*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Well, based on
the title of this post, I’m sure y’all can tell already that it’s going to be
an extra special one! Yes, we brought
home a new puppy last week and we are thrilled to add this precious new baby to
our family. This is going to be a very
long, verrrry picture-heavy recap, so settle in with a cup of coffee and a cozy
blanket and let’s get started!
Monday, August 10
Monday morning, I was up at 6 AM to get the kids to school. Brian’s SUV needed some maintenance, so I met
him at the dealership so he could leave it here. I drove him home and then I went to get gas
and go to Walmart for groceries. When I
got home, I put the groceries away and I grabbed a muffin and a cup of coffee
before heading to my office to get a few things done.
On the to do list Monday was just blog stuff – finishing my blog post
for Tuesday, finishing my blog post for Friday, and starting my blog post for
Monday.
I picked up the kids from school, and after hanging out with them for a
bit I grabbed a snack and a cup of tea, and then I did my Bible study and
devotional for the day.
Olivia had her first day of dance classes for the new year on Monday, and
this year she is taking classes three days a week for the first time ever. The older the girls get, the more classes
they can take to continue building their strength and endurance, so in addition
to her standard day of ballet, tap, jazz, and pre-pointe + her day of lyrical,
musical theatre, and hip hop, she’ll now be taking a third day of classes that
include one additional ballet class and one additional jazz class. It is going to be a lot this year, but she
wants to do it, so we’re going to let her.
And if she ever decides it’s too much, she can always drop the
additional classes.
When I got home from dropping her off, I got freshened up, and then I
took B to pick up his car. Jacob rode
with us because he and B were going to pick up Olivia right after so they could
all go to Culver’s for dinner. Olivia’s
classes are short on Mondays (only 1.5 hours) so she was out at 6 PM making it
perfect timing.
Meanwhile, I went to the new Mexican Gastrobar to meet my girlfriends for
our monthly dinner. None of us had been
to the new place yet, and we all agreed that the décor is awesome. I’d heard from Olivia’s best friend that the
food was excellent, and I have to say, I did enjoy it. The food was, indeed, delicious, although the
margaritas were pretty basic. It was so
nice catching up with all my favorite ladies, and my cup was full when I left.
Brian and the kids were already home when I got there, and the kids were
getting showered and ready for bed. I
started a stair stepper workout and then worked out my arms while we watched two episodes of Friends. After the kids got in bed, Brian and I
watched some more of Scarpetta before going to bed.
Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday morning, I was up at 6 AM and I hit the ground running because
there was much to do! First up after
dropping the kids at school, I had our first Home and School Advisory Board
meeting of the school year. I am
chairing the Grandparents Day events yet again, and it’s in mid-September, so
it’s already time to jump right in!
After my meeting, I swung by the school office to drop some uniforms off
for the used uniform closet and then I headed over to our church’s outreach
center to volunteer. My Momma and Daddy
joined me Tuesday, so it was nice to have that time with them. Momma and I bagged canned goods all morning
because those bags were flying out the door almost as fast as we could bag
them. We were so busy Tuesday.
I wrapped things up there a little before noon, and then I headed to our
church’s thrift shop to donate all the clothes and home goods that we’ve been
cleaning out around the house recently.
I had several large bags, my old suitcase, and several large loose
items, so it was nice to get all that out of the house and take it to a place where
they will be able to use it for good.
All our church’s thrift shop income goes towards funding the outreach
program that feeds local families experiencing food insecurity, so we love to
support them.
I finally headed home after that, and I grabbed a quick lunch and then
settled in to work on my blog post for Monday some more. While I was working, I decided to text the
girl who had been helping us find a puppy the previous week. I didn’t mention this in my recap last week
at all because I wasn’t quite ready to share in case things didn’t work out,
but now that I have a precious sleeping pup lying next to me as I type this, I
can finally tell the story.
Last Friday, I mentioned that Brian and I had “run an errand” and I left
it at that. Well, the errand was to go
look at a puppy that was for sale here locally.
We have secretly been looking these last few weeks, and I fell in love
with one when I saw her picture online.
Brian and I had a price that we were willing to pay, and we had heard
that they allow you to make offers.
However, they weren’t willing to meet our price, so we left Friday. While I was sad about leaving (I had really
thought we’d be going home with her Friday), I felt peace in my heart because I
really thought somehow it would work out and she’d end up ours.
The girl had told us that she’d been there for nearly two months already
so they would probably be willing to come down on the price in a couple more
weeks if she was still there. As of
Tuesday, it had only been four days since we’d gone to see her, but I thought
I’d shoot my shot. I texted the girl and
reminded her if they’d meet our price, we’d come get her.
