Partying With One Year Olds...Not 20 Somethings

I guess when you get older your party invites turn from kegs and body shots to blue birthday cakes and Little Mermaid decorations. Yesterday Andy and I went to a one year olds birthday party. I will have to say this was my first invite to a friend’s child’s birthday party. I guess that’s what happens as you get older. The invitations to friend’s birthdays that end with a two day hangover turn to attending your friends kids birthday parties that are decked out in Little Mermaid and don’t include tequila shots. Andy and I had no idea what to get a one year old for her birthday. Whenever my niece or nephew has a birthday I just buy whatever my sister tells me to buy. It’s easy and I never have to stress out in a store because I am not up on the latest thing for children. Andy also had no idea because whenever he buys for his god kids he goes off the suggestions of their parents or his mom’s suggestions. This time Andy and I were on our own and it was scary. I wanted to make sure we got the little girl a great gift, even though she is only one and has no idea what’s going on. I decided to ask someone at work who is totally into babies and she gave the best suggestion of all…or so Andy and I thought. She said to go to Target and go to the one year old aisle and pick something out. Well, that sounds easy, but Andy and I got to Target and found out there are so many things in the one year old category that we just didn’t know what to do. The look on our faces was probably priceless and could probably say a lot about how much experience we have with this. After some time we settled on this stuffed dog that played music, flashed lights and was suppose to be some kind of a teaching tool. We showed up at the party with our thoughtful gift and we were ready to celebrate. I am looking around thinking…is this what happens when you turn 29…partying with one year olds and not 20 something year olds?

It's A Girl!

So, on Sunday I found a Boxer breeder in the area that has some puppies ready for an October 1st sale. They were so cute online that Andy and I decided to contact them. I know when we started this doggie journey we wanted a one year old rescue dog, but when I came across this website I just had to inquire about the puppies and go see them. We went to the breeder’s house tonight and as soon as we walked in I saw the puppies in the backyard and just melted like butter. We went to the back and met the puppies’ parents, which by the way are absolutely beautiful Boxer adult dogs. I immediately pet the mother and then bent down to meet her babies. I immediately was swarmed by six or seven puppies wanting attention. They were just so cute that I didn’t even know what to do. After watching the puppies for a while Andy and I picked out the puppy that was sleeping the whole time we were there. We picked the sleepy head over the cute rambunctious little girl. We stuck around for a little bit to hang out with our new baby girl. I then put down a deposit for her and we were on our way home. Of course we took a couple pictures before we left. Now, we are starting all over with puppy training and I am ok with that. Andy and I will start stocking up on puppy supplies as we think of a name for our new addition.

Madison Never Had A Chance

We have had Madison for a year now and we have thought she is a purebred Boxer, or at least I thought that since that is what Andy told me. Many people who have seen Madison would comment that she couldn’t be a full Boxer because of her snout, but I would always say she was. This past week while I was online a lot looking at all the different kind of dogs to see all my options for a second dog I noticed that Madison really didn’t look a lot like all the other purebred Boxer’s online. Sure, she resembled them, but her nose was different. Last week is when I came to the realization that there is no way she is a purebred and that is when I told Andy what I thought. He agreed, but we were unsure of the other breed she is mixed with. Of course I wanted to know what my dog is mixed with, so I was looking at a lot of pictures of mixed Boxers online and still didn’t know. Then, this past Saturday when we were in Petsmart a stranger commented to Andy on Madison’s good looks. She also mentioned that Madison is probably mixed with a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Interesting, since I knew nothing about this breed. Of course I looked this dog up online and saw a picture which resembled Madison almost to a tee. Yay, we found the other half that makes up Madison. I then looked up the temperament and anything else I could find on this breed. Let’s just say that I feel a Boxer mixed with a Rhodesian Ridgeback might not be the best idea as this mixture has no chance of ever being a well behaved dog. First, Boxers are known to be naughty and mischievous, plus their profile says that once Boxers get bored they will get into everything and become naughty. The profile also says that this breed is not for a first time dog owner. Then when I read about the Ridgeback I found out that when this breed is bored it becomes destructive. Yes, the profile actually called the Ridgeback to be destructive when it is left alone and becomes bored. I know about destructive as it can be defined by the site of our kitchen over this past year. The destructive mess Madison has made in there could tell many stories. The profile also says that Ridgebacks are also not for a first time dog owner either. Ok, since both breeds are generally naughty and troublesome why combine them? It’s like not even giving a dog a chance of even being remotely good. It’s like stripping all hope from this dog of ever becoming the “Harvard Grad” of all dogs! Nonetheless I feel that I figured out where my dog came from…a Boxer and a Ridgeback…and this explains all of her antics and bad behaviors over the past year. I can’t blame the dog now…she never had a chance! It's in her blood to be naughty.

