Adios, Dooley Dog

A little over a year ago, we decided it would be awesome to have a puppy.  Jeff had always wanted an English Bulldog, and they seemed like a great fit for our family.  So, we searched online constantly until we found a breeder nearby with good looking dogs for sale. 

Dooley was just about the cutest and sweetest little puppy you can imagine.  Unfortunately, we have found out that we are just not dog people.  I have been tormented over what to do for/with/about the dog for months, and finally a solution was practically dropped in my lap!  We were introduced to a very sweet lady whose bulldog passed away a year ago, and who wanted an English very badly.  She is perfect for our dog.  She is one of those people whose dogs are her main concern, and Dooley is the kind of dog who will revel in that! 

You may be wondering how the boys took the news.  We sat them down after dinner the other night, and I began by telling them the lady's story.  Then I told them that I thought it would be good for Dooley to go live with her and be her puppy.  They immediately started crying.  Grayson was quietly trying not to cry, and Grant just climbed in my lap and sobbed, "But when can we ever get another dog?"  Notice, he didn't say he was going to miss Dooley.  I thought that was a telling little difference.  They cried for almost a full minute while we comforted them.  Then I mouthed the word "hamster" to Jeff over their heads.  He said, "Guys, you know, if we don't have Dooley to take care of, we'll be able to get you a real hamster."  Y'all.  It was comical.  Grayson stopped mid-wail.  Grant went from wallowing all over my shirt, to immediately sitting up, sniffing twice, and saying, " Oh!  Can we get it one of those balls where it runs around the house?" 

They were still a little sad until I called Dooley's new mama, and she invited us to visit them as often as we like.  They are now perfectly happy, in part because of the hamster, but also because they know the situation will be better for everyone.  So as of 10:30 today, we will be dog owners no more!

Arivaderchi, Dooley, you're a DGD.  (For those out there not married to Georgia fans DGD is the highest compliment... D**n Good Dog.)

Welcome to Hogwarts!

The homeschool mom is nothing if not resourceful, right?  Sometimes it takes all the creativity I can muster just to keep my guys interested in school long enough to finish our day's lessons.  This week has had a couple of those days.  Monday we added interest by doing school on the sofa, rather than the school table.  Tuesday we had far too much written work to do that.  Just before school, as I was setting up all my supplies where they would be handy, I could hear the boys playing Harry Potter in their room.  Grant was speaking in his best British accent (which is adorable, by the way), and brandishing a wand at his brother.  Grayson was being an older student who was showing him the ropes at Hogwarts. 

This gave me an idea!  I got a couple of big feathers from our random piles of junk, and duct taped them to pencils to make quills.  Then I set up the pinch pots we made a couple of weeks ago as pretend ink wells.  Then I called to them in my best British accent (which is hardly as adorable as Grant's) that, "Attention all students of Hogwart's School!  Wizarding school is now in session!"  Goofy, I know, but man did it work!  Every subject was renamed:  "Magic Math,"  "Harry Potter Handwriting," "History of Magical Islands." 

If you look closely, you can see the great picture of Hogwarts castle that Grant is drawing in his notebook

(Oh, and just in case you're wondering, yes my boys live in those Mario pajamas, and yes we do school in pajamas nearly everyday.  Well, except for the days they just wear underwear.)

Have a Monstrous Valentine's Day!!

For those who didn't follow my old blog, let me introduce you to our Valentine's Day monsters.  They're called Sugar Monsters, and they first came on the scene two years ago.  They bring sweet treats hidden in their back pockets, and usually a love note, too.  Now they even have a story that goes along with them, which we read the night before Valentine's Day. 

Anyhoo, because of these little fellas we tend to get a little monster-happy at this time of year.  We were brainstorming together about cards to make for our friends, and Grayson's were sounding more like Halloween cards than Valentines.  I kept trying to redirect him, throwing out things like Star Wars, pirates, outer space, robots.  It was no good.  When he is determined, you may as well try to change the color of the sky; you'd have more luck.  So I turned my brain toward monsters, took stock of supplies (lots of googly eyes and pom poms), and inspiration struck!  Remember those little puffy monsters with the sticky feet that businesses gave out back in the 80's as little promo gifts?  I LOVED those things and had them stuck on the mirror in my room back in the day.  Well, I made a sample for Grayson, and he loved the idea!  Here are our results: 

Aren't they sweet?  Our sticky feet are foam heart stickers that we already had also.  To keep the theme going, they made monsters out of their Valentine box as well.  I think at this point, they were tired of making things (seriously, it's all we've done all week long), so they put in a little less effort, but they're cute just the same. 

Cute, huh?  They open at the mouth for their friends to drop the cards in. 

I just love my creative little monsters!  Now I gotta run to get ready to celebrate with their friends!

Mario Party

We started a new tradition this year with the boys' birthdays.  Parties with their friends have become so chaotic, that when we add in family, we may as well be a three ring circus!  So, when Grant turned four, we held a small, calm family gathering close to his actual birthday, then celebrated in our usual over the top way with our friends a month later!  It worked really well, because the family gets to actually see and enjoy the birthday boy, rather than huddling in a protective group amidst twenty kids and going home to take a zoloft or ten.
So yesterday we celebrated Grayson's birthday with our family.  If you know my family at all, you know how my boys get fixated on things from time to time (and by "from time to time" I mean "ALL the time").  The new fixation is Super Mario Bros.  We play it on Wii; we play it on DSi; we pretend to be them and make up costumes using strange combos of clothing; we wear Mario pajamas every night.  So, naturally, we party Super Mario style! 

There are no Mario cake toppers to be had in our city, so we had to get creative for a simple Mario cake.  Grayson came up with a great design, and I made the cake according to his direction.  I think it turned out great!  (Sadly, Blogger is refusing to cooperate with this particular picture, so I'll just put the link  here.)

I suppose it's rude to name a favorite gift, so I won't name it, I'll just show you a picture instead!  Great plans are underway for the "friend party," including tiered cakes, twenty homemade hats, and fake mustaches...  Sounds like somebody better get busy!!