It had been a rough week. The new daycare is going well for the boys once they get there, but the change in the morning routine has proved to be a challenge for Russ. We aren't sure quite when to give the boys their breakfast, and need to occupy them from 6:30 until Russ gets up about 45 minutes later. We've done some trial and error tactics, and seem to be working out the kinks.

The boys really do well with Loida though, and they've already been to the community playground and pool, and Liam has had some practice writing his name.  I am impressed with her teacherly tactics, and I'm hoping they continue.

By Friday morning, we were happy to pile in the van and head North to visit Marcie and Noah. I was a little worried leaving the new dog, Cleo, for the weekend, but trusted the young man from up the street to make sure all the dogs fared well. On the way, we stopped briefly just North of the Bay Bridge to hit a couple outlets. Russ needed a new pair of sneakers, and we couldn't help but swing by the discount book store.

We arrived in Doylestown around 6:00 and picked up Noah and then Marcie at the grocery store. It's been working well, to have Marcie walk to Acme when we're about an hour away, so she can do her big grocery shopping and get a ride home... not to mention the help hauling the groceries up three flights of stairs to her apartment. That night we had some fresh sandwiches for dinner, and enjoyed playing with the boys before going to bed.

On Saturday morning, Russ was perusing the daily paper, and happened to notice a couple of job possibilities for Noah. Marcie had also scouted out a Yard Sale route. Additionally, we wanted to figure out a way to get the laptop computer we'd found back in May at a yard sale up and running with internet and email for Marcie. So, we had a day full of errands planned.

We seem to enjoy getting out and about hitting the yard sales on Saturday. Doylestown seems to always have some good ones, and Marcie and I enjoy poking around other people's junk. Russ and Noah are good navigators, and while we are shopping, they often take the alone time to chat about Father/Son issues. Liam is always on the lookout for any great toys, and Jaxson just enjoys being snuggled in the sling with Mommy. This venture's finds included a new lamp, a great Fisher Price "doll house" that isn't PINK, a Spiderman doll, a cool bracelet, a cell phone case, some good books, and a set of childs' luggage among a few other treasures.

After eating some hot dogs at the flea market - our last Yard Sale stop - we decided to swing by a couple of places that were offering summer jobs. One such place was a little restaurant called the Lobster Claw. They were looking for a busser. Noah went in and filled out an application. He was given a quick interview, and the outlook was positive.

We then went to Comcast in Sellersville, thinking they might be able to assist us in getting some Internet service for Marcie. She's already a comcast customer with digital cable, so I wanted to find out if there would be an easy way to get her online. No such luck. It seemed the staff was pretty much clueless as to what equipment we'd need. On to Best Buy.

At Best Buy, the Geek Squad were very helpful in looking over our Yard Sale Laptop, and giving us the best advice as to what to do to get things set up. She'll be able to get Verizon DSL and use her wireless network card, but the DSL won't be activated until the 21st, and we won't be able to help her get that part of the plan set up. I may need to hire someone to make a home visit to assist her in this, but we'll see.

After our trip to Best Buy, we thought about going to TGI Friday's for "Linner." We weren't starving, so we decided to kill a few minutes by visiting the Constructive Playthings store in Montgomeryville. UHHH... this was my mecca. GREAT toys!! We got Jaxson some birthday presents, and for some odd reason, Russ felt compelled to purchase a very long, very loud horn - like the kind spectators at sporting events might use. I can just say that he, Noah, and Liam enjoyed playing that rudimentary instrument for about 10 minutes before Marcie and I threatened to throw the thing out the window!

Thanks to our friends, Terri and Dave, we had a fantastic meal at TGI Fridays. They had given us a Gift Card for Christmas, so that helped put a big dent in our bill. Russ had some spicy shrimp, Noah and Marcie had some huge burgers, and I had some sort of chicken melt with onions and roasted tomatoes. I also ordered a MoJito, which had Rum and something minty in it. REALLY tasty!

We figured we'd spent enough money for one day so we headed home. On the way, Russ had the great idea to stop at the big playground in a local park. This playground has a HUGE castle amidst sand pits, swings and various kid-friendly equipment. It was a beautiful evening, and we all had a great time watching Liam and Jaxson enjoy the area. It was a great way to work off our meal, however, next time we go, I'm wearing knee pads! The tunnels in the castle aren't meant for leggy Queens!

