I’m not sure why, but my entire family has been missing Reilly very hard this week. Yesterday, I dusted his commemorative dog bowl. His collar had dust on it and when I grabbed the leather lotion and a cloth… I just started crying. When my son came home, he said to me, without me having mentioned a word to him about my feelings, “Mom, I really miss Reilly today for some reason. I’ve been missing him all week.” My husband voiced similar feelings while cooking dinner and fending Mugen off of his pant leg. At one point, he bent down and put an arm around Mugen and said, “I’m used to there being a dog under foot, but you’re supposed to stay on the ground and sniff at the edge of the counter and then sit and wag your tail at me… and then I’m supposed to give you a piece of chicken when Mom’s not looking.”

The look on my husband’s face as he said this was a mix of joy and sadness.… [Read More]

The Morning Freak Out

The son is 16…. almost 17. He’s getting his driver’s license as soon as he passes the test. He only failed it by two points last week, he actually did really well and the examiner told him that most kids fail it the first time because they get nervous, but the second time is a cakewalk.

He got his first job. He’s finishing up his junior year in high school with decent enough grades and a plan for college. He’s got a girlfriend that I actually approve of.

She invited him to prom.

WTH?

Prom. My baby… my little boy who I carried in one arm, with a jansport backpack with his diapers and bottles in it slung over the other… my little boy who was the talk of the town in his baby grunge jeans and flannel shirts. Who used to sleep on my chest when he was just born.… [Read More]

Prom.

This morning, hubby again tried to let me sleep in. He’s so sweet and I love him for it… but my daughter when she’s hormonal… I swear I could just explode.

Hubby had her put Lucy out. She didn’t wait for Lucy to go all the way. Both dogs, first thing in the AM have to do 1 and 2. She let Lucy pee but didn’t wait for the second half of the game. So she brought Lucy back in. Lucy, bless her heart, came upstairs to my bedroom and bumped her head on the door and tried to wake me up. I woke up in time to catch her squatting on my carpet as hubby was running up the stairs after her. Poor baby.

So quite obviously, I was awake for the day.

Hubby cleans up the mess and apologizes profusely for not making sure that Lucy had gotten to go all the way and I tell him it’s fine and I have the daughter take Lucy back outside for me, and this time, Lucy gets to finish.… [Read More]

Parenting Teenagers Sucks.