Hallelujah!

Retraction

Or rather, a clarification:

Ok, so I had some people comment on how they were surprised we paid $1200 for Stewy. Let me clarify. While I now believe that our little Stewy is priceless :), we did NOT pay $1200 (or any where near that much!) for him!

When we were orginally looking for a puppy we really wanted an English Bulldog, and those were running $1200-$3000. Sorry I wasn't clear on that. We didn't win the lottery, or inherit a lot of dough, or go crazy and take out a loan to get a dog! However, Stewy is the cutiest, wootiest little prince in the whole wide wowld and if I were rich, he'd totally be worth it!

PS, I love my puppy.

Prepare to say, "Awwww!"

Meet Stewart Lewis Martin:

"Stewy" is our new Yorkshire Terrier/Poodle (aka Yorkipoo) puppy! He's 8 weeks old and soooo tiny!

We've been looking into getting a puppy for a few weeks now and saw Stewy yesterday and fell in love! We've been doing research online about what kind of dog would be right for our home. Unfortunately, the breeds that kept coming up were SO expensive!!! We found someone selling the breed of puppy we really wanted here in Southaven for $1200! And they were the cheapest ones!!! We saw some advertised for $3000! How can people feel good about that?! So we decided to go with our gut. Dave is great with animals (he even helped deliver my Mom's dog, Molly) And he said Stewy was the one. Even full grown he won't be very big. He's expected to be about 5-7 lbs as an adult. Sohpie Cat has just decided to keep her distance and according to Dave, "gives him the stink-eye!"

So far, he's very quiet and sleepy and cries when you leave him alone... much like a new baby!

Caroline, of course, LOVES Stewy. We're hoping that by getting him so young, he'll just kind of get used to her "love" and love her back! Already he follows her and climbs in her lap when she's sitting on the floor! She talks baby-talk to him and it's so cute!

I'm really looking forward to having a dog right now. Caroline's getting older and doesn't seem to need Mommy's help as much, so I'm ok with taking on a new responsibility!

Last night he cried a little bit and Dave, the softie that he is, brought him into bed! So Dave is very happy to have him too!

TAG O RAMA!

I got tagged twice recently so here we go!

From my sister Karen:

Open your 5th picture folder and select the 5th picture in it. Explain.

This is about 2 summers ago I think. We were trying out Thatcher's brand new playground on a visit to Nana's house. It's a pretty cool one, but what made me sad was how filthy it was! This was a much needed new piece of equipment and It had already been written on, trash all over the ground, melted abandoned popsicle inside one of tunnels, etc. I've often thought that someday I would like to do a service project involving cleaning (and disenfecting!) a park's playground equipment. Anyone interested?

Ok, TAG #2:

Savannah tagged me with a little get-to-know you!

8 TV Shows I Like to Watch:

-The Office

-Ace of Cakes

-What Not to Wear

-Property Virgins

-Family Feud

-The OC (reruns. a recent guilty pleasure!)

-Planet Earth

-Seinfeld

8 Restaurants I Love to Eat at:

-On the Border

-Taco Bell (is that a restaurant? I dunno, yummy, fast, and CHEAP!)

-Texas Roadhouse

-Olive Garden

-Chili's

- Eegee's (Oh how I miss you!!!)

- Chalo's (in Safford. I miss you too!)

- R & R Pizza (also in Safford. Best buffet ever.)

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

What was yesterday?

-Oh yeah, Cleaned a house for Dave and Ryan

-Tried to apply for WIC (waited 1/2 an hour only to find out you need an appt. It's different everywhere!)

-Went to a really cool park in Hernando with Courtney and the girls

- Ate bean burritos for dinner

-Played "doggy" with Caroline. I'm usually the doggy.

- Met the neigbors across the street with the really cool toys.

- Ate rainbow sherbet. mmmm.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

-Halloween. Caroline is going to be a great Snow White.

-Modbe party this weekend! My first since we've moved!

- Girl's Night Out in Germantown. Oh yeah. I need this one!