Once we got back at the apartment, we brought forth the birthday cake for Jaxson. His birthday isn' t for another two weeks, but his Grandmom didn't want to miss out, so we celebrated it a little early. The cake was great, and even Noah got "into" it, if not by choice, but by an evil step mother who couldn't resist an opportunity for mischief. Jaxson LOVED his little firetruck toy that his Grandmom got him too! Then it was time to wind the kids down for bed. I thought it would be a struggle, what with the icing sugar high, but because they spent so much energy at the playground, getting them to sleep was easier than I had thought.

After I got the boys in bed, I gave Marcie a little computer lesson. I couldn't show her the internet yet, so we settled on learning some basic computer skills by playing a good game of Solitaire.

Later that evening, we watched the old movie, "Guess Who's Coming for Dinner." I fell asleep before the ending, but I don't think it was a surprise.

Sunday morning I made a phone call to wish Mom a Happy Birthday. I wanted to wish Dad a Happy Father's Day too, but apparently he was doing some mowing. After breakfast, the younger boys gave their Daddy a pair of Teva sandals the he wanted, and Noah gave him a Gift Card to the local book store. Russ couldn't wait to use his card, so he and Noah went to the book store while I started gathering up things to head back home. We needed to get on the road a little earlier than usual because our petsitter could only visit once that day.

We dropped off Noah around 1:30 and hit the road home. A traffic back up on 95 caused us to head over to NJ to take a different route home. In the end, I don't think it bought us much time. About an hour into the trip, Russ's cell phone rang. It was a very excited Noah, calling to tell us that he'd gotten the job at the Lobster Claw! Woo HOO! Way to go!

Jaxson must have another ear infection. He was VERY fussy on the way home. We stopped a couple of times, and finally, I rummaged through all our stuff to find the infant tylenol that I'd packed in my suitcase. That helped a little. He's got a doctor's appointment today. We've been struggling with his ears for about 3 weeks now, so it is time to figure out what's going on.

Once we arrived home, I was pleased to see that Cleo was a good girl all weekend. Nothing had been chewed up, and no evidence of accidents could be found. She did really well loose with the other dogs in the basement, and I'm glad our petsitter didn't have to deal with any major mishaps.

It was a dog-gone weekend. Well, from reading the last blog entry, you probably know about Heffner, the pug we almost adopted. The owner showed up, so dear Heffner was returned to his rightful owners. However, his visit became the catalyst for us to find another dog. We'd been discussing the possibility ever since we found out that dear Rita has cancer. Knowing that each day we have with her is a bonus now, we began to worry a bit about Ash. Not that Ash is especially devoted to Rita, he gets VERY whiny and upset if he doesn't have some sort of company during the day. Knowing that, we thought it might be a good idea to introduce a canine companion soon. Additionally, I thought it would be nice to adopt a younger dog - but not a puppy - so that it would be playful enough for two young boys. Some breeds we'd been considering included, but weren't limited to: Pug, Greyhound, Boxer, Boston Terrier, Dalmatian, Doberman or any breed with short hair and a sturdy build. Ironically, the bully breeds (Pit, Am Staff, Am Bull, etc) would have been a great fit for our human family, but probably not the best fit in a home with two other dogs.

Friday, the search began... we had viewed a couple of dogs online through petfinder.com. Unfortunately, the rescue dear to our hearts, the Animal Relief Fund, didn't have any dogs that we felt would suit our needs.. or so we thought. So we headed North to the Calvert Humane Society. NICE place! There was one dog, in particular, that we'd considered, so we wanted to meet her. We got to meet Ali the Boxer Mix, and also Tai the Shar Pei. We left liking both of them, but just wanted to see what the day brought forth before making any decisions. Then we went to the Tri-County Shelter. As I expected, they were FULL. So sad. We met a sweet Rottie girl, and going against ALL of our own rules, agreed to adopt her. Now, the shelter works a little differently these days... and in a good way. Since this Rottie (who we wanted to name, Aven) had not been spayed, we could not take her home that day. They had to call the vet of our choice, and set up an appointment to get her spayed. Then, the Shelter's van would take her to the vet for her appointment, and then we'd pick her up from the vet and she'd be ours.

