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Friend Denise wanted a size comparison of household items next to Charlie. To say the least, he was not interested in cooperating. He has a wee bit of a problem with SIT. and STAY. So here are the lame attempts at giving you a size indicator. He's only 3 lbs. TINY.
Charlie meets the cresent rolls. Note the similar height. lol
And an apple photo..in which he didn't cooperate..but it's cute anyway..lol :)
I wasn't going to share this on my blog. A long time ago when I first became a member at 2peas I posted something about getting our cat declawed, and lets just say that some of the peas basically declawed me with their opinions. So I have learned that there are several things one probably shouldn't get into with strangers on the internet. Politics, religion, and pets. So knowing all this, I am kind of leery of posting about our pet situation here, because frankly, I don't need the judgement..nor any more guilt over what has happened. To make a long story short, and without going into details, our sweet boy Tom Brady is no longer with us. There was a terrible accident earlier this summer, and he is gone. I can't even begin to tell you how horrific and sad it was. The kids unfortunately were here when it happened, and discovered him, so it's been a really hard time on them as well.
After the accident I said NO MORE PETS. Obviously someone is trying to tell us something, and we just shouldn't get another. I thought the kids were ok with this, until the beginning of September when Cole started lobbying hard to get a dog for his birthday. Suprisingly out of all three of the kids Cole is the big softy when it comes to animals. While Brenna just considered Brady a mere accessory to be carried around, Cole had a deeper connection with him. If he sees an animal, he NEEDS to pet it, needs to here it's story, wants to make friends. It's just who he is. I love that about him. So that being said, he was really really struggling with Brady's death. Nightmares, lots of pictures and writing about him...he was quiet, he was just down right sad. He would end up in our room in the middle of the night sometimes crying that every time he closed his eyes, he would see Brady dead. Like I said..it was just horrible around here. (another reason I stopped blogging...it was just to hard to pretend) So when Cole started asking for another dog, I wasn't suprised. I wasn't having it, but I wasn't suprised. lol
The problem became, everytime we would ask him what he wanted for his birthday (it was last week) he would say.."a dog". No matter how many Wii games I offered up, no matter how many ipod accessories, clothes from Abercrombie, NOTHING was replacing his drive for a new best friend. Nothing.
I kept telling him no, but apparently he started slipping me some sort of drug, because I found myself searching for puppies online. I had no clue what I was looking for, I had no intentions of ever getting another, but I was looking. I started checking the Humane Society here in town, I figured why not. Afterall, the cutest big dog in the world came from there, so I figured it would be a good place to start. But since I really had NO intention of getting a dog, I thought looking at the pound would be a safe choice since I thought the odds of finding a small breed puppy would be slim. That theory worked really well for about 2 weeks. Day after day I would look and see tons of big dogs, (Totally off the subject, but if you want a big dog to get adopted, don't you think you would put a photo up of said big dog looking at least somewhat calm and not aggressive? I dunno, I think the chances of getting them adopted would go up a hair if the photos were a little bit more staged..lol.) and day after day I heard from Cole that all he really wanted was another dog. It was quite the little cycle we had going.
Last Tuesday I logged in and scrolled down the long list of the regulars, and there was a new resident at casa de pound. A 2 month old beagle Chihuahua mix. (beagle chihuahua?..yeah, that's what I thought, too. lol) Knowing how fast puppies get snatched up, I figured he probably wasn't still available anyway, and I had to get Cole to football practice, and even if I DID want to look at him, he would surely be gone by the time we were finished with practice. Yeah. That's the ticket.
Then the cookie started to crumble. Cole had been injured over the weekend at a football game, and still wasn't running well, and the coach called us on the way to practice, and told me to keep him home to give his leg a chance to rest. No sense in driving across town, just take the night off. So now we were out of the house, with no practice, and suddenly the car was veering towards the pound. We'll just go look. He won't be there anyway, but we will go look. Then I thought, man this is mean..taking the kid into the candy store so to speak. How am I going to take Cole in there and look and then not commit? So I leveled with him. I told him, there is a puppy online, he might be available, he's probably already gone, but we can go look. No promises, no guarantees-available or not. We are looking.
The look on Cole's face when I told him was a look I won't forget. I hadn't seen him so happy and so just tickled in weeks. It was like a cloud lifted and sunshine fell all over him just like that. Corny? Yes. But no other way to describe it. I knew then I was a goner.
When we pulled up the the building, I reminded him we were LOOKING..and not even to ask for a big dog..that was a deal breaker for me. He understood, and we headed in. It was busy. Immediately I thought again, there is no way that puppy is still available. So we headed back to the kennel area to see.
Cage #1-really big black dog with pointy ears
Cage #2-really big brown and white dog pacing and panting like crazy
Cage #3 unusually large weiner dog sitting by the door barking really loud
Cage after cage of really big dogs, some cute, some pretty scary looking. Cole stopped at every cage, talking to most..giggling over the funny looking ones, being compassionate over the ones that looked scared, and keeping his hand out of the bars of the one who looked like crazed guard dogs (seriously..there were a couple)
Until finally we got to cage 10.
