December 23, 2011
December 22, 2011
It's Beginning To Look A Teeny Tiny Bit Like Christmas
I finally hauled the Christmas decoration stuff down from the attic the other day and put some things out.
Everything has to be placed above the 3-foot (read: reaching grasping toddler hands) level so it's not exactly a balanced look.
I do like decorating the top of the piano! Maybe by next year the phone won't have to sit there, too. Or the *ahem* multiple remotes ...
The Boogie thinks that the nativity is called the "actibity" and when we correct her still has trouble with it.
"I love the actibity!" she'll exclaim.
"Nah-tivity," we correct her.
"Nah ... actibity," she tries again.
She helped me decorate but I added the lights after she had gone to bed. "Look, stars around baby Jesus!" she said in the morning.
That afternoon we met Eric for dinner at Chick-fil-a. The Boogie loves to eat there but is always apprehensive about going because she is deathly afraid of the cow (and anyone else in a giant costume.) When she found out where we were going she asked, "Will the cow be there?"
"I don't know," I answered.
"Well, what day is it?" she asked.
"It's Tuesday," I said.
"Is the cow there on Tuesdays?" she persisted.
"I don't know, honey," I said, "I don't remember if I've ever seen him there on a Tuesday." That satisfied her. And then of course the cow was there, dressed in a Santa costume, walking around and waving at children and having his picture taken with them. As soon as the Boogie saw him she lost her appetite. She couldn't eat because she was watching to make sure he didn't come near us, and when he did walk past she plastered herself to my side. The Pheebs, on the other hand, is totally unfazed by people dressed in giant cow costumes, and waved and "high-five"ed this one every time he came by.
After Chick-fil-a we went to pick out a Christmas tree. On our way there Eric asked the Boogie if she brought any money. When she said no he said, "Oh, no! How will we pay for the tree? Maybe they'll take a trade and we can leave you there and take the tree home with us." She has been very gullible lately, and has a hard time telling when we're kidding. It's as if she knows that really, truly, we can't be serious but just the same maybe we are serious ... So she protested on the verge of tears at being left at Lowe's in exchange for a Christmas tree and even after we assured her that we were just kidding she didn't seem too sure that it was really only a joke.
By the time we got home and got the tree in the stand and Eric figured out what was wrong with the strings of lights it was way past bedtime so we promised the Boogie that we would decorate the tree the next night, and we did. Peabody thought it was loads of fun to shove plastic ornaments into the branches and then pull them out again. The next day when I had to constantly chase her away from the tree I realized it was probably a mistake to let her help decorate. Both girls had fun, though!
The last thing was to put the penguin on top, the doing of which I am positive I took pictures of but somehow are not on the camera memory card.
And that's about as decorated as this household gets. Maybe next year we'll put some lights outside.
Everything has to be placed above the 3-foot (read: reaching grasping toddler hands) level so it's not exactly a balanced look.
I do like decorating the top of the piano! Maybe by next year the phone won't have to sit there, too. Or the *ahem* multiple remotes ...
The Boogie thinks that the nativity is called the "actibity" and when we correct her still has trouble with it.
"I love the actibity!" she'll exclaim.
"Nah-tivity," we correct her.
"Nah ... actibity," she tries again.
That afternoon we met Eric for dinner at Chick-fil-a. The Boogie loves to eat there but is always apprehensive about going because she is deathly afraid of the cow (and anyone else in a giant costume.) When she found out where we were going she asked, "Will the cow be there?"
"I don't know," I answered.
"Well, what day is it?" she asked.
"It's Tuesday," I said.
"Is the cow there on Tuesdays?" she persisted.
"I don't know, honey," I said, "I don't remember if I've ever seen him there on a Tuesday." That satisfied her. And then of course the cow was there, dressed in a Santa costume, walking around and waving at children and having his picture taken with them. As soon as the Boogie saw him she lost her appetite. She couldn't eat because she was watching to make sure he didn't come near us, and when he did walk past she plastered herself to my side. The Pheebs, on the other hand, is totally unfazed by people dressed in giant cow costumes, and waved and "high-five"ed this one every time he came by.
