cracked, so only 2 that look hopeful. Sad. I feel so bad for the poor mama.

Loser

It is 4am, I am up. I am mad. I am frustrated. I am having a pity party. All. By. Myself.

My little people won't sleep. I have basically been up with them all night long. The actual 1 hour when they were both asleep, I sat in bed listening to Hal snore, wondering if he has sleep apnea. So, I tossed and turned. Trying to will myself to go to sleep. To not let Hal's snoring bother me. To not think that at any minute one or both of my kids were going to wake up, probably at just the minute that I fall asleep. So, instead of getting all ticked off that after 5 minutes of shut eye I am staring at Jack next to my bed or listening to Addy scream from her crib. I just don't go to sleep. Good thing I didn't even try. Because it has been a HORRIBLE night. Tonight is one of those nights that I am so extremely thankful that I am married, that I have a partner that can take over when I have quite literally reached my wits end.

So, now that I am all worked up, ticked that I am not going to get a decent nights sleep. And knowing that I have a whole day planned tomorrow that is going to be hard to get through on no sleep. I am sitting here thinking about what a failure I am as a mom. I don't deserve these 4 wonderful kids, they deserve better. Hallie had a mother daughter talent night for our ward. It really was a wonderful night, we have some really cute, talented girls in our ward. So many of them are in dance, taking piano or voice lessons, among other things. I sat there and felt bad for Hallie, I can't afford those things. Hal and I have financially hit a wall, we barely make ends meet. We don't have extra for "fluff". So, what did my daughter, who wouldn't even let me brush her hair before going over, or changed into fresh clothes do for her "talent"? She rode her ripstick. I SUCK! How embarrassing for her, that she doesn't have a "talent" to show that would lift her up and help her feel beautiful and wonderful, which of course I think she is. But, no I have not given her the opportunity to be more. Have I scarred her for life? Will she always look back and wonder why we didn't do more for her? Honestly, my sweet daughter probably actually thinks that the audience thought she was very talented and impressed with her ripstick balancing skills. She held her head up high and put on a show, smiled big and was proud of herself for what she had done. I pray that she doesn't know how I feel. That she grows up being happy with herself, that she keeps her confidence and natural high self-esteem. I pray that I don't screw up and squash her dreams. I pray that I can hide my own feelings of inadequacy from her.

Well, now it is going on 4:30. Pity party is over and tomorrow is another day. Maybe I should try and actually get a little sleep. Now that I have vented a little, that might be possible. Probably not, but I should give it a try.

Introducing....

Ever since we told the kids that Reggie was dying from diabetes, they have been researching dogs. What kind of dog we should get next? What kinds of dogs are good with kids/babies? What kinds of dogs need little to no grooming? What kinds of dogs are not yappy? The list went on and on.

Trenton especially spent a lot of time on the internet reading up about dogs. He once concluded that we needed a Basset Hound, but I vetoed that because we don't have a fenced in yard and those dogs although ADORABLE are hunting dogs and would probably take off. He wanted BIG dogs, like boxers, golden retrievers and German shepherds. Again I vetoed because of the fence and the poop, I have no desire to pick up that kind of poo. YUCK!

After burying Reggie, all talk of a new dog ceased. It was just too hard to think that someday we would have to bury another pet. I think I was the first one to really want another dog. I spent a few weeks looking in the KSL ads, trying to figure out a good deal and what kind of dog we would want. When it came down to it, I knew I wanted another poodle, although a bichon would have worked. I also wanted a dog that was already house trained and not over 3 years old. After searching and searching, the day after Hal had his gallbladder removed, I found 2 suitable dogs. One was a 2 year old Bichon Frise, named "Frosty". He was super cute and only $100, which is a total steal! I called the owner and asked if we could have them and they said yes. I felt a little bad for leaving poor Hal to take care of himself the day after surgery, but the "little's" were wanting to crawl all over him, jump on him and give him hugs. Hal told me to take them for a drive and check out the dog, that it would be nicer for him to have the house to himself so he could rest.

Trenton, "The Little's" and I set out to Magna to get "Frosty". When we first saw him, I was in doggie love. He was super sweet and loving, he had enough energy and playfulness that I don't think The Little's would have been too much for him. However, the old, injured, feeble old lady that was his owner decided that we shouldn't have him because he would be "too much" for us to handle. LOL!!! I don't think she was ready to give him up. I was a little frustrated because we had driven over an hour to go get this dog, I was all excited at the thought of him coming to live with us.

Soooooo, I called the next person on the list. She had a 3 year old toy poodle, "Oscar", he was $125, but wasn't neutered. Trenton and Hal both wanted something other than a poodle, they didn't want to "replace" Ol' Reg., but after "losing" Frosty, they both said that a poodle would do. I thought that West Point was out near Lehi somewhere, but I was wrong, it is WAAAAYYYY out in Clearfield. When I talked to the woman, she said that Oscar was papered, she had only owned him for 2 days, because she was using him as a "stud" for her dog, she really had no interest in owing 2 dogs and it was the same amount to buy him as it was for his stud service, so that is why she had him. I called Hal to see how he was doing and he said it would be okay to drive out there and check him out, so that is what we did.

When we got to the house, Oscar met us at the door. He was SO skinny compared to fat Reg, he has a lot more energy and he is actually more obedient and he actually knows a few tricks, like sit, stay, lay down, stand and "up" (he jumps up into your arms). Trenton decided he is the "coolest" dog EVER! And that we must bring him home.



