HEELLLLLOOOOOO

Well hello there strangers. Its been along time since I have heard from you all. What on earth have you all been doing? If you all would get off of your lazy bums and post more often, perhaps I wouldn't have to wonder how you have been or whats been going on in your lives. ;O)

Our household has been bbbbuusssssyyyyy! I have not had much of a chance to get on the computer at home or at work. I have been training at work, and I don't think "training" means teaching one how to spend hours searching for the end of the internet. When I am not doing something productive at home, I am either sleeping, or making sure someone else is being productive. I feel a bit like a dominatrix cracking that whip, except for the leather clothes and gag. :O) All though, that gag could come in handy some days. Note to self....Make road trip to Olivia's. Whoa, hello there. Forgot I had an audience. We have been cleaning, gutting, fixing, plumbing and roofing. Just to name a few things. Everyone here is still alive. I have allowed them to live another day. :o) God has blessed me with a teenager, a terrible two year old, a roofing hating husband, a psychotic old dog, a yappy little dog, a big dumb dog and b**chy old cat. Thank you Lord.

Tanner started 7th grade. He is not loving it, but did any of us at that age? He is going through all those fun changes and still thinks his parents are lame. I am guessing that will be on going for the next 5-10 years or so.

Colter turned two on the 5th. He is still my little angel, only now his horns are poking through. He has most of his teeth, talks up a storm and continuously amazes me with how smart he is. We had a big party for him last weekend. It was great that almost everyone could come. I cooked for an army and got some good reviews. I think I may have surprised a few folks with my abilities. ;O) Colter got lots of TRUCKS!! That is what he is loving right now. He also got an electric atv ride on from his super rad parents. Colter had a great time at his party.

Al and I had our 9 year wedding anniversary on the 11th. Al bought me a nice antique hutch. He's a great hubby. We decided instead of going out for supper together, we would make it a family affair and take the boys with us. After all, it was the day that we became a family. We enjoyed a meal at the local mexican restaurant. Al and I decided that for our 10 year, we may actually try to do something special. Like revisit the cabin we stayed in for our honeymoon. But that is a story for next year.

Well, I am going to leave you with a few pictures.........

Birthday pics

The 2 year old

Presents!

Testing them all out

Truck cake

The teenager

Look mom, just like my daddy

Later Gators!!!

birthday boy

It's official. We have a teenager in the house. Tanner's 13th birthday was on Wednesday. I suppose this means he is technically 14 now. :O) Even though his birthday was only one day, it seems he has been celebrating or 2 weeks now. He has been a bit spoiled this year, but he deserves it.

His super cool parents helped him by a PSP and some games for it. He has been wanting one for ever and now he finally has it. He carries it every where. I think it is starting to grow into his hand. On Monday, we wanted to take Colter to the zoo and forced Tanner to go along. He had a good time, but he wanted to eat at Chucky Cheese. More like, he want to play at Chucky Cheese. So we took the boys there and Tanner played all the games while Colter rode the same rides over and over. Afterwards, we stopped at Barnes & Noble, where Tanner then conned Dad into buying him a book.

On Tuesday, aunt Stacy dropped of a card with money and cupcakes, which didn't take long for him to consume. Wednesday morning, I trashed his room by filling it up with balloons, streamers and a birthday sign. His great aunt dropped of a card with more cash. By noon, a card from the step grandparents had arrived, and it was filled with even more cash. I was going to cook Tanner's fav supper of enchilada's, but we started working on the kitchen and it was a mess. Instead, I let him decide where he wanted to eat. He picked pizza from the gas station and we pigged out. After supper, his Grandma Judy & Grandpa Chuck showed up with even more money. Including some from his Great Grandma Billie. They stayed and helped Tanner eat some off his cake and ice cream.

After all this fun, you would think that would be the end of it. Nope. His friend wanted to take him to the boat races in chamberlain for his birthday. So, that is what he is doing this weekend. He should be back sometime today. I am sure this will not be the end of it. We want him to have a party with his buddies, but the two he really wants to be there are out of town for a while. So I am sure sometime in August, we will be celebrating yet again.

