True Confessions

You may be wondering how we are adjusting to having a puppy. So far, so good. Charlie is a doll and Shadow is a good model for him.

I do have a confession for you.

I'm not doing so great with the potty training. I bought little bells for Charlie to step on and ring when he wants to go out, but he is fond of carrying them to his (Shadow's) dog bed and chewing on them. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Because we spend most of our time holed up in the kitchen, hemmed in on both sides by baby gates, we don't have too many accidents during the day, and he does very well in the crate when I'm out running errands.

This puppy loves his water almost as much as he obsesses about food, and a few times a day he's particularly prolific in the pee department: 5-8 pm, and 6:30-8:30 am. While a baby might have witching hours, this puppy has PEEING HOURS.

I tell you this because I have a confession to make.

It's a well established fact that I'm not a morning person. What I haven't told  you is that for the past year and a half, Tim and Margaret have gotten up and out of the house without my seeing them. Yep! I am not down in the kitchen in my ruffly apron giving kisses, flipping pancakes, and lovingly handing out sack lunches. I'm upstairs asleep. A few weeks into Margaret's 7th grade year, I was suffering from shingles and needed to rest. Eventually, I got better, but we realized that the mornings went more smoothly without my being involved in the equation at all. Running late? Clothing woes? Not my problem.

After so many years of waking up early and being in charge of getting everyone up and out, this schedule is a GIFT.

I was worried that having the puppy would mess with our little morning routine, but it hasn't. Tim gets up with the dogs. When he and Margaret leave, they shut them back in the bedroom with me while I sleep. The thing is, pretty much every day, in the 7:30-8 am range, Charlie pees in the bedroom. We have a pee pad there, even though we know it isn't something we want to encourage forever. I've removed the pad, but then he pees on the hardwood floor.

Given the choice between living in a pee palace and waking up early, I'd choose pee every single time.

Ok, I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Fellow night owls, what would YOU BE WILLING TO DO to get a little extra sleep in the morning?