My new baby

This is the newest addition to our family! I think we are going to name her Georgia at Brad's request. She is the cutest darn thing. I think that picture looks like she is smiling:) Olivia LOVES her. As soon as she saw her she started screaming at the top of her lungs and grabbing her . It was very cute. BJ is also very interested in her, however the kitten hisses every time he comes near he so they aren't best buddies yet. She has already gone potty in her litter and eaten some food. Right now she is sound asleep on my chest. I think she is already starting to love her new home!

Flowers and fun

Memorial weekend Brad and I went to the Public Market and bought all of our perennials and annuals for our garden in front. I love going to the market on flower days. I always want to buy tons of flowers even though I have no place to put them. I always end up with leftover annuals. On Sunday and Monday we spent the days, weeding, planting , and mulching. I am not going to lie, Brad did about 90% of the work. I really just told him how I wanted it, or didn't want it, and hung out with Olivia on the grass. I did do the flower baskets and the window boxes, but that was pretty easy. So tonight Brad, BJ (the dog), Olivia, and I spent a little while outside admiring our work. I must say that all of the neighbors had endless comments about how beautiful the front of our house looks! So even though our bathroom is in shambles, our garden looks pretty good!

Sticky Lips

Tonight Brad's parents took us out for dinner to Sticky Lips BBQ. This was the first time we have ever been there. The food was amazingggggg. I got pulled pork and BBQ chicken with mac & cheese and BBQ beans. The portions were huge and the prices were pretty good. The inside is decorated with hundreds of old vintage ads, magazine, pictures etc. It is very interesting and fun to look at while you are waiting for your food. I can't believe we have been living in the same city with this wonderful restaurant for so long and have never visited it. We have been to Ruby Tuesdays or Applebees a million times and ate pre-packaged food and have been missing out on homemade BBQ!!!! This makes me wonder how many other good old home cooking restaurants we have been missing. If you know us, you know we do eat out quite often. We meet friends and family out to eat at least once a week and sometimes after I get home from work at 6:30, I do not feel like cooking. I think I may do some research and try to find different places to eat at instead of going to the same old places. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

My Bathroom

So this is currently my bathroom floor. Let me explain... our tub has been having major drainage issues. So Monday night Brad started snaking the drain for the billionth time so our tub didn't fill up with 6 inches of water while we were showering. While doing so he blew through the galvanized pipe because it was so rotted out. Therefore we had a hole in the drainage system of our tub and the water started leaking through the light fixture in the kitchen ceiling! That was really fun. So we had no choice but to replace the entire drainage system for the tub, which meant tearing out the floor to get to the pipes. Now we had already done this for our bathroom sink because those pipes too rotted out and had major drainage issues, so I guess we knew this was coming. So today, Brad and his friend Joe spent hours tearing up tile and concrete to expose the pipes and replacing them with wonderful new PVC pipes (cannot rot out!!!!). They also had to replace part of the copper water line because while Brad was chipping away at the concrete the water line was accidentally hit and water started shooting out and hitting the ceiling (very comical if it wasn't my bathroom). So now we have running water and can take a shower with no standing water...which I am soooooo excited about doing tomorrow, but our floor needs some help. The good thing is that we might as well just re-do the entire bathroom at this point, which is something we might not have done if this didn't happen. Oh and by the way we are not leaving the floor with gaping holes in it, it is being covered up with plywood for now until we can pull up the rest of the floor and get a new tub, etc. Hopefully we will be able to get this done soon!

Kojak

On Friday we had to put Kojak to sleep. I took him to work with me on Friday because I noticed he didn't seem like he was feeling well. He wasn't eating or drinking and was very sleepy. The doctor took x-rays and did a cardiac ultrasound and found out that he had fluid around his heart and was having a hard time breathing. She also was pretty sure that he had a tumor on his heart. She said that she could try to drain the fluid around the heart but the chances of him surviving that were slim and that the fluid would eventually be back and cause him more discomfort. I have to say that sending him to doggy heaven was probably the hardest thing I have had to do so far in my life. At the same time I am somewhat relieved because I know that he is not uncomfortable anymore and I am not sure how long he was really uncomfortable. We already miss him terribly especially BJ who has been looking for his big old buddy, but I know in my heart that I made the right decision. Kojak was definitely the best dog I have ever had.

DOGS, PUPPIES, AND KITTENS...OH MY!

I work at the Pittsford Animal hospital, which I LOVE. I can say that I truly enjoy going to work because I know I will see at least a couple puppies, and kittens and many full grown pets of all different breeds. In my opinion the best "free" therapy you can get is pet therapy. So anyways, our animal hospital is the place where most local towns animal control officers' bring the dogs that they find to be kenneled and taken care of until their owner claims them. I would say about 80% of the time their owner picks them up that day or the next day. After 5 days the animal is able to be put up for adoption. It is so sad the number of animals that come in and their owner never picks them up or tries to look for them. We don't know their name, history or anything. Last week an animal control officer brought in a chocolate lab puppy that was probably 6 weeks old (soooooo cute) that he thought was just dumped! She was the sweetest thing ever. Today she was adopted by a wonderful family which was so nice to see! If the animal is not adopted out of our hospital within about 10 days the animal control officer usually takes it to Lollipop Farm to try to get adopted there. After that we really don't know what happens to the animal, if they get a good home or not. It is so sad sometimes, because after they are there for so long we all get so attatched. I have to say that everyone who works there has at least one animal that they adopted from animal control! I however am maxed out with 2 dogs that are already a handful! But when the time comes and we are looking for another dog I will definately wait until the perfect dog is left out by their owner and brought to us and give it a good home. So I guess the whole point of my story is if you know anyone that is looking to adopt a dog, puppy, or even kitten let me know and I will be on the lookout. We very frequently get purebred dogs that need a home!

My new favorite baby discovery

This morning Olivia and I went to Wegmans to get baby food and other various grocery items and we picked up a new food for her to try. They are called Biter biscuits from Gerber Graduates. She loves them! They are like a really hard cookie, but it doesn't break. She just keeps sucking on it and chewing on them with her new teeth. It kept her busy for quite a long time this morning while I was getting dinner ready for tonight. She was very quiet and content...it was wonderful:) So then I look over and see that they may not be my new favorite thing! She was a total mess. The cookie was all over her clothes, face, toys, and excersaucer! Then of course I see her throw it on the floor and the little dog BJ took off with it! So I think from now on this snack may have to be eaten in the high chair only!!!

Teeth

So this morning I went out to breakfast with my Aunt Cathy and we discovered that Olivia has 2 bottom teeth popping through! They are so cute! They are also pretty sharp little things. Despite her new arrivals she was pretty happy this afternoon as you can see in the picture. We went to the lilac festival for a couple of hours and she had a blast. She loves being outside and this was her first time on the bare grass. To my surprise none of it landed in her mouth. It was such a beautiful day for the lilac fest, I even got a little sunburn on my arms! Olivia of course had lots of sun block on so she is still pasty white! If you haven't made it out to the festival you should definitely try. It was nice just to sit out in the sun and listen to the music :)

Itsy Bitsy Spider

So this is Spider Girl. Olivia was given this in a huge basket with many other things from two nice women at Brad's work. This by far has been her favorite thing. Even when she was three months old she loved this doll. She can be screaming and crying and if you pull out this doll and make it start singing Itsy Bitsy Spider she will completely stop and change her attitude. It is truly amazing and at times a lifesaver! This doll has made her LOVE the Itsy Bitsy Spider song in general. If we don't have the doll and she is crying Brad or I (preferably Brad because he has the better voice) will start belting out the Itsy Bitsy Spider and she will quiet right down and start sucking her pointer finger, which I must say is terribly cute. Try singing Twinkle Twinkle or Rock-a-bye Baby and she will just scream louder! She only wants the Itsy Bitsy Spider! So I am thinking I should start looking for another backup doll in case something happens to this doll! I have no idea where they bought it from, but I tell you it is the best!

I am in love with my DVR

I have to say that the DVR is one of the greatest technical inventions, next to the phone, light bulb, computer, television, cell phone, and car, of course! I just posted a bunch of TV shows that I am currently obsessed with, and it is all thanks to my DVR. When I worked 3pm till midnight (and we didn't have a DVR) I had forgotten what a TV show was. Now I record at least one show every night. The following night after I read Olivia her bedtime story and put her to bed, I get all cozy in my bed or on the couch and watch one of my fav TV shows. The DVR is great for us because we usually go to bed fairly early...10 pm at the latest and that is of course when most of my obsessions are on. I think my favorite thing about the DVR is that you can fast forward through every commercial and it cuts each show down by at least 15 minutes. Let me tell you that when you are a mom 15 minutes is crucial time that should not be wasted on commercials! I use my DVR so much that when I am actually watching live TV I try to fast forward through the commercials out of habit, and then I get mad when I have to wait till the show comes back on! So if you don't have a DVR you should try it out!

Wegmans

Ok so I just got home from Wegmans. I don't think I have ever gotten through the store without at least 3 people stopping me to tell me how beautiful or cute Olivia is. I am always very polite...but like I don't already know how cute my own daughter is!!!! Ok so anyways that really doesn't bother me. But what does bother me is strangers thinking that they can just come up and start touching my baby. So we were checking out and the cashier (of all people) starts touching her belly and face!!!!!!! She touches dirty money all day long and she thinks it's ok to touch my babies face! What is the matter with people? Thankfully, I kept my cool and washed her face with a baby wipe as soon as we got in the car. I would personally never just go up to a stranger and start touching their kids. I don't know maybe I am the weird one. I know she was just trying to be nice but really all I could think about was her dirty hands on Olivia's face.

How long does it take to become a "supermom"?

So I got the idea to create a blog from my cousin Amy Jo. I love reading her cute and funny stories and visit it frequently. She is always showing off her latest crafty ideas that she is doing around the house and I LOVE them! In my eyes Amy is a "supermom" She has 2 beautiful children, that are now both on the move, works part time, has a beautiful well kept house, and still manages to have time to do crafty things! Oh and by the way she is always looking fabulous! I always say to my Aunt, I don't know how she gets out of the house so early with 2 kids and still manages to look so good. So my question is how long does it take to get that good???? Olivia is now 8 months old, and I don't think I have done one crafty thing since she has been born. I have hundreds, maybe over a thousand pictures of Olivia that desperately need to be scrapbooked, but yet, in my free time I try to catch up on my tv shows or take a nap or just end up being lazy. Lately I have been taking naps with Olivia for at least 2 hours a day! Thats 2 whole hours that I could be spending scrapbooking her beautiful pictures, cleaning the house, etc. I must say though that napping with her is one of my most favorite things to do. It is the best feeling in the world to wake up and look over at her smiling at you! Ok so I am now going to motivate myself to get things that I always want to do done! In my infrequent spare time I will not watch tv or lay on the couch...we will see how long this lasts! :) Thank you Amy for motivating me to be a supermommy!