For those of you who still look to this website for updates (and I’ve gotten emails from a bunch of you this month), I am now blogging at LaurenMalone.tumblr.com

Don’t get me wrong, I may be back here someday, but for now I’m a tumblr girl.

I started a new blog this week. The link is www.thingsicarry.com. It’s one of those professional blog hosts where you have to pay to have the website, and I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to buckle down and spend the money.

If I do, and I’m sure I will, I’ll probably be changing the URL to a “dot com”, because I keep thinking that my new blog is at squarePANTS.com and it’s all too confusing.

CORRECTION! I’ve now updated the link to a dot com. The new link is www.thingsicarry.com

So far, I’m IN LOVE with the new site. Big pictures, big video, embedding HTML codes. Mmmmm.

I’m going to stop blogging here and you can feel free to update your bookmarks to the new site, but know that you may have to change the link in the near future.

I’ll see you over there and let me know what you think in the comment section or in the guest book…because blogs that you pay for have guest books.

Be forewarned, it’s still under construction.

So today we finally had our big birthday bash at our house — complete with party hats! — for my mama who will be turning 50(!) tomorrow. It was a huge success; we didn’t run out of food, drinks, or space.

Mama glowed. There are a lot of people out there who love her.

Pictures to follow

So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

Getting ready for the party…

It’s Friday. Finally. Sean came home last night and by the time I got home from work at around nine, he had prepared an incredible dinner for us.  I’m lucky.

I think Jasmine missed Sean as much as I did.

And today is Friday which usually means that I usually have two more days of work left in my week, but I was able to take tomorrow off to prepare for a big party we’re having here on Sunday. Me? Not have to work on Saturday? Phenomenal.

It’s a rainy dreary day around here, which can only mean one thing….

PUPPY RAINCOATS!!!!!!

Oh, I am so showing this picture to their significant others when they get older.

No dogs were harmed in this photo shoot. This is why they call it “puppy love”.

Sean is at an overnight manager’s meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, so the pups and I are fending for ourselves. I think we’re managing all right aside from the thousand pieces of bones that are now strewn across the living room. Sammy and Jasmine are being quite well-behaved.

I’m lonely.

But Sean will be home tomorrow and things will get back to normal around here. I’m almost tempted to put on ESPN just so I can intentionally tune out the sports chatter.

I love going to the dollar store to find new books to read. Once in a while, I’ll find brilliance in between those crossword puzzle books and stacks of Bibles.

I always feel kind of sad for the authors of those books who spent months and years pouring their hearts out onto these pages, only to have their art end up being sold for a buck and six with tax.

I bought six books today –two of them are memoirs (which we all know I love) — including this one by David Halberstam as well as Mike Wallace’s memoir.

I hate the idea that simply because these books were published three years ago, they are no longer readable. Haven’t we learned by now that new isn’t always good?

Since I still can’t sleep, I’ll share with you a revelation we stumbled upon today.

Sean and I were finishing up the monotonous chore of painting our bedroom in time for the arrival of our new furniture on Wednesday morning. The dogs were sleeping in their respective corners and Sean had completed his task of paint rolling.

All that was left to do now was trim, and I hate trimming. Sean mentioned that since his work was done he was going to hop outside for a smoke and then start work on vacuuming the downstairs.

So I said, “Daddy, do you want to take the babies outside with you?”

And he answered, “They just went, I think they’d rather sleep up here with you, Mommy.”

And then we realized… (cue sudden awareness music)… Sean and I used to make fun of couples that called each other Daddy and Mommy when their kids weren’t even in the room and now we were doing it.

But we don’t have kids yet! I’m not even middle aged yet! And since we’ve adopted them we’ve been throwing around the terminology: Daddy, Mommy, Son, Daughter.

Not that we’re going to stop calling each other those silly terms. I just wanted to make us all aware that Sean and I are now officially annoying dorks, and we really love our dogs.

For your sake, I promise that I’ll try not to call him Daddy when you come to visit, unless I mean it in a kinky way. Har har.

The time is now 1:08AM and I’m awake and browsing the internet. I blame my insomnia on Ashley.

This is Ashley:

And this is her new baby, Burrito:

I recently met Ashley through Blog365 — blogging every day for a year (I know, we’re crazy) — and it seems that she and I have a lot in common: we’re madly in love, new homeowners, photographers, and the mothers to adorable little puppy faces.

So just as I post pictures of Sam and Jazzy on my blog, Ashley does the same for her Chloe and new baby Burrito. So whenever she posts a new picture or video of this infinitely cute baby, I call Sean into the room to see him.

“LOOK AT LITTLE (insert 1,000 synonyms for cute) BURRITO!!!”

Today on our drive to Best Buy to buy a new flat screen TV(!), Sean and I were talking about how freaking cute Burrito is and how we kind of wish we had a little Burrito ourselves.

I said to him, “Someday when Sammy and Jasmine are all grown up, I think we should get a third puppy. But not now. OKay, maybe now. But not really. But did you see Burrito fit through that doggy door!!”

Sean replies, “If we get a third — and we’re not getting a third, by the way — we should name him Chalupa. Then there would be Burrito and Chalupa.”

So even though we’re not getting a third, I’m looking at rescue puppies on the internet. Because, I love our two so much, and because Ashley’s dog is way to frickin’ cute.

All photos in this post were taken by Ashley Forrette.

PS. We’re seriously not getting a third.