GoG Night at The Homestead

Members of the GoG met at The Homestead last night to don our capes and tights and run around medieval Japan searching for swords, fighting bad guys, and casting spells. The Professor masterfully orchestrated the evenings adventure while The Warden, The GM, NTT's Brain (freshly back from his tour in Shanghai), and The Acupuncturist threw dice and cheated death yet again.

Side Note: The once reliable and tasty local Chinese restaurant has taken a turn for the worst. It has probably changed hands three or four times in the past three years. The food and the chefs have changed dramatically and not for the best. I had Honey Walnut Prawns that were less than fabulous. Actually, they caused an internal reaction that was less than pleasurable. I don't know about the rest of the GoG but I was not happy.

The Wife, Ding, and Senior Mom took advantage of the Gathering and headed out to a movie with members of The Super Friends. Upon her return KtMDD was put through yet another humiliating "clothing" experience. See the picture below.


All he needs now is a bandoleer of shotgun shells, a serape, and a mustache to finish off the look. Poor dog...

Outdoor toilet training has been going well for KtMDD. He is pretty good about doing his business out of doors while in The Dungeon. He did drop another steaming Charleston Chew on Senior Mom's carpet this morning. We may have to crate train him to use the upstairs porch while there. He is too small to make it down the stairs to The Dungeon.

Nothing too important on the books for today. Just a few errands to the pet store for more dog treats. I may not even get out of my pajamas for that one. I am off to nap. KtMDD is snoozing as is The Wife. God I LOVE vacation!

One Party Too Many

The Wife and I hosted our annual Holiday Party the Friday before Christmas. We had nearly 70 people attend and almost 40 participate in the crazy gift exchange we hold every year. Some time during the buildup to the holidays someone in The Homestead suggested we host Christmas Eve as well.

Christmas Eve arrives and The Wife and I begin taking care the business of preparing for yet another party. KtMDD also found out how to make his way up the stairs without assistance that morning. We all laughed as KtMDD made his way upstairs and then began running up and down the hallway. The Wife and I were in The Dungeon when we heard Senior Mom exclaim, "No Kosmo!" Apparently KtMDD dropped a huge, steaming pile of puppy turd onto the floor in the hallway.

Senior Mom picked up the steaming mess and flushed it down the guest toilet. A few minutes later I hear Senior Mom doing something in the guest bathroom. Ding runs down the stairs into The Dungeon saying she needed to use our bathroom because hers was being worked on by Senior Mom. I went upstairs to find Senior Mom working the guest toilet over with a plunger. Apparently KtMDD's turd clogged the toilet. We both worked on the toilet for about half an hour before calling our trusty, albeit expensive, plumber.

The Wife and I left and returned to find the toilet sitting outside our house and the plumber getting ready to install a new one. Two and a half hours and probably close to $1000 later we have a new high power flushing toilet in our guest bathroom.

An hour before the party was to begin Ding walks into The Dungeon and announces that she dropped and watched a 2 liter bottle of 7UP explode in the garage. We have a horrendous ant problem so Ding and I had to pull out every item from the garage floor, clean the bottoms due to the high sugar cascade of soda, and swab the floor with undiluted Pinesol. I also sprayed the perimeter of the garage and house bug poison/ repellent for good measure.

The gathering was fun and ended close to 10 p.m. We cleaned up the Upstairs and The Wife prepared the annual Christmas morning overnight French toast. Senior Mom balanced the egg and milk laden breakfast precariously in the refrigerator. Apparently she did not balance it well enough because it dumped a good portion of the mixture into the bowels of the refrigerator. We cleared that thing out and cleaned the crap out of the cold box.

At the same time The Boy opened a bottle of Martinelli's Apple Cider that proceeded to act like a slow moving lava flow that covered the kitchen table. Because of the multiple messes no one in The Homestead got to bed before 1 a.m. We had to rush because Santa still needed to get his fat ass down the chimney to drop off his load of shit onto the living room floor.

Christmas morning came and everyone was wiped out. We ended up taking naps around noon just so we could make it to dinner. The Wife and I have vowed to not throw two parties in two days. It was far too much for all of us to handle and caused a butt load of stress that none of us needed.

Now we are sitting in our denuded holiday Dungeon. All the Christmas decorations are down and put away for another year. Christmas is done and now we are just vacationing. Woo Hoo!!! Off to play the Wii. Later...

