Ryan and i are trying to find a new house. The house shrank when Casey was born. We sold the horses to a wonderful family, who rides them everyday. We just no longer had time to ride. But we feel good about where they are. So....finding a house without a horse pasture is much easier....sort of. We still need a big enough yard for 2 crazy aussies, and for Casey, who I am certain will never stop running as soon as he can start. There are so many things to consider...we need a big house, a big yard, which city and which school district, drive time to work and to daycare. I don't like my backyard to back up to anyone elses, I like a country feel and not too suburban of a neighborhood. Ryan wants enough grass that he doesn't feel silly busting out the john deere ride on mower, or get laughed at for using it on a postage stamp yard. We also need enough grass Josh and McKenzie don't destroy it. Do we want a 5 year house? Or a forever house? Do we want to build? But then we have to rent for a few months, but we could build a house and choose the options, but then there is a lot of work putting in the yard and all that. Luckily Ryan is incredibly handy. He can build or fix just about anything, and do a fabulous job!
We also have to sell our house. We have had some interest, and it seems to be going well. But...trying to keep a house look-at ready with a baby and working full time? Not an easy task! I am getting more efficient in the morning, but there are days we just cant leave the house in pristine condition, or even close to it. The realtor offered to run by the house and tidy it up before it was shown the other day, but really? What if my undies were on the floor or something? Do I really want her doing my dishes and cleaning my messy house? Actually, that does sound pretty good upon further reflection...
Hopefully we will have good house news to share soon! I am not in a big hurry, moving with a baby sounds like too much work! Ryan on the other hand is climbing the walls for this all to fall into place.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Casey is 3 months old
Time is flying! Casey is now 3 months old, and just the happiest baby. He smiles, laughs and coos. He even wakes up happy. Casey has been going to bed at 9, but he is starting to fall asleep even earlier, 8-8:30. The best part is....he is sleeping through the night! Just as I went back to work, he started sleeping til 5, then 6 and lately I am waking him at 6:30-7. Even after sleeping that long, Casey wakes up chattering and laughing! When he was still waking up at 3 to eat, he would smile at me when he woke up, which I figured was natures way of making sure Mom's don't eat their babies. He is much more of a morning person than me....he takes after Ryan.
Casey looks so much like Ryan, even strangers come up and comment how much he looks like Daddy, who could not be prouder! I sometimes think Ryan just might burst with pride and love. I love watching Ryan and Casey together, it is beyond cute! Ryan has Casey 2 or 3 days per week while I am at work, and they definitely have fun! Yesterday Ryan took Casey and both dogs for a hike up Badger Mtn all by himself! That's efficient! Casey likes the outdoors, we take him hiking, walking or out in the stroller. He has a big "Mom's cub" snowsuit he goes out in, and gets all bundled up. I love my jogging stroller, although I don't jog....just walk. Sometimes he sleeps, but he is always content if you are moving.
We wondered what Casey would be like, since he moved all the time in my belly....and he still does! I can't keep socks on that kid, he kicks his feet so much they come right off. And blankets? Those do not stay on him in the carseat, on the couch, in the swing....he never stops moving his arms and legs. Many people have commented on how busy he is. He loves to be sitting straight up so he can see everything, and for you to stand him up on your lap, he is so strong. He has a great grip, and likes to hold your finger, and loves to get a good fistful of hair.
Casey started at daycare, with my friend Rachel. Rachel has a baby 3 weeks younger than Casey, and an almost 3 year old. I am amazed at what she can do with 3 little boys, she takes them all shopping, to Mommy and Me classes and Dr. appointments. She just may be super-Mom, and I know he is in super good hands when Ryan and I are at work. Casey will give her big smiles when I drop him off. Work is going great, I am back in the swing of things and working with new families. I pump twice at work, luckily I have my own office, so this is no biggie. Just have to remember to shut the blinds! One whole wall of my office is a window that looks into a busy street...I haven't flashed anyone yet.
Casey looks so much like Ryan, even strangers come up and comment how much he looks like Daddy, who could not be prouder! I sometimes think Ryan just might burst with pride and love. I love watching Ryan and Casey together, it is beyond cute! Ryan has Casey 2 or 3 days per week while I am at work, and they definitely have fun! Yesterday Ryan took Casey and both dogs for a hike up Badger Mtn all by himself! That's efficient! Casey likes the outdoors, we take him hiking, walking or out in the stroller. He has a big "Mom's cub" snowsuit he goes out in, and gets all bundled up. I love my jogging stroller, although I don't jog....just walk. Sometimes he sleeps, but he is always content if you are moving.
We wondered what Casey would be like, since he moved all the time in my belly....and he still does! I can't keep socks on that kid, he kicks his feet so much they come right off. And blankets? Those do not stay on him in the carseat, on the couch, in the swing....he never stops moving his arms and legs. Many people have commented on how busy he is. He loves to be sitting straight up so he can see everything, and for you to stand him up on your lap, he is so strong. He has a great grip, and likes to hold your finger, and loves to get a good fistful of hair.
Casey started at daycare, with my friend Rachel. Rachel has a baby 3 weeks younger than Casey, and an almost 3 year old. I am amazed at what she can do with 3 little boys, she takes them all shopping, to Mommy and Me classes and Dr. appointments. She just may be super-Mom, and I know he is in super good hands when Ryan and I are at work. Casey will give her big smiles when I drop him off. Work is going great, I am back in the swing of things and working with new families. I pump twice at work, luckily I have my own office, so this is no biggie. Just have to remember to shut the blinds! One whole wall of my office is a window that looks into a busy street...I haven't flashed anyone yet.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tobie
I have been trying to write something about about Tobie, but I never know quite where to start. I can't find the right words to describe how much I loved him, and how much he meant to me. There just really aren't words that do Tobie justice.I was looking for a puppy in the summer of 1996. I knew I wanted an 8 week old blue merle female aussie puppy with 2 blue eyes. I called a lot of breeders, but couldn't find what I wanted. I even called Tobie's breeder, Kim Buffum, of Country-Way aussies, and she told me about a 12 week old black tri boy she had, named Luther (at the time, I thought she was calling him Lucifer!!). I said no thanks, not what I am looking for! My Mom and I went to the Australian Shepherd Club of Washington's 4th of July show to look at puppies and meet breeders. We saw lots of puppies that day, but when I saw Luther/Tobie, I knew he was exactly the puppy I wanted! I watched him win Best of Breed Puppy, he had the day before as well. We went back the next day to pick him up, where he had won Best Opposite sex puppy. He was named Country-Ways It's In His Kiss, after the cher song and I decided to call him Tobie. It was love at first sight.
When Tobie was good, he was amazing, when he was naughty....he was super naughty!! Nicole nicknamed him "No-No-Bad-Dog". He was so incredibly smart, and that tended to get him in a lot of trouble. In college, Tobie let himself out of my bedroom one morning while I was at work, ransacked the house....ate all the garbage, stole the loaf of bread off the counter, and then went back in my room and shut the door behind him....all while Nicole slept and Rylie was crated. I came home thinking we had a raccoon on the loose! Tobie was definitely a beautiful dog, he was my first "show dog". I showed Tobie in 4-H, where we were the overall grand champion in junior showmanship and red robin handling one year.
Tobie placed first in his class at nationals, over 40 other aussies. We also won best in match at an all breed conformation match. Tobie was an ASCA champion, and was on his way to being an AKC champion, when he had an emergency surgery and was then neutered. Tobie was so incredibly smart, but so very naughty in the obedience ring!! We did many classes together, but he just loved to embarass me in the ring, silly boy! In the long sit, I turned around to find him humping another dog once. Another time, he met another dog in the middle of the ring to play. On the recall, he saw Kim out of the corner of his eye and jumped up on the bench next to her, instead of coming to me!
What I loved about Tobie, was his love for life. Tobie loved everything and everyone. He was quick with his tongue, and was so accurate! Tobie could not control his licker!! Tobie was like my shadow, right up until his last day. He followed me everywhere I went. He layed in the bathroom while I showered, in the kitchen while I cooked, and on the couch while I watched tv. He never left my side...he was faithful and loyal, and so sweet with those freckles. Tobie loved to go camping, hiking, boating or just go for a ride. Ryan said he loved the way Tobie watched me when we met on our first date. Tobie really never took his eyes off me, how much more perfect could a dog be? When I first moved in with Ryan, Tobie was a little jealous of sharing his Mom. At night, he would go up and wake Ryan and act like he had to go potty. When Ryan went to let him out, Tobie ran back to bed and stole his spot. He did this repeatedly...pretty smart!! Eventually he learned to share, but spent most nights spooned against my legs. Tobie also unloaded our dishwasher once. Top and bottom shelf! We have pretty heavy plates, that he somehow got out. There was only one dish casualty....Tobie always kept me on my toes.
Tobie placed first in his class at nationals, over 40 other aussies. We also won best in match at an all breed conformation match. Tobie was an ASCA champion, and was on his way to being an AKC champion, when he had an emergency surgery and was then neutered. Tobie was so incredibly smart, but so very naughty in the obedience ring!! We did many classes together, but he just loved to embarass me in the ring, silly boy! In the long sit, I turned around to find him humping another dog once. Another time, he met another dog in the middle of the ring to play. On the recall, he saw Kim out of the corner of his eye and jumped up on the bench next to her, instead of coming to me!
What I loved about Tobie, was his love for life. Tobie loved everything and everyone. He was quick with his tongue, and was so accurate! Tobie could not control his licker!! Tobie was like my shadow, right up until his last day. He followed me everywhere I went. He layed in the bathroom while I showered, in the kitchen while I cooked, and on the couch while I watched tv. He never left my side...he was faithful and loyal, and so sweet with those freckles. Tobie loved to go camping, hiking, boating or just go for a ride. Ryan said he loved the way Tobie watched me when we met on our first date. Tobie really never took his eyes off me, how much more perfect could a dog be? When I first moved in with Ryan, Tobie was a little jealous of sharing his Mom. At night, he would go up and wake Ryan and act like he had to go potty. When Ryan went to let him out, Tobie ran back to bed and stole his spot. He did this repeatedly...pretty smart!! Eventually he learned to share, but spent most nights spooned against my legs. Tobie also unloaded our dishwasher once. Top and bottom shelf! We have pretty heavy plates, that he somehow got out. There was only one dish casualty....Tobie always kept me on my toes.I could go on forever with stories about Tobie, but it could still never accurately tell how special he was, and always will be. Tobie saw me graduate high school, college, get married and have a baby. Almost 14 wonderful years. April 18th would have been Tobie's 14th birthday. Few people in this world are lucky enough to have such an amazing dog. I was lucky enough to have Tobie and Rylie. Josh and McKenzie have some pretty big shoes to fill.
I miss him so much.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Swagbucks
I have been using swagbucks now since June. It is a search engine, just like google, but it randomly awards you "swagbucks" that you can cash in for prizes. My favorite is a $5 amazon.com giftcard, for 45 swagbucks. I have now earned 9 of these! You can use them together, and I also have earned some amazon gift cards for a credit card I use (and pay off every month, I only use it to earn the gift cards), so I have gotten almost $150 at amazon for free! We bought a processor for our computer, and I am trying to decide what we are saving up for next.
Swagbucks also does codes to earn more bucks, and you can earn points off of friends you refer too. Everytime they earn a swagbuck, you earn one too (up to 100 per friend). It doesn't cost anything, you just use it like you would google. To try it out, click the swagbucks widget on my blog, or go to http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/McFrench and get signed up! Earn some amazon money! Or any of the other prizes!
Swagbucks also does codes to earn more bucks, and you can earn points off of friends you refer too. Everytime they earn a swagbuck, you earn one too (up to 100 per friend). It doesn't cost anything, you just use it like you would google. To try it out, click the swagbucks widget on my blog, or go to http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/McFrench and get signed up! Earn some amazon money! Or any of the other prizes!
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