One Crazy Night

The story that you are about to hear doesn't even get close to the craziness of Kerri's crazy day. But for 3am...it still made it to the crazy meter.

Think with me of the delicious deep sleep that happens well past midnight. And then, add the sound of your dog scrambling to get out of his bed one room over, knocking his head on something and scratching up the floors as his legs can't seem to propel him forward fast enough. No barks. No whines. Just dog chaos. Like something woke him up with a start and he's not quite sure if it was real or not. And then, one short minute later, quiet. Panic over. 

You're awake now, right? But why in the world is your dog looking at you like "What?! Why'd you get up? There's nothing going on!" After a quick check to see that Hadassah was ok, I pointed Gus back in the direction of his bed, where he got in and laid his head down like all was normal. Yet I was suspicious. Something wasn't right. Why would he do such a thing? 

And as I stand in our bedroom doorway, glancing with leery eyes toward our stairs, calling to Tim that perhaps he should get up to see if there was something Gus heard that set him off, I see it. Silhouetted against the small bathroom window. An intruder. 

No wonder Gus freaked out! Something was in our house! And now, I was freaking out. Although silently. No, this intruder was not human. (big sigh of relief) But what was it? Was it a bat? We are, unfortunately, experienced in the world of bats now. But experience told me this was way too big to be a bat. It must be a squirrel. But no! If that's a squirrel, then it's a mutant squirrel because that tail is way too long and skinny. Phew. That eliminated a skunk too. 

It was time to be brave. I leaned in and flicked the light on, quickly stepping back.

Well hello. Cat. And how did you get in our house?!

And now imagine the feeling of immense relief followed by an onslaught of fear. Because this cat? This poor cat was petrified! Gus must've given him the scare of his life when he wandered into Hadassah's room, and now he was panicking. He flew from our window, across the floor to the counter where he managed to turn on a tap in his haste. That propelled him forward, flying into our shower. Once there, he apparently thought climbing on our frog pod was a great means of escape - a thought short lived as the frog pod detached itself and bath toys, shampoo and body wash came crashing down along with the now insane cat. 

With Gus locked in our bedroom and Hadassah safely tucked away behind her closed door, I see that Tim is near and I hand over the job of getting the cat out of the bathroom to him. With a warning that he might want a sweater on in case the cat gets his claws out. I ran downstairs and opened all doors wide, and a minute later a ball of grey and white fir dashed out the front door. 

Whew! That was an intense 6 minutes! Our hearts still raced as we crawled into bed. And our discussion turned to how we must never forget to close that crack in the screen door that was left open during the day for Gus' in-and-out pleasure. 

Ever.

Again.

Grinning Gus

There are a few things that get Gus grinning.

This is one of them...

An Autumn Entrance

I might have made an early purchase. Pumpkins? First week of September? During a heat wave? Yeah, that was me. The crazy autumn loving lady.

But let's be honest now, shall we? Who really loves summer better than fall?! 

Oh. You do? Well then. We'll have to chalk that up to one thing we don't have in common. Bummer! 

Yet nothing you say will change my mind because Fall is hands down my favorite season. And if I can mentally usher it in sooner than your average house-decorating-loving-female by making a pumpkin purchase, I will. 

The thing is, those pumpkins were lonely. So I bought a mum, pulled out a crate, arranged my pumpkins and crafted a wreath, resulting in my autumn entrance:

Oh Autumn. You are the coziest, loveliest of seasons. 

Personal fav? That wreath! I had high hopes of finding a great fall wreath at the Country Living Fair a couple of weeks ago (sooo loved CLF! - my sister and I made the trek) and while I found lots of inspiration, I didn't find anything I couldn't leave behind. I've been stashing some chevron fabric for 'the perfect project' and decided 'the perfect project' would probably never come along, so use it already, Jen! Some quick wrapping and pinning later, I had a great base. Then I grabbed some Indian corn I saved from last year, pulled out some burlap ribbon I snagged at Hobby Lobby, a mini chalkboard from World Market and some ribbon and lace I had laying around ("perfect project" syndrome...) and there ya have it. 10 minutes later she was up.

That little chalkboard says it all. Two words become a wish for everyone who comes knocking on our door and a means of sharing my sentiments regarding the turn of the season. 

So when you approach our newly painted porch (look! there's no no pink indoor/outdoor carpet nor is there any red!) you'll have this view...

When you reach the top of the stairs you'll see this and hopefully be able to admire the new front door color and no-longer-white trim...

And then you'll glance down and find peace in the form a door mat. Confirmation that you have indeed reached the Bergsma's...

