Days of Kids and K9s

Annie

2012-01-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

This is a sad way to start the new year. We lost our sweet Annie unexpectedly on January 7. I know some of you have wondered what happened. I think it was probably due to bloat. She was feeling a little unwell. I knew her stomach was upset and she'd had some loose stools. I had no idea the problem was so bad, or that we would lose her so quickly. It was Saturday. We were in and out and not really wanting to go the emergency vet. She had had upset stomachs in the past, and I did not really believe that this could be serious. She seemed to be doing better. She was in the kitchen under the table when I went to check on her early in the evening. I knew as soon as I saw her stretched out with her eyes open and staring that we were losing her. She may have already been gone by then. She was convulsing. Within minutes, there was no more movement, and we knew our beautiful girl was really gone. Just that suddenly. My heart is broken.

Introducing Heath

2011-12-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been along time. I guess that is what happens when you go back to school. Since I am on winter break, I will belatedly introduce the newest family member. Our house has been taken over by the cutest kitten ever. This is Heath, our Maine Coon cat.

5 months old, the day he came home

love

Heath is addicted to watching television

under the Christmas tree

Christmas morning. Wrapping paper is the best toy

cat nap

Homecoming Day

2011-07-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to look back at some pictures of the days our current dogs came to live with our family. The two oldest are missing because they predate digital pictures. Someday I'll go back and look for theirs and see if I can convince my scanner to work. For now...

Here's Annie. She came home with us in April 2005. Quite possibly the cutest puppy ever!

She was supposed to be Duane's girl

The kids were so small!

September 2007 I took Rhiannon to pick up her Maverick from his foster mom.

February 2009 I brought home my Brynley boy.

He was pretty cute too!

Papillion Days Parade

2011-06-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

Rhys makes his debut with the PLHS Marching Band!

Big Muddy

2011-05-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

Pedestrian bridge from the Omaha side

looking from Nebraska to Iowa

upriver

Iowa

The Missouri River is near flood stage. I've been wanting to check out the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge since it opened a few months after we moved here. We finally went today.

Baseball

2011-04-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

We have had a miserably cold spring break. Still, it is spring and baseball season has begun!

Back on the bikes

2011-04-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Seems like the bikes and the kids get bigger every year. I don't have to wait for them anymore. After gifting son with my fast hybrid bike, he dropped me in the wind like a hot potato (or a teenage boy and a middle-aged mom). Daughter is still a little kinder to me.

What happened to spring?

2011-03-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had some fabulous weather, but then it changed - to this

This is my new favorite hot tea, and I need it in this weather!

Sunset

2011-03-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Bear Repair

2011-02-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago, Brynley was wanting to play with his purple bear. Brown teddy, city squirrel, or moo cow wouldn't do. It had to be purple bear. But purple bear had a problem, a hole in his head was losing stuffing.

No one knows how purple bear came to have a hole in the head.

Luckily, Daddy thought repairs could be made, and purple bear could be saved.

Brynley kept a close watch on the proceedings to make sure purple bear was well-cared for.

It was a happy moment when his purple bear could be returned.

Thanks, Dad!

Brits, blogs, and stuff

2011-02-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

I've been reading blogs today. I'm sick you see. Nastiest case of strep throat ever. I took a peak at my throat yesterday, it looked like swollen cauliflower in there (gross!), so I immediately gave up any guilt about laying around sick. Doctor said I had to be in like quarantine for 24 hours because of being terribly contagious. Even Husband was impressed (though I think he's still half convinced I'm just trying to be lazy and inconvenience him). I'm improving today thanks to wonderful antibiotics and lots of tylenol and ibuprofen to control the fiery pain in my throat. Presumably, I am allowed out of quarantine, now my first 24 hours on antibiotics are up, but really, I just don't have the energy. So here I am.

Oh yes, blogs. I've been reading blogs. I love blogs about all things British. I read several blogs by British expats in America and sometimes by American expats in Britain. My mom (mum?) is a British expat. She is an American citizen and has lived in California longer than most California natives. She is very American to most Brits, and yet still somewhat British to most Americans. My dear godmother is another British expat. So as you can see, I had a fair bit of British influence growing up. Basically this just means that I speak with just enough hint of English syntax or vocabulary choice for people to think that I'm a snob. I'm really not. It's just how the voice in my head (which often sounds suspiciously like my mother) talks. Me, I'm just a California girl with British accented voices in my head. Oh dear, I shouldn't admit to voices in my head! My brother and I, I think, are both convinced at times that we were supposed to have been born in England and should have grown up as Brits. But that would be another story.

So, these other bloggers all seem so witty and clever. Some are so funny. I'd like to be, but I think only I really think so. Some are so artistic or good at crafts, definitely not me. Some are fabulous photographers. My pictures are decent, but nothing out of the ordinary. Some of the blogs I read are by amazing dog trainers and top agility competitors. I'm average. Actually, I've been feeling a little guilty for the last month or two because, honestly, I've done almost no training with my brilliant young dog. I mean seriously, have you looked at the weather here? It sucks this time of year. It's cold, there is snow. Agility is something I play when the temperature gets above 40 degrees and the snow and ice go away so I can play outside. So there. That's just how it is. That's all for now.

Here's a kind of cool picture I took of a storm coming in last spring. I can't wait for spring.

a little too much winter

2011-01-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

Mickey and Annie reluctantly participated in provided some perspective on how the local landscape appearance has changed since my last post.

Mickey is on our driveway in the front yard by the walkway.

Annie is actually in the street here. It does make a kind of nice backdrop.

We live on the inside of a circle, where the snowplow leaves all the snow in a nice mountain for us.

a winter walkabout

2011-01-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

A day that's chilly but sunny means I may as well get the dogs out for a walk.

Mickey was put out at being left home, but I assured him it was too cold for his approval (plus I can't manage three walking and him in the baby sling, he's not up for long walks yet)

my little corner of Nebraska

So not going to let go of Maverick's leash, there were birds flying around!

our little lake we walk down to and around

warmer at home

Susan Garrett does not have this problem

2010-12-28T09:52:00.000-08:00

Brynley really does like to do everything with me!

I try to get some exercise on my cellerciser, Brynley thinks its time for a gentle massage. He loves it and won't get off even when I'm bouncing!

my fine young man

2010-12-18T13:09:00.001-08:00

My son, my first born, he is growing up in to a fine young man. He's in 8th grade now, he'll be 14 in a couple of months, it's hard to believe. He is really growing up this year. We've had struggles over the years. He has dyslexia and ADD. He receives special education services at school. He is a smart kid. This year, he is starting to be the successful, confident, young man I've always hoped he would be. Next month, he will participate at his school level in the National Geography Bee. He is one of only 29 students, out of the hundreds at his middle school, that made the qualifying cut off score. A special ed student competing in a competition that was mostly intended for the gifted kids. Rock on! Dyslexia has hidden his gifts for long enough.

He's plays flute in his 8th grade band, right in the middle of the flute section.

He loves fencing.

I love that smile.

He is a swimmer. Breaststroke is his favorite. When he was younger he sort of looked like a flopping fish. His times were, in a word, slow. Now he slices through the water with a smooth, seemingly effortless stroke. His times are dropping fast.

Butterfly

Freestyle

Gliding through the water, swimmers are being passed, times are coming down, confidence is going up.

Small rewards of being a parent.

Wedding, Christmas, rambling

2010-12-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

I am a very lucky woman. I don't have a sister, I was blessed with one brother. But thanks to my brother and my husband, I have the best sister-in-laws a woman could ask for. Actually, I just think of them as my sisters, even though I didn't get them until I was an adult. One of them is the amazing woman my brother married. He would agree it was the best thing he's ever done. She writes a popular blog (you can see it here) and designs gorgeous jewelry. She also it a great amateur photographer. She's way more creative than I am, but I'm really good at borrowing ideas. We have been in California for a family wedding, and we got the chance to get together with them for a early Christmas. So I borrowed her idea for this picture. Lisa's is way better than mine, but I do what I can. I love these stockings. My mom made the first ones when my brother and I were kids and has added the ones for our spouses and kids as they came along.

The purpose of our visit was for the wedding of my youngest brother-in-law. His new wife happens to share my first name. It's freaking me out a little bit, seeing my name on Facebook belonging to someone else, but I love her so much, so it's ok. It means I now have the five best sisters (in law) in the world.

