It's So Hot That...

• birds are using potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
• the trees are whistling for dogs.
• hot water now comes out of both taps in the sink.
• you can make sun tea instantly.
• you break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.
• you realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
• you actually burn your hand opening the car door.
• you learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.
• you discover that it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.
• the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
• the temperature drops below 95°F and you feel a little chilly.
• farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.

 Courtesy of Patriot Humor

Cartoon of the Day - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is dedicated to all you wonderful mothers who have children going back to school this time of year:

Adorable Kitty Photo

My wonderful friend Tami from Misc. Ramblings sent me this adorable photo and I had to share it with all of you. Have a fabulous day!

{Image Credit}

Doggie Photo Shoot

The other day, with lots of help from my ever supportive and patient husband Bill, I did a photo shoot with all the doggies after they had all had a bath. {This time I did their baths in shifts, three at a time, TeeHee}.  Here are the best ones out of about 30 photos.....

These are the three Yorkies that we are dog-sitting: Maila, Mai-Li, and Mumbo

These are our three doggies: Lady Mia, Mandie, and Nano

The Boys: Mumbo and Nano

The Girls: Lady Mia, Mandie, Mai-Li, and Maila

The Yorkies: Nano, Lady Mia, Mai-Li, Maila, and Mumbo

Everybody: Nano, Lady Mia, Mandie, Mai-Li, Maila, and Mumbo

Do you KNOW how hard it is to get six dogs to all look one way at the same time????  If you look at the photos, you can see that it is darned impossible.  I still think they are all so adorable and I am going to miss Mai-Li, Maila and Mumbo when they go home.  Their mama, Tyna, is coming home tomorrow and will be picking them up.  I know she misses them terribly and they miss her.  We have been texting her photos almost every day of them and she is so grateful. 

Hope you enjoyed the photos and have a wonderful week.

Cartoon of the Day - Dad School

This cartoon reminded me of the old proverb: "Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a DAD."

Even though Bill is Nikolaus and Alexander's step-father, he has always been a "dad" to them and they have always appreciated everything he has done for them and they really love him and consider him their dad.

So we dedicate this cartoon to him...

{Click on cartoon to enlarge}

Bill, we love you and thank you for all you have done for us and what you mean to us!

Nikolaus on R & R in Connecticut

My son Nikolaus was able to go home from Afghanistan for two weeks on R & R a couple of weeks ago.  Because his unit is based out of Connecticut, that is where they flew him back to and he didn't have enough time or money to come down here to Florida to see us, but that was OK, I was able to talk to him and text back & forth a lot.  There was also a going away party for my niece who is moving to California with her husband and daughter while he was home, so the whole family got together.  Nikolaus sent a photo to me of himself and my other son Alexander from the party, they both look so grown up.

I miss them so much, but am really glad that they are both coming to visit this fall when Nikolaus gets home from his deployment for good.  They are going to try and make it at the same time because it has been 3 years since we have all been together.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.....

Meet the New Member of Our Family

Please meet Mandie Kathryn Shewbridge... she is an eight pound one year old Chihuahua/Miniature Pinscher mix that we rescued from the Helping Paws Humane Society.  She had been abused before and was fostered by a lovely couple who took great care of her for the last few months and we are very grateful to them.  She is such a sweetheart and hardly makes any noise at all, she loves to cuddle and sleeps with us all curled up in a ball.  She is already potty trained, which makes my life much easier.  She is a bit skittish with people but eventually comes around with patience and gentleness.  She is getting along with the other babies in the house fairly well, but is still a little shy, I am sure in a short time they will all be life-long friends.  I am so happy that we were able to open our home and hearts to this little love. 

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms."


~ George Eliot


If you are considering getting a pet for your family, please consider opening your hearts to an abandoned or abused pet from the ASPCA or Humane Society.  Check with your local shelter, you will be doing a wonderful thing for your family and for a loving animal.... you may even be saving a life.
 

