1. The puppies. The puppies are finished with all their antibiotics and are healthy and growing. Which leads me to...
2. We finally have an "end" date! I love these little puppers, but they have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE about being housebroken. None. Nada. Oh, they're all about getting a treat when they potty outside, but they go indiscriminately inside the house and don't give a rat's ass about it. And they're QUICK. Rarely can I catch them in the act. But anyway, they are going on Monday to get their puppy makers out, then they'll come back home with us until Friday morning, when they go to their rescue group and find wonderful homes.
3. Hardwood floors. I often hate having nothing but hardwood floors, but when you have puppies who see no difference between inside and outside, then hardwood floors are mighty nice to have. I rolled up the area rugs that were on the floor already, which is one of the smartest things I've done since the puppies came to stay with us.
4. My sweet Ruby girl. She is not a bit happy about the puppies (none of the kitties are), but she is holding no grudges about it.
5. It was back to preschool this week, with meetings on Monday and the rest of the week spent cleaning every shelf, table, chair and toy in our room, plus decorating it for back to school. Even though I love summer vacation, it's time to get back to a routine.
6. Lists. Especially when almost all the items are crossed off.
7. I fell down today, making it the THIRD TIME this week, if you're keeping score. (Read about the first two times right here.) The thankful here is that I didn't get hurt, and if you could see the bruises on my leg from fall #2, you would understand the importance of this Thankful.
8. When I first started teaching preschool (14 years ago), the chairs in my classroom dated back to the 1980s and had plastic legs and were a little too short for my tables. They were replaced a few years later with nicer chairs with metal legs and all was good. We kept a few of the old chairs to keep in the art, science and math centers. When I got a computer in my room, we used one of them for the computer chair, and all was well. This morning, I was trying to print a parent handbook for our class and was having trouble with the printer (as usual). Because the floor is carpeted, the plastic legs of the chair don't scoot, so I did what I do every time I have to move the chair when I'm sitting at the computer: I raise up slightly and lift the chair just off the carpet and set it down again before setting my behind back in it. Only this time, I didn't lift it high enough, and instead of moving the few inches closer to the printer that I was intending, one of the legs caught on the carpeting, snapped off, and dumped me flat on my ass on the floor. The Thankful in this is, blogger that I am, as I sat sprawled on the floor with a broken chair under me, laughing uncontrollably, I had enough presence of mind to tell my assistant teacher, Melissa, to take a picture. As we laughed until we cried, she took the picture, then bolted out of the room to the bathroom before she wet her pants. As soon as I was able to stop laughing long enough to get up from the floor and find my phone, I texted Christine the picture, because she, of all people, would understand best.
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| My Goldilocks moment. |
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| See? Flimsy chair. |
9. Fall sports have begun, starting with football! Tonight was our first game, it was 95 degrees at game time and far from football weather, but we won, and it was a fun night.
10. Okay, the high school isn't quite finished yet. And school starts on Monday. The decision was made to postpone the first day of school for the high school only until Sept. 2, giving the construction workers one more week to finish up the inside of the building. (This was announced at a press conference at the new building which I accidentally barged in on while helping a teacher friend move boxes into his new classroom.) This means that Emma will be home next week to take care of the puppies while I'm at work.
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| Moving French stuff into the new school. |
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| Taking a selfie with the owner of the French stuff. |
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I've only ever tried to house train one puppy at a time so my hat goes off to you for doing two at once. That would be enough to send me to the loony bin or almost. Glad you didn't hurt yourself when that chair decided to break and set you down on your butt. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteOne of the beauties of cats is that you show them the litter box and they use it (except Lisa's Rotten Cats).
DeleteFor YEARS, I've been sitting in those chairs for various reasons. And when we have parties with parents in the room, I always tell them the chairs are FINE for adults to sit in. Perhaps I should rethink that.
You were brave for getting in that chair in the first place! I've had a full size chair break out from under me and it wasn't pretty. Thank goodness you are okay from all your "accidents" this week! I'm hoping next week you'll post a picture of the puppies. There's nothing quite as cute as puppies!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, have sat in those flimsy chairs for years with nothing happening. I think I shall scour the building for metal legged chairs and get rid of all of them!
DeleteI need a new picture of the puppies! I'll take some before they go for their surgery on Monday :(
Yeah, makes me SO thankful that Indy was already housebroken when we got him...because that does not sound like any fun at all. But what a nice gift you are giving to someone else that you are working on it for them. :) You're a giver!
ReplyDeleteAnd that chair...I don't even know what to say to you except "third time's a charm"? Let's hope so, right?
If I were ever, EVER to own a dog (not just borrow a couple of puppies because I thought it would be FUN), I would adopt an older dog that was already housebroken. I have a tremendous respect for people who can do this successfully with their dogs!
DeleteYou can tell by the picture of that piece of junk chair that it was only a matter of time before one of them broke with me in it.
