I should stop promising to post on this blog because as soon as I do I get busy again. It's like I jinx myself. Anyway, I'll give you the round up of the last few weeks.
My in-laws visited us for about one week. They were on their way to San Diego for a miniature show where my mother-in-law was selling her art. On the way back from California, they stopped in Albuquerque to visited relatives and they didn't plan on stopping at our house. They took US 380 from New Mexico and as they were cruising through Texas, they realized that they were not the far from us, so they stopped by for two nights. That was a good surprise and to say Katie was ecstatic would be an understatment. Thankfully the house wasn't too much of a disaster area since we only had about 45 minute warning. They are back in Florida now, but will be heading out next week for Atlanta. I don't know how they do it. All that traveling and driving.
I have been tossing around whether to get a puppy or not. Without a doubt I want a White German Shepherd. After Eric and Max, I cannot imagine getting any other type of breed. Years ago I had two Dobermans. All though they were intelligent, they didn't have the beauty and regality that Shepherds do. I have been browsing the internet for breeders. There is one here in West Texas, Odessa. I actually had looked all over the country, but I would hate to have the dogs shipped on an airline. Having worked for an airline, I remember the dogs being brought to baggage claim with the other luggage. So many stood in their uncomfortable metal cages and just shook. Furthermore, if it is over 85 degrees, the airlines won't fly your pet. Anyhoodle, I was focusing on one male. Then along comes Rick, Mr. Even Number Lover, and he states he would prefer two. Seriously though, he thinks two dogs are easier to train than one. Some people question our wanting two males, but with Eric and Max it worked out. Eric was the dominant one and Max was a go-with-the-flow kind of dog. So here I sit, hoping that the breeders next litter will have two male White German Shepherds. The bitch is suppose to be bred this week so we will know shortly if it takes. I also have to write a blurb about my family, our home, etc. since the breeder interviews each prospect buyer, which I wish more breeders would do. If we are given the thumbs up, I need to send a deposit in to ensure we get first and second born males. If there are no males or only one male, we get our deposit returned. Am I excited? Yes! But I also realize that it will be a full time job getting them trained. Eric was alive when Katie was born (Max succumbed to hermagiosarcoma one month before she was born) so to Katie, it is odd not having a dog. Yesterday Katie and I were playing pretend birthday party. What that entails is making a birthday cake out of Play-Doh; one of us singing "Happy Birthday" to the other and the birthday girl making a wish while blowing out the Play-Doh candle. Katie's wish was a puppy to run with her. Perhaps she will get her wish. I am trying to not talk too much about the puppies because there are a lot of factors that could derail our pursuit of dog ownership. Especially when I recall that it took Rick about two years before his previous breeder had two brothers.
On the Katie front, after Rick's parents left the first time, she came down with a head cold. We kept her out of taekwondo for a few days and when we brought her back, she had a difficult time remembering. She has two stripes on her orange belt and one instructor threatened to take a stripe away. Not crazy about threaten to motivate style of teaching. Anyway, the trouble started a few days earlier when Katie was told to do five push-ups as a punishment for waving to someone while in class, which is okay with me. However, Katie did not know what a push-up was. Katie just stood there not saying a word. The instructor proceeded to get louder in her push-up request ("Get on the floor girl!") and I could see Katie starting to break. Thankfully, the instructor finally asked Katie if she knew what a push-up was. Katie was scared at this point, so the instructor looked over at me and I shook my head. The instructor then showed Katie and Katie did her push-ups. During this exchange Katie was too intimidated to say she didn't know what a push-up was. She thought she was supposed to know and feared if she said she didn't, the instructor would take a stripe. I thought the issue was over; however, when she returned from her sick days she couldn't remember her form. Per Katie the instructor told her, "I am not going to work your form with you. You don't know it." and then walked away to help other kids. This is also when she threatened to take a stripe away. After the instructor moved on Katie just stood there while the other kids practiced their form and waited for an instructor critique. I could tell something had thrown her. Finally another instructor came to her and helped her with her form. The push-up incident; the instructor's words and then walking away and the threat of a stripe removal resulted in Katie not wanting to do taekwondo. When I questioned her on it, she told me what the instructor had said to her. I had heard the part about taking a stripe away, but not the "I'm not going to work with you." There is a chance that Katie misinterpreted what the instructor said, but Katie is adamant about what she heard. I was upset because both Rick and I have noticed that Katie's large self confidence and ego were deflating. In the car on the way home after the form episode, Katie informed me that she was mad at herself because she remembered nothing. She even smacked herself in the head. From then on Katie didn't want to go to taekwondo. We finally convinced her to go Friday when we assured her that her favorite instructor would be teaching and not the one she "never wanted to see again." The purpose of this long rambling recap is for me to remember it and not necessarily for you to read it. Oops! I should have said that at the start of the paragraph! Anyway, I called the taekwondo center Friday to see who was teaching and the co-owner answered the phone and wanted to know why I was asking for the instructor schedule. She correctly guessed that Katie was having a problem with one instructor and advised me that she could not fix it if I did not give her details. So I did and hope, hope, hope I did not come off as one of THOSE parents. I managed to keep emotion out of it and give the instructor the benefit of the doubt, but Katie is not.
Fast forward to last night, Katie woke up at about 11:30 pm after she threw up all over her bed. The readers who are parents know that I was then washing laundry at midnight and Rick was cleaning Kate's bed and floor. She threw up a few more times to the point that she had nothing left to deposit in the trash can. This morning she seems better, but taekwondo is probably out of the question today.
So that's the low down on our lives. I haven't taken any new pictures, but have to get it fixed before Katie's ballet recital. Yesterday was in the 70's and today is supposed to be in the 60's, but tonight they predict snow/rain mix and a whopping 17 degrees. The rest of the week will continue that trend. Brrrr. Thank goodness for electric blankets and fireplaces.
Lake Waco -- First Ride in a Boat!
12 years ago
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