Digital Mom

October Musings

It's already afternoon and I am still in my jammies. Must take shower. Must get motivated to "start" my day. Why is it that I don't feel like my day has started unless I am showered and dressed?

Maya is being a Pirate for halloween! I'm so excited. I always let her pick, and - no offense to cheerleaders or former cheerleaders - This is so much better than what she picked last year. We already have the pirate hat, a clip on hoop earing, a sword, an eye patch, a hook, and face paints for the mustache and goatee. We still need black pants, a blousy looking shirt, and a red shash belt looking thing.

Wow... this is going to be a fun month. Maya's birthday party, her 2 family parties, we get to go trick or treating twice (once here the sat. before halloween and once on halloween night at her grandparents house), and her friend down the street is having a halloween party. We're also visiting a friend's relatives working farm, and the pumpkin patch of course. I love October!! and it isn't even HERE yet!!

Speaking of halloween, I bought some decorations for outside that I can't wait to put out...

Man I am in SUCH a good mood now just thinking about all of this that I think I will go get my shower and then head out to get myself a yummy pumpkin spice latte. Mmm Mmm good.

Generation Clash on the Birthday Bash

I like to go all out for Maya's birthdays. I am positive it has something to do with the fact I really didn't have parties when I was a kid. My mom thought they were frivolous and too much work and too much money and really just did not want to bother. I don't see anything wrong with having nice parties for Maya, though. I do not go "overboard" like I have seen some parents do... a million kids, a petting zoo, a guy who makes balloons and a magic show. I think the only reason I don't go overboard is because I really don't have that kind of money, lol. My mom is already making comments about Maya's birthday... and it's making me nutty. Oy.

First of all, we are having technically have 3 parties... 2 family parties and one kid party. I'm going all out on the kid party, not so much the family parties. Sure we'll have a few little decorations and a cake and what not. We have to do it this way because... well, it's really long and complicated and has to do with families not getting along and people being allergic to pets and blah blah blah. It's the easiest solution and the best for everyone involved to do it this way. So my parents and maybe my sister and her boyfriend will be coming over to our house on Maya's actual birthday, Tuesday October 4th. We'll have spaghetti (maya's favorite) and an ice cream cake (maya's choice) and open a few presents. Hang up a few streamers and maybe a decorative table cloth from the dollar store, get a balloon or something for an extra touch. It'll be nice.

On a different day, we will head over to Bri's parents house where they have dinner and cake and presents. His parents, his sisters, our niece and maybe our nephew. again, nothing fancy, just a family celebration.

Then comes the kid party... oh boy. I don't know HOW we know so many kids, but there are 17 on the list. I already went shopping for decorations and prizes. The prizes! I am so excited about the prizes! We got TONS of awesome prizes. Fuzzy posters, coloring books, cars, trucks, giant plastic bugs, paint sets, little games, and variuous other cool toys. Plus a TON of little "junk" like plastic bracelets, rings, stickers, bouncy balls, etc etc etc. There are a ton of prizes. My eyeballs pop out of my head just looking at them. We got the roll of tickets the kids get to cash in for the prizes, the Pinata, streamers and supplies for the games, colorfull star decorations, a banner, tablecloth, plates, napkins, etc. Basically I think we have everything we need but food items and helium balloons.

Food.. oh man.. so the day before the party, my friend Tanya and I are going to be in my kitchen baking (yes, baking!) 48 cupcakes. Making PBJ sandwiches and cookie cutting them into various shapes. Getting everything ready for the big day.

I am excited, Maya is excited, Bri is excited, Maya's friends are excited, everyone is happy... so what's the big deal, really? If I want to spend a little bit (lol) of money and put this much time and effort into a party for MY kid, well, why the heck not? It's not like we don't have the money to do it, It's not like the money is coming out of our mortgage money or our electric bill money or our food money or something. It's money we put aside for things like this and Christmas and other various extra fun things. So my mom needs to quit with the remarks about how ridiculous it is. It's MY turn to be the parent now!!!!

Party Plans!

After much brainstorming and budget planning, I present to you my plans for Maya's 5th birthday party:

Food
Star and Moon shaped PBJ Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, pretzels, chex mix
Huggies, pop, water
Cupcakes that the kids will decorate themselves (adventurous, I know...)

