How did my dogs become Hudinis?
Current mood: aggravated
Category: Pets and Animals
Hi,
I have two white mini schauzers, Zeus and Icarus. Now they are cute as can be--except for when they get out of the fenced-in back yard--or slip through someone's legs as they walk into the house.
Then they become "BAD DOGS!"
Icarus found the one gate had an opening large enough to fit his little 15 lb body through. Zeus, on the otherhand, was too fat, weighing in at 25 lbs.
But then Icarus discovered a secret that he shared with Zeus. If they squeezed between the skids leaning against the wood pile, they could get behind it and there's this wooden sort of fence the previous owners put up and they could slip right underneath it and away they could go! Just like the dog who lives next door and has nearly 3 acres to run, they, too, could go for a run.
Until Mom grabbed their leashes and took off after them, that is. It took me a while to catch the buggers, but I got them leashed and home. Today Dad and brother put wire fencing across the bottom of the wooden structure and they can no longer sneak out.
Of course that doesn't fix them running out the door when they get a chance. Then I get to chase them through neighbor's yards and introduce myself to those who say, "Is that your white dog running over there?"
Instead of new collars with their names and phone numbers on them and toys for Christmas, we should've invested in one of those electronic devices you put on their collars that shocks their butts when they try getting out of the yard. That would teach them!
So here they lay, sleeping beside me like innocent little lambs who would never do anything wrong.
At least Big Maggie stayed out of trouble. She's too big to crawl through small cracks.
dg
Friday, December 29, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
kids and dogs
Hi,
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas--if that's what you celebrate.
We had 21 here on Christmas Day--that included two babies--one 6 months old and the other was a mere week old. They were spoiled rotten, of course.
Our 6 month old couldn't resist grabbing the cookie out of her cousin's hand and sticking it into her mouth. She ended up with green icing all over her face!
After dinner, I passed out the presents to everyone. My youngest daughter used to do the Christmas pageant at her church. So I found this book about the worse Christmas Pageant ever. It's a kid's book, but it is really funny. Then I got her a jar that read "Ashes of mouthy teenagers."
My oldest daughter and I were on the phone a few months ago and I told her about this shoe sale. So I tried describing them to her and she said yes, get them for her for Christmas. I did. I asked her what she thought of them. Her reply, "Well, my sister said they were certainly grandmotherly shoes. But I'll wear them around the house."
Then my used to be youngest granddaughter--just dawned on me she no longer is the youngest--almost got forgotten. Why? In the middle of passing out presents I had to use the bathroom. So the little boys were handing me the presents to pass out and they said there were no more under the tree.
I rushed to the bathroom--well as rushed as you could be when you have to squeeze your way into the bedroom past three dogs trying to squeeze past you so they could escape--and when I came out granddaughter #3 said, "Gammy, I thought you forgot me. But my mom said of course you wouldn't forget me. I was coming to get you when I saw this bag under the tree with a book sticking out of it. I knew it had to be mine."
Thank God the child found her present. I felt really bad for missing it, so I'll blame it on those rotten little 7 and 8 year old boys! At least my granddaughters like to read books. I mean, Gammy IS a writer. The boys get books, too, and I'm sure they groan each time they get one. "Not another book!"
So while everyone was here, a tornado hit Deland, but not our side of town. Christmas tornadoes aren't all that common in Florida. Three trailer parks got really torn apart. What is it about trailers that attrack tornadoes?
The dogs got presents as well as the kids. Icarus, our 15 lb brat, took the other dogs toys and made a pile and sat on top of it! He's such a alpha male! And he's the smallest of them. He managed to get out of the fenced-in back yard again today. We have no clue how he's doing it.
I bought him a collar with his name and telephone number and he's chipped. Same with the other dogs.
On Christmas Eve when my brother and sis in law arrived, the two smaller dogs manages to run out the door and it's always fun chasing them. I told my bro to stay out there and I'd go back to the house and get their leashes. I mean, lard butt Zeus is too heavy to carry back. Meanwhile, they listen to strangers more than Mom and my bro was close enough to that that the dogs ran to him--once I was out of sight. He held onto them until I got out there to hook them up. I told them Santa wasn't bringing them anything, but he did!
So here it is two days after Christmas and I probably gained tons of weight. Tomorrow I'll head to the gym. I don't want to have my dogs referring to me as lard butt!
dg
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas--if that's what you celebrate.
