Feeling bad about getting my way

I had dogs growing up, but they were mostly confined to the backyard, so it has taken me a while to realize - even though I love animals, I am just NOT a dog person. Unless it's someone else's dog - then maybe - but I'm not promising anything. Anyone who has read my posts knows I really, really don't like my dog. At all. Trust me, I've even said much worse about her in person than I have on here. It started out okay enough, when we first got her nearly three years ago. But she would chew on my stuff, and Ewan's as well. She chewed four pairs of my shoes during one period of time, and they had all been brand new. She would sneak in Ewan's room, take a toy out of his basket, and we'd find it under the kitchen table in shreds. I tried to like her and be kind to her, I really did, but after all the chewing and the hair that literally fills up our vacuum canister every day, I just couldn't pretend anymore. Add to this the fact that about six months ago, (she has gotten so spoiled to being inside), she seemed to decide she was not ever going to go out back again. We can't keep her back there, even for small amounts of time. She jumps the fence immediately, which has been very annoying for me. It came to a head last week when Animal Control came to my door and told me I was lucky he wasn't ticketing me, but that next time he would. You should see how ridiculous our gate looks from all the stuff we have piled there trying to keep her from climbing, and I wanted that man to go look and see! How could he even think of writing me a ticket?! The only thing that has redeemed her presence in my home is that she barks at strangers and anyone suspicious, so we always feel safe and alert when she's around.

Last year, when I was babysitting Ben, we noticed she'd get really odd around him, and sometimes act quite aggressive. So I would keep her out back all day until he left and let her in. Fynn was still a very wee guy during this time, so I never was able to see how she "felt" about him. But as he's gotten older, it has become apparent she DOES NOT like him, although she loves Ewan. I've been a little nervous about this, but Bryce and I both agreed that no matter what, if she EVER, even once, snapped or growled at Fynn, she was gone. No tolerance. On Friday night, Bryce took Ewan to the movies, and Fynn was having fun just following Sugar from room to room, giggling. I never let my kids hurt or bother the animals, and this was no exception. He was doing nothing that even warranted me to fuss at him, or what she eventually did. All he was doing was sitting up against her back, and it would make him laugh when she'd get up. All the sudden, I thought I heard a growl, but wasn't sure. So I watched her closely, Fynn merely walked within one foot of her, and she growled and snapped her teeth at him. I put her outside immediately, and she is now in Craigs List and PetFinder for a new home. We just absolutely won't have that at all. It feels funny here without her (she's staying at Mary Ann's) and I feel like I "got my way," but this isn't how I wanted it.

That's not to say I'm not totally thrilled she's gone.

Tagged

Shannon tagged me, and it's all about me and Bryce. Try not to fall asleep, now.

Whats his name? Bryce Patrick
How long have you been together? Depends on how you define "together," but I say eight years, married for five.
How long did you date? Three months before he left on his mission, five months after. Wrote letters in-between
How old is he? 29
Who eats more? Me
Who said I love you first? Don't remember, but pretty much at the same time.
Who is taller? Bryce
Who sings better? Me
Who is smarter? Depends on the kind of "smart." I'm smarter with words and reading, he's better with math and organizational things
Who does the laundry? Me
Who pays the bills? Bryce
Who sleeps on the right side? Bryce (does anyone really care?)
Who mows the lawn? Bryce, but I would
Who cooks dinner? Me, when I feel like it.
Who drives? mostly Bryce
Who is more stubborn? I don't know...
Who kissed who first? Kissed each other
Who proposed? Bryce
Who has more friends? He has more long-term, old friends, I have more current, new friends.
Who is more sensitive? Neither
Who has more siblings? Me, 8, Bryce 2
Who wears the pants? Mostly me, but for the really important stuff, like money and budget, he has to or we'd be broke

If so desired, I tag Ashley, Missy, Erica, and Sarah Young.

Overdue picture upload

There have been several pictures I've wanted to post, but right now I am the laziest person on the planet, so I'm just getting around to it. Some of these are a couple of months old.

Ewan concentrating very hard on constructing a "crash" with his trains. He loves the crashes, they are his favorite thing ever.

The finished project. Billy, the orange train, was done in by a parachuter. There was also some damage to vegetation in the area.

This is my floor after Fynn ate lunch one day. Seriously, after one meal.

This is from Bryce's birthday when me and the boys stayed up late to make his cake. I didn't think the pictures had really turned out, but I found this one tonight. The way the dog is posing, and Ewan is concentrating so hard on stirring, I just think it is so cute. Of course, that dog lives with Mary Ann, now...

