Special Needs

Meet Brock.  Our three year-old Boxer.

Brock weighs about 75 pounds, but thinks that he is 12 pounds... The size of Sonny.  It's amazing what he won't do to lay on your lap, lean and cuddle up on you.  He loves to give kisses and generally invade your personal bubble.  One of my favorite things about Brock is his bark.  He has a very mean and ferocious bark, but in reality - all he would do is gum you into an oblivion with his massive jowels and under-bite.   

 He also likes to sit like this:

  Does he think he's human?

And he likes to talk to you while you are in the shower:

Or maybe he just likes to lick the soap??

Brock loves to "hide" underneath any and all blankets.  When he slides underneath, in his mind he becomes invisible.  He lies perfectly still while you call out, "Brock?  Brock?  Where's Brocky?"  I should say he lies perfectly still until his nub of a tail starts to wag.  He eventually gets tired of "Where's Brock" and pops out from underneath to say, "Gotcha!"

Brock and Sonny both love to go to Grampa and Gramma's house.  Whenever we are getting ready to go over there, we say, "You wanna...." and this is Brock's response before we even get to the "...go to Grampa and Gramma's?"

I have no qualms with referring to Broccoli as "special needs."  He has food allergies, and although we haven't 100% identified the root cause of the allergies... We are trying.  I don't know how much time (not to mention money) we have spent with our veterinarian trying to figure out a strong plan of attack.  We have tried gluten free dog food, hypoallergenic dog food, hand preparing him meals of ground lamb and white rice and prescription strength antihistamine.  Nothing seems to kick his allergies completely.  He loses patches of fur on his backside, and his fur/skin becomes irritated and red.  Even in between the poor boy's toes get red!

We take other measures in an effort to try and keep his skin irritation to a minimum.  The blankets that go in his cage get washed in perfume and dye free laundry detergent.  He gets a bath in super-mild oatmeal shampoo, and the water cannot be too hot.  Come summertime we will put out Brock and Sonny's swimming pool.  It is pure entertainment to see them play in that thing.

Good thing we love you so much, buddy boy.  You are our big little man.

Take Luck,
LP

Love Letter

Hello my Hubby,

I wanted to thank you for a great weekend.  Saturday was filled with a few of my favorite things: a miniature road trip, lunch at Hooters, water slides and you.  Thank you for loving me even while I screamed my head off sliding down the Howlin' Tornado.  If I was going down, I knew I was going down with you.

 

You were kind enough to drive us home really late on Saturday night, so we could sleep in our own bed.  Singing along to "the oldies" was about all that got us through the drive and home safe.  You are my superman, and have quite the lovely singing voice.  Oh, and thank you for watching "You Again" with me on Sunday.  I was equally surprised as you that you survived... ;)

Love, 

Lo

Love Letter

I stumbled upon the blog Today's Letters and I thought the premise of the blog was super cute.  The husband and wife who are the bloggers write love letters to each other everyday.  These aren't long and mushy love letters, mind you.  They are short, sweet and simple.  I certainly don't expect Mr. Ryan to post love letters to me, but a girl can dream.

So today, I am starting to write love letters to Ryan.  Not every day, and nothing long or mushy.  Just short, sweet and simple.

Dear Hubby,

Last night I had a dream that we were in the Princess Bride.  You wore a mask, saved me from the nasty swamp creature, and told me "As you wish."  Then, we rode off on our horses.  You are my hero, and the man of my dreams... Literally.

 Love,

Wife

Take Luck,

LP

Countdowns

I love having things to look forward too.  Even the most unimportant things I find exciting.  We have a lot of great things coming up, especially visitors come late spring and summer time.

I have to start with perhaps the most important countdown:

Only six weeks left in the semester

Can I get a hallelujah?

Next up, Clare Bear's wedding: 44 days

(This is us at Krystal's wedding)

Soon after, our first visitors of the year, Cara and Ryan: 63 days

(This is the four of us at our wedding)

In June, Ryan's parents, Danny & Chris come visit us too! 92 days

(This is Danny & Chris on Christmas Eve)

And finally, my bestie, Tiff and her hubby Ryan are coming from Indiana: 147 days

(This is me and Tiff, also at Krystal's wedding.  You don't have to say it, we know we're awesome.)

I can't wait to see our friends and family!

This weekend we're heading off to Great Wolf Lodge with our friends Matt and Jessica, Bea, David and baby Eliyahu for a night to celebrate Matt's birthday... And enjoy the indoor water park.  I am pumped!  I'm not above showing some little tykes what's up.  Just kidding.  I will probably just stare at them and tell Ryan, "I want one."  Ho hum.

