February 14, 2001 - May 27, 2011

We've had a sad few days in our household. Our sweet dog, Spencer, had to be put to sleep on Friday.

We noticed that he hadn't been eating for the past few days, and that his stomach was kind of swollen looking. When Kevin tried to get him to play fetch with his favorite little rag toy and he wouldn't, we knew that something was really wrong.

After an emergency trip to the vet, x-rays showed a huge mass in his abdomen - almost taking up every inch of his little body. He was anemic and likely had internal bleeding. Surgery wasn't really an option.

We had friends coming from out-of-town for the holiday weekend, and wanted to know if we could bring him home, make our decision and let them know on Tuesday, but they advised against it, saying that Spencer was likely in a lot of pain and it wouldn't be good for him. We loaded up the kids (and us) in the car, and went back to the vet to say our final, tearful goodbyes.

I'll miss him! Shortly after Kevin and I got married, I told him that I either wanted a baby or a puppy. Kevin jumped on the puppy bandwagon, and Spencer joined our family. He has been a super sweet addition - the kids adored him, and he loved them, too! Rest in peace, sweet boy.

Newborn Spencer with his brothers and sisters:

Sweet, playful puppy:

At 1-year-old, right before Megan was born:Spencer with 1-week-old Megan. He LOVED to be close to her!

Spence and 5-week old Meg:

Christmas 2008 - the sweater was because Iowa gets damn cold!
Our sweet boy, last Easter:

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow moms! ;-)

My new favorite blog

When I find new blogs, I tend to compulsively read the whole thing, so that I haven't missed anything, and then wait and wait and wait for each new entry. Not with this one.

I followed the link from my friend, Michelle's, blog, and I can't get enough! It's called Do They Have Salsa in China? It follows a California family that has twin girls adopted from China. I started out reading it because adoption is near and dear to my heart (2 of my nephews are adopted from Russia and 2 of my cousins have adopted from China). I thought it would be a typical "adoption story" blog, which would make me cry with each entry and be ready to fly overseas to adopt a child, but this one is different! It's partly about their lives, partly about food, and partly shows off the amazing crafts that they do together.

With all this cool stuff, do you know what excites me the most? The amazing photographs! Wow! I wonder if the mom is a photographer or something! The colors and composition are amazing! It makes me want to dress the kids up in colorful, crazy outfits, find something green outside and park them in front of it while I click away! Just gorgeous! Because I'm so in awe of the pictures, I'm taking my time with this blog, reading leasurily when I have the time.

What do you do all day?

You may have heard this one before, I certainly have, but I feel like it is worth putting in here for when I forget...

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap, and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed into the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know how yesterday you came home from work and asked me what in the world do I do all day?"

"Yes," was his incredulous reply.

She answered, "Well...today I didn't do it."

* Many thanks to my dear friend, Giselle, who posted it on her blog and had it stolen by me. Love you, girl!