The Dog and the Starfish

No this is not a cutesy little story. Hubby's dog makes me crazy! Here is the latest activity he has come up with designed to make me completely lose it.

Let me start by reminding anyone who does not know it that this dog is the bane of my existance. I have readily admitted to Hubby that if he had gone to sea at any time in the first 2 years of this dogs life he would have returned home to no dog. I have also readily admitted to opening the front door and letting the dog out with the sincere hope that he does not come back (but he always does) on several occasions while hubby has been out to sea. In fact the only time I can really say I like this dog is when he looks at me like I'm crazy with his ears perked up all cute and in the middle of the night when hubby is gone when he snuggles up behind my legs and keeps me warm. The real reason he is still around is because hubby is so crazy about him. Period.

Now that I am sitting here remembering all the things Ferris has done in his lifetime to piss me off the latest insult is really pretty minor, however the shear randomness is what is so frustrating. You see I have done my bathroom in a shell/beach motif and purchased at Michaels or some such place a dried out starfish shell (or husk or whatever you would call it) as a decorative item which sits atop the little shelf next to the sink. Twice in the last week I have found the starfish on my bed with chew marks on the tips. What would possess this dog to suddenly decide that he needs to do this? It is just beyond inconceivable.

As a puppy he chewed everything! EVERYTHING! We are talking rugs, walls (WALLS people! that is usually left to huge dogs like Rottweilers, or Pit Bulls, not Beagles), jackets, books, VHS tapes, pillows, and tables just to highlight a few. Basically it was anything in reach and we had to kennel him anytime we left the house for years. In the last 3 or 4 years he has mellowed though and now we can leave him alone in the house provided he cannot get to the garbage can or cat box (ewww!).

But now the starfish. I just don't get it.

Happy 6th Birthday Sydney & Savannah

Today is my girls 6th birthday! I have been a bundle of emotions all day and I am not even sure why. It's been one of those days where I can't quite catch my breath and it wasn't just because I had 10 million things that needed to be done and only time for about 7.

I've been thinking so much today about how fast time goes by. And I truly believe that for mothers of twins the time just goes by twice as fast. I mean I can remember back when they were babies and thinking "Jeez, are they ever going to walk?", but on the other hand I feel almost cheated because I feel like I never got to have those sentimental "mom" moments because there was just too much to do. You know the moments I mean, where you're supposed to gaze adoringly at your baby who is sleeping contentedly on your chest while you gently rock them in the nursery. Let me tell you, if I ever had a baby contentedly sleeping on my chest there was another one on the other side and that would mean I was sleeping too because I was EXHAUSTED! More often though it was more like me holding a baby in one arm and trying to get them to eat with the other hand, which left my foot free to be bouncing the other baby in the bouncy seat to keep them happy until it was their turn. And heaven help us if my foot got a cramp because then we'd all three be crying.

I know every mom says the time went so fast and maybe every mom feels like they never had time to truly enjoy those moments because they were too tired and too busy. It's hard to say if I just think it was harder or if it really was because I don't know any different so . . . c'est la vie.

So that is part of the emotional issues today. But why this birthday and not last year or the year before I have no idea. Maybe it is also a little guilt because I am starting to have my own life again. I can read a book! I don't feel like all I do anymore is make food and feed kids and clean up food all day! It's quite a change from the last 6 years of my life.

But in a good way.

Yet it still makes me a little melancholy because that time as past and can never be gotten back.

See, I'm just a big ball of conflicting emotions. I'm sad about the past being the past but I don't want it back. I guess that is just all part of being a mom.

Whose child is this?

The other night the girls and I were doing our regular late evening (7:00 pm) routine. This consists of me settling on the love seat with my laptop and them snacking on the couch watching Krypto the Superdog (their current favorite cartoon). Sydney said something to me which I did not hear and I asked her "What baby?" She said "That is the cool thing about being a girl", and I said "What is the cool thing about being a girl?" to which she replied "You know how to do all the cleaning."

!!!???? What ???!!!!!

There are so many things wrong with that statement that I hardly know where to begin. First, it sounds a tad male chauvinist to me, and since her daddy is away right now I can't imagine where she would be getting that from. Second, anyone who knows me knows that I am not much of a cleaner. I mean I'm not a pig, but I don't particularly like to clean and am certainly not one of those people that enjoys cleaning. Third, why is it so cool? That just boggles the mind. Last, if it is so cool, how come she never cleans?

