We Kept Busy

before d left we had the opportunity to help a friend in need. her family had purchased a house in northern alabama and found themselves pressed for options when their current house sold faster than expected. she and her daughter needed a place to stay to finish out the school year and the dance lessons they had invested in. when we moved to mobile we were given so much help by a family from our church. we decided to pay it forward by hosting our friend and her daughter. it just happened that the time they would need a place would coincide perfectly with d being away. it was wonderful to not be totally alone everyday. birdie had an older playmate and i had a friend to keep me company. we already miss them.

"i don't know how you do it," is the response i get a lot when people ask how i've been doing these last 7 weeks without d. "we keep busy!" is always my overly enthusiastic response. for those who have experienced a separation from their spouse, while still maintaining family life and raising a little one, it just plain sucks most of the time. there are good days. days where the time passes all too quickly and you're laying in bed- exhausted- thinking about all of the things you'll catch up on tomorrow because you had too much fun that day. there are also bad days. days spent in pajamas with a fussy baby on your hip while you yell for the umpteenth time at your dogs for chewing up a cheap little toy. those are the days that seem to drag on. nevertheless, it was still helpful to have a couple extra hands around to bounce a baby while mama was out in the field dragging dogs back in the house, eating nightly meals with people other than a baby, and having company during reallyreallyreallyreally scary storms.

we kept busy, basically, because we didn't have any other choice.

i crafted... a LOT...

i painted our table and chairs. i absolutely love how they turned out- a seafoam green and coral.  

an old picture frame + scrapbook paper= a dry erase board for our kitchen

i jumped on the bandwagon and made a "southern" wreath for our front door.  

our couch got a little more cheery with four newly recovered pillows 

i tried to keep our garden alive... (and succeeded!) 

 marigolds that we grew from seeds 

 yellow squash

my beautiful hibiscus makes me excited for hawaii later this year.  

cherry tomatoes and a pepper- a very small portion of our harvest  

our porch peach tree 

i discovered wild blackberries behind our backyard

we played...

mama read countless books over and over to our little budding bookworm.  

birdie spent lots of time outside in her birthday suit. things are a little more fun when you're in the nude.  

water play with friends. 

won't keep a sun hat on but she'll wear a chef's hat for over an hour.  

her new pretend kitchen 

we napped (mama, too!) a lot.

we spent our evenings on the porch enjoying the weather.  

we laid low for a couple of days while we nursed our furry brother back to health after he suffered a snake bite. (normal paw on left, very swollen paw on right.)  

birdie sat patiently on my lap while mama got a haircut. (love that my new hairdresser was so accommodating to us!)  

birdie turned into a tummy sleeper.  

now that we're at the end of our family separation it seems as if the time has flown by. i'm extremely happy that this is our last separation for a looooong time. 

One Night In Jail Is More Than Enough

The first time we went to church after finding out we were expecting I really wanted a priesthood blessing from some of our leaders. The blessing was beautiful and reassuring but it also warned that we would face trials. I was a little concerned by that but just pushed it to the back of my mind and continued on with life.

"Trials" should have been substituted by "trauma" as I believe it's a more appropriate word. Okay, okay maybe "trauma" is a slightly over dramatic description some things that have happened since I received that blessing. (Some of the trials we've faced do feel somewhat traumatic in their own way.) There's been one exception: this past week we truly experienced something traumatic. 

Not only do I want to post about this for the it-could-happen-to-you effect... but also to show that we are human and life happens. I won't get into the gory (sadly) and scary (understatement) details but, basically, our Bogey-boy attacked another dog. 

Why? We. Have. No. Idea. Was their something "off" about the owner or dog? Was it because it was right in front of our house? Is he just a bully? We don't know. The only theory we can come up with is that I was alone and I'm pregnant. Our furry son becomes more protective when D is gone. In ways I cannot explain into words I know that he knows that I'm in a more vulnerable state being that there's a little one on the way. Whatever his reasoning was inside of his little dog brain- it still isn't a fun situation to be in, especially when other dog was injured. (The owner, and I as well, suffered very, very minor injuries in the scuffle.) 

As a parent of a dog you always run the risk of this situation whether you're responsible for the attacker or the victim. You just never think it's going to happen to you. Ever. Not only do you have to deal with the pain and guilt of being the responsible party but there are, naturally, repercussions to inappropriate actions. For Bogey that meant he had to be quarantined- away from us- for ten days. Ten whole days of being separated from my "first born," our first baby, the dog who really "understood" me through those infertility days- it was a knife in the heart. The first night he was gone I alternated between replaying the incident over and over in my head and crying. 

The good thing about this whole ordeal is that Bogey didn't bite a person. (That would be a whole different situation that I don't even want to think about.) Another good thing is everyone is okay... still shaken up... but okay. It's also a good thing that animal control understands this was out of character and believes our theory as to why it happened. Because of this Bogey is doing his 10-day quarantine at home. The best part is our insurance is covering e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. 

We're a few days post-incident and breathing a little easier. Bogey, however, is still recovering from his jailhouse experience. He will not let me out of his sight. We're dishing out more kisses, hugs, and cuddles around here as a family but we're moving forward.