Goodbye, Abby Singer.

I always wanted a dog growing up and throughout my adult life thus far.

I wanted one so badly that Dusty agreed for us to get one that I found on Craigslist.

Post about that can be found here.

Then, Abby Singer joined us for one year.

She looks sweet and she is sweet, but she taught me that as of right now, I am not meant to be a dog-owner.

 While she was with us she:

• shed like a mad woman
• managed to break/bend/deform all of the blinds in the house, so she could be aware of her surroundings outdoors while she was indoors.
• barked at every.single.innocent walker/biker/neighbor
• developed acid reflux and threw up everything she ingested
• got a form of the flu and could not control her bowel movements (awful)
• scratched her paw nonstop at whatever she wanted - food, outside, inside, outside, inside, food, outside, etc.
• developed very irritable skin which she bit and scatched at all.day.long
• did her business on Gray's favorite trains because she is not particularly fond of Gray and never will be (jealousy)

The list could go on and on and on and I promise that there are many positive things about Abby Singer, but in this post, I decided not to focus on them.

Alright, so the purpose of this post: Abby Singer is no longer with us and she has moved back in with her mommy.

This makes me very happy (I'm sure that sounds awful, but I'm just being honest)

And Abby Singer has christened her mommy's new house by already doing all of the things I listed above - within two days.

Abby Singer is currently up for grabs.

t-ball practice in the yard.

first off - gray's new thing is legos and look who received an awesome pair of lego crocs in the mail from grandma millie :)

he was thrilled.

he put them on right away and rocked those babies for the rest of the day.

 t-ball has begun.

remember this post where gray tried on his super cool uniform?

i may have said it last year too, but i can't believe the uniforms they get.

we wore our own shorts and then got cheap t-shirts to wear with our sponsors business on the front.

apparently now they are supposed to look just like the major leaguers.

 

anyway, t-ball has been on the mind of this little one.

he requested we all go outside and practice, so we did.

and practice is needed.

you can see the improvements from last year, but we still have a ways to go.

we really need to work on his throwing form :)

 of course, the daddy needs to step in and show everyone how it's done.



 i also stepped in to show off my skills, but i chose to not have my picture taken.

let me tell you though, i hit it the farthest.

 

abby singer has major separation anxiety and i mean major.

she can't stand being alone.

so, of course, she was a part of t-ball practice in the yard.



early christmas.

we had an early christmas with dusty's family prior to leaving for north dakota.

the morning before we arrived at millie's, gray and i wrapped all of the presents together.
i showed gray how to wrap one and then he took over...cutting, folding, taping, writing on the tags...i was impressed with his skills.
he even let me play christmas music during this process, which he would normally protest.

grandma millie requested for us to have a pj day, and we delivered.
all pj sets were compliments of millie.
gray thought it was great, a little bummed his didn't look exactly like ours, but still very excited.
we forgot to shnazz up abby singer, unfortunately.
she would have looked good with some ribbon and bows.

 present opening began almost immediately.
it's near impossible for a 5 year old to see a stack of presents and not want to open all of them, that very second.

gray just couldn't wait to give fufu his wrapped treat, so he was the first one to receive a present:

 that bone kept him entertained and busy the whole time we were there.
gift number one = success.

 

the other day at school, gray went holiday shopping.
and boy, was he excited to give those gifts!

it was adorable.

 grandma millie received a notepad that said 'what happens at grandma's, stays at grandma's'.
 very fitting, mr. gray bias.

gray's gifts were all thoughtful.
i like to picture him walking around the school store and contemplating what to buy for everyone.

kenny received a race car from gray, because kenny loves nascar.

gray opened a few presents and then tried so hard to be patient while he gave others a turn...

a sucker was given by grandma to help with the waiting game...

 

 abby singer carefully watched everything that went on during our early christmas.

and even managed to get a little treat here and there.

i've mentioned to millie how much i would like for dusty and i to go fishing.

so, she ran with it :)

we received new fishing vests and poles!

 

 fishing is really big down here...there are places everywhere.

i'm looking forward to our new fishing adventures in the future...guarantee it will be entertaining...especially if we catch something.

gray really made out this year with the trains...

...and little did he know, grandma millie had even more ready for him when it got closer to christmas.

 such a lucky boy.
and look how happy he looks...in almost every picture, he has a big smile :)

hurricane isaac.

well, dusty and i are camped out at our friends' house in prattville - a nice three hours away from the coast.

