Bye Bye WonderDog :( :(

Well, I took WonderDog back to the Humane Society this afternoon. It is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

The children were bawling and wailing as I pulled out of the driveway to take her back. My oldest was crying "I don't want to give up on her! I don't want to give up on her!" [This from the child who'd gotten bitten just last night so hard that it broke the skin].

I cried the whole way there. We got there and I got her out and she got all excited - she remembered the shelter and was glad to be back! She eagerly walked right up to the door, wagging her tail all happy.

We walked in and I started to talk to the Director. She tells me that she knows the family that turned this dog in and they had small children and that the dog does not bite. ??!!! I'm just sitting there sobbing and looking at her [yes, I was embarrassed but I couldn't help myself]. I was just kind of stunned too - after everything we've been through with WonderDog, it was surreal to have this woman who doesn't even KNOW the dog arguing with me about whether the dog bites. [Maybe I should have brought pictures?!]. This was also the third story I'd been told about where this dog came from, so I'm a little doubtful I must say.

Anyway, finally the Shelter Director walks away for a couple of minutes and then comes back with a different attitude. She was much more compassionate and apologized that it didn't work out. [I think she realized that I absolutely loved the dog and it was killing me to bring her back. ] She said she wanted me to get another dog to replace WonderDog and that I could go home and think about it and watch their website and come back in when I'm ready. When I continued to cry I think she realized I was crying over the dog and NOT the money we lost on her and she said "Don't worry about the dog. We will take good care of her. Now that we know she has this problem we have people who will work with her. She is going to be just fine". That made me feel better because I was so afraid they would just put her down. I think she will be highly adoptable to someone who doesn't have children - she'd be a great companion and she's already very well trained.

So the guy came to get her to take her back to the dog pen room where all the dogs live while they wait for adoption and WonderDog was SO excited to go with him. It was surreal. I had visions of her giving me "the look" and crying and digging in her toes as she was dragged away... no, she went with him with her tail wagging so hard her bottom was shaking and ran right to the door of the room. I watched him take her in and she was SO excited to be "home". It was opposite what I expected in every way. She never even looked back.

And there I was crying like a 2 year old over this dog who has been such a monumental whirlwind of love and heartbreak over the last 4 weeks.

I cried all the way home. It definitely helped that she was so happy to be back at the Shelter, but I miss her so much already.

A Very Bad Turn of Events

This has been a rough day. WonderDog learned how to scale our fence today - she climbed a 6ft tall wooden privacy fence while the children were playing with her and throwing balls for her in the back yard and she got loose in the nieghborhood. This is obviously a problem because we can't have her running loose when she may be dangerous to others. I spent all afternoon trying to figure out what to do about that.

Then this evening Monkey2 and I took her to Petsmart to get a bath. It was terrible - there were a ton of dogs there, including customers' pets and a bunch of dogs that a rescue was trying to adopt out. WonderDog went NUTS. She tried to attack every dog she came near. She was growling, raising her hackles, and lunging at them. One poor shepherd mix came too close and she was all over him biting him several times before I could pull her off. It was so scary. I had never seen her like that before, but she was totally vicious.

Once we got home and I was telling my husband what happened, WonderDog bit Monkey1 pretty hard on the leg and broke the skin [and made Monkey1 cry]. While I was tending to that issue, my husband watched her sit and bite Monkey2 on the arm because he came up behind her and touched her back and startled her I guess - and it was a mad, mean bite, not a playful one. [And Monkey2 is the one who feeds her - talk about biting the hand that feeds you!]

My husband is going to take her back to the Humane Society tomorrow. I am bawling my eyes out tonight, but I don't know what else to do. I can't STAND the thought of taking her back there, and I know she will be just devastated [and she may be killed :( :( :( ], but I can't risk having her run loose in the neighborhood and harming or killing someone else's dog or, even worse, someone's child. I can't even feel at all comfortable having her around my children now.

