The flea heard 'round the world

Listen.

I am way too gullible to be interacting with the public on April Fool's day.

I was on Facebook for three minutes and fell for every last false status.  I was at the grocery store this morning, and I'm still not sure what transpired there that was for real or for fools.

Also, my hair is playing along and using today as the perfect excuse to do the wonky dance and refuse to go into cute pigtails.

BLECH!  I don't like April Fools day.

...but it does make me want to pull one over on the Hubs.  I'm considering just telling him I spent three times as much as I was suppose to at the grocery store this morning.  He dreads sending me alone, and he'd for sure fall for that one since my reputation to stay on budget when there are Lucky Charms and chocolate for sale is not exactly spotless. Hmm...

Anyway, it struck me this morning while I was in the sports drink aisle shushing Newbie by tossing puffs his way every three seconds, that I failed to tell you about Opie's latest and greatest shenanigan.  Its got nothing to do with the sports drink aisle, or screaming babies in grocery stores, but I have a keen ability to connect ideas that are entirely unrelated to one another.  It's a gift, really. 

Do you want to know what happened?

It's an interesting story, and it ends with us just about losing the farm.

Once upon a time, Wednesday me and Opie had some quality bonding time in the form of a trip to the vet.  He had been scratching like a maniac for a few days, and the Hubs and I finally threw in the towel and decided it must be something more than just a run-of-the-mill itch. 

We have an amazing vet office.  Everyone there is super nice and super helpful, but I cringe when I go in, because in the past Opie has earned the rep of Town Loon, and its not always a pleasant experience.  Especially when I'm flying solo.  Wednesday, however, I realized Opie has really calmed down over the past few months, and he did a great job in the lobby considering he usually drops at least two piles and runs in place like a hamster trying to get across the slippery tile floor.  He just stood by me, waiting patiently, occasionally reaching back to scratch at the unidentified culprit.

By the time we got into the examination room, he was acting like a genuine man's best friend.  I gave him an A+ for behavior.  The vet looked him up and down, and picked through his hair, talked to him calmly and told him what a good boy he was.

All was well.

Then, THEN he launched into this story about how he's seen a lot of this psychotic scratching lately and just yesterday he had a dog in there who was bald because he had scratched all of his hair off from his shoulders down as a result of the incessant itching driving him off the wall.

20 minutes later I was standing at the counter paying a ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN DOLLAR vet bill. One steroid shot, a prescription medication to take for 6 weeks, and a topical flea bite treatment.
One hundred thirteen big ones.

I kid you not.

The diagnostic:  Opie was bit by a flea.  ONE flea, and he is (very) unfortunately severely allergic. He would have scratched all his hair off by the end of the week and been miserable for 60 days if I didn't cough up the cash to help my poor boy.

Our vet had me at "bald dog."  I was all in.  There's nothing gnarlier than a bald dog walking around your dining room and eating Cheerios off your son's high chair.

So we did it.  I held my breath, forked over the cold hard cash, and gave Opie a new lease on life.  He was feeling better by the time we walked out of there, which really made it worth it, because to be honest with you, the guy doesn't ask for much.  Just a fresh bowl of food and water each day, and the occasional trip outside to do what a man's gotta do. So I kinda felt like I owed him a good steroid shot or two anyway.

That'll do, Opie. That'll do.

After finding out he was in so much misery, I felt really bad for our little critter. If there had been a Dairy Queen in our path, I would have pulled over and ordered him an Oreo Blizzard.

So this afternoon, though Opie is 100% back to his normal self, we're laying on the sympathy and TLC in heavy doses.  Newbie and I went out on the porch to play with him after lunch.  The two had a ball standing guard and eating the plastic Easter eggs. 

When you're the best of friends

Having so much fun together

You're not even aware, you're such a funny pair

You're the best of friends

Life's a happy game

 
You could clown around forever

Neither one of you sees, your natural boundaries

Life's one happy game

-Disney's The Fox and the Hound

Crazy or not, Opie's a part of the circus around here, and he's definitely earned himself the title of "Newbie's Best Friend." Hands down.  

While Opie lives the good life hyped up on all kinds of prescription medication, we've got big plans for our weekend.  The Hubs has the weekend off, and we're packing the hours with fun family time together.  I can't wait.  Lots of Springing and party planning and playing on the agenda.

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and happy weekending! 

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

Last night, as I was getting Newbie ready for bed, I heard myself say, "OK guys!  Booger party's over, dudes!"

That's not even the worst part.  The worst part is that I've heard myself say the same thing three times a day since the middle of last week when his doctor told us we need to use some saline on his stuffy little nose before he lays down to go to bed or take a nap.  Around here, everything's a party, so when we pull out the blue bulb from the hospital and the "Little Noses Saline", the BOOGER PARTY'S OVER, DUDE!

Who says motherhood isn't glamorous? =)

Would you like to know what is glamorous? 