The girl ended up texting back with an offer that was just slightly over
what we said we’d pay (and a picture of our girl), so we ended up accepting the
offer. The only bad thing was that they
needed either full payment or a down payment (not over the phone) to hold her,
but I couldn’t get over there because I had to go pick up the kids and get
dinner ready for Olivia and get her to dance.
I told the girl that I could get over there early in the evening right
after I dropped Olivia at dance, and I had to pray that nobody else came to get
her for the next three hours until I could get over there.
I grabbed the kids from school and then hung out with them for a bit when
we got home, and then I had a snack and got some dates in my planner. I made dinner for Olivia since she can’t eat
with us on Tuesdays anymore because of dance, and then I dropped her off a
little early so I could get over there to reserve our pup!
She was still there (thank goodness!) so I put down our deposit and said
goodbye to her for just one night. I
could have taken her home that evening, but we weren’t prepared (no food, no
training treats, etc.) and I also didn’t want Olivia to miss us bringing her
home since she was a surprise. (The kids
didn’t know that we were even looking.)
While I was there, I popped over to see her, and she was just so dang
cute laying there in her crate.
When I got home, I started making dinner – fettucine alfredo, chicken,
broccoli, and garlic bread – and I could barely concentrate because I was so
excited. There is a much longer story
around this dog, but I’ll save it for a separate post. Long story short, I had been stalking her
online for a while, waiting for everything to align and for her to not get
claimed by another family, and it all worked out. She was just meant to be ours!
The boys and I ate dinner when it was ready, and after we cleaned the
kitchen, Brian headed to pick up Olivia from dance. I tried to get out for a walk, but I could
see a storm was moving in, so I stayed close to home. Thankfully, I did, because I made it about a
1/2 mile before the bottom fell out. I
happened to see a rainbow, too, and that sealed the deal… I knew our girl was
meant to be. You can barely see it in
this picture I took (the second outdoor picture below), but I promise it’s there.
:o)
I popped inside for a few minutes and waited for the storm to clear (I
could see on the radar that it was moving out), and then I got back out there
to finish my walk. However, another
massive storm was rapidly moving in, and I was only able to make it another 1/2
mile before I had to go inside for good.
Brian and Olivia got home just in time because it POURED and stormed
nonstop for the next two hours… we are talking massive amounts of rain,
lightning, and thunder. We ended up
under a flash flood warning, but thankfully, we didn’t have any issues in our
area.
Since it was storming so bad, Olivia couldn’t get in the shower, so I
made her a few chicken nuggets (second dinner – haha) and then we watched a
couple episodes of Friends while we waited for the storm to pass.
After that, Olivia and I both got showered and ready for bed, and then I
did my meditation/neck pillow/vibration plate combo before getting the kids in
bed. And look who showed up in an ad in
my Instagram feed!! (She was no longer
available at that point, though, because we’d already reserved her.)
It was so late by that point that Brian and I didn’t even turn on the
TV. Instead, we made plans for the next
day to pick up our new baby and then we went to bed.
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday morning, I was up at 6 AM to get the kids to school and I was
giddy just knowing that it was like Christmas Day and they had no idea.
After I dropped them off, I made my coffee (I tried two new flavors last
week – this one and this one and I love them both! They
are both good enough to drink black!) and then I went to squeeze in as much
work as I could because I knew the rest of my day was going to be consumed by
the new puppy and I’d get nothing else done.
Haha.
I was able to knock out most of my blog post for Monday so that was a win
and I also placed an order for all the supplies we needed for our new
baby. I went to pick those up first, and
then I met Brian at the place to pick up our new baby at 11 AM.
Everything went well and she was so calm and sweet the whole time we were
doing all the paperwork. I’d tried to
order a seatbelt tether for her, so she’d be
safe on the drive home, but they were sold out in-store, so the drive home was
a little nerve-racking since she kept trying to climb across the console. She ended up passing out with her head right
by the gearshift and I was able to drive one-handed with my hand on her the
whole way home. Brian had to go back to
work, so he wasn’t able to ride with us.
When we got home, she walked around the house sniffing everything for
about an hour and I walked behind her the whole time making sure she wasn’t
getting into anything dangerous. She
peed on the floor a few times since she’s not remotely housetrained yet… she
doesn’t even understand the concept of peeing outside just yet. I did take her out there numerous times and
it was miserable because it was in the mid-nineties Wednesday.
I ate a quick lunch while she was toddling around the house and sniffing
everything, and then I gave her a bath to make sure she was nice and clean for
the kids. She’d been with other puppies,
and she’d been handled by other people who work with her every day, so I wanted
to get all the germs off her. Haha. Sidenote, I really love this shampoo… it makes her hair so soft and it’s
tear-free and safe for her.
