Angels Unaware

A week ago I was in great distress. Will, our 4 yo, really flipped out. His behavior was just awful. Obedience? Non-existent. I was at my wit's end. I didn't want to take him anywhere.

Angel #1 - The lady at church who confessed her second child, a son, blew her mind. She too had a daughter first who gave her no trouble at all. Then, when number two came along, she no longer felt she knew anything about being a parent. This was after church and I started tearing up as she told me about her experience. Bless you, Jill!!

Angel #2 - The man at Barnes and Noble last Tuesday ... Will held the door open for you and you said, "What a nice young man!"

I said, "We're sure trying."

"Looks like you're doing a great job," the man replied.

I felt kind of bad for hoping he left before Will had a chance to throw a fit.

Bless you, Mr. Man.

Angel #3 - A friend who recently asked if she and her husband could come by a visit with us about parenting and homeschooling. They are planning to adopt soon and want to pick our brain ... get tips from the "experts". How amazing does that feel to have someone love your kids enough to think you are a good parent? Bless you, my dear.

As I started writing this, Will got mad because I wouldn't let him have a cookie before he eats his lunch. He is now banished to his room after screaming, a spanking, and kicking at me. I'm trying to focus on the good days and know that this won't last forever. I do grow weary though and feel constantly as if I'm failing William somehow.

Dogless Days of November

Yesterday all three dogs were at the vet all day long for surgeries. Macy and Simba, our seniors as the vet called them, had their teeth cleaned and a couple pulled. Baby Bella Blue got spayed. It was so very weird around our house with them gone! I definitely need to always have at least one, two are better, pooches around me.

When they got home Macy was business as usual. The other two, not so much. Simba was literally walking around the yard wailing. I let him in and slept by my bed until late last night. Bella was miserable too. It was as if someone had burst her proverbial bubble. They were absolutely pitiful.

Things look better this morning. Everyone has eaten a little and mommy has distributed all the appropriate medications. Glad my canine babies are back with me!

Puppy's First Haircut

Regarding my last blog, I guess if you are going to go out on a limb, you might as well go all by yourself so the limb doesn't break. Maybe I'll be quoted on that some day.

Anyway, Madame Bella got groomed for the first time yesterday. She hated every minute of it but she looks really cute if I do say so myself ... but you be the judge!

She's doing pretty well on house breaking. She even scratches on the door often to go out. She loves Macy and Simba and has totally rejuvenated Macy Moose. She gets her running and playing and wrestling. It is fun to watch. Anyway, don't OD on cuteness.

Passing Comment?

I commented today on a remark made by a friend of mine on her facebook page. Her name is Deana and she lives in Arkansas, but don't hold that against her. She's a transplant, a native Texan in fact.

Deana stated she had the safety of the Obama family in her prayers. I so got that but others didn't. I can't help but wonder why.

My comment was as follows: "There's a special kind of crazy that racists and white supremacists possess. A scary kind of crazy, to me anyway. Any kind of hate that motivates grown men to wear hoods and dance around a fire together while burning the symbol of our Lord's most precious sacrifice is indicative of a scary, special kind of crazy. And even if they don't do that, their are many levels of nutjobs out there. But Deana may be thinking something else ..."

I mean, I'm in no way the most educated of persons. I do read though and I own a television and I am aware that these people exist. They are organized and their hate is spread through generations and they are capable of great evil. I think it is very reasonable to worry about the safety of our President elect.

I think Barack Obama has the challenge of uniting our country, restoring our reputation and replenishing our hope. I happen to believe he has the wisdom and ability to do just that. He can "use his words" as most of us were taught in Kindergarten to solve problems. Oh, I am so excited of what the future holds!

I know that older generations will have a hard time with this. They were taught differently. I don't blame them and I don't exactly blame the generation before them. But as Maya Angelou said, "When you know better, you do better." I know better. Hopefully my kids will know even better than I do. My generation is breaking the mold on hatred, be it based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or skin color. Break, break, break.

I am also well aware that there are plenty of people my age and younger who still perpetuate the hate. They writhed in their seats at the thought of a black President. They were thrilled to see the slander pour into their inboxes (and more than happy to pass it on) that gave them so called justification for their choice at the polls. And let's be clear here ... they weren't so much choosing John McCain as they were allowing themselves to hate Barack Obama.

Bill Maher said, "23% of Texans still think Barack Obama is a Muslim," just a few days before the election. Two things are sad about that. One, that they thought it was true and that fact allowed them to hate him and not vote for him. And two, they allowed that to be a reason to hate him. How embarrassing on both counts ... and on soooo many levels.

