All about the puppies: my furbabies update.

The pups...Jackjack and Abigail are doing good! They are adjusting to their new life with 2 sisters well. They love their sister Carmen and are enjoying the baby sniffs they get. Here are some of my favorite recent pictures of my 2 furbabies! Hope you enjoy! I know once I had Carmen they stopped showing up on the blog as much but we are going to work on bringing them back into a Thursday post.

That last picture is a rarity! We had to throw out Abby's bed and this was before we got her a new one. They now have their own beds again and all are happy. Jackjack doesn't like being THAT close to this sister. :) Love these pups! Happy Thursday!

How are your puppies/kitties/pets doing?

DOT: Walking, walking, and more walking.

The pups have adjusted pretty well to the new house.  It has helped that they are now getting morning walks before I head to work.  As I have mentioned...several times, we moved 3 blocks from where we used to live.  My sister now lives across the street and she has always walked her dogs at 6 am every morning.  I often thought it would be great to walk with her but when my alarm goes off and the idea of walking those 3 blocks before I even met up with her...I would hit the snooze and sleep until I had to get up.

Monday morning, I heard Special K's alarm, which goes off way before mine and I got out of bed and went for a walk.  I beat my sister out that day but I realized I could do it.  So, now she texts me when she is about to head out and I meet her out there with the pups.  It's great for the dogs and it's nice to start my day with a morning walk with my sister.

I have even managed to go home for lunch a couple times this week to meet up with Special K and walked them after he heads back to work.  Special K has been so busy with cleaning the old house after work that I haven't really had a lot of time with him.  It's been nice to catch up at lunch for a little bit and then walk the pups before heading back to the ice box called my office.  It will be nice to have 4 days off this weekend to get our lives in order and get some rest.

The dogs are also enjoying the new house.  We got a new (to us) couch and we've decided to keep them off of it.  Jackjack has always been allowed to get on a couch so this is a new concept for him but he has done really well with it!  When we leave the house, we put the pillows up and blankets over them to block them from being able to get on it.  I have seen both of them jump up on it to bark at a passing dog when I've been out front but they can't get comfortable on it so they get down!  SCORE!  I love our new couch and I'd like it to be for human use...unlike Jackjack's loveseat at the old house which has been taken to the dump.  I am thankful I'll never see that thing again!

Our backyard at the new house is a tad bit smaller than the old house but with all the new smells the pups are enjoying going out there as well.  We don't have a doggie door and no plans to put one in as Abby likes to dig if not supervised.  With all the walks plus being let out back, I think the pups are doing good!

Hope you enjoyed the pup update!  Those two silly dogs are mischevious but thankfully we haven't come home to them getting into anything....YET!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!

DOT: love these pups!

My pups are so crazy but I love them! They get into everything they can find, especially Jackjack, and keep us on our toes but they are loved.

I have figured out that the doggie training in our house has been a little lax.  We still incorporate training skills into our everyday activities.  They know they have to sit and look at us before they can get their food.  They can't barrel through us to go outside but wait patiently.  I think they are missing the fun training sessions we used to do.  We used to do these sessions almost everyday, however, lately we are down to maybe once a week.  For everyone's sanity, it's time to start them up again and teach Carmen early how training pups can be fun!

Carmen is a big fan of giving the dogs treats so I think she will have fun with training!  She knows to give one treat to one pup and then one to the other.  She gets a big smile on her face afterwards when she's got a slobbery hand that then needs to be cleaned.  I want to teach her that dogs are there to be pet, loved on, but also that they need their brain stimulated and direction.  I'll try to get some video of our sessions for you!  Here's to some more happy fun training sessions to come!

Now for pictures...

How could you not just want to hold this girls hand?

I love Jackjack's eyes in this one.  He is such a sweetheart.

After walks, they often find the closest spot they can to just lay down and rest for a bit.

They both still act like puppies but they aren't puppies anymore.  Jackjack is greying before my very eyes and Abbygirl, she will always be a puppy to me.

Happy Dogs on Thursday!

