we are our own superheros

I came across Brene Brown and her Ordinary Courage this evening and so many things rang true. Reading about the impromptu dance session in the middle of Nordstrom's shoe department had me not only smiling, but also hoping I find my own ordinary courage to do the same.

happy birthday mom

afternoon tango

On the day we brought Franklin and Mavis home, I set the crate down on the living room carpet and let our two newest family members out to explore. On bended knees, El Fuego quietly said "this feels better". I looked at him and couldn't help but smile while instantly feeling my heart heal. It does feel better and no amount of poop or chewed up shoe laces can ever change that feeling of making things right again. We are a family meant to have dogs.

colors :: week 2

Pink

Brown

Black

White

clearly, the brains of this operation

Yesterday was the official one week celebration of the puppies being home. They are 8 weeks old now and clearly Mavis shows us who the mad scientist is between these two. She's already figured out the system. She rings the bell to go outside...sometimes because she has a job to do and sometimes because she just likes to play outside and chew on the tree. Franklin mostly just follows her lead and constantly tests his boundaries for chewing on stuff.

In fact if we could read his thought process, it would probably sound something like this: "What can I chew? What can I chew? Can I chew on this? How about this? What can I chew? What can I chew?"

Mavis on the other hand would sound more like this: "Hmmm, how do I get my people to open the door? The bell??? I understand now...yeeesssss....I ring the bell and they let me out! Aha!! Hmmmm, how do I get up on the couch? Let me see...What if I bite their foot? No!! That doesn't work. What if I stare really hard at my people with this adorable look? Tilt my head??? Eureka!! It worked!"

waiting to exhale

A lot has happened in last two weeks house wise. We finally sold our house...again. We spent the better part of this last week searching for a place to live. Questions running through our minds on a constant loop. Should we try to buy something, wait for something else to hit the market, or do we rent?? We had a house in mind in which we LOVED the lot. But that was pretty much the best feature. Then out the blue, the agent for a house we almost put a contingent offer on (but was sold to another buyer) fell through and was being put back on the market. We jumped into action. Today we signed the paperwork to buy this house:

Now I just have to hold my breath until October 16th when we close the sale on this house and are rewarded with possession of our new house.

dinosaur rock 'n roll

Miss Divine danced at a local community event this afternoon.

aaa-teeeennnnn-tion!

Did you know when Scottish Terriers are born, their ears do not stand up? Did you know Scotties ears are not docked? In fact, as they grow, their ears slowly stand up all on their very own. The whole business of docking and cropping of dogs makes my tummy a little queasy, but that's another story. When we brought Angus home, his ears were already standing at attention so we didn't get to experience the one morning opening up his crate door and finding a new appearance staring back at us. (Ugh, the amount of missing that dog I feel is hard to measure!) However, on the day we brought Franklin and Mavis home, ears still droopy, we were excited to have the opportunity to watch their many stages of growth. Franklin's ears are now officially both up. And, he reminds me of a mixture of Bolt and a cute fuzzy polar bear.

First day home::droopy ears

day four::one up, one to go


one week home::both ears up

colors :: week 1

Miss Divine's kindergarten class has been dressing in a different color each day of the week. It's been fun trying to scrounge through closets and dressers to find the perfect shade for the day to wear to school. The first week's colors included red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Stay tuned for next week for more color action.

(missing RED ...will try to add it later...forgot to take a picture of the first color day)

ORANGE

YELLOW

GREEN

(after school messy hair look)

BLUE

adventures of franklin & mavis

Introducing Franklin & Mavis

Mavis is a black Scottish Terrier female

half sister of Angus

aka "the boss"

Franklin is a wheaten Scottish Terrier male

half brother of Angus

aka Frankie

They are already making themselves at home...

raingutter regatta

El Fuego got up this morning, cracked open his Raingutter Regatta sailboat kit and made himself a seaworthy vessel. It wasn't the fanciest dinghy by far, in fact he sanded it very little, painted it even less and used a sharpie marker to design the mast. However, his little boat was a speed demon. El Fuego won first place among the Wolves and took second place overall in his Cub Scouts pack. He had a great time which really is all that matters.