Have a great week. Oh yeah. I would also like to wish a Happy Belated Birthday to Tess. She and Tanner share the day. I won't tell your age though!

Kitchen progress

Thought I would throw out a quick update on the kitchen progress. We actually worked on it a couple of days this last week and accomplished a lot. All of the cabinets are now in. Most of the handles are on. Some of the back splash has been installed. And we started working on the floor. I'll probably jinx myself by stating the following. We should be able to finish installing the floor tomorrow. Al said he was going to get my sink in this week. I plan to have the rest of the pulls put on this week.

If these goals are accomplished, all that will remain is the trim & finishing touches. And then organizing my kitchen. And getting rid of the boxes!!!! Yeah!!!

Here are a couple pics of the progress.

The Zoo

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July. Did I mention its one of my favorite days of the year? Well, it is. Everything about it is just great. The fireworks, grilled food, warm weather and a day of fun in the sun. Of all of the holidays, I have the best memories of the 4th.

I can remember waking up early and setting up to start shooting fireworks. Mom wouldn't let us start until after 8am. People could still be sleeping. At exactly 8am, the fireworks would start. We would shoot fireworks all morning then take a break to eat. Dad would grill burgers and hot dogs. After dinner, the fireworks continued. By now, it was time to start getting creative. Just shooting them wasn't as fun. It was time to blow stuff up. Hot wheels, pop cans, roadkill...anything was fair game. After all the destruction, we took another break for supper and waited anxiously for dark to shoot the fun stuff. I always had such a good time. Even the time I almost blew my fingers off and the time my brother's friend started my hair on fire. Good times.

This year we spent the day out at the lake at a friends place. We grilled, shot fireworks, enjoyed a few totties and I relaxed. It was extra special this year because Tanner was here. It has been a few years since he has been home on the 4th. We went all out and got him a ton of fireworks. He had a blast (no pun intended) lighting them all. Colter enjoyed the snaps, but was a little unsure of the smoke bombs. He was a bit frightened by all of the loud fireworks, but seemed fine as long as he could sit in my lap. I brought his playpen so I could lay him down in the house if he got tired, but he was not about to let me leave. So I pushed a love seat over to the window and held him while we watched Al and Tanner shoot off all the fun stuff. Colter and I made it back to town around midnight and Al and Tanner came home shortly after.

I think everyone had a great time. I know Tanner did, and that is really all that mattered. I hope you all had a happy and safe 4th!

Tanner's visit

Its late. I have something on my mind. Its bothering me. I have purposely kept my rants of this kind from becoming a post. I don't intend to make it a habit, but I hope putting it out there will help, at least for tonight. So I can get some sleep.

Tanner just came back from a 2 week stay at his moms. He generally stays for a better part of the summer, but this year he didn't want to. We have been telling him its his decision. We don't want to keep him from his mom, but at the same time, if he doesn't want to go, we stand behind him. Its come to a point were I am ready to say no more.

The reason his summer stays are becoming shorter are because of the mental abuse he has to endure while he is there. His step dad is not very nice to him. He does things to deliberately be mean to Tanner. Here is what Tanner told me about his most recent visit.

First night there...All the family are enjoying an ice cream bar. Step dad tells Tanner he doesn't get one. Just because Tanner was clipping his toenails and didn't come immediately when called.

One day, Tanner wanted to go over to a buddies house. 5 year old brother wants to go with and Tanner says no. Next day, Tanner is eating cereal and trying to feed 5 month old sister. He asks his 5 year old brother to hold the bottle until he finishes his cereal. Brother yells down to step dad asking if he has to feed sister. Step dad says no. Tanner asks if he can just hold it until he finishes breakfast. Step dad says no. Brother shouldn't have to help you because you wouldn't take him with you to your friends house.

And the one thing that really burns my bottom.....Tanner has a name when he is there. And its not Tanner. Its retard. Tanner said he was only called by his real name may be 3 times. Step dad got mad because he didn't come right away when called retard. Step dad says you will come when I call your name. And that name is retard.

What does his mom say about all this? Nobody is forcing you to come here.

