We Tried, but Sayonara

So, Daisy the dog is no longer a member of our family. =o( Sad, but so much better for us. Daisy was a really good dog. She was awesome with the kids and she and Roscoe got along great! Her biggest flaw was and still is one of my biggest pet peeves . . . BARKING. I know, I've said it before, dogs are supposed to bark. I hate it. There is nothing more annoying to me than a barking dog who won't shut up! She would bark if I tried to make her stay outside, and while she was barking, she would happily display her aerobic abilities. She would jump about 3 feet off of the ground and slam up against the door. Yeah, not so good. lol. She would also bark at night when it was bedtime and she would do the same jumping routine. She would listen for about 5 minutes or so before she was back at it again. The barking isn't the sole reason, nor is it the main reason we gave her back to her neglectful owner. Roscoe is such a sensitive dog. He stresses over disturbances in his regular routine. He started shedding hair to the point where it looked like we had shaved a small dog and left its hair lying on the floor. He was constantly panting. And then he started throwing up and then he stopped eating. =o/ Poor, ultra-sensitive Roscoe. He just couldn't deal with the stress of having this neurotic and noisy dog in the house. I called the woman and told her that regretfully, we wouldn't be able to keep her. I felt so bad having to send the dog back to them where she wasn't treated the best. So, the lady suggested that I help find her a home, and that's just what I did. A friend of mine was in love with her and knew all about her yappiness and didn't mind that, at all! So, off Daisy went to their house for a visit to see how she would do in their home. She was doing great, and they wanted to keep her for 24 hours, for sort of a testing period. Well in between the time we went to dinner and the time we got home, the dog had been snatched back by the awful owners. I had given my friend the lady's number to call and work things through with, and the lady was not happy. She said that she needed the dog back immediately because she had a home for her, and she was very angry with our name change. She said, "You just don't change a dog's name!! I named her Neasha! Her name is Neasha, not Daisy!!" WOW. Well excuse me. I didn't realize I needed to sign a legal contract stating that I wouldn't change the dog's name. After-all, people do it everyday. When you give a dog away, its no longer your say in what the dog is called because it no longer belongs to you! Right? So, long story short, the lady was very mean and rude to my friend and said some not so nice things. I guess that's the last time I try and be a good citizen. So, Daisy, Neasha, whatever you want to call her . . . she is no longer with us, and Roscoe is back to his old self again!

Do You Recognize This Kid?

I came home from picking up Austyn from school a little bit ago, and somehow, this kid made his way into my house! Do you recognize him? If you do, please let me know so I can contact his parents!HAHAHA! Just Kidding! Its just Austyn. =o) He got these in a goody bag at school today and he thought they were the silliest thing. Ryleigh laughs at him every time he puts them on.

We Welcomed Our Newest Family Member Last Night

Okay, so it was kind of sudden, but we have added to our family . . . AGAIN! No, I'm not pregnant, and no we aren't adopting a baby. But we did adopt a little girl last night. She's yellowish white and they called her Neasha, (pronounced Neesha) but we will be calling her Daisy. It seemed suitable since Roscoe is often referred to as Rosco P. Coltrane from the Dukes of Hazzard . So, she's Daisy Duke. =o) Her previous family had good intentions and a good heart, but that's all they were. Intentions and nothing more. They were neglectful at times and didn't have the time and didn't want to take the time to care for a dog. So, she came home with us, and I'm pretty sure she (Daisy) thinks she has died and gone to heaven.lol. She's petite and only weighs about 60 pounds. She's a baby compared to our monster Roscoe. She is 15 months old, she has her AKC papers and she isn't fixed. Not to worry, she won't be having any babies anytime in the near future. Roscoe is neutered. Thank goodness! She is so loving and very submissive. She loves attention and she seems very loyal and pretty smart too. We have already started calling her by Daisy only, and she is already responding. She loves Roscoe and I'd be lying if I didn't say the same for Roscoe. He doesn't know what to do with himself. He is actually taking a nap, for the first time since we brought her home. She is napping too. They get along great and I think they have found best friends in each other. Her only problem that she has is that she doesn't like to be alone. Roscoe slept in the laundry room with her last night. I didn't trust letting her roam the house like I would Roscoe. So when I tried to make her sleep alone, she protested with barking. I hate barking!! I know its what dogs do, but I hate it!lol . Roscoe only barks when someone is at the door, or when there is a pesky feline in the backyard. Daisy is already fitting in with the family. The kids love her and she adores them.Ryleigh was a little unsure at first, but let me just say that it has been less than 24 hours and she is already smothering the dog with lots of hugs and kisses! The previous owner did say that if she didn't work out for us that we could always take her back, but I have a pretty good feeling that she'll do just fine. I'll work with her on obedience and refine her manners a little. Here she is!

