We have a New Member of the Family!!

Well, we actually did it. WE GOT A PUPPY! Yep, that's right. We probably have been talking about getting a dog since the day we got married (well, even when we were dating). We both love dogs and have always talked about getting one when we have a home of our own. Well, that time has come now. So, we debated between multiple breeds. And, after having the "Tucker" experience, we decided that a puppy was the way we wanted to go rather than a more adult dog (call us selfish if you'd like). So, after many weeks of researching various dog breeders from coast to coast and going back and forth between a cavalier king charles spaniel and a golden retriever, we settled on a English Cream golden retriever. Our new little guy (not little for long) is so sweet and adorable. We love him and are excited to be his new "parents." Life with a puppy is a new experience and we are excited to have this experience!! Here are a few pictures of Fletch...

Happy parents

Sleeping the ride home away...

We got this huge bed at Sam's for him to grow into. He seemed to have just toppled over but he seems to really like his new bed

Cake Decorating 101

Well, today was full of new beginnings...cake decorating new beginnings that is. A friend of mine's son turned one this past week and today was his birthday party. So, a couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to make him a cake. I have helped other people make and decorate cakes before but I have never done one completely by myself. I have been wanting to take a cake decorating class for the longest time at the Hobby Lobby here but have yet to get around to it. So, I ventured out into the internet world to try to find some cute decorating ideas. I settled on a monkey cake. Well, many hours in the kitchen prepping, baking, and mixing away, the result was as such: A monkey cake which consisted of a monkey head and a sheet cake in which the monkey was placed on, and a few large cupcakes and numerous smaller cupcakes. So, it was no perfection but needless to say, I got the job done and it was fun doing it too!!

3 Hours with Tucker...

As many of you know, Todd and I love dogs and recently have been thinking about getting one. Well, one thing led to another and we actually got in touch with a breeder in the area. Upon talking with her, she had an adult male bulldog named Tucker, 4 years of age, that she would sell to us. So, upon meeting Tucker, we fell in love with him and decided to make the plunge.

We made it home (even with a pit stop to pick up some supplies in Walmart) and Tucker just explored the outside and inside of our home. he followed Todd and me everywhere through the house to learn his new surroundings. Then, about 30 minutes later, he started breathing really heavy. Todd yells from the other room, "Angela, I don't think he can breathe." I run into the family room where Tucker and Todd were and low and behold, there was the dog, struggling for a breath, Todd gagging from the smell of the dog poo on the carpet, and a puddle of pee on the tile. Poor Tucker, I thought (and Todd, haha; Apparently Todd and the smell of poo are a bad mix. What on earth is he going to do with dirty diapers when we actually have kids???).

So, I skooted the dog to the tile flooring, I cleaned up both the pee and poo and then attempted to figure out what was happening. Asthma I thought perhaps? Todd was anxiously researching on the internet and he decided it could be acid reflux. We gave him some anti-acid pill, no help. Then, Todd called the breeder. The breeder said he was having a panic attack and to give him 2 benadryl. We gave him the 2 pills, with a little struggle but we did it, and no luck after 2 hours. For 2 hours, Tucker stood and struggled for breath. We tried to pet him and comfort him but nothing seemed to work. Finally, at 11:30 p.m., we made the trek back to the breeder to give him some medicine. Within 5 minutes, he was calm and breathing much better. Todd and I both decided that Tucker just couldn't be away from his home. We decided, along with the breeder, that he needs to be in a home with other dogs.

We left the breeder's home, sad that we had to see Tucker go but glad that the night finally came to a close. We chuckled slightly in the car on the way home cause we couldn't believe a dog could have a full on panic attack for 2 straight hours!!! How exhausting! Well, we tried. And, after that whole event, we didn't even take pictures of our dog that we had for 4 hours. We still want a dog at some point so we'll see what happens.

This is kind of what he looked like...but no brown around the eyes and his mouth/nose area was black