New Year's Resolutions Of The Fur-babies!

Piper is up first...

Dear world that reads this blog, in the new year I hope to meow louder than ever, acquire more of my little brother's food, and have more patience to not take him out!

 Shown contemplating her little brother's fate!

Landon is up next...

Dear everyone that reads this...Nice to meet you all! I'm that crazy haired little dude my mom features on this blog all the time! Now for my resolutions: I will be set on getting more toys, more naps, more love, and enjoying every second of running from trouble. Have a pawesome New Year!

 Shown contemplating running from trouble.

 

 

Bye, bye 2018, hello 2019!

Quick Snap...Monday(I missed Sunday)

Did you say I get champagne tonight? I don't know what it is but I'm up for it. Go ahead pour me a glass!

Anyone out there have any big plans? We are staying in with our two little fur-babies. We will play games and maybe watch a movie. It's just a party of two with two furries...so technically a party of 4! Landon will stay up with us. But Piper will be asleep. She'll likely wander in at times but sleep most of the celebration away. We made the decision to keep to ourselves this year since Christmas Eve didn't go quite as good as I hoped.

Here's a big piece of advice after all guests leave your Christmas Eve event and your husband starts to blame you for the issues that occurred during the event DON'T snicker with disbelief. It doesn't help matters! I was so shocked that I was receiving the blame I couldn't help but do one of those little laughs of disbelief. Which didn't go over well...believe me! After 6 years of marriage I have learned a few things though. A big lesson I've learned is just take the blame. Even though you are 100% CERTAIN you were NOT the problem of the evening just agree that you were the problem.

"Yes honey, I was an arrogant drill sergeant."
"Yes honey, I was a control freak."
"Yes honey, I ruined Christmas Eve."
"Yes honey, I also pray everyday Landon doesn't get any of my bad habits like Cody did."

Agree! JUST AGREE!...because your husband has to feel better about things someway, somehow. So take the blame and move on! Understanding he has no one else in this house to blame and he has to get things off his chest, even if those things are misdirected.

Anyway, I look forward to a night of fun in which I do not receive any blame at the end! Let's pop some corks! ;)

Side Note, just in case Cody still has access to the blog where he's at...to Cody, I'm sorry you got dissed along with your mommy the other day. You were a champ that simply marched to the beat of your own little drummer...I wouldn't have wanted you to be any other way. Hugs and kisses big man!

Get Ready....Brr

Early this morning it was really cold in our house, the temps dropped quite a bit overnight. It's turning colder as the New Year approaches. I was in disbelief when I looked at the temp in the house earlier. We went to bed without the heater on and woke up to an extreme chill in the air. While waiting for it to warm up in here I covered Landon up on the couch but he quickly got out of the covers and came over to cuddle up on my lap. I then covered him up again. Can you say spoiled? He's on my lap and covered up.

He got a new bed for his first Christmas. Actually I should say, he got his first bed for his first Christmas. We have successfully made the switch too! He now sleeps in his own bed versus sleeping in a basket with blankets. Yep, he's been sleeping in a basket. It might sound weird but it's been a great thing. The most appealing part of the basket is...he can't get out of it. He still can't get out of it at 5 months old. It's been an ideal thing to make sure he stays in a specific area at night but yet it's not a crate. He's not actually "caged" up.

Brad is not a fan of crates. I think crates have a purpose but I'm not a big fan either. The crate we currently have was bought big enough for the pugs to share. They shared it in the SUV, transporting the two of them together was the only time it was used. So I guess that's when I think crates come in handy. I've never crated any of my dogs when I leave the house. I think it's just simply not enough room for a dog to move around. Since Cody was a baby pug I have used the section off method. Used it with both pugs and now I use it with Landon. He gets sectioned off when we leave. Enough room to play and move about yet not get into anything.

Raise your hand if you have been quite lazy the last couple of days. Although the weather hasn't helped promote a high level of activity. Yesterday was decent but Wednesday it rained all day long. I guess I should mention we are enjoying Christmas vacation like lots of other people. Brad reports back to work on the 3rd. Wednesday and Thursday were spent for us almost completely at home. Perhaps today we'll get out and about a little more. I have two Christmas gifts waiting to be returned. But those go back to the mall and isn't the mall always extra busy when kids are out of school?  Not sure that's gong to get done til late next week. :)

Oh and get ready if you are in the DFW areas. Christmas may have been beautiful but the New Year is supposed to start off quite cold. Starting today, it's already gotten colder. However, the first few days of the year...it's supposed to be super cold. On my weather app for next Wednesday and Thursday it has a picture of a thermometer with snowflakes surrounding it. Thank you weather app, message received. I will stock up on soup ingredients and other necessities before New Year's day arrives. And no walking my little dude those days. He doesn't have a heavy coat yet. Beyond the lack of coat for him though is the fact that he's a PUPPY. He has no business in any extreme temp while still in his puppy year. We'll be playing lots of fetch indoors during the extreme cold days. :) 

Christmas Pics

Just a handful of quick snaps from our Christmas morning.

