mAnS bEsT fRiEnD

I probably should have added this entry just a little sooner but my hands were a bit tied up with our new little four legged best friend! I had a chance to post some pictures and comments onto Facebook but here is a little more of the story about our newest addition!

Meet our adorable little 4 month (almost 5 months now) Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix)...

I have talked to Aaron's therapists in depth and they all had agreed that a dog would be great for Aaron! I thought and thought for about aaaaaaaaa......yEaR! After looking at many different dogs and narrowing down my must have list...no shedding, small, etc. I was able to find the perfect one for us finally! Plus it helped that I emailed the woman on Friday night and she said I could see him Saturday morning, so no time for me to really debate! 

First thing was first, he NEEDED a bath! My poor dirty little dog, being white didn't help him! He didn't actually did not get a bath in the garden tub but I put him in here to contain him long enough for me to go get some doggie supplies!

Meeting Aaron...Aaron knew I was looking but he didn't know I actually had gone to get a dog! I didn't take him with me since I had to go to someones house and I didn't know what kind of situation I would be walking into. (I did take a friend however who was a huge help!) After eliminating a bunch of names and having Casper somewhere on our list (because he is white) we noticed Jasper on the list of dog names. It seemed cute, no one we know had a dog or kid named that so that's what we stuck with!

The family we got him from had been crate training him, another of my musts! Thankfully a friend was able to loan their crate to us (I have great friends if you haven't figured that out by now!) He wasn't too crazy about it at first but he's definitely settled in and we have gotten all the cozy accessories to make it "home"! He stays in the crate while I am at work and at night. He started in the kitchen but has been moved to the bedroom since he doesn't cry all night long!

He LOVES toys! Here is a picture of his first shopping trip to PetSmart! He wasn't very good at helping me decide but he sure did look cute in the shopping cart! Actually, I found out that a good old clean water bottle is more entertainment for him than any of the toys we have bought! 

He is getting better at staying in our yard but we are working on getting a fence put up so he can run free without me worrying about him or having to run after him! We tried to tie a line outside so he could stay a little longer unsupervised but all he does is bark...of course unless one of us is out there! 

Aaron LOVES him,  and that makes Jasper worth the trouble! I often catch Aaron whispering or muttering something I can't understand. When I tell him that I can hear him he glares at me and let's me know "I am talking to the dog!". He helps me feed him and take him out when he's home. He also plays with him!

I find myself laughing at a lot of the silly things Jasper does, I try to capture the ones Aaron misses when he is not at home in pictures! Although, Jasper and Aaron now FaceTime lol!

Having a dog definitely adds a best friend in the family and we are full of puppy love! I am not sure that I would willing agree to do this job again...it's a lot of work! He is good company when I am home and he is even allowed to visit Aaron with me! Jasper has been ours for almost two months already and we are finally getting this potty thing down, I thought I was gonna lose my mind if I had to clean up one more mess. We are also working on a few "tricks" including come, down, sit, speak, and the newest one is lay! 

cOuNtInG mY bLeSsInGs

So many times, I start a blog entry, only to save it and come back to it when it's no longer relevant or simply put it off until I forgot what I had wanted to write. Sometimes I simply chicken out! Since I have been sick this weekend and have been forcing myself to stay in bed most of the weekend, the computer has been my only entertainment!

I have been sitting in bed off and on since Friday, on a long weekend, since I haven't been feeling too well. My my mile long to-do was no match for my fever, I only could manage stopping at Walgreens on my way home from work Friday afternoon to get something to make me feel better!

After about a 24 hour nap and some over the counter medicine, I attempted to go to a event for school Saturday. I wanted to be responsible and show up for my scheduled shift and even though I was told to not come and then told to go home when I got there...I was certain that I was feeling better...besides, it was nice to be out of bed and out of the house for a bit too.

Since I felt so good and was enjoying a little bit of freedom, I thought that I could manage a quick trip up to Best Buy to drop Aaron's phone off to be fixed. It had been broken since Thursday and it's literally his lifeline to the outside world, I felt bad having waited this long to even get it checked out.

Little did I know, a quick trip would soon turn into almost two hours. I could feel my fever coming back and my body was aching but at that point, I had pretty much accomplished my mission so I waited patiently those last few minutes. I made a quick stop through the drive-thru for some pineapple ice cream and headed for home. I had barely left the parking lot when I felt the tears start to pour.

I wasn't upset because I was sick but was upset that I couldn't do all the things that needed to be done, even though they ALL could wait until later. I have to admit that I also was a little sad because one of the last times I had remembered being this sick, Aaron took good care of me and he couldn't do that this time around.

I found myself having a pity party, which is never pretty!

Somewhere between then and now (fever free I might add) I ran across a slide show of some pictures of Aaron's progress that I had started about a year ago. Of course I took those pictures and I have looked at them many times but it was like I was looking at them for the first time! I remembered all the smiles that were in them, all the good memories, all of the great people who are part or have been part of our lives these past few years.

It was that moment that no matter how crappy I was feeling, I remembered that I have many blessings to be counting today and everyday. Sometimes a little sick time in bed is just what the doctor ordered to get your happy feeling a little better!

And on another note, a friend sent me this picture on Saturday. Even though I was feeling like I was getting nothing done being sick in bed, I actually did accomplish two things from this to-do list while feeling under the weather...

1. eat ice cream
2. count my blessings

I started feeling better Sunday afternoon FINALLY and slowly started doing the real to-do list!