Monday, February 9, 2009

Don't know where I'm goin'...

Don't know where I've been...

I'm just going to dive right in here and pretend like it hasn't been eons since I last posted something. ;)  

See, I kept thinking to myself...it's been so long since I last blogged, now it needs to be something special, something spectacular even, to make up for the long silence.  

Then I remembered...duh, I don't do spectacular.  HAHAHA. =)

At any rate, I'm back.  And if nothing else, I come armed with some pictures.  I'll be honest, most of them are doggie photos, but I'll throw in a Bugga pic just so I don't lose anyone that doesn't have as severe a case of doggie-love as we have around here.

I also cannot think of a creative way to bring the blog up to speed, so again, in the most lackluster manner I can think of, here I go...

Bailey has been adopted.  *gasp*  *awwww*  Bailey has taken her zen-chewing, patented-somersault-into-a-snuggle, high-energy, ever-happy-gal ways and moved in with a new Momma.  

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I had started to truly believe I could never let her go--she was my dog--but then we met her new Momma.  It was the day of an adoption event and honestly, on the way there, I was chastising myself for being a complete fraud, an impostor.  Because I was taking Bailey to an adoption event, yet I couldn't ever see her leaving our family.  There we were, at PetSmart, when a woman walked up and peered at our group--12 dogs that day, can you believe it?!--and asked for one of the puppies.  "Figures," I thought as I directed her to the puppy pen in the middle.  No hard feelings, just everyone wants to meet the puppies and can easily look past a mature beauty like Bailey Rae.  Well, lo and behold, a short time later the woman was back and this time, she was peering only at Bailey. ;)  The questions started coming, the petting ensued, and before long it was clear there was only one dog on her mind.  

I nearly cry just thinking about it.  I cried on the way home, softly, "not a big deal, who knows if she'll follow through," I thought.  Then that night in my email inbox...the application.  That's when I bawled.  At first it was only over my own sadness and sense of loss.  But at the same time, I knew in my heart this was GOOD, so amazingly good and everything Bailey deserved and all I ever wanted for her from the moment I first saw her.

It all happened so fast, which is kind of rare.  We were leaving for WA in a matter of days and the application and reference checks and all that goes into the adoption process happened fast enough for Bailey to go her new Momma for a trial visit the night before we took off for WA.  Trial visits rock, in my opinion, for 2 reasons:  a) it doesn't feel so final that I am a basket-case saying goodbye to the dog and b) it gives the family and the dog a real chance to get to know each other and take it slow before the people commit their lives to the dog.  Because that is what we're after of course, a lifetime commitment. =)

Anyway, last weekend, it became final, Bailey was home.  She has a new family and they are so happy!!!  That's what makes it worth it and always tempers my heart-ache.  Seeing the hope in the person's eyes, the promise of love in the way they touch the dog...it is those things that convince me every time that I have to let go.  

Wow, okay, so I started typing thinking I had nothing to really say today and look at all that came pouring out.  Whew...anyway....

Here are a couple pics of all 3 girlies--Bailey, LuLu, Paisley--on their last day all together.  The girls in their little jackets:

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I will forever remember our time with 3 female pitties in the house as a time of amazing joy.  Amazing in part because I never quite thought it possible to have such harmony with 3 female dogs, let alone 3 female pitties, under one roof.  Anyone that knows the breed knows what I'm talking about here. ;)

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Grady with his big girls, Bailey and Paisley.

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We still have Miss Luey Kabluey.  Kind of shocking since she is blue (the color du jour it would seem, in some people's minds anyway), and adorable.  When she first came, J said "you know the sad thing is that she'll probably leave us before Bailey."  Just goes to show, you never can predict how long a dog will stay in rescue. ;)

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What else has been going on around here?!  Let's see...

*J has taken to making his own bread, thanks to the book Artisan bread in five minutes a day.  We couldn't recommend it more, the bread is amazing and versatile and really as easy as the title suggests.  Of course, J's bread-making also somehow cost us our baking stone as it cracked into a beautiful puzzle of jagged stone while baking a loaf of bread one night (that was fun!).

*I have been trying my hand at some other creative pursuits.  What have I learned?  My skill level is no where near what I can create in my head.  ;)  Still, here is a sweater I made for Paisley out of an old sweater that J had decided he no longer needed (I just love re-purposing things, far preferable to buying new materials if you ask me):

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*Grady is a toddler.  I know, I've said it before, and I keep repeating because it just boggles my mind each and every day.  He has ditched most all remnants of his young life now.  He sits at the table just like us, unassisted by any kind of harness of booster.  He drinks out a cup exclusively at home (sippies when out of the house still).  He sits on a regular toilet seat.  Daytime diapers are a thing of the past, the way past really because he's been out of them for quite some time now but I wasn't really feeling confident enough to go blabbing it on the blog (haha).  He sleeps in a regular, full size bed.  Okay, that one is way old too, as he has been sleeping on at least a full-size mattress since his first birthday.  But still, it is amazing to me that he has yet to turn 2 and we have been able to transition out of so many of those devices and "baby items" that you use to adapt regular life to a little being.  Bugga is just getting so big and so silly and so capable that is it simultaneously entertaining, scary, heart-wrenching, and don't forget, frustrating.  Must throw that last one in, because I wouldn't be being honest if I claimed it was never frustrating to have a toddler around. ;)

Here he is, the boy himself, in case anyone forgot what he looks like. =)

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So that's life around here these days.  How are you all?!  Hehe.

~Contrary to what these pictures seem to indicate, we do dress the boy from time to time.  Thought I should clear that up, in case anyone has CPS on speed dial or something.  Given the frigid temperatures in MN in winter, I wouldn't blame you, honest. ;)

2 comments:

mrs boo radley said...

Great post, my friend!

Fabulous doggie stories, best pictures ever, cute commentary, and please do talk more about the Bug and how he doesn't wear diapers or sleep in a crib because that's AWESOME.

p.s. Love the header pic, too.

Trish Chibas said...

Well, I have to say that was pretty darn SPECTACULAR to me! Definitely missed reading your blog. Your open heart with the "pittis" is truly inspirational. Oh... I LOVE the picture at the top of your blog!