Secular Confessions

Just tonight I was watching Molly and she went from sniffing my verticals to being about to bite one. Yeah that didn't happen! Definitely still not ready to be left out when we aren't home.

Molly was pretty scared those first few days and didn't explore or get into much trouble. A week later though and it was like she had always lived here. She didn't like the nylabones much either but lately has been into them. I have to watch how much rawhides she gets as she seems to have a sensitive stomach....not fun to clean up from the litter box where she goes most of the time. But she loves a good rawhide (I only buy made in USA ones).
Other favorites right now are balls and her blanket....usually she drags her blanket around and kicks the ball. LOL Cosmo was always very into the stuff animal toys more than anything else.

I have so many dog toys that we have them in rotation....enough for at least two big baskets full. Been trying to just throw them out when they get too much to do surgery on......but both girls are getting to pick out new toys for their birthdays this month! DH usually tries to get to the dog store for food and litter without me because I'm bad about wanting to buy more dog toys.

I don't think Marcus Aurelius has ever been scared! He's smart and curious and seems to learn fast. But he's so young he's just looking to make friends and try new things. We haven't hit the fear stage yet.

That's one thing DH and I completely agree on. We will crate this puppy much longer than we did our other two. Even thought they both settled down eventually, we gave them (G especially) way too much free rein.

Yeah Molly was a little bit older at 8 weeks when she came home. And she is naturally more scared easily. We purposely picked the calmest most submissive girl of the litter. Was good because Cosmo lets her get away with murder practically and I think she would have been very unhappy with an aggressive puppy.

We crated Cosmo until she was probably closer to 2 years old when we weren't home. She did get to sleep in the bed a lot sooner than Molly though. I still crate Molly at night because I don't like sharing the bed. She gets to sleep in the bed with her daddy during the day.....or nights when he is on the futon (I am NOT an easy person to sleep with and we often sleep better apart). He says it is "their thing". But if she is wanting to get up and mess around instead of sleeping on the bed with him, in the kennel she goes. She really protested the kennel at first. Sounded like she was saying fire fire fire....and was testing out barking and a beagle bay....barking won though. Really could carry on for hours and we would not let her out unless she was quiet for at least 10 seconds....unless it was to potty and than back in she went. Oh and we still kennel her during dinner. Not lunch usually. But dinner is in front of the TV and we have to give Cosmo her seizure med in her dinner so it is just easier to kennel Molly so she doesn't get into Cosmo seizure food. Now she loves her kennel and will often go in there on her own for a nap. And I still will use it if she needs a time out (almost always for harassing Cosmo too much)....gets a number of chances and eventually she just has to have a time out and when she comes out a little while later she is usually a whole lot calmer.

Crate training is so fantastic.....I don't know how people do without them for puppy/young dog phases.

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Originally Posted by Suja

Chrissy, I've always been of the opinion that there will be some sort of 'Mommy Dearest' type of book out of Jolie's kids. She was just really weird - blood drinking, creepy brother kissing and all.

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That's similar to my impression of her. She's nothing more than a somewhat well aged bar broad...and I really don't get where people think she's all that attractive. I mean, she is attractive but I don't see her as phenomenally attractive as others seem to view her. I'd rather look like me. That's probably very egotistical to say, but there it is.

Chrissy that dream is hilarious!

I saw Jolie on the news today. Talking about Syrian refugees. I too have never understood her appeal.

All this puppy talk had me looking at labrador rescue sites. Oh my heart. There are so many dogs that need homes. But I know we are not ready for a dog. I was scanning the akc website and saw this " 100 different people by age 12 weeks" that is good advice that I need to follow if we get a puppy. When I think back to puppies we have had in the past, I didn't follow that advice, and their behavior reflected it. A family member has a dog from a shelter, she is a sweet dog, but she is scared of her own shadow. Then another has a German shepherd who gets no exercise. I feel sorry for the dog. She really should have gotten a cat, because she is young and doesn't have the time to give to an active dog like that. He really should be in agility training. But it's more important that she goes clothes shopping :eyeroll:

Speaking of dogs, did I tell y'all Bobbie got that job at Petsmart? Well, she did and one of the perks is some free vet visits that they have with their in-house clinic. I didn't even know they had a vet available through the store. Anyway, she took Missy yesterday and it appears she's gotten a bacterial infection on her skin. :( Poor girl. Looking back, it's not really surprising but I've been blaming her red, itchy skin on her food allergies. They said the bacterial infection can be caused from skin conditions like hers. Bobbie was able to get her two scripts for $5/each and already has a follow-up appointment. They're not going to allergy test her as that is still $200, but they're going to assist Bobbie with finding a food that works for her (hopefully) and all the check-up appointments are free. Nice perk, huh? For more in-depth stuff they do refer pets to other veterinarians, but they can handle common issues right there.

