Things That Don’t Fit in Boxes

This being the last weekend before our big move means we’re just about to the “Just throw it in a box, I don’t care which one!” stage. The problem is, there are some things you just can’t box up, such as…

Giant swing set play-fort things and trampolines…

Seriously, these are going to be a beat to move!

Everything in the fridge…

I hate waiting until the last minute, but what else can you really do?

The dog…

He’s a little freaked out by the boxes and hullabaloo going on and is driving me a little crazy this week.

The garage…

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just fold all the big tools and shelves and camping gear all up into one neat package? How do I pack most of this stuff?

The dirt and dust…

Not only do you have to pack everything up, but you still have to go back and clean everything once that’s done. Can’t it just jump in a box and spare me the effort?

Only a few more days until moving day! This is the moment you wish you were a Disney princess with woodland animals to lend a helping hand!

Things you learn while selling a house…

For those who know me in real life or have seen my whining on Facebook for the last month, you probably know all about my hubby and I trying to sell our house. It’s an adventure, for sure, and you learn some interesting things along the way.

Such as…

1. Your house is NEVER clean enough.

No matter how much cleaning you’ve already done, the second your agent calls to schedule a showing, you find at least twelve more things that need cleaning immediately and will have you jumping off the couch at lightning speed.

2. Interested house buyers will notice the weirdest things.

Like, there;s dust around the heater vents on your ceiling. Really? I don’t think I’ve ever really looked up and inspected my ceiling vents, but what do you know? There’s definitely dust up there. Awesome.

3. The moment you decide to sell your house, your appliances will revolt.

Our vacuum broke. And our other vacuum broke. At the same time. Before a showing. It’s winter. Which means the grass in the back yard is dead. Which means every time the kids or dog go outside, they track dried up grass back in. Yeah. You need a vacuum.

4. Your kids and dog will never make more messes than they will ten minutes before a showing.

This is he one time you daughter will spill her pot pie on the floor, or track dog poo into the house, or your puppy will lose a tooth and bleed all over stuff, or your son will…okay, he’s usually pretty neat, so he’s in the clear.

5. You can’t please everyone.

Those “not at all interested” responses on the feedback website sting, but honestly, there’s nothing I can do to make our backyard bigger or our driveway flatter. Eh, it wasn’t for them. Move on to the next person.

6. After living in your house for six years, the moment you decide to sell is when you’ll finally decorate.

Maybe it’s because we always felt like we were going to move or build again, but we just never had the oomph to really spiff up the house and decorate until we decided to sell. Oh well, all the spiffy new paintings and clocks and doodads will go with us to the new house!

7. Selling a house will eat up your whole life.

We’ve been blessed to have a lot of interest and lots of showings, but it’s draining on the whole family trying to clean and keep the house neat that much with two kids and a puppy and all the regular life stuff going on as well. Trying to keep the kitchen clean is the worst. It makes you want to eat out every night just so you don’t end up dirtying any dishes!

8. Waiting for an offer is worse than waiting for a response from an agent or publisher.

We have the new house picked out, even have an offer on it. We just need to sell our house before the new house vanishes. No, it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t work out, but waiting and waiting might just make you develop one of those weird twitches.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but now that we have a contract in hand and the packing is starting in earnest, I’ll soon have a whole new list of things I’ve learned!

Kids and Dogs

It’s no wonder kids like dogs so much. They have SO much in common!

In the two and a half months we’ve had our not-so-little-anymore puppy, Finn, it’s been interesting to watch him. It’s like having a toddler again. You have to puppy-proof the house and clean up after him and take him to the potty regularly and reward him every five seconds and tell him the same thing OVER and OVER again, like saying it one more time will actually make him understand.

Another similarity I’ve noticed, is that just like kids, puppies think they are in charge of everything…YOU included. Finn thinks he should be able to control the amount of food and snacks he gets (which sounds a lot like my eight year old-because they both think they are constantly starving), and as seen here…he thinks he’s the one walking us when we go out.

Puppies also think they are smarter than you. Maybe it’s just my kids (mainly my eight year old) who thinks they’re smarter than us grownups and that they can trick us into believing the most unlikely stories. Finn has that down pat. He thinks if he moves fast enough…or slow enough (depending on the situation) he can get away with things even though he’s right in front of me. He also seems to think I can’t see him if he’s under one of the coffee tables. I can. I can also see the socks and stuffed animals he’s carried under there to gnaw on.

My kids, 8 and 11 now, still love going to the park to run around and climb all over the playground equipment. Finn is more than ready to join in. He’s still not quite gotten the whole fetch AND RETURN concept down yet, and can’t really figure out why we keep trying to get the Frisbee or stick back from him. Sometimes, he’d just rather join the kids on the slides.

Finn is also easily distracted. My 11 year old has outgrown this, for the most part, but my 8 year old still stops talking mid sentence once in a while because something on TV or across the room caught her attention. With Finn, all you have to do is touch his tail, and OFF HE GOES! That goofy little dog will chase his own tail FOREVER. It’s pretty funny. He really seems to think that if he pounces fast enough, or glares at it long enough, he’ll be able to catch it and hold it. Not so, Dude.

It’s pretty funny the comparisons you see between puppies and kids. One of the best, is that they love you unconditionally and even when they get in trouble, they still want to come snuggle with you and get a hug.

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Because puppies are just too cute

After being gone for the weekend and missing my kiddos and hubby A LOT, I came home to hugs from my family and slobber from our puppy. Unlike a cat, he didn’t hold it against me for being gone. He was just happy we were all back together and has been under my feet all day, except to do this…

Kids and Dogs and Clorox Wipes

Honestly, I don’t know who we’re trying harder to train, our puppy or our kids.

I get that Finn is barely three months old, and while I don’t know specifically what that compares to in a human child as far as intelligence goes, but he’s a baby still. He doesn’t seem to realize that the tail he keeps trying to bite the heck out of is attached to his body. Potty training and “no biting” is going to take time.

My kids, however, are eight and eleven. They should understand that they can’t leave their shoes on the floor to get eaten and actually have to keep an eye on the puppy and remember to let him out to pee when they’re watching him. Instead, shoes get gnawed on, floors get peed on, and Finn ends up trying to eat whatever toys get left on the floor.

We’ve gone through a lot of puppy treats and Clorox wipes over the last few weeks. I wish offering my kids treats to get them to remember to help train the dog was as effective as it is with Finn. Instead, I’m considering putting them in obedience classes along with Finn. I wonder if they would give the kids dog biscuits or M&Ms? Actually my daughter would probably be okay with getting dog biscuits for rewards. She keeps asking if she can try on to see what they taste like.

So, while I search for a kid/dog training program along with the number for a good carpet cleaning company, give me your suggestions for training not only puppies, but kids as well.