Amazing April Vacation

Today is day 5 of my fantastic, relaxing, shopping-filled vacation. I haven't done anything particularly crazy this vacation besides spending extravagant amounts of money. When I'm bored and have no plans I have a tendency to shop uncontrollably. Its actually a terribly bad habit because since Saturday I have probably spent over $400.00 on clothes, and miscellaneous things for the house(Shhhh..don't tell Cory). It will make a year this Friday that we closed on the house and we still don't have everything we need. Its such a long process. I seriously just bought curtains for the dining room, one year later! This week I have also been able to catch up with friends and do a serious spring cleaning on the house. This week has been great and I hope the next 4 days go by really slow!

I will leave you with a picture of a vase of flowers that Cory surprised me with today. Isn't he just the best? I'll  answer that for you. You bet!

Sick Puppy

My poor baby boy is really sick. It all started about 2 weeks ago when Cory and I left for work one morning and of course left Colt home by himself. When I arrived home I noticed that a plastic cup had been chewed up into pieces and scattered all over our guest bedroom. I'm almost always in a rush in the morning so I left my paper plate and plastic cup there from my breakfast. Guess that that was a bad mistake on my part because Colt thought my plate and cup were his snack. Later on that day Cory found three piles of dried up vomit upstairs so he was assuming that he had ingested some of the plastic cup. A few days went by and he seemed fine until Wednesday afternoon when he started throwing up again and again on Sunday! We had also brought him to his last training session that weekend and the dog trainer noticed that Colt had very loose bowels and blood in his stool. We were really worried to hear of their discovery and we were contemplating brining him to a 24 hour animal hospital that Sunday. I immediately called the vet and they assured me that if he was acting himself and keeping his water down that we could wait until that Monday to bring him in.

Cory brought him in last Monday and they told him that they were sure his food change was the cause of his illness. They gave him fluids and an acid reducer and sent him home. Cory went to Petco the very next day and picked up the previous type of food we were feeding him. He seemed like he was back to his normal self after a few days and everything seemed to be fine health wise with him.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon..Colt throws up again! Fantastic....just when we thought he was all better. Nope. He was up all night last night with the runs and dry heaving. He was not comfortable at all and you could just tell that he just wasn't himself. I called out of work today and brought him to the Vet. He has been there since 8 this morning and they are still running tests on him. They are not positive what is causing this but they found that his blood cell count is low and that he is dehydrated. The vet told me that she wants to see if she can get a stool sample from him and she is going to get an x-ray of his abdomen to rule out any foreign objects that may be causing his upset. I'm so worried about him. And of course during this whole situation all I can think about is Tucker and the incident that we faced with him. I'm praying that he will be okay.

Colt- Six month update

Six months already? Wow! Time has been flying by so fast and its truly remarkable how far Colt has come since that faithful day that we picked him up at the rest stop in Connecticut. He is well on his way to a complete transformation from the shy nervous dog we first met. Over the past few months we have seen him grow into a much more confident and happy dog. I mean there are things that he still needs to work on, but I know that my patience and persistence will continue to help him to progress even quicker.

Being a brat and taking up the entire bed! But could you really say "No" to that face? 

Initially, the most important issue that we wanted to tackle with him was socialization. As I've explained in past updates Colt was not socialized in foster care and he had surpassed the grace period of being introduced to many people & dogs as possible. To try to resolve this very difficult dilemma we decided to signed him up for beginner dog training classes at Pet Smart in Plymouth. Truth be told we weren't really expecting much from these classes as far as professionalism goes. These classes were mostly so Colt was able to meet and interact with new dogs and people it wasn't necessarily for formal "training". Colt knows all the basic commands thanks to yours truly. :) Tomorrow is graduation and we have seen some progress, but not the amount that I would like. After about 3 sessions at Pet Smart I decided to contact a professional dog trainer in Kingston. The total cost of the five private lessons in Kingston was about $400. This particular trainer has had such a high success rate with anxious dogs that I didn't mind spending that amount of money. And of course Cory and I agreed that Colt's well being is essentially priceless.

