this week in snoots

we’re still alive

Hi, it’s me again. HAVING A PUPPY IS A LOT, WOW. It has been so hard to get back into a regular routine with a four-month-old puppy, but we are getting there. Every morning starts with soft Marcy cries, asking very demurely to go potty before the sun has risen. Noodle dad usually gets up and takes her out (bless his heart) while Abby steals his spot in bed, and we get a few extra moments of sleep before Marcy makes a beeline upstairs because she IS SO EXCITED to see Abby in the morning. Abby hates that Marcy does that. But frankly it’s adorable. Everyone has breakfast, and then Cleo and Marcy usually play in the living room, except Marcy has conjunctivitis in both eyes, so they aren’t allowed to play biteyface until she’s healed…which is extremely difficult. Have you ever tried separating two spaghetti noodles after they’ve been sitting together in a strainer for an hour? It’s like that. Now I’ve gotten into the habit of taking Marcy for a long training walk to disperse some of her morning crazies. We practice her looking at me, not pulling, and not eating things off the ground (LOL). Cleo is very upset that Marcy is getting an extra morning walk, but there is only so much I can do. Once we get back, Marcy immediately launches herself at Cleo because she loves Cleo and wants to wrestle, and I feel like an absolute grinch having to separate them. I usually freeze Kongs for them in hopes of distracting them, but if Marcy finishes hers first or thinks Cleo’s looks better, she DEMANDS to have Cleo’s. We are working on it 😅. God forbid Marcy tries to demand something from Abby…

AFTER ALL OF THIS, it’s usually around 10:30 AM, and finally Cleo and Marcy settle for a nice morning nap. This is when you would think I’d have time to get ready for the day, clean the house, and catch up on messages…I would think so too, but I am so burnt out from pulling noodles apart that I find myself doom scrolling or busying myself with chores that aren’t even real instead of getting to my actual work. Again, it is a work in progress figuring out what our new routine is. But also during this time, Abby starts crying dramatically from upstairs for attention; she has no problem keeping up her crying routines. Proud of her for that.

The afternoon usually is a blur, and then it’s dinner time. Marcy usually eats 10X faster than her sisters, and then she sits and STARES THEM DOWN while they eat because she is really keen on being the bowl cleaner. Cleo and Abby don’t seem to mind. Then we do a group walk, which is equal parts entertaining and frustrating because we are still figuring out how the noodle hoard operates together. Marcy takes her time; she likes to sniff and gets very easily distracted. Abby likes to eat grass, and Cleo likes to hunt squirrels and ALWAYS needs to be in the front. We have found that one person walking Marcy and the other person walking Cleo and Abby seems to be the best combo, but I think once Marcy is fully grown, it will be Marcy and Abby together and Cleo on her own. When we get home, there are usually a few hours of peace; everyone goes off for a post-dinner/walk nap. But at about 7:30–8 PM, Marcy gets overtired and decides to be an absolute menace. At least that part of the routine has gotten predictable 😅. Once she’s done with the crazies, we do one last bathroom outing, and then Marcy gets crated for the night. THANK SNOOT.

Juggling three dogs has honestly not been that difficult in terms of home life, the only real struggle is coordinating them all for our weekly outings. It’s hard because a lot of my favorite places to take Cleo and Abby are just too much for Marcy right now. Her recall training is coming along really well, but she still lacks complete control of her limbs, so I know she would struggle to keep up with Cleo and Abby on a real hike. In lieu of this, we have been renting out a private dog park once a week so we have a safe space for all the girls to run and bond, and honestly, that has been a lot of fun. I really think it is slowly bringing Marcy and Abby together, very, very slowly. Marcy has also been to three dog parks since we got her. I’m not a huge fan of dog parks for socializing dogs, but we are very lucky to have dog parks that are basically just fenced-in trails. Marcy has seemed really timid and unsure about walking past dogs in our neighborhood, so we decided to take her to a small dog park to help her meet a wide variety of dogs. It was honestly a dream—so many nice little dogs to help make Marcy comfortable. We also took Marcy with us to two large dog breed parks so she could spend time with Cleo and Abby, and she did so well. She was definitely nervous initially about meeting dogs her size or bigger, but she is so brave, and with some encouragement and by watching Cleo and Abby, she has definitely started coming out of her shell.

The biggest good news coming out of this week is that ABBY FINALLY BROUGHT HER FATHER AN OFFERING!!!! She has been extra goofy and sassy lately, so I think she has decided she doesn’t mind Marcy being a permanent resident after all. All in all, I am so proud of all three girls for how they are adjusting and adapting to the new normal. We still have a long way to go, but I am looking forward to watching all of them become best friends. Fingers crossed.

*I have been writing this update for two weeks now and FINALLY got around to finishing it. Marcy’s conjunctivitis has cleared up, praise be the snoot. Also in the span of those two weeks Marcy has GROWN, she is the same size as Cleo and it truly does not compute. ALSO, if you saw our Christmas tree up, no you didn’t. It was just for a holiday campaign that we feel so lucky to have gotten to work on. The tree is already down now 🙌😅*

LOOK AT THIS SIZE DIFFERENCE FROM JUST ONE MONTH; I AM NOT CRYING YOU ARE 😭

excuse me who is this LEGGY CREATURE and what happened to my smol bean gurl