Kids and puppies

Puppies and kids, kids and puppies, their relationship is one that I will never understand. It's fantastic, but it's an unspoken bond that adults will never figure out.

Our new mudpuppy is doing pretty well. He's being less of a pain in the ass but still getting into trouble on a regular basis. 

He still tries unsuccessfully to get on the couch, it's not going to be long before he can jump up there, which will really suck.

He still chews anything and everything despite having the entire puppy chew toy selection at our house.

He still doesn't completely like his crate and being left alone. Big C is back to work this week so we've got someone coming in 3 times a day for play time and potty breaks so he's not crated too long. But I'm thinking it will be a month or so before he gets completely used to the process.

He still is full of puppy spunk and craziness. I can see why they say that you should never get a puppy at Christmas time. That would be nuts, just nuts.

My own public service message…no matter how much your kids beg and plead, never ever get a puppy for them for Christmas. They are too much work, too needy, too much of everything to be involved in the chaos of the season.

If they really want a puppy, wait. Yes, wait. Wait till after the holidays, I'd even advise waiting until spring if you live in a cold snowy area. Wait until you are really, really prepared for this new little living thing to enter your lives.

Because if you wait you won't regret it. Kids and puppies are about the sweetest combination you'd ever want to come across.

Our mudpup is infatuated with Miss K. No matter what he is in the middle of, he stops when he hears her voice. He goes nuts when he's upstairs and she comes home and he can't see her. He sits longingly at the gate in our living room when he hears her in the morning, anxious for her to emerge from her room.

Miss K is not much better. She usually bolts out of bed eager to go see her puppy. She typically won't go pee, get dressed or anything else practical till she sees him too.

Let me be clear, our mudpup thinks she's another dog. He wants nothing but to roughhouse, nip and wrestle with her if he could. We've even witnessed a couple running pounces in attempts to get her to play "puppy"

There have been tears because he's nipped her with his sharp puppy teeth or scratched her with his paws. She hides up on a kitchen chair at times when he just won't leave her alone.

No amount of "NO" or ear pinches or distractions will deter him some days, but he's getting better.

You'd think she'd be scared. You'd think she would want him to go away. 

It's just the opposite. 5 minutes after he's scratched her, she's back giving him hugs and kisses. Miss K loves this dog, unconditionally and fully. 

She never asked for another dog after our first Mudpuppy passed away. She still mentions her everyday and will always love her but she never asked to get another dog. I believe she hoped we would, but she never requested one.

That was our choice to get another dog. And I'm glad we did. He's a pain in the ass and we're not getting nearly enough sleep, but he's good for the soul. 

Life just seems more relaxing and comfortable with a dog.

He is a handsome little fellow, he is learning some stuff very quickly and I hope will be a fantastic retriever as well as a family companion.

So, if you are thinking about getting a dog…think really hard, really really hard. They are a ton of work and I mean a ton, but if you want to reap some big rewards and give your kids a buddy that will love them just as fully as they do, you might be doing a good thing

Til next time…think about adopting a rescue dog or from the local humane society

Being tired makes you say stupid things

I feel pretty bad today.

It's really cold and kind of snowy. It's Monday. But that isn't the reason I feel bad.

I yelled at my kid today. This morning while we were supposed to be getting ready to leave or trying to get ready is what I should say.

We were running behind. Not by a lot, but we were falling behind on the get out the door at a decent hour train.

Miss K had done a super job getting her teeth brushed and kind of brushing her hair. ( In winter hat season, any sort of style is hardly worth doing) I figured we were golden.

I thought wrong.

I ran back upstairs to grab a bag to put my shoes in as I had to wear winter boots to work today and Miss K followed me back up the stairs too.

Go back and start putting your boots on please.

No

Just go, I will be there in a minute, get your coat on at least. 

No

OK, I'm ready, let's go. So back downstairs we went. She took one slipper off and I figured we were rolling now.

Then she said she needed help with her other slipper. 

No you don't take it off and get your boots on. 

No, I can't

Let me preface this by saying we are presently having a battle with Miss K about the phrase I can't. She technically isn't allowed to say it, not that it doesn't leave her lips about 100 times a day its that it gets ignored until she comes up with something more appropriate/accurate, like "I don't want to" or "I need help" or "I'm too tired" or something of that nature

You took off one slipper, you can do the other

No, I  can't, can you take off the other one?

No, I need to get my boots on too, you do it and then I will help you with your coat.

No, I can't. And with that she stretched flat out on the stairs and proceeded to do nothing to get ready.

Put on your boots now please, at this point I'd taken off the other damn slipper and was attempting to help her get her stuff on.

So I said more things that were perhaps a little too gruff about putting her boots on and taking away other privileges when she got home.

