The Thorn In My Side - Part 4 of 4 - The Boot & A Revelation

Today is Saturday. When I got up Luke & Emry were already playing with Boo boo. Luke had taken him potty too. He had a much better day in regards to the pee pads. He's now making it at least 40% of the time. He should be though, we now have about 7 of them layed out around the house. It looks a little crazy. The kids are constantly giving him snacks and treats, it's very cute, but my mind is made up...he's been given the boot.

Trent took over for me when he got home from work. All I really had to do today was watch where I was stepping b/c Boo boo was still following me around like a shadow. I'm the bad guy at our house right now. Luke is acting like he's owned Boo boo for years and that they're best friends. Emry loves to chase him around and pet him. Carley loves that he licks her fingers and has been giggling non stop for the past few days. Everyone is in love with the dog, but me. He's a fine dog, but he's got to go. I called his owners and informed them that I couldn't watch the dog anymore and they needed to find someone else to take him.

When they came to get Boo boo we found out a few more tidbits of information that they neglected to tell us. Boo boo doesn't sleep in his carrier....he sleeps with them. Boo boo had never worn his collar before, or used his leash. And she had another person offer to take Boo boo for the entire 2 months but decided not to let him go there b/c they had a big dog that licked him and a 3 yr old that carried him around! I was kind of miffed when I found this info out. This would have been excellent information to tell us about BEFORE we started watching the dog!!! And all the while he could have been at someones house that WANTED him there. crazy! I suddenly didn't feel so bad giving him the boot!

The best thing that we realized during this experiment is that we're not ready for a dog. Trent's too busy, the kids are too small and I don't love dogs enough to take on that responsibility by myself (but I'm sure you're realizing that that last part was obvious)!!

bye bye, Boo boo

The Thorn In My Side - Part 3 of 4 - The Plan of Attack

Alright, so it's now day 3 of dog sitting. I am trying so hard to like Boo boo. He's a like able puppy. He's cute and friendly, that's not my problem. My problem is that it's like having another child around and I didn't sign up for that. I am only one person with only one set of eyeballs on my head. I can not entertain Carley, work (did I mention that I had to work 6 hrs yesterday and another 6 today...stressful!), do laundry and watch a puppy like a hawk b/c every time I turn around I find a new puddle or pile to clean up! It's more than I signed up for at this time in my life. If he was only potty trained, we'd get along so much better.

I decided to hatch a plan today. I was going to put Boo boo on his leash outside. That way I can work and he can hang out, have a nap or whatever and pee and poop himself silly OUTSIDE!! So I was very excited to try this out. In my mind my day was going to go so much smoother that yesterday. I was going to conquer this puppy! After taking the kids to school I put Boo boo on his leash outside. Carley and I played with him for about 30 minutes or so. The sun was shining and it was warm, perfect. After Carley and I went inside I started hearing this little yelping sound. He'd realized we'd left him. 5 minutes later the neighbors let their Schnauzer outside. We can't see him from our yard, but we can hear him bark. Well guess who else heard him barking...you got it Boo boo. Instead of being curious and excited like a normal dog, he bolted behind a flower pot and hid! What a scardy cat!

So my plan failed, miserably. . .he was back in the house.

Night #3
Trent was on call, so I had to go it alone with Boo boo. I let him stay up with me for a little while he is a very good snuggler. Then I just put him in his carrier and turned out the light. I did give him a nightlight hoping it might help, but it didn't.

The Thorn In My Side - Part 2 of 4 - The Truth

Morning comes and I'm feeling sleepy, but ok. It was only the first night, what could I have expected right? He didn't know where he was. stupid. stupid. stupid.

Trent got up and took Boo boo potty. Oh, he doesn't go potty outside like a normal dog, he goes on pee pads! Anyway, Trent leaves for work and I'm feeling pretty confident. He's peed twice on the pads and the kids aren't getting ready for school because they're too busy playing with the puppy. Oh, he poops on the floor, missed the pee pad. We cleaned it up and chalked it up to not knowing where the pee pad was. stupid. stupid. stupid. We put out another pad where he pooped just in case.

We get everyone into the car and the kids beg me to bring the dog with. I wasn't crazy, I locked him in my office which has linoleum floors. He was by his crate, toys and a pee pad, what could go wrong. I thought I was golden. Well when I got home from dropping the kids off I discovered that he'd torn the pee pad to shreds. I can't be too surprised about that though, because puppies do things like that.

Trent calls me at noon to see how Carley and I were doing. Carley was fine. In heaven even. She and Boo boo were thick as thieves. He liked me too, followed me everywhere. Wanted to sit in my lap, eat off my plate. That wasn't the issue. The issue was that the dog, who was really a puppy, who was potty trained...really wasn't. I don't know what kind of house the owners had, or what kind of denial they were feeding themselves, but I had about 6 pee pads out all over my house and he maybe went on them 1.25 times during the day. Maybe.

By the time Trent and the kids were home for the evening I was done. They took over and I tried to look the other way. We had Barry & Alisa over for dinner and I'm sure they thought I as a crazy person. I was so stressed out and upset about all the potty messes I'd cleaned up. I was trying not to get too close to the dog that despite everyone being home and wanting to play kept following me around. I needed some space.

Night #2
We put Boo boo into his carrier back in the back bathroom, furthest away from our bedrooms and went to bed. As I fell asleep, Trent got out of bed and headed down the hallway. His heart was melted, I told you he was smitten the minute that "dog" arrived, and he went to go sit with him. He sat up with him until he fell asleep and was able to sneak away. Before you tilt your head and say to yourself, "Awww, so sweet" let me interject this question...where was this husband when our kids were babies????