(My favorite haters are the ones who had double hate. They hated him because they thought he was a Muslim and then they hated him because of Reverend Wright. So a Muslim sat in a Christian church and listened to Rev. Wright week after week. Sure. WhatNever. Perhaps you should have to pass a minimal IQ test to be allowed to register to vote.)

I realize that many Republicans suffered a disappointing blow with the direction this campaign went. However, I appreciate so much the ones who have since adjusted their mind set enough to offer support to our new Commander in Chief; who have realized what an amazing accomplishment Barack Obama's election is for our country; and those who have not started down a hateful, bitter, racist path to hope for nothing but the demise of our new leader.

To those wallowing in their own hate and bitterness, step up.

You Can SO Force Potty Training

William is potty trained. He warmed up to it after I got him some boxers. He didn't appreciate the positioning or the close quarters that briefs caused. So, tiny little boxers invaded my weekly laundry and now he goes back and forth between boxers and briefs. He's still sleeping in a diaper or pull up but we're in undies all day.

It is a new chapter ... and it feels weird to not have a "baby" in diapers anymore. That's not exactly a complaint, it is just weird.

From the Mouths of Babes

We were in the school room this morning and William was coloring his C-C-Camel. He declared, "Daddy will be so impressed with this camel."

I said, "William, it is impressive that you used the word impressed."

He followed up with, "Yeah, he's so gonna love this."

Fun moment I got ... not a preschool teacher somewhere.

A couple of days ago I asked Trinity if Curious George and Huntley were friends. She said, "Not really. Huntley wants the lobby to be dignified and George is always making messes."

Impressed from a 4 year old and dignified from a 7 year old. I guess homeschooling isn't damaging them after all. LOL

It's a Girl!

My family is twitterpated right now. Very much so. There's a new little lady in our family.

Last Wednesday we drove to Denver so that we could pick her up at the airport on Thursday morning. I found a breeder in Washington state who discounted her significantly because she looked a little different than her other Shorkies and she was already 3 1/2 months old. The Breeder had told me she was 4 1/2 months old but I think she goofed. Her shot record says she was born on June 5.

Folks, God reached down from heaven and said, "This lady in Colorado ... this puppy in Washington ... they were meant to be together. Make it so number one. I mean make it so myself."

I had planned for years to get a Yorkie and name it Gizmo. Seeing how expensive they are around here, I was going to settle for a Shih Tzu. Then I discovered Shorkies ... a wonderful combination of the two! Bella is colored like Yorkies, which is what I wanted. She has a long body of a Shih Tzu, the long tail, floppy ears, and a very slight underbite. She weighs about 4 lbs. and shouldn't get to more than 6 1/2. (For those who know my Macy, she weights 10 lbs.)

(Here was the picture the breeder sent that won my heart.)

After seeing her picture from the breeder, we all decided the name Bella would suit her better than Gizmo. Once we got her, we started debating between Maggie and Gracie. We even got friends and family in on the voting between the two. Finally, we decided on ........ Bella. Bella Blue. (Adding Blue helps Will with his "l's" for some reason.) Don't tell Mark that my Johnny's daughter is Ella Blue. : )

(Picture from the airport the day we picked her up.)

She was painfully shy with us at first. I felt so bad for her. She was so happy to see Macy and Simba when we got home. She finally wagged her tail. And even though they both shunned her at first, she continued to be enamored with them. Macy has actually warmed up, even though she doesn't want to sit or lay by her. She'll actually play with her and run around.

After a week she's peed on the carpet only once which is better than Will has done. LOL. That's not bad for a less than four month old. (It is kind of frustrating for a just turned 4 year old though.)

She is embracing us. She insists on being right by me all day. Which, of course, I love. She has a funny little bark and growl.

A couple of nights ago the kids came down after their bath and were sitting on the couch with Mark and Macy. Bella went running over there barking at them as if they were strangers breaking in. Macy hopped down as if to check out what the problem was. Not sure what little bit thought was happening but she tucked her tail between her legs and bolted toward me yelping the whole way as if her tail were on fire. We laughed so hard. Still do when we talk about it.

We sure are enjoying her. Puppy smooches to all.

Blackmail or Under the Influence?

What makes someone choose chaos in their life? What makes someone choose repeatedly a person who has no reguard for anyone but themselves over others who love them and will support them?

I don't understand how someone who is mean, careless, selfish, hateful, rude, mentally unstable, let's just call it psychotic ... how can someone like this get their way all the time? How can they run all over loving, innocent people and no one ever say ENOUGH!

It must be blackmail ... or someone is being drugged to let this horrible person ruin the lives of innocent, godly, hardworking people.

