This is what happens when I try to work. She HAS to be ON my hand.
My hand is numb.
Author Archives: Jen
Amazing Christmas ornament craft!
I’m so excited about the Christmas ornament project I finally finished today (with moral support from Anna)!
INSPIRATION PHOTO:
I wanted to do this because we have soooo many ornaments that we don’t always get to use but I miss seeing. And I didn’t want a wreath because I had lots of big ornaments that wouldn’t have fit well around a wreath. (I used a deep mirrored tray.)
So the ornaments range from things I grew up with on my parent’s tree to handmade ornaments from both grandmas to mementos from family and vacations to favorite TV shows and hobbies and favorite things…and more!
I am soooo thrilled with how it turned out!
Another full day of cuddling
My heart is melting.
And feeling a little sentimental because I miss this little boy. He’ll be turning 14 in about two weeks.
Variations during naps
Starting week 2 with lots of happy.
I think she’s happy.
I’m happy. When she’s not pooping on the floor.
And they’re happy.
Olive & Ivy, Day 7
Finally playing tug!
Sun dogs! You’ll notice Ivy discovered the back of the couch!
And then. They discovered my succulent and we found pieces all over. We blame Ivy because Olive has never once even sniffed that plant.
This is how Ivy often plays—butt straight up in the air. Weirdo.
Olive & Ivy, Day 6
Dogsitting for the first time…
Olive & Ivy, Day 5
Now to get them both in there together…
But we’re working in the office so Olive has to be by us.
And then… Someone moves in for the steal.
Olive & Ivy, Day 4
ALLLLLL the cuddles… Watch Ivy get closer and closer.
And then a nap with dad.
In a new hoodie (which she’s too big for already).
And introducing her to the smells at Anna and David’s…their dogs were crated.
Olive & Ivy, Day 3
Sharing a bone!
Olive and Ivy, Day 2
Ivy explored the main level and played a little with Olive. Olive is a little jealous but they’ve sniffed each other a bunch and then napped together on my lap.
Then since it was a nice sunny day we went outside. And they played and ran and it was a delight to watch!
Oooh, sticks are fun!
A lucky shot!
And then the fun ended when Ivy was digging in the dirt… which earned her a bath!
And later, she refused to walk out the sliding door…but I got this amazing photo.
Fast forward to evening…
Introducing…Ivy!
We had a list of about 12 names we were considering, but Ivy won by process of elimination! (Some of the last to get eliminated were Sissy, Sadie, and Ruby.)
And of course Anna and David came over to meet her! Olive couldn’t get enough of her.
And as soon as Ivy got up… Olive took her place!
The calm before the storm.
We were picking the puppy up around 5, so it was the last few moments of calm.
Olive’s ottoman?
When we got this ottoman we planned to put blankets in it…NOT dog toys.
We’re doing a sort and stash before the new puppy comes tonight!
Second batch of Chex mix!
The kids missed giving gifts to their teachers since they had a snow day so they need to take them tomorrow! I had planned to give them some from the first batch but we ate it all. But loving my new oven!
Puppy prep
I may have done a little shopping. We needed some more toys that they will hopefully use to tug with each other.
Starting 2023 off with a bang!
I’m #2 and in the top 25…so far this month!
My Christmas forest
These are all the trees I place all around the house…but I actually kind of like them all together. Maybe next year…
It’s official — I’ve lost my damn mind!
I’ve agreed to get a second dog.
We’d been thinking about getting a cat to have a friend/playmate for Olive, but long story short that’s just not a workable option…so when Tom found Boston puppies locally it sparked the discussion. I still have reservations, but Tom loves to remind me I’ve always said I wanted a fleet of Bostons.
So we discussed it with the kids (Katie was REALLY excited—enough to offer to pay for part!) and discussed it ourselves…and decided to take Olive to meet her and at least see what happened.
The lady warned us that “Sasha” was really shy so everyone was surprised when they got along! (Maggie never got along with other Bostons so we didn’t expect much.) They even ran around and played a bit!
We don’t have a name yet but we get her Monday. ❤️ (We had to put all of Christmas away first.)
BrickFest was a dud.
We’ve been to a BrickFest before in Virginia and it was AMAZING. So we were excited to go again… Except this one was a complete dud compared to that. Super SUPER disappointing.
There were basically NO displays—the previous one had city blocks, automation (think roller coaster), big things, little things, selfie stations…
This one had some giant creations:
and a very small area of smaller creations like this:
but that was about it. Most of it was lame (for older kids) stuff like “make and race a Lego car”
or “create a glow in the dark Lego” (which Owen did to at least do something).
The kids also did one square of a bigger design—which we would never see.
But man did the store and checkout lines take up a ton of space (conservatively 1/4 of the venue):
This was the best part for me—a local artist who did lilacs. I’m going to need that ASAP.
What was even more disappointing is that we were supposed to go with Anna and family—but long story short they got there after us and got stuck in a huge line and then we discovered it sucked so they just gave up and never made it in.
After we got home I decided to look up the last one we went to…and discovered it wasn’t BrickFest, but was BrickFair. UGHHHHH.
Olive really wants up in my lap.
I hadn’t looked in Katie’s room in a while…
I can’t even.
That’s not how you use it silly
Happy New Year’s Eve
We just had a simple dinner and watched TV at Anna and David’s tonight. We missed the east coast ball drop…and then we watched as CNN missed the central countdown!
I finished 80 books in 2022!
After not having really read in the past 20 years, I had wanted to read 12 this year. Needless to say I got sucked in and ended the year with 81: Goodreads Challenge 2022
Tired kids
What a beautiful evening sky
Mommy I want to play!
The 12 Challenge
I really got back into reading this year after about 20 years of NOT reading. (I aimed for 12 on the #goodreadschallenge2022 and am likely finishing with 80!)
I very much enjoyed reading my friend suggestions when I did The Trevor Project fundraiser this year so when I saw this challenge come across my timeline I knew I wanted to do it in the new year!
I took the first 12 books listed by 12 different people in the comments. I can’t wait to get started! #goodreadschallenge2023
