Meet Puppy

Little William has a best friend named Puppy. Puppy is.... a puppy. He got Puppy when he was a newborn from our neighbor. Of course Will had no interest in toys or stuffed animals for quite some time. About 6 months ago he really started to to show an interest in wanting to play with Puppy. Now Puppy gets included with all of his day-to-day activities. He travels in the car, he goes to the playground, he goes to the store and even into the bathroom.

 Yep, Puppy had been EVERYWHERE! Puppy became so filthy it wasn't even right. Every time I asked Will if I could give Puppy a bath he would say "Um, no thanks". He does not like parting with Puppy for any reason. Of course I was getting tired of seeing a blue puppy turn gray.

I had to be sneaky and throw Puppy in the washing machine when Will was watching Caillou. Of course he noticed that Puppy was missing after about 5 minutes. He searched high and low and called for Puppy throughout the house. It was so cute and funny at the same time. After about an hour I was able to reunite the two of them. I told Will to smell Puppy and he was all smiles :)

Is your little one attached to a particular toy or item?

Being like dad

Every time Dwayne is around William tends to want to hang around him and in some cases imitate his daddy. This can be a great thing and other times... it can be a very bad thing! Thankfully the good outweighs the bad and Will gets to learn a lot of things from his dad. Dwayne has taught him how to cast a line out in the water, catch a fish, take out the trash, throw a football and so many other neat things. I love when he sees his dad reading and wants to do the same. When I see the two of them together I realize how important a father's role is most especially for boys. After all, a boy can only learn how to be a man from a man.
Now some days Will takes his manliness too far. Yesterday I caught him pulling the cushions off the couch and destroying the family room so I asked him why he was doing that. He responds with "Go back in the kitchen and wash the dishes!" I tell you what, he is lucky he is so adorable or else.... Now you know Dwayne was proud and pulled the old "That's my boy!" Men!!!

Go Dwayne!!

I just had to share that Dwayne won some trophies in a recent Toastmasters speaking contest that was held locally. He took home 2nd place for Humorous Speaking Contest & 2nd place in Evaluation Contest Division D. He also won 2 first place trophies in the same categories last week! He has made it to the finals that will be held in Charleston, South Carolina next month. My hubby certainly has the gift of gab! We are all so proud of him!! :-)

Raising teen girls

I was having a phone conversation with a good friend the other day and the main topic of discussion was raising teenagers. Having 2 teenage girls at one time has been quite interesting to say the least. Lucky for them I remember very well what it was like to be a teenage girl. I would never want to go back to those years! So far so good with my girls though. They do go through all the emotional stuff and you watch their eating habits flip flop regularly. It is funny how when you are a teenager you think even the littlest thing is the BIGGEST thing in the world. It's as if life is going to end as you know it. I have to constantly remind them that obviously life goes on (I'm still alive and kicking!) They will look back at their teenage years many years from now and wonder why they were so worried over the most insignificant things. History truly repeats itself doesn't it? Some days I feel like choking them but most days I am beyond grateful to have such extraordinary girls! I often wonder what it will be like when William is a teenager. Then again, I can wait! Just let me get through the next few years...

When confusion strikes...

Move your furniture around! It is amazing how well changing things up can improve your focus. I have been having a hard time staying asleep in recent weeks. I know that my mind races but normally it shuts off enough for me to get a solid 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We took time over the weekend to do some small house projects as well as replace air conditioning filters, floor vent filters and light bulbs. I even dusted and vacuumed the nooks and crannies that you don't get to all the time. I think it helped because my sleep was ah-maaaayzing! I feel so rested and refreshed. Let's see if it carries on for the rest of the week!

Hey mom, what's for dinner?

This has become a question that I cringe when I hear it. I am going through a loss of creativity when it comes to cooking dinner in recent weeks. The teenagers go through phases of where they eat like models and then other times that they eat like football players. This can mean that either I cook and the food wastes or they want to eat everything other than what I cooked. I ask my husband every time I go to the store~ "Do you want anything?" The answer is almost always the same... "No".  When I ask the family for suggestions on what I should cook it seems like no one can come up with anything realistic. We all get tired of chicken, fish, shrimp.... One wants pasta and the rest feel ill at the thought of pasta. I myself love vegetables...all kinds. The rest of the family doesn't always care for what I like. What to do?? *DEEP SIGH* I need some new ideas of what to make because I am fresh out. I see why so many people eat out. I know I can't be the only one that feels this way...