You know how you plan to do nothing and just relax, and then something happens to change that? Yeah, that's what happened to us yesterday. Back in March, we rescued a Golden Retriever named Buster. He has adjusted to our family quite well- of course he was supposed to be MY dog, and he has attached himself to Ryan. He and Finchy are great playmates, and he is really good with the kids. He has also gone from 95 pounds down to 80 pounds. Apparently, he also has a little bit of dinosaur in him as well. Remember that scene in Jurrassic Park where they are talking about the Raptors testing the electric fence for weaknesses? It sort of played out yesterday in our back yard.
Yesterday, Ryan woke up early and went for a run. I woke up shortly after him and went downstairs to enjoy the quiet for a little while. I let the dogs out into the back yard. About 5 minutes later, I heard Finchy barking and barking. I didn't want him to annoy the neighbors so I went to call both dogs in. Finchy came immediately. Buster didn't. I looked around the yard, and pit settled in my stomach as I saw the hole in the fence. Our dog/raptor found a rotted section in the fence and went through it. Finchy was barking to let me know Buster was out.
I'm not going to lie, I said a swear word (the one that starts with an s). I also said, Chili Dawg would have never done this- which was dumb because someone let Finch and Chili Dawg out of our backyard once. Not even thinking, I ran through the house out the front door. I was in my golden retriever pajama pants (if you've ever loved a golden you would understand) and t-shirt, and bare foot. I ran down the middle of the street screaming for Buster, praying in my head that he hadn't gotten too far away, hoping I picked the right direction, and swearing under my breath. When I got to the part of our street where I had to pick a direction, I stopped, because coming straight towards me from across the main street was Buster with a big grin on his face. He ran right up to me and I thanked God, grabbed his collar and let him drag me back down the road to our house. I gave Finchy a treat for being a good dog and letting me know that Buster got out (and yes, Buster is microchipped and has a tag with our info on it, but still).
When Ryan got home, I greeted him at the door with a glass of water and the story of Buster's escape. Ryan went outside, checked all of the fence line for rotting, made a list, and headed to Menard's. He and I spent the morning and part of the afternoon securing our fence from our dinosaur/dog. And that, is why you can never plan to do nothing, because something will always creep in when you least expect it.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
In our house, both sets of grandparents have rock star status. No one knows this better than my mom. Recently, Juliana learned to say "gamma", and proudly demands grandma's time in her demanding voice, "gamma. Gamma! GAMMA! Come, come!" (Much to my dad's dismay, she cannot say her 'p's yet, so he is also 'gamma').
A couple weeks ago, Noah's preschool did an Arbor Day Celebration. We were allowed to bring siblings along to the park as all of the preschool teachers set up different nature stations with activities for everyone. I wanted to bring Juliana with, but if you have ever gone anywhere with Juli, you know that her behavior is always a toss-up- you never know who you will get. I asked my mom if she wanted to come with me, so that way if I had to leave with Juli, Noah would still get to participate. Grandma said yes. Of course, on that day, it was nice and chilly out (all week it had been sunny and in the upper 60's). We braved the cold for about 2 hours before I decided that it was time for us to go home. Grandma was a trooper through it all, keeping her grandchildren happy and warm during each rotation.
This past week, Noah graduated from preschool (I will do that post a little later). We invited Grandma and Grandpa down for the ceremony. Grandma came down a day early and got to spend the afternoon and evening with Noah and Juli. Noah even dragged Grandma along to his Kindergarten Lap Sit to help him get comfortable in his school for next year. The following morning, Ryan and I were awakened to Juli's demanding voice over the baby monitor demanding, "gamma. Gamma! GAMMA!" I had to go and wake grandma up so that she could "rescue" Juli from her crib.
After Noah's graduation, Grandma and Noah had a little bit of time together before she had to drive home. Noah had told Grandma all about the nest they had built in preschool and how they pretended to be baby birds and ate gummy worms. So, Grandma and Noah built a nest in our flowers, and Noah was hoping a bird would lay an egg in it. While Grandma was gathering nest-building materials, she stumbled on an egg under one of our trees. Noah and Grandma carefully placed the egg in the nest and covered it so it would be warm. Then Grandma had to say good-bye and get on the road before rush hour traffic. It's always sad when Grandma has to leave, but it's good to know she is loved! Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love you bunches!
A couple weeks ago, Noah's preschool did an Arbor Day Celebration. We were allowed to bring siblings along to the park as all of the preschool teachers set up different nature stations with activities for everyone. I wanted to bring Juliana with, but if you have ever gone anywhere with Juli, you know that her behavior is always a toss-up- you never know who you will get. I asked my mom if she wanted to come with me, so that way if I had to leave with Juli, Noah would still get to participate. Grandma said yes. Of course, on that day, it was nice and chilly out (all week it had been sunny and in the upper 60's). We braved the cold for about 2 hours before I decided that it was time for us to go home. Grandma was a trooper through it all, keeping her grandchildren happy and warm during each rotation.
