Trying times

Some days you feel like life is just out to getcha!

The Princess and Little Man have been at each other's throats more than they seem to be.  

They seem to have developed an amazing sense of entitlement that I can't recall instilling in them.  Ever.  

The Princess is not a morning person at all, neither am I, but I dread to see how she will be when she is a teenager if her performance from this morning is anything to go by!

Little Man is very argumentative with everyone right now.

They are 10 and 8 respectively.  Heaven help me if I plan to get through the teen years in one piece if this is an indication of what is yet to come!

I'm struggling to find the joys of motherhood right now.  I know they are there and there are lots of them, but honestly, there are days where I find it very hard to even like them.  What a terrible thing to say, I know, but true. 

They are just so competitive, especially with each other, that it becomes very frustrating and I seem to feel like I'm a referee than a mum.

On another note, we have a new puppy.  

We lost one of our dogs to a snake bite a few weeks ago.  It was very upsetting for the children and us.  

We almost lost my Rosie one morning to strangulation from her collar.  The red dog and the white dog were playing and the white dog's lower jaw got twisted up in the red dog's collar. We are lucky we got to her when we did as I was able to resuscitate and revive her.  The vet said we had literally a minute left and she's very lucky to be alive.  

Thank goodness The Princess went to check on them when she didn't get a response to calling them.  If we had have left already for school the thought of what we would have come home to is too horrible to bear.  

Now the dogs don't wear collars and we will only put them on when we are out and they need to be on a leash.   

Anyway, the new puppy is like having a newborn in the house.  It's been a blur of eat, sleep, wee.  He's been banished to sleeping in the aviary we use as a kennel with the girls because he's decided that when he wakes up around 3am he wants to play.  JUST like a baby!  My babies were sleep-through-the-night babies from around 3 months of age, so this has been a big adjustment.  

He's about 6 weeks old and very cute.  The children named him Moose.  Not my choice for a name, but they chose it to rhyme with Zeus, our dog we lost to a snakebite.  

Today, I'm grateful for my home and family (even if it's been driving me nuts).  

I'm grateful for antihistamine tablets because I've had bad sinus for most of the week.  

I'm grateful for 3 days of work for the week.  

I'm grateful that I'm alive even if sometimes I think I'm not.