I Just Can't Believe..

-that this week is already over and it went fast!

-that I haven't written a blog post since Monday....or read many, for that matter.

-that I only put my 2 cents worth in on a few comment sections instead of having my own vent session over "The Bachelor" episode this past week. Here's hoping Melissa is the last one standing (since he sent Jill home anyway).

-that my puppies are already 6 weeks old and counting, and would you believe I only have 2 left out of 10! God is good. Prayers answered there.

-that Big Dan has his very first Varsity Baseball game on Tuesday!! And this is the first sport I have been privileged to watch so far this year, (he didn't play football or basketball this year) so I must admit, I am PUMPED!! (But not ready to sit in the cold...thank goodness for my buddy heater!)

-that I have bombed my carb diet. What kind of diet is no carbs anyway? Who on this earth can survive without potatoes and chocolate milk? That doesn't even sound right. I'll have to figure out something else that'll enable me to include those 2. Weight Watchers maybe.

-that I got to spend some time with two wonderful college friends this week. And it was the bomb. I smiled so big and laughed the entire day. It's so funny remembering all our good times. Some blog friendly....some not so much. We had conversations that went something like this..."I hope my teenager doesn't do the things I did!" Sound familiar? Thought so.

This big hair photograph would be me and my 2 chickadees at my apartment exchanging gifts Christmas of 1989.

And this would be us...uh....20 years later.

We still got it!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bittersweet Goodbyes

I'm keen on that psycological stuff, ya know, so when I posted flyers that said puppies for sale, I made sure I labeled them "VALENTINE puppies for sale". Luckily they are weaned and my ploy seems to be working as several have gone bu bye this week as gifts just for that very occasion.

It's been hard to see each one go, as Little Ann and I have become somewhat attached to each one individually. I let my favorite little black fur ball go just as I was heading out the door to church on Wednesday night and I didn't even get adequate enough time to say my goodbyes, let alone a picture. But not yesterday. When I got the call that the buyer was on his way, Marley was taken straight to the sink for a bath, a Valentine bow, and a photo session.

Now, if this isn't just the best Valentine's day gift ever!!!

We were down to 4 little black ones and our special little pink nosed goldie that Little Ann had named "Buddy" after Air Bud. He has such a sweet little personality, and is just as cute as can be and I must admit, if he didn't sell, I was very much contemplating keeping him around. Didn't happen. Got a call tonight and I must say goodbyes didn't go as easy with him as with previous sales.

After his bath, he had to endure snuggles and lots of tears as we awaited on his new owner to arrive. It just about broke my heart for Little Ann. She and Buddy have gotten pretty tight.

It was almost more than I could bear to see those red, puffy eyes and crocodile tears flowing down her cheeks.

This was not an easy thing to do, and it seems the longer we have them around, the harder it gets. The consolation was that Buddy was going to make another little girl very, very happy...yeah, that and an early Valentine present for Little Ann (a stuffed puppy who made everything all better).

Can You Feel the Love?

They are four weeks old now and just as cute as a bug in a rug! Much like the real world, you just can't hold momma's actions against them.....

Welcome February!

A Crappy Kind of Morning

Never been much of a house dog person. I thought I might try it when we got Dixie because she was so cute, but soon she got big, stinky and I couldn't keep up with the shedding demand. So she became an outside dog...a very busy one at that.

Four weeks ago she had 10 pups (more cuteness than should be allowed) and with freezing temps each night I begged for them to stay inside. Our guest bath has been home to 10 pups and momma dog for almost a month now, and might I say, I'm more than ready for them to be OUT!

Pete built them the nicest house in a pen right outside our back door so Little Ann could have close contact, but most nights, as the temperature begins to fall, Little Ann's heart gets the best of her and she gives me those big brown sad eyes until I cave. Last night was one of those nights.

