Expressed my Jealousy

Dear hubby has been working crazy hours, long hours, stressful hours. As soon as he gets home he heads to the back yard.

A few months ago, we got the dog trained to go to the bathroom behind the shed. She was doing great until it snowed. Now she goes behind the shed AND all over the snow. When the snow starts to melt, she tapers back her poop area to just where the snow is. Weird.

So, hubby has been spending training time with her before she eats. Then after she eats, he takes her for a run and gets her to go in the right place. All told, it takes about an hour of his time each night/early morning.

When he came in last night, I nonchalantly asked, "So....if I poop on the lawn, will you start paying attention to ME?"

Enjoyed this Amazing weather!

It was just too beautiful today. I wish I had spent even more time outside. But I was out there a lot. I even played catch with Biggest Boy, and got all the kids in on a game of T-Ball. Then I let the dog out and she kept fetching the ball when it was hit. The kids laughed so hard, they couldn't decide whether to hold the pee in, or tag the base runner.

It was fun to just laugh and not keep score. I wish I could bottle days like this.

Built a House

I started out wanting to build a dog house for Ceja that the kids could all have a hand in building. My husband made a comment about plans and measuring and that brought out the smart $%*&# in me.

So I tried to build a house from the idea in my brain. It's kind of hard to build a doghouse for a dog that is still growing, and you don't know how big she'll get. This is what we got:
I intentionally made it crooked as a jab to my husband. I found out that it's actually harder to measure and cut asymmetrical pieces than to do it "right". The cool thing is that I got the wood and shingles from Home Depot's "cull" lumber bin all for $10. The paint was from their "Oops" pile for a couple bucks. We threw in the carpet from our basement, and Viola!, a doghouse.

The best part was when we kept the finished product from my husband, and when we showed him, he said, "That's Cuuuute!" Ahhh, a compliment from the symmetry master. It doesn't get better than that!

Snickered in Silence

You have never seen rage until you have seen my husband yell at a puppy for pooping, yes, ... on the lawn!!!!

This is not a new pet peeve (pun intended). Dear Hubby used to drag poor Shazdeh and stick his nose in the poop whenever it was outside of the invisible circle where he was supposed to poop. Mind you, this was the sweetest, most docile, 130 pounds of fur you will ever meet. People who admittedly don't like dogs, liked Shazdeh. Unfortunately for him, his only fault was my husband's biggest gripe.

My argument, in defense of the dog that I had before a husband and kids, was that he was just too old and shouldn't have to change. I realize the irony since I DID manage to get my too-old-husband to turn a doorknob to shut a door and to leave the room before blowing his nose. So I guess I could have worked on getting a dog to limit his Executive Wash to a section of the yard.

But seriously, now we are trying to train this new pup to poop in the "invisible circle"? This is what we got the dog for in the first place- to present the children with abundant opportunities of feeding, walking, grooming, training, and, dare I say, picking up endless logs around the yard. Picking up poop builds character.

If pooping all over the yard is Ceja's only flaw, I've picked another great family dog.

Prayed First

I'm a little behind on posting because of the funerals, sick kids, and this:


We have been without a dog for a little over a year. Now, you might be like my neighbor and scoff at me, "What are you thinking? Five kids AND a dog?!?" Yes, I thought the same thing as we drove the hour and a half to get her.

I have been seeing my otherwise sweet kids turn into selfish, whiny brats this past year. If I have them get up earlier than 8:00 on a weekend, it's as if I put them on the rack. My neighbor informed me that it's natural, "Kids are naturally selfish." Well I don't think I have to let them wallow in it. Therefore, we got a dog so they can take care of something else before they think of themselves.

We had to start with a puppy so my girls can grow with her and not be afraid as they were with our last dog. I wanted an Australian Shepherd because they are quick learners, can handle hot summers and cold winters (something I felt so guilty about with Shazdeh being a Husky in the hot Utah summers.) Aussies are also good with kids if they are raised with them.

Now a name. She looks like she has eyebrows, so we looked up "eyebrows" in other languages. Nobody liked Augenbrauen (German). French and Swedish interpretations were just as painful. The Spanish word for "eyebrows" is "Ceja", which is pronounced "say-ha". I thought it was cute and changed it a little. The vote was unanimous to name her Ceja, pronounced Asia with an "S" in front, "s-Asia".

Then the REAL work began. I had to be the where-to-poop trainer, the get-off-her-leg grabber, and the nipping-the-heals nipper. It's been a month and she's doing really well. The kids are coming along as well. It is as every mother knows; it takes longer to train a child than to just do it yourself.

If I hadn't prayed about getting a dog now, the type of dog, and whether it was best for our family, I would have broken down long ago. That goes for getting married and having each of our children too. I would have waited indefinitely until I felt I could handle it. Then, I would never have kids. When you feel that something is right, you also have the support of heaven through each difficulty.

This has been a good experience, and I am seeing the benefits of having this new responsibility in our family.