DIY Teacher Gifts

    It's almost Christmas!  Yaaaaaaaaay!!!  I had hoped to have this particular project done a few weeks ago, in case anyone wanted to do the same thing for this year, but who am I kidding.  The queen of procrastination doesn't do anything a few weeks before it needs to be done.  So what is this project I speak of?   Teacher gifts!  This is my first year to do teacher gifts, and wouldn't you know that between his two schools Ian has two teachers and three paraprofessionals (I'm guessing that's a fancy word for teacher's aide).  Of course, I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg, so I thought I'd make gifts.  I found this wonderful tutorial for flower pins on Pinterest:

http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2010/04/23/a-flower-pin-for-you-favorite-mom/

So cute!  I didn't want anything too "teacher-y," and I decided that this would be a nice gift for any lovely lady.  So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought all of my supplies, including the little boxes to wrap them in.  I spent approximately $10 for all of it.  Later I went to WalMart and bought Dove chocolate to put in each little box.  That cost around $8 for two bags.  Here's the final project:

    I chose five different colors and then let Ian decide who got what color.  I think they turned out great.  It was fairly easy, but time consuming.  Each flower took approximately an hour and a half.  Of course, that includes a number of distractions.  "I'm hungry."  "I need something to drink."  "Wesley's in the bathroom and he wants you."  "Put the cat down right now!"  "Ian just hit me."  "What's that gross stuff on the floor?"  This list could go on and on and on.  I had to stop every ten minutes.
    On the link I posted above you will find a link to the tutorial and also a link titled "a few notes on what I learned."  I recommend you read the one about what she learned as well.  It has some helpful tips.  And I'll add to that.....  Do not use too much glue!  Otherwise you'll have a terrible mess.  Those little glue strings will be everywhere and your flower will look like it has a spider living in it.  Not pretty.  Another helpful note.....  Don't freak out over cutting the petals.  When I first realized I had to free hand cut each and every petal, I almost hyperventilated!  I am very much a perfectionist and I had no idea how I was going to make each petal the exact same.  Good news....  You don't have to!  I spent minutes on each of the first few petals trying to make them all the exact same size.  Minutes is a long time when you have 40 petals times 5 flowers to cut out!  I soon realized it didn't matter.  Because you're cutting each petal from squares that are the same size, they'll all be the same size.  Who would have thought....  They may not be the exact same shape, but you can't tell.

    So to wrap this up.  I put a piece of tissue paper in each box and threw some candy in it.  I figured anyone who works with 4 year old's all day deserves a little bit of chocolate.

Then I put the flower on top.

Wrapped it up.  Closed the box. Voila!

Five teacher's gifts for around $18!  I'd say that's pretty thrifty!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Rachel

Sorta Kinda Answered Prayer

Remember this from my last post....


""Dear God, please give me something mildly debilitating.  Enough to keep me indoors on Saturday yet still have me well for church and running the kids to school.  I know it's my time for sickness and I will gladly accept it.  Amen."

God doesn't always answer our prayers with a yes.  At least he hasn't answered this one yet.  He'll probably do it sometime in the middle of next week."

Well guess what?  I've been sick every day this week.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Up until this morning it's been stomach issues.  (I tried to put that politely.)  This morning I woke up with a sore throat and throbbing ears.  Ugh.....  This is what I want to do today....

Curl up in my nice warm bed with Da Tote and Da Smidge.

Here's what I need to do today....

Take this out.

Put this in order.

Feed this umpteen times.

Take this to school later.

Tackle this.

Put this where it belongs.

Let this thing out 28 times today.  (You'll have to tilt your head to the right.  For some reason it's loading on its side.  Sorry.)

Save the cat from this kid 1,637 times.

Give yet another sermon on why this is NOT ok.

Wash, dry, and put away the ever growing pile of this.

Drag these two out of the tree 793 times.

But who am I kidding....

I'll probably do this most of the day.

I have a good excuse!

Sincerely Sick,
Rachel

My 5K Snow Day!

