LEAP YEAR!

Happy February 29th! An extra day!  I mean today isn't any ORDINARY Wednesday. February 29th only happens once every four years.  It is a day that should be celebrated.  I think it should become a holiday of sorts.  It should be that extra day you wish you always had. As if someone gave you the gift of an entire day. A day devoted to doing something really special.  Maybe February 29th should be a day shared with someone you love. It could be a spouse, child, friend, neighbor - anyone that holds a special place in your heart. February 29th could be a holiday that says, "I care about you. You mean the world to me".  People could go out of their way to make it a day to always remember. Maybe February 29th could be a day saved for doing something on your bucket list. It could be a holiday that says, "Today is THE day I will finally ________".  Imagine all the zip-line, parachute diving, parasailing adventurers that day would bring! Or perhaps February 29th could be a day devoted to crossing off a big TO DO on the list, taking a day off of work, creating a work of art, hiking through the woods, writing a special poem, making a 7 course meal....Something that says - I DID something awesome with my extra day.  Yes. February 29th should become an official, "I did something AWESOME with my extra day" holiday. It is a gift after all.  One extra day this year that we don't normally get.  I think a day like that should be appreciated. Happy Leap Year! I hope today brought smiles and hopefully a little something extra special to your life.

The Loudest Noise on Earth

Have you ever wondered what the loudest noise on earth is? I mean isn't that one piece of trivia just something you have to know?  Maybe you think it was the Krakatoa Volcano Eruption of 1883. That noise was recorded at 180 decibels. It could be heard more than 2,000 miles away. Any noise above 85db can cause hearing loss and the 120db-130db level is the pain threshold for humans. If you were to stand 1/2 mile away from a shuttle launch the noise level would still be 165db - so QUITE painful. You could actually die from the noise and subsequent vibrations created by a 1 Ton TNT Bomb (210db) or the noise created from standing in the epicenter of a 5.0 Richter Scale earthquake (235 db) long before you died from debris or impact. We are talking REALLY LOUD EVENTS!  But did you know - that if you take the time to Google:  "What is the loudest noise on Earth?" - the first page of results all the say the same thing. In fact, The Loudest Noise on Earth is............"Mr. Yesteryear Acres Snoring" !!!  It is true.  His snoring is actually painful.  His snoring can be heard miles away. His snoring is loud enough to cause vibrations that can shake the very foundation of a well-built brick house. Sadly Mr. Yesteryear Acres has some sort of head cold or upper respiratory infection.  I know I should feel SORRY for Mr. Yesteryear Acres. I should feel SAD for Mr. Yesteryear Acres. I should not give Mr. Yesteryear Acres evil stares all night long. I should not sit there and wonder HOW IN THE WORLD can anything be THAT LOUD. I should not wish his snoring would wake him up and that he should leap out of bed screaming, "Where is the earthquake? Where is the Volcano Eruption? Who launched a Shuttle from our backyard?" Because really that is exactly what he should be doing. He should wonder WHAT IS making that HORRIBLE LOUD SOUND?  It should frighten him. He should NOT wake up and say, "I was snoring????"  As if.  As if I am merely concocting some story. As if I do not have GIGANTIC bags under my eyes from lack of sleep the entire night. As if Mr. Yesteryear Acres would NEVER snore and even if he did - it would make the sound of a kitten purring at a mere 25db. All I know that one of us is sleeping on the couch tonight. I will give you one guess as to who!

Puppies all gone?! WAH!

Our very last McGyver goldendoodle puppy went home today.  For the first time in a long time....we have no puppies! No cute puppy kisses! No cute puppy tail wagging!  No cute puppy snuggles! WAH!  How will I live?!  Mr. Yesteryear Acres bleached down all the puppy nesting areas and I spent the day washing all the puppy toys and blankets. Tonight - there is no midnight puppy poop clean up.  I can actually go up right to bed. Tomorrow morning - I will have a cup of coffee BEFORE cleaning up puppy poop! WHAT?!  I don't even have to set my alarm to make sure I wake up to feed the puppies. This feels totally strange. This does not feel right.  I am so accustomed to my puppy routine I know I will feel all discombobulated. Maybe....just maybe......Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I will actually get our upstairs bedroom finished. Maybe just maybe I will get the house all clean and tidy. Maybe just maybe we will get our TO DO list shortened. OR Maybe Just Maybe - I will look at cute puppy pictures that everyone has been sending me and sigh and count the days until our new doodle babies arrive! The official puppy countdown has begun! Just a little over one week to go and.......NEW PUPPIES! Yea! I already miss those cute furry faces!

