Mayhem and Magic

Close Call

Yesterday at almost noon Beloved sent me a text to tell me his plane had just arrived.  Hooray!

Here's my response: "Good!  Are you going to work or going home?  I'm planning on going home in a few minutes to let the dog out.  And I forgot my lunch in the rush this morning."

And then I sent it to...  My mother!

My phone just go updated and the screen for texting looks different now.  Apparently I am easily confused.  Thirty seconds later I got a text from my mom saying basically, "Wha-huh?"

Thank goodness I didn't say anything more wink, wink, nudge, nudge-y, 'cause that's kinda what I meant but can you imagine if I had accidentally sent THAT to my mother!  I'm telling you, cyber-flirting is not for me!

I Love This

Would you like to know how I started my short-term stint into stay-home motherhood?  I sent my kids to school.

It's been lovely.

I took them to school the last two days because I had a lot to get done, lots of errands and appointments that I've been putting off thinking, "Well, I'll do that when I'm off work."  Turned out that there was enough to do that I didn't want to drag the boys around with me. 

And we're paying for school this week whether they go or not, so...  They went.

Oh yeah, that's me: Mother of the Year!

Let me tell you, this is quite a gig.  I would be a GREAT stay-home mom of kids who are in school!

I'm almost packed for our upcoming trip.  The laundry is ALL DONE.  My floors are mostly clean. (Well, they don't crunch when you walk on them, so that counts, right?)  I bathed the dog and clipped his nails.  I chatted with my sister and my mom.  I spent 45 minutes this morning at a coffee place sipping tea and reading a book!  All by myself!  My nails are freshly painted, my hair is newly cut, and my legs are shaved. 

I've accomplished a lot, but I haven't felt rushed or harried. 

I actually made scrambled eggs for the kids for breakfast and we sat at the table and ate and chatted before we left for school.  Not that scrambled eggs are difficult or anything, but on weekday mornings were are a strictly toast-or-cereal family. 

This evening I played checkers with Sparkle and read books with Pumpkin.  Again, it's not that those thing never happen anyway but I didn't feel like doing those things with the kids was keeping me from getting other stuff done.  Does that make sense?

Anyway, tomorrow is their last school day.  Ask me in a month or so how I feel about being a temporary stay-home mom, but for the last two days I've been loving it!!

(Here's Pumpkin playing with his special kitty, Tessie PomPom.)

(Oh, and I forgot to mention that I got the boys these Kamik shoes as their second pair of summer shoes.  I think they'll be an okay choice...  I like sandals rather than closed shoes for breath-ability, and a covered toe because it protects both the shoe and the kid from damage.  Flip-flops are not allowed at their school, not that it matters this summer.)

Sparkle Goes To A Show

 

Sparkle and I went to a dog show recently.  These are a few pictures that Sparkle took himself. 

Sparkle basically had a good time, but he was more excited about the fact that we went through the drive through at McDonald's on our way home than anything else.  It's silly to take a child somewhere just because I want to go there.  Sparkle said he wanted to come, but I think it was more because he wanted to be the one to go with me than that he actually wanted to see anything at the show.  It's awesome that just the two of us got to do something together, but it wasn't really fair of me to take a six year old to something he wasn't very interested in, especially since I did want to watch some things.

When I was six I would have loved to do this, but guess what?  Kids have their own interests!  My job is to provide opportunities to try things, but just because I think it would be cool if he was interested in something doesn't mean he will be.  Bummer.

Sparkle really was a total sweetie...  He was very, very well behaved, especially for a slightly bored six year old boy in a place where he can't really run and yell.

I gave him the camera to try taking some pictures and then I went back to watching something else.  When I looked over at him he had pushed the wrong button on the camera and was then grabbing the camera by the lens.  I was slightly annoyed but not angry.  I had given him that camera because it's pretty inexpensive and durable and I didn't think he could damage it.  He was just trying to figure it out, no big deal.

That evening I downloaded the camera and saw that Sparkle had accidentally taken a few short videos as well as the pictures.  The last one was video of the grass/sky/grass/sky as he turned the camera around trying to figure out what he was doing.  And I heard myself in the background saying, "Sparkle!  Don't hold the camera like that!  If you can't handle it correctly then I'm going to put it away!"

Oh wow...

I couldn't believe how awful I sounded.  If one of the kids used that voice with me I would correct them and tell them to use a respectful tone.  For pete's sake, I gave the poor kid the camera with minimal instructions on how to use it.

I watched the video just after putting the boys to bed, and when I saw it I actually went to apologize to Sparkle.  He was already asleep.  And to be honest I forgot about it and never apologized.

It was pretty humbling and I'm trying to be more aware of my tone with the boys, making sure I speak to them with patience and gentleness.

Anyway...  we had some fun and some french fries, so it's all good.  I do wish I'd had another adult with me so we could chuckle at some of the Very Serious Dog People.

News of the Week

1. This was the first week in the CSA season.  We got a bunch of spinach, cilantro, leeks, green onions, asparagus, and dried chickpeas, split peas and barley.  I have no idea how to cook chickpeas. Beloved and I are determined not to waste anything we get through CSA for the summer.  Many new recipes will be tried, I'm sure.  Yesterday I made a vegan split pea and barley soup.  It was...  okay.  Took forever on the stove-- three hours!  Can you cook split peas in a crock pot?  Today we had huge spinach salads for lunch.  It really was good, much better spinach than I have evereaten before.  We've both noticed a, hmm... a changein our digestive systems just a wee bit today.  (Is that TMI?)  I am annoyed with my body.  What, like it's never seen veggies before?  Have I been eating so few vegetables that my colon feels it must protest this dramatic change?  Sheesh...

2. This morning I turned on Sesame Street for the boys.  I got much more done in that one hour than I usually would.  When it was over I was in the middle of putting away laundry, so I just started another one off the DVR.  Heck, it's Saturday...  When that was over Sparkle said, "Please, Mom, can we watch some more TV?"  I told him, "No way, buddy, that was two hours!  It's beautiful outside, time to get your shoes on and head out."  And he said, "But, Mom, me and my brother like to melt our brains!" 

He didn't protest too much about turning off the TV though.  Later he told me, "Next Wednesday when it's my share time at school I'm going tell my class that I got to watch TV all day!"  I really, really hope he doesn't.  I'm counting on him forgetting by then about his magical two hours straight of TV time. 

I wonder how this summer will go.  It's not hard to leave the TV off at home generally, but of course we're at work and school most of the days.  When the boys and I are home this summer it might be different.  I'm going to try to avoid TV if I can, but I'm also not going to feel too horribly guilty if they end up watching more than usual.

3. Our neighbor's dog was killed by coyotes last week!  They took the dog for a walk out on a hill not far from our house and let him off the leash.  The neighbor lady said two coyotes came out of nowhere and killed him in a few seconds!  Holy crap!  Thank goodness their kids were not with them.  The coyotes didn't carry the dog off or eat him.  Maybe they were scared off by having people nearby or maybe the dog had wandered too close to a den or something?  Regardless, I think we'll stay out of that area.  Hmm, I think I just figured out why no one around here has outdoor cats.

4. We've been going to our church for about nine months now.  This is a lovely stage in our church-relationship, I must say.  We've been there long enough that we know people fairly well, we're not totally "new people" any more, but we're still new enough that we haven't felt like we have to volunteer to staff the nursery or anything like that.  Enjoying feeling mostly a part of the group, but not having to work too hard at it... 

We are lazy church-going people, apparently.  In my head I absolutely know that we must contribute to the community in order to be part of it, that service to others is 100% critical for anyone who says they want to be like Jesus at all...  But, dang, that "community" part is so much work!  So time-consuming!  I know that even if it seems mostly like an obligation at first that we will be happy to get to know people better and develop real friendships (and that even if we don't at first, it's not optional) (and I'm not sure yet in what ways we'll end up serving), but to be honest we're realizing that we've enjoyed the easy-ness of being on the fringe of involvement. 

Grandma is Coming-- Keep Your Pajamas On!

My mom arrived on Sunday night!  Whoo-hoo!  She's watching the boys while I'm at work this week. (Beloved's traveling for work.) 

Her plane was scheduled to arrive at about 7:30 PM but didn't make it until about 9 PM because of nasty weather. 

We explained to the boys that Grandma was coming late on Sunday night, not during the day.  After supper.  After their teeth were brushed.  After they had their pajamas on.  So on Sunday morning, neither kid wanted to put on clothes.  They'd just stay in their 'jammies, thank you very much, and maybe Grandma would get here sooner!

Last night Pumpkin was a total spaz, which is unlike him.  He just couldn't sit still at all.  I think he may have been over-tired and over-stimulated with Grandma being here.  This coming weekend might be a challenge.  My dad, my sister and her husband and their two dogs are coming later this week.  It might be a little too much for a 4 and 5 year old to absorb and still maintain good sleeping during the night and decent behavior during the day.  Oh man, we could really be in for it...  I really want to enjoy the time with my family here, so I hope it goes okay.

Can't Blog

I don't know why, but I can't write anything.  We're all fine.  Life is good. 

I think of things all the time that I want to write or should record about my family.  But I just can't manage it.  What is up with that?  It will come back to me, right?

The poop, by the way, was Viper's.  Even though my kids are four and five, apparently I will never fully escape from poop-cleaning.

I don't want to talk about poop any more!

Maybe the coming long weekend will energize me!

Pee Problems

The boys love the dog.  Oh, do they love the dog.  Especially Pumpkin.  He wants to hug him and pat him and tell him he's a good dog all. the. time. 

I really like him, too.  He is smart and affectionate and obedient. 

But.  We have a problem.

He drips urine.  It seems to be off and on, and sometimes he'll go hours with no dripping, but then it always starts again.  drip...  drip... drip...  Totally gross. 

As much as I like Mr Viper, I cannot have a urine-dripping dog in my house.  I just can't.

Help me out here...  What the heck is going on?

Infection?  It doesn't smell strong and he doesn't appear to be sick.  No blood or other discharge that I can see.  The urine seems to be clear.  I started him on antibiotics (at the recommendation of the breeder) about two days ago and it hasn't made a difference.

Obstruction?  He doesn't seem to be in pain at all. (People obviously get really bad pain with obstruction or stones, but maybe it's different for dogs?)  He doesn't always pee like I'd expect.  For example, this morning I took him out after being in his crate all night and he did not pee.  Later I took him out again and he peed for, like, 40 seconds, which is actually a pretty long time.  The urine stream was still going, but he dropped his leg and started walking away and the urine stopped.  But he hadn't seemed to be done.  Know what I mean?  He doesn't seem to be straining or in pain when he goes.

Anxiety?  He's obviously in a new place with a totally different environment.  He did seem anxious at first, crying in his crate and sticking rightbymyside every moment.  That seems to be better, though he is a little clingy.  He seems relaxed in general.  He eats fine, chases balls, sniffs around...  He wants to drink all the time, which the breeder says he's sometimes done in the past when he's upset or anxious, like when the two girlies at his house were in heat. 

What am I missing?  Diabetes?  Prostate problems?  What kind of health problem would develop that suddenly, from one day to the next?  Do I just wait to see if it goes away?

Dang it, anyway.  I'm disappointed that the fun of having a new pet is kind of spoiled by being stressed about whether or not we'll be able to keep him.  I'm a little afraid that we've purchased a fancy dog that will immediately end up costing us hundreds in vet bills searching for a physical cause that may just be related to doggy anxiety.  I have considered just starting him on a wee bit of generic Prozac to see if it helps.  I've thought about starting myself on some darn Prozac because it's stressing me out that much!  (Well, not really.) 

Poor Viper is in his crate way too much because I can't have him walking around the carpeted areas of the house.  My tile floors have never been cleaner because I'm mopping every day, and then chasing the dog around with a tissue or a Swiffer wet jet.  I've spent $50 on absorbant crate liners and I'm still doing two loads of laundry every day to keep his bedding clean.  Argh!

My sister says to be patient, and she really seems to know what she's talking about on dog-related stuff.  Do you other experienced Dog People have any suggestions? 

Meet Viper

He's so cool...   

He's smart and sweet and eager to please. 

I have a dog behavior/care question, but let's just admire the handsome dog for now...

We Found A Dog

Yesterday I wrote a whole bunch about how the things we share about our children's first families changes as they get older.  It was all introspective and brilliant, of course.  (Actually, no it wasn't.  Just my rambling ideas.)  Then something happened. I didn't lose it all, but a couple of paragraphs were gone.  I don't have the energy or patience to reconstruct it now, so I'm just going to tell you about the Great Pet Search.

We might have found our dog.