I had to laugh at these next 2 photos b/c I've heard that toddlers and puppies are the same.
It must be true (except that Carley is already potty trained)
check out Carley and Boo boo in these photos!

both distracted by a lizard

Luke & Emry were fighting over who got to hold the leash,
which Boo boo had never been on before.
The dog has been carried his entire life! Crazy!

The Thorn In My Side - Part 1 of 4 - The Arrival

Trent talked me into babysitting a dog for 2weeks. I wasn't thrilled about it but felt like it could be a good opportunity to see what it would be like having a dog around. A young couple from church have a dog that they're not supposed to have in their current housing on base. They were asking around for someone to take the dog for 2 weeks. Trent told them he was interested so they called us. This is when we found out that it's not for 2 weeks, it's for 2 months (until their housing contract was up). We decided to tell them no, we couldn't make that kind of commitment.

3 days later, Wednesday night to be exact. They call us at 6pm to say that they got caught with the dog again and were going to be evicted if they didn't get rid of it that very minute. Of course I said yes, I can't turn someone down on the fly and in a jam like that. stupid. stupid. stupid.

The husband brings the dog right over. Well the dog turned out to be a puppy. But they said he was potty trained and that he never barks at night. He'd brought all the supplies and a dog carrier, so I thought, "Ok, I can do this." Then he left. Trent and the kids were immediately smitten and in love and we could hardly get them into bed b/c they were so busy playing with the puppy...whose name I can barely speak out loud because it's embarrassing. His name is Boo boo. When you stop laughing (Maggie) imagine yourself outside calling that name....so ridiculous!

So it's night #1. The wife decides she needs to stop by to say goodnight to Boo boo and calls us at 9pm saying she's stopping by on her way home from work. Well she stayed at our house until almost 11pm! Finally she left and we put Boo boo in the carrier to sleep. Fast forward oh, lets say 6 minutes...he's whining. Trent assures me he'll stop. Fast forward another 12 minutes...he's whimpering. Trent assures me he'll stop. Fast forward to midnight...he's yelping. Fast forward to 1am...he's barking. Fast forward to 2am...he's whining, whimpering, yelping, barking and howling. Fast forward to 2:01am...Millie's had it and demands that Trent do SOMETHING with it...put it in the garage, anywhere. I just wanted some sleep!

Fast forward to 2:05am...Millie is able to sleep in silence.

All About Emry

Emry is the VIP in her classroom this coming week, so we've been working on her poster this weekend. It tells all about the things she likes. She had to fill in the blanks, these are her answers:

My name is Emry Abigail Price.
I am 5 years old.
I have 5 people in my family.
My favorite animal is a horse.
My favorite color is pink.
My favorite food is spaghetti.
Disneyland is my favorite place.
When I grow up, I want to be a mom.
My favorite thing to do is color.
If I had 1 wish, I would wish for a loose tooth.

We needed a family photo and realize that we haven't had one taken since Carley was about 11 months old. Trent quickly set up the camera and this was our best shot!

I wanted to post this photo too b/c it's so cute! Emry got an easybake oven for Christmas. She talked Trent into helping her make a cake with it this weekend. They made a regular cake mix and put a little in her cake pans as well as regular pans. They ate the cake that came out of the easybake and decorated the big cake together! Then we gobbled it all up!

The story of my life

Emry ate gum off the Wal Mart floor today....that's all I have to say.

Hair Growth Update

I am starting to think her hair grows at a snails pace!

Happy Valentine's Day

We hope everyone is feeling the LOVE today!!!

Photographs: curtesy of Lucas Price
(he doesn't give much warning. it's just not his style.)

Family Visit - Gpa & Gma May

My parent's came to visit this week. We had so much fun during the visit. We cooked yummy food, visited and relaxed. Went to the beach, for walks in the grove, made cookies, my mom, and I stole away for a day of shopping and we took my dad to see Avatar in 3D. Taylor and Jen were able to bring Adam down for an afternoon which was really nice. It was a wonderful visit!

Carley can't say Grandma...to her every one is grandpa. Here's how it goes: If I point to my dad and ask "Carley who is that?" she say, "Grandpa." "That's right!, so who is this?" (pointing to my mom) "Umm, Grandpa." "No, it's not grandpa, silly, it's grand-ma. So who is this?" (again gesturing to my mom) she says very matter of factly, as in not up for discussion, "grandpa." and walks away.

If the weather would have been a little bit warmer
I think Grandpa would have slept outside on the hammock all night long!

Grandpa & Emry bonding over a bowl of grapes!

Grandpa & Grandma May with Adam.

We Love You Grandpa & Grandma!!

Spring Has Sprung

I wanted to share some of the beauty I saw today!
All around our house we're beginning to see the first signs of spring.
It's so fun to walk around the grove and look for signs of the seasons changing.
You might be thinking I'm crazy b/c it's only the beginning of February, but that's how it goes in our neck of the woods. January and February are our coolest (60 degree days) and wettest months (we've had an unusual amount of rainfall this past month).
Anyhew, we're still having quite a few rainy days,
but the temp is rising and mother nature has taken notice!

This is going to be a snowdrop flower.

Here's a snowdrop that's already bloomed. They're so dainty and beautiful.

An avocado pit and shell that's been cleaned out by some animal!

Apple blossoms.

This is what's covering the ground of the grove, so pretty in the morning light.

Peach blossoms.

These are banana blossoms, you don't see them too often.

Bananas.

Tangerines.