Thursday

I'm listening to Harry Potter. It's almost the end of the 6th book and Dumbledore is gone. Still a powerful moment, even though I've read and/or heard the book several times.

I took some pictures on Sunday during dinner and some were too funny to not share. I set the camera to take 3 pictures at a time, so the shots were taken in rapid succession.


The white stuff on Julie's hands is sour cream. She loves it as much as the other 2 kids do.

I'm getting ready for Caleb's birthday party next week. We're doing a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" theme. He took invitations to his buddies at church last night and at school today. We're doing a pizza party. Should be fun.

Caleb also gets to be the letter "Z" in the program at his Kindergarten graduation the last week of school. Should be fun. He has some lines to memorize this weekend in preparation.

So I'm irritated - I bought a fancy-schmancy stroller 2 weeks ago and it's STILL NOT HERE. Grrr. I wish I had discovered this stroller 6 years ago. It looks awesome - it can be a single stroller or a double stroller. It can also hold an infant carseat when in single or double mode. Might have saved us lots of hassle over the years. Here's a picture:

Lots of moms had it in England. When you first see it as a double, you do a double-take because you think the second kid has been stashed in the storage basket underneath. Also, they sell a cocoon-type thing you zip your newborn into when they're lying down. I'm hoping to get this soon. Nothing like spending a chunk of change on something then having to wait and wait and wait for it. *sigh*

So if you're expecting a baby, it might be worth your while to ask for this from well-wishers who want to buy a big-ticket item. Or at least you can e-mail us to see if it's worth your while after we've had it for a while and road-tested it. Hint hint.

One last sad thing: Mom's faithful (although at times grouchy) daschund passed away on Tuesday. Her name was Trudy and she was a truly unique little dog. When she was 1 or 1 1/2, she was out late one night (we lived in the country) and we were looking for her. Mom kept calling for her and finally her the tags on her collar jingling as she was making her way home. As well as we could piece together, she had been chased and attacked by one or more coyotes but had escaped and had taken refuge in an irrigation pipe on the ground. We think a coyote got her by the neck because her voice was gone for a long time and she always had a hoarse bark after she got her voice back.

Mom said she always wanted to get a weenie dog and name her Trudy. Judy is my mom's name, so "Judy and Trudy" was always a cute little rhyme to me. We also called her Trudles (Trudy, not Mom). Before she couldn't jump up into Mom's chair anymore, she would sit on Mom's right side in her recliner. Right side, right Mom? Anyway, she was a fierce, tough, funny little dog. Caleb used to call her "The No-no Doggie" because he wasn't allowed near her. She really didn't like him, but she couldn't have cared any less about Audrey. We think that Caleb had the unenviable position of being the first small-type-person interloper at Mom & Dad's. After Caleb invaded, we don't think she cared about any other small-type interlopers.

When Trudy was a little puppy, she and Bob the Cat (who was just a kitten then) were best friends. I have never seen a dog and a cat play as much as those 2 did. They would chase and wrassle and have all sorts of fun. It was usually hilarious to watch. Mom also told me that one Spring Break when my aunt and 2-year-old cousin Kelly came to visit, Kelly and Trudy (still a relative puppy at this point) would hide under the steps in our living room. Our staircase only had the flat parts of the steps and not the up-and-down parts. Are those called the risers - the up-and-down parts? Anyway, Kelly and Trudy would wedge themselves into the little area underneath the bottom 3 steps beside the landing. Mom was afraid Trudy would hurt Kelly and Aunt Martha was afraid Kelly would squish Trudy. Both lived.

So Trudy was seventeen when she died. That's old for a dog and REALLY old for a daschund.

Rest in peace, Trudles.