Holiday Party

Tonight was the night of our annual Holiday Party. We started this event in The Homestead when we first arrived back in the State. It grew over the course of the years. The last straw in terms of hosting the party at The Homestead was when we had to remove all of the furniture from The Dungeon to fit everyone into the place. The only safe place was behind the old bar we had in The Dungeon. After that we moved to bigger places.

For the next few years we had the party at a pool house in The Relative I Do Not Hate's complex. We had to bring chairs from my school site to have enough places for people to sit. Eventually we outgrew that place and had to move to our current hall. We now work with the local American Legion Hall. They set up the tables, decorate, run the bar, and provide all the services needed to facilitate our event. It has been such a relief to have them involved as it keeps us from having to clean the bathrooms, floors, replace furniture, etc.

We had something like sixty five people show up with thirty eight of them participate in our annual gift exchange. The Wife and I like to change things up every year with the gift exchange. This year we had little holiday poems to go with every number represented in the gift exchange. Then we gave folks one last chance to keep or steal their gifts.

The best year was when we had everyone who had stolen stand in a big circle. We then played the Hokey Pokey. At the end of the dance I prompted all participants to look to their left, say "Merry Christmas", and give their gift to that person. I got death threats for a few years after that little twist.

The Wife and I are now home and relaxing on the couch watching some TiVo and eating a fabulous plate of holiday cookies prepared by Paul's 365 Photo Blog and his wife. They are quite yummy.

Tomorrow I am off to do some last minute holiday shopping with one of the Super Friends. The evening has us taking a journey through The City with some other friends and family. Hopefully the weather is not to cold. The lights are so awesome and well worth weathering a little frost.

Off to munch on more holiday cheer. Later...

Two Days of Pure Madness

So I went out on Winter Break two days ago. I should have been easing my weary self out of bed some time in the mid morning and migrating over to the couch to watch some horrendous daytime television. I also should have only been wearing only pajama pants, a trusty ultracomfy t-shirt, and a pair of socks as I channel surfed my way through the wasteland of television.

Instead, I found myself walking out of The Homestead at 6:30 in the morning clad in everyday wear, heading out to The Wife's school to "volunteer' in her classroom. And by "volunteer" I do mean conscripted into service against my will. I arrived on my first day of vacation to meet The Wife's class for the first time. Last year's class was so bad that it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had high hopes this class would be better but I was not holding my breath.

The kids arrived and entered the class, took their seats and began to get to the business of competing their morning work. I was amazed. I stuck around the classroom for the entire morning and found the students to be absolutely fantastic kids. Of course there are always going to be a few odd balls but even those were good.

I was then "pimped out" by The Wife to help out her fellow teachers. I hung kid art in the hallway and then spent the rest of the day assembling planter boxes for the first grade classes and their garden project. We then left for The Wife's work holiday party. By the time I got home I was beat.

The next day Ding was enlisted in the endeavor. It was crazy holiday party day in The Wife's class. There was food, two movies, holiday auction, holiday gift wrapping of student made parent gifts, lunch, and recess. The kids left nearly vibrating with sugar coursing through their bodies. Vacation officially started at 1:30 in the afternoon today. Woo Hoo!

Tomorrow we take KtMDD to his overnight stay at Doggie Day Care. We are hosting our annual holiday party tomorrow night. KtMDD will need a place to be supervised while we party with friends and a smattering of family. I am off to watch "The Zodiac" with The Wife, Ding, and The Boyfriend. Later...

What Is It They Do There?

Today was the second day of taking KtMDD to the doggie day care. The Wife and I took a grand tour and met the two owners of the business. We were sufficiently impressed that we decided to buy a ten pack of day care days and also plan on taking him for a sleep over while we host our annual holiday party. I dropped off KtMDD on Monday and handed him over to one of the owners.

Now, KtMDD was in need of a bath and we plan on having him groomed after his sleep over this Saturday. I picked him up on the first day and spoke to the other owner. She said he was shy at first but ended up playing with a puppy who also attends the same puppy training classes at the local pet store. KtMDD was shaking as she handed him to me but I thought nothing of it since he was probably scared to be left there. He also needs to get used to other dogs/ people. However, he smelled even more strongly of pee. I brought him home, changed all of his stuff and washed it while The Wife and Ding cleaned him up with puppy wipes (similar to baby wipes).

I joked that he was used as a big dog pee toy. Picture all the big dogs cornering KtMDD and then taking turns lifting their legs to urinate on him. Funny but sad visual.

