Dream On

I unfortunately needed to take a hiatus from blogging, but am back and dedicated to ending 2011 with plenty more blog posts for your enjoyment!

It's been a stressful couple of months, and it's hard to let go of the small stuff.  My kids are always there to remind my husband and I to not sweat the small stuff.

During our recent goodnight routine Morgan was giving out her share of hugs and kisses. 

Chris says to her "Dream sweet dreams tonight boo."

She replies "Daddy you too.  Dream of me, loving you."

New Age Parenting

I am blessed with a husband that does more than his fair share of parenting and household chores.  And I'm certain my kids notice this as well. 

Morgan announces to the family her plans for parenthood. 

"When I have babies, my husband is going to change all the diapers and I'm going shopping."

Thatta girl!  If I've taught my daughter nothing else, at least I have taught her this.

Happy Fall

Can you believe fall is finally here?  We are looking forward to jumping in the leaves, carving pumpkins, making s'mores and drinking apple cider.  How about you?  How do you celebrate fall?

Morgan is especially anxious.  "Mommy, it's fall today.  Why are the leaves still on the trees?"

"Well babe, it takes a little time for the leaves to change and begin falling.  It will happen, just watch and see."

"Do I have to watch the trees all day?"

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More Oktoberfest Fun

Not only did my family learn some great dance moves at Oktoberfest, they also had a good lesson in adult drunkin' immaturity.

Morgan spots the Sam Adams cardboard man and instantly asks "Why is there a pen sticking out of his pants Mommy?"

"Uh, well, uh, that's so you can easily draw a fake moustache on his face.  Isn't that convenient?"

Dancin Skills

My family has some serious dancing skills.  See for yourself in the below video. 

I am especially proud of the loving big brother move (notice the shove to get his sister out of the way).  Well played Logan, well played.

Morning Smells

Things smell in the morning.  Don't you think?  Especially when the entire family decides to cuddle together.  I need my personal space people?  Hellllloooo, who's with me here?  Can I brush my teeth first?

Morgan agrees....

"Daddy, your mouth smells."

"Logan, your pits smell like crackers."

"Mommy, you smell like my princess shampoo."

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Spelling Bee

We had a spelling bee at our house last night.  Don't you just love a good spelling bee? 
Our version is especially nice.

Morgan says, "Mommy, tell me a word and I'll spell it."

"CAT", I say.

"C-A-T.  CAT," she answers. 

"Very good baby," I tell her.

Now Logan wants to join in the fun.

"Morgan, spell F U", he says.

"F-U.  Mommy, Mommy I'm so smart." 

I have never been more proud.

Logan continues, "Morgan spell BOOTY."

"I don't know how to spell that one.  It's too hard, Logan.  Give me a new word."

"PENIS.  Spell penis", he says.

"LOGAN!" 
I felt it would be appropriate to stop him here.  Let's just forget that I got through FU and booty before putting an end to this spelling bee.  I'll pat myself on the back now.  I'm such a good mom.

Hand Holding

My girl loves to hold my hand.  I love it, because she's always right beside me when I need her to be. 

Over the weekend she got a two for one deal on hand holding.  Me and her cousin. 

Katie says to her "Morgan what would you do if I didn't have hands?"

Very matter of fact she says "I would hold your limb."

Yes Dear Readers, not only is my girl a loving, sensitive child, but she is a genius.  Of course she gets it from me.


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Bad Doggie Tuesday - Fat Doggie

I feel terrible that I only write about Crosley on this blog, so to be fair I thought I would dedicate this post to the good dog in our house.  Shelby.  If you have been reading this blog you know Shelby is our 10 year old Golden Retriever.  Gorgeous, perfectly behaved, beloved addition to our family. 

There is one tiny problem...since Shelby had her surgery a year ago, she is moving around a lot less, her face is turning white and she is FAT.  The poor girl can hardly get up...she has gained so much weight. 

The sad part is she doesn't really eat very much.  1 cup of dog food (doctor's orders), once a day.

In true fashion, I began searching on Etsy to see what I could find. 

