Sickies

Common sense people! When your child is sick, you don't take them to places where they can expose other kids. The same is true for dogs. Thank you to the irresponsible owner who took their sick dog to the dog park and let him/her drink from the community water therefore causing me $350 worth in vet bills, chest x-rays, and antibiotics. NOT COOL! I guess we will now be vaccinating every 6 months for kennel cough. It's a small price to pay when our dogs are super social and LOVE to play at the dog park.

Look at these poor girls who are zoned out because they are drugged up on meds. None of us got sleep for approximately 3 days because every 10 minutes someone was coughing up a lung. Shelby ended up with an upper and lower respiratory infection and Liberty had what they think is a form of pneumonia. Alas, we are on the mend!

Scrumptious Sundays

Stuffed Pork Chops

This recipe was delicious and I tweaked it to my liking, but owe the inspiration to these cute girls.

4 boneless loin chops, 1" thick

4 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, grated

4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup cooked spinach, wring out extra water

bacon grease

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate the cheese and mix with the bacon and spinach. Cut pork chops horizontally most of the way through (but not all the way) to create a pocket for the filling. Divide the cheese mixture among the pork chops filling them by hand. Season as desired. Heat grease from bacon using the same frying pan. Sear each side of the pork chops for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pork chops to a cookie sheet. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes or until juices run clear when pork chops are pierced with a knife.

We Made It!

After a ridiculously long drawn out move...we made it to Arizona! I think that sometimes my LOVE for planning is a curse because really, how often do things go off without a hitch?! Well we were pleasantly surprised when the truck was loaded and the house was cleaned by 5:00 pm on the day we planned! That left us a few hours to do the finishing touches, say goodbye to some friends, eat dinner, shower, and get to bed early. Of course we ended up dragging our feet and taking far too long and crashed on our friends couches (thank you Comptons) in the wee hours of the morning. We were going back and forth about what time to leave the next morning because they were planning on icy roads (dangerous in TX). We ended up sleeping in until 7:00 am. Not bad, but we went back to our house to put the bikes on the car and head out. Our landlord pulled up as we were getting in the car and he ended up staying for 2 HOURS! At 10:00 we were finally at the gas station filling up and about to head out on the open road when Phil decided to check the tire pressure. As luck would have it...we had a screw on the side wall of our tire. So Phil told me to run to Walmart and he'd wait for me. Waste of time. Walmart said that they couldn't do anything for a puncture in the side and sent me off to Discount Tire. Discount Tire was super cool and said since I had a 5th tire on the back they could put that on...until he went and checked and found out that it was a different size than the other 4 tires. WHAT?! Plan B...buy 1 new tire and put the back tire on with it (I can have 2 different sizes on the front and the back - who knew). The guy ran outside to check and came back in to inform me that we needed to go to Plan C because it was the original tire from 2001 and they legally couldn't put it on. Plan C...call daddy! Daddy forked over money for one tire and we fork over money for the other. At 1:30 pm I called Phil from the freeway (driving on my 2 new $440 tires) and asked him if he wanted me to grab him something to eat so we could get on the road and maybe make it halfway. He laughed and said that would be great, but we won't be getting very far today...the moving van won't start. Of course it won't start, if you know us, we never have good luck! Plan D. Budget came out, jumped the van, took Phil to their location to install a new battery, and by 3:30 we knew we had to go to Plan Z. We called our friends to see if we could stay the night (thank you Browns) and they graciously put us up in their guest room! We did get up the next morning and got on the road and finally made it to Arizona with no other problems! Whew! And to think, we'll probably be moving again in 6 months!

Argh!

Poor Phil had a little accident with the dogs a few days before we moved. He was playing outside at our friends house in their backyard with all 4 dogs (2 were ours, 2 were theirs). Long story short he got scratched on the eye and eye lid. Luckily our friends saved the day because they just happened to have some eye antibiotics (way random)! So we quickly patched it up and kept it medicated for a few days. He makes a cute (tired) pirate!

