Guns 'N Hoses Hockey 2009

It's that time of year again -- Guns 'N Hoses Hockey is coming to town!

If you're looking for an after-Christmas charity that keeps on giving, this is a good one! All the proceeds support the Guns 'N Hoses charity fund, which contributes money to many things to help our firefighters and police officers out in times of need: they give surviving family members financial assistance in the event someone is killed in the line of duty or who have died (example: two officers this past year have died of cancer and Guns 'N Hoses has helped their families out); they lend assistance paying medical bills for emergency circumstances: i.e. one of the former players is a young guy who has been diagnosed lung cancer and is in desperate need. Last year, one of the officers had a nephew who had died unexpectedly and they helped cover funeral cost.

This is a benefit to all the public safety officers in the valley, not just those who play. In the past, they have also helped support the University of Utah Burn Camp and the Hunstman Cancer Institute.

There is such an increased interest in playing for the team this year they are doing two charity games. Tickets are $10 each and will get you in the Grizzlies game later the same night. In years past, there have also been various games and a raffle; it hasn't been confirmed formally, but I would imagine there will be things like this around as well.

Alan has told me that this year they've invited the teams from a similar program in Boise, Idaho to come down, so the weekend will be full of tournaments. We can get more information on those for anyone who wants it.

Also, if you have a business interested in making this is a tax-deductible donation, we can get information about who to write a check to.

This is 6th year of Guns 'N Hoses, and the firefighters have prevailed for four of the five games played. Let's see if they can do it again!

Date : Saturday, January 24, 2009

Time: 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm
Location: The E Center in West Valley, UT
Price: $10/ ticket

If you have any further questions, please email us here. You can also get a hold of us on our cell phones at any time. Thanks for your support!

Buried in a White Christmas

On the outside: it was snowing...and snowing... and snowing....

When all was told, before we departed for grandparents' abodes, mom and dad had shoveled our way through snow that was at least 12 inches deep, and as deep as 16 inches in some spots. The dogs had both tripped and been completely buried at least once each, and Mason had gone back inside to play with the toys Santa had brought. He tried to brave the storm and help us, but about 20 minutes outside was enough for him. We were out there for just short of two hours shoveling. We're thinking if this weather keeps up, Santa just might bring up a snow blower a little late.


On the inside: A Merry Christmas to all...

2008

Mason was so excited to see what Santa had brought. In addition to the train table delivered on Christmas morning by the big man, mom and dad pitched in with some Thomas the Tank Engine bedding and pajamas, and dad contributed some trains that Mason carried around the rest of the day in an ever-growing collection. Thank you to the family on both sides who helped make Mason's Christmas and ours very Merry. We hope you and yours had just as much fun as we did, and are now taking the opportunity to rest up for the new year. Happy Holidays from us to you.

2007

2006
(Some things never change, they still look at me like that when I aim the camera.)

A Parent's Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse.

Instructions were studied and we were inspired,

In hopes we could manage "Some Assembly Required."

The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,

While Dad and I faced the evening with dread:

A kitchen, two bikes, Barbie's town house to boot!

And, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot!
We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat....

Let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!

Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;

If we can't get it right, it goes in the basement!
When what to my worrying eyes should appear,

But 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,

With each part numbered and every slot named,

So if we failed, only we could be blamed.

More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,

All over the carpet they were scattered about.

"Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!

Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!

Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand."

"Honey," said hubby, "you just glued my hand."

And then in a twinkling,

I knew for a fact

That all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact

To keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night

With "assembly required" till morning's first light.
We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,

Till our eyes, they went bleary; our fingers all hurt.

The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin

Before we attached the last rod and last pin.
Then laying the tools away in the chest,

We fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.

But I said to my husband just before I passed out,

"This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt.
Tomorrow we'll cheer, let the holiday ring,

And not have to run to the store for a thing!

We did it! We did it! The toys are all set

For the perfect, most perfect, Christmas, I bet!"
Then off to dreamland and sweet repose I gratefully went,

Though I suppose there's something to say for those self-deluded...

I'd forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!

