Crazy for Bandanas

For some reason, I am crazy for bandanas for Chloe and the other pets. At one time, they all 4 had matching bandanas...don't think I have a picture of that, though. Anyway, here is a video montage of our pets and their bandanas....

Christmas Eve Pictures

I decided we needed some new pictures of the girls, so on Christmas Eve they donned black dresses, had their hair done and then posed for the camera. Even Chloe had to get in on the action...hey, she's one of our girls, too!

Funny Pets

I thought I would take a blog to share some of our funnier pet pics and a very special video of our "bad cat".

Three Weeks Gone?? Already???

I'm not even sure what all has happened since that first day of school, but I know it has kept us all busy! I'll see if I can come up with a recap for you all....

The first week of school, I didn't really get to enjoy the whole "having the house to myself" thing as I had hoped. I spent alot of my time helping out in the school. I had intended to clean up the house, but that didn't happen (and still hasn't happened)...oh, I did get the living room rearranged and the base boards cleaned. The girls love school and spent the week adjusting to new schedules. Emyley lost her 2nd tooth on the 2nd day of school! It was particularly hard for Sydney who had to get up an hour earlier than her sisters since her school starts an hour earlier. Since she is a late sleeper, that was really difficult on her. She really enjoys her violin and math classes.

The Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Bill and the girls spent the day at Nana's watching the OU football game. The girls ended up spending the night, while Bill drove home at 1:00am (crazy!). Sunday was designated as Gavin day, and so we made the drive back up to Nana's that morning. We spent the day visiting with everyone, and were happy that Grace and Gunter got to make the trip, too....along with Charlie the dog! LOL! I still didn't manage to get a family picture of Steve and his gang....ugh! We had hoped to make it onto the lake that day, but Bill and I had to leave early for a get-together at my friend Stephanie's house. The girls were pretty disappointed, so we left them there to spend the night again. They got to go out on the lake that evening and spend more time with Grace & Gunter...so they were all happy! Monday, Bill and I went back up to Nana's and spent some time on the boat and then had some yummy ribs and chocolate cake! It was a crazy weekend!

So, after that big of a weekend, you can imagine how all of my girls were so excited to get back to school.....NOT! I had a big day planned on that Tuesday that included lunch with my girls: Steph, Joni and Kathleen!!! Sydney ended up calling me around 11 to pick her up from school, and she spent the rest of the day recovering from her big weekend on the couch! My lunch date was great, though. We went to Spoons in downtown McKinney....my first visit, and I had a great BLT sandwich and pasta salad. I can't wait to go back!! And it was fun to hang out with my friends without any business (PTA) talk....can't wait to do that again, too! The rest of the week was spent helping out at the school.

That weekend we did....nothing! It was nice! But it was back to business on Monday with more volunteering at the school. I helped out in Emyley's class that morning. For a group of 16 5 year olds, they are very well behaved and quiet!!! I was amazed! I also volunteered in the library which was fun and right up my alley....cause you all know how I don't like to read at all....LOL!!!! I did get some days at home this past week, but I chose to spend most of it on the computer, couch and tv! LOL! There was some excitement (anxiety) when my PTA Treasurer books had to be audited due to my friend Kathleen stepping down as President. I hope not to have to go through that again until the end of the year.....hint hint Marchal!

That brings us to yesterday when Bill and the girls along with Chloe spent the morning walking in the American Heart Association Heartwalk in downtown Dallas. I was pretty nervous about him taking Chloe because she is such a menace when people come over to our house.....barking, growling and trying to bite. But she was on her best behavior and only growled at someone (the president of Bill's company) once! LOL!! She spent the rest of the day pooped out and sprawled on the couches....2 miles was a long walk for her! ;o)

I spent the day yesterday creating the new Minshew PTA website. This will be my first website from scratch (no wizards involved)....scary! Right now I am just trying to decide which software I want to use, so I spent the day playing around with a couple of them. I found out this will be a much larger undertaking that I had thought, but it will also be great practice! Today will be laundry, cleaning, family banner day, so we can get ready for another week of school and volunteering!

Just Once Around the Block, Please?!?!?