We had 21 here on Christmas Day--that included two babies--one 6 months old and the other was a mere week old. They were spoiled rotten, of course.
Our 6 month old couldn't resist grabbing the cookie out of her cousin's hand and sticking it into her mouth. She ended up with green icing all over her face!
After dinner, I passed out the presents to everyone. My youngest daughter used to do the Christmas pageant at her church. So I found this book about the worse Christmas Pageant ever. It's a kid's book, but it is really funny. Then I got her a jar that read "Ashes of mouthy teenagers."
My oldest daughter and I were on the phone a few months ago and I told her about this shoe sale. So I tried describing them to her and she said yes, get them for her for Christmas. I did. I asked her what she thought of them. Her reply, "Well, my sister said they were certainly grandmotherly shoes. But I'll wear them around the house."
Then my used to be youngest granddaughter--just dawned on me she no longer is the youngest--almost got forgotten. Why? In the middle of passing out presents I had to use the bathroom. So the little boys were handing me the presents to pass out and they said there were no more under the tree.
I rushed to the bathroom--well as rushed as you could be when you have to squeeze your way into the bedroom past three dogs trying to squeeze past you so they could escape--and when I came out granddaughter #3 said, "Gammy, I thought you forgot me. But my mom said of course you wouldn't forget me. I was coming to get you when I saw this bag under the tree with a book sticking out of it. I knew it had to be mine."
Thank God the child found her present. I felt really bad for missing it, so I'll blame it on those rotten little 7 and 8 year old boys! At least my granddaughters like to read books. I mean, Gammy IS a writer. The boys get books, too, and I'm sure they groan each time they get one. "Not another book!"
So while everyone was here, a tornado hit Deland, but not our side of town. Christmas tornadoes aren't all that common in Florida. Three trailer parks got really torn apart. What is it about trailers that attrack tornadoes?
The dogs got presents as well as the kids. Icarus, our 15 lb brat, took the other dogs toys and made a pile and sat on top of it! He's such a alpha male! And he's the smallest of them. He managed to get out of the fenced-in back yard again today. We have no clue how he's doing it.
I bought him a collar with his name and telephone number and he's chipped. Same with the other dogs.
On Christmas Eve when my brother and sis in law arrived, the two smaller dogs manages to run out the door and it's always fun chasing them. I told my bro to stay out there and I'd go back to the house and get their leashes. I mean, lard butt Zeus is too heavy to carry back. Meanwhile, they listen to strangers more than Mom and my bro was close enough to that that the dogs ran to him--once I was out of sight. He held onto them until I got out there to hook them up. I told them Santa wasn't bringing them anything, but he did!
So here it is two days after Christmas and I probably gained tons of weight. Tomorrow I'll head to the gym. I don't want to have my dogs referring to me as lard butt!
dg
Friday, December 22, 2006
Christmas Gifts
Merry, Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone has a great time with family and friends.
I have to wonder--have you ever bought someone a present--but it wasn't what you thought you bought? Or did you ever give a child money only to learn you didn't put in the right amount?
Why do I ask? Because we sent our English cousins what looked like a nice small green plant. But they got a ficus tree instead!
Then when a child I gave a gift of money opened his card--I had only put in half of what I thought I did! He said he got $10 and I said, oh no, I gave you $20. He was right--I was wrong!
Once upon a time when I was much younger and could be called Mother Earth, I used to bake and bake and bake. But this year it's been condense to one or two cookies types and three different rolls, poppyseed, nut and cinnamin.
Speaking of rolls, have you ever had your dinner rolls turn out like hockey pucks? Mine did last night! We had company for dinner. My husband tried using his new smoker. The chickens didn't get completely cooked. Good thing we also had ribs! He cooked them on the grill. The potato salad and cauliflower turned out okay, but those hockey pucks! I threw them out.
My friend asked if my water I put into the yeast was too hot. I said it could've been. Guess what? That was it. I got up this morning and made another batch--wanted to make sure when I made them again on Christmas they were disasterous again--like bad yeast or flour. But no, it was just stupidity on my part!
Our family keeps growing--now we have 8 grandchildren! But what would Christmas be without little ones and Santa Clause?
Well, naturally there's the true meaning of Christmas and we don't forget that. I mean, I went to one grandson's Christmas pageant the other night. I swear, it was probably the worst pageant I've ever seen. It was held at a church and the songs were yukky--except for when they sang a few Christmas Carols. The script left a lot to be desired, too. And the singing--Lord help them. Surely out of 200 kids and those adults they could've found someone with a good voice?