Just for fun, I'll leave you with a view you will never, ever see. Because if someone comes a knockin' at our door, I promise you, there will be no calm Gus. He would most definitely be on all fours, his butt wiggling because his tail is moving so fast and he'll be prancing around the guest in sheer excitement. "Company! Yay! Someone to rub my belly and feed me bones perhaps?!"

Some guard dog, eh?

But that's ok with me. It just adds to the kind of entrance I hope to acheive no matter what the season is: Welcoming. 

ps: See that strip of discolored stone to the left of the door? A wall used to be there and the discoloration is leftovers from spray/foam insulation. Any suggestions on how to remove fully it from field stone would be oh so greatly appreciated! 

Linking to Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative Friday

That Crazy|Annoying Dog

There's something about praying that get the "kids" in our house going. And it's the quirkiest thing!

When Hadassah was much younger, as soon as Tim pulled the Bible out to do our family devotions after dinner she'd start. Start folding her hands and listening? No siree. She'd start fussing. Crying. Squirming. Moaning and groaning and straining to get out of her high chair. It took conversations with other parents whose kids did the same thing to make us sigh in relief that it wasn't just us!

Thankfully, Hadassah has outgrown that. With the exception of some occasional squirming.

But somehow she's passed it on. To none other than...

...her dog!!!

For several months now, our Bible would close as we finished off dinner devotions, we'd fold our hands and Tim would start to pray.

And it would start.

He'd whine. He'd squirm. He'd run around and around the table with loud "tick tick tick tick tick tick"'s against the hardwood floors, pausing briefly to look out the patio door before his next round. This time, he'd trot around our kitchen peninsula, heading for the front door. A quick glance must've confirmed that nothing was out of the ordinary there and so he'd speed on over around the table again to end his round with a long whine at the patio door.

Every. Single. Time.

We've had several discussions as to what it could be. "Daddy, maybe he doesn't like your prayers!" Yes, I suppose that's a possibility. But then we started calling out some prayer "catch phrases"...some things Tim repeats often. And we've narrowed it down, folks. For whatever reason, Gus is keenly attracted to the words "Heavenly Father".

No resemblance to "squirrel", "outside", "walk". Nothin'! And so it's official.

Our dog is crazy. 

Also crazy annoying during prayer time. But we got smart.

We let him outside before family devotion time.

Living Room Camp-Out

My husband said I cheated. 10 potential blog posts rolled into 1. (2 posts ago)

He says cheat. I say coverage. Clever. Compact. I hope you agree. But if not, this post covers only one fine topic: Camping out.

She's done it once on her own, in an actual tent in the dining room. But this time, daddy offered to camp out with her. And this time mommy made the tent. And this time it was in the living room.

I suggested marshmallows over the woodstove fireplace, but it was getting late. So reading books by flashlight was the next best thing. I snapped a couple of shots before the lights went out. 

Gus wasn't too impressed. His bed is the blue blanket drapped at the end of Hadassah's bed. (Yes indeed folks, you read that correctly - he sleeps on her bed. What's the point in a best friend if they can't have sleepovers every night? ;) So when he was kicked to the end of this bed? Well...his eyes say it all.

Check out that grin. Hadassah loved this daddy time!

 As I crept off to a bed all to myself (ahhh... ;), I took one last shot of the campsite...

And then I got asked to please come back and turn the lights off...no one wanted to get out of their tent to turn them off themselves.



The next morning I came downstairs and looked at the chaos that was our living room and said "what a disaster." (because mommy wasn't only in charge of putting up the tent...) But Tim grinned at me and said "it's not a disaster, it's memories".

True that. 

It'll be the kind of memory that in a few months Hadassah will pipe up from the backseat of the car, or from snack time at the table (after being quiet for a long time) and say "Mommy, do you remember when Daddy and I camped out in the living room"? And I'll smile and say "I sure do".

So even though big messes sometimes make my brain hurt and my blood pressure rise a notch, I know I need to take a deep breath and just relax. Great memories are better than 100% tidy.

Weather

Crazy weather we're having, isn't it?

Warm and spring-like, day after day. And across the ocean people who never see snow are probably wishing for a good ol' Canadian touque!!

Since we've been noticing this pattern of snow, melt, rain, snow, melt, rain, spring-like day, we've had to really take advantage of the snow! Because a Canadian winter without sledding and snowmen?!?! Unheard of.

I've said it before and I'll mention it again - I love our house. And when it snows, I love it's location. Specifically its close proximity to the dog park. And since the dog park houses quite the nice little hill, I can make both my 'kids' happy in one trip.

