Happy Birthday Louis and Angela

Another year old and a another year wiser...

We celebrated with a double party last weekend.  Louis's birthday was yesterday and mine is Sunday (SuperBowl Sunday).

It was cute because all of the kids wanted to blow out the candles.  Louis had a sheet cake that Jimmie had made and I had cupcakes.  So, I gave the Erin a cupcake and Luke and Jake blew out the candles on their glutten free cake.

We sang Happy Birthday and all 5 of us made a wish.

Snow Day... Part II

We have another snow day again today.  The daycare closed in anticipation of bad weather that actually blew over to the north.

It's supposed to be icy for a couple of hours then burn off.  So, Erin and I are home playing on our electronic devices!  I'm at the laptop and she's on her ipad.  We have the fireplace roaring and the heat up full blast.  We're still in our pajamas and the weather isn't supposed to let up until after 1:00 so I don't see us getting dressed anytime soon!

The office didn't close so Tommy went to work.  There was a layer of ice on Old Blue, but he text me to say he made it safe and sound.

A lot of fretting went into this predicted weather.  I can't say I'm complaining.  It's nice to be off during the middle of the week too!

Snow Day...

We had an ice storm/cold front come in with rain last night. It snowed North and East of here, but all we got was sleet and frozen rain (I guess that is sleet???).  Hasn't gotten above freezing here yet and I write this at 10:45 am.  This is very rare for SE Texas.

Because of the freezing roadways, they cancelled school day in Conroe ISD and all over around here.  The daycare follows CISD, so they are closed today too.  I was going to have to call in to work to stay home and take care of Erin today, but the powers that be at work decided to close our office too.  Can't say I was really torn up about having to change my voicemail at work to saying we were closed.

I think the storm warning is supposed to be lifted after noon today when the high gets to 36!

I'm sure people will be out in droves since everyone is off.  It's like a Saturday here except that none of us have gotten dressed yet.  Erin and I have usually made a grocery store or Target run by this time on the weekend.  We like to get out in the morning and afternoon before and after her nap.

The fireplace is roaring and everyone is all toasty.  Erin is eating a snack and we'll go down for a nap soon.  Yes, Momma will be laying down with her!

It didn't take the dogs long this morning to take care of business outside.

Reunited...

Just have to give a shout out to Facebook for reuniting me with my Washington relatives and distant cousins on my Daddy's side.  I've also gotten to know 2nd and 3rd cousins I haven't met/seen in about 30 years.

I keep this blog and share it with them as well, but this blog is about my family.  Facebook has given me a little insight into the lives of my relatives.  There is some drama, but for the most part it's funny posts about the mundane happenings of life.  Keep it coming.

Thanks relatives for sharing with me and thanks Facebook for making it possible!

Yay Us!

Scooby Update...

Scooby is fitting in very well and getting used to us more and more everyday.  I think by the weekend he'll be  a regular part of the family.

He's a pretty smart little dog too.  He has very smart looking eyes.  It's like when you talk to him he turns his head and looks at you like he understands what you're saying.  It's too cute.  Mae doesn't stand still long enough to be able to talk to her.  She's too busy running by at full speed, so I'm not sure how smart her eyes are.

Tommy told me yesterday that in 3 days he's learned to like Scooby more than Mae!  He told me last night that he thinks Scooby will be good for Mae in the end and that time will hopefully settle her down.  (I think that's the closest thing to - You did good Babe - as I'm going to get.)  And don't even think I'm going to say I told you so!

Drive In Movie...

It's that time again!  Erin's annual Drive-In movie day is Friday.

I had to take an afternoon off to do this project.  By the time I finish everything at night, I'm too pooped to tackle it.  So, I left yesterday at lunch and went to buy the supplies.  I ended up using 2 cans of spray paint and a whole roll of duct tape and half a roll of Gorilla tape!!!

