Trees are more work than I thought!

Casey and I went over to my parents house yesterday to help my mom with some trees that needed pruning. When I say we helped, I really mean that Casey was going to do all the work, so I dressed as usual in jeans, a tee, and flip flops. With all the rain we have had lately my parents trees had grown a lot and some branches were so heavy that they touched the ground.

Casey got to work with the chainsaw and clippers and I happily spent my time taking pictures.
Until I saw how big the tree branch waste pile was getting. So regardless of my inappropriate clothing and shoes and lack of gloves, I jumped in to help my mom haul the branches to the side yard to wait for bulk pick up day. 2 hours later (!!) the trees were finished, the yard was clear, the waste branches were stored and we were all sweaty and sporing some cuts from the thorns.Sammy spent those 2 hours happily chewing up a chunk of wood. This little pisser gets to spend 10 days with us starting this weekend. I have sworn to teach him how to sit, not pee in the house, and lose 2 pounds.

One final task was left before we could go to lunch. My mom had heard something in the garage the night before. It sounded like it was stuck to the glue traps that they use by their garage doors, and my mom being afraid of snakes just shut the door without looking and called Casey. LOL. Turns out a huge bull frog was stuck to a trap and trying to free himself. Casey helped him out and helped him over the fence with a toss.

Yay for Spring in Texas!

Little Birdie

Casey found this little guy today as he was weed whacking along the fence line. Lucky he didn't hit him at all. Poor little guy is so tiny, he looks to be a type of sparrow.

Looking around we found a nest that we had not spotted before.

So Casey scooped up the little guy, after having to chase him across the yard and keep Penny away from him.

We put the little guy back up in his nest to give him time to recoup before he tries to fly away again. He was feisty!

Hard Day & Tonsil Post #2 & New Diet Recipe

Tonight we had our first official new "diet" dinner, which is honestly not all that new to us, but it's one of our standards. Alex has been really upset about how much of his favorite foods he can not have, well it is pretty much everything. Doing a bit more digging online I have found that he can have cheeses and some cream sauces but infrequently (no more then once a week for both the sauce and cheese). This new diet is very heavy in fresh veggies and fruits (that are not citrus) which is a good thing, but Alex has his Dad's anti-veggie outlook. :)

On to the recipe!

Applesauce Porkchops, wild rice with quinona and steamed green beans.

Applesauce Porkchops
3/4 C Applesauce unsweetened
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 finely diced garlic clove

Combine all the above ingredients together for the sauce. I just mixed mine in a 1 cup measuring cup and set aside.

Brown pork chops in a heavy bottomed skillet, with pepper on both sides. I added olive oil to the pan and a small bit of butter ( sorry I can't help it, butter in moderation is not a problem and it can add so much flavor). Brown both sides, lower heat and top with sauce. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 20 minutes.

I served with wildrice/quinona mix and steamed green beans. The chops have sauce on them, but don't miss out on the sauce that has browned in the bottom of the pan, it was yummy.

Alex didn't mind this dinner, but unfortunately his tummy is a bit upset so he didn't eat much more than the chop.

In the summer I can't wait to try a variation of this on the grill with grilled veggie kabobs!

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On to the Tonsil part of the post. I just checked on Alex and he has a bit of a fever, which we have to get rid of ASAP since he can't go into surgery with a fever, they will rescheduled it. I dosed him with Tylenol and have popped him into the shower to steam it out. Ibuprofen and aspirin are a huge No-no right now since they are both blood thinners and Alex can't be on them before his surgery. Here's hoping the Tylenol will do the trick, it isn't as effective as Ibuprofen for Alex.

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Today was even more of a hard day for Alex. We went over to my parents house for a little bit today so Alex could see his Poppa before his surgery and to play with the neighborhood kids. When I went across the street to get Alex to head home, I discovered that he had accidentally stepped on a baby bunny hiding in the yard. Alex was holding the bunny in a yugioh tin and the poor thing was barely able to breathe. All the kids were upset and Jenny the Mom was just trying to keep her 4 from hysterics. Alex and I told the kids we would bring the bunny home and take care of her.

Poor Alex was so upset that she was hurt, he felt it was his fault and was having a hard time looking at it as an accident. The bunny died on the way home which I figured was going to happen because of the way she was breathing. Casey met us at the door, his Daddy sense was on high alert and we immediately loved on Alex and hugged him up trying to cheer him up. Out behind our fence line Casey dug a hole and we have a small funeral for the bunny, said our prayers, and painted a rock with RIP and a cross.

