The End

Well, all good things must come to an end. And, thus, our staycation comes to a close. We are all super bummed. But, we had a grand time and it was just the thing we needed here at the tail end of the summer!

It's another gorgeous day and we are making the most of it! I also went to Target to create a care package for a friend having surgery this week. While I was there, I snagged some snacks and treats and we figure we'll go out with a bang and have a last family movie night tonight!

Not only have they decided to close my freeway exit, but they are also changing up the parking situation at work. I am afraid it will be way dicier to get on and off campus now. So no more coming home at lunch to let Flip out. Wm only has a couple more weeks of summer and then the dog will be home alone from 7:15-3:30(isn). That's a long time to be locked in his crate without a break!! So, we have been letting him have the run of the house for short periods while we go on errands So far, so good!! Flip would rather take his own dog life than pee in the house, but he is a chewer!! And we haven't had anything destroyed so far!

Speaking of chewing, he managed to steal a wool dryer ball (thanks to a certain Tiny Evil Wm who just threw it on the floor of his room!) Here he is destroying it. Wait for his fluff beard!!


And, Wm is wise beyond his years...
Me: Come here.
Wm: No.
Me: Don't you love and trust your mother?
Wm: I love you. But I don't trust you.

Which, as it turns out, is smart. Because I had planned to tickle him. Then I had to settle for a hug and pretend like that was the plan all along.

Hiking

We went hiking at Sharon Woods yesterday. But, it turned out not to be too much of a hike because dogs aren't allowed on the nature trails. So it was more of a walk. Wish we had known THAT before going! Dogs are fine at Highbanks! And they are all over Hocking Hills. BUT - we did see a group of wild turkeys just gobblin' around. That was pretty cool!! We had planned to drive to Hocking Hills, but it was rainy there yesterday. We also thought about going to the fair - but it seemed kind of weird after the accident there.

Long pants = no ticks!

And Wm found a playground with a cool slider!


We are really enjoying our staycation! Steve just sang, "I"m never going back to work again!" But...back we go on Monday. And Wm is off to COSI for circuits camp next week - he even gets to sleep there for a night! Hopefully it's a little more fun for him that strings camp was! He gets to play with circuits and computers, so it should be! And he's almost done with his big summer project. He had to read that biography of Sally Ride, write a paper about it,  create a cereal box (complete with cereal name, design, ingredients, etc) that somehow related to Sally Ride, and write up a presentation he has to deliver on the first day of school. Metro doesn't play around!! ( I ran into a mom at Orientation whose son just graduated from there - she said there were many nights he came home from school and did homework until 11pm with only a break for dinner! BUT - he is also starting at OSU with a year of coursework already complete! AND, when her kid showed up, I asked him if he enjoyed Metro and he goes, "I LOVED IT." So, it's hard work...but it sounds like the nerds love it! He also said his OSU coursework was a nice break from Metro because the expectations at OSU were much lower than high school. Haha!!)

Now we are off to the vet for Flip to get his stitches removed!! He's back in the game, baby!

Staycation Funtimes

We went to IKEA and got a few little things (the thing I most wanted was out of stock!) But, as always, IKEA is good for a cheap lunch:

The Boys lunching it up!

Jess has made an amazing yogurt discovery. Everyone must eat it so it stays on the market forever. It is seriously the best yogurt I have ever tasted!! Jess nailed the description of its consistency: like the custard of creme brûlée. If that doesn't convince you, it comes in the cutest little glass jars and isn't even that expensive! It's got nothing creepy in it and is cultured in each little individual glass jar! Imagine all the fun things you can do with the leftover glass jars! FIND IT. EAT IT. LOVE IT.

Eat me!!!!

Also, I am VERY sad because they are closing the exit ramp I use every single day to get home from work. This adds TWO traffic lights and makes my 6 minute commute home into a 9 minute commute home. DISGRUNTLED. But, I did enjoy the homemade sign someone made. I like that person and want to be friends with them.

