Best. New Year's. Ever!

I came up Indy last night to spend NYE with Man and his girls. Turned out he had bigger plans than ringing in the new year...we're engaged! We've spent New Year's Eve around the house, making and eating a fun snacky dinner together and generally spending time as a family. It's pretty amazing to think just a few months ago I was a single former-foster-mom and in just a few more months I'll have an amazing husband and three beautiful step daughters!

Miss Thing is turning 13!

Miss Thing is a self-proclaimed tom boy, so when she asked if we could have a "spa day" for her birthday outing I jumped at the chance to do something girly and booked a mani/pedi at a local salon/spa.  After a bit of back and forth to pick a date (her actual birthday isn't until after she returns to school but I wanted to do the outing while she's on Christmas break) we settled on Saturday morning.  After work on Friday I met BBS and Miss Thing at the mall where they were doing some Christmas exchanges and Miss Thing went home with me to start her birthday outing with an overnight.  We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to buy her donuts for breakfast (yes, Auntie Karen likes to spoil her monkeys) and some stuff for the family Christmas party the next evening.  We went home and Miss Thing instantly got attack lovins from the pups.  She's come so far with them and as I saw her fending off slobbery Lolly kisses, I remembered when I first got Wolfey and all the monkeys were scared of dogs.  Any time Wolfey would jump or lick, they would all freak out.  It was so great to see Miss Thing standing her own.  The next day I let Miss Thing sleep in while I got the goodies ready for the party and did some housework.  When Miss Thing woke up we headed to salon for our girly afternoon.  My girl couldn't stop smiling the entire time.  We both picked shimmery, glittery nail colors to be all sparkly for New Year's Eve (I'm spending it with Man and his daughters while Miss Thing will be at her first big NYE party) and we had so much fun.

On the way from our outing to the family Christmas party Miss Thing was grilling me about Man.  I finally got it out of her that she has worries about Man's daughters taking up her space in my heart.  I reminded her that it doesn't matter how many other kids there are in my life, Miss Thing will always be my favorite girl in the whole wide world and her brothers and sisters will always be my monkeys.  I think she felt better about things after that, and she admitted that she really likes Man and is happy to have him around.  She even harassed me about "screwing up" her chance to be a flower girl, but told me she'll be happy to be my junior bridesmaid when the time comes.  I really am lucky to love my silly, sweet, generous little monkey!

Small town living

I've only lived in my sleepy little town a little over four years, but, with the exception of college, I've lived in small towns my whole life.  And even Muncie, Indiana isn't exactly a booming metropolis!  I've always enjoyed the fact that a small town offers the quiet restfulness of country living with the knowledge that there's always someone nearby if you need something.  I remember growing up with the same people living in my neighborhood for twenty-plus years, and I still keep in contact with many of them.  I remember walking next door to borrow a cup of sugar or an egg, to play with the neighbors' cats or to dog-sit while neighbors were on vacation.  I remember my dad bringing home a tractor to plow our street and driveway, and clearing the neighbors' driveways while he was at it.  I especially remember the yummy treats we received as a thank you for Dad clearing their driveways!

I've never felt quite as at-home in my current small-town neighborhood as I did the one where I grew up, but I've always chalked that up to the fact that I hadn't lived there as long.  Still, it seemed that there wasn't quite the sense of family in my neighborhood that there was when I was growing up.  Thankfully, this summer, things started to change.  I was working a lot of extra hours and struggling to keep up with the house, so I hired a neighbor kid to mow my lawn.  He had lived in the neighborhood his entire life, just as I had the neighborhood where I'd grown up.  Often, when he finished, we'd stand out in the front yard and talk, and since everyone on the street knew him, we often had visitors stop and talk, as well.  People I'd seen around for nearly four years and always waved or nodded to finally became people with whom I had small talk.  I learned a lot about the neighborhood, the town, and the people living there, and was really beginning to feel as if my neighbors may someday become my friends.  As the summer wore on, I was trying to fix some things around the house so I could have the place appraised to refinance and I hired another neighborhood boy to do some odd jobs.  I had had more contact with him and his parents, since they "borrow" my basement when we have tornado warnings, but that had been the extent of our contact the entire time I'd lived there.  Once the boy started working for me, we started talking more and became friendly.  I began chatting with his parents when I saw them out in their yard and my neighborhood really began feeling like the one in which I'd grown up.

Then it happened: a few days before Christmas, the odd-job boy's dad came over with a box of homemade cookies and a Christmas card.  Talk about a "welcome to the neighborhood" kind of moment!  I felt like it had finally happened - I'd finally found that neighborhood/family I've been looking for.  And last night, I came home from work to find...someone had plowed my driveway.  Now if only I knew where to send the goodies!

Snow day!

I put the dogs out to potty this morning and saw we'd gotten snow overnight! Not a ton, but a heavy dusting that turned everything a beautifully wintery white. I was just snuggling back into bed to check my email and send Man his wake up text when I received a call from a coworker that he had just gotten off the phone with the owner of the company, who had requested that he instruct anyone north of a certain area to stay home, even if it meant their store would have to remain closed that day. Since I had scrubbed my house top to bottom in preparation for Christmas company who didn't come (we all ended up at BBS's house) there were no real chores to do, so I spent most of the day catching up on snuggle time with the pups. It was really pretty great. I admit I don't always adore my job, but I feel like I'm pretty darn lucky to work for a company that understands the value of it's employees and places our safety before the opportunity to make a few bucks!

What have I gotten myself into?

In a matter of moments yesterday I went from planning a quiet Christmas morning, just Man and I waking up to a few gifts under the tree to hosting Christmas breakfast and potentially having 20ish people at my tiny house on Christmas (for the record, this is why I didn't post yesterday - too busy having a mini meltdown! Boy, am I lucky Man was able to talk me down off that ledge...several times!). The monkeys have been sick for nearly two weeks now (Schmo came down with it first and a few days later the others started dropping like flies) and somehow even Mom (who NEVER gets sick) got the bug. Just when it seemed everyone was on the mend and Christmas may not be badly affected, Princess's fever returned and Dad got sick. Christmas Day is usually at my parents' house, with Mom's parents and a few of her siblings coming over but we don't want to risk Grandpa getting sick (he's 93 and this is the longest he's stayed out of the hospital in months and we'd like to keep it that way!) so we certainly don't want Grandpa around Dad or even in my parents' germy house. So, since BBS has germies in her house, too, and the rest of the family who attends Christmas Day activities is from out of town, I volunteered my house. I certainly don't regret it - this is what family does and I'm just happy to get to see almost everyone on Christmas - I'm just a little worried that I don't have a shoe horn big enough to squeeze everyone into my house! I'm sure I won't be posting tomorrow, with all the craziness that is bound to ensue, so...
Have a happy, safe, family chaos filled Merry Christmas!

Why is it...

