My mom tells me that Chloe and Sophie had a terrific time with her this weekend.  No surprise there.  The girls always have a great time with their Grammy.

What was surprising was that my mother claims the two got along just swimmingly.  No arguments, no raised voices.  In fact, hugs and kisses all around, even in public.  A sisterly lovefest for more than 24 hours.

Those can’t be my girls.  My girls are the ones who taunt and scream at each other.  The ones who, earlier this evening, were running around the house yelling at each other over something so important I don’t remember what it was.  The ones who accuse each other of being mean, of saying “poopy” and of stealing the other’s toys.

I told my mother that next time I want proof of their angelic behavior.  So that I can witness the love for myself.  So that I can post it to this blog for all to behold.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.  Silly holiday.  Chloe came home from school with all sorts of candy.  Sophie came home from her dear babysitter’s house with lollypops.  And lots of smiles.

I told my dear husband not to buy me anything for Valentine’s Day, which came as a relief to him because he hadn’t planned to buy anything.  I told him that if he was thinking of buying me flowers he could wait an extra week, save some money and give them to me on February 21.  

Our growing baby is getting bigger by the day.  And she knows it and she’s proud of it.  

The extended wingspan also means that it’s easier for her to hit her big sister.  Which Chloe doesn’t appreciate in the least.  But Chloe still hasn’t figured it out – she still strikes back, even after we’ve repeatedly berated her for succumbing to Sophie’s taunts. Perhaps she’ll get it by the time she ships off to college, but it’s not looking particularly promising.  I’m fairly confident, however, that by the time she has children of her own, she’ll understand perfectly.  And look back on her days as an 8-year old with a newfound admiration for her parents’ child rearing skills.  OK, that may be a pipe dream on my part, but something has to keep us going everyday!

  

But what happened earlier today takes the cake.  After lunch, we all went to Barnes & Noble to get some books.  We spent a leisurely 1/2 hour or so perusing the kids’ section and paid for our purchases.  Chloe even bought a book for Sophie, out of her own gift card money.  As we’re leaving the store, I started to sift through my bag to find the car keys.  Nowhere to be found.  

Uh oh.  Realized I must have left them in the car.  Double uh oh.  Would the car lock automatically after a certain period of time?  Hell, would the car still be there?  If we thought having our camera stolen at the museum a week ago sucked big time, imagine having a car stolen because of your own forgetfulness.  So, I ran.  Ran to the car.  It was still there.  Opened the door, which, of course, was still open.  And immediately realized that I not only had left the keys in the car, but the ignition on as well!   If there is a better advertisement for “this car is yours for the taking,” I don’t know what it is.  Unbelievable that I did that; perhaps more unbelievable that we still have our car.  

I am now sufficiently freaked out by my mental lapse that I’m starting to wonder if I have something nefarious going on in my brain.  Forgetting keys in the car – that’s one thing.  Leaving the car running in a busy parking lot for a 1/2 hour, that belongs in another category altogether.

You know that a pet is really part of a family when it is allowed to crawl all over the papa’s head.  Gross, if you ask me – but the girls LOVED it.

I suppose this act of selflessness is more a testament to my husband’s love for his kids.  Not many would subject their bald heads to scratchy Gloup paws and the risk of excretion just to provoke guffaws from their children.

Needless to say, Alubus and Gloup have adjusted well to their new home.  And we have adjusted a little too well to them.