Welcoming Committee

I had quite the welcoming committee waiting for me at the door when I returned this evening.  I have to say if you ever want a quick ego boost - leave your house for a while and then come back to a parade of dog tail wagging.  You will feel as though you did something heroic when in fact all you really did is walk in the door. I couldn't even get a full step inside before I was surrounded by puppy and dog kisses and lots of tail wagging.  All the doggies acted like I had been gone for years.  I didn't know I was missed so much! It is nice to be so loved! I am definitely looking forward to going to bed early tonight. I am SO tired.  I can barely keep my eyes open.  Maybe just maybe ....I will sleep in tomorrow morning! I mean the doggies DID miss me.  They DO like sleeping in.  Perhaps I can suggest that the DOGGIES really wanted to sleep in and I am merely obliging their wishes.  I mean obviously it isn't MY choice to sleep in - but what can I do?  The doggies are so cute.  I feel I must not disappoint them.  Pajama Time!

Maybe I do like snoring?

Last night I slept alone. All alone.  No Mr. Yesteryear Acres.  No little Scooter doggie. No puppies. No doggies of any kind. At first I thought - OH MY.  I will stretch out in that big bed. I might even sleep sideways.  No one will nudge me.  No one will snore.  No one will scoot over and sleep on my neck.  No one will sleep on top of my head.  It will be glorious.  I haven't slept all by myself in over a year or more.  This will be heavenly.  And then the time came to say good-bye to my daughter and I drove her back to the Naval Academy. And I drove back to the hotel...all by myself.  And I walked down the hallway to my room all by myself. And I walked in my room and suddenly the bed didn't look that comfy anymore.  It looked really lonely. No one was there to curl up on my feet and keep them warm. I miss you Blossom.  No one was there to snuggle up by my neck. I miss you Penny. No one was there to nudge me. I miss you Scooter. And no one was there to snore all night long....I miss you Mr. Yesteryear Acres. I guess I kind of like a bed full of puppies and doggies and I guess well I EVEN miss snoring. That is until - well tomorrow night when the doggies all nudge me and Mr. Yesteryear Acres keeps me up all night with his snoring. Will someone remind me how much I LOVE snoring come Monday morning?

Better Late Than Never

Oh my gosh I had a scary car trip today.  First the weather was NOT good for driving. It wasn't snow but really high winds and SO MUCH FOG. At times, I couldn't see 12 inches in front of me.  The Semi Trucks and I were literally crawling at a snail's pace in fear of crashing into something unseen.  The fog was beyond thick.  I had to be somewhere ON time so of course, the traffic was horrible even without the fog.  At one point, I didn't move for 20 minutes. I kept thinking how mad the people waiting for me would be. I kept thinking WHAT IN THE HECK! WHEN WILL WE MOVE?  Finally the traffic started moving and I saw what kept us all from going anywhere.  A big Semi Truck blew off the freeway and crashed through the guardrail and plummeted to the valley below.  I felt bad that I had been so annoyed at the traffic.  Being inconvenienced for 20 minutes is nothing compared to other alternatives.  Driving from Point A to Point B always seems a simple affair but times like these remind us all how careful we must be on the road.  Less than one hour later, I was driving down the freeway when all of the sudden an ambulance coming from the other direction turned on its emergency lights and cut across the lanes of traffic, the median and pulled right in front of me.  I had to slam on my brakes. I was thinking WHAT THE HECK when the ambulance abruptly came to a halt on the side of the freeway.  There was the most horrific accident scene I have ever witnessed.  It obviously  JUST happened.  A woman slammed  her car into the side of the road/guard rail and crashed through the front windshield and was thrown onto the  rock face. It was clear that it was a fatal accident. I can't tell  you how much I wish I didn't look! It was a gruesome sight. I had tears well up in my eyes instantly.  There is somebody somewhere that is going to get the worst call of their life. My timetable didn't seem that important anymore.  Better late than never....those words could not be more true.