Which resulted in even more defiance from her. Big C still being on leave from his surgery  was in the picture by now too. He took the drastic step of a swat on the bum and threats of no books at bedtime.

She was in full out meltdown and tears now. 

I felt horrible. Miss K is not a bad kid. Has never been a bad kid. We rarely if ever have to put her in a time out or any disciplinary measure. But she really, really pissed me off this morning.

She can fully dress herself, carry her own back pack and do the zipper on her coat and a lot of the days she does it. Occasionally we get asked for help with a tricky zipper or some snaps and that is just fine, but today she and we went over the edge.

I know why i lost it. I'm tired and achy and a whole host of other things but it doesn't amount to a good excuse for losing my temper.

She didn't deserve that start to the day and I don't need to feel guilty all day. 

I know in the long run she won't remember today. And I probably won't either.

Chasing a puppy over the house and keeping him out of trouble is hard. Waking up numerous times a night for him to go pee sucks too.

But, hurting your kids feelings and setting the tone for the day yelling at them is inexcusable. 

Yup, I'm tired and irritable, but I've got to find a way to be better than that. To get past that and be more level headed with my kid. To realize that she has bad days too.

I'm going to pick her up from the sitter's today, I will give her a big hug like I always do, but today it's going to mean just a little bit more

Til next time…count to 10 before you yell at your kids, maybe it just isn't worth it...

He's here

Well he's here.

Our new puppy came home last week.

I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's good. It's really good having a dog back in the house. Comforting on some level.

But scary on another. Like being a new parent. This helpless being that relies on you for so much and you wonder how you will ever make it through.

He's cute, really really fluffy black ball of spunky cute. He will stop, sit, tilt his head to one side and just look at you and it makes you melt just a little bit inside.

He's also a pain in the ass. A big one at times.

The first night he was home I got no sleep. I don't mean a few minutes here and a few minutes there, I mean zero minutes. He was up every damn hour and he went pee every single time you took him out.

Now there was some missing of his 10 other litter mates. And adjusting to a new home. But every damn hour?? Oh god what a long night. 

We've had him nearly a week and we're at least down to 2 and 3 hour, sometimes 4 hour stretches at night before he feels the need to pee, so that is helpful.

That and Big C has decided to take one for the team as he says. He's still off work after his appendectomy so easier for him to nap during the day than me. They tend to frown on that in an office environment for some reason.

We're limiting his water and night and he seems to kind of like his crate now so things are getting easier in that department. But a long way to go still.

Miss K is in love. Head over heels in love. He jumps on her (which we're keeping to a minimum as best we can), has got her with the sharp puppy teeth by accident and she still comes back for more.

He loves her too. He thinks she is a puppy…but she's the only thing remotely close to his size, so who can blame him?

He seems pretty smart. As smart as a spazzy puppy could be that is. I'm hoping he ends up well behaved, we're trying for that, but who knows at this stage of the game.

I'm still nervous, still not convinced that this was a good idea, but hoping with all my heart that it will be fine. 

I missed having a dog in the house. I didn't miss the occasional hassle that comes along with them, but missed that presence/love/peace that comes with them

He puts a smile on my face everyday and I guess that's a start…

Til next time…a pic of my big guy that has  a soft feminine side in his choice of resting spots

Adding 4 legs to the house

Our lives are about to change again.

Puppy day is fast approaching. Friday we will welcome a 7 week old black lab into our home and begin both the bonding and training process with our new mudpuppy.

It comes with much excitement and much skepticism or fear.

We haven't ever done the puppy stage before with a dog. Sure there are millions that do it every year, but how are we going to manage with working full time etc…

Exciting though that we get to be the pup's new family. The 2 legged litter mates if you want to call it that.

The little guy sort of picked us. We had our eye on about 3 or 4 in the litter that would fit our needs and wants in a hunting dog/companion.

He picked us though. He was in the group of 3 or 4 but he stood out as being the one that hung around us the most, came up to us right away and kept coming back for more.

He snuck into our hearts in a few short visits. Chasing away some of the darkness left by our former mudpuppy's demise.

Almost 6 months later losing her still hurts. 

I had a big talk last night with Miss K. She knows that she is gone, that she is living with God, but doesn't understand why she just can't come home for a little bit.

She wants to give her more kisses and hugs she said. Bless her heart she just wants to see the dog she loved one more time

Miss K is excited about the new puppy. She loves going to see all of them and is almost counting the days until he comes home.

She asked last night why when our Mudpuppy died that she couldn't come back to us. She understood that she went to heaven and was living with God, but wanted desperately to just hug her once more because she missed her a lot.

How do you tell a three year old that its just the way it is, when something dies, it doesn't come back, when all you want to do is the same as her?

