Random Post with Questions to Answer! Reply! Reply! Reply! Reply, Reply!

So I have all these really great pictures I want to share. I really Really want to share. They are from Memorial Day. My Hubby got back in uniform and walked in the Parade with his Dad to honor those before us. (I just have to add that he looked pretty darn good in his uniform!! Wink Wink!) I have all these great pictures from the day and I can't share. Why? There is this thing I have to worry about... Security. In the background of the pics, it clearly gives away where we live. On the cover (hat) of my FIL's uniform is says where we live. Then there is the museum sign, the street corner, every picture I look at there is something in it that gives it away. I know a few of you know where we live and thanks for not giving it away. After all my job as Mom is to protect my family, give them a safe, loving and secure place to grow up. So since the Memorial Day pictures were out of the question, I thought I would share a few of Bailey and her newest trick. She loves the frisbee! It is the kind that has the hole in the middle. She picks it up and runs with it, it flips over her head now looking like a halo and then her ears flop over the top of the frisbee. SO where is my great picture of this? My darn camera has a delay and she runs way too fast, I can't get a good pic. Strike two on my picture sharing. SO I promise I will keep trying to get that pic, but right now she is passed out sleeping at my feet. Have I mentioned just how good she is!! We've had our share of accidents, but we are all learning and it is getting better. She hates the crate, goes nuts! I am told to keep trying she will learn, be patient, she'll get used to it, but WOW does she hate it and WOW can she bark loud when in it! Funny how different she can be in there. She is a very calm, loving, sweet puppy, but when you put her in there...WOWSERS, she goes crazy! She bumped her head so hard that it actually was bleeding. We are rethinking this whole crate training idea. If only I could figure out a safe way to leave her when we aren't home.

Few questions for everyone:
1. How concerned are you about internet safety?
2. What do you do about it?
3. What kind of camera do you all have that takes all these wonderful pictures I always see?
4. Anyone have a spare that they would like to send this way? :)
5. Any ideas on crate training?
6. How do you leave your dog home alone?
7. How do you teach your dog to stop barking? She only does this when left alone.
8. How do you teach your dog to RETURN the frisbee?

The Upside of having a puppy... loosing weight!! Yeah you read that right! Yippeee!! I am so excited. I have really been trying to lower my food intake and get outside more...it's finally paying off! Bailey and I walked for almost an hour and a half two nights ago, it was great to get out. The Downside...wearing the wrong shoes and having killer blisters!

I know this is a random post, going in many directions, it's probably the large cup of coffee I just finished, but reply, reply reply, fill me in on some pointers!

Have a good one everyone!

My Guest Blogger

HELLO!

I'd like to say Hello to all of the Girlymom readers out there. You don't know me, but I am the newest Girlymom Family Member- Yes another girl in the house! If you don't mind, I am going to take a minute to boast about myself a bit. I have golden blond hair, it's unbelievably soft, a tad curly, a bit frizzy, but it suits me well. As of today my favorite color to accessorize with is red. I love kids and you know what, they LOVE me...in fact EVERYONE LOVES ME! That sounds conceided I know, but it's the truth. I am really friendly with everyone, but still a little unsure of this Girlymom household. They actually expect ME to let THEM get beauty sleep, HA- there's too much going on to sleep. I am about 4 months old, a little homesick, a little unsure, but so far life is good here. I think I just might get spoiled in this house. Well, I am told it is time to go take in the rays, get some exercise and learn all about my new family. It's great to meet you. Since I am so cute, I am sure there will be plenty more pictures soon, so stay tuned!

Paws~

Bailey

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~This is is Bailey~

our 4 month Goldendoodle puppy who has joined the family. Enjoy!

Hmmm....I Wonder Who it Could Be?

Guest Blogger Tomorrow...

Stay Tuned!

Pictures from the Weekend

The ONLY thing Annie wanted for her Birthday was CANDLES. My MIL makes the Bday cakes and she put 36 candles on the cake, one for every month we have had to enjoy Annie.

She was very happy blowing them all out.

What happens to a 3 year old when the last candles are blown out by her older sisters?
Daddy relit a few just for her. There's that smile again!
Molly being silly!

Practice candles- breakfast cinnamon roll, birthday crown, pajamas and candles... she was a Happy Girl!

Out of the mouth of a 3 year old...the first gift she opened was a groovy girl doll..."I No Like It!" Reaches for next gift. She's not a snob, it's just her favorite thing to say lately. That's always fun. Ha! She was happy with the Dora Doll and it hasn't stopped talking yet!

