A little help from my friends...

Well we went to the vet today and it was a totally stressful thing. The appointment was at 5:00 PM but I just couldn't wait and went at 4:20 PM. We had Jenny and the boys and between my dog and my kids it seems more like my kids had the behavior issues. The vet assured me that with a little work the aggression would go away and by the end I began to see a faint glimmer of hope. Though I am so tired it's hard to keep a hold of that. So all I can say is that I am going to try.

"Dan in Real Life"

If you're heading to the movies any time soon you need to go see this movie. It is really good and EVERY review would tell you so. We went last weekend and REALLY enjoyed it - in fact we liked it so much we want to see it again! You can see the trailer from it on the side here - it is EXCELLENT!

Jenny Jenny Jenny

Well, if you've been reading this blog for a while you've probably heard of our dog Jenny. We are so divided in our feelings toward Jenny and I'm about to tell you a little bit of why. That was poor grammar but oh well. We got Jenny when she was a year and a half old. She was found as a puppy wandering the streets and given to any organization that provides foster homes for dogs until they find a permanent home. We were not the first family to give her a try. She had gone to two separate owners and had been brought back for reasons unknown to me. We got Jenny last summer so we have now had her just over a year.
Dog ownership is a confusing thing with some friends telling you that you should cherish your dog as a child while others encourage you to get rid of that thing as quickly as you can. And there are all of these things you are supposed to do to help your dog be a good dog - socialization in the first 16 weeks at the top of that list. Well, Jenny didn't get socialized in ANY good way. As far as I can tell she had a pretty rough life for the first few months. Which according to some dog sites - is everything. So Jenny is a "sweet" dog to us. She is not real friendly but she does lick us all the time - which I have just read isn't her being friendly - it's her showing her submissiveness. Usually that would be a good thing but Jenny is a scared dog. She is almost always sulking around with her tail between her legs - going from person to person licking them. She is rarely fun - in fact the longer we've had her the less fun she is...she just wants to retreat and be alone a lot of the time. And now when it comes to walks - she is a pain. If we meet or see no one then it's okay - but if we see another human being or dog - randomly Jenny goes nuts - like I want to kill you nuts. And I guess that has to do with her fear. She is terrified that they are all out to get her. The other day Andrew accidentally let her out and she ran out to an old woman who was walking past the house and starting into her - with raised hair, teeth bared, ready to kill. The woman was defending herself with an umbrella! How shameful you feel when you have to rescue other people from your totally terrifying dog! But then people come over and she is totally fine...what gives? I guess she feels safe in our home. She is chasing and barking at people more and more and we are getting worried that someone is going to get hurt. Tonight we decided to go for a walk through a lovely park but wouldn't you know it that a bunch of friendly dogs ran up to meet jenny - who was on a leash - and she went nuts and started a dog fight! Oh boy, the joys of dog ownership. We look with such envy at people with dogs that run around happily, tongues wagging, glad to meet anyone they come across.
So now here we are - I guess we could keep her under lock and key and make sure there is NO WAY she can get out - difficult with young kids - we could muzzle her for walks - and pay a bunch of money to a dog behaviorist. But why? Why put her through that as well as us? Part of me thinks Jenny is just an aggressive dog with ghosts creating such intense fear that she is past help. At least from us. You can't just give one of these dogs away to someone else and let it get EVEN worse. I always thought owning a problem dog would be less complicated than this...but maybe it never is. But more and more we are thinking the risk of keeping Jenny here on earth is not worth it. She'll be happier there and then we are sure that no one will ever get harmed by her.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I am not saying we'll take your advice but I just wanted to write it all down and think about it...

Family of Five

Every once in a while - like today - I get a comment from this person...but I have no idea who you are...identify yourself please!

FAMILY OF FIVE WHO ARE YOU?

new big news...

Well, if you hadn't heard yet we are expecting once again. We found out just a couple days before our due date(September 18th) for the miscarried baby. I am really glad we had that to be happy about that day. Our new due date is May 15th, 2008. That makes me just about 11 weeks now. I have been sick but not as bad as I have been in the past. But that also means I'm nice and chubby. Our last appointment we got to have an ultrasound and see the little bean moving around - turning it's head from side to side and wiggling it's arms and legs. It had a good strong heart beat - 164...I'll keep my eye on that to see if it doesn't go down...meaning a boy perhaps. Did the heart rate predict the sex of your child? And of course I'll post when we have the real ultrasound!

We're happy and excited!!!

cookies and milk

Andrew and I took a break from our day and spent some time with paul newman's version of oreos...

Have you seen this chick?

This hen has been missing all day - the others were hiding like they were scared and so I am led to believe they watched their fellow hen meet her end....but I am still hoping to find her pecking around somewhere...we'll see.

**UPDATE** Today at 2:30 in the afternoon I was looking out the back window when I realized an eagle was sitting on top of my favorite hen and killing her. I ran outside and tried to get the dog to get her but she flew away with Krystal. I was sooo sad that I sobbed! So the two hens that are left are back inside the house this afternoon until Mike can come home and put the top part of the door on. From now on the chickens will be staying in their hen house. So sad. I now know where her sister hen went yesterday.

Sweet spirit

Me to Andrew: "Am I a pretty mommy?"

Andrew: "Nooo....."

Me: "Am I an ugly mommy?"

Andrew: "Nooo...."

Me: "Am I a cute mommy?"

Andrew: *pause* "You're a nice mommy!"


I guess that's what I get for fishing for compliments from a toddler.

The hens have left the building...

So we got to week 5 and the gals were ready to go out - thankfully - those are some smelly little birds! So we made some rough plans, bought the materials, and made a little coup. We also were able to get a dog house from Anna (thanks!) which we put up on stilts so they can feel safer up off the ground.This is what they were in when we had them inside....Our rough plans...Do we really know what we're doing?Sort of...Good job Mike! I'm so proud.You can see here that the top door is not added yet - so we are always collecting escaped chickens and helping them get back in their new home. At night to keep them safe from raccoons and other predators we put them in the hen house and lock it's little door.