What do I say about all this? Somebody may just start forcing you to stay here.

To step dad....Your a real big man.

*FLOWERS*

I thought you all might like to see just what has been keeping me so darn busy..... Flowers!
Flowers!
Flowers!
And more flowers! My flower/gardening fetish just came out of no where a few years ago. If you know me personally, I am sure you would never have expected this from me. My mom says she thinks I come by it naturally. Apparently there were some great gardeners in the old family tree. Unfortunately, I didn't get to know any of my grandmother's, so I didn't pick it up from them. Mom always had tulips, but she never did much gardening. I personally think I have some subconscious telling me to do things people would not expect. I always seem to be full of surprises.

I have been trying to clean up around the house and make it look better. Even though it still needs paint, I must be doing something right. There seems to be a lot of lookie lou's lately. It could be my mad gardening skills (cough) or my sexy legs (choke). May be its disbelief that someone would stick money into the old house. My best guess would be that they are checking out this cute little guy.

He is a pretty good helper. I would hate to loose him to one of the psycho old lady stalkers. I might have to put up an electric fence to keep him safe and keep them out!

Have a great week ya'll!

Good morning ya'll. Or afternoon, or evening, or whatever time of day it may be. Waking up on the wrong side of the bed doesn't seem to effect my day much anymore. Thats because I am lucky enough to see this guy every morning.

He smiles even if I wake him up. (He does not get that from me!) Heck, he smiles and laughs all the time. Its hard not to smile when he is around. ~Lucky girl~ thats me!

Summer days

A big hello to all! I hope everyone is doing well. I hope I can get a chance to get around to every one's blog and get caught up again. I will most likely continue to be hit and miss for a while. I hope you will not forget about me!

For the past month, we have all been staying busy with work, play, funerals, sickness, helping people shingle and all the other wonderful things life brings us. We are still having plenty of laughs and keeping our sanity. Life is always interesting.

Being surrounded by men, I have become somewhat of an expert on their ways. For instance... We all know that by the time a man reaches adulthood, he has developed selective hearing syndrome. While a boy is still pre-teen, you may notice signs of the syndrome starting to take effect. If your pre-teen boy says huh or what, after everything you say, then your boy is well on his way to joining the ranks of his forefathers. Those huh's and what's are the practice that leads up to the nods and yes dears. Okay, so you say you all ready knew all this. But did you know, that your precious little toddler is also in the early stages of selective hearing syndrome? Of course you did. That is why when you are telling your adorable little toddler how it is or something he doesn't want to hear, he just covers his ears with his hands. He does this, because he has not yet learned that this will generally make a woman more angry. All though, when your still an adorable toddler, you may get away with it more often.

Another manly wonder I have become accustom to, is their ability to regress back into a small child whenever they become sick. I know all you woman are saying "uh-hu". Men, stop denying, you know you do. Woman on the other hand, can never be sick. And if they are, they better get out their super hero cape. A house can not function with out mom.

This past week, my wonderful toddler so graciously shared his cold with me. The night before we were going to head to Menards, I had a hard time sleeping. I was so plugged up, that I slept on the couch so I could prop myself up. My loving husband was concerned and thought perhaps we should not go to Menards the next day. I told him we were going because we had been planning it for so long. We were also going to meet Tanner's mom so he could visit her for a couple weeks. So the next day, we headed to sioux falls. I popped a couple of cold pills in the hopes of feeling better. I did for an hour or so. Then it just hit me. I don't know how long we were in that store. I thought I was going to die. I had a major headache, the chills, and no energy. I just wanted to go home or sit down, but I felt guilty, so I somehow managed to keep my feet moving. Very slowly.

After an eternity of torture, we were heading home. I made Al drive, which should be a neon sign as to just how sick I was. (If you have never rode with him, I certainly wouldn't recommend it.) Once home, I got out my big comforter and laid on the couch. Colter used me as a jungle gym, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to stay there and melt into the couch. Colter managed to figure out how to put his finger in his throat and gag himself. Why he thought it was funny, I'll never know. I tried to deter him by telling him no, but I was to weak to grab his hand away from his mouth. He continued to do it, until he threw up all over me and my blanket. Fantastic. It took all I could muster to get my blanket to the wash, get him to bed and find myself a new blanket. By the time Al came back into the house, I was a pile of mush and just didn't want to move. He tried to get me to go to bed, but I was not going any where. Al then kindly told me how great I looked and thought perhaps I should go to the hospital. I was obviously dying. Mom's are never sick like that. I tried to assure him that I was going to live.

