Are we nuts???

It's pretty lonely around here without Hurricane.  It's funny all the little things that used to drive you crazy now seem to haunt you with how much you miss them!

I've needed something positive to occupy my mind when there is that small window of time during the day or night that the kids are sleeping so I've been researching dogs.  I thought about going to a shelter and getting a young dog but Tom isn't interested in that.  He wants another boxer and he wants a puppy.  I can't blame him either - Hurricane was a great dog despite his health problems!  So I started looking into breeders and doing some research there.  I found a great breeder in Louisiana and I've spent the better part of the week looking into her philosophy and care for her dogs, and emailing past clients who had nothing but great things to say about her as well as the pups that the got from her.  She is breeding soon and the pups wouldn't be ready to come home until around September.  Tyler will be a year old in October so I was thinking that might be good timing.  He wouldn't be quite so needy anymore and we would have a little more time for training a new puppy.

I think a puppy would be better for the kids.  We'll know exactly what kind of environment it has come from and they can all grow together and expend their oodles of energy together!

Does anyone have any experience with getting a puppy with young kids?  Are we out of our minds here or can it totally be done?

Happy Easter

Zac had another egg hunt at Tom's office on Wednesday night and made out like a bandit!  He got a basket full of eggs and found one of the golden prize eggs and won a stuffed rabbit.  He was very proud of himself!

We had a nice quiet Easter here at home.  We are thankful to have such a beautiful family!

In Loving Memory

Hurricane passed away at home last night.  He was suffering from cardiomyopothy - a very common condition in Boxers where the heart gets enlarged over time and fluid begins to build up around the heart and inside the lungs.  We saw his chest x-ray and the size of his heart was unbelievable!  He was such a champ and didn't really show any signs until about the last week.  The vet was shocked that he was even able to walk.  We brought him home from the vets office at 4pm with some meds to help with the fluid build up and the knowledge that he probably didn't have long. 

Unfortunately, we were NOT prepared when he suddenly collapsed in the kitchen at about 6:45 that same evening.  He didn't suffer and he died in Tom's arms.  It is unimaginably difficult to go on but Zac and Tyler will keep us distracted!

Hurricane was the best friend and dog that we could have ever hoped for and he will be dearly missed!

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We were at the mall yesterday and the line for the Easter Bunny was short because people were lined up before he even arrived so we jumped in line.  Zac was SO excited!  He got to see the Easter Bunny walk over and waved hello to him.  He even did a great job waiting in line for a few minutes and that is quite a feat for him!  By the time we were close, Zac was starting to get a little antsy and Tyler was cranking because he was getting tired so we didn't think the picture would even happen.  They surprised us though!  Zac was thrilled to sit on his lap and Tyler couldn't stop smiling and flirting with the photographer!

Zac was also VERY proud of himself yesterday.  He had gone to the State Fair with Tom last fall and they had won a stuffed leopard that Zac decided to name "Momma Jaguar".  He likes the show Go Diego Go and he already had a stuffed "Baby Jaguar".  Back in January Momma Jaguar turned up missing and we hadn't seen her since!  Zac has continued to ask about her whereabouts and it breaks your heart when they are missing something that they love and you can't find it for them!  Yesterday morning Zac and Tom were up in the play room and Zac pulled out one of the drawers from under the train table.  

He was down on the floor peering beneath the table and Tom asked him what he was doing.  He crawled under there a little bit and emerged with Momma Jaguar!  He was just elated!  He talked about his amazing detective skills and how much he had missed her all day long!

On a sad note, we're pretty sure Hurricane is having heart problems.  He's not eating, has shallow breathing and can't hardly walk around the block which is VERY unusual for him.   Tom took him to the vet yesterday and after paying a hefty emergency exam fee, we still don't know anything for sure!  The vet suspects it's his heart but we have to do a chest x-ray and probably more tests to find out for sure.  He is only going to be six years old in two weeks!  We are not ready for this yet!  Please say a prayer for him!

First Easter Egg Hunt of 2008

Zac had his first Easter Egg Hunt at his school this morning!  He has another one at Tom's office next Wednesday so he'll be loaded with sugar this month!  He had fun but I don't think he remembers doing it last year.  He had colored a green egg before hand and he was just trying to find the green egg that he had colored and would walk right by all the plastic ones filled with candy!  Mommy was there to help him out though!

He also had a play date with his friend Tori the other morning.  They played outside for awhile (the weather was beautiful) and then came in and played in Tori's room while Jackie and I were chatting in the living room.  Tori came around the corner with nothing on from the waist down and told us that she'd gone potty.  Then Zac rounded the corner with nothing on from the waist down and told us that he had to go too!  They're getting naked already at 3!  Thankfully, they are too young to worry about it yet!

Big Tex the Snowman!

Tuesday we got 3 inches of snow and it melted by the afternoon thankfully.  Thursday afternoon it began to snow again and we got 4 MORE inches!  Are we back in New York?  Zac is one lucky little boy to be able to build a snowman in Texas in March!  I think we put our little pool up around this time last year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow in Texas!

We woke up this morning to about 3 inches of snow on the ground!  Zac was thrilled of course!  Mommy's day was all thrown off though!  Zac's school was canceled and Tyler had his 4 month check up with shots today!  So, I had to take both kids to the appointment - yeah!

Tyler's 4 months stats are:

Weight: 17.4 pounds (85th %)

Height:  25.5 inches (66th%)

He's even bigger than Zac was at that age!  Poor little guy had to endure 3 shots so he's sleeping right now - we'll see how long that lasts!