Haven't blogged in a while....

Well, I don't really have a whole lot to talk about from the last week or so....Tim and I took Drew to the pool again on Sunday and Monday. He has so much fun, it never gets old. He's started this new thing where he smooshes up his face and blows out his nose. We call it "bullin'", I don't know why. Hayley used to do it when she was little, too. He knows we think it's funny so he'll do it, wait for us to laugh, then he laughs.

We visited the babysitter today which was good. She seems like such a sweet lady and Drew actually crawled over to her....that's a feat considering he usually sticks to me like glue in unfamiliar places. The other boys that were there were sweet also....they are 18 mths and 21 mths, and Drew makes two of them!

I guess now we have to get ready for school to start...it always makes me nervous. I really feel like a slacker this year too because I haven't done much in my room. I just feel guilty leaving Drew to go work in my room when I don't have many days left with him at home. I also know that no matter how much I think I'm prepared, I am not. So, I think I'll just play it by ear, spend time with my baby and let the school thing run it's course. I know we'll work hard and start the year off learning, whether my papers are in order or not.

On a side note, I received an email or two from our former house guests two weeks ago. I stewed and stewed, making Hayley and Tim read and reread the messages before responding. The last email I got from them in May was not something I chose to respond to and evidently that did not sit well. I felt like not saying anything was my best option, and still do. In the latest emails I was blamed for giving them the cold shoulder and "keeping" Tim from being able to hang out with his so-called friend. I was also told that we were not "used" or taken advantage of in any way seeing as how they gave us $900 two weeks after they moved out....evidently our memories are a little different because I distinctly remember never charging rent or money for utilities (when our utilities were 3 times what they are normally), buying their baby food, diapers, buying them food, buying their dog's food, having to scour my entire house when they left, throw away sheets, bedspreads, towels, rugs, etc. when they moved and having to pack up their things... And the $900 they so generously gave us, well, it was $850 and they owed it to Tim for going to pick up their UHaul in NC for gas, etc. and forgot that Tim charged extra so they would profit nearly $500 when they received their $1400 reimbursement check. Funny how memories are different.

Okay, that was a long side note and I really do not mean to be negative....I've just been thinking about it for a few weeks now and for someone who is honest and tries to be a good person, it's a little upsetting when you are totally denounced and told not to even ask how the baby is doing. Several explicatives have run through my mind, (and come from my mouth since we all know how well I hold things back), but in those messages I do feel like I took the high road....an accomplishment for me. In this case, taking the high road served an even better outcome than being engaged in back and forth email insults--it got me deleted from my first myspace friends list. :) How many of you can say you've been deleted....the funny thing is, well, I'll have to tell you all later, I wouldn't want to incriminate myself in print.

While you're wondering just what I've done, here are some pictures to enjoy of the baby boy. Don Teddy is soooo funny. (My uncle Donnie got it for him, hence the name.)

Ruby loves him.....

...even though he pulls her hair SO hard.

Our daily walk at its end....can you spot Kitty in the background?

Daddy lovin'

Celebration!

Oh boy, did we have a great time last weekend. Tim, Drew and I made the trip to Springfield, OH last weekend along with family for Josh and Rue's engagement party. We had a great trip and Drew was such a good baby while we were gone. Between sleeping, he sat in his car seat for the long ride and sung, babbled or blew raspberries...his new favorite noise.

We met the rest of my family at Rue's house around 4 pm and began the night of festivities. There was swimming, dogs, (you know I can't go anywhere without the mention of a dog!), great food and drink, good company and great weather though it was pretty humid. We all had a great time though the next day may not have felt quite as good...I think I recall Hayley, my cousin Tim and myself ending the evening with a rendition of some Barry White tunes on the radio. I think Rue's uncle was pretty impressed with our musical prowess.

Rue also showed the girls her wedding dress, which was gorgeous. She is going to make a beautiful bride. I can just imagine how stunning the pictures will be, (as long as Josh and Mom can keep their eyes open in the pictures), especially in the Cathedral when the sun shines through the glassed wall. Hopefully Drew will continue to be a good baby and won't feel the need to scream or run around during the wedding....I'm already worrying about that!

Here are some pictures of the party, wet dogs and all. Congratulations to Josh and Rue!!!

Ahhh, I can't get these any bigger!

Rue's neice, Lee-Lee. She's so cute!

D-Dog (my uncle Donnie) and Rue's Uncle Ormonde

Toby the Golden Retriever waited by the slide for people to go down so he could jump in and save them....

Gig and Mom

"I'm not getting married till I'm at least 50."

Well, I told him that probably wouldn't work, but this is what my brother told me several years ago. He swore he wouldn't get married until he was much older....I guess I was right again!

We are headed to Ohio today for my brother Josh and his fiancee Rue's engagement party. Josh is a year older than me though most of the time growing up people always asked if we were twins. (Not sure if that was because they thought I was big or we were just so darn cute.) Anyway, Josh and Rue will be getting married next spring at the Domain, a place we all love. We were all hoping Rue would be "the one" for Josh and it looks like we were granted our wish. I hope they are both happy and enjoy the beginning of their wedding festivities today. Let's just hope Drew cooperates and is a good boy at the party, and Ruby behaves herself at home while we're gone....the former has a much better chance of happening than the latter I'm afraid...lol.

We're Back!

Drew and I have made it back safe and sound from a week of camp. We had such great weather and my best friend Sarah and I were so thankful it didn't rain all week.

We had 46 girls at camp this year that will be going into 4th and 5th grade. Some were new faces, some were returning from last year. We had fun and for the first time, we had no injuries! Drew was such a good baby the whole week. He took great naps twice a day and slept through the night. I have to give a great big thanks to Andy, Sarah and Cindy for giving us such great accomodations....if we hadn't been able to stay in the apartment, life could have been a lot worse.

Tim came to see us on Wednesday, I really don't think he could have waited any longer. Thank goodness my mom came to help me with Drew for a few hours most days. Crafts could have been disasterous had Drew been in there every afternoon.

Sarah did such a good job, as usual, having everything ready for the girls. I didn't feel like I was being of much assistance to her, but I enjoyed myself trying. So here is a rundown of nightly activities: Sunday was a campfire, Monday was ballfield games, Tuesday was Donut Frenzy, Wednesday was water games, gutter sundaes, cookout and polar swim, Thursday was Skit Night and Friday was another campfire (with s'mores!) and a dance. I missed the campfires this year because Drew was already in bed....

Here are some pictures from the week....

Gone for the week

Well, Tim is going to be one lonely boy this week...Drew and I are headed to camp tomorrow and won't be home until Saturday. Every year I go for a week to help my best friend direct a girl's camp for girls just finishing 3rd and 4th grade. It's usually something I always get cold feet about the day or two before going, mainly because I just don't want to be gone from home all week, but I always love it so much and it's a great place to get away from everything. No news, no papers, no traffic, no t.v., no phone. It may sound boring, but it definitely is not.

So tonight I have been packing up what seems like the whole house with all the stuff Drew and I will need for the week. We've been gone the last two days also, so packing has been a little rushed.

Ruby is doing great, gaining weight pretty quick. She's into everything and eats like a horse. The vet said she looked pretty good considering all she'd been through. I'm wishing Tim good luck this week while she's at home all day without anyone here. Waylon tends to just lay on the opposite side of the room when she's doing something she's not supposed to....he knows better than to be involved! :) Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post of our week at camp when I get back next weekend. Wish us lots of sunshine and no rain!!!

http://www.cathedraldomain.org/

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.