Skinny Pups - Wheat Free, Low Fat Dog Treats

And if that doesn't help, I think I'll just go for this

Any ideas for keeping an eldery, sick dog at a healthy weight?  

Funnel Cake Mishaps

He fought the funnel cake and the funnel cake won. 

You would think most parents would be mortified, embarrassed, even hiding.  No, not these parents.  We took pictures (poor quality pictures, but pictures none the less).  Most would discipline their children for bathing in the powdered sugar in a public place.  Not us, we asked him to stand up so we could take a picture. 

We're classy like that.

Respect the Shrimp

Have you ever been fishing?  Have you ever taken your kids fishing?  I'm guessing the majority of you would answer yes to either of those questions.  I personally have done both and this summer Chris and I took the kids fishing. 
This has been something that Logan has been begging to do for some time now.  Morgan, she really could care less.  She is always thrilled with whatever we plan.  As one of our activities during our summer vacation, we decided to have the kids fish off of the pier in the Outer Banks.

We rent the fishing rods, we buy the bait, we get our lesson and we park our rears on a prime piece of real estate. 
Can you feel the excitement mounting?  Logan can hardly contain his enthusiasm.  Chris teaches him how to put the bait (it was shrimp) on the hook and how to cast into the ocean.  Logan of course is shocked that he doesn't get a fish instantly.  And if you read my blog, you know my girl is lucky and on her first cast she managed to reel in a fish.  Go figure, check it out here.

You avid fishermen know that this is not a hasty sport.  This takes time and patience.  All the things my son is lacking.  After 30 minutes, he's had enough of this so called fishing and is ready to move on. 

To our surprise, he picks up the bowl of bait and is ready to whirl it into the ocean.  Goodbye shrimp.  Forget you. 

Chris can't believe what he's seeing.  (I pretended to be appalled, but let's face it people.  After about 15 minutes, I too was done with this fishing adventure we were on)

He sits the kids down and proceeds to lecture.

"You see kids.  These shrimp died for you.  They died so you could have a fun morning fishing.  Would you like to be treated like this?  Would you want to be discarded like this?  You need to respect the shrimp.  We are going to fish until we have used all the shrimp. Then we know they have not died in vain."

I swear to you, I cannot make this stuff up. 

We all stood there and stared at this man, who usually seems so sane.  But instead of saying a word.  We picked up our rods and what did we do? 

We respected the shrimp

Name Calling

My kids are currently obsessed with Good Luck Charlie.  Have you seen it?  If not, put it on your to do list quick.  It's a great Disney family show that has adorable life lessons within.  And surprisingly enough, I find myself laughing often.

Over the weekend the episode touched on how to deal with your family when they embarrass you.  One of the main characters was having a hard time with this and trying desperately to be someone she wasn't.  In the end she learned to embrace her family and accept them for who they were.

When we asked Morgan what she thought about her family, I was surprised by her brutal honesty. 

"Logan is a sweaty oaf clown."

"Daddy is the director."  (I'm dying to know how much he paid her to get this title)

"And Mommy is a ballerina."  (I always did think I was quite the graceful one.)

How would you describe your family?

Friend vs Foe

I would consider Morgan and Logan BFFs.  There is 3 years difference in age, but Logan takes good care of his sister and they genuinely like each other's company.

That's why Morgan's recent announcement shocked us. 

"Logan is my emeny.
She's fascinated at this new found phrase, so much so, that she sang it's praises all night.  Logan could care less....Good thing. 

I ask her, "Morgan, you know e-ne-my, does not mean friend." 

"Yes, Mommy, I know.  Logan is my emeny."

I can hardly wait to ask her tonight, what she thinks it means. 

Bad Doggie Tuesday - Dog Tricks

Does your dog do tricks?  Crosley does one and only one trick.  I know, pathetic right.  I felt as though I should work on his behavior before I introduce tricks.  And we are still working on the behavior....therefore no new tricks.

Crosley's one and only trick is fetching the paper.  He takes such pride in this trick, so much so that at times the paper comes to us in shreds.  However, lately he's done quite well and I'm totally impressed.  (It doesn't take much ;)

What fancy tricks does your dog do and how did you go about teaching him?

