And So It Goes

I was sitting in the living room, messing around with my Facebook page, when I heard the puppy SCREAMING and YELPING from the bedroom. Usually, the kids stop doing whatever they are doing to her and she stops screaming quickly, but this time it continued. I dropped everything and RAN like hell, not sure what I would find.

I found Quin, with a look of panic on her face, and the puppy hanging from Quin's dresser by two laces tied around each rear paw. Seriously.

Quin began blubbering that she couldn't untie her, which I can understand since the puppy's weight had tightened the cords. Frankly, I can't figure out how she even got her tied by both paws without the puppy objecting strenuously. I don't even know how Quin managed to tie anything, since she's not been taught to tie.

Of course, Hubby was gone, so I had to quick hold and untie the puppy and did not get the photo I would have shot to show you the sadistic truth. But you'll just have to believe me. That puppy was done hogtied REAL good!

Sigh. Puppy. Children. 'Nuff said.

Introducing Clementine

This is how it started. We drove to Peducah, Kentucky and met Hubby's rents at a hotel to pick up the puppy. Actually, as you might have guessed, even the ride there was an adventure, with the 100 degree weather, three children, all the necessary gear, forgotten shoes, forgotten wipes, fast food restaurants and so on. But I'll spare you the gory details. We made it there. So did the rents and the puppy.

Then we spent the night trapped in a hotel room with a homesick puppy who does not know the meaning of the word "no". Or "Quiet". Or even "Shut the hell up, dammit, it's four in the morning!!"

Luckily, the kids slept through the howling and wailing, so we had that going for us. Then we drove home. Clem was pretty tired by then, so she slept great in the car. Shocker.


She is acclimating to life in our madhouse pretty well. She is still howling a bit at night, but now she is MUCH farther away so we can ignore her. She does this amazing bi-tonal howl that registers her highest and lowest register simultaneously which freaks me out on occasion, but then I shut the door and go to sleep. Because I am a seasoned mom. That is to say, callous. Or, as the Dog Whisperer would say, "a calm assertive pack leader". I'm okay with either description.

While her name is Clementine, she has already acquired a nickname. Since she is such a little dope I've taken to calling her "Doodle" which the kids use more often than anything else. After all the thought and debate that went into her name, she is most frequently called Doodle, Twinkle, or Puppy. Go figure.

So far, Clem thinks the kids are just big puppies from her litter, and the kids are doing nothing to disabuse her of this notion. They run together through the house like a wolf pack, jumping and shrieking. Until Clem collapses in a corner of our bedroom which she has claimed as her private "timeout" zone.

She is a bit leery of the stairs. She goes up okay, but as you can see, she is a bit nervous about going down. I like how this photo gives you a frame of reference for how little she still is.


Quin is the child most enamored of the new family member. Of course, Quin thinks Clem is a baby to be picked up, tucked into doll beds, dressed in bonnets. Quin's first thought of the morning is: "Where's the puppy" and her last act at night is to tuck the puppy into whatever bed she can find.

Ribh is too little to really deal with Clem in any meaningful way, so when she is accosted with puppy kisses and nips, she just freaks out and starts screaming, which in Clem's language means "more please" so I have to keep an eye of those two.

But all in all, we are having a blast in puppy land. Now if the temperature would just drop below 100 degrees, we'd be set!

Girls Gone Garage

We tried something new. Instead of finding and paying for a babysitter crazy enough to watch 5 children under the age of seven...we just brought the party with us. And so, Girl's Night Out (Garage Version) was born.


It seems normal enough at first: a couple glasses of wine, some snacks for the kids, girl talk, kid talk, a wading pool.
And then they party really started ROCKIN'!

I swear the bottle was empty before we let the kids play with it.

And have a tea party with it.

Does this seem wrong? Cuz' I didn't pose this.

And then we caught a bug called a COW KILLER! Which was cool.

And Quin and Ribh decided they loved each other. Which was nice.
And this is why I cannot use this blog for work.


In unrelated news, but news nevertheless: Gabe Turned SEVEN today!



We are off to enjoy an adventurous day which will include a fancy dinner in a revolving restaurant in downtown Atlanta, and whatever else catches our fancy. I'll post more pictures if it's as adorable as I think it will be!