Dare-Day 3

This is day 3 of the Love Dare. So far, easy cheesy my friends. Day 1-say only nice things. No negatives. Went well.

Day 2- say nice things only + gestures for your spouse. After being married almost 15 years, we gave each other different gestures than one might think. Hhhhaaaa-Haaaaaa! ;).... (drums)ba-dum-bump... Thanks, I'll be here all week-Don't forget to tip your waitresses!!! Seriously though, we both found it easy to do nice things for each other. It's funny to see just how much we do this for each other anyway.

Day 3- (today) we have to buy each other a gift to show we are "invested" in each other and this marriage. I TOTALLY am liking day 3!!! Presents? What's not to like?!!! Know Ricardo will enjoy his token gift. Can't wait to see what little sompin' sompin' I get!!! Hey, can we just pretend it's like the movie "Groundhog Day" and just keep repeating Day 3?....

Harlow Update

The good news is, we think we have FINALLY figured out what it is that is causing Harlow's bladder leaks. Our new vet, (whom I shall from here forward refer to as the most wonderful intelligent Goddess of all things Canine) has figured out in 2 months time what our other vet never figured out in a year and a half. She is my hero!!!



Harlow has a severe bladder infection. (Her 4th one to date.) She has e-coli in her urine as well. (Yuck!) It has been treated in the past with the wrong antibiotics. So it would subside for awhile but never completely go away. Then, after several months, after growing stronger, it would again rear it's ugly head. We did another sterile urine sample last week. It figured this out for us. It even gave the exact type of anitbiotic that would completely kill this horrid infection. (Hopefully, for good!) So after the antibiotics are taken, we are hoping we can then wean her off of her bladder strengthening medicines. And she will be as good as new. Or at least as good as refurbished. :)Having a 140 lb dog that leaves urine puddles the size of a tire in your house is not easy to contend with. Diapers won't contain that much urine. It tries your patience. It horrifies the clean freak in you. It makes you want to cry, scream, puke, curse, etc. I often wonder what someone else would have done if she had gone to another home. Would they have spent this much money? Given her up? Put her down?....Or worse?

In the past 18 months we have spent more on this girlie than our entire family's medical expenses combined. Quite frankly, it's enough to make me want to puke! I feel guilty when I think of the amount of money that could have gone into paying bills or towards our children's education or towards retirement.



In the end, right or wrong, I can only say we did what we felt was right for us. It hasn't been easy. It hasn't been cheap; but, I can't contend with the thought of doing it any other way. I could have paid off some credit cards with that money; but would it have cost me my soul in doing so?! My children could have had more money for college; but, isn't this a life lesson they have learned? So what if we can't retire now. We probably would have just gotten on each other's nerves anyway. :) Perhaps, when we get to the pearly gates, this will make them overlook some of the other stuff I've done before; and with Harlow's recommendation, I can squeek on in by the hair on my chinney chin chin.

The Love Dare-Day One

Rick and I's Love Dare books have arrived. Today is Day 1 of 40. Our assignment for today:

"Demonstrate patience and say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises-choose to say nothing."

Hmmmm.....Guess it's gonna be a pretty damn quiet day around here. :)

"Play" Time

Been an interesting week around here. Poor little brown eyes has had an off and on case of the up-chucks. Feels fine. No fever. Then awakes in the middle of the night sick. Which leads to the question, WHY is it that children always get sick in the early morning hours before the dawn?! NEVER in the middle of the afternoon on a slow Tuesday per chance? Hmmmm. A question for the ages I guess.

On the flip side of the coin, Brown eyes has recently taken imagination playtime to a whole new level. It's HYSTERICAL!!! He moves the little people around and has some pretty interesting scenarios. Oh, and he also NARRATES while he's playing. Cracks me up to no end!!! For example, ahem....

"Molly walks into the room, turns to the right, and then says to Johnny...."

As he is setting up the scenarios and narrating, he is also moving the play people to the right, etc. It is like watching a Woody Allen movie or something. (Perhaps he will grow up to be a play write?!)

Just for grins, I have started narrating my own scenes. For example, at dinner time I say something like:

"Mommy makes a plate, turns, and tries to make it to the table without dropping it. She smiles and hands the plate to her little boy." (insert smile here.)

