My dog hates my baby...but not really.

Before Evie was born, my dog, Keeka, was my baby.  We are totally those people that treat their dog like a human, and she truly is part of our family.  Keeka is a dachshund mixed with something.  We adopted her from a shelter in 2008.  She was found stray, so we're not really sure about her origins.  She is slightly obese on the heavier side, and she is the bossiest dog I've ever met.  It's Keeka's way or the highway (at least that's what she thinks), and that doesn't always mesh with a toddler around.

Keeka...very cute, but not exactly slim

• Keeka was outside to do her business and Evie was standing at the patio door watching her wander around the backyard.  M asked Evie, "How big is Keeka?"  She put her arms in the air and said, "Big," in a very serious tone.  We know Keeka's a little portly, but we try not to bring it up for Keeka's sake.  
• We have an invisible electric fence so that Keeka doesn't wander off into the neighbor's yards.  She has a special collar that she has to wear for it.  We got home from a walk last Sunday, and of course, Keeka didn't have the collar on because we had left the yard.  Evie picked up the collar from the coffee table and started chasing Keeka around the living room and kitchen trying to put in on her.  Evie was very upset that Keeka wouldn't hold still, and Keeka was upset that Evie was even attempting to do this.  M and I just watched and laughed!
• Evie loves dogs in general.  Anytime she hears one of the neighborhood dogs bark, she stops whatever she's doing, runs to the window, frantically looks for the dog and yells, "Doggie!!"  
• Evie often tried to hug and kiss Keeka with mixed results.  Keeka mostly just tries to run away from Evie.  I think it's cute that Evie obviously cares about her so much.  
• But in the end, Keeka loves Evie...I know she does.  When M and I were gone once and my mom was babysitting, Keeka laid in Evie's room by her crib the entire time she napped. 

Keeka laying in Evie's room while she naps

Linking up with the Toddle Along Tuesday.  This week's topic is babies and pets.  Join the fun at Growing up Geeky!

The Biggest Surprise of My Life

I wasn't feeling well at the beginning of last week.  I was achy, nauseous, and had no appetite.  I am a married woman of child-bearing age, so co-workers, my babysitter, etc. all asked (in a hushed voice, like I would tell them the truth), "You're not pregnant, are you???"

I told them all no.  If I was really pregnant, I would have hidden any symptoms that I was experiencing.  I kept quiet about my pregnancy with Evie until I was about 12 weeks along, and I had morning sickness with her too.  If I really thought I was pregnant, I would have sucked it and not let anyone know that I felt like crap.

Of course I was thinking, "There's no way I could be pregnant."  But enough people got in my head.  Plus, I was kind of lazy about my birth control over the last year month, so in the back of my mind I knew it wasn't entirely irrational.  I was supposed to get my period on Monday, right??  I told myself, "Doesn't matter."  My cycle has been completely wonky since I was pregnant with Evie.  Pregnancy, followed by 16 months of breastfeeding have taken their toll on my usual regularity.

Last Wednesday evening I decided to rule out the possibility.  I was shocked when it a plus sign appeared on the pregnancy test.

Shocked is actually an understatement.  Whatever shocked times 10 million would be, that's what I was.  Even as I write this, I'm still in disbelief.  Even though I've thought about Evie being an only child, M and I probably would have decided to have another, and I imagine we would have started trying in the next year, but this is not how we planned.  

It took about 24 hours for me to completely calm down.  I flipped out to M, and to a couple of my closest girlfriends at school.  They helped a lot. I am becoming more excited each day now that the surprise has worn off a bit.  We get to choose names again.  I get to feel a little baby kicking me from the inside again.  We get to go to ultrasounds and this time we're definitely finding out the gender!!  And best of all, I get to cuddle with a little newborn baby again. 

So, here I am at 5 weeks and 4 days pregnant.

In all my bloat-tastic glory. 

Life rarely goes as planned.  :)

Some Big Changes

M and I have been talking for quite a while about moving.  We live about 25 minutes from the town where I teach, and about 35 minutes from where M works.  I never thought that I would want to live in the same town as I teach, but it seems awfully convenient these days.  If we moved to "school town," M's commute would also be shorter by about 10 - 15 minutes. 

"School town" is VERY small; the population is around 2000.  I've taught there for almost 7 years, and I feel like a townie.  I run into people I know every where I go.  I love the sense of community, but I don't want my students (or their parents) to catch me buying tampons (or copious amounts of wine/liquor) at the grocery store. 

Then there's where Evie would attend school.  Our current town has a great school system.  I know that she would receive a good education here.  School town also has great schools (ahem..I work there! j/k), but I would eventually have Evie in class.  I make up 3/4 of my department.  (The other teacher teaches Spanish half of his day, and social studies the other half.)  If my teaching assignment remained unchanged, I would have Evie in 7th - 10th grades....just about the time she'll probably want nothing to do with me. 

