A bite is a bite

My neighbor has 2 female dogs, I will call them brown and blacky. I am not certain of the breed of either but know they are mixed. The dogs like to bark when they are outside. It can be annoying especially when it happens very early in the morning or very late at night. This was the case for a while, but they have not been keeping the dogs outside as much these days.

A few weekends ago, my neighbor got bit by blacky while he was trying to separate the dogs fighting. Actually he was trying to get blacky to stop attacking and biting brown. One trip to the ER for him and for brown and a huge vet bill later and blacky is still at the house. I hear the dogs are being kept in separate places.

I am a dog lover. But I draw the line when a dog bites anyone. I remember we had a dog growing up. She was definitely a mutt and not well trained. She would growl at us, nip at us and she also bit my neice on the lip which required stitches. Guess what the dog stayed with us because it was seen as that others were the ones responsible for the dog biting.

I have heard from both neighbors (him and her) that the dogs are so sweet separately but not when they are together. The whole Alpha dog things with 2 females. They are defending blacky even though she bit the other dog and the owner. Open your eyes people! His 2 preteen children live in the house also.

So when my other neighbor asked her daughter to get her arm out of the fence to blacky's backyard, the owner was quick to defend the dog. My neighbor made it very clear that her daughter should never stick her hand through any one's fence to where there is a dog. She also made it very clear that the dog bit him. I am glad someone said it.

We are always careful is Tee is outside to ensure he is not near the fence. The dog scares me and I am hoping they find a home for her very soon.

Facebook

I joined the FB a while back. I guess I felt like I needed to be a part of the craze. It has been fun "seeing" people I went to school with both elementary and high school. I am curious to see what life has brought them and to see pictures of them and their children/spouse.

I would not say that I am an avid FB user. In fact, I don't know what a lot of the functions do. What does it really mean to poke someone? I am sure I don't want to find out. I never have a status on my page and will probably never have one. I also have 20 plus requests out there for me to accept some sort of flower, take some sort of test (there are several out there), accept a drink or even accept a virtual hug. Most of these applications require that you add something to your computer. I am afraid of a virus getting in and the fact that my files have at least tripled since I added FB to my computer. So you won't get to find out what kind of Mom I am.

I received a friendship request this past weekend that seemed very bizarre. The lady that purchased our house in NC sent me a request. First of all, I thought she was a weird and had too much air between the ears. My friends told me that she is never outside with her children and when they did actually see her she had a drink in her hand. Now I am not saying anything about her but just repeating what I was told.

So now, what to do with the request? I have absolutely nothing to talk with her about. I am afraid she will want to talk to me about the house or worse yet tell me what has gone wrong with the house. I know they made changes before they moved in and I do not like even thinking about that. I loved that house and we put so much work into getting it the way we wanted. I don't want to think of it any other way. Silly, yes but that is ok. I have ignored the request for now but I am not sure what to do. I may just respond to her through a note and leave the request out there.


Our weekend was extremely busy and I will have to update on that later. This week will be very hectic also. I guess you can't hear the loud banging going on upstairs...wow I hope they finish up by tomorrow.

A decision has been made

We are finally moving forward on having our bathroom remodeled. We have really struggled with decision on what to do but I think that we have decided on the best route. I don't feel like mold is something that should be dealt with lightly. There is the really bad mold in our bathroom and we want to make sure it is gone for good. We still have decisions to be made the changes to our bathroom. Needless to say we will be out trying to make our choices this weekend.

We were able to get 2 estimates for the remediation of the mold. There are very specific steps (cleaning, hepa vacuuming among others) that must be taken in order to ensure that the mold is completely eradicated from the bathroom and that there is NO cross contamination into a different room.

I made it clear to both companies that the bathroom was going to be gutted and remodeled. It didn't seem to make sense to go through the process of cleaning everything and then hepa vacuuming the entire room. The second company realized this and ended up quoting us for a complete demo (saving the tub and toilet) of our bathroom.