{Just a small insert here: that snowsuit was added to Hadassah's wardrobe for a mere $3. How I love garage sales. Especially when I happen to remember to think ahead.}

This year was a happy sledding year all around. For Hadassah: She's grown up a bit and actually enjoys the thrill of going down. {most of the time...} For me: She's grown up a bit and actually pulls the sled back up the hill.

Here they are: best buds, hard at play. Hadassah rolling down the hill and Gus trying to look like he has no clue what she's doing, thus still looking 'cool' to the other dogs. Who are not spotted once in these pictures, but I do promise they were there.

 

And since snowmen haven't been an option due to the lack of packing snow, the next best thing? Snow angels. She insisted I make one too, but I wasn't in the mood for kisses from Gus' friends. Hadassah had her fair share already before these shots were taken. 

I'm grateful we had a clear schedule on this particularly beautiful day of snow. We had so much fun. From the moment she clamored into the sled (I pull her in it to the dog park...she loads it up with snow as we go and giggles until she's out of breath if she gets tipped over) to the moment we're at home with our mugs of hot chocolate, she's smiling.

And that, my friends, makes me smile.

All in an Afternoon's Work

Here's the thing.

We have this dog. After having him for officially one year this week, I am happy to say that he's a great dog. Hadassah's best friend. My walking companion. Never barks. Finally gets "sit" and always obeys "go to your bed".

But the thing? He likes shoes. Or rather, he likes to eat shoes. We've learned the hard way. Over and over again. And fiiiiinally after weeks (maybe even months?!) of forgetting to put away our shoes only to come home to them torn to shreds, we got into the habit of slipping any pairs we're not wearing into the closet before we leave the house. (In fact, we've developed quite the "getting the house Gus ready" routine...because of a few other, much more minor!, things he likes to do...)

Until two days ago.

Was I rushing out the door? Coulda been. Was my mind totally preoccupied with where we were going? Probably. Whatever happened, my mind slipped and oopsy daisy...! Left my slippers out. No serious, can't-tell-what-this-used-to-be damage done. But still. Enough to be super annoying.

Then I remembered that I've been seeing people "re-do" shoes a lot online. What?!?! Really?!?! You're spray painting your shoes and drawing designs on them with Sharpies? Huh.

Then I had another thought. Jen, didn't you buy some fabric glue awhile back? Yes Jen, you did! Now Jen. Where did you put it?

(insert exhaustive fabric glue search here)

Aha! Found it. Grab a fun scrap of material, some leather ribbon you happened to have in your stash and away you go Jen. Re-do some shoes!

Resulting in this:

Ah. Much better.

What's that Gus?! You don't like it when I wag my finger at you and smile with triumph?!?!Well this time buddy, I won the shoe battle. Ha!

And may this afternoon of work be a reminder that although it was fun crafting a new look for my slippers, for pity's sake PUT AWAY ALL SHOES!!!!

Gus & Dassah

Here's what you do: Watch Max and Ruby for a minute. Just the intro song - that's all you'll need. Once you have the main song of that line memorized, do an exchange. Gus for Max and Dassah in place of Ruby. And you know what you have? Our own little family theme song that you'll frequently hear us belt out. Especially when a little girl and her dog are chasing each other around the house. Or when blonde pigtails are seen using a chocolate brown and white tummy for a pillow. Or when a stubby tail wags and wags because his little playmate comes home. Or when it's bedtime and Gus makes his jump up onto Hadassah's bed and curls up at her feet.

'Gus and Dassah...Dassah and Gus.' (are you singing?)

Double the Fun

And that's exactly what Hadassah was in for the day "her twins" came over to play. Jaelyn and Ava are Hadassah's little buddies. They were born the day after Hadassah, so they are officially the kids closest to her age at church. They've recently moved (you can read about it here) and on a day when their mom was painting up a storm in the new house, they came over to play.

Here are a few shots of the fun they had outside. This shot is so typical. As soon as the sprinkler comes out, Gus dives right in and takes his share. All three of the girls thought this hilarious.

We only own two little kid chairs. This proved to be a problem until "sit on her lap" became an option. Again - this was found to be hilarious.

 And then there were the 'shows' they would put on for eachother. This was another great way to resolve the only-two-chair-conflict.

I think when it was hometime, they'd all had enough of eachother. The twins are used to having eachother around, but they weren't used to a possesive Hadassah. And Hadassah is certainly not used to having others around all day and almost fell asleep on the couch once they were gone. But they had a blast! And looked awfully cute doing it, too.

Lighting, Camera, Actions!!

I suppose technically I started with the camera. But then the title wouldn't flow quite the same now would it?

