Well, it was graduation day for Ranger, anyway. Our last obedience class last night was a great deal of fun. Each dog began with a front-and-center display of our commands, including his or her trick. Sandi and I had to switch off during this portion of the class, because I cannot get him to roll over. Afterwards, we played a game where we moved along a taped-off game board with commands in each space. Two games were played in total, and Ranger and I won the second heat. Since dice were involved, this of course means that Sandi did our rolling. Each dog got a graduation package with treats, a toy, and a diploma as a reward for completing the class. Sandi had her camera; if you ask her really nicely, she might post the pictures here.
Ranger had us more than a little worried before class started. After his walk, he more or less collapsed on the living room floor; we could barely get him to drink any water. Once we got into the room, though, he kicked into approximately ninth gear. He wanted to get up close and personal with each and every classmate in class as the room filled, and he felt the need to jump on both of us as well as Karen, the instructor. I joked that he was trying to fail the class so he could come back for five more weeks. Karen mentioned something called an 'extinction burst,' which can occur when a dog has been trained to stop a behavior. This burst occurs right before the dog abandons the undesired behavior for good, so keep your fingers crossed. We were still very proud of our big guy; Karen even mentioned how much he had improved to the whole class before we adjourned.
Sandi had quite a day at work today. Due to either an unusual electromagnetic disturbance or a concentration of swamp gas igniting near a weather balloon, the bank was slammed like it was the first day of the month. By the time she got home, she wanted nothing but to take her mind off work. I suppose most of us feel that way at times, but seldom does Sandi suggest playing video games within five minutes of arriving home. We spent the evening with Final Fantasy VII, and she went to bed early tonight.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Two Down, Two to Go
Since there was no update yesterday, I am certain everyone is dying to know how our interviews went. In short, Sandi got a big thumbs-up, whereas experimental brain surgery was recommended for me before allowing me to parent a child. Then I ran along a wall and plummeted into a thirty-foot-deep spiked pit. No -- wait, that's not how it happened . . .
To tell the truth, the interviews went quite well. Most of the questions were pretty straightforward and were not designed to make us scratch our heads in deep thought. Sandi went first, so I hung out in the bedroom and played a game on my Nintendo DS while Julie and Sandi talked. A little more than an hour later, Sandi and I switched places (and games, in case you were curious). Julie asked me about my family makeup and my educational background; we also went over my vocational and spiritual history. The only question that took more than a couple of minutes to answer was one about the values my parents instilled in me. Please do not misunderstand -- my mom and dad did inculcate me with values and beliefs. A wanton goody-goody such as myself seldom arises through random happenstance. Rather, those ideas tend to exist in the part of my mind which operates subconsciously, so it took me some time to draw them out in verbal form.
Once the interviews were over, we were able to set up dates for the remainder of our home study. Our couple's interview will be on August 7, and the home safety inspection will be on Tuesday, August 19. This works out well for us, because classes start at King on the twentieth. After Julie left, we spent the rest of the day relaxing. We ordered pizzas and occupied our afternoon playing Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation 2. And the evening and the morning were the interview day.
Sandi slept pretty poorly last night; I think the stress of the impending interviews gave way to a release of sorts that kept her from resting much. To make matters worse, the air conditioning at the bank was evidently on the fritz today. She went to bed early tonight in the hopes of getting caught up before she goes to work tomorrow morning.
It feels strange not to be grabbing my book to do a page count before posting messages now. Anyway, have a great weekend, everyone!
To tell the truth, the interviews went quite well. Most of the questions were pretty straightforward and were not designed to make us scratch our heads in deep thought. Sandi went first, so I hung out in the bedroom and played a game on my Nintendo DS while Julie and Sandi talked. A little more than an hour later, Sandi and I switched places (and games, in case you were curious). Julie asked me about my family makeup and my educational background; we also went over my vocational and spiritual history. The only question that took more than a couple of minutes to answer was one about the values my parents instilled in me. Please do not misunderstand -- my mom and dad did inculcate me with values and beliefs. A wanton goody-goody such as myself seldom arises through random happenstance. Rather, those ideas tend to exist in the part of my mind which operates subconsciously, so it took me some time to draw them out in verbal form.
