New Addition

Monday night, my cousin brought me her dog, a papillon. I'm going to take care of him for a while until things settle out in her life. After she and the little miss left, Riley relaxed a bit and stayed very close to me. I had to work Tuesday and left Riles with my two cats, one of which had taken a distinct dislike to him.

The other cat, Alec, couldn't care less. I had really worried about his reaction since when I brought Deke home he flipped his lid. Actually, Alec was the calmest of all four of us. When Riley came up to bed, Alec looked at him and then looked at me as if to shrug. Apparently I've lost the ability to surprise him (which is kinda funny since I just changed his food to help him lose weight on Sunday). He's still calm, sitting about 4 feet from the dog right now and not caring a bit (but wanting the rest of his supper).

After a few days, Riley did stand up to Deke and growled at him when Deke batted him from behind the chair. No blood has been shed, only a few feelings hurt, but now everyone piles into the bed (which is way warmer than before - hoping come summer the puppy and/or kitties will want to sleep downstairs where it's cooler - or maybe I will...)

Thursday, we got some snow. I don't know the actual count, but it was several inches, enough to close my office. I got to stay home with the boys and work from the dining room table. It was pretty cool. Friday we had a delayed start and I even strapped on my snow cleats (StabilIcers) and took the dog for a walk, which he enjoyed immensely. He's getting to know the neighborhood, which door is home and where to turn when we get to a certain point in our walks.

I'm still getting used to mornings in my house, walking the dog, feeding all 3 boys & myself, and getting myself clean and presentable for work all in an hour. The new feeding schedule for Alec has also changed how I feed both cats. Deke decided he liked the Rx food, too, so I had to put it up when I leave in the morning. Deke has food available all day on a high up spot where only he can get to, but I'm measuring it now so I know he's eating. Deke has also expressed a lot of interest in Alec's wet food so tomorrow I'm going to go get some small dishes and some cans of wet food for Deke so he gets some, too (even Riley gets wet food).

So although it doesn't seem like a big change, my immediate family has grown by one and I'm learning all sorts of things about him, my own boys (one of which is now a "middle child") and even myself. I like routines, I like my mornings, and yet, I can embrace change. Every day is an adventure.