Dog Walk: Itchy & Scratchy Edition

by Guest Contributor: The Dad.

This may be my last fill-in post given the chilly reaction to my efforts on the dog walk.

The dog walk today was a challenge. We went to our standard spot -- The Res -- at the appointed time, and Maggie did her thing as one would hope. However, the mosquitoes are starting to come out in force. Ike and I spent a lot of the walk discussing the relative itchiness of Poison Ivy v. Mosq. Bites. Given evidence collected on the walk, I argued that the bug bites were worse for the first 20 minutes, but the PI had staying power.

One of the big differences between when Moose and I take Ike for a dog walk is that he generally likes to just hang out and ride in my arms the whole time. He doesn't even feel the need to have hold of the leash most of the time. I'm not sure why that is. Today, as you can see from the picture, he had to take a short little walk, but he quickly wanted back up in my arms. (Note, too, that Dad didn't even dress him funny today.)

When we got back to the house, Ike had to do a bit of yard work. You can see how nicely Moose's gardening is coming together in the front of the house. We recently reclaimed the part on the far right, converting it from the omnipresent vinca to grass. Moose says she's surprised she's advocating planting grass anywhere, but that's how pervasive the darned vinca/perriwinkle is.



In the course of Ike's yardwork we came across a moose. This one comes via Aunt S and has settled into the garden well.

After that we had to take a ride in the wagon, which got a smile from the boy....

Tuesday and Wednesday dogwalk

....done by The Husband. No pictures, no story....he took The Boy on Tuesday and said it was uneventful. Today he only took Maggs. How can I be married to such a boring guy?

Monday walk

We got off to another late start since someone went back to sleep and slept till almost 10! This is why it was Dogwalk in Pajamas, part II. We spent a good part of the time in the meadow. Maggs was pokey. Here is a pic of the leash contraption

Friday DOGWALK....wet

Yes, today it is raining. But the dog MUST be walked. We had a bit of a slow morning...someone was wide awake at 5am so we were up playing from 5-6am then went back to bed till 9:30....The DOGWALK did not get going until 10:56. We were dressed in shorts and t-shirts...then we opened the door. It was cool and rainy. So, a sweatshirt was added and kid moved from backpack to sling. Not too many photos taken today because of the rain..but here are a few.
The poppies are blooming in the center planter and the false solomon's seal is blooming in the yard.Walk was peaceful. The Boy was pretty sleeping and we listened to the rain falling on the leaves. He didn't even ask to get down to walk. Good thing...it was wet! Arrival back home: 11:22am

Thursday Dog Walk...Guest Writer: The Dad

The dog walk was done today by me, The Dad.

Our buddy Gladys (aka, Michael...don't ask) was in town today, which meant that the Boy was distracted and not totally into the dog walk. For those that don't know, we have a two leash contraption set up because the Boy usually feels like he has to hold the leash, and we want to have a bit more control over Mags than he can provide. Well, today, Dad ended up with both leashes, as the Boy just wasn't into that today. All in all, the walk was really pretty boring. I carried the little guy and both leashes, Mags did what she was supposed to, and we all came home. Now, don't get me wrong -- he was terribly cute during the whole thing, but it was a relatively uneventful walk.

When we got back, we said goodbye to Gladys. He was off to ride his bike to Chicago...through Hammond, East Chicago, and all that. I'm not sure that exactly sounds like fun to me. I tried to get the little guy to say "Bye, bye" for Gladys, but to no avail. (I did manage to get him to say "okay" today...or at least his version of it.)

Well, since I didn't take any pictures on the walk, here's one of the Boy in his glasses from today.

Plant Quiz!!

Please enter your guesses!







This one with the pink flowers, I'm just looking for a family...because I don't really know what this is exactlyyy

Wednesday DOGWALK

10:06 am. I said to the boy "Go get your shoes, it's time for THE DOGWALK!". He walked from the family room to the kitchen and grabbed one shoe. Someone slept in late this morning because he woke up during the middle of the night wide awake calling for THE DOGGY. So, we decided that THE DOGWALK could be done in our pajamas! Yeah! Here we are getting ready to go.

He got to ride in the sling for most of the way. We took lots of pictures today because I'm updating the website for the organization that manages the woods and facilities. We needed new pictures of the buildings. We also had to stop and walk around at one of the little cabins in the woods and play with the rocks by the firepit.

