T-Minus 2 weeks

In 14 days we'll be on our way back home with a little bundle of fur. While I hope this is also a joyful occasion, I'm now starting to recognize all of the small things that can go wrong immediately. For example - the dog could go through the windshield. ...But i'm getting ahead of myself here.

So this morning started off pretty well, sleeping in for a change, and then some homemade waffles. After fueling up and taking our vitamins, Jaclyn and I decided to go on a bike ride out toward my office. It's about a 20 miler, and we hadn't ridden in a while so we planned to make a pit-stop downtown in Andover at Breuggers for a bagel sandwich. So, we took off and had a nice strong ride until we got down to Andover. We then dismounted and walked around the downtown area. Before going to get a bite to eat, we stopped at the local dog boutique (please don't judge us) and ended up chatting with the owners for a little while. After nearly passing out when i saw the $50 dog clothes, we decided to at least get some free advice from the poochie proprietors. Here's what we learned:

1. Our first night is going to be a nightmare. She suggested locking the crate in the bathroom or some room other than your bedroom in order to allow you to ignore them better. If you coddle, or cater to them the first night, you'll have to do it every night for the rest of your life. (This seems cruel, but may have some actual value)

2. Send a blanket to the breeder, or get a blanket from the breeder, so you can have something in the crate the first few nights which smells like his mother. (This was actually a pretty good piece of advice)

3. Don't take the puppy home with you on your lap. god forbid an accident should happen, or you stop short, the pup is probably going to end up in the windshield. (um... not so sure if this is actually a true risk, but i guess we'll probably put it in a travel crate)

4. Take the dog to the vet IMMEDIATELY to have its stool checked for parasites. (I called the vet a week ago and they told me to wait 3 or 4 days to check for "patterns" in the dog like coughing, weird bathroom things, etc.)

Those are the words of advice we got. Basically, when you think about it, they were using scare tactics on us.

So - after our rendezvous with reality, we headed to Breuggers, got some sandwiches and brought them to the park to eat. My sandwich was good, but i think the real highlight was when i played "operation" with the park bench in order to fish out 2 quarters. Here's the evidence:

So anyway. We rode home $0.50 heavier and with full stomachs.

The marking of an era (sorta)

Today, I found out that I passed my comprehensive exams! A passing score on these exams was necessary in order to graduate from grad. school in August. After 6 years of schooling, it's only a matter of 3 days at my internship that stand between me and my completion of my graduate degree. With 2 job interviews lined up for next week . . . I'm finally beginning to feel more confident in my skills and anxiously looking forward to my Clinical Fellowship.

A sincere CONGRATULATIONS to the UNH CSD Grad. Class of 2010!


-Jaclyn

Evolution of our Puppy (to be named later)

Did you know that the gestation period of a dog is only 9 weeks?? On top of that, the pregnant dog doesn't even show signs of being pregnant until week 5! If I were a woman i'm pretty sure i'd be quite jealous of that. These are the types of tidbits you can expect to learn when you're expecting. ...a puppy.

Such is the case with Jaclyn and myself. Our yearning for a pup has been overwhelming for basically the duration of our relationship. However, we've never really been in the same place long enough to justify the acquisition. As of January, when our circumstances changed, we've felt this desire even moreso - and decided to pull the trigger back in April (after almost buying a pup in a pet store).

I won't bore you with the details of how we arrived at the decision to go with a breeder up in Maine, or how we arrived at the decision of a Maltepoo (Maltese x Poodle = Maltepoo), or even why we insisted that it was a boy, and a color other than white. However, what I will share is the unreal transition this pup has gone through since it's birth on May 10.

- 3 Days Old -

This is what we refer to as "the mole / seal / mouse" state. Call it what you will, it barely looks like a dog, and the poor thing is about the size of a thumb, and about as flacid as a limp ....um, noodle. At this stage of life, he only needs 3 things: Milk, warmth, and sleep.

- 2 Weeks Old -

Allright, now we're talking! He's starting to look more like an actual dog. Although his eyes are not yet open, his tail is starting to perk up, his fur is growing out a lil bit, and he's grown out of the whelping pen, and into what appears to be a 1970's comforter turned into a dog bed. It's a good thing his eyes aren't open yet, as his delicate sensory input system would probably throw him into vertigo.


- 4 Weeks Old -
Although i'm slightly concerned that the switcharoo has been played on us here - since this dog looks nothing like the previous 2 photos - i'm also quite pleased at how handsome he's turning out to be. In this photo, you don't need to employ your imagination to decipher what the dog will eventually look like, or guess how big his eyes will be, or even how much you're going to say "awww" when he looks at you.. It's all right there staring at you.
Now all we need is a name...

Welcoming Summer and Some Well Deserved Time Off

Reflecting on the spring season, I can't seem to remember a weekend in which Michael and I took a day to fully enjoy ourselves beginning to end. With the looming thoughts of my comprehensive exams out of my mind, Saturday marked the first day in which I truly felt at peace. Well, I guess I should clarify that this feeling began AFTER 10:00 on Saturday - once I had completed the Massachusetts Educators test. Michael and I decided to take advantage of being in the city on such a beautiful day. Without any clear plan we headed to the Fanuiel Hall area to grab a parking spot and begin our adventure.



Not being able to EVER pass up grocery deals, I convinced Michael that it would be great fun to spend our day at Haymarket and to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. Being the bread-winner of our relationship, once he saw the deals he too had to agree.



With arms full of strawberries, rasberries, cherries, plums, watermelon, asparagus, and peppers we realized that our day in Boston would have to be cut short due to a lack of a cooler. Luckily, I am dating an engineer. And MAYBE you wouldn't have to be an engineer to come up with a plan like this; but, he's always thinking, that Michael. We grabbed a box, bought some ice, and set up a makeshift cooler in the back of the del-sol. This gave us time to take some of our fresh purchases down to the water and bask in the feeling of not having any pressing commitments.



Later in the afternoon, we left the city, stopped by home for a quick change, bottle of wine, and cheese and crackers, and headed up to Cranes Beach in Ipswich. It was close to 4:00 when we arrived, and the beach was STILL insanely crowded! We jammed ourselves in between an extra-large family of 3 and a group of people that had the most god-awful Boston-ish accents. It didn't matter though. Michael was asleep in minutes, and I ecstatic to be reading something other than class notes and text books. The beach began to empty and Michael and I shared the bottle of wine over some quality people watching. Before we realized it, it was 8:30 and time to head home to figure out something for dinner.



Sunday morning began with a special treat, complimented by our Haymarket purchases, and marked the beginning of another enjoyable weekend day.



Now, I'm off to finish cleaning the house top to bottom. An unexpected day off without having to tend to school-related work - priceless. Please check in later when Michael posts an update about the puppy :)