Lulu the Little Dancer

It is with great pleasure that I see some of the potential in Elizabeth that I had when I was a child. She is becoming so much like me, in that we both have active imaginations, we play hard inside or outside, we're not afraid of getting dirty but we really, really love to dress up, have playtime with make up, and get really girly! I love that about Lulu! She will come home from school, go up to her room and change her clothes. Mostly she changes into her "work out" gear. The top, the pants and of course the sneakers. Then she heads outside and runs around the back yard, effortlessly, as if a warm up to the marathon she will one day run I'm sure.
She has been in gymnastics and was very good at it. Jack Henry was in her class and they tumbled and did flips and just had a great time. But I knew Elizabeth wanted more theatrics. So we stopped gym and signed her up at the Community Center for dance. Wow! She got it quickly! She listens to the instructor and hangs onto her every word. She watches intently to the position of her feet and how to hold her hands properly. She has bloomed into a dancer. This same ballet/tap combo offers Lulu the balance of discipline in control with ballet and the rhythm she enjoys in the jazzy taps tunes.
It's so much fun to see the smiles beaming across the room from her proud face! She is my tiny dancer. I am so proud for her. We all are. Jon had been able to take her to one of her classes, just so she could preform for him.
There is no greater joy then to see it in the eyes of your child. She has had a recital and performed beautifully. I only hope she continues to love dance and will study this if she wishes throughout her childhood.

Jack Henry's experience at church

Jack Henry and Hayden were sitting up on their stools eating snack. Jack Henry said that there was a six year old boy in his church on Sunday. He said that boy asked Jack Henry "Do you want a piece of me?" and Jack Henry replied "Do you want me to take you down?" and Jack Henry took him down and they started wrestling. Then Jack Henry said, "I took him down, then he took me down."
So in shock I asked him, "was if fun?" and he said, "oh, yeah. we were wrestling...but then one of the mommies came up and told the boy he had to go sit in a seat a few chairs away, so we didn't wrestle anymore"...
I said that wrestling in church isn't really a great idea, no matter if it's fun or not. It's distruptive and can cause comotion.
I have to admit I was literally doubled over laughing out loud at how calm he was delivering the story and that today is Monday and he didn't tell either me or Jon about it, like it was just a ball toss at the park!
This is one of those times where I truly wish I was a fly on his shoulder!
As for the boy, I don't who he is, but I can't wait to meet him at church next Sunday. LOL!

A Dog's Life

I have much to learn as a dog owner ( a NEW dog owner).
Like for instance: Help yourself!
So it was lunch time and I'm flittering about the kitchen fixing peanut butter and honey I-don't-know-what and the kids are laughing and laughing hard because Slater saw an opportunity with the pantry door being left open and all, to help himself to a box of cake mix. So gentle in pick-pocketing the coveted find (one that was at toddler height and the wonderful picture on the cover said it all to Hayden) so I get the unopened box of mix retrieved from a presumably hungry dog unscathed.
So rule number one: Feed dog first then the kids!
Next: Feed the dog often.
I was upstairs changing Hayden and come downstairs, enter kitchen and hear lots of crinkling of paper...the dog's head very deep inside his bag of food. Yes, tomorrow must buy dog food container with a lock top!
When I think of "rescue" in terms of dogs, I think one that had been on his own for food for a while...and so I feed my Slater well as he is obviously underweight and then comfort him in knowing I will always have food in his bowl at the same time.
He is gentle in his want and I am gentle in my routine.

Meeting Slater

Megan is in red, husband Josh with cap.


