Hate to Love the Dog

I realized this morning how much I really hate my dog.  Now, she USED to be my ‘baby girl’, before our first child came.  Actually, before I got pregnant.  Here’s a little background.

My husband was a fan of the boxer breed.  He had mentioned in passing that he would like to get a dog at some point.  We weren’t even engaged yet, but we were living together (the horror!!).  He had a birthday coming up, and I thought it would be an excellent surprise.  A co-worker had 2 boxers, and gave me the name of his breeder.  Well, before you knew it, a boxer puppy was picked out and in the arms of my VERY stunned husband.  It was love at first sight for both of us.  We named her Kuma (any Tekken fans out there?) and she was our pride and joy.  We loved her as if she were a real baby, not just a furbaby. That was September of 2005. 

We were living in an apartment at the time, but then we got engaged, married, and bought a house.  We HAD to have a house with a large yard that could be fenced if it wasn’t already.  Everything revolved around our ‘little girl’.  Then in April of 2007, I got pregnant with Wyatt.  All of a sudden, she was a smelly pain in the ass that needed to just go away.  I was constantly worried that she would knock me down (she’s 72 lbs and still thinks she’s a puppy) or just jump on my belly, which she did at least twice that I remember.

Then the baby came.  I remember driving home from the hospital with my little bundle of joy, repeatedly asking my husband if Kuma was going to be ok with him.  We had brought a blanket home that Wyatt had been swaddled in days before (he was in the NICU for 6 days) and made sure she sniffed it and all that good stuff.  However, being a new mom, I was already a wreck.  We brought him in, put his carrier on the floor, and let Kuma out of her crate.  Well wouldn’t you know, Kuma was and ANGEL with him.  Never jumped, was very gentle, and to be honest, it was love at first sight for her.  They have been best friends ever since.

So every morning, when we let her outside and her incessant barking at the wind starts to get on my nerves and raise my blood pressure, I try to remember the times when Wyatt wraps his little arms around her neck and says ‘I love you, Kuma!’ just so I won’t bang my head against the wall to drown out the noise.

[Via http://averagemaryjane.wordpress.com]

The boomerang generation

Apparently the recession has forced half a million adults between the ages of 35 and 44 to return to live with parents in 2009 due to debt, unemployment, property prices and rising numbers of relationships breaking up.

The bank Abbey, which carried out the research, says there are also around 440,000 between the ages of 25 to 34 who have been forced to return home.

The findings aren’t that surprising – being made redundant can have a huge knock-on effect on a person’s self-esteem and subsequently cause relationship problems. But living with your parents when single must make dating more difficult.

Most women look for financial stability in a potential partner, and men tend to look for independence. A first date admitting that they have had to move home due to money problems and/ or redundancy would be a big cross in many people’s eyes, especially those in their mid to late thirties who are most likely looking for a long-term relationship.

Let’s hope the economy bounces back in 2010 or there will be even more relationship break-ups – those of parents whose money runs out after their children move back home!

[Via http://kissingfrogsinthecity.wordpress.com]

FREE AUTISM SCREENING FOR TODDLERS

Free Autism Screening for Toddlers At The Outpatient Center at the Sanctuary The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, in partnership with the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Southwest Florida, offers a free monthly autism spectrum disorder screening for toddlers 18 months to 36 months of age. The next screening will be held Jan. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®, located in the parking lot of The Outpatient Center at The Sanctuary, 8960 Colonial Center Drive, Fort Myers. This is northwest of the I-75 exit 136 at Colonial Blvd. Additional screenings will be conducted each month at different locations across Lee County. It is estimated that one in every 150 children is diagnosed with some form of ASD, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. Medical consultants for the project stress that an early diagnosis can make a vast difference for toddlers and their families. They say early intensive behavioral intervention can make an immense difference not just in the development of the child, but in their families as well. The ASD screening is conducted by the Neurosciences Center at The Children’s Hospital, under the guidance of pediatric neurologist Jose Colon, MD, MPH, and pediatric psychiatrist Marianne Krouk, DO. The screenings are administered by an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, who has extensive training and experience in typical child development and developmental disorders. Screenings: · Jan. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Outpatient Center at the Sanctuary · Feb. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Miromar Outlets · Mar. 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Miromar Outlets A physician referral is not required. To schedule a screening, please call 239-985-3608.

[Via http://sheila106.wordpress.com]

Church Bulletin Bloopers

I found this old Calgary Herald article in a box of sentimental items. I love these! Even if you are a non-church goer or don’t follow religion you should still be able to understand the jokes. Brings back the memories! I can’t stop chuckling as I copy this into a post.

1. Don’t let worry kill you- let the church help
2. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community
3. Wednesday, the Ladies’ Liturgy Society will meet. Mrs. Jones will sing Put Me in my Little Bed, accompanied by the pastor
4. Thursday, there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become little mothers, please see the minister in his study.
5. This being Easter Sunday, we ask that Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar
6. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
7. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be What is Hell? Come early, and listen to our choir practise
8. The Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children
9. The eight-graders will be performing Shakepeare’s Hamlet in the church basement on Friday. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

There seems to be some overlap but more funny REAL bloopers can be read at:

http://www.tallrite.com/LightRelief/churchbloopers.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/BulletinBloopers/

[Via http://ericfairlie.wordpress.com]

ChildFund Work Continues 5 Years after Indian Ocean Tsunami — Part II

by Virginia Sowers

Community Manager

Our three-part series on recovery efforts following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami continues with an update from Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka, ChildFund National Director Guru Naik recalls 70 staff being redeployed and 1,000 community volunteers being mobilized to handle the humanitarian crisis five years ago. In the first three days following the tsunami, assistance was provided to 102,000 children and 12,000 adults who spontaneously gathered in makeshift shelters in the surrounding countryside.

Early childhood development activities, health and nutrition programs and child-centered spaces were top priorities.

In the five intervening years, the effort has shifted to reconstruction and rehabilitation activities, and reassessing the needs of the most vulnerable, still mostly children and women.

ChildFund was among the first responders following the tsunami.

To augment recovery, ChildFund Sri Lanka focused on civic work projects, micro-enterprise development to help communities reestablish their livelihoods and vocational training for youth in high-demand skills such as three-wheeler repair, cell phone repair, electrical wiring installation and pottery and Batik painting.

Today, the areas in which ChildFund Sri Lanka works have regained some degree of normalcy, Guru says. “Communities are happy and carry on their activities freely, and children enjoy the facilities now extended to them in a good environment.”

Tomorrow: Working in 35 villages, ChildFund India set up child-centered spaces, where children were given health care, nutrition and other creative activities to provide psychosocial support.

[Via http://childfundinternational.wordpress.com]

Watching the ball drop

Two and Two A, and Three and Three A are going to the Big Apple to see the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

I miss them.

I miss them and I want to go with them.

One day we’re all together laughing, eating, drinking, opening Christmas presents and the next day they are off pursuing their own bucket lists.

It is bittersweet.

Bitter hbecause I miss them as I have said.

Bitter because I am envious and want to go with them.

Sweet because I would like to think that I have inspired them with my own dreams.

Like the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song (Teach Your Children) goes…”and feed them on your dreams…the ones they pick’s…the one you’ll know by”.

Yes they were in ships in safe harbor with us at home but that’s not what ships are made for!

So, I’ll have to feast on their dreams realized when I see them again.

In the mean time I’m sledding down Mt. Lucy off the back deck in a cardboard box with Nine!

She says I’m the most fun adult she knows and she loves me.

Thank God for our big brood. The are my compass.big

[Via http://losinglucy.wordpress.com]

ChildFund Work Continues 5 Years after Indian Ocean Tsunami

by Virginia Sowers

Community Manager

Today begins a three-part series on ChildFund’s recovery efforts in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India following the 2004 tsunami.

More than 200,000 people lost their lives on Dec. 26, 2004, when, without warning, a tsunami hit countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. ChildFund was among the first responders, attending to children’s needs, distributing emergency supplies and helping families and communities organize for survival and recovery.

Like most of you, I watched the catastrophe play out on television, shocked by the devastation across Asia, and moved to make a modest contribution to disaster relief. But as is often the case in the U.S., the media cycle moves on to keep pace with Americans’ notoriously short attention spans.

Since joining the staff of ChildFund this past year, I’ve happily come to realize that our organization has a long attention span in the wake of disasters. Our field staff in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka recently updated me on the significant progress since the tsunami—and the continuing need to support children in the region.

Restarting sustainable livelihoods for devastated communities and helping children cope were the top priorities for ChildFund Indonesia in 2004. Immediate focus was placed on helping communities provide safe and healthy spaces for children, with special attention to orphans, children separated from their families and households headed by one parent or grandparents.

ChildFund Indonesia was able to assist communities with income-generating skills and improve educational opportunities for children with no access to schools. As schools were rebuilt, ChildFund established a mobile library to put books in the hands of children on a regular basis. Another program provided families with gardening tools, vegetable seeds and fertilizer. ChildFund also helped with the formation of “Self Help Groups” to start up small businesses and microenterprises within communities.

Today, community-based organizations and youth clubs continue to pave the way for improvements in education, child protection, nutrition and employment skills.

Tomorrow: Much work remains in a country still recovering from a 30-year military conflict and the deadly tsunami of 2004 — Sri Lanka.

[Via http://childfundinternational.wordpress.com]