I think I’ll start every blog, “wait, why did we want a puppy?”
Scene: It’s pouring down rain outside. Duncan is sleeping like an angel in his crate (with the door open). Leah is with me on the bed reading books. I spot the vacuum. I spot our dirty, dirty, bedroom floor. I decide to go for it. Oh my goodness, I’m going to get a room clean. With Leah’s help, I turn on the vacuum. Duncan shoots out of his crate at about 60mph. I laugh and continue vacuuming. I try to keep one eye on Leah giving him toys and one eye on him not leaving the bedroom. I’m almost done. I’m rejoicing on the inside. Duncan leaves the room. He’ll be fine, 30 more seconds. Leah is by my leg. I glance out the door. Duncan start squatting. No, no, no, nooooo Duncan! My foot fumbles all around the power lever on the vacuum, but never finds it. It drops to the floor. Leah starts crying at my franticness and yelling towards her brother. I ignore her, and run to him. Outside, outside, outside, outside, no, Duncan, no as I’m running down the hall. I rip open the door. Potty, potty, potty, outside, outside I remind the furball in my hands. I hear Leah still screaming from the bedroom, but I know she’s fine. I’m off the porch and my nice, white socks meet the wet, muddy grass. I throw Duncan down. Go potty. I glance back in through the wide open door and see Leah, arms outstretched from the hallway as if she’s no longer able to walk. I meet her half way at the porch, scoop her up and return to the wet, muddy yard, and at this point, the wet, muddy dog. Potty, potty, potty, outside, outside, outside. About this time a car passes and sees all three of us standing in the yard looking at each other, like we have all the time in the world and it isn’t raining. He probably also sees all the way down the hallway into our house as the door is still wide open. I can hear the vacuum still running. Finally, he goes. And there is much celebration, although I’m not sure why. He did everything wrong. He did not stay in his crate. He did not let me vacuum. He did not tell me he needed to go outside. He almost peed on the carpet. I scoop the wet, little thing up in one arm and the not screaming, but still unnerved baby in the other arm and in we go. My socks waited on the porch.
How did things start out so very right, but end so very wrong?
That story sums up my life. And the day to day life of the Proebstings. Kyle misses most of the action; although, I’m certain there is a “take your daughter and puppy to work day” coming up very soon. I think it’s fair to assume Duncan is comfortable in his new surroundings. The first couple days he slept and slept and slept. We joked around that we had gotten a dud. But Monday night, just in time for Kyle to go to work the next morning, he came out of his shell. And has been a terror ever since.
Ok, maybe not a terror. Maybe just a puppy. But still, why did we want a puppy?? And we wanted a lab puppy. Those aren’t just any old dog. We actually wanted this energy! You know the people with the fake dogs that they dress up and put in purses. Those people had the right idea. We should have invested in one of those.
Puppies are harder than babies, I am officially convinced of that! And add a baby and a puppy and you just get utter chaos. I am constantly yelling at someone for chewing something. I am constantly telling someone no. Most often these days, though, it’s Duncan. He makes Leah look like an angel. Obviously, puppies chew, but my God, I underestimated the chewing. I mean it’s everything. And constantly. Then there’s the potty training, which despite the above story, it actually going really well. But it’s still going… and will still go for quite some time. Which means I constantly have to know where he is and what he’s sniffing. Just chewing and potty training is enough to suck up my energy for the day. But then I have to find some to satisfy Leah’s needs of being read to, sang to, fed, changed, played with, etc. It hasn’t even been a week, but I already feel like I know exactly what having two kids will be like. Although, really, I have two kids right now.
The only thing saving Duncan from a nice farm in the country is that Leah loves him. Loves him. This morning she woke up and the first thing out of her mouth was Dut Dut. Her version of his name. She hunts him down if she ever can’t find him, and tries to play with him while he sleeps. She always has to know where he is and what he’s doing. The other night they were running through the house and she was just giggling! And that’s when I remember… that’s why we got a puppy. They’re a lot of work, especially together, but they are both better off for having each other. She also loves yelling at him. Shaking her finger and all. For a while I only speculated that she was trying to say his name, but yesterday I heard her yell DUT DUT while looking right at him chewing her book. Then we had another episode where everyone was ushered outside in chaos, and the cuteness was over.
Sometimes, when they’re both sleeping, and I get to sit – I pretend they aren’t in the house. I pretend I’m not in the house. I try to remember back at college when all I had to do was go to class and wait for Kyle to get out of baseball practice so we could finish out the day together. There were no potty breaks, no bedtimes, no food, snot, or drool stains on my shirts. I pretend I’m freshly showered and make-up’d. I pretend I’m back at college dreaming about the days when we would have kids and dogs together.
And then someone wakes up. They always do. And I get to continue the reality of having kids and dogs together. Let me just say, the dreams were a lot cleaner. But the reality is more fun. Most of the time. Absolutely, exhausting. But it keeps me entertained.
Have you seen Marley and Me? If you have, and it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, and you are ever wondering what we’re up to. We’re up to that. All of that
Chronicling Life 