I wanted so much to "save" her and help her be the good dog I know she wants to be. I have worked and worked and worked with her - she is SO well behaved [other than the obvious biting problem]. Today we were working on "heel" and she was almost perfect at it already - she's doing such a good job. She is 95% sweet, intelligent dog. Unfortunately, she's 5% "La Femme Nikita" - vicious attack dog.

I just feel sick and so worried about her.

Long Live WonderDog!!

WonderDog stays.

I agonized over it, and everyone I know is telling me I am crazy, but I think it is the right decision. I spent a long time in prayer over this two nights ago [I was literally sick thinking of taking her back to the shelter]. I asked God to please let me wake up knowing without a doubt whether I should keep her and keep working on her biting, or whether I should take her back to the shelter. I woke up yesterday knowing I could not and would not take her back to the shelter. [Subsequently I found out that the shelter where we got her has about a 60% kill ratio - so that confirmed my decision].

In the meantime, I have been researching like crazy, talking with anyone who knows anything about dogs, and looking for any info that might help me teach WonderDog not to bite. I had some really good advice from one of the ladies at the Atlanta Dog Squad [a Lab rescue organization]. She sent me to this website for help with the "leave it" Command, another "leave it" site, a site with help for growling dogs and, most helpful of all, a site to help cure puppy mouthing/biting - which, of course, is our biggest problem.

I also did more research on behavior typical for shelter dogs and I found that the unpredictable growling is pretty typical. In a shelter situation, dogs HAVE to fight for dominance and they have to be aggressive. Shelter dogs have a period of "transition" where they are learning to know you and TRUST you and where they are learning that they won't be abused in their new home. I think this is exactly what happened with WonderDog, because we haven't had any more growling at all in almost 2 weeks. She knows she's loved now and can trust us to treat her well.

I also found this neat book on Amazon Second-Hand Dog: How to Turn Yours into a First-Rate Pet. I ordered it and hope it will be helpful as well.

And, most helpful of all, Wonderdog has not been biting as much. Yesterday she didn't bite anyone all day long. [Sounds silly I know, but that was a big deal for her]. Today she bit a couple of times, but nothing major...so she's slowing down at the very least.

Having her around has been amazingly good for our family though, even with the biting issues. The children ADORE her. They spend a whole lot of time playing with her, and in turn she adores them. She follows them around and just loves them so much. I am enjoying her too - I enjoy our training sessions and I just enjoy seeing her with the kids. I also enjoy my one on one time with her in the evenings when the children go to bed.

It is also neat to see what she brings out in the children. My 5yo son feeds her every morning and every night - just because he wants to, not because I asked him to. He loves caring for her and he has been extremely responsible about feeding her. [I am watching closely of course, to make sure she's fed appropriately, but he's doing a great job]. The 5yo and the 4yo both spend a lot of time working with her on her commands too, and she obeys them most of the time. The 8yo is helping me teach WonderDog to "heel". Even the 2yo works with her frequently - and she can get WonderDog to "sit" and "wait" for a treat. She can also put her in her crate, which is not good - some times I find WonderDog locked in her crate at random intervals and I have to set her free!

She provides so much joy and amusement, she's worth the effort I'm putting in to help her get over her biting issue.

Can WonderDog be Saved?!

We've had WonderDog for 3 weeks now. Everything has been so awesome - she is potty trained, very smart, she has eagerly learned a ton of commands [sit, down, come, wait, crate, out, stay, fetch....]. She has been sweet and tolerant of the children and has allowed the 2yo to lay on her, grab her tongue, hold her tail, and commit a hundred other indignities that she has endured with patience and love.

I love this dog.

So what's the problem? .....She bites.

She bites the children [just the little ones - 5yo, 4yo, and 2yo]. She bites their faces and hands when she's excited [especially she loves to bite the 2yo's face for some reason ]. We've curbed that a good bit with just running her to exhaustion. When we first let her outside with the kids, we throw balls for her until she's just exhausted and that cuts down on the biting, though she will still randomly just reach over and bite sometimes - totally unpredictable.