Of the 3 contractors we had come to our house, we only received 2 quotes. The first guy called after a week or so and left a message stating he had to go out of town was very far behind in his work and if we still wanted a quote to call him back. We opted not to. The other 2 quotes were a little different. The 2nd contractor gave us a total remodel amount that included allowances for the cabinetry, tiles and plumbing fixtures. The 3rd contractor gave us a quote but left out the charge for all of those items. In the end the 2nd contractor was probably a little less expensive and a little more put together. We are going with him.

Monday morning the remediation company will be knocking on my door at 9am to start the demo and cleanup in the bathroom. YIKE! I am a little nervous because that mean I will have to move out of there completely and we are still unsure when the contractor will be able to start work. We have so many things to pick out this weekend and hopefully there will not be a large delay on the order.

A Thursday in April!

I wonder how it can be that my kids have had 6 days off this month for Spring Break and then have today off for a Professional day or something. Just maybe if we didn't have such randoms days off we would be able to get out earlier that June 19th. It has been a very uneventful morning and I assume the afternoon will remain the same. The weather is sunny but a bit chilly. I seems to be either hot or cold here and not much in between.

The boys received their report cards yesterday. I was a little taken back by Jay's marks. It was not terrible by any means but definitely worse than the first 2 quarters. His effort is lacking a bit in a few areas and it appears that he is not listening as attentively as the teacher would like. Jay was very upset about what was on his report card. As a motivator, we have taken away Jay's gaming privilege a significant amount for the next 2 weeks. I will then check back with his teacher for a progress report in which he will either gain his DS time back or lose it for the next 2 weeks. Hmm....I think we should have maybe waited until he was back in school for the punishment to begin. Ee's report was in line with previous quarters. He still does NOT like to participate in class and it is noted in a few of his subjects. It is hard for me to make this an issue when I know I was the same way as a child as was the husband. He comes by it honestly.

Tee is becoming such a little person. He has our schedule planned out most days. When we drive to my gym, he will say "Mommy's gym". Some days we go to the grocery store and he will say "grocery store, cookie". And normally on the way home he will say "go home munch (translates to lunch)". Many days he will ask me "Mommy nap today?" and not he is not asking me if I am going to nap but if he has to take one in which my answer remains the same "yes Tee will nap today". Unfortunately he is learning some unpleasant things like burping which makes the other two laugh hysterically. The two older boys have such a nice relationship with Tee, it is very touching.

The Bad News Bears

As I mentioned previously, the sports season has begun. In addition to baseball, the boys are enrolled in a 6 week instructional Lacrosse program. We are still trying to figure out which sports they like and are good at.

We have two baseball games a week, Saturdays and Mondays and then practice on Tuesdays. It seems as though the rain has been around so that we haven't had many practices and a game or two has been canceled as well.

Saturday was our second game. It was at 9am and believe it or not really warm outside. The game lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes and each minute was torture for those of us watching. The team played so poorly. I would watch the children stand there and let balls roll past them. A lot of the kids in the outfield would retrieve the ball (after chasing it for a bit) and then hold onto it instead of throwing it in the diamond. The only thing that would pop into my head was a new version of the bad news bears.

Our game was canceled this past Monday due to rain and practice was canceled on Tuesday because the fields were still too wet and there was a chance of Thunderstorms (which did happen). The coach is trying to arrange for a Friday night practice and boy do they all need it. I am hoping for a better game on Saturday or maybe that we play an even worse team.

I will have pictures of the boys in uniform this weekend.

Today's letter - A Today's number - 11

As of 5 o'clock this evening I will have been married 11 wonderful, blissful glorious years. It was a whirlwind romance but we knew from the very beginning that this was it. Each of us had an unhealthy relationship prior to meeting. It started out as long distance but before long I managed to score a transfer with my company to NC. Shortly after I moved up there we were engaged and living together. Ok...so we didn't do everything the way some people think is the norm but it worked for us.

So here we are 11 years later with 3 kids in tow. We have moved 4 times (3 times in NC) and they keep getting harder each time. Eleven years and 3 kids accumulates to a lot of stuff. The kids did not come easy for us and we feel blessed to have them. We have had a full 11 years and I would not change any of it.