So, we got home and started researching the breed a little more, and making some preparations. I still had this odd feeling in my gut about the whole deal.  I tried not to dote on it too much, and got outside with the boys so they could play on their new Spiderman Slip & Slide!

Later, I was checking our email when I happened to see a "Breed Alert" email message from the Animal Relief Fund. It is something that is automatically set up when you register through their site. They apparently had a Boxer. I tried not to think about it, but when I went to deposit my paycheck in the bank Saturday morning, I went next door to ARF just to see. Ironically, there were THREE boxers available for adoption. I looked over two of the three that were there. I called Russ and left a message. I then forced myself to go get groceries.

Once home, we got the groceries put away, and I talked to Russ about going to see the boxers. We agreed, that if we found a possible match, that we would (regretfully) back out of the adoption of the Rottie at the shelter. I didn't really want to back out, but we were a little too hasty in our decisions about her, and really knew very little about her at all - not even if she'd get along with our dogs! I don't know what we were thinking.

So, we returned to ARF. We brought home Casey, a 6 year old beautiful Boxer. It was a trial period. We also planned to take a look at another younger boxer when we could arrange a meeting with it's foster (also a personal friend). The third boxer, Taylor, was a cute 5 year old, but seemed to have some significant food allergies, that I didn't feel I could monitor adequately with all our other family demands. I called the shelter to tell them we'd decided to back out of the adoption. I didn't know it, but they had left us a message that the dear dog was Heartworm positive. We knew we just couldn't afford to put her through treatment. We'd done that for Razz, the borzoi, many years ago, and though we'd eradicated the heartworms, I think they'd done enough damage to his heart, that he never fully recovered. I just didn't want to go through that again. I don't know what her outcome will be at the shelter. I suppose some good hearted sould might come in and adopt her despite her medical needs. Though I am not naive to the fact that she might never leave the shelter at all. The shelter staff understood completely, and planned to refund our adoption fee.

Casey did really well. She was fine with the boys, and was fine with our dogs. On Sunday, she showed that she loved to play fetch too. So much, that she became a little possessive of her toys around a beagle, named CC, that we were petsitting for a Geocaching friend. This didn't worry us too much, but the fact that she was older, and a little arthritic in her hind legs did.

We met our friend with the younger boxer Sunday morning at ARF again. Normally, the establishment was closed, but she needed to come in to weigh some kittens anyway, so we agreed to meet there. I brought Casey with us. We met Cleo. She's about 7 or 8 months old. I was a little daunted at first, considing adopting such a pup, but I was impressed that she already knew a couple of basic commands. I hated to choose her over Casey, but really did want a younger dog for the boys. So, sadly, I could not adopt them both, and Casey stayed, while Cleo came home with us for good.

I have a hard time remembering her name. She knows it and responds to it, so she'll keep it, but I do think she looks more like a Mable. She's well behaved, and happy-go-lucky. She's not interested in toys right now, but I plan to devote some training time with her every day. Liam can help too. I feel confident in our decision even though it was not an easy one. I hated to be so picky, and my thoughts go out to all those dogs who need homes. My wallet (or home) will never be as big as my heart.

So, with all the doggy business going on throughout the weekend, Russ was very patient. I am thankful for that. I am also very thankful for all the planting he did in the back yard. He put some more juniper and hostas in and they look great. It rained all day on Sunday. We originally had planned to attend the Maryland Geocaching Society's 5th Anniversay picnic, but changed our minds due to the doggy search. Now, because of the rain, we are glad we did. Our afternoon was spent getting to know our new canine family member. I also made a new "sleeping bag" for Liam so that he'll have it for his new daycare which will start NEXT Monday. It's Spiderman. He's Spiderman, you know, and dons his costume every chance I can give him. He doens't really NEED his own sleeping bag, but I'm hoping that making a big production out of it will help him settle in for a good nap at the new place.

I've also started weaning Jaxson. I'm not pumping anymore during the day, and he's drinking regular whole milk. He still likes to nurse at bedtime, in the mornings, and once during the night, so we're still working on that, but it'll come. I hope to have him sleeping through the night by the time we go to WY, but that's a pretty big goal, so we'll see.