A permanent toddler?

I love my dog.  Really, I do. I love taking her for walks and having her snuggle with me at night and I love having someone to talk to during the day (the cats aren't awake much and they usually look pretty disdainful when I try to talk to them). 

But sometimes Copper makes me want to tear my hair out. One afternoon last week, I was working and she kept chasing the cats. I finally gathered up a bunch of her toys, tossed them in the office and shut her in there with me. She settled down on the other side of my desk and started chewing away. I figured she was working on one of her bones. 

I finished working and walked around the desk to tell her it was time to get the boys. I was greeted by small black fuzzies all over the floor. I bent to pick one up and realized it was shredded plastic. It was only then that I noticed the dog had chewed completely through the cord of my adding machine. Thankfully it wasn't plugged in at the time. 

I figured that was a fluke and that I must've tossed her toys too close to the cord and she simply grabbed the wrong item. But the next day she chewed the cord of Bill's beloved sound machine. He was livid but managed to repair that mess with electrical tape. He says someday Copper will chew on something that is still plugged in and that will be the end of our 'dog problems'.

He was joking. I think. 

My dog

Copper is truly my dog. I didn't really mean for that to happen, it just did. She likes Bill and the boys, and she never gets tired of trying to convince the cats to play with her, but if I am home, she is right by my side about 98% of the time. I trip over her at least once a day.

The first two nights we had her, Copper slept in her dog bed right next to our bed. I couldn't bear to put her in her kennel at night. I knew she had spent the first year of her life in a shelter and then spent several weeks in a chaotic rescue. I wanted her to feel loved and safe after what she had been through. So I put her bed right next to ours. 

That worked great for two nights. On the third night, she jumped up on the bed and snuggled down next to me. And that's where she has been ever since. She doesn't just sleep next to me, she is pressed firmly against me. She's like a water bottle that never cools off. And since I am often freezing, I really don't mind. I don't mind her snoring either. 

Now I am wondering. Do people still use hot water bottles?

Ahhhh....memories

Fondly recalling the day Nolan and I strapped on our wings and went 'frying'. 

Foot nails

Nolan continues to make me laugh. Last night at the dinner table, we got into a discussion on height. One of the boys (I think it was Sam) commented that Bill must've been a lot shorter when he and I first met. We laughed and that started a discussion on how tall Bill and I were and when we stopped growing. Nolan, wise and sage, calmly said, "People keep growing until they are the right height. Then they stop."

You cannot argue with that logic. 

After supper, Nolan took a leisurely bath. When he was done, he came in my room, hair all sticking up and skin looking a bit wrinkled. He said, "Mom, I need you to cut my foot nails."

It's been 24 hours since he said that and I am still laughing. He was right though. His 'foot nails' definitely needed to be trimmed.