SHE LOVED HER BATH!

The other day when I gave Tallulah a bath, she wasn't impressed at all.

Last night ... well that was totally different!
She didn't like being in the bath, but OMG!  As soon as she was out she was like a mad dog... running around the house with a huge smile on her face!  (as much as a dog can smile)... she was so happy!

I'm sure she is feeling the heat something rotten.  And her bath just helped her cool down.

 ABOVE:  She was even happy to sit with Coco on Stew's lap!  Coco has not been her favourite sister of late.

ABOVE:  little fluff bucket!  She loves sitting with me, and if I'm not on my chair, she's following me around all over the house.  I'm sure she has bonded with me to another level since she had the pups.

Griffin is a happy boy now.  He finally has his Christmas present:

ABOVE:  in his room with his PS 4.  It came with one game, and he bought a 2nd one too.  I wonder how long it will be before he clocks them?
Hopefully in our new house (once we bloody move) he will have a room big enough to have a comfy chair in, so he doesn't have to ruin his back sitting on the bed.

Now... today.  Talking of games, Griffin wants to go and buy another game, and Brylee wants to buy a new bag for her 'girly' bits 'n' bobs.  Her current bag is falling to bits, and the bags I've made her are ... IN STORAGE!

So much 'stuff' we could be using right now is in storage!  We never imagined we would still be here by now.  *sigh*  Trying not to let THAT bother me too much.

Real estate is totally dead over Christmas/New Year!  Hopefully it picks up in the next couple of weeks.  

Right, that's all I have for now.  I am off to get Keera ready for Daycare, then I can do some housework.  There's fingerprints all over our doors and windows!  Little people.  *smiles*

ONWARD...

1.41 pm:  Well so far I've done 3 loads of washing... changed the puppy bedding, looked at some gorgeous fabric online... and bugger all else!

I was going to order some awesome fabrics from the USA, but decided not to.  I know I don't really need any more right now. Dammit.

But, I've bookmarked the site (fabric.com), as they have some really neat fabrics!

Stew and the kids are at Sylvia Park.  I'm not even remotely interested in venturing out!  Too hot, too crowed, too noisy... etc.  I am enjoying the quiet here all on my own.  BLISS.

Ha ha!  It's New Year's Eve and our plans are:
-Dinner
-TV
-Bed.

How thrilling is that?  OMG we are so stuck in the muds.  But, we really don't have any reason to stay up and see in the new year.  It happens every year, and after a while (like 50+ years), it just doesn't make much difference.

So.... what are YOU doing?  If you are lucky you are seeing it in with friends and family, having fun, setting off a rocket, whatever.  

Right now I'm waiting for dinner to cook, which is a bacon/sauasge/cheese/egg pie.  It should be nice.  I don't make crap pies!

End of Day:  HaPpY NeW YeAr !
nite nite

HAPPINESS IS...

Babies:  Happy babies...

ABOVE: Steve held Archer up to the fan... that's his 'I love this' face.

 ABOVE:  This is his 'normal' face now!

 ABOVE:  He stood up all on his own, and pulled his Daddy's hair.

 ABOVE:  ANOTHER happy face.  
Archer really is the most happy baby ever.

ABOVE:  three happy babies last night after a feed.  Silly buggers are sleeping in the 'bathroom'.  lol

ABOVE:  The weigh station for the puppies.  All of them are now between 800 and 1100 grams.  Doing VERY well... even the two smallest (Toby and B).  

Today?  Keera to daycare.  Stew might take the big kids to a movie and/or mall?  Not sure yet.

I am staying  home as Viva's mum is coming to visit her late morning, and there's quite a bit of housework to do.

I don't mind staying home, it's cooler inside than outside!

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  time on the lawn this morning.  It's supposed to rain later on, so I thought it would be nice to get them out early.  Not too hot right now either.  edit:  didn't anyone but me notice I'd aged the puppies at 5 weeks, 3 days?  Derrr. They are 3 weeks, 3 days!  I've changed the photo now.

Might just have some brunch...

2.51 pm:  brunch/lunch done.  Been down to the mall and had an eye exam, then ordered some new progressive glasses, using my 'old' blue frames.  Saved about $450 using existing frames.  Quite happy with that.

I'm trying progressives as I am tired of using two sets of glasses.  

