Stream of Ruminations

Well, the last of the decorations are finally stowed until the Thanksgiving weekend rolls around again. At least I think they are - it seems that one or two always manage to be overlooked and pop up when least expected, kind of like the pine needles from the tree. I swear we are still finding needles from trees of Christmases from the last few years. The toys on the other hand are a different matter entirely. We still haven't managed to clear them out from the corner they have resided for the last three weeks, though the Can Robug did make it out of the box and across the kitchen floor, much to Marley's chagrin.

The Doodle's been with us for just over six years now, being a slightly late gift from Santa when we went to pick him out a few days after Christmas 2008. Thanks to the Marley and Me children's books, Erin was determined whatever dog we picked out would be named Marley. Naturally, when the Labradoodle we picked out at the store was brought home, that sweet, innocent looking creature ended up taking after his namesake more than we would have thought possible. Not for the first time have I wished I wrote down all the wacky, and naughty (like eating my eyeglasses while I was in the shower one morning) antics of our dog. I imagine I could title the book The Wackadoodle and Us. Maybe one of these days I'll set pen to paper and get some of those stories down - or maybe even fingers to keyboard in a blog or some such ;).

So, as Marley hits middle dog-age this year, Erin will be hitting the big 1-0. She'll be our double digits girl. A decade of marriage and parenthood under our belts, and we are learning it all over again with the Abbster as she hits the four month mark in another ten days. Sometimes I wonder how we managed to get through it the first time around will all involved parties more or less intact. New jobs, a new house, and pretty much a new life together. Has to be one of the nuttiest things that can be done, but I can't say I would trade any moment of it for something else. I guess we did all right for ourselves. Now we just have to see what the next ten years will bring us ... besides Erin hitting the big 2-0 and Abby becoming our new double digit girl.