two less animals...

Yahoo....today we sold our 2 ferrets. I did think they were cute, but I sure didn't like the kids fighting over who would take care of them. It was a constant battle. I made a command decision to sell them, cage and all. We placed an add on Craig's list on Saturday and about 2 hours ago they are no longer in my home.

I wish the new owners luck. They seem to be nice people. They have two young boys so I am sure they will be well loved. All I know is they are no longer my responsibility and maybe a little less fighting. I doubt the fighting part, but at least no fighting over who is cleaning the ferret cage this week!

last minute rounds...

The day is over, the sun has gone, the moon is up and time for bed. I swear it takes me about 2 hours for my children to wined down from their busy lives. I don't know about other mothers, but I can't fall asleep until most of my children are asleep.

Finally it's peaceful and quiet so I figured it's time for me to go to bed. Before I can do that I have to check on each of my children.

As I was checking this is what I discovered...

Cody is up playing the computer. Shame on him. He's supposed to be in bed. So guess he's going to be grounded tomorrow. He has a hard time listening to us the first time. Maybe one day he'll listen.

Preston was in bed with the TV on. Guess he gets to go to bed extra early tomorrow. Boys what do you do with them.

Ashlee is in bed. She's really good about going to bed. She's a teenager, has to sleep as much as she can.

Jessie is sound asleep...and this is how I found her!



The pillow was behind her so she must have pulled it forward and just got so tired that's how she ended up.

Sweet dreams my little ones.

back to 4...

1. Bruno
2. Hannah
3. Maximus (Max)
4. Crue


Yep we got another puppy. He's a Morkie. We felt to help the healing process we needed to get another puppy. Not just for us but for the rest of the dogs. It took 2-3 days for the other 3 dogs to eat. We named him Crue after Craig's favorite band, Motely Crue. We know Crue wont replace Lizzie, but sure can help heal the broken hearts. (by the way we got the autopsy results back. They didn't find anything wrong with Lizzie. Just like we knew our dog was healthy and some how she died in their hands. Next step is waiting for Petsmart to call us. Then we go from there.)


Now on a different note...I went and got a cake for Cody's birthday. I am lucky he really doesn't like a specific cake so I always get to choose for him. So this is my choice.


Cookie Monster!

I believe he liked it....



So we did our routine and sang happy birthday, made a wish, blew the candles out and then cut the cake. My mom, Jamie, Margo and Ruben came buy just in time to share the cake with us.

Cody and Craig got back from camp safe and sound. They both had a great time. I was busy today getting house cleaned, laundry washed, picking up Crue and meeting Jessie's new provider. Typical motherly duties.

what do you do...

for your son's 14th birthday? You send him camping with the teachers. Does that make me a mean mom? I hope not. The scouts are meeting up on the rim tonight for a camp out. Tomorrow there are diffrent scout troops all over near by mountains displaying mirrors. They are supposed to use the mirror and the sun to locate each other. Then they will use a compass to determine where they found the other scouts and how far they are. So that is one reason why I sent Cody. What an experience to witness. Heck I wished I could have gone. Of course I asked a member of the bishopric to take pictures of Cody. I told him it's his birthday and I would love some pictures for his scrap book. I didn't tell him the pictures are really for my blog and for our Family News letter. Sneaky aren't I??.. My kids call me crazy.


Cody was and still is one of the smallest boys. He would wear his clothes out. He is a pretty tough kid though. Cody's is also very sweet, thoughtful and caring young man. I don't have to worry about him in a new group setting. He make friends real fast. You can always count on him too.

I hope he has a great time camping. When he gets home we will take him to dinner. He's not a picky kid at all. He doesn't like cake. So trying to get an answer out of him on what type of cake he wants is like pulling teeth. He would be happy with a case of olives and dill pickles.
How do you put birthday candles on those items?

Craig also went camping tonight. The sad thing is he is camping at another camp site then Cody. Craig had to go as a Stake Young Men's rep for the deacon camping trip. So Craig couldn't be with Cody spending time with him on his birthday. I guess that's life serving in the church.

do you know...

the #1 song the day you were born?

Go here http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

check this out. It's cool to see what song was #1 the day you were born, wedding, children's birthday, graduation, etc....

#1 Song for...

My Birthday was...."The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
My Wedding was... "Unbelievable" by EMF (kind of fitting for Craig and I...hehe)
Craig's Birthday was..."Knock Three Times" by Dawn
Ashlee's Birthday was..."End of the Road" by Boyz II Men
Cody's Birthday was... "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men
Jessie's Birthday was..."Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton
Preston's Birthday... "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera

Have Fun!!!!

i did it...

