Bring Back Those Wonderful Days...

I have to start off by saying that my Boys did not win the Stanley Cup this year...we will hang our heads in shame until next season when we go for the championship again! lol

All sorts of things are going on in Choppzss' Household....

Summer vacation is upon us..

Girly's last day of school is today.

Crazy Boy graduates preschool next week.

Baby Boy is now transformed into a dog..lol...he crawls around on the floor with his tongue hanging out and barking. ALL THE TIME. lol

We are heading home to Michigan at the end of July to spend 3 weeks with the family. I am super excited.

Couple weeks ago, Girly had a dance at school. I took a couple pics of her as we were leaving. It wasn't until I looked at them that I realized just how old she is getting. My little girl isn't so little anymore. She is going to be in 7th grade next year. I mean, where did the time go?


Crazy Boy is starting Kindergarten next year..Another child in full time school. I am nervous already, but trying to keep tabs on it because I don't need him freaking out. For the last few weeks at Preschool, he has been very clingy and crying for me not to leave. I don't understand it. I thought he would do this at the beginning of the year, not the end. But I remember Girly doing the same thing. I just don't know why. He is slowly returning to his normal self though, so that is good.


Baby Boy is a pistol..(as usual) His speech is improving immensely, and he is becoming a curious, wrestling, spitting, and sassy little boy. Him and his brother love to play video games now, and he is still obsessed with his cars. We were discussing whether to put him into preschool this coming year, but are not sure whether we think it is the right thing for him or not. We will give it a bit, and see how we feel.


Our good friend from the Marine Corps came to visit a few months back and shot some of the greatest pictures of the family while he was here. I want to say thanks for these beautiful pictures...

I still miss my Pookey. There isn't a day that goes by that I do not think of her. My MIL sent me a beautiful frame with pictures of her in it, along with a prayer to St. Francis for animals..it is the most beautiful gift. I have it hung on my wall where I can see it everyday.

The Boys are back in town...

My Wings are once again going for the cup!!!

Now I long for yesterday.....

My brain has been non-stop.

If I give myself long enough, sitting around, thinking..then I cry.

I have thought of the weirdest things in the last few days.

Not just my Pookey. But my kids. My friends. My own mortality.

I walked outside today and heard the baby birds chirping like crazy in their nest in the tree that my kids swing from.

I looked up and saw a blur of baby birds in the nest.

So much new life coming about.

And then I looked down and saw the poor baby, lying motionless on the ground. I don't know if he chose to jump to follow Mama, or if their nest is to crowded, or was it just a simple "oops". Either way, the poor baby bird was gone. My thought process flew in many directions. From "who gives a shit. It's a bird. This happens all the time" to "How does the Mama feel? How would I feel to lose a child?" I mean I am still mourning my Pook. Looking around, listening for her, wanting to fill her dishes, and remembering I don't have to wait for her to bring her slow ass in from outside at night before bed. So my final thought made me pick up the poor bird, and bury him in a small hole. This baby was important. If he wasn't important for me, he was important for someone..to someone.

I know. Some people may think I am being stupid, or over dramatic. But I can't help it.

I wish I could go back and change some things. I can't say I am one of those people that don't regret anything in my life. There are allot of things I would do over. Allot of things I wouldn't have said. Allot more love I wish I had given. Allot more time I could have spent.

I miss her.

Only The Good Die Young...

"She is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are her life, her love, her leader. She will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of her heart. You owe it to her to be worthy of such devotion." - Unknown

Thank you Hubs for this beautiful quote. She truly was my best friend, and she will forever be a part of our family! We love you Pookey!



Pookey
April 3, 1997 - May 24, 2009

I've Got the Blues

Pookey is not doing well. Granted, she is still walking about and scarfing down her food, but she is slowly but surely winding down. The lymph nodes in her neck are severely swollen and are sensitive to the touch. I feel horrible..I don't believe she is suffering..she is not acting in pain...so I want God to take her when he is ready. I am not ready for this...I don't want her to go...

What a Long, Strange Trip Its Been

I need to ask everyone to keep my Pookey in your thoughts and prayers. My baby has cancer. She has been a part of our lives for 12 years.

