'Tis the Season!

Create your own free greeting

I Think I Own It!

The Annual Door Decorating Contest that is. Since I kicked some bootie last year with my 3D tree, I decided I had to try again. Check out my door in the new school this year:

I also beaded a bunch of snowflakes for my classroom. I was at the bead shop the other night and they had these cool wire snowflake frames for like $2/6 to bead. I thought it would be a fun project for my stepdaughter to make ornaments for family at Christmas, and then got into it myself. I'm going back to buy more frames tonight! Simple, easy and elegant project! Oh yeah - and cheap too if you buy your beads at Wally World! Aren't they pretty?

It's Feeling a Lot Like Christmas!

First off, I need to put a shout out to Galloping Grace Youth Ranch in New Mexico. They are a non-profit organization that caters to children on their ranch. Each year they host a Pumpkin Patch and Christmas Corral. We missed out on pumpkins this year and were determined to get our tree from them. Alas, between the funeral and a cranky sick husband we just didn't make it. I'm bummed. Hoping for next year!

So we put our tree up this weekend!

Santa visited a little early as my little man has finally made the connection between his hands and his eyes! We first noticed it in his swing when we attached the tray with toys. He definitely was reaching and manipulating!

He's such an active little boy and loves to stand supported, so we decided it was time for a jumper. With some serious online searches involved, we finally found an affordable one at Wally-World, of all places. He loves to bounce in it and play with the toys!

I also have been meaning to post forever about Tinkerbell, the Pony. I finally found her a good home! As I refused to sell her for pennies, a friend approached me with a fair trade. Tinkerbell has gone to live with a little girl who loves her and rides her regularly, and in exchange I got this:

Tootsie, the Mini. She eats less. Has a Shag carpet for a coat. And is Wyatt new trusty stead (when he learns to ride next summer). As she comes up to my waist, I'm not too concerned about falls.

Outlaw Wyatt James

Sorry I haven't posted lately. Nate's grandmother was killed in a horrendous car accident the Friday before Thanksgiving, and as he was extremely close to her, and she had been one of the nicest women ever to myself, we've had a hard time with it. Her husband was also injured in the accident and was hospitalized for awhile, but made it home for Thanksgiving and is recovering well. So it's been a rough week, but the funeral was beautiful and we walked away with positive thoughts. I'm not going to dwell on it, but we are hoping this has changed how some people in the family have treated us.

Spent Thanksgiving with close friends I work with and just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. We had fantastic food and I spent two days baking in my tiny kitchen. My part of the menu consisted of homemade rolls with spiced cinnamon butter, sweet potatoes, brie wrapped in pastry, homemade sangria, pumpkin pie, and berry/rhubarb custard pie. I have great recipes for all of it is anyone's interested. The Sangria was especially yummy!

Nate and I celebrated our anniversary Sunday. We made it one year without killing each other - barely.

I started back to school with the kids yesterday. I hated leaving Wyatt, but he has a great sitter that is just down the road from work and I can see him at lunch if I want. He's her only infant and only one of two full-time children. I'm very happy with her, but I miss my little man soooooo much. I wish I could take him to work with me.

Wyatt is growing! He is such a handsome little dude. He smiles and talks and laughs all day. If he gets cranky, we just need to change a diaper or feed him and he's back to amusing everyone! He's our little outlaw.

As a true outlaw, lounging around in long underware and cowboy boots is a pastime not to be beat.

"Soooooo....you think you can beat me at cards? Here, let me drool on you."

"That's right, wanted in all 50 states"

"Being this cute exhausts me. Keep an eye on things for me Maverick."

Disguised as "Little Earp"

Long Overdue

I haven't addressed the many questions concerning my step-daughter and the MIL. First things first -

Who made amends with me over the summer, then told me, though my efforts were appreciated, I wasn't good enough as a mother two weeks before giving birth when I was all hormonal?

