Giving In

Instagram username:  LittleBlueFeathers

In case you didn't know this about me yet, I am 100% completely in love with our pups.  Yes, we are one of those families.  Sometimes I stop and laugh at how normal our interactions with Stanlee and MileyJo have become.

The other night my husband saw Miley and I getting ready for bed and asked if Stanlee was going to join us.  I said I don't know, he can stay out on the couch with you.  My husband quickly replied with, Ok, well I will go ask him what he wants to do.  100% serious, as if to walk back into the living room expecting Stanlee to have a conversation on his decision!  Like I said, one of those families...

Something I struggle with is sleep.  I'm not sure why, but I have always been a light sleeper.  I don't want to be touched, I like space to turn over and I need to have multiple layers to keep me warm.  With that being said, I have been adamant on not having the dogs sleep in bed with us even though we have a big bed.  

Until recently...

The past few months I have been a softie toward these boston terrier's bug eyes staring at our bed waiting for the magic words inviting them up.  I have given in numerous times, and every night turns into the same thing.   Two pups (weighing a combined total of 40 pounds) taking up 2/3 of the bed and leaving this pup momma exhausted the next day.

Why do I keep giving in?!

Stanlee loves to crawl under the covers and every time I worry myself sick that he is going to suffocate under the layers and layers of blankets I have to keep me warm.  MileyJo throws around her body trying to get comfortable every 10 minutes.  I have been kicked in the face, woke up with a butt resting on my pillow and panicked at a lifeless Stanlee that I thought we lost in the middle night.  

But then, some mornings, I get a sweet pup resting her head on my shoulder.  A stanlee face that says I am so so tired and I just can't seem to open my eyes yet.  It's funny how in those first few moments when I wake up in the morning and I see their sleepy selves, that I somehow justify the 9 hours of horrible restless "sleep" they gave me. 

I'm trying to get back to the strong Michelle that said no for four years.  

Time to toughen up...

Defeated

Above is a happy picture of the pups hanging out the window of my car.  Happy, healthy pups they are in this photo.
Today, this wasn't the case.

You might remember my post talking about Stanlee (the white boston that does all of my modeling) and his anxiety and allergies issues.  Miley and Stanlee are both boston terriers and both have a history of skin allergies.  For some reason, we happen to own probably the two most sensitive BTs and recently the allergies have been defeating me.

After finding out Stanlee had a severe allergy to a specific mold, we began his immunotherapy injections yesterday to help tame his allergies.  He spent the day at the vet while they monitored his reaction to his first injection, and all went well.  Now it is back every 4-5 days for the next month and a half, and then they will slow down to only once a month.

This morning, our other boston, Miley, broke out in hives all over her face and eyelids.  The poor girl just wanted to play with her rope when we came in from our morning walk and after we ate breakfast.  I had a nice little Tuesday planned...quilting lesson with my husband's grandma, orders to fill and inventory to finish and take to new stores tomorrow.  Well, this put a little set back on my day.  Actually, I wish we could wake up and do this day all over again...

I'm honestly not even sure what happened.  Maybe a reaction to a bug bite from one of the plants she was sniffing?  Maybe she touched a plant or grass that had just been chemically treated at our apartment?  The vet wasn't sure, but something this morning happened, and suddenly we found ourselves in the vet office again having to leave her there all day to monitor her eyes and her swelling.

Let's see, that would be two pups, two vet visits and five shots later...and it's only Tuesday.

Today I let the allergies get the best of me, and I feel very defeated.  

We have adjusted everything possible recommended by five different vets to help our pups live an allergy free life.  Special food, regular doses of Benadryl, fragrance free detergents, air tight food containers, fish oil, not leaving them outside....yep, we've tried a lot of different things.

As frustrating as it is, and as defeated as I feel, I can't help but look at their little faces and feel bad for them and realize that it isn't their fault.  They are great pups and I love them no matter what the issue, cost or adjustments have to be.

I'm thankful tomorrow is a new day.

On My Heart

Last autumn, I started a second blog called Shark Pups.  I had full intentions of creating two separate blogs, shops, FB and twitter accounts; one of which would be only LBF clothing and designs with the other only dog accessories and pup stories.  

What I realized last year was that this idea was not realistic for me at the time, and that I struggled balancing the two and marketing for both.  So, the Shark Pups blog hasn't been touched since December of  last year, even though I have thought about it often.

Last year when I was still very new to blogging, I thought that it needed to be a list of all these specific things in order for it to be considered a successful blog.

Great layout and design.

5+ posts a week.

Consistency.

Quality content.

When I got a little overwhelmed with the two, I decided to let that one go and focus solely on Little Blue Feather{blog, shop, FB and twitter} and thought maybe it just wasn't right timing to start Shark Pups.  What I have now learned is that my second blog doesn't have to sit on the back burner, that I can create with it what I want to.

