Doggie Guilt

Brutus is gone. No, not dead, but with Bryan working days now, we decided to try and find a new home for Brutus. With golden retrievers being such social dogs, we felt really guilty having him stay home, cooped up in the kitchen for 9 hours every day.

Fortunately, we found a good home for him on Sunday. Sadly, the daughter of a childhood acquaintance of mine's dog died of food poisoning (dog food). The little girl is 4 and was devastated. My parents had just happened to mention that we were looking for a new home for Brutus to the family. Their family came on Sunday to check out Brutus and see if he got along well with their little girl. And---of course he did! Brutus loves kids. After about an hour they loaded him up in the car and took him home. Sadly for us--gladly for their family.

I had a dream the other night that the family brought him back to us and left him in the kitchen while we were sleeping. They left a note saying that he was too dark. I told my mom . . . she said it must be doggie guilt.

Sarah Palin

Today Mark and I were riding home after picking-up Avery from the sitters house . . . and low and behold, a bird, a plane . . . a McCain/Palin plane! We happened to be driving by the Muncie airport, at the exact time of touchdown. Mark and I continued driving, and then I thought, maybe we could turn around and see if we could actually see Sarah. So yeah, we waited, along with about 20 other people, about 45 minutes, to see Palin drive away waving. Palin was actually on her way to Indy for a rally. I tried to take pictures with my cell phone, but I didn't manage to get a good one. Oh well.

The "Naughty Rug" and Make-up

Yesterday I left Avery in the living room long enough to refill Brutus' water . . . and she was eerily quiet. When I peeked in to check on her, I found her with my case of beauty tools. Not only was the case totally empty, but she was using the blush brush, tapping it on a mirror, then "applying" the make-up to her cheeks. She played with these brushes for a good 30 min, a marathon play session for our busy girl.



If you haven't been around Avery much lately, you should know that she has become Miss Attitude (by the way, I have no idea where she got this from). If she does not get her own way, watch out for a screaming/crying fit. For about the last month, when Avery starts these crying fits, told her to sit in "her corner" until she was done crying. This usually doesn't last long, but we made "her corner" more comfortable with the addition of a rug that says Sheriff. Of course she doesn't see the irony in the rug, but Bryan and I thought it was hilarious.

Avery laying on the floor crying in "her corner." Obviously, she was not having a good day. The crying fit lasted long enough that I had time to get the camera and capture this special moment.

The BIRDS

Avery yelling . . . BIRDS! (It comes out more like BWRD)

Alfred Hitchcock has nothing on me! Look closely at this tree . . . that's right, they are not leaves, but birds. Every year we get these giant flocks of swarming birds in the woods behind our house. They are sooooooo loud, and kind of creepy. I love the movie THE BIRDS, but this is ridiculous. I took Avery out to witness the swarms. As you can see, she was enthralled.

What a beautiful fall day!

Thank the Lord for beautiful fall weather! It has been so nice the last few days. I know it won't last as winter will quickly be approaching, leaves gone from the trees, and snow covering the ground. But, for now, Avery and I took advantage of the wonderful "sweater weather," spending Wednesday afternoon outside. She is such a wonderfully curious child, checking out every leaf, stone, and mud clump in the yard.

Michigan Trip

Avery and Aunt Kim eating ice cream at National
Avery playing at Tanya and Jeff's Avery and Tanya

Avery, Grandma Pingle, and Uncle Mark Avery rocking at Uncle Mark's

Last weekend Bryan, Avery, and I went to Michigan for a job interview (well Bryan did). We also were excited to get to see Bryan's side of the family, whom we don't see often. We left early on Tuesday, car packed to the brim with snacks and toys to keep Avery busy. Really, over all, the car trip went well, which I was really nervous about. We stopped for the first time at the first Michigan rest stop to get out, stretch our legs, and let Avery run.

We arrived in Clawson about noon, stopping first to visit Grandma Pingle. We were able to visit with most of the family on Tuesday, stopping by American Chopper to see Uncle Mark and eating dinner at National Coney with Aunt Kim and Uncle Rick. Bryan wanted to eat at National ... I won't tell you how many coneys he managed to eat, but justified it because he wouldn't get to have them for awhile. Kim wanted to buy Avery ice cream, and as you can see, Avery enjoyed every messy bite. We finished the long day by driving to Auburn Hills to stay with Bryan's cousin Tanya and her husband Jeff.

Avery took to Tanya right away, running into her arms. Tanya had been watching Dancing with the Stars, which Avery quickly noticed and glued herself to the TV. She was exhasted and finally after a bath, she conked out . . . just in time for the adults to watch the presidential debate. Bryan, Tanya, Jeff, and I were able to watch the debate/argue a little/ and catch up at the same time.

Wednesday we were able to meet up with Grandma Pingle and Mark again. We ate lunch with Grandma and Aunt Cindy at Olga's. Seriously . . . Olga's had THE BEST gyros I have ever eaten. I will definitly be craving those for a long time. Shortly after lunch we headed home, missing our exit to stop at IKEA. The trip home seemed so long . . . by the time we got home we were totally worn out. I don't think I have fully recovered yet.

PJs

It has been so cold this week that I had to break-out Avery's footie pajamas. I forgot that I bought these cute polka-dotted pajamas last year-probably at a Goodwill half-price day. Aren't they cute?

Big bump

Our beautiful Avery seems to have inherited the clumsy Bevins gene. She is always running everywhere, completely oblivious of rugs, toys, or other things on the floor. Yesterday, she was running in her usual fashion, going nowhere in particular, when she tripped over the edge of a rug, bouncing her head, literally off the jute rug. Not pretty to watch, especially when you feel like the moment is going in slow motion (and you can't get to your child in time to prevent the injury). Avery cried for a whole minute before she wanted to play again. However, within a few minutes, I notice a giant emerging red bump on her head. So to the freezer I sent Bryan, on a quest for an ice pack. Yeah, that didn't last long. Avery would not let me hold that ice pack on her head. SHE wanted to do it herself. Imagine that-another inherited gene-the stubborn one.

New Recipe

I needed a quick dinner tonight and I ended up creating a delicious recipe out of pantry and freezer staples. It is a pretty inexpensive meal that makes a ton of food. I guess since it's my own recipe, I can name it what I want . . . Creamy Turkey Meatballs and Rice.

1 pgk. frozen meatballs (Aldi always has these cheap)
1 cup frozen peas, cooked
2 cups brown rice
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms (optional)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook frozen meatballs according to pkg. instructions, mine cooked in the oven @ 400 for 10 min. At the same time, cook cream of mushroom soup, 1 1/2 c. water, and onion soup mix. Boil. Reduce heat to low. When meatballs are cooked, add to soup mixture, add mushrooms, oregano, and pepper. Cook rice according to package instructions. Add peas to the rice at the end of cooking to warm through. Put meatballs and sauce on top of rice/pea mixture and serve. It is great. Bryan went back for seconds and Avery even ate it. My two pickiest critics!