    If you had asked me one year ago if I would ever participate in a 5K I would have said, "BaaaaaHaHaHaHeeHeeOhHoHaaaHaHaHa...No. Never. Ain't gonna happen."  If you had asked me one year ago if I would ever participate in a 5K in the freezing cold and snow and ice, I would have completely ignored your stupid question. 

   Guess what I did today.

    It seemed like a good idea on a warm, sunny, breezy, summer day at the church picnic when a few friends convinced me to join in the "fun."  I thought, sure, why not.  I'm all for a fun day with the girls and I could use a little exercise in my life.  I left that day with the intention to start training for my big race.  You can guess how much training I did.  If you said none, you'd be correct.  My excuse....I had no running shoes.  I held on to that excuse until the night before the race, when I finally decided I had no choice but to buy running shoes.  I guess I could have backed out because I was unprepared, but when you make a promise at church, on holy ground, you can't just not follow through with it.  Too much Jesus peer pressure.  

    Approximately one week ago the forecast began showing snow and freezing temperatures for our "big day."  That's when I started to panic.  I'm from Louisiana.  When the temperature drops below freezing we close schools, call in sick for work, and bundle up on our couches and drink from water jugs that we filled the night before because our pipes are frozen.  We don't run 5K's.  I confessed to the girls at lunch today that I prayed for sickness the last two days.  It would have been totally appropriate.  In the last few weeks my boys have been sick twice and the hubs had a virus. 

"Dear God, please give me something mildly debilitating.  Enough to keep me indoors on Saturday yet still have me well for church and running the kids to school.  I know it's my time for sickness and I will gladly accept it.  Amen."

God doesn't always answer our prayers with a yes.  At least he hasn't answered this one yet.  He'll probably do it sometime in the middle of next week.

     So this morning I crawled out of bed, looked out the window, shed a tear, and got dressed.  I put on long johns, sweat pants, running pants, a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, a fleece jacket, a winter jacket, a pair of fleece gloves, a "buff", a fleece hat, and my red "Dashing Divas" ball cap and I was ready to take on the cold.  I was determined to show up.  I did not want to be the one who didn't come because it was too cold.  Upon arriving at our designated meeting place, so we could all ride to the race together, I was presented with the news that HALF of our team was not coming.  In that half.....my walking buddies.  The four ladies I was going with had intentions of running.  They had trained.  I had not. 

    I pressed on!  I made the best of it!  I stayed warm during the race!  And shockingly, I actually ran for a little bit at the beginning and at the end of the race!   Why is this shocking?  Because the goal I had set for myself (and I have it in writing to prove it) was to finish and remain breathing.  I had no intentions of pushing myself to the limit, but that's exactly what I did.  Cause I'm good like that.  And what's probably more shocking.....I really enjoyed it!  And even more shocking.....I can't wait to do it again! 

Thank you Cris, Merci, Elissa, & Rebecca for the encouragement!

Go Dashing Divas!

 

10 Reasons I Love Grooming Dogs

    I groomed a Pom today.  That would be a Pomeranian.  I wish I would've taken a picture to share with you all.  He came in a hot mess and left a total stud.  I looooooooved grooming him.  I had a big, goofy smile on my face the entire time.  I'm glad nobody saw me.  They may have thought I had a few screws loose.  Most people do NOT like handling dirty dogs.  Or blow drying their own dogs.  Or shaving their own dogs.  I, however, enjoy taking care of other people's dirty, shaggy dogs.  I love grooming dogs!  Why?  I'll tell you.

1.  I LOVE DOGS!  In case you hadn't figured that out yet.

2.  I love combining my two passions.  Dogs & Creativity

3.  I love instant gratification, and I consider grooming a dog from start to finish in an hour or two somewhat instant.

4.  I love watching hair disappear into my clipper vac.  It never gets old.

5.  I love the sound the scissors make.  Shink....Shink...Shink....  Music to my ears.

6.  I love blow drying dogs.  I have no idea why.

7.  I love the smell of dog shampoo and cologne.

8.  I love hearing owners squeal and "ooooo" and "ahhhh" over their freshly groomed family members.  It means they appreciate my work.

