Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Bubble Blowin'

So here is what happens when Grandmama sends home two super-cool bubble machines for the kids to play with at our house. Mason and Mabel had an all-out Bubble Blast!!!!! They chased, they caught, they swallowed bubbles for about half an hour with Aaron and Vic maintaining steady streams of sheer fun!!


Sunshine and shiny things to chase...what's not to love????

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Pet Names

We are a nicknaming kind of family. Aaron often answers to “Double A” while Victoria was tagged early with Miss Congeniality’s “Gracie Lou Freebush.” It’s a knack we have. I was pondering all our nicknames for Mason and Mabel the other day and realized we have quite a list!

Before we acquired Mason as a puppy, I already had him named. Taking Mason Stone from a Steven Segal movie, Mason Stone Mainiero was destined for pure greatness. However, he also answers to: Masonite, Monkey, Monk, Monkasaurus, Funky Monkey, Funkmeister, Funkasaurus Rex, Yella Dog, Big Yella, Furball, S***ball, Old Man, Huggin’ Man, Fur Factory, Poop Factory and Jealous.

Mabel was also named before we met her. I wanted a female black lab to complement Mason, and we would name her Mabel for the sole privilege of shouting out, “Hey Mabel, Black Label!!” I was so tickled with myself at the cleverness of the name! However, she has acquired the nicknames of Mabel Label, Mabelline, The Leine, Miss Mabel, Little Girl, Teeny Weeny Mabellini, Mabelline Jumpin’ Bean, Black Dog, Vixen, the Vixenator, the Destroyer, the Destructor, Fur Factory, Poop Factory and Jealous.

I love my zoo.   :)

Well, Good Morning!

Mornings are my quiet time. My only quiet time. From 6:15 to 6:45 on weekdays, I’m the only person awake and downstairs. I feed the dogs and fish breakfast, make coffee, prepare lunches. But it’s quiet, and I LIKE it!

Until yesterday. The previous night, Victoria slept in our bed because she was “scared.” No problem. She doesn’t sprawl like she used to, so I slept comfortably. But she woke up with me at 5:30. She stayed in the bed until I went downstairs at 6:15. I was surprised that she was awake already, since she is always the last one up on school days. She joined me in the kitchen and I explained that we were going to work quietly because everyone else was still sleeping.

But then I overheard Aaron ask if his shorts were in the dryer. And then I saw him on the stairs, dressed and ready to go from the waist up.

It’s 6:15 a.m., people!!!

“Aaron, baby, what are you doing up so early?”

“Victoria turned my light on.”

Kind of makes me glad I was an only child.

Bye Bye Babies!

These are the newest photos of my babies. I fell in love instantly when I saw them. This is the absolute best photographic representation of them in a school portrait EVER!! I am so proud of these pics.





But my babies aren't babies anymore...

Monday, April 12, 2010

Finally...Pictures!

Just spent some time cleaning off the camera card, and came across these new favorites:

First, Aaron and Victoria were in the backyard this weekend - Aaron was showing her something on the iPod.  They looked so cute I just had to snap some pics from inside the house so I wouldn't disturb them.  I love how well they get along!!













 Then they spied me spying on them!














Also on this card is a photo of the latest cross-stitch creation from Charolette.  This she made for Dom.  After she had it framed and showed it to me, I said, "Oh, I know just where to hang that!"  to which she gently replied, "Dom said it was going to his office."  Hmmmppfff!  ;)














And last, but not least, these two decided to have a wrestling match in the middle of us doing our state taxes tonight.  I paused long enough to get some good tooth-shots.  This is our dear Mabel and Mason...and their pearly whites.  We don't quite understand Mabel's fascination with being upside down.  She stands on her head a lot. 

Bloom Quest





The azaleas are in bloom.  WOW! Are they ever in bloom!!  I love them at this time of year, when all the pretty pinks and whites are so showy all over Shreveport.  You can’t look in any single direction without seeing them.  They are so fluffy and impressive! The problem is, I hate them for the rest of the year.  I find that when they are not blooming, they look scraggly and unkept.  Some owners prune them into hedges and such, but then they look too confined when they do bloom.  I love their messiness in bloom, but can’t stand it otherwise.  Perhaps if they could just bloom for, say, 3 or 4 months at a time rather than 3 to 4 weeks a year.  And they only stay really pretty if the spring rains stay away.  A good hard storm can kill the beauty of the azaleas overnight. 

The one remaining azalea in my yard blooms on approximately one-third of its branches, which means I get about three flowers in the spring.  The rest of the year it looks like the stepchild of yard ornaments.  I so need to cut it down, but I feel just a tad, well, disloyal in doing so.  I am a true-blue home-grown Southerner, shamefully despising my poor little azalea bush. 

My grandmother recently told me that she had purchased the Encore Azalea, which is supposed to bloom repeatedly throughout the season.  I was thrilled at the news of this hybrid, and excitedly asked if they really did bloom as advertised.  “Well, no.  Azalea blooms aren’t supposed to last very long, you know.”  I felt so deflated.    

I bought an Endless Summer Hydrangea yesterday.  Their large happy leaves look good even when they don’t have many blooms.  I hope it can curb my azaleas-in-bloom lust and ultimately redeem me as a Southern garden enthusiast.  Even though I know that’s a lot to ask of a plant… 

Sunday, April 11, 2010

How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Mabel?

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning and I am locked in the computer room with the dog. The newer dog. The “I’m not supposed to be a puppy anymore, but still chew things up” dog. And the barking. Oh, my dear Lord…the barking!!!! Here’s how the day has gone:

Mabel woke Dom up at 5:15 this morning, for no other reason than to be awake. At probably 6:45, I could hear her barking from the backyard. And considering that my bedroom is on the front of the house, that’s saying something. We don’t want her disturbing our neighbors, so Dom ushers her in. But here’s the problem: It’s now daylight. She can see from the inside all the squirrels and birds frolicking outside in her yard. Yes, in HER yard. So she barks to go out. She runs outside, at full I’m-going-to-catch-you-and-eat-you-for-breakfast speed, scares all the critters out of her yard, runs back to the door, body slams it, and barks until we let her in. Within two minutes of coming back inside, the cycle starts all over again.

Now, gentle people, consider from whence we came: Mason is now 10. Huge and yellow and full of love, he only considers that every living creature is put on this earth to either play or peacefully coexist with him. He once gave a kitten a big ol’ happy slurp-kiss, and didn’t understand why the kitten wasn’t happy about it! He’s our gentle giant. Truthfully, one day five squirrels were playing in our yard at a moment when I needed to let Mason outside. As I opened the door, all five squirrels directed their attention to the door and froze! Mason sauntered out, and the squirrels breathed a collective sigh of relief and resumed their activities in the yard. It was almost as if they were proclaiming, “False alarm, everybody! It’s just Mason! Carry on!” I sort of think Mason can let squirrels and birds enjoy the backyard because he knows his place is in the house.

But for the last year and a half, it’s been a different story for the poor critters that use our yard as a playground. There’s a new sheriff in town. And she rules with an iron paw! At least until Daddy gets tired of her antics and locks her in the computer room with Mommy. Oh, but curse me for leaving a curtain open…she now spies a bird…and is barking.