Then the pastor declared that children are a gift from God. I don't dispute that. But he went on and on about the sinful parents blah, blah. He sounded like Jimmy Baker. I expected Tammy Faye to come strolling out any minute with her dangling earrings and tons of makeup.
Finally he finished. Then we were asked to dig deep into our pockets for money for the music department. My husband leaned over and said, "Oh they sure could use it!"
Truely, I've been to hundreds of pageants and you know, generally when kids are involved these things are cute. You sit and smile and think, aren't they adorable? Not this time! So you're probably thinking, so write one yourself or shut up.
Okay. I'm shutting up!
My oldest granddaughter took a fall on her bike the other day and is in pain. Here's hoping she'll feel better by Christmas Day.
So to each of you, again, I say have a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy family and friends. That's what life is all about.
dg
I hope everyone has a great time with family and friends.
I have to wonder--have you ever bought someone a present--but it wasn't what you thought you bought? Or did you ever give a child money only to learn you didn't put in the right amount?
Why do I ask? Because we sent our English cousins what looked like a nice small green plant. But they got a ficus tree instead!
Then when a child I gave a gift of money opened his card--I had only put in half of what I thought I did! He said he got $10 and I said, oh no, I gave you $20. He was right--I was wrong!
Once upon a time when I was much younger and could be called Mother Earth, I used to bake and bake and bake. But this year it's been condense to one or two cookies types and three different rolls, poppyseed, nut and cinnamin.
Speaking of rolls, have you ever had your dinner rolls turn out like hockey pucks? Mine did last night! We had company for dinner. My husband tried using his new smoker. The chickens didn't get completely cooked. Good thing we also had ribs! He cooked them on the grill. The potato salad and cauliflower turned out okay, but those hockey pucks! I threw them out.
My friend asked if my water I put into the yeast was too hot. I said it could've been. Guess what? That was it. I got up this morning and made another batch--wanted to make sure when I made them again on Christmas they were disasterous again--like bad yeast or flour. But no, it was just stupidity on my part!
Our family keeps growing--now we have 8 grandchildren! But what would Christmas be without little ones and Santa Clause?
Well, naturally there's the true meaning of Christmas and we don't forget that. I mean, I went to one grandson's Christmas pageant the other night. I swear, it was probably the worst pageant I've ever seen. It was held at a church and the songs were yukky--except for when they sang a few Christmas Carols. The script left a lot to be desired, too. And the singing--Lord help them. Surely out of 200 kids and those adults they could've found someone with a good voice?
Then the pastor declared that children are a gift from God. I don't dispute that. But he went on and on about the sinful parents blah, blah. He sounded like Jimmy Baker. I expected Tammy Faye to come strolling out any minute with her dangling earrings and tons of makeup.
Finally he finished. Then we were asked to dig deep into our pockets for money for the music department. My husband leaned over and said, "Oh they sure could use it!"
Truely, I've been to hundreds of pageants and you know, generally when kids are involved these things are cute. You sit and smile and think, aren't they adorable? Not this time! So you're probably thinking, so write one yourself or shut up.
Okay. I'm shutting up!
My oldest granddaughter took a fall on her bike the other day and is in pain. Here's hoping she'll feel better by Christmas Day.
So to each of you, again, I say have a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy family and friends. That's what life is all about.
dg
Sunday, December 17, 2006
My stories
My stories
Category: Writing and Poetry
Hello,
Tis' only a week away from Christmas. Do you have all your shopping done? Yeah, well, I think I do. But you know how that goes. "Oops. I think I forgot Aunt Miltilda and you know she always brings that fruit cake that we pretend we love and then throw it out the minute she leaves."
Or, Uncle Don--who thinks bringing a pint of whiskey is his contribution to dinner. Well, okay, it is "his" contribution. He drinks every drop of it!
I went to the store today to buy the January True Confession Magazine. I knew from one of my fellow confession writers that one of my stories was in this month's issue, but to my surprise, I have two stories in this month.
If you get a chance, pick up the January issue of True Confessions and read Bride Wanted: ASP and Penniless, Betrayed and Depressed. I can assure you, you won't be depressed after reading that story! I love Bobbi Jo. She has guts.
Tomorrow our new granddaughter will be delivered. I'll let you know how all goes. So you see, Autumn, the baby in the picture, will have a new Aunt. Yep, that's right.
dg
11:50 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
Category: Writing and Poetry
Hello,
Tis' only a week away from Christmas. Do you have all your shopping done? Yeah, well, I think I do. But you know how that goes. "Oops. I think I forgot Aunt Miltilda and you know she always brings that fruit cake that we pretend we love and then throw it out the minute she leaves."
Or, Uncle Don--who thinks bringing a pint of whiskey is his contribution to dinner. Well, okay, it is "his" contribution. He drinks every drop of it!
I went to the store today to buy the January True Confession Magazine. I knew from one of my fellow confession writers that one of my stories was in this month's issue, but to my surprise, I have two stories in this month.
If you get a chance, pick up the January issue of True Confessions and read Bride Wanted: ASP and Penniless, Betrayed and Depressed. I can assure you, you won't be depressed after reading that story! I love Bobbi Jo. She has guts.
Tomorrow our new granddaughter will be delivered. I'll let you know how all goes. So you see, Autumn, the baby in the picture, will have a new Aunt. Yep, that's right.
dg
11:50 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
Thursday, December 14, 2006
dogs and PJ's
dogs in PJ's
When you have a small dog, sometimes they get cold and shiver. Icarus, my 15 lb schaunzer did this a few weeks ago. He also got cold last winter. So last winter I bought him a doggie sweater.
Then I heard that they actually make doggie pajamas! Yes, true. Since the dog store is across the street from where my hubby gets his iron infusions, I decided to go check this out.
I managed to find Icarus and Zeus both PJ's. So I brought them home--Icarus's fit and Zeus' is too big. I'll exchange them next week when we're back in Ormond!
You might think that dogs wouldn't like wearing them, but not true. These two wait at the bed at night for me to put them on them! Well, Zeus is wearing a dog shirt for now until we can exchange his PJ's.
Maggie has a lot of hair since she's a shepherd and doesn't need to wear "sissy" clothes! She probably laughs at them.
We've needed rain here in Florida and boy are we getting it right now! It's pouring and dark out at 5 pm.
By the way, that cute baby in the picture is my granddaughter. She'll be an aunt very soon--on Monday. Life goes by fast, eh?
Gotta run, the grands are here.
dg
When you have a small dog, sometimes they get cold and shiver. Icarus, my 15 lb schaunzer did this a few weeks ago. He also got cold last winter. So last winter I bought him a doggie sweater.
Then I heard that they actually make doggie pajamas! Yes, true. Since the dog store is across the street from where my hubby gets his iron infusions, I decided to go check this out.
I managed to find Icarus and Zeus both PJ's. So I brought them home--Icarus's fit and Zeus' is too big. I'll exchange them next week when we're back in Ormond!
You might think that dogs wouldn't like wearing them, but not true. These two wait at the bed at night for me to put them on them! Well, Zeus is wearing a dog shirt for now until we can exchange his PJ's.
Maggie has a lot of hair since she's a shepherd and doesn't need to wear "sissy" clothes! She probably laughs at them.
We've needed rain here in Florida and boy are we getting it right now! It's pouring and dark out at 5 pm.
By the way, that cute baby in the picture is my granddaughter. She'll be an aunt very soon--on Monday. Life goes by fast, eh?
Gotta run, the grands are here.
dg
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Perfect Mother
Christmas with kids
Christmas is just around the corner and I must admit to having seen many of them. When I was a small child, we lived in an apartment in Canton, OH. The tradition then was to first decorate my grandmother's tree, then Aunt Mildred's and my dad did ours on Christmas Eve.
We had a sunroom in our apartment and my dad would get a large tree and put all his village pieces and animals around the tree. Christmas was always fun with lots of family around.
Fast forward to my getting married, my hubby in the Air Force and we lived in Indiana. I was pregnant with our third child and was determined to be the perfect mommy that particular Christmas Eve. Hubby had the afternoon shift and I decided to get the kids dressed and we'd go to Christmas Eve services at the church.
After rolling my three-year-old daughter's hair in those little pink foam curlers, I decided to take my bath--we didn't have showers back then in the house we rented. So there I was about 6 months pregnant and I told the two litle ones to play while I bathed. I left the bathroom door open so I could keep tabs on them.
