Christmas Tree

I have a confession...my tree is STILL not up. It's not that I am not in a holiday spirit (check out my farmville..lol) but with a toddler and a puppy and two dogs, I am not exactly thrilled to put it up just to tell the 4 of them - NO! My tree is beautiful when it is up but last year all the ornaments were only on the top half of the tree. My wonderful husband insisted on putting the ornaments on even though I knew the baby would get into them. He INSISTED that we could teach a 1 year old to NOT touch the tree. Well, he quickly learned the fight wasn't worth it and they all got moved up. This year he has even questioned whether it was worth putting them on. Especially since she is now a very ingenious 2 year old who has this darn plastic chair that she uses to get on EVERYTHING!

So this weekend one way or another our tree will be going up. Most likely without ornaments but it will still look pretty with the twinkling lights and big bow on top. And sometime around the 26th it will be quickly packed back up until next year. Maybe by then we can try the ornaments again.

First Dates

My son had his first date. How did this happen? How did he get to the (gulp) dating age? Of course, he has had “girlfriends”…you know the ones they rarely talk to and never really see outside of school but this was a date. And true, it was a Holiday Dance so it was a school function. And he has gone out with groups and already kissed a girl or two…I hope not more. But this was a date. After he got gussied up in his all-to-expensive suit and gathered the corsage (that Mom suggested he get and ordered and picked up and paid for…ok, I got the corsage) and we headed to her house. After pictures I left all the while wanting to either puke or cry because my baby was growing up and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. It seems like yesterday he was the little boy who still needed his Mom when he fell off his bike because the blanket he was using as a cape got stuck in his tire spokes. Or just days ago that I held him in my arms and realized he was really my son to take care of and raise. I never expected the years to fly by so quickly. I am now grasping at the few years we have left before he heads off to college and then to build his own life and family. I just can’t figure out how I blinked and he grew up. Even though there are days that he drives me crazy I still wish every day I could just stop the clock so that he wouldn’t keep growing up.

I’m just not ready for first dates and everything that comes after that.

Random Thoughts (Mostly Stolen)

My Mom sent this email to me and I just had to share it, just in case you haven't seen it before.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer's history if you die.

There was a time when this was TOTALLY true, but honestly, now I am pretty boring. Though the other day I tried looking something up on YouTube and for some reason I thought it was UTube....trust me DON'T type in UTube...not a good thing!

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

Yeah, but good luck getting me to admit to that.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

If babies and toddlers understood how good they have it. What I would give for someone to tell me to take a nap.

4. There is great need for a Sarcasm font.

Nooo...you think?

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

What? You mean rolling it into a ball isn't the proper way to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

Actually, I am starting to think learning to write at all might not be necessary with computers.

7. MapQuest needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my own damn neighborhood.

That's if MapQuest can even find your house to begin with.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

OK...I know I might sound morbid but I have to agree. Don't you wonder why people die when you read an obit? Human nature, my friends, human nature.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Nope, not a clue but I bet it was the last time I was told to take a nap!

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

My entire life must be a good story then...may be I should write a book.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

Hmm...might have been about the time I opened my email and decided to blog about it.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection . . . again.

I am now finding the biggest reason to NOT have your kids over a decade apart is because of this issue. 99% of our Disney collection is still on VHS, lot of good that does me.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to the ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

Hey Microsoft....please explain WHY it does that.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

No...it means I won't BUY it.

15. I hate it when I miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!) but when I immediately call back it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I know the real truth you call as a show of good will just HOPING no one will really answer and then when they call back you don't have to answer but they can't say you didn't call. Well, I am on to you.

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day . . . What a waste.

Or even worse...not having anyone notice how great you look, specially your husband. GRRR!!!!

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

Good idea.

18. My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day, "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?

I am thankful that hasn't happened but trust me, there have been questions that made me scratch my head.

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

Mine does!

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

LOL...but those kisses probably lead to some great stories.

If it ain't broke...PLEASE don't try to fix it!!!!

I am having one of those days...one of those days where NOTHING goes right. First, I feel like poo thanks to my daughter giving me her cold. Second, I am only at work 2 days this week so I had to come in and get things done but thanks to changes to programs and systems, nothing is going right.