It's a miracle...well for me it is. I finished all the laundry. That includes washing, drying, folding and putting up. Usually at the end of laundry I have a couple of baskets that need folding. Not this week baby! Craig should be so proud. He usually does laundry when he's in town. Once again Not this week! All me!

Church went well today. Our primary had their program. It was real neat. Preston was a hoot as always. This little girl kept getting frustrated at him. When it was his time to speak in to the microphone he was hesitating. She reached over and showed him were to speak. Then when they were singing a song and they had to do it in sign language. She was getting mad that he wasn't signing. We were cracking up. I could tell on my sons face the more she would tell him what to do the more he wouldn't do it! He's kind of like me in that aspect.

We had a relaxing night with the family. Now I should really be in bed because 5:30 comes way to early. I have a busy week this week seeing patients. I guess I shouldn't complain because I have a job. Hopefully this week will go by fast.

Well off to bed, but at this time I really enjoy the silence.

Nite to all

thank you...

I want to Thank everyone for all their love and support during our loss of Lizzie. Thank you for all the posts, calls, emails and visits. My children appreciated it just as I do.

It's been kind of quiet around her without Lizzie. Less barking. Hmmm...maybe she was the one who barked a lot. Possible. The three other dogs have also been lost without her. Max keeps looking for her and Hannah mopes around.

For those who questioned what the cause of death was, we don't know. They will be doing an autopsy on her. It should take about a week.

Thank you once again for all your concern!

mending broken hearts...

Today was another crazy emotional day for The Cuillard Home. Craig took two of our dogs to the groomers.


Lizzie


Hannah

About 15 minutes after Craig left the store they called saying Lizzie collapsed and was on life support. They wanted Craig to decided what they should do with her. Craig called me and told me that Lizzie was dead. I didn't quite understand what he was saying because how could she be dead when we took her to be groomed. Lizzie has been to the same groomers ever since she was a puppy. Lizzie was also in good health. She was jumping and playing with Max this morning.


Max (as a puppy, he's 1 now)

I met Craig in the veterinary hospital inside of the groomers. We waited for the vet to come into the room. They had Lizzie in the next room. You could see in the small window the staff was still performing CPR on her. We first met with the manager from the store. His first words to us was "how are you guys?" I wanted to reach over and punch him. How the heck to you think I am? He told us they would pay for anything we wanted to help with Lizzie. Shortly afterwards the veterinarian arrived and advised us that our chances of Lizzie pulling through was not good. Lizzie was down 25-30 minutes. So we went ahead and told them to stop CPR. They wanted to know what we should do with the body. We told them to hold on for a few minutes we had to talk with Ashlee to see what she wanted to do.

Here is the story about Ashlee and Lizzie. A friend of mine had some puppies. Ashlee wanted one of her puppies real bad. So when Ashlee was 11 she babysat and earned $400 so she could buy this puppy from my friend. So Lizzie was Ashlee's baby.

Craig and I drove to Ashlee's school and pulled her out. Ashlee at first was worried she was in trouble. We didn't say anything until we got outside. Craig went ahead and told Ashlee what had happened. Poor Ashlee just broke down into tears. My heart was breaking seeing my baby girl hurt so bad.

We took Ashlee back to the groomers to see Lizzie. When they brought Lizzie into the room Ashlee lost it again. Sobbing over her body hysterically. Talk about my heart breaking again and I felt so helpless.

We said our final goodbyes and took Ashlee home. I just told Ashlee to hang out and take it easy. A few minutes later I heard Craig on the phone with Cody. Just as I was getting ready to to tell Craig not to tell Cody, it was too late, Craig spilt the beans. Craig said on the other end of the phone there was silence. So off to Cody's school to get him. He was in tears!

We waited for Preston to come home from school to tell him. Preston arrived and Craig told him what happened. Preston told Craig he was lying. Preston began yelling for Lizzie. Preston ran outside asking me were Lizzie was. I told him and the tears began to fall.

The neat thing about this whole thing is my children do care for each other. When we were at Cody's school Ashlee came with me. When she saw Cody they embraced each other. Then when Preston found out what happened Ashlee came outside and gave him a hug and said "come here buddy" Then at one time and of course I didn't have my camera I saw all three of them hugging. Ashlee was hugging Cody and then Preston hugging Ashlee. What a priceless moment for a mother to see her children coming together in bad times.

Lizzie we love and will miss you!

great idea...maybe, maybe not...

I am trying to balance working and being a mom at the same time. Not sure I am doing a good job at all. I come home from work and the house is a disaster. We have given the children chores but they have learned to ignore us. I am to tired to do it by myself. I got home from work today and after seeing the house I realized I have to come up with some solution.

