In case you are wondering why you didn't get a Christmas card from us....

The reason is simple.

I cannot take a picture of my kids to save my life.

Here is the results of this morning's photo shoot...  it was a total disaster.


Carly looks cute, Hoot looks like a goofball.

Carly smiles, Hoot looks like I am torturing her.

the issue here is pretty obvious... LOL

Eyes closed.

Telling a story.

Sassy look on Hoot's face, Carly's multiple chins are showcased.

I told Hayden, "Hold on to Sis so she doesn't fall out of the chair."  Hayden heard "Squeeze your sister 'til she cries."

Why not watch a little TV?

"Hey, Mom?  Are we done yet?"

Meltdown eminent.

This was the end... because Hoot got in trouble for nearly pushing the baby out of the chair.

"My sister ditched me to go cry in the kitchen."

So now you see that I can't even take their picture in front of the stinking Christmas tree and get one for my own archives much less one that is suitable for a Christmas card!! LOL  What a mess!!  I may try again, but I am not making any promises.  So, please remember that it isn't because we don't love our friends and family - it is because I don't thing any of them want one of these pictures on their mantle!!!! Hahaha!

Getting ready for christmas...

The shopping is done.

The presents are wrapped.

The food is planned.

The stockings are hung.

The house is decorated.

And visions of sugarplums are dancing in these little girl's heads.

(Please pay no mind to the Scary Mary hair that Hootie is sporting.  I just took out her piggy-tails for bed whe we decided to have an impromptu taping. I do comb my kid's hair, honest. LOL)

Craft Therapy

We all have ways of "dealing" with things.

Some people drink, some people eat.

Me?  When I am down, I displace my sadness with some time spent in my craft room. 

Last week, when my P-Weenie girl passed away, I needed something to keep my hands busy.  I am happiest when my hands and mind are busy creating something. 

My inspiration was this:

This is our Baby Stella and as you can see by her grayish coloring, Hoot loves her.  She goes all over with us.  She is soft and cuddly and sweet.

And naked.  Really really naked.

She came with an outfit, of course.  And Hayden loves taking it on and off  having me take it on and off for her.  But the outfit is starting to look pretty ratty and i thought that she might like some variety.  The clothes that are made for her are pretty pricey, but as I browsed Pinterest (FOLLOW ME) I came across this.

When I was a little girl, I learned to sew by making heaps of doll clothes with my Granny.  We whiled away many many summer hours together in her sewing room - she taught me and provided me with scraps and snacks.  Those are some of my happiest memories.  And a girl's doll can never have too many clothes, right?


So, with a little tweaking to the patterns in the link above, Stella (and her other dolly friends) will be receiving a new wardrobe under the Christmas tree.

Here is the first round of clothes:

And diapers:

And some particularly cute pajamas:

Can you guess why I loved this fabric?

And I have more plans in the pipes.

A little sundress? Some shorts? Little blouses? The possibilities are endless......  what a lucky little baby doll.  :-)

goodbye, best friend.

Piper Penelope

6/5/2005-12/7/2011

Night before last, I said goodbye to my sweet little Granny Pug.  She finally let go.  She hasn't really been "herself" for a long time, so her passing away is very bittersweet.  She isn't hurting or confused anymore, but I miss her so much.

On Wednesday night when she died, Garrett was boarding a plane for Las Vegas and my parents were bringing dinner over  to my house.  Piper was having another "episode" and I had decided long before now that we were done taking heroic measures to keep her going.  She was kind of a shell of the dog she was before Carly was born 14 weeks ago, but I spent the last 14 weeks taking care of her and loving her unconditionally - just like she had loved me for the last 6 1/2 years.

I will miss everything about her.  As I have told you before, she didn't always have the best behavior.  She never came when called unless you had a snack. She was the picture of disobedience.  She had secret thumbs and could break into any container, cupboard, room, whatever.  Like a tiny ninja.

She also had a heart of gold.  She had many adventures.  If someone didn't like her, she would force herself upon them until they did.  The other night when i posted about her dying on Facebook, I got around 50 comments -and many of them included a memory about my sweet girl.  She was pretty unforgettable.

Piper taught me a lot about myself.  She taught me to be a mom, to put someone else first.  She taught me patience (you need a lot of that with a dog like Piper in your house) and she taught me kindness.  In her last months with me, she taught me that sometimes things are hard, sometimes you have to watch someone you love have seizures, get lost in the backyard, forget where she is. Sometimes you have to see things you don't want to see your friend go through - but you do because that is what it means to be a friend. 

When Hayden was born, everyone told me that i would love Piper less.  That never happened for me.  I loved her like she was one of my children.  She was more than just a pet.

Wednesday night when Piper wasn't doing well and my husband was out of town and my parents  were on the way, I held my baby dog and told her that it was okay for her to let go. I will be okay again someday, not to worry about me.  I told her that I loved her so much and that I always would. I stepped out of the room to nurse the baby and call my mom and Piper listened to me for the first time in her life.  She just let go.

My heart is pretty much in a million pieces.

Garrett isn't  home yet, so my dad buried her in a sunny spot in the backyard. 

