Day 01 - Fifteen Facts

Day 01 - A picture of yourself and 15 Facts.

1 - I have been in love with the same man for most of my life and I was lucky enough to marry him.

2 - I have a daughter and a son.

3 - I would love to have one more, but I don't think that is in the cards.

4 - I wish I could be a stay at home mom...also not in the cards.

5 - I am sure that my life seems small and boring to many, but it is exactly what I want and need.

6 - I love to laugh.

7 - And yet I prefer dramas to comedies.

8 - As a matter of fact...there are VERY few comedies that I can stand to watch.

9 - I love to read...a lot.

10 - I often wish I could read faster so that I could get through more books.

11 - My favorite food is sushi.

12 - My favorite drinks are coffee and White Merlot.

13 - I have trouble going to and staying asleep but I am afraid to ask my doctor for help.

14 - My happiest days are spent at home with my family.

15 - I knew this was going to be hard, but WOW! :D

30 Day Photo Challenge

I am stealing this from my Kimi...hoping it will get me into the habit of blogging again. Let's see how long I can stick to it! Today is gonna be crazy, so I may wait to do Day 1 until tomorrow. We shall see...

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your favourite night
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most weird things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

The Power of Three Will Set Us Free*

I am struggling at work today. A combination of zero motivation and holding a major grudge** has left me unfocused and rather unproductive. I have spent the last 2 hours trying desperately to stay on task and get things done, but all I can think about is getting out of here and heading home (only 30 more minutes!).

The funny thing is that when I get home, I will have to mediate the inevitable bickering between Bubbles and Animal (the fighting is at an all time high), help with homework, do the dishes, cook dinner, force Bubbles (and Animal if there is time) to take a shower, and who knows what else. I don’t really feel like doing any of those things either. I just got two new games for my DS, and all I REALLY want to do is curl up in my chair and play. But I am really looking forward to getting home and facing what lies ahead.

And the reason, as corny as it sounds, is LOVE. I know that Bear loves me with all his heart…despite all my flaws (read: inherent laziness). I know that Bubbles and Animal are just happy to have me around and would probably PREFER that I be lazy with them. I know that if I decided to go home and do nothing but play my games, or read a book, or watch TV or anything else really, Bear would come home and pick up the slack, and he wouldn’t even complain about it! He has this twisted idea that I DESERVE downtime, and he encourages my laziness on a regular basis!

I am feeling very unappreciated at work right now and, as of late, have found myself less interested in trying. I am sure that this feeling will pass given enough time (and sleep!). In the meantime, I am so very grateful to have the love of my family to see me through. No matter what happens at work, I know when I get home, I will be surrounded by three people who love me unconditionally and truly appreciate the things that I do for them.



*So who can guess where this comes from?


**I had one of the worst migraines I have had in a LONG time yesterday and when I told my boss I needed to go home she threw a fit and basically told me that I couldn’t because she had a project she wanted me to do. I finished the project 1 ½ before the time I usually leave, and she suggested that I leave then cause I “didn’t look so good”. I told her no thanks, I would just tough it out the rest of the day. I was NOT a happy girl!

I'm Afraid We (The Parents) Might Have Peaked at 11...

Bubbles turned 11 last Wednesday. How in the HELL did THAT happen??? I swear she was 6 months old when I went to bed on Tuesday, and somehow I woke up to an 11 year old…

Speaking of which…Bubbles and I had a major fight a couple weeks ago. Major. Like Mean Mommy made a guest appearance (actually…she was had the starring role I’m afraid) and said some things I wish I could take back. In turn, Hormonal Bubbles decided to join in the conversation and push all of Mean Mommy’s buttons. It was not a pretty evening at the Drama House, and if Bear hadn’t been there to remind us both that we love each other, it could have been so much worse. Anyway, I felt horrible all evening long, and it just got worse after Bubbles went to bed. So, even though she had been asleep for over an hour, I decided to go up and try to make up with her. I climbed into her bed, snuggled up to her, and gently woke her up. Then we spent a good bit of time talking things out and making our respective apologies. Afterwards, I knew she needed to go back to sleep, but I just couldn’t leave her. It felt so good to just hold my baby again. I pulled her close to me, kissed her head, and asked her how she got to be so big. I said, “Weren’t you only 6 months old yesterday?” She giggled and said, “No Mommy, I’ve been big for a long time now.” I just hugged her all the tighter and thought…Nu-uh!

