Introducing Junior!

The top picture is one of Snickers at approximately 7 weeks old. I took it when I first brought him home. The bottom picture is of two of the (3 week old) little boy puppies from the litter we believe he fathered. We have decided to adopt the puppy on the left. His name is Junior. We will be bringing him home to live with us in about 3-4 weeks. He is fuzzy haired and we are hoping he will have the same "funny look" as his dad. Snickers markings became more pronounced as he grew. Right now Junior is very similar in markings as Snickers was when we first got him.
Junior is also the most active and mischievious of all his litter mates. Like father, like son. as the saying goes. I picked Snickers, in the first place because of his personality. I think Junior is going to help heal the wounds left by Snickers death.
I do know he will be learning how to ride in the boat and go crappie fishing. Jerry has fallen in love. Of course, it helped just a little that Junior gave him sweet little puppy kisses when they met.

To catch a Thief!

The whole house was quiet, no one was moving around. It was still dark outside. Even the faithful old watchdog was still resting. The prowler checked his surroundings carefully. He noted the exact location of the watchdog. The coast is clear.Now, he wanted to make sure the little, yappy one was no where around. She has a bark that can wake people three houses down.Good, She was also quiet and resting. After looking around one more time, and listening carefully to make sure no one was watching, the prowler crept stealthily across the room to the womans open purse.















Little, did he realize, his escapades would be caught on camera. Rats!!! Foiled, again.

Here they are!

My new, modern, matching, black/stainless fridge and stove. I found out the stove has a lock for the oven door. That will come in handy as the new baby starts walking. there is also a lock for the water/ice dispenser in the door of the fridge. We cooked our dinner on the new stove last night. The oven works soo..... good. Maybe, I can even convince Jerry that he likes to cook.

Finally!!!!

I have been trying to get a new fridge for a while. We have a really good one, but I wanted a Black/Stainless double door with the ice and water in the door. I also wanted a matching Black/Stainless, Smooth top stove to match. I have spent the morning, removing the old appliances and clearing out the kitchen, because my new stove and fridge will be arriving today! I am so excited and definately motivated to get my kitchen repainted and get started cooking!
With just a few weeks left until the Holiday Season, a kitchen full of brand new appliances is a powerful motivation. I will post pictures soon.

Mocha's New Sweater

We had a little lime green, brushed flannel, fabric left. Perfect to make a little sweater for a tiny chihuahua!

Now Preveiwing: "Marilyn's Corner"

Tish and I have been very busy this weekend. We have been working on the crib set and decorations for our new baby. We have been buying a few items each payday to create our own custom designed baby room. This week-end, we finally had enough stuff to get the job started. We designed and created all of the items for the crib and wall hangings. Tish picked out the jungle theme, told me what she wanted and while I sewed, she painted glued and created her own items to add to the room. The wall hanging is a pre-quilted panel with the "Jungle Babies" theme. We attached it to a canvas and Tish added her own special touches to make it one of a kind. The blanket on the bed is a "no-sew" flannel blanket, again created by Tish. It is sooo... soft and warm, I know the baby will love snuggling with it when we bring "her?" home. The crib quilt was created by both of us. Tish measured and cut out the squares, while I sewed them together. We added some bright colors and polka dots for interest. The bumper pads are a larger version print of the same "Jungle Babies" theme. The ribbons are a wide green polka dot. The three small animal plaques, hand-painted and decorated with animal print bows, were created by Tish. We have been hunting down and collecting the stuffed baby animals to finish off the whole theme.
Next week, we will make the crib skirt, a quilted cover and some bumper pads for the changing table, and we bought some small wicker baskets to organize baby clothes, blankets, etc. We are going to line them with colorful fabrics to match the over all Jungle theme and add some bright ribbons for accent.
Hope you have enjoyed our design show. All items picture were custom designed and hand crafted by the P&P Baby-On-The-Way Design Team. We do not take special orders. (LOL)
Til next time.

It's almost Friday!!!

Almost Friday! I can't wait for this week to be over! It hasn't been bad, just L...O...N...G!!!!!
I am so tired. I worked at least 9-10 hours nearly every day and 14 hours on Monday! I started my "on call" tour today. But, my boss has assured me she has the week-end covered. So, maybe I will luck out and not have to work.
Tish and I have started the crib quilt. We have assembled the squares, figured out the pattern and have every thing laid out to complete assembly of the quilt top. She is excited about getting it done! We got the crib put together and she wants to get it dressed up now!
That will be my major week-end project! Along with, thinking about, cleaning house.
The sweet lady who helped me with Snickers, came over yesterday and brought a pretty bouquet of flowers and offered her heartfelt sympathy for the loss of my little freind. She is just so sweet. It is hard to find anyone who really has a spirit of love for total strangers. Well, we are no longer strangers. Her name is Beth. I like people named "Beth". She lives 2 houses away and has a litter of pups (two weeks old) that look a lot like a Snickers! There are three boys, who have his coloring. And a boy and girl who look like their mama. She is a black/white Rat Terrier. Which means, the pups will be at least as mischeivious as Snickers. Before you ask, YES, I DO want one! So does Jerry. It is silly, but I think it would be really nice to have one of Snickers' pups.
I picked one of the Black/Tan ones. He is only 2 weeks old. But, I will be keeping an eye on them. Beth is very happy about getting to know me and very interested in a lot of the same things I like. Including, COFFEE!
Well, that's about it for now.
Life is sweet, today!

A little different!

I changed my blog format, not realizing that I would lose my links and my music. Be patient and hopefully I can get someone smarter than me to fix it.
I was trying to widen the borders a bit to get my photos to fit better.
That's what I get for pretending to know what I am doing!!!!

My Funny Boy!

Today is a very sad day at our home. Snickers did not come home this morning. I was in the front yard calling his name and a neighbor stopped and told me that she had taken a little dog to the vet. He had been hit by a car. Tish and I located the vet and went straight there only to find that the little dog was my "Funny Boy".
We spoke with the vet. There was nothing he could do. The damage was too extensive to try and save him. We sat with him until he took his last breath.
I would like to believe that he somehow knew we were there.
Snickers was the most aggravating, irritating, stubborn, little independent mess you will ever meet. But he was also the most affectionate, intellegient little dog I have ever had the pleasure to share my life with.
He knew what time we were coming home from work. He greeted us at the door with great exuberance, always. If I left the house to take the trash to the curb, I recieved the same greeting that he gave me when I was gone all day. He would sit on the couch or in front of the door and wait for the sound of Jerry's truck turning the corner and then run around like a maniac until Jerry came into the house. He would jump 4 feet off the ground and hit Jerry with all four feet, repeatedly until Jerry would sit down and greet him properly.
Every night, when we would tell him, "it's bedtime". Snickers would go to his crate and pull open the door and go in. He would sit there until we shut the door for the night. A couple of nights ago, Snickers was extra energetic, I ask Jerry, "is it 9:00 yet?", Snickers ran to his crate and went to bed.
He was totally amazing every day. He was a happy welcome home, no matter how bad the day had been. He was a warm snuggle when you just needed a few moments of quiet. He was an affectionate ball of energy and intelligience, full of love.
Today is a very sad day. Tomorrow there will be a void in my daily life that can not be filled.
My little "Funny Boy" was one of a kind. I will miss him for a very long time!

Look What I Found!!!!!!

Woke up this morning to some strange sounds! It didn't really register at first until Tish said something. We usually have a lot of noise around here in the mornings. Dogs, whining, Quaker, quacking, Finches, squeaking. Finches.....SQUEAKING?
After some investigation, we found babies! A LOT of babies!
The eggs hatched. I can't even count how many babies there are. They are so tiny and thier nest box is pretty well closed in. But, with some effort, I managed to get a few pictures.
LOOK AT MY REALLY, UGLY NEW BABIES!!!!!
They seem to be doing okay. I hope Mama and Papa take good care of them. They will be very pretty when they grow up!

Just another update!

Last weekend, we took our future daughter-in-law out for dinner at her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. We had a lot of laughs and got a chance to catch up on the latest wedding news.
We tried to get a picture of Tish's baby belly, but the belly just isn't co-operating. At a little more than 5 months, you would think, she could pooch out a little for the camera!

Geri and her goofy boyfriend Bryan came over, later in the week and had dinner with us. The brought our "grand-dog" Julian, with them. I have never met such a BIG teddy bear in my life (Julian, not Bryan). We really had a lot of fun. Bryan is hilarious. He and Jerry hit it off. When they weren't telling silly stories, they were poking fun at Poor Geri. Luckily, Geri is a good sport.

I got off work early, Friday. That in itself is amazing. Then Geri, Jerry and I met for dinner. After dinner, Geri and I headed out for Shreveport. While, Jerry headed out for a two day Fly Fishing School. Tish, was already on her way to Little Elm's first football game of the season.

Geri and I had a really nice visit with my family, and there were a couple of cameo appearances from Bryan via speaker phone! I thought Mom was going to pass out from laughing at that boy! I think I have them convinced to move back to Texas. At least I have a sorta promise to come visit at Christmas. I would really love that. I want her to get to see the rest of the family.

Jerry learned how to cast a Fly Rod. We now have a new obsession. Fly Fishing!!!!

Now, I just need to convince him to get obsessed with helping set up the crib, for the new grandbaby! I'll keep working on it.

That's all I have for now.

Baby Progress!

Little Marilyn, (no, we still don't know for sure), is growing. She (he) is approximately 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 7 ounces. Hopefully, we will soon get that all important sonogram, that will let everyone know, what I already know, IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! Tish is now wearing her maternity clothes, although she still has not really gained any weight. She is doing great! Grandpa is doing great, I'm doing great! We are going to buy some more fabric this week-end to get started on the bed clothes and accessories.

I got music!

Thanks to my wonderfully computer literate daughter, I now have some of my favorite tunes added to my blog. Wait for it...........................That's nice. Enjoy!

Yeah!!!

Tish and I got up early, well, around eight, that's early on Saturday, right! Anyway, we got up early and went to McDonalds for breakfast, then we went SHOPPING!!!!!!
We had a blast. Jerry told us about a Garage Sale in Anna. We stopped by and got a Graco stroller and infant car seat for $10.00. They look great. A little sanitizing and they are in perfect shape for our" little-one-on-the-way".
Then we went shopping for maternity clothes. Tish has finally given in. Her little belly won't fit into her regular clothes any more. We found some really cute things at Ross and Old Navy.
After that we went to WalMart and bought curtains for her room and lots of stuff to make a crib quilt and blanket. She decided on a Jungle theme.
Adding what we got today, with the great bassinet and playpen, both Graco, that her Dad surprised her with earlier this week, and the crib and changing table, we bought a few weeks ago and it's beginning to look a lot like BABY around here.
Tish's Wish List still has a few items left; she still needs a bouncy seat, an exer-saucer, and a swing. Along with the usual crib sheets, diapers, receiving blankets, onesies, etc. But the majority of the BIG stuff is done!
It feels good to know we are getting well on our way to prepared. I love hanging out with Tish. She has such a great sense of humor, we had a blast.

I Can't Remember!

Many moons ago, when I was pregnant with Krysta, I was told that nurses could predict the sex of a baby by listening to the heartbeat. A slower heartbeat was a boy and a faster one, a girl.
I went to the doctor with Tish today and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. Anything over 120 is normal according to the nurse. Our baby's heartbeat was 154.
I just can't remember the parameters, was it over 140, means a girl?
Or, was it a higher number? We would really like to have a little girl!
Tish and the baby are doing great! Tish still has not gained any weight, but the doctor did not seem at all concerned about it. I guess I am just an old worrier!
Everything else checked out just great!
If anyone else knows the answer to the heartbeat question, let me know!
My memory is just not that great anymore! Well, the truth is, it never was that great to begin with.
What was I saying?

Yakity Yak, Don't talk back!

Alex has been trying and trying to teach Mocha to talk, but she just won't listen!

UH!OH! It's a baby belly!!!

From flat to fluffy, She can still wear some of her clothes (only because they are low-riders). She can still fit into her favorite sweats (only because they were 4 sizes too big to begin with). But, it won't be long and the baby-t's will have to be packed away for a while! Tish's belly just suddenly popped out there. We got her room "Clean Sweep" clean and rearranged, we put the baby bed and the changing table in there and hopefully next week-end we can go shopping for some curtains and other things to finish it out. We are trying to figure out a theme that will fit both Mom and Baby. Tish has pretty much decided the underlying color will be green. Then when we figure out "boy or girl" we will add blue or pink and other accessories. Tish has always loved "John Deer" green and pink as a color combination. So that will not really be any trouble to do! I can't wait to find out. I can't wait to get started! This Grandma stuff is more fun all the time!

We're Home!

And I am glad! We went to Fairfield lake this morning. We spent most of the morning fishing for Blue Gills. They were not biting. Jerry caught one really nice one, I didn't catch anything but a really nice sunburn. My legs have not seen the sun since, I can't remember when, so this morning I got up, shaved my legs, put on shorts, and spent a couple of hours, riding around in the boat. I had a great sun umbrella and plenty of water to stay hydrated. We keep sunscreen in the boat. I wasn't concerned.
After a while, we decided to give it up for the day and go to the fishfry. I got out of the boat, we trailered it and went inside the cool air-conditioned building. Then, the pain began. I noticed for the first time, in years, what a sunburn feels like. I think it will be a very long time before my poor legs see daylight again.
On to other news. The food was wonderful, the company was entertaining and we had a great time.
After leaving the lake, we drove around Teague, looking for familiar, childhood memories. We found our old house, the place where my Grandpa's house was and the old gas station where he used to buy me cokes and candy bars. Along with a few other memorable landmarks.
All-in-all, we had a very nice day!

Weekend Fishing Trip

Jerry and I each took a vacation day on Friday for a little R&R, just the two of us. We went to Lake Bonham and camped out.
Friday evening we brought in 9 crappie, we cleaned them and cooked them for dinner. There is nothing better than fresh caught fish, cooked and eaten in the great outdoors.
Saturday morning, Jerry went out early and caught 23 more. I stayed behind, to sleep in, but ended up getting up earlier than I meant to and broke down our camp while he was out. He released the fish, he had caught rather than having to clean them before we came home.

As you can see, Lake Bonham is beautiful. It's not large as lakes generally go around here, but the fishing is great and the campsites are near the water. We had a great view of the lake, and a shady campsite which made things pretty nice considering the heat. Our tent is a snap to set up and take down so the actual work went by pretty quickly.
We had a very nice time, just being together and enjoying the peace and serenity of nature, it's times like this that reminds me what we have together and how very special our love is.

There are a lot of houses along the shores of the lake. Almost all of them have private boat docks or boat houses and fishing piers. Jerry and I would love to be able to buy a house on the water front. Not really such a far-out dream. The houses are generally modest and likely within our budget. I think we will probably pursue that goal, sometime in the not-so-distant-future.
But in the meantime, we have babies and weddings to plan for. Real life goes on, but we do have wonderful weekends together to make plans for future dreams come true. That also, is part of real life and part of what makes us stronger.