Once the interviews were over, we were able to set up dates for the remainder of our home study. Our couple's interview will be on August 7, and the home safety inspection will be on Tuesday, August 19. This works out well for us, because classes start at King on the twentieth. After Julie left, we spent the rest of the day relaxing. We ordered pizzas and occupied our afternoon playing Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation 2. And the evening and the morning were the interview day.
Sandi slept pretty poorly last night; I think the stress of the impending interviews gave way to a release of sorts that kept her from resting much. To make matters worse, the air conditioning at the bank was evidently on the fritz today. She went to bed early tonight in the hopes of getting caught up before she goes to work tomorrow morning.
It feels strange not to be grabbing my book to do a page count before posting messages now. Anyway, have a great weekend, everyone!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Time Flies When You Have Tons to Do
Has it really been a full week since I have written anything here? I apologize from the bottom of my heart for the dearth of updates. Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to fill in the blanks of the past days.
I spent last Wednesday and Thursday continuing to help Andy with his roof, which looks quite good now. I was not able to help him finish the job, but Craig was probably able to work more quickly with me out of his way. On Friday, I helped another of my colleagues, Bill Linderman, get a piano back into his house from a repair place. I, along with the other three guys Bill had enlisted to help with the move, was rewarded with lunch and a homemade apple cobbler.
My original plan was to get an update posted on Saturday, but that went out the window when we received a surprise visit from Joyce (Sandi's mom). As the pictures below can attest, we now have our crib installed in the nursery. I think the visit and delivery helped lift Sandi's spirits from the delayed interviews. Overall, we had a great weekend, even though I had to do a great deal more work than I had anticipated [wink wink].
Monday's highlight was Ranger's next-to-last obedience class, where we really just reviewed our stuff from the previous weeks. Our next (and final) meeting is a 'graduation' class, where each dog is supposed to showcase a trick of some sort beyond what we have done during the course. We plan on having Ranger roll over; although crawling would be adorable, he is way too prone to lift his fanny from a down position to pull it off with a week's work.
Yesterday, being the fourth Tuesday of the month, brought our waiting families meeting in Knoxville. The topic of the get-together was 'meeting a birthmother,' which is a scenario most of our office's adoptive parents will experience. I gathered two main things from our discussion, which had two guest couples who had adopted from our office. First, it is completely normal to feel awkward at the start of the meeting. Second, beyond the first point, there is no way to predict what will happen during the meeting. I also wanted to let you know a bit about our social worker, Mark, who is the most delighfully politically incorrect guy I have ever met. One of the guest families had adopted a child whose birthparents are from India. At some point, the little boy in question was called Indian, which compelled Mark to add, "not like 'whoo whoo!'" with one hand over his mouth and the other in the air. Good times. On our way home, Sandi and I discussed the sorts of information we would like to have from our birthmother in case there is no future contact.
Our first interviews are tomorrow morning; this, of course, meant that today was spent whipping the house into tip-top shape for the occasion. I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and we dusted tonight before Sandi went to bed. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow me the chance to mow the front yard. We hope Julie will not think less of our yard for having a week's growth on it. Now that I think about it, I still have to douse our sofa and chair with Febreze prior to retiring myself. As always, prayers for the morning are coveted. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I finished my reading assignment Monday night, so there!!
Current Status: 392 / 392 (100.0% completed)
I spent last Wednesday and Thursday continuing to help Andy with his roof, which looks quite good now. I was not able to help him finish the job, but Craig was probably able to work more quickly with me out of his way. On Friday, I helped another of my colleagues, Bill Linderman, get a piano back into his house from a repair place. I, along with the other three guys Bill had enlisted to help with the move, was rewarded with lunch and a homemade apple cobbler.
My original plan was to get an update posted on Saturday, but that went out the window when we received a surprise visit from Joyce (Sandi's mom). As the pictures below can attest, we now have our crib installed in the nursery. I think the visit and delivery helped lift Sandi's spirits from the delayed interviews. Overall, we had a great weekend, even though I had to do a great deal more work than I had anticipated [wink wink].
