Alison and I tried to take Dooby to a basic obedience class at PetSmart last week. We got there and the class had been cancelled. Since we didn't register in advance, PetSmart had no way to notify us of the this, so we were out of luck.

Now we need to find an alternative because Dooby, cute as he is, really needs obedience training.

In my own defense, EVERYONE hated Jersey. She was evil.

So much so that my brother Jon, in his wedding toast, offered Jersey as proof that I really loved Amanda. And when he mentioned her, Amanda's cousin Byron grabbed the microphone to add that she knew I was the a good guy because I, too, wanted no part of that dog. Byron should know; she, Amanda and Jersey shared an apartment for a year.

Dooby

Anna, Dooby and Alison

We got a dog on Jan. 16. As you might imagine the girls are very happy. Alison had been asking us for a dog for over two years and we told her when Alexa was out of diapers we'd consider it. Alexa was potty trained in the summer and we were able to stall for a while but we finally gave in.

His name is Dooby, which means bear in Hebrew, and the girls named him this because they thought he looked like a big teddy bear. We got him through a local animal rescue organization. He's one years old and he's very sweet. He's housebroken, doesn't whine and only barks occassionally. The big joke is that he has a strong resemblence to my old dog Jersey, who Andy hated. But Dooby is a great dog and we are happy to add him to our family.

Here's the girls all dressed up for cousin Ben's Bar Mitzvah.

Hot, Hot, Hot

It was 80 degrees today and the Cherry Blossoms are blooming. Alison and Abigail, who have argued with me all winter along about wearing short-sleeve shirts, even when it was snowing, went to school with long-sleeve shirts. Anna, who wore sweaters and turtlenecks in the winter, was the one who wore a short-sleeve shirt. All winter long I thought Alison and Abigail simply preferred short-sleeves, but now I realize they prefer to wear the opposite of what I suggest. I guess I'll be pushing fleece and flannel for the rest of the spring and summer. OK Mom, I know, I know .... this is payback for all those adorable outfits you bought me that I refused to wear. I swear, though, some of them really did itch.

Also had some excitement on our street. A friend of a girl who lives across the street got hit by a car while selling drinks from their lemonade stand. My girls were outside with Nadja and saw the whole thing. Luckily the girl only suffered some scrapes, even though the car busted its headlight from the impact. Alison was very shaken up by the whole thing but I reassured her that the girl was fine and they all got a valuable lesson today. Hopefully this incident will teach them that they should stay off the street.

Big Girl Bed
That's right, our littlest one, Alexa, moved into a big girl bed yesterday. Older sister Abigail moved to the top bunk and Alexa is now sleeping on the bottom bunk. She found the novelty very exciting. There is a side railing that runs the length of the bed which kept her from getting out of the bed for about 10 minutes. Then while I was singing songs to the older girls in their bedroom, Alexa came in beaming and proudly proclaimed, "Got out -- big girl bed!" I thought I was in for a long night, but I laid down beside her and she fell asleep. Of course I fell asleep too, and was awakened by Alison and Anna, who were still waiting for me to finish singing songs.

Let's Get Messy

After a long winter, Spring finallly seemed to have arrived and Abigail celebrated by playing on the dirt pile in front of our house. She started making mud and well ... she was having so much fun, I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop slathering the mud all over her body. But after a very long and messy bath we both vowed we wouldn't do that again!