ONE STEP AT A TIME....

Yesterday I took the first step towards being mostly BLONDE again.
It is going to take a few months... but I don't mind.. as long as I get it back to where I was before I went MAD and dyed it dark brown!

If I ever say I am going to dye it brown again... someone remind me that I HATED IT..OK???

Ta.

So, here's how me hair looks after the first step:

ABOVE:  I'm quite pleased with it already to tell the truth.  Not really blonde yet... but still nice.

Today: GOT. TO. GO. OUT.   Slowly going crazy inside all the time.  Maybe I will drag Steve out for a walk/shops/ SOMETHING!

ONWARD...

So, yes ... Steve and I did go out... it was a bit hard leaving Coco and the Pups, but we figured if she could look after them overnight all on her own she could manage for a few hours ... so we went.

We went to Onehunga to have a browse around Dress Mart Outlet shops, and I also got a few little bits of 'treasure' from a haberdashery on the Mall.

ABOVE:  the 'treasure'... sure to be perfect for little bags, or the front of 'something' sometime.

Clearly MY UGLY MUG is not enough for SOME people... seems puppies are what you want, so without further ado...

ABOVE:  how is this?  How bloody cute is that?

ABOVE:  If Bee Bee is THIS CUTE now... can you imagine how GORGEOUS the puppies will be once their eyes are open!

End of Day:  Quiet afternoon... Griffin did Soccer Tryout at school... Steve went to supervise and bring them home.  Yaaa... this could mean Saturday morning soccer games.... WONDERFUL... *said with heavy sarcasm*.  If he gets in a team STEVE and STEW can go to his games.  I am not a soccer mum... or a rugby Mum... or an anything to do with sports on a saturday morning!  I sleep in on Saturday.  End. Of. Story.
nite nite.

*SIGH* YET MORE PUPPY PHOTOS!

You want to see them.. you really do eh?
Gawd I hope so, cos nothing else is happening around here right now!

ABOVE:  the line up!  Can you SEE the difference in sizes? And believe it or not... I did not line them up like that!   They did it all by themselves.  Awwwwwww. 

ABOVE:  our biggest (Bruiser) right next to our wee runt (Tulip)... maybe I shall stop calling her the runt...it doesn't actually sound that nice.  I'm calling her our Little Petal, Tulip.  Cos she is so sweet.

Today:  well I just remembered!  I've got an hair appointment at a new salon over in Hill Park!  I was going to wait until I'd lost 10 kilos... *sigh*... but just can't stand waiting any longer!  I NEED some blonde ... I don't feel like ME.

ONWARD...

MRS C:  yes Coco is eating about 3 times the 'normal' amount,  she is constantly starving!

Well... I'm not a blonde YET... it is going to take several months of getting my hair frosted to get back to where I want it to be... but at least today was a start.  It's still brown, but has dark blonde highlights.. I'll try to get a decent photo of it to show you soon.

We have been weighing the puppies every day... and at 6 days old they have ALL doubled their birthweights!!!!   Very happy with that.

End of Day:  cooked a nice Butter Chicken for dinner tonight... always goes down well that does.  Feeling quite happy tonight.. think it's the hair... lol!
nite nite.

5 DAYS OLD...

ABOVE:  and all the puppies have now gained about a third of their birth weights!  Can you see how much bigger they are?  I can.

ABOVE: I moved the Whelp Box out into the Family Room, as Coco was wanting to be with us and not closed off in a bedroom.  She's happier now... and even takes 'time out' from the pups when they are all asleep.  

ABOVE:  But, she is ever so attentive, she keeps on going back and checking on them.  It's so darn cute to see her fuss over them.

Today:  kids back to school, Stew to work.  Steve and I?  More of the same... home/housework/watching the pups grow. 
Steve is waiting to hear about his last job interview... I hope this lot actually get back to him.  The job interview he had a gew weeks ago sounded hopeful, but they simply did not get back to him.  Not nice if ya ask me.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  is our Whelping box too big... or are our puppies just too small?  lol
I wonder how it will look in about 3 weeks time?  I bet there is a lot less room in there!

LEIGH:  I think Coco will miss her pups once they are gone... but I'm sure she will be fine as we are keeping one of the boys (Steve has adopted him). 

Remember, this is our FIRST time breeding a dog... so it's all new to us too.

I can't believe how this day has dragged on!  Steve and I have done bugger all today!  OK... I baked some scones! But that's about all!
Lazy Tart I am.