I am still fighting this nasty cold, but I can at least function again. So, I guess life is back to normal. I don't know when I will find time to post again. Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!

Still Alive

There has been so much going on in Miah land lately. I am trying to get caught back up on everyone's blogs. I hope you are all well. I leave you with a few pictures......

Awesome Memorial Day display

Yet another fab pic of brothers

I want to help mom!

Wait a minute, I need to check this out first.
Astila Vista Baby.

BMX Superstar

Friday night, Colter and I went for yet another walk. I decided to take it out of my neighborhood for a change of scenery. I have been stalking houses looking at the landscaping and getting ideas. I like to stay in the "older" parts of town. The trees are large and many of the flowers are what grandma would have had. Right up my alley.

I passed the Kerrie Meyer residence and her door was open. I saw movement, so I yelled Kerrie Meyer Rocks. No one came running out, so I assumed they thought there was some crazy outside and went into hiding. :O) We did manage to get into one house.....but it was family. They didn't have much of a choice. After visiting with family for a bit, I decided to head back home. Colter was getting tired and so was I.

When we were a block from home, I see the naughty little neighbor kids are out. Naughty, because I don't think they have much adult supervision. One of the boy's starts yelling at me.

Boy: Hey! Will you watch me? I want to show you something.
Me: (argh.) What do you want to show me?
Boy: Just watch. (dragging a ramp out to the sidewalk.) I can jump this on my bike.
Me: (Oh!) You should be careful. You could get hurt.
Boy: No I won't. I have done it before.
Me: Okay. Be careful.

I continue walking, because I really don't want to witness this kid crack his skull open. And I really just want to get home.

Boy: I'm ready. Are you going to watch me?

Awe fiddle sticks! I could tell this kid was just dying for some attention. I very well couldn't just ignore him. So I stopped and turned around to watch him.

Me: Okay. I'm watching.

He rides like mad, gets to the ramp and his bike gets stuck on the top.

Me: Good Job!
Boy: I can do better. I can go much higher. Do you want to see? Please?
Me: Okay. Lets see it.

Once again, he rides like mad and this time he clears the ramp.

Me: (clapping.) Wow! That was great! Your pretty darn good. You better keep practicing. Some day when your a famous BMX superstar, I want your autograph.
Boy: I can do it with no hands. Will you watch me?
Me: (I had to draw the line here.) No way. I don't want to see that. That would scare me.

I turn around and take off for home, as quickly as I can. I am trying to make my escape. The boy comes riding his bike past me and turns the corner. When I get to the corner, I turn the opposite way, because my house is across the street.

Boy: Where are you going?
Me: I have to go home.
Boy: You do?
Me: Yep.

I felt so bad for the little guy. He seemed very bummed that he couldn't follow me on my walk. He was obviously desperate for some attention. I hope our 10 minutes of interaction made him feel good, but I know it was no where near enough.

Lovey Dovey Curtain

My Mission? Buy el cheapo shower curtain. Why el cheapo? Let me explain.

It is a boys bathroom. Not exactly a glamorous setting. Far from spa like. The floors are covered with a hideous linoleum. The walls? Some kind of board that looks like it was suppose to have looked like fake brick at one time. Now it is covered with layers of paint. The sink is old and has what looks like legs from a walker. Their purpose? Not sure, but I assume it is to hold the sink up. The best feature of the bathroom? The shower. :O0

Someone really handy installed the shower. It is obvious that at one time there was a claw foot tub. It was replaced at some point with another tub. A half wall had to be put in to accommodate the knobs and faucet. I am not sure what type of material they used to build that wall. I don't think they wanted anyone to know, because they covered it with contact paper that is suppose to look like wood grain. Pretty. Later, someone decided they wanted a shower. If your going to have a shower, you need curtains. So, rather than make walls and have some type of surround, they rigged up some rods that form a circle all the way around the tub. The rods are held up by 1/4in cotton rope that is tied to hooks in the ceiling. Because of the lack of wall to hold the shower head, they decided going with the wand type would be best. Soon, they realized that holding the wand over their head made their arms very tired. So what better way to fix that problem then to get a board, attach it to the super curtain rod and drill a hole in it so the shower head could be fixed to it. The duct tape is to help keep it from falling through that hole.