Puppies Make Everyone Smile

Do you know one of the very best things about puppies? They bring smiles to everyone!  Even the most grumpiest person can't resist a cute little puppy face.  Puppies make people say, "awwwww" and "ooooooh".  They turn grown REALLY  REALLY OLD AND VERY MATURE AND VERY SERIOUS 15 year old boys into little boys once again. I picked my son up from school today and had a puppy in the car. Of course when you are 15 1/2 it isn't really cool to have to go walk to your mommy's car. After all you are a few short months from being able to DRIVE a car ALL BY YOURSELF. So my son slowly walks over to the car, burdened with his heavy backpack full of books and homework, thinking about how much work lies in front of him and opens the car door. "AWWWWWW WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE LITTLE PUPPY?!!!!"  Instant smiles! Wouldn't it be nice if everything else in life was so easy? One little tail wag - and life is better instantly!

Plan B

Every single day here at Yesteryear Acres - we have the best intentions.  Our To-Do list is very thorough and we fully intend to cross each and every item off our list. Each and every day.....something happens to prevent the crossing off of the existing To-Do items but instead forces us to add additional items to the list.  That way our list is never done and each day we face Plan B.  Sometimes Plan B lasts and lasts and lasts so long that I completely forget about Plan A.  For instance TWO YEARS ago our plan was to restore our bedroom upstairs.  Great plan!  I love it!  This will be great! Is our bedroom restored? By restored do you mean the electric was all replaced and all the plaster restored but yet.....the bedroom remains EMPTY AND UNPAINTED?  Well then YES.  It is so restored.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres assures me that by the end of March this project WILL BE COMPLETE.  Being an eternal optimist, I SO want to believe him. I am willing all the good karma in the world surround Mr. Yesteryear Acres so this event can happen. This week is REALLY the week.  The week to get this bedroom finished.
Monday.....Plan A. Bedroom Restoration Project!
and then
Main outside waterline bursts, water running into barn
Monday Plan B.....Repair Waterline

Tuesday .....Plan A. Bedroom Restoration Project
and then
Horses rip through fencing and run wild all through our property
Tuesday.....Plan B.  Repair Horse Fencing

Wednesday...Plan A.  Bedroom Restoration Project
and then
Garage Door fall off track and cannot be opened
Wednesday....Plan B. Repair Garage Door

Thursday ....Plan A. Bedroom Restoration Project
and then
I shudder to even guess
Plan B to be determined.....
*sigh*

Beauty Parlor Day

Did you know all of those adorable sweet furry cute little puppies that I posted pictures of in yesterday's blog all needed baths today? This morning's weather was not very pleasant. Or to put it in more accurate terms - this morning's weather wasn't very pleasant for HUMANS but for puppies...OH BOY!  Rain and Snow!  Look at the mud puddles we can make!  My adorable cream and light apricot puppies really wanted to be chocolate doodles today.  My sink....I mean bathtub.....I mean puppy shower beauty salon...was quite active today.  All the puppies got cleaned up and they all smell so nice now.  The puppies also got the very long furry coats under their tails trimmed.  That makes it much nicer for outside potty runs because NO one likes when the potty business comes back inside underneath the tail all tangled up.  This is especially true when your cute little puppy who is so proud about doing his business outside comes bounding into the house and jumps onto your lap with his little tail wagging back and forth and then smears his business all on your lap.  Nope. Not fun.  So now they all have nicely trimmed rear ends and all their nails got trimmed as well.  I guess it was Beauty Parlor Day! And of course at Yesteryear Acres - Beauty Parlor Day has gone to the dogs!