Anyway, Bubbles has always had a love of art, and she happens to have quite a bit of talent to go with that love. She is also learning how to bake. So this year for her birthday, we decided to step away from getting her more toys (something neither of my kids need!) and focus on those two interests.

Through a special school program, she was introduced to scrapbooking, and though the program ended up not following through on the idea, her interest was peaked. Scrapbooking isn’t something I have ever made time for, so I am kinda clueless on the subject. However, Totally Me happens to make a very nice kit to teach young girls how to get started. So that was on the top of my list of things to find.

We decided that if she was going to get into scrapbooking, she was going to need a way to get pictures. And rather than never knowing where she has hauled MY camera off to, we decided that at 11 she was ready for her own digital camera. This was the hardest gift to find. We didn’t want to spend too much in case she drops or loses it, but in the aftermath of Christmas, the stores hadn’t restocked yet and apparently the cheap cameras sold really well this year. It took trips to 4 stores before we were able to find one in the price range we were looking for.

Bubbles has many aspirations for her adult life, veterinarian and artist being the most often talked about. Recently, she has honed the artist idea into a specific field. She thinks that she would like to be a clothing designer. And if her sketches are any indication, she might have a really good future there! I found a clothing designer stencil set that I thought would be just perfect for her. They also had a makeup/hair design stencil set so I grabbed that too.

Lastly, we decided that since Bubbles is doing more and more baking these days, she might like her own tools of the trade. We got her several items…a mixing bowl, measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. The highlight of this gift ended up being the whisk, rubber scraper, spoon set that we got her. The handles are shaped like human bodies with the tool part acting as the head. She was HIGHLY amused by the fact that they had little butts with “booty cracks” and all! LOL!

Normally, I wouldn’t go into so much detail about the presents we got the kids. Birthdays are about more than presents. They are about honoring one of the moments that made the family what it is…about honoring the existence of someone you hold dear.

However, this year, the present signified something very important to Bubbles. Something I don’t think Bear and I really realized we were doing until she pointed it out. This was the first year that we gave Bubble “grown up gifts” instead of toys and other trinkets of childhood. In her mind we acknowledged the end of her childhood and the start of a whole new chapter. And this meant more to her than anything else we could have done.

She must have thanked me for her gifts several dozen times before she finally found the words to express what those gifts meant to her. And though I am nowhere NEAR ready for her to stop being my little baby, I am so glad that we were able to show her that we will support her growth no matter how hard it is for us.

Her birthday slumber party was this past weekend (and the reason that I waited so long to post about her birthday), and with that we gave her another nod towards independence. For every slumber party before this one, I have stayed with the girls until they were asleep and then my sister has slept in the room with them. This year, my sister couldn’t make it, and I allowed (read: encouraged) them to kick me out well before they were ready to go to sleep. I figured it was time for her to experience a real slumber party where the girls could feel free to gossip about whatever they wanted without me listening in.

I know this is just the beginning of many changes in our lives as she maneuvers her way through the ‘tween and then (shudders) teen years. I only hope we can show her as much support throughout the rest of the ride.

And I have to admit I am a little worried about future birthdays…It’s gonna be TOUGH to top 11!

*As you can see, this picture was actually taken last April, but she hasn't changed THAT much, and it is one of my all time favorites!

I'm a Big Kid Now!

Milestones are important to most parents. First smile, first tooth, first step, etc. We often have differing opinions on which milestones are most significant, but we look for and document each one. They are proof that our babies are growing as they are supposed to. Proof that we are doing something right…that we aren’t completely failing at this parenting gig. Babies on the other hand, are too busy being babies and discovering the world to recognize these moments as anything other than something else they can do…more freedom!

By the time our babies become kids, we are focusing more on behavior and school and wondering what the hell happened to our little babies to pay much attention to the daily firsts, but they do still occur. First slumber party, first time getting to place a phone call on their own, first time on the internet, etc. Now it is the child’s turn to get excited about the milestones.

Animal turned 8 on Monday, and with his birthday he reached a new milestone. He no longer has to use a booster seat when riding in the car. This was THE BEST part of turning eight as far as he was concerned!