Needless to say it has been a very hard day for Alex. I know he feels at fault for the bunnies death, but we just try to remind him if all the bunnies that the dogs catch in the yard each year and that accidents happen. He has become very attached to the idea of wild animal pets in the last couple months, I think it has been stemming from the books he has been reading.

Anyways, lots of bunny prayers were sent to heaven today. And more prayers for Alex too.

Steve the Hedgehog

Alex got a hedgehog this past weekend. We had looked into a hedgehog as a pet around his birthday but decided it was just too expensive to start. But when you put out to the world that you want a hedgehog, sometimes the world gives you your wish.

Kim had a friend who needed to find a home for one of her hedgehogs, apparently Steve is not friendly with other males. So this past Saturday Steve made his way to our family with everything he needs to live.
He was a bit grumpy the first four days, not quite certain of his surroundings and all the new smells. He hisses and puffs up his quills when mad. He kind of sounds like boiling water in a tea kettle. But with the addition of this new little critter bed, he is super happy and much more calm.

He is hiding in most of this pictures because of the camera flash, tomorrow Alex and I are going to take him outside to explore in the grass before the heat of the day. Hopefully you will get to see his adorable little face. And we will hopefully get a chance to double check that Steve is not a Stephanie.

Too the Zoo of course

I woke this morning after having a dream about a huge Komodo dragon in my back yard. I was telling Casey and Alex about it during our morning snuggle which made me suggest the Zoo today so I could see my dream dragon in the flesh.

Christmas Eve's Eve is the perfect time to go to our Zoo, it is not busy, it is chilly enough that the animals are out to sun themselves instead of hiding from the broiling sun, and we were just in time for breakfast.

Mr. Grisly was finishing up his breakfast and posing for morning shots.

My Dream dragon in the flesh and about two feet too short.

Monkey Butts and My Mister Boy

Baby and Momma

Getting so big! Can't really call him a Baby anymore...

Wart Hogs remind us of Twain

This lovely lady came over to tell us about her swallowing troubles.

I was able to get this guy to dance with him and then give a little hoot!

My Pride and Joys
And of course you must finish up a Zoo day at Hooter's with fried pickles, wings and fries.

Meet Master Peter Rabbit

One day in the fine big back yard, Master Peter was scared away from the high grass against the fence by a big yellow grass cutting machine. The human that was pushing the machine brought over his Penny Dog to flush out what he thought was a snake or mouse, but out tumbled Master Peter. The human immediately called off his Penny dog and scooped up Peter before he could be harmed. Master Peter's brother and sisters escaped through a hole in the fence and that is right where he went after the human showed him to his wife and child.

Bye Master Peter!

Blast from the past into the present

Today Alex and I headed to Sea World to see Jack Hanna and his neato animals. I use to watch Jack Hanna as a kid and was so excited to hear that he was coming to town. So instead of coming home after taking Casey to the airport and sleeping, we made breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, played with the pups, played a wee bit of Age of Empires 3, and then went to Sea World so early that we were literally the 5th car in the lot. the great thing about that was they had the horses and dolphines open, it is great to be able to see the dolphines when they are playful and there are not millions of people pushing around Alex. We ended up hanging out with a family of four, with two super little kids, and between us two moms and three trays of fish, we both got some great pictures of our kids touching the dolphines and flinging fishes into the pool. :O) Gotta love mom team work, plus we both admitted that we were looking for those scrappable shots. *tee hee*

Alex on top of one of those huge cement pile-ons in the parking lot

Alex in the early morning parking lot
Dolphine Fun

After riding the Shamu express, climbing like a monkey all over the kids gym, it was finally time to get seats for the Jack Hanna show. We saw Sun bears, a blinded bald eagel, a fox, an alligator, a pair of Candian Linx, penguins, some prehistoric looking bird that I swear was going to chomp this one kids head off, boas, and a baby kanagroo. Jack Hanna was generious and happily posed and signed all manner of things for the entire crowd. He signed Alex's shirt for us, and Alex was happy! Time to frame it up with the photo below.

Jack Hanna in the flesh

After all the show craziness, Alex and I decided to ride the Rio Loco, because what else are you going to do in November but ride a rapids ride guarenteed to get you wet?

This picture pretty much sums up the day!