Who decided that gaining a husband, step-daughters, AND puppy in the space of a month was a good idea?!?

We're getting a puppy this weekend. A Boxer. And frankly, I'm scared.

We started talking months ago and determined we would eventually get a dog. The girls briefly had a dog they adored, but for undisclosed reasons they gave the dog back. They've missed her ever since. And The Mister loves dogs too. As for me, I love them - in theory. I didn't grow up with them, but I love all my friends' dogs. I just have no idea how to take care of them or train them, which was proven in the disasterous week a couple years ago where I adopted a dog who had separation anxiety and quickly found out I was in WAY over my head. I still carry shame from that week. It's probably why this is stressful for me.

So we said we would adopt a dog when we finally were able to be in a house with a yard. I figured it would be much easier for me with some help and know-how in the form of a husband. And then The Mister's mom offered to get a dog through some good friends of hers whose momma dog was going to birth to some puppies. They told her they'd give her one for free. His mom said she would keep it at her house, take care of it as we obviously wouldn't be there all the time, but that it would be our dog.

He asked me this in a moment of weakness with so much anticipation and hope in his voice that how could I say no? That adorable Mister.

I'm reading the Cesar Millan books, and he asserts that you need to be calm, assertive, and give boundaries. But how do you do that when your brain is reeling with "How do I do this right?" questions. Plus, Boxers become big dogs. They're energetic dogs.

Oh, help.