Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Well I'll be damned.
This is the story of how I seriously under estimated my dog and pointed fingers at children.
A few weeks ago, on a really hot afternoon, Squirt started barking hysterically. It's not uncommon for him to bark, he barks at things worth barking at. People entering the house (as annoying and embarrassing as it is, I'm able to sleep very well at night knowing he will do the same if anyone were to break in), other dogs passing by, even little girls crossing the street in front of our house. But this afternoon his tone reached a level that I hadn't heard before, which made my look out the window to make sure he was ok.
Behind our backyard runs an alley that about 15 houses share. Kids have been riding their bikes, skateboards etc up and down all summer and he has more or less learned to accept this and doesn't worry himself over it too much anymore. That day there was a boy who was running up and down the alley, barking at Squirt and basically taunting him. I watched this for a couple minutes, and after a couple passes the boy left. I chalked it up as harmless boy antics and went on doing whatever I was doing.
A few minutes later, the barking starts again. The boy was back with a friend. They both ran up and down behind our fence, barking and just being little jerks. I let this happen for a couple minutes, then quietly slipped out our backdoor and opened up the back gate - to the boys' horror of being caught.
I pulled out my serious mama voice, told them to cut it out and that taunting animals is cruel. The original boy very quickly sold out his friend, pointing at him and saying that it was all him. Isn't it somewhat funny and tragic how quickly kids will do that? I called the kid out on it, telling him not to rat out his friends and lie about it. I said that if I caught them doing it again, their parents would be getting a visit from me. I have no idea who these kids belong to, but they don't need to know that! ;)
That weekend we drove up north to visit my brother in law and sister in law. We were only going to be gone for the day so we left the dogs in the backyard, as we have done several times in the past. Tons of water, food and adequate shade. About half way through the day, my husband gets a call from an unknown number from a kind lady saying that Romeo (our 13 year old dog) had wandered into their garage and made himself comfortable. We asked if she saw Squirt, but she hadn't. So this meant me having to leave my BIL's to come home (about a 80 minute drive) to get the dogs back inside. Luckily we had a spare car at my BIL's, so Adam was able to continue working on the project he had started there and he planned to come home later that evening when he was done.
My initial thought was those boys exacting their revenge. Neither of the dogs dig and there aren't any loose fence boards. As I pulled into our alley, there was Squirt waiting for me. The gate was wide open, which proved to me that there was mischief afoot. I got him into the backyard and visited the neighbor who had found Romeo. She was so nice and accommodating.. She even let him into the house and gave him a blanket to lay on in there.
A few days later Adam, Penny and I took a family walk around the neighborhood. We opted to leave the dogs - again making sure the gate was securely latched and no loose boards, etc. We were gone for 20 minutes - and upon our return, found Squirt and Romeo cavorting around our front yard. >.<
That was the last straw! I was sure it was those boys, probably living close enough to see when we leave the house and letting the dogs out. I wasn't mean when I talked to them that day, but I used my adult voice to let them know I was serious. So Adam put a lock on the gate, and for the last couple weeks there hasn't been an incident. The war had been won! I imagined the look on those boys' faces when they realized their fun was over.
Then yesterday, Adam took Penny for a walk in the afternoon while I stayed around the house. Squirt was in the backyard and unhappy to have been left behind. He didn't realize that I was at home, and I kept it that way to kind of see what he does while we're gone. He ran around the backyard for a few minutes and I grew bored and did some chores. A few minutes later I heard a really odd noise - so I peeked out of a window.
You know how a lot of gates have a string pushed through so that you can open the latch from the inside? Imagine my unbelieving eyes when I saw that Squirt was furiously pulling on that string and pawing at the gate. He's an Australian Shepherd - notoriously smart dogs. But this was beyond intelligence. This dog is brilliant.
It was Squirt all along. The damn dog figured out how to open the gate.
A few weeks ago, on a really hot afternoon, Squirt started barking hysterically. It's not uncommon for him to bark, he barks at things worth barking at. People entering the house (as annoying and embarrassing as it is, I'm able to sleep very well at night knowing he will do the same if anyone were to break in), other dogs passing by, even little girls crossing the street in front of our house. But this afternoon his tone reached a level that I hadn't heard before, which made my look out the window to make sure he was ok.
