I guess it was inevitable... The Boy got his learner's permit...




On a safer note, we are getting more and more ready for our new little pup to arrive!! I got her ID tag today and we are almost set: just need some puppy shampoo and creme rinse, some ear cleaner, and a small hair clipper for the underside of her ears to prevent infection by keeping hair from going down her ear shaft (I remember how hard it was when I groomed cocker spaniels - the hair in their ears was really troublesome!). I can't wait!!

Oh, boy, did we have fun today!! We went to Universal (AGAIN, I know!!) but mainly with the intent of letting Erik just play in the kids' water play area. Mark went shopping on City Walk, Reese went and rode rides by himself, and I watched Erik go nuts in the water! It was JUST warm enough to do this, and it was worth it if he got a little cold, for all the fun he had.

At times, it might look like he has CP, cause he points his toes a lot and goes all stiff, but that is not CP, it's just excitement! ;o)

I can't wait for summer! This kid is going to LOVE playing in the pools!!

Though the Cubs's Spring Training is in Arizona, we still are blessed to have a major league baseball team sponsored in a town near us, and we TRY to get to at least one game per season!
Last night, Reese and I went to Viera to watch the Washington Nationals play the St. Louis Cardinals in a Spring Training game. Of course, we had fun (we always have fun), but Mark decided to forego the game this time, and stayed behind on Erik Duty (thank you, Markie!! But we missed you there!!).
Our seats weren't the best, and we left half way through the 5th inning because we were FREEZING, but we still had a ball - we just like DOING things!

We want to take in a day game sometime and watch the Nationals and the Yankees. We only have about 2 weeks left though, before they are all gone, so we need to get on it fast!

I give up...

The faithful and wonderful breeder sent "Emily"'s 5 week pictures last night! (I look forward to those pictures every day of the week, knowing that Wednesday is coming!

Here she is!


It's getting sooooooo hard to wait until she comes home!! 3 more weeks!!

I have had a heck of a time trying to get a hold of Karis Watson who runs that blog that alerts us to always enter the ID and password so that we can enter her blog when someone accesses MY blog! I don't know how to get that off of there! If someone who reads my blog knows how to get a hold of her and see if she knows how to get rid of the popup on MY blog, I would be so grateful!!

If I can't figure this out, I may have to start a new blog, and I'd hate to do that. That popup drives me NUTS, and I'm sure it does all my readers. I'm so sorry, everybody...

Did that make sense??

What a big day today to end our big weekend! This morning, Mark took Reese to the Tico Warbird Air Show, which is an annual event here in Titusville each March. I picked up Reese around 12:30, and Mark stayed on and had such a good time, he came home with a sunburned face!

Reese, Erik and I headed on to Universal Studios, our backyard (Nik was staying at friends'.). We had a blast!!! Reese is learning that it's possible to have fun without going wild, and I'm so proud of him. In fact, I have been REALLY proud of him with how he has opened up to Erik: when Erik first came home, Reese was NO fan of little kids. He didn't dislike little kids, or be mean to them, but he just really avoided them and was really uncomfortable around them. Fast forward to today: Reese is the best big brother in the world. He is GREAT with Erik and is so proud of him! I do believe he would do whatever it took to protect his little brother if it ever came to that. He is proud of him, and enjoys watching him open up to the world ("Look, his eyes are so big!" and imitates his "va va va" noises with such amusement and love.). He really enjoyed watching Erik explore the overwhelming park, almost like a parent. It was really nice to see. He's going to make an excellent father some day!!

Okay. Enough of the mush. Here are pictures!!

What's with me?? 3 blog posts in 3 days??? I must have TOO MUCH time on my hands...!!

Today, our local SPCA sponsored an event in Titusville with vendors and events and all kinds of fun "dog stuff". Since Reese is already an SPCA volunteer, he enjoyed giving his 4 hours to this event. I dropped him off at 8 (still in my pj's!) and at 11:00, went back with Daisy and Erik. What a hoot! There were big crowds and MASSES of dogs! Daisy wore her favorite "party dress", and got quite a bit of attention, which was fun! We did see two other Bostons, which was neat, too. Lots of labs and shephards and poodles, and one couple had 5 Corgis!!! There was also a huuuuuuuge mastiff that was simply gorgeous, and he looked so well behaved! I was really, really tempted to go up and talk to the lady and see if I could pet her gorgeous dog, but I knew that Erik would have been scared (he's still scared of some things), so I didn't.



