Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Adventures of Drew, part 1.


I've done some serious posts lately and thought it was time for a bit of levity. It's time for some Drew stories! Over the past two years, I've noticed that Drew stories come in threes. Just when I think the boy has settled down and things will be 'normal', he suddenly pulls out a serious of Drew adventures that make good story material. I should knock on wood before I say this, but he hasn't been up to much mischief lately. We'll have to see how long this dry spell lasts. Here are a few 'oldies but goodies'...


As soon as Drew could walk we knew we had a character on our hands. One my first memories of his 'big boy' adventures was when he was around a year old. I found him in the bathroom with his two sisters who were screaming in the shower. He kept flushing the toilet, stealing the hot water from their steamy shower. When they screamed, he would laugh so hard he would double over. Evil little toddler! This may have been the day Drew went from being their adorable baby, to an annoying little brother!

One day I was sitting at my computer desk, working on the computer. Little Drew toddled into the room with a mischievous grin on his face. He had recently started putting things in his mouth. He didn't chew or swallow, just carried them around in his mouth. I could tell by his mouth and the sparkle in his eye that he had something. I called him over to me and told him to open his mouth. He obediently opened and stuck out his tongue. There sitting on his tongue, very clean and shiny, was my wedding ring. There is a time to scold a naughty child, and there is a time to smile and carefully move closer until you can snatch your jewelry out of his face!!

Drew has always loved our litters of puppies. I remember him when he was in his walker, wandering down the hall to the laundry room. He spent many hours there with his tiny fingers through the x-pen bars for the puppies to kiss. It didn't take long for him to repay the generous nature of puppies. It was the next litter when he woke us to a stampede of puppies. Tiny puppy feet stomping down the hall on the wooden floor, followed by tiny toddler feet. When he woke up, instead of coming into our room, he just decided it would be fun to release the litter of puppies and run around the house. They were all having SO much fun!

I read in a magazine that your face cream will stay fresher if you keep it in the refrigerator. Ever since adding a male child to our family, I seem to be getting fine lines. In every attempt to avoid wrinkles before my time, I use special moisturizer on my face. In every attempt to preserve and maximize its efficiency, I keep my face cream in the fridge. It's unfortunate that toddlers can't read. Face cream appears to a two year old to be a yummy snack. I found him sitting on the floor with an open refrigerator door, snacking on my anti-wrinkle cream. I hadn't thought of that method of application. No wrinkles for Drew! Lesson learned, not everything in the refrigerator is edible!

Drew's most famous escapade may be his adventures with White-out. Ah, but which episode you ask? Well you'll have to wait for the sequel until another blog. This one is the original. You know how they say to never trust a quiet child? I learned my lesson quickly with that one. Just one day after watching his two older sisters paint their toes, Drew disappeared upstairs by himself. A few minutes later I go to check on him, and find myself following white footsteps on the stairs, past a large white puddle smeared into the upstairs hall, and into the bathroom. A little boy with white toes, white legs, white hands, face, clothes.... The mom in me, the mom that was not yet used to mothering a little boy, grabs him and puts him in the tub. Some soap, water, and scrubbing later, I discover that White off does not wash off! Quickly accepting our fate, I redress the child and snap a few photos. He's thrilled with his new look. The white blob on the floor remains in our upstairs hall to this day.

I'll have to stop there for the night, but don't worry, I'm not out of Drew stories! There have been a few times when I've almost missed the humor of a Drew story. I've now become so used to his antics that they fail to phase me. It's only when I step back, having survived with some dignity still intact, that I realize the humor. I am always quick to point out that the boy never means any harm! He has a heart of gold and just falls into these situations quite innocently. While that is definitely part of his charm, it's also part of the entertainment!
I treasure these memories of my little buddy!

More Drew stories coming soon!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

How are those New Year's Resolutions working out?

I'm probably very similar to other people in that I make big plans and goals on January 1st, only to let them fade and be forgotten. This year, I have a public record of my 5 New Year's Resolutions. Three months of this year have already passed. It's time to check in on my progress and see if my goals are being met. I've decided to give myself a report card.

