Our New Puppy

After the loss of our precious Alabama Tide "Allie", we were devastated and completely beside ourselves with grief. 

Our Beagle Baylee was acting so lonely and her face even turned greyer than it had been. 

We talked for a long time about how it seemed like our house just wasn't a home without our sweet White Boxer in it.  We talked about getting another puppy but knew we wanted one just like Allie, white with a little brown marking.  If you know anything about Boxers, you know that it's not easy to find a white Boxer with a brown marking.  I wanted the brown on the same side as Allie also, the right side. 

When Allie's stomach turned over the vet said it could have been a genetic defect in her family line.  Since we found Allie at a pet store, we had no idea who her parents were and if they were in good physical shape. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was searching on the internet for a white boxer puppy and looked on puppyfinder.com.  I was just enjoying looking at all the adorable Boxer puppies and figured I wouldn't find one within driving distance of our house, but came upon a breeder in southern Oklahoma.  She had just had a litter with two white ones, a female and a male.  We wanted a female so I called and talked to her.  She told me the female was white all over except a brown eyeshadow on her right eye.  The same side that Allie had a brown ear.  The puppy had two parents that were Grand Champions and the breeder sent me pictures and they were beautiful Boxers.

I talked to Mr. H about it and he said to have the breeder send us pictures of the puppy.  When we saw the puppy, we just fell in love.   While no dog will ever replace our one of a kind Allie, we thought this puppy would be one that Allie would have liked.  I honestly believe she would have really liked this puppy.  I just had a good feeling about this.

We made a deposit and arranged to pick up the puppy in Tulsa when the breeder was on her way to a dog show with the puppy's Daddy Jackson. 

Next, we knew we wanted to keep it secret from the boys because it would be a big surprise to see a little puppy come in the house.  That was the hardest secret I have ever had to keep.  I was so excited for them, I wanted to tell them at some point everyday while we waited. 

The biggest decision was what to call the new puppy.  The breeder had named her Maybelline because of her brown eyeshadow but we decided we wanted to call her Alabama Tide "Allie II".  We love the University of Georgia's mascot UGA and the family that breeds the bulldogs just name the next dog UGA V, UGA VI, UGA VII, so we decided to do the same.  My husband wants all of his Allies buried with him in his casket and he isn't kidding either.  He adored that dog and was crushed when she passed away.

We brought a pink ribbon to tie around Allie's neck when we picked her up.

We walked into the house and I had my video camera ready.  I wish I could put the video on this blog but I was excited and yelling for the boys during the entire thing and I don't want their real names on here.

Small Fry's first reaction was to say, Ohhhhh!

Tater Tot said he knew we would buy a puppy! 

The boys were so excited!  They instantly fell in love and wanted to love on her.  They hugged and kissed on her and she was loving it.

Having a new puppy is a lot like having a newborn in the house but we are loving every second of it. 

She has brought a joy back to our house that we thought was lost when our first baby died.

Instantly at home with her Daddy.

Allie II's parents - gorgeous Boxers

Momma and Daddy

Momma

Stormy Easter

Today it has stormed all day long.....kind of yucky weather for an Easter holiday. 

The boys were with their Daddy so we had a quiet day of cooking.  We picked the boys up at 4 and went over to Mr. H's Moms house for our Easter dinner.  We had the best food; ham, turkey, corn, green bean casserole, green beans and new potatoes, salad and grape salad. 

We always have the best time when we are all together.  Mr. H's siblings are hilarious and we are all close, which makes for a funny family dinner!

I took two dishes to the Easter get together:

Aunt Gail's Grape Salad

4 lbs. seedless green grapes

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

1 (8 oz.) container sour cream

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 oz. chopped pecans

2 tbs. brown sugar

Wash and dry grapes.  In large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla.  Add grapes and mix until evenly incorporated.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans, mix again and refrigerate until serving.  Calories 479 Fat 27.1 g per cup.

Momma's Green Bean Casserole

6 cans green beans

3 cans cream of mushroom soup

*bacon grease

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

French's fried onions-1 small can

Cook green beans in approximately 3 tablespoons bacon grease.  After cooking 30 minutes, transfer green beans to casserole dish.  Mix 3 cans of cream of mushroom soup with the green beans in the casserole dish.  Top with fried onions and then cheddar cheese.  Bake 30 minutes in 350 degree oven. 

