Welcome to my World of Grey

After the initial shock and awe of discovering we were expecting, my mind started to race through all the changes I’d be experiencing in the upcoming months. Would I have morning sickness? When would I start to show? How big would my belly get? (and the many other bodily changes that no none ever tells you about until you actually GET pregnant…probably because it’d scare off too many first time moms!). One thing I remembered reading was that your hair and nails grow faster and get thicker (actually, less hair falls out than normal). One of the few “side effects” of pregnancy that wasn’t uncomfortable, painful or embarrassing!

I typically have very boring hair that I get cut 2-3 times a year when I can’t stand it anymore. I’ve never really been a “go to the salon” and “do my hair” kinda girl…unless sweeping it up into a ponytail every morning counts. So, I figured I’d take advantage of my faster growing hair and use it to help someone else by donating it to Locks of Love. If you aren’t familiar with Locks of Love, they’re a non-profit organization that collects donated hair and makes hairpieces for children who have long term hair loss due to cancer treatment, alopecia or other conditions.

It’s a pretty awesome feeling to be able to help other people’s children, simply by growing my own. And, though I don’t know for sure if there will be anymore babies in my belly (we hope one more!), my hair will keep growing – just a little more slowly – so I’m sure this will not be the last donation I send in to Locks of Love.

Before…

Before…

After the cut!

And the final style…shorter than I’ve had my hair in probably 15 years or more! But I LOVE it! I can’t wait to sleep tonight and not get tangled up in my hair Not to mention the shorter washing and drying time. The hubs was a trooper and stayed to take all the before and after pics.

The back…a bit shorter than the front. So happy with it!

Many thanks to Teal at Changes Salon for an amazing cut and style!

You adopt a new dog! No, we’re not crazy (well, maybe a little…it keeps life interesting). This was actually something we’ve been kicking around for a while now. Last week Ken fell in love with a dog the Greenville Humane Society posted on their FaceBook page. He went to meet the little guy last weekend and spent an hour with him, watching how he interacted with other people, kids and dogs. Ken fell in love. After meeting him, I see why.

We brought him home Thursday night and he’s been a complete joy. Incredibly well behaved – quiet, loving, laid back. I swear he’s lazier than the greyhounds! The perfect little lap dog.

He didn’t respond to the name the shelter was calling him (Asher), plus we already have Dash/Dasher, so a new name was in order. Thanks the help of members on Greytalk, we tried out the name Murray and it’s the only one he’s responded…so, that’s his new name.

Intros to the greyhounds are going very slowly. One-on-one in the house to start…only a couple greys are maybe a little too interested at this point and need some reminding about appropriate behavior with small dogs. This weekend we’ll have him out with small groups of the hounds (with more pictures to follow!) He’s pretty confident, but not overly so, so I don’t think we’ll have too many issues. There’s a fine middle ground where you don’t want an new dog – especially an ‘other breed’ – to be too confident and in the face of the greyhounds, but you don’t want them to be intimidated and scared of them either. Just a nice, even energy level and confidence which is what Murray has.

After losing four greyhounds in less than two months last year, Murray is really helping to soothe our hearts. While we can’t wait for our little girl to get here, the dogs will always be a huge part of our family’s lives. And Murray is such a great fit for us and our pack, that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give him a forever home.

2011 was a year of ups and downs for us. It started out great with an amazing week-long cruise vacation in January. February took a turn for the worse when we had to say goodbye to Bucky. But, it started looking up again in May and June when we adopted 14 chickens. Of course, at the end of June we found out we were expecting our first child! We had a couple  greyhound fosters along the way and found a great forever home for our foster cat, Nova. Then, our hearts broke when we unexpectedly lost Scout to aggressive Osteo in September.  October brought some good news, as we found out we were having a little girl and moved into our beautiful new home on a LOT more land! Then the year took a decidedly crappy turn when we lost Prajna, Stella and Haley in less than four weeks. In 2011, we also said goodbye to three chickens and our bunny. Last night, Ken and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at our favorite local restaurant, American Grocery, and recalled the highs and lows and all the in-between moments of the past year. I never expected half the things life threw our way, and with our pending arrival I’m excited to see what next year will bring. I’m sure 2012 will be no less interesting!

Resolution: Blog more! Hopefully it will be interesting stuff…babies, dogs, babies and dogs. More chickens. Maybe even some crops and goats added to the mix!