End of Day:  Can't believe how awful I feel when I've done NOTHING today!  Think I will be getting out and about for a while tomorrow.
nite nite.

FINGERS CROSSED FOR MY SIL

Stew's sister Khady sold her rustic little house out at Bethell's Beach recently and has been on the lookout for a new home in West Auckland.

She had put in an offer on a house in Swanson... fingers crossed she hears some good news this morning. 

She should know what's the haps by about 9.30 am.

Today's plans are to just catch up on housework... and relax.  It's not warm enough to get out and about on a beach or anything like that. 
And of course, someone has to stay home all the time to keep an eye on Coco.  Though she is doing so well with the pups I'm sure it won't be long before we can leave her for a little while on her own.

WANTING to leave her alone will be my problem I think!  I am so clucky over her puppies!  We all are so thrilled to bits with them... does that make us all soppy?  ha ha ha, I think maybe YES.

How on earth are we going to feel when it comes time to sell them!  That won't be until they are between 8 - 10 weeks old ... so it's a while off yet... but still hard to think about.

Now for someone different:  Our Teddy!  He hates being photographed... and last night was no exception!  He rolled over onto his back and would NOT look at me:

ABOVE:  and then he did look at me ... yeah, very helpful Teddy!  You, upside down, such a good look.

ABOVE:  Finally, a semi nice one... even if he is having A BAD HAIR DAY.  Notice... he is still not actually looking at me!  Little shit.

ONWARD...

We have not heard a word from my SIL, so maybe she didn't get the house?
Stew and I did the grocery shopping, and Steve is putting it all away for me!  BLISS.

It's a crap day out there, so can't feel bad about having to stay inside... even if it means I can see all the housework waiting... yaaaa.

My SIL probably has no fingernails left by now!  There is another party interested in the house she's put an offer on... and they have put in an offer too... so she has to wait until later on tonight to see if her's has been accepted or not. 

ABOVE:  I'm cooking Nachos for dinner... but Brylee is doing the stirring for me.  Yaaa for kids big enough to do something to help now.

End of Day:  and my SIL got the house!!!  We are all very happy for her.  The house has a lot of work to be done on it... but it's a challenge Khady is up for.  AND she is slightly closer for us to visit now.. AND we can even hop on the train and it will take us almost to her front door!  How awesome is that!
nite nite.

EXCELLENT WEIGH IN!!!

And no... I'm not talking about me!

Though... I have stayed the same for the past 3 weeks, so at least I didn't have a GAIN.

NOT like our puppies.. who have ALL gained approximately a fifth of their birth weight in two days!
OMG I am so, so happy for them.  Coco is doing so good feeding all 6 of them... did you know she had two inverted nipples, and we were really concerned the puppies would not be able to feed off them?

Well worry not... they popped out finally and the pups are feeding from them just fine.

I am hoping to go out and about this morning... been cooped up inside far too long.... though clearly someone (adult-ish) will have to stay home.... to watch  Coco and Pups. 
Maybe we will set up a roster?  lol

I hope you are not all sick to death of puppy photos yet...  cos I just can't help it, I have to show you more!

ABOVE:  That's Bruiser on the left and Pinky on the right.... and goodness knows who they are lying on!  Aren't they just adorable???

ABOVE:  That's Bee Bee... can you see Big Bird on her lower back in white??
Their little paws are so sweet.

I'm trying to avoid the word 'cute'.... can ya tell?  lol

ONWARD...  I will try to take a photo of something else today OK....

Lunchtime:  Stew, the two kids and I off out for lunch now.  Steve is on 'Babysitting' Duty.. ha ha ha.  We will be nice and bring him home something nice for lunch.

SO:   who felt the need to ring my house and ask Steve if he was looking after the puppies properly while we were out????  RANDOM thing to do!

Lunch out was nice.  Home now and taken up the Puppy Watch duty again.

ABOVE:  My favourite Mall... Sylvia Park.  And right opposite is being built a Super Centre:

 ABOVE:  construction on the Supa Centre... where I am sure I will spend a good deal of time as SPOTLIGHT Panmure is moving there... and Spotlight Panmure is soooo much nicer than Spotlight Manukau!  They have more fabric for a start... that counts for a lot! 

Getting onto the motorway after leaving Sylvia Park... there is the Tip Top factory.  An iconic building here in Auckland!  I can remember driving past it as a very small kid!  It has not changed in over 45 years!... well maybe the paint job is new.

