Vent Session

Anyone have a good attitude I could borrow? I'm in need.

My phone apparently thinks I'm on East Coast time, and has randomly jumped an hour ahead or stayed in Central time all week, mulitple times a day. I know that Sprint is having issues with their towers in our area, but this can be very panic inducing! I am afraid to sent an alarm for myself because it may never go off. Or go off an hour early. Ahhh!!
The folks at our local Sonic have screwed up both of my past orders. I have gotten two free meals out of it, but it's still annoying to repeat an order 3 times and only receive half of it. I totally understand that the guy taking the order was new. I almost wish he would have told me that in the beginning so I could understand and maybe even say things more slowly... instead I felt like I was on that show Boiling Points and was looking for a hidden camera after repeating my order the third time. Don't get me wrong, free food is good- but after awhile, you don't really want to go if you are going to have to repeat yourself or anticipate the wrong order.
And finally, Keaton has been very "two" this week. Crazy mood swings and pushing his bounderies a lot. He either wants to eat everything in sight, or nothing at all. It takes him over 45 minutes to settle down and sleep every night, and he wakes up multiple times each night. I am tired. He is tired. Those things don't mix. Luckily Casey gets back tonight, and he tends to balance things out a bit better for us all.
 
If anyone could send not only a good attitude, but also a big, fat bottle of patience, that would be nice, too.
 
Thanks for allowing me to vent.
 
-Ash

Never a dull moment

As if we didn't have plenty of crazy things going on in our lives right now, we *almost* got a puppy this weekend. About a year ago, we were looking for a young (under 1 year old) male brindle Boxer. We liked the idea of having a Boxer that looked different than Charley Brown, and one that was young enough that Keaton could grow up with. We decided to stop our search and focus more on extending our family. Well, in light of recent events, and the fact that it's Spring again and it would be ideal time for us to potty train a puppy, I guess we are kind of on the hunt again. Thursday morning, Casey texted a picture of a 9 week old brindle Boxer puppy that was available in our area. I agreed to go meet him alone, since I was the one with the most objection over getting a dog right now. All of that went out the window as soon as I saw his little face. He was absolutely adorable and attentive. He was exactly what we had been looking for. Casey and Keaton met him, and we all fell in love with the little guy- so much so that we even put $100 deposit down to hold him until Friday so we could do a little more research on his breeder, and get the house ready. During that time, though, we found out some pretty damning things about the breeder. He had over 50 adult dogs in his care in 2011 alone. He also had two citations regarding inadequate shelter of the dogs. That alone made it a no-go for us. We do not want to spend the *large* amount of money they were asking on a dog that could potentially have genetic defects from being inbred, and we don't want to support places that overbreed dogs!! So although we lost money in the process, and were pretty bummed out about not getting the puppy, I think we made the best decision. We hope to be able to either get one from a breeder directly, or rescue one at a shelter. Lesson learned.

In other news, the Midwest is getting slammed with some pretty crazy weather right now. A lot of the middle section of the country is at high risk for tornadoes over the next 24 hours, and then it's heading our way. To repeat my current Facebook status, "I am starting to understand why people tend to group the behavior of children and animals to potentially bad weather. If Keaton's mood today is any indication, we are indeed in for some crazy storms in the near future!" It's true, though. Tough day with the little dude. I hope tomorrow's better!

Well, I'm exhausted after spending a good chunk of the afternoon with a large number of screaming children at a birthday party, along with my own child that screamed enough during the rest of the day. Time to veg out, watch some TV, and pass out. :)

-Ash

Always a Jayhawk

With the Madness of March, I have turned into a psycho KU fan again. I've been a KU basketball fan for as long as I can remember. My love for KU stemmed from the time I was a child, and has grown stronger... maybe to the point of crazy. But I'm okay with that. And I hope you are, too.

So forgive me, world, if I want to scream from the hilltops and dance around like a fool. My Jayhawks have exceeded the expectations of EVERYONE, and even if they don't win tonight, we are playing in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. My heart is already in Lawrence (the only place I want to live if we ever move back to Kansas) and I wish I could be there to feel the intense spirit and share in the pride that I have for this team. Just like in 2008 when we beat UNC (which was enough for me!!) and took the championship nets down (I can't even remember who we beat... really, beating North Carolina was amazing!), I have this unbridled sense of excitement that is really hard to control. I woke Keaton up during the final minutes of the KU-OSU game Saturday night by apparently yelling too loud. So I'm at a loss of what to do tonight... I don't have the fan support I need to be my crazy KU-loving self and yell/jump over furniture/have a heart attack on the floor... this would not go over well with my KSU-Alum husband and sleeping child. And I'm sure Casey will want to keep his distance as I tend to flail around during the game (I accidentally punched him in the leg during one of the previous games and he hasn't come near me since while a game is on!). But alas, I will stay home and watch it all go down... win or lose, it's bound to be worth it. These boys have put up a tremendous fight this year, and have proved that we deserve to be where we are right now. A win would just be icing on the cake!!!

This craziness has been years in the making. From the days of Adonis Jordan and Mark Randall, to Ryan Robertson (I really wanted to marry him), to Jerod Haase, Jacque Vaughn, and countless others who made up a large chunk of my elementary, middle, and high school years.... from my 5th grade Halloween costume, to hours spent at the airport welcoming in the team... from going to the "other school" (which was a great school, by the way) and wearing Jayhawks under my Wildcat attire, and getting busted watching the KU games in my dorm room (remember, Chelsea??), to even marrying a KSU grad. I have made it through it all, and am proud to say that even if I didn't get to watch every game, or learn every player's name and background, I am still a FAN, and very proud to be one.

ROCK CHALK BOYS!! Let's do this!!!!!!!!

-Ashley