Because the boys bathroom has the hillbilly theme, I am sticking to el cheapo curtains. I found some real cheapies at the dollar store and picked up three of them. Three because I have to go all the way around the tub. Once I got them home, I threw them on a shelf and forgot about them for a while. When I finally thought about them and had a moment, I put them up. Apparently, they were so thankful, because they have been trying to suffocate the whole family with big bear hugs every time you are in there. How awful they must feel at the constant whining and punching that they receive when they try to show their love. No one in the house feels the love.

Poor shower curtains. Perhaps I will let them stay a few more days.

Attempting to get a hello........I could'a had'a V8.

Happy Mother's Day

To all of the Mother's, expecting Mother's, Grandmother's and Step-Mother's out there....

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

An extra special Mother's day wish to my Mom and my Mother-in-law!! These are two very special women in my life. Both have given me life, just in very different ways. I can never thank them enough and I hope they know just how much they mean to me and how much they are loved.

Love ya Mom & Ma B (or S)

You Rock!!

Howdy

I am getting horrible at updating. I know this. My family has been holding me hostage. Well...the 1 1/2 year old has been anyway. I love being outdoors, but he is an addict. His every waking hour is spent outside, or trying to convince me we need to go there. I am enjoying it though.

It has been a couple of years since I have been able to work in the yard. Believe that I have been stalking the yard/garden isle for months now. Every green house has been receiving a visit from me at least twice a week. Sometimes twice a day. :O) When I am not chasing Colter around, I am thinking about what I can put in my yard. I have lots of idea's, but no where near enough funds to complete them all now. Besides, what fun would that be? What would I do next year?

Colter's vocabulary is constantly growing. I would say he says at least 30 words. Some of those, only mom understands. He says a couple of two word phrases like....oh no, all gone and where at. And of course he jabbers up a storm. He witnessed mom talking with her hands a while back, and now he likes to jabber and move his hands like mom did. He saw his dad spit and now he imitates that. However, he doesn't actually spit, he just looks down and says blah blah. He cracks me up.

All is well at the homestead. We have just been getting out and enjoying some fresh air. Hope all is good with you all.

Spring Showers....

Hi everyone. We are still staying very busy. Rather than one long rambling post, I did a few different ones today.

Every year, we have wanted to attend the Kingswood rummages to see what all the fuss is about. Every year, I find out about them at the last minute and don't get a chance to go. This year, I did my research and found out when they were in advance. I took Thursday, the 24th off so we could go. Lucky me, the day we picked to go, there was a monsoon. We went anyway.

The morning started off well, but after an hour or so, it unleashed. We were about 6 blocks from my jeep and decided to run for it. Unfortunately, I got stuck at a busy intersection and the motorists did not feel sorry for me. The just kept on speeding by, splashing up water all the way. By the time I finally made it back to the jeep, it was to late. I looked like I had just jumped into a swimming pool.

Rather than let it dampen our spirits, we headed to Walmart for some dry clothes, umbrella's & poncho's. After we found the much need gear, we headed back out. This time, only our calves and feet got wet. Al and I compared it to playing in the rain like we did when we were kids. Because of the rain, we did not hit nearly as many sales as we would have liked to. I didn't find a single thing for myself. But despite all of that, we had a blast. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Spring time in SD

For those who don't know what spring time in SD is like.... That date is no typo....
The weather man said chance of rain/snow mix. No accumulation expected. The ground is to warm. You should receive a Budweiser toast as a real man of genius. Because of you, Mr weather man, I wore my blue foam shoes. Croc's as you may know them. Croc's minus socks. Only you could predict no accumulation. Leaving many unsuspecting, trusting listeners to go into work expecting nothing. Only to come out to something. And not just a little something. A whole foot of something. White blowing flakes of cold. Cold that falls into the holes of blue foam shoes. Cold flakes that seem to become even colder after they collide with sock less feet that cause them to melt. Melting into puddles of freezing cold ice water. Freezing the little tootsies of your faithful listeners. Here's to you Mr weatherman. One of a select few men who tell a lie to thousands without flinching.