*Bacon grease is the secret.  Makes this green bean casserole the best you've ever tasted!

The women in the family

The men in the family

 

The cute grandkids- all close in age, 15, 14, 12, 10 8, 7

You have to take a goofy pic

Look at what everyone does in 2011 at a holiday gathering. They all sit on their phones checking Facebook and Twitter.

After eating our Easter dinner with Mr. H's family, we went to my Momma's house.  She has been having some health problems and just wasn't up to leaving the house so we took her a plate of dinner.  While we were visiting with my Momma, it started hailing soooo bad.  We even tried to pull my car into her garage but it wouldn't fit.  We decided just to leave and try to get home where my car could be in the garage.  When we got home, this is what was in the front flowerbeds.

Have you ever tried to potty train a new puppy when its thundering, lightening and hailing???? 

It's almost impossible.

Mr. H was trying to coax her to potty. In...the...rain. 

 My poor flowerbed. 

I Stand Corrected!

I recently received the comment below on my post about going to the Drummond Home in Hominy, Oklahoma.  I hate that I got the facts wrong and I wanted everyone to see the corrections that someone in the Drummond family sent me.  I think I know who it might be and if its C. Drummond....he's my friend on Facebook and I adore his posts.  He's the father of one of my high school classmates and he has more insightful comments on FB than I have ever seen.  Every post ends with him saying....Think About It, and I honestly do sit and think about his comment.   I'll have to post a couple on here. I have no idea where he finds them but they are good.  He is a lawyer, heck, he might just come up with them. 

"That sounds like a very nice day out with your family. I would, however, like to correct you on a few things. 1. The Drummond Home was built in 1905-ish. 2. The Drummond Sign is NOT the entrance into 'The Pioneer Womans' house. The entrance to their house is actually unmarked. The house that is 5 miles up the road from the Drummond Sign belongs to another family member. 3. the most important part....the Drummond family is not the largest land owner in Oklahoma. That award goes to the Mormon Church and Ted Turner. I apologize but I just wanted to let you know of the errors. But thank you for visiting my family's ancestors home in Hominy OK."

I do have to say that I did learn a few of these corrections coincidentally when I was in Fairfax, OK visiting Mr. H's family for an early Easter last weekend.  We had passed a ranch that had buffalo on it and we stopped to take a picture. 

I had just been told that Ted Turner is actually one of the largest landowners in Oklahoma.  Apparently, he owns a huge section of land running through middle America or at least that's what I've been told.  I thought that was interesting because if you had asked me who owned a huge ranch in Oklahoma, Ted Turner would not have been my answer.

On a sidenote, I worked at a radio station my last summer of college because I wanted to be a radio DJ.  Well, the Station Manager told me a story about when he was working in Atlanta at a TV station.  He worked with a really strange guy.  The strange guy approached him one day and told him he needed to quit the TV station and start a business with him.  He was going to start his own cable network.  (Remember this was before cable was huge.)  Anyway, he told the strange guy that he would just stay at the TV station.  He thought the guy was crazy and there was no way he would go into business with him.  Well.........later that cable network became CNN and the strange guy was none other than Ted Turner-HA!  That's about how my luck runs!!!

I wanted to also post a picture of an area in Hominy, Oklahoma that is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  When you drive into Hominy, there is a big hill that looks over the small town of Hominy.  On that hill, an artist sculpted numerous Indians in metal and they are all lined up on the top of the hill looking like a group of Indian scouts on the warpath.  It's simply beautiful and it has been there for at least 10 years now.

Spring is Sprung

I"m hoping that this weather is gone and that Spring is finally here!

I like this front porch with the planters and blue ceramic.  Our shutters are black and the blue would look pretty with the sage green of our house.  I want to add more green in the front flowerbed instead of so many flowers.

Soon we'll need to worry about getting this thing working again.  We left about 2 feet of water in the bottom during the winter and now we're going to have to shock the heck out of it with chlorine to get the green water clear again.  We might just drain it again and refill it.

I'm ready to wear shorts with tan legs.

And ready to wear cute halter shirts!

And lay in the backyard tanning!

