The Rabbits – Part 3

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Jennifer

You thought it was ugly when our dog killed the baby bunny?

Well a few days later…

She killed the momma bunny.

Or the daddy bunny.

Or the auntie bunny.

Whomever it was, it was huge.

I’m calling it a miracle that our oldest two were not home when this happened. Combine this with the fact that my husband WAS home and I’m pretty sure that’s a certifiable miracle.

I was sitting at the breakfast table with my youngest when my husband, who had just glanced out the back window, stopped moving, and went back to the window.

He turned to me with wide open eyes and I just knew Sophie had done it again.

I quickly said, “Caroline, do you want to watch some tv?”

Without hesitating she jumped at the opportunity.

Is this lady really asking if I want to watch tv before school and I’m not even dressed, finished eating, or ready for said school that begins in 20 minutes? Hell yes!

Or maybe it was, “Okay mama.”

Once she was completely zoned out, my husband went out, grabbed a shovel, shooed the dog away, and got rid of the bunny.

Baby bunny. Mama bunny. Could have sent me over the edge.

I’m starting to wonder if our neighborhood bunnies have been engaging in some illegal extra curricular activities or whether my dog has been watching the hunting channel.

Seeing as we don’t have cable, I’m thinking there’s a problem with the bunnies.

I think the piece de resistance occurred later that day when I came home and found that the dog had had diarrhea in her crate.

For about ten minutes I pretended it wasn’t there and wished and hoped that my husband would walk through the door.

But alas, our miracle for the day had already occurred so I had to clean it up.

I can’t tell you how much I’m hoping the bunnies band together soon and get some revenge.

The Rabbits – Part 2 – It Gets Ugly

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Jennifer

Well folks.

It didn’t get all Hakuna Matata on us over her.

It went the way of the Circle of Life in a slightly more horrific way than I imagined.

If you recall, our backyard became a rabbit sanctuary for the past week ever since my 8 year old son discovered a nest of baby rabbits.

My sweet, sensitive eight year old who loves animals with all his heart.

Ugh. This story sucks.

Yesterday afternoon the kids were playing in the backyard when my son announced that the rabbits were gone. They were no where to be found. I immediately believed him because he has been checking on them with the religious fervor of a Texas baptist. Okay, maybe that went a little too far.

But he said they were gone.

So we let the dog out in the backyard.

And everyone played.

And then..everyone came in for bedtime.

And then…everyone woke up the next day to get ready for school.

And then…just as I was biting into my hot oatmeal breakfast my eight year old came running into the kitchen screaming, “Sophie killed the baby rabbit! She killed it! It’s laying on the floor!”

Tears. Tears. Hysterical tears.

I ran into the dining room to find the dog in her crate and an obviously dead baby bunny sprawled out on our dining room floor.

How did this happen? The dog hasn’t even gone outside yet today?

Tears. Tears. Hysterical tears.

Still I can’t seem to move. I just stare at this dead bunny on my dining room floor.

I don’t understand? How did, oh no, I know what happened!

Last night when I let the dog in she ran right to her crate without stopping to get water. Unusual but not completely out of the ordinary.

I locked her in her crate and went to my room.

As I read a little while later I turned to my husband and said, “What is Sophie doing in her crate? She’s moving around a lot.”

OH. MY. GOD.

SHE WAS PLAYING WITH A DEAD RABBIT IN HER CRATE.

Now I have 2 kids screaming.

I yell at the dog and lock her in her crate. I order my 11 year old to get a trash bag and I go to the garage and grab some rake contraption and a sheet. I tell my son to open up the trash bag as I try and scoop THE DEAD RABBIT onto the rake.

I miss the first time but manage to scoop him up the second time.

My son is so disgusted by holding the bag he drops it before managing to open it up enough for me to drop THE DEAD BUNNY and the sheet into the bag.

I tie the bag and rush it outside.

I order my son to wash his hands throughly three times while I do the same. I wash the dining room floor and wash my hands again many times. And I do a full body shiver.

I then talk with my 8 year old, the animal lover, and mumble something about animals, circle of life, Sophie thought it was a toy, and then agree to write a note to his teacher telling her what a tough morning he has had.

I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t call my husband after this experience and possibly semi-curse at him for not being home during this event. I may have forbidden him to ever leave the house again for work.

