Oh, child.

I am a nervous new mother in its truest form. We've had Judge for exactly five days and he's already been to the vet twice, and sorta made me cry a little a couple nights ago. I'm kinda embarrassed. Let me explain: first visit was his initial new puppy check-up. It's always good practice to take any new baby to get checked out so he can meet his new doctor and get used to the whole process of examination. I got the great news that we have a wonderfully healthy boy who looks, sounds, and is just perfect. On the down side, I learned he was a little underweight. No baby of mine is gonna be too skinny if I have anything to say about it. He weighed in at (what I thought) was a staggering 8.5 pounds. For a seven week old baby, I thought that was pretty large. At 11 weeks, Bailey was a tiny 5.5 pounds and could fit in my hand. Judge, being the baby beast he is, should have been closer to ten. So the vet gave me instructions to fatten him up. Every morning, he and Bailey get one scrambled egg. And 4 times a day he gets fed his regular puppy food mixed with buttermilk. So spoiled already. Doctor's orders. So far it's been a major success. We've gained 2 pounds in roughly two days.

Now let me tell you about that second night. Of course our babies sleep in the bed with us. Say what you may, but that's how we like it. All night we noticed puppy panting and just generally uneasy. Overly squirmy, even for himself. So we opened the windows and turned down the heat, but still no relief for this overheated little baby. Next, we tried a cold pack wrapped in a tee shirt for him to lay on. It helped a little, but he was still panting and now was coughing and sneezing, too. I was getting pretty worried. Never google medical symptoms for anything that your dog, child, or self may be experiencing, because you will immediately become terrified. Wish I had realized this sooner. It listed everything from cardiac defects, to ear infections, to internal bleeding. Good Lord. I decided that just maybe he was too hot. So at 12:30 a.m. I found myself on our kitchen floor with a pair of scissors and a pile of puppy curls. Let's face it, the dog has a lot of hair. This still didn't do the trick. So the next morning, darling, being the wonderful pup dad he is, took baby to the vet again to ease my mind. Turns out it was nothing. He did tell me they cracked up over my split decision grooming job, but over all nothing major, just the tiniest touch of kennel cough. So baby is back to normal, and if you ask me, I think that little hair cut did the trick.

Now Bailey is a sick boy, and I think we can pretty confidently rest it on the fact that we've been spoiling him like crazy to be sure that he doesn't feel replaced or resentful of Judge. Labradoodles have notoriously sensitive stomachs and we've known this from day one. But we sometimes tempt fate and give him nibbles of sausage or cheese or whatever else is on the menu for the night. All he has to do is look at us the right way and we melt. Who can blame us?

We've been going a little overboard since the arrival of the new baby, and his belly is, unfortunately, fighting back by being upset for the past day. He's getting back to normal, finally. I think we've learned our lesson this time around, and much to Bailey's dismay, no more table food. We'll be making a trip to PetSmart to load up on belly friendly munchies for him and Christmas toys for both, and a new stocking for baby. Can't wait. Just really can't wait.

you be the judge.

Darling and I celebrated our three year anniversary this Tuesday, and celebrated the best way in the world: by bringing home a bouncing baby... puppy. I nearly cried. I mean really cried. Those "so happy I have no other way to express myself" tears that I am all too well known for. We have been talking about a little brother for Bailey for so long now, but never more than just talking. So when Andrew surprised me a few days earlier with a trip to visit our new baby, I was ecstatic. And when I was told that we couldn't bring him home for another week, it just about killed me. So I visited. Everyday I visited. And on the third day of visiting, the breeder let me know that he was ready and she felt comfortable enough with his progress to let him come home. Let's be honest, she was probably pretty tired of me showing up everyday, but who cares, I won. So the past few days have been full of chewing, chomping, barking, whining, and 4:00 am trips outside to potty. And I couldn't be happier about it.

 We had a few reservation about how Bailey was going to take the new addition. He would either love him right away and accept him as the new member of our family, or he would fight this tooth and nail and be a jealous jenny about the whole thing. Thankfully, his reaction was somewhere in between. He was pretty excited about meeting this new furry plaything, but once he realized that he didn't belong to someone else, and would, in fact, be staying with us for the long run, he was a little finicky. This new baby is small now, but we know that once he's all grown up, that will be the last thing he is. He's going to trump Bailey by at least twenty pounds. We think Bailey knows this, too. And he's having all the fun he can now, because pretty soon, he won't be the BIG brother anymore. That being said, we decided on the name Judge Levon. Judge because a big boy deserves a big name, and Levon for darling's favorite member of The Band. So far, he's living up to the hype tremendously.