Of course, it makes him smile and laugh as well at the silliness of it all. :)

Which upon reflection, leads me to this...

Mommy stops and thinks aloud to herself:

"These are the types of memories that you will always hold dear to your heart, long after your children are grown."

Mommy then starts to tear up....exit, stage left.

"BabeWatch"

Well, it's FINALLY here!!! That time of year we have been eagerly anticipating...swim season. We've been checking the water temp daily. It's now warm enough, if the sun is shining on you. As you can see, we have a new addition to the swim team this year.

She was insistent upon being in the pool area. All the other dog's will just come in and lay down while we swim. They could care less about what is going on in the water. But Ella, is our protector. She takes her job seriously. Any squeals of delight or screams-and she's right by your side. Which is good. We LOVE that she wants to take care of all of us. I'm especially please to see how much our "Lifeguard" looks after the boys. I just worry that she might sink like a 130lb rock if she misjudges her step. So until she knows what to expect when she dives in after one of us, I have made SURE she is buoyant as a safety precaution. (What can I say, I'm a safety girl!)

Doesn't she look stunning in her swimwear?! GORGEOUS!!! 130 lbs of pure muscle. Move over Pamela Anderson, there is a new lifeguard in town!!

Sorry there have been no postings for the last several days. As you can see, I have been traveling. Where you ask? Backpacking across the desert? Trudging through the swamplands? Boating deep in the Everglades? Lost somewhere deep into the rain forest? If you look closely at the above photo, you could ALMOST believe that I have been back to prehistoric times. (Anyone else remember the show "Land of the Lost" from their childhood? Man! I thought that show was so stinkin' cool!) Why above is a gigantic, carnivores dinosaur. It is miraculous indeed that I didn't get eaten alive by this mighty, ferocious beast during my excursions!!!


Or....perhaps I haven't taken a trip to any exotic locale, or gone back in time. And perhaps the gigantic creature isn't a dinosuar....and maybe he isn't so large either.
In fact, he's actually very, very small indeed. Almost Horton Hears a Who small. Notice his iddy, biddy, teeny, tiny, widdle, scrawny leg? It's a wee baby house gecko.

Thursday night, Harlow was sniffing around in the Dining Room. She sniffed, walked, stopped and tilted her head. Sniffed again and then looked at me in confusion. Then she knelt down and stared into the corner of the room. Since she wasn't on a "time out" I couldn't imagine what she was doing. :) On closer inspection, I noticed a newborn lizard cowering in the corner.(THAT is just how gentle Harlow is-didn't even harm it. Just curious.)

I however, sprang into action-much like the beloved Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin would have. With no regard for my own safety :) I flung myself upon the floor and scooped up this little beauty. (No top jaw roping was necessary in this particular instance. And there was no death roll. But by crikey it was fast paced excitement!!! Quicker than you can say "Bob's your uncle", I had him contained and relocated. Somewhere safe, where he would not be in danger from any of the other "locals." (If you know what I mean....AKA -Disney)

Since then, our little addition has been spending his/her days and nights at this exotic resort-The Planet Frog. This little planetarium :) is leftover from our tadpole/frog experiment a few years back. We pull it out occassionally to use it as needed. This little guy is just too tiny to release outside. In the past 3 days alone, I have seen a gecko much larger than him be scooped up and eaten by a Mockingbird.(Believe me, it wasn't pretty! Oh the horror!!!) Another has been maimed by a weed eater. (He was relocated to a safer part of the yard.) It's a hard knock life for these little guys. The harsh reality is, not every Gecko can get his own commercial and a life on easy street. Honest! Half of these guys alone are injured on the way to the casting calls!!!

But our little guy/doll isn't going to be another statistic. Not on my watch! We have been taking very good care of him/her. Fresh water daily and an assortment of insects delivered right to the wee one. An assortment of baby crickets, slugs, etc. Aside from me looking like the neighborhood moron trapping bugs every night, all is well. So far he/she seems to indeed be thriving.

Yeah, he seems pretty content with life on Planet Frog. Now we just have to work on getting him an agent.