One of the breeders I met a few weeks ago referred me to someone who has a two year old dog whom she is (mostly) ready to let go.  She describes him as a big silly goofball of a dog.  She decided not to breed him so he was neutered just a few weeks ago.  He's great with kids and she thinks he'll do well as an only dog.

She did show him enough to get his AKC championship, but stopped there because he wasn't a superstar and he didn't like it all that much anyway.  His owner says, "He just wanted to play in the ring, not be a stately and dignified Doberman."

So he sounds great!  We're going to meet them at another dog show so that we can see the dog and she can see us...  Then if we both decide to go ahead with it, we'll go pick him up just after we come home from South Africa.

Here's my favorite part...

Ready?

His name is...

Viper.

That, for some reason, is just so funny to me.  It sounds sort of vaguely threatening, like he might strike at any moment.

"Sure, you can pet the dog kids!  What's his name?  Oh, it's Viper!  That's right, come on over and give him a pat, he loves kids!"

Like naming a dog Fang or Danger or something. 

I had been thinking that if we ended up with a puppy we'd name it Bosco or Cosmo, or something else that sounds very much like a family pet dog name to me.  But we'll probably end up with a Viper. 

It's growing on me!

Maybe I'll get him one of these.

Getting a Dog

We're getting a dog.

It's time.  We've put it off, but I don't want my kids to grow up without any pets. 

We're trying to figure out what breed of dog we want so we can start looking for a (real) breeder relatively nearby.  I think there's a dog show in our area in August, and I'd like to go so that I can meet the breeder(s) face to face.  We're hoping we could get the dog shortly after we get back from South Africa. 

Anyway, we need help.

Here are the criteria:

-minimal to no shedding

-intelligent/trainable (already well-trained would be better yet)

-active enough to enjoy running around with our family, but doesn't need so much exercise that we'd spend all our evenings exercising the dog

-happy to be with us, follows us around, affectionate

-not anxious, is okay being left alone during work days

-no yippy, yappy dogs!

-no drool-y slobbery dogs

-an adult "retired" dog would probably be great for us

-loyal and protective (will bark if a stranger comes in without our permission) but obviously not aggressive or unpredictable

-mid to large sized.  The dog needs to be able to comfortably ride in our van, so no Great Dane sized beasts.  (Great Danes are too drool-y anyway.)  So I don't want a giant dog, but I would prefer it to have some bulk, I guess.  It can't be too delicate or fragile to handle kids.  I'd also prefer if the dog were mildly (very mildly) intimidating in size and voice.

-rescue dog would be great.  We'd probably get it through a rescue organization that fosters the dogs so that they could tell us about the dogs habits and personality ahead of time.  I don't want to just go down to the Humane Society and pick up a dog, only to find out it's not really housebroken, or it chews on stuff if you leave it alone, etc.

Here are my ideas so far:

-Doberman.  Oh how I would love to have a Doberman!  I knew the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful Doberman when I was in high school and have wanted one ever since!  They're smart, the perfect size, and obviously intimidating (maybe too much).  I should probably check to see if there are any breeds that are not allowed in our neighborhood association or by our insurance company.

-Boxer.  Maybe a good option, but aren't they really gassy and stinky?  Do they drool?  Are they easy to train?

-Standard Poodle.  These are very intelligent and larger dogs.  I don't know about maintaining the coat.  We'd just do a "puppy" cut where it's cut short all over.  But would that still be expensive or hard to maintain?

-Greyhound.  I like the idea of a retired racer.  I've heard that they need to be able to run around like crazy once or twice a day, but that they're pretty lazy and like to lay around the rest of the time.  We have a big yard with a 6' fence so that would be easy.  I've also heard that they don't really bark much.  Do you think there would be any odd messages related to adoption/rescue of a dog?  Probably paranoid, but just checking.

-German Shorthaired Pointer or some other short-haired hunting/bird dog.  They are intelligent.  Good size.  My sister has a wiemeraner and he is a sweet, smart dog.  He will chase a ball FOREVER!  That might be a good thing because he's easy to exercise (I can sit on my butt and throw a tennis ball over and over, no problem.)  However, they seem like they might be the kind of dog that goes crazy if they don't get enough attention or exercise.

We leave for South Africa in two months!!  Oh my gosh!  If we want to have a dog shortly after we get back, I better start working on this for real!  Oh, and I should probably start thinking seriously about packing for this trip!  Two months?!  Yikes!