Five minute photo shoot!

I have an offer for a free canvas from a company that I do business with, and no offense, but I'm going to use it for myself! ;) I realized that all of my recent favorites... um, well, they are not of my own children! That's a little sad. Jack had picture day last week, and I realized about ten minutes before the bus got here that they were dressed in somewhat matching outfits. Since everyone was clean and coordinated, I dragged them outside to see if we could get a picture for a canvas. I'm not sure if any of these are huge hits, but they sure are cute! I do think the fall colors will look great on canvas! My vote is definitely for the first one, I think it's the most 'them'.
And btw, I am missing the Amazing gene. I feel very boring and uncreative lately. If anyone locates the Amazing gene, please give it to me!

Happy Jack!

Just sharing my happy boy! ;) I put his hat on to walk Neily to the bus and he would not take it off for anything! He thought he was pretty cute. I agree. :)

Sayonara, soccer!

Fall soccer came to an end over the weekend! I was actually really sad to see it end. Neily loves it so much and I just loved cheering her on. It has been fun, the transformation from a mom with 'little kids' into a soccer mom! Eddie and Phil did SUCH a great job coaching the kids, and they had some rough ones! I asked Eddie how practice had gone at one point over the season and he said, "Well, when we finally get the boys to stop punching and hitting each other, we can't get the girls to stop hugging and kissing!" A few of the boys on this team clashed to say the least- there were a few hot-headed little five year olds! Three of the four girls are in kindergarten together- and Neily and Natalie have known each other since they were in diapers! They certainly gave us some laughs over the season! I don't think I will ever forget hearing Phil yell, complete with his british accent, "Natalie, be SENSIBLE!!!" across the field during a game. And if I had a nickel for every time I heard Eddie yell, "Neily! LISTEN TO MEEEEEE!" I would be a rich woman. ;) I don't know if Eddie will coach again, but he and Phil did a great job!

A boy and his dog

When Sullivan first came to our house, our vet played with him for a little bit and told us, "This will be the best gift you ever gave him," and pointed to Jack. He spoke very highly of the breed (or lack thereof I guess, given that he's a designer mutt!) and said that if he were to add another dog to his family, this would be his choice. He listened to a few of our concerns and was confident that Sullivan was a good, sweet natured dog who just needed a chance in a new home. He immediately squashed any fears that we should have about an aggressive nature. Sully had only been here for 3 days and was nipping at our hands quite a bit, so it was something we were concerned about. He was confident that it would pass with time, love and attention. In the weeks that Sullivan has been here, as he settles in, we realize more and more each day how right the vet was that day. This is seriously the BEST dog. He is so sweet and friendly- his only issue is that he's a little too friendly sometimes when you first come in! But we're working on it, and he's doing a lot better. All day, he naps at our feet and follows us from room to room. The little jingle of his collar is a sound that I've already grown very accustomed to hearing and I love the way his big brown eyes watch me move around. He loves the kids so much and is getting very protective of them. Eddie and Neily were playing last night and Sully thought that Neily was hurt, and Sully barked and barked until he saw that she was okay. He almost NEVER barks, so we knew he was upset. And he seems to have the impression that Henry, our 10 lb black cat who is scared of his own shadow, is the alpha male in the house. LOL! It is quite a sight. Henry growls and hisses any time Sullivan comes within a ten foot radius, and ONCE Sully got close enough for Henry to take a swipe (Henry is clawless, mind you). Sully hasn't been near him since, and when he hears Henry growl, he heads straight for the nearest corner and cowers like a scared little rabbit. Pretty amusing. Now Sully is so afraid of Henry that he won't go upstairs for anything! He is also quite the cuddler. He wants so badly to sleep on the couch with us, but that isn't going to happen. Jack laid on the floor watching a movie the other day, and Sully made himself right at home, snuggling up to Jack on their favorite blanket. :)
He's only been with us for about a month, but I can't believe this big mutt turned me into such a dog lover. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself laying down with a DOG! He has brought us so much happiness and I am so thankful that we found him and were able to give him a good home!

Making some changes 'round here!