I'm not one for the DIY blogging but it's very easy to make and little kids love it.  Erin will get hours of enjoyment out of it before it's time for the trash.

• I bought a large wardrobe box at the moving supply store.  I bought 2 cans of spray paint and a 12 yard roll of decorative duct tape.  I bought the heavy felt wheels at Walmart in the craft dept, but you can use spray painted paper plates and it looks good.  (Last year's car.)  Everything but the box came from Walmart.

• I used the Gorilla tape that we had here and taped the bottom shut.  (Duct tape doesn't stick to the cardboard as well as the Gorilla tape does.)  From there I cut an opening at the top with a box cutter wide enough for Erin to crawl in.  I took one of those left over pieces and cut it in half to make the windshield.  I took it outside and spray painted the whole thing several times to cover the cardboard.  (I didn't bother to paint the inside of it. And I used some white spray paint we had from last year's car for the windshield.)  

• Once both pieces were dry I took it inside and taped the windshield on it at an angle on the edge of the opening.  I taped the edges of the opening so it wouldn't slice her little hands and then glued the wheels on.  After that I used the rest of the decorative duct tape in strips and covered the hood of the car.  

Ta Da!  We have a cardboard car ready for the Drive-In movie.

I had to hide it in the spare bedroom so Erin wouldn't see it.  I don't want her to have it until Friday.

More of Scooby...

Here are a couple more shots of Scooby.

He's adjusting very well to us.  Erin is a little scared of him because Mae has made her scared of dogs.  Mae jumps all over her and Erin hates it.  I was hoping that Scooby would calm Mae down and I think he will eventually, but only time will tell.

Scooby is still a little timid around all of us when we're all here and Mae is acting crazy attacking him to play.  In the pictures below he was just standing by himself to the side kind of hiding.  I think he is just a little overwhelmed right now.  The breeder said it will take him about a week to bond with us.  She also told us that Schnauzers adapt well to having their name changed, but we're not going to do that.  We'll keep calling him Scooby and Erin will keep calling him "Doobie".  (No drug jokes please!)

I think he's already bonded to me.  Him and Mae follow me like little shadows.  Erin didn't meet him until yesterday because she was at my parent's house.  When we came home, Tommy was sitting on the floor with Scooby and I was holding Erin.  He barked and growled but it wasn't out of meanness.  Mini Schnauzers are just little barkers.  He did calm down and really, really wanted to sniff Erin but she was not having any of that.  When they went to play outside, I think the two of them came to an understanding.

Yesterday the dogs literally played for about 4 hours straight.  They only stopped for water breaks.  Mae was the instigator of most of the play, but I did notice Scooby trying to get at her a couple of times.  It was cute to watch them.

He really is a super sweet dog.  He kind of gets pushed out of the way by Mae when it's attention time, but I think it's more because he's still timid and she's super jealous.  We're going to be very aware of it and give him special lovin'.  I also have to stand guard when I feed them.  Mae has always been a pig at mealtime.  She doesn't chew her food.  She literally inhales it.  (Not joking!)  Scooby is a chewer and it takes him longer.  I've have to physically pick Mae up when she's finished to keep her from shoving him out of the way and eating his food too.  Little piglet.

I think I made a good choice with Scooby and I think he'll be a good addition to the family.  He will certainly be loved and spoiled around here.

He still looks a little bedraggled.  I think once he hair grows out he'll be a much prettier boy.

Three Mizes + Two

Introducing Scooby Mize.

Scooby joined our family last night.  Erin was with my parents so she hasn't met him yet, but Mae already loves him.  It was a rough introduction with a lot of growling and lunging, but I held on to her.  I let them sniff it out and then put her down.  They sniffed some more and then immediately started playing.

We've been up this morning for an hour and they've only stopped playing to take water breaks.  Mae hasn't torn anything up and Scooby seems to be enjoying the playing as well.  So, I think it will all work out.

