Found in Fishers

Puppy Boot Camp

A few months back I agree to watch Sarah's two weiner dogs while they "vacationed" at the Indy Holiday Inn that has a water park attached to it. Well...that was before she got a puppy! He's as cute as a button. And really smart. But at day's end, he's still a puppy.

Twelve weeks old and in Reichanadter Puppy Boot Camp this week, Deagan is a German Shepard that is 100% puppy. That makes 5 dogs this week. He is actually very smart, just needs some structure. He is in the right place. He and his brothers are living in the laundry room for a few days. In a rather short time, I was able to get him to go do his doggy business outside. He goes out on command, takes care of business, can is ready for a treat. Works well. The #2 not as easy yet, but give me until tomorrow. During the day he plays in the laundry room when I can't keep a good eye on him. It's so funny because his cage is in there so he will rest and nap with the other 2 in his cage with the door open. Then he'll play.

After about an hour or so I let him and the other 4 dogs have recess. That means everyone gets to run around the house and chase each other. My dogs do more watching than playing, but Charlie and Deagan are at it the entire time. Then we go through a bit of time where Deagan drags out all the bowls and toys into the living room. His favorite toy is the metal water bowl; he has three of them. He also loves running around the circular path of the house.

Tonight during recess just before bed I let Deagan play with an old knotted sock. He had the best time. He also liked carrying around his bowl. It is quite funny when he tries to get between furniture with the bowl in his mouth only to be stopped in the tight space. Keep checking on his progress. Right now he went to bed and so far no crying. Let's hope for a quiet night!
 

Tis the Season to be Jolly

What a great day we had last weekend! Juan and I hosted a Christmas party for our friends in Fishers that we tail-gated with during the band season. I prepared a bunch of snacks and some other goodies. The most fun was when some of use gathered around the piano for a Christmas sing-a-long. I was so impressed that our friend De-De could play so many songs by heart. We would name the song and she would play it for us to sing. You could tell Gregg and David were high school and college "choir boys" awhile back. Boy, could they sing! I was still nursing a cold so no matter how hard I tried, I sang off key.  Way off key.

We had fun talking about teenagers and I shared my little secret I wanted to do just to be naughty. I keep teasing John that I want to do something naughty that would not get me in a bunch of trouble. Nothing illegal, just naughty. So I keep telling him that I am getting a tattoo. I shared with the group that I wanted this little swirl tattoo on my ankle. We got to laughing about tattoos in general when finally the discussion ended when I said I was getting a "tramp stamp" with the saying "If you can read this Thank a Teacher." That lead to some good laughs and of a wonderful evening with friends. 

I hope to do this again soon!

Today is the big day!

Today is the day for me to...give another clue of course. It's too soon to give up the secret. But I do have something new to tell you: John started a new blog for his business that you can view at relivethemoment.wordpress.com. Check it out and put it in your favorites. That would have been a let down if that was the secret, huh?

I'm really enjoying this whole secret thing. It's created lots of funny comments and record numbers of people checking the blog numerous times a day. Shoot, I should keep this going until the new year. I know this is driving Sarah crazy because it would me. And Kelli, shame on you for getting the secret out of loose-lips Juan. Now for today's clues:

• John found out about this secret about the decision was already made. You should have seen his face! I wish I had thought of bringing my camera along when I told him.
• John did know that this would happen one day. He just didn't know when or how.
• The secret wasn't as painful as one would have thought.

That's it, keep the guessing going.

Wednesday's Clues

I don't know what's more fun: Creating clues or hearing Sarah suffer. She's beside herself trying to figure out the big change. She is begging my parents to tell her the secret. Let me give you an example of how this is eating at her. First, my brothers will say, "Tell-a-Sarah, Tell-a-gram!" And until Liam was born, she and Pat exchanged Christmas gifts long before Christmas day. Therefore, the fact that I have a secret, she knows I have a secret, she is just dying to know the secret. So, here are today's clues:

• This little secret affects one member of our family much more than the others.
• In order for this secret to "occur" we needed the assistance of a licensed professional.
• The impact of the secret is just not as good if we told you over the phone or in an e-mail. You need to see it to believe it.

Okay, start your guessing again. And sorry, but there will be no clues about how close people have guessed or if people actually did guess. Too bad. I made the game so I get to make the rules.

