$$$$$ - good thing he is cute :)

So this past weekend was Micco's yearly vet visit. He was also having some ear issues so we figured we'd hit it all at once. We've been using Ohio State as our vet for awhile now - and we are really happy with them - however I think they cost a *little* bit more than your average vet. I'm glad to support them though - and they provide top notch care. They are also an emergency clinic and it's been my experience that you get faster service there for your dog than you do in a human ER!

They are a teaching clinic so the first person you see if a senior student. He or she usually spends about 20 minutes with us asking questions, gathering info, etc. They then take the dog to the back where they do a thorough exam and are supervised by a managing vet (who is already graduted, been working for awhile).

Now given that some of these students are fairly young and inexperienced I am always afraid that my dogs are going to take advantage of the situation. My boys know when I mean business and can be well behaved but they can sniff out someone who is "soft" faster than they can sniff out bacon :) I have images in my head of these students flying around the back with Micco attached to the front of the leash having the time of his life.

I guess on Saturday he decided to give them a reprieve because they brought him back out to us and the student didn't look any worse for wear :) I think they may have bribed him with treats and peanut butter....

So after that the student explains how the exam went, what shots they gave, test results, etc. Micco got a clean bill of health - except for his ears - which tested positive for an infection. He had also gotten an infection on the sides of his mouth. The vet explained that this could be from rubbing his ears and then getting the infection where he was rubbing...

So we were sent home with ear cleaner, ear drops, and an antibacterial spray for the sides of his mouth. Now this brings us to the new challenge; cleaning the ears, applying the drop and then spraying the sides of his mouth. As you can imagine - this is lots of fun. He currently isn't speaking to me - all I have to do it pick up the ear cleaner and he takes off......

So quite a bit of $$$ later we have a doggie who is petty ticked off - but his ears are looking much better and all of his shots are up to date! It's a good thing he is cute and worth it- because that $$$ could have bought me a few nice pairs of shoes or a new Coach purse :)

Busy Day Off!

Today was the end of one of those wonderful 3 day weekends. Admittedly Keith and I don't accomplish as much as we should on a normal weekend, but that one extra day makes such a difference! In our defence weekdays pretty much wear us out. We drive about 150 miles round trip to Columbus at least 3 days a week. Keith usually has a lab on an extra day - so for him that is at least 600 miles a week of driving. On those days we are gone from the house for about 12 hours - so when we get home there isn't much cleaning, laundry, etc. being done. We try to keep up on weekends - but sometimes the urge to veg is just to strong.

So after spending the weekend getting our "vegging" out of the way we accomplished ALL of this today:
- drove from our house to Dayton (about an hour drive- the closest Orvis)
- picked up the dogs a VERY nice new bed at Orvis; I'll post pictures soon
- stopped at Petsmart to let the boys stretch their legs and pick out a few treats
- scoured the Half-Priced Books clearance section; I scored 16 books for $8.50
- went to Jo Ann Fabrics to pick up some scrapbook supplies; I have started a *very* small business doing custom scrapbooks and I just got a new order
- looked through Burlington Coat Factory for Keith a new jacket - nothing he liked to be found
- spent about an hour walking through the Dayton Mall; didn't find anything at the Bath and Body Works sale or Old Navy
- found a new mall called "The Greene" - for you Columbus-folks it is VERY similar to Easton
- by this time it was about 2:30 and we hadn't had lunch yet so we stopped at Cheesecake Factory
- started to head home; stopped at Walmart on the way home
- Since getting home I have: washed 3 loads of laundry, hung a new shower curtain, put groceries away, cleaned the bathroom, took the dogs to visit my parents, caught up on some of the blogs I read, and I'm about to eat the piece of cheesecake we brought home :)

All in all we had a really nice day! It was refreshing to drive somewhere besides Columbus and check out some new stuff! The boys are now fighting over the new bed- I guess we'll have to go back in a couple weeks for another one - I wanted to make sure they'd use it before I spent the $$$$ on two though!

Spring Break

Well today's lovely snowy, FREEZING weather has got Keith and I thinking about spring break. For OSU this falls in late March this year - so we are just a couple months away. This will *fingers crossed* be Keith's last spring break - next year at this time he should be graduated and working (WOOHOO) - so we figured we should take advantage of the time off.

Originally our plan was this:


A cabin in the Smoky Mountain area. Although ours probably wouldn't be quite so huge :) We had a cabin rented for last Labor Day when my great-aunt unexpectedly passed away :( We postponed the reservation and thought we'd use it for spring break. It is Labrador-friendly; so the boys were ready for vacation too!

A cabin might still happen - but the other day we saw some really great prices on flights to:


VEGAS! And the wheels started turning..... We certainly aren't big gamblers - but this is a trip we've been wanting to take for quite awhile! Keith has never been there - and the last time I was there I was only 18. Kids are hopefully in our somewhat near - but not too near future - and obviously this probably isn't the best place to take small children. Therefore we need to go soon!

Unfortunately the great priced flights that we found didn't extend till spring break - but we are holding out hope that we might find something soon that does go out that far.

So at this point we are up in the air - but cautiously doing some research about vegas. I know a few of you have been there recently - so if you have recommendations (hotels, food, shows, etc.) let me know!

We figure that if we don't find a good priced flight then we can go with the original plan. If we happen to go to Vegas for spring break - then we can take a long weekend for the Smoky Mountain trip. Either way we are getting out of town for a little bit!

Snow Day Smackdown

Some Snow Photos

Some More Old Pictures

Today is a pretty nasty day outside - mostly ice - I'd prefer snow! I was going to get some new photos - but the weather isn't cooperating - so here are some of my old favorites!

A couple baby photos

Of the dogs of course :)

Here is our "first" baby- Chewbacca

And a little bitty Micco - we aren't sure which one of these is him - but he's in there with his 2 brothers.

New couch!

So our old couch was, well, OLD. I remember when my parents bought it from Lazarus - so it's not older than I am old - but at least 10-15 years. It was a nice, comfortable couch that got us through several apartments, but it was time for a replacement. Part of the problem is two labradors who think the floor is NOT an acceptable place for sleeping. No matter how much febreezing and vacuuming I did the couch was still smelling slightly "doggie". This made our decision for leather rather easy - and I was thinking that the new sofa would be off limits to the mutts. You'll see a little later how long that lasts.

Some Christmas money finally gave us the motivation (and means) to start seriously looking. Keith had some weird attachment to the old couch (or davenport as Grandpa calls it :)) - so shopping for new was tough. He was difficult - to put it nicely - about agreeing on a new one that he liked. Last week we finally found one that we could agree on so before he changed his mind I ordered it and set up delivery. Surprisingly they were able to deliver it yesterday already - I was expecting a few week wait!

The new sofa!

One of the aforementioned dogs that's not supposed to be on the new sofa.



Micco is holding strong with his loyalty to the old couch. I haven't told him yet that as soon as the snow melts and I can get someone to pick it up - it's out of here.

Peer pressure?

When I was in middle school the "cool" thing to do was roll your jeans - I guess blogging in the new "cool" thing. So I've succumbed to the peer pressure and I'm going to give it a try.

HAHAHA - OK so I just googled "rolling jeans" and there is actually a How To article. I remember when this used to be a fine art passed down from older "hip" kids to the newbies entering middle school.....

http://www.ehow.com/how_2001590_pinch-roll-jeans.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

Hmmmm I wonder if there is a How To article for writing a blog........