Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Doggie update



This is a doggie update.

Her name is now Ella. She likes her new name.

Ella is a rescue dog. I wish someone would rescue me.

The fact is we were told some untruths. I don't want to call anyone a liar, but the rescue lady is, well... a liar. When we got Ella, the rescue lady, God bless her, said that Ella was very quiet and docile. The truth is that Ella makes Taz look like he's taking Valium. The rescue lady said she was house trained. The truth is that she is somewhat house trained. As long as you take her out every 2 hours. The lady said she was 2 years old. The truth is we don't have her birth certificate but she acts much younger. The lady said she wouldn't chew on anything. The truth is she won't chew on anything that is higher than 6 feet off the ground. She has a vertical leap higher than Shaq (relatively speaking, that is.) The nice lady said she was in perfect health. The truth is, she's in perfect health except for the fleas and the little cough that she is going to the vet tomorrow for. (She has had her vaccinations, or at least they made a copy of some dogs vaccination schedule and gave it to us.)

The small daughter is thrilled with her. Couldn't be happier. I tried to talk her into taking Ella back to the nice lady and getting a dog that actually listened and didn't pee on the floor, but she is in LOVE and looked at me as if I was suggesting she forsake her family.

Here is Ella getting a flea bath.



Here are the girls and Ella making her a new I.D. tag.



Note the cool pink harness. We decided that would be a good idea after she backed out of her collar three or four times.




This, see this, this is the reason Ella won't be going back to the nice lady with the lying tendencies.



Or maybe it's this. This quite possibly is the reason I have flea bites on my legs.



or perhaps this




Thank God for this



Gotta run, 2 hours are up.

Monday, August 18, 2008

And True Love is Born

It was an unconventional place, for a love affair to begin. A strip mall, with people going in and out of doors, shoes and beauty supplies being bought and sold, and yet, love was in the air that cool Sunday morning. We certainly didn't expect to find love, we'd gone to the strip mall to buy hamster food. We were in a hurry as usual, rushing in and rushing out. I was with my six year old daughter.

Is six too young to find true love? She doesn't think so. Should I have stopped her? Maybe. Some would say yes, her father is one of them, but I say, "Who am I to stand in the way of love?"

Love is a funny thing. It only takes a second, two sets of eyes meet and in that instant, universes are born, bonds are fused, and ultimately, lives are changed. This is what happened to my smallest daughter. In that instant, when their big brown eyes met, she gave her heart. I can't say if it is right or wrong, only that it was meant to be.


This is her and her new love. Her name is Dooma. Dooma? What does that mean? We're going to change her name. The small girl wants Emily or Brittany, I picked Jasmine, her dad suggested Girl. Her older sister had a good one, but I told her only hoosiers name their dogs Stupid. She was only kidding.

What does the reigning dog say about this?

"What? Who? Where am I?" Poor old Buster-man.




Who could resist this little cutie?

We'll keep you posted.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

back to school

The Little Sweetie Pie is not the only one going back to school.




This is David. He is 20. He is going to be a junior in college, majoring in music. He attends a university several hours from our house. This child/man was unable to find gainful employment the entire summer. He did however play over 300 hours of World of Warcraft on the computer. He's the cow. He has spoken less than 50 words to me in three months and most of them were "Can I have some money?" and "What is for dinner?" He usually rises and shines bright and early around 3:oo...PM so what he really means is "What is for breakfast?" When my husband goes to work at 6:00...AM, they sometimes pass in the hall. Actually, he is a really good kid. He is very smart and knows how to fix things on my computer.

There is something so not right about a mother/child relationship in which a mother will actually cry when a child like this leaves her home to go live in a dorm. I DO need chocolate chip pecan cookie dough. On Saturday, I will drive him to college and leave him. For at least 9 months, I won't have to look at clothes on his floor or hear a disembodied voice from the basement computer say "Make your move, man." And yet, I feel totally and completely bereft at the thought of him leaving. I want to curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb. Is this that survival of the species thingie? That instinct that keeps mothers from killing their young no matter how bad their rooms smell, and how many times they have to pack and unpack the youngs dorm room, in the rain, while the kid goes to an audition or plays drums at a graduation ceremony. Even when they forget their vaccination form and they won't let them move in until they sign a waiver saying if they get a communicable disease the university won't be responsible and to sign that waiver the mother has to walk about 12 blocks in the rain to get the form.


Thank God for that survival of the species thingie.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

First Grade, Already?

Note to self: The number one way to see words appear on your blog is to make sure your seat is in the chair and your fingers are on the keyboard. The rest is just karma.

Today was the last day before my last child goes to all day school (with tears welling up). Oh suck it up you big baby, you say. Well, bite me, I say to you. Who will I lay in bed and watch cartoons with? Who will I use as an excuse as to why I cannot get a thing done around the house? Who will do the grocery shopping with me, for God's sake? I mean for Gosh sake. I think I might go make some mashed potatoes and milk gravy. Or maybe sneak out to get some Ben and Jerry's. Or maybe my all time very bestest pity party food-raw chocolate chip cookie dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, hidden in the back of the freezer and sawed off with a knife when no one is around. Please let me have some pecans in the pantry.

Today was the last day for our baby-sitter who has been coming for 6 years, since the little first grader was 9 months old. We won't need her any more since the little one will be in all day school. We found her on a whim, and she was an absolute treasure to us. She taught my sweet daughter so many wonderful things. How to sew, her letters, helped her learn to read, how to be crafty and how to walk around the neighborhood exploring. In an age where no one hardly even knows their neighbors, half the people in our subdivision say hi to my daughter when we are walking. Everyone knows the little girl who walks around the subdivision, with her babysitter, stopping whenever there is anything interesting even if it is up in people's front yards or on their porch. They know no boundaries. They have become very good friends with the lady down the street because they stopped and sat on a bench in her front yard everyday. Now she plays games with them and offers them green tea in bottles. Good-bye to our wonderful friend. Hopefully she will remain in our life.

On a less dramatic note, I signed up to be in the mother's club at the elementary school. Please be aware that this is at great personal sacrifice for me. I am not a joiner. I hate crowds. I look like a grandma compared to the other moms. I am trying to turn over a new leaf for little sweetie pie's sake. She said "Mama can't you come work in the library like so and so's mom?"
Let's hope it works out.

Coming soon..... I am going to try and post a picture. ( I am comforted by the fact that no one reads this)