April 26 - Drooling Amelia

A few weeks ago, the kids and I noticed Amelia was drooling blood while we were eating dinner. I couldn't see any injuries but she definitely did not want me touching her face and her breath smelled terrible. I took her to the emergency vet and he wasn't sure what the issue was and suspected an abscessed tooth. He gave her antibiotics and told me to follow up with our regular vet. A few days later, she went to the regular vet who also suspected an abscessed tooth so we scheduled a teeth cleaning (where they planned to remove the tooth in question). She went in for the cleaning and they found a stick wedged on the roof of her mouth, abscessed into her gums. They didn't see it before because it blended in with her mouth but they removed it and saved all her teeth. Yahoo!! We are so happy our girl is back home, stick free and her breath smells great again (well, as great as a dog's breath can be). The  only sad thing is that she is significantly slowed down since the procedure. :(

We love you Amelia Peabody!

April 25 - Fun Run

Okay Dimpled Munchkin fans, it's the end of April but I'm still not caught up on this blog. We've been nonstop action the last 2 months! JD's birthday fell on the same day as Julia's 3 meter diving competition. When we drove back home...it was then time to head to school for the annual fun run race. The kids compete by grade level and have the option of running 1 or 3 miles. Julia competed in the 1 mile race and won for the 3rd straight year. This year was Luke's first time competing. JD ran with him and he placed 2nd for kindergarten. We are so proud of him!! This is his first "earned" medal. Great job Luke!! He had so much fun and ran the whole way without stopping at all. So proud! 

After the fun run, JD did yard-work (the glamorous life of a dad, lol) while the kids and I ran around town buying balloons, cards, cake and getting Thai takeout (JD's request) for a quiet birthday dinner at home. Happy birthday babe!

Luke is ready for his first race

Kendall, Julia & Sydney

Luke's BFF Serene came and cheered Luke on

Jillian had lots of snuggles at the race

Friends, classmates, soccer players & runners

April 21 - Diving Weekend

Julia & Lucy

 I flew back from a work trip on Thursday afternoon and had to turn around and leave with Julia the following day for her very first diving competition. So exciting! The meet was in the Woodlands, a town in north Houston which is a solid 75 drive without any traffic. Since warm-ups were Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday at 6.30am, we decided to get a hotel and stay there to avoid crazy early wake up calls. We shared a room with her friend Lucy and her mom (who live in a different part of Houston, the Woodlands is also a hike for them). The girls 1 meter competition was on Saturday and the 3 meter competition was on Sunday (the boys schedule was reversed).

Jill, Lucy & Jules (aka The Blondes with Glasses crew)

After a late night Friday (the girls were so excited, it was tough getting them to sleep) we were up bright and early Saturday morning. After a quick Starbucks run, we headed to the pool. The girls checked in and warmed up from 6.30-8am and then competition started around 8.30am. The girls were competing in the novice group, which is the beginner level. They competed in different age groups (U9, 10-12, 13-14, 15-18) and were tiered within those age groups at Bronze, Silver or Gold (there are different requirements for each level). I was surprised at how many kids were competing (40-50), with many traveling from Dallas, Austin and San Antonio for the meet. The pool had 4 1M boards and 2 3M boards, with 3 divers going at a time. It was definitely the oddest diving meet I've ever attended. Julia did fantastic and won first place (girls U9, silver) while her friend that we were rooming with, Lucy, also won first place (girls U9, gold). They were so proud of themselves!!

After the competition, we spent a few hours exploring the Woodlands. If I had to choice to live anywhere in Houston, I would live here. The trees are beautiful! We went to a river walk type area, saw some fountains, took a trolley ride and then went back to the hotel where the girls went swimming. It was a great day!

Sunday was the 3M competition. This time Julia and Lucy's friend Jill was also competing (she missed Saturday due to a gymnastics meet). We ate in the hotel and headed to the pool. Julia did fantastic on her first 4 dives and then bombed her 5th dive. She ended up 7th out of 7 for her age group (girls U9, silver) while Lucy won again (girls U9, bronze). Jill placed 3rd in her age group (girls 10-12, silver). We were super proud of them! And while Julia was not happy with her performance, she was inspired to work hard to get the dive down for next time. We checked out of the hotel and went out to lunch, then headed back home. 

April 17 - Jericho Barrons

After Karma Brown Bear left us, we decided we were interested in adopting a dog. So we filled out an application with Lucky Lab Rescue (in January) and specified we were interested in a senior black lab (or lab mix) that is good with kids and other dogs. The coordinator sent me several potential dogs that were all around age 1-3 that were supposedly very calm and I said no to each one...because I want an old man or old lady. Fast forward to the of March...

My friend Heather's co-worker found a puppy in the parking lot at work. This poor guy was clearly neglected-he was extremely underweight, ridden with fleas and missing patches of hair. He appeared to be a full lab so we think someone just dumped him and took off. Her co-worker took him to the vet and she estimated he was 1 year old and gave him flea medication. Heather asked if we could take him to either adopt or foster...she sent me a photo and he looked so much like a young Amelia I could not say no. JD and the kids were on board and then we had to decide when to take him. I had an insane travel schedule in late March/early April (Vegas: Thursday through Sunday, Florida: Monday through Wednesday..that ended up being Tuesday through Thursday due to a missed flight and cancelled flight..and then Woodlands: Friday through Sunday).

Luckily I have an amazing husband and he said-let's just take him. So I literally picked up this dog 2 hours before I headed to the airport for my Vegas trip. I'm used to elderly Amelia..this dude jumped in the car, leaped over all the seats (tried to jump out of the window at one point) and then got home and introduced him to Amelia. Jericho Barrons (yes, I named him after a character in the Fever series) ran around the house like a crazy man, jumped onto my bed (where clean laundry was about to be folded, and he was muddy!). Amelia was not super interested in him, despite his repeated attempts to play with her. I walked him to PetSmart to get him some dog treats and then I headed to the airport. 

We have now had Jericho for 2.5 weeks. I took him to the vet last week and the vet confirmed he's about 1 years old. He's 51lbs, heartworm negative, tested negative for mange and had all of his first vaccinations. His skin was in such bad shape the vet said we needed to wait for his hair to grow in before he can be neutered.

After just these few short weeks with a steady diet, his hair is already growing in quite nicely and he's starting to fill out. While Jericho is very sweet...he's a wild puppy with ZERO training. I found him extremely difficult to walk on a leash, so I got him a gentle leader (leash attachment that attaches to his muzzle, if he pulls his head whips around. It's the best $30 I've spent). He wants to play with Amelia all the time and she wants nothing to do with him. He's very mouthy (doesn't ever break the skin but he puts his mouth around everything) and a stuffed-animal thief. He's also a digger, loves mud and keeps eating JD's plants in the backyard. As of right now, JD is adamant he's a 'foster dog' and not 'our dog.' I do have him signed up with Lucky Lab Rescue but he isn't available for adoption until he's neutered. The kids want to keep him. I am looking into training classes and I know he'll be fantastic once he has some direction. The kids have taught him how to sit, so progress! I will keep you all updated for sure. 

April 14 - Vegas Baby!

JD surprised me with a trip to Vegas in March with Jill, complete with first class airline tickets. Wowsa! My flight in was pretty crazy. We flew into an 84mph wind storm and were stuck circling the airport for 40min waiting for clearance to land. The plane was going up and down the entire time. People were screaming and holding hands across the aisles. It was definitely the craziest flight I've ever been on. I have never felt sick on a flight before and I thought I might throw up. All flights were grounded for a few hours so Jill's flight in from Orlando was very delayed. 

On Friday, we slept in and then had pedicures in the salon. They included massaging chairs, mimosas and some technique where they painted our legs with a paraffin. It was so relaxing! After that, we headed out to the mall and went shopping for a few hours. It's the first time I bought new (nice) bras in 9 years. We capped off the day with a delicious crepe lunch and visit to a museum. 

Zumanity

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday. We spent half the day reading by the pool and then headed to the spa. The spa was simply incredible. There was a 'women only' area with 3 different hot tubs, eucalyptus steam room, private outdoor pool and balcony, showers with everything you could ever need to get ready (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, hair dyers, straighteners) and more. We had hot stone massages, facials and then spent some time in a salt room and ganbanyoku beds (imagine granite beds that radiate heat, they don't sound comfortable but was incredibly relaxing). After the spa, we headed back to the pool for more reading and people watching. 

For our last night, we had pizza at New York New York and then went to see Zumanity. The show was fantastic!! Jill flew out Sunday morning while I stayed a few hours and...you guessed it. Read some more by the pool. In fact, I was the first person at the pool on Sunday, it was incredible.

Thanks babe! And for anyone planning a trip to Vegas, Aria is great!! Beautiful hotel, great location and they have AAA discounts. 

April 13 - Austin

In August, one of JD's best friends from Tampa moved to Austin with his family. They have 2 kids, ages 7 and 8 and it's been several years since our kids saw each other. JD drove to Austin on a Thursday night while Andrew (another high school friend, who lives in Virginia) also flew in. The guys went mudding in dune buggies on Friday while I drove in Friday afternoon with the kids (Andrew's wife also flew in on Friday). We went to dinner at a cool, casual pizza place and the kids had fun running around together. 

On Saturday, we took a pontoon boat out on Lake Travis and it was incredible. All of the big kids got to drive the boat (Luke was thrilled) and we docked and went to lunch at a lakeside restaurant. They had a play set so the kids were very active!

After taking the boat back to the marina, it was time to head back to the house. The kids all went swimming and then we had some delicious bbq for dinner (the only thing I miss about Austin is the food..they have the best bbq and tex-mex there!). 

On Sunday, I stayed back at the house with Jillian (who was napping) while everyone else went hiking and to a playground. Afterwards, we all went out for some yummy Mexican lunch...mmmmmm! It was a great visit and then time to head back to Houston. The best part of the trip was how well the kids go along-they had an absolute blast together!

Ella loved Jillian

April 10 - 12!

April 10th is a big day. Jillian is 7 months old and Amelia Peabody is twelve. 12!! JD's birthday was yesterday and we celebrated with Thai takeout, cake (decorated by Julia and Luke..there was a lot of sprinkles) and presents. Now, I apologize for the lack of posts lately. We've had a whirlwind few weeks since we came back from Colorado. There is a lot to update you on-Austin, Vegas, the Woodlands and our new foster dog, Jericho Barrons. I'll try to update this every 2 days until I catch up so be sure to check back this week for more pictures. 

After our Colorado trip, Jillian had her 6-month check up and she was a healthy 14lbs 1oz. She's still the smallest of all three kids, but she's chunking up very nicely and is giving Julia a run for her money (her thighs are awesome!!).

Our first weekend back, we took the kids to the downtown Aquarium, which is a smaller version of the Kemah boardwalk. We went on the ferris wheel, train ride and merry-go-round. The train ride was really cool because it stopped in a tunnel through the aquarium and we got to see a lot of sharks swimming around. Definitely a unique experience! The kids also got to pet stingray (Julia loved it, Luke said they felt gross). 

Luke & Jillian were snuggling upstairs one day..how adorable (the dark mark on his arm is my shadow..because you know, I'm not a photographer and didn't think to move out of the way lol)