- Going to see High School Musical 3 with Joleen and her girls and Caroline on Saturday!!!! (wow, I've got a fun weekend planned!)

-Birthday Weekend (Dave is Nov. 14, Caroline is Nov 15 !)

-Being done with the house: paint, windows, upstairs bath

-Dave making sweet-n-sour chicken on Sunday for the missionaries

-the next Zumba class

8 Things On My Wish List:

Why was it hard to think of 8 things in every catagory EXCEPT this one?!

- A puppy

- A deck in the back yard

- A swingset in the back yard

- Another car

- A vacation, maybe to AZ? :)

- Like Savannah, always new clothes!

- A sibling for Caroline

- A piano

Are you bored? Do this Tag, it was a fun one!

Horn Lake Festival

We had a really fun Saturday this week! We went to the Horn Lake Festival. We really didn't know what it was, we just saw signs on the sides of the road. So we went and checked it out and really, it was just like a small fair. Ryan and Courtney and their girls met us there and the girls had a blast together!

First up was the kiddie roller coaster - which was bad to start with because I'm sure everything after that seemed boring by comparison! This was a first for Caroline, and her mom was pretty nervous (I even scolded Dave for not riding with her) but she did great and she LOVED it!

They had a small petting zoo. These rabbits totally made me want one!

This goat was lovin' them! Caroline wasn't so sure at first, but Dave helped, and then she loved it.

Caroline patiently (HA!) waited in line for quite a while to get her face painted. She wanted a unicorn. Here's the end result:

All in all, it was nice to have a fun family day. Fairs are quite expensive though. But I think one of my favorite parts about being a parent is watching her enjoying herself. Hearing her laugh, seeing her jump up and down in anticipation, and gazing at her bright smile. I can see how easy it would be to spoil your kid rotten! It's so fun watching them open presents and giving you a great big hug of thanks. That's the best. It's a good thing we can't afford to spoil her too much!

Snow White and the Four Elders

Today, a very special package came in the mail for Caroline from her Grandma Scott.
(I tried to upload the video of her opening the box, but it wouldn't work this time!) We opened it right before we had dinner with the missionaries.

IT WAS A SNOW WHITE COSTUME!!!!

Caroline was sooooo excited! (OK, so I was pretty excited too) She tried it on right away and it fit perfect! SHE LOVES IT! She didn't want to take it off!

Mom, you did a fantastic job. I know this dress will be used again and again in our home.

Well, after we had dinner, Caroline and the missionaries decided to use the packing peanuts that came in the package to have a snow fight in the kitchen.

Elders Taylor, Thomsen, Stuart, and Stone (and Caroline as Snow White)

Maybe it's because the Memphis area is mega-religious with huge churches on every corner or something, but ever since we moved here I've had an overwhelming feeling that I need to be more missionary minded. Religion is everywhere here. People are not afraid to tell others how they feel about church. I was able to go out with the Sister missionaries in our first ward here several times and I loved it! Now that we're in our own home we've had the Elders in our area over as much as we can. I was thinking that maybe it's because my brother served in this area on his mission 10 years or so ago. So, I feel a certain kinship to the missionaries that serve here. In a round about way it's as if I'm feeding my older brother when he was in their shoes! (is that strange?!) Anyway, it's always great to have the missionaries in our home. They remind us of what's important.

So, the next time the missionary meal sign-up gets passed around in your Relief Society, DO IT!

I promise they don't care how big your home is, or if your dishes don't match, or if all you can fix is pancakes made from a box!

Rainboots and Green Lasagna

It's been a little rainy this week. So rather than stay inside, we got Caroline some rainboots and she loves them! We were running errands and every parking lot we were in had some puddles for her to jump in. It made the chore a little more fun for her! (and it made me want some new rainboots too!)








Ok, so yesterday I decided to try a new recipe. I must say first, that I am not a bad cook. I am not a great cook either, but I've never really messed up a recipe to the point where we're saying, "ummm... how 'bout Domino's?"