Behind our backyard runs an alley that about 15 houses share. Kids have been riding their bikes, skateboards etc up and down all summer and he has more or less learned to accept this and doesn't worry himself over it too much anymore. That day there was a boy who was running up and down the alley, barking at Squirt and basically taunting him. I watched this for a couple minutes, and after a couple passes the boy left. I chalked it up as harmless boy antics and went on doing whatever I was doing.
A few minutes later, the barking starts again. The boy was back with a friend. They both ran up and down behind our fence, barking and just being little jerks. I let this happen for a couple minutes, then quietly slipped out our backdoor and opened up the back gate - to the boys' horror of being caught.
I pulled out my serious mama voice, told them to cut it out and that taunting animals is cruel. The original boy very quickly sold out his friend, pointing at him and saying that it was all him. Isn't it somewhat funny and tragic how quickly kids will do that? I called the kid out on it, telling him not to rat out his friends and lie about it. I said that if I caught them doing it again, their parents would be getting a visit from me. I have no idea who these kids belong to, but they don't need to know that! ;)
That weekend we drove up north to visit my brother in law and sister in law. We were only going to be gone for the day so we left the dogs in the backyard, as we have done several times in the past. Tons of water, food and adequate shade. About half way through the day, my husband gets a call from an unknown number from a kind lady saying that Romeo (our 13 year old dog) had wandered into their garage and made himself comfortable. We asked if she saw Squirt, but she hadn't. So this meant me having to leave my BIL's to come home (about a 80 minute drive) to get the dogs back inside. Luckily we had a spare car at my BIL's, so Adam was able to continue working on the project he had started there and he planned to come home later that evening when he was done.
My initial thought was those boys exacting their revenge. Neither of the dogs dig and there aren't any loose fence boards. As I pulled into our alley, there was Squirt waiting for me. The gate was wide open, which proved to me that there was mischief afoot. I got him into the backyard and visited the neighbor who had found Romeo. She was so nice and accommodating.. She even let him into the house and gave him a blanket to lay on in there.
A few days later Adam, Penny and I took a family walk around the neighborhood. We opted to leave the dogs - again making sure the gate was securely latched and no loose boards, etc. We were gone for 20 minutes - and upon our return, found Squirt and Romeo cavorting around our front yard. >.<
That was the last straw! I was sure it was those boys, probably living close enough to see when we leave the house and letting the dogs out. I wasn't mean when I talked to them that day, but I used my adult voice to let them know I was serious. So Adam put a lock on the gate, and for the last couple weeks there hasn't been an incident. The war had been won! I imagined the look on those boys' faces when they realized their fun was over.
Then yesterday, Adam took Penny for a walk in the afternoon while I stayed around the house. Squirt was in the backyard and unhappy to have been left behind. He didn't realize that I was at home, and I kept it that way to kind of see what he does while we're gone. He ran around the backyard for a few minutes and I grew bored and did some chores. A few minutes later I heard a really odd noise - so I peeked out of a window.
You know how a lot of gates have a string pushed through so that you can open the latch from the inside? Imagine my unbelieving eyes when I saw that Squirt was furiously pulling on that string and pawing at the gate. He's an Australian Shepherd - notoriously smart dogs. But this was beyond intelligence. This dog is brilliant.
It was Squirt all along. The damn dog figured out how to open the gate.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Our Nightweaning Journey
Just after Penny's 16th month milestone, I decided it was time to nightwean, which is also a stepping stone to the end of our bed sharing journey. This decision came from many places, the least of all being the quality of my personal sleep. I completely believe that night nursing and bed sharing has given Penny and I more sleep than if I had tried to make her last through the night earlier or if we had moved her out of our bed.
The problem was that she's a little wiggleworm. And she was starting to all out yell at night when she wanted to nurse. It went from gentle stirring and maybe a squeak to wake me up to an instant demand for attention. It was wearing on both Adam and I, him more so as he needs to get up to go to work in the morning. So the decision was made that with our impending move (in hopefully a month), she would be transitioning into her own room at the new house.
