We Must Be Crazy-Another Dog

Yes, I'm sure my husband and I are just a tad bit off our rockers. LOL

We have 5 kids, which a lot of people who just meet us don't believe when we tell them. Then on top of that we have a BUNCH of dogs. I say a bunch because I'm not even sure of the count right now, but we DO have more dogs than kids.

Then...we went out and got this...


Yup - it's a French Bulldog. I'm actually starting a little blog about our adventure of raising a Frenchie for the first time after all our experience with pitbulls and about having a house dog for the first time and about having a dog we can actually enter shows with for the first time. We'd love to do shows with our pits too, but there are no UKC shows in Hawaii so when my husband started getting interested in that part of the dog world, we had to find something else to work with. The frenchie is it.

Well...At Least I Get the Day Off

We just finished a long tiring weekend. I coach softball at a nearby high school and we were running a tournament for the weekend. So that means we got home late Friday and Saturday and were up early both days of the weekend to get to the field in time to help set up the fields and the concession. After all day at the park on Saturday (8:00am-9:30pm), we had to be back at the field at 7:00am on Sunday. With a number of dogs to take care of, that means we had to get up at 5:00 in the morning to let our dogs out and give them water and feed them and everything before we left for the day. I know this doesn't sound like a day off...but I'm getting to that part.

By the time we were done on Sunday (thankfully it wasn't an all day affair again) we were soooo tired. We got home at about 3:00pm and all took a nap. We had planned to get up at 5:00pm to do our thing with the dogs, take a shower, and then go out to eat (heck if I was going to cook). BUT, we didn't get up until 7:30! Even the baby was fast asleep still and she would have been fine if we didn't wake 'till morning I think. BUT, I was getting hungry and I knew if we didn't go out with the dogs, my husband would have a mess to deal with in the morning. According to him though, he would have been fine with the trade off. He wouldn't have minded one bit if I just let him sleep 'till morning. Now, I'm almost to the part where I get the day off.

Even though we got up late, we still took care of our dogs and went out to eat. Dinner was fabulous and so was the ice cold water we got to drink throughout dinner. Two days in the sun makes water taste wonderful! Anyway - on to the day off.

My husband wakes up a few hours earlier than we do to go to work. After he left, I was just about falling asleep when he called to ask what debit card he can use to put gas in his truck. I give him his answer and try to go back to sleep. Again, I'm just about falling asleep and he calls again. WTH? He knows how much I love my sleep. Especially after a long, tiring weekend. Here's where I get the day off. He called to tell me that the keys for my car are in his truck. I have no idea how they got there, but they are there. Soooo, that means I don't have a way to get the kids to school this morning or a way to run any errands. I got to sleep in a little and I get to stay home allllll day! Maybe I'll get some much needed laundry done. :)

Yikes, Cost of Living Predictions Coming True

When I was younger I always remember my parents talking about how cheap things used to be. How they could get a handful of candy for a dime...how they could go to the movies for wayyyyy less than the $4.50-$5.00 I was paying when I was in high school. Based on what they told me, when my oldest daughter was born, I remember telling my husband that by the time our daughter old enough to drive and go on dates to the movies she'd have to pay $100 to fill up her tank of gas and $20 would NOT be enough for 2 people to go to the movies anymore.

When we were in high school, my husband used to tell me that it cost $20 to fill up the tank in his El Camino. So I multiplied that by 5 and that's where I came up with the $100 prediction for a tank. Now back in 1996-1997 that sounded quite ridiculous. But here we are in 2007. My daughter is just 10 years old and the other day I went to fill up my tank and the PUMP stopped when it hit $75. It didn't stop because my tank was completely filled, but just because the pumps at that particular gas station won't go over $75 for any one transaction. My tank was just about full, but probably could have taken a few more dollars. So....by the time my daughter is driving in 6-7 years, I'm thinking it will cost about $100 to fill up our gas tank.

Then there are the movies. My husband and I used to be able to withdraw $20 from the ATM and that would be enough for us to eat and go to the movies. I think the cost of movies here is currently about $8-$9 per ticket, so I'm quite sure my other prediction will come true too. When my oldest daughter is old enough to go on dates to the movies, $20 will NOT be enough for her and her date to gain entrance to a movie theater much less ea dinner too. Like I said, 10 years ago when I told my husband these things, they seemed kind of far-fetched. It's kind of strange to see it actually happening.

You Know You're a Mom When...

Recently our local newspaper ran an article that shared some thoughts from Hawaii moms on "You know you're a mom when..."

They gathered the information from HawaiiMoms.com and I just thought you'd get a kick out of reading what some Hawaii Moms had to say. You can read the article HERE.

Wanna know some of my thoughts? Here they are...

You Know You're a Mom When...

...going to the grocery store by yourself is a big treat.

...the word "No" becomes the most commonly used word in your vocabulary.

...the majority of your conversation for the day happens with people who are under the age of 5.

...you look for your kids even when they aren't with you.

...you know that a room of quiet kids often means trouble.

...the day you meet the kids named "I don't know" and "Wasn't me" they are really going to get it!

...you feel super special when you get a meal all to yourself and you don't have to share.

...you don't need an alarm clock to wake up by 7 am

How about you? Do you have some you can share?

Progression of the Belly

I don't know why, but with my first 3 kids, I never really took any pictures while pregnant. I don't really have any belly shots from those pregnancies. Maybe it's just because I was young and didn't think I wanted pictures of myself with a big belly and "tissue stores."

But, now that I'm older, things have changed and this time, I have LOTS of belly shots. :) I've always heard of people talking about "popping" preggo bellies, but never really felt like I experienced it until this time. It seems like overnight, I went from "bump" to full blown "belly" and I'm loving every minute!

So.....here's a picture for you...the progression of the belly....

Click for larger view

Who Are You Today?

The reason I ask is because today, March 5th, is Multiple Personalities Day. What do you do on this day? Are we celebrating that people have Multiple Personalities? Is it more of an awareness day? Hmmmm....maybe today I'll be Mila.

No, but seriously, I can't imagine living with something like that is anything to joke about. Do you know anyone who has multiple personalities? I've never really met anyone like that. I hope no one I know ever has to deal with that because I can't begin to imagine what it must be like. I hope none of us has to find out.

On a lighter note, tomorrow is National Frozen Food Day. Who comes up with these things? Why are we celebrating food in our freezer? I much prefer fresh food, but I suppose it does make life easier and I admittedly love Bagel Bites. Plus, if you're talking about celebrating ice cream as a frozen food, I have to say I'm all for it. In 1984, Ronald Reagan proclaimed March 6 as Frozen Food Day and called upon the American people to observe this day with "appropriate ceremonies and activities." What exactly constitutes "appropriate ceremonies and activities?"

Why Are Shower Curtains So Expensive?

Goodness. I went out and bought a new shower curtain today. We usually just change the liner, but I decided to finally buy a new curtain because our old one had two broken holes and didn't hang up the way it's supposed to. I didn't realize how expensive shower curtains could be - $30! It's a piece of vinyl with a design on it that doesn't even really do anything. I suppose regular curtains /drapes cost just as much though. Anyway - I guess if I had customers like me (only purchase once every few years - that's about how often I buy a shower curtain) I'd try to get as much out of them in one crack as possible.

While on this topic of shower curtain cost, I came across the Forbes article which shares the Most Expensive Household Items for 2006. In that article, it talks about someone spending $6000 on a shower curtain! Eeek - $30 looks like a bargain next to that!