So, Which Dog Is Yours?

How is it that I ended up at the dog park, with my daughter and without my dog? Anya really wanted to go and asked me to take her there. So I did. Our dog is almost sociable with other dogs, but not enough for me to watch her and Anya at the same time. 

We went to the large dog side and Anya had the biggest smile on her face. I really couldn't even believe how big it was. We saw all kinds of dogs and a couple of Pit Bulls made me nervous. They were jumping up about 4-5 feet high on a chain link fence to get to a horse on the other side and when they came up to Anya and were almost jumping on her, I just didn't trust them, they had too much energy and their owner was a bit doofisy. So, I channeled my Cesar Milan and stood down the dogs. Later, Anya was especially thrilled with the St. Bernard-"Look! It's Beethoven!!" she called. Then she added, "Eww, the goobers are really BIG." That would be the drool. Several Goldens and Spaniels followed her around too and she threw a ball for one of them for awhile.

Next we headed over to the small dog side, where Anya found a Pug she liked. It was a bit shy and kind of lame-in the sense that it just sat there. Really. Right in the middle of a bunch of small yipping running dogs. Found out the new owners had the dog for almost a year and she was turning four soon. The dog had been the property of a 94 year old woman that had died! Who gets a puppy when they're 90?!?! That may explain why it was a bit docile. This is also where I was asked, "So, which dog is yours?"


I posted this photo on Facebook last week. I heard horse winnowing and looked up and Anya was posing like Black Beauty. She's pretty good at mimicking, on many fronts!

On another note...

I often wonder how Anya developed such an amazing command of the English language so quickly and then I hear myself say things like, “If I hear one more snot nosed remark come outta that mouth of yours…” Sounds mean, but trust me that was a well deserved, well controlled response considering the circumstances. Anyway, I may have something to so with her vocabulary and choice of expressive phrases.

I'll keep ears open for more expressions, from her.

~Monica

Matt The Dog goes on vacation.

Anya's teacher told me about her friend that took her child's stuffed animal with her on trips. Hence, here we have the story of "Matt The Dog."

 Hello Anya, it's Matt The Dog. I was a bit nervous about getting on the airplane with you mom, but she told me it would be okay.

 I got to sit in this seat all by myself, but your mom wouldn't give me $1 for every 15 minutes I behaved like you said she would.

 We went to lunch in New Jersey, and I had a sip of your mom's Chai Latte-they didn't have hot chocolate.

 There was so much lunch for me to eat. The fork was really heavy too.
 

I am missing you and decided to take a nap after lunch. Because of how the sun shines on different parts of the earth, it is actually 3 hours later here than there.

 Hi Anya, it's Matt The Dog. I told you Papa was walking me in the hotel.

It was one of those really long walks he takes and I was sooo tired.

We met this man and his dog at the dog park.

 You love German Shepherds, but this one definitely thought he was the boss of me.

 Anya, I grabbed the phone in the park to talk to you, but you'd already hung up. I'm sorry.

 Anya, I a SO bored from shopping with your mom. Does she ever stop?

Anya, I was reading the menu with Papa at the restaurant tonight. I ordered dog food.

On the train getting ready to eat breakfast with your mom (to go to New York City).

 Waiting for the show to start on your mom's birthday.

 

This is the show we saw!

 Can you believe we went to Times Square?!

I wanted to go home with your mom's friend, but they both said "No." See you tomorrow!!

~Monica

What NOT to Do in NYC

While Anya practice being away from me for a whole 7 days, this is part of what I was up to...

What's Going on Here? What Not to Do in New York.

~Monica

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Well, here I sit in a lounge chair in a sunny lobby in New Jersey after being booted out of my hotel room by housekeeping. Life is so tough. I could have asked them to leave, but that would just be too many days without the bed being made, so I acquiesced.

Dave is training in helicopter simulators here for over a week, so since my parents, my boys and Anya’s teacher all felt they could handle her if I left, I did leave. A real live vacation after 15 straight months of servitude to the girl. Willing servitude, but draining servitude as well.  The second morning I woke up here I still felt like I’d been hit by a truck. My muscles, my mind and my soul were all really tired. I am glad to say that I am finally getting energized again.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I concocted a plan to celebrate. Dave will train most of the day, so I am on a commuter train to Manhattan for a quick overnight trip with a friend. AND we are going to a Broadway show to see my favorite stage actress, which I have been wanted to do for about 10 years. We will see Anything Goes with Sutton Foster and I just found out she is only with the show for more 5 days after my birthday! I’ve given you the link to my girlfriend’s blog-it is a hoot to read and she takes tons of great pictures. Hope there is a really good one she takes of me in NYC. I’ll link to her blog again once she contrives a story about our trip from her pictures. She is up to see anything in NYC and her only possible request is to go to a hot dog place she saw on a TV show once!

What's Going On Here? Anything Goes

This morning I went to the front desk to ask about the shuttle to the train station. The lady that worked there tried to be nice, but said, “You mean the one, right there (pointing to the left)?” I said yes. After all, I am from California, it is cold in the morning here, I hardly walk anywhere the way city folk do AND it’s gonna be my birthday. But, she shamed me into walking and I passed it today on the way to Staples. Okay, so I timed it-a literal 10 minutes. I guess it will be good for me. I am mostly just annoyed at having to pull my little wheeled briefcase/suitcase over all the clickity, clackity, rickety, rackety streets. I need to bring my bag with all my getting-ready-for-a-show-on-your-birthday-stuff. Maybe I can convince Dave to pick me up in the car the following afternoon…

Anya was pretty good about me leaving. We did a few things to help and I did one thing that did not help-gotta ease her into being a Nordquist somehow. First, I asked her to give me a small stuffed animal to bring with me. I take pictures of it in different places and post them on Facebook, tagging either my parents or a brother, whichever house she will be at when I post. She has been wearing a dog tag Dave gave her from when he packed boxes of gifts for soldiers.  So, I gave her a dog tag that I have from a friend (she’s been eyeing it since she first saw it) and she decided we should swap them. Each time she started getting nervous about me never coming back (that is still an issue since her birth mom never came back) I make her feel the necklace. She KNOWS I’ll come back for my dog tag, since hers is so very important to her.

 

I took a direct flight after taking Anya to school and staying for a bit. Didn’t realize how late I’d get back, nor did I remember that I told her I’d call her when I got to the hotel. I was wiped out, it was late and I didn’t think about how important that would be to her. Whoops. Sorry Mom and Dad. Got a message from my dad the next morning asking me to PLEASE call my daughter. She was sure something bad had happened to me.

I did apologize multiple times and try to explain time zones, uh yeah, and then taught her a little about her mom’s motto. “No news is good news”. I told her that if the plane had crashed, the police would have come to her and if I were in hospital, Papa would have called. I hated to be crude (although she does respond well to examples like that), but unfortunately, I tend not to check in. I am a bad mother to all of my children and bad wife to my husband. Perhaps this will change my ways. But, I wanted to prepare her anyway for the inevitable. I have been very faithful to call her at least twice daily since that initial 43 minute conversation about me being safe and her being scared.

Maybe one of these times, I’ll post about Matt The Dog and his adventures in New Jersey and New York.

Here’s to resting and rejuvenating!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Monica