The problem was that she's a little wiggleworm. And she was starting to all out yell at night when she wanted to nurse. It went from gentle stirring and maybe a squeak to wake me up to an instant demand for attention. It was wearing on both Adam and I, him more so as he needs to get up to go to work in the morning. So the decision was made that with our impending move (in hopefully a month), she would be transitioning into her own room at the new house.
Penny normally nursed 3-5 times during the night, most often between the hours of 1 and 5a. When others ask me about Penny's sleep habits and if she "sleeps through the night," I have such a hard time responding. Yes, she does sleep well. I don't have to fully wake up to lull her back to sleep and I feel like she is a "happy sleeper" most of the time. She doesn't get up to party and never has confused night time versus day time. It's overall been a great experience, except with the recent wiggling / night yelling that she has started doing over the last almost 2 months.
I decided that the natural first step to transitioning her into her own space at night was to night wean. My hope is to slowly build her night time independence by giving her less of a reason to wake up. I plan to continue to nurse her throughout the day, as she requests, and will nurse at bed time. Some nights she passes out while nursing, other nights she's still a little awake and I've had success in laying her down in the pack n play that is in our bedroom. She normally naps in it and for the last 3 months or so she begins the night there too. Usually around 1 or so she would wake up and cry to be brought into the bed, and we'd oblige.
When I started night weaning, as expected the first couple nights were rough. She would awaken during her normal times when she would want to nurse, and I would gently have to tell her that "milk has gone ni-night" and that "Penny needs to go ni-night too." This was met with extreme frustration on her part. I'd rub her back and sing to her and eventually she would settle down and lay her head on my pillow or her own and we'd fall asleep again. It would be a very light sleep for her, and if I moved then she'd awaken and we'd have to start all over. I promised her that as soon as the sun came up, milk would wake up and she can have some.
Nights 3 and 4 got progressively better, with her accepting sooner that milk had gone to sleep and that she should too. I started keeping a sippy with water and a banana on my nightstand so that I can offer either to her if she was really struggling to go to sleep. My biggest fear was that she was truly hungry and I was denying her for too long. Some nights she will take a sip of water, other nights she declines (with a very groggy "thank you" sign, totally melts my heart).
Night 5 though, I feel like we had a true breakthrough. She slept in her pack n play from about 7:30 to close to 5a. She stirred a couple times and I got up and rubbed her back for a second, but she didn't need it. I was so proud of my little one! My fears of her being hungry throughout the night are quelled and I think we all will flourish from this transition.
It's been about 2 weeks of this process and she doesn't ask for milk very often at night anymore. She still comes into our bed between 1-3 and has only slept that one night entirely in the pack n play.
I decided that the natural first step to transitioning her into her own space at night was to night wean. My hope is to slowly build her night time independence by giving her less of a reason to wake up. I plan to continue to nurse her throughout the day, as she requests, and will nurse at bed time. Some nights she passes out while nursing, other nights she's still a little awake and I've had success in laying her down in the pack n play that is in our bedroom. She normally naps in it and for the last 3 months or so she begins the night there too. Usually around 1 or so she would wake up and cry to be brought into the bed, and we'd oblige.
When I started night weaning, as expected the first couple nights were rough. She would awaken during her normal times when she would want to nurse, and I would gently have to tell her that "milk has gone ni-night" and that "Penny needs to go ni-night too." This was met with extreme frustration on her part. I'd rub her back and sing to her and eventually she would settle down and lay her head on my pillow or her own and we'd fall asleep again. It would be a very light sleep for her, and if I moved then she'd awaken and we'd have to start all over. I promised her that as soon as the sun came up, milk would wake up and she can have some.
Nights 3 and 4 got progressively better, with her accepting sooner that milk had gone to sleep and that she should too. I started keeping a sippy with water and a banana on my nightstand so that I can offer either to her if she was really struggling to go to sleep. My biggest fear was that she was truly hungry and I was denying her for too long. Some nights she will take a sip of water, other nights she declines (with a very groggy "thank you" sign, totally melts my heart).
