Emme's Kitty Friend

You all know Tom Jones must be away because this cat nor any other would dare set foot on "his" territory. All the stray cats know Tom Jones as he terrorizes them and I sometimes have to save them as he has them cornered up against the fence. He despises cats. He has never hurt one but the way he looks at them and tears after them like they are a well seasoned steak is scary enough. Tom & Jerry will be returning tonight from their mini vacay at Grammy & Papa Mike's so I'm afraid this will be the last time Emme sees this friendly feline.

Excellent Scorekeeping!

This past weekend Emme came and sat with me at the score table while I did some work. She wanted to write on some scribe sheets so I gave her some blanks. I think she did a great job as both a scribe and score keeper. Whoever was running this dog was super fast! Great job Emme with your zeros!

Fun Weekend

Even though we didn't Q for our ADCH, everyone had a great weekend. Jack rolled over for the first time, we ran some great runs with the dogs and Jack rode his first big boy swing. Many of my agility friends are planning their next trial but I am taking this return to agility slow. It is so hard to compete and take care of two little ones. My parents are a great help but it is still hard to manage all these things in your head and compete on top of it all. I am so lucky that Emme and Jack are so good or I would never even be able to get out of the house never mind hang out in a hot field all weekend. Hopefully we will be able to trial before the end of the summer.



Blackthorne Weekend

Jack and Papa Mike decked out in their Adidas Blues!

Roll

Roll

Roll

Roll Over- He did it a bunch of times. So proud! He definitely has enough weight behind him to move him over!

So we were going for our ADCH today and I had a great partner and Tom and I ran clean. I think we did awesome but our partners Larry and Ginger made a few errors and we were over time. I have never been so nervous in my life. I was glad to have run clean though. Even though we didn't Q I wouldn't mind pairing with them again. Still one leg to go for the ADCH!

SNOOKER SUPER Q!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to say that Tom Jones is only one leg away from his ADCH which is a huge accomplishment for us. Memorial Day weekend we were in Saratoga for Y Agility's trial and we Super Q'ed on a really tough course that ate up a lot of greedy competitors who were going for lots of points. We kept it simple which is so hard since I have been trying to get this last snooker leg for awhile but we did it and we placed fourth. What I thought was even cooler was that Tom's sister Bean with Shannon Kelly and his cousin Zeke with Jeannie Bonsignore also placed and super Q'ed too on the same course!

We have been competing now for almost 4 years and I have had two babies during that time. I have taken a good amount of time off and Tom is always so good about jumping right back into the game. We have has some ups and downs but I have truly loved every second so far. Coming this far is an accomplishment in itself. Now all we need is a pairs leg and it will be our ADCH! Then we can set our next agility goal!

Jack's First Trial

Breeze, Abbie, Smartie, Jerry, Jack, Emme, Tom, Maddie & ROO!

This was taken on the last day of my first trial back after having Jack. We didn't get any Q's but we ran a ton. It felt great getting back into the swing of things even though I know it will be a slow, long process of getting back into shape and the dogs too! Jerry has shown a lot of maturing and he follows the courses better instead of doing "his own thing." Tom is amazing- just jumped back in and all of the mistakes we made were mine so I can't complain. My mom is exhausted after now having to keep an eye on two but good thing Jack is still staioned in his stroller. Wait until both kids are up and moving. Hopefully by then Emme will be running her own dog! ( the two dogs on the right are our friend Lauren's dogs- ROO stays with us when Lauren goes away on long trips- she is so fun and Emme loves her)

Hanging Out

 Jack amuses himself at dog trials by sleeping A LOT! We are outdoors all day so he gets a lot of fresh air.

 Emme loves to be in the ex-pen. This is her choice. She likes to be locked up with the dogs. She sings to them and dances around them and occasionally snuggles up with one and rests. Don't worry someone is always watching her with them. We don't just lock her up and go run our dogs. My mom is stationed just outside the gate with Jack.

Here is Jack's first picture at Stew Leonard's Little Farm!

Random Pictures



Devil





Angel







Peaceful



                                Look at me... I still have Blue eyes!!!!!!!!!!

Emme faking sleep and Jerry the protector keeping an eye on Jackie!!

Emme's First Starbucks

At the SPCA Walkathon today, there was a Starbucks giving out FREE drinks to all walkers and vendors. Since we were there representing PCOTC, our dog training center, I let Emme get a Raspberry Tea. She drank a little and decided she didn't like it. I think she is a Dunkin Donuts gal like me!