So here we are, going into our third day as a new little family of four, and I really couldn't be happier. Bailey is being the big brother we knew he would be and Judge is being the rambunctious puppy we have long been waiting for. Seeing both of these furry kids of ours chasing tennis balls and fighting over the good tot, and I realize how blessed I am. So no more is it us and the dog. But us and the dogS. And I'm loving our little family so much. And eagerly awaiting what is sure to be our most exciting Christmas yet.





one flew over the..... kitchen cabinet.

Today was a day of marked laziness. A day of coffee, books, couch lounging, and back yard playing with pup. A day of laziness that I was extremely content with. Today was also the first day of my nature study. I've decided that I want to learn everything I possibly can about which birds are singing and the names of the trees where they're performin'. It was while reading my first edition of Words for Birds that it happened. Nature quite literally came right through the back door.

I lay on the couch, reading and listening to outside sounds. Bailey lay beside me in front of the back door, also content with the slow pace of our morning. His favorite spot is right in front of the tear in our screen door. That small tear has been there since the day we moved in and it was never something that seemed to demand immediate attention.... until today. It was by this very tear that Bailey lay. And it was through this very tear that a small bird decided to enter and wreck havoc on our morning. I identified the tiny menace as a very common House Wren:

I quickly became more concerned for its safety rather than for my home's. My new tiny friend was crazily attempting a smooth escape, but was failing miserably. Crashing into window, cabinets, mirrors, and landscape paintings, I was terrified he would hurt himself badly. With all the commotion, Bailey, being the vicious animal that he is, merely gave the wren a confused look and continued to doze. I attempted quite a few different variations of catch and release, and failed as miserably as the bird. So, having exhausted every possible option, I did the only other thing there was to do. I called darling.

After a frantic phone call, I locked the wren in our guest room and waited. The wren made himself quite comfortable during this time on our clothes rack that was heavily laden with soggy garments. After five somewhat nervous minutes wait, babe swooped in (excuse the pun) and saved the day. He handled the situation much more calmly using the broom herding method, and my new friend flew out as easily as he'd flown in.

We commemorated the day's adventure with a family lunch of Taco Bell, and my new book seemed a much more interesting read that afternoon. I also made Bailey a new doggie door to prevent any further damage to small, daring wrens.

blonde haired baby bear.

Well, number three is finally here. After numerous false starts and faux arrivals, Eizach was born yesterday morning. And he's more than just a little loved. Tiny Emmitt just can't grasp the thought that there are things in this world that are smaller than he is, and couldn't help put exclaim over and over again that "he's so wittle". He then asked where the baby's wee wee was. And he then demanded that the nurse get the new baby a shirt to wear. Which she did. Quickly. All the while, Ellis (who now feels he is a seasoned vet at new baby arrivals) tapped away on his mommy's ipad.

It seems like no matter how many times we do this, (and lets just be honest, there's no telling with my baby machine of a sister) I  am constantly amazed at the entire process of having a child. A tiny little person that I already love more than humanly possible. It just never gets old. And speaking of old, now we're gearing up for Ellis's 5th birthday. Five. I can't even believe it's been that long since I was rushing to the hospital because he was getting here. After him, I just really wasn't sure it was possible to love someone else as much, and then Emmitt came. And all of a sudden, I was crazy about these two little blonde haired, blue-eyed babies. And now, I'm just crazy about this new blonde haired, blue eyed baby bear. So much love for these tiny little men in my life. Just don't know what to do about it.

one and two.

Yesterday, my darling celebrated his 26th birthday. Really, we celebrated for the five days leading up to it. We decided a little trip to Carolina would do the trick. As mentioned before, we consider Asheville our second home, and as bad as I'd like to just pack up and move today, darling is the voice of reason that says we should wait just a little bit longer. I can't say I'm so sure what we're waiting on, but his reasoning has never let me down before. So you win again, dear.

Our arrival at 10:45 pm was celebrated with crispy chicken sandwiches from Wendy's. We were a little too late to enjoy a real, Ashvillian style dinner that I had been so looking forward to, but alas, we had four more days of fantastic dinners ahead of us. The next morning started with brunch and mimosas at our favorite breakfast spot, Mayfels.

The rest of the morning was spent at the Western North Carolina Farmers Market. There, we stocked up on local honey, apple butter, barbecue sauce, and dried silver dollar plants with other various nick-knacks. Hopefully, it will be enough to get us through until our return in October (I'm pretty confident it should, since I got the biggest jars of everything I could find). Then we made our way to the Old Tobacco Barn, an antique store that turned out to be more of a warehouse heaven than a store, and the rows upon rows of old dusty things was intoxicating. We were a little overwhelmed after first walking in and didn't even know where to start digging. We made it through in about two hours, and we were both pretty sure we didn't even see half of what was in there. I've already added a second visit to our October return list. Afterwards we hit the downtown shops and eateries and stocked up on all the local favorites we could get our hands on. We ended the evening with a visit to the Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar. Hands down my favorite place on the planet. Rows on rows on rows of books, all for sale, and an amazing wine and champagne bar with a ridiculously huge selection. I felt like it was my birthday instead.

