"Who Let the Dogs Out?"

I should so be in bed but really, I knew you all could use a little Van-Fam Drama. I think these things really only happen to me...

First though I will share something I was really comfortable sharing until we were past it. The week before last we dealth with something not-so-nice. Something that will make you itch as soon as I tell you about it. Something that I hope to never deal with again but know it's very possible. Something such as - lice. Yuck. It was awful. I have never washed so much in my life. But, here we are almost 2 weeks later and no more lice, but I didn't check tonight so I might need to retract that statement.

And while I'm sharing...I will continue with the stuff I swear, only happens to us...

This morning I woke up to Kenz hollerin' "MAMA" in her crib. I listened for a few and could still hear JD breathing (he's a heavy breather) in his room and could tell he was still sleeping. I laid there a while longer and before long JD was stirring and then all of a sudden I hear him say, "Oh, she's calling me, I got to go." And with that he jumped up and ran to his sister's room. I guess he was hearing "Bubba" instead of "Mama". Regardless it was precious. And that was the highlight of my day. I should have stayed in bed b/c it was all downhill...

I was walking down the stairs carrying Kenz when I missed the 5th step from the bottom and fell. I landed right on my butt and sorta bounced the rest of the way down. My entire bottom half was so sore it was almost numb. I set Kenz down who whined a second but was fine and crawled my way to the couch. I laid there for 15 praying nothing way broken. Eventually I got up and walked it out. I have a nice purple bruise across my right cheek now. I tried to take a bath tonight but really needed one of those donuts they give you after pushing out a baby.

We (any by we I maan Kenzie) had a meltdown during our probiotic granola and yogurt this morning...and then she turned the granola mixture over on her head. That was fun to get out.

Then...my best friend Ashley came over to perform a school experiment on JD. After her pyscho-analysis on my son and after giving him the greenlight fir 1st grade (he's 4) we headed outside while the kiddos played. We were out there for only a few when the real drama started...

Backup 6 months...
...New neighbors move in. Great. They have 2 german shepherd mixed dogs, 1 mama pitbull, and 7 pitbull puppies. Not so great. The dogs attack the fence everytime our dogs are out and over the course of the last 6 months have come in our backyard 10+ times. I bet they have repaired our fence a dozen times (at least). It's ridiculous and needless to say, Jimmy is so over it. I have been fearful things were gonna get ugly...did I mention they are pits?

Well, they were finally down to one mama pit (who's mostly an inside dog), 1 german shep mut, and 4 pits that are not-so-puppyish anymore. So...the kids and I and Ash were all outside today. The kids in the fort and Ash and I on the ground talking. Next thing I know, these 3 pits and german mut coming charging into my backyard. THANK JESUS the kids were in the fort. The dogs have never been overly aggressive so I wasn't too panicked but they did have me cornered onto the stairs and were barking like crazy. Thank GOD Ashley was there b/c she was able to get the hose and spray them to get them to back off some. They would not scare off though...they def. were not scared of us but we finally got them back enough that I could get JD down and in the house and then Kenz (who was scared and crying) down and inside. Ash immediately called Jimmy and was probably more mad than I was. I usually don't tell him when the dogs get out b/c I know eventually he's going to go over there. Or shoot them. He comes home and the calls begin. We called the police dept first and they give us the number to Harris County Animal Control. We call AC and they are at lunch. We wait until 1:00, all the while these dogs in our backyard getting more aggressive by the minute. It was to the point that if any of us walked towards the backdoor they went crazy. There was one that was significantly bigger and more aggressive than the others. He was actually attacking the backdoor. I can't tell you how my hair stood up when Kenz walked over towards the door and that pit went crazy. All his barking and snapping was at the exact level of her face. It was at this point I realized the severity of the issue. So...1:00 rolls around and Jimmy call AC back. After explaning the situation the lady said she would get someone out....
Jimmy: "When?"
AC Lady: "Sometime. Maybe tomorrow, I can't give you an exact time."
Jimmy: "Maybe I need to re-explain the situation. We can't even walk out of our backdoor...what happens if they are back in their yard tomorrow?"
AC Lady: "Well, then there won't be much for us to do..."

This is about the time Jimmy lost it...

AC Lady: "And sir. Pitbulls are a family-friendly breed unless provoked..."
Jimmy: "#@!*&%^#!$*$(^!@*%$#@!(&%$ Don't preach to me and do your job!"

CLICK!

At this point in an attempt to calm Jimmy down and secure our rights as a HO, I called my mom to talk to our lawyer friend Bill. He explained the rights and in short said as long as we file a police rept we would be fine..."

We called the police back and spoke to an anti-pitbull lady who dispatched someone ASAP. A PO showed up a few minutes later. As soon as she went to open the backdoor they came running back through the hole in the fence (the fence issue is never-ending b/c they are constantly breaking th pickets). She went to walk out and they started going crazy. She did what she could to get ahold of the HO's and after no luck called AC herself. They sent someone out and it got worse in worse. In a matter of minutes the bigger pit was getting more and more aggressive. As soon as the AC worker saw the situation he immeditaley said they were going to be removed and if any got aggressive they would be putdown on the spot. He was able to cath all of them but it did take some time. He went after the aggressive one first and he took the longest. By the time he had him restrained he was foaming at the mouth and FREAKING out. Jimmy said it looked like one of those alligators on Animal Planet the way it was spinning. The homeowner's son came home during this mess and had no prob. Apparently they are the mother's dogs and he is sick of dealing with this crap as much as we are. They did advise him that they would have 3 days to get them back after paying the fines and showing proof of registration, rabies vac, etc. All except the aggressive one. He was "red-flagged" meaning he would be put down ASAP. It was really scary there for a bit, especially seeing how more and more out-of-control the big pit was getting. The AC and PO could not get over it...it was pretty bad.

And then...we had a nice quiet afternoon. Jimmy got home and took JD to golf and Kenz and I went to JoAnns and Barnes and Noble.

I did get home to an interesting story. Apparently JD was playing with Jimmy's phone we he said, "Oh!" Never a good sign. "She's talking to me..." Jimmy grabbed the phone and sure enough...JD had dialed 9-1-1. Jimmy said "Hello" and heard, "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" After explaining the situation all was well...

Of course...it was the perfect ending to a odd day. LOL. The positive in all this? Sleeping tonight without listening to dogs fight/bark! Amen to that! And praying they don't return!!!!

Off to bed....