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ReplyDeleteHey Dyanne, try confining the furry monsters to a restricted area in the house for a while, with lots do paper. Remove the paper gradually until they are comfortable relieving themselves in a particular spot. Trick is to leave the puppies in the area until they associate that place with their scent. Try not to give them free rein for now. Another thing you could try, if it's available, is a dog potty...works like a charm for Cloudy.
ReplyDeleteSorry, hope you don't mind my nosiness!
ReplyDeleteHey, where did your comment go?! This whole puppy thing is so foreign to me. They are doing really well at night; they sleep in a crate and get no food or water after 7:30 p.m. and wake up dry and clean in the morning - yay! Audrey is finally showing that she needs to go out by going to the door and wagging her tail (door from family room to dining room that we go through to get to the front door). But not ALWAYS. Still, an improvement! If we can catch Olivia sniffing the floor in time, we can get her outside, too. Hopefully, they are on the way to learning, and whoever adopts them will have an easier time with it because of our work.
Deletep.s. They think newspapers are snacks.
Lol! Typical pups. Actually amended my comment. Was saying to isolate them in an area with lots of newspapers and gradually take them away until they are used to a single spot. You could use potties too. But the fact that they are improving their timing is fantastic!
DeleteOh, I am always thankful for hardwood floors! And doubly so with small children, who can be remarkably like puppies. As you know. Girl, you need to wrap yourself in bubble wrap!
ReplyDeleteHardwood floors suck in the winter and when you have babies and toddlers. But they sure are handy when there are messes! And small children and puppies are VERY much alike!
DeleteI need a bubble wrap suit.
You definitely had a bad case of "fallitis" this week, hadn't you?? :-) I hope next week is accident-free! I hope you have a good start of the new school year next week! Enjoy your weekend, Dyanne!
ReplyDeleteI've been particularly unlucky in the staying on my feet department. At least they have been dramatic falls! I hate it when I just trip over my feet over nothing and look back, hoping to see some obstacle that caused it....
DeleteDyanne, Looking at your classroom makes me miss my preschool days. I retired in June of 2013. The beginning of the year and setting up the classroom. Ah hum. I still get a little nostalgic around school supplies. Anyway, have a great first day of school. When I first saw the football helmet, I thought you had started wearing it as injury protection. :)
ReplyDeleteHow many years did you teach? This is my 14th. Setting up the classroom takes FOREVER! But it's always exciting to start a new school year with new little ones! I teach pre-k (4 turning 5) on MWF mornings and primary (3 turning 4) on T-Th mornings.
DeleteThe football helmet would probably be a good idea for injury protection, but I had actually put it on when I was working at my side gig of helping a photographer friend take individual and group pictures of the football team. I was posing for her to set the camera and put it on. It was a little small and I thought I might have to grease my head to get it off!
OH GRACE! That is your name right? You are gonna miss those puppies... but you did such a wonderful thing for them... what a good start they have had with you! Lucky girls ... who just happen to prefer to pee indoors... Your French buddy looks like my friend Ben... like dopplegangers!
ReplyDeleteI almost fell AGAIN today, tripping over Olivia. It turned into an elaborate dance, instead, and I somehow stayed on my feet. I will say, today has been a good day as far as using the floor goes.I don't want to jinx anything, but there have been no floor accidents YET. AND Olivia not only used the pee pad, she used it IN THE MIDDLE. My French buddy is my son's favorite teacher from high school. My daughter has him now, too. He's a great guy and I'm glad I got to help him
Deleteyou are too funny with that chair. And I used to put on the football helmet too. I don't see how they play in those darned things. But I guess they get used to them.
ReplyDeleteThe chair and I kind of went down in slow motion. It was pretty funny!
DeleteI put the football helmet on during team and individual pictures (my side gig). It squeezed the hell out of my head! I think I'd need a bigger one if I played :)
I had no idea you felt multiple times, but I am so glad you are ok. I have to admit when I saw the picture on facebook it made me laugh. Hehehe. I forgot the puppies were just there as like foster puppies! They are so cute.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I couldn't stay on my feet this week, but I have the bruises to prove that I couldn't!
DeleteThe chair was hilarious! Just so glad I didn't have students yet!
I can endure the puppies pottying on my floor because I know it's temporary! They are darling, though.
I laugh every time I see that photo. People were giving me awfully funny looks while I laughed my full head off in the parking lot of a gas station. Why do my friends always send me the funniest things when I'm out in public?!?
ReplyDeleteAn extra week of summer for the high school kids? Yippee! Except for the poor girl who has to take care of two puppies who mess in the house. ;)
Still laughing...
If only you'd been taking a drink of something when you saw the picture!
DeleteThe kids are kind of excited they get an extra week, especially ones who have younger siblings who have to go to school. They won't be laughing when they have to make up the days when the younger kids have scheduled days off.
Me, too!
'Goldilocks Moments'
ReplyDelete(I supposed I should be embarrassed to admit it, but only just got the joke! lol, I've been by about 3 times already and the connection of you-chair-horrible-childs-tale only just clicked! damn! and I'm allowed a keyboard and a blog!?!?)