The other thing she is doing is "herding" I think - if any of the kids ever run in her presence she chases them and bites their legs/calves/ankles. Those bites range from nips to full on clamping the whole mouth down over the whole leg - which is very painful [She can fit Monkey3's entire thigh into her mouth :( ]. I don't know how to stop this - it seems totally ingrained in her and its not realistic to think the children will never run around her.

In addition, she's had a few times where she growled at me and raised her hackles and got down snarling like she was going to jump me. This has not happened in over a week now, but it was very scary and I'm not sure what her trigger was. She's definitely a bit unpredicatable.

I have talked to every person I know who knows anything about dogs, I've consulted two different trainers, I've had a really nice lady from our homeschool group who is an experienced dog trainer come over to help us work with her. I am working with her intensively on all her obedience things [4 times a day for 15 minutes, and longer after the kids are in bed at night]. She's VERY motivated to learn, wants to please, and has done beautifully with all her obedience training but.... she still bites.

I don't know what to do. Everyone is saying that I should take her back to the shelter - including my precious animal crazy sister. I am agonizing over this because I just love this dog to pieces... and I can't stand the thought of taking her back to the humane society.

I find myself thinking things like "well, she's only bitten them a few times today, and only once or twice did she really hurt them...." Which really, I can read that and see that I am being crazy to even think something like that and definitely crazy to still have this dog here, but it just breaks my heart to send her away. She doesn't MEAN to be like that. She loves the kids and me, she doesn't intend to harm us. But she IS harming us. It would be so much easier if she were just biting to be ugly, but this is not what she's doing. The thought of how sad and scared she'll be back at the Humane Society just breaks my heart.

If it were just my husband and I, I would definitely keep her. But I have to keep my children safe and I can't seem to train the biting out of her....

What a very sad situation.

Quote of the Day

"Now I know why they call it dog breath....that STINKS!" Monkey2, 5yo, as WonderDog is breathing enthusiastically in his face.

What's up with OCD?

Monkey4, 2yo, is obsessive compulsive - in the cutest way of course. The child cannot STAND for any buckle to be unbuckled. If you come into our home, you will see that every buckle is buckled - the buckle on the car seat, the buckle on the swing, the bouncy seat, the high chair.... if anything has a buckle, that buckle is closed.

This is a compulsion with her - it really REALLY bothers her if a buckle isn't closed. We were at Soccer last week and one of the moms had her son's car seat sitting on the ground next to her. Monkey4 noticed immediately that the buckle was not buckled. She knew it wasn't our car seat, and thus she did not feel free to close the buckle, but she kept going over to look and see if it was still unbuckled. She would just stand there staring at it and trying to decide if she dared try to close the lady's car seat buckle. Then she would walk away for a minute and play ball or watch the other children, and then come back to the car seat. It really bothered her profoundly that it was unbuckled [all is NOT right in the Universe! LOL!]. I watched her for a little bit and then I told the other mom what was going on, so she pulled the car seat towards her and kind of under her Soccer Mom Chair. It still bothered Monkey4 because she *knew* it was there all unbuckled, but it helped her not to be able to see it. She was able to move on to other things.

She also has a thing with doors too - every door must be closed. [You know how cats always want every door open? Well, Monkey4 is the Anti-Cat! All doors must be shut, without exception].

She went through a phase of being obsessive about her hands and them being clean [as in totally freaking out if her hands were dirty even the tiniest bit] but now she is starting to get over that a little. She can wash her own hands now [which she does pretty frequently] and that seems to have helped her.

Quote of the Day

"I've finally figured out how many kids I can handle.... Four." - Mama Monkey [mother of 5, after 6 hours at the Renaissance Festival with the infant in a sling and the 2yo trying to run away to Canada]

Quote of the Day

So, Monkey4, the 2yo, is learning to pray. She is learning to say the "Oh My Jesus" prayer at bedtime [each child has their own prayer they lead for the family, this one is hers]. She's really funny doing it, but tonight she had us all rolling!

