Happy Halloween ~

Happy Halloween from Cooper the Contractor, Riley the Princess, and Camdyn the Piggy!

Hutch~

Sir Hutchinson Braveheart, more endearingly known as Hutch or Bones, was a college graduation gift to me from Clyde. He got Hutch from a town in Minnesota called Hutchinson, hence the first part of his AKC name. Braveheart stems from Hutch's fierce battle with Parvo Virus as a young puppy.

We took Hutch to see Dr. Stark today, because he hasn't been using his back right leg. The news was bad, Hutch tore his cruciate ligament in his knee. As Dr. Stark put it, "Damn, double damn, triple damn!" He did go on to tell us that it is completely fixable, but both cost and Hutch's age will play a part in our ultimate decision. Hutch is a 12 1/2 year-old Siberian Husky that is not new to the veterinarian's office. Along with the Parvo, Hutch had a rod put in his front left paw due to a fracture he received after running into a moving car. At just over a year of age, Hutch was showing the signs of juvenile cataracts in both eyes. We opted to have a rather costly surgery to replace his cloudy lenses with artificial lenses, enabling him to see again. So, since he was a puppy, he's been an expensive dog...I sure wish he would have qualified on our health insurance policy, since he is after all, part of the family.

So we're faced with deciding if we spend the money on the surgery to repair his knee and hope he's still got a few years in him, or if we feel he's just too old and may not recovery well, then we need to put him down. I have to tell you, I don't want to have to make this choice, it's just tearing me up.

Mountain Cabin ~

Gymboree's new line is tdf, love it. I'm going to either have to start donating plasma or else I'm going to have to sell a kidney to afford what is currently sitting in my shopping cart. *sigh*

Bahl's Pumpkin Patch 2007

This was our 3rd year of going to Bahl's pumpkin farm with the kids, they've been looking forward to it for weeks now. It was in the 50's, so a little chilly, but fun nonetheless!

The kids went in a SpongeBob jump house, they had a corn maze, a hay maze, slides, pony rides, petting zoo, corn box, rope swings into hay, and a wagon ride. Camdyn had her first pony ride today and she LOVED it, she was however, mortified when the pony in front of hers took a big dump!

Each of the kids picked out a pumpkin, some cotton candy, and some hot chocolate, then we headed for home...lucky for us it's only 5 minutes away! :)

Upper Case Living

I was invited to an uppercaseliving party next week. Prior to today, I'd never heard of it. They have a website, http://www.uppercaseliving.com/ so I checked out what they had to offer tonight. Cute stuff!! I definitely will be getting something, I just don't know what. I'm thinking of getting, "Firecrotch" to put on the wall above where Clyde sleeps, but aside from that I'm struggling for ideas! I do like this Irish blessing for the entryway:

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

or maybe

May you live as long as you want,
and never want as long as you live.

Exchanging Digits

Riley came home from school today and informed me that she and Luke had exchanged phone numbers today---so they could call each other. Um yeah, about that---don't think so. Clyde said when he calls he's going to give him the 'Big, Scary Dad' talk, I had to remind him that Luke is 5.

Homespun Style

So I've been introduced to Janie and Jack's October 2005 line, Homespun Style. Those that know me, know of my addiction to kids clothes. Well, I'm head over heels for this line right now. I'm a woman on a mission---Camdyn will have this line---period.

Guitar Hero 2

Cooper was introduced to GH2 this past weekend. My brother, whom we call Bubba, showed Cooper how to play it. To say Cooper was engrossed with it would be an understatement...the kid straight up would have taken it home if given the opportunity.

They played two player and Cooper had to have the guitar with the skull and crossbones---duh, as if a 4-year-old boy would choose otherwise? I have to admit it was pretty funny to see him jamming out to some of the songs I listened to as a teenager, like Sweet Child O' Mine.

When we got home, Cooper was turning other toys into 'guitars' and running around the house like a crazy fool. Perhaps his aspiration to become a 'diggerman' will now be replaced by a rock star?

You can find me in St. Louie...

We just spent the last 6 hours in the car with the kids. I'm quite sure if I ever decide to make the trek to St Louis again, it will only be after I've added Valium and Xanax to my itinerary. Love my children more than life itself, but a 22-month-old that doesn't sleep a wink, a 4-year-old that keeps asking if we're there yet, and a 6-year-old whining about what movie they're watching is enough to drive me to drink.

It was awesome visiting my brother, I really miss seeing him. We went to see his new apartment, which was not only huge, but also new and bright! He had sunrooms that flanked both ends of the unit, complete with french doors, wood and ceramic tile floors. The most impressive thing was the video game console he made from scratch, complete with all the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and arcade games EVER MADE! He never ceases to amaze me!

So, as much as I may bitch about the drive time with the kids, it was worth it. In fact, I wish we had more time there. The kids LOVE spending time with Uncle Bubba and he quite obviously loves spending time with them (even though they wear him out!).

Why do dogs smell so stinkin' bad? One of our dogs, not sure which, has gas bad enough to initiate any one's gag reflex. Honestly, worse than rotten milk mixed with garbage that's sat in the sweltering heat, sitting on top of a dead, maggot-ridden rat. There is now a quite flammable, putrid cloud hanging over the living room. Whatever crawled up and died in their anal fissures needs to find it's way out, and fast!