Wish Me Good Luck

Today is a very important day for me today.  I am not going to give any details because I do not want to jinx it.  My kids know what's going on and were wishing Mommy luck this morning.  And since they were feeling so generous with their well wishes, I decided to take it a step further.

"Make sure to cross your fingers for me today", I say.

Silence......

Almost in unison they say "You want us to keep our fingers crossed the whole day?  What if I want to color a picture."

And since I can use as much good luck as possible, how about you all cross your fingers for me dear readers?

Bad Doggie Tuesday - Etiquette

Obviously when it comes to manners regarding a dog and a human, we are worlds apart. 

It's perfectly acceptable for a dog to jump up to greet you, but if we jumped onto another person upon first greeting, we may never be introduced to another person again.

Or how about drooling...I get made fun of if even a little drool hits my pillow at night. 

How about body cleansing?!  Crosley decided it was time to clean some body parts.  Hey, what's a boy to do? 

Logan was unhappy with the situation and says "Crosley, please quit licking your balls.  You don't see me licking my balls all the time do you?"

Thank the lord for small miracles.

PS - Make note of the photo...why can't I sit on my husband's lap while he tries to work, but for Crosley it's perfectly acceptable?

Dinner Table Manners

My girl likes butter.  In a tub or in a stick, it just doesn't matter, the girl can and does eat it with a spoon. 

We had corn last night, so there's nothing better to go with corn than BUTTER.

I actually could no longer see the corn, it was drenched with so much butter.  She even had a little left over on the knife, and you know we can't let that go to waste now can we?  So why not lick it off?

As she is going to town on the butter knife, her daddy says "Morgan, please stop licking the knife.  That's not very lady like."

"OK, I'll just use my fingers then."

Designer Stitches

Morgan and I were remembering last summer when she had an injury and needed a visit to the hospital and a slew of stitches.  She loves to ask about it...you see she doesn't remember the time in the hospital because they gave her a medicine that causes amnesia.  Happy Injured Baby = Calm mother.

This time Morgan wanted to hear all about the stitches.  "How many were there mommy?"

I tell her, "7, Morgan."

"What color were they?"

"Black."

"You sure they weren't blue?"

"Yes, I'm sure.  They were black."

"I thought they were pink."

"No babe, they were black."

"You sure they weren't blue Mom?"

"Morgan.  I'm absolutely positive.  They were black."

"Were they at least sparkly black?"

"Oh for the love!....they were plain black Morgan."

Thank goodness she eventually moved on even if she was a bit disappointed.  I know we have color casts...how about color stitches?  Perhaps they already exist, but to be honest I have no desire to find out.

Bad Doggie Tuesday - Dog Art

What are your thoughts on dog art?  I never really gave much thought to it until my Golden Retriever, Shelby, was diagnosed with cancer.  I wanted a way to remember her when she was no longer with us. 

There are so many options available, and Etsy happens to have some of my favorites.  My personal favorite is the self portrait of Shelby.  I had this done by a fabulous artist on Etsy.  Sadly she is no longer available so I cannot provide you with a link.  However, take a look around and I'm sure you'll find a great self portrait artist you love.

Do you love dog art, or have I now crossed into the "she's a crazy dog lady" territory?  What mementos do you keep of your animals?

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Nail Art

I'm sure this would not come as any shock to you, but my Morgan loves to have her nails painted.  She especially loves each finger and toe to be painted a different color.  Add a flower or a rainbow to the nail and she is in seventh heaven. 

Here's the thing...my son wants to paint her nails.  He tells me, "Mom, I am an artist after all."  Yeah, yeah we know you love to draw.  But should you be painting your sisters nails?

Am I being silly?  Is it no big deal if he wants to paint nails?  Did your brother paint your nails?  Does your husband paint your nails? 

No Sugar Coating Here

The kids were getting ready for bed last night and Morgan spotted a naked Logan walking into the shower. 

She decides it's appropriate to say "Logan your butt is getting really big."

He takes zero offense and simply says "I know, I am getting older you know."

I need to take a lesson from my kids.  To be so honest and upfront with each other is a wonderful quality. 

Now just wait until Logan tells his sister her butt is too big. 

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