9.  I love that I can do it from my own home, thanks to my husband who dislikes dogs but loves me more. 

10.  I love holding a happy, clean dog up to my cheek and giving it a hug.  Then again, doesn't everyone have the desire to rub their face on other people's dogs?

    There were people who questioned my choice to become a dog groomer.  I had planned on going to college on a scholarship.  It seemed like the logical thing to do after high school, although my heart was never truly in it.  About six weeks before I was supposed to start school, I came across a memo saying the corporation I worked for was looking for people interested in learning to groom.  They would be holding a four week class in the next couple of months.  Grooming was something I had thought about doing for years but had no idea how to get started in it.  Here was my chance.  I discussed it with Brian and decided to put off college for one semester.  The rest is history.  I did take one college class in the Summer of 2009, but that just solidified my choice to be a dog groomer.  I guess it's pointless to try and do something other than what you were born to do, and for me that's grooming dogs!


Sincerely,
The Groomer

He Gets It

    This post is neither witty nor thrifty, but I wanted to share.

    A few nights ago I decided to start decorating for Christmas.  I've never decorated this early, but because we are in a new house this year I couldn't wait to see it all "holidayified."  Ian was super excited.  Like any other normal kid, he loves Christmas!  He helped me put away my Fall decor and then we started pulling out the Christmas stuff.  We both agreed to do the nativity scene first.  I pulled each figure out of its box and handed it to Ian.  He would grab each one and ask who it was.  I'd tell him who they were and what role they served in the nativity story.  When I handed him baby Jesus he stopped and didn't say a word.  He just stared at him.  After a few moments of silence I asked Ian if he knew who that was.  He replied, "Yes.  It's Jesus when he was a baby."  I smiled and told him that was correct.  He kept holding him.  Looking at him sweetly.  Then he said, "I love Jesus," and placed him gently in the manger.  Tears came to my eyes.  To hear your child say he loves Jesus is a moment you always hope for.  A moment you will never forget.  I hope that love continues to grow and that one day he'll accept Jesus as his Savior.  It's a choice that he will have to make for himself, but I'm thankful that a seed has been planted, and it's starting to grow. 

    I spent the next few minutes reminding him why we celebrate Christmas.  He listened carefully.  I could tell just from looking at his face, his precious eyes, that he gets it.  Do you?

Giveaway?

    I'm seriously contemplating the idea of doing a giveaway on my blog.  I've entered many giveaways on other blogs, but I've never won.  Since I can't experience the joy of winning for myself, I thought maybe I would enjoy the experience of being the giver!
    So here's the deal.....  I have a magic number in my head.  If that many people leave a comment on this post, then I will do a giveaway.  Anyone would be eligible for the prize.  The winner would be randomly chosen.  It's not gonna be some big expensive prize, the bloggers who give those have sponsors, but I'll make sure it's something anyone could use.  I'll decide on the prize later and let you know in another post.  So leave your comment, and feel free to share this with anyone. 

Sincerely,
Rachel

P.S.  The more feedback I get the more generous I'm inclined to be!

****I would like at least 25 people to comment before I decide to do a giveaway.  Feel free to share this post with anyone who you think may be interested.  It's a FREE giveaway!  My holiday gift to one lucky reader.****

The Right Way to Eat a Candy Bar

    Today I am going to share with you the correct way to eat a candy bar.  And yes.  There is a correct way.  All the other ways are just plain weird. 

Step 1:  Go to the egg compartment thingy in your refrigerator door.

Step 2:  Remove the eggs and select one of the candy bars you have hidden behind them.

(Yeah, uh huh.  I bet you thought I was crazy when you heard the egg part.  This is a perfect place to hide candy bars.  Especially if you like them refrigerator cold like I do.  No one will ever find them.  My husband doesn't even know these are back there.)

(Well........he didn't until now.)

