Toddlers & Puppies

Last Friday night, we picked up our brand new Pomapoo pup from the airport and brought her back to a home filled with love and affection.  It has been less than a week since she has been a part of our family, but I must say that I love her so much already.  It is like we have welcomed a new bundle of joy into the family, and she truly is a part of us.  She has been a good girl for the most part, but she is a puppy.  And puppies poop.  Since she is a 4 pound dog, her bladder and stomach are not terribly big so we are constantly taking her outside to use the potty, and we are quickly running out of paper towels.  Can't say I mind the fresh air, that's for sure.

I also did not expect things to be like this.  I expected to have a little hyper thing running around the house, yes.  I did not expect to be constantly rounding corners watching my every step wondering if I am about to step in someone's accident.  It is like having another baby all over again.  It is not quite as hard, but it definitely is some work.  

Oh, and my son just adores Cinderella (yep, that's her name. We call her Ella for short because my toddler cannot say Cinderella quite yet...).  He will run around the house or outside in the yard while she chases after him, nipping at his ankles.  She truly is a joy to be around, and I welcome the wriggling tail and loving barks when I walk through the door after a long day of work.  I do feel like a hole in my heart has been filled because of her, and it was always my dream to have a dog grow up with my child.  My whole life, I have had pets and really, nothing compares to the love of a pet .... well, I guess except a spouse...or child. Anyways, pets are great.  And puppies are cute.  I was so ecstatic when we paid the balance on her and I was checking my email to find that a flight had been booked for her so quickly.  She had to fly in from Oklahoma, and I do know that poor puppy must have been pretty shaken after being in a tiny little crate for 14 hours, traveling on 3 different airplanes, and not knowing what was going on.  But she has adapted well, and she seems to feel a lot more comfortable nowadays...must be the marking of territory..

I have been so much conscious about what is laying on the floor, if my son is throwing goldfish at her, if there are any puddles or piles in hallways, and I definitely am watching where I step.  

I just love her. 

I am sure you see why :)

Poop in the Shower, Snotty Kisses, & Other Disgusting and Annoying Things That My Kid Does

I find myself sometimes asking, "Is this really my life right now?!" One of those moments happened tonight as I was getting ready for a shower with my toddler. You may think it's weird, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get a shower in. For the past month or two, I have been bringing my son into the shower to not only save me some time, but to minimize clean-up (toys, puddles of water on the bathroom floor from him splashing in the bath, etc). It started off a bit rocky; he did not enjoy taking showers in the beginning and insisted that I hold him the entire time. I was thinking most of the times about what a horrible idea I had. Anyways, it has gotten a lot better as time has gone on. He actually loves taking showers now and occupies himself while I am busy shampooing and conditioning.

Tonight was...interesting. As I was readying the shower and waiting for the water to warm up, I started to strip him and next thing I know, this kid is pooping! As I frantically grabbed toilet paper to try and clean him up, he grabbed a bucket, filled it with the running water, and then dumped it all over himself and the floor. There goes that whole trying to minimize clean-up... After I wiped him off and used my own towel to soak up the water on the floor, I brought him in the shower and tried to clean the rest of him off all while he thought it was hilarious to violently flail his arms and legs around.

Speaking of  violence, he has really been using his legs lately to inflict pain on me. Maybe not knowingly, but jeez. I am not enjoying the kicks to my chest while I am trying to read my latest addiction (Hunger Games series, anyone?). Last night, as I was laying in bed reading, my son thought it would be funny to jump all over the bed, land on me, make me lose my place in the book, stick his feet in my face, and hit me on the head. Where is this coming from? I don't think he's learning this from me or my husband. Are they teaching kids at school how to annoy their parents nowadays? Do they teach them to turn the printer on and off repeatedly triggering windows to pop-up on my screen mid-type or to hit the power button on the television JUST as important plot points are unfolding?

Now, I love my son more than anything, and I love his kisses. But would it kill him to learn to wipe his snotty, drool-covered mouth once in a while and especially before he decides to give me a kiss? Ugh. It is disgusting. It still probably is not the worst thing I have encountered. As a baby, he peed on me more than once, pooped right on my lap, threw up all over my husband one night during a bath, and then of course there was all of the spit-up I had to wipe up. Am I sure I want another one? Sometimes, during these particularly disgusting and revolting moments, I think that one is enough. I'm young; I should be doing things that other 21 year olds are doing. However! There's always a but...when I get caught up in the moments where my son falls asleep in my arms or shows me what he has learned at school or just runs to me arms wide wanting a hug, I cannot help but feel sorry for anyone that doesn't have a child already. Those moments truly are the best, and of course it makes me want to have another baby and experience the firsts all over again (first smile, first food, first trip to the _____, and so on).




And then he turns off the computer as I am typing this, so then I forget about wanting another one.