A horrible turn of events

Things are not looking good for my sweet Puppy dog. After having x-rays taken of her tumor on Friday afternoon, we learned that it is growing inside of her nasal passage - not above it. Surgery is no longer an option. So we brought her home and gave her lots of love and attention. What else could we do?

Over the past two days, the bleeding has gotten much worse. It is now dripping from her nose at a steady rate. We all know what has to be done, but we avoid talking about it. I have decided that for the next few days we are going to PARTY with Puppy. We are going to go for walks, eat lots of junk food, and spend countless hours lounging on the couch. I am going to make these last few days the best that I can for her. She has been such a great dog. She deserves to be pampered and loved and cherished.

Thank you internet!

I have been blessed with a group of fabulous readers. Seriously, you guys are AWESOME. Not only do you support me on a daily basis, but you also send my little guy presents on his birthday. I am amazed by your generosity. Thank you.

Rachel sent a fridge farm toy. My kids have been fighting over this toy for days...

Eva sent this adorable bib. Izzy looks like a little cowboy when he wears it...

Heather sent a Tonka truck for my little man. He has been carrying it all around the house...

Once again, thank you. I love you guys.

Cancer is a bitch

I took this picture of my dog, Puppy, last month...
She was an average dog, lounging around the house, stealing the kids' food, and sleeping for 15 hours per day. Two weeks ago, John noticed that Puppy had a lump growing between her eyes. He immediately scheduled an appointment with the vet. I was largely unconcerned, because Puppy has numerous fatty tumors on her abdomen. I thought this would turn out to be a fatty tumor too.

Unfortunately, the vet thinks Puppy has cancer - a very fast growing type of cancer. And although the test on the tumor came back inconclusive, it appears that he might be right. Here is a picture of Puppy's Tumor as of this morning...Everyday, the tumor grows larger and larger. And now it is impeding her breathing. She snorts and sneezes all day. She also has a bloody, mucousy discharge coming from her nose. The vet wants us to euthanize her, but other than the snorting and sneezing, she seems perfectly healthy. So although our friends and family (and veterinarian) think we are wasting our money, we are going to have the tumor removed. Puppy is 13 years old, but I think she still has a few good years left. There is no way in hell I am going to steal those years away from her.

Tales from Craig's List

I have been trying to sell some of our old crap on Craig's List. Although most of my items have been listed for over a month, only one item sold quickly - a clothing rack from a department store. This was the item I thought was least likely to sell, so I was a little surprised when several people contacted me about purchasing the clothing rack.

Most of the items I listed were baby related, and no-one seemed interested. I had basically given up on selling our junk. But then I suddenly received an email about our used stroller/carseat travel system (which I had listed for dirt cheap). The woman was eager to pick up the travel system that night.

She was supposed to arrive at 5:30 pm. I was annoyed when she showed up 20 mintues late, because she was interrupting our dinner time. When I opened the front door, I was surprised to see an older woman staring back at me. For some reason, I was expecting a pregnant woman to be on the other side of the door.

I invited the woman inside to look at our stroller and carseat. She was very impressed with the travel system, and eagerly handed me the money. While lugging the stroller out the door, she explained that she had a 1 month-old foster child waiting in her minivan. My heart crumbled. I felt bad even accepting money from this dear woman. She was offering her heart and home to a baby in need, and I was pissed off because she came during dinner time.

I am a petty, selfish person. I hope that someday I can be as selfless as this woman.

This is the last birthday post - I promise!

This past week was crazy. I spent several days frantically cleaning, several days visiting with my cousin, and I ended the weekend with Izzy's birthday party. I am exhausted. The kids are exhausted. And to compound the exhaustion problem, I think the kids are getting sick. Izzy has had a fever for two days and has been waking up 4 million times per night.

I wanted to share some fun pictures of Izzy eating his birthday cake, but I just realized that we didn't take any. Oops! Oh well, here a few cute photos from the party...

Izzy enjoying his present from mommy and daddy.

Porgie trying to take off her birthday hat.

A few of our party guests watching some Baby Einstein. Don't ask.
Izzy during a game of Elefun.

I think we are going to stick close to home this week. We need some time to relax and get back into our routine - especially Izzy. He has been out of sorts for the past few days. Poor little guy.

I am woefully behind in the bloggy world. I am trying to get around to everyone's site, so hopefully I'll be reading about you and your family this afternoon:)

I've been busy people!

There are lots of reasons why I haven't been blogging much lately, but I think this picture pretty much sums it up...I made and decorated this AMAZING Elmo cake all by myself. Yes, I am the new Martha Stewart.

Where did all the time go?

