Do you know anyone who wants a dog??

Ok so I guess I spoke too soon about the Dog staying.. We've had a few "incidents" and so we are actively looking for a new home for the dog and it's not looking good for his continued life!

Rangler, bit KayLea week before last.. Ben nor I saw the incident and after hearing the "whole story" from all the kids we surmised that she was taunting the dog with his rawhide bone (waving it in front of his face and not letting him have it when he would get close to her).. no skin was broken but she was DEFINITELY not happy and kind of skittish then he bit Hunter when they were playing (the Dog seems to get into the hipper hour like the kids each evening).. again he's still kinda a puppy so we figured no skin was broken if he REALLY wanted to bit him he could for sure..

Then he bit KayLea again and I saw it this time, he has become Bradley's protector, Brad takes him for a walk everyday and does do allot with him (cuttles with him etc) and KayLea for what ever reason looked like a threat and he nipped her wrist (same place as before) again didn't break the skin but this time did leave a pretty good bruise.. we decided then and there KayLea would have no more contact with the Dog and we had to get rid of him.. the STRAW that broke the camels back (if it wasn't already VERY STRAINED) is he bit our appliance repair guy when he was trying to get him to smell him so he's stop freaking out (again Brad had him contained and we think he took the hand coming to him as an aggressive move).,.. no skin was broken and although the guy was not happy we cleared the air when he was done fixing the washer (a story for another time it's STILL not completely fixed!).. and he said all was well..

Soo, we CAN NOT have a dog that bites but if we disclose he's a biter no Humane Society will take him either.. so we could lie but I'm just not comfortable with that because what if another family with kids gets him?? He's a very nice dog that needs to be in a family with no kids (or at least no small kids.. he loves Brad)..

So we've made some calls and are waiting back on a few Humane Society's (the ones who didn't ask if he's a biter) and we'll see if we can get him gone that way.. if not we'll have to put him to sleep.. and if you know me the thing that REALLY urks me is we just spent all that money at the VET!!!

so that's my rant for today.. I guess our reasoning that getting a dog out of "puppy stage" was the greatest idea was not so great.. they are already set in their ways and if their not use to kids etc. etc. then your screwed.. and that outweighs not having to house train OR the fact that he didn't chew etc. etc.

Oh how do we get ourselves into these things!!! We thought we were doing a great thing "rescuing" this dog and it's turned into a disaster.. i guess IF (and it's a big IF) we do this again we'll have to get a puppy from a Breeder.. it all works out to be the same cost regardless.. lesson learned!

My Verson of the Story...

This is NOT an Ostrich it is an EMU just for the record

Ok so I'm totally steeling this idea from my Sister's Blog.. Only with my own twist on it.. Reading her account of a VERY funny family story that has almost turned into folklore in the Lane clan made me realize that we all have our different spin on the memory so here is my challenge to Mom, Jack, Jody, Ashley and even Jeff (Jeff i know you don't have a blog BUT maybe it's high time you got one even if its ONLY for this challenge or can you do something like that on facebook??).. perhaps we ALL can write our memory of this event (even your "animal background" would be cool too!) and compare notes..

Ok so like Steph I'm going to give a little back ground on the Lane's failure of pets.. We tried hard to be "animal people" you'd think with my Mother growing up on a cattle ranch she would have some of these instincts from her birth right WRONG we think it skipped her but as Steph said, I also remember VIVIDLY her calling my Grandpa Jack to "take care" of the for mentioned hamster (Dad was away on a business trip) I remember vicious dogs (ok only remember 1 dog but it was so bad it had to stay in the gated off end of our back yard in LaMirada) and my Animal memories wouldn't be complete with out mentioning Lippity the demented MEAN ATTACK BUNNY, bet you didn't know bunnies chased and bit children on the ankles, they do if they are left out in the sun too long (lesson learned) and of coarse our slutty dog princess who had more puppies than since and was i think the huge thorn in my Mother's side in Oregon..