Monday's highlight was Ranger's next-to-last obedience class, where we really just reviewed our stuff from the previous weeks. Our next (and final) meeting is a 'graduation' class, where each dog is supposed to showcase a trick of some sort beyond what we have done during the course. We plan on having Ranger roll over; although crawling would be adorable, he is way too prone to lift his fanny from a down position to pull it off with a week's work.
Yesterday, being the fourth Tuesday of the month, brought our waiting families meeting in Knoxville. The topic of the get-together was 'meeting a birthmother,' which is a scenario most of our office's adoptive parents will experience. I gathered two main things from our discussion, which had two guest couples who had adopted from our office. First, it is completely normal to feel awkward at the start of the meeting. Second, beyond the first point, there is no way to predict what will happen during the meeting. I also wanted to let you know a bit about our social worker, Mark, who is the most delighfully politically incorrect guy I have ever met. One of the guest families had adopted a child whose birthparents are from India. At some point, the little boy in question was called Indian, which compelled Mark to add, "not like 'whoo whoo!'" with one hand over his mouth and the other in the air. Good times. On our way home, Sandi and I discussed the sorts of information we would like to have from our birthmother in case there is no future contact.
Our first interviews are tomorrow morning; this, of course, meant that today was spent whipping the house into tip-top shape for the occasion. I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and we dusted tonight before Sandi went to bed. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow me the chance to mow the front yard. We hope Julie will not think less of our yard for having a week's growth on it. Now that I think about it, I still have to douse our sofa and chair with Febreze prior to retiring myself. As always, prayers for the morning are coveted. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I finished my reading assignment Monday night, so there!!
Current Status: 392 / 392 (100.0% completed)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
There Was a Floor Under Me Before, Right?
Our first interviews for the home study were supposed to be on Friday afternoon. After a phone call from Julie, the Bethany worker who will be conducting our interviews, there has been a change of plans. Feel free to conjecture how Sandi felt about this alteration of the schedule. Julie apparently had three sets of interviews to do that day, and she had a church function that evening to boot. We will now get the interviews underway next Thursday (July 24) at 10:00 AM. Keep us in your prayers.
Ranger's class last night went very well; the earlier walk seemed to burn just enough of his fuel tank to calm down the big guy. Our primary focus was the 'heel' command, which keeps him at my side while I move from one point to another. Ranger was one of only two dogs who pulled off the trick in a single run, and we got a thumbs-up from Karen during our turn. She attributes our success to our work with targeting over the past few weeks, whereas I credit my outrageous awesomeness. Unfortunately, our beloved dog has had tummy trouble today, which may be the result of an inadvertently large quantity of treats he received during class. I leaned toward the floor for something, and half my pocket's reward stash fell to the ground. You live and learn, I suppose.
I spent most of the day on the roof of Andy, my department chair. His roof was essentially disintegrating, and he asked me to assist him in laying a new layer of sheathing. My extensive experience in this field, also known as 'some guy's garden shed,' was indubitably what brought me to mind. Craig McDonald, another professor at King, was also furthering the cause. As it turns out, Craig's daughter is considering adoption. Her experience will in all likelihood be quite different from ours, since she and her husband live in Scotland.
I think that sums up the last couple of days for us. Have a great week, folks!
Current Status: 291 / 392 (74.2% complete)
Ranger's class last night went very well; the earlier walk seemed to burn just enough of his fuel tank to calm down the big guy. Our primary focus was the 'heel' command, which keeps him at my side while I move from one point to another. Ranger was one of only two dogs who pulled off the trick in a single run, and we got a thumbs-up from Karen during our turn. She attributes our success to our work with targeting over the past few weeks, whereas I credit my outrageous awesomeness. Unfortunately, our beloved dog has had tummy trouble today, which may be the result of an inadvertently large quantity of treats he received during class. I leaned toward the floor for something, and half my pocket's reward stash fell to the ground. You live and learn, I suppose.
I spent most of the day on the roof of Andy, my department chair. His roof was essentially disintegrating, and he asked me to assist him in laying a new layer of sheathing. My extensive experience in this field, also known as 'some guy's garden shed,' was indubitably what brought me to mind. Craig McDonald, another professor at King, was also furthering the cause. As it turns out, Craig's daughter is considering adoption. Her experience will in all likelihood be quite different from ours, since she and her husband live in Scotland.