 

 LOL! Does this elf look familiar at all? It's a Brad Elf! Landon completely freaked out seeing this. Piper was rather curious how daddy got into elf form.

 Piper and a new toy mouse! Which Landon loved just as much as her.

 Landon jumping at my camera and Piper getting out of the way, while Brad looks on.

 Piper contemplating taking Landon's new Christmas monkey.

 He stole something...a Santa hat!

Merry Christmas to all! Hope everyone reading this enjoys a wonderful and very merry time with family!

Hope to add another message later today with a few pics! Until then....once again:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Quick Snap Sunday

Landon met Santa today. As we stood in line to see Santa I wondered how it would all play out? At times Landon is a little apprehensive when meeting new people, other times he acts like the new person is his long lost friend. Santa got the long lost friend greeting. Lovebug Landon was overjoyed to meet Santa. Likely thinking with that big beard Santa is almost as hairy as he is. LOL! I think Santa kind of liked Landon too. And Santa's elves definitely liked my little lovebug. Landon was overjoyed to meet anyone and everyone during our little outing. I know Landon had a great time telling Santa all his wants and needs for Christmas but his human mommie had just as much fun.

We came home to a bit of a grumpy daddy though, he wasn't happy he missed out on the Santa outing. And now his Cowboys just lost. So yeah...he's still grumpy! LOL! It's okay though because I'm in the process of making a large batch of one of his favorite Christmas candies that I make. Brad will be happy about the candy at least.

Side Note 1: I did get a more "professional" pic of Landon with Santa, which shows the full Christmas set much better. However, for this blog I will post only a quick snap I took with my camera.

Side Note 2: The answer to yesterday's post is none other than the older one. Piper prematurely tore into a Christmas gift. I'm sure most would have assumed it was Landon, since he's the young pup. However his sister has been much more likely to bother the tree and the gifts than him.

The Opened Gift

With a puppy and a relatively young cat in our household it was bound to happen this Christmastime. A gift sitting under the Christmas tree was opened prematurely. I heard some playful behavior going on around the Christmas tree then a brief few seconds later I heard the sound of paper tearing. As I made my way to the area of where our Christmas tree stands there was one guilty pet and one innocent pet. It was obvious to me, which was which at first glance of them. The guilty one had a look of "oh no, what did I just do" on her/his face. The innocent one had already distanced themselves from the guilty one and had a look on her/his face that said, "it wasn't me".

Which is which? Who was guilty? Who was innocent? The answer will be revealed tomorrow in the Quick Snap Sunday post. 

School and Anniversary

Tomorrow is a noteworthy day for Landon and his humans. It's our anniversary...#6...the iron anniversary. It is also a noteworthy day for little Landon as he starts his next round of school. I hope the weather is better tomorrow than it's been today. It's been nasty out today: rainy, windy, and cold. Fingers-crossed for improved weather tomorrow to take Landon out in for school and for us as we go out to celebrate our anniversary.

Just in time for his next round of classes I decided to give him a haircut. His 2nd puppy haircut ever, courtesy of his mommie. I didn't cut his hair too short. I kind of like his "fluffball" look, plus it's winter, don't want him to get too cold. Truth be told he probably could have waited another 7-10 days but I'll be super busy next week and obviously Christmas week so I decided to get him trimmed up today.

I'm currently typing this on a Friday evening because Brad needed to go anniversary shopping. He's really struggling with finding an "iron" gift. I tried to help him. I gave him a short list of things to satisfy the "iron" gift part. I even sent him a pic while I was out Christmas shopping one day and happened to come across the perfect gift for yours truly. LOL! So I'm confused why he is struggling so much with this gift? He must be overthinking it. Poor guy! Keep it simple, honey, keep it simple! 

