One of My Favorite Places....

and this weekend it is going to be to hot to spend much time there!!! What will I do with all these children if we can't go outside?

The Boss will be taking Dash and Daisy to the vet on Saturday. I'll go along but she is very excited about taking them in for a check-up. The experience will be a little bitter sweet for me as this is the wonderful place that took care of Kos during her last days. At some point we have to move on.

This Has Got To Stop.....

At least she brings with her a pillow and blanket!!! Granted she is so adorable but how can one small child take up so much space. She sneaks in between 4:30 & 5:00 when The Old Man and I are deep asleep and there is no chance we are getting up to take her back to her room when within an hour our alarm is going to go off. Last night, the Monster joined in as well so something has got to be done!

Speaking of getting done, here is the new kitchen Before (well with the new stove as The Old Man forgot the full Before shot) and After (and granted it helps that the kitchen is actually clean in the after picture).

Next will be the replacing of the countertops. The new vanity for the Master Bath should be in next week so more home improvement photos to come!

Stolen from Tammy

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? No but last night I was patted down to get into the Cowboy game.

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters? From what I remember I do not. It's been a decade since I've been on a roller coaster.

3. When's the last time you've been sledding? I live in Texas, nuf said.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? With someone else. Here at The Shoe we have slumber parties every Friday night and all sleep in the loft. However, I usually sneak into my bed after the kids are asleep.

5. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes

6. Do you consider yourself creative? Not in the least but I somehow managed to have creative children.

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Don't really care

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? Jen.

9. Do you stay friends with your exes? Some

10. Do you know how to play poker? I do but only play with M&M

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? Very close once when working for an attorney who was representing a doctor in a peer review hearing.

12. What's your favorite commercial? I don't watch TV.

13. What are you allergic to? As Tammy can tell you lemons flavoring, peaches flavoring and the antibiotic Ketek.

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights? No.

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? I have secrets only some know, but nothing that no knows.

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? Neither.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? Once

18. How often do you remember your dreams? Yes and it isn't always a good thing.

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles? No.

21. What's the one thing on your mind now? Preparing for trial, The Boss's sixth birthday, how to control the Monster, what to wear to work today, did I get everything done this weekend....

22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass barbie is? No.

23. Do you always wear your seat belt? Yes.

24. What cell service do you use? Sprint

25. Do you like sushi? No.

26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident? Yes. I'm always driving and Tammy is with me..

27. What do you wear to bed? When The Old Man is lucky something silky and red. More often than not comfy 10 year old pjs.

28. Been caught stealing? Nope.

29. What shoe size do you have? 81/2 (thanks to being pregnant three times in 4 years)

30. Do you truly hate anyone? No.

31. Classic Rock or Rap?Neither.

32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? Matthew McConaughey

33. Favorite Song? Today, it's "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.

34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror? Yes.

35. What food do you find disgusting? I'll eat almost every type of food.

36. Do you sing in the shower? No. Out of courtesy for others I never sing.

37. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours"? Yes apparently when I was about 4.

38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back? Of course. Tammy is one of my best friends after all. How could you not!

39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Yes.

40. Have you ever been punched in the face? The Monster broke my nose once. Does that count?

Let me know if you steal.

Conversation with a 19 month old

The Old Man handed Doodlebug a cup of juice. She came running to me while saying Thank You to her dad. I told her, he can't hear you, say Thank You real loud. From Doddlebug "Thank You Real Loud Daddy!"

Love this stage!

Those Silly Kittens

Life at the Shoe with our newest members...

Daisy is the playful, independent type...

Dash is the cuddly, snuggly one...

Dash can also be very helpful...

And when the kittens nap, we take to the pool! Doodlebug perfers the pool in the buff and enjoyed it when her sister repeatedly dumped an entire bucket of water on her head....

but eventually I talked her into wearing clothes and even posing...

And just so Grandma doesn't ask, yes the Monster was still around....napping. See photo of cuddly Dash.

Farewells...

I am horrid at saying goodbye and so thus I choose to say farewell. Last night I co-hosted a farewell happy hour for the Firm's MIS person. I have worked with her for almost three years and though she will continue to assist from her new location I will miss having her around every day. I, however, am so horrid at goodbye that I just snuck out the door last night without so much as even a farewell. I did, however, manage to get this amazing photo of my Boss giving a toast while a turtle reads a newspaper in the background.

