Week 1 down and no "major" problems!!

Today is our 1 week celebration with the new addition. Let me tell you what, Mr. Winston has rocked our world (as a teacher friend says, we are not training him he is training us). He has done this in both positive and negative ways. One should always start with the negative then end with the positive...so here goes!

Negatives:

• Poor Chris...his work now revolves in 3 hour settings (he can't stay in his kennel longer than that)
• Our day is counted by the minutes...even seconds for the next potty break
• POTTY TRAINING, YIKES. (we still need a lot of work here)
• the unknown, not sure what he will do next
• racing the clock...I feel we are always racing to do something and be back in time to let him out

Positives:

• His sweet little face
• The kisses on the toes, face, oh any where
• The joy he brings us
• His playful manor
• The cuddling up in our laps
• Wonderful sleeper (sleeps great at night, with no whining)

So there you have it...I think Chris and I are starting to get the hang of this puppy thing. Thus fare I do not believe we have screwed him up too bad, but only time will tell. We really are struggling on potty training, so please send us your hints. It seems no matter how often we go out, he goes inside as soon as we come back. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE! Now that he is 7 weeks old I hope that we can improve on this. Really that is our only beef with the little guy. He is wonderful, I wouldn't trade him for a thing.

Our little pant leg grabber

Well since I did the post last night with out a picture I thought I would add a few more! As if I don't have enough on here yet. It's like Chris told Winston, get use to that flash she does it all the time. So I LOVE taking pictures, I think in my next life I will be a photographer. Heck maybe when I retire I'll do it (I talk like I may be able to retire...). Winston has been so great the last couple of days. He has been staying nicely in his kennel and is so excited to see you when you get home. Chris even said he slept great through the night last night...which is super! The past couple of returns home to let him out he has even been asleep, I think he is okay with things. Other than that we are still working on the constant nipping at things such as our fingers, pant legs, shoes...you know anything that moves! I just pray it is a phase, that goes by fast. Thanks to all that have sent along such great tips, we love to hear them and use them.

Winston with Aunt Whitney. She headed over to see him, how sweet of her!Chris with Winston...he wants him to love his bed! Notice the computer, yes I am blogging.

What a sweet little guy he is.

WINSTON ROBERTS

Thank you to all who help us with the name.  Chris and I really like them all...we even took turns calling him by each name.  One hour he was puppy, the next Winston, and so on.  However, we too last night came to the conclusion that we loved WINSTON best.  Thankfully, the results ended that way as well.  

Our next goal is for him to realize that Winston is his name.  Thus far he hears a lot of No...Oh no...NO NO NO!  I am sure (at least I hope) the No's will die down a bit soon.  He really is a great puppy.  Last night as Chris and I put him to bed and he just laid quietly in his kennel next to us we felt blessed.  He does great at sleeping thus far and I hope this continues.  However, I am worried about tonight since he has been in his "home" (what we are calling his kennel) off and on all day as Chris went to and from appointments.  Well I need to let the little guy out to potty, then I am off to tennis.  One last note, if anyone has great tips on biting and chewing (he loves to attack our pant legs...I am sure it is because he is so little, but still annoying) we would love to hear it.  Thanks again!

P.S sorry no cute pic, I used the apple and it doesn't have any pictures on it yet.  

We made it through our first night...

My cute boys!!

Well we have done it...we made it through the night! Let's do a quick recap of the evening. "Puppy" (yes we are still calling him this tell the votes are tallied tomorrow....SO VOTE!!) spent the evening playing like crazy. He loves to play, then we also went and saw a puppy friend up the street. I know my sister would be appalled that we took him around other puppies, due to parvo! But we know the friends very well, and their dogs are both very well kept. Puppy was not sure what to think of the big dog (a lab mix), but he liked their little Yorkie (she is a month older than Puppy). After play time it was home to take our FIRST BATH...Remember the car ride home yesterday, dewormer everywhere. He needed a bath, and he didn't LOVE it but didn't hate it either. After his bath we let him eat a little more. Then it was outside for the last time before bed time. As Chris took him out I prepared the bed. A nice cozy home if I don't say so my self. We put down a towel, his blankey (Chris bought it when he was out and we were at home.), and the warming bottle. It was ready to go so we kissed him goodnight and put him in his kennel (located in the kitchen). Then off to bed we (Chris and I) went.

Just after his first bath...He loves to lay on you...no matter where!