Decorations
Plain white paper tablecloth that the kids can decorate with markers and stickers
As many "space" themed things I can find
Balloons!! Helium Balloons! All over the place!
Streamers, etc etc etc

Games
Pin the astronaut on the moon (clever, eh?)
Ring around Saturn (a ring toss game)
Freeze dance
Pinata (the pull string kind, of course)

We're going to give out tickets for things like winning games, tickets in the pinata, etc. and we will have prizes the kids can get with the tickets. It will work out so that each kid gets a decent prize as well as a goody bag with little cheapo toys, stickers, etc. A balloon for each kid, too.

It may not be the huge party some kids get, with magicians and petting zoos and what not. But it's going to be fun, fun, fun! I can't wait to go shopping for all the stuff! Hee hee... can you tell I love birthday parties?  :)

Festival

So. Tired. We had such an awesome, busy day! Today we went to a festival that we started going to last year. It was tons of fun again. There are photos here. The photos go well into the second page so make sure you click all the way through to page 2!!

Anyway... Maya and her cousin Rylee had a blast! Let's see... there was a bouncy thing, a petting zoo, various super heros walking around, games, awesome prizes, food, pony rides, a train ride, I could go on and on... there were sooo many things. They had people there doing caricatures and we got one of Maya done and it turned out sooo cool. She won a stuffed animal of Sandy from Spongebob, a ribbon dancer thing, a pair of binoculars, and a foam rocket launcher toy. She had such a great time, it's so awesome watching your kid have so much fun!!

Yesterday Maya and I made and painted some decorations for Fall. I love painting with her! We always end up having such a good time.

Now... I better get myself to bed, my feet hurt, my legs hurt, I am so... exhausted! Hope everyone else is having a great weekend, too!!

Thank You and Other Exciting... Things

First of all, I want to say thank you for the comments and support regarding Rascal. I sat down to email you gals who left me comments, but I really didn't want to talk about it... well, write about it I guess... so, I didn't. I really apreciate the support though.

Anywaaaaay... I mailed out Maya's birthday party invitations today. Now I get to spend some time coming up with cool ideas for games or activities for her "outer space" party. I'm welcome to suggestions if anyone has any!

In other exciting news, I cleaned the house today. Wow, I really don't have anything exciting to blog about right now, do I? Ho-Hum. Maybe the next entry will be more... exciting. Ha.

Help!

I have a big, big, HUGE problem. It's about Rascal. I have not really elaborated before on any of this, I've only just made comments here and there about him being "bad" and "driving me crazy." Now, I am going to elaborate, because... well, I just don't know what to do.

I can not have anyone over at my house, because Rascal will jump on them and bite them and bark at them and will not leave them alone. Maya can no longer have friends come over and play. I can't let him near any kids because he has bitten a neighbor kid. He has a bad reputation in our neighborhood. He has never broken skin, but he has bitten Maya, too. I can't tolerate this at all!! the other problems, I'll get to them in a minute, I could deal with... I can NOT deal with the biting and being crazy.

What else... he refuses to learn to go pee and poop outside. I am constantly cleaning his messes up off our floor. It's ruining our carpet. He chews our stuff, he chews Maya's toys. Maya can't even play in her play room anymore, or anywhere in the house, or on the floor.

I could go on and on...

We have tried so many things. We listened to the vet's advice, we've bought books on training dogs, we've done research online about the problems and what to do, we've even talked to professional dog trainer.  Nothing is working! We've tried crate training and everything.  My whole life revolves around this dog now. I am so, so, so stressed out. I can not take a shower without putting him in his crate or he will go after Maya and her toys. I can't do anything... I can't play with her when he is around because I have to chase him away from her toys or clean up his mess, I can't clean with him around because he chases the broom or tries to eat the dust rag. We can't leave him in the house without the crate because, well, if we did the whole house would be trashed when we got back.

