Lots of Birthdays

In our family, we celebrated three birthdays this weekend. My twins turned seventeen. And my puppy turned three.

What's it like to have seventeen-year-old boy-girl twins? It's a breeze. It's a joy. It's a whole helluva lot easier than having younger twins. When Jacob and Faith were babies, they were cute and sweet when they slept or laughed or held hands or did something funny like accidentally pee on each other while I was changing their diapers. But in general, it was physically and emotionally draining. I was always needed. My life was basically taken over by these kids. Did I mention that we had another baby 19 months after the twins were born? (Incidentally, my husband recently completed his first triathlon, and he said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. He must have forgotten what it was like when the kids were little.) Back then, I was going to write a book about how to survive the first year with twins. I had a title figured out: The First Year is a Blur. I bought a binder and organized it with different sections for different aspects of raising twins. But guess what? The binder is empty. And the first year is pretty much a blur.

If you are expecting twins, I don't mean to frighten you. I'm just relating my experience. I'm sure you'll have angelic babies who sleep through the night and nap at the same time and have mellow personalities. It's definitely possible. But here's the important thing: My kids are amazing. Smart and funny and unique and comfortable in their own skin. And holy cow, they're seventeen!

So, what's it like to have a three-year-old puppy? Okay, I realize Ozzy is not officially a puppy anymore, but you try telling him that. Ozzy is our Mini-Whoodle (part Wheaten Terrier, part Mini-Poodle), and he is the world's sweetest dog. I am not even the least bit biased. I know a lot of people end up on my blog when they do a search for Mini-Whoodles, so I figure I might as well give you some helpful information, not just about puppies but about what you can expect when your Mini-Whoodle grows up:

Appearance: 25 pounds, charcoal gray, warm brown eyes, and a funny looking 1970's-ish mustache. He's the perfect size for snuggling with on the sofa, and he's not tall enough to get anything off the kitchen counter.

Trainability: (Granted, some of this is my fault, but still). He sits. He stays in our yard with the invisible fence. He walks well on a leash. He never pees or poops in the house. He doesn't chew anything he shouldn't. He doesn't bite. Unfortunately, he still jumps on people, and he barks at the mail carrier and UPS guy, and he doesn't know how to fetch, and he never comes when I call him unless I'm giving him a treat or a car ride. Thankfully, his sweetness more than makes up for these minor problems.

Personality: Very playful. Very loving. Has never met an animal or person he didn't like. Will do anything for a belly rub. Gives lots of kisses. Enjoys daily walks and car rides with his head out the window. Often sits outside and greets the neighbors by rolling over on his back. Snuggles on the sofa with everyone in the family. Sleeps in his crate with his favorite stuffed animal. Smiles for the camera.

If you're looking for a Mini-Whoodle, I suggest you contact Barb at Old McDoodle Farm. She's wonderful. And if you're expecting twins, I suggest you load up on sleep, solidify your marriage, and reinforce your sense of humor. You're about to have the craziest, most challenging, most beautiful, and most rewarding ride of your life.

Puppy Update

I think people are generally more interested in puppies than they are in children's literature. You would not believe the number of emails I get about my Mini Whoodle, Ozzy! I blogged about our decision to get him, and I guess when people do a web search for Whoodles, they find me. So I figured it was high time I give an update about our life with Ozzy, otherwise known as The World's Sweetest Dog.

We got Ozzy from Barb at Old McDoodle Farm. I highly recommend her. Ozzy is now about 1 1/2 years old, but he still has that sweet, excited, loving puppy attitude. Perhaps that's why he has earned the nickname "Puppa" or "Puppalicious" or "Puppadoo." Ozzy has never met a human or animal he didn't like. He barely ever barks, only to come in from outside or to say hello to a friend across the street. He doesn't bite either, although he will jump up on people sometimes. (We are working with him on that one.) He will do just about anything for a belly rub.