The Chick Flick

Last night my husband walked into our bedroom kind of late, later than usual, as I had been sitting in bed reading for quite some time. With a bit of a grumble he announced, "I'm mad at you?" With surprise, I questioned why? Because I've been as good as pie! :)

Brad went on to explain why..."You left that chick flick on the TV when you went to bed. Then I turned off the movie to play a game. But I quickly decided I wanted to see how the movie ended so I turned the movie back on. Then I decided I wanted some ice cream while I watched the rest. I even paused it to get me some ice cream. Then I was sitting there eating my ice cream and got cold so I covered up with your girly throw you keep on our couch. I'm so embarrassed. I think I lost my man card tonight by watching a chick flick and eating ice cream. Now I'm extra late getting to bed. It's all your fault."

Guess what my response was to all this...I laughed! I laughed and laughed and laughed. Then I asked him to earn back some of his "man card" points by going to cover up our pup-pup so he doesn't get cold during the night. LOL!

In case anyone is wondering what chick flick it was that grabbed Brad's attention and wouldn't let go: My Best Friend's Wedding with Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz.

Menu Brainstorming

I have been brainstorming my Christmas Eve menu. Just when I think I have it figured out, I then overthink an aspect of the meal and I'm back to the start of brainstorming. I finally thought I had the menu figured out earlier today, however, Brad's response wasn't too positive. His remarks were, "too simple" and "that's not Christmas food". So you guessed it...back to brainstorming.

For me growing up in Phoenix in the desert at Christmas Eve we had food that would have been more appropriately served in Spring or Summer not Winter. Roast beef sandwiches was the star of the dinner paired with my grandma's homemade cabbage salad. That cabbage salad featured pickles and large chunks of cheese. I HATE pickles. As a kid I would get a helping of cabbage salad only to eat the large chunks of cheese leaving the rest. We also had fruit salad or sometimes cranberry Jell-O salad. It's still a mystery to me as to why that fruit salad was hailed as being so darn good in my family. Sorry to my family, for that comment! But I was never a fan of the fruit salad. As for dessert after the gift opening, it would make up for the not so great side dishes always served at Christmas Eve, dessert was an ice cream buche de Noel. No, having ice cream cake in December at Christmas Eve is not weird when you live in the desert. :)

Now my menu I came up with earlier today that Brad did not agree to was not as simple as the food I grew up with but it was a little more simpler than what I've done in the past for holidays we've hosted. Wish me luck, I have to get this menu figured out. I want to have it fully decided by Monday, no later than Tuesday.

Quick Snap Sunday

 

Where's Landon? It's just two bunched up socks somehow moving thru the house? Such a mystery.

 

Here he is...the sock stealer. Not sure how long it will take this little dude's human daddy to figure out you can't leave socks on the floor because there's a pup-pup eager to grab them and run. Landon's newest thing, two socks at one time. He does things big! Grabbing only one sock at a time is so last month for Landon. LOL!

Mall Adventure

Can we all applaud my husband...he got up at 7:50 this morning. Yes, on a Saturday, he was up early and nope it wasn't for tennis. He was focused on going with me to pick up an order at the mall.

As we walked up a hill to the mall entrance shivering the whole way, I commented, "why is it always like this every time we come out to Christmas shop?" My husband's reply was rather obvious, "Because honey, it's December. Christmas is in winter. And we don't live in Florida." To which I said, another obvious thing, "Oh yeah!"

It's been cold and rainy these last few days. There were a few snow showers even early this morning. Brr! I have nothing more to say other than that about the weather. Hope it warms up slightly in the next few days. At least to the 50's...please!

After our mall adventure we went to lunch which was really more at a brunch appropriate time. There's a huge lack of breakfast/brunch restaurant choices in our area. Anyone else have that issue? We had the same problem in the previous area we lived in before moving to Fort Worth.

As for the events of tonight?  What are we doing you ask? It's a Home Alone watching night. It's tradition! Gotta watch one of the Home Alone movies every Christmastime. Tonight is the night for Home Alone. Will we watch 1, 2 or 3? Hmm....   

Flashback Friday

 

 

Flashback Friday belongs solely to Cody this week. Today would have been his birthday! In honor of my sweet Cody-boo is one of my favorite pics of him. I miss you, Cody-man! You were my first and as it appears my last puggie! You and your bro are forever in my hall of fame. And thanks for always allowing me to "decorate" you! Kisses to my big Cody-man!

 

Laughable

Apparently there's been a little discussion about yours truly back in AZ. I do not remember ever saying this but I've been accused(although not directly) but still accused of saying at one time puppy school is a waste of money and time. I HONESTLY DO NOT REMEMBER EVER SAYING THAT! Maybe I said it, maybe I didn't, I'm completely unsure. If I did say it though it had to be a super longtime ago, at least 9 years ago. I've lived here in Texas for 9 and a half years and I've had limited conversations with my family since moving out of AZ. But hey, I guess this little issue is important enough to some to judge me or dis me about. Whatever!