Ok on to the Emu saga, It was in the Summer and if Steph says we were all there then I believe her, because I know the main players My parents, Stephanie, Jack and Jody were there so I'm assuming Ashley and Jeff must have been there also.. We were sitting down to lunch and if anyone has sat with the Lane's for a meal you know it can get loud.. not in a mean bad way (contrary to a friend of Steph's who got VERY uncomfortable at the noise desable) but we ALL want to be heard and that means usually loud talking laughing etc. etc.. anyway I am sitting facing a bay window that faces the back yard when i see something run across the back yard.. it's something so odd I'm almost afraid to say it but i do and announce "I just saw an ostrich run
across the back yard" when EVERYONE erupts in laughter asking what am I smoking etc (which might give you some insight in my role in the family for saying ALLOT of stupid/silly stuff).. and I insist i saw something when they all look Steh announces it's an emu.. we immediately assume someone has lost their precious pet and we MUST help.. we call the Humane society (which in Arkansas is pretty much an old lady that takes in stray dogs and cats in her home) and of coarse they don't deal with anything like Emu's but she directs us to an Emu farmer that might be willing to take the beast.. We call the Farmer He tells us lots of people got into raising Emu's with the prospect of selling expensive meat and got out of it because it wasn't all it was cracked up to be..he then directs us on how to catch the Bird; he says get a large roap and try to lasso the bird and call him back because IF we end up catching it, he could come pick him up in a few hours, Jack and Jody went into action and went to the garage, only problem, they couldn't find a roap but they did find a large orange extension Cord (that will do right??) they chased the Emu as far as they could then decided they needed a better plan and jumped into the little white truck; because I wasn't with them how they exactly caught the bird is still kind of a mystery but they came back with Jody in the back of the truck with the Emu.. they tied it to the Tree My Mother quickly calls the farmer back saying "We have the Emu" she then asks is there anything we should do to make him more comfortable, told him how we had him contained etc... the Farmer then says "these birds are tough its virtually impossible to kill them".. In my memory (and the way we've always told it) no sooner than my mother hung up the phone we saw the bird from the same window we had originally saw it.. lying on the ground with his neck in a very awful position, still tied to the tree.. we all looked at each other in kind of a panic and said "no way"... Yes the bird was dead.. not only was it dead we had ALREADY called the emu farmer so we couldn't just "forget" this had happened.. so Mom called back the Emu guy (again a reminder she had JUST got off the phone with him) she said something like this "Ummm, well, it looks like you don't have to come somehow it looks like he has broken his neck and well he's dead"... and the farmer; the SAME guy who said just minutes before you can't kill the beasts said; "Yea, they sometimes do that"... WHAT!!!!! evedently when Emu's get distressed they contort their necks or even sometimes beat their heads against hard objects so in essence the Emu couldn't stand to be in the Animal killers presance so it committed suicide (was that too dramatic??) so Jack and Jody disposed of the Emu somewhere on the 10 acres of my parents property they'll never reveal where (not like it would matter now anyway) and they still won't talk about it (it's kinda funny!) But that is the legend of the Lane's and the Emu..
OK siblings get writing!!!

I'm Back

So I got back last night.. I had ALLOT of fun.. I am so grateful for good friends.. this one i went with in particular.. I REALLY feel like she was a total answer to prayer.. After coming from California where I felt like I had NO friends (lots of people who i knew from when i was a kid and even new peeps but no one who i could call and just shoot the breeze or go to each other houses and just hang out) anyway I moved here and we were far from the center of the ward and I really felt like if I wanted to make this move work (and i DID desperately) I needed a FRIEND.. just one.. so I included it in my prayers occassionally.. I even felt a little guilty because We had been blessed in so many ways in our move here, Lo and Behold the TEW family moved in It took a bit for us to click (the Mom and I) but we did and we have ALLOT in common and I am so blessed to have their whole family all of the kids love all of their kids and so it's just great.. anyway the speakers were GREAT.. My only issue with the whole thing and i feel a little aweful for even thinking anything was off was Kenneth Cope who was one of my all time favorite youth speakers was slightly dissopointing.. I mean seeing him through my adult eyes was kind of a wake up call that perhaps i REALLY AM A GROWN UP.. I have to say he kind of gave the same talks he gave when he came to my youth conference when I was 15.. and the whole excited "Jesus Loves You" shouted every 2 minutes, although totally true was well, kinda what I would constantly tell my Beehives when i was a beehive leader.. ok am i going to go to the bad place for complaining about a great talented gifted artist who was only trying to uplift 800 mormon women/?? loved loved loved all the women speakers.. I came home more exhausted then I left but totally uplifted.. Cheri and I ended up talking up until 11pm the night before but i twas fun!
anyway back to the grind...
ta ta

Need a "Time Out" I DO!!!