Still missed...

While we here at the Shoe have really enjoyed the addition of Daisy and Dash we fooled ourselves into thinking it would help us miss our beloved Kosmo any less. Kosmo was our 9 year old beagle. She had been diagnosis with epilepsy at around the age of 5. She continued to have seizures off and on for years but none of them severe and never severe enough to treat. On the day my beloved Tammy was relieved of her duties here at the Firm (we worked together for almost 8 years) I went home to discover the Boss had found Kosmo unresponsive in the back yard. After a two day battle, it was determined that Kos had a brain tumor and it was likely that had been causing the seizures over the years. It was determined that she would not recover. The Old Man tried his best to grasp onto any glimmer of hope but alas we realized she would need to leave us. We buried her in the back yard where we also planted an oleander bush. Her bush blooms periodically and makes me smile. I still miss her so much though! Pets are wonderful addition to your family.

On a happier note, the kittens just make me laugh. Last night they managed to take a basket of toy pegs and scatter the 24 pegs throughout every room in my house. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of something else to pick up after.

Newest members of the Shoe

I went to pick up The Boss's kitten, Daisy. When I got there, only she and her brother were left in the litter. They were snuggled up together and so cute that I decided to take both of them. So yes, we are now the freaky cat people down the street with our 4 cats. Daisy and Duke join Kato & Kramer who are 11 & 12 years old. These poor kittens will be loved to death I fear. I warned Monster when I got home that his kitten was a little scared and tired. I later went in Monster's room and he was sitting on his bed singing Rock-A-Bye Baby to his kitten. The decision to get two of them will likely be one of the best decisions I ever made, despite what The Old Man thinks (however, it didn't take him long to agree with me).

Like a Junkie Needing a Fix

The Doodlebug is the very classic "baby" of the house. Knowing (for CERTAIN this time) that she is my last baby, I have not forced her to release the baby things that I did with Thing 1 and Thing 2. One such example is her pacifier. While I dutifully removed the pacifier when The Boss and Monster were right at one year old, Doddlebug, at 19 months, was still sleeping with hers. Well, last night when I was putting her to bed, no "night-nights" could be found. I decided well, no better time than the present. Thirty minutes of heart-wrenching screams and tears later, she fell asleep. I have no doubt that what appears to be such a sweet little girl, would have clawed my eyes out if she thought she could get a "night-night" as a result.

In the end, I couldn't be more proud. I fully expected to be woken up no less than three times throughout the night as the need for the "night-night" fix would arise. Surprisingly, I only heard from her once. I rocked her for just a few moments and back to sleep she went. Way to go Doodlebug. Now, we'll see if I can hold out tonight as I have now located the lost "night-nights" and the second night is usually worse.

Good news is the new baby kitten (Daisy is her name last I checked) is coming home tonight. Hopefully the excitement will be more than the Doodlebug can take and she will slip peacefully off to sleep.

The New Master Bath

Now keep in mind The Shoe is almost 30 years old so we would be talking major renovation to make a "modern" master bath which would have to be the size of the Monster's bedroom. So, we take what we can get and here's what we've got!

Before..... During......

After....

Now we have to replace the 1977 yellow vanity top and a fresh coat of paint and we'll be as good as new. Coming next.... Finalizing new appliances and counter tops in the kitchen.

The Saga Continues

Well thanks to all for you kind words regarding the Pet Sitting Saga, however, it isn't over yet.

We had decided to return Kona to her own yard as it was obvious our fence was not going to keep her contained and M&M really didn't want us turning her into an inside dog. Each night various members of The Shoe would travel over and visit Kona. Fortunately M&M had recently added some swings to this awesome fort in their backyard so the kids at the Shoe felt like they were getting to go to the park each night.

On Saturday night The Old Man and Monster went to visit Kona. Later in the evening I received a call that they may be there for awhile. When they arrived, the beloved Kona was no where to be found. She had dug out of her own yard. M&M claim that she wasn't a digger before now. She either really misses them or really despises having us around. I'm going to hope for the former more so than the latter. Fortunately, The Old Man called Mr. M who then called their answering machine to find a message from the local shelter. The shelter had Kona. Since Mr. M was coming home on Sunday, we opted to leave Kona at the shelter in hopes they could better confine her.

