The Chill of Winter

Old man winter isn't being very kind to us at the moment. We're hitting lows with windchill close to -40 degrees. In fact standing next to the patio door is chilly enough.

The kids had today off and we found out around 9PM tonight via WGNRadio that they'll also have tomorrow off. In addition to that, Monday is a day off. And Tuesday is a half day. I'm not sure if I should start ripping my hair out now, or if I should wait until we get a little closer to the end of the weekend.

Even the dogs were refusing to use the outdoor facilities and I spent most of my day cleaning up piles of puppy piddle from both. Neither could even keep their paws on the ground long enough to walk.

{In fact, Duke, peed all over the leather couch today. And I mean full stream all over the leather couch. Which really isn't his style.}

The kids appeared to have had a good day though. They spent about an hour battling each other on Super Smash Bros. for the Wii. Caleb was not impressed whenever Lorelei would miraculously win a match. They spent a good amount of time playing quite quietly in their rooms. Which is astounding considering how messy those rooms are! And, of course, they spent a good deal of time just being rambuctious little kids.

On his way home tonight, George was gracious enough to pick up a few new movies for tomorrow so I'd have something new to shove at the children when they got bored. He also got them some popcorn and a fresh gallon of milk with two boxes of Lucky Charms.

I'm really wishing I hadn't thrown out all our Play-Doh when we moved. I bet the kids could have wasted at least a good hour making all sorts of weird little figures for the dogs to eat after they got dropped on the floor. Darn it!

Here's to hoping this cold spell lifts. I for one, would really like to be able to go and get some grocery shopping done!

Puppy Playtime

Snow Day!

We got our wish and school was closed today. We actually got more ice than snow, so I'm sure the roads just weren't good enough to haul all the kids in. We had another warning out too apparently, but it's been canceled now.

The kids are enjoying the fact that they get an extra day off, but I'm wondering now what we'll do for the next two weeks? I've got to come up with something to keep them from driving each other, and me, absolutely crazy.
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So, it's time for a puppy update.

Max is assimilating well. He and Duke are still working things out which can be funny and annoying all at the same time. I believe for the most part Max is willing to give Duke all leadership roles, but he still occasionally gets feisty and fired up.

We've had some accidents in the house. The only plausible explanation we can come up with is that Max finally started eating regularly (as he adjusted to his new environment he didn't eat much) and so his former ability to go 4 or 5 hours inbetween potty breaks just isn't cutting it now. He does tend to go and sit by the door if he has to go, so we just have to make sure we are diligent in watching for his signs.

He's figured out how to jump on and off the couch now. He's also figured out the evil stairs. He has not figured out, or gotten brave enough, to jump off our bed yet. It's pretty high and intimidating for a puppy. He's not having accidents overnight while sleeping with us, so that's also very good cause I don't think anyone wants to wake up to puppy poo or pee in the middle of the night.

Puppy: Day Two

Max is still sweet and scrumptious and all that you could want in a lap dog. He'll cuddle up next to anyone sitting. He and Caleb had some major cuddle time after school.

Last night, I let him sleep in bed with me. Not a single accident. Much like having a newborn though, he was up a couple of times licking my face or nibbling at my ear to get attention. I'm almost certain I mumbled incoherently, "Lay down Max.", about a hundred times. As soon as my alarm went off this morning he was at it again.

Duke has decided to get a bit feisty. He's been attempting to hide "his" bones in the tree skirt and in the crevices of the couch. Neither are excellent hiding spaces, but of course, Duke is new at hiding his possessions. Before we brought this new thing into our house he could leave his toys where he wanted. Darn rents!

We still haven't had a single potty accident. Leash walking is getting better. And he's starting to recognize a bit that he, is in fact, Max.
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The kids are getting very excited about having a nice long Christmas break. Friday is their last day at school until about January 5th! Hard to believe. It always seemed Christmas break was so much shorter when I was a kid.

We bought them each a small desk today at Ikea. The price was right! We chose not to install the keyboard tray simply because they don't have keyboards and we wanted the design to be as simple as possible. Caleb tried his out tonight while doing homework. After George put Lorelei's together (not inside-out as I did to Caleb's) she sat down and did some coloring while Caleb finished up his shower. Oh, and we got chairs that are either very similar, or the same, as this one here. Thankfully -- those were already together when we bought them.
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That's it for tonight. I'm either off to wrap some more Christmas presents, clean the kitchen, or sit on my butt and watch George play Call of Duty. If he was feeling better I'd challenge him a round or two of bowling. But, headache, so no go.

Introducing Count Maximilian

Just like we did with Duke, whose full name is The Duke of Earl, we've given our newest little boy a special name too. His full name will be Count Maximilian, but we'll call him Max for short. He was born on 8-23-08, so he's about 4 months old. The oldest of the dogs available. We got him from the same place where we originally got Duke almost 5 years ago. He's a Schnoodle. A cross between a Schnauzer and a Poodle. As you can tell, the kids are already in love with our little addition.

He and Duke have been getting to know each other for about an hour now and it's gone really well. They've been chasing and sniffing each other without any sort of territory issues at this point.

Since we had planned on adopting a girl pup to even out the boy-girl ratio, we had no name pre-chosen. While waiting for Max to finish his bath I threw the name out at George and he originally turned it down. Upon further reflection during our drive home, we decided we couldn't think of anything else more fitting and so Max it is.

We're looking forward to many happy years and memories with both of our furry boys!

Puppy? Who Has the Puppy?

Well, it's not us yet. But, well, we're going to go and take a peek at some adorable pups today. Not sure what Duke will think of any addition that we bring home, but we're certainly hoping it's a positive one. Stand by for potential pictures.

The kids are excited. They want to name the new pup either Steve or Tramp. ;) We're still debating.

It's All About Duke

Lorelei's depiction of Duke using crayon.

Caleb's depiction of him and Duke at the park using #2 lead pencil.