Swimming in the kiddie pool.

Just a good shot.

I have to pull Ruby off of the blinds half a dozen times a day. What you can't see is how they have broken off at the bottom, just this side of white trash territory. I still love her, though. You can see through the window how our dear tree is trying to grow again.

We planted some sunflowers around our mailbox, and the first bloom is particularly spectacular, I think.

A fine-looking young man

Ewan's physical self-image is pretty healthy, I think.  Today, getting ready for church, after we'd fixed his hair and put on the finishing touch of his shoes and socks, he stopped in the hallway and looked at himself in the full-length mirror for a moment.  Finally he said, just very simply, as if remarking on the weather, "I look good."  Then I guess he decided to pass the good feelings onto me.  After I put on my dress, he looked at me, very impressed, and smiled.  "You look cool.  I want a hug."

Free money and stuff that comes with it

Bryce and I will be signing a gas lease on our house early next month.  If all goes the way it is supposed to, we'll be coming into a sizable (for us) chunk of money.  The majority of it (like, almost all) is going to pay off some bills and buy some baby gear, but we are reserving one lovely little snippet for us to get Wii Fitness.  Some of Bryce's old pants don't button anymore, and I'm about to have some SERIOUS baby weight to work off, so we're very excited about it.  I've never been a work out at the gym girl, or a person who works out at all, really.  So my hope is that with our competitive spirits and the whole "game" aspect to it, it will make the working out fun and do some good for us.  I know that may not be exciting, but I have absolutely NOTHING else to post about.

Etsy, I love you

Bryce took Ewan out of the house for a little while, and Fynn is asleep, so I found myself with - gasp! - nothing to do. So since I know what the baby is now, I decided to do a little Internet window shopping. All I have to say, and I say it in a wail, is: why didn't I know about Etsy when I had the first two boys?!?!?! I have a feeling I'll be browsing Etsy a lot in the future. So much cute stuff, and this wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

This owl onesie. It's killin' me, it really is.

And this cowboy burp cloth.

Why do I love pirates so much?

And owls, again? I want this in my size.

I'm totally happy that it's a boy, because that's who he's supposed to be, but oh, man, if it were a girl... I would never let her take this off.

Why can't I sew????

Can't forget the big brothers.

I'm learning to love bugs since I had boys.

And I'm sorry, but this is just cool. Really really cool.

Cute Etsy print

I saw this on Etsy and thought it was so cute for a little boy's room. I can't help thinking of someday when we have a different house and I can redo the theme in there, as neither one of them cares one whit about pirates, really.But maybe, just maybe their new little brother will. Because, yeah, it's a boy! I didn't tell one living soul I had my sonogram today, besides Bryce, because I wanted FOR ONCE to actually maintain a surprise. So there you go, the Taylor Dynasty will continue, due November 1st.

Just a little survey-thingy

A little while back, Sarah from Georgia, posted this little survey thing and I decided to steal it. I'm really trying to find something to post about every day, so this is part of that effort. Feel free to steal, too.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was working as a reservations agent at Alamo-Rent-a-Car in Salt Lake, from which I would be fired in one month. And I was a very sad person ten years ago.

5 things on my to do list...
1. Clean bathroom
2. Vacuum
3. Plan to cut out half of my sugar
4. Move my room around
5. Update pictures on my blog

5 Snacks...
1. Cheezits & Coke
2. Crackers & cheese with grape juice
3. Chocolate chip cookies with COLD milk
4. Gummy bears
5. Dry Cookie Crisp

If I were suddenly a millionaire...
First a major cross-country vacation: New York City where I'd also buy an entirely new wardrobe, Salt Lake to visit family, a beach in Florida, L.A., etc. Then we'd move somewhere cooler, perhaps Oregon, right on the coast, buy a cute cottage-style home with a porch swing, huge garden, many windows and trees and buy new (fuel-efficient) cars. Hire a nutritionist and personal trainer to get me skinny.

3 bad habits...
1. Cussing
2. Consuming WAY TOO MUCH sugar
3. Gossiping

5 places I have lived...
1. Grand Prairie, TX
2. Salt Lake City, UT
3. Dallas, TX
4. Irving, TX
5. Arlington, TX

5 jobs I have had...
(only five? No fair...)
1. Telemarketer for Olan Mills
2. Multiple positions as Assistant teacher at SEVERAL daycares
3. Waitress (for five days)
4. Medical receptionist
5. Apartment Leasing Agent
and many, many more...