That's where we met Charlie.
Sitting in the back of the kennel, almost completed buried in a pile of blankets and towels, sound asleep.Put a fork in me, I was done right then and there. Game over.
Dog 1-Reluctant pet adoptee-0
Cole started calling to him, trying to be heard above the howling and panting and frantic barking going on all around us, and before long his little face perked up and he bounced, (yes he bounces) out of his blankets and over to the door. While Cole sat and oohed and ahhed at him between the door, I noticed a sign on his cage that made my heart sink.
Adoption Pending.
My worst fear. Someone had him on hold until 6pm. It was only 4:15. So I managed to pull Cole away from the cage, and we went to the front desk to get some details. We had to stay at the shelter until the time expired on the hold and then if he was still available we could check him out. The girls at the front desk told me not to get my hopes up though, as the lady and her husband had been coming in for a couple of weeks looking for a small dog. She just needed to talk to her husband before she signed, and she most likely would be back before 6 even. Poor Cole was disappointed. I tried to get him to go, telling him we would come back another day and look again, but he insisted that we wait to see if he got adopted at 6. He then looked at me and said, "mom I just have a feeling that we are suppose to stick around". How could I argue with that? So we settled in. Cole went back and forth to the kennel about 100 times, talking and visiting and "guarding" HIS dog. Anyone who even stopped to look at him, heard that Cole was waiting for him..lol. It was pretty cute. Meanwhile, I filled out the paperwork "just in case" so that if he was still available we would be the first to get to check him out for consideration. Little did I know, there were about 7 other people milling around waiting for the same results.
At about 5:45 Cole came running back from the kennel and told me that the sign on his kennel was now gone. No more adoption pending. I went to the front counter with Cole, and we asked about it. Sure enough..he was back on the market. So Cole says, "so can I adopt him, instead?" The lady smiled at him, and said, well..maybe. Let me check to see where you are on the list. She came back and her face said it all. Unfortunately, you are number 4 on the list to see him, and there are 3 people after you as well.
Talk about heartbreak. Cole got big tears in his eyes and said ok, thank you..and turned around. The poor lady at the counter then looked at me and said, wait just a minute. She went and rummaged around in the papers, and came back with a stack. "are you interested in any of the OTHER dogs?" I told her no..that that was the only one that we were interested in..we wanted a puppy. She said, ok. good news. The other 3 people in line to check him out, all have OTHER dogs on their lists, so I am going to move you ahead...
And that was the beginning of the end. An hour later, we were on our way home with little Charlie Brown, the 9-10 week old Chihuahua-beagle mix who was surrendered by his owner earlier in the day.
Sweet Charlie Brown is just that. SO sweet. He's such a personality..SO tiny. REALLY skinny..we are working on that..trying to fatten him up. He is soooo spoiled. The only problem?
He's a pooper.
The housetraining outside is going suprisingly well, he's obviously been worked with a bit..BUT put him in his crate, and he FREAKS out, and poops within 2 or 3 minutes of being in it, regardless of whether he just did his business outside or not. I think it's seperation anxiety. As soon as I leave his eyesight, he's making a mess. If I sit right there by him...he doesn't do it. So short of putting him in my pocket and taking him with me everywhere I go (I could do this..he only weighs 3 lbs) I don't know what to do. He has to be in a crate when we are gone, he's a chewer..so he would have my woodwork destroyed if left just in a small tiled area. I just don't know what else to do. Luckily he's darn cute..so as much as I HATE cleaning the kennel and giving him a bath EVERY.TIME.I.LEAVE., all he has to do is curl up in a ball on my lap and it's forgotten. But I would like to get him over this...lol..and fast.
Oh and Cole? No more nightmares...lots of smiles...lots and lots of smiles. :)
And quite a few naps together as well. I caught them Saturday night asleep..and as you can see, the cat is feeling a little jealous I think. lol Poor Peeps.
The season is underway and the boys are loving it. Drew more so than Cole, as his team is undefeated, while Cole's team can't seem to win a game to save their souls. (The ONLY touchdown of the season so far was scored by Cole.) Secretly I am so happy Drew is experiencing success, over Cole this time around. That sounds bad, doesn't it..I should say, I don't wish Cole NOT to have a good season, of course I want him to win, and be successful, but for soo long Drew has been in the shadows of Cole athletically, that it's high time Drew got his moment in the sun, ya know? 
(in the photos..Cole is the one running the ball..looking like he's about to be tackled by his own team..which could be why they aren't fairing so well..lol, and Drew is the one with the rec specks on..ready to come off the line..SO cute)
I am not enjoying the nasty smelly equipment that comes with being a football mom. Since we have had really soggy weather this past couple of weeks, we have had a TON of wet practice clothes, and I can say with great disgust that smelly damp football socks and pants are by far the most foul pieces of laundry I have ever had to deal with in my laundry career. SO gross.
