Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Ten on Tuesday

1. Ralphie scored 9 out of 10 on the CGC last night. You need a perfect score to pass but 9/10 on his first time testing is FANTASTIC in my opinion, especially considering where he was just one year ago (on April 6th to be exact):

2. Ralphie's score is also impressive when you consider that he was beat up at daycare just one week ago and spent three nights at our vet's clinic. He and one of his best buddies got into a scuffle that was instigated (I believe) by the kids who live in the "apartments" next to our training facility. Brandon had already run the kids off once that morning for throwing rocks at the dogs. He has much more self control than I do...I've already had, "If you f------ LOOK at my dog again I'm going to stuff you and hang you over my mantle" translated to Spanish in case there's ever another problem.

3. I'm 11wks 3days pg. It's been pretty textbook so far - no true morning sickness (though I'm thisclose to nauseated all the time). It's the super sensitive nose (when I couldn't smell at all before getting pg) and the bionic gag reflex (hello toothbrush) that I could do without. But hey, if those are my biggest complaints, I'll count myself lucky. We're having some elective genetic screening this afternoon and we see my OB again tomorrow.

4. I also have a job interview tomorrow. I've been surprised at the number of GOOD accounting positions open...but I also realize that there are also a LOT of qualified applicants applying for those positions. My fear is that all else being equal, most companies are likely to choose the person that WON'T be on maternity leave in six months. Oh well. Worrying won't help that I suppose.

5. In the event that I don't find a job prior to October, I will be taking full advantage of my portion of the federal government's bailout. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law in February and provides a federal subsidy for 65% of the cost of COBRA health insurance coverage. That's a difference of $650 a MONTH in our expected cost of insurance. I'd still vote Republican and I still have HUGE hesitations about the direction our country is headed, but I won't turn Democratic assistance away.

6. Miss Molly, the wire haired Jack Russell is still with us. She's being adopted by my sister and brother-in-law and the original plan was to send her out to CA last week when my parents went to visit. Only she's WAY to tall to fly in cabin now. So she'll be in AL until June.

7. Veronica earned her SIXTH flyball title at our March tournament - FM (Flyball Master). It simply means that she's earned 5,000 points over the course of her career. Points are earned based on the speed of the team she's running on - the maximum points you can earn per race is 25 but that is for teams with very fast times. Veronica's total is made up of a LOT of 1 and 5 point races over the last four years. No shame in that! I'm proud of you big V!


8. To update on our other dogs, CiCi, Mazie and Frankie go to daycare (usually) twice a week and have a blast running and playing. CiCi likes to chase the big Jolly Ball egg and barks like a mad woman when she gets it stuck in the corner. Frankie will play with just about anyone. And Mazie...my sweet Mazie...she's content to run in circles, all alone, smiling like it's the greatest thing in the world. Marley is just about ready to compete in flyball - she'll be Brandon's to hanlde as she's a bit nuts. And Lily...well, Lily has her strict routine at home that keeps her sane and everyone else safe. So that's a good thing.

9. Yes, I'm still planning to keep all seven dogs when the kid comes. And we're really not that worried about it.

10. HUGE news regarding Shelby Humane Society here. This program, sponsored by the ASPCA, has the potential to make great improvements in the welfare of animals in Shelby County, AL. HUGE!



Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Holding out for April.

If you've been following me for at least a year, you might rememberTHIS post about last March. Well, I'm starting to think March just has it in for me.

I found out last week that my job is "being eliminated no later than August 28th." Wow...that's an awesome kick to the uterus! So now, on top of being pg, I get to look for a new job. And we all know how eager companies are to hire pg gals. Good times!

Oh well. Things ARE looking up...there are a LOT of job openings out there, and Ralphie ROCKED a sit/stay AND a down/stay at 25' in class last night. Better things are on the horizon...I hope.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Ten on Tuesday

Yeah, I know I haven't been around in a while...read on and you'll understand why.



1. I'm pregnant. Yep, you heard it here first. Brandon S...you didn't just pass out, did you?? I've decided to call this Ten on Tuesday my Pregnancy Pet Peeves.


2. Please don't ask me what I plan to do with my dogs. I plan to have a kid. And dogs. Will it be a lot of work? Sure. Is it rocket science? I highly doubt it. And please don't tell me that you would, "...never have a baby around a pit bull." I don't care what you would or wouldn't do. Really. I don't.


3. The one thing that is only slightly less offensive than, "What do you plan to do with your dogs?" is, "Oh congratulations! How old are you again?" I'm 34yo people. Hardly menopausal. I'm pretty sure my aging body can handle childbirth.


4. No, I'm not hoping for twins. I agreed to ONE and the dr confirmed that I'm only having ONE. See?



5. I'm due October 17th. Yes, that IS Alabama's homecoming. Sorry, not much I can do about that one.


6. Are we buying a bigger house? Well, no. But we won't be buying every baby contraption on the market either. See, here's where the dogs come in...hours of (free!) entertainment!


7. Will I be staying home? Bwahahahahaha! No.


8. What if the kid is allergic to the dogs? First, allergies are very commonly misdiagnosed. Thankfully I have a lot of experience on the subject. And the support of an amazing allergist who is quite fine with my having seven dogs living IN my house. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it, not before.


9. Please don't give me your horrible nausea stories, your painful birth stories or your awful kid stories. If these things are going to happen to me, I'd just as soon they be a surprise.


10. And finally, if you're genuinely happy for us, thank you. We're very excited and are ready for the challenges of parenting a two-legged child :-)