Great Weekend!

It was a great weekend. It was hotter than hot the past week and the weekend was no exception but luckily, my home has AC and Stephanie's home is cooled quite well by a window unit and a couple well placed fans. I'm sure the huge trees surrounding the house help, too. :) So..the heat didn't bother us, which is great because if there is anything a person should know about me is I cannot stand being hot and sweaty.

The kids were with Dakota and Vicki. The plan had been to have the kids with them during the day and back here for sleeping (the heat can set off Kaylen's sensory issues which can make her a very miserable child. Both for her...and those around her.) but Friday, just minutes before Dakota arrived, they decided they would try to stay at her house and not come back to sleep.

Ok then. They rushed off to pack their stuff and I talked with them about if they changed their minds, all they had to do was say so and we would figure it out. I sent dakota a text so she was in the know with the change of plans.

They didn't change their minds. Even though the upstairs of the house was hot, they soldiered through and stayed the whole weekend.

For me it was a weird switch of gears. I hadn't planned to *not* see them all weekend (and yes - it is VERY hard to not see them on the weekends they are gone but luckily, I get to see them Friday and then again on Sunday before bed so I really only have to go one full day, twice a month, without seeing their bright and shiny faces) so this sudden shift of plans knocked me off balance a bit.

But it's not about me. It was about them and I'm ok with that. I regained my balance in time.

Plus it meant I could, once again, rearrange my weekend plans to what they had been (well mostly) before the news of the heat wave.

So win win. Kids happy, Casey happy.

Dogs not so happy.

I am gone for many hours on my kid-free weekends and while I try hard to limit my away time to 8 hours, it does sometimes reach nine or ten. And I feel bad but there is also Cody who is alone for more hours than that. And there is also Stephanie and me who want to be out in the world doing things. It's a fine balance we have to strike between taking care of the dogs and taking care of ourselves. Yet another reason I am not a dog person. But that isn't here or there at this point.

Anyway - when I am going to be gone longer than a few hours, I gate Jordan into the kitchen. That way, if he does have an accident, it is easier clean up. Still grosser than gross...but easier to clean up. I toss down his fluffy dog bed and another blanket but I do feel bad for him. He is so old now and I often wish I had a custom floor mat to put down for him. Something super comfy and soft but that cleans up super easily.

I don't. So his bed and a blanket will have to do.

I think he still has it better off than Maddie. She is locked in her crate and while she likes it well enough, it's a long time to be in a crate. Personally, I would lose my ever lovin' mind.

But then...when I finally do get hired somewhere, their time being locked up will be just as long as it is on days like this weekend.

I'm not so sure being a dog is that much fun. I would much rather be a well-cared for house cat. But then - we all know I am more of a cat person anyway. :)

So anyway...back to the weekend; it was great. The more time I spend with Stephanie, the more time I *want* to spend with her. We are going strong and building something fantastic. Now that school is back in session, our time together is severely limited but even so, we're making it work and it is working well. Very well indeed.

Life is good.