Cole has a birthday this week, and the struggle to figure out what exactly to get him is becoming a real issue. The only thing he wants, he can't have and he says he really doesn't want anything else. So I am stumped.
School is going well, although we have determined that Brenna is a motor mouth. No scratch that, we KNEW she was one, but recently the teacher has discovered her fabulous talking trait. She has taken a trip to the " safe seat" 3 times so far this year, ALL for talking.(which is basically a time out, although the school refuses to call it a time out, they insist it isn't, but simply a place a student goes before a problem gets out of hand..but let's call a spade a spade shall we?) Last Monday as I was packing lunches, I discovered a balled up piece of paper in Brenna's lunch box along with the trash she didn't dump out.(which is a WHOLE different post...I mean really..how hard is it to throw away the trash instead of putting it back in the lunchbox? ugh!) When I flattened out the wrinkled piece of paper I discovered it was not ONE but TWO safe seat referals from the previous Friday. She not only managed to get one, she got TWO in one day, both for talking.
Brenna Faith, get in here now! (Don't judge me it was 7:15, it was still dark out, and I was cranky)
Enter the chatterbox.
"hey, do you have anything you want to share with me about last week that you forgot to tell me?"
No..oh, don't put mayonaise on my sandwich because I think it makes my bread soggy."
I'm not asking about lunch Brenna, I'm talking about your behavior at school..anything you want to share?" and I hold up the scrunched up evidence.
"Oh that."
"Yes, THAT. So, we have a problem now dear...first you have not ONE but TWO safe seat encarcerations in one day, and second, you didn't tell me about it..you tried to hide it....what's that all about?
Think fast little talker..think fast.
"Mooooom, I'm Sooooorrrry, I couldn't keep my lips closed, I tried, and then it just didn't work. I HAD to talk, I couldn't help it. And I hid it because I didn't want to ruin your weekend.'
"Oh come on Brenna...you didn't want to ruin my weekend? Really? Is that really what your going with?"
"Ok fine. I didn't want to ruin MY weekend."
DO you see my problem here? She's a pistol for sure. She's also a pistol who is grounded from all things webkinz related until the end of the first quarter. (that sent her into a manic rage, complete with "my webkinz will surely die, and starve if I don't feed them before then!!") Hopefully this will help curb her mouth. Although I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing battle for the rest of our lives. lol
Off to finish my consignment sale merchandise..I feel like I have been working on this project forever. I'll be so glad to be rid of it all this week. Then it's on to the big scrapbook second annual "junk emporium" sale to end all sales. If you are local, keep checking back, you won't want to miss this sale if you are a scrapbooker!
Ok enough rambling..happy Monday!
So we just finished up the last week of summer. Can it really be over already? It's hard to believe isn't it. We spent the weekend in Edwards MO at the lake of the ozarks at my parent's new home. The house is finally done enough that you can stay there, so we packed up the kids Friday after school and dance and hit the road. We rolled in around 11:30, and by 6:15 the next morning, my boys were out on the dock fishing. That was basically the way every day went, to bed around midnight, up again at 7 to fish, and then swim and boat. I don't think the kids spent more than a half hour in the house during the day, and that was for food. lol
They are all sunkissed and tanned, and my guess is that today will be a L O N G day at school, inspite of going to bed early last night. I can barely move this morning, as my arms were darn near ripped off my body while tubing on Sunday. I am too old and fat to be doing those kinds of activities. It was not a pretty site. So I came home sore and oh, I have a black eye. I got bit Sunday night by the largest meanest nastiest horse fly right under my eye. It hurt something fierce. I was sitting minding my own business on the deck, and it came out of nowhere and started swarming around my head, so I swatted at it, and then it made a beeline right for my face. I now have new respect for any horse or barnyard livestock that has been biten. My face immediately swelled up, and I have convinced myself that I will soon begin my transformation into the fly ala Jeff Goldbloom. (was that his name? from the fly?) I'm telling you, if I start growing corse hair on my neck, I am calling the authorities. For now though, the only sign of the injury is my black eye, and man does it hurt.
My poor husband was in football withdrawl all weekend though. My folks have their tv hooked up to the dvd player, but they have no satellite yet, as they aren't living there full time. That meant no Nebraska football game on Saturday. We didn't even know what the score of the game was until sometime Sunday when we called Greg to make sure he hadn't blown away in the hurricane. (he didn't blow away by the way..just lots of rain) As much as I like Nebraska football, it was nice not to even worry about football games all day long like we typically have to do on Saturdays around here.(don't tell Bryce I said that)
It will now make sense why we call Cole "beaker" when you look at his hair in this photo. Tell me he doesn't remind you of the muppet.
Brenna holding on and looking completely ticked off and scared to death...really...she was having fun..lol
Drew looking very serious and hell bent on holding on.
There are lots more, but I won't bore you with those, and I certainly won't be posting any of me..because frankly, those are very scary and even I was a bit alarmed looking at them on my computer.
I will leave you with one final photo of Cole, sliding down the slide on the dock..it's blurry, but hilarious none the less. That kid cracks me up!
