Pet Tip

When Jake was having that flea problem I researched a lot on flea treatments and home remedies. Here are a few tips to help keep fleas away...

• They don't like the taste of garlic. So Jake has been taking garlic pills that you can buy in the vitamin aisle.

• Also, they do not like Lemon. You can get essential lemon oil at Whole Foods grocery store and put drops in a spray bottle mixed with water. Spray on your dogs coat.

I can do this as Jake is an outside dog. He may smell a little funky with lemon and garlic but I will do whatever it takes to keep those buggers away.

Back From Vacation!

We had a wonderful time on our vacation and I can't wait to update you all on that exciting adventure! Hopefully I will get the time later today to update my blog!

Grandparents day

Cooper asked Betty Sue to come be his NC grandparent for the morning....She lives out by us and always stops by to visit the boys.

Marbles and Cooper going to Planetarium

lil fireman J

another hockey player...

Tough Guy!

Going on first grade field trip to Morehead Planetarium! He was mad because mom wasn't going to go with that day!

Grandparents Day!

Friday was Grandparents Day at our school. It makes me sad that Cooper can't have his grandparents there. There are a lot of children that had that same circumstance. So instead, he chose a neighbor lady who likes to come over and visit with us. She was the first person to come and welcome us to the area. She likes to bop in every now and then to see how we are doing. Her name is Betty Sue. She reminds me a lot of my own Grandmother. She is a sweet lady and a little funny and quirky too. She also knows all the local gossip and stories! If you want to know something all you have to do is ask her. She also helped out with Cooper and Braedyn when I had Dr.s appt when I was pregnant with Jordan.
Cooper asked since his grandma and grandpa can't come can he bring Betty Sue. She of course said, "I would love to be his North Carolina Grandma"!  She was tickled!
I met her this morning in the parking lot at school. Cooper came over and gave her a high five. It was very cute. He had made her special place mat with a picture, story and hand prints and a little something else, which he had to make three sets:)! So he will send some to his real grandparents! They had little breakfast set up and he went with her to get food and they chatted at the table about school and hockey. Then the kids made a grandparent's survival kit with a lil poem attached. The kids got up and read the parts. I started to get teary eyed of course thinking about mom and dad! I know mom would have been in full tears with black mascara running down her cheeks! Right, Mom?
It was nice that she came to help Cooper celebrate the special day and also nice of Cooper to ask her as all her grand kids are grown up!

Then we had to take off to catch Braedyn's Terrific Kid award that morning. Pics to come!

First Day of Preschool!

Today (Thurs) was Jordan's first day of preschool in the three year old class. He will be going Tuesday, Thursdays half days. He has a couple of friends in his class so he likes that. I got to be parent of the day today and I am so thankful I was able to be there to help out. Some of the kids had not had a preschool drop off experience, so it was a little loud for the first hour...and it was so cute as another little girl stood in a corner with her hands over her ears and wouldn't engage in play. I went over to talk to her and get her to play with me and she just said, "I want them to stop crying, it's too loud in here."  Everyone eventually calmed down and had so much fun. 
Then Amy and I went for our run and I came back to pick up Jordan and his little friend Carmella who we carpool with. She is just too cute. It was fun to have a little princess in the house. I will have her in the afternoons as her mom brings me my boys after school and we swap kids! Carpool, Love it! I also bring her brother in the mornings.. It is also nice for them to play like a couple of three year olds should play and use their little imaginations and not have big brother's influences or being told what to play! Those two were cracking me up yesterday.
They were playing with my old barbies and of course Jordan wanted to be the Ken doll. We dressed them up and Carmella had said they were going to the ball and can't be late. Jordan said "OK". Then he said "I am dead"...(playing to much superheroes with brothers) and he told her "you have to save me". So it was cute she came over said, "there I gave you a magical kiss and you can wake up"....It will be nice to have a little girl around a couple days a week! She is just too cute!
I will get some pictures up a little later...

Enough Already!

After de~fleaing the dog and the garage and cleaning the house just in case one got in... I get to school to drop off Braedyn and talk to the teacher to find the nurse in the classroom. I had went to tell her I might need to come get Braedyn because he wasn't feeling well but can't til after noon because I was parent of the day at Jordan's first day of preschool. When I walked in she said you are lucky to have your boys hair so short, isn't it wonderful. I was oblivious to the fact the nurse was in their room checking for head lice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A girl came to school with lice in their classroom and their teacher had it, one girl had nits, and one girl had lice! Lovely!
Really, how wonderful! Another reason to keep my boys hair short as possible!!!! No lice here!
I find it ironic that when I was telling my mother in law yesterday about my day I had told it could be worse it could have been lice....Ha Ha real funny!!!

