Betrayed by Our Dog

21 Mar

Ok – I know I need to get a grip and forgive and forget already but every time our dog Joey barks now I fill up with disappointment/disgust/disbelief – feelings that are just plain silly to feel for poor old Joe-Boy.

Some Guard Dog

I can’t help it though.  He barks at NOTHING but won’t bark at the criminal jerks who broke into his dad’s car?!?!  He barks at people who are supposed to be/allowed near our house but not at those who are not?  I mean come on!  Part of my frustration is due to the fact that his bark sounds so mean and is so loud – you can hear him several streets over from ours – but it did us zip when we needed it most.

You may think I’m overreacting – maybe I am – but maybe if you had a better idea of what I witness him bark at on any given day – maybe then you could at least somewhat understand why I feel the way I do.  Here’s just a few of the things that he feels the need to let out his heart-stopping, breath-taking bark at:

  • The UPS truck that comes three to four times a week
  • The mail lady every time he sees her white truck driving down our street
  • Nothing
  • The neighborhood dogs
  • Birds flying
  • Someone’s car brakes squeaking blocks away
  • Nothing
  • Andrew when he comes home from work
  • Us when we leave the house
  • The neighbors he sees everyday coming and going from their houses
  • A doorbell/dog/cat on television
  • Nothing

He doesn’t bark at:

  • Things/people he should!

Please don’t get me wrong – I love our dog so very much.  He is a big, soft, cuddly, lovable bear of a pup and he’s super good with the kids.  It really bothers me to feel this way and I know I will get over it soon – for now though I can’t help but curse about him under my breath every time he woofs when he doesn’t need to. Nia even screams at him to be quiet when he barks!  Sometimes I even think horrible things like – someone better be trying to get in the house.  Of course I don’t really mean it – besides he wouldn’t bark at them anyway!

Part of the Fam

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Crime Update

21 Mar

Apparently, the thieves decided they didn’t want Andrew’s computer keyboard.  Yesterday, I was looking out of Nia’s window and saw something odd in our neighbor’s yard. (It looked like a purse or something.)  I ran over to check it out and there was the keyboard!

Andrew insists it wasn’t there on Monday – that we would have seen it if it was because we were all outside near the area.  He thinks maybe they came back through Monday night and tossed stuff back or something because our neighbor across the street says he found one of the things he reported stolen in his front yard too.

Odd…

Oh well – it still doesn’t change the fact that it all happened – it’s just a weird twist I guess.
 

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I Feel So Violated

19 Mar

I just can’t even believe this. How long did we live in Savannah?  A city considered to be a “high-crime” area?  NOTHING ever happened to us there.  It happened to people we knew but never to us.  Now though – we live in a small town with hardly any crime where EVERYONE is super nice and friendly and our car gets broken into while its parked in our driveway.

Apparently it happened to a lot of our neighbors.  Ours happened right under our little girl’s bedroom window.  Our big ass dog didn’t even bark.  He barks at a bird farting but not at someone breaking into Andrew’s SUV.  The SUVs alarm didn’t even go off.  Those jerks got in and then tossed stuff everywhere – you know shopping around for what they wanted to take that didn’t belong to them.

They took a keyboard he had from work and two computer cables he had for his work laptop but nothing else.  They passed up the season 4 box set of “Seinfeld” (what you don’t like to laugh jerks?) and all of Andrew’s CD’s (don’t like his taste in music?)  his Oakley sunglasses (I hope the sun damages your eyes) his radar detector (what you don’t break the law to speed?) they even left some money he had in there (apparently money isn’t worth the effort).  I understand that they took what they did because it’s probably the best thing for them them to make money off of – but why not take the rest too?  I mean, you’re already in there and I’m sure you’ll get a few bucks from some of the other stuff – especially the actual money!  It’s not that I wanted them to take all of it – I’m just trying to better understand what they did.

I just feel so violated and pissed.  I can’t even imagine how people get through something bigger than this – like a stolen car or a burglarized house or rape or armed robbery.  I feel so powerless and I just want to get back at them.  I wish we could have caught them in the act – I’m not sure how it would of all went down but I’m sure it would have surprised them and I would love to know who did this.  Just to see their faces and ask them why.  Do they get kicks out of it? Do they desperately need the money?

I know I’m probably making something bigger of this than it needs to be but I can’t help it right now.  I’m still reacting to the fact that it happened and I’m just so angry because I never thought it could happen here.  (Which is my own naive fault.) It also makes me scared because if they did that what else will they do?  Try to get in the house next?  Hopefully then that big ass dog of ours will step up and show those sharp teeth of his.  I know I certainly will.
 

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Missing: My St. Paddy’s Spirit

18 Mar

Before living in Savannah, I never really thought twice about St. Patrick’s Day. I’m a quarter Irish so I would try to pay tribute – you know, in the truest sense of the heritage, by wearing something green, a shamrock or that said “Kiss Me, I’m Irish.” I never really celebrated or anything like that though.  Then, I moved to Savannah.

I only really “partied” (translated: squeezed on River Street twice with thousands of others and tried not to get peed on here and there) and I never got to see a parade in person.  I always had to work.  I even got in a car accident on the weekend of festivities one year because I was trying to watch out for any partier-drivers. Turns out, I was the threat just getting off work. Even though I missed the live parades, I still felt a little more Irish just being in that city on that day.  I really respected and enjoyed the tradition of it all and now that I’m not there to experience it (even if it was just through the tv) I feel like I’m missing something.