....after 40 minutes of listening to the little guy I couldn't take, I had to go in there. So I didn't want to bother sleeping daddy (Chris snoring it up!) with pillow and blanket in hand I went to the kitchen. Yes, I thought about moving him to the room but Chris and I had not really talked it over so I just made camp in the kitchen. He was so sad, but as soon as I laid down he calmed down too. He stuck his little paw out of the kennel and I rubbed it. Sound a sleep we both were when oh at 4 AM Chris comes running into the kitchen. I guess puppy had yelped a little, and Chris said he needs to go out. Chris grabbed him and out they went. Puppy did a good potty, and back in the boys came. Then Chris is like let's move him in to the room. I held puppy and Chris brought in the kennel. He placed it right next to the bed so I could still reach him if he cried. 4 AM till 7 AM not a peep came from that kennel, it was AMAZING!! Chris even got up around 6 and showered....Puppy and I never knew! So we did it the first night was over...

Look at my new scarf...

The rest of the day puppy has been so fun. We played and played, then Chris and I headed out for about and hour and a half. Puppy had to go into kennel again. He was not so excited about it but we heard you need to do it for small times everyday and he will get better. Since Chris and I both have to work we needed to prepare him now. Out we went....we did a quick lunch, Target trip, and then of course Petsmart. We bought sweet puppy a few more toys, puppy treats (since he is pottying so good outside), and a comb. Then we realized our time was up and home we went. I stood by the bedroom window just to see if he was still crying, but I couldn't hear him. Sure enough as we opened the front door.....crying it was. Chris ran in to save him and take him to potty of course. He was so happy to see us. Then we thought since it was such a nice day we would take a walk. No puppy didn't walk, he was carried but it was still nice to walk with him. After our wonderful walk it was playtime in the front yard. He loves his new toys. I have added a few pictures of the oh thousands I have taken. Please everyone pray tonight goes as wonderful as last night did. If you have not voted on a name, you have till 6pm tomorrow....HURRY UP HE NEEDS A NAME!!!!

Let's PLAY!!!


Oh my new chunk it chula....I love it and daddy does too!
So tired from playing.....

It's a Boy

Okay as a few may know Chris has been wanting a dog. He really wanted a puppy and I wanted a dog. Before Christmas he found this really cute one on petfinder, but she was gone in a jiffy. Since then he and I have really talked about it and been checking into more puppies/dogs. We had found a really cute one on line and saw they were going to be at a pet shop in Dallas. Therefore, last Saturday we loaded up and headed over. We really were not sure what to expect, it was a 1 to 1 1/2 year old male Yorkie Pug mix. We arrive at the store to find about 5 other people there too. I was a little worried, because I only thought she had this one Yorkie. Then in walks the rescue lady Dena with this other puppies. Chris and I were a little puzzled and it was mad house in there. These older ladies were fighting over the dogs...and the lady had to stop them and say she had a list. Chris and I just sat back and watched the craziness go down. Then I asked her about the Yorkie, well his foster mom had gotten sick so he didn't come. We were a bit bummed out, I mean we drove all that way. But she assured us that we could see him next Saturday (today). I told her I would email her to remind (it was crazy in there) her and we left.

When we got home I emailed away and Chris looked for more Yorkies. The Yorkies are hard to come by...that is ones that like cats and kids. Then Dana emailed back with great news that the dog would be there. We were happy and thought well we will check it out again. On Thursday I just happened to notice she now had puppies. There were 4, 2 male and 2 female. Oh gosh so I recontact her telling her that Chris really wanted a puppy and could we look at them both...With a waiting list started she was kind enough to put our names on it. That is the key we found out from the 1st time going to see the dog. YOU MUST get your name on the list...if you don't your out of luck.

Off we headed today to see what was in store for us. Would we love the 1 year old or a puppy (Yorkie, Papillon mix). As Chris and I drove over we chatted about it and thought we will see who catches our heart. Walking into the store I realize this is much different than last time.....there are over 20 people crammed in the store. I couldn't believe it....I was in shock. The Chris walked in (he was parking the car) and was in shock as well. That's when we were so thankful we had been her the week prior. Dana shows up with the dogs, 2 from last week that were not picked, the 4 Yorkie puppies, and the 1 year old. The craziness begins.....as people start grabbing at the puppies and yanking the out of the little high school girls. I felt so bad for them, so that is when Dana said, "No wait I have a list...." and she began calling off names. The fist name was called, NO ONE stepped up! The second name, a man who wanted a girl puppy. The third name an older lady who too wanted a girl. Then Emily was called.....She said would you like to look at the puppies or Dudley. I claim both and the high school girls hand us the 2 boy puppies. We look them both over one pulled our hearts more than the other. So we hand him back to the girls, where Dana yells the last name.... Now the hard part, the puppy or the 1 year old! We talk and hold the puppy, and well the puppy wins. There was another nice couple that just wanted the 1 year old too, so they went home with him. We got our new baby!!! As all the dogs were then spoken for the people begin to leave. Apparently the list was over 120 people, thank goodness we were there the week prior.


Chris cleaning the area for puppy!