The new ones will also have a tint for outside.  

I have to wait about 2 weeks for them.  Drat.  I hate waiting for anything.

Louise and her family came and visited their little girl Viva for a while.  It was nice to see them.  They will be coming back in a week or two to see her again.  

Griffin finally got his new PS4 from Harvey Norman.  Steve is here setting it up for him... yaaaa.  No more fighting over who's turn it is on the X Box.  

Having a semi quiet time now... before picking Keera up from Daycare.  Dante is enjoying playing with her pram right now.

ABOVE: another cute photo of puppies on the lawn.  

OH I forgot to say.... I made an appointment at the hairdressers to have the yellow fixed.  I go on Saturday morning.  I wonder if they will charge me?

End of Day:  a nice day, threatened to rain all day, but didn't.  Wish it would!
nite nite

BACK TO NORMAL

Today Keera goes back to daycare.  I will be dropping her off on my way to the mall to get my hair colour re-done.

No more re-growth for me for a while.

Lacy didn't end up staying with us overnight after all.  She headed back to Tauranga after Keera went to bed.

So, Stew and the kids are staying home this morning while I'm out,  to keep an eye on puppies/dogs etc.

When I get home I hope to finally get the two dogs bathed.  I ran out of steam yesterday.

Baths!  Here's the puppies after their baths yesterday:

 ABOVE:  How cute are they?  A couple of them got a bit shivery and shaky after their bath, so I tucked them down my top and they soon warmed up and settled down.  

ABOVE:  First feed out on the lawn.

 ABOVE:  Dry babies....

ABOVE:  Wet babies.   *smiles*  I kept them in the sun to dry for a while in the basket.  They were so warm and snuggly.

I'm going to be giving them a bath once a week from now on... cos a litter of puppies can get really stinky over summer!  But I'd rather have summer puppies any day.  Winter ones are harder to look after.  Trust me, I know!

Right... I better get moving... I can get some washing done before I go out.

ONWARD...

1.30 pm:  my hair took just over 3 hours... and I'm not happy with it. There is a definite YELLOW tinge to it, which they know I hate.
So... I came home and I'm sitting here with my hair lathered in purple shampoo.  I will probably have purple hair soon... cos I'm leaving it in for ages.  Purple is better than bloody yellow.

I get so cross when the colour is wrong.  I told the hairdresser it was yellow, she should have taken me back to the basin and toned it more.  
But she didn't and I was beyond staying there a moment longer.

The annoying thing is, it cost so much to do, and it takes so LONG to do.  Three hours in an uncomfortable chair is my limit.

RANT OVER.

The purple shampoo did NOTHING.  Grrrrr.  It must be a different shampoo to one I've used before that made my hair go purple.  *sigh*

9.53 pm:  and the afternoon and evening have been uneventful.  I had a nana nap this afternoon, I simply could not stay awake!

Dinner was left overs from last night... so no cooking for me, which was great.

Got a few jobs to do before bedtime, then I can wind up for the day.

End of Day:  a long, hot day, typical of summer.  Then I got cold in the evening, go figure!
nite nite

SUGAR

I'm cutting out all sugar.  
It's a start towards making 2016 a much better year for me and Stew health-wise.

I know masses of processed shit has sugar in it, but I'm not going to try and cut that out.

Just the friggin cakes, lollies, chocolates, ice creams, and all that sort of stuff.  I know I can do it.

Because it's actually making me ill.  I'm a diabetic!  I'm nuts eating that shit.  

I've been indulging my moods with sugar... forgetting that it makes me feel ill, then wondering why I feel ill!    I'm a dumb tart sometimes.  Grrrrr.

Stew is going to do it too.  I don't think he's that thrilled about cutting out Christmas cake... but too bad.  

He has to be on board ... cos he's a bloody diabetic too!

Together we can help each other.

MINI is not Mini anymore.  She's gone over 1kg!  When she lies down she looks so FAT!  Like a little brown sausage.  She's so freakin' cute.

I weighed Coco and Tallulah last night.  Tallulah has gained .35 grams since last week.  I'm thrilled with that.  More on Coco below.

Lacy and Keera are due back this afternoon.  So I better get her room tidy!  It's been used by visitors the past couple of nights.  