Jack is sitting next to me playing with Neily's dollhouse (poor boy doesn't have any of his own toys. YEAH RIGHT!) and he picked up a little toy broom and started to sweep with it. He started to put it in the daddy doll's hand and then he said, "Mom, is this what only Mom dolls use?"

Uh, NO. Honey, you have some chores to do when you get home! Love you and hurry home. ;)

Editing this because Eddie read it and told me, "It's okay, if there were little toy dollar bills, only the mommy would use those too."

He's seriously in for a long honey do list tonight.

Who's not allowed on the furniture?!

Mr. Sullivan is settling in very well, quite well, I'd say. Last night we let him sleep downstairs by himself (usually he is in our room under a watchful eye) and Eddie came down this morning to find him happily asleep on the couch. Uh-uh. No, no, pal. ;) This has been one of the big rules since he came home. Sullivan is no small fry, and climbing up on the couch is just not an option. As Eddie says, there is nothing worse than a big dog who thinks he's a little dog. Well, Sully is MOST unhappy in a crate, he has some separation anxiety and gets very upset- the first week we kept trying and he would get so upset he would poop and pee the second we left him. The vet told us to ditch the crate since he seemed perfectly happy and well behaved at all other times. Since doing that, we haven't had any accidents in the house and everyone seems happier. Well, apparently when we're not around, Sully is making himself right at home. He doesn't really try to get on the furniture when we're home, and it never occurred to me that the door would shut and he'd run straight for the couch, but apparently that's exactly what the little monster has been doing. For the past few nights, we've had SUCH a fight to get him to stay in our room, and now I know why, the little butthead wants to sleep in his OWN comfy bed downstairs. On my couch. *sigh* I see how easy it is to raise a crazy maniac of a dog even if you think you have the best intentions to raise a well behaved canine.
We headed out to Grandma's this morning to pick up the kiddos and he made himself right at home in the car, too:
Yes, that is Jack's carseat. He rode happily in the seat for quite a while. That is, before he decided he was going to get carsick and throw up on both sides of the minivan. Oh, boy. Well, what can I say? We (I) brought this on myself. It was either clean up a little dog poo and puke or give in to the urge to have another baby. And somehow, even a little dog puke didn't make me wish I'd opted for the 2 years of dirty baby diapers! LOL!

Shaw Farms Field Trip

This week, I went with Jack's class to Shaw Farms for a field trip. This has long been a family favorite of ours and we take the kids each fall. They are the BEST farm around, with a great, lengthy hay ride, pumpkins and gourds, a little shop and tons of things for the kids to do and climb on. Declan, one of Jack's friends, was in our group which made things very easy for me! The boys get along so well and how can you not love that hair of his?
Funny Jack, smoking some hay:
On the hay ride (and yes, I know he needs a hair cut! But if you know me, you know I have a hard time with this, no one does it RIGHT):
Digging through the sensory tables:

He requested this picture!
Spooky hay ride- this was so funny, the woods were all decorated with some pretty gross/scary Halloween figures. The boys on the hay ride were SO into it, pointing out each one and yelling, and the girls were all mortified and disgusted, could not WAIT for the hay ride to end. LOL!

We're hoping to take advantage of the fall weather (I can NOT go to the pumpkin patch in a tank top, it's against my religion!) and head back with the whole family this weekend or next. We're heading to Minges this weekend, so pictures to come!

Time to rally!

We headed down to Fountain Square last night for the Vote Early/Rock Late rally downtown. You couldn't have paid us to miss the National playing in Cincinnati, the chance to hear Mr. November live three weeks from the election? No way! We probably would have gone even if the keynote speaker was Dubya. As it was, we got to stand in the freezing cold, being doused by the fountain every now and then and hear Natalie Portman speak, see some great video and listen to the best band on the planet. ;)

Here are Jason and Eddie (Ed?) sporting their Obama/Woxy gear:
One day I will learn and I will bring the right camera with me, right? It didn't even cross my mind to bring it along, and truthfully I thought we'd be SO far back in the crowd that it would be worthless. Luckily, I did at least have the camera with me, but all night I kicked myself for not having my favorite lens! When the show started, we were pretty far off to the side but still in the front of the pack. For whatever reason, people were leaving their spots now and then (likely to hit the beer tent, right?). Every time a spot opened up, we looked at each other and quietly stole it. Not sure what possessed people to leave, you couldn't have paid me a million dollars to give up my spot for the finale.


