Barry’s Daily Web News

Feeling Ill

It was a nice day weather wise, as the monsoon season has ended, leaving us with cooler and drier weather. I would have liked to take Sean and Ethan to the park, but I just wasn’t feeling up to it. I now have a sore throat, and I am feverish, with body aches and pains. At this point, I can only look forward to getting better.

I cut the dog’s nails today. Princess was more than happy to let my grab her paws and cut the nails. After the nail cutting, Princess had a nice petting session. Other than the towards the cats, she hasn’t shown any aggression at all.

Princess Likes Sean and Ethan

We have avoided Sean and Ethan interacting with our new dog Princess, both because we wanted the dog to recover from her surgery, and because we were worried how the dog would do around the kids. This afternoon, we erased any doubts we had about how the dog would do with the kids.

I went to take Princess out for her late afternoon walk, and the whole family went with us. Sean and Ethan, being the typical boys they are, started screaming and running around the yard. I was surprised this did not phase Princess one bit. And when the kids went up to the dog, she was more than happy to give them a sniff and a lick.

The challenge we will have is getting our two cats and the dog to behave around each other. I think so far, Princess sees the two cats as something to run and chase after.

Ethan is no longer bothered by his ear infection. The antibiotics he is taking appear to have kicked in quickly. On the other hand, I’m not feeling so good. I had some sinus irritation for the last couple of days, and today I have a sore throat. I’m not feverish, so I don’t think it is anything serious.

Ethan Has Another Ear Infection

Ethan woke up last night complaining of an ear ache, and this morning, he woke up with a high fever. So sure enough, he has another ear infection. He had a rough time this evening, and he ended up going to bed early.

Princess is recovering from her surgery. She is starting to eat more, and is starting to show her playful side. This afternoon, I arrived home earlier than I normally do, while Cortney was picking up Sean from school. It was too early to take Princess for her walk, so I just let her out of the crate to give her a few pets. She pranced away from me, towards the sliding glass door, letting me know she thought it was time to go out. Princess seems to like going outside and rolling in the grass.

Slow News Day

I don’t like using that post title, but for the most part, it’s true. Today has been the closest to normal since we got the dog.

Sean was the only student in his gym class today. The instructor worked on Sean’s jumping ability, trying to get Sean jumping higher.

Changes

We are going through some changes here at the house.

Sean ate a slice of pizza with vegetables on it. Sean said he wanted a slice of Cortney’s pizza, so she gave him a slice without saying what was on it. Sean ate the pizza without picking off any of the toppings.

The cats have been kicked out of the master bedroom. Before the dog arrived, they mainly hid in the bedroom to avoid the kids. Now, they need to avoid the dog as well as the kids. Floppy seemed mad at me last night, but this evening, she was happy to crawl into my lap, so I think the cats are adjusting.

Cortney and I are adjusting to a new schedule, having to walk the dog early in the morning, and again before bedtime. I don’t mind too much, as the weather is usually nicer at these hours.

Princess is starting to recover from her surgery. She was eager to go on her walks today, and this afternoon, she was happy to roll around in the grass in the back yard.

On the subject of Princess, Cortney took her to our vet this morning. Cortney mainly wanted to see if the vet had any opinions on the dangerousness of the dog. The vet instead gave us referrals to some local dog trainers, and suggested we seek their opinion. The vet also thinks it is likely that Princess has already had a litter of puppies. That would possibly explain why the previous owners turned her into the pound. She seems to me to be a very sweet dog, and is doing everything possible to make herself welcome in our home.

5 Years After

Many people are commenting on the five year remembrance of the 9/11 attack on the WTC. I’m going to just give some quick comments on my feelings about the subject.

First, I do think we should not forget what happened to the World Trade Center towers five years ago, and I think the world really did change with just this one event.

Second, I’m a bit disgusted at the polarization in politics today. Bush has stumbled a bit, but Kerry or Gore would have largely done the same thing after 9/11, so to think the current administration is evil or is responsible for all the world’s problems today, or that the other party is somehow special or different, is a bit silly.

And last, although we have done a good job of taking the terrorists down a notch, I think we have given up too much freedom in exchange. As one example, TSA is just big government at its worst — ineffective, expensive, and just plain annoying. The aircraft as missiles problem has already been solved by the reinforced cockpit doors (and willingness of passengers to take on any potential hijackers), so there really was no excuse for federalizing airline security.

Princess Arrives Home

Cortney picked up our new dog, Princess, from the clinic today. Princess was still groggy from the operation, but managed to do her business when we walked her outside. Other than the walk, she has spent the entire time in the crate. She doesn’t seem to mind the crate, but she starts wagging her tail every time we go in to check on her.

The next few days are going to be tough, as we get used to the dog, the dog gets used to us, the dog and cats get used to each other, and we train the dog and the kids how to behave around each other.

A Muggy September Day

I read in today’s paper that September is one of the driest months of the year. You wouldn’t know it this year, though. It has rained at least three times in the last week, and it was very muggy today. We even had toadstools in the back yard. On top of that, the bits of bird seed that have fallen off the bird feeder have started to sprout.