It is hot today and Maggs decided it was too hot for her while we were playing at the cabin. So she went to hid under the porch. Can you see her here?

Finally, we had to have some fun playing with the dirt on the trail.

Here we are...at the end of the walk. A successful, fun morning! Perhaps we should all learn a lesson here...it's more fun to spend the morning in your PJs!!!!!

Tuesday dogwalk...

9:12 The boy grabs his shoes from the basket and brings them to me so I will help him put them on. Time for THE DOGWALK! Welcome to a new feature on SDMOOSE. I hope to bring you reports from our dogwalks a few times a week. But will these reports be interesting enough to keep you reading? Stay tuned!


Here we are at the END of the walk. As you can see, someone insisted that the wagon go along today.

First we had to stop and talk to the neighbor on our way to the woods. She was putting about 4 packages in her mailbox "return to sender". Her 92 year-old mother apparently orders many things from the mail! Maggie loves our neighbor (treats) and The Boy is finally smiling at her. Today he played the fun trick of throwing something out of the wagon multiple times so she would pick it up for him. I thought MY kid wouldn't do that trick! Then he wanted out of the wagon and took off exploring down the road. So, I said goodbye to the neighbor and chased him down.

This is the first time the wagon has been "invited" along on the walk! It worked ok, in that the boy rode in it about 1/2 way. It slowed us down a bit and I think it maybe threw Maggs off a bit as she didn't do her thing that she is supposed to do on the dogwalk! Darn dog. The Boy yelled "DOGGY" a few times on the walk. Another first. Arrival home: 9:59. Time to get going to Ava's for another walk....it's going to be hot here today.

kkyoarrd trouuble

...ssoo iiwilll justt posstttapppiccture

`+`

Tornado warnings...

This evening we had our first tornado sirens...warnings of the season. I was google chatting with a certain AAPH and I commented that I've been told that a tornado sound like trains, therefore I'm screwed. You see...we have grand central station running through our backyard. I hear trains running like every 5 minutes. She then said "yeah...I thought about telling you that, but thought the better of it" Nice friend!

ps. It's pretty funny to hear the cat MMMMMEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW on the baby monitor. She's doing it right now.

Happiness!

Kindergarten report card QUIZ

Hmmm...so the Husband and I were sitting around today watching the boy and trying to keep him from hurting himself with his climbing and running around. I said to The Husband "I bet his first report card is going to say_____________________" (chose from the following or add an idea of your own)

1. At least he's cute
2. I really appreciate his enthusiasm
3. Don't you ever feed this boy?
4. ? other ideas?

How well do you know us?

Another quiz!
1. Whenever I get into the car (the one with the satellite radio..we have Sirius) after The Husband has been driving it...what station is it ALWAYS tuned to?

2. The Husband recently had to make a trip to Urgent Care...why?

3. I-man's G'ma recently came for a visit. She bought him a clothing accessory. What is it?

4. I usually take how many pics of the boy on days I'm home with him: 1) 10 2) 100 3) 1000 4) what are you talking about? You never take pictures of the boy

5. I-man is currently most interested in which three of the following list: 1) bugging the cat 2) eating 3) walking the dog 4) climbing stairs 5) sleeping long stretches at night 6) taking pictures of me

what tree is this?

Return of the plant quiz!!!!!!!!!!

Amish Peanut Butter, part II (or...I man walks the dog)

The first title is just to get your attention.
This morning we walked the dog in the woods. Like we always do. But today I-man INSISTED on getting down from the front carrier to walk at about the half-way point. He didn't have shoes or socks on. He didn't care. Then he INSISTED on holding onto Maggie's leash for the rest of the walk. So, he walked the dog. He did really well and didn't let go. At one point he needed to be carried (of course!) but he kept holding onto the leash. Wish I had a camera today on the walk, but as I have said before...you can't capture every moment on film.....even though I try! Ha!

No thanks to all of YOU........

but I came upon a post idea....I was at WORK (yeah, I know...rare event) and was eating lunch (very important). There was a jar of Amish Peanut Butter sitting on the table. I thought...hmmm...what makes peanut butter Amish? Well, I'll TELL YOU. Apparently it must have corn syrup, peanut butter, AND marshmallow cream mixed together. Yeah..and if you look at that website you'll note that there are about twice as many dessert recipes as dinner recipes.

