Love Hurts

We had a parakeet for a while when we lived in Ohio. I found it one day beak down in its empty water dish. We have a few theories. Perry either died of dehydration, as evidence strongly suggests, or possibly hypothermia, as our 1940s house had no insulation and was a bit drafty. A third and probable theory is that Perry died from a lack of love.

Our dog, Chanel, on the other hand is sure to die from too much love. We are constantly amazed at the abuse she takes, just to return for more. Hadley and Chloe adore her and have a few nick names for her including Nell, Chin-chin, and baby. They tote her around as if she were their offspring, pushing her into car seats, beds, child-size chairs, strollers and closets. Amazingly, she shows no resistance when they come for her. With one arm under her belly and the other under her neck, they whisk her away. A few weeks back we were all gathered together, but Nellie was not there... quite unusual as she is usually underfoot. Our calls to her elicited no response. Not so much as even a bark. Finally we thought to ask the little girls... and no surprise, they knew just where she was. They had shut her in an empty box.

If any of this were not bad enough, their favorite act of torture is dancing with Nellie. By picking up her front paws they have found she will stagger back and forth at their whim. They also discovered that by picking up her back legs she will play wheel barrel. And yes, I have had to stop them from finding out what happens when you pick both up at the same time. You would think the poor dog would run when she sees the two of them coming, but she doesn't. She knows from whence the good food falls, and plants herself under highchair at meal time.

Though the little girls make Nellie endure a lot, they do show they love that poor dog. They snuggle up on the couch under blankets with her and build her forts out of the cushions. I've witnessed Chloe sharing a drink via a straw out of Nellie's water dish, and Hadley one of Nellie's favorite bathroom spots in the backyard. Everyone has grown very attached. Thankfully hypothermia will not be an issue in Arizona... I have come upon a very dry water bowl though.

Fourteen and Counting

Happy anniversary babe! It seems we've packed a lot into the past fourteen years and I've loved nearly every minute. Here are a few of my favorite:

$400 rent in 450 square feet (it was a simple life)
Reunions after two weeks at AIT training (lots of lovn')
Sharing a car at the U (love notes left and car gone missing)
Living in D.C. suburb (oh, the places we went!)
Golf date on my 33rd birthday (9 holes in your world)
Three ultrasounds, four babies (need I say more)
Med-school graduation on the White House lawn (surreal)
Our first house (a 1940s fixer-upper that underwent four years of fixin-up)
Two days, two nights interviewing in Twin Falls (the end of the tunnel's a'comin')

Too many prayers answered.

We've come a long way baby! I love you!

Staying True

Despite receiving pressure from family and friends at school to root for the hometown Cardinals, Braden stayed true to his loyalty to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mr. Smith, his third grade teacher in Ohio, would be proud!

Mr. Smith is from Pittsburgh and a devoted Steelers fan. His mission was to convert over as many Cleveland Browns fans as possible. It was all innocently done through homework assignments and extra credit points. Braden found himself finding the sum of the Steelers' running yards from the previous game or the number of touchdowns from a point total. Tuesday mornings we would be looking up the score of the Steelers game on the internet for a few bonus points.

I'm not sure how many impressionable minds Mr. Smith wins over each year, but he had a lasting impression on one. I have to admit, I was secretly hoping for the Steelers to pull out a victory as well. I didn't want Braden to have to return to school Monday morning and face his classmates defeated.

Way to go Steelers!

New Carpet Conspiracy

Yesterday it was Chloe and the nail polish, today it was Hadley and the dog.

As we were loading everyone up in the car to leave for church, we noticed one little soul missing. Ryan went to track down the wayward one and found her exiting Braden's room, pulling the door shut behind her. Elated to return her to the fold, we threw her in the car and rushed out the door.

It wasn't until our return that we found what mischivious act our errant Hadley had carried out. As it turns out, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, she had taken pity on the kenneled dog and released her. Her nursery teachers would be proud of the compassion she showed in opening the cage and the responsibility she showed in shutting Braden's door. If it were not for the behavior of the sinful dog, she may have even found herself advanced to the high rank of Sunbeam. Unfortunately, Chanel was not happy even with her larger enclosure and had attempted to dig her way out.

You would think someone has begun a consipiracy for new carpet in this house. I promise I was not behind any of it!

No Gum Allowed

When I was growing up my mom had a rule about gum. It was simple, no gum allowed in the house. I don't know what event spurred the creation of the rule, though I do not doubt there was one. We are a bit more liberal with gum in our house, though we do have a rule: you can chew it, but when you spit, the gob of gum must go in the toilet or a tissue which then goes directly in the trash. It's a bit longer than my mom's rule, but it seems to have worked as we have had no gum incidents in our home.

Today was cleaning day. Cleaning day is a family affair with everyone busy with their assigned undertaking. The babies are good at scrubbing the insides of toilets, a task I am happy to pawn off, but otherwise not much help. Today while we were diligently scrubbing and sweeping, Chloe found Emmry's nail polish that was left out in the bathroom. It is a wonderful shade of bubble gum pink and looks divine on Emmry's fingers and toes. It does not look so divine painted all over a two-year-old or spilled on cream Berber carpet.

No, we have no rule banning gum in our house. What we do have is a ban on nail polish.

Aren't They Adorable!

Being in public with twins is a very unique experience. People are always stopping me to tell me how adorable they are, ask questions, or share with me a twin experience from their life. While at first enjoyable, I've now learned to block out the whispers and giggles and become as immune as possible to the attention.


So I gave very little thought to the women who were pointing and giggling at the babies at Christmas time as I searched through an entire display of every kind of character underwear the commercial industry has imagined up for a size 5 of anything. I really didn't care if I got princesses or Mickey Mouse, I just needed a size 5. It wasn't until I turned to Emmry to vent my frustration that I became aware of what the finger pointing was actually about. Perhaps yes, it was because they are twins and oh, aren't they adorable. But I think it had more to do with the fact that they were sitting on the floor, naked from the waist down with an opened pair of underwear beside them. Hadley had one leg in, and Chloe was trying to determine which pair was pink enough. One more leg in and a couple inches higher, I would have found myself the owner of a brand new pair of incorrect sized underwear.

If this weren't bad enough, I barely got the underwear packaged up and returned to the display when I found myself in the boy's underwear section with the same problem.

Oh yes, I agree, I think they're adorable. I just think they're much more adorable in their beds asleep!

Our New Addition

It seems we finally ran out of excuses. Yesterday we adopted a one-year-old dog named Chanel. The kids adore her and she has brought both harmony and disharmony to our home. She is a female Shih Poo, which is a shihtzu poodle mix. She came house trained with beds, blankets, toys, food, treats, and pages of instructions from a rescue home. Hundreds of applicants for Chanel were turned away, but for some reason we were not. I remarked to Ryan how the girls' snotty noses, unkempt hair, and mismatched clothes (they now like to dress themselves), must have really impressed the woman running the facility. But truly, she said it was the way the kids interacted with the dog. She could tell that they would really love her... and they do.