My baby girl!

Danielle is growing up and hitting all these milestones all this week!

May 2nd - First tooth, discovered by Tricia!

May 3rd - got up on her knees and scooted... backwards!

May 7th - woke up this morning yelling ( screaming and laughing) "Ma-Ma" over and over! hooray!

I can't wait to see what's next... then again, I'd like her to take her time. They're only babies for such a teeny amount of time.

Don't sweat the small stuff

Life's too short to get mad. GET EVEN!

hahaha. just kidding.

Okay, I'll admit it. I suck at conveying myself via email, typing, text messages, etc. Things that I write never come out the way that it would have sounded if it were spoken.

I usually end up pissing people off when I wasn't trying too.

Hey, maybe people need to lighten up. Perhaps I need to be more serious. Or a combination of both. Who knows?

Either way. I feel that if you have something to say, it's far better to pick up the phone, or meet in person than to put something in writing. It can be interpreted in SO many ways.

Perfect example is my previous post about the puppy.

In re-reading it, I see that it can be misleading that I'm upset or angry. I'm totally not!

I was quite surprised that Matt got a dog without checking with me first. I didn't have my cell with me on my shopping trip, so he couldn't get ahold of me. But I'm cool with it. Had he called and asked me first, I probably would still have said "yes." So it really doesn't matter. Sammy can use a playmate. He tends to behave better when he can hang out with another dog.

The puppy will only be a puppy for a little while. We all realize that.

By the way, Annabelle has named him "Li'l Chief," for those of you that care!

Here's a pic of him:

Zoo-News!

This is what I get for leaving Matt to watch the kiddos for an entire day.

Sunday after church my sisters, Lesley, Stacey, Tricia and I decided to make a day of it and go to the mall. Not just any mall, but Fashion Valley. We had to show Tricia what a real outdoor San Diego mall is all about!

We had a blast! We went into all these chic stores where we couldn't afford a pair of socks... the had male models strategically placed, or maybe they were just customers. I couldn't tell the difference. I have zero style and did not fit in at all. Long story short, we ended up a JC Penny's and found out niche.

I shopped, checked the clock all day, and then sped off in Matt's new GMC to get to work on time.

I called Matt to check up on him and the kids. Asked him how HIS day was. He had fun they went to K-Mart, hung out and, oh yea. Got a puppy.

WHAT??!

That's right, spur of the moment, impulse buy, can't say no. That's my hubby! I'm sure having Annabelle and Gabe jumping up and down, petting the pooch, and begging "Daddy, can we keep him?" didn't help much.

This little guy is cute, and I mean CUTE! He's a "mastador" (mastiff-labrador retriever mix) Looks like he's got a brindle/black coat and the ridge line on his back. Floppy ears, shiny eyes, the whole package. He even has a white chest and belly and one half white paw. Adorable!

According to Matt, he's 5 weeks old. Personally I think this is WAY too young to be taken from his mother. I look at my 7 month old baby girl and can't believe that this puppy is taken from Mom. He follows Sammy around and is sniffing his tummy looking for milk. Poor puppy (not to mention poor Sammy!) I'll keep you updated on his progress.

Now the important part. What to name this beast? Being that he's a cross-breed, we have no idea how big he will get. But giving his heritage, he's gonna be big. Mastiffs are generally HUGE!

Take a look:
From AKC - Mastiff




From AKC - Labrador Retriever




So the Renner-Zoo grows!

My New Shift.

Praise the Lord!!!

A few weeks ago Matt and I had a heart to heart, and really made the decision that I had to change my schedule at work. I have been working the night shift at GEICO for two years now, and it has really put a strain on our marriage. Working from 5pm until about 2am was great in so many ways. I got to give the kids breakfast, get them bathed and dressed, take them to school, pick them up, hang out with them all day and get a lot of "chores" done as well. I was a stay-at-home-mom, at least according to all my neighbors who only saw me during the day.

But the not fun part is that Matt would get home at 4:30 and I would leave for work at 4:30. We turned into "revolving-door" parents. We NEVER saw each other. I would be at work and then get home around 2-ish. Everyone would be asleep and I would crash too. Then Matt would leave for work around 6:30 or 7am, while I was still asleep. So in 24 hours, we would see each other awake maybe 15 min. Not healthy, let me tell ya. This didn't just affect Matt and I, we know that it was not a good relationship for the kiddos either. They pretty much never had both parents at the same time. Annabelle and Gabriel would act different for me than they would for Matt, and when we would have a few hours together, the kids would be CRAZY!!! They didn't know how to behave with both Mom and Dad around.

Thankfully, with our recent move back home, to Ramona, we have the opportunity to both work a regular day shift. My Mom has offered (and I have accepted) to watch the munchkins during the days so I can work. My mother is SO amazing! Without her, I don't know what I would do. She has been there for me since Annabelle was born. She would baby-sit Annabelle when I worked at Pizza Hut, and when I swithed to Bank of America, too. When I had Gabriel, she took care of him as well. I cannot believe that she wants to watch all three babies. Matt and I are SO grateful, I just can't put it into words!

I was stressed for awhile. I had asked my supervisor right after Matt and I had our discussion, and asked for a day shift. My supe pretty much turned me down. She said that I can go back to being a customer service phone agent and I could get whatever shift I wanted. But I didn't want to go back on the phones. I just got this position in the Internet Department to escape the phones! Well... thankfully the gal who was going to take th day position in the inet dept had a change of heart, so I applied and another girl applied for it. There was only one spot available, so I begged for it, explaining the benefits to my family. The other gals reason for the shift was just as valid. Needless to say, we were both pretty nervous about who would get it. Well, I am SO very happy to say, that we BOTH got the shift! Can you believe it? Our supervisor and the day supe who woud get us, didn't want to choose one over the other, so they made it work so we both can go!!!!

I am so happy and relieved!!!

Praise the Lord! He truly can work miracles!

(and thanks to my Mother, because without her, I could never make this work!)