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Saturday, July 30, 2011

I once was lost...

Three years ago we bought a new Escape Hybrid., a wonderful purchase that we felt was necessary.  Less than one year later, on the way to Sunshine and Monkey's swim lessons, I can't find my keys.  My keys to our new car.  My keys that have the new car's ginormous electronic automatic locking thingy on the key itself.  The key that requires a specialized code to duplicate.  A key to duplicate that would require the locksmith to come out to the house and to physically enter that code (however that's done).  This key can't just be taken to the local hardware store and be copied there.  Oh no.  The microchip in the key needs to be there as well in order for the car to recognize it to start the car.  Along with that key there was also the key to our other car, our house key, my parents' house key and the key to my mom's horse trailer.  Not to mention the cool key chain.


Fast forward 2 years to a nice family vacation in Wisconsin.  I've packed a small backpack that will be used to bring with to the pool area.  Hubby opens up an obscure little side pocket and starts pulling something out asking "What is this?"


My KEYS!  You found them!  Yes, the keys I lost were in a small backpack that I probably had used for going on an outing.  I must not have used it after that because I found that it was just too small for all the stuff 2 kids in diapers require.  And there they were, my expensive key that was such a pain to replace, my house key that required 4 trips to the hardware store because they just couldn't get the copy quite right, my parents' house key, and the trailer key that I could never remember if it was still on there or lost somewhere else.  Best of all, there was the original key to our other car, that we no longer own.


Yes, that's right, we found my keys in Wisconsin.


Vicky

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

If I don't see it...

Lately Sunshine and Monkey have taken to tattling.  Not just a little bit, but a lot and all the time.  Instead of listening to the petty tattling (climbing on counters and playing with knives is not considered petty), I've been telling them the age old saying, "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching and didn't see..."


I have a feeling this particular phrasing has come back to bite me in the butt.  Monkey, as he is so well nicknamed, has been enjoying jumping on the couch.  It seems it doesn't matter how often I tell him to stop, sit down, get off the couch, he always ends up on the couch again.  Maybe instead of jumping though, he's half standing on his head or he's spinning around on his head with his feet going around in the air, up over the back of the couch and hitting the wall with his feet.  I'd like to put in a quick side note that Monkey is only 32 pounds and is only in the 20%  for height so I'm not sure how he's able to cover the entire couch with his entire body.  Regardless, today he was jumping and I told him he needed to stop or get down.  He looks at me and says, "Mommy, close your eyes."  What?  Oh yes, he wanted me to close my eyes.  If I couldn't see it, it must not be happening, right?


Now that's a smart little boy.

Vicky

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Taking the plunge

So my baby decided that today was the day that she could officially say she swam.  Sunshine has been in swim lessons since practically birth and has always done a dog style type of swim.  Never wanting to get water in her eyes, she's always kept her head well out of the water.  Today we gave her a mask to wear and she was off.  She swam the length of my parents' pool multiple times keep her head down and coming up long enough to take a breath and to continue.  I was quite impressed with that part.  She swallowed some water one of the first times and then that was it, I think I can officially say that she can "kind of swim".


Even better than me being proud, she came up out of water beaming with pride.  She had her aunt go get her dad so he could watch.  He came out and took some videos and we watched her swim back and forth across the pool some more.

Vicky

Friday, July 15, 2011

Shedding Season

Our dog is big and white and furry.  Certainly not the biggest, whitest or furriest, but when it comes to shedding season, it's close enough.  Most people don't realize it, but German shepherds do in fact come in white and it is not an albinism trait, she simply has two recessive genes.  Not quite of the shorter haired variety, typical of what you think of as a police dog, and certainly not the long haired type, she is somewhere in between with just enough fur to almost completely cover your hand.


What's shedding season though?  There are a few "seasons" when you own a dog, shedding season, muddy season and (the best of all) shedding and muddy season.  She'll blow her coat two times a year, it'll start right around now in July/August and continue through November then again from around February to April.  The rest of the year will consist of light shedding that causes tumbleweeds of fur to gather in the corners of the house  There will be a slight overlap of muddy season in there as well.  Aaahh muddy season.  Muddy season is the beautiful time of year when the seasons change from winter to summer and summer to winter.  When leaves and flowers grow and then later change colors and fall of the tree.  Now some might think "You mean spring and fall?", but when you have a dog, it's muddy season.  Rain will soak the backyard and the sidewalks and your dog white dog will come in an awful grey hue with mud caked on her legs, belly and tail.


Right now is simply the beginning of shedding season.  I went ahead and brushed her with our newly bought Furminator and went to work.  In the midst of brushing, little Bug decides to make his debut into our kitchen.  Not truly crawling yet, he army crawls through a very large tumbleweed of fur where it gets stuck in his spitty hands and static clings to his clothes.  Double the cleaning and digging fur off your baby's face is a great way to end your day.


I love my dog.

Vicky

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Eating steak

Hubby and I did something we have never done before; we bought and grilled steak.  We've been married for 8 years and for some reason I have been worried about "ruining" a steak by not (rather Hubby not) grilling it properly.  The whole idea of this just seems completely ridiculous to me and I've always known that I wasn't making any sense, just buy the darn steaks, they don't have to be filets.  So I bought some steaks and we grilled them tonight.


