What Ana Does

It's been a quiet week in Paris news. The BIG HEADLINE is we picked up our visas on Wednesday from the French consulate, so we're officially official now. Paperwork is a go. Our Bus Stop Buddy On the apartment front , I'm basically pulling out my hair looking at the same four favorite apartments each week. Our next opportunity for apartment hunting (in person) isn't until after Thanksgiving, so we've got a looong month to go. I'm not so much a fan of waiting. On the school front, our application is complete for our school of choice, so now we're just sitting tight as it goes to the Admissions Group for review. Not getting into this school might change things... big things like where we'd live. So ... this is just another waiting game. Hopefully, it will only be a week review. Lastly, the hunt has started to find Lando, our two-year-old dog, a new home . We're all going to be bummed to see him go because he's such a big part of the fami...

This week our neighbor who is fostering SEVEN newborn puppies at her house brought one to them bus stop and it was pandaemonium! Puppy love explosion! Leah With One of the Puppies Not unwarranted ... those puppies were soft and sweet and Oh SO fun to hold. But, HELLO! We're dealing with an 8-month-old puppy at home NOW. Sure, he's not little and soft but he's biting his way through half the house and certainly acting like a puppy. ANYWAY, yesterday Alice was so ticked off I wouldn't adopt one of Ms. Lydie's puppies she got on the bus without talking to me. Sigh. I was ready for another argument this morning about why three dogs in our house was completely insane (two dogs in our house is leaning towards crazy, as it is). But Alice decided this morning, in one of her ruler-mandate-sort-of-ways that our family was "perfect the way it was and I don't want anything new added." Alice Pleased With Our Current Canine Companions So fine. ...

It's very slow, but there's a little relationship starting to develop between these two doggie brothers. Benny's pretty reluctant about this hyper interloper but seems to enjoy being outside more. And Lando just wants to be his best friend. (Sound familiar?) We're getting there. Sharing a Hug Alice says now our family is even: Three girls and three boys. 

If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I'd ever have two dogs the answer would have been a quick no. Even after we got Benny, I still would have answered no. But, as I posted about last week, those feelings have changed. Benny was a good starter dog, but we're ready for a full-fledge puppy. Puppy Snoozing So when I saw a posting about a beagle/mini-whippet mix puppy named Groucho (6 months old) available for adoption I decided to pursue it. Just give it a try. I had a list: Not a yappy dog. No biting. Mostly house-trained. Short haired. But more energy and playfulness. And he's have to have a connection with Dave, the girls and Benny. We met Groucho on Friday night and he fit all those criteria, except the biting thing -- but it was mostly just holding with his teeth (it's a puppy thing). He didn't bark at the door and he was happy and jumpy when he saw us. He was ready to play. We made the next move and brought him home for a weekend tryout -- he nee...