It all began when I wanted a Shih Tzu, and it all ended there too. We talked about getting a dog for so long but there were three reasons why we needed to wait. The last little reason needed to be potty trained (which was done, no wait regression for a week, oh he's done again...) and then a more important reason to that was what breed we would agree on. {sound of crickets}
It became clear that my very fair husband was not going to even budge a bit on this one. He has longed for fawn colored boxers before we knew that it was a boxer he was oogling over. I thought they were cute, but big, and with a big dog means big poop. He travels, I take care of the living beings while he travels, so in my experience of baby diaper changes I knew that the mountains of pooh would be more then my squeamish, with a strong gag reflex, self could handle.
But it was time I looked into the breed after so many suggestions of "why not a boxer?"...
Yes, at this point the Shih Tzu became an obsolete thought.
I went online. I filled out Rescue applications. I was approved by Rescues. But there was one dog among the hundreds, and I mean hundreds that were posted on www.petfinder.net that stuck out. A smaller, yet still very stocky, boxer mix named "Gator". I inquired and filled out the application. I asked a few more inquiring questions and went away on our Christmas trip up north where I knew on my quest to find the perfect boxer I would meet a few at my uncle and aunt's home and see how the kids would do. These boxers were so super cute. But in the back of my head still, a lot of dog for my three little kids who think that a dog is the size of my parents' puppy French Bulldogs. They'd be getting a lot more dog then they ever thought...and I'd be getting the tail end...
So, as it goes, "Gator" was silently being held for us by Megan, his foster mom, who knew this dog was meant for this family. It's a total "God thing". I learned how laid back he is, and his full size body no more then 45 lbs. Huh...could he be the one?
Indeed. I committed, I even had his picture wallpapered on my screen saver. He was it! I knew in my heart that this was the dog. And Saturday we stuck the kids in the car and drove to Charlotte where she was meeting us half way up from South Carolina. We parked as planned in the Cracker Barrel parking lot. Just like a movie we sat on the rockers all five of us anticipating the arrival of our new dog. Then we see him, peeking from the back of the car window as Megan, her husband Josh and their 15 mos old daughter also named Hayden rolled up. We got up and got the cameras all locked and ready for shots. This was our defining moment "the family dog" moment. I did have tears, though I told Jon I wouldn't, but he knew I would. I got the sweetest wettest kisses from my new furry kid and smiles from Megan knowing in her heart she too made the right match.
Glory! It was just wonderful. Our Slater boy has been a great boy. He's just what we needed around here and not much of what we didn't. He is the fit to a puzzle we never knew was missing.
Today he saw the lizard "exercising" on the side of the glass. Oh those floppy ears perked up and he was just whining and cocking his head about this thing in it's tank. It's as if Lizzie is inside looking out a double sided mirrored window because she could care less about the huge headed under-bite staring her down as she scrapes the sides of her glass cage. And then alas, his first bark! He can bark! Remarkable that a six inch reptile can bring a grown dog to bark.
Our funnies have really only begun. Too many to write. I will be posting as many a day as I can. Meeting Tipper the fine little feline will be a fun one I'm sure.
Tipper doesn't want to meet anything furry, and Slater wants to be friends will all furry things. Huh...

A Picture worth a thousand words

Sorry Hayden, I had to post this.
As a "big" sister I remember the fun with Brendan. He would gleefully play along...well Hayden reminded me of those days...
Go ahead, laugh. You'll want to. Oh yes, the three of them found laundry outside Lulu's room and they all put it on their heads and ran around the house. We just happened to catch Hayden. Then the doorbell rang and it was our sweet neighbor Gaye from across the street dropping off my cookie plate from earlier in the day. She was quite surprised to see three children running around the house with underwear on their heads. We explained that it was indeed clean underwear.

Holly Jolly Christmas It's the Best time of the year

Really this has been an amazing year. We have been so blessed. We have had laughter and love that many people don't have in their life time.
Friday, the 14th was just busy and quite perfect. Let's see...Lulu had a Holiday party at her school at 10:00. They all sang the 12 days of Christmas and we wish you a Merry Christmas. Then we had yummy treats, Jack Henry's favorite part! I took Lulu and JH to Kelly Road park for 45 minutes before we had to go pick up Hayden at the Apex Methodist Preschool (also we were to have a play date on that playground). Then around five we headed out for pizza! Yes! OUT FOR PIZZA, no cooking and no clean up. YeeHaw!
After we went 'Christmas Light Hunting' and you would never believe what (who) we found at the end of a cul-de-sac in Apex. See, there is this amazing stream of lights that create rays to a star way up in a pine tree...so we went to see that house...and there inside the garage that is converted into a Santa Claus Living room was SANTA!!!!!!!!!! Santa had a sweet womanly elf that said that Santa is able to take requests if we wanted to. If we didn't feel like talking to Santa then she said that we could go around the back of the this nice house and see all of the lights! WOW! But the kids wanted to see Santa, after all, we "found" him and we didn't know when we would see him again. We thought we would see him in Pa, which we still probably will, but we had to catch him while we could. He was the nicest Santa and she was the nicest Elf! The Ms. Elf gave the children little surprises AND candy sticks! It was the best night ever. Our little sugar plumbs were so tired that we came home and went right to bed! There was no way to describe that night but magical!

Some funnies

I had some funnies today. Perhaps not as funny if you are not there, but nevertheless, funny to me as the mother!
First the swings. We have two but we have three children. I'm inside mopping and I actually "made" my kids stay outside in this unbelievably and unseasonably warm December day. So, I hear laughter. I see why. Hayden who weighs just a few pounds less then his sister is pushing her on the swing. Really giving it all he's got, she goes forward a bit so he pushes harder. His little face says everything. I just watch and laugh out loud. A very determined two year old is so hard to pull your eyes away from. Soon after, I "made" them eat their cheerios out side in their bowls. They carry them around leave them when they get busy in the sand box or on the ground... Lulu runs in all excited to tell me something. I look at her like she found a turtle or something, instead she excitedly exclaims she ate an ant!
Sometimes you never can predict who will be the first for anything. In this case, it was the princess who ate the first bug! She hasn't yet kissed a toad so I'm waiting...
Monday was Elizabeth's first hair cut. After three and a half years, she really wanted to go and see what all the fuss was about. About a 1/2 inch later, looking very much like she did when she came, she said that next time she wants it really cut. (I don't think so sister!)