I love this dog

The night that BJ proposed to me, we went to the Applebee's at the mall. While waiting for our table, we wandered the mall, and ended up at the pet store. BJ said, "I want a puppy!"

"You can have a puppy when I have a ring!" I replied. Little did I know that the ring was in his pocket.

That's how Maxine came into our lives.

They told us, at the shelter, that she was a German Shepherd/Lab mix, and that she'd weigh between 40 and 50 pounds. She topped out at 90 pounds. We think she's actually German Shepherd/Chow (black tongue)/Greyhound (that orangy color, the shape of her body) but who knows? All I know is that she is the best damn dog in the history of the universe. She makes Lassie look like a couch potato.

She speaks English, for one thing, which is convenient. I counted one time, and she knows over 75 words and phrases. Not that she always listens, but she knows them.

I once had an argument about guns with our friend John Paul. He carried a gun. I told him that Max was a better crime deterrent than his gun, because everyone knew that we had Max, but no one knew he had a gun. He laughed, and said, "Max? She's harmless. She wouldn't hurt a fly!" I said, "Oh yeah? Hit me." "What?" "Hit me." So he did.

It took me 20 minutes to calm her down. She was ready to take him apart.

Good dog.

She also protects the kids, particularly when she thinks that Daddy is playing too rough. She'll bark and growl and basically draw his attention to herself, giving the kids an opportunity to escape, maybe? Who knows? When we were at the farm on the fourth of July, she growled at Rocky, my brother in law's basset hound, when she thought he was being too rough with Mary Grace.

So, BJ is gone for a couple of days, at a conference, and we're home alone. Last night around 4 am, I heard a noise. I woke up suddenly and froze, terrified, the girls asleep on either side of me. Max growled, low in her throat. We waited. Silence.

Then I heard Max sigh, and go back to sleep. And I realized that if there had been anything to fear, Max would've let me know (in no uncertain terms - she has a wicked bark). And if someone ever was stupid enough to come in the house, she would take them apart if they threatened us.

I slept really well. Max had eggs and toast for breakfast.

Good dog, Max. Good dog.

Hey, Look!

I've been scouring the web, looking for interesting content to put over at the right hand side, there. Check them out! I love the new slide show, personally. It just cracks me up when the drunk guy from Walmart shows up on there. I also am "sharing" some of the other blogs I read, so if you scroll down, you will see a dynamic list of what I'm reading today, and it should stay pretty fresh, considering the sheer number of blogs that I read (it's sad, you don't want to know).

The "blogosphere" (HATE that term) is really a community. I'm hoping that you will find something new, interesting, or different (besides just what cute thing MG said today) through my blog. I know that some of my readers are less 'net savvy than others, so by promoting these things, I hope to help you find places you might otherwise have missed. To boldly go... Aw, skip it. BJ's not home, no sci-fi metaphors.

It is so past my bedtime.

East Meets (Old) West

Holy moly, have we been busy! I don't think we've stopped running for a week. You can see the effect it has had on Claire!






Here are the highlights -

Since BJ was working like a crazy person, we decided to head up to Grammaland on Thursday night. The girls were very good in the car. Mary Grace worked hard to entertain Biscuit the Cat. Every day she looks more like a kid, and less like a baby. Especially with the ponytail in her hair. Good grief. How is it possible that she's going to be two next month?

We spent the night at my mom's on Friday, and then on Saturday when she left for work, we went to the place where my friend Jenny boards her horses to meet Harley and Sam. Mary Grace was SO good! Perhaps it was because the big animals scared her, but she listened and followed directions like a champ. I was so proud of her. I actually surprised Jenny with my willingness to ride Harley. I hadn't been on a horse since she and I went to ride her old horse, Tess, in high school! Surprisingly, riding a horse is just like riding a bike, and after just a moment or two, it all came back to me.

