Spoiled Rotten Pooches

My mom told me recently that it is easy to see how loved Lily is and that she feels very secure in that love.  It's true.  Lily is my first dog and, if anyone had told me that I could love a dog as much as I love her, I would have told them they were crazy.  Here we are though, Lily sitting beside me with her paw in my hand (yes it's true, Lily likes to hold hands with me, she doesn't want to shake, she just wants to sit there and hold my hand).  With a dog this adorable... how could I help but post a few more photos? :-)

 

"There's just something about dogs that makes you feel good. You come home, they're thrilled to see you. They're good for the ego."

    -Janet Schnellman

 

  

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read"

    -Groucho Marx

 

 

  

"The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too."

    -Samuel Butler

 

  

"The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic."

    -Henry Ward

 

 

 

Yes... she's spoiled... but she's also sweet... and lovable... and a very good dog.  Finally, my favorite dog quote... :-)

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

    - Unknown

a cold day

The following photos were taken through the front storm door, as Amerah was waiting for the school bus one day.  For a while, she was so bundled up that I couldn't even see her face!  It made me smile, always a good start to a day.

 

 

Sisters... the good... the bad... and the adorable...

I had two sisters.  One passed away a few years ago, I haven't spoken to the other in just as long.  I wasn't raised with them.  They were my father's daughters from a previous marriage and lived far away, in Kansas.  I was sixteen when I finally met them and, unfortunately, you can't build a childhood together where there was none.  I always envied my friends their sisters... whether they be fighting... giggling... tattling... whatever it was that day, it was a relationship that I desperately wanted. 

Now i sit watching my daughter who is, for all intents and purposes, an only child since her brother is twenty four years older than her.  Being an only child is nice at times because you have all of your parents' attention.  It is also terrible at times... because you have all of your parents' attention.  Being an only child is also lonely... as I know only too well.

I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that Amerah wants the dog to call her Sissy.  It makes me laugh to watch the two of them squabble and play and chase each other around the yard.  It made me sad to see how much Lily missed Amerah while she was at camp.


The following fall under the heading "SuperLily"... yes that is supposed to be a cape...

 

  

Without a doubt, there is a sisterly bond between girl and dog that I never had with my human sisters.

 

I love my girls.

Amerah's new room

So... while Amerah was away at 5th grade camp.... Dave and I kept ourselves busy redecorating her room... well mostly Dave hahaha... I make an awesome supervisor though!

Amerah got most of the stuff for her new room at Christmas time but it had stayed in the family room until we could put it all together.  Dave and I decided that camp week would be the best time to get it done.

The following are the "BEFORE" photos... ahh Tinkerbell... I did NOT design this room, it predates me.

 

 

 

 

And VOILA!  The NEW room!  (Amerah picked out the pattern and color scheme... I designed it... Dave did all the grunt work :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are still a few finishing touches that need doing... The valance was no where near long enough (it came in a set with the comforter) so I need to order a second... Because of the tabs on the valance I need to buy a decorative black curtain rod... and the peace sign rug is too small... I am going to put it over by the bookcase and buy a large, soft, shaggy, black rug that I saw for the main floor area.

I'm also pretty proud of the letters on the wall... I made them in just a couple hours... the night before she was due home...

She was ecstatic!  We definitely had one VERY happy camper!

Camp Michindoh

In the short time that I have been a parent, sending Amerah to 5th grade camp, with her school, was one of the hardest things I've had to do.  She left on Monday, January 23rd and stayed until Friday the 27th.  It was torture.

  

I'm used to letting her spend the night at a friend's house now and then, and with Sandy once a week... close by... where I can talk to her on the phone... and be at her side within minutes...  

This was different.  Very different.  She was near Hillsdale, Michigan (about 2 hours away)... with no telephone (except the camp office phone that I really couldn't call to talk to her on every night)... 

I knew that it would be an amazing experience for my little social butterfly.  I knew that she would have a wonderful time.  I was right.  :-)

 I thought that I might enjoy a little down time.  I thought that it might be nice to not have to get up early for school every day.  I thought that the week would fly by.  I was wrong.  :-(

But on Monday Dave and I said goodbye to our girl... (and took a lot of pictures)

This is Amerah talking to her principal...

Her friend Jessie...

her friend Jennifer...

The back of Darian's head (the boy that ALL of the little girls have huge crushes on (except Amerah who swears that she doesn't like him hahaha)...

Some random group shots...

 

 

 

At least Amerah was assured that no one else would mistake her suitcase for theirs...

I missed her like CRAZY!  I drove myself nuts thinking about her... was she was safe... was she was having fun... was she getting along with her cabin mates... was she homesick... was she sad... was she happy... a million and one questions swarming in my head.

She had a blast!  I am so glad that my girl is a talker!  With very little prodding, Amerah talked for hours about her experiences at camp.  Apparently she had one bout of homesickness about halfway through the week, but her cabin counselor, Nicole, talked her out of calling us to come home.

We took Lily with us to pick her up... Amerah was as happy to see Lily as Lily was to see Amerah...

Lily has finally stopped wandering around the house crying for her "sissy."  Lily is not usually a whiner... she is a talker... and she likes to loudly inform us that strangers (or neighbors) are randomly passing by... but the only time she whines is if she needs to go outside, or if she's been locked out of the living room when someone is in there.  After a couple days without Amerah, Lily began to cry... incessantly... she followed me around the house crying... She cried when I went to bed... she cried and cried and cried...  

 She was very very happy that we took her with us to pick up Amerah.  She hasn't cried since.

The hardest part about divorce is having to share a child.  Friday nights are Amerah's night to spend at her cousin Tiffany's house, with Sandy.  We told Sandy not to pick Amerah up until 5 pm so that we could have a few hours with her before she went away for another night but even then it was hard to let her go.  Neither Dave nor I wanted to see her leave again.  

So I am still missing my girl... even though I know that she'll be home by 5 pm on Saturday.  Our house has been quiet for too long, we miss the childish laughter, the shrieks, the general hubbub that accompanies an active ten year old.

Too cute not to post...

I thought I was done for the night but alas... I found these!

These photos were taken December 27, 2011 (the day after we went to the Rainforest Cafe).  I couldn't resist getting some pics of Amerah in all her goofiness...

 

Lily was being goofy too... with her bone hanging out of her mouth in a weird way...

 

 

And then... she was my cutie patootie again...  How can you resist a dog this adorable?!

 

She didn't want to get off the couch and go into the kitchen when it was time for bed... so Dave helped her...

Lily wasn't sure what to think of the ride! 

I love my goofy... silly... adorable family!