Puppy Overload

The puppies have been having so much fun playing outside lately.  The weather has been fairly mild considering it still is winter and they have been doing great with going potty outside.  I took my camera outside during their play session and got lots of cute pictures....

Does this step make my butt look big?

Hi Mom!

Can we stay out JUST a little longer please?

YEA!  Run around!!!!!

Let's play King of the Mountain!

Pssst.  I have a secret!

That was SO not a secret!  Of course we are cute!

I think I am ready for a nap soon!

Puppy Cuddles!!!  CHEESE!!!!!!!

That was a good day!!!!

Until next time!!!!  Smile!!!!!

Grill Time!

This morning I got up early and made a lovely Sunday morning breakfast.  Since it is a 3-day weekend, I thought it would be nice to have a little bit slower start to our day today.  While we were talking about our plans for the day, Mr. Yesteryear Acres decided that since it has been so NOT winter-like - he would get the grill out and grill our dinner tonight. YEA!  I love grill time.  I love it because - Mr. Yesteryear Acres is master of the grill. He is an awesome cook and makes the most delicious dinners on our grill.  I also love grill time because....THERE ARE NO DISHES!  YES!  Everything is OUTSIDE.  That is totally Mr. Yesteryear Acres territory.  All I have to do is make the side dishes and then the normal clean up after dinner dishes.  Easy! It is almost like having a night off!  Tonight - BARBECUE RIBS! Mmmmmmm. I am super excited.  Basically all I have to do is defrost some of our summer corn and voila! I am done!  Since I have extra time, I think I will go take all the puppies outside to play and enjoy the "winter" day.  The puppies look like they agree with me and think that my idea is awesome.  I will take a few extra pictures for tomorrow's blog.  It looks like a fun day!

Video Chat

My younger daughter is going to a ball this evening.  Her University is hosting a Charter Day Ball and she is going with her friends to the big event. She is super excited because well it is a BALL!  With long dresses and festivities and everyone all dressed up in their finest.  She and I talked a little on the phone as to what she would wear.  She had really hoped I would come down to her school and help her get ready but I am too busy to make the trip.  I have sweet puppies that will be going to their new homes this coming weekend and they needs lots of care and attention.  This is the week that the puppies will all make big leaps in their potty training and I need to make sure they all go outside in a nice timely fashion so that they can get the hang of things.  Of course my daughter understood but she really wanted some Mommy time to get ready for the ball so what could we do? Video Chat!  My daughter video called me this afternoon and we spent almost 2 hours chatting.  I got to see all her choices of dresses, headbands, necklaces, purses, nail polish - the works.  We picked out each piece and then worked on hairdos and make-up.  It was like I was there - or as close to being there as I could.  She felt really happy with our afternoon together and so did I. She even got to video chat with the doggies and a few puppies.  She REALLY misses the dogs and I think that even though I was on the video chat....chatting with the doggies was her favorite part. The doggies seemed to have enjoyed it as well. "Arooooooooo!" Have fun at the Ball tonight!!!  The doggies and I can't wait to hear all about it!

Well it was 2 hours long....

Today I have made a very nice slow cooked, much attention required, made from scratch, from the heart, dinner. What is the occasion you ask? Hmmmm. Because it is Friday? Yes. Yes. Because it is Friday! Or.....is it because I recorded American Idol and started watching it in the kitchen and had to justify my time spent in the kitchen.  I mean I can't just sit and watch a TV show. We always have way too much work to do around here.  There is no sitting without guilt.  Puppies need care. Work needs done. Our "To-Do" list is always never ending.  So I started to wash all the puppy pans and hit "play" so I could watch some of last night's show while doing the dishes.  Well without my consent....I was stuck. Stuck watching the show. Stuck wondering WHO will be sent home!!!  How could I stop???  What could I do? I know! Cream of Potato Leek Soup! And what if I grate all the potatoes so I will have nice delightfully even pieces of potato in my soup. Oh wait - What if I make homemade bread sticks to go with the soup?  Now we are talking.  And how about if I trim all the puppy nails while the dough is rising? OOOOH!  I just might have the exact amount of work to do in the kitchen to get me to the end of the show. Dinner - check! Puppies - check! Dishes - check! Idol....CHECK! Happy family - Check check and check!

