Author Archives: Kristen King

About Kristen King

Kristen King (aka, Mommy-in-Training) lives at 10,200 feet in Leadville, Colorado, where she is a speaker, coach, and consultant. She and her husband, Jesse (aka, Daddy-in-Training) have fraternal twins born in December 2011, two dogs, and two cats. They are both endurance athletes. Learn more and meet the rest of the AmateurParenting.com team on our About page. Learn more about Kristen at KristenKing.com.

Status Report: 1 Month After Bark Busters

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Things have been crazy around my house lately, as I’m sure you’ve guessed based on my posts from the month of December, but the madness is finally under control. Tomorrow is one month from our Bark Busters appointment, and the dogs have done almost a complete 180. When David the Dog guy came, we put Pickles and Ty outside and… Read more »

The Dogs’ Fighting Has Reached Critical Mass

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The dogs are now going at it almost every day, with Murphy instigating every time, and I can’t take it anymore! We called Bark Busters about 2 weeks ago and are in the midst of checking references for our local BarkBusters pro, but after this morning, I don’t even care anymore. I need help NOW. It’s gotten so that almost… Read more »

Mastiff Mayhem — Murphy’s Increasing Aggression: Is it Just a Stage?

Ever since we got back from our trip to Florida, Murphy, sweet-natured, submissive Murphy, has been, for lack of a better term, a total jerk. I don’t know if it’s the stress of our traveling a lot in November, if we’re doing something to make him aggressive, or if he’s just going through some adolescent rebellion or something, but it’s… Read more »

Cats and Q-Tip Addiction

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I don’t know where Julius picked up this habit, but he seems to be totally hooked on Q-Tips. And I don’t mean just any generic cotton swab, though I’m sure he’d love those, too, but the real Q-Tips, which cost twice as much as the other brands. Granted it’s a minor expense, but when Julius pulls several dozen a day… Read more »

My Cat Is Disgusting – Or Why We Need Another Baby Gate

When I left the bedroom this morning, I didn’t realize that I locked Zoe in. I discovered it just now when I went in to take a shower (I’m running a little behind today, so sue me) and found that Zoe crapped on my bed. Except I didn’t find it. I smelled it and first checked the bathtub, because that’s… Read more »