Vet Outcome

I just got done vacuuming the whole house once again and still working on bedding. I have not seen them in the house but I just want to make sure nothing is in the house. It grosses me out and makes me itch.  Jake was loaded with Fleas. The vet showed me what they look like as some where on him and he had that flea poop when she combed him out with the flea comb. Now I know what they look like. He is an outside dog, so they said I shouldn't be concerned about the house but I felt like I needed to wash everything again. We will have to bomb the garage tonight since that is his home and where he primarily hangs out. Thank goodness he is an outside dog or I would have no hair left on my head from being very upset and frustrated! I have sprayed and treated stuff for now until Charlie gets home. They ended up giving him two tablets of Comfortis which is an oral flea treatment to get him through this month and take care of the problem. Then we are supposed to switch to Vectra 3D brand after this month. He has been on Frontline Plus but the vet had said some fleas have become resistant to it and apparently that is what happened to poor Jake!  Wonderful...
I hope after all this it takes care of it!
Now I just need to get vacuuming in on my weekly schedule on the to do list. The vet said since he is an outside dog some could come in just by transfer from where ever so I should do that anyways.

Oh the things I am learning...parenting a dog -it is like parenting a child -you learn as you go!

Itch, Itch, ICK!

So one of my worries of getting a pet, was also the chance of getting fleas in the house. The dog does not come in the house so the chance was slim and he gets treatment but it looks as if we may have the problem. I am running Jake to the vet this morning. Charlie found one last night on him as he was getting into bed. He couldn't tell if Jake had any but he sure has been itching himself alot. So of course I did not sleep ALL night. The thought made me itchy! So I couldn't sleep I was grossed out and itchy.
The other thought was Cooper went to a friend's house last Thursday for a playdate much to my concern because I did not know these people at all. It was at their grandma's house. When I went to pick him up, they were playing outside in the backyard. We were getting eating alive by bugs their dog came out and the boys were playing with this little shiz tu and the grandma said they treat him for fleas every other week. Instantly, I thought oh great! Again, it made me itch all the way home. When we got in the car Braedyn quickly asked, "did she say that dog had fleas?" So either they came in from our dog if he indeed has them or from his friend's house!  After leaving, I thought it sounds like these people don't even treat their poor dog with prevention stuff.
We will see what the vet says this morning. We have done checks on Jake and combed him but it doesn't look like he has them so taking him will narrow it down. Plus he is on Frontline Plus every month! I will also know if Cooper will ever be allowed to go to that friend's house ever again!
Looks like all the cleaning I did on Saturday and Sunday will have to be repeated today and wash all the bedding! Then may have to run to pet store and get those flea in house treatments. That will suck! Just what I wanted to do today as it was supposed to be a relaxing play day with Jordan before he starts his first official day of preschool.
Also I have pick up this afternoon at school and hockey tonight. So this morning was going to be lazy. Not now. It's always something isn't it!
Poor Jake he hates going to the vet clinic!

Training Really Begins!

I am officially signed up for the Ramblin Rose 1/2 Marathon October 21st in Durham! I am running with Amy again. I had waited to see what the Dr. would say and how I would feel after getting back to running. I had a little hiccup with my foot but have been running again and I feel great and it is all healed up! So have a little over a month to finish up training. Then I think I will be taking the winter easy, well that's what I say anyways! We are back to training! I am looking forward to some fall weather!

Jordan visited preschool today

Jordan officially starts preschool on Thursday in the 3 year old classroom. He is very excited to get back to school. He got to meet his teacher today and get comfortable in his new room. To him, it's not really new since he also has been going to that room during church services. But to him it was new teachers. He seemed to do just fine. Being the 3rd child, fortunately, he sure is my easiest going and well adjusted one. He can just about adapt to anything you put him into. He will be going Tues, and Thurs from 8:45 to 12:45 then in October they will start going another hour later to add in lunch. He's so anxious to get back to school like his big brothers.
So look for some snapshots of first day of preschool at UUMP!

Terrific Kid!

Braedyn has been chosen as August's Terrific Kid!. It's to honor the children who are doing wonderful in school and are good citizens amongst the school, and friends to their peers.  I am proud of him and he will get his award on Friday.

New Technology

New technology kind of scares me. Before Charlie left for Japan, he had ordered me a Kindle Fire and it arrived and he set it all up for me. I am a little bit tech challenged since leaving the working class folk! It scares me a little bit and worried I am going to screw something up. I am still not cool and have a neat little IPhone or Droid etc that does cool stuff...Actually mine doesn't even ring anymore. The speaker wore out! I took it to the TMobile store and the lady kind of laughed and said "um we don't sell that phone anymore and I am surprised its lasted you this long!" Great! My plan is up mid-Sept so time for a cool new phone. So if you happen to call me and I never answer, I am not ignoring you, my phone doesn't ring!
I love the Kindle Fire and the kids love it too. They have been teaching me how to play the games on it. Apparently, we have been playing to much Angry Birds because we were watching college football Saturday night and flipped it to the Louisville Cardinals vs Kentucky and Jordan said, "the Angry Birds team was winning"! LOL!!
So I have also been doing a lot of reading that is why I haven't blogged lately either....new gadgets are fun to play with!

