Aliens have abducted my baby!

I think this picture speaks for itself. This is the face we've seen most of the day for almost two weeks now! Where, oh where is my former, smiling child (below)?!?!

The Long and the Short of it.

As you probably know, the Tenney Family has one four-legged member....Bailey.

There are many advantages to having a little dog. She rides nicely in the car on my lap. She doesn't eat much. Her toys aren't big. She doesn't require a lot of space (although her "house" is large enough for a border collie!). She loves to snuggle, especially with ANYONE who is under covers. She is a free bed heater in the winter. And she doesn't need acres of land to roam, but I am sure she would like it.

I was reminded today, however, about one major disadvantage to having a little dog. Or more specifically, a dog with extremely short legs (see picture above). It was such a beautiful evening that I decided to pack Morgan up in the stroller and go for a walk. I thought Bailey might enjoy the walk, so I took her with me. She is overweight from all the steroids she had over the winter (medication to fix multiple problems, including bulging discs in her neck...another disadvantage to having a dog with a long back) and most assuredly out of shape due to being cooped up all winter. I didn't think, however, that she wouldn't be able to make the 1 mile loop around the neighborhood. 3/4 of the way around she decided she couldn't go another step. And I mean literally. She sat down in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD and wouldn't budge!

Thank goodness I had the stroller (sometimes I walk the loop with Morgan in the Snugli). So what did I do? Yes, fair reader I did....I put the dog IN the stroller with Morgan! Morgan in front, Bailey in the rear with the stroller seat in the full recline position. After about 10 steps it was aparent that this arrangement was not going to work. Both Morgan and Bailey were fussing. So I switched them, putting Morgan on the headrest of the reclined seat and Bailey up front. Bailey rode the rest of the way home with her feet on the tray as if she was navigating some great ship, and Morgan rode the rest of the way home holding Bailey's tail in one hand and the leash in the other! The ONE time I don't have my camera, and I am sure we all looked like a bunch of loonies walking home.

But I guess from all of this I can take away one more advantage....if a little dog gets tired, she fits easily in a stroller with a near-9 month old!

One year closer to 30...

Happy Birthday to me! Today I turn 28. Do I feel older, wiser, weaker, stronger? Actually, I don't feel anything at all. I hate to be so apathetic toward my very own day of birth, but today feels like just another day in Small Town USA. It stinks that the fun of birthdays seems to wear off as you get older. Or perhaps it's just me....lots of people have tons of fun on their non-milestone birthdays. Perhaps it is more appropriate to think of every birthday as a milestone.





I had a great day...we had pizza for lunch and went for a little walk. I got a lot of really nice presents and cards from my friends and family. I got lots of phone calls (which were great!). The sun was shining and a few birds were singing. What a great day to be alive and celebrating another year. The only "downer" was that I "lost" an hour of sleep due to daylight savings time. But to me that just means that spring is almost here!

Daddy Day Care

This is Patrick's idea of babysitting.......

enough said!

In Like a Lion

Today, after a week of mid 50 degree weather, we got pounded with probably the worst one day snow storm of the winter season!!! In a little over 12 hours we got almost 8 inches of snow. The roads were absolutely horrendous. My office closed at noon, Patrick's closed at 3:00 (but he got to come home early with me). There was a slight panic at noon when we heard that the interstate was closed....panic because the interstate is my only way to get to my baby-sitter's house! Of course I am sure there is some back road to get there, but a) I don't know it and b) even if I did you can bet if the interstate isn't plowed, those back roads aren't! Luckily the wreck was further up the road and I was able to get to Morgan. It took over an hour to get to Morgan (a 12 mile drive from my work) and then to get to Patrick. God watched over us and got us home safely.

The snow was quite pretty once we got safely home. Morgan and Patrick went outside to measure the snow and Morgan got to sit in the snow for the first time. She really liked it and stayed warm in the snowsuit Mutti bought for her.

How deep is it?

SIX INCHES (with 2 hours of snow to go)

She's Mama's Girl

Isn't it funny that when you don't have kids and people always say that kids would rather play with the box than the toy that came in it that you nod agreement but think "Yeah whatever!". Well, I am here to tell you that IT IS THE HONEST TRUTH! Morgan is certainly not lacking in the toy department. She has a lot of toys that she regularly plays with. Even with all the brightly colored, singing choices, Morgan today decided that my new credit card was THE toy to play with! She played with it for over an hour....proving once again that you CAN have hours of fun with a little piece of plastic (thankfully her hour of enjoyment didn't cost me anything!).