Trifle bowl

I got this trifle bowl as a free hostess gift for hosting a Pampered Chef party for my girl Kerrin a while ago. She hosted an Initials Inc party, so I hosted a PC party...its like direct sales girl code.

Anyway, I wasn't sure if I would actually use it. It's cute and all...but I'm not really a fancy dessert kinda girl. It's been in my cabinet for almost a year. Then for our friend Amy's bridal shower, I decided to give it a try for the salad.

Not too shabby right? I've tried it again a few times. It's an EASY way to make a basic salad, or dessert look really fancy!
Here is my 4th of July dessert. It's just Oreos, blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream. It was delicious!

I encourage anyone to try putting a basic food, such as a salad, in a NEW container...something you wouldn't normally use...it really works!

Back that ass up...

 

Chris took this a while ago. Obviously...because our sweet Rexy is in the picture :(

Osc was sick and had a sore butt from all of the nasty potty runs, but he looks like a little froggy in this pic, so I thought I'd share :)

Write now...

Ever find something that just stops your cold in your tracks?

I was cleaning out a drawer and found some old cards from my grandma. As the tears welled up in my eyes, I found about six more just like these. She always sent me cards when I was in college, at camp, for birthdays, etc. I saved a lot of them, thank God!

Her handwriting was so unique, so perfect. These were AFTER her stroke! It was much more clean and straight beforehand.

I've seen some tattoos on pinterest, where people used notes and letters written by loved ones and turned them into amazing,  one of a kind, tattoos.

I've thought about that with the "We love you, Ma and Dadad." That would be amazing.

Do you know what time it is???

Well...almost!

Skulls, pumpkins, costumes, skulls, crafts, candy, skulls, Haunted Hallow, skulls, friends, hot chocolate, skulls, hooded sweatshirts, and SKULLS!

I love this time of year!

How to make an Oskie Burrito...

Step 1. Insert crazy dog into his crate with all his favorite blankies on a chilly night.

Step 2. Give Oskie a cookie for going into said crate when asked like a good boy, close crate door, and watch him push, pull, bite and move all of the blankies to good position (he also grunts, snorts and lets out the occasional doggie fart while doing this...its very hard work!)

Step 3. Enjoy your Oskie burrito, its the only way to sleep comfortably on cool nights. Sometimes he sleeps a little TOO well in his burrito nest and has to be drug out of the crate in the morning to go outside so that we can get to work!

Where it all began...

Let's talk about where it all started with "blog about my dog."
I'm talking about a serious case of puppy love. More specifically, dachshund puppy love.
Nope, that's not Oscar...or one of his siblings, or any doxie he has ever met.
Here we go.

My parents have had dogs and cats since I was a baby. Sure, I liked them alright...but I didn't looooove them the way that my sisters did. I cried when we put our old beagle, Ringer, to sleep at the ripe old age of 14, but really I'd just pet them "hello," when I came home and go about my business. Erin and Hannah had these dogs in their beds, next to them on the couch, in their faces 24/7.

I lived at the firehouse for a bit. We have a member who lived alone, and he lived kinda far away. So when he came for weekend duty, he would have to bring his dog. She was small, and came when he called her, and didn't make a mess or bark...so everyone kinda grew to like Augustina. She was a silver dapple mini Dachshund. Because I lived there, I got to see her and hang out with her more than most, and she was pretty amazing. Not at all like a typical small dog.

 Auggi had puppies that summer, and that was it...I was hooked. She was so tiny and had this huge round belly and maintained her cute little walk up and down the fire house hallways. One night the engine went out and I was lucky enough to be able to stay in bed and she sneaked into the women's bunk room and jumped right up onto my bed!

After those pups came, I wanted one so bad. Auggi's owner and I talked about it about a million times. Unfortunaltey I was still living in the firehouse, and try as I might, that wasn't going to change anytime soon. All of her pups went to different homes, except the black and white one...she still lives with her momma to this day! I saw their owner at a wedding in June and he showed me pictures!

So thats how all of this started. I was just a kid, working full time and going to nursing school, volunteering at night to earn my room and board at the volunteer firehouse...where I met a pup named Auggi and fell in love.
Loving Auggi lead me to finding and loving Oskie Roo, 3 years later, and being the crazy dog momma that I am who blogs about her dog.

Fail

Dear guy walking down 234,
You shouldn't slouch your jeans down a foot to show your boxers wile walking down a Main Street.
Especially when wearing skinny jeans.
Never ever ever when wearing skinny jeans.
Pull your pants up,
Buy a belt,
Get a bigger size,
I don't even know...
But just stop.
Thanks,
Me, Oscar and Jax trying to go to Michael's on a Wednesday morning.