Who told her granddaughter's teacher (at church no less) her parent's didn't care about her now that they had a new baby in the house, and to call her instad of her parent's if there were issues or concerns?

Who dresses up (ironically) as a clown to steal her granddaughter away from a Halloween party to take her to a haunted house at the school her stepmother works at, and then pretends she's not who she is 'cause...wait for it...she's in disguise?

You only get one guess (hint: it's the same person)

You got it! A crazy person! I'm over it. Really. It's really quite hurtful to myself and my family, and I just refuse to let anyone be hurt like this anymore

So that leads me into my stepdaughter's behavior. I don't think it takes much to explain the influences she has working around her. As a co-worker and parent of a child in her class recently said, "It's very obvious when you are out of town, or (she) has visited with her grandparents. She's rude to me and acts like a brat towards my child." Nice. At least I'm not getting blamed for her behavior. In fact, she herself blames grandma by telling her friends that, "my grandma told me I don't have to be nice to you." I don't actually believe this was really said, but she's got it figured she can behave anyway she wants if she blames it on her grandma. It's a quandary. And no, she doesn't visit but that doesn't seem to stop the in-laws anyway.

For the record - I really would love to be able to respect them and depend on them. Having family close would be nice if we could take advantage of it, and for general support. But when they can't respect their son, his wife or them as a couple - it makes it a little difficult when such foolish behavior is exhibited. What's killer is we visited quite often; at least once a month if not more. We spent the summer holidays with them, had dinner on more than one occasion, spent labor day with them, had my stepdaughter with them on and off through the summer for overnight visits, let her stay there when I was in the hospital, etc. But evidently if they don't have her whenever they want her, and for as long as they want her then they must resort to kidnapping. Like I said, I'm over it.

As for my step-daughter: we have started a red light/green light board and star chart at home. She's fine with Wyatt, but there have been some behavioral issues - such as lying about homework and then forging her father's initial on worksheets. What 5 year old does that? She gets a lot of attention, especially concerning school work and reading (which she really enjoys). The chart seems to be working as she's very excited to stay in the 'green zone' and collect as many stars as possible.

'K - moving on...

Wyatt is my little strong man. He loves to hang as a monkey and does pull ups. I'm not kidding. He does a 90 degree arm hang, can lower himself, pull himself back up and also does leg lifts. He laughs the whole time. Is this normal? LOL (BTW: LOVE the babylegs! They rock!)

I have been busy getting creative. I used to be quite the pencil and pen and ink artist, but don't have the space for my work in the house. My creative outlet has gone towards more 3D work - like knitting and sewing - and jewelry making. I've been knitting scarves and cowls to match recycled sweater mittens I've been felting for Christmas gifts. The only problem is I want to keep everything! I'll post pics soon concerning my projects - I've just had a stack of papers to grade lately so it's been put to the side for now since I have to catch time when baby is napping (and that's almost never).

This weekend I went to a birthday party for the daughter (and former student) of a good friend of mine. I totally spaced it, but came up with a cool gift at the last minute. She's a little cowgirl and shows horses competitively so anything chunky and rustic is right up her alley:

I used all natural stones: Turquoise, garnet, amber, quartz and lapis.

I made it into some pre-preggers pants about a month ago. Those were my 'fat pants'. This week I made it into some normal sized riding jeans I have that used to be a little loose, but now fit perfectly. Hopefully by next week they're a little loose again! Losing pregnancy weight sucks. I've been walking in my Shape-ups and doing some cardio, but not near the amount I should.

I had my hair done. I've been growing it out and wanted something drastic, but not short again. My stylist did an awesome job - she dyed the lower layers a really dark reddish brown (almost black), then chunked a bunch of bleached highlights and dark lowlights mixed with my natural haircolor. The highlights framing my face are a lighter blond that's almost a light lavender in certain light. I love it. It's totally dramatic and fun which is what I wanted. I've gone from the girl who might visit the hairsalon for a trim once every two years, to loving a change in my look at least twice a year. I'm not sure when the girl gene kicked in, or if it'll last, but I'm enjoying it.

