It's a Sad Day : (

Zeke died today. He was my mother's dog for nearly 17 years.

Let me back up just a little...

During my 16th summer our Beagle, Chester, passed away. My brother Larry was on vacation with his buddies at the time and always used to like to say that we killed his dog while he was gone. Although he despised that dog (for the most part) and Chester was really old and had doggie cancer. It was his time. We missed him but where glad he was no longer suffering.

A few months later I declared it "Puppy Search Weekend" and poured over the Austin American Statesman classefieds to find puppies for sale. We found a breeder with toy Fox Terriers and decided that would be a good dog for our family, which at this point comprised of me and my parents, with Larry around only a little and my other brothers out of the house.

We drove 45 minutes out to the country to choose our dog and I held him on my lap the entire car ride home. He was so tiny that he fit inside both of my hands, cupped together. I instantly fell in love.

But then how could you not? I mean look at that face!

That evening we proposed a million names or so and nothing seemed to stick. That morning my mother got up and said that my Dad had decided on "Zeke" and we all agreed it was perfect. I always imagined that name for a MUCH larger dog but then I think he imagined himself much larger so it worked just fine. : )

Zeke was a pretty awesome puppy. I don't have a lot of memory of his "potty training" or feeding since I probably wasn't really responsible for those aspects of his life, but I do remember what a feisty little man he was. He had one of those chew ropes that he would grab with his teeth and I used to pull on it so hard that I could drag his whole little body around while his mouth was still attached!

I loved to chase him around the imaginary circle that went around our furniture arrangement in our living room. I think he chased me sometimes too. And I SO did not mind his "kisses." I gave him "people" food, even though I knew it wasn't the best idea.

Two years later I left for college. After that he became my mother's dog and neither of them ever looked back. He basically became her 5th child. The dog loved milk and when my mom was done with her breakfast cereal she would empty the rest of her milk into his bowl. Cereal milk, now that is love.

When she called yesterday to tell me that he was most certainly dying she recalled how excited he would get before I returned for one of my weekend or holiday visits home. He knew me as "sister" and would run around like a crazy dog before I entered the door. I was always so happy to see him too and to get my doggie fix.

After several years he and my mother were pretty much inseperrable unless she was cooking in the kitchen or out of the house. He became her lap dog and if she was sitting down he was there, under a blanket, asleep. If you attempted to hug my mother while she was seated and did not know that Zeke was there you were in for it. He snapped at me and others quite a few times over his lap territory.

As the years went on he got a little less spry and little more ornery, every time I stepped back into my parent's house. First with my boyfriend then my husband and then my child and so on. He was still pretty fun though when Tim and I were dating and first married and Tim loved to take him outside and get him all riled up to chase after the squirrels. I mean you just said the word "squirrel" and he went nuts! (HA!)

Later, when we would arrive at night with our sleeping baby in tow he would bark really loudly as we entered the door and I would give him the evil eye. We had to start calling my parents when we were close so they could take him in the backyard before we got there. But in the last year or so he wouldn't even bat an eye when we came in and was completely dependent on my mother to be his eyes and ears. During our last visit at Easter I did feel that it might be the last time we saw him since he was so skinny and and quite lifeless.

When I spoke to my mother on Thursday she said he hadn't eaten in two days and I knew it was the end. When she called this morning to say he had gone I was just so glad he wasn't suffering anymore.

Zeke brought a lot of love and joy to my family and when I really ponder it, it is amazing to me how such a small creature can mean so much in people's lives. No words ever said, just pure unconditional love.

My mother claims she will not get another dog and I believe her. I know that Zeke will always hold a special place in her heart and that today is a REALLY hard day for her. Her life and routine will now change and she will no longer have to play nursemaid to her 6 pound best friend. But she also no longer has her little best friend with her.

Our next visit to their house will be quite strange and I am sure that The B Man will be looking for him, although we've already mentioned that he as gone on to doggy heaven.

So... here's to Zeke, the best result of a "Puppy Search Weekend" ever. We loved you little man and thank you for being a good dog, friend and protector ; ) May you find yourself before a bottomless bowl of cereal milk with renewed sight and energy. I can see you chasing the squirrels now.

Let's Rock

One of my newer bloggy friends, Kristen, mentioned me on her great blog the other day and this darling little button came along with her shout out to me. How cute is this?

