Weekend Recap: Friends, Dogs, Date Night, Furniture, and Baby Moving!

Happy Tuesday!!!!  Today is my Monday, but also my Thursday because I had yesterday off work for MLK Day and tomorrow is my last day of work for the week.  Holla!!!  (Do people still say that???)

I'm here today to give you one of those weekend recaps, but this is going to be a photo heavy post.  People really only care about photos anyway, right?  So let's jump right in to this random, pointless blog post!

Friday evening started off great as my husband walked in the door holding this box of donuts.  Let me tell you, this man knows his pregnant wife well!  Husband award right here for not only thinking of me, but for getting Dunkin even though he prefers Krispy Kreme.  (I prefer KK glazed, but Dunkin iced donuts.  And as you can see, I couldn't hold off on eating one before snapping a photo.
Then Nick made dinner while I sat on my tush and watched.  He even did the dishes as he went along which he normally doesn't do!!!  It was a great and relaxing Friday for me for sure!!!

Saturday morning, we lounged around awaiting our new furniture.  We ordered a new couch for the living room.  We also ordered a china cabinet and hutch but we're not using it for china.  We're using it as our bar.  Call us lushes, but it is what it is.  We have far more barware than we know what to do with and we have an abundance of liquor.  On Black Friday we got an awesome deal on the two pieces of furniture so we jumped on it and had to wait what seemed like forever to get them in!

That is the before and after.  Let me also let you know that Nick set up this entire bar.  I will be making it look much more attractive and appealing.  But I didn't want to leave you hanging without a photo.  So you get's Nick's set up.  We'll call this the before and trial photo.  Stay tuned for the final after photo.

Likewise, this was our living room as awaited the new couch.  I couldn't help Nick move the couches this go around so they sat here until a friend came over to help move them upstairs to the loft.  We love the new couch! (it's not positioned in the bottom photo; it doesn't overhang the wall as it appears there).  It's so comfy and gives us a little more seating.  I can't wait to get our tables build, buy decor, and hang curtains now!  This place is finally coming together!  About time since we only have 4 months until Baby Obie arrives!

This weekend, I also took quite a few belly photos.  I feel like it's really out there now.  No hiding this preggo belly!  Vino even got some cuddles in with her brother.  

My belly is growing so much in fact, that my t-shirts are a little snug and stretch uncomfortably.    And this is why I have begun wearing Nick's shirts.  Size small t-shirts just aren't cutting it anymore!

Saturday night we had some friends over for game night.  We played Settlers of Catan (we bought the game and expansion pack over Christmas), Telestrations, and ate far too much food.  I also sipped on some non-alcoholic wine and pretended it was the real thing.  (Only 19 more weeks!)

Sunday late morning, we had a dog party.  Three of our neighbors brought over their dogs and we spent the next hour and a half wearing them out.  It was awesome to see three Vizslas together since they're not all that common.  Below you'll see a little game of Vizsla keep-away, led by Cayenne, followed by Riley and Vino)

As if the dogs weren't spoiled enough with the doggie playdate, I finally got Nick to agree to let the old couch, now moved to the loft, to be the one piece of furniture the dogs are allowed on.  I finally get to cuddle with my dogs somewhere else besides the floor!  Vino was all about it.  We didn't have to ask her twice to get up there.  Yadi, however, had to be pulled on the couch.  But most the time, not matter how much "come" we say, she refuses to get on the couch.  She might like to test her limits most days, but she really is a great dog that knows the rules. 

Sunday night, we had date night in and made dinner together (Mongolian beef with carrots, broccoli, green beans, onions, and red peppers over rice) and cuddled up on the new couch watching a movie.  Of course, picky ass Nick had to pick out everything except the beef and green beans.
This couch, because of it's giant ottoman when pushed in the corner, creates the perfect scenario for the ultimate cuddle session!  We watched "When the Game Stands Tall" and I really enjoyed it!

Monday, we woke up around 10am and oh.em.gee it felt so good to get that much sleep.  Little man was doing some serious gymnastics and Nick was able to feel him.  In fact, Baby Obie was kicking up a storm for 45 minutes straight.  We just laid in bed for those 45 minutes, Nick's hand on my belly, feeling this little guy having a blast in there.  I love being able to share this with Nick.  It's crazy to me that just one week ago, his kicks weren't hard enough for Nick to feel them and now not only can Nick feel them, but we can see our hands move from his strong kicks!

We took the lazy route the rest of the day and laid on the couch watching "Jersey Boys" (thank you Red Box for one buy, get one free!).  During the show, our attention whore Weim was so frustrated that we wouldn't pay attention to her, so she began throwing her ball at us.  And it landed right in our popcorn bowl.  Well, I guess we're done with that.  Thanks a lot asshole.