"Oh my Jesus...Forgive sin....[2yo gets tired of praying and switches from prayer hands to waving].... Bye Bye God!"

LOL!

What I love about Homeschool Soccer

I love going to Homeschool Soccer. My older 3 children all play and we have so much fun. [My others will play too as soon as they are old enough!]

I love that all the children can play at one time. So, for our large family, this means our children can be actively involved in sports without us having to drive them around at different times all over the place every night of the week.

I love that we practice during the afternoon while other children are at school. This means that Soccer does not interfere with our family time together in the evenings when daddy is home from work. There is deep respect among homeschoolers for the importance of strong family bonds, and I appreciate this.

I love that my children are playing with other children who are kind, well mannered, and well behaved. You never see a kid at Homeschool Soccer behave badly. Nobody makes fun of anyone else. Nobody says mean things to other kids. Nobody hits or harms another in any way. Nobody talks back to the Coach. Nobody is disrespectful.

I love that the focus is on learning the game and getting good at playing it, NOT on winning or “beating” the other team. Whichever team wins, everyone had fun and learned more about how to play Soccer well.

I love that the coaches are all other homeschooling parents. They treat the children with love and respect and the children treat THEM with love and respect. It is a wonderful mentoring relationship that I enjoy seeing.

My children are learning Soccer and having fun doing it. They are not being picked on by other kids, teased, insulted, bullied, or threatened.

Homeschool parents behave well. They don’t make ugly comments. They don’t yell at the Coach or at the other children. They don’t make their own children feel bad if they aren’t the “star” of the game. They enjoy watching their children play and fellowshipping with other homeschooling families.

At Homeschool Soccer, I am surrounded by other parents who truly ADORE their children. Every child on that field is cherished. These are parents who are making huge sacrifices for their children’s well being in terms of money, time, and emotional investment.

There are many large families at Homeschool Soccer. We don’t look like freaks. J And no matter what the size of any of the families, nobody makes negative comments about those of us who do have large families. There is tolerance and acceptance for ALL kinds of families, no matter how small or how big.

At Homeschool Soccer I am surrounded by mothers with their babies in slings. Nobody looks at me funny if I nurse my baby. Nobody blinks if I admit my baby sleeps with me. Everyone is very tolerant of my parenting choices because all of them also do their best to do what is right for their particular children. I feel so at home.

At Homeschool Soccer, I am surrounded by people who have deep beliefs about childrearing and who are deeply committed to doing the very best for their children. These are people who are willing to sacrifice for what they believe is right, no matter the cost.

At Homeschool Soccer I am surrounded by many deeply religious people. Our beliefs may vary in the details, but I enjoy being around others who are committed to their faith.

At Homeschool Soccer everyone is very kind and helpful and friendly. When one mother’s 2yo fell and busted her nose, 3 other moms were right there helping her. Blood was everywhere, and the other moms were doing everything possible to help – to clean up, calm the child, calm the mother J , to entertain the other children while this was happening, and to basically take care of it all. It was amazing.

There are also wonderful, excellent parents who have their children in public and private school. But no where else have I seen this “concentration” of such amazing people all in one place. It really gives me hope for our human race!

Quote of the Day

"Oh No! I dropped my ice cream! We have to clean that up, these aren't OUR floors!" - Monkey3 age 4yo [because of course we leave the ice cream where ever it may fall at OUR house....LOL!]

Back to Work Mama!

So, I had to go back to work this weekend. The baby is only 12 weeks old, and I really REALLY didn't want to go back to work when she's so little, but, well.....there's this thing where the kids keep wanting to eat at least a couple of times every single day .....so back to work I go. :)

It wasn't too bad. I was worried about trying to teach one of the all day marathon Lamaze Classes [offered for those who don't want to come to the weekly class]. I had some brain damage after my last birth, and I was worried about switching up words or stuttering, but it actually went really well. I've been doing this for so long now that I had no problem getting right back in to it.

