All About the Bailey (B! Ahhwooo!)

We had a delightfully domestic day today. Which means I had to drag my family around town to do errand type things. First we went to the post office. Ryan and Cailin decided to stay in the car. Fair enough. I would have too, except I had a very important card to send out for a special 24th birthday next week and it wasn't going to mail itself. (Pssst, Happy Birthday Dani!!) Since the post office is in the grocery store, I bought sesame rolls for dinner while I was there. Everyone was in a very cheerful mood. It's definitely the weather.

I have it in my mind that this Easter is going to be the Easter that I finally get the bunny I've wanted for years. So the next stop was the pet store under the guise of "but Cailin wants to see the puppies." Actually, Cailin loves the birdies. She will stand next to them and watch them for as long as she has ever watched anything. She can't peel her eyes away from them. Birds kind of creep me out, but they are pretty to watch. I'd have to say that Cailin is going to have to do some serious begging to get a bird through my front door.

Cailin also got a kick out of the chinchillas. She was watching them in their cage and before I could do anything, she poked one right in its fluffy behind (and laughed). It took off for the far end of its cage and gave her the stink eye. Ryan gently led her away to look at the puppies. I may have laughed a little too. Or a lot.

Of course we spent a good long time admiring the Lionhead Bunnies too. I showed Ryan which one I want. It came out of its little cabin and sniffed my hand. It's so stinking cute! Ryan pointed out that a rabbit will create odour and stink up the house. We wandered over to the bunny houses (cages) and had a look at what was available. The initial cost of getting a rabbit is huge to say the least. But that's not my biggest issue.I'm worried about Bailey. Since she is a puggle, that means she is half pug and half beagle. Guess what beagles do? That's right. They hunt wabbits (hee). The pug part of her? I'm not sure what it's responsible for. I'm guessing it's the part that makes her take naps in sunbeams while she's not running around like a monkey on glue.

Bailey recently turned seven. Seven years old! I can hardly believe she's been with me that long. It feels much longer than that sometimes (go figure) but at the same time feels like it's only been a short while. She's officially a senior now, but I'm guessing someone forgot to tell her that.

Anyways, I spoke with a pet counsellor at the pet store and told her my worries about Bailey chasing the rabbit (or worse). She said it would have to be trial and error. Seems like the error part might be kind of permanent... for the bunny anyway.... She gave me a pamphlet and some advice and another counsellor told me about her bunny and how much she loves it as her pet. They both seemed to think Bailey would be fine with a rabbit as long as the rabbit remained in the cage and Bailey didn't harass it too much. Apparently rabbits are prone to catching a fright and having heart attacks. Sounds like fast food with a speed bump - and the predator wins again!

Mom told me that Bailey looks at Bella funny sometimes too. I don't think that means anything - we all look at Bella funny sometimes. I really don't think Bailey would do anything with a bunny in the house. If anything, Bailey might be scared of it...
The trip to the pet store rounded out with watching Boston Terrier/Pug cross puppies playing in the open pen. Cailin was pointing and talking about them in her own language. She thought they were pretty cool. Ryan mentioned that he would rather get another dog than have a rabbit. I looked at the feisty pups in the pen and shook my head. No thanks. Bailey still doesn't sleep through all the nights in a week and she's seven. It's hard to believe how much sleep I've donated to chasing a dog around the backyard in my nightgown in the wee hours of the night. With a baby coming, I can't see getting another dog. Like, ever. Ever ever.

I also made a quick (ha!) trip into Walmart for a blackout blind for Cailin's room. Ryan refused to go in, so he sat in the car with Cailin. Of course, Walmart didn't have the hardware or the proper blind for her window. They only had the kind of blind that randomly rolls itself up in the middle of the night and causes bladder leakage to the person sleeping right under it. While Cailin wears a diaper to bed, it's probably best not to mess with my currently squirrel sized bladder. Luckily I had measured the window and got two neat roman shades in a soft chocolate brown color that fit nicely. Let's just skip the part where I installed said blinds with a toddler hanging off my ankle while the husband played Playstation shall we? Okay then.

Of course once we got home, Bailey immediately picked up on my intentions of letting a bunny into our lives and proceeded to act like a real weener the rest of the day. I swear it's the weather that gets into that dog. It's like the sun is a radiant heat source of puggle catnip. She was absolutely bananas.

Cailin is also still working on those bottom eyeteeth and was, well, sort of cranky herself. Bedtime really could not come soon enough tonight. I installed the blinds, made supper, fed the troops, talked Ryan into doing the bath (moohahahaha) and cleaned the kitchen.

We got a new popcorn maker today since our old one has been sorely abused. Ahem, Cailin. The new popcorn maker is a big dome and it works pretty good. The maiden voyage (so to speak) resulted in bowl of burnt popcorn and much gagging on my part. Burnt popcorn smells like pure evil to my pregnant nose. After a quick perusal of the instructions, the second try was much better. I threw the bowl of popcorn on Ryan's lap and let the vultures swarm him. Cailin loves popcorn. So does Bailey. Ryan had his hands full balancing bowl, toddler and puggle.

After her snack and toothbrushing, I tucked Cailin into bed all snug. She hasn't been sleeping very well lately due to her teeth. I hope she gets some rest tonight.

As for Bailey, the second her kid was in bed, she turned inside out. Running, jumping, playing all through the house. I kicked her outside to burn off some energy, but the snow is apparently too deep for her liking. Inside she flew, running up and down the stairs and throwing her rawhide chewies all over the place. What the heck has gotten into that dog? She has pretty much solidified her 'only pet' status for now. I really couldn't handle any more crazy in this house.

Of course, I've always wanted a turtle....