Poor Baby Bruise

Our youngest 4 legged baby, The Bruise, has a bit of an anxiety problem, especially during thunderstorms or the (frequent) fireworks displays our neighbors like to put on in the summer.

So my studies ended tonight with a panicked pup huddling on my lap. My poor little buddy is a better weather man than the actual weather man is and was able to predict for me the change in weather just in time for me to get all 3 pups (with a lot of coaxing for Bruise) out for one last potty trip before the sky’s opened up. And now we cuddle… Sort of… With teeth hanging out and all.

Fenway isn’t sure what the big deal is… It’s just thunder and rain, not a ball.

A Morning…

Every morning brings a different story at our house. With three dogs and a toddler the needs start immediately upon rising. Occasionally I am lucky and get to stretch before bouncing (stiffly flinging myself over the side of the bed and hoping to land on my feet) out of bed. Then it’s off to the races, addressing everyone’s needs for potty time and food before my own. Hoping to have time to hit the start button on the Keurig for my first precious hit of caffeine of the day.
Today started out a little different than most, but first everyone needs a little backstory.
Yesterday I brought both toddlers to the vet with me to pick up the oldest puppy brother, Leroy. Leroy has a encountered a few problems as he is beginning to enter into his geriatric years (he prefers the phrase “mature”). One of these problems is hopefully resolved now thanks to a (typically) fairly simple surgery. He has had chronic abscesses of his anal glands for a little over a month now that have not responded to antibiotic therapy. So we made the decision to have them removed. I am so happy we did this, in the long run he will be more comfortable. For now however…

Cone of shame.

Leroy has a drain in one side of his bottom because the abscess was so bad it ate away most of the tissue of the gland. He also had some polyps in that side. So, not only does Leroy have to wear the cone of shame, but he is also a furniture free pup for the next few days. At least in theory.

So this morning the pups and I woke up early because the hubs had to go to work early. No big deal, it happens occasionally and I just convince the dogs to come cuddle up in bed so they don’t wake up Liam. Once Liam is up the whole house is up. One toddler to rule them all. This morning was a little different. Leroy wasn’t allowed into the bed. So when he whined to get me to push over so he could climb up I got out of bed, fixed up his dog bed really nicely (he prefers several dog beds stacked on top of each other) and called him over. He took one look at the bed and hopped up into mine instead. Sigh. I could see the drainage on the white blanket already and visions of endless loads of laundry floated through my head. But he was already there, so I let him stay, gingerly wrapped up his butt in the already ruined comforter, and gave him the cuddle he so desperately wanted. As my husband says, the dogs all take advantage of me because they know they can, or “they know a sucker when they see one”.

I actually managed another half an hour snooze at this time before Liam woke up, a little early but not off schedule, and oddly screaming. Liam usually wakes up in a great mood and even will sometimes play with his stuffed animals for a half an hour allowing the pups and I more cuddle time (and time to spy on how very cute he is playing with his babies through the baby spy cam… Yes, it Might be a little creepy). So I went in to get him and he immediately lit up into a smile the moment he saw me. I breathed a little (short lived) sigh of relief. No big deal, he just wanted Momma. Then I picked him up and realized how very wrong I was. It was a big deal. A poop all up his back kind of big deal. A second load of laundry and a baby bath to boot.
So I juggled the toddler and the pups through a well choreographed dance of poop cleanup, potty-ing, and breakfast. Somehow manage to start the first load of laundry. And am now finally sipping at my first cup of coffee while Liam plays with a “bahlll” at my feet.

It’s a good thing they are all so cute.

Road Trip!

I have been on vacation since Saturday, and have totally enjoyed every second so far. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with my older brother who currently is living in Rome…. I also have had the opportunity to switch up Liam’s nap schedule a bit and get him to a point where he has slept through the night for the last two nights!

Everyone should now stop reading to do a happy dance with me!

So Tuesday started the halfway point of my vacation and I was feeling pretty darn good. So good I decided to tempt fate by packing up Liam and the three dogs for a road trip to Grammy and Grampy F’s house!

I am still not sure I wasn’t totally insane to take this on, but we did it! So let’s start at the beginning of the story.
On Monday my husband and I became an aunt and uncle for the 18th time! A little yet to be named boy joined our extra large family.  So Tuesday’s road trip was with purpose, I drove across the state to bring Liam to visit his grandparents and so that I could visit the new little guy (and put in my two cents about what his name should be).  I packed up the night before because I have found with one (and sometimes two) young children the only way to keep my sanity is to plan for every possible scenario ahead of time and pack accordingly.  So we packed up one bag for Liam and another  bag for the dogs.  The dog bag had surprisingly similar items in it to Liam’s:

• Food in both bags
• Treats for the dogs and snacks for Liam (and Momma)
• Favorite toys in both bags
• Changes of clothing for Liam, leashes and collars for the dogs
• Diapers for Liam and poop bags for the dogs

Tuesday morning we woke up an hour late, but that couldn’t put a damper on my mood… Liam (and therefore Momma) slept through the night!