Needing inspiration

I'm not feeling very inspired. I thought perhaps I'd ask my audience what they would like me to blog about...work, life in the midwest, countdown to Saturday's NFL draft, more about the neighbor? More book discussions? More bird ids? Or should I just stick to pictures of the boy and dog? Now is your chance...give me some ideas.

Did everyone have this toy?

I knew this day would come...

Recently I-man has been very interested in feeding Maggie her food. Usually Maggs eats it so fast she chokes, but recently she leaves it for a few hours before consuming (I'm guess because she's getting food thrown to her by the boy. She must feel the D.O.G. food isn't quite as appetizing anymore) . So, it's been "cute" watching I-man go to her dish, take out a piece of her food and walk over to her and feed it to her. Piece by Piece. Yeah....you all knew that wasn't going to last. Today I fished a slightly soggy piece of dog food out of I-man's mouth.

A day with G'ma and G'pa

Last week I left I-man with his G'ma and G'pa for the day while I went to work. I came home to this scene. A nap going on 2 hours....snug on his G'ma's lap. Life is good!



Here is the breakdown of the day:
8:30-9am: oatmeal and bananas
10:15: yogurt and applesauce
10:30: change
11-12:14: nap after 3 oz milk
12:20-12:45: chasing cat
1: 00: Lunch: rice, chicken, veggies, banana, grapes, Water.
1:40: change. In a good mood
2:00: 6 oz milk
3:30: more milk
3:30-5:20: nap on G'ma.

Happy Easter

Photo project

New blog to check! A photo blog with my friend...www.carotevi.blogspot.com
check it out. Should be weekly photos.

Look at that belly!!!!

Pestering the cat is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

Recent pictures

We've been exploring the outdoors a lot this past week and taking our "cars" out for a few test drives in the driveway. Spring is here and apparently the leaves taste good...

A good drink

Cholesterol

I checked my cholesterol the other day. My numbers came back pretty good. Total up from 130's to 143, but triglycerides an all time low of 27. LDL (the bad stuff) up to 70 (used to be in the 50's) but the HDL (good cholesterol) finally got into the 60's! Yeah. I celebrated with an ice cream!

Stay tuned!

Tomorrow I-man and Maggs are going for a fundraiser photo shoot! It will be a spring-themed sitting, so it should be fun. The question remains, however, what outfit I-man should wear?

Looking for Maggie

Caught the I-man doing this when I asked him "Where's Maggie". Little does he know that Maggie's belly is a bit too big to squeeze under the couch! He's been finding the cat under the couch a lot lately (probably hiding from HIM)

New chair?

I-man decided that crawling OVER Maggs (and resting on her a little bit) was the only way to get to Mao (who is sitting on that chair) and pester her. Sometimes this house feels like a circus

Another birthday celebration!

Yesterday was The Husband's birthday. He's old now. We got him a much needed gift. I got a really good deal on this programmable coffee maker
Yeah. He needs another coffee maker like I need another camera. Oh well. It might help him get up in the morning to know a hot cup of coffee is waiting in the kitchen. It might save a little money in the run, too. Since getting him a nice travel mug his daily coffee cost has decreased from $1.99 to $1.60 or so depending on who is serving him. And if he brings in his own coffee he won't even need to buy a cup. Or maybe he'll drink the one from home in the car and still need a second cup to get through the morning?

I am 1

And then there was A TOOTH!!!!!!!

Camp K9

I LOVE Maggie's doggie daycare/boarding place, Camp K9! I just called to make some reservations for her. They always answer the phone like this: "We're having a great day at Camp K9, how can I help you". You can't help but be in a good mood after that greeting and thinking of all the fun the dogs are having! We're thinking of dressing I-man up in a doggie suit and sending him there! He's gotten quite good at giving Maggie her toys and playing "fetch" with her. I think he'd have a blast!

4 am chatting

I was up at 4 am. Just couldn't sleep! Fortunately for me my friend in Hawaii was on google chat! We had a grand time She pointed me to the Baby Rock Lullaby site. A very useful resource indeed.

A super hero makes a visit

Woke up this morning and found Superman sleeping in our room!

