Bad day so far...

1. Macy destroyed a pair of sandals I bought in New Zealand - ones I like and was taking on our trip tonight.  Not happy.

2. She also pulled my flat iron off the counter and broke it, and I have zero time to get a new one.  Not happy about that either.

3. In the process of pulling the flat iron down, she also pulled down my eye pencil sharpener, spilling the shavings everywhere and then trying to eat them.  UNhappy.

4. While I was trying to get all of this cleaned up (almost in tears), she pees in the floor.

5. In the middle of angrily scrambling to get things done ( I still have to pack, go to the bank and grocery store, clean my bathroom and wash sheets in 3.5 hours today before catching a flight to New Orleans), Macy growls and tries to drag me around by my pants leg, at which point I almost drop kick her into the next room.

6. When I finally get out the door to go to work, I realize I forgot something.  When I go back in, she is wailing at the top of her lungs. UGH.

Yes, we knew what we were getting into with a puppy, but today is a very bad day so far. 

Things in my brain.

I hope the Braves actually do well in the play offs this season.

I am adding re-learning French to my bucket list - will be investing in the Rosetta Stone books/software when I finish my Master's Degree in May 2012.

I would like to visit every continent.  Even Antartica. 

I might be more of a cat person than a dog person.  Just now learning this.

"I'm not much into health food.  I am into champagne."


I still feel like a newlywed, and there are days I think it's strange that we're married.


I would like a house, but I am not committed enough to one city to buy one.

I rather enjoy cooking, but I hate doing dishes.  Love laundry, hate scrubbing bathrooms and mopping.


I want a red streak in the underside of my hair on one side (the left).


The most beautiful place I've ever been is the Christchurch Botanical Garden in New Zealand.  Of all of NZ, it's the once place I want to go back to and spend more time instead of seeing new things.









 

Update before we head to New Orleans...

Just a quick update before we head out of town - we're taking a weekend trip to New Orleans to celebrate our first anniversary.  The trip was planned several months ago, so we couldn't change it and arranged for my youngest sister to apartment-sit with the puppy, cat, and fishes.  

Macy is doing OK so far, but not perfect.  She is great about knowing to potty outside when we're there, but doesn't quite understand not to go in the house yet too.  She has a problem with getting too excited and biting hands or faces.  It doesn't really hurt, but she needs to learn not to do that.  She also tries to jump onto furniture, and with claws, that is not good.  She does sleep through the entire night, which is great!  

She had her first grooming today at PetSmart - bath, dry, brush, nails clipped, ears cleaned, etc.  Did pretty well with that.  First vet appointment is Monday evening.  Yes, we're spending our first anniversary evening at the vet.

We're going to have a tough time training this one, so let's keep our fingers crossed.  We begin puppy training classes on the 16th!

*Change to Day 3...

She slept MUCH better last night, for long stretches.  After Wes got her to sleep around 10:00, she didn't wake me up until 4:00 AM for a potty break, which was great!  

She's home alone right now for the first real time, which is hard for me, but I know she has to learn to be OK alone...

And THANK YOU to my sister (Ashley) who will be puppy/cat/fish-sitting this weekend while we're in New Orleans!  Big relief.  We are slowly but surely accumulating all the pet breeds....
 

Day 3...

...see, the problem is that she loves us too much.  She doesn't want to sleep separate, darn it!  But she must...no dogs can sleep in bed with us (that's the rule).  Plus, to crate train, they have to have a small place to sleep so they won't go #1 or #2 in it, instead, they will hold it until they can get out and we can take her outside.

On THAT part (potty training) she is a gem!  We are learning her habits and the only tiny accidents have been more our fault for not realizing that she has to go after every meal, nap, and crazy playtime.  I learned today that a puppy's hold-it time usually corresponds to their age, they can hold it 1 hour for every month old they are.  Well, she is only 10 weeks and 2 days old.  Basically a little over two months.  BUT she basically holds it at night for 4 hours - so that's great!  During the day she's awake more, so I give it less time then.

So the night time wanting-to-be-with-us is the worst part. She cries, we have to put our hand in the crate so she calms down...Wes even lays down beside it in the floor.  He is a loving puppy dad.  We have to reward her for the times she is quiet and calm in the crate.  It's snug as a bug in a rug in there, so she's definitely not uncomfortable - I'm slightly jealous I don't get to sleep in it!  She's only been away from her litter for about 2 weeks, so it's not surprising that she cries a bit.