I felt terrible about giving her the bath right away, because that’s not
how you want a puppy to start their new time in their new home, but I have no
regrets. I think she was a little afraid
of me after that, though, because she kept trying to run away from me every
time I’d try to pick her up. Haha. She also got the zoomies, and started running
around biting everything, including the pom poms on my blanket. Haha.
Early in the afternoon, I finally picked her up and put her on the couch,
and she promptly passed out. I was able
to use that time to change clothes (I was soaked from her bath – haha) and I
gathered all her supplies and put them in the car.
After that, I had to wake her up so I could drop her off at my parents’
house while I picked up the kids from school.
It would have been awesome to pick the kids up from school with a puppy
in the car, but Brian wasn’t able to get away from work to do that, and there
was no way he was going to miss that moment.
After I got her settled in at Momma and Daddy’s house, I picked up the
kids and we headed home for the longest, slowest 2.5 hours ever. Haha.
I did use that time well because I knew I needed to get everything done
before she got home, so I checked things off the list while I waited:
-
Finished my blog post for Monday
-
Did some blog housekeeping
-
Got a few things done in my planner
-
Caught up on emails
-
Caught up on blog reading
-
Did my Bible study and devotional for the day
-
Got all the dishes in the dishwasher and tidied the
kitchen
Meanwhile, Momma and Daddy were enjoying this...
Brian went to pick the puppy up from Momma and Daddy’s on his way home
from work and then when he got home, it was time to surprise the kids. I’d told them they could play video games for
a bit because I knew that would keep them upstairs and distracted, so that gave
B time to get in the door and for me to get her in my arms and ready.
I shouted upstairs to the kids and told them they had a visitor and to
come on down together, and when they rounded that corner and saw our new puppy
that is a moment I will NEVER forget.
Jacob yelled and ran over and Olivia stopped in her tracks and burst
into tears. She was SOBBING. She has been wanting a puppy pretty much
since Maui passed away a year and a half ago, and she had especially been
begging for one in recent weeks. We
never even told the kids we were looking for a puppy so that made it even more
special.
Olivia sobbed for the next few minutes, and I put the puppy down so I
could comfort her. She was completely
overcome with emotion, and it was the most precious thing. We spent the next little bit playing with the
new baby and watching the kids with her and then it was time to get started on
dinner because it was getting late.
Brian and I made breakfast for dinner while the kids played with the
puppy and kept an eye on her, and Olivia Facetimed a couple of her friends to
share the new pup.
We all ate dinner together while getting up a thousand times to make sure
the puppy wasn’t getting into anything, and then we all cleaned up the kitchen.
After that, the puppy passed out on the couch with Brian and Olivia, and
Olivia decided to go shower so she didn’t have to miss a single second of her
while she was awake. I went out for my
evening walk, and when I got back, she was still sleeping.
The rest of evening was spent playing with her, cleaning up after her
accidents (LOL), and taking things away from her that she wasn’t supposed to
have. Hahahaha. We did watch an episode of Friends,
and she sat sweetly between Brian and Olivia on the couch the whole time.
After that, the kids got in bed, I did a quick meditation/neck
pillow/vibration plate routine, and then Brian and I started getting stuff
ready to go to bed. We thought for sure
it was going to be a long night of whining and crate training, so we wanted to
get an early start.
We put her crate in our bedroom to start and then eventually we’ll move
her to the guest bathroom downstairs where Maui always was. We put a blanket at one end and a puppy pad
at the other, and then I covered the top of the crate with a blanket to shut
out the ceiling fan wind and any light (although we do keep it dark in our
room). We put her in there with this AMAZING thing, and I swear, that’s why she was so
well behaved all night. It simulates a
heartbeat, and that in conjunction with the warming pack we put in there with
it kept her content all night.
When we first closed the crate, she started whining, and it was SO LOUD,
but she stopped after 2-3 minutes, quieted down for 2-3 minutes, whined for 2-3
more minutes, and then she went to sleep.
We never heard a peep again for the rest of the night except when she
coughed a couple of times.
Thursday, August 13
I got up at 6 AM Thursday morning and crept into the bathroom and she
didn’t make a peep. Brian got up right
after me to wake her up and let her out, and then she came to keep us company
in the bathroom while we got ready. I
checked her crate and she miraculously didn’t pee in it all night, so I was
amazed and grateful for that!
I carried her into the kids’ bedrooms at 6:30 AM to put her in bed with
them to wake them up, and they were both the happiest kiddos ever.
