Balanced

It may sound slightly OCD but isn't there just something wonderful about a balanced checkbook and a successful budget plan? Maybe it's just me, but anyway...I feel great! Just thought I'd share that little bit of inspiration before I head off to bed. Happy balancing!

What the heck would YOU do?

So the title and picture are just a tribute to one of my favorite movies, but seriously, what would you do if the following TRUE story happened to you?

We have one inside dog (Jayda) and one outside dog (Shasta). When it gets too cold we let Shasta sleep inside but she has to be in her kennel because she is still a puppy and I don't like waking up and searching the house for things she may have chewed up!

Anyway, about a week ago we were having a heat wave here in Hermiston so Shasta was sleeping outside. I woke up to Jayda growling next to me in bed. I told her to knock it off because I could hear it too...it was just the wind. Well she wouldn't knock it off and the wind was really blowing by now and getting really loud! Then all of a sudden I heard a whining coming from the bathroom so I sat up in bed and I could see Shasta cowering on the bathroom floor. Jayda was growling at her, which is quite normal because Jayda is the queen and doesn't allow other dogs in HER room ;). Then as I woke up a little more I realized that this wasn't completely normal because Shasta was outside when I went to bed...right? Oh boy I must be losing it. Or maybe Greg is home REALLY early from work? What time is it anyway? So out of bed I go to calm Shasta and look for Greg. Around the house I go (which doesn't take long) and Greg is definitely NOT home, so how the heck did Shasta get in here? That's when I turned around and saw the back door in the living room standing wide open! Okay...that's creepy. So I close the door and dead bolt it, take one last look around, and head back to bed wide awake. The wind is blowing really hard, it probably just blew open. So I called Greg to tell him my tale. First he says "You got out of bed? What if there was someone in there?" Uh...didn't think about that. Of course, being a security guard, he also wanted to know if there were any muddy foot prints anywhere. Well I'm a hairdresser, not a private eye. All I wanted to know was if Greg was home and how the dog got in. That is as far as my investigation went! My conclusion is that the wind freaked our big guard dog out and she (with a little help from the wind) pushed open the door that doesn't exactly latch that well.

I hope that I can count on our dogs in the future to be a little more reliable against REAL intruders. Perhaps on windy nights Shasta will start out in the house to prevent further false alarms!

Sleep-eating!

Cora just couldn't quite stay awake...even to finish her tootsie roll! The funny thing is that her cousin Krystonna does the same thing in her car seat with her chicken nuggets!

New 'do!

I decided to give myself bangs. I'm not talking a little bit, or swept to the side bangs, I'm talking full front bangs! Yay! Something new. I think I like it! Maybe it makes me look to young (the last time I had full front bangs was 7th grade!) but oh well, I'll probably have a whole new hairdo a month from now....ah, the life of a hairdresser!

SWEET, FUNNY & HEARTBREAKING!

How can my little girl be all three things in one day?

When Greg was getting ready for work tonight, we had a family hug and passed kisses around and around in a circle. Cora leaned back and said "We happy fammie!"(family). Melt my heart. She can be so sweet!

A little while later I was outside waving goodbye to Greg when a naked Cora comes and peeks out the door. Lilli: "What are you doing Cora?" Cora: "Um, I go poop!" L: "Okay well run to the bathroom." So we run to the bathroom and she sits on the BIG toilet and starts grunting and making funny faces, so I say "Are you a little bit constipated?" Cora: "No, I Cora Miskin!". Thank you very much! She makes me laugh so much! :)

Now as I sit here writing down our eventful and emotional day I am listening to her heartbroken sobs over the intercom. You see, I am trying out a super-nanny technique because Cora has always been rocked, held, or snuggled to sleep and I have been feeling a little worn out from it. I have never been able to let her "cry it out" which is why we are in this situation. So as I am sitting here listening to her I can almost deal with it (I made it last night!), until she says in possibly the saddest voice in the world "I not feel good." Okay rip my heart out. Next she says she needs to poop so I am a sucker and let her come out for that. As she is sitting on the pot I hug her and tell her I love her. She looks at me with big teary eyes and the crying hiccups and asks "Mommy love me?". Ouch. Okay that did it, out came my tears. She already ripped it out, why not tear it in two?

Being a mother amazes me every day. You never realize how much love you are capable of until this sweet spirit child of God comes to you and shows you what it is all about. I love my job, even the painful parts!