Our Other Babies

This is Bear (AKA Bear-Bear). He is our youngest. He just turned 6 in February. He is so sweet, though granted he isn't the brightest light bulb in the box. He does even temperament and is a easy going , laid back sort of guy. He is great with Edward and warns Edward a trillion times that he is pushing him to far before he will put Edward in his place. Bear is part Chow Chow and Wheaten Terrier. He is the only one of our "babies" that we didn't rescue. His was a planned "birth" so to speak. He recently took the position of the alpha dog (or at least does when Storm will let him) in the group. We have had Bear for 6 years as of this month.
This is Storm (AKA: Stormie Girl, Lil Girl, Sister, Stormie Mae). She is our Middle "child" of the 3. Trust me she has all the middle child qualities too. She just turned 10 yrs old. We aren't exactly sure when her birth date is but we figure it is sometime in Jan. She was rescued by a little old lady (who already had a house full of pets) when she was found wandering out in the street. The lady tried to find her owners but they never came forth, so she placed an adoption add in the local paper. We wanted a companion for Sebastian after we had to put our cat to sleep, so we made an appointment to visit Storm. I must say that Storm adopted Kirk, we actually were just looking at her. We had not really decided if we were going to take her or not, when we left she cried and kept trying to get to Kirk. Of course we are huge suckers and took her. Actually she is our best dog of the 3, she has had 1 accident in the house (and that was just recently when she was locked in and couldn't get out after hours of holding it...this was just at the beginning of all our construction and renovation on our house....she tried to tell me she needed out to go but I thought she was trying to get out so she could make one of her infamous houdini disappearing tricks....so I told her to go lay down and be quiet....I know bad MOMMY!!!) the entire time we have had her. She pottied trained Bear pretty much. She is afraid of vacuum cleaners. She is an extremely healthy dog. She does have "issues" where she is very needy for attention pretty much non stop. She recently has become a lap dog. She is two different kind of terrier mixes. She is a smart dog. Kirk says she looks like a bat without wings and that she is so ugly she is cute. She pretty much has maintained her puppy looks except for the white that is now creeping in around her face. We have actually had construction workers during our renovation and remodel say they want to take her home with them. Of course Edward will have none of this. Storm is his buddy. I think he likes her best now because she is small and he can manipulate her better than he can Bear and he would never try those things with Sebastian because they have an understanding between them. Storm will have been with us for 10 yrs as of this coming August.
This is Sebastian (AKA: Seb, Old Man, Fat Boy (granted he has lost some weight and is looking a ton slimmer here lately....2 weeks at a kennel with no table scraps or little boys around will do that to you.....maybe that is what I need to do to loose some weight). Sebastian is our oldest. We believe his birthday is somewhere around December. He just turned 11 yrs old. He was another rescued dog. He has become pretty docile with old age. He has a touch of Arthritis and has slowed down tremendously. He was found wandering in an apartment complex parking lot. The people who found him posted adds all over the apartment complex and even in the newspaper trying to find his owners. No one claimed him. They brought him by Kirks Work (the husband worked with Kirk) to see if anyone wanted him. Let me tell you Kirk has always wanted a Basset Hound since I have known him. Kirk fell in love with Sebastian as soon as he saw him. Sebastian doesn't have the traditional brown eyes of a Beagle, he has these green eyes that just show his soul (so to speak). The first thing that people notice about him when they see him is those eyes of his. As far as we know and what the vets can tell is Sebastian is a pure bred Beagle, however mostly likely the runt of the litter (meaning he isn't show quality). Sebastian will have been with us 11 yrs come this July. We absolutely love him. We cherish each day with him as he has quite a few health problems over the years and scares us at times. We almost lost him when we had him Neutered (he doesn't clot), then he got some kind of immune disease where his body was attacking itself (kinda like Doggy Lupus) and we almost lost him then (PTL he has been healed, we didn't loose him and he doesn't seem to have that issue anymore...yep we had everyone we knew praying for our guy), he has severe ear issues and is almost completely deaf now, he is allergic to fleas and of course the arthritis that I mentioned earlier. We dread the day that we loose him to old age.

House Update

New Mini Bar Area (we don't drink but it will be nice to have an extra sink in the kitchen and one low enough for Edward to reach).
New Kitchen Office Area for Mommy's computer to link up so she can get awesome recipes to use from Foodnetwork and other sites.
Our new Natural Slate Bathroom Floor in the downstairs bathroom.
New stairwell to second floor so that in case of a fire Kirk has a safe way to exit the house.

Well here we are still in the middle of Construction and Renovations. They claim it will be done (mostly just very minor things to wrap up) with by tomorrow. I can tell you I am not holding my breath on that promise. It should have been done at the end of February. The upstairs addition is the only thing completely completed. As I said in my earlier (from yesterday) entry I have been busy putting it together. I can't wait until my house is extra person free and I can get busy. I always feel as if I am in their way, not that they are in mine....preventing me from getting done what I need to get done. I have some new pics to post. I will add them to the top of this post but please note they were taken before I left for Vacation in Mid March.

It's a crap shoot

This is the new shower we bought off of Ebay and had installed in our new bathroom. I love it, but let me tell you it is a crap shoot when you turn it on and turn the dial to try to get the sprayer that you want to work without being doused with cold water (even though you have turned on the hot water and let it run through the tub faucet part of the shower). Edward especially gets a kick out of seeing you being sprayed with freezing cold water. This shower is a hoot, there is a radio, it is set up so you can answer the phone from inside (we don't have that feature set up). It has more features than I know what to do with but not as many as some of the others we saw on Ebay. There were ones that had TV's and refrigerators in them. This one has a way to set up a CD player or Ipod to it, but we haven't figured that out yet. We are happy though that we are able to get KLOVE our favorite Christian radio station. We worship and rock out for God while taking our showers. Edward loves taking a bath but has to be closely supervised because this is also a jacuzzi tub. Very relaxing, can't wait for a quiet day alone at home so I can give it a good try with a great book and a glass of ice tea.

I've Been Tagged

Jennifer has tagged me. I actually love these things.

Here are the rules
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 Fun and Weird Facts About Me
1) I like heavy foam (bubbles) on milk so much that I shake the milk jug really hard before I pour it into the glass and only the freshest milk will do.
2)I use to write poetry in Jr High and High School
3) I was in a Pageant from 8th grade to 11th grade....the pageant was called the Miss American Co-ed Pageant.
4) I used to want to go into acting and be an actress, I also wanted to be a Child Pyschologist or a CPA.
5) I am listed in the Who's Who Among American High School Students in 1990/1991 school year (just found out they no longer have their website or do their publication :0( )
6) I have dyslexia and I love to read. (I actually learned to love to read over time and now I can't put books down).
7) I do not like regular coffee but can't get enough of Starbuck's Lattes, Mochas and Macchiatos. I espeically love iced coffee drink but will drink warm ones when it is extremely cold outside.

I am going to tag ????? I don't know others who blog besides Jennifer and she tagges me. :0)

