No Chocolate for Breakfast: National Figure Skating Championships + Bark Dog FAIL + Sleep Training WIN

National Figure Skating Championships

Last Saturday I went to see the National Skating Championships with my sister- and mother-in-law. The commute itself was quite the adventure. The roads were icy so I bused to Canadian Tire Centre...it took four buses and two and half hours to get there. Enjoyed the company and watching new young talented skaters, and the absence of (annoying) commentators. Looking forward to viewing the figure skating programs of Sochi 2014 Olympics next month.

Bark Dog FAIL

It saddens me to report that the efficacy of Dexter's no bark collar has greatly diminished. I guess he's decided he loves barking more than he hates getting sprayed with citronella. The collar was only $40 and it was worth it for a few weeks of bark freedom...heck, I would pay $40 a week to get Dex to stop barking. Barking is loud, startling, and SO annoying. Last week alone he woke up Evelyn three times barking at things outside. He barks in the winter and in the summer, he barks at people, other animals and nature, he barks upstairs and downstairs, he barks in the morning and in the afternoon, he barks when he's well exercised and he barks when he's restless. He barks, barks, barks. He's otherwise a good dog and we love him dearly but my quality of life felt significantly higher during the brief bark vacation.

Sleep Training WIN

Evelyn's sleep training is almost complete! She now regularly has 2-3 full naps during the day, sleeps overnight from 7pm-6:30am with only one overnight feed (that will soon be cut), nurses more efficiently, eats more solid food, and is way happier than she was when she was often overtired. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago we were spending hours a day feeding her and hours a day getting her to sleep (only to have her wake up in 20 minute intervals), and getting up with her every hour at night.