DOT: Sleepy clean puppies!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!  Hope you all had a great day yesterday.  Oh how I wish I had the rest of the week off but off to work I go.

Yesterday, the pups got baths and I LOVE bath day for them!  They both get dirty so quickly and I love to snuggle them but not a fan of snuggling stinky puppies, even though I still do. :)  So after getting baths, last night Miss Abbygirl knows she's not going to get kicked off the bed immediately so she snuggled with me on the bed for a while.  And Jackjack, the non-snuggler, let me pet him a bit before he was ready to be left alone.

I am thankful they are fine with the firework noises but Abbygirl always becomes my shadow when they start going off.  She's a clingy puppy.

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!!

How did your pups do with the fireworks?

This Moment - A Man and 2 of his 3 babies...

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo(or maybe 2)  – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

Dogs on Thurday: A pup and her ball!

Abbygirl LOVES to play fetch!  If you are willing, she would fetch a ball for you for as long as you let her!  When we first got her, she was frustrating because she wouldn't drop it and so the game ended quickly.  Once she figured out that if she drops the ball the game can then go on, it got to be more fun to play with her. :)  It took treats and lots of training but she figured it out!

I found this video on my iPhone that was taken back in late February when I first got it.  It's super cute! Abby is really good about not stealing the ball from CGR...even though it's killing her not to just grab it!  I'm working on teaching her to play fetch with Abbygirl.  I think they will love that game!

This next video is from yesterday at lunch.  When it's a nice day and I have time during lunch, I like to play fetch with Abby.  I usually use our Chuckit Ball Launcher so my hands don't get all dirty but wasn't sure where it was yesterday.  The launcher is awesome because it also helped with getting Abby to drop the ball.  I could get to the ball faster before she picked it back up again.  Jackjack as you can tell is not interested and just wants to be left to his own devices.

Hope you enjoyed the fun videos of my golden girl!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!

Does your pup like to play fetch?  Or do you have a pup like Jackjack who is just not that into it?

Dogs on Thurday: Pictures, pictures and more pictures!

For today's DOT post...we are going to catch up on some cute pictures of the pups Jackjack and Abigail! Here are some of my favorite recent pics of them....some of them from instagram. Starting with the most recent...

Abbygirl needing me to hold her hand while I knit.

My spinning buddy Jackjack.

Another Spinning buddy Abbygirl.

Carmen thought it was time to take the pups for a walk....so we did! :)

Carmen trying to put my knit sock on Jackjack.

A slobbery doggie kiss!  One of the best kind!

The pups keeping me company while I knit and watch tv.

My Jackjack turning grey before my eyes. My old grummy man.

Wearing Carmen on a walk with the dogs.

Giving Jackjack a wipe down. She's ever the little helper.

My absolute favorite picture of my girls!  Wet kisses!

Hope you enjoy all these pictures!  I am bias but these two pups are just so adorable and I love them so!  They sometimes get into trouble like my Jackjack who has learned that highchair swiping is a new art form of his and Abbygirl who is always wanting more love that little miss Carmen can handle sometimes.  They are still the best dogs I could ask for and I love them dearly!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!

Leaves are yummy...

I have never been a big fan of the day called Monday...it's that first day of the work week and it just always feels like it takes FOREVER!  Today was unusually bad because of the time change. The first hour of work felt like 5 and the rest of the day seemed to be going in slow motion no matter the amount of actual work I was accomplishing.  When the clock struck 4 and my workday was FINALLY over, I got to pick up my girl...which is my favorite time of day.  When the daycare lady opens the door, I usually get greeted with a big screech that I like to interpret as "MOM'S HERE" and now that I have a walker...a cutie pie walking over to me!

After chatting with the daycare lady and the other mom, we headed home where our nanny-cousin met up with us.  We had snack because snacks are VERY important to a walking baby and then headed out on our walk with the pups.  Nanny-cousin opted not to bring along the stroller this time and she paid for it.  Little miss CGR with her new found walking ability, has decided that walking is the way to go! She also learned today that she can stop to pick up leaves and leaves are crinkly and fun and when no one is looking taste pretty good too!

