Paying Close Attention

Addie got her stroller and brought it into the kitchen.

I helped her get her baby, put baby into the stroller and that made her happy as could be.

Addie looked back at me and waved, blew me a kiss and said, "bye-bye, later!".

I told her how much I would miss her and to "have a good day!", then I walked into the office, retrieved her purse and brought it to her.

I reminded her that ladies must have their purses with them when they leave for the day.

At one point, baby needed some attention, so Addie stopped to help her.

She must have slipped down, so Addie had to take her out to reposition her.

Although, I don't pick a baby up by the nap of the neck to reposition them, this must have been the quickest and easiest way to make it happen.

Uh-huh...how many of you have DHR on speed dial at this point?

I was extremely impressed that Addie kept her purse on her arm the entire time...

Until she had to reach down to cram the baby back into the stroller.

Not to worry.

She put her purse on her other arm, tidied herself and went about her business.

What a sweet Baby Girl.

Picture of the Day

March 21, 2011

Wow, Wow, Wow!

I have always talked to Addie as if she understands everything that I say to her. 

I want her to feel as if she is a part of everything that we say and do. 

If she doesn't understand something that we have told her to do, it is extremely obvious and we find a way to reword what we said or better yet, we show her and repeat the directions. 

Sometimes, we repeat ourselves hundreds or thousands of times and it takes years for her to grasp it.  Other times, she picks up on what we are saying and knows exactly what to do.

So, imagine my delight yesterday when I handed Addie the plates to put on the table for lunch and I didn't have to repeat myself. 

Imagine how much more wonderful it was when I told her to "please get the paper towels and put them on the table". 

I didn't expect for her to follow the directions because the paper towels were not in their regular place and I gave her a two step process to complete. 

I was busy getting drinks together, but was watching her to see what she would do - fully expecting for her to do what she always does when she doesn't understand -

stand looking up at me, clasping her sweet little hands in front of her with an inquisitive look on her face, trying her best to understand my words -

but this time, she turned, walked to where the paper towels were and then walked to the table and placed them next to each plate at the table. 

Part of me wanted to cheer like crazy, the other part wanted to sob. 

In an effort to control my emotions, all I could manage to do was to bend down and give her a huge hug and tell her how very proud I was of her.

Progress. 

I'll take every little bit that I can get.

One Way to Spend a Sunday Afternoon

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Since Julien is on the roller skating kick, we decided it would be a good way to spend our Sunday afternoon.

Before we left the house, I explained a few things to my boys. 

I explained to them that if Addie was going, that meant that there was no way that everyone could skate because somebody would have to chase after her - the entire time and NO, Addie couldn't skate.

Of course, I was the one not to skate, which was perfectly fine because there was no good reason for me to increase my risk of falling and breaking a hip.

That meant that Chris, Julien and one of our friends took to the floor.

Check out this bundle of sexy awesomeness. 

It's a wonder I could keep the other women away...but had they wanted him, he would have come equipped with sweat stains on the bottom of his shirt. 

Just....awesome.

 Yet another awesome picture.

He's so photogenic - gets that from me.

While Chris was out skating, Chunk spotted his phone.

Ahem...

she just wanted to look at it.

 Somewhere along the way, my words were forgotten and Julien grabbed a pair of skates for Addie.

(No...I have no idea what he's doing in this picture.  Leaning on the change machine?)

Addie - was - thrilled!

She was so excited to have on shoes like everybody else!

 

Addie wanted to go out on the floor with Julien so very badly, so off we went. 

 I don't know who was happier, Julien or Addie.

Addie made it almost half way around before she was just too tired and had me pick her up (the wheels were locked and didn't move, she just kind of "walked" on the skates).

It was no surprise that Addie wanted to be right where Julien was and it was no surprise that he wanted her right there with him.

If You Say So...

As previously mentioned, one of Addie's goals this year is for her to be able to answer the question, "How old are you?".

Also, we are all working on helping her to be able to answer the question, "What is your name?".

