A couple of weeks ago on April 10th my 3 year old Granddaughter was left alone in a house with two dogs while her dad was on the front porch taking a nicotine break….. Just when my daughter got there to pick her up she heard her scream…. KJ  had been bitten on her head and hand by one of the dogs. When Nikki ran in the house KJ was running towards her, she quickly scooped up her baby and drove her to the hospital a couple of blocks away.  The bites went all the way to her skull, and with other children that where ahead of her it would be hours before she would be in the operating room for surgery. They transferred her from Cape Fear to New Hanover Regional because they had the best children’s plastic surgeon for facial surgery . Nikki and KJ were transported in an ambulance and I gathered their belongings and as I headed  out of the hospital I heard her other grandparents  talking with the police and animal control and they were very upset with the dog, and  wanted the dog put down. I didn’t feel like I had time to stop and talk about this as I needed to be with KJ and Nikki, but I was wondering on my drive to NHRMC why no one was upset with KJ’s father, he was the one that was taking care of her, he was there alone with her and left her alone with two dogs in the house. Children should never be left alone with animals!!  Animals are not in control of the situation people are….. responsible adults.

Anybody can make a baby, but it takes someone special to be a parent! The best parents aren’t always biological. I know a father that not only is raising is own kids but also raised his step kids like his own. Being a parent is more than playing with your children, its keeping a roof over their heads, saving for college, clothing, insurance…. medical & dental… so when they are sick they have options. A lot of though and planning should go into your children’s lives and futures.

This experience has sparked so many different emotions for me. I have been so concerned for KJ and Nikki and their safety. I have also been an emotional wreck myself and with all my friends and family having so much going on in their own lives I felt very isolated in this. I have spent more time praying than I have in a long time but sometimes you need someone who is not directly involved…. a friend to talk to….  It was two weeks ago today that Kayden Joy was left alone and as a result was hurt by a dog. (I am not calling this a dog attack because no one was in there and we do not know what happened between her and the dog, had she been supervised this probably would not have happened!) and she is doing well, her scars still visible but healing. Dr Austin did an awesome job!! Thanks to all the staff at New Hanover Regional Medical Center for a great job of caring for KJ.

Fast forward on to the long flight to Amsterdam….. our first stop. We are on our flight and we have made our little nests….. now it is time to get our little slippers out… you know the ones that come in pouches so you can carry them in your purse…. I show Pat they are labeled so you know which foot to put them on….. the first was has an L so I put it on my left foot, take out the next and it has an L!! I’m at 32000 feet and I have 2 left slippers!!! After laughing about that we decided to watch a movie together, and we chose Bad Teacher….. very funny! Then it was time for a nap…. we were only 4.5 hours from Amsterdam at this point.

We arrived in Amsterdam at 7:30 am made it through passport control and collected our luggage and was off to catch a cab. With all of our luggage they called for us a van…. finally headed to our hotel…. We were staying in little boutique hotel that was formerly a bank and right in the middle of town. Because we were so early we couldn’t get our room till after 1:00pm. So we went to the restrooms and freshened up then went to the upstairs of the hotels restaurant and took a quick nap.

After about 45 minutes we felt a little rejuvenated and decided we would go out and explore and find a coffee shop. We asked at the front desk where a good coffee shop was and she asked if we wanted a coffee house that serves coffee, or one where you can smoke… in Amsterdam there are 2 kinds of coffee shops and more of them are for mj! 

After getting coffee it was really cold and we decided that we needed to stop by the hotel and get our coats and boots, we were wearing rainbow! We both realized that we did not have socks to wear with our boots… the one thing we BOTH forgot????  Now we’re on a shopping mission….. to find socks before our boots give us blisters on our first day out. Not as easy as one might think!! We finally had to ask someone where we could buy socks.

Our first day in Amsterdam we walked around and explored did some shopping…. Everyone was so easy going so nice….. hmmmm must be  something in the air!

We go back to our hotel and get a key… finally we can take a shower!! Then we get ready for dinner, we found a nice local restaurant and everything was so good! A nice way to end a long but exciting day in Amsterdam.

We get up the next morning rested and ready for our next adventure….. We decided that we would take a canal tour so we signed up for the 1 hour tour. We didn’t want to commit to much of our time sitting on a boat, we also wanted time for the shopping district.

Getting to the shopping district was and adventure all its own! We took the bus and first got on the wrong bus then got off and on the right bus but couldn’t find anyone to pay! We never purchased out ticket till we were on the last bus… We decided to go to Hard Rock, a familiar place that would have good food & drinks. We went in the shop to get our T-shirt and we also made a purchase that would turn out to be a staple of the whole trip…. our fedoras!   

Now that we have had a bite to eat and our new fedoras we are ready to hit “Fashion Avenue”  Turns out it was right around the corner from where we were. The street was lined with stores like: Armani, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Chanel etc…. we were in shopping heaven!

For our last night in Amsterdam we decided to have dinner at the Hotel Restaurant….. we got dressed up and went down stairs for what turned out to be another great meal! 

Amsterdam has been AWESOME but it is time to move on to our next destination!  Time to get some sleep because in the morning we would be off to Abu Dhabi!

Carlene and Zach bring a lot of life to the house, and it was great getting to

know them better and spend time alone with them.

We went to the beach together, and they insisted that we take the dogs including Dunx! I thought for sure we would be leaving in just a few minutes after getting there…… to our surprise

Dunx loved it! Who knew that our water dog would love the water!! 

I know Dunx is going to miss Carlene and Zach, they took her for walks, played with her in the pool and Zach took  Dunx for a 3 mile run!! They

have as much energy as she does….. that’s hard to come by!

We spent a lot of time in the pool and hot tub. My Zach came out showed them how to do some flips in the pool! The Zach’s had a blast trying to flip

over each other!

