A Whole Month

Wow, I feel neglectful. I wanted to use this blog mainly for pictures, and I figured I've probably posted enough of the new puppy and of Daniel screaming. And it's been too cold for pictures of anything else. I did get out and try, and as soon as I left the city limits, it was foggy. The fog had worked well before, but not this time. So I took a shot of the sunrise and then over processed it to death. But I kind of liked how it turned out.



Then I headed back into the big city, and went to the bird sanctuary. It was a little better there, but still cold. It's amazing the difference a few months will make. The ducks don't seem to mind, they were swimming in an open spot on the ice.



Then I saw a goose, sitting on a tree stump. I've never seen a goose "perched" before, so I got a shot. It was kind of blah as it was, so I converted it to black and white, which gave it some oomph.



And a hawk circling the river. I don't know if these guys are winter residents or not, but this is the first one I've seen all year.



Another thing I haven't seen out there is deer. Strange, because you'd think that they would be easier to see with all the bare branches and snow, but they aren't.

We got another 6-8 inches of snow over the weekend, so winter is still hanging on here. But soon the baby ducks will be out, the leaves will come back, and it will warm up. I've got plans to go back here



now that I have figured out my camera a little more, so stay tuned for that. I also did a little networking this weekend, and it looks like there is a possibilty for a couple of photo shoots this spring/summer, so we shall see.

Drizzama

We gots it. Let's see, a compilation of some of the crap that has happened in the last two months.

A car that was supposed to be sold in October is returned to us, with a blown head gasket and a door that was wrenched nearly off.
My darling husband gets not one, but two speeding tickets in the mail.
We get a letter in the mail that a vehicle that is registered to us has been impounded to the tune of at least $400.
Our garage gets crashed into by a car driven by the neighbors thirteen year old son. Both doors, the pillar that separates them, and both vehicles inside.
I wash my husband's blackberry.
Juno spends a day throwing up, and requires a trip to the vet.

So yeah, that has been my life in 2009. I am knocking on every piece of wood within reach that the world is not longer angry with us. I am pretty darn thankful that no one was hurt during the garage fiasco.

I am so ready for spring this year it is not even funny. It seems like this winter has been the coldest one in a long time. I can't wait to see some flowers and green grass, and take some freakin' pictures of something besides the kids and the puppy.

Speaking of the puppy, she is doing awesome. Aside from the sick day. I would say she is 99% housetrained, we've had one accident in the last week and a half. She goes into her super spazz mode and tries to do laps on the hardwood. It is hilarious. She is a lot of work, especially since she tries to eat everything she finds, but I am so glad that we got her.

I succame.

I couldn't resist the puppy fever any longer. So last Saturday, we went and picked up our baby girl.



I know that puppies are a ton of work. I literally spent two months reading every morsel of information on puppies I could find. I learned about almost every breed of dog, trying to find the right one for our family. We aren't really little dog people, so I had my heart set on a boxer when I first started dreaming of puppies. After riding the research train, I realized that two hours of exercise a day was more than I could give. So we nixed the boxer, and finally settled on a much smaller breed, (but not too too small) the boston terrier.

Of course, she's pretty small right now. When we brought her home she weighed about 5 pounds, or just less than half of what our cat weighs.

Speaking of the cat, that whole situation has gone a lot better than I thought it would. My cat is an asshole. To the point where if we have people over that the cat doesn't know, we have to put him behind closed doors. There is no doubt in my mind that he would attack someone that he didn't know, if they were foolish enough not to heed his hissing and growling warnings and try to pet him. So understandably I was a little worried about bringing our puppy home. There has been several barks, a few chases, and one hiss in a week and a half. I'd call that a success.

The house training has been going pretty well. I'd say we are averaging just under one accident a day, but she is figuring this out too. She's a kennel sleeper, and does really well in there. She sleeps all night long, whining for maybe 30 seconds before she settles in, and then whining for maybe 30 seconds once during the night.



She loves to play fetch. She leaps from the hardwood on to the tile as if there is a canyon between them. Her little ears flop as she runs, and it is so cute. She has been trying to fetch little people, so we've had to make sure that they are safely tucked into their drawers.


Really, I think that we lucked out. She is a pretty darn good puppy, as far as puppies go. Here's hoping she just gets better and better.

I need to pay more attention.

Every morning, Jake gets himself dressed and ready for school. It took us a lot of work to get him to be morning self sufficient. If you saw his reaction to us asking him to get dressed, you'd think we soaked his clothes in acid.

So now that he dresses himself with little to no complaining, I interfere as little as possible. Apparently to the point of not paying any attention at all. This morning, Jake put his jeans on backwards. I didn't notice. When I went to pick Jake up from school, his pants were still on backwards. I didn't notice. In my defense, he wears a longish winter jacket that covers where the pockets are on his jeans.

My kid wore backwards pants all day today, and I had no clue, until he was at home again. I quizzed him up on it, and he said no one said anything about it all day. I find that hard to believe. I am sure his teacher thinks I am certifiable, if she didn't already.

He will not speak to strangers.

Daniel does not talk to people that he doesn't know. Heck, he doesn't even talk to people he is aquainted with. You would never know that right now, as he plays and commentates every single move he makes. He is the king of questions. I just know that one day, it'll be a question from Danny that sends me plummeting over the edge. I'll be in a rubber room somewhere, going "Why? But why? How come?"

Jake, on the other hand, will talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and about anything. He is one of those kids that you have to worry about what might come out of his mouth. Like the time he told the Jehovah's Witnesses at the door that I was just in the bathroom poopin'. Real nice. Now that he is in kindergarten, I find myself wondering what he is filling his teacher's heads with.

In other news, I've got some terrible puppy fever. I want a puppy so bad that it hurts. I am still researching and soul searching to make sure that we are ready to take the plunge, but man. I really want a puppy.

And lastly, it is still freakin' winter. For at least three more months. BLECH!

Birthday Suits

It was Danny's third birthday at the end of December. For Christmas, the boys recieved these cute suits. I figured it would be a good idea for the boys to wear them to Danny's birthday party.

Danny is a very particular boy. He won't just wear anything, and has some clothes in his closet that he refuses to wear at all. So I thought that if there was any chance of him wearing the suit, he had to be acclimatized to it. So the day of his party, I hung his suit in the living room so he check it out.

It seems like whether or not he will wear something is inversly proportional to how badly I want him to wear it. I hyped up the suit. I told him it was a special birthday suit. I forced Jake to wear his, so Danny could see his big brother wearing it. Another thing about Danny is that he doesn't like attention. He hates to be told that he is cute. I think the wheels were turning, and he realized that wearing this special birthday suit was probably going to ensure some "Awwww....you are SO cute!" are going to come his way.

Danny didn't want to wear the suit. I finally coerced him into it, only by promising him that once we got to the party, he could change his clothes. He spent some time admiring himself in front of the mirror.

He agreed to some pictures. They were more cooperative than usual, but my keeper to tosser ratio was still very low. I did manage to get a few though. We finished up the picture taking at headed off to the party.

We get there, and Danny's grandma wants to take a picture of him in his suit. The shit hits the fan in Danny land. She manages to snap a picture of Danny in his suit sporting a very miserable face before he crumples to the floor in tears. We went and changed.

Why am I blessed with such head strong children?

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

From our family to yours, best wishes for a happy, healthy, and wonderful Christmas, and a fantastic New Year.