It has been a while since I walked into a Kindergarten classroom, but apparently those are two very important questions that a five year old should be able to answer.  Since I am now firmly embedded in my "Wait and See World" of "taking it one minute at a time" and "being happy with any slight bit of progress", I don't think about what Addie needs to know when she gets to Kindergarten. 

Holy freakin' cow, I'm just thinking about how to teach her how to tell me when she is in pain or if she is hungry or if she needs to use the restroom.  I am overly thrilled that Addie knows her name, so if she doesn't get around to telling me her name in the next 18 months, then I think I'm pretty darn okay with that.

When I actually allow myself to think about Julien at the age of four, it is crushing to remember the vast amount of knowledge that he had obtained.  Julien was one of those kids that walked early, talked early and could remember anything anyone told him - ever.  It was awesome...  I could have real conversations with him and I tell him now that I swear he remembers every minute of his life, including his time spent in utero.

Well, let me just tell you for the gazillionth time - we are beyond blessed to be surrounded by amazing teachers and therapists who love Addie and who want to teach her and love her.  They make me feel as if Addie is worth their time and efforts.  It's amazing.

In collaborated efforts, one of the goals each day during center time at school is for Addie to be able to follow along with her classmates during center time.  This requires her to get up, walk over to a board with pictures of all of her classmates on it, find her picture, tell her name and put her picture on the board that represents the center that she would like to play in.  Obviously, it's a multiple step process. 

According to Addie's teachers - my rotten little Chunk of a Monkey has been doing a fabulous job of following those directions and according to them, even said her name right when she was supposed to.

Sure she did....I don't doubt it for one second. 

It's just that the rotten little Monkey won't put on the circus Monkey show for us at home, so we have no proof that this is actually happening.  They seem awfully proud of her, so maybe she is getting it.....we have got to see it for ourselves!

When we got Addie home, we asked her, "What is your name?", she said, "Me", so we asked, "How old are you?", she responded, "nine".

Groovy. 

Spring Break 2011

Unlike last year, an out of town trip just wasn't an option this year. 

We had way too much going on. 

Thursday, Chris and Julien spent the day golfing and skating.

Friday, Julien and I spent the day taking care of odds and ends and then we managed to find our way back at the skating rink. 
I was pretty excited about the thought of having a few hours of down time while Julien skated, so I stopped at Walgreens to buy a book...I miss having the "extra" time to read.

When we arrived at the skating rink, I realized pretty quickly just how old I'm getting and how despite my best intentions, I didn't even make it to the end of Chapter 1 because of all of the distractions. 

Maybe I'll get to read more in a few months when we have our next getaway.

When we picked Chunk up from school, she had a few battle wounds from the day.

We stopped for dinner - the dinner where I had to leave and take Chunk home because she was too terrified - while Chris and Julien stayed behind.

Once I got Chunk home and undressed her for her shower, I realized that her boo-boo's looked a little rough.

She had a bloody knee, a bruised lip and another bruise on her chest.

The best we can figure out, she fell on the concrete.

Considering she doesn't cry when she gets hurt, we have to piece things together the best we can.

When Julien and Chris arrived home, I pointed out Chunk's clean boo-boo's and that's when Julien's heart just melted.

He grabbed the first aid box, the boo-boo pack out of the freezer and grabbed Chunk.

He took her to the couch and proceeded to bandage up her knees - including the perfectly fine one, place the boo-boo pack on her knees and lip and dote all over her.

She's a rotten little thing, but a very loved rotten little thing.

Circa 1989

Think Cindy Lauper, Poison and Motley Crue.

Think Aqua Net hairspray.

Think leggings and scrunchies.

Think Cameros, 5.0's

and think,

Roller Skating Rinks.

Fastforward twenty-something years

and

Deja vu

Julien's newest passtime sent me reeling back in time...before kids, gray hair and reading glasses. 

Sigh...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

We took the day off work in order to spend the day with the kids - since it was Spring Break and the weather was gorgeous.

To make a long story short -

all of our plans got completely squashed.