We ended the night with some cleaning.  And by we, I mean Nick because I can only work for 5 minutes at a time before my body tells me to sit down.

Also, being a homeowner sucks at times.  Saturday, I opened the dishwasher, apparently Hulk style, and pulled the dishwasher from the cabinets.  Not much, just at the top.  But anytime you opened it and pulled the drawers out, the entire thing tilted out of the cabinets.  Nick wasn't too happy with me so last night, he pulled the entire thing out, diagnosed what the hell happened (which was just lazy installation) and then fixed it.  Thank goodness for a handy husband!!!!

And then I ended the night in bed, reading about my 21st week of pregnancy, while watching Fresh Prince, making a to-do list for work.

Speaking of work, did I mention that I only have two days of work this week??? Because I do!  Thursday, I will be on a cruise ship with my husband, headed to the Bahamas!!!!!!!

Houdini Has Done It Again

Yesterday I pull into my driveway and open the garage.  As I'm walking inside, carrying far too many grocery bags on one arm, I open the door and enter the house.  All of a sudden, I hear some pounding on the ground.  Just two seconds later, Yadi, my crazy Weimaraner is coming down the stairs, running towards me with sleepy eyes.

What.The.Hell.

You see, Yadi is your typical Weim and suffers from separation anxiety.  Her separation anxiety manifests itself through destruction.  She must be crated when we are not home.  Otherwise, I'm certain we'd come home to one of these scenarios:

Top Left   |  Top Right
Bottom Left   |   Top Right 

When Yadi was a pup, we came home to her lying in a pile of her own piss, in shock, after she escaped her crate, but not before she mangled her leg.  The whole ordeal cost us about $600.  We soon realized, after another situation where she greeted us at the door after returning home from a night out, that she learned how to unlatch her crate.  No big deal, we'll just lock them.  And thus began the days of Yadi having to be padlocked in.

This worked for some time until we came home and again, we were greeted by our grey horse at the door.  How could this be?  She's locked in!  That dingus learned that her crate is collapsable and thus she learned to break it down and escape.  No big deal, simple solution.  We'll just zip tie her crate together.

It's worked for over a year now.  For over a year, she's locked safely inside her crate.

So imagine my surprise yesterday when I realize she's out.

I follow the sleepy-eyed dog upstairs to let Vino out of her crate and investigate.  I was sure Nick was in a hurry and forgot to lock her in.  I enter the room and first see the guest bed.

(photo obviously taken after Vino was let out)

Busted!  Yadi is too large and clumsy to not cover her tracks.  It's pretty obvious she was napping on the guest bed while we were gone since the pillows are all distraught.  And these dogs KNOW they aren't allowed on furniture.  They never attempt to get on the beds when we're home.  But let's be real, I'm talking about Honey Badger here, so it should come as no shock that she didn't get on the bed during this.
At first I thought it was sweet of her to stay in the room with Vino.  But then I realized it must have been such torture for Vino to see her sister curled up, nice and cozy on a bed, while she was locked in her crate.

I then look to her crate and see this.

How?  It's zip tied together!!!  I then see her zip ties lying all over the floor.

Are you kidding me?  Seriously?  This beast has now found her way around the zip ties.  She's learned how to bust them!!!!  This dog is just too smart for her own good.
Of course she has no idea she did anything wrong and just looks at you with her stupidly happy face.  "Yep, this is my crate!  Like what I did?  Aren't I smart?"

The next plan of action is to buy more heavy duty zip ties.  If that doesn't work, I guess we'll look into the Petmate Vari Kennel 700 Giant series (Yadi is too tall for most crates.  She stands almost 32 inches at the withers so add in her neck and head and she's over 40 inches tall).  For now, we'll try the least expensive option of stronger zip ties.  Wish us luck!!!

Thankfully, nothing was damaged and she didn't get into anything.  The thing is, Yadi loves her crate.  She will nap it in and take toys in there to play with them.  She just hates being left behind, which thus causes her to freak out.  Of all the times she has escaped her crate, she has not ruined a thing or gone potty in the house.  Honestly, it's the act of us leaving that causes her separation anxiety to take control.  If there was way for us to leave the house without her knowing, she wouldn't need to be crated.  But even just us walking out the door to the car to grab something causes her to freak out, standing on hind legs, and scratching the door and/or windows while making her obnoxious Chewbacca whining/howling noises.  But if we work in the garage or the yard for hours and leave her inside alone, she's perfectly fine.  Ugh!!!  She's so complicated!!!


