blogs, the puppy debate, and an architect

I'm caught in a blogging cycle-

I am not posting much.  Since I've not been posting much, I feel obligated to write "catch up" posts about things we've had going on. Catch up, obligatory posts are no fun for me, so I don't blog. Because I've not been blogging much..... etc. etc.

(Also, to be honest, I don't know if anyone is even reading our blog anymore. 1. People are busy. 2. Facebook is easier and faster. 3. I've not been great about posting. 4. Blogging isn't what the cool kids are doing anymore. All of these reasons make me sometimes feel like tapping into the microphone and asking if this thing is on.)

The thing is, though, I like having this online documentation of our family life. Looking back over posts over the past almost-decade that I've been blogging makes me happy. It's an online scrapbook that I am so thankful that I have. I love to read over posts and be instantly taken back to that time. To see the pictures of everyday life.... to relive the memories of the kids as babies and littles..... to remember the happy times and even to remember the harder times that are now distant memories (there is some comfort to this).

So I tell myself that if I fall out of the blogging habit, I will not have THIS time in our lives to someday look back on. And this is a good time, so that just won't do. :)

Since I'm taking a break from Facebook, I thought maybe I'd use some of that time I'm saving (what a time suck Facebook had become for me!) to blog. The goal is a tiny something each day for a week to see if I can get back in the habit. I'll just jump in without overthinking-----

We got an email today from our Westie breeder that there will be a batch of puppies very closely related to Bear born soon. My first reaction was excitement. We've been seriously considering getting a second dog for a few months now. Bear is such a perfect addition to our family. Westies are very social and Bear is especially so. He loves to be around other dogs. The thought of having a second dog around to keep him company appeals to us. The kids have already named this duo and talk about "Auggie and Bear" often as if the two are already the best of friends.

I was instantly ready to respond back to be put on the list, but then I had a moment of uncertainty. Bear has gotten pretty darn easy. He is completely housetrained. He doesn't chew on things. He spends 85% of his time napping or cuddling with us. He has a sweet temperament and I truly feel like we lucked out in the dog department.

And then I started to worry- What is Auggie is more of a handful? And are we really ready to take on puppy training again? Am I ready to roll up the rugs for a while and put up baby gates? Are we prepared for all of the chewed up stuffies and shoes we will deal with again for a bit? Are we ready for puppy expenses all over again- the purchase and the extra crate and leash and the puppy vet visits and shots? Are we prepared for double the cost every time we go out of town and need to use our boarding place? For double the grooming costs? Double the food and bone expenses?  Am I ready to be tied to the house again? When Bear was a tiny puppy, we couldn't be away from him for more than three hours tops. Every outing/work day had to be planned strategically around how long we were leaving Bear alone in his crate.

All of these thoughts swirl through my head this evening and prevent me from responding to the email. On the one hand, I can picture all of the love and giggles and happiness and fun a new puppy would bring and I am ready to go pick him up tomorrow. Double the Westie cuteness around here? Sign me up. But then I remember life with a puppy and think maybe we shouldn't rock the boat.

Stay tuned. :)

On an unrelated note, we had an architect here this afternoon for a consultation about adding two bedrooms to the house. A family room was added to this house ten years ago. There is now a big, empty nothing space above the addition. Currently Drew and Kate are sharing a bedroom upstairs and Gracie and Luke are "kind of" sharing a bedroom too. (There is a bedroom with an enclosed sun porch off of it. Luke is in the bedroom portion and Grace has her bedroom on the sun porch. It works for now, but will not work as they get a little older as either has much privacy and both rooms are pretty tiny.) For our purposes, it makes sense to turn the unused space into additional bedrooms. For resale purposes, it makes even more sense. We are pretty sure one of the reasons this house sat on the market for so long before we bought it is the weird bedroom situation. Most buyers who would be interested in a house this big would expect at least four bedrooms. We currently have two good bedrooms and a third kind of awkward one. The remodel, while expensive, would be a great investment. We would get the investment back and then some if/when we ever sell this house. A five bedroom home with this yard in this neighborhood would fly off the market. (Just to clarify- I am NOT interested in moving anytime soon. We will be staying put for quite a while. Eventually, though....)

The architect had some good ideas and told us what our next couple steps would need to be. She walked us through the timeline and recommended a structural engineer come to give her blessing as well. It's very exciting to slowly turn this house into what we knew it had the potential to be.