This is George

This is George.  Yup, he's our newest foster dog.  But there something different about this foster experience.   You see, George is not available for adoption just now.  He's got some medical issues.  Most likely he had distemper as a puppy that caused permanent neurological damage.  Or maybe he was just born this way.  Anyway, he walks funny, his eyelids don't work so when he blinks a little membrane from the corner of his eye goes up in a reptilian  sort of way, his breathing isn't right, and I think he may have some digestive issues.  But, OMG, he is the sweetest thing ever.  And he doesn't bark.  Kim and Jackie said they have never heard him bark.  I don't know if he can't or just doesn't.  But it's really nice to have a quiet dog around for a change.  

George has actually had a pretty good life so far.  He was rescued as a little baby with his mom and litter mates.  He's now a year old and has spent that year in the care of the good people at Hope Rescues.  I don't think they expected him to live this long.  And something the vet said makes them think he won't have a normal life span.  Those are the main reasons why he has not been put up for adoption like his mom and siblings.  

We picked him up on Saturday.  And he is doing great.  We have not had a single accident in the house.  He loves Ginger and Sassy (Sassy's not that fond of him).  He's quiet.  He's friendly.  He's interested in his surroundings.  (The kids have been calling him Curious George.)  He's interested in the cat, but not to the point of trying to eat him.  The only thing is that he needs to learn what he's allowed to chew on and what he's not supposed to chew on.

Maybe this time in our house (I guessing at least 'til Christmas) will 1. give him the chance to see what it's like to live with a family and 2. prove to us and to Hope that he would make a good pet.  Maybe then he could be considered for adoption.  That would be great.

Head to Head with Tang

Ali edited my picture for me (got rid of the horse's ass for one thing!).  Thanks Ali!
Sometimes you are just in the right spot at the right time with the camera.  That's what happened yesterday.  We'd gone to our friends' house for Thanksgiving.  It's a 3 hour drive, so they invited us to spend the night. Laurie has two horses and boards two others at their farm.  My 8-year-old was feeling a bit left out inside because the other kids were playing the wii and there wasn't a space for him.  He asked if he could go out and see the horses.  I followed with the camera.

Random Thoughts Tuesday

Hey Y'all,

It's Random Thoughts Tuesday again.  Thanks to the Un-Mom!  So let's get a little random.

I'm stressed today because I let my checking account balance get below zero.  This never happens to me.  Of course, I suck at money.  I never balance my checkbook.  I just (usually) make sure there is plenty in there before I write a check. (yeah for the internet).  But this week my AmEx bill had plane tickets on it (5 of us flying to Reno, NV for Christmas) and I forgot it was scheduled to auto-pay from my checking account.  So I scrounged up as much cash as I could and made an emergency deposit.  But still have at least $60 in fees to pay now.  Sucks.  Let's just hope hubby actually gets paid this month!  Don't ask me for money til after Thanksgiving.

Only my 8th grader has school today.  The other two are out for Thanksgiving.  Sucks for him.  He asked if he could skip today but I said no.

Our latest foster dog, Shelby, did not get adopted this past weekend.  I took her to the shelter on Friday to meet her prospective family but they chose Gabby instead.  Good for Gabby.  But, as for Shelby, we did not take her back.  She's sweet as can be, but not a good fit for our family.  She needs a fenced yard to run in.  With us, she was always yanking her neck on the leash.  And she's afraid of my husband for some reason.  He tried talking sweetly to her, ignoring her, giving her treats, but nothing worked.  That made it difficult when he needed to take her out.  So we will get someone else after Thanksgiving.

I've got to get the house cleaned up today.  The dog sitter will be in my house Thursday and Friday and I don't want her to know I'm a total slob!

My youngest was home yesterday and wanted to decorate for Thanksgiving.  So we did.  

OK.  That's all for randomness right now.  I've got to get kid out the door!

Happy Hour Friday

I'm playing Happy Hour Friday, thanks to the wonderful duo of Otin and Rxbambi.  Go check them out.  They are both really happy this week!

I'm happy that there is a family interested in meeting Shelby.  I took her to the rescue shelter today.  They are looking at several dogs, but hopefully they'll choose her!

I'm happy I got to meet Tommy today.  He's the dog that was horribly abused then thrown in the trash, left for dead.  If you don't know the story, look on Hope Animal Rescues website and go to Tommy's Page.  His wounds are healing wonderfully and he's the most loving little thing I've ever seen!