...that I can go days, weeks, even months without shedding a tear over my kids and then I'll have a day like today when everything I see, hear, read and think of sends me into a fit of missing-my-babies tears?  Don't get me wrong, I think about them a bajillion times a day, I just don't usually cry.  Yes, the holidays are right around the corner and I have been preparing myself to have a few harder-than-average days but this is insane.  I've mentioned before that I know things have to get easier and there will always be things that remind me of my kids, I just wish that I could have some experiences that could remind me why I fostered and why I had to give my foster babies up.  I sent this message to The Boy's adoptive (I'm assuming, since I haven't heard anything) mom and I'm waiting with baited breath, hoping to hear back from her.

Dear (new mommy),
It's hard to believe that it's been more than five months since I've heard anything about (The Boy).  I think about him daily and hope he is doing well and as the holidays approach I'm reminded more and more of some of the awesome memories we shared.  I hope he's doing well and that your family is happy and healthy this holiday season and always.  I understand if you don't want to tell him why, but please give him an extra hug tonight, and make it from me :)

As I sit here typing with tears streaming down my face, I can't help but wonder if they know how often I think of them, how much I miss them and how deeply I love them, but I know just how lucky I am to have had them in my life.

Never before have I worried about opening the back door and letting my dogs run. Then again, never before have we had 50 mile an hour winds, blowing rain and temperatures dropping so quickly. I hope they come back soon!

Sadly empty offer

My poor sister is home with five sick kids.  On top of that, on Monday my brother-in-law wasn't feeling well, either.  I just can't imagine.  I've been wanting to offer to help, but I'm hesitant, as I don't want to get sick.  Yesterday I decided I was going to suck it up and call this morning to offer, but then last night my mom texted me and said "You probably won't want to be around me; I have a fever".  She NEVER gets sick, so if she got this, I know it's HIGHLY contagious.  Ick.  Still wanting to help or at least be an emotional support, I called BBS this afternoon to see how everyone's doing.  I told her about my concerns, and that if Mom got sick I figured I was sure to get it being around them.  BBS seems to think Mom didn't get it from her kids (they hadn't spent as much time together as I'd thought) so I offered any help I could provide, even if it was just to sit with the kids for an hour so BBS could get out of the house.  BBS said "you know, just because Mom didn't get it from us doesn't mean it's not the same thing and it's not super contagious.  So my final offer: "If there's anything you need that doesn't require me to have much contact with your kids, let me know."  I feel so lame not being able to offer more, but I just can't afford to be sick, especially with Christmas right around the corner and being super low on PTO from work.  I am so lucky to love a sister who gets that sometimes wanting to help and actually being able to are two different things!

Yipes!

We've had our first full-on doggie fight.  Mom and Dad sent bones home with me the other night when I went there for dinner.  Wolfey knows anything that comes from Mema and Papa's house in a ziplock bag is bound to be good stuff, so he sat pretty, got his treat and gobbled it up.  Lolly, on the other hand, decided to take her time with hers.   I went out to the garage to get some dog food out of the deep freeze and no sooner did the door shut behind me than I heard it start.  I ran back in, yelling but had to really raise my voice to get their attention and break it up.  Anyone with multiple dogs - is this normal?!?We've had some grumbling before when one had a treat the other didn't, but this was all on war when Wolfey sniffed at Lolly's bone.  I'm so not okay with this!

I have so much to say (including Happy Birthday, BBS!) but for now let's suffice it to say I'm attempting to take a media break and leave you with this lovely photo description of why it grosses me out when animals eat bones they find rather than ones I buy at the butcher shop.

Puppy butts

Seriously, are these not the cutest little walkers you've ever seen?!

Siamese twins?

I swear, my dogs are joined at the tail!  I had to drag Lolly out of the house today because she didn't want to go without Wolfey.  They are pathetic!  Lolly had a vet appointment and although they're super nice and don't mind if I bring Wolfey along, I also figured there was no point in stressing him out by taking him in there when he didn't need to be checked out.  We were at my parents' house since they live close to the vet's office and that's where the dogs are staying for the day, since I didn't have time to run Lolly all the way back home between her appointment and my work and I was hoping that having my dad there would help.  Yeah.  First I told Wolfey to stay (he did) and called Lolly (she stayed, too).  Then I told Wolfey to go to Papa (he did) and Lolly went along, too.  Once my dad had Wolfey's collar I called Lolly...and called her...and called her.  She refused to come.  Finally I walked toward her, and being the super submissive dog she is, she laid down.  I grabbed her collar, thinking she would get up and come with me, but instead she rolled over on her back.  I started walking and rather than getting up to come along with me, she laid there and I had to drag her outside!  Once the door was closed and she knew she couldn't get to Wolfey anymore she was fairly cooperative, but I just find it amazing that in only four months they have become so bonded that I literally had to drag them apart!

No news is good news

In case any of you were on the edge of your seats waiting for results from yesterday's adventures, I just wanted to say all went well.  Mom took the day off work and was by my side almost the entire day.  She did run to the grocery store while I was in the procedure and waking up from the anesthesia, but other than that we spent the whole day together.  I arrived at my parents' house fairly early to meet Mom and drop off the dogs and we arrived at the hospital around 10:30.  They did all the prep stuff and we had some time to kill since the guy ahead of me arrived unprepared so we visited for a bit before they gave me the first dose of meds to knock me out.  Apparently last time I was hard to put out so this time they gave me a shot of Benadryl to help make the anesthesia work better.  As soon as they put the shot in my IV I could feel it.  My fingers got tingly, then I felt it in my face and chest.  We were talking and I started losing words.  At one point we were talking about the kids' upcoming birthdays (Miss Thing, Buddy and Princess all have January birthdays) and I could not, for the life of me, remember the word "bag".  We were talking about icing a cake and I made a squeezing gesture and Mom figured out what I meant.  I thought it was hilarious that she got "bag" from a move like milking a cow.  Yeah, kind of felt like I was drunk.  Not such a great feeling, but Mom was getting a kick out of it!  After I woke up and was allowed to leave the hospital we went back to their house and I crashed on the couch until dinner time.  Once again I had some tearing in my esophagus so I wasn't allowed to eat any solids but I had some soup while Mom and Dad had dinner, then Mom and I played a game until bed time.  I hate to admit it, but it was really nice to be taken care of all evening.  Every girl needs their mommy every now and then, and I am so lucky to have such an awesome one!

I am loved

You may remember that I've had some swallowing issues in the past and have actually had to be hospitalized to have my throat stretched.  I'm going to have it done again tomorrow and my friends and family have been so awesome supporting me through it.  Originally I had asked BBS to drop me off at the hospital and pick me up after the procedure.  I had asked my foster friend to be my back up, in case the procedure ran long and BBS couldn't make it because of having to get the kids off the school bus.  I had everything covered, but Mom and Man both threw a fit that I shouldn't be at the hospital alone.  Both offered to take the day off work to come sit at the hospital with me, despite the fact that I'll be unconscious about half the time that I'm there.  Since Man would not only have to take the day off work, but would also have to drive two hours each way, I declined (several times) for him to come.  Since I'll be staying at my parents' house that night anyway (last time I had it done the doctor didn't want me to be alone that night, since I had been under a general anesthesia) I finally gave in and let Mom take the day off to come with me.  As silly as I think it is for either of them to waste an entire day, I also feel really lucky to love such amazing, generous people.

