Training Fido

I debated taking Lola, our dog, to her last obedience class as I was feeling very tired today. I knew that she'd pass her test, but that I wouldn't be signing her up for the next class, so why bother going? But the thought of Joey seeing his dog in a graduation cap was enough to make me put my laziness aside and make it happen. He would absolutely love it.

We walked into Petsmart and Joey walked right over to the classroom.

"I gonna open da doow fo you guys, k mom?"

"Ok bud.."

I followed behind with Lola and watched as he walked right through the door, his hands on his hips as if he owned the place.

"Hi, I Joey. My doggy is Wowa. She gonna take her test."

He walked over and climbed up onto a stool and sat down. He glanced over to see the other dog in class sitting with his owner.

"Oh! Dats a nice doggy. I weally wike him."

"Thank you, his name is (we'll say)Fido" said the woman.

Class started and Lola passed the first 3 parts within the first minutes of class. She was not trying to, just got lucky while anxiously waiting for me to give her a treat. The dog across from us was not having as easy of a time.

"DOWN FIDO!" the woman firmly said.

The dog did not move.

"FIDO, LAY DOWN!

Her voice was rising and she was instantly frustrated. The old boxer sat comfortably to one side, his eyes barely opened. He was not interested in being there this evening.

"FIDO!!! dang it, you love to lay down. JUST LAY DOWN! FIDO!!!!"

The woman began to shout and pull at the dogs legs in an attempt to get him to slide forward onto his belly. Her face turned bright red as she pulled with all her might. Still, old Fido did not budge.

Joey looked over to me and cocked his head to the side and gave me his disapproving face.

"Dat doggy jut being naughty. He jut not waying down."

"You're right about that. He is being very stubborn tonight," the woman told Joey. Now, she is very flustered, bright red and breaking a sweat. She stands up over the dog and begins to place all of her weight onto the dogs back.

"FIDO, YOU LAY DOWN RIGHT NOW!!!"

Joey sits straight up watching the argument between owner and dog take place and has had enough. He begins to interrupt at the sight of her pushing onto the dog.

"Wait! Dats not how you do it!! You jut say, DOWN and go wike dis wit you fingers(he gives the hand signal for 'lay down' in classic, robotic form) and den he ways down. Wike dis! (he gives the hand signal again) and tew him DOWN and den he wiw jut do it wike Wowa!"

The woman looks up at Joey, her mouth drops open. She seems unsure of what to say or do, but is quickly distracted again by Fido. I look over to see the instructor with the same look on her face. Her head tilted to the side, jaw opened and eyes as big as ever just starring at Joey.

Yes. That is my son. Yes, he just corrected an adult. I am so so sorry. Please forgive him! And also, IF YOU WOULD JUST GIVE THE HAND SIGNAL AND CALMLY TELL FIDO TO LAY DOWN HE WILL PROBABLY DO IT. Of course, I said none of this as my jaw was also dropped open and I was unsure of whether I should be proud or completely humiliated.

Joey was quite irritated at this point, and very clearly unhappy with Fido's behavior. He looked at me again, this time with a shrug of his shoulders and his little chubby hands lifted palm up into the air,

"I don'know ma. He jut not gonna wisten. He jut a naughty, naughty doggy."

The instructor choked on a laugh and asked us to begin the rest of our test, which thankfully had to take place throughout the store.

When we got back to the training room, the instructor congratulated us on helping Lola pass her test. Joey smiled very proudly and patted Lola on the head. He excitedly tried to help place the graduation cap on Lola's furry head and waved her certificate of completion all around. When the graduation cap would no longer stay on Lola, Joey decided he'd just hold her certificate over her head instead.

"You jut my good doggy, Wowa... Mom, I wike habbing a doggy named, Wowa."

And yes, Fido eventually laid down and passed his test also :)

Its Just Spilled Milk

"mom. hey moooom. mommy."

"hmm"

"mommy. It morning time. You hapt to wake up."

"mmmOkay bud. mmmhold on one sec."

"EW! Mom. You bweat is NASTY! You hapt to bwush you teeth so I don't smell it."

(Thinking to myself, little boy, have you checked your own breathe before whispering loudly into my face at 6:15 straight out of bed this morning?)
"I know it is. I'll brush them for you, don't worry. Now speak kindly please."

"I am peaking kind, but you bweat is nasty so I'm tewwing you to bwush you teeth."

