Today has been relatively stress free, but this morning was a bit of a challenge. A friend of mine graciously offered to dog sit. I was excited about it because our dog is a bit of a challenge. She gets really excited about new dogs or people and makes this horrible howling noise. She doesn't do terribly well in the kennel. She gets worried when we leave her and doesn't eat. With this trip being much longer than the three or four days we are usually gone, I was glad to have someone to watch her instead of kenneling her.
At the last minute, my friend's husband surprised her with a weekend getaway. So they need to kennel the dogs for a few days. This isn't a big deal except that I hadn't worried about checking her shots since she wasn't going to a kennel. I was planning on worrying about getting the dog her shots once we got home. Last night it occurred to me to pull the shot records and look at them. Her rabies and distemper and parvo expire the day they are leaving for their mini trip.
So this morning, I was up before the baby, rushing to get out the door and to the vet's office in time to be seen for shots. This was definitely an adventure. We were there for an hour an a half. The dog went crazy with all the puppies, cats and dogs and people. She whined and cried her crazy howling sound. The baby wanted to see all the people and dogs too. It was hard to keep up with the baby and the dog at the same time. It wasn't easy. I will have to come up with a different plan for her canine influenza booster in three weeks. The baby got off the bench and started crawling across the floor. Every few strides, she dropped all the way down into a prone position and slid across a few tiles. If there were a way to end up covered in more dog hair, I don't know what it is. So I'm trying to intervene with the baby, but mindful that all dogs and owners aren't as social as Maggie is, so I can't just let her go either. I definitely had my hands full. It will be so much more fun when we have two dogs. Ugh, I really hope that my husband is home for the next rounds of shots.
Then I spent most of the afternoon doing a little of this and that, casually packing something I hadn't yet or picking up things around the house. One of my best tips about vacation planning is to take the week before traveling and clean house. As of 4 o'clock this afternoon, my house was company clean, maybe not mother clean, but definitely friends over clean. I washed my sheets and made my bed. I picked up, emptied the fridge, dusted, vacuumed, organized. When I come home, I won't return to a mess. I even took the trash out to the dumpster.
And when I come home, exhausted from sleeping in not my bed for two weeks, I will slide comfortably into my nice, crisp, fresh smelling sheets. It is like a little piece of chocolate I am saving for later. I know I have a clean home and comfy bed waiting for me when I get back. I can't tell you how good it feels to know that it is all done and I can really relax when I get home. I've had so many trips that I rushed around packing at the last minute and then left the house a mess. Coming home to a sloppy home is depressing. While the procrastinator in me said, "Leave it. You can do it later." I knew that later I would want to clean even less than I do now.
I wish it were earlier in the evening that I'm sitting down to end my day, but the baby took a nap late this afternoon for some reason and is wound for sound. She wouldn't go to sleep when I put her down and started screaming. I wasn't in the mood for listening to a tantrum, so I am sitting in her room, where she can see me and working on my blog. She is gradually calming down, so then I can go have a glass of wine and get to bed myself. She doesn't know that 5 a.m. is coming very early tomorrow. But having her tired will work in my favor because she may nap a bit more than usual.
I am very proud of myself. There was no panicked rushing around. My mom called to see what I was doing earlier and I was watching TV and playing games on Facebook while I ate dinner. I've been packing a little at a time for a few days and just have toiletries left for tomorrow. I can't pack them until I'm done using them. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but I left very little to do. I hope it goes as planned. I will let you know how the travel went tomorrow night.
And when I come home, exhausted from sleeping in not my bed for two weeks, I will slide comfortably into my nice, crisp, fresh smelling sheets. It is like a little piece of chocolate I am saving for later. I know I have a clean home and comfy bed waiting for me when I get back. I can't tell you how good it feels to know that it is all done and I can really relax when I get home. I've had so many trips that I rushed around packing at the last minute and then left the house a mess. Coming home to a sloppy home is depressing. While the procrastinator in me said, "Leave it. You can do it later." I knew that later I would want to clean even less than I do now.
I wish it were earlier in the evening that I'm sitting down to end my day, but the baby took a nap late this afternoon for some reason and is wound for sound. She wouldn't go to sleep when I put her down and started screaming. I wasn't in the mood for listening to a tantrum, so I am sitting in her room, where she can see me and working on my blog. She is gradually calming down, so then I can go have a glass of wine and get to bed myself. She doesn't know that 5 a.m. is coming very early tomorrow. But having her tired will work in my favor because she may nap a bit more than usual.
I am very proud of myself. There was no panicked rushing around. My mom called to see what I was doing earlier and I was watching TV and playing games on Facebook while I ate dinner. I've been packing a little at a time for a few days and just have toiletries left for tomorrow. I can't pack them until I'm done using them. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but I left very little to do. I hope it goes as planned. I will let you know how the travel went tomorrow night.
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