The kids

Not to much new as far as Tanner goes. He will be 13 in a few months. Those of you that have teenagers or remember that age, know what that means. Girls are now interesting, puberty s^cks, and parents are lame. The only other thing on his agenda at this time, is completing the hunter safety course.






Colter's vocabulary is growing right along with more teeth. He loves to play outside and is becoming a pro tantrum thrower. Melt downs occur every time we go in, get close to the door, or when mom pretends not to know why he is handing her his shoes. Mom is becoming a pro tantrum dis tractor. One episode was cured by making a chocolate pie. Colter got to lick off his first "spoon". Which of course, eventually lead to more melt downs. Good times!!

Kitchen progress

The kitchen has been coming along, slowly. It will be done someday. For now, I am happy that I have a few cabinets.... Some counter top.....
and something to cook with.
I am getting a bit anxious to get a sink back, but the above will pacify me for a bit. Al is going to have to call in a reinforcements to help him cut the rest of the counter top. He is not exactly fond of that task which causes him to speak in bizarre tongue. He is not excited that I threw a miter into the mix. Luckily, he has a relative who is an expert in diy home improvement. Hopefully, that relative will be willing to lend a hand, or some advice....for Al's sake. And for my SANITY!!!

Princess Chopper

While demanding my attention this morning, I noticed that princess Chopper is starting to get white around the eyes. My little princess is starting to age. It made me shudder to think about her getting old. I love my princess like mad. Yes. I am one of those crazy folk who think their pets are their kids. :O)



Until next time.....

Swinging

Big & small, having a ball

Kitchen

I have not had anytime to post lately. Well, I am sure that I could find a second, but I have been taking every opportunity mother nature has given to get outdoors. When I haven't been outside, working, chasing a toddler or cleaning, I have been trying to help Al get the kitchen done. We didn't have much of a kitchen before, but we have not had one at all for the past 3 weeks. Al has been working on it when ever he gets a chance, but he is not a huge fan of the mudding & sheet rock part. So, that has taken him a bit longer. This week we should be able to get most of the cabinets set, hung and my stove back in there. No more to go food! I can only eat pizza and chicken so many times. Fast food is not even an option. Yuck!!

This is the kind of mess I have been dealing with the past few weeks.....
You have no idea how happy seeing painted walls has made me.

Enjoy the weather this week! They are talking 70 for tuesday. It will be a great day to spend shopping with my Sis-n-law! I can't wait!!

Mom email

Hi everyone. I recieved an email that I would like to share with you. I am sure most of you have seen this one before. I know I have, but I think its a good one.....enjoy!

Being a MOM...

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of 'starting a family.' 'We're taking a survey,' she says half-joking. 'Do you think I should have a baby?'

'It will change your life,' I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

'I know,' she says, 'no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations.'

But that is not what I mean t at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, 'What if that had been MY child?' That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of 'Mom!' will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitat ion.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromanti c.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. 'You'll never regret it,' I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

I am in heaven

You may think (ok, know) that I am totally crazy, but I just took the most amazing shower ever. No naughty thoughts here people. Before I was ever married and certainly before I became pregnant, I had no idea just how much of a luxury taking a shower was.

I remember a conversation that was had at a family dinner once. It was before Al and I were married. My dad had asked Al if I still took those 30 minute showers and wasted all the hot water. (That was no joke. I really did.) Al replied back with something like....no she doesn't. But she still wastes all the hot water. When ever I shower with her, I almost end up in mckennan's burn unit. (Also no joke. I like it hot!) At this point in the conversation, my Mom's eyeballs about popped out of her head. I told her not to worry, we wore our swimming suits. :O) All though I am sure she knew better, that is what she wanted to believe.

