Dead Fish

In less than a month all 4 fish that we got have died. I'm not too broken up about it, to say the least. I really didn't like cleaning out the tank. The first fish we got was from the Saukville 4th of July fireworks, where they had carnival games. L probably spent $10 of my money trying to win one. It reminded me of when I was around his age and I wanted a fish at a carnival so bad and my dad wasn't able to win one for me. I left crying.....the guy running the game felt bad and ended up giving me one. The fish died overnight. So, this fish that L won, it made it through the night and we went to Petsmart the next morning to get a tank, where I found out these fish were 13 cents each!!! Are you kidding me?? So, we got 2 more. Then a week later, L won another one at another carnival. The names of the 4 fish were Ernie, Otis, David and I can't remember the 4th one. We'll see if C realizes the fish are gone....

C is still having fun at G-ma's & G-pa's house. Here's a picture of her getting her haircut....

My mom said that one of her favorite things to do there this week is taking out pieces of fabric that my mom has for sewing and laying them out, folding them up and doing that over and over. She does that with a lot of things....blankets, plates, cups, etc.

I played a 3-hour doubles tennis match last night....I feel hungover today! I'm so tired, thirsty, hungry and just plain wore out. We lost the match, too. Just barely. Next week is our last match. L is done with baseball now, too. G is almost done with softball, so at least we'll have about a month of not much to do after work before school starts and then hockey will start not long after that......

Not much....

Last night was really nice, just hanging out with L. We went to Culver's for dinner and ice cream, then to Target for new socks, then home. I figured out that he's afraid of Grova's claws and getting scratched. That's why he didn't want Grova walking across him. He doesn't want to get near her paws. I tried to get him just to touch her paws to prove to him that the claws don't come out unless she wants them to. He wouldn't do it. UGH!! I was also trying to tell him that if C hasn't gotten scratched yet, he wasn't going to get scratched.

Tonight G has softball, but not until 8:30, so we can hang out on the patio and grill chicken and have a nice dinner, just the 3 of us.

I talked to C last night, she was having fun in Appleton, she told me that she was having cookies for dinner, which I know is not the case!! I wonder what they're doing today. Before she left, she was excited to sleep in the big bed by herself in the spare bedroom. Normally when she's at Grandma & Grandpa's, she sleeps on the floor in G-ma & G-pa's room, with them. I'm hoping she slept by herself, but you never know.

The big-wigs at work are going to be gone Thursday & Friday -- I can't wait!!!!

Free Week!!!

C is going to Grandma & Grandpa's house in Appleton this week!!! She is so much better for them than she is for us. She's really so much better for anyone than us. How does that work?

I took L golfing at a par 3 golf course yesterday -- it was his first time golfing on a "real" golf course. I was pretty leery about how it would go, but he really surprised me. He had a 57 and only whiffed about 3 times total, but those were just "practice shots". On the last hole, his tee shot was probably at least 85 yards. What really impresses me about L is that he is very optimistic in everything he does, especially sports. On every hole, he really thought he might get a hole in one. Even in baseball this year, he struck out a lot, but it never got him down, he always wants to go out and practice batting, because he knows that's what he needs to practice.

Grova made it through the weekend with C bothering her all weekend. Last night C was making her make a funny face by pulling her face back. L wanted her in her room last night until she got on his bed and walked across him and stepped on his "privates". She weighs maybe 4 pounds, I can't imagine that hurt him....whatever!! L is excited that he has the cat to himself this week while C is away.

Pray for Stellan.....www.mycharmingkids.net

Grova - the cat.....

ADDED: about a minute after I posted this, C comes out of the bathroom with Grova in the box we brought her home in, all closed up....she claims that Grova really likes that. L is telling her now that the cat hates her.

Well, we pulled the trigger and got a cat last night from the humane society. Her name is Grova, she's 1, and she's brown and black, tortoiseshell. She's a very nice cat so far. BUT, C is driving me more nuts than she did before. We kept Grova in the 1/2 bath last night, just to get her used to being in a new place - the humane society told us to do this. C was in there by herself and all of the sudden I hear her spraying something....she was spraying air freshener in that little space with the cat in there. Nice. Of course she denied it! Then, she's picking up the cat CONSTANTLY. Grova is going to end up hating her. When Grova was out of the bathroom last night recovering from the air freshener, C was trying to get her to go outside, even though we told her several times that the cat does NOT go outside. Stupid me, I was thinking that this cat might keep her busy and out of our hair.....yeah right. L has been really good with her.

This morning, we've let Grova out for awhile and C just chases her around, picking her up. I had to stop her from putting her on the counter....."But, MOM, she WANTS to go on the counter...." UGH. C also got some cat hair in her mouth, which she hates when any hair is in her mouth. I thought I got all of it out. Next thing I know, she got a cup full of water and she was pouring it on her tongue....all over the floor. Awesome.

I'm SO glad that we're about to leave to run some errands in about 10 minutes. I'm sure they will be getting in trouble while we're out, too....fun times.

This afternoon is our block party and it looks like an awesome day.

CAT?????

The other night I came home from tennis and G tells me that he took the kids to Petsmart - they really liked the cats. Then he told me that he told the kids if they were really good for the rest of the week, he would consider getting a cat.....WHAT????? So, of course, L does not forget something like that and has been talking about it ever since. Yesterday morning when I took him to day care, the first thing he tells the teacher is "We're probably going to get a cat this weekend". AAARRGGGHHH. Yesterday I looked at the Humane Society website and found out that it is free (adoption fee) to adopt a cat that is over 1 year old. G took them there after work yesterday, and they got to hold some cats and pet them, etc. G said that C was a little rough with them, but the workers there said she was good with them. I'm thinking the novelty would wear off within a week if we get one, but you never know.

C is going to Grandma & Grandpa's house all next week, so I'm thinking if we do get one, we'll get it while she's gone, so it can get used to the house before being subjected to her!!

The good thing about their visit to the humane society was that they were afraid of the dogs!!

First Post

So, I thought I'd start a blog.....for a few reasons. One, to keep people informed as to what's going on in our lives. Two, to keep me informed in a few years as to what went on in our lives! and Three, to maybe keep me somewhat sane.....writing about some of the things that happen in our lives might be like therapy, but cheaper!

I'm hoping to eventually include some pictures, once I get this thing down.

For those of you who don't know/remember me and my family, I'm Julie, a 37 year old full-time construction cost engineer, full-time wife and mother, living in suburban Milwaukee. I'm married to G, who is also a construction engineer and a volunteer firefighter. We have 2 kids, L & C. L is 6-1/2 and going into 1st grade in the fall. He loves all sports and is pretty good at them. He is very easygoing and is a very good boy. C is 4 and has one more year in daycare before kindergarten. She challenges G and me daily. She is very strong-willed and has her own agenda.