Easter Weekend in all its glory!

What a weekend!  Phew…

The last time I wrote, Jack was very ill and luckily Buster was there to save the day.  Not sure what we would do without him…he’s a true hero in our family!

 Hmmm…where to begin?  I’m thinking we start from Easter Sunday and work our way backward to Friday.  Sound good?  Ok. 

We woke up Easter morning to the baskets overflowing with tooth-rotting high fructose corn syrup goodies (My favorite, of course!  Those of you who know me are fully aware that I am a lover of all things sugar…bar none!).  There were all sorts of fun doo-dads, toys…and clothes?  Weird Easter Bunny! 

The Easter Loot!

3 out of 4 of my rugrats!

After a nice leisurely morning/early afternoon, we headed to the Grandparents to eat a ham dinner & hunt for eggs! 

All the Otto Grandkids

Haley- 18

Abi- 13

Chloe- 13 (and Abi)

Kaden- 9

Natalie- 7

Jack- 6

 A good time was had by all…good food, good family, good fun…good candy!  Did I mention that I REALLY like candy?  Just making sure.



THE EGGS!

Rewind to Saturday…

We had Jack's 6th birthday "friend" party.  We already celebrated with family on his "actual" birthday which was approximately 1 month ago.  I should probably explain why we had his party so much later.  As many of you know, we do NOT have a weekend available from March through June due to Abi’s rigorous fastpitch schedule.  We lucked out this year with no tournament on Easter weekend (much to Abi & John’s chagrin).  I promised Jack we could have his “friend” party then…not realizing that many of his friends would be gone for Easter!  “…and the Mother of the Year award goes to…” 

 It was a great party nonetheless and Jack had fun with his friends…that’s all that matters, right?  'Ello?  Govnah?  A HUGE thanks to my daughter Haley & her boyfriend Josh for all the help with games and some pictures...you made it so fun for all the rugrats! 
Anyway, Jack was pretty bossy through the whole party which I believe is the next phase we are getting ready to run into next.  I will readily admit that I am not a good mother for this phase…just like I am not a good mother for the talking back phase, the whining phase, the crying phase, the I-absolutely-CANNOT-pick-up-after-myself-at-any-cost phase, the…well, I didn’t want the Mother of the Year award anyway…it’s for chumps.

Remember that icky stomach bug Jack was suffering from on Thursday, well…yea…Abi got it on Saturday.  Not fun at all.  She fell asleep about 3.2 seconds after Jack’s party got started (she slept so hard that she didn’t even notice she was sleeping right on the remote control…uncomfortable?  See picture below :) and then woke up after it was all over.   “Where is everyone?  Did I sleep through the whole party?  How did that happen?  What time is it?  Where am I?  Mommy?”  Ok…maybe she didn’t say those last 2 things but she was pretty confused!  I should also mention that I am not a good mother for the puking-all-over-the-place phase either.  I’m just being honest.

Rewind to Friday…

It was a pretty typical day in the Otto household.  Jack was back to his normal self (I use the word normal “loosely” as there isn’t anything normal about our family!) and was able to go to school which he was very excited about.  He is an EXTREMELY social little boy and he hates to miss school…he has friends he neeeeeeeds to talk to and play with on the playground…very important stuff.  Kaden had a pretty typical day at school as well…nothing too interesting there.  (She did have a really interesting day on Wednesday which I will talk about on another post.)  Abi had track practice after school, came home to do her chores before heading to a friend’s birthday party…nothing too crazy there.  John & I both worked today and I watched my niece in the afternoon…typical, typical, typical.  It was turning out to be a pretty normal, boring, everyday, ordinary Friday.  That would be a great title for a children’s book.  Wait…I think there is actually a book with a similar title…hold on…I’m going to look it up….

I’m back…here is the book I must have been channeling…kind of...except only not...whatever!   Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Alright…I’m getting sidetracked by great children’s books…sorry about that!