But I missed my baby. I really had a hard time with it. I always dislike working because it takes me away from the kids, but with the baby being so little, it just about killed me. Her awesome Daddy brought her up every couple of hours through the day so I could nurse her on my breaks, but still... I've spent the last 12 weeks with this colicky little cutie strapped to my body in a sling all day and sleeping next to me or on me all night... it was just plain weird not to have her with me today.

Now I have her snuggled up sleeping in my lap while I blog. This is the life!

Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY grateful for the job that I have. I am very fortunate to be able to work and bring in good money while still staying home with my kids during the day [Thanks be to God!]. I also LOVE working with the pregnant couples - it is a GREAT job. But no matter how wonderful and enjoyable the job is, it can't compare to time spent with my little monkeys!

So We Got A Dog....

After about 8 years of begging, I finally gave in and we got a dog.

Last year was a really hard year for us. Both our old cats, "Boo" and "Nosey", died [one was 9 and one was 13]. They were neurotic [and Nosey was known as "The Dark Lord" for good reason] but very much loved... it was really sad. We got some fish. Three fish - each of the older kids had a fish. My son's fish, "Michael", died almost immediately. We went and got him a snail ["Snaily the Supersnail"]. The other two fish ["Erin" and "Little Bear"] lived for a few months and then both died pretty quickly together. It was pretty depressing.

But Snaily lived on. Snaily was really cool - he was very active and exciting for a snail. Then, after about 6 months he took to long periods of hibernation where we would be *sure* he was finally dead and then he'd pop out "SURPRISE!" and start eating slime again and showing off. He became known as "Snaily the undead Supersnail" because of his amazing ability to appear dead and then resurrect. So, Snaily lived for almost a whole year and was quite entertaining in his day. Then, finally, in March he died. [We left him in the tank for two weeks just to make sure... ]

So, this left us with an absolute dearth of pets. The children decided that it was imperative to finally get that dog they'd been begging for. They formed a united front [which is pretty impressive - imagine Iran, Guatemala, and Switzerland forming a united front!]. They all agreed that the ONLY thing they would ask for for their birthdays this year was a dog - all of them would ask for a dog, and only a dog.

It must have been the postpartum insanity, but I finally agreed and started to think it was a good idea to have a dog. In fact, I started researching dogs on the internet obsessively and questioning my sister and sister-in-law [both impressive dog experts] incessantly. We started praying for God to send us the right dog and to help us be good dog owners. [And God *listens* to my kids!! In fact, He spoils them right rotten!]

After a few weeks, we finally decided to go look at some dogs at the Humane Society. We went in with a stack of printed pages with mugshots and stats on about 8 dogs we found from Petfinder.com and we started meeting them. The lady at the Humane Society was insanely patient with us. The first dog we looked at was a black german shepherd girl, about 18 months old, that belonged to a soldier who was deployed to Iraq. We REALLY wanted to take that dog - to kind of take care of the soldier's dog and give her a good home while he was off at war. Plus we really love german shepherds. But, well... we knew pretty quick she wasn't the one - she's was really hyper and totally disinterested in the kids. And she was so strong that I had trouble just holding her leash. Not a good mix.

So, the next dog we saw was a "chocolate lab mix" [MUTT!] who was 10 months old. She was energetic and excited, but not spastic. She was immediately interested in the kids and was very good with them - wasn't upset by me rubbing her tummy, putting my hands in her mouth, touching her ears, or any other annoying thing I could think of that a 2 year old might try and get bitten for. She responded to "sit" even in the excited madness of the shelter. She was charming. She was THE ONE. We knew within about 2 minutes.