Darling patiently followed me between every row, with my large stack of purchases in tow. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a fine fella. But I vowed to make the rest of our trip birthday worthy for him, and it turned out to be quite a success. We ended with dinner at our favorite place, and went home full and happy and late and ready for the next day.

The next morning started with Brunch at Early Girl Eatery, Rachael Ray's $40 a day and a wonderful sister suggested it, and we couldn't help ourselves. The gigantic strips of bacon that came on both our plates were the cherry on top of our breakfast cake. Shout out to all Asheville bacon. We're big fans. We then made reservations for a canoe adventure on Sunday, and decided we needed to stock up on some new outdoor gear before the expedition. So we hit REI pretty hard and got all the unnecessary-but-really-wanted things that we just couldn't go without. Then we headed to Mast General Store and got babe all the birthday things he dreamed of, and I loved spoiling him more than I love spoiling myself. We finished up with another awesome dinner and a haunted tour of Asheville. True tourist style, but it was fun and informative and I think I actually got a paranormal picture just like our guide promised us.

Sunday found us up early and ready for a day of playing outside to beat all others. The hurricane roaring down the coast a few hundred miles east of us didn't show even a cloud in our direction. Things got a little windy, but nothing too serious, and, gratefully, the sun shone on us all weekend. We got a canoe and paddled the French Broad through the Biltmore Estate. We've been there and done that, so we passed up dropping $120.00 on tickets and spending the day there. Instead, we sneaked in riverside, and saw everything for free. Sort of.

We got in early and had a dinner of Scottish Barbeque, and got invited to the Oyster festival in October by a few locals. Of course we'll be there. We ended the night with the best pizza and beer in Asheville and my new favorite, Tutti Fruiti, a fantastic self-serve frozen yogurt paradise.

Monday was sad but inevitable: our last day. We had brunch at Over Easy and it made it even harder to leave. But we made it home safe and sound. I had a happy darling in tow to make things even better. Happy Birthday love of mine. Here's to a bigger and badder bash next year.

the old dusty trail.

I've been taking extreme advantage of my new weekends off with everything from sleeping in to long mimosa brunches with darling. Last weekend was spent on a 6 hour 8.5 mile trek through Virgin Falls in Sparta Tennessee. I continue to be amazed at the number of places within this lovely state of mine that I have yet to explore. One down. I had to have a pretty serious talk with myself with 2 miles to go. I suppose I should have paid more attention to the sign warning me of the "strenuous terrain". A very true statement that I decided was just posted to scare off the wimps who were used to state park strolling trails. But none the less, I finished, and was pretty proud of myself. We took the pup (naturally) who left us in his dust most of the way. I'm not sure where he finds the energy, but he kept me going. Him, and darling giving me small pep talks every few miles.

We stumbled on a small trail that led to a river about 4 miles in and decided to have a swim. Truly, I was just in desperate need of a rest from all that strenuous terrain, so finding this cool, shady oasis was more than just welcoming. There were huge trees on all sides, and babe found a rope swing that seemed like it was left there just for us, and he took full advantage. Bailey decided that he didn't like the idea of us going too far out in the water, and swam out to guide us back in EVERY time. The water was littered with small fish that took an immediate liking to my legs, and I couldn't seem to stop laughing from all the nibbling taking place beneath the surface.

We meet quite a few people on the trail, and in turn quite a few other dogs. Our first encounter was with a golden labradoodle, and she and Bailey knew right away that they were two of a kind. They literally left us behind and started walking side by side down the trail together. Which was a bit of a problem as the gentleman whom she belonged to was heading in the opposite direction. We managed to separate the lovebirds to continue, and quickly came across another dog. Lela was much less friendly. She was with a group of campers who were taking the trail in chapters and staying the night. We had to pass through their campsite to continue on our way, and this dog didn't like Bailey from the moment she met him. She snapped at him 3 times, each time, Bailey calmly sitting back and taking it in stride letting her get it out of her system. After the 3rd time, being the mama bear that I am when it comes to my pup, I'd had finally had enough of this snotty little dog that thought she owned the place. I wrapped up the encounter pretty quickly and we moved on.

We finally made it all the way to Virgin Falls, and even after our mild altercation with the snippy Lela and being nearly devoured by a tiny pack of small piranhas, we'd made it. And it was worth the aching legs, the battle I would fight with poison ivy the following week, and the overpowering smell of bug spray that lingered for days. More than worth it. Bailey, on the other hand, is still recovering.

affection.