Steve, Stew and the kids are off for a walk while I watch the new family... if I can stay awake that is!  Very tired... Coco was up and down all night, constantly re-arranging her babies...

PENNY:  from memory the new Supa Centre will have:  Spotlight, Good Guys, Animates, Godfreys, Freedom Furniture... and I don't know what else.

End of Day:  I perked up during the afternoon and did not fall asleep!  Feeling good  now... why do I always feel SO TIRED after lunch???  It's weird.
Stew is cooking dinner.. mince done 'his' way with pasta. 
nite nite

I WAS NOT GOING TO NAME THEM... I REALLY WASN'T!

I really had NO intention of naming the puppies... but somehow they are getting names!

The first boy was the biggest and made Coco really cry... so he's called 'Bruiser'.. ha ha ha!

Then came Pinky, the first girl.  She's really cute but a right cry baby.

Then came the next boy... Steve said we should call him 'Rhino', cos he's big and grey-ish.  That will do!

Then came our littlest Girl... she has a little white patch on her forehead shaped a bit like a Tulip... so she's 'Tulip'.

Then came our next girl... she has a pattern on her back that I think looks just like Big Bird off Sesame Street, so she's 'Bee Bee' (for Big bird)...lol.

And lastly came Steve's little boy... who Steve has yet to name... 

As the pups eyes won't be open for about 2 weeks yet I shall refrain from taking and showing individual photos for now. 

Today?  Well I think I really should do some housework!  I've done sweet bugger all for days... and you can tell! 

AND I will get on the treadmill today too... even though my glutes are killing me from the last session! 

ABOVE:  Coco and her little family last night.

ONWARD...

I'm a Twit!  I got all worried about Coco's temperature last night for nothing... a normal dogs temp is higher than ours... so she was actually within the normal limits after all that!  Derrrrrr.

Woken up with a Cracker Jack of a headache again... damn. 

 ABOVE:  the three boys all in a row... so cute!

 ABOVE: Tulip's forehead...  She is the smallest puppy...

ABOVE: Rhino... he isn't really that grey...but he's not black... or brown... he's kinda a mix. 

COFFEE SLUT:  I want to  keep ALL OF THEM!   I could cry cos here in Auckland you are only allowed 2 dogs per household.

JAXX:  Steve's puppy will be here with us until he moves.  I will let ACC know that it is a temporary situation.  As for his finding a flat with a dog... he will have to sort that out himself!

SOMEONE?  asked me for a photo of Mac, the puppies father:

ABOVE:  Well, there he is on the day he and Coco made all those gorgeous babies.

I've done me housework... and just relaxing now.  Coco is doing really well with her puppies today... but she gets really upset when one of them cries... she WHIMPERS... God it's so cute.

This afternoon Coco finally got all her babies to sleep and took some time out... she had a run around like a mad thing, went bathroom, and seemed just like her old self!  She kept running and checking on her babies:

ABOVE: but they were fine all curled up together.   How many times can I say CUTE?  lol

It's friday... so yaaa, when Stew gets home I will have a couple of drinks to unwind.  It's about the only time I have a drink.... maybe it will help me relax cos I have been really tense for days.
Hmmm... wonder why?  ha ha ha

End of Day:  yaaa... dinner is done, and it's time to have a couple of tipple's.  Bliss.  Love friday nights.
nite nite.

BLUE, PINK, GREY, YELLOW, PURPLE AND RED

I got to sleep with Coco and her pups last night.
Normally Steve would have... it's his room after all... but as Steve has a job interview this morning I decided to watch them overnight.

I didn't sleep much!  I spent a lot of time 'rescuing' a puppy who wandered off or went behind Coco...

But.. all is good.  Coco is a fantastic little mother.  Teddy got too close at one point last night and one of the puppies cried (just by chance)... Well!  Coco rounded on Teddy, latched onto his face and growled ... Teddy backed off immediately! (She didn't hurt him, just warned him)

So her mothering instinct is well and truly there.

ABOVE:  Coco and her six.... I don't blame her for that face... she was tired after two solid hours of pushing puppies out!

ABOVE:  the line up.... all present and accounted for.

The biggest puppy weighed 218 grams... he was the first and breech.
Our smallest puppy weighs 125 grams... she is our little runt.  I'm keeping a close eye on her.

Now they are all here we are trying to tell who is who!  They are all slightly different in colour/patterns... so eventually we will be able to tell who is who.
For now they have on their little collars and we are calling them by their colour.

I think today will be spent hovering over them... I can't think of anything else!