The day before her first haircut ever, Hadassah and I took advantage of the lovely soft light in her bedroom and took her "official" 3 year pictures. There's one in particular of her and Gus that I like immensely, especially after some Pioneer Woman's Actions action.

What's that you say? You'd like me to share them with you?

How sweet of you to ask - I believe I will.

Here's the pictures, SOC. (straight out of camera)

I think it's the eyes. Hadassah's big blue ones and Gus' big ol' "please love me" brown Spaniel ones. First I did a little crop, and then I added a little sharpening and a little boost resulting in this:

And then I played around with all of the actions until I found "the one". And for this picture, PW's Vintage action was definitely the one! I did lower the transparency of the action so some of the color still peeked through and j'adore how it turned out. If I could hug a picture...

...I would.

Frequently Seen Together

Adventures in Potty Training: Part 3 (C?)

I am happy (very, very happy) to announce that this time around, things in the potty training department are well under way. Well, well under way. I've very lightly attempted a number of times in the past year to get our girl on that white seat in the bathroom to no avail. She simply did not care if her bum was wet and would walk around with a poopy underwear if I let her! (note: underwear - not just a diaper) So my plan? Wait until it sinks in. Until it clicks. And finally, this past week, it has! She's doing great!

And while I'm sure the adventures aren't over yet, I feel safe to say that this will be the last blog post where I talk about poopy underwear. You're glad about that, eh?

Oh - but while on the topic - our dog is house trained afterall. It just took him a few days to get used to the place. He is, however, a Houdini. Last Sunday we came home to him with his head stuck between the crate bars. We had to saw him out. (yes, you read that right). And this morning I came home to him coming down the stairs. An odd location for a dog who is supposed to be in his crate in the dining room! Mr. Oliver Gus is an escape artist! You should see crate number 2! And to see him at any other time of the day, you'd never guess such a sweetheart could have such determination. Case in point: exhausted puppy at my feet, snoring. Ruins crates? Really??

My Buried Nose

Remember when I mentioned that one of my goals for this year was to go back to reading a good book for 15 minutes a day? And that I was going to tell you what book I was reading in order to keep me accountable? (because there's something about telling the whole world that keeps you on your toes...) Well - here we go. I'm going to venture into adding a little somefin' on the side column to list what I'm reading. The first book on my list is by J.R. Miller called "The Family" (formerly named "Home-Making"). 

Oh so helpful! Very much enjoying it so far and am looking forward to the chapter on the role of the wife. 

And then you may have picked up from various comments scattered here and there in my last few posts indicating that I may or may not be re-reading Anne of Green Gables. (well, now I'm on Anne of Ingleside) That is absolutely one of the series that I appreciate more now that I'm older. But I must admit, I haven't picked this book up since Gus (aka Gustifer, OliverGus, GusGus...) joined our family. Morning walks around the neighborhood make a wee bit more tired come bedtime.

(notice that, eh? Another mention of Gus! Yes, he's still here!!!)

Meet Oliver Gus

Way back when...about a year ago now...I wrote a post that will be eerily similar to this one. Although that post was titled "Meet Mr. Tumnus". Mr. Tumnus was a wee little min-pin/chihuahua puppy, around 8 weeks old and he was our first attempt at a dog. I could go into a long explanation as to why nobody on the face of this earth ever read about Mr. Tumnus again, but for the sake of the length of this post, I'll simply say that a whining puppy being crate trained and a super close (townhouse) neighbor was simply too much stress for a woman such as myself. And so we found him a better "forever home" and moved on with life.

Fast forward a year. The yearn for a dog has been strong yet again. Especially as we are now settled nicely in our "House of Dreams" (still reading the Anne of Green Gable series...) and have a fenced in backyard. And so on Wednesday when I noticed an ad on kijiji for an English Springer Spaniel - great with kids, 4 months old, housetrained - we headed out, only to come home with this handsome fellow:

And not only is he a handsome fellow, he is a good little fellow too. I am happily able to say that at this particular moment because he just went pee. Outside of my home. (housetrained?! ha! maybe at their place!...although I'll give him another week to de-stress...) On Friday, I may not have stated that he was good quite so happily. Or quickly. Because when a puppy can, a puppy will do things such as this:

(I like him so much right now that I could almost say "thank you" to him for this particular incident. I've been debating getting a new waste basket for the office...)

Over all though, he's a smart guy, super lovable, is incredible with Hadassah and learns pretty quickly. And what can I say - he loves me! Follows me wherever I go and whines when I leave him at home with just Tim and Hadassah. And when your little girl gives your new dogs hugs all the time and says "Gus is my best friend in the whole world!" - what's not to love?

Me thinks you'll see more than one post about Gus.