Staying hydrated.

The tip of her nose is pink because she has lost pigment in that spot from pushing around her bowls outside on the concrete.

Help me, PLEASE! lol

Roscoe insists on shoving his whole nose and face into her mouth. I guess he's checking for cavities.

She's mostly white, with yellow ears and some yellow on her back and face.

He just doesn't know what to do with himself!

Doesn't he look exhausted?

What Are The Odds?

Thursday was Ryleigh's 2nd birthday, and we celebrated with an ice cream cake! It was a yellow cake with cake batter flavored ice cream. I made it myself. Just Kidding!! We ordered it from Coldstone Creamery!Last night was Halloween, and we did what the typical American Family does. We dressed up. We all dressed up this year. Mark and I went as Barney and Betty Rubble. It kind of fits, Rummel, Rubble. lol. Taylor and Austyn were the Super Mario Brothers. Taylor was Luigi, because he of course is the taller of the two while Austyn was Mario since he is the shorter one. Ryleigh went as Princess Peach Toadstool from the Super Mario Bros. game. I totally thought that all of our costumes were unique and didn't think that anyone else would go as those characters.
Boy, I was wrong!
While we were out trick-or-treating, we spotted our best friends, Fred and Wilma across the street. The craziest part of all is that following close behind them was a grown-up version of Mario and Luigi!! Who would have ever imagined? I mean of all the years I have been dressing the kids up (7 to be exact), we have never seen such unique costumes, not to mention that they are total 'throwback' to the good old days. We saw the opportunity for a photo op, and we took it! I'm not one to pass up a good photo!
Mark and I, and this couple whom we have no idea who they are!Again, complete strangers with Taylor and Austyn!Hailey, Taylor, Austyn and James getting ready for some trick or treating!Taylor and Austyn!Taylor and Austyn as Mario and LuigiI love this picture because Austyn looks like he's trying to be 'extra' Italian with his hand out, saying, "Itsa Mea. . . Marrrrio!" LOL
Ryleigh as Princess Peach Toadstool.Taylor as LuigiAustyn as Mario. He kept fidgeting with his mustache!Mark's Pumpkin, it lost its brainsSo gross looking. lolMy nice, silly pumpkin!Ryleigh's cat pumpkinAustyn's 'mad face' pumpkin

Hope you guys enjoyed all of the pictures!