He's a really sweet little guy.  He's very timid of us and the breeder said it would take him about a week to get used to us.  He doesn't seem to be the jumper that Mae is, but like Tommy said - she'll teach him bad manners.  He's more at ease with me, but I think it might be that Tommy is so tall and broad.  Tommy hasn't gotten down on the floor with him yet either.  I've been crawling around all over the place.

Without going into the whole long story...the breeder was a very strange lady. But, I've found that most "dog show people" are weird.  They didn't make that movie about them for no reason.  She and her husband kept us waiting in a Wal-mart parking lot for over an hour and a half last night.  They pulled up and Tommy said he was going to give her some quotes until I pointed out the handicapped license plate on their SUV.

The woman had silver hair in a bun and a huge bow the size of her head on top of it.  She had on a faux fur vest and put me in a huge bear hug the minute she saw me.  She smelled like old lady perfume and dog.  It was not a good mix!  The old man had had a stroke and was very unsteady on his feet.  He was making me a nervous wreck until he sat down on the bumper of their truck.  So, Tommy didn't give an quotes but was still ticked at all 3 of us!

Scooby was butchered by the groomer.  We'll have to let his hair grow out and then take him to our groomer.  She'll do a much better job on him.  Right now he's a diamond in the rough.  Anne, the breeder, had told me he was white so I was expecting a white Schnauzer.  He's actually a Phantom.  That's when they are black on top and white underneath.  In the Schnauzer world, Phantoms are very sought after.  They eventually turn Salt and Pepper after a couple of years.  Scooby is now Salt and Pepper.  He looks a lot like Mark and Steph's dog Bailey.  (Bailey was a phantom too!)

They were standing at the door last night looking in when Tommy remarked that they looked like Fritze and Roxie standing there.  Yikes!  They did.  I unconsciously bought a solid black female and a salt and pepper male, just like Fritze and Rox!  I'm sure Freud could make something out of it, but in my opinion it was all coincidence.

I haven't gotten a chance to snap any good pictures of Scooby yet.  When I tell you they've been playing non-stop I mean it.  Here's a couple I popped this morning.

I'll keep you posted on his assimilation into the family.

My Newest Obsession...

Okay, I've always had a low-maintenance look.  I don't wear enough make up to look like an Indian going to war, and I forget to put on lipstick most of the time.  With that being said, I am a true Maiden of the South, I do wear my make up every day to work and always have my hair fixed.  I let my hair be curly instead of fighting Mother Nature and straighting it.  Low key style, but yet "fixed" up.  The best of both worlds.

Part of my low maintenance up-keep is the fact that I only use Dove soap on my face and NO moisturizer.  My face is so oily I didn't think I needed it.  (Between the oil and the chubbiness I've never worried about wrinkles!)

I had a facial last weekend for the first time in about 10 years.  I realized what a train wreck my skin is.  An obsession was born.  The lady doing the facial tried to sell me some stuff they use there at the spa, but I had an alternative.  Stephanie sells Rodan + Fields and I knew she would know what was best for my face.  I called her immediately and she knew exactly what to do.  Since I never took much time on my skin, I hadn't bought anything from her yet.  That changed...I'm in for the pound instead of the penny now.

I'll be getting my new skin care regime next weekend and I'm excited to start it.  My face was so soft and my  skin looked fabulous after the facial.  I want to keep it that way!  I still don't care much about the wrinkle part.  I have a ton of gray hair and would be almost completely gray if I didn't color it.  Wrinkles just seem to me to go along with the package.  I just want the smooth soft skin that I had last weekend to last.

As much as I hate to admit it...I've joined the ranks of the millions of women who spend billions on their faces.  Knowing me, I won't do this skin care in moderation so the next time you see me I may look 20 years younger because of the amount of product I'm pouring onto my face!!!

Family Pics...