-Author Unknown

Merry Christmas Eve to you all!

Baking Frenzy Continued

There's no better way to spread some holiday "Joy" (that's what the plate says--ha!) than with Sicilian Christmas Cookies, Cappuccino Truffles, and some really yummy local coffee from an awesome place called The Coffee Club. For these and more holiday recipes, visit my recipe blog, The Unpampered Chef

Dad is totally the fun parent at our house

Mason was so excited that it finally snowed! He could hardly wait to get outside and play in it, which was a drastic change in attitude from this time last year. Alan contributed to the excitement by providing a sledding opportunity at a little park by our house. Not being such a snow-friendly mom, I was grateful for his effort to pick a park with relatively small hills and absolutely no trees for this first tubing trip; Mason is half mine after all, so he's genetically predisposed to run into things when he shouldn't.

After breakfast, we headed outside to shovel the snow. While we were outside, our neighbor across the street and her kids came out to tackle the same chore. She has a plow on their 4-wheeler, so we borrowed her two older children while she plowed the driveway. EmmaLee was a great help with the snowman building (I haven't done it in 20-some-odd years), but even with her help the head was a little small and had some trouble staying on. Carter helped Alan shovel for most of the time, but also took time to teach Mason how to eat snow. EmmaLee had fun initiating a snowball fight with Alan.

Post-shoveling, EmmaLee had to go to school but Carter went to the park with us. Wouldn't you know, even with the new inner tube, Mason's favorite thing was to roll down the hills himself. He just wasn't such a huge fan of having snow on his face, and would periodically stop and ask me or his dad to clean him off. When Mason started asking for a drink, we headed home and Mason got one of his first piggy back rides from Dad; his initial protest of "I don't see any piggies!" was pretty funny, but it only took him a second to figure out what was happening.

The first snow of the year brought back a couple of things for me: first is my favorite thing about winter. We love to throw snowballs for Rio and Samson almost as much as they like to eat them. The catch is they often lose the snowball in the snow and will track back to Alan and stare him down as if they don't believe he really threw it. The second thing is the simple joy involved in a snowstorm when you're a little kid. Mason didn't have to worry about things like extended commute times, driver safety, and how much ibuprofen is required to alleviate an after-shoveling backache. All he had to do was sit back and enjoy being a kid, and it was so fun to be caught up in that for a little while. Also, now every time I ask him to put on his coat, he asks if we're building a snowman. I think he liked that part.

Thanks for letting us borrow your kids, Melissa! You guys are great neighbors and I look forward to many more snowstorms with you guys. It isn't the same as us three ladies tackling as many driveways as our shovels will handle, but it's still fun!

Baking Frenzy

In the past few days, I've been on a roll with baking. I have made banana bread (not pictured), about 6 dozen rolled/cutout sugar cookies, English Toffee Bars (bottom left in top picture), and No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars (top right in top picture). I spent five solid hours baking on Sunday. I have yet to frost most of the sugar cookies (I only did the ones we're giving Alan's brother for his birthday treat) and I still have apple butter to make. Also, notice the picture Mason wanted me to take of him "looking at Paul's cookies." For these recipes and others, check out my recipe blog, The Unpampered Chef. Happy Holidays!

Lost in 8:15

This is both hilarious with the deadpan delivery and a great way to catch up on the first three seasons of Lost if you are a fan.

More Nights of Lights

Heather and I took the kiddos, plus her nephew, to see Zoo Lights last week. As you can tell from the overbearing number of pictures, everywhere we looked was a fantastic creation. I definitely recommend it! It wasn't too cold if we kept moving or paused at the heating spots. We tried deep fried s'mores--it wasn't even on a dare-- and decided they aren't our fave. They cool off too fast and don't have enough graham cracker-y-ness. It was almost like paying $2.00 for a greasy candy bar. Mason wasn't a fan and stuck to the usual mess--a churro. I'm not sure what it is about this boy and cinnamon-sugar, but there is a definite love affair there.