This dog.  I tell ya, not a single dull moment when you live with Honey Badger. She sure keeps us on our toes, that's for sure!!!

How to Entertain Your Dog for 30+ Minutes (with Zero Effort from You!)

Do you ever get this look from your dog?  You know, the one that screams "entertain me or I will kill you in your sleep."

Do you wish your dogs could look like this with zero effort from you?

It happens daily. You get "the look" when you're watching the Cardinals (or another not as exciting sports team) Or when you're watching a movie, trying to nap, folding laundry, reading a book, typing a blog post, etc.  If you're a dog owner, you've seen the look. The "pay attention to me, you whore" look. In my household, this "play with me or die" look is usually accompanied by some sassy talk from my Weim and groans and whines from my Vizsla.

We get this look a lot. (It's what we get for bringing two of the most energetic breeds into our family.) We just wish they could find ways to entertain themselves. {Hashtag lazy dog parents}.

We've given them bones covered in gross nom noms. But they last maybe 10 minutes before they're over it. It worked in the beginning but bones are old news to them.
We've tried frozen peanut butter in Kongs. Somehow they manage to get it out in 5 minutes.

We have found the solution!!!!!  Let me introduce to you, the Kong Wobbler.

Via PetSmart 

This.Is.Amazing!  I know when I asked if you wanted to entertain your dog with zero effort from you, you thought "impossible", but it's not!   See for yourself:

I highly recommend you head to your nearest PetSmart (or if you're cheap like me, order from Amazon and wait two days) and buy one. We bought two, to be fair. Because sometimes we're good parents.
It took the girls about 10 minutes to figure it out.
And it took Vino an additional 3 minutes to realize Yadi could do all the work and she could help her eat the food. Smart girl!!!!

Our dogs find almost anything a treat. So I bought a cheap ass bag of dog food from Walmart. Since it's different from their normal food, they love it!! I also plan to use Cheerios if I run out of dog food.

Anyway, enough talking. Get out and buy one. Then sit back and do whatever the hell you want because your dog doesn't need you anymore!!!

You can thank me later.


(Being 100% honest, we were just as entertained as they were with their first go around so allow some time to watch your dog figure it out.)

{Also, did you note Yadi's frustration? When it gets low and she can't get the last few pieces out, she gets hilariously frustrated by throwing it all over the place lol.}

{Dog} Swim Party

We've loved our neighborhood since before we even put an offer on our house.  It's one of the reasons we looked at so many houses for sale in this neighborhood.  But we loved it for us as humans.

And now I love it even more because it's dog friendly.  We have a few lakes throughout the neighborhood and they have doggie poop bag stations around them (technical terms there).  So they can't hate dogs, right?

Then I got an email from our HOA announcing the last day the pool would be open.  Following the pool closing, they announced the next day would be the annual dog swim.  Say whaaaaa?!  Apparently, every year, after the pool is closed to the humans, the next day they have a doggie swimming party!  All the neighborhood dogs are invited to come romp around the pool. How awesome!!! 

Seeing as my dogs love swimming, we knew we'd go.  Unfortunately, while Vino loves the ocean, lakes, and her own kiddie pool, she is not a fan of large swimming pools.  Yadi, however, will go anywhere for a ball.  We attempted to coax her in.  Fail.  Eventually Nick just threw her ass in and that was it.  From then on, if you threw her ball in, she'd go after.  

Nick, after traumatizing Vino by pushing her in while she was walking along the edge and then tossing her in another time (a game she LOVES at the lake), he carried her in to try to regain some trust (which was a big fat fail.)  Yadi was sooooo concerned by Nick holding her and carrying her, that she began frantically crying and dove in after her sister to save her!

I mean, just look at how scared poor Vino Bear appears.

And because Yadi is...well, Yadi, I'll share this gem with you all.  Talk about an ugly photo.

The girls had a blast.  Yadi enjoyed diving in for her ball and swimming around.  Vino enjoyed running around the edge of the pool and socializing with the other dogs and humans.

And now I love my neighborhood even more for being so dog friendly!  They even provided lots of tennis balls, toys, and bowls of non-chlorinated water.

Do you live in a super friendly dog neighborhood?  In what ways do the love your pups?

A Stoned Devil and Spastic Bee

Happy Halloween!!!
Yeah, I'm early, but I doubt I'll be doing anything blog worthy for Halloween and I just tortured my dogs so now seems like a good time for this post!

I hate missing out on the Halloween costume fun. But I don't have {human} children to torment and dress up in ridiculous outfits and Nick won't let me choose our outfits anymore after last year (he's just being South Pole Elf.  Last year's costumes were the bee's knees!!!). So my adorable pups get the wrath of my Halloween costume madness. 

Actually, we were going to forego costumes for them this year. We just bought a house and need to purchase a lot of things for it (such as 16 blinds for our windows so I can walk around in my undies again. And ya know, those are cheap *eye roll*). 

But luckily for our dogs, when we walked into PetSmart to buy dog food, their costumes were marked down from $16.99 to $4.79. Certainly we could splurge $10 for our own entertainment. 

Costumes choices weren't great.  And they didn't have a Honey Badger, which is a true representation of Yadi's personality.  So we settled on the devil because it's as close as they had to something that "doesn't give a shit" and is a little badass. And that's Yadi. A sassy, back-talking, don't give a shit, button pushing, too smart for her own good dog. 

Vino was harder. She is just too sweet and dainty to be something like a pirate or inmate. And anything red was out (I don't like red dogs wearing red because the shades clash.) So the cute lady bug was out. That left us with a bumble bee or a dragon. Clearly the cute bee won. 

The girls don't mind the costumes as long as treats are involved. Once they see a treat, they stop biting at the costumes and spinning in circles. 

Because Yadi has an insane obsession with food and too much practice with focus and patience with her ball, she was easy to capture photos of (even if she did look stoned in 10 out of the 15 photos I took.)

Vino was damn near impossible to get photos of. She is so freaking antsy and such a spaz. She legit stands there tap dancing. Just tap tap tapping away. Beyond annoying. She's a blur in most photos. Her head piece wouldn't stay on because she violently flails about, dances around, etc. Even in her 'sit' and 'down' command, she's still antsy!! Clearly we work more with Yadi (sorry Vino, she just needs it more with her strong personality). She actually loves having clothes on (I think they remind her of her ThunderShirt she so dearly loves) so she's extra excited. So this is about as good as it gets with her:

Clearly she's not liking me holding this on her head and making her lay still 

Clearly my goal for next year is to work with Vino on not being so antsy. Yes, my priorities lie with making sure I get good Halloween photos next year.  I don't even know how to teach that. She can "sit" and "stay" but any tips on how to teach "calm the eff down" and "stop being a spaz" ??? I seriously need to take a video of Vino in all spazziness for you all. 

Oh well, they're both still adorable in their costumes. And now that we actually have a porch, we'll sit out there with our Stoned Devil and Spazstic Bee to hand out candy. 

 My cute new porch :)  ...where the Halloween candy goodness will take place.

Anyone else tormenting their dogs with costumes??  Please tell me I'm not the only one who has an impossible time getting a photo of their dog dressed up. 

Anyway, Happy Halloween from Yadi and Vino!!! 

Weekend Recap: Alamaba-Living

Yep, Alabama-living.  Obviously being away from Pensacola left me missing some good ol' redneck lifestyle so I decided I needed to give in and come to Alabama.

Okay, that's a lie.  But I'm sure you knew that.  I am, however, living in Alabama right now.  Nick and I are currently homeless.  We can't move into our house until the middle of October (just another glamorous aspect of the military life...not having enough time between PCSes {permanent change of station...aka relocation} to find a place available when you need it).  We spent the first week in Jacksonville living with our friends Matt and Jenny.  Except, it was really just Matt because Jenny was traveling on business.  Nick left for SERE last Saturday (an update on that once he's back...for his safety of course) and would be gone for two weeks.
I decided I'd come stay with my sister for those two weeks.  (While I love Matt, it might be a little odd just us two living together with Jenny still gone.  And he works and studies so I'd be bored alllll day long and again all night.  Plus I don't think Matt would care to drink massive amounts of wine while crafting and watching HGTV.)  Leah's nannying job just ended so it actually works out perfectly that we both suck have nothing to do all day and night.


So this weekend recap is more of a week recap since I've been here for a week.  But since everyone loves pictures more than just text, we shall recap in pictures!

One of the best things about being at Leah's (and having Nick gone) is I get to have lots of puppy snuggles!  We don't allow our dogs in the bed with us so sleeping with them is a treat {We allow it if the guest's house allows it}  Anyway, this is possibly even more so a treat for me than them!  I soak up all the Yadi-snuggles I can because she usually isn't a cuddler.  But when you get in a bed, she's all over it!  (In that last picture, she has her protective hand on my hip.  Seriously, this pup is on high-alert, must-protect-mom mode whenever Nick is not around.)

And more puppy snuggling.  The girls love having their cousins to snuggle with as well.

 I'm sure Vino isn't happy I captured this photo, but she's usually just so adorable that I had to snap this rare creep-tastic photo of her!