Just one more hug, one more sloppy kiss to the face would somehow make it better.

Reality is tough, especially when you're three. It brought tears to my eyes to see Miss K give a big kiss to the picture of her and our mudpuppy. She was pretty sure that our mudpuppy felt them all the way at God's house.

I guess we don't see how much she is hurting. How much she really does miss having the dog around.

I know we'll never have the same experience we did with our first girl, but there's hope this new little guy will put a smile on all our faces and realize new hopes and dreams with his presence.

All I know is it will be an adventure like none before it…

Til next time when I talk of puppy dog tales...

Sometimes life has other plans for you

I like to plan. I like to have some forethought and organization in my life. A little structure and routine to make the days go smoother. I like to be on time, I like to have a plan on what needs to be done in a day.

I'm not so rigid as to know that there are always hiccups and room for variance to the planning. I like to be pretty go with the flow if I can, but there is structure in this flow and that suits me well. It suits our family well actually.

But sometimes life has other plans. Sometimes it throws a couple curveballs and then another high and inside just to keep you on your toes.

That's what happened last week.

As mentioned in my previous post Big C hadn't been feeling all that good lately and that his grandfather had died.

He was going to drive 10+ hours on the weekend to his grandfathers funeral and then leave immediately after it was done so he could be back for a work conference in a nearby big city. Which meant we wouldn't see him for nearly 5 days again.

But you do what you gotta do right?

Except that was all to change.

Last Wednesday evening I asked Big C what was wrong. He told me he wasn't feeling good again. And in the next breath he said he was actually going to go to a doctor and get it checked out, so I knew it was not good. He is the typical man, you have to be on your death bed before you will go and seek help. (though I'm not much different)

He suffered in agony with severe stomach pain most of Wednesday night and had the chills/fever thing going on too.

I was due in for a treatment at the hospital that Thursday morning and Big C said he was coming into the city too and would hit the walk in clinic. That way once he was done there, he could do some Christmas shopping and then meet me for lunch if I got done early enough. Cool, I had the whole day off, he had a day off for bereavement leave, we'd do some power shopping and have a lunch date all at the same time.

But that all changed about 9:30 am. I was reading the paper waiting for my "drugs" to be mixed up when I get a tap on the shoulder.

It was Big C. He'd tracked me down at the hospital. He was not looking good. Pale and ghostly would describe it best. He's darker complexioned having some native blood in his veins and he did not look good. The walk in clinic told him to go to the Emergency dept. of the hospital. It could be any number of things but possibly his appendix.

Wow. OK. I will try to find you when I get out of my treatment.

So after a series of gory details I won't get into. I spent the afternoon I had off with my husband, but it was not for a date. Nope, waiting in the ER for the results of the CT scan they had taken.

Awesome. I held out as long as I could but I had to go to pick up Miss K and explain to her why dad wasn't coming home. Then it was the flurry of phone calls to let those know who needed to, and roll with the new life plan that was thrown at us.

In reality it was pretty good. He waited almost 36 hours before they did the surgery on him. He was hungry and thirsty, but not really in any danger of the appendix bursting.

They had to cut him open, no little laproscopic holes for him as there was some sort of mass around the appendix they didn't like the looks of. 

Lots of sleepless nights on my part from shear adrenalin/worry and his part due to a noisy roommate. 

They sprung him loose a mere 12 hours after coming out of recovery. He was a hurting unit for sure, but happy to be home. Miss K was too, she misses her dad when he's away for work, but the hospital kinda kicked it up a notch.

So now, 4 weeks of no lifting, no twisting, no work of any kind for the big guy. 4 weeks of no waterfowl hunting which we're getting into prime season for. No driving for the week while he's on any sort of pain meeds. 

There was no attending his grandfather's funeral, no Christmas parades on the weekend for any of us.

He's getting better, he can put on his own pants and underwear as of today. But still needs help with shoes and socks. He can't reach anything in the bottom of the fridge, or lift anything out of the oven so he's not much of a house husband right now.

Yup, I know, first world problems. But our own problems, everything is relative and we all deal with pain, change and life's challenges in our own way.

I'm just glad it was not something more serious. I'm glad he is home. I'm glad that he is not sick any more. I'm glad he can do some gift wrapping when the time is right.

I'm glad that when our new mudpuppy comes home he's going to be able to hang out with Big C for the first week or two.

Life gets flipped upside down every now and again. It helps us take stock of what is really important.

It helped me realize that I am doing enough. That I can keep it together and be there when I'm needed most. I can do it. I maybe can't do it all, but I can do what I need to get by, even when life throws you a wild pitch

Til next time, give those loved ones in the hospital an extra hug for me and if life throws you a curveball, try to hit it out of the park

Is it good enough?