Suja, imagine if you saw this at Delhi Airport. http://overheadbin.nbcnews.com/_news...oISDv8.twitter

a carnivorous primate. in your underwear. Attachment 9210

That is a great perk for the family Chrissy!

We are thinking of taking Bruno to Banfield, the vet that is inside of Petsmart here. Individuals have told me they are good, but I have not read great things about them online so we shall see. Plus I just like to support small businesses and would rather go with a vet clinic that is individually owned and not something corporate, but Banfield is about 2 miles away. Our current vet is about 20-25 miles away.

Bruno has been dealing with this last part of his heartworm treatment much better. I am happy I made them give him some more medicine, the first day that he got the 2nd shot, he was in a lot of pain so I had to make them give him some more medicine and he is back to his regular old, happy, puppy acting self. I am happy about it. He really is a fun, sweet dog. I am hoping that he will stop biting up things eventually one day though.

LOL about Angelina being Mommy Dearest! I always wonder what her kids will say about her when they are grown. I admit I am a fan of hers though. I haven't ever seen a movie with her in it that I did not like. I don't even hold it against her all the weird and crazy things she did when she was younger, I figure it was just her acting out for attention, something I think a lot of younger people do. I love Brad Pitt though and from things I have read about him he just seems like a great guy. I remember watching some documentary about the after effects of Hurricane Katrina 5-7 years after the storm and how people were still trying to put their neighborhoods and homes back together and the people saying that they never saw a cent of that Red Cross money (I have mixed feelings about donating anything other than blood to the Red Cross but that is another story) and that if they needed some assistance, they would call Brad Pitt and he'd help with some money or supplies or even come out and work on homes with them. Him and Sean Penn and the Marsalis' in NOLA. Brad seems like a good guy so I would hope he would balance out Angelina's left over nuttiness from her youth lol.

I also don't think she is all that attractive. But I don't think most celebrities are attractive. The only lady I think is really gorgeous in hollywood in Charlize Theron. I think she is just a beautiful woman and if I were a man or a lesbian, I would lust after her lol.

Erin

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Originally Posted by raspberry

a carnivorous primate. in your underwear. Attachment 9210

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LOL, that was exactly what I thought too. Who in their right mind would put a carnivore next to the family jewels?

Erin, IME, Banfield was really, really bad. The one near me missed that my friend's foster was pregnant. The week before she gave birth to 10 puppies. They kept insisting that she had worms! I think that they tend to be very pushy and old school with vaccines too.

There was a time when I thought Angelina looked pretty. But, she tends towards looking overly skinny. Not healthy looking at all. Brad, I've heard has poor personal hygiene. I've never found him to be particularly attractive, but he does seem to be a generous person with a good heart.

So Rich & I have been getting along. He's back to wanting me back & having hope for our future & all that. I feel bad, but I tell him all the time that I don't feel that way. Anyway, as far as the kids are concerned we're good...except I'm a little disturbed about something that happened last night. He'd posted a pic on my FB of Conner's first piece of artwork. I was napping, so I didn't see it for a few hours. When I called to say goodnight to Conner, the first thing he asked me was, "Why didn't you like my picture?" :cry: The only way he could know anything about what I'm 'liking' on FB is if someone told him. Rich acted like he didn't know how Conner got the idea that I didn't "like" it. I reassured Conner that I did indeed LOVE his picture and even shared it with my friends myself. He didn't seem too sure. :(

Anyway, here's the pic: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...756223_n-1.jpg I cried because I wanted so bad to be there when he got off the bus and see this picture myself, in person, for the 1st time. It's irrational because even if Rich & I were still together, I'd still be working here & not getting home until nearly 6:00 p.m. But still, in a perfect world I'd be home when he got off the bus every day. Right now I feel tremendously sad that I can't.

I like the Jolie Pitts well enough. I like that they adopted and I like all the humanitarian work they do.

Chrissy that is an awesome perk for Bobbie to have! I hope that they find Missy a food she can tolerate quickly.

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Originally Posted by Cosmosmom

I like the Jolie Pitts well enough. I like that they adopted and I like all the humanitarian work they do.

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I'll give them the humanitarian work that they do. I'm reserving my judgment about their adoptions though till the Mommy Dearest book comes out. :winks:

I also like the Jolie-Pitts. I think they are both pretty people but I really think most people are so that's not saying much. Angelina is for sure a weirdo but I like weirdos!