Today's clue

Wow, Katie. what a great clue! If you didn't already see it check the previous post for her comment. That clue about the bus works well with this little secret. But then again, just in case here are two more clues:

• There was a lot of conversation before this change was made, but I was surprised that I didn't have to give up anything or negotiate for it. That of course makes me happy.
• The people we know from the high school and marching band were stunned when they found out about the secret. So, I guess a few more people do know about the secret, sorry.

The real test will be if my mom can keep the secret and if Sarah can refrain from begging my mother to give up the secret. I have heard a couple of really good guesses.

On another note, I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. I worked late last night and was surprised to find a bit of snow on my car. I guess I'm still shocked since we had unseasonably warm weather earlier this month. I am looking forward to some time off and of course eating all of the delicious food that comes with Thanksgiving.

Call the Pope, we need an exorcism

This is suppose to be an exciting time for Mark, his first new car and all. Well, the car looks great, runs great, but it's haunted! Yes, haunted. Every evening between 8:45 and 9 the car's panic alarm goes off...just one time...and for no apparent reason. I tried calling the previous owner, even left a few messages on his answering machine. Guess what, they have not called me back. I also have had 2 conversations with the Mercury dealership. Today they told me that I needed an exorcism performed but they do not have employees that work that late at night. At least we both had a good laugh.

So it looks like I may have to resort to calling the Pope. If Grandma was alive she would send a dollar to Our Lady of Snow and the problem would be solved. But she's not, so now I have to resort to the next best thing. I've done numerous internet searches. The dealership is telling me it sounds like a minor problem; maybe a bad sensor on the hood or in the trunk. At first I thought maybe it had something to do with the clock but the dealership told me that wasn't possible. Now I'm wondering if it has something to do with the car cooling off and some condensation hitting a weak sensor or with the temperature cooling off in the evening. We don't have any answers yet, but our solution may be to shut off the panic alarm. Cut the wires for heaven's sake! Sunday night I'm going to leave the car unlocked to see if that does anything. I have resorted to daily experiments. Must be the teacher in me. I need a life.

The week has come to an end

Wow, what a busy week. Liam's favorite spot was definitely the pool. We spent every day at the pool; sometimes two times a day. On Thursday Liam, Liz and Mark went to see "Kung Fu Panda" on the new IMAX screen in Noblesville. They had a lot of fun. I enjoyed the down time. I actually spent the time getting a hair cut and preparing the boys' favorite meal: Lasagna.

Friday came around and the boys wanted to go bowling and to McDonald's. Although Mark has his driver's license now, I had to go along because he can't have a passenger without an adult in the front seat for the first 90 days. It was fun to watch them bowl. Liam of course used bumpers, Mark needs to practice. You could tell it's been a while since he bowled last. After bowling we went to the McDonald's Play Place in Fishers. Liam had a blast. After Mark and I had enough all it took was the mention of swimming to get Liam to come home.

Friday evening Sarah, Pat, my Mom, and nephew Nick arrived in town. It was good to visit with them. Liam of course was not happy that Nick came in town because Mark and Nick hang out and pay little attention to Liam. On Saturday we had a hard time getting going but when we finally did, we stopped at the Waffle House for breakfast, but it really was lunchtime. Following lunch we ran a few errands and then it was off to the pool again so that Liam could show his mom all the tricks he learned in Fishers. He swims across the pool now without a life jacket and jumps in the water from the ledge doing tricks. Sarah was quite impressed. In came the storms so we had some more down time. Pat took all the boys to play laser tag in Indianapolis.

What a full week of activities. Now it's time to go back to work and Mark will be starting band again next week. Some funny stories for the week. First, on the way to Fishers, Liam told me he was sad that he didn't have a brother or sister. I told him that for 1 week he would have a brother and a sister. He and Mark argued at times just like brothers. He immediately told me that was fine but he was not changing his name to Reichanadter. Second, Liam was with me when I went to get a watch battery. While in the jewelry store he told me that he wanted to buy something for his mom. I explained it was too expensive for him. He told me that was ok, that I could help him. Right! His second option was for me to just charge it.