No prob. Went to bed, but awakened to a momma dog (who is not supposed to be out of the bathroom) outside my bedroom door scratching. I jumped up to the nice aroma of dog poo. Where? In the carpet. In the living room. Not just a little pile. A HUGE pile. Where's hubby when you need him?

With the house still dark and quiet from the night, I proceeded to scoop up the pile with my dust pan, but it was a little too fresh and not cooperating. Did I mention the nice aroma. I was holding my breath trying not to add to the mess.

Holding my nose with one hand, and the dust pan with the other, I ran to my bathroom to flush it down the toilet. As the big glob of poo hit the toilet, I knew immediately it was too much for one flush, but I knew I wasn't sticking my hand down there to retrieve any of it.

So, I flushed.

And....

it overflowed.

All in my bathroom floor.

Now wet, watered down, atrociously smelling

dog poo.

And so there I was. Cleaning up a massive mess of dog poo while the rest of the world was all nestled up snug in their beds where I was supposed to be.

Because really. Who else was gonna do it? And from this moment on. All dogs will live happily ever after in their new house. Outside.

So, how was your morning?

What I've Been Up To

Friday
- finished my book (Yea for me!!!)
- went to visit my parents which I haven't done in awhile. There's a new baby calf in town...

Saturday
-This day started way too early for a Saturday, in my opinion. Little Ann had a basketball game at 9:00 am...requiring us to be there at 8:30. She played well and I was really proud of her. She is one of the only two 5th graders on her team (and the shortest, I might add) and since the rest are 6th graders, her confidence is not very high right now.
-We had a "moving" day from our old classrooms at church to our new educational wing we started back in the Spring.
-Little Ann had a 2nd game later in the afternoon.
-Came home after more cleaning and moving in at the church only to find myself locked out of the house. (gotta love that)
-Trip into the city to meet up with Pete, who was at work, to retrieve a key from him...luckily he hadn't left on his train yet.

Sunday
-Church services and a much needed nap. I brought a stow away home with me after morning services. They played the wii all afternoon and enjoyed the puppies.

As a matter of fact, I think they may've enjoyed them a little "too" much. I got up from my nap to find this on my camera.

If I had to guess, these cute little shoes once belonged to a currently barefooted little American Girl.

Have a great week!!

Vodoo

I got your attention, didn't I?

Big Dan has been beside himself the past couple of days. He bought a brand new baseball bat for the upcoming season from here


He was so excited because this was his first ever purchase off ebay. He sat in anticipation as we outbid the competitors in the last few seconds and I laughed at him as he was able to taste his sweet victory. I got pretty good at some outbidding at one time too, but my urge to ebay has subsided. I've found better things to do like....um, blog.

Then, he was able to pay for his purchase with........(drumroll please)...his own debit card.


The bat came today and I told him I'd blog about it tonight since he hasn't been my topic of conversation in awhile. (I am supposing that's a good thing.)

A couple more things I wanted to share.

-Our puppies are now 2 weeks old. They are growing by leaps and bounds, trying to bark (which is too cute because they try to act all big and bad with little pipsqueak barks. haha), their fur is really beginning to thicken and their eyes are finally open. Is this not the cutest thing?

-And finally, Big Dan and I attended the funeral for his friend today. It was a packed house and so, so sad. I have wanted to kiss Big Dan a thousand times today. Please continue to pray for this family. The mother is divorced and this girl was her oldest. Her other 2 kids are boys and the youngest is in a wheelchair. He's had spinal bifida since birth, but is such a precious person. The boys were devastated. It absolutely breaks my heart, but I know my God is in control.

Have a happy Wednesday everybody!!

My Top Five...

Here in no particular order are my top 5 reasons for not blogging faithfully. And really, they're great reasons, so that means it's all good, right?





And yes, I am reading a book. I know, it's a miracle. But sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.

I'm sorry to my faithful readers. Maybe my brain will eventually re-join the rest of my body. At least I didn't do like this girl and tell you that "my dog ate my computer". Although I do have plenty of dogs. (which need a good home by the way.....)

