Isn't she a sweetie! My three dogs were all adult 'rescue' dogs so I didn't go through the puppy stage with them. But I did keep them in individual kennels (at home) while I was working for the first few weeks. Then I restricted them to a couple of rooms using a pet gate (similar to what you'd use for a human toddler). I walked them before work, then came home for a late lunch and walked them again, then walked them after work and then once more at bedtime. Now I work full time from home and they spend most of the day in the office with me. They make great foot warmers in the winter :-) We still walk (no fenced in yard) three times a day. Before work (about 7 am), early to mid afternoon (2-4 pm), and before bed (any time from 7 to 10 pm). I think it would be very hard potty training a puppy when you can't stay home with him/her. A rule of thumb is that a puppy can handle one hour per month of age. So a 4 month old puppy should be able to go up to 4 hours without having to go out. A six month old puppy can go up to six hours, and so on. One thing I wouldn't recommend is using puppy pads in the house. I had a dog once, that was trained with puppy pads from the time she was tiny. It was an awful process re-training her, and she would still potty in the house years afterward, if the notion struck her.

Most times they are cemented in when the pillar was built. You may be able to remove cement from around the box and pull/cut/tear/ or whatever you need to do to remove it. There should be motar on all sides of the mailbox, possibly only at the front edge. Then you install the new box and re-motar it. Its hard to say without seeing the acutal installation.

I like the wet zone well away form the path from door to toilet to sink, because wet socks are nasty. But maybe you and yours are better at keeping the wet in the shower than my family members are I am keeping the layout as it is in the top version. :) So wet socks shouldn't be an issue. It's an excellent point though and one I hadn't thought of but now that you mention it, I have to agree with you. In our neck of the woods, code requires shower doors to have an outswing. They can swing in but must have the outswing. The door will swing both ways. Not sure what code is in our neck of the woods.

I think this party is a way of thanking everyone for all their support throughout the process. As a very early premie "L" struggled to reach all the milestones necessary to thrive and be able to go home. We were involved in the daily progress with updates on TIny Beans. The parents became involved with March of Dimes and to show their gratitude had a Team "L" fundraiser where many donated and surpassed the goal. When "L" was finally discharged, DD and I had a special personalized blanket made to honor the occasion. I think most of the people attending this party will have already given a baby gift. I think I will give a gift card as Maddie has suggested with a special card expressing my best wishes etc.