5 things people don't know about me...
1. I ate an entire bottle of Rolaids when I was a little girl.
2. Never went to the dentist until I was 24.
3. Once flashed my panties to an entire auditorium full of people during a play, NOT on purpose.
4. I have a particular order for how I bathe, which is different if I'm showering from when I'm in the bath. And there are very particular reasons for this order.
5. I was once asked to leave the Joseph Smith Memorial Building because my boyfriend was giving me a (very innocent) backrub.

Daddy's shadow

Fynn followed Bryce the entire time as he mowed our yard, and our neighbor's yard. Gotta love Bryce's mowing attire...

Public thank you!

In relation to the post below, I have to thank Missy and John for coming to our house and watching the boys for us! It was so nice of them, and we were out so late. We so owe them babysitting! Thanks, guys!

Robert Smith Will Save Us All

I have the most awesome husband ever. Yesterday, totally randomly, he surprised me with tickets the The Cure concert. Oh, man. I love the Cure. You've heard me wax poetic about Coke? If Robert Smith asked me to give it up, I would. I really would. Just to thank him for his brilliance. I love his music so much, and by extension, oh, how I love him! I've loved him for so long, ever since I pulled my head out of my butt long enough to listen to his lyrics when I was 12 and Ashley listened to him all the time. I love him for making up words like "angelicate," which just hearing you know EXACTLY what he means. I love the little eyeroll he does when he sings. I love that when he's actually speaking, I can't understand even one word that comes out of his mouth. I love him for turning phrases like these:

"and when i see you kitten as a cat
yeah as smitten as that
i can't get that small
the way you fur
the how you purr
it makes me want to paw you all
and when i see you happy as a girl
that lives in a world of make-believe
it makes me pull my hair all out
to think i could've let you leave"

I could go on and on forever, but, oh man, I just LOVE him. So last night was TOTALLY AWESOME! I swear for the first ten songs, it was like he knew I was coming. It was all the songs that just make my soul melt right out of my pores. If it isn't his amazingly perceptive, poetic, beautiful lyrics, it's the way he plays that dang guitar! Remember my desire to play guitar? Thank him. (You know, if you care to thank anyone for MY desire to play guitar...) And then, beyond those first ten songs, I must have turned to Bryce at least fifty times and said, "This is in my top ten favorite of all songs EVER." Which, yeah, despite the discrepancy, it's pretty much accurate anyway.

We didn't bring a camera, because I thought we'd be too far. But actually, we weren't that far. I was close enough to see the eyeroll! (The layers of black liner he was wearing helped a little, too.) But the lovely girl next to me didn't think me weird when I asked her to e-mail her pictures to me. First thing this morning, the link to her Flickr account was waiting for me, and here are a few of the decent ones.

My bardThe band

This was a fairly new guitarist, to my knowledge. He reminded Bryce and I of one of the Guitar Hero characters. He had this black shape inked around his eye, bald as a pool cue, and a spider-webby shirt thing that looked like a skin of tattoos. But the icing on the cake were his SHOES. Patent leather boots, and I bet they were probably four-inch long platform heels.

Bryce also came back from a bathroom break with a t-shirt of Boys Don't Cry, the best song ever. Or one of the best songs, ever. Seriously, in the top ten. I think this has all earned Bryce at least six months of nightly foot and back rubs and me feeding him grapes. Next time, though, Ashley SOOO has to come with me. Side note: The title was something I saw on a girl's t-shirt last night and I loved it. Side note 2: Bryce said that phrase is from South Park, which I don't know, I don't watch it, but there you go.

Consumerism - 2, Taylors - 0

(Don't let my title fool you; I'm not one who gets all riled up about "rampant consumerism" or whatever it is people get riled up about...)

Up until very recently, like two weeks ago, we didn't have cable or satellite or anything like it.It's not that we don't enjoy the shows that are on there, but rather we enjoy them far too much, and by not having it, we've been trying to save ourselves a life of couch potatoism and brain rot.  (Not that people with satellite have a life of those, just that we know WE would.)  We're giving it a trial run, and really so far it's not that impressive.  Every time we turn it on, something good has just ended and the current run is all junk.  But who knows, we may keep it, just because it records stuff for us!  But mainly because of the daily fresh episode of the Backyardigans.  THAT IT RECORDS FOR US!  

