Snoozin in the Clouds

I really hate breaking my blog silence with this post but it has been on my heart to share with Floyd's fans, friends and family that he crossed over the rainbow bridge 4 weeks ago.

I announced this on Instagram shortly after it happened but sharing it here has taken some time to come around to.  We have met, connected and began so many friendships (who've turned into family) from this blog and solely because of Floyd.  Our family is honored to know that Floyd brought smiles, happiness and laughter all across the world because of the blog.  And the joy he brought Floyd brought to our family is immeasurable.

Mister and I brought Floyd home with us when he was 6 weeks old.  From that day he was a constant in our life.  Always there, always sassing around, always snoozin.  As you can imagine (and anyone with dogs knows) once they are in your life, you just expect them to be there, always.  I won't lie, I still look for Floyd, expect him to be sitting at the front door window and to come slinking around the corner.  We miss him constantly.

About a month before Floyd passed away we had been at the vet for his yearly check up.  Everything checked out okay except our vet told us she could detect a heart murmur in him.  We had noticed that Floyd had been slower and seemed to be getting hotter on walks, even when it wasn't too hot out.  However, we knew his dramatic personality and simply getting older,  we didn't think too much of it.  Once we knew he had the murmur we scaled back the walks, waited until it was cooler and kept an eye on him.

The day before he passed away he began to act off and a little weird.  That morning he wouldn't come in from outside, even for a piece of grilled chicken.  We knew something was off then.  That evening he seemed slower and a little out of sorts.  He would just stand in one spot for a few moments and then move on.  I sat on the floor with him and we snuggled in a blanket.  I quickly noticed his chunky paws were cold.  His paws were ALWAYS very warm so this was concerning.  I also checked his gums and they were pretty pale (while feverishly texting my favorite dog experts and Floyd's favorite aunts, Kait and Casey).  I called the doggie urgent care and they said we could bring him in or wait until morning and take him to our vet.  Thankfully (seriously!) our vet had an opening come available that morning and she was able to get him in right away.  (Side note we love our vet and even more so now with how she helped us handle this situation.)

I went over his symptoms and recent behavior and she decided to do an ultrasound to see if he had a blockage.  She quickly came back and told me that she found a tumor in his spleen as well as lots of blood on his abdomen.  She showed me a very full vile of blood she had taken from him in the short time he was getting an ultrasound.  She said the tumor had began to burst and was trying to get blood from other areas of his body (hence the slowly down).  

I quickly (while sobbing) called Mister and he came to the vet right away.  After that we talked through the situation with our vet.  She explained that there was a VERY good chance the tumor was cancerous and even if they were able to remove it, the cancer would most likely come back within 6 months.  She also advised that there was a good chance he would need a blood transfusion and he may not survive that.  And even it wasn't cancer, again he would likely need a transfusion and there could also be other tumors in his body that were cancerous. 

This news + the heart murmur + his age + his anxiety issues (which had gotten a lot worse in the past couple of years) we made the hardest decision of our lives.

I imagine no one that has ever been in that position feels like it's easy but we knew it was the best decision for him.  We did not want to suffer, to be in pain and to be released of his anxiety.  

 Floyd was the best bubba to us and so so so loved by so many but no one harder than Mister and I.  We still miss him and talk about him (and in his 'voice') every day.  We try to comfort ourselves knowing he is snoozin in the sun all he wants, eating all the peanut butter he wants and getting alllll the belly rubs; living his best life.

The grief comes in waves but we are doing our best to get through it.  It is extremely hard to get used to how quiet our house is without him (sans that almost 2 year old we have ;) ).  

Thank you to all of you for your wonderful messages, prayers and stories of remembering Floyd.  We are so grateful for all of his 'fans' and the love the blog world has always shown us.

Weekend Wrap Up: No Plans

I haven't done one of these in a while and the irony is, we didn't have anything planned this weekend worth even reporting on BUT we had a lot of quality family fun time and there are always good pictures to go along with that!

Friday: We had a little play time after LM's dinner and off to bed for him.  Fridays are rough on the poor guy, he plays so hard all week and usually crashes on Fridays.

Mister and I made this Mexi Meatloaf in the insta pot.  SO good and it makes a ton, I definitely recommend it.

Saturday: LM had gymnastics first thing and we ran around, rolled around and explored the gym.

Afterwards he and I ran some errands (Target, duh) and back home for play time. 

In an effort to get him outside but not in the soaking wet grass, we went on a run before lunch time.

While he was snoozin, my mom and I went on yet another jean short hunt.  I had ordered these from Nordstrom Rack and they were SO short it wasn't even funny.  I didn't find any other ones either.  I think I'm giving up.  The shorts I want are a unicorn that will not be found.  We then hit up Trader Joe's for some goodies (everything but the bagel seasoning for LIFE).  

That evening we headed out to dinner with NaNEE and LM, once again, almost ate more than we did.

Sunday: We headed to church but got there a little too late so LM's class was full.  Instead he and I hung out in the atrium running around and eating snacks.

