Dog Days of Summer

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We always knew we’d get a dog.  Sure, we could smuggle a cat into our teeny apartment for a few months, but adding a canine companion to our family was impossible until we owned a home.  We closed on our house a few days shy of our first anniversary, and three short months later, we fought our way through a horrible Michigan winter storm to welcome home our wrinkly Weimaraner pup. 

Xanther

We’ve had our ups,
Xanther Snowball

downs,

04-09-05 047.jpg

and in-betweens with this guy.
Good Dog

I always said I wouldn’t be one of those moms who loved their dogs like nothing else…until their kids came along.  It seemed so sad, so cold to dismiss the four-legged friend.  Yet, I too found myself cringing at the sight of dog hair on baby blankets, and his dirty nose nudging the clean toys. 

And I’ll admit there are times that I haven’t completely trusted Xanther, which has caused us to keep a watchful eye on the dog-baby relationship.  Now that they’re both a little older, we’ve let them interact a bit more and it’s been pretty cute to watch them. 

Seeing the wonder in Calder’s eyes as Xanther licks his hand, and hearing his squeals of delight at sloppy wet kisses remind me that he’s not just my dog.  He’s our dog.  Our family dog.  And as much as I might have (possibly will have again soon) thoughts that life would be easier without him around…I know that deep down, I’m a softy for this floppy-eared fella. 

Xanther

Xanther

Best Shot Monday ~ Summer Sunset

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Here’s my first attempt at shooting raw.  I’ll be honest that it I don’t think I have the photographic (or post processing) chops to shoot in this mode all the time just yet, but it was fun.  I think once I get better software (and learn how to use it) I’ll give a go once again.

I had a hard time getting the right amount of contrast in the lower half on the image, but I really like how the clouds, color and sun turned out.  It was the perfect end to a fabulous day.

Summer Sunset

Drift on over to Tracey’s for more BSM!

Sweet Success

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Have you ever had one of those days when you think I couldn’t have planned it more perfectly?  That’s how I’ve felt all day today!  For the past 5 weeks we have been running around like crazy people, moving from one household project to another.  And it seemed like each project spawned another project and before I knew it, I felt practically paralyzed by the enormity of it all!  Not to mention that I have this incredible sensitivity to time frame – I feel like I want e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g done before the baby arrives because I know that it’s going to be temporary insanity at that point!

I am so pleased to report that this week, I finally began feeling as though things are really coming together.  If you’ll indulge me a little, here’s what we’ve accomplished this week:

  • played with pictures
  • blogged
  • dinner with friends 3 nights this week
  • a perfect play date on Tuesday (3 moms, 5 kids and 2.5 of the 6 hours were spent with all children napping!)
  • doctor’s appointment (36 weeks now – great heart rate, I’ve dropped a bit and am apparently at a 3 already…sorry if that’s TMI, but it was surprising to hear since I was only a 3 when I arrived at the hospital after my water broke with Calder)
  • grocery shopped
  • weeded the garden
  • putt in fresh mulch
  • cleaned 4 of the 7 rooms downstairs
  • caulked around tub and toilet
  • washed, dried and ironed the curtains in the kitchen and bath
  • hung our new hummingbird feeder and have already attracted several visitors!!
  • reorganized both mine and hubby’s dressers to better house our junk clothes
  • sang with our worship band at an open air concert on Thursday night
  • became the proud owner of two new desks (courtesy of craigslist)
  • hung the lattice around the deck
  • packed away “wintery” maternity clothes
  • spent some quality time with my folks, though we did put them to work (see desk delivery and lattice)
  • began thinking of Christmas card ideas since I just found oh, about 100 sheets of snowflake vellum leftover from our wedding invitations
  • tried shooting in RAW, but found that it was a little too much for because because I don’t have a grasp on the processing (and had problems getting the pics to my computer and then onto Flickr)
  • read a little more in my most recent book The Calder Game– young adult novel by Blue Balliet (How could I not read a book with my son’s name in the title?!)
  • successfully knitted one full row on the blanket my grandma fixed started for me and I’m hoping to finish it for baby’s pending arrival
  • cleaned the car and installed the freshly cleaned infant car seat
  • put the window A/C in the bedroom window
  • spent precious time with my boys enjoying meals on the deck, plenty of pool time and some snuggle time in there as well!

I know that much of this is obsessive nesting, and for the record I didn’t have a hand in all of these tasks.  As a pathological list-maker, I really don’t think I’ve ever made a list of tasks accomplished, and though it probably doesn’t make for a thrilling read, it makes me feel pretty good to actually see how far we’ve come! 

Blissfully tired, it’s about time I crawl into my freshly made bed, in my air-conditioned room, next to the man of my dreams!