When I took the kids to school, I left her in the guest bathroom
downstairs with a baby gate up. We’d
moved her crate in there and moved out anything that she could get hurt on, and
she did really well. She didn’t even cry
when we put her in there. I have no idea
how she was the whole time I was gone, but when I got home, she seemed calm and
happy and she wasn’t crying. And I’d
even stopped by Publix to grab some canned food for her to mix with her dry food,
so I was gone almost an hour.
The morning was spent playing with her, letting her out 800 times,
cleaning up 9 million accidents, and *trying* to get some work done while
*trying* to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Haha. By 10:30 AM, I was already
exhausted. Haha. We haven’t had a puppy in 16 years, so I’d
forgotten how exhausting and high maintenance they are!
She finallyyyyy settled in for a nap at 10:30 AM and she slept for nearly
TWO HOURS, so I finally got a break. I
used my time very wisely since I knew it was precious, and I contacted our
school caterer about Grandparent’s Day, I contacted one of our Pre-K4 teachers
who has a student with severe blueberry allergies to see how to handle that
since the caterer usually makes blueberry muffins, I went through all my
emails, I started this post and caught completely up to present, I completed
the online paperwork for the puppy x 2 (both to register her microchip in case
she ever gets lost), I filled out online paperwork to get access to the kids’
school computer monitoring service that our school provides for every family, I
transferred some money from Venmo and Poshmark to our checking account from
items sold, and I corrected a blog typo.
I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad at that point, but the puppy was
still sleeping, so I tried to sneak out without waking her, but she ended up
getting up, so naptime was over! Haha.
I took her out to potty, but she wouldn’t go. Then when we went back inside, she promptly
peed on the floor – LOL. After that, I
fed her lunch and she ate pretty well, finishing off around 3/4 of the bowl I
gave her.
I played with her for a bit after that, and then we went back to my
office to try to get a couple more things done before I had to pick up the
kids, but that wasn’t happening because she started getting into everyyyything,
so I had to stop and give her all my attention.
I freshened up and then I set her up in her new room AKA the guest
bathroom downstairs AKA Maui’s old bedroom.
We keep her crate in there with a bed and a blanket, and she has toys in
the bathroom, then we put up the baby gate to the entrance of the bathroom so
we can leave the door open for her, so she doesn’t have the feeling of being
isolated. She gets completely crated at
night, but during the day, we like to give her the whole bathroom to roam a
little.
She did whine while I was getting everything in the car, but she didn’t
whine terribly, so hopefully she didn’t get too upset when I left. This is the part I hate the most about having
a dog… the guilt every single time you have to leave them. :o(
After picking up the kids from school, we all headed to music
lessons. It was my turn to sit in with
Olivia, and she told Mr. Steve all about the new pup. He loves dogs and he has a new puppy, too, (and
he’s getting another one in September) so he was excited to hear all about
ours.
Thursday afternoons are going to be the most chaotic days in our house
now that Olivia’s dance schedule has changed this year, and of course, things
were even more chaotic with this new puppy since she can’t be alone for even a
minute. Haha.
We have exactly 40 minutes from the time we get home from music until the
time that Olivia has to leave again to be at dance (for her three-hour
classes), and in that short amount of time, she has to get changed and ready
for dance, eat dinner, and get her homework/studying done (although she can
always do that when she gets home if she truly needs to… she’s always exhausted
when she gets home so we try to avoid that).
So, when we got home, I was tending to the puppy while making dinner for
Olivia, and Jacob quizzed Olivia for her science quiz while she changed into
her dance clothes.
We all decided Thursday afternoon that Belle was the name that we wanted
to give the pup, and I will probably call her Bellie a lot, too, because I tend
to give everyone a nickname. It was so
nice to have that decided, though, because Brian kept accidentally calling her
Maui! Haha.
Jacob stayed home with Belle while I dropped Olivia off at dance, and in
the short time I was gone, she managed to pee on the floor twice. I kept getting texts from Jacob with updates
and I was like OMGGGG. Haha.
By the time I got home, Brian had just gotten home from work, so he took
over Belle watch while I made dinner.
And thank goodness I’d planned to make something easy (sausage, peppers,
and onions tacos) Thursday night! When I
made our meal plan, I had no idea we’d be getting a dog, so it all worked out.
After dinner, I went out for my walk, and Brian and Jacob kept watch over
Belle. I would have loved to take her
for a walk, but a) we didn’t want to take her for her first walk without Olivia
and b) it had been, like, 100 degrees Thursday, and I’m sure the asphalt was
too hot for her little paws.
