I Miss You Too

I miss blogging over here. This was where I took the things that are my daily life and spun them to be something I could laugh at. And if I made you laugh too, then that made me feel even better. But blah...blah...blah. There are a million and one reasons why I haven't been back to this little cozy space that I call mine.

I won't bore you with the details.

But I long to have the time to find those joyful moments and mold them into something to share.

I'm hoping I find it soon.

Boys

I was sitting in church today listening intently to the sermon. My six year old son was sitting on the seat beside me and I happened to glance his way. Instead of looking forward at the sermon, he was staring up at me, studying me in what I though to be rapturous love for his mommy. My chest felt full and warmth spread out through my body as I thought about just how much I love this little boy.

And my sweet son looked up and said to me, "Mommy, do I have two chins too?"

little stinker.

Ewww!

Sitting in the library in the quietest spot I could find. No kids. Finally found an internet connection to use while mine is being worked on. Suddenly the smell of a poop assaults my nostrils. I look up to see a man standing 5 feet away, arms crossed, acting like nothing happened. We both know it wasn't me.

Urgh! Heat Makes Me Cranky.

It's 108 degrees and I'm grumpy and sweaty and my clothes are drenched. A trip down town around masses of other people was just a little too ripe for me today. It seems some people prefer a deodorant-less existence in my neck of the woods, which isn't such a big deal unless we're having THE HEAT WAVE TO END ALL HEAT WAVES! HELLO!

Pee-yoow!

So I pulled out the slip and slide and I'm just laying in the middle of it while the kids are screaming at me to get out of the way. Selfish children.

And for some reason all of my kids have decided it's a cuddle day today and have been following me around TOUCHING me all day. TOUCHING. ME. Again with the heat, guys.

I think we're having ice cubes for dinner.

I Think I'm Digging The Teen Years

I exited the bathroom with a scowl on my face and bumped into Allegra in the hallway.

Allegra: What's wrong, Mom?

Me: I just started my stinkin' period.

A few years ago she would have ran away screaming "OH GROSS MOM!" but today she said, " Awwwww," and stepped towards me with arms open for a big hug of understanding.

I like her a lot.

How Cool Is That?

This blogging thing is kind of amazing when you think about it. Who knew that when I started this blog, back at HSB over 4 years ago, that it would become such a neat way to meet people. People I would never get to meet because they live so far from me or our paths would just never cross otherwise. And it's been fun to read every one's stories and keep up with people. It's widened my horizons, challenged me, made me learn new things, and see how other people live.

And then a few years ago I decided to take it a step further and fly across country with my super friend Emily to actually meet some of these online friends in person. Cindy is just about the sweetest person I've ever met. She's so gentle and thoughtful and has the most gorgeous red hair. And Angel is wise and funny and moving in her posts. Such neat people.

Sarah makes me laugh and makes me think deeper. She's honest and not afraid to hang stuff out there for all to see. I like that. And today she'll become a real life friend too. So this little old blogging thing is way more than just having your corner in cyberspace or having a place to put your thoughts. It's a way to touch other peoples lives and actually make new dear friends.

Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

Tuckers First Bath

Tucker had his first bath the other day which quickly turned into a sit-com. It seems he didn't like the freezing water that came out of my hose. picky dog. The only way we could get him to stand still was for me to straddle him and hold him steady with my legs while I scrubbed at lightening speed. One child snapped pictures and videos, one child held a leash and spoke comforting words, one child held the hose at ready, and the other child had the easiest job of all....laughing his head off.

There's always one in every family.

But poor Tucker faced the greatest indignity of all. He had to not only be squirted with icy cold water and scrubbed in his most private parts with abrasive hands, but he endured all this in close proximity to my giant butt.

Look at the expression on that face. It says it all.

I'm So Gratefull For This Dog Because Now I Have More Blog Fodder!

Tucker has fit into our family nicely except for just a few things....

He seems to suffer from a severe case of motion sickness as witnessed by the "rain of slobber during every car ride" as well as the "vomit everything in my stomach all over the car" stuff. But to look at the positive side...I now know that the missing pepperoni scandal from yesterday is solved. Someone has been slipping them to Tucker.

Gabriel (my five year old) entered into the dog thing with a fear of dogs. We knew he'd get over it and every once in a while the braveness outweighs the fear and he'll pet Tucker. Unfortunately Gabe still spends most of his time hopping from couch to table to kitchen counter to stairs just to travel from the family room to his bedroom. He even tries to eat his meals perched on top of the kitchen table rather than in his chair. Now if he could only grow some spiderweb to shoot out of his wrist so he can just swing from the ceiling to travel through the house than I think everything should work out just fine.

And to prove that the dog is one of us I thought I'd share a picture that I took of Tucker and interpret it for you. Because I now speak dog.

"You're going to blog this, aren't you."

I have to admit that I feel even more bonded to this dog knowing that he takes a bad picture every once in a while too.

Introducing Tucker

The new-pet saga finally has a happy ending. Meet Tucker.

I compromised on only one thing. He's a male instead of a female. But considering we paraded half the female dogs in the pound in front of him to check his hump-factor, (yeah, it was a little like a canine booty call) I'm happy to say he passed the test and came home with us. He's also submissive, obedient, smart, house trained, mellow and cuddly. AND he sleeps through being petted, hugged, and all the screaming, shouting and running that goes on in this house.

Oh...and this is his happy boy.

The Disapearing Blog

Yeah. I disappear alot on this blog. I'm actually not dead or anything, just busy with real life.

We are still on a dog hunt. The stinky shelter my son was going to adopt a dog from pulled one final blow and adopted the dog to someone else, the day before they told US she would be ready for us to adopt.

Me thinks they didn't like us so much.

It was just one among many strange and awful experiences with this shelter.

So our search continues for the perfect dog companion for my son.

And we're not picky or anything. It just has to be....

female
spayed
house broken
adult (1-3 years old)
small to medium sized
pleasant, cuddly and not hyper
obedient
good with kids

ok, so we're picky.

I can't wait to do the post where I get to show you the picture of our new dog and my kids smiling faces.

It's a-comin'.