Puppy Love!

Christina & Penny's Pups!

One year ago today, two amazing moms saved a life of another mother, and delivered her pups two days later.  This pregnant puppy was in a high kill shelter when Kirsten from a pet rescue made a call out to her friend, Christina, asking if there was any way she can take her in and save her.

Christina's Family

"Operation Save Penny" went into full effect.  Christina, a mother with three young beautiful children already, didn't hesitate, and took the drive to rescue and save this sick, pregnant puppy, Penny.  Two days later, Christina and her family delivered 7 adorable puppies at their home, yes, at their home.  They not only saved Penny, they saved her 7 pups; seven lives that almost never were. Christina bottle fed these babies because Penny, was not in good enough health for her babies to feed from her. With the help of Christina's friends and family; donating cleaning supplies, food, time and more, these puppies, were loved, fed, cared for, and even potty & crate trained!  At the same time Kirsten was working on the phone finding families that were willing to adopt.  Working together, these moms were on the clock doing everything they can for these new little lives and their mother Penny.  Families were found for everyone, The adoption took place with all the families together saying goodbyes & hello's at a public pet location.  Penny went to a loving family as well!  Eight families changed because two moms, went out of their way to make a difference.

Our family welcomed one new addition, Logan, to our home at 3 months old.  We nick-named him Orso, meaning the bear in Italian.  Logan looked like an adorable little teddy bear to us, Orso seemed perfect and the meaning behind Logan could not be changed, who says puppies can't have a first, middle & last name?!!  Three puppies were named after Christinas children and Logan, was one of them.  As soon as we walked in we knew Logan and our puppy had a strong connection that broke my heart to separate.  I knew both Logans took care of one another and that little man helped his mom take such good care of all the puppies.  It was hard for them to say good bye to one another.  It was an emotional adoption for all the families involved that day.  We are very grateful to Logan, Kirsten from the Pet Rescue and all Christina's family and friends that came together to "Operation Penny" a huge success.

We told our own kids the day of adoption that we were going to the pet store to visit some puppies so when we held Orso and the girls asked if we could keep him... the moment was absolutely priceless.  "Yes" was something they never heard to that question.  It was the day of Julia's 5 yr. old birthday, she was always the one pushing the hardest to leave with a puppy when we went to adoption shelters "just to visit".  Yes, only two weeks after our puppy blog on June 15th,  (Click here for that story!) Julia didn't have to ask anymore.

So while others said to us, "Don't do it, don't give in!"  We took the leap of faith, and here we are  proud dog owners one year later!!!  What a year it has been, I've never owned a dog in my life and always felt that most others that had a dog, just seemed to yell at them all the time.  Give or take a few that loved them like their own child.  Which brings me to exactly that, I don't know how Christina did it!  A mom of 3 already and dedicating 3 months to 7 little pups AND their mother, AND potty training AND bottle feeding them! WOW!  A true saint that made it happen.  We were spoiled, a new puppy, potty and crate trained before even coming home with us!  The kids couldn't get enough of him!!!  Orso was growing fast, and learning how to raise him taught me even more.  This family has more love for our sweet Orso than ever, and here I share with you, what every family should know when adopting.

1.  They grow up fast... super fast. For every month he grew, my 7 yr. old Mia grew in a year! 

(This is how Cameron explained dog years to Mia, Julia & Maximus)  It was true too!  She grew up fast in 7 years and Orso grew up even faster in ONE!

2.  TAKE Puppy CLASSES!!!  Our entire family went together with Orso to get trained on what they are thinking, why they do what they do, how to properly correct it, how to keep them safe, and keep them obedient. ( NOT our kids, sillies, our Puppy of course!)

3.  You won't be perfect after the classes, but you'll understand more of how to work with your puppy.

4. BE PATIENT!!!  Don't yell at them all the time, they don't understand your language, all they know is that you are angry and it scares them & they know when you are happy, and that makes them happy.

5. Love them!!  They want your attention, they don't get to socialize the way you do, include them in  the family, they ARE family treat them with the same respect and they respect you and look up to you (alpha, you are the leader of their pack.)

6.  Be consistent!  They are puppies, they will jump up, get into things, explore, get excited, you need to watch them and keep danger out of their reach!  Be consistent with the schedule you keep them on and the disciplining when in training.  Don't leave all the training up to someone who is not living with you and your new family member.

7.  It IS having another child, they need the love and attention and to be watched so they don't get into anything dangerous.  (Keep them safe in cars too!  We crate him in the car, in case of an accident, he would be the first to go flying out if we didn't!)

8.  Don't make it a party when you get up or walk in your home.  Anxiety and anxiousness from your dog is created from YOU!  We keep Orso in the crate for 15 minutes when waking up, then let him out and 15 minutes after walking in the door from being gone.  This keeps him calm and stopped him from jumping on others when we let him out of the crate.

