Our dog's not so stupid after all!

This morning I came downstairs to see my husband standing at the front hall closet with a perplexed look on his face. He had just put food in the dog's bowl - we store the dog food and birdseed in that closet. I asked him what was wrong. He didn't say anything for a bit...just kept looking around. Then he finally spoke. "I think something just ran out of the closet." SOMETHING???? My heart stopped for a minute. Then he assured me that it might have just been a tumbleweed of dog hair that flew across the floor. He might have convinced me...except he set a mousetrap in the closet....to catch dog hair with a piece of cheese I guess. I caught a glimpse of the chipmunk outside, so I knew it wasn't him in our house! When I got out of the shower, the dog was whimpering and busily rooting around trying to sniff behind the love seat in the living room. All of sudden it made sense...the ending to the perfect mother's day (see May 14 blog) when the dog drove us all crazy in the night...she was not just being stupid after all! (It wasn't the only night she did that either). My son says he saw 'a mouse or rat' come down the stairs to the family room this afternoon. Sooooo somewhere in this room where I type, there huddles a rodent...perhaps watching our feet walk by....perhaps eyeing the nearby trap. Shudder. This all freaks me. They climb stairs. They eat your food. They chew electrical wires. And if there's one.....are there more? Oh, and speaking of more......I sat outside this evening to watch the mother rabbit feeding her 5 youngsters again. When finished, mom hopped across the lawn and the babies all jumped out to scamper behind her. Yowie! There were 7 of them!! No wonder the dog's been so whiny and hyper - scampering little rodents inside and out!

I know that experts suggest you get rid of birdseed around your property to help curb the mice problem. But I need the birdseed to feed the rabbits and squirrels because they eat less of your plants that way. Make sense? I just hope my daughter doesn't stop coming to visit us. I mean, she's gotten accustomed to living with centipedes that used to freak her out....and mice have far fewer legs!

Recovering from Mother's Day

I must say Mother's Days are getting better now that I'm older! Oh, I miss all the little homemade crafts and cards that were always a part of this day, and I'd give anything to go back and enjoy an hour or two of cuddling my babies. (My 18 year old son doesn't like cuddling anymore - I don't understand it!) But let's face it....mothers still end up doing stuff for their kids on mother's day and don't truly get a break from all of their duties. No offense to those who are still in the diaper stages or running your kids all over the planet....but I'm enjoying my kids being adults now! I think it's just because my body is running out of steam. I can actually truly enjoy a relaxing day on 'my' day. And that's what I did. The restaurant dinner was enjoyed Saturday night, and Sunday BBQ was cooked by my husband. I enjoyed my easy chair, my tea, my birds and chipmunk, my magazine, the beautiful weather, my family, my kids' friends who dropped by, an NHL playoff game. Twas nice indeed. Until bedtime. The first mistake was staying up until almost 2 am talking with my daughter. (That's what you do with adult children.) I crawled into bed, trying not to wake my husband.

The dog, who always sleeps on the bed with us (we can't change this habit of hers.....we've tried!!), stayed downstairs and just when I was nodding off, she began to bark. (This is a dog who only barks at other animals - if there were a thief lurking outside she would not bark!). I went downstairs and settled her down...rationalizing with her that there was nothing out there. Of course when I went back to bed, she started up again. She would not relent. Finally my husband in frustration, picked up the dog (no easy feat), put her on our bed and shut the door. He went back to sleep. The dog settled for maybe 10 minutes, then started whining and crying, and wanting off the bed. I settled her down. She started again. This went on for the next half hour. I was so exhausted and angry at her because this is so unlike her. Finally I took her downstairs and closed the curtains on the window- they normally remain open. She was finally quiet since she couldn't see anything out the windows. So I ask you. Do I not still have a baby in the house? In fairness to the dog, my husband has recently spotted a visiting skunk near our pond....can't blame the dog for barking at such a strange kitty. Thankfully, Mondays are my day off so I could sleep in a little today. I threw in a load of laundry before driving my daughter back to her home and found something in my son's shirt pocket that reminded me of mothering when he was little. Here's a picture of what I found.

If you're not sure what it is....it's a clam. Yes. A clam. He works at a seafood restaurant and had a very interesting smelling clam in his pocket. I am so grateful I found it before throwing it in the washing machine. Not too long ago I washed my son's wallet and all of its contents survived... but I don't know what kind of mess would have ensued from a clam!

All stages of mothering have moments when memories are made. Enjoy every one of them Moms!

"Before becoming a mother I had a hundred theories on how to bring up children. Now I have seven children and only one theory: love them, especially when they least deserve to be loved."- Kate Samperi

"Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own."-Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

Winterlude

We wanted snow at Christmas to make the lights sparkle. We hung up the outside lights in November wearing our T-shirts, but alas Christmas was green. I guess we knew we'd make up for it later.

I must admit I have rather enjoyed the last few very pretty snowfalls. I hadn't realized I missed it until it brightened up the landscape. Well, it's here.... but today we're 'enjoying' our second ice storm of the season. Sleet and rain on top of snow makes for interesting driving. Give me a few weeks and I'll be longing for the snow to melt and the spring flowers to emerge. But for now, I'll enjoy watching the family member who enjoys snow the most....

Dog of Destiny...

Hard to believe this beast doing 'snow angels' is arthritic.

Snow brings out the puppy in her.

"Ahhhh. I love this cold stuff!"

Dontcha just want to join her? Looks like fun..........word of warning before rolling ....make sure the snow is white, not yellow.