Apparently she thinks I Rock!!

Kristen and I "met" on Kathryn's blog, although she may not know that. : ) I saw her comments over there a lot and decided I would click on her name and see what she was all about. After all, if we were both loving Kathryn's blog then we must have some things in common, right? Well at least this once, I was right! She is so in love with her family and it is truly evident through her words and pictures. So now, I am addicted to love reading her blog and I just want to say, "Right back at you Kristen!!" And thanks for making my day!

So then this little award got me thinking about how I don't really rock anymore. As in - ROCK YOUR FACES OFF rock. It's kind of hard to do when the only place you can really listen to adult music is in the car but then there are usually two smallish people in there with you so the actual rocking out cannot commence. Bummer dudes (or dudettes, which is probably more fitting).

I used to crank the music up and sing at the top of my lungs. I am mostly a Top 40 kind of gal but Tim is quite the music fiend and he has turned me on to many a band that I never would have found if it wasn't for him. He has made several mix CDs in the past and between those and good ole radio I have always had something to rock out to. That is, until kiddos came along. Although, I did give Tim the Coldplay album, X & Y for Father's Day in 2005 and that is now a family favorite. I have no problem playing their CD with the kids in the car and they are SO talented. I am pretty sure that Chris Martin's voice has put The B Man to sleep on many a car ride.

The last "rock" concert we attended was Maroon 5 for my 30th birthday present. I was so excited to go because we had not been to an event like that since before the birth of The B Man and it was high time we did. The venue was a little cramped and we felt old but it was great to be there. Until Adam Levine got on the stage and announced that he'd injured his chest earlier that day with some sling-shot type contraption and he was doped up and good to make it through a few songs. All I could think was "I want my $100 plus tax, title and license back!!" (Not cheap to go to the concerts lately, nope) I was seriously looking for the refund counter as the place emptied out. Worst birthday concert EVER!

So, nowadays I rock out to Laurie Berkner and Raffi except on the rare occasion that I might be alone in the car and can crank it up and have all the people at red lights stare at me. That's always fun.

Okay, well... if you are still reading this post then you deserve an award!

Here's a few people I would like to grace with the "cute kitty with the headphones on" pic, aka the You Rock! award.

First I have to give this to Law Student Hot Mamma because well, she totally rocks by making me laugh on the daily. This is where I get my sarcasm fix and who doesn't need that every once and a while? Or every day, whichever you prefer. Not to mention, she is doing the single parent gig while her man is serving in the military and this week I really feel for her!

My good friend Natalie is on a weight loss journey and she is doing so well! Go over and give her some encouragement to keep it up. She is rockin' the workin' out and I wish I could be as motivated as her!!

And I also have to give this to Brittany at Mommee and Her Boys because a while back she actually showed a video of her and some of her girls while they were rocking out in the car. I mean she literally rocks and still goes to concerts (not to mention she loves her some Maroon 5 too!). I shall live vicariously through her...

Those are just a few people who rock. When it really comes down to it, we all do. Sorry this post was so long. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Who's in Charge Here? Oh, Me!

So I had a moment today while I was vacuuming the den, making sure that all the glass was off of the floor from the broken snow globe, (I know, you have lots of questions after that statement - I will get to them later) when I started to wonder how I got here and who put me in charge.

Tim is out of town on business for a few days and whenever he's gone it just sort of hits me that it's only me running the show and well, I am out-numbered. Ok, not severely but still, it's two against one and frankly that just doesn't seem fair.

I had to discipline someone for climbing then dropping and breaking the previously mentioned globe de snow and while the din of the vacuum drowned out his cries from his room, I wondered, "When did I become the displinarian and the one to make these big-ish decisions?" I mean when I was the kid, my parents sure seemed to have it all together and were certainly the authority in my mind. I just had to stop and ask myself if my son perceives me the same way. Surely he cannot because I just turned around and all of the sudden became the adult. It was just the other day that I was the one getting in trouble right ? (although that's not entirely true since I was a perfect child) ahem.

I seem to have these "reality checks" a lot these days and sometimes it just really freaks me out that I am the one guiding them on a daily basis. I AM the one that they see as the authority figure and their Mother (or in Little G's case, DAH!) I am the one who kisses their boo-boos instead of mine being kissed (and yes broken snow globe = small cut on hand for little boy). I am the one that wipes their tears or in some cases, creates them. Who gave me all this power and when did I actually decide that I wanted it? I just find it really baffling sometimes that I AM the adult here and I AM the one in charge of two little boys. Real ones. Scary, huh?

