Nights with Wilson

We have now had two nights with Wilson and I'm beginning to feel that I have that lack-of-sleep, new-mother syndrome. He did better last night than the night before and hopefully tonight will be better and I am praying that soon, very soon, he will be sleeping through the night. 

The crying is so hard to listen to and not respond. I know if I run over and get him out of his kennel when he cries, it will only encourage this behavior, so I must ignore every instinct in my body to sooth a crying puppy, this isn't easy for me. The hardest part is when he buries his face in his teddy bear and cries this mournful muffled cry. It breaks my heart into a million pieces. All of this exhaustion is bonding us, I'm sure. The nights out in the cold going potty, the naps on the couch, feeding time, potty again, learning to chew only his toys, teaching him manners already, all of it is, in the end, going to make us fast friends. 

I was cautious at first about letting myself fall in love with a new puppy because loosing Buddy was so heart breaking. Well all of that has flown out the window and I'm head over heals now. It has only been two days and it is hard for us to be apart for long at all. The best part is, I GET to be with him most of the time. I don't have to run off to some desk job and leave him alone. When I go to work, he can come along. How great is that kind of life?? I am a truly blessed person. 

He's Here

Mom and I made the long journey to Little Rock yesterday to pick up my new BABY!!! Yes, he is finally here, he is in my house, in my life. It is so exciting and nerve wracking and blissful. He is a good baby. So smart,  I can tell already. He is catching on so quickly to everything and I haven't even had him for 24 hours. 

Bless his little heart, look at him snoozin away with Taylor

Ahhh, puppy hugs. 

I can see how handsome he will be. 

...and what a friend he will be to us all

More later, we're off to the vet for his first set of shots.

Halloween

Compared to the way my mom did Halloween, I am such a LOOSER!! I so remember caramel apples, homemade costumes, and neighborhood parties. When my kids were little, we would go to the wal-marts pick out a costume (some of which did double duty as pajamas until they were too little to wear) and do the trick-or-treat thing. Nothing was spectacular, nothing of any notable memory I'm sure. 

Rodney and I had to go to Mena today to run some errands and every place we went in, DMV, court house, bank, tire store, restaurant, all of them had big bowls of candy in plain view, free for the taking. It really became pretty fun hopping from one errand to the next, wondering if the next stop would have "good" candy that we could munch on, or just put in my purse till later. All of this "trick-or-treating" got me all mushy and sentimental inside for fun Halloween traditions. I really really wanted to carve a pumpkin with my kids but I forgot that Taylor had to be at a party and that Kyle detests pumpkins (ever since an encounter with a rotten one). Long story short, I resolved myself to do the carving with or without the kids. And, I did. 

It was fun, but nothing is quite as fun as it is when I get to share it with my kids. I so loved the lighting of the candles and the wonderful glow that it created. 

We didn't go trick-or-treating either!! But, I did promise Kyle that we could hit Wal-mart tomorrow and buy some of that day-after-halloween bargain candy, that will be fun too!!

Morning Feeding

I have a wonderful morning ritual. It helps for my attention deficit brain to have some structure so most mornings for me are pretty well ordered. Tuesday through Friday, Kyle and I leave the house about 6:15 so he can be at cheer practice at 6:30. When I get back, I wake up Taylor and let Sophie and Charlotte out to potty. Then I get to have my cup of coffee, this is one of my favorite things about the morning. Rodney makes the best coffee ever. 

Then, I get to go do this!!!.......

Feeding goats is one of those chores that I look forward too. This is Mo. He is our buck and is such a cutie pie, or was until his hormones kicked in a couple of weeks ago. There are things going on out there in that goat pen that I can't quite describe. 
And then there is Rain. Yes, I have a goat named Rain, not because I'm a hippy or that I make my clothes out of wheat or some such sillyness, she came to me with this name which was bestowed upon her because she was BORN in the rain. Now don't you love her even more??
Salty, my "big" doe has to eat by herself because she lacks proper goat etiquette when it comes to eating. She isn't very pretty to look at, one of her previous owners let her gorge herself and her tummy is quite misshapen. I love her anyway. She is just one of those people that it is hard not to love, even if she looks funny. 
I love the feeling I get when I get to provide sustenance to the animals. Be it birds, cows, dogs, fish, or...
Well, hello kitty!! Are you hungry too?? Everybody is hungry in the morning. 
Or do you just need some lovin?? I like to provide this service too. Mmmmm, that morning sun feels so glorious doesn't it? 

Charlotte and I

I guess everybody knows that Charlotte is the cutest doggy ever. It isn't just her big donkey ears, or her precious little pleading eyes, her pearly white "dentures" or even that every licking tongue. Her cuteness lies in her demeanor, her sweet personality, the way she sits beside me or on me and cuddles. It is in the way she sits for crying out loud, on her tooshy with both back feet in front (which by the way I need to take a picture of and post). The way she won't jump on the four-wheeler but waits for me to lift her, (she waits for me to lift her a lot). Bless her little puppy soul, I do think I could cry from her darling precious cuteness. She is my friend and friends are hard to come by. Thanks Charlotte. 

Rodney and I went to Texarkana a few days ago and I talked him into taking me to the pet store. I really wanted to look at rabbits and had planned on probably bringing one back to the farm, but I was really disappointed in their selection. Not that all bunnies aren't the cutest things but they only had long haired ones and I could for-see many hours of brushing out matted hair on a wiggly little critter, not something I really have time for. So, we just looked around a bit, there were the cutest little critters in there, including ferrets (which are so adorable but super stinky), guinea pigs (who make the funniest sounds I've heard from a critter) and even a hedgehog, (who I so wanted to pet but they were quite shy and protested my hand in their pen quite aggressively). SOOO, there were a stack of all these beautiful beta fish in tiny little plastic jars and I decided that I would give one of them a home on the range. 

I've named him Hamlet. He is quite the Shakespearian character, don't you think? I only put the plant in his bowl yesterday and am hoping that it will grow bigger roots for Hamlet to hide in. He seems to have perked up since I gave him forage and sanctuary. Now, I just need to find some rocks to put in the bottom...hmmm where will I find rocks?? Hamlet isn't a real cuddly, furry pet, but I've placed him on my desk near my computer and have found myself watching him casually meander about his little bowl and feeling all my worries and stresses melting away. It hasn't taken a lot of adjusting to get used to him being around and his food bill is minimal. Next week we will be introducing a new member to the family that is sure to turn our world upside down and I CAN'T WAIT!!! 

Cold Morning

One of the best things about a cold morning are thick wool socks and a fire to toast your feet by. This morning I woke to an outside temperature reading of 34, which we call "fricken freezing" around my house. It will only get colder from here on out, with a few spurts of warm weather here and there. I bought this heater a few weeks ago, got it hooked up last week and could not wait for it to get cold enough for me to turn it on. The only thing missing was a bowl of chicken soup, which I have been known to eat for breakfast.

One thing about me is that I normally am a barefoot person. I feel like shoes smother my poor feet. I keep boots by the door that can easily slip off as soon as I come in the house. However, I do LOVE socks!!! When the weather gets cold enough, I dig out my warm wooly socks, slip them on my feet, and warmth radiates through my entire body. I've been asking for years for some darn flannel sheets but still haven't gotten any. I can just imagine that this would be like crawling inside a big sock, how much more cozy could you get?? 

So, I am going to go out into the cold sporting my beautiful old wool socks, probably have to break out the ol' chap-stick, and maybe I'll have enough time this evening to make a big pot of chili or soup, then tomorrow morning, I can have it for breakfast.