After all of the fun in the sun and soaking in the hot tub, Carlene and I went shopping and the Zach’s were off to Jungle Rapids for some go cart racing and games… Then lunch…

After a successful shopping trip to TJ Max, and Carlene was looking stylish in her new clothes, shoes and bathing suit we were off to El Cero Grande to introduce Carlene to a Mexican Restaurant with  Kenny & Nicole!

Then to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with Zach, Zach, Nicole & Carlene…  Of course we had to get the fried pickles for an appetizer, and to my surprise they were pretty good!

Before we knew it our week was over and Tina was on her way to Wilmington for some down time at Club McCall before the long drive back to NY. You know while Tina was here we had to go to our favorite restaurant… Rucker Johns!  It just so happens that my  son Kenny is the head cook! 

This time we got to spend time with Nikki, Connor, KJ & Danny, it was good to see them. I have been on the go so much I haven’t seen my daughter or grandkids in so long!!

Connor had such a good time with Zach & Carlene that he decided to spend the night! Carlene and Connor watched Netflix’s all night long!

There is nothing like a good time with your family, I was sad to see them go today. Very hopeful that we will be spending a lot more time together very soon! Once again Tina & I will be laughing at each other until we are crying!!

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down

Finally ,

the guys’ side of the story.

( I must admit, it’s pretty good.)

We always hear

‘ the rules‘

From the female side.

Now here are the rules from the male side.

These are our rules!

Please note.. These

are all numbered ’1′

ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.

You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down.

We need it up, you need it down.

You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports It’s like the full moon

Or the changing of the tides.

Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.

Let us be clear on this one:

Subtle hints do not work!

Strong hints do not work!

Obvious hints do not work!

Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem

only

if you want help solving it. That’s what we do.

Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.

In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you’re fat, you probably are.

Don’t ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the

; other one

1. You can either ask us to do something

Or tell us how you want it done.

Not both.

If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..

1. Christopher Columbus did

NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.

Peach, for example, is a fruit, not

A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it

will

be scratched.

We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say ‘nothing,’ We will act like nothing’s wrong.

We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, Expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine…

Really .

1. Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or

Motor sports

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape.

Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don’t mind that? It’s like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can -

To give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can -

To give them a bigger laugh

Yesterday we packed up the Envoy and took the dogs to the beach, even Dunx who rarely leaves the house unless she has an appointment with the vet! Who would have guessed it?? This water dog loves the Ocean!! She ran in the ocean with Carlene and they both had a blast!
Zach stayed in the water most of the time except to come out to eat a few bites of his sandwich…. Lol he’s a real beach bum! He tried his best to get me to dive into the waves, I’m more of a jumper….
After playing in the ocean for a while we took all 3 dogs for a walk. It was really hot and the water lapping up over their paws and the spray on their backs felt good! They were all very well behaved (kids included). They are so social they wanted to visit with all the sun worshipers.. We went to Fort Fisher because that beach allows dogs, and a great time was had by all!

I’m sitting here at Mom’s while she naps watching TV and I was trying to work on my sista chickie Tina’s website and get her blog back up. I know when I get it back up she is going to wear us out!! She’s been writing on her windows live writer and has not been able to upload, when she does watch out!! I entered a ticket so maybe she will be back up and running today

Mom is doing so good in spite of her not listening to us! lol….. She won’t stay in bed when she is supposed to, and she picked up her dog Jazzy, but I think now she has learned her lesson!! Nurses are the worse to try to take care of!! Lori & I took her to the hospital in Martinsville on Wednesday and her sister Joyce wasn’t far behind. After a couple hours in surgery Dr. Singer had the pain in her hip and leg gone and on the road to recovery! Thank you God for working your miracles through this wonderful doctor!

Mom’s neighbors have all been so nice, they stop by and check on her and every morning since we got back there has been a card on her door. She really lives in a nice community, they all have each others backs!

Lori came over yesterday and we made enough baked Ziti to feed an army…. we will be eating ziti for the next week! That was a good plan I won’t have to cook anymore, Tina will be here tomorrow and the next meal cooked will be on her! Lori’s grandchildren were with her and they brought a little life to the courtyard…. I think some of the residents enjoyed watching them running and playing! 

I’m looking forward to seeing Tina tomorrow for a few reasons. This is going to be a tag team day……. I’m going to be handing over the care of our mother,  Jazzy’s  leash and the keys to my car. She’s handing over the care of her children Zach & Carlene and the keys to her car and we are headed back to Club McCall. It will be nice for me to go home I haven’t spent much time there in a while and I’m really looking forward to spending time with my niece and nephew!   This is going to be FUN!! I’m going to miss Mom but I know she will be in good hands with Tina and Lori and between the 3 of us we have her covered! You gotta take care of your mommy…… Love you Mom <3

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

In this life, anytime you begin to succeed and walk in the blessing of God to the fullness, people are going to criticize. People will judge you. People will be jealous. But you know what? That’s their problem. Don’t apologize for what God is doing in your life. When you make excuses for God’s goodness, when you downplay His blessings and favor or call it luck or coincidence, really, that’s an insult to our God. The scripture says in Deuteronomy that “It is the Lord that gives you the power to get wealth.” That means God is the One giving you the ideas. He’s the One that’s giving you the creativity. He’s giving you the strength to succeed. He gave you the favor. He gave you the good breaks. As long as you stay humble and give Him all the credit, you have nothing to apologize for. Our job as believers is to make Him known. We should be examples of His goodness, peace, hope, joy and life.

Today, don’t shrink back from giving God all the credit. Don’t downplay your blessing. Thank Him and praise Him for what He’s doing in your life now and what He will do in your future. Make Him known and give Him all the glory!

Have a Blessed Day!