You know... I once gave Pookey away..that's right. Shortly after we got her, Girly was born. Pookey wasn't keen on sharing the attention so she resorted to pissing and shitting all over the floors. I myself, was not to keen on having to constantly clean up poo and pee while trying to be a first time Momma to a screaming, crying baby. So away Pookey went, to our neighbors. lol Bad idea. I saw her everyday, and started to miss her. Within a week or so, I made Hubs go to our neighbors and ask for her back. Lucky for me, I had a wonderful husband who was willing to embarrass himself for me, and these people were nice enough to give her back. I felt like an idiot, but hey what can you do? She belonged with me. I needed her to be a part of my life, and she needed me to be a part of hers.

How she got her name is a funny story too. For the life of us, we couldn't agree on a name. We were joking around and said "How about Pookey?" Yah right, no way would we name our dog Pookey. Then, we called Hub's mom and told her about our new puppy. "So what is her name? Pookey?" Wow, that's 2 Pookeys. Then later that night, we were watching tv, and the movie New Jack City was on. In the movie there is a character with the name of Pookey. We both knew then that 3rd time was a charm. So Pookey it was. Funny huh? And you don't know how many times I had to correct people on the spelling of her name. It's not Pooki. It's not Pooky. It is POOKEY. lol

Pookey used to be brat. For at least 3 years she refused to stop peeing on the floors. When we would take her out on the leash to go potty, she'd take at least a half hour to go. She didn't like the leash. She would jump fences and run off on a daily basis. She was the Houdini of kennel escapes. When we would leave the house, she would literally tear things off the wall. She would, and still does, refuse to let us trim her nails. She screams like someone is murdering her when we try.

Pookey has been through more then most people I know. She's lived in 4 different states, and moved to 9 different houses. She endured 30 days of quarantine in Hawaii, and had to deal with kennels and deployments just like I did. She's flown on more planes then most people. She's had to deal with 3 little brother dogs (we've had other dogs come and go) and 1 cat. She's been a trooper each time a new baby has come into the home (well after she learned from Girly).

Pookey loves..

~Food. Any food.Cold food. Hot food. Nasty half eaten, slobbered on food from the kids. She'll eat anything.
~Tennis balls. Big ones. Small ones. It doesn't matter.
~Chasing rabbits, cats and small children. lol. Long story.
~Playing fetch with her Daddy.
~To have her belly rubbed.
~To sleep in the sun.
~Her treats. I have to spell it out when I am talking about them because if she hears the word she goes crazy.
~Potato peels. She's glued to me when I am making mashed potatoes.
~Pumpkin carving at Halloween. She'll sit there and eat the guts as we carve pumpkins.
~Christmas. She loves opening gifts. She gets all up in the kid's stuff when it's their birthdays. lol
~Her kids. She definitely loves her kids.
~Her brother Poppy. She's the only other dog he wont growl at! lol

So, to sum it up, I love my dog. She is my baby. And I only hope I have made her life a good one, and she has no regrets about choosing me as her Momma. I truly believe it wasn't me that chose her, but her who chose to adopt us! I love you Pook.

Me and Pookey in June 1997 right after we got her!

1997

2002 on Halloween Eve.

2004 at Christmas

Me and Pookey on Christmas 2008

Pookey on Christmas 2008 (with her new tennis ball)

May 5, 2009


"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am." Auther unknown

Five Brown Buns in a Bakery Shop

Crazy Boy is 5 today!! Happy 5th birthday my Crazy little boy!

Milestones

I meant to post a long time ago, but alas, I didn't.

Girly went to her regional science fair awards on April 15th. Out of 1000 kids in the county, she got a silver medal! She did awesome. She was very upset that she didn't get to go onto the state competition, but we reassured her that going onto regionals and winning a silver medal was nothing to scoff at! We are so proud of her. When I upload the photos, I will be sure to post them.

I also wanted to say that on May 4th,2009 I will have been a non-smoker for 2 months. On March 4th, Baby Boy and I were on a mission. He went on a Nuk detox, and I was on a nicotine detox. We did it together and now we are both free of our habits. I felt horrible taking away his nuk, and I felt like I was being a hypocrite for telling him he didn't need it and then I could turn around and walk outside for a smoke. It wasn't fair. So when we both had our fits, we could sympathize with each other. lol

The kids had their dentist appts. last Wed. Crazy had his 1st cavity. It didn't surprise me, as he eats to much junk and doesn't brush his teeth as well as he should. But Girly also had her first cavity around that age. She hasn't had any since her permanent teeth have come in. So on Monday, he gets to go in and have it filled.

