A Dog & A Dream Part 2

My 7 year old had the saddest look on his face so I bought him a dog.

 Well, no. But I thought I might make you think I caved for a moment.

It was actually quite easy to say no since there were only Pit Bulls and Rottweilers at the SPCA. Um, no thank you.

But that didn’t stop us from looking and looking at the dogs.

Thankfully, our volunteer coordinator told us it was time to start helping so Andrew was distracted by something else.

(I found an organization called Wee Volunteers whose main goal is to get kids involved in volunteering. Before school started, our whole family went and helped distribute school supplies to struggling families. Volunteering at the SPCA was our second volunteer experience and they loved it.)

First up was our meeting with the SPCA volunteer coordinator. She was great with the kids explaining what the organization does and why these animals may have ended up here.

One of the “jobs” the kids had was to decorate a bandana for the dogs to wear when they are trying to get adopted at pet fairs. Apparently, people are a lot more likely to take a second look at a dog with a colorful accessory.

Alex wrote, “Super Dog,” on his bandana and created a symbol as well.

Andrew drew the word, “Rock,” everywhere in about twelve different colors.

Caroline made a masterpiece of lines and squiggles.

Next up was feeding the donkeys!

The donkeys were a huge hit and only $100- I was thinking of buying one for Derek for Father’s Day so he wouldn’t have to mow anymore – wait, maybe I should get a goat for $50.

Next up, checking on the foals who had just come in.

And yes, they even have pigs and chickens available to adopt.

Dinner, anyone?

As we left the building and were walking to our car, Andrew said to Alex, “You know, I have a $50 dollar bill in my bank and the pigs only cost $40. I could come back here and buy a pig.”

Always a schemer, that one.

So apparently Andrew is trying to hatch a plan to adopt another animal, but for now we are going to remain a one pet house.

Free Museum Day – Saturday Sept. 29th

Saturday is free museum day again!

Each of the 50 states has one or more museums participating. Just in the Dallas area alone there are 10 museums participating.


*The one catch to this program is that you have to have a ticket which was printed out from the website. You cannot show up to the museum empty handed hoping to get in for free*

Each ticket you download is good for two people. Make sure you read through the site in order to download your ticket and to receive your confirmation emails. Remember, no ticket, no free entrance.

Here’s a shot of what the form looks like in order to get your tickets.

For more information concerning free museum day visit the Smithsonian Magazine website here.

For a list of museums participating in free museum day go here.

***You must have a printed ticket that you printed at home in order to get the free admission*****

Hope some of you are able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

Printable Halloween Dinner Conversation Cards – New to Etsy!

So I’ve spent the last few months thinking about Halloween.

Believe it or not, I started putting together these cards in June and am so excited to finally say they are done!

The Halloween Dinner Conversation Set includes: 31 cards with conversation starters and 5 blank cards (this allows you to add topics unique to your family)

Our family has enjoyed discussing these prompts and laughing together as we brainstorm and reminisce about Halloween.

These cards are wonderful for a table of two or tenyoung and old!

Hurry and order your set of the Printable Halloween Conversation Cards and let the fun at the dinner table start!

A Dog & A Dream

As I’ve made perfectly clear in previous posts, our dog drives me bonkers.

Whether it’s eating plastic skeletons (yes, that’s the latest item to go) or digging holes in the back yard, she just drives me crazy.

Believe me, there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of my dogless years.

But if you remember, my 7 year old loves this dog.

He is thrilled and apparently has further plans.

Yesterday Andrew told me, “Mom, I just had a talk with Sophie. I told her that if she stopped digging holes in the yard and barking at everyone, then we would get her a friend.”

I just looked at him and said, “What kind of friend?”

“A dog friend.” Cue the big smile.

I truly don’t think it’s fair to give Sophie or me such false hope.

Of course, I know where Andrew is going with this since he has been counting down till today for the past week.

