Whoa - SNOW!

You know that old saying, the one that says that "even a broken clock is right twice a day?" Well, much to my surprise, the weather forecasters were RIGHT this time! Starting last Tuesday they were forecasting a huge snow storm for Friday/Saturday. They weren't saying how much we could possibly get, but they were certain that we were going to get snow.

All of the predictions came true, and then some. We ended up getting about 8 inches of snow. Yowza!

At first glance, you might be wondering what this first picture has to do with the snow storm. Well, friends, we made it to Lowe's this afternoon where I walked in, and asked the first employee I saw, "This might be a stupid question, but do you have any snow shovels left?" At least he didn't laugh at me, but he said, "Uh, NO!" Right about then, Bree spotted a Disney princess book of all things, in the magazine rack. Really, Lowe's? REALLY? You have to sell princess stuff at your hardware store? So we ended up buying this "Wonderful Princess World" combination sticker/coloring book. I guess the trip wasn't a total loss - Bree is in love with her princess stickers. So much so that all sticker crowns have to be stuck to her forehead.



But anyway, back to the snow. This next picture shows the ice in the canal.

We have a patch of ice under our carport, which Bree declared was her skating rink.

I actually cought her mid-twirl.

Do I even have to tell you how much this little girl LOVES snow?

It's going to be a while before this snow melts. Temperatures are supposed to stay below freezing all week. Mr. Prissy Paws finally found an acceptable spot in the snow to do his business, but man, he hates every minute of it. He didn't mind the snow until it got too deep for him to comfortably romp in. He finally figured out that he wasn't going back in the house until he did his business, so he did it quickly and headed for the front door.

In other doggie-related news - Sly has chewed through all three of Bree's last remaining pacifiers. Bree was really only using them for the car and when she took naps (at home) and for bedtime. After Sly got the first one, I told her to make sure that she wasn't leaving them where Sly could find them. She brought the second chewed up paci to me, crying. She pleaded for the one last one, which is the "reserve" paci that I kept on my dresser. Again, I told her not to put it where the dog could get it. I'm sure you can guess how this turns out: more tears, another chewed up paci. (He was just chewing off the nipple, he wasn't eating the plastic part.) So now she's got no more pacis, and the best part? I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! Seriously, I did not want to be the bad guy who made her give up her pacis. So I am perfectly fine with the dog chewing them up.

Bree is doing okay with it - last night was her first full night without a paci, and tonight was her second. She did mention today that she missed her paci, but other than that, she's got no choice but to move on. At three years old, she's ready.

When the snow gets more "packable" we're going to try for a snowman. Stay tuned!

Bree's Last "Big Beast" Class @ Little Gym

Bree started attending Little Gym in June last year. Tonight's class was the last class of the Fall/Winter semester. The class is designated for "Beasts" and "Big Beasts" - 18 months to 2 years old. Now that Bree is 3, she'll be going on to the next class, "Funny Bugs" - 3 & 4 year olds.



The following is an illustration of our 45 minute class.

"Yay! Time for class!" (5:30)

5:30 - 5:40 Introductions. No pictures, Bree is busy running around the gym.

5:45 - 5:55 Parachute Play

"Parachute play is my favorite!"

"I'm just waiting for the part where the kids get in the middle of the parachute and get taken for a ride! I also like the "slide" where they lift up the parachute and all the kids slide down into the center of the parachute!"



5:55 - 6:05 Free Exploration & Learning

"So, I have to tell you which color I'm going to jump on? I pick BLUE!"




"Here I GOOOOOO!"

"I knew I would make it."

"Yeah, I love this doughnut thing. I could spend the ENTIRE time here."

"These little colored dots are awesome to play with."

"Yeah, it's time for a little break."

"Oooh! Uneven bars time! I'm going to do a flip on the bar!"

"I like standing on the high bar. I have no idea why Miss Ann always wants me to give her a high five - first with my right hand, then with my left hand."

"This was fun but I want down."

"Time for another break."

"No! I don't WANNA try the balance beam. I don't WANNA do a forward roll. I am playing princess in the castle!"

"No, I don't want to go home! I don't want to do ANYTHING! I am just going to lay here and CRY. Go away, Mommy!"

