We Decided to Get a Puppy with 4 Kids, Busy Schedules, and Absolutely No Free Time

Life is full. And by full, I mean bursting at the seams, overflowing, one minor inconvenience away from complete chaos.

Four kids. After-school sports. Dance classes. Weekly physical therapy appointments for my five-year-old. A full-time job. A husband whose work hours laugh in the face of anything resembling a schedule. A house that somehow always needs one more thing done.

So naturally, I looked at my life and thought: You know what we have plenty of time for? An eight-week-old puppy.

Makes perfect sense.

Before the chaos, before the kids, before our lives were ruled by carpools and snack schedules, my husband and I had a dog. Her name was Sparta. We got her as a puppy when it was just the two of us—young, naive, and fully capable of sleeping through the night without interruption. She grew with us. She became the best family dog when kids entered the picture, patient and loving in a way that made me believe dogs truly are angels disguised as fur.

In 2023, while we were living in California, we had to let her cross the rainbow bridge. And if you’ve ever loved a dog like family, you know that kind of goodbye leaves a hole that doesn’t just magically fill itself.

The kids, however, have been ready to fill it for quite some time.

For the last year, the requests came steadily. Can we get a dog? What about a cat? A hamster? A goldfish? Literally anything with a heartbeat? My husband and I always gave the same answer: Not yet.

The biggest reason? Time. Because pets, unlike children, can’t eventually make their own cereal.

But then something changed. I started working from home full time. So, we looked at our schedules. We looked at each other. We sighed the sigh of people who know they’re about to make a questionable life decision—and decided we could commit.

Around Thanksgiving, I contacted a breeder. And wouldn’t you know it—she had one black female left from a litter that had just been born. One. Left. Fate practically slapped us in the face and said, You’re doing this.

We said yes.

The kids, of course, had no idea. Instead, they got a note from Santa explaining that a very special present would be arriving in mid-January because it simply wouldn’t be ready by Christmas. (Santa, apparently, now runs on delayed shipping like the rest of us.)

This weekend, my husband and I went on what we lovingly called a “coffee date,” which was actually just an excuse to pick up our new fur baby without raising suspicion. When we got home, we distracted the kids while my sister—who thankfully lives four houses down and is always game for chaos—snuck the puppy out of the car, placed her on our porch, rang the doorbell, and disappeared behind my car to record the reaction.

The reaction? Pure magic.

Gasps. Squeals. Wide eyes. “Is she ours?!” “We got a PUPPY!!!”

OOOs and AHHHs echoed through the house, and just like that, she was home.

She walked in as if she’d always belonged here. No hesitation. No fear. Just tiny paws, curious eyes, and the confidence of someone who clearly has no idea what she’s getting herself into.

Her name? Wednesday Addams. Because she’s all black, permanently dressed for a dramatic aesthetic, and our kids are obsessed with the show—so obviously it was non-negotiable.

Do we have time for a puppy? Absolutely not.

Will we lose more sleep? Definitely (and already have).

Will my to-do list somehow grow longer? Without question.

But our house feels warmer. Fuller. Happier.

And in the middle of the chaos, the schedules, the noise, and the never-ending responsibilities, we have a new little reminder that sometimes the best things come when life is already overflowing.

Welcome home, Wednesday. 🖤