We moved to Arizona and had a flood... wait, what?

Yesterday started out pretty normal. It was Aurora’s first time sleeping in her big girl bed and our dog, Piston, woke her up extra early. No big deal, we started our day and I got a lot done. I did some laundry, vacuumed, took care of the dishes, and enjoyed time with Aurora. I was so tired from our first night of big girl bed time. I stayed on her floor until she fell asleep and then stayed up late finishing some homework. I thought a nap would be great and I didn’t want to be up all night again working on projects. So, I decided even though we hadn’t bought a new crate for Piston yet, Aurora and I would take a walk over to McDonalds and she could play while I finished up some work. I took everything out of Aurora’s large bathroom and made Piston a little area. I didn’t think he could get into any trouble, I mean, it’s an empty bathroom right? What could he hurt? I never realized how much water could come out of a toilet…

Yes, that’s right, he attacked the toilet. He lost it when we left and attacked the toilet breaking the line the leads to the water tank. I have no idea for how long. Aurora and I were walking home from being at McDonalds for about two hours when I ran into one of the complex workers near our apartment. When he told me that the downstairs neighbors called complaining about water coming from the ceiling, I lost it. We flew up the stairs and as soon as I opened the door I saw it, water. It was in just about every room of our two bedroom apartment. When I stepped into the hallway my feet, up to my ankles, were completely covered with water. I was in shock. My heart sank into my stomach and I didn’t know what to do. My emotions were high and I just started crying. The poor guys that work in our complex tried to calm me down. They helped scooping water into the tub and I tried to keep Aurora out of the water and get as much stuff into a dry area. I was thankful that our kitchen wasn’t affected. I started pilling everything into there.


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Aurora’s room got it the worst. A lot of her things were completely water logged. The carpet it in room was completely covered in water. I’m so thankful that other than some stuff animals and toys we didn’t have that much damage. It’s a miracle. Somehow our furniture is all intact and the guy who came for the carpets said that they wouldn’t need replaced that they will dry out. I’m so glad it was fresh water that came out. All of my products listed in my Etsy shop somehow escaped the waters that were rushing into our bed room closet. It’s amazing. Other than an aching back from moving everything out of the way, I’m fine and so is everyone else. We’re at a local hotel for the next two days until the guy can cames back to check on the carpets. I hope they are dry so we can get back in and start the cleaning process.

When all this first happened I was completely ready to give up Piston. This had done it for me. He has destroyed a couch, two recliners, a countless number of toys, broken plates, ruined the carpet, destroyed the blinds and so much more. We got him about a year and a half ago when he was only a year old. He was never crate trained and one of his owners was home with him all the time. He’s not used to people leaving, and I get that. I love him to death, but I can’t stop doing things because he’s crazy. I also feel really terrible because I can only image how scared he was when all that water came rushing out at him. I didn’t even think of that until later. Poor guy, I just shoved him out on the patio, I was so angry. He’s at his favorite place right now, the doggie hotel. I’m hoping that we can come up with some kind of solution. With the new baby on the way I’m just completely freaked out on what will happen nest.


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This crazy thing that happened to us made me really think about what’s been going on in America. As I was cleaning I was thinking about all the people in the south affected by the tornados and recent flood waters. The water in our house will dry and in a few days we will be able to get back home again. So many people in our own country won’t be able to do that. I didn’t really lose anything, so many have lost everything. We’re all healthy and fine but how many loved ones have been lost? When I came home and walked in the door and saw all that water I was so hurt. I can only image what it would be like to drive down the street to where my house used to stand and see nothing left but rubble. I want to encourage anyone and everyone who is able to donate what they can to the Salvation Army or other wonderful organizations helping out. So many people need so much more than just food and shelter, they are going to have to start all over again. It’s hard to think when living in our cozy homes, feeling safe, that it could be gone in the blink of an eye. My prayers and good thoughts go out to all the families who have been a part of this weather tragedy that just doesn’t seem to want to let go. God help us put the devastated parts of our country back together.

Wow, and I thought I was lacking in things to blog about this week…

the other man in my life.

Our poor dog Piston is going to the vet today to have a tooth removed. He's a bit "special" sometimes and chews of weird things like rocks and other hard objects. Him having to have surgery made me think of my very first blog post, which feels like forever ago, which was all about him. When we first adopted him I couldn’t stand him. I thought he was ruining my life and I couldn’t handle it. Marc and Aurora were totally in love with the guy so I decided to give it my best. I cried and whined a lot but Piston and I got through our tough times.

