CHASING MY TAIL

Hang on..... this post is going to be all over the place!!! I have a lot of catching up to do!!

I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by since I last posted. I have attempted to sit down almost everyday, but I do not get to sit down too long before I have to retrieve something from the mouth of a puppy. The puppies have adjusted to home life rather well. They seem 1000% comfortable and right at home pulling things off tables and shelves and destroying cat toys (which I have discovered are filled with sawdust). I know I am in trouble when the house is quiet.

My status on my Facebook page says, "I don't know if my house looks more like a kennel or a girl's soccer locker room." That could not be any truer.

#3 tried out for the middle school soccer team last week and made it. She is still on her travel club soccer team. Both are in full swing right now. She has two practices back to back most school says. She has one game at school during the week and then we have all of the games and traveling to look forward to on the weekends. I have soccer laundry stacked up all over the laundry room and the overflow ends up on my bed. ( Note to self: Never ever own another house whose laundry room is situated directly beside the master bedroom. It sounded so convenient before we built our house, but I am so tired of my bedroom not looking like the "retreat" it is supposed to be. It is usually the folding room and most days I have stacks of laundry on my bed and floor. )

#3 leaves for school at 7:10 in the morning and doesn't get home until 8:15 at night. She is one tired puppy girl right now. I leave to go pick her up from her school practice at 4:30 and depending on where her club practice is, we head straight to the carpool meeting spot and sit and do homework. Before she tried out I made sure she was fully aware of what her schedule would be and just how tiring it was going to be. So she knew what she was getting into. #1 and #2 had schedules similar to this while they were playing soccer and cheering in high school (and all over the south) so it is not new to me or our family. At night, I am going to have to sit beside her during homework time everynight to keep her on task and keep her organized and we take advantage of every minute we can for studying. I call out review questions almost everywhere we go.

My kitchen has two crates in it plus a small pen. For someone who cannot stand clutter, this might just be the thing that sends me over the edge.

Bubbles loves the crate idea!

When I am doing other things (like soccer laundry) I put Charlie and Lola in the playpen with toys and their beds so that I know where they are. I tried keeping them with me and getting things done around the house, but that didn't work.

Charlie looking for some kind of trouble to get into...

while innocent Lola is taking a rest!

Until they are completely housebroken, I won't let them wander freely. Right now we are taking them outside every 30 minutes (regardless) when we are home and they stay in their crates when I have to leave. They go to bed around 11:00 (crated) and then get up around 6:00. They only whimpered the first night, thank goodness. We won't let them sleep at night until bedtime so now I think by the time we actually crate them they are so looking forward to some sleep they don't even care where they are. HA!

So far everything is working out and they are good puppies. It has just added a tons of work to our house, but that is okay. I know they will settle down when they are older. They are picking up on the "potty outside" routine and I can't wait for the day that I can trust them in the house.

The Man of the House and I are planning a little trip to Napa. We just decided that we wanted to get away. We have had a horrible six months, both loosing our mothers and we just wanted to go and do a little something for ourselves. We are planning on going at the end of March. We are planning our itinerary now, so if you have ever been and have any suggestions please email me. We are going to be there four nights and there are about eight restaurants we want to go to, so we are having trouble with that decision too.

There are a couple of other things that I wanted to mentioned but I will do it in more depth later. Yesterday, it was one month since my mother passed away. The " sick mom" is fading from my memory and my "real mom" is what I am starting to picture when I think of her. It is becoming harder for me now because of that. I wasn't emotional before because I was so thankful that my "sick mom" was no longer suffering, but now I am just missing her and being reminded of her in my everyday life and routine. My heart is a little heavier since my focus on her is changing. I knew this would happen.

Also, yesterday was #2's birthday. It was a little bit of a let down for her. It is her first year in college and think the vision of what it would be was a little different than how it turned out. I went and took her to lunch (along with #1), and took her flowers so I am glad that she at least got to do that. She had sorority meetings last night until 8:30 (or maybe it was later) so she couldn't come home for dinner and presents. Everyone was a little busy with their own schedule and she spent a lot of the day alone, which I know was a let down. That is a hard thing to do when you are 19. It is not about presents from people, you know it is the little things that make you feel good. I don't think she had too high of expectations in a spoiled way, she has done things for others many times. It was just sad to be the mom at home hearing that she was a little sad on her day. All I want for her and my other girls is to be surrounded by people that love them, protect them and support them.

I am headed to spin class and already running late, so I hope there are not a ton of mistakes

in what I have written. (It wouldn't be the first time!!) I will have to come back a clean it up while I am recovering form the torture I am getting ready to go through!