Mud hole dog escape!

Crazy experience blog post time!

I would like to note that regardless of the following I had a beautiful day with a beautiful little girl! :)

Taleyn & I began our morning by filling in holes that the 'new' dog has dug. As I am filling in holes, Taelyn turns on the water hose and fills in one of the holes with water. You can use your imagination on what happened next! :) It was equally cute and harmless being as we were in the back yard and nobody would see me allowing my child to get covered from head to toe in mud! [I suppose it's what kids do anyways, right?] Right. No harm done!

My husband does not seem to appreciate our big dogs. It's been made public. SO he almost regularly does not understand the concept of completely latching the gates. I grew up with an ornery little schnauzer (I miss you everyday, Astor!) that would seize the opportunity to go on an adventure not understanding that the big scary world was outside those gates whenever presented with it! So I naturally never leave a door or gate open. Never the less, somehow the big dogs get through the imaginary gate and take off to explore the neighborhood.

Problem 1: My dog, Apple Jack is completely deaf. Problem self explanatory.
Problem 2: The 'new' dog or 'lost' dog is still that and has not been named.

Anyway .. continuing on. Taelyn and I hop in the golf cart to go find the boys. My faithful pekingese, Pudro in tow to help save the day. Well .. problem 1 and problem 2 arise simultaneously. Then problem 1 causes me to forget that 'new' dog is fully capable of hearing and I scoot down the street following after them without saying a word for a block. Hello. Then as Taelyn starts to yell "puppy!! no!!" (mind you this is before I ever said a word) I remember that she is covered in mud and the funny looks from bystanders start to make sense. Or maybe it was the golf cart silently chasing two dogs down the street that did it. Who knows. Then I remember that I can yell for the 'new' dog but problem 2 arises again and I can't decide what to yell.

We end up getting one large dog in the golf cart and as large dog two is being put in large dog one takes off. This went on for a good 30 minutes. Then I decide after having an exhausted Apple Jack in the cart that maybe 'new' dog will follow us back home! SUCCESS!

Great.

'New' dog gets distracted by the lawn service down the street and I slow down to get his attention and just as I get his attention back *MOM OF THE YEAR* does not notice that her 21 month old toddler has halfway gotten out of the cart before I starts tooting back down the road.


...


...


I barely got started before halting the breaks and Taelyn doing a harmless roll out of the golf cart and out of harms way of the back tire. Did I just say harmless? I'm trying to make it sound harmless because I feel AWFUL! Anyway, she barely cried and then said "puppy?" while looking at the dogs taking back off down the street. One of the awesome neighbors we have witnessed that last set of disasters and got another one of our neighbors and came to check on us.


Our awesome neighbors are laughing at me and take Taelyn from me so that I can continue the chase. I'm sure it was just in concern for the runaway dogs and not because of the golf cart roll, right?


'New' dog gives up and voluntarily goes back into the yard. Then I end up in a high speed chase down the alley hot on the trail of Apple Jack.


Clank .. scratch .. tires spinning in the air ..


Someone has so generously placed half of an old cement post hole right in the middle of the alley. Golf cart immobile. I did some tugging and pulling but no such luck. I grab Pudro and I looked Apple Jack right in the eyes and said that I was going home and he better follow me. My eyes must have been very convincing to him seeing as he can't hear me because he followed Pudro and I down the alley and back into the yard.


I'm starting the think that just as soon as I stopped chasing both of them they went home.


So the golf cart is right smack dab in the middle of the alley, my mud covered daughter is at this point way over due for her nap, and I'm a tad bit frustrated. I could carry on the rest of this story but I'll make it short. Awesome neighbor 1 comes with me to pull out the golf cart. Awesome neighbor 2 entertains the princess. Myself and awesome neighbor 1 try to pull the golf cart off of the cement. Fail. Awesome neighbor 3 comes with a jack. Golf cart home. Dogs home. Baby bathed and napping. Article critiques being worked on. Cowboys win. Blog writing distracting article critiques being finished.

Good day.