The kids each got a little light up spin toy that may very well be the best $6 I have ever spent. The only problem was when they would let the lights flash in the backseat on the way home, because I totally thought I was being pulled over.

Mason kept wanting to go back and see the monkeys (I maintain it takes one to know one). He was so sweet being upset they were sleeping in the trees. He wanted them to "go down and sleep in their beds."

Overall, Mason swore he had so much fun that he wants to do it again, and that is what counts! Although, I think next year he will be way too big for the stroller and we'll have to find another way to bundle up.

The only place Thanksgiving should meet Christmas

In my opinion, that is. I think Christmas is a post-December 1st sort of thing. Except for some reason this year, we were all over it the day after Thanksgiving. I can totally see that; I'm not the girl who starts Christmas around Halloween time, though, and I never will be.

Anyway, we took Mason to see the holiday lights at Thanksgiving Point on Friday night. He said his favorites were the "red trees". As seems to be the case with children, he liked the parking lot decorations the best out of the whole display! Alan's favorite was a solider lighting a cannon; the cannonball shot in an arch over the roadway and was synced to lights of a small explosion on the other side. I really liked that one, but I think my favorite was the gingerbread man flipping through the archway over the trail. I couldn't capture a very good picture of either of our favorites. And the camera didn't do the red trees much justice, but I tried! (Also, please excuse our car antenna in the picture. If it wasn't there, it would mean I was the driver instead of the passenger, so that's probably a good thing.)

Mason's whole focus of the evening was feeding the "Bambis" so they could "have a popsicle after dinner." He determined that reindeer (we have tried to explain the difference between Bambi and reindeer, but the red nose is the only thing that seems to register, and we have since given up) like brown or yellow popsicles the best. I tried not to think about that too much and I was much relieved when he changed his mind and decided they like blue popsicles instead.

Naturally, Mason was the most interested in trying to climb inside the reindeer's pen. I have a picture of him being stopped by his daddy as he tried to climb over the top, but I was on stroller guard on the other side, so it's really dark. And the picture posted does not accurately show the amount of climbing that was going on...need I say again that he's a monkey?

We had hamburgers and fries (all the better to feed my new, relatively bottomless craving for red meat-- I'm sensing a prescription for iron supplements in my future!) for dinner at a place across the way and then shared a peach cobbler milkshake. I found a chunk of peppermint candy cane in my milkshake. I'm choosing to look at that as a bonus!

Decking the Halls

Mason is starting to recognize some of the elements of Christmas this year, and it has been so much fun. We asked him if he was excited for Christmastime, and the answer was a resounding yes. We asked him what Christmas means, and his first answer was "Lights!" We're working on the actual meaning of Christmas now! However, his excitement prompted us to take first things first-- and put up our lights. As you can see, we aren't too elaborate with it; we put up something simple and then drive around to see the more elaborate displays.

We also invested in a 7 1/2 foot tall pre-lit Christmas tree. This was only a disadvantage after we started decking the tree out and I realized I only had enough decor for a 4 1/2 foot tree. We're making it work! I have scaled back on my Christmas decorations a bit. I used to do the whole living room, but Mason loves to play in there, so we seem to have reached a truce whereby I get my space to decorate if he gets his space to play. As a result, I have the tree and the one table ready to go. My mom purchased a train that is meant to circle the bottom of the tree for Mason; we might put it up if he'll stop playing with it long enough. But his other newfound love is The Polar Express, which is also the name he's bestowed on the new train; I'm thinking this love will carry him through the new year.

Little Chicken Pot Pies

This is what we had for dinner. For this and some of my other brave attempts, check out my recipe blog, The Unpampered Chef. Because we had most of the items on hand, this cost me less than $5 to make, and I was so very excited about that.

Wordless Wednesday: This Time Last Year

Mason was so excited to help dad shovel snow. We'll beat the chore-related excitement out of him yet (okay, not really because chores are necessary and we will benefit when he does them). 2Dec07 For more Wordless Wednesdays, see Nicol's blog when she has a chance to start posting again or 5 Minutes for Mom.

