The Vet Office Experience!

Monday morning started super early for me and the pets.  It was to be a big day for Piper.  De-clawing and spaying were on the agenda.  However, she was clueless concerning the agenda! Cody and Simon assumed I had lost all sense of time along with my mind as I awakened two very sleepy pugs to leash them up for their walk.  A walk that took place before breakfast!  Unheard of in both pugs opinions!  Oh the insanity!

It wasn't long before all major pet chores were done and I whisked Piper off to the vet. Once arriving at the vet I was told to wait that a supervisor wanted to talk to me.  Now does that sound strange to anyone?  I've taken pets in for surgery before, typical procedure is to be shown to an exam room where a nurse explains procedure and you sign for your pet to be treated. Never been told to wait for a supervisor. A strange vibe was in the air! I soon met with the supervisor, whom wanted to discuss a new drug they are wanting to try out and they need a volunteer kitty!  In exchange for us volunteering Piper they will give us all procedures FREE.  I actually made the supervisor explain things twice because the first time he ran through things it was so sugarcoated I didn't know what to think.  After hearing how much the charges would be if we didn't participate in the drug study it was a bit tempting.  In the end I said no to the drug study.  As I don't want my cat-daughter being their guinea pig!

Immediately after leaving Piper I texted Brad to tell him about the drug study offer and the charges we were about to incur for Piper. Him and I soon chatted about things, the charges seemed high to both of us, especially to Brad.  As he has been down the road of cat ownership....and I of course have not.  We quickly made the decision that I would go pick up Piper and forget it.  We will find a different vet. Was it embarrassing to call the vet and tell them to stop all procedures on our kitty then go pick her up?  Yes, slightly!  But you have to do what you have to do!  If you suddenly have a change of heart and feel you are about to get ripped off then by all means go through the slight embarrassment to get out of the situation.  After calling the vet to tell them to stop all procedures and that I'd soon come pick up Piper, I called another vet to get their pricey. 

We have decided to switch all three "kids" over to a vet office that we actually took Storm to a few times. I have been very reluctant to switch vets for the boys, because they are aging.  Then again we found this vet for Storm back when she was in her advanced years so that worry should be null and void!  The new vet is much closer, more convenient, and at first glance the pricing appears to be better. Not to mention the philosophy of pet care seems more in line with ours. The new vet has quoted us at $300 less than the old vet for Piper's 2 procedures. 

I took Piper and Cody to the new vet yesterday.  Cody needed his shots and Piper needed to get her "new patient" visit done, which would clear the way for us to schedule her procedures.  She is now scheduled to have surgery on May 21st.  I was hoping it could be done sooner but I was being a bit picky with the doctor I wanted.  I want the pets to all go to the same doctor for each visit.  I don't like getting a random doctor each time I take them.  I want our pets to get familiar with one particular doctor and I want the doctor to get familiar with our pets! 

Oh man, they both were so good at the vet office! I was a proud mommie.  Piper did amazing.  Lots of cats hiss and bite at the vet, she didn't do either.  She was golden!  Cody is always good at the vet.  When we first arrived I sat Piper in her carrier on the bench then told Cody to sit next to her on the bench which he promptly did. I then walked across the room a little ways away to check in and sign new pet paperwork.  A few nurses in the office were quite amazed that my pets, especially Cody had no problem hanging out by his sister and not running around the vet office. Most dogs want to jump down and run around or at least walkabout but Cody follows my commands rather well.  Once inside the exam room I held Piper in my arms as Cody sat down next to us. Both were calm the entire time. Cody's biggest objection was having his ears messed with.  

The experience of yesterday was a first for me, I've never tried taking 2 pets to the vet at the same time.  It went well.  It wasn't overly chaotic!  Big sigh of relief!       

Game Time!