{Aren't you all jealous of that fabulous comforter?!  I mean, my sister paid top dollar for that!!!  jay slash kay.  It's atrocious!  But it's the "dog comforter".  I think all dog parents have those comforters and blankets that get brought out for the pups.  This fancy comforter is just that.}
Let me also note that one of the most frustrating things in the world is a dead weight dog.  I get up to use the restroom and come back to a 100 pound Weim in my spot.  Except, a 100 pound dead weight dog really feels like a 300 pound boulder.  Now, I might be small, but I'm not weak (lifting is paying off).  I carried massive dressers just a week ago, with absolutely no problem (my husband was actually quite impressed).  But this dog?  Holy eff!!  I could not pick her up and move her!  I'm going to use the odd shape of her body as my excuse.  Let's just hope there is never an emergency when Nick is gone in which I need to haul her ass to the car.  After a few failed attempts to lift and move her, I grabbed her legs and drug her across the bed to my desired position.  And thus producing quite a death stare.  She paid me back but repositioning herself, ass in my face, and then proceeded to let out the most disgusting fart ever.  Touche, Weim.  You win.  Sleep wherever the crap you want.

Our days have been spent making and/or consuming delicious foods.  Of course our day of shopping (really just me gathering ideas for the new house) had to include lunch at St. Louis Bread Co (just accept that I will never call it Panera).
That day also consisted of a trip to Gigi's Cupcakes (pumpkin white chocolate was my cupcake of choice and it did not disappoint.)
Kyle text saying he wanted some McDonalds on our way home.  It's hard for me to go there and not get food.  It's so disgusting and bad for you, but I'll admit I'm a sucker for their fries (dipped in sweet and sour of course), chicken nuggets, and fountain Dr. Pepper {however I was good and opted out of the soda).  But I only wanted a little.  And you're never too old for a Happy Meal!!!  {Can I just say how happy I am that they brought back the old school Happy Meal boxes?  I was hating those dumb bags.}
And because it's fall, I decided to bake some pumpkin goodness.  Being obsessed with chocolate, it needed to be included, thus the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, that I was FINALLY (after 2 falls) able to get to be just right!!!

I've been spending a lot of time outside on the patio, drinking my coffee (out of my new Starbuck's 'You Are Here Collection'.  I cannot wait to get my St. Louis mug!).  

Of course, you can't go outside without all the pups following you.  But it's okay, because watching them romp around the yard is entertaining.

Leah and I had a crafting day, which is typical of us.  And in Vino fashion, she had to be all up in the mess.  {blog post coming soon on my Halloween wreath}

My nights are spent drinking wine (which I'm sure didn't need to be mentioned since you all could have assumed that) while watching HGTV and catching up on all my blogs.  (and yes, I'm drinking out of a regular glass.  I was just too lazy to take the extra steps around the table to get the wine glasses down.)

Mom went to visit Ben (brother) for the weekend so naturally we all FaceTimed.  Thank goodness for technology.

I noticed this weekend that my hair is getting redder and redder (hashtag no filter).  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I'm trying to decide if I want to dye it.  I do need a haircut (just a trim) so maybe I'll just dye it while I'm at it.  It's been at least 8 weeks since my last dye job.  But then again, I'm frugal.  So maybe the red will just have to stay around...unless it keeps getting more red.  Then I'll have to fix that shiz.

Evenings have also been spent watching our beloved Cardinals and this night, we celebrated the Cardinals winning the NL Central!  Damn it feels good to be a Cardinals fan.  (maybe the red hair is good luck??  Hmmm....I think maybe I shall keep it for Red October!!!)

One of the best things about being here is the insane amounts of exercise the pups gets.  Yadi and Vino absolutely love their cousins and the four wear each other out.  It's great!!!!  Vino and Rogue are the perfectly playmates.  Vino loves to lay on the ground and have another dog wrestle on top of her and Rogue gladly accepts this position.  They play rough but as long as it produces the bottom photo, I don't care one bit!!!  Tired pups=happy mama

And there you have it.  In a nutshell, my week (and weekend) has consisted of shopping, eating, baking, cooking, doggie snuggles, wine, Cardinals, crafts, patio sitting, and more doggie goodness.  Not really all that eventful, but it's been relaxing, which is exactly what I've needed after this and this and this and most definitely this!  Life has finally slowed down a bit (at least for the next two weeks) and I needed a good weekend away with family.  Being here is also a really good distraction from SERE.  I try not to think about what Nick is currently going through so being here keeps my mind occupied.  Thankfully I still get another week here with my sister and BIL.  ...unless they get sick of me and kick me out.