We will do anything we can to make sure Colt is a happy and social dog. He is completely fine at home. Its almost like he is a completely different dog as soon as he sets one paw outside our door. He is so playful and happy at home with us and its such a shame that everyone he meets isn't able see the lovable dog that we see everyday at home. Also, I think that Colt hasn't been getting enough exercise lately either. This has been especially difficult during the winter because taking him for walks in five feet of snow isn't exactly my idea of a great afternoon. He needs to catch up on exercise after this very long winter that we've had. Not only does he want to play in the middle of the night sometimes, but also in the morning when we are getting ready for work. Its almost as if he knows we are leaving him for the day. He literally goes nuts in the morning he runs up and down the stairs wagging his tail, jumping everywhere, and just acting insane!

He began to chew our box spring. Thank goodness I have a bed skirt!

Finally, the issue that we've had with walks before has almost been completely resolved due to this new trainer's techniques. He no longer pulls when we go on walks and overall he seems more calm and comfortable with his surroundings. I'm so glad that he is able to at least find an outlet for all his energy now because before he was petrified of going for a walk around our neighborhood. I'm absolutely floored by his quick progress.

To wrap up this update...there really isn't that much more to say other then Colt has changed our lives for the better. I honestly don't go a day without telling Cory how much I love Colt or how happy he makes me. Cory feels the exact same way. I don't care how much work and training I have to do to get Colt where he needs to be. I would do anything for him. To be honest it seems as if Colt has always been a member of our family. Not only he is my best friend, but he has also been my true god sent since Tucker has been gone. I know it sounds strange, but I feel like I always have a piece of Tucker with me when Colt is around. We are so thankful that he has come into our lives, and after six months he already means the world to us. It gives me piece of mind to know that we have given him the best life possible. I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will bring us!

He is so photogenic!

My two favorite boys at the dog park.

Colt playing at the dog park in Weymouth.

Look at that happy, confident boy!

Winter Vacation

I'm excited to share that I'm finally on winter break! The kids or to put it another way, the disrespectful teenagers have been especially challenging lately so this break is much needed. Although it really hasn't been much of a break since I caught a touch of the flu. I was in bed for two days, but now I'm feeling much better. I'm hoping that today I'll at least be able to go to the Grocery store. I haven't left the house since Saturday!

It has been almost a month since I've written a blog post, and I apologize for that. Its not that I haven't had anything to write about its just that I've had zero motivation to sit here and arrange my thoughts accordingly. I  also haven't been the happiest person lately either. Maybe its a combination of work, grad school, and winter. I don't know. Lately, I've actually had a few people ask me the infamous question that newlyweds constantly get asked "How is married life?" My response is always. "Its great!". I mean don't get me wrong being married to Cory is great. Whats not to love about spending forever with your best friend? Well nothing. Its just everything that goes along with it thats not exactly glamorous. I'll be honest I've been super overwhelmed trying to adjust to this new life. I know everybody always says the first year is the hardest and I couldn't agree more. Its just so difficult trying to balance work, homework assignments, cooking, cleaning, laundry, dog training with Colt, friends, and most importantly trying to make time to spend with my husband. In addition to that, this is the first time I've been on my own without any assistance from my parents. I think maybe that is partly the reason why its taking forever to adjust to this lifestyle. I'm hoping things will get easier. I'm adjusting, but its just taking longer then I would have liked it to. This definitely isn't easy. Nobody said it would be. Updates soon...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is 53 today. My Dad and I haven't always been particularly close. Growing up he was always the strict one and he meant business. I'll admit at times I was intimidated by that. Even though my Dad may be old fashioned with some of his beliefs and his way of doing things I know he means well. For example, he didn't allow me to live with Cory until we were married. I thought it was the most absurd thing ever, but now I've come to value his decision.

In addition, my father is one of the hardest working men I've ever met. He has worked 6 days a week, 50 plus hour a week for as long as I can remember. He always did everything he could to support our family, and for that I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.

Now that I've have moved out and got married I know that my Dad is extremely proud of the woman I've become. He is always willing to help me in any way he can (He even came over to shovel us out today. on his birthday no less!). I love him very much and I really couldn't ask for a more caring and compassionate father.

I love you Daddy!