Happy Halloween!!!

A monkey and his banana. Could life get any better?

Didn't I Say I Wasn't Going to Do This Anymore?

Dude - What's up?

I did, didn't I? I can't believe I'm home all the time but don't get a post up more often! Ok I swear I didn't pose this kid for this picture. I didn't even notice what he was doing with his hand until after I took the picture.

In the news:
I'm taking my full maternity leave so I get to stay home until Thanksgiving. I was considering going back earlier, but I have faith in my sub who has all my detailed lesson plans, and I'd have to pay the babysitter anyway so I might as well stay home with my peanut.

Speaking of the peanut - we had our 2 month check up (2 weeks late) and Wyatt weighs 11lbs 5.5 oz. and is 24 inches long! He's in the 50th percentile with everything but his length - he's in the 70th percentile for that!

He's still a good baby - and sometimes gets through the majority of then night. I figure if I can get him down by 12 and he doesn't get up until 5 then I count that as a full night. Unfortunately he's usually up at 2 or 3 also. He's a happy baby! Always smiling! We have a Bumpo 'cause this kid wants to be part of everything and laying down just isn't acceptable!

I'm taking this time to get rest, and start some projects. I've been going to knit shop at least once a week and am working on a few different projects for the holidays! I'll post about them soon!

Also new news in the animal department! I'll post about that soon as well!

Guilty Pleasure...and Burp Rags

I have a guilty pleasure. I've never been a big television watcher, but when I'm nursing, pumping, or am hanging out with the little man while he wears himself out for the next nap I get a little bored. TV is a good distraction since I'm a multitasker and need to do something other than just sit there. There's been a lot of news, CSI and....Jerseylicious. I love Jerseylicious. I love how innocently ignorant the girls are on it, I love the drama, I love how they talk and I love to see what they are wearing from episode to episode. I want to be a Jersey girl sometimes. I already have one criteria down as I'm Italian. It makes me laugh. I mean seriously, how can you not laugh at Olivia discovering shoes other than heels? And ones with wheels at that?! Who never told her there were shoes with wheels?! And then watching her try and get the hang of them? It's refreshing to see I'm not the biggest dork in the world afterall.

Yes, yes...I know I'm a huge tomboy and don't mind getting dirty and if I go to a salon more than once a year it's some sort of record and pig's must be flying if I do something other than a pony tail - but sometimes I think I'd like to be that high maintenance and be Olivia for a day.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about check out the Style channel on Sunday night. I have to share that fabulousness.

How many burp rags does a new mommy need? I've lost count. They are seriously all over the house; laying in strategic places to help combat my crazy spitting child. I have taken the burp rags to a new level and am collecting stylish, one of a kind designs. There are the cowboy and classic car homemade cloths my childhood neighbor made, the soft, tasteful clothes my mom made to match the quilt she sewed I want to frame instead of use, the flannel cloths in fun designs that can double as a blanket I ordered from etsy, the colorful traditional cloths from the store...

Perhaps I have been more influenced by Jerseylicious than I thought...

In other baby news - Wyatt has officially graduated from newborn diapers and certain newborn clothes into 0-3 month sizes! Yeah! My child has no butt so I've been able to hold out for awhile. He still wears newborn sizes if he has top and bottom separates, but any pj's with feet are looking a little short for him and uncomfortable. Baby clothes sizes kill me. They are so random. We'll be in 0-3 sizes for awhile now - like for 4 months. Everything is HUGE on him. Maybe because he doesn't have a butt? He's also very slim. He's growing like a weed, but is just very compact. He was born with muscle definition in his legs and arms and instead of it turning to cute little baby rolls, my kid looks like a long, lean little cowboy. Go figure.

See - no butt!

We're Back!

It was too quick of a trip and our last two days were marred by a disaster we had occurring back at home. I'll eventually post about that but it's a little depressing for now. Sorry to those we didn't get a chance to visit with.