Rest in peace, Rexy boy.

I think I said it best on facebook, the afternoon that we said goodbye to him.
I'm not going to rack my brain to try and find better words.
Thank God for cut and paste:

We had to put Rexy down this morning. It was a very hard decision, but the best one for our sweet Wreck it Rex. Something happened in his brain that made him not himself anymore, but very aggressive and dangerous. Christopher had to be seen in the emergency room yesterday for being attacked by Rex. He had been headed down an aggressive path for a while, and we thought that we could help him, but we couldn't without endangering ourselves, Oscar, and our families.

 Animal control threatened to come and get him and place him in a quarantine, and then evaluate his ability to be released back to us or be adopted out, but we knew that he would not survive that, and did not know what he would have to go through or have done to him during this. We chose to let him go quietly and peacefully, in my arms, while Chris pet his head. I spiked his hair back up into his Mohawk before we left him, and we know that he is already in doggy heaven, chomping down on his favorite...Oreos.
Run free crazy boy, run free. We love you.

Run free, sweet Rex.

Words cannot express the sadness in our home today as we said goodbye to our Rexy.
I will post more as I find the strength to tell his story.
Thank you for all of the kind words from our friends and loved ones thus far. It is so comforting to know that Christopher, myself, Oscar, and sweet Rex are so loved.
Putting a pet down is never an easy decision, and this proved to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my 29 years.

Rest in peace, and run free crazy boy.

Rumble!

My boys LOVE to "rumble" with their "Uncle Josh." 

Josh is my sister Hannah's boyfriend. They have been together forever and he is pretty much a permanent part of our family at this point. He is tough on the outside...tattoos, a mui thai fighter, etc. But on the inside, we all know that who he REALLY likes to fight...is 12 pound dogs ;)

(Christopher and I are SOOO grateful for Hannah and Josh for staying in our home, with our boys, while we were on vacation!! We could not have had fun or been more relaxed than we were with you two in charge!)

Gamer baby

The last time Jackson was over, Christopher let him play with the wii U game pad for a minute, thinking that he would just look at the screen and be occupied for a minute.

Little did he know that Jax would somehow set up a mii profile and start playing a game. I'm almost certain that this was a coincidence, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was wondering if this kid actually knew what he was doing? Certainly possible!

The other day he got his hands on my phone and within 30 seconds, had opened google maps to a nearby town and was planning his escape!!

Weekend breakfast at Mouse House

We are such creatures of habit around here.
We both leave for work before, or right at six am every week day for work. So a "real" breakfast is pretty much out of the question.
Saturday mornings, we have a favorite take-out place, that is not open on Sundays, so if we want it...it HAS to be on Saturday!
Then there is Sunday mornings. This is probably the biggest meal I cook all week. We almost always have eggs, biscuits, potatoes, etc.
Sunday breakfasts are best if followed by a 2 pm nap!

On the mend.

As some of you may remember, our Oskie was pretty sick a few weeks back. He had a NASTY stomach virus, and was barely able to keep any food/water in him for about a week. At only 11.4 pounds, this can be pretty dangerous, as he really doesn't have too much to loose. This pic is at the vet, when he was at his absolute worst. I'm not sure who looks more pitiful, Osc or Momma?

I was a hot mess, I'm not going to lie. I don't know how I'll ever deal with a sick human baby!

We are happy to report that he is doing well, is back up to around 11.7 pounds, trying to steal any and all food/snacks that he can, and wagging that tail of his all day long!

I've asked him to please start looking for a job to start covering some of his expenses! Preferably one with health insurance benefits! I love our vet, but good Lord, they aren't cheap!!

I only have eyes for Momma...

...especially when she has cookies!

Six

Wow! What a difference six months makes! This was in late February of this year. Jackson was just 9.5 months old, and this was their first meeting.
These days, Osc has little to no interest in Jax, unless its meal time...and then he camps out under his seat. He's no dummy.
Jax at the time that this pic was taken wanted to pet Oscar and see what this dog was all about. These days, Oscar moves a little fast for him, and kinda freaks him out...at least for the first few hours that he is here, and then he pretty much ignores him.

Labor Day weekend recap

Pick Jax up.
Chase Jax around our house.
Chase Jax around Air and Space museum.
Chase Jax around our house.
Chase Jax, Rex and Oscar around the house and/or yard. Repeat as needed.


And I wouldn't have it any other way.