Step 3:  Unwrap this precious, life giving, sanity sustaining morsel and thank God for giving it to you. 

(By the way, 3 Musketeers are the perfect candy bar for refrigeration.  No hard caramel or nuts to deal with.)

(Kit Kat's work well, too.)

Step 4:  Eat the chocolate off of the ends.

Step 5:  Now the sides.

Step 6:  Now the top.

 (I realized when I looked at this picture that I probably could have pulled the chocolate off with my fingers instead of using my teeth.  Then maybe you wouldn't have to see the drool I left behind.  But it was sooooooo good.)


Step 7:  Then the bottom.

Step 8:  Lastly, pop the soft little nougat in your mouth and let it melt!

And THAT my friends is how you eat a candy bar!

Good day!


P.S.   I absolutely LOVE that little zig zag pattern on the bottom of candy bars.

If it came in wallpaper I'd line my closet with it. 


  

"A Bathroom Tale (Sigh....)" Revisited

    A few days ago I visited our local Marshall's.  For some reason I was thinking I had never been in there since we'd moved here.  I love their housewares department and I was in no hurry to get home, so in I went with "The Bug".  As is customary any time we walk into a store or restaurant, Wesley started yelling that he needed to go tee-tee.  Why he feels the need to yell at the top of his lungs I will never know.  I slapped my hand over his mouth and whisked him away to the back of the store.  Upon entering the bathroom I immediately remembered I had been in this store before!  How could I forget?  I had a story unfold in this bathroom that would remain  forever in my memory.  When it happened I shared the story on Facebook (pre blog days), so some of you have already heard it, but for those of you who haven't I felt it was worth sharing again. 

"  A funny thing happened to me today.  I mean, it's funny now.  I giggled on the way home thinking about how crazy, embarassing and ridiculous it was.  It was necessary though.  My motherly instinct took over as I had no choice but to do what was necessary to save my child.  Okay, well that's a little overdramatic, but I did push myself to do something I would have never done 5 years ago.  The years before children.  Anyways, here's what happened.....
      As the boys and I walked into Marshall's this afternoon, Ian announced to the store that he needed to go to the bathroom.  To which Wesley loudly replied, "Ian poo-poo?"  (Sigh...)  I looked at the floor to avoid all the people looking for the children with no manners, and I booked it to the back of the store.  When we got in the restroom I made the split second decision that it was time for Ian to start going in the stall by himself.  He's a big boy now.  He knows what to do.  And those stalls are cramped when you put a momma and two little boys inside.  So in he went without hesitation.  "That was easy," I thought.  I stood holding the door shut.  I prefered he not try to latch and unlatch the door, for fear he might not get it open.  He did his business, pulled his pants up, and flushed.  "That was easy," I thought.  As he went to open the door his curious, mischevious little mind decided to turn the door's latch.  (Sigh...)  "Ian, unlock the door." I commanded.  Click, click, click.....  "It's stuck!" he said.  "No, it's not.  Just turn it all the way."  Click, click......  "Mommy, it's really stuck!"  He was panicing now.  He doesn't do well in these situations.  I tried to talk him through it.  He started crying.  A woman walked out of the next stall.  She smiled and said, "That's happened with my children before.  Here, I'll just crawl under the stall and get him out."  She began to get down on her knees.  "No, no!  I can do that.  I was just trying to avoid it, but I guess I don't have a choice."  (Sigh.....)  So down I went.  Of course the stall was only about a foot maybe a foot and a half off the floor, so I couldn't crawl under......I had to slide under......on my stomach.......with my face way too close to the floor.  I do, however, recall that the floor smelled very nice.  Was it fresh smelling from blue potty water that had recently over flowed....maybe.  But I'm going to go with the possiblity that they had just cleaned the floor with a powerful, pleasant smelling cleaner right before Ian went in.  Yeah, I'm gonna go with that.  So, I'm over half way under the door when I realize that in order to get up, I'm going to have to flip over.  Yay.  First my entire front side had to slide across the floor, now my back side will have to as well.  (Sigh.....)  Finally I started to stand, only to realize that Wesley had easily crawled under behind me.  I am an idiot.  Why didn't I just get Ian to crawl under?  Then I wouldn't smell like a public restroom floor.  I reasoned that if I hadn't done it, then the poor employee on the bottom of the totem pole would be forced to do it, and it wasn't even her fault.  Of course, she gets paid to keep that place running, not me.  (Sigh...)  I jiggled the handle.  Sure enough it was stuck.  "Dear God," I prayed, "I do not want to slide across that nasty floor again.  Please.  Please!  Open this door for us."  And what do you know.....it opened.  "Thank you Jesus!"  On the other side of the door was our stall neighbor.  She smiled and cheerfully said, with her fists triumphantly raised in the air, "You made it!"  I guess she hung around in case she needed to come under and rescue all of us.  That would have been cramped.  And awkward.  So, freed from the stall we all ran to the sink and washed our hands for ten minutes.  If there would have been a shower I would have used it. 
     So I learned my lesson.  Ian is not ready to use the stall by himself.  And I will never think "that was easy" ever again, until the deed is completely done.  Also, I want to thank the person from Marshall's who had gone in just before us and thoroughly cleaned the floor.  That is why it smelled so nice.......right?   "