So for the last couple of years I have wanted DESPERATELY to go to Time Out for Women but it never fell on a great date for me OR I didn't have anyone to go with and I didn't want to feel like a total looser so I never went alone.. SOOO a friend of mine bought the tickets like 6 months ago (truth be told so we would HAVE to not back out of going) and we leave tomorrow for Springfield Mass. to see these awesome speakers (and Yes Steph Kenneth Cope will be there.. i wonder if he'll remember your pen pal days) we will stay at a hotel tomorrow night then head to the convention center Sat morning (it's a 3 hour drive so we thouht milking an overnight slumber party was in order)... We decided we would skip the friday night festivities only because we are kinda still being "mom's" on friday before we go and this way we won't be rushing to get there..

I'm excited but have to admit feeling a tad bit guilty.. Ben has been working a TON of hours and his first 2 days off in like 2 weeks he'll be both Mom and Dad carting Hunter to Soccer and doing all the house work.. But He's not begrudging me this at all He has really wanted me to go the last few years.. he feels like he goes fishing and camping when ever he wants etc.. so I should get some time.. ok guilt over! But this will be the first time I'm off with out a Husband OR ANY kids for more than a few hours.. i'm kinda excited can you tell?

So I'll be bringing my camera but I'm a little hesitant to look like the aformentioned looser and take pic's of grown ups etc. etc. we'll see..
so you won't hear from me in a couple of days..
ta ta

Can I do it.. YES I CAN!!!

Before shot..
Ok lets be honest.. I got so consumed in the moment that i didn' actually take a picture BEFORE i started banging the heck out of it so it's not HONESTLY a before shot but you get the idea i hope..

So I had a "Bob the builder" moment today.. when we moved into this house the only thing that really had to go as far as the cabnets was the tacky wine rack above the sink.. i loved the idea of a space saving something there but of coarse WE DONT DRINK WINE so the rack had to go and looking at it day after day it just urked me to no end that i had this space that I could be using but there it was being UNUSED! so I have told Ben i wat to take it out and put in a plate rack it's hard to describe but it has vertical slats (dowels) and the dishes go vertical.. but of coarse if i want this I am the one who is going to have to design and consruct what is in my head and after doing some hunting around we discovered the screws that hold the wine rack in place we just never got around to it.. today in a moment of needing to NOT see this unused space again i decided to give it a wack or two with the hammer just to see if it would do any damage to the surounding cabnest.. it DIDNT so i went ahead and tore down the whole thing.. I still want a plate rack BUT this will do nicely in the meantime and it will free up some space in my already cramped cabnets.. i'm so handy!

After (not everything i want to put up there is placed yet.. but i'm excited for more SPACE!!!

ta ta

Suff i'm thinking about

I think after my memorable rant about the Vice Presidential candidate I have been in a constant state of thinking about my own role in my family and if I am living up to what I envisioned for my self when I took on the responsibility of being a Mother.. I've been reading allot of past conference talks this one in particular by Elder Ballard he gives some great advice... I relate so much to his experiences of his wife sitting with children alone at church, although Ben has never been in a Bishopric (knocking on wood right now!) he has often had to work Sundays and in fact last year I had decided to dedicate my monthly fasts to the cause of getting Ben Sundays off.. it worked amazingly (it's kinda a long story but his schedule changed with in about 3 months of fast's but only about 30 days after his new schedule of sunday's started ) but recently they have been short once again and so now he's scheduled Sundays AGAIN.. it is frustrating but I do know Ben is providing for us which is most important I haven't decided if I'll do my dedicatory fasts again because it seems as though it will be a temporary thing but we'll see.. anyway I'm getting off topic.. one of the quotes Elder Ballard used was one by Anna Quindlen.. i love it!

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

Realizing that My kids are far more self sufficient than just a few short years ago has made me wonder if I took enough of these opportunity's to just "be" with my kids.. I am a "rusher" by nature.. wanting to get to the next thing as quick as possible.. I think Brad probably would have waited a tad bit longer to walk but I had him up on his tip toes holding both his hands walking him around my parents house sure he was "ready

but, thinking allot about this quote.. particularly lately our lives at home have gotten pretty hectic all of the sudden.. I'm feeling pulled in a few directions wanting to be everything to everyone, Its hard when your choosing between GREAT STUFF.. i mean its very flattering to be asked to be Class Mom, AND Chair the 4&5th grade musical play, AND be Team Mom, AND AND.. I feel somehow that I HAVE to do all of these things.. besides wasn't it me just a year or so ago that was complaining that because we are living in a TINY close nit community no one wanted an outsider helping them.. I would volunteer for everything but get a lone call to "send in some brownies"... and now I have 3 whole hours to spare every day!!! so I should be doing all this right?? what about those mom's who can't I can be the mouth peace for ALL THE MOM's who wish they could do all these things right??... I'm trying to learn a little about balance in case you haven't noticed...