Last October I was told Haley had about 6 weeks to live. I was determined to cherish every day for the gift that it was. Those 6 weeks stretched into a 6 months and then to a year. And every day was great. Until just last week Haley was still doing play bows and zoomies around the yard.

Tonight she lost her long battle with hemangiosarcoma and she peacefully left for the Bridge in my arms. Ken tried to tell me that losing your first greyhound is unlike any other loss. And even though I had a year to “prepare” there’s no way I could have known what this feeling would be like. It feels absolutely surreal not to have her in the house. A year ago, I wrote a Remembrance post before she passed because I knew couldn’t do it once she was gone. Today is really no different.

I miss you so much, my sweet Haley-monster. You are forever in my heart.

Forever on my leg…

Best. dog. ever.

I’m not sure how my heart is bearing the loss of you, Stella, Prajna and Scout all in 9 weeks. Hopefully you will all find each other at the Bridge….I love you all

My beautiful Stella Blue. When I saw your picture online (thanks to a fellow GTr who brought youto our attention) with your petrified expression, I told your dad that I didn’t care what color you were, you had to come here. There were a lot of applications submitted for you and we were picked. We were the family for you. You were a super spook and they thought we had the best support system for you with a dad who worked from home and plenty of other greyhounds. I drove 28 hours in two days to bring you home and for the first month you wouldn’t even come back into the house if you could see us. We had to leave the sliding glass door open and hide in another room. You’d creep up to the door…peer cautiously in and then zoom into the house while the coast was clear.

Slowly you learned to trust us. Then you learned to love us. Once we put you on the bed with us, you turned a corner and never looked back. Thank you so much for giving us a chance. We loved you with our whole hearts and it means so much that you loved us back.

I’m sorry I couldn’t fix what ailed you, but thank you for being patient while I tried. When you looked at me and finally told me you were ready to fly away, I’m glad I could finally hear you. Rest well, my friend. I hope to see you again one day :kiss2

This is how I will always remember you…magnificent and strong

…and cuddly and loving

Godspeed, my precious Blue.

There are all kinds of reasons I love my dogs. But few and far between are the dogs who actually change me. Prajna was one of those dogs. His resume is pretty interesting – really solid racer who went on to graduate from GPA-SC’s prison dog program. He then proceeded to run away from his first home twice, covering over 40 miles and crossing state lines the second time. When he was found, he was rehomed via GPA-Richmond. Well, actually he spent 6 months in a crate because he was ‘uncontrollable.’ They feared his behavior problems made him unadoptable. And then they found Ken.

Because Ken worked from home, they thought Ken would be a good candidate to adopt and work with Prajna (this was a few months before we even met). And so, Ken brought him into his pack…the third dog added to what would ultimately become a four dog pack. Ken didn’t have too many issues with Prajna, but after we got married and we merged our two packs into one 6-pack of greyhounds, he started acting out again. Mostly it was marking in the house. If you turned your back for a second, that leg would hike. Sometimes you didn’t even have to turn your back! If you tried to crate him, he would bust out of the crate, even hurting himself in the process…he actually destroyed a couple. He would steal food – even with a muzzle on. He had separation anxiety like nobody’s business.

My breaking point came one day when I walked into the living room, my eyes locked with Prajna’s and he hiked his leg and took a whizz on my piano. I yelled to Ken “YOU BETTER FIX THIS DOG ASAP OR HE’S GOING BACK!” And I meant it (though Ken would never have let it happen). Yep, Prajna was the first – and only – greyhound  I’ve threatened to return to the adoption group. In reality, he was the first greyhound who challenged me. Ken and I took a deep breath and decided to go back to Dog Training 101. We got some belly bands, a new crate and started at square one.

And, maybe Prajna sensed that he’d crossed a line, because for the first time he seemed to be working with us instead of against us. And over the next few months, our difficult dog transformed into the most amazing companion. Ken’s best friend, for sure. With me, he became my protector. If Ken was out of the house, Prajna never left my side.  And our friendship with him deepened and enriched over time. He was a natural pack leader with a calm confidence that helped soothe incoming troubled dogs. He was our “go to dog” to help teach and test other greyhounds because he was so predictable and even tempered. He was even celebrated as GPA’s 60,000th greyhound adoption.

