Booked

Wm texted me from upstairs (as is his new habit these days) this masterful joke. He was quite proud of himself:

We found out that he has been moved to 7th grade English this semester. So, he's trucking right along!! And he has said, at least 3 times in the last couple months, in Very Serious Tones, how much he loves his school and his new friends there. He said his new friends are even nicer than he old friends from elementary school. He has found a good crew!! Spring break is coming up and we actually match this year since Metro is part of OSU! He's having a friend over for a sleepover, so he's counting down.

For a kid that was scared of our neighbor's King Charles Cavalier puppy a few years ago, Wm has come such a long way!! And, for the record, this is what a King Charles Cavalier puppy looks like:

TERRIFYING DEMON

Here is Wm playing happily with our Hell Hound, being totally unfazed by the jumping and crazy noises he is making:

(For the record, have no fear, that is Flip's "I am having so much fun playing with you - this is awesome!" growl. Not his "I want to rip your throat out" growl. Only the mailman gets that growl. If you ever come to our door, he will also bark and growl then, too. But, that one is his "welcome to my home, I'm so excited you're here...please pet me!!!" growl. This may be why pit bulls have a bad rep! We are able to decipher all his crazy noises, but they probably all sound like imminent death to anyone else. Schroeder, for sure, has never picked up on his "let's play!!!!" growl.)

And here is Steve, having fun with the helium from my birthday balloons!

40 :-(

Well, it's official. I'm 40. I'm not taking it well. In fact, I had a weird ridge on my fingernail, so I googled it. They said it HAPPENS WITH AGE. So, ON my 40th birthday, I'm already noticing my body falling apart! Despite my aged and decrepit body, I had a great birthday! First, I got some fun presents from my friends. They know me well...

I got a whole pack of 'em!

Girl power! Wm is confused by this one.

And, Steve went out of his way to make sure I had a great birthday weekend! I woke up on my birthday and the whole downstairs was covered in streamers and balloons and festive happenings.

However, the balloons didn't last long. As Flip decided they were evil and must be stopped. Here he is popping 2 of them (and you can see evidence of his recent escapades all over the floor behind him!):

I also LOVED the card Steve got me. Not to mention the sweet things he wrote in it. But, the front makes me laugh every time I see it!

Then, Mimi took me to IKEA and we had a shop-a-thon. I got some really cool stuff!! That evening, we went out to our favorite place for dinner. Someone was grumpy and gave me the side-eye, though:

And now, it's Monday, the festivities are over - and it's just me and my nail ridges.

All Better!

Wm is all better! His fever was gone Friday, but I had him stay home and rest anyway. By Saturday morning, he was back to his old self! This is the last, and my favorite, picture that Wm sent me from his "sick bed."

Best Buds. And one giant tongue.

On Saturday morning, we went to volunteer at the Shelter Shop. Inside the Franklin County Dog Shelter is a little shop filled with dog things. Everything in there is new - and donated - and 100% of the proceeds go to Friends of the Shelter, who finds, rescues, and heals very sick dogs from all over Ohio. If it wasn't for Friends of the Shelter, Flip would have died. It was the money that came from this shop that saved his life! The shop is staffed by volunteers. We first got a tour of the whole Shelter. Wm was a little freaked out by the kennels. So many dogs and so many sad eyes. Adopt, don't shop, people!!! It was heartbreaking how many dogs they had. After our tour, we spent some time getting trained on how things work. After someone adopts a dog, they are directed to the shop to get all their supplies. Our job is to help them figure out what they need to take care of a dog, show them were to find it, and answer any questions they have as new dog owners. During our hour long training yesterday, we had 3 dogs come in with their new owners. Wm loved it!! And he did GREAT!! He was super duper good, helpful, and actually had fun. While I got trained on how to accept payment, they put Wm to work folding tshirts. Full disclosure: I was busy, so didn't take pictures then, but made him recreate it on our way out (which is why he has his coat on!)

Wm is an expert folder now! He did all the shirts behind him!