Do people still say amazeballs?

Lolly was totally in-my-face-obnoxious this evening. I couldn't figure her out. I pet her, snuggled her, fed her and offered for her to go outside. Nothing. She got in my face, walked on me, licked my hands and arms and just couldn't leave me alone. I asked her again and again to lay down and give me some space, Finally I yelled at her to go lay down. She hopped off the bed and went to stand in the hall. I got up and once again offered for her to go outside and she ran out to potty. A couple months ago if we were in a similar situation she would have gone out to the hall to pee. We still have our issues, but it's incredible how far we've come...amazeballs!

The up side: I spent an absolutely incredible day with Man and his three girls. The down side: we had another ornament casualty. You know, for a day like today, I'll take it!

My girls

BBS needed someone to watch Princess this morning while she worked the Santa Shop at Schmo's school. It just so happened that I'd already found someone to cover the morning at work, because Lolly had a vet appointment, so I stopped at her house on the way to the appointment and took Princess with me. Between Lolly not liking the vet and the added responsibility of having Princess with us I was expecting total chaos. Yes, Princess is a great baby, but I'm not used to having extras to take care of anymore! They were both amazing, though. Princess has this calming affect on Lolly that I've never seen before. I noticed it when I took both dogs to visit the monkeys a couple weeks ago, but today it was really evident. Lolly hates being on the table at the vet. Today, Lolly was getting anxious and Princess started climbing the table. I picked Princess up so she could see Lolly. She bent down to pet Lolly and instantly Lolly relaxed. This happened several times, including in the car. Usually Lolly is a decent passenger but not great. Today, she curled up next to Princess and they both fell right to sleep. I took the cutest picture of Them sleeping together and I wish I could share it, but it would definitely lose something if I had to crop Princess's face out, so you'll just have to believe me that they're adorable together! When BBS told me she was pregnant with Princess, I joked that she had enough kids and she should give this one to me. Now I think I need her, because she is so amazing with Lolly. Not to mention just too stinking cute!!

Stolen from my cousin's facebook post :)

"The best dog you’ll ever own ain’t an American Kennel Club champion; it’s the decidedly average mutt you adopted from the pound ... Despite some significant shortcomings, he’s really, really good at just being a dog."

Then again, I'm not that bright

  In all my research, I've found that larger chunks of meat are good for dogs, as it slows their eating and it's more like eating a wild animal, but if I keep the food bigger, the dogs eat around the vegetables and only eat the meat.  So, when I make dog food, I put everything through the food processor.  When I first started making my own dog food, I would take the ground meat, vegetables, fruits, etc. out of the processor and stir it together with a big spoon.  It worked well enough, but because raw ground meat is sticky, it took forever and my arms would end up feeling like jello after making a big batch.  I decided it was too much work, and started using the food processor to mix things together, but the food was almost too well ground and reminded me of over-chewed meat.  You know, how when you've got a tough piece of meat and you just keep chewing and chewing and it doesn't seem to get any better and finally you spit out this big, grey/brown blob of goop?  Appetizing, huh?  I know that's not what it is, but still, I couldn't bring myself to feed my dogs goop.  So last night, not wanting goop and being too tired to deal with spoon exhaustion, I broke out the potato masher to mix a batch of dog food.  Why didn't I do this before?!?  It was so easy!  Things got nicely mixed without becoming goopy and it didn't take nearly as long, or nearly as much effort, as stirring it with a spoon.  This will definitely be my method of mixing from now on.  I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!

Stinktastic

I try to be green, but there are some things you just can't avoid.  One of those is bad food.  Even with cooking for the dogs, I occasionally have food go bad.  If it's just starting to turn, I compost it, but even with that there are some things (grease, cooked bones, etc.) I don't want in my compost, so I always keep a jar under the sink.  The other day I discovered some bad cauliflower in my fridge.  Bad as in stinky and starting to get moldy.  I pulled it out and put it in the jar and, since the jar was only about half full, stuck the jar back in the cabinet.  This morning, not thinking about it, I pulled the jar out to scrape a dish that had been soaking in the sink and when I opened the jar, the stench about knocked me over.  I quickly scraped my dish and threw the jar away, despite the fact that it still had lots of room in it.  I put out a dish of baking soda and a bowl of vinegar (both good, green ways to absorb odors) and went on with my morning, avoiding the kitchen for a bit, but when I went back in a while later, I discovered it still smelled...like something had died in my kitchen!  I know a lot of people are complaining that this warm weather just doesn't feel like December, but I'm so thankful that I could open the windows and air out my house while I'm at work today!

Oh, and yesterday, I was gone from 8:30am-10:00pm without a single ornament casualty!  Here's hoping Lolly has finally lost interest in the tree!

Call for help

My walking buddy had to give up his dog and we are both just heartbroken about it.  Alex is a great dog, and is looking for a new home.  I really wanted to take him but just didn't think I could handle a third dog at this point.  Alex does great with other dogs and Wolfey and Lolly miss him dearly.  Please check out his site and, if there's any chance you can, adopt this wonderful dog!

This is incredible

Blogspot allows you to track where your viewership comes from.  Here's mine:

United States	1810
Russia	335
United Kingdom	73
Germany	38
Canada	5
China	4
Malaysia	3
France	2
Sweden	2
Croatia Somehow I cut it off, but Croatia = 1

Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

When my foster friend came over Sunday to help me put my tree up, we wondered whether Lolly was going to attack it.  Wolfey's been around for 8 1/2 years and he's never bothered the tree a bit, but Lolly tends to eat random things, so you just never know.  In fact, when we made our Lowe's trip for a new tree stand, we joked that we were going to get back and the tree was going to be destroyed and the stand would be pointless.  Thankfully, we got home and not only was the tree still intact, but it didn't appear that Lolly had messed with it at all.  We made a point to put all the breakable or sentimental ornaments up high so I wouldn't have to worry as much, but still on Monday when I went to work I worried that I'd get home to find the tree in pieces on the floor.  I arrived home to find one lonely little ornament chewed up on the living room floor.  I wasn't thrilled, but it was a lot less of a mess than I'd expected.  Tuesday I found the same thing, although there had been less damage done to Tuesday's ornament, so I took that as a good sign.  Wednesday I found nothing!  I was hoping that meant that she was just adjusting to the new arrival in her space and finally felt as if she'd let it know who's boss.  Then I got home last night.  There were two (intact) ornaments in the dining room, one (intact) in the kitchen, one (broken but not ruined) on living room floor and one completely demolished ornament on the couch.  Grr!  I know this is something weird and tempting, but still.  She's so destructive!  I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to get this darn dog to stop eating my stuff.  I know there are no-chew sprays, but I hate the idea of having more chemicals in the house, in addition to the fact that I'd have to spray the whole house to protect it from her!  I know buying a new crate (since she destroyed the last one) makes the most sense, but I really hate the idea of crating her all day, especially since the whole point of getting another dog was so Wolfey would have company.  Anybody have any other ideas?

I think Lolly is part cat

It doesn't seem to matter what position she's in or how hard I push her off the bed, she always lands on her feet!  Which I'm thankful for, since I push her off the bed on a near daily basis, but still, it's weird!

I'm pretty sure Lolly broke my nose

Remember when my girl was being so snuggly?  Well, at one point she sneezed and slammed the top of her head right into my nose.  I heard a crack and it hurt like hell, but it didn't swell or bruise so I didn't think too much of it.  I had a dull headache for several days but it seemed to pretty much go away.  Then yesterday we were wrestling and she got me in the nose again.  I've had such a headache ever since, it almost feels like I'm going to throw up it hurts so bad.  Seriously, what am I going to do with this dog?  She's just a puppy and really isn't aware of her own body, but she's just too big to be so rough!

M. I. A.

Whew!  It's been a while!  I took a few days off work and didn't step foot near a computer.  It was really nice!  Okay, so highlights from my days off...

Wednesday
I slept in (as much as I can with my goofy morning-person dogs!), cleaned and made my contribution for Thanksgiving, then headed to my parents' house to help prepare to host 50+ people for Thanksgiving.  My aunt and her boyfriend came in from Chicago and we went out to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants.  It was nice to spend some quiet time with out of town family before all the craziness hit for the holiday!  We decided that Man would join my family for Thanksgiving, despite it being crazy fast in the relationship.  Yikes!

Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving!  I made last minute preparations for guests (made lactose-free mashed potatoes for Man) and tidied up the house before Man arrived and we went to my parents' house house.  The day was insane, with so many people packed into the house, but it was a beautiful day and many people spent a portion of the day outside.  Generally Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday, but this was definitely the best I can remember.  I can't tell you how many people pulled my aside to say they thought Man is a keeper!

Friday
I spent most of the day at home, recovering from my food coma and sleeping off the allergy-induced aches and pains.  I just couldn't resist all the goodies on Thursday, and was really regretting it Friday.  Still, it was nice to snuggle up on the couch with my pups, even if they did bring a deer head into my back yard.  Gross! At least they didn't try to bring it in the house.  That evening I went to my friend's house to help her put up her Christmas tree.  It was a comedy of errors, that included an impromptu Lowe's trip to buy her a new tree.  What a mess, but such fun!

Saturday
I drove up to Indy to see Man and we spent the day together.  We went out to lunch, he showed me his new house (he won't move in until late this week) and where he grew up, and he cooked me a delicious dinner.  He had planned to spend Thanksgiving by himself (his parents aren't around and his ex had the kids for this holiday) so he had bought a mini turkey and made all the fixings.  Since he spent Thanksgiving with my family instead, that's what we had Saturday.  I must say, he's a pretty good cook!  I stayed out way too late, but had an amazing day.

Sunday
I went to brunch with some out of town family before they headed home, then went home to spend some time with the pups.  I worked on making some new dog food and before I knew it, my friend had shown up to help me put up my Christmas tree.  Once again, many problems and a Lowe's trip were involved, but as always, we had a blast.  At one point I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face, and I love that my house is now a winter wonderland!  We determined that this will be a yearly tradition for us, since it's so much more fun to have a partner with whom to decorate.  Last year we were both newly-non-moms, and neither of us put up a Christmas tree.  This year we were reminded of how our foster kids were in awe of the trees, and we shared memories of Christmas with our kids, but we also looked forward to making new memories with family, friends, and hopefully some day, with new kids.

Is it weird that I feed my dogs a raw diet (including raw meat) and and get cow bones from the butcher but it grosses me out when they come home with deer bones? I think my biggest issues with it right now is they brought a jaw bone. Teeth. Ugh.

No baby mama drama here

It's amazing to me how well the boy's bio mom and I get along. That's not to say it was always easy. I mean, DCS took her child from her and gave him to me. Anyone who imagines that could ever be easy has no grasp on reality! But it's pretty awesome how we grew to have a mutual respect for each other. She just texted me to say happy Thanksgiving and we ended up chatting for a bit, catching up and it was actually really nice. It's really too bad I couldn't have that relationship with the boy's adoptive (I'm assuming, since I don't get updates) mom, but I really have a ton of respect for how bio mom pulled through and handled the situation. Odd though it may be, I really do county myself lucky to have her in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If Thanksgiving is anything like the day before Thanksgiving, it's sure to be a great day! I hope you all have as wonderful a holiday as I intend to. Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

Need. Sleep.

I've mentioned before how sometimes missing my kids can hit me like a ton of bricks, but I never realized that not missing them could happen as quickly. Let me rephrase that. It's not that I don't miss them, because I do. Every day. In fact, I didn't realize it would be possible to still miss them so much after this long. There are times, though, when I'm reminded of the things I don't miss. Like cleaning up Wolfey's accident last night and Lolly's puke in the middle of the night and then having to get up for an early meeting this morning. The boy rarely slept through the night, and as I sit here in my zombie state at the end of a long day, I am so thankful that, more often than nt, now I get my rest.

The ick factor

I arrived home to find someone had had icky tummy during the day. The dogs had kept it contained to one small area. In the process of cleaning it up, I managed to spread it to 3 different rooms, down the hall and onto the basement stairs. Needless to say, I've been cleaning since I got home.

At our best

I need a photographer to sit quietly in my room and document the ridiculous ways my dogs wake me.  Every day it's something new.  Usually by the time I can reach my phone for a picture they've moved but this morning Lolly was just too cozy to care that I was wriggling around, reaching for the phone.  Any takers on being my dogs' stalker?  Because moments like this are too funny not to photograph!

Be prepared, the following picture is NOT PRETTY.  You've been warned!!

This is how Lolly woke me this morning.  I know, I look awful, but I just couldn't not share it!  Yes, this is a little close, even for me, but it is absolutely impossible to not feel loved in my home :)

Indy day

I drove up to Indianapolis today to spend some time with friends. First I met Bestie to go to lunch and go hiking. We took her baby, who was such a trooper and fell asleep in the carrier on our hike. Such a cutie! I went back to Bestie's house to freshen up, then met a new friend for dinner. We had a great time and are already trying to find a time when he can come down this direction. It was a great day, but I had 2 long days in a row and now the pups are attacking me for attention. Must go love on my doggies!

My Napoleon

As we were out in the front yard, my neighbor walked by with his pit bull.  Wolfey took off, barking and carrying on.  Thankfully, the pit is way better behaved than my little brat of a mutt, because he completely ignored Wolfey, who he very easily could have eaten for a mid afternoon snack (for the record, this is just one example of why it irritates the crap out of me when people act like pit bulls are mean dogs).  I don't quite get it, but Wolfey completely ignores little dogs, plays with dogs his own size and tries to attack big dogs.  I imagine it has to do with his history (having been severely abused as a little guy, he always tries to protect me and our territory now) but Mom likes to tease him and says he has short man syndrome.

Oat stuffing

Was incredible! Yes, I'm still planning to have. Few bites of Mom's traditional dressing on Thanksgiving, but I'll save myself a lot of allergen-induced pain later by focusing on eating this amazing stuffing instead. Yum!

Wednesday dinner

Oh, I'm soooo looking forward to dinner tonight!  I dropped the dogs off at my parents' house on my way to work this morning and they were all excited to be there for the day, but I just keep thinking about that oat stuffing!  I really do love Wednesdays :)

My dad is the best!

Dad is trying out recipes for alternative dressings for Thanksgiving!  He's so awesome :)

My plan is to try the skirlie, and if it's good, make some of it for Thanksgiving for you and Janet.

 

I also found a recipe that's similar, but has apricots.  But, I think cranberries and pecans would work too.

 

----- Original Message -----

From: (Me)

To: (Dad)

Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 2:56 PM

Subject: Re: oat stuffing

YUM!!!  I can't wait to try it!  For the record, I'll be eating Mom's dressing on Thanksgiving, and just paying for it later!

---

From: (Dad)
To: (Me)
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 11:25 AM
Subject: Re: oat stuffing

http://itsallgouda.blogspot.com/2008/11/great-scot-super-savory-stuffing-that.html

 

----- Original Message -----

From: (Me)

To: (Dad)

Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 10:22 AM

Subject: Re: oat stuffing

The attachment didn't come through but just from the name I'm loving it :)  And I'm all for substituting apples for onions!

---

From: (Dad)
To: (Me)
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 8:35 AM
Subject: oat stuffing

Karen,

 

Here's what I'll make for tomorrow's supper.  Thinking about substituting apples for the onions around the outside of the chicken.

 

Way back when I was fostering Lolly, BBS and the monkeys fell in love with her and wanted her for their own.  Unfortunately, with Lolly's behavior and health issues, BBS knew it just wasn't an option, so we told the kids no.  BBS and I continued to work behind the scenes, though, and considered that maybe once I had Lolly healthy and trained, I may give her to the monkeys for Christmas.  As Lolly has settled in to my home and she and Wolfey continue to improve their relationship, I've become a bit reluctant to follow through on this, and since BBS hadn't brought it up in a while, I just let it die.  Then when I took the dogs to visit the other day, the monkeys brought it up again.  Lolly was so good at their house, seeming much more relaxed and comfortable at their house than at mine, and it reminded me that she just needs so much more attention than I can give her, and I once again began to consider it.  While it breaks my heart to think of sending her away, I also know that they could give her more love and attention than I ever could, and I know it would be so good for her.  BBS and I talked a lot about it and went back and forth several times.  Finally, yesterday, BBS called and said she just couldn't do it.  I hated to admit it, but I was so relieved!  Yes, Lolly drives me crazy sometimes.  Yes, she is super clingy and needs way more attention than I can give her.  Yes, it's true that I've only had her a few months.  But she's family!

She sleeps!

Lolly has gotten progressively better about sleep since she came to my house, but we still hadn't had a night of going to bed easily and really sleeping well...until last night!  Woohoo!  We worked hard and played hard Saturday and Sunday, and it really showed.  Saturday night I think she'd gotten her second wind by the time I got home and although she settled back down fairly easily, she definitely needed some love before we went to bed.  Last night, though?  8:30 and she was down for the count.  Mom called around 9:00 and Lolly didn't even lift her head.  Around 9:30 I got up and walked to the kitchen (we'd been in my room, at the complete opposite end of the house) and Lolly didn't bother to get up to follow me.  I was settled in to bed by about 9:45 and both dogs were dead to the world by then.  Lolly did wake me around 6:00 this morning, but after a night like that, I'll take it!  I haven't slept so well in months and I loved every second of it!  For the record, a special thanks goes out to my walking buddy for joining us for an evening stroll and to mother nature for the beautiful day so we could spend so much of it outside!

I love Fall!

Yesterday didn't go quite as planned, but it was an awesome day. BBS and I had talked about taking the kids and dogs to a local park to go hiking, but Miss Thing had soccer in the morning and was worn out, Buddy was asked to help his grandpa with some yard work and Schmo just didn't want to. Instead, we spent the day at BBS's house and did all kinds of fun Fall activities. The dogs were in heaven! They tromped through the woods with Miss Thing, played in the leaves with Doll Baby and got lots of love from Princess. At one point, she was laying completely on top of Lolly, but Lolly just laid there loving the attention. I worked hard with Wolfey to get him to accept kids' rough behaviors, pulling his tail and ears and playing a little too rough, so he would be okay with little ones doing that, but Lolly seems to have come pre-programmed to love the little roughnecks! It was a great day, and the pups are worn out. When we got home they both sacked out on the couch, and if I didn't have plans, I just might have joined them!

Last night after work I went back to my parents' house to get the dogs and had dinner with my dad.  The following is from our dinner conversation:

Me: How were the dogs?

Dad: Your mom got pretty frustrated when she tried to put her shoes on.  Lolly kept getting in her face; probably took her twice as long as usual to tie her shoes.

Me: Yeah, she's so loving, but she just doesn't know when to back off.

Dad: Is she loving or clingy?

Me: I can't believe how laid back she is here.  I think maybe it's because there are more people around, so she doesn't have to worry that she's going to be left or not get attention.

Dad: You're kidding, right?

Me: No, she's way more relaxed here than she is at my house.

Dad:  Really?  Because here she's like a fart in a frying pan!

Only my dad!  I love that he tells it like it is.  He's right that Lolly's pretty hard to nail down, but it was really great to see that she could be more relaxed with more people around.

Reblog

I don't often reblog.  In fact, I'm not sure I've ever done it.  I figure if you want to read someone else's blog, you'll go there and read it yourself.  But this particular one just says it so much better than I could.  When I was fostering, I had real issues with why the boy was taken away from his mom.  DCS had given me a little (VERY little) background and the boy's mom was generally pretty open with me, and while I could see reasons for DCS to be involved, it just didn't seem like enough to me.  I know there was a lot that I didn't know, so I assumed there must be enough for him to be taken from his home, but it just seemed...well...odd. I always said that while she was never going to win any mother of the year awards, no one would ever love that little boy like she did.  As sad as it is, I'm glad to see another foster mom who sees it the way I do.  Check out Rebecca at Fosterhood in NYC for her view.

An overnight

I had incredibly long days scheduled for yesterday and today, so rather than leaving the dogs home alone a super long time and having to drive the extra long distance out to my house just to sleep and turn around again, I decided to stay at my parents' house last night.  It meant getting out of the house extra early yesterday (though since Lolly had me up around 5:00am that wasn't a problem) but it also meant that the dogs would be let out around 4:00 when my mom got home instead of around 11:00 when I would have gotten home, and that I had a much shorter drive home last night and to work this morning.  It was pretty nice.  Additionally, it was fun hearing Mom tell me all the silly things that the dogs did.  It was all normal day-to-day stuff, but it was interesting to hear it from someone else's perspective.  She told me how Lolly tried to give her attack loves while she was putting her shoes on, how Wolfey seemed to roll his eyes at Lolly's silly behavior and how Lolly just needs way too much attention.  All stuff I know, but it was still fun to talk about it with someone who FINALLY experienced my zoo first hand!  It was also nice to have two more pairs of hands to help with the petting.  Wolfey got some much needed one-on-one while Mom, Dad or I kept Lolly distracted.  I really am lucky to have such loving, accepting parents.  They never would have dreamed of having an inside dog before Wolfey, and now they let me bring TWO!

Spending the afternoon with BBS, Doll Baby and Princess + walking with my walking buddy and the dogs = a pretty great day

'Tis the season

SPOILER ALERT: BBS, if any of the monkeys are reading this, don't let them read this post!  It will ruin their Christmas surprise!

Mom and I started Christmas shopping yesterday!  I've always said I was going to start early but then never followed through.  This year, between my hospital bills and the dogs' vet bills, money is super tight, pretty much forcing me to start early, just so I can spread out the expenses.  BBS and I also agreed to cut back this year.  She and I will not be exchanging gifts (it's only a $20-30 savings, but at this point, every little bit counts) and we discussed that I won't be spending as much on the monkeys as I usually do.  So I set out with cash in hand, swearing to not break out the plastic.  Amazingly, I'm more than half way done with my Christmas shopping and haven't broken the bank!  I found the cutest snowman kit at Target, complete with top hat, carrot nose and biodegradable snow paint and built on that idea.  I bought igloo brick molds and little snow shovels and put together a whole snow day kit.  I plan to wrap each thing individually and then put it all in one big box to be a group present for all the monkeys.  So far I've spent about $30 (there are a few little things I still want to look for, I'm thinking max of $10 more) for FIVE gifts!  I also bought a puzzle for my grandma and a little treat for my dad.  I've never gotten this much done this early, and it feels really good.  On top of that good feeling, Dad called while we were out shopping and invited me to dinner, one of my favorites - sausage and sauerkraut!  Yum!  What started out as a dull day of housework ended up as a fun, productive and yummy day, complete with a game of Rumikub after dinner.  I really am a lucky, lucky girl!  Here's hoping Doll Baby's birthday outing tomorrow goes as well!

Happy birthday, Bug!

I had a great night out last night, celebrating my cousin's 21st birthday with a bunch of her friends. I was worried I was going to feel like the creepy old lady at a kid's birthday, but it was actually a ton of fun. I really am lucky to have such an awesome family!

BBS = Builder, Believer, Supporter

I know I've mentioned before that I have the best big sister in the entire world, but she really is amazing.  I love that she's just as excited over this job opportunity I'm creating for myself as I am.  Maybe more so!  She has been an awesome help, and I feel like I've made great progress toward finding a job that is truly right for me.  I really couldn't do this without her.  She's been teasing me, of course, that with as much work as she's putting in she ought to be getting paid, but I promised I'd pay her in "awesome auntie hours" and she's such a great mom, I think she's just as happy to see her kids benefit from her hard work as she would be to be paid in actual money!

Dear Genius Self,

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" is not a good approach when it comes to sleeping pills.  Thursday night I wasn't feeling too hot and really needed a good night's sleep, so I took an Excedrin PM.  The dogs had me up 5 times.  When my alarm went off yesterday morning, I was so groggy I overslept and was nearly late to work, despite getting ready in less than 20 minutes.  So last night, being even more tired than the night before and having a throbbing headache from lack of sleep and eating allergens, I once again took and Excedrin PM.  And once again the dogs had me up several times during the night.  It's now 12:00 and I'm just now feeling functional.  Thank goodness I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow.  I have big plans to sleep!

Fat lip

I really do love Lolly, but she is SUCH a roughneck! She does not understand the concept of giving me a little space and gets aggressive to get close to me. I now have a fat lip from her trying to get between me and the water I was drinking. I guess there are those times when I say "you're lucky I love you!"

I like this idea!

Posted on facebook by a friend of mine:

Dog for rent. Enjoys chewing boxes just to see what is inside. Can't stand confinement, but thinks his backyard should be bigger. Also known for going through garbage cans and disliking being locked out of places he considers "his". Needs to be returned for guard dog duty at night, but available from about 5 am until 8 pm every day. Hours negotiable, rate is free.

I suggested that whomever takes her dog may want Lolly during the night.  I love her and enjoy her playfulness, but the nightly attack loves are still a little much for me!

Fred

I've always known that I'm incredibly lucky to have known all four of my grandparents, plus four of my great grandparents.  What I sometimes forget is just how lucky I am to still have three of my grandparents around. Here I am, solidly in my thirties (yes, I admit it!) and I have three happy and relatively healthy grandparents.  This amazing fact was reinforced yesterday when I spent my afternoon off taking my grandpa to a movie, then having dinner with my grandparents.  Grandpa is 92 years old and has been in and out of the hospital a lot lately, but just the fact that I was able to take him out for the afternoon is incredible.  He and Grandma still own and take care of their own home and lead relatively active social lives.  Yes, he can be a crotchety old man, but it's those days like yesterday, when I get to know that I'm the one who put that smile on his face, that I plan on relishing for years to come.  I am so lucky to love such awesome grandparents!

Lilies

I was outside planting some Fall bulbs when Lolly got ahold of a couple and I'm pretty sure she ate one. Operation research whether flower bulbs are poisonous to dogs, commence now!

UPDATE: Turns out many bulbs are, but thankfully what I'm planting is not on the list. Check out dogfirstaid101.com for the full list!

Product placement

I've always prided myself on the fact that, despite having an inside dog, my house has never smelled like dog...until Lolly came around. She gets baths just as often as Wolfey, but she's just a stinky dog. And unfortunately, I've noticed that the house has started reflecting that. Not that my house smelled bad, just that it was evident that dogs live here. So today I remedied that! Two products I couldn't live with inside dogs without: Murphy's Oil Soap and Arm and Hammer Pet Fresh. I started with the couches, sprinkling the Pet Fresh on, waiting the requisite 15 minutes and vacuuming it back off. Since the cushions on the back of my couch come off and the dogs like to pull them down to lay on them, I did both sides. I've found that I have to put the dogs outside for this process or Wolfey likes to roll in the Pet Fresh. Not sure why that is. The house smelled so much better after that, but I couldn't leave well enough alone. Since I had the vacuum out anyway, I swept the entire house and then mopped with my Murphy's Oil Soap. Not only is it good for hardwood floors, it also helps eliminate any doggy accident odors (and we all know how Lolly had issues with peeing everywhere!) that may be left behind after day-to-day clean up. So now not only does my house look nice, it smells fantastic! So fresh and clean, but without the chemical smell you get with harsh detergents. I love it! Oh, and a shout out to BBS who recommended that I buy one of those refillable spray mops. It's like a Swiffer wet jet but you wash and reuse the mop head and can use whatever cleaner you like. I love that thing! It cuts my mopping time in half, which is a pretty big deal when your entire house is hardwood! So yes, I'm excited about cleaning, but really, with results like these, who wouldn't be?!

Notice: all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and I was not compensated by Murphy's Oil Soap or Arm and Hammer in any way. That being said, if anyone from these companies is reading this, I love these products enough, I'd be happy to do some endorsements!

Easy like Sunday morning

Snuggling on the couch :)

Game night

Tonight, with BBS, the monkeys and the best mom ever.  Can't wait!

Oh, and did I mention we're having tacos?  Bonus!

Good things come to those who wait

Wolfey and I used to have a really nice wake up routine.  The first time the alarm went off he'd come snuggle up to me.  The second time it went off I'd pet him, we'd play or snuggle and have some good Mommy/Wolfey time.  The third time it went off he'd jump down off the bed and I'd get up for the day.  It worked out well, with both of us getting what we needed - some snuggle time, some fun time and a relaxing way to wake.  Since Lolly has joined us, the routine has morphed several times.  The first change was as soon as she came.  Lolly would wake me around 4am (the alarm doesn't go off until about 7:15) and I would spend the next couple of hours fending off her "love" until I finally gave in and got up.  Wolfey would generally get neglected during this time.  Gradually I got her to let me sleep until about 6:00, and we continue to waver between 6:00 and 6:30.  This, I can handle.  Still, the process of waking up has changed a few times.  For a while Lolly would still attack me and force me to pet her.  From the time she woke up until I finally let her out she would stand on me, climb over me and generally insist that I pay attention to her.  We went through a phase where I could pet her for a little bit and get her to snuggle in so I could snooze for a bit, but that didn't last long.  During most of this time, Wolfey was still being neglected in the morning, only because if he tried to join in Lolly would push him away.  Finally, Wolfey got up the nerve to try to get in on the morning attention and refused to let himself but pushed off.  After several days of Wolfey standing his ground Lolly conceded, but would only let Wolfey sit or lay next to me, and ensured that she got the majority of the attention by laying directly on top of me.  This morning, we had another (hopefully final) alteration to our routine.  Wolfey hung back until Lolly got settled in, mostly next to me.  He walked right up, looked at Lolly, and claimed his rightful place - laying right across my belly!  Wolfey has had to wait more than two months, but he has finally reclaimed his place as Mommy's snuggle pup!

Princess

While talking to BBS on the phone today, Princess was fussing in the background. In an attempt to distract her, BBS asked Princess if she wanted to talk to Aunt Karen. Princess got on the phone and we "talked" (baby talked) for a minute. I asked her if she was being good for Mommy and she said "uh, oh!" and gave the phone back to BBS. Busted! Love my littlest monkey!

I've found Lolly's Halloween costume.  I'm going to add a disclaimer, though: kisses, free, whether you want them or not!

Mixed emotions

I just got a call from DCS, requesting information about the boy.  He's been gone for over a year and I still know more about him than they do.  It's so frustrating that DCS doesn't have all his information in some file for him to see when he turns 18, but at the same time, it helps me feel connected to him. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him and wonder how he's doing, and it's actually kind of nice to get these little tid bits.  I really hope that some day, when he's older and wants to know about his childhood, he'll look me up and I'll be able to share all my wonderful memories.  I really am lucky to have been a part of his journey.

Repairs

I've had a repairman at my house for the past two hours. Wolfey was pretty upset and wanted to know why there was a strange man in his house. Lolly just wanted to know why he wasn't playing with her!

Poor Lolly just does not understand why I won't let her go give attack kisses. I know it's not the most pleasant way to wake up, though, and I don't want to lose my Coolest Aunt in the World status! Schmo just couldn't keep the smile off his face last night, and kept saying, "I'm having so much fun, just you and me!" I really am incredibly lucky to have such awesome nieces and nephews!

Whoa!

I haven't checked my stats in a few days - 180 posts (this is #181) and more than 2030 page views!  Woohoo!  My last blog did much better, but I think fostering is much more interesting to most people than dogs, since anyone can and does have a dog, but fostering is more rare.  Still, I'm pretty happy to see that people are actually reading what I have to say :)

As for what I do have to say...I'm FINALLY taking Schmo on his birthday outing tonight!  Yay!  It's hard work being the World's Greatest Aunt (patent pending) but I love every second of it.  I take the kids out, one-on-one with Aunt Karen, instead of buying a birthday present.  I think we're going to play laser tag and have a sleep over.  Should be an awesome night!  I'm so lucky to love such fun monkeys :)

The dog ate it

Will be a totally reasonable excuse for why my kids don't have their homework/permission slip/pajamas/shoes/band instrument. Good golly, this girl is going to be the death of me. Or at least the death of my household decorations!

Coverage

I really enjoy covering other stores.  It gives me a nice break from my usual day-to-day, lets me see different customers, gives me an opportunity to check out other stores and get ideas for my stores, and most importantly - I generally cover stores that are busier than mine, so it's not so boring!  I hate to be negative, because I'm super thankful to have a good job, but my job can be painfully boring this time of year.  So when a friend called me last week to cover his store today and tomorrow, I jumped at the chance to get out of my store for something different and offer my employees a few extra hours.  The problem: EVERY time I work at this store, I have a major flub-up.  Every time!  It's always something personal, generally something that doesn't affect my performance, and never something the higher-ups in the company ever find out about, or would worry about even if they did know, but it's also always frustrating to me.  The first time, I packed soup for lunch...but no spoon.  The second time I packed my lunch...and left it in the refrigerator at home.  And this time is definitely the best.  I have to leave my house about 20 minutes earlier than I'm used to to work at this store.  On top of that, I had to stop and get gas this morning.  So, in my dreary state, I didn't pay much attention to what I put on, knowing that jeans and a work polo is pretty mindless.  Of course, I probably should have paid more attention to the jeans, and NOT grabbed the ones with a giant hole...in the butt.  Oops!  Good thing it's a cool day and I've got a fleece on!  Looks like I need to tie it around my waste to cover my little faux pas!  I really am lucky to have this nice break from the tedium of working the same slow store every day, and to have a friend and coworker who trusts me to cover his store; I just wish I was more on top of things and didn't screw something up every time I come here!