The pups had a great time as usual.  They love our evening walks and get lots of time to smell all the smells only dogs can love. I posed them for a picture and the lady who walks every day around the lake stopped to tell me how great my pups are.  She said her dogs would never just sit there like that but would be jumping all over her.  After I released them from their sit/stay, they did go over and try to jump on her to get some loving...so I guess they aren't as good as she was thinking.   Love their cuteness though!

I hope you all had a great weekend and Monday!  I'm looking forward to a better Tuesday...especially because Tuesday brings knit night with it! :)

Happy Monday!

This Moment - hanging with my puppy.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

DOT - playtime with CGR.

Thought I'd share a cute video of Jackjack and his pal CGR for today's Dogs on Thursday post!   Hope you enjoy!

For some background, Jackjack really doesn't like people messing with his paws but he puts up with it when it's CGR.  He has always let me touch them but usually he will pull them away.  I love how still he lays and just lets her do her thing.   She is obviously WAY more excited about the interaction than he is but he isn't one to show lots of emotion. :)

DOT - The importance of Recall!

A little bit of housekeeping to start off with.  When I posted yesterday's post, I originally misspelled Coma...I said I had a Baby Comma.  Comma is a punctuation and not what I was initially intending to say. However, comma as defined by dictionary.com is the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, especially when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence.  If I think about it, Comma makes sense too if we think of my life as a long run on sentence.  Those weeks were a pause in most activity in my life and was a division in my life between my life before Carmen and my life with her in it.  I edited the post and changed the spelling but in the end I think it worked either way.

I've gotten a lot of feedback about yesterday's post already, both private and public.  I'm glad I posted what I was thinking.  Thank you to those who have sent me messages and comments for your support and feedback.  I appreciate that you took the time to let me know what you thought. 

Today is Thursday, which in this blog space was always Dogs on Thursday!  It's the day that Abigail Grace and Jackjack take center stage.  When I first started blogging, I thought maybe they needed their own blog but in the end it was hard keeping up with two so stories about them were just added here.  
I love my puppies.  They have their faults like I do and well, we all do but in the end they are my dogs and their faults are part of who they are.  I've worked hard to train them so that they are safe just as you discipline a child you need to make sure to train your pups.  The training is not only for your sanity but also because with training you bring safety.  

A very good example of this happened the other day.  Our backyard has a chain linked fence with two regular gates and a bigger gate for a car or boat to go through.  Usually our gates are all padlocked so no one can open them and us not know they are opened.  We've always been really good about keeping the gates closed and if you've read my blog or listened to old podcasts, you know that Jackjack has not always been good with recall.  Special K has been doing a lot of improvements to our yard and has been opening and closing the gates a lot.  The locks we originally put on there have rusted so we weren't keeping them locked either.  Well, one morning as we often do, Little Miss Carmen and I went to let them out.  The dogs went out to go potty and I was standing in our screened in fence with Carmen when I looked out into the backyard.  I saw my two dogs between us and the open gate!  I stayed as calm as possible because they weren't running out it but sniffing around the grass.  I quickly called for them. I had to call several times and get really excited but they looked at me and ran into the house without having time to go potty.  I put Carmen in her excersaucer and went out to check the gates.  Not only was that one open but the OTHER one as well.  I was so grateful that there were no dogs or humans walking by during the moments before I realized the gates were open!  I was also so thankful of all the hard work training them to come when called.  


After I calmed down and went back into the house, I told Special K what had happened and we both recall that the gates where closed the night before.  Freaked me out a little bit because even though we had some serious rain and wind the night before, that could not have opened both gates.  That day, Special K went and replaced the locks and it has made me feel much better since.  


As the lesson today...practice your recall...ALL the time!! Recall is one of the most important things your dog can learn and will keep both your pups and you safe.  A good way to practice is to play the recall game.  You can do this by getting a partner and having them sit or stand in another room or area and then calling your dog excitedly, have treats so you can give them to your dog when they get there, then you call your pups over to you.  You can play this at any time and in anyway you want but just practice it!  Always and I mean ALWAYS be happy when they get to you!  Hope this helps you!  It took us a long time but by golly I think my pups got it!  Deep down I just hope we don't have to test it much.