Lord, bless the hearts of those I write about. Father, help them see they are making everything worse by allowing this behavior to continue, as well as harboring it and nurturing it. Father, give me the words or show me the actions needed to help heal and better this situation if indeed I can.

My Own Words Haunt Me

As of last Wednesday, August 13, I began physical therapy for intense pain I've been having in my lower back.

The first day went well. I felt sore that night but the next day I was phenomenally better. Then I went back on Friday. It was not as fun any more.

She makes me use muscles I don't have. My legs, my backside, my tummy ... my moosles don't work that way. And that night, I hurt and ached very much. The next day I felt even worse.

I told Mark last night, while I was actually feeling very well, that I didn't know if I would go back. He didn't miss a beat and reminded me of how I "encouraged" Trinity to continue her therapy for her broken arm last summer ... even though it was not fun and it was very uncomfortable for her.

Argh! He can't remember a 5 item grocery list for 15 minutes but he can pull that out of his hat from a year ago???? Not fair.

I Have Something For You

A follow up to the last post sort of.

Well, she never ... came up to me and said, "Mommy, I have something for you," followed by a great big hug. He did. I wanted to buy him a pony.

Then, a few days later I told him I wished he had something for me. He said it again, "Mommy, I have something for you."

"You do?" I asked. "What?"

"A change," he replied.

"Change to what?" I inquired.

"Change to my diaper; I have poopy."

Oh my son, you quack me up!!!!!!

If only potting training could be forced. My baby will be 4 next month. I'm ready for a break from diapies.

Well, She Never! #1

You ever hear older folks exclaim, "Well I never!" when they are shocked by certain behaviors?

Regarding my son and his older sister I shout a resounding, "Well SHE never!"

Over the years I have found myself saying this many times. Will tries all sorts of things Trinity would never try. He gets into more mischief, he is more vocal, and recently, well recently he caught me off guard.

Mark was in the garage cleaning out Lucinda while I was loading sheets into the washing machine. Will walks up and says, "There's a brown thing with a hole in it in here."

"What brown thing?" I ask.

"I don't know," he replied.

"A brown thing in where?" I ask.

"Here," he says and points to his nose.

Well, she never ... so this was a first for me. I opened the garage door and told Mark I needed his help with Will. I went to get tweezers and met Mark coming in as I was headed back to Will. I began envisioning a long wait in the ER and started plotting to find a weekend emergency clinic. Thoughts of the item, which I was now thinking was a plastic bead, entering a sinus cavity and needing emergency surgery were running through my head.

So there we stood; I with my tweezers and Mark with a suction bulb (the one we brought home from the hospital with William). Finally I worked up enough nerve and pulled the object of concern out. As it turned out it was about a half inch long, much to my surprise. It was a little plastic sleeve that covers up the little pins that hold shelves in place on cheaper furniture. What on earth?

I was on the verge of tears during the brief ordeal but also found myself giggling and shaking my head. What else can you do? Will keeps life interesting. He challenges me almost every day, but I'm determined to raise a momma's boy. He really is my mini angel man.

Random Thoughts and Reports

Random Item #1 -

Ridgway State Park was beautiful and Clyde served us well. We spent Father's Day weekend there and enjoyed every minute. To the right you'll find a picture of our campsite there. To the lower left you'll find a picture of Will enjoying his trike with God's glory rising high behind him.

Random Item #2 -

Here’s the Memo
For a good twenty years now, quite possibly longer, it has been considered quite uncool to wear black socks or even dark socks with shorts and sneakers. I thought it was common knowledge but recently I’ve noticed men of all ages trying to pull off this look. So guys, if there isn’t a woman in your life at all or if there isn’t one who loves you enough to keep you from leaving the house this way, consider this my mission of mercy. It’s your memo … your 4-1-1. Don’t commit this assault on fashion any longer.

Random Item #3 -

I'm a Democrat. People who've known me for years may not know that. Now you do. Forward your garbage about Barack Obama to someone else. Those of you who persist in calling him Osama ... something is really wrong with you. He is not a Muslim. He did not refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance nor refuse to put his hand over his heart for it. Here's a little gem of wisdom for you schmucks who keep forwarding everything that lands in your inbox: JUST BECAUSE YOU READ SOMETHING IN AN EMAIL DOESN'T MEAN IT IS TRUE. Shocking I know.

Random Item #4 -

People keep saying to me that we can't just pull out of the war in the Middle East. When you ask them why they say, "We just can't." Stupidity abounds.

Random Item #5 -

My back hurts. Badly.

