Remind Me Later...

... in life, that I am TOO OLD to get another puppy!! This one is wearing me slap out!! Don't get me wrong. I love this little guy, but I feel absolutely exhausted! I love dogs and I love puppies, but I am going to have to remember how hard house-training a puppy is! I figure, by the time I am going to want another one, my girls will be (hopefully) out on their own and THEY can get a puppy and I can come play with it without the daily and nightly "duties".

When Chester is sleeping, I feel like I can't do anything because I might "wake" him or I might get too busy and forget about him. I also keep a close watch on him so that I KNOW when he wakes up and I can scoot him outside to go potty.

When he is awake, my total attention has to be on him. I am watching to make sure he is isn't pottying on the floor or chewing on something he isn't supposed to.

As soon as he wakes up, I have to scoot him outside and watch him to make sure he GOES, so I can bring him back inside. If I leave him outside, then... I am constantly watching out the window to make sure he isn't chewing my plants or falling into the pool!

Yes. My girls and hubby are helping -- THANK GOD!! But, being the "Mama", I guess it makes me feel even more responsible.

He's still not sleeping thru the night. We keep him up as late as we can, and then put him in his crate. But.... he is still waking up anywhere between 1am & 5am!! Sometimes more than once!!

I feel like I have a toddler and a newborn baby in my house... at the same time!! Memories of my girls being little are flooding into my mind! It was fun, but it was hard work! I keep having to remind myself that Chester is only 8 weeks old! He is just a baby, but I sure am ready for him to GROW UP!!

I Want My Routine Back!

I have been lost in "Puppyland" for the past week and a half!

WOW! I had forgotten how much time a puppy consumes of your life! Even when they are sleeping, you are constantly "on watch" to make sure you SEE when they wake up, so that you can scoot them outside (quickly) to pee! Then, when they are awake... you are watching them like a hawk to make sure that theyaren't doing "puppy-like" things, such as chewing on your grandma's antique table or going potty on your expensive handwoven rug!

My time has not been my own during this time and my daily routine has gone out the window! If you know me well, you know that I do not do well when things are not going as I planned them! (That's that "control" part of me! Ha!) But.... I am slowly trying to find a "new" routine, and a new way of doing things.

My old routine consisted of me having quiet time with God each morning. God and I have a date each morning and we have coffee together. (Well, I'm not sure if HE's drinking coffee... but I am!) Since Chester arrived to our family, my time with God has been few and far between. (I'm sorry God! I really am!) Now, I read my devotions and say my prayers whenever I can find the time.

My old routine consisted of me working out on my Wii Fit Plus at least 30 mins a day. I haven't worked out on my Wii since we got Chester!! When he's sleeping, I am either afraid that I will wake him up, or I will be right in the middle of my exercises and he'll wake up and need to go out. (If you have a Wii Fit, then you know that stopping in the middle of a workout, isn't good.) I am proud to say that I am still getting in 10 miles of riding each week on my bike!

Another thing that I haven't done much of since we got the new puppy, is BLOG! In fact... this is the longest blog that I have written since we got Chester!! (He's sleeping at the moment. Shhhhh!!!) I haven't even had time to READ the blogs that I follow! UGH!

I also have a baby gift that I have been working on making for weeks now, and can't seem to find the time to finish it!! The baby is about to be born, too! Guess, it will be a late baby gift!

There are other things that are not getting done because my routine is so MESSED UP, but these are the things that are the top of the list.

GOTTA' GO!! ~~ Puppy is awake!!

Puppy Dreams

Back on 4/20/10, I blogged about "Dog Deams" and how fun it is to watch dogs dream. Well.... I didn't realize how REALLY FUNNY it is to watch puppies dream!! Oh my gosh!! They dream like crazy!!! You can tell that they are running and jumping, and even "drinking" (I could have used a different word, but chose not to.) from their mommy. Chester has even been barking and yelping in his sleep! Too funny!!

I find it amazing that puppies as young as 6 weeks old, can dream! They are just babies!! 

Here's a picture of Chester as he takes his first nap in our "beautiful" yard. (Remember my post about that INSTANT YARD that I want?.... Well, now you can see why I want one! This is what my grass looks like! Blech!!)

It's a BOY!!

I'd like to introduce to you the newest member of my family....

CHESTER!

He is named after the Golden Retriever in the movie... "Disney's THE KID". He is 6 weeks old... and boy is he keeping us busy!! I had forgotten what life was like with a puppy in the house! WHEW!! I am so grateful to Dtr.'s #1 & 2 AND Hubby for sharing in the responsibility of caring for him. Everyone is taking turns so nicely! The girls have even taken turns with "night duty". YAY!! (I didn't even have to ask!!)

Jackson, my almost 7 & 1/2 year old Golden is not too sure about Chester. He seems really annoyed that the "new" dog has invaded HIS territory! I can't blame him tho. I think I'd be pretty annoyed if Hubby brought home a "new" wife (unannounced!), paid more attention to her, and also expected ME to get along with her! Yep. I'd be "growling" and "barking", too!!

We are trying the "Crate Training" method. So far, it is going very well! YAY! Chester even crawled into his crate to take a nap once! The big thing will be getting him to sleep thru the night. He has been waking up every two hours (or so), so far. I need to "read up" on my puppy training and refresh my memory!