Ahhhhh.......precious memories!

Rachel

Candy & Chaos

    Halloween has come and gone.  I got to celebrate with Darth Vader and Spiderman.

    Once again I had set myself up for disappointment.  Okay that's a bit harsh.  Let's just say.....my boys kept it real.  They fought over who was gonna ring the doorbell.  By fought I mean knock down drag outs in the doorway of several homes.  Thankfully I was able to pull them apart just before the homeowner opened the door.  We would all smile and say "trick or treat" as if nothing had just happened.  The lovely homeowner would gush over how adorable my Darth Vader and Spiderman were.  They would give each of the boys a few pieces of candy, and then.......(sigh)......Wesley would dive in and try to grab a fist full of candy and shove it into his bucket before I could stop him.  The young homeowners laughed and gave him more, commenting on how cute he was or how Spiderman must love candy.  The older homeowners gasped and looked at me like I was a terrible parent who must not teach her children to have manners.  I wanted to scream, "He's TWO!  Give me a break!  You have no idea what this kid is capable of, and I have to deal with it on a daily basis!"  Instead I forced a smile and secretly wished Wesley would sneak one more handful from the crabby old goats.
    We were nearing the end of our one hour trek and things were steadily going downhill.  Darth Vader was having wardrobe malfunctions.  We kept accidentally stepping on his cape and pulling it off.  He decided he didn't want it anymore only to change his mind seconds before the homeowners opened the door which caused me to make a mad dash to solve this "crisis"  he felt he was enduring.  Then he didn't want his mask.  Then he did.  Then he was having cramps in his feet.  Then he was tired and he wanted to go home.  Then he wanted to stop at one more house, where he burst into tears the moment the man opened the door.  The poor homeowner who was dressed as himself said, "I'm sorry.  I didn't think I was that scary."  Oh Ian....  Meanwhile Spiderman was  constantly trying to sneak candy out of his bucket between houses.  I had to keep wrestling it away from him.  He was screeching and screaming, "No, it my canny!  I eat it!"  What a sight we were.  A sobbing half dressed leader of the dark side, and an insect mutant super hero wrestling candy from a pedestrian.  Ahhh...my life.
    Something told us we'd be coming home early, so we made sure we were prepared.  We'd bought two large bags of candy (the good kind) to pass out once we got home.  I think we had maybe five trick or treaters total.  We gave each one handfuls of the stuff, but we were still left with half of it.  Between the leftovers from what we'd bought and the boys take home loot, we are left with two ginormous bowls of sugary goodness.

 My hips are growing just while looking at this picture.  How will I ever be able to fight the urge to grab a piece (or two) (or three) when passing by?  Jesus, give me strength!  And the desire to start exercising! 

