Love a Rainy Nite

Spending time with my boys is the best thing in the whole world. Hands. Down.
We enjoyed a special treat today, the hubby stayed home from work due to a migraine, but we had a nice day anyways. Jeremy cooked a great dinner as discussed just before this.  We ate peacefully at the actual dinner table just us as Jacob napped in his crib.  I shockingly suggested we talk and not worry about watching Big Brother yet....I know you love it too! It was a very nice dinner with delicious food and great company.  Then it started raining (yea!!!!), so we grabbed Jacob and Guinness and sat on our back porch.  We have waited ALL summer to spend time outside together! I snapped a couple of pics....of course.

Sweet, sweet rain

Two of my boys

Look. At. That. Face!

Our evening then continued by me washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen making turtle brownies....the box kind.  I slacked on the homemade this time, already made and ate homemade M&M chocolate chip cookies a few days ago. Anywho, while I was tearing open the box and mixing away Jeremy was spending some quality time with Jacob.  I hear from Jacob room the words to Goodnight Moon...It was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard.  Every time I hear Jeremy playing with, talking or reading to Jacob my heart absolutely melts.  He is the best dad, and Jacob has a great role model to watch as he grows older. Speaking of growing older my little man will be 3 months on Friday....I will post about that obviously! We are now all cuddled up as a family with Guinness laying at our feet watching Big Brother and Royal Pains.  I love my life. Hope everyone's night was as wonderful as mine.

Week 27

Well today I finally felt huge....absolutely HUGE.  I kept sighing while getting ready this morning and Jeremy would ask "what's up or what's wrong?" I could only respond with "nothing really, just feel huge." Poor guy just nodded and didn't know what to say and honestly I didn't need him to say anything I know there's nothing either of us can do. (Although later in the day he did say my butt was cute, so that's a bonus.) =)
Don't know why this hit me today, but hopefully I don't continue to feel like this and it was just a "mood." On the plus side I can still zip my regular jeans most of the way, put on my own shoes, shave, (unfortunately) see the number of the scale, and get in and out of the Camaro without too much help....although I think in and out of the Camaro will be first to go. I can't believe it's less than 3 months till my due date. I've gotta get busy around here!

On a funny side note, we took Guinness to the Dog Dish and Utica today.  He had a blast and is beyond exhausted!  Funny thing was this little girl, probably 3, saw Guinness and said "Whoa! Look at that dog!" She then came over to pet him, but rather than pet she poked him on the side and then kissed him. From there she kept saying "Whoa!" and "The tail poked my eye!" The best was "Look mom it's got one of those thingys!" as her hand is reaching for "the thingy" her mom quickly intercepts.  Jeremy and I died laughing. LOL

Snow.......Guinness doesn't like it either.

 Last Thurs. Guinness watching the neighborhood.  He can't (won't) tackle the snowdrift to potty in the yard.

Later in the day Thurs. Guinness finally decides he can tackle to snowdrift....jumps in, then turns around like "holy hell that's cold and wet!" and proceeds to jump back to the porch and potty there....again.

Funny moments of my day

1. Kids are hilarious.
Homeroom mom at school sent a note to go home with the kiddos today.  It gave a rundown of the things we would need parent volunteers  for the final semester.  One of the items was the class would be giving me a baby shower (YEA!), so as I'm reading this to the kids (b/c they always want me to read notes I send home) most of them start laughing when I say the words "baby shower".  You can imagine the image they had in their heads..."what we are going to give Mrs. Case's baby a SHOWER!?" So then come the questions and comments..."Why would we shower at school?", "How will the baby shower if it's still in you?", and my personal favorite, "That would be soooooo crazy to just have your baby and then give it a shower at school!?" Some of them thought it involved an actual shower, for them, me, the baby, not sure...LOL, some thought I would HAVE the baby at school DURING the shower and that was it's purpose, and a rare few knew what I was talking about.  Those few quickly said, "Noooooo...it's like a PARTY, but for the BABY!!!", "Yeah, it's where you get stuff like presents that the baby needs!" 
I laughed so hard...I love my job.
2. My husband is hilarious.
Prior to going for a walk this evening with Jeremy and Guinness, we had changed clothes and were ready to go all but the running shoes.  Our Guinness is a smart one and is not only aware of what clothes we put on when it's time for a w.a.l.k., but he speaks English (we think he's starting to learn to spell as well...) so we often spells things like w.a.l.k. or h.u.n.g.r.y.  Well Jeremy decided just before we were getting the shoes on (that's the final giveaway for the dog to know what's up), he comes into the kitchen and asks, "Do you have your H.O.E.S.'s?" I just looked at him and said, "My H.O.E.S.'s.  No I don't have my hoes." I tried to say this with a straight face....didn't really happen.  I died laughing and of course so did he after he told me again to get my hoes.
I love my husband.

