We are giving Coby back. It was a hard decision. We have fought long and hard to keep him, but he is hitting the wall of improvement. Short of getting the Dog Whisperer to come out here, there is nothing more we can personally do to make sure Coby has a happy, long, fulfilled life. He really needs somewhere he can run outside most of the day chasing animals that no one will miss if he plays too hard with them. I like Coby, but it’s gotten to be too much with his ways.

So, soon there will be room to stick treadmills and all kinds of other things, because there will be an empty space where Coby used to reside. I am so sad about it, but unless he suddenly can handle being inside when we are not home, there is no way we can keep him. We are planning to move soon, and he won’t have the freedom he has now.

If anyone knows a place that he can go that won’t put him down, or has a home where he can live happy and free to be his wonderful self, please do let us know. We would rather him NOT have to be put down. He isn’t a bad dog. He is loving, protective, caring, and energetic. He adores my son and would die for him. He loves to play and wrestle. He loves to chase animals. He loves to be loved. He would be awesome for anyone with small children, a yard, and a home he would be able to sleep in at night with the family.

I am just not in the mood. His “watch what I can do”s are resonating off the insides of my brain like the painful screeching of someone rubbing a balloon. My chest hurts. My hand just stopped hurting. It’s humid in here despite the air conditioner being on and the fan blowing. I am on the brink of a major migraine…

And YES
I am PMSing…

what of it???

Well, truck trouble. Yesterday, I prepared myself and my son for the long, hot journey to my cousin’s house for the birthday party. On the way, I found myself looking at a little red icon lit on my dashboard:

battery.

So I text my husband (wish I would have had a Bluetooth headset then, cuz the text wasn’t quite enough info), and he says he forgot to charge the battery. That’s all he said. Okay,so I figure I have time to get to my aunt’s, then my father’s and get him to charge it. I only barely made it to my cousin’s house. By the time I got to the city where she lives, I had no signal lights, no ABS and no brake lights.

I had a good time at the party, then called my father to come with his charger. After a few wrong turns, he got there and charged up the truck battery. Surprise! It wouldn’t keep a charge, so my family decided that we should drive it to Wal-Mart and get a new battery instead of trying to continuously charge this one.

That’s where the real fun began.

It took us 3 hours, and a God sent good Samaritan named Tom Earl, to get the battery loose from my truck to install the brand new one. We had to get tools and it was just not pretty. I even injured my hand, which is making it difficult to work today *sigh*. The battery kept its charge long enough to get to my mom’s house, and then come home. The fact is:

We need a new alternator.

When I got home, I came in on a horror scene. The dog had broken from his cage, eaten everything that we told him he wasn’t allowed to have (seriously), threw it all up all over my house, peed, and rubbed his hair on everything. Needless to say, his nasty self stayed outside last night. … sometimes I wonder why I got a dog.

Sorry for the lack of update since Mother’s Day. I had no power yesterday.

So, what did I get for Mother’s Day? My son DID make it the best Mother’s Day ever. But then, what is a Mother’s Day without the ones who made you a mother to begin with? I finally unwrapped the present he made me at church the other day. It was a gorgeous little snow globe with his picture (when he had long hair) inside. I have it on top of my television. He also made me a flower pot with flowers that will not die. He had been so upset by the fact that my other flowers died, that he was all too happy to give me something that will last forever. My sis in law gave me a cute shirt and some bath/body stuff. My MIL gave me a red rose and a gift certificate to Red Lobster. My mother gave me twin eggplants dressed like babies!  Oh she is hilarious. My baby sister gave me a gorgeous flower that will continue to bloom through the season. The Man gave me time, which is a luxury anymore. He works ALL the time and it’s amazing he was able to stay with me for even a few hours.

