Tag Archives: daughter

Morning Interrupted and A Splash of Color

Posted on March 30, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning (or good afternoon in the Central U.S. Time Zone and those points further east) everyone!
  • Morning Interrupted

Today’s title, “Morning Interrupted,” was far more prophetic than I ever intended it to be.  Not only was my early morning (i.e., pre 6:30 a.m.) routine left in shambles but my mid-morning schedule has been disrupted as well. 

Powerful Spark (From Print Shop 2.0 Deluxe)

 Mark was out of town last night, so of course a round of thunderstorms chose to rumble in around 4:00 a.m.  Kayla is very afraid of thunderstorms, so she came padding into our bedroom around 4, and I let her go ahead and crawl up into the bed on Mark’s side.  Those negotiations taking a little time, Mandy and Darwin viewed them as a sign that it was time to get up, so they started jumping on and off the bed in great excitement.  You really haven’t lived until all four paws of a 55 or 60 pound dog hit you squarely on the chest at 4:00 a.m. in the morning!

I threw them outside into the thunderstorm to do whatever they felt they needed to. (Tyra knew better than to wake up.  Besides, she is not going into a thunderstorm unless she is thrown out into it, so she got to stay inside and asleep at the foot of the bed.) 

Once they came back in, around 4:10 or so, my only hope of getting any more rest before 5:30 was to separate Darwin and Mandy, so I put Darwin up in his carrier (he usually sleeps there or in the den at night – he only got to sleep in the bedroom last night because Mark wasn’t home and our routine was disrupted anyhow) and kept Mandy in the bedroom with me.  Mandy settled back down, but Darwin felt it was his sworn duty to bark with his loud “intruder alert” bark every time a strong thunder clap sounded over the house.  This practice guaranteed that even if Kayla could get to sleep, she was going to wake back up once he started to bark, which further ensured that I wasn’t getting back to sleep either.

After about 45 minutes of that, Kayla got up and ran into the bathroom and started to be sick.  I got her settled back down and we finally got maybe an extra half-hour before we had to get up.  After we got up, I took her temperature, and she was in that no-man’s land between 98.6 and 100 (at 99.3), so I gave her a choice on whether to go to school or not. 

She elected to go because the school is doing the Stanford Achievement Tests and she was going to try to finish the test (this is the second, and last, day of testing).  I let her off at school at 7:15 with a wish and a prayer, and toodled my way to work, where I hoped to have an uneventful, but fruitful, day. 

Alas, as you probably suspect, that was not to be!  About 9:45 the school called and said that she had left the test, with the principal at her side, saying that she was too sick to keep taking it.  I asked the nurse about her temperature, and she was still in that no-man’s land, although a little higher at 99.7, and hadn’t gotten sick again. Even though I wasn’t sure that she was any worse than she had been when I dropped her off, I left work and traveled back to our home town to pick her up.  It was a good thing I did; as soon as we got home, she was sick again, and then when I took her temperature, it was up around 101.6!  Fortunately, our doctor can see her at 2, and right now she is asleep on the couch, in which state I hope she stays for a couple  hours, since sleep is the best thing for her. 

I would like to go to sleep, too, but as every mother knows, your child will never get sick on a day when you are fairly caught up, so I have a project I get to work on for a while here at the house.  However, as I have said before, I am very grateful to the people I work with for their understanding about family and priorities and I am grateful that I can work on a project at the house to keep caught up.

All of which is a long way of saying nothing this morning, so far, has gone according to plan, but maybe the new improved plan will have better luck!

  • A Splash of Color

Even though a sick child is something every parent can sympathize with, I hate to end my blog on such a damp note, so instead I am finishing this entry off with a few pictures of some of the flowers around Key West that Mark and I enjoyed seeing.  This is a very small sample compared with what is avaible to see down there, but I hope it brightens your day.

Picture of a house taken from the Conch Train

 

Tubebuia Tree, Key West

Bougainvillea

Tabebuia Tree Flowers, Key West

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Pets, Travel, When things don't go as expected, working mom

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New Nephew, Manatee Mailboxes and Bugs, Scooters and Tiki Lights

Posted on March 28, 2011 | 5 comments

Good morning everyone!  I hope you had a great weekend!