Reese was in charge of a "retrieving" booth, where basically the dogs just retrieve a ball, but they were timed and it was a fun competition. He said I should let Daisy try, and I just laughed.

My blogging friend over at The Mommy Pages tagged everyone who read her blog to write 10 honest things about themselves.


So, if you are reading this blog, consider YOURself tagged! Write 10 honest things about yourself, then be sure and let me know so I can read your list!



Until then, here is mine:

1. Obviously (and I hope it's obvious...!), my first thing is that I am SOOOOO glad to be a Christian! I am in NO WAY perfect (faaaar from it!) but on my worst, most rotten day, I still have that happy (VERY happy!) knowledge that this place is not my home and that someday I will get to live up in heaven with my savior and forget this silly planet Earth with all of its stress and problems. That is what gets me through the hard times, and hopefully why my patients are always saying I'm so cheerful. Of course, I am certainly not cheerful all the time (!!), but in the back of my mind, I always know that I have an inner joy that can't be taken away by ANYTHING in this world. :o) No matter HOW bad it is.

2. I love animals. Dogs, in particular. If I could spend my days with only dogs, and no people, I'd be a happy person. ;o} That doesn't mean that I want to own a bunch of dogs. Two dogs is best, IMO. Three, max. If you have more than that, it's hard to spend enough time with each of them.

3. I've lived in 13 different states in my lifetime, and gone to 12 schools (5 just in 7th and 8th grades!). No, I'm not a military brat. It's just the way it was. It didn't bother me as much as you might think it would have - somehow I just got through it and did okay.

4. Which leads me to #4, I guess: For a little over 2 years, I did "traveling" physical therapy, which meant that I traveled to a new location every 3 months or so, to provide emergency PT coverage in different facilities all over the US. My family HATED that I did this ("You'll get raped at a gas station!!" "Don't you want to settle down?") but I LOVED it, and it's funny; now that I am not doing it anymore, my family all says, "Wasn't that such a wonderful experience you had?".

5. Here's one that might surprise some: I'm lazy. I like to be busy, but I really am lazy. I think I must've been born that way... I'd like nothing better than to live the retired life, and sit and watch TV all day, and do what I please. But I don't. I can't. I feel compelled to be busy!! And truthfully, I have no choice. I do like to work hard, and I do like to accomplish things and do things, I really do! But it's my *nature* to be lazy. I just haven't been lazy in so many years, maybe I have it overrated in my brain. Not sure.

6. I'm shy. Yes, another one that might surprise some. I am GREAT one-on-one or one-on-two, but in crowds and groups, I just want to find a hole to crawl into!!

7. My weight really bothers me. I've GOT TO LOSE WEIGHT.

8. My two favorite fun things that I like to do are ride wild roller coaster rides, and fly in very small (Cessna-type) airplanes (even though I've only done it twice). And I always wanted to try skydiving, but I'm too heavy right now. :o( (Zip-lining over a mountainous jungle would be cool, too.)

9. My lifetime dream is to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, but if I do have to work, I must admit that I love my job. I am a homecare physical therapist, and I really, really do love visiting patients and cheering them up, helping them get better, and the chit chat. I have met some AMAAAAZING people doing this! I am very, very blessed with the job that I have.

10. Someday, I would LOVE to do Christian missions work in overseas orphanages. THAT goal just might be attainable, too. Someday. :o)

It all started out with a request:

"Can you take Erik to get his haircut? He looks like a girl."

"Okay."

"But be SURE and take the camera and take BEFORE, DURING and AFTER shots, and DON'T forget to get a lock of his hair for the scrapbook. And not just a strand or two, get a good chunk of his hair, please! ...and don't forget the pictures. A lot of them."

"Uhhh... Okay."

"Really, Markie, please don't forget the pictures. Lots of them. Okay? Are you up for this project??"

"I thought I was..."

LOL Fast forward to today and guess who took Erik for his haircut? LOL! I'M not afraid to make a total idiot of myself!! ;op I picked a VERY rainy day, hoping that the salon would be empty, and I was right! I really didn't mind taking Erik in, I just didn't really have the time until tonight, but I was already out with him tonight, so it was easy for me. And I was in a sassy mood, and not feeling too shy.

So how did he do? I'll let the pictures tell the story: