builders, puppies, and the light at the end of the tunnel

So first of all, look at our puppy. He's the cutest puppy in the world. This is Max and he's been at home with us just over a week now. Say hello, Max!

Woof. I'm a dog. I can't actually talk.

Getting a puppy is a lot like having a newborn the second (or more) time round - you totally forget everything you experienced before and everything is an annoying surprise. You find yourself saying things like, "I don't remember Jasper barking all night like this!" and "I don't remember Jasper taking this long to house train!" but then you think about it for a while and yes, yes he did do exactly all these things.

We didn't expect to still be renovating now, so this has added a whole new dimension of stress. Dealing with a housetraining puppy, building work, grumpy children (you can tell we're nearing a term break), mess, keeping puppy away from tools/plaster/wood flooring/assorted building supplies, oh god the perpetual dusty mess, my allergies going mental, and not sleeping due to barking nighttime puppy has driven me to the edge. I just want my house back. I want to be able to walk on all of my floors and not have random men in my house every single day. I want to have a day that doesn't involve mopping up wee.

I feel like we're just coming out of the new puppy fog now and we're all finding our feet again. We're got more of a routine down pat and (shhh touch wood) I think he's getting the hang of not piddling all over my new floor. I don't feel quite as stressed and in fact, I feel almost optimistic now. The renovations are coming to an end and the house really does look great - bare plaster walls, dangly wires, and all.

But look, cute puppy. Really, really cute puppy. And gosh, it's so very nice to have a dog in the house again.

I am smiling because I have just spotted the next bit of floor I will use as my toilet.