"Joey, go potty and I'll get you your breakfast, ok?"

"but mooooommy!!! I don't wanna go potty!! (as he marches in place quickly)"

"You need to go. We always go when we first wake up. Please go potty and I'll meet you in the kitchen."

(Stomping away fussing loudly)
"I jut don't wanna go potty and you jut hapt to bwush you nasty teet!!"


Well good morning. Mommy's not on vacation anymore! I walk out to the front room where the dog is barking loudly with legs crossed in her kennel. This is what I get for not setting my alarm, I think to myself. Mornings go much more smoothly when I'm awake and ready for my small, dependant humans to start their day. When I decide to try and sleep in, or just put myself first in general, my kids suffer for it because I'm just focused on myself.  I get frustrated and impatient when met with early morning sleepiness when I myself am still asleep. One of these days I'll fully realize that being a stay at home mom is my job. When I hit snooze on the alarm and I'm late for work, its going to cause the day to get off to a rocky start. On this day, it definitely did.

I got Joey his breakfast and it was waiting at his place on the dining room table. The whining from the bedroom moments before had traveled down the hall and into the kitchen. It then traveled from the kitchen into the dining room where it spilled soggy Rice Crispies onto the chair and floor beneath it. After breakfast it skipped over to the front room and finally quieted down.

I grabbed my coffee and sat down on the couch next to my boy. He was watching his favorite tv show and looked up to see me next to him.

"hey mom? I jut wanna cuddle wit you."

I put my arm out and he wiggled himself under my arm and tightly into my side. He melted right in like he was part of me again. He reached his tiny little hand over to hold mine.

"you can jut hode my hand, okay?"

I sat and held him close, enjoying this very rare moment that we were sharing together.

Later that afternoon, I watched as footage of the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon was shown repeatedly on the news. People's lives changed forever in a single moment. I kept hearing the numbers repeating, 3 dead, 140+ injured. It was later that I read the unbelievable news that one of the 3 people who lost their life was an 8 year old boy. His father had just completed the race, his mother suffered a brain injury and his younger sister lost her leg. My mind cannot begin to comprehend the chaos that  this one family has endured, let alone all of the people involved. Its horrific. Little Martin will never return home with his family, as well as the other 2 people who lost their lives.

As a parent, you can't help but watch these stories and think of your own children. My Joey. If I were to lose my boy today, what would our last moments together be? Would I be short with him and impatient? Frustrated over, literally, spilled milk? I know better, we all do. Life is short, its fragile. We all know this, but keeping that in mind at all times is a challenge to me. I get caught up in stinky breath, accidents, temper tantrums, and more. I get tired and want a break, I put myself first. I think, I want to sleep in, or take a long and quiet morning shower. But truthfully more than anything, I want my baby boys to know that Mommy loves them more than anything else in the world. I have to be better at showing that to each of them. Jumping out of bed and having a teeth brushing party, making clean up at breakfast a game, whatever it is. Each moment needs to be treated as if it were one of the very last that we'll share together.

                                                                 .        .       .

May God bring peace and comfort to the family of Martin Richard, and healing to his mother and sister. May He also bring peace and comfort to each and every person injured, and forever changed by Monday's events. I pray that I, we, will all learn, from watching so much heartache unfold in hundreds of lives at the Boston Marathon, to not take our loved ones for granted.

Da Supwise

Last Friday:

I left to go out of town to celebrate my moms birthday, leaving Kyle with the boys.
me: I'm gonna miss you guys!
Kyle: you'll have fun, and we're going to go birthday shopping for mom, right boys??

Saturday:

Kyle showed his mom the coffee maker that he bought me as a birthday surprise. Joey overheard them talking, and shouted from his bed,

Joey: you got mom a coffee makew??
Kyle: yes, but you can't tell her. Its a surprise for her birthday.
Joey: I gonna teww her.
Kyle: no, you're not. You have to keep it a secret until her birthday.
Joey: Nope! I gonna teww mom!!
Kyle: go to sleep.
Joey: I GONNA TEWW HER!!!

Between then and today, Kyle begged me not to ask Joey about my gift, hoping that he wouldn't bring it up himself and knowing that if I reminded him, he'd spill the beans.