As a result of never having had satellite, Ewan's T.V. experience has been mostly commercial free due to PBS Kids and DVDs, and also our family's tendency (passed down lovingly from the Taylor side) to mute commercials.  But lately, while Fynn is napping, I know I need to take advantage of that opportunity, so I let Ewan catch up on his Backyardigans while I get some rest.  So I can't decide if this is a bad thing, or just a terribly funny thing.  Ewan lately is pimping out all sorts of products to me.  He was absolutely insistent that we make sure we get some Clorox in our cabinet.  I assured him we had some, and he would not rest until I actually showed him the bottle, to which he said, "So that's where you keep the Clorox, now where do you keep the Clorox wipes?"  He then proceeded to tell me all the things Clorox was good for.  Same day, later, he drops his applesauce all over the floor.  As I crawl under the table armed with paper towels and some random cleaner, he chastises me, "Mommy!  You need Clorox for that mess!"

But today was the best nugget of all.  We went out back to play, and out of the clear blue, he exclaimed, "OH NO!  We don't have any Claritin."  Assuming he was referring to Bryce's allergy attacks every time he steps in our backyard, I said nothing.  After a few minutes of reflection, Ewan told me some long thing about Claritin which ended in, "So I need Claritin so I can ride a skateboard."  Which, I haven't seen the commercial he must be referring to, but I can only assume it involves some poor allergy-ridden boy who can't enjoy the outdoors until he has his Claritin, which magically makes him a whiz on the skateboard.

Amateur photographer, mud pies, and crazy people

*Note* I'll have you know that I am this close to throwing my computer through the window because it will not properly publish my font. Everything is all squinched together. Pardon the strain on your eyes, and also my cussing, which maybe you didn't hear, but trust me, it happened.

Ewan is currently ground from any video or computer games. Today, as a substitute, he decided to take some pictures. Usually he takes pictures of the wall or a box of crackers, but today he actually got some good shots of Fynn. Later in the day, he wanted to dig for worms, but our neighbors lovely pit bulls were trying to climb the fence to eat our dog, so we decided to go play in our side yard instead. And it was a total MUD PIT! So naturally we took our shoes off and had a grand old time. Well, except for Fynn, he didn't like the feeling of the mud so much, so he steered clear.

Taken by Ewan while playing Door Peekaboo

Those big, soulful eyes are full of tears because I was on an important phone call and had put him down because he was screaming in my ear. Also taken by Ewan.

Sitting in the mud pit.

Standing in the mud pit.

He got much dirtier after this one.

Tonight we went to the ball game with the Saunders, Bowers, Kirchmanns, Grimmetts and Grundbergs. That was a lot of fun, and the kids did really well. (Again, I'll be stealing pictures from the other people present, so those will come later.) The only dark spot on the whole evening was the bat*%$! crazy woman who sat next to us. All the kids were pretty much communal property among all of us families, the whole "it takes a village" thing, and Ewan and Natalie were sitting in two chairs next to me. Some young couple wandered over the the seats next to them, and at first I thought this lady was just overly friendly as she started chitchatting with the kids. A little annoying, but nothing compared to when I looked over and she was giving them cotton candy! Now, I don't care if my child has cotton candy, we were going to buy some for him, but where on Earth did this lady hear it was okay to offer someone else's children, that you don't know, candy? I was very aggravated, but was trying to be nice, so I just thanked her. And she continued with the questions, working her way to asking them their names. Bryce and I were both getting very uncomfortable, but nothing prepared me for when she started TICKLING MY SON. Seriously. Tickling him. Um, yeah, don't touch my kid. So I start figuring out in my head how I'm going to lure him away, when that woman pulled out a camera and was taking pictures of both of them. That was the final straw, and I had to work up my courage to get them away NOW. Luckily, Natalie saw Bella and wanted to be with her, so that worked out. But I had to physically pick Ewan up and put him in my lap to get him away from her. She and her companion apparently got the hint, because they immediately left and went back to whatever hole they came from. But seriously, how many grossly inappropriate things was she going to work into a ten minute period? So we had to have the talk with Ewan that even though strangers may seem nice, we just don't know, and that all the things she was doing were not appropriate. I am mad at myself, though, because I should have immediately said, "Please don't tickle him." The cotton candy thing I could have overlooked, because we were right there, and she was eating it as well, but the rest was so far over the line, and I hate that I even hesitated to offend her. But I finally did, and I know Natalie also got a good lecture from her mother about it once I told her what happened. It's a lesson to be learned by me to stop caring about offending other people.