Houdini Dog and School Starts

Ilio BROKE out of his crate today.

This was the first day he's spent in the crate with no one home. He's been in there at night without too much trouble. However, I've come to the conclusion that the crate just wasn't big enough for him. A dog should be able to stand up and turn around comfortably in their crate, and his was just not quite big enough for that. Plus he likes to lay down with his long, long legs straight out to the side, and he certainly couldn't do that in there.

Now my issue is how to afford the XL dog crate that costs about $160?? Hmmm. Craigslist here I come.

The kids started school yesterday. I was fortunately able to spend a lot of time at home with them this summer, and dropping them off yesterday made me feel sad. Useless. Empty. I know a lot of moms who are eager for school to start and get back into their "regular" schedule. Not me. I could have gone on like that forever.

So, I borrowed a pair of shoes from a friend to go with a dress for an upcoming wedding. Today I decided to try out the shoes to guage their comfort level. Um, can we say Chinese foot binding?! Yep, that's about how they felt. Of course, I was going bare foot, no socks or anything else to buffer the insides of the shoes from my little feet. Went to my favorite store at lunch and grabbed some Peds-like socky things. You know, the ones that just barely cover the bottom and sides of your feet? These even have padding on the bottom! Okay, so now I'm sorry I waited so long to buy them. It's like night and day! (Right up there with Spanx)

Suicide Dog

Seriously, Ilio is trying to find new and stupid ways to off himself. He keeps falling down the stairs, for starters. Two days ago he tried escaping from his crate, and got one leg and his head out, then started banging the crate all over because he couldn't get all the way out, or get back in. That had to hurt. This morning he was whining outside by the gangway gate. I opened the back door and called him, but he didn't come. Now I know how dumb it is to ask a dog a question out loud, but I did. "Ilio, are you stuck somewhere?" was met by furious banging and thrashing. Dummy got his head stuck between the gate and the post. Even Eva just shakes her head at him.

Belly has a new quest in life. It's to make everyone do what he wants, when he wants, or he will cry, scream and proclaim that you're mean and you don't love him.
This morning, GB played video games with Belly for a while. Then GB's friend came over, and they wanted to play something else. They invited Belly to play, but instead he thought it better to lay on the living room floor and cry. Ah, I just love those moments. *snort*

I sent an application for a job to the company that makes Golden Tee. My cover letter began (and I'm not kidding) "Given my experience with your products and my love of casinos... wait, that didn't come out right."

Any bets on whether they call me back??

Favorite Time of Day

In the morning (when I'm on vacation, of course) when my husband has left for work, and the kids are still sleeping...
or possibly, at the end of a long day, when dinner is done and everyone is together in our family room, 4 people sharing one small couch, just because no one wants to sit apart from the group...
oe maybe even after that, when I curl up next to my husband in bed...