Surviving the Beast we call Abby

I find it interesting that "they" say that you should have a plant before a serious relationship.  I guess it makes sense in theory but I find it difficult to see how watering a plant is an effective measure of one's readiness for a relationship.  Nick and I tested those waters, though, when we got Abby.  We figured if we could handle a little puppy without killing her (or each other), we might be able to handle children one day.  In the two weeks since she's been here, it's become very obvious who the disciplinarian is and who the nurturer is.  For anyone who's ever seen my husband, they would immediately think he's the one handing out the punishments for biting, going to the bathroom on the carpet, and chewing on things that puppies aren't meant to chew on.  But if you think my husband is the one taking care of scolding for those things, you would be wrong. 

I think it's pretty funny that Nick is a big guy but his no is not very forceful and Abby normally looks for a second and continues doing what she was doing in the first place.  And when he scolds her, he immediately feels guilty and starts petting her.

But even with all her chewing and peeing on the carpet, Abby has been a lot of fun.  Every afternoon when I come home, I think she's grown bigger than she was when I left.  And she's starting to learn how to tell us that she needs to go outside.  She's changing so fast; it's amazing to see what she'll do next.  Abby's also been a great lesson for us too...we are definitely not ready for any other small beings running around our house!

Abby

This weekend, Nick and I got our new addition.  She has been in our house a short time and she already runs the show.  My sister, Lindsay, and I went to get her on Saturday afternoon.  Nick had to go work for manditory overtime, so Lindsay very kindly rode to New Salisbury with me to bring her home.

I was nervous as we got to the breeders.  As excited as I was for the day to arrive, it scared me too.  I couldn't help but wonder if owning a dog was something we were really ready for.  But once we got to the breeders' house and I picked up this sweet little puppy and she immediately began licking my face, I instantly fell in love.  She was such a good puppy.  She was lovable and while the other two remaining puppies barked and whined, Abby didn't make a sound.

The first evening went well.  Our friends brought their dog Ellie over for a play date and they wore each other out.  Abby did ok the first night, and whined about every hour then would sleep for awhile.  Nick was home with us on Sunday but on Monday I was on my own.  Abby demanded that we get up 5:30 a.m. when Nick got up for work.  It was a long morning.  If I left the room to try to get something accomplished, Abby would be in to something she wasn't supposed to be into.  And she decided she didn't like to go out into wet grass which makes house-breaking a little tricky. Later on, she decided it was too hot to be outside with me while I worked on flowerbeds.   Needless to say she's a bit of a princess.

By today (Wednesday) my carpets were covered in grass and bits of mulch and puppy food and littered with rawhide sticks and puppy toys.  I came home from work with a headache, really worried that I was going to be greeted by the little golden monster that nearly killed my husband and I yesterday.  It was her first day alone, baby-gated into the bathroom and she was as energetic as she is fluffy.  I was nervous again.  I took one look at my house and my headache started to get worse.  My kitchen needed cleaned and I seriously wondered if I'd ever have clean floors again.  I wondered if we'd done the right thing bringing this little beast into our house.

But when I took her outside she immediately took care of business, and once she had wrestled Nick and gotten rid of some of her energy, we started working on 'sit'.  And she looks up at you with her cute little puppy face and smiles and you just can't be mad at her.  We've had a good day, and now we're thinking we just might be able to handle this puppy thing.... 

Spring Flowers

One of my favorite things about spring is the flowers!  One of my main focuses since Nick and I bought our house has been getting the yard up to my standards...although I'm not sure I'll ever achieve the picture in my head.  But here's a little sample of what we've done so far.

This picture doesn't really do this flower bed justice.  It's a lot more colorful and pretty in person.  The bulbs along the front are just starting to bloom also.

The Magnolia in the back yard is one of my favorites!!  It's pretty windy today though but I wanted to take a picture in case the storms ruin it.

Stay tuned to see what flowers the summer brings...