When I got back, Brian left to pick up Olivia and Jacob and I watched
Belle. At that point, she hadn’t napped
in forever, so we thought for sure she’d be tired, but she wasn’t interested in
sleeping at all.
Finally, about 10 minutes before Brian and Olivia got home, Belle passed
out on the couch, and Jacob and I turned on 10 Things I Hate About You
for some background noise while she slept.
I had to sit with her so she wouldn’t fall off the couch (she moves
around and stretches SO much in her sleep), but then Jacob switched places with
me so I could preheat the oven and get some chicken nuggets ready for Olivia to
have when she got home.
When they got home, Brian worked out and Olivia and I both showered
quickly while Jacob watched Belle, and then Olivia ate her nuggs while we
watched an episode of Friends.
While we watched, I told Olivia to start waking Belle up because we
didn’t want her to sleep too late and then get a second wind when it was time
for me and B to go to bed, but she would not wake up. Olivia kept moving her all around and she’d
just fall right back asleep in these weird positions. Haha.
It was so dang funny.
I told Olivia to brush her hair because I figured that would wake her up
since most dogs hate getting their hair brushed, but she ended up sleeping
right through it. We finally got her up
at the end of the show and then we got the kids in bed.
I did my meditation/vibration plate/neck pillow and then Brian and I went
downstairs and got everything shut down to go to bed since it was so late.
We put Belle in her crate in our bedroom again for night two, and she
ended up whining for a few minutes, quieting down, and then whining for a
couple more minutes before passing out, and she slept through the whole night
yet again without a peep AND she didn’t pee in her crate!! She’s doing so great sleeping at night and
that is such a blessing since she is keeping us on our toes all day.
Friday, August 14
Friday morning, I was up at 6 AM and I got the kids to school. Brian was working from home Friday, so he got
to stay with Belle, and that was a good thing because we had to leave her a
little while later to go to my upper cervical chiropractor appointment.
My atlas ended up being slightly misaligned, but my doctor said that it
appeared to be compensating well even though it was misaligned. He told me to come back in one month, and he
said that if this adjustment holds for two months like the last one did, he
will move my appointments to once every two months. Unfortunately, I seem to have a very
hypermobile body, though, so I’m a little worried my adjustments may never hold
for long periods of time.
When we got home, we let Belle out of the bathroom, and she and I spent
some time outside. I was hoping she’d
pee out there, but after living in a kennel for so long, she had grown
accustomed to peeing inside and she just doesn’t grasp that peeing is supposed
to happen outside yet.
I ran around with her outside in the back yard for a bit (as best I could
since I was technically supposed to be a robot after my adjustment) and I
couldn’t get her to go to the bathroom.
When we finally went inside, she immediately peed on the floor again. Bless.
I made a cup of coffee and took her up to my office after that, and she
was literally getting into everything.
As fast as I could take one thing away, she was getting into something
else, so I sequestered her in a corner of my office, and she didn’t like that
at all. She whined a bunch and then
started trying to climb up the file cabinet and the wall.
I finally just gave up and took her outside to play again. It was a million degrees Friday with, like,
84,000% humidity, so it was miserable, but it’s all part of the process!
After that, Brian got out of his meeting and he sat outside with her for
about 15 minutes, so I rushed up to my office to do whatever I could possibly
do, and then we ate lunch together, while jumping up every two minutes to take
Belle outside or clean up pee. She is a
handful.
After lunch, I took Belle back up to my office, and I lay her in her bed
and put her Biscuit heart to heart with her, and
she miraculously passed out in about two minutes. And she slept for the next hour until I had
to pick up the kids from school.
While she slept, I caught up on this blog post, I synced some new music
to my phone, I got a few things caught up in my planner, I made Belle’s first
vet appointment (aside from the ones she already had with the previous owner), I
worked on organizing all her paperwork, and I texted with a couple of friends.
She was still asleep when I needed to pick up the kids from school, so I
snuck out of my office as quietly as possible, and I put Brian on high alert so
he could get in there and get her the second she woke up so he could take her
outside.
When the kids and I got home, Olivia was THRILLED because she knew she
had the whole weekend ahead of her with her sweet Bellie, and she jumped right
in, taking her outside to potty. Brian
had alternated between keeping her in her crate/bathroom and taking her outside
while I was gone, and he said she didn’t potty the whole time I was gone which
meant she hadn’t gone in several hours.
She also hadn’t peed outside a single time Friday either. But when Olivia took her out, she went to the
bathroom almost right away, that little stinker. We were so happy, though.
Since the kids were home, I told them they could have her (LOL) so I
could finally get some things done, and I headed to my office with a cup of
tea. Jacob and Olivia both worked on
teaching her to go up and down the stairs for a few minutes, and then Olivia
started working with her to teach her to shake hands.
