At play...

My animals at play. Chloe is obviously going to win this one.
Kara playing on her play mat. She just adores it. That blue thing is a little monkey.
This is my husband playing with one of Maddy's classmates at her birthday party last year. He's just a big kid at heart.

It's that time again. Brenda's photo challenge was "play" this week. I actually didn't have a hard time at all for once. I know it's not terribly creative, but I tried to capture different sources of play. I can't wait to see what everyone has for this week. If I knew how to add the list of participants I would, my apologies. Happy blogging!

Anakin, you aren't the baby either!!!

He looks so darn cute and little, makes me want to hug him!

These animals are so silly. Chloe is always in Kara's bouncy seat and now I have found Anakin in the car seat. It was the funniest thing. The car seat was sitting by the door and he was just sitting in there like he belonged. He didn't want to get out of it. I didn't have the heart to kick him out of it.I have been feeling really bad lately about the animals. They are all used to having a lot more attention then they have been getting. Chloe misses Maddy and the dogs miss Nick. I almost constantly have one of them(or all three) at my feet wanting me to pet them or play with them. I feel guilty for not spending more time with them. I am usually spending most of my time with the baby or trying to clean house. I will be so glad when Nick gets back and life can get a little more normal and I will be able to have some help around here. It can be stressful at times with the baby and the animals all wanting my attention. Kara of course comes first. So for now my pets will have to get used to that. All three of them have been acting up since Nick left. Having accidents in the floor (even the cat, who is litter trained) and getting into things. I feel bad because I get so angry at them. I keep trying to tell myself they are upset and that's why, but it is so frustrating at times. Well, I will stop my complaining for now I have to get to bed. Have a great day!

This was the other night, they are never too far from me.

Blissful day

Today had to be one of the best days I have had in a while. It started with me getting to sleep in. Both Kara and the dogs were still asleep when I woke up at 8:45. It was so nice. Usually one of the two wakes me up and I feel so tired. I went and mailed out some boxes that I had been meaning to get out. Then we went to the Disney/character store off base, where I found Kara a Care Bear suitcase. It is too cute!

At about 4pm, I got a call about my dining room table I had for sale. The lady came to look at it and decided she wanted it. So we loaded it up in her van. Now I am $100 richer!! Whoo Hoo!!

Kara and I played tonight while listening to sweet music. Including this one, which made me cry:
http://http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=SzmgAM8rIgo

Then I read her a few stories and put her to bed at 9pm. She has got to where she will put herself to sleep. I just lay her in her bed and she plays until she's ready to go to sleep. It is so awesome. So after I put her to bed, I took a nice warm bath. I used some really great bath salts too that smell like lavender. It was so very relaxing. Now I am going to blog a bit and then hit the sack.



PS I wanted to share a sweet moment from last night's story time:

While I read Bambi to Kara, I noticed that my two dogs (missed a pic of Tink) and cat were listening in too. It was a very sweet rewarding moment for me. I truly felt like a Disney character myself reading to all the little animals. :) Kara's quilt had fallen on the floor and Chloe took full advantage, see her in the background? The next picture is a close up of her.

Here is Anakin all cozy under her little table that has the lamp on it. I know I promised pics of the nursery but I am not totally done with it yet. Whenever I do finish I will post some, I promise!

Highlights

So I know this may seem funny to you but the two pictures in this post have brought me much joy. The first one is the little fence I finally got for my backyard. Up until now (for almost 2 years) I have had to walk my dog every time he needed to go out. This has lead to him going back on his potty training and me tired of walking him. When we got Tinkerbell it was even worse. I had two dogs to take out rather than just the one. When I started thinking about having this baby and having to walk the dogs numerous times a day, I felt overwhelmed. When we moved to Okinawa, I had all intentions of putting up a fence in the backyard, only to find out that it was be very expensive and a lot of paperwork. We would have to get permits and all kinds of things cleared before we got the okay to put it up. Also we would have to buy and put up the fence ourselves. Nick was never thrilled on that idea, but then again he's not the one having to take the dogs out all day either. About a year ago, I saw one of these little white fences in someones backyard. I thought, "Now that's what I need!" However, I couldn't find one here. I tried ordering one from Petsmart, but they wouldn't ship it here. I tried all kinds of websites to try and get a fence, but it didn't work. Finally, we found these little white gates at a pet store off base. At first we just bought two packs which included 8 panels (which cost over $100), making an octagon for them to run in. I was all excited about it. However, Anakin wasn't too thrilled because now he's used to being walked. If I would leave them outside in their little fence where he would whine and bark until I got them out. I was so angry that I had spent that much money and it still hadn't solved my problem. While my mom was here, she suggested we got two more packs to make our whole back yard fenced off. So finally about a month ago we bought the final two packs. My friend Samantha helped me put it up and it's been great! At first the dogs weren't too excited about it, but now they love it. Anakin has started asking to go out more and I couldn't be happier about that!!