I wish I had been the one to think of it, but it was an IRL friend who came up with it when I posted the picture on facebook. Very fitting, though. Very.
Deleteyes training puppies is hard - i think it took us 2 or three weeks for all our dogs to understand outside - having said that I still didn't trust any of them after the three weeks and always diligently kept a close watch - i think after a year I felt a little comfortable. - your Goldilocks moment was very funny, glad that the 2nd fall didn't cause any more bruising. Cheers to a new school year!
ReplyDeleteWe've had a really good day today, but I still don't trust them. At least with it so hot outside (100 degrees), they go out, do their business, then come right back in. Hopefully, they will retain what I've been working on in the interim between living with us and going to live with their adoptive families.
DeleteThe only think I hurt when the chair broke was my dignity.
ReplyDeleteOpen House will be Tuesday and Wednesday morning. The pre-k kids will be "institutionalized" by about the third week of school; the primary ones will take until Thanksgiving!
I feel terribly guilty that I want the puppies to go, because I sometimes DON'T want them to go. But I really do...
Gosh 95 degrees is hot! We've had - 95 I think this week. (Okay that's not true, but it's not felt like August.) Poor Ruby, not liking the pups, so I bet she'll be thankful on Friday!
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope you have no more falls, even if that is a very funny photo!
95 is horrible. 102 is even worse, which it was today. The bad news is Ruby and the boys are going to think the puppies are gone forever when they are gone tomorrow for their surgery. Maybe they'll be a little less raucous when they get back! And I hope to stay on my feet, too, even though the chair picture is pretty darn funny!
DeleteCrate training works fairly well for puppies. (I almost hate to say that, though, because I should be getting another guide dog puppy in the next month or two, and I'm afraid I'll jinx that puppy's housetraining!)
ReplyDeleteMay you always sit on chairs that are "just right." :-)
We put them in a crate at night, and they've done really well with it; only a couple of accidents over the three weeks we've had them. We also put their bowl of food in there each time, having read that they wouldn't potty where they ate (not entirely true). And took away food and water about 7:30 each night. How long does it usually take for them to "get it"?
DeleteI've sat on those chairs for 14 years without mishap! I guess all it takes is one time....
You make everything so fun!! I saw that pic when you posted it on Facebook and couldn't help but laugh. It's still just as funny. I wish I was better at taking vital blog moment pictures. Quick thinking on your butt! I know you will miss those pups when they go but it's such a wonderful thing you're doing. Do you think Ruby will miss them? I'm so happy that the high school is thisclose to being ready to open. It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I had enough sense to have Melissa take a picture! I'm lucky my phone wasn't in my back pocket when I landed! Yes, I'll miss the puppies, but definitely not enough to keep them. I hope whomever adopts them spoils them like we have! Ruby will NOT miss them. Fletcher and Pete will be even happier when they go, especially Pete. Fletcher has a way of just disappearing when he doesn't like something. The high school will be worth the wait. It is like being inside an office building! It's been over 3 years since the tornado.
DeleteOMG that chair!!! I am so impressed that you had somebody take a photo while you were laughing and still on the floor!! Also impressed that you fell so much and didn't end up in a cast because it seems that every time I fall, I'm in a cast or in discussions of surgery!! DOH.
ReplyDeleteAnd puppies. Sigh. Brilliant about moving the rugs and I'm in a weird place where I so so so want (and maybe am finally ready for) a puppy but the quickness of the potty and omg the potty training, um, yeah.
I'm quick on my feet, I mean, on my ass. Nothing broken, but the bruises I got from the previous fall make up for it. My husband said, and I quote, "I hope you don't need surgery, because we can't afford it." True love, huh?
DeleteI should have had the brilliant move-the-rug idea much sooner.
My son, who I thought was going to go to college in diapers and with a binky, was easier to potty train than these puppies.
Oh that picture is HILARIOUS!!! Glad you didn't get hurt though- I wanna see the bruised leg!! What a great list of thankfuls... good luck with your new year of school!!
ReplyDeleteBtw- I can't imagine having puppies raid my house. You're an ANGEL. Hard wood floors? A MUST!!
I will have to send you a picture of the leg! Raiding the house is a good way to put it. Desecrating my house would be another!
DeleteThis list made me happy. I am glad that you had such a good week except for the three falls. Have you posted any pictures of the puppies? Happy back to school!
ReplyDeleteI've got lots of puppy pictures posted! Pretty nearly every post I made in August has a puppy picture in it.
DeleteOh wow so sorry the chair failed you. I do not like sitting in little chairs - it would be very ugly if it failed on me! Hope you are feeling OK and nothing hurts too much!
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled about hardwood floors. But guess where Cat One took a poop today - twice? Yup, you guessed it. On the stairs - the only place in the house where we have carpet. Ass.
Happy back to school!
I always had faith in the little chairs - until now!
DeleteMy husband has said our cats can do anything, anywhere, and it won't be as bad as what the puppies have done in our family room!