Along for the Ride

Darth Milo

it has not been a good weekend for the puppy. the cone is beyond bothersome. he knocks things off everywhere and runs into every wall, table and chair. it also is the perfect size for cutting into his wound. he can't lick it but man does he try. and that causes it to leak, bleed, etc.

we finally felt sorry for him and took off the cone for a bit so he could chew on a bone. we were very vigilant in watching him, except for the couple of minutes where we each thought the other was watching him....and yep....he pulled out his stitches last night.

sigh. so now all we have to show for our $254 is a bigger wound, a cone and blood all over the carpet and furniture. we're heading back in this morning to discuss options. meanwhile....milo is not happy with us.

Dear Mom

Dear Mom, 

I was thumbing through a magazine and found this list of “mom rules” that someone wrote. I thought they were pretty good and most of them were ones that you had taught me either by telling me or by doing. I thought you would enjoy the list. 

My mother’s 15 simple rules
By Ana Marie Cox 

1. The legs are the last thing to go.

2. When you’re sad, don’t fight it – accessorize it. Get some gin and cigarettes, then play Edith Piaf until the CD starts to skip.

3. Knowing how to roast red peppers will impress more people than you’d think.

4. It’s ok to read at the table.

5. But it’s never ok to watch tv at the table.

6. You can always substitute white wine for vermouth in a martini.

7. Everything tastes better if it’s served by candlelight.

8. If nothing matches, no matter. That’s just another reason for candlelight.

9. Do not try to order in French at a French restaurant unless you are French.

10. Unexpected gifts are the most appreciated.

11. At work, find the people who can fix things – the copier, mistakes in your expense report – and then be very, very nice to them.

12. The cheap caviar is still quite good.

13. There are five things that will always make you happy if you have them in your home: flowers, a lovely place to eat a meal, a chilled bottle of white wine, Goldfish crackers, and a cat.

14. If you must leave a party and you don’t have a good excuse, spill something on yourself.

        15. The proper way to end a conversation is “I’m sorry to let you go.” 

So as I read through this list, I wondered who the heck Edith Piaf was…..and then I started thinking about the things that you had taught me. And I came up with my own list. 

My Mom’s simple rules and important lessons

1. A box of Kraft Mac and Cheese is a great comfort meal in a pinch.

2. A Kleenex in your robe pocket is surprisingly handy.

3. Sitting at the kitchen table after school and letting your kids talk about their day will be one of their fondest memories.

4. I still think of myself as a “summer” and to this day, those are my favorite colors to wear.

5. Your face is not finished until you put on lipstick.

6. A well wrapped present is more fun to give.

7. Herbs make just about everything taste better.

8. Expect to be treated well by your husband. Because you are worth it. Period.

9. Watch what you eat while you are newly pregnant, because by the 9^th month you aren’t going to give a shit.

10. Quality time is bogus. Kids need you when THEY need you and that is rarely at a convenient time.

11. Do not sacrifice having a family for a career.

12. The smallest thing on your body is your wrists…and I used to kind of laugh at that comment. Now I’m not laughing so much.

13. Good champagne…really good champagne is really good.

14. It is just easier to make sure there is the same number of gifts for all the kids.

15. There is not a rule that says you have to show your family everything you bought on your shopping spree. In fact it is better if you don’t.    

        16. Everything tastes better with nuts.

 I’m sure I could go on and on because I have learned a lot and carried many of your lessons with me on my own Mom journey. But I wanted to just say thank you for all the great advice. And tell you on this Mother’s day that I appreciate you and love you. I hope we can drink really good champagne together again really soon. 

Love,
wen

My blog has the perfect name

when i named my blog, i can't say that i gave it a ton of thought although i remember thinking it was a pretty clever name. and i know that it sounds like i just float along in life and never control the outcome, but that isn't the case. truth is, i love being in control. and i try to control most things. it isn't always the best way to go, but that is who i am.

but as i travel this parenting journey, i realize that i'm not really in control of much of anything. i think control is an illusion. and that is why i have the perfect named blog. because even though i'd like to think i'm in control, i really never am.

take this morning.

i was planning on my trip to the stuido for pilates. that is the standard routine on fridays (and tuesdays) and even when i'm tired or sore, i still go and always feel more tired and more sore later but my instructor swears it's all good.

i went upstairs and milo followed me as he always does and caught a glimpse of his hind quarter where there is a hole. he has licked himself a huge open wound and i just noticed it. this really shows my rookie dog mom status. i should have seen this coming as that spot has been wet for awhile. so he's been at it for more than a couple days.

sigh.

so instead of pilates, we took milo for a walk (distractions are good) and then gave him a kong filled with peanut butter and now we're just waiting for the appointment.

and thus goes my life. i feel like one of those geese up my blog banner. when i took that photo, one of the geese was having a fit because he wanted to go a different direction than the current and he was not winning the battle. i think today i'll just go with the current....