I think that sums up the last couple of days for us. Have a great week, folks!
Current Status: 291 / 392 (74.2% complete)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Phil Gives a Book Report
As my progress indicators have implied, I am plowing through my last reading assignment before our home study interviews. This particular book consists predominantly of interviews of adults who were adopted transracially (that is, they are African-American or biracial while their adoptive parents are European or European-American). The adoptees differ in their opinions on the propriety of transracial adoption, but each states unequivocally that he or she loves his or her adoptive parents.
The cornucopia of thought on the issue is interesting, but the most fascinating part to me is the image of 'black' culture which emerges from the pages. The people in the interviews describe meals of fat back, greens, and cornbread as traditional 'black' food; they also mention a tendency in African-American families to administer corporal discipline with belts and switches rather than a bare hand. This strikes me as odd because these things were standard in my family, which, as anyone who knows us can attest, could only get whiter by stumbling face-first into a vat of bleach. Of course, there are other factors which make my cultural background much different than that of an African-American, but I find myself wondering how large a portion of African-American culture is, in fact, Southern culture that stuck with the people in the years following abolition. The parallels I have seen make me even more convinced of how ridiculous the claims of 'racial superiority' made by bigots are.
I think that is more than enough deep thought for the night; let me tell you about our requisite wacky occurrence for the day. As I walked up to the house this evening, I saw our neighbor, Robbie, knocking on our front door. Upon closer inspection, I noticed everyone's favorite backyard escape artist sitting there with him. Apparently, Ranger had hopped into the bed of Robbie's truck after extricating himself. I was greatly concerned that our loving dog had once again clambered over the fence, but upon closer inspection, I found something much simpler to explain his escape. The gate to our back yard was open, which means that he merely popped up the latch and simply walked free. We typically counter this maneuver with a locking clip on the latch, but we must have forgotten this time. Fortunately for us, Ranger and Robbie get along fabulously.
Current Status: 246 / 392 (62.8% completed)
The cornucopia of thought on the issue is interesting, but the most fascinating part to me is the image of 'black' culture which emerges from the pages. The people in the interviews describe meals of fat back, greens, and cornbread as traditional 'black' food; they also mention a tendency in African-American families to administer corporal discipline with belts and switches rather than a bare hand. This strikes me as odd because these things were standard in my family, which, as anyone who knows us can attest, could only get whiter by stumbling face-first into a vat of bleach. Of course, there are other factors which make my cultural background much different than that of an African-American, but I find myself wondering how large a portion of African-American culture is, in fact, Southern culture that stuck with the people in the years following abolition. The parallels I have seen make me even more convinced of how ridiculous the claims of 'racial superiority' made by bigots are.
I think that is more than enough deep thought for the night; let me tell you about our requisite wacky occurrence for the day. As I walked up to the house this evening, I saw our neighbor, Robbie, knocking on our front door. Upon closer inspection, I noticed everyone's favorite backyard escape artist sitting there with him. Apparently, Ranger had hopped into the bed of Robbie's truck after extricating himself. I was greatly concerned that our loving dog had once again clambered over the fence, but upon closer inspection, I found something much simpler to explain his escape. The gate to our back yard was open, which means that he merely popped up the latch and simply walked free. We typically counter this maneuver with a locking clip on the latch, but we must have forgotten this time. Fortunately for us, Ranger and Robbie get along fabulously.
Current Status: 246 / 392 (62.8% completed)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
In defense...
I did not break the lamp. we just turned it once too much in the wrong direction. Since we have both been guilty of turning it wrong, I think we are both guilty of breaking the lamp.
Also, I do have to admit I love "Jon and Kate Plus 8". Jon and Kate remind me so much of Philip and myself that it's scary. We can relate to their marriage so much that it makes me wonder if we'll handle our kids the same way (which is basically good).
I've been very proud of not only Ranger but also Philip. He's handling Ranger, most of the time, like a pro. It's very encouraging to watch.