You see, I’m taking the kids to volunteer at the SPCA this afternoon. We’re supposed to feed the horses, fill up dog dishes, and take a tour.

And look at the dogs.

A fact which Andrew has reminded me half a dozen times.

So hopefully my Wednesday post will not start out, “My 7 year old had the saddest look on his face so I bought him a dog.”

Wish me luck- and a healthy dose of memory to get through this trip!

Halloween Estimation – Printable

This weekend we pulled out our Halloween stuff and started decorating the house. I found the following printable which we used at our Halloween party last year.

Just find an empty jar, count candy corns as you fill up the jar, write down the total somewhere you will remember, and let the party goers guess away.

Click here to download the Estimation_Candy_Corns Page

Enjoy!

The Countdown has Begun

Folks, it’s time we get serious here.

I’m going to tell you something that may excite you but it may panic you.

Are you ready?

Christmas is less than 100 days away!

In fact, it’s only 94 days away!

Yep.

For some (my children), it seems far away and for others it seems like it’s right around the corner.

I must confess that I have started shopping already. In fact, I’ve almost completed some people off my list. What can I say, buying for my little nephews is just so much fun. Big people, well, they’re a little trickier.

I came across this site the other day with free Christmas organizing printables and I thought it would be worth it to share.

I have in the past, bought something for someone, completely forgotten about it, and bought them a second gift. Not that anyone is complaining but I do plan on using some of the printables in order to avoid that mistake this year- the shopping list, the gift list, and I kind of love the master checklist.

So confess now…

Are you a Christmas shopping planner or are you a the last minute shopper?

 

Signs I’m Becoming a Grumpy Old Man

Lately, I think I am noticing the signs of being a grumpy old man.

You know, passing a group of teenagers on the street and then calling them hooligans to my husband later. Or maybe it’s the fact that it can be 6:30 in the morning and I’ve already finished breakfast and read the paper. Or how about the fact that I think dinner at 6:00 pm is practically midnight.

But here’s my most recent sign-

Am I the only one bothered by nurses dressed in scrubs walking through the food court?

This can’t be sanitary on so many levels.

Do they change into different scrubs once they get back to work?

Or did they change into new scrubs when they were leaving the hospital to eat, removing all of the sick patient germs?

If you follow this logic they must be changing at a minimum of three times a day.

I know hand washing is the most important thing but the fact that I’ve seen them in the bathroom gives me a full body shiver.

This can’t be clean.

I’m thinking of writing a letter to the editor to share my disgust and have this changed.

Oh great, now I’m writing letters to the editor.

It’s another sign.

Printable Baby Shower Prints – New on Etsy!

If you are hosting a baby shower anytime soon, these baby shower prints in my shop would be perfect!

These prints are each 8.5 in x 11 in and could really add a special touch to your dessert area.

Wouldn’t a little humor at the shower be fun?

I will customize your prints by using the colors of your shower.

And yes, I kid about the terrified new dad.

Here’s one that might more accurately reflect your dad-to-be.

Each purchase of these prints comes with 4 PDF files for you to print:

1  Mom-to Be print

1 Baby Love print

1 Dad-to-Be print – terrified

1 Dad-to-Be print – excited

I’d love for you to head over and check out the Printable Baby Shower Prints!

Top 5 Reasons I’m a Bad Mom

Here are the top 5 reasons I’m a bad mom according to my 7 year old…

5. My Mom hasn’t run out and bought the part necessary to fix the XBOX machine.

4. My Mom won’t let me eat dessert everyday, several times a day.

3. My Mom makes me wear pants if we have to go to a nice function.

2. My Mom won’t let me watch a Harry Potter movie every weekend.

And the #1 reason according to my 7 year old as to why I am a bad mother…

1. My Mom won’t let me order chicken fingers & fries at a Mexican restaurant!

 

(when he noticed the girl behind us received chicken fingers to eat he was not impressed me – but let the record show he loved the flautas)