Random Item #6 -

I've been checking out Northern Exposure episodes from our library. It is an interesting show. I love the Alaskan setting. Gets a little goofy but it passes the time.

Random Item #7 -

It is okay for women to want to have fun and fellowship at a Ladies' Retreat. It is not just about the spiritual food or simply connecting with God. He is glorified through our connecting to each other and most normal human beings crave such connections.

Random Item #8 -

I really enjoy reading Christian novels that take place in the Amish community. I wish I could be a pen pal with an Amish woman my age.

Random Item #9 -

Those of you who harbor racist thoughts but think you aren't teaching your kids racism, or perhaps you know you are teaching them to be racists and are even a little proud of it, this is for you: (but you won't get it)

You've got to be taught to hate and fear

You've got to be taught from year to year

It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear

You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid

Of people whose eyes are oddly made

and people whose skin is a different shade

You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late

before you are six or seven or eight

To hate all the people your relatives hate

You've got to be carefully taught.

--From the musical, South Pacific

Just a bunch of things that have been on my mind and in some cases bothering me lately. Probably enough for now.

Piercing Moment

I got Trinity's ears pierced when she was one year old. She cried for a milli-second and then it was over. She enjoyed earrings until she was at least 4 but then went for a significant amount of time without wearing any. Well, they closed up. Some think that is impossible but I assure you it isn't.

See, her mommy got her ears pierced when she was in 8th grade. It took three trips to the mall before I finally worked up enough courage. I think the time I went through with it I was with my Aunt Ileene. Anyway, after wearing earrings for over 15 years, mine closed up too when I went for a long time without wearing earrings.

I've been wanting to go get them pierced for a year or two now but I was waiting on Trinity so I could use it as an incentive for her. We could get them done together. Finally last week she was ready.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008, Trinity gets her ears pierced at Claire's. She was stunned and teared up after the first one so I lit a fire under the girl doing the piercing and she quickly got the second one in. Then, Trinity's mommy got her ears pierced too. Have your 7 year old watch you. You can't react at all. It wasn't bad. Weird sensation.

So, we're styling in our new ear lobe bling. Happy happy.

Hair Caddy Camping

Currently packing for the big CO. Springs trip. I had a funny thought about our last camping trip I wanted to share. I needed a little break so this is good.

So we get to Ridgway a few weeks ago and we're unloading things from the camper (from here out to be known as Clyde) and Mark comes across Trini's hair caddy. He looks at me funny and insinuates it is strange to bring a hair caddy on a camping trip. I clued him in as to the details of keeping a little girls' hair in order. I pointed out how one day of tangles makes life very difficult around here. He smirked and went on his way.

The next morning as we're getting ready for the day Trini comes up to me looking concerned.

"Mom," she says, "We forgot my hair caddy. Oh no. What will we do?" (She didn't realize that mommies pack everything.)

As fate would have it she said this in front of her daddy. As if to admit defeat, he threw up his hands, shrugged his shoulders, shook his head in dibelief and walked away.

Oh how he will enjoy her teenage years ...

Oh how I enjoy her girlie little moments and the pure confusion it brings my dear husband ...

Not Knocked Up

Well, the guinea pig formerly known as Lacey, now known as Mia Rose is in fact not preggers. According to the rudest veterinarian in the whole world she is pleasantly plump. He isn't rude because he said she was pleasantly plump. He's rude because he had the bedside manner of a viper. I think he is related to Trinity's Orthopaedic doctor from last year.

Anyways, Mia Rose is not a Mamma Mia. Wouldn't that have been cute though? Fad-ulous as well with the movie coming out this summer but alas, it is not the case.

She's still a sweetie despite the horrible handling she endured yesterday. We gave her some space the rest of the day to recover from her assault.

We are in the last week of Kara, Inc.'s visit. I'm trying to focus on the positive ... having the house back to the usual residents and not going constantly. However, the bottom line is that I'm gonna miss 'em something fierce. I've gotten use to them all being here. It is more fun to go do things with them in tow. The kids have gotten along well and Kara and I have done pretty good at getting everyone fed and cared for.

I am also trying to just look forward to our upcoming vacation. Colorado Springs is one of my favorite places to visit. We plan to take the kids to the zoo there (quite possibly my favorite zoo ever) and also to Santa's Workshop. My children love the rides and shows there but will not even consider saying hello to the man in red himself.

We'll be camping in Clyde, our new pop-up camper. We'll set up the tent too for Kara and Chad (my bro-in-law) to sleep in. Chad is meeting us there and will be reuniting with his family after sharing them with us for a month.