Sweet Sisters

I have to admit that homework has been a bit of a trial for us. There are several reasons for this.


First of all Sydney has more homework than Savannah. Now I know that the reason for this is that Savannah does a lot more in the classroom since her teacher has a helper and they tend to get more done because of this. Sydney's teacher does not have a helper and thus discipline issues must be dealt with at the expense of learning at times because he has to do it all himself.


Second, Sydney is just naturally more easily distracted than Savannah which means it takes her longer to do anything anyway because she gets sidetracked. This is evident in our daily lives too, so it isn't just a homework issue. Just this morning while getting ready for school she went in her room at least 3 times to get panties and socks and came out with neither. In general Savannah can finish two worksheets in the time it takes Sydney to do one and I really don't think it is because Savannah is so much smarter, it is just a matter of concentration.


Third, I will admit to a certain level of frustration myself. I readily admit that I have no patience! Now my mother might argue, because she thinks I have the patience of a saint since having twins. She may think this because it has been a long time since she was dealing with a 5 year old, and certainly not two. Also, I think she has probably blocked out all memories of my brother growing up to protect her sanity and she had to have as much if not more patience then. Plus I think everyone has a certain level of tolerance for different things and I have discovered that while I can tolerate a lot of noise and don't freak out whenever someone gets hurt I have no tolerance for people who can't read!



Anyway, back to the homework issue. So lately I have to make Savannah go into the other room when she finishes her homework so that she doesn't distract Sydney, who is still only half way through. The big problem with this is that Savannah does not like to be by herself. Sydney would be perfectly content to play on her own (which she demonstrated just the other day when she came home early from school with a sore throat and played quietly by herself on the floor in the living room the entire afternoon while mom and I read our latest books). Savannah, not so much. But last night she went into the living room sat down at their little princess table with a piece of paper and a pencil and I didn't hear a peep out of her.



When I went in to check on her she had made the cutest thing. On one side of the paper she had drawn a stamp and made 3 lines of squiggles like an address. On the other side she had written "I love (a crooked little heart) my Sydney. I am happy (a little smiley face) but sad (a little sad face, and this was because she misses daddy she said). Love (the heart again) Savannah."

Where's Pappa?

"Where's Pappa?" the girls screamed from their seats in the van and promptly burst into tears.

See, Nana (aka my mom) had come to visit us a week ago and then flew down to Orlando to spend time with my dad, who was working, on their anniversary. Then they were both supposed to fly back here for a little less than a week to spend time with the girls. Since Nana had already been here they were really looking forward to seeing Pappa (aka my dad). So what happened you may ask?

Well, evidently the day before they were supposed to leave Orlando something happened at my dad's work and he decided to stay there and come a few days later. Well nobody bothered to inform me of this fact. Because if they had I could have at least warned the girls that he was coming later and maybe, just maybe they wouldn't have burst into tears when they realised he wasn't there and we could have avoided hurting my mom's feelings. Okay, in my mom's defense she had come down with a horrible cold the day before. Frankly I am seriously surprised that she made it off the plane, managed to pick up her luggage, and stumbled to the curb to meet us in her condition.

However, I still think this was a major thing to slip her mind.

Christmas Pics

Finally!

Cracked Nut

I have called my kids nuts since they were toddlers. Silly nuts, nut head, nutty, little nuts, etc. Today Savannah told me she was a cracked nut. Yes sweetheart, you certainly are.

Opera as defined by a 5 year old (and many others)

I have no idea why this was even a conversation, so don't ask.

Savannah: "Opera is where you sing very, very loud and hurt peoples ears"

Then she proceeds to give a demonstration of said ear hurting and it wasn't half bad.

Can't wait for school to start again

I am a terrible, terrible mother obviously because I cannot wait for school to start again. I do have to say that winter break has not been as bad as it could have been. I have just gotten so spoiled by having the girls in school all day that having them home can be extremely trying. My mom did end up coming to visit for about a week so that was something to break up the monotony and keep the girls entertained and with all the holiday hustle and bustle they did pretty well. But really, Monday cannot get here fast enough for me.