Happy Birthday Pups!

Today our pups turned one year old.

Diesel now...

Diesel then!

Diesel now. Gotta love him. When we're eating dinner, he most often will go lay down. He doesn't beg or drool for food, but sometimes he will walk up to the table and rest his giant, blocky head down, and look at the food. We NEVER feed either dog food from the table. He never tries to take any, he just looks. I guess he does it because he can.
Don't worry, if we were to have you over for dinner, we wouldn't let him do this!

Here is our Thailand houseguest (a teacher with AFS), Pornphen, with the pups. She wouldn't let them sleep on her bed while she was here, but this picture was taken her last day with us.

This is Diesel, back when we first got him. What a big baby!
Paige is holding him, over her shoulder. Could she pick him up like this now? No way! He weighs almost as much as she does!

Maggie now.

This was Maggie the first night we had her home. She looks so small compared to now!

Sophia drew a picture of me... and wrote 'Mom!'

So, the other day I was sitting at my desk, working on my computer. Sophia was sitting on the floor by my desk, drawing. She asks, 'How do you make an 'm'?' I showed her on a piece of paper. A minute or two later, she holds up the picture you see above, and says, "look, I drew your picture and wrote Mom!" (Click on the picture to take a closer look!)

I was floored! I'd never showed her how to do that, I just wrote the 1st 'M' on a separate piece of paper! I've never worked with her on writing her letters. She's known her alphabet (to say aloud) since she was about 1 1/2 years, but we've never 'worked on' writing them, or recognizing them. This is all her. She watches 'Word World' and another show like that, so I guess she's picked up a few things!

I love her picture too - complete with eyebrows, ears & earrings. Sophia turned 3 in October, so she's almost 3 1/2. Yup, she's smart like her Momma! ;)

Weird Wednesday & American Idol

Weird Wednesday is back. There hasn't been too much interest in it, and a couple weeks ago no one participated. But... last week I was scolded when I didn't do it. You win. You've bullied me back in.

This is Diesel. He'll be one at the end of the month (along w/his sister Maggie). Here he seems to be talking, but I'm just not sure what he's saying.

Any guesses?



And my American Idol pick to go home?
Blond girl saved herself this week with a patriotic song.... She'll be out next week!

Happy Easter!

Here's Sophie, with her Easter basket, ready to go to church. I didn't get pics of the other two, things were just too hectic around here this morning!

Sophie gets a haircut!

It's short and sassy, just like her!



Don't mind the stray hairs... she was busy playing with Play-Doh (while chomping gum as you might notice in the 2nd picture), and I didn't bother to fix them. She's wearing her new "Little Miss chatterbox" shirt I got at Macy's. Oh man, is that the perfect shirt for her!

American Idol & Jonas Brothers

Paige loves the Jonas Brothers. Tonight is their concert, and Paige and her BFF cousin Carolyn couldn't be more excited. They've got pretty good seats on the floor. Paige adores Nick (the one on the right). They're nice boys. Their dad is/was a Pastor & they wear purity rings, so I approve.

Now for my guess on who's going home tonight on American Idol. This week is a tough one. I'll go with...


Agree or disagree? Personally I'd like to see the screaming, 3 pack a day smoking, scruffy witchy haired chick go home... but I don't think she will yet.

Yes, Paige voted 103 times tonight for

She's his biggest fan.

#2 Safest Place to Live

No. 2: Maine

The Pine Tree state has been ranked in the top three each of the past 15 years. It has the lowest assault rate in the U.S.

Rankings in Crime (out of 50)

Assault: 50
Burglary: 38
Murder: 45
Motor Vehicle Theft: 48
Rape: 40
Robbery: 44

(New Hampshire was number one) CLICK HERE to see where your state falls on the list.

Puppy Fun...

So, today I let the pups outside. Remember, we live out in the country, on a private, dirt road. Maggie has to pee, so she jumps down off the porch, walks 20 feet or so, and squats to pee. She is a female dog you know...

Diesel follows right behind her.

