I wonder what people with "normal" dogs do.
You know, those people who don't have to herd the dog outside IMMEDIATELY upon walking in the door before she gets the instant urge to pee and potties on the floor. Those people who don't have to search the house high and low to see where the male dog(s) peed during the day, flipping on the lights in every room and making sure to check their "favorite" marking spots. Those people who don't have to boil chicken and cook rice for their dog's bland diet to resolve their diarrhea. Those people who don't have to have boxes of kleenex strategically placed throughout the house in order to have quick access to them for picking up poop that the girls constantly trail behind them when they walk. Those people who don't need to have a waterproof mattress pad on the bed for when their dog pees on their bed. Those people who don't have to set alarms to remind them of their dog's medication schedule.
You know, those people with "normal" dogs!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A Vacation of Volunteering
A large network of pug friends and rescue volunteers/supporters are planning a trip to Best Friends Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. I'm crossing all fingers and paws that this happens for me. I need to save up the money to be able to go and hope that Kayla's health is still stable at the end of August so that I can leave her with Josh for a few days while I indulge myself in a vacation of volunteering at Best Friends. It's a once in a lifetime trip for me and I so hope it works out because I'm really excited thinking about it.
Be sure to check out their website and support their cause. www.bestfriends.org.
Be sure to check out their website and support their cause. www.bestfriends.org.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Welcome 2011
Well, 2010 is over and 2011 has begun. Here's hoping that 2011 will be a better year in our household.
December was extremely hectic in our house. Josh was working out of town most of the month. I was working overtime every day. We basically were home to sleep and eat and take care of the dogs when we had time. Thankfully my dad is a huge help when we need him to come out during the day to let the dogs out and give them a break from being home alone all day.
It was a tough (and expensive) year in 2010. Kayla is still holding her own. We haven't been using her cart, but I really think we need to implement her cart into her daily life and hopefully that'll make a big difference for her. Grace is doing well - we've got her on a daily pain med regimen that seems to be helping her arthritis in her legs. She's sassy as usual -not sure that'll ever change!! And Diesel is the best ever. He had surgery in early December to remove the remnants of his dew claws since they had started bothering him (and apparently become infected, we learned when they removed them). He also started an intro to agility class in late November. We have our final class on Monday night and he has been so good at agility and had so much fun. He picks up on the equipment quickly, though he still tries to avoid doing the tunnel and tire swing every chance he gets!!! I'm really hoping to continue doing agility with him because he and I have both enjoyed it very much.
That's the year-end wrap up for 2010. We're looking forward to a quieter, healthy 2011. And hope everyone else has a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.
December was extremely hectic in our house. Josh was working out of town most of the month. I was working overtime every day. We basically were home to sleep and eat and take care of the dogs when we had time. Thankfully my dad is a huge help when we need him to come out during the day to let the dogs out and give them a break from being home alone all day.
It was a tough (and expensive) year in 2010. Kayla is still holding her own. We haven't been using her cart, but I really think we need to implement her cart into her daily life and hopefully that'll make a big difference for her. Grace is doing well - we've got her on a daily pain med regimen that seems to be helping her arthritis in her legs. She's sassy as usual -not sure that'll ever change!! And Diesel is the best ever. He had surgery in early December to remove the remnants of his dew claws since they had started bothering him (and apparently become infected, we learned when they removed them). He also started an intro to agility class in late November. We have our final class on Monday night and he has been so good at agility and had so much fun. He picks up on the equipment quickly, though he still tries to avoid doing the tunnel and tire swing every chance he gets!!! I'm really hoping to continue doing agility with him because he and I have both enjoyed it very much.
That's the year-end wrap up for 2010. We're looking forward to a quieter, healthy 2011. And hope everyone else has a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.
Monday, November 15, 2010
No, we're not having children
Josh and I just had this conversation on Saturday night about all the assinine things people say to us when we tell them we're not having children. For whatever reason, people believe it's their business whether or not we're going to procreate and it's their place to make comments on our choice to not have kids. I've learned to just get over it - and remind myself that it's no one's business but ours.
But for fun, I thought I'd just make a list of all the different things we've heard over the years from people when we tell them we don't want kids (and these are in no particular order):
1. "You'll change your mind when you get older." We're 30 years old; we're pretty stable in our lives and pretty sure of what we want. Maybe it applied when we were 18, but come on, we're old enough to know what we do and do not want in life!
2. "Who will take care of you when you get old?" Really? Because people are having kids strictly so that they have someone to take care of them when they're old and frail? I thought parents don't want to be a burden to their children. Lord, when I get old and frail, I'm going to be put in a home to let the professionals take care of me - just like I'll do for my parents. I'm not a caretaker, I'm not going to change my parents' diapers and I wouldn't have children just so they could change my diapers.
3. "You don't know what you're missing." Which goes hand in hand with "You'll wake up one day and regret not having kids." Yes, I don't know what being a parent to a human child is like. No, I will not regret it. I've thought long and hard about this - it's not a decision we made on a whim. And I thought when our friends started having babies, it would hit us that we were missing out and it would make us think more about having kids. But really, it's just the opposite. Sitting with friends last night watching a movie, I remembered how great it is to not have kids - at home, we watch a movie with no kids talking or toys making noise. Last night, we had to struggle to hear above Ethan asking questions about the movie and Kendra's toy making all kinds of ruckus. And when we go out, and our friends can't because they can't find a sitter? Again, reminds me of how easy our life is without kids - we can come and go as we please (well, almost, it's a little more restricted with Kayla being sick, but for the most part we have tons of freedom).
4. "That's selfish of you." Wow? Really? Isn't it selfless of me to realize I don't want kids, rather than just having kids because that's what's expected of me, even though I don't want them. I'm not going to have a kid just cuz that's what everyone does if I don't really want the kid to begin with. Nothing like screwing the kid up right from birth!!
5. The most creative one I've heard - "That's a waste of a good uterus." That one cracked me up!!
6. And the one that I had to force myself to continue walking away so I didn't drop kick the person who said it - "Where's your motherly instinct?" Have you not seen me with my dogs? I have more motherly instinct than most mothers of human children. Just because I don't want kids doesn't mean I don't have motherly instinct.
Don't worry, I'm not bitter. I've come to realize over the years that people love poking their noses in other people's business. And thankfully, I do believe our parents and close family have all realized we are serious about not having kids, so they don't pressure us to do it. They know we're more than happy with our three pugs and that's the way it's going to be!!
But for fun, I thought I'd just make a list of all the different things we've heard over the years from people when we tell them we don't want kids (and these are in no particular order):
1. "You'll change your mind when you get older." We're 30 years old; we're pretty stable in our lives and pretty sure of what we want. Maybe it applied when we were 18, but come on, we're old enough to know what we do and do not want in life!
2. "Who will take care of you when you get old?" Really? Because people are having kids strictly so that they have someone to take care of them when they're old and frail? I thought parents don't want to be a burden to their children. Lord, when I get old and frail, I'm going to be put in a home to let the professionals take care of me - just like I'll do for my parents. I'm not a caretaker, I'm not going to change my parents' diapers and I wouldn't have children just so they could change my diapers.
3. "You don't know what you're missing." Which goes hand in hand with "You'll wake up one day and regret not having kids." Yes, I don't know what being a parent to a human child is like. No, I will not regret it. I've thought long and hard about this - it's not a decision we made on a whim. And I thought when our friends started having babies, it would hit us that we were missing out and it would make us think more about having kids. But really, it's just the opposite. Sitting with friends last night watching a movie, I remembered how great it is to not have kids - at home, we watch a movie with no kids talking or toys making noise. Last night, we had to struggle to hear above Ethan asking questions about the movie and Kendra's toy making all kinds of ruckus. And when we go out, and our friends can't because they can't find a sitter? Again, reminds me of how easy our life is without kids - we can come and go as we please (well, almost, it's a little more restricted with Kayla being sick, but for the most part we have tons of freedom).
4. "That's selfish of you." Wow? Really? Isn't it selfless of me to realize I don't want kids, rather than just having kids because that's what's expected of me, even though I don't want them. I'm not going to have a kid just cuz that's what everyone does if I don't really want the kid to begin with. Nothing like screwing the kid up right from birth!!
5. The most creative one I've heard - "That's a waste of a good uterus." That one cracked me up!!
6. And the one that I had to force myself to continue walking away so I didn't drop kick the person who said it - "Where's your motherly instinct?" Have you not seen me with my dogs? I have more motherly instinct than most mothers of human children. Just because I don't want kids doesn't mean I don't have motherly instinct.
Don't worry, I'm not bitter. I've come to realize over the years that people love poking their noses in other people's business. And thankfully, I do believe our parents and close family have all realized we are serious about not having kids, so they don't pressure us to do it. They know we're more than happy with our three pugs and that's the way it's going to be!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Time to be Thankful
It's a little early since Thanksgiving isn't for another week and a half, but I'm being reflective tonight and thought I'd do a post about all the good things in my life that I'm thankful for.
1. My husband. I'm thankful to have a husband who loves me and works hard to support us. Yes, most days I'd like to smother him in his sleep and collect the life insurance money, but, alas, I refrain from doing this and he lives to see another day!!! Just kidding - I do love him and he does take care of me. Besides, I'd hate to have to hire someone to clean the house and do the laundry if I killed him!!
2. Diesel. This boy makes me laugh day in and day out. My heart literally melts when I lay eyes on him. As I type this, he's gotten up off the bed and went to lay by himself in his dog bed because I'm apparently irritating him by making noise or moving or both. That personality of his cracks me up!! And in addition, he's my only healthy baby, so we're always thankful for that!
3. Makayla. I'm thankful that she's still here with us. Last year at this time we didn't know if she'd be here in a year. And yet here she is - still fighting. She's a trooper and I admire her more and more every day. She doesn't let her disability slow her down - she just gets up and goes on with her life. She's taught me more than I ever thought I could learn from her, and yet I feel there's even more to learn as our journey continues. She's still as stubborn, bossy and bitchy as ever - gotta admire that!!
4. Gracie Lou Freebush. Mrs. Freebush - she's a character and I'm thankful she found her way into our life. I don't know that anyone else would tolerate Grace and her antics the way we do. She's taught me immense amounts of patience - and to not take life so seriously all the time!! When I want to yell and scream because she's sassy, she gives me her "Elvis" look and cracks me up!
5. My job. At times when so many people have lost their job, I'm thankful to still have a job. And a pretty decent boss too. Even when it's stressful and I'm tired of dealing with people, it's still good to have an income and a little job security!
6. My family. We may be one of the more dysfunctional families in the world, but I still am happy to say we are a rather close family. I'm thankful to know that they'd be here for me at the drop of a hat no matter what.
7. Our health. Although we struggle with the pugs' health issues, for the most part we are healthy and so are our loved ones. That's a big thing to be thankful for.
I hope everyone who reads this blog is as blessed as we are. And I hope you all take a moment this holiday season to county those blessings and give thanks for them.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Ahhh, peace and quiet!
Happy Saturday!!! I'm enjoying a couple hours of peace and quiet this morning. Josh is doing a side job and the three stooges are at the groomers for their spa morning. And how do I celebrate my morning alone?! I'm about to begin doing some work from home - yep, I get a couple hours of peace and quiet and I use it to do overtime work. That's how busy life is lately!!
Things have been great lately. We've put Grace on pain meds, which seem to be helping with her back legs. We'll touch base with the vet next week, but I'd imagine we'll work out some sort of long term pain med regimen for Grace. Kayla's holding her own as always. We started her on Vallium to help her be less restless through the night. And it's working well - she's still up several times during the night, but when we go back to bed, she settles in and is able to go back to sleep (and so are we!!). Makayla's on several different meds right now, but she's still a happy go lucky girl. She wakes up smiling every day and still loves life. And that's all that matters for us anymore.
Have a great weekend - and remember to always live for the moment!!
Things have been great lately. We've put Grace on pain meds, which seem to be helping with her back legs. We'll touch base with the vet next week, but I'd imagine we'll work out some sort of long term pain med regimen for Grace. Kayla's holding her own as always. We started her on Vallium to help her be less restless through the night. And it's working well - she's still up several times during the night, but when we go back to bed, she settles in and is able to go back to sleep (and so are we!!). Makayla's on several different meds right now, but she's still a happy go lucky girl. She wakes up smiling every day and still loves life. And that's all that matters for us anymore.
Have a great weekend - and remember to always live for the moment!!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Really it has been a crazy life lately
Time has flown by recently. Every part of life has been hectic.
October has been a busy month for my Tastefully Simple business. It's been great - I'm glad to have be busy with Tastefully Simple - it's fun seeing my business grow and I find that I enjoy parties more and more with each one that I do. Plus, the few extra bucks I make certainly do help!!
Our law firm has been crazy busy lately, which is great - always good to have job security. Most of the staff has been working 50+ hours lately, which is unusual for so many of us to be so busy. My weekends lately have been spent at the office on Saturday and then working from home on Sunday. Right now, we have a temporary reprieve, but in about 3-4 weeks, the workload is going to pick back up again and we'll all be working mass overtime all over again. Oh well - it's a good time of the year to be earning extra money from OT!!
Makayla has been doing well - as well as can be expected. The steroids have had her feeling a little better. However, her appetite has become insane. She is constantly hungry. In fact, she gets a meal around 2 a.m. so that she can make it through the night. And she's been drinking more and more water, which means more and more potty trips. Needless to say, I'm exhausted because I only sleep about 2 hours at a time at night since Makayla is up so much. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm just thankful that Kayla's still here with us and feeling as well as she is.
We had our family photo shoot last week and it went so much better than I expected. We should be getting the proofs any day now and I'm cannot wait to see how great the pictures turned out.
And last but not least, Grace is headed to the vet tomorrow. She's having some trouble with her back legs and we need to find out what's going on with her. We always knew she'd be the next one to give us major health issues, but were so hoping to have a little reprieve between handicapped pugs. As of right now, that's not looking like it's going to happen. Cross fingers and paws that we can figure out what's going on with Grace.
October has been a busy month for my Tastefully Simple business. It's been great - I'm glad to have be busy with Tastefully Simple - it's fun seeing my business grow and I find that I enjoy parties more and more with each one that I do. Plus, the few extra bucks I make certainly do help!!
Our law firm has been crazy busy lately, which is great - always good to have job security. Most of the staff has been working 50+ hours lately, which is unusual for so many of us to be so busy. My weekends lately have been spent at the office on Saturday and then working from home on Sunday. Right now, we have a temporary reprieve, but in about 3-4 weeks, the workload is going to pick back up again and we'll all be working mass overtime all over again. Oh well - it's a good time of the year to be earning extra money from OT!!
Makayla has been doing well - as well as can be expected. The steroids have had her feeling a little better. However, her appetite has become insane. She is constantly hungry. In fact, she gets a meal around 2 a.m. so that she can make it through the night. And she's been drinking more and more water, which means more and more potty trips. Needless to say, I'm exhausted because I only sleep about 2 hours at a time at night since Makayla is up so much. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm just thankful that Kayla's still here with us and feeling as well as she is.
We had our family photo shoot last week and it went so much better than I expected. We should be getting the proofs any day now and I'm cannot wait to see how great the pictures turned out.
And last but not least, Grace is headed to the vet tomorrow. She's having some trouble with her back legs and we need to find out what's going on with her. We always knew she'd be the next one to give us major health issues, but were so hoping to have a little reprieve between handicapped pugs. As of right now, that's not looking like it's going to happen. Cross fingers and paws that we can figure out what's going on with Grace.
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