MORE Great Things

Here is another list of things that I have recently read/watched/ used and found to be great. I'm no expert. These are just things that are affecting my life in a positive way. I always feel, if you find something great, share it with others. So here goes...

I Love to read books on all types of subjects. This one was informative as well as suspenseful with a little romance added in. One of the best books I have read in quite awhile. Maybe it will be to your liking too.



I also just started reading a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The book is "Natural Born Charmer." I've never read any of Ms. Phillips work before; but, I find myself laughing out loud from the witty banter as I'm reading. So far, I'm enjoying it immensely! I also just started reading Jenny McCarthy's new book "Healing and Preventing Autism." (Yes, I'm one of "those people" who read multiple books at once-mock if you must. :) So far, fascinating read. So much info to digest. Learning oodles. Love her!


Now THIS is quite frankly one of the best, most wonderful movies I have watched in a long, long time. I rate it right up there with The Shawshank Redemption as one of my favorites. It affected me/impacted me long after the movie was over. I urge you to give this movie a try. (Have a box of tissues handy.)

This is a movie I watched this Mother's Day weekend. The acting is more of an after school special type of quality; but, the message is profound. It is a faith/spiritual genre film. It's all about marriage and how to make yours "fireproof."

The movie also center's around a book titled the Love Dare. It is a 40 day guide/dare on how to improve your marriage. After watching the movie, I'm ordering a couple of copies of this for Ricardo and I. Not that our marriage is in trouble. It's not. I just want to keep it that way. A lot of churches have done marriage seminars centered around the teachings of this book, so it must be good. I found it on Amazon.com for $8.99. Seems like a great investment deal to me. I'll let you know what I think about it after I'm done reading/implementing these suggestions. Or, if you have watched the movie/read the book/ been to the seminar, let me know what you think as well. We can compare notes.

The last thing on this entry of "Things I Think are Great," is just in time for spring/summer yard and garden time. It is a weed/grass killer. Safe to use around all kinds of plants. I haven't used it around my vegetable garden because: 1. I want to keep it organic. 2. Everything is in pots. :) I have however, used it around and in all my flower beds, around my tree rings, and out beside the pool. It takes about a week before you see any results; but, the results are absolutely fabulous! I think I found a great alternative to spending hours weeding my flowerbeds. Maybe it will make your life easier too.

That's it for this installment. Let me know what you think if you try or have tried any of these. Also, let me know of some things YOU think are great too. I'd love to hear about them/give them a try!!!

Nature's Before and After

They were cute before. But, they are magnificent in their after photos!

The chrysalids became butterflies on Mother's Day. It was wonderful! We took them outside to release them in our flower garden. A few of the brave ones ventured out. The rest we brought in as the sun was setting. Didn't want them trying to fly off in the dark. Wouldn't be prudent. :) So tonight they are in their pavillion. Or as I have named it- The Butterfly Flutter on by Hotel. As we speak they are munching on fresh cut roses and orange slices. How's that for room service?! :)

Wife's Tennis Humor

Dear hubby, Ricardo had a tennis tournament today. He had to get up early on a Saturday to play, while his family slumbered. He texted me between matches. This is an honest to goodness text conversation between us. With the extra sleep I got, my humor is in rare form today. Good thing Ricardo is a patient man. :)

Ricardo: Survived that first set.
Me: Way to go McEnroe!

Later in the day:
Ricardo: Heading to the semi finals now.
Me: Go kick some Ass SampRAS!

Then he texted me that he had lost in semi-finals
Ricardo: Got Ass kicked. Done
Me: So first place is a gonner Jimmy Connors! Your still #1 with me Agassi!

Then, just to help lighten his mood and remind him of what was still in store for him this weekend, I sent him the following:

Yard getting thick n tall Nadal!
Come use the mowa" Maria Sharapova!
Edge it quick Rodderick!
Better hurry Andy Murray!
Make it look better Boris Becker!

He texted back..."funny!"He doesn't find my humor as witty as I do sometimes. Do you think he may be "Bjon Borg"...I mean beyond bored with me?! It's not my "fault!"
....I just maka myself laugh, Steffi Graff!!!

Being married to me must sometimes seem like he is "serving" time. The longest match of his career! :) To which I say, Welcome to Wimbledon Baby!!! I "luv" you!!!