Looking at the Shark Pups blog now, I have a different perspective.  

Since the beginning of 2012, our immediate and extended family has lost a few very loved pups in their lives; dogs that have traveled with them, shared memories like their wedding, first house and helped get the owners through hard times.  

This week my in-laws lost their boxer in an emergency surgery to try and repair his intestine that was knotted together.  Unfortunately, Louis wasn't able to be saved and I have been shocked by the news all week.  To make it even harder, Louis was the son of my brother-in-laws boxer that passed away of old age a month ago.  Both of these boxers were so loved by the family and it is really hard to think they are no longer with us.

I look at Miley and Stanlee everyday and I am overwhelmed by the love that I have for them.  I was never a dog lover until I joined the Sharkey family and now I totally get it.  They give you a feeling that I never understood until recent years.  I used to have sensitive feelings toward negative comments when people teased me about my love for the dogs, or that I was a little overboard with them, but now it doesn't phase me.  Yes, I am a really proud pup momma.  They are my companions throughout the day when I am working from home and they make me smile, laugh and touch my heart every. single. day.

Because I know they won't be with me forever {and I have a really hard time with that} I want to pick back up with my Shark Pups blog.  This time, I don't care about the numbers, if I am getting traffic to my shop or if my posts are consistent.  I want this other blog of mine to be documentation of our life with them.  I want to share all of the hilarious things Miley does, the jokes we say about Stanlee, share photos of things we do together, write posts from their perspective and overall remember all the things I love so much about them.  And along the way, I want to document all of the other shark pups in our family.  I will still share pupdates on this blog, but I want a separate place to look back and remember.  

I know the next time we are in town, Miley will be searching all over the place for Lou, her first buddy and roommate when we added her to our family.  

And it will break my heart.    

So this is not only an update on Shark Pups, but to also say that if you have a blog, you can create it to be whatever you want.  Document your life, share photos, write notes to your future self or just plain share randomness about your two little pups that you are mildly obsessed with.  

It's your own little space.

Write freely.

Shark Pups Return

Shark Pups are back!

I took a very long break from blogging on Shark Pups for a few reasons.  When I was a beginner blogger, I read articles on what a successful blog was.  

How do you get people to follow you?

Stats.

Sponsors.

Post quantity.

Consistency.....

All of these things were needed to have a "successful" blog.  Now that I have become a little more experienced, I have realized that a successful blog could mean having something you are proud of that provides memories and documentation of the lovely little things in life...not the highest numbers or high traffic to another area of your work.

In the beginning, I wanted to divide up my Little Blue Feather shop and sell all dog accessories in a separate shop called Shark Pups.  I realized that at this time I was unable to balance the two, and create a new shop from the ground up without any followers, marketing plans, etc.  So, I put Shark Pups shop on hold, continued blogging for a wee bit longer, and then eventually it all fizzled.  

When I look at this blog now, I have a different perspective.

Since the beginning of 2012, our immediate and extended family has lost a few very loved pups in their lives; dogs that have traveled with them, shared memories like their wedding, first house and helped get the owners through hard times.  

This week my in-laws lost their boxer in an emergency surgery to try and repair his intestine that was knotted together.  Unfortunately, Louis wasn't able to be saved and I have been shocked by the news all week.  To make it even harder, Louis was the son of my brother-in-laws boxer that passed away of old age a month ago.  Both of these boxers were so loved by the family and it is really hard to think they are no longer with us.

I look at Miley and Stanlee everyday and I am overwhelmed by the love that I have for them.  I was never a dog lover until I joined the Sharkey family and now I totally get it.  They give you a feeling that I never understood until recent years.  I used to have sensitive feelings toward negative comments when people teased me about my love for the dogs, or that I was a little overboard with them, but now it doesn't phase me.  Yes, I am a really proud pup momma.  They are my companions throughout the day when I am working from home and they make me smile, laugh and touch my heart every. single. day.

Because I know they won't be with me forever {and I have a really hard time with that} I want to pick back up with my Shark Pups blog.  This time, I don't care about the numbers, if I am getting traffic to my shop or if my posts are consistent.  I want this blog of mine to be documentation of our life with them.  I want to share all of the hilarious things Miley does, the jokes we say about Stanlee, share photos of things we do together, write posts from their perspective and overall remember all the things I love so much about them.  And along the way, I want to document all of the other shark pups in our family.   

I know the next time we are in town, Miley will be searching all over the place for Lou, her first buddy and roommate when we added her to our family.  

And it will break my heart.    

So this is not only an update on Shark Pups, but to also say that if you have a blog, you can create it to be whatever you want.  Document your life, share photos, write notes to your future self or just plain share randomness about your two little pups that you are mildly obsessed with.  

It's your own little space.

Write freely.