Happy National Waffle Day

HAPPY NATIONAL WAFFLE DAY

(not to be confused with International Waffle Day on March 25th)

According to Mr.Breakfast.com:
National Waffle Day (August 24) is the anniversary of the first U.S. patent for a waffle iron. Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York received his patent for a "device to bake waffles" in 1869. His early waffle iron was used in conjunction with coal stoves, consisted of a griddle and a cover and required flipping of the device to cook both sides of the waffle.

My favorites happen to be: 1. (As if you couldn't guess this one) Mickey Mouse waffles from Disney World, and of course I have the recipe an a MM Waffler so I can make them at home; and 2. Belgian waffles with strawberries and fresh REAL whipped cream.  What's your favorite?

Studious Yorkie

This is Mumbo, the biggest of the Yorkies at our house right now.  He is 2 years old and is the one that watches over the little ones, he makes sure that they are all OK whenever he hears them bark, whine or make any kind of noise.  He is such a sweetie to me, he loves to cuddle with me and loves to have his belly scratched.  I was trying to read the other day during some down time while we were working at the dry cleaners and Mumbo didn't like the fact that he wasn't getting any attention, so he kept pawing me me until I gave him my undivided attention.  I decided to put my reading glasses on him and he just let me put them on and left them there so I could take his picture.  He didn't try to knock them off or shake them off, I did have to hold them on one side a little because my head is a bit bigger than his, but he was so good to let me put those on him.  Doesn't he look just adorable???

I had a migraine last week and Mumbo was right there lying beside me and licking my face, neck and eyes making sure I was OK.  He just knew that I didn't feel good - of course, Nano was there, too, because he always knows exactly how I feel and takes good care of me.  I just love them.

Hope you enjoyed this little insight into one of my fur-babies.

What I've Been Dealing With For a Month.....

{Image Credit}

Ok, not quite ALL month, Nano and Lady Mia are both house broken, but the three dogs that we are dog sitting, not so much, and I am trying to teach them to go outside or at least on the puppy pads.  I am having some success, but they are still having some accidents around the house.  Poor Bill has washed the carpet four times already, he is such a great guy!  But each time they have an accident and I discipline the guilty party, I get a face just like the one above and I can't get mad... could you?  Look at these faces.....

The extra babies should be going home sometime this week... boy am I going to miss them!

WooHoo!! First Event for Brandcation: Adventures in Orlando Announced

We are all SO excited to hear that our first event is being held at Florida EcoSafaris... and thanks to them, it will be at no cost to any of us attending - thank you very much!  They have a 4700 acre eco-ranch and wildlife conservation area preserved just as nature intended. This beautiful site boasts 9 distinct Florida ecosystems and an endless array of natural flora and fauna including alligators, black bears, nearly two hundred species of birds and the endangered Florida panther.

 

There will be the opportunity to take a Zip-line Safari  - the perfect aerial vantage point to learn about Florida’s ecosystems on a one-of-a-kind adventure. Along the two and a half hour journey, you’ll soar trough the tree tops, 55 feet off the ground, and make your way across sky-bridges while learning about Florida’s natural flora and fauna from your expert guide - all at speeds up to 25 miles per hour!

 

For those of us who are unable to do something quite that adventurous, there is the opportunity to take a Coach Safari, a trip through a picturesque Florida ranch, featuring a living museum of Spanish Colonial Cattle and Florida’s unique Cracker Horses, an endless array of natural flora and fauna including alligators, black bears, white-tail deer and nearly two hundred species of birds. An expert guide to take us up-close to everything over land and water onboard our special open-air safari coaches, elevated 5 feet off the ground for a fantastic view of everything.

You all know how much I LOVE taking nature photos, so I am really excited about this adventure and about all the pictures I might be able to take and share on my blog.  I can't wait until November for this blogging convention to meet all these fabulous women and this wonderful adventure.  I'll let you know as soon as I do what other terrific things are in store for us during our Brandcation conference.

