Animal Cruelty?

As I contemplate the past week a familiar (and slightly annoying) song comes to mind; "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette. As many of you know, Matt left for TX on Wednesday & will be gone for 6 weeks. I have been trying to prepare myself mentally to be able to take on all the tasks of daily living by myself for a while. I know it is possible & that things will be fine after an adjustment period. However, Buckley-our "adorable" little dog had his own plans for my first week alone.

Buckley is just a few days shy of being 7 months old & hasn't completely grasped the idea of being house trained. I will admit that he has gotten a lot better & has started to give me a few signals here and there when he needs to go out for a potty break. Things seemed to be on the up and up with that whole situation until one day he decided to come down with a case of diareah. (Now is when you should be scrunching your nose in disgust, thinking something like, "Ugh! GROSS", or dry heaving-my personal favorite)

The first clue that led me to this fabulous realization was when Trinity informed me that Buckley had just pooped in the hallway.
"Pick it up with a tissue & flush it down the toilet", I told her.
"No!, It's juicy!", was her quick reply.
FIVE more messes would follow that afternoon & I began to seriously question my decision making skills. Hadn't I known this was part of taking on a pet? How irresponsible could I have been? I got sucked into those puppy eyes & that cute little wet nose just as fast, if not faster, than the kids!! Redemption had come. With a vengeance!

I made it through the day feeling as frazzled as I looked and finally got everyone to sleep. As I lay in bed I wondered how I would make it through another day of "doggy diareah". I was awakened all too soon facing that exact question. Enter Trinity:
"Mom, I hate to tell you this, but Buckley pooped in his cage." I decided to act like a real adult and stay in bed. I knew what I would face as soon as I got up & I just wasn't ready to handle it. Two minutes later; Enter Brinley:
"Mom! (as she is holding her nose) Buckley has a STINKY SMELL. Change him!" I didn't say a word. I stared at her blankly & nodded my head slightly. That bought me a few more seconds. Then Grayden came strutting in the room. "Hi Buddy!" I said to him. He is usually so happy in the mornings & loves to climb into bed and pester me by honking my nose. Today all he had to say was, "EEeewwwww!" I got the message loud and clear-it was time to deal with Buckley.

The next three mornings played out like a scene from Groundhog's Day(also an annoying movie)with one or all of the kids coming to my bedside complaining that Buckley had pooped in his cage again. The routine was getting so familiar, but not any less revolting. I'd pick the entire cage up, with the dog inside, and stick it in the bathtub. His bedding would go into the washer for an extra hot, second spin added, scrub. When that was done I'd run the washer empty with nothing but hot water and Clorox. Meanwhile, Buckley would be soaking in his cage in a tub of warm water & dog shampoo. I took him out & continued to clean all the nasty-ness from his cage. Thank goodness for shower hoses! After I hauled the wet cage out of the bathroom I then began the tub scrub down. Clorox wipes, followed by a tub full of hot water and more Clorox. (Trinity constantly complaining that the house smelled like a swimming pool. An awesome alternative to dog poop if you ask me!) Then to finish it of I'd lay Clorox wipes on the floor and "skate" around the bathroom floor to make sure there were no lingering nasties.

All other activities are now a blur. I feel like the past few days have been overtaken by POOP! I finally made the decision to stop giving Buckley "bedding" to sleep on, and actually ended up throwing away three towels because I couldn't stomach the thought of putting anymore poop into the washing machine! As I sit here typing I can hear Buckley in his cage. He is whining at me. It can't be that he needs to go out, because I just took him. Is it possible that he misses his soft bedding? I am actually feeling a little guilty! How crazy is that. I know that animal cruelty is a real problem & that him spending the night without any padding probably doesn't qualify, but I have to ask; is there such a thing as a pet being cruel to their person?! If so, I'm making myself a T-Shirt. It will say, "I am a victim of pet owner cruelty." Then underneath it in larger print, "GOT CLOROX?"

