Wednesday, November 12, 2008

2 Year Old Beagle: Free to Good Home

Or, at least that's what has been going through my mind lately. Ok, so I'm not 100% ready to let the little beast go (we are talking about Owen here), but he really is getting on my nerves. Recently, Caleb was given a wonderful little farm set, a belated birthday present from his uncle Matt and aunt Michelle. The kid loves anything having to do with farms, which is great since he has easy access to one in our family. Matt and Michelle gave him a little tractor that plays "Old McDonald" and various animal noises, and comes complete with a pig, sheep, cow, horse, and a farmer to drive. Caleb loved it:

So, I have a child who loves farms. I also have a beagle who loves to chew. He will chew almost anything he can get his paws around. Ok, maybe not absolutely everything, he has refrained from gnawing on table legs, but most anything else has to be monitored. If I turn my back for one minute, any small, preferably plastic or cloth item becomes the next victim. After putting Caleb to bed tonight, I got busy working on a newsletter on the computer and wasn't paying attention, until, well, enter Exhibit A:

In case you can't tell, the one on the left is the remains of the pig and the brown one on the right was a horse. I'm sure they can still ride in the wagon, but it won't be the same. I'm fairly certain Caleb will notice when he wakes up tomorrow.
Why does Owen have to be such a menace at times? Am I a poor dog owner or is he just being a beagle? We recently took him to a new place to have his nails cut--something I put off as long as possible normally because he is a freak about it. We took him to the same place where he has been boarded before, just never groomed. I warned them that the last nail clipping at the vet required him to be muzzled. I just didn't want anyone to get bitten, that's all. As they carried him gently away, the tech referred to him as simply being "toenail sensitive". So maybe he really wants to be coddled and it's my fault for not paying enough attention to him, I don't know. All I do know is that we are going to have to figure something out soon or all of Caleb's toys will slowly be consumed, piece by piece.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

It's our last day of good weather for the year, I think. 70 degrees today and 40-something tomorrow. Caleb and I just came inside from a brisk walk to the post office. We had headed next door to Ace Hardware where they had mums on sale for $1 at end of the year clearance, but they were just too heavy to carry back while trying to manage a 2 year old near the street at the same time. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow.

Further changes have ensued around here. What I believed was "settling in" for our family was really only some type of notion in my head. We have no one to blame, though, except ourselves. I believe we really are trying to make good decisions, at least it seems that way at the time, anyway. I have officially changed jobs again. What is with me anyway? Ok, to tell the truth, working in an office (at least the one I was employed at) was dull. Bear with my cynicism here for just a moment, but I was witness to several "crisis" events that took place that sent people scattering to find the crash cart: quick! we have a life to save! Only, in my head, I wouldn't call them emergencies at all. I feel as if I've seen some real emergencies, and these weren't it. I was afraid that if I continued to work there (or in other non-critical care settings), I would become complacent, accepting of the mundane, and I would turn into one of those freak-out people who don't know how to use an oxygen mask. I'm just not ready to go there yet. (For anyone reading this who works in another sector of nursing that I have just deemed boring by my standards, I'm sorry. It's just me, that's all). I resigned from that office, and the people there were great about it. They were all very supportive of my choice to leave, stating that I'm going back to where I used to work because "it's what I do". Anyway, I'm returning to NICU. Not the fantastic schedule I have enjoyed for the past year, but I guess it's more important to me to do something I am challenged by, something I feel really good about.
Change #2 in our home: Russ is officially done with his job at Windstream. He is currently still looking for a job and continuing with his master's degree. The jobs he has applied for have run the gamut from professional to blue collar/permanent to transitional-until-he-graduates jobs. Who knew the Dow would have the biggest drop in recent history mere weeks after deciding to quit? It probably doesn't seem so smart to be looking for a job right now, what with our economy so poor, but I really think something will come through. It's really only been 2 weeks since his last job ended: we're not worried at this point, but we would appreciate the prayers for him to find the right place. Hey, maybe with the election finally over, we can see some immediate benefits and change??! Who knows.
With all of this going on, we're happy to enjoy life and our other moments of family and just simply having a good time. There are quite a few things going on around here this time of year, and it's been fun to watch Caleb discovering new things (Halloween candy, for instance).

Caleb dressed up as an Indian brave for Halloween and Russ and I decided to be pilgrims.


A visit from cousins Madisen and Thadd.




Saturday at Fallbrook fall festival. They had one of those huge inflatable jumping castles. Caleb is not quite sure about the whole thing.




Then, after a trip down the slide, he decided it was a lot of fun!


Downtown at the train station


Playing around with cousin Maesa. Exactly how many kids can you fit into a diaper box?


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