Happy Dogs on Thursday

PS...yes, you will notice both pictures are old.  Will work on getting new pictures of the pups for next week's post.

This moment - chillin with one of my puppies.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

Dogs on Thursday!

Been a while since I posted about my pups, let alone posted a DOT post so I figured with one post I'd knock them both off my list.  Jackjack and Abigail Grace are doing great!  When I got home from the hospital after having Carmen they were so excited to see me!!

I came in first by myself and let them out back and loved on them.  Special K brought in Carmen into the house in her carrier and then the dogs and I came in from out back. They were very curious about her smell but they did great.

They were also very curious once we took her out but did so well when we asked them to give us some room.

At first they weren't sure what this creature was that was taking all of mommy's time and daddy was running around but then she started to cry less and make noises.  I try to remember every night to take her around and say good night to them and then in the morning we say good morning to them.  They know it's coming so when we go to say good night or good morning then come over and sniff her and sometimes get a good lick in.  It's our routine and I like it!

I look forward to the day that she interacts more with them but for now I hope to teach them to appreciate her and her them.  Abigail sometimes beats me to the crib when Carmen wakes up and sticks her nose in to check her out.  It's pretty cute!  Abby also likes to join us if we are on the couch nursing. She's figured out that I have a free foot to pet her.

Today it's been raining both cats and dogs all day and as I think I've mentioned before Miss Abigail and Mr. Jackjack do not like to go outside if it's raining.  The only way we can get them to go potty is to actually take them on a walk in the rain and get soaked along with them.  So, as I played with Carmen tonight, Special K took them out in the rain.  They got back all wet and really tired.  Here's Abby watching me wash bottles.

And since Jackjack is hard to picture in the dark, here is an old picture of him chilling on the couch on top of my knitting.  He's in the same position tonight but sans knitting.

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!

Some Red and some Brown....Lots of knitting and some spinning.

I'm so glad it's Friday!  This week has felt like it dragged on forever, however, there has been lots of knitting, actually spinning, and planning for future projects.  I was able to finish another newborn hat.  This one is for my cousin's baby who is due in the next couple months. Since at this point, none of the dogs would model for me.  This is all you get.

Newborn Hat for Cousin's baby

Before starting on all this baby knitting, I had been working on some hats for Christmas present. I pulled out some stash yarn and knit using the Warm Ribbed Winter Hat pattern by Lucy H. Lee in Malabrigo Burgundy.  Since I was taking pictures for my Ravelry projects, here is the picture of the first one I finished on Jackjack.

Jackjack in Christmas Gift Hat

And then there has been spinning.  I started on Wed knitting about 15-25 minutes a day.  I even have been spinning for a little bit when I've gone home for lunch.  I'm working on some brown Merino roving that I purchased at Maryland Sheep & Wool.  It's from the processor Zeilinger Wool Co.  My goal at MDSW was to purchase fiber from some of the processors so I can see if I like their processing.  So far, I've really enjoying spinning this fiber up.  I can't decided whether it's the processing, the fact that I haven't spun in a while, or the fact that it's Merino. :) 

Progress on Merino Roving.

I'm very excited for this weekend!  Tomorrow, Special K and I are planning to head to brunch and then out to Babys R Us to start looking at things to register for.  I hope we can find a good bedding set because I haven't really seen what I'm looking for yet.  Other than that, I plan to get some crafting done, finish organizing the baby's room, and clean up the house.  I'm sure some other things will get squeezed in there but I do love weekends.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Happy Knitting and Spinning!

Knitting, knitting, and doggies!!

There has been lots of knitting!  For a couple weeks, I stopped knitting because my brain was fried!  I was working on the Moonfleet Shawl and i messed up.  After the mess up...my brain just couldn't fix it...there it lies waiting for the day I feel like tackling the mistake.   In the meantime, I've been knitting simple ribbed or stockinette items.  I started with the Warm Ribbed Winter Hat by Lucy H. Lee.  I grabbed yarn from my stash and knit a hat and a half with some burgundy Malabrigo.  Then my sister bought yarn so I could make her one.  Here's a picture of hers.  It's made in Cascade 220 Superwash.