My beautiful daughter got to be the flower girl. It was the perfect wedding, meaningful and short! We got a little time to hang out with all my husband's family and all my family. It was a jam packed weekend, but I got to see all the people I love most in the world. Can't ask for more than that. (and it was in warm California, a weekend away from the cold and ice!)

Here's a moment with my daughter, my nephew, and my godmother. Being surrounded by so much love is reminding me to be grateful for all the good things in my life. Little Mickey papillon dislocated his hip and it cost over $1000 to fix him, so with weddings, and vet bills and such, this Christmas is going to be smaller than we've been used to. I still have a lot to be thankful for and happy about. I may put a bow on my Mickey and kiss him and snuggle him. It's a good year after all.

Speaking of papillons, here is my mom's pretty little Rose.

enjoying the sun

2010-11-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon we headed to the Omaha Zoo to enjoy what will probably be the last of the sunny, 70 degree weather. It was beautiful, and so relaxing!

I always go crazy taking pictures of the ring-tailed lemurs. I must have taken at least 50. This guy particularly amused me.

My highlight was seeing the 5 month old Siberian (Amur) Tiger. This is Isabelle and her mom. How precious, a new baby girl in a critically endangered species.

Autumn

2010-11-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

Autumn, I just think it's a prettier word than fall. Summer has ended in the heartland. This morning was distinctly chilly. Still, I decided to play with my camera and post to my much neglected blog. We have been lucky with a warm, dry fall. It's only just getting chilly so can't really complain.

Some of the trees have already lost their leaves. Raking season is in full swing!

Others are still showing off their beautiful colors.

If you haven't realized it, there is a relationship between which dogs are most likely to stay still for a picture and which one's pictures get taken the most often!

Yes, Brynley is probably my favorite subject.

Annie is also cooperative. This picture made me laugh. It's such a typical Annie expression that I just had to use it!

Brynley has had a wonderful fall making his debut in agility. These are his AKC Novice ribbons. I really like his choices in favorite colors! (Green ribbons are for runs qualifying towards a title, blue is for 1st place, the multi color was for his first title) I ran him a total of five days in AKC agility this fall. He ran outdoors on grass, in an indoor horse arena, and indoors on an artificial turf soccer field. (we both love that turf!) I was so proud of how he performed in all these different conditions. He had rock solid start line stays, no off courses, great weave pole entries, and blazing speed. He earned his first two AKC titles . He is now Jusdandy Twilight Bright NA, NAJ. Now we'll take the winter off to relax and maybe play with some obedience training and build back to what needs to be worked on for Open in the spring. The biggest issue for now is that his contacts haven't held up as he's gone from second gear to overdrive. I'm not quite sure how we're going to address this. We can do some 2o2o work over the winter, but the real issue is putting it together with serious speed that we can't get when we're training indoors on mats or just on a contact trainer. That's my puzzle for now. Meantime, I'm looking forward to just curling up with a book and my dogs to snuggle and relax as the weather gets cold.

Grass Addiction

2010-09-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

That's grass as in the stuff growing to make my lawn where I like to play agility, not the other kind. The addict is Brynley, who may henceforth be known as "he who eats everything, all the time".

Brynley made his agility debut this past weekend. No big deal really, just a couple of classes at a local USDAA trial in performance to get an idea of how our training is coming along and how my ankle will hold up to running at a trial. Over all, it went well. I think the best part for me was that I did not walk out to the start line with jitters about running with Bryn for the first time. It just felt like something we've always done.

Of course, it wasn't perfect. I came home with a list of things to work on before we trial again. (which is coming up quickly, yikes!) The biggest thing for me was that Brynley occasionally stopped to grab at the grass during a run. (that dog will eat anything) Yeah, I've seen it before. Usually when I correct a behavior, most often marking a problem in the weave poles and calling him out of them. So I can't say it surprised me.

This required hours of analysis, pouring over the 90 seconds worth of video from each day. I mean, oh my God, what am I to do?! Should I be running over to stop him every time this happens? Oh crap! He's not focused on me, a sin, a crime, we should be forever banished from agility trials! What to do? What to do?

Oh yeah, back to the videos. So, the first and most obvious conclusion. It only happened in standard, not in jumpers (the only 2 classes I ran him in). Hmm.... So it doesn't happen when he's running fast and confident? Back to looking at video, frame by frame. Hmm... it only happens when I get behind him. Ok. Well, he's a fast dog, that's a bit of a problem.

Back to videos, focus on the handler. That's me. Hmm... handler is slow, out of position, and usually late with cues (except when I'm early and he follows me off the jump, good boy!). Well, that puts a bit of a different wrinkle on the issue.

Conclusion: the problem is 80 percent poor handling, primarily bad positions and timing, 25 percent a need for further training and practice, and 15 percent just being a young, inexperienced dog acting out his frustration and insecurity. ( I know, it doesn't add up to 100. Just want to emphasize how much of the problem I think is my handling). The good news, it's totally curable with more training and practice. There were some other bobbles on course this weekend, but they also were also mostly due to my problems with being in position and giving well-timed cues.

So, we're heading back to the grass for more practice. We'll work on Brynley's confidence to work away and in front of me and his understanding of going on to the obstacles. And weave pole entrances, didn't see that in practice, that's why you got to take to a trial. For me, well, I'm going to work on getting in to better positions and figuring out how to improve my timing even when I can't be in an ideal position. Lots to do, but I love spending time playing with my boy! And, I should add, he did get his first Qualifying run and first place!

Branson vacation

2010-08-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

stack of cousins

cousins

look out, there's gonna be a BIG splash!

the boys, and one little girl, hang out

Go carts

grown ups, too!

a break in the stream for a family photo

sea turtles

2010-07-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

a highlight of our recent California vacation was two days spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Five 8 month old green sea turtles were new on display the second morning we visited. They were cute and charming and very cooperative in swimming by for pictures. I fell totally in love!

a new advocate for the sea turtles and our oceans. Don't you want to preserve the oceans for her?

getting around

2010-06-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

June has been quite a busy month. First, the girl and I spent a week in Missouri for a dance competition. Now, I am in California with both kids visiting family and places I love. Here is a small taste, maybe I'll post more later.

Branson, MO

Yosemite

Morro Bay

Brynley weaves

2010-06-05T16:59:00.001-07:00

sight seeing

2010-05-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Dyslexia and the learning process

2010-05-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thirteen years of watching my son and puzzling out how he learns has finally led to some insight. These are some thoughts I would like to share with all his teachers, and a reminder for myself. As his seventh grade year comes to a close, I can say that I have seen some breakthroughs that I have been waiting for for years for my dyslexic son. The biggest is that I can now say he is a reader! Not only has he finally started reading for pleasure in the last year, he now devours books almost as quickly as I do. When he was 10, I wondered if he would ever read and enjoy the Harry Potter series. The answer is yes, when he was 13.

So what do I know about dyslexia that was so hard to understand? I think I finally understand how smart my child is. And I finally understand that although I don't understand his learning style, and it takes a little longer usually for him to master something, he will get there.

My new analogy for understanding how my dyslexic son learns uses the image of building a puzzle. Most people build a puzzle in a linear fashion, finding one piece and then another and systematically building the picture. Dyslexia means building the puzzle in a completely different way. One day he may build a small piece of the puzzle. When he comes back to it the next day, this piece is gone. This pattern may repeat for quite a while. Putting small pieces together, only to seem to loose them. But suddenly, almost overnight, some kind of grand reshuffling takes place in the brain and the next day the dyslexic looks at the puzzle and the picture is complete. Complete and mastered, never to be lost again, and occasionally just a little more brilliant than the average puzzle.

Be patient with my son. Keep giving him the pieces. He may not get the puzzle on our time frame, but he will get it, and it will be better than expected.

the journey.... beautiful Iowa

2010-04-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm tearing myself away from Farmville to update my much neglected blog. It seems like things have been pretty busy. We enjoyed some beautiful weather over spring break, and I spent it teaching Brynley to weave. Hobbling around in first a walking boot, and graduating to an ankle brace. Last week, Tracy Sklenar came to Iowa, and I got to spend four days working on moving to a higher plane of awareness in my agility journey. I'm pleased that Bryn is weaving, but I came away from the seminar with a page of things to work on in his training before we think of trialling. I'm sure I'll find the time somewhere. I have a new awareness of foundation training we need to focus on.