Walks up beside her, lifts his leg (yes, he's the male) and PEES ALL OVER HER!

Grrrrr.... we knew Maggie was the smarter dog, but this just takes the cake!

They are confined to the mudroom (tile floor) until Ted gets home (working this afternoon) to bathe them.
They hate their baths.
Maybe I'll take pictures.
Maggie stinks.
Diesel is a jerk.
The end.

Retro Friday

This was one of our wedding pictures. I just took this picture out of a frame, and had it sitting here behind my desk, so it was an easy one to grab and scan. Ted was 27, I was 24.

I just loved my dress, and still do. It was made of raw silk, and was very lightweight. At the reception, I had to throw my beautiful bouquet, because the flower shop didn't bring a little one (like they were supposed to!!!) for me to throw. My maid of honor wouldn't give hers up to throw. Hmmmph! :)

American Idol + sickness :(

Okay, this is my guess for tonight. If it isn't the male striper/dancer, it will be Kristy Lee Cook. Her voice is wonderful, but I don't know if she can recover from the mess last night. There was just too much noise and chaos in turning that song country. Ewwww...

I know, David Archuleta forgot the words and all, but he's got such a huge fan base (Paige voted 103 times for him), he'll sail through. But - didn't we think the same thing about Chris Daughtry? Should be interesting...

~~~~~~~
On a personal note, Noah is sick. He started throwing up about 9pm last night, and did so just about on the 1/2 hour throughout the night, till morning. Gut wrenching stuff. Poor guy. I am wiped, as I was up with him, and tried to doze between clean ups. He's keeping down sips of water and ginger ale so far this morning. Little sips. Gotta get back to him.

Weird Wednesday

Here Sophia helped Daddy lug the laundry up from the basement to the 2nd story...

Ted was cutting Noah's hair, and Noah was trying to blow upwards, to keep the hair off his face. Noah's haircut came out fine, I assure you! He wanted a short buzz cut, so Dad was the man for the job.

One Child Policy Continues

CLICK HERE to read about it. I was certainly hoping for something different. Thanks to Heather for the link!

American Idol - Who's Going Home?

Weird Wednesday

No grass poking through here...

This is the snowbank that sits right in front of our house, I took the picture yesterday afternoon. The front porch is just to the right of what you can see. There are many more snowbanks, all around the yard. I just about gasp when I see your blogs, and see greenery or the signs of spring poking through. It is a warm 51 degrees here today, and is raining, but the temps will drop tonight, and we're forecasted to get 1-3" of ice and sleet tonight, maybe more into tomorrow. It's looking like another snow day for the kiddos...

Goodbye my Friend... (sniff... sniff...)

I'm ready to be a quitter.

Did you know I love chocolate? Yeah. Too much, in fact. Tonight is my final indulgence. The last bag of I will buy, well for quite awhile. You see, I was talking to my friend 'N'. She's not from around here, but will be paying us a visit in July. She mentioned she had a few pounds to lose, and I boldly asked how many. Turns out she wants to lose what I need to lose. Time is ticking, and July will be here soon enough. So... we're going to challenge each other to do it NOW. We're both going to do it.

Oh sure, she wanted to start March 1st, but I wanted my last weekend of delight, before I have to give up the goodies. I had my 'last supper' at the Olive Garden tonight with Paige. I am full of and even . I'm ready now.

We're trying to think of a prize for the one that loses the most, or a negative consequence for the one that doesn't. Something that will motivate us! We've thought of: the one that doesn't lose as much as the other, has to put their picture on the internet, dressed in a bikini. Um... that's a little bit scary I think! I'm a few (just a few) years older then my friend, and what if we both totally behave ourselves, and she's just able to lose more? What if it's out of my hands???? We've also considered the loser paying for the winner's massage or manicure when they come up. Any clever ideas out there?

So tonight at 11:59 PM I will eat my last Hershey Hug... I am done with you my sweet friend...

Gotta run, it's hard to unwrap those Hersey Hugs and type at the same time! Time's a ticking!!!