Bubbles Just Isn't The One

We went to visit Bubbles today and unfortunately it did not work out. Bubbles is just too much for us. He makes Madison look like a saint. He was a very cute dog and there were other families there that were interested in him, so I am sure he will go to a great home. I just couldn’t say yes because he seemed too aggressive for me and for Madison too. I just didn’t want to have a dog like that in our small house. That’s ok though because that is what meetings are for. You meet the dog to see if it’s a good fit before you decide to make a commitment and take it home. Once we got home I was back online filling out an adoption application for our runner up choice at the AZ Boxer Rescue. I am confident we will find Madison a playmate, but it will just take time to find the right fit.

Bubbles Update

The adoption agency is working with Bubbles foster family to setup a time to meet us and Madison on Saturday. I am really looking forward to meeting Bubbles because he is so cute. I am sure that he and Madison will get along great, but I am concerned about two things that I learned today. One thing is that Shar Pei’s drool a lot and I am not a big fan of doggy drool. I am hoping that Bubbles has more Lab in him than Shar Pei to offset some of this disturbing doggy drool that I read about. Another thing is that I saw the Shar Pei Lab’s can get a little bigger than I thought. Bubbles description said he will be about 50 pounds, but I just want to see how big he is right now at 9 months. I just don’t want a humungous dog in the house. Madison is about 45 pounds so 50 won’t be bad, but that would be my maximum at doggy weight. If Bubbles doesn’t work out like I hope we did find a second choice on Petfinder. Her name is Punky and she is a Boxer who is about one year old. Seems to be the same age as Madison and absolutely adorable. It didn’t mention how she is around cats or much about her personality, so there would be a lot of questions there too. We will just start by meeting Bubbles sometime this weekend and go from there.

Let's Be Crazy and Add Bubbles

It’s a little scary to have two animal lovers be together as a couple and live in a house together. I say this because Andy and I both absolutely love all animals that I am afraid one day we will have our own zoo in our house. I do have a friend back in WI who has warned me of this zoo since Andy and I began dating. This love of animals drove me to do something crazy tonight. I was on http://www.petfinder.com/ looking at all the dogs around one year old in the Phoenix metro area that is in need of a home. I wonder why I did this knowing I have crazy Madison in the house that is out of control most of the time. I feel I did this because Madison needs a playmate and plus I want a normal dog. Not only did I peruse through http://www.petfinder.com/, but I also filled out an application tonight for Bubbles. He, yes Bubbles is a male, is a Shar Pei Lab mix, nine months old and absolutely adorable. Of course I did not pull an “Andy” when wanting to get this dog because I asked him how he felt about it. Of course Mr. Animal lover himself thinks this is a great idea. That comment then pushed me further to fill out the application and email into the animal rescue. About an hour later I was on Yahoo checking my email as if the rescue would actually email me back within the hour. Of course they did not, but I am sure I will be waiting patiently, or rather impatiently, tomorrow for an email or a phone call. I also feel that my recent change of only positive thoughts and vibes has had something to do with this insane doggie adoption. Even though my experiment has only been three days I do have to say my positive attitude has made a big difference in me and in Madison. Or, I could just be telling myself that. Anyway, below are pictures of Bubbles. Of course if he is the one who gets to become a part of the Czarnezki family then he will have a new name as I am not a fan of Bubbles. I couldn't see Andy calling a dog by the name of Bubbles either.

Day One of Testing Positive Vibes

Fall Sundays are booked for 4+ hours of Andy watching the Packer game at the Tilted Kilt (a bar in Scottsdale) with our friend Tom. I have always used this time as my “Jaimi time” which usually consists of working out, relaxing or just catching up on Lifetime movies. During the fall of 2007 it was never relaxing nor was it ever considered “Jaimi time” because I was always babysitting Madison as she was super naughty last Fall. Today was the first football Sunday that Andy was going to leave me with Madison and let’s say I was a little worried as I was looking forward to “Jaimi time” and I didn’t think I would get it while babysitting crazy. I will have to say she was much better than last year. I only cleaned up one pee mess in the kitchen and she only was wildly out-of-control for about 20 minutes. I did get to watch a full movie on Lifetime without any interruptions from crazy. I was pretty happy about this. Once Andy got home I decided to watch one of the many episodes of the Dog Whisperer that is on our Tivo. May of our friends have suggested we watch this show as it’s supposed to be really good at getting rid of dog’s bad behavior’s. We have been Tivo-ing this show for many months now, but neither of us has gotten around to watching a single episode. Today is the day I sat down to see what everyone has been talking about and to see if this show could even possibly help with our crazy dog Madison. I was very impressed with Caesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, and I feel that I learned something from it that could help with crazy. Caesar says that dogs can sense your feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety, etc. and they will react to them. I decided that maybe Madison has been able to sense my frustration (and possible hatred) towards her and it’s probably not helping her behavior. I am going to try my hardest to not be frustrated or angry with her so that way she will not be able to sense these feelings and only sense positive vibes. Apparently, dogs react to their owners and in order to change dogs you typically need to change something in the owners…so, I am going to change my negativity and only give off positive vibes. I will try this for a while and see if this helps with Madison’s behavior. I will keep everyone posted.