Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Mom Thinks She Is Always Right

I've heard it said that kids don't really understand when parents fight in front of them. All evidence to the contrary, of course. Unfortunately, my children have been witness to many of my own failings, but I have never had it slap me in the face as it did today on our way to the tennis club.

The kids were watching "The Secret of NIHM" in the van.  For those of you unfamiliar with the story, it revolves around rats and mice.

LittleMan - "That rat is mean."
BoopaLoop - "I like cats."
LittleMan - "I like both cats and dogs."
BoopaLoop - "I like them all too."
Me - "Yes, you sure do like all animals."
LittleMan - "She just said that 'cause I said it."
Me - "I don't think so, honey.  She does like all animals."
LittleMan [thinking a moment] - "No, she said that after I said it."
Me - "I'm pretty certain she said that to add to what you were saying."
LittleMan - "She only said it after I said it."
Me [laughing in my head] - "You're right.  She said it because you said it."
BoopaLoop - "I like all animals."
LittleMan [looking out the window] - "I was right."

Monday, June 25, 2007

Tennis is a fabulous sport

Tennis is a fabulous sport.  My mother had been encouraging me to join a tennis club for years, but I felt that I was too busy to take advantage of a club.  I also did not want the task of organizing every game.  After all, I prefer doubles tennis over singles, but I will play singles for a better workout on occasion.  But who wants to call three people every time you want to play?

I always felt like a capable tennis player, but growing up, my sport of choice was basball (as a youth) then softball (as a teenager).  I switched to tennis when I realized it was easier to organize a game for 4 or 2 rather than 18 for a sport.  And then, I failed to even organize that much... so I finally gave in and joined a tennis club.

It is AWESOME!  As the saying goes, always listen to your mother's advice. Well, I am so sorry I waited this long to listen to my mom about joining a tennis club.  It is absolutely the best hobby I have ever found.  I was fortunate enough to find a tennis club that had child care for the little ones, and my kids love going there.  Also, the club will hook me up with people of my ability level to play with, so I don't have to worry about organizing anything unless I really want to.  The club also has a file of times and days I wish to play.  Ah, perfection.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Dog Day ALL DAY

I gave my dog a bath today.  He is 6 years old now, so you would think that I have perfected the art of Dog Bathing by now.  But, alas, that is not the case.  I used to bathe him in the backyard using a garden hose, but my back (after having two children) was not up to the challenge.  So unless they invent a motorized, squatting machine, I don't think I'll ever attempt this method again without scientific proof that it is indeed the superior method.

I spoke to a friend about my back-and-dog-bathing woes, and he told me that he bathed his dogs in his shower.  At first, I thought, "That is utterly ridiculous!"  But, after I gave the idea more thought, I decided it had at least one thing going for it - it would solve my back issue since we have a sitting shelf-like area in the shower that takes up about 1/4 of the space. That size could easily hold my rescue beagle/German shephard mix dog. We also have a detachable shower head, so my work shoul dbe greatly minimized.  Outstanding!  So, this morning I decided to give it a try.

Getting my dog into the shower was the first hurdle.  He was surprisingly receptive to getting into the shower (probably not aware of the what was to come), but he needed my help to lift him onto the shelf.  Still, this was much better than trying to chase the dog around the backyard with the hose. For those keeping score Shower = 1; Outside = 0.

I used the detachable shower head to wet the dog down.  Again, he surprised me by not trying to escape, and he seemed to enjoy the fact that the water was warm and not freezing cold.  Shower = 2; Outside = 0.

Then came the fun part.  Although my dog had not yet tried to run away, he had managed to plaster himself to the glass wall of the shower.  So, any attempt I made to push him towards me (so I could wet the other side of his body) was met with his feet scrambling for better support in order to further press himself into the glass wall.  I finally had to put the shower head in my mouth (THAT'S RIGHT) and use both hands to hold his body against mine.  Yes, this sounds as ridiculous as it looked, and no, it did not work.  Not to mention the fact that my dentist would screech if she heard the nice grating noises of teeth on metal.  Shower = 2; Outside = 1.

Taking a mental step back to assess this situation, I watched as my dog happily pressed himself against the glass again.  Finally, I gave up, picked him up, and attempted to flip my dog around 180 degrees.  He is 50 pounds, so this was a challenge, but I didn't get a single scratch on me.  I certainly freaked the dog out.  Once he was in place, I was able to wet him down and shampoo him before I flipped him back around again to shampoo the other side.  I repeated this process to rinse him off too, and all the while I swear my dog was smirking at me.  In the past when I had washed him outside, he would run around, but in circles so I could get all parts of his body rinsed off without breaking a sweat.  Shower = 2; Outside = 2.

Of course, the shower process takes a lot less time, and I think I was able to rinse him off more thoroughly.  Shower = 3; Outside = 2.

But, the outside process allowed me to get a nice tan at the same time. Shower = 3; Outside = 3.

Which causes skin cancer... Shower = 4; Outside = 3.

... I think what it really comes down to is what you are willing to put up with when it comes to maintaining your dog and keeping him healthy.  I felt like I had more control over the situation when I washed him in the shower. Of course, there was the whole issue of dog hair in the shower drain, but I guess I'd rather have that problem than trying to pick up huge chunks of hair blowing around in the wind.  Again, control is everything.

But, my problems with control are another story...