More thoughts on Great Danes and babies

A comment on my last post got me thinking....
Jax mentioned people who choose to have kids when they have a dog, sometimes then think they have to give up the dog.  Jax and I are in total agreement that the dog is a huge part (or should be) of your family, and you can't just shuffle them off like a stuffed animal.  I mean, if you have a hard time with the kid at age 8 months, are you going to pass them off to another family?!? I realize that at times dog's and children for that matter can be trying on the patience and that everyone is not perfect, but I really don't think there is anything Guinness could do to make us give him to someone else. (And before you give me reasons why that could happen, I'm aware, when I was 5 my dog was put to sleep b/c she had become senile basically and had bitten me and my 1 yr old sister. So I understand extensive circumstances. I'm talking about the people who just don't want to walk the dog or feeding or playing with the dog is a pain in the ass now that they have a baby. I mean did they think life was going to get easier?!?)
So this is my rant about how you should think before bringing a dog or child or both into your family. 
Think about the situations you have at hand.  I know it sounds like common sense but sometimes people are lacking....
I believe my Great Dane is the best one ever....this is why. ;-)
From the day we brought Guinness home, we knew he would be out "child" until we had children, and then he'd become the oldest "child."  We have taken him every place possible, introduced him to dogs and people of all sizes and ages, and we have trained ALOT to get the best behavior out of him.  I'm not saying he's perfect, or that we did everything right...(just like I'm sure I won't be a perfect mom, but that's another entry.), I'm just saying that we have busted our butt LONG in advance to get him to be people friendly, because we knew we would have children someday with him around.  Guinness has "played" with babies as young as 4 months and people as old as 90, and from what I've seen I think we've done pretty damn well if I do say so myself.  I know those people don't live in my home and that will be different, but I really think he will be an amazing protector for Jacob. 
I have washed everything I have so far for the baby, so he's seen me folding that laundry and now it smells like the rest of us around here...I spend time in the baby's room by myself and with other people...I let Guinness inspect the clothes in the closet and the blankets and the toys that jingle and wiggle (part of his training, is he doesn't "eat" or play with anything unless he's been given it by us)...We let him lay on the bed in the babies room...We've let him slime the crib railing...We even talk to him about the baby and tell him to be careful and soft with my tummy and that his brother is in there....etc....You may think we are crazy, but when I said Guinness was our first "child" I meant it.  He is without a doubt the best older sibling ever...He will always be there for us and Jacob...He will always love us unconditionally.  This is why my Great Dane is the best one ever! I can't wait to see him with Jacob. I can just picture Jacob sleeping in his crib, Guinness sleeping on the floor in front of the crib, Jeremy and I resting on the couch (who am I kidding, folding laundry on the couch) and my entire world will be perfect!

Great Danes are amazing!

While doing some research on babies and dogs, more specifically Great Danes, I came up this sweet story someone had posted on the Great Dane Club of America Rescue.  Needless to say, it brought tears to my eyes, hoping and praying that Guinness and Jacob will get along just as fabulously.
"Before we even knew it, days turned to weeks, weeks to months and finally with Forbes in the family for three years (and our other dog, lab mix from the shelter, for five years), I became pregnant. We were so excited and yet worried about how our dogs would take it. We did all the things that were suggested by our obedience trainer and vet - carrying a baby doll around the house to judge jealousy, play a recorded sound clip of a baby crying to get them used to the sound and bringing home a blanket from the hospital with our baby's scent on it for our boys to smell but nothing could ever, ever prepare us for what lay ahead. From the time I was pregnant forward, I felt like I was carrying twins- my human baby still in the womb, and the Great Dane baby who plastered himself to me every moment of the day. When I would lie on the couch, Forbes would lay on the ground right next to me. When I went to the bathroom, Forbes would stare at me eyeball to eyeball until I was finished. When I would sit to read or watch TV, Forbes would come, lie beside me and gently put his head on my ever expanding stomach- an instant fluffed pillow for him. By the time our son came home from the hospital I felt like Forbes already knew him- after all, he had also endured several months of kicking and karate chops so his pillow was more like a vibrating bed. The bond the two of them formed was immediate. As a baby, when our son would cry, Forbes would sit quietly by his crib until his Father or I came to soothe our son. When people came to visit, Forbes would stand or lay between the family member holding our son and the visitors to let others know they were not going to touch this child unless his parents told him it was OK. When we went for a walk, Forbes was always the one closest to the stroller so he could see our son at all times. My husband and I soon began calling him the doting father. As our human son began to grow, the bond he has shared with his Dane grew deeper. The first journey our son made when he began to crawl was into the dog bed with Forbes. Forbes watched him come closer and instead of moving away as we expected, he parted his legs to make more room for our son to curl into. That became the place of choice for our son to watch TV from over the next few months and years. When walking began, who better to hold onto than a dog bigger than you? Even when our son would accidentally pull an ear or whisker as he fell down, Forbes never even gave a whimper. Instead he would look at the opportunity to give our son a kiss when no one was supposed to be looking. Now our human son is three and a half. If given the opportunity he will tell you all about our "big dogs" and "Forbes, his favorite dog in the whole wide world". The two appear as Siamese twins on a regular basis- no one knowing where one stops and the other begins with arms wrapped around necks and noses nuzzling hair. We often hear our son whisper "I love you" into Forbes' ear as they snuggle together."


