Max and my baby

Well, after tallying the votes...oh wait, there weren't any. Ok, so after I made a list of 30 or so names, then handed it to Chris, who crossed out the ones he didn't like, handed back to me and I crossed out ones I didn't like, and so on...we have come to a name. I should add (because if I don't Chris will) that I called this dog numerous different names on a daily basis to 'try them out'. So much so that Sasha began asking me what his name would be tomorrow. Poor puppy. Really, it shouldn't be this hard to name a dog. It was as bad as when we were having kids. I now remember why we stopped! I stray from the topic...drum roll please....and his name is.......Max. He is blending in nicely with the other dogs, but sadly is head over heels smarter than them both. Daisee still has him beat on stubbornness, which is fine by me. And, so no one calls the authorities on us, it is legal to have 3 dogs in my city. I called and checked. You get four, a kennel license is needed. And since I know you're all just dying to see what he looks like a week or so later, (you're not? Really?) I'll get some pictures up here sooner or later.

Now, onto my baby. Sasha Jean the Jelly Bean. (sigh) She did the inevitable, and turned five. Which means, she starts school. Now, you would think this would make me smile, and it did, until I took her to her 'kindergarten check up' at the doctors. Then it almost (yeah, almost my sisters dear, you know how stoic I am!) had me in tears. They were giving her the 5 million shots (that's what she claims anyway) required as I held her on my lap. I looked down at her skinny little legs and nearly lost it. All I could see was an ultrasound picture of her cute legs. "My baby!" I cried in my mind. I am officially sad that she's starting school. I know, for those of you with bunches of babies at home, it seems impossible to fathom, but it's true. She's so very sweet and fun to be around, and now, I'm going to be all alone all day long....wait....that is sounding like a fairly decent thing again.

Seriously, it is a sad thing. The end of an era for me, which leaves me feeling a bit out of place. I guess I should get a job or something. We'll see. But for what it's worth, I have absolutely adored my job as a stay at home mother for the last nine years, and I'm sad to see it end. Not sad enough to have another baby, (we do have Max after all) but still sad. I wish I could freeze all four of my kids so they wouldn't grow anymore, as selfish as that is, because they are so much fun right now. Yep, even my teenager is fab, I keep waiting for that to get bad, but she's one pretty incredible girl, so hopefully it won't; at least not too much anyway! Enjoy every moment, they are over before you know it. Wish me luck as I pass my days away scrubbing things and walking the dogs. (I am after all the 'dog lady.')

And so, with my face to the sky I march on, looking forward to what the future will bring, and holding the past close to my heart.