A certain little boy turned one-year-old today. And that little boy would be my Izzy Whizzy Woo. Wow! A year already! I am shocked and amazed by how quickly his first year passed. In case you are wondering, he is an absolutely perfect little guy.

He babbles. He walks. He feeds himself finger foods. He steals toys from his sister. He nurses like a champ. And he is always ready to go go go!

His favorite fruit is strawberry. His favorite vegetable is peas. His favorite story is Where is Baby's Mommy. His favorite game is "So Big!" And his favorite person in the world is Porgie.

He hates sleeping. He hates wearing socks. He hates having his face washed. He hates sharing. And he hates being told "NO!"

He is little, but he is getting big. He is chubby, but he is thinning out. He is good, but he is learning to be bad. My baby boy is one.


See? He is absolutely perfect.

Dumbass strikes again!

Do you like Indian food? Over here in Cakerwakerville, we love Indian food. I have been craving Indian food lately, so we eat it 3 or 4 times per week. When my husband got home from work tonight, I happily suggested Indian food for dinner. Being the nice guy that he is, John agreed to cook Channa Masala again.

Unfortunately, the evening turned out to be more hectic than we had originally intended. After arriving home late, John had to take out the garbage, help a neighbor move some furniture, get in the shower, and cook my beloved Indian food. To save time, John decided to let me cook the Nan while he was taking a shower. My only job was to flip the bread...
Guess who forgot to flip the Nan?
I seem to be completely unable to cook. Even flipping a piece of bread is too damn hard. I am pathetic.

Can't write. Must clean.

Remember that whole going back to Kentucky situation? My cousin's husband felt like such a JERK, that he bought her a plane ticket to come visit us for Izzy's birthday! I am super excited about spending the weekend with her. I already have the entire trip planned out. AND John's dad agreed to let us stay at his house for Christmas. Honestly, I think staying with John's dad is going to be even better than staying with my cousin. So, I am happy this week. Very happy!

Unfortunately, I have lots and lots and lots of cleaning to accomplish between now and Friday. If you know me, you know that I do not like to clean. When I was laying in bed last night, I made a schedule in my head of things I need to clean. Of course instead of cleaning, I am sitting here blogging. Why am I such a lazy asshole?

Enough laziness, I am off to clean! Here are a few pictures of my lovely offspring to tide you over until I am done scrubbing my home...

My bestest goodest girl

Time is kicking my ass. My baby girl is nearly 2 1/2. She can talk and run and jump and sing. She knows nearly every letter in the alphabet. She can count to 10. She knows all of her colors. She picks out her own clothes. She doesn't like to sit on my lap when I read books. She has her own opinions and ideas about our world.

But it's not just the things she knows that impresses me. Her body is long and lanky. Her skin isn't baby soft anymore. Her feet smell stinky after a hard day of playing. Her hair is becoming long and unmanageable. She is turning into a big kid.

Although we have days where she is cranky and mean and bossy, the good days far outnumber the bad. She is such a wonderful little girl. I am so lucky to have her in my life.


And don't even get me started on my little boy who can WALK across the room before falling down. I am getting all weepy over here. Sniff sniff.

These teeth were made for chomping

Izzy has been busy gnawing on everything in our house. He is such a destructive little boy. Here is some photographic evidence...

Izzy really enjoys ruining books.

He likes to eat crayons- YUMMY!

He loves chewing on his crib rail.

He is also very fond of the taste of leather.

Izzy is going to chew us out of house and home before he reaches the tender age of one...

Loose ends

In the last few days, I have received numerous questions that I completely failed to answer. So today I am going to tie up loose ends...

1. I bought the adorable house shoes featured in this post at a Carter's Store for 25% off. Considering how cute the shoes are, this was a great deal.

2. Several people asked me what the woman in this post purchased at Target. I have no idea. She had two carts loaded with crap. The only thing I seen that looked expensive was an area rug - no electronics or other big ticket items.

3. In this post, someone asked why we can't stay with my cousin in Kentucky. To make a long story short, her husband has expressed doubts about hosting my family. So although my cousin is still eager for us to stay at her house, I cannot impose on her jackass husband. I am not bitter or anything.

In other news, Porgie's hair is finally long enough for me to do this...
And all is right with the world:)

Disappointment

As most of you know, we were planning on going back to Kentucky for Christmas. We had made plans to stay with my cousin and her family. Until yesterday, I was under the impression that all of our plans were set. But today, I sit here trying to figure out another relative we can stay with. It is depressing, because we don't have many options.

Although I hate to admit it, I don't think we are going to be traveling home this year. It breaks my heart, because my family hasn't seen baby Izzy yet. And in a few more months, he won't be a baby anymore.

