2nd Time Around

This is the second weekend in a row that half of our family is away. The Dogfather has taken Sabrina backpacking again. Gone first thing Friday morning and not home until later today. This is how I've using the extra time to myself.

What I did last weekend:
* Watched The Painted Veil, On Demand (loved it!)
* Dog-sat Auntie Dory's Agave for a day
* Had a breakfast date with a friend and played with their baby
* Cooked a mighty fine welcome home dinner for my trekkers come home

What I didn't do last weekend:
* Exercise
* Do housework
* Walk any dogs (Riley's injured his right knee)
* Sleep

This weekend, I decided to change things up.

What I did this weekend:
* Excercised
* Watched my neighbor's Mandy for 3 days
* Did domestic housework (several loads of laundry and vacuuming!)
* Watched several episodes of the Dog Whisperer
* Had a massage party with my girlfriends
* Slept great
* Still plan on cooking a mighty fine dinner tonight

What I didn't do this weekend:
* Miss the two of them as much
* Watch too much cable television
* Eat much (but I'm going to Dim Sum today, yay!)


On another note, in staying with the title of this post, 2nd Time Around, Riley has torn the ligament in his right knee. I took him to see the wonderful Anne Crawshaw and she didn't seem to think it was entirely ruptured, just torn. So she helped adjust his left hip a bit to realign him and then worked on his right side. Hopefully, with the proper rest, he may heal this summer without having surgery. Unfortunately, that means a lot of our baby-proofing training will have to be put on hold.

However, I must report that we have made some good gains and I am quite refreshed with hope. My girlfriend arrived at my house yesterday (for the massage party) with her 8 month old, and the baby slept right through Riley's welcome barking! Wow. He is beginning to understand that he cannot get up onto the sofa unless I have invited him. (he tried only once yesterday but got off immediately when I asked him to). He also got some baby proofing with the baby yesterday. After getting over the initial smells and noises she made, he eventually calmed and laid down to snooze happily at my feet. It was pretty funny watching him check out the baby in my lap. Everytime she waived her little chubby arm in the air, Riley flinched jumped back a foot as if she possessed great power and strength. It is very difficult for the Riley Smiley to learn that he is not going to be the apple of my eye forever, but he is learning. We just need more baby play dates!