Irony

We recently bought new phones for the house because someone (me) seemed to have lost one of the handsets for our other set and the remaining handset wouldn't hold a charge. So we ventured out, hoping to find something like what we already had: a 2 handset unit but only one charging base needed to be connected to the phone jack. We found what seemed to be a good set on sale and went for it.

Now we know why it was on sale...the phones cut out randomly. I could talk with someone for 25 minutes and it would stay connected the whole time. The next phone call will last for 56 seconds and then it just shuts off. VERY frustrating. We've tried everything we can think of to fix it, and nothing works. Finally I called the Customer Service number yesterday and this is what I was told...

"Thank you for calling Uniden. We cannot complete your call because of technical difficulties."

Maybe their phones keep hanging up on them?

Sleeping In

Alayna doesn't have school today. "Oooh," I thought, "I can sleep in a little bit!" Then I remembered that I still had daycare kids. Oh well, at least the kids can sleep in and I can get up as normal.

Yeah, right. I was woken up at 6am to a screaming sound. After I deduced it wasn't a child or pet, I realized it was on tv. Alayna had woken up at 6am and instead of going back to sleep, put a movie on. Her moving around and turning on lights and the tv woke up Lilly. Lilly then decided she wanted to go back to bed in her own room (she'd camped in Alayna's room overnight) so she turned on the light to see...which woke up Mikayla because they have bunk-beds and share a room. So by 6:10 this morning, all three of my children were awake and crawling into bed with me.

What is "sleeping in", and how can I get me some of that?

She's onto me

Sunny's been doing really well since her surgery this weekend. She doesn't want to walk or lay down or take it easy. She wants to run and play in the snow. She wants to be free and do her rounds of the property. She wants to wrestle with Marley. It's been a feat to keep her from overexerting herself.

One thing that hasn't been a problem, until now, was her meds. I would tuck them into a piece of cheese or ham and she'd gulp it down, no problem. The first day, she didn't want much of anything and I had to shove the pills down her throat. Now it's all good...until this morning. This morning I stuck the pills into a chicken nugget left over from yesterday's lunch. She grabbed the nugget and bit down. Right into the pill. What a nice mess that was to clean up. The powder was all over the floor, a half-eaten chicken nugget laying with it all, some saliva to up the par. It was great. Now, she's cautious of anything I give her. I was able to sneak the pills into her eventually, but I thought she'd caught me again. Normally, she doesn't even chew her treats, just swallows them whole. Let's hope for better times and a return to the normal. She's obviously feeling better and more like herself!

I love my bathroom!

You know how sometimes, you don't like parts of a room but as a whole, you love it? That's how I feel. Yup, I'm talking about my bathroom. I love my bathroom.

Our bathroom upstairs is huge where bathrooms are concerned. It could be bigger, but it could be a heck of a lot smaller, too. We have the normal things, like a toilet and tub/shower stall, but we also have a full double-door linen closet and an extra long vanity.

The light fixtures are ugly, the window treatments are awful and the flooring is nothing to be desired, but that's all fixable and something we're slowly working on. As a whole, I love my bathroom. (Hi Sunny and your post-surgery shaved belly!)

Why am I waxing all sentimental about my bathroom this morning? Because Andy has his work party coming up this weekend. Huh? Let me explain. As a woman, you all know what it means when you are going to be dining and schmoozing with your husband's co-workers and bosses. It means a night where you want to look your best, so your hubby, in turn, looks his best. That means legs shaved (even if no one will see them) girly lotion all over the body, clothes that make you look good but not too good, hair and make-up just so, eyebrows tweezed...you know the drill.

Well, this morning I looked in the mirror and I swear, my eyebrows had gone crazy overnight. It was so bad that I couldn't justify going to story time without them done. Yeah. It was bad. And you all know me, I'm not a vain person. But these things were horrendous and had me wondering if they'd been that bad for awhile. I usually don't let them get like that (and in all honesty, they probably weren't that bad, but when it's on yourself, you notice) So what did I do? I hauled my butt right up onto my extra long vanity counter and plucked my eyebrows with my face an inch from the mirror. You all know you'd do it if you could.

