Conversation with Aiden

Chris and I were thinking about giving up Izzy to a family that was looking for their first dog. She just seems to not be so happy here...she doesn't like all the foster dogs we bring in and she would prefer that we treat her like a princess, hand feeding her chicken and giving her bottled water to drink. And we thought that she would adore being the only dog in the house like she was before we adopted her. But we knew we had to get the boys ok before we ever did that so I talked to Aiden first......

Aiden I want to talk to you about Izzy

Ok.

You know how she doesn't really like our house?

Yea

Well I think I found another home for her.

She's gone?

No, she's not gone but I'm asking what you think about giving her to a
new family.

If she's gone who will give me the best kisses? (said in that "I'm about to cry" voice)

Ok. Bud, she can stay.

BTW when I tried to have the same conversation with Zach he immediately put his head on the table and started to cry. So even if she hates it here she's stuck with us.

Right now

(Picture taken in August by Chris, Aiden's first day of school)

Right now: (Warning: Lots of random.)

*I am thinking of all my "to-dos." Knowing I need to make a list.

*Researching Migraines, trying to figure out why I can't seems to shake them. Having 1-3 a week instead of 1-3 a month.

*Wishing my Doctor was still practicing and not staying at home with her kids.

*Enjoying my last 10 minutes of quiet before Aiden comes home.

*Listening to Sam and Allie wrestle (she's 10lbs, he's 40lbs). She's winning :)

*Wishing I had the money for a maid

*Glad I finished organizing the laundry room (pictures to come later)

*Missing apple season in NY

*Wish Chris was home

*Just remembered I'm 3 days behind on my bible study...oops

*Zach forgot to put his breakfast away.....do I save it and make him do it when he gets home, or just do it myself?

*Buster just shoved his nose under my arm. He's such a sweet, sweet dog.

*Izzy isn't herself lately, wondering if there is something medical going on.

*If I had a smaller house there would be less to clean....right?

*I think I'll have tuna fish for lunch

*Have to put the bike lock on the fridge in the garage.....Aiden broke the other one. Don't ask why we have to lock the fridge, it's a long story.

*Almost called the police to look for Zach yesterday, he was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be-we had a long talk.

Off to pick Aiden up from the bus. Hope he had a good day today.

99.9

It's been a long time since I have had a fever, even a low grade one but it seems the kids are bringing home more than homework this year.

Boys and I sat at the table tonight and crafted presents for Dave's (their Papa)birthday. It was fun watching them work. I let them use some of my supplies and Aiden was over the moon :) I didn't take pictures but I wish I had.

Thinking about going to bed now.......

Calm

My kitchen is far from calm today. We live in this room and it tends to get the messiest-besides the boys bathroom (they still need to work on aim....) Zach's homework is on the corner of the table, all of my coupon stuff is spread out while I make my lists for the week, the island is full of the boys' work, the newspaper, my bag of knitting, my bible study supplies, etc. I am most calm when it is clean but that will have to wait as the boys and I are going out to dinner since Chris is eating with his work team. I will however have it clean by Friday when my in-laws come (I promise, Dave and Linda :)

Still here

I am still here, just busy. With what, you ask? Here's an example:

Dear Mr. Palmer,

I have noticed that one of your duties as Vice President is going undone and I wish to address this issue.

Supervising children in the bath/shower, this includes:

*giving appropriate amount of shampoo to each child and making sure that suds are produced and whole head is cleaned
*handing over soap and making sure it is used in appropriate places in an appropriate manner and returned to you promptly
*making sure towels are returned to their proper place
*supervising youngest especially well so that he does not "explore" inappropriate items

Supervising the children during bath/shower time does not include:

*playing the DS on the bed
*surfing the web downstairs
*falling asleep on the job

It came to my attention this morning that during shower time last night our youngest broke the hour hand on the bathroom clock and took scissors, he used said scissors to cut soap into itty bitty pieces and possibly used said scissors on his hair.

If you can not perform these duties as described I will be forced to dock your pay.

Please be advised that I require a response to this memo within 1 business day.

