Saturday, April 12, 2008

darn it

Stupid blogspot is not letting me upload the pics of our new puppy!  Darn it!

So, you'll just have to believe me, she's super cute!  She's a "Buff" Lab- which means off-white.  Her name was Daisy, but we didn't really like that name so much, so we are calling her Macy because it sounds close enough and she'll answer to it.  Actually- her full name is Macy Greyish.  I KID YOU NOT.  That was all Marshall's idea- even Grey with an "e" instead of an "a".

One of the new additions to his vocabulary since returning from Korea was the suffix "-ish".  In fact, "ish" can stand alone and have its own complete meaning.  For example:

Me: "Do you think you'll be home by 4?"
Him: "Ish?"

See what I mean?

And with the insanity that is the MGM inital-dom of our family- OF COURSE our new dog is gonna be an MGM too.  Oh, and for all you old people, Macy Gray is an American R & B/ Soulsinger who was nominated for 5 Grammy awards, and won one.  In fact- and this is CREEPY- her original name was Natalie Renee McIntyre......um- WOW.  And we randomly named our dog after her and she has our last name.  Anyways.......

We have enjoyed watching "Wheel of Fortune" together, and are convinced that we would kick some major butt if we ever got to go on there together.  We can almost always solve the puzzle before any of the contestants, and both of us audibly groan whenever anyone buys a vowel.  It drives me crazy- don't people understand that the point of the game is to WIN MONEY, and every time you buy a stupid vowel you are spending money you haven't even won yet??  You should ALWAYS spin and go for another consonant- UNLESS you are very close to solving and that one vowel will help you solve the puzzle.  There are so many people that buy all the vowels and then want to spin because they still don't know the puzzle.   Well- duh person, chances are you aren't going to the bonus round.

And- when they do the introductions, the people always say- "Well Pat, I'm a Rocket Scientist in Malibu, and I have a FABULOUS husband Mac, and two BEAUTIFUL children Joe and Shmoe, blah blah blah".  I'm so glad that they all learned new adjectives for their big moment on T.V.  There's also the person who says "Big Money! Big Money!" every time someone spins.  GIVE IT A REST!!  Don't you know that spinning a wheel is a game of chance, and saying the words "Big Money!" does not increase your chances of actually getting big money?  You'll probably buy a vowel next too!  HAHahaha!  It's all in the name of good entertainment, and so I'm grateful for that.

Aw man...back to the dog.  See what happens when I get distracted?  :)  Okay, so she was originally adopted by a family from the SPCA and then was returned because (according to them) she's "not good with children".  The person who was helping us said that when they brought her back to the shelter they didn't want to fill out the form that explains why they are bringing her back.  Jerks.  So the truth is- they couldn't handle having a dog.  She is great with kids!  She loves Maddox, but she's a puppy!  So we know we have to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't take a little nibble here and there. What convinced me that she's okay with kids was when Marshall had her on a leash and a kid went by on the sidewalk on a little skateboard thingie.  A dog that is BAD with kids would try and go after them or rip their legs off.  She did neither.  So- I believe what my eyes see, not what other people say.   She's already spayed and housebroken, which is awesome.  And the Norfolk SPCA was a very well organized, professional and clean shelter that also happens to be a no-kill shelter.  If you ever win the lottery, please donate to the Norfolk SPCA.  :)

Today I also realized that my little baby is no longer a little baby.  It's been a while since she was actually small- but every day she acts more and more like a little toddler.  She now prefers standing to sitting- even though she's not crawling yet.  Her favorite way to stand is with both her feet flat- legs spread about 6 inches apart- and only holding one of my fingers with one of her hands!  Little Daredevil!!  When she loses balance and falls back to a sitting position she immediately wants back up to stand again.  She babbles and talks to people whenever we are out in public and smiles at people constantly.  It's adorable but also gets us lots of attention when I'm normally trying to zip right through the store (not possible with this child).

She's eating mashed fresh bananas, she LOVED mashed avocado, hates peas, loves carrots, eats squash, pears, and apples okay.  But mostly she prefers the bottle.  She still won't hold it- so that's our new goal.  Crawling can wait, but this child needs to hold her own bottle!!  Oh- and some teeth would be nice too.  At our playdate a few days ago she was the oldest baby- and the only one without teeth.  Come on Mdx, get some teeth so we can bring on the Cheerios!!



Tuesday, April 8, 2008

spoke too soon


Of course when I started talking about how Spring was here, the weather was beautiful, blah blah blah....it got rainy and cold for the past few days.  Yuck!  

So since we couldn't go outside and play we reverted to our new favorite thing - doing crazy things to the baby's hair!!

This is just your basic flip-up in the front.

This one is the "I just woke up" look.

And now Mdx really likes to stick her tongue out and blow raspberries!  She has to concentrate very hard to remember how to do it.

Marshall has started working nights- which is harder on us as a family than I thought it would be.  Luckily it is only for 2 weeks!  I feel like he's back in Korea again, because I have the baby by myself basically all day and all night again-AND still have to take care of clothes to wear and food to eat.  I can't wait until tomorrow when he can put her to bed again!

A few days ago I planted some herbs in containers, and a few flowers in the little bed next to our driveway.  Since then the sun hasn't come out once- so I hope they don't die.
I planted Oregano, Basil, Rosemary and Cilantro.

Here they are in the containers, which will go on the patio when the sun comes out!

Here are the flowers- Marigolds, some blue flowers, and Snapdragons.

And- a few friends of mine are having baby boys in the next couple of months.  So, since Mdx loves her tag blanket so much, I decided to make some for them as baby gifts.  I got different types of fabric and lots of different ribbons.  In the process of looking for an online tutorial on how to make one I discovered lots of information about the actual "Taggies" company and the multiple lawsuits that they have brought against people who make these blankets and then sell them online.  They also have lawyers who send threatening emails to people telling them to stop selling the blankets or ELSE!!  A national craft store used to give away instructions on how to make the blankets- and they got sued too!!  Apparently they PATENTED the idea of sewing together two pieces of fabric with little loops of ribbon sticking out as an "educational invention".  Yep- US Patent # RE38782.   I think it's a bunch of baloney personally, and I think they should leave the crafty people alone.  How anyone got a patent on that I have no idea....but it makes me want to boycott the Taggie company for their greediness.  Gosh, I think I should patent my spectacular idea of putting cheese in between two pieces of bread and then cooking it in a pan on the stove with tons of butter.  BRILLIANT!!!!

And taggies people, before you try to sue me- you really should have better things to do with your time and money-everything I said is either true or is my personal opinion.  So put that in your blanket and SEW IT!

Okay, on to my wonderful project for tonight- which I am giving and not selling.  I decided to make a little mini blanket first for practice to make sure I knew what I was doing.  It is about 9 inches wide and 11 inches tall-the perfect size to keep in the diaper bag for a fussy moment.  I am so pleased at how it turned out!

The front.
The back.
I think when I make the larger ones they'll be about 18 inches wide by 22 inches tall, and I'll use more ribbons.  Besides that it was surprisingly easy!