  • New Nephew

Some mom adventures aren’t funny, just sweet.  That was the case this weekend, when we got to meet our new great-nephew for the first time.  We were all excited, but Kayla especially was beside herself at getting to meet her new cousin.  She got to hold him on the couch for a little bit, and sit beside him, my niece Ann and my nephew Andy.

Anne, Carter, Kayla, Andy

Kayla is very, very good with babies, and it was extra special for her when she got to hold her own cousin.

Kayla holding Carter

 

I got to hold the baby also for a while, which was way cool!

Me holding Carter

We even got a picture of all of us together who were there, which means we had one of those special pictures where four generations are present – Mark’s Mom, me, Mark, my brother- and sister-in-law, my niece and nephew and Kayla and Carter, the baby.

Group Photo!

 

Getting to meet our new family member was one of those sweet family moments you won’t forget.  The only thing that would have made it more perfect would be if my other nephew, Matt, and my other brother and sister-in-law could have been there.  We missed you guys!

  •   Manatee Mailboxes

Other events are bemusing.  In our drive down toward Key West, we found an unusual feature possessed by many houses – the manatee mailbox.  We liked them; they reminded us of Mandy, our uniquely individualistic happy-go-lucky basset hound husky mix.  I’ll show you a picture of both, so you can decide whether or not there is a resemblance.

A Manatee Mailbox

 

mandy

  • Bugs, Scooters and Tiki Lights

Other events build on prior experiences.  When we went on our honeymoon to Cancun almost 24 years ago, we learned for the first time that VW Bugs, when they die, are sent to Mexico.  This discovery has been confirmed the other two or three times we have stopped by Mexico on a cruise.

On our trip down the Keys, we spent one night at Key Largo, and had dinner there at the Fish House.  It was truly wonderful sea food, with a unique decor – the entire roof was decorated with what appeared to be RV tiki lights.  Accordingly, we have concluded that RV tiki lights go to the Fish House at Key Largo when they die, which is not a bad deal for them at all!  

However, it is our conclusion that scooters have the best deal, because when they die, they get sent to Key West!   If anyone knows what the scooters have done to deserve this, I would be interested in their thoughts.   

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Just stuff..., Travel

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Rules I Never Thought I’d Need

Posted on March 24, 2011 | 187 comments

When I pictured being a mom, I realized that it would be necessary to have rules of conduct for my child.  That being said, after over 6 years of being a mom, I have compiled a list of rules I never expected to need:

Do not cut the screen out of its frame in the window.  (The need for this one arose when she was 6.)

Do not put anything in your ear, including rocks, without consulting an adult first.  (Age 4.)

Do not put anything in your nose, including wooden sticks, without consulting an adult first.   (Age 4)

Which led to:  Do not put anything in any body part for any reason unless a parent says it is okay, with the exception of food or drink in your mouth.

Do not cook eggs on the stove without a parent’s presence and permission.   (About age 7:  this one is harder to justify because the one time that she did cook the eggs by herself, she did a good job and remembered to turn the stove off, which is more than I do sometimes!)

Do not try to pierce your ears with the end of a paper clip, even if it looks like an earring hole is there.  (Age 6 and 7).

The controls on the dashboard in the car,  including the radio, are MINE!  Please leave them alone.  (This has been a running battle ever since she was old enough to ride in the front without a car seat.)

Do not drag a dog into the bathtub with you.   (Age 6).

Do not dump the entire bottle of shampoo in the tub to use as bubble bath.  (Ages 6 through 8).

Do not dump the entire bottle of liquid soap from the sink in the tub to use as bubble bath.   (Ages 6 through 8).

Do not dump the entire bottle of conditioner in the tub for reasons I have yet to understand.   (Ages 6 through 8).

It’s not a good idea, either, to dump all of the bathroom dixie cups in the bathroom sink and then fill it up with water.  (Age 6, but she had help from a visiting 4 year old.)

Do not wash your hair with conditioner only.  (Age 8 through 9).