Sincerely,
Kristin Palmer
President of Palmer, inc

Ms. President,

I acknowledge my failure in the bathroom/bathing space with said children. My action plan is as follows:

1. Actively participate in the bathing of the youngest child with greater rigor than playing DS
2. Addressing mis-use of cleansing materials to ensure proper storage and long term value
3. Review drying-off materials to ensure proper disposition in the appropriate location
4. Additionally, continuing a previous initiative, pushing the proper use of tooth brushing as a great long-term approach to proper oral care
5. Finally, I will continue to thank you for your sincere efforts in the business and express my undying love for you, respectfully.

As a member of this organization, you understand the great strains we suffer managing a dynamic facility, and I hope you appreciate my humble apology for the aforementioned transgressions against proper bathing practices. Be assured that my full will and intent is behind delivering a level of service acceptable to the Board of Directors, over which you preside.


Regards,
Christian Palmer
VP of Operations
Palmer, inc

Mr Palmer,

Thank you for your prompt response. Your efforts are very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Kristin Palmer

President of Palmer, inc

The thing(s) about fostering

I can not imagine my life without fostering dogs. I love it. I love the furry bellies, the kisses, the doggy hugs. Truly I love giving these, often neglected, dogs love and attention. I love the other people in HART who volunteer their time and talents to help so many of these animals. I love finding deserving people to adopt the animals and seeing how happy they are when they welcome in a new member of their family. Fostering makes me happy.

So many people say they could never foster because they wouldn't be able to give the dogs up. But I'm okay with that part. I know there will always be another needy dog that needs me. For example:

Meet Buffy. She is a 4 year old Cocker Spaniel that was owned by a puppy mill. As soon as she was able to have puppies they bred her, and bred her, and bred her, until she couldn't have anymore. Then the owner was taking her, and others, to the back of the property to shoot them-after all they were no longer useful. Luckily a local woman heard about it and took all the dogs that were about to be shot and begged rescues to take some of them in. HART took in 9. Buffy was the most energetic and happy one out of the bunch. A few are so afraid of human contact you can't pet them. When she was taken in her fur was infested with fleas and crusted in feces, the vet had to shave her and she had bald spots from scratching so much. But she was a loving dog and you should have seen her roll around in grass-that puppy LOVED grass :) She was adopted by a couple with a 5 year old boy and they were so happy to have her. She will live a good long life with them.

Then there are the dogs we fall in love with, the ones that aren't easy to let go of but we do it because the adopters are perfect for the dog. For example:

Petey: Petey's name was Sunshine but we changed it to Petey because he would pee when he was excited. Petey was a 6 month old German Shepherd mix that was found wandering on the GE plant. We took him in and loved him, he loved us too. He also loved to chew on electrical cords. And as mentioned before he had bladder control issues. Chris loved him though and REALLY wanted to adopt him. Petey was so full of life and fun, he was also a good walker. I vetoed it though and Petey was adopted after we had him for just 2 weeks to a family with kids and a pool. Chris still thinks about Petey. .....I don't though :)

This is Maxie. Both of us wanted to keep this sweet 3 year old Puggle. We had even e-mailed the rescue about adopting her when a neighbor asked to adopt her. To us it was the best of both worlds-we could still see her and love on her but we didn't have to add another dog to the mix of our house.

Then there are those dogs that you don't mind seeing leave, you might even do a bit of a happy dance. Like....

Cooter. His real name was Mr. Stubbs but after trying many other names Cooter was the one that stuck. While taking care of Cooter I discovered that I do not enjoy Beagles. I do not like their deep, howly bark. I do not like how they chew on inappropriate items. I do not like all the sniffing and tracking. I do not like them. I do not like them. Kristin I am. Added to that Cooter also peed in my house. All the time. Everywhere. We had him for over a month when I told our Foster Leader that I needed time off during the summer and I gave him to another foster family. He was adopted soon after that.

And then there are those dogs you truly can't imagine parting with. For example....

