Sunday at the Depot, With Speedbumps

Most of today went well. Hubby and I took the kids out today for some family time, and we had a good time, all in all. A few roughspots, but mostly a good day.

First stop, Home Depot. There was definitely a party at the Depot today! I remember practically living there when we first moved into this house. They were having a huge sale on outdoor grills today - we were SO close to buying one, but alas, the guilt and our budget clearly led us into the "we really don't need a new one" mindset. Whew, that was close.

After picking up some filters (water and furnace), a little birdbath, some suet (bird food) and some bug spray, we were off to Toys R Us. The kids were THIS close to not getting toys. ONE toy each, Daddy said. Did you get toys often when you were a kid? I certainly didn't. And we try to not spoil these guys, but every so often, with good behavior as the reason for them, they get to go to the store to pick out 1 toy each. But as I said, they were testing us today, and we were close to rendering them toyless. They turned things around, and there was much rejoicing. YAY!

You know, it's kinda interesting to watch my hubby be the disciplinarian. He's real good at it, really. He has that booming voice, but most of the time, it's his quiet, stern attitude that gets them all weepy. What is REALLY interesting is that I heard Princess really get under his skin today. Now we've had recent discussions about how I tend to react to Princess with anger as of late, and he makes a solid point there, and I'm not proud of it. I'm working on it. But to see him get his hairs up when she constantly doesn't listen to him certainly makes me take notice and file it all away. He sometimes really experiences how difficult it is to stay calm with that little pill. I am NOT losing my mind! That girl REALLY has a talent!

But I digress. They got their toys, after they shaped up and flew right. We proceeded to lunch at the mall, and then some hang out time at the bookstore. I love bookstores. Today it was reading with the girls while Daddy took Pumpkin about. It was wonderful.

Then we came home. OMG. These kids were SO tired. And bouncing off the wall. And weepy for NO reason. Did I tell you that Sweetpea has a tendency lately to WHINE? OMG. Take the batteries out of that kid! Needless to say, it was an early bedtime for all.

I can almost hear quiet up there. (Princess is STILL playing up there. PLEASE fall into deep slumber, my little sassafrass! Wait, is that Sweetpea singing? I KNOW that Pumpkin is sleeping - he was half asleep playing with his new helicopter earlier.)

Ah, to be a kid again.

Happy Birthday Jack!

My puppy is 2 years old today. He's still very much a puppy - licking, shaking his tail into everything, and loves to follow me around EVERYwhere. I open the cellar door and he RUNS from wherever he is in the house to join me. You're going downstairs, mommy? Can I watch you doing laundry? OO, are you going out to the porch? Can I join you? How about me almost knocking you down the stairs at every chance?

He is trained - he actually went to puppy camp last summer, so he does listen well. In fact, he listens better than Maggie a lot of the time. Maggie is STUBBORN. Jack will come back with ONE call. We got both dogs as 7-week-old pups, and boy, have they GROWN!

And he is a LOVE. He likes to curl up on your lap and snuggle in. Someone should tell him that he is a DOG. Nah. I like him this way. I like him climbing in the dishwasher when I clean up. Sorta.

So Jack, my furry buddy - my hairy little friend, happy birthday! And thanks for crappying on the carpet the other day.


Bow, BOW!

Sweetpea helped me write this post, since, after all, Blue is her FAVORITE character EVER!

Unleash the HOUNDS!

Hubby had a wonderful idea today - why don't I bring the dogs to the dog park for a little run? There was some rain overnight last night, and they were calling for thunderstorms for the late afternoon and evening, but there was a nice window of nice (albeit humid) weather, perfect for a little pooch exercise. Hubby was working, kids were resting. I actually like taking the dogs out to the park alone - it's a relaxing time. Pups, want to go for a ride? Circle, circle, bark, squeak, WOOF!

When I got there today, there was 1 other car there, with the owners and the pooch playing in the field. Btw, this field has a fench on the side where the entrance is, with 2 gates along it. We used to live closer to this park, but we still manage to drive there when we can, to give the dogs a big field to run and play. And this park entertains all sorts. Young, old, nice dogs, mean dogs. There are rules. And there are nice people and biotches.

Today was the day of the bitch.

Let me explain. I parked RIGHT next to one of the gates, and because my dogs didn't have leashes, my plan was to open the gate door, open the van door and get them into the field asap. Now I am a responsible dog owner, and I have respect for other dogs and their owners. I saw the wench/bitch...ah..OLDER WOMAN with her 3 pups - a golden lab, a pug and a little brown YIPPY Dachshund - drive up. She had them on leashes, BUT I didn't see her bring her dogs into the field through the other gate until it was TOO LATE, I GUESS!

Mind you, I was trying to be quick with my dogs. Parked right next to the gate. I opened the door, then turned to open the van door. Mere seconds. And all of a sudden, I heard a voice resembling my mother's:

CLOSE THE GATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T LEAVE THE GATE OPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It rang so loud and so shrill that I think everyone in the 10 town area heard her. I was instantly a 10 year old girl getting in trouble for leaving the door open. "Do we live in a BARN?" My mother was the disciplinarian. The one who wore the pants. The bitch on wheels.

This woman instantly got my hairs up. I shut the gate quickly (as I saw her little yippyskankpup - and I use that term with the most love I can muster - coming towards my ankles, although it would've taken that dog a whole day to get to me, it was so small) and proceeded to get my dogs out of the van, put them on "heel" so they didn't run, because you know, I train my dogs to not run after STRANGERS, and got them into the field safely.

You know, I have no problem understanding that I should be sensitive to others at the dog park, and I have no issue with other people asking me to close the gate. In fact, I could understand an emergency tone to a person's voice, if they were nervous about their dog's safety. But to SCREAM at me? CLOSE THESE, BIOTCH!

Where the HELL were this bitch's MANNERS? Ever hear of the word PLEASE, lady?

I got my poop bags from the dispenser and led my dogs to the other SIDE of the field, where I didn't have to talk to that witch. We played fetch with tennis balls (I use something called a chuckit that makes the balls fly far) and kept to ourselves. And if she said one more WORD to me, I would've unleashed something like, "you know, I expect my preschool children to struggle with manners, but not a grown WOMAN!" I'll be damned if I was gonna take any more crap from this woman. She was probably over on the other side of the field telling all the old people who arrived after me that I was a thoughtful 41 year old who WAS GOING TO LET HER DOGS GET RUN OVER BY A TRUCK BECAUSE, after all, THE PARK WAS ON A ROAD TRAVELED BY 6 TRUCKS A MONTH! Heaven help us. And what would've happened if that little yippyskankpup bit me? I would've dropkicked that beast into next WEEK, I kid you NOT!

Ahem. But I digress.

After a nice 40 minutes of playing, the rain came down, and we all made our way back to our vehicles. And this woman. Ugh. As she drove away, I saw that she was sporting Florida license plates. Let's HOPE that she isn't here for the entire summer. Hopefully she was on her way HOME.