Finally got around to getting some much needed time off this week. After a very unfriendly 24 days in row of work, I'm back to sleeping in and wonderful stretches of doing nothing at home again. I don't know that I could have done it without darling. And the dog. All the effort they put into keeping the house tidy, the laundry manageable, and the woman sane have paid off. Now I'm getting back to the good stuff. Home renovations being my number one.

This week, I got brand new book shelves that I am just dying over. Babe and Mitch had them up in no time, and I had them stocked and loaded with books even faster. I think I was actually trying to arrange my things on them as they were still screwing them into the wall. What can I say.... I be the go-getter (thanks, Dan).

Also got a little time to spoil the pup. Brand new mountain collar and lead, and had him a custom copper tag made from DogLegLeft Designs. Pretty amazing stuff for all you dog lovers. Now just very impatiently awaiting its arrival on my front stoop. He's eagerly awaiting, too.

After getting a little rest and having a little me time, I'm pretty much back to my old self. Got a cake in the oven and our comforter out on the line to dry. Just finally, really feeling good again. And it feels... well, good.

gettin' outta town.

Finally getting to Asheville in a couple of weeks. I really can't wait. It's become our second home, and may eventually become our permanent home at some point and time. Just feels like that little town was made for us. From our first trip there, we noticed how amazingly pet friendly it is. Water-stations on every corner, even tons of pet friendly restaurants. Just found out our favorite bistro lets you bring Fido and sit on the patio. Since we are avid patio diners, things couldn't be more perfect. So it's finally time to bring our pup for our first real family vacation. This time, I'm planning our entire visit around Bailey. Complete with a reputable doggie daycare so me and darling can have a little time to do a few things on our own. I don't think he'll be at all opposed to getting to spend a few hours with a few friends. Even bought him a new saddlebag. Now when we hike, pup can bring all his favorite things. Got collapsible travel bowls, and getting a new padded seat cover for the road trip. Pretty glad we have such a good boy. Browsing through some old pictures, and found this one of baby Bailey. This was the first picture I ever saw of him. Knew he was the one. Lots of comedy to follow...

just happy, that's all.

I can't really explain how happy it makes me to look back at all the little adventures I've got to share with my darling. I guess it really is about all the little things. I've done and seen more than I ever thought I would. And I'm not even barely finished.

Of all the adventures to date, I think our home has been the best one. Every day, we learn some new quirk about our little brick corner on Murrell Street. No matter how tiny our bathroom, there is no one I would rather be smashed up against while I'm drying my hair and applying my mascara then him. Throw a giant black bear dog in the mix, and things just get even better. No matter how messy my closet is because I just don't seem to have enough room for one more pair of shoes, there is no ones blue jeans I would rather have to throw out of my way then his. No matter where we go or where we end up, our first home together will always be my best memories. Every tiny inch of it.

Wearin' me down.

I'm finally starting to feel the stress of working in the medical field. For the last few days now, I've been convinced I'm having a heart attack. Turns out, I'm not. I am, however, allergic to penicillin. Which I didn't find out till I had continued to take it for 4 days. When I started experiencing chest pain, throat swelling, and worsening symptoms, I knew something just wasn't sitting well.  But despite medical anomalies, 12 hour shifts, and weekend shifts,  I'm still loving my job and the folks I get to call co-workers. Not to mention getting to come home to complete comic relief every night. Thanks guys.

We had a gentleman come to take a look at our air conditioning unit recently. It was then that we found out our dog is quite literally terrified of tool belts. You know, the simple kind that men carry all their tools in. Hammer, nails, wrench, pliers. Nothing fancy, or intimidating in the least. Just a tool belt. Bailey was frozen with the fear at the mere sight of such a contraption. How can I NOT laugh?

Keep 'em coming, guys. I got another week to pull through. And I'd much rather do it smiling.

Us. And the dog.

After all of the hoopla about blogging, I suppose it's time I jump on the bandwagon. I have always been a closet writer of sorts, so today is the day I put it out there.
A little about who I am can be summed up in a couple rather short sentences: Us. And the dog. I have a fantastically perfect better half that seems to keep me together and hold me up. I still haven't quite figured out how he can tolerate such massive quantities of me, but he does, and I'm glad for that. Andrew is my everything. And then, there's the dog. Bailey is our 5 year old labradoodle and the entertainment committee at our house. Neither of us have ever known an animal to be so outrageously intelligent and unintelligent both at the same time. We never thought we would be the people who considered their dog like a child. That's crazy. And weird. And no one likes those people. But here we are. Those people. Thankfully we have friends that like him as much as we do... or at least who like US enough to pretend to. So this is going to be the stories that come from my day to day life with my darling love and our dog.