The funny thing is, we almost didn't look at her at all. She's a dark colored dog and didn't photograph well at all - in fact, when I showed my husband her print out, he said "I don't want to look at that dog, its butt ugly!". Well, in person she's really cute and has a great personality. Thank goodness for the ugly photographs or someone else might have found her first and it would have been our loss!

We looked at 5 more dogs after her, but we kept her out. We had [for some truly insane reason] decided we were going to adopt TWO dogs that day [because I need TWO dogs in the house with the 5 kids...right? LOL!]. She was really great with the other dogs, but none of them seemed a good fit. So, we decided to take just her. Then they tell us she's not spayed yet, and we can't have her till Tuesday .... boy, tell that to 4 excited children who have fallen madly in love with the dog that we thought we were taking home!

But, to make a long story short, we picked her up Wednesday after her surgery and she has been an absolute blessing to our home. She's perfect with the kids, perfect with the potty [not one mistake - what a girl!]. She loves her crate, and other than some chewing issues that we are working on, she couldn't be more perfect.

And she fit right in. She loves butter and she's crazy - this makes her a perfect fit for our family! LOL!

OK, so I found out she loves butter because it turns out she had kennel cough. After an expensive vet visit [OUCH my checking account!], I came home with antibiotics to give her. Big old capsules of antibiotics. How do you get a 50 lb dog to take a pill that it doesn't wanna take? So, first I tried putting it inside a treat. She fell for that the first time, but the second time she figured it out and spit the whole mess out on the floor and then very methodically picked the treat parts out and left the antibiotic parts.... So, next I tried butter. I found out that this dog will eat ANYTHING if I put a little butter on it. And we've had no problems getting her to take her meds ever since. :)

This makes her a perfect fit for our family. We love Paula Deen because that woman knows how to cook with butter! In fact, my son had the nickname "Butter Baby" as an infant, and he has tried his best to live up to it. No nasty hydro-spliced margarine food products here... we believe in the "real thing"!

And the crazy part ... well, you have to be crazy to live in the Monkey House. That's just all there is to it.

The dog found a grape on the floor today [man! Nobody told me about the cool way dogs clean up the floor under the table after the kids eat! Do you KNOW how much time she's saving me in sweeping?! LOL!]. She went nuts! She took the grape in her mouth, ran to the living room, tossed the grape in the air, danced around it, laid on her back and kicked the air and did the funkiest little shimmy dance you've ever seen - then picked the grape up and tossed it again and did the same thing again. It was the funniest thing the kids and I had ever seen. This went on for about 5 minutes and then she ate the grape. [I guess she decided there had been enough Dance of the Almighty Grape and it was time to eat it!]. So, the kids went and got her another grape and the whole thing started again. We must have gotten 30 minutes of amusement out of that today, and she didn't even get sick from eating all those grapes! [Who knew?!!!]

So, this crazy, lovable, charming lab mutt is exactly what we needed here in the Monkey House. Thank God for sending us the Incredible Crazy Butter Loving Grape Dancing Dog! [Who shall henceforth be known as "Wonder Dog"!]

Quote of the Day

"Its OK if she pees in my shoes!" - Monkey2, age 5 [this was fortunately directed towards the dog, not his sisters! But, its not as magnanimous as it sounds - he didn't want to be bothered with picking up his shoes! LOL!]

Happy Easter Everyone!

He is Risen!

To all you guys who are converts and were baptized or confirmed at the Easter Vigil - Happy Anniversary!

My oldest 3 kiddos and I went to the Vigil last night [my husband was sick and stayed home with the babies] and I was just sitting there crying watching all the new Catholics being baptized and thinking back to my own Baptism, Confirmation, and first Eucharist at the Easter Vigil *22* years ago now.... and I was thinking of the Easter Vigil 8 years ago when I stood behind my husband as his sponsor as he was received into the Church; and a year later I stood as sponsor to the woman who became one of my very best friends [and the Godmother of my children] as she was baptized and received into the Church. Those are powerful and wonderful memories for me.