After Chick-fil-a we went to pick out a Christmas tree. On our way there Eric asked the Boogie if she brought any money. When she said no he said, "Oh, no! How will we pay for the tree? Maybe they'll take a trade and we can leave you there and take the tree home with us." She has been very gullible lately, and has a hard time telling when we're kidding. It's as if she knows that really, truly, we can't be serious but just the same maybe we are serious ... So she protested on the verge of tears at being left at Lowe's in exchange for a Christmas tree and even after we assured her that we were just kidding she didn't seem too sure that it was really only a joke.
By the time we got home and got the tree in the stand and Eric figured out what was wrong with the strings of lights it was way past bedtime so we promised the Boogie that we would decorate the tree the next night, and we did. Peabody thought it was loads of fun to shove plastic ornaments into the branches and then pull them out again. The next day when I had to constantly chase her away from the tree I realized it was probably a mistake to let her help decorate. Both girls had fun, though!
The last thing was to put the penguin on top, the doing of which I am positive I took pictures of but somehow are not on the camera memory card.
And that's about as decorated as this household gets. Maybe next year we'll put some lights outside.
December 13, 2011
Goodbye, Dog
Sophie was sweet, friendly, obedient, well-behaved, and just about anything you would want in a dog. The only thing was, this mama couldn't handle having a dog in the house. I thought I could, I really did. I didn't know it would make me so anxious and stressed and overwhelmed. Eric and the Boogie were disappointed -- Eric especially was, but he could see how much it was affecting me and agreed to take Sophie back to the shelter. She will make someone a fantastic pet, and I regret that it didn't work out for us to keep her. I feel guilty for not being able to handle it ... and at the same time I feel sooooo relieved that we don't have her any more. We'll try again someday, probably when the small persons are all bigger.
Despite how overwhelmed I was and how it ended up, I'm thankful that we got to have her for a little bit. We've just about got the Boogie convinced that it was a "vacation" for Sophie, and that's how I want to remember it. She is a real sweetheart and I'm praying that she ends up with a fantastic family who will love her to pieces.
December 4, 2011
Dog
We got one!
She's an 18-month-old Bassett mix that we found at our local animal shelter. We had been looking for many weeks, checking shelter websites and stalking Craigslist, and praying that if God wanted us to have a dog He would make it very clear. She caught my eye at the shelter and when I saw that her information said that she was good with children and babies I thought we should meet her. A few days later we got a phone call that our application had been approved, and Eric picked her up after work!
Her name was Sookie and she was a surrender. She's such a sweetheart it makes me wonder what her previous owner's circumstances were that they had to get rid of her. Since we're not really into the whole vampire thing we changed her name to Sophie.
She loves Eric and thinks she is his lap dog.
Her name was Sookie and she was a surrender. She's such a sweetheart it makes me wonder what her previous owner's circumstances were that they had to get rid of her. Since we're not really into the whole vampire thing we changed her name to Sophie.
She loves Eric and thinks she is his lap dog.
Sometimes they take naps together.
She is really good with the girls. She even slept with the Boogie one night. I went in to check on them around 4:30 in the morning and poor Boogie was curled up in one corner -- she'd kicked the covers off and Sophie was laying on them. A coworker had a crate that was the perfect size so now she gets to sleep in there.
Peabody thought it was soooo fun to play in the crate. She also will go up to the dog, offer her hand to be licked, and then say, "ewwwww."
Sophie is a good dog, and smart too. Even after just several days she has picked up on a few commands and knows some of the things she is allowed and not allowed to do. She was very anxious when left alone at first -- we had to gate her in the kitchen at night and when we left. The first night she paced and cried all night and we ended up sleeping on the couch with her for a few nights after that. I'm very thankful for that crate -- it was very nice to be able to sleep in my own bed all last night! She still barks and cries when we leave but we don't have to hear that since we aren't around, and I'm not concerned about her getting into anything anymore.
I've had a bit of a difficult time adjusting to dog ownership. For whatever reason it has really stressed me out and made me very anxious. Every day I'm a little bit better but I never expected to feel this way when we finally got the dog that we've talked for years about getting! I'm very glad we didn't go the puppy route this time. I didn't think I'd be up for all of the work that goes with a puppy, and now I know for sure that I can't handle that right now. Maybe some day when the kids are bigger and can help. Anyway, with God's help we are working through the initial adjustment period, and it truly seems that He has blessed us with the makings of a wonderful family pet.
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