Bad Idea

So, we have discovered that giving a large white dog a basted rawhide bone is a BAD idea. We found her contentedly licking and chewing the bone in Katie's room on the light colored carpet. Both she and the carpet were covered in chicken flavored sauce, which was brick red for some bizarre reason.

She looks like our kids when they were babies and got into the chocolate in an Easter basket.




Yes, she is red all around her mouth and chin, too. That's not just a shadow. When we found her and started to clean her up, she decided to jump up on Katie's bed and get red stuff all over that, too. Gotta love her!

The bones have moved outside where she can enjoy them without coloring the carpet. I'll just have to clean her up before she comes in after a chewing session. I think we will stick to unflavored chews after this.
She is still spending most of her time hiding in our room. Hopefully she will figure out soon that this is as normal as we get and start acclimating to her surroundings.

Good thing for her that after three children I know how to take a picture of such things and laugh about them.

Yard Update

I went on my annual trip to Poughkeepsie this past weekend (yes it was wonderful!) and when I got home the iris in the front yard had bloomed, showing off bright purple flowers with one yellow one tucked in the middle. Also, the peonies (pe-OH-nees? pe-oh-NEES?) are beginning to bloom with a hot pink flower.

While I was gone, David waged war on the carpenter bees that have been making a meal of our shed and he seems to be winning. Lots of casualties on their part and no injuries on ours. He also finished mowing the back forty. We are praying hard for a riding lawn mower!

I put in 5 tomato plants before I left and I've already lost one due to injury and two more are looking puny. I don't need disease resistant plants as much as boy and dog resistant plants!

And, thank you to our secret housewarming fairy! Mike bought a new fixture for his room this weekend with part of his room money. I'll get pictures up as soon as I can. (David went to the Chattanooga Aquarium today with Nicholas' class and they took the camera... Remember when getting a jpeg for the computer took a week or so?)

It's a Girl!

After years of declaring that the first dog we'd get would be a Golden Retriever for David, I've been proven wrong (hardly for the first time.) I also had been heard to say that after David got his Golden, we would probably find a nice little black dog like a cockapoo or terrier. Wrong again!


Meet Kaylee Bark-Bark. She is about two years old and an 82-pound mix of Great Pyranees and Old English Sheepdog. We found her at the pound after her owner had to give her up due to health reasons. Kaylee is very sweet natured and still pretty traumatized over the whole experience. We got her the Saturday before Easter, and she is slowly starting to warm up to us, but still spends most of her time lying in our bathroom. She seems to be a perfect addition to our family.

The cats are mostly okay with the change, now that they have stopped spitting and hissing everytime Kaylee walks into the room. They did stage a sit-in last week to protest, but seem to be over it now.

My front yard

So, right now from my perch at the computer, I can see my front yard and it is beautiful! There is a red Japanese maple in front of the window, three white dogwoods in bloom, a brilliant hot pink azalea covered in blooms, and various birds and squirrels running around. The grass is green, the sky is blue and a light breeze is blowing. I love my yard!

Whew!

Whew! We made it through last week and we are still here! It seems like the first few weeks of Spring have always been hectic around here. We have David's birthday on April 7th, Mike's on April 8th and Easter as annual events. Then there are usually several other events that demand time during those weeks, plus most years we manage to throw in a stomach virus, head lice or severe allergies, just for good measure. This year has been no exception.

I picked my parents up for a visit on Tuesday, and they got to experience life at full tilt last week. We had classroom visits, PTO meetings, bake sales, soccer games, head lice, two birthdays, tornadoes and a hailstorm. I kept telling them that it really wasn't normally like this, but I'm sure glad they were here to help out!

My mom and dad spent time cleaning up the back yard and it looks wonderful! Opa came and visited with Mike's science class one day and went to a soccer game with him. Mimi baked and glazed and weeded and planted and cleaned and combed. I don't think they got any rest the whole week.





Mike's big 12th birthday party was Saturday (following two soccer games, and before his "knighting" at church.) My parents always throw a big party for each grandchild's 12th birthday. Michael decided to have a Party Bus come to the house, which was just grand. They brought a bus with a DJ, dance floor, lights and music. We made some snacks and ordered pizza and just watched them have fun. Fairly stress free.

David took my parents home Sunday afternoon, and I'm hoping they get some rest before their next visit!

Honey-Do weekend

This weekend we are tackling a bunch of "honey-do's" around the house. The weather has warmed up enough for David and the boys to get back to work on installing the basketball pole. Lots of nuts and bolts and concrete and such. I try to stay clear other than occasional cheerleading.

Also, I finally got around to lining and loading up the new kitchen cabinet David installed. So now we all have to remember that the cups are in the new cabinet, the dishes are where the food used to be and the food is where the dishes used to be. All the glass serving pieces are in the dish cabinet, and the cabinet where they were is open until I figure out what to put in there. I still need to move things around on the counters, but I'm done in there for the day.



Out in the yard we've figured out we have lots of daylillies coming up, and another pink azalea bush. Seems like we find something new every day. I'm itching to put in some tomatoes soon, but April 15th is our last frost day, so I'll probably wait.

Last night I had Michael and Nicholas switch the couches around so now the blue sectional is in the living room and the purple couch is in the den with the rocking chairs. It's not just right, yet, but it is much better. It's going to be a hectic week next week with school events, soccer, and Mike and David's birthdays. Not much time for house stuff! I think I've been getting a bit overwhelmed or discouraged about getting everything done. Unpack, repair, heck, I'd be happy to just keep it really clean! It is all such a long process! Of course, I'm so thankful to be here, I'm really not too worried about it :o)