The Easter Vigil has to be the best Mass of the whole year. It is so beautiful, and really so amazing to be able to see people who have been led by the Holy Spirit to the Catholic Faith and are receiving the Sacraments for the first time. What a privilege to witness!

The kids and I had a great time on Holy Saturday before the Vigil. We made cookies and Happy Easter cards to share with our neighbors and for the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia who are at our Parish. The kids were so excited and happy and they loved walking around our little neighborhood giving out cookies and wishing everyone a Happy Easter!

Monkeys 1,2, and 3 went with me to the Vigil at 7pm and they were so excited. We had gone to the Veneration of the Cross the night before, and they were really tired [two late nights in a row for them]. Monkey3 was asleep 10 minutes into the Mass, but the other two made it for quite a while longer. They were fascinated with the Baptism part.

Then of course, they were up early this morning [5am! These children are crazy!] to see what the Easter bunny brought. They got cool religious books and videos, some Catholic Tshirts, and they each got a stuffed lamb [except the baby who got a smaller stuffed bunny]. They knew immediately that the lambs were symbols of Jesus. I'm sure the Easter Bunny is happy to know that.

Then we went to the Grandparents' house for a fun afternoon of coloring eggs, hunting eggs, and eating [mostly chocolate!]. Oh, and lots of playing with the grandparents and aunts and uncle!

It was a great weekend! Happy Easter to all of you! God Bless you and your families. We are a lucky people to have such an amazing God!

Quote of the Day

"Hey! Don't wipe your nose on my lamb!" - Monkey1, 8yo

Quote of the Day

“Sister, I was trying to save you! Why did you kick me in the face?” - Monkey2, age 5

The Great DOD experiement

So, what do you get when you cross a Green Beret and a U.S. Marine?

"The Great Department of Defense Experiment".

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, a U.S. Marine met a really handsome Army Dog who was a Green Beret that served in the first Gulf War. The guy was smart as well as good looking, and they soon paired up for life - pledging their undying love in front of God and everyone else who would venture out on a cold winter night to see it happen.....

We can definitely say it has been an Adventure! ["Its not just a job, its an Adventure!"]

So, what is the result of this bizarre union of members of adversarial elite branches of the United States Military, you may ask? Nothing less than the greatest DOD experiment of all times - The search for the perfect Super Soldier! [or, at least, that is the on-going joke at our house!]

Subject #1 - This model is a success in that she is very intelligent, very creative & resourceful [improvise, adapt, and overcome], and she's strong with lots of stamina - a fast runner too. She may be a flawed model for a Soldier though, because she's possibly too empathetic and compassionate. She might make a great hostage negotiator though. [A skill she's already honing at home].

The jury is out on Subject #2. He definitely shows an affinity for all things military and weapon related. He is strong and FULL of energy. This subject shows unusual ability in both building and demolition. He is highly intelligent, but seemingly deficient in "common sense" [but this may be related to his Y chromosome, we aren't sure yet].

Subject #3 may be the most successful model yet when it comes to super soldiering. She's very petite - tiny even. Yet, she can lift more than her own body weight - she's strong as an ox. She is very intelligent and an insanely hard worker with a positive attitude. Her cuteness is deceptive - she can go from charming and sweet to lethal force in a matter of seconds. All the better to take them by surprise!

Subject #4 may eventually outstrip #3 in the super soldier experiment. She also can be disarmingly cute and charming, but brute force is always lurking just under the surface. She is strong and clever, and has an amazing amount of determination [some might call it obstinence even!]. She has a strong sense of what is hers and is ever willing to fight to the death for it.

Subject #5 is still an unknown. We do know that she survives and thrives under extremely dangerous conditions and that she has incredible lung capacity. Where this will lead we do not yet know...

Thus progresses the DOD experiment. Only time will tell which Subject will win the honor of being "The Ultimate Super Soldier"!

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the show. :)