This is Chloe's new thing....whenever we go out to the garage to go somewhere, she trots out like one of us and waits for someone to open a door so she can hop in! She goes straight to the back of my truck and waits until we leave, then she moves to the back seat and hangs her head out the window (regardless of who she steps on to get to it...in this case, Hayley!). We have to drive her once around the block, then she is done and goes back into the house! Yes, we have a very weird dog....and okay, possibly a little bit spoiled!!

Bubbles

Another cute video for you all to enjoy! Be sure to notice Maggie on the table towards the end of the movie....she thinks this is great entertainment! ;o)

Look What I Can Do!

At bedtime, we always leave the tv on classical music for Chloe to help keep her calm during the night. She hasn't ever whined about being kept in her room away from everyone else....she's such a good puppy! Well, everyone knows how much I like to read, right? One book I read a month or so ago had a cat in it that liked to watch Animal Planet. So, during the day when we weren't watching tv, I started putting the tv on Animal Planet for Chloe. In the mornings when the girls were getting ready for school, we noticed this really awesome show called "It's Me or the Dog". Bill caught a glimpse of it, too, and now we keep it on TiVo. The dog trainer in the show, Victoria Stilwell, gives great advice for how to break your pet of bad habits and how to train them to do tricks. So, here's what Bill recently taught Chloe to do in only two short days!! Next up: Sweeping and Vacuuming the house!

Chloe's Independence Day...Sorta!

For those who have been in our house, you know that we keep Chloe contained in the back rooms....kitchen, breakfast area and family room. We have a nice gate that we use to keep her contained....kinda like her own giant kennel. We kept meaning to acclimate her to the rest of the house, but with three little girls (and a cat) who like to leave little toys all over the floor, it just didn't seem to happen. Well, today I decided to do it. She can now come into the front room! Woohoo! LOL! The girls and I cleaned up all the toys, and I put a gate at the bottom of the stairs. At first Chloe was a little freaked out and overexcited, but as everyone settled into normalcy, she started to adjust, too. I plan to still keep her in her "kennel" when we leave the house or go to bed. I don't want to totally freak her out! Maggie thinks this is the worst idea ever....right up there with actually bringing Chloe home on her birthday! LOL!

The Difference Between Cats and Dogs......

This weekend I got it into my head to buy Maggie (yes, the cat) a harness so she could go outside for "walks". After 3 tries to buy the right size, we finally got it right today. The girls didn't have school, so off we went on our pet adventure!

We decided to give Maggie the first walk. So, with her on the table, I put her harness on her. Her attitude was hilarious....she literally hung her head down as if to say, "I am sooooo embarrassed!". Well, when we went to put Chloe's old leash on her, Chloe freaked out!! She started whining and throwing a fit, so we decided to give her the first walk. She doesn't get many walks, so she isn't trained on the leash. She just likes to fly! Sydney said she would run with her, whew! I certainly couldn't keep up. Our "lake" across the street has a trail now, so we decided to take it. We had a great time.

Now, Maggie on the other hand, when it was time for her walk, didn't want to go at all! She stayed on the sidewalk for about 5 minutes!
Then when she did decide to walk, she belly crawled only a few steps and stopped again! It was hilarious. I am sure that having all of us laughing at her didn't help much, either, but it was great! We decided to take her across the street, too, and she finally perked up a little. But I got scared since I don't know what kind of plants are growing over there that she was trying to eat, and we decided to head back across the street. Maggie is now sleeping curled up on her favorite blankie. I doubt she will ever let me put that harness on her again, but she may surprise us.

Chloe's Christmas

We took some video of Chloe opening her presents. I edited it this morning. The inside shots are pretty fuzzy since we don't have a light on our camera, but the outside shots are really good (if you can ignore the mess that is our backyard). Enjoy our crazy dog!! Oh, and Sydney and I were right.....the legs came off that day! ;o)

Everybody's Doing It....

So why shouldn't we do it, too? Remodel something in our house, that is! ;o) My parents are finally doing a major overhaul in their way too small kitchen and dining room. My in-laws are totally redoing a house. My friend, Danielle is installing wood floors. My friend, Stephanie just redid her hallway. And can't forget Joni's new wood floors last spring! So, why shouldn't we join in on the fun, right?