My daughter came running into the bathroom, within five minutes of me being in there, her curlers bouncing, and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Chris has the fish on the floor."
We had a fish tank and after climbing out of the tub and throwing a robe on, I went into the living room to find several fish flopping on the floor. Seems my son had got the little net and went fishing! He was 4 years old at that time.
So after getting the fish back into the water, dressing, getting the kids fed and dressed, we headed off to church. My June Cleaver thoughts were to come home from church, read "Twas the night before Christmas," have cookies and milk and tuck my little angels into bed.
We got to church and I had let Chris take two little matchbook cars along. During the service, he managed to run the cars up the leg of the woman who sat beside him. My daughter continued to stick her tongue out at the people behind us in spite of my warnings that Santa surely wouldn't show up for the two of them if they didn't settle down. And of course, they wiggled and fussed and I was exhausted by the time we got home.
I got them ready for bed and told them to go to sleep or Santa wouldn't bring them toys in the morning.
Then when I was playing Mrs. Santa, I realized something--I FORGOT TO READ THEM THE STORY AND GIVE THEM COOKIES AND MILK! What a dreadful Mommy I was! I just wanted to get them into bed and have some peace and quite.
Of course I felt guilty all night long for not being the perfect mother. Then when hubby got home after midnight, he had to put together the rocking chairs his parents had sent from Ohio.
There seemed to be a problem--some of the pieces were missing. So he got on the phone with his parents to see if they knew where the pieces had gotten to. Of course they didn't and the chairs had to be returned.
Morning arrived a bit too early--like Chris and Michelle were up at 4 a.m., 4:30 am., 5, 5:30 and finally we said "forget sleeping in, let's get up!"
It was a great Christmas and one I'll aways remember. In spite of two kids being not as perfect as the kids in the movies or TV, in spite of the fact that we weren't exactly rich, or that I wasn't the perfect mother. We had family and friends and that's what Christmas is all about.
dg
Christmas is just around the corner and I must admit to having seen many of them. When I was a small child, we lived in an apartment in Canton, OH. The tradition then was to first decorate my grandmother's tree, then Aunt Mildred's and my dad did ours on Christmas Eve.
We had a sunroom in our apartment and my dad would get a large tree and put all his village pieces and animals around the tree. Christmas was always fun with lots of family around.
Fast forward to my getting married, my hubby in the Air Force and we lived in Indiana. I was pregnant with our third child and was determined to be the perfect mommy that particular Christmas Eve. Hubby had the afternoon shift and I decided to get the kids dressed and we'd go to Christmas Eve services at the church.
After rolling my three-year-old daughter's hair in those little pink foam curlers, I decided to take my bath--we didn't have showers back then in the house we rented. So there I was about 6 months pregnant and I told the two litle ones to play while I bathed. I left the bathroom door open so I could keep tabs on them.
My daughter came running into the bathroom, within five minutes of me being in there, her curlers bouncing, and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Chris has the fish on the floor."
We had a fish tank and after climbing out of the tub and throwing a robe on, I went into the living room to find several fish flopping on the floor. Seems my son had got the little net and went fishing! He was 4 years old at that time.
So after getting the fish back into the water, dressing, getting the kids fed and dressed, we headed off to church. My June Cleaver thoughts were to come home from church, read "Twas the night before Christmas," have cookies and milk and tuck my little angels into bed.
We got to church and I had let Chris take two little matchbook cars along. During the service, he managed to run the cars up the leg of the woman who sat beside him. My daughter continued to stick her tongue out at the people behind us in spite of my warnings that Santa surely wouldn't show up for the two of them if they didn't settle down. And of course, they wiggled and fussed and I was exhausted by the time we got home.
I got them ready for bed and told them to go to sleep or Santa wouldn't bring them toys in the morning.
Then when I was playing Mrs. Santa, I realized something--I FORGOT TO READ THEM THE STORY AND GIVE THEM COOKIES AND MILK! What a dreadful Mommy I was! I just wanted to get them into bed and have some peace and quite.
Of course I felt guilty all night long for not being the perfect mother. Then when hubby got home after midnight, he had to put together the rocking chairs his parents had sent from Ohio.
There seemed to be a problem--some of the pieces were missing. So he got on the phone with his parents to see if they knew where the pieces had gotten to. Of course they didn't and the chairs had to be returned.
Morning arrived a bit too early--like Chris and Michelle were up at 4 a.m., 4:30 am., 5, 5:30 and finally we said "forget sleeping in, let's get up!"