Soap is required for a bath to really be a bath.  (Age 5).

And, last but not least,

Paper is not a proper treat to give a dog.  (Age 9).  (Darwin and Mandy liked it  but at least Tyra was smart enough to say no.  I guess I should be grateful Kayla didn’t decide to hand out socks for all!)

Have a good day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in When things don't go as expected, working mom

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The End at the Beginning, Vegetarian (Not!) and The Beginning after the End

Posted on March 21, 2011 | 2 comments

  • The End at The Beginning

For those of you who didn’t know, or couldn’t guess from the pictures on Friday, Mark and I had the chance to go to Key West and stay for a few days during Kayla’s Spring Break, since Kayla wanted to spend Spring Break with my mom in Florida.  Key West is a long way from Alabama, so we finally got down there last Monday.  The very first thing we did once we got there was to drive to the end of U.S. 1.  This is a picture of the sign marking the end of U.S. 1.   It gave me quite an unreasonable sense of accomplishment to have driven to the end of U.S. 1, but doing so,  and traveling by car down the entire length of the Keys from Miami to Key West, are two things I have always wanted to do, and I finally got to do both on Monday!  Hence, the title:  at the end of U.S. 1, our vacation began!

  • Vegetarian (Not!)

As with any good trip, the journey to the destination had its moments, also.  The funniest came on the first leg of the trip, when we met my Mom and Kayla ( who were driving back to Mom’s house in a separate car) for lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Tifton.  Because St. Patrick’s Day was approaching, Mom decided to have corn beef and cabbage, which Cracker Barrel usually only sells during the first part of March.  Kayla finished eating before the other three of us, and was looking at what Mom was eating, so Mom, deducing that Kayla would not be interested in the corned beef or the cabbage, asked her if she would like to try some of the potatoes or carrots that came with the corned beef and cabbage.  Kayla looked at her and said emphatically, “I am NOT a vegetarian!”  Mark and I had to laugh!

  • The Beginning After The End

We reached home Saturday, and so yesterday we spent just kind of catching up on things.  While we were gone, pine pollen season arrived in Alabama.  Pine pollen season is extraordinary; a fine yellow-green dust covers everything that is standing still!  For example, here are two pictures of one of our cars from Sunday.  It is a black car, and had no pollen on it when we arrived at the house on Saturday.  After only one night of sitting outside, this is what it looked like:

Pollen Close-up

 

The plus side of pine pollen season is that it also means that the roses in front of our house have started blooming again.  For someone like me, who has a brown, not a green, thumb, (It’s the watering part that I fail at – as well as the weeding once the temperatures around here reach the mid to upper 90’s and stay there until at least September) the roses around the front of our house are a dream come true.  They are called Knock-out Roses:  they need no work (I know this because I have done nothing with them the entire time we have been in the house, except to have the  man who works on our yard for us to trim the bushes in the fall) and they bloom profusely all but about two months out of the year!

It was nice to have the roses greet us when we got home!

I have a lot more to say about Key West, and will spend several days saying it, but for now, it is time to get ready for work.  

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Out of the mouths of babes...., Travel

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Thunderstorm Frenzy and Vacation Mystery

Posted on March 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

  • Thunderstorm Frenzy

Kayla has always been terrified of thunderstorms.  About a year ago, I was reminded of how much. 

After I picked Kayla up from after-school care, she and I needed to stop at the grocery store.  As we went in, a cloud was coming up from the west, but I thought we could get in and out of the store before the storm reached us.  Unfortunately, I was wrong. 

Right after we had gone through the check-out line, the leading edge of the storm hit, complete with fierce wind and driving rain.  Kayla wanted to stay at the store until the storm blew over, and I flat out refused.  She clung to my hand in the store and said, “But Mama, I am so light and I don’t want to blow away!”  I told her to hold my hand, as I was pretty sure I wouldn’t blow away.  Clinging to my hand like it was a lifeline and she was lost at sea, we hurried across the parking lot, where I safely deposited her in the car, after which I put the groceries in the back, got in the driver’s seat, and headed us back home.