Last May when I went home for my reunion, we all picnicked at one of my old friend's houses. It was a new house that they had just built and being out in the country, they opted to have stained concrete flooring in their downstairs. Bill and I instantly thought, "hhhmmmm!". I have wanted wood floors for forever because I think it would enhance my country decor...lol! I just cracked myself up. Anyway, we saw this staining concept as an inexpensive way we could get rid of carpets and hopefully some of the allergens in our house.

Once we got home from that trip, Bill was instantly online looking for the stain, found it and ordered it. The plan, such as it was, was to try out the stain on our sad little patio. One catch, though....Chloe. How would we keep her off of the patio while it is drying? Well, time went on, and it got pushed to the back burner.

Well, anyone with a new puppy knows how hard it is to housebreak! Chloe just wasn't getting it, and I just wasn't spending enough time with her on it. Nighttime was the worst and we would wake up to really gross messes in our family room. We invested in a very easy to use carpet cleaner, but it just wasn't getting it all. Gross, I know! Then the little light bulb flashed over Bill's head....what about pulling up that nasty carpet in our family room and using our stain on that floor???? I was very hesitant at first, but the idea started growing on me....especially as time went by and Chloe still wasn't getting it. But, again, since the family room is Chloe's room, when could we find a time to empty out the furniture, pull up the carpet, stain the floor, let the floor dry and put all the furniture back without Chloe's help?? So, again, time went on....

Then it happened! I called the vet where we board Chloe to make reservations for her to stay while we went to Okla for part of the Thanksgiving break. It never dawned on me that they would want a vacation, too. DUH! Anyway, turned out instead of boarding her from Friday-Monday, we were going to have to board her Wednesday-Monday. So, opportunity just knocked for us, and we decided Wednesday night we would prep the living room and Thanksgiving morning we would add the first coat. Again, best laid plans....

While Bill was working on Wednesday, I moved as much furniture as I could. I left him with the tv stuff and the couch. He got home early that day and went to town. He had the rest of the furniture moved,










the carpet up and










the first (and only) coat of stain on the floor before dinner!











Easy as pie, right? Well, not so much....We learned a few tips along the way....

• Supplies are very important - a nice clean roller brush is needed to spread the stain.
• Getting the floor nice and clean is a really good idea before applying stain.
• Measure out your space before you decide to stain to ensure that you have enough for two coats.
• Don't try to do it all in one day as there may be some suprsies when pulling up carpet for the first time....nail strips, pock marks in the concrete, what to do with the space under the base boards, how to trim off where the concrete meets the linoleum of the dining room, etc.

All in all, though, we really do like it. It definitely needs a second coat applied with a nice roller brush to even it out. We still have one nail strip down where the family room meets with dining room. We re-arranged our furniture and then re-arranged it again once we put up our Christmas tree. A lot of our spots are hidden now. Hopefully after the holidays, we can get some more stain, send the puppy off for a day and get it evened out. Chloe is doing really well now, and the doggy door we added helps, too, but that's another blog for another day....

Princess Chloe

My family went to Disney World and all I got was this lousy princess mouse ears hat...as if! - Chloe

Chloe's First Bath

There are many differences between cats and dogs, too many to go into here. But one main difference is that cats bathe themselves, and in fact many hate to get dirty! Now, dogs, especially, puppies, have no qualms about getting dirty, and some love it! So, with Hayley's birthday fast approaching and company on its way, Chloe was due for her first bath. She wasn't exactly too happy about it, but she cooperated as well as any puppy can be expected to.



And never one to be far away from the action, especially when it involves water, Maggie, the cat watched (taunted) Chloe's first bath!

Chloe...for now at least!

Here she is, our newest addition to our family. She is a Border Collie mix and so far her name is Chloe. We adopted her from a nearby Shelter and found out we were her 4th adoptive family!! Well, we all think she is definitely a keeper!!

For those who know me well, know that I am a cat person...Bill is the dog person. And, I do have a cat named Maggie and she turns 3 this week. Well, I'll just say she was less than impressed with our newest addition. I can just hear her thinking, "A puppy is sooooo not what I wanted for my birthday!"! ;o) Here is a picture of both of them having a standoff over the puppy food dish!!