Flashback - Sasha's 14th birthday

My beloved dog Sasha turned 14 last April! Her life expectancy is 10-12, so we are glad to still have her around! She has fishing line instead of tendons on her back knees from two surgeries 5 years ago, and she takes pills like an old human. But every time we think it's the end she perks back up and surprises us! So for her birthday we found a recipe for a doggie birthday cake and baked it. We politely declined to taste the finished product as cottage cheese frosting doesn't hold much appeal to my palate. She wasn't too excited about the birthday candles, but once she realized she was getting some "people food" she was glad to join the party! Maybe we should open a doggie baking business on the side...

Mother's Day 2011

I wouldn't exactly call it relaxing to have my mom and her family down for Mother's Day, but it was certainly worth the cleaning effort! (Plus it was a great reason for the hubs to get out there and remove the pollen from the deck furniture.) I made an old family recipe that everyone loved (Stouffer's lasagna). The kids (including Jamie) ate on the deck. I was finally sitting down and enjoying talking with my family when suddenly screams and panic ensued from outside. (If you know my husband, you'll understand why I didn't jump up immediately.) This sweet little creature (flying squirrel?) had apparently fallen out of a nest and was being attacked by an overprotective mama woodpecker. Although my husband wanted to bottle feed and raise said squirrel, I pointed out the vast number of bushy tails already occupying our yard as well as the vast number of creatures already under my care and asked that nature be allowed to take its course. The poor baby didn't survive, and my husband buried it over the fence the next morning. Yes, I know, I'm a jerk. 

Despite the tragedy of the tree dweller, we had a great time visiting and eating. My kids tried to hide in my parent's truck bed to be smuggled to the mountains but were busted. I was so glad everyone made the trek to my house! 

To see the other Mother's Day pics click here.

If the police show up to your home school do you just call it Community Helpers Day?

Our action packed weekend began with a Friday night drive to Ohio that included a break to eat a burger for my mom and nephew's birthdays as well as Elijah puking a mile from the in-laws (around 2 am). Thankfully things settled down and the hubs and I were able to enjoy a rare date thanks to some Reds tickets and free babysitting courtesy of his parents. We were able to meet Kyle James, his sister's latest bundle of joy, and attend his cousin's graduation. (When I say "attend" I mean I watched with my kids and my niece from the "Mother's Comfort" room of the church before heading to the playground and missing the actual "graduating" part. At least I got to make the rounds at the afterparty.)

After getting home at 3 am on Monday morning I planned
to basically stay in my pjs all day and let the kiddos watch Nick Jr., but the dentist called to say they had worked me in for a few hours of fun. I managed to sneak in a nap with the kids and was starting to feel better just in time to prepare dinner. The doorbell ring caught me off-guard, and I was stunned when Caitlyn looked out the window to report
that there was a big tall policeman on our porch. The last time there was a big tall policeman on our porch was when our psychotic neighbor called the cops with a bogus complaint about our dogs barking, so I wrangled the two dogs now barking hysterically into my room. Looking completely disheveled, I pushed past the kids to go it alone with "the man."

Him: "Are you all right?" (I did look pretty rough.)
Me: "Yes."
Him: "Is everyone in the house alright?"
Me: "Yes... why?" (The probable cause of his visit begins to dawn on me... Caitlyn had been playing with the phone...)
Him: "Well, we received a 911 call from the residence, but the dispatcher thought it might be a child playing with the phone." (The phone had been making a weird noise, but I really was too groggy to pay much attention.)

I brought Caitlyn out to have a chat about how the nice policeman was not out fighting bad guys because he was under the assumption that there was a bad guy in our house. I wanted her to not ever call again unless it was an emergency, but he was very assuring to her that she could call anytime she needed to. Hopefully she learned a lesson, and it hopefully wasn't "how to get a nice policeman to come play with you."

And then there was yesterday's conversation:
Me: Wow, Elijah just ate his first booger.
Caitlyn: My boogers are yummy. Elijah's are gross.
Me: Have you tried Elijah's boogers??
Caitlyn: No. You never pick a friend's nose.

There's never a dull moment. You can check out the other pics from the weekend by clicking here.