Once home from church and errands we played outside and watching LM collect rocks and play with his broom-two of his favorite things.

We rounded out the day with a neighbor birthday party and grilling out with NaNEE.

(LM NEVER snuggles us in bed so I treasured these quick few minutes he sat with me on Sunday morning.)

 

See, no real plans all weekend long but we chocked it full.

l of goodies and snuggles and the kisses that LM has been giving us lately, which are THE best.

How was your weekend?

18 Months!

LM is 18 months old!

We are so proud of him!  He is becoming such a sweet little man.  So funny and silly all the time.

Everyday is more and more fun with him.  Recently he is talking up a storm.  He has 20+ words at the moment and is exceptional at repeating.  Most importantly, he's started saying 'mama' more and more often.  And it's my favorite thing in the world.  He says 'hi dog' and 'hi dad' alllll the time which are also adorable.  He is a true little boy and very obsessed with balls.  He says 'Baalllll?' as a question and statement all in one.  I love it.

His is also very obsessed with blueberries and hearing him say 'blueberry' is so cute.

He is a busy, busy man.  He does not stop moving. All day long.  Until he crashes.
Our sitter will tell us that sometimes she finds him taking a quick power nap on the floor in the middle of the other kids playing.
He goes goes goes until the moment he's in bed and then crashes.  

We recently enrolled him in a gymnastics class and he's loving it!  They have little miniature gymnastic equipment (bars, beams, rings, etc) and they work on different skills, singing and a very light curriculum.

He is a very curious soul and loves to wander around when we're outside and just take it all in.  We were at the park recently and he spent a good 30 minutes just walking back and forth on the trail investigating everything around him.

 We recently introduced him to Elmo before bed while he has his milk and he is starting to enjoy it.  He says 'ELMO' as soon as we put jammies on and head for milk and the sofa.  He has yet to be a big tv kid (which is 100000% okay with us) but I think Elmo may be becoming a favorite.

At his 18 month check up he was 22.6lbs and 31".  He is built just like his papa...tall, long and lean.  Knock on wood he is a very good eater! He will eat anything we put in front of him.  When he's getting teeth (working on #s 15 and 16 right now!) in he is a little more picky but otherwise he's a good eater. I'm pretty sure if we would let him survive on blueberries, bananas, carrots and green beans he would.  And the occasional cheese stick because who doesn't love cheese sticks?
 

First Family Vacation!

Last week we took our first family vacation up to North Eastern Ohio and it was SO fun!

Our sitter was on vacation so we decided it was as good as time as any to pack up and head out of town for a few days.

Our main objective was to get to a little bit of water but also not be in the car for too long because we weren't sure how LM would do.

Thankfully we are less than 4 hours from Lake Erie so that is where we landed!

We stayed in Port Clinton, Ohio and we very centrally located to Catawba Island, Kelley's Island a Put In Bay.  

Neither Mister nor I had ever been up to Lake Erie so we did a bit of research before we went and talked to some friends that knew the area to get some ideas of things to do.  We also left our agenda open to be able to do whatever we wanted and adapt to LM's needs.  

We packed up the car Monday morning and hit the road!  LM was a CHAMP in the car and slept the entire time.  Mister and I listened to The Magnolia book and if we didn't love Chip and Joanna enough before, we are full on obsessed now.  We just love them.  

We pulled right into town and had lunch at a cute spot on the water.

We settled into the hotel and LM was thrilled to have a big ol bed to play on.

 Later that afternoon we took the ferry over to Kelley's Island.  It was adorable!  It is teeny tiny island but oh so cute and a great little afternoon trip.  

 We found a little beach to walk onto and dipped LM's toes in the sand and the water, he seemed to love it!

Tuesday we woke up slowly (LM slept until after 8!) and we took a BIG ol ferry over to Put In Bay.  We've heard many stories that PIB is party city but mid June in the middle of week and the middle of the day it was totally calm and pretty.  We took LM to a park we found and he had his first big swing on a swing set (don't worry I took approximately 1000 photos).  

We had another water side lunch and LM had his lunch reclined in his stroller in a park...rough life! 

Funny story, we forgot one part of his bottles and didn't realize it until we were already on the island.  Mister and I stood and looked at each other for a good 60 seconds like what in THE heck do we do?!  Thankfully we managed to find a hole in the wall grocery and they had ONE bottle there and I snagged it up and we were good to go!  Adventures in parenting! 

That evening we strolled around Lakeside, walked out on the pier and took in the beautiful weather.  

 LM also had his dinner in a park that night...vacation rules!

Though our trip was short it was perfect and we loved experiencing so many firsts with LM!

Weekend Wrap Up : Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Now that we have LM it seems are weekends go SO quickly but also nice, slow and drawn out all at the same time...that's the part I love, soaking up all the snuggles and smiles.

Friday we did pretty much nothing except give LM a bath and laugh hysterically at him kicking his legs in the water so ferociously.  He LOVES to kick his legs and now that he's figured out how to do it in the tub it's a game changer.  

Wild and crazy Friