If it's Not a Sister, Put it Back, Mommy

"Mommy, if you have a boy instead of a sister for me, send it back."  

Daughter Rochelle was having her monthly pre-natal exam when three-year-old William made it exquisitely clear he only wants a sister.  Looking closely at mommy's belly button during the exam he asked the doctor, "Is that the baby's penis coming out?"

So, the pressure is on to produce one baby of the female gender. Last month, several of you put in your guess for gender, date of birth and weight.  Here is the newest ultrasound picture.  The contest is still running.  Rochelle is due in February.  Please tell me what you think......gender, date and weight.

Are You Addicted to Chocolate? Could it Kill You?

"You better wrap your pretty little head around it because it is the only honorable thing to do!"  How dare she speak to me like that?  SHE was the one living in total darkness and completely oblivious to what was really going on?  

I felt like a kangaroo - jumping from one conclusion to another - wishing someone would point a glow stick in the direction I should go.  Would someone please rescue me from this dilemma?  

I L O V E  chocolate.  I had hidden several pieces of those little gems from my roommate. But she caught me red-handed, with chocolate on my mouth.  

Now those little angels were yelling at the door, "TRICK OR TREAT!" She actually expected me to give up my stash I had so carefully hidden but unfortunately, couldn't resist.  Hence, she found my hiding place.

I knew she was right.  It was wrong to hoard.  Those little kids waited weeks for the opportunity to put on their costumes and hopefully scare old people into giving them candy.  

Honorable or not, I wanted chocolate - NOW.  I wasn't giving in to her threats of telling the kids I wouldn't share.  But then she said those five little words that made me cry and want to throw up - "CHOCOLATE IS POISON TO DOGS!"

The words I received for this month's Use Your Words challenge had me stumped this month.  The only answer was to start typing and see where it would take me -- there you have it.  The weird combination of words Confessions of a Part-Time Working Mom gave me were:  honorable ~ wrap ~ darkness ~ trick or treat ~ glow stick ~ kangaroo.

Please have a browse around the other blogger's posts in this challenge.  I guarantee you that you will be entertained.

Baking In A Tornado
Spatulas on Parade
The Momisodes
Sparkly Poetic Weirdo
Southern Belle Charm
Rena's World
Confessions of a Part-time Working Mom
Someone Else's Genius
Searching for Sanity
Climaxed
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy
The Bergham Chronicles
The Angrivated Mom   
Eileen's Perpetually Busy                

Photo courtesy of yummypets.com

How Do You Spend your Leisure Time?

The question posed to me was:  "You finally have a few hours to yourself. What do you do?"  Thinking about this I came up with only one answer.  

What about you?  What would you do with a few hours to yourself? When my kids were young it was great having a few hours to be alone.  I would use that time to do some baking or have coffee with a friend.  But those leisure times are long gone and now I get excited at the prospect of having a few hours without having to meet a deadline or be 'on the job.'

Having a few hours to myself gives me more time to catch up. Since launching my new career, I work around the clock taking as little time as possible to sleep or eat.  I'm not complaining - just reporting.  It is the way it is and I love being busy - daily meeting goals I have set for myself.  I know I am not the only one who feels this way.  It seems I gravitate to extremely busy people and vice versa.  

I am the wife of a disabled man so most household tasks are on my shoulders.  I own and help manage three brick and mortar businesses which require my physical presence regularly. 
                                                                        













I am a health coach (my first passion) and muscle toning technician working closely with my clients to ensure them good health.  

I host my own talk show, Never Ever Give Up Hope, that airs bi-weekly.  This requires a lot of preparation and could easily be a full-time job on its own.  It is one of the highlights of my week, listening to uplifting and encouraging stories of people who should have given up hope but NEVER did.  



I am bookkeeper for each business, chief cook and bottle washer, dog walker (we have rescued over 30 dogs from abusive situations), house cleaner, friend, confidant, mom, grandmother....and the list goes on --- what else would I possibly do with some extra free time except  to catch up?

At least one week a month I am booked as a motivational speaker for various groups, promoting my memoir, Battered Hope, and sharing my story of never giving up - no matter what!  This requires many hours of travel.

Do I feel overwhelmed?  Some days - but not too often.  The busier I am the less time I have to think about the stresses of life that can often bombard anyone of us with negative emotions, discouragement, self-pity, or anxiety.  

Pulling oneself out of a depression is hard work; staying focused on the positive things in life is the only solution.  

So, what to do with those few extra hours that are so graciously given?  Catch up on a job I have been putting off and concentrate on everything good in my life -- everything I have to be thankful for.

What about you?  Do you long for that free time and do you use it for a much-needed rest or to finally finish that novel you started last year?  Or are you like me -- happy to have the extra time to play catchup?  And the bigger question -- do you ever feel guilty taking time for just YOU? 


This post has been a monthly blogging challenge when another blogger gives you a secret subject.  My secret subject this month was:  "You finally have a few hours to yourself. What do you do?"  It was submitted by:    Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                     

         

Baking In A Tornado

The Momisodes

Spatulas on Parade

Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

Southern Belle Charm

The Lieber Family Blog

Confessions of a part-time working mom

Someone Else's Genius

Cluttered Genius

Small Talk Mama

Rena's World

Climaxed

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

The Bergham's Life Chronicles

Where to Look if Your Dog Goes Missing

"Ma'am"  I didn't respond.

"Ma'am - excuse me, MA'AM?"  This time I turned, reluctantly.  I remember the first time I was called ma'am - I felt like someone's grandma.  Well, now I am someone's grandma so I better heed the call.

"Ma'am, you have some toilet paper hanging out of your pants."  Yup, sure did.  The restroom was full of women, probably chuckling under their breath, but one was kind enough to alert me as I was leaving.

This happened on the ferry headed to Rochelle's place to do the usual house/dog/cat/sheep/goat sitting.  The goats are gone. Rochelle was tired of herding them home on LEASHES - on a busy highway. She gave them to a neighbor with a higher fence around their property.

Rochelle and family were attending a wedding which was a two-day drive away.  I always appreciate having the solitude of her home to spend time writing and catching up with my on-line deadlines.
























Their newest addition to their family of six dogs is Rocky who I introduced to you last month.  He is only five months old and incredibly well-behaved, especially for a dog who was found wandering on

Do You Have a Preference - Pointed or Flat?

Are you prejudice against certain dogs?  Do you stereotype them?  Do you believe some are smarter than others?

Our family has rescued over 30 dogs.  The other day it occurred to me that we have never adopted or rescued a flat-nosed one.  I asked my husband why and he simply said "I don't like flat-nosed dogs."  Come to think of it, I do prefer the long-nosed ones as well.

My question to you is this:  Dogs find us.  We must have some kind of internal magnet that draws the lost, the strays, the hurting to us.  So......how do they know we prefer long-nosed dogs? 

I did a little research to determine what differences there were between long and flat faced dogs.  Flat faced dogs often have breathing and respiratory complications which can lead to  health 

issues.  They are also more prone to infection, i.e. ear and eye problems.   It doesn't answer my question as to why only long nosed ones find us.  Do they SMELL us from afar?  And follow their noses?

Many of you have followed my rescue dog stories long enough to recognize many of these critters.  I have shared a few of their story links beneath their picture.  If you are a dog lover and want a laugh or a good cry -- here you go:

Abused Bernese "Charlie" was out of control
Now...two years later she is one of the best dogs ever