Last Night

This is probably Gonzo's last night here. He'll be heading to another puppy raiser so I will have the time and space to raise Karin's puppy. I'm feeling kind of sad but excited all wrapped up together.

Eh, what's up, Doc?

Gonzo

Caroline and her "Pup-Pup"

Caroline loves this puppy. And I think the feeling's mutual.

The October Snow

We had five inches of heavy, wet snow in October. Tom was home and helped us build a sledding run so the fun could last a little longer. We had a blast!

Five Foster Kittens

Maybe I'm crazy, but when the SPCA called and asked if I'd take in a litter of kittens for two weeks, I agreed. The story? The mom was hit by a car and they just need a little time to grow up before they're ready to be adopted. So we'll feed them and play with them and then send them off to their new families. The kids were as excited as I was... Here are some pictures!
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Gonzo's First Snow

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Fall Fun

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Bird Food?

When I set out the pumpkin scraps for the birds, this is not what I pictured...
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Somewhere Over the Rainbow

We had a beautiful and bold rainbow yesterday. It was gorgeous... For awhile it was a double rainbow, too!
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Puppy Class Recovery

Gonzo did an agility course yesterday at puppy class and was exhausted afterwards. Mom, Dad, Karin, Shua, Haley and Caroline all joined me and got to see the puppy class yesterday. It was so fantastic to be able to share the experience with them!
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Buddies

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Pizzeria Mama Mia

Caroline is waiting for the pizza delivery driver to get here. S/he can't come quick enough... I have two hungry girls and FOUR starving boys. Dylan and Daniel have friends over. At least they are outside playing football... the girls are practically drooling as they stare at the plates!

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Patience Makes Perfect

Gonzo (14 weeks old today) fell sound asleep while I was reading about teaching him self-control behaviors like waiting at doorways and not barking for attention. I have been having a bit of an issue with him trying to "demand bark" for food or attention. But as a future service dog it's important that he learns to be patient and wait quietly...

But when I say he needs to practice being patient... And he falls asleep?? At my feet??? Sheesh. Now he's making me look crazy. Where's the chapter on that? Ha! :)
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No Parking

It says:

ENILORACHaley "no parking"

aka: Caroline and Haley's spot, No Parking Here!

Oops... At least they didn't write me a ticket!
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A Friday Flop

Cookies, kids, crazy hair...

And PBS.

Even Ranger and Gonzo are relaxing.

Let the weekend begin. :)
*sigh*

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The Boys

The boys have been keeping the whole family busy these days, with school projects, homework, and football practice.

This week, Dylan had a project for his social studies class. He had to make some sort of topographic map of Virginia showing the different regions (Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, Appalachian Plateau, Coastal Plains, Piedmont). Bonus points would be given to kids who also labeled the capitol, Richmond, or three rivers they talked about in class, the James, Potomac, and Rappahannock.

Dylan made his from cake, cupcakes, and candies. He went WAY above and beyond, labeling all of the necessary points of interest and much more. (Cities from the colonial days, the Fall Line where the rivers turn to waterfalls, etc...) His teacher told him it was "really cool," and Dylan said he got all the possible points!

Unfortunately, it was made of cake and cupcakes and candies... and I forgot to take a picture of it before he took it to school. The kids in his class gobbled it up, which is exactly how Dylan wanted it, but I do wish I had taken even ONE snapshot to remember it by. Stink!

Also, both boys had totally awesome interim reports. They are realy making me proud, as both are doing well in school academically and socially. Daniel has been setting a good example for classmates and Dylan was voted by his classmates as the good citizen and got a McDonald's gift certificate as a prize.

And to top off this blog post, I can tell you both boys played some crazy-good football last night. Dylan forced three fumbles, one of which was behind the line of scrimmage and he recovered it! Very cool! At Daniel's game, my boy pulled four flags and also made an interception which he ran for a touchdown!! Unbelievable. His teammates piled on him as he trotted back to the line of scrimmage. They were all smacking his back and smiling ear to ear. Daniel was feeling real good... and walking like he was hot stuff. It completely cracked me up and made me proud all at once.

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Gonzo, 11 Weeks

Here's a video of Gonzo that I just had Dylan record.  It only captures a fragment of what this pup can do so far.  He can also walk loosely on a leash, lay quietly on his mat while I'm at work, he has a fantastic recall (meaning he hears his name and comes running), and a great "leave it."  "Leave it" comes in awfully handy...

When he hears "leave it," he almost always looks at me and spits out whatever treasure he's chewing on: a Barbie, the rocking chair, a baby doll, or whatever, and then starts coming to me.  I guess that shows not only how much he wants to chew on things, but also how much he gets rewarded for stopping!