Meet Allie. She is a six year old Yorkie/Chihuahua mix that was owned by a breeder who was in it for the money not the love of the breed. After she could no longer be bred the owner dropped her off at a kill shelter. HART took her in. I became her foster after her spay surgery. At first she hid under our table and wouldn't come out. Then she got a little more brave and would occasionally come out to be loved on. Then one day I came home and she greeted me with a wagging tail-that was the day I knew I could never give her up. So we aren't. We are adopting this 12lb ball of sweetness and love. She will be ours forever and never know another day without lots of love.

We will still foster dogs. As I said I can't imagine not fostering. Hopefully, though I can remain strong against big brown eyes, doggie kisses and unconditional doggie love. Surely 3 dogs is enough :)

Busy

So busy today.

Here's a peek.

Woke up at 7:10

Took a shower got dressed

Made Zach's lunch

Helped Aiden get ready

Collected Coupons for my shopping trips

Grabbed a granola bar for breakfast

Made sure that Zach had everything he needed for school

Made sure that the dogs were fed, dishwasher emptied and breakfast stuff put away

Loved on our foster dog Allie for a bit

Out the door at 8:30

Got Aiden on the bus 8:40

Got Zach on the bus 8:47

Left for Meijer to grocery shop

Called Aiden's psychiatrist to get an appointment to up his meds while in the car, got appointment for 11am

Shopped at Meijer

Stopped at Target

Stopped by home to put away freezer and fridge things

10:45 Drove to Aiden's Doctor

Saw Doctor, he prescribed a piggyback med for Aiden

Left at 11:30

Called Chris to give him update

Ran into Wal-Mart quickly, bought nothing

Drove home

Put rest of groceries away

12:00 left house to get Aiden from the bus stop

12:15 Made Aiden lunch, ate my lunch, cleaned a bit

12:45 Left for the Blue Park to meet friends

3:00 Came home from park

Cut coupons, cleaned up kitchen

3:30 Aiden went outside to play with the neighbors

I started the laundry and cleaned up a bit more

3:45 I went outside to meet Zach's bus and play with Aiden

stayed outside, helped Zach with some homework, chatted with a neighbor

4:30 came home, let boys play XBox for a bit

more cleaning, and cutting of coupons

5:00 Helped Zach with his last homework sheet while filing my coupons in my binder

5:30 Chris home

5:40 Drywall guy came to talk to us about an estimate for popcorn removal and repair of some ceiling spots damaged by water

6:00 Helped Zach with homework while Chris talked with Drywall guy

6:15 Began dinner (Shrimp Scampi)

6:20 Drywall guy left

6:30 Dinner served

6:55 Helped Chris clean up

7:00 Boys went up to shower

7:15 family game time

7:40 came downstairs, boys in bed

So very tired.

Who says stay-at-home moms don't work

Unique

I don’t know how this started exactly but Aiden has taken to wearing two different shoes. It’s not always a red and blue crocs, sometimes it’s a tennis shoe and a red croc. Or a blue Dino shoe and a blue croc. I’ve tried to get him to wear two of the same shoes, mostly because I am worried about his balance and such if the two shoes have different wear but in the end it’s not a battle that is worth fighting. It’s just another reminder of how unique he is. It’s also easier to find his shoes at Little Gym when we are leaving :)

Aiden goes to school

Aiden's school does a staggered start for Kindergarten. 1/3 of the kids started Monday, 1/3 Tuesday, and 1/3 on Wednesday. Then they all went on Thursday. Aiden's start day was Tuesday and I went with him to fill out the stacks of paperwork while he was in class. Then on Thursday he rode the bus to school!

Here he is on Tuesday before we left for school.

After school he posed for me in front of the Kindergarten sign. He had a wonderful first day. I was able to leave the room with just a kiss and a hug without any tears. When I picked him up he was super excited to go sit in the big yellow bus before we went to lunch. After sitting on the bus he said "I don't want you to come to school with me next time, I can do it on my own." That statement made me SO proud and happy!

Here we are at McDonald's for a celebratory lunch.

And this is Thursday. His first day on the bus. He just walked right on and sat down like he had been doing it for years.

There he is in the first seat. Yea Aiden! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.

First Day of School

Zach went back to school today. Aiden starts tomorrow but doesn't ride the bus until Thursday.