I believe I did a rather decent job with the pugs despite not doing puppy school. I'll forever be proud of my puggies! However, when the pugs came into my life I was: young, dumb, still in college, and single. Life was VERY different than it is for me now.

I might still be a little dumb but otherwise none of those factors existed when Landon landed into our world. I'm older now, hopefully not as dumb any longer. I'm also no longer in college and no longer single. Landon is not just my dog, Landon is Brad's dog too. Decisions are now made with a HUSBAND. It was us together that decided puppy school was a good idea. And it was us together that has decided to continue on with level two. Judge me if you want...but lots of factors in my world are different than they were when the pugs came along.

Furthermore, it's been a LONGTIME since I've had a puppy. I've spent the last 3 years getting two pugs through their late senior citizen years. My most recent experience with dogs is in the late years not the early years. Of course, it's all coming back to me on how to deal with a pup-pup, however, it does not mean I can't seek out a little help. Pardon me if I want to do things slightly different this time around. Sorry, not sorry! Judging me and dissing me about puppy decisions?...come on...ridiculous and laughable!

But hey just in case you need more material here is my gift to you...a short list of things I'm doing different with this little dude. It's free ammo for any future dissing/judging anyone in AZ wants to do of me:

-No Banfield...I am about as anti-Banfield as one can be. Yes, the pugs went to Banfield, but only during their early years. I was stupid and paid Banfield's monthly fee times 2 for far too long. I finally got smarter and moved on from Banfield's.

-No litter box...we have been using puppy pee pads and our backyard(imagine that). Why no litter box like I used with the pugs? Because Piper would rather not share a litter box with her pipsqueak brother. 

-Harness...we are using a harness with Landon. I never used harnesses with the pugs. Harnesses came along when the pugs were entering their senior years. They were too used to a leash and collar at that point. But freely judge me for not using harnesses sooner with the pugs!

-Free feeding....oh this one is a big gift to those in AZ....judge me BIG time....I was ADAMANT about not free feeding the pugs. However, Landon's breed does better with free feeding so I have adjusted. Landon's breed is known to snack throughout the day. I have adjusted because I want to do the best for him. Although I still stand by the way I fed the pugs. Pugs are natural little overeaters. I never could have done free feeding with Simon. No way!

Landon Graduates

This post title has been changed this week from "Landon Learns" to "Landon Graduates".  Awesome job my little dude! My loving Landon graduated Monday night with honors! He passed his final exam with great expertise!

The main focus is of course on my little dude, however, I very much appreciated that my husband gave me "honorable mention". Congratulating both Landon and myself. Yep, I got some dap too. But Landon is the one with the certificate and he is the one that enjoyed cake and ice cream with the other puppy graduates. Now on to the next level. He starts his next round of classes in 2 weeks.

I believe Landon has benefited greatly from school. Which is precisely why I will continue on with him to level two. However, I do understand there are dogs out there that need schooling a lot more than Landon. Some dogs are just nuts. Choosing the right breed is hugely important. Without the school I probably could be doing a good job training Landon myself. However, taking him to class has accelerated the training process. Not to mention he's been able to be around other pups which is a benefit and the bond between him and I has grown through these many lessons too. Congrats loving Landon!

Quick Snap Sunday Bonus

I realize these pics could be soooo much better than they are. I did my best considering the darkness outside and the lack of my darn flash on my camera choosing to not work.  I took Landon outside a little while ago, as we walked around in the backyard I looked up and was instantly fixated on this creature. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of bird it was. A hawk? A falcon? A buzzard? Actually I ruled out buzzard pretty quickly. Anyway, I went back inside to get Brad. Yes, folks judge this AZ girl if you want to...I needed my husband to help me determine what kind of creature it was. LOL! Where I come from I can identify snakes, jack rabbits, and scorpions and that's about it. So Brad comes outside with Landon and I, looks up to see this creature and in 2.2 seconds tells me it's an owl. What an owl? I've never seen an owl before. Only on TV, in commercials, movies, etc. As soon as he said it was an owl though I clued into the features too: the stature, the head movements, the wings and the small ears on top of it's head. Anyway, it was cool to see although it did make both of us nervous as we protected Landon when it looked over at us. It will be a LONG time until I will relax and let Landon be in the backyard alone.  

