Surprise!?

So according to the dictionary the word suprise can mean either (noun) an act or instance of surprising or being surprised or (verb) to make an unexpected assault.

I'm still unsure which category this little guy falls into.

Meet the newest member of the Johnson Zoo: Jeremy's 8 wk old male chihuahua puppy. Who is yet unnamed. And according to Emma is her puppy.

Last night Jeremy walks in the door from a quick trip to Walmart and says "Surprise!" while holding this little guy. Last time I checked chihuahuas didn't come with a bar code so my first response was "What is that?!" Followed by "Where in the hell have you been and what have you done?!".

I'm thinking he has bought me a puppy. Because typically, when someone is holding something and says "surprise" it usually is a gift for someone else. But no, the puppy is for HIM. A brand new puppy in OUR house purchased without my knowledge. Surely this goes against the marriage rules, right?

Being the sweet wife that I am, and after loving on this adorable little guy, I accepted the newest member of our household graciously. And knowing that I get a free pass in future helps. As I told the hubs, this free pass entitles me to do something major without consulting him first, AND he absolutely cannot get mad or say one word about it.

And in case you're wondering, Bella does not yet appreciate her new friend. There was a lot of growling at the puppy and sulking. She spent most of the evening on the back of the couch pouting.

How to be the best mom EVER

1. Sacrifice the hubs as a playground for the kids and dog.

2. A mini faux hawk and lots of snacks.

3. A trip to Dollar General for a magic wand and "Rapunzel hair".



4. Naked time. Followed by santitizing time.

Congratulations, you're now the BEST MOM EVER.

Or at least that's what Emma told me last night.

Camping Misadventures

So what do you get when you take a 3 and 1 year old camping? A migraine, lots of bumps and bruises, and a ton of laughs!

We took Emma and Seeley on their very first camping trip to celebrate the 4th of July a few weeks ago. The last time Jeremy and I had gone camping was many many years ago with my BFF Mollie and her hubs. We did it old school too-tents baby!! This was pre-kids, back when we only had 1 dog, and I could still fit into my skinny jeans. That should tell you how long ago that was! Sigh.

This time we were a lot smarter and made good use of my mom and stepdad's camper. So we weren't exactly roughing it what with the a/c, television, and internet. :)

We learned several valuable lessons, so for all my friends with kiddos listen up:

1. If the swelling goes down and the finger will still bend its probably not broken. Poor See!

2. Sand on the bottom of your shoes leads to bruises on your chin if you happen to slip on the playgound equipment. Poor Em!

3. Only take a 1 year old camping when the weather is cool enough for plenty of outdoor time. So in other words, not during the summer in Arkansas! :)

4. Even a neurotic chihuaua can be a good camper. Who would have thought?

We were so thrilled to have made it back home without a trip to the emergency room that we have sworn to never leave home without a fully packed first aid kit ever again!

The Zoo goes Circus for one night only!

Mr. Big is 1 !!!

We celebrated Seeley's 1st Birthday this past weekend with a circus themed outdoor party. Since his daddy's first birthday party was a circus theme I thought it only fitting to start a tradition. :) Although I've decided that any future June birthdays will be celebrated indoors or near a pool; June in AR can be fierce, even at 6pm!

The birthday boy!

Family photo before we got all sweaty!

My original genius idea was to create an actual tent entrace here with the banner on the "inside" of the open tent flaps. As you can see it was a no go. 100 degrees plus an alternate location where I couldn't practice the setup. Ugh. I still like the striped fabric though! The hubs swore that if I sent him after more curtain rings we were heading for a divorce! :) My perfectionism drives him nuts at times, bless his heart.

All of the decorations were printed out and made by yours truly from a PDF I purchased from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Dimpleprints. Check them out. Seriously.

Parting gifts! Tent cups for the kiddos and stamped linen bags full of animal crackers for all.

Each bag was stamped with a tent and Seeley's name. Thank you tags say "Thanks for a roaring good time!"

The food table was a little challenging thanks to the wind, it was hard to keep the decorations in place.

Emma dropped some peanuts and was kindly putting them back in the buckets to be served. After she licked them of course! :) I threw that batch out, promise. There were also animal crackers and corn dogs with condiments.

Popcorn, cotton candy, and cracker jacks.

Welcome sign. We also had one with an elephant that said "Seeley's Party" to greet guests at the mailbox.

Cupcakes! I didn't put them all out at once due to the heat.



Sweet little man!

Hanging with Daddy.

Lovins from Mommy.

His first car!

Bounce House!!

Munching on a corndog!

He got tons of fun presents! Still haven't figured out where to put them all . . .

Time for naked cake. Cause that's how we roll.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!!!

Mr. Big is getting BIG- A year in pictures

Tomorrow my little guy turns 1. I'm not sure how this happened . . . didn't we just get home from the hospital yesterday?!

Our sweet little boy is such an amazing blessing and we're so lucky to have him in our lives.