I love Conner's picture! He writes his name so well.

Dropping Savana off at school today was excruciating. I kept Kai home and she did NOT want to go without him. I hate how much she hates it. She's begging me all the time to go back to homeschooling. She says she doesn't feel safe at school that she is always nervous and afraid. :( I've told her to stick it out until Christmas break and then we can talk about homeschooling again. It's not that I'm opposed to it by any means, it's just that I don't want her to give up so easily. I do think she marches to the beat of a different drummer for sure so maybe homeschool is the right thing for her. I just don't know.

Kai's rash is worse. I stopped to talk to his teacher and she gave me the name of a dr she uses who treats the root of her problems and works with children on allergy issues all the time. The clinic is closed today but I will call tomorrow.

I have a raging headache for the 2nd day in a row and just feeling all sorts of out of sorts.

:comfort: Oh Bridget

That is a great picture....better than I could do!

That is great that the teacher had a recommendation for a doctor but sucks that they are closed today. I hope that the benedryl starts kicking in soon. Poor guy. Try to keep him cool as well. I remember my last case of hives was really nasty....and it got much worse after I sat for a short while in the warm car in the sun wearing black knit pants while my mom went into the grocery store. I was 10 and wanted to read my book so was plenty old enough to roll down the windows if was that warm. Would have been about this time of year too. It was a reaction to penicillin.

I am pro-vax but it does seem suspicious that this happened right after he got them. If you have to do more in the future, ask about doing a shot of benedryl first. I have to do that with Cosmo so would think that they do it with humans too (her face swells up so she always gets a shot of benedryl before most of her shots and that does the trick).

I'm "pro vax" too, pretty much. I believe that most of them are necessary but we've always done a delayed schedule so just basically one shot at each appt. so they don't get so much at once. I went against my better judgement and loaded Kai up with 3 and it's making me really sad if that's what caused this. I want to put in a call to his regular dr today to see what he thinks.

Do it, Bridget. You're the only advocate your children have.

I would call as well Bridget. Poor Kai, I hope it isn't too itchy for him to endure.

And poor Savana in regards to school. Do you think it is just the new school environment that has given her the jitters a bit? Poor sweetie. I think it is a good thing that you are giving her some time to adjust but always giving her the option to start homeschooling.

And Suja I have read a lot about bad experiences at Banfield. I know a few people who take their pets there, the one near our house, which is in a really posh neighborhood and all of them are satisfied. I also think their vaccination policies are kind of overboard. I am pro vax for dogs and people lol but for our dogs we always just buy some at the feed store and DH will inject them himself, all except rabies, which we have to get at the vet or animal control - who will give it out for free a few times a year. I basically just need somewhere where he can get regular checkups. I am thinking of taking him to the place we took Mr. Hyde to before he passed as well. He passed on a Sunday and they were the only vet near our house open to take him to and they were pretty nice but kind of expensive - they didn't have weekend rates just standard fees so I know they were not inflated due to it being a Sunday. I like that they are open 7 days a week though and the people there were very nice so I am leaning more toward them. Usually Bruno is pretty healthy and doesn't require a lot of vet trips, he's only been 3 times until he got diagnosed with the heartworms and that was only because the vet he goes to now does a HW test every 3 years even if they are on a heartworm preventative. I'm happy they did that but still feel like they are not as caring as I would like and even though Bruno gets on my nerves lol, I want him to have a good doctor.

Erin

I vote do it also.

And if it was the vaccines, it probably wasn't the amount but just a specific one. But really it could be anything causing the reaction including stuff he's been around a lot before. I had pencillin at least several times before the allergy developed. And my coworkers daughter at almost 30 yrs old just developed a peanut allergy (she also cannot have gluten).

I would have to check the records but it's a specific one that Cosmo has trouble with....there are some like kennel cough and lyme where we don't need the benedryl first.

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Originally Posted by Ky'sMom

That is a great perk for the family Chrissy!

We are thinking of taking Bruno to Banfield, the vet that is inside of Petsmart here. Individuals have told me they are good, but I have not read great things about them online so we shall see. Plus I just like to support small businesses and would rather go with a vet clinic that is individually owned and not something corporate, but Banfield is about 2 miles away. Our current vet is about 20-25 miles away.
Erin

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the paperwork Bobbie brought home specifically stated that if there were serious underlying conditions, the pet would be referred elsewhere. I'm sure it's like anything else, the clinic is only as good as the provider they have. From what I read last night in Missy's paperwork and from what Bobbie told me, I am confident that the one here is good.