The nursery is looking very good. I'm looking forward to when we can go home and get the crib. I was going to order the bedding off the registry but it was temporarily unavailable. Oh well, maybe next pay day. I do have to say, though, I hate cutting in and doing trim work. It's way too tedious.
Oh well, that's all for now, if you missed the pic's post, check out the 6th.
Also, I do have to admit I love "Jon and Kate Plus 8". Jon and Kate remind me so much of Philip and myself that it's scary. We can relate to their marriage so much that it makes me wonder if we'll handle our kids the same way (which is basically good).
I've been very proud of not only Ranger but also Philip. He's handling Ranger, most of the time, like a pro. It's very encouraging to watch.
The nursery is looking very good. I'm looking forward to when we can go home and get the crib. I was going to order the bedding off the registry but it was temporarily unavailable. Oh well, maybe next pay day. I do have to say, though, I hate cutting in and doing trim work. It's way too tedious.
Oh well, that's all for now, if you missed the pic's post, check out the 6th.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday, Monday . . .
Due to a meeting with a gutter-installation guy, I was stranded at the house today. That meant I had to putter about the place in order to feel like I accomplished something. I ran the dishwasher and did a load of laundry; I also changed the sheets on the bed. We finished painting the walls in the nursery yesterday, so only the trim still needs attention in there. Apart from the dismantled daybed in the midst of the room, it looks quite nice. As you can tell from the pictures Sandi posted, the color goes wonderfully with our nautical artwork.
Today's obedience class featured the 'follow' command, along with a more sophisticated version of our 'leave it' work from last week. I think I need to take Ranger on his pre-class walk a bit earlier in the future; rather than burning his nervous energy, the exercise seems to merely amp him up for the occasion. He is still doing very well, though.
After class, Sandi broke our living room lamp. Not intentionally, mind you, but it is broken all the same. She turned its dial in the wrong direction, and the poor thing will no longer turn off. Apparently, our next lighting element will have a push-button instead.
< RANT STYLE="over-the-top" >
Before signing off for the night, I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank my sister Andrea for getting Sandi hooked on quasi-reality television. While we were all at the beach, Andi watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 one evening, and now my dear wife cannot get enough of those adorable sextuplets and their wacky adventures. Please do not misunderstand -- I have no real problems with the show, even with a family of ten going to Disney World on a single income. However, Sandi watched another show tonight about a family of fifteen for no other reason than its presence in the time slot before Jon & Kate Plus 8. After this program, which featured a man who could take his whole family to 'kids eat free night' at a restaurant with nary a twang of guilt, Sandi proceeded to go digging about the World Wide IntraNetWeb for more information. Granted, her quest was not unwarranted, but look at what we have become.
< / RANT >
Current Status: 180 / 392 (45.9% completed)
Today's obedience class featured the 'follow' command, along with a more sophisticated version of our 'leave it' work from last week. I think I need to take Ranger on his pre-class walk a bit earlier in the future; rather than burning his nervous energy, the exercise seems to merely amp him up for the occasion. He is still doing very well, though.
After class, Sandi broke our living room lamp. Not intentionally, mind you, but it is broken all the same. She turned its dial in the wrong direction, and the poor thing will no longer turn off. Apparently, our next lighting element will have a push-button instead.
Before signing off for the night, I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank my sister Andrea for getting Sandi hooked on quasi-reality television. While we were all at the beach, Andi watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 one evening, and now my dear wife cannot get enough of those adorable sextuplets and their wacky adventures. Please do not misunderstand -- I have no real problems with the show, even with a family of ten going to Disney World on a single income. However, Sandi watched another show tonight about a family of fifteen for no other reason than its presence in the time slot before Jon & Kate Plus 8. After this program, which featured a man who could take his whole family to 'kids eat free night' at a restaurant with nary a twang of guilt, Sandi proceeded to go digging about the World Wide IntraNetWeb for more information. Granted, her quest was not unwarranted, but look at what we have become.
Current Status: 180 / 392 (45.9% completed)
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy Independence Day!
I suppose I should say 'I hope you had a happy Independence Day,' since I am not getting to the computer to post this until almost midnight. Hopefully this will not be a problem for you.