Wyatt was a champ on the plane and during the car trip Up North and back.

We visited the TC area and friends Thursday and Friday. I had the great idea of hiking Sleeping Bear Dunes Thursday. Not sure that was the best idea, but I still hiked a mile and a half in with a baby strapped to my chest. I miss the water :(

Drove up to St. Ignace where our friends were staying before the wedding on Friday via Charlevoix and Petoskey. We stopped at one of the many cider mills along the way for apples, cider, and donuts. Nate had never experienced anything like that before as we don't have mills in CO like we do back East. I miss them too :(

The weather rocked on the Island and we rented a horse and buggy to wander around the island in the first day. It was a ton of fun! The next day we rented bikes before the wedding and checked out the grand hotel and the park. Wyatt was totally content in his little 'tag-along' behind the bike.

The wedding was small and beautiful. We had a great time visiting and headed back downstate Monday afternoon. We spent the remainder of the time visiting family.

 

 

Oh the Things I'm Learning!

How can anyone afford both diapers and formula for their babies? I swear if I wasn't nursing we'd have gone broke already. I'm already stock piling the bottles!

Speaking of affording babies...how can anyone without insurance afford to have one? I got my hospital bill today. OMG! Granted I was charged for a full labor and then c-section, but still! Let's just say there are 5 digits and it's almost a quarter of the way to 6 digits. Holy Moly! Thank GOD I have insurance and I'm only paying barely into the 4 digits (not including all my pre-natal, but that wasn't too bad either).

There are good diapers and bad diapers. Good diapers only leak when they are fully saturated and weigh about as much as a baseball already. Bad diapers begin to leak before the baby is off the changing table and enjoying the first pee into a dry diaper...that evidentally stays dry since the pee is welling out the top. All I'm going to say is that the good diapers start with a "P" and the bad with an "H".

1 month checkup:
8.10 lbs
21.75 inches long
His head size is normal too, though I can't remember it

Holding his head up, almost rolling over, totally focused on things and loves the mobile above the crib, starting to smile, "talks" a lot and reaches for some things, knows his mommies voice and turns towards me when he hears me, tries to pull himself up when I hold his hands, and spits up A LOT (though dr. says he's growing like a weed and don't worry).



Only thing that bothers me is his umbilical cord is still on. Dr. said don't worry but come back in 2 weeks if it's still there. I'd love for it to fall off so we can have a normal bath and go swimming!


I'm doing alright - still a little sore. I gained A TON of weight while preggers ,though I'm not totally sure how since I was really active and not eating much, but oh well. Let's just say I gained about twice what I should have. About half of that is gone with little effort on my part, and it seems I lose more everyday, but I still cannot fit into anything. Literally. Maternity clothes are too big and everything else is too small. It's killing me. I can't afford to go shopping - AGAIN - so I'm just hoping the weight continues to peel off and I can at least fit into a pair of my 'fat' pre-preggers jeans soon.

That of course brings me to a dilemma since I'm going to be in MI next week! I don't know what to wear! We can only stay a week and half of that is going to be spent up North and on the Island for a wedding. It's a mini - baby - honeymoon since Nate and I still haven't had one. We have to rush home because of the business, but I do plan on trying to see as many people as possible. If I miss you - let's try again around Christmas since we're thinking of coming back then...maybe.

I totally meant to blog about Bunni, the manx cat, during my pregnancy but never got around to it. She spent the majority of the time, nights included, curled up around my belly purring to it. Since Wyatt's been born she has to be near us. She totally respects Wyatt's space and won't touch him other to sometimes sniff him or give his hair a little lick if I'm holding him. but otherwise this is what she does - just stays near him. She'll reach out a paw to touch my leg or hand, but won't do it to him. It's so cute. As usual he's checking everything out with a little peak to see if it's worth waking up all the way. He looks at everything with one eye first.

It's Not That I Haven't Had Time...