Any how, the past 8 years or so, I have always felt rushed to get in, get out, and get the job done. Someone always has to go to the bathroom, etc when it is my turn. Since my toddler came along, I really feel rushed.

Tonight, it is just Colter and I. He has been fast asleep for over an hour. I got in that shower, and I didn't have to worry about a thing. I took almost a 20 minute hot shower. I got in a good 10 minutes of just standing under the water and relaxing. No interruptions. It was heaven!!!! Thank you Lord!!!!

Nightmare on Chopper's street

It all happened on Monday afternoon. My day started out like an other typical day in this dog eat dog world. I did my usual bed pounce to wake up my human slaves so I could go outside. After I complete my mission, I prance and bark all the way to the door. My bff, Sadie, growls, spins in circles and foams at the mouth. Once outside, I bark at the air until I finally decided to relieve myself. Back inside I go.

Sadie and I assume our usual positions. I lay on top of the couch where I can get a good view out the window. My pal Sadie, stands on the couch and plasters her face to the window. We want to make sure that anyone who dares to pass by, knows whose territory the are on.

Ah, the first victim of the day. The old lady and her dog. I throw my head back and bark towards the ceiling. I'm tough, and they better recognize. In case they are doubting me, Sadie lets them know she is there to back me. She bounces of the furniture and window, while spitting, barking and growling. They must know that if the window were not there, they would be lunch. Once the lady and her dog pass, we continue to bark for a minute or two. Just in case.

Today seems a bit slow. There are not as many people trespassing today. Perhaps we have scared them all. Wait! Whats that?! Oooo doggie! Its a human crossing the street a block away. I enlist the help of Sadie to make sure they keep on walking. We showed him. He must have been to scared to come down here.

In between my missions to protect whats mine, I take catnaps. However, after one of my afternoon catnaps, something appeared that had me shaking like a leaf. My human slave says that its scary because of the smelly mess of germs growing inside. But that is exactly why I was captivated and couldn't look away. That same smelly mess of germs was to much for me to resist. My eyes were glued to it. Then, all of the sudden, it would move. I barked and ran away with my tail between my legs. Every time I went back to look, it would happen again. It was so traumatizing. All afternoon, I agonized over this thing.

I was so relieved when my human slave so bravely scooped the thing up and got it out of my sight. Finally, I could resume my position on the couch. Life is back to normal again.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Peeps!!I wonder how many of you are doing something special today?. I am a bit ashamed to say this, but I can not honestly remember the last time I attended church on easter sunday. I would be willing to bet the last time was about 15 years ago. Today is no exception. I am at work. I realize I need to stop procrastinating. Its time for me to find ways to get my family and myself more involved with church.

I do love Easter time. Its the time of year when all of God's miracles are being resurrected. His only son, nature and his creatures. Its a fresh new start for all. I love all of the pretty colors, the glorious smells, the return of beautiful song birds and the gift of new life for many little critters.

I knew it would not be an easy task to decorate eggs with an 18 month old. However, I felt that I really needed to do it. I want him to have these great memories. Yes, I know he probably will not even remember, but I will. So, I attempted to help Colter decorate his eggs. Or should I say, I did most of the decorating. He was more interested in trying to drink the dye from the cups, ripping apart the card board box and trying to throw the "balls" (eggs) across the room. Needless to say, we did not have much for finished products. My flash gordan skills are not as good as they used to be and many off the "balls" did not survive. My little pitcher has a great curve ball!

It would have been great to have some extra hands, but Tanner went to his mom's for the long weekend. Tanner was looking forward to meeting his new little sister. His mom had a baby girl the beginning of February and he had yet to see her. I hope he is having a good time. I hope ya'll are having a good time!!

What is wrong with you boy?

I don't know what is wrong with my kid. He is crazy. I think he loves pain & torture.