While sitting there, I realized that it was the perfect place to do my tweezing, and that not everyone had a 5' vanity in their bathroom. Sorry people, that's no fun for you. As for me, it rocks. I love my bathroom.

Inauguration Day

Today, we swear in the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. I am not going to go into politics and if I like or dislike the guy, if I agree or disagree with him. But, I will do one thing...

Good luck, Mr. President. I truly hope that you can turn this country around and get us back on track, with the help of our other elected officials and every person in this nation. We need all the help and luck we can get.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday! Hope it's a great one, Dad! We love you!

Our Sunny Girl

*This post contains some medical information that may upset some people--I'm just saying...

This is Sunny. We've had her since July 4th of 2002, when she was just 3 months old. She is the perfect dog--she is protective of her family, especially the kids; she never has an accident in the house; she is polite and doesn't steal food or mooch; she loves to play; she listens; she puts up with the kids and Marley; she trained herself to "do her business" in the woods instead of the middle of the yard; she stays in the yard and pasture, though she's never tied and there's no fence. She is The. Perfect. Dog. And this weekend I thought we were going to lose her.

For the past few days, Sunny had been a bit lethargic and blah. She wouldn't run up the stairs, but walk up them. She would only wiggle her tail a bit in greeting instead of a vigorous wag from side to side. We thought that maybe she was a little out of sorts because of the extreme cold we've had, which limited exercise and outside time. Then on Friday I noticed that she hadn't eaten any of her food and seemed constipated. Andy and I were slated for a weekend away, and my parents assured me that they could handle the girls and a sickly dog. So we went on our way. When I called to see how things were on Saturday morning, Alayna told me that Sunny had thrown up a few times. That was the deciding factor that she probably needed to see the vet. My mom told me not to worry about coming home, that she'd check with Dad to see if he could take Sunny in for us. In the meantime, I called the vet and explained what was going on. After hearing her symptoms, they said they could "fit her in" within 45 minutes. That told me they thought she was pretty serious.

When my dad called me back and told me the vet wanted to talk with me, my stomach dropped. Dr. Sue (we love her!) told me that Sunny had pyometra and was very sick. Pyometra is a severe uterine infection, and she said that it can often fester for 3-5 weeks after a heat period before showing any symptoms. Dr. Sue said that Sunny needed to have her uterus removed or she would not survive; the infection was too severe to be treated by antibiotics alone. After consulting with Andy, I told her to go ahead with the surgery and then anxiously waited for her call.

My phone rang about 3:00 and I knew it was Dr. Sue. When I answered, she told me that everything had gone perfectly and that Sunny was just starting to wake up from the anesthesia. She also told me that her uterus was so pus-filled that it weighed 7 lbs. That's a lot. She went on to explain what they had done, how we would move forward and ended by telling me that Sunny was the sweetest dog and she just loved her. Then she put me through to the receptionist, who informed me that she also loved our Sunny dog. Yeah, we know. Everyone does.

We went to pick her up this afternoon and it was so great! She was herself again! After going through a major surgery just 24 hours ago, she was excited like a little puppy. She had light in her eyes again. Her tail went crazy at seeing us, and she started whining and tried to run across the exam room to us. I don't know who was more excited, Sunny or Andy and I. We talked with the on-call Vet, Dr. Grant, and he went through her discharge information with us. He told us that she should be just fine and ended with..."She is such a great dog!" We know. As we left, Sunny's tail went into overdrive when we asked if she was ready to go home and see "her girls" (that's how we always refer to the kids to Sunny) She jumped into the car, even though she wasn't supposed to, and Andy was trying to help her in. She wanted to go home.

We are so glad that Sunny is going to be okay. When I think about how we could have lost her from this, it just kills me. She is a huge part of our family and will now hopefully be with us for a lot longer.

Today, I...

Was woken up at 6:15 to a little girl licking my hand and barking at me--it wasn't one of the dogs.