Unfortunately, we have several stop lights to go through before we reach the house, and one of them turned red.  I stopped.  Kayla started pleading from the front seat, “Mama, please keep going.  I don’t care if you go to jail, let’s just go through the light.”  (Item:  There were nine cars ahead of me!).  I said wryly, “Thanks.” and she replied, “I don’t care if we both go to jail, just keep on going!” 

Luckily for me, the light changed then so we could keep going forward.  I was trying to help her, so I told her to try closing her eyes and instead of listening to the thunder, listen to the rain hitting the roof.  She tried that for a minute, then opened her eyes back up again with a “What now?” look.  I said to her, “Now, pretend that the sound you are hearing is either fairies or pixies dancing on the roof.”  At that, she opened her eyes wide, looked at me, and, this child who had been losing her mind in the thunderstorm, stated matter of factly, “Mom, you’re embarrasing yourself.”  At least she stopped thinking about the storm for a minute!

  • Vacation Mystery

Mark and I recently had the opportunity to spend some time on vacation at an absolutely wonderful place!  I am waiting for some pictures we took with an old-fashioned disposable camera to get developed before I talk about it, but I will definitely have a lot to share next week.  See if you can guess where the place was by the following pictures (no fair guessing if you already know where we went!):

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nancy

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“Daddy, Daddy”, Yawns and Waffles

Posted on March 17, 2011 | 1 comment

Kayla, when she was three

It is amazing the types of memories that I can recall now because I managed to save the information from e-mails and other medium on the computer.  Here are a few I found while looking through my files the other day.

  • Daddy, Daddy

All of us who have children have had the experience of constantly being interrupted by our children while we are trying to talk.  Here is a conversation that happened one day when Kayla was 6.

Mark and I and Kayla were riding somewhere in the car, and Mark and I were talking.  The conversation went like this:  

Kayla:  Daddy!  Daddy!  

Daddy:  Hush Kayla, Mom and I are talking right now.  

Mom and Dad continue to talk.

Kayla:  Daddy!  Daddy!

Mom:    Hush, Sweetheart, we’re still talking.

Mom and Dad continue to try to talk.

(Repeat above sequence five times, then continue).

Kayla:  Daddy!  Daddy!

Daddy: What, Kayla?

Kayla:  I want to talk to Mama….

On a similar vein, Mark, Kayla and I were in a store last summer, and she had just said, “Mom, Mom” one too many times, so I spent the rest of the time in that store following her around saying, “Kayla, Kayla!”  Mark didn’t hear me, but the store clerk did.  She must have been a mother also, because she was doubled up with laughter by the time we left the store!

  •  Yawns

One morning, on the way to work, both Kayla and I were yawning frequently, so after I made a particularly big yawn, I said, “That was a big yawn; That was a humongous yawn; That was one of the biggest yawns I’ve ever seen.”  She looked at me (I could see her in the rearview mirror) and said, “Are you speaking English?” 

  • Waffles

One day, when Kayla was 3, we made waffles together Saturday morning for breakfast.  I mixed most of it, but a few things I measured out and let her pour in the bowl.  She particularly liked the red baking powder can and kept trying to send extra splashes of baking powder in the mix.  Fortunately, I intercepted, and so our waffles were normal size and not the size of skyscrapers in Manhattan!  They were quite tasty, also. 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Just stuff..., Out of the mouths of babes....

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Why did the Chicken Cross the Road? (The 5 year old version) and Wanting a Friend in the Tub

Posted on March 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

Continuing my trips this week down memory lane, I came across the following incidents memorialized in e-mails.  These incidents were really funny and just the kind of adventure that pops up for a working mom when she least expects it!

Kayla, age 5

  • Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

One day, driving home from work and school when Kayla was 5 (she rode with me for about an hour each way that year to go to a pre-school near where I worked), she and I had the following conversation:

Kayla:   Why did the chicken cross the road?

 Mom ( promptly):            To get to the other side.

Kayla:  No, to go play in the mud.  

Kayla:   Why did the pig cross the road?

Mom:    To go play in the mud?

Kayla:   No, because his mother was calling him.