And see these cuties playing outside with my flowerbed looking this good.

This cutie isn't here anymore but she will be in spirit!

Monday Miscellaneous

I forgot to mention that I opened the newspaper the other day and look who was in the middle of the page - Small Fry.  He loves to give that silly close mouthed grin. I think its adorable.  They were in the paper because their teacher is writing a grant to get each student in the class an IPod for doing educational games and reading. They'll love that!

We grilled ribeyes the other night and when we sat down at the table to eat, I looked out the window and there were two birds just sitting on the fence enjoying the weather.  I have no idea what kind of birds they are but they looked so cute just sitting there. 

After Allie passed away, we tried really hard to make sure Baylee was feeling ok.  I know she was very confused the night we came home without Allie because she kept looking around for her.  It's been so hard for Baylee to stay in the backyard without her playmate. 

We thought we'd treat her to a spa visit and I had them paint her nails glitter blue.  So cute.  She even got a blueberry facial!

A couple of weeks ago when I was at the mall, I bought the new Lady Gage nude lipstick and lip gloss.  I took a pic of myself on the way home to see what it looked like.  I'm silly but who cares!  It's a great nude and will look terrific this summer when I have a tan.

I found a gorgeous Spring/Summer rug at TJ Maxx. I like to change our living room rug from the red one for Fall/Winter to the summery one.  I also change the pillows on the couch from sage green in Winter to blue/green paisley in Summer. I had picked a rug out in the Pottery Barn catalog but it was so expensive.  When I saw this one during a lunchtime shopping trip, I knew I had to have it.  It was $300 less than the rug at Pottery Barn.  Now that's what I call shopping!

I have to show you the thorn in my side.  It's our Frazier chair.  You know, just like the chair that Fraziers dad brought to his apartment when he moved in.  Well, when I met Mr. H, I thought surely he would get rid of his favorite recliner when we built our new house, but noooooooo.  He loves it and wants to keep it.]

I guess I'm going to have to get him a new one for Christmas and have the movers get rid of the ugly Frazier chair when they move a new one in.  I'm so sneaky!  Sadly, I think he would be so sad without his trusty beat down, stained up recliner.  Men....they kill me sometimes.

Allie's Impact

We just got a message on Facebook that one of my best friends parents are now getting a Boxer puppy because of the love and sheer joy that they saw Allie bring to our lives while she was with us. 

That was the most heartwarming thing anyone has said to me since her passing.  The fact that she has made an impact on a family and shown them how awesome it is to have a Boxer is so wonderful.

Allie was and still is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to our family.  She loved her human pack and always wanted to be near us no matter where we were.

The week before she passed away, I had the stomach flu and layed in bed for 4 straight days with Allie.  Now, I'm thankful that we got that time to snuggle and just lay near each other.  Allie brought so much comfort to everyone of us. 

Her favorite thing in the world was to come straight back inside in the mornings after doing her business and run into the bedroom to snuggle with her Daddy in bed.  She was wait by the bedside staring at him until he said, "Well, come on." Then she would jump up, go to my side of the bed and Mr. H was pull up the covers for her to get under and lay down.  Then she'd give him some morning kisses by licking his hand until falling to sleep.  She would lay in bed all morning tucked in until it was time for me to go to work.

I always loved coming over and giving her a few smooches every morning!

I think this might be the last picture taken of her while she was laying next to Small Fry asleep while he watched TV in my bedroom.  She just always wanted to be near her human, especially the boys.

She loved perching on the big chair in the living room where she could watch everyone in the living room.  She always knew where everyone was when she was laying in "her" chair with her favorite blankets.

We hope she's laying on a cloud watching down on us everyday now.

Birthday Lunch

Today we met everyone in the family for my sister-in-laws birthday lunch.  I slept in late until about 10:30 because my sinuses are killing me.  I've felt horrible for about three days now.  I hate sinuses and all of the cruddy feelings that accompany the change in seasons.

We met at Red Lobster because that's my SIL's favorite restaurant.  She cracks me up because she orders snow crab legs and actually has the patience to sit there and peel the crab legs, everyone of them, before eating them. I would go crazy spending a good 20 minutes just getting my food ready to eat.

