Burn!

Once again, I should be packing. What is my problem?! Whenever I need to pack, I blog. It never does anything for my productivity, my bags don't magically pack themselves while I tap away at the keyboard...yet, I still find myself here. Instead of there. You know there, the place of organization and time efficiency. ;)

Anyway, thought I'd share a little Bugga and a little of me today before we escape to CO and then Mexico (yeah baby!).

If you look real close at the above picture...past the toddler booty...at the dirty basement window, you'll see a little green glow. That is Monkey. =) Or rather, that is Monkey's tag. I'm sure she was in there silently brooding and plotting her ultimate escape. ;)

Below, Libby and Bugga dig in the dirt together. In so many ways, these two were like naughty siblings. If they weren't causing trouble together, they were fighting over some toy or other. ;) Notice, I say was. Libby moves on to her hopefully-forever home today. It will be on a trial basis for right now, foster-to-adopt we call it. Send good thoughts to Libby and the family that has fallen for her and hope that they are the right match for each other!

More digging. Solo digging this time, though I imagine if you could go back in time and pan out from this photo you would find some kind of orneriness taking place by Libby or Paisley, or possibly both. Or J for that matter!

We went to the Arboretum on Sunday. What an awesome place! We will definitely be going back as we're pretty sure we saw but a fraction of what there was to see. That's what we get for trying to blow through naptime (YAWN..."we're just blowing through naptime, aren't we?!" A quote for you Arrested Development fans out there).

Back to the Arboretum, it was like a mix between Buschart Gardens in Victoria, BC and the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. Very cool and so much closer than either of those also very cool places. ;)

Here Momma was slinging a somewhat crabby Bug. He was his pleasant fun-loving self much of the time, but he started to breakdown as we walked through the gardens. It is amazing how popping him in his sling dramatically improves life for all of us. ;)

And finally, as the title suggests, I burned myself this past weekend. =( I was making what has become a staple around here--refried beans with cinnamon and clove (from the How to Eat Supper Cookbook)--when I slipped with the masher and threw boiling bean mixture back onto myself. Do you suppose that's a sign I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing. Ugh. And a painful sign at that. =(

I even blistered. Yuck! And OWWWW. On the bright side, I have counted my blessings time and again over the fact that Grady, Paisley, Libby and J were all out of reach of the hot flying beans. Whew! The cats don't hang in the kitchen while I'm cooking generally, plus let's face it they're fast, so I don't feel like it was luck that kept them out of harm's way.

Okay, must go. Must go NOW! Those bags won't pack themselves, as I've learned time and again. Plus, I have to drop Libby off and take Paisley to class, where she will then board with our trainer while we are gone.

We'll be seeing some of you soon! Muchos updates for the rest of you all later. HEHE.

OH and I feel quite nearly famous today...go check out the BAD RAP blog. ;)

Bugga-Vision

And now I return you to your regularly scheduled programming...


(In case anyone out there might be wondering...yes, that is the magic door behind which we found our dearly departed woodchuck...but no, Grady was not the one who found it.)

The standard joke around here "But you can't crate the kid..." Wait a minute, is it okay if he crates himself???? =)

Shoes, glorious shoes!!! Look, he even has them on the right feet, must be a budding baby genius, yes?! ;) HAHAHA.


Pucker up baby! J captured this, I think it is pretty fun. =)

Bugga lifting himself up while holding on to Papa's fingers. While Paisley peeks from behind (okay, so I couldn't go completely pet-free. What can I say?! They're always around.)

Here you get to see Angry Bug. Mad because his coveted broomstick got stuck in the fence. By his own doing, I might add. Not that it matters to a toddler whose fault it is. ;)

I'm sneaking in a picture of our new toy. We've gone over the deep end people!


It's been storming all day. Evidently that was just the right incentive I needed to blog. Okay, maybe not, but today it was and it happened to be rainy. I love the rain! I don't so much love being stuck inside with a toddler, 2 crazy pooches, and moody cats, but such is life.

In less than a week now we'll be in CO...wooohooo! And then in just over a week, off to sunny Mexico! We have been the great traveling Jacksons this year, very odd for us.