It was a great Christmas and one I'll aways remember. In spite of two kids being not as perfect as the kids in the movies or TV, in spite of the fact that we weren't exactly rich, or that I wasn't the perfect mother. We had family and friends and that's what Christmas is all about.
dg
The Perfect Mother
Christmas with kids
Christmas is just around the corner and I must admit to having seen many of them. When I was a small child, we lived in an apartment in Canton, OH. The tradition then was to first decorate my grandmother's tree, then Aunt Mildred's and my dad did ours on Christmas Eve.
We had a sunroom in our apartment and my dad would get a large tree and put all his village pieces and animals around the tree. Christmas was always fun with lots of family around.
Fast forward to my getting married, my hubby in the Air Force and we lived in Indiana. I was pregnant with our third child and was determined to be the perfect mommy that particular Christmas Eve. Hubby had the afternoon shift and I decided to get the kids dressed and we'd go to Christmas Eve services at the church.
After rolling my three-year-old daughter's hair in those little pink foam curlers, I decided to take my bath--we didn't have showers back then in the house we rented. So there I was about 6 months pregnant and I told the two litle ones to play while I bathed. I left the bathroom door open so I could keep tabs on them.
My daughter came running into the bathroom, within five minutes of me being in there, her curlers bouncing, and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Chris has the fish on the floor."
We had a fish tank and after climbing out of the tub and throwing a robe on, I went into the living room to find several fish flopping on the floor. Seems my son had got the little net and went fishing! He was 4 years old at that time.
So after getting the fish back into the water, dressing, getting the kids fed and dressed, we headed off to church. My June Cleaver thoughts were to come home from church, read "Twas the night before Christmas," have cookies and milk and tuck my little angels into bed.
We got to church and I had let Chris take two little matchbook cars along. During the service, he managed to run the cars up the leg of the woman who sat beside him. My daughter continued to stick her tongue out at the people behind us in spite of my warnings that Santa surely wouldn't show up for the two of them if they didn't settle down. And of course, they wiggled and fussed and I was exhausted by the time we got home.
I got them ready for bed and told them to go to sleep or Santa wouldn't bring them toys in the morning.
Then when I was playing Mrs. Santa, I realized something--I FORGOT TO READ THEM THE STORY AND GIVE THEM COOKIES AND MILK! What a dreadful Mommy I was! I just wanted to get them into bed and have some peace and quite.
Of course I felt guilty all night long for not being the perfect mother. Then when hubby got home after midnight, he had to put together the rocking chairs his parents had sent from Ohio.
There seemed to be a problem--some of the pieces were missing. So he got on the phone with his parents to see if they knew where the pieces had gotten to. Of course they didn't and the chairs had to be returned.
Morning arrived a bit too early--like Chris and Michelle were up at 4 a.m., 4:30 am., 5, 5:30 and finally we said "forget sleeping in, let's get up!"
It was a great Christmas and one I'll aways remember. In spite of two kids being not as perfect as the kids in the movies or TV, in spite of the fact that we weren't exactly rich, or that I wasn't the perfect mother. We had family and friends and that's what Christmas is all about.
dg
Christmas is just around the corner and I must admit to having seen many of them. When I was a small child, we lived in an apartment in Canton, OH. The tradition then was to first decorate my grandmother's tree, then Aunt Mildred's and my dad did ours on Christmas Eve.
We had a sunroom in our apartment and my dad would get a large tree and put all his village pieces and animals around the tree. Christmas was always fun with lots of family around.
Fast forward to my getting married, my hubby in the Air Force and we lived in Indiana. I was pregnant with our third child and was determined to be the perfect mommy that particular Christmas Eve. Hubby had the afternoon shift and I decided to get the kids dressed and we'd go to Christmas Eve services at the church.
After rolling my three-year-old daughter's hair in those little pink foam curlers, I decided to take my bath--we didn't have showers back then in the house we rented. So there I was about 6 months pregnant and I told the two litle ones to play while I bathed. I left the bathroom door open so I could keep tabs on them.
My daughter came running into the bathroom, within five minutes of me being in there, her curlers bouncing, and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Chris has the fish on the floor."
We had a fish tank and after climbing out of the tub and throwing a robe on, I went into the living room to find several fish flopping on the floor. Seems my son had got the little net and went fishing! He was 4 years old at that time.
