Old Men

I really like old people. Sometimes. But for the most part, I like them.

There's a local magazine that will have different features each month. The most recent feature recognized veterans for.. Veteran's Day. So there were like 7 or 8 old men recognized for their services. I can't recall what wars they fought in.. the only thing that sparked an interest was that they all had nicknames.

For instance, Mr. Smith's (??) real name could have been John Robert Smith, Jr. But everybody called him "Cricket." Or Tadpole, et cetera. My dad's nickname is Boogie, by the way. And my uncle, he's Hambone.

That generation/era is so different from today. The only nicknames you hear now are for rappers. Or babies.. that will hopefully be outgrown.

We make fun of my dad because he calls Marshall "killah" (he's trying to say "killer" but he's a lazy Southerner). And Marshall's dad calls him "buddy."

But what can I call Marshall?? I like the idea of having a cute nickname for my old man. Any suggestions?

He'd probably want some nature-sounding, Indiana Jones-esque name. He's lame like that.

SUYL: Pets

My life revolves around my two wonderfully nutty dogters, Maddie and Sassy. Below is the most recent picture of the three of us. Maddie (in black) is amazingly photogenic; Sassy (in white, blending in with the cotton) is very quirky.

My husband and I adopted Maddie shortly after we got married. We had discussed getting a dog for a while; and though I was convinced we were going to get a purebred German Shepherd, plans continuously fell through and we decided to adopt from a rescue.

We settled for a shepherd mix. Maddie wasn't the little shepherd puppy I wanted.. but she had a "little shepherd" in her. Close enough.

Maddie Girl instantly bonded with me and we became fast friends. Unfortunately, when we made the big switch from city life to country living Maddie changed from a Momma's girl to man's best friend. She loves exploring with her Daddy and helping him around the house now.

She's definitely a lab at heart. She loves the water and has spent countless hours swimming and retrieving.

Maddie Girl is also a clown and camera hog.

After we had Maddie for a few months, and the husband wasn't ready to have kids, I was seeking a playmate for Maddie. She's a high energy dog and we wanted someone to help entertain her. And since we never got a puppy (Maddie was at least 2 years old when we got her), I was wanting one this time around.

But do I ever get what I want?? Nope. Instead, we got Sassy- an 11 month old mutt.


At least we have the previous picture to imagine how cute she must have been as a puppy.

But this is what we have now. The LAZIEST dog ever! The most relaxed dog. Content being curled up in a ball all day, especially if she's on the bed, couch, my lap, etc.

She's also the craziest dog. We weren't expecting her quirkiness when we first adopted her.. but it's been enjoyable along the way.

We call Sassy Bean our "special child." And we mean it. She has a slightly lazy eye. She eats paint (there's some on her paw, back, and neck as we type), pens, panties, etc. She chases butterflies until she gets lost. Her favorite toys are bugs, live ones. And her favorite place to be is on top of/next to her Momma. We also usually fight over the wing back chair in the living room.

My husband and I have some amazing dogs and soon we'll be adding to our family. This time it's a real child and we're excited/nervous as to how the girls will respond to our new baby. We know Maddie will be protective about the baby and let us know that we need to make her stop crying. And Sassy.. well.. I'm not sure how she will respond. She'll probably find a quiet room in the house and take a nap.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my wonderful dogters. There are so many posts dedicated to them, including stories of how they caught a mouse, how we came to the conclusion that Sassy is really special, and how Maddie learned the hard way about jumping out of trucks.

for laughs..

Because Mollyanne requested some new belly pics.. and we're 28 weeks today.. and I have nothing else to do..

I managed to squeeze into my Field Day shirt from second grade. My kindergarten shirt wasn't as cute.. and yes I still have elementary class shirts.

I think my little bump is cute. Pretty compact for 6 months, too.

Now, Mollyanne, show us what post-pregnancy bellies look like!

Hartley Mo

Dear Hartley,

We don't expect to see you for another 2-3 months, but we want you to know how incredibly spoiled you are already. We also want to inform that you were really boring during the ultrasound yesterday. Sure, you're really cute.. but couldn't you have entertained us with some jumping or patty-cake?

You covered your face 98% of the time. And I'm not exaggerating. I can already tell you have your Daddy's lips. I just hope you don't have my dirty mouth.

I'm not really sure about that nose. It looks kinda crooked. Again, that could be your Daddy's nose.

And those cheeks.. yup. Your Dad.

Of course, I find Marshall to be the most handsome man.. except when he doesn't listen to me or he coughs up a loogie.. so I'm glad that you're showing characteristics of him. He has a hard time seeing resemblances between him and your cousins Anna and Caleb, but I think the three of them look very much alike. And Anna is the cutest Moore Baby... so far. And Caleb has your Daddy's joker grin.

So, be thankful you look like your Daddy and don't have your Momma's genes.

I hope you get my personality and creativity though. Your Daddy is much more reserved than me. He won't dance and sing with you. He'll also be the "strict" one. Who cares about rules?! I think this scares your Daddy, too..

We really hope you enjoy your nursery. Daddy has worked really hard doing what Momma says. He's also gotten very frustrated in the process.

*Now that I look at the above picture, I notice Hartley was trying to get in the picture. My belly is poking out at the bottom. And yes.. it's usually crooked like that from an unknown body part emerging. FYI. *

So, Sweet Hartley.. continue practicing your breathing (we did see that in the ultrasound), try to sleep during the night and stay awake during the day, and don't make me gain any more weight. See you in a few months!

_________________________________________________

Some data from the doctor's visit that Hartley could care less about..

I'm officially 130lbs. We've gained 22lbs so far. Only 2.5lbs are actually Hartley.

I was at the office for a total of 3.25 hours. One of those hours was in a room, waiting for the doctor, and I got a good nap in.

I should try Tums or Pepcid Complete for my new symptom, Heartburn.

And, we weren't charged for the ultrasound because we didn't get to see much!

Our Special Child

Twas the beginning of the year 2008. Marshall and I hadn't even been married for a year, yet we had already adopted Maddie and I was desperately searching for her a sibling.. since babies were out of the question.

It was April when I eventually convinced Marshall into getting a new dog. It was puppy season and seemed like most of our friends were looking/adopting as well. Or getting pregnant or talking about the possibility of conception. I'm pretty sure I told Marshall that I would help with the monthly heartworm/flea prevention, training, feeding.. blahblahblah. Sucker.. he fell for it.

My heart pined for a yellow lab puppy. Maddie, however, wanted nothing to do with a "puppy." So we settled for a spotted, 11-month old mutt named Sassy.


She was much cuter as a puppy, though.

We went through leaps and bounds to adopt Sassafras. So much as to telling the adoption agency we would never let her ride in the back of a truck.


Sorry, Pawtropolis.

It was shortly after her adoption was finalized, we began realizing Sassy was a little different. Sure, one of her eyes is lazy. And she freaks out with strange noises or if you hold the remote towards her. Or that she didn't care for the other dogs when we went to the park. The list goes on.

Marshall came to the conclusion recently that Sassy is "that" child. The one that gets picked last on the playground. The oddball that chases butterflies. And now..

Now.. she's the one that eats paint.

I've never thought it would come to this. She really is our special child. I love her to death.. but I'm scared.

I fear the day that I walk into Hartley's room, and Sassy and Hartley are sitting on the floor eating glue together. I can imagine Maddie sitting in the corner, giving me the look I told them not to, Momma.. but they didn't listen.

And this isn't the first time I've discovered Sassy eating/licking something that's not a food item. Panties? Yup. Pens? Should have seen the ink all over her. Plastic doodads for the bread bags? Mhmm.

I better make sure to keep laundry detergent out of her reach.. Perhaps this is preparing us for real kids.

My Heroines

This is the story of how two wonderful mutts saved the day.

It was the beginning of a cold, dreary winter. Surrounding crop fields were being harvested and the seasonal mice were seeking out new homes for the four months to follow.

In the early morning, around nine o'clock, Amanda arose from her deep sleep and dragged herself into the living room to learn what was happening in the world of Facebook. She quickly became distracted by a scratching noise coming from another room in the log cabin her husband built with his bare hands.

Amanda motioned Maddie, the beloved oldest dogter, to be still and listen.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

That must be one of those field mice in the kitchen again. Amanda and Maddie crept into the kitchen, only to find an empty, spotless, mouse-free room.

Scratch. Scratch.

The noise was coming from down the hallway.

The two made their way down the hall and heard the scratching coming from one of the many guest bathrooms. They peered into the bathroom and flipped on the light. No mouse behind the door, nor behind the toilet.

Scratch.

It was coming from the bathtub.

Amanda slowly pulled back the shower curtain for Maddie to look.

A-ha! The pest!

At this point, Amanda decided her options. Fix a mouse trap and stick it in the shower... or...

Well, Amanda didn't have time to think. Maddie took charge and jumped in the shower, chasing the mouse around, the mouse jumping up desperately trying to escape.

Sassy, who had been snoozing away in the bed on the other side of house, began howling and came charging through the kitchen and down the hall.

Maddie and Sassy worked as a team. Maddie had it scurrying around the tub, while Sassy waited for the right moment as it jumped up. Sassy caught the rodent and crushed it's small body in her mouth. And then she spit it out for Amanda to toss into the deep forest behind the house.

Amanda rewarded her dogters with ice cubes and biscuits, only later to find Maddie humping Sassy.

And they lived happily ever after...

...

Side note from the author: Maddie and Sassy are constantly searching for more mice. Sassy sits in front of the tub waiting for another mouse to appear. And they go around the house sniffing like crazy.

Gasp.

Shocker. We're in double digits. In less than 100 days we'll be having a kid. Awkward.

I really thinks it's going to be weird once Hartley gets here. It's been just me & Marshall with our two dogs for foreveerr. At least it seems like that. It's going to be strange adjusting to everything. We won't be able to take a random trip over a weekend. We can't hold off eating dinner until 8pm. And we won't be able to just lay on the couch all Saturday anymore.

These are the most recent concerns of mine.

But Fall makes everything better.

Many of the cotton fields are ready to be picked. For you out-of-towners, that means beautiful, snow-like pastures are everywhere! I didn't get a good picture of a full field.. maybe soon.

Orange Mums. Very fallish. Marshall is going to transplant these into our yard.. somewhere. Oh.. and we have some Gerber daisies in our backyard that quit blooming sometime in September. Now all of a sudden we have TWO daisies! Kinda neat to see beautiful hot pink daisies in the middle of dead, brown grass.

And a new mantel! Custom built by Tyler Seabolt. The wood is from the family barn and will be moving with us when we build our new house.. many years from now.

It looks strange having a mantel above our fireplace.. but now I have a place to hang Christmas stockings!! Which I need to buy. Hobby Lobby here I come!

Well, chicken enchiladas at Mema's are calling my name. I enjoy not having to cook anymore! I'm gonna keep getting pregnant so my in-laws have sympathy for me and give me tons of food.