Nip and Tuck

Witt's a great dog, but he had a problem. It was his ears. They were gi-normous! He looked like a bat actually. People were whispering "bat dog" around him and the other dogs in the neighborhood were teasing him with the usual - "Hey Dumbo"-" why don't you fly over there and catch that stick".
We made a decision. Witt had a surgery date already to remove any chance that he would ever make any new little Witt's and we talked to the vet about cosmetic surgery while he was knocked out. There was also a discussion of a botched tail when he was a baby that needed looked at. (Witt won't let me show that end of the problem.) So, under the knife he went.
And here are the before and after pictures.
Witt's happier now. Everything in his life isn't perfect - he still deals with being smaller than almost every dog he meets - but he feels good about himself. And we think he's adorable.

Just When Things Were Nice and Boring

We hadn't even gotten all the bath tub toys put away and there is still a trash can in the garage labeled "Diapers go in here only - please close the lid tight".

We got a call. 3 kids... ages 2, 3 and 4. I wanted to say "NO" but I'm always a sucker for the story.

So - we have 3 new faces around here.

And I'm changing diapers again and giving baths and I won't be working out in the morning any more and we've seen our last movie in the theater for awhile and my social life is shot and I can't finish or return a phone call (right Joanne?).

But they're so cute.

Dog Days

It's been hot.
And there's nothing better than laying by the pool.
I found Taylor and Witt, soaking up the rays.

Sick of Being Sick

Grace and I are spending a day and night in Washington D.C. but we won't be seeing the sights. Apparently Grace brought home a nasty germ from Kings Dominion and she has peritionitis again. That means 2 days in the hospital so they can run a stronger than life (germ life) antibiotic and then we'll get out. Grace isn't feeling very bad. Actually she's laying in bed watching the Disney Channel and eating Salt and Vinegar Chips. I've taken apart the phone and disconnected a few machines that didn't look important and hacked into an internet connection. (So don't bother calling the room - the phone is dead...but I'm online!) So if you get bored (I already am) call my cell phone or leave me a really long comment to read.

Put Your Hands Together Now

James and I and the kids just returned late last night from 3 days at Kings-Fest in Richmond, Virginia. This is 3 days of all day riding the rides at Kings Dominion Amusement Park and 3 nights of Christian rock concerts. So basically, you throw your brains around all day and destroy your hearing in the evening. It was great. We worshiped with Casting Crowns...danced with Toby Mack and rocked out with The Newsboys.
James and I have been taking our kids to Christian rock festivals for years. In the 80's at Creation we saw Mylon LeFevere, Amy Grant, Petra and Carmen. The 90's big name was D.C. Talk.
I don't jump as much as I did 20 years ago. I'd probably break something.
But I LOVE the music.

Latest in Swim Accesories

Every year at the pool there's a new "in thing". Last summer our friends the Nicholsons came over wearing masks instead of goggles for swimming. They left them behind (we have a pile of Nicholson left behinds) and the kids loved them. They fought over them. It was actually a problem, especially when we had to give them back. I had to explain that finders keepers didn't apply here.
So this year I went to Wal-Mart in February to purchase all the pool things for the summer and stocked up on masks. (If you wait till March the aisle switches over to Thanksgiving stuff)

The kids still love them. But....
Well....this is what they look like when they wear them. (The word "hideous" comes to mind)
And...to keep them from getting fogged up and to keep the water out you have to suction them to your face really hard. This has led to what I refer to as mask hickeys. Most fade in a few hours, but could be worse than pool hair.

Night Swim

Growing up in Maryland in the 60's was unremarkable. Our family had just the right amount of money....I didn't have everything and I didn't know what anything cost. We lived in a neighborhood of new split-level homes with 3 different models to choose from - the only nod to random was the color of the shutters and whether the house faced left or right.
Summers in the Maryland suburbs were hot and sticky. There was no central air conditioners and only a few houses had window units, but we did have an above ground pool in the backyard with a little deck running around it. And on hot nights, my Mom would use that pool and make it into a magic night.
We would come home late from church (we went twice on Sunday and Wednesday evening) and my Dad would go off to bed. My two sisters and I and my mom would slip off our dresses and slide quietly into the pool in our bra and underwear. The water was never crisper or cooler and the only lights were the stars and moon. We swam and floated and whispered to each other. I was a mermaid those nights.
When the last of the hot day was gone from our bodies, we climbed out and into our pajamas. My Mom would set up four cots on our screened back porch and we would drift to sleep - cool and tired.
We have a pool in our backyard now and the kids still love "a night swim." Everybody has to wear their bathing suit and the house is air conditioned (you actually freeze to death when you go in after a night swim) and we don't have a screened porch, but it's still their favorite thing. The kids should be in bed earlier and they have terrible pool hair in the morning but who can resist the magic of a night swim?

Beach Souvenier

One of my favorite things I brought back from our beach vacation is my granddaughter Taylor. She lives in Florida and we don't get to see her nearly enough. Her parents have kindly lent her to us for a few weeks, as she is old enough to be away from them now. She has two sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles in town and there has been no end to the fun. Taylor is sweet and made to spoil.
Every time I hear her call, "Grandma Kate", I feel like the luckiest person on earth.

It's a Dog eat Dog World

Witt our puppy is settling in from his week at the kennel. I would have taken him to the beach with us but he hasn't completely mastered the art of only peeing outside. He always acts surprised when I catch him, like "oh whoops, I thought this was the yard."

I don't know if I liked his whole kennel experience. Witt hasn't been around many other dogs in his short 5 month life. He's always been here, protected and loved and taught how to act. He was kind of homeschooled you might say. Then, he gets to the kennel and he's hanging out with a black lab, a German shepherd and even a guy poodle. And let me tell you, these dogs had been around. They had different values than we do. They saw someone they didn't know and just like that they were barking and saying crude things. Scary things even, like..."I'm gonna jump on you and hurt you." Witt had never heard violent and ugly things like that. He had been kind of innocent, but they taught him to lift his leg when peeing and paw at the ground like he's some tough guy. One of the dogs passed him their chew toy and Witt was afraid to say no to it. I mean come on...he's a min-pin and an eighth their size. Talk about peer pressure.

He was happy to see us when we came to pick him up. He jumped in my arms and in his excitement cut my face. He pretended the cut was from one of his claws, but I'm pretty sure he was still carrying a shank and dropped it quickly.

He's back to normal now, hopefully no worse from the exposure there. Next year, he'll be at the beach with us....