Coffee Talk

I had the best time last night! My neighbor had mentioned going out for some coffee early on in the day... but, I didn't know what time Doug would get home. She said that even if he got home late to consider going. Well, he didn't get home until 8 p.m. I decided to go for it and called her up. We went to Starbuck's and had a wonderful time chatting. As a matter of fact, we lost all track of time. When we finally decided that we should get home, we looked around and we were the only ones in the place. It was three minutes before closing time - 11:00 p.m. We both figured that we would be in the doghouse when we got home, but it was not to be. Her guys were all asleep... and all of my folks were in bed. It is SO nice to have someone to escape with who has been through all of the stuff that I'm going through being a mommy. I only wish that I could help her out with advice on her two teenage boys...

Doug submitted his resume with a local company today. I can't wait to see how that all turns out! It would be wonderful to have him closer to home... with a "normal" work schedule.

We are supposed to be getting a winter storm here in the next 24 hours. Amanda is very excited at the thought of more snow. We went to the grocery this morning and stocked up on all kinds of goodies. The kids had fun "helping" pick out stuff. We got some great stuff because of them - Fruit Loops, Pringles and M & M's. We will be set if we get snowed in!

Shasta has chewed through two more leashes since I last reported. However, she is doing very good at sleeping in her crate at night. I need to call the pet behaviour doctor for a follow-up chat to see what we need to do.

James has had a couple of big boo-boos in the last few days. He and Amanda like to play "trains", running up and down the hallway. A few nights ago, he wiped out and wound up with a bloody mouth. Last night, he bounced his head off of the chair railing and wound up with a big goose-egg, bruise and scuff on his forehead. Amanda didn't want daddy to see it... but, I told her there wasn't much we could do about it... that it wasn't very easily concealed.

Things are good here. It's been a fun day so far. Isn't it amazing how two or three hours "out" can just rejuvinate you?!?

30 Years Ago...

it was the HUGE Blizzard of 1978. Honestly, I can't believe that it was that long ago, because that makes me nearly 40 years old. Oh well. I remember the blizzard fairly well. I remember that there was snow everywhere. We could go outside and walk on drifts that were several feet tall... maybe four or five. It took my dad forever to shovel out our driveway. We were all stuck at home for days! I also remember that when the snowplow finally cleared our road that it left a gigantic pile of snow at the end of our driveway. We had a lot of fun sliding down it... for weeks. Honestly, I think that it would be wonderful to have another snow event like that. I love the thought of us all getting stuck here for a week or so and not having any opportunity to get out. I know, I'm a sicko... or would that be psycho?

We did a double-round of swimming today. We had the normal classes at noon and make-up classes at 1:00 p.m. Both kids did great. In between classes, we had a little "picnic" of Burger King in the lobby of the swim club. Make-up classes were packed. There were kids and parents everywhere. I'm glad that every week isn't like that.

Doug is home today. But, as I type, he is on a conference call. At least he is home, right?

Friday's Feast

Ok... I've seen this Friday's Feast thing on a few other blogs. I didn't realize that there was an actual website for it though. Somehow I stumbled upon it over the weekend, and I've been waiting for Friday to arrive. I will try to do the feast every week... that way I will know that I'll at least have one blog each week. We'll see how long that lasts...

Appetizer:
How many times per day do you usually laugh? Oh my... I couldn't even begin to count the times. I generally laugh all day long (off and on, of course). With two preschoolers, three cats and a prozac puppy I HAVE to laugh or I will go insane.

Soup:
What do your sunglasses look like? I don't wear sunglasses. Since becoming a full-time mother, I don't wear my contacts anymore... so, I have to wear my glasses all the time. If I'm going to be outside and it is really sunny, I will sometimes wear a hat (baseball or bucket) to block some of the sun from my eyes.

Salad:
You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go? Without a doubt, I would travel to Montana. The scenery would be beautiful!! We looked into doing this a few years ago when Mendi and Dean were out there. It just wasn't the best option for a family with a 2 1/2 year old.

Main Course:
Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city. The "outdoor" options. There are several very nice parks and walking/biking trails.

Dessert:
If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best? Lavender.

Movin' On

Well, I am finally making some progress on some stuff. Remember the headboard that I got for Amanda... months ago? Well, I have finally got it primed and ready to paint! I worked really hard yesterday to get it all ready. I had to sand a couple of spots... clean it with TSP... and degloss it. The kids and I did a quick trip to Lowe's to get some Kilz. It took three coats of primer to get all of the black covered up. But, boy does it look nice! I cracked open the pink paint (that I used on the stripes in Amanda's room) to use this morning and it was MOLDY?!? What? I didn't know that paint could mold. Needless to say, we'll be going back to Lowe's later today...