I'm feeling  a little helpless these days. Like I'm falling short of some invisible goal. I'm not really attempting anything major, I just think I'm not doing enough.

And its mostly in regards to Big C, like somehow I'm failing him in the support department.

He's been having some physical troubles lately. First it was the pulled tendon in his back that left him close to immobile for almost a week. Minor on an overall scale but he was a pretty big hurting unit for a while.

I've been there, everything else starts hurting when your back does. It's not fun to say the least. And nothing but professional chiropractic help could make him feel better. 

Poor Miss K, she wanted so badly to help too…she'd rub his back the way only a 3 year old can and ask in a chipper voice if that helped or not. Big C would kind of grimace and grin all at the same time and say that he felt better, at least a little bit.

Then he was away all last week for work, more single parenting land for me, but he had a flu bug or something all week and could barely eat anything. If he did eat something it went through him faster than shit through the proverbial goose.

Poor guy, it maybe was the best that he was away and I'm no nursemaid by any stretch of the imagination but you still want to help. But he was in a lonely hotel room and I couldn't even give him a proper hug.

I'm not really the caring doting sort let that be clear. No one is ever going to recommend I sit bedside and take care of someone who is ailing. My prevailing train of thought usually is…suck it up buttercup and get on with it.

But I still like to help if I can and when you're powerless to affect any sort of change or make a dent in the suffering I don't do so well.

Big C's grandfather passed away yesterday. He was 94, had lived at home up until the last 2 years and died on one of his favourite days of the year, Remembrance Day. An interesting gentleman and I'm sure he touched the lives of many.

To a certain extent Big C had already done part of the mourning process, some family issues had pushed him a bit further away from his grandfather than he would have liked, and I think he'd said a sort of good bye in his own mind already.

But, there were a lot of memories and times he shared with his grandfather and he's got a load of hurt still weighing on his mind. A lot of why's and what if's and should I have's I know are going through his mind and making him sad.

It's hard, I just want to be there and make it better, but I know I can't, at least not now.

I feel bad because in all likelihood Miss K and I are not going to be going with Big C to the funeral. Miss K does not know Big C's grandfather, having only met him a couple of times when she was just a baby and I've got a treatment coming up this week that it would be best i not miss. Not to mention about 22 hours in a vehicle round trip that would make for a long couple of days.

It sucks. I feel like I'm not there for him enough, like I'm letting him down in some small way. I don't know how to do more than I am though, it just doesn't seem like its enough.

I guess that's it though, you have to be who you are, do what you can and hope that everything works out. Hope that you can keep forging ahead and better times will come your way.

On a positive note, we saw our future pup in person or "in puppy" on the weekend. They are a month old now and little balls of cuteness. One of them is our new Mudpuppy, and that is exciting and scary too…

Hoping that positivity is the main course of the days to come, its good to look on the bright side, just some days are harder than others…

WTF happened yesterday??

OK, yesterday was Halloween, not normally my favourite event of the year, but after yesterday I pretty much was left with the WTF happened Impression on the day.

It started off with Big C shaving off his moustache. Yes, completely and totally off. Bare lip blowing in the breeze off. Holy crap does he look different, not bad different, just really, really, weird.

Let us understand the moustache has been part of his face since puberty. Yup, that sucker has been on his face since he could grow one. As salt is to pepper and chips are to dip, Big C has always had a stache. Always. 

But not yesterday, his work mates convinced him to shave it off for charity. Around here November is a big month for moustaches. Men grow them in support of awareness for men's health and prostate cancer. A good cause for sure.

It took them 5 years to wear him down and get him to agree to the shave off. There were 5 other candidates in the running and the competition was on to raise the most money. 

Big C came in second with an impressive 395 bucks raised in a little over a week. And he took it off at lunch yesterday, with me there to witness it in front of all his colleagues.

I'm still just staring at him, thinking he reminds me of someone, but I can't quite place who…he looks a lot like his dad, but that's not it…I don't know…its just really really freaky.

So that was freaky thing number one.

Then there was Miss K's peculiar behaviour last night. I went to pick her up, she'd had a great day at the sitter's. Was feeling much better after being hit with a cough/cold combo the past few days and was cheery about Halloween. 

Until we got in the car to go home. Then it all went to shit. She didn't want her ghost picture, she didn't want supper, then she did. Her tummy hurt, her finger hurt, her head hurt. She wanted pizza for supper, she wanted tortellini for supper. She didn't want supper again.

Then we got home and it was one dramatic episode after another. It took forever before she even realized that Big C had shaved off the facial hair she'd known since birth.

She spent a lot of time in her room before we went trick or treating. She wasn't bad, she just could not stop crying. And crying and crying. I know she's 3 and a girl, but this was over the top even for her.

It finally passed and she was able to put on her smiling face she said. Albeit without much candy as she'd been told there'd be no treats if she didn't eat supper, which she didn't.

But that was nothing compared to the final WTF event of the evening. We'd turned off the lights about 7:45. We could see no more kids on the street, it was a miserable windy rainy night, and it was time for Miss K to go to bed.

So, I must clarify before I continue the story. The porch and outside lights were off, the pumpkin was out, all the downstairs lights where our front door is were off. Dark save for a small string of pumpkin/ghost lights in our front garden.

Miss K was in bed sound asleep, I'd folded laundry and was just getting my lunch ready for the next day when I see Big C head back downstairs. I'm figuring he's now going to clear up the candy etc… that we'd left by the door when we'd gone to take Miss K to bed. 

He was actually going to look our the front door for some kids he'd seen running down the street and was checking to make sure there was no vandalism going on. We've had some recent teenagers who think its wise to graffiti peoples cars and houses because they're being told not to cut thru people's property on their way to and from school. I will get to the lazy ass attitude of some children another time.

So he's gone downstairs, I'm on the phone with a family friend and I hear the door bell go, thinking it might be a neighbour I don't think too much of it until I hear trick or treat being said.

WTF? Why are you still out? It's a miserable night, it's 8:40, you have school tomorrow, the lights are off. Why are you at my house?

I'm sure Big C was expecting a group of 16 year old kids being idiots, so I'm sure he was more gruff than he needed to be. 

But he said, the lights are off, my 3 year old is upstairs in bed sound asleep, why are you ringing the doorbell at this time of night. Go home. It's over, get out of here.

And that is when the real fun started. The dad of the 8 year old girl, yes I said 8 year old was still out at 8:45 at night, took exception to how Big C was talking to his kid.

He went into how he should be apologizing to her and she's just out trick or treating and you've hurt her feelings. Your lights were on (the string of lights in the garden). And so on and so on.

Big C, stated again the house is dark, its late, my kid is asleep, why are you ringing the doorbell at this time of night, get out of here. I'm not apologizing to your kid, who by this time is bawling.

Then the voices get louder still, and another guy who is with them comes up our sidewalk grabs Big C, rips his shirt and proceeds to  hurl any sort of obscenity he can at him.

At this stage I'm cutting off my phone conversation and heading downstairs to see what the hell is going on. 

Attacker guy has buggered off, hiding his face and hoping we can't see him. Dad of 8 year old is still on the porch. I'm telling him to cool it and just go home.

He's saying his kid is crying, her feelings are hurt blah, blah, blah. My comment was should she not be in bed? Big C's was, what about my shirt? Ripped, stretched out etc…

Dad of kid walks away, says you're marked buddy, I know where you live. You're marked.

I'm assuming its the mom of the kid is on the front lawn, saying fuck you, this is bullshit, I'm putting this in the paper. You guys are assholes etc…

WTF? What is going on here? Dad comes back, Big C says he's calling the cops, charges of assault, uttering threats. I show buddy that I've put 911 into the phone I still have in my hand.

He walks away again all the while saying he's coming back, you better watch it, you're marked. The mom is still yelling obscenities at us while walking across our neighbours yard.

I say again WTF? Now my husband is on the front porch talking to the 911 dispatcher. While I'm watching where these doofuses are headed. 

Later while Big C is giving his statement to the police officer I'm upstairs thinking to myself & still a bit shaken.

WTF? Where did this bit of violence come from? Why are you being such an idiot in front of your kid? Why are you sending them to a dark house to ring the bell? You obviously care enough to go out trick or treating with them, but what are you still doing out on a rainy night at 8:45 with an 8 year old?

We are not ever going to win parent of the year, ever. But we try. We try to keep our kid safe, develop a good routine, be responsible for our actions and hers, allow just enough freedom, but keep watch just the same.

I'm just dumbfounded by this. Absolutely dumbstruck. 

Encouraging your 8 year old to keep trick or treating when there hasn't been a kid on the street in half an hour. Its cold, wet, and windy and you're out getting every last scrap of candy you can?

Why? Why are you so belligerent when someone calls you on it and says that you shouldn't be sending your kid to darkened doors at that time of night. Sorry buddy, no candy here, try the next house if you want, we're done. Why physical violence when somebody just told you to go home and leave the area?

WTF? What impression are you giving your kid? That all these behaviours are acceptable? That name calling and threats are the way to go? 

We didn't hurt your kid, yup maybe she was upset, maybe she did cry and you know what for that I'm sorry. But life is hard there cupcake and I know at 8 you are not responsible for this sort of stuff. I know you probably had no idea what time it was, or that a darkened house was not a good place to come looking for treats.

I know all of those things kid, and I wish you all the best because if this is the guidance that you've got in your life, your gonna need all the help you can get.

I hope they're smart enough to realize their stupidity. I get it to a certain extent, they're protecting their kid, they want to make her safe and happy too, I know we'd do the same.

But I can't say "if we were in the same situation", because we never would be. Ever. And if I was, please someone just shoot me, because I've obviously lost half my marbles.

One poor judgement led to another and another and another. Poor kid. I know you're loved, but I hope you develop more common sense than the adults in your life.

I hope the adults don't follow through on their promise that they'll come back and we're "marked" and all the other threats because I'm just letting you know kid that your mom and dad may not be around for a while because your parents are not endangering my kid with their stupidity

People surprise me everyday, more often in a good way, but this time in the WTF were they thinking way

Til next time…lock your doors, you never know what might come to the front door

Trick or treat its a new week

It's Monday, an unremarkable Monday, but thought I would write anyway.

Not much new on the home front. Big C is around for a little while now, work has been keeping him on the staying in hotels circuit the last bit and he's gone all next week again. Poor guy, I definitely do not envy him. 

Hotel stays for vacations or periodically when needed are fine, but when you spend nearly as many days in a hotel as you do in your own bed, I'm thinking it becomes tiresome.

We had our first snowflakes over the weekend. They didn't last long and they were pretty wet, but it was snow for sure. That means winter is around the corner.

Yes, it may take another month before we get snow that actually sticks around for a day or so, but it's fast approaching.

We got another video of our soon to be fur kid yesterday. I guess it was a video of the whole litter, eyes now open, starting to walk etc… Cuteness overflowing let me tell you. Miss K watched the video 3 times, she just can't wait until our pup comes home.

On the flip side, there were more tears for my mudpuppy today. She's been gone nearly 5 months and some days the wound is still so fresh of losing her.

A piss off almost, a dog that was otherwise healthy save for a few seasonal allergies taken from us. 75 pounds of pure muscle and athleticism and some wiring didn't work in her brain that stripped us of more years with her. Maddening that a dog that healthy couldn't have spent more time in our lives.

Lots of tears still to come, and I know having the new pup will both help and hurt all at the same time.

Big C put his back out yesterday. He's a big time hurting unit. You know how when your back hurts everything hurts and you just become cranky?? That describes him to a T right now.

He could have asked for help to push what he was pushing and that might have stopped it, but who really knows? Maybe some magic from the chiropractor will make things better.

Halloween is this week. Yay. Not.

I don't like Halloween. I like dressing up, some of the costumes people come up with are cool, but I just don't care for it.

It seems its becoming another big commercial racket and that bugs me.

It's one night, Miss K will visit her half dozen houses and some home and scarf a bunch of candy and that will be that I hope. 

It's supposed to rain too, which might make some of the less die hard trick or treaters not show up.

I could do without the kids who are old enough to drive themselves around, the ones who don't have any manners, the ones who put on a hockey jersey and call it a costume, the parents who are collecting for a "sick kid" at home, the ones that are too old, the ones that are too young etc…

I guess that pretty much leaves the princesses and spidermans that get wheeled around in a wagon by their parents. They're the few that are polite and cute.

Enjoy your Halloween festivities, whether thats trick or treating, parties or sitting in the house with the lights off…til next time

Can you have too many puppies?

How many dogs is too many? 

We have good friends who have 9. Yes nine dogs. They live on a rural property so there's no by-laws limiting the number of pets. But the house is small and all the dogs are in the house for the most part. There is a designated dog room, but for the majority of the time they have free reign of the house.

And its a good thing, their house does not smell of dog, their furniture is not chewed up, their floors are spotless because no crumb of food ever stays for too long.

They even have 2 cats. I'm not talking little dogs either, each and every one is either a labrador or golden retriever.

It works for them, but could it work for us?

Yes, I fear that we may become a multi-dog household. Not 9 of them, but perhaps 2.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we've spoken for and put a deposit down on a puppy who will be coming home in about 6 weeks.

So that is good, but in the last week we've had 2 inquiries about taking other dogs that people are needing to get rid of.

One is a 6 month female black lab that someone was looking to use for a show dog, but the adult teeth didn't come in quite right and that is out for the dog by the owner.

Leery on this one, would love to have a pup that is out of the real puppy stage, but at the same time if it was bred for show, will it be good for retrieving? The price is right, free, but can't let my big sympathetic heart get the best of me on this one.

The other is a 18 month old that has been with a pro trainer since birth. Good bloodlines, good training history and so on make this a more attractive option.

The dog isn't quite living up to the standards and/or timeline that the pro had set out for her. She's a good dog, but with so many others to train you have to leave the weaker ones behind. Kind of like a sports team, you can only keep so many and the ones that don't make the grade have to find another place to play when they're cut.

