Elizabeth

Elizabeth

While sitting on my lap – “Mommy, your lap is so comfortable but slippery”  (as he slid off when I moved)

“When was the last time Max brushed his teeth? His nose smells like rotten pickles.”

When my dad told Charlie “See ya later alligator”, Charlie responded “See ya later crocodile”.

“Jinx! Pinch, Poke, you owe me a soda!”

I am quite sure there are more Charlie-isms that I am not remembering right now.  Sadly I am sitting outside Starbucks in my work jammies using their WiFi since my internet has been acting up since yesterday. I keep getting “limited connection” at home despite unplugging and replugging the router/modem thingy back in. Hopefully it will be working properly today.

Elizabeth

Max sat staring at the squirrel for a good 2-3 minutes, just daring the squirrel to move.

Elizabeth

It is extremely nice to get something in the regular mail that isn’t junk or bills!

I was paired with Angie B who blogs Snack Cups and Smiles.  Angie sent me the cutest handmade card that just made me smile.  While I’m sort of crafty I have just not been able to get into the “make your own card” thing but I am impressed by those who do. Angie’s card makes me HAPPY!

She included some great quotes about happiness as well.

Happiness is a habit – cultivate it. – Elbert Hubbard

Happiness is: Laughing so hard your face hurts.

I signed up for May’s card exchange.  The May theme is friendship.  If you are interested in joining us, the cut off date is May 17th and you can fill out the form HERE.

You can check out other cards and posting on Kendra’s Karing Card Club page.

Elizabeth

Since I had Ruby’s doggy DNA testing done back in March I figured I would have Max tested as well.  I ordered the same Wisdom Panel Mixed Breed DNA testing kit from Amazon since I was totally thrilled with their service the last time. When Charlie chose Max at the Rosenberg Animal Shelter we were told that Max was an unclaimed stray since he had an inactivated microchip with no data.  The nice ladies at the shelter guessed that Max is part Lab and part Rhodesian Ridgeback with a little bit of hound mixed in.

Max has settled in with our family quite nicely. He and Ruby are getting along pretty well. Big sister Ruby does not like Max on her/my bed so Max sleeps with Charlie. Under the covers no less.  Max’s favorite activity is chasing balls. I discovered last weekend that if the ball is thrown over my 6 foot fence, Max will scale it to get the ball. Thankfully Max then climbs back over the fence into our yard, dropping the ball at your feet so you will throw it again.  I spent this past weekend adding 2 foot tall lattice to the top of the backyard fence. Hopefully this will prevent the problem from reoccurring.

The doggy DNA test results arrive this week.       …..Drumroll……

Max is 1/2 American Staffordshire Terrier, 1/4 Bassett Hound, and 1/4 mixed breeds.

The 1/4 mixed breeds (in descending order of DNA) are:

• Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
• Plott Hound
• Polish Lowland Sheepdog
• Argentine Dogo
• English Springer Spaniel

The Wisdom Panel results do clearly state,

One or more of these breeds could have contributed to the genetic makeup of the ancestors indicated by the mixed breed icon. Note that it is highly unlikely that all these breeds are present in Max’s ancestry. There could also be a breed or breeds present in the mixed breed component that cannot be detected with the current database of over 200 breeds.

I must admit the American Staffordshire Terrier did not surprise me. The Bassett Hound, on the other hand, made me laugh out loud. Even our vet scratched his head when I told him about the Bassett hound part of Max.   *GIGGLE*  I do not see any Bassett in Max at all.  Looking at the AKC information on the other breeds listed I do see some of them in Max.

But definitely NOT Bassett Hound!

Elizabeth

For information on how we are helping, please contact me! We desperately need help with our Backpack Project for August. If you can donate or know someone who can help us, please let me know asap.

Elizabeth

Charlie – Mom, I can’t walk home from school anymore. It’s too hot.

Me – well, too bad. You only have 5 more weeks until school is out for the summer and you’re walking home.

Charlie – But Mooooom! It is way to hot to be outside. I’ll melt.

Me – I’m quite sure you won’t melt.

Charlie – Yes I will too melt. I’ll melt into a puddle of BLOOD!

Me – erm, a puddle of blood?

Charlie – YES! A big blood puddle on the sidewalk.

Me – I am pretty sure you won’t melt into a puddle of blood, big or otherwise.

Charlie – Moooooommmm! Yes I will! People are made of blood. Blood is a liquid. Liquids melt when they get hot. So people melt into puddles of blood.

Me - okay, what about the bones? They aren’t liquid.

Charlie – Fine. (totally exasperated) I don’t have to give you all the answers.

Elizabeth

Anyhow I have been trying out a few nifty ideas I found on Pinterest lately.  Some are simple and quick; others are slightly more time consuming. Most have been inexpensive.

Pinterest Idea #1 -

Instead of leaving out the ugly liquid dish soap bottle on your sink, use an olive oil bottle!  You can do the same with liquid hand soap too. I have it pinned on my Neat Ideas board but the original idea came from The Craft Patch and her Pinterest Tested section on her blog.  I haven’t replaced the liquid hand soap yet but the Palmolive looks sooo much better by the sink now! (ignore the ugly sink)

 Pinterest idea #2 -

Area rugs moving around? Instead of spending money on anti-slip rug mats use acrylic-latex caulk as a cheap alternate. Also pinned on my Neat Ideas board and credited to Martha Stewart.  I did find the idea on MarthaStewart.com but it mentions being used on sisal or seasgrass rugs. Nothing about being used on regular cotton, wool or other type of area rugs. None of the pins I saw about this mentioned that little tidbit of information.

I tried it on the rug I bought at Target to place in front of the doggie door. My hope it that the carpet will help reduce paw prints somewhat. Plus the rug coordinates with my bedding and bathroom décor.

Meh. It sorta worked. The rug does not move around as much as before but it still moves.  I coated the back of the rug pretty good with the caulk.  I am not sure if it is because my area rug isn’t sisal or seagrass like Martha’s example. I hate to think that Martha Stewart led me astray with something that didn’t work as well as expected.

I have more Pinterest home décor and craft projects that I have been working on to show you.  I’ll post those later on.

What projects have you attempted from Pinterest? Any favorite successes or spectacular failures?

Elizabeth

Charlie turns anything and everything into race cars and a race. His “babies” were lined up to watch the race and cheer.

Elizabeth