So after getting the fish back into the water, dressing, getting the kids fed and dressed, we headed off to church. My June Cleaver thoughts were to come home from church, read "Twas the night before Christmas," have cookies and milk and tuck my little angels into bed.
We got to church and I had let Chris take two little matchbook cars along. During the service, he managed to run the cars up the leg of the woman who sat beside him. My daughter continued to stick her tongue out at the people behind us in spite of my warnings that Santa surely wouldn't show up for the two of them if they didn't settle down. And of course, they wiggled and fussed and I was exhausted by the time we got home.
I got them ready for bed and told them to go to sleep or Santa wouldn't bring them toys in the morning.
Then when I was playing Mrs. Santa, I realized something--I FORGOT TO READ THEM THE STORY AND GIVE THEM COOKIES AND MILK! What a dreadful Mommy I was! I just wanted to get them into bed and have some peace and quite.
Of course I felt guilty all night long for not being the perfect mother. Then when hubby got home after midnight, he had to put together the rocking chairs his parents had sent from Ohio.
There seemed to be a problem--some of the pieces were missing. So he got on the phone with his parents to see if they knew where the pieces had gotten to. Of course they didn't and the chairs had to be returned.
Morning arrived a bit too early--like Chris and Michelle were up at 4 a.m., 4:30 am., 5, 5:30 and finally we said "forget sleeping in, let's get up!"
It was a great Christmas and one I'll aways remember. In spite of two kids being not as perfect as the kids in the movies or TV, in spite of the fact that we weren't exactly rich, or that I wasn't the perfect mother. We had family and friends and that's what Christmas is all about.
dg
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
New Story/dogs
Category: Writing
Hi y'all,
I have a story out in the January True Confessions--Bride Wanted: ASP. If you get a chance, pick up a magazine or order it online.
An update on my dogs:Maggie is a rescue dog. She must've been beat a lot because even when we raise our voices, she slinks away like we're going to hit her.
Zeus could care less, unless you sneeze. Then he runs and hides. Icarus, Mr. Suck-up, loves to push the other dogs out of the way so he gets the attention and not them.
Did I mention that Icarus got out of our fenced-in back yard? We're pretty sure he jumped over the fence. He's 15 pounds and jumps like a cat. He got all excited when he saw the neighbor's dog out and the gates were closed and there were no holes for him to get out of. He jumps really high and also jumps down off the deck--6 feet off the ground.
Speaking of dogs, my oldest son called yesterday to ask if we could go to his place and find the two small dogs. It seems they, too, are escape artists. The dug out from under the fence when they went out in the morning and son couldn't find them. We were at the oncologist office where my hubby gets his iron infusions.
We went to his house in the wilderness and found his dogs locked in the neighbor's back porch. Seems Mr. Moore found them, put them in the fence three times and each time they got out. So he kept them on the back porch where we heard them bark when we called their names. Max is the son of Icarus, so we have no doubt he'll learn to jump fences next. Meanwhile, his mom has taught him to dig undernearth fences!
dg
Hi y'all,
I have a story out in the January True Confessions--Bride Wanted: ASP. If you get a chance, pick up a magazine or order it online.
An update on my dogs:Maggie is a rescue dog. She must've been beat a lot because even when we raise our voices, she slinks away like we're going to hit her.
Zeus could care less, unless you sneeze. Then he runs and hides. Icarus, Mr. Suck-up, loves to push the other dogs out of the way so he gets the attention and not them.
Did I mention that Icarus got out of our fenced-in back yard? We're pretty sure he jumped over the fence. He's 15 pounds and jumps like a cat. He got all excited when he saw the neighbor's dog out and the gates were closed and there were no holes for him to get out of. He jumps really high and also jumps down off the deck--6 feet off the ground.
Speaking of dogs, my oldest son called yesterday to ask if we could go to his place and find the two small dogs. It seems they, too, are escape artists. The dug out from under the fence when they went out in the morning and son couldn't find them. We were at the oncologist office where my hubby gets his iron infusions.
We went to his house in the wilderness and found his dogs locked in the neighbor's back porch. Seems Mr. Moore found them, put them in the fence three times and each time they got out. So he kept them on the back porch where we heard them bark when we called their names. Max is the son of Icarus, so we have no doubt he'll learn to jump fences next. Meanwhile, his mom has taught him to dig undernearth fences!
dg
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