The Book of Ramblings

Gotta love neurotic parents. Yeesh. Dahlia and I were down at the park. She was laying down near the pond watching the water in case any ducks happened to come by. A mother was nearby with her two little blonde kids: a boy who was probably 1 1/2 to 2 and an older girl, maybe 5 or 6. They were throwing bread for the (non-existent) ducks, apparently hoping they would bring them to them if there was bread.

So I turn and see this girl heading toward Dahlia and I, shyly pointing as if she's asking permission to come say hi. I was about to say tell her she was friendly and she may pet her if she wanted to when the mother, all horrified and stuff, shouts "Get away from that!" Like my dog was a piece of goose poop or something. Rude.

We walked by them shortly thereafter. She had put them both in this contraption, not exactly a stroller, but this enclosed THING (as if the older kid couldn't walk) and I just wanted to say "Dahlia, get away from that" when we were near. But I held my tongue with the snarkiness and kept going.

It's like the little tow-headed kid the other day who was terrified of dogs and would scream if Dahlia (or another dog) even looked at him. The parent's reaction? "Don't worry, we'll keep that big scary doggy away from you." Way to go reinforcing the kid's fear and not teaching him the proper way to approach a dog, when to stay away from a dog, etc.

On the flip side we met a trio of black girls who were enamoured of Miss Dahlia. The oldest was probably 10 or so. The younger two were twins (dressed the same and all with blue polka dot dresses and bright pink crocs...so cute!). They petted her and thought she was great. Nice kids.

We had a really nice time over in Vermont for Thanksgiving. I'm a little turkeyed out -- we had it on Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday. I couldn't wait to have something other than turkey for dinner. Really, I like turkey but that was a bit much for me! lol

David's sister and brother-in-law were there with their kids -- Garrick (8), Nate (6), and Elizabeth (3). The kids were, well, LOUD. They're sweet and they're good kids, but man, every time I go there and see them for a few days I'm so reminded why I don't want kids of my own. I just can't deal with the constant noise and activity. It drives me batty. Yesterday morning they were up at 6:30am screaming at the tops of their lungs and tossing their toys around. Argh.

At any rate, we wandered around another cemetery while there and got to play with their new rocket (mix vinegar and baking soda together and set it off -- man does it fly!). Here are some pictures from our adventures. I'll try to remember to upload the videos later.

( Pics...mostly of Dahlia and the kids )