We walked down to the Kite Festival at the beach this weekend. Here are a few random pics of my crew! It was a beautiful day and definately windy enough...brrr!

~~~36 Months~~~

How do I Thank You Annie for all of the smiles, hugs and giggles that you bring to my life?

You are one of the silliest little girls that I know. "Look at Me Mom, Look Me!"

Sweet Annie, I have been looking at you.

I have been adoring you.

I have been loving you.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

2 Kindergarteners Around Here and Some Puppy Thoughts Outloud

How did Lolo go from this...

To This?

She is growing up way too fast. As of Wednesday I now have 2 Kindergarteners in this house. Lolo graduated from preschool *sigh* She is now a Kindergartener...and thrilled. (Molly is still in school, so technically still a Kindergartener)
"Mom, stop telling me that it is my last day of preschool, it makes me sad."
Makes her sad, What about me? Someday she will realize how she is breaking my heart. She is growing up way too fast and I am not ready. I am not ready to put her on the bus in the fall, she's just too little! Looks like I have all summer to get used to the idea, but till then I can pout and not like it.

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What is my decision about the puppy?

Look what we brought home...

Don't get any crazy ideas...This is Bo, he's my brother's dog and we are borrowing him...for a night. He goes home today, but I have to say I just might miss him. Ok, Ok, he came home with us late last night, it's not like we really bonded. Although when he was sleeping at my feet last night (while I was watching LOST- c'mon...any LOST fans?) Bo settled into a deep sleep and then it happened...he relaxed a bit too much, he made himself right at home and I discovered my "million dollar invention idea"~Doggie GasX! Holy Moly can he clear the room...so yeah maybe we did bond, I was feeling a bit too close to him at that moment. (I can hear my brother laughing loudly right now...seriously it's not funny, his stench hurts!) Hubby has been out of town for the past few days and I have to say it felt good to have Bo here last night. Sure he was a bit unsettled being in a new place. He heard every noise, he followed the kids around looking for them. It was nice. I have to say that I think I just might miss his stinky self when he goes back home today. *sigh* See...I'm still undecided.

Here's the rest of the story. Before Hubby and I had children we knew we wanted a dog. We had it all picked out, a golden retriever named Bailey- Yes Hubby is Irish and we love the Bailey's Irish Cream. We never got our Bailey because we moved alot. Hubby was deployed alot and I was pregnant ALOT. We didn't think it made sense to get a dog in Hawaii when I had little babies to care for alone. We didn't want to travel/fly with a dog, so we waited. We moved to Chicago. This was the closest Naval location to home in Michigan. After being across an ocean we wanted to get back home as much as possible. We did alot of roadtrips back and forth between Chicago and home. I still wanted the dog, but with all the travel and Hubby still working such long hours...we got a cat. We were able to leave the cat or take the cat along. He was small, portable and we love him. So this brings us to today. We left the Navy life. We are settled into a house back home. Hubby still works long hours, but I don't ever see that changing, it's just a part of who he is and what he has to do. So, why am I trying to talk myself out of my Bailey? I can reason with the logical...we want to redo the foundation on our house...someday. Yeah it isn't going to be anytime soon, let's get realistic about that idea. It isn't like you can just wake up one day and say this is it, I have endless amounts of cash, I am going to lift my house and redo the foundation. Ha! That would be nice!

(anyone with extra cash that has this urge to lift a house, feel free to contact me...we can work something out)

I could be waiting a very Very long time before the foundation happens, do I really want to wait that long for Bailey? So while I ponder this puppy idea, while I see Annie run back and forth through the living room giggling at Bo, I will wish you all a very Happy Aloha Friday and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

FlipFlop

This is Me... A FlipFlop.

Just when I think I have made my mind up about something, of course I rethink it all and change my mind. It doesn't matter what it is, I flipflop my way through it. This puppy business, I am a mess, Yes, No, Yes, No. I have my pros and I have my cons, I am a list person. As of right now the cons list is higher. BUT then I come home from picking up Lolo from her last day of preschool and walk in the door thinking- Ya know it would be nice to come home to someone happy to see me. I grew up with a dog. I had my own little white dog when I was a little girl. Loved it to pieces. Tisha and I went everywhere together. We rode bikes, she sat in the doll stroller, the wagon, we ran all over the neighborhood. (Remember when kids were allowed to run all over the neighborhood???) The little voice in my head that says this puppy thing is a phase, the kids will get bored with it, they will forget...is also screaming at me... remember Tisha, remember how much you loved that dog. Is it the right time? Well seriously...is it ever? Is there ever a perfect time to get a puppy. If I thought like that then I doubt I would have started having a family so early. Do you see it? It's happening again...I'm leaning toward yes. Oh how I wish I was a person who knew all the answers, but then again is life really truly interesting if you know what you are going to do and when you are going to do it? Maybe this flipflop life is perfect for me, it keeps me thinking, it keeps me guessing. So as for the puppy...I have 3 more weeks before they can go home with anyone. I have 3 more weeks to decide. AND I have 3 more weeks of sweet, annoying, honest obsessive begging from the kids. At least the toy room has been clean... they really want a puppy!