Night 5 though, I feel like we had a true breakthrough. She slept in her pack n play from about 7:30 to close to 5a. She stirred a couple times and I got up and rubbed her back for a second, but she didn't need it. I was so proud of my little one! My fears of her being hungry throughout the night are quelled and I think we all will flourish from this transition.
It's been about 2 weeks of this process and she doesn't ask for milk very often at night anymore. She still comes into our bed between 1-3 and has only slept that one night entirely in the pack n play.
Did you night wean a co-sleeping toddler? How did you do it?
I found this article by Dr. Jay Gordon to be really helpful.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Guest Post Opportunity on The Pierogie Mama
Are you a blogger or just have an itch in your hand to write?
Want to be featured here on The Pierogie Mama?
I'm looking for some fabulous guest posts in preparation for our upcoming renovation!
Marionberry Freezer Jam
This summer I've been hitting our local U-pick almost on the weekly.
Our first visit produced 13.5 lbs of fresh strawberries - YUM! I shared how you can easily freeze your picked berries so that they are just like the bagged kind from the freezer aisle :) I love to use these in my smoothies and toss a few in with Penny's morning Cream of Wheat too.
Last week I visited the farm and picked about 3 lbs of marionberries. I have only had marionberry pie before but wanted to see what else I could do with them. I used a few handfuls for a cobbler that I was not terribly impressed with..otherwise I'd share a recipe ;)
Today I'm sharing my first foray into the world of freezer jams!
So here's a great recipe that can easily use marionberries, raspberries and blackberries. You can try strawberries or any other fruit you desire, but the sugar / gelatin content might be different. If I decide to pick more strawberries before the end of my farm's season, I'll try a batch of strawberry and give you an update :)
You will need:
4 cups (1 quart) of mashed marionberries - which starts out at about 2 1/2 pounds of berries
1/4 cup of sugar
1 packet of plain gelatin
You will do:
1. Mash the marionberries. You can use a potato masher, or if you don't have one (like me) just put a ziplock bag over your hand and mash manually. This way you don't have a berry stained hand at the end. One thing to note - marionberries have a internal stem/pit thing (like raspberries and blackberries) so when you mash them you might want to pick out that part. I couldn't imagine it being super tasty finding something that looks like a maggot inside of your jam. Sorry for the image.
2. In a large pot, bring all of the ingredients to a boil together. Allow to boil for about a minute.
3. Place into clean plastic containers. Allow them to set for about 30 minutes on your counter. Transfer to the fridge or freezer after that. Easy peasy!
Our first visit produced 13.5 lbs of fresh strawberries - YUM! I shared how you can easily freeze your picked berries so that they are just like the bagged kind from the freezer aisle :) I love to use these in my smoothies and toss a few in with Penny's morning Cream of Wheat too.
Last week I visited the farm and picked about 3 lbs of marionberries. I have only had marionberry pie before but wanted to see what else I could do with them. I used a few handfuls for a cobbler that I was not terribly impressed with..otherwise I'd share a recipe ;)
Today I'm sharing my first foray into the world of freezer jams!
So here's a great recipe that can easily use marionberries, raspberries and blackberries. You can try strawberries or any other fruit you desire, but the sugar / gelatin content might be different. If I decide to pick more strawberries before the end of my farm's season, I'll try a batch of strawberry and give you an update :)You will need:
4 cups (1 quart) of mashed marionberries - which starts out at about 2 1/2 pounds of berries
1/4 cup of sugar
1 packet of plain gelatin
You will do:
1. Mash the marionberries. You can use a potato masher, or if you don't have one (like me) just put a ziplock bag over your hand and mash manually. This way you don't have a berry stained hand at the end. One thing to note - marionberries have a internal stem/pit thing (like raspberries and blackberries) so when you mash them you might want to pick out that part. I couldn't imagine it being super tasty finding something that looks like a maggot inside of your jam. Sorry for the image.
2. In a large pot, bring all of the ingredients to a boil together. Allow to boil for about a minute.
3. Place into clean plastic containers. Allow them to set for about 30 minutes on your counter. Transfer to the fridge or freezer after that. Easy peasy!
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