He loves to take walks and go to the dog park. He also loves to sit on the couch and snuggle with whoever is watching TV or reading a book. We have an invisible fence, and he was trained on it very quickly. We think of him as the mayor of our street because he sits in the front yard and interacts nicely with all the people and animals who walk past. His favorite time of day is when the school bus stops in front of our house, and all the kids come by to say hello. He is 22 pounds, which is the perfect size. Small enough to snuggle with but not tall enough to reach the counter tops. His coat never changed to the wheaten color, but he lightened to a charcoal gray, and he has a cute, blonde, very 1970's mustache.

We house trained him with no trouble at all. He never has accidents. He sleeps in a crate. In his first year, he chewed up two retainers, a pair of glasses, a couple rolls of toilet paper, and countless socks. We have learned to keep bedroom and bathroom doors shut.

I never really wanted a dog. I wasn't much of an animal lover as a kid, and as an adult, I turned into a cat person. But after our kids became teenagers, and our cats died, and my beloved grandmother passed away, and our house was burglarized... something clicked inside of me, and I was determined to get a dog. My husband was not on board at first. He didn't want the responsibility. He didn't want anything interfering with the freedom we were starting to have as our kids were getting older. But shhh... he's embarrassed by those thoughts now! Ozzy has brought so much joy and laughter and love to our family. The responsibility is definitely worth it!

Camp Birch Knoll Book Tour Photo Essay

This week I had the unbelievable opportunity to go back to camp. My novel, Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire, was inspired by my six summers at the best place on earth: Camp Birch Knoll in Phelps, Wisconsin. Gary Baier, the director of the camp, invited me to come up to camp for a Fireside program to talk to the girls about my experience as a camper and to tell them about the book. I was pumped!

I took my puppy, Ozzy, with me. He was not too excited about the prospect of a seven-hour car ride.

But he soon got the hang of it.

And before too long, we were driving through the entrance to camp! I couldn't help but break out in the Camp Birch Knoll song.

Just like Jemma, I was dazzled by this view of the lake.


I showed up right in the middle of their Sunday afternoon program: CBK's Got Talent. My daughter, Faith, was very happy to see me.


I stayed in the Upper Lodge, which is off-limits for campers. Faith was dying to go up there, but of course I didn't let her. Suffice it to say the Baiers are very hospitable hosts!

The girls put on their finest for the Fireside program. Here's Faith and some of her cabin-mates.
They took this opportunity to show me all their songs and dances they'd made up so far this summer.
Dinner was famous "Ed's Chicken," as featured in my book and in my memory. Yum!

After dinner, Ozzy enjoyed belly rubs from all the campers.

And hugs from Faith.

Finally it was time for the friendship chain leading to the Fireside service. "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold..."

At Fireside, campers and counselors shared songs, poems, and beautiful thoughts. I spoke about my terrible start to camp my first summer there (fought with cabin mates, ran away, was considered the "Big Mouth of Cabin Six") and how I came back and made the most of every summer afterwards and how I took the values I learned at CBK into the rest of my life. I read an excerpt from Jemma Hartman, and the girls loved it. Then awards were given, and finally, the new Firelighter (camp role model) was announced, and her cabin clobbered her with hugs.

Here she is, another camper extraordinaire!

Afterwards, Gary surprised everyone when he told them he bought copies of my book for every camper and counselor. Cheers all around!

Cabin groups came into the Lodge one at a time to eat fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, ask me questions, and get their books personalized.

The funniest question of the night was, "I want to have a book written by me, but I don't want to write one. How do I do that?" My answer was to become a celebrity.

The girls enjoyed looking at my old yearbooks, laughing at the fashions from the late 70s and early 80s.

And they loved the tattoos I gave them.

The next day I had to say goodbye to the magic of Camp Birch Knoll.

And head back in the car with Ozzy.

When I was sixteen years old, during my last summer of camp, Gary gave me a quote by Walt Disney that has guided my life ever since. I give it to you now with the hope that you will all follow your dreams and have the good fortune to see them come true...

"Think about the person you'd like to become.

Believe in yourself, based on the thinking you've done.

Dream big dreams, based on your belief in yourself.

Dare to make your dreams come true.

Think. Believe. Dream. Dare.

Become the person you know you can be."

Thanks, Gary, for everything!