Walks have changed.

Good grief! Walks are NOT what they used to be. I remember when Michael was itty bitty and I would strap him into the stroller, try to manage the extremely hyper dog (who tried to bite the wheels of the jogging stroller), and we'd walk for miles and miles.

Now? Not so much. After a half of a mile I'm done!

The weather was just beautiful today. After eating a very unhealthy dinner with Josh in his office, Michael and I headed for home. We settled in, and then decided to take Duncan for a walk. Since Michael is totally capable of walking/running : ) around the block, he's not allowed to ride in the stroller. He needs the exercise and the chance to burn off some excess energy. So, this fact alone changes our walks completely. Michael enjoys checking out the piles of poop that dog owners do not clean up, he likes to try to pee on the lamp posts the way Duncan does, and he likes to stroll all over the lawns of our neighbors, especially if the lawn has a hill to roll down. He also likes to run as fast as he can down the sidewalk, which is a little frightening because of cars and the chance of Michael not stopping at a corner. So, Michael poses a bit of a challenge because he is no longer contained in the stroller.

And, now I'm left with the dog. The dog, the dog, the dog. Good grief, is he a pain in the rear! He is completely out of control. Something seriously happened to him the day Michael was born. Dogs are supposed to settle down as they age, right? Not our dog, he's more obnoxious than ever. My wrist actually hurts after our walks because he yanks on the leash so badly. I like to yank him back real hard when he tries to pull my shoulder out of socket. Nice, right? It makes for a great impression on our walks. We probably need to re-visit the gentle leader, which looks like a muzzle, but it's a pain.

I know we're a sight, Michael mimicking the urinating on the lamp post, Duncan hopping on his hind two paws, and me...yanking on the dog, directing Michael, and pulling my hair out. It might be time to either take the two of them on separate the walks, throw Michael B in the stroller, teach the little guy how to properly ride on his tricycle, or my personal favorite...get the dog some kind of tranquilizer so he will CHILL OUT!

At least it was warm, though, right? And, at least we're able to get outside a little bit more. And, at least we've made it April. The fresh, warm air is definitely good for all of us....