Puppy Update

Oh my goodness. I'm ashamed of my lack of blogging. I mean, the least I could do is throw up a limerick or something to let people know that I'm still alive. I have been buried under END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR and EIGHT TODDLER PUPPIES and ONE TODDLER WILL and planning summer trips and I honestly feel like every single plate I'm spinning is about to teeter off and shatter into a million pieces.

Here's an update on our adorable puppies for anyone who cares. Currently, the puppies are 7 and a half weeks old and 4 of them remain in our home.

Puppy One, Leia, as we called her has gone to her new family. We just love them. She was the first to go and they've been so good about sending pictures. Her new name is Sky and she went to a family with three kids. Since she went first, I shed a few tears snuggling her close before her family came.

Puppy Two, Chewbacca, joined his new family tonight. They also have kids and had to put their beloved golden down last fall. He'll be so well loved with them. I don't know his new name yet but letting him go was hard. I didn't cry but he had so much personality that there were moments where I wondered if I might cave and keep him.

Puppy Three, Skywalker, is still here with us and still for sale. He's, in my opinion, our most gorgeous puppy although they are seriously all so adorable. He's calm and snuggly and I am baffled that no one has snatched him up yet.

Puppy Four, Jyn, is loved and adored by her new family but she's still living with us. She has to stay here until they're back in Salt Lake in a few weeks. We love her tons but we'll be happy when she is reunited with her forever family and her sweet kid sister. Her new name is Daisy.

Puppy Five, Sabine, left on Wednesday to join her forever family. They're grandparents with no kids left at home. Khloe, as she is called now, will be well loved. Her new family couldn't wait to get her home. They've sent a picture and video and she's doing well.

Puppy Six, Obi, went to his new family--our good good friends--yesterday. She has a big golden sister and lots of daycare kids (including my own Will) to shower him with love. We're so happy that we get to see Wesley whenever we hang with them and whenever they go on vacation since we swap dog sitting duties with them.

Puppy Seven, Finn, is still with us and still available for purchase. He's an adventurous fellow who loves to explore. But he's still happy to snuggle and cuddle. He looks a lot like Skywalker and will be a great asset to his forever family.

Puppy Eight, Rey, leaves us on Tuesday. She is flying to Massachusetts and she'll be missed. Her new family cannot wait for her though and she is going to be a swimming, hiking, possibly hunting dog. They have a toddler and another dog already so she will have a great life. Stella, as they'll call her, is the spitting image of Tessie.

So there you have it. We're down to four in our home but two of them are already sold. With two to go we're hoping to find them their forever homes this weekend.

When You're Raising Hurricane William and Eight Puppies at the Same Time

Whew. It's been forever. I'm a terrible blogger. To my two loyal readers, thank you for sticking around and waiting for me to post once every moon cycle. It's just...busy. I'm in my final month of my first year of part time teaching. I have a toddler who is better described as Hurricane William. AND WE HAVE EIGHT FIVE WEEK OLD PUPPIES. Have you ever met eight five week old puppies? Have you ever tried to take care of eight five week old puppies and a toddler? Have you ever tried to do this while your older two boys play baseball like every night?

Good times.

About Hurricane William, I posted this to Facebook the other day.

While I was vacuuming two rooms, my not-quite-two-year-old managed to flood the entire bathroom while he practiced brushing his teeth with his brother's toothbrush. While I cleaned that mess, he got hold of the bible study book that I'm working through. The book didn't stand a chance against the combination highlighter/ink pen he'd also found. "Mom Set Free: Good news for moms who are tired of trying to be good enough." My kid wrecked the cover of a study about moms not living up to the standard we have in our own minds. I had to laugh at that while also instructing my son more perfectly about where we do and do not color. I put him into his seat with a piece of paper, a pencil, and an apple. Naturally, he's stabbing the apple with the pencil and ignoring the paper. Welcome, folks, to the William Administration.

(A lot of bonus points if you correctly identify the fun reference in the paragraph above.)

He's a total joy and a half. Don't get me wrong at all. He's just a very energetic joy. He's incredibly fun because I've never had a child who exploded with language before their second birthday. This kid will repeat anything and speaks roughly a million words unprompted. Tonight he announced, "My pickle!" The other night, after a baseball game, he yelled to our friend, "Bye-bye, Jeremy!" Whenever any of my kids start talking, I tend to think they're the only human being who ever had the capacity to learn language. It doesn't matter that this is number three. Each one blows me away.

PUPPIES!

The puppies were born looking like partially furry rats. Now, just five weeks later, they are at full blown adorable golden retriever puppy capacity. I am fairly certain they cannot and will not ever be cuter than they are right now. They bound after us which causes endless toddler squeals all day long. They wrestle and hop and pounce and fall asleep all over each other. We've found a forever home for one of them and are still looking for 7 more.

They are fantastic. We love every single one. If we can't sell them and you're reading this blog, chances are there's a free golden retriever coming your way. YOU GET A PUPPY AND YOU GET A PUPPY AND YOU GET A PUPPY!

But look at them...

This little one found her forever family and I couldn't be happier. We have been hoping and praying that we'd just have a real peace about the people who are interested in our puppies. This one is going home to a family who has owned goldens in the past. They have kids and a yard. I know she'll be well loved. That will make it so much easier to say goodbye.

I really do love each and every one of them so much. But owning a whole litter of golden retrievers is a tad bit excessive so if you or someone you know is interested in a pure bred, AKC puppy with OFA certified parents, let me know! They come with full breeding rights. We're willing to relocate them if we find a great home. 

Also, they are great with cats and toddlers. Even energetically joyful toddlers. Come to think of it, Will is a lot like a golden retriever puppy.