2015-04-03

Putting The Puppy Down For A Minute

So much to be thankful for this week. Spring means many things, like asparagus is in season!
from toptenz.net
My goddaughter's birthday and Easter, which means Easter CANDY. Err, I mean family and whatnot.
Protip: Those malted milk robin's eggs make awesome candy lip stick. 

I'm sure everyone else is covering the weather, but it's worth a mention.
Snowman Burning Day.
Yes, that's a thing.
Click the link to read more.

NO MORE FREAKING SNOW. 

Probably.

You never do know for sure.
But for a few months, anyway.

That's huge right now.

Thank you, Universe.

Last weekend I performed my first wedding and it was an awe-filled, really amazing but not like all the kids say EVERYTHING is amazing, I was amazed to be a part of it. I wrote more about it here so click that if you're curious, but it went off pretty smoothly with no injuries or super embarrassing moments. Phew!

This past week was Spring Break for kids from school, and by some miracle of all the gods old and new I also had a week off of work! HUZZAH! 

You might be thinking, 'what's the big deal? Don't you work from home?' and if so let me just try to demonstrate the difference between a normal week and a week off.

Imagine carrying a 40-pound puppy with you everywhere you go. 
from barkpost.com
Okay, maybe you don't have to carry it every minute but you do have to keep it with you every minute of every day because otherwise this puppy will chew stuff it's not supposed to, climb the walls, literally where there are shelves, take toys from your kids and/or randomly poke through things in your house that's it's not supposed to. 
jessilovescoffee.tumblr.com
So you keep the puppy with you, and yeah, you're still in your house and all, but you have this puppy you didn't want and it's always jumping on you, licking you, demanding your attention, and just TRY to do normal household tasks, or gods forbid pay any attention to your children ohnoyouDIDN'T with a needy puppy around.


dogbeds-info.com
And it's a PUPPY, a puppy whose mom allows it to eat a giant bowl of Sugar-Frosted Crack Cocaine-O's for breakfast every day, and apparently doesn't get enough attention at home, so it's really hyper, running, jumping all over the place, trying to lick your face and be in your face constantly. LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK WHAT I DID NOW LOOK I CHANGED ONE THING LOOK AT ME LOOK YOU'RE NOT LOOKING ENOUGH! LOOOOOK! LOOK AT MEEEEE!
ceasarsway.com

You don't want to leave the room, make a phone call, go to the bathroom, or take your potty training 3 yr old to the bathroom, 517 times a day, because you don't know what you'll come back to find. 

And then, for one blessed week someone comes along and takes the puppy away

And you can breathe again, and hear your own thoughts. Well, sometimes. 

You still have your own 2 little ones, but now you can hear THEM and see them and HUH, PLAY WITH THEM! You keep looking around for that annoying puppy out of habit, but then you remember IT'S GONE FOR THIS ONE BLESSED WEEK! 
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You get the idea. So for this one week, I don't have to cook anything extra for one picky eater, or have additional activities for puppies who hate everything that isn't video games. Nor do I have to round up ALL the puppies into their various car seats, drive across town to the puppy's sister's school, unbuckle everyone, march them across the parking lot and into the school, only to have the after-school daycare lady tell me,
"She's not even here today."

Her mom didn't tell me that.

And then not get paid for that.

I don't have to hear how terrible my food is, 
or how they "do like chili, just not this chili" 
or hear how horrible our selection of television channels is, or how boring my house is, or work around THREE turns at everything, just my two. Yaaaaaay!

We were finally able to do Lola's 5 yr checkup, during which she asked the doctor if she was going to check her "Knee-flexes" which she did. All good. She got FOUR shots, because I'm not interested in bringing back any olde timey diseases and killing innocent children just because some misinformed celebrity doesn't want to be bothered with vaccinating their children. 

The process of getting 4 shots was momentarily devastating to my little sensitive drama queen, but she can finally walk again. 

She always could, but she she really drew out a limp for awhile. She was able to RUN today, to out-run her sister to push the elevator button at the library, so it would seem she's fine. Plus bonus, she won't die a horrible painful death from measles. Phew. 

We went to the zoo, colored Easter eggs, had play dates with Lola's school chums and basically did WHATEVER WE WANTED. Which wasn't much, but we had a great week together and for that I'm eternally thankful. If you ever want to be truly thankful for each precious moment with your kids, watch someone else's for awhile and I guarantee, every moment alone with your own is a total, precious gift. I am thankful for the opportunity to work at home with my own, and experience what that is like. Daycare is expensive because it's worth it :) it's hard work if you want the kids happy and healthy. Which I do.

These rambling babbles were part of a great community of thankful, The Ten Things of Thankful. 










26 comments:

  1. Too funny! Great post and the no more snow and buring snowman is dead on point! Also, this make me glad I don't have kids. You need a lot of wine it seems to get through that!

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    1. hahaha well mine aren't quite that hyper. Not yet anyway. I mean, my oldest was but he's 19 so he's society's problem at this point. I do always have beer, or something on hand. For medicinal purposes.

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  2. I was all prepared to offer unsolicited advice about crate training, but fortunately I finally figured out you were not talking about a literal puppy! I am definitely opposed to crate training two-legged "puppies"!

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    1. I used to be against that....
      nah, just kidding. I just need to make them tired. It was hard over the winter in my small house, but now that it's nice out I can force them outside and down to the park. Tired kids are happy kids!

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  3. I was all prepared to offer unsolicited advice about crate training, but fortunately I finally figured out you were not talking about a literal puppy! I am definitely opposed to crate training two-legged "puppies"!

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  4. It takes a very special person to look after somebody elses puppy day after day, and it takes a butthole to forget to pay that special person.

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    1. I agree. Or a very selfish person, which I guess would be a butthole. She forgets her own son's backpack and lunch, and that worries me more, but I guess she knows I'll make sure he gets something. I just wish she didn't put all the blame on HIM when something gets forgotten. He's FIVE. Sometimes with people like that, I have to pretend they're not all there, or that something terrible must have happened to them, that they could be that way. It's the only way I know how to get through communicating with them day to day without yelling in their face. So far, it's worked *knocking wood*

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  5. Oh, I see--the check-up. Well, at least it's behind you now. We're heading into Spring Break right now, and I could not be more excited. Someimes you just desperately need something DIFFERENT to break up the monotony.

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    1. Yes, happy to say she should live a measle-free life!
      Spring break woo hoo! Our library had tons of fun, free stuff.
      I'm all about the New Experience. I mean, it's ALL new to the kids but even for me? You can't beat that First Time feeling. Okay, this is sounding super weird.

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  6. Perfect analogy. Know what else I love? I like chili, just not THIS chili. Hear that kind of thing every morning at snack time at preschool. I'm also a little mean when I know one of my preschoolers are going to their 5 year old check up. I ALWAYS tell them they're going to get four shots and they will hurt, but not for long. I also tell my kids at school during "V" week when we're talking about vegetables that asparagus makes your pee smell funny.

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    1. Yes, I hear that all the time. I use turkey in my chili and *GASP* vegetables! So lame. When I know the 10 yr old girl is coming, I just make sure I puree the veggies, but she can still taste them.
      We tried to be honest with her, too. When someone told me something that wasn't true, I just never asked that person a question ever again. I don't want that. I wonder if MY kids would eat asparagus just to have funny-smelling pee??

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  7. oh my GOD! If I had a nickle for every mac and cheese "I love mac and cheese just not this mac and cheese!" Id have a villa in France! Same kid wont eat boiled eggs but will suck down three Easter eggs... yeah, he is 25 now and still doing that one!

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    1. I've literally gotten that SAME thing. I make mac & cheese with real grated cheese, not powder cheese and it's like the WORST THING that ever happened to the kids I watch. They HATE IT.
      The eggs, hahahahhaha! Maybe if you ALWAYS colored eggs he would eat them? :) I used to put a boiled egg in my son's lunch until he said all the kids made fun of him because it smells bad. Boooo.

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  8. OH YES!

    And the drama Oh so much drama!!! Today she stepped on a blade of grass that was sharp.

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    1. OUCH! Though, in her defense, our grass gets really dry and pretty damn SHARP at times in the summer! I could see where that would be painful :) I never go barefoot, long story but my feel always hurt and they've always been ugly, but my husband is a caveman so the bottom of his feet? Are like rock-embedded leather. He always mocks me that I should go barefoot more, but it's painful!

