Eyeball

I laugh a lot. However, it's not easy to make me laugh at 5:45 a.m. But that is how my day started...

Our Pup has been on a chewing frenzy since he is losing his milk teeth to make room for grown-up chompers. This means he has terrorized all of his "fluffy" (non-chewy, stuffed animal-type) toys, swiftly executing them by ripping a hole (usually near the eye) and removing their stuffing.

We actually have a small pile of lobotomized animals, awaiting repair.

Which means that he is down to one fluffy toy (a stuffed dachshund, interestingly enough) that he hasn't destroyed. And these are somehow more fulfilling to destroy than gnawing the crap out of his rubber toys or raw hides. Pup has a lot of toys. A lot. Like, ridiculous...but he is a busy little guy and we like to keep him entertained. We don't leave him with anything while he is alone that he could ingest, though...fluffy toys are for supervised times only.

Because he is apparently desperate for more fluffy friends, he's turned to the few little creatures (mine!) dwelling in the rocking chair in our guest room. It's a constant battle to take them away, say, "No," and then wash and dry them to keep them slobber free.

I went to bed early last night (allergies!!!) and he came to the bed, whining to get up (as if! No dogs on our bed...I don't care how adorable and snuggly he is!) and I could hear him running around as I drifted off. (He weighs about 10 lbs, but sounds like he weighs 40.)

This morning, on the counter in the bathroom, a single blue eye. Apparently, Steinvic rescued it from the dog when he came up to bed.

I wasn't expecting it and it made me laugh. Then I went to see if I could figure out where it came from and found my moon, sans eye. I could glue it back on. Or, I could remove the other eye and let Pup destroy it, because it makes him so happy...

I Still Smell Bleach

Last night, I power-cleaned our main bathroom.

Aside...when I typed that, my fantasy of having entire rooms I could actually powerwash came back into my mind. Wouldn't it be awesome if your bathrooms and utility rooms could be powerwashed regularly?! Big old drain in the floor to take down all the excess water? I digress...

Anyway, as I told Steivic on the phone last night (he's in C-bus...do you really think I'd waste a perfectly good evening that I could spend with him on scrubbing the bathroom instead?!) we are two of the most hygenic people on the planet, and we keep up on the regular maintenance very well, but ever so often, you gotta do a deep clean. DEEP.

The thing is, all of these hours later, I can still smell the bleach. I think it's trapped in my nostrils. Is that possible?!

And is it possible that I'm in Nesting Mode over our new dog, who arrives Saturday? Or am I in a Spring Cleaning mindset? Or panicing because Young Man and Girlfriend arrive next weekend?

No matter what, I was on a tear last night.

When I hear myself saying things like, "I used Oxy-infused Brillo Pads to scrub every surface in the bathroom," I realize that I sound a little nutty. However, if you have an older home with a bathroom that needs refinishing, and you don't care if you get little scratches, using a Brillo Pad is the way to go. (Actually, it takes about three do all the tile in the tub and shower area plus the tub itself.)

After you do that, why stop? Why not get on your hands and knees and scrub the floor? I thought I was going to break our Swiffer Wet Jet by scrubbing too hard. Seriously. So, hands and knees won out. Washed the inside tub mat, washed the bath mats, washed the shower liner (go green and just wash it...you don't need a new one) and curtain.

So yeah, something's up. But damn, that bathroom is CLEAN!

We have all of our pup's supplies ready for him now and Saturday is the BIG DAY! We are excited. Young Man is excited. J and her kids are excited. Mom and C are excited. Even my sister (who I don't hear from very often) and her kids are excited and I know this because they sent a giant care package for the dog. Wow! And a very kind colleague bought him a fleece jacket, which tickles us. The whole world is excited about this little guy. It's going to be fun!

I hope the bleach smell leaves soon, though...I don't want it canceling out the sweet smell of puppy breath. :)

p.s. Puppy Update

How could I forget to post this?

Our puppy had his first vet check this weekend, then emailed us to let us know. (how we so appreciate the awesomeness of his keeper!)

She said he checked out great (all the puppies were healthy) and that he currently weights 3 lbs, 8.5 oz.

First shots, worming and all that...check!

Less than two weeks and he will be home with Steinvic and me. We can hardly wait!

Sunday, Sunday...

Good morning!

Let's see...all the posting opportunities that I've missed in the last week or so... April Fool's Day! No one got me and no one tried. And I didn't, either! It's a sad world when there isn't enough time to play.

But we did take off for Opening Day and attended the game, which thankfully the Reds WON! Steinvic was off the rest of the week, but I had to work, and also worked yesterday, so I am just worn out. Flat out tired and wishing I had another day off to do all the things I want to do.

These dream tasks are mostly organizational...you see...in just a few, short weeks, our family is increasing by one.

No, we are not having a baby. (Do you really think I'd be able to keep that a secret this long?!) But we did find the right puppy for us, and he will be coming home the weekend of April 23!

If you read here, you know we've visited shelters, done research, made inquiries and even had one puppy lined up that we were pretty sure (at first) we'd get.

But in the end, Fate knew best and Steinvic found a little guy online. Almost from the start, we were certain he was the one. Once we communicated with the owner, we were 100%. She is lovely and professional and is committed to the health and happiness of her pups.

We've named him. We've been stockpiling supplies, researching training and potty plans and plotting daycare for him...

And soon, we'll post photos. As soon as he's with us, you'll get to meet him. But for now, dream puppy dreams with us... ...and grab a broom and a vaccuum and help me get this place ready for our new, tiny friend!

Puppy Decision

We had a great weekend...lots of time together and Steinvic had us all prepared for the crummy weather - he'd gone to the grocery at lunch on Friday (what a trooper!) for supplies and after we had cocktails with his brother and sister-in-law Friday night after work, we hunkered down at home and had a cozy weekend.

The most discussed topic of the weekend was, of course, the puppy. Steinvic was totally supportive and wonderful, and I was completely all over the charts: yes, no, and a dozen reasons why we should or shouldn't. I made out the pro/con list and came out about even. I made a list of things that we'd need to buy, and Steinvic researched baby gates online.

I finally decided last night - because we are at the point where we HAVE to decide - we'd get her.

And then this morning, as I rolled out of bed at 4:45 a.m. to get ready and make the commute, I realized that I couldn't do it. Not now. To have enough time to commute from Columbus AND go home on Mondays before work? I'd be getting up at 4:00 a.m., and that is in good weather.

It wouldn't be fair to a puppy and it wouldn't be fair to me.

I might sound like a total wuss (there are tons of people who get up for work earlier than that, right?) but it's not just about me. It's about a tiny puppy in the dark front seat of a car for two hours, who would then be dropped off and all alone on Monday mornings after that car ride. I think that's kind of mean. And I'd be stressed, believe me. Traffic around our house is awful. The commute can be kind of tough sometimes.

See how I'm convincing myself, right now, even as I type? It's not never. It's just not now...not this one.

So silly that I have a lump in my throat over a puppy that was never even ours...