Vacuuming the stove and other tricks I've learned

stay tuned for more..........

1. you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink (this can be applied in all sorts of situations...the dog, the kid, the husband, patients....)

2. Feeding child with a spatula ....try it

PSWS?

Talking with The Husband last night about my frustrations/adjustment issues with living here, work, and I-man's daycare situation I came to the realization that I'm experiencing PSWS. Post-school withdrawl syndrome. Could that be it?

For my coffee friends and family

This is from the column "The Amish Cook" in our newspaper:
Coffeecake that tastes like coffee

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup hot coffee, strong or weak

Mix ingredients (except hot coffee). Then add coffee and beat slowly. Mixture will be thin. Pour into greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min.

Book Recommendations, part 2 (kid version)

This morning I-man brought a book over to me so I could read it to him. This is the first time he's initiated reading. It was pretty cool. The chosen book was Dr. Seuss, The Foot Book. After we read that one he crawled off to get Goodnight, Spot (exciting with it's lift-the-flap features). I don't suppose anyone can remember their favorite books at age one, but just looking for favorite kid book ideas. (either favorites of yours when you were little or favorites you've read to kids)

Baby Signs

Here's I-man's sign for "I'd like a shot of whiskey, please"

Neighborhood and kid update

Just in case anyone is interested in the latest happenings around here....
1. Favorite activity of the week for I-man: pulling books off the bookshelf or anything off of any shelf.
2. Clapping is "in" this week
3. Waved goodbye to his friend today
4. Darn neighbor dogs are still out and bothered us today while we were out for a walk. ARG. Anyone want two good looking, but not super well-trained dogs?
5. Snow is melting...sun is out today
6. Schools around here CLOSED or were DELAYED due to fog this morning
7. We have not been sick this week! Yeah!
8. I-man is wearing two items of clothing marked "12 months" Wow! So what if I have to roll up the pants legs and roll over the waist! And the sweatshirt pretty much fits him.
9. And the big news of the week....I-man took a 2 hour nap at daycare! I think the trick was letting him sleep in his clothes the night before (since I had to get him there on my own that morning and changing clothes was one less thing I had to do). Maybe we all would have better days at work if we went to work in our pajamas?

Sledding!

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGg
I'm having trouble with Blogger deleting my posted pictures or not posting them at all. Anyone have advice?

Spelling fun

Reading a book that mentions a ukulele. I realized I don't think I've ever seen that word in print! Not sure I could have spelled it correctly myself. Here's what Wikepedia has to say about ukuleles. I think I prefer the British spelling.

I'm old

I'm old.
At work the other day there was a question about a patient. The hospital was calling requesting orders for something he was getting done at the hospital. They didn't tell us what that was and we couldn't figure out from notes what it was. So, I looked down at his birthdate. It was 1985. I said "Well, we could always call his mom and ask". Someone said...."ummm...he's married. I don't think his mom would really know". Dang! How can someone born when I was in high school be married already!!! Was 1985 really that long ago?

Insomnia

Fastest way to insomnia this side of the Mississippi....eat many pieces of chocolate in the evening of a day when you've only eaten 2 pieces of toast because you've just had the stomach flu. On the bright side, I came up with a brilliant plan at 5am for fundraising and increasing membership to the little youth camp/nature preserve across from the house. I was just elected as a board member. A hard fought campaign.

Weight loss plan

Fastest weight loss plan this side of the Mississippi.....stomach flu teamed with breastfeeding an infant with the stomach flu. 5lbs down in 2 days.....

Happy Monday....

Movie

We watched a fun movie called Word Wars this weekend. Anyone who likes Scrabble should see it.

Valentine's Day Dinner?

Stole this idea/link from the brother-in-law's blog. But just too good to pass up. Check it out.

Book recommendation please!

Just tried to read "my" bookclub book (in quotes because I haven't actually been to a meeting yet) book for this month and got 10 pages into it and thought it was horrible. The writing was terrible, the story was unbelievable, too draumatic...so I put the book down. I would love a few book suggestions. Has to be pretty easy to read in 5 minute snippets. Any suggestions?

Puppy Bowl!

We caught a few minutes of the Puppy Bowl III on Animal Planet. It was pretty funny, especially the "bowl cam"