The forgotten twin...

I feel bad.
I was so busy this past week, I completely forgot to document one of my twin's birthdays.

Yes, I have twins; a boy and a girl.

In case you are starting to wonder...



...this is my other twin: Sasha Caramel Herwig.
She turned 1 on December 6th and what a ride it has been!

We got her in January when she was only 6 weeks old. I have to admit, she was the cutest little fluff ball I had ever seen. Little did I know that over the next couple of months, I would come to know post-partem depression worse than after my own children's births. Suffice it to say, I was not prepared nor equipped to be a mommy to two daughters, a 15 month old son, and his twin...a hyper puppy who needed to go outside to pee and poop more times than should be normal. And last January was a particularly cold and wet month. I did not like life for a while. Little man and Sasha antagonized each other and drove me past insanity. I shamelessly take pride in the fact that through our three children and the many dramatic moments we have encountered, I have rarely and I mean rarely ever called Steve to leave work to come home and rescue me. Well, pride goeth before destruction. I called and I cried and I panicked and I begged and I even yelled. I wanted someone...anyone...to save me from the nightmare of training a new puppy. Just thinking about it now makes me sweat.

I'm not sure when, but the tide slowly turned. I can honestly say (almost a year later) that I do love our dog. She is an absolute sweetheart. She is the perfect fit for our family. And even though I am biased, I can still state with complete confidence that she is the most beautiful Golden we have ever seen! We're still not sure if she's the brightest dog in the litter, but she's smart enough for us.

I love to watch my children with our dog. They love each other fiercely. Sasha is more than patient with them. I trust her implicitly with my babies. And that is saying a lot seeing as how I am so not an animal person. It's also saying a lot that I have come to not mind her being in our home. MY home. My clean and always trying to be uncluttered home. I do not like to see dust and dirt on my floors. I am paranoid about dog hair. We invested in a Dyson pet vacuum with a HEPA filter...which I love almost as much as my kids. But I still love our dog. She does drive me crazy at times, but so do the kids. And at least she sits when I tell her to. And I should acknowledge the girls and how well they help take care of Sasha. They are great helpers and I am so very pleased that they have not disappointed us. My girls are wonderful animal-people. Sasha is one lucky doggie. Little man also helps. The saying: a boy and his dog, applies completely to my twins. A lot of the time, this dynamic duo is more destructive than I care to mention, but they are big buddies. Little man is always looking for her. He loves to have her come into his room while he plays. He will play for hours if she is laying close by. (If only she would hurry up and outgrow the chewing on everything stage...) Little man's toys look more like doggie dental molds than what they really are. He'll come to me with some chewed-on toy in his hand and say: "Eww, Momma! Sashee eat!" And I think: "Well, duh!" But if little man doesn't care that much, then why should I? I can't worry about everything. I would be miserable. So it is what it is. (I love my new motto, by the way.)

Bear with me as I travel through Sasha memories. How often will I be able to celebrate our family dog's 1st birthday? I'm personally thinking this will be the only time since I am fairly certain I NEVER want to have a puppy again!

She was pretty cute, even from the start.
And she was always ready to play however the kids wanted.


You would think tug of war is cute...not so much.
Sasha didn't understand he was a baby and little man didn't understand that Sasha had sharp little razor teeth.


She has chewed on everything we own from the start.
(And don't think we let her get away with it either.)
She is just stubborn...must be in the air at our house.


When they were driving me crazy, I tried and tried to get Sasha to enjoy time in her "space". Unfortunately, little man like it a lot more than the darn dog did.


Sweet moments...
K has fallen asleep with Sasha from the start. It really is too sweet.






Zzzzzzzzz...

...zzzzzzzzzzz.


B enjoys being with Sasha too, but she has yet to actually fall asleep.

What B lacks in her abilities for quiet time with Sasha, she more than makes up for in her willingness to take Sasha on walks, play fetch, and in trying to teach some new tricks.


Sasha with her special treat from her friend, Lila.
(another Golden only 1 day older)
This treat was for Sasha getting "fixed".
You know, I think we still have part of this bone...


See how sweet?

You'd never know they were plotting and scheming how to best have me pull my hair out.

It all starts when little man realizes he can share his snacks with Sasha.
This is where the loyalty begins to form.
You could almost hear him think: "Ooooonnnne for me and ooooonnnne for you..."


I am grossed out more times than I care to count with
"Sashee" kisses.
Yuck!


Sasha chews off the button in the middle of the cushions, exposing an itty-bitty piece of fluff.
Little man decides to perform a deep-cushion search. I wish I had a picture of the scene I walked in on...Sasha, nose deep in one cushion and little man, elbow deep in the other.
Then, they make art.
Impressive, aye?


Can you see the green stripes?
Little man decided to paint.


Then there was the evening Sasha actually led me to her treasure trove.

I honestly think she thought I'd somehow be pleased by this.
She was wrong.


So many other fun times...maybe some not so fun, but memorable just the same. (Like the time she ate through 4 toothbrushes in a two day span...no, I don't want to remember that one...)
Even though I have struggled with my newest twin, I can easily see how she has been good for our family. The girls have learned more about responsibility, compassion, and self-reliance. Little man has found a loyal friend. I have discovered that I can handle more than I thought. I have also discovered that inflicting these tests on myself isn't always the smartest course of action.

So Happy Birthday Sasha!
You are one loved dog...