6:05 - 6:10 Ball Time

"I like ball time. But I only want the purple balls, and I only want to roll around on the ball. Throw the ball? Kick the ball? Why would I want to do that? I might LOSE my purple ball! No, it's best if I just lay on it, that way no one can take it away from me."

"Time to put the balls away already? Not fair!"

6:10 - 6:15 Award Ceremony, Bubbles & Wrap Up

"Yeah, this is part of my class. Sophie wasn't here tonight. I like Miss Ann but not really any of these other kids. They always want to take my purple balls."

"I got an AWARD! Yay for me!"

Bree's next class is on Saturday mornings, which I think is going to work out much better. She won't be tired or hungry, and I won't be in the class with her - all things working in her favor! Plus, I actually get an hour all to myself! Whoo hoo! I can't go far, but at least I can go to other shops in the shopping center, or grab a cup of coffee and sit & read for a bit. It's hard to say who's looking forward to this next semester more - me or Bree! :)

It's A Boy! (Of The Canine Variety)

Did I ever tell you what finally motivated Bree to potty train? The promise of a dog. I tried everything with that girl: stickers, candy, gum, even money. (I'm actually glad that one didn't take - I tried it in a moment of desperation.) One day I tried, "Bree, once you go poo poo and pee pee in the potty all the time, we'll get you a dog!" I got no reaction.

One day a few weeks later, after Bree had done her business on the potty, she looked at me and said, "Now I get a doggie?" I asked her if she wanted a dog, and she said yes. So I told her that once she used the potty all the time with no accidents, then we'd get a dog.

I knew that we'd adopt a dog. I wasn't going to go through potty training all over again! So I started looking around at the local animal rescues to see what the possibilities were. I started this in December, knowing that we wouldn't be ready for a dog until January or February.

Ideally, Bree wanted Beamer. The only problem there was that Beamer already had a family. And since I didn't really fancy kidnapping a dog, I told Bree that we'd find a dog like Beamer. It turns out that Beamer is a whippet. I found a whippet up for adoption in North Carolina. We don't live that far from the North Carolina border, so I applied to adopt the whippet.

I got the call on Friday that our application was approved, so we drove down today to meet the dog and make arrangements for adoption. The drive took us just around 3 hours - which probably seems like a long way to go for a dog, but keep in mind I was looking specifically for a whippet. Medium size dog with short hair, known for being a couch potato, good with kids and okay with being the only dog in the house. They are also a fairly hearty breed with relatively few health issues.

When we got to the rescue, the director asked us if we wanted to go back to see the dog. We did, so we went to the kennel. Oh my, it was so lound in there that Bree started to cry. She just isn't used to all that loud barking. The lady said, "why don't I bring him out to you on the patio?" It was a nice screened in room with some lawn chairs, so we waited for her to bring out the whippet. He was excited, and larger than what I expected him to be. He was a friendly dog but Bree was scared of him. I knew then that we weren't taking this dog home with us.

I told the woman that it wasn't going to work and she asked if we'd like to see any other dogs since we were already there. I said yes, because I couldn't believe that I just drove 3 hours to see a dog that Bree didn't want. She said that they had the sweetest pit bull puppy that Bree would love, and I said that we really needed a dog that was already housebroken. She then said that they had a Shiba Inu that might work for us. I had never heard of this breed, had never come across it in my research.

The dog, "Sly" (as in sly fox) is a year old, potty trained, and full grown. That said, he looks like a miniature fox, weighs about 12 pounds, and is a small dog. For Bree it was love at first sight. So now we're the proud owners of a Shiba Inu named Sly. I cannot bring myself to call this dog "Sly" and have tried to get Bree to call him something else. She will not budge - she LOVES the name Sly. I will call him Mr. Sylvester.

Obedience training is in our future, although he has done very well with the transition to our house. I was told to watch for signs that he might start marking things in the house. To my delight, he hasn't done it or shown any signs that he will do it. Also, he hasn't barked yet. I'm sure he will at some point, but he's not a barker, which is nice.

So, without further ado, I introduce you to Mr. Sylvester, our new dog:

It's been a long day. It's almost 9pm and Bree is coloring and the dog is fast asleep next to me on the couch. :)