ages and stages

Short post ahead because I really should already be in bed asleep.

My 3-year old rolled her eyes at me tonight. ROLLED HER EYES. Suddenly, she was 15. And I was taken aback. I'm not afraid to admit it. I told her no and she rolled her eyes. Perfectly, as if she'd been doing it all along. It was the first time I had seen it and it was executed so perfectly. I said (in my best mom voice), "Sometimes no just means no." Her reply? "And sometimes, mommy, no really means yes!" Oh my.

So here is my question: I hear that age 4 is actually much more peaceful than 3, is this true? Or just a myth? I must know. I keep holding on to the hope that 4 is actually that age when things "settle down". I'm kidding myself, aren't I?

Pee Pee Outside

Additional note: I have made a vet appointment for this Friday. I am crossing my fingers that an antibiotic will be the fix we are looking for. Until then, poor Mollie spends her days in the dog crate and her nights shut in our room. No more wandering around to give us her non-verbal cues that something is wrong. We've got it Mollie, no need for any more pee signals!

Oh, and thanks to all for the comments. I needed a little boost - I've been crawling around on my hands and knees, like I am the puppy dog, trying to sniff for any more pee. I don't deal well with that smell. Then again, who would?

Sadly, meet my new best friend. The Bissell Spotlifter.

I have a dog. She's a pretty cute dog. We call her Mollie. We got her before we had kids. We called her our training wheels. When friends found out I was rocking our tiny puppy at night, trying to soothe her fears of sleeping in the crate, they said I needed to have a baby. But I had Mollie. Mollie came to be a great friend. She eventually came to sleep in our bed, we took her to the dog run, we bought her special treats and chews. She has really been a great dog. Suddenly we had to plan if we wanted to go out of town. We had someone else to feed, water, take to the vet. She's been a good dog. When we did have kids, she responded just as we had hoped. No aggression. Maybe a little jealous and pouty, but never aggressive. When we moved here about a year and a half ago, we decided to try to let her stay out during the day. Never had a problem, it was great. Have I mentioned that she's been a good dog? Until now.

Mollie has decided to start peeing all over the house. She only does it in rooms where we have area rugs (on our off-white plush carpet that shows every little spot) so we don't ever notice it right away. Now we're noticing it. We have a mess. And we keep finding more. I am at my wit's end. She is about 1 accident away from the pound (okay, not really, but I am mad).

We've pulled up all the area rugs and I'm cleaning any residual smells or spots. It's gross. Alpha Dogma recently wrote this great post about her dog. Her great dog. I thought, "Gee, she's got a great dog. I've got a great dog too." Now this.

Yuck.

Mollie, dear, I hope you get over this soon. I really haven't the time or patience to continue following you around begging you to pee pee outside. I just don't. I'd appreciate it much. Thanks.

Never land

"You can read your book for a few more minutes, then you need to go to sleep."

To clarify, that is my daughter asleep under her new fairy book. Did I think she'd really go to sleep after reading her book for a few minutes? No. She did. It is a beautiful book that folds out to reveal each fairy's special room in the tree in pixie hollow. She loves it and apparently decided to fall asleep there.

It reminds me so much of my own childhood. I spent most of it in far-off dream worlds. I would get images from books and movies and then transport myself there. I saw Dirty Dancing in 4th grade and spent that whole summer pretending I was off at a summer lodge with my family, learning to dance with a cute Patrick Swayze-esque guy. At the time, I did not see the creepy, statutory rape theme that I now do as a mother, I was just taken away to that beautiful place. It was the same with the movie Grease and The Little Mermaid. I always got to play the main character and the prince always wanted me for his own.

I hope my little girl enjoys this imaginary play as much as I did as a child. And I hope I do nothing to squelch it.

Happy Monday

Today is so gorgeous. The sun is shining, people are wandering outdoors. Wondering what is this? Warm weather? Oh, I think I remember what to do with this!

We are firing up the grill. We're eating things we shouldn't and some that we should. Brauts with mustard, pasta salad, fruit - delicious summer food.

At the dinner table:

"Mommy, where do hot dogs come from?"

Well..."meat."

"But where does meat come from?"

Oh..."the store".

Hmmm..."BUT MOMMY, do you know where the meat in the stores come from?"

Ugh..."what Brenna?"

"I think deers." That sounds reasonable. Correct the incorrect plural form, consider the rest just fine.

Then the hubby chimes in. "But also cows, and pigs."

"Ewww, pigs eat trash!" What?

Oh, the highly intelligent conversations we have at the dinner table. Oh my.

5 reasons...