I was standing at the sink, washing dishes and ultimately feeling sorry for myself like I do pretty much every time I do the dishes, the laundry or have to clean the bathrooms.  Not a good mother for that either…starting to really doubt my skills here???  John walks in the door from work and he is holding something behind his back.  I’m thinking “Yay!  I’m such a GREAT wife and GREAT mother (yes, I go back and forth on my confidence as a mother…It’s common, I think?) and all-around FANTASTIC person that my WONDERFUL, AMAZING, FABULOUSLY considerate and thoughtful husband thought I deserved some flowers!”  I turned back to the sink so I didn’t seem too eager…I have some pride, you know!  Suddenly, I felt something on my right shoulder.  “Ah, the beautiful flowers I TOTALLY deserve are right behind me.”  I turn slowly as to make every second count…ok, I’m being really dramatic here and I realize it is absolutely ridiculous BUT it makes things more fun for me…anyway, here is what I see…

His name is Cooper (aka Cooper the Pooper), he’s a Shih Tzu and he is 10 weeks old.  We found Cooper at Pat’s Shih Tzu Treasures through a friend’s referral (THANKS LISA!). We checked out the website and found him…cute as can be!  I have been asking, pleading, begging, and sending not-so-subtle hints about this dog for a few weeks now.  What mama wants, mama gets!  (Sometimes mama gets what she doesn’t want too…see above about dishes, laundry, bathrooms…)

What do you think?  Pretty cute, eh?  John thinks he looks like Chewbacca…

Many people have commented saying he looks like an Ewok…

Or maybe Gizmo from Gremlins…

What do you think?  Do you think he resembles anyone/anything else?

Either way, he is the love of my life and you will be hearing many, many stories about him…he will be famous…

Here are a few more pictures for you to “ooooh!” and “aaaaaawww!” over…I know I will!

Abi thinks his fluffy butt is cute!

Ridiculously in love,

Toni

Jack is Sick...Buster to the Rescue!

Ah...Buster!  See that decrepit little brown mass that Jack is holding on to?  That's Buster.  He has been Jack's partner in crime through most everything he has done since birth...he loves that dog.  Man's best friend...absolutely!  Nevermind the fact that he isn't a real dog which means he doesn't cost too much to take care of but I digress. 

 

Buster is probably the most loved stuffed animal I've ever witnessed but the kookiest part about Buster is he's had to endure some of the harshest conditions imaginable.  Jack loves the "smell" of Buster so he is constantly sniffing him in a wipe-his-nose kind of way.  As you can imagine, runny nose = snotty Buster.  That is the least of Buster's worries.  He has been left behind in all sorts of locations, he's been kicked, thrown, hit (sometimes he "pitches in" by acting as the baseball/softball in a batting session...he's a real team player).  He's been rained on, snowed on, covered in mud.  He's been snotted on (see above), sneezed on, drooled on, pooped on and, most recently, puked on.  Jack is sick...poor guy!* 

 

*Note:  It is the ONLY time Jack will take a nap during the day...happens about once a year.  

 

So, as we speak, Buster is "at the spa" getting all cleaned up.  Funny thing is, since he has been there, Jack has one thin on his mind.  Jack says, in his "I'm a big 6 year old but a boy still has a need for his beloved pup" sort of way, "So, Mom...um...I was just wondering if Buster is all cleaned up yet?" 

 

10 minutes later..."So, Mom...um...how are you going to know when Buster is all cleaned up?" 

 

10 minutes after that..."Hey Mom...I think I heard a beep in the laundry room...do you think Buster is ready for me?" 

 

This goes on for quite a while... 

 

So I say, trying not to giggle at his persistence, "Jack, the second he is all cleaned up, I will grab him and bring him right to you." 

 

Biggest, brightest smile I've seen in a long time...it's amazing what the little things can do! 

 

Get better Little Man :)

 

 

Well...here we go!

Ok…as I’ve said in my profile, I am new to this “blogging” thing.  I have recently started reading some fabulous blogs and thought I might venture into this new world.

I should also state that I am in no way a “writer” so be prepared for many, many errors (I used that word very broadly).  I will mainly share the every day, ordinary adventures of our family and will try to include pictures when I can. 

Thanks to Pioneer Woman for helping me to find the gumption to start my own blog about my simple, not-so-interesting life…

Nervous, but excited...

Toni