pa-jammy
The boys hate staying still for pictures, but Ziggy loves it! Well, I might be projecting.
Linus is home sick today so they’re just chillin on the sofa.
Ziggy got here last night, and it went surprisingly well, especially after I moved his crate into the bedroom so he wasn’t alone. I feel like I just brought home a newborn for the first time. I guess it was almost 8 years ago exactly that Oliver came home…
Anyway. Expect lots of pictures. Lots.
Meet Ziggy (I think.)
That face. I could not resist. You know I am not a dog person. But I kind of figured that it was inevitable that we would get one, one day. I knew it would be good for the boys. Linus even said the other day that he wanted a puppy for Christmas.
Let me back up a little.
A few weeks ago, my coworker (who lives here) mentioned that his roommate had found a dog wandering around in the street. They took him in, tried to find his owner, took him to the vet, and advertised, to no avail. No one claimed the dog. I saw a picture and said, “aw, cute.” My coworker said, “you want him?” I said, “no friggin way.” (They couldn’t keep the dog for various reasons, but not because of the dog, if that makes sense.)
Actually, I’m not sure what happened after that. I guess he mentioned the dog again here and there. I saw a few more pictures. I asked a few questions. I talked to George. I asked more questions. And it all culminated in my coworker and his roommate bringing the dog to our house last night.
We took him for a walk. The boys walked him. They got him to sit. We took him to our friend Steph’s house to see how he acted around other dogs (this is important, since our friends get together with dogs all the time.) On the way, we passed the pub, and the dog went right up to the door, eager to go in. I think George was won over at that moment.
We got to Steph’s, and our friends that really know dogs checked him out. They played with him, held him, observed him around the other dogs. And he passed their tests with flying colors. So we asked my coworker and his roommate if we passed the test. We did!
We need a few days to get the house (and ourselves) ready for a dog, so we’re going to get him on Thursday and bring him home.
I know there are people who are going to think I’m crazy. Especially anyone who knew me as a child (I was absolutely terrified of dogs.) But this dog is kind of perfect for us. And I do want the boys to grow up with a dog. So here we go!
They were positively giddy this morning. Birthdays are awesome. 🙂
My sweet boys, I can’t believe you’re 8 years old! This seems absurd.
I should talk here about what they’re like at the ripe old age of 8, but honestly, isn’t that why I have this blog? You probably already know that they love Pokemon and soccer and have just started reading chapter books. They’re homebodies who’d rather stay home. They love chocolate, ice cream, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and pizza. (Such cliches!)
Anyway, I have loved every age more and more (since they turned 4) and I hope 8 follows the same trend.
Happy birthday, my bunnies!
(Monthly pic to come later.)
Okay, sit down, this is gonna be a long one.
Sunday, November 22
Stephanie drove us to the cruise terminal, so we were able to avoid paying for parking or a taxi. The boys were so excited. I was proud of my minimal packing skills. Though later I will have wished for more clothes. We waited in several lines to get on the ship, but finally, we were on!
I can’t believe it’s December 1. Three days from my babies’ birthday. Yikes. We kind of skipped over Thanksgiving so I’m just realizing how much I have to do now.
Birthday shopping, Christmas shopping, Christmas tree! Christmas cards! Decorating! Advent calendar (whew, remembered to pull that out today)! Etc, etc. Oh god. The elf. Can’t forget the elf. He can come after the boys’ birthday.
I used to get really nostalgic at this time of the year for when I was in the hospital for that week and a half before the boys were born. But as the years have gone by, I have forgotten that November 25 was at one point a monumental day (the day I was admitted.) I used to be able to tell you what happened on each day leading up to the 4th. Well, I mean, thanks to my blog, I can still do that. But I don’t feel compelled to relive each of those days and mentally slap myself for begging the doctor to deliver them.
I’m actually glad that I’m not using precious brain space to think about stuff that I can’t change. Nor am I storing the details of their infancy that don’t matter (I used to be able to rattle off the ounces of formula they ate, the brands of diapers we used, etc. No more!)
Anyway. Happy December 1!
We just got home today from a week-long cruise with the whole family, and while I will be writing up a very detailed post with pics and stuff, I wanted to jot down a few things before I forget.
I am still a little dizzy. I didn’t get seasick or anything, but getting your land legs back is a real thing. My body is adjusting to being still for once.
I am terrified of getting on a scale. There’s just so much food. And it was good. And rich. Oh, right, and we had the unlimited beverage package. So there was that too. I think I’m going to try to detox for a week or so, and then see how bad the damage is.
The boys were kind of celebrities on the ship. By the end of the cruise, if I just had one of them with me, random people would say, “you lost two!”
It was really awesome to hang out with my siblings and their kids and spouses. We don’t get together often enough. No wonder since we’re spread out all over the place.
The boys are now all eating new foods. Oliver ordered PB&J at every meal, they all scarfed down calamari (okay, we told them it was shrimp), and Miles stole half of my lamb at last night’s dinner.
And they ate so much food. I mean, the ice cream alone – Miles ate about 8 cones a day. Not even exaggerating. Their breakfast plates were piled high with bacon, sausage, pancakes, cereal, toast, etc. And then we’d have lunch, and at dinner, they’d order two or three entrees each. And eat them all.
More to come…
My nieces are in town! (So is my nephew, but he was running in circles so no picture at the moment.)
Quite the change from 8 years ago…
Oh I mean also their parents. Miles adores Uncle Evan.
Well, his Apple watch, anyway.
Soccer is over! It was fine – not a huge time commitment, and the boys loved it. Well, unless they were losing. But whatever. I’m just glad it’s over because the mosquitoes were getting seriously dangerous and huge at practice. Stupid global warming.
Anyhoo, they did great! Well, Oliver wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t play too much. But Miles and Linus both scored! More than once! So that was fun.
They got medals at the end.
Team pic!
and Grandee and Larry came to watch!
Until Spring, maybe? Only if they can still play in the recreational league. We’ll see.
This makes my heart happy. And my wallet.
I just let them be Pokémon today.
One month til they turn 8!
I’m pretty excited to share this article I wrote for New Orleans Living magazine. I was going to wait until I could find a physical copy of the issue to share it, because the online version is just, you know, like a blog post. But after checking three shops this afternoon, I realized they have the PDF of the issue online. Woot!
But yes, it is easier to read online, so here’s a link to that version.
I don’t mention anyone by name here, but I think my friends Meredith and Alicia, and all of my lovely friends in our local triplet group will recognize themselves. (And most will know which doctor I mean, just by his description.)
pyjammy dot blog 