Meanwhile, the foot and ankle are progressing in healing. I hit a low point early last week when it seemed like it just hasn't gotten much better. (fortunately, I didn't have to run much at the agility seminar) I've been doing physical therapy for almost three weeks. I think the last couple of days have seen a turning point. I seem to walking with less pain, and today I even went for a short bike ride (though I won't be locking in my pedals with cleats any time soon).

The agility seminar took place just over the river in Iowa at the beautiful Fairacres Agility. The views are just
fantastic, and I think this must be the prettiest agility field that I've ever been fortunate enough to run on.

Having a ball!

2010-03-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

My foot and ankle are slowly healing. It has been almost two weeks now since I hurt it. I go back and forth between optimism that I will be running soon now the swelling and bruising are going down, and pessimism because it still hurts, and I can not yet walk on it unsupported. Meanwhile, the weather is starting to feel a little more like spring. I'm bummed that I'm not out walking and training my dogs. Yesterday, I took the dogs, a couple of different sized tennis balls, and my camera out in the backyard so we could at least enjoy the sunshine. We did!

Annie got the ball first. Hurry back so mom will throw it again!

Brynley got the ball and ran!

A short break to watch the world go by.

Little papillons play ball, too.

Mickey is the fiercest ball dog of all. Throw it already!

slowly progressing

2010-03-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today is Day 5 since the ankle incident. There is a noticeable, significant decrease in the amount of swelling in my foot for the first time. The bruising is changing from purple to green (yuk, says my kids!). Best of all, I'm walking around fairly comfortably in my walking boot. Later today, I will try to drive my minivan.

I have reluctantly decided that I have to pull Brynley from this session of agility class. In a handling system that focuses largely on the handler's movement and body position (Greg Derrett), I don't want to mess up Bryn's understanding. I keep reminding myself that it is only a temporary setback. April 10 is the day I am supposed to work Brynley in a seminar here with Tracy Sklenar, so all my focus is on trying to heal enough to be able to run him by that day. With that in mind, I'm focusing on being a good patient and laying around with my foot up most of the time. (Okay, that's not so rough, but it's less fun when you HAVE to).

Meanwhile, here is a picture where I caught Brynley and Mickey in a rare moment of sharing space. They were under my kitchen desk.

Laid up

2010-03-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

Well, Tuesday night I made a mistake. I went out in the yard to call Casey in, and in the dark, I was looking for the dog, not watching where I was going down the deck stairs. I missed the last step, and I fell, bad. I rolled my ankle completely over, and heard a loud pop. I immediately knew I had messed it up bad. It hurt horribly! I had to have my husband come home and take me to the ER. The Dx is that I severely sprained the ankle, and I have a small chip fracture where the ligament pulled away a piece of bone due to the force of the trauma. The doctors tell me that small chip fractures usually heal well. The soft tissue damage is likely to be a more long term problem. So, Brynley's agility training has come to a pause. Right now, two days later, I can not yet put weight on my right foot. I have a walking boot and crutches. I am hoping to be able to walk in the boot with out crutches by early next week. (somehow I have to be able to drive my son to school) Then, I'm thinking I should be able to do some training with Brynley as long as I don't run. Weave pole training is totally on hold. I won't be able to get out in the soggy yard with my walking boot. I'm having a much greater appreciation for simple things like walking and getting a cup of tea. I can't do much of anything right now.

It's purple, it's swollen, it hurts.

Goodbye snow!

2010-03-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have never been so happy to see the end of winter approaching! I remember reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter as a kid. Now I think I've lived through the long winter on the plains! A 40 degree, almost spring, day in Nebraska means going outside in nothing heavier than a sweatshirt. Love it!

The melting snow is making a little river down the middle of our yard during the warm part of the day.

The plants in the yard are beginning to reappear for the first time in months.

Maybe now we can get the Christmas lights down.

Some of the drifts and piles of snow are going to take a little longer than others to say goodbye and good riddance.

I didn't play with dolls

2010-02-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

but now I do!

No, that isn't my laundry. It's a pile of American Girl doll clothes. The clothes that cost more than mine or my daughter's.

We got their hair all combed out and nice.

Then Daughter got them all dressed up in party clothes.

An aussie's job is never done. Got to guard all these dolls! Maybe I'll be invited to the party?

old friend and new

2010-02-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

My young, fast sheltie will hopefully be making is agility debut sometime this year. This has inspired me to do something about getting in shape to do a little better job of keeping up with him. I am spending time with an old friend, my bicycle. I love this bike. It is a 2003 Specialized Sirrus. It's a style of bike called a fast hybrid, basically a road bike that has the design of a mountain bike without the weight. Currently the only miles we are putting in are on the wind trainer in the basement, but when warm weather comes, for the first time in years, I intend to be fit enough to hit the bike trails. The Wabash Trace has been calling my name since we moved here, this year we get acquainted.

This is my new friend, my yoga mat. Have I mentioned that I love yoga? I went to my first yoga class just about 4 weeks ago when we joined the YMCA. I love yoga! This new friend is going to be a lifelong one.

Gingerbread cookies

2010-01-21T10:02:00.000-08:00

snow dogs

2010-01-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

recent pictures

2010-01-07T17:49:00.000-08:00

hanging out at the zoo

2010-01-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome, Twenty Ten!

2010-01-01T12:19:00.001-08:00

In keeping with my current interests for the new year, look for more photos and less words (hmm, I think I've already been doing that). Anyway, I'm pretty sure the three people who actually look at my blog just want to see pictures. You will continue to have to put up with pictures of the dogs as well as the kids. Happy New Year, and new decade!

Christmas with family

2009-12-31T09:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas Blizzard

2009-12-30T17:11:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2009 in Omaha will be remembered for the blizzard that brought lots of snow, and huge drifts. Being snowbound with family, food, and fun was not so bad.

Happy Birthday, Brynley!

2009-12-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my puppy is one year old today! It was a year ago on Christmas that I began my search and wait for my Jusdandy puppy. It makes December extra special that it is Bryn's birthday and my birthday, as well as Christmas this month. We are moving on to exciting things in Bryn's agility training now he is a year old and fully grown. He has started learning to jump and soon we'll be starting weave poles.

I got to spend Brynley's birthday home with him as we have had a snow day with a huge snow storm coming through today. The kids and I have spent a quiet day, reading, playing video games and watching movies. The snow has been coming down all day. This is the view out our front door this morning. That's actually the street out there somewhere.
Compare to the amount of snow this evening! It's a winter wonderland in Nebraska this week. The lights are so pretty reflecting off all the still clean snow.

Keeping busy

2009-11-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

Guess what our son's latest activity is? Yes, it's Rhys under that fencing mask! He seems to be enjoying his new hobby. He's not the most natural athlete, but he seems to have a knack for winning his matches.
The rock star and the ninja went trick-or-treating and brought home an absolutely ridiculous stash of candy. The scariest part is how quickly that huge bowl of candy has been vanishing. I, of course, know nothing about it!

After a cold, wet, and even snowy October, we have finally been enjoying some pleasant fall weather. I got to spend 4 days last week at an agility seminar with Tracy Sklenar. It was awesome! Annie and Brynley both did well, and I came away with a good idea of what I need to be working on for the next few months. I ran outside with the dogs this weekend to snap some quick pictures in the sunshine.
Casey asked for me to take his picture, too. Which, of course, I did because you should always take opportunities to take pictures of your dear old dogs.

more pics from the pumpkin farm

2009-10-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

Sunday afternoon, we finally made it to the Bellevue Berry Farm and Pumpkin Patch. With the weather this month, I was beginning to wonder if we would get there. It was cool, windy, overcast, and muddy, but we still had a good time!

These guys must be the unofficial welcoming crew. They were so cute, I kept taking their picture!
The hunt for pumpkins! Stay out of the mud.
Lots of the pumpkins were ruined by all the rain, but the kids found a couple to bring home. Always going for the biggest one you can (almost) carry!
Then it was time to play.
And last of all before coming home, a stop to warm up with hot chocolate. Yummy!

October Snow!

2009-10-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to running Annie and working at our club's USDAA agility trial this weekend. Unfortunately, we woke up to a little surprise this morning. The weather forecasters had said no accumulating snow. Hah! Our outdoor agility site looked like this! No agility in Omaha this weekend.

The plants and trees look like fall buried in winter. Most of the leaves haven't even turned color yet.

Brynley doesn't mind. He loves playing in the snow!
The kids thought it was pretty neat too, even though it wasn't a school day.