Screw you, Ohio Health and your exit stealing

I also made Steve help me rearrange the furniture in the living room to create not one, but TWO conversation areas - which can also be one big conversation area! Steve and Wm, sadly, use Conversation Area #1 as Electronic Area #57:

Buttheads being buttheads

Lastly, after taking Flip for a super duper long walk, playing ball with him at the park, snuggling him intensely, and taking a nap with him today, I discovered that many places (including the town where I grew up, the town where Steve works, and the town where his family lives!) have partial "pit bull type dog" bans (or "breed specific legislation"). Flip is a pittie mix. And is the sweetest sweetie who has ever lived! In fact, he just ran for his life from Schroeder and hid until he was gone. Anywho, in these places, any "pit bull type dog" is labeled a "vicious dog" and, among other things, can only be walked outside on a metal chain leash, by an adult, and must be MUZZLED. Owners must also have at least $100k in liability insurance and signage that they have a vicious dog. Now I ask you, does this look like a vicious dog?

I think Steve has come around...

Snuggle Buddies (poor Flip trying to nap...)

Wm, who was TERRIFIED of even little fluffy puppies has completely gotten over his fear of dogs after being around Flip - solely because he has seen how sweet and loving a dog can be.  I will forever be grateful to our "pit bull type dog" - whose loving nature has helped Wm overcome a major fear! The worst thing about pitties, as anyone who has one can tell you, is their crazy toots. My god...the toots...

Parenting win----
Me: [laughs loudly]
Wm: What's funny?
Me: Someone posted a funny meme about the Kardashians.
Wm: I don't know what the Kardashians are.
Me: I've never been more proud of you.
Wm: [immediately loses interest]

And, lastly, Mimi took Wm shopping today and we got some great deals on school clothes! It's actually really easy now - we just go to the uniform section of Old Navy and get a week's worth of everything. I need to get him his shoes, though. Zappos...here I come!

Staycation Begins!

Wm is home! He had a great time in NEO!!  And staycation has officially begun! Yesterday, all we really did was drive up and collect Wm and then let him rest after all his fun adventures. Today started out with a bunch of chores, but everyone is now relaxing and having fun:

Wm playing video games. :-(

Luna's favorite spot

Schroeder all the way upstairs!! Flip is actually kinda scared of him.

Epic battle

The new fence!

After a bunch of chores and relaxing, we went to Target to get vacation supplies (i.e, Munchies and the movie Goonies). I also got Flip a bunch of toys. Wm claims Flip is more spoiled than he is. I told him that's impossible. BUT, Flip is way more agreeable. I have taught him a perfect come, sit, shake, down and stay (he will stay put even when I go upstairs until I give the release command!) And he is 99% of the way to "off"! (If you come visit, you can now expect a small amount of barking, hopefully no jumping, and no nibbling! He is also completely back to normal!! He gets the stitches out in a week and then there will be no trace of the metal pin.

We are currently spitballing ideas for tomorrow. We know we are going hiking in Hocking Hills on Friday and the Ohio State Fair on Thursday - and Mimi is taking Wm school shopping on Tuesday. Steve is pushing for the outlet mall tomorrow...but Wm would rather die. I vote for Slate Run. But, yet again, Wm is reeeeeal disagreeable about it. I asked him what he wanted to do and he goes, "relax at home." Sigh...

On the Mend

Since Wm is still gone, I have nothing to report. But, he comes home tomorrow!!

Meanwhile, Flip is doing much better! He does not seem to be in any pain. His biggest problem is that he HATES the cone. Look at this face:

The Face of Sadness

I worked from home yesterday so I could supervise him and he wouldn't have to wear The Cone. But, he has it on today and he's in his crate. It's our last day of work before staycation, so I had to come in and get things all ready! I hope he's not too depressed!

He spent about 10 minutes kicking and wiggling his way through the pillows to get to this sleeping position next to me while I worked:

Adorbs

Our biggest issue now is keeping him still!! He wants to run around like a maniac!

Last night, I was laying on the couch and Steve leaned over and kissed me. As soon as he stood up, Flip scrabbled over and laid across me and gave Steve this look:

Back off, man. This is MY food machine!