The funny thing is that we didn’t really expect it to be a big deal. When Bubbles was about 3 or 4, the laws changed when it came to booster seats. They decided that instead of stopping at 6, children needed to continue using them until they turned 8. This irritated many of my friends, and they chose to ignore the new laws and stick with the original age.

When Bubbles turned 6 and most of her friends were no longer using booster seats, she was very embarrassed to still have one. When we dropped her off at daycare, her friends would question her as to why she was still in a “baby seat”. She begged us to lose the seat, and we explained that it was the law and it was keeping her safe and she would live. By the time she turned 7, she had accepted her fate and when 8 came along and we told her she was done with car seats for good, she wasn’t really fazed. She said ok…helped us take the booster seats out…and carried on with her day.

Conversely, Animal never questioned his booster seat. He has never been overly concerned with what his peers (or anyone else for that matter) think about him. If anyone ever said anything to him, he never cared enough to tell us. So when he woke up on Monday morning and the first thing he said to me was, “Mommy, I am 8 today and I don’t have to use a car seat anymore!”, it took me by surprise. As soon as he was dressed for school, he started asking when we were taking the seats out of the cars. I unlocked the front door and both car doors and told him he could go get them if he wanted to. He ran outside and came back moments later lugging both booster seats along and beaming from ear to ear! When he got in the car to head to daycare, he was literally bouncing in his seat. I asked him what he was so excited about (expecting to hear about it being his birthday) and he shouted, “no more car seats, no more car seats!”

He had a wonderful birthday evening. We went to the restaurant of his choice for dinner, got ice cream AND doughnuts for dessert, and then went home for the great present unwrapping. He loved all of his presents, and he is very excited about the party that is planned for this weekend. But the real highlight of this turning 8 thing had to have been the loss of his car seats.

As he put it, “I’m really a big kid now, Mommy!”

And he really is…sigh.

**This picture is actually from Christmas with my family (Dec 26th)...I haven’t had a chance to load his birthday pics onto the computer yet.

And Why Did We Stop Traveling By Horse and Buggy???

Ok. So most of the people who read here have either heard the car story or actually lived it, but I want to get it down anyway…if only for my own memory.

So, it all started on August 17th. I was at work when I got a call from the kids’ day camp. Bubbles had been stung by a wasp…three times! Both Bear and his brother are allergic to bee and wasp stings, and we have always worried that one of the kids might inherit the allergy. This was the first time Bubbles had ever been stung, so we didn’t know what would happen. We decided it would be best if I went and got her so that if she had a reaction, I could get her help quickly. I decided to pick Animal up at the same time so that I wouldn’t have to make two trips.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, my car started acting REALLY weird. When I put my foot on the gas, the engine revved, there was a loud KUCHUNK, the entire car shook, and then it started to move. This whole process was repeated every time it attempted to change gears (automatic car).

I called Bear at work and told him what was happening. He said he would look at it when he got home. When he got home, he added some fluids, tinkered around, took it for a drive and then came home and announced we needed to take it to a repair shop. My car hasn’t had many problems through the years (thank goodness!!!) so we don’t have a regular repair shop that we take it to. Bear had heard good things about one near us, so that is where he decided we would go.

We dropped the car off that night, and they promised to look at it in the morning. The next day, they called Bear and told him it was the Torque Converter (apparently part of the transmission??) and it was going to cost us $3600 to have it repaired. Bear called me and I hit the roof. I demanded that he call around and see if there was a better price available. He did…there wasn’t…we agreed to have the work done. They said it would be ready by Friday (this was on a Tuesday).

Friday came and they said it wasn’t ready but it would be by Saturday. Saturday came and they said there was a problem. They had gotten a (refurbished) transmission and installed it, but when they test drove it they discovered a problem. Apparently there was a broken part and the car wouldn’t stay in park. They were going to have to get another new (refurbished) part. It was going to be a few more days.

At this point, the timing gets a little fuzzy for me.

It took forever for the 2nd transmission to arrive…mainly because they didn’t want to play money games with the parts place so they shipped back the damaged one before the new one was sent to them, and then they had it shipped at the cheapest rate for them…cause, you know, they didn’t have a customer that had already waited too long to get their car back!

They put the 2nd transmission in and informed Bear that it too was damaged. This time the car wouldn’t even GO into park.