My dogs

2009-09-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

I took Annie to an AKC trial here in Omaha 2 weekends ago. We only ran in Jumpers with Weaves. I am happy to say that we got a qualifying score on Sunday, her first in Excellent A JWW. Best of all, we ran well together both days. Annie is an agility dog with issues. Handling her is a puzzle that can be an interesting intellectual exercise. There are answers. One of which is that she runs for me. We both had a good time. I'm not giving up. We are doing a USDAA trial in a few weeks, and I entered everything. Back to contacts. At least we are in Starters. I'm hoping for joy and flow in our runs together.

Brynley is looking very grown up. He seems to have stopped growing, and I neutered him this month at 9 1/2 months old. It's time to focus on his career as an agility dog. (like we haven't since he was born) I think he is such a beautiful boy. I know in a couple of years he will still look like this, but with a whole ton of coat added. I'm happy to report that he loves to be brushed, cause he's going to be groomed a lot! I am very happy with how he is doing in Susan Garrett's foundation training. What he has been learning this year is going to make the rest of agility so much easier.

Where to start?

2009-09-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun and busy summer. We had many visitors come to see us in Nebraska and it was great!

Nana and Poppa came for a visit. The kids were so happy to see them!
We finished up the summer at the Wings of Freedom Air Show at Offutt Air Base. This is always one of our favorite events. It is well run and always seems to go smoothly in spite of huge turn outs of people.
Some of the California cousins came to visit and the kids had a great time at the Air and Space Museum. This tower got taller!
The kids also showed Nana and Poppa around the Air and Space Museum.
Son worked as a volunteer at the Henry Doorly Zoo and then we enjoyed a fun day at Duane's company picnic at the zoo.

School is back in session now, and it's feeling more like fall. Son is adjusting well to his first weeks in junior high. Daughter loves third grade and is staying very busy with her first year on a competition dance team. Can't wait to see what the change of season brings.

Silver and Gold

2009-08-12T14:05:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot happening at our house in the past month. We've enjoyed the company of several visitors from out of town and spent some time enjoying the sights in Omaha with them.

The dogs are keeping me busy. Brynley has been growing and is really starting to look like a grown up sheltie. Okay, a teenage sheltie. He is progressing well in his agility foundation training. He has gone over size and is very distracted at training class these days, so I'm thinking his appointment with the vet for a brain adjustment will be soon! Sad news has been learning that Casey has an insulinoma, a cancer on his pancreas which is producing excess insulin. We have opted to manage this conservatively, which means frequent meals to keep up his blood sugar. He's pretty happy with this plan, but I am sad knowing our time together likely won't be too much longer, months if we are lucky. Thank God for puppies to brighten our day. I am also back to training agility with Annie, and I'm glad of it. I'm focused on all her good points these days, she really has so much to offer.

I'm writing a new blog focused on issues dealing with pets and real estate. Check it out at http://blog.cbshome.com/teresacarlile

Nebraska animal life

2009-07-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July Fun

2009-07-05T13:58:00.001-07:00

I love our neighborhood on the 4th. Dogs were tucked away in their crates in their room in the basement. Then we ate until we were stuffed. The kids were very impatient to set off fireworks.

My little pyromaniac was the most eager of all.
Light it and run!
Taking a break to wait for dark. Break time included ice cream cones!
Let the grown ups set off the big ones after dark.

Dear family and friends,

2009-06-30T11:42:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned recently that I am a licensed real estate agent? Yes, I live in Nebraska and most of you don't. Yet, seeing as you are my family and friends, and you're taking the time to read this, I'm sure you want to help me to be successful in my career. Well, you can! And as a special bonus, I will be helping you, too.

So here's how it works in real estate. Say you are moving from Fresno to Clovis, or San Francisco to Washington D.C. or Fort Wayne to where ever. You give me a call or drop me an email. I use my fabulous connections and those of my company to find you the best agent to work with to sell your current house or buy your new one. I interview that agent and make sure he or she is going to do an outstanding job for you, just the same as I would, because you are my family and friends. (okay, I do outstanding work for all my clients) The benefit to you is obvious. You don't have to guess or pick an agent at random out of the phone book. I make sure you get the best. The benefit to me, is that the other agent pays me a referral fee for sending you to them as a client. Pretty cool, huh? It's a win, win for you and me. So, if you or anyone you know is going to be buying or selling, please get in touch with me.

My email is Teresa.Carlile@cbshome.com and my work phone number is 402- 697-4449. I'm working for you!

An eye opener

2009-06-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you are on phone duty and the phone isn't ringing? Finally, catch up on your blog!

Brynley is 6 months old now, and starting to look more like a grown up sheltie dog. His favorite place to nap is on the arm rest of the sofa, especially if I'm sitting there. I usually have a sheltie boy on either side. Perfect.
Daughter had a great time at her dance recital in May. She has decided, with our agreement, to join a competition dance team this coming school year. This is a big time and financial commitment, so this will be the main activity of this year.
Son finished up the year with a successful science fair project presentation and his first big concert as a flute player. He will be playing the flute in the 7th grade band this coming year.
I have been very busy with the real estate business, having the kids home for the summer, and trying to train too many dogs. This week at foundations agility class, I had an eye opening experience. Now, you would think if I had a revelation at a dog training class it would be about dog training, but it wasn't. I had a sudden insight into my son's life of living with ADD.

Maverick has a major issue with barking. This week I began using a manners minder at class to work on this problem. (side note- the manners minder was pretty successful and we are making some progress) I had class first with Brynley and then with Maverick. Mav was in his crate with the manners minder and I was using a remote to dispense food rewards when he didn't bark. Of course, this meant that through out both classes a certain amount of my attention was on Maverick and timing his rewards. I thought that I was doing really well at multi-tasking and listening to the instructor. Yet in both classes as my turns came up, I would find myself making mistakes, or suddenly realizing that I didn't really know what the instructions were. Of course, I've done agility for a long time, and I thought I knew what I was doing, right up until I did the exercise wrong. I was feeling frustrated with myself that even though I was listening I didn't seem to be able to "get it right".

It wasn't until I was driving home that I had a light bulb moment. This is exactly how my son feels every day in school! Oh wow! What a revelation. I realized that my problem was because part of my attention was always on Maverick and rewarding him, even though I didn't realize it at the time and thought I was paying attention. But for my son, this is what ADD is like all the time. He thinks he's paying attention, he's trying to pay attention, but when it comes time to do the exercise something goes wrong because his brain wasn't as focused as he thought it was. Wow! My problem is temporary and easily solved, but for my son, this is his life. All I can do is be understanding and patient and try to help and guide him to succeed in spite of the challenges he faces.

Foundation

2009-05-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

This month has been so busy, I can barely stop to think. I got my real estate license on May 1, and have been on the go ever since. I am working with CBSHome Real Estate in the Omaha area. This company has a great education department, and that is where I have spent this month. I am really enjoying being "out in the real world", so far. And I'm sure I'll eventually find time to clean my house and do some laundry again! I feel well prepared as I make plans to get my real estate business going.

Meanwhile, my darling aussie, Annie has come back to be my dog. She made it pretty clear, and in public fashion, that at least when it comes to agility, she is a one person dog; mine. I have to really commend my husband, Duane, for not taking it too badly when the dog that was supposed to be his publicly declared that it wasn't to be so. Of course, when the time comes that we can add a dog to the family, it will be his, and I get no say whatsoever in who that dog is! I can't argue with that. So now, I am training my baby Brynley and Annie. Duane is tasked with training Maverick for our daughter.

Annie and I are going all the way back to foundation training to work on her issues that have been building up over the years. She is such an anxious girl. I am convinced that it is not that she doesn't like agility, she just worries a lot. I feel confident that going back to Susan Garrett's foundation training will help her both in agility and more importantly in every day life. Expect to be hearing more as I put in the time to retrain and help my awesome, anxious girl. And thanks, Duane. We love you.

Odds and Ends

2009-04-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here listening to the thunderstorm as I write this. April has been such a busy month! I took and passed my Nebraska Real Estate Salesperson exam, and am joining CBS Home Real Estate. I heard so much about how hard the exam was that I basically had a panic attack the morning I took it. Fortunately, I did well. Is there a profession that pays well for being good at taking tests?