They turned out pretty good, too.  Of course Sunshine and Monkey, who never seem to want to try the new food that is put on their plates, (Sunshine's new saying was the green linguine we had the other day looked like seaweed), were all over the idea of trying these steaks.  But did they like them?  Well duh!  Of course they liked them, it was something we don't usually share with them!


While Sunshine was eating, she says that she really likes it and that we've never had it before and maybe we should have it more often.  I couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth next, "You know we never had steak when I was little."  Wait.  Did I just say that?  I was suddenly walking uphill in the snow.  (I did walk to and from school a 1/2 mile and my mom never drove unless the rain that was falling was accompanied by thunder and lightening.)  Sunshine apparently is too young to understand the implications of never eating steak until your teenage years and simply asked for more.


A few minutes later, we were done eating and we were starting to clean up, she then states that she is still hungry.  Really?  She announces that she's starving and would like a hot dog on a bun.  A hot dog?  There's still steak left and she wants a hot dog?  Whatever, I got her the hot dog and she ate it.


While she was eating it though, I got to thinking, why don't we buy steaks more often?  I certainly did not buy expensive steaks.  They were $4 each on sale and I bought 2 of them for a total of $8.  Hubby and I aren't big eaters but he grilled some burgers at the same time for extra meat.  But why didn't I just buy 4 steaks?  I realized, if we were to go to McDonalds it could easily cost $3-$4 for the kids to eat fried, greasy food.  Hubby made 6 patties that we'll be eating for leftovers for lunch the next couple of days, we had frozen peas, bread and the 2 steaks.  I'm pretty sure that it cost the same, if not less, than a meal for the 4 of us to eat at McDonalds.  I hope I remember this next time I'm at the butcher counter and they ask how many I'd like.  I also hope I remember this the next time I'm at McDonalds, I'll need to remind myself that we could be eating steak.

Vicky

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Marriage vows

Sunshine was looking at my wedding rings this morning.  Examining them for flaws?  I'm not quite sure.  She finally asks me about them, why are there 2, which is which, why do you have them, what does... mean?


I told her first that Daddy gave asked me to marry him and love him forever and always.  When I said yes, he gave me the engagement ring.  I got the wedding band when we went to the church and got married.


For some reason, I'm not sure why because she's asked before, she asked what 'married' meant.  I told her it's when you promise to love someone forever and always.


She thought a few seconds about this and responds, "That's nice that you and Daddy got married.  When I grow up I'm going to marry Bug."


When I told her she couldn't marry him, she simply stated, "Oh, because he's a baby.  I'll wait until he's a grown up."


I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.

Vicky

Friday, July 8, 2011

A changed world...

Today was the end of possibilities for me.


It had been agreed upon that we would have 3 children.  3 would be the "magic number" in our house.  3 would be all that we would ever want or need.  3 would complete our family.


Yet today...


Today hurt far more than I had realized it would.  We had agreed that after we had Bug, Hubby would get a vasectomy.  Bug was that "3" that we had decided.  We love him and couldn't be happier with him.  I know that, for us, a 4th is tempting fate.  We have 3 healthy children that I have carried full term despite all my medication.  I have been fortunate enough to have easy pregnancies, never having any type of morning sickness that would cause me to worry about throwing up said medicine.


Yet today...


I had to drive with Hubby to his appointment, he would need someone to drive him home after his half hour outpatient procedure.  As I we drove into the parking lot, the reality of what was happening suddenly hit and I broke down sobbing.  Visions of smooshy, squishy new bundles being passed to me after the sex loudly announced flashed through my mind.  Thoughts of babies kicking my bladder and having the hiccups at 27 weeks.  Painting new nurseries and preparing newborn size clothes for the new arrival.


Bug is only 8 1/2 months and is still a baby but the finality of it is so... final.


It was like when we sold our first home.  We had closed the doors for the last time, handed the keys over and have never gone back since.  We never can.  It's not ours anymore.


I don't know if it made it harder or easier, but as I was waiting, I had thought to myself that I didn't feel any different.  I wasn't any different.  Nothing had changed for me, not physically, yet unless something unforeseen happens, I will never have children again.


Fertile yet barren.

Vicky

Monday, July 4, 2011

Pumping

I have an awful time trying to pump.  I nurse Bug exclusively and he seems to be doing pretty darn good, despite my pediatrician's suggestions.  We give him his daily vitamins, I suppose that's what the problem is.  Either way, he's growing and seems quite happy.  The other day we gave him his very first taste of watered (milk downed?) down rice cereal.


Anyways, I went to the cabinet to get my pump out and needed help from Hubby to get the pump out that was up high.  Sunshine looks at what I was doing and ask,


"Mommy, what are you doing?  Getting your milker?"


The thought of cows being hooked up to their milking machine came to mind.  There I was next to the cows, being milked.


Hubby and I tried very hard not to laugh.  It came out more as a snort to stifle the laugh with us both covering our mouths in a failed attempt to hide the smile.
Vicky