Enjoying our New Puppy

Our sweet Allie is 11 weeks old.  She's going to the vet soon to get her checkup.

She is so funny. She loves the boys.  She chases them around the house trying to puppy bite them.  Baylee, our Beagle, has finally warmed up to the puppy and loves playing with her.  They will play and play for hours right in the middle of the living room.  It's our family entertainment!

You would think Allie would know that little ladies do no sleep with their legs wide open.  Silly puppy!  Momma needs to teach her some manners!

She came in from the outside and was cold so we put her in the recliner and covered her up.  Doesn't she look sweet?!

Sprucing Up the Flowerbeds

I finally found the time to get outside and spuce up the front flowerbeds.  I decided that I only wanted to put green plants in the beds with red mulch.  I had debated whether to use black mulch but figured with my red brick, the red mulch would look good.

I added some rosemary plants that smell sooo good.  I love walking by and smelling them at the edge of the beds. 

I love the clean look of just the greenery and not colored flowers.  I can't wait for my Crepe Myrtle to bloom.  This is the first time I've attempted to prune them.  I'm really scared I butchered them but my hubby assures me they'll bloom.

Mother's Day

This is the day I like to think about how blessed I am to have two very special little boys.  Well, maybe not so little anymore.  Tater Tot is 12 and Small Fry is 10.  It's amazing to me to think that it's been 10 years since I was a Momma with a newborn and a 28 month old.  I was so nervous and terrified that I'd never be able to take care of two little ones at the same time.  And take care of them I did, very well, I might add. 

It's been the best journey, navigating through the path of motherhood.  I've learned a lot of things in the past ten years, first off, never listen to any well meaning people who give bad advice.  I am the Mom and I know best.  I breastfed and people would make comments like "Are you going to go to Kindergarten with them?"  I actually worried about peoples opinions.  In hindsight, I should have known that the people who give the most advice are typically the worst parents. 

I remember learning the meaning of Mother Lion the minute I had Tater Tot.  It was instantaneous for me.  I instantly knew that I would protect and love my little boy(s) more than anything in the world and would do anything to make them happy, healthy and content. 

We spent this Mother's Day at my Mother-In-Laws house.  We just grilled hamburgers and bratwurst.  We had some yummy sides like potato salad, baked beans, fruit salad and a garden salad.  It was so good and I didn't feel like we spent all day working on the food.  The guys did the grilling and helped us avoid staying in the hot kitchen when it was such a pretty day.

I was sad on Mother's Day because my Momma couldn't come over to my MIL's house.  She's been having some health problems and hasn't felt well lately.  She has a constant dizzy feeling and can't walk very well.  They think its some medication that she was taking and have since taken her off of it.  I hope it helps.  We did go over to her house and spend time with her. We even brought her a plate of food with dessert.  I gave my Mom four cute outfits that I had found for her.  She looks cute in them, and really needed new crop pants.

My Mother-In-Law with her card and money to buy some clothes

My MIL and I with my brother-in-law behind us holding up rabbit ears-he's crazy!

I had to laugh at this picture of my MIL and my hubby.  They are sitting exactly alike and have the exact same profiles!

My beautiful niece and I

My other babies - Allie II and Baylee

My baby - 12 weeks old

Saturday

This morning I got up and headed over to the mall to pick up a couple outfits for my Mom for Mother's Day.  She's had a hard time with falling in the last nine months and it's kept her from doing a lot of walking and getting around.  She hasn't felt the best so I wanted to get her some cute clothes to help her perk up a little.  She's a great Mom and she's always been a great help to me.  She hasn't been herself since my Dad died six years ago and I feel a great responsibility for her.  I help her pay her bills and I do the grocery shopping for her.  I figure it's the least I can do for her since she raised me and has always helped me with the boys.

I got lucky at the mall, I found four super cute cropped pant outfits and I can't wait for her to see them.  I think she'll really like them.

I also picked up some flowers at Home Depot.  I decided I only want greenery in our front flowerbeds and white flowers in the back.  It's my little memorial to Allie, our white boxer, that passed away recently.  White flowers just seemed fitting.

When I got home, I sat in the living room watching our new puppy Allie playing with Baylee, our Beagle.  I have never seen Baylee play like this.  I think she really enjoys having the puppy around to wrestle when she gets a little energy.

Notice that the puppy loves biting on Baylee.  She just figured out how to jump on the ottoman two days ago.  She's only jumped up there twice and we were so excited.  It's like a newborn learning to roll over for the first time!

I'm off to spread red mulch in my flowerbed.  Hope it looks good!

Healthy Vegetable Pasta Recipe

I don't even have a recipe for this dish.  I just throw the most vegetables I can find in a pan and saute. 

This time I had onions, carrots, zucchini and mushrooms.

I cooked them until just tender while I boiled some whole wheat pasta.

After the vegetables have all sauteed, mix in a 14 oz. can of tomatoes and julienned fresh basil leaves.

Heat it all together, then mix in with the drained whole wheat pasta.

I added some Cavender's Greek Seasoning and a little salt and pepper.  This is the easiest and simplest pasta dish to feed my family.  My boys loved it and I felt good feeding them so many great veggies!

Please Pray For Alabama

Please pray for those affected by the horrible tornadoes in Alabama. 

My Momma is from Alabama and luckily all of our family there is safe and sound.  I know that there are so many people not as lucky.

Puppy's First Walk

Yesterday we took Allie on her first walk down the Nature Trail.  It was super windy and I'm not sure she knew what was going on.  She just stood in her spot first and shook.  She was scared to death because she'd never been out of the backyard. 

We held her half of the time and she finally started walking if I walked in front of her.  She wanted to follow me and that's the only way she'd do it.

We think she loved the walk.  She even tried to chase after a cyclist that rode by us!

CamWow on the IPhone-AKA Entertaining Your 9 Year Old

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