It was a long weekend for us.  Brad had Friday off due to the fact that he had worked the previous Friday.  Back on Good Friday he was the "skeleton crew" at his job.  Which meant he got to have this past Friday off to make up for it.  Woo-hoo!  I love 3 day weekends.  It makes Wednesday and Thursday for me a little extra busy as I push through trying to get things done so I can enjoy as much of Friday with Brad as possible.  But it's so worth it!

We had a low-key weekend.  Stayed around the house a lot.  Which is always nice!  We both enjoy being at home.  We are not the type of people that always need to be out doing stuff to be happy.

As for part of our Saturday, I'll give an example of the dork I am!  On Saturday I decided to go get my nails done in the late afternoon.  We had company coming over that evening and I assumed we would all watch the Mavs play-off game.  As I walked in our front door from getting my nails done I was greeted by an over-excited husband that quickly explained to me the Mavs just now won their game with a last second 3 pointer.  WHAT???????? I MISSED THE GAME? I couldn't believe it! 

I told Brad I was shocked I had missed the game and that he didn't tell me the game was about to come on when I left.  I had been planning my day around the Mavs.  Truly believing the game was in the evening hours not the afternoon hours.  To make matters worse what does Brad respond to me with?..."Babe, you are the one that told me the game was in the afternoon!"..."I was?"...I exclaimed!

Honestly people!  Where is my head lately?  Why do I not remember having a discussion concerning the time of the Mavs game with Brad.  Geez!  I've obviously been pre-occupied or I'm going crazy!  I sure hope it's simply that I'm pre-occupied!  Let's all keep our fingers-crossed I find my mind soon! 

Remember the issue with Brad's match time a few days ago as well and then the issue with the Mavs game time.  Wow!  Maybe it's just matches and game times that aren't sticking with me!  I haven't forgotten any appointment times or conference call times recently.  So maybe my problem is simply with sporting event times!  No clue!  Nonetheless it's a little weird!

Cody and Watermelon

I recently read dogs can eat watermelon. It's good for them! I do not believe in giving pets table scraps.  However, we do give them fresh fruit or veggies if it is okay for dogs to have.  Watermelon recently got added to the boys fresh food list. They eat bananas, apples, carrots, and now watermelon. Mind you these items are treated similar to treats in our household and are not given every day. Bananas might be the slight exception....one of us likely gives the boys a slice of banana almost every morning at breakfast.  This is Cody's first experience with watermelon documented for all to see.  There was no way to document Simon's first experience with watermelon since his was gone like yesterday's news before I could blink!

Much to Simon's astonishment and dismay mommie actually had time to get the camera to photograph Cody with his watermelon. He sat there contemplating what to do with his piece of watermelon for what likely seemed like hours or days to Simmie.  It was a long time I will admit!  So long that I had my breakfast prepared and eaten before Cody finally decided to consume his lone piece of watermelon.   

He's so funny when given something new.  It takes him FOREVER to decide if it's okay to eat.  Does it smell right?  Does it look right?  What the heck is it? Why is she giving this to me suddenly?  Is today the day I die of food poisoning?  Are all questions I assume run through Cody's head!  Possibly I'm giving him way more credit than he deserves as he likely doesn't have that many thoughts.  Then again, who knows.  Either way, how many dogs do you know that would size up a piece of food so long that his or her owner has time to get the camera, take a picture, prepare breakfast, and eat breakfast before the dog FINALLY decides to eat his treat....the answer....not many!  Cody is in a class of his own!    

Week 9

Did anyone happen to see the NFL schedules were released earlier this week?  We looked them over already.  Our eyes were both immediately drawn to Week 9.....Arizona at Dallas!  Oh geez!  Here we go again!   

At first thought we both looked at one another then excitedly said, "We could get tickets." About 10 seconds later we looked back at one another to say, "No, not a good idea."  Why is it not a good idea?  Because we won't be rooting for the same team.  It would be more fun to take in a game at the stadium when we're both rooting for the Cowboys. Which is every week they aren't playing my Cards!

