Barkley

It has been a difficult day. We put one of our dogs down. His name was Barkley and he was a great dog. He had a variety of problems the least of which was arthritis in his knees and hips that was so painful at times that he could not walk. With the help of pain meds he was able to live comfortably for a few more weeks but, we could not justify his pain any longer. My husband had the awful task of taking him today. I am sure that was no fun. He cried most of the day. I got the task of explaning it to the girls. They took it well. No tears shed yet. The one hit the hardest about the whole thing will be his adopted brother Beau. He keeps walking around looking for him and sitting really close to us.

It is funny how I strive to make people and animals around me better - despite the pain and frustration down the long road to recovery through rehab. I felt like I should do that with Barkley initially but, thankfully did not have to wait for God to take him.

I have never put a dog down before. You feel like you lost a member of the family. I am glad to know that he is running that silly run of his in heaven with all the food he can stand forever.

Bye, Bye Barkley. I will love you forever.

Right place right time? I think divine

Have you ever felt like you were exactly where God wanted you to be and had everything that you needed to help someone else in a big way? I had the pleasure of doing a Mobile Loaves and Fishes run again yesterday. My oldest daughter and I enjoy doing the runs together and right before we left the church where we prepare the food a women came up to the truck and got a bag of food from us. As she was getting ready to go she leaned down and adjusted a bandage she had on her leg. My initial reaction was to ignore the move and send her on her way but, then I remembered that I had my first aid kit in the car. This is a super duper kit that my husband got when he worked in a safety department years ago. I have used it many times when I played soccer and was always bandaging someone up or putting on an ice pack. I prayed right then that the kit would have the supplies in it that I needed to redress her wound. I asked if she would like to have her bandage changed and when it had been changed last. She was going to the wound care clinic, where I did a clinical rotation, a couple of days a week to have the bandage changed but, a new dressing never hurts especially when the one you have is dirty and falling off your leg. She was grateful to have it changed and sat right down on the curb in front of the truck so I could look at it. Thankfully, there was no major infection and in time it would heal well. I dressed it, gave her supplies to do it again, and sent her on her way.

The whole interaction took 5 minutes or less but, I knew at the moment that I saw her adjust the bandage that God had put me there at that time to help her. All of the things I needed were in my kit and I was able to do God's will curbside. I am so blessed to have had that opportunity.

It has been a long month but, a good month - overall

It has been about a month since I last posted and it seems like 6 months have past. I am super busy with general springtime activities with the girls as well as a huge project with the League.

My sister had her beautiful baby boy, Tate Austin. The girls and I get to care for him every once in a while. It is so nice to love on a baby for a little while and then pass him back to his mom.

I had a wreck 2 months ago as I was pulling out of a parallel parking space while volunteering for Mobile Loaves and Fishes. My mistake. I was looking to make sure the delivery truck was out of the way on my right and did not see the honda coming up on my left.

Sarah and I have really enjoyed volunteering for Mobile Loaves and Fishes. It makes you so thankful for every little thing you have and the ability and freedom to go get what you need when you need it. There are times that we do not have cash on hand but, being poor is another thing altogether.

The League will be starting a new project in the Fall for our incoming provisionals. We will be providing Baty Elementary (which has 94% of its children on free or reduced lunch approx. 740 children) with backpacks of food for the weekends. Studies show that test scores and attendance are low on Mondays since children have not had proper nutrition over the weekend. My job for the year is to help schedule the girls working on the project but, I cannot wait to take my girls to help pack the food and deliver it to the children. Hunger is a huge issue in the world but, it also affects people close to us - people in our city, maybe even our neighborhood. I look forward to being part of this amazing new project.

I had a lovely mother's day. I threw a brunch honoring my sister on her first mother's day and invited both mo mom and her mom-in-law. It was nice to celebrate with all of the immediate mother's in my life. Chris and the girls bought me flowers and chocolates and he wrote me his annual mother's day letter which is better than any gift. All of it made me feel very special.

A mom kicking her kids out of the car

I was just watching the Today Show and saw a story on a mom that was arrested after she told her girls to get out of her car because they would not stop fighting. They were 3 miles from home and the oldest girl was 12 and ran after the car and was allowed back in. The 10 year old was left at a busy intersection. A good samaritan took her to get ice cream and then too her to the police station. In the meantime, the mother had called and reported the girl missing to police. At that time, they reoprted that the girl was in police custody. When she arrived at the station the arrested her.

