anybody want a sheepdog?

Last night I made the statement that I am putting her on craigslist. Because I am sick and tired of everyone saying things like, "Mom, your dog is into the garbage." "Your dog is SUCH a good listener" (ha) "Your dog needs a bath!" So they said they would stop saying those things. I DID give her a bath yesterday. It was ten after six, and dinner was all ready, Paul wasn't home from work yet, and Rosie needed a bath. She LOVES baths. I just mention the word, and she is in the tub. So I got her wet and soaped her all up with L'oreal for Kids, shampoo with conditioner. (it works better than doggy shampoo)....I use the orange cream stuff on her face and beard, she likes it, and if it gets into her eyes it won't hurt her. Sometimes I use Pert on her back and legs....anyway, the water turned off when she was all soaped up. No one in the house had any water running, so I just had to wait til it came back on again....and wait and wait...she just stood there like a good girl. The water finally came back on and I rinsed her and dried her off a bit and set her free, first yelling for someone to open the door. She runs through the kitchen, shaking and whipping water everywhere. When I was done with her bath, it was 6:35. Water, water, come back!

Anyway, she is clean and brushed, but she is such a DOG! She goes out and gets her legs and her beard all dirty, as soon as she has had a bath. She does smell better, but she just doesn't stay clean. She needs a good thourough brushing, too. What was I thinking, getting an Old English Sheepdog? Maintenance, and more maintenance. But the worse thing about her: she is a car chaser. She is a barker at the propane man, the mailman, the UPS man, the garbage guys. I had to go out there this morning and practically pick her up and carry her back into the house because I didn't wash her collar and put it back her after her bath last nigh, so I had no way to lead her back in when the garbage truck came. Or should I be realistic and say "drag"....

I need to teach her not to chase cars, in my spare time. I could go out there every single time and grab her and say no...which I should...or I could tie her up, which I do occasionally. But I hate to see a dog tied up.....but I would hate even more to see a dog hit by a car.

Right now, she is in the dog cage with Charlotte Claire. She is a good companion for the kids, except for when she gets too excited and knocks them over. Excitement is her middle name. When she sees me in the morning, she is whining, jumping in the air on her hind legs, and wagging her tail so hard her whole rear end goes back and forth. She doesn't jump ON me, just next to me. I have her sit down before I pet her.....but she acts like this all the time. So high strung and happy and affectionate. She is a good listener in the house, mostly, but when she is barking at the bus or the garbage guys, forget it. She cannot hear me call her. So it is a love/hate relationship. I am always trying to move the hair out of her eyes. It bothers me, but it only bothers her that I try to move it.

So.....if my life weren't full enough with all these kids, I have a dog. But I DO love her. I really really do. Even when she is all dirty. She is the kind of people-person dog that follows me around the house. She is lying on the floor next to my chair right now. If I go into the kitchen and start sweeping, she will be there. She is just always there.

Enough about the dog. Charlotte Claire are and Suzanne, who seems better today but was still sick last night, are coloring Christmas pictures. I told them all that when they get home today I will sit at the table with them and help them think of one thing they really want for Christmas. and help Jon with his letters and numbers. Then, I suggested, either a sock-matching party or a chore list....they chose socks! See, it is all in the way it is presented!

When I was growing up, I remember my mother telling me about the dreams she would have about finding another room in our house. Or moving into a nice huge house. Now I have those dreams. Sometimes I dream I find a huge hall full of nice spotless spacious rooms, and I am like, "Oh my goodness, I forgot about these rooms!" Or that there is another room that I never knew about, and it is big and clean....or that I move to this huge house with a huge open living room/kitchen, with tons and tons of bedrooms. The other night, I found a huge mud-room in my dream, with shelves and hooks and drawers and closets....oh my goodness, when I realize these are only dreams I am always so disapointed.

Clearing out what we don't really need does help, but realistically...we need alot right now. We have winter boots and coats and hats and mittens....most of that stuff is washed and out again. Some of the sandals can be packed away, but the sneakers and shoes are still there, and the sweaters and sweatshirts and jackets....and the backpacks and the books and the musical instruments by the door, ugh. I still have a few hampers full of the bedding I washed the other day, I have to get to that. My "get to" list is so long, I don't even have one. Does that make sense? I will just get moving and do what I can, and take a break, and then more messes will be made, and I will never be fully caught up. But oh well, this is my life. And I am learning a few things along the way:

1. The only time anyone drops in to visit is when it is messy. (Brilliant deduction, Einstein, that is because it is alway messy!!!) No, seriously, no one ever drops in when I get it all cleaned up.

2. If you wash the children's bedding "just because", you are inviting them to puke in it soon after.

3. Socks have a very high divorce rate, kids don't care if they have affairs with other socks, but mom likes when they get back together with their original partner.

4. Drinks should never be brought into the living room, there is extra gravity in there.

5. If you love your child's outfit, certainly have them take it off before dinner.

6. Keep track of the hairbrush. It takes longer to look for it that it does to put it back on top of the dog cage were it belongs.

7. If possible, keep a nice comforter or bedspread or couch cover on the couch. It is easier to wash this than to see your furniture get old and grungy right before your eyes.

8. Do not ask your kids when they get home from their friends' houses how clean the houses were. It just hurts, doesn't help.

9. When you KNOW the plumber is coming, don't just sit on the computer, then try to tidy up everything when he pulls into the driveway.

Oh, we haven't booked our vacation yet. It is hard to concentrate when Hideki Matsui is hitting homers. We aren't huge Yankees fans, but the World Series is interesting to watch. We always mute the tv during commercials, and we found that watching this baseball together for the last few weeks has been fun. We have found a place we think is perfect for us, so we want to book it tonight, hopefully it still will be available. It is in the Dominican Republic, it is in the Royal Suites, with butler service, marble floors, jacuzzi tub, soft and cozy beds on the beach, very quiet and low-key, not much night-life, caters to the 40-50 year old crowd....good food, room service, beach butlers offering drinks and mini-pizzas....pinch me, okay? At the dinner table last night, I mentioned I wanted to figure out how much it would be to take all the kids just for the heck of it, and they started jumping up and down and I felt horrible. Jon says it is mean for us to go on a trip without him. Ouch. We should just keep buying those lottery tickets. Or rather START buying those lottery tickets....