More than anything, I hate the idea of telling my mom and grandma that we won't be coming home. I expect tears - lots of tears. I am not a very emotional person, so tears make me very uncomfortable. Especially when I am the one causing the heartache.

Although everyone will be upset about our canceled trip, it is probably for the best. Ten hours is a loooooooong time to be trapped in a car with two babies. We will save money on gas and gifts. We will be able to savor the holidays with our own little family, in our own comfy house. But despite the perks of staying home, I am still sad.

I want to be a fiscally responsible mama

I am a worrier. I worry a lot. I worry about little things. I worry about big things. I worry about other people's problems. I worry and worry and worry. So, it is no surprise that the economic downturn has me worried.

I worry that my husband will lose his job. I worry that we won't be able to pay our bills. I worry that my children will grow up in poverty. And really, I have no reason to worry excessively about these issues. My husband's job is pretty secure. All of our bills get paid every month. And my kids have everything they need to be healthy and happy.

But I still worry. We have a high mortgage payment, several credit cards, and tons of medical bills. Although we are able to make our minimum payments each month, it feels like we will never get ahead - we will never have money to save.

I really want to learn how to manage our money better. We eat out several times per week. We purchase things impulsively at the grocery store. We shop at Target WAY TOO MUCH. Although I have tried to curb these frivolous expenses, we seem to always fall back into the same ruts.

Any words of wisdom? How do you save money?

***This post was inspired by the woman in front of me at Target last night. She spent $952.38! As she signed her name to the credit card slip, she began crying. Disturbing and depressing.

I have no balls

I haven't mentioned it in a while, but Izzy is still seeing his GI doctor on a regular basis. I largely think that she is an ineffective doctor, but I take him to the check-ups anyways. Without fail, I am always disappointed when I leave her office. To illustrate this point, I am going to highlight details from our last visit.

Our appointment was scheduled for 2:45pm on Thursday. This was an awful time, because it was in the middle of Izzy's afternoon nap. He had only been asleep for a mere 30 minutes before we had to leave for our appointment. We arrived on time, but had to wait 30 minutes before being called back. I was angry. Why did I have to ruin our routine to accommodate her schedule?

When we were finally called back, the doctor asked me which formula I was feeding Izzy. I informed her that I was still breastfeeding. She looked at me like I had 3 heads, and asked me when I planned on weaning. I informed her that I had no intentions of weaning anytime soon. But she kept pressing for a weaning date. Finally, feeling frustrated, I told her I was going to nurse until his second birthday. She basically told me that breastfeeding wasn't beneficial after the 1st year. Why does she care if I continue to breastfeed my baby? I understand that it makes her job harder, but shouldn't she be encouraging my efforts?

Apparently, I also need to feed him whole milk instead of soy milk, he needs to eat more green vegetables, and he should be sleeping through the night. AHHHHH! This woman drives me INSANE.

At the end of the appointment, I told her that I didn't think Izzy was benefiting from these visits. However, she insisted that he come back in 3 months. And because I am a wussy, I made another appointment. What is wrong with me?

No thinking required

Are you sick of politics yet? No? Well I am sorry internet, but I am moving on to more mindless topics.

My Izzy Whizzy Woo can stand alone for several seconds. And he'll take a step or two independently. AMAZING!

Porgie at 10 months...

Izzy at 11 months...

In other news, I bought the kids the cutest house shoes EVER...

In other other news, this is what my deck looked like this morning...

A sea of yellow leaves.

See - no thinking required. You're welcome.

Yipeee!

We did something yesterday that I thought was nearly impossible. We elected an educated and eloquent black man to the presidency. I am so proud. Really, I am busting with pride.

I come from racist people - very racist people. When I was a child, even watching the Cosby Show was frowned upon in our house. My grandfather would call us "nigger lovers" as he turned the TV off. I am sure that my grandfather is rolling over in his grave today. But me? I am happy as a clam.

Although I am genuinely delighted that Obama is the new president-elect, I am still worried. Perhaps my fears are unwarranted, but I worry that some ignorant person will turn my pride and happiness into sadness and despair.

But I am choosing to believe in America today. Is it January 20th yet?

I've been tossing and turning

Holy crap people! We have one more day until the election. ONE! MORE! DAY! It has been a long and tiresome battle, and I am ready for it to be over. And I am hopeful that Obama will come out victorious. I lay awake at night worrying about whether or not he'll win and what defeat will mean for our country. But that is not really the point of this post.

This election is incredibly important for the American people. Our economy is crashing, we are engaged in an unwinnable war, and our civil liberties are being taken away. Make sure that your voice is heard tomorrow.