Friday, April 27, 2007

The Irish Have Landed....

Well...I finally have a minute to sit and write...well actually, I'm tired but dread going to sleep because my dog will wake me, so this is a great time filler...but more about the dog later!

It has been a hectic time lately but one filled with lots of laughter and fun! Shane & Alli have arrived in Canada and are settled into our home and hopefully feeling at home! I still can't believe they are here and we are all so happy that they are!

We have spent the last 10 days searching for a new home and getting settled and working out all the details on their long to do list! Thankfully, it is getting shorter and they can focus on the really important stuff which is setting up their charity and working on their immigration papers.

They found a beautiful new home overlooking the Kennebecasis River which they will have to renovate, though only on a cosmetic level, but that can grow too! The house appears in very good condition (Harry approved!) and it comes with 1.7 acres for Shane to stomp around on and feel like a king! They will have lots of fun decorating their new home and then hosting me for numerous meals and babysitting my kids as Andy and I take off on road trips of our own! Hah hah...like I could leave my kids!

The kids are really enjoying having them here! It has been pretty easy having them around and the kids enjoy hanging out with them! Jack seemed to get off to a good start on learning guitar. Hopefully, this will continue since Shane is a great guitar player and it seems to have inspired Jack...somewhat! Homeschooling has slacked off a bit, but every so often I crack the whip and Jack and Sam enter into my radar zone and the math books are whipped out and we go a big crazy doing a bunch of pages at a time!

Andy has missed out almost completely as he has been on a shutdown. He is gone 14 hours per day and sleeps the rest and basically lives like a zombie! Though, we did squeeze in a dinner with Heidi and Jon last Friday night which was lots of fun. Normally for me, it turns me into a bit of a zombie but having Shane & Alli here to keep me busy and the constant banter...I have been enjoying myself and the change in my routine is making time fly by until Andy is finished...though he may not agree!

I can't say the same for my dog! Maggie is an extremely nervous dog and upon meeting Shane, she emptied her bowels all over my kitchen floor! Then for the next week we had to listen to her growl or bark or poop and run! Now to add insult to injury, she has developed some sort of gastro infection which has meant that she has been throwing up and having diahrea.

This has left me a basket case because I am up with her every two hours and when I'm not doing that, I'm cleaning up poop of the floors, her bum or washing her towels from having to bath her 2-3 times a day because she gets poop all over her! She is now wearing diapers! Yep, I cut a hole in a diaper and she wears one when I am to exhausted to bathe her right away...such as 3am! Poor Shane & Alli took pity on me during the worst of it when we would discover another accident in the house! How's that for making a house guest feel at home! Put them to work cleaning up poop!

Well, I should try to get some sleep...but the thought of getting up to face a wet, cold night outside with a dog who needs her bum wiped....well....

2 comments:

Elle Jay Bee said...

As sisters, we are definitely not cut from the same cloth!! You are definitely up for a Saint award for putting up with the week Maggie has put you through!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily, your friends have given you the strength (and serenity?) to get through it. Sweet picture of Jack doing a duet with Shane...

onelittlemustardseed said...

Hah, I forgot to mention in my blog how Shane & Alli would take over when I was about to burst into tears! How's that for treating your house guests like family...get them to clean up doggy poop!