I think it’s safe to say that this experience has affected us all.

Later in the day my four year old told the Old Navy saleswoman and the grocery store clerk that our dog killed a rabbit.

My 11 year old has definitely ruled out a career in waste management.

I’m considering plans to demolish our dining room.

And my 8 year old wants to know when we are going to the SPCA to get another dog.

Yes. He is.

Apparently he has short term memory problems.

I assured him under no uncertain circumstances that we would never get another pet of any kind.

After all, I can still see that DEAD BUNNY on my dining room floor.

A New Fangled Contraption

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Jennifer

We’ve been taking our dog Sophie for a walk every morning now that swim practice is over for the summer. If we don’t take her in the morning, it’s not happening since the morning temps have been in the 80’s and you can only imagine how good the air feels in the afternoon.

So there we were the other day: My 11 year old on his bike, my 8 year old on his scooter, my 4 year old on her bike, and me running with the dog. OK, it was more like me being dragged by the dog in order to keep up.

We were on a long straight stretch when my son on the scooter asked if he could try and have Sophie pull him.

I handed him the leash and a ton of laughter ensued.

(We’ve recreated the scene in order to get pictures but at a much slower pace)

They would get going quickly but after about 20 seconds they would be going so fast that the leash would have to be dropped.

Then there was chasing after the dog and then starting the whole process again.

So each morning now the boys get one straight away to have Sophie pull them and then we give her a break for the rest of the walk. It works out great except that my 4 year old is now begging to have Sophie pull her on her bike. No way is that ever happening!

A Dog, A Girl, and a Leash

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Jennifer

“Sophie, come here. I need to put your leash on.”

“Sophie! Come here. We are going for a walk. I want to put your leash on you.”

“Sophie, come here. 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Sophie I counted. Come here.”

“Mom, I’m getting frustrated. I’m trying to put her leash on but she keeps walking away.”

“Sophie, you need to listen to me right now.”

“Sit Sophie sit.”

“SIT SOPHIE SIT!”

“SOOOOOOOPPPPPPHHHIIIEEE SSSSIIITTTT!!!!!!”

New Shoes for Winter

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Jennifer

After looking at my beat up TOMS, my winter staple last year, and our approaching cold weather (50 degrees!), I decided I needs some new shoes.

I tried on several pairs of boots but finally decided they just weren’t for me.

I mean, it just doesn’t get cold enough here for me to really need them.

So instead I bought these…

and these but in GRAY – not blue.

And in one of the many ironic moments of my life…Roughly one hour after I returned from buying these new shoes I caught our dog eating my TOMS.

A Dog & A Dream

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Jennifer

As I’ve made perfectly clear in previous posts, our dog drives me bonkers.

Whether it’s eating plastic skeletons (yes, that’s the latest item to go) or digging holes in the back yard, she just drives me crazy.

Believe me, there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of my dogless years.

But if you remember, my 7 year old loves this dog.

He is thrilled and apparently has further plans.

Yesterday Andrew told me, “Mom, I just had a talk with Sophie. I told her that if she stopped digging holes in the yard and barking at everyone, then we would get her a friend.”

I just looked at him and said, “What kind of friend?”

“A dog friend.” Cue the big smile.

I truly don’t think it’s fair to give Sophie or me such false hope.

Of course, I know where Andrew is going with this since he has been counting down till today for the past week.

You see, I’m taking the kids to volunteer at the SPCA this afternoon. We’re supposed to feed the horses, fill up dog dishes, and take a tour.

And look at the dogs.

A fact which Andrew has reminded me half a dozen times.

So hopefully my Wednesday post will not start out, “My 7 year old had the saddest look on his face so I bought him a dog.”

Wish me luck- and a healthy dose of memory to get through this trip!

Superheros

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Jennifer

I have blogged before about my love of Katie Moon’s art and today is the same but with a fun twist.

While Katie offers free downloads each week on her blog, she also has a business illustrating families.

Back in March I entered our family into a contest for her to draw our family. I had to give a little bio about each of us and hoped she would choose our entry.

Well, the good news was that Katie chose our family to illustrate!

I requested that we be drawn as superheros since that’s what the kids are often dressed up as and here’s the drawing…

Click here to see the post Katie did about us and our bios.