Tammy's warm hat.

I then realized that hey, babies are being born soon and have been born and I have not knit for them!!  So, I grabbed some other yarn from my stash and started making newborn hats using Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan.  So far I've finished two and have another cast on.  The first one I finished for my cousin who had her baby last week.  It's going to be in the mail tomorrow!  Here is my sister's dog Roxy modeling it for us and yes, it has been washed before I send it.

Roxy, my sister's dog in newborn hat

Next, I knit a hat for my friend who is having her baby soon.  This was made in some fun yarn I had leftover in my stash.  I think this one is pretty cute too! I couldn't get my sister's other dog to model for me so I used Abby. :)

Abigail Grace in a newborn hat.

This weekend we increased our dog count to four...just for a week. :)  Two of my sisters and their families and my other niece are on a road trip and we are taking care of Lucky, my sister's schnauzer and Roxy, her Scottie.  They are both really cute and have little attitudes at times.   They had so much fun on Saturday, or it was just too hot on Sunday but this was them laying around the house while I was watching a movie and knitting.

Lucky and Roxy lounging.

And of course since they must be by me lately.

Abby and Jackjack taking up my couch space.

Well, there is a recap of my knitting and some cute doggie pictures!!  I'll be back with more!!  Happy Knitting!!!

It smells like SNOW!!!

Jackjack LOVES the snow! The first time he stepped into fresh snow he was a little freaked out that his paws went through the surface...but then he figured out and was excited.

Here's the boy hanging in Sarah's backyard..
and here is Logan, Sarah's son with Jackjack. They are just too cute!
Here's Logan, Maya, Sarah, and Jackjack hanging on Jackjacks' bed.And Jackjack hanging on the couch with Logan.Sarah cuddling with Jackjack.And now for some video of Jackjack in the snow!! ;)

and more...

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and vidoes of Jackjack! Happy DOT and Christmas Eve!!

Jackjack's road trip Ohio!

Hello everyone! Ok...so blog365 really didn't work out so well for this past week but I guess I'll just try to make up during the year. So...what have I been up to this past week you ask?

Friday started with a couple hours of work and then we packed up the car and Jackjack and started on our way. We drove for 8 hours and stopped for the night about 30 minutes south of Charlotte, NC. It had been a long day but it was smooth driving. We stopped a couple times for bathroom breaks and Jackjack but mostly it was smooth sailing.

Saturday, we got on the Road at 7:30 am and off we went....we had heard that starting in NC it had snowed over night so to be careful. As soon as we hit Charlotte the snow began, it was still smooth sailing through NC.
but then we hit Virginia and had our first slow down.
We were only stopped for about 45 minutes this time so it wasn't bad. We started moving again slowly.......and we thankfully stopped at a rest stop and got out.

but then we hit WV and well...this is where it just went bad! We got past Beckley, WV and that's when it just got worse. I guess it has snowed between a foot and 2 feet throughout West Virgina....and there was a fatal car accident between Beckley and Charleston that stopped traffic.
We were stopped for 6 and a half hours!! The accident was cleaned up pretty soon but the problem was that it was snowing the whole time and the roads had then gotten snow covered....so we had to wait until the snow plows showed up. We got stopped at 4:30pm and didn't start moving again until 10ish. Jackjack pretty much just napped most the day. It did take a very long time for him to get used to pottying in the snow but he did it. :)
Sitting in the car for 6 hours sure does make you aware of how much you love your husband who's stuck with you. ;) I'm really glad I love mine! :)After we got moving we tried to stop in Charleston and there was no room at the Inn so we ended up driving the rest of the way. We pulled into my SIL's house at about 5am...Jackjack was RESTLESS but he did let me sleep for about 2 hours before he decided that was enough and woke me up. ;)

Be back for another post all about Jackjack in the actual snow. :)