Mask and Gloves Required

This was most definitely a Mask and Gloves Required day - and no - I am not referring to puppy clean up. I am used to the puppy clean up.  I do the puppy clean up all day long.  Every 15 minutes I am cleaning up puppy stuff.  The sweet puppies never fail to leave me a little surprise.  4 times an hour I clean up poop. Every hour. Every day. Every week. Every month.  I am quite good at it and our puppy area is always clean. The puppies just love me for it too.  I always get the right amount of thanks, tail wagging and gratitude.  No this Mask and Gloves Required task was altogether different.  I cleaned.....the living room. Oh why is that so dangerous you ask? Well - my son has been SICK. AND he carries the man gene. AND he has been camped out in the living room as if it were his own personal MAN CAVE. AND in his mind - He was close to death and could not possibly leave his man cave. My son got sick last weekend.  In his defense- he was really sick. Not even "man sick". Legitimately sick.  He had a wicked upper respiratory infection, high fever, bronchitis.  He got a good dose of the virus for sure. So he camped out in the living room as it was far too far to go upstairs to his room.  There he sat day after day, box after box of tissues, contaminating the living room. I set up a large trash can which was overflowing with tissues and cough drop wrappers.  Some tissues didn't even make it to the trash can. YUCK.  Blankets, towels, wash cloths, popsicle wrappers - it was an environmental disaster area.  So when my son left for school today, I braved the disaster area and got to work. I donned my gloves and protective gear and cleaned and sanitized the entire living room.  I believe there is some kind of medal or award or something meritorious that I should receive for my efforts.  It was a monumental task.  I have one more load of blankets to put in the dryer and I can consider this job done.  Ahhhh job well done.  Ahhhhh finished. Ahhhhh I am amazing.  ACK! WAIT! NO! My son is home and he is ....going back into the LIVING ROOM!  He is resuming his "Man Cave" retreat! Nooooooooo!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Each week our puppies change so much.  When they are first born they are teeny tiny little things that can't see or hear.  They have pink little noses and pink little paw pads.  Within a week their pigment starts to darken and right around 10 days of age their little eyes open up.  From week 2 to week 4 they spend a lot of time nursing and sleeping and then nursing some more.  Once they are around 4 weeks of age, we start introducing solid foods to the puppies.  It takes a few days before the puppies get the hang of eating real food, but once they do - the puppies really start to grow.  Their coats start to fill out and the puppies really get super cute.  I always ask new puppy families to wait until the puppies are around 5-6 weeks old before they choose their specific puppy.  Before then it is hard to really know too much about each puppy except of course that it each one is adorably cute! By the time the puppies are eating solid foods and are up and romping about - it is the perfect puppy age to choose which cute furry face you love the most. Just look and see what a difference a week makes.......

Little Pink Collar Girl - 4 Weeks Old

Pink Collar Girl 5 Weeks Old

Little Blue Collar Boy 4 Weeks Old

Blue Collar Boy 5 Weeks Old

Little Green Collar Boy 4 Weeks Old

Green Collar Boy 5 Weeks Old

Little Black Collar Boy 4 Weeks Old

Black Collar Boy 5 Weeks Old

Even though it seems so hard to wait until the puppies get older before making your puppy choice, it is definitely worth it. The puppies just get cuter and cuter with each passing week. Once they are on solid foods the puppies also start going outside to go to the potty and get to experience all kinds of new things. So not only are the puppies cuter...they are also smarter too! Be ready for more fluffiness next week! These puppies will almost be old enough to go to their new homes and of course...will be even cuter!!!!!

Happy White Valentine's Day!