Post-Surgery Blues

Wm seems to be having a great time in NEO! He is doing all sorts of exciting things. Grandma sent some pics:

Flip, however, is decidedly NOT having a good time. He had his surgery today. It went well! But, he is taking it way harder than we thought he would. He mostly is just crying and crying. I gave him an anti-inflammatory pill about an hour ago and can give him a pain pill in a bit, so hopefully that helps! The poor guy just wants to go up and lay under our bed, but he's not supposed to go up stairs. I was in the kitchen and heard the click-clack of his little claws going up and ran to grab him. When he saw me, he stopped, barfed, and then cried. So I carried him up and he managed a snooze under the bed. Then I carried him back down and he moped around down here for a while.



Update: after a little food, a pain pill, and another nap, Flip seems to be doing better! He has stopped constantly crying and has a more alert look in his eye. He is still pitiful. But, hopefully, the worst is past!

Wm-less

Well, I have a great video of Wm playing his latest song on the violin, but YouTube currently has an error and says to try again later. So, I guess this is just a teaser for the video of Wm playing the violin!

[EDITED TO ADD:]


Meanwhile, we are Wm-less. He is with his grandparents for the week. So there will not be any fun Wm updates this week! Next week is our staycation, so there should be lots of fun things going on! We plan to go hiking in the Hocking Hills one day, maybe going to King's Island one day, go see some movies, go to the zoo, basically do a bunch of cool stuff - along with a bunch of slugging, too!

Steve took Wm up to NEO on Saturday and I stayed home with The Hell Hound. I was not alone, however! My friend Melanie came over and we hung out, we went out to lunch, my mom came over and hung out with us, we walked up for ice cream and went to the park. It was glorious. I also slept well in an empty house because of said Hell Hound. Steve returned home Sunday afternoon and we went to an open house (yuck) and then gave Flip a bath. As a reward for behaving in the bath, we bought him an expensive "indestructible" toy. Here is what it looked like 20 minutes later:

Destructed

Flip can destroy ANYTHING. He had his first fancy training and I HATED it. I hated the guy, I hated the training, I hated it all. The trainer was incredibly sexist AND racist. Wm peaced out and didn't come out of his room until he left after he compared dog training to wife training. After he was gone, Wm came out and was like, "OMG - that guy was SO sexist!" Haha! But, the good news is, I have modified his stupid training to be Flip-specific and it seems to be going well! He hasn't nibbled on anyone's gizzard, he isn't jumping as much, and he's walking like a dream! I'm sure Flip, more than anyone, is super sad Wm is gone. Wm has been his at-home buddy all summer. This will be a long week for Flip!

Crippled Flipple

There has been all sorts of Flip drama this week. Steve was out playing with him in the backyard and he jumped for a ball - but came down weird and started limping. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, so I took him to the vet. One of the metal pins from his previous break is now loose and rubbing against his femur and a nerve. So it has to come out. He has his (hopefully minor!) surgery for this on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the vet sedated him and gave him a painkiller. He came home high as a kite:

Can someone turn on the Grateful Dead, man?

I also left with a bottle of pain pills to get him through until Tuesday. They make him a little sleepy...

But, dog yoga helps:

downward-facing dog

He is mostly back to his old self now. But, he still limps and won't put much weight on that leg. The vet RAVED about what a good, sweet boy he is and said he is "stoic" and in much more pain than he lets on. She called to tell me that he was so sweet - even as she prodded his painful leg and he whimpered, he licked her face. (He had to stay for the afternoon after being sedated.) I even found Steve making calf eyes at Flip as he slept. I was like, "you totally love him, don't you?" (His usual response to this is: "he's OK.") Steve goes, "YES! I love him. He's part of the family now."

I woke up this morning, Steve was gone, and this creature was next to me:

I will end the Fliptastic part of this post with a video of what he does when another dog walks by the house:


We are coming up on Wm's last week of "nothing" before school starts! After this week, he heads to NEO to visit with his grandparents, then we have our staycation week, the week following is COSI camp, then he has school testing - and school starts! He went for his annual doctor visit last week and got a clean bill of health! He grew almost 3 inches! Wm has now catapulted from the 3% in height to 13%! He also got 2 shots. Which is was super pissed about. He whined that his tetanus arm was sore for like 2 days. Wm is not stoic. But, he's a healthy dude and is growing like a weed!