Hongraaayyy

This little girl acts like we never feed her! She loves to eat.

She will sit at her bowl until we pour food into it. She almost climbed in her food storage container earlier today.

She is growing so fast! Gosh...we are all smitten. She's such a perfect addition to our family! #sappy


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Tuesday randoms

Tuesday's are my random thinking days.  It seems like I come up with the oddest blog posts on Tuesday.  So here goes....

This is typically the time of the year when I am ready for spring to show itself.  Back in Texas I know it will go from cold to straight to steaming hot.  I'm hopeful that here in Ohio we will get some springlike temps soon.  I'm not bogged down with being cold like I thought I would.  It really isn't so bad, but I am feeling that spring fever creeping up on me as it does every year.  My favorite thing to do is sleep with the windows open at night.  We rarely get to do that in Texas, but I just know I will be sleeping in fresh spring air soon.  A girl can dream right!?!  Today all we have is rain.  It has rained on and off all day long.

I miss having a TV in the kitchen.  You  know one that I can see from the sink while I'm cooking or chopping vegetables. Lord knows I don't wash dishes.  If it can't be put into the dishwasher I don't own it. Anyway...we have always had to a very open floor plan in our kitchen/family room.  Now we don't and I've been craving some noise in the kitchen.  I decided to get a docking station for my iPhone or the iPod.  It has made my cooking and cleaning experience so much better!  I have been jamming out to my favorite Pandora stations while doing my least favorite chore, emptying the dishwasher.  Music makes the worst tasks more pleasant!

I am loving cereal lately.  Every once in awhile I get on a cereal kick.  I discovered Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch.  I am a huge Honey Nut Cheerios fan and adding flakes, almonds and clusters of nuts to that is perfection in my book.

Here's the box...go get some!

The kids love breakfast.  They usually have smoothies and pancakes, waffles or french toast sticks.  And fruit, they love fresh fruit.  I wish I could say I get up and make them bacon and eggs every morning, but I just don't.  I bought these mini pancakes at Kroger and they are a huge hit.  They smell amazing when they are cooking in the microwave for all of 30 seconds.  The smell lingers for several hours after I cook them.  One morning I'll have to eat a few myself.

Tonight I am making bar-b-que chicken.  It's just chicken breasts, a few seasonings and bar-b-que sauce.  It smells so good baking away in the oven.  I could have picked a million recipes, but chicken in Sweet Baby Ray's sauce sounded amazing.  Hayden saw the chicken and called it steak, so he's thrilled to be having steak tonight!

This little sassy puppy is giving me a run for my money.  The kids were showering in our master bathroom and the shower doesn't have a door, so she just climbed into the shower with them.  I walked away for all of 2 seconds and she was in there fast!  She is all lab.  Daisy would never get herself wet on her own free will.  Lily was in the shower having a grand ole time.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  I'm glad she could make their shower experience more pleasant!

Andddddd I just got a call from Gary that his stomach is upset.  Looks like I'll be eating my chicken with the kids and watching Pretty Little Liars alone tonight.  I don't want to get the stomach bug again.  Hopefully it is just something he ate and not the bug.  I'm praying and crossing my fingers for him!

sunny Monday

Today was a pretty Monday with lots of sunshine!   We tried to hang out outside even though it was a bit cool. 


Lily is getting really good at heading for the door when she has to potty.  The two pups loved rolling around in the grass wrestling in the sunshine.  I'm glad for this sunny day because I don't think we will see the sun the rest of the week.  Rain and snow are heading our way.  I'm ready for spring!!!!!!  I hope March will be the month we can see our month turn colorful!


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This and that from the weekend

Our weekend was nice and the kids loved having that extra ice day Friday.

Any time Layla is at home she is playing with and taking care of Lily. It is so sweet! They are best buddies and I love sharing the puppy chores with Layla!

Hayden needed a haircut so bad. I always let it go too far between cuts. I've taken him to the same place each time I've gotten his haircut since we moved here. I really haven't been happy with the haircuts he's been getting. I decided to take him to an old time-ish barber shop. The chairs had to be older than me. Hayden was in hog heaven. He loved his 'guy' experience. I loved everything except for the smelly old man gel. When the barber styled his hair I was gagging. That stuff is nasty, but Hayden's haircut is perfect!