I have my decorations up and I love to see all the online pictures from Savannah showing the celebrations, but it’s making me a little Savannah-sick.  It seems I left the spirit of the day back where the fountains flow a festive green.

Photo Courtesy: Savannah St. Patrick's Day Facebook

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Our Little Reader

17 Mar

This is one of Nia’s favorite books.

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Momma Did It

16 Mar

Still a Cutie to Me

I don’t know why I continue to attempt to cut Nia’s bangs. I had been doing ok – the past few trims were successful – I had cut the bangs just enough so they were out of her eyes but not enough for anyone to say “Whoa!  Did Nia get her hands on the scissors?!?!”  This time though I’m sorry to say I failed but I still mostly blame the scissors…

The last time I massacred her hair this badly she was still going to day care and when people would ask her about it she would just say, “Momma did it.”

Well sweets, I did it again but please know, to me, it doesn’t matter what your hair looks like – you will always be the most adorable little thing I’ve ever seen.  Oh yeah – and I promise never to attempt to “trim” your bangs again.

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Addicted

13 Mar

Maybe it’s because I don’t get out of the house much.  Maybe it’s because I only hang out with children for the majority of my day.  Maybe it’s because I’m addicted.

More and more, I’ve been visiting the same blogs way too many times in one day.  I guess I’m hoping my usual bunch of bloggers will come through for me and post an update – but then I hit enter on my keyboard and see that same title or picture I’ve been looking at for days.  How totally selfish I am to feel this way!  I mean, like they have nothing better to do than keep me entertained every day!  I know I’m only feeling this way because, to me, this is my one big release during the day. When the kids are napping or eating lunch/snacks, I quickly escape to the computer just to see if there’s anything to make me laugh, cry, think…ANYTHING!

I’ve become so desperate in my wait for certain updates that I find myself venturing to other blogs.  They’re blogs that don’t satisfy me in the same way as my usuals – blogs that really only make me get mad at the writer because I just wasted my escape time instead of enjoying it.  Nonetheless, I feel this need to blog around.  See what happens to me when my usuals don’t deliver – I become a blog-ho of sorts – scraping around the internet for less worthy fill-ins just to get my fix.

In my attempt at recovery, I found this article about “blogoholics.”  Although I think for me it’s not so much that I need to write one but that I need to read one – I still think the article is pretty funny and very true. It may be hard and somewhat embarrassing for me to admit, but my name is NikkiVal and I’m addicted to blogging.

So, where are your updates?!?!?

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When Parents (Want to) Sleep In

12 Mar

This is what Andrew and I woke up to on Saturday morning:

Crib or Toy Box?

We all heard Nate wake up – Nia was just quicker than lazy old mom and dad who decided we didn’t need to really rush in to him since he wasn’t screaming his head off.  It turns out that that morning he probably wouldn’t scream his head off since Nia brought toy after toy to him, filling up his bed until mom and dad finally came in.  We just had to know what was causing all that giggling.

No Room for Nate

Thank heavens for big sisters.  Because of her, everyone woke up in a good mood.

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Our Own Linus

9 Mar

Special Blankey

It doesn’t matter what Nate is doing – whenever he sees his blanket he immediately puts his thumb in his mouth and reaches for it with his other hand. I can barely get it washed – in fact, this picture was taken right after he grabbed at a small part of it that was sticking out of the hamper.  He knocked the hamper over and kept pulling until he finally had it in his grasp.  All of that pulling must have worn him out because as soon as he had it he flopped over and plugged his mouth.

It’s so sweet how powerful and comforting a favorite thing, like a blanket or doll, can be and it seems it provides a feeling/memory that stays with you forever.  I know I still miss my blankey (it was lost during one of my many visits to the hospital when I was little) and Andrew’s sister (I hope you don’t hate me after this) still is lucky enough to have a piece of her childhood blanket.  Did you have something you cherished too?  What happened to it?

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I Will Not Cry

6 Mar

I am going to try to get through this without letting a tear slide down my face. I can’t promise they won’t fill up my eyes but I will try to hold them in there until I’ve at least published this.

I just want to brag about my friends.  I feel so very lucky to have such great buddies.  They brighten my days and spoil me with their love.  I know I may not always get to talk to them as often as I would like but when I do it’s so much fun and I always feel less-stressed after our conversations.  I’m so glad they don’t give up on me when I don’t call for awhile. I couldn’t imagine my life or my family’s life without you in it.

Lately, I’ve been feeling really bad about how things are now with a good college friend I had.  She was even in our wedding and was a great friend and it makes me sad to think that we just lost touch.  It’s really my fault.  She got married about two years ago and I completely forgot to send a present or even a card.  It happened around the time I found out baby number 2 was on the way and I just got caught up in myself and now I can’t forgive myself.  I didn’t get a Christmas card from her in 2005 but then one came this past Christmas and I just lost it.  Now, every day that goes by I want to call her and pour my heart out to her telling her what I jerk I am and asking for her forgiveness.

DARN IT!  A little tear got out!  It’s made it to my cheek and now is creeping down my neck!  SNEAKY TEAR!

Oh well, I do plan on calling her – I just don’t want to be a big, blubbering fool and her be on the other end of the phone thinking, “do I really want this psycho back in my life?”

All I can do now is thank my friends who allow this psycho to be in their lives now – I only hope I am as good a friend to you as you are to me.

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