The Name Game and Get to Know The Goldendoodle

Answering a few Ask Me Anything questions and answers today...

What names would you pick if Maggie had 6 sisters, instead of 6 brothers? - asked by Anon.

Fun question, and one my kids love to discuss often.  

John-Paul would have been Kaleigh Rose.

I used to love the name Kaleigh and Rose was a nod to our love story.

Andrew Pauric would have been Emily Margaret.

Phil's favorite girl name was Emily and my favorite boy name was Andrew.  Margaret is my middle name and my mom and grandma's first names.

Eamon Philip would have been ??? 

He was the first baby we found out the sex, and I think I just wanted to wait to find out before discussing names.

Alexander Blaise would have been Gianna Therese, nicknamed "Gia".

Named after Saints Gianna + Therese, a double holy whammy.

Declan Kolbe would have been Felicity Grace.

Just names I found pretty that went together nicely!

Brendan Joseph would have been Elena Mae, nicknamed "Laney".

Sometimes I start with a nickname I like, "Laney", and work backwards to get the name.

So the Martin Family would have been Kaleigh, Emily, ???, Maggie, Gia, Felicity and Laney.

As Maggie always says "so many good girl names just gone to waste" ;)

Maggie also loves to leave selfies on my phone :)

From Maria - Your kids have great names - what would you name more kids if you had them?

Thanks Maria!  Well I'm getting quite advanced to have any more babies (I'll be 44 next month and please spare me the tales of people you know who got surprise pregnant at old ages).  If it happens, it happens, but we have not been trying since the birth of our seventh.  But it's fun to think about baby names regardless!

If the baby was a little girl, I think I would revisit some of those girl names up there and add in Emerson or Rowan. I also love the nickname Annie and Phil vetoes Niamh (pronounced Neve) but I still suggest it every time.  

If we had another boy, I think we would use another Irish name, but nothing hard to pronounce.  I love the names Liam and Ryan but we have nephews with those names already.  I also love Dean but there's already been a famous Dean Martin (from Steubenville!).  So I guess I'm leaning towards a four letter boy name.

  Kane (my mom's maiden name) or Roan come to mind happily.  

I know for sure we would get the kids input, now that they are old enough to not suggest names like Spongebob or something equally ridiculous.  But again, no plans!  I'm hoping to be a grandmother before the age of 50 :)

From Elizabeth L. - A post all about your goldendoodle! I have a mini goldendoodle so I would love to hear about your experience, tips for grooming and training, pros and cons of having a dog with kids, helpful products you've used etc.  And from Laura M. - Who is Lucy Doodle Martin? (I know she's your dog, I mean an in-depth post) favorite toys, favorite food, favorite activities, etc.

Hi Elizabeth and Laura!  We looked for and selected a goldendoodle because Declan is allergic to dog hair but goldendoodles don't shed.  The story of how we found her is detailed in this post.  She was 4 months old when she came to live with us, the same age as Brendan.  Twins!  

She was already trained to go to the bathroom outside and to sit.  I wish we did more training with her, but she is such a naturally smart and easy-going dog that we didn't do much.  The kids taught her to lay down, roll over and give her paw.  

She was horrible on the leash at first so we use the gentle leader and we (Phil and I) walk her daily for miles at a time.  Alexander (age 11) takes her out every morning, as he is the earliest riser, to a rocky area in our backyard and she pees right away and comes back inside.  

She eats sporadically through the day, and when she finally finishes her food (she only eats this type), we just put more in her bowl.  We don't measure and she never finishes it all in one sitting.  Her vet told us to only feed her dry food, and that's all we've ever done.  Even with our non-measuring of her food, she has stayed around 48 pounds all of her adult life.  She gets groomed every 12 weeks or so and we do not bathe her or brush her in between visits.  That's bad, but true.  She doesn't really get dirty, as she only goes outside on the leash and gets walked on a sidewalk.  

Her bad habits include running off if she gets the chance, and stealing human food that's left on a counter or table.  Since Brendan was 3 years old, he has asked someone to "watch his food" if he has to get up to use the bathroom at meal time.  We all have to be vigilant!  She won't beg at meal time, just lays around, appearing aloof but we all learned very quickly that as soon as we all leave the kitchen, she will eat anything within reach.  She once ate a stick of butter and cooked ground beef at Nana's house.  

Oh she also is not allowed upstairs (there's a baby gate) or on any bed or couch...and she obeys this rule if we are home.  She just lays on her dog bed like a good girl.  However, we often find her curled up on the couch when we come home from work/school if she was sleeping and didn't get off fast enough.  She's sneaky!  She is free to roam the downstairs of the house all day when we are gone, but at night she puts herself in her crate to go to sleep.  In her crate she won't bark or whine at all, so it's helpful to have her in their when we are trying to sleep and teens are arriving home later than our bedtime.  If she was out of the crate, she would definitely bark upon hearing them come home.  She just quietly stays in her crate in the morning until someone takes her outside, never whines, never wakes us up.

In the nice weather, Lucy loves to lay on our screened porch and she will bark at any car that comes down our driveway, or if the neighbors let their dog out, so she wears a bark collar that helps.  She doesn't seem to love toys or balls much, peanut butter in a Kong or chews this horn but will take tummy rubs and back scratches all day every day.  She tells us she needs to go outside or needs food/water by being annoying (acting hyper, pawing at us) until we realize she's asking for something.  Otherwise she's pretty chill and happy to be in whatever room I'm in like my shadow. 

We take her to the vet once a year, buy a flea/tick collar every 8 months, and that's about it.  I think, like everyone else, the kids wanted the dog but they don't do much for her.  They will pet her or try to train her or take her out if we ask, but they aren't obsessed with her like some kids are with their pets.  They've recently been talking about getting another goldendoodle, a male, and naming him Linus (Lucy + Linus) but Phil is putting the kybosh on that one.  Wow, I didn't know I had so much to write about Lucy Doodle Martin, but there you go!