New Daddy

My mom and I took Mason out to lunch this afternoon, and he was chattering away as usual. Some of what he says is nonsense (like he just barely told me "When the sun comes up, we can have popcorn!"....), but if you pay close attention he's pretty funny sometimes.

Much to our surprise, he turned to my mom and said that we were "waiting for new daddy." During questioning, he said "old daddy is at the fire station" and that "new daddy is going to come sit right here by me."

When asked if he knew new daddy's name, he said yes. "It's Papa!"

He calls my dad Papa, so we were relieved that he wasn't calling my virtue into question; we're just trying to figure out Papa's "new" name. Anyone have any ideas?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite of the major holidays. I really love to bake and spend time with family, so it goes without saying that I would love a day centered around good food and loved ones. Especially with my side of our family, it's a rare opportunity for everyone to get together and I don't take that lightly. But even further than that, I have so many things to be grateful for and today gives me a chance to pause and really focus on that. Suddenly, the stomping hissy fit Mason is in the middle of seems so minor compared to the "big picture". So here in no particular order are the things I'm grateful for; they mirror a lot of lists my friends have already posted.

- My family. This is a huge one, and encompasses so many different things. My husband who is a smart, hard worker and encourages me to stay home with Mason. Mason himself, who has taught me so much about myself and life in general. Even though right now he's going through a fit-throwing phase that makes being home seem like a chore, when he isn't throwing a fit or having a hard time, he is such a sweet, smart, and funny kid. He loves to learn, laugh, and play. He has a way of cutting through all the pretenses that a lot of adults have built up and is just himself all the time. He always lets me know where I stand with him; I think he gets that from his dad, and it's such a good thing most of the time. I'm grateful for the baby on the way, but more on that later! I'm also grateful for in-laws and parents who are always there for us and very supportive. The relationship I have with my mom, especially since Mason was born, is leaps and bounds above what I ever thought it could be and I'm so grateful for all of her support and encouragement. I've been lucky in a way to have a close relationship with Alan's mom, who is also supportive and helps me complete projects and do things I never thought I would or could do. And the dads, who are always standing by protectively to help me out with whatever Alan can't accomplish when long work hours take him away. Our family is crazy and imperfect, but they are perfect for me and I love them all.

-My friends. When I need a little bit of sanity or girl power, there is a solid group of friends I can turn to. I have had a lot of disappointment with friendships in my life, figuring out which ones were healthy and which ones weren't hurtful. It's so nice to be in a place where I can count on my friends and I feel like they can count on me. Heather, Joey, Amber...my week isn't complete unless I've at least talked to you all. Even though work, kids, and life in general don't always allow us to spend a lot of time together, when we do get together it feels like no time has passed. And I also have an extended circle of friends that I am lucky to have, who I also appreciate. These three are my core friends, though, and one of the bright spots in my life.

-Stability. Alan and I have been very blessed with a stable life in a lot of aspects. First off, we both are relatively healthy. I've been especially grateful for this strength when I've been pregnant. So many people have hard pregnancies or deliveries and I have been very lucky in both these areas. We are both extremely relieved to have stable jobs, especially with all the economic difficulties surrounding us. We joke that stupid people are our job security; it isn't quite like that. Really, it's people needing help that are our job security, and there will always be people who need help; there will also always be a few nuts mixed in. I'm grateful we both have jobs we love and do well at to support our family. I'm also grateful for the flexibility that allows me to have the best of both worlds and to be at home with Mason most of the time.

So with that, I've got about a hundred things to do today so I'd better jet. But if you haven't had a chance to pause and think about it, I would love to know--what are you thankful for?

Taking it all off...

Wow, I just realized what that title must look like to those of you who follow via feed or email and just see the title. Hmm. Oh, well. You all know how I am by now!

So last week, after 45 minutes of effort with and end result of hair that still looked like I hadn't bothered, I decided I was sick of the long and it was coming off. That it did!