Okay, so maybe it's not really that petrifying and I have to say that I do feel quite a sense of accomplishment in my life as I sit here with my two precious boys well fed, bathed, read to and off in dreamland in their beds. Today did have a couple of moments when I thought I might revoke my mommy license (can you say clogged toilet?) but honeslty I wouldn't give up my adult responsibilities for anything else in the world. But, I will be very happy to share the duties again once Tim returns. (miss you honey!)

And here are the answers to your possible questions.

1) Yes, we did have a snow globe out at the end of May.

2) It was actually tucked away on a shelf on our entertainment center where some things like Play-Doh and crayons are also stashed.

3) The B Man did some unauthorized climbing next to the pretty expensive t.v. to retrieve it.

4) Little G was fast asleep when all this transpired so at least that made clean up much less hectic.

5) No, I am not looking forward to what other shennanigans may happen while my husband is still out of town.

Wordless Wednesday #18 - Oh The Toys!

Anyone else have this issue? Maybe I should clean some out...

For more WW go to 5 Minutes for Mom!

The Weekend in Pictures

Saturday was the big day for our pictures and Christina was so wonderful to work with! She's posted some of our shots here. We plan to get together later this week to see them all and introduce our kiddos to each other. (Yes kids, play amongst yourselves while we look at the pics!) I am so excited! Here we are together.

Thanks again Christina and I can't wait to see the rest!

We had a pretty good long weekend. It was nice to have Tim home for several days (he took Friday off too) and we got a few things done around the house. Unfortunately his foot is still bothering him quite a bit but he saw an Orthopedist on Friday and the doctor said that is to be expected. He's still having to soak it and wrap it up in an Ace bandage. He did a little too much yesterday so last night he was in quite a bit of pain. Let's just all pray that it gets better soon and heals well.

We had some friends and family over yesterday. Tim loves to use his smoker and he bbq'ed a couple of chickens and some ribs. They were GOOD! Tim's brother Brian and his girlfriend, Darlene, brought her cute little dog Emily and another puppy that she got for a friend. The puppy was so cute!! I wanted to keep her! But, she wasn't mine, so... The kids had a blast playing in our two little kiddie pools and a fun sprinkler I bought the other day.

I think Ben was asleep before I even closed his door last night and he went to bed early too! I love the days when the kids just sack out from true and well-earned tiredness!

Here are some moments that we captured during the day.

Little G and the puppy, Belle, seemed to like each other.

The B Man "swam" off and on for about 5 hours.

He did take a break to spray those of us up on the deck with the sprinkler. Look how big my first baby is getting!! AHHH!

Little G wasn't too sure about the sprinkler but he had a great time going down the little slide into the baby pool.

And he enjoyed his first watermelon quite a bit, I might add.

After Ben and his friend C finally got out of the water they enjoyed some quiet time together. Tim took this picture and I just love it!

Hope everyone had a great long weekend and time to rest and relax with family and/or friends. I've said extra prayers for those serving our country as well as their families.

Can You Say "Mama?"

Me: (smiling and poking at my chest) Can you say "Mama?"

G: (smiling back and very proud) "DA!"

Me: (still poking and trying to get the point across) "No, Mama."

G: (still quite happy with himself) DA!

Me: "Say, MAH-MAH."

G: DaDa!!

Me: (getting a little frustrated) "No, say 'Mah-mah.'"

G: (quiet now, looking at me like I am crazy.) "Bah?" (as if questioning if he has it right now).

Me: (poking my chest so hard there may be a bruise now). "I am not Dada or Bah, I am Mama. Now say it - Mama!"

G: (toddling away from his crazy mother) DAAAAAAAAAAH!



So, in answer to the title question, Little G apparently cannot say Mama these days. But Da, he's got covered. No prob.

Tapped Out

Well, it's a holiday weekend and I think I am gonna take a little "holiday" from the ole blog. You know I love it here (just see yesterday's post) but after declaring my love for the blogosphere, I feel like I have just been attempting to do too much lately and I just need a little break, you know?