1. Write a weekly blog. I'm going to give myself an A on the blogging! I set the goal to blog once a week, even said I'd post them on Tuesdays, and I've done a pretty good job of sticking to that! Only once did I miss my deadline when I had a post wiped out because of computer problems. I still got that one posted the next day that I was on the computer. The only problem I have with the blog is my nasty habit of procrastination. Sometimes I feel like I'm back in college with a paper due at my 8:30am class on Friday. I tend to wait and whip something out Thursday night. (Back in my day, we had to have the thing printed and neatly presented for class. We didn't have the luxury of emailing it to our professor by a midnight deadline!) You can often find me right here, typing away on a Tuesday night to meet my self-imposed deadline. I very well know that if I had started earlier, with more time to rethink, revise, and edit, the end quality would be better. Still, I'm satisfied with the work I'm putting out and think I should pass the class. =)

2. I'm going to give myself a C on my health goal. I wanted to lose weight, exercise more, and eat better. I haven't really lost any weight, just maintained. I do exercise pretty consistently, and better now that the weather is warmer. My diet is my weak point. I love yummy food. I don't do well with portion control, especially when it comes to my favorite yummy foods. Probably my biggest weakness would be my love for sweets. I love desserts, especially chocolate. My best strategy is to record the foods I eat. As long as I have to write down everything I eat, and how much, I feel more accountable and better able to resist temptation. I started out the year writing everything down, but haven't continued with that. I prefer to just eat whatever I want. I do realize that's not best for my body and will try to improve in this area.

3. Bible Study. I'm going to be honest and give myself a D on Bible Study. While we've done pretty well with Church attendance this year, and we uphold our daily prayers and walk with God, I've been pretty bad about reading my Bible! I'm going to move the Bible to the top of my pile of books by the bed and try to improve on this. This goal only takes a few minutes a day to achieve and certainly shouldn't be the area where I'm failing!

4. Organization. I get a B on this on! I've actually made some improvements in my life to get things in order. Paperwork has been my big nemesis. I have piles of paperwork everywhere. You name it: bills, papers from school, 4-H stuff, ASCA club stuff, and tons of dog papers. I went and bought 4 portable file boxes. One is for 4-H, divided up by the different projects the girls do. Another is for the dogs, one folder per dog. I already had a file system for them, but this one is updated and easier to keep handy. Another file is for each litter and the breeding program. I have a folder for the paperwork involved from each litter, as well as for my stud dogs, and one file for all of the paperwork that goes into the puppy binders. The last file box is just mine. It's a miscellaneous collection of all of the paperwork that sits around and has nowhere to go. School papers, club papers, bills, and on and on. I'm very happy with my new system. I also made up new dog binders, organizing all of their registrations, health clearances, titles, etc. That makes it so much easier to find everything. I still have a long way to go in getting my life and house organized, but I am happy with the progress.

5. Goals with dogs. I get a B+ on this one! I have several goals in training and certain titles I want this year. The main four titles I'm after are 4 big ones! I want a MACH, ATCH, ASCA CH., and AKC CH. It's the first of April and while I haven't achieved any of those titles yet, I have made some good progress!! Ryder got a major in AKC, meaning he just needs a 4 point major to finish his CH. Quinn picked up a major in ASCA, meaning he just needs 2 point to finish his CH. I'd have to look, but I know Glory has earned at least two QQ's so far this year towards her MACH. We haven't had any ASCA agility trials yet, so no progress on the ATCH yet. I'm always happy with progress, it takes me a step closer to the goal!

We're only a fourth of the way through this year. I've already seen great things happen and am in no hurry to see this year rush by. My goals are just that, things that I strive to achieve. If I reach the end of the year and haven't accomplished them, they can be next year's goals! For now, I'll continue to work on my resolutions, they give me focus and bring me joy, peace, and satisfaction. They cover many different areas of my life and can only help me become a better person. I'll check back in a few months and see how things are going at the halfway mark. Until then, carry on and keep reaching for those goals!