9.  WALK, WALK, WALK your puppy!!!  This is stimulating for them and wears them out too ;)

10.  Enjoy your puppy!  Don't be screaming and yelling because YOU don't understand why or what he's doing, learn about your puppy and remember, they don't outlive you for the most part, enjoy them while you have them in your life and learn everything you can from them.

**Take my tips carefully, every dog is very different.  Research the habits and likes as much as you can.  My sister and her family adopted a beautiful new puppy a few months after us.  Both dogs habits are very different, being 2 completely different breeds.  Orso took classes, Cooper did not. Cooper didn't need the training that our Orso did.  Cooper is a beautiful, well behaved, very laid back puppy. Both are part of the family and while we try to be direct & implement as much as we learned from our classes with Orso, it wasn't as necessary with Cooper, he chills and hangs out knowing his boundaries already.  The cousins, play, and are the best of friends. :)  Point is, every dog is different, like every child is too :). ***

Julia with Orso Logan, Day 1

What I've learned, is patience.  I now have 5 children, yes 5! We include Orso in that count. I've learned that my kids will walk and feed Orso before the fix their own bed or do their own chores. They will sit and love him, they have fun doing different tricks with him.  Things are put away quicker now so Orso doesn't get into things.  The kids love introducing him to other dogs as his play buddy.  Am I exhausted?  YES!  But do I regret it? NO.  (He keeps me at a fast paced walk that I appreciate with him too, no slacking for me!) This is a puppy's life that almost never was and its our job to embrace everything about his beautiful life. We. Choose. Him.  He is our family to take care of and love.

Orso (1) & Mia (7) today

If you are wanting a puppy or looking into it, learn about the responsibilities of what to expect with their first year of puppy love!  Orso has already calmed down alot since his first year of puppy hood. We may call him Jaws because he still circles around the dinner table and nabs at the first chance of food he gets but we are working on it!  We may not have that friendly poopless back yard to play in, but we'll get there, (the kids will get there I should say!)  and Orso loves his big yard!  He definitely does not nip like he use to or jump up, that's huge progress!! and we may need to find a friendly pet sitter when traveling some places over night, but Orso brings our family together and we all work at it with him every day.  Orso has traveled and met so many new puppy friends his first year with us.  We've had so many puppy lovers come to see him and he loves everyone back just as much!

Thanks Julie for this one!

Happy Birthday Sweet Orso!!  Thank you to Kirsten, Christina and her "Operation Penny Crew" & Tiffany at Pawsitivly for teaching our family on how to work Paws-itively with our Orso!  We've come such a long way learning from you about how to take care of our Orso!!!

And to all the family friendly pet lovers out there that have met Orso already and hugged and loved him the minute you saw him, thank you.  

The Big Food Bowl!

Moms (& Dads!) bringing all of our PTO's, Students & Community... together.

2015 OC Elementary Schools Big Food Bowl

The more I learn about our community, the prouder I am to have my family as a part of it. Many of us are fortunate enough to have food on the table each night and day.  Some of us, in our own community, are not as fortunate.

This year six elementary schools in the Oak Creek area came together for the 2nd Annual Big Food Bowl Drive.  Nikki Gudzielanek, Edgewood PTO Parent & President, (Extremely busy mom!) brought our Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO)  together to give back to the community in a way that would help other families have the food that many of us take for granted.  

Every Elementary School in Oak Creek, a week before Spring Break, participated in a contest to see which school could collect the most food items.  To keep the students engaged, items were tallied up each day by their PTO and students.  A running tally was posted daily on the Oak Creek Elementary Schools Big Food Bowl Facebook Page.  The schools were able to see by this running count who needed to catch up and who was in the lead!  The school with the highest number of items donated wins the customized "Big Food Bowl" Flag to fly at their school for the year.  A prize package for students also included a free BOWL of ice cream from our Georgie Porgies & passes for free BOWLing from our Classic Lanes & More!

CONGRATULATIONS TO 
EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!!!!!!!

The Edgewood Families collected over 6,000 items alone!  

ALL TOGETHER students from Elementary Schools of Carollton, Cedar Hills, Deerfield, Edgewood, Shepard Hills & Meadowview collected over 13,717 food items!!!!

Riteway Transportation generously donated their time and buses to collect the items from each school transporting two bus loads of food to local pantries; The Salvation Army, St. Stephens Family Life Center, All Saints Lutheran & OC Community United Methodist Church.  Each organization waiting for the busloads of food with friends ready to collect and distribute, many, many helping hands came together.

**Click on the name to learn more of each organization**

Students from Edgewood, (Sylvia's daughter specifically!) organized in their own home community by distributing flyers & collecting items door to door with the subdivision contributing over 200 items!  What a way to teach our students on how important giving back is and developing our younger generation to care for others even more.