This is the last weekend of spring break. I don't know why I bother to call it a spring break, it was nothing close to a break. Here is how our week went.

Monday-Dr. appts. with shots
Tues.- Get Girly to science fair thingy to do her setup and judging.
Wed.- Dentist appts.
Thurs.- Get Crazy to his school to do some prepping for Pre-K graduation.
Friday- we actually didn't have anywhere to go on this day, so I did all the yard work and helped Crazy plant his pumpkins.
Sat.-Hub's old Marine Corps friend came to visit, so we grocery shopped and cleaned up the house.
Sunday-I am sitting here playing on the computer and drinking coffee. Ahhh a day off????? I doubt it! lol

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Well yesterday was the 1st weekday of Spring Break and the kids went in for their shots. Crazy for his Kindergarten ones, and Girly for her 11 yr. tetanus booster. Fun times I tell ya, fun times. The whole morning started out crappy. Our appt. was at 9 am and they didn't call us back till 10:45. Then they proceed to tell me that Crazy is going to have to give a urine sample. You mean you couldn't tell me that an hour and 45 mins ago while we were waiting? Sorry, uh this 4 yr. old already went. Do you know how hard it is to try to force a 4 yr old boy to peed on command, then expect to catch it in the a cup the size of a dixie cup? Yah, it's hard. Then, they proceed to tell me that they don't have the tetanus booster for Girly. They are out. Uh, you couldn't tell me this an hour and 45 mins ago either? Yah, guess not. Then the worst part...having Crazy sit on my lap and cry because the shots hurt. I thought it wouldn't be as bad because he's not a little baby anymore, but it was almost worse when they are older and you can't shove a pacifier or boob in their mouth! lol Poor guy. But he got suckers, and stickers and candy and a toy for doing so well. I guess they are gunning for the dentist too!

Girly took off this morning for her regional science fair setup and judging. She was a nervous wreck, but after allot of reassuring and getting her hair and makeup done, she felt better. I guess tomorrow night when we go back to San Bernadino for the awards ceremony, we will once again see if her hard work paid off. So much for her spring break. Every day, except Friday is booked!

Changes

Thought I would share a few photos I took on our evening walk tonight to the dairy. Isn't she beautiful. Mama couldn't have given birth to her much more then a few hours earlier. I am sorry we missed it. Spring is in the air.




Alas, Spring is bringing about a few more changes. Look at this bullshit. Little Dora and Strawberry Shortcake are all grown up. I am surprised they didn't put some boobies on these girls. I mean why not? They have completely changed the look of them, so why not give her some tits and fishnet stockings while your at it. lol Geesh, can't they just leave well enough alone?

Thinking Positive

With all the aggravation I have been feeling lately with the kids, I have decided to write a post only consisting of the good things that have been going on. Bullet style.

• We saw Monsters Vs. Aliens this afternoon and the kids did great!
• Listening the boys talk on the walkie talkies to each other when they are only a few feet from each other.
• Hearing Baby Boy sing the song from the original Transformers cartoon movie.
• Seeing the boys give each other a hug for no apparent reason.
• Girly doing extra credit for school on her Sunday off. Without being told.
• Listening to the wind howl outside, but staying all cozy on the inside.
• Baby Boy's kisses
• Watching Hubs do the dishes.
• Listening to Crazy Boy tell Baby Boy a story.
• Putting makeup on Girly before we went out for the movie and teaching her how to do it herself without looking like a tramp! lol
• Getting the whole kitchen cleaned up after dinner with Hubs.
• Watching TV with Hubs while he rubs my head.
• Seeing the lawn look all pretty and manicured after a Saturday of mowing, weedwacking, and cleaning up.
• Getting a good start on my summer tan from doing all the yard work in a tanktop!
  