Brynley is maturing into a very handsome fellow. He is so smart and is learning so quickly. We are going to a Tracy Sklenar seminar this week, with a working spot in Monday's puppy session. Tracy is one of Susan Garrett's trainer's, so I'm really excited about this!
Son got his braces on early this month. He is doing well, and we are looking forward to junior high in the fall.
Duane finished painting the living room. Here is the accent wall. On to the kitchen next, with lots of taping to be done and priming over the bright yellow before the new color can go up.
Brynley did some product testing of our Petlane items. So far, he really approves. This is his hide-a-squirrel toy. It is a favorite.
Solara, our almost 11 year old cat also got in on the product testing. She loves this kitty toy! This is the kitty calisthenics toy. Anything that can get this fat, old cat jumping around and playing like she did, gets a big thumbs up from me!

Home Makeover

2009-04-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Big, white walls are no longer white, hooray! There is a lot more to go, but painting is off to a great start!

Stylin'

2009-04-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

We girls went and had our hair cut to update our style.

Then I found these kids in my tree!

Puppy Stuff

2009-03-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

I love how this reinforcement stuff works. We brought the pause table into the living room (everyone does, right?). I have yet to actually do a formal training session on it with Brynley, but I frequently give him a treat for getting on it, just a charlie bear from my pocket. I've progressed already to holding out for a down. He gets on it all the time, just to check if he might get something! Meanwhile, all the dogs like to play on it, and Brynley has decided it's a pretty good place for a nap, if only Mom wouldn't disturb him by taking pictures!

Here's a couple of pics of the growing boy at 15 weeks old, on Monday. He's a little oversize, but I can hope, can't I?

Cycling

2009-03-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

I'm dedicating this post to my brother. Today, we headed out on our first family bike ride of the year. We made it 5 miles. Both kids just moved up to bigger bikes. Son is now riding a small adult bike! Eastern Nebraska and western Iowa are great areas for bike riding (weather permitting). We have literally hundreds of miles of bike paths. The only issue is that being in the plains, the wind always blows. Head winds, cross winds, both together. I want to point out that the prairie is not even close to flat. This is the only place I've ridden where somehow you can be going uphill, into a head wind, both coming and going. Seriously! Ride it and you'll believe me. The weather today was so perfect, it seemed like everyone was out on bikes. We saw people and bikes of all shapes and sizes. Families, kids with training wheels, serious roadies, and even a couple on a recumbent tandem. I wish I could manage to take pictures while I'm riding, but I'm not that good!

Here's Duane and the kids on the bike trail not far from our house.
Moving up to bigger bikes.
Daughter loves to ride her bike. She is so thrilled to have inherited Brother's last bike.

Spring

2009-03-16T14:45:00.001-07:00

We are enjoying some very nice, springlike weather today. I dusted off my bicycle and went for a short (very!) ride. I also took dogs for a walk. Brynley has had a major growth spurt this week. I took the camera outside and followed him around for a while. All my pics looked like this! He seems to think he is a goat rather than a puppy.

Casey enjoyed the warmth, and is feeling much better.
Brynley has learned how to lay down and relax and take a nap without being confined to a crate, hooray!
Maverick was checking out the view.

Troublesome Toy

2009-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when dogs eat things they shouldn't. Two weeks ago, Casey got sick and was vomiting blood. We took him to vet emergency, where he spent the night and had a series of x-rays. The vet thought she saw a foreign object. The next morning, we transferred him to our regular vet, who was less sure it was a foreign object and thought he might have a tumor. The condensed version is, that they got him feeling better, and he came home. Fast forward to this past Monday. Casey again threw up, and I took him straight in for an x-ray. The apparent foreign object had not moved. Tuesday, he had exploratory surgery. The object was located and milked out of his colon. Casey came home, and has been feeling very sorry for himself. He has slowly been recovering this week, and seems to begin to be in less pain.

A 10 inch incision, no wonder he came home in a lot of pain.
The source of the problem, a little helmet from a Star Wars stormtrooper, no bigger than a penny. It is only slightly squashed and discolored after a trip through Casey's digestive system.
Not a happy dog. He is feeling better today.

Brynley's Busy Day

2009-02-15T16:31:00.001-08:00

Friday I flew to New Jersey to pick up Brynley. I was only a couple of hours late getting out, due to the snow storm. I had a wonderful visit with his breeder and met his sire and dam. I particularly fell for Brynley's sire, Gnat. Yesterday, Brynley and I flew home. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and we travelled without incident. He was a very good puppy the whole way! Today was his first day at home, and he had many chores to do...

The jackets had to be put away
Teddy needed looking after
"Uncle" Casey needed visiting with
And he had to practice searching for avalanche survivors

It was a very busy first day in his new home. My new boy is here, and I think he is the perfect dog for me!

Stunned

2009-02-10T12:28:00.001-08:00

We got the report on Son's dyslexia testing last week. Although we knew he was dyslexic before reading the report, it still left me stunned. I spent several days reading and rereading and absorbing all the information it had about my son. Suddenly, all the years of his struggles in school made perfect sense. The details were mind blowing even to me, as familiar as I've been with his struggles. His diagnosis is moderate to severe dyslexia and severe disgraphia (that's the difficulties with handwriting that usually accompanies dyslexia). I'm trying to move past the guilt of allowing my child to be tortured in school for so many years, when I knew something wasn't right. The good news is, now that we have a diagnosis, there is much that can be done to help him. I will begin tutoring him with the Barton system just as soon as our materials arrive. We now know which accommodations, such as books on tapes and a scribe, to provide in school to allow him to effectively demonstrate his learning. We will also begin diligently working with him to have him learn to touch type. We spent over $1000 to get the private testing and find these answers. I thank God that we finally did it.

On another note, here is the latest picture of Brynley. He's the grubby guy on the right. I go to New Jersey on Friday to bring him home. I so excited, I can hardly stand it!

Agility and Answers

2009-01-28T14:46:00.001-08:00

Duane and Annie made their agility debut as a team this weekend. We went to a NADAC trial, which was a first for all of us. We were in an unheated, indoor horse arena, and it was COLD! Duane and Annie did great. Saturday started a little slow, with Annie looking around a lot and both of them getting used to each other, but they did qualify in 2 of their 6 runs. On Sunday they were on fire. Annie qualified in all 6 runs, with 1st places in her standard runs for her NAC title, and they were 2nd in all their games classes. Way to go!

Finally, after 6 1/2 years of school, we are getting some answers for Son. We spent a large sum on private dyslexia testing, and now we know, that yes, he is dyslexic. I've suspected he has dyslexia since 4th grade, and now he is in 6th grade, why did it take so long? I guess the answer is because it is almost impossible to get information and testing in the public schools. The good news is, now that we know, there is a lot we can do to help him, I just wish we had known sooner. The bad news is, that just like the testing, he is unlikely to get the help he needs in the public schools. Legally, the schools are required to provide a free, appropriate education, but the reality is, that it's unlikely to happen. I plan to provide the appropriate tutoring myself, so we'll see how it goes.

Find the Papillon in this pile of animals! Too cute.

Puppy fever!

2009-01-19T11:15:00.001-08:00

I am having a full blown case of puppy fever! In just under four weeks, I go to pick up my new baby boy. He is a bi blue sheltie with a lot of black. I have named him, Brynley. We need another dog in the house like we need a tornado to come through, yet this puppy is MINE, and I'm so excited! It's actually been almost 10 years since I got a puppy that was for me, and even longer since I got one specifically to bring along as my agility dog. Brynley is very well bred and comes from dogs specifically bred for agility and performance, as well as conformation. For my interested dog friends, check out jusdandy.com. Brynley is from the Gnat x Twila litter, if you'd like to see his breeding.

Meanwhile, I'm spending all my spare time dreaming of my trip east to pick up Brynley and fly home with him. I'm imagining snuggling him for the first time, and bringing him home to meet our family. I'm picturing training him with all the great information I've learned in recent years to be my fabulous agility partner, and probably obedience too. We may even try herding if I can find some where to try it. He has the breeding. I'm picturing him as an adult dog in full coat with his beautiful coloring.
Of course, in my daydreaming, I skip quickly over the thought of 5 hours traveling on a plane with a baby dog stuck in a sherpa bag. I picture trooping outside at 5 in the morning with snow on the ground during housebreaking and pray for an early spring this year! More sheltie hair in the house? I guess I'll be vacuuming even more. I can't wait to bring my puppy home!

Obsessing

2009-01-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

It seems like we've been pretty busy since Christmas. We took Son to Colorado to a dyslexia testing specialist. We think he is dyslexic, but we'll get her report back at the beginning of February. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to best help him. Should we home school? But I don't want to take him away from friends he is just starting to make, and I like our junior high that he will go to next year. So many questions...