Our first animal love, Callie, is still uncertain...she isn't really scared, but more weirded out by this little animal, so she just hisses and stays in her own room.  Wes's room is now Callie's room.  She is snug in there as well.  She still plays and comes out at night (she's in the living room with me now)...she'll adapt.

Our #1 concern has been being gone for 4 hours while at work.  For the next couple of weeks, I am hoping to switch up my schedule a bit and come home mid-morning for a bit and then for late lunch.  This will tack 30 t0 45 minutes onto my day, but Wes gets off an hour before me, so we've got it covered.  FYI - dog walkers are expensive.

And THEN there's the fact that we're going to New Orleans this weekend for our first anniversary.  The trip has been planned for ages.  I am trying to get someone to house sit and be present with Macy, Callie, and the fishes.  Shouldn't be hard because I am paying nicely if I can find someone I trust.

Macy has been quite funny today...she LOVES to play and will be an athletic dog.  I bought a book about the breed and am feeling quite enlightened about cocker spaniels - to be specific, she's an American Cocker Spaniel.  She is a chewer right now, but really only her toys, thank goodness!  She has good textured teething toys and she chomps them.  She also loves Milk Bones for puppies.  

She gives lots of love...

She loves to eat and cleans her bowl every time.  I had to get the rubber-bottomed bowl so she wouldn't push it everywhere.  She still likes to move the whole mat, bowl and all.

This was originally meant for Callie, but she won't sleep on it...but Macy instinctively knew it was a bed for her.  It was weird...she literally found it, dragged it out, and laid on it.  And I told you she likes her fries.

"I am cute and I know it."

She is actually asleep like this, yes.

Macy wants to go to EMT school, too.

But then we annoy her and she just wants to sleep.

...and on that note, goodnight!

Day 2 with Miss Macy

She still hasn't barked once.  She *almost* peed inside, but I got her out so we've had NO accidents so far.

******

Literally, as I typed that, she decided to pee - ha!  We caught it.  She will learn quickly...she is so smart!

At only 2 months and 1 week old, she is smart enough to create her own ramp to get on top of the ottoman, using a laptop desk - ha!

Wes stayed home with her today while I did shopping for things we needed.  I've had a fever since the middle of last night - at moments, it feels like flu...sore throat, achy body, chills.  When it breaks, I feel almost normal with a little sore throat, but then it comes back.  Not sure what's up.

Macy's schedule so far consists of:
6:30 AM - want to wake up, parents don't want to
7:00 AM - parents get up and feed me, I gobble my food, and because I am clumsy, I eat part of it off the floor (so mom bought a mat for my bowl)
7:14 AM - potty
9:00 AM - I am taken out for another potty, but I will have to stop this
Play and run around like crazy, drag my toys to various places...(these are my french fries!)

...plop down and sleep for 2 hours

Noon - mom comes home to say hi and let me out.
Play some more, drag mom's rug across the room
...sleep some more

4:30 PM - dad comes home to let me out
5:15 PM - mom comes home, I cuddle her or dad or both
6:00 PM - eat dinner, nom nom
6:15 PM - back outside for potty
Play even MORE, run around in circles like I'm nuts
Want to nap, but parents keep me awake
9:30 PM - outside AGAIN
10:00 PM - bed in my crate in the parents' room





 

We have a baby....

....Macy Leigh Sheard!  

She is a champion bloodline sable cocker spaniel.  Wes had a cocker spaniel as a child and has wanted one desperately ever since.  We've never met one we quite liked.  On a routine shopping trip (to Macy's, I needed a new wallet) we stopped by a pet shop to look around.  One of the shop workers accidentally bumped Wes, and when he turned around, I think Wes heard angels singing - he was immediately in love.  She was freshly bathed and just wanted to cuddle.  We had planned to wait until he starts working in a station in February, but I guess it was fate.  Every time someone asks if he wants to hold a puppy, he says no, but with this one, he immediately said "yes."  

We came home with her, and I've never seen a puppy so happy to be in a home.  She is prancing around, chewing her new toys and carrying them around, and already had her first poop OUTSIDE!  

We hope everyone will love her as much as we already do.  Her favorite toy is already her squeaky french fries and my toes. 

P.S. I still got my wallet!