Saturday evening we had dinner with friends. The kids had pizza cupcakes. They are such a fun idea and the kids loved them!

The moms decided to celebrate nation margarita day one day late. I think it was on Friday. Anyway, Gary made his famous recipe of Rita's and we splurged! They were delicious and a great way to celebrate Margarita day!

Sunday was a day of rest and cleaning. Once we got all our chores done we decided to go bowling. It was a fun afternoon and we are loving our Sunday afternoon bowling tradition. I bowled terrible though. My competitive side was crushed. I don't think I've ever bowled so terrible. We played two games and I was terrible in both games.

I just can't help but take pictures of my furry girls. They are so cute. Lily is so photogenic. Every time I look at her, it's as if her eyes are saying, "I'm camera worthy!" Haha! I've taken so many pictures of her lately. I can't wait for the day when I catch Daisy and Lily laying together. I just love my little flowers!

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Ice day!

The city schools were closed today due to a passing ice storm. I really don't think school should have been cancelled, but obviously I am not the decision maker for the school.






This morning I happened to capture this picture of my four sweeties. They may be sitting on the kitchen floor in miss-matched pj's, but I'll always love this memory!! They are all looking at the camera.

This afternoon we ventured out and went to the mall. It was a fun afternoon and the roads were very clear. The kids and I had a fun time with friends having lunch and shipping!

Gary is back from another week of travel and I am thankful we have a healthy weekend ahead. This time last weekend was not fun for any of us.

Happy weekend!

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we love our new puppy

This little girl has captured the hearts of every member of our family.  She is so full of energy and she is very very funny.  Lily is so soft and fluffy.  She is a talker.  She squeaks and barks and whines.  We all love her little voice.  She loves to lay on her back and take naps.  It is the cutest thing.  Daisy and Lily are slowly becoming best girl friends.  They love to wrestle and play chase.  I think our whole family is so happy with our new puppy and we can't wait to learn more about her every day!

down by the river

Today on President's Day we decided to do a little sight seeing in our historic area.  Our town is one of the first (if not the first) settlement in the Northwest territory.  I really need to do some more research to learn all the details and facts.

We all needed to get out and get some fresh air.  It felt good to watch the kids laugh and run after being in the house for a few days.

We walked along the river and explored and hit buckeyes with sticks that looked like golf clubs. 

It was a bit breezy and I was cold, but without the wind it would have felt nice.  We all decided we are ready for springtime.  There is a fun bike trail down by the river, and also a fun area we could take the dogs to play.  

I can't wait to see this area down by the river all green and blooming with flowers!  I officially have spring fever.  I'm not so sure if that is a good thing.  I know it will be cold here WAY into March.  A girl can hope though right!

third and hopefully final victim

Well, I was the third victim of the stomach bug.  I went down just a few hours after Hayden did on Friday night.  It was the worst stomach bug on the planet.  I thought I was going to die.  I didn't get out of my bed until about 6:15 on Saturday night. 

I never thought ice chips could taste so good!

 Thankfully Gary only worked for a few hours on Saturday and Layla and Hayden were excellent kiddos.  I couldn't have made it without Gary.  Poor guy, between me and Hayden he didn't get any sleep.  He had to take care of Hayden because I was so sick.   Layla took care of me on Saturday.  She brought me crackers, Tylenol, and Popsicles.  She is a great nurse.

The kids have a school holiday tomorrow.  Hopefully we will all be well and able to do something fun.  We have been cooped up in the house since last Wednesday.  First with the sniffles, and then with the stomach bug.  We are ready for a fun week of normalcy!

Another one bites the dust...

I'm so sad to say that Hayden is the second victim of the terrible stomach bug. It hit him this afternoon almost 48 hours after Layla got it.

He has been lucky in his 4.5 years of life. This is his first time to throw up. He said, "Mommy, I wish I wasn't sick because I have the sniffles and the stomach bug!" He also said to Gary, "Daddy I don't want to touch you because you will get the stomach germ."