Bodies, bodies, everywhere

And not a man in sight.  I generally pride myself on being able to handle just about anything life throws my way, and not needing a man to take care of anything for me, but this was one (two) of those times I would have gladly handed over the reigns and let a man take care of it all!

Eww, gross and yuck!  Last night, as I was following a car up a state road (thankfully from a little distance), I saw the car hit their breaks, then something tan go flying.  They'd hit a deer.  Living in the country, this isn't uncommon, but what the driver did next was.  She pulled over so she was partway off the road, but still had close to half her car in the lane.  She just sat there, with her breaks still on and put it in reverse.  Then she sat there.  Since the shoulder is more than wide enough for a car, I was a little worried that she had been injured.  I stayed back for a minute to see what she would do, but she didn't back up, didn't pull over the rest of the way, didn't get out to check the damage.  I slowly pulled up next to her and asked if she was okay.  She stared at me for the longest time before realizing she needed to put her window down to hear me.  Once she did, I asked again and I could tell she was really rattled.  I backed up to put my car behind hers so I could get all the way off the road and put my blinkers on.  It was a small, older lady, so I felt fairly comfortable, but I still grabbed my cell phone, just in case.  She was completely clueless as to how to proceed, so I instructed her to call her husband, while I called the police for an accident report.  She kept saying how shaken up she was, how she didn't know what to do next and how scared she was to be there on the side of the road, so I offered to stay with her until either her husband or the police showed up.  I don't know how many times she went over and checked on the deer, even though it was clear that it had been killed on impact.  It's not that I've never seen a dead animal before, but I really didn't want to hang out with one.  Gross.

This morning, about half an hour before I would have usually gotten up, Wolfey started going a bit nutso.  It wasn't his usual "I've got to pee" whine, or his "I want attention" whimper and I was kind of lost as to what was going on.  If it had been Lolly, I would have chalked it up to the fact that she's a bit of a nut job, snuggled her into submission and gone back to sleep, but usually when Wolfey acts out, there's a reason.  I got up and opened the bedroom door and he bolted for the back door.  I assumed he must have had to pee and I just wasn't reading his signs right and went around to check the mouse traps - oh, yeah, did I mention I found mouse droppings the other day?  I've had a mouse in the basement before, but never in the upstairs and I was pretty grossed out by that and immediately went out and bought, and subsequently set, several mouse traps.  Well, I found the source of Wolfey's angst - there was a mouse on the trap in the closet.  Not just any mouse, though...a LIVE mouse!  I think I'd had this idea that the mouse would get caught as soon as I left for work one day and would be dead by the time I got home and had to deal with it, but no, this one was wriggling and squeaking and fighting for its life.  So after the traumatizing events of last night, then I had to kill this poor mouse this morning.  I actually went so far as to call my dad and ask him to drive out to the house to take care of it!  Of course, he wouldn't, and told me to just put a piece of cardboard over it and step on it.  Ick!  I couldn't do that, but I did use an old magazine (sorry, Glamor!  Not very glamorous today!) to pick it up, so that it was between several layers, took it out to the garage and dropped a 2x4 on it.  Twice.  I'm happy to say little mouse is now in mousey heaven, but it was still a pretty rough way to start the day!

So that brings my dead body count to two in the past 24 hours.  I think we can stop there.  Please!

See that little red dot? That's a light I put on Lolly's collar. When it's just us at the park I like to let the dogs off their leashes so they can run faster and burn off more energy. With the lights along our walking trail, I can see Wolfey's white tail, but Lolly is too darkly colored and incredibly difficult to see. I put my jogging light on her collar this evening - perfect solution!

Yep

I'm a happy girl. The past 24+ hours have been pretty awesome. Last night I met a good friend of mine, BBS and a good friend of hers for dinner and karaoke. This morning the dogs and I met a friend for a nice walk along the river. Then this evening, my mom made my special birthday dinner and BBS, her hubby and the monkeys and both sets of grandparents joined us for dinner and ice cream cake. I am so lucky to love so many amazing people!

Furry Venus fly trap

Wolfey is the best little fly catcher anywhere. As I sit here typing, he is patiently stalking the fly that keeps buzzing me. He has already caught one, while Lolly jumped at it, ran into the wall and quickly moved on to other activities. Success! He's lying down licking at something and I no longer hear buzzing. Good job, Wolf!

Top 10 reasons Lolly is the perfect name

I thought long and hard on what to name Lolly.  Wolfey was already named when I adopted him and although I wasn't a huge fan of his name, I also didn't want to change it after he'd been called that for two years.  When Lolly came to stay with me, she had been called Bonnie for two months, only because the agency had to have something to call her, but they didn't know what her name had been before.  I didn't like the name and she didn't really respond to it, so I decided to change it.  I agonized over what to call her and asked input from everyone she came in contact with.  Finally, I took her to my sister's house and asked the monkeys.  They came up with what I thought was a silly but cute name, and it stuck.  Now that I've had her a while, I realize it was actually the perfect name.  Here's why:

10. She's part Australian Shepherd. Australians call suckers lollies.
9. Same concept - she's super sweet, like candy...like a lolly!
8. BBS claims Lolly looks like she has a French pedicure and therefore should have a French name. Lolly could pass for French ;)
7. Along the lines of French names, Australian Shepherds are actually from France.
6. She most definitely does everything in her own sweet time.  In my family, we call moving so slowly "lolly gagging".
5. I love to sing.  My new favorite is "Lolly Pup, Lolly Pup, ooh Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Pup!" and I can even do the popping sound.  Of course, I usually don't get that far into it, because as soon as I start singing her name she gives me this look like I'm a complete fruit loop!
4. I also sing "Lolly wally doodle all the day" to her.  Hey, it works!
3. It's better than Dog Dog, which is what Doll Baby wanted to (and sometimes still does) call her.
2. The monkeys named her, and in my house, what they say goes :)
And the number one reason Lolly is the perfect name...
She's a total ding dong - always in la la land!

Kidneys

Lolly has had more accidents in my house in the two months I've had her than Wolfey has in the four years we've lived in this house.  I've been working with the vet to figure out what is going on, including taking a urine sample, asking lots of questions and most recently having blood drawn yesterday.  I just got a call from the vet that Lolly's kidneys are failing.  She is down to less than 25% kidney function, and needs meds (natural supplements, to start with) to help support it.  They want to do more bloodwork in 6-8 weeks to see how the treatment is working but if this doesn't help, she may have to go to an internist to figure out what the problem is and where we go from here.  I'm really hoping the supplements do the trick, because I'm not sure I can keep spending money like this!  Would it be completely ridiculous to buy pet insurance?  And do they even cover things like this?  I think it's time for me to do some research!

Lesson learned

It's not a savings to buy Halloween candy early and on sale if the dogs are going to eat the entire bag. At this point, I'm almost okay with the whole chocolate-is-poison-for-dogs thing.