ONWARD....

Stew took the morning off work so he could take Steve to his job interview.  Fingers crossed for Steve everyone.

The puppies are patchy right now... but they might go much whiter as they get to about 1 yr old,  as that's what Teddy & Coco did.

Struggling.... to stay awake.  Must have a nap.... this pulling an all nighter is NOT fun.  Stuff being a midwife! 

I just woke up after a good two hour nap. 
Puppies:
Three boys, 1 mostly black patches and the biggest, 1 mostly greyish patches and 1 mostly brown patches...
Three girls, all have predominantly black patches... but different markings.  Pink has a black spot on her right hand side, Yellow is the runt and has two tiny black spots on her back among all her patches and Purple has a white patch on her back that I think looks like 'Big Bird' from Sesame Street.

I talked to the Vet this afternoon just to make sure she knew what was happening... I expressed concern about not seeing even one Placenta... she assured me Coco no doubt ate them all!  Ikkkk... makes me feel a bit ill that does. lol
ALSO, she told me to get the collars off them as they could get hurt with them on... so off they came.  She said leave them off until the pups are bigger.
That's fine as Steve and I now know who is who... which we need for when we weigh them so we know how each one is doing.

I'm impressed that we can already tell them all apart!  

Coco's pups weighed in at 1.04 kilos combined... what a way to lose weight Coco! As she is only about 5 kilos herself that was a lot of puppy in her belly.  Bet she feels better now!

End of Day:  I got really scared for Coco tonight... her temperature went up to 102.2 !  So I fed her ice cream, turned off the heat lights and waited.... after an hour she finally perked up, went outside for toilet (1st time since having pups) and ran around the house and chased Teddy and Steve for a while before returning to her pups.  Phew!  So relieved.  We think she just was too hot in the whelping box with the heat on.  It's going to a juggling act to keep her cool enough and the pups warm enough! 
Steve is doing the overnight shift watching her tonight.  Yaaa... maybe I will get a decent sleep tonight?
nite nite.

HOW MUCH LONGER CAN SHE GO?

ABOVE:  Coco BEFORE she got pregnant....

ABOVE:  and now... with only a day or two to go until she has 6 puppies!

I look at that poor girl and wonder just how much longer she can go???  She's ENORMOUS!!!
She waddles when she walks.... she can hardly jump up on the couch anymore.  I hope she has those pups soon!

TODAY:  well similar to yesterday.. just hanging around at home... too scared to go anywhere in case Coco goes into labour.  I MUST be here... I would not miss her delivery for the world!

It's awful... the waiting... waiting...

I popped out to get the last second stuff... warming bulbs and vanilla ice cream!   AND NO, the ice cream isn't for me, it's for Coco to have while she's in labour and delivering her pups.  Apparently it's the calcium in it that helps with the labour.. weird I know!

Coco is certainly restless today.. pacing, whining.. we are sure she will pop them out soon, maybe even today...

This reminds me of when I was pregnant!  Just waiting....  Coco won't leave me... every time I move she moves, if I go to the bathroom, she stands at the door and waits for me... she is wriggling and whimpering... POOR GIRL.

I hope this dosn't last for days!  I don't think I  could stand it.... let alone her.

Steve has a job interview tomorrow morning... what do ya bet she has them then?

Coco decided to try having the first puppy on my lounge chair with me!

ABOVE:  lying on my lap in the lounge... this is where she started pushing the first one out!

ABOVE:  the first one... he is the biggest!


We quickly put her in the whelping box and she had her first puppy at 3.55pm... a BOY... and he was born BREECH!!!   She did not like that at all!  I had to help get him out, but he seems to be fine.
MORE TO COME...

5.25pm:   we now have 4 puppies, 2 girls and 2 boys.. and 2 to come....

Last two:  another girl ... then another boy!
So we have 3 boys/3 girls... and a happy Coco who is no doubt friggin glad that is over!

It took her exactly 2 hours to deliver them all.
The first one was the biggest and the first Breech puppy.... she fair screamed when he came out!
No 4 was also a breech, but she was the smallest of all the puppies and was much easier for Coco to have.

STEVE was the winner of the 'guess how many, and how many girls and boys'... and he doesn't know it yet... but I'm going to give him the pick of the litter.  Somehow I think he will be picking No 6...a boy with quite a bit of white on him.

I am knackered..it was hard work bending over the whelping box for hours.... helping her deliver them all... so that's it for today.
I am going to make you ALL wait for photos... my dinner is waiting for me!