This past week, Noah graduated from preschool (I will do that post a little later). We invited Grandma and Grandpa down for the ceremony. Grandma came down a day early and got to spend the afternoon and evening with Noah and Juli. Noah even dragged Grandma along to his Kindergarten Lap Sit to help him get comfortable in his school for next year. The following morning, Ryan and I were awakened to Juli's demanding voice over the baby monitor demanding, "gamma. Gamma! GAMMA!" I had to go and wake grandma up so that she could "rescue" Juli from her crib.
After Noah's graduation, Grandma and Noah had a little bit of time together before she had to drive home. Noah had told Grandma all about the nest they had built in preschool and how they pretended to be baby birds and ate gummy worms. So, Grandma and Noah built a nest in our flowers, and Noah was hoping a bird would lay an egg in it. While Grandma was gathering nest-building materials, she stumbled on an egg under one of our trees. Noah and Grandma carefully placed the egg in the nest and covered it so it would be warm. Then Grandma had to say good-bye and get on the road before rush hour traffic. It's always sad when Grandma has to leave, but it's good to know she is loved! Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love you bunches!
Monday, May 7, 2012
First Week of Preschool...
Last Monday was Juliana's first day of preschool. Her father and I were nervous wrecks, because she had to get on the bus and go to school by herself. That's scary when it's your first time doing something new. Even scarier when you are 3 years old. All weekend we talked about how much fun she was going to have at school, and how cool it is to take the bus. Monday morning, Juli said "no 'cool, no bus". I knew it was going to be a tough day for all of us.
When I dropped her off at Theresa's house, I wanted to stay so I could put her on the bus the first time. Tino had said it would be okay if I came in a little later, since 1st period is my plan period. When we got to Theresa's house, Juli became a clingy monkey and it took both Theresa and I to get her off of me. I knew that if I stayed it would only get worse once it came time to put her on the bus, so I choked back my tears and went to work. Theresa promised to text me when Juli got on the bus and when she got home. I also sent her teacher a quick email and asked her if she had time, if she could let me know how Juli's day went.
Theresa texted me, as promised, but she didn't mention how Juli did with the bus (for a reason, I found out later). I had an email from her teacher after my lunch period. Juli screamed the whole way to school on the bus, and burst into tears when they went to put her back on the bus after school. Other than that, her first day went pretty well. When I picked her up after school, her first words to me were, "Momma, I kaied (cryed) on bus". She kept saying it over and over again, and my heart broke.
As the week went on, Juli stopped crying on the bus, and every day when I picked her up, she would say, "Momma, rode bus!" By the end of the week, she was announcing that to her teacher as well. She still continues to be clingy to me when I drop her off in the morning, but she is doing better with the transition.
Here's the video Theresa sent me. At the end of the video, if you listen closely, you can hear her crying for Noah. I watched it repeatedly and ended Monday night in the fetal position on the couch. I am glad that the rest of her week went better.
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| Waiting for the bus at Theresa's house |
When I dropped her off at Theresa's house, I wanted to stay so I could put her on the bus the first time. Tino had said it would be okay if I came in a little later, since 1st period is my plan period. When we got to Theresa's house, Juli became a clingy monkey and it took both Theresa and I to get her off of me. I knew that if I stayed it would only get worse once it came time to put her on the bus, so I choked back my tears and went to work. Theresa promised to text me when Juli got on the bus and when she got home. I also sent her teacher a quick email and asked her if she had time, if she could let me know how Juli's day went.
Theresa texted me, as promised, but she didn't mention how Juli did with the bus (for a reason, I found out later). I had an email from her teacher after my lunch period. Juli screamed the whole way to school on the bus, and burst into tears when they went to put her back on the bus after school. Other than that, her first day went pretty well. When I picked her up after school, her first words to me were, "Momma, I kaied (cryed) on bus". She kept saying it over and over again, and my heart broke.
As the week went on, Juli stopped crying on the bus, and every day when I picked her up, she would say, "Momma, rode bus!" By the end of the week, she was announcing that to her teacher as well. She still continues to be clingy to me when I drop her off in the morning, but she is doing better with the transition.
Here's the video Theresa sent me. At the end of the video, if you listen closely, you can hear her crying for Noah. I watched it repeatedly and ended Monday night in the fetal position on the couch. I am glad that the rest of her week went better.
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