There were 2 moms on along with Meredith Viera on the show. One was a psychologist and the other was the owner of momlogic.com. They all said that they saw that the rage and mistake she made by putting the kids in harms way. I can't help but, understand where the mom was coming from and say that I may have done the exact same thing. Interesting how it is easy to judge someone else in this situation but, it is easy for me to see myself in her and realize that it could have been me.

Sometimes, as parents, we need to put ourselves in time out. I will have to remember her and remind myself to act in the best interest of my girls even if I do want to kill them sometimes.

BFF

I had the greatest time this weekend with my best friend forever, Daylon. I got the chance to go to his beautiful house in Houston and spend the weekend doing absolutely nothing. It was great to kick back, talk, go for a walk, and eat at some great places.

We have been friends for 20 years (more than 1/2 of our lives). Alot has changed in that time but, our friendship has stayed the same. I do not get to see him often but, when I do our conversations carry on like the last time we saw each other.

He is a treasured friend and I am so glad to have him in my life.

Yippee for me - I can run a mile

I hate running and all forms of exercise unless it includes playing soccer with hot guys or running next to hot guys on the track around Lady Bird Lake. In spite of my opinion of exercise, I started running and doing an exercise class this year. I have to do it with the girls in tow so, I am always pushing them in my jogging stroller. I had not attempted to run without them in many years and for the first time in many, many years was able to complete an entire mile without stopping and feeling like I was going to die.

I think back to all of the soccer I used to play and think that 1 measly mile is really lame but, it is a start. It takes me 14 minutes to do it but, I have to start somewhere. I have now done the mile lap in my neighborhood twice and will be back to doing it with the kids this week. My next goal is to do the lap in my neighborhood with the kids in tow without stopping. The added 75 lbs. will be a challenge but, I will try to do it in the next couple of weeks.

How I conquered daylight savings time

I have always hated springing forward for daylight savings time because my sleep and my kids sleep gets all messed up. Up until this year, my children have wanted to go to sleep later and get up earlier. Less sleep is not good for me or my kids.

This year I stuck to my guns and for the 4 days before the time change moved back their bedtime 15 per night. By Saturday night they were going to bed an hour earlier and the time change was a snap.

I had heard of other moms doing this in the past but, I had not attempted it myself. This week has been very smooth as far as the sleep transition goes. I will have to remember to do it next year.

Capital V Connection is Great for Volvo Maintenance

Robert Mendoza at Capital V Connection in South Austin has made the maintenance on my Volvo so easy. He drives me back to my house while he is working on the car and then picks me up when it is done. No swapping carseats - Yippee! He has 20 years experience working on Volvos and charges way less than the dealership. 441-1334 http://www.capitalvconnection.com/

HEB Rocks!

I went grocery shopping this morning and saved a bundle at HEB with their in store coupons combined with coupons from the paper. I saved $25. Other grocery stores try to beat HEB's prices on advertised items but, HEB has great deals on most items on my list. I love the Hill Country Fare brand or HEB's brand if I can get it. In this economy it is easier to feed my family with their help.

Hello

I am totally new at this. I have never done a blog before. I do not even have a myspace or facebook page. I felt it was time to start this for several reasons but, the main reasons are to write about how great it is to be a mom in Austin, Texas, voice some of the businesses and organizations that make my life as a mom easier, and vent about stuff that gets me down or flustered.

I was raised here and have always enjoyed the cool stuff that this town has to offer. I hear from other friends that live in other cities or that came to Austin after childhood that Austin is the easiest place to hang out with your kids and do great stuff for free.

I guess I should tell you about myself. I have 2 girls and live in South Austin. According to my dad, I am a 7th generation Austinite and came with Stephen F. Austin and the first 300 families to settle Austin. I am married to a great guy who loves our girls a lot. We have 2 old golden retrievers that are very tolerant of the humans in the house.

I spend my days with my girls going to playgroups or kid activities around town. They have a ton of friends and we get together with them weekly.

I have been told for years that I am "Jamacian" (like the SNL skit) that showed guys that had 10 jobs. I have always had more thn one job and sometimes more than 2. Throughout high school and college I had up to 5 jobs at times. I was just trying to make enough $ to pay for college and survive.

At this point, I only have 3 jobs but, only 2 that pull a paycheck. I am first and formost a mom to my girls. Secondly, I am a physical therapist assistant and work PRN at a Neuro hospital in South Austin. I also have a wedding coordinating business that I have had since 1996. I office the wedding business out of my house so I can do that and be with the girls.