Griffin's friend JJ stayed over last night.  That boy so suits his nickname of Jabber Jaws (JJ)!  His actual name is Joshua.  *smiles*
He's a lovely kid.

I've made a hair appointment for tomorrow... yaaaa!  Sick of the re-growth!  Something to look forward to.

Stew can stay home and babysit the kids/puppies.  hee hee.

AS for today?  Not got any plans.  A 'quiet' day would be nice.... I keep saying I'm having one, but it never happens.

Funny that.

ONWARD...

Ever since Tallulah got pregnant, I've been feeding her puppy food... as she needed and still needs the extra calories.

And no matter what I do, Coco always manages to sneak in and eat it too.

Last time she was at the Vet's, about 2 weeks ago, the vet told me she had to lose weight.  She weighed about 6.5 kilos then. NOW she weighs 7.85 kilos!!! 

So,  I've been TRYING MY HARDEST to stop her eating Tallulah's food.  I've locked her out of the garage, I've locked her outside, I've locked her in a different area of the house, but no matter what I do, she gets out.  

She is a Houdini dog.  And with so many people in the house, they have inadvertently let her out too.

This morning I put down a HUGE bowl of puppy food for Tallulah, and locked Coco outside.  She managed to get out of a fully fenced area, run around the other side of the house, jump down a high bank and get into the garage with no one noticing... and she ate ALL of the food.

Tallulah had not eaten any.   I was SO ANGRY.

I have to stop her eating all the food!  So I drove down to Bunnings and got this:

ABOVE:  a chain.  She's tied to the big BBQ table, so she can come inside as far as that, and get outside for bathroom... and that's it.

She gets fed morning and night with 'regular' food, on a restricted diet until she weighs 5 kg.  End of story.  She has to lose 2.85 kilos!  That is a huge amount for a 'small' dog.

SHE MAY HAVE WON TILL NOW, BUT NOW IT'S MY TURN.

While I was at Bunnings I got more succulents for my planter wall by the Archgola.

ABOVE: The kids had waffles for breakfast again.  They are very popular.  Steve and Bex had them at their home too.  *smiles*

They are coming for dinner tonight.

12.11 pm: ...

ABOVE:  Brylee and I just spent a good hour potting succulents into the 'planter wall'.  Looks great, and here's hoping they don't die like every other damn plant I've put there!

Stew is mowing the lawns, in the midday sun.  Derrrr.

Griffin and Joshua have gone fishing with Joshua's Mum and Dad.  JJ's little sister has the chicken pox, so she had to stay home with her grandparents.  Luckily everyone here has had them. 

Soon I shall be bathing the two big dogs, and maybe later on giving the puppies a quick dip too.  They are smelly little buggers.  *smiles*

2.15 pm:  And I've bathed all the puppies!  AND they have had their first venture out on the lawn.  They didn't think much of the bath, or the lawn.  lol

I am uploading a video to show you of them out on the lawn.  I've also got photos of each puppy after their bath, but I will keep them for tomorrow as today's post is getting a bit long!


ABOVE:  Play time on the grass, first time EVER.

ABOVE: He came to visit us Granddad, but was feeling a bit off with a temperature, and fell asleep.
He's feeling a bit better now though, so all good.

Lacy and Keera arrived back, and Lacy is staying the night.  Keera goes back to Daycare tomorrow, so back to our normal routine.

End of Day:  so much for the kids taking Coco for a walk, Stew has.  Kids were too engrossed in something on the TV. 
Having a quiet evening I hope.  Today has been freakin' busy as.
nite nite

THREE DOWN, THREE TO GO

As of last night, three of our puppies have 'forever' names.

And another owner is coming to meet her puppy today, the girl who has bought Dodge.  His name shall now be TOBY.  I like that name.  

ABOVE:  Jeep has become 'Jerry', Dodge has become Toby and Viva kept her 'home' name.

Look at them!  They are getting fluffy!  And mobile!  OMGosh, I took a video of them last night, and wanted to upload it, but it took too long.  So I will try and get a shorter one today and post it.  

They are all walking like little drunk dogs now!  And starting to be very frisky.  And pooping and peeing all over themselves and their bedding.

It's getting to the 'messy' stage.  Now the work begins.  Keeping them and their area clean.  