Zach is in Mrs. Walker's class and started the year off with three pages of homework and 20 minutes of reading all due tomorrow. He is ready and NEEDED to go back, I'm so happy that he will be challenged and have to step outside his comfort zone.

We are off to a bit of a rocky start at home though, with both boys having to go to bed early. I'm hoping that it will take us very little time to get back into the swing of things.

My big 8 year old 3rd grader refusing to smile for me on his first day of school.

July recap

Here is a recap of July, in no particular order. Zach's birthday pictures are still on my camera, I'll post them later.

For the first time Zach went away for a whole week to a Christian camp (Springhill). It was 2 1/2 hours away. It was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye. Here we are in front of his tee-pee.

I love this picture. It just describes so well where he is right now. On one hand he is old enough to be going away for a week "on his own" but on the other hand he's still young enough to want to hold my hand.
Here he is on the last day with his two councilors. They were wonderful and he had an awesome time. He really wants to go back next year but I told him we would have to see. He did the zip line and the "gusher" (a waterslide), he learned lessons from the bible, ate s'mores and had campfires every night. He learned campfire songs, went to a concert-even had his hand signed by the lead singer :) I missed him greatly and was surprised by how grown up he seemed when I picked him up. He was so much more respectful and responsible. (It has sense gone downhill :)
While Zach was gone I redid the boys rooms. For Aiden I painted his white bed red, made a cover with "rock star" fabric, made a poster that said "You are a Rock Star" and hung his Venus Fly trap posters.
For Zach- He got a new desk and chair from IKEA and shelves.
I also rehung all of the posters he ripped down a few months ago in a fit of rage.
I painted his bed black, got a cover from IKEA and painted some old shelves we had black for an endtable for him.
At the beginning of the month the boys went to my parents for a week. Chris worked a few of those days but he also took some time off so we could go to Columbus for a nice relaxing time away. This is the garden out back of the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at.
For awhile I sat outside with Chris and read by the outdoor fireplace. It was a wonderful getaway and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Here is Aiden with his Venus Flytrap that he got at Christmas. We transferred it from a small pot to a bigger pot and it's living outside for the summer.
Here is Zach with some of his Bakugan. This is one phase of boyhood I don't really understand along with Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon.

June Recap

I'm still here. Sorry I've been such a bad blogger. I'll try to do better :) Here's a recap of June in no particular order.

In Chicago we met Santa at Bob Chin's Crab House, I guess Santa likes crab legs too.
View from our hotel window.
Zach went to Camp Campbell Guard (M-W 9-5 and spent the night Thursday). He loved it and come home a happy boy.
We had some cool nights so we enjoyed S'mores a lot!
Took the boys to see a Mad Science Show at the Fairfield Community Arts Building. All of us were riveted, it was lots of fun with fire and exploding things, right up my boys alley.
An early birthday party for Zach at Red Robin with Nana and Papa.
Mr. Stubbs, a foster, we had him for about a month. He was an ornery dog. A chewer, barker, pee-er. We wish him well with his new family :)
Zach "graduated" 2nd grade. I can't believe that I have a 3rd grader!

Wednesday

Still trying to catch up on all the pictures that have piled up.....Meet Wednesday. Chris went away for two straight weeks the end of April so we didn't have any fosters at that time (hard enough to manage the two boys and our 2 dogs!) Wednesday is the first foster we had when he returned (picked her up a mere 14 hours after Chris arrived home :) She only stayed with us a week, she now lives on a farm with her doggie sister Phoebe. I'm sure she's happy.

before and after

Before......

......and after

Izzy went in for a haircut the end of April and came out shaved.....she is happy to not have so much fur, to be a little cooler at least.

Park

During Easter weekend we took the dogs to a park near my parents and went on a walk on one of the walking paths. All along the path there are sculptures and Zach felt the need to pose by each one. Aiden on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the camera and we had to sneak to take any pictures of him.

Easter

We celebrated Easter with my parents in Illinois. We had an egg hunt in the morning, went to a park in the afternoon (pictures to come later), and a yummy dinner that night. It was a very delightful weekend.