We ultimately decided to slow our roll on teaching her to shake, though,
until she gets pottying down first. I
don’t want to confuse her with too many new commands.
I tidied my office (it looked like a tornado had come through since I’d
moved so much stuff away for Belle) and then I took down some old listings of
items that didn’t sell.
It was super dark and cloudy Friday afternoon because there was rain all
around our area, so the temp cooled way down.
I thought that would be the perfect time to take Belle on her first walk
around the neighborhood, so I pulled out Maui’s old harness and leash and all
four of us took her out.
Y’all. That dog had no clue what
to do. She didn’t like the harness, and
she kept trying to bite the leash, and every time I would tug at her to move,
she would pull back or lay down.
Haha. It started sprinkling
shortly after we left, so needless to say, we only made it down our short
street and a little way down the main street and back. And I ended up having to carry her for most
of it. Hahahaha.
When we got back home, we put her in her room AKA the guest bathroom
because everyone wanted a break. The
kids were tired from another week at school + all the after-school activities,
so they played video games for a few minutes, and I did two Bible studies. After a short break for Bellie in the
bathroom, the kids went to get her back out and play with her outside until it
was time to leave for poker night.
Poker night was at Khristina and Ian’s house this month, and they made
ziti and salad and bread, and it was all so yummy. After we ate, we sat around and played poker
all night and did just as much chatting as we did actually playing the
game.
We wrapped up around 9 PM to get home to Belle because we didn’t want to
leave her for more than three hours just yet, and when we got home, she was
sitting in her room, looking calm and precious.
We played with her for a long time when we got home, and I did my
meditation/vibration/neck pillow, and then we got the kids in bed. Brian and I started watching the new episode
of Ted Lasso, but Bellie was being rambunctious, so we were getting up
constantly to find her / check on her / take something away from her / get her
to stop chewing. Lol. After about 30 minutes, Brian put her in
doggie jail (AKA her room) since she was being naughty, and she stayed there
for about 30 minutes so we could finish our show. She sat in there patiently and quietly while
we watched, so we definitely have that going for us. She knows how to sleep and how to do quiet
time and be alone! Although, I really do
think that this has a lot to do with it!!
She slept in her crate in our bedroom again Friday night and she did
beautifully yet again. We went to bed
around 11:30 PM, she whined for about three or four minutes, and then she went
right to sleep.
Saturday, August 15
I woke up around 7:30 AM because Belle had let out the tiniest peep, but
then she got quiet again. I lay there
for about five more minutes just being peaceful, and then I sat up to peek at
her. She was just sitting happily in her
crate looking at me. Haha. I got up and took her straight outside after
that, but she wouldn’t pee even though she hadn’t peed in her crate.
We truly think she’s mixed up right now and that she thinks you’re
supposed to hold it outside and pee inside, so I took her back inside with the
hope that she’d go to our front sitting room to pee (that’s where she always
goes, which is funny because that’s where Maui always went when we were
training her, too). As soon as she goes
in that room, we always snatch her up and take her straight outside so she will
pee out there. But right when we got
inside, Olivia had just gotten up and she came down. We took her back outside, and then I went
back in to put in my contacts so I could see, and while I was doing that, she
peed outside for Olivia!
After that, we all went back inside.
Olivia played with Bellie while I unloaded the dishwasher and made
waffles for breakfast, and then B and Jacob came down before it was time to
eat.
After breakfast, we got the kitchen cleaned up and then Brian and Olivia
went outside with Belle for a long time.
She had the zoomies, so she tore all around the backyard running laps
and tiring herself out. While they were
outside, I vacuumed the kitchen – got to get used to having dirty floors again
now that we have a puppy tracking in all the grass! – and then I tidied the
whole first floor, gathered all the dirty towels, and stripped the sheets off
our bed.
After LOTS of outdoor play time, Bellie was soooo gross, so the kids and
I plopped her in the kitchen sink and gave her another bath. She did a little better this time, but she
was still trying to get out of the sink most of the time.
After her bath, Jacob and Olivia did their laundry, stripped their beds,
cleaned their bathroom, and Olivia showered, and I spent some time with
Belle. I got her all brushed out after
her bath, and I found some old play toys of Maui’s that Belle LOVES. One of them was this bone that Maui never gave the time of day, but Belle ended up sitting
still in one place chewing the bone for the longest she’s ever sat still, so
I’m going to make sure we direct her to that every time she starts to
chew.