Julien was completely fine and had no problem with getting a new pair of skates and a trip to the park as payback for what our plans had been.

When we first arrived at the park, it was like we were thrown into Freak Fest 2011.

Granted, I could have completely wiped out past experiences from my memory, but I think this was the first time that an entire group of people who gave all appearances of being related, completely stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at Addie.

I'm not sure if they stopped looking at the point when I stopped walking and turned towards them or if it was at the point where my green eyes turned to red and the rays of fury burned into their corneas.

Whichever it was, they stopped looking at her and went back to the birthday party that they were in the midst of when I happened to walk by with Chunk.

Since I didn't see any signs saying Julien couldn't skate through the park, I let him enjoy the afternoon.

(That's right, go ahead...start counting the safety violations...

Yes, this could be used as the next injury prevention poster for the AAP)

While Julien was skating, Chunk spent some time in the big girl swing and was happy and content, just as long as her Daddy didn't swing her too high.

Julien decided to take a break and spend some time with Chunk.

This picture was a bit amusing.  This child walked up and gave all indications that he wanted in the car with them.

Unlike most experiences we have, my children were willing to share.

Addie immediately slid closer to Julien and patted the seat in an effort to have the little boy sit next to her.

That was right before his Mother came over and wouldn't let him....until we moved.

That resulted in Chunk hitting meltdown - the point of no return - the day ender.

So we packed up and headed home so that Chris and Julien could rest up before their morning tee time...and afternoon at the skating rink.

Go Figure...

March 15, 2011

So, Chunk is attached to the wagon.

She particularly loves it when she can drag it into the house and slam it into every available obstacle in her way and even into everything that's not in her way - because she just isn't too graceful.

She loves dragging the wagon around the house so much that I came up with the brilliant idea of finding her another smaller wagon, for inside the house. 

I researched and researched for just the right wagon.

It had to be made in the USA, have virtually perfect user ratings and be small enough for the inside of the house, but big enough for the collection of items that Chunk was bound to throw into it.

I found it.

I ordered it for in store pick-up.

We brought it home.

We took it out of the box.

Chunk was not impressed.

It has been collecting dust in the upstairs hallway for the last several weeks.

While I was cleaning the kitchen, Chunk wanted me to open the door so that she could retrieve her wagon.

Of course I opened the door for her - because she's rotten....

and that grimy little face just has a way of melting my heart.

35 Days....I Think

After a total of 35 days - give or take a few hours - Mom is now back at home...again. 

The million dollar question - "How is she doing?" - remains unanswered.

She has her ups and downs, but I am optimistic.

Home Health nursing will be out everyday and she has two follow-up appointments on Thursday.  We talked at length tonight about plans for the rest of this year, so we are moving ahead - fully expecting everything to improve.

An Update on Mom

My Mother is supposed to go home from the hospital tomorrow.  After her round of hyperbaric treatment and a few other things, probably including one more look at the finger she managed to injure (potentially broke), she will head home and prepare for daily home health care visits.

She sounded good tonight...

It's a Bit on the Pitiful Side

Monday, March 14, 2011

Any time that Julien is away, Addie is never quite herself. 

She will look into his room every time we pass by and the first thing she does every morning (that she wakes up in her own room) is to point into Julien's room, which is her way of asking me if he is in there.

She never passes up an opportunity to wander into his room and take a look around and if there ever is a need for us to be in his room, she is more than happy to camp out with us....as are the cats.

Chris was putting up a shelf in Julien's room and this presented the perfect opportunity for Addie to hang out.

She found a sucker somewhere - I'm guessing from a leftover Valentine that was hiding somewhere - and she was more than happy to help herself to the sucker. 

Addie was a big helper and handed Chris everything he needed. 

Not necessarily in any particular order.

Please don't be jealous over the pure awesomeness of the perfectly proportioned pig-tails Addie is sporting.

Not like that is anything new....

I seriously have no idea how I managed that.

On the prowl again.

Trying her best to find something else to get into.

The bag of army men, his clothes drawer, books in the closet and the lone sucker just wasn't enough.