call us crazy

We've talked a lot about getting two puppies recently. Living without dogs has been hard. Losing Angus, and then Frieda, so suddenly was even harder. With things looking good with the house we thought we would research pups and contacted the breeder we got Angus from ... ya know, just to see if she had any litters on their way. To our surprise, she did. In fact, they would be ready the following week. This week!! She sent us pictures and we talked back and forth. We've decided to get the one black female and the one wheaten boy. (She also has three wheaten girls, but we can't afford to bring all five home. Plus, THAT would be CRAZY!!) We are driving out to pick up our newest family members tomorrow. I am very eager to meet them.

pizza thursday

Last week, the kids made their own dinner. It was fun for them and I found they ate more of their dinner because they actually made it themselves. Plus, they had left overs which I sent to school in their lunch the next day. Now that's what I call a "win-win"!!

firsts for our last

Last week Petite Artiste started dance. Her very first although she's been going all her life. Watching her big sister getting dropped off with Miss Sue every week and attending performances twice a year. This summer we found tap and soft shoes. We picked out tights and a leotard. When the day finally came, she was thrilled and had a blast.













Today, Petite Artiste finally got to go to preschool....finally! She was in heaven. Her class is made up of all siblings of past students. So much like dance class, she has been going to this preschool all her life. Watching her big sister getting dropped off. Seeing all the fun things and goings ons. She loves her teachers, the school, the cool tree house, awesome loft sandbox, and all the animals including a new member of the critter family. A chinchilla.

rumbly tumbly

I found adorable Little Nummies this weekend and I love it!! I scrolled through the pages today. This lovely site is loaded with inspiration and fun ideas. I can not wait to send some to school with the kids for their lunches. What a fun surprise.

the house so nice, we sold it twice

This weekend has been a bit of a whir wind. All the sudden we got a major rush of traffic and in the end, had ourselves two offers. We countered on offer #1 last night and without hesitation, they agreed to all our terms and accepted. The closing date is in October so we still have to wait through the inspection and appraisal. Based on our last experience five months ago, we continue to hold our breath until the exchange of keys actually happens. Needless to say, I am timidly excited. A little nervous. And, a whole lot anxious.

new blog love

I came across the Frugal Family Fun Blog this evening and I developed a crush. This blog is terrific!! There is nothing better than good times on a budget.

easy mornings

Have kids and a desire to make your mornings go more smoothly? I know in my house, the hustle and bustle of the start of the day is less chaotic if the kids know what clothes they are wearing and where to find them. Check out these cool 'days of the week' tags from Living Locurto. Download yours for free.

35

Yesterday, I turned 35 without a hitch. Effortlessly really. I took a new picture for an updated driver's license. Met with preschool teachers. Had lunch with Mr. Hawthorne. And, wrapped my evening up with kindergarten curriculum night. Not an over-the-top, fabulous day, but a good day none the less. I recently set up my phone to receive a text message every time someone posts a note to my Facebook wall. All day long, I had little reminders of good friends and many birthday wishes. Every time my phone made that familiar little charm noise, I couldn't help but smile.

success

This morning, we successfully delivered one 2nd grader and one kindergartner to the local elementary school. The morning went off without a hitch except for leaving the front door unlocked and wide opened. A fact we didn't discover until after we successfully delivered said 2nd grader and kindergartner.

We were all smiles this morning...

However, once we got to school, El Fuego became a tad nervous and didn't talk much. I'm here to report he really, really loves his shoes and getting to wear them today just might have been the highlight of his day.

Miss Divine was practically an old pro at this game and she was ready to get the party started in spite of the two girls that were crying and clinging to their parents. I saw her brow crinkle for a brief second. In reading her expression I knew she was thinking "should I be scared too?" But a quick kiss and plead to smile for the camera brought out the girl we know and love.
See? There she is!!