I've moved them into the garage so I can give them more room as they grow, and I can open the garage door for better ventilation.

Cos six puppies pooping starts to SMELL after a while, and as we are trying to sell the house, it ain't a good thing to have a smelly house!

So... I'm doing what I can to keep the 'smell' confined.  

I can't wait till I can put them out on the lawn too.... that is going to be so much fun for everyone.  *smiles*

I don't have any plans for the day.... just so RELIEVED we don't have an Open Home!  It's the first sunday in months we can just relax.

So, on that note... catch ya later.

ONWARD...

11 am:  still waiting for one of the puppy parents to arrive to see her puppy.
I'm not going to be home this afternoon, I'm going to St Lukes mall for a wander with the kids.
Stew is staying home to do some paper work.

Toby's family arrived and spent a good deal of time visiting with him/us.  They have breed Fox Terriors before, so know all about puppies.  Yaaa one less family I have to lecture on how to look after our babies!
lol

We went to St Lukes mall for lunch with Steve, Bex and boys.  It was hot, busy, crowded and all I wanted to do was get out of there!

So we didn't stay long at all.  It's a stinking hot day today!  Too hot.  SHOOT. ME. NOW.

Stew made a lovely dinner tonight.  Baked potatoes, with ham/onion/baked beans/cheese/sour cream, with some sausages on the side.  It was really nice.

Thank god, the sun is setting. It's getting more bearable now.  

End of Day:  a nice day, meeting Toby's new Mum and Sister was good too. Totally looking forward to my bed tonight!  Hot and bothered.  
nite nite

PHOTO POST!

Photos from yesterday, in no particular order:

 ABOVE:  Ready, set.... GO!

 ABOVE:  in her pretty princess dress...

 ABOVE: 'sharing'...

 ABOVE:  Stew gave me that.  He is always saying 'Yes Dear' to me!

 ABOVE:  a really nice photo of these two!

 ABOVE:  FULL HOUSE!

ABOVE:  'adult' joke presents. 

ABOVE: Archer is now having the occassional bottle... and I got to give him one.

 ABOVE:  He can point...so cute.

ABOVE:  on the left he's opening the drawer, and I said "any minute now he's going to jam his finger in it"... and seconds later... HE DID!

So, there ya go, just a few from yesterday.

The big kids (Brylee and Griffin) got disco type lights for their bedrooms from us, and they are so neat!  I took some little videos of the lights and might upload them later.

This morning I'm making waffles for the first time, we got a waffle maker from Stew's sister, so I want to try it out.

Stew and the kids will be going to the Boxing Day sales this morning.  I WILL NOT be going!  I can't imagine anything worse than braving the thousands out to get a good deal.
There is NOTHING I want enough to step foot in a mall/shop today.

I'm going to spend the day quietly here at home and just relax.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  sheesh!  I forgot to show you what I gave Stew for Christmas.... so there it is.  A boxing bag stand.  He already had the bag and gloves, he just needed the stand.

We were so lucky to get it, there was only one 'boxed, brand new one' in the country, and it was in Dunedin.  So we bought the display, shop floor one and got $150 off! 

I've never felt LESS like cooking waffles... or anything at this time of the morning!  Slightly befuddled in the head, and I only had 1 & 1/2 glasses of wine last night!

Probably just over tired I think.  So gunna have a nana nap this afternoon!

ABOVE:  Waffle making.... my kitchen was chaos this morning!  We had THREE waffle makers going at the same time.
The one we got for Christmas was a fizzer (wouldn't brown the top of the waffle), but luckily Steve and Bex bought one this morning and so did Stew, so those two worked just fine.

Griffin didn't get his PS4 as the shop was sold out in seconds, so he has to wait for them to get one in for him.  And that will be at the Boxing Day Sale price, as they had already made him pay for it, before realising they had no more!  Dicks.

All our visitors have gone now (it's 11.24 am) and we are going to have a bit of a relax. 

8.08 pm:  well it's been a lovely, quiet day!  Stew and the kids went out and about again and bought a big tv for Griffin's room for playing his PS4 (once he gets it).  I had a nap for about an hour, which was nice.

End of Day: another lovely day, summer sure is here... it's stinkin' hot and muggy.
I hate it.  Give me winter any day.
nite nite