It's the small things

The animals are on high-alert. They are all acting a bit….funky. They are exhibiting characteristics that aren’t really in their nature. For example, Sandy is rolling on her back for tummy rubs. Uhm, anyone who knows my favorite blond very well knows that she does not appreciate the vulnerable act of lying on her back. Secondly, our sweet Jerry has developed a bit of an attitude. Mike would argue this a bit and he’ll probably get mad at me if I spill all of the details but let’s just say, we let the dogs outside, heard a lot of barking and growling, and Sandy came in with a bloody ear. Those are the facts. And thirdly, Toby has been a gentle “meowing” sweetheart….quite the opposite of his normal day to day behavior.

When the animals begin acting strangely I always think to myself ‘now what has changed in their lives?’ Like the time Sandy was diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) b/c she was drinking too much water (is that possible? Yes.)…turns out she was internalizing the holiday stress that Mike and I were under. She was one stressed out puppy! As far as changes this time around, all I’ve come up with is:

· We spend a lot of time in the nursery. There is a gate that blocks the dogs from ever entering…so they just stare in from the outside…it is quite sad. Maybe I’ll sneak Sandy in there for one of our late night feeding sessions while Mike is asleep…

· My mom has been in and out of town for the last two weeks. They love grandma but hate to see her go!

· When grandma was in town she didn’t eat any sweets and didn’t sneak the dogs any human food behind Mike and my back. Looks like grandma is getting a bit more responsible!

· Mike and I have switched sides of the bed…mainly due to the fact that I can only lay on one side right now (due to my snoogle pregnancy pillow) and getting in / out of bed on my current side multiple times a night has proven rather difficult…so we switched for the next month. This, of course, means that I am now lying on Jerry’s side of the room while Mike is lying on Sandy’s side of the room. Actually, this explains a lot about the bloody ear thing….

· There is an infant swing set up and ready to go in our living room that the animals keep sniffing and nudging.

· There’s a stroller permanently fixed at our front door.

· There’s a bassinet set up in our bedroom where the doggies used to lie.

· Our nightly walks used to consist of Sandy and me walking up front at a fast pace and Mike and Jerry lagging behind. Now, Mike and Jerry are speed racers compared to me bringing up the rear with Sandy pulling me to try to get in the lead again. She gets pretty frustrated with me.

· The obvious….momma’s growin’ belly.

These small changes have made big changes in the way our 3 current “kids” are acting! I’m hoping that they come to terms with some of these changes before the baby arrives…otherwise we’re going to have 3 new animal personalities on our hands! Actually though, a sweet Toby would be a change I can live with….