• Watching the kids swing on their tree swings that Daddy put up for them.
• Watching the boys play with a fuzzy caterpillar.
• Going on our walk around the dairy and listening to the kids talk about the cows and ask silly questions.
  
• Having the boys pick me flowers on our walk.
  
• Getting all the chores done on Saturday so Sunday can be a day of lounging and being lazy!
  

Wow, my shadow looks huge! lol

Irked

Remember the FIL coming to live here?

He's leaving back for Michigan. Already, and with a weeks notice.

The boys are hurt and upset. He leaves just when they have gotten used to having some sort of family here to see and spend time with. They have grown up with no family living near them. So when he came they were super excited.

And you know what? It pisses me the f*ck off. Everyone knows he irritates the hell out of me, and most of the time we bicker and say stupid shit to each other, but what pisses me off is that he is hurting the kids. I could care less what he does, but they are only 3 and 4. They don't understand why or how, they just know he's leaving them. They ask all sorts of questions like "why is Papa leaving us?" and "doesn't Papa like it here anymore?" and I haven't a clue on how to answer them. What I'd like to say is "Your Papa is an asshole that only thinks of himself." but ha, that probably wouldn't be the greatest thing to tell them. I should have known he would somehow hurt them..he has that special way about him.....

Neglect

Yikes. I guess this is what happens when you become a Facebook addict! lol

I don't even know where to begin. Spring break is coming for both Girly and Crazy.
Girly participated in her school science fair. She won for her school, and then competed in district competitions against the other schools in town. She WON! lol So now during her long awaited spring break, she gets to compete in regionals. So if she wins the science fair regionals (county), she goes onto state competitions. Then, nationals. We are so proud of her. She has worked hard, and as with any kid, when they work hard and then get a long awaited reward for all their work, they are elated! Science was never one of my strong suits, so this makes me hopeful that she wont be like me when it comes to certain subjects! lol

Crazy is going in for his Kindergarten shots next month. This is nuts to me. My little boy starting Kindergarten. I just hope I do not get as nervous with him as I did with Girly. I am so grateful though, that Girly is at the same school and can be there to help him out and get adjusted those first couple weeks. He has been sick non-stop through this winter. He is sick again after a couple months of being well. He has that hacking cough, and a slight fever. It feels like it is a never ending sickness around here.

Baby Boy is no baby anymore :( He had his 3 yr. well baby check, and he is in perfect health. They are a bit concerned with his speech, and would like him to have his ears checked, but as soon as they referred us out, the boy started speaking. He is saying things that he wouldn't have attempted to a couple months ago. It may not come out exactly the right way, but it pleases me that he is trying. He is completely diaperless during the day now, and that pleases me even more! lol He is the most defiant little boy, and everyday he does something that makes me think he is going to be hell on wheels when he gets a bit older.

The weather here has been absolutely wonderful. I am obsessed with being able to grow my own fruits and veggies, but alas, I kill everything I touch. So being the stalker I am, we went out and bought the Topsy Turvey. You know, the upsidown tomato planter? We bought 3 and planted tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they work. Crazy planted his cantaloupe, and later on around June he will be planting his pumpkins. I will try to keep updated on how well these plants are doing. I am hoping that with them hanging, they will not be bombarded with the horrid ants that we have out here, and will survive.
Girly after winning her district trophy!

Crazy watching his tv shows

Baby Boy checkin himself out in a mirror at the grocery store!

The boys being cute!

Girly on tv when she won her district trophy!

Been Awhile

I have to start off by writing a small post to my Baby Boy. He turned 3 on the 24th. But of course, his party got canceled. That's right, Crazy had had a fever for 4 days straight, and was horribly sick, so we canceled Baby Boy's party. We still had a cake, candles, and presents for him, but it was just us. He is a pistol. So far, of the 3 kids, he is the only one that has ever thrown himself on the floor in the midst of a fit. He despises it when we laugh at him for doing it, and stomps his feet. Cracks me up! He loves his Sissy and Brother, but is notorious for being a bully to them. He can get his brother and sissy to do anything for him! lol He is a charmer. He sure knows how to turn on that smile, give you a kiss, or wrap his arms around you when he wants something. He loves to cuddle. He's my only kid that still loves to sit and cuddle with me. He is sooo ticklish on the back of his head and neck, and giggles non-stop when I do it. He loves his Cars (the Disney movie) and any type of motorized vehicle. Trucks, cars, trains, planes, you name it, he will play with it for hours. He is my Baby Boy. Not such a baby anymore, but forever my Boogie Boy!


We watched the inauguration. Not that you could really watch anything else, considering every damn station had it on. For crying out loud, even Noggin was talking about it! lol My boys went around the house all day long singing "Rock Obama, Rock Obama!" And just as I was about to turn the station, trying to get away from all the presidential bullshit, Crazy asks if he can have his picture taken with Rock Obama. Uhhhh...well.....ok Hon, you go stand next to the tv and I'll take your picture with Rock Obama. He got the biggest kick out of it. This is what we got...

Brilliant huh? 20 yrs. from now, They can look back at that picture and say they were around when the first President of African decent was put into office. As Hubs says, he isn't African American..He is an American of African decent.

As I said above, Crazy Boy was horribly sick. 4 days of 103 temps, cough, runny nose, shakes, the whole shebang. 1 visit to the doc resulted in a strep throat diagnoses and antibiotics. 1 visit to the ER resulted in a chest x-ray, breathing treatment, steroid meds, and a diagnoses of Reactive Airway Disease. Holy shit, I have never met such idiotic doctors. Honestly, I think he had a nasty cold, mixed with that damn flu going around and his little body was just shot. He was on 4 different antibiotics for the last week. Today was his last day. And boy, was he a trooper. Never fought me, never really complained. He is doing well now. A slight cough, but overall he is feeling normal. He is happy to be back at school and happy to be done with the meds.



Girly is doing great too. Just got a report card today which had 3 B's and the rest A's. She is joining Yearbook at school, and was student of the month in December. She's so smart. She has adjusted wonderfully to her new school, has made lots of friends, and is becoming more and more a teenager everyday. I swear i don't remember being such a slob as a teen, but holy crap, this girl must take after her dad cause her room is a hogsty. lol A ton of thanks to whoever invented the door. If I had to see that mess everyday, I would pull my hair out. If the door is shut, and I can't see it, I'm good! lol

Oh and Sissy's trip out here went great! I loved them being here, and I loved having a coffee buddy in the mornings. I loved being able to see my nieces and have the kids all play together. I miss them! I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the visit to hold you over for the next month, as I am sure that will be how long it will take for me to blog again.

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Post Christmas Pics

Girly and Crazy making Christmas Trifle for desert!

Sokka's 1st Christmas!

Poppy relaxing under the tree!

Pook and her new ball!

Me and Baby Boy

Opening gifts

Girly and Baby Boy

Chaos on Christmas morning!

Opening gifts

Christmas has Come and Gone

It seems the older I get, the faster the time goes by. Especially around this time of year. It seems like just yesterday I was being bugged non-stop about how long it was till Christmas, and Crazy just made his Christmas chain, and was wondering why he couldn't take off more then 1 each day. Now the chain is gone, the tree is bare, and the countdown is through. Kinda depressing if you ask me. Now I am dreading the time when I have to take down all the gazillions of decorations I have put up, and pack them away.

Christmas was it's usual paper throwing, box ripping, kids whining, chaos filled morning. The kids got to much crap, and half of it is missing or broken already. Fights have erupted, and toys have been thrown because even though Santa tried his hardest to get 2 certain little boys the same type of gifts, 1 of them always wants the blue one over the red one, or the regular legos, over the cars legos. Or God forbid, they got Wiki Sticks instead of the beloved Bendaroos. What drama that was. Santa can never get the shit right, bastard.

Even with all that going on..it is still my favorite time of year! I love watching their faces as they open their gifts Christmas morning, the excitement when they go to bed on Christmas Eve, the insistence that Santa needs more then 1 cookie and a half glass of milk, and the innocence of all their questions (Why can't Rudolph play with the other reindeer? His nose isn't bad!")I better soak it all in while I can, because before I know it, it will be my grand babies doing this stuff!

So here are a few pics of our Christmas. I played with my photos a bit and did some neat effects.

Ok, blogger is being temperamental at the moment, so I will have to postpone the pics till it gets its act together!