However, these cons are outweighed by the fact that gas prices keep rising, and more than anything, M and I are just sick of the drive.  We would have a greater network of people that we can count on in school town.  My students provide endless babysitting, and I'm very close to many of the other teachers who live there.

In the wake of other big changes in our life, I think it's time to make this big change too.  We're not in any hurry, but we're going to begin exploring our options to sell our house, and **hopefully** build a house in the town where I teach.  Even if we moved after Evie began kindergarten, Wisconsin allows "school choice" so that she could attend my district while we still lived in our current district. 

Leaving our current town will not be easy.  M and I have lived here almost our entire married life together.  But, I'm happy that we've made this decision.  Any bumps in the road will be worth the convenience, and especially worth the extra support of living closer to good friends. 

I Won the "In-Law Lottery!"

M often jokes that I won the in-law lottery because his family is so awesome.  I have to admit that he's probably right.  As far as in-laws go, mine are pretty great.  M's parents are still together (40 years this year!), and he has two older brothers that are very close to his age, and a younger sister who is 7 years younger than him.  His oldest brother is married and has 3 kids (the youngest is only 6 weeks older than Evie), and his other brother and sister aren't married, but they are in long-term relationships with their significant others for about 5 years. 

The first time I met his mom, I was totally freaked out.  I wanted to make a good impression, and  I barely spoke.  I figured if I didn't say much, I couldn't put my foot in my mouth (which I often do).  His whole family thought that I was very shy, even though that is not me at all.  Over time, I warmed up to them when I realized they are the most laid back, non-judgmental people I've ever met. 

M's older brothers and dad are all jokers.  They love to have a few beers and "tell stories."  Usually this means repeating the same stories that they've been telling for the past decade.  M's dad is not the type of guy who tells you what he's feeling very often, but when he does, it means that much more.  When we called to tell them that we had gotten engaged, M's mom and dad both wanted to talk to me.  M's dad told me that he couldn't wait to have me as a new daughter.  I still tear up when I think about it.  M couldn't believe he actually said that.   

M's mom is probably my favorite of the family.  She is also a teacher, so we have a lot in common.  She will be retiring at the end of this school year after teaching 1st grade for 30 years.  (I have NO idea how she does it!!!!)  She is so supportive of her own kids, and also of her children's spouses/partners.  When M and I announced that we were pregnant with Evie, everyone was a little surprised.  I was teaching full time, coaching during the fall and winter seasons, and only about a 1/4 of the way done with my master's degree coursework.  She said that she thought we'd wait until I finished my master's degree.  I told her that we just wanted to have a baby so badly that we couldn't wait.  She just said, "It's alright.  I know you will do great!" 

I really do love them for all of their quirkiness and for how genuine they all are.  They have always made me feel like I am a member of their family.  It would be difficult not having this sort of relationship with my husband's family.  I really did win the "lottery."

Top 5 Laughs of the Week

The weather has been spectacular here in Wisconsin.  We've had record-breaking high temperatures for the past 9 days, and the highest recorded temperature in March (83 degrees) too.  I was WAY sick earlier in the week, but we managed to have a few laughs (and one BIG surprise - more news to come on that!).

In no particular order:

• Evie LOVES to read, and she's wanted to be read to even more than usual lately.  Yesterday morning, I was sitting in the rocking chair in her room trying to put her shoes on her.  She ran away from me, pulled her blanket out of her crib and brought it to me.  I placated her, and wrapped her up in the blanket.  Then she said "Uppies" (translation "Up, please"), so I put her on my lap, and then she pointed to the books on her shelf and said "reet" (translation "read").  Apparently, she wasn't quite ready to go to daycare.  
• Evie has a caterpillar toy that will roll on it's own when you wind it up.  It's in the basement den with a lot of her other toys and our treadmill.  Evie often sits on the treadmill to play.  She was playing with the caterpillar, and I was sitting on the floor next to her.  She stood up and handed me the caterpillar.  I wound it up, and sent it down the treadmill between her legs.  She thought it was the funniest thing!  Her giggles always make me giggle!
• We went out for dinner last night, and Evie was being a total crab.  M started walking his fingers across the table towards her to "sneak" up on her.  She thought that it was so funny and it totally snapped her out of her funk.  (Whew!!!  I thought we were headed for full meltdown!)
• I was painting my toenails the other day and Evie was very interested in what I was doing.  She sat down next to me and watched me for a few minutes.  Then, she looked up at me, and held her foot up, like "Do mine next!"  I painted her toenails for her...maybe she's too young, but it looks so cute!

Evie's and my pink toes

• We have a set of bathtub toy letter that stick to the side of the tub.  Evie didn't show much interest in them, until M made up a new game for them.  He slaps them on the side of the tub and says the name of the letter.  It makes a loud bang, and then Evie repeats the name of the letter.  She thinks it's a riot, and I never thought that she would learn the alphabet by screaming the letters in the bathtub.  LOL!
  

What are your top 5 laughs of the week?  Link up at The Mommyhood Chronicles!