But yesterday will be a dinner to remember. I found a tasty looking recipe for "Chicken Spinach Lasagna". It calls for frozen spinach, which I didn't have. I did, however, have some fresh spinach leaves so I figured I'd just throw them in the blender and it would be the same!


It wasn't.


It turned green. Really green.




Scary huh? I was afraid to put this on my dinner table.

BUT, it was well received and actually pretty tasty!

And it made for great dinner conversation!

"So, what should we call this new family favorite?"

"How about Green Goblin Surprise?"

"I know, Leprachaun Lasagna!"

"Or, Frog Enchiladas!"

"Greasey, Grimey Gopher Guts?"

Any ideas?

Fire Station

Last week our group went to a local fire station! We got to look around the fire house and the kids got to climb in a real fire truck!


"Sparky" came out to say hello, and the poor dog didn't exactly get a warm welcome! Most of the kids were afraid of him. Usually Caroline is a little more brave and outgoing, but even she didn't want anything to do with it!



They gave the kids cute little fire man hats to take home. That was a hit!



Caroline and I tried on some firemen jackets.They were so heavy, I don't know how these firemen do it!







On another note:

Caroline and I went to the grocery store today to pick up something. Caroline asked if we could get some apples (Who can say no to that, right? It's usually donuts or icecream!)

When I got to the checkout, I realized I was paying $3.29 for three stinkin' apples! Since when are apples over $2 a pound?!!

It makes me sick that I can buy a dozen Little Debbie brownies for the price of ONE apple!

If America was really so worried about our country's obesity problem, you would think that, considering our nation's other crisis: economy, someone could do something about making the most nutritious foods the most economic choice! ARGGH!

Ok, I'm off my soapbox. I think I'll go console myself with some chocolate I got on sale.

Quirky Sue

I've been TAGGED!

Here's the plan: Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you have and tag 6 people to do the same.


1. I always have 4 envelopes in my purse. They are marked "Walgreens" "CVS" "Walmart" and "Target" In the envelopes I have the coupons that I plan to use at that specific store that week (based on the sales advertised in their ads). I also have my list for the store and any register reward type coupons for that store. This helps me not look quite so frazzled at the checkout. *Susan digging through purse thinking: "I know I had a coupon for that somewhere! Oh wait. Maybe that was for the other store"

2. I hate the dentist. I know that's not really quirky - everyone hates going to the dentist, but I kinda fear it. My heart beats like crazy, my hands sweat, sometimes they shake a little (usually only if it's my first time in that office) Two dentists have offered me some Valium. Seriously.

3. I never drink the leftover milk in my cereal bowl. So I usually just put enough on to get it wet.

4. I would rather have only half of my microwave popcorn bag popped than risk even the slightest bit of one little kernal having a miniscule resemblance of being burnt.

5. I feel wierd putting on lipstick if I haven't recently brushed my teeth (like in the last hour). So I usually brush again.

6. I don't like wearing things on my wrists. I wore a watch at one point in my life and I didn't mind. It was a Christmas present from my brother, David, and for some reason it didn't bug me. It broke, and I've tried two watches since then but I always end up taking it off. I still can't throw that watch away because I keep saying I'll get it fixed.

Now, Jami, Candace, Heather Lant, Savannah, Alicia, and Christine: You're It!

Emily's "Volley Game"

Caroline and Uncle Jeff waiting for the game to begin



Tonight we went to our niece, Emily's, volleyball game in Germantown. Caroline was so excited and talked all evening about "Going to Emiwee's volley game!"



Emily in Action!



"GO EMIWEE!!!"







We were living with Jeff and Joleen when Emily tried out for the team and she is one of only two 6th graders to make the team (the rest are 7th and 8th graders!)




Caroline got into the festivities and even helped Cousin Jessica fetch balls during the team's warm-ups.



Dave calls this her "Party Face"




Maybe someday Caroline will make the volleyball team like her cousin! I think she'll definately have the height for it!