Thank you so much to Trisha from Momdot and Florida EcoSafaris for making this possible.

What an Incredibly Busy Week

Image Credit

This past week, on top of dog-sitting the three dogs for my girlfriend, we have been doing a favor for another friend who owns a dry cleaners in town.  Bill used to work there two years ago and the woman who took over when he re-retired (TeeHee) wanted to go on vacation and there was no one to cover for her, so they called Bill to see if he would work there for the week.  So we bartered and agreed to work the week in exchange for the cleaning and pressing of our 68 pieces of dry cleaning that needed to be done.

The hours all week were 7:30am to 6:00pm and we alternated which dogs we took with us each day (Nano went with us every day). {Photos to follow once I get organized again.}  But it was totally exhausting and my back is killing me. I was unable to get on the computer during the day as there was no Internet connection available, then by the time I got home at night, I was just so tired and in so much pain, I ended up sitting down (after Bill either took me out to get something to eat or brought something home so I wouldn't have to cook - gotta love that man!!) and watching about an hour of TV and then falling to sleep.

I am SO behind at visiting peoples blogs and responding to emails {I have about 1500 to go through}, but I hope to catch up this weekend and by the beginning of next week.  I hope you all had a fabulous week with your families and if any of your children started school, I hope it went fabulously, if you didn't yet, enjoy your last few days/weeks of summer. Thanks for always being there for me and for your encouraging words on Twitter.  Talk to you all soon as I catch up on my emails.  HUGS!!

Please Wish My Friend Maria a Very Happy Birthday

I have a favor to ask of you, my dear friends... would you be so kind as to head on over to Maria's Space to wish my good friend Maria a very happy birthday.  Maria is an extremely wonderful wife, mother, friend and artist - she has a jewelry shop on Etsy called Street Angel {check out her earrings, I love all of them}.

Maria has had some health problems lately, but has managed to keep her blog running, her household running and kept her adorable children happy, all while hardly complaining at all and still being there for her friends (myself included).  I love her dearly and wish her a happy, HEALTHY 44th birthday - hey, we're the same age again - and many, many more!!

Brandcation Event: Global Getaway Nov 5th-7th!

I am so excited to be going to the Brandcation Event put on by Kim and Trisha of MomDot. There are going to be no formal classes at this event, instead it will be "real life conversation in an environment conducive to learning and growing" {from the MomDot blog}. I am so looking forward to meeting all of these wonderful bloggers and learning so many new and exciting things; plus, the event is going to be here in Orlando, FL.  I think there are only a few spots left, so if you are interested, head on over and check it out soon!  For more information, contact kim@accidentalmommies.com or trisha@momdot.com.  Hope to see some of you there!!

How we Accomplish Bathtime at Our House

First you have to get everybody nekked, take out the girls bows and ponytails, and line them all up on the counter while the tub is filling with water.

Then you put all five of them in the tub and try to keep them in there.....

That generally doesn't work, so mommy ends up getting in the tub with them.

  Everyone gets scrubbed up and then conditioned with a special shampoo and conditioner to make their hair nice and smooth and their skin itch free. 

Next, mommy gets out and dries off first while the babies wait.

There are no photos of the drying of the babies.... do you know how hard it is to wrangle 5 wet Yorkies?  It took both Bill and I to get them out of the tub and dry them off without getting EVERYTHING soaking wet.  I put my camera out of the way of flying water and running puppies.  It really was fun watching them all run around shaking and wrapping themselves up in their towels, plus coming up to us to have their ears, heads and bellies dried off.

Next came the brushing, dressing and bows.....

Maila

Mai-Li

Lady Mia

Mumbo

... and my baby, Nano...

So ends the adventure.  It was really a lot of fun and all the babies LOVED having their backs, bellies and heads scrubbed clean and getting a mini-massage with the conditioner.  By the end, my back was killing me, but all the puppy kisses I got was an amazing reward.....