We need a babysitter??

Yes we do! Well, actually its more like we need a puppysitter. Silas has bad separation anxiety and gets diarrhea when we leave him alone. I had to work today and Kevin had to be gone for most of the day for his work so Mikala and her friend KF came over to babysit for us. They said he was good and every time I texted them (which was only like twice) he was asleep, it sounded like they had it easy. The three of them must have done a lot of playing because after i got home he crashed. I even made myself some lunch and ate it in the livingroom and he did not move off his bed. It is nice to know he didn't have to be locked up all day and to come home and not have to clean up poop so THANK YOU Mikala and KF!

I found some very random pictures the girls must have taken while they were here. I'll post the ones with Silas in them.

We gave him a bath last night so he would be all fresh and handsome for them.

Snow snow and more snow

We had no snow at all until after Christmas and now I hear its supposed to just keep coming. I was hoping we would go all winter without any snow but mother nature decided otherwise. Since Kevin had to go do a funeral this morning Silas and I decided we would try to help him out by shoveling. We got almost all of the driveway (not the part by the street) and half of the sidewalk done and then we were tired and cold and decided to leave the rest for Kevin. Silas and I were so tired we had to snuggle on the couch and take a nap.

He started off by my feet

Then on my ankles

Then he wedged himself behind me

Christmas

I had the best Christmas ever this year! 1. I got a puppy. 2. I got a steam mop. 3. I got a pressure canner. 4. I got a bunch of other stuff I really wanted. Kevin got some good stuff too. Although we had a good Christmas we are very ready for the season to be over so that we can take down the tree and decorations because Silas thinks they are things for him to eat/destroy. I think we are going to take them all down once Kevin gets home today.

Christmas at Nana's part one

Thursday we took Silas to the vet for his first exam. He did great, didn't even flinch when he got his two shots, but poor guy has got some problems. He has diarrhea, dewclaws, a loose knee, separation anxiety, and a hernia. We have our hands full with him. Saturday was Christmas at Nana's and I think Sully and Silas had the most fun out of everyone. Sully wore Silas out! He slept from 9pm-8am with only one potty break and has been napping most of today. I am horrible at remembering my camera and when I do remember it I never take any pictures so here are the ones I did manage to get.

Joshy and Silas

Joshy and Silas

Liv and myself

He hasn't moved off his blanket all day

 

Sleep?

Yesterday we decided to not let Silas nap after 7pm to see if it would help him sleep at night. He was so tired and by 8pm we gave up trying to keep him awake. At ten we were exhausted and he was exhausted so we put him in his crate and went to bed. Not even one minute later he was barking and crying non-stop. Kevin got down on the floor and laid next to the crate, didn't help. Kevin got in the crate with him and they both fell asleep for an hour but when Kevin tried to get out Silas woke up. Kevin broke down and let Silas sleep in bed with us and Silas slept all night except for a few quick bathroom breaks. Today was also the first day he has had to spend time home alone.He was alone two times and he did great not one accident! He wasn't home alone more than 2 1/2 hours but we were still impressed and hope he can keep it up. 

Kevin loves him

This is his favorite spot

This is his second favorite spot

Oh Silas

I thought Friday night was bad but Silas found a way to top it. I had to work late Saturday and didn't get home until 10:30pm. We (and by we I mean me) took Silas out at 11, 11:30, and 12 then we went to bed and all the 'fun' began. He cried nonstop for 30 minutes so I made Kevin take him out so we wouldn't have a repeat of last nights poop mess. After he took him and put him back in the crate Silas cried and barked ALL night. Since he was awake I took him out once every 50-60 minutes. Apparently this wasn't enough because he peed in his crate. After I cleaned everything up and took him out I gave him to big towels to sleep with because I didn't want him to have an accident on the last blanket we had for him. At 4:45am I finally broke and after I took him out I put his living room bed (an old comforter of mine) in the crate for him and when I put him in he didn't whine at all he laid down and finally fell asleep. Maybe he was just extremely tired or maybe he just wanted a more comfortable bed either way it gave me a total of almost 3 hours of sleep. Today we are going to puppy proof the bedroom, give him a bath, and take all of his nasty blankets to the laundromat to be washed and pray tonight is a much easier one.

What did we get ourselves into?

Silas had a bit of a rough first night. I haven't slept well the past couple nights ans was really hoping it would be an easy first night. Was I ever wrong! Kevin went to play poker with his friends so Silas and I went to bed at 9. I put him in his crate and he whined for maybe three minutes until I turned the light off and got settled in my bed. Kevin thought he would be home around 11 but texted me around 10 to say he was going to stay longer so at 10:50 I took Silas outside for a potty and poop break and then immediately put him back in his crate. He didn't cry or whine at all. Kevin got home around 1 and took Silas out for another bathroom break but instead of putting him in his crate he lat him stay out in the living room for 30 minutes (mistake 1) then put him in his crate without letting him out for one last potty break. (mistake 2)  This time Silas cried and cried and cried. It was breaking our hearts and I just wanted to bring him into bed with us but we decided to stay strong and not let him sleep in bed until he is fully potty trained. They lady at the shelter told us to let him cry in his crate for 30 minutes then take him out for a potty break and put him right back in. So after 20 or 25 minutes I couldn't take it so I got up to take him out and smelled something not so pleasant. He had pooped in his crate and somehow got it every where within a foot and a half radios of his crate. So at 2 am both Kevin and I were up cleaning dog poop for an hour. After that I took Silas out about every 60 minutes and he pooped every time so his tummy must not have been feeling so great. At 7 I let him get up for breakfast and have been taking him out about every 45 minutes. Right now he is curled up napping against my legs so I am typing and cuddling my little love. 

Welcome to the family

Kevin and I are happy to announce the adoption of Silas Nigel the newest member of our family. Christmas came early in our house and Kevin bought me a puppy. Silas is a 3 month old german shepherd golden retriever mix.

On the 6th day of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me BRAND NEW PAMPERED CHEF STONEWARE!!!! So of course on Friday I had to make cookies so I could use it. Looking back on my childhood I remember making Christmas cookies as being a very fun, stress free experience. As an adult it was the exact opposite. The first batch I made I used Charlene's recipe (hers are delicious and actually taste Christmasy) but the dough didn't turn out, it was the consistency of peanut butter which is not what you want for cut out cookies. So I started over and used my great grandma's recipe and after a few trial and error cookies I finally got it right! It took me 2 hours to make the cookies and another hour to clean up my kitchen. I guess its common knowledge that you are supposed to tip basically everyone around Christmas time. I didn't know this until about 2 years ago and have never done it until this year. Since I don't think it would be safe to just leave money out I'm going to leave our garbage men, recycle men, and mail lady a nice Christmas treat. (no I didn't give them the yucky cookies. I picked out the best of the best for them)

This is what happens at Saturday night dinners. Dance off!

The better cookies

The treats I will leave out in the morning

  

On the second day of Christmas...

... my true love gave to me a new blog background. It is December 2nd which means it is time to decorate the blog for Christmas! I waited until December just for you Uncle Brian. There are so many cute things to add to the blog that I may just have to keep adding and changing things until Christmas is over.

Ball Pictures

You can click on any picture on the blog to make it bigger.

I'm not sure exactly what Kevin is doing. Fixing his belt?

This is my confused face.

I told Kevin I wanted a "fun" picture so he should dip me. I then learned Kevin is not very good at dipping  but look how cute my shoes are!

Please note the gorgeous job Brooke did on my hair!

My wreath!

As an apology they also sent me a giant thing of mistletoe.