Service is fun! Shelter lobby behind him.

Then, Mimi came over for a Spanish lesson and brought Wm a hat she had knitted for him. He didn't take it off until bedtime, then woke up and immediately put in on. He's wearing it now. So, I think it is a hit!!

New favorite hat

Steve actually woke up and got out of bed early (for him) yesterday to watch some soccer game he was all jazzed about. Later, I saw this post in the Discussion Forum and it cracked me up. Steve was off grabbing food for dinner, so I texted him the screen shot. Cracked me up.

Lastly, I will end with fun animal videos. In the first, The Two Feline Idiots are scrabbling around in post-Flip bedtime bliss:



In the next, Flip and Luna are playing. Flip was being pretty gentle, and you can see when Luna has had enough, after a few good butt licks, he leaves her alone. I wish Schroeder would take note!!

Delusional

Poor Wm is sick. He started feeling yucky on Wednesday, but had a virtual day (due to snow), so he was still able to "go to school" from home. But he was home yesterday and he's home again today. He had a very sore throat, headache, and fever. I took this cute picture of him lounging with his BFF and all his electronics:

He's not THAT sick, but it's been a tough one because he's been weird. A fun, new thing Wm does when he gets a fever is to wake up from a deep fever sleep with red cheeks, bleary eyes, and delusions. He has vivid dreams and then doesn't seem to realize he's awake for a while after he IS awake. So, I got to spend about a half hour in the middle of the night trying to convince him that he was not, in fact, a wizard. With "energy shooting from his fingers." Things you never thought you'd say in all seriousness, "Look, I PROMISE you are NOT A WIZARD." He only has vague, hazy memories of these interactions later. But, I'm really tired. And Steve was putting down payments on padded rooms.

The fever was gone yesterday afternoon and Wm started acting pretty normal. He's clearly not 100% yet, but he slept great last night and had no fever dreams! I had him stay home from school again, just to be sure. Another day of rest won't kill him - and it's Friday!! By Monday, he'll be good as new. Whenever Wm is home alone, he texts me ALL DAY with pictures of Flip. He actually gets some really good shots, so it's pretty fun to see them. It's also adorable how much Wm loves the doggo. Those two are best friends. I was sitting on the floor petting Flip the other day and his tail had slipped under the coffee table. As soon as Wm walked into the room, I heard a mad thump, thump, thump  and realized that as soon as Flip had seen Wm, his tail had gone crazy and was hitting the table. He likes to stand guard over Wm when he's sick. As you can see from this selection of Wm's Greatest Pics, Flip is always nearby! But...sometimes not as as vigilant. So, here is Wm's sick day, via texted pics he took:

Mailman Watch

Less vigilant sun bathing

Keeping a sleepy eye on Wm

Curled up and out like a light with Wm!

I'm hoping Wm is hitting on all cylinders tomorrow because we are supposed to have our training to be volunteers at the shelter AND go through a house that we have super, duper high hopes for! Steven is usually the hard sell (I think our realtor hates Steve) because he believes no one keeps a house to his standards. Even the ones we've made an offer on, Steve wasn't thrilled about. But, I found one in an area that is not a cut throat as The Ville - so we actually have a really good chance! AND, it was METICULOUSLY cared for by an elderly couple who documented every single thing they've done, with dates and vendors, for the last 2 decades. The house looks immaculate. I think Steve may have finally met his match! So, I want Wm to see it because, if all goes as planned, it will be his house!

Spring Semester

Wm did GREAT at his first major service event! The whole first hour, he was pretty much on Puppy Duty. There was a little 2 month old puppy there who just needed someone to keep constant watch over her...and that was Wm's job! Here was his charge:

Wm: "I can't imagine someone NOT wanting to adopt this puppy!"

