Mommy plus Five

Thanks for the memories January! 

Month 1 of my second 365 project a success.

Looking forward to February.  :)

Doggy Daily for January 31, 2011

What is wrong Ducati, you seem stressed?

Ah, say no more.  I see the source of your stress....the DIVA!

Ducati is not a fan of Miss Lilly at all.  He tolerates her, but it is so obvious he is annoyed by her presence most of the time.

My 365...

Cya January, thank you for the memories!

This has been a pretty amazing month.  My daughter is back in my life, which is the most amazing thing!  My only daughter, my sunshine, and she is back.  It is slow going, but anything worth having is worth waiting for.  Not saying that she is a thing, but you know what I mean.  I love her SO much!

Second amazing happening in January was the birth of my first grandchild.  Pretty epic milestone.  I have not had the pleasure of meeting the little guy other than in photos, but one day I will.  I have also reconnected with his mother, and I am very happy about that.  There is still a great distance between my son and I, but I have hope that we will get to know each other better over the coming months.

I took this photo last night of Blake.  Jack was sitting on his laptop, and Blake on my netbook and together they were searching for great Craig's List deals on bikes and cars.  They had great fun, and he was teaching his father the finer points of web surfing.  Jack knows nothing about computers, but with help from Blake he is getting much more comfortable with them.

My photo of the day...breakfast!  Some delicious bran cereal and bananas.

"My birthday wish for myself today is connection.  I am hoping for a strong, meaningful and honest connection to the people in my life who mean the most."








Thank you January, see you next year!

Until next time...

Doggy Daily for January 30, 2011

Beauty and the Beast.

My 365...

Only one day left of the first month of 2011.  Another full month into my second 365 project, and so far so good.  Not a single day missed!  I am proud of me.  :)

Today I walked into the den to find these two snuggled up on the floor watching some T.V.  The perfect photo opportunity for mama.



Blake loves his Dozer so much, and I know Dozer feels the same way about his Blake.  I can honestly say that Blake loves all animals, but the relationship he has with Dozer is very special.  I pray they have many years of adventure to come.

We have always had a dog in our home, and I can not imagine life without a canine companion.  They bring so much to our family.  Protection, companionship, laughter and an undying love that has no measure.

There are days that I feel like "The Pied Piper of Hamelin."  I can be sitting comfortably in a chair, and the second I get up I have all three dogs forming a line behind me and they follow me where ever I go.  If I step in to the bathroom and close the door, all three will take a position outside of the door and wait for me.

I was up very late last night watching movies and decided to go into the kitchen to pour a glass of orange juice.  Everyone was sound asleep and I hear padded footsteps slowly making their way to the kitchen, then this huge white furry head peaking around the corner.  Dozer just wanted to be sure all was well...and hope for a little late night snack for himself!  :)

"My birthday wish for myself today is....hmmm....today I feel like I have everything I could ever possibly wish for.  that is a good thing."




Until next time...

Doggy Daily for January 29, 2011

Old man Dozer relaxing in front of the fireplace. That is his "spot" in the den. I really need to find him a nice big comfy dog bed.

"Who you calling old grandma?"

My 365...

Happy Saturday world.  It is just after 1 p.m., the house has been cleaned, the kitchen scrubbed, and three loads of laundry done...now I can rest.  :)

I woke this morning to a surprise on my laptop...

Jack and Blake went to the store late last night and saved it to surprise me with this morning.  The funny part is Blake stands next to my chair looking at me with these huge puppy dog eyes, "Are you going to take a bite right now?"  In other words, "can I have a bite now?"  lol  He is so cute.  Needless to say he got most of it little stinker.  Which is fine because my blood sugar needs a candy bar like I need a hole in the head!  Oh well, it is the thought that counts.

I am off to find a good book to read.  I have so many on my e-reader that I have started, but as of yet not one has kept my interest! 

"My birthday wish for myself today is a year full of fabulous surprises!"







Have a wonderful Saturday world! Until next time...

Doggy Daily for January 28, 2011

"Oh woe is me..."

Don't worry Ducati, Casey only went to the store.  He will be right back.  Poor Ducati, he gets so stressed when Casey leaves.  :(

My 365...

I have this memory board/white board next to my desk, and over the year I have added old photos I have found in boxes.  It is great to glance over and remember all that I have been through and all the fun times I have experienced.

So many new adventures waiting in the wings for me as well.  It is amazing to me that I have been through almost 50 years of life, and yet it feels like I have only been here a short while.

