when your heart and belly are full
you know that feeling of a nice long holiday weekend whereby you eat and sleep and nap and eat again and snuggle… rinse and repeat? and then you snoop through the weekend album of photos on your iphone and take a moment… because it was such a great weekend and a great holiday. and you find yourself thankful all over again.
because little faces like this one end up spending more time in your bed than usual, especially when they run a fever and have a scratchy, raspy voice from a cough that breaks your heart into a million pieces.
and that little face, that’s going to be a big brother in 4 + months, seems to be aging so much quicker than you could’ve ever imagined. you watch him pick out ornaments for his first family christmas tree. and then you realize that it’s your first family christmas tree too.
and then you eat. you share food and pass plates and ooohh and aaahh over how delicious the meal is that you are sharing with those you love. so you make more, with the help of your favorite kitchen assistant.
the next thing you know, an elf is skeptically welcomed into your home and your son takes a hold of your brother’s heart so much so that he relives his own childhood while playing with superheroes.
and just when you think you cannot possibly fit one more delectable delight in your belly, and you fear your heart will explode from the gratitude you feel, you realize that you have another little life on her way. and it dawns on you that you will always be able to make room for more goodness.
my solution for the dog has people questioning my sanity (no surprise)
red has behaved so horribly since we moved. honestly, he’s been awful and i have even referred to him as “a marley dog” on more than one occasion. and yes, i know he’s a lab and high-energy and needs a lot of attention and and and… but he’s trained. he is five years old and he’s trained.
he knows better. and he’s still being a bastard.
nothing is enough for him. no amount of attention, outside time, treats, walks, play time, none of it is ever enough. and ya know what? it needs to be enough, because while i love animals and think they’re fantastic, the bottom line is, they’re animals. my dog is not going to take priority over the humans in my life.
we treat him well. red is very loved. even on the days when he takes out his anger on us by leaving surprise turds throughout the house because we left him for a few hours, we still love him. he pisses us off, but we love him. he annoys the hell out of us, but we love him.
it dawned on me this weekend, when discussing red’s abundant attention-grabbing antics, that i may have a solution to this problem. i have figured out how to occupy the dog while still being able to live our lives.
we need a second dog.
i’ve mentioned it to a few people and have gotten mixed responses. some people think it’s a great idea and that red having a companion would help out his current shitty behavior. and other people think my pregnant status has caused me to multiply everything in my life, including canines, which is just crazy.
here’s the thing though… i am crazy. i was crazy enough to go along with paul and pick out red to bring home 3 days before paul left for japan for months. i’m crazy enough to add kids to this wack-a-doo world that we live in. pretty sure i’m crazy enough to seriously consider getting a dog for the dog.
red needs a friend. and i may just be crazy enough to find one for him… thereby filling our lives with more shit than i ever thought possible.
*EDITED TO ADD* comments below are awesome and give me a lot to think about… but i should mention that a cat is not an option for us as i am DEATHLY allergic to them. so thanks to those of you who have offered another type of animal as a suggestion, but a cat would literally kill me. kthxbye!
almost forgot
we totally went to disney last weekend.
we ate corn dogs that were the size of our heads, and mickey mouse ice cream bars while telling jackson stories about his uncle b losing his first tooth in one.
we watched the parade together, as a family, and i cried because that’s what magic does to pregnant women.
jackson met his hero.
no big deal.
the secret is out
paul went with me to my doctor’s appointment this morning…
pickle is doing great! growing and swimming and being just all around awesome.
we found out what we’re having and want to share the news with you, click on over here to find out!
(hint… we are tickled!)
the klug crew: tuesday, all things considered
billy’s latest post can be found by clicking here.
there is something i have always loved about male writers. even thinking back to creative writing classes i took in high school, the guys who were in my classes were some of the most unique voices and perspectives that i enjoyed. and now, some of my most treasured blogs that i read are written by men. why is that? why am i so intrigued by the male writer? i’ve never been able to put my finger on it… is it simply the fact that they’re male? is it that their voice is so different from that of a female? is there a sensitivity that comes with a male artist that i admire? a vulnerability not typically seen in the average male? i don’t know. maybe a combination of all of the above. whatever “it” is that i have always adored about male writers, my friend billy has it. and as much as i admire him already, and have for the years that i have known him, it’s his writing that really strikes a chord with me.
(more simply said, you should read his post today.)
after getting a solid night of rest (that was surprisingly uninterrupted by pee breaks. i think i am THAT TIRED that i prefer to just pee myself than get out of bed… not that i peed the bed, i’m just sayin), i feel like i am capable of expressing a somewhat coherent thought today.
i’ve attempted to wrap my brain around this entire ependymoma situation that our friends and their very brave two year old are up against. i can’t do it. at least i haven’t been able to do it yet. i don’t know if my anger or fear or my love/hate relationship with my faith is keeping me from piecing all of this together… i dunno.
what i do know is that the brilliant surgeons who worked on sweet malorie yesterday, were able to go home saying “i did a damn good job at work today.” i can wrap my brain around that.
paul and i are finding that when we talk about billy and rachel, we are constantly using the phrase, “all things considered…” and i’m wondering now if perhaps that phrase is something that should be used more often, or at least reflected on more often.
how was your day?
well, all things considered, i’d say it was…
how’s the job search going?
all things considered, not bad…
when you stop and think for a second about the number of times in each day that you are asked “how are you? how’s it going? doin ok today?” by anyone, stranger or friend, it’s A LOT.
how do you answer those questions? do you have enough of a perspective on life to pause and say, “all things considered…” before answering? i don’t know that i do. i’m not convinced yet that i have enough perspective on life and its fragility like my friend billy does.
what i do know is that all things considered, today is a day to celebrate. there is a beautiful little girl who survived insurmountable odds yesterday in enduring a surgery that to most is simply unreal. so whatever comes their way this week, whatever results the biopsy shows, whatever bumps are along malorie’s road to recovery… all things considered, today is a day to celebrate.
Have a Sip