The puppy was then whisked away for other duties and Wm got a little bored. He asked about every 15 minutes how much longer we had. It wasn't the most exciting event, so I got it. I was a bit bored, myself!! But, overall, Wm did GREAT!! And, it's helping us narrow down how he likes to volunteer his time. He prefers walking the dogs to adoption events, so that's good to know. This weekend, we are going to work in the Shelter Shop. We'll see how that goes! Hopefully, after trying lots of stuff, he'll figure out what and where he likes to be most of all and we can focus up on that. Right now, we're dipping our toes in lots of places.

Today is the first day of Wm's spring semester classes. He got his schedule this morning (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) He will be taking:

Regions & People II - Eastern Hemisphere
The Animal Kingdom
Algebra I
American Literature

He's a little nervous about the Animal Kingdom class since he says the teacher is "known to be mean." He LOVES his Algebra teacher, so hopefully, that will offset things. Yesterday was career day and Wm heard from a molecular geneticist, a video producer, a zoologist, and was supposed to hear from a lawyer, but they no-showed on the kids! So, instead, Wm heard from a culinary arts person and got coupons to a sushi place not far from our house. I guess that's a win. His favorite was the molecular geneticist - not surprising!

Last, this made me laugh super hard. Wm was downstairs and called that we had to come down right away to see how cute Flip was being. Steve yelled, "I'll be right down!" But it took him about 5 minutes to get down there since he was finishing something up. Wm did not like that one bit. Steve then received this text, dripping with sarcasm:

That's m'boy!

Bad Goings On

Well, there have been some bad goings on. We, of course, did not get the house we made an offer on. Again. AND, our first foster dog was a monster fail. He was here less than 24 hours. Not only did Flip hate him, but I had a crazy allergic reaction to him. It started with hives breaking out on my skin anywhere he touched:

My arm after petting him for 1 minute

So, he had to go back to his previous foster home. I felt terrible. And, I'm afraid to foster again in case the next ones also gives me hives. I know that I am allergic to dogs (and cats!), but, mostly it's breed-specific. Flip has never bothered me (nor did the Ozzy, Prince of Barkness last weekend!) But, I played with a beagle about a year ago that nearly killed me. And going over to my friend's house (with 3 dogs) is always an endurance contest: me vs. mucus.  Because of this, I can't have a random train of dogs in and out of my house - I would need to interact with them for a while beforehand to make sure I didn't react badly. Instead, Wm and I are volunteering in other ways. In fact, we are going to an adoption even for the rescue that we fostered with tomorrow. Our job is to hold the dogs for their fancy pictures and to encourage people to adopt, not shop, for pets.

Flip is THRILLED to have his house back. Oddly, Schroeder really liked our foster dog and they were friends. This, even as Schroeder-Flip relations deteriorate even further. I swear to god, it's worse than Israel and Palestine.

Wm was off school on Friday and has a half day on Monday (career day). Then, he starts spring semester on Tuesday! He just finished up J-Term.  I took Friday afternoon off with him and will take Monday off, as well. I texted Wm on Friday morning and asked what he was doing. He sent me 2 pics back in reply:

Wm said the garbage truck woke him up...and he was annoyed

Wm and Flip snoozlin'

Then, after I got home and we hung out and ate lunch and walked the pooch, I had my own snoozlin' pic:

Friday afternoon nap!

If nothing else, fostering has made Steve appreciate Flip even more. He called Flip "the perfect dog." He has been spoiled even more than usual!! And, I have signed up for a Paint your Pet class with my friend, Mel! Steve goes, "you gonna paint Luna?" HA!

Today, we went out to lunch with Suzanne. Then, The Boys went to see Coco (which they loved!) and Suzanne and I saw The Shape of Water (which we loved!)

At dinner today...
Me: [Tells story about my childhood and a thing my mom used to do when I was a kid]
Steve: I do same thing all the time!
Me: Well, they do say you marry your parent.
Wm: What? People marry their parents?
Me: No, that's illegal, man. I mean they say people marry other people who are similar to their parent.
Wm: Oh. I'd like that. I'd like to marry someone like you. [pause] Just not 40.
He managed a nice compliment and sick burn all at once.