I hate Insurance Companies

Better yet- I have had it with my ob/gyn. I am still bitter about having to switch to a new doctor when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Jack. Since I arrived at the office of what was 2 doctors and 2 midwives all that is left is one doctor with whom no one seems to get along with and a midwife who is leaving at the end of the month. I still have an open incision so I am going to great lengths to get it healed so I can leave too. So back to why I hate insurance companies. The fabulous doctor I described above refused to do Jack's circumcision  in the hospital because "she doesn't do circumcisions- that is the midwife's job." The midwife had that weekend off that I was in the hospital because the doc was to go on vacation for the following week and a half and she would be the only one on call. The doctor told me it would be done in her office by the midwife as soon as I was discharged. I asked if it would be a problem with insurance since I was already precertified for the procedure in the hospital. She said it wouldn't and it was done frequently so I thought nothing of it even when the nurses gave me a look when it was not done in the hospital. So when I went to the office and they asked me for a referral I was shocked. I couldn't produce a referral yet since Jack didn't have his own insurance (he was covered under mine for the first 31 days) but they kept telling me I needed one from his doctor. They even called his pediatrician whom Jack had not yet seen and they told them they couldn't give a referral because he wasn't their patient yet and he had no ID number. This went on for an hour and a half with all of us including the ped calling the insurance company to see how we could handle it. I was in hysterics wanting to leave, Paul was trying to calm my post partum mood swing and keep Jack happy when finally the secretary said it was cleared that Jack could have the circumcision- they got the ok from the insurance company.

SO WHY did I get a statement of the insurance company refusing to pay and the office telling me they refused to eat the bill?? So today I spent almost an hour and a half on the phone with three different people and got three different answers as to why they are not paying when finally someone said that the office sent the bill to the wrong place and that is why it wasn't covered. Well now we will really see if that is true. Stay tuned- I am sure this is not the end of this! All the while my mom and Jeanine came and entertained the kids while I fought with these nasty people. UGH!

Happy 2nd Birthday Emme!!!!

Since my blood pressure has been increasing this pregnancy the midwife insisted I come in today to get checked. I requested to leave early from work so that I would only miss 1/2 hour of the day but was denied and told I had to take the whole day. I was angry at first but then I got excited because Paul was off on an end day and with me being off we could spend extra time with Emme on her birthday!

 We started the day off at the diner where Emme requested pancakes and bacon!

Emme enjoying her birthday breakfast out!

 Emme went off to school and Paul and I to the doctor. After the appointment which went ok, we surprised Emme at school with her birthday cupcakes and smoothies. She was a little intimidated by the Mickey Mouse cupcake tower.



Devouring her Mickey cupcake!



Later that night she opened her presents and got lots of cool stuff.





Tom helps open gifts



Jerry inspects the helmet

 

Princess Emme on her princess trike

I cannot believe my little girl is 2. She is such a good girl even though we are into the terrible twos. She is very smart which is not so good for me because she understands how to drive me crazy sometimes! She is going to be a great big sister!

Never Ending Winter

 A little deep.....

Papa Mike's new car! There has been so much snow in the city that he has no place to park it! So it has been residing in our driveway. We keep telling him that if he doesn't come and get it soon we will start using it!

Playing with her fur brothers!

Annual Holiday Card Crapshoot er... I mean photoshoot!

So it took 6 adults, a whole bag of doggie treats and loads of patience to get the fnal shots for my parents' annual holiday card. My dad managed to fall on the floor and not break anything and no one ended up killing any other human or animal although it was close. There was minimal swearing however but much less than last year. Here are a few of my favorite oopsie shots!

 Jerry "STAY, no kisses thank you!"

 No Emme you stay too!

Emme giving Smartie a shot!

Um Brody- you are supposed to be sitting not trying to get Tom to play with you.

We can't wait until next year when we add two more babies and ?? more dogs to this photo! Yes that's right I am due in February and Jeanine is having a baby and due in August!!! Kevin is already having anxiety over next year's shot! 

Roo comes to visit

My agility friends are all on their way to Kentucky with their dogs for the Nationals. I would have liked to go but it would have been difficult taking time off from work and I really only have one dog that I could compete with. Jerry is still too wacko to run competitively. So instead I offered to dog sit my friend Lauren's special needs dog Roo. Roo fit right in at my house and Emme was so excited. She loves all animals and loved having crazy Roo all to herself.

Saratoga Continued

Here is Emme hanging out in the ex-pen with her friends while we were breaking down the tents. She loves to go in and play with all her "gawggies!" They are all so sweet with her. Sometimes they knock her down and suffocate her with sloppy kisses but she wouldn't have it any other way!

Saratoga Trial

Nasty face
Nice face

Scary cotton candy monster!

Dragging all my purchases back to the car!

Every Memorial Day Weekend we run in the Y Agility trial in Saratoga. We always have a great time and this year my mom's cousin who lives really close was able to come and visit with us. The dogs ran well and Emme had a blast as always. We ate a a great restaurant called Circus Circus one night which boasts a separate full gluten free menu which I loved. For dessert we ordered Emme cotton candy and it was so big she wasn't able to see her Papa Mike who was sitting across from her. So as he was talking, all she could see was this huge monster like cotton candy and she started to freak out and cry and wouldn't eat the cotton candy.

Bark For Life 2010

Brody
Our Team!

Thank you to all who donated to the American Cancer Society Bark For Life. Our team raised over $1,500 to help in the fight against cancer in our human and canine friends. This was our biggest team so far and hope to raise even more money next year. Maybe you will consider joining our team. You don't even need a dog!