This is when the lies started. We were told that a 3rd transmission…this one brand new…was going to be used. This turned out to be a LIE! We don’t have any real idea of what they were doing during this time frame. We assume they were trying to fix the 2nd broken one, but who knows.

Bear had been dealing with a guy (we shall call him Asshat!) who claimed to be the manager. Asshat did very little to try to help. His main purpose seemed to be making excuses. Bear was calling multiple times a day to talk to Asshat, and it turns out that 99.9% of the things he told us were so very untrue.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Almost 3 weeks after we left our car with these people, Asshat called and said that it was fixed. We could pick it up that night (a Friday). That evening, the whole family went to pick up the car. Bear paid for it (there was a SLIGHT discount given for our inconvenience…and by slight I mean insulting) and we headed out. Now, you need to understand that I know NOTHING about cars (if that hasn’t been apparent already). You need to know this in order to understand how NOT fixed my car was.

Bear and the kids were riding in his car. I got into my car, adjusted the seat, noticed that all of my preset radio stations were gone, and backed out of the parking space. By the time I was completely backed out, I KNEW my car wasn’t right. I called Bear and told him just that.

Bear: How is it not right?

Me: I don’t know…it’s not right! It doesn’t sound right! It doesn’t feel right!

Bear: How does it not sound and feel right?

Me: I DON’T KNOW!! I just know it’s not RIGHT!

We pulled into the first parking lot we could find. Due to traffic, I had never gotten above 20 MPH. I got out of my car and Bear got in. He left me with the kids and his car and took mine for a drive. About 10 – 15 minutes later, Bear called me and gave me directions back to the repair place. I asked what was wrong. He informed me that once you got above 25 MPH, the car was still doing exactly what we brought it in for!!

We went back and Bear went in to talk to Asshat. I was not “permitted” to come in because Bear seems to think I have a temper and he was worried I would go overboard. I have no idea where he would have gotten such an idea.

It is probably just as well that I didn’t go in. When Bear told them they needed to give us a refund on our credit card for the payment, they tried to tell him that they couldn’t do it that night. It would have to wait until morning! He informed them that he would not be leaving without our money, and Asshat miraculously figured out how to process a refund!

About a week later, Asshat finally had a day off, and when Bear called, he got hold of RM (Real Manager). It was RM who informed us that Asshat was not who he said he was. RM also inadvertently revealed most of Asshat’s other lies. We also found out that my car was dying every night and required a jump start every morning. I about hit the roof at this point! They had actually tried to return a car to me that was not only NOT fixed, but was actually worse off than when we brought it in. I am sure they were thinking that when I went to get in the car the next day and it was dead, I would assume it was a new problem and not think to blame them!

Anyway, Bear “had a discussion” with RM about the “service” that we had received thus far, and he promised to try to make it better. He suggested trying a used transmission as apposed to a refurbished one.

Evidently, the difference is that a refurbished transmission had a problem what was supposedly fixed. A used transmission was salvaged from a car that was no longer working for some other reason unrelated to the transmission.

They were able to get us one that came from a car with 54,000 miles (or something like that) on it. Since my car has 106,000 miles, this seemed pretty good. It also came with a lifetime warranty, so that is nice too.

They also changed the battery, which was evidently what was causing the nightly deaths.

A few days later, my car was finally ready to be picked up. This was exactly one month and one day after the work originally began!!! When we went to pick the car up this time, I informed Bear that I WOULD be going in with him. I had a few things I needed to tell Asshat!

We went in and Bear insisted on test driving the car before we paid. Once he got back, we asked for Asshat and the “discussion” began. I am not known for having a quiet voice, and I was not making any attempt to keep it down when we spoke. I am certain the fairly full waiting room caught at least bits and pieces of the things we were saying.

By the time we were done, Asshat had dropped the price of the repair by $1000.00 dollars. It still doesn’t come close to making things right…and I have every intention of making a few calls about this whole thing (can we say Better Business Bureau, AAA, etc.), but I have to say that it felt good to come out ahead.

