Munson and Georgia’s little adventure

Have you ever had to make a crucial decision in a split second?  I was faced with such a dilemma yesterday.   I think I chose right, but I feel troubled by the potential implications of why I chose the way I did.

Carson and I were preparing to take a trip to the dry cleaner in the wagon.  That entailed loading up the dry cleaning, bringing it downstairs, getting it, Carson, the wagon, the baby, the blanket, the keys, and the phone outside, turning on the alarm, locking the door, and leaving.  Easy, right?  Well, easy enough.  Except that apparently I left the front door open in between some of these steps.

By the time I realized it, Munson and Georgia were gone.  I mean gone.  What a sinking feeling I had as I called their names and did not hear their little feet ticking on the floor!  I dashed outside while holding Carson (30 pounds) in one arm, desparately hoping they had not made it far– at least not to busy Oakview Road. 

They were spotted across the street.  I had one free hand and two free dogs.  I couldn’t put Carson down.  I had a split second to decide: if I can only save one of these dogs, which one will it be?

My thoughts sped at a breakneck pace.  Georgia was wearing a collar with our phone number on it.  Munson– no collar.  Georgia is fast, scrappy, and street smart.  Munson– only fast on occasion, probably used up for the day when he bolted out the door.  I don’t think he could survive 5 minutes on the street.  Georgia has a history of coming when called.  Munson– not so much.  Meanwhile, a man was walking up Oakview, and he started shouting (at Georgia, who was heading that way at a good clip) “Stay back!  Stay back!”  I was shouting, “She’s friendly, she’s friendly!” but I was only half convinced of this myself, since this man probably wasn’t going to do much to make her feel like she should be friendly. 

I chose Munson.  Still holding Carson with my right arm (who was laughing so hard I thought she would choke, mind you) I grabbed him with my left hand by his neck folds and dragged him all the way across the street, up the walk and the stairs, and into the house.  I left Georgia to fend for herself, hoping she would come back.

Georgia, thank goodness, turned and ran in the opposite direction from the man and the busy street, and some neighbors three doors down who had undoubtedly wondered what all the screaming was about and come outside helped keep her contained (but she was so geared up that they could not catch her).  We wrestled her down, and I dragged her by the collar with my left hand (still holding my 30 pound toddler, laughing hysterically, in my right arm) all the way home. 

I know I made the right decision.  Georgia is simply better suited, mentally and physically, to be on her own (not to mention the collar thing).  But I wonder if she saw things differently.  And I wonder what would have happened if she had not had the good sense to get away from that man and that road.  So this morning when she jumped right on top of me in the bed (not kidding– I mean, sitting on my rib cage) and snuggled up to go back to sleep, I let her stay for a few minutes before booting her off. 

Shane and I wonder which dog instigated the little escape.  Shane thinks it was Munson.  He does have that inquisitive nature.  Now that they’ve had a taste of freedom, I know I will have to be more careful with the front door! 

Christmas Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our various Christmas celebrations.  Enjoy!

Pretending, and vegetable

Those of you with kids will I’m sure recall fondly when yours started pretending.  It takes a minute to figure out what they are doing, but once you get it, it is just so magical.

Carson has begun pretending.  It started when she squeezed her body (along with her baby in the baby stroller) in the small space between the armoire in our kitchen and the cabinet next to it.  She would shout something incomprehensible, stay for a minute, then shout “all done!” and come rolling out.  We finally figured out that the something incomprehensible was the word “elevator.”  Crazy!  Now she “goes in,” pushes the imaginary buttons, lowers her body to a squat and says “down,” and then “comes out!”  It is hysterical.  I think the only place we’ve been recently with an elevator is the pediatrician.

Carson is also pretending to cook, to take care of her baby, and to do very silly things (like talk on the “phone” using a fish stick– now that’s creative).

Carson’s other new trick is asking us to label everything.  She does this by pointing and saying something else completely incomprehensible that sounds a lot like “vegetable.”  “Vegetable?” she asks, pointing at the dishwasher.  “Vegetable?” to the neighbor’s toy chain saw.  One of these days we may figure out what she is saying, but it’s crystal clear what she means.

Merry (late) Christmas

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas!  I’ll be posting soon some pictures of Carson enjoying her newest favorite toys– a tricycle, a wagon, and– I’m a little jealous of this– a pink retro-styled kitchen with more cabinet space than I think we have in our new house. 

And one of C

Carson loves to weigh herself.  I think they did a “day at the doctor” lesson at school one day.  Ever since, we cannot keep this child off the scale.  And she wants us to get on it too. 

Just thought we’d share an image… 

Wallpaper pictures

Here are a couple of “before” and “in progress” photos of our battle with 99-year-old wallpaper.  In a few of them, it almost appears as though you can see the lathe, which is strange because it doesn’t look that way when you are standing in the room. 

Lesson of the day: Don’t look up at crumbling plaster.

Work begins at 334 Adams

Today Shane and I started Project 334.  That’s right… after months of dreaming, we have finally started working on the new house.  We spent the day pulling down the original (!) wallpaper in our new home’s study.  It was a lovely green and white (?) ticking with pastel flowers.  99-year-old wallpaper doesn’t come down without a fight.  Or without a lot of plaster.  We made progress with the wallpaper, yes, but we have no idea whether we now need to replaster the walls.  And we don’t understand what all the purple stuff is.  So, we are planning to call in some experts to tell us if we’ve irrepairably harmed our antique house.   Stay tuned for some pictures of the before and “after.” 

Hello world!

Hi everyone.  Today, December 16, 2007, is our 7th anniversary.  It is also the birthday of our new blog.  We decided that a blog might help us out in the “keeping up” department, a department in which we sorely need assistance.  So here goes.  Bear with me as I figure out how on earth this blogging business works.