While we were at the Mize Christmas at Jay's house (Tommy's cousin) his wife had a professional photographer there.  He is  friend of the family and took some pictures of us for a small fee.  It's the first all family picture we've taken since I entered the picture 11 years ago!  (Maybe that should tell me something...hmmm)

I think they turned out pretty good.  Because Paw-in-Law is not the most patient picture taker the dude was only able to snap 6 pictures total!  Yes, we did our family group picture in 3 takes.  The other 3 snaps were individual family of us and Mark & Steph.

Here's what we got.  I think they turned out great.  I of course should have been photo-shopped down to a size 6, but we didn't pay the man that much money! :)

Mize Family Christmas...

Found this picture on my phone.  I took it at the Mize Family Christmas party at Tommy's cousin's house.  I forgot I had it.  This is Pepaw with Erin and Jake supervising.  He was picking away and the kids were fascinated.  After this "set" he let them play on the guitar a little.  Luke was there too, but just wasn't in this picture.  I think Erin and Luke actually hung out there more because they seemed more interested in "playing" the guitar.  I just wasn't quick enough to get all 3 of them in a pic.

The half a face at the right side is Tommy's second cousin Jacob.  He too played Pepaw's (Uncle Louis's) guitar.  Only he can really play!

Shameless Selphie...

I took this the other day when it was super cold here.  I finally got to wear my cute hat, scarf and heavy coat.

I was at my desk at work and decided to snap a shameless selfie.  I think it shows off the blonde highlights.

High Tech Redneck...Times Two...

I posted on FB asking if other people were having trouble getting into their blog to post.  I got no responses.  Total crickets out there...  I took to Google and found a lot of forums with people with similar problems.  I tried every trick they could come up with.  I got nowhere.  I can pull up my blog but when I go to post, I get a blank white screen with an error message.  Very frustrating.

After about 30 minutes of trying everything on Google, Tommy asked me what I was doing.  I told him the problem and he took to the Internet on his phone.  Most of the Google chatter suggested switching from Internet Explorer (what I use) to Google Chrome.  Not what I wanted to do but not surprised that was the final answer to the problem on the Google sites.  I even tried Microsoft forums and got zip done.

I was not going to give up and I refuse to use Chrome.  I downloaded it once before and didn't like it.  We use IE at work so using it at home is seamless most of the time.

After 5 minutes on the Internet Tommy suggested I just try opening it with Safari.  That's the Apple search engine I have on my computer from downloading itunes.  I never use it and never thought about it.  Duh!

I'm the IT person in the Mize household and engineer most of our technical issues.  It never occurred to me to try Safari.  Not once!  I guess even the experts need help sometimes!  My husband is brilliant.  I am now once again blogging and hope to have some pictures up soon.  I haven't posted many pictures in a while and I like them in the blog for readers and for when I turn each year of the blog into a hard bound book.

Look for me some more in the future since I've (we) managed to devise a work around.

Thanks Babe!  You rock!

I Think I Must Be Crazy...

*** Disclaimer *** This particular post was set as a draft and I never published it.  It's the entry before the Mae story **


I'm on a family campaign to get another dog.  I would like to change the name of this blog to Three Mizes + Two.  The problem is that only One Mize wants the dog right now.  Mae seems so lonely that I want another pup to keep her company.  I'm sure she would vote with me.  I just need to sway one of the other two votes and we'll have a majority!

One thing we haven't overcome with Mae is that she is as tall as Erin when she stretches out.  She gets so excited to see Erin that she jumps all over her and comes on too strong.  She scratches Erin on accident and has made Erin scared of dogs.  (Not exactly what we wanted when we got Mae.)  So, when Erin is home, Mae is locked up.  (I write all this as the fireplace is on and Mae keeps sticking her head thru the screen to get the lava rock in the bottom.  Even with the fire going, she likes to eat the rocks!!  Okay, so not all Mini Schnauzers are smart.) 