(Congratulations if you read this whole thing & thanks for letting me complain! Don't worry, we are keeping Buckley...For now)

Sunflower Market

I used to really enjoy making my Wednesday "double add day" trip out to Sunflower Market. They always have great sales on their fresh fruits and veggies & I always feel so good about myself when I leave having only bought things from the big squares on the food pyramid! (Okay I'll admit it, I occasionally buy tortilla chips & carmel corn)
Now, you may be asking yourself, "why did she say used to enjoy?" Aha! I'll tell you. The trips have always been made with the whole crew. I don't expect to be able to get away on a Wednesday afternoon alone, so the troops always come along. The carts are on the small side, so there was never any room for either of the girls to ride inside. They typically did well & stayed semi-close during our trips, UNTIL...dun, dun DUN! They spied the mini shopping carts!

I can't deny it, the idea of them each pushing their own little carts was just too cute to pass up. I mean look at their faces! Can a trip to the "fruit store", as Brinley calls it, be anymore exciting? YES-yes it can. No, not for them, but for me and my poor bruised, battered, run-into at every possible moment by the cute little mini carts and the under aged drivers ankles----breath----yes.

I thought that I could be the strong parent & simply refuse that we use the carts ever again, but it became so much easier & less of a fight to allow them to have their own carts. The continuous flat tires that I got didn't get any more pleasant & I am sad to say that we haven't been back to the Sunflower Market in a few months. However, I am planning to return someday & will be prepared. I'm hoping that the snow boots I got for Christmas will double as good flat tire protectors. I have to at least chance it-I'd be a horrible Mom if I didn't right? Just look at those faces?

Bring on the under aged mini cart drivers, my ankles will be ready!

Truly

I miss doing a post-a-day...truly.

My Little Sweetie!

Brinley

Older and Wiser

I overheard a snipet of my girls' conversation today & had to laugh to myself.

The subject matter is a picture of a baby wearing a chef's hat & holding a large loaf of french bread.

Brinley: "Oh, look at that cute little cheffer!"

Trinity: "Ya! :) ......actually (with a tone of confidence in her voice) he is a cooker."

The saying must be true-older and wiser! ;)

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Trinity!!

It is hard to believe that this was you 5 years ago! You have brought so much joy, happiness, & laughter into our lives. Looking at you change each year has made me realize just how grown up you really are. Each year you seem to become more of an intelligent, mature, and absolutely beautiful girl. I feel so lucky that I get to call you daughter. Happy Birthday!

Trinity Jan 19, 20052006
2007

2008

2009

2010

I Can't Believe It!

I woke up this morning & the first thought (well one of the first few anyway) that went through my head was, "Oh crap! I forgot to do a post yesterday!" I'll just say that the day was unexpectedly busy for a Sunday & blogging was the furthest thing from my mind! Today was 100% a "recovery" day & right now I am just way too tired to blog about anything even remotely interesting...so...until tomorrow.

Oh wait...I just remembered-I did get another LO done! It reminded me how much I miss my family! :( I hope we can squeeze a visit in soon!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

I was raised on Disney movies & loved every minute of it! My parents still have a huge closet full of my favorite childhood shows & now that I am a parent I have enjoyed growing a small collection of my own Disney movies. One movie that we don't have is Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I borrowed it from the library last week and the kids watched it for the first time today. They weren't too interested at first & it became more background noise than anything. Then, when they went on their first adventure on the flying bed I saw the girls curiosity spark a little. By the time they had entered the deep blue sea of "Cartoon World" they were hooked. (no pun intended-hehe)

Once the characters left all the cartoons behind the girls lost a little interest again. However, as soon as Mrs. Price figured out how to use her magic to bring things to life they were mesmerized once again. They also thought it was so hilarious every time that someone would turn into a "fuzzy white rabbit". Near the end of the movie Mrs. Price is flying along on her broomstick leading her magical army & Brinley asked me, "How did she learn how to fly?"
"I don't know." I replied

She thought for a moment longer & then said, "Maybe Harry Potter showed her how!"

I chuckled a little & acknowledged that she could be right.

It's funny to think that I grew up on Disney Magic & that my kids are growing up in the era of Harry Potter magic. I'm sure the girls will ask to watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks a few hundred more times before we have to return it to the library. However, I hope one day to add it to our own Library of movies.

Truly Experience Peanut Butter

I made PB & J's for the kids and hadn't put the supplies away yet. Grayden pushed a chair into the kitchen and prepared himself so that he could truly experience the peanut BUTTer.Yup, that is peanut butter on his cute little bum!