Take Luck,

LP

Upgrades

A few weeks ago, Ry and I did some furniture shopping at the local Ashley Furniture.  Through my sister-in-law's mother (did you follow that?) we found a totally awesome chocolate sectional.  While we were at it, we figured - why not replace the kitchen table that got super scratched up when I moved home?  Needless to say we have been eagerly anticipating the delivery of our new furniture.

Today was the day.  I love the delivery confirmation phone calls and "windows" of time service companies give you...

"Uh, yes.  Mrs. Peters?  We will be delivering your furniture between the hours of 7 AM and 5 PM on Wednesday."  Just kidding.  Their "window" was between 9 AM and noon, so I did have to leave work.  I didn't really complain because A) I got to leave work and B) it was a lovely, lovely day today.

The couches we have been using since we bought our house last December were my Grammy's:

Since they were my Grammy's, the couches held some definite sentimental value.

We upgraded to this big honker:

This was our utterly boring kitchen table... 

That we never actually ate dinner at:

We upgraded to this:

Four chairs and a bench.

It doesn't get much better than this, folks.

I just realized that Brocky Boy managed to get in on three of the four pictures that I took of our new furniture... It's like "Where's Waldo?"

Take Luck,

LP

Remind Me

Ryan and I like to play this game called Remind Me.  Well, I guess its not technically a game, but it might as well be.  I don't know how many times a day or week we will say to each other:

"Hey, remind me..."

What one needs the other to remind them of varies from taking out the trash, emptying the dishwasher, sending in a portfolio for school, looking at a website, or making a phone call.  I say these remind me instances occur often, which is completely true.  But how often is it that the one who is supposed to remind the other actually pulls through on their end of the bargain?

Not often.

I can't tell you how many times I have said to Ryan, "So, I was supposed to remind you of something... But I'm not really sure what it was.... So this is me, reminding you that I was supposed to remind you... Of something that I forgot."  This usually leads to us pondering what was so important that it needed reminding in the first place.  And we usually make faces to each other that look something like this:

 

My favorite is when I tell Ryan, "Remind me to remind you that you have a doctor's appointment on Thursday." :)  That one is always super successful.

Not.

Our lack of mental retention power is one of the many "little things" about our relationship that I truly love and treasure.  The other night Ryan was looking for two things before bed time... 

1) his cell phone

2) the Back to the Future trilogy

So he calls from the living room, "Where are the DVDs?" and I responded from the bedroom, "On the entertainment stand."  Then he asked, "Where's my cell phone?" and I laughed and responded from the bedroom, "On the kitchen table."  Without a word, Ryan grabbed his things, came into the bedroom and said:

"You're good."

At least I can remember something.

Remind me...

Take Luck,

LP

Desparately Seeking Warmth

Meet Sonny Jo, our 2 year old mini-dachshund

She is a funny little creature.  She is so sweet and loving, but definitely has a wild, very mischievous and very stubborn side to her little 12 pound body.  Since Sonny is so mischievous, she gets to wear her "jingle jangle" at all times.  The "jingle jangle" is so we can hear her... Wherever she may be.  This was especially essential while we were living with my parents and she would go into the backyard and try to sneak out through the holes in the fence.  Good thing Grandpa loves you so much and would crawl around in the ivy trying to patch all those holes, little lady!  She keeps us on our toes, to say the least.

One of my favorite things about little Sonny is her want, no... need for warmth.  As I am typing this she just stole the fleece blanket from Brock and got all curled up underneath it.  She will stop at nothing to steal a blanket or hop in a basket of laundry that's fresh out of the dryer (yes, I am serious).

Her greatest attempt at seeking warmth comes thanks to our heating vents scattered around the house.  Her favorite is the baseboard heating in the kitchen.  Sonny is so smart, that she knows when the heat is coming out of the vent, and when it isn't.  As soon as the heat turns off, she moves onto a blanket or some other warm spot in the house (usually my lap).  But as soon as the heat kicks back on - she is gone again and back in her little spot.

The funniest thing about her heat seeking is the noises she makes while she's laying on (or in front of) the heating vents.  All you hear are moans and grunting coming out of her little body.  It's almost like she's saying, "Oh yeah, that feels niiiiiice!!"  Ryan thinks its annoying but I find it hysterical and endearing.

We love our Sonny Bunny. 