Today I dropped him off for day two at the day care. Again I arrive in the mid afternoon after work to pick him up. The owners were not there today but the two nice counter workers were present. Guy counter worker goes into the back where the puppy pen is located to get KtMDD. Counter Guy places him on the counter and I observe that KtMDD is again shaking but instead of smelling like a gas station urinal, his paws and belly are dirty as hell. I asked if he was outside and Counter Guy said he had indeed played outside for a while.

I left and looked at KtMDD. He appeared to have been dragged through semi-dirty puddles of water. his paws were black and his belly hair had obviously air dried from being so wet. Essentially he was a total mess. He looked like Benji after a week long drinking binge and life in back alley dumpsters. Senior Mom thinks the doggie day care is mistreating KtMDD. I may bring Senior Mom to the place for her to take a tour while the dogs are there so she can see it for herself.

We will see how KtMDD does with his overnight stay. If he comes back smelling like a street bum who pissed himself while sleeping in a mid puddle under the freeway overpass I may have to speak to the owners about what the heck is going on.

Heading out to change into my jammies and retrieve KtMDD from the land Upstairs. Doing time at The Wife's school tomorrow. I am on vacation and she has to work until Friday. Later.

KtMDD Needs His Own Filing Cabinet

Today was kind of like a lazy, do a few things around the house without getting out of your pajamas kind of day. One of things that needed to be taken care of was all the paperwork that has been generated by the acquisition of KtMDD. There has been so much paperwork created/ generated/ disseminated/ acquired that he may need his own filing cabinet very soon. Throw in all the various toys, brushes, treats, clothes, preventative medications, leashes, disposable poop bags, and puppy cleaning supplies and The Dungeon is looking like a puppy warehouse.

I sat down late this morning and began sifting through all the papers. The good thing about the effort was that I was able to toss out a plethora of useless pamphlets and papers. Out of all the papers, I found the American Kennel Club registry paperwork that needed to be filled out to transfer KtMDD's "title" over to The Wife. The papers were somewhat complicated and confusing. Thank goodness there was the option of a web registration. Total cost: $39.

Next I filled out the American Veterinary Identification Devices registration transfer papers. The AVID system is a sub-dermal device the size of a grain of rice that allows those equipped with the appropriate "scanner" to positively identify a lost animal. I still have to make out the check for the transfer. Total cost: $6.

I then filled out the four page registration papers for the new Doggy Day Care KtMDD will be attending starting tomorrow. I have already labeled his bag of food, put his rabies tag on his collar along with his name tag and AVID tag, and have his leash ready. The Wife and I plan to take advantage of the 10-day package plan for day care services. Total cost: $295.

I have also made reservations for KtMDD to stay overnight for the evening of the annual holiday party put on by The Wife. For that adventure I will bring food, his blanket, his sleeping crate, a favorite toy, and a worn t-shirt or pillow case as a security blanket. The Wife and I will get a 24-hour piece of mind insurance policy. Total cost: $50.

Today's total output for KtMDD: $390. Good Lord!

Tomorrow is a busy day. Drop off KtMDD at day care, work, attend afternoon meeting, race to pick up KtMDD at day care in the afternoon, drop KtMDD off at home, race to Dementiaville to pick up FCA, bring her to the bank with The Wife, replenish her anti-insanity medicine, and drop her off at home. The calmest part of my day is going to be the time spent at work. Good thing this week is a short one. I only have three days at the site. After Wednesday it is vacation time. Woo Hoo!!!

Off to watch some UnHoly TiVo before the Survivor finale. Later...

Six Hours, Two Rolls of Tape, and Hundreds of Feet of Wrapping Paper

The Wife and I embarked upon the daunting task of wrapping every present in The Homestead this evening. We started after we completed our run to the local Costco and the local grocery store this morning. Actually, we started in the mid-afternoon on the huge task. Prior to starting we took KtMDD to an "interview" with a local dog day care center.

We followed the Internet directions to the place and entered the building. After our visit to the other day care center The Wife and I were pleasantly surprised to see a clean, neat, and friendly place. The owners greeted us and had us come around the counter with KtMDD. He promptly left both liquid and solid gifts on their floor. He also met a cute as heck little dog that bounced around like Tigger from the Pooh stories. The place was ginormous too. We walked through the front area and into a massive warehouse area split into three areas. Each area is designated for specific size dogs. We passed through a gauntlet of excited dogs and into another warehouse for use when it rains. Past that warehouse was the "backyard" complete with sand/ gravel area and expansive grass areas. We were sold.

