My Life as a Novel

All seven puppies and their momma took a trip to the vet yesterday. They were doted on by nearly every vet and tech at the facility. There are 6 boys and 1 girl, all weighing in between .2 lbs and .4 lbs -- one was so light that it hardly even registered on the scale.

They're all eating very well and mostly at their own initiating. There's one puppy who we have to wake up and remind that he's hungry, but he's figuring it out. We just pick him up and put him in the right place and he figures it out from there.

Rosie is a very good mommy! Even the doctors said so. She's very attentive and has had no problem feeding or cleaning the pups. The only thing we can't figure out is how she sits on her puppies so often ... apparently, without even knowing it! We'll hear the poor things start squealing and know "Rosie must've repositioned herself again."

We're having fun with the puppies. They have really required little maintenance as far as feedings and things. They pretty much take care of their own stuff -- which has been nice! Can you imagine if I'd have had to bottle-feed seven puppies every two hours?! I still check on them every few hours or so through the day and night, but Rosie does a good job of taking care of them so I don't have to.

Everybody checked out ok at the vet yesterday. They start their vaccinations and preventative worm-treatments the next few weeks. So we'll have seven healthy puppies for seven lucky families this Christmas!

That is, if I win the "argument". Kyle wants to keep one. Three beagles?!?!

Labels: dogs

It was during the time that we were first waking up, when I had first let Rosie and Oliver outside to "go potty" that I became distracted with pain pills and people breakfast. The next thing I knew, Rosie was under the shed in the backyard. "Nesting". And completely out of reach.

After we tried using a hot dog and two Milk Bone treats to lure her out, a borrowed can of tuna from the neighbor across the street did the trick. And I grabbed her and we ran inside.

The first puppy was in the middle of the studio floor before we even realized what was happening.

I shall decline to describe the meltdown that happened when Rosie ran away from the puppy instead of cleaning it up, or really acknowledging it at all. I had to ... bleh. Do a lot of gross things.

Fortunately Mila was already on the way, so she picked up where I left off. Which meant she had a LOT of work to do, as I was a basketcase. "But Rosie is supposed to do this! Why is she trying to get behind the sofa!?"

That was at 2:15. At 10 PM - nearly 8 hours later - the "birthing team" (which consisted of Mila and Amy and, briefly, my friend Amanda) had left and Rosie was left to tend her 8 new puppies.

Last night the runt died. She was soooo tiny. You could see her little rib cage.

So seven. Seven beagle puppies. Wow.

Labels: dogs

• Rosie is pregnant. (You probably caught on to that already.) She is currently on her 66th day. Dogs typically give birth on or around the 63rd day. Our vet friend is coming over to check the situation tonight to make sure all is as it should be.
  
  
• Kyle's having some oral surgery done on Thursday. Really, he's just having his wisdom teeth removed, so it's not "that" big of a deal, I suppose. I'll let you know after Thursday.
  
  
• Kyle's mom is coming to town this weekend to tend to her son following his surgery. This is a welcome relief for me. Besides just getting a chance for an extended visit with her, I am glad she wanted to be able to come help out. There's a lot going on here these days, and I welcome any person who wants to take something off my plate. Plus, I have a difficult time cooking for Kyle. She's his mom. She doesn't.

Labels: dogs, The Hubby

I'm a planner. I work with checklists a lot. I work best when given a cut-off date. I cannot be trusted to finish a project unless I'm given a definite, unmoving due date. It's the way I work... sad as it is. I'm only at my best when a Date of Accountability is set.

Take my house as an example. It is basically a roof over a building full of unfinished projects. We've lived there for two years and haven't ever completely finished some kitchen projects. Our bathroom has remained unfinished and untouched for almost a year. One of our bedrooms has been untrimmed and crappily painted for two years, with a ceiling fan that is literally on its last leg.

Well it was high time we put our heads together to develop a plan for getting these things taken care of. So my husband, the paint store clerk, went to work with a list of supplies to bring home last week. He brought the supplies home and we set to work over the weekend.

The biggest of the three projects we aim to complete over the next two or three weeks is painting what's become known as The Orange Room ... for obvious reasons.

There are three bedrooms in our house and when we bought it, we said one room could be used for my things and the other was for Kyle's. Both are guest bedrooms, but his has some of his art things in it while mine has my grandmother's sewing machine and all my crafting supplies in it.

When we first moved in, Kyle said he wanted to paint his room orange. So being the nice wife that I am, when he was out of town the weekend of his birthday, I invited a friend over and we painted. It was raining all weekend. My friend forgot to mention that this was her first experience painting. Ever. This is what we call A Very Bad Idea. That was the weekend of June 25, 2005.

And still, as of October 12, 2007, the walls resembled this:



And on Saturday, after a coat of primer, they looked like this:


And after last night, they look like this:

Oh so pleasing to my eyes. I make a point of peeking in the door to make sure it's still really finished whenever I pass by the room.

Now we just have to decide what color we're going to paint the trim. In a general sense, I despise painting trim. Especially when said trim is natural wood which matches the hardwood floors. But that can hardly be said of most of the trim in this particular room. I think the people who we bought our house from let their 8 year old paint his own room before they moved out. The trim, now against a solid wall, really stands out.



Bad.

So ... that to go and the room is done. Room 1 / 3 to be finished before November.

Can it be done? It's a race to the finish!



"And why," you may be thinking, "are you in a rush to get things done before November?"

We're getting a Roommate! :)

Labels: home, Roommate, The Hubby

Labels: dogs, holidays

First, I must say that that blog post yesterday was less a criticism for those who read as for those who write ... me! I haven't written anything of any consequence in a long time.

I think I've put it off for so long that I feel like I should have LOADS to say. I probably don't, but I'll give it a go.

Here's the official update:

• The Journey Church is off and running. The past few weeks have seen us starting small groups (of which mine is the best, if I'm being perfectly honest), changing to a more suitable location, and actually having our first service. It was pretty amazing. I don't know what the exact count was, but, lots. And ... I don't know if this bears repeating, but ... we love this church!
  
  
• I designed some signs for the church. This is what one of them looks like:
  
  
  
  

  
  There are others, but ... I really don't feel like uploading them, so ... use your imagination! :)
  

  
  
• I was a photographer's assistant for a little league soccer photo shoot at the YMCA in Summerville last weekend. I have never seen so many soccer-playin' youngins in my life! Seriously! There were SO MANY PEOPLE out there!! I've come to believe that Summerville is the origination and the sustaining power for the term "soccer mom".
  
  
• The theme of my life these days is 'busyness', I think. But the healthy kind of busyness. I'm learning a lot, have plenty of time for reflection and self-evaluation, have been trying to build some new relationships and re-kindle some old ones, have never had more time with Kyle than I have these days, and ... life is just feeling pretty good right now. I'm glad.

It seems like the fall always brings a season of busyness with it as we hurry towards the holidays. But this is easily my favorite time of year. I welcome the cooling temperatures, the fading light, Thanksgiving, an annual October trip to the mountains, long sleeves, rival football games, coughmy birthdaycough, time with family and close friends, and all the fun things that come with the last quarter of the year.

Labels: family, Journey Church

Geez this blog must be so boring to read!