Separation and a few Tears

I wish I could say I was better today, but although I made a little physical progress, mentally, I'm still down. I don't want to blame it completely on PMS because I've been feeling muddled for a few weeks now. And I know all the reasons I give are just so trivial compared to the things so many others are dealing with. I should be ashamed for letting myself get to this point, but wow, sometimes, I just don't know what to do with all these emotions.

Everyone...can you say "Congratulations, Scrapper Mom"! I finally got all of Christmas out of the house and my living room back in order. I must say that made me smile briefly.

Sometimes the reality of the way things are versus the way things were just a short time ago hits me. Tonight the family was separated and it makes me sad thinking that this is going to be pretty much the norm from here on out.

After Pete had to basically force me out of the house to be social tonight...(for some reason he thought I needed to attend our monthly ladies bible study...can't imagine why), he decided since he was off, he and Little Ann would grab some Chinese and a movie. Big Dan, of course, had gone to the home basketball game.

This is where the tears come in. After my meeting, Pete called to see if I wanted to meet them in town. I needed to buy a Birthday gift for a party tomorrow. Little Ann got on the phone just a boo hooing. They had gone to see "Marly and Me". And I quote...."You can rent it when it comes out, but I never want to see that movie again!" And she's quite serious I believe. I had to explain that it was just a movie and that Marly didn't really die (oops, sorry for the spoiler). I haven't seen it yet and it got spoiled for me too. She was so ready to get home and see her pups and of course, her own sweet Marly...aka Dixie Doo.

And I don't care how depressed you feel, if this doesn't make you smile, then what else could?

Rock a bye puppy, in the tree top. Have a great weekend, ya'll.

A Special Birthday...Times 10

One little, two little, three little puppies.
Four little, five little, six little puppies.
Seven little, eight little....oh, you get the picture.
And yes, it does go all the way to 10.

Just when I ran out of things to blog about, my sweet doggie comes to my rescue. We made the startling discovery as we were getting ready for school this morning. (Did anybody notice my Big Dan FINALLY got a haircut all on his own?)

Anyway, back to my dog story. I must start at the beginning.

A few months ago, Pete began harping that Dixie had become a woman and we needed to get her surgerized..if ya know what I mean. Little Ann and I pleaded with him to let her at least have one litter of puppies just for pure enjoyment. The one who I assumed would be the father was a beautiful big black lab that when bred with Dixie who is 1/2 golden retriever and 1/2 lab herself, would make pretty babies. I was just sure of it. And with 5 out of 10 of them being solid black, I'm sure I hit the nail right on the head. Surely we can enjoy them through their adorable "puppy stage" and then hopefully get a little money out of them if only just enough to pay for our expenses involved in shots and food.

We didn't keep track of the exact time, but we did know she was HUGE and felt terrible all day yesterday. We couldn't get her to come out of her kennel and she hadn't eaten in about 4 days. That and a constant limp had me worried, so we had planned on taking her to the vet first thing this morning. Needless to say, she's still got the limp, but I think she's a little too preoccupied to let it worry her too much right now. She gave birth to 10 pups between the time I went to bed and got up this morning!

Pete built a comfortable sized box for them to stay in at least for the next week or so in our guest bath. It is so cold and rainy outside, I just didn't have the heart to make them stay out even though her kennel was nice and warm with all of them inside. I didn't get much accomplisehd today for going back and forth looking at them. They are so cute I can hardly stand it. This is one of the little goldies lying in my hand.

From the moment Little Ann has been home from school, she has had a puppy in her lap at all times. I think she has been rotating, giving them all a fair share and most of them have names by now. lol.

Bless her little heart. She is so smitten she even did her homework in the bathroom floor so she could be near them. And look at this sweet little picture below. The little white one she calls "Sugar" is getting some good zzz's atop of Little Ann's sparkly blue jeans.


Don't ya want one?