Archive for the ‘Stuff about my kids’ Category
Long Time, Busy Me!
August? Already!?!
Where has the time gone? More importantly, what has been consuming my time? Everything… or so it seems. Catalog design, babysitting, puppy training, preparing for the ABC Kids Expo, and some other exciting things that will be revealed in later blog posts. Needless to say, the world of Dapper Snappers has been a busy one!
The most important thing that I have been working on is the catalog for our fall line of kids belts. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to photograph some mighty cute little ones (and not so little ones), a super photogenic “mama to be” and one very persistent squirrel.
Trying to do a “fall” photo shoot in the middle of August, in Florida, where it’s 94° at 9:00am was interesting. Those kiddos were troopers, to say the least, in their jeans and long sleeve shirts. All I have to say is thank goodness I am good at photoshop! After retouching some sweaty foreheads and toning down the green grass, they turned out really good! I am also excited about a few new items we are adding (hint: something for the bigger kids).
On another note, I have discovered in the last month that it’s harder to train a 4 year old how to handle a puppy, than it is to actually train the puppy (thank you reruns of Dog Whisperer). I am happy to report that the puppy is much closer to being potty trained, but slightly unhappy to report that it has been at the cost of my own sanity (what little I had left). It has been very neat to put the Dog Whisperer’s tips into practice and to see them work. Sammy is quickly learning what her area is and we are gaining a little bit of freedom with knowing that she’s not going to run out in the shop and get under everyone’s feet. Now, if I could just teach Bug that Sammy is not a baby doll… I might be getting somewhere.
PS. I will be writing more often, I promise!
Of Love and Loss and Grieving…
When I was young, all of 3 weeks past my 13th birthday, my mother died. The family that took me in and later adopted me were ill-equipped to help me grieve my loss. I spent many hours up in my room feeling lost, depressed, and emotionally neglected. While I don’t blame my new “parents” for handling the situation poorly, I do think that huge mistakes were made. I don’t intend to let that be the case with my children. Of course I didn’t know I felt so strongly about it until late yesterday morning.
Meowzer helps me with some tweeting
Meowzer has been my friend since I got him at the pound 10 years ago. He and his brother (an actual littermate) were the perfect fit for our home. Weighing in at just 1 lb each they fit perfectly, one in each hand (pot belly, big paws, and all). Meowzer’s brother was the mouser. He would chase anything on the ground. Meowzer on the other hand was a birder (is that the correct term?). If it were up in the air, he would jump up and get it. Other than the personality differences, and the slight difference in how they carried themselves (Meowzer upright and his brother crouched), it was hard for people to tell them apart.
After Super Dude was born, the family dynamic changed a bit. The cats lost their special status as this new baby took over everything. Meowzer’s brother was always tolerant, but never cuddly with the baby. Meowzer, already having proven he liked the “rough stuff”, found a new playmate in Super Dude. He’d put up with tail grabbing and when Super Dude was old enough, full on tackling. Meowzer loved the attention.
Super Dude "resting" on Meowzer
When the Bug came along, Meowzer’s brother had had enough. He had escaped and fled under the deck for 3 days. He wasn’t the same after I coaxed him out. Something in him broke. Within a few weeks, he could no longer walk straight, showing signs of a stroke or some other neurological incapacitation. While it was sad to let him go, we knew there was no fixing him. Super Dude wasn’t old enough to understand. I was not as moved by it as I felt I should have been. The hormones after having a baby make it strange to deal with anything outside of this new little being taking over your world. I just didn’t have it in me to cry over him.
By the time Super Dude was 3, he started letting Meowzer outside. As much as we tried to prevent our indoor kitty from getting out, our toddler just kept opening the doors for him. Meowzer was a tremendously happy cat after we decided to let him be an indoor/outdoor cat. There wasn’t much to fear where we lived in Oregon anyway. We didn’t have snakes or poisonous critters about. Meowzer was big enough the other neighborhood cats would stay away. He brought us a couple birds to show his appreciation. And since it rains 9 months out of the year, he was indoors a lot. When we moved to Florida, things changed. We realized that we could no longer let him go outside because there are ticks that attack in droves. Every night he would come home with at least one attached to him. We couldn’t keep them away, so Meowzer became an indoor kitty again. He didn’t like that much.
Take me with you!!!
Bug was always rough with Meowzer. She would hit him, kick him, pull him around by the tail… And yet he would come back for more. In the past few months, she had been getting better, even making sure he had food every day all the while claiming that she was the “Kitty Mama”. That was fine with us; anything to get her to be compassionate. Meowzer would purr when Bug would come find him. He let her pick him up by his top half and drag him around the room “human” style. He let her put things on his head like blankets and ribbons and Barbie crowns. He was so good to her.
Meowzer sat patiently as he was "crowned" by Bug
About a month ago, I decided to let Meowzer be an indoor/outdoor kitty again. He was plain ‘ol miserable being stuck in the house all the time. He let us know by getting into the garbage nightly and by meowing at the door at all hours of the night. So I got all his shots up to date plus extras. I made sure he had the best flea and tick deterrent on. He was so happy to be able to go outside again. He would follow me to the garden and sniff all my plants, not knowing that I planted som catnip just for him that wouldn’t be ready until now. He would just go out to sit on the back patio and soak up some sun or wander through the bushes behind our house. Every once in a while, he would yell at other cats in the neighborhood that crossed into his territory. There were probably a couple fights but he never came home noticeably injured.
Bug, Meowzer, and Super Dude share a blanket.
One morning, a little less than 2 weeks ago, he started acting strangely. He was hiding under my bed, in the closet, anywhere he thought he could get away from everyone. When I pulled him out of the closet, he couldn’t walk on his left front leg. There was a lump and signs of an injury, so I took him to the vet. They determined Meowzer had a puncture wound, probably caused by another cat. With an antibiotic injection, subcutaneous fluids, and pain medication, Meowzer was sent back home to recover. The next day he looked much better. But by the following day, he wasn’t recovering as well as we had hoped. A second trip to the vet showed lost weight, dehydration, loss of apetite, and vomiting that earned him another look-see and more subcutaneous fluids. He was doing much better the next day. Still limping, but better. More vomiting. Nothing would stay down for more than 4 hours, even with anti-nausea meds.
After talking with a good friend of mine (also a veterinarian) in detail about Meowzer’s issues, I was given a lot of good advice, including to check for other lumps. I discovered a second lump just behind his elbow (or whatever they call that in cats). A third trip to the vet revealed more weight lost, and upon xray, another puncture wound. Meowzer received more subcutaneous fluids as well as a prescription for different antibiotics. I tried to force feed him, but it only resulted in more vomiting a few hours later. He wasn’t getting better, but I still held out hope. I told the kids Meowzer was sick, but I since I was sure he would recover, I didn’t make a big deal out of it.
Yesterday morning Meowzer wasn’t looking good at all. I force-fed him some food and his antibiotic. The vet’s office said that even though there was no doctor in house that could see him, we could get more subcutaneous fluids so he would feel better. Hubby was working, so I had both kids with me. It was just to get the cat more fluids after all. Meowzer’s temperature was low, he had lost more weight, and they couldn’t readily find a pulse. It just so happened that Meowzer’s regular doctor was there for some other appointment. She came in and listened intently to his chest. She had asked if he was breathing like this at before. I thought he was just breathing like that at home because he was trying to purr. She said that she was having trouble hearing his heart because it was muffled by probable fluid in/on his lungs. She believed it was possible he got bit by a snake.
To tell the truth, things started getting blurry. She told me his body was shutting down and that it was just a matter of time before he passed away. What?!?! This was it?!?! She left the room so I could have a few moments while I waited for Hubby to come. I told the kids what was happening and what was going to happen. Bug cried because I was crying. Super Dude was confused and in disbelief. I thought it was important to let them say goodbye to Meowzer before he went up to “Kitty Heaven”.
I let my MIL know what was going on. She said that it was important that I deal with the loss in a way that was good for the kids; to be a good example. That’s when it struck me. I needed to teach them how to grieve in a healthy way. Of all the things I wanted to teach my kids, this was not one of them. But I want to teach them now. Teaching them to deal with their emotions in a healthy way will keep them from turning to alcoholism and drugs. They will also be able to help their kids the right way. I’m all about breaking bad cycles and replacing them with good ones.
I ugly cried all the way home. I acknowledged my own hurt and anger and disappointment. I talked to the kids. I told them it was okay to cry, that their hearts would hurt for a while. I held my son while he and I cried together until he fell asleep on my chest. Later I took the lock off the cabinet under the sink that was used to keep Meowzer out of the garbage. I couldn’t bare to do much more than get rid of a few things out of the kitchen. There was so much more to do, but Hubby had to do it for me. It hurt too much.
It was all I could do to answer the myriad of questions lobbed at me by Super Dude and Bug. “Where is he now that he’s dead?” In Kitty Heaven. “Is there a Kitty God?” I think there is only one God. “Does God have pets?” He just might. Maybe Casper is his pet now. “When will we get a new pet?” Not any time soon. We still need to let our hearts feel better. In the meantime, it’s okay to cry and talk about him. I will hug you and hold you and help you through this. And I miss him too. I miss him so much. “Mama, I’m sorry he died.” Me too son. Me too…
Super Dude drew a picture of Meowzer shortly after we left the vet.
My heart aches because I lost my friend. My heart aches because my children’s hearts ache. But in this pain is an incredible opportunity to learn and to teach. As much as I don’t want to, it’s the hard stuff that helps us grow. I’ve been working on helping the kids remember the good things about Meowzer. “He was a good guy.” Yes he was son. He was a wonderful part of our family and he will be greatly missed.
Meowzer; Friend, Companion, Family 2001-2011
Blessings,
A Coupon Code to Celebrate!
Hey Dapper Snapper Lovers!
So I have much to celebrate this week!!
- Of course there was Presidents Day and really who doesn’t love an extended weekend?
- My baby boy, my Super Dude, turned 6 on Tuesday.
- The last shuttle launch is today. We are going as a family to watch it from the Port Orange bridge.
So because of all this wonderfulness, I’m giving a coupon code for 30% off at our store; 10% for each great thing! Use code 30offCelebration to get 30% off your purchase at DapperSnappers.com through February 26th, 2011. This code is not valid on fundraising Dapper Snappers or Gift Certificates. But you know what you can buy??? Kids Belts, Toddler Belts, Belts for Adults, Pregnancy Belts, Mitten Clips, and Add-on Clips for pants/skirts that don’t have belt loops!
Have a Dapper Snapperiffic day!!!
Blessings,
Shampoo with a Hotdog on it!
A typical joke told by my 5 year old son:
Super Dude: Knock Knock!
Me: Who’s there?
Super Dude: Shapoo
Me: Shampoo who?
Super Dude: Shampoo with a hotdog on it! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaa! Dat’s funny huh mama!
**************
Oh Super Dude. Someday you’ll get it. I mean, you have an incredible sense of humor, when you’re not trying. For now I get to regale my family, friends, and FaceBook/Twitter buddies with all the funny things you and your sister say. Like at Christmas when you were excitedly opening presents and when your sister asked what present you were opening you exclaimed, “I don’t know but I’ve always wanted it!” Or your version of Gloria…Real version: Gloria in excelsis deo. Kiddos version: Oh-oh-ohohohohohohohoh-ohia Jesus Christ in stereo. And then the time when the Bug declared that “Jesus Price is Born!”
***************
My kids are funny, smart, and the joy of my life (not to mention my inspiration for inventing those genius Kids Belts). But they do say the darnedest things, don’t they? Well, thanks to someone who contacted me through my blog, I got turned onto a website dedicated to sharing those darnedest things. My Kid is Gifted allows you to share the funny things your kid does and says in a safe environment. I mean, not everyone wants to know every thing your kid does. And you probably don’t want everyone, especially creepy, stalker-types, to know all about your kids. Here you can share with people who want to know the funny things your kids are saying. And you can gauge your own anonymity.
This site is great. You can submit your kid’s “gifted” moments. You can read about all the other “gifted” kids. You can even help moderate the site by giving a thumbs up or down on stories that have been submitted. This site definitely qualifies as a Squirrel moment! Go check it out now!
Blessings,
Where?
If something doesn’t have a where to be, it could be anywhere.
I am the most disorganized person I know. The pile of papers on our counter is an amazing, mountainous amalgamation bills, junk mail, coupons, preschool drawings/crafts, and cords to unknown electronics that are probably long gone. But about a year ago, while visiting my bestest friend, I noticed something they did that was so simple that I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t think of it. Every time they came into the house, they would remove their shoes and put them in a basket. This basket, filled with various pairs of shoes, was nothing extraordinary. It was just the simple answer to a problem I’ve been battling for years. Where are my shoes??? I’m proud to say that for the past year the answer to that question has been, “In the shoe-bucket!”
But it wasn’t until a couple days ago that I realized that that simple organization concept could be applied to anything. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn’t have to have a bunch of compartments or labels or color-coded tabs. Keep it simple. I want my kids to get organized as well, so I took the Bug to the Dollar Tree and bought these little totes for her to store her art stuff in. Crayons in one bin, markers in another, etc. She is too much like me, in that whatever it is, it won’t get put away unless there’s a place it’s supposed to go.
Getting organized doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. Getting just one thing organized can save lots of time, frustration, and sanity. Your stuff could be socks, kids belts, or emails. That is why I put Hubby to work on creating a program for me to help me stay organized in a very important part of my business. I can’t afford to spend so much time flipping back and forth between websites and emails trying to keep tabs on situations when it could all be in one place. Hubby is building me a virtual shoe bucket. I need a where for all my stuff to be to feel organized.
Do you have a where for your stuff? What’s your one thing?
Blessings,
Oh Yes I FonDid!
Remember that cake I was making for my daughter’s 4th birthday party? Well, it turned out pretty okay. My skeptical Bug was gushing over it as soon as I put the doll’s “dress” on. She was so excited! Her only criticism was that the doll’s eyes were brown, and they should be blue like Cinderella. Well, some things can’t be helped.
She kept telling everyone at the party that her mommy made it for her. Then all the parents would look at me and ask, “You made this???”
Isn't she lovely?
As it turns out, I’m almost as good at making doll cakes as I am at making Kids Belts, not that I’m going to go into business making doll cakes. Hubby did look at costing it out though. I guess he saw my natural bakers talent too. Oh if only I had a bigger kitchen…Ha!
Same cake, no color. Just playing with photoshop.
What the Fondant?
The Bug’s birthday party is on Saturday. She turned 4 December 27th, but since it’s so close to Christmas, we just wait to celebrate it until the first weekend after the first of the year. This year I wanted to make a princess cake for her. Granted, I probably want it more than she does so I can somehow feel like a supermom. But really this year is the year. Next year she’s going to have definite ideas about what she wants and doesn’t want and I’m not going to have a say anymore. This year is the first year she understands what it means to have a birthday. She has a lot of friends. She’s got every kid begging to come to her party, which we are having at McDonald’s because our place is way too small. She’s so excited! But I am too. I’m making a princess cake!
The cake in the picture is not my cake, but is close to what I’m going to do. I went to Michael’s to get everything I would need to make a princess cake. I already had a Pampered Chef Classic Batter Bowl to bake the cake in. I was on a mission to get fondant, coloring, and a doll. While I was there, another lady in the hanging out in the be-crazy-and-make-your-own-specialty-cake isle told me that I should make my own fondant. Apparently the pre-made stuff is pretty nasty tasting.
Last night, I made fondant from a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. This afternoon I baked a Pillsbury Funfetti cake which took forever because of the depth of the bowl. I made buttercream frosting, also a recipe from AllRecipes.com, and frosted the cake. It’s now in the refrigerator waiting for the fondant to be placed on it tomorrow. I’m just glad I planned to make this cake over a few days so I wasn’t rushing at the last minute to get it put together. From what I’ve heard, fondant is not easy to work with. I’ll let you know how it comes out. If it’s good, I may even take pictures. Who knows? I could be the next Cake Boss. Ummm…probably not…
What is fondant you ask? Hehehehe…This is why I love Wikipedia!
Now about those kids belts…or not. Lol…
Blessings,
Back on the Blogging Wagon
So, it was a pretty bad idea to challenge myself to blog 30 posts in 30 days in December. Duh! What was I thinking? December? Christmas? Kids are home the whole time? Ugh…
But I’ve accepted a 30 day blogging challenge set out by a fabulous Facebook group and I’m going to stick with it. I may not always post about Kids Belts, but I have to at least mention them because they are pretty cool. Pretty soon, I’ll update my press page to show you all the great reviews.
I’m up for any suggestions you may have for blog topics. If you don’t leave a comment with your suggestion, I’m going to have to do 30 posts on how Super Dude has to wear an eye patch or the latest victim of The Bug’s destructive tendencies.
I think tomorrows post will be about Twitter. I’ve been meaning to write about it for a long time now…
Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know!
Blessings,
Welcome to My Brain…
Welcome to some time well-wasted in my head. Don’t worry, you’ll question it later.
I’ve been thinking a lot. As I think, thoughts swirl around in my noggin like so many random marbles bumping haphazardly in my head making clinking noises to fill the void. So I decided to drag you around with me. Ha!
I’ve decided to make the Bug’s Christmas dress, as I do every year about 2 weeks before Christmas. She wants an “Aurora dress” (aka Sleeping Beauty). Since my main focus in sewing has been those amazing Kids Belts, Dapper Snappers, regular sewing patterns kind of freak me out.
Oh…
I wonder how the Prompt Tuesday is going at San Diego Momma’s. What’d she call that? Holiday Limericks or something. Hang on, I’ll be right back…Okay, its Bawdy Holiday Prose. I’m the only one who’s left a comment, so if you get a minute you may want to too. As well. Too many to’s. Back to the dress…
I watched some vaguely helpful youtube videos to get insight into the hieroglyphs and foreign terminology in this little package of instructions and tissue paper.
Oh that’s right…
I need to email San Diego Momma to see if I can’t get her permission to repost something. Crap! I can’t find her email address anywhere on her website. Oh wait…We follow each other on Twitter. I could DM (direct message) her to ask for her email address. Or I could just tell her what I want. Wow do I sound like a complete stalker or what in my DM? I just told her some things that would make me want to unfollow myself. Good thing she’s the forgiving type. I’m pretty sure anyway. The dress…the dress…
huh?
After watching some videos, I think I have a handle on this thing. Only, last night, in the middle of sewing the bodice thingie, I broke a needle and the material snagged. I pulled it out so that it was fairly unnoticeable. But then I broke another needle in the same #?!…oh wait, how does that go? Using symbols to represent cuss words…hmmm. What the? What’s taking so long for these sites to come up? Alright. I think I just found a site I could love. Check out Grammar Girl. I am going to start using the terms “Grawlix”, “Disemvowel”, and “Maledicta”. So cool…
As I was saying, I broke another needle in the same *$#%!-ing spot and it snagged the garbage out of it the material. Since I had already sewn the bodice pieces together, I had to start from scratch rather than try to pull out all those tiny seams only to probably snag it even more. Scratch it is! Oh but wait! We need to back up a couple days…
I pulled out the pattern, looked at the mind-boggling amount of materials associated with making a dress of this type, and decided I would have to wait until tomorrow to work on it so I could figure out what the heck “Selvages” are. While I’m repacking everything, Super Dude says that since I’m making the Bug something, what am I going to make for him? Well, certainly not a pink dress! What can I make for a boy anyway? Heyyyyy…Maybe JoAnn’s has a vest and tie pattern I could make for him.
The next day, I drug the kids with me to Jo-Anns and for almost 2 hours they played, got bored, tried to break things, gave up and decided to nap on the bolts of materials. But I found the pattern and by golly I was going to find the right materials.
10 emails??? What in the world is going on? Okay got those taken care of. I hate unread emails. Makes me feel like I’m way behind.
Isn’t this a cool pattern? And you betcha I’m going to make matching Father/Son vest & tie combos. Hubby thinks I’m crazy. He made me the deal that he wouldn’t tease me until Friday night about my “Oh there’s 3 weeks until a major event? I have to do an impossible project that will keep me up until 2 am the night before it’s needed done!” So what if it’s true…
ZzzzZzzzZzzz…. I just got up from a power nap. Apparently all this thinking makes me tired. That and it may be 35° outside, but it’s like 90° in here. Garble. Grumble. Ugh. Midday naps are not good. This is what I get for staying up until 1:30 am. Ok, where was I?
Today I recut the pattern and sewed it back together. Now I need to get back to where I was last night, sewing the neck of the shell and lining together. But alas, I don’t have the time. I have just been informed that our Mama Snappers are going to be on BabySteals tonight. Off I go to update our website. Wish me luck!
Oh, and thanks for sticking around to listen to the marbles.
Blessings,