Al took Colter out to play in the recent snow received. Of course, Dad thought it would be funny to throw snow balls at such an easy target. Colter really enjoyed being hit with them. He found it to be loads of fun. Most kids probably would, right? Then, while Colter was trying to run in his 500 layers mom made him wear, he tripped and fell face first into the snow.

All though you can not tell from the picture, he actuall thought that was pretty darn funny too. I am not sure all kids would think that was quite so great.

Fast forward to a couple days later. Once again, Al decides it was time to pick on Colter. Al picks up the water bottle, intended to be for naughty dogs, and squirts Colter with it. Colter let out a big laugh, so dad squirted him again. This time he accidentally got him in the face. Colter thought this was the greatest thing ever. So, dad did it a few more times. When he decided he better quite, Colter got made because he wanted more. If Al would squirt him any where besides in the face, he would also get mad. The water bottle got put away, but eventually had to be put out of sight all together because Colter was so mad that no one was going to squirt him in the face anymore. I am pretty darn sure that most kids would not likes this.

The following day, Colter hit his head on the wall pretty hard. I knew it must have hurt, but I didn't want him to freak, so I tried to just ignore it. I couldn't for long, because he decided that hitting his head on the wall was a good time too. (((SIGH))) At least he wasn't doing it real hard. Perhaps the damage was all ready done. What is wrong with you boy?!

House update

After a few week hiatus, Al is back to working on the kitchen again. Our taxes arrived a few weeks ago, and we promptly headed to Lowe's to spend the money. I had made a few changes in the layout of the kitchen, and we still needed some of odds & ends. Other than the fact that I need to exchange a few things, I think we have everything to get the kitchen done!

Al started sheet rocking the ceiling, repairing walls and taking down the old cabinets. He has 2 out of the 3 cabinets removed! How on earth did these people survive with such little cabinet & counter space? I admit that the kitchen has its obstacles, but if I can do it, they could too. (At least I think I can.) I cannot wait to see my creation come to life.

Colter has been helping Al & I out. He has been having a blast with all the tools. Its so cute to see him trying to "fix" things. He is quite handy. I helped out a little by tearing down the hideous wallpaper that was used as a back splash. Once I started to tear it down, I found even uglier wall paper underneath. I didn't know it was possible, but it was. I have also started some destruction to the bathroom. Its a great way to blow off steam.

I keep noticing new things about the house that amuse me. The previous owner had the house since the 40's and it was used for a rental for the past 20 years or so. Its obvious by some of the repairs that he made. Either that, or he was just not very handy. Who uses duct tape to patch plaster walls, and then paints over it? Not even us der hillbillies thought of such a good idear. I guess were just not true to dem der roots. :O)

Hope yer all havin a fantastical weekend!

Colter's week

Last week I said I had pictures, and I wasn't kidding. I just couldn't seem to find the time to post. So here you go. Narrated by Colter.

Now that I am getting to be a big boy, Tanner is much more interested in me. His interest seems to be more aimed towards picking on me.....

torturing me....
scaring me...
did I say picking on me?
In the past couple of weeks, I have finally figured out how to release all of my excess energy. I have way more than anyone person should have. At least that is what Mom says. I surprised her by climbing on this chair and fussing until she came to see what my major malfunction was. Boy was she excited to see how big I really was and that I could get up here all by myself.
Her excitement did not last long, because soon I was showing her that I could also climb onto the couch and anything else that I could find. Mommy got a little upset when I found out that I could climb onto the dinning room chairs, and then onto the dinning room table. She didn't see me fast enough on my 2nd attempt and the chair went out from underneath me. Hopefully, I will remember that the next time the chairs call my name.

My sock fetish has turned into a just plain down weird foot fetish. I love to take my shoes & socks off every night and when I am done, I have to take my Mom's off too. I try to take Dad's off, but he doesn't let me. Mom says that I should be thankful. :O) Recently, I discovered that I could actually put my Mom's shoes on my feet. I thought I was pretty darn funny and had to show Mom.

Then I thought I would give walking a try....

I had a lot of fun, but I got mad when they would fall off and I couldn't get them back on. For some reason now, Mom puts her shoes in her bedroom when I take them off for her.
Hope you are all having a great week!