I woke up this morning to the dog whining to go out. I stumbled out to the front room where it was dark and noticed a bright blue glow in the kitchen. My eyes were foggy and I couldn't see what it was. I let the dog out, flipped on the light and there it was!! MY KEURIG!! It had a bright red bow on it, and two cards sat in front of it reading, "mom" and "Kelly Anne." I ran back to the bedroom, jumped onto the bed, bounced over Joey who had climbed into my spot and landed on Kyle waking him up. I have been begging (truthfully, nagging) for a Keurig for months and months. I'm afraid this gift was more of a "get her to shut up" gift than anything, but I'll take it! Even my mom had plans of getting me one. (maybe I'll start nagging more? It seemed to work..)

I looked at Joey and asked,

Me: Joey! You got mommy a new coffee maker?!

He looked up from the iphone he was playing on, his little jaw dropped open, and stared at me with a panicked face.  Like, how could she know this? what do I say? uh.. uh..... He didn't miss a beat.

Joey: I can't teww you. Sowwy, it a supwise.
Me: no, its not anymore, daddy put my new coffee maker in the kitchen for me to find. I even saw the letter you wrote me yesterday!

He let out a very loud and relieved laugh, paired with a large smile from ear to ear.

Joey: Oh yes yes!! We went to da bet buy tore wit Auntie Kaywa and she wet me wook at da bideo games and daddy got you da coffee makew and he said, "no tewwing mommy" so I didn't teww you dats what you got! and now you can hab da coffee aw da times!

I am a bit nervous that our 3 year old is so good at keeping a secret. I have felt some relief over it since he's apologized all day for not telling me sooner. What a love he is. And my husband?? What a guy!!

Little Black Shirt

We walked hand in hand, laughing, flirting, and goofing off. We were very newly married and bursting with excitement for our future as husband and wife. Surrounded by bright red walls, we walked through each isle one at a time. Target has always been one of our favorite places to go on a date(clearly, we are the simple type). Kyle would find a random item on a shelf.. maybe a women's hat and throw it on, look at me with a smirk, and with a high pitched voice say, "seriously, like, omg. I seriously like, need this hat. omg my life isn't complete without it." I'd bust out laughing until I found something also. I'd ask Kyle, "babe, can we buy this? its perfect!! the most beautiful painting I've ever seen! we NEED it!" He'd look over to see me holding a wall mirror and smiling seductively into it.
 Believe it or not, we have always enjoyed these trips to target more than any fancy or pricey date we've ever been on. Mostly cause it doesn't matter where we are, the focus is each other. Not whats around us.. Unless of course, we are shopping at Target. haha On this particular trip, we were walking past the baby clothing department and there it was. It hung on a tiny, white hanger. A simple black t-shirt with guitar necks and microphones on it. My new husband was still in college, getting his Bachelors in Sound Engineering. He lived, ate, slept, breathed music. Everything we did related to a song or instrument. I grabbed the t-shirt and insisted that we buy it. He quickly gave me a panicked look, like he was thinking, please don't bring up kids, please don't bring up kids.. We may not have had any plans to start a family any time soon, but that didn't mean we couldn't grab this t shirt for the future. After all, it had actual microphones on it! our future baby would know how talented his or her daddy was at recording music. Kyle asked what we'll do with it if we have a girl? I explained that a little bit of pink ribbon and a button or two and it would be little girl friendly in a second. We bought the shirt, and I tucked it away in a drawer for a future child. 

Today I pulled the same shirt out of Owens drawer. I pulled it over his blonde curls and slipped his chubby arms through the sleeves. I carried him out to the front room where Kyle saw him, picked him up and recognized his tshirt. He kissed him and commented on how cute he looked multiple times. Joey asked to see brothers shirt and I explained that he had worn it when he was little too. He found that to be very special. (my mushiness is continuing down the family line! bwa ha ha)

Tomorrow is our 5th wedding anniversary. 5th! Amazing whats gone on in 5 years.. I remember our "plan" when we got married was to start trying to have a baby when we got to our 5th year of marriage. I would have never imagined already having our two boys by now but even more so, I can't imagine not having them. What a beautiful, not easy, but very beautiful life Kyle and I have been given. We still love target dates, baskin robbins dates, and bike ride dates. They are even better now when we can take our little boys with us. When I look at my youngest boy in that little black shirt, when I think of his older brother being little and wearing it also, when I look at my handsome husband who I love dearly, I can't help but feel so humbled and blessed. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that I could have done to deserve such a family.  I am so very thankful to God for the life he's blessed me with as their wife and momma.