What the Kids are Begging for...

So Beautiful!

Mother's Day Morning I wake up to nurse Dels, Annie wakes up and crawls across me to get to Hubby. I hear a noise on the steps, get up to check and I see Lolo coming upstairs with a tray...with grape juice. I jump back in bed so I don't ruin the surprise and tell Hubby it would be wise to assist her. I am served my juice and poptart- Yum! Hubby takes the youngest two downstairs, Lolo disappears, I am alone and it's quiet. I close my eyes and enjoy the peace. I am next instructed to keep my eyes shut.

Hmmmm.... wonder what they are up to? Look who made Mom Beautiful!

Do you think they had a tad bit of fun jazzing me up?

After I was made beautiful we all came downstairs for some cinnamon rolls (and COFFEE)

It was a Beautiful start to my Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

WW~Wishing I Was Here!

The words to go with the pictures...

My FIL is home from the hospital. He is resting, recovering and ready to be back to his busy body self. After the dance recital we took the oldest two children to the hospital to visit him...in their dance costumes. They were so happy, giggly and uplifting. It was perfect.

The Graduation Party went really well. We did the mad dash house clean up, lawn mowed, glasses rinsed, serving platters out, coolers filled. It was great! For that split moment before people showed up...my house was clean. Everything put away, bathroom looked untouched, towels clean, beds made. It's just proof that it can be done and should be done more often...Ha!

The dance recital was wonderful! I'm just going to be the proud Mama for a minute so stick with me and listen to me brag and boast. Ok~ my children were the ones that the whole group watched. They knew their stuff. They had their dance steps memorized. They performed them beautifully and were very proud of themselves. From beginning to end they were performers, from walking out to the end curtsy. Molly with her toothless grin, Lolo with her skinny little self. They were happy and loving it and I was the proud Mom on the edge of my seat clapping loudly, even a few Hoot Hoots. Not only was I proud of my dancers, but my audience was amazing as well. The seats were the fold up kind like in a movie theater. Little Annie sat in one by herself, looking teeny tiny, but determined to sit alone. She sat there quietly with her legs crossed and her hands folded on her lap and watched. She was so patient, so quiet, so fascinated and just plain perfect. As if that was not enough I turn to the other side and see my Hubby who is rocking Dels in the carseat...asleep. Can we freeze time? For this little blip of time, everything was calm, everyone was happy. I didn't want to blink. *sigh* It was perfect.

Then there was Monday...back to reality. Annie pees on the freshly cleaned rug and her clothes, can't be one or the other, it has to be both. Beds are all messy, crumbs all over the floor. I change Dels diaper and lay her on the floor to roll around. I ran upstairs to grab some warmer clothes, run back down and start to change her...she's wet. Not her diaper, her diaper is dry. One tab came undone, the diaper slid to the side...just far enough and she peed. *sigh* So that rug is wet, those clothes soaked. A little while later and I am holding Dels on my chest, we are looking into each others faces, smiling, making faces, giggling...then she spits up...on my chin, down my neck, into my shirt... did I really expect perfect to last? Ha! But you know what, to me this is perfect. I am a Mom to 4 wonderful children, I am needed, wanted, hugged, spit up on, peed on and loved. When I was sitting there covered in spit up, wondering how I was going to move...I reminded myself that I am going to miss this someday. Not today, but someday. Until then I will try my best to live each and everyday enjoying it all and taking it all in.
The not so perfect and the perfect.

Check out their recital pictures below...

I Hope You Dance!

Spare Time

At least the kids have spare time!

Poor Jakey, he's not thrilled to be dressed up in doll clothes, but he wasn't running away either. He loves the attention. I don't have much time to post lately, but I had to share these pics and a quick update/prayer request. My FIL went into the hospital last night with double pnemonia. He is doing well, but he is the backbone to everything around here, so the world is topsy turvy. My SIL J graduates from College today. I will have to dedicate another post to her later this week. She is having a graduation party tomorrow and because of the topsy turvyness, we volunteered to host the party at our house. See, I knew I was on a spring cleaning binge for a reason. Needless to say, we have dance recitals today, soccer games and a party to prepare.

Stay tuned for more updates as they come, some recital pictures too.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!