HELP!!

I am drowning after taking the puggle plunge. As it turns out, puppies are far more work than I remember. Yes, I went through this about 4 years ago with our dog daisy. But there was something about this new puppy- I suppose his cute little face in the pet store somehow miraculously erased my memory of anything negative associated with dogs. Dang that dog. Now my memory has completely recovered, conveniently after the deal is sealed.

I need help! I'm begging all of the 2 of you that may be reading this to give me any suggestions on training a puppy. Even if you don't have a dog, any suggestions are welcome. I am so clueless and am getting nowhere. "Puppy" still doesn't have a name. Just like when we were trying to name Colby, I guess I'm waiting for trumpets to sound when I hear the right name.

Here is a picture I took this morning of Colby cuddling with the puppy. This is the only reason you can't find his cute mug on KSL classifies just yet.

The Puggle Plunge

I can't get enough of potty training. It was so successful with Colby (after several excruciating attempts) that I felt I needed to test my new skills on a puppy.

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, who we are still referring to as "puppy." We are gladly taking name suggestions if you would be so generous as to offer any.

He is an 8 week old Puggle puppy which is a mix between a pug and a beagle. I fell in love with him at the pet store and after doing a bunch of research, found that they are pretty cool dogs and that he would hopefully fit nicely into our crazy family.

So far, after owning him for around 5 hours, I thought I'd share how each of us are adjusting to our new addition.

Kara: A little ticked that her baby-of-the-family status has come to an end and that it only lasted 14 months. Even though she is crazy about animals, we have found it is only from a distance. She still panics when the puppy gets near her and threatens to lick, paw, or cuddle.

Colby: Thrilled that he gets to re-live bringing home a new "baby." It appears as though the puppy is showing early signs of smothered syndrome since Colby wants to give him his full, undivided attention, which means constantly picking him up and down and kicking balls into his face. Seeing him play in the back yard with him is undeniably cute, I must admit. It didn't take long before I caught Colby giving the puppy a square of Life cereal which he subsequently choked on and later thew up. I only panicked for a moment (in which I actually tried pushing in his little stomach) and was relieved when he started breathing through his nose shortly thereafter. Does anyone know how to do the Heimlich on a dog?

Cameron: Giddy. Like a schoolboy. I can quote him as saying that I finally fulfilled a life dream of his by letting him get a dog. Glad I can help you cross one off your list, babe! Minutes after we got him home, Cameron had to leave for work. He has since called 3 times wondering about how he's doing and wishing he was home. He wasn't the only one wishing he was home...

Myself: Worried. Worried that we made a REALLY EXPENSIVE mistake. These thoughts began to surface early in this new relationship since the puppy managed to both poop and pee in our car during the first 5 minutes of ownership. The thoughts have continued as he has been crying off and on (more on than off) for over 2 hours. I fear that once again, I have given in to one of my frequent impulses, except this one requires far more commitment than just having to live with buying a shirt I don't really need.

Since the puppy is now asleep on my lap like a little angel, I'm beginning to think that this impulse buy may not be half bad after all. However, I don't think I'll be getting up off this chair anytime soon for fear I'll wake this sleeping giant.

I'll keep you posted on our ongoing adjustment to our new canine family member.

Stuttering in Portland

5 DAYS OF STUTTERING, PORTLAND SITE SEEING AND PRECIOUS TIME TO MYSELF!

Beware, I am long-winded when it comes to talking about stuttering...

The one thing I keep telling people about my trip to Portland is that, IT WAS THE BEST! I went for a 5 day workshop on "Assessment and Treatment of Stuttering for Children." To the average person, this may sound like a boring trip, but if you're a nerd like me about the subject of stuttering, it was anything but boring.

I was incredibly lucky to have even had this opportunity. I applied back in March to be one of 20 Speech Language Pathologists to attend this workshop that is put on by the National Stuttering Foundation (SFA). Unlike other continuing education opportunities, you had to be accepted to this workshop since it is completely paid for. They even paid for our housing and food, which I considered to be more than a $1000 "gift."