Thank you to Nikki, Sylvia, Kate, Lynn, June, Zach & TJ for your time today and 

Cathy Pielsnik for your Video Production Expertise!

Most of all THANK YOU to all the Oak Creek families that contributed and made this event another success helping our own families in need.  

Stay safe this Spring Break, today and always! 

Like & Share our OC Big Food Bowl FB Page to be a part of next years annual Food Drive!

Our Mia turned SEVEN Yrs. Old!!!

Our Beautiful Mia WAS 6, NOW...SEVEN!!!!!

What?!?  Seven?  I remember someone once asking me awhile back, "Doesn't time fly by so fast?"  I responded, "No, its going by just perfectly."  Now, I take that comment back.  7 years old crept up so fast that I DO look back and wonder where in the world has the time gone?  You may know our little angel from her fun, crazy comments of The Moms Mia-ism's Page so in honor of her special day, I had to share with all of you, fun- loving- moms, what I've learned from my beautiful girl.  Some may say she rules my world, and I say, "your darn right she does!"

Stylin as always!

1. I've heard she's stubborn.  Thank GOD! While others call it stubborn, we call it strong- willed!  Don't mess with her and you'll be fine.

2. You can never wear enough layers...and dots go with stripes, prints go with dots.  It's a "fashion-mista" statement. Seriously.  This girl can make 8 dresses, all on at the same time, look great!

3. There is no rule on # of jewels to wear, enough bling never hurt anyone or clashed any adorableness! # of Purses?  What?! That question doesn't even make sense!

4. Keep good friends close to you, and always make them where a seat belt. (Dear friend, St. Fran, as pictured with Mia, was in a little fender bender with Mia & her hot rod. May he rest in peace, I'm pretty positive he is.)

Mia stuck in a snow storm!

5. Say how it is, "China?! Why does she make everything?  France only made one thing, China makes everything!" regarding her headbands & toys, most say, "made in China."

6. Birthdays are celebrated all day, all week, all month.  If you forget, you'll be reminded, so don't worry about forgetting.
(Hey its the Nana way, everyday's a celebration, you can never be sung to enough and your never too old to blow out your candles!)

Mia partied out.

7. Notes, notes, notes, you can never leave enough love notes in the house.  Mia goes through notepads and post its like crazy leaving us little "I Love You's" everywhere all the time!  It'll NEVER get old!

8.  Sleep, it doesn't matter how, where, or when, just get your sleep in!

9. Love love love your friends, color them pictures, give them hugs, write them letters, laugh and cherish every minute.  Mia loves loves loves those closest to her and she makes sure they know it too!

Mia 4 yrs old & Maximus

10.  You can always be a complete mess and still be as beautiful as ever.  "Me and Layla are just always messy because we like it that way!  Julia and Emery can be the neat ones instead." #luvcousins!

Mia 5 yrs old & Julia

...and there you have my lessons learned from my Mia!
She is my shinning light, my sweetest angel and most of all, she's ours.
Happy 7th Birthday Beautiful Girl!!

Myself, Mia &  Nana.  1 of Mia's favorite Angels.

Mia's Favorite "Healthy" choice and recommendation....  Aloe Vera Juice.  Well... ok, she enjoyed it with her sister and tea-party friends until mom put the cabash on it and said either before bed or in the morning ONLY ;)  
But yes, she's taken her Strawberry-Kiwi Aloe since birth for a keepin-clean digestive track! :)


Strawberry -Kiwi, Cranberry-Apple
Click on link above for info.

Ann Bosman, Founder & President of the AMB Foundation remembering Amy

Ann Bosman-Foltz, a mother of two, a wife, daughter, friend and a sister to one amazing woman...

Ann Bosman & Connie Lynn remember Amy

Amy Bosman

Ann with her parents & sister Amy

Here's The Moms Diet Special Edition...

to Amy...

You realize how much a person has impacted your life even more so when they are gone.  Amy Marie Bosman left us at the age of 25 and I always say, she did more within those 25 years of changing other peoples lives than most of us will do in our entire lifetime.  She was vibrant, beautiful, happy, extremely intelligent and people loved her.  She was involved in everything at school; sports, community organizations, activity clubs, and excelled in it all.  She was top 20 outstanding senior in our class of 500 for both academics and involvement, she was our proud Kenosha Jr. Miss and so much more.

Amy in Guatemala

Some friends would have it all stop right there at high school graduation, but not Amy.  She took on the world by storm, graduating from Northwestern University with honors. She was with Teach For America teaching in rural and public schools. She helped raise every student's reading level in her class at Houston, TX. She was a part of the Habitat for Humanity project rebuilding a church in Alabama always building amazing friendships every she went. Amy traveled to Madagascar volunteering to build latrines in a small village. She was a part of the Guatemala Accompaniment Project and became so much more than the project, immersing herself into the entire community with the Network In Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA).  When she returned home, she then began a dual masters degree program at the University of Chicago. Within one year of her studies there, Amy, 25 yrs. old, tragically fell off the balcony of her 9th Floor Chicago Apartment on March 22, 2003.