Back to real life and my messy kitchen and my once-again misbehaving dishwasher. Darn lemon of a thing! Must clean up from lunch--mmmm, Fall risotto with pear a fried sage leaves. YUM if I do say so myself. ;)

I think I've salvaged the month of September, but I can't promise I'll see you until mid-October. Well, "see" in a bloggy sense, but you knew that right?! Of course, maybe I'll get a wild hair and post again tomorrow. You just never know. =) At any rate, thanks for tuning in.

This one's for the dogs

I'll keep my rambling to a minimum today. I know, I know, it must be your lucky day! ;)

Our Paisley sweet with her collarmania collar I mentioned some time ago; here is a better shot of it (you might have to click to make it larger to really see it).

And this one just made J and I bust a gut when we first saw it. Maybe you need to click to make it larger. Or maybe you need to know and love her to see just how funny it is...anyway, if you don't giggle, well...bullocks to you (that's right, I went British there for a sec).

See how big MadLibs is getting?! Oh my! =)

And here Missy Pants just looks regal. To me, anyway. ;) Isn't our girl pretty?!

Libby Loo up close and personal. This little lady is beyond spunky, luckily the rest of the time she is usually beyond sweet. ;) Her meet-and-greet got moved to this coming Saturday, so stay tuned for the Libby update.

Also stay tuned for the big Bug update. Or at least pictures...coming soon...I promise!

NE City

Okay, I hate to bury that post about Auntie Ruth (so Ruth if you're reading...scroll down lady!). Especially since I'm so terribly lacking in creativity right now (uhhh, check the title). But hey, 2 blog posts in 2 days, whatcha gonna do?! ;)

About a month ago now, we traveled back to NE and I haven't shared any pictures (ack, what is wrong with me?!). J was working near Nebraska City for a week and Bugga and I joined him for a bit in between time in Superior visiting with the fam. Here we are at the Arbor Day Tree Farm, where they had this awesome little outdoor space for kiddos. They had this huge marimba, very fun!


There was a little tree house set up with panels of fabric that could be manipulated to divide spaces. Little Bug was asking me for drink here in ASL. He seems to know "big people" drinks from his age-appropriate sippies and seems to prefer the "big people" version. ;)

More of the treehouse....


After exploring the outdoor "classroom" space, we hit the trails through the park. J broke out the sling and Bug enjoyed the Papa-tram as we explored. HAHAHA.


More sling fun, reaching for his shoe. Probably to remove it, because what is more fun than removing shoes?! =)


Check out my hubby's blue, blue eyes!!! Bug is not quite with the program in this shot, is he?!

And for the super-random shot of the day, here's our little niece Kaylee. ;) Could she be any cuter????

Playing outside...


We got very few pictures of the family, even though the trip was chock full of good times with Grady's cousins and his aunts and uncles and Memaw and Papaw and great-grandparents and on and on. =) We will all be together again within 2 weeks though, so be ready everyone... We can't wait!!!

Auntie Ruthie

Once again, I went missing from blogland. I have been having trouble finding my way back.

In my real life though, I have been having a blast. Most recently, my joy flowed from a visit from my second college roommate Ruth. A brief history: I went to a traditional college for one year. My first college roommate (who I am also still in touch with) left after the first semester. I was in a bind and needed to find someone willing to take me in basically. Enter RUTH! What a fateful situation. =) So I spent my second and last semester in college dorms yukking it up with Ruth on a daily basis. I had so much fun and here we are 8 years later:


We hadn't seen each other in 6 years! 6 YEARS! Yet somehow there was still that ease of being together, picking up right where we left off. =)

Ruth had never been around pit bulls and hasn't been under a rock, so she has heard all the nasty stuff the hysteria-inducing media and ignorant public have to say about this misunderstood breed. As a testament to her sheer coolness though, she came into our house with an open mind and lots of questions, ready and willing to learn. It helps that she is a general animal lover. ;) She and Paisley became fast friends. Auntie Ruth even invited spoiled Pai girl to bed with her 2 of the 3 nights she was here. Paisley and Ruth joined J and the Bug for storytime before bed the last night Ruth was here:

I love this picture, because it looks to me like Ruth and Paisley are sharing a private joke. I imagine Paisley (in my anthropomorphic way) to be saying "Auntie Ruth, forget these guys, let's go do something just you and me okay?! C'mon, please..."

