more christmas2

bath time!


william with sleeping puppy

more christmas

puppies and christmas

in short

so, i threw my back out on monday night. whatever that means. i think it means too much time spent in a bottle-feeding crouch or too much time carrying around puppies. but when i got up for the 2 am feeding on monday night i couldn't stand up straight. i didn't go to work on tuesday. i didn't go to work on wednesday. i drove home on wednesday. it hurt so much i almost cried. but i got home--all 7 animals and I.

my back still hurts but not as badly. i haven't done much here in PA except craft, sleep, feed/clean puppies and watch TV. which is just the way it should be.

the puppies are growing up so fast! they are totally off the bottle and are on gruel with 4-6 hrs between feedings (i'm still doing a 2-3am feeding but i'm thinking of cutting that off next week). They are starting to walk around a lot more and growl and fight and just are so damn cute. I am filled with a confusing mixture of total love for them and a feeling that i can't wait until i don't have to take care of them anymore because they are so damn much work!

so that's it. it's christmas eve and i've missed out on a vital 1.5 pre-christmas shopping weeks do to puppy care and back injury so now i have to join the procrastinating hordes and do my final christmas shopping.

someone i don't know sent me a friend request on face book and i accepted it because i'm so afraid of hurting his feelings i don't want to deny it, but i don't know him. i feel dirty now. oh well. i am dirty. lots of puppy saliva and food. but no pee. they're peeing on their own now!

xoxoxoxo
merry christmas!

weaning!

so, the top and bottom teeth have broken through on all three puppies. the lady at little shelter told me i could start them on 'puppy gruel' when this happened. puppy gruel is puppy dry food ground to a powder in my magic bullet and then mixed with warm reconstituted esbilac formula. i made a gruel, i offered it to the puppies, chaos ensued.

i stayed home from work because i have pulled a muscle in my lower back and it hurts to sit upright or stand. a lot. so i decided to try the gruel.

i then bathed and towel-dried the puppies and put them in a clean basket on a warming pad to dry off. they are asleep. i am a little worried they aren't going to get enough water on the gruel because it has less water than the formula so i'm going to have to start putting in a water bowl. i also need more esbilac so i'll go to petsmart later today. right now--lie back down. my back hurts and i'm exhausted.

briefly

my chin hickey

so, the suckle-on-my-chin game is out from now on

extreme cuteness

caution: may be too cute to handle

cuddle time

thank-you elizabeth for these most excellent photos!

7:30 am

which one is not a puppy?




i can't lie--the night feedings are a little draining...




puppy pile!


this one kept fussing so i tried giving it a pacifier


the puppies at work! (under my desk)

so: successful night feedings last night i suppose. i'm tired but functionable. i'm going to call little shelter today about transitioning to gruel because a couple of the puppies have teeth breaking through.

i'm still having a great time. when the alarm goes off at night my first thought is "whatever it is, i was wrong, i'm not getting up for it." then i remember what 'it' is and i get up. i go warm up the formula and then bring the puppies into the kitchen in their laundry basket. once i move them they wake up and start whining and yipping for food. i then feed them in hbopefully quick succession. there us usually a lot of poo and pee that accompanies this and i change the lining of their laundry basket.

one funny thing--i feed one out of different bottle because he wouldn't eat from the pet bottle. i was worried because i thought he was eating a lot less than the other two. turns out, the pet bottle is measured in tablespoons and the baby bottle in oz so he was eating 2x as much as i thought. so he's swell too.

eliz comes today. i hope we can do some shopping and i'm not too much of a worry wart about the babies. 7:40 am. my next feeding is due at 8 am. might as well get a move on.

9:09 am

have brought puppies to work with me. they are in a laundry basket under my desk. i have their carrier also for transport. no one is at work yet. i hope i don't get in trouble. i brought a present for the boss lady. hard to get mad at someone giving you presents...

in 30 minutes i'll get the bottles ready for feeding. i think i would like another pet bottle so i could do 2 at once. they just get so hungry!

another note: they have stinky poops. stinky stinky stinky. it's good they're so cute. and the poops are small. but ripe!

progress report: 7:38am

I went to bed at 9pm, slept for about 20 minutes and was woken up at 10 pm by my alarm clock to feed puppies.

it took me about 1.25hrs to do the feeding.
both good puppies took 5 oz and the hard one took 3.

i set the alarm for 1:45 am and went back to bed.

1:45 am: i get up. puppies are very hungry and whining. i feed them in about 40 minutes. the good ones take 8 oz and the hard one takes 5. i am doing better. set alarm for 5 am and go back to bed.

feed at 5am. uneventful. am probably peed on. this is good. set alarm for 7:30, go back to bed.

6:58 am: i am woken by the sound of whining. i get up and feed two puppies (one easy, one hard) each about 3 oz. i will feed all black chin again at 8 am.

i think i'm going to take the puppies to work today. not next week but just today. because i don't know what i'm doing yet. i'll feed them in the bathroom. it will be cool. i'm nervous but really, it's hard to be mad at anything that's so damn cute.

Supplies:

• towels/ material from thrift store
• newspaper
• blow dryer/baby shampoo (they're getting dirty)
• plastic tablecloth/shower curtain (to line the puppy playzone)

some of this i'll get at walmart tomorrow when eliz and i go to the buffet.

lord i'm tired. i think it's getting a little easier though.

and i'm not depressed at all. no time. no energy! and this is great experience for me.

i'm a foster mommy

for three two and a half week old lab mix puppies from little shelter. I will have them for about 4-5 weeks. i know it will be hard to give them back. but it's gonna be a lot of fun. until 3 am when i am bottle feeding. then it will only be fun.

f, g and h

12_11_06

Nobody feels the weight of your mission
Nobody can set you free
Nobody knows the way to your fortune
Nobody and least of all...
Me

tina dico

more

1000 words

if kitten were god i imagine it would look something like this.



birdy stealing my melted cheese in ragu




sun rise kitten



my dinner! mine!

taking stock of things

• christmas shopping: begin this saturday (+ crafting for gifts... started already)
• write christmas email. try again for a christmas picture with pets. maybe 2.
• buy fruits and veggies
• restricted budget for next 2 weeks
• clean house
• decorate house
• bring out christmas tree. maybe also some stuff from $tree
• ear warmer + gloves for walking to work (look for old, buy if necessary)
• call harcum to confirm details etc...
• start thinking about moving home
• deal with $$ issues (i'm really scared about not having a job because i've gotten used to having a paycheck and not having one is going to be very scary at first. but i'll deal with it.)
• jewelry on ebay? think about it. i can take better pictures now.
• deal with my anxiety.
• make many many necklaces!
• allow hands to form calluses (sp?) maybe get nail support for thumbnail.... poor nail.
• remain focussed and upbeat
• make bean mash for lettuce wraps
• clean fridge? clean house. sweep, pile, organize, get 1-2 boxes for new bead venture.
• deal with life. deal with it head on. do not allow anxiety to become debilitating.
• you are good
• you are great
• it's all ok.
• it's almost christmas

christmas picture attempt (1)

Status: failure