It's just that I haven't had time to post!!! I'm sorry and things will be better from here on out! I spent the last week getting my new classroom (we moved into the new school last week) unpacked with my substitute. When Wyatt wasn't sleeping and I didn't have two hands available, I was transcribing lesson plans from my chicken scratch to something legible for her! So I've been recovering/killing myself with work. What's new right? But now that responsibilities are taken care of I'm back to taking care of myself.

I have a ton to post so I'll break in down in order. First, here are a few pics of my little man before we left the hospital:

Staring at daddy

Ready to go home. The plug already comes in handy.

The day after we arrived home we had another baby - of the four-legged variety:

By the weekend I was having serious cabin fever so we drove to the Dunes where I chilled out in the shade.

Love the baby sling. It's awesome! I do chores in it - shop - go walking...

Wyatt is a great sleeper even though he gets me up multiple times a night. He also wants to be held almost all the time. He loves his carseat however and I can generally sit him in it while he checks out his world...as long as he has something to suck on. I'm sensing an oral fixation. Oh well, as long a he isn't using me as the pacifier it's all good.

I didn't have to pose him for this. He's a natural in front of the camera.

Welcome Wyatt James Cornum!

August 15th at 4:47 am ~ 7lbs 14.5 oz ~ 20 inches long

There's quite a story to this (isn't there always?), so I'm going to break it down into abbreviated steps:

1) Woke up to contractions Thursday morning at about 2:30 am. Were between 15 and 30 minutes apart, and mildly uncomfortable all day. Not really sure if true early labor.

2) By 11 pm were consitantly at 7 minutes apart and a little stronger, timed them until 3 am when I called the OB Ward and was told you can be comfortable at home or here - your choice. We waited until 6am to head in as they kept getting stronger.

3) Admitted and hooked up to a moniter that showed I was indeed having contractions 5 to 7 minutes apart, 2 cm dialated and 100% effaced. My doctor who's leaving is out of town until the 20th (when he planned on inducing me) so the midwife left in charge of his patients checked me out. I didn't change in dilation between 6 and 10am so there was some questions to whether I was in true early labor - but they were still strong and regular. Told to go home with a sleeping pill and when I woke up they would be gone. I was VERY sceptical, but hey - what do I know? So I went home. Big mistake. The damn midwife should have had a doctor look at me - or perhaps paid attention to the fact I was in pain. Contractions continued, getting stronger through the night - so basically I'm going on night 3 of no sleep and combined with the pain I'm getting stressed out.

4) Total wreck by Friday morning, refusing to go in only to be sent home again, in a ton of pain but still only 5 to 7 minutes apart. Nate talks me into heading out at 11 am, whereas I inform the admitting nurse I'm not leaving this place again (they teased me about it all day yesterday). Now here comes the Midwife's BIG mistake in play:

5) I'm hooked to the monitors only to be informed I have dangerously high blood pressure, the babies heartbeat is sky high, but dropping dangerously low with each contraction and taking a long time to recover. I'm still only at 2cm! But so stressed out from the last 30 unnecisary hours of contractions...the doctor on call makes the decision from the phone to get me leveled out and get me going. He then comes in and tells me because of the babies heartrate dips and slow recovery we need to think about a C-Section. I really wanted to deliver so asked him what would change his mind, and he said if the baby leveled out soon and stayed there. And that's exactly what happened.

6) Hooked to Picosin to jumpstart my dilation, water breaks on it's own at 3cm where I jump to a 5 quickly. Get an epidural which rocked. Moved to an 8 in a few hours. Epidural quits, next dose doesn't work, about ready to die after 2 hours, get a dose of lidocain, works immediatly, dilate to a 9...9...9...9...losing the pain meds, get a new dose and told to take a nap - only at 9.5cm. Almost there! Stuck at 9.5...still stuck...still stuck 4 hours later. Doctor comes in and decided we probably need to do a C-Section as the baby is starting to stress again, not bad but I should have moved forward 5 hours ago. He asks if I have the control to push - I do, he decides I'm going to deliver and he's going to move the last little bit of cervix over by hand. We start, pressure, and the baby stops. Try again, no go. Doctor doesn't know why but decides we're all tired of this and goes to tell the staff to ready the OR.

