2009 around the corner...

Which has me thinking about changes I would like to make in 2009. Not resolutions, as we all know those are impossible to keep, but real changes.

I want to be a better wife. Keep the house cleaner, actually make dinner more regularly, not leave the laundry in the dryer until it's time to do more laundry.

I want to be a better mom. Not constantly nitpick at the little things, but support and praise the good things. Play Guitar Hero with him when he wants me to. Listen when he talks.

I want to be better to my dogs. Walk them every day instead of every day that I feel like it. And when it's too hot to walk them, be sure that I can take them swimming at least once, for a long time. They are Border Collies and they love to be outside doing something.

Be a more patient, kind person. Not snapping at the other drivers on the freeway or the snowbirds in the stores.

Spend less money. Stop bringing needless, frivolous things into the house on a regular basis. How much crap do we really need anyway?

Pray regularly. Not when I'm in a dire "Oh God I need this help now" moment, but to reflect and say thanks for what I have every day.

Smile more. Life is good. I shouldn't complain. A smile can make such a difference.

I am hoping that you will be happy and healthy in your new years as well. I will say a prayer for you.

Almost Christmas...

Are you ready? I'm not. Not even close. Poor Kyle has so few presents under the tree. It's tough when the kids get older and everything they want is so expensive. Means fewer things. And I'm still waiting for one thing to arrive via mail. Eeek. I hope it gets here.

We've had a lot of rain. Joe hasn't been happy. He doesn't like weather much. He'd prefer it be sunny all the time. Good thing we live in AZ. Snoopy is doing well. About 6 pounds overweight, so he's on a diet. Diet food anyway. He had his titers for Valley Fever tested last month. After 4 months on the anti-fungal meds, he's still the same. We'll test again in 4 months and see if they've budged at all.

Kyle is on winter break. Two weeks without having to worry about getting up in time to make the bus. I'm loving it already. The dark mornings have put my body into winter hibernation, so getting up is a challenge. Eventually I do roll out of bed and take the dogs out for their walk/run, but it's pretty late compared to earlier in the fall.

We've got rain that is forecast to continue through the week. Rainy Christmas. Not snow, but closer than usual. Should be nice.

Merry merry & happy happy and all that stuff. Blessings to everyone this holiday season.

Poop on your head?

"Merde a votre tete" used to be one of my favorite phrases in French which literally translates to "poop on your head."

The reason for this random thought? Last night I came home from the store grand opening (another long story that needn't be told here) and felt that Joe's neck was kind of crusty. Last time I felt something like that was where Snoopy had bit him. I turned on the light and it looked kind of brownish like dried blood. Asked Kyle (since he was still awake and Ron was snoring loudly) and Kyle said that Ron said that Joe rolled in poop. Nice. It appeared that Ron may have attempted to clean it up but had been largely unsuccessful. I cleaned him up and went to bed.

Turns out not only Joe had poop on him, but Snoopy as well. Both boys got baths today, and are now very clean and smell wonderful. It won't last.