We did go see the Coyotes play a couple years ago while they were in town to play the Stars.  Just a few weeks ago we spoke of getting tickets to the Mavs game when they hosted the Suns in the last game of the regular season.  As it turned out we never got around to getting tickets for that one. For the Coyotes, the Suns, and the Diamondbacks I could go to see them and root quietly for them yet still root loudly for the Texas team.  However, I can't do that with the Cards.  Sorry folks!  I'm a true-Cardinals fan first! Instead we'll be sitting on our couch on opposite sides in opposite colors!  I'll be trading in my blue and silver pom-pom that day!!!!

7:00 AM

The other night Brad was talking about his tennis match this weekend.  I was in the kitchen and he was in our living room sitting on the couch as he glanced over his tennis schedule.  He then told me what time his match was.....7:00 AM.  I replied with shock that it could be that early.  I even joked I might not be too much help in assisting him to get ready for his match.  As I would likely want to sleep in, after all it's Saturday!

The next day as I'm walking the boys in the morning I'm thinking about Brad's early morning match.  I do some of my best, not to mention in depth thinking while walking the boys. Or at least I think it's some of my best thinking!  ;) As I put one foot in front of the other and carefully watched the boys I considered how the schedule might go for us.

Later on that night I mentioned to Brad that he's going to have to leave for his match while it's still dark out!  He was a bit puzzled at my statement!  After another sentence or two was exchanged I realized my ears heard "7:00 AM"  but in reality.....THANK GOODNESS for reality.....the match time is 9:00 AM.  Don't ask me how I got the two confused!  I don't know.  Then again, he didn't catch my mistake either when he originally told me the match time I did respond with shock.  I wouldn't have been shocked by a 9:00 AM start time. All I can say is he was in one area, I was in another plus I was busy preparing dinner at the time he originally looked at his schedule for this weekend. Obviously some things didn't make it to my ears correctly!  So glad it's 9:00 and not 7:00. 

Catch Up Time!

Okay this is long overdue.....time to catch up on the blog posts!  So what's been going on?  Lots, as usual! We definitely stay busy around here.  Winter has FINALLY gone away.  Hopefully the super cold temps stay gone until at least December. I won't mind cold temps in November but I need a long break from the super cold temps.  Trust me there's a big difference between "super cold" and "cold". Cold I can handle! 

Brad's in the middle or maybe slightly before the mid- point of his tennis season. He has matches nearly every Saturday.  We will be up and around early for his match tomorrow.  The matches are never at the same time each week, they vary week by week.  No getting into a standard groove of things. The Saturday schedule for us changes each week.

About 10 days ago we decided it was time for a mid-week movie date night.  We went to the new movie Captain America.  We saw the first one which was good, but this one is better.  They tried to fit too much into the first movie and it didn't flow as well as it should have.  This one was really good.  Robert Redford was in it this time around, I haven't seen him in a movie in a very long time.  They sure did destroy a lot of cars in the movie.  Wonder what the total number of vehicles that were demolished was? Lots!

More recently of course was Easter.  I hope everyone out there had a good Easter.  We had a nice one.  Weather-wise, I think we experienced just about everything in one day.  Sun, rain, warmth, breezy, slightly chilly...just about everything! Like my father-in-law says, "That's Texas!  If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes. It'll change!"  I made a carrot cake cheesecake to take to Granny's for the celebration.  It was a dessert I thought about quite a bit before attempting.  I almost did a trial run, but decided I had a good enough plan in my head the trial run wasn't necessary. I'm happy to report it all turned out as well as I could have hoped.  Whew!  Sigh of relief!  Easter was only 5 days ago but it actually seems like a longtime ago for some reason!  Weird!

Piper vs. Bedtime!

It's clear bedtime is not Piper's favorite time of the day.  It's not her mommie's fave time of the day either or at least on most days it isn't.  Cats are a little bit nocturnal.  Although we have done a good job trying to keep Piper on a schedule, still bedtime and Piper don't mix well.

