My son already has a best friend. His name is Lovey Dog, LD
for short (or Love Doggie Dog* if Hubs and I are feeling especially gangsta).
Quinn sleeps with Lovey Dog every night. As soon as I lay him in his crib, he
rolls over and snuggles Lovey Dog until he falls asleep.
Q will toss and turn throughout the night, and every now and
then he’ll whimper, cough or cry out a little. I watch him on the video monitor
as he frantically searches around his bed for his beloved friend. As soon as Q's little hands wraps around Lovey Dog, he is instantly comforted and falls
back asleep. Hubs and I then breathe a sigh of relief and fall back asleep as
well.
We’re convinced that Lovey Dog is the only reason Q naps or sleeps
through the night at all. After surviving life with a newborn, I
discovered that my sanity hinges precariously upon at least a small amount of
sleep, and if Q doesn’t sleep, nobody sleeps. Therefore, LD is a vital member
of our family.
The immense love my son has for Lovey Dog has started to
show. After a year of sleeping with Quinn (and periodic tumbles in the washing
machine), LD began to unravel. Literally.
Poor LD’s nose started to come off. Quinn would tug on the
loose threads, look up at me inquisitively and ask “Dat?” multiple times as we read his bedtime story.
“Lovey Dog’s nose is coming off,” I would explain.
“Off,” Quinn would repeat. His brow would furrow with
concern, he would hold LD up to my face and grunt Uhhhhhh!! all Master P style,** which I think was his way of saying
“Fix it, Momma!”
So I did.
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| Ten-week old Q on his first family vacation |
So I solicited my talented friends with the
following email:
Hello my crafty friends,
As a non-crafty friend, I really
need a favor. Quinn's best friend, Lovey Dog, has been loved a little too much.
His poor little nose is coming unraveled, and I have no clue how to fix it.
Lovey Dog is the reason Q sleeps at night (finally), and he doesn't sleep well
without it. I've searched for a new one, but they don't make this kind of lovey
anymore apparently. Ack!
Do any of you know how to fix poor
LD's nose? Is a sewing machine required? I have never used a sewing machine
ever in my entire life. I can barely sew a button. (I know, it's pathetic. I
should just turn in my ovaries right now.)
If any of you have the sewing
skills to help me out, I would gladly repay you. In babysitting services?
Bottles of wine? Hiding a body? (Just kidding about that last one. Sort of.)
Anything you need, you just ask. (Unless it involves a needle and thread,
obviously.)
Thanks, friends. Quinn, Lovey Dog
and I greatly appreciate your help!
Love,
~ Your friend that got a C- in Home Economics....
~ Your friend that got a C- in Home Economics....
Shameless, I know.
A friend, whom I consider myself quite blessed to know***, took
pity on LD’s unraveling sniffer and responded with this:
Finally my homeschool nerd skills
can shine, haha. I think I can fix it, and it doesn't require a sewing
machine (although I do have one if necessary :P).
Yay! There was hope for Love Doggie Dog (and my sanity)
after all! (And for the record, my friend is so NOT a nerd. She's humble, sweet and awesome.)
I dropped LD off at my friend’s house the next day. Quinn
only had to sleep with Back-up Lovey (a lovey in elephant form, also blue with
floppy ears and a close second to Lovey Dog) for one night.
SAHM’s know how important sleep can be, so my friend wasted
no time getting that poor dog’s snout repaired. Her homeschool experience
totally came to the rescue, and LD’s nose looks better now than it did when I
first purchased him.
 |
| LD's repair in progress and the end result |
 |
| Quinn, in his Elmo jammies, snuggling with his newly repaired friend. |
Quinn definitely noticed the difference when LD 2.0 returned to him. Several weeks later, he still tries to pull on the newly taut threads and asks “Off?”
“Lovey Dog’s nose is all better,” I tell him. “Don’t try to
take his nose of anymore. Can you kiss his nose instead?”
Q then gives LD’s nose a big, open-mouth kiss (which is
sometimes followed by a little nibble, which may be how the nose started to
unravel in the first place) and says “Muah!”
That’s the sign of true love, people. Big, open-mouth,
slobbery kisses and an unraveled nose. Q can unravel my nose any day.
 |
| Kauai vacation - 2012 |
*Don’t lie. You know you’re singing it in your head right
now. “Love Doggie Daw-aw-aw-awg (Love Dawg).”
** Now you’re singing “Uhhhhhh!
Na na na na!” You’re welcome.
***I’m not sure that statement is grammatically correct. If not,
kindly correct me. Minor grammatical offenses don’t really bug me (it’s a BLOG
for crying out loud), but this one seems right up there with confusing “specific”
and “pacific” and saying “heighth” instead of “height.” Those two especially
make my butthole jaw clench.