I'll go ahead and keep using peanut butter the same way I always have-thanks.

HUGE MISTAKE!!

I just make a very huge mistake!! I was trying to update my "Bloggers" list with a blog that I love & accidentally removed the whole thing!! So please Please PLEASE...send me your blog address so I can have my beloved list back! :(

Speed Scrap

I haven't done any digital scrap booking in such a long time & there was a speed scrap going on tonight at Scrapmatters. They were one of my favorite things to do & somehow I sort of got busy with life & forgot how fun they are! This is the page I did tonight & if you happen to be able to read the journaling, yes, there is a typo. I'll have to go back and fix it when I'm not so tired! One of the challenges in tonight's speed scrap was to title your page using a song or movie title & the onlything that popped into my head was the theme song for friends! I know it technically isn't the title of the song, but hey, nobody's perfect. (clap, clap, clap, clap,-that's for you Britt & Shan!) Digital Scrapping is seriously the best & I am going to try and make it to at least half of the speed scraps this month! Want to join me?

Brinley's Opinion

I had to blog about this little memory before I forget how much it made me laugh.

Brinley: "WOW....dat is BeauTIFUw!"........pause.......pause...."It wooks wike a SCAB.".........pause......pause......."what is it?"

Me: Looking to see what she is talking about. "Oh, that is the button on my pants."

Brinley: Still studying the button intensely. "It wooks wike a scab."

Book Worm

Do many of you out there enjoy reading? And if you do have you always loved reading? What types of books do you like or dislike? This inquiring mind wants to know. ;)

Reading came fairly easy to me as a kid, in fact I remember being at a higher reading level than my classmates in grade school. I'm not trying to brag-trust me-although reading & comprehension came easily Math & Science did not! I have fond memories of my grade school teachers reading books aloud in class, I would listen intently and get lost in the stories. However, I don't remember sitting down very often and enjoying a good book on my own. I am not sure why...it may have to do with the fact that no one in my family ever read a lot (not that I remember anyway).


As an almost 30 adult I can now proudly say that I am becoming a book worm. It all started when I went to my first few Book Club meetings with the awesome ladies in my Ward. They seemed to pick great books that I really enjoyed & I was introduced to looking at the books in a different way as I listened to the comments people would make about the book. My kids now see me enjoying a good book (more often than I should be probably), and want to know all about it. I hope to encourage them to begin reading chapter books and novels as soon as they are ready. We already have a good sized library of children's books and each of the kids really seem to enjoy looking through them and each choosing a book before bed to have read to them.

This month for Book Club we are reading "Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer & I just picked up my copy from the library last night. Matt and I are going to try and read it together and I can't wait until the kids are snuggled in bed tonight so we can start reading!! If you are looking for a good book to get you started on a "reading journey" I HIGHLY recommend the Bayern Book Series. The first book is "Goose Girl" and although I was sceptical the first time I read it I am now hooked! That is my all time favorite book & I just finished reading the second book "Enna Burning". It took a little more work to get into, but after I finished reading it I was so glad I did! Matt got me River Secrets (well and IOU for it actually) and plan on starting it as soon as book club for this month is over.AND...I was so pleasantly surprise to find out that a fourth book in the series has just come out! Yippee!! The author Shannon Hale is a fantastic writer & I had the chance to read another one of her books, "Princess Academy" and really enjoyed it also. She may just be one of my favorite authors and I look forward to reading more of her books.
I hope that I may have inspired you to pick up a good book & escape in it. If you don't enjoy it right away just give it some time. It took me a few months to transform into the book lover that I am today. I would love to hear about what books you love! HAPPY READING!!

Love Me Some Nutter Butters!