"Cake"

I  have posted numerous posts talking about how I don't know how much Addie understands and how much she truly doesn't.

I can tell you that if Addie doesn't understand anything else, the child can understand the word "cake".  It honestly didn't take her too long into her life to figure out the word and its meaning.

Since my Mother has been in the hospital, we have been eating out way more than usual.  Our "go to" places have been Jason's, Chick-fil-A, Newk's (by the way, it's owned and operated by our neighbors) and Home Plate Cooking - all good with quick service. 

We like to order from Home Plate Cooking when we know we will be home, but just don't have the time it takes to buy food and cook it and frankly, the food is addicting. 

Kay is the owner.  She is not only an awesome cook and baker, but she is just too sweet.  On the way home last night, I reminded Chris that we needed to go by Kay's and pick up dinner.

From the backseat, Addie's little ears perked up and this is how the conversation went:

Addie looked at me very intently and said, "cake?".
Me:  "No Baby Girl, Mommy said Kay".
Addie:  "Cake?"
Me:  "No Sweet Girl, we have to pick up dinner from Mrs. Kay".
Addie:  "Cake?".
Me:  "No...Sweet Girl, we are having spaghetti for dinner and we are going to pick it up from Mrs. Kay.  We're having spaghetti".
Addie:  "getti?".
Me:  "Yes, Sweet Girl.  Spaghetti".

Addie just sat looking at me.

After arriving at Kay's, Chris handed the bag of food to me and I placed it on my lap, Addie piped up from the backseat and said, "cake?".

Holy Cow. 

So...today we got her a piece of cake.  Courtesy of Joe, not Kay (cake).

WOW!!!!

Where's the video camera when we really need it?

After I helped Addie step up onto the bricks, Chris was standing next to her so that she wouldn't trip and fall. 

Much to our complete disbelief, she made the next step all by herself and kept her balance!

I'm giving all the credit to the bottle of water in her hand that helped her keep her balance (and years of hard work and therapy might have helped a bit!).



All We Need Now is a Bonfire

Mom is still all camped out at the hospital.

In addition to whatever jacked up labs the doctor is monitoring, she has once again started to fill up with fluid.  We're on day 30 - I think.

She's in good spirits though...

Picture of the Day

Taking Inventory

After we arrived back home, we took a while to look over the back yard in an effort to decide what all needed to be planted this year.

Addie was a very good girl and stayed right with us, giving her input on each topic of conversation.

Then she spotted her Daddy walking over to her sandbox (the one that has been in the yard since last year) and got very excited thinking that we might be getting ready to fill it back up.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

This weekend looks like a nice weekend to catch up on some much needed sprucing up out back and to get Baby Girl's sandbox back into commission.

Sunday Afternoon Stroll

This afternoon (well, yesterday afternoon), we finally had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather. We toyed with the idea of heading to a nearby park, but after spending the weekend running from one place to the next, we opted for a stroll around our neighborhood instead.

We frequently get out and take Addie around the neighborhood and it is so neat to watch her as we're walking because we notice that she remembers things from previous times.

She is particularly good at remembering at which house she has seen a cat or a dog and even "asks" when the cat or dog is not visible.

We think that is just awesome.

Sometimes she is content to ride and other times she fusses until one of us carries her.

In an effort to keep her happy in her stroller, I started giving her snacks to feed to the birds.

What this really means is that I give her any item that is on the verge of becoming stale so that she can drop it on the ground for the birds. 

So far, this has kept her busy for quite a long time....just as long as she doesn't drop the container. 

Then life explodes.

Today the snack was pretzels.

After we left our driveway and headed out, Addie decided to taste test the pretzels in preparation for the feeding of the birds.

Not too long into our walk, the music truck came by.

I was mentally debating just how long we have before she figures out that the music truck has more to offer than just an annoying tune.

While we were walking along, Addie would hear a random bird tweeting and would drop a pretzel on the ground.

Each time, she would look back at me for approval.

Somewhere along the route, she decided that every barking dog and every available cat, also needed a pretzel.

