"flash"

call us crazy but we have a new puppy. he is a sweet little beagle - 5 weeks old. he's a little tri-colored male with a blaze across his head. asher met him & immediately said "his name is flash". i just hope he doesnt run around like beagles usually do in a flash. i am believing because we have him so early that he will bond with us & that we will train him like we do our other dogs and he wont be much of a runner. plus i plan on getting him neutered ASAP!! i cant think of a better dog for a boy to have and asher adores him. he was a spur of the moment, in an instant decision & i'm glad for it. he's a perfect fit for our family. our neighbor has a little male beagle who is unaltered & he doesnt run at all. so there is hope that "flash" will be a stay-at-home kind of beagle!!
also everytime levi sees the puppy he smiles & his feet start moving & he starts moving his arms wildly so tonight we let him "hold" the puppy. i think he is pleased!
i really am surprised at how small this puppy is. rachel took some pictures of him in a small coach purse that she was given to give an idea of how tiny he is - so sweet & he has the best puppy breath! and that is one of the 3 best smells in the whole world!! puppy breath, a baby's head, & your man's neck at the right moment.

cement footprints & a milestone

we had some cement laid this week. it was the first stage of getting our driveway cemented. i have been wanting to do this for a while so the kids would have a bigger spot for riding bikes & scooters. it's also a larger canvas for sidewalk chalk picasso wantabes. on the last day when they finished laying the cement we got everyone outside in barefeet & left our mark in the cement - as this is most likely our house for life. i felt bad for the men as they were working so hard to make the cement smooth & pretty. but they told me since we were paying the bill we could step in it all we wanted to!

that's a lot of foot prints. we went from oldest to youngest - Clay's are the first prints on the left & little Levi's are the last little set on the right. as crazy as it sounds, i would add more to it!

and for a milestone....

our friend Jenny's little girl, Julia - who is 4, learned to ride her bike last week without training wheels. i mentioned it to Abigail yesterday & she said she was willing to learn in the grass if we took her training wheels off. Abigail is 6 & is very proficient at the scooter so i really didnt think this would be a problem for her. Clay took the training wheels off today & within an hour Abigail was riding along like she could always ride a 2 wheeled bike. i'm very proud of her. Rachel & Elizabeth both learned when they were 8 years old - but they were both smaller - probably about the same size Abigail is at 6...so Abigail is better able to handle the weight of the bike. But again, I am so proud of her. It's a big step. also when i asked Abigail who taught her to learn how to ride her bike i thought she would say "i learned by myself" but she said "Elizabeth!!!" come to find out Elizabeth had been giving her pointers. it's nice to have big sisters!

mother's day

i cant believe it's mother's day AGAIN! where does time go? anyway i whipped together 2 aprons today for my mother & clay's mother. i will be sending them express tomorrow. it's always so difficult selecting gifts for my parents...they dont want anything but i also dont want to not show respect or love by not sending a gift.
anyway, here is a picture of the apron...i dont think my mom reads my blog..at least she never lets on that she does or comments on it....so here it is.

it's really cute in person. the light isnt all that good. even rachel was impressed. abigail sat with me the whole time i made it trying to figure out my sewing machine. asher tried everytime i got up to use the iron to hit the buttons on my sewing machine & change the settings. too much fun.
and on another note i went to the doctor for a bit of help. i am now on cymbalta....for the next 2 weeks at least. the side effects are not fun. i feel like i'm in a fog. i just wanted something to stabilize my moods without having unpleasant side effects. i have tried zoloft before & it had a very displeasing side effect so that's why we moved on to cymbalta. i think the drug in between zoloft & cymbalta is prozac (at least the doctor said it was) and prozac is more for anxiety.
the doctor also started me back on advair for my asthma. it's amazing to me how awesome this drug is. this inhaler immediately helps but last time i used it i got a horrible yeast infection in my mouth & throat. i am definitely rinsing my mouth thoroughly to try & ward that off this time.

i hope you all have a happy mother's day. i am looking forward to my yearly visit to Kyoto's Japanese Steak House. i was also told i was going to get another weeping willow tree (my favorite of all trees) as the last one died & a new skillet. mine is so worn out. the black coating is completely gone, the lid is broken & quite frankly it isnt big enough. so happy day for me!!