Changed a massive blow-out diaper before 7 am.

Got 4 kids (ages 4, 3, 2 and 3 months) into the vehicle and out again--twice--in -7 degree temps.

Read to all the kids and adults at storytime.

Had 2 kids screaming at me at the same time, more than once.

Was thrown up on.

Did 2 loads of laundry--wash, dry and fold.

Fed 4 kids lunch and 6 kids snack.

Made a few phone calls to pay bills.

Swept the floor.

Took out the garbage.

Did dishes.

Fed the dogs.

Re-programmed our DVD player.

Helped the kids clean up their toys.

Contemplated quitting daycare, then decided that one bad day isn't worth throwing in the towel completely.

Changed 12 diapers.

Changed a 2-year-old's clothes after she dumped 30 oz of water on herself (it's a cup with oz markings, so I know)

Picked up a chewed crayon that was ground into the carpet.

Broke up a fight between our overly rambunctious puppy and our much calmer dog.

...and it's only 4:00. I know at least one more thing that will be added to the list after 5:00 or so. Had a drink. I think I deserve it, how about you?

The End of our Year...In Pictures

So here we go, the big picture post I've promised for the last few weeks. First off, I'd like to thank Beth. If one of her kids hadn't broken her camera beyond repair, I still wouldn't have these pictures for you. But the camera was broken and it was the same as mine, so I inherited a new cord! Yippee! Now, that being said, I suggest you all take a trip to the restroom, maybe grab a snack and something to drink...you'll be here for awhile.


Andy and I both come from large families. Yeah right, you say, you each only have one sister. You are correct, but each of our parents have 4+ siblings that are all within 2 hrs distance to where we live. So yeah, we have large families and with large families come lots of big family gatherings. This picture is from my FIL's side of the family, a quiet moment with Mikayla before the chaos begins.


Ooooh, Hannah Montana jammies and slippers!

And disgust over Will's wrapping paper---duct tape. I thought it was hilarious, and the pic is even funnier yet!

Then we planted a forest of Rice Krispie trees. Unfortunately we don't get many "green" points for this forest, as it didn't stand long at all before being chopped down and fed to the fires of our bellies. Yum.

Then, right before Christmas, my dear friend Karla had her second baby girl, Lucy! Here are some pretty cute kids holding a pretty cute baby.

Then it was Christmas Eve. We lounged in the morning, then got all beautified and went to church. After church, we headed to my aunt's house for the gathering with my dad's side of the family. Aren't they all so pretty?

Then we headed to Andy's parents' house for our Christmas with them and his sister, Alicia, and her boyfriend, Anthony. More Hannah Montana...

Then it was time for Christmas morning! Would you believe that our girls were good enough that Santa came?! We had our little family Christmas in the morning, then headed to my mom's brother's house for Christmas with that side of the family.

The Friday after Christmas, my parents and sister came over for our Christmas between us. We had a nice brunch, then did presents. Mikayla got a new car as a joint Christmas and birthday present, Lilly got a V-Smile and Alayna got a new Mountain Bike!

Then, on Dec 29th, our baby girl turned 2! She loves telling everyone that she's 2 now, like "Larla's Emma" (my friend Karla-Lucy's mom-also has a daughter Emma who was 2 on Dec 26th...the girls are best friends)

It's winter in Wisconsin, so we got some snow and cold weather. The backyard looks so pretty.

But on New Year's Eve, Andy wasn't feeling up to partying. He was sick and wasn't feeling up to much at all. So, the girls and I went to our friends' house and let Daddy rest and recoup.

Shortly after New Years, we celebrated Alayna's 8th birthday! She had asked for a guitar so we obliged! Here's her cool rocker pose.

And that wraps up the last 3 weeks. I have tons of other pictures, but there isn't time or room for them all. These are the highlights. Aren't you so glad to know and see all that now?!

Yes, I know

Yes, I know that there is a book (and movie) called "Marley & Me."

