Take a breath...

We decided to write this blog together...we had to take a break though because we were fighting over the keyboard :)

This week we realized how important it is to step back and take a breath. Rascal and Baxter left this week, which was happy and sad at the same time; the new therapist moved into our building; we got a window leak; and Tara got called to court--that means we can't go to work those days! And that is just the start of our week...have you ever had weeks like that? We have never been on a roller coaster, but heard Tara say that is what the week was like. Up and down, happy, sad, joyful, stressed, and on and on.

Together we learned that we cannot do it all or control it all and it is important to step back and breath. This allows the situation to move in the direction it is going and for you to view all sides of it. Sometime those breaths need to be the deep breathing kind where you breathe in for a count of 5 and breathe out for 5. This clears your head as well.

Next time you feel like you are on one of those roller coaster things that wont stop, or maybe like us-- chasing your tail round and round (we still don't realize that is part of us...)--stop and take a breath to reevaluate the situation. If we all did this, there could be less conflict and stress in the world.

Feeling left out...

Look at these pictures I took of Bode and our cousins playing. This is Abbey for those that didn't realize! Rascal is the cocker spaniel watching and Baxter is the little white dog. It's funny to watch because Bode is 120lbs and Baxter is only 10lbs!

We love to play, but sometimes I feel left out and thought I would write about that. My favorite game is tag, but all these boys like to play tug and wrestle. I was really struggling to find out how to get involved with their play and was pouting a lot instead of working at becoming a part of the group. Have you ever felt like it was easier to stay away then find a way to engage yourself in what others are doing?

Don't get me wrong, they look like they are having fun, but those games aren't my favorite. Finally I learned that we can split up and do things without it being all of us or we can share and I can play their games and they can play ours. Good think Rascal likes to sunbathe and rest (he is a lot older than us) and we can do that together! It is hard to learn that it can't always be the way you want it an that we have to share, but I do hear Tara talk to kids a lot about something called compromise and I think that is what I am learning to do this week!

Personal Time...

Hi, It's Bode! Ever feel like you can't get away, every where you go there is someone there and you just want 5 minutes by yourself? Thank goodness I can do that at work! I love that word, WORK, WORK, WORK. This week we have Rascal and Baxter staying with us and it is a lot of fun, but we keep forgetting to rest and then we get upset with each other because we are too tired.

Right now everyone is laying around because we got up early to run, play tag, tug, and wrestle, but Baxter wants to keep going. He is only 9 months old and I guess that is why. Tara keeps telling us that it is ok to take time by ourselves and Abbey keeps finding great hiding spots. I have found that I can go lay on the living room couch and no one knows for a bit. We keep rotating who goes to the office so we have playtime to run and then work with the kids. I learned yesterday that if I don't take a nap before work then I don't do very good. Good thing I love naps too!

Please remember that everyday you should take time for yourself just to get a way from everything and breathe! Also naps are great to lift your mood when you can fit them in...even 20 minutes helps!

It's Summertime...

Yes in Florida, it always seems like Summer but now it really is Summer!! We love to sunbathe when we aren't working with the kids and to relax by the pool...please don't make us go in though, we don't like to swim! Summer is a great time to spend with friends and family and cool off with well earned treats. Sometimes we hear that our clients feel they deserve things for no reason, such as expensive trips, cars, or ice cream every day. We love our doggie ice cream, especially the peanut butter kind, but we know we don't get it handed to us with out hard work. We cannot fight, have accidents, or bark too much, however if we play good with each other (our cousin's Rascal and Baxter--more on them later), walk nicely and work hard with the clients, then we earn good things. Sometimes we receive surprise treats for our hard work...Thank you Ms. Theresa for the new treats!

Remember, even though it is summer and we feeling like laying around or goofing off, not matter how old we are, we still have some responsibilities that have to be done too!

Too Big...

Have you ever felt too big to do something? If you can't tell, I didn't know I was too big to lay on the top of the couch like Abbey! Then I tried to make it look like I was fine and then I got frustrated. Now that I think about it, maybe I am this size for a reason because there are things Abbey is too small to do. We each have our own qualities and it looks nice to try things that our size doesn't allow, but there are reasons. Tara says that is like the "grass is greener on the other side" and one of our client's this week said it was like how she always wants straight hair but has curly. I think I want to be more comfortable in my size and help others do the same. If I wasn't this big, I couldn't look at the food being cooked on on the stove, I couldn't have some of the kids pretend I am a horse, I couldn't win all the tug of war games that I win and much more. There are always things we will want to change or be different that aren't possible and sometimes we have to try them out to see why. Maybe just laying on the couch and not the top is where I need to be.

Just Listen...

I always wondered why Abbey and I have big floppy ears and finally figured it out---to listen better. Maybe that is why we can't talk either, all we can do is listen and love. This has been extremely helpful this week with our clients as they just needed to talk and have someone listen with care.

Abbey and I both have worked a lot this week and been able to rest after some of those sessions as well. It is amazing how our clients will talk to us as some of it does not require words directly from them. I watched one of the little girls put on a puppet show this week and she talked about friendship and the importance of being nice to each other with the puppets. The best part was all of a sudden she would turn it into hide and go seek and I would go peek over the make shift puppet theater to find her laying there giggling looking at me and petting me and then she would put me back on my spot in a "sit, stay" to watch again. I think she forgot Tara was there, except for when she asked to give me a cookie...yum yum!

We have noticed that the quiet pause and inability of us to respond verbally is uncomfortable for some people, however they learn to appreciate the silence and allow it to work with them in their processing. Next time you feel like you don't have anything to say or you have said too much, don't say anything and just listen as that can be the most powerful that person will experience that day.

Smiling...it's good for you!

It's Abbey...have you ever had those days were you go and go and forget to check in with yourself to see what you are going and going for? I have found that if you stop and smile about the positives you can slow down just a bit. I love to work with the kids and have found that they all smile when they see Bode and I. When they smile they usually stop and slow down to play with us and then engage us in what they are doing.

Smiling is a universal communicator with no verbal need. Smiling allows those around you to know something is positive with out it being described. I have been pulling extra hours this week, which makes me smile, since Tara can't have Bode too much around her hand or on a leash (poor Bode :( He thinks it was his fault and doesn't understand that he is just too big and heavy on the leash for Tara with only one hand--see below if you don't know about Tara's hand). Through these hours I have gotten to see more smiling and progress through some of the kids and encouraged those that who thought there was nothing to smile about to try it. There was a lot of sandplay this week, which was good since Tara went to that training, and so many of the kids took deep breathes and smiled as they looked at their sandtrays.

Here is a picture of Brooke, a family member, smiling while holding me...I was smiling but always seem to stop when that camera thing comes out :)