New Kid on the Block...and no, it's not Danny, Donnie, Joe, John or Jordan

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
We have a new addition to the Rosencrans' family! Her name is Ruby and she's a sweet little Labradoodle.
I've been pleading my case for a few months now with Tim to get another dog. Waylon really needed a buddy to play and run with and I felt like we could do something good by adopting a dog that needed a home. After researching for the last month, I found the KY Lab Rescue in Winchester. We went yesterday morning to look at the dogs and take a bucket full of goodies for the dogs we couldn't bring home. (As most people that know me can attest, I would bring every one home if at all possible.) I think Tim was a little worried about taking me there because I always cry when we go in PetSmart!
So, when we got to the rescue, we first laid eyes on a pitiful, Nicole Richie-skinny black lab that had just been rescued from a puppy mill. She was absolutely terrified, she just sat in her kennel and shook. She finally let Tim and I pet her after about an hour of cajoling. The lady told us she would actually probably have to put the dog down, not because of health issues, but because she was so incredibly timid and unsocial. At that point, the tears started rolling fast. I thought Tim was going to cry, too. The stories behind these animals is so heartwrenching it's unbelievable. Along with the black lab, 13 others had been rescued along with her from the same puppy mill. The breeder had 250 dogs, yes 250, that he was currently breeding to sell pups. All these dogs were crated and only got out for breeding purposes. The breeder decided he needed to get rid of a few of the non-productive breeders or ones that were beyond their prime, so he took them to the backyard and began shooting them in the head. Luckily, his wife came out and stopped him and called the rescue to come pick them up. One of the other females the rescue picked up was a very lucky little girl because she was the animal the breeder was getting ready to shoot when the wife came out. She had about a 6 inch graze on her head where the breeder shot and she jerked away just in time.
Getting back to our new addition, her name is Ruby and she was rescued from another irresponsible breeder who thought he couldn't get enough money out of the last four pups in his litter because they were too old....a whole 9 weeks old and they were worthless to him. The were so infested with worms and fleas it was pitiful. Four pups were rescued, two of which were in such bad shape they had to be euthenized when they returned to the rescue. Luckily, Miss Ruby was saved, though she's been through a lot in the first 13 weeks of her life. She only weighed 3 pounds when she was brought to the rescue at 9 weeks old....just to give you an idea of how emaciated that is, Waylon weighed almost 8 pounds when we brought him home at 9 wks old and he is a much, much smaller dog than Ruby.
We have an appointment with the vet today because I want to make sure everything checks out okay with her and she doesn't need any additional health attention. Hopefully everything will go well....I think Ruby is in love with our home already.

The new and improved Ruby.

For a guy that didn't want another dog, he's awfully smitten!

She's gonna be a big girl, look at those long legs!

Grooming wore her out.

Ruby pre-bath and grooming. Can you believe I brought that home? She was so good while I cut her hair, I couldn't believe it.

Cleaning Rampage!

My dream vacuum....

The last few days I have been on a cleaning rampage. This is why I usually don't start small projects like this because they get totally out of control. Yesterday I attacked the bathroom and today started with the windows, inside and out. I even took all the screens off and washed them, too!
Since Drew is getting bigger and will soon be able to crawl, (maybe, if he ever gets the hang of it), we had to remove a few things from the house because I just know he would fall and hit some part of his body on it. So, my mamaw will be soooo happy to know that the big weight lifting cage that has sat in our upstairs living room for almost 3 years is now in the garage. We really didn't spend much time upstairs before we had Drew because we either weren't home a whole lot or else we stayed in the kitchen or downstairs living room.
There's still work to be done, possibly some painting in my future, but I think the bulk of the cleaning is done for now. It's a good thing because I'm exhausted! It's amazing how much dust accumulates behind things that you just don't notice. It was pretty disgusting....I really enjoyed vacuuming it all up though, since I have a little fetish with seeing the floor after it's been freshly vacuumed.

The weekend

"Why do some people use the phrase "Non-working Mother"? Obviously these people have never had children!" Anonymous

This weekend Drew, Waylon and I stayed home all by ourselves. For those of you that know me well, it's not often that a weekend passes by that I don't go home to see my mom and mamaw, not to mention Josh and Hayley. However, with soaring gas prices and the prospect of packing all our things up just for a night or two at home, I just wanted to stay home and be lazy instead.

So, while Tim was off early Friday morning to go camping and ride dirtbikes with the boys, Drew and I settled in for a long weekend at the house. He tried watermelon for the first time but I don't think he ever actually got any in his mouth. He spent half and hour trying to pick it up off his highchair tray....that was hilarious. Finally, I just let him suck on the piece that I had eaten and it worked out much better. Later Saturday night, he went to bed early, around 7:00, only to wake up 45 minutes later, ready to rock and roll. We sat on the deck, Drew in his walker, me with my Us Weekly supply, and enjoyed the music from the neighbors for about an hour and a half. (As a sidenote, no, Drew could not roll off the deck down the step, and yes, I was watching him very close....I know my mamaw will be freaking out when she sees he was in his walker on the deck. :)).

Thanks to Tim's mom, Kathy, for providing me with all the magazines...sometimes my only connection to the outside world. I have to be able to read about the tribulations of all those celebrities in order to keep my own life in perspective, right?

By the end of the weekend, Waylon was sick of seeing the camera out, especially when he just wanted to play with Louie...minus one leg and a tail. Poor monkey. Finally, he just relaxed in the recliner and took a nap....I was wishing I could do the same.
All in all, it was a nice weekend and I liked not having to pack up the house in order to take Drew somewhere for the night, even though I missed seeing my family.




Waylon wishing I would leave him alone.