Another great talk i'm re-reading regularly is by Julie B. Beck "Mothers who know" I was shocked at the controversy this talk brought.. I was sitting there watching the broadcast and for the first time in a long time i felt like Sister Beck (and ALL of the other speakers) were TALKING ONLY TO ME! I can't really remember why or the circumstances of my personal feelings prior to the meeting but i left the broadcast feeling renewed and ready to be a "mother who knows".. i STILL strive for that every day...

Knowing I fall short of being a 'mother who knows" allot i'm also trying hard not to beat my self up and renew my commitment every day (there's that balance thing coming back into play)...

This is just what i've been thinkin about lately...
ta ta

The new member of the Family

So We've actually had him for almost 2 weeks BUT I have been hesitant to post this because we have had some bumps in the road and I was afraid either 1. He would run away, get hit by a car or otherwise "not be with us" any longer or 2. we (and by "we" mean I) would feel he wasn't a good fit for our family and thus "not be with us any longer"...
This is Rangler (he came with the name) a 3 year old Treeing Walker Coonhound; His previous owner (brother of the girlfriend of a friend/coworker of Ben) had him since he was born; was a single guy who unfortunately was in a pretty aweful logging accident and was forced to move back with his parents and could no longer take care of him.. We had promised the kids a dog since we moved into this house but told them it would be the end of summer so we wouldn't have to board a dog right after getting him etc (due to summer trips etc).. Ben has looked and looked at Humane Society websites they are all independant out here and privately owned etc.. and some of them wern't any cheeper than going through a breeder.. we REALLY wanted to "rescue" a dog but were beginning to think we'd have to go the breeder route, when this opportunity to get Rangler came along.. He IS a very sweet dog and is good with the kids for the most part.. and the best part he's already been Neutered and he's house trained (we did have one "accident" the first night but i think thats probably to be expected) but he's a pure bread dog so we get the benefit of going through a breeder with out the cost AND going through the "puppy" stage.. bonus!

So we've taken him to the Vet he's healthy and we learned how to clean out his ears get him to loose some weight (he's about 25 lb's overweight) and got him caught up on all his vaccinations and heartworm etc. etc... then got one of those things that keeps dogs from barking outside (oh and he barked!) AND after spending WAY more than I think we both wanted (on both the Vet and the gadget) i guess he's staying cuz now we've poured some money into the beast! (funny how that works out hua!)

I still want to get a crate but I'm being veto'd quite heavely but we'll see...

on a completely different topic! it's getting cooler! i like FALL!
ta ta

Hmmmmm Very interesting

Your Issue Profile: 36% Obama, 64% McCain

When it gets down to it, you tend to best match John McCain. But he's not the perfect candidate for you, and you may not be sold on him yet. Obama shares a good number of your views too, so you might want to give him a second look. It all comes down to which issues matter to you the most.

Should You Vote for Obama or McCain?

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So I should have learned my lesson on the last post i did on Sarah Palin but i just couldn't resist this.. for the record I IN NO WAY INTENDED TO INSULT/ PUT DOWN/ OR IN ANYWAY DEMINISH THE ROLE OF WORKING MOTHERS IN THIS COUNTRY.. or ANY one who reads this BLOG!!! i LOVE you all and I know ALL to well we are ALL in different situations in life.. i enjoy staying home but who knows what the future holds for me (i am going to be "foot loose and fancy free" come next fall)... because of some obvious hurt feelings i took it down (the Sarah Palin post) so if your wondering what the heck i'm talking about then thats ok your not missing anything!

I probably should just leave it at that.. those who know me well know i have STRONG opinions that invoke STRONG feelings..and sometimes the filter from my brain to my finger tips (ie; typing) is not as strong as it should be.. as i am not going to even attempt to clarify my position on Ms. Palin i do stand by ALL of my concerns for her.. thats that! (lesson learned to keep this blog LIGHT!)

but i have to say the above survey kind of hits the nail on the head for me right on!!!

kinda scary too!

ta ta for now