RIP Skeeter

Our family dog passed away today. We adopted her when I was a teenager, so it was surprising she has lasted this long (14 years I think? And she was not a puppy when we got her). She was rescued from an abused home and was dirty, skinny, and stinky when we got her. She was a cockapoo. We named her Skeeter after the muppet.

She was a pretty good dog. My kids are devastated. E says she won't go to grandma and papa's house until they get a new dog named Skeeter that looks exactly the same.

My parents are pretty upset too. I guess she had a seizure this morning and her heart stopped and by the time they got to the emergency vets their was nothing that could be done.

RIP Skeeter. I am glad you aren't in pain anymore.

Works for Me Wednesday - Cleaning away a grounding

Every Wednesday I go here to read a blog carnival called "Works for Me Wednesday" during which a bunch of bloggers log in and write down tips that keep their lives working! Everything from stopping temper tantrums to cooking tips! I have found many new ideas over there for many aspects of my life! I suggest you check it out.

I usually join when I think I have something to say.

This week my tip is: Use cleaning as a form of punishment! Yep, you heard me! I will ground my kids for a weekend, then when they whine and cry and tell me all the wonderful things they are missing out on by being grounded (usually "but my webkinz will die if I can't feed them!!!"), I let them work off a day of their grounding by giving me 2 hours of service. I get mean too! They have scrubbed dust off baseboards, swept and mopped kitchen floors, cleaned out closets, etc. Plus this is on top of their regular chores like putting away their own laundry and emptying the dishwasher! Working off groundings works for me!!!

Update

Ultrasound and blood tests confirm it is crohn's related. My doctor is talking to the gastroenterologist tomorrow to discuss the next steps. Sigh...

Something is wrong...

I don't know what yet. But I have an emergency ultrasound booked for tomorrow. I am crossing my fingers it is nothing serious, but living with crohn's means you can't take anything at face value. Excruciating Cramps + mid cycle bleeding = something not right. Especially when you are on birth control.

I am trying to distract myself by reading other blogs, surfing the internet, watching "Hoarder's" etc.

How do you distract yourself from stress? Do you have any links you to share with me to help distract me? :)

Checking in with my resolutions!

Well, I managed to go to the gym on Wednesday, worked out with my wii on Friday, and went and played in the snow today! So far so good! I am definitely trying to eat less and better. I really need to lose a couple of pounds!

As for the cleaning... The tree came down yesterday and I rearranged the living room and vaccuumed under all the furniture and I have been keeping up on laundry pretty well, so hopefully my hubby is noticing the efforts! In the meantime, I have not been as good at keeping up on the dishes. I have been baking a lot lately and it seems to dirty a lot of dishes! In my attempts to keep the junk out of the house I have been baking a lot from scratch. Bread, buns, stuffed breadsticks for lunches, etc! It is a lot cheaper than buying bread products and healthier because there isn't any preservatives to give them a longer shelf life.

I am still working on the job situation. I applied for a bunch more the other day. Hopefully I will get some interviews and get something good! I just want something that makes me happy, where I enjoy going to work everyday, and that will be the type of job that stays at work. Where I am not bringing my stress home with me. Know what I mean?