Puppy post

Okay.. I know dogs have belly buttons because they have an umbilical cord when they are born.. but I've never really examined one up close. Here is Sampson's belly button.. it's kinda cute.  Eli keeps calling the dog a girl so I had to show him this picture to convince him that the dog is a boy. He knows boys have weenies and girls don't, because I hear that conversation several times a week. I think he's convinced now. Sampson is settling in nicely. He is still having a few accidents and likes to bite ankles.

The belly button

Sampson and Si (Si is my mom's pup- they are brothers)

Sampson after he stole Olivia's bunny

Eli and his new playmate

He likes tractors too

Isaac and the pups

Sweet little Sampson

Even crazier!

We got a pup. Yea. Like I don't have enough poop to clean up. We had been thinking it over for sometime and I told Josh I would feel more comfortable up here in the wilderness with a dog to watch out for us. We have coyotes, foxes and other wild life that I wouldn't want to eat my babies and I told him a nice big outside dog would be a great addition to help watch over Eli.

I wanted a Golden Retriever because that's the breed I've grown up with. My Aunt Jane brought my sister and I each a Golden when we were 2 and 3 years old for Christmas. I remember going into our Rec room and there were two puppies with big red bows on their necks. They are such sweet, smart, and child friendly dogs.

Isaac named him Sampson and life was good until we went to bed that night. The poor baby cried, and whimpered and barked.. I suppose he was missing his mama and siblings. Josh got up with him 3 times and I got up 2 times...Olivia was up at 3 am in the midst of that and then at 5:30 am I threw up.  That morning Josh took Isaac to school and headed to work. Well, that was about the time the pup decided to take a crap in the floor. I snatched up Olivia so she wouldn't get in the mess and then took the pup outside to finish his business. Then another wave hit me and I preceded to throw up again off my front porch, with Olivia in one arm hanging upside down and trying to watch the pup to make sure he didn't run off. Did I mention it was blowing snow? I called Josh and told him he was going to have to come back home and help me. It was the stomach flu.. I had a high fever, body aches, chills, and threw up until around 9pm. Not the way you want to lose 5 lbs.

Sampson is starting to settle in but we have a ways to go.  We've been working on potty training and he's starting to whine at the door when he wants to go out.  I tried to mop today and I was semi-successful. Usually mopping is a chore anyway because Eli wants to 'help' me and Olivia wants to be on my hip. Today I added a pup that tried to bite the mop every time I swished it on the floor. Perhaps that chore will now be done during nap time. I don't know how my 'twin' friend mamas do it.

Yup I'm crazy!

I don't like birds but for some earthly reason I've bought 3 baby chicks. Eli is in love with all 3, especially the white one. I'm going to brood them in the garage and then Josh is going to build us a hen house so we will have nice fresh eggs when they get older. Luckily my sis is a chick pro so maybe she will give me pointers. She wants me to name them after the Downton Abby girls: Lady Mary, Edith, and Sybil. Josh isn't all for that since Edith is his grandma's name. I mean who wouldn't like a chick named after them.

I'm not sure how I'm going to be a chicken farmer when I can't get up the nerve to hold them. I mean my newly turned 3 year old can pick them up like a champ and isn't at all scared, but his mama jumps and squeals when they flap their wings. Their feet freak me out too... Eeek! I guess we will see how this goes!