In the same vein that Ruth and Paisley became friends, the Bugga took to Ruth so fast, even I was shocked. Within minutes of her arrival it seemed he was holding his arms up to her to be picked up. =) I really wish I had quit gabbing long enough to pick up the camera and get more pictures of those two playing. Next time Ruth! And there will be a next time, whether here or in Sioux Falls, and it won't be when the Bug is 7 years old. ;) As in, it won't be another 6 years.

Here's Ruth with all the girls. Monkey, Paisley, and Libby. =)

And some little known trivia for you...hey Ruth, did you know I wanted to name Libby "Ruthie?" (I couldn't because the name had already been used in the rescue.) When we got Libby, your upcoming visit was on my mind and she seemed like a "Ruthie." =) J thought that might be taken as an insult, but I told him it should be seen as a sign of my affection, since I love animals too, for me to want to name an animal after a person is a good sign. ;)

It seems like whenever I return to posting from a long break, I am all over the map. So, here we have a picture of our big ol' Turdie boy. He joined Ruth and Paisley in the guest room one night too. =)
I took all 3 pets to the vet by myself yesterday and Turtle boy tipped the scales at 15.4 lbs! Monkey came in at 7 even and Paisley is maintaining a trim 48 lbs. Poor Turdie! As soon as we get back from our upcoming trip, we will be switching his food, feeding the cats separately and on a schedule (just like the dogs), and seeing if we can't drop a few pounds off our big guy for his overall health. I have a feeling he will be harrassing us quite a bit in the beginning!

Libby is growing by leaps and bounds, speaking of weight. Since we don't own a scale and she didn't go on the vet excursion, I don't know what she weighs, but I'm sure she has more than doubled her weight since she joined us 2 short weeks ago. Here she is getting ready to take a nap on Laura, ARLP Director, at the Adoption Day event last Saturday. She is a doll and a total smarty pants too, which is a double-edged sword if you ask me. No lazy owners for a girl like her, that is for sure! She needs a family to teach her tricks, keep her mind stimulated and her body busy. She has a meet-and-greet tomorrow already...because let's face it, who doesn't love a puppy...so we'll see if they're the family to do just that.

Coming back round to Ruth...so we learned on our recent trip to NE via a stop in Sioux Falls that the social climate there is pretty strongly anti-pit bull. =( Big bummer, because I love Sioux Falls. Anyway, Ruth works at a radio station there in Sioux Falls (KSOO baby, check her out!) and took the issue of breed specific legislation to the air waves when she got back to work! Very apt, as Sturgis is eying a new pit bull ordinance.

When are people going to realize that no one specific breed of dog is the problem, but rather owners that mistreat, neglect, and just generally don't have control over their dogs that are the true culprits behind dog bites and fatalities? And furthermore, eventually the public will move on to another dog to blame--just like in the past when German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Dobermans have all taken their turn as the "evil dog" du jour--and continue to ignore the HUMAN on the other end of the leash (or lack thereof). I guess it is just easier to blame a dog than face our own very human flaws. =( I could go on, of course, but I don't need to when there are great articles like this one out there, saying it better than I could any day.

So THANK YOU to Ruth for joining the fight, even though she doesn't own a pit bull, let alone a dog at all.

As I type, Bugga is crawling in and out of Libby's crate (yes, it is a tight fit). I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Is it just a funny toddler-ism or is my little boy sending me a message? "Hey Momma, look at me, I'm a dog too, pay attention to me!" Eek! Off to spend some quality time with my little Hugga Bugga!

It's a Girl!

Or should I say "It's a Gril" (If you haven't already checked it out, hop on over to the Cake Wrecks blog through either of these links. If you need a laugh, you'll thank me.)

Meet Libby. Or Ibby. Or MadLibs. We always nickname the heck out of any living being in our midst, so it is no surprise that less than a week ago this little girl didn't have a name or a home and now she is with us, in a home, with a name and many a nickname and loads of cuddles to boot.