This video shows Gonzo doing a "watch me" which will be critical for communication between him and his handler.  "Watch me" is when he gives his handler eye contact.  He also sits politely when asked and gives an example of "touch" with a plastic lid as the target.  He can do "touch" with my hand as a target, but for the video I positioned a lid on a cupboard door as his target, so that when he touches it, the door closes.  Fancy.  Very fancy.

You'll notice at some point during the "touch" example on the video that he does not always shut the door completely, but he does still get a click and treat.  That's because the goal is for him to touch the target, if the door closes, that's a bonus.

But there is a time in the video when he does not actually make contact with the lid, although it appears as if he does from the camera's perspective. He does not get a click or treat that time, so he sits and waits, then he tries again.  The next time he actually does touch the target and so he gets a click and treat.

Here is the link, but I still haven't figured out why I can't hear any sound.  Technology isn't my thing...  Ugh.  Figured I'd post it anyway!  :)



College Football Day

Watching college football with the boys and Tom... And a finally-sleepy Gonzo.

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Puppy Trainers-in-Training

Part of raising a service dog involves not just teaching the puppy, but also teaching my kids.  I have to show them how to ask him to sit politely, and how to reward him for good behavior.  We have all grown so much in just a couple of weeks.

For example:

This morning, Haley wanted to try to do some training.  It's nothing too complicated, there's just lots of sitting and eye contact at this point.  But when Gonzo does what Haley asks, he gets a piece of his kibble.  She even makes sure he takes the food gently by holding her hand there, with her fingers covering the piece until he lightly nibbles it out.

Caroline, just like most little sisters, thinks anything Haley does is amazing. So she sits right next to Haley and watches the process. And when anybody sits and watches a process that intently, you know they walk away with some more understanding than they had before.

Daniel's Art

First, Then, Next, Last. The morning routine.
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Newsflash

HEADLINE:
Virginia Mother Messes Up... Again.
A Virginia mother's firstborn son is questioning her competence today after realizing she signed the permission slip for only ONE of her school-aged children to attend a special after-school function this afternoon. Things are not looking good for their relationship at this time.
We'll bring you more details as they develop.



**Update**

Dylan, within minutes of coming home and telling me what had happened, fell sound asleep on the couch with Eli, our cat.  That is so completely unusual.  Maybe it's better he didn't get to attend the activity anyway...  He was obviously wiped out.  He needed the rest.  No guilt then, right?  Riiight??

Also, when we picked up Daniel at school, he complained for half of the ride home about how totally boring he thought the the afternoon was.

And I didn't even need to bribe him to say that.  Hehehehe

'Spud and Kimmy'

Forwarding this picture that my brother texted me the other day.

The picture has a special place in my heart.

Thanks, Spud.

Meet Gonzo

Way too much catching up to do, so I'm going to sum it up a fast as I can.

 

Puppy and I met.  I cried.  He licked.

 

Puppy met kids.  Hugs all around.  Dylan said that was exactly the one he wanted.  A yellow boy.

 

Kids and Tom went to a wedding in Pennsylvania.  I stayed home and got to know Gonzo one-on-one.

 

Kids and Tom came home, school resumed, Tom left for Ohio on Wednesday to help prepare for another wedding.

 

Kids and Gonzo and I make trip to Ohio on Friday to go to the wedding.  Yay Josh and Sarah!  Met up with Karin and Mark and Joshu.

 

Played in Ohio.  Came back home.  Started to catch up on blog.

 

Whew.  Time to drink another cup of coffee and finish waking up.

 

PS:

Now that we have a functioning computer again, all this blogging should be a little more timely. But I am at maximum capacity:  school kids, home kids, house work, puppy work, my work starting up soon, two different football practices and games.  Busy.  Busy.  Real stinkin' busy.  The end.

Earthquake

Haley was napping when the earthquake hit a couple of weeks ago... And she was a little freaked out when it woke her up. The banging and rattling of the mirror seemed to bother her the most. She drew a picture to show me how she felt.


The big part of the house has me in it with my mouth open, feeling about as freaked out as she was. The smaller part of the house has Haley in my bed with the blankets pulled over her head.


Yikes.


But she's fine now. Really.

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Football

Pictures paint a thousand words. Look at the smile. Observe the hallowed ground of an equipment room. See the look of admiration in a younger brother's eyes.

My baby boy is playing tackle football. I could cry and smile every time I think about it. He has wanted this so badly for so long. And I'm bursting with pride and cringing with every hit. Such is life.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kim O <kosinkosky@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 8:47 AM
Subject: Football
To: "kosinkosky@gmail.com" <kosinkosky@gmail.com>



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