KtMDD made it through the "interview" and will be visiting on Monday and Wednesday to begin socialization. He will also stay the night next Saturday while we attend our annual holiday party. Awesome!

The Wife and I returned home to wrap gifts, label gifts, put stuff in gift bags, and place bows on gifts. We wrapped until our hands became painfully dry from touching the paper for so long. We wrapped gifts for under the tree, for the stockings, for holiday parties, for our respective work sites, for friends, and for other family members. As a result, there are huge piles of wrapped gifts all over The Dungeon. We have strategically placed all the items out of reach of KtMDD who is a marauding paper shredder when out of site.

Tomorrow The Wife and I plan to do a whole lot of nothing. There is football to be seen and Unholy TiVo to be viewed. See you tomorrow...

Is There Anybody Out There?

I apologize for the lack of recent posts. It has been in one sense a bit hectic and I have not had the inspiration to actually write about anything that wasn't depressing. I spent three of the past eight days at home. I was doing some dog sitting for Kosmo the Million Dollar Dog since The Seniors Upstairs had to go to parts far East for a funeral. I spent much of that time buried deep within state and federal guidelines working on potential schedule scenarios for the school site next year.

Throughout those work days I became despondent at the possibilities for scheduling and the ramifications for staffing as well as students. I banged my head against the wall for hours on end poring over data that would allow students the opportunity to succeed in an environment that is also in line with all the mandated parameters.

What I found was the mandated parameters do not fall into line with what is best for children. I also found that the current "adult conditions" are also not what is best for kids. The mandated parameters eliminate some of the reasons why students attend school. The elective programs would suffer greatly in some scenarios. Additionally, there are limitations to the length of the day and how many student contacts teachers must have. Those immovable walls are built by the unions.

I did research on our length of day and the length of day of Kindergarteners a few years ago. Our teachers teach three minutes more per day than Kindergarten teachers. However, our students are seven and eight years older. Three minutes more and some of our teachers complain their teaching day is too long. Amazing. The same teachers that complain about the length of day are the same people that leave with the students at the bell, watch the clock in any and all meetings to be certain they do not stay a second longer than necessary, and do little to inspire or connect with the students and families they are supposed to serve.

Still, I pushed forward and generated three schedules with accompanying staffings. Some are very lean and bleak in terms of enrichment opportunities for young people. The best of the bunch allows for enrichment opportunities while making room for the mandated program changes. The one negative is the pruning of some departments and the loss of some good people. I feel bad for the kids and the conditions in which they will have to exist for next year.

On the flip side of those days I was able to spend time with KtMDD. We worked on his training and skills such as "Watch me", "Sit", "Heel", and "Walk on the leash." I also continued my education on how to appropriately crate train KtMDD to go to the bathroom outside. Finally, I got the opportunity to watch the wasteland that is day time television. The one saving grace for daytime TV was "Dr. 90210" on the E! Channel. It is a "reality" show about the cosmetic surgery culture in LaLa Land. It is actually quite good. However, that was the one Oasis in the desert of daytime programming.

Tomorrow is Friday and I am acting as slave labor at an evening function at The Wife's school. That follows two consecutive late nights at my school site. Now, before you feel bad for me I only worked three days at the site this week and have only three days next week before I go on Winter Break. I am off from the 20th to the 7th of January. I cannot wait.

Off to watch The Wife's Unholy TiVo and get ready for bed. Later...

Is That a Piece of Rice or a...Oh God!

Yesterday I took a personal day from work to baby sit Kosmo the Million Dollar Dog. We had puppy training classes in the evening and we worked on the task we were assigned. The trainer wanted all her pupils to work on the "Watch Me" skill. Essentially, we have our dogs in front of us and the goal is to have then make and sustain eye contact. We use a "lure" to train the skill. That lure is a "nummy" or dog treat the puppy finds highly motivating.

We have "Watch Me" down pretty good and began working on the next skill sets in the puppy class. The next ones are "Sit", "Heel", and "Walk on a Leash". Thus far we are doing well. KtMDD was not the shy, shrinking flower he was in the last session. We left the training class more confident that KtMDD would be successful. The trainer also said he needs to be socialized beyond our "pack". The Wife decided it would be a good idea to have KtMDD come to her school and spend the day in the classroom with her and the students.

Ding and I dropped KtMDD off at The Wife's school in the morning. We set up his pen to be similar to what he has here in The Dungeon and went on our way. Ding to school and me to my school site. As Ding and I left I told her The Wife would call me at 10:30 to come pick up KtMDD.