Once I announce it's bedtime this is what happens....First off Simon is no where to be found because he puts himself to bed immediately following his last walk of the day. Cody and Piper are the only ones we have to tell to go to bed.  When told to go to bed, Cody slowly creeps from the living room towards his bedtime area.  He creeps at a snails pace.  Perhaps he's not fond of bedtime either.  Actually with Cody, he likes to stay up as late as we do.  He seems to linger in an effort to survey whether it's just the pets that are going to bed or if we're all going to bed. I have wasted countless hours of my life waiting on Cody.  He has not slowed down in his old age he's always been a slow moving tortoise, while Simon is a fast moving hare!

As for my Piper-pie, when told it's bedtime a lively game of chase the kitty breaks out.  Though the chase the kitty game can get annoying it has it's funny moments, like when Piper runs into the slow moving tortoise(Cody) as she's bouncing from room to room to avoid me. Cody's expression he gives when she knocks into him is quite priceless, his look accurately represents his annoyance of being hit by the fast moving oversized gnat(Piper).  She's like a flash of lightning. She's near you, you think you have her cornered then....FLASH....she's gone.  Once again you move to where she's at....thinking this time you've got her....FLASH again....she goes through my legs. 

The other night Brad was the one that tried to get Piper in bed first.  As he attempted to chase her, I soon joined in.  The two of us against one little kitty.  She was no match for us, or was she?  I was quick to get the idea to lure her.  That's my go-to move with her!  We had some Easter grass laying around, there I was waving a strand of Easter grass at Piper.  She's a nut for the simplest things!  She took the bate, soon Brad was able to grab her once her eyes became fixated on the Easter grass I was holding.  Dangling a strand of Easter grass in front of her is as good as dangling a hot dog in front of Simon! 

I'm curious to see if bedtime will ever interest Piper?  Will she ever be easy to put to bed?  Not that it's that hard because luring her with a simple item or a toy always seems to work.  However, I wonder how long it will be until she very willingly heads to bed.  Cody's 12 and he doesn't exactly go willingly.  I'm thinking a nightly game of chase the kitty will take place for many years to come in our household. And you know what? I'm perfectly happy with that!  She's added some zip to our animal kingdom!

Rain Drenched Sunday!

Sunday featured quite the amount of rain!  It was sprinkling when I walked the boys in the early morning.  While sitting in church, I turned to Brad to comment on the noise of the storm outside.  Never did it occur to me, we had no rain gear with us. What were we thinking? So there we were at the conclusion of the church service with no rain gear and it's coming down good.  At first glance, I thought it was no big deal.  I used to live in Seattle, rain is nothing. After fully stepping out, away from the overhang of the church building I quickly realized this was no sprinkle, this was no drizzle either. 

Brad grabbed my hand as we made a quick dash to the car.  By the time we got to the car, we were soaked.  Drenched! During our mad dash to our car we had left my in-laws in our dust as they were smart enough to bring an umbrella.  We then called them on the phone to discuss after church plans since standing in the parking lot to do that was not an option.

After getting home I felt like baking.  I baked and baked.  I bake quite frequently on Sunday afternoons when there's no football.  It's a good time to leisurely try out new things in the kitchen. 

I started with muffins.  I made some mixed berry muffins.  A total experiment!  They turned out quite well.  I've never tried putting raspberries in muffins.  I actually cooked them first. I threw in blueberries(not cooked) then cooked raspberries to go in the muffins too.  Once the raspberries cooled a bit I swirled them on top of the blueberry muffin batter before popping them in the oven. I'm not sure where I get some of these ideas from!  There's numerous Sundays my poor husband has to deal with being told to open up as I shove a piece of muffin or cookie or whatever experiment I've worked on into his mouth.  He's a good guinea pig! 