The last several months had really taken their toll on him. His age was really beginning to show and then one morning Ken found a large, hard lump on Prajna’s ribs that put a lump in both of our throats. After a referral to Upstate Veterinary Specialists, the lump was determined to be either chondrosarcoma or osteosarcoma…and in the worst possible place. Because it had invaded two body cavities, the surgery to remove it would have been incredibly invasive, with long recovery. They would have had to remove a “rack of ribs,” and completely restructure how the diaphragm attached….it’s actually the first time I’ve had a surgeon there tell me they *could* do it, but….well, you know. He didn’t recommend it. So, we knew it was just a matter of time. As the tumor and the pain grew, it became more difficult for him to get around or even just lay down for a good nap, Ken knew it was time to say goodbye. The night before we let him go, he had two short seizures and there was no question. We would not let this magnificent creature languish in pain.

So, with crushed hearts, we released Prajna from this life. He was always a wanderer at heart and I’m sure his spirit is out there, somewhere. And he’ll eventually find us again.

Run fast and free, my friend. I miss you so much, my heart doesn’t know how it goes on without you here. Thank you so much for the time we shared, the lessons you taught, the laughter and love.

The fence was finished last week and we moved the dogs over last Friday after work. We are all loving the house and the dogs especially love the new yard. I have to give a HUGE thanks to Palmetto Fence for doing an amazing installation. Skilled, timely, courteous and professional all the way! Hopefully we can have them back soon to fence in the chicken yard.  Thanks to Benji and his crew at Palmetto Fence, the hounds have a solid fenced acre of pretty much wide open space. Only a few trees in one corner…vs about 3/4 of an acre with half of that being a kennel building and woods at the old house.

Emma and Tater racing

The Grande Dam of the pack, Haley…still ruling the pack at 14, one year after being diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma

It’s officially home when the signs go on all the gates!

Here’s our “Trio of Trouble” burning off some energy by themselves in the yard (guest starring, Primo the big black easy going boy who can’t keep up with the girls )

And the inside meets their approval as well – though some are still adjusting to not having access to the entire house and being underfoot every millisecond of the day

But they have two big rooms and all new beds

Plus a shiny new dog sofa from Ikea! Lucas takes it for a spin. The low back makes for 360 degree petting!

Thanks for the new house and yard, Mom and Dad. We’ll try not to mess it up too much before baby Caitlin gets here!

With the fence completed, we moved the dogs over to the new house last Friday. The only dog I was worried about was Hanna. She’s always done amazingly well being blind, but she lost her sight after living in our last house for a couple years so she already knew the house and yard. I was worried about her learning an entirely new house and MUCH bigger yard.

Seems my momma worry was unfounded. We took her over in the first batch of hounds so she could get the lay of the land without a lot of traffic and with the calmer, older dogs. Ken walked the perimeter with her once and then let her off leash to start making her own mental map. I grabbed the flip and recorded a few minutes of her walking the front perimeter, which has the most turns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c29FHkJllK4

By day 2, she was trotting around the house and yard like nobody’s business – though she’s still a wary about going down the three steps off the deck and we guide her down those. We’d stocked up on valium from our vet in case she had a case of the nerves, but the only nerves were ours! I lubs my special girl so much. Special not because she’s blind, but because she never lets anything stop her.

And she already has a naked picture on the internet

Everything checked out perfectly at the ultrasound and we expect Caitlin Alexandra to arrive sometime around Feb 27th, 2012. I’m still planning to do this thing “au natural” at my midwife’s birthing center, provided she doesn’t come breech.

I can’t believe I’m going to be a MOM and that I’ll have a DAUGHTER! Its one thing to bring home a new dog…but a new human being? This’ll be one helluva ride!

When we found out the baby was coming, Ken set out to find us a bigger, more suitable home. More land, more space…our current house is 1350 sq feet and is pretty cramped with two adults and 17 dogs! But, finding a house to meet our needs was not an easy task…we both need home offices, a “dog zone,” a “people zone” and a “combined zone” so we can control interactions while the baby is growing. We wanted it move-in ready, on at least 5 flat, usable acres and no carpet. Oh, we also needed an outbuilding for feeding the hounds.

I really thought this house didn’t exist…but Ken found it! And we closed yesterday :yay :yay The fence people will be out in the next week to put up the fence for the dogs. Unfortunately, we had to scale it back from 2 acres for the dogs to just one…but it’s great, flat, open land and a lot more than they have now. At the closing, we learned that the former owners’ in-laws own the 50 acres around us and would probable be amenable to selling us a swatch (if we could get up to 15-20 acres total, we’ll probably die in this house LOL).

I looooove the driveway. Plus, there’s a row of mature trees along the front of the property so you can’t see anything from the road

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