Our Family Field Trip Destination

Every year we receive an invitation in the mail for Homeschooler's Day at one of the local amusement parks. THIS year we actually reserved tickets for the first time ever. We haven't been to an amusement park since blue eyes was 5 and brown eyes was still in "the womb without a view." :) The past few years we have declined because frankly, brown eyes just wasn't ready yet. This year we have made such GREAT progress that we decided to give it a go. SOOOO glad we did! We had an absolutely fabulous time! It may not seem that large on paper: But let me say, after about 20 laps around this park-your tootsies sure feel it!!!


Any of you care to guess which one of these guys was the adventurous one?

If you guessed little brown eyes.....

Well, in this one instance you would be wrong. He was a little apprehensive about a lot of the rides. We did the carousel ride, driving the mac truck ride, and the small train around the circle ride. After that, he was just content to watch his brother and Daddy throw caution to the wind. Which they did:

They did the water rides.

And they got just a wee bit wet! LOL!

They rode steers.

Went boating.

They did ferris wheels, a roller coaster ride or two, swings that fly all about. Then Daddy went where the rest of us were only too glad to watch from the sidelines.

This is a large rocket ride that rocks back and forth like a large swing. And then......

It goes completely up-side-down and suspends in mid air. (Insert vomiting here. Ugh!)

Ricardo loves all kinds of wild and crazy rides. Ol blue eyes is on his way to being adventurous. Brown-eyes is for now, like his momma. I am more of a watch you from the sidelines kind of gal. One year many moons ago, I rode an insane roller coaster ride with dear sweet Ricardo. He had been egging me onto rides all day. Then he talked me into riding the roller coaster from hell. One where you go about a gazillion miles an hour forward, loop- de -loop around in circles and stop. I was thinking, "Dear God it is over! Thank you!!!" And then.....in that instant it started to go backwards, loop-de-loop at a gazillion miles an hour again. At which point. all I could think was, "Please don't throw up! Please DON'T THROW UP!" Now I don't let Ricardo or anyone cajole or dare me into doing rides. Because quite frankly, I don't have that many life years to lose again! Mock if you must. :)

May I say also, today I tried a funnel cake for the first time in my life. Wow! Someone should have made me try THIS years ago instead of these crazy rides!!! Ricardo was glad I could finally scratch that off my bucket list at long last. ;)

We had an insanely fun time. It was closed to the public and just open to Homeschoolers. No lines hardly at all. Yeah! We plan on going back again next year. Perhaps we will all do a few more rides....I KNOW I'll be getting another one of them there funnel cakes. Thunder thighs be damned! :)

I asked the boys if they had a good time today.



They said it was an ABSOLUTE BLAST!!!

Field Trip

Today we are out in the field. Yep, we are outfielders. Um...I mean, We are on a Field Trip! Yeah, that's it! Remember those fun school days?! The ones you looked forward to all year?! One of the only reasons you even went to elem/jr high school to begin with! Well, that and the fact that it was required by law and you were too young to drive yet anyways...but I digress.

We almost didn't go given all the swine flu cases and warnings. We weighed our decision carefully. We weighed the disappointment factor of our children if we didn't go as promised. We thought since the schools were all reopening, it would probably be safe. We vowed not to kiss any piglets. We said we would steer clear of people who were sneezing. We wouldn't shake hands with anyone- even if it appeared rude. Also worth mentioning, the fact that our tickets were non-refundable.

Verdict: Sometimes in life, you've got to take chances. Honor promises made to your children of a good time. We'll be taking plenty of precautions, germ-x (and my camera of course.) So tomorrow, I'll be posting pictures of our excursion. (Or documenting what caused our demise if we fall ill.) But today, Carpe Diem Baby!!!

Lofty Idea becomes reality!

I just want to thank everyone for being so supportive during my lofty ideas and efforts to achieve the perfect master suite. You've been wonderful! You've offered advice, listened to me ramble on and on, looked at endless photos, etc. As someone who just had a boxspring and mattress sitting on the ground until a few years ago when we sprang for a $30 bedframe and mismatched accessories-this has been quite an adventure for me! I must seem like a spoiled child with a new toy. So thank you for being so indulgent with me!!! I promise, I'm almost done!