He's such a ham...anytime he sees the camera he smiles. :)


My weekly supply...I'm a junkie. (Thanks for getting me started Angie!)






He loves the bears on his walker...he talks to them the whole time he's in it.

bring the rain

the blog i've linked at the bottom of my page is ust meant to be read. if you ever have doubt, this lady puts things into perspective. i just put drew down and came to the computer to check my blog. one of my favorite things is to just browse through other blogs to see if there's anything interesting....i have sat here in the dark for the last hour reading her blog with tears streaming down my face. it's hard to read but worth it at the same time because you can see what a strong, courageous and faithful person truly looks like.

Thank you, Kelly!

Drew and I had a nice break in our day today when Kelly let us come over to the pool. Drew was much happier this time because he was fresh from a nap. He splashed, kicked and mostly just chilled in the sun. He had such a good time watching the boys play with each other.
Kelly's house was so gorgeous! It just reminds me what a wreck mine is though with all the baby stuff everywhere. I love seeing other people's homes and how they have them arranged but I always get so nervous when someone comes to my house because I feel like it's always so messy and cluttered. Ahh!
Since Landon was taking the pictures, you can't really see Drew's face for his hat. Maybe we'll get some good ones next time. Anytime he lost his teether or rubber ducky, (thanks to Angie, he loves it), he got so ticked...he's a little impatient and I just can't figure out where he gets it from...lol.
When we got home I thought Drew would be worn out and take another quick nap. Though he fell asleep as soon as we were in the car, he woke up when we got home ready to play. I got some cute pictures of him playing with his towel in the floor. I know when he's finally able to crawl I'm in big trouble!

a green thumb i am not

i walked down to the garden tonight to see the grass is beginning to take over....i guess i should have expected it since we were able to till it up as good as we wanted to. tim's mom and dad came over to help me one saturday when tim had to work (imagine that!) and we planted a few things.
now, if you don't already know, i can't grow squat. really. tim's mom took pity on me, since she has ten green fingers instead of a green thumb, and even came to our house and planted all our flowers/plants last year. that woman can grow anything!
she and bob brought some tomato plants over a few weeks ago and tim and i had a few sets of seeds to plant as well. when i walked down to the garden, i saw the tomatoes and zuchinni that kathy planted flourishing. on the other hand, my watermelon and carrots (what i had hoped would do the best) seems to be floundering. now, they're doing better than a week ago when i hauled bucket after bucket of water to the bottom of the hill to water them all since the hose won't reach. i just about broke my back, ended up soaking wet and sweaty, while trying to keep drew occupied and chasing waylon down in the neighbor's yard. so, why the hell can't my plants flourish?!?! :) oh well, maybe they're just late bloomers....if i actually grow anything we can eat on my side of the garden, i'll be sure to take a picture and let you know, i'll be so proud of myself.


i took these from the deck so i couldn't zoom in too close...i'll have to get better ones next time.

I’m sitting here changing Drew’s diaper and I look down to see I’m peeling from sitting in the sun last week. (And yes, instead of doing laundry and chores while Drew’s napping, I’m sitting on the deck, reading a book!) Anyway, I notice when I start to rub some of the yucky dead skin off that the old bosom ain’t what she used to be….not to say I haven’t noticed before, it’s just a little more noticeable when I’m wearing my swimsuit everyday. It got me thinking about how so many people have plastic surgery to correct whatever they don’t like. I even have a friend that is about five years younger than me, and after having her first baby, wants a boob job. Now, I’m not against boob jobs if that’s what you want, but it’s just not for me. Number one, I don’t prefer to experience pain like that if I don’t have to and number two, though my friend would like a boob job because of what breastfeeding did to her chest, I appreciate what happened to mine. Maybe it’s because I know Drew was given the best stuff God intended him to have as an infant, the fact that I’m a little proud that I was able to give him that nourishment or that I know how much my mamaw had to suffer when she lost one of hers just to survive…..either way, I can definitely say I am going to wear my boobies like a badge of honor, saggy or not.



Mamaw (and Papaw) on her very first lap for Relay for Life....this was the Survivor/Co-Survivor Lap. We were so proud of her after two bouts with cancer in as many years.

Pool Time!

Though I was born in the winter, my mom must have known how much I would love hot weather and swimming pools, therefore naming me Summer. I have to say, for the first time in over a year, I was pleased to put a swimsuit on and plop myself in the pool. Last year at this time I can remember crying because all I had was two piece suits and my belly was getting bigger by the minute....hello, I was not about to let anyone see that awful sight. So, hiding in the safety of either the house or on my little lawn chair down in our garage, I had to enjoy the summer that way.
This summer however, Drew and I have already been happily donning our suits and taking in all the warm weather. Drew had his first day at the pool on Saturday and I am pleased to announce he loved it. I had a feeling he would since his parents are water dogs and he loves bath time so much. With the exception of desperately needing a nap and being a little fussy, he loved the water and his "floatation device" his mamaw got him. A big thanks to Gig-maw for letting us always come to the pool, even when we have to crawl under the garage door to get in when she isn't there, thanks to D-Dog for keeping the pool sparkling clean and warm, thanks to Momma, Bug and Josh for always being ready to help me with Drew....I think he's becoming Josh's mini-me. Since Tim couldn't be at the pool Saturday, we had to make sure and video tape Drew's experience. Hopefully there will be many more to come. Maybe if the weather holds, we'll be able to go again this weekend and Tim will get to see him in person splashing and kicking nonstop.
Oh, and while we were trying to get Drew to take his nap, the biggest thanks of the day should go to Josh and Bug for teaching me, (well, laughing at me), to play Guitar Hero...like I needed another addiction.