May the force be with you,
Darth Vader's Mom

Cookie House Fail

    So a few nights ago we decided to make haunted houses with the boys.  We'd come across this little kit at the grocery store. 

Doesn't it look like fun!  I couldn't wait to sit down with the boys and see what masterpieces we could create.  I pictured us sitting around the table laughing and letting our creative juices flow.  Brian and I would sit back in awe of the little Picasso's that God had given us.  The kids would be so thankful for the fun night with mom and dad. This was definitely something easy enough for the kids to help with.  How hard could it be to squirt icing out of a bag and push candy pieces into a blob of icing?  I knew it would be messy, but it's worth it when you have adorable little cookie houses at the end.  I had envisioned taking pictures of our creations and posting a blog to brag about how artistic and smart my kids are. I was so excited!  I am so stupid.
    Those suckers were hard!  The icing was super messy, runny, and didn't taste very good.  The boys were bored almost immediately.  Wesley kept begging to eat it.  Ian just pointed and told his daddy where to put what.  (He's not a fan of getting his hands dirty.)  We decided to call it quits after about half an hour.  Here's the results.  Ian's cookie house....

His is the flattened one.  It collapsed almost immediately. He started to cry, but then he realized he could go ahead and eat it, and he didn't have to continue with the messy icing.  He was cool with that.  Here's Wesley's.....

I told you he kept begging to eat it!  Here's mine....

Pathetic?  I know.  It was crying over it's own appearance.  There's even a little snot dribbling from its nose.  I feel for you ugly cookie house.  Moving on to Mr. Fancy Pants' house.......

Cute, huh?  What you can't see is that it took him like, hmmm....I don't know.....FOREVER!  He had big plans for this thing but was worn out and called it quits after the roof.
    So, would you like to see the beautiful picture I had planned for all of our creations.  The one that was gonna make everyone envious of my wonderfully talented family.  Drum roll please! 

Yeah......who am I kidding?  My kids aren't artsy fartsy.  They have little to no attention span and they're DESTRUCTIVE!  So I guess this picture is a lot more accurate than anything I had dreamed up.  Made a memory though, and that's what counts!

Happy Halloween Everyone!
Rachel

P.S.  Missy, could you resuscitate our mother?


   

Susie's Got Nothing On This Homemaker

A couple of days ago I decided to make cookies.  Not just any cookies, but fancy shmancy sugar cookies.  I went all Martha Stewart on those babies.  Check these out....

I meticulously hand crafted each little pumpkin with tender love and care.  Okay not really.  I used a little machine that squirted them out in a pumpkin shape.  I did, however, make the cookies and the icing from scratch.  I know!  I can't believe it either!  And guess what.  They were really good!  Cute little punkins!

I also painstakingly iced each and every one.  No joke.  It took FOR-EV-ER!  I must apologize to the last plate of cookies.

As usual, my enthusiasm ran out.  I even broke one while slapping the icing on.  Sorry last plate of cookies!  You were just as yummy as the cute ones!  Which is why I've already eaten every last one of you.

Sincerely Yours,
A 5lbs Heavier Rachel

I Love You, Craig, and Your Wonderful List!

    Since moving to Loveland, I have become a craigslist fanatic!  It's right up there on my list with garage sales and thrift stores and clearance aisles.  I check it almost daily to see if there's anything posted that I can't live without.  I'm sure my husband wishes I wouldn't, but I wish he wouldn't watch the bank account like a hawk, so we're even.  I decided to list all of my craigslist purchases over the last 8 months.  I took a picture of everything except the treadmill.  I didn't feel like walking down one flight of stairs into the basement.  Lazy.  I know.  But who really wants to see a picture of a treadmill anyways.  So, let's begin!  First was the guest bedroom furniture...

 We really wanted log furniture for our guest room, but thought it would be way too expensive.  Then I found this!  A queen bed, two night stands, and a small desk (not pictured).  They were asking $400 and I grabbed it!  I like it so much that it might end up in my room, eventually.  Next was the fish tank....