We left the house for our 2.5 hour drive without stops at 10 am, and arrived at the Grandparent’s at 1 (yes.. there ended up being stops).  One of my favorite things about the drive to my husband’s parent’s house is the scenery.  If you haven’t had the time to visit New Hampshire you should take a vacation here someday.  While we are lucky enough to live in the seacoast area, which is beautiful in its own right and certainly has plenty of activities for young families to enjoy, the Lake’s Region of the state is probably my favorite place.  While I wouldn’t necessarily want to live there away from so many conveniences (I really can’t fathom living more than 5 minutes away from Target) it is one of my favorite places to visit.  I also strongly prefer swimming in a lake to the (freezing cold) ocean.  So we stopped for snacks for Momma at a New England staple… Dunkin Donuts, and then stopped for snack for Liam at a scenic overlook to enjoy the awesomeness that is the Lake’s Region of New Hampshire.

Lake Winnipesaukee

Now I will admit that I did not take these pictures, my SIL who drove up the day before with my camera took these.  I am so happy she did!  I always go up on sunny days (there are a ton of hiking trails in the vicinity that lead to even more awesome overlooks of the lake) and I never get a chance to capture the haunting beauty of a rainy/foggy day on the lake.  The drive itself was surprisingly uneventful.  My sweet boy played with his dolls in the back.  The dogs took turns playing musical chairs.  Momma actually got to eat breakfast… or something like it (I couldn’t quite stomach the egg and sausage on a croissant…. took one bite and decided the picture looked much better than it tasted… I had an uninterrupted cup of coffee though, which was heavenly).  We made it the grandparent’s house in one piece where we were promptly served lunch and the dogs made a significant effort to mark every corner of Grammy and Grampy F’s yard (it’s mine!).

I got to hang out with some of my nieces, Liam got to play with different toys…. and then my husband surprised his parents by dropping in on his way home from work (made possible by the fact that his job requires traveling and he just happened to be traveling in the area that day).  We then packed up all 4 adult and 3 kids to go visit the new baby in the hospital.  He is all sorts of adorable in the way that only a fresh baby can be… and seeing his older sisters (even the one who “hates babies” looked at him lovingly and just about made my heart completely melt)

Siblings ❤

Me snuggling up with Miss K

Me with the new guy

Me and the Hubs with the new guy

All the kiddos

All in all a very successful trip.  I love spending time with the girls, and loved being able to share in their joy in their new baby brother.  Now that I know I can do the cross state trip with an almost toddler I suspect there will be more traveling in the future for us.

I am totally pumped for a summer of fun!

Hanging With The Doggies

Or as Liam says “dodi”

Sometimes the best crimes need an accomplice… Or at least a puppy brother to use as a step stool and a seat after.

Baby Stalking

Watching, waiting, hoping that one of the babies will give up their cookie.

A Great Idea Gone Bad, Attack of the Snacking Pups

So Liam has been feeding the dogs at lunch and dinner time now that he has finger foods.  It usually goes one bite for him, and 3 or 4 for the dogs.  Really, the fact that he is feeding them fresh fruits and veggies doesn’t bother me, but they now look at him as someone who is constantly going to give them food so he can’t sit down and have a cookie without having 3 dogs looming around him.  The pups, they are the biggest beggars ever.

What? Dogs aren’t suppose to dine at the table?

Last week while I was out loitering in the baby section at Target I discovered these handy little snack canister.  Sure they were labeled for 12 months and up, but I figured if I showed Liam what was up with it a few times he would get it.  The tops appeared too small for a big old Boston Terrier snout to get through, so I figured the puffs or cookies would be safe and Liam could have snacks on the go.  I bought them, washed them, and tried one out with him. After 3 tries he figured it out, and the snacking commenced in his high chair…. with feeding the dogs still of course.  Liam is excellent at sharing.  Today I thought we would try to take it to the floor.

The instant swarming of dogs, Liam is in dog heaven.

Sharing, because its what he does, with the dogs, with Mom, with Dad, with everyone.

And…. the second he turns his back on the snacks the dogs strike sweet potato puff gold.

So it turns out that the snack canisters work great for teaching Liam how to take little things out of a container.  The do not work so great for keeping doggy noses out of the container.  While they couldn’t actually reach the snacks thanks to their brachycephalic skulls, they could drool all over and into everything in the canister.  It. Was. A. Huge. Slimy. Mess.

Yuck.

At least we can still use them for road trips when he gets older.