Sure enough, The Wife called me regarding KtMDD. I was off on the time by only half an hour. I was leaving a meeting when she called stating, "We have a problem." She went on to tell me that KtMDD had taken a huge turd while her students were out at morning recess. She went to pick up the steaming pile of dung and noticed what looked to be small bits of rice in his poo pile. She found it strange since he had nothing to eat resembling rice.

She took a look at the steaming pile in her hand and found that the little bits of rice were squirming. Our little bundle of joy had contracted worms. I called our new best friends, the local pet hospital, and explained the situation. The lady on the other end wanted to speak to The Wife so I relayed the message.

Apparently a dog can contract tape worms from ingesting one little flea. The worms are flea larva. KtMDD has to take one pill tonight and another one in ten days to rid his system of the vile worms. I stopped by the pet hospital after bringing KtMDD home from The Wife's work. I also asked about the preventative heart worm medicine and the flea and tick preventatives while picking up his puppy prescription. Twenty minutes later I was walking out the hospital doors with a six month supply of heart worm meds, the two doses of anti-worm in the poop meds, and flea and tick meds all to the tune of $108.

Now KtMDD has had his first dose of worm meds, eaten his kibble, squirted a quart of puppy pee, and took a steaming turd with a few little bits of "rice" in the poopy mess. He has also repeatedly raped his giant green dragon stuffed toy, repeatedly raped his fleece pillow, attacked my ankles/ toes/ feet/ hands/ fingers, and is now passed out face down in the corner of his pen like a drunken rock star after a wild hotel party.

Tomorrow the GoG are coming over for an afternoon and evening of nerdy behavior while The Wife is attending an estrogen party with the female members of The Super Friends. I am off to watch some Unholy TiVo and surf the Net. Later...

Dang That Hurts

So I have learned that the all puppies including the Million Dollar Dog like to bite and nip during their play time. They will bite and nip themselves, their toys, other dogs, and the humans that play with them. It is our job to say "Oww!" really loud to let them know their bite is too hard. That way they can learn their bite strength and learn what is acceptable for "play" situations.

Well, let it be known that the learning process for bite strength is not without a bit of pain on the humans part. Kosmo has taken to chewing anything and everything in the house. He freely runs up and down the hallway of the Land Upstairs to retrieve Senior Mom's slippers from out of the bedroom, attacks Senior Dad's pant legs like they are the mailman wearing a meat suit, chews the carpet, gnaws on some furniture and then is brought to The Dungeon to chew on The Wife's slippers, rip her socks off her feet, attack my pajama bottoms like a Michael Vick pit bull attacks a chihuahua, and goes after my hands like they were gravy soaked sausages.

His teeth, while not huge, feel like four of those push pins being stuck into your fingers and hands with reckless abandon. Oh, you can say "Oww" and that stops him for all of a nanosecond before he starts to gnaw his way through your flesh. I will admit KtMDD has gotten a bit better about his bite strength. He does become a little reckless when he gets tired. That is when it is time to put him back in his pen for a rest.

He has now eaten his fill of puppy kibble, released a quart of puppy pee onto the newspaper, and is resting quietly in his crate-den. The puncture wounds on my hands/ feet/ arms/ ankles/ fingers/ toes are not so bad. But dang, they sure hurt when he gets in a good one.

I am home with KtMDD tomorrow to puppy sit and get some work done in peace and quiet. Later tomorrow I get to go to Dementiaville to replenish the anti-insanity medicine for the FCA. I would much rather tend to the dog. It is far less punishing.

Enjoy your Thursday. Later...

There Has Gotta Be a Better Way

One of my many, many jobs is to keep our school's website up to date. I do the front page calendar of events for the month and I am supposed to do some other things like post agendas and minutes of meetings, insert new pictures into an XML/ Flash slide show, place documents and fliers for download, and update old files. Now, I am a pretty smart guy, no rocket scientist mind you, but smart enough to operate most software programs.

However, Macromedia XM is complicated in some respects. Yes, I can do the mundane tasks of changing text for the monthly calendar, change names and placement of names on lists, insert text and such on existing pages, and other sundry tasks. What I am most confused about is changing the scrolling slide show of pictures and adding documents and other items for download to the various pages. There has to be a better way.

Now, I am a pretty quick study at most things. However, I found the fifteen minute training to be well, lacking. Couple that with the infrequency of using the program and you have a recipe for disaster. I am also forced to use "Live Pages" for updates. There is no test server environment to work on things, break them, and then fix them. If I break something it is totally broken and a "professional" will need to come in and fix the problem.