Edward's Birthday Party Planning

I am busy planning Edward's 5th Birthday Party. We had originally (well he did) wanted to have it again this year at the bowling alley, however when I went to set it up.....I was told that we couldn't that week because the Pepsi Tournament Finals were happening that weekend. At first this really upset Edward. We looked into having it at Pump It Up but I didn't care for their party packages. I would have it here at the house but with the renovation still going on and all that I need to get done after it is complete before my Mother In Law arrives plus the fact that we have 3 dogs, I felt it was best to just skip that thought. Maybe next year. I received our quarterly Zoo members newsletter in the mail and that reminded me that we could have a party for him at the zoo. So I asked him, at first he still was insistent about it being at the bowling alley but after a long talk and convincing him we couldn't this year, he okayed it. We are doing a Safari Adventure Party in the Education Building. I think he will like it. They will bring in a live animal and having games and cake for them, plus they get a tour of the zoo. I think it sounds like a great 5th Birthday to me. I found cute party supplies with a Swingin Safari theme. We are doing an African Safari because Edward just loves Giraffes and Elephants....Gorillas too. I bought lots of cute zoo favors for his party attendees. We have over 20 children invited (a few from Co-op, a few from bowling, 1 family from Church and 1 family from Daddy's work...plus the 2 families I use to Nanny for). This will be the first big party. His 3rd party he had 2 or 3 other little boys plus Regan and the Kimmel children. His 4th birthday was a bomb only Regan showed up for that one. We ended up having one after Kindermusik class with the children just to make up for the bomb that we had at the bowling alley. This year we know more people and he has friends from all the things he participates in. We actually have an over abundance of folks to invite and that is awesome for him. I will have pictures for all after the party is over next month.

Huge Update about why I have been MIA

Well, I know you have been wondering where I have been and what we have been up to. All I have to say is that I am so thankful that Edward is in Preschool this year and that we decided to do the renovations to our house this year and not wait. It has interfered with our school schedule way to much. We are just basically working on the preschool basics and that is it. I ended up just putting the curriculum aside both out of frustration with the renovation and with the actual curriculum itself. Edward and I went on a vacation to Washington State for 2 weeks last month. We left here March 18th and didn't return until April 1st. We had so much fun and went to so many great places up there......Pacific Science Center, 2 different Children Museums, a Easter Brunch Cruise on the Sound, Bowling, Funtasia Indoor Amusement Park (we rode the bumper cars twice, the Indy go karts twice and played 18 holes of putt putt golf)....just to name a few places. We also saw my brother, his wife and their little boy Levi, my step-sister and her little boy Logan, my grandmother and grandfather on my fathers side along with my uncle (that was a great surprise) and of course we saw my mother and my grandmother (her mother). We got a little bit of winter and spring while we were there. It snowed a few days, sunshine a few days and rained the rest. We got pictures of Edward with the Easter Bunny (first time....just for fun) and also had 4 generation pictures done (my brother and his family were unable to come due to illness). We had the pictures taken at the Picture People. They asked us to sign release forms as they wanted to use some of our pictures in their studio for examples. All in all it was a great trip and so nice to get away from the chaos of the renovation here at home. Thankfully it was uneventful too (i.e. no one got injured). I wish I could have seen more folks while I was up there. Weather played such a huge part in not being able to see some of them, time played another part, as did location. I can't believe that I get so lost now when I go up north. I lived for the first 20 years of my life and now I couldn't find my way unless I have a GPS system. I felt so bad because my sister in law didn't get to see us but it would have been late at night and dark out...I feared so much that I would get lost and be unable to find my way back to the hotel. I just signed little man up for some of his summer activities, he will be going to a week long Soccer Camp (1 1/2 long each day for 5 straight days), 6 weeks of swimming lessons, a 10 week long summer bowling league. I still need to sign him up for Kindermusik Summer Camp (I hope that the other activities I just signed him up for wont interfer with this as I really want him to go) and I have to go to the rec center and see why I couldn't sign him up for Blast Ball this year. I should have been able to. I have until Friday to get that done. That is in May. Soccer camp is in mid June and Swimming Lessons are last 2 weeks of June, 1st 2 weeks of July and first 2 weeks of August. Bowling is every Monday. Right now we are finishing up our last Session of Imagine That Kindermusik Class (next year he will start their Young Child Program), Homeschool Bowling League (actually last day of that is tomorrow with awards in 2 weeks), Co-op Class (just 5 more weeks) and we just started Monart Classes again last Friday (I believe that there are 8 classes in total for that this session). I spent all of today unpacking all of Edward's toys and getting them put up in the new playroom/theater room that was added on in the renovation. I think I have a few more days of that to go. Then it will be on to gettting his bedroom into order (he got a big boy bed....a bunk bed with a trundle bed). I spent all of Saturday evening putting 330 stars on his ceiling. I have to get some more I think I will need 420 stars to complete his ceiling. He loves it, he things it looks cool so far. We also need to put up his new space themed ceiling fan that we bought him (it is the one by Hunter). After his bedroom is come the guest room, new kitchen, new bathroom, new laundry room and our bedroom to organize before my Mother-in-law comes for Edwards 5th Birthday. I have the Maids scheduled to come do the deep cleaning on the 30th of this month. So actually I only have until then to get the house back together. After my MIL leaves, the I have an attic and basement to deal with. I just want to get this house back together and organized then I can breath easily. I still have to go to the TPA Homeschool Convention at the end of May to look at Curriculum for Edward for Kindergarten next year. If you have any thing you can tell me about any great Kindergarten Curriculum, I am all ears. I know I wasn't that impressed or happy with the Horizons Preschool Curriculum that we used this year. I can already tell I am going to love my new Kitchen. I can't wait to start using it on a regular basis. We are still hit and miss with being able to use it. Tomorrow I am making Teriyaki with Orange and Ginger Salmon, Lemon Buttered Asparagus, Sour Cream w/ chives and sharp cheddar new potatoes, and whole wheat and rye dinner rolls. This will be the most extravagant thing I have made in my new kitchen. I am not sure if I said I was teaching the Co-op class that Edward is going to this semester. I have been having a blast working with the children, I can tell that this is something I have been missing since I became a Stay At Home Mommy and quit nannying. I have also taken over doing the Co-op weekly newsletter for the rest of the semester as a favor. Please keep our co-op president and her family in your prayers, they can use them. Bless her heart, she is so overwhelmed right now. I was more than happy to be of help. I actually have been enjoying doing it. However I still am unable to figure out how she made links within the newletter that would send you directly to the part of the newsletter you want to view. Oh well, maybe this way folks are reading the whole thing and learning about new things they might not know about. Well I think that is it in a nutshell.