Layla seems better today and she is even getting her appetite back. She didn't go to school today and she doesn't have school Monday for Presidents Day, so she will be very well rested and recovered. Hello 5 day weekend!

I am still sniffly, but so far I have dodged the stomach nastiness. I'm terrified I'm next! Ugh!!!

Y'all stay far far away from our house!!

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The things that happen when Gary travels

Do you remember back a few years ago when I wrote about how things go crazy when Gary is out of town?  Just because it is true and unbelievable read that post if you haven't.  Guess what?  Gary is out of town and the past day has been wild and crazy.  I may go into too much detail about a few things, so feel free to skip over the TMI parts.

Yesterday started out as a normal day.  Hayden and I headed to my Zumba class and I was feeling a little stuffy, but I assumed it was just allergies the wind blew in on Tuesday when it was 61 degrees and windy.  I knew Zumba would be a challenge with a stuffy nose, but I pushed through it.  Hayden on the other hand sneezed 500 times and was a snotty mess.  I decided to keep him home from school because he just looked so pitiful.

Hayden and I lounged around and used half a box of tissues.  I rested because Lily hasn't been sleeping through the night yet.  I have to take her outside during the night, so I'm a little drained from no sleep.  I have to say it is worth it though, because she is a sweet girl.  She is the best Valentine's day gift ever and the puppy/potty training phase will be over so fast.  I don't mind a few weeks of random sleep.

We picked Layla up from school in the snow.  I was shocked to see it was snowing when I looked out the window.  The snowflakes were the biggest I've ever seen.  

Once we got home from school we all had a snack and then Layla said her stomach started to hurt. Turns out she has a stomach virus that hit right about bed time.  Bedtime can get hectic around here and with Gary gone and a puppy too ... I was already struggling to get clean sheets on Hayden's bed.  Then Layla got sick all over the living room, kitchen and downstairs bathroom.  I literally thought I was going to die.

I needed a towel around my face to clean it up.  

Meanwhile Hayden was so stuffy he couldn't sleep or breathe.

I had him sitting in a chair near the window breathing in cool air.  Daisy was scarred to death hiding somewhere and Lily had to be crated due to all the commotion   It was like in the movies.  haha!  I was in an action packed sick house and even though I was stuffy I still struggled with cleaning barf.  IT was everywhere.  Bless Layla's heart.  I don't think she has thrown up in YEARS.  I don't think she knew what was going on.  I remember when I was a kid and I couldn't make it to the bathroom.  It's just so sad.

Layla's night was very rough and she is sad about missing school today on Valentine's day.  She still isn't 100% comfortable at her new school and for her to be excited to go made me happy.  After she got sick she was so upset to be missing school.  It's just so sad.

Hayden and Daisy have been resting today.  He isn't going to school again today because I am so tired.  I can't imagine getting Layla into the car to drop him off at school.  AND as bad as this stomach virus is, I don't want him eating a bunch of junk if he gets sick today.  I hope Hayden and I are spared, but I feel like I may be feverish.  Layla has fever, and I was with her all night last night.  I hope I don't get sick, but the rumor is going around that this bug is brutal.

Gary is heading home tomorrow and I hope he doesn't get sick.  Valentine's day is not at all what I expected and I am thankful we didn't have big plans today.  We would have missed them for sure.  I still can't believe all this happened once again while Gary is gone.  Hey, at least we don't have a bee hive the size of my head in the backyard! ;)  Things can always be worse right?!

random ramblings...

Gary and I aren't really into Valentine's day.  We do fun stuff for the kids, but I don't usually expect flowers and chocolates for myself.   I love all the red and pink and all the fun things for kids.  I love the candy, but I like to sample a piece of candy from the heart shaped box and put it back if I don't like it.  Yucky huh?  My family won't share candy with me.  I'm not a big chocolate fan, so if it tastes weird I put it back.  I don't waste calories on something that doesn't taste good.  Oh .... I know I am pathetic!