She didn't seem to notice that not a single animal paid a bit of attention to her treat, until this little guy spotted us and followed us for a while before deciding to turn back around.

Good thing Addie wasn't passing out Baco's.
The story could have had a completely different ending.

Quick Update on Mom

Mom looks better tonight despite the awful night she experienced last night.  I know I have a few readers with sensitive stomachs, so lets just say that an enormous incision site over the breast bone does not fare well with vomiting.  Yikes.

If all goes well, the doctor will look at Monday or Tuesday as Mom's release date. 

I know that there are so many of you who know my Mother and then there are so many of you who don't.  My Mother is honestly the most loving, giving and caring person that I know.  She would literally give someone the shirt off of her back and would never hesitate to do for or give to whomever she felt needed it.  She is so much nicer than I ever thought about being (I can imagine the number of people out there nodding their heads in agreement) and she just amazes me.  That's why this entire situation is just ridiculous.  She deserves to get better - and soon.

The anesthesiologist and nurse even made a comment as they were taking her back to the O.R. yesterday and told us that even through her pain and misery, she still managed to find humor and smile.

Her heart has always been so soft and so kind....I think it's about time I have a little chat with it and tell it to "man up".  We have too many plans this year and Mom can't miss out - on any of them.

Thank you all for your kind words, prayers, thoughts and concern for Mom.

In recovery

Mom is in recovery. Everything went fine and the doctor was able to close the incision!

The next round of jeopardy

I Would ask if the day could get any more emotionally taxing, but we all know the answer to that. I was having insomnia issues last night and it was just compounded by the news stories coming in....and my destination this morning.

Here's the category:
Perpetual rollercosters

Here's the question:
A specialized area within a facility specifically focused on services for which the month of February is dedicated to.

The reply must be given in the form of a question:

If you answered, "What is the cardiac intensive care unit?", you are correct!

And if I had money to award to you for the right answer, I would...

We are here waiting on my Mother to get out of surgery. She is having surgery due to complications at her incision site....followed by an inpatient admission and at the very least, IV antibiotics. Oh....also,her lungs are attracting fluid like my thighs attract fat.

Holy cow....can she not catch a break?

We're waiting on the cardiologist to come out and talk to us as soon as he's done.

Oh Boy

When I finally made it home tonight, I walked into the kitchen and witnessed the following:

There were dishes washing in the dishwasher.

The vacuum was in the middle of the floor, plugged in, appearing as if it had been put to use.

There was a broom sitting out as well (and in serious need of being replaced).

I had coffee waiting for me.

The kitchen chairs were even stacked in the living room, giving the appearance that the mop would be joining the party.

So...

I commented to Julien on how nice everything looked and how much I appreciated the coffee (because Chris told me Julien had done it all).

and after a moments silence, out of my mouth came the words:

"Oh boy...go ahead and tell me.  What happened or what did you do, or what do you want or what is going on?"  "Seriously, just go ahead and tell me now."

He swears it was out of the goodness of his heart.

Ahem....

Does this look like the face of a child who has something to hide? 

On the other hand, this one was getting tickled over looking in the mirror as she ate her frozen fruit and watched as the mess on her face and shirt grew bigger and bigger.

They're both rotten.

She's Paying Attention

Addie is very much a little Monkey who loves nothing more than to cuddle and pay attention to everything that someone says.  When someone is talking, the little Monkey always looks at them so intently and most of the time she will give some sort of verbal reply.  Usually I have no idea what she is trying to say, but she is great at trying to have a conversation.

Monday morning was absolutely typical.  We were in a rush to get ready and get out the door.  I was in the process of getting Addie dressed when she completely made me stop what I was doing in order to cheer for her and tell her what a "good job" she did.

As I was slipping her shirt over her head and putting her arm in, I reached through the arm hole and helped guide her arm through. 

Once her arm was through, she said "There it is!".

That completely made my day!  That meant that the little Monkey has been paying attention to the millions of times that we over dramatize everything in an effort to get her to pick up on what we are saying or doing.  I cannot tell you how many times I've said, "there it is" while getting her dressed, finding her shoes, looking at pictures, etc....