Shasta has had three doses of her puppy prozac. So far, so good. She gobbles the pills right up, as they are "hidden" in yummy pill pockets. The pockets really stink, but I guess that is probably half of what makes them good. I have no idea if this is related to the pills or being in heat, but Shasta seems to have two speeds right now... sleeping and barking. Of course, it was a full moon last night, so that might have something to do with it, too.

On a related note, we got our car seat replacement straps today. Yeah! As soon as Doug gets a free moment, we'll have to get those put in.

I framed a couple of Amanda and James' original masterpieces today. They look SO nice! We hung them in the dining room so that everyone can see them. I am amazed at the artistic talents each of them exhibit... I'll have to take a picture of the pictures. My blog has been very "texty" lately. Sorry that I haven't had any pictures up for awhile. I really need to learn how to format my photos in Linux... Oh yeah, I will do that in my free time...

Super Swimmers

James has been promoted! He is now a Super Swimmer 2!! Today, he and another little girl were brave and attended their swimming lessons by themselves... without mommies or daddies. It was so cute. James did so well. I could tell that he was a bit tentative, but hung in there. At one point, James and the other little girl had to hold hands and walk around the pool. It was a true Kodak moment... and, of course, I didn't have the camera. Amanda continues to do great, too. I am just amazed at how well she has done with her swimming lessons.

Puppy Prozac and a New Layout

One of the blogs that I read on a regular basis always has such cool, unique layouts. I discovered yesterday, that there was a link to get free blog templates. What the hey? I thought I would give it a try. Since the temperature here today is a balmy 7 degrees, I selected the barren winter template for now.

We are doing ok. I had a girls' night out last week with my neighbor. We went and got manicures. It was very fun. Can you believe that I had never had a manicure until last Wednesday? How did I survive. LOL! I got a french manicure.... and, it looks really nice. Of course, when Amanda saw it, I had to paint her nails (fingers and toes) just like mine. She is such a cutie.

We've had more issues with Shasta. On Tuesday night, we all went up to Kokomo to have dinner with Doug who was working late - AGAIN. Shasta stayed in the truck while we ate... no problem. Then, the kids and I stopped by Mom and Dad's to say a quick hello and to give Mom a present that we had gotten for her (new ornaments and a topper for her new Christmas tree). Anyway, we were probably inside the house for 30-45 minutes. When I went to load the kiddos up in their car seats, I had found that Shasta had chewed (severed) the harnesses on BOTH car seats. I was not a happy camper... We now have replacement straps ordered. A good buddy of mine from work helped to bail me out by loaning us one of their booster seats for Amanda. We'll be able to take the two "good" straps and use them on James' seat. Geesh. I was SO ready to politely return Shasta to the rescue group! When will it end?

Well, hopefully it will end soon. I have been working with the pet behaviorist (ching) again... and our vet to get Shasta on some puppy prozac... no kidding. I guess that particular medication is good for dogs with separation anxiety. I just hope that it works. Shasta is a GREAT dog unless she feels like we are abandoning her. Duh... that is why we take you everywhere, Shasta! So that you won't feel alone. Oh boy.

And, did I mention that Shasta is in heat, too? She was supposedly spayed before we got her... but, she started bleeding a couple of weeks ago. Low and behold, we took her to the vet and found out that she was going into heat. The hits keep on coming...

Floundering

I totally feel like I am just going along in my life right now... not in control at all. Doug's job situation is horrible. The kids are insane. I am not liking the cold weather. I feel like I am totally alone right now. Perhaps it is just the mid-winter blues... but, maybe not.

Doug is still having to work some overtime. I am very proud of him, though. He really has stood up to the folks that are asking them to work so much. Of course, those people are really being jerks... no ethics... no concern for people's family. So sad that our culture puts so much emphasis on success in the workplace and not success in one's home. Doug asked me the other day how I felt about moving. Honestly, I'm not too big on the idea. However, I'm not sure what difference it would make if we were doing life here... or doing life in Iowa... Kentucky... just a couple of places he threw out. I just want him to be happy in his job. He isn't sleeping well at night... and looks quite depressed when he heads out the door in the morning. It stinks.

The kids... well, they are just being kids. If I wasn't already so worn down from the Doug situation, I might have more energy to deal with the kiddo stuff. Amanda keeps asking for days that are "funner than fun". I try my best... but, I feel like I'm not quite making the grade. We did go to a local park a week or so ago for a talk on owls. We all loved it!! I think that I got major "fun" points on that day.

So, for now... Well, I'll keep taking it a day at a time. Things could definitely be worse.