No, that is not why I named Marley what I did. I have never read the book, and I haven't seen the movie. For the record, over 2 years ago when our third daughter was born, I really wanted to name her Marley. My husband did not. We compromised with our next female pet.

So the next time someone asks me about her name, can I just point them here? Or will one of you just answer for me, to save me from saying the same thing for the 12,538,946th time?

Oh, and another thing. We are quite aware that she will get big. That's what Great Dane's do. Anyone who gets a Dane and doesn't realize that is...well...an idiot. And unfortunately, that's why there are a lot of Danes in rescue. People don't realize the size and care that a large dog like that needs. But for fun, wanna see how big our baby is getting? The pic below, #2 of the post, was taken the first day we got her, back on Nov 14th when she was 6 weeks old (I think, she was born Oct 3) The third pic was taken last week, on her 3 month b-day. Look at the bowl comparison (and the filing cabinet in pics #1 and #2). Picture #1, at the top of this post, was taken Dec 16th.

**This post is not directed at any family or friends, just people in general. EVERYONE that finds out we got a new dog says something about her name/the book/the movie and how big she'll get. It's all in gest.

**And yes, I know I'm still owing you all a HUGE picture post. I have uploaded the pics, just need to edit some of them so we don't look like evil spawn with glowing red eyes. It's coming, be ready...

Eight is Great!

Our first baby girl turned 8 this morning, shortly after 9 am. Alayna was a huge surprise to us, but a very welcome one that we thank God for every day. She was born on January 6th, 2001--almost a week past her due date. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 1oz and was perfect. She taught Andy and I how to be parents while we taught her how to talk, walk, and run. Then it progressed and before we knew it we were teaching her how to ride a horse, then a bike, then a lawn-mower. Then it was reading and writing and math. Now she's teaching us again, about patience and those wonderful pre-teen years. But would we trade any of it? Absolutely not.

Alayna is turning into a very beautiful, strong, intelligent young woman. She reminds me of myself some days, her father others. But most of all, she's Alayna. She's one of a kind and she's ours. She's our baby girl that is growing up all too fast.

Alayna, baby, Happy Birthday. Daddy and I love you and are so very proud of you, now and always.

Alayna about 5 months old

18 months old

2 years old
6 years old! (don't have pics on the computer between now and then)

7 years old

Flower-girl the day before she turned 7
This year at Christmas

Tagged for 8

My friend Carol tagged me with this fun little assignment. It's really hard to think of 8 things sometimes!

8 TV Shows I Watch.
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Days of Our Lives (And I hate that I am addicted to this stupid show!)
5. Blues Clues
6. Dora the Explorer
7. Go Diego, Go!
8. Jack's Big Music Show
(so I really only watch the first 4 religiously, that's why I had to list cartoons that I watch with the kids)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Old Spaghetti Factory
3. Chipotle
4. Arby's
5. Applebees
6. Outback Steakhouse
7. The "PH" (local restaurant)
8. Anywhere I can find a really good Philly Cheesesteak (ditto Carol!)

8 Things That Happened to Me or That I Did Today
1. Woke up
2. cleaned and moved a ginormous dog kennel
3. changed a diaper
4. welcomed daycare kiddos
5. fed a baby
6. fed 2 non-babies
7. uploaded pics to the computer--big blog post with pics probably tomorrow!
8. cleaned up the living room

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. all that 2009 has to offer
2. Putting away the rest of the Christmas decor
3. full work weeks again
4. the end of the puppy stage
5. being done with diapers in the not-too-distant future.
6. warmer weather
7. camping
8. camping (hey, I like camping!)

8 Things I Wish For:
1. peace--physical, emotional, for me and for all!
2. Financial success
3. that I could eat anything and not gain weight
4. continued good health for my family and friends
5. An addition to my house that would include another bedroom, an office, and a bathroom, as well as a remodel of the family room
6. the end of the puppy stage
7. A long vacation
8. All the time to spend reading as I want...never enough time to read!

8 People I Tag:
I don't like to tag in general, but I would love to see this list on other friends' blogs that I visit!