7) He no more than walks out the door and we lose the babies heartbeat completely. The nurses are turning me back and forth, calling for the doctor, prepping me for emergency surgery, pushing the baby up further - it was choas. They had me in the OR in less than 3 minutes and the heartbeat was back to normal.

8) Short umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. In short, when we went to deliver we were hanging him.

9) Baby bounced back great with a stress test score of 8.5/10. Hung out with dad until mom was recovered and then latched right on for his first feeding. Everything's been fine since!

10) I'm also bouncing back and should be let go tomorrow! So I got to experiece a full labor and c-section! Lucky me! I'm assuming I can blame the midwife who blew me off as another's patient for much of the occurances. I loved the doctor who was on call, and I was treated wonderfully. He, however, no longer works here full time but only covers 2 weekends a month as he works full time for the Mayo Clinic. I get to follow up with my regular doctor before he leaves for good. My RN through this all came to visit today and was pretty disappointed to hear what had happened but was so glad I ended up in good hands.

Oh - You So Know I Wasn't Giving Up...

...riding for 10 months did you? Seriously? I think I've given it up now until the baby is born (because I can't get my foot in the stirrup), but this was me last Wednesday. Not sure what I'm saying - or if I'm surprised - or what to explain my facial expression - and why the picture is a little washed out, but Maggie and I had a nice ride bring up calves for a calf roper that evening. Don't worry. I wouldn't ride if I didn't know she would take complete care of me.

If you have a problem with that come deal with her:

Thought we were having a baby yesterday. When we got out of the rodeo, Nate and I walked around the carnival, ate some good carni food and just were hanging out when I started feeling a little 'wet'. Not really abnormal, but by the time we walked to the truck it definitely felt abnormal. As I couldn't see I asked Nate to take a look - and my shorts were soaked. We were like, "um, I think we need to go to the hospital..." So we went and the admitting nurse was sure I broke my water (there was that much) - but in checking, the tests weren't coming back as amniotic fluid, even though they aren't 100%. My Doctor was on call, sent me home and told me I could have a rupture but there was plenty of fluid in there and the baby's head could be blocking the rupture because it's "RIGHT THERE!" - which coincidentally is making it hard for me to walk. Anyway - went home to see if contractions started or had anymore leakage, and 24 hours later nothing is out of the ordinary so I guess we had a total false alarm. Oh well.

Speaking of babies here's my baby from last year chillin' with his mommy. He's been weaned for about 7 months, and is incredibly independent for a herd animal, but still loves to spend time with his mom from time to time. She's not really protective of him, but I catch them together from time to time in a mother/son pose. It's sweet to see how animals still have affection for their offspring.

And these little buggers flew the coop the day after I got this picture, but I just thought they were so cute to watch grow up. It was hard to get a picture because the nest is up under the roof of the house and there's only a few inches between the bottom of the roof and the top of the nest. They were hanging out over the edge this day so I snapped a picture while mom and dad dive bombed me. I think I was ducking while I took this - which is why it's a little blurry.

When I'm Off My Game...

...I don't notice things like I should; such as where my young Indian Runner hen disappeared to. Until now. Look what she has tucked away in a spot I can't get to with the belly! I'm not sure these eggs will even be viable since they are small, or if they're even all hers or if she's sharing a nest with my young Buff hen. But since I have no idea how long she's had this nest going, and because she's broody and really wants to hatch them I figure I'll count down from the first day I noticed her sitting and just wait to see. Otherwise I'll just have to throw the eggs away anyway. If I get some babies great - if not then no big loss.

But I'm not completely off my game...Guess where I'm heading off to in this picture? Hint: look to the left and figure out what you see through the trailer window...

