Snow day

So yesterday was a snow day around here.  Many things were closed though not everything.  But Bren got to stay home from work so were were glad for the day together.  Since things have been busy around here, we took the opportunity to carve our pumpkins.  The kids always balk over touching the goo inside, but lucky for me they dig in anyway. I was so nervous because my husband just hands them the knife and says start carving!  Every slice had me flinching and ready to rush to the emergency room (that would have been fun!).  But in the end they all did a fine job.  Since it was snowy we didn't set them all up on the porch yet,  hopefully it will be melted enough by tomorrow for us to do that.  Then I will take a picture and post it, because really you need the full affect of the extra "props". 

The great thing about homeschooling is that we don't get snow days :)  The kids don't think it is that great, but I love that something like this actually gives us more time together and new fun things to do and learn as a family.  Because Brendan was home the kids got to do some art with him.  They took the time to get out the oil pastels and practice with them when normally I don't have them out for fear of a little one getting ahold of them.  But because we could have separate time with dad it facilitated some extra learning.  Oh and don't forget the lessons involved in building structure.  I mean you have to learn that you can't stand on top of a snow fort, it will colapse! hehe

Here they are playing in the snow with the neighbors as it was melting this morning.

It's a....

LITTER!  Godiva did indeed give birth in the wee hours of the morning after laboring all night.  I was up with her most of the time because she was a little panicky. We saw the first little head pop out about 5:30 am.  Then within an hour we had 3. There was a long pause and more were born around 9am then a few more sporadically until about 12:45 pm.We had a total of 9 puppies born but one didn't make it.  The fourth born, like I said was born after a long gap and we considered maybe she was done, even though that is a small litter, so we let her outside to go.  We watched closely and she paused and sniffed the spot (by the was did I mention we are in the midst of a blizzard?) so Jordan put shoes on and ran out sure enough finding a puppy in the snow!  So we have named him blizzard.  the last puppy born was also not breathing like the one we lost.  I spent a good amount of time rubbing her but it seemed like a lost cause.  I didn't want to break any ribs or her neck or anything, but I figured I could rub hard because she was already dead right?  well I kept persisting and after a long while got a faint gasp.  Her gasp was raspy and sounded like fluid.  I thought maybe it was a reflex since I was rubbing her diaphragm.  I let Godiva lick her a bit and then would rub her some more and she was taking more raspy breaths!  I didn't think there was anything else I could do so I left her with the others figuring there was no way she could fight to nurse, but I let Godiva just lick away.  We named her hope because we hoped she would live.  I made some lunch and went back asking where she went and found out she was fighting to nurse like the rest!!!  She still had a labored breathing pattern, but when put to the nipple she sucked (I helped fight off older siblings).  So far she looks and acts like the rest...what a miracle!

So, we ended up with 8 puppies at the end of the day.  There are 6 girls and 2 boys!  They look like black labs, so unless the colors change as they grow, we may never know what the father was.  Oh well, they are cute as can be!  And they are ready to go home in eight weeks...anyone want a puppy for Christmas??

oops

so Godiva, our chocolate lab is about to have puppies.  Any day now.  In fact I think it could be tonight.  She has been digging and breathing heavy and her ears feel cool though I haven't taken her temp. I am sad for her because she is 8 and a half.  That is too old to have puppies.  When we moved to Bennett we talked about getting her fixed.  We had no fences and we just knew that was a disaster waiting to happen.  But with all the other things going on it wasn't a first priority.  And besides, I paid close attention in the beginning and she never ventured far.  She was so good about sticking close to the house.  Wow!  How lucky. 

So I got comfortable and lo and behold one day she went into heat and the next she vanished,  Eventually sauntering home at 11pm!  So the next day I watched her closely and only let her out to do her business and right back in.  But, helpful children who walk by the dog scratching at the door let her out so she wouldn't make a mess on the floor....GREAT!  Midnight rolls around and we are out calling for her.  This goes on for a few more days.  One morning Bren woke up and was startled by what he thought was a coyote sniffing at the garage door where the dog is kept.  Well, by the end of that week Godiva no longer wandered and never did again the rest of the time we lived there.

Sixty-three days later here we are.  With an old dog about to pop.  I feel sorry for her.  I do love birth, and puppies, so I am trying not to be too down.  I hope Godiva will be fine.  She is old, but still strong.  The kids are thrilled.  But taking care of puppies is also messy and a lot of work.  So we will see how the next few days play out.

what to write?

I sit here pondering what to write.  I have many things, some profound, some mundane, that could be wrapped up in neat phrases and set to this page.  I want to write things worth reading.  I read many blogs and get inspiration from most.  I wish I could write like that, to inspire.  I am not a natural writer.  I enjoy journaling and maybe that is more what this should be, just a journal.  But writing a daily journal feels dull.  I could write about what we had for breakfast, about our shopping trip and about my darling four year old who is obsessed with Star Wars. It would be a fun thing for me to read later, but would anyone else want to read it?  I feel like most blogs I read who have a following, they are writing to an audience.  So maybe my writings here should be focused on finding an audience.  Who would I speak to?  Could I inspire others?

clutter

Well, I am trying to unpack now that we are back in our old house. It was easy at first, everything already had a place here so I should be able to get it back in that place. Then I got to the boxes that were just thrown together. No real place. Just random things collected from around the house, mostly toys. I want to simplify. That is what I have wanted for a long time now. Less stuff! Wow, but that is hard. As I go through some of the things I think, "I can't throw THIS out." Well, a few tons of stuff later here we are.

SO how do you do it? How do you declutter and keep only what you love? What if you love lots of things? I have many things that have sentimental value. And then there are the things I would gladly move on from, but the kids or the husband MUST have it. sigh.

That is my goal for the next few days...to declutter, simplify, and start to create (re -create)some daily routines for my house keeping so it flows more smoothly around here. It is overwhelming so I am trying to take it one step at a time.

we did it

Well, after much prayer and contemplating, we moved back to the old neighborhood. We abandoned our dream of the country life. It was just nothing like we thought and we were so overwhelmed by so many things we didn't expect. It is so nice to be back in our old house. We still have a lot of work to do. We have to sell the house in the country and that may be a hard task in this economy. But we trust that God has been leading us and He will continue to do so. All we can do is trust that this part will be taken care of in the same way.

I am getting unpacked and enjoying having things the way they were. I am having a good time getting back into all my old routines (but hopefully not the bad habits) and I am enjoying being close to things again.

I am not sure why were have been taken on this roller coaster...but I keep trusting there is a reason.