What did I do?
I ended up going to Red Lobster for lunch with my in-laws. I wasn’t going to go, since no one had informed that the kids weren’t allowed to go and I had nowhere for my son to be. Even if I had known in advance, I still wouldn’t have had an option. They said he could come, so I went. I wasn’t worried about any diet pill reviews that day. I had my fill of scallops & shrimp before heading over to my cousin’s house. The theme: seafood! There were crabs, crab cakes, shrimp, and plenty of desserts. I don’t know how I put away more food, but I did. My fave that day was no bake cheesecake with strawberries slathered all over the top. Talk about GOOD.

PS. I hate flourescent lights. They leave motion trails and make people look demonic, but here are the pictures nonetheless. (more…)

My son was losing his mind. I am so glad he is taking a nap right now. Anytime he either gets malicious or whiny, I know it’s time for him to lay down. I should be asleep, too. I just have a lot of things running through my mind. I have cleaning to do, which is trying to pile up on me. I hate that. I have been rather diligent about keeping on top of things, but there is always that ONE thing that seems to grow from the corner. Today it’s the boys’ jiu jitsu gear. Maybe I will still steal 10 winks and get up in time to do some things before the boy wakes up!

I used to talk alot about a company I work for called PayPerPost. They were the talk of the blogosphere with their new innovations on how to make money online with just a blog and a brain. I thought it was pretty cool, myself. Being a stay at home mother, it’s hard to see your spouse go to work and come home every day so tired because he is the sole provider.

In the same spirit, I decided to stick with PayPerPost as they launch their brand new social media blogging platform called SocialSpark. It’s the same premise as PayPerPost, but with a lot more UMPH. Right now it’s in Alpha testing, so that means people like myself can try out the system before they launch it officially for the rest of the world.

I am able to add my blogs, socialize with other bloggers, choose the opportunities that suit me, and sell my brand. What brand? My blogs, of course. I am finally able to market my talents in a cohesive Web 2.0 environment that allows advertisers to be bloggers, bloggers to be advertisers, and everyone to strike up conversation in the process. It’s revolutionary! No other blog for pay platform is like it.

What does that mean for me as a mother? More time to play with my son, more supplies for homeschooling, more money to help support our household and take him on special trips, and more connections to other mothers like myself. It’s not easy to get involved with other mothers who have similar goals and lives. This is the easiest way I have found in order to make sure I am enriched both monetarily and socially…all from the comfort of my own living room!

Check it out, sign up for the mailing list so you can be one of the first to get in as soon as it’s ready for public consumption!

Tags: make+money, work+from+home, mommy+bloggers

Homeschooling a headstrong 5 year old really takes the starch out of you. I might have to upgrade my coffee machine to one of the lower end espresso machines just to keep up. He is hard to talk to, because he only hears about a third of what I say. He has to be staring me in my eyes and actively listening or he doesn’t get it. He is so fidgety! It really depends on the day, though. The other day he was so focused all I had to do was tell him once and he knew what to do before I finshed speaking. It’s a challenge. I’m ready for my espresso now LOL

My son turned 5 today and I took him on a lovely adventure. Everything was a surprise.

Daddy showed up with a remote control helicopter…the one he has been seeing on television and wishing for FOREVER. He was disappointed that he couldn’t play with it outside as it was raining, but he got to spend some time with his dad before he had to go back to work.

Then it was MY turn to take him and have a good time!

First we went to Toys R Us so he could get his birthday King crown and balloon. He also used his gift card to buy toys he wanted. He was very calculated in his thinking and ended up with 3 toys he is very pleased with …in 20 minutes! I thought we would be at least an hour.

Then we headed over to the bowling alley. We both did the first game together. It was his first time bowling. He got one strike and scored a 75. The second game he did 1/2 by himself then he got tired. He had a 38 and then we finished up his last few frames.

Next we drove over to Bob Evans to get some grub, where my sisters and mom joined us late into our dinner to have a mini surprise party. He had just asked me if he could go visit them, then they showed up. We went to their house to finish up our birthday fun.

It was awesome. He was so happy! All in all a fabulous day.

Happy birthday, my sweet boy!