From here Chris and I filled out his papers. (HE NEEDS A NAME SO BAD) Dana gave him one of his shots (we will have to go back for his last two and microchip) and some dewormer. Apparently their mothers milk may have worms in it, so they have to have som dewormer once they have been taken off the milk. Then we were off. Did I mention he peed on me when we were doing all this mess. Well I guess that's love. Chris and I still in puppy shock head home....okay well to Petsmart. In the car "puppy" (that is what we call him now) sat so nicely in my lap. Then we got stuck in traffic, there was a wreck in the HOV lane on 635....no more than had we passed the wreck did puppy puke. Wormer all over me.....my lap, my coat, my jeans, and a little on the car seat. Well that didn't stop us, Petsmart here we come. We picked up our items and headed home.


Since we have been home puppy has been doing great. Chris' house is pretty good for a puppy, no carpet in the main areas. We did roll up his big rug in the living room to keep it safe from puppy. However, I take him out about every 30 to 45 minutes to potty. He has gone potty outside every time, thus far. He is great...plays so much, eats his food, and then sleeps like an angel. We will see how tonight goes, I hope he loves his new crate!! Since his is only 6 weeks old they said it is a little early to have him potty trained but I want any help possible with this. To me the sooner were are potty trained the BETTER

Wii..

Our world will never be the same.....Chris' father is so wonderful and gave Chris (US) a Wii for Christmas. Well we actually got it at Thanksgiving, he couldn't wait for us to enjoy it. Thank you STEVE-O!!! Chris and I have really enjoyed playing the Wii, however we really wanted Wii Fit. We got to play it at Thanksgiving and LOVED IT... Well as you may know Wii Fit, not an easy thing to find. We have been looking since Thanksgiving, no luck. Last Saturday Chris and I were returning something to Best Buy. This is when I so nicely quizzed the little girl about Wii Fit, she was very nice. She said I would really check with us on Sunday, as in tomorrow. Well that is just what I did. You see I consider my self a pro BLACK FRIDAY shopper and it was a good thing.

I arrived at Best Buy at 9:45 to find 8 cars full of people. I of course began to plot my attack. I waited till 9:50...and headed for the door. Once I got out of the car, everyone was out. Here we are all waiting for the doors to open at 10. The door opens and I grab the Best Buy man "I NEED THE WII FIT!" He said okay, follow me.....everyone is still behind us. I am 1st in line and this nice college age girl goes I need one too; then the Best Buy workers start numbering the other people. They open the case, only 8 Wii Fits are there. The man hands me mine and I run from the people. Wii Fit in hand, Chris and I leave ready to enjoy!

Let's just say 7 1/2 hours later we had enjoyed our first (yes still Sunday) day of Wii Fit. We played every game, unlocked games, and had debates about Wii Rules (this will be a separate blog) . This Wii is going to take over our lives I am afraid. Since Sunday, Chris and I have had to establish some Wii Sportsmanship rules, but it is going great. Here are a few pictures of Chris and I enjoying our Wii time together.

Chris Rocks at the soccer headbutting game, I am horrible.

the concentration...

Don't you just love the funny messages it gives you! This one is after it asked me how Chris was looking, I just laughed.

I love the Ski Jump. I currently (as of tonight 1-9-09) have First Place with a jump of 355!!

I am a Ski Jump PRO, 4 STARS!

However, Super Hula is my favorite. I can kick come major hula butt...800 plus spins!

Great Party, bad ending

Polly, Julie, and I....Sooners all the way!!

Yes, it has taken me the WHOLE day to recover from last nights events. If possible I may have even stayed in bed, but my 21 precious faces awaited. The evening started off great. Everyone came and we had the most amazing time. Even if my Sooners didn't win or look good, we still had a blast. I guess if one has to lose at least I got to enjoy wonderful friends, great food, and plenty of drinks (to help the loss go down better). Here are some pics from the event. Please note most of our faces are sad...but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Maybe next year Sooners!

Garcia and her sweet girl (Tech fans at heart)

just a small part of all the food

BOOMER SOONER

Well here it is the night before the BIG game. I have of course invited my SOONER friends all over for a little SOONER watch party. I am so happy my sweet little Sooners have made their way to the BIG GAME! But you see I have seen this same night go down very ugly. Therefore, as I prepared all my game night treats....I also was hoping my boys would pull this bowl game off. I love my sweet Sooners, but we tend to make it to the big bowl game (Orange or Rose) and then well NOT SHOW UP!!!! You see after watching (sorry Kara) the RED RAIDER.....and their bowl game, I just hope we perform better. I know we have a great team this year, but as a Sooner you always have that worry in your heart.

Yes...these are 2 of my little Sooners....

