We're in the final stretch of preparation.

Hey everyone!

So I'm not sure if you remember, one of the last posts in July was what resulted in a game changer and stopped us from redecorating our house: The fact that it would cost A LOT of money to redo our backyard. And on top of that, turf was out of the question. So what ever are we going to do about our puppy going potty?

Well, thank goodness for the patio we have upstairs, because we went ahead and bought her a Porch Potty!

I read different articles about potty training your puppy and there seemed to be a problem with using potty pads indoors as it'll teach the dog to go inside. And we really wanted to eliminate that. We did get her some potty pads for the inside of her crate JUST in case. But we mainly wanted to focus on her going outside. So this was a perfect opportunity - since our backyard is, basically, not going to work out - we found something that was the next best thing.

So we will be on puppy potty duty almost every hour for the first couple of weeks and then we will work to ween her will train her to give us some kind of a queue. Needless to say, I am quite excited to start setting this up as well as her crate. 

I'm sure, as you guys all saw in the previous posts, we've set up some of the gates up so our cat will get used to having to use them. We're trying to make this process as painless for her as possible. We've set up very strict rules - Dogs aren't allowed on the bed or the couch. The guest room (soon to be our closet) is HER room and she has a tower in every single major room of our house. We're making sure that she doesn't feel like she's getting ALL of her territories confiscated. She has places to escape to. 

We're easing her into the process and we're trying very hard to set thing up prior to the puppy coming so that she will get used to the weird new things. 

I know, I know - this blog is rather dull and only someone like myself would get excited about the set up part, but like I said, we're in the final stretch - we've got a couple more months and the puppy will be ours!

We interrupt this program....

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been quite a week. We've had a lot going on. In the turmoil of several different dramas taking place, I had forgotten until later on in the week, that it was my birthday weekend.

Now it being my birthday, and in the recent puppy craze I've developed that's replaced my nesting complex, I've spent all of the free time I've had last week watching surprise puppy videos. It all began with this heart wrenching video of a boyfriend surprising his significant other with a puppy after her recent loss of another dear dog.

And it all spiraled down from there. I've learned that I don't really favour the children getting surprised with puppies, but I'm much more drawn older people getting surprised with puppies. Because it really is tear jerkingly adorable.

I am particularly thrilled to have found this one and this one. If you have extra time, I would definitely suggest you watch those. So with these videos really just encouraging my puppy craze, I've put a huge amount of pressure on my duck to really rise above and beyond.

On Thursday was when it all started. I was supposed to go into archiving, however, something came up with my supervisor, and I had the day off to myself. My girlfriend stated that she needed to go get some stuff done for financial aid. She was gone for about five hours, but knitted a great story about how she had to wait because there was only one counselor and they made her wait while the people took their lunch. It was quite convincing. She even told this story convincingly to her mom at my birthday dinner the next night.

Despite it all, there was something in the back of my mind really just tugging saying "no. There is no way that she's gone for that long. And it's your birthday. She's planning something...." then of course, my imagination took it from there and I convinced myself that "OH MY GOD. SHE IS GOING TO COME HOME AND SURPRISE ME WITH A PUPPY"

She came home, and that wasn't the case. However, we did start talking about different puppies. She showed me an adorable Dalmatian puppy on a site and sent me to a website that sold different collars and dog beds and toys.... really, she was hyping me up that much more. By this point, I had fully convinced myself that there was a puppy in the near future. I could feel it in my bones. In my mind, I was completely in a Kristen Bell with a Sloth kind of state.

Saturday morning, crack of dawn rolls around and I see that my girlfriend is gone. I text her and she tells me, again a very convincing story of how her brother needed to be taken to the hospital because he was feeling extremely ill, and couldn't drive himself.  She's gone for quite some time, but knowing how long emergency rooms can take, I don't really question it.  She returns claims that her brother mocked how dirty our car was and really wanted to clean it out. So I lock Moose and myself in my room so that the duck can start cleaning out the car.

This was the moment, where I expected the Duck to come into the room with a puppy in a box. Nope not at all. Nothing. Nada. I'm slightly crest fallen and I kind of bug Duckie about it: what she got me for my birthday and our plans. We decide then and there that we're not really going to do presents and we're just going to stay home and take it easy. I was okay with that. It's always really nice to get some rest. 

Come my birthday, which was Sunday, June 9, I wake up quite early. We relax for a bit - then she tells me to get ready. She dresses me and then we take off. She drives me around and around - me thinking to throw off the scent of where we're going. She tells me that I have too high of an expectation of her to get me a puppy for my birthday. Even though I'm slightly crest fallen, I try to make the most of what's to come. We drive around some more, Duckie is trying to stall - and then we drive into a local barbeque takeout restaurant. Where I see my friends waiting for me! They had all planned this behind my back and they all took me to Bodega, where we ate, drank and were merry.

But the surprise is yet to come. I began opening presents. Everyone was absolutely generous. My friend Sarah got me a Pier 1 gift card to satiate my overwhelming nesting complex. AND it even came in a nest of a wrapping!

 My other friend Rachel got me a Pearl Necklace. Of course we're both pearl babies.  And pearls are my favourite. It's absolutely lovely.

My girlfriend's gift was last. I opened the small bag, in it sat a $25 gift card to Outback, which she was surprised to find that I was thrilled about, and several notes. One of them was a birthday card wishing me happy birthday. Another was a note that read....

And then, she whipped out two large bags....

 That included puppy toys, bed, collar and a puppy starter kit. That's right, guys. As the letter states, I'm officially in line to pick a puppy to call my own come Spring! I'm going to be a mommy! It's still taking a bit for everything to sink in, but I am thrilled to announce this happy news. My Duck really went above and beyond with this, and I am so so very very blessed to have this opportunity. I am so appreciative, excited and just....I don't know what to even say!

That was my birthday, thanks for reading!

Love, Lily.