close to the end

this week i've got four kids, a puppy not yet housebroken, a new job, a husband traveling, and extended family arriving in a few days for christmas. i can officially say i close to the end of my rope.

let's start with puppy. since i am down a husband, i'm running around with my head cut off with kids in tow. this means i had to leave polo at home for quite some time today. i made the call to leave him outside since it's mid'60's again (LOVE texas!) rather than crate him for hours on end, which i couldn't bear to do. i figured that way he could explore and do his duty outside too. this would've been a good plan except i forgot that this puppy thinks i'm his mommy. so when i left, he tried to dig under the fence. he was a complete mud-caked mess by the time we got home, which means i had to give him a bath. don't mind he just got one last night. then he was so hyper about us all being home, that he forgot his manners and was nipping, nipping, NIPPING everyone and chewing EVERYTHING. and worst of all, he did his duty in my DINING room. THREE times today alone. which is pretty unforgivable. i had to crate him just to give myself a break from all the yelling.

so i should say before i go on that he really is adorable (lucky for him) and on top of that he's a pretty quick study. in the two weeks we've had him he has demonstrated how to be both naughty and nice. sometimes at the same time. he's a smart one. and there's a high correlation between tummy and brain in the dog world, just like in the man-world. anyway, he's earned his share of doggy treats.

now, let's talk about my sweet little 3 year old presley. who felt so badly for the whining pup that she tried to "help him". i walked in to let him out of his crate (after i had settled down) and saw this:

so i thought...what in the sam hell, where did two full bags of treats go? no child claimed to know. i finally let him out and realized what had happened. yes, that is two full bags of treats, some dog food, and a sock for good measure.

why, yes, actually i would like to spend the next half hour on my hands and knees cleaning out a crate, thank you! i won't say there wasn't more yelling. that would be lying.

and of course here's a semi-mud caked and cheery polo the puppy...