Some of you may remember when I was in high school and my hair never made it past my shoulders. For those of you that don't, this is even shorter than it was then! Heather, my fabulous haircutter, showed me where the 10 inches required to donate would fall and I was like "Hey, why not!" It seemed like a shame to be within an inch or two of donating and not going the extra. Besides, I'm taking pre-natal vitamins; my hair might have grown out that much by Thanksgiving. Probably not, but likely by Christmas.

Plus, when the "oompa-loompa" purple wears out (Alan can be very kind, can't he?!), it will be a more dramatic shade of red than I have tried. I like to think of myself as brave, even if it isn't true.

Also, please forgive the awkward self-portraits. I also ended up with pictures of the ceiling and the back of my chair during the photo shoot. I'm not so good at the self photography.

So I have a 10-inch long ponytail to donate, and if anyone knows of a good cancer charity, I would love the guidance (via comment or email, whatever works). I donated to Locks of Love last time (and one other time about 12 years ag0), but I have a work friend who died of cancer a couple of years ago so I feel a little closer to that cause.

Amused at the museum

We took Mason to Discovery Gateway yesterday for the first time in a long time.

He had two real favorite parts. The first was The Garden at the beginning. He loved all the different sounds and putting the "yellow balls in white tubes to go buh-bye." He giggled every time he put a ball in any part, and he played in there for almost 45 minutes before we could get him to check out anything else.

But then he moved right on to his second favorite, the area where you "build" things using the crane. However, he actually liked to slide through the tube meant to move the blocks back down to the first level. You can then load them on the crane to put them up on the platform. Well, Dad had a different idea what to do with the blocks. And as you can see from the chuckle on his face, he was pretty proud of himself when Mason only manage to budge the blocks a little on his first attempt.

Well, as I mentioned, the slide is designed for blocks only, not for kids. There is plexiglass with a block-sized square cut out to prevent little monkeys from sliding down. Not that it stopped my little monkey, and he totally managed to get stuck in the square. Not to worry, he wiggled free.

And in the end, he broke through the block pile dad built.

Then, the soaked little monkey (after a stop by the water area) took a trip to the farm area to pretend-eat some plastic carrots and onions.


We ended the day thinking Mason would love a trip to the roof to see the helicopter. He did not. In fact, he tried to pull Alan away from the helicopter, shoe first, for a complete escape. After another brief trip through The Garden, we headed to dinner afterwards to make the night complete.

Updates....

So remember when I told you how I had my handwriting turned into a font for free? Well, now it's available for anyone to download through the site because apparently she thought it was cute enough to share. I'm fairly flattered.

But imagine my surprise when I realized it was my handwriting in her title bar! If you've been looking for a new font or even just something a little different as far as typeface goes, there are tons of great ideas so take a moment to look. Mine is available in the group posted in July, along with plenty that are way cuter. The directions are also there; it's fast, easy, and free. Just choose the correct operating system from the page for detailed instructions.

Apparently, the need to color-code is genetic

Mason: Daddy, I don't want to go to the orange store today.
Alan: It's okay, buddy. We don't need to go to the orange store. Just the yellow store.
Mom: The orange store?

I guess you know we go there often if Mason has assigned a color to the store, no matter how appropriate or obvious the color may be. Here's a quick reference guide:

The orange store= Home Depot
The yellow store= Harmons
The red store= Target
The blue store= The Children's Place
The green store= Barnes and Noble

What I did during naptime

Besides take the time to paint my fingernails. It looks weird, because I really can't remember the last time I did it! Also, please don't think I'm too Twilight-obsessed. I like the books, but I'm skeptical about the movie. I'm not counting down or anything. I just saw this on someone's Facebook page and I was bored.



Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Decisions, decisions...

Now, please no one die of shock. I have organized a separate playlist of my blog music for Christmas. I know most of you who truly know me will be wondering what the problem is. I am a) not known for my love of traditional Christmas music and b) never so organized I have something like that completed months in advance.

Well, a couple of years ago, I came across Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong album, and it is hands down my favorite wintertime CD. It is slow and mellow and in places even a bit sad. My all-time favorite Christmas/winter song is "In the Bleak Midwinter" (if that tells you anything about the holiday music I like!!), and this was one of the only albums I've ever found with it.