The little Monkey finally understood!

and then....

she hasn't said it since. 

Which is typical for her.  I will hear something once and then it is gone.  Hopefully only gone for a little bit.

It's progress.  I'll take progress.  Even if it's only a little progress.

Always Too Good To Be True

Right as we were walking out the door this morning, Addie insisted on taking some mandarin oranges with her.

After we dropped Julien off at school, Addie got her cup of oranges and proceeded (or so I thought) to eat them. 

I had our Nickelback CD turned up high and Addie was dancing and I was driving - in a state of bliss.  There was no crying, no screaming (from either one of us), traffic was light and I was feeling pretty good about the start of our day.

That was...until I pulled into daycare.

The Monkey was so quiet and happy because she was busy covering the interior of my car, her car seat and her entire body with mandarin oranges.  Not just laying them around...she was smooshing them into her pants, her shirt and anything else she could reach.

All I could do was laugh.

Holy Cow. 

My husband loves us.  As I type this, I have an SUV in the garage that is semi-free from the events of this morning, but I can pretty much guarantee you that when I open the door to my car in just a few short hours, I will be greeted by some lingering remnants of the items that kept Monkey so blissfully quiet on the way to school.

Let me tell you.  It was so worth it just to have a quiet car ride. 

Yay for Dazzle!

Imagine how sweet it was to open up the Atlanta Pet Rescue site today and see that Dazzle was adopted!  Sweet dog deserved a good home!

That's just about all I can manage tonight...I'm off to bed.  My doctor is going to have to do something because my Toradol is becoming less effective, which makes me less productive.  

I have a few sweet little Addie updates that will have to wait until tomorrow. It will hopefully put a smile on your face, as it did on mine.

My New Find

Fungus Girl has had three nights of no sleep...which means that I've had even less sleep than usual.  Since Fungus Girl is currently sleeping, I thought I would share one of my newest Etsy finds. 

Bread and Buttons is a neat shop that specializes in ponytail holders and barrettes.  Not only are they the cutest, but the shop owner is wonderful!  She was very responsive to my questions, provided extremely fast shipping and was absolutely wonderful to work with (and you guys know that is a deal breaker for me).

I ordered a few for someone very special and just couldn't help myself and ordered Fungus Girl a few too.
They came packaged way too cute and the personalized note was an awesome touch.  The ponytail holders are fabulous quality and I will definitely be purchasing more soon.

If anyone is in the market for adorable, very well-made ponytail holders, take a look at Bread and Buttons.  You won't be disappointed!  My little Fungusy Monkey thinks they are the cutest too!

Awww, Guys...

Sometimes I think you guys just like the sound of my voice for me to clarify things, so here's the smaller version of all the jumbled up stuff in my brain tonight.

1.  I know the sweet little girl at the money sucking palace didn't mean any harm.  She's a child. What grates on my nerves is that it never fails - ever and that her Mom didn't say one single word to her.  I so totally get being beyond embarrassed by something your child says or does, my kids make it their mission in life to embarrass me.  As I've mentioned before, I wish you guys knew the story where Julien (at age 2) made me wish that I could just disappear into thin air.  As humiliated as I was, I still addressed the issue because the man heard what Julien said and that was my way to make him aware that I was trying to correct my child....and in an effort for him not to kill me. 
I get it.  I do.  I really, really do.  It still doesn't make it hurt any less.

2.  It's not that I'm not a dog person, it's just that I'm a cat person.  My parents always had dogs when we were growing up.  It's just that something seriously snapped inside of me when my ribcage was used as a scooby snack by a pit bull that probably would have killed me had my Dad not been there.  I want to love dogs again because they are awesome little companions who make amazing family members.  Right now, it's just not that easy.  See...when we go out of town or leave for just the day, my cats are happy to help us pack and load up the car.  They can't wait to see us go so they can have free roam of the house.  On the other hand, dogs are needy.  A sweet little dog would be heartbroken to be left alone and that's just not fair.