We will never be using that particular repair shop again, and we have made a point of telling all of our local friends to avoid them too. I guess that is the most justice I can hope to get.
Oh…and I did get one last parting shot in before we left that day! Bubbles and Animal had been sitting in the waiting room (where we could see them) while we took care of business. When I went to get them, Bubbles asked if the car was finally fixed. My response, “Well, honey, we sure hope so. But did you know that you can bring a car in to be repaired by these people and pay them good money for those repairs and then after you get it back you can have the same problems that you brought it in for, and it isn’t their FAULT?!?!” The looks on the other customers’ faces made me feel MUCH better.

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Over the summer, we decided as a family that it was time to get a new dog. The house just wasn’t right without one. Too quiet…too clean…too empty. Winston had shown us what wonderful creatures Labrador Retrievers are, so we decided to stick with that breed.

My mother works with a woman who volunteers for the Lab Rescue in our area, and she was quick to recommend her organization. In early August, Bear and I spent a lunch hour filling out and submitting the application. Then we waited. And waited. And waited.

The application said it could take 3 weeks for someone to get back to you. When we hadn’t heard anything in 4 weeks, I called and left a message. A few hours later I got a call back. She asked how we had submitted our application. When I told her it was done electronically, she said she would talk to the volunteer that handled those and get back to me. A week later…nothing.

That night, my mother talked to her co-worker who gave us her email address and said to email a copy of the application to her and she would see what she could do. The next morning I did, and within 3 hours I received an email from our case coordinator. She told me she would call me the next day (Saturday) to do a phone interview. She also mentioned that they would be having an adoption day at a pet store on Sunday. This particular pet store was about an hour and a half away, and she said the next one would be much closer to us, but after a brief discussion, Bear and I agreed it would be worth the drive. Even if we didn’t find “our dog” that day, we would at least be getting the process started.

I spoke to Wendy on Saturday, and we had a great conversation. She was a bit concerned about the hours that we keep and that we have 2 cats, but she was sure we could find “our dog”…it just might take time.

Sunday morning, we woke up early and headed to the adoption day. Wendy had emailed a list/description of the dogs that would be at the event. While Bear drove, I read the descriptions aloud. Though many of the dogs sounded wonderful, we all thought the most promising would be a yellow female named Jolie. We agreed we would check her out first.

When we arrived, they were just getting set up. We quickly found Jolie and talked to her handler for a bit. She was a very sweet dog, but she had a few problems. We think she had been abused and she was very frightened and submissive. Her handler said that if you moved too quickly or raised your hand, she would run and cower. After talking to Wendy, we agreed that she wouldn’t be a good fit for our family. The kids would probably scare her to death, and after spending time with her, we all felt she was probably beyond help no matter how much love we could give her.

A few dogs over was a gorgeous yellow lab that drew us all in. Unfortunately, there was another family that was very interested in him, so we felt that we didn’t have a chance. We visited with the other dogs, but we weren’t finding “our dog”. I was just about to suggest that we leave and try the next adoption day when Bear noticed that the family that was so interested in that one dog had moved on to other dogs. He said we should at least talk to the handler before we left.

So we walked over and officially introduced ourselves to Cooper and his foster mom. I fell in love INSTANTLY and knew that he HAD TO BE OURS! Bear was asking all these questions, and I just kept thinking “quick…lets adopt him before someone else does!” After talking for a bit and getting to know Cooper, everyone was convinced he was indeed our dog, so Bear went in to tell Wendy we wanted him. She agreed that he was a good fit and sent us to the adoption table.

Ten minutes and $200 later we walked out with our adoption papers ready to take Cooper home. When we got back outside, Cooper was meeting another family and they too had their hearts set on keeping him. I felt bad stealing him away, but the adoption was complete and they were fairly gracious about handing him over.*

We have had Cooper for about 4 days now, and he is WONDERFUL. He, like Winston, fits. He is 7 years old...not a young dog, but also not old, so we should get some good years with him. He is still very active and lives for his backyard time.** He is great with the cats. He mostly just ignores them, though he did have to chase Banana down the hall last night when he caught Banana in his bed. We all adore him, and can’t wait to get home at night to be with him.

Once again, our family is complete! :)



*We did some shopping before we left, and as we were walking out, they were headed to the adoption table themselves…so they had found someone they could love too and we all had our happy ending.

**We take him out back at least twice a day…more if possible…to play catch. He could play for hours and we often have to tell him when he has had enough. Unlike some of the dogs from my past, he is very good about not only getting the ball, but actually willingly returning it to us!