Outside my Back Door - Wordless Wednesday

Sicklings

Well, the first day of March has come and almost gone and I've got nothing to show for it except a couple of sets of clean sheets and some left over homemade pizza. I didn't even get to go to church today because my Little Ann has been a sickling. I am guessing I will call the doctor tomorrow because she has been running fever since Thursday evening with flu like symptoms. I was looking forward to getting over this cough I've had lingering on for the past week myself, but sharing a bed and a lap with Little Ann may hinder that (not that I would have it any other way). We had a bad night. Despite my efforts to bring her 103 degree body back to normal by way of cold drinks, popsicles, and lukewarm baths, the fever was refusing to come down. She was miserable and even after she finally went to sleep in the wee hours, I seemed to worry myself to death for the rest of the night.

Big Dan will probably be bed ridden with pneumonia next after playing a tournament game in freezing temperatures and some snow last night. Friday's game got canceled because of the rain. This mom thinks it was absurd to play in conditions like last night brought, but who am I to second guess baseball coaches? And what a difference 24 hours makes. I never went out today, but my thermometer showed temps nearing 60 degrees. And so is weather in Arkansas.

So, who's ready for the big finale tomorrow night? If what I have been reading on the Hollywood gossip is true, I must say I have mixed feelings about it all. I just can't believe Jason would really do that. If he does, then I guess I had him pegged all wrong. I guess we'll find out tomorrow night.

I wish I had all kinds of excitement to write about tonight, but unfortunately I don't. Other than a little female surgery planned for Dixie (our momma dog) in the morning, things around here are..blah, blah, blah. Pete told Little Ann she and Dixie could go in to see the doctor together tomorrow, but she might not like the way they took her temperature.

Hope everyone has a good week.

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?

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?

"The Session"

I've never known more obstinate people in all my life.

When I realized Pete was actually going to be home today, my mind instantly began leaning in the direction of family picture. Why, we would already be dressed up for church and all I needed was a little of their time and a few smiles. Include the fact that Big Dan was headed to get his head buzzed by the girlfriends dad...I figured it was now or never. I had no idea what I was in for. Everyone was starving, anxious to change clothes, and full of the sillies, but after many, many, MANY shots,we managed to get a couple, yes, just a couple of good shots for a photo Christmas card this year.

Here is where I need your help. I have narrowed it down to these two. I have looked over them and looked over them but I just can't decide. Although I look horrible in both of these, there are things I like and dislike about both shots. I am just so not photogenic. Anyway, I know I can count of you guys to tell me which one I should use for my card.

A.
or B.
Here are some outtakes from today's session.

Okay, people can we please stop playing fetch with the dog and get on with it! And that's a hugemongus stick!

And again I say.....places please!

Take number 152!! Please smile doggie...pleeeeeease!

A Saturday Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window.....I see lots of brown leaves on the ground and not in the trees.

I am thinking.....how I need to take advantage of this day in the house without the husband and the kids.


From the learning room.....High School Musical 3? Is that learning? Hey, it takes place at a High School, so that should count, right?

I am thankful for.....my friends. I am so blessed with friends from all phases of my life.

From the kitchen.....Diet Mountain Dew and brown sugar ham from the deli. Hey, I'm alone and I ain't cookin'!

I am wearing.....all casual today. Brown flip flops, navy knit capris and a green gap tee....and no, I don't even match. Who cares, huh? It's just me, myself, and I.

I am reading.....I am actually reading a book. Yes, I am trying anyway. It's called "The One Thing You Can't do in Heaven". It is for our bible study.

I am hoping.....that I can get our closets switched out from summer to winter wardrobes today instead of wasting the day away on this computer.

I am creating.....um, I don't know. Nothing?

I am hearing.....the wind blowing outside on this 49 degree day and the lull of the dryer with clothes turning inside.

Around the house.....I am getting tired of stepping all over a pile of socks I need to match and put away. The ones Pete has been looking for the past couple of days. oops!

One of my favorite things.....Mayonaise Cake. I know. It sounds totally gross....and I absolutely HATE condiments.. all of them except A1. But this is a recipe of my moms and it rocks. It is one of the only things I can create from scratch. You use 8 oz of Miracle Whip along with your other ingredients..flour, sugar, cocoa, etc..and it makes it soooo moist. You can't even taste the Miracle Whip. I put a (also from scratch) cream cheese icing on it. Oh my. It is delish! (And I made one last night and it reminded me how much I love it!)