As I approach 50, I can definitely report that a very new chapter of life opens before you.  They say some of the happiest people in the world are grandparents.  It is true.  But not so much because you have become a grandparent, but because there is a palpable change in attitude as you reach mid-point in life.  Your children are grown, or in my case "most" of my children are grown, and are now adults.  Parenting an adult child is so much easier than parenting younger children.  They make their own life choices now, not me.  That takes the pressure off.  :)

I still have a long way to go with Casey being "almost" 16 and Blake 9, but they have the advantage of a very seasoned mom. 

"My birthday wish for myself today is adventure!  My the coming year bring with it many adventures and new experiences."




Have a great weekend! Until next time...

Doggy Daily for January 27, 2011

Fun times with lady piranha....

"My stick!"
"Mine, mine mine..."
"Let go of my stick!"
"Nom..nom..nom..nom..."
"Grrrrrr......"
"Okay okay your stick!  Sheesh Miss Lilly!"

My 365...

Too bad it is not Friday, it is a gorgeous day today!  Blake and the dogs and I enjoyed some fresh air in the back yard.

Two of the most gorgeous faces in the world, Blake and Miss Lilly.  :)

It was a nice break in the middle of the day.  Now back to work for both of us.  Hopefully the weather will remain nice for the weekend so we can go bike riding down the greenbelt.

"My birthday wish for myself today, a new bike.  Mama needs a new bike with a basket for Miss Lilly, camera, cell phone and a picnic lunch!"




Until next time..

Doggy Daily for January 26, 2011

A classic Miss Lilly smile.  She does smile on occasion, and it is really funny!

Such a diva...

My 365...

The love of my life.  Well, one of the 8 loves of my life.  :)  I am such a blessed mom.  There are moments, albeit very small moments, where I want to scream from the frustration that comes with being a mom.  Then I pause and consider the alternative...not being a mom...and I thank my lucky stars that I got the gig.

Take this very second for example.  I am sitting quietly at my computer, writing my blog entry for the day.  Just a few feet away, Blake is sitting at his computer taking a break from his studies with some Nickelodeon TV.  He has an old pointer of mine extended to the full length and every few seconds he is poking me with it.  Irritating?  Completely!!  Funny, well yes. 

"Please stop that Blake." 

*Poke* 

"Honey, please stop that!" 

*Poke poke poke* 

Grrrrrrr......such a brat!  But I love you. 

"Put the poker away or mommy will stick it up your nose!" 

*Poke* 

Ahh the joys of motherhood.  :P

"My birthday wish for myself today, a never ending sense of humor.  Critical quality to possess if one is considering the career of motherhood."





Until next time...*Poke*...

Doggy Daily for January 25, 2011

"Mama..."

"Yes Miss Lilly?"


"I am stuck in this bucket and I can't get out...."

"How the heck did you get in that bucket?"

"Does that really matter?  Just please get me out of here!"

My 365

My morning started with a bang, literally.  The bang being the sound of my body hitting the kitchen floor!  I can be so clumsy.

Immediately Dozer came charging into the kitchen and stood guard over me as if he was protecting me from an unseen intruder.  That's right Dozer, I did not just fall, I was pushed by an alien!  It would have been helpful had he been wearing his collar, then he could have helped me up, but no, just that huge lion's mane of his.  Bless his heart, he really was worried about me and seemed a little hurt when I screamed for him to "move!"

The only thing I hurt was my ego and my hand as it smashed the kitchen counter on the way down.  I will say it was the most incredibly graceful fall.  You know the kind of fall I am talking about.  It is in slow motion and you feel like you are gently floating to the earth like an autumn leaf riding the wind...that is until you HIT with a thud!  :)  I really should be more careful, I am almost 50 after all!

My picture of the day...

Behold, the very bane of my existence...the dead pixel.  I have this brand new HP 17.3 inch  laptop that is amazing, but leave it to HP to send me a dead pixel.  Of course I could package the thing up and send it back, but then I would be without my laptop for a week or two and that would really suck.  And knowing HP, they would return a laptop with two dead pixels!  I can only see the dead pixel when I am watching a movie or video where the border of the screen is black, otherwise I hardly know it is there.  Grrrrr.....I know it is there!


If the worst thing I have to deal with in life is a dead pixel and a slippery kitchen floor, than God has certainly blessed me.  Of course it is all very silly, but it does give me something to bitch about.

"My birthday wish for myself today is gracefulness.  In other words, to be the opposite of clumsy.  I consider myself to be quite graceful "most" of the time,unless I am crashing to the ground due to a lack there of!"





Until next time...