life as we know it

Sometimes life seems so normal, so mundane, that I can't imagine anyone would want to see me write about it. Other times life is going by at such a dizzying pace that I can't find the time to sit down and write at all. The past few days have been a combination of both. And actually, if I'm honest, the real problem has been that I haven't taken any pictures. What? It's true. And a blog post without pictures just seems rather blah. Rather like a list of particulars.

Calvin and I have been scrapbooking a lot together lately—we're putting together a book of our Florida trip and reliving the memories together has been a lot of fun. We've all but closed up our exploration of the Maya and have moved on to the Aztecs. Calvin is plowing through the Math-U-See—he's reached the section on money and we've discussed getting him started with an allowance now that he can keep track of it, so that will be a new milestone to mark. There's been piano, and Lego play, and reading (about Walt Disney), and journaling, and lots and lots of fun with Iris.

Iris is really still our biggest happening. Adding a new dog to a home can be challenging, especially when there are already established pets present, but the transition with Iris has been delightfully smooth. She seems happy and comfortable—she's eating and playing (we might finally have a dog who will pay fetch with us!)—and her manners were already good when she arrived. For those things we need to work on she responds very quickly to praise and the occasional treat. It took only two nights for her to learn our "exile" command (the word we've used for years to banish the dogs from the kitchen when we cook or eat), she sits, she stays, she lays down, and she's getting the hang of leash walking. Still, we'll be enrolling in obedience classes in the next month or so to give her some practice time with Calvin (and Calvin some practice time with her).

We have tickets to see Sweet Honey in the Rock this week, and more books to sort at the library. One odd and rather time-consuming errand. Piano. Legos. We haven't played games in a while, so definitely some of those. We actually have snow on the ground and I'm hoping it will stick around for a while. I'd like a few chilly nights for building fires and snuggling in. This is life as we know it.

Iris

Our family has grown by four spotted feet.

Meet Iris.

Iris is a three year old Dalmatian.

A few weeks ago Iris was living in Chicago. Sadly, her mom could no longer take care of her, so Iris went to stay with a foster family in Indiana and was placed on the Dalmatian rescue list. We've often discussed adopting a third dog. It wasn't all that long ago that our house was home to three wonderful dogs. After we said goodbye to Diamond we weren't ready to think about bringing in anyone new, but a year or so later we started to talk about the possibility of adopting again. We knew we wanted a rescue—that seemed like the greatest way to honor Diamond's memory—and we started watching rescue lists. We thought about a greyhound, and we thought about a mix, but I have a soft spot for spots and I probably watched the Dalmatian list the closest. Still, it took a couple of years before the right personality popped up.

I responded to Iris's listing and spoke many times with her wonderful foster family. It was clear that they cared very much for her, and we were very lucky when they chose us to be her forever home. This morning they drove two and a half hours to meet us in a field half-way between our homes. It was a poignant exchange, with sadness in their goodbye but joy in our hello, and then our lives became four feet richer.

Iris spent the drive home sleeping, and the first afternoon in her new home exploring every nook and cranny before settling down in front of the warm fire. She gets along with our dogs, she ignores our cats, and she's already found the water dish, the "out" door, and the bed by the fire. She's making herself at home and settling in just fine, and that makes us very happy.

Prince and the pea

Is this our own version of a fairy tale? Prince and the pea? How about double decker dogs? Or maybe a double-dog sandwich? Really it is a sign of things to come. A new dog bed comes with...more on that later.

Help from a friend

The cat is realllllly long today

The cat is extra long today, as is the day extra hot.

Today was one of closing chapters and opening doors. This morning we made a final trip to my grandparents' house thirty minutes from here, a day before the house sale is closed. My grandparents passed away some time ago and the house is not an old one, but looking at it brings to mind many years of love and joy, and for me any permanent good bye is bound to be a somewhat difficult one. I'm sentimental like that.

The afternoon was a mess of responsibilities. We cleaned a lot of the house, I signed Calvin up for swimming, we went to two stores (and were only successful at one), we visited the dentist (Calvin's first time), and we got haircuts (mine is a train wreck). The "opened doors" then must be my learning to live with an embarrassing hair cut, and Calvin learning about the dentist. He did a great job and seems to hold none of my reservations about people messing around inside my mouth.

Tomorrow is the day when I get to admit that I've been doing this for five years and still have no idea what I'm doing or what the plan is. This is, however, the first year that I've come to believe that these are good things. I shouldn't know what I'm doing and there is no plan. Five years, though. That's kind of fun. This is the year that we've decided Calvin will be allowed to get a library card, will start receiving an allowance, and will now have to walk instead of riding in the cart at the store (actually, I realized only a few weeks ago that he's pretty well over the weight limit on those seats, so I guess it's about time).