Found Puppy

It always hurts my heart when I see a dog running along side the road. I have been victim to a beloved pet getting lose and never making his way back home. I often think about him and wonder if he found a new home with loving kids and a nice backyard to run around in. In my head, I like to think that he did.

This morning, on the way home from taking Ellie to school, we were about to pull into our driveway when a little dog ran out in front of the car. Luckily I was paying attention, so she wasn't in danger of being hit at that time, but we saw her run in front of another car before we made it inside the house. From a distance, she seemed very sweet and you could tell that she was well taken care of. She wears a pink collar and has a little red bow on her head.

She has a vaccination tag on her collar and it has a license number on it with a phone number. I called the number on it, but sadly they were no help in helping me find her home. I took her to a nearby vet to see if she has a microchip, and unfortunately she has no microchip. I have posted a listing on craigslist as well as a Facebook group for lost and found pets. I drove thru the neighborhood looking for flyers this evening, but I didn't see anything yet. I may try to print some flyers tomorrow at work and hang them up.

I would really love to find her home, because I know that someone is out there missing her tonight. I wouldn't have taken her from the street, hoping that she'd find her way back home, but she running in front of cars with no regard and I didn't want her to end up getting hit. You can tell that she is an inside dog and has very limited experience outside. She has no regard for the street and runs back and forth without a care.

She is currently laying next to me resting. She is the sweetest dog, and the vet seemed to think that she is a Maltepoo. I already have two people that want to take her if we are unable to find her owners, so I know she will end up being ok.

Here she is....

Kindergarten SCIENCE FAIR?!

I can only assume that Ellie is required to do a science fair project because she goes to a Science academy. Most of my friends seem to think it's crazy that a Kindergartner is required to do a Science fair project.

I don't think that this project is for any sort of grade, or really holds any stock in whether she will go on to first grade, so we are going to make it as fun as possible. She decided that she wants to do a penny cleaning experiment.

We will gather different solutions such as vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, Dr. Pepper, water.....and we will test the against the dirtiness of a penny. We will soak the penny for 5 minutes, and see which one is most affective in making that penny shine. Should be FUN!

Is it just me, or does it seem like the Science Fair always turns into a "Which parent can make the best post board" contest? Let me tell you, I am SUPER competitive, as is Ellie (who do you think she gets that from?) so we could really get down and dirty with an awesome poster board if we wanted to. For now, we will make it fun!

I LOVE Pinterest. It's my go to for EVERYTHING. This is my Pinterest Inspiration if anyone wants to check it out. She has some pretty fun stuff on her blog.

Bedtime Routine

As I'm settling down for the night after getting the kids ready for bed, I feel like I need to share a little about what our night is like.

Around 6:00 pm, I start asking everyone what they want for dinner. Now, if I were a better planner, I would already know what was for dinner and I could probably save 10 minutes of whining about over what they do and don't want for dinner. We aren't your good American family that sits down at the dinner table to all enjoy the same meal.....No. I usually end up fixing the kids something, and then us something.

The kids meal options are very limited. Not because I force them eat the same thing every day, but because these are the only things they like to eat.......Mac and cheese, Spaghetti-Os, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, quesadillas, yogurt and granola bar, peanut butter sandwich.....you get the idea. We will usually add in a side of some sort of fruit or veggie. Joshua LOVES cuties. He would eat oranges all day long if I let him. Ellie LOVES green beans. Charlotte will usually eat anything I tell her to, and usually doesn't have too much of an opinion on what I put in front of her. One thing that the kids know, if they don't eat what I fix them the first time, then they don't eat.

So after we get dinner settled, and everyone has eaten, usually they like to go play outside for a bit. I really like the fact that our kids love to be outside. When I was younger, my siblings and I were always outside playing, and I can remember the fun things we'd come up with. One night, we were outside playing soccer, barefoot mind you, and I kicked the ball so hard I broke my middle toe. It was so crooked that we had to go have it set back into place. Can you say OUCH?!

Around 8:00 pm is usually when we start our bedtime routine. I'm going to be quite honest and say that my kids do not get a bath every night. At one point, maybe two children ago, they would get a bath every single night because I couldn't stand the thought of them being "dirty". Well....let me tell you, it is damn near impossible to add four baths/showers in every.single.night and still have any sort of time left. Our bath/shower schedule kind of depends on the activities of the day. I don't like to put them to bed with any sort of sunscreen on their skin, so if they'd had sunscreen applied, they will always get a bath or shower. Joshua is very sensitive to sunscreen so his eyes will water and his nose will run until he has had a bath. I have been known to stick feet and hands in the sink to rinse them off before bed and called it a night. Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day and bath/showers usually suffer. I imagine this will get a bit easier as they become a little more proficient in washing themselves.

The older girls can brush their teeth without any assistance, and Joshua can as well but I usually try to go back over it with the toothbrush when he is done. If I'm lucky, then Norah has already fallen asleep by this point so I don't have to worry about her being right up under foot. We AIM to be in bed by 8:30.....but like most nights, it doesn't happen until closer to 9:00. It is currently 9:04 and Joshua is in his room whining for me, and I can hear Charlotte in her room singing. Getting up in the morning should be FUN!

I'm off to check on a little 2 year old that doesn't like to sleep in his own bed.

Hi, we are the Frasiers. We are a family of six living in Fort Worth, Texas. We have Dad, Mom, Ellie, Charlie, Joshua and Norah Mae.

A little background....

We met 14 years ago while attending the same church. We have been "together" since May 2003 and Married since Oct 2007. We have four kids currently aged 6, 4, 2 (soon to be 3) and 9 months (soon to be 1).

Life on the best of days is crazy. People often ask us if we plan on having more kids, and the answer really depends on the day. Some days, they are perfect angels, everything goes right, no one is fighting...on those days I might tell you that one more might be in the cards. On other days, the house is a wreck, everyone is fighting, no one wants to pick up their toys, everyone begins to cry simultaneously....and those are the days that I will tell you we are DONE.

The truth is...I always knew that I wanted at least four kids. I come from a family of five, so it isn't foreign to me. It's puzzling when I tell people that we have four kids and they look at me like I just sprouted a second head.

Currently, we are both working full time out of the house, so it's very difficult to manage everything while being away from the house 40 hours per week for work. I really don't have a system to the madness....and our motto is just do what works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and do what you have to do to make everyone happy. If that means frozen lasagna and breadsticks for dinner, so be it!

I hope you enjoy reading about our lives!