I wanna' wash my hands, my face and hair with snow.

That's a total lie. I don't know anyone who'd really do that...but it sounds nice in the song.

We have 3-4 inches on the ground at the moment, but with drifting it's much deeper in places. My window thermometer says it's 18 degrees outside. Our first official snow day of the year was called at 7 last night. BabyGirl is still asleep and the others are lounging about in their jammies.

I'm praying for a calm day full of Christmas movies and board games. I'm bracing for a day of arguing and cabin fever. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Lily May & Buddy Joe have morphed into snow bunnies. Every time I turn around they're bouncing up & down to get out the door and play in their run. I don't understand this because neither dog really likes walking in the snow. They both hang back when they need to go out but shoot out the door just to stand & shiver in the snow. At least I don't have to dress them in 15 layers of protective clothing so they can spend 8 1/2 minutes outdoors.

After church yesterday, the FarmHands needed to go out to play in the snow. Bitsy lasted all of 15 minutes before she was deposited back in the mud room by her Daddy. The boys lasted about 5 minutes longer and BabyGirl came in after 25 minutes or so. It took us almost that long to get everyone dressed in the first place. And afterwards, there were snow caked coats, gloves, hats, socks, and pants to be washed. I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.

But I'm probably wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. Just ask the FarmHands.

Fluffy love

Much to my surprise, I've fallen completely in love with the little pile of fluff BabyGirl named Buddy Joe. After Andrew's death this summer, I decided Lilly May would be our last house dog until after the kids were grown & gone. Since she's only 4 years old, she should still be around for quite a few more years. I didn't need anymore heart break.

When Husband started plotting with BabyGirl about a Chihuahua last fall, I emphatically told them both "Over my cold dead body." I do not like Chihuahuas. Not at all. When they started plotting again with out a breed in mind, I was tentative. I really didn't want to house break/crate train/get used to another dog.

I'm happy with my Lilly. She's playful. She's sturdy. She's protective. She's active. She's loving. I'm good.

Then came Buddy. It was obvious from the beginning that he knew who the mama was around here. He was over the moon too see me in the mornings. He napped curled on my lap. He followed me around like a second shadow. He brought his toys for me to play fetch with. BabyGirl wasn't really thrilled at first, but he's warmed up to her in the past week. Now she comes a close second to me in his affections.

A few minutes ago, I was catching up on some blog reading & realized I had no idea where Buddy was. Since he's not so good at the pooping-outside-unless-reminded thing, I got worried. Just as I rolled my chair away from the computer desk, I realized he was curled up underneath it, at my feet....where Andrew spent most of his time.

He likes to sleep in the "nest" made by my legs when I curl up on the couch....like Andrew did. He runs & romps with Lilly May...which Andrew didn't really have the energy to. While not a replacement for Andrew (no dog will ever fill that weiner shaped hole in my heart), Buddy Joe is making his place in our family. He has big paws to fill, and he's going to do it in his own way.

The snow day from Hades.

I'm beginning to think who ever coined that phrase about the snow ball in hell, had never really been there (hell, that is). Snow can & does survive in hell. Otherwise, there is no explanation for what has happened around here today.

Last night the snow was softly covering everything in sight. At the rate it was falling, I knew school would be called off this morning. I began fantasizing about a world wrapped in a white muffled silence, sleeping in, watching movies, reading, playing with my children, and enjoying our surprise day off.

Then four o'clock in the morning reared it's ugly head.

Buddy decided it was time to play. I was not easily convinced. After 30 minutes of arguing with a 7 pound dog I lost the ability to fall back to sleep. After an hour & a half of Facebook & Reality Bites, I crawled back in bed....only to have Buddy wake up & decide it was time to play again.

This time it fell to Husband to deal with the fluffy pain-in-the-neck while I snuggled back down in bed & pretended/tried to sleep. That lasted about 8 minutes. I continued to try until nearly 9 am, when the screaming & fighting & "he's trying to kill me" & "she won't stay out of my room" & "Can we have a cup cake?" & "That's MINE!" got too loud & I dragged myself out of my cocoon.

Since then, I've fallen asleep twice, had to suffer through 90 minutes of UFC Ultimate Knock-Outs, 45 minutes of women's cross country skiing (we don't watch it any other time, why must we watch it when it's on the Olympics?!), hours & hours & hours of bickering children, a puppy who's pooped in my house twice today, and the lingering ickyness of last week's head cold.

OK, so maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. It's not really been hellish. It's just not been much fun.

But this is:

It was sent to me by my old friend (old as in "we've know each other for years" not as in "she's of an advanced age") Layla. She knows how much I miss the sun & warmth, so she sent a bit my way. Thank you, Layla!!

Monday Weigh-in

Ang posts her weekly weigh-ins on Monday. I'm going to take a page out of her book & twist it a bit. I'm going to weigh Monday all on it's own. Just 2 short lists to decide if it should continue to be Monday or if we should just skip on through to Tuesday.

Monday's good list:

1. I finally saw the urologist about my kidney issue.
2. B.B. saw the urologist at the same time about some issues he's having.
3. I got Bitsy in to the walk-in clinic with only a 30 minute wait.
4. I got a pair of jeans on clearance for $7.
5. I finally caved in & bought a temporal artery thermometer.
6. The people at the hospital lab were accommodating & helpful & they gave B.B. & Bitsy suckers.
7. Buddy is doing pretty well with the potty training business.

Monday's crappy list:

1. I've started a 2 week round of Cipro for my kidney which may be followed by a 60-90 day preventative regiment of antibiotics depending on my culture & how this antibiotic works (this is on this list because I have a hard time remembering to take my Prozac once a day much less an antibiotic twice a day....and I hate the idea of being on it for months at a time, but I have to get rid of this stinking infection).
2. B.B. has retractile testes (I'm sure he'll be thrilled that I've shared this on the interwebs) and has a hernia.
3. Friday we have to drive 3 hours away to see a pediatric urologist to find out if B.B. needs surgery to repair the hernia.
4. I had to take Bitsy with me to town today & she is one ill little girl.
5. Bitsy has a double ear infection & possible bladder infection that kept her from sleeping last night.
6. The urologist put a bag on her to attempt to get a urine sample for us to take to the clinic.
7. Bitsy screamed bloody murder when the nurse put the bag on, then she refused to pee in it at all.
8. They needed her to pee in a cup at the clinic & she flat refused.
9. Wal-Mart says the prescriptions will take 20 minutes to fill, but they really mean 40 minutes to an hour.
10. I'm sick with a bad head cold that kept me from sleeping last night.
11. After driving home, Bitsy finally peed in the little potty & I got the urine sample we needed.
12. That meant a second drive in to town to drop off the sample at the hospital lab.
13. Husband was getting ready to leave for work, so I had to take a tired B.B. & sick Bitsy with me back to town. They were not happy campers.
14. Bitsy had to be registered at the hospital so I could leave a cup of pee on a counter (but see #6 in the list above).
15. My lips are chapped wicked bad from all the mouth breathing & nose blowing.
16. We're being threatened with 4 inches of snow tonight & tomorrow.

Yeah. Monday sucks. It's a mathematical fact.

The Adventures of Buddy Joe

The grand plan was to get this pup to be BabyGirl's best friend. Unfortunately, Buddy Joe doesn't really understand his place in this world. He's under the impression that he's meant to live on my lap or tucked in next to me where ever I sit. He's beginning to warm up to BabyGirl, but will still come to me first & foremost. Any hints on how to remedy this?

We're crate training him. He's thinks we're crazy. He cried for almost 3 hours straight Friday night. I finally came in & laid in the living room floor until he fell asleep. Last night he did much better, but then I started out on the floor with him.

As for the house breaking, he's not doing half bad. He tinkled one tiny bit on the carpet Friday night, then this morning he peed on the linoleum behind my chair at the breakfast table. I think having Lilly May as an example is helping out in this department.

I'm currently nursing a cold. Bitsy has a runny nose. BabyGirl is congested. Lilly May & Husband both have coughs. The boys are a bit sniffly, but not horribly. So church is out for today. Instead we're opting for a day spent in our PJ's, watching what ever family movies HBO has to offer, and snacking on dry cereal & animal crackers. Don't you wish you were us?