Those darn camp kids!

It’s been a wild summer. Our first foray into “camp” territory. I was initially very nervous, but we all got through it. Zoë loved it, and all in all, I’m sure it was a good experience for her. But, some of the things she learned at camp have come close to pushing me over the edge! I’m not talking about camp activities, I’m talking about social interaction, hanging with other kids, etc.

You see, Kindergarten was great! All the kids in her class were around the same age. Since the kids were all on the same level, they liked the same things, talked about the same things and had similar interests. Then, the school year came to an end and we had to find a place for Zoë during the summer. That was an ordeal in itself. Where do I send her, how do I find a place? Luckily, my BFF is anal like I am and had previously done lots of research. We ended up sending Zoë to the place her kiddos go, King Tiger Tae Kwon Do summer camp. As I reflect, I really like the fact that she attended a Tae Kwon Do camp. They really worked on building character, were huge into good manners and respect, and physical activity. She was worn out each day, which made bed times almost dreamlike for us. (Bedtime hell will have to be another post.)

On the flip side, unlike Kindergarten, during the day kids of many ages interacted. This made for some very interesting home conversations. Here are a few of my favorites:

I’m fat:      I just about fell over when Zoë made this announcement. We don’t discuss body image at home, she’s just 6! I asked her what on earth would make her say that. She said the kids at camp told her she looked fat in her swimsuit. Really? I told her she wasn’t fat at all and not to listen to those kids. She has no reason to worry about her weight.

Will you buy me a bra?:      Until yesterday, I thought nothing could top this one. She asked me, very seriously, “Mom, will you buy me a bra?” WHAT? I asked? You don’t need a bra, you have nothing to put in a bra. “Well”, she said, “the girls at camp wear bras.” I told her I found it hard to believe that a bunch of 6, 7 and 8 year old girls were wearing bras. Well, apparently I was wrong. One of the fun camp facts I didn’t think of was that the girls all change into their Tae Kwon Do uniforms together. I was informed by my BFF’s daughter that the girls did indeed wear bras at camp. Now my 6 year old is bra obsessed. My Aunt has fed into this nonsense and sent her some bras as a birthday gift.

Don’t look at my boobs:     Again, WHAT? Yep, this from the kid who would like nothing better than to walk around all day, anywhere, without a shirt.

I hurt my nuts:      Ding, ding, we have a winner. At our house, we have never used the term “nuts” to describe “boy parts”. Hell, my husband is still mad at me for telling Zoë she had 2 butts, a front butt and a back butt! Mostly we just call them girl parts and boy parts. Well, at our weekly Chick Fil A dinner, she bumped into a chair and announced loudly “I hurt my nuts”. As I choked on my spicy chicken sandwich, I said WHAT? In an even louder voice she said “My nuts, I hurt my nuts!” (My friend said “would that be pecans or walnuts”? LOL!) After a stunned silence I asked Zoë what she meant and she pointed to her girl parts. I said “honey, girls don’t have nuts”. I’m still cracking up over that one!

Getting my baby fix!!!

I feel like I’m in the minority, but when I see and hold a baby, I do NOT get that twinge to have another kid. I think I’m missing whatever gene that is. (Sometimes I think I might be missing the maternal instinct gene too. LOL!) Don’t get me wrong, I love babies. Love their sweet baby smell, those cute baby noises, the wide eyed stares and the gassy smiles. (The wobbly neck thing, not so much) I sometimes wonder if something is wrong with me. Hell, Zoë is 6 and there are still songs that instantly make me feel nauseous when I hear them! Why? Because I was pregnant when I heard them before, and they are somehow attached to memories of that hell misery. How does that still happen 6 years later? I heard one song in the car this morning and had to turn the radio station. (That’s a whole other blog post for another day!) All of my friends get the baby twinge. I think many of them are nuts. I’d like to think I’m just more aware of myself. I know that I couldn’t handle more than one kid. I can barely handle Zoë and the new puppy. To the many many people out there who try to make me feel guilty for having an only child, I have a sibling. The sibling thing is way overrated.

Now that I am an Aunt for the first time (yes I think Aunt deserves a capital “A”), I get a different twinge. I love being an Aunt! It’s the perfect scenario for me. I love love love holding Pippa! It makes me happy and it relaxes me. I could hold her all day long. Maybe that’s my “baby twinge”. I don’t want to have another kid, but I can still get the benefits of hugging on a baby as an Auntie. I can snuggle with her, rock her, sing to her, buy her fabulous clothes and shoes, and spoil her and Zoë rotten! I think I’m going to like this Aunt thing. Maybe Melanie & James will pop out some more kids for me to love. LOL! A whole brood of babies that I can hug, spoil and hand back over to the parents until the next visit. Added bonus, I don’t have to change diapers, although I would. I don’t really mind that.

My Sweet Pea is 6!!

Well, Zoë is officially 6 now. Because she was born during the week of the annual Tarrant Family Beach trip, her birthday will always seem to be a week long. This year was no exception. In fact, she got to stay at the beach the entire week. Usually we just stay for 3 or 4 nights. In her eyes, this was probably the best birthday ever. That is until Daddy got a speeding ticket on the way home. She said to him “why on my birthday” and proceeded not to speak to him the rest of the trip because she was mad. LOL! Yeah, who’s a birthday princess?

This year’s party was at Bounce U. We’ve been to a couple of parties there in the past. It turned out really well. Zoë was afraid that since her birthday is during the summer, her friends wouldn’t be able to come. Her kindergarten teacher (bless you Mrs. Boes) collected email addresses and phone numbers for kids in her class and quite a few of her friends were able to attend. I loved the fact that I could just bring the cake and goody bags and Bounce U did the rest. Our party hosts were two adorable young guys that the kids all thought were great. I nicknamed them the “party twins”. I was a little unsure about the party twins at first. They seemed more interested in catching each other up on their social life than doing actual work. But, I was pleasantly surprised. These two took over the party like champs. They joked with the kids, passed out snacks, drinks, cake, helped with presents and handed out goody bags. They even wrote down gift items and names for thank you notes. I thought, pinch me, this is a dream! Then, while searching for the gift list later on, I found it crumpled in the bottom of one of the gift bags and was yanked down to reality. LOL! Hey, at least they kept the list!

We rounded out the day with dinner at one of Zoë’s favorite restaurants, Red Robin. We love the Red Robin birthday club. She has gotten her free birthday meal there for the past few years. Alison, Alex, Joshie & Lizzie all joined us. Zoë & Lizzie discussed bras on the ride over. Yep, you read that right. My Aunt Brenda, who was already Zoë’s favorite Aunt, has pretty much got the “favorite Aunt” title for life. She gave Zoë 3 sets of matching bras and underwear. When Zoë asked me to get her a bra a while ago, I laughed at her. When she told me she had friends at summer camp with bras, I laughed even harder. Now, thanks to the world’s greatest Aunt, she has been wearing a teeny tiny bra every day. I can’t even think about it without rolling my eyes. To top off this ridiculousness, this miniscule bra has the nerve to have a hook in the back and straps that can be tightened. (There go my eyes rolling again.) Zoë has put a bra on under her clothes, each day, by herself. Yesterday, it was on upside down. It’s usually hanging up around her neck like some sort of bra necklace. She also informed me that 3 bras just weren’t enough, she needed more. I told her to take that up with her favorite Aunt.

Oh, and apparently, Zoe was telling the truth about her friends at summer camp wearing bras. Lizzie told her mom (Ali) the same thing and named names. Who knew! I say enjoy not wearing a bra as long as you can get away with it.

I’d like to be a slacker for a day or two

I am on the bubble of madness & insanity. If one more thing breaks or stops working in my house I’m checking myself in to the loony bin. (Actually, the loony bin should have vacation packages, like the spa!) I would like to have at least one evening to myself, where I can watch TV, read a book, or hell, sit in a locked closet. But, no, instead, I get to cater to the needs of everyone else in my house, including the dog.

I hear people say all the time, “when it rains, it pours”. Boy, that is so true. Most of the time, I can hold it together pretty well, but it’s just getting to be too much. After the car repairs, A/C replacement & installation, refrigerator repair, and now our wireless router issues, my head is set to explode at any moment. I have so much to remember, so many things in my brain, that when I try to make a list, I end up with multiple lists! I feel like I do everything for everyone. (At home, & at work.) Most of this is my fault because I tend to take things over. But, I’ve found if I want something done, & done correctly, I have to do it myself. I also know that I’m not unique in any way & that millions of moms & wives out there feel the same way on a daily basis. I just need to figure out how to carve a little time out for myself, to do stuff I’d like to do. Is that selfish? I have been able to get 30 minutes in the morning for the treadmill. It’s a giant pain, because I have to get up super early to do so, while the rest of my family sleeps in as late as possible. So each morning, Prudence the pup wakes me up around 5:20, I stumble out of bed and take her outside. We come back in, she eats and we go back outside to avoid morning accidents. Then, I try for treadmill time. That was pretty much impossible with a dog running around and a husband & child sleeping. So, I broke down and got a puppy playpen. That has helped some; at least I can get 30 minutes in now. I’ve suggested some things to the family that would help. Those suggestions seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Even when I fell down the back steps, with the dog, because the backyard light has been broken for a year, nothing. Still no light. Yet, no one else seems willing to get up at 5:20 AM. What, do I need to break a leg? I even suggested making a brick pathway in the back yard. I saw a few extra walking stones out there yesterday, so maybe I’ll have a pathway by December.

I don’t think I’m asking for a whole lot, just a little time to watch a favorite TV show or read my Kindle. I try to go to bed on the early side because I have to get up so freaking early. As much as I say Zoë needs to go to bed at her usual bed time or earlier, Dan seems to think he’s doing her a favor by letting her stay up. That just ends up making the evening more stressful for everyone. The kid needs her sleep. So, my evenings are spent cooking dinner, cleaning up after dinner, and trying to straighten the hell hole that is my house lately. I apparently am the only one who notices the overflowing garbage can, the crumbs on the counter and dinner table, etc. And forget about sweeping! No one in my house seems to know how to handle a broom but me! By the time I’m done, I’m tired and just want to go to bed.

I’m tired to being the responsible one. I’d like someone to do things for me, try to anticipate my every need, surprise me by taking care of something without me begging and pleading. I’m just tired. I’m not special. I’m not superwoman. I’m definitely not the only one who can do these things around the house. It’s not rocket science. I need some time off. I want to be a slacker for a while.

Almost 40

I turn 40 this year and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I thought turning 30 was a huge pain in the ass, but I think 40 is way worse. Should I embrace it or be depressed? Part of me is trying to look at it positively, maybe shoot for a 40 and fabulous theme. The other part of me would like to sleep through the day and act like it never happened.


I remember when I thought 40 was so old. Well, actually, I still think it’s kind of old and that’s my problem. Doesn’t help that Dan is 3 ½ years younger than me either. So, I will always be OLD! It also doesn’t help that I remember my parents being 40. Let’s face it, it’s old. No matter how people try to justify it, 40 really is not the new 25 or 30 or whatever. We are all just fooling ourselves. Anyone claiming to be happy about it is lying.

So, if I do decide to embrace it, what should I do? I know people that plan trips, make big purchases, etc. I can’t think of anything. My neighbor and her husband are traveling to Europe to celebrate both of them turning 40 this year. Her husband turned 40 a couple of months ago and bought himself the motorcycle he always wanted. That’s pretty cool I guess. I can’t think of anything I really want all that much. I’m basically pretty low maintenance. I could do a spa day, but who wants to do that by themselves? I supposed people do though, so I guess I’ll put it on the list. I’m not the most exciting person in the world, so there will be no jumping out of airplanes or hang gliding for me. Is there somewhere I’ve wanted to go? Not really. Plus who wants to do that alone? I could get a massive makeover, or go to sona med spa for laser hair removal. I’ll add those to the list too. What kinds of things do I like? Well, I like purses & shoes. LOL! But that’s stuff I could get anytime, so what’s special about that? I guess I could pick a new favorite Vera Bradley pattern and then purchase a purse, wallet, luggage, laptop bag, etc. Maybe I could get myself an iPad. There’s an idea. (But if it’s anything like the iPod Touch I got for Mother’s Day, I will have to fight Zoë for it.) OK, I’ll put that on the list too. A nice digital camera? A video camera? Neither of those would really be for me though. LOL! I try my best to avoid all photos.

It’s sounding like sleeping the day away just might be the way to go. Less to think about. I could use a PTO day and hide out in the bedroom, in the dark. I could turn off my phone; unplug the computer and the TV. (That would never happen.) I would emerge only to eat and use the bathroom. For breakfast I’d have frozen vanilla milkshake pop tarts and coffee, ice cream for lunch & cake for dinner. My favorite cake too, the trashy, sweet white cake from Harris Teeter, with lots of white icing and a ton of flowers. (I want the corner pieces and all of the flowers. Hey, it’s my birthday!) I would wash that down with some Mike’s Hard Lemonade or Smirnoff Blueberry Lemonade. Then, go back to bed. Hmmm, that’s not sounding like a bad day. Hey, I could even spring for some fancy pajamas or something. Ooooo, how about this, I could get one of those frozen margarita machines and some tequila and plug that puppy in, right in the bedroom. I would just need a cooler with ice, some margarita mix and a long straw. (I’d just drink straight from the blender.) At that point though, I should probably definitely turn off the phone and computer, so I don’t hurt any feelings since my “filter” would have shut down. And Lord knows what kind of stuff would get emailed, texted or tweeted. Although that could make for a fun 40th present to myself. One thing I do know for sure is that if anyone says “Lordy Lordy look who’s 40” I’m going to punch them right in the throat, no questions asked, equal opportunity.

Stress Club: Now accepting New Members

Anyone who knows me knows that I can take stressing out to a whole new level. As one of my talents, I’m pretty darn good at it. In fact, I’m such a good stress monger, I’ll even take on your stress. Bring it on!


My latest obsession, I mean stressor, is over bringing home Pru, our new boxer puppy, who just so happens to be all white. If you take a quick look into the history of the white boxer, you will see there is thought to be a link between white boxers and deafness. It has to do with the absence of pigment cells in the inner ear. The shortage or absence of these cells also is the cause of the white coat. Basically all white dogs (that are white due to the shortage of pigment cells) are at risk of being deaf, not just boxers.

But, here’s how the mind of a stress monger works. I have now fully convinced myself that this could be a huge issue and have worked myself up into a tizzy. What if Pru is deaf? In reality, what’s the big deal anyway? The percentages aren’t that bad really, but I never liked playing the odds and I ALWAYS assume the worst. Why am I even worried? She’s adorable and could be taught hand signals. Amos, our previous boxer, lost his hearing with old age and the hand signals were an awesome way to still communicate and connect with him. So, why am I worked up over this? It’s what I do and I’m damn good at it.

However, I think my stress over the white boxer runs a little deeper, in part, due to the fact that there are still breeders who put them down. How horrible is that? It wasn’t too long ago that white boxers were not even recognized by the AKC. They are now, but they cannot compete as “show” dogs. They can compete in agility competitions, etc. That bothers me too. Why shouldn’t they be able to compete as show dogs? It’s not like they are breed to be all white. Basically 1 in 4 boxers born are white. It’s straight up genetics. A roll of the dice, if you will. If the boxer carries the “white spotting gene”, a litter could have a white pup. I believe that flashy boxers all carry the white spotting gene, since to be considered “flashy” there has to be white covering at least 1/3 of the body. I could be wrong, but I believe flashy boxers are recognized and can be registered with the AKC.

The breeders that are still involved in the practice of euthanizing white boxer puppies, believe they wouldn’t be able to find a happy home for the puppies. It tears me to the core to think about the number of puppies that didn’t make it due to ignorance. Thankfully, there are breeders who display a “white boxer friendly” graphic, to let people know they are not involved in a stupid practice. (Yes Zoë, Mommy used the word “stupid”, sorry!)

So, for many many reasons, I am stressed over little Pru’s arrival at our home. We hope she isn’t unilaterally or bilaterally deaf, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter. We are extremely excited and can’t wait to bring her home.

     Meet Pru!

Famous Amos

Just for kicks, we gave Amos the registered AKC name of "Famous Amos Mocha Coffee Nut".  We lost him last week, he would have been 13 in October, which is pretty old for a large dog.  He was an awesome dog, and he touched many people's lives.  He was actually Dan's dog and we had a tough time in the beginning.  Amos wasn't all that fond of my coming around.  We went to obedience classes together and became fast friends.  He was so funny and friendly.  There's a reason boxers are called the "clowns of the dog world".  Never a dull moment.  He loved his toys and loved to do the "run of terror" around the house.  He really really loved kids.  He would spot a child and his whole body would start to wiggle with excitement.  He loved to play and he was always full of life and energy. 

The obedience training led to us training him to be a therapy dog.  He was a perfect fit for it.  With lots of practice, we passed the Canine Good Citizen test and also the Therapy Dog International test.  We visited lots of people & places in the past eight years, once or twice a week.  He was well loved.  Before he retired from his therapy work, we visited two facilities on a regular basis.  An Alzheimer's facility and an assisted living facility.  We met one of our favorite people at the assisted living facility, Mrs. Mosley.  She and Amos became great friends and when she moved in with her son, we went to visit her at her house.  Amos became such a huge part of her life that he and I both went to her memorial service when she passed away.  (He was kind of a shock to many of the guests!)  I picture Amos and Mrs. Mosley, together again, in Heaven.  I know they are taking good care of each other. 

When I was pregnant with Zoe, Amos and I developed a very strong bond.  Not sure why, but that bond stayed in place until the end.  He seemed to know when I was happy or sad, and when I just needed him to hang with me.  Since I go to bed before Dan almost always, every night (up until about a week before he died), Amos curled up beside me on the bed until Dan came to bed.  Then he would sleep on his dog bed in our bedroom.  Night times have been hard for me, I miss my furry baby so much.  RIP

Here are some of my favorite pictures of my buddy!

Super Dog for Halloween!

Relaxing with Ethan.

 Hanging out at the lake!

Loving (or hating) his Christmas sweater!

Yet another Christmas sweater!  Poor dog!