The price for a dog like this is steep even with a less than stellar performance record. Our beloved mudpuppy came to our home under similar circumstances, a great dog, but didn't fit in with the plan/team she was on. But she was free under the condition that we get her spayed right away.

We'd already said that we could not afford the asking price as it was over 2000 bucks. But there was an email last night saying that there was some negotiating room on price and how did we feel about that??

Ahhhhrrrggghhh, I don't know…I'm not too sure about the puppy coming in 6 weeks, let alone having  a more mature dog in the house.

It would be good in a lot of ways. There's advantages to having 2 dogs for sure. A more mature dog to show the other one good habits, 2 for hunting, 2 for training, one could rest while the other is running, hunting. More to love, more of everything, including dog hair!! Mostly, one could entertain the other and that would be helpful at the puppy stage.

It could be bad in lots of ways. With the older dogs, you have no idea what sort of issues you could be dealing with. There is double the cost in all areas, double the trouble basically.

We'll have to think long and hard about whether we would even consider having two dogs right now. 

Have to think of Miss K, what is it going to do to her if we did decide to bring 2 into the house and then had to get rid of one because it wasn't working out?? Plus how might an older dog relate to her? Have they even been around kids or would that be a safety issue??

Adding to the thought process is the real possibility the breeder of the puppy we are getting may very well offer us an attractive deal on 2 puppies.

The mom had a litter of 12. Yes 12 damn puppies. I think he had about 6 spoken for before she had them, but now he's got double that number to get rid of…yikes

Well wouldn't that be a whole other kettle of fish? Or barrel of puppies if you will. We're not sure about having one puppy, how would we deal with 2??

Could be double the fun and definitely double the trouble.

For the long time we wondered if we'd ever get a replacement for our little girl who put such big paw prints on our hearts, and now we've got the little buggers knocking down our door.

In some ways I hope we just end up with one for the time being, but another part of me says fill the house up with any that want to come our way.

Like they say, when it rains…it generally pours..whatever happens I know I'm going to have to get more Swiffers for the floors!!

Til next time...

Like a steel trap

Do you kids ever frighten you?

I don't mean hiding in their room and jumping out of the closet, I mean scaring you with what they know and remember?

Miss K has a mind like a steel trap. The information goes in, and does not come out. She files it somewhere in there for recollection at a moments notice.

Frightening on its own level.

Take this week for example. After a trip to the clinic we find out that the poor kid has an ear infection. Mild, but still some antibiotics are needed to make sure it goes away.

She will complain for 3 damn days about a hangnail she had 2 weeks ago, but just mentions in passing from time to time that her ears are sore, but that's another story.

After Miss K woke up in the wee hours of the morning the other day. 5:20 to be exact. She was complaining rather profusely now that inside her ear hurt so we told her that we'd be going to the clinic later in the day so they could check things out.

We have been to this clinic exactly once in her life. Our family doctor retired 6 months ago so we had to make the switch to a nurse practitioner clinic.

We did  a small tour and meet and greet one evening in March and that is the last we've ever been there with Miss K. (I'm not complaining, she's a healthy kid)

Upon hearing the news we'd be going to the doctor. She asked if we'd be in the fire truck room, because that is the one she'd like to be in.

I got a blank stare on my face and said I didn't know. I honestly was thinking that she'd seen something on TV about kids going to the doctor or hospital and they'd been in a room like that.

She asked me then what the other room at the clinic was because she couldn't remember and that's when the light bulb finally went on in my head.

The clinic has 2 rooms geared for kids, one with a fire engine bed and one with a train bed.

Dear God, how did she even think of that?? The things that get imprinted on those young minds blow me away.

I guess she pulled the almost identical conversation with Big C later in the day when he picked her up from the sitter. He said it took a little longer for him to clue in, but he had the same reaction. How in the hell does she come up with this stuff?

We're figuring if her memory stays as sharp, she will be very useful in the future. We are not young parents, with both Big C and myself being in our early 40's and our memory not what it used to be.

She can remember where we left our sunglasses, remind us to take medication, and eventually tell us to put our underwear on the inside of our pants etc…

I guess its a lesson to be learned and one that I've always subscribed to. Never, ever, ever make a promise to your kid that you don't intend to keep. Because that little pickle head will remember it till the day you die!!

Til next time…use it or lose it…your brain that is

When the truth hurts

The saying is cliché, but sometimes the truth hurts. I had to tell the truth this week and it hurt. It hurt me and it hurt Big C, and that hurts.

We have been house hunting for quite some time now, it's not going well to say the least. We are thinking that perhaps we just don't have the budget for what we're looking for.