I am gonna try to do some scrapbooking (have I mentioned lately that I need to catch up on this?) and spend some time with the family and just chill. Sounds good, doesn't it?

So, I will be back probably Monday Tuesday of next week. The B Man has his end of year school performance that day and I will try to remember to take my camera. They are doin' some Mickey Mouse thing that he is all jazzed about.

I leave you with a cute pic of the boys that I took while Tim was putting up his new office furniture. They were having a blast going inside this cabinet and closing the doors.

Tim thinks Little G needs a haircut before his pics and I need y'all to weigh in on this issue. Now that I look at him in this picture, he does look kinda like and old man who's trying to compensate for a bald spot coming on by growing it long on the sides... Anyway, I am thinking of taking him today. Let me know what you think.

I hope everyone has a great long weekend and I will "see" you next week.

Who Knew?

I know several of us "Mommy Bloggers" (that's right people - we are quite a group!) have expressed that we had no idea when we began blogging what it would turn into and what it would mean in our lives.


I have made so many friends, that for the most part I have not met in person (though I would love to someday!!) and despite that fact, I feel like I know you. Many of us pour our hearts out in words that we might not be able to even utter to others but on our blog it's pretty easy and okay.


Several of you told me I was being too hard on myself the other day when I posted about the injury explosion that went on here over the weekend. And you made me feel better. That's only one example of what a community this has become for me and so many of us.


My son wonders who we are praying for sometimes at night and I simply tell him, "Mommy's bloggy friends." I know he doesn't really "get it" but we pray on and I think of so many of my fellow bloggers at that time of the day, especially anyone who has mentioned that they are going through a difficult time.


I love to commiserate over potty training and having boys and scrapbooking and my chocolate addiction. And someone tell me, where else can you write your random thoughts on a daily basis and and have people from around the country, and world for that matter, read them and have something to say back? I know it's simple but it's still amazing to me.


Here are some examples of how blogging has affected my life, from little things, like a some "good mail" to bigger things like hopefully helping a little boy halfway around the world to live a better life.

• This weekend (if the children heal well - ahhh!) we plan to take photographs with Christina. We connected through blogging.



• I have been changed by Beth's loss and the fact that she is willing to share so much of herself with us. She is tops on the prayer list.



• Today I received this frame and photo album from Yvette after signing up for Good Mail, hosted by Jody. On a day when I needed to feel a little better. It came at just the right time. (no, the picture was not included)

• And last week I received this from Lori after participating in oh amanda's baby swap (no we didn't actually swap babies, just stuff!) Sandra Boynton is a rockstar in this house and are those not the cutest swim trunks? Thanks Lori!

• My blog went from ho-hum to very pretty thanks to Karen. It's always nice to "come home" now.



• I learned about Compassion International through Sophie and Shannon and this sweet little boy has become part of our lives. He wants to be a doctor one day. I hope we can help him make that dream come true.

These are just a few things that come to mind when I think of blogging and what it has become in my life.

Who knew?

Wordless Wednesday #17 - Signs

We came across this sign while biking during a past vacation to the beach and I just had to take a picture. Can you tell I am ready for another vacation? : )

For more Wordless Wednesday posts head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom!

Tagged Again!

Here's a little meme that Beth over at The Angel Forever tagged me with. I have to give an extra "shout out" to Beth because she also made the giant cupcake for her baby's first birthday (which is only a day before Little G's) and she gave me several tips on how to do it and do it right! Thanks Beth, I really appreciate all of your cupcake advice! : )

And here is a link to the pan from Target's website. I updated with this yesterday but wanted to put it on here again. You can find it at other places too, as I bought it at a local cake shop and also saw it at the grocery store where I shop.

Anyway, on to the meme...


What were you doing 10 Years Ago?
I was dating Tim and working for a furniture company selling their wares. I was not very good at it. I lived by myself in a 1 bdrm apartment at that time. I am glad that I had the experience of being on my own but I hope to never have to live on my own again. I was also going out every weekend with my friends and/or Tim and gettin' my drink on. Those were the days...