Kayla:   Why did the turkey cross the road?

Mom:    I don’t know.

Kayla:   Yes, you do.

Mom:    To get to the other side?

Kayla (proud to have gotten another one over on Mom): No, to go play with his friends.

Kayla:   Why did the horse cross the road?

Mom (firmly):     I don’t know.  

Kayla:   To go eat. 

Mom:    That’s nice.

Kayla:   Why did the chicken cross the road?

Mom:    To go play in the mud.

Kayla:   No, to go get dressed……

And so it went! 

  • A Friend in the Bathtub

Woof, around age 13

About a month before that,  due to a mishap in the kitchen one evening, I had to mop the floor, so I popped Kayla into the bathtub to take her bath while I did it.  Kayla was just at the age where she could take a bath without me being in the bathroom with her, but I would leave the door open to be sure I could hear noise from the bathroom. 

I heard her calling Woof (our oldest dog then; our only other dog at that time was Tyra) over and over, but didn’t think anything about it until after a while Kayla called for me to come in – “Mom, you have to see this!”  (Never a good sign!).  Upon entering the bathroom, I discovered a tub containing one (very unhappy) 13 year old dog and one (ecstatic) five year old daughter, who explained to me that she wanted Woof in the tub with her because she “wanted a friend with her while she took her bath.”  I removed the dog from the tub, dried the dog, removed the child from the tub but did not dry her, cleaned the tub, re-ran the water, popped the child back in the tub (with strict instructions that the dog was NOT to be pulled back in again), cleaned up the copious amounts of water on the floor from the dog and child removal (hey, at least I had the mop out already, right:?), and went back into the den (making sure both dogs were with me – this wasn’t a problem, as Woof was walking very near to me, close to a nervous breakdown) and laughed silently until Mark got home and I could tell him.

Have a great day everyone!

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Posted in dogs, Out of the mouths of babes...., Pets, When things don't go as expected, working mom

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The First Small Bloom

Posted on March 15, 2011 | 6 comments

Today’s post is provided by my first guest blogger, my husband, Mark.  He wrote this about a year ago.  It is very touching and well worth reading!

The other weekend I took my daughter to visit my father’s grave. Dad died before Kayla was born, so she only knows him through my stories. She has often asked me where he was buried, but I’ve never taken her to see his grave. Instead I’ve always reminded her that he’s not there so why visit an empty house. But last Saturday we found ourselves in the area with some time on our hands, and I felt the time was right for us to visit.

I drove by the cemetery and stopped on the road about 100 yards from where my dad was laid to rest. It was on the top of a small hill under the shade of some pecan trees. Someone had hung wind chimes in one of the trees and there was just enough breeze to make music. Kayla asked me how I knew where to stop since all the tombstones looked alike. I explained to her that some things you just never forget. As we crossed the distance from the drive to the grave I noticed her leaping and criss crossing in every direction. “What are you doing”, I asked. She said “I’m trying not to step on someone else’s grave, but I’m not sure which way everyone is buried”. So, I gave a brief description of how to know where to walk and within a few minutes we knelt beside my dad’s grave. She noticed that my mom’s name was inscribed besides Dad’s and that really bothered her, until I told her the name was okay as long as the dates weren’t filled in. That took a little time to sink in, but she finally got it. She wanted to know why my mom’s name was written with a first initial, and I told her it was because Mom hated her real name and never used it. Very few people even know it. The notion that my mom had a secret name really seemed to blow her mind. She tried her best to get me to tell, but I refused. So, Mom if she ever finds out, she didn’t get it from me.

She asked several technical questions, as only kids can, about what a funeral was like and how you bury someone. I was patiently explaining the answers to her when she noticed a grave near Dad’s that had my friend’s last name on it. I told her that was where his dad was buried. She asked me how I knew, and I told her that I had been a pallbearer at his dad’s funeral just as he had been at mine, that it was one of many shared experiences that have bound our friendship over the years. She asked me if I missed Dad and I told her yes, but that I knew I would see him again one day and that when I do we will never have to be separated again. Sounding a bit alarmed she asked if that was going to happen any time soon. I reassured her that I was in no hurry. I was enjoying life with her and her mom way too much to leave just yet. She asked me if I thought my dad would have liked her and what will he say when she meets him in Heaven one day, and I told her that he will welcome her with open arms and lots of love. She liked that, and so wanting to end the visit on a happy note, we got ready to go.