I hope that makes sense to everyone.

Mom Update

I lost count of the number of times I was scorned today for not having an update on the blog about Mom....so....

She's home, spent a miserable weekend with a stomach virus and I did what any concerned daughter would do, I stayed 45 minutes away from her house in an effort not to catch whatever funk she was harboring.  Between my sisters, my aunt and Home Health, she was well taken care of.  She has about a gazillion follow up appointments before we know more information about the one huge remaining issue. 
BUT, when I talked to her today, she didn't sound half bad.
In my professional opinion, that's pretty good progress!

Weekend Productivity Equals Negative Zero

I had all these plans of being extremely productive this weekend and it just didn't happen for a couple different reasons that really are not that relevant to this rambling post.

Saturday - I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  My immune system is apparently shot (or so my doctor tells me) because of the amount of stress I'm under and more thankfully, to the flu that it is going to take a while to fully recover from (or so my doctor tells me).  So, when I woke on Saturday, downed a few more antibiotics and finally managed to make it to coherency, it occured to me that I was in a mood to do a whole lot of nothing.

I am searching for a canine companion for someone, so I spent a little while looking at local adoption websites as Julien, Addie and one of Julien's friends played in the other room.  See...for those of you locally, you know that it was a monsoon on Saturday, so everyone was confined to the inside of my house.  When the point arrived where the kids were playing volleyball on the sun porch and broke my vase, I made the decision that we had to get out of the house.  That meant we were taking them to a local comprehensive money sucking palace of germ infestation.  Yes...they could play video games, laser something or another, bowl, golf, ride go karts (when not monsoon weather), play in a tree house, eat pizza and pick out prizes all with the use of a refillable plastic card with a magnetic strip that gave them access to everything as the money fairy kept loading and re-loading the card.  Frankly, it wasn't a bad trade-off considering the other option was volleyball, inside my house. 

By the time we made it inside the money sucking palace of joy, we were all soaked.  I left Chris at the register, debit card in hand for the first financial transaction of the night and I headed off to the restrooms with my little Monkey.  As soon as we walked into the restroom, a little girl spotted Addie and at the top of her sweet, little voice said,

"Mommy, look at that little baby.  Her head is so small.  Mommy, you have to see her.  Her head is so small."

(this is where I really want to insert what I was thinking, but that requires me checking a box on my blogger account that says a warning will pop up advising people of adult content. so, just use your imagination.)

I never stopped walking, just went straight to the stall with Addie and commenced with business (and the little girl was still repeating it - over and over).  I so was not in the mood to find my sweet, educational tone, so I did what I suggest we all do in those times...I kept my mouth shut and ignored the situation. 

The kids had a phenonmenal time and we had a great time watching them spend our money.  It really was a lot of fun and a great way to pass a rainy Saturday night.  When we finally put a lock on Chris's wallet, the kids were exhausted, so we headed home to watch movies....and to watch what happens when you mix two boys, one baby girl and an enormous whoopie cushion:

Today, the rain was replaced by bitter cold.  We went on the hunt for trees.  The first nursery that we went to is brand new to us.  We really, really like this place and will be returning this week to pick up the trees that we decided on.  The people at this nursery are extremely helpful and nice.  I like nice people and I like nice people who have tact and who treat my little Monkey like they don't notice a thing in the world different about her.  When we left the nursery, Monkey was so very happy with the handful of suckers they gave her and the pretty little flower that they gave - just to her.

By the time we left the second nursery, I just didn't have it in me to do anything else.  I needed to go home.

So our weekend was non-productive.  We didn't get squat accomplished and as I type this - I don't feel half bad about that. 

The only thing that I somewhat accomplished was getting slightly hooked on the sweet little face of a dog that needs a home and one more little dog that seriously needs a home and I feel so bad for her that if I was a dog person, I would consider taking her myself.

Maybe one of you will fall in love with her and want to take Dazzle home from the Atlanta Pet Rescue:


Picture from the Atlanta Pet Rescue site