After the muffins were done I turned my attention to cookies.  I recently bought a new pan that I thought would be perfect to make jumbo cookies.  It's not actually designed for cookies but I was sure I could make it work.  After the 2nd group of cookies went in the oven I figured out how to best use my new pan to accomplish my jumbo cookies.  I can hardly wait to serve up some jumbo cookies to my nephew the next time he comes over.  I had baking jumbo cookies for my nephew in mind when I found and bought the pan!  I finished my baking afternoon off with a pie then cooked us dinner.  I have been wanting pie for weeks now. It was finally time to make one!  I chose to do something kind of weird with that one too.  I did my cheesecake pie with a few additions.  I mixed in cinnamon apples, toffee bits, and pecans. Simon totally approved of the pecans as he hung out to get one or two. We didn't cut into the pie until tonight(Monday night), it was quite good. I'd make it again! Fun afternoon of baking for me!

Can I Eat It?

You know what they don't have out on the market?  Kitty treats!  Not cat treats but kitty treats! They have puppy treats.  Granted not a huge selection. Still there are puppy treats available. It's taken us some time to find an appropriate treat for little Ms. Piper. She's turned her little nose up at quite a few. About a week ago while shopping at Petsmart I saw some "milk treats".  Aww yes, my little Piper-Pie will surely love milk treats. She loves milk!  Milk is all she had for the first 6 weeks we had her. Sure enough the milk treats are a success!  All other treats she's looked at the treat then looked at me with this expression that asked me, "Can I eat it? Is it edible?". 

Well it didn't take long, I now have Piper spoiled to treat time. Finally she can have a treat when her brothers receive one, as I've been uneasy about her being left out.  She's funny about treat time....she runs at top speed to her bowl. I have to put the treat in her bowl not on the floor due to a certain someone.  I won't mention any names, but someone would beat her to it.  One pug would knock her over to get to it and the other could careless as he has a deep rooted fear of being poisoned!  LOL!  Not sure if I've mentioned this before on the blog....Cody is absolutely hilarious when you give him something new.  He is so skeptical.  He's completely sure we're out to poison him. LOL! 

On the other side of the spectrum is Simmie.  He questions if he can eat something long after it's gone. A few weeks back Simon gave us a bit of a scare as he ate a cat toy.  Yes, folks you read that right....a cat toy! A small cross-eyed plush fish was the toy. This incident happened a few days after his birthday.  Prompting me to assume he lost his little mind when he turned 12.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed I will now have to buy cat toys that are too big for Simon to swallow. After Simon ate the cat toy Brad jokingly questioned if we shook Simon gently would we be able to hear the bell attached to the toy inside him. Oh geez!  The pleasures of having little Simmie!                                      

March Madness

We are currently sitting here watching the National Championship game live from the Dallas area!  Tonight is the end of the tourney.  I'm glad about that, I'm ready for it to be over.  Having the game at such a large stadium is cool but weird.  I'm thinking there's some not so great seats in the house.  The people off to the sides that would typically be at the 30 yard line don't appear to have good seats to me.  It's a small court in the middle of a large stadium. Kentucky is full of TX boys we were quick to realize when the starting line-ups were introduced. Perhaps we would prefer to see Kentucky cut the nets down tonight.

As for our bracket comp, which one of us claimed victory?  It's a four peat!  Our comp was actually done during the second weekend of the tournament.  At that point there weren't enough games to still be played for Brad to catch up.  I will be choosing the restaurant we dine at in our out of town venture.  I might pick California Pizza Kitchen.  I haven't been to a CPK in so long, we would have to drive a little ways to get to one, as there isn't one in our immediate area. We'll see!  The other thing I will cash in on is an entertainment gift.  I might have to save that one until a season of some show we like comes out on DVD.  We don't watch regular programming on TV we buy shows on DVD and watch them at our leisure. We're weird!  Actually we just have other interests, not just TV so buying seasons of shows on DVD works better for us.

I would like to say my bragging about my 4-peat has been kept to a minimum!  Aren't you all in blog land proud of me?  I've been good for the most part!  Okay so I did do a little dance when it was fully confirmed I had won but otherwise I've been keeping my bragging in check! LOL! ;) 

Spring Has Sprung! I think!