I know I said today's blog would be all about puppy pictures but I forgot that today is Valentine's Day so I will have to make tomorrow puppy picture day. Today is WHITE VALENTINE'S DAY because IT IS SNOWING! Honest to goodness REAL snow.  Not even a whisper of snow but a veritable snowfall!  Oh my gosh - I feel like putting on my snowsuit and dancing out in the snow. If my ankle were better, I would be outside sledding! It is so beautiful outside.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I had our morning coffee together and just sat in front of the window and watched the snowfall. It was so lovely.  We had the really big snowflakes falling from the sky.  Everything is white and I just love that.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres has been calling it our White Valentine's Day. I have been enjoying every minute of it, from the soft beauty of the fresh fallen snow to the crazy antics of our doodle doggies running around tunneling through the snow making doggie snow angels.  It is the real winter day we all have waited for. My older daughter has been asking how much snow, how much snow? She wants to be home to play outside in the snow with the doggies.  I told her they wished she were home to play and make snowmen with them. This is what it looks like here at Yesteryear Acres out our backdoor -

We had great big snowflakes falling pretty much all day long. I know I am in the minority - but I LOVE SNOW!  I LOVE IT.  Everything is so beautiful.

I hope it snows the rest of the day! Mr. Yesteryear Acres wanted to be sure to make my Happy Snowy White Valentine's Day even more perfect and brought home....

FLOWERS!!!!!!

I was SO surprised!  I got a big box of chocolates too!  Oh my gosh!  If I say that this is our 27th Valentine's Day together - does that make me sound old? I have to say that in 27 Valentine Days of celebration there have not been many filled with flowers and chocolates so I was SUPER surprised.  I immediately texted my 2 daughters to tell them and they were even more surprised than I was!  I got a lot of heart texts and OMG DADDY! When I told Mr. Yesteryear Acres how surprised we all were - he was surprised.  He seems to think he does that all the time. And then he sat and thought.  And thought. And thought. And yes - well it was a long time and it was surprising! LOL.  Time has a way of kind of marching on - and we usually just say Happy Valentine's Day and have a normal day. I mean we are sincere and really appreciate the day and love spending the day together - but there isn't a lot of fanfare. Flowers and Chocolates? Oh yes please!!! So since Mr. Yesteryear Acres is now Mr. Valentines..... I decided to return the favor.  I got dressed up in my nice red dress that I got for Christmas and have been making a homemade Valentine's dinner.  I have my homemade soup simmering on the stove, I have homemade rolls rising in the oven and am in the process of making parfaits for dessert and am even cutting out little heart marshmallows for the top. I guess I will be Mrs. Valentines for the day! Happy White Valentine's Day! Hope your day is one full of love!

The Radar Is Clear!

Well I made it home safe and sound late last night.  I waited until later in the afternoon to start my drive home from Annapolis. It looked like the worst of  weather was over so I decided to take my chances. Most of the drive was pretty uneventful but there were a few places in the mountains where I thought, "WHY DID I DO THIS?!"  I hate it when there is just one lane BARELY open and you have to keep your tires right in the tracks and you can't see anything except the tail lights of the car in front of you.  It was snowing really hard and was SO WINDY.  Oh my gosh. I needed 2 hands on the wheel the entire drive. The semi-trucks were really having to struggle. While I was making the harrowing mountain drive home, Mr. Yesteryear Acres called and said, "The radar is clear! You have no snow!"  I let him know that I was behind a parade of 6 snowplows and it was snowing so hard I couldn't see the sides of the road.  He said that can't be right - the radar is clear! It isn't snowing there! I politely let him know that:
1) No one drives 25 mph on a freeway unless maybe...IT IS SNOWING
2) No one follows 6 SNOW plows on the freeway unless maybe....IT IS SNOWING
3) No one has their windshield wipers on full speed unless maybe ..... IT IS SNOWING
4) No one uses ALL their windshield wiper fluid to clean off the salt and slush unless maybe....IT IS SNOWING
5) No one sits in a car with wet slushy snowy boots unless perhaps they got out of the car to pump more gas and there was about 6+ inches of pure snow/slush on the ground because maybe just maybe......IT IS SNOWING
6) No one adds 2+ hours of driving time to their route, because they are driving so slowly, because they have to follow a snowplow, because they can't see, because there is so much snow UNLESS MAYBE IT IS SNOWING
I think he finally got the picture at number 3 - but I kept going.  I like to make a point. Even though it was super late when I got home, I made it and was greeted by a lot of furry kisses and hugs.  I have some AWESOME new puppy pictures that I posted to the website.  I will post them on tomorrow's blog.  You won't believe how much they have grown!  They are adorable.  And just remember - Even if the radar says it isn't snowing in the mountains, if your wife is driving in the snow - it is probably SNOWING!

