Absence

My absences explained:

OK, so finally after three weeks of IDON and trying to get back to my normal work schedule, the 24 hour flu bug hit our house. Now, if it would just hit everyone on the same day, it might be better (maybe), but no, it spread itself out amongst all 5 of us, over a week and a half span. Which, when your work policy is crazy about absences, it makes for a crazy week and a half. All I have to say is THANK GOD I have an amazing helpful husband or I might be out of a job. And, thank God his job loves him because being new at it, is not a time you want to call in. But, that calls for Jason and I working when we'd rather stay in bed for feeling crappy. Anyways, I feel for the two working parents when the 24 hour flu bug hits and you have more than one child and your jobs have strict policies. NOT FUN! And for those of you who don't have to deal with that, count your blessings. Then after we were all starting to feel better, then we catch the cold. (Probably b/c our immune systems were on the mend). So, 24 flu bug hit me on a Friday morning and by Tuesday I had a sore throat/cough/stuffy nose. UGHHHH. Then, the health dept showed up at work the same Tuesday. Finally they are gone and we did well. And, the next month and a half will be busy with holidays, a birthday celebration and shopping. Which, we are pretty much done, I am just finishing up some homemade things!! The health dept didn't manage to ruin my birthday, however! Jason and I went out to eat at The Taj Mahal, a new Indian restaurant. YUMMY!! And, then out to do our Christmas shopping for the girls........so good to have that done. Thanks to my parents for coming over and watching the girls while we hung out. Hopefully, I can stay on track the next few weeks. We are having Thanksgiving here with both my parents and Danny and Terri over. The girls are so excited!!!

Hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving if I am not on again until after!! And on that note, here's a picture to brighten your day! (Don't mind the small boy outfit she is wearing. She had 3 bouts of diarrhea that day at daycare and after going through all her outfits, this is what she got to wear)! LOVE HER:

Does she look ill??? Stinker!!!

Halloween Pix

I guess I better get some Halloween photos up before Thanksgiving! We went trick or treating with our new neighbor friends and all the girls were Disney princesses. First of all, that was the easiest thing I could put on them and second of all, it didn't cost me a dime! So, yeah, I wasn't creative this year, but whatevs, we had fun regardless and that's really all that matters!

We ran into Clifford

The five Disney princesses!

And, some more from the fun evening:

Have you ever seen such cute sugar cookies above. Pretty creepy, but pretty good!

Remy

It's taken me awhile to do this post and it's mostly because, we've had a hard time with this as well as I've been searching for my favorite photos of the best dog to have ever been in our lives. Remy went to sleep forever in September and it was way harder than I had ever imagined. Yes, she was hairy and shed bad, yes she had her annoying moments, but man she was a good dog. Kind hearted, loved kids,  protective, oldest puppy, friendly, lovable, gentle, best friend, always ready to have fun and be loved. She is already greatly missed. The day Jason took her to the vet was one of the hardest days for both of us. We had put it off because we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it, but enough is enough when you watch your dog suffer, not even able to stand any more to go to the bathroom or eat. Then developing pressure ulcers because she won't lay anywhere but on the hard garage floor. It was so hard to say goodbye. Jason and I just held each other. She was so sweet when I went to tell her goodbye. Two days before that she wasn't even hardly acknowledging us, but the day we took her in she gave lots of kisses and even wagged her tail. It was like she was thanking us and telling us goodbye. Poor Jason couldn't stay with her and we had the choice to bring her home and bury her, but instead we just opted for her paw print on a garden block. I'm almost at tears thinking about her, but she was a part of our lives for a long time. She was 14 years old. I'll never forget the day we brought her home and I told Jason, "she's so warm" only to find out that when he picked her up off my lap, she had peed on me!! One time it was so windy when we lived in KS and she couldn't smell us and we pretended to try to break into our apartment and she got mad. I told Jason that I couldn't believe such a scary growl could come from our lovable pup. Even up to a few years ago, she loved playing fetch. She was a good little hunter in her younger years and her and Jason spent many a morning duck and goose hunting together. Oh, and she didn't like it so much when Jason and I got married and I joined them to sleep in bed. One night, I awoke as I was crashing to the floor. Wondering what in the world happened I stood up to find that big lab sprawled out in MY spot with her legs facing me. HAHA! Ryleigh had a pretty hard time the day she "died" and both girls talk about Remy still and how they miss her. We are taking a break from dogs for a while, but I'm thinking we are most likely not done with dogs!! RIP Remy, we love you!

My favorite of Ryleigh with Remy!

My favorite of Landree with Remy!

My favorite of Reese with Remy!

More pictures of Remy and the family!