She Is Very Put Out Tonight

It amazes me sometimes just how spoiled my big blue baby is. Last night Brianna had a sleep over with her two little sisters. Their parents had a trip to go on so I offered to take the girls.The girls are five and two. I babysat for them last year for a short period and Bella got very used to having three little ones to play with instead of just Brie.  Needless to say, Bella was in her glory.

This dog believes she is one of the girls! She insists on coming outside to run around the yard with them, she tries to steal whatever object they are playing with because Keep Away is by far her favorite past time and of course lying in the grass cloud-surfing just like a kid, imagining what the clouds look like. Yesterday we found a T-rex, a frisbee, a volcano and a boat. I wonder what Bella was imaging them to be; maybe a big chew toy or pig ear?

Dinner went well except for the fact Rori, the youngest child is too small to fit in the dining room chairs so we dragged Brianna's kid-size recliner into the kitchen and made do with that. The older two sat at the island in the swivel bar stools and we used the two empty ones to cage off Miss Bella so she could not steal any of their goodies. Try as we might we could not have a conversation or discuss our movie options for the evening because Bella was irate being stuck behind the chairs and a baby gate for food safety. She carried on the entire time telling us why she should be part of the gathering in the kitchen. I am sure if she could actually speak English, she had some valid arguments. The girls were giggling so hard due to Bella's awful behavior, that they were actually dropping bits of food before it reached their mouth.  This caused quite a kick for the youngest and she laughed so hard she spilled her drink right on the floor.

Bella was all set for cleanup duty at that point. It does not help that Suzie will come and sit at the far end of the island while we are eating so she can gauge the quickest scoop-and-run retreat. It makes me feel bad for Bella but not bad enough to let her into the kitchen. Once the cat got up on the island, out of my swatting reach mind you, the dog lost it. The kids were hysterical and started making Bella noises. While I was wiping the floor and the girls were content being mini-Bella superfans, Suzie swooped in stealth-like and went right for the easiest prey at the table; Gabi lost two pieces of ham right off her plate.  "Damn that CAT To Hell!!!"  The cat did a quick grab with one paw, scooped and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. By the time we were getting ready to clean up there were tears streaming down my face because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and it really hurt. Chest pains at 42 years old are no laughing matter. Often they lead to my paranoid worrying and a mini-panic attack. For the record -- that really sucks!

Once the dinner festivities came to a close, each child took a bath and then it was movie time. We settled on Toy Story 3. I happened to be the only one that had not seen it so each of them took turns letting me know what would be coming up next. I gave up 20 minutes into it and just resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be well-versed on the next scene, and the next, and the next... Bella was getting upset the entire time. At night she curls up on the couch with me and goes to sleep or if I am working on the computer, she lays at my feet at the desk. Tonight I was scrunched in the corner of the couch, Brie, Rori and Gabi next to me consecutively - then Bella was stuck on the other side of the sectional and kept trying throughout the movie to fit between each of us systematically until she made it to me and Brie. After being told to stay on the floor repeatedly and sent out of the living room to go lay on a blanket in the hallway; truly shunned, she came up with a new strategy. She began to whine like the poorest lost soul you could ever imagine. Brie said, "Mommy Bella is crying. Can she come back and lay in here on the floor?" So I said "Sure" and went to get the pathetic faker. I swear that dog was smirking when I brought her back into the living room.

The content demeanor of the dog only lasted until she figured out she still was not sitting with Mama. Barking ensued; loud, loud, nail biting, ear splitting barking ensued. Brianna is used to this and just cranks the volume on the TV. Gabi and Rori were not sure what to make of this stubborn pooch. Rori's solution was to scream at this 100 lb monster of a pissed off dog "SHUT UP BELLA! I WATCHING WOODY AND BUZZ!" This coming from a two year old was probably the funniest thing I have heard in a very long time. It actually shocked the dog into being quiet for about two minutes.

By the time the movie was over Bella was staring at me with a look of pure anger in her eyes. If she ever considered biting me seriously instead of a love nip as I usually get here and there, I would have been dog-meat for sure. Her anger was directed right at me. She knew the girls were not to blame for her banishment to the floor but it was me. The girls decided to sleep downstairs, pretty much where they were during the movie. We got pillows and blankets and they settled in for a bedtime story before going to sleep. Bella finally dozed off while I was reading to the girls. I tucked them all in and went to work on my computer. Bella decided to get up on the couch but wanted the spot Rori was fast asleep in because it is the center of the sectional and she always sleeps there. I guess she was too mad at me to lay at my feet while I worked.

She was slowly belly crawling her way to the sleeping child to figure a way to recoup her favorite spot on the couch. I banished her to the floor again with a bribe, I mean treat. She was pretty tired by then and after a few pulls on the collar to remove her from the couch, I got her to stay on the floor after I went and got her bed upstairs. When I finally was ready to catch some sleep, I curled up on the far end of the couch and Bella refused to give in this time. I let her up on the couch and something funny occurred to me. This dog thinks she is really and truly one of the kids. Whatever Brie is doing she wants to be doing too, whatever we are eating she wants some too, whatever family time we are sharing, she parks herself right on the couch with us or out in the yard with us depending what we are doing for the day and whenever we have company, she wants to be part of the fun too. I think tonight I hurt my dog's feelings. I made her feel like she was not part of the family. Shame on me.

She really is one of my kids. Just because she has four legs instead of two, a long tail that will leave a mark like you just got snapped with a wet towel, has terrible table manners, and she cannot speak human, she is as much a family member as any of the rest of us are. I guess I may need to reconsider her rights next time we have a sleepover. Maybe we can arrange ourselves around the big blue dog instead of the dog rearranging her habits around us.

Something to ponder...