Ian won a fish at the fair this year.  He actually won a gold fish, but some random guy came up and gave us four more winners tickets, which was enough to upgrade to exactly what he wanted.  A beta!  Instead of spending $30 on a brand new setup.  This lady gave me the tank with an air pump, a brand new bottle of food, chlorine drops, a net, and the decorative rocks for $5!  Woo Hoo!  After that came the TV cabinet....

I was perusing through the garage sale section one Friday night.  One post had pictures, and I spotted this.  It's the exact same style of furniture we have in our living room.  I wanted it for the TV in the living room, but it was a few inches too small.  I bought it anyway, not knowing what I would do with it, but for $20 I couldn't let it go.  My neighbor, Marja, and I went that night after 10pm and squeezed it into the back of Brian's ride.  There was about 1 centimeter to spare on all four sides.  I took that as a sign that it was meant to be!  It now resides in the boys room, because I forgot until I got home that it matches their furniture, too.  Now, the ice cream maker....

Brian and I decided one night, after spending $7 a pop at DQ, that we should make our own ice cream.  The $50 machines weren't so appealing though.  Then I found this beauty!  It's an older model, but it works like a charm.  Truth is, it'll probably run forever since the older stuff is usually made better.  It makes enough ice cream to last us almost two weeks, and I paid $5 for it.  Oh yeah!  Moving on to the next piece of furniture....

I had a bare spot between the kitchen and dining room, and I really wanted a piece of furniture there for extra storage.  I didn't want anything too big to have to walk around, though.  One Sunday morning I spotted this.  It's the perfect size!  The lady had recently bought it from Pier 1 and then decided she wanted the black one.  It retailed for $239.99.  I bought it for $75!  I was so happy!  Last, but certainly not least, we found the newest member of our family on craigslist.  Meet Smidget....

Isn't him so chute!  Wook at his tiny wittle wegs!  I've been wanting a male Munchkin kitten for a while, but they come with a hefty price tag.  I almost decided to just get a free kitten when Brian reminded me to be patient and wait until I could find what I wanted.  The very next day I found Smidget (named so because he's a siamese midget)!  Someone had recently bought him from a breeder, and then almost immediately realized a kitten was too much to handle with two very small kids.  Her loss was our gain!  She slapped a clearance price on him and posted the ad.  Luckily I was the first person to inquire, and a few hours later he was mine.  She even threw in the barely used box of litter, a huge bag of kitten food, and a few cat toys.  We love da Smidge!
     So if you've never used craigslist before, you should really take a look at it.  There are so many more things I would have loved to purchase, but Scrooge has a hard time letting go of his moolah!  Well, he has a harder time than I do.  Probably for the best though.  I love you, Scrooge! 

Rachel
Honorary Member of the Craigslist Fan Club Since March of 2011

Topper, Tote, & Snuffles

    I just finished a lovely nap with my three amigos.....

Topper Proper (Copper),

Tote Tote (Rotor),

& Snuffle Gus (Toegus).

Topper flipped over on his back and shared my pillow with me.  He blew his dragon breath directly into my face the entire time.  Tote leaned over on my legs and slid down until he hit the mattress.  He wants to be as close to me as possible.  Snuffles found a nice little dip in my side that he could snuggle into.  Brian says  every morning when he wakes up the cat is on top of me. We didn't move for over an hour.  Then the door bell rang.  The four of us rose out of bed and went in four different directions.  I rushed to the door just in time to see the UPS man driving off.  Darn UPS guy.  He woke us up with the doorbell and had no intentions of even coming in for a visit.  Bah!  Back to my brothers from other mothers.
    I love these guys, and they adore me.  Though, I'm not sure why.  I sometimes forget their breakfast until noon.  I yell at them everyday to get out of my way.  I've stepped on them more than once when they're under my feet.  And sometimes it takes me about an hour to notice them sitting by the back door with their legs crossed.  Despite all of this, they can't seem to get enough of me.  And I can't get enough of them. 

Sincerely,
The Crazy Dog & Cat Lady