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  9. What a joyful, hilarious post. Loved reading it. You had me with the robin's egg blue lipstick. Glad you can laugh at the driving across town to pick up the kid who wasn't there and you were never notified. I might be more than pissed about that. Have a good Spring Break.

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    1. Thank you, Val. Glad you liked it. I usually do the TToT to try to look at the thankful side of life, especially when it gets stressful, so I do hope it reads more fun than whiny. And I wasn't exactly LAUGHING the day I drove across town for no reason, but I have had a LOT of bad jobs, bad bosses, bad situations so I guess those were all training for this job, right? hahaha thank you! Hope you're having a marvelous spring too!

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  10. I have never heard of burning a snowman, but what a great idea! I must keep that in mind for next year.
    Glad you enjoyed your week away from the...ahem...puppy. :)

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    1. There is a Snowman Burning Day. I'll have to look it up, it's in March. I wanted to write about it in March b/c it was so interesting to me, but I was too busy and completely blew it. Maybe next year?
      Thanks. I hope you are having a fun spring/spring break if you've had it already.

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  11. Great post, Joy. Love all the images! The puppy gif in the bathroom is priceless. Glead you had a wonderful week with the littles and no puppy. Ha! Happy Spring---snowman burning...love that, too.

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    1. Isn't it hilarious? I always wonder about swear words and hope no one is offended, but something about it being a crazy DOG made it okay in my book ?
      Happy Spring!

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  12. totally love the 'Burn the Snowman' celebration(?)…. Rite(?) I will try to remember for next not-Summer.

    (I have to admit, your Posts are more fun, in a really-cool-old-used-bookstore kind of way… no, really. Most Posts I read and Comment… yours I read and (start) to comment and then go back ("she didn't really say that, did she?") and check and then get another thought (for a comment).

    cool

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    1. There is an actual Snowman Burning Day! I wanted to write about it, it's in March, but I missed it.
      It's a way to celebrate the change of seasons, more here if you're interested:
      https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/snowman-burning-day/
      "Old used bookstore" is literally the best compliment anyone could ever give me, thanks! I love posts like that, where there are so many things you want to talk about. I'm glad mine reads as fun, sometimes I feel like it can be whiny but I'm glad if it's not.

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  13. You crack me up, so much! I know the puppy analogy all too well. My daughter is (literally) puppy sitting for a (now) 5 month old Lab/Pyrenees mix and we have had to puppy proof a home that only has adults living in it. It would be Crazy Town if the owners fed the dog Cocaine-O's. <---LMAO

    'Our' puppy will be leaving in June (sniff), do you have an end date for your puppy?

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    1. My BF is a dog walker and he always describes when he has puppies, which he loves, but the older I get the more happy I am that we will never have a puppy or a kitty. I mean I'm not glad about WHY, my husband is allergic to everything with hair, but I'm glad not to have that added work right now.
      I don't know b/c the puppy's mom never thinks beyond the current moment, like I did not even know for sure I would have that week off until the last minute. So we couldn't plan anything. My husband was going to take the whole week off, but we didn't know so he just took a few days off and we didn't really plan anything. But next year my puppy will be in Kindergarten by my house, and they are in a different school zone, so I don't see how that could possibly work out. I know she doesn't know yet, b/c she doesn't know about summer and that's in 6 weeks, but logistically it doesn't seem like we'll be able to keep him in the Fall. We'll have to see. I know we'll have him for part of the summer, he goes down to his dad for 5-6 weeks, then the rest of the summer I'm assuming we'll have him and *ugh* his tween sister. GODS HELP ME please. NOT looking forward to that torture. That will be Hell. For less than minimum wage. At least I'll have another reason to be happy when the summer is over!

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  14. Thank you my Lizzi. It was a GLORIOUS week, and so nice right after the wedding. I was disproportionately nervous about the wedding, reading the words over and over again. I don't know why, it was awesome and one of the best things I've done. It was just a really beautiful, relaxing week. Even my husband said, we were both so relaxed after that week. He only took a few days off, but it was perfect. Now starts home construction so RELAX OVER hahahaha but it will be a good thing overall.
    I wish they DID make Frosted Cocaine-O's, some mornings I feel like I could really use a bowl.

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