Here is what I have come up with. The kids will have a chore chart starting Monday-Friday. Craig and I will hold $20 each for Ashlee and Cody and Preston will get $10. At the end of the night they will bring us their chore chart for a signature. If their chore is done one of us will sign the chart, if their chore is not done then no signature. At the end of the week if each day is signed then they will receive the full amount of money. If any days are missing a signature then we deduct money. So hopefully that will motivate them to get their chore done. Then on the weekend we will all pitch in and then the house gets cleaned faster which leaves time for what ever they want.

I thought of this because I know the kids want money at the end of the week to go hang out with friends. I was tired of giving them money and their chores were not done. Then I was left doing all the cleaning on the weekend.

Craig and I presented this idea to the kids tonight. Of course some of them grumbled. I told them we are going to try this for a month, no ifs and or buts about it!

Wish me luck and I will keep you posted on how we are doing

back to the rat race...

It's been a crazy week this week and boy have I been tired. That plane trip home and the 3 hour difference has killed me. I have more respect for Craig now when he travels.

The older kids are at Young Men's and Young Women's. Jessie is watching her movie for the hundredth time. Preston and I just got done watching Bridge to Terabithia. That was a cute movie. Not to mention a tear jerker. Yep, I bawled like a baby.

I am looking forward to the weekend other than the routine of cleaning the house. It's a chore just to get the kids to help. I do want to sleep in for a little bit and then start on the house. I may start Friday night to get a jump on it. The more I get done the quicker I can rest on Saturday.

I do need to study my lesson some more this week. Then finalize the lesson on Saturday night. I can't believe how quick time flies. It's already that time of the month for me to teach my lesson.

Well there are only 2 more days left and then the weekend! YeeHaw

my bff and i in maui...

I can't believe our trip is just about over. How time flies when you are having fun. Our trip started leaving early Monday morning. We boarded the plane for a 5-6 hour flight.

View of Phoenix from the plane

View in mid air. the clouds are so fluffy they looked like a bag full fo cotton balls

View as we arrived in Maui

We landed mid Monday afternoon. We got our rental and headed for the hotel. When we arrived to the hotel we went straight to our room.

This is the view from our bedroom window. It was an amazing sight to see every morning

And every night.

That night we went to dinner at...

Can you believe that our first meal in Maui was at Outback? It was just as good as the ones all over the US, but the price was about doubled. Other than that it was a great meal.

After we left Outback we saw a Hawaiian shop so we could look around for some gifts for the children. When we entered the store a lady greeted us by saying "Aloha" and then putting a necklace of shells on us. Not but 2 seconds later another lady greeted us with keys. We each received a key to open a treasure chest. She told us if the key opened the chest we would receive a free gift. I tried my key first and of course my key didn't open the chest. Craig tried his key and the chest opened. What he won was 1/2 off an oyster. Each oyster was guarantee for a pearl. Some oysters may have 2 pearls in them. I told Craig why not lets see what we get. Well I picked the oyster out and when the lady cracked the oyster our oyster had 2 pearls in them. They were real pretty lavender pearls. So we made our 2 pearls into earrings for Ashlee.

I liked the pearls so much I wanted to go back and pick one out for me. I told Craig I would pick an oyster that would only have 1 pearl in it and I would make it into a ring. In and out of the store I promised him. Well, I picked my pearl and guess what?...I picked an oyster that had 2 white pearls in it. We couldn't believe that. So with my 2 pearls I made them into a necklace and a ring.

Pictures don't do them justice. They are all very beautiful. After I received my ring and necklace the sales lady said we qualified for a free oyster. Craig picked another oyster and had the girl open this one up. We figured our odds would be against us and we would only receive one pearl this time...nope...we got 2 more pearls and they were black pearls. Craig put his foot down this time and said we could not make these into jewelry. I agreed with him and told him I would wait for awhile before I did. I was also band from the store! lol

One day we went snuba diving and then today Craig went scuba while I snorkeled. It was real fun swimming around a looking at all the fish. Here are a few things we saw between the two trips.

I saw Craig...

bottom left of this pic is a shark! YEP, I did see a shark..Cool ha?

this one is a sea turtle

Me snorkeling

more fish

Craig getting ready for diving

I am getting ready for diving

More scenery

along the beach there were a lot of sand crabs

We had a great time and would love to come again. We would love to bring the children too. We enjoyed each other and it was nice to go away with out children. Every couple should get away to help bring them closer together. I do have to admit though, I miss my kids! I am ready to get home to the wild and craziness of family life. I am glad I took this trip with Craig, but I also can not wait until I get home!