A while back I took a survey to see if ya liked the brick wallpaper idea. I get these "design inspirations" from time to time. Visions. Ideas of Grandeur. Hallucinations during my drunken stupors that I think might be fabulous. But I also like to get second opinions occassionally. Because, let's face it, even sober....I'm kinda "out there." :) I know not everyone has the same tastes in decor (or drinks.) That's what makes us such fascinating individuals! But I value your opinions greatly; because most of YOU are sober...just joking! I don't know whether you are sober or not. I can only speak for myself. And I'm sure I have driven you all to drinking by now. But I digress....


Anyhow, here again is the lofty idea paper in question:

Everyone thought it might be a cool idea to try. Girls, I gotta say: We are genious!!!

For my birthday, I had the one wall done in the bedroom. Here is an up close of the way it wraps around the window and butts up against the other walls:

And THIS is how it looks across the entire wall behind the marital bed:
I really LOVE, LOVE it! It turned out better than I even imagined. (Speaking of imagination, I sometimes pretend I am in a trendy Chicago loft overlooking Wrigley Field or in my New York flat on the upper West side. :)

Thanks again for all your advice, support, and patience! I promise to return the favor one day!

Love Thy Neighbor

I have a wonderful neighbor! She has been so kind every since we moved into the neighborhood. She and I have formed a bond because we both like to garden. The only difference, is that SHE actually knows what she is doing! :) I'm not joking, take a look at her yard:I must say, it is wonderful to look across the street everyday and see such a beautiful yard! It is also intimidating; because, I know that mine will never look that good in a million years! I try hard, but I am just a mere grasshopper-she is the master!

To prove my point, let me tell you this: she grows her own plants! From scratch! She can take a plant, root graft it (or some such thing) and grow a whole 'nother plant!!! Amazing!!! It's just a hobby for her. She likes to do it. I am so glad that she has this hobby; because, every spring she gives me plants that she has grown. She grows them, has no space for them, and gives them to me! Yippee!!!

This weekend, she gave me 19 plants! Yes, 19!!! I don't know the names of all of them. Because, I am an amateur gardener. But this is what they look like:

She grows a bunch of these because she knows that they are my favorite. They are perennials (which I love!) They start out green and then grow this beautiful, delicate purple flower on top. Like so:

They multiply in size every year too. How wonderful is that?!!! Besides being beautiful, it's a real crowd pleaser with butterflies and hummingbirds too. :) And the bees like them as well :(

This year, she also gave me a few "obedience plants". I've never grown one before, but I like the fact that it has to do what I say! LOL! So, I planted this one in the back yard, commanded it to grow and prosper, do my laundry and poop scoop for me....we'll see! :)

It is suppossed to grow little white flowers on it later. Sounds beautiful! I took a chance and planted some of the plants in my backyard. Some are in beds (shhhhh, their sleeping :) others I planted around the trees.

I don't have to mention that planting them in the backyard makes me a little nervous! I have been on "beaver watch" since Saturday!

Ahem...if you read this blog, know what I mean. :) Ella too, is concerned that the beavers who chewed up the trees before, might come back and try to dig up some plants! So I am being very, very vigilant!

But in case "wild life" gets a hold of them, I thought I better show you what they look like now. Four are sleeping in the above bed. 2 more are sleeping in the bed below.



My lovely neighbor also grew these honeysuckle vines. She gave me two of these that she had again grafted from a plant in her yard. I am going to grow them on trellis' against the house/poolside.

She also gave me a plant that is kinda like a hosta, but not. Maybe some of you will know what it is by looking:



I can't wait to get it and the vines in the ground this week!

I had to stop planting this weekend when the epic rains hit. For awhile there I was getting nervous! I looked up how much a cubit was, and got the boys and mastiffs lined up in twos....just in case! :) But I digress....

Anyhow, I am so thankful for my wonderful neighbor! I hope to repay her kindness with some of my vegetable bounty. At least I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I have the opportunity to. Looks like I may have plenty of spuds if this is any indication:

How exciting, I might actually be able to "pay it forward" with some of the spuds that were gifted to me! I would love the opportunity to reciprocate. After all, isn't that what being neighbors is all about?!