No worries though, I have great faith in my boys this year. Not only do I have faith, but I have talked all 21 of my sweet kiddos into LOVING anything OU!! I think I love that the most, creating little Sooners. I have done a wonderful job of this. A fellow teacher commented on it today. As my sweet SOONER angels were taking a bathroom break, a fellow teacher went into the bathroom as well (she is so brave I would never use the kids bathrooms at my school...ick!). She is a TECH lover....so we have great fun as her room is across from mine!

This is what she said to me today after leaving the bathroom.....

"Miss Mudroch, you have such a great class.".... I of course say "Thanks, we are just trying to remember how to bathroom break since we had 2 weeks off. Some can't remember that we don't TALK in the hall." To this she replies, "well they are very wonderful and they even reminded me to watch the big game." I begin to laugh...because yesterday we talked football right before school was over. Then she continues "Yes, one little girl says her mom is a Gator fan..... But it is okay because she knows that OU is much better than being a stinky gator that lives in nasty swampy water. So she told her mom that she can not be a Gator, but will be a Sooner instead!"...I then fall out laughing, because I know which sweet child this is and yes she probably really did say this to her mother. I wonder if her sweet mother (they are one of my seminary families...so education is a priority) told her that being a nasty swamp water Gator is better than a THIEF!!!! It's the little details they don't need to know.

BOOMER SOONER to all, and even if you don't LOVE the Sooners we are a Big 12 teams so it's okay to cheer us on this once! (even if my family didn't pick OU...no love)

Happy New Year!

Wow another year has come and gone. You know 2008 was a very busy year...I realized this as Abby and Brian were talking about there Christmas Card (yeah the one they are still writing to mail out). Also again yesterday while watching the year in review on MSN. 2008 was busy, yet great year.

Here are a few highlights 0f 2008:

• I got to keep my job at my school (may not be able to say the same for 09??)
• Little Bear is the best BIG SISTER
• We added a sweet boy to the family...Little B (and yes he came Nov of 07...but we really got to see his personality bloom in 08)
• Chris finally asked me out
• Enjoyed traveling to Chris' family in Minnesota
• Celebrated the big 5 in DISNEY WORLD...what a great Birthday party E
• Had the Best Christmas Ever (quotes taken from Little E)
• Enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner at my Grandparents with ALL the family
• Rung in the New Year with my favorite people

Last night Chris, Alison, and I rung in the new year. We had a fabulous time! There was tons of laughing, drinking, and eating. I hope that 2009 brings great happiness to you all. Enjoy all that is to come (oh and stick to those resolutions) this year will be over before we know it.

What is really going on?

Okay...I understand that I live in the land of many malls. I say this because I have options, you know Hulen, Ridgmar, and North East. Now these are just the "close" malls. So when I go home to Amarillo I try to only have a few items left on my list. You know things that I can find at common places or a very small mall. Some of the things that I may leave for good old A-town would be Walmart, Target, or even Old Navy. I will have to say that Amarillo is growing and has gained many new stores, however I don't like to chance my last minute items (please laugh...due to the fact that I am not chancing last minute items) and wonder if that store is in Amarillo. According to my sister it is a below average mall. The main stores are Dillard's, JCPenny's, and Sears. Yes those are the main stores! Then you have a few run of the mill mall stores such as American Eagle, Gymboree, Bath and Body...ect! Okay at this point you may wonder why I am telling you all about Amarillo and the mall.

When I run into random things in "my" mall it seems crazy, but when it has made way to Amarillo that is a problem!!! As my sister and I were out running errands it was to my AMAZEMENT what the Amarillo mall now has. Yes....it is something you would (again) not normally see in the mall. Here in Amarillo, you wont get your fat lazered out instead you can get your TEETH WHITENED!! That's right head on over to the mall and get them cleaned up real good. It is located right there in the middle of the mall, literally. You see it is very nice! There are even four reclining chairs you can sit back and relax in while being whitened. Each chair is surrounded by partitions for your privacy. It is also a very well lit area so that you can really see the change you have just made to your teeth. (Luckily this time I had my new camera!!)

Located right in the heart of the mall.

Amazing in only 15 minutes!!

See the nice dividers?

Look at that clean (white makes everything cleaner) relaxing chair!

While your family is out grabbing a few items, you can just get a whiting session done. This way you don't waste an extra trip to the certified dentist or on gas. If you are needing this service done I really recommend the Amarillo mall. I walked by it about 4 times today and it seems very sterile (The worker and her boyfriend were eating there Taco Bell dinner at the counter). Not only is clean, everyone in the mall can watch. I have often wanted to see food and other particles being removed from a person mouth while out shopping.

This is where I have to ask, WHAT IS GOING ON? Are all the malls that hard up for money? Are these things that people really need in a mall? I am just puzzled about these crazy services we are seeing in our malls. Please tell me what other random stuff can they move it to the middle of a mall?