Quick Snap Sunday

The day started somewhat early for our entire household. Brad got up early enough to head out on the walk with Landon and I. As we all stood in the kitchen Piper glanced over at Brad to notice he was suddenly wearing a hat and about to put on sunshades...she then had an epic freak out moment. She stopped eating and went speeding out of the kitchen area so fast with such reckless abandon that Landon, Landon's food and Landon's water bowl went in three different directions. What a mess!

I don't get it! I don't think I'll ever get it. How many years does she have to be on this earth before she realizes there's no need to FLIP her lid every time her daddy puts sunshades and a hat on. My oh my, cats are so weird! I mean that in the nicest way possible. :)

Anyway in other news, our tree is now fully decorated. So far so good as far as dealing with a Christmas tree and a puppy in the house. He's been as good as I could hope for. I've had to tell him "no" only 3 times regarding the tree. Told him "no" twice yesterday and only once so far today. To be honest, it's been Piper I've reprimanded more regarding the tree. Oh and in the end we didn't change things up a bit to reduce temptation for the pup-pup. The tree is on the floor not a table and it's fully decorated with lights and ornaments hanging kind of low. What can I say? I'm very confident he is going to respect the tree and not be knocking low hanging ornaments off.

Those that know me well know I LOVE collecting ornaments. There's no Christmas season that arrives without me adding an ornament or two to our collection. You can never have too many ornaments. In all seriousness though I get tired of some ornaments and some break so we always seem to need a new one or two each year. Anyway, the quick snap pic for today are the two new ornaments for this season. Of course, Landon needed his own and Piper needed a matching one! I came up with all words on the ornaments. Oh and I still think it's funny how I did the pronunciation part of Piper's name...Pi-purr! Get it? LOL!

   

Puppy In The House At Christmastime

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our household. This is obviously Landon's first experience with Christmas. First time seeing a tree in the house for him. It was quite funny too when we got the tree out. As we reprimanded him and told him to stay away from the tree next thing we know Piper is in the tree. She was starting to wrap her paws around the bottom and shimmy up the tree. Both of us had a good little laugh of disbelief as we watched it play out. 

Brad and I had a small difference of opinion concerning the tree this year. He wanted to stand it up on a small table so Landon can't get to it at all. I didn't like that idea! "Um, no"...was my response. I don't believe in that. What I mean is...I believe in teaching a fur-baby to not touch something/not mess with something/not go near something. I do not believe in doing things completely different just because there's a pup in the house. That being said, I understand the tree has to be decorated slightly different than usual to reduce some of the temptation for the pup-pup. But I fully believe we need to teach him now to respect the tree and leave it alone instead of not having a tree anywhere near just because we have a puppy in the house.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes. So far so good. He's investigated it and briefly sampled chewing on a branch but after being told "no" and to "leave it alone" he has respected the tree. We will decorate our tree today. We got it out of the attic last night and set it up, then decided to leave the decorating for today. Our thought process was to allow Landon to adjust to a tree in the house before the decorations are there too. Landon leaving the tree alone isn't my biggest concern with a young puppy in the house, it will be the gifts under the tree soon.

Just a little added note, Landon is the youngest puppy I've had at a Christmastime. Cody was a year old. Since he was born in December he was weaned in early February. Making him a full year before he truly "experienced" Christmas. As for Simon, he was 9 and a half months old for his first Christmas. Piper remains the youngest furry overall that we've had at a Christmastime. While Landon is now the youngest pup at a Christmastime. I look forward to it. It's going to add a little dash of zip and zing to our household's Christmas. For sure! 

Landon Learns (part 5)

Yikes it's been more than a week since I posted. Oops, life gets a little busy from time to time. Let's see what has Landon been learning lately. Puppy push-ups!!!! Oh it's so cute.

This past Monday the class was a bit small, I'm noticing pet parents and furries keep dropping out as the weeks progress. Some people honestly, wasted their money and time, because they only came to one or two classes. Two different pups were seen in the class only twice during the whole process. Anyway, with a small class this past week it meant lots of one on one time which was great. This past week was all about combining commands together. No single commands anymore. For example learning to come when called and immediately sitting down with focused attention. He did well! I'm currently spending this weekend teaching him a couple tricks.

Can you believe it...Landon graduates this Monday! Yay! My sweet little baby boy will get a little graduation cap and have a diploma to prove his hard work. His diploma will also help him get into the next level. He's moving from elementary to middle school...kind of! I guess more like kindergarten to 1st grade! LOL! He'll be starting the next level of classes in 2 weeks.