Finally, Liam learned some routines around the house that he was not use to. One was scraping his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. He did it with a reminder but most of the time he would tell me, "Mommy doesn't make me do this at home." I told him sorry, Mommy isn't here. Same thing I said each morning when he asked me to help him get dressed. Sorry, Mommy isn't here. He did great and we all had a ton of fun (ok, I think Mark was starting to tire of a "little brother"). Our next mission is to find Mark a car. We started today but didn't have much luck. We will keep our eyes open for a good car for a teenager. Keep checking.

The boys are getting comfy

Baxter and Charlie (Sarah's dogs) are getting quite comfortable. When they cannot be supervised, they live in a cage in the kitchen. Their favorite position is completely under the blanket. They are starting to get really comfortable at our house. What's funny is when Baxter and our one dog, Buddy, go outside. They are the only two allowed outside for any length of time because both Sally and Charlie like to bark. Buddy lays on the chaise while Baxter lays on the top step of the deck. It's so cute. When I'm walking around the kitchen the weiners follow me around. When I sit or lay down, the two dogs immediately jump on my lap and nap. They never seem to lay by themselves or on the ground. I think they're spoiled. And today Baxter actually asked to go outside. He came up to me and ran to the door...he's finally getting it. And to think, we all thought he was the dumb one! Off to take the two little ones for a walk.

The Boys are Back in Town

We were on a road trip this weekend. We started up in Lansing to go to a graduation party in the old neighborhood then off to Sarah's. On Saturday we woke up to celebrate Liz's and Nick's birthdays with breakfast before going over to the ballfield to watch the painful process of 5 and 6 year olds trying to play baseball. The game was rained out so we left early for Michigan City in preparation for our friend Kelli's wedding. What a nice wedding; simple and thoughtfully planned. Sentimental.

After a long night on a horrible Holiday Inn mattress we were off to meet Pat, Sarah, and Liam in Merrillville so that we could take the "boys" back to Fishers with us. Yep, crazy as we are we agreed to take care of the Baxter and Charlie while Sarah and family are gone for a week. But in reality we're watching the dogs for three weeks. With the price of gas, it made sense for us to take the dogs with us to Fishers while we were in the region. And, since they are not getting back until the 4th of July weekend, it looks like we're keeping them until July 11th. With that in mind, I've made a list of rules for our houseguests:

Rule #1: Absolutely no pooping under the piano.
Rule #2: Absolutely no pooping on the rugs by the washing machine.
Rule #3: Learn to poop on the rocks like your cousin dogs, not on the deck. You are not princes!
Rule #4: No chewing on the furniture. Baxter ate our last Lay-Z-Boy chair arm.

The boys were actually smiling when they arrived today. I know that sounds weird but when they;re in Fishers they really do smile. They've spent the last few hours chasing Buddy around the house having the best of fun. I'm thinking Sarah is enabling their pooping habits as she has already supplied me with a poop survival kit. I hope to save the wine for a no-pooping-in-the-house celebration, rather than a way to forget about the doogie do.

I digress...or is that regress?

About 13 years ago I decided to go to a psychic party. Yep, a psychic party. Some of my friends have hosted Tupperware, Pampered Chef or Candlelite parties. But me, I went to a psychic party. At the party I met Rose, our psychic. At the time she talked about things no one could know. She didn't make general comments that would fit any scenario. She made precise comments like telling me the scar on my stomach was from stress. She also indicated that I would get a job 9 miles from my house. The following year I was at Ready School...9 miles from home. It was fun and weird at the same time. I became very interested in the psychic world and decided that I wanted to get a past life regression. Sarah, my sister, had one and said it was very interesting.

Now before you all start thinking I'm crazy, hear me out. I'm not making life-altering decisions based on some mumbo-jumbo. I am curious, however, and want to know the history of my soul. John thinks I'm nuts, but I honestly believe we are connected with some unseen energy.

Fast forward to last week. I taped Oprah as usual and she had a segment on past life regressions. Oh my, I really want to go now. However, since it was on Oprah I'm going to have to wait because half the country will be having a regression because of the show. I'm going to hook myself up with someone to do a regression soon. People say you behave the way you do based on the experiences of your soul. Because of my extreme need to follow rules, I think I might have been in jail or with someone who was severely punished for breaking rules. I also think I lived during a depressed time since I hate to spend money and must have been deprived of food. Stay posted; who knows what I will find out.