ETA: well, the current took my dog into surgery to debray (sp?) the wound and then stitch it up. it is old (oh yeah, feeling even better as a rookie dog mom) and would heal on it's own eventually, but how long should he be in one of those cone things? i mean really....3 weeks seemed excessive. so hopefully he won't lick it (yeah right) but at least with stitches, it'll heal a whole lot faster so the cone won't be on as long. oh, and they are plucking his ears while he's asleep. cause he hates it. my little present to him so the next time he gets groomed, they won't have to do it. it sure is quiet around here without him here....

 

From digital scrapping to candy making

i am totally blaming katie for this one. it is totally her fault!

during national scrapbook day, she hosted a chat at designer digitals about "random inspiration" and listed a few sites. well i came into the chat late and happened to hit it when they were talking about cupcakes. and she listed this site. and i checked it out and thought these would be cute to make for teacher appreciation day.

next thing i know, i'm at michael's going down the wilton aisle buying candy melts and plastic bottles.

i actually made the flower design in photoshop (see, digital scrapping can relate to candy making!) and then copied it 12 times and printed out my design sheets.

i ended up making over 75 of the candy flowers and will use the rest of them for bunco or soccer treats or something. but it seemed crazy to waste the melted candy when i had the trays all set up.

so here's the photo progression....all credit needs to be given to bakerella. :)

This morning

i used pineapple shower gel.

i used ginger body powder.

i used green apple perfume.

does that make me a fruit salad or a fruit cake?

Disappearing dianthus and other gardening tales of woe

subtitled...ya'll with green thumbs....HELP! LOL

last weekend zo and i went flower shopping (there is a great story that goes with that trip but i'll save that for another time) and we bought some perennials for the back yard landscaping as a few have died and i had some holes to fill.

she picked out some pink/white striped flox and she liked the dianthus (sp?). so we got a few of each as well as a new clematis (i lost one of mine last summer all of a sudden) and headed home to plant them.

today i was outside pruning the russian sage (chris was great with cutting back the ornamental grasses, but that was it). and i noticed my 3 dianthus now look like this:

i'm assuming it was rabbits, because i really don't want to consider that it was a deer. sigh.

and what is this?

a close up of my mystery plant that has taken over 1/2 the bed...

i think my landscaper planted it, but don't ask me to find the plan or be able to name this. i'm just trying to figure out how much of it i have to cut back and if it is worth moving some of it....

i also have daisies that have migrated to the stepping stones that i have to move. and i hope to plant strawberries, tomatoes, sunflowers and a few herbs next week.

Last week by the numbers

2 books read
1 case of pink eye
3 scrapbook pages and 1 card made (more to do)
8 play practices
including 2 dress rehearsals
2 performances
2 church services
16 hours of chats at designerdigitals
2 nights out (in a row no less!)
$48 paid to our babysitting/lawnmowing son
countless wipeouts on a ripstick (by aforementioned son)

(i saved a draft of this and now we are double spaced for some reason)

192 cookies for the elijah performance

1 solo

4 wet eyes after the solo was over

lots of pictures (which will be up soon)

good times.

Hey Steph!

does updating my blog banner, book list and link colors count as updating?

:)

Hanging in there

i've been sick all week. i'd say i had the flu, but nowadays that suggests a cold. and stomach flu suggests throwing up (which i don't do...well almost never), and it wasn't bird flu or flu flu but i felt lousy. and although that part of it is gone, i still am dragging and last night i didn't sleep well because i hurt. and there was no reason for that either. weird.

anyway, it has been a waste of a week. so here are a few recent pages. one of which i actually accomplished this week:

this is a scraplift challenge at designerdigitals

these next few pages feature the new papers and stamps by inque boutique. i really loved this photo.

another photo i love....more inque boutique and a lousy picture as my scanner punked out on me.

finally, more inque boutique and a photo from our epcot trip. zo and i took a lot of hat pictures while the big kids and dad rode rides.

Birthday recap

it is time for a birthday recap. we survived the actual day as well as the chuck e. cheese birthday party on saturday. i am happy to report that i will NEVER have to do a chuck e. cheese party ever again. and for that i'm grateful.

aunt dianne and uncle bill went overboard again (well, aunt dianne went overboard!) and got zo matching outfits for her bitty twins chris and carla (chris not pictured) and of course the dress for zo as well. she wore it for 3 days straight.

zo was very excited to open this gift from aunt holly and uncle dean. i think it was after she opened this gift that tori exclaimed, "this birthday is almost as exciting as my own birthday!"

zoe was loving her chuck e. cheese party until chuck showed up. she was afraid of him and cried for quite awhile. if i had thought ahead, i would've predicted this. zo can easily be overwhelmed and it was crowded, loud and there was a big headed mouse dancing around.

and one of the best things about the party (besides the slides) was hanging out with daddy for a bit to regroup.

and finally, the flowers that we had on the alter at church in celebration of zoe's birthday.