Hayden keeps asking me where Weenie-Pug is.  She wants to let her in, to feed her, to kiss her.  I told her that Piper is in Heaven and not coming back.  My heart breaks a little more every time she asks because I want to do those things, too.

All of this has me asking myself why we do this to ourselves - why do we let someone like a dog into our lives, knowing that we will out live them and that we will have to feel this crushing grief.  The only answer that I can think of is that it is Piper teaching me one last thing.  She is showing me that I am strong, that I can open my heart and love someone with everything i have knowing that the outcome will someday hurt.  She is teaching me that it is worth it.  She is showing me that loss and grief are not the end.

I miss you so much, PiperDoggie.  You are in my heart forever.  Rest with love, sweet girl.  I love you.  I hope you are somewhere great, running with other dogs, being your old bossy self.  Daddy and I will  never forget you.  You will always be our first baby.  <3

taking a moment to brag about Carly Kate

 Well, for starters, as you can see, she is freaking ADORABLE. 

And CHUBBY - like a little meatball.  Hayden was never chubby - she was a string bean at this age.  I adore the cheekies and the leg rolls. 

She will be 14 weeks old tomorrow.  Time is flying.  She loves to be on her belly and has started rolling over in the past couple of days.

She adores her big sis and smiles at the very sight of her. She has started having interest in toys - Hoot likes to bury her in a mountain of baby todays and ask, "You like toys?"  LOL

She sleeps all night long, snug as a bug in Mama and Dada's bed.  We wouldn't have it any other way. :)

She is pretty much a Mama's girl.  She is happiest if I am packing her around. LOL

Today I got out the Jumperoo.  Can you belive she is old enough for a Jumperoo?!?

Can you tell she likes it?

Of course, she has a lot of "help". LOL

So, there you go.  A moment with my littlest girl.  Isn't she the sweetest little meatbal you've ever seen??  <3

All aboard the Potty Training Train

It has been a while since I wrote.  I guess I have kind of been kind of getting my crap together.  Since my last post, things are looking up.  I am feeling better.  I got so many kind words and stories - I feel like I am not a freak, I am not alone.  The "baby blues" I wrote about are lifting.  Thank you to all of my friends - your kindness has meant the world to me. :-) Things can only look up from here.

In other news, this family has decided to get on the Potty Train.  That's right - somewhere along the lines, my biggest baby became a big girl and is old enough for the potty.  on the way home from WalMart on Wednesday night, we had this conversation:

Hoot: Hey, Mom.  I pooped.
Me: Oh, Hayden, seriously?!
Hoot: Yeah.  I pooped. Caca.
Me: (This part was pretty half assed, really.  You know how you say things to your kids just to say it but you know it is having no bearing on anything at all?  It was like that.) Oh, Sister.  That is so gross.  You should try to use the potty. 
Hoot: Nope.
Me: The day you use the potty, Hoot, I will drive you straight to WalMart and buy you a Rapunzel doll, day or night.

And with that, the seed was planted.  More for me than her.  Her answer was still pretty much "Nope".

So, I did a little bit of research, asked my mom-friends a few questions, and armed myself with some stickers and a handful of chocolate chips and into the trenches I went.

I made a sticker chart (a Princess one no less), hung it up by the toilet and made a game plan.

Pretty simple:  Pee in the potty, get a sticker for your chart and (just to sweeten the deal a little more) five chocolate chips.  5 stickers = a bigger prize.

I thought it would take some time to get five stickers, especially given that her answer in regards to the potty was still, "Nope."

I stripped her naked from the waist down and told her, "If you have to pee, you have to remember the potty.  You don't want to pee on the floor."

Her answer? "Okay, Mama."  I tried not to look TOO shocked.

So there she sat.

(taken with my crappy phone camera)

She was determined to get those chocolate chips.

Soon, she went.  We all screamed and laughed like maniacs and we were so proud.

And about it taking a long time to get the five stickers: the next day before noon, we were at WalMart for a "prize".  And remember that conversation up above where I promised a Rapunzel doll?  Yeah - the little stinker didn't forget.  On the way to WalMart, she informed us of this: "Haydie pick Pun-hul doll. And Flynn.  And that frog."  The kid was picking a toy store. LOL 

Thankfully there was this set that included all three.  Bugger was $25, though.  Damn you, Disney and your overpriced but adorable toys!

My husband started to get a wee bit nervous about the price of potty training here.  Less than 24 hours later, we were back for round two:

And, as you can see by our chart, we will be headed in for round three before noon tomorrow. LOL

So so far, this has been a breeze.  She is ready and willing, and so over the top proud of herself.  She has only had one accident in four days, is reminding herself to go sit on the potty and not pee on the floor and even POOPED once tonight!  Pooping was the part I thought was in the distant future, but nope.  She sat on the potty for a minute, stood up, pointed at the potty and said, "Dada.  Ew.  Caca." and sure enough, poop. 

I never knew I could be so very proud of poop. LOL

I am not counting any chickens before they are hatched yet, but it is all going way better than I expected.

The only issue now is that we are going to have to revise our potty policy so that we aren't sent to the poor house.  These big-ticket "prizes" are hell on our wallets. LOL