On to the dogs. Don't most people have a line of masking tape on their carpet, so they have a reward line for throwing hot dogs while teaching 2 x 2 weave poles? Is throwing hot dogs on your carpet in the name of training an awesome agility dog a normal thing? I thought so. My Susan Garrett seminar is rescheduled for the very end of the month. I'll be so happy to finally get to go!

Isn't he cute?
He's cute too, although not too happy at having pictures taken!

How we spent Christmas

2008-12-25T17:39:00.001-08:00

Playing video games

Playing computer games

Playing with toys

Snuggling with sweet, old dog

Hope you had a merry Christmas, too!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

Poor guy! He finally gets a day off, and he gets sent out to shovel snow and ice. Don't let the bright sunshine fool you. It is bitterly cold, below 0 wind chill!
Winter has definitely arrived! It will be a white Christmas. Just watch out, cause that's all ice under the inch of fresh snow. I spent my 40th birthday on Monday, holed up from the weather.
Personally, I think Mickey has the right idea. Curl up in a warm, cozy bed and hibernate for the winter!

My daughter, the dancer

2008-12-15T14:32:00.001-08:00

Christmas Piano Recital

2008-12-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's not great video, but here it is. My first attempt at posting video. I have a lot to learn about my computer and manipulating video. This is Daughter's piano recital from Friday night.

Winter walking

2008-12-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am a huge fan of dog trainer and agility competitor, Susan Garrett. I was reading her blog today about walking her dogs in the winter, and how good it is for dogs and people alike. There is beautiful sunshine outside today, so I figured I should crawl out from under my blanket on the sofa and walk some dogs. After all, Susan Garrett lives in Canada, surely I can handle some Nebraska weather. I bundled up in hat, coat, gloves, and scarf, and tucked Maverick into his high tech, high priced dog coat. Papillons have no undercoat, so he has a wind proof dog jacket. Annie got by with her god-given Aussie coat. We were all pretty comfortable, other than my nearly frost bitten thighs. Next time, (next time?!!) I'll remember to add long johns under my jeans. I decided to check the temperature when we got home. 21 degrees F, with a wind chill of 5 degrees. The sun may be shining, but southern California this is not!

a warm vacation

2008-12-03T06:33:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving week having a wonderful vacation courtesy of Nana and Poppa. We spent the week in warm, sunny southern California at Disneyland and Sea World. We hung out with my parents, Nana and Poppa, and my brother, his wife, and their two boys. We had such a good time being with family we hadn't seen in a long time. It was such a great week. We came home exhausted!

Papillons

2008-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

Here are our two papillons, who are good examples of the opposite ends of the spectrum for the papillon breed. Mickey, the smaller dog, is a well-bred and typy papillon. He is about 8.5 inches tall and 6 lbs. His coat is on the softer side and he has a lot of it! He also has miles of long ear fringe. Maverick is the taller dog. He is way over the acceptable size limit for a papillon at about 14 inches tall(maybe a little more). He comes from a rescue group and is of puppy mill breeding. He has a nice, flat wash and wear coat. His drop ears are acceptable for the breed.

Both boys are great little dogs. Mickey is my bed buddy, and Maverick is in training to be our daughter's agility dog. He has the best personality of just about any dog we've had.

Catching Up

2008-11-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Wow! Time is really flying by. We have been so busy the past few weeks. I am finally substitute teaching. It took four months to complete one class and jump through all the hoops, paper work, and delays with the state of Nebraska for my certificate. I am into my second week of subbing in our district and am thrilled that I have been almost universally happy with what I have been seeing in the schools. These are good kids and good schools.

I have also finished my first real estate course and am still on schedule to have a real estate salesperson license sometime early next year.

The kids are doing well. Our club hosted our swim meet this weekend and both kids did very well. Son is turning into a breaststroke specialist and Daughter continues to excel in the backstroke and individual medleys. Daughter was honored at school this morning as her class student of the month for October.

Only the doggies are suffering from my new found employment. They are having to adjust to more time home alone and less time spent on walks and training. We are working on balancing all the demands on our time for both needs and desires. It's a work in progress!

Pumpkin farm

2008-10-26T08:44:00.001-07:00

We went to a nearby pumpkin farm yesterday for some Halloween fun. We rode the hay wagon, and picked out pumpkins. I had a good time taking pictures. We tried out the haunted house, but it was a little too scary in the pitch dark! The kids had fun exploring all the haunted aspects of the farm and playing in a playground where they could ride a zip line.

Report cards came home on Friday. I have to say that both kids are doing very well. Son is doing as well and better, as we have hoped. His grades are mostly good. The elementary school here does non-grades, using a 1-4 scale of proficiency. I think I like this. Best all all was his separate report card for band. Son's grades for flute were straight 4s, the highest marks possible! We are very proud of him.

We are slowly settling in to our life in Nebraska, and day by day it begins to feel a little bit more like home.

Maverick says

2008-10-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone! Maverick here. I just wanted to tell you how great my life is now! I've been with my furever family for a whole year now! I have my very own girl, who takes me for walks and teaches me things. She doesn't know that I'm training her well, too! It was just a little tough this last summer when we packed up and moved from Louisiana to Nebraska. All my family came, too, so it wasn't too bad. I still have my aussie that I boss around, and grumpy, little Mickey, who is the other papillon in the family. I'm much bigger than he is! The sheltie and the cats came too. My new house is big and has a great, fenced yard. Best of all, is the walking trail that goes right behind our house! I bark at the people on it to stay away from my house, and my girl and my mom take for walks along it down around a little lake. I've been going to class to learn something called flyball. I get to play with a tennis ball and run fast, so it is really fun! My aussie goes, too. Mom and Dad say I'm going to start agility classes again soon. I can't wait. I picked my family out at an agility trial, so I'm glad they know that I want to do agility. I'm sure glad I saw my family that day. I just had to tell them that I was supposed to live with them. Now we are all very happy!

On the mend

2008-10-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here's Annie after her surgery, Friday. The vet sent her home with a jaunty, new fall bandana, but it didn't entirely distract from the big, shaved hole and 11 staples in her butt! She is recovering well. The cone has been a pain, but all the staples are still in. She will get them out next week. She seems to be feeling much better now that big, nasty cyst is gone. We might even be about ready to leave the cone off.
It finally quit raining today, and I took Annie and Maverick for a walk after lunch. Annie got to try out the new doggie backpack I just had to get for her. It has a special place for dispensing poop bags and a pocket to carry the used bags home. She carried my keys and cell phone today. I'm thinking it will be useful in the summer when I usually walk in exercise clothes with no pockets. I'm having these visions of camping and hiking with the dogs next summer. Those who know me will be shocked if this actually happens. Meanwhile, I'm giving up on the new walking shoes I bought last month. Usually New Balance are good shoes for me, but I've been wearing this pair and they just are not comfortable, so I'm going to be on a quest for new shoes. I'm doing my small part to stimulate the economy.

Poor Conehead

2008-10-09T15:11:00.001-07:00

Poor Annie! She burst open a cyst on her hip Wedsnesday. I'll spare the gory details, tomorrow she is having minor surgery to remove it. Meanwhile, she is moping around the house and bashing into walls and the back of my legs with her cone. I suppose we'll have to put up with it for another week or so, she is determined to lick her "owie" if she can.
I just wanted to share a couple of pics I took of the wonderful butterflies at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. It is a fabulous zoo, and we can't wait to share it when we get visitors from out of town. Yes, that's a hint!
I have a small confession. Duane and I ate sandwiches from Subway on Monday night while Daughter was at dance class. Otherwise, we've kept to the no eating out rule this week. Hey, it's my game and I guess I get to make up the rules. I forgot to impose a penalty for breaking them!

Outdoor Ed

2008-10-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

Son left this morning for Outdoor Ed, otherwise known as 6th grade overnight camp. He was a little nervous, since he's rarely slept away from us. I didn't let him know that I was going to miss him a lot more than he would have time for missing us! I know this is going to be a great experience for him, but I'll be one of the first parents at school tomorrow afternoon to pick my boy up.

The not eating out experiment is going well now. We have not eaten out since Oct. 1. Somehow just taking it off the table as an option is making it much easier to live with. We have been eating more sandwiches and leftovers. I hope I get more creative with fast, easy ideas for dinner. The hardest thing is that we are rarely able to eat at the same time during the week, as it seems like every night we are getting the kids to various activities, and they get home late enough that they need to eat before we go.