We love our camper. It has a slide out dining table area that converts to a bed. It also has a hard side shower and potty inside as well. It sleeps 6.5 comfortably. We're looking forward to using it again. (Incidentally Clyde is now towed my practice mid-life crisis vehicle, Lucinda.) Lucinda is a silver Honda Pilot and I LOVE HER. She is very mine. Even when Mark is around I drive most of the time.

We had Clyde's maiden voyage in Amarillo at the beginning of June and have since taken it to Ridgway State Park which is about an hour and a half south of us. That was tons of fun and we had a great time. It was gorgeous.

I'm glad April has jumpstarted me to blogging again. I never know when the urge will hit me but I do enjoy writing from time to time so it's a good thing. Check out her new blog if you want to know a little more about my best friend (www.hog-wild-rice.blogspot.com). Incidentally, she is probably the reason God transplanted us in southern Arkansas for five years in 1996.

Laters!

Knocked Up?

.....Oh how I hope my title arouses some curiosity. Mark and I really shouldn't acquire pets ... maybe never.

.....Trinity got a guinea pig this week. To be honest it happened quickly because her mommy really wanted one too. After starting some research and looking around, we found the perfect little old lady of a guinea pig at a nice little pet store here in town.

.....Back to Mark and I ... we got our beagle Peanut right after we came back from our honeymoon back in 1995. We both cried through the first few nights of having her. She was crazy and hyper and crying for her littermates and her mom I'm sure. A year ago we lost her to old age and her body failing her.

.....Trinity got an aquarium from Santa a couple of years ago. She picked out a few fish. Meaning to have mating occur, even though she doesn't know about mating, we got a male and a female guppy and then one each of a few others.

.....One night Mark and I found ourselves trying to separate young guppies from young black mollies from a tetra (community fish) that was trying to eat them as well as from their own parents; the guppy pair and an apparently premiscuous black molly, the now single mother. Well into the night we maneuvered plastic boxes and nets to insure the safety of all involved.

.....Side note: Trini hasn't learned about the birds and the bees yet. I plan to maintain her innocence (and ignorance) for as long as possible. Anyway, she's really struggling with how the guinea pig, currently called Lacy, could have babies without a daddy. Her solution to the mystery is that she must have "shared her love" with the daddy already. Heaven help us get through this ordeal without too much education for my child.

.....No. I do not believe, in any way, that just because a child asks a question that she is ready for the answer. Maybe an answer that's a version of the truth, but no. Not the whole, big picture truth.

.....So, the sweetest large guinea pig you've ever seen now resides with our family. She is a precious, precious angel and we are crushing on her big time already. She came home on Tuesday. Kara is still here and she was looking at the little bulges on her belly and her little enlarged teets and has a theory that she is pregnant. Another tale of the plights of our family and pets. I have to say it would be really neat but it wasn't what we bargained for.

.....Lacy (who may soon be known as Mia or Maya as Trini is still in the naming process) is really loving. In the above picture you can see her holding up her chin so Trini can pet her under there. How cool is that? Her face is half white and half brown and her coinciding nostrils match; one white, one brown.

.....Lacy had a previous owner that had to surrender her. The pet store had taken her in and gave us a discount. It is hard to imagine that they would have passed up the profits of some possible little "piglets". Only time will tell. Enjoy some pics of our new baby/momma. We'll keep you posted.

Welcome to the Jungle

Well, if April is blogging I guess I'll have to get back in the habit. LOL It will take away from my Webkinz playing time. Seriously, I love playing on Webkinz. I tend my gardens and do my little jobs. I love computer games. Fun fun.

Right now I have three extra people in my house. Sounds crazy, and it is little zoo / jungle like, but we're having a really great time. It is my sister Kara and her kids. They come home with us from TX last week and will stay until July 4th weekend.

The girls are going to day camp this week with Girl Scouts. The boys are playing outside constantly and getting to go on a few little field trips here and there. We're having fun.

This weekend we're all going camping in our new pop-up RV. It is so nice and we're looking forward to using it again. We stopped in Amarillo, the town God hasn't checked on for awhile, and spent the night at a KOA there on the way home last week. It sleeps well. It has a hard side shower and toilet inside and a full, though miniature, kitchen. The dining table area slides out and makes into a bed. We'll take some pictures to share this weekend and who knows. Maybe I'll post 'em on my blog. We'll see if it comes alive again.

Kara and I are both reading "Created to Be His Help Meet" by Debi Pearl. She started before me even though I bought the books. Some of it is hard to digest but most of that is because I need to hear it. I'm hoping it will connect me more to God's purpose for me as Mark's wife; his "help meet".

Better scoot. Wal-mart calls for some last minute camping needs and I've got some things to do when we get back.

Laters!