New Family Pets & Basking Buddy

There's no question I'm a dog lover.  And since Qori's passing I knew I was going to get another dog eventually.  However, I wanted to "ease" into it by getting something small.  I flirted with a guinea pig for awhile.

My people eat them, you know?  What would happen if our pet went missing after a family party?!!!  I kid, I kid. We're Americanized.  ;)

Ultimately, I didn't think I could bond with anything other than a dog, and even flirted with a small dog, like a Chihuahua, but I'm not Paris Hilton my Aunt.  If I were going to get a dog, it's go big or go home!  I'm just not a small dog kinda girl anymore, though they sure are cuties.

So I decided that my indecisiveness is a sign that I'm still not ready, so I curbed my dog plans for a short while.  Instead, we decided to ask our kids what pets they wanted.  Imagine that!?  Diego (4 y/o) was very clear; he wanted a turtle.

Mateo (2 y/o) on the other hand was leaning towards a chicken or pet bird.  After a few weeks of getting the same, consistent answer from Diego, we went to Chinatown and came home with 2 turtles: Leonardo and Donatello. 

Both boys are very happy with their pet turtles.  Diego is nervous to hold his turtle, which is good because Leonardo is skittish.  Mateo on the other hand is very 'hands-on' with is turtle, to which we fear his turtle's safety sometimes.  It's a good thing his turtle is more active, and not skittish like Diego's turtle.  I guess each turtle was meant for each boy!

So these past weeks, I've watched every youtube video ever made about Red Eared Slider turtles and how to set up their tank; it's become my obsession.  Hubby says I'm taking things too far, but I'm just an animal lover who also happens to be obsessed with interior design (terrarium tanks included).

I realized that the store clerk in Chinatown did not give us all the facts.  So one by one, I've been buying all the necessities for Leo and Don.  I'll probably post pics once I get a few more things.  One thing I recently learned is that turtles require UVB lamps.  Their terrarium should not be placed in direct sunlight due to flucuating temperatures.

So while waiting for the UVB lamp to come in, I decided to share, with the turtle boys, my favorite part of the house this weekend: my deck. For some much needed and natural UVB-love.  I love to bask out there on a hot day, its way better than any spa, in my opinion.

That's when I realized that my spirit animal is probably a turtle, and I may or may not have bonded with Donatello over the weekend.

My new basking buddy and me, having our moment, he's the only one who understands me...

Mama Turtle Ruff - Shirley

Mother's Day

I hope all the mama's out there had a great Mother's Day!  I had a pretty good one.  I got a couple of things that I really wanted (or should I say, that I didn't want):

1. Not to cook, and 
2. Not to go to any restaurants where my Ruffians could raise Hell.  

Unfortunately my other wish to just sleep-in was squashed when Hubby woke me up by pulling my foot from under the covers so that I could spend the morning lazy-dazing on the couch with my pack of Ruffians watching some documentary about the dog-whisperer Cesar Milan's life.  He said he wanted to be either an actor or drug dealer as a child.  Those were his options.

Anyway, before I get too off on a tangeant about the dog whisperer, drug dealing, and him crossing the Mexican border; cuz I could talk about that for an hour!  I wanted to show you what my unemployed, youngest son gave me for mother's day.

That's right folks.  This big boy graduated to the big boy swing!  You GO Tater! It's true, the best gifts don't always have to be bought at a store [although I wouldn't say no to Nordstrom gift card!  ;) ]

What a great priceless gift!

What was your best gift? - Shirley (Mama-Ruff)

Going to be an Auntie!

So not only am I going to be an Auntie-Ruff in October; I'm also going to have a niece! She'll probably be a ruffian too and run alongside my little pack.  Except her bandana will be pink...

Finally!  

A little estrogen balance.  And you know what.  I knew it all along.  Don't believe me?

Watch this week's vlog below. -Shirley (Auntie-Ruff)

Vlog: Cars Drink Milk

Cars need milk to be STRONG!

The Pressure!

No, not cutting my hair.  Symbolic of me cutting ties with my old blog?  Perhaps.

There's so much pressure!  I need to make sure this first post is ready for the limelight when it reaches all 2 of you ;)

I'm extremely excited to release my new mommy, lifestyle blog!   The intent is to have a less inhibited and filtered author running the show because I've often restricted myself in my writing with my previous blog, though I've been getting better.  It's time to kill-off my "watcher at the gate" (my inner critic).  Die you sucker!  So let's get a few things out of the way first:

shit!
fuck!
ass!

Damn -

I can't believe I just did that.  

And no, it's not just cuss words that I restrict, so I hope to deliver a more unrestricted sense of motherhood, and my ultimate mission is to just have fuckin' fun with my kids.  (That last cuss really wasn't "me", but this can get addicting LOL)  I'm just going to keep having fun in the blog o'sphere and I hope you join me.

I've spent 3 years now, fighting the stitching of the "motherhood" label only to lay in disgust to eventually realize that the execs over at Nickmom have me pegged.  Damn you Nickmom execs!  I don't wear mom jeans and I didn't cut my hair, but those things didn't prevent me from ACTUALLY BECOMING A MOM and (gah!) and loving my spawn kids.   Now that both of my sons stopped sucking the all the bloody life out of me are not babies anymore, I'm looking at things so much differently, and I can actually declare that I'm fully excited to be a mom! (took me long enough!).  Hell yeah!

Still not cutting my hair though...

I'll probably eat my words later, as I often do, because if you know my sons, you'll know I've got my work cut out for me.  How could I be so excited to raise a pack of ruffians?  The answer can be found in their fangs laughter. Plus - motherhood has finally given me a solid excuse to go on a Disney cruise one day (when I have money again, and when my Hubby accepts that Mickey Mouse is not a symbol of everything that is wrong with America).  Isn't that enough of a reason?

So let's get this blog on the road! - Shirley (Mama Ruff)