Sad/Happy/Nervous......me.



So, the Honda van that I love, love, love so much, took a crap. The transmission went out at 162,000 miles. We definitely had a great run with her. Of course, this had to happen after it was paid off.........so, to fix it would take a lot of time and money-two things we just don't have an abundance of. Although the first mention Eric made almost a year ago that I should get a suburban was laughed off, it has come to pass. I was so resistant to that idea. First, I love the convenience of the van. I didn't like the idea of the gas mileage a suburban would get and have long scoffed at SUV drivers and their "boats". The joke's on me. With 4 kids, strollers, ball bags, helmets, shoulder pads, groceries, etc. believe it or not, we ran out of room. Plus, there have been numerous times I want to take other kids with us somewhere and we would have to take two vehicles. After many hours of searching, we've found the new Schreiber Family Truckster. Thanks to a fellow cowboy mounted shooter (thanks Dave), we got a great deal. Or, as great of a deal a new car payment could be...
I now feel:
1. Sad to lose the van
2. Happy to have more room
3. Nervous about a car payment and the monthly grind of bills, expenses
4. Disappointed that I've let mother earth down
5. Excited about the entertainment system ( I'd been wondering how we'd deal with road trips in the future when Viv wants to watch "Dora" or "Sesame Street" and the other kids want "Ace Ventura") Now we'll have a system where they can watch two separate movies
6. Curious if the extra $.90 it will take to drive to Columbus will make a big difference in my budget. (Doesn't seem like a lot, but add it up every month......)
7. Grief at the loss of a van that has taken us across the Eastern part of the country. From Georgia to Iowa to Wisconsin to Virginia to South Carolina....it was an awesome vehicle. I highly recommend the Honda Odyssey. Goodbye Honda, you've done us proud.

Wanna see somethin' cute?






It's my fault. "Ok kids, now make sure you smile with your mouth OPEN, so I can see your pretty teeth!!"


I do believe I can see all his teeth!

This child puts a smile on my face each and every day.

So, yeah. This is Vivian growling. She does it all the time. All the time, except for when I'm trying to get it on video, of course. Just barely got this.

Jay, Al, Dylan and Max carving punkins. Jay IS holding a power tool. You'd think after the mangled finger thing, we'd refrain from such activities. No, apparently, we have yet to learn that lesson.

Al's creation.

Max's gourd. The other side is a Highland roster of his buds, their numbers and positions. I like this side better.

Clone trooper pumpkin created by none other than..... Jay. (shocker)

Fun At the Orchard!!
Per family tradition, we hit the apple orchard/pumpkin patch. This year the cold came far too early. We still went out to pick our own apples, but it was a short trip.

Perfect size.

Such a big pumpkin for such a petite girl. She's determined to carry it herself, however.

Uh oh.

We're coming!!!

Eric asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. Fall. Anything having to do with fall. I love it. The smell, the beautiful leaves, the crisp air. I'm afraid we are going straight to winter from our 70 and 80 degree weather. Where's the low 70's...upper 60's??? I'd take upper 50's for pete's sake! Nope. It is in the 40's, rainy and cold. ARGH!!!!!

***

Goodbye sweet Cody.







It had been a long battle trying to get him healthy again. Just when one injury/problem cleared up, another one began. Ultimately, laminitis is what caused us to have to make the heart-wrenching decision to have him put down.







The kids and I went to OSU vet clinic after school yesterday to say goodbye. Eric had taken him down yesterday morning to get one last opinion on whether or not we could get past the inflammation/infection that was causing his hoof to separate from his leg. X-rays confirmed it was too far. Cody was in a lot of pain. I had held out hope up until Monday when I went to the barn to find him sitting in his stall. I put hay right in front of him so that he wouldn't have to get up to eat. He didn't make an attempt to eat it. I knew. I knew Cody was tired of it. He was tired of putting up with the treatments, confinement and the daily grind.







Anyone who's lost a pet can understand the hurt. The kids drew pictures and made cards for Cody on the way to the clinic. We gave him apples and hugs, thanked the staff and headed home. I could not take it any longer and neither could the kids. Max made Eric promise to have Nate, the vet, check one more time to make sure there really was no way to fix him. Eric stayed with him until the end and said it was one of the hardest things he's had to do. He said many of the techs/students who had taken care of Cody came in on their day off to say goodbye.







It's amazing how much we loved that horse and only knew him for a year. He was so incredibly gentle and docile. He and Eric worked their way through the cowboy mounted shooting together and did a great job. We could put the kids on him and not worry about him spooking. He was too good of a horse to lose so soon.







The sadness will lessen each day. We will eventually laugh about Cody's narcolepsy and smile when we think of his velvet nose. Until then, we cry and let ourselves be... blue? Try devastated.







We love you, and will miss you greatly, Cody.








***Thank you, Ann, for capturing Cody's greatness in your photographs!

Good/Bad TV update:

It's a new season of tv and I'm slowly accepting the DVR/Tivo quandary. DVR is no Tivo. However, I now have shows I've been wanting to see, but didn't have the channel. Case in point, Glee. This is my new breakout fave show. It's funny, entertaining and full of inappropriate high school drama. I wouldn't let my teenager watch it, but I find it hilarious.

I'm still hanging with Grey's Anatomy. I would have been really pissed to find out George O'Malley died, if it weren't for the rumors during the summer that he was, in fact, leaving.

I love The Mentalist, Army Wives, and as always Gilmore Girls re-runs. Last word was that Friday Night Lights will come back for two more seasons, but no information on when the season premiere will take place. That was the good news........the bad news? Some of my favorites have been cancelled. Life On Mars, Pushing Daisies, Without A Trace and Life....all cancelled. *sniff, sniff*

I'm on the fence regarding Community and Modern Family. I will have to watch a few more shows to figure out if I will stay with them.

When is it that I have time to watch all these shows???? Laundry day. I also sneak in some watch time while feeding Vivian or killing time at 5:30 am when she has woken..OOPS...too early to function normally and use the time wisely.