Take Luck,

LP

Hide Your Children

I have been meaning to post this video for awhile now.  But today, while going through my blog roll, Totally Desperate Mom's post Banshee the Cat made mention of said video... So I figure this is fate and I must share it with the blogosphere.

If you have seen this already, one more viewing couldn't hurt.  And if you haven't seen it before - you are welcome.  Go ahead and laugh... It's hard not too.

Hide yo wife, hide yo kids, and

Take Luck,

LP 

Adventures in Dog-Sitting

While my parents are in Hawaii for the week (jerks...), Ryan and I are dog-sitting their mini-dachshund puppy, Teddy.  Their older mini-dachshund, Dexter got to stay at home because he is grumpy, ornery, party-pooper.  Whenever we go over to my mom and dad's, Brock and Sonny get to go too so they are well socialized with Miss Teddy and Dexter.  However, the tables were turned when she entered their turf.

Meet Teddy.  Sweet Teddy Ruxbin.

This is what happens when these three pups get together.  WWWE (Wiener World Wrestling Entertainment) breaks loose.  All sweetness temporarily escapes these two "ladies."  Teeth are bared, and through their barking and growling you can faintly here taunting.  

Brock acts as the referee sometimes, but he gets his fair share of ring time too

It has been an interesting, eventful and entertaining few days, to say the least.  They like to shove/bump each other over who snuggles on my lap, or who gets to lay in front of the baseboard heater.  Who doesn't love the scampering of 8 little and 4 big legs on the hardwood floors, obnoxious barking every time a doorbell rings on the TV (which by the way should be outlawed...) and three maniacs staring at me with googly-eyes from underneath the cutting board while making dinner?? 

In all honesty, I do :)  Well except for the barking at the doorbells on TV.

I took the three of them on a walk yesterday, and I got more exercise than they did just by trying to keep their leashes straight.  Our dear Sonny made the walk interesting from the get-go by wriggling out of her collar and barreling through the yard, across the street and down four or five houses.  I just love her.  Our neighbors probably got a real chuckle out of seeing me running down the street with two dogs and an empty collar yelling at her.  She knows just how to make an ass out of me.  Sonny just kept on running and scampering, turning around every so often, as if to say "Ha Ha.  Got ya!"   

I guess it's all worth it at the end of the day when they are finally too tired to wrestle...

Give them until 4:30 tomorrow morning... They'll be back at it.

Take Luck,

LP

White Chicken Chili

Here's what you need to make this deliciousness...

Ingredients:

-Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 tbs.)

-One Large Onion

-Diced Green Chilies (Check the label for Mild/Medium/Fire Roasted!!!!)

-Ground Cumin (1 tbs.)

-Great Northern White Beans (2 cans)

-Chicken Broth (2 cans)

-Chicken (1.5 lbs. or so – depends on how many people you are feeding)

-Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack Cheese (One bag of shredded or one brick… Depending on which cheese you buy!) (Pepper Jack definitely gives it a kick)

-Sour Cream (garnish)

-Good dipping or dunking bread (I usually buy French)

Directions:

-Boil the chicken for 15 minutes, then shred/rip it

-Sautee (until clear) the diced onion in a pan with EVOO on low

-When clear (or when you tired of waiting, like me), add chilies and cumin.  Let heat/sit for 2 minutes

-Add the white beans (undrained) and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.

-Add the shredded chicken and the cheese.  Heat/stir until the cheese has melted.

-Viola!

-I usually dish up a hearty spoonful of sour cream into each bowl to make it a little thicker 

I wish I could take credit for coming up with this, but I got it from a college teammate of mine, Ashley.  And I thank her :)

Take Luck,

LP

A Day with Kennedy

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out with my niece, Kennedy, who turns 3 next week!!  She calls me Nonen and I affectionately call her Kenny.

I lost count of how many times she asked, "Where's Ryan?"  And I had to tell her, "Uncle Ryan's at work, babe."  She loves Ryan, big 'ol Brocky (who just wants to kiss and lick the poor girl) and Sonny, who she calls "her baby."  We had a fun filled morning...

We went to Blueberry Park

       

We came home and had some lunch

She is certainly a Haas girl - loves her some chips and sour cream :)

We colored

She got kisses and loves from Broccoli

We danced to the "Gummy Bear Song" and "Boom Boom Pow"

And we sang along to "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry

(I don't know how she knows the words to this depressing song, but she does!)

On the way to drop her off, she said the sun was "hurting her," so I pulled over and gave her my sunglasses.  Could she be any cuter?

I don't think so.

This was the scene after Miss Kenny left us...

They were pooped puppies

And so was I :)

Take Luck,

LP