I also found this very funny video of a Great Dane with a baby.   

And then of course there is still the onesie I need to purchase ASAP!

I'd say we are slightly excited to have Jacob here with Guinness. And I just know that he is going to be an amazing protector for Jacob, and they will be best friends!

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday

Random thought #1: I love Charlie Brown.  Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown Voyage on the Mayflower, Charlie Brown Christmas (most fav), etc....

Random thought #2: I can't stop eating sugar.  Well not exactly sugar like out of the bag, but candy. Hard candy, soft candy, chocolate snacks, marshmallows (mmmmmmm....).  I keep thinking I'm eating pretty well and heathly and then I look down, & I'm holding three marshmallows. LOL

Random thought #3: Jeremy was just switching out the light switches in the garage with some you can program and time. Pretty awesome, and glad we knows what he's doing.  But I had to chuckle when I was out helping because a. he's in pj pants and a tshirt for all the neighbors to see and b. he was so tedious about getting the switches juuuuuust right with the face plate, he screwed in the first screw of said face plate only to push too hard and crack the entire top of the face plate. He now has to go to Lowe's and get a new one at a later time TBD.

Random thought #4: God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy. This about sums it up.

Random thought #5: I am so ready for some turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and sparkling apple cider! This baby can eat I'm telling ya!

Random thought #6: No obsessing, no stating...I've gained 5 lbs so far, and I'm ok with that.  Just want to keep exercising so I only gain 15-20 more. Obviously I won't starve myself or baby case, so don't flip out on me and tell me I should eat whatever I feel like. LOL ;-)

Random thought #7: Guinness is the most adorable dog....EVER! He's going to be a great big brother!

Momma's Boy

Momma's boy...yes I'm speaking of my lovely dog. He has been basically attached to me for about four days. Four. There are no storms or pressure systems. There's no extreme need to do his business outside. There is no dying of thirst or hunger. He simply wants my attention constantly.

His thoughts (in my opinion): Just pet me. Wait pet me again. I'll sit on the couch so you can pet me. Now I think I'll stand and bark in your face. Ohhh pet me.

Repeat. For four days. This is ridiculous people. He must have some sort of special radar that I'm leaving him next week. Not going somewhere fabulous or far away this time. It's time to go back to school. He must just want some extra Momma love and attention. I should appreciate the boy dog love and cuddles. At least that's what I'm telling myself as he is currently grumbling in my face. Again.

Home Alone

This weekend I'm home alone.  It's kinda weird because I haven't been home alone with Jeremy at of town in a long while.  (He's in Denver with the guys for Tim's bachelor party...they're fishing, staying in a cabin, and going to mass Sunday, I'm not worried about any hanky panky...LOL!)
Not sure what G-man and I'll do tonite...prolly just eat a sandwich and raw chicken (sandwich is mine) and watch some shows I've been saving for "girl time" on the good 'ol DVR.
Tomorrow I won't have to wonder about what I'm doing...I've got BIG plans! I'm gonna meet up with a friend that just moved to OK from San Fran area, haven't seen her in a year or so! And we are going to hit up the Farmer's Market.  After that I have a few more errands and then I'll be at home hosting my fabulous, Make-A-Wish Creative Memories open house.  Excited for my mom to come into town to scrapbook with me and a few friends!  Equally excited my Creative Memories business is doing well...here's hoping I get a few get togethers scheduled, so I can expand my customer base and maybe sign a new consultant or two! I'll update on Sunday prolly about how the wkend was. =)

Guinness & Spinach

Guinness was given fresh spinach tonite because he's been eating grass this evening...figured he'd like a green grasslike veggie that wouldn't make him puke lol.  He took the huge leaf and ran away from his bowl and started to shred it on the carpet like he does with fluff, dryer sheets, etc...You can just envision our huge dog so carefully using his paws and teeth to shred the spinach...once he finally figured out he could eat it and that it tasted good he was all about it!  Anyways, he makes for a good chuckle and watching Jeremy chase him while he has a huge spinach leaf in his mouth is pretty funny too.  Oh and apparently Jeremy just told him he was like Popeye & "Go tell Mom you want to be like Popeye." Think we need a child? LOL!