Day one for you, day 3 for us

I am new to the blogging world, but I have a pretty good feeling that this will be a new way for me to find balance and start fresh. I am Jacque, and I am fairly certain I am insane. I have been married to an awesomely dorky guy for the past 7 years, and we have moved 4 times within those 7 years. 3 years ago I quit my career to become a SAHM to Grace (6, in Kindergarten) and Andrew (almost 3, in Lala Land). I started off homeschooling my daughter, but we allowed her to be involved in the decision of attending public school or continuing home school when the time for Kindergarten registration came around. So I only home schooled her for 2 years, but we enjoyed every second of it. Andrew is far more interested in bugs, dirt, balls, and trains than sitting still long enough to learn a new word, count, or read a book with me. I have certainly learned to pick my battles with my kids! Sometimes Grace wears rainboots to school when it's dry out, or snow boots to school when the high temperature will be in the 60s. It works, because she still eats her vegetables, cleans her room, and reads a part of a book every night. Andrew loves to clean, but I can't get him to touch anything other than hotdogs, cheddar cheese, and grapes/strawberries/bananas, unless I let him wear his Batman cape....... then I can convince him to eat a few bites of broccoli, carrots, parsnips, corn, or spinach salad. I love both of my kids with all that I am, and I am very thankful for the opportunity I have had to stay at home with them and nurture them these past 3 years.

My husband recently got a job offer that will secure my place at home for a good while longer. I am in my final semester of a BSBA program online with DeVry University, so the future looked unsure with student loan balances, until recently when my husband came home with the good news. His new job will have him travelling locally, and sometimes travelling out of state. That "sometimes" is not a set number of times, so when he starts the new job later this month we might be surprised to find out that "sometimes" is every month or every other month. So there is the possibility that I could be a SAHM/occasional single mom. I have taken on that role before when he went to Nashville to record new songs with his producer, but that was a yearly occurence, and much easier to anticipate and plan for. Secretly, I am looking forward to the possibility of him being gone. We are smitten with each other, which is amazing. But it also creates total procrastination when he decides to take a few days off or come home early to surprise me. Mount Laundry returns in our master bedroom, the kids wander around the house in search of homemade meals, and instead find frozen waffles and peanut butter & honey sandwiches, the vegetable garden begins to wilt from neglect, and the dirty dishes in the kitchen start planning a hostile takeover by way of "mystery smell". So if he travels I will be able to keep the house tidy and up to schedule the WHOLE TIME HE IS GONE. I like that idea. Plus, he wont be here to remind me that getting Chinese takeout once a week will make me bloat up like a marshmallow and setback my weightloss progress. That sounds like an acceptable slice of freedom to me! Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? So when he gets home it will be completely acceptable to have an appearance by Mount Laundry, freezer meals, and the dirty dish brigade.

But wait, there's more. We decided to expand our family again. We have enough humans for our cozy home, so we opted for a canine companion. I found her free on CraigsList. Free doesn't mean easy, ever. She was taken from the litter far too soon and placed with a neglectful (unintentionally so) owner who worked too much, went to school, and was naive about the responsibilities of dog ownership. I know, I was in that place 9 years ago when I brough Peaches home. She was the sweetest, smallest, most neurotic mini-dach I had ever seen, but I thought loving on her when I was available would be enough. I did what this girl did and I eventually gave her to a home where she would have companions during the day and a responsible owner who could devote time to her.

I am that person now, the one who is at home and can find the time to train and care for a puppy. But this puppy wont stay small, this puppy is going to be a stocky, rambunctious lab mix (that "mix" is either pit/boxer or both) full of energy and a need to chew! I am ready for this, I am ready for this, I am ready for this, I am ready for this. She is only a little over a month old right now. Not knowing the original owners, I can't try to place her with her mother again to help her bond correctly, besides, the mother will most likely reject her now, as she has already been taken and placed elsewhere for at least 2 weeks. Tiny thing, she needs love and attention, and structure. I am going to be the one in charge of giving that to her. Can I really do it? I know I can, but have I completely lost my mind? I am taking my final courses, running a household, caring for children, supporting my husband's career choices, volunteering at church and at my daughter's school, and then attempting in vain to run errands in between the madness. Now we are adding a vulnerable puppy to the mix? I think I need to blog about this to get it out of my system when it builds up.

So here I am! Blogging to get it out of my system and start fresh. Layla is her name, and she will be a good family dog to us. Last night she made me realize that having a small puppy is like having a newborn child when it comes to sleep. She whined, she howled, she wanted to explore and look around at 1am, and then she slept in the bed with us when we had no more energy to keep putting her back in the restroom in her safe area. However, the crate arrives today!! We are going to crate train, and I am going to be consitent with it. She is going to whine, howl, scratch, and beg, but I am going to do it, so help me Heaven. My husband will just have to get some earplugs to help him get a good night's rest for the next few months, I suppose.

We already love Layla, and I feel more dedicated to this task than the rest of the family. Money, time, tears, exhaustion, regression, and then finally accomplishment. Bring it on!