Even though it has been humid lately, the pool has cooled off quite a bit. I took Sean and Ethan into the pool after dinner this evening, and the water temperature has dropped down into the seventies. I thought the water was cool and refreshing, but Ethan eventually became too cold, so our swim time was cut a bit short. Sean did not have a problem. He is so active in the water, I think he could stay in all day if he wanted to.

A New Family Pet?

The local paper ran an article on the high number of animals going to the local pound. Cortney was interested in helping out, so we went out to look at the animals today.

The pound was quite an ordeal. But, to cut a long story short, we ended up adopting a dog. The dog is a Stafforshire Terrier mix, with a beautiful blue and white coat. The dog’s name of record is Princess, and we will likely keep that name. Princess is two years old, which means that the dog has already been through the worst of the house training, and will have lost most of the rambunctiousness of a puppy.

Princess will need to be fixed, so we will not actually pick her up until Monday. This is actually a good thing, as it gives us a couple of days to get ready.

This evening we went shopping for dog supplies. It was ironic that after spending only $85 on the dog, which included the operation, shots, and a microchip, we spent over $200 on pet supplies. Why did we spend so much on supplies? Well, the dog crate, food and water dishes, food, chew toys, collar, leashes, and finally grooming equipment, weren’t much individually, but all added together, quite expensive.

We realize we have a potentially dangerous breed of dog, but we think Princess has a gentle disposition, and we will keep a very close eye on her when she is around the kids. We also plan on obedience training when the dog has fully recovered from her surgery. Overall, I prefer a sturdy dog the kids can actually interact with, then a smaller, even though safer dog, that the kids might get too rough with.

The real unknown is how the dog will do around the cats. We actually had one of the workers at the pound bring out a kitten so we could see how the dog would interact with it. Princess sniffed the kitten a few times, then turned her head as if she was not interested, which is about the best behavior we could have expected.

Friday at McDonalds

We have been trying to eschew fast food, but I wanted to give Cortney a break, so I took Sean and Ethan to McDonalds anyway. We stayed for a couple of hours, and Sean never went into the play area. He spent the entire time on the video games. I can’t say I’m surprised. Ethan used the play area a couple of times, but otherwise, he played on the video games as well.

McDonalds was crowded, and so there were quite a few kids around the video games. I was impressed that Sean took turns playing with the other boys on the games. Both Sean and Ethan were well behaved, and we all had a good time.

Short Post

I had to work late today, then work some more from home after the kids went to bed.

Sorry, I have no time to write anything else.

Ethan’s Tired; Sean’s Full of Energy

This evening, there was quite a bit of contrast between Sean and Ethan. Ethan fell asleep right after dinner, and did not wake up until bedtime. Sean, on the other hand, finished his homework, went to his gym class, and was still full of energy afterwards.

To be fair, Ethan needs at least a half hour to an hour sleep more than Sean due to his younger age, but Ethan tries to keep up with his older brother, which typically means waking up the same time he does.

Tuesdays are Good

I like starting the work week on Tuesday. On Monday evenings, I don’t have any planned activities, and I usually feel guilty when I just end up relaxing, and not getting anything done or spending time with the kids. On Tuesdays (and Wednesdays) I take Sean to the gym, which I really enjoy.

Labor Day, 2006

I guess today is supposed to be a day off from laboring, but I spent most of the day doing work around the house anyway. This morning, I did plenty of yard work, finishing up where I left off Saturday morning. We had some rain last night, and it was very humid out. I spent a fair amount of time raking up the leaves and loose yard debris. I noticed it was much easier to rake and pick up the leaves with the leaves slightly damp than with the leaves dry and dusty. The only downside was very heavy leaf bags to carry to the curb, a trade-off worth making.

I spent the afternoon and evening working on the financial paperwork. I had let quite a bit of it pile up over the summer. I didn’t completely work through the pile, but at least is is now at a more manageable level. I really dislike financial paperwork, but I don’t feel comfortable not knowing where they money goes, so I guess I must just deal with it.

I felt guilty for having the kids couped up in the house all day long, but it was just too hot and humid to do anything outside. After they terrorized the house for most of the afternoon, I did let them blow off some steam in the pool. This worked well, as after the pool and shower afterwards, they were calm enough to go to bed.

Ethan Has A Temper Trantrum

For this week’s picture of the week, I’m picking the picture of Ethan throwing the temper tantrum, shown in yesterday’s gallery of pictures.

This picture also has a good story behind it. Ethan was becoming very loud and noticeable in the restaurant with his crying and shrieking. It was at this moment when I came up with the idea of taking a picture of Ethan crying. I made two attempts at taking the picture, and the second one, which is the one I posted, cracked me up immediately after I saw it. I was passing the camera around to everyone to show how funny Ethan looked in the picture, and finally I showed it to Ethan, who even laughed himself.

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