I think Erin would love another dog, especially if it didn't jump all over her.  My thoughts are that another dog for Mae to play with would wear her out and help calm her down.  She would be the oldest and Alpha female.  She is full of energy and another pup would help her burn it off.  Mae is housebroken and kennel trained and really not a problem except she's very wild and jumps all over Erin.  I think she could help me housebreak another dog in no time. 

I want another Miniature Schnauzer.  I can't help it.  I love, love, love the breed.  I know there are other breeds out there that don't shed but I just can't help but love my little Schnauzers.  I also know that there are 100s of dogs out there to be adopted and we always did that as kids...But, my heart is with Mini Schnauzers.  They are so loyal and fun and so full of personality.  They are smart (most of the time) and playful and can be very snugly when you want them to be.  I love their little beards and the stubby little tails that wag 100 mph.  The thing that sold Tommy on the inside dog part when we got married was the fact that they don't shed.  So, we have a dog inside, but no dog hair problem.  Best of both worlds. 

Speaking of Tommy...he's my main opposition to adding to the family...as if you couldn't guess that.  Mini Schnauzers aren't cheap, then you have to have them groomed every 6 weeks.  That's the only real pain in the butt about them.  Tommy is not being tight, he's just being practical.  He thinks about double the food, double the grooming, double the vet bills, double the kennel space, and double the trouble of finding someone to keep them when we're out of town.  It's a lot to think about but those that know me well know that I act on emotion and impulse.  I'm ready to go buy one today and just let the rest of it work itself out because it always does!  In fact, I'm consumed and obsessed with this  iright now.

That's the funny thing about a happy marriage though.  You have to actually stop and consider the other person.  Damn!  And Tommy and I are soooo very different when it comes to making decisions... So, I will not be rash and buy another dog.  I'll wait and continue to campaign and just see what happens.  Stay tuned...

Happy Birthday...

Our family birthdays seem to start one or two a month from July thru March.  Erin kicks us off in July and Mark wraps us up in March.  It's strange to me that it all fell this way.  I'm including the Wistner/Ammerman/Mize family in this calculation.  Some months have more then one, but we take off April, May and June with no birthdays.  I've always liked that we have consecutive months with a party!!!

I say all this to wish Mae Lynn Mize a very happy 1 year birthday.  She survived and we survived her.  And she fits right into the birthday scheme with a January birthday.

Wonder when Scoopy was born....

Happy Birthday Mae Mize.  Hopefully you calm down soon!

Three Mizes + Four ???

Don't get too excited.  As I blogged before, we're thinking about adding another dog.

I found a breeder in Katy that seems really nice.  I called her about a puppy and we started talking about a dog she is rehoming.  He's a solid white Miniature Schnauzer.  His name is Scooby and he's 4 years old and has already been fixed.

She said he was originally one of her puppies from a litter 4 years ago.  The owner was a little old man who lived by himself.  She said he got to where he would call her every day.  When she didn't hear from him in a couple of days, she went to check on him.  The old man was very sick so they took him to the hospital and she took Scooby home.  The man ended up passing away, and she has had Scooby ever since.

The lady told me she is very particular as to who she sells dogs to.  In my conversation with her, I felt like I was being interviewed.  I guess I passed.  I have an appointment with her next week to meet Scooby to see if he would be a good fit for us.  She really liked the fact that this would be my 4th Schnauzer.  She said her dogs are like her 4 legged Grandbabies since she doesn't have real grandbabies yet.  Had to laugh and think of my parents!

I'll keep you posted on whether or not we get Scooby!

Happy New Year...

I just wanted to wish my friends and family (and those of them that actually read the blog) a safe and prosperous New Year! 

It's been a great ride with Erin and the rest of the Wistner/Mize crew this year.  I know 2013 was good to us and I see even better things for us in 2014!

I don't make resolutions, so I won't bore you with a list of things I'll say I'm going to do....But I am going to try to blog more.  I guess I eat my words.  That's one resolution.

Happy New Year Peeps!