I wanted to kill the guy in the funny hat for being taller than me (which is hard to accomplish) and ruining all my shots, until he turned and I saw his button. ;) Of course this guy and I almost had it out at the end of the night when his friend decided to rush the stage and be an ass!

Mr. November:The crowd during the finale!
It's no secret we are Obama supporters, we've got the sign in the yard and the t-shirt to prove it (LOL!) but honestly, regardless of your political stance, this is an exciting time to be a young voter. We are making history every day and the world is changing- no matter what the outcome of the election is. It's amazing to teach our children about the world, and at the rally last night, I looked around and what I saw was really not a crowd of Obama supporters- it was a crowd of parents who want a better life for their children, students who want to make it through college, people who care about the world around them. Everyone believes that they know the best way to make that change happen, and that's okay. Difference in opinion is what makes the country amazing, and this IS history in the making.

Jack and his contractor buddies

We lost two of our favorite trees in the windstorm while we were in Disney World. And they weren't even kind enough to fall and grant us a new sunroom, which is the whole reason I'd left the one tree in the backyard in the first place! Hoping it would fall on my sunroom, I'd pay my deductible and voila! I'd have a new sunroom. LOL! Anyway, we had wonderful friends and neighbors who gathered together (ie the Beer and Chainsaw Gang) to chop down the rest of the trees, stack the brush and drag it all to the curb.
We patiently watched as the rest of Deerfield Township got their brush picked up, and we waited and waited (and waited) for them to make it to our street. Finally one afternoon, they came! And then we realized why they hadn't hit our house yet. We had a little more than the average homeowner, so just bringing the chipper wasn't enough. They showed up at the foot of the driveway with two dump trucks and a huge Caterpillar. Of course Jack was in HEAVEN and I let him sit on the porch to watch. The workers kept waving to him and he thought that was so cool. Had to grab this picture of the boy!
Isn't he cute?

Here he is!!! Our third child

Here is Rudy. I am trying SO HARD to get the kids to change his name to Sullivan, and they keep yelling, NOOOOO! I'm trying to tell them that we could call him Sully, isn't that cool? We'll see. Stay tuned. I know I rule here... if I start calling him Sullivan, ain't nothing they can do about it! LOL!
Anyway, Rudy Sullivan :) seems to be doing GREAT so far. He slept the entire way home from the rescue farm, and even braved a bath for us that night (he was SERIOUSLY dirty). He immediately took to Eddie and I, laying at our feet and following us around. He tucks his nose between your knees and lets you pet him. The first night, he jumped on us a lot, every time we stopped petting him, he went crazy and jumped up. When we started to pet him again, he would calm down. It took him a while to realize that we weren't going away and he would always have pets from us. Poor guy!
He is very friendly with the kids, but sometimes a little too friendly- he has jumped on Neily a couple times and given Jack's shirt a tug once or twice for a good romp. We are teaching him to SIT, which he seems to be understanding really easily. We'll try stay and come next. :) We met new friends on our walk last night with a gigantic Goldendoodle named Edgar, and the two boys made fast friends. Or frenemies, really, they went from romping and playing to growling and back to playing again. LOL! Edgar is a BIG boy but absolutely beautiful. We'll see if Rudy (Sullivan) can take him on in a year or two. Welcome home, Rudy Sullivan!

Rudy!

So, unfortunately for us, Sammy did not work out. :( He really needed a fenced in yard, which we do not have and was very skittish of other animals. I am sure he will find a great home.

BUT, we have finally found the right dog. He is exactly what we were after! This is Rudy, he is an 8 month old Goldendoodle. We pick him up on Sunday.

I love his little mutt face and that tongue! LOL! My biggest requirements for a dog were that he had to be long haired, fluffy, and LARGE. Mr. Rudy fits all of those things and the kids absolutely CAN NOT WAIT!