To Funny

I don't think my Mother In Law will find this as funny but Edward keeps calling her Daddy's Grandma. I keep correcting him but he still keeps calling her that. He is so excited that she is coming for his 5th Birthday (I know can you believe that he is already going to be that old???). I just hope that by the time she gets here he has it down that she is Grandma to him but Mommy to Daddy.

Little Gentleman

I have to share this with everyone, I know I am about to be boastful & prideful .... I pray God will forgive me for my boastfulness & pride. We (Edward and I) were in Washington State on vacation for 2 weeks over Easter and my mom's birthday. We were staying in an extended stay hotel over by my grandma's. We had just gotten back on evening from visiting my Grandma (I believe...could have been my mom or both), we were walking up to the front door of the hotel where we encountered a very pregnant mommy, her daughter (about Edwards age....maybe a little older), and her little boy (about a year or so old...he was walking). The mom was trying to coax the toddler inside (it was raining out...I know big shocker in Washington state), when Edward without saying a thing walks over to her takes one of her 2 rolling suitcases out of her hands and proceeds to open the door for them, and pushes her suitcase up to the elevator. He pushes the button, the mom says to him thank you and that she could take the suitcase back. Edward looks at her and says "No Ma'me, I want to help you." He walks into the elevator, we all follow. He asks what floor (they ended up on the same floor as us, actually just 2 doors down on the opposite side of the hall), pushes the button. We get to the floor, he is still pulling the suitcase, she says she can take it. He says "No I want to take it to the room for you, ma'me." So we follow her to her room. He gives over her suitcase to her at her door. She says thank you. I was so touched by my son's insightfulness to this mom's situation and that she needed an extra hand. I must say I was proud of him and almost brought to tears by his thoughtfulness. I know that by this act alone that we are at least doing 1 thing right in raising him. Just had to share this story.