So what I'm wondering is this: when is it too soon to switch over to the holiday playlist? I was totally aghast when I realized LiteFM100 already had Christmas music. Typically, I think Thanksgiving is too passed by and gets moreso every year. I usually refuse, steadfastly, to put up any holiday decorations until at least December 1st. But for some reason this year, I'm itching to do it earlier. So please, take the poll on the top right hand side and let me know what you think!

All Hallows Eve has come and gone...

This Halloween was yet another year Dad was at work (we're keeping our fingers crossed that he'll be on the same platoon next year because then we might be able to actually see him on a holiday!), so we had to make some fun of our own.

We invited some friends over. Ashlyn was a beautiful little snow princess and Mason was a somewhat cooperative monkey. Due to his lack of cooperation last year, and the fact that his costume was a 2T/3T size, I decided to stretch the monkey costume for another year. Plus, I couldn't come up with anything that would be equally as appropriate.

So what are we to do with a seemingly endless supply of candy at home? Well, we made more food of course. We had sweet chili with cornbread, Halloweenies, and were too full to make it through our dessert of chocolate chip cookie dough brownies (see my nerdy recipe blog, The Unpampered Chef for any of these recipes you may want to try). The kids played until the house was a total disaster and helped us hand out candy. Mason rebelled and removed his costume before we made it trick or treating, but there's always next year and I way overbought on candy. Plus, we stopped at Grandma's house so she could see the costume, and she provided Mason with some "yucks" (the Good 'N Plentys he so loves. They are named that because mom and dad both told him they are yucky) and a licorice rope that doubled for a whip during various points of the night.

Overall, we had good food, good company, and good times! Hope everyone else had a Happy Halloween!

The Saddest Little Monkey, Halloween 2007

A Two-Toothed Little Tiger, Halloween 2006

"Wow!.... Can I Watch a Movie Now?"

In an effort to engage Mason in the Halloween season a little bit, we first took him to the pumpkin patch and then yesterday, tried to get his help carving the pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. He was so excited he even voluntarily left Grandma's house and the park to do this.

But when we got home, he couldn't have cared less. He posed for a picture with the pre-carved pumpkins and insisted I wash the smallest one that we weren't planning on carving. Then he climbed down from his chair, took off his shoes and socks, and went upstairs. When he came down, he had also removed his shirt. We were thinking he wanted to help scoop the stuff out, but we were wrong. He watched Alan carved one eye out of the first pumpkin and then asked if he could watch a movie. *sigh*

Alan: "You will PARTICIPATE in these family activities!"

Of course, Alan was joking and Mason was already off to "play toys". It was a fun way for mom and dad to spend some quality time together, though. It was the first time I've ever carved pumpkins. We used to paint them when I was younger, but I have no recollection of actually carving any. Scooping the inside out was kind of gross, but not as big of a mess as I thought. Alan followed the lines very well (probably better than I drew them--they are very basic, though), and even took pictures for me after dark when I was at work.

Thinking Outside the Box (for once!)

So I bragged in the last post I typed about holding my own with productivity. I then posted pictures of Mason and neglected to mention what I did that was actually productive. So if you are like us, having two large pets at home, and don't feel the need to spend another $60-$150 every time they tear their beds or kennels into chunks, see what I rigged up below.

Dog beds are ridiculously expensive. They don't sleep in them anyway; our dogs prefer to lay on the air vents that blow cold air so no one else feels any. We had moved their beds into the kennels, but they were destroyed by a summer of camping detritus. We did our seasonal clean and had to eighty-six all of it. But I can't leave them in bare kennels because that feels mean. It would be like leaving Mason in a room without a bed and telling him to sleep there. But I also can't sew and I'm not the most creative person, so what was a girl to do? Here it is in step-by-step format.

1. Clean kennels; try really hard not to gag as you throw away the mess that used to be in them. Use dish soap that promises to cut through anything, and be tough on odors even on plastic items. Hose them down; "accidentally" hit the curious dogs with cold hose water.