A hour and a half long nap AND a clean house, all of which have graced my reality today, and I am loving it.  When Newbie takes an awesome afternoon nap on a night when the Hubs works late and I am flying solo for the dreaded six to seven o'clock hour, it's like he's giving me the greatest Christmas present ever.  Moral of the story: rested baby= happy mama. And a clean house in the mix is just the cherry on top. 

Unfortunately, the whole day can't be all fun and games.  When the Hubs gets home tonight we will face a daunting task.  Remember when we got red-lighted at the pet store for taking Opie there to get his 10 dollar manicure and pedicure?  Yeah, that was like, 50 years ago, and that means the time has come again.  Tonight we have to take on the puppy mani and pedi ALONE.  When the groomer tells you, "You can't bring him back here.  It took three people and our animal handler...we just don't have the resources," you know she is really saying "Your dog is a MANIAC, you idiot.  Don't make us deal with it.  Sleep in the bed you've made."

And so, we shall.

We have discussed several plans of attack, but the exact science of how we're going to clip 20 little black nails on a drama queen puppy hopped up on what must be a cocktail of 493 pounds of sugar and 89 cans of Red Bull has yet to be determined.

What I'm saying is, I may not get through the night.  Quite frankly, I just don't see the Hubs and I coming out of this in one piece.  It is going to be brutal. 

This is the calm before the storm.  For now I will sit in my clean house playing with my sweet little 9 month old son.  Opie will frolic and play, completely unaware of our shared fate. After Newbie is tucked peacefully in to bed, and the Hubs returns home from work, the battle will rage.

First, we will stare Opie down and do the Haka.

Then we will get down to the business of a home-job canine manicure and pedicure because we've been stiff-armed by the local pet shop.

 I wish there was a way around it, but Opie could open a can of tuna with his nails right now, so it's really in everyone's best interest to just head down and power through.  Get 'er DONE, if you will.

 If I'm not back tomorrow, you'll know what happened to me. I'm going to go practice the Haka before I make dinner.  It's all about intimidating your opponent into complete fear and submission.  We're gonna need that kind of enthusiasm, no doubt about it.

Wishing you all a fabulous evening and obedient pets who are welcomed into the grooming center with open arms.

Goodbye, Weekend...

Hello, Monday!

Last night the Hubs and I watched Babies, a documentary following the lives of five babies around the world for their first year.  Mongolia, Japan, US, Africa, and somewhere else that I'm forgetting.

It was fabulous, and the Hubs and I laughed through the entire thing because it turns out babies are very similar regardless of where they are from.  We saw some of the same behaviors and heard some of the same noises Newbie makes coming out of the mouths of babies halfway around the globe.  It was fun to see the experiences of other parents and kiddos.

And after seeing a few 9 month old babies play with rocks and dirt on the African Savannah, I'm feeling a lot better about Newbie playing on un-vacuumed carpet this afternoon.  =)

Here's a pic of my boys this morning learning an important life lesson.

Sometimes, life just isn't fair.

 

 BA ha ha!  This picture just CRACKS ME UP!  They both want to play so bad, but when we let them, Opie fReAkS out and Newbie gets trampled, yet they always want to go back for more. It's like a forbidden love.  Bless their little hearts. 

I can't tell you how much I've gotten done today since the Hubs left for work because you wouldn't believe it.  You just wouldn't.  I can't remember the last time I've been this productive.  The laundry is done.  Washed, folded, put away.  The 2010 home videos are loaded onto the computer.  A whole year's worth. The dishes are washed and dried.  Newbie's dresser is organized and sorted.  I have a list of the number of Sterlite tubs I need.  And it's only 3 o'clock.  The whole situation  is kinda frightening. 

To compensate for this morning's productivity, I'm planning on pulling up a chick flick on NetFlix and spending the rest of the day on the couch.

My little sidekick has been fabulous today.  He's so good at playing on his own for a while so Mama can get a few things done.

(Does someone want to come over and paint the trim in my house?  Because BOY HOWDY, that has been on the to-do list for 6 years.)

We had a fun weekend.  We low-keyed it Saturday while the Hubs worked, then spent the day with Daddy-O yesterday.  I like lazy weekends.

 Here's our Itty Bitty Bookworm after church yesterday...

He is totally in to books.  He loves pulling them out and flipping through the pages.  And he sits so well to listen while we read.  It makes this mama's heart so happy. =)

The Hubs has the day off tomorrow, so I need to get my chick flick in while I still can this afternoon.  Rumor has it he's going to make me watch Forever Strong with him tomorrow.  It's a rugby movie about rugby.  Or something.  The Hubs is playing rugby at the gym early Wednesday mornings starting this week, and we're just dorky enough to think its cool to kick off the season with a rugby movie the day before.  That's just how we roll.

Hope y'all have a fabulous start to the week and get a little laundry done. Not a lot of laundry, mind you.  Just enough to justify sticking in a movie for the afternoon.  =)