Where did the summer go?

Holy cow. I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last post. Now that the kids are back in school and I have some down time, I will try to update more often!

So the summer was fairly uneventful. We had the living room and kitchen painted. It only took 1o years! (See my last post from May).

I spent the majority of it working on my new BELIEVE IN BIRTH workbook. It turned out better than expected! It is 270 pages of birthy goodness! I am very proud of it and hope that my students enjoy it! My new class started last week. It went very well. I have 9 fabulous couples. I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing my OWN thang, y'all!!! It is amazingly liberating! Maybe one day, the BIB method will be a household name! If you haven't heard about my new venture, visit my web site www.believeinbirth.net!


















I was disappointed that we weren't able to take a vacation this summer. Perhaps we can save up and do something really fab next summer. It was so dang hot this summer that we spent the majority of our time indoors. The kids were excited to get back to school. They were starting to get a little bored. We played a LOT of Harry Potter Clue. There's only so many times of finding out it was Draco Malfoy with a Mandrake in the Great Hall that one can take.

Jonah started 5th grade this year! I can't believe it. It seems crazy to me that he will be 11 years old next month. The time has gone too fast. Sadie started 2nd grade. I'm so excited that she will learn to read this year. She is dying to learn. Jonah tried to teach her over the summer. It was very sweet but not very productive. He has NO patience and Sadie is easily frustrated. It was a good effort though!
Violet will be starting preschool at the end of the month. My baby! Preschool. How did that happen? She needs it though. It will be good for her to be around children her own age. I will miss her in the mornings. She's such a delightful child. So funny and sweet. But boy, oh boy, is she ever three! Willful and stubborn too!

So you might be wondering what I am going to do with myself once all three are in school. I imagine I will be doing a lot of bon bon eating and shopping. Maybe catch up on all the Soaps I've been missing. Read some romance novels. Things like that.

Seriously, I am going to prepare for the Lamaze exam in October so I can keep a certification as a childbirth educator. I am also planning to take a course to become a Certified Lactation Counselor in March. I would like to do home lactation visits during the mornings. I also have several doula clients in the coming months and will continue teaching my classes. And really when you factor in drive time, I am only going to have 2 hours to myself in the mornings Monday through Thursday. Hopefully I can manage to be productive in that amount of time!

Let's see, what else happened. Oh, Coco turned one! She's still alive. Shocking, I know. There were times I wasn't sure she'd make. She's a little less than 5 lbs. full grown. She is bat shit crazy but completely adorable and we love her.

So I will end this post with more adorable pictures of my Little V. I call it, "Violet makes out with a pudding cup!"
Until next time...

Coco's First Haircut

Coco had her first visit to the groomer today. It was looooong overdue.

I told the lady to make her "look cute." Here is what I found when I picked her up...
I love this picture because it actually looks like she is smiling. I know she is really thinking, "What the hell is on my head, lady? And why must you torture me so?" Get use to it, dog!

Coco and the Cone of Shame

Poor Coco had her girly parts removed today.

Sadie is sad that Coco will never have puppies. She said she "never wants to have her uterus taken out."

Jonah asked if they were going to remove her placenta as well. So we had to have a little anatomy lesson after that.

Coco did very well but has to wear a cone until her stitches are removed (10-14 days)! She is pitiful. She is just laying there in her bed and wimpering. :( She is breaking my heart.

The dog ate my homework

I get it now. Dogs eat freakin' everything. WTH? I thought dogs were suppose to be smart.

So far, Coco, who has been in our family a total of 4 weeks, has eaten, or tried to eat, mulch, toilet paper, carpet, molding, a basket, a plastic easter egg and a red crayon. The red crayon almost did her in. She vomited several times (red) and had red diarrhea. Talk about fun.

I called the Vet. She told me to watch for dehydration. After the last bout of vomiting, she was completely lethargic. She could barely raise her head. I called the Vet again (who happens to be a friend of mine). She told me she thought I should take her to the emergency hospital.

All I could think about was the fact that I was going to have to drop several hundred dollars if I had to take this dog to the E.R. I didn't want to think about that but I did. Yes, I am a terrible dog-mama. Luckily, I also know the owner of the Emergency Clinic. I called him and he very kindly walked me through some things to try. After force-feeding her some water and Nutri-cal, she perked right up and was ready to play!

Halleluia. Thanks to my two fabulous Vet friends, I can get those new tires for my car that I so desperately need before the winter. Oh, and I will be investing in pet insurance ASAP!

I sure hope this poor dog lives to see adulthood!

The Aldridge Family is proud to announce...

the arrival of our newest family member!

Coco Aldridge

born on August 15, 2009

adopted on October 3, 2009

1 lb. 12 oz.

Yes, we are now the proud parents of a dog. Coco is a Yorkihuahua (Half Yorkshire Terrier/Half Long-haired Chihuahua). She is very sweet and cuddly. She loves her brother and sisters. So far, she is adjusting to her new home pretty quickly. Her first night, she only woke up twice. The next night, however, she woke up every hour on the hour and screamed like a howler monkey. (Seriously, I'm going to have to get her on video so you can hear for yourself. I've had 2 people ask me if I have a bird when they've heard her). I've spent the better part of the last few nights sleeping on the floor next to her crate to keep her from waking up the whole family. Michael is just happy I haven't brought her into the bed to sleep with us!

She's doing OK with the potty training. She's only had a handful of accidents on the carpet which were promptly cleaned up. She's very playful and loves to nibble feet and pants legs, which we are trying to put an early stop to.

Violet likes Coco from afar. She likes to "wooh wooh" (bark) at Coco and give her kisses when she is sleeping. Coco loves to jump on Violet and chase her. Violet tells her, "No, no, no. Bye bye!" when she does.

So if you know me well, you know this is a huge deal. I am so NOT a dog person. But I am a this dog person. She is very sweet and we are really enjoying her, even though she is a lot of work. And yes, I have already turned into one of THOSE dog people. She has been going almost everywhere with us and she already has a couple of outfits. Still trying to decide what she's going to be for Halloween. :)

Stay tuned...