Just as we were arriving back at the car, she noticed a small flower blooming at the edge of the cemetery by the woods. It was one of those precious early flowers that bloom just in time to remind us that spring really is on the way and things will be brighter soon. Suddenly she took off running to pick the flower and take it to Dad’s grave just as fast as her little legs would carry her. When she returned to my side, she said, “I wanted to make sure that Grandpa Bill knew I want to meet him someday”. Then she stopped, hugged my leg and with tears in her eyes said, “No, that’s not right.” “Dad, I did it because I love you and I know you miss him.”

I don’t know if my dad could see her that day, but I do know my Heavenly Father did. And I’m sure it touched His heart as much as it did mine.

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The Day Mandy Came Home

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

Before we had three dogs, we had two dogs:  Tyra, whom you already know about, and an older dog whose full name was J.P. Wooflesnort (which stood for “Just Plain Wooflesnort”).  Most of the time, though, we just called her Woof.  I called her my kitchen dog, because no matter what I was doing, whether it was cleaning the kitchen after everyone else had gone to the other room, or sewing or just reading in a room by myself, she always stayed with me. 

Woof ended up being the most flexible geriatric dog I have known.  Not only did she adjust to the death of our first dog, Shadow (who was a character in her own right), but she also adjusted to the adoption of Tyra, the adoption of Kayla, a move to a new home and the adoption of Mandy – all after the age of 9! 

Shortly before her birthday one year, Kayla started lobbying for a dog of her own – she said that Mark had Tyra as his dog, I had Woof as my dog, and so she wanted a dog that was hers.  In a fit of madness, I decided to help her in her lobbying efforts, and, because he loves us, ultimately Mark told us we could go to the Humane Society one Sunday to see if we could find a lab or golden retriever to adopt. 

Before he could change his mind, I loaded Kayla, Tyra and Woof into our Chevy Tahoe and headed off to the Humane Society.  I didn’t take time to change, so I was in my church dress and heels.  When we got there, I took Kayla with me, and left Tyra and Woof in the car.  We went in, filled out a form, then I told a very nice young man that I needed a dog that was child friendly, other dog friendly, and housebroken.  He brought Mandy out to us.

Kayla loved her immediately, and even though I did notice that she did not particularly resemble either a lab or a retriever, she seemed to have a good temperament, so I told the shelter I would like to take her for a walk with my dogs.  So, shortly thereafter, I took Mandy out on a leash from the shelter and walked her with Woof and then Tyra.  That went swimmingly, so Kayla and I finished filling out the paperwork and paid the adoption fee, then went to put Mandy in the truck.

Because she didn’t come with a collar, I purchased one for her from the shelter, put it on her and tried to walk her out to the truck (which I had running to keep the air conditioner on for the other two dogs.)  Because the collar was too big, as I lifted her up into the truck, she started to struggle, slipped out of her collar and ran away towards the back side of the shelter.  I started to fly after her as best I could, and was helped by the fact that she stopped to watch a couple playing with their new puppy.  They held her for me until I could get there, then I carried her back and tried to put her in the truck a second time.  I don’t suppose she had ever been in a car or truck before, because she immediately slipped out of her collar for the second time, tore around the building and stopped at the same couple, who were still helpful, but couldn’t help but be amused at the sight of me flying back around the building in heels and a dress for the second time chasing after my new, ungainly dog.  The third time, as always, proved the charm; that time I held on tight enough to make sure she got safely into the truck, slammed the door shut, rushed over to my side of the car, pushed her back onto the passenger’s side to prevent her running out the driver’s side, and we headed towards home. 