So the next thing is really going to make people think I am crazy. When we got to Okinawa I realized that I hadn't seen any 2 liters of any kind of drink here. I looked everywhere, the BX, Commissary, and shoppette. No one had any at all! I even ran into a woman at the commissary who was looking for them too. Needless to say we were both appalled. So after being here this long, I have come to accept that 2 liters are not in my near future. Sure they have can drinks and 20 oz drinks, but I like 2 liters. I never drink a whole coke so that way I can pour how much I want without wasting it. So I go to the PX (on another base) two weeks ago and see a 1.5 liter of coke. I was over the moon about this. Sure it's not the full two liters that I wanted but it's pretty darn close. Funny part is that it's a Japanese coke, go figure, but I am thankful for it!

Yes some of it's missing I had to have a glass!

It's BATGIRL to the rescue and her little dogs too.

And you thought you had bad hair days.

When I walked into my room last night to go to bed. Anakin looked up and I just had to take a picture of his bad hair day, well night. Ha ha!!

Warming up

After a week, Anakin is finally starting to warm up to Tinkerbell. He of course still growls at her from time to time, when she gets in his face, but he seems to like her for the most part. I am not sure if he will ever play with her, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. I took this picture a few nights ago. It was such a cute moment. I hope things keep getting better and better with them. Chloe, my cat, is another story. She growls, hisses, and acts like Tinkerbell is her next meal. But she's going to get hers because I am planning on shaving her bald this weekend. She has got her hair so messed up that it has to be done. Oh and yes I will be posting pics for all the world to see.

and Anakin's not too happy about it!!!

So here's my mad little man. He is so jealous of the new puppy. He has gotten a little better. However he still growls at her if she gets too close to him. What a little brat! This pic was taken right after the one above of Tinkerbell. Can you see the hurt and anger in his eyes?

Terrible Twos!

Okay Sissy I am copying your blog so here it goes:

1. Two names you go by: Jodie and Jo

2. Two things you are wearing right now: My wedding ring (which I love because it's not just your ordinary wedding set, it has sapphires in it too.) And a necklace my mom gave me that has a hear with a baby in it. She gave it to me after I gave birth to my son. The box said "You grew in my heart!" I love it so much. These are two things I almost never take off.

3. Two things you want in a relationship: First and foremost I want Faithfulness and then of course Love. I believe that when you are married you need to only have intimacy with one person. You have to be able to trust that you are their one and only. You should only share the intimate part of yourself with your other half. I believe that makes you closer and makes things more special. And Love, well how can you be in a relationship their either doesn't already have or is working toward love? You need to genuinely care about someone for a relationship to work. I could go on about this but hey that's another blog.

4. Two of your favorite things to do: Well that's easy! Scrapbook, of course, it is the best stress reliever for me. Hang out with family and friends.

5. Two things you want very badly at the moment: To be pregnant with a healthy baby and to build my savings account back up.

6. Two pets you had/have: Anakin (my adorable yorkie) and Chloe (my beautiful long haired white cat).

7. Two people who will fill this out first: Well the only two people that read my blog and have a blog are Sissy(who I got this from) and Aunt Sandi. So maybe Aunt Sandi will do one too.

8. Two things you did last night: I did a few scrapbook pages and watched The Little Rascals with my family.

9. Two people that live in your house: Nick (my husband) and Maddy (my step-daughter).

10. Two people you talked to last: My husband and my neighbor, Tangela!

11. Two things you are doing tomorrow: Making brownies and going to a scrapbook thing. It will be my first one to scrapbook with other people. I am kind of excited we will see how it goes. I will let you know!!

12. Two longest car rides: From Pennsylvania to Florida. That was went we left my dad. We left on April 5th and got there on April 14th (the day before my 9th birthday). Then from Florida to Texas. We went to visit my in laws when they moved out there. We also went to Six Flags out there. The ride was about 12 hours.

13. Name 2 of your favorite holidays: Thanksgiving (for the food and gathering of people) and Christmas (for the decorations and everyone seems happier). Wasn't that almost a given?

14. Two favorite beverages: It's funny because I always say lemonade, but I hardly ever drink it. But I do love it when it is just the right blend of sweet and sour. My second would be French Vanilla hot chocolate. I love that stuff. I can't get enough of it!!

Okay so I did it. I hope it doesn't bore you too much. I don't have that interesting of a life it seems. But I enjoy it nonetheless. Happy blogging!!

Some of my favorite scrapbook pages I have done

My moo

So you may wonder why I would call my dog "Moo". Well truth is I don't know myself. His name is Anakin. I call him that sometimes but most of the time I use other names for him like moo, monkey, or stinker-roo. It's crazy, I know. He brings me so much joy, that dog. I don't think I could have made it without him. My husband got him for me for Valentine's Day in 2004 to keep me company while he was away on TDY's. I told him he was the best present he ever bought me. He has provided me with so much entertainment over the years. I love that dog to pieces. Everyone talks about how spoiled he is, but I figure if I don't spoil him then no one will. He is four pounds of pure rotten. He has become a lap dog for the most part, which I love. He also sleeps in our bed every night. I feel very thankful to have him. After all, who couldn't love that face?