Amy so proud of all her students

All of us were stunned and completely in shock on Amy leaving us so soon.  At the same time Amy's Power Players went into action and knew how important it was to carry on her mission of changing the world.  The people closest to Amy began the Non-Profit, AMB Foundation with the mission to raise money for organizations that fight for social & educational justice and reform, and benefit the community. (That mission statement alone has Amy written all over it!  Her intelligence always blew me away!)  The University of Chicago also began the AMB Memorial Fellowship in her name; funding students first year pursuing unpaid internships.  The work these students are able to carry on in all different parts of the world in her name is exactly the mission Amy had of changing the world herself.

AMB's Power Players

Boys & Girls Club AMB Center

Back at home, Amy's little sister Ann immediately began carrying on the legacy of Amy, her only sibling, her best friend.  Ann with her parents Deb & Keith Bosman, and what I call are Amy's power players Lou Morrone, Jason Klapper, Karin Cesnovar, Jill Haberski, Aaron Foltz & Amanda Knight, among many other friends who Amy was more than just a part of, teamed up together and within four months of Amy's death, held the first annual AMB Golf Outing. This was also the start of the AMB Foundation.

Its hard to believe its been twelve years without Amy because her legacy has been living on so strong through this team of amazing people. Through the AMB Foundation , twenty-five + students have received between $500-$2000 in scholarships every year at our High School, Kenosha Tremper.  The new Boys & Girls Club in Kenosha received $70,000 from the AMB Foundation that was donated to what is now called the AMB Learning Center.  One of many of the organizations proudest contributions.

Ann with husband, Aaron

Amy's nephew, Jack & niece, Isabella

Family & Friends bid on items at Amy's Soiree

Ann, now married to Aaron Foltz, who is a strong force on the website and technical division of the foundation, and an amazing mother of two beautiful children, Isabella & Jack, together wanted to celebrate Amy as they do everyday but with a special family & friends event marking 10 years.  Ann put into action with a great group of committed friends, on April 20, 2013, a 10 yr. Soiree celebrating Amy and all the accomplishments of her life.  Over 150 people attended the formal event donating to a silent auction, enjoying Amy's favorite foods and music, and listening to the many people that were so impacted by Amy's life while here on earth.  We also remembered Amy by the emotional slideshow put together of all the events and magical moments that many of us shared while having her with us. (Watch the Memorial at Soiree Slide Show 1 & Soiree Slide Show 2)

Dinner after a fun day of golf

Friends celebrating Amy

The AMB Foundation will be hosting its 13th Annual Golf Outing on July 17th at the Bonnie Brook Golf Course, Illinois this summer. They are always open to newcomers joining the fun!  Coming up on the anniversary of Amy's death, Ann finds a strong force to continue her legacy as strong as ever.  Ann's mission with the team of Amy's Power Players are changing the world one day at a time, one person at a time and living Amy's dream of improving the world.

Special Gifts of the AMB

Sponsors on the Golf Course

Amy is remembered everyday.  Below is a quote Ann saw on Amy's bulletin board the day she went to the apartment to collect Amy's items.  "This was a perfect quote of Amy and how she felt of our world everyday."  Ann says.  This quote, we too, will live by carrying on Amy's legacy and never taking a day while here on earth, for granted.

"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.

E. B. White
US author & humorist
(1899 - 1985)

Thank you Ann, for doing all you do, as a mother, daughter, friend, sister, and so much more.  

Amy still smiling and always in our hearts...

_________________________________________________________________________________

Click here to like the AMB (Amy Marie Bosman) Facebook Page for upcoming events &/or register for the Golf Outing!

This special edition of Ann & Amy is sponsored by The Connie Mall.  Amy had such beauty, grace and a side of crazy fun!!  Take a skincare analysis or enjoy the "Ruby Reds"  that remind me of her classy smile!  100% of all profits made at The Connie Mall from now until the AMB Golf Outing will be donated to the AMB Foundation.  (Click on the hi-lited links mentioned to view.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patty's Day from my cuties to yours!!  Enjoy some fun photos, St. Patty craft ideas and of course some yummy green foods too!

I hope you all had a great GREEN St. Patty's Day!!  Here's a few fun ideas I found to share!

How simple and fun! From Parenting.com 

A fun creative craft from Gift of Curiosity Blog by Katie!

Another fun "finger" painting rainbow!

A yummy treat with a St. Patty's twist to it!

And OF COURSE!!!  Why not green foods for the day??!!!
I think of Calcium when it comes to green and wanted to share some
Non-Dairy Options of eating your greens and getting your calcium too!!