I'm happy I got to take Bambi a latte today.  It was actually a grande skinny carmel latte.  That's her favorite.  I'm glad I took it to her because she's been having a bad day.  Some mean woman even yelled at her and called her a bitch.  I know.  Crazy!  (I took her a cookie too).

I'm happy my friend at the expensive medi-spa was not able to talk me into Botox.  I'm too young!  I did buy a couple of facials, though, since they were on sale.

I'm happy my son was actually at school today.  You see, when I got home from taking Shelby there was a message from the school that he was not there.  I saw him get on the bus, so if he wasn't at school I had no idea where he'd be.  But there was just a miscommunication between the teachers and the office staff.

I'm happy the Blues won their game last night!  LET'S GO BLUES!

I could probably come up with more things to be happy about.  But right now I've got to get to the laundry.  

Rant and Rave Wednesday

Little Ms. Blogger does a great Rant and Rave Wednesday.  A few other bloggers have joined in the fun so I thought I'd do it too!

* Rave: I love fostering dogs.  I get a great feeling knowing I'm helping out a worthy cause and I get to hang out with a homeless pet and give him/her the love and attention they are craving.  Plus, I get love and attention from them!  

This is our newest foster girl, Shelby.  Isn't she cute?

*Rant: Why is it that I'm constantly picking up pee, poop, or puke?  I asked my 13-yr-old to take Shelby out while I stripped and made his brothers' beds (it's the beds I stripped, Otin, not me).  He said he'd do it right after his movie was over.  So she peed and pooped in the living room.

Someone, I think the cat, puked in the den.  And the reason I was changing the sheets is that my 2 younger ones have bedwetting issues.  So that's kid pee, dog pee, dog poop and cat puke I've cleaned up today.

*Rave: They had a "parent night" at my oldest child's school today.  It was a chance to meet with the teachers and hear a presentation by an outside speaker.  I really enjoyed it.

*Rant: The parent "night" actually started at 4:00.  There were actually more teachers there than parents!  Well, many parents can't get there by 4:00.  Not if they work.  It is a very small school and kids come from all over the county.  If they want to boost parent participation, they should take a survey of the parents and see when it would be most convenient. 

*Rave: I love going to the gym to workout.  I go with my sister when she isn't busy pushing drugs (my sis is Rxbambi, for those of you who don't know).  It's fun to work out with her 'cause she's just that great!  And when she's not available to workout, another woman (Betsy) has agreed to be my surrogate sister.  She's fun to work out with too.

*Rant: I work out 3 times a week, almost without fail, yet I weigh the same as I did when I started working out 2 years ago.  Yes, I'm firmer.  You should see my biceps!  But I'd still like to weigh less.  It's that little thing called "eating too much" that's the problem.

*Rant: If you can believe it, the State of Illinois owes the university where my husband works 124 million dollars.  And because the state hasn't paid, the university may not be able to make payroll next month.  They are "pretty sure" everyone will get paid this month.  But next month is up in the air.  Hello!  This is just crazy!  How can the state just not pay?

Well, I guess that's it for my rants and raves.  Hopefully, hubby will get paid and we won't have to get rid of our internet service!

Meet Shelby

Yup, another foster dog.  This is Shelby.  She was rescued several months ago by Hope Rescues with her 4 sisters.  All 4 of her sisters have since been adopted.  Now Shelby is waiting for her forever family to find her.  She is super sweet and about 9 months old.  She wasn't too sure about the fostering thing last night when we brought her home.  She was definitely confused about where she was and why.  And she was scared, despite our best efforts to put her at ease.  I guess that's because she can't remember anything but a kennel environment.  I don't think she's ever been in a home.  But she seems a little more comfortable this morning.  And I'm sure once the boys get up, she'll be ready to play.  Anyway, if you know someone looking for a puppy (one that is past the chewing on everything and peeing in the house!), send them my way. 

Happy Hour Friday

Happy Hour Friday was started by our dear friends Otin and Bambi.  Check them out.

This Friday

• I'm happy I don't suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia, or any other phobia, for that matter
• I'm happy that the guy who hit my mailbox came to the door to tell me about it.
• I'm happy he also offered to pay for it.
• I'm happy that my handy-man lives in my neighborhood and that he keeps spare mailboxes in his garage (we live in a neighborhood where everyone's mailbox is identical).
• I'm happy it's Friday.
• I'm happy you are here to read my blog!
  

Theme Thursday - Telephone

Telephone Booths - a thing of the past?  I assume so.  These booths are in Scotland at Fort George.  There is something about them that Americans find cool.  Like double-decker buses in London.  Maybe it's the red color.  I don't know.  I wonder if there will be any to take pictures of on my next trip to the UK?