ABOVE:  Teddy meeting 'Pink'...

ABOVE:  Teddy meeting the whole family... he's now the 'Step Dad'... lol

ABOVE:  Stew telling Coco what a fantastic job she did...

ABOVE:  Coco letting Teddy sniff the babies... he has stayed in the whelping box for ages now... just watching... being ever so good.

End of Day:  EXCITING DAY!!!  Coco safe, puppy's safe.  The rest  of us... overwhelmed with the wonder of it all.
nite nite.

KNOCKED ME FOR SIX

I started taking anit depressants again to knock the hot flushes on the head.
But instead the pills have knocked me for six!

I have NO energy.  I'm tired all the time.  I feel like my brain has gone into 'sleep' mode!

Why this has happened is beyond me.  I was fine on them before?

And they have not stopped the hot flushes YET.  Grrrrrr.

Sometimes being a girl is just the pitts.
We got the darn short straw I reckon!
Periods.
Pregnancy.
Child birth.
Breastfeeding/cracked nipples/engorgement.
Stretch Marks.
Menopause.

Shit the list goes on and on! 

I am coming back as a MAN.

I suppose until then I will just have to put up with it all.

I fully intend getting on the treadmill again today... and every day from now on.  As my fitness improves I will add more to my 'routine'... but for now it's just going to be 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I have a long way to go to get back to some sort of reasonable fitness... but I want to very much.  Being unfit impacts on EVERYTHING... and not in a good way that is for sure!

Coco is showing no signs of being 'ready' yet, her appetite is very good, she's not too restless, and seems happy as Larry.  So, as long as she's doing fine I'm not worried.

ONWARD... the treadmill awaits...

I decided the treadmill can wait until this afternoon!  I've been reading blogs... and I also went and bought Steve and I some Sushi... super yum!
I don't have any chicken ... otherwise I would have made my own... of course!

The new rice cooker is doing an excellent job I'm happy to say.  It does the rice JUST PERFECT every time.  No hovering over a boiling pot of rice ever again.

ABOVE:  Brylee went to Gym for the first time today, and she LOVED IT.  The facilities there were/are amazing!  This photo only shows HALF the gym!

ABOVE:  a very happy girl.

ABOVE:  Brylee's 'group'... she was the eldest there.  But certainly not the biggest.  She fitted in just fine.  Most of these kids had not been to gym before either.

She is looking forward to next week.  That's nice.

End of Day:  I cooked pork chops and veges for dinner tonight, it was rather yum.  Spent the evening watching the telly. 
nite nite.

BLOCKING THE HATERS?

I could block Anonymous comments... BUT... that would not stop them.
Anyone can make up a name and get a Google Account.  So what would be the point?

I will just hit the 'DELETE' button from now on.
So if you want to comment, do so by all means.  But if ya ain't nice I am just going to delete it.  So why bother?

I'm inclined to think there are some people out there who just like to bring others down... which doesn't say much about them eh?

I'm totally over it now.

Today:  *doing the happy dance*, the kids go back to school. 
And the countdown really begins for Coco's pups to arrive!  They should be here BY FRIDAY at the latest!!!

OMG I'm so excited by it.  Can you imagine 6 little bundles of fluff running around my house!  It's going to be hectic.  Well... not for the first 3 weeks or so I am told.  They will be too little to do much at first.   Oh I do hope we end up with 6 healthy puppies AND Mummy Coco...

ABOVE: this is what Coco does the second you go near her!  She rolls over and begs for a belly rub!  Gee she's so cute. 

ONWARD...

Best laid plans... Pfffft.  I woke up with a headache from hell... so took some pills and went back to bed!  Woke up just before 11... feeling ikkk still.  Might not be doing much today afterall.
*sigh*

2.30pm  and I finally feel like actually DOING somthing with the day!  Still got the remnants of my headache, but I think it's here to stay for a day or two so will just work around it!
I'm watching a renovation programme on the TV until it's finished, then I am going to put on my sneakers and get on the treadmill for half and hour.  Maybe the exercycle too. 
Fingers crossed the exercise makes me feel more 'alive'...  It didn't.  But I'm glad I did it...30 mintues on the treadmill... and I'm done for now.  I might get on the exercyle later on... miracles DO happen right?  lol

End of Day:  it hurts to move me eyes.  That sucks.  Headache lingers... more pills tonight, fingers crossed I will feel much better tomorrow.
nite nite.