Snowbound

I woke up this morning to a blanket of white.  It is SO windy and my route home doesn't look too promising.  There is a winter storm warning with lots of snow, ice and very high winds. Hmmmm. I did this once.  Back in 2010,  I made a trip to see my daughter on her birthday in a blizzard.  It was a real legitimate blizzard with cars stuck on the road for 13+ hours and trucks jack-knifed everywhere. It was the scariest drive I have ever had to make. I promised myself I would never do it again. So now I am forced to figure out whether I want to brave the mountain drive back home today. Ice. Snow. High Winds. Hmmm. At least there isn't a blizzard warning. Normally, I would have already been on the road by now but I am stalling in the hopes the roads get plowed. I just checked again and e highway warning system still say both the slow and fast lanes are snow and ice covered and the warning is still in effect. Argh. Well I guess I will wait another hour and MAYBE the sun will come out and the snow will all melt away.  I can hope anyway!

MIdshipman Weekend!

One of the nicest things about being a mom of a Naval Academy midshipmen is that you get to meet and make friends with the nicest people. The midshipmen that go to the Naval Academy are just about the kindest, smartest and most devoted and selfless students you will ever meet on any college campus. They are polite, funny, and so much fun to hang out with. I always feel honored to be in their presence.  As a huge bonus, the parents of those midshipmen are equally awesome.  This weekend I have had such a great time hanging out with the most awesome group of midmoms and midshipmen.  Last night we all met for dinner and laughed and chatted the entire evening.  It was a great evening. Today was more of the same. My midmom friends and their children are just the nicest people you could ever meet.  Thank you for such a wonderful weekend! The whole event was made even more special by the fact that today is my older daughter's birthday.  I am sooooo glad I am here with her to celebrate her big day.  I know it may be a long time - probably years before I get the chance to spend her birthday with her again and I am so grateful for every second we have together.  Tonight we are going to spend the evening - just the two of us - having a yummy dinner from home and talking until the wee hours of the morning.  Happy Birthday my dear mid-daughter! I love you!

Precious Cargo.....delivered safely

I made it! My ankle and I arrived safely in Annapolis and all the puppies were safely delivered to their new families. They were really good travelers. I mean they DID do a LOT of pooping along the way and I did have to make several pit stops - but no one got carsick and they were quiet little travelers. The only time they got really noisy was when I was listening to "The Whistler" on Radio Classics. Every time the storyline break came up and the whistling started, the puppies all started whining and howling. Mr. Yesteryear Acres is always whistling so I guess that made the puppies miss him! It was pretty cute! I did have one super exciting thing happen on my drive today! You will NEVER guess what crossed the road in front of me on the highway! I called Mr. Yesteryear Acres right away, I could hardly contain my excitement. He guessed Turkey. WRONG. I called my son (who is buried under blankets sick at home in bed) and he guessed Ring-Necked Pheasant. WRONG AGAIN! I mean I almost was jumping up and down IN the car I was so excited. Are you ready? A BOBCAT! A for real - big BOBCAT! It ran across all the lanes of traffic and I had to hit my brakes in order not to squish it. I got a really good close up look! I have only seen bobcats in the zoo. This is my very first wild bobcat and it was AWESOME! It just made my whole drive! There were also an inordinate amount of huge hawks today so I had my wildlife drive complete with patches of snow on the mountainsides. It was a good drive and I made it just ahead of the snowstorm. Now I am off to get a pillow, a bag of ice and rest my poor ankle until dinner time tonight. Hopefully the swelling will go down and I will make it out to see my midmom friends for the evening. In any event... I MADE IT!