A New Addition to the Family

A while back, we brought home our little friend, Rosie, our kitten. Well, we've welcomed a new furbaby into our family...
Meet Autumn!

She is an eleven week old Boxer/Golden Retriever mix and is maybe the sweetest doggy ever.

DOH and I had talked for a long time about getting a dog, researched different breeds we might be interested in and had decided to start keeping an eye out for dogs we might be interested in purchasing/adopting, either through a shelter, a foster home, or a good family.

We wound up adopting Autumn from a foster family yesterday and are so pleased we did. While she's nearly three months old, there is a lot of work to be done, because her previous owners (prior to the foster home) were very neglectful (which I cannot understand; how can anyone neglect a puppy?!). We're working on all the basics, from sit and stay to getting her to go potty outside only. We realize it's a large undertaking, but I'd rather do it now while we only have one very independent 3 1/2 year old (a letter to Lizzie is long over due, look for one later this weekend!), rather than waiting another four or five years to get a dog after baby number two is at a more independent stage.

DOH has been amazing. He's the one who found out about Autumn and has been doing a ton of research regarding how to train a dog, different stages of a puppy's development, and has been great in sharing the chore the last two days of taking Autumn out to got potty and for walks in the rain (something Autumn isn't terribly thrilled about).

For now, I feel like our little family is kind of complete (I still think we need a fourth human, but we'll be working on that some months down the road). It's such a wonderful feeling, having this little puppy in our family, and, as Charlie Brown says:

An Extension

In light of what I wrote about (briefly) in a previous post here are some of the words of people who are still being affected by the man who we are "celebrating" today. Very well done.

Christmas Outfit

So, because I'm absolutely in love with Christmas and all things "holiday", I've already figured out Lizzie's Christmas outfit.

It was really easy because it's basically the same thing she wore last year.

I love this dress. I bought it from Hanna Andersson last year for Lizzie's Christmas dress and while it was a bit big, she still rocked it. 

Well, what do you know, it fits her perfectly this year. BUT there were some small stains on the dress that I hadn't been able to get out last year. Bummer, right? Well, my mom gave me a little tip: soak the dress for a a few hours to  day in the tub along with some OxyClean the wash it as you normally would. Well, low-and-behold, the dress came out of my dryer like new. Yes!

So, now we need to buy new tights (which mom kindly offered to do). Last year, we got the tights at Hanna Andersson, which is where we'll get them again. This is the pair I think we'll get:

Don't you love the ruffle butt? 

Anyway, we'll slap on some cheapo patent leathers from Wal-Mart and call it a day, bringing my grand total to $10.88 for Lizzie's Christmas outfit. Pretty great considering I spent about $50 last year...

Planning Ahead

We've been having a problem lately at my house. I haven't been cooking much lately and there has been a major uptick in the purchase of pre-packaged frozen meals and take-out.

Now, I don't have a real issue with either one of those things, if they make it to my table (or, more likely, on my couch in front of my T.V., because not home-cooked meals seem to not call for the nice family dinner at the table) only once in a while. A couple of times a week is a little much for me, both in terms of my own family values and my pocketbook.

Something's gotta give.

Today is Columbus Day (Or, as I like to call it: Happy Smallpox Day, North America's Indigenous People! Fun Fact: Did you know that between the late 1400's (Hello, Mr. Columbus) to the mid-1650's, the native population in the Americas declined by more than 50 percent? Someone please explain to me why we celebrate this idiot, who wasn't even the first European to discover North America, never mind the first person, period.), so we have the day off. I'm taking to day to throw together some freezer meals. Basically my own version of those lovely, over-salted freezer meals I can pick up at the grocery store.

I've planned for five meals to make ahead of time and one meal where I'm going to make certain components head and then all I have to do is mix some stuff together and throw it in the oven (actually, I could probably make the whole thing and then freeze individual pieces...hmmmm). Okay, make it six meals! So, that means I'll have, let's say, at least three meals that I can just throw in the oven when I get home from work and then steam up some veggies to go on the side.

I've planned on ten meals for the next two weeks. That leaves four meals for take out and family dinners with our in-laws. Not bad, eh? Hopefully having some go-to things in my freezer will make getting us all to the table to eat something that's not vaguely reminiscent of cafeteria food will be a bit easier.

Do you have a tricks to getting a tasty, home-cooked meal on your table most nights (despite being ridiculously busy)?

Note: Please excuse my mini Columbus Day diatribe. I have strong feelings about early colonial decimation of the Americas indigenous population.

This Is What Happens When I Try to Look Nice

My husband's aunt is getting married today (yay!). I decided to do something fancy with my nails. I bought some acrylic nails

Holy crap. I went from super short, bitten down nails to these...

I have adult film star hands.

I haven't quite decided if I like these yet, but I definitely have decided I can't function with them on. I can't type (this is taking me twice as long), can't do dishes easily, I'm afraid to touch Lizzie for fear of slicing her to pieces, and I'm a little nervous about DOH's reaction. He's either going to think their hot or be totally freaked out. My money is on freaked out.

And now I'm going to see if they'll finally let me join X-Men, as I sort of feel like a mutant.

Someone Amazing

So, the other night I was feeling pretty sick. Really, really rotten. I've had a cold for about three weeks and this past week was maybe the worst, mostly because I lost my voice (and felt like poo). Anyway, my mom basically ordered me to her house. And she made me supper. And she put me to bed. And the next morning she gave me a big hug and kiss.

I felt loads better.

This is just one of the many reasons why my mother is maybe the most amazing person I know. She is selfless, loving, and a happy and positive person to be around. Even when things aren't always so easy. I'm not going to go into great detail about my mom and what is happening in her/our lives right now, partly because my mom gets embarrassed when I give too much detail on this blog, and this stuff has more to do with her than me, but let me say, she's got a lot on her plate. She's busy every. Single. Day. And while my dad, my brother, and I do make attempts to be helpful, it's not enough. But she still keeps chugging along. With a smile on her face.

She is simultaneously caring for the family her lives in her home, family who live outside of her home, working a job, fulfilling other obligations, and dealing with whatever other unexpected things that crop up (like her 23 year old daughter needing to borrow $10 for gas because she forgot to ask her husband before he left for work, leaving her to meet said daughter at her granddaughter's daycare to drop off the money). I am consistently blown away by  her ability to multi-task and hold it all together at the same time. I can't do it, not yet, and I wonder if I'll ever do it quite as well.

All of those balancing act/Supermom things aside, the biggest thing about my mom that completely floors me is how much she cares about my brother and I, and how much of a good mom that she is. Obviously our relationship was/is not always perfect, but there has never, ever been a day in my life where I doubted the love of my mother or whether or not I could go to her with something. She has always been a solid and loving force in my life, even in the days when I would scream, "I hate you!" and slam the door in her face (Sorry, Mom...:-().

I've always said, if I can be half the mother she was to Lizzie, then Lizzie will have it pretty darn good.

Ugh.

My fave thing about my life lately? Feeling WIDE awake at this time every morning.