I KNEW getting a dog would be hard, I knew a young dog even harder. I have had dogs all my life, I knew what I was getting into, I know how much responsibility they are. I have never, ever had a dog like this. It's taken over my life, and I want my life back. I want to be able to have people over again, I want my daughter to be able to play on the floor again, I want her to be able to have her friends over to play. I don't want to have to worry about people getting bit.

We have thought long and hard on this, and we've been considering taking Rascal back to the shelter. My husband is fed up with him, and Maya actually WANTS Rascal to go back. I am having a harder time with this. I have gotten attached to Rascal. I know if we do this, I am going to cry my eyes out. Wondering what will happen to him, etc.

I just don't know what to do. I feel like a failure as a pet owner. You have no idea how hard we have tried, though. We've tried so, so hard. He just keeps getting WORSE and not better. I am way more stressed than I need to be.

What would YOU do????

Fredster, Fall, and Five Years Old

We took Freddy to the vet on Friday. Turns out he is not 4 or 5 years old. He is at least 7 or 8 years old. I kind of had a feeling he had to be older. Oh well... we still love Fast Freddy!

Fall is on it's way, and I am actually pretty happy about this! I love going to pumpkin patches, raking leaves, watching Maya play in the leaves, playing in the leaves myself, halloween, apple cider, pumpkin pie. Cooler weather but not too cold... all the pretty colors of the trees. I think this year we are going to take a drive to get some really great views. There are a couple of awesome locations not too far from us, mountains and what not. I am a little sad that summer is almost over, but I have a feeling it will be another warmer Fall.

Speaking of Fall... Maya's birthday is so, so soon, I better get my butt moving on her party! There's been a change in plans for this. We are having her party at my neighbors house. They are really good friends of ours, and they have a huge house and no dogs. I have a lot of fun planning to do, because this means I have to come up with games and entertainment and food and all that fun stuff. My neighbor is awesome, she loves parties and craziness and this is going to be cool. I have so many awesome ideas! First I need to get those invitations out!

I can't believe my baby is going to be five. Sigh.

Anyway, new pics over at my flickr site!  :)

This And That

If having two dogs has taught me anything, it has taught me how to be less anal about the house being clean. No matter how often I sweep, there will always be dog hair and who knows what else they track into the house on the entry way floor. And the carpet. And the kitchen floor. And the furniture.

Does it drive me crazy? Yes. But I'm dealing.

Life is crazy, CRAZY with two dogs and a kid. But truth be told, I kind of like crazy. Rascal, though he is still a bundle of energy, seems to be learning a thing or two from Fred. He has actually been behaving better!! Fred, well, he is no trouble at all. He goes to the Vet on Friday, and I'm not worried because he loves car rides and he is so calm. Although they both loooove their walks, and they also love to play together. It's all working out rather nicely!

There's a lot to do around the house, but I am happy because over the past 2 days we have gotten 2 major things out of the way for now: laundry and yard work. I HATE laundry. It is my least favorite thing to do. I helped hubby with yard work and he helped me with laundry so it's all good.

Time for this tired mama to get to bed so I'm not dragging tomorrow morning!!

Fred. AKA Fast Freddy and Freddy The Flash.

OMG This dog kicks major butt. He is awesome. I will post more about him later, for now I just wanted to show some pics... and let you know that things are going pretty smoothly having him here with Rascal. They even PLAYED!!! I did a whole bunch of research on introducing new dogs, and it all seems to be going well. Click here for pics!!!!

We've been calling him fast freddy and freddy the flash because this dog is SO lazy and slow LOL. Typical Basset for ya, I guess!! He DOES like going for a walk and riding in the car, though! Alrighty, more later!

Fred

So there's going to be an addition to our family. No, I am not pregnant. We're getting another dog. I know, we are crazy. He is a 5 year old pure basset, as gentle and well behaved as can be. Trained, house broken, tolerant, friendly. Friends of Brian's are moving and can not take him with them, so... we'll be his new family. His name is Fred. This is going to be very hectic at first, because Rascal is not exactly well behaved yet... but... we have signed Rascal up for obedience classes. He starts on September 12th, and I am just hoping and hoping that they do him some good. Has anyone ever done this, ever had any luck? Also... anyone have any advice on introducing a new dog??

We are picking Fred up tomorrow.. don't worry, I will have pictures!