Meanwhile, we have yet to find a replacement for Dirk. The Old Man was a little sidetracked with World Cup Soccer over the weekend to go search. Today he is home as we begin the remodeling of the master bath at the Shoe. Look for before, during and after pictures to come.

Never do a bad job well!

Great advice I once received from the Nap Queen, however, I have failed to do a bad job well and in no way on purpose.

On Friday my DEAR friends (not to be confused with the "dead" friends from the previous post, thanks JHC) the M&Ms entrusted to the Shoe their dog Kona and their fish Dirk as they traveled to the great north for a couple of weeks. All the children at the Shoe were thrilled to play with Kona as our beagle had passed away in April. The children played with Kona most of Friday night and as Kona is an outside dog when we went to bed on Friday night she seemed to be resting comfortably on the patio. The kids had done their part of the job and tired out dear Kona.

Saturday morning I was awaken by one of the children. I grabbed a cup of coffee and decided we would go outside and visit Kona before it got to hot. I quickly realized no Kona!!!!! The fence at the Shoe is very old and in need of some repairs so I realized Kona must have escaped through one of the weak spots in the fence. We spent most of Saturday morning searching for Kona. With every errand we ran we would drive through the neighborhood calling for her. Alas at around 3:00 in the afternoon, I admitted to myself we were not going to find her. The Old Man had completed the paperwork at the animal shelter just in case she ended up there. It was my job to call M&M and let them know what happened just in case someone had called them to report her lost. Later that evening we got a call from M&M and someone had found Kona and was keeping her in their back yard until we could pick her up! I was so incredibly thankful!!!

How I wished the story ended there. Last night when I went home I smelled something odd in the kitchen. I first checked the Doodlebug's diaper, not her. I checked the trash, not there but I could tell I was getting closer. Looked up on the bar in the kitchen and there floated Dirk at the top of his bowl. Now I have an entire aquarium of fish that have been fine for more than a year. Granted Dirk's water was a little cloudy but it was that way when M&M brought him over and they stated not to worry about it. Now I have to send The Old Man out to see if he can take the frozen Dirk carcass to the pet store and find a twin.

Lesson learned: never entrust your pets to The Shoe. (however I would like to defend myself by saying Tammy's dog has visited on more than one occassion and survived each time)

What We Know Here At the Shoe

BIRTHDAYS!!!! If there is one almost constant topic here at the Shoe it is Birthdays!! We have to keep a running tally of whose birthday is next and how long until the next birthday party for our crew. The Boss (a/k/a the Sister who I now realized is really the Boss) is next in line for the big day and she is counting the minutes.

Here at the Shoe we have experimented all levels of Birthday party's. For the Doodlebug's 1st birthday I managed a city wide Christmas parade followed by homemade BBQ and Spring like weather on December 1st. We've done everything from the bounce house/burger affairs which are common (including the Boss's last brithday which involved 64 people at The Shoe midst the Katrina disaster and the Old Man was absent for almost 72 hours straight) to the Monster's last birthday which just involved our dead friends The M&Ms who also have three children the same age as ours. We have discovered when you mix the M&Ms with the residents of the Shoe the 6 of us make a party.

Now it is America's birthday! The Old Man spent the entire weekend putting together his City's birthday party. Much like the birthday parties at the Shoe once the party is over and you survey the mess and the expense, we always start thinking why do we do this to ourselves. Well, the Old Man's City is no different. There are ramblings of canceling the expensive fireworks and party. Much like parties at the Shoe, the City has tried the elaborate affairs to the simple inviting a few friends to hang out. What I'm afraid they miss is all the happening outside of the actual fireworks.

This year we here at the Shoe invited ourselves to join Tammy's crew (well, we did have the VIP parking passes so it was a bit of a trade off). We had so much fun that the Boss has declared the discovery of a new best friend and the Doodlebug actually let another human being hold her. I hope that the City will remember that despite the cost, the birthday party memories seem to last the longest.

As an aside, I have to say how blessed I am to be so easily incorporated into a family that is not even mine. For at least the past 6 years I have always been able to join in on the happenings with Tammy's family much as if they were my own. We have shared memories of these types of celebrations and yes all those birthday parties!!!!!!!