And Then We Stopped Sleeping.

If I could sum up my life in one picture right now, this one would be it. Ness is SO EXCITED she JUST CANNOT possibly stay still FOR LONGER THAN TWO SECONDS and even that IS STRETCHING IT. And if she could type she would use ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME except when she had been typing for a long time, and then she would stop everything, immediately pass out for four hours on the floor and just look so cute that Mary Frances and Preston would almost forget that they had sold their souls to the gods of DOG in exchange for a ball of yellow lab with gorgeous hazel eyes, velvety ears, and teeth like razors.

I jest. Sort of. Overall, the acquisition of Ness is going splendidly. Sure, she lives to mock any ideas we might have had about "free time" (ha!), she's still not totally house-trained (and obvi if I were a dog I would also want to pee on the incredibly expensive oriental rug that Preston's parents gave us for our wedding and NOT the two we got for $25 off Craig's List...duh), she is very interested in gnawing off my earrings, my engagement ring diamond, and several of my toes, and she is still learning "sit," "come," "stay," and "heel." And by "still learning" I mean that Preston and I have gotten her to sit occasionally with the help of several hundred little puppy training snacks, and we haven't tried to teach her anything else. Other than that her crate is fun! And magical! And where all the princesses play! She's not really buying it, but she'll learn to love it. Or tolerate it. Either one.

But when I cut through all the crap--when I try to forget that she's taking one thousand percent of my energy and even more of my sleeping time, that trying to walk her and Callie at the same time is like choreographing an incredibly complex marionette show, and that I'm pretty sure she ate Callie's vomit yesterday--it doesn't change the fact that when I got home this evening, changed clothes, and got outside with the dogs, I felt better than I had all day. I breathed easier, walked with more spring in my step, and laughed my way down our street. And watching their ears flop up and down as they walked beside each other--Callie trotting along, teaching Ness the way, and occasionally looking back at me with a "You have GOT to be kidding" look and Ness, moving her little legs twice as quickly as Callie's to keep up and proudly carrying her bright red leash in her mouth--it's moments like those when I know that the chaos is worth it.

More to come tomorrow.