2 Bad Weeks turned into 2 Wonderful Years!

2 years ago, Mark and I experienced possibly the worst two weeks in our lives, to present day. It was October 26, 2006 and I was on my way to a check-up. Everything was going as planned and nothing was out of the ordinary. My check-up was the same as usual with the exception of taking a trip upstairs for monitoring and a dose of steroids. After being there for about 2 hours my day turned sour. I found out that I would not be going home that day, or any time soon for that matter. Mark was gone on a det on the ship, Austyn was at Laura's house and Taylor was at school. I frantically started calling people, and had to send a Red Cross Message to Mark. By the time I started making phone calls, I had already been on a heavy dosage of magnesium to stop labor. Anyone who's ever been put on it knows that it's no walk in the park. The drug is awful in every sense of the word. Laura said I sounded like I was drunk. I felt like I was drunk. I was nauseated, but I still had most of my muscle functions. The Red Cross person kept repeating his questions because he obviously had a hard time understanding me. I had a friend get Taylor from school, and before long, I was on an ambulance headed for Fresno. That is the first time I have ever been in an ambulance, and if you have never been in one, let me be the one to tell you that it really isn't all that exciting! lol. The ride was unbearable. You feel every pebble on the road, and when you are already in pain, it doesn't make it any better. The stretcher is not comfortable either. Lay on a piece of plywood for 1 hour, feel every bump in the road and feel every little twitch of the wheel and tell me how you feel! haha. Anyway, we finally made it to the hospital where I would be spending the next week. I was angry, upset and scared to death that I was there. None of my other pregnancies were to this extreme. My blood pressure was elevated, (I'm sure from the stress of the situation). My heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of my chest and I felt sick. Before the end of the day, I had lost all muscle control. I couldn't even open the wrapper on a straw. That's how weak I was. I had visitors, but didn't realize it. I vomited a million times. I couldn't sit up, and I couldn't get up to use the bathroom. I pretty much slept the whole time, and every time a nurse would come in I would ask when I would get to go home and when they would take me off of the magnesium. I was on that dreadful drug for 2 1/2 days. I wasn't allowed to have more than an ounce of drink at a time, and I couldn't exceed a certain amount. They were angry because I wasn't eating. I was angry because the food was disgusting and even if I did eat, it would come right back up moments later. I was angry that they wouldn't let me drink anything. When they finally decided to take me off of the magnesium, I went into labor less than 12 hours later. I had to make a frantic call at 4am to Mark. He rushed the boys to a friend's house and he made the trip to Fresno. He got there around 7AM and Ryleigh was born around 7:31AM. I was relieved that Mark was able to make it there in time. I wasn't scared when she was born. This wasn't the first time one of my babies was born early. I didn't get scared until I found out how much she weighed and saw her for the first time. She was a tiny little thing. She was 17 inches long and she weighed in at a whopping 4lbs 3 oz. Her face was starting to bruise when they showed her to me. I didn't get to hold her or even touch her. They showed me this tightly wrapped bundle with a pinkish purple face staring out at me and they said here's your baby. With that, they whisked her away. I spent the day recovering, and when I finally did go in to see her, I was not at all prepared. She was in the NICU. I've been in a NICU before, but not one like this. There were 8 rows of tiny babies in there. When Taylor was in the NICU, there were only 2 other babies there. Anyhow, I walked in and scrubbed my hands, and they showed us to her crib space. There she was, laying there. This itty bitty little girl. She was only wearing a diaper and oodles of wires connected here and there. She was in an incubator. I cried when I saw her. Her entire face was black and blue. She looked like someone had beat her up. I was never expecting that. The nurses told us how she was doing and asked if we had any questions. I just wanted to hold her. Her skin was so soft, and I could literally hold her in one hand. Mark and I would swap off visiting her because we didn't want to take the boys into the NICU. We didn't think it was appropriate or safe. On Halloween, I had my tubal ligation surgery. That recovery wasn't any fun at all, and let me just say that I would never wish a c-section upon any woman! My incision was only 1 inch long, so I can't imagine an incision from a c-section. Ryleigh did great and was making really good progress until about the 3rd day. She caught a stomach virus that was going around. Mark felt guilty because Taylor had it, and then he had it, so he thought she must have gotten it from him. I never blamed him. That was a very scary time because she was suddenly very very sick. They had even more tubes on her and had her on caffeine to keep her awake enough to not drift into sleep apnea. That was so scary. So, for 2 whole weeks, Mark and I took turns driving to Fresno to visit with our girl, until the day they said she would finally get to come home. I was so excited and nervous. I've never had a baby this small or fragile, much less of this gender. Since the day we brought her home, it has been wonderful and it has definitely been a blessing. We have learned so much from Ryleigh. She is so different from the boys in every way I can think of. She's extremely shy and introverted. She loves to play with all kinds of girly things, but she also likes to get down and rough house with the boys. She is such a great girl, and I feel so lucky to be her mom! Fast Forward to today and you don't see a premature baby in her, with the exception of her size. She is 32 inches tall (almost 3 feet!), she's about 25 pounds and she wears a size 2T! She's pretty normal these days. She sleeps all night, she feeds herself. Her biggest and most exciting milestone is that she is POTTY TRAINED! She is well ahead other babies her age. She started potty training soon after her first birthday. She doesn't talk much, but she gets her point across. She learns words that she wants to learn. For example, she learned how to say "Cupcakes" the very first time I said it to her. lol. She loves and adores animals of all shapes, sizes and species. She especially loves her dog dog and kitties! I often catch her hand feeding Roscoe his food rather than letting him eat it on his own. Or I find her sneaking him cookies from his treat jar. She's still very shy, but she has come a very long way. She's very deliberate about who she will say hi to or smile at. Yesterday we were at Wal-Mart and there was a little old lady in an electric shopping cart thing, and Ryleigh was so fascinated by her. She kept saying hi and waving to her with a great big smile. It put a smile on the lady's face, and that made my heart melt. She's such a lover. She gives hugs and kisses all the time, and if you are hurt she will give you a kiss and rub your back just to make sure you are okay. She loves music and she really enjoys dancing. Sometimes she will 'sing' along too. She still has her hemangioma, but it is doing good. It has lost a lot of color which is an excellent sign that her body is starting to absorb it. So, you see, those 2 short weeks of hell have turned into 2 of the most wonderful years of our lives. I hope you enjoy this slide show of Ryleigh's life thus far!