Coffee Catastrophe

I had an experience this morning that finally motivated me to make a blog post. It's been too long, I know. Although, the whole 4 of you that follow me probably didn't even notice my absence! [Maybe I need to spice up my posts a bit to raise my level of interest.]

Anyway ...

I went to make an AWESOME [every coffee lover needs one] Keurig cup of coffee this morning & I forgot that Taelyn had the last of the milk last night. I should probably call myself a milked down, sugared up coffee lover because I can not stand my coffee black. I then go to my back up of Starbucks frappuccino but I guess I had the last of those as well. I then did the UNTHINKABLE & my need for caffeine over rid my 'Never leave the house in your PJ's in order to not blend in with some of the folks we share this town with Rule'.

Mistake.

Anyway ...

Taelyn, Pudro & I load up sporting our PJ's & I drive by the local Allsup's. There were about 5 vehicles there & [if you know me] you know there is no way I will get out of my car & be seen without make up or proper clothing.

Besides all of that, I do not like to tote Taelyn inside a convenience store. It just seems wrong.

We drove completely around town [the whole 2 miles of it] 3 times in order to be able to make a mad dash into Allsup's without being seen. The parking lot was finally free so in we went! I picked up my favorite Starbucks double shot coffee drink & checked out. PHEW .. we made it!

WRONG!!

I go back to open Taelyn's door to the Tahoe & ... wait for it ...

IT'S LOCKED!!!!!

My adorable Pekingese, Pudro hopped his tiny little legs up onto the door while we were inside & locked the car.

Just perfect. So the attendant hands me their telephone to call the police to get them to come save the day. 45 minutes later & countless embarrassing conversations explaining that "Yes, my car is indeed locked" & "Yes, help is on the way" Fritch animal control shows up. Which makes me wonder if Fritch even has any police officers. Who knows. I guess they were all off duty.

The animal control man then warns me that his blow up device to push the door to my Tahoe open enough to get a stick in there to unlock it will most likely bend my door. Reluctantly, I agree to let him to do. I mean Taelyn & I are out here in 100 degree weather. She's wearing footie pajama's and I'm wearing VS long thick pants (it's cold in our house because my hubby is an Eskimo). So the car is finally unlocked & we get in to head home. As I'm buckling Taelyn in she looks at Pudro and yells, " NO NO PUPPY!" lol I LOOOOOVE THIS KID. :) So I smiled & got over the situation.

I did, although, learn my lesson to never break my 'Don't be a Skank' rule & will heavily stock up on all things coffee on my next grocery trip.

70 mph Bus Stop

Thank the Lord that I was paying attention at this very crucial second in time on Tuesday as I drove back from class [Canyon to Fritch]. On that afternoon while traveling on the loop where Hollywood Rd meets Lakeside, I was strengthening my dusty vocals as I normally do when my small child is not in the car [That's a lie because I sing when she is in there as well]. The car is what my voice has been limited to in my elder years. Oh and the shower. OK .. back on subject! I am the ring leader in a long pack of cars traveling the suggested speed limit of 70 mph. The trail of cars and I top over a small hill & directly in front of me [I'd estimate about 50 yards] is a red Chevrolet stopped behind a SCHOOL BUS that is letting little tiny children off while their parents are parked on the side of this narrow two lane 70 mph road. With the smallest window of time to decide how I was going to stop, I harshly slammed on my breaks. My Tahoe did a life saving job of taking the least amount of time possible to shut her down & come to rest. The black pearl [my Tahoe's new name] came to rest exactly even with the beginning of the Chevrolet's cab. On the right side of it in the ditch of course where I had to maneuver it to avoid slamming into the Chevy which would then have had a domino effect into the school bus. With the same amount of gratitude that I have for my vehicle, I thank the vehicles of the pack behind me for being able to stop as well.
My whole problem with this is WHY IS THERE A BUS STOP THERE? And more importantly, why wasn't there a 'School Bus Stop Ahead', blinking lights, fireworks or SOMETHING to indicate that this would be happening ahead of us beyond where our eyes could see. After the bus proceeded along it's route the oddest thing happened. Only a short 50 yards ahead this bus pulled into the Lonesome Dove Estates community where there were cars [presumably parents] parked to pick up their children. They were pulled off of the 70 mph busy loop. Why in heavens name couldn't they all have been in the safety of a side road protected from the singing and apparently blind 70 mph travelers?

