All Bark and No Bite

It breaks my heart a bit knowing that since Aiden came along, Parker doesn't get as much attention as he used to. Don't get me wrong, we still love on him, and try to include him as much as we can, but it's not the same. I'm not sure if it's lack of attention, coupled with the fact that he may want to "protect" the baby, and our house; but he's started barking a lot more than he used to. 

He looks sad, but really, it's the look of lazy.

We rescued Parker in September 2010, almost exactly 3-years-ago. For the first couple of years, I always told people that it was nice that he didn't bark that much, except for when he was in the backyard and he could hear neighbors outside (sorry neighbors). Even then, he'd stop reasonably quickly.

But now? It's just super annoying. He barks at the kids playing outside. He barks at neighbors coming home from work. He barks at neighbors leaving for work. He barks at people visiting neighbors. And he still barks at people in their own backyards. I often feel bad for our 'hood, and I tell him "It's their space, too, doggie! The whole world isn't your territory." I'm not sure he got the memo.

It's been worse this summer because we have the windows open most of the time, so it's easier to hear everything that's going on outside. I guess the one positive thing about the weather changing is that it might help alleviate our problem.

We did a session of dog training back in March 2011, but got a little lax with the up-keep. We've started to be on the ball more now lately, especially since he needs to behave around the baby. I've tried using bitter spray to deter barking in the past, but I'm not sure that I was consistent for long enough for it to be effective. I'm at the point where I'm actually considering a bark collar. I've always been against those in the past, because I've felt that it's treating a symptom and not the problem. But now I'm not so sure. With Aiden in the mix, it's going to be hard to try to correct Parker myself every time he barks incessantly.

Have you ever had a dog with this issue? Did you try a bark collar?

5 Months

As of yesterday, Aiden is now 5-months-old. I know. He's growing and changing every day, and it just blows my mind. Last night, almost out of nowhere, he started to laugh, giggle, and smile at the dog for the very first time. Parker sneezed, and apparently, that's one of Aiden's favorite things. It was the first time he's laughed unprovoked, and it was simply the sweetest.

He made a full transition to the nursery 3 nights ago, and it took a lot of energy not to get to the ugly cry. I shed a few tears as I changed him before bed, but I kept it together. I am one sentimental fool lately. It's pretty funny, and a little surprising. Before he was born, I always expected Aiden to sleep in our room for the first 3 months out of necessity. What I didn't expect was to get so attached to his presence. Just to know he was a couple of feet away, nestled in the pack 'n play was so comforting to me.

In the last couple of weeks he's started rolling around like crazy, but only to his right (though yesterday it really seemed like he was trying for the left). And just one week ago, we witnessed his first success at crawling. It's kind of like an inch worm, or army crawl, but I'll be damned if he isn't going places!

We're starting to make strides with his sleeping schedule, namely nap time. It isn't perfect yet, but he's had more 1-3 hour naps in the last 5 days than he has in the last few MONTHS combined. He just hasn't been a great napper. But, I'm really focusing on the eat, play, sleep mantra and it seems to be helping our cause. Maybe I'll actually be able to take a nap myself. Wouldn't that be lovely. He's also been swaddle-free since Wednesday. He's out there Jerry, and he's loving every minute of it!

There've been a lot of big changes for us in the last few days. I just wish he'd slow down sometimes. There's no rush.

This Week: Instagram Style

I love these little weekly re-caps with pictures from Instagram. Here's mine:

1.) Tonight I made a chimichurri sauce for chicken kebabs. It's SO good. I'll post the recipe soon!
2.) Parker was tuckered out from our day in Seattle on Thursday. He NEVER lies down in a car!
3.) Parker and I as he sat on my lap while we found a new parking spot.
4.) It was a gorgeous day in Alki Beach.
5.) I'm half-hispanic, and I was definitely looking the part. Side pony, tortoise-shell earrings and a knit poncho.
6.) Nothing makes me happier than coming home to my doggie. Can you tell I love him?
7.) Our peonies are going crazy! They've grown about 6 inches or more in one week.
8.) I love the color of this ELF polish. Unfortunately, it's quick to chip. I might have better luck using it on my toes.

Thankful Thursdays: 1

In the spirit of being more appreciative, I've decided to create a series called "Thankful Thursdays." Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what IS going right, what IS good in our lives - so these can be little reminders to myself that I'm pretty damn lucky.


1. My Husband: I truly married my best friend, and I couldn't be happier. He is my strength, my shoulder to cry on, my source of laughter, and of course, occasional frustration. He cooks, he cleans, he does his own laundry (and sometimes mine!), and he gets up in the morning to walk the dog so I can get more sleep. I mean, COME ON. I won the marriage lottery.

2. My Doggie: We are absolutely smitten with this dog. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but sometimes I used to cry while browsing petfinder.com for dogs that I couldn't adopt. I wanted a dog so badly, but couldn't have one in a rental. Once we bought our house, I wanted to get one as soon as possible. We finally adopted Parker in September 2010, and we love him more and more each day. He's our best pal.

3. The Weather This Week: If we forget yesterday (it was cold, mixed with some sprinkles), the PNW is having a really nice stretch of great weather. It's supposed to start warming up again today, with temperatures reaching near 80(!) degrees over the weekend. I absolutely adore the summers here- you know, when it's actually sunny and warm. Can't get enough.

4. HomeGoods is Coming to Town!: I didn't know about HomeGoods until I started reading design and decor blogs during the last couple of years. With each find and crazy deal that I saw, the more jealous I became over the fact that the nearest store was over 3 1/2 hours away. Then, about 6 months ago, I started seeing commercials for them. It drove me NUTS, because I knew there were no stores anywhere close to the market in which they were advertising. It was like they WANTED to torture me.

The other night, after seeing the millionth commercial, I decided to look up their Portland, OR location. Hey, I've never been to Portland, and this would be a good excuse. Yes, I'm weird.

Well lo and behold, there were 2 listings for HomeGoods stores IN MY AREA. I gasped. I fist-pumped the air.  And I did some quick research. I learned that both locations (Lynnwood & Federal Way) will be opening on June 24th. MY BIRTHDAY. The day that my No Shopping Challenge ends. IT IS FATE. The Federal Way store is only about 25 minutes from my house. FATE, I tell ya! I am way too excited for this. Is it bad that I'm considering taking the day off from work for this? *shifty eyes*
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I'm really glad I'll be doing this each week. I had a rather emotionally draining week at work, and sadly, that is often the case. My days off are Thursdays and Fridays, so it will be refreshing to start each weekend focusing on things that bring me joy.