I am in serious need a simple step by step procedural manual to make these changes and updates. Instead of that I am left to flounder. I could go out to seek help but again it comes at the expense of The Network Guy's time. There has to be a better way. If anyone out there knows how to do these things drop me a line and let me know. I could only benefit from the expertise of others.

Side Note: President Bush is an abject idiot. He may be the antecedent for the end of civilization as we know it. Afghanistan was not enough. Iraq was and still is not enough. Now we have to turn our colonialist eye towards Iran? Let's just call it what it is. It is a return to colonialism. We are much like the British of the late 19th/ early 20th century. We are hated by most Third World nations, hated by nearly all Islamic nations, and ridiculed by a good many European nations that used to be our allies. We are a laughing stock and our once awesome street "cred" has been squandered by an administration filled with racist right wing religious freaks. Please God, let the revolution begin now!

Later...

Humiliating Pictures of The Million Dollar Dog

The Wife has totally gone over the edge. On one of many recent puppy shopping sprees The Wife picked up some rather humiliating seasonal clothing for Kosmo. Check it out...

Before:
After:
It is obvious Kosmo is totally hating life here. The Wife also has purchased a rather humiliating red and green striped hat with pointy elf ears as seen below. Also there was a purchase of reindeer bells that Kosmo would rather carry in his mouth than wear on his neck. Check it out.

I fear that I may come home and find the dog wearing one of those Paris Hilton style ballerina tutus with some crappy bows or jeweled clips in his hair. God I hope that doesn't happen. later for now...

Doggie Day Care and Personal Days

Today The Wife and I each took a personal day from work to do some holiday shopping. We cruised through three towns, one shopping mall, two candy stores, one drug store, a ginormous Costco, ate below standard Mexican food, and dropped a fat bundle on a ton of crap for people I barely know and most who I could care less about.

In our travels we went to investigate a local doggie day care operation close to The Homestead. We are in somewhat of a bind with Kosmo the Million Dollar Dog. The Seniors Upstairs are having to make an emergency trip to the East coast. Senior Dad's brother is dying and may not be around very much longer. The Seniors Upstairs are taking a red eye flight out of town on Wednesday for points way East. The terms of their travel totally suck. It also puts The Wife and I in a total bind for babysitting.

Doggie Day Care will not take any puppies under five months of age. All dogs must have all their shots too. Two strikes already. Kosmo is not yet four months old and his last round of puppy shots are not until late next week. Drat. The third strike is that Kosmo is not totally potty trained. He is about 85% accurate going "Potty on the Paper" but has yet to be crate trained to go Potty Outside. Ugh...

The Seniors Upstairs take Kosmo to their realm outside of The Dungeon and play and feed and keep an eye on the little guy. With them gone Kosmo will have very little to do in the daytime while The Wife and I are working. That means I will be taking some additional personal days from work to tend to the Million Dollar Dog. Over the past nine and half years I have built up 78 sick days. I get 10 sick days per year and I should have a total of 90 days. My goal is to accumulate 180 days and then I will be alright to take a few days off after that. 180 days is all I can have towards my retirement.

Anyway, I was surprised to find that I have taken 12 days off over the course of nine years. The Wife clarified that I took two days when I blew out my back and could not feel my legs. Another two days came when I had to have oral surgery to remove two massively impacted wisdom teeth. I will now be taking my remaining two personal days to help cover the lack of supervision as well as a sick day or two. Ding will also be taking a few days off from the local high school to help with the MDD coverage.

I have chosen this Thursday and next Monday and Tuesday to work from home. The Boss will be notified in the morning. Ding will be covering for me on Friday and next Wednesday and Thursday. The Wife said she is taking next Friday but that is still up in the air. I have to laugh because this is what it was like when The Wife and I had little kids. We would have to take alternating days off to tend to the sick kids. We haven't had to do this in close to ten years! Having a puppy is damn similar to having a little baby.

To quickly illustrate, we have puppy cleaning wipes, a puppy pen, puppy appropriate toys, special puppy foods, special puppy brushes, a special puppy bed and blanket, and special puppy clothes. For the totally out of control there are puppy strollers and puppy "diaper bags". The Wife and I are also in puppy kindergarten classes and struggling to potty train the dog. I am having flashbacks of potty training Ding when she was little. All things old become new again...

I am off to put the puppy/ baby gate at the top of the stairs to keep the MDD from falling down into The Dungeon. Later...