I've been addicted to the show Pretty Little Lairs.  I finally caught up on all 3 seasons.  It is a girlie show and honestly I don't think it is appropriate for ABC family, but whatever.  I usually let Layla watch most shows on that channel, but Pretty Little Liars is a little scary at times.  She won't be viewing it any time soon.  I can't wait to watch the episode recording right now on my DVR.

It has been warm the past few days here in Ohio.  When I say warm I mean it was 61 degrees yesterday and very windy.  Today it was in the 50's and still nice outside.  The weather makes me very excited about springtime!!  I can't wait to see all the trees green.  There are so many trees in our new state!  I wish our yard was bigger.

In previous posts (especially back in TX)  I have mentioned Hayden having asthma and needing an inhaler for daily breathing treatments.  Since getting his daily doses of medicine he hasn't really shown signs of asthma attacks.  We moved to Ohio and he hasn't needed allergy medicine or his inhaler.  We have stopped all medications all together. I am so happy for him!!! Even his eczema has pretty much gone away.  (crossing my fingers it stays away!)  Here I am hoping for springtime and in that hoping I also hope Hayden's allergies and asthma don't come back. Who knows what will happen when all the trees bud and the grass turns green. Also we don't have carpet in our house.  I wonder if that is helping him too.  We'll see how he does since we got a new puppy.  I hope he isn't allergic to Lily.

Lily is doing great.  She let me trim her toenails tonight.  She is so sweet and very vocal.  She grunts and groans and barks.  She is just so sweet and I love her little face!


Today I was late picking Hayden up from school.  I had to mail a few things and I got stuck at the post office.  It never fails when I go to the post office I get stuck in a line of at least 10 people.  I have all my items all packaged up and ready to mail and the post office clerk tells me I've used the wrong box.  Today was no different.   I wanted to crawl into the post office drop box just to get away from the frustration.  My lovely friend Erin picked up Hayden from school because I was late.  When I finally got him and got home we headed out to the backyard to let Lily do her business.  Hayden shut the backdoor and we quickly found out the door locked.  We were locked out of the house.  This is the second time this has happened to me since moving here.  I'm going to make a few spare keys tomorrow.  I ended up having to call a locksmith to come let me in.  It's just a ridiculous expense.  I'm thankful for the man who broke into my house, but it sure hurt handing over my credit card number.  At least this time the weather was nice.  Last time I locked myself out it was cold and pouring down rain.

Tomorrow is the first of our Valentine's parties. Hayden has one party on Wednesday and one on Thursday.  Layla has her party on Thursday and then we are doing our family stuff on Friday.  It will be a fun few days of celebrating 'RED and PINK'

Now I am off to watch some PLL!   Momma needs to watch some drama that isn't hers!!

she has a name!

We decided on a name for our new puppy.  She just looks like a Lily.  So we have a Daisy and a Lily.  Since we live in the Mid-Ohio Valley she is the Lily of the Valley!  She is our Ohio dog.  Lily has the cutest little personality and I am exhausted from running her to and from the backyard, but she showed me tonight that she seems to be 'getting' the PT idea.

Lily has four white paws and the tip of her tail is white.  When she wags her tail it looks like a sparkler.  She is just too cute for words!

We took the kids bowling today and I rocked it!  I was so proud of my bowling skills!  I won the first game and Gary and I as a team won the second game.  It was a fun time.

The weather was nice this afternoon so Gary grilled steaks in the backyard.  It was nice to feel the 50 ish degree temps.  I am looking forward to springtime here in our new town.  I just know it is going to be gorgeous and hopefully we will love springtime.  It seems like Texas gets hot so fast.  I'm hoping for some open windows and cool evenings here in a few months!

I'm watching the PGA tour with Gary while I type this.  I looked over and saw this little goof laying beside us.

She doesn't seem to have a problem getting comfortable around us does she?!? 

a new baby puppy

We have been busy the last two days welcoming this little munchkin into our family.

The kids are both smitten!

Layla is loving being a mommy to our new lab-mix puppy.  

We still don't have a name picked out ..... yet.  Hopefully we will come up with a fun name for our little girly.  I took all these pictures with my phone and I am looking forward to getting some better pictures of her with my camera!  Get ready for picture overload!