Busy, busy, busy

It has been so busy at home, I've barely had time to breathe. Except yesterday. The boys ditched me so I went to Mom's and played in her pool. Alone. It was SO nice. I won't pass up a day like that!

What has kept me so busy? Well, my oven went out a few weeks ago. It was a drop in combo. I really didn't want to replace it. When my parents bought their current house, Mom didn't like the oven. So she replaced it. And THANK GOODNESS, she put the old one in the garage. It still works just fine, it just isn't pretty. So, this past week Dad and my husband installed it. Honestly?? Dad installed and Mike was the errand boy. And, by the way, not one single man involved in this knows how to read a tape measure. They all took measurements, but the oven was too big. There was sawing of countertops and cabinets. It all made me very nervous. But I don't care. Especially since I didn't have to buy a new one. I just had to buy a new washer and dryer, a new oven was not in the budget.

On top of that, I had a Pampered Chef party. May is Whip Cancer month, so I held a fundraising party. Instead of getting all kinds of free stuff, 25% of the retail sales will go to American Cancer Society. So. There was the prep work for that and grocery buying. I had 11 people for the event, which is a pretty good turn out. We had it at my Mom's due to the construction mess in my kitchen.

Wags is still holding his own. A little too well. This past week Mike has been bitten twice, the cat has been pinned against a door once. Don't feel too bad for Mike - knowing how protective Wags is of Evan, he went into Evan's room in the middle of the night, didn't turn a light on, and tried to kiss Evan. Yes, I said tried. I think he finally understands what I've been trying to tell him about dogs and territory and the one they have chosen to protect. We have decided that Wags will have to sleep in the kennel when Evan has company. No way would I risk a child being bitten. Evan is doing a great job of taking care of him. Very responsible - no complaining.

I am very thankful for Mike's new job. But I had forgotten how it is to have to deal with a retail schedule and no vacation time when you are trying to take a trip. We had an opportunity to go to our favorite place next weekend...but Mike has to work. I am not complaining. Much. Evan and I could go alone, but that wouldn't really be fair since it's HIS family that we would be going to visit. So I guess I'll try to find something for Evan to do so I can enjoy some alone pool time...

I'm starting to see a theme...

And the theme is the hijinx that seems to come along with Wags. This is what he did to the fence on Friday. He didn't get out...but he can get his head through it. Mike is working on fixing it today. And my brother is brining his anti-anxiety medicine today. You would think he could have told me about that before I picked him up...

Escape Artist. I have one.

Wags is proving to be a little too smart for his own good. He figured out how to un-do the latch on his kennel. And when we put a more sophisticated lock on it, he just pushed the corner of the gate until he could fit through. So now we have chains at the top, bottom and middle. Do you KNOW how long it takes to lock his sorry a@@ up before I can leave for work? And I still don't know if he's locked up right now. He may have escaped from that. Guess I'll find out this afternoon.

But, he and Evan are tight. He is very protective of Evan, especially when it comes to men. I can do anything I want to, but Mike has to be careful. Like, Mike gets growled at when he goes into Evan's/Wag's room. We're working on Mike spending more time with him.

Choc is getting used to him. They aren't friends - but at least Choc isn't barking every. single. breath. Daphne (cat) still hides. I don't blame her.

Other than that, not much is going on in our neck of the woods. I have a box from Amazon sitting in my living room - books, of course - and another on the way. So, as soon as I get the house cleaned up, it's reading time.

Here he is...Wags

The introduction of Wags into the home went about as smooth as could be expected. The inside cat hid under a futon. My dog, Choc, barked non-stop. And Wags just stuck to Evan like glue. From the moment we picked up Wags, he was Evan's responsibility. Evan has walked him, fed him, watered him, played with him, slept with him. Yes, slept with him. Either in the floor or in his bed. I'm not stupid enough to make the 'no dog in the bed' rule because Evan sleeps with his door closed. And I can't go in without knocking...because there are things I DON'T want to accidentally see... and knocking would give them enough time to get off the bed, so really, what would I be doing but setting up a rule I KNOW would be broken? Anyway, the dog is officially Evan's. Last night before bed Evan had to take care of the bedtime bathroom trip. Wags wandered from room to room until he determined that Evan was in the bathroom. At that point, he sniffed under the door and plopped down to wait. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Apparently, insanity is catching

Our house is a Noah's Ark of sorts. We don't let our animals breed (I believe in spaying and neutering) but they seem to keep coming. Currently, we have Choc (a chihuahua), Daphne and Aflac (cats) and Halfa (a bird). Not once have we said "Hey, let's go get an animal. Because we need something to clean up after and feed." But someone calls with a story about an animal that needs a home. Or we see a neighbor's cat that we think isn't being fed. Or a bird just flies out of nowhere and lands on Mike's shoulder - I wish I was kidding.

We've had quite the year and Evan has born quite a bit of the brunt of it. Unintentionally, but still. He has had it pretty rough and has felt very alone at times. I know, puberty doesn't help those feelings. But he's an only child, and none of the animals are really bonded to him. Choc is MY dog. He will sit with other people, but when I sit down, he comes to me. No questions. The cats? Well, they just kind of ignore everybody. The bird is no fun, even when she is not in her cage. And Evan has been asking for a dog. One that will be his. One that doesn't look like a rat.

So. My brother adopted a dog in December. He and his wife have always had Boxers. Their latest one died in November, so they went right out and got another. He is a sweetie. He had been chained to a tree and was barely getting a cup of food a day. That is nowhere NEAR enough for a Boxer. He's pretty gentle and will go to sleep standing up if you are petting him. But, he is very jealous of my brother. And last week he jumped on, scratched and growled at my 1 year old nephew. So, they made the decision to find him another home.

Guess who is taking him in? We are picking him up Friday... Meet Wags.