I wish someone could explain to me why the "New and improved" system ALWAYS causes more problems than it fixes. Seriously, does anyone ever ask the people who use these systems what they need or want. No! Instead us "worker bees" have to keep producing and keep things working with "new and improved" systems that don't work!

Please people...please....quit trying to "fix" everything because all you are doing is making my life 100 times more complicated!!!!!

What to blog about…

Let’s face it, my life is pretty mundane. I get up, go to work, go bargain shopping during my lunch break (this is IMPORTANT), come home, cook dinner (sometimes), referee fights between the teens, chase a 2 year old, go to bed and get up and do it all over again. Yes…my life is quite mundane but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

OK…maybe a little more money and not having to work, but then I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Well, maybe be a little skinnier and hair that wasn’t curly, but then I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Then again, I would love my teens to not fight…ALL…THE…TIME…but then I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Oh, let’s face it…my life is mundane and nowhere near perfect and there are things I would love to change about me (and those pesky teens) but it’s my life and I will gladly (ok, not always so gladly) take the good with the bad.

Piggy come....piggy go

Yes, the pig has gone bye-bye. I can't say I am sad about it since honestly, I didn't want him in the first place. He would have been a fine pet but Benji wouldn't have it. The dog was crazy around the pig and it was constant chaos when the two were in the same room. I couldn't leave the pig in the bathroom all the time and I certainly wasn't going to lock up my little guy. He is my spoiled little guy...I don't deny it.

What amazed me was how quickly people called and how many people called my husband when he posted him on CL. We had a new home for him that very night. I do believe he is going to be quite happy where he is now.

Needless to say, I will NOT be agreeing so easily (and trust me, it wasn't easy this time) when my husband gets some crazy idea like a pig for a pet!!!

Here's Bacon

I promised pictures were to follow and here they are.

Isn't he cute!?!

Now we just need to get this little guy neutered and QUICK!!!! I will spare you the details of that story. Let's just say I was shocked at what our little piggy was doing last night to his poor little stuffed doggy.

Bacon

You would think a post about Bacon would be about buying bacon, or cooking bacon or even eating bacon but this post isn't. This post is about the pet that my husband INSISTED he had to have and the pet that we went and picked up last night. Have an idea yet of what this pet might be???

It's a pig...yes a pig! We have a mini-potbellied pig named Bacon.

I swear somewhere between yesterday morning and yesterday afternoon my husband lost his mind. I should have seen this coming. He had been looking on Craig's List quite a bit lately (he is a CL addict) and talking more and more about pigs but I NEVER in a million years thought he was serious about actually buying one. Our house is full as it is with 3 kids and 2 dogs, we have busy lives and the last thing we need is a pig. But I was wrong, he was VERY serious about buying a pig and now here I am a day later and an owner of a mini-potbellied pig.

I use the term mini very loosely and while the previous owner says he will only get to be about 50 pounds...EVERYTHING I am reading online says our little Bacon will grow to be more like 100 pounds. Yes...I said that right - 100 pounds. My dogs don't weigh that much COMBINED!! What the heck am I going to do with a 100 lb pig who can't be outside during the winter (mind you we live in Michigan were it is Winter just about 9 months a year). Plus have you seen a pigs legs...they are short and our house has stairs everywhere. I certainly don't see me carrying a 100 lb pig up the stairs!

On the other side, I do have to admit he is completely litter trained and doesn't smell at all. Benji (my yorkiepoo) was horrible to train and lets face it...he has dog breath 90% of the time. Everyone has said that pigs are very smart but I will believe that when I see it. And I will also admit that in his own way he is...dare I say it...cute. No, not the cuddly teddy bear cute but cute none the less.

Oh and my husband who so desperately wanted to get this pig quickly had many doubts on the car ride home. My kids are excited and have already fallen in love with him. Bandit, my Keeshound, could really care less and Benji is a spastic mess around the pig and barely slept all night because he wanted to get in the room with the pig. As for me...we will see. I can't guarantee he will be with us forever (lots of factors there) but while he is, there is no doubt it will be a Wild Ride.

Oh...and pictures are to follow but I left the cable to the camera at home.