Thanks to mimi for the meme tag. I've never been tagged before (get it out of the gutter!) and the timing on this was quite good. I was feeling a little left out of the blog club. I'm not one to use appropriate SAT level vocabulary or correct punctuation and grammar. I am the first to admit that my blog is very colloquial. Life has left me stressed out and sad lately. I have been sort of out of words. I really appreciate being given a topic to write.

Five reasons why I blog:

1) Well, I can't really speak about starting a blog without mentioning Catherine Newman, who happens to write the first blog I ever read. She kept a journal at babycenter for several years. When I first got pregnant with my little girl in November of '02, I signed up for their weekly email. That's how I started reading Catherine's Bringing Up Ben & Birdy, which is great! When she stopped doing that in December, I googled her name (in a very cyber-stalker way) to see if she'd gotten herself a new gig. That's when I found her blog and her Dalai Mama journal at Wondertime. After reading her new blog here, I realized I wanted to play. There was a tempting link that said create a blog, so I did. That's the reason I started, but definitely not why I continue...

2) I like to write. I've always like to write. I find it therapeutic and cathartic. I've kept a journal since I was 8 years old (which I referenced in my first blog post) and have continued to do so since. Wow, I just realized that I've been journaling for over 20 years. I still have all of the diaries, they are very funny to read. I'm still planning to post an entry (an idea from another blogger), just haven't found the right one yet. I get really sad when I read some months from my early teens, and late teens to be honest. And early twenties. Boys, boys, boys. Men, men, men. Angst, angst, angst. Ugh. So predictable. But I digress...

3) I really enjoy networking with so many wonderful people from all over the place. Especially other mommies. I wouldn't have met any Canadians if it weren't for blogging. (What is it with Canadians and blogging anyway? A topic for another day, I guess). There are great discussions on topics I would never even consider if it weren't for the very intelligent bloggers in the world making me think deep thoughts, which brings me to my 4th reason...

4) I finished grad school in August '06. I had gotten very used to researching, discussing, and writing. I like exercising my mind. I teach high school special education, which is challenging job, but it doesn't do enough to ignite creativity. I guess I'm trying to avoid the Alzheimer's...

5) The fifth reason is that I do think it's sort of a memory book for my family. It will be fun to look back in ten years and see where this all started. I even think my kids will think it's cool. I try not to write anything that would horrify them too much.

I know there are a lot of other reasons, but at least there's five.

I'm going to tag my friend Jacque, Michelle, and Catherine . I think Jacque and Michelle will see this, I'll have to go tell Catherine. She doesn't read my blog. I'll look forward to some reasons why you guys blog.

toddlin'

My little boy is officially entering the ranks of TODDLER. He has started to walk! Oh, the clapping and cheering that has been going on at our house for the past five days. He has also taken a tumble down each set of stairs in our home, as well as successfully crawling up each. He's unplugged almost every lamp within reach. His next goal is the toilet, which he has also successfully reached twice, only to be caught in the last second before reaching in for victory. And tonight, I plucked four pieces of dog food from his mouth. He is boldly going just where his brave sister went before him. She survived it too and I find that I am just as amused this time around with all of his antics as I was with hers. Each age makes me think that this is the very best time. It just keeps getting better.

And better.

* Another day I will write my thoughts on my little "unplugged" experiment. I will write all of my deep, deep thoughts on the electronic age we live in and why it is both a blessing and a curse. I will also write all of my jumbled and yet-to-be-organized thoughts on blogging and privacy. For now, I just don't have all the words.

I would rather just think of my little 10-month old and smile. It just keeps getting better.

Challenging myself

Three posts in one day?!?!?! Well...I've made a decision and feel that I must share.

I'm issuing myself a challenge. Tomorrow is another snow day, which means 4 day weekend. Such a nice gift. I've decided I'm shutting off the computer and unplugging the t.v. in our family room, starting tonight when I go to bed. The basement t.v. will still be available, if hubby needs his requisite t.v. watching fill. So - for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - no computer or TV for me or the kids. It's a challenge. Really. I'm addicted to both. I've checked my blog, others' blogs, and my email on and off all day. I am consciously deciding to check in with my family and household duties and leaving the electronic addiction for a few days. Call it a detox. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, I've heard of some families doing it for a month. Heck, The Berenstain Bears (Brenna's favorite morning cartoon) even did it for a week. One New Year's resolution was to watch less television, so here I go. Trying to make good on at least one of those darned resolutions. I'll let you know how it goes. On Monday! I guess if anyone needs me - they'll have to use the telephone (perish the thought!).

Have a great weekend, we will - albeit a quiet one. Is is sick that I'm nervous and twitchy?