The good, the bad, the poopy

2008-10-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

I took Mickey along to Petsmart today, and he put in an unofficial and unanticipated therapy dog visit. We met with a nice young teenager named Steven with Down syndrome who was out with his teacher and another student. Steven spent about 10 minutes sitting on the ground petting and snuggling with Mickey. For Mickey, it was the only part of the trip he enjoyed! I was proud of the little guy. He seemed to know just what to do.

So, I have this grand plan for the month of October. After reading an article in Reader's Digest, I decided that it would be a great experiment for our family to go the entire month without eating out; at all. As of Oct. 1, the score is: dinner at home 0, Qdoba Mexican Grill 1. And this after I explained to a friend about not being able to go out to lunch!

I thought I was done cleaning up dirty bottoms when the kids were toilet trained. Having hairy dogs, I should know better. Yesterday I finally confronted the source of my stinky Aussie dog. I put Annie in tub and scrubbed the business end. Yuk! No wonder she didn't smell good. Then, since I'm not diligent about keeping the dogs off the bed, the linens went in the wash! I'm considering the idea that my next dog should not have a hairy butt.

Oh Happy Day!

2008-09-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

I am happily sitting here typing this blog on my living room sofa. I'm happy because my Mac Book Pro is back home with me, and I'm wireless again! How quickly we get used to the good life. I have only had my Macbook since July, yet a week without it was torture. My computer had to go back to Apple for a new LCD screen. I'm not happy that there was a problem with a new computer, but I have to say that Apple took care of it very quickly. I took the Macbook to the Apple store on Saturday and was told I'd get it back in 7 to 10 days. They called on Tuesday to say the screen had been replaced but they thought there was still a problem and it was being sent to Houston for repairs. Because it was sent out, they could ship it directly to me when it was fixed. I was told that they were backed up due to Hurricane Ike, and I could expect my computer back in 10 to 14 days. What a surprise when DSL rang my doorbell at 9:00 this morning with my fixed computer in a box returned to me! I have a new LCD screen on it which no longer flickers and turns crazy colors and everything seems to working well. Hooray!

Cool Tools

2008-09-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

I went shopping last week looking for a digital voice recorder for my son and came home with several cool, electronic gadgets I'm hoping will help him with his school work. I did get the recorder, and a calculator, and my favorite, an electronic dictionary and thesaurus. Son is not very keen on using the voice recorder to pre-write his essays, but he really likes the dictionary. It works like a spell checker on a word processing program, so he can type a word in the way he thinks it sounds and the dictionary will offer the correct spelling. Very cool!

On a personal note, I am still waiting for my substitute teacher certification from the state of Nebraska, so I'm sitting home not doing enough. Yesterday I signed up to start taking correspondence courses towards the real estate license I'm wanting to get. Yes, this seems like a crazy time to get into real estate, but the market in this area seems pretty steady and I figure I'll be well-positioned when things improve. It's exciting to think of doing something new just because I want to do it!

squirrel and school

2008-09-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

The stoopid, city squirrellie arrived, and Annie is keeping it safe from papillons and other predators. Thanks, Patience!
Maverick is trying mental telepathy to convince me to help him steal the squirrel.
Mickey says, "I'll just stay here and look beautiful. Maybe, Mom will give me a treat. I hope no on mistakes me for a squirrel."
And Casey, well, he didn't bother waking up to check out the excitement.

On the kid's side of things, I had a meeting yesterday with Daughter's teacher. I am so excited to be able to say that I was completely thrilled with the curriculum and projects planned for this school year. I no longer have any fears that my bright child will be bored in school this year. I think they will keep her busy and interested! It was such a relief to learn that this school really has what we have been looking for in an educational program. It was a big decision to leave Louisiana and make the family move yet again, and the schools were a big part of our decision. I feel much more confident now that moving was the right choice for our family. Our son is also doing a little better as he settles into a routine. I'm wishing he had had more than one year at this school.

running in circles

2008-09-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

Its been an interesting week. We are still trying to get Son settled into school. He is getting more organized and bringing most of his homework home, usually, but he has had a lot of it. This week it has been having to redo his math almost daily. I have long thought it likely that he has dyslexia, but this is not something the schools will test for. It is quite a challenge trying to tease out what is really going on with kids like this that are seemingly bright, yet struggle in school. There is no communication between people like the teacher and resource specialists and the occupational therapists. And then parents are on their own to try to find someone qualified to evaluate for dyslexia and other similar conditions. We have been running in these circles for years. With junior high next year, I fear we are running out of time for my Son. Each year the difficulties are magnified. We live near a large city now, so I am more hopeful that I will find the right people to help us to help him.

fun weekend

2008-09-01T08:48:00.001-07:00

We're having some fun this weekend. Son is very into World War 2. In particular, he is interested in the airplanes. We are in a good area to promote this interest. Saturday we drove about 20 minutes down the interstate to visit the Strategic Air and Space Museum. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. It's all inside in the air conditioning! This is the third SR-71 Blackbird we have seen in a museum.

Sunday afternoon, Annie and Maverick got to go to flyball class. Maverick is making good progress. He is overcoming his issues from coming to us as a rescue dog, and gets braver all the time. He is a fast, athletic little guy. I'm having fun at flyball, but I miss agility. I need to find a way to get back into it here.
Another four foot member of family figured out that if he did something cute maybe he could get into the blog. So here is Bugs, posing as a bibliocat on the half unpacked bookcase. We have a block party later today. We are looking forward to hanging out with our new neighbors, even though it is pretty hot today.

To our friends in Louisiana - you are in our thoughts and prayers. We are glued to the Weather Channel.

changing direction

2008-08-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week of school has been interesting. Son came home with four incomplete homework slips in the first five days of school. Many emails with is teacher have been exchanged. I have met after school with his teacher and resource teacher. Side note - I'm excited that he has a resource teacher in his classroom to help him in the afternoons. The short story is that I decided on Tuesday that he needed to be back on his medication. I would like to say that I agonized over the decision, but I didn't. Son takes a low dose of an extended release form of ritalin. It is night and day between whether he can focus in school and do the tasks he has to do. I wish he was "normal". I really wish he could function without this expensive drug that causes side effects I don't like. I don't get to choose. I am going to do whatever it takes to help my son. Last night as we were leaving swimming practice, Son's coach stopped me to tell me how well he had done at practice. She specifically commented on how well he payed attention and followed directions. It had been all day since he had taken his medication. She had no idea I had given it to him. The medication makes his life easier and better. I will accept that.

flyball class

2008-08-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

We finally got back to flyball class today. It was good to get out and play with the dogs. That's my Annie learning how to get the ball from the flyball box. She is learning quickly. All her agility training is helping. She has figured out how to run the line of jumps with almost no work. I'm so proud of my Aussie girl.

Duane and Daughter are both working with Maverick. His lack of training is showing. It's going to take longer to have him ready to run for a team. His rescue background shows in his lack of confidence. Still, he is going to be a fast little height dog, eventually.

Son gave Annie some attention during down time. They were chillin' together.
Daughter with Maverick waiting for another turn. I like how focused on her he was at that moment.

Back to school

2008-08-20T18:40:00.001-07:00

The kids went back to school yesterday. The first day was only half a day. The house seemed very quiet and empty without them, and I missed them. Then they came home, and I had to go to the grocery store. I remembered that I am glad school is back in! We met their teachers Monday night. I liked them both. It seems like both kids may have a good year this year. We are all very excited about their new school and new teachers.

On a side note, I saw a short blurb in today's paper about the actor Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter. He told Britain's Daily Mail that he has a mild form of dyspraxia. According to his publicist "his condition is very mild and at worst manifests itself in an inability to tie his shoelaces and bad handwriting". My son is not alone, one of his heroes is just like him!

A Scare

2008-08-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

Casey (my sheltie) gave me a pretty good scare today. I was leaving to take Son to his OT this afternoon. We were putting the dogs in their crates before we left, and we could not find Casey. The kids and I searched throughout the house with no sign of him. I was pretty sure he hadn't gotten out, so I decided to take Son and drop him off and come home and continue the search. I really kind of thought he'd be waiting when I got back saying "where'd you go?". Daughter and I came in and there was no sign of him. I thought I was pretty smart for thinking of ringing the doorbell. He always goes nuts barking if the doorbell rings. I rang the bell several times and there was still no sign of Casey. The other dogs were in the basement barking in their crates. By this time I was starting to panic. I didn't know how he could have gotten out, but when he didn't show up for the doorbell, I thought he had to have gotten outside. The gates were shut, and he wasn't in the backyard. I went on one more search of the house, starting upstairs in the kids' rooms. I looked in Son's room and in his closet. Just being thorough, I walked all the way around the far side of his bed. There was Casey, sound asleep. Through the barking, calling his name, leaving and returning to the house, and ringing the doorbell, he hadn't heard a thing.