This is the first time we have ever named a dog. Isn't that crazy! How many have we shared out home with now? And this is the only one we've had any part in naming. I won't share how we got the name, because truth be told it's not terribly family friendly, but we think it works for her. (Hint~it has to do with a joke about distinguishing between the 2 female dogs in our house, as we've never had 2 females before.)

Kisses from Ibby to Papa, her new favorite man.

The Bugga actually had moments when he wasn't sure of little Libby early on. Which is strange, because before he had never met a dog he didn't think was hilarious and nothing short of wonderful. Libby is a tiny puppy though with tiny needle teeth and she thinks Bugga is kind of like a toy at times. ;) Bug has come around to her mostly though and thinks she is funny like all the rest these days. She however remains wary of him at times, because his 25 pounds to her 5 pounds make for painful hugs for Libby Loo. HAHAHA.

So there you have it, this is where I've been. We got our newest foster addition last Thursday and since then we've been back to sleepless nights and major clean-up duty. I don't remember the newborn Bug being quite this bad to be honest. ;) Libby is 6 weeks, approximately, way tiny, found abandoned and turned over to A Rotta Love Plus. The family that found her thought she was a boy...hmmm...not sure where they learned about anatomy...but anyway, we were lined up to take him. Well, he turned out to be she, but we were still available and one of the most suitable foster homes available for puppy-dom since I stay home with Grady.

I will say, she is a spunky little thing. Don't let her size fool you for a second, because she is anything but delicate! I think she may be a smarty, as she is already responding to training, doing wonderful on eye contact, name-game, sit, and today we even started the groundwork for lay. I didn't really think we could work much with such an itty thing, but she is proving me wrong for sure.

Paisley is doing well, though she isn't so keen on helping Libby learn how to play and be an appropriate dog buddy. =( She just would rather ignore her much of the time, so we'll need to set up play dates for Ibby so she learns right from wrong in the world of doggie ettiquette. ;) There's only so much we can teach her, as her interactions with humans are obviously going to be different than those with fellow dogs, and she needs to be a good girl with both. =)

Monkey has already told Libby off a few times. Have I mentioned how much I love our Monkey girl?! She is the most amazing little cat I've ever met and I don't know what I'll do when her time with us is up. Though I wouldn't be shocked if she somehow lives forever, she's just that kind of cat you swear will never die. Or age, for that matter.

I'm such a slacker blogger these days, and when I do get on here, I just ramble about pets. Go figure! OH...my second college roommate Ruth is coming THIS WEEKEND! I am beyond excited, it has been years upon years since we've seen Ruthie. And she always makes me laugh and laugh and laugh (a very risky thing if I have a full bladder! HAHA). So much to do this week, get the guest room looking like a guest room ;), menu plan, clean, clean, and clean some more and clean as I go because I'll have 2 little ones coming behind me helping to mess it all up again. =) Wish me luck!

Better go retrieve the Bug from his room as it has been 2 hours and he is obviously not going to take a nap today. =( Unlike Libby, who is sacked out on my lap, her favorite place to sleep. =)

Whew...

We are home in MN. Safe, sound, and just barely clinging to sanity. ;)

Just kidding. The trip wasn't too bad. LONG, but not horrible. Add a stop to see our beloved Betheleanie and her sweetie hubby Scott and their adorable Dingo (haha) and you have a pretty good travel plan overall. =) Yes, the stop turned a 10 hour trip into a 12 hour trip, but it was oh so worth it.

We woke up to utter quiet, especially compared to the bustle and happy activity of Memaw and Papaw's house. Quiet and rain falling outside. Awww...HOME. I'm odd and love me a gloomy day. ;) Makes home feel even more cozy and warm and perfect.

Of course, J had to go to work, which was a big bummer for all of us. We would have loved an extra day to decompress and chill at home.

What's the perfect way to start my first day back home though?! (Pop quiz time people!) Why the nekkie J and nekkie Bugga harassing me out of bed. I know, maybe it's not appropriate to share, but it is a sight that always makes me smile and chuckle and look forward to the day even if I thought I didn't want to get out of bed.

No picture though, lucky for you. ;)