Here are some of my favorite pictures of my Dad and I from my wedding.

Outside of our house on the deck my dad built 

My dad walking me up the aisle

Daddy/Daughter Dance (Isn't he so handsome?)

      

Look, mom, I got an award!

First off, I would like to give a huge shout out to my friend Casey at, align my heart, my body, my mind for this stylish blogger nomination! Thank you! I really appreciate it!

As a part of this blog award I'm required to share seven things about myself on this particular post. 

So...here goes!

1) I love to cook & bake(and I'm pretty good at it..I might add)! Over the past year I've been tempted to apply to a school for culinary arts. I know its not a realistic dream, and I also probably wouldn't enjoy it as much if I did it everyday. I suppose that it will just continue to be my hobby. My favorite part of cooking is receiving compliments on the meal or dessert that I worked so hard on. My least favorite part is cleaning up

 (I usually have my husband help with that one). 

2)  I wish I was a more active person. I'm aware that its winter and being active is a difficult feat, but I just feel so lazy all the time. I recently bought a Wii and Just Dance 2 in hopes that I would feel less sluggish. It is helping slightly, but I'm mostly just having fun with it. 

3)  I miss dancing. period. I started dancing when I was 8 years old and I continued until my senior year in college. I feel like it really gave me a purpose in life and it was always something that I looked forward to doing. In the future I would like to take a Zumba or an adult dance class. My only issue is I would never go alone and I dont live near any of my friends anymore. :( 

4) My mom and I are extremely close. I talk to her on average 5 times a day and I try to see her at least twice a week. I feel like I've gotten closer to her since I moved out and got married. 

5) I have a lot of fears and I'm a very nervous person. I literally worry about everything. Supposedly I inherited it from my maternal grandmother. I'm afraid of thunder storms, roller coasters, flying, people vomiting (this one is severe), and big trucks on the highway. This short list doesnt even begin to touch upon the things that scare me. 

6) Believe it or not. I'm very judgmental. I wish I could change this. I'm trying to.

7) I bite my nails. Its a horrid habit, but I know I will never stop. 

Now I'm supposed to nominate seven of my favorite blogger girls. I dont even have seven followers on my blog yet! Gee Thats sad. Guess I need to work on that. 

Back to School..Back to School..

....to prove to myself that I'm not a fool. It was inevitable that I would eventually go back to school to complete my Master's degree. If I choose to continue to pursue Education (which I do) then I must enroll in another 10 courses and a teaching practicum. Previously, I had taken a few courses for Special Education in the spring of 2009. However, I didn't continue with them. I had realized while working at my current job that my desire to become a Sped teacher had quickly dwindled.

Needless to say, I love writing. Also, I think that my love of writing has really taken shape here in my blog posts. I've received many compliments on how much people enjoy reading my writing, and I've even been told that I should write a book. I haven't always been the best writer or even enjoyed writing at all. My love of writing started to become prominent during my first year of college. I enjoyed writing papers and expressing my thoughts, however I wasn't very fond of being required to write 10 pages on an assigned topic. I would much rather write for fun. One of the reasons that I started this blog was so I was able to document our lives as newlyweds, but more importantly to brush up on my writing. You may be thinking does that mean that I want to become an English teacher? Well, No.

After much deliberation  I decided to major in Reading. I have various options in this major. I could take a position as a literacy coach, reading specialist, title one teacher, or a reading or Language Arts teacher. To be completely honest I'm not the least bit thrilled to be starting back to school again. Completing my master's at this point in my life will now be an even bigger challenge for me than previous years. I not only have to worry about working full time and going to school, but on top of that I now have a husband, dog, and house to care for. At least I don't have any children yet! For now, I'm only tackling one course due to the fact that I'm also studying for the GRE's. It is crucial that I score at least a 900 on that exam to ensure admission into the Reading M.Ed. program at Bridgewater.

I attended my first class this past Monday. The course is titled Literacy Instruction in Elementary Education. The professor was incredibly friendly and assured us that she is very lenient with assignments. She explained to us that she understands life gets in the way sometimes and balancing work and school isn't always the easiest thing to do. It seems like it will be an interesting course. Wish me luck!