 

school was cancelled for monday, tuesday, and wednesday, which was enough to make me a little bit scared and think that we needed to get the heck out of dodge.

also, some people were boarding up their houses, as were a few businesses, boats were being taken out of the water, some boats were being anchored in bays and tied to stationary items on land, 'hurricane supplies' (water, batteries, food, flashlights, etc.) were being bought and sold out of at certain stores...

 

so, here we are, having a bit of a vacation together...hoping that the hurricane subsides and doesn't cause any damage.

we are thinking tomorrow we will head back to orange beach and then back to work on thursday.

 

in the meantime, we are going to enjoy ourselves.

this morning, we walked around target with coffees in hand, came home and watched a movie, took the dogs for a walk, had lunch, and now dusty and the dogs are taking a nap while i write this post.

i couldn't help myself and i interrupted the dogs' nap time...

 abby singer does not like having her picture taken...at all.

i can just feel her frustration with me every time.
my theory is that the more photos i take of her, the more she'll get used to it.

i think sophia likes it even less. she walks away from the camera...quickly.

meet sophia (our friends' dog):

 

do you see the evil eye sophia is giving me?

that's the look she gives when she sees the camera...right before she walks away.

 

alright, enough about the dogs, i'm off to shower and get ready for our double date tonight.

 

and a big thank you to travis and kristin - for taking us into their home on such short notice and making us feel so welcome.

abby singer likes it here too. she has a new friend and there are more puppy treats at the zimbelman household...what dog doesn't like that?

Friday Five - Vol. 4

1. Remember that wedding we were supposed to go to last weekend?

Well, we may have been a little irresponsible and skipped it.

And instead, we may have stopped and picked up a small crock pot, meatballs, wieners, snacks, and orange soda so that we could veg out in the hotel all night.

Now, don't get me wrong, I was really looking forward to the wedding, but it sure was fun to feel like we were having our own little getaway...and I love me some hotel time.

2.  Abby Singer.

Abby Singer will be staying with us for the summer (possibly longer)...her mommy moved into a place where dogs aren't allowed, so she will be gracing us with her presence for awhile.

My feelings on this are still up in the air.

I love Abby Singer very much, but she can still get on my nerves like no other.

3.  Gray and I made these together...

He thought it was really fun, but then when it came to using them in his drink?

He tried it one time and never again.

4.  Word on the street is that Gray has never lost while playing the Memory game...the street being Gray's mouth.

Dusty was ready to test it...which involved the making of a Memory game since we somehow do not own one.

The verdict?

The word on the street is not always true.

He could beat his daddy, but not me. 

 Am I supposed to let little ones win?

I don't know...maybe, but it's just so haaarrrdddd.

When you know exactly where the match is, it's near impossible to not pick it up...anyone else feel this way?

5.  We have a little game going that involves hiding the scale.

The scale is evil, so we put it out of sight.

Gray's most recent hiding spot:

The microwave.

Abby Singer was here.

Abby Singer makes me happy.

I really  like when she stays with us.

She's my company during the day when I'm not substitute teaching and Dusty is working.

And I got lucky.

It stormed three days while she was with us, which means...

she's going to need to cuddle and be touching you at all times during the storm.

It's my favorite :)

I can't get enough of it.

Storms wear this girl out :)

How sweet is she?

I ♥ her.

I really really want a dog.

We have had the pleasure of dogsitting this week.

Her name is Abby Singer...

and she is a Jack Russell.

We have a blanket just for her...and she wouldn't have it any other way.

I swear she understands everything that is going on around her.

I have enjoyed having her around this week for company, and I like to think she has enjoyed spending her days with me as well.

We go for walks, I give her the occasional treat, she protects me when someone comes to the door...and by protect, I mean barks SO unbelievably loud and doesn't stop until they go away...I'm not gonna lie, it's not my favorite thing about her.

She sleeps a lot...but practically with one eye open at all times so she is always aware of what's going on around her...

She likes attention in the mornings, but that's the only time she needs it.

She will follow you everywhere around the house in the a.m. until you sit and give her her "morning rubdown" and then the following comes to an end.

Except for when it's storming outside.  Then she needs you ALL day...and sitting next to you is not sufficient - she must be ON your lap. 

Anyways, enough about Abby Singer...

...the point is, dogs make me happy and I think I might just need one :)