I like to call him "Sir."

He’s two and a half years old now and is finally coming out of his puppy stage. We went through two recliners, one couch, and countless other items due to his crazy behavior; I wouldn’t take him back for the world. It was totally worth it.



Most of the time he lays around all day, I think he probably sleeps about 16 hours, oh to be a dog. He lets Aurora poke, prod him, and sit on him, and he doesn’t even flinch. When we have to take him to the doggie hotel for an overnight stay Aurora cries and cries, she misses “Woofie,” it melts my heart.



He loves hugs and kisses. He just a big cuddle buddy, he really thinks he a lap dog. He well come over and literally sit in your lap. 65 pounds of boxer isn’t small that’s for sure. Piston also loves it when my husband picks him up like a baby and carries him around. It’s one of the funniest things to watch. He absolutely loves Marc. When Marc comes home you would think he brought a t-bone steak with him every day, Piston freaks out! He bounces around trying to chase his non-tail like a crazy person. I really need to get this on video someday.



Piston still has issues. He has some anxiety issues and sometimes relieves himself in the house when he’s stressed out. Sometime when we have visitors he gets a stomach ache and vomits, a lot. He always eats random things. At this point I’ve stopped keeping track of the weird things he’s eaten. His two favorite things are baby wipes (clean or dirty) and dryer sheets, I have no idea why. We try really hard to stop him, but you can’t watch him ever second.



He also HATES other dogs. There are a few dogs in the apartment complex that I think he would be friendly with, but I don’t really want to take that chance. He also adores kids. The only thing I worry about when some kids come up and want to pet him is that he’ll knock them over. He’s not a fan of adults though, mainly man. He’s super protective over Aurora, and honestly, I’m okay with that. I know he would do anything to protect her and our family. Although I never wanted him to be a “guard dog” he makes me feel really safe.

He drive me crazy, but I love the big ding dong!

Prayer and Patients

Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for while now. I'm still getting used to living in a new state with a whole new role to full fill. I've been 'mom' for a little while now but being mom full time is way different from working and being mom. Granted I didn't have a "high level" job but working in the salon was hard work. I almost feel like taking care of the book and the customers helped me prepare a little for what I'm doing now. I have to meet someone's needs 24/7, I keep list of tasked that need done every day, If ‘someone’ doesn't get exactly what they want I still get yelled at, it’s just in the form of a 2 year old tantrum now. There are some days that I totally lose patients and control. Yesterday was one of those days.

It all started out okay, I blogged when I first woke up and got ready before Aurora woke up. When she got up everything seemed okay, and then I burnt breakfast. Somehow with the smell of gross burnt eggs in the air the rest of my day went downhill from there. Aurora didn’t seem to listen to a word I said. Piston just barked and barked for no reason. I just felt anxiety all day long. Thankfully my loving husband, Marc, rescued me after work and brought home pizza, chips with dip, and a new box of tea. The night ended way better then my day had started.

I’ve been feeling like I’ve been having more and more days like yesterdays and they were coming closer and closer together. I decided it needed to stop. So, this morning, Aurora woke up and we started our day together and I could feel myself getting anxious and annoyed. I took a deep breath and said a prayer. Yeah folks, I said I prayed. I asked God to give me patients and calm to get through the day, and you know what? It worked! It’s amazing. We all had a wonderful day together. We took Piston for a walk, played at the park, and went to McDonalds without a hitch. At one point Aurora knocked a container of chocolate milk off the counter all over herself, her purse, and MiMi. I laughed. I couldn’t help it, she was so upset and so cute. All she wanted to do was put her Elmo PJs on after that and clean up the milk. She’s napping now and I got to get some school work done and write this blog post. Yep, today was a good day.

The power of prayer is great. Maybe not all of our prayers are always answered but I know a lot of mine have been. Sometimes we pray for one thing and get something else even better that we didn’t realize we wanted or needed. If I would have had a glimpse of what my life is now back when I was younger I would have laughed. I enjoy everything I have and what I do. Thank God for prayer though, it gets me through the rough patches. It’s mysterious to me. Maybe it has something to do with the power of positive thinking but whatever it is it works.

I give credit to all the moms out there. From the single moms to the moms with five or more kids, you rock. This really is a full time job and sometimes I forget to enjoy the moments I have and not think of them as work. I encourage everyone to play sometimes, and be a kid with your kid, or be a kid with a kid you know, it’s so worth it!