The Times They are a-Changin'

After lots of back and forth and deliberation over the past several months, it seems, Eric and I have (almost) settled in to some new roles.  Mine first.  I recently accepted a job share position with a co-worker at University of Cincinnati Medical Center.  I've been there now just shy of two years in a weekend and per-diem role, which I am keeping, but have now picked up an additional 1 day per week on Fridays.  Though I never would have guessed myself in this position several years ago, I really enjoy what I do, and feel it appropriately challenging and yet easy to leave at work in between my shifts.  For those that don't know, I work in the department of psychiatry.  My new position is on an adult inpatient unit.  On weekends I work a double shift, in the mornings on inpatient coverage and second shift in psych emergency.

My new schedule has, obviously, caused a change in the kids' schedules.  They are in good hands, though, and we are so appreciative of my mom for covering Nat & Ben care so far, for Eric's mom for volunteering for time coming up, and for my sister who will resume some coverage once she's back to work herself.  It takes a village.  Isn't that what they say?

On a much, much more exciting front, Eric has been named as the new Executive Director of the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce.  We could not be more thrilled or excited at this new opportunity.  It's always sort of bittersweet to leave a position, and this is no exception, especially given how good his current job has been to us.  But we know that this new job is going to be a great fit going forward, and we could not be more proud of him for being selected!  You can read an article about the announcement here: Eric's news article

Ty the Dog

Without further ado, we would like to officially introduce to you the newest member of our household:

Ty, the dog

We found Ty largely by accident.  Ben is in love with all dogs, and Natalie likes them a fairly good deal.  They have been asking for months if we can get a dog, and putting it off until the weather warmed up, coupled with watching dog videos on YouTube and perusing pictures of dogs online, pacified them.  For awhile.  We went back and forth some about getting a grown dog versus a puppy.  I do not have the energy, patience, or spare time for a puppy given the amount of time the kids need (plus all of the other things we have going on).  So we started looking at the local shelter.  We figured a grown dog would have some skills (i.e. housebroken), and most importantly, we would know its' temperament, and if they would be good around the kids.

We had been keeping an eye on a coonhound we liked, and decided one morning to go for a visit.  As it turns out, sweet as she was, the Coonhound was not a good match for us.  She was very affectionate, but a little too high energy.  We knew we wanted a bigger dog, a dog that has some energy for outside play, but that is not intimidating to the kids and has some manners.  We met two other dogs before they brought in Ty to see us.  As soon as he came in the room, Ben went right up to him and patted him on the back.  He was our dog.  We had planned to come back for him in a few days, after we had some obligations out of the way, and some dog supplies on hand.  But after just a few hours of talking about it, Natalie could wait no more.  And back to the shelter we went.

Ty is an 8 year old Australian Cattle Dog.  He had been at the shelter since November, and was surrendered by his previous owners after they lost their home and could not take him to their apartment.  How sad.  It's clear they worked with him.  He LOVES to fetch, knows "sit" and "down" and will "stay" for a treat.  He is good with people, has no food aggression, is housebroken.  And most important of all, he's great with the kids.  He's a very sweet boy and we love having him around.

The kids are taking turns feeding him, Nat usually gets breakfast duty, and Ben does dinner.  They love to offer him treats, and brush him.  And he waits patiently while they try to heave his tennis ball for a fetch.

 finally, jacket weather!

Nat got another haircut...almost all even now!

the kids trying to convince Ty to come up into the treehouse

(he'll go up the steps, but won't go onto the platform.  yet.)

I think it's safe to say he's happy to be home with us, too.

A Case of the Mondays

It's Monday.

It's below freezing again, for the second day in a row.  At the end of March.

We have exhausted all of our indoor things to do.

And these two are over it.

(Seriously, the mood of these two is horrendous, and that's being generous.  They both slept all night-hallelujah!!-neither appears sick, I fed them breakfast, haven't asked them to do anything torturous, and yet here they are, grouchy as can be, and crying.  Oh, the crying.  Who wants to come play with us?  Anybody?!)

The Big Thaw

75 degrees.  That is what my car said this afternoon.  It was nothing short of glorious.  Last I checked, it was supposed to be in the mid 60s today.  We planned a zoo day because we haven't been yet this year, and something fun was in order.  It was a pretty miserable experience though.  Natalie was in a downright awful mood, and made it her business to ruin the day of everyone else around her.  We even stopped for a "team meeting" on a bench to sort out exactly what the problem was, agreed to turn the day around and put bad moods behind us, and that lasted all of about 7 minutes.  Oh, the stressful lives of three year olds.

We pressed on for awhile because Ben was so into it.  I took the "scenic route" home to let them nap.  We desperately needed to stop for groceries, but when we got to the grocery store the bad mood had spawned new life and was creating quite the scene for all the shoppers to see and hear.  A few items for dinner later and we were back in the car.

We regrouped at home, changed into shorts (shorts!!), grabbed our bikes and our dog, and headed out for a walk.  

Ben wants so badly to ride a big kid bike

Ty seems to be settling right in....hoping to "officially" introduce him to our blog soon!

I won't speak of the forecast for tomorrow.  We are going to continue basking in the wondrousness of today while we can.  Spring seems close.  Finally.