Kai's dr says if it's not better tomorrow to bring him in. He says he doubts it's from the vax. Wtf? Why? It happened the very next day and it's the only thing that was out of the ordinary. Whatever. I just hope so much it starts to go away. It's all the way down his arms now and wasn't there at all yesterday.

So I mentioned on here that dbf is on my nerves. Yesterday we were all playing out the yard and he says to me, in front of the kids, "Should we take the boat out?" and the kids start screaming with joy and I say sure. He dinks around fishing for awhile off the pier and the kids keep asking him when we are going and then he says we'll just go later in the week when it's warmer. So Kai starts crying and Savana starts complaining and dbf gets mad at THEM and says if they are going to act that way then we wont' go at all. This whole scenario really, really, really, REALLY pissed me off. He does **** like that all the time. He did it this weekend in another scenario where he said one thing was happening so the kids were all pumped for it and then he changed him mind. I got mad then too. Like, keep your mouth shut until you're sure that you want to do it! And to get mad at them for being upset about it is just all kinds of wacked out wrong. I was angry. Maybe more angry than I should have been. I did give him the finger when the kids weren't looking because do you know what he had the nerve to come inside and say to me? "Is there anything you can do so that you don't get so pissed off at me all the time?"
:lol:
Um..... leave you? That's all I can think of.

20 minutes before I go pick up my girl! All day I've been worried about her. I hope she had a good day.

PS. Kai is sitting next to me and he sees the pic of Conner getting off the bus and said, "That kid looks like me. Or like someone who could be my friend."

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Originally Posted by Bridget

PS. Kai is sitting next to me and he sees the pic of Conner getting off the bus and said, "That kid looks like me. Or like someone who could be my friend."

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Awwww :wub: That made my day!!!

I hope his rash clears up. I'm aggravated for you.

Aww that was so cute...they do look like they could be friends!

That is just so wrong of him. Seriously. i would start telling him we could do something he really really really wanted to do.....and than change my mind. See how he likes it.

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Originally Posted by Cosmosmom

Aww that was so cute...they do look like they could be friends!

That is just so wrong of him. Seriously. i would start telling him we could do something he really really really wanted to do.....and than change my mind. See how he likes it.

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Agreed

Your dbf reminds me of the song Cats in the Cradle. One of these days he will want to go on the boat with the kids, and they won't want to. I know that is no help in your situation. It's sad. Sometimes my dh brings home work, he really loves his job, and thinks about it a lot. There are times I have to remind him, at the end of your life you aren't going to say I wish I had spent more time working.

Shelley, I know in my heart that someday he will look back and have so many regrets. It's heartbreaking, really.

Savana told me she sat in the nurses office today because her tummy hurt. :( They didn't even call me! Is that normal? I think it was just nerves. Argh. I'm sad.

They don't call me unless there is evidence of real illness. If it's general belly or headache, they won't call.

When I worked for Community Education at the mall (and took blood pressure screenings all day), I never once heard from any of the elderly gentlemen that they wished they'd worked more. Every.single.one wished to have the years back from when their kids were little & at home.

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Originally Posted by Bridget

So I mentioned on here that dbf is on my nerves. Yesterday we were all playing out the yard and he says to me, in front of the kids, "Should we take the boat out?" and the kids start screaming with joy and I say sure. He dinks around fishing for awhile off the pier and the kids keep asking him when we are going and then he says we'll just go later in the week when it's warmer. So Kai starts crying and Savana starts complaining and dbf gets mad at THEM and says if they are going to act that way then we wont' go at all. This whole scenario really, really, really, REALLY pissed me off. He does **** like that all the time. He did it this weekend in another scenario where he said one thing was happening so the kids were all pumped for it and then he changed him mind. I got mad then too. Like, keep your mouth shut until you're sure that you want to do it! And to get mad at them for being upset about it is just all kinds of wacked out wrong. I was angry. Maybe more angry than I should have been. I did give him the finger when the kids weren't looking because do you know what he had the nerve to come inside and say to me? "Is there anything you can do so that you don't get so pissed off at me all the time?"
:lol:

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Whoa. Can he not take any responsibility for disappointing the kids? Perspective, dude.

I hope Savana had a good day too.

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Originally Posted by demigraf

Whoa. Can he not take any responsibility for disappointing the kids? Perspective, dude.

I hope Savana had a good day too.

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I'm really finding it hard to believe he doesn't realize what he's doing is wrong. I'm sorry if this is crossing the line, but sometimes I feel like he's being manipulative. As well as acting like a spoiled brat.