What 5 things are on your to do list?
Laundry (always…)
Grocery shopping
Scrapbooking
Updating my calendar
Donating some clothes I cleaned out of my closet

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
Fruit (really, it’s true)
Nuts (almonds or cashews)
This chocolate sprinkled snack mix stuff form Target
Sun chips
Sm. Peanut butter sandwhich

Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire
Build a house on land preferably by a lake or mountains or both
Give a lot to various charities
Invest and save for kids education/future
SHOP!!
Do lots of traveling

Name some places you have lived
San Jose, CA
Austin, TX
Denton, TX
Lewisville, TX
Dallas, TX

Name some bad habits you have
Nail biting
Interrupting
Forgetting things
Staying up too late

Name some jobs you have had
Asst. Store Mgr of Hallmark store
Babysitter/nanny
Cashier at Sandwhich shop
Assistant Buyer for furniture company
Salesperson at department store
(not necessarily in that order...)

Name those you are tagging
Hasn’t everyone done this one already?
If not, go ahead and do it, let me know and have fun!

That's ONE Big Cupcake!

This is before Little G got his hands on it. Literally.

Ain't it cute? I LOVE this thing. (here's the link to info on the pan) But not as much as I love my ONE-Year-Old! It's still hard to believe that he is ONE but... it is true so let's eat cake and celebrate, shall we?

Let me show you how Little G celebrated. I think I will start with this photo actually.

Gee, wonder how he ended up here. Walk with me. I will be happy to show you!

Here he is all nice and clean (at least I had the forethought to remove the nice shirt he was wearing...)


And off he goes...

I finally cut him off. He ate a lot more frosting than cake. And, I guess he sort of used it as body lotion too. Nice.

Little G had a great party. His friend Graham came and brought his Mommy, Jennifer.

(Actually Jen is my friend from college, but we are sure the boys will be friends!)

The Paparazzi was there too (also known as Grandpa & Great-Grandad)

One of our friends, G, found a nice spot on the train table...

And big brother had fun playing with the beach ball favors.

Of course there were presents to open.

This one was enjoyed by all the kids.

There you have it. Little G is ONE now! You know, it's not really official until you have a party. Thanks to all our family and friends who were able to join us to celebrate his first year!

*** Update just to say that yes, I did make the giant cupcake! The pan bakes the top and the bottom at the same time and then you put the two pieces together. Here's the link to it on the Tar-jay website. Very fun!***

Wife & Mother of the Year (NOT!!)

Does anyone still use the expression "NOT!" anymore? Oh well, guess I am today.

Shall I explain the title of my post? Okay. Here goes.

Tim sprained his ankle really badly on Friday afternoon while home from work. The boys and I had gone on to playgroup and I did not have my phone with me at the park. So, after falling and not being able to get up (truly) he called 911 and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He did figure out a way to get in touch with me via another mom at playgroup and I was able to meet him at the hospital but I still felt really bad for not having my phone on me so that he could contact me when he needed me.

NOT wife of the year.

Ouch.

He's going to be fine but the nurse did say that sometimes a sprain is even worse than a break. Who knew?

Then, today we went out to some our friends house for a little cookout party. While there Little G fell and hit his head on their concrete patio while I wasn't watching him for a moment. Not good. Not mother of the year.

Double Ouch.

After we calmed down from that mishap I went into the game room where the kids were playing to relax a little and check on The B Man. Right after I sat down I saw this bigger kid (didn't know him, just another kid at the party) throw The B Man onto the sofa. He was being pretty rough and The B Man's head hit the arm of the sofa where there was very little cushion and I assume, thick wood underneath. And yes folks, seconds later my son's head was bruising and swelling up in the same spot as his brother's had just done. It was time to go. And again, me, not mother of the year.

Ouch again. Not sure what is worse here - the bruise of that sad face. : (

I know nothing has happened to me this weekend but I still feel pretty defeated considering everyone else in my family has been injured in some way. I had no control over Tim or The B Man's injuries but I feel especially bad about Little G's since I was standing right there, not watching him when I should have been.

I sat there with a cool washcloth on The B Man's head thinking about how we are supposed to take our family photographs this coming weekend and wondering if we will still be able to do that. And then I just started to tear up because I felt just awful for all my boys and was in a little disbelief that all this had occured.

On the bright side we had a great party for Gavin's first birthday, yesterday. I will post about it separately as it will take me some time to decide which pictures to post (there are a lot of good ones!) and I don't want it to be part of this "downer" post.

As a matter of fact I hope very few people read this post because it will certainly go down in the books as one of my least favorite.