Our day did not go as planned, as Sandi was not really up to painting in the nursery. Instead, we spent the day playing video games (note the addition to your left). In true Fourth of July fashion, we had hot dogs for lunch and hamburgers for supper; I tend to forget that I make a pretty mean burger because we freeze all our ground beef as soon as it gets home. Ranger's walk this evening was particularly interesting, thanks in large part to all the people in the area setting off fireworks.
We plan to knock out the last of the painting tomorrow, as soon as Sandi gets home from work. Beyond that, we have no real plans, so we might be able to add another game to our list! What?
Current Status: 142 / 392 (36.2% completed)
Our day did not go as planned, as Sandi was not really up to painting in the nursery. Instead, we spent the day playing video games (note the addition to your left). In true Fourth of July fashion, we had hot dogs for lunch and hamburgers for supper; I tend to forget that I make a pretty mean burger because we freeze all our ground beef as soon as it gets home. Ranger's walk this evening was particularly interesting, thanks in large part to all the people in the area setting off fireworks.
We plan to knock out the last of the painting tomorrow, as soon as Sandi gets home from work. Beyond that, we have no real plans, so we might be able to add another game to our list! What?
Current Status: 142 / 392 (36.2% completed)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Classical Conditioning and You . . . Er, Us
Yesterday's obedience class with Ranger went quite well, granting his expected hyperactivity in the presence of a half-dozen dogs, several of whom are quite vocal. After showcasing the big fella's mastery of our commands from last week, we began working on a couple new instructions. The first order of the evening was 'down,' which we had already been working on with a fair degree of success. Later, though, we started teaching Ranger to 'leave it,' which cues him to refrain from trying to get a treat from our hands. Sandi and I view this as a Pavlovian gift from the heavens, the mystimagical key to the gate of a behavioral promised land . . . or, at the very least, a way for us to stop our dog from attempting to play with any cat who ventures through the living room.
Our instructor has noticed that Ranger has issues when it comes to pulling against his leash. Unfortunately, this behavior is most likely my fault, since I tended to try to plow through his walks when he was a wee puppy, regardless of what he was actually doing. In an attempt to curb his sled-dog training, Karen suggested a Gentle Leader headcollar. It has worked quite well thus far, combined with a stubborn refusal on my part to move forward on a walk while he pulls at the lead. Getting the thing on him can be quite entertaining for the outsider, however; the headcollar is about as popular with Ranger as a Tommy Lasorda guest appearance at a Giants game. We also purchased a new kind of collar for him, but I fear we got the wrong size. The one we have is supposed to fit such breeds as mastiffs and Newfoundlands. We are playing this one by ear for now.
I came up with a snazzy way to ensure I finish my last reading assignment prior to our interviews on the eighteenth. Each time I post something here, I will conclude with a count of pages read versus the total required in this third book. Were I still a reasonably talented programmer, I might try a fancy progress bar image, but I should most likely try to minimize ways to procrastinate.
Current Status: 100 / 392 (25.5% completed)
Well, I think this is snazzy . . .
Our instructor has noticed that Ranger has issues when it comes to pulling against his leash. Unfortunately, this behavior is most likely my fault, since I tended to try to plow through his walks when he was a wee puppy, regardless of what he was actually doing. In an attempt to curb his sled-dog training, Karen suggested a Gentle Leader headcollar. It has worked quite well thus far, combined with a stubborn refusal on my part to move forward on a walk while he pulls at the lead. Getting the thing on him can be quite entertaining for the outsider, however; the headcollar is about as popular with Ranger as a Tommy Lasorda guest appearance at a Giants game. We also purchased a new kind of collar for him, but I fear we got the wrong size. The one we have is supposed to fit such breeds as mastiffs and Newfoundlands. We are playing this one by ear for now.
I came up with a snazzy way to ensure I finish my last reading assignment prior to our interviews on the eighteenth. Each time I post something here, I will conclude with a count of pages read versus the total required in this third book. Were I still a reasonably talented programmer, I might try a fancy progress bar image, but I should most likely try to minimize ways to procrastinate.
Current Status: 100 / 392 (25.5% completed)
Well, I think this is snazzy . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
