it looks like we're adding another family member.

no, i'm not pregnant! but in a week, it will be as if we had a newborn again.

we're getting a puppy. and yes, i'm crazy!

since our black lab abbie went to puppy heaven, we've been exploring the idea of a puppy. our other dog elvis is all by himself now, and he really does need a playmate. so, we decided on a border collie and proceeded to look for breeders.

that was crazy! apparently this breed is quite hard to find around here. we wanted a registered one so we truly know what we're getting. we found one near st. louis, but they wanted $500 for her! i'm sorry, but i'm not paying that much to add a whole nother level of craziness to my life!!!

seriously, $500!

so then i found this adorable little puppy in the rolla area, and they want $100 for him. since we'll be coming through there next sunday anyway, it does seem divinely arranged. we showed the pics to ellie, and of course she wanted him!

so it's settled. we've sent a $50 deposit to "hold" the puppy for us, and on our way home from st. louis sunday, we'll pick him up.

and then i truly will go crazy.

maybe the craziness has already set in, because i'm actually kind of excited about it. check back with my state of mind in about a week.

our next item of business will be to name the pup. any ideas? things to consider: he's a boy border collie, he's black and white, we have one dog named elvis and a cat named daisy. lauren (my cousin), you're working at the vet place, any awesome names you've heard? and any tips you've picked up on handling a puppy? ha! i just realized i'm asking my darling cousin who isn't really a "dog" person for puppy advice! i really am losing it! (just kidding lauren!)

oh, and did i mention we're crazy?

my day

today did not go as planned. i had planned to spend the morning in my pj's. i had planned to have a friend over for lunch and a playdate. i had planned to not leave my house today. why, as a mother of 3 kids 5 years and under, do i think i can PLAN anything? you'd think i'd learn. last night Austin, the baby, was fussy. he's usually a very good baby, so this concerned me. i thought it was because his daddy fed him mashed potatoes with chives, it wasn't. after getting up with him 5 times, i realized at 6am that he had a fever. at that moment my first thought was, ear infection. and then the doubt crept in. i'm not sure why, but i'm not very good at trusting my own instincts, even though i'm usually right. it's just that the thought of taking one of my family members to the doctor for the 6th time in a month kind of got to me. i started worrying that they are going to think i'm some kind of crazy mom that needs her kids to be sick to get attention or something. seriously, in one month 4 out of 5 of us has had antibiotics! and none of us had the same thing! so there i was this morning, trying to figure out if i dared call the doctor. i mean, what were his symptoms? he kept crying, which was unusual for him, but babies cry. he had a low grade fever, but that in itself isn't usually enough to call. he wasn't pulling on his ears, he wasn't throwing up. but i had to. i called. and at 11:30am he was diagnosed with an acute ear infection. oh, and his fever was up to 102. so, what have i learned from this? trust your instincts! i suppose that's why God gave them to us. he's feeling better now, thanks to tylenol, motrin, and zithromax. and i did get to have lunch with that friend. just at her house instead of mine, and a bit late. so the day ended up being pretty good after all, even though it definately did not go as planned!