By that time, she’d been up for nearly three hours, she’d had the zoomies
twice, she’d played outside for nearly an hour, she’d had breakfast, she’d had
a bath, and she’d spent lots of time playing, so I put her in her room with the
baby gate up so she could have some quiet time while Brian and the kids and I
had some time to get some things done. Y’all,
she didn’t even whimper once. She just
went in there and settled right in… not a peep!
I hightailed it to my office to work on this blog post, catch up on some
blog housekeeping, go through new emails that had popped up overnight, and I
ordered this collar for Belle.
After about an hour, the kids went to get her out of her room, and she
was just hanging out peacefully. She
wasn’t sleeping, she was just lying there and being calm and happy and
good! They took her outside and played
with her for a while and I headed to the kitchen to make lunch.
After lunch, Olivia played with Belle for a long time while Jacob got
showered, and I rearranged some things in the kitchen. We’ve had a little vignette in the corner of
the main countertop for ages that served as décor, but I decided to make it
more functional. I moved a couple of the
décor items to the island and the dining room and that opened up some space on
the main countertop to keep our glass cake dome out permanently to house
muffins and baked goods rather than storing them in Tupperware containers that
don’t look as nice.
We’ve always kept those kinds of things right in front of the coffee
maker and tea kettle, too, so I always have to move them to make my tea, not to
mention, they always take in a lot of heat being right by the stove, so now we
have the perfect spot (that’s pretty!) to display baked goods.
As always when changing up the décor, one thing leads to another, and
before I knew it, I was moving around even more of the décor in the dining
room. I couldn’t get everything exactly
the way I liked it, so I gave up, and I’ll revisit it at another date when my
brain is fresh.
Olivia’s friend, Maren, came over at 2 PM to hang out and play with the
new puppy, and she surprised Olivia with a pink drink from Starbucks which I
thought was so sweet. Shortly after she
got there, Bellie was tired because she hadn’t had a nap all day, so I put her
in her room with the door open and gate up, and even though Olivia and Maren
were right there in the kitchen working on a project for school, Bellie crawled
in her bed with her Biscuit and she went straight to sleep. Her nap was short-lived, but she sat in there
quietly until we came to get her an hour later.
I used that time to flip the laundry and wash another load of cleaning
rags since we’re going through them like crazy.
Then, I did some research on this carpet cleaning machine since Belle has been having so many accidents. I also started my blog post for Wednesday.
I got showered and ready later in the afternoon, and then the five of us
went to Mass. Saturday was a Feast Day
in the Catholic Church and Maren wanted to join us for Mass for that even
though she isn’t Catholic… I thought that was so sweet.
After Mass, we met my family at our usual Mexican place, and we had a big
group. In addition to our usual group
(Mama Cass, my parents, and Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg) my Aunt Mary and Christa
were there, too, since they were in town, plus we had Maren along for the
ride.
We had a bowl of jalapenos on the table, so Olivia and Maren decided to
play Two Truths and a Lie, and if they got it wrong, they’d have to eat a
jalapeno. Haha. Neither of them made it very far, though,
because apparently, neither of them has a high tolerance for spicy food.
We dropped Maren off at her house after dinner and I chatted with her
parents for a few minutes. Then, we
headed back home to Belle so we could feed her dinner. We all got in our pjs and watched two
episodes of Friends while also pausing every two minutes to stop our
naughty dog from chewing things and / or peeing on floor. Haha.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I settled in to watch the newest
episode of Silo and I decided to shoot my shot and put Bellie on the couch with
us hoping that she’d lie down and take a nap, and y’all, she finally did!! She passed right out next to me on the
blanket and then when I lay down a few minutes later, I was able to pick her up
and move her next to me on the other end of the couch so I could snuggle
her. Gaaaahhhh I have missed the puppy
snuggles soooo much this last year and a half.
It is THE BEST.
Since Belle had done so well in our bedroom the last three nights, Brian
and I just decided to go ahead and move her to her permanent spot for sleeping
– in the downstairs guest bathroom where she stays while we’re gone. That bathroom is right under us so we can
hear her if she whines, so it’s a great way for her to learn to be independent
at night and let us still be able to hear her.
We will be securing her in her crate at night and not letting her have
free reign of the bathroom like we do when we leave her during the day, and all
she has in there is a blanket and Biscuit
because it keeps Bellie feeling safe and lets us all sleep in the process.
She whined a little more Friday night than she did the previous three
nights, probably because she was no longer with us in our room, but she didn’t
whine for long. I think she probably
whined off and on for 10 minutes, maybe?
And then we never heard another peep from her all night.
Sunday, August 16
Brian got up at 7:30 AM Sunday morning to go check on Belle and he said
that she was hanging out quietly in her crate and she didn’t pee in it yet
again!! She also wouldn’t go to the
bathroom before bed on Saturday night, so that means she ended up holding it
for around NINE hours which is amazing for a 16-week-old pup. And she’s been drinking tons of water since
we brought her home, so we know she isn’t dehydrated.
