"I Told You So!"

This is for all of those out there that thought I was crazy for keeping one of Riley's puppies around when we would be having our third child...=)

Rob and I had to make a decision this past week that was going to make or break our stress load and I'm so glad (yet, still a little sad) at the decision we made. The decision was whether or not to keep our beloved Rosebud, our 13-week-old Golden Retriever puppy that we kept from Riley's (our dog) last litter. Rosebud was the alpha-female, beautiful, intelligent (learned how to sit in one day as well as learned how to climb up the kids' playground and slide down the slide!) and the whole package. So, "What was the problem?" you may be asking. The problem was that the potty training got to be too much and like any puppy, she jumped on the kids and we didn't have the time to train her. Your next question I'm sure is, "Where is Rosebud now?". Rosebud went to a new home with a family of three who really wanted a Golden Retriever puppy. They don't have three children and have the time to devote to her. Although we do miss her, we know we'll get to see her from time to time (they are friends of ours) and watch her grow. =) "How did we break the news to the kids?" you may be wondering. Well, I told Avonlea the truth and explained how she never plays with her and how it's a lot of work for Mommy. I told Avy that if she acted very grown-up and had a good attitude about the ordeal, I would take her to buy a new pair of roller skates that she could play with. She lost her last pair at the park. We were leaving in a hurry due to the rain, so I feel it was partially my fault for forgetting them. I tried not to think of it as bribery, but call it what you will. We don't buy our children toys unless it's their birthday or Christmas, so I didn't feel bad about this splurge. =) Felt kinda good actually.

Anyway, we said goodbye to Rosebud a few nights ago and since then, Riley has had a good bath and has been enjoying being inside again, we have a clean back porch/yard again (Rosebud liked to get out the kids' toys a lot) and we feel like we can enjoy Riley more, as well as have some sanity back. No one has mentioned Rosebud's name since she left so I'm taking that as a good sign. We'll have another puppy some day when (don't like to think about this!!!) Riley has passed on and the kids are old enough to help me train it.

For now, we're enjoying things being back to "normal" around here and I have the time I need to to focus on our kids. We'll miss you Rosebud!