I'm not much of a cuddler

There have been many times over the past two years that I have thought to myself, "Yes, my best good night's sleeps are behind me." I am, unfortunately, a very light, very specific sleeper. If I am not laying straight, on my stomach, head turned toward my edge of the bed, with the sheet covering me, I will probably have a hard time falling asleep. I don't toss, I don't turn, and I don't cuddle unless I'm awake. I wish I wasn't such a specific kind of sleeper, but I can't help it.

Rob is a very different kind of sleeper, pretty much the opposite of me. He can fall asleep any time, any place, in any position. He tosses every which way, loses his pillow, talks in his sleep, grinds his teeth and he can sleep through anything (Really, you name it, he can sleep through it...the front door opening or closing, his phone, my phone alarm. How lucky is he and how unlucky am I, especially when babies come along). I have always been amused by people who talk in their sleep and will usually try to carry on a conversation with them if possible, so this doesn't bother me nearly as much as the teeth grinding. Though Rob doesn't remember, I have told him that whenever I hear him doing it in the middle of the night I make a humming sound to block out the horrible noise and give him a little elbow or kick. Rob has no tooth discomfort, but whenever he goes to the dentist I think surely they are going to notice he is grinding his teeth away and recommend a mouth guard...nope, hasn't happened.

Yesterday, I finally went to my first dentist appointment since moving to Atlanta. I had been putting it off and putting it off, but as my on and off tooth pain increased I knew it was time to make the appointment. Rob is a huge fan of the dental office he goes to, so I decided to go to the same place. Besides the dentist confirming what I knew was inevitable- I need a root canal- she also suggested something else. I almost fell off the chair when she said, "Do you notice if you clench or grind your teeth, maybe at night? I am seeing some breakdown and think a mouth guard might help." I wanted to say, "What?! You have got to be kidding me." But instead I said, "Ok, I'll think about it."

Roxanne passed the CGC!

Roxanne has graduated from Petsmart's puppy, intermediate and advanced training classes, but this past weekend she passed the big test. Roxanne is officially a Canine Good Citizen! Pictured above is Roxanne with the rest of the CGC graduates.

I'm going to bet that most of you don't know what Canine Good Citizen program is. Before we started taking Roxanne to trainings at Petsmart, Rob and I had never heard of it either. Here is a summary taken from the AKC's website...

"Started in 1989, the CGC Program is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. The Canine Good Citizen Program is a two-part program that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. All dogs who pass the 10-step CGC test may receive a certificate from the American Kennel Club."

When we started out taking Roxanne to puppy classes at Petsmart, we really thought that was as far as we'd go with the training. But we ended up liking the classes and the trainer, and we knew it was good for Roxanne. Before we knew it we had completed all 3 levels of training. Plus, the trainer was very good at his job and convincing owners to register their dog for the next training course. Throughout all of the training classes the trainer continuously mentioned the CGC test and how he hoped all of the dogs would take and pass the test once they completed the advanced class. At first, Rob and I thought he was way too into the dog training thing and no way is Roxanne going to take some test to get a certificate. But after hearing about the test week after week, month after month, we realized that yes Roxanne was going to have to take the damn test and pass with flying colors to prove all of this time and money spent on training wasn't for nothing!

And Roxanne did just that, passed with flying colors at the top of her class. She made me such a proud puppy parent that day! We probably use the "CGC" phrase in our apartment more than is necessary. Saying things like, "Roxanne can you believe you are a CGC?" or "Stop biting your leash, that is not CGC behavior!" She may be a CGC, but she is still a puppy. Last week she destroyed and ingested a rope toy and one of my black Old Navy flip flops. She still hasn't fully recovered from those incidents.