We are getting down to the wire with the List. Brian liked how this worked so much, he decided to make a permanent chalkboard so we can write notes and make other lists for things that need to be done around the house.

The biggest item on our original List by far… was cleaning out the Guest Room. Over the past year, it has been the dumping ground for everything under the sun and if people wanted to stay there, they’d have to sleep next to crates upon crated, stacked chairs and tubs of all sorts of CRAP.

It’s been a huge monkey on Brian’s back and something he’s been wanting to address for a long time. So we are finally doing it!

Look at all this stuff. This was just what was piled in the closet and the overflow into the room.

And that’s not all! Here’s most of what was piled onto the futon and near the bed. This is all stuff we plan on giving away or selling. Most of it is going to Freecycle or craigslist.. but there are boxes and boxes of old kid’s clothes that we are going to try to turn in to our local second hand store.

Thinning down feels great! As you can tell from Brian’s face here:

It will feel awesome to have our guest room back, and not feel embarrassed when friends want to come and stay. Most importantly, it’s one more thing that allows us more time to devote to our new addition and not feel like we have other responsibilities hanging over our head. We are so close now… we can TASTE it.

“Nambian Elephant Dusting” by Eric Wilson

I had a lot of good support from my friends over the last few days and it has been great! So i got up, dusted my self off and started the whole process over again. I’m taking an advisor’s advice and casting a wider net this time around, instead of focusing on just one semi-local breeder. I’m not sure how this is going to “look” to them however. It might look flaky and it might appear we lack commitment. But considering all the factors involved, and considering I haven’t really found anybody who has committed to my family? I think it’s only fair to keep open until it is absolutely apparent that I have found our “breeder match.” We may end up with one that we’ve already started a relationship with.. or we may not. I’m open either way.

I emailed a breeder that the last one recommended, but the kennel hasn’t returned my email. This wouldn’t phase me but I’ve actually emailed an application to this one before and they didn’t return my email then either. I might give them a call over the weekend just to satisfy my curiosity.

In the meantime, I’ve been given a few other recommendations from some friends and I have already started the process by emails and phone conversations. It looks promising! My wider net includes a representative from three different regions of America: East Coast, Midwest and West Coast. I’ve made initial contact with all three: two with plans to follow up on the phone. The third I talked to this morning. I was initially really intimated by this one as the Kennel is one of the older ones in America, but it turned out great! Almost too easy in a way. They have a litter on the ground and have three girls who are still available. They are going to send pictures on Monday with the promise of a follow up conversation. I don’t know enough about their dogs yet, and as pick up would be about three weeks away I worry that the breeder wont know my family well enough by then. It might be difficult to judge if one of these girls would good for us, and I would hate to think we were a “last resort” couple for the litter. Then again, this breeder has been doing it for sooo long.. maybe they just KNOW. Your guess is as good as mine.

This process is still such a mystery. Sometimes I just want to shake my head an wonder how I got wrapped up in all this.

I’m a sad little puppy today. I got an email from the breeder letting me know there wasn’t going to be a puppy for us from the current breeding. There were a lot of show homes in the bunch and understandably, breeders want to place their puppies in homes where their dogs are going to get exposure and the kennel’s name gets out there.

I completely understand, but it doesn’t take away from my disappointment. We had really gotten excited by the idea we might be getting a puppy in July. This was going to be the last breeding this year for this particular kennel so I have a choice now: Do I wait until the next opportunity with this particular breeder? (Who I genuinely like but he/she may or may not be breeding for quite awhile) or do I start over and try to forge a new relationship and get on another wait list?

I’m not sure what the best thing to do is. All I do know is there will be no pitter patter of little paws this July and who knows when the stork will come. Sadness…

Today was Mother’s Day. I hope all you mothers out there had a great day of rest. I was pretty happy. I woke up to breakfast in bed and then presents on the couch. And what did my kids and husband get me for Mother’s Day you ask? Jewelry? A spa treatment? Nooo. No, my family knows EXACTLY how to get to my heart. They got me dog paraphernalia: leash, toys and dog treats. Lots of little presents to get me excited for that day in the future when we can bring our puppy home.

Speaking of puppies.. remember that waiting list we are on? The pups were born by c-section on Wednesday. 6 boys and 5 girls. Apparently all is going well and the mom dog is doing great. I am dying to see pictures but the breeder hasn’t posted any yet. I can’t wait to see them!

This was the 2nd weekend we worked on the Loft. Brian is quite crafty and he was able to get all of the construction and most of the painting done in record time.

So why did we need to build a loft in the first place? Well, when the both kids were old enough, Brian and I moved into the smaller second bedroom and gave the larger room to them. It really isn’t a full sized room; more like an alcove. With the bed on the floor, we were only able to fit it and one dresser drawer. We had moved Brian’s drawers out into the laundry room and it was getting pretty tiresome for him to have to walk to the other side of the house every time he wanted a change of clothes. But with the new loft, we can fit the drawers back in the room!

Gavin wants to show you the BEST part!!! We also have a perfect space underneath for a dog crate. Brian made sure the space was the right specifications that we can put a Great Dane size wire dog crate underneath, so our Swissy can sleep in our room. The opening is narrow.. so we are going to have to build a custom door for the pup.

But look! It’s a perfect den. It’s also a perfect play space for the kids but they are on full alert that they can only play there until we actually get a dog. Then, its for dogs only…