Thursday, February 26, 2009

Siblings

R & B can sometimes get into quite a number of tiffs and spats. R is the typical oldest child - very responsible, but erring on the side of bossy sometimes. And B is the typical pesky little brother. Jay and I have had our share of times where we are forced to act as mediator between the two.

And then, there are other days that, when push comes to shove, they are fiercely loyal to one another, and will care for each other like no other.

I came into the room after doing a load of laundry the other day to find this scene. B had apparently fallen down while riding his bike, and scraped his arm. R, being the sweet, responsible older sister that she is, made sure to dress the wound, cover it with his favorite bandages, wrap him in a blanket, give him his favorite toy to hold, and hold his hand as he "endured" the pain. (After further inspection, there wasn't even any blood... it never broke the skin) ha ha.

Still, it was a sweet expression of a sister's love and care... :o)


Tuesday, February 24, 2009

FREE Sub Sandwich Coupon!!!

Quiznos is offering a free small sub to the first million people who sign up at this link. You should be able to get a coupon for every adult in your household. I had no trouble going through the quick and easy process in order to get two free sub coupons for Jay and I.
I hope you all can enjoy it, too!
:o)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Pest Control


As we were driving down the road the other day, we passed a van with a pest control company logo on the side of it. R was quick to point it out to us. She asked us what the sign meant. We explained that it is a company that comes to your house and gets rid of pests.

A light bulb suddenly went off in her head. With her Daddy's quick and witty sense of humor, she added, "Well, maybe we can call them to come and take care of Ben!" :o)

Friday, February 6, 2009

The Last Straw...


We had the "ingenious" idea to get a family dog a few months ago. Being the compassionate bunch that we are, we thought we should do the "right" thing and adopt an older, unwanted dog.

What were we thinking???

We adopted "Rambo", a 5 year old cocker spaniel, who had been rescued from a puppy mill. He spent his entire life trapped in a tiny cage, only to emerge when it was time for him to "breed". He had been mistreated, and was very skittish around people. Still, he was a very gentle dog, and absolutely gorgeous, so we decided that he should be the next member of our family.

For the first couple of months, Rambo would not come near us at all. He would hide in the backyard, and the only sign that he was alive is that his food was eaten each day. Recently, he has taken quite a liking to R, and the feeling is very mutual. She LOVES this dog. He won't come to her, so she drags him by the collar, claws scraping, across the wood floor to a comfy cuddling spot. And once he is there, he will stay there with her, laying in her lap. It is the only "normal" thing this dog does.

The past few weeks in Florida have been very unusual. We have had several consecutive nights where the temperature has dropped below freezing. This means that plants get covered, pools get turned on, and animals come in for the night.

But, what to do with a stinky, unlovable, scared-to-death dog that pees from fright when you come near him?

We have been shutting him up in the bathroom overnight. He sleeps on the rug in there, and he stays warm. But, there is one problem...

He poops. A LOT.

We have tried everything. We will leave him outside until nearly 11PM to give him plenty of time to do his "business" before bringing him inside. He only eats ONCE a day... in the morning. So there should be no reason for him to poop in the bathroom, where he SLEEPS, each and every night.

Those of you who know me, know that I am VERY picky about smells, and making sure that my house smells GOOD at all times. This new arrangement with the pooping dog does not make someone like me very happy. Not when I have a putrid smell waiting for me each and every morning.

Jay and I decided to try one more thing to keep him from pooping at night. We are going to block him into a tiny corner, much like a small cage or kennel, and give him only enough space to lay down in.

No space to move = no space to poop. Right?

But, how do we make this happen? Well, my friends, we had to get pretty creative because, let's face it, we are desperate to escape this stinky conundrum. We went into our storage area and got out a bunch of boxes, trash cans, chairs, etc. and stacked them up all over the bathroom in a way that he cannot possibly get around them to poop. Yes, it made a huge mess in the bathroom, and it looks terrible. But, desperate times call for desperate measures... and we are very desperate.

Will it work?

We shall see.

If it doesn't, this stinky dog might just have to find himself another home.

:o)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Fun(ny) Adventure

This past Sunday, we got to do a special treat. We went out to eat after church at a Chinese Restaurant. We went to a new place that just opened up in our town recently. We were a little nervous at first, not knowing the cost, but Jay sent me in to check out the prices, and I determined that they were within our limits.

We were so amazed when we walked inside! It was immaculate. Everything was pristinely cleaned and shiny, and there were (no kidding) 12 different buffet tables, full of delicious-looking food for any and all tastes. They had Chinese, Japanese, Thai, sushi, American, etc. It was incredible.

The funny part is, the kids were just as impressed as we were. Once we were all seated, with our full plates in front of us, the kids inquired about getting some chopsticks to eat with. Since neither Jay nor I saw any near us, we told the kids that they probably didn't have any. But we were wrong.

Once the waitress came to check on us, they were more than happy to get the kids some chopsticks. They even, very very eagerly, tried to teach them how to hold and use the strange utensils. They were surprisingly patient as they attempted to teach my completely Americanized children. But, alas, they soon realized that there was no hope in teaching them to hold the things properly. Still, they had a solution. They spent the next few minutes doing some sort of intricate weaving and wrapping of a rubber band around each of the chopsticks, to get them to stay together, making it easier for children to use. It was impressive, and they were very very kind to us, and to the kids throughout the entire meal.
This conversation was heard a few minutes later, as we were in the middle of eating our meal...

Rebekah (to Ben): Hey, Ben. Isn't this so cool? We get to eat with chopsticks!

Ben (to Rebekah): Yeah, can you believe it? We get to put WOOD in our MOUTHS!


LoMein noodles almost went through my nose at that point. :o)