Time's ticking down! We have what will stand in as a nursery in the corner of our little bedroom set up - and I've started packing my bag for the hospital, because....

My doctor is still here due to some unforeseen circumstances! And he thinks I may be going into labor before my due date of Aug. 27th - and I won't be making it until the 27th anyway because he will be leaving before then and has promised to induce me on the 20th! I'm not totally sold on the induction - but it is an option. I want to be sure I'm ready to go because I REALLY don't want to end up having a c-section because the induction doesn't work. If I have a c-section it had better be because we have no choice and there is a problem. So we'll be talking more about that all in my appointment later this week.

Um...Sorry!?

My lilies are in bloom!

I actually didn't realize how long it's been since I blogged last, and when I received two back to back calls from friends wondering if there was anything wrong since they hadn't seen any new updates lately I figured I'd better let my blogging buddies know I'm still alive!

I've been semi-busy, but nothing really has been happening which is why I haven't felt I've had much to update!!!

So in a nutshell:

I'm teaching swim lessons everyday. Group lessons each morning and private lessons afterwards, sometimes well into the afternoon! Granted those days make me tired, but I really am enjoying being in the water! I've gotten really popular as a private instructor and am known as "that pregnant teacher". So when people call the pool to set up an appointment that's how they refer to me. I've had a few women ask me if they think I, "should really still be doing this..." and I always let them know how great it makes me feel and how my doctor has told me how happy I'm going to be for keeping all "those muscles toned". Seriously, do they think I should just be sitting on my arse all day or what?

I shrunk the belly. Really. One day I woke up and could see my feet again. Nate came home one day and was like, "whoa - where'd he go? or did your boobs just get bigger?" The answers are - under my ribs (ouch) and yes.

Wrigley won a photo contest. Go here to check him out! I love this company, for small AND big dogs! We entered FOREVER ago, but it stayed active and he was chosen this month! Yeah for free stuff!

I'm knitting. I've been wanting to learn for a long time, have looked at books, everything...but never started. I finally decided I was going to and went to our little knitting shop in town to check out lessons and was told by the owner to just come in and she'd teach me! So I took advantage of it and after a lot of dropped stitches, somehow adding a billion stitches to rows and some major mistakes - I actually have a nice little project going. It's not as totally perfect as I'd like - but my teacher told me I'm being anal and it looks great. So yeah me! It's really the only thing I've done for myself all summer.

I'm still the horrid step-monster that has the audacity to drive her all over to her extra-curricular activities and attempt to suggest things like getting a pedicure and stopping for ice cream. I gave up on Barbie.

I take time every evening after it cools off to play fetch with the dogs. The sun is pretty brutal at this elevation during the day so I siesta if I'm not at the pool.

I came...

I saw...

I conquered...even though it's as big as me.
What about the ball? Just pet me! Maverick isn't into the whole 'fetch' thing like Wrigley and Dixie are.

Tinkerbell the pony came home after visiting with a friend for a few weeks. I thought that would jump-start my step-daughter into missing her and wanting to be around her more. When am I going to learn 'oh how wrong I always am'? She really is a sweet thing and I think she deserves to be loved by some little boy or girl so I want to sell her. I don't want to pay to feed her for nothing. It's not fair to either of us. I had some initial interest when I first put her out for sale, and then no follow ups to actually see her. Bummer. So if anyone knows of someone looking for a sturdy little pony - please contact me!!!

He's got legs! Here's my baby boy from last year on the far right. As you can see he's about all legs and we still don't know what his final color will be. AND....his front legs are straightening out quite nice overall. We keep him trimmed and have been working them into his growth spurts bit by bit.

They're watching the crop duster about 100 yards from the house in this picture. As you can see everyone is getting nice and fat since mom can't work them and show them this summer. They are in horsey heaven.

I love when the crop duster buzzes the house. It's so cool to watch. He goes right under the wires.

Ok - I will attempt to do better from now on with my posting! Adios!