A few plans for the rest of the week.....to be honest, I don't have many so far. I am hoping to get my housework caught up, the school will probably call for me to work (as they usually do every week), the THIRD DAY concert (yipee!!), and I am anticipating going Christmas shopping very soon. I may even start some online today!

A picture thought for the day.....


My poor doggie.

We always seem to laugh at her expense....



And before you judge me....this is totally NOT my beer. lol.

I can't stand alcohol, but it seems we have quite the rowdy bunch at the end of our cul-de-sac. Pete often brings beer cans up from the drive to add to our recycle can. The other day he met me in the carport and said.."Look honey, they left me a full one today!". So he went inside and retrieved none other than something to shoot with, because naturally that is the first thing a boy (or a man) thinks about.

As soon as he shot, the brew began to spew everywhere in the yard and Dixie was quick to start lapping it up. It was hilarious, but I began to suddenly question Pete asking him if it would kill her brain cells or damage her liver. So does it?

Happy Saturday.

Wordless Wednesday-#@%&!!

Wordless Wednesday - Standoff

Wordless Wednesday

A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

She's At it Again (My Wordless Wednesday)

exhibits A, B, & C:

The culprit:

It's a very good thing I chose this for my wordless Wednesday post, because the "words" I would've chosen may not have been appropriate for this family, friendly, blog.

Dog for Sale..uh, I mean Free?

I think these pictures speak for themselves. Do I really need to say more?

Naw, I guess I'll keep her. Those puppy dog eyes make her hard to resist in spite of stuffing.

Rambling...

So far it seems that each of my posts have had some type of meaning to them....some particular subject I have talked about. Today, I think I just want to ramble.

Big Dan is rushing around getting all spruced up. The new female friend is on her way over to watch a movie. I have a future post in mind about their new found "friendship", but I want to see if it lasts longer than a week first. Yesterday they went to the zoo. No pressure...just a place to enjoy the company. He is such a different person when there is a girl involved. I like it when he is happy..that makes me happy (besides the fact he is much easier to get along with).

In the midst of my updates to my blog, I added a few new links. A few more of my favorite scrapbooking sites. If you like to do this type of thing, check these out..they are super. Also, if you are interested, I added a link to a site called Plugged In Online. It is an awesome site if you are trying to pick out a decent movie for your kids/teenager to watch. I was so impressed. It has all elements of the movie..including any spiritual content, sexual content, violence, etc.. It even tells you how many curse words it has in it, what they are, and how many times they are used. I love this site because I can feel comfortable when choosing what movies I will allow my children to view, but it will also save you from walking out of the theatre wishing you had kept that money in your pocket.

I love my dog. I really do, but sometimes I could just kick her right in the tail/tale..whichever you prefer. Dogs dig. I know it's a fact, but why on earth do they pick the places I put so much time and money into? I am so tired of re-landscaping the same 2 areas outside my back door, I could scream! Nine years ago when we moved into our house, it looked like this...

Eventually, this bark got old so I replaced it all with colored mulch. It gave it a fresh new look and as long as I replaced it every couple of years, we were good. Then came the dogs. We had a full blooded golden retriever named Molly that did quite the digging damage. I was convinced it was a no-win situation until she outgrew the puppy stage. So last summer, after she was no longer with us, I replaced the entire 2 sections with a paver sidewalk instead of the stepping stones. It looked like this...

This past October, we got another puppy, named Dixie who is part golden lab and part golden retriever. Needless to say, she has done her fair share of digging as well....so...I was forced to re-do again. This time I chose lava rock instead of mulch hoping to deter her. It looks like this..

It's been a month now and I thought it had been a good choice...until now. When we left for church this morning, I was greeted by multiple spots uncovered by rock and dirt slung everywhere! She has been hiding from me today. BAD DOG.

Well, I think that's all my rambling for the day. I'm hungry and I have biscuits in the oven. (Maybe I should look up a past blog for chickadee's chocolate gravy). Yum.