My New Baby, Part Deux

Heyas,

Well, the naming situaton resolved itself, finally. I really, really did not wanna call that boy Max. Naming animals is a very picky process for me, as I'm firmly convinced that animals should have names that fit them, as well as hold some meaning for their human companions. Any road, I was having a fun night with D tonight...just trying to figure out what the new furball is, exactly by entering various dog breeds into Google images and trying to find puppy pix that resemble him. I mean, he's obviously a bona fide Heinz (y'know, 57 varieties? Yes, I'm a dork), but we finally decided he's mostly Golden Retriever (with his coloring, head shape, and fluffy coat) mixed with Border Collie (ears, muzzle, and general attitude and intelligence). Found some pictures of Golden/Border mixes that look just like him and the other two in the litter.

So...plus side, both breeds tend to be incredibly sweet, smart, and loyal, as well as great family dogs. Down side....Border Collies are very intense. Very, VERY intense. He'll probably require a lot of stimulation and entertainment. Which will be good when I have the Imp to run around with him, but will require me to become more active than I currently am. Which isn't a bad thing, now that I think about it. Hehe, can't wait to take the little guy to the beach!

Any road, so after our totally scientific and not at all subjective diagnosis of what his parents were, we're clicking through a website that literally lists thousands of dog names and calling out random ones that appeal to us.

Milo
Lancelot
Radar
Finley

And then all of a sudden, I come upon it. THE name. The perfect name that suits him just right, fits ME just perfectly, and is so blindingly excellent that I can't believe I had to find it on a website instead of it occuring to me right off the bat.

So, my new baby's name is officially: Tarot.

Score :)

On the Imp-front, I'm going to make an appointment with my OBGYN on Monday...I'm going to go ahead and start my paperwork with Midwest. I'm not sure when exactly I'm going to try again. I might end up waiting 'til next summer after all...it would give me a chance to get some excess weight off (I'm healthy, but I'm a very large woman...it sure as hell wouldn't hurt anything). Plus, I think I need a checkup anyway...I've had the weirdest sensations in my pelvic/abdominal region lately. Things just feel...tight sometimes. Like there's something hard in my guts...but things don't feel hard when I press. It happens frequently enough that it feels weird to sleep on my stomach anymore (and I'm an avowed stomach-sleeper)--not painful, just strange. Weirder still, I've been having the most bizarre gas pangs when I turn on my side...strongest I've ever felt in my life. Last night, it was like someone had reached inside my guts and was walking their fingers up and down my lower ribs and hip...like hard. I'm kind of worried, actually. My sister has IBS and was diagnosed with Crohn's this year. *sigh* That's the last thing I need to deal with right now.

If it ain't one thing, it's another, eh? At least I'll have a cute puppy to snuggle with soon.

My New Baby

Heyas,

No...not THAT baby. I am still working logistics on the Imp-front (and kind of getting pissed off at my possible KD, 'cause he keeps joking around with me--'you know, between the two of us, the kid'll be a picky eater,' but still refusing to give me a straight answer as to whether or not he'll do it...and I know in KD-land, that's pretty much guyspeak for 'I really don't want to' and I totally understand and respect that and am making other arrangements anyway...but a simple yes or no would suffice. I hate coy bullshit.)

But ANYWAY....

Imp, my love, you are going to grow up around animals from the very first. Mommy is a bit of a 'rescuer' and has two cats that she's adopted over the years. Well, all right, Arwen just appeared on Mommy's front porch and adopted her, but Mommy went to the animal shelter for Micah. And there's our family dog, Lucky, but he lives with Grandma and is most likely not going to be around long enough for you to remember, as we got him when Mommy was in seventh grade. Incidentally, Lucky will be the gold standard by which Mommy measures all other dogs in our lives. Best. Dog. Ever.

That said, though, the other night, Grandma was driving home from her job and came upon a truly heartbreaking sight. Three puppies, abandoned on a busy highway, miles away from civilization, busily tearing at a deer carcass someone had hit. Grandma talks a hard game when it comes to animals, but she's a softie. The pups came home in her car...muddy and bloody as they were. Two were adopted out easily enough, but one they could not find a person for.

So, of course, Mommy stepped up.

I like the idea of you growing up with a dog and by the time you're here, he'll be trained and out of the underfoot all the time stage, but young enough for you to have many years of roughhousing with.

And it doesn't hurt that he's cute as a button, very cuddly and easygoing according to my sister, and already showing signs of the kind of intelligence that makes Lucky such a great dog. The vet puts him at about six weeks and he's absolutely adorable.

But damned if I can think of a name for him. The vet says he's some kind of Golden Retriever mix (though I think Yellow Lab is more likely). Ordinarily, I'd pull from whatever TV show I happen to be insanely devoted to at the time (ie, Arwen was adopted during my Lord of the Rings phase)...but nothing's jumping out at me now. I hate, hate, HATE common names and am not overly fond of human names for animals, either (though oddly, he kind of looks like a Max to me, which gets strikes on both counts).

So far I've got a list that looks something like this (and having said I really don't like human names for animals, it amuses me to no end that this little guy keeps inspiring them):

Max

Remy

Sylar (I do like Heroes, even if the show has lost its damn fool mind this season)

Jasper (roomie is a Twilight fan)

Jinx

Reid

Gideon

Loki

Riley

Quinn

Harper

Shay

I really don't want to name him Max. Everyone has a dog named Max. 'Tis annoying.

But isn't he sweet?