Mary Grace warmed up considerably as we spent more time at the barn, but was still unimpressed with her first horse ride. I'm hoping that she'll be a little more willing next time. When we left, she did ask to go back, "just for a minute," so she may be a cowgirl yet. Although I'm not sure this is a hobby I want to encourage - after all, horses aren't cheap! I'm going to have to clip a lot of coupons to be able to afford tap lessons (damn you, Nosrus Tap!), and music lessons (because all kids should play an instrument, if nothing else so that they learn fractions), and a horse. I did save $50 at Walgreen's today (on stuff we really needed) and I got a hell of a deal on some baby clothes, so maybe... Oh, who am I kidding, I'm going to go broke buying $2 tickets for her to ride the train at the zoo over and over and over.

Anyway, after our horsey ride we went to Gramma Susan's to see Uncle Steve and meet my Aunt Ting Ting and their son David. David was born 30 minutes before Claire (although he was in China, so figuring that out required no small amount of math). He weighs 50% more than Claire. I don't know how Ting Ting carries him around all day. My back hurts badly enough from carrying Claire around!! We had a great visit with them, and with Alison and her mom (Alison will be coming back to us in the fall, when she returns to college and her job as Best Nanny Ever). Mary Grace had a great time playing with her and being afraid of Uncle Steve for no apparent reason.

We spent the night at Dad and Susan's so that we could visit with Dad, who had to work 2nd shift and didn't get home until way late. Then the next morning they went to the Big City to the West to visit Susan and Steve's cousin, and the girls and I came home (after a brief stopover to see Mom and Mimi before they went to work). We hung out with BJ for a bit, then he left for his conference today, so now it's just us girls again for a few days.

My good friend Karen had a baby - little Noname! He weighs just under 6 pounds, and is about a month early, so send your good thoughts and prayers toward them.

In other wonderful news, Claire laughed for the first time tonight. I'm hoping to get it on video soon. There is just nothing better than the sound of a baby's laugh.

My Child Prodigy

Did you miss us?

Expect a longer update sometime tomorrow afternoon after BJ leaves for his conference. For tonight, though, a brief anecdote...

I was putting MG to bed. After about 30 minutes of song-and-dance routines by both Daddy and Mommy, I was done. I said, "No more shenanigans, we are going to lay here and we are going to go to sleep now. No books, no nursing, no nothing. I will rub your back and hold you; you will go to sleep."

She screamed and cried a lot longer than I thought she could - she has had two late nights in a row, plus she had about a 20-25 minute nap today in the car and that was it - and here it was, about 9:30 at night, and she still has the energy to drive me insane.

"I wanna nurse for a minute! I wanna nurse for a minute!" she cried. And then, she sobbed,

"I wanna go live with Grandma!!!!"

I didn't think I'd hear that for another 12 years or so. Sigh.

I have the world's youngest teenager.

This week

Well, operation "get outta dodge" was a success, and neither Max nor MG had any firecracker induced trauma.

Here's a picture I took at the zoo on Tuesday, when we stopped for a root beer. It was the only moment when I didn't have my hands completely full. Thank God (and my Mom!!) for the double stroller. If I'm holding Claire, I can push MG and our junk. If I'm holding MG, I can push Claire and our junk. If I'm holding our junk, I can push both girls.

If God were a woman, mothers would not just grow beautiful hair and perfect fingernails during pregnancy - we would also grow 6 extra arms, like an octopus, and a pouch like a kangaroo. We would have the strength of a bear (so that carrying two heavy babies all through the zoo wouldn't make us feel like we'd been hit by a bus) and the speed of a cheetah (to stop them before they put something nasty that they found on the ground in their mouths).

Really, when you look at all the other animals, it's clear that there are some serious design flaws in humans. Big heads, for one thing. But I only say that because I've given birth. Twice. Without drugs.

Anyway... So that was Tuesday and we survived the zoo. Then yesterday we hid out at the farm, away from the noise. It was a nice, relaxing, lazy day. I even got some of my book read (Second Glance by Jodi Picoult - I'm working my way through all of her novels after My Sister's Keeper just blew me away).

Tomorrow we're headed to Grammaland to see Uncle Steve and his family, visiting from China. Their baby was born the same day as Claire, so it will be interesting to talk to Ting Ting, his wife (I think that's how that's spelled, I guess I'll find out!!). BJ's been working late these days, so I'm trying to keep everyone busy and distracted. We'll see how that goes.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Fourth!