new addition

meet daisy, the newest member of the collier fam:

daisy is an 8 week old golden retriever/poodle mix, and she is adorable, as you can see. i am going to be the "calm assertive pack leader" that cesar milan, dog whisperer extraordinaire, encourages dog owners to be, despite the fact that i did refer to daisy as "devil dog" in the middle of the night. i didn't say it to her face, of course, just mumbled it as an aside. winn and i aren't getting as much sleep as one might hope. 

this is where motherhood comes in handy, though. if there is one thing i've gleaned from having children (and i do suspect there's more than one thing), but if there is just one thing, it's that this season won't last all that long in the great scheme of things. my children did eventually learn to sleep through the night. they did eventually learn to use the potty appropriately. and i can just repeat the mantra i used when they were toddlers and i was completely strung out: "it won't always be this way. it won't always be this way. it won't always be this way." this works best if you stare out into space with a glazed, catatonic look on your face, repeat the mantra for several minutes, then reward yourself for the good job you're doing with a diet coke and some form of chocolate.