However, Kayla and I decided on the way that we had to get Mandy a collar that fit her, so we stopped at Pet Smart before we got back to the house to try to find the right size collar.  We knew we couldn’t walk her in there on a leash, because she would run away again, but she is a very heavy dog to carry, and we had had to park at the back of the parking lot, so I had the bright idea that we would wheel her into Pet Smart in a grocery cart, thinking that she would not be able to jump over the edge, given that she was so short.  Mandy quickly proved me wrong, teaching me the important lesson that body length can make up for short legs, and sailed out of the grocery cart, running pell mell for the door of Pet Smart across the parking lot, completely oblivious to all cars coming her way and giving me my third run for the day in a dress and heels.

I knew in an instant that rather than have obtained a special present for my little girl, I was about to scar her for life by having her see her dog hit by a car, but Mandy was born under a lucky star, and cruised safely to the door of the Pet Smart, where another kind person held her for me until I could get to her.  I ended up carrying a fifty-five pound dog through Pet Smart in search of a small enough collar with a little girl beside me eager to share the story of the afternoon with everyone we met.  I can promise you that the collar we picked out definitely fit! 

Once we finished that purchase, we hauled Mandy back to the car on a leash, where the other two dogs were patiently waiting, then returned to the house where Mark was waiting to see the labrador or golden retriever we were bringing home.  Instead, he saw this:

He looked at her carefully, looked at Kayla and me, and just asked, “Were they out of retrievers at the kennel?” 

Have a good day everyone!

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Posted in dogs, Pets, When things don't go as expected

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Wake-Up Call, Lunch Money and Funny Bone

Posted on March 11, 2011 | 2 comments

Hi Everyone!

The Best Alarm Clock in the World!

  • Wake-up Call

I confess that I hoped to be writing this much later than I am, since, as a working mom, I had a rare opportunity to sleep in on a weekday, but Mandy had other ideas.  Mark got up at his regular time, and then after about fifteen minutes, Mandy jumped up on the bed and stood there quietly behind me for about 30 seconds.  (It is even odds as to whether this was her own idea or whether Tyra was egging her on.)  When I didn’t pay any attention, then she took her nose, and touched it gently and sweetly to my ear.   I continued to ignore her, so after another pause, she deliberately stepped on my side with her front paws, took another step so that I was between her front and back paws, finished walking over me with her back paws and jumped off the bed and circled around to the other side.  I still continued to ignore her, so she repeated the walk-over.  However, this time instead of circling around to the other side of the bed, she escalated by turning back to where she could reach my face from the floor , waited another few seconds and when I still didn’t get up, she started licking my face furiously, at which time I really had no choice but to start laughing and get up.  If I had rolled over to ignore her yet again, her next step would have been to jump up on the bed and walk on my hair.  That hurts!

  • Lunch Money

Kayla was worried this morning – she might miss second breakfast.  Let me explain.  The school sends home each Thursday the amount of lunch money remaining in her account.  This Thursday, she did not have a balance, but we owed the school 10 cents.  If you owe the school or have a zero balance, you cannot have breakfast until money is posted back in your account.  Although I am sending a check with her today, it won’t be placed into her account until right before lunch, so breakfast at school will not be available.  She explained all this to Mark, who came out to check if I had lunch money to send with her.  As Mark said to me, “She told me she gets first breakfast (at home), second breakfast at school, lunch at school, snack at school, snack at Learning Lodge and she says you’re usually good for a snack right when the two of you get home, but she is worried she about missing second breakfast in case they have cheese grits!”  I gave her a dollar just in case the school was serving cheese grits and sent her away smiling.  Mark was buying her breakfast at McDonald’s, so she was getting extra food for first breakfast, too.  It reminds of the time when, a young and inexperienced couple with no children, we took our nephew, who was about Kayla’s age at the time, to the Kennedy Space Center, and he told his mother after the trip, “It was fun, but they only fed me three times a day!”

  • Funny Bone

I was walking by our kitchen desk area and hit my funny bone hard on the chair in the kitchen.  It was not, as anyone who has had this experience knows, funny at all.  It was one of those self-censoring moments – right when I hit, I started by saying “Gawww….” and remembered to shift streams to finish with “lly gee whilikers!” 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Out of the mouths of babes...., When things don't go as expected, working mom

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