I was just Blog Hopping and came across THIS and may just have to try it sometime SOON! :)

Indio CA Resort

I think it is about time for another post about our fabulous trip to CA. After we had spent the day at Disney Land we decided to have a relaxing day at our resort. It was the nicest place I have ever stayed & there were so many things to do within walking distance. The landscape was beautiful and there were streams, ponds, and bridges around every corner. The plants were amazing & I had never seen anything like them. These pink ones were some of my favorites & if you look closely they are like bright pink leaf clusters. There were bushes of them all around the resort. The kids were pretty impressed by the water fountain in the main lobby, and luckily no one decided to get wet!There was a lazy river at the resort, I may have already mentioned it in previous posts, but it was so fun to float along in! Trinity was the biggest fan by far, so she and I made a few more trips around together and had some fun one on one time. There was also a nice covered playground right next to the lazy river that we stopped and had some fun at. Trinity also fell in love with the kiddie pools because she felt just as comfortable as if she were in the tub at home. (except with a swim suit of course!) Brinley wasn't so sure how she felt about the lazy river & we didn't realize the first go-round that we could bring Grayden's baby float in with us. I'm sure we were quite the show! Matt was juggling a very water loving Grayden while trying to hold on to Trinity's Tube & I was holding onto Brinley in my tube, although it felt more like trying to get a water hating cat to stay on the tube with me while avoiding the wet at all cost! The kids thought that the luggage carts were great fun to play on, but Matt was getting tired of them "monkey-ing" around. He was trying to convince everyone to get off & I snapped this awesome pic of all their silly faces! :)Our Condo at the resort was in a great location. It was a corner spot & one of the 2 pool areas was right outside our deck. It was the less busy of the 2 pools, so there was not much noise from other vacationers at all. It was fun to wake up each morning to a beautiful clear blue sky and bright green palm trees. I really enjoyed relaxing out on the deck enjoying the view. Our condo was a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath, & I didn't think to take pictures before it got all messy, so I decided to only post pics of the more clean areas. It was spacious enough for our family, but not too big either. I am looking forward to spending more vacations in Indio CA in the future!
On a funnier side note: The girls shared the second bedroom that had two twin beds and did great! Grayden was small enough that we converted our bedroom closet floor into a bed for him. When we were leaving this resort to move on to the next one in San Diego Trinity asked me, "Will Grayden be sleeping in the closet again?" I had to laugh & hoped no one over heard a horrible sounding situation! :)

The Best

I haven't taken the time to post about what a wonderful Christmas we had, but it is way too late to blog about that tonight. Instead I'll just post about the best thing I got for Christmas this year. It is so fitting since I spent the rest of my night watching recorded episodes of Glee rather than blogging that the best gift happens to be the soundtrack from Glee Vol 1. I am so sad the season is over & can't wait until April so that I can have my weekly fix! Until then I will play my CD until it won't play anymore! (Or Matt takes it away) Thanks Matt for getting me the best gift ever!! :)

3 Time's a Charm

I have made 3 trips to the airport in the past three days. I don't even want to think about the airport right now! The first trip wasn't so bad, the second time was HORRIBLE, and the third time should have been "a charm" right? WRONG

I figured driving through the valet pick up would be the easiest route (since I was going at it alone with all 3 kiddos). Somehow I arrived at the airport 45 minutes early, so we sat in the free "45 minute waiting area" with the van running until the kids lost patience with that idea. 10 minutes until the flight arrival time, so I thought I'd start heading toward the pick up area. There is no "waiting" allowed in there, so if you don't see the person you are planning to pick up you have to go all the way out, loop back around, and enter the terminal again. It isn't a huge inconvenience, but starts to feel like it when you have made 6 laps and are still waiting for the sight of your person!!! Grayden was crying, Brinley had made a list of top 10 questions to annoy me with, and Trinity wanted to know if I knew where I was going...I knew exactly where I was going=CRAZY

I really didn't want to have to park and go in. I was in my stylish snow boots, pants tucked in, no make-up, sporting a hat to cover my greasy locks. The kids weren't in any better shape either-I had almost completely given up and was going to drag our ragga-muffin crew into the airport when a light ascended from above to shine on Matt standing there at the curbside just waiting to be picked up. I swear I heard a chorus of angels singing hallelujah.

SO please, if you need someone to pick you up at the airport-DON'T ask me. (at least not for a few days)

Tempting

....too bad I can't just tape the box up and ship them off to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Best Kept Secrets: Laundry

As a kid growing up I loved folding the laundry. I didn't do it without being asked or anything, but of all the chores I was so glad when the wheel landed with my name next to "Laundry". That love of doing laundry has remained the same up until the past year or so. I can't seem to find the desire to keep the laundry monster at bay. There are a few things I have tried to do to keep the hampers from overflowing, but nothing seems to be working.

