Please

Keep Bestie in your thoughts and prayers. As if having to put her dog down wasn't enough, now everyone in her household is sick. She's really had more than her fair share lately and could use some positive thoughts!

I'm pretty sure Lolly thinks she's figuring out how to get in. Thank goodness she doesn't have opposable thumbs!

The dogs are really loving their new sisters!

Why rush? Why not?

Several people have asked me if I think Man and I are rushing things by getting engaged so quickly.  It's not that I'm facing negativity or that people are trying to convince me not to marry him (everyone can see how happy we are so there are really no questions there!), it's just that people don't seem to understand how I can be SO sure after such a short time.  In all honesty, I was at a lack for words for a while.  How do you explain that you just know?  Finally, talking to Mom the other night, it occurred to me.

Before Mom, BBS and I went dress shopping I thought I knew exactly what I wanted: all lace, tank style top with a high back, no "bling" and no train.  The dress I (Mom) bought is a smooth, almost satin material with off-the-shoulder straps, a fancy, "bling-y" belt and a mid-length train that I may or may not bustle for the ceremony.  Not only is it not at all what I thought I would end up with, I had imagined that it would take forever to find "the dress" and we found it at the first boutique we looked in.  I don't know why, but I just knew it was "the dress."  I still can't put my finger on why I love it so much, but I didn't want to take it off and I couldn't imagine walking out of that store without my dress in my arms.

And I realized this is exactly how I feel about Man.  I can't explain what it is about him, but I never want to leave him and I can't imagine living my life without him by my side.  So yes, I realize things have moved quickly with this whirlwind romance, but I just wouldn't have it any other way.  I am so lucky to love the man I will love for the rest of my life!

A day with Doll Baby

Trying again...
This is how I spent almost an hour at work today. We were riding horsies. Yes, there are times where my job bores me to tears. Yes, just yesterday I met with the owner of my company asking for more responsibilities to prevent such boredom. But days like today, where I can get paid to be silly have have fun with one of the greatest loves of my life? Well that makes it all worth it!

Things that make you go "Hmmm..."

I wrote a post last night about hanging out with Doll Baby for the day.  I included pictures and everything.  It was pretty cute if I must say so myself.  I published it from my phone, but somehow it disappeared.  I'll keep looking for it because it's just too cute not to share!

Feeding tip

Go easy on the sweet potato skins. It makes your dog's (or dogs' in my case) burbs smell super strong and super stinky. Don't ask. Just trust. It's not something you want to experience first hand!

Bones are just the beginning

For a while now I've been trying to figure out how to get Wolfey to eat bones.  When dogs eat in the wild, they eat the entire game animal, including the bones.  When they eat commercial dog food, there is bone meal in the food.  When I cook for Wolfey, there are no bones in his food, and until before Lolly he refused any bones I have given him.  Short of asking my butcher to grind the bone into meal for me to add to his food, I was at a loss...until Lolly came along.  There had been a bone sitting next to Wolfey's food dish for probably close to two months, that I kept hoping he would eventually decide to eat, but the longer it sat, the less hope I held on to.  When Lolly came along she discovered the bone and started gnawing at it.  She really seemed to be enjoying it and Wolfey eyed her suspiciously.  When Lolly dropped the bone, Wolfey quickly jumped up to grab it and began chewing away at it, himself...and hasn't put it down since!  Success!  One more way Lolly has been a good addition to our happy little home!  We're finally a family and I can't wait to add Man and his girls to the mix.  Just like adding Lolly, it's sure to be crazy wonderful!

Is it wrong that part of the reason I'm so excited for Man to move in is because his bed is so much more comfortable than mine?

My poor babies

The other night, when I was physically exhausted from dress shopping and emotionally exhausted from exploring the pros and cons of Man moving in with me instead of the other way around, I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.  Around 1:00am, Lolly woke me up asking to go out.  She hasn't done this since we've gotten her kidney issues under control, so I figured she must really need to potty.  I stumbled to the back door and let both dogs out, then stumbled back to bed.  Usually I'll fall into a light sleep while I wait for them to come back but as soon as I hear Wolfey bark, I wake up enough to let them in.  Sadly, this night was not the usual.  Around 6:30, Man rolled over and asked if he heard Wolfey barking.  He didn't even know I'd let the dogs out, but thankfully Wolfey has a very distinctive bark.  I felt horribly guilty as I ran to the back door to find my sad little puppies waiting for me.  I don't think either one of them has ever been outside that long, much less in the middle of the night, with no people around and no way to get back in.  I almost cried when I saw the look on Wolfey's face!  My poor babies survived their night out, but they've both been a lot more careful about coming back quickly ever since!

What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man

Admit it, you're singing. Yep, I'm in a great mood, and my even greater Man is to cause. Man and I had planned for me to move to Indianapolis when we get married. I had already begun job hunting and had scheduled an appointment with a realtor to put my house on the market but last night he surprised me with some amazing news. He's been doing some soul searching and decided it just didn't make sense to move away from my home, family, friends and career when he owns his business and can literally work from anywhere. I'm awfully lucky to love such a generous man!

I said yes to the dress!

Mom, BBS and I went to a bridal show and shopping today. I told them on the way there that I knew it was crazy to admit, but I really wanted to find my dress today. They agreed that I was just a bit nutso, but humored me and pulled out every dress they liked. Amazingly, I found my dress at the very first boutique. We all ended up in tears at one point, but it's really amazing to know that I've got such a huge part of the wedding taken care of, and that my two favorite women were a part of it!

It's about time

Wolfey and I were snuggling this morning, with Lolly curled up by my legs.  I must have moved too much and Lolly realized I was petting Wolfey and decided she needed in on the action.  She stood up and tried to walk across me to get in by my hands.  Typically, Wolfey would have gotten up and let her take his place, so  that he would miss out on the petting, but today he gave her a look that said, "Back off, missy, I was here first!" and she did!  Lolly actually laid back down, though a little closer and using my leg as a pillow, as if to say, "I'm still here, Mom, in case you decide to pet us both!" and let Wolfey have his snuggle time.  I'm so glad my little boy is finally learning to stick up for himself!

More foster networking

Sometimes I forget how long it has been since I have fostered.  The boy left my house nearly a year an a half ago.  While I still talk to the girl regularly, she hasn't lived in my home in over a year and a half, and hasn't even been to my home in a year.  All this doesn't stop me from sharing my story and encouraging others to foster.  A friend of mine contacted me several days ago with questions about fostering.  She and her husband have been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby for a while and are looking at what options are out there.  I am so happy to be able to be a source of information and advice.  I know their experience will be different, and I hope they let me share some of it here, but I also know how important it is to have someone who has been there and done that, and who can listen through the tough times.  Hopefully some day I'll be on the other end of this discussion, but until then, I'm so happy to be able to talk her through the process.

Changing the rules, midgame

My poor pups have got to be so confused, but they're taking it really well.  Man would prefer to not have animals on the bed (though, as I point out to him pretty regularly, he allows his cat on the bed) once we get married.  While I can understand (neither of us is small, and 1 bed + 2 people + 3 animals ≠ comfortable!), I also feel really guilty that I've allowed the dogs to sleep with me for so long and suddenly I'm kicking them out.  They don't seem to have a problem with it at his house, since they're used to the whole "different place, different rules" thing from hanging out at my sister's and parents' houses, but last night we were at my house and they had a bit of a "my house, my rules" attitude.  Man kicked them off the bed (not literally kicked, but he did give Lolly a boost one time when she was being particularly hard headed about following directions) several times and while Wolfey finally gave up, Lolly ended up at the foot of the bed.  I said this was a fair compromise and convinced Man to let it go.  After all, we've got to work in baby steps when retraining the dogs on something they've been allowed to do for years.  All was well and we were sleeping peacefully until around 2:30am, when Wolfey decided he wanted back up and couldn't find a space.  Did I mention that bed is a queen sized bed, and Man is 6'4"?  We pretty much take up the whole thing.  I wriggled around a bit until I had made a small space for Wolfey to join and gave him the "up" command...to which Lolly immediately responded and took it as her cue to join me at the head of the bed.  Wolfey jumped up into the space Lolly had vacated an both pups were happy.  You may see this as a victory for all, but I know the truth...that Lolly is much longer and taller than Wolfey and the space I had made for him was only about half what she needed...and the other half of her was on top of me...for the rest of the night!  I rarely say it this way, but this was one of those times when she was lucky I love her!

The planning has commenced!

My foster friend and I went to a bridal show Saturday and had a great time.  She suggested that this coming weekend, when Mom, BBS and I attend another show we go dress shopping after.  I mentioned it to BBS this afternoon and she launched into hyper planning mode.  I then called Mom, who also jumped on board. I love that everyone's getting into the planning!

Happy birthdays

Monkeys numbers 1, 2 and 5 have all had birthdays within the past week and we celebrated them all as a family today. Man and the girls came down and the girls met my family for the first time. I was a little worried that they would be overwhelmed with all the noise, chaos and new people at BBS's house, but they settled in quickly and easily and the day was an awesome success. Man called after he dropped the girls off to their mom and told me the girls were talking about my family the whole way home, and that the oldest was drawing pictures of us and saying how much she likes Mema and Papa. I'm so glad it went so well and I feel so lucky to love such an amazing family!

This morning as I was getting ready for work BBS called with a few questions about my upcoming nuptials and move.  After only a moment I heard Princess screaming in the background.  BBS wasn't sure what was "wrong," just that Princess wasn't getting her way.  She is about to turn 2, after all, and she's in that "I'll scream if I want to" phase, which although I encourage as freedom of expression, I also don't like to hear.  BBS was having a hard time hearing me over the phone, so she turned to Princess and said, "This is Aunt Karen on the phone," and the screaming stopped immediately.  BBS reported that there any time Princess pretends to be talking on her play phone, she always says she's talking to Aunt Karen!

I'm lucky I love your father

I spent three days with Man and the girls.  They are three little bundles of energy and kept us going the entire time, but they are super sweet and I can't wait to be their stepmom.  This trip was the first time the girls met my dogs and I was really worried about how it might go, but it really couldn't have gone much better.  The girls loved the dogs and the dogs loved the girls - there was a whole lot of love going on!  Little one is a lot like Lolly in that she gives attack loves.  It was super cute and a great couple of days but I think the dogs were more than happy to leave there and get back to what they think is reality.  Too bad they don't know that's soon to be their reality!

Reactions

Yesterday was a crazy day full of happy tears, squealing kids and tons of phone calls.  The proposal was spontaneous (no, we're not the cliche get-engaged-on-a-holiday type) and I was about to walk out the door to meet Bestie for lunch and shopping, so we agreed to call my family and tell Man's daughters when I returned.  Of course I was going to tell Bestie when I saw her, but we planned to tell everyone else together. It didn't go quite as planned, but I think we did pretty well.

Mom called while I was wondering around Target waiting for Bestie to arrive (I was early, somehow!) and I was so excited that I just couldn't not tell her.  I think she thought I was kidding at first, because Man and I haven't been together that long, but she could hear in my voice how excited I was, so she realized I was serious and said, "well I guess we better get to planning a wedding!"  We talked for a short while about dates, locations and dress shopping, but Bestie showed up and I had to get off the phone, so I promised to call back when I got to Man's house so we could tell Dad together.

Bestie arrived at Target and I checked out real quick so we could go to lunch.  We rode together in her car and although I wanted to wait until we were settled in at the restaurant, I just couldn't wait to tell her.  I think she was a bit disappointed when I told her she won't be in the wedding, but she completely understood when I explained that we'll have so many kids in the wedding and neither of us has ever wanted a big wedding.  Bestie is a graphic designer and offered to do our invitations as a wedding gift, as well as offer any help she can with planning the wedding, and I just can't wait to get started with her!

Man's daughters were a little more intimidating to tell, since they would be the most affected by our marriage. We sat all three girls down on the couch and Man told them he had proposed.  They sat stone faced until the oldest (who's 9) said "aaannd?" and I told them I said yes.  They still seemed a bit unsure of how to react and whether we were serious, so I showed them the ring and all three started squealing and jumping up and down.  We had to settle them down again to discuss what that means (me moving in, the dogs always being there, them being in the wedding, etc.) and once again they started squealing with excitement.  They all gave hugs and told me they're happy I'm going to be their stepmom, and little one (age 5) called me "Stepmother" most of the rest of the night.  At one point, the oldest (I'm seeing that they need blog names.  I'll work on that one!) turned to her and said "do you even understand what that means?" to which the little one responded, "all I know is that a stepmother means lots of housework."  I'm so glad the oldest was quick on her feet, because I was a little shocked at that one, but she quickly responded, "Umm, no.  You're thinking of Cinderella."  The little one turned to me and said, "so what does it mean?" to which I responded, "Well, to me it means you've got one more adult in your life who wants to spend lots of time with you and loves you very much."  She threw her arms around me and said, "I love you very much, too!"  Seriously, could anyone ask for a better welcome into a new family?

Dad was called while dinner was in the oven.  I totally put Man on the spot and told Dad that he was on speaker phone and Man had a question for him.  Dad made me wait, because Mom was in the background and made him put it on speaker phone, as well.  I had figured she'd already told him, but when Man asked for Dad's permission to have my hand in marriage, I could tell by his voice that he'd teared up.  I can't believe she was able to keep it a secret!  And of course Dad had the perfect response, "you're over 21 so you don't need my permission, but I do give you my blessing."  I really do have the best dad in the world! Man's oldest was in the room during this call and she leaned in to tell my parents hi.  She's never met them before, but had asked a couple weeks ago if, when Man and I get married, they would be her grandparents. She leaned in to the phone and said, "Hi new Grandma and new Grandpa!" and I could hear my mom tear up when she asked who she was speaking to and welcomed her to the family.  There were many happy tears on both ends and although we didn't talk long, as my parents were in the car on their way to a New Year's party, I have to say it was just about the perfect way to announce an engagement!

BBS was another happy-tear-filled phone call.  I started the conversation by asking her what song she wanted to sing at my wedding.  She didn't really follow, since everything has moved so fast, so then I asked if she would be my Matron of Honor, and immediately the tears started flowing on both ends.  Once again I had it on speaker phone and she apologized to Man for crying and making me cry, and he poked fun at the fact that I'd been crying off and on all day and he's pretty well immune to it by now.  Such a good sport!  She had lots of sisterly advice and Man's eyes glazed over when we started talking details, so I went off to the relative quiet of the bedroom while Man continued work on dinner.  BBS is so awesome and has already come up with lots of ideas.  I'm so lucky to have a wedding-planner-wannabe on my side!

The monkeys were home, so while I had BBS on the phone I asked if I could tell them.  She put me on speaker phone and I told them the news; I got the typical kid responses out of them.  I asked them all if they would be in my wedding and while Buddy gave me the boy "meh," Princess was the first to say "Yes!"  I'm not sure she knew to what she was agreeing, but I'm happy she's on board!

My Foster Friend was the last call of the night and although, after that many calls and happy tears, I was no longer very talkative and she was super tired from having to be at work at 5:30 that morning, she was super excited and we promised to talk details soon.

I am completely wiped out from all the excitement and I haven't stopped smiling in more than 24 hours.  I have no idea what our future holds, but I know I am so lucky to love so many people with whom I can share so much joy!