We got a little folder with him, upon going through it we found his pedigree chart, AKC papers and a receipt from his original purchase for an astonishing $1419.83 . Like I said, he isn't neutered, so technically I could stud out his services, which is such a funny thought to me. I never thought I would own a registered dog, I find the whole "akc" thing a little strange and over the top. When so many dogs need homes, why buy from a puppy mill? Anyway, I am making an appointment to have him fixed, so that will be a moot point.

So far, he seems to be a really good dog. He has been super sweet with the kids, Addy loves kissing him. Jack likes him too. Hallie gets him to do his tricks, which she thinks is so cool! He has bonded with Trenton. He has even slept with him on his bed the last 2 nights and spends the day wanting to go downstairs and lay on his bed. Trenton is pretty excited that he has decided that he is his person. Hal is happy with him and likes having a dog in the house again. Me, I am NOT impressed with his crumb cleaning abilities, that is something that we are going to need to work on, this dog needs to ditch his manners and earn his keep! LOL!!!

Also, the huge debate is if we are going to change his name from Oscar to Max. My vote is for Max, what do you think?

Rest In Peace ~ Reggie

Reggie was our beloved fat little poodle. He came to live with us in the spring of 2004, we found him through a really great organization called Lost Paws, he was 6-7 years old at the time. So, we have had a wonderful 6 years with him.

Reggie was best known for his smile, and lovely disposition, not to mention his laziness and LOVE of the garbage and all food that was within reach. Hot dogs especially added to his curvaceous figure. Reg was a great dog, he hardly barked, needed little attention, was really good about his house training habits and he NEVER jumped up on people. He actually really liked other dogs. Once he even invited a stray dog into our house, which was so nice of him, since a HUGE snow storm was coming in and the poor stray probably would have froze to death. Reggie earned his keep by making sure that my floors were always very clean. "No crumb of food left behind!" Was his mantra.

In the weeks leading up to Reggie's final day, he had started to pee all over my house, this was not like him. I didn't even realize it was pee at first because when I cleaned it up I thought it was sprite, which was strange because we didn't have any in the house. It was clear and VERY sticky. He was obviously peeing out a lot of sugar. He was also drinking incessantly. I would wager to guess that my 14 pound dog was drinking about a gallon of water a day.

After we had him diagnosed by the vet, I just couldn't put him down, he was still happy. Other than needing to drink a lot, he seemed pretty normal. I borrowed a crate from my sister-in-law and had him in it when we weren't home and at night. This solved the peeing in the house problem, so we figured that we would just let him live for as long as he could. Even though I was getting up 2 times a night to let him out, I still couldn't find it in my heart to let him die.

The day we decided to have Reggie put down was emotionally harder than I ever thought it was going to be. Poor Reggie, he had probably had some sort of retinal bleed that caused sudden and total blindness. He was walking into walls, furniture and toys. He couldn't figure out how to go up and down the stairs. He would stand at the bottom of the stairs, stand up on the first one and then back up and try to get enough courage to climb them. This went on and on until we finally helped him up or down. It was so sad. We told the kids that we were going to take him in, they cried, I cried, Hal cried. Hal always tried to act all macho, like this wouldn't bother him, that it would actually be a relief. When it came down to it, Hal probably had the hardest time of us all. I called in the morning for an appointment, it wasn't until 3:30pm, so we sat around and held Reggie, let him have some goodies. And then Hal went out back to dig a grave in the field. Trenton took poor Reg out to play and Reggie walked right off the edge and into the ditch. This is when I knew we were doing the right thing. Trenton decided to go with Hal when they took Reggie. I am not sure if this was a mistake or not. When the got back with "the box", Trenton was bawling. Hal was bawling. It was really sad. For some unknown reason, Hal decide to remove Reggie's body from the box and unwrap him from his blanket to bury him. Not the best decision, the poor guy had nightmares and couldn't get the image of his lifeless body out of his head.

We have all missed our Reggie, we hope that he is enjoying his afterlife, that it is full of hot dogs and lots of table scraps. We know that is what really made him happiest.

More Lesson's Learned

Never assume that the other parent has an eye on the naughty 2 year old. Otherwise you both get to be surprise with the fact that your naughty 2 year old has taken up the art of painting toilets with nail polish.

Lessons Learned

When will my teenager and his friend realize that by videotaping and then downloading onto the computer, that any and all crimes against apples will and can be used against them and that they will then be found guilty of apple-slaughter?!?!?

Old Is New Again

Hal and I, for some crazy reason decided to refinish our kitchen cabinets. Okay, I convinced Hal to do it for me, for a Christmas present. I mean lets get real, Hal only took on the task because he really and truly loves me!

I wasn't super fond of the orange-oaky color that came with the house. It looks so cheap and out-dated.







So after much pleading and convincing. Hal set out to do the deed. And then I got to endure a grumpy hubby, a MESSY -mostly unusable- kitchen and the super task of trying to keep 2 toddlers out of the way. After about a month, I have to say that I am in love with my "new" kitchen! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! It has been worth every penny (only about $75-$100) and the huge annoyance of being in a "mess" for a month!!!

Someday, if I feel super ambitious, I will post a tutorial of how we *Hal* did it.