I've been fairly sure his hearing isn't too good anymore. I guess this confirmed it. I had to touch him to wake him up. I'm not sure if there is a cognitive issue, or if he is almost totally deaf. He seems to respond to be spoken to sometimes. I think this is probably also the source of his conflict with Annie. She acts in her normal provoking, bouncy way, and he can't hear her so he has become overly defensive, which she then reacts to. So I'll be making Casey an appointment with the vet so see if we can get a more definitive idea of what is going on with him. My heart dog is getting old. I think his agility days are over.

What is SPD?

2008-08-18T11:20:00.001-07:00

So what is SPD? Sensory Processing Disorder has also been called Sensory Integration Disfunction. It is a neurological disorder affecting the sensory abilities. It is estimated that the condition affects as many as 1 in 20 children. The following quote is from the book Sensational Kids by Lucy Jane Miller, Ph.D, OTR. "Children with SPD experience touch, taste, sound, smell, movement, and other sensations differently from typical children. Some feel sensations more intensely, others feel them less intensely, and some just don't get sensory information 'right' - 'up' feels the same as 'down', or a penny feels the same as a button. Because they don't process sensory information the way other children do, sensational kids don't behave the way other kids do, either."

Like other disorders, such as AD/HD, SPD affects people to varying degrees, and in different ways. As I've said, my Son is on the mild to moderate end of the scale, which is not to down play the way it effects his life and our family. In fact, getting a diagnosis and services to help him has been very difficult because his behavior is closer to "normal". SPD can look a lot like AD/HD. Son actually also has a diagnosis of AD/HD inattentive type, which I will refer to ADD for simplicity. He is not hyper in the classic sense. He does find it hard to sit still and be comfortable. In the classroom he has obvious difficulties remaining focused and on task. Son also has a mix of how SPD affects him, in that in some areas his senses are over responsive and in others he is under responsive. Some examples; sudden loud noises tend to distress him more than the average person. He has some dispraxia, which is a difficulty translating sensory information into physical movement. For my Son this shows up in things like the difficulty he has in perfecting his swim strokes. He can swim, (it's a great activity for people with SPD!) but getting his strokes to a level where he can be competitive on the swim team is tough. He has trouble with planning and executing the tying of shoes. He can be over or under responsive to his environment which makes it difficult for him to focus in class. This is where it can be hard to tell SPD from ADD. It is possible to have both. I am sure Son has SPD. He may have ADD, too. I don't know, and I don't think anyone else really does either. I'm just trying to help him become the most successful person he can be as he grows up, even when I have to fight to get him help and accommodations in school. That is our version of SPD, for now.

By request, I've included some pics of our house.

more planes

2008-08-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

We went to see Mama Mia! this afternoon. I laughed so hard I was crying. Still, it's a little disturbing to be of an age to identify more with the Meryl Streep character than the young girl. I'm having withdrawals with not having any dog training class to go to. Next week is finally flyball again! Here's some more pics of the planes. I love when my pictures come out!

Air Force Week in the Heartland

2008-08-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Offutt Air Force Base to their open house and Defenders of Freedom air show. The air show was awesome, and it was so cool to see the planes up close. Son loved the World War 2 planes, particularly a dog fight between a P-51 Mustang and a replica Japanese Zero.

Daughter checks out the cockpit of a plane used for electronic warfare. The crew just flew it in a couple of days ago.
Does she have a future in the Air Force in computer weapons?
Son checks out the cockpit of an F-15 and the pilot answers questions. Thank you to all the men and women defending our freedom and answering questions today!
Duane with Son and Daughter are ready for transport in a C-17.
This P-51 Mustang picture was taken specially for my dad.

Sensory Processing Disorder

2008-08-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is back to school day here. We moved from out of state in June, so Son and Daughter will be starting at yet another new school. (seems like almost every year has been a new school) Son is going into sixth grade and has yet to finish two years in a row at the same school. We sure didn't plan for things to go this way. As I mentioned, Son has a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and also AD/HD inattentive type. We have spent years trying to figure out the best ways to help him succeed, and every new school is a bit of starting over, although I am really hoping that this school will be better for him than the last one was. The lack of responsiveness at their last school to the needs of both children was a big factor in our decision to move again.

So what does SPD mean for our son? Well, his issues are in the mild to moderate range. In fact, he's basically a very normal boy. Which means the biggest struggle for many years has been to have teachers and staff recognize that if he is performing poorly in school it is not due to laziness or lack of effort on his part, but due to real neurological causes. It has taken many years to qualify him to receive help in school under special education laws. He now has some minimal modifications under the AD/HD label, but nothing under the SPD diagnosis, which he just got in December, even though SPD is probably where the real issues are.

So, we have a new school, and a new occupational therapist who I'm hopeful is going to help us get Son the best situation we can in school this year. My goal is for Son to be successful in school this year without taking stimulant medications, which he doesn't respond well to anyway. This is an important year, because next year he goes to junior high, and will have to be much more self-sufficient. Meanwhile, we'll see how the school also responds to Daughter's need for gifted and talented education...

Shoes!

2008-08-13T15:36:00.001-07:00

School starts in less than a week. I've been going through the kids' things and doing a little back to school shopping. To my horror, I realized that both kids' feet have had a major growth spurt and neither of them had any shoes that fit! Well, other than some flip flops for the pool. So over Son's protests, we set out today to acquire shoes for school, multiple pairs since they need some at school for gym and when they wear snow boots (which still need to be purchased). Anyway, I spent a small fortune and outfitted the kids with new shoes.

Son has a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), more about that to come. As part of this, tying shoes is very difficult for him. He can do it in a pinch, but he hates to because it is so hard. Unfortunately for him, his feet have reached a size (as big a mine!) in which it is almost impossible to find velcro straps or anything other than laces on trainers. Mom to the rescue! On Clean Run.com I found Lock Laces and replaced his regular laces with these elastic laces which have a little slider to keep them tight. I use them in my agility shoes. So Son will be able to slide his new shoes on and off with out tying them. In true pre-teen fashion, he has expressed no appreciation of my genius and resourcefulness.
We found some New Balance in a narrow for Daughter at Stride Rite. What a find! She says, "Mom, these feel great!" Yeah, because they fit. It's so hard to find shoes in a narrow width.
Okay, so I came home with new shoes too. I bought the new dog walking New Balance trainers I needed at Famous Footwear, but it was buy one, get one half off. Couldn't pass on that. I've been wanting a pair of Rocket Dog shoes for ages. Aren't these cute?

Walking the dogs

2008-08-12T09:35:00.001-07:00

Daughter and I headed out with the first set of dogs for our morning walk. Daughter got in some training with her young dog.

Then we stopped at home and traded the young dogs for the older dogs and headed out on another shorter walk. I'm hoping this new program of walking two sets of dogs will force me to get a little more exercise, which I really need! Casey seemed very happy to get to walk without Annie, even though he didn't go as far. They have been have some disagreements recently. Poor Casey is getting older, but doesn't want to give up his position as the boss of the pack. He's gotten very cranky. I'm having to keep a close eye on the two of them when they are together.

Meet the kids and canines

2008-08-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

So that's me in the back holding my old guy Jake. He is now waiting and playing agility at the rainbow bridge. Daughter is holding her huge papillon, our newest dog, Maverick, who is a rescued phalene. Duane is sitting with Casey, my old sheltie guy who does agility with Daughter, and Son is holding his favorite snuggle dog, Mickey. Annie is the Australian shepherd who is my current dog competing in agility and now training for flyball. Maverick is also being trained for flyball by Duane and Daughter.

Getting started

2008-08-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought of a name for a blog, so now I guess I'd better write it. I kind of like the word play of the word days and daze, since it can be hard to know which I'm in. I did think that using daze in the title was a little too cute. So grab a cup of tea, or diet Pepsi, or whatever your favorite brew is, and join me as I chat about my life as a mother of two elementary aged children who is trying to decide if my rapidly approaching 40th birthday is cause for a midlife crisis. I'll ramble about my life, my kids, and my dogs as I try to have a little life of my own pursuing my hobby of dog sports. Enjoy!