For more TT's, go here.

Making Family Memories

Sometime last month I took my kids to the local pick-your-own apple farm for some good, old-fashioned quality family time.  My husband had to work, so it was just the boys and me.  It was a beautiful October Sunday.  

So picture this: a happy mom and her 3 happy boys off to the apple farm on a warm October day.  They arrive and run excitedly to the tractor-drawn wagon and wait patiently and quietly for the other apple-pickers to get on.   As the happy family rides out to the orchard, the boys talk nicely to each other and genuinely enjoy each other's company.

The family gets out of the wagon and walks happily over to the golden delicious and jonagold apples that are ready for picking that week.  As per instructions, they pick a juicy-looking specimen, rub it on their shirt to get all the dirt off, and taste it to see if they like it.  Having decided the apples were good, they pick a bag full then happily wait for the wagon to return so they can relax a few minutes at the play area.  When it's time to leave they go happily to the car and ride quietly home enjoying the rural scenery.

That's how I choose to remember the day.  That's not exactly how it happened.

They didn't really want to go to the apple farm, but it was better than church.  So we went, despite the opinion of my 13-yr-old that it was a stupid thing to be doing.

There were bees in the orchard.  The guy there said they were sweat bees and that they wouldn't sting.  But they were annoying and the kids were sure they were going to get stung.  So two of the kids headed back to the playground area after about 3 minutes of apple picking (grumbling about the fact that they had to walk because the guy with the wagon wasn't back yet).  The other one stayed with me about 5 more minutes.  Then he also wanted to go back.  When I got there someone was crying about something one of the others had said or done.  I was told it was a stupid trip to a stupid apple farm and why couldn't we have just stayed home?  I paid for our apples, then rounded everyone up for the short trip home.  On the way home I enjoyed the sounds of kids arguing but I've chosen to forget what it was they were arguing about.

I guess I'll get the pictures printed and make a cute scrapbook page so when the kids grow up they can tell their kids what a great mom I was for taking them to the apple farm.

Halloween Night

I know, it's way past Halloween.  But I wanted to show you all how cool the sky looked that night.  We headed out just as the sun was setting.  When I saw the sky, I had to run in and get my camera.  Of course, my middle child needed just one more picture before I handed the camera to DH and we headed out to trick or treat.  This year he insisted on using a pillowcase for his candy since that's what his teacher did when he was a child.  He's totally enamored with his 3rd grade teacher this year.  I think it's because he's a man and he's never had a man teacher before.  Plus, they get to eat worms when they read "How to Eat Fried Worms" this year.  How cool is that!  Everyone hopes they get Mr. R for 3rd grade.

Hi everyone!  Time for Aloha Friday, a day to relax and answer easy questions from each other thanks to Kailani!

My question is:

Do you have a pet? And if so, what kind?

We've got 2 dogs, a cat, a leopard gecko, 3 fish and a shrimp.

Theme Thursday - Castle

Today's theme is castle.  Check out other posts for Theme Thursday here.

This is Kildrummy Castle in the beautiful Scottish countryside.  It was one of my favorite castles in Scotland.  I think one of the things I liked best about it was that it wasn't a big tourist destination.  It was just a beautiful ruin next to a pasture where sheep were peacefully grazing in the afternoon sunshine.  Sure, Edinburgh Castle is a must see.  But this place inspired me.

Lucky Mark Buehrle

Mark Buehrle got to get his picture taken with Bambi and me this weekend.  "Who's Mark Buehrle?" you ask.  Well, you are obviously not a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan.  Mr. Buehrle is a pitcher for the White Sox and he recently threw a perfect game.  Anyway, that's not why he got his picture taken with us.

Mr. Buehrle is a supporter of Hope Animal Rescues in Alton, IL.  He was at a fundraiser this past weekend for Hope.  It was a wine and beer tasting event (surprised to hear Bambi was at a wine-tasting event?).  For a donation (100% of which went to Hope Rescues), one could get a picture with Mark Buehrle, have him sign it, and/or have him sign a bottle of wine.  So we did all three.  

Wish you'd been there?  Or do you wish there was a winey way you could support Hope?  Well, you can order your very own bottle of Mark Buehrle's wine.  It won't be signed, but the proceeds go to Hope Rescues.

There's a link on Hope's website.

And I like to mention that the event was at the Grafton Winery.  Mike and Lori, the owners of the winery, donated the space for the event and also donated 10% of wine sales during the event to Hope Rescues.  It's a really cool place.  If you are in the St. Louis area, you should check it out.