Fan jamming and fall break

The Pacers open their season on Friday at Conseco and we will be there with bells on. Sunday was the annual Fan Jam and we took the boys for a fun, free afternoon. We picked up some goodies, watched Boomer and the Power Pack do some tricks and then watched a little bit of rookie hazing. What I love about the Fan Jam is that we get to see the players and their personalities. They made Tyler Hansbrough and AJ Pryce sing and dance and it was hilarious! After that there was an autograph session and we all met Danny Granger, Luther Head, Solomon (sp?) Jones, AJ Pryce, Josh McRoberts and TJ Ford. The boys got shirts and a basketball autographed and Ross got his Danny Granger all-star t-shirt autographed. It was tons of fun!

The boys are on Fall Break for the rest of the week and tonight we're making Halloween sugar cookies! This time, I doubled the batch of dough and we're going to send a care package to their favorite cousins in Tennessee. Stay tuned for photos! Decorating cookies is always so much fun...although eating them might be better!

New addition

Ross and I have been talking about getting another dog on and off for awhile. We have one dog already and the way our lives were going we didn't think we should get another dog because we were too busy. So we'd have the debate back and forth. Karen, one of my good friends from work constantly sends me emails about puppies that need to be rescued and last week we were faced with the opportunity to rescue a baby black lab. We had to make the decision very quickly and decided it was too quick for us. Luckily she found another home very quickly. Then Karen told me about a litter of puppies that needed homes. She sent pictures and Ross and I started to talk about it. The mom is a wire hair terrier and they didn't know who the father is. The whole back story with this dog is so ridiculous I can't even write about it because it's beyond unbelievable. I'll just say the puppies were conceived on an Indian reservation in Las Vegas.

We made the trek to Rhonda's house to look at the puppies Friday night. They live in Clayton, and it took us about an hour to get there with 465 traffic. We knew we wanted another girl and there were 3 girls from the litter of 7 (one was put to sleep after being diagnosed with hydrocephalus). The three girls were Lilly, Roxie and Bella. Lilly was two shades of brown and very calm. Roxie looked just like a German Shepherd and was much bigger than the other two girls. Bella was rambunctios and black with white and brown markings. After about an hour of playing and deliberation, we chose Bella.

The poor baby vomited twice on the way home and cried for her brothers and sisters Friday night. Saturday she was much better and ready to integrate into our family. The boys came home Sunday and were thrilled. They both love her to pieces. Our other dog (Bossy) is tolerating her, and I think they've bonded a little bit in the backyard this week. She is such a joy to have around and we are so thankful for her. Now, if we can just get some sleep...

Hit hard

This week has been especially bad for us as Lucas injured himself last Saturday and Max has been hit hard by a viral infection. Saturday morning Lucas had a black belt credit test (he's testing for 2nd Dan in February!!!) and this test was for recommended 2nd Dan. They had to break FOUR boards with a back kick. He tried to break with his left foot and the boards were uneven and they slipped and he ended up with a foot full of cuts and bruises. It was so sore we had to get a doctor's note for PE because the poor kid couldn't even put his shoes on. It is Friday, now, and he's better, so we're happy about that.

Poor Max has had such a time. He started feeling sick on Friday and it was apparent he was very sick on Saturday. I took him to the doctor on Monday and she said he had the stomach flu. He had a fever on and off for about five days. He didn't start eating regular food until Thursday and didn't handle it very well. Needless to say, he's been out of school all week!

I've been working from home all week so I could stay with Max. Luckily no one else is exhibiting any flu-like symptoms so I'm hoping the worst is behind us. Keep your fingers crossed for healthier days to come!

Google Reader - my current picks

My Google reader is on overload these days. I recently discovered it and I love it! It gives automatic updates to blogs I normally read and puts them all in one place, eliminating time and adding so much convenience! Here is a small list (NOT exhaustive!) of the blogs I've been reading:

 Oh She Glows:  Angela is a Canadian woman who runs a healthy bakery of Globars, Glonola and other fun treats. She just started shipping to the US in October.  http://ohsheglows.com/  

Carrots N Cake: a healthy living blog by Tina http://carrotsncake.com/

Inner Workings of a College Graduate: Meghann is a recent college graduate who lives in Florida. She has delicious recipes and blogs about running, work and life. http://graduatemeghann.com/

Beneath it All: Kelly, Meghann's sister, also has a healthy living blog. http://beneathitallblog.com/

Runner's Kitchen: Probably my favorite healthy living blog is by Megan in New York City. She has great recipes and fun stories. I also love to see what kind of salad she gets from the office cafeteria every day.
http://runnerskitchen.wordpress.com/

Sassy and Single (in the City) to Instant Mom: A friend of a friend, Dee Dee blogs about her interests and drastic life changes as the instant mom to two young girls. http://sassyandsingleinthecitytoinstantmom.blogspot.com/

Frankly Speaking: A friend from high school blogs about her life and her adorable kids in Bloomington, IN.
http://chrisandanne.wordpress.com/

And finally, etsy wedding. I love the handmade items on etsy and have been browsing in preparation for our upcoming wedding, whenever that may be. Don't ask, and I won't tell. http://etsywedding.blogspot.com/