I got up at 8:15 AM and headed downstairs. Brian and Olivia were just coming inside with
her after being out there with her for a good 30 minutes. I got cinnamon rolls in the oven and we all
had breakfast, and we fed Belle, too.
Getting Belle settled in and house training her has been a nightmare to
say the least, and her favorite place to “go” was my nice rug in our dining
room, sometimes UNDER the table or chairs, so we were constantly having to
crawl under the table to clean up after her.
Since we have an open floor plan, we can’t exactly gate off the area, so
Sunday morning, Olivia came up with the idea to flip all the chairs upside down
to block her. That worked like a charm,
and she has now been banished from the dining room. Hahahaha.
After the kitchen was clean, the kids headed upstairs for some video game
time and Brian headed outside to clear off all the brush from the back
fence. Belle has been obsessed with
running to the very back of our yard and trying to get into all the trees and
brush back there. Some of it has poison
ivy intertwined, so we’ve been having to watch her like a hawk.
While everyone else was doing their thing, I spent some quality time with
Belle playing fetch. We found one of
Maui’s old tennis balls that she outgrew, and Belle loves it so much!! She is a natural at playing fetch, too. From the start, she would run after the ball,
get it, and bring it right back to me.
She hasn’t laid it down for me yet, but she brings it over in her mouth
and stands there until I grab it from her and throw it again. We must have played fetch for 30 minutes
before she finally got bored! These are perfectly sized for her, and she seemed to understand the concept pretty well!
By that time, she’d been out and very active for over three hours, so I
got her all set up in her room so the rest of us could have a break and get
some stuff done. One day she’ll outgrow
her curious (and very naughty) puppy phase, and she’ll be able to have free
reign of the house and keep us company while we’re home, but that day is not
today. I have a feeling it’ll be at
least a few months before that happens. Hahahaha.
While she was in her room (being SO good, too… she only whined for a
minute or so), I transferred my photos from my phone to my computer, I caught
up on emails, I got this post caught up to present, and I got my planner ready
for the week ahead and looked to see how I was coming along on my August goals. Since we unexpectedly got a dog this month, I
have a feeling most of my goals will not be accomplished this month, but it’s
soooo worth it!!
After about an hour in her room, the kids got off the video games and
took Belle out and played with her for a while.
B finished cleaning out all the brush from the fence and then he went to
shower.
I made lunch for everyone, and then after that I got one last batch of
books listed on Facebook to sell. Belle
fell asleep next to me on the couch while I was doing that, so I transferred
her to her bed on the floor so I could go upstairs and get some stuff done
while she slept. She sleeps soooo good
every afternoon, and I had no issues making the transfer without her waking
up. She even rolled out of her bed while
she was sleeping, and she ended up sleeping like this for a while before
rolling out completely. Hahahaha.
While she slept, I got my planner ready for the week ahead, I organized
all the photos I’d transferred to my computer, I worked on this blog post some
more, and then I got showered just after she woke up.
Olivia watched her while I got ready because the boys decided to take
Jacob for driving practice. While they
were gone, Belle had two more accidents, so Olivia and I were busy. Haha.
I went upstairs to finish some things in my office when the boys got
home, and we put Bellie in her room yet again to keep her from getting into
things while we all wrapped up the things we needed to do before heading to my
parents’ house for Sunday dinner.
Momma made her famous ziti along with a salad and garlic knots and a
strawberry cheesecake dessert, and my littlest brother, Mama Cass, and my Uncle
Billy all got to meet Belle. She was
such a good girl all evening over there and she really didn’t get into too
much. I was worried it was going to be a
nightmare trying to keep her contained, but she was pretty chill. And she looooveeeessss my little
brother. She curled up in his lap and went
right to sleep.
My parents’ next door neighbor brought her pup over after dinner so we
could let the babies get together and they stayed until we left.
When we got home, Brian took Belle outside forever trying to get her to
poop outside. We knew she needed to go,
but she is so stubborn she wouldn’t.
When she got inside, she ate a little bit of dinner and then she got right up
on the couch to sleep while we watched an episode of Friends. She continued to sleep while we got the kids
in bed and while I did my meditation combo, and she slept right through while
Brian and I watched a few minutes of Scarpetta.
We put her in her crate alone in the guest bathroom for night two, and
she only let out one little whimper before falling straight to sleep and
sleeping through the night again. And
that was our super happy, super exhausting, most wonderful week!
Happy Tuesday, y’all!