Welcome to April!  Time to change the look of the blog because I do believe Spring is arriving in Big D.  It is a bit chilly out right now though.  But not like it was!  I think we can officially say we've survived the coldest winter myself and the pugs have ever experienced.  It was rough at times!  It was long!  And just yesterday I once again got slightly irritated with the wind.  Granted the wind is not nearly as cold as it has been in the last few months.  But it's still a factor!  Cold winds coming at me as I walk the boys by the lake is what gets me the most!

We've had some warmer temps here and there.  It's a little spotty as the transition from Winter to Spring goes.  A few days in a row of perfect weather then we're greeted by some cooler temps.  The key word is "cooler" not "super cold" or even "cold" any longer. I'm happy to say the below 40 degree temps seem to have ceased.  The past few days the lowest morning temp has been 41.  I can handle that!  Trust me 41 is nothing when you've had to walk the boys when it's 15 or even 20 degrees! 

Bring on the 40's is what I was saying a few weeks ago.  We've also enjoyed a few mornings where it's been warmer than 40's for the early walk.  Like I said, it's spotty.  A few nice days mixed with cooler days.  I'm thinking that is how the month of April will be for us.  Perfectly fine with me....as long as temps in the teens and twenties don't come back until at least December!

It hasn't been hot enough yet this year that the boys have had to pant!  They'll be completely out of practice once they do have to face warmth that makes them pant! LOL! Oh how Cody looks forward to that day!  He'll likely be completely thawed out from our winter by June or early July! ;)

Curiosity Killed The.......

Curiosity killed the.....Yikes don't finish that sentence EVER!  Curiosity will not take down our little Piper.  I will see to it! 

Piper celebrates a bit of a milestone this month, she will officially be 6 months old.  Which means it's time to get those claws taken out.  A kitty must be at least 6 months old to be declawed.  The month of April will not end without her being declawed and spayed!  Big month for her!

Now back to her curiosity.  Obviously she's curious about a lot of things.  She's a baby, she's learning new things everyday.  I remember the day she discovered she had a tail.  That was funny to see her constantly looking back at the thing dragging behind her.  She then attacked it only to realize it's attached!  Cody looked on at the scene with a disapproving glaze.  As if to say, "What is up with this little thing? Of course you have a tail. Of course it's attached! Duh!"

Piper is crazy!  The nickname Hyper-Piper fits her well.  Her movements most of the time are super fast and wildly unpredictable.  That's why she is not allowed on the balcony. However, her curiosity of the balcony grows everyday. I recently asked Brad how long until we can take her out on the balcony.  His response was 2 years at least!  Wow!  Two years?  She will likely need a full 2 years to mature enough to release there are dangers outside the walls of our home.  We live on the top floor too, I'd rather not think about the disaster that could occur should she get out on the balcony. 

As her fascination for the outdoors grows she can be seen moving from window to window longingly looking out over the pool and courtyard.  She's small enough to fit her little tushy on the wood blinds.  She's recently started sitting between the wood blinds and the window gazing as far as she can see.  Her curiosity is solely focused on the balcony, she isn't interested in going out our front door.  Then again she can't see out the front door plus outside our front door is just a hallway. Front door temptation is quite minimal.

Well, my little Piper-Pie....you've got quite the wait before you get a chance at that balcony.

Side Note:  As I've been sitting here typing this, Cody has been schooling his siblings. Constantly rambling on in his language! He's very expressive. Simon meanwhile is certain Cody has a few screws loose as he's had to listen to him for the last 30 minutes ramble. Brad and I have had a few chuckles as Cody continues to voice his opinion. Why is Cody rambling on?  No clue!  He's got a rawhide and Simon doesn't, possibly he's rubbing it in that he still has his. Or perhaps he wanted to type this blog. LOL! :)