Or we have the budget, just that we have to go and live in the middle of butt f%$# nowhere.

There was one house that was sort of fitting the bill, overpriced in my opinion and not exactly what we were looking for but I suppose it would do.

We heard this week that there was an offer put in on it. Big C has been thinking about this place for a while, and he's sorta digging it.

I can see his point, its a pretty good base and we there's potential for making it the way we want. But at the top of our budget and 1000's of dollars in changes/upgrades are we making the right decision?

I see where he's coming from. I can envision what he'd like to do. 

I can't see myself living there. I want to in the worst way. I want to share his vision and optimism but I can't.

He asked if we could put a lowball offer in, just to see if we could take a stab at it. Our offer was going to be way off the asking price, I almost agreed with him on the premise that it would never be accepted.

But never say never right? I went on the notion that our offer was accepted, and then what? We sold our house and 3 months from now we were living there.

No, I couldn't do it. I couldn't even go through with that. I wasn't feeling it, I wasn't excited about moving to this place, no matter how remote the chance. I was sick inside about it, guts churning knowing that I'd have to say no.

Big C wants out of where we are for many reasons. Our house is not horrible by any means and suits our needs  in many ways. But we've sort of out grown it, or at least need a different arrangement of space. Maybe not more space, but a different allocation of it.

I stalled for a bit, saying I didn't know what to do. But after Miss K went to bed, I had to come out with it. I had to say that I just couldn't move there, that staying where we were was the better option.

Big C was upset. Or disappointed would probably be the better word. I think he thought I was digging this other place the way he was. It had lots going for it, but I wasn't feeling it, some intangible thing I couldn't put my finger on.

Big C asked me again yesterday morning to think about it some more. I guess he hadn't got much sleep. He figured it was a mistake not to at least try to get it.

I stewed about it for most of yesterday. It ate away at me a little more. But honesty won out again. Even if this house was well below our budget, I still don't think I'd want to be living there.

We talked again last night. More truths that hurt, but not being honest with Big C or myself for that matter would damage us even more. 

I hated crushing his vision, hated that look of sadness in his eyes. Hurting someone you love so much with nothing more than the truth.

I hope we can move onto something better someday. I hope there is a place out there that suits us and will fit our life. I hope its in line with both our hearts and minds and Miss K's too as she gets older.

I also hope that in the future I don't have to be truthful and cause so much pain in the process.

Til next time…tell the truth, even if it hurts

Here we go!

Oh no, what have we done? Remember how I said we were kind of stuck in one endless repeating circle? Well, change is on the way.

A big one. Really, really big change, in a very small package.

We're getting a puppy. Sometime in early December our lives are going to be turned upside down.

I'm excited and scared all in one emotion. I didn't really want a puppy, was hoping for a more mature dog, at least 6 or 8 months old.

But as the saying goes, opportunity will knock and you have to listen. We even put a deposit on this opportunity, so its not going away.

Again I say, oh no what have we done? This is not going to be good, cute and furry yes, good no. The only thing that could be worse is if I was having another kid about 2 weeks before the puppy's arrival.

Please, please, please let this work out all right. Miss K is so wanting this to happen. She is still torn up about the loss of our Mudpuppy. 

Just last night we caught her up close to the TV because there was a puppy on it. She said she was touching the TV because she wanted to pet the puppy. She went into a long lament about missing our Mudpuppy and wanting another dog etc…

Puppies in the not too distant future is a hard concept for a three year old to grasp. She was sort of thinking that when we went to see the "mom" of our new addition on the weekend that we'd be bringing a puppy home that day.

No we told her there are puppies growing in her belly, it will be a while before we can see them and longer still before we can bring it home.

I hope she gets it, it will be another 6 weeks or so before the puppies are big enough after being born that we can go see them.

Oh, god the puppy stage. I'm not sure that I want to do this. But we couldn't pass it up. A breeding and pedigree that was sound and proven. 

A mother dog that was keen to hunt and retrieve but was docile and calm around the house. A father dog along the same lines.

An older dog would have been ideal, house trained, some basic obedience already, kennel trained, could leave it for longer periods of time etc… But also rare to find, and much more in the cost department.

Yes, we'd love to rescue a shelter dog, but our needs/wants are more specific so we're going this route.

It's not cheap either and we've got a whole lot of logistics to work out in the next few months, but deep down I think it will go OK, at least I hope so…

Change is coming and its going to be black with four furry feet and a cold nose.

Oh yeah, and a co-worker of Big C's is coming to look at our house tomorrow. He's looking to move to the area and thinks our house might fit the bill.

Egads, wouldn't that be a trip. Sell our house, buy a new one and move all before the new fur kid comes along

Should be a fun run up to the end of the year n'est ce pas?

Til next time…think of puppy names…lol