2. Let kennel pieces dry in the sun; pray it stays warm long enough for this to happen.

3. Realize you have nothing to put inside them; the dogs will have to stay out while you go to the store. It's kind of like a gamble. (We still aren't sure how Rio got the red Sharpie she chewed up in the middle of the living room once when we left her out on purpose; it was seriously put away in a drawer. We think she might have superpowers. We also aren't sure how Kevin got it out of our carpet. He also might have superpowers.)

4. Irritate your cranky kid by dragging him to Costco, Petco, and finally Target on a desperate search for something to put in the kennels that won't require you to dip into his college fund. Anyone priced dog beds lately? Or even the things they specifically make to pad kennels? If your dog is larger than say, a purse, it gets expensive quickly. Grab a few things with a rough idea of what you're going to do with them while your kid is screaming at the top of his lungs that he wants to go home. You will need: a queen sized foam mattress, two twin-sized fitted sheets, and reliable scissors. Pay as quickly as possible and chuck it all into the back of the truck while the cart is still in motion because if you stop your kid will climb out.

5. Head home to put the mostly dry kennels back together in the dark while your previously cranky kid asks repeatedly if he can climb in the tunnel and if you think his trucks will fit in the gaps where the bottom and top of the kennel fit together. (I said no, but his fingers might. I know because I've tried it with my own fingers. He resorted to climbing on top of the kennels to play but was not crying so I let him be.)

6. After kennels are together, take one queen sized foam pad ($22.99 at Target) and figure out the best way to cut it in half to fit both kennels. Cut it lengthwise and fold each section in half. Wrap a twin-sized fitted sheet around each part ($7.99 each at Target). Wrap it around the back/bottom first and then finally lap the sheet over itself so none of the stretchy parts or the foam is visible to the dog with superpowers who can probably undo your 10 minutes of work with nothing but sheer will on her side.

7. Fit each portion into the appropriate kennel, making sure you arrange colors so your husband won't accuse you of trying to turn the boy dog into a girl. Realize that, during your child's hissy fit, you paid no attention to what colors you grabbed and maybe you could've put more thought into this... but yellow is better than bubble gum blue for a boy, right? Maybe?

Total cost: $39 ($19.50 each) and just a small portion of my sanity. However, none of these items were on clearance so I know I should be able to reconstruct this, at the listed price or less, any time we have an unfortunate kennel-related incident. Plus, the sheets are more washable than the beds were, and these are the same materials those $70 beds were made from.

Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself for rigging this up. Plus if I end up recreating it, I might need these instructions.

Bouncing and Wandering

Alan and I have a couple of days off in a row together (don't panic, he's working both nights so we do not have a full 48 hours together...I'm not sure what we would do with that much consecutive time off!), which means we will be insanely busy. Today was crazy and I'm totally exhausted. Alan is one of those productive people that lives on an entirely different plane than I do. He's usually dragging me along trying to get things done, and I'm slowing him down. Today, though, I think I kept up with him all right...

First off, last week Mason and I went with an old friend of mine (plus her three kids) to Kangaroo Zoo. I think out of the little bounce house places we've been, this was his favorite. He was talking about sliding into the alligator's mouth for days afterward. Plus, in case I haven't said it enough before and the pictures of him climbing up high don't prove it, he's a freaking monkey. Seriously. He also loved to "play kids", and slide in a heap down with Melissa's four year old. I learned the power of holding onto coupons when we went out to dinner and fed all six of us for less than $25...that was pretty great, too. Plus, I didn't know Pier 49 had dessert pizza and it was pretty good! See Melissa's post for more details. She's a better blogger than me!

One of the fun things we did today was to take Mason to the pumpkin patch near our house. He obviously loves the tractors they set up. He was enthralled with the horse trailer, and loved getting a ride from dad almost as much as he liked helping push the wheelbarrow around. We went wandering through the corn maze. I'm not sure which possibility excited him more: finding the kitty from last year (see below) that he chased until it swatted at him and dad pulled him away, or the possibility that his wandering might lead to getting lost.