Trees and Toilets

It's been a rough weekend for Tom. Thanksgiving was great but after Thanksgiving came the string of bad luck.

First, we had our annual tree cutting event with friends. While everyone was enjoying our hot chocolate and treats after cutting down our trees, Tom was being very diligent and spending a lot of time with some new straps that he bought specifically to tie our Xmas tree to the roof of the car.  He kept adjusting and readjusting while my friends' husbands were done pretty quickly. Man, I thought these must be some great straps where I'm not going to hear the excess strap flapping in the wind or worry about the tree coming loose and flopping down on the side of the car like it did that one year. Yeah, right.

The flapping started almost as soon as we left the tree farm. We pulled over once on a country road so Tom could adjust the straps. That lasted for a bit until we got on the highway. Almost immediately, the tree slid way to the right and I thought we were going to lose it. Stop two was on the shoulder as our friends passed us and texted asking if we needed them to pull over. Nah, I reassured them, we're okay. It's Tom. He's got this. We tried again for a few miles and still the tree felt like it was going to fly off the car. It was either stop again or I was going to have to hold my arm out the window and hold the tree the entire rest of the way home. So we stopped again. Third time was a charm and we finally made it home. Well, until we pulled into the garage and Tom almost sheered off half the tree because he thought we could fit the car with the tree still on top in the garage. In his defense, it was a larger tree (wider) than we usually buy.

So fast forward to today (Sunday). The kids all had a blast with Tom decorating the tree and putting up all the special ornaments from all the places we've vacationed. Hailey's favorite was the big Mickey Mouse one from our Walt Disney World vacation in 2015. The tree looked awesome. So many great ornaments and memories and the kids were so excited! That excitement quickly turned to screams and crying after we came home from dinner to find our Xmas tree on the ground with what looked like a million ornaments in tiny little pieces all over the ground. Now, most of you are probably thinking Sadie did it and she for sure would have been blamed if not for the fact that there was a gate between her and the Xmas tree. How scared she must've been to hear that crash I thought as my kids screamed that Xmas was ruined in between their tears. Oh boy!

We quickly ushered them up to bed so Tom could survey the damage. Not too many ornaments broken. There were a few that could be glued but unfortunately Hailey's favorite (the Mickey Mouse ornament) could not be salvaged. I guess we'll have to break it to her in the morning.

To cap off the fine weekend, Austen snuck downstairs to leave his Dad this note while he was cleaning up. Now, talk about a shitty weekend. Ha! Ha!

There's a Good Dog In There

Passed out with leg hanging down on the couch

Well, the good dog is starting to come out. Maybe it's because Sadie's almost 2 or maybe it's because of all the training that we have done with her but our big, Berner girl is finally settling into her own and becoming less work.

She's more cautious around the kids - not necessarily barreling into them like she doesn't know that her 100 pounds will surely knock a 40 pound or more child over (Hailey has no chance). She wants attention when visitors come over but soon after leaves them alone. She's learned not to chase squirrels or the big skunk that we saw cross the road right in front of us yesterday at not even desk (that would have been a disaster as she just go home from being completely groomed). She doesn't tear apart the kids' toys that are left out like Hailey's pet dinosaur - instead she licks them to death like Adler used to do.

Our sweet Sadie loves when you say "do you want to go for a ride?" (She finally stopped eating our seat belts so we can actually take her for rides now.) She is well loved by Hailey the most although Austen has to play with her in the backyard as part of his "household chores." She thinks she's a rather large lap dog as she'll try to sit in your lap but she's sweet and lovable too letting Hailey lay on her and shower her with kisses.

It's taken almost 2 years but as her physical therapist told me - "there's a good dog in there." Yes, there is and she's finally coming out.

Sadie's Koranda bed

A girl and her dog!

Cute little puppy!

Cheers to 44!

The spot where we got engaged 15 years ago

Forty-four just sounds old. In fact, I can remember when my mom was 44 and I was almost a college graduate by that time!  My oldest will be only 11 in a few months.  I can't possibly be that old?!

I used to love celebrating my birthday and I have to say the last 2 years I've almost wished the day was over.  Maybe because it's so much less fun celebrating your birthday when everyone you'd celebrate with is at work and school. Or maybe it's because I'm getting older. All I know is even if I am then I want to celebrate with people. I don't want the day to go by celebrating by myself at the spa or traveling by myself on an airplane. I want to celebrate a whole 'nother year lived. Because another year lived is a gift in this crazy unpredictable world. It's a year to be celebrated. So that's what I did this year and that's what I will do moving forward.

It was just turning a bit cold when my college friends suggested we all go back to IU during the first weekend in November. It's hard to cram a weekend away in between all the sports we have but somehow we had no games that weekend so I ended up celebrating my bday weekend with my college friends and our families at my alma mater. I hadn't been back in a decade and it was even sweeter to share my love of IU with my kids. We started with a dinner on Friday followed by a pre-football game tailgate and then the actual football game. After the game, we walked over to my newly renovated sorority for a tour then walked around campus before settling in for dinner. It was a short, quick trip but it was still great that I got to see my friends and reminsce with them. I still love IU and have fond memories of my time.

It was a nice present to take a little roadtrip (down memory) lane with our kids (who were great) and they loved IU. Austen said he wanted to go there but don't tell Daddy. Hailey said she wanted to go to Daddy's Indiana. And, Peyton, well Peyton has always said she wanted to go to IU because I went there. If I get one of the three to attend I'll be happy!

The new Media school

Future Legacies!

Sorority Sisters!

Sisters and our Sorority Waiter!

The "getting ready" room in our sorority house

We want a redo!

Halloween 2017

It's been an eventful week for us - first Halloween, followed by my birthday and then a weekend in Indiana. I'll catch you up in subsequent posts but first Halloween!

It was a fun and not too cold Halloween. Austen and Peyton took part in their school Halloween parade (Austen didn't want to dress up or even go trick or treating at first) and hurried home to get ready to trick or treat with all of their friends. Austen joined a big group of boys and girls from his school and had so much funny he was almost sorry he said he didn't want to go. He was definitely glad I pushed him to go out one last time this year.

Peyton joined up with many second graders and had a lot of fun going door to door. And, she did make us circle back to her "boyfriend's house" too! (Side note, she "Booed" him too - we let each kid to pick a friend to "Boo" which is ringing the doorbell and running after you leave a bucket of treats for a friend. Hailey promptly told the kid's mom as she opened the door on Halloween that it was Peyton who booed him! Kinda funny!)

Hailey kept up this year and didn't mind trick or treating with all of Peyton's friends and their siblings. She was just glad to get the candy. I think Halloween might be her favorite holiday of the year. Thinking maybe next year we should hit Disney World during the month of October (if she still likes Mickey by then and I'm betting yes).

Boo baskets for friends!

Peyton at her parade

Austen (golfer) walking in school parade

2nd grade trick or treaters (and Hailey)

The golfer

Austen's loot which included 19 full size Hershey candy bars

Hailey found her favorite lawn decoration