I’ve had puppies. They are wickedly adorable.  They are so fluffy and cute.  Of course, I will never have a puppy again, not even if that puppy is a rescue.  Puppies are a lot of work.  A lot.  A crazy amount and most days during the chewing and potty training phase, it feels more insurmountable than enjoyable.  I really don’t enjoy cleaning up pee, that’s just me.  When I got Melvin at age three, he was still heading towards the crazy years and it drove me a little bonkers.  He was wild, energetic and eager to find mischief.  He pulled me over, to the ground, with zero remorse. He would trample children.  Someone suggested his name should be Marley

Someone recently, upon seeing Melvin, said ‘hey there old guy…’.  It was said gently, lovingly, not meant to sting.  My reaction was to ignore it, move on.  The comment kept sneaking back into my mind.  While it makes me a little sad to hear it, I happen to love this moment in life with Melvin.  He’s eight. I know he’s not really old, yet. But thankfully, his puppy years are behind us. And that’s OK.  He now channels his inner soulfulness so effortlessly, it’s like he was put here to share it.  He has just the right amount of exuberance, he’s excited at precisely the right time.  He naps, like a champ, the type of relaxing that most pay money to achieve.  He has learned to receive love and return it twenty fold. His health challenges  have made him strong and resilient and somehow, happier.   He is kind, understanding, caring, with just the right amount of ‘what the F?’.  He’s older now, but I wouldn’t go back to age three, not even to have more time with him.

He. Is. Perfect. He is my heart.

And when he’s 14, he’ll be even more impeccable. I wholeheartedly feel that old dogs are the best dogs, and Melvin is on his way to being just that.  Enjoy every moment, that’s how it’s supposed to be!

The boys are doing great!  Melvin loves Jake in his own special way, by tolerating him and giving him room to be…Jake. Jake on the other hand, adores Melvin. Borderline stalking. While he has given up on trying to engage Melvin in play (smart dog Jake), he still follows him around like a lovesick puppy and tries to inch as close to Melvin as possible. It’s hard to say what’s funnier, Jake looking to me as if to say ‘do you think he’ll eat me if I move one inch closer’ or Melvin looking as if to say ‘are we still not eating brother?’.

This is most evident on the big bed.  Jake is not allowed on the big bed without permission.  Once up there, he seeks acceptance by Melvin and it’s comical to watch.  On days when Jake does not get invited up on the big bed, he will settle for the bench at the foot of the bed.  And often, he will use my planned outfit for the day as extra cushioning. I mean clearly, that is why I laid that dress there.

It was a four-day weekend for us, and it was pretty relaxing!

We went to my parents house.  It was too cold for this…

So we did a lot of this…

And then we celebrated my niece’s (aka The Princess) 3rd birthday!

We finished it up with a photo shoot of the boys for their Memorial Day to salute to all those who selflessly defend our freedom!

I could write a new post today, but it wouldn’t be as awesome as this one! Love, love, love it! Check it out…

Here’s the thing, Melvin can screw-up and I take one look at him and think ‘it’s OK my love, you’re adorable, I forgive you’.  Jake screws-up and I take one look at his nodding, bobbley head looking up at me and I think ‘good God, you’re hysterical!’ and immediately, he is forgiven also.

Those two really know how to work it. 

My relationship with each dog is very different. The love is the same but they are each, obviously, at different train stations on the track of my life.  I’ll label my connection with Jake as, complex.  We are still figuring it all out.  He makes me laugh as often as he makes me add something to the list of things we need to work on.

Melvin, well he just makes me sigh.  He is comfort.  He is love. He’s has had an impact on my life that words have a hard time conveying

Not all mornings go smoothly.  It seems some mornings the dogs think I have infinite time to walk them (if only) when in reality I have allotted plenty of time for them to exercise and ‘to go’.  Still, for whatever reason, there are days we return home without finishing that last part.  Even after 30-40 minutes.  So then we go into the backyard, where I plead with one or both of them to GO. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, GO OUTSIDE AND NOT INSIDE!  Verbally I do this, pleading, like a crazy person.

It’s on those mornings, I understand the phrase ‘it’s five o’clock somewhere’.  Thus today, I’m posting photos of them looking adorable, to remind myself how much I love them.

I have the most wonderful mom.  She is the reason I love deeply, the reason I not only notice the underdog, but champion that puppy.  She taught me to love unconditionally, no matter how hard it seemed, that it was the only way. She is beautiful, funny, smart, outgoing and love personified.  She is my best friend.

My mother comes from Bulgarian decent.  She’s got skin that can tan easily and in the winter, she still has this great darker color.  I did not get this genetic factor from her.  In fact, I may have the whitest skin (with red undertones) that you have ever seen.  Growing up, no one thought she was my mother.  My friends all thought she was Hawaiian and that I was adopted.  Add to that, she’s always looked young.  All my teachers thought she was my sister and would ask to see ID when she came for parent/teacher conferences.  All of the adoption and sister theories annoyed the hell out of me, until the day came that someone said “you look just like your mother”, and I thought, wow.  That means I’m beautiful.

Happy Mother’s day to all!  Mothers of the two-legged, mothers to the four-legged, mothers to the tri-legged!  It doesn’t matter the number of legs, all that matters is that you are love. And loved.

I am pretty sure that this week is the first time I have ever missed a Wordless Wednesday. However, I guess by not posting, it still remains wordless.

This week has been insanely busy.  I have barely seen the boys, in fact the dog walker has fed them dinner more this week than I have. Boo!  (the dog walker herself is of course awesome!).  I mean, you know it’s a busy week when our bajillionth order of Sirius Republic collars comes, sits in the mailbox for days, and then on the counter for more days until I am finally able to get them on the boys!  Too. Busy. Indeed!

Here are my little hipsters, post rave, and their new collars…

I don’t know why he’s in my bed and I’m on the floor but I’m too beat to care.

Where you been woman?

I have taken the Myers Briggs test several times and every time I’ve come out 50% Introvert and 50% Extrovert.  My theory is that if given enough time every day to be introverted, I can extrovert with the best of them.  If you know me well, you know that sometimes I just gots to go and have me some alone time.  It’s not you, it’s most definitely me.

I’ve come to realize that Jake is the same way.  Although with Jake, he’ll take his private time, right in front of you.

In addition to having his jacked-up tooth pulled, Jake got his nostrils widened last week.  Those things were TIGHT and when he’d breathe, he’d wheeze.  Since having the procedure he does seem to breathe easier (his snoring is still crazy loud) but one other benefit has surfaced, he can now smell.  He has spent the last few days sniffing every surface of the house and the outdoors.  I liken it to someone who was blind and can now see.  Mostly, he has spent a tremendous amount of time with his nose up Melvin’s butt.  Ahhhhhh, welcome to the world of being a dog Jake!