Because we were in class from 8:30 to 5:00 everyday I didn't think we'd have much time to do anything extra-curricular. Well, I had forgotten a small detail which is, when you don't have small children to look after, 5:00 till bedtime is A LOT of time! I feel like I got to see Portland backwards and forwards! Not really, but I saw and did a ton. And beyond my site seeing, I was able to read a whole novel, exercise everyday and I still managed to get about 8 hours of sleep every night. To make a long story short, this trip was an overdue, much needed chance for me to have some time to myself. I know it sounds selfish, but now that I'm back, I really think I'll be a better mom. And if it weren't for Cameron's willingness to stay home with the kids, I wouldn't have been able to do this. Thanks babe, I love you!!

Besides the time to myself, I got to learn a ton about stuttering, my vocational passion. A few more fun things about the trip is that we all got to be good friends, we were treated like royalty, we were given several gifts and we got to meet the president of the SFA. I'm all excited about stuttering treatment again and am hoping to pursue providing treatment privately for a few children who stutter.

Here we are kayaking in the Columbia River

Eating my final Portland meal at a place called McCormick and Schmick's. Salmon to die for!

Checking out "Sand in the City" at Pioneer Square in Downtown Portland during our lunch break.

NO MORE DIAPERS!
(At least size 5 diapers...)

Yes, it's true. I can finally say that Colby is potty trained. There are still some occasional accidents, but really, aren't we all guilty of that every once-in-a-while? He's even stayed dry all night long the last 3 nights in a row. I have considered today the day he is actually trained because he passed my IKEA potty test. He successfully completed 4 hours of IKEA shopping without an accident. Pretty impressive, don't you think? You might wonder which is more impressive, no potty accidents or the fact that he endured IKEA for 4 hours without a 3-year-old meltdown. I'll let you decide.

I also wanted to share my first IKEA-Draper experience. I've been to several IKEAs before including DC, San Francisco and San Diego so I knew what I was up against. Cameron and I even made a special trip to San Diego just to go to IKEA. But this is the first IKEA trip I've made where I didn't have to worry about how I might carry my treasures onto an airplane. It was a challenge trying to carry on my 6 month old baby boy along with 3 very long curtain rods a few years ago after a DC trip. Anyway, knowing I could buy anything that would fit in my car and that I could drive back another day for things I wasn't sure about, made my trip a little more enjoyable. I'm also proud of myself for holding off my trip until now to avoid the huge crowds. Here are a few of my purchases.... .

W-L, Weaver Lane is Here

Girls Camp 2007!!!

Beehives, cheers, mosquitoes, leaches, and more mosquitoes.

Last week I got to spend 3 1/2 days at Lake Lyman with my cute young women. It is seriously gorgeous up there, but don't be fooled by the glassy lake, it is for looks only as it is full of leaches. There were a few girls who obviously haven't seen the movie, "Stand By Me" and actually jumped in for a quick swim. Of course, they had been backpacking for 2 days without any bathroom arrangements and by then, anything went. There were times when that lake looked so glassy, that I would have considered a quick ski if I had a boat.

Spending a few days with just teenage girls is an experience like no other. We played hours of psychologist, mafia, and press conference, sang a billions camp songs, and swatted more mosquitoes than you can ever imagine. One poor girl had 24 mosquito bites just on her face. I actually think I like the smell of mosquito repellent now.

We had our share of drama like anyone would expect at girls camp, but in the end, I think it was a great experience for all. It was very cool to see most of the girls recognize feelings of the spirit, some of them for the first time ever.

Cameron got to take work off to be with the little ones for the whole camp. He even gave me flowers when I got home- he REALLY must have missed me. What a good sport- he gets to do it all over again next week when I go to Portland, only this time, it's for 6 days.