Real BBQ

Before we said goodbye to Texas we felt it was critical to our departure that we eat real bbq. Boy howdy did we find the best smokehouse ever! Check out their loaded french fries! This place was awesome! If you are ever in Dallas you should try The Railroad Smokehouse!

Projects

I just downloaded a few pictures on a memory card I forgot I had used for 2 weeks. On it were a few projects I did back at the beginning of October.

A few years ago I saw a bedroom set at Target that I adored but my little heart just couldn't justify buying a $300 comforter and then sheets, pillows, and accessories. So I ended up getting a solid down comforter (on clearance for $50), and getting the throw pillows that coordinated with said comforter. I bought a twin set of the sheets (they were polka dot, I couldn't resist), and a shower curtain. So, for the first project I decided to add length to my shower curtain. I cut a little of the sheet that I bought and sewed it onto the bottom with a subtle ruffle. Sorry the picture isn't the best.

And because we are renting and can't paint I had to add something to the wall so I made this!

Then I decided to dig through my fabric stash and make a little festive decoration for the kitchen.

Holiday Overload

Thanksgiving

Christmas!

New Years 80's Party!

Lazy Dogs

What?!

Your moving?

AGAIN?!

Yep, change of plans...and fast (January 25th to be exact)! We have enjoyed every moment here in Abilene, but sometimes change is inevitable and you have to jump in with both feet. As we say goodbye to our new friends here, we will be saying hello again to our old friends in Mesa, Arizona. Phil is taking a 6 month break from school and using his Psychology degree while applying to a few graduate programs where he can specialize in his desired field. We are grateful for all your love and support and we're not gonna lie, we are looking forward to some Ned's Krazy Sub and Gecko Grill!

Just 6:44 Minutes...

...it's worth it! My friend Angie must have been inspired to post this on her blog because I watched it, and it's exactly what I need at this moment in my life.

Sorry...

mErRy ChRiStMaS

One Last Christmas

Late Night Study Buddy

Playin'

This is Shelby and Liberty.

Poop Fest {Graphic}

After people telling me they think I exaggerate about the poopy situation at my house, I decided to show ya'll some proof! This post comes with a disclaimer though. I am a cleaning/sanitizing nazi! That being said, I would be mortified if anyone came to visit me with the state our home is in at the moment. So don't judge me!

Let me first paint you a picture of my typical day. I have to do roughly 5 feedings in a 24 hour period with the puppies. Each time they get out of their kennel they all poop and pee. Then they eat and play. Then poop again. That's 120 poops I have to pick up (or as Phil pointed out 120 Clorox wipes). Because of said poop, our house stinks...I'm not gonna lie. This gives me anxiety because the thing I hate worse than a messy house is a smelly one!

So on to the proof! Today I had a lot of things to do for Relief Society. So I fed the puppies, cleaned them up, and since some were falling asleep nursing, I figured I wouldn't wake them up to put them in their kennel. The Relief Society President called me and we chatted for about 15 minutes (give or take) and as I hung up I heard a little yelp. So I run in to find Shelby all cozy in our bed and a puppy on the wrong side of the boxes (we thought we were clever using food storage and boxes to contain the puppies and we laid plastic down on all the carpet they walk on - this helps immensely with the poop clean up). Not only was one of those adorable puppies on the wrong side of the boxes where there is no plastic, but he had gone diarrhea and walked in a perfectly straight line while going (talented huh?)! Oh but wait...lets scan the rest of the room! Miss Shelby looks at me like...it's your fault and then my jaw hits the floor as I literally behold a poop fest in my bedroom. Here's the proof!

I go into panic mode and gather all the puppies and throw them into their kennel. Three puppies seemed to have lathered themselves up in the poop so I put them in the bathroom for maybe a minute as I run get a towel and soap to bathe them. Did I seriously not learn my lesson only moments ago?! This is what they left me! What the heck?!

At this point I call my hubby on the verge of tears and manage to say #113 (it's a running joke that stands for reasons I don't want to have puppies again) and he says "I'm on my way home." He came to my rescue, but had the gall to laugh at the situation...which does seem funny now that I am writing this post.

So now you know and won't blame me when I tell you even though we had good intentions to keep the puppies for the maximum amount of time that was recommended, we have decided that they can go to their new homes next weekend!