Quotes

I like to keep great quotes in my little journal and these ones I think will come in handy one day for me with the boys!


When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place. – Unknown

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. – Flavia Weedn

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”
~Confucius

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
~Rocky Balboa~

“To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will.”
~Sugar Ray Robinson~

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
~Thomas Edison~

Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
~Vince Lombardi~

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
~Dale Carnegie~

A Weeks Worth of Catching Up!

Time got away from me this week when Charlie was traveling. By the time evening came, when I usually sit down at the computer, I was too exhausted to even think. Braedyn gets to keep dad's side of the bed warm when he is gone, so I soak up that time when I can and while he still wants to cuddle with mom. So we would talk and watch TV together later than I normally let him stay up but that one-on-one time is precious!
So a lot of things seem to happen when Charlie leaves town...
Mon~First was the Blue Sox tryouts that didn't turn out as Braedyn had hoped they would but in the end it all worked out and I was actually proud of myself for taking care of it and handling it when Charlie was gone. Mom was still able to find a team for him and it all worked out in the end and I did it all by myself and with some great luck! Like I said in that post about the tryouts, God had it all worked out before I even knew!
Tues~Then we had an awful smell on the third floor where their toy room is located and my workout area happens to be. I knew what the smell was and I was not happy. It was a dead mouse. I hate mice!! As a child sleeping at the farm at my Grandma and Grandpa's house, I never slept on the floor because I was always afraid one would crawl on me at night. I think I had seen one or something and my Grandma was just, "oh, that it's just a little mouse". Not to me it wasn't! I had nightmares about mice. Then the reason the smell is so familiar and grosses me out, is because it seemed like we had a lot of dead mice get trapped in the furnaces at the old Byron High School! I figured I am just going to have to suck it up. On the way to school that next day, when we figured out what it was, I asked who was going to get the mouse and of course Braedyn said he would because he then reminded me he would get it because daddy said he was the man in charge when he was gone, so of course Cooper then quickly offered his help. That night after I got the younger two to sleep, Braedyn and I went up there with about three plastic bags and me with a clothespin on my nose. I asked Braedyn to show me where it was and he did and then laughed at me and said just give me the bag. As he leaned in closer, he says, "I think it's alive, its eyes are popped out". He very quickly picked it up and tossed it in the bag. I put it in the garage for Charlie to deal with when he got home. I was afraid I would snap myself and the thing creeped me out. It was gross!
Tues. ~Then Jordan had to also go to the Dr. again. Turns out the medicine they had him on wasn't enough to cure his sinus infection so he was put on a different antibiotic now and seems to be doing better.
Wed. ~Cooper also ended one session of hockey to start another the same night. So he had hockey for two hours last Wednesday night! There is a four week clinic that started now for four weeks before the season starts. I thought he was going to be so tired after the first hour session. I didn't know how he would do. The kid amazes me most of the time out there on the ice. He did great. The clinic is for mites to midgets so ages 6 to 16. He was the youngest and smallest out there but was skating in about the middle of the pack and that was after an hour already of practice. He had so much fun out there. The best was when he went whizzing by the tallest kid out there who stands about 6'5 on skates and the kids looked around like where did that kid come from! He loves hockey and works hard but has fun at the same time! His season begins in October and end in March. He will be playing with the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association (RYHA). That's where he is going to get the best experience. I can't wait and I am excited for him. So he will be a little Jr. hurricane! The evaluations will be when we get back from our vacation. He will be on an 8U team. (He is 6) They will be dividing up the 8U teams as to advanced, interm. and beginner. We'll see what team he ends up on! I hope to catch some video and put out on my YouTube channel this season and if I do I will let you know!
Thurs~ Jordan had a special mom and me day before he starts preschool. He has been such a trooper riding in the stroller and going for runs, running errands, and going to his brother's activities. I took him to Marbles Kids museum in Raleigh for the day. He had so much fun and it was great to just spend some time with him doing something fun that I used to take the time to do with just Braedyn when he was little and he was all I had. It was nice to go just go and pack a lunch. No diaper bags and no stroller! It was wonderful! The best part of that day was on the way home before he fell asleep, he said, "I had a lot of fun with you today mom". That made my heart melt! It meant so much to him to have a fun day with just mom.
Friday~ended with a nice morning run with my running sister and waiting for Charlie to get home.
He got home late. I was in bed.
That was my week as a single mom...I was wiped out. I have so much respect for those single moms out there I don't know how they do it plus throw in a full time job on top of being a full time mom. I think I would curl up in a ball in cry!.  Much respect goes out to them!!
We had a nice relaxing Labor Day weekend with Daddy back home!!