I was stunned at Red Lobster because they took Gumbo off of the menu.  Are you kidding me???!!!! Gumbo was the reason I liked going to Red Lobster.  I ordered the soup and salad and my soup was Lobster Bisque.  It was actually terrific though.  I might just order that whenever we go eat there.

We came home and were planning on going to my 8 year old nephews baseball game but the wind today is blowing about 30 to 35 miles an hour which kills my head.  I took a nap and Mr. H didn't wake me up in time to leave for the game so we've just been hanging out watching Mythbusters.  It's a pretty relaxing Sunday!

The First Middle School Dance



Tator Tot and his cousin Taylor-such cuties!



This last Friday night was Tator Tot's first middle school dance.  He was excited to get to go "party" with his buddies.  Of course, being the nervous Momma, I had to run to the mall to make sure he had a cute shirt to wear.  I bought a blue and pink striped button down, the blue checkered button down he chose to wear and a pink polo.  He looked cute in all of them, but thought he looked better in the blue one with his khaki shorts and new blue Reebok Reezigs.  You know, you have to get the outfit right!

He invited his best friend Braden over to spend the night.  He also invited his buddy Will over but he had to leave after the dance because he had a rodeo early the next morning.  We also went and picked up their friend AJ, who rode with us to the dance. 

It was fun before we left because one of our neighbors was out cleaning his bumble bee looking brand new Charger to drive his granddaughter to the dance in.  So cute.  The boys were being so cute with the young girls all outside taking pictures beforehand. The boys tried to act like they weren't looking at the girls but I knew they were. Ha!



Skateboarding




My handsome 6th grader




Practicing the snake before the dance





Look who's as tall as his Momma!



The gang all walking into the dance



Allie - A Piece of Our Hearts Forever

06/04/2006 - 03/24/2011

July 11, 2009

Allie the Flowergirl

Last Thursday afternoon the boys came home from school and found our precious White Boxer Allie hiding in the corner of the yard and barely breathing. 

She was stone cold and panting heavily, unable to move.

We rushed her to the animal hospital in Tulsa and she arrived with no heartbeat.  They performed CPR and got a heartbeat but she wasn't able to clot her blood due to the trauma.

Her stomach had turned over and she was dying of bloating. 

No one could tell us why barrel chested dogs are prone to this, it just happens sometimes.  It's how Marley died in Marley & Me.

We had no other choice but to put her down.  She was bleeding out of her mouth and rectum and was on a respirator.  We didn't want her to suffer at all.

It was the saddest sight I've ever seen.  We spent several minutes saying our goodbyes, telling her we loved her more than anything and kissing her sweet jowls over and over.

The boys and I left the room and Mr. H stayed with her until the end, closing her eyes after she passed.

The fact that we weren't there for her when she needed us will always haunt me.  I feel like I let her down.

She was one of the most important things in the world to our family and she will never be forgotten. She was a member of our family and I know she knew that.

We had her cremated and have ordered a special walnut colored urn with her name engraved and her picture on the front.  It should be here in about two weeks.  We plan to keep it on our mantel so she's always with us.

8 Days

8 Days

That's 8 Days of the Stomach Virus in our house. Yuck!

My kids went with their Dad last week to Branson, Missouri for Spring Break.  They stayed at this really cool hotel with an indoor waterpark.  They had a great time and came home last Tuesday night.  I went to dinner with my friends Nancy and Jennifer at P.F. Changs and had the best time.  When I got home, Mr. H said that Small Fry was in his room laying down because his stomach was hurting.  I figured he ate something that didn't agree with him and just let him rest for a while. 

Then.....the puking started. 

Small Fry was sick from Wednesday night until Friday morning.

Tater Tot started getting sick early Friday morning and was sick until Sunday morning.  I thought they were good on Sunday but that afternoon they came back inside from riding bikes and both of them had stomach aches again.   

NOOOOO!

I let them stay home from school on Monday and I started feeling bad.  Great!  If there's one thing I hate, it's puking!

I've now been off work Monday, Tuesday and now today. 

I hope I don't get fired from my part-time job for taking too many days off. 

I'm finally starting to feel better and to top things off, I've now weighed close to my 5%

goal for Weight Watchers! I guess that's a crappy way to lose weight.  Ha ha!