Happy Wife, Happy Life

I had a meltdown tonight! Anyone that knows me, knows that I have cleaning/organizing OCD and I am weird about my smells! Let's just say that my carpets leave no doubt we have 12 puppies running around. After an hour of tears, my dear sweet husband told me to run to Walmart (at 11:00) and get a cheap carpet cleaner. Luckily a few people have put down deposits on the puppies, and since cleaning the carpets is part of their care, I felt it was money well spent. So for $80, I got this lifesaver. I am all smiles again and feel like I can make it another 5 weeks with our herd! I still love them to pieces!

4 weeks

At 4 weeks the puppies can now hear and their eyes are open! My favorite is when you whistle or make kissing noises and they sit down on their bum and listen. They started walking on all fours and are loving it! They are fast little suckers!

We started solid foods to help out momma. The puppies went nuts and couldn't get enough! Now we all need baths!

To Name...or Not to Name

We really hate to give the puppies names as we know they won't be ours forever and it will be harder as they go to their new families. Plus we know those families will have their own names to give to the puppies. Still, with all the cute markings, some are bound to get called something or other.

Here are our girls (in no particular order):

She has what looks like a white eagle on her back.

She is pure white.

She has what looks like a diamond on her back.

Here are our boys (in no particular order):

He has what looks like a Zorro mask so that's what I call him but Phillip calls him Goggles.

He has just one little spot on the side of his face.

He has one big patch on the top of his head and a hint of one by his eye. I also affectionately call him Chunk because he is our 24 hour nurser!

This little guy was our surprise #12 and he is slightly smaller than all the others, but he knows me and my smell and will cuddle up to me.

And here is the whole bunch during nap time just after a bed change.

Having puppies has been such a fun experience. It's kinda draining like having kids. I am constantly doing laundry and get 3ish hours of sleep each night. Their noises are cute and whimpers make us laugh. I would pay a gazillion dollars (and Shelby might do the greatest trick ever) if someone invented a puppy pacifier though! We love them all and can't wait to see their personalities. For now I'm okay with them being small and confined to just the kiddie pool.

Less Than 100 Days...

In honor of Christmas being less than 100 days away, and the fact that a crazy tradition my family has is to play Christmas music September 1st and it got me in the mood, I decided to FINALLY make myself a Christmas planner that I can re-use every year! I kept it simple and made it in under 2 hours (I promise because I did it while watching Christmas Vacation)! I am in love with organization - that's no secret - but it feels like I am starting off the holiday season on the right foot! I always get over zealous and don't have time to finish even half of the things I wish I had. So, here's to an organized Christmas!

The Front

This one is my favorite so it is a stand alone photo. If you know me, then you know that I LOVE doing our yearly Christmas card! I have an excel spreadsheet of who is receiving one and their address, which I put into the pocket. I also have a sample of the coming years card that I design around the first of September (psh don't think I am giving you a sneak peak for this years) that I slip into the pocket too. And of course I put on my calendar to mail them out December 1!

Dog Pile

We Have Puppies!!!

Any Day Now...

The puppies should be here any day now! We are so excited! We LOVE feeling the puppies kick and it makes us laugh when we see her tummy moving.

Simple Smoothies

In my efforts to provide my husband with some quick breakfasts (because I'm lazy like that), I thought I'd share his favorite. I take a bag like this from Sam's Club ($7.50)...

...and snack baggies like this ($1.50 Walmart)...

...and end up with roughly 18 baggies full of frozen fruit, that I promptly divide into two large gallon freezer bags.

So what right? Well here is where my hubby's independence comes in (he totally thinks I save him so much time, haha if he only knew). He uses one little baggie of fruit, a 6 oz container of yogurt (his favorites are blackberry pomegranate, blueberry acai, strawberry mango, or cherry pomegranate), and a 1/4 a cup of milk (but this varies depending on how thick you want it). Then blend! Easy, right?! And a happy husband to boot!

P.S. Who knew that ZIPLOC had some great recipes? I'm sorta glad I hopped onto their website to steal a picture from them!