Matt has been home for the past few days for the New Years holiday, and he realized that I needed some serious help to get the monster at bay. He started doing laundry early yesterday morning & would switch it out to the dryer, add a new load to the washer, fold the newly cleaned clothes, then put them away. That routine continued like clockwork all day long & he started up this morning and continued until about noon. I was SO relieved to be left with only 2 small loads of clothes left dirty, and can happily say that the last load is in the dryer at this moment!! Wow, do I have a GREAT husband or what?? But back to my point...How do I keep the laundry from turning into this horrible monster that starts to ruin my life!!?? Here are a few things I have tried (some half hearted)

• do at least one load of laundry every day
• wear clothes twice before proclaiming them "dirty"
• store or get rid of clothes that no longer fit

Short and sweet-those have been my tactics up until now, but like I said they aren't really working. Within a matter of 5 or 6 days the 3 divider laundry hamper in my room is creaking at the hinges with the weight of all the clothes that are piled on. The kids hamper is busting at the seams & there are dirty clothes strewn about almost every room of the house!!

What is your secret, how do you keep your laundry monster at bay? I need some new ideas and fast. All of our hampers are empty, but inevitably will start to grow, and as we feed the monster with more dirty clothes it will once again come to life. What can I try, what works for you, and does your laundry behave the same way mine does?

Element of Surprise

I don't know anyone who doesn't like a good surprise. I have met people who say, "I don't like to be surprised!" But, come on. If it is a good surprise then who wouldn't like it? I am lucky enough to have little surprises all the time, but I have recently gotten REALLY TIRED of one type of surprise. Let me explain:

Lets say I've been folding clothes (that may be stretching it-most likely I've been reading on the couch or wasting time on Face Book-but lets just pretend) and have divided them into piles depending on what room in the house they belong. I take a big stack of clothes into the girls room and as I am standing at the dresser I notice my foot starts to feel a little damp on the bottom. My nice warm sock is no longer nice and warm. The element of SURPRISE strikes again and I realize that my poor sock has been violated by dog urine!! DISGUSTING!

So, I have a request for the culprit.
Buckley, PLEASE stop peeing on the carpet. I hate having to clean it up and I really hate stepping in it!

Daily Bloggin Train

I have missed being with my family over the holidays this year & realized that I relish in the moment when I see that new pictures are posted on Blogs or FB of what they have been up to. I realized that I have not really been the best at returning the favor of our "happenings" so that my family can keep up with our life out here in Denver.

I don't really have any new year resolutions that I want to set, but I would like to try harder to blog everyday. Just to tell a little about what fun things we may have done, the funny things the kids said or did, or the little bumps in the road of life. Blogging is such a good way for me to get things off my chest & keep a journal at the same time. Matt will be leaving at the end of Jan to go to Texas until the beginning of March & I know there will be some tough days! My hope is to "blog out" all the stress & make it until he gets back.

Reading other blogs is also a great stress relief for me & can be a good way for me to "escape" for a while during the day. I can't promise that my blog will be anything grand to read & I also can't promise that there will be pictures with every post (as much as I hate posts without pics). BUT-getting your comments makes blogging more worth while, so if you do stop by to see what I'm up to please leave a quick comment & say "hi" and I'll do my best to return the favor!!

Happy Bloggin!

01022010

They talked about today's date on the news. Too bad I don't have anything more exciting to post about.

Treats for Friends

It seemed so simple: Mini Doughnuts, Chocolate Chips, Mini Chocolate Chips, & Some sort of Orange Candy for a nose. I worked for a good part of the day getting all the little snowmen just right. It was a little harder to get the "chips" to stick in than I expected, but seemed to work OK. I even printed out cute little tags & was ready to go deliver!!I had delivered 4 of the 23 plates & then it happened....The adorable powdered doughnut snowmen became smashed powder messes! :( So...if you live in the Denver area, and consider yourself my friend. Don't think that I forgot to bring you your plate of treats. I just didn't think you would want the smashed mess.

*Note to self: Figure out a better way to package delicate treats when heading out to deliver with 3 kids!