Friday, January 8, 2010

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Puppy Love

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Im pretty sure that rule # 1 rule of motherhood is never, never make promises you dont intend to keep!

When we returned home from Ukraine in 2008, I was “great with child” and certain that it was a boy! Tristan desperately wanted a little brother and I mean really….what are the chances? With three girls in a row, I thought my odds were pretty good that this baby I carried would be another one for the blue team.
So I made Tristan a promise. I told him if it was not a baby brother for him, then he could get a dog.
Really. What was I thinking?
When our precious Evie made her debut, Chad’s first thought was “4 girls! She’s going to have to pay for her own wedding!”
My first thought was an elated “oh she’s so beautiful”
….but soon thereafter, “oh crap! Now we have to get a dog!”

We all know that the year following Evie’s birth was not exactly conducive to taking on a pet, so I stalled as long as I could. But coming up on Evie’s second birthday, life is looking pretty calm and Ive run out of excuses.
My husband is in town for an entire month.
We only have one baby still in diapers.
Life is a breeze….we need a little more excitement, dont you think?
Meet Lady. A cocker spaniel that we adopted in Ukraine 6 years ago. (It was a moment of weakness.:) Soon thereafter, we pawned her off on Chad’s parents who have graciously given her a home for several years. (I discovered potty-training a puppy and twins while living in an tiny apartment in a frozen city with a traveling husband was more than I could handle at the time). Lady has been staying with us this week and I think might extend her visit.

Aside from the drinking out of the toilet she’s pretty sweet. She sleeps on top of Tristan and is Evie’s constant companion.
The moral of the story…dont make promises you dont intend to keep. Let that be a lesson to you, but……………
…….she is pretty adorable – dont you think?

Boogers

Monday, January 4, 2010

Parenting advice = you gotta learn to laugh!

The following conversation left me both disturbed and sputtering on my drink because I was laughing so hard.

Isabelle, our four year old, had a runny nose and I told her she needed a kleenex.
With eyebrows raised in obvious distain, she retorted;
“Guess what mommy? I saw Britain wipe a booger on her pants yesterday. Dat be di-custing!”
“Yes Izzy, that is disgusting”
Looking back now, the idiocy of my inquiry slaps me in the face, but it seemed a teachable moment at the time. So I asked…..I shouldn’t have, but I asked the question you should never ask a toddler as I handed her a tissue.
“Where should we put boogers Izzy”
Still appaled that her sister could be so un-kosher, she nooded her head sincerely replying;
“In our mouth!”
…………….I asked. My bad!
No. My children have impeccable manners and know the function of a handkerchief. They would never, never do something so atrocious as the aforementioned. And I certainly would never blog about it because I found it wildly funny. Not me!

There are plenty of books and articles and experts offering more sound advise than I on how to be a great mother.  Without question, it is by the grace of God and total reliance on him that we (or our kids) survive.
But as for me, a sure way to survive our insane days with 5 is to learn to laugh!
Strap on your sense of humor if you want to have kids – you’re gonna need it.
Some days, laughing is the only thing that keeps you from crying!
Buckle up!