My husband supposedly remembered yesterday about our anniversary. I am a bit peeved that he didn't do a little planning for our anniversary. I don't ask for much really just a night out with a nice dinner. And luckily I have it all planned out. We have reservation tonight at one of our favorite restaurants and I have a sitter (my sitter is now doing fine) which I arranged weeks ago.

Happy Anniversary babe.....I still love you! Just a thought you should go ahead and get the date on his calendar with a automatic reminder each month to count down the time for him.

My heart stopped for a moment.....

Today was field trip day to the science center. Believe it or not, I signed up to be a chaperone. I have never been on a school field trip and I knew it would be fun (for the boys of course). It is a nice day for a field trip!

Tee stayed home with my sitter. My sitter is in her mid 20's and very responsible. I asked her if she wanted to take Tee to his My Gym class this morning. It would break up the morning a little because she would be here all day with him. She gladly agreed.

I left around 8:30 this morning and all was good. At around 11am I was digging in my bag for my camera I decided to check my phone. I noticed I missed 2 calls, which is no big deal because I have this one number that has been calling me for the last few weeks. Then I saw it was my home number and I had a voice mail. I immediately panicked. My sitter never calls me. I listened to the message (hard to hear all of it because it was so loud) and she immediately said that Tee was ok but she wasn't. I can't tell you how nervous I was for a brief minute. Then she said she had to go to the emergency room. I felt sad for her and helpless. Here I am stuck with a bunch of first graders with no ability to leave to get my child and help my sitter. My husband came home to stay with Tee until a neighbor could get there to let him get back to work. My sitter had a friend come get her and take her to the er. I still don't know what happened.

The field trip was quite the experience. I had 4 boys assigned to me, 2 of them belonged to me. Sounds easy right? Wrong! I had one boy who would not stop wondering off. I would specifically tell them to wait at a certain spot and off they went. To top it off the center was jam packed with people. So it would be very easy to lose a child. I am happy to report that all of "my" kids made it back to the bus safe and sound.

What a day......I think I am ready for a very cold adult beverage!

He did it......so we made the change

It is a little sad for me to see my little baby growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday he was this little alien that was tugged out of my belly.

A few weeks ago, I went to check on Tee because he was not napping. As I walked in his room he was climbing out of his crib. I knew he had the ability to do it I just thought it would take him a little longer to actually climb out. Then the next morning as I was getting his clothes ready he was saying "mommy, climb out" over and over. I finally realized what he was saying when he was standing right next to me. So for the last few weeks he has been the one to get himself out of his crib, but only when I come into the room.

Yesterday my husband was a bit bored. He always feels like he needs a project to work on as long as it doesn't involve housework. He decided it was time to take the crib down, but not before a few pictures where taken.

My monkey getting in the crib. Yes, he flips in.

I can climb out.

And land safely on my feet.

Reading Curious George before bed. Isn't that most appropriate? It is his favorite book.

Tucked snug in his bed.

I was a little concerned yesterday because he didn't nap. When I went in to get him, he was in his bed. He had taken all of the puzzles out and some books too. But the key was that he was IN his bed.

Last night he did great. I never heard him this morning but when I checked on him sometime after 7am he was just laying in bed. I think he likes his big boy bed....especially the Cars sheets he is sleeping on.

Easter Sunday

The baskets were filled on Easter for the boys. They woke up and were very excited to see what was in their baskets.

The baskets were filled by the fireplace.

The boys got Wii steering wheels!

They also got new baseball gloves.

Tee loved his bowling set.

After looking through their baskets they went around the house to find eggs that were hidden.

It was a very cold day outside. So once again we were confined to the indoors. It was a quiet day but very productive. I got so many of my "to dos" knocked off my list. I made a ham and some sides for dinner. Scrumptious!

The Egg Hunt

We hosted our first annual Easter egg hunt/cookout party this year. We were unable to attend any egg hunts in the area so I thought I would throw one for the kids. I watched the weather all day Friday and Saturday morning. Rain came in Friday night and lasted until about 3pm on Saturday. I had the same conversation with Jay about 3 times on Saturday regarding the party. He asked if we were still going to have it if it rained and where we would have the egg hunt. My answer was the same each time but I guess he was a little worried.

As soon as the rain stopped, my husband ran around getting everything dried off and getting the cushions on our chairs. In the end it was too chilly so we brought the cookout indoors.


The husband colored eggs with the kids after lunch. If you notice in the picture, Tee is tasting the dye for the eggs. Hmm.....caught it on camera and I don't think he noticed until Tee had a few licks. I guess it wasn't too toxic. The boys were excited because they had a Star Wars themed dye box.


The eggs were hidden in the backyard. We had 3 other families here with children. They had a lot of fun and I think each of them found a few eggs with a dollar bill!


Tee had his friend over and we decided to have their egg hunt in the sun room. It was a little wet and cold outside. Tee actually got the find the egg put it in your basket thing. I was amazed. He only ended up opening one egg but I guess he can't get it all.


This is Tee and his friend.

At the end of the evening we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. They were yummy!

I really love hosting parties. This will probably be on the list for an annual event. It was fairly easy to put together and the kids had a blast.

Cherry Blossom Festival

We drove down to DC to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival this past weekend. The weather was unbelievably windy but at least it was some what warm. The color on the trees were not as vibrant as I had anticipated, but we have had a lot of rain and wind. Here is one of the pictures we snapped of a grouping of trees. You can read about the history of these trees here.

The trees are all around the Mall area and the Lincoln memorial. Absolutely gorgeous!

The boys.


The family.


There was a parade on Saturday. We saw the tail of the parade and just happened to see Elmo.


Grandma (or gamma as Tee says) in front of the memorial.

It was a nice visit to DC. Each time we go we get to see something different. I have to say it is nice living so close.

Break plus a visitor

Tomorrow at around 12:30pm is the official start to our Spring Break. Yes, that will be 10 straight days because they have Easter Monday off as well. We will stay home but hopefully have a few fun things to do during the week.

My Mother-in-law comes in tomorrow for a 5 day visit. Every time I mention the MIL visiting I get asked the same question, "Oh, is that a good thing?". Lucky for me, I have the best MIL in the world (and I am not just saying that because she reads this). The boys love having her around and so do I. I just wish we didn't live so far away from her and that we could see her more often.

Tee has been saying "ganma" and blowing kisses all week. It is really cute. Jay has a stack of pictures he colored for grandma hanging on the fridge. Jay loves to make pictures for other but rarely are they for me. On the other hand, EE rarely makes pictures for other because they are all for me. Yes, he is a Mama's boy and that is ok by me.

Here is hoping for some nice weather this week.

Shower update

The thought of not having a functioning shower in my room for the next 3 plus months is unsettling. I decided this past weekend that I would move my toiletries back because I just couldn't stand to have my stuff spread out. I shower in the boys' bathroom down the hall and my husband has most of his stuff in the basement shower (as to not wake the boys getting ready in the morning). It is working out fine and we are glad we have the additional bathrooms to use.

Friday I started to question whether we really needed to have a mold person test our mold. My neighbor who is in the construction business saw no need to have a mold person test or a remediation company. My husband and I talked about it on several occasions this past weekend (I couldn't let it go) and decided better to know what we are dealing with and have it disposed of properly. If we were to sell the house we would be able to prove the steps (proper) that were taken to remediate the mold.

We had 2 contractors over this past weekend to provide us quotes. We want a quote for enlarging the shower and retiling and another quote to basically remodel the entire space. The first contractor will enlarge the shower and then will charge us to install whatever we purchase for the bathroom. The second contractor would take charge of the entire project and be responsible for purchasing and scheduling all of our items. We have calls out to 2 other contractors. I am beginning to wonder if we will ever hear back from them. I would think they would be jumping at the work.

We have one quote and we will wait for the second. We are also waiting to get our results back from the mold company with a protocol for mold remediation. Then we will need to get quotes from several remediation companies to remove the tiles and ensure the mold issues have been resolved.