I want to add that I am going to investigate this further on Tuesday and search for a sign that I might have missed. For the sake of this never actually turning into a tragedy, I hope that I did miss a sign. That being aside .. there should not be an option anywhere on any 70 mph two lane road for there to be a bus stop in a location where it doesn't give traffic a chance in [insert inappropriate word here] to stop in time!

Bangs ..

Bangs

Well, this is definitely a change! I'm thinking that I like them.
Although, it sure is going to take some getting used to. Zack said that
I look like Uma Thurman .. Which I'm not too sure that I take
as a compliment. Maybe I wont keep them for long!

Discount Mom :)

Well .. I have definitely not been a very interesting blogger thus far. I am going to try to do better. :)

Within the past year, I have found a passion that I have for finding good deals, coupon codes, discounts .. basically getting incredible deals online on things that I would otherwise spend much more for in a store. They are the same products, only cheaper! It only takes a little effort to research & find these deals. I'm not a novice at this yet, but it sure is thrilling to land a great deal.

For example: Months ago we were in the market to purchase a convertible crib for Taelyn. I combined discounts & coupon codes to land a deal on a $450 convertible crib. What did I pay? $150! PLUS free Shipping & 192 free diapers. How awesome is that?

Anyway, I have no problem sharing what I find & helping others save. Here is a list of *some* of the websites that I have found so far!

Savings.com *This is VERY versatile! Type in any brand or store to find coupon codes!*

Living Social

Groupon

Mama Bargains

Baby Steals

Kid Steals

Scrapbook Steals

Peachy Cheap

Beyond the Rack

Haute Look

Money Saving Mom

Coupon Gal

Coupon Mom

Deal Pulp (Thanks, Amber!)

The Grocery Game I haven't tried this yet, but it looks interesting!

The Krazy Coupon Lady

Alice.com

Zulily

Ebates (Thanks, Amber!)

Retail Me Not (Thanks, Amber & Allison!)


ALSO --> You need to ALWAYS sign up for rewards cards with stores that offer them. I couldn't tell you how much I have saved on AE, 77kids, Aerie, Gap, Piperlime, etc. by having them.

It can get overwhelming if you do not organize your coupon codes & coupons. Here is a picture of one of my coupon organizers. I have organized it by store & type of coupon. Also, add some note cards to it where you can easily write down coupon codes for items in the chance that you don't want to use it when you first see it but might at a later time. I haven't gotten much into grocery coupons yet. But, I plan on creating one of these just for the grocery store & organize it by the type of item for easy access. Another good idea for that would be to leave the very front divider empty for you to transfer coupons into as you put the item into your basket. That way, when you reach the register, all of the coupons that you plan to use are already together!

Our Family in 2010

Now that I have spent all day creating my blog template, I suppose I should write our first post. I'll get better at this with time.

Here we are, just beginning 2011 & life is SO full of joy. The best thing about it is that God has blessed us far beyond what we could have ever dreamed for. I know that he will continue to bless us & that excites me for the future. 2010 was such an exciting year for us. As you know, 8 days before the calendar year turned to 2010, our precious angel [Taelyn] came into this world. We had always heard people lush over their children. Now that we are parents we know exactly what they were feeling. There aren't words for the amount of room that you make in your heart as soon as your child takes their first breath. We have all been forever changed for the absolute best! I love being a mother! I love watching Taelyn interact with her incredible father! 2010 was filled with so many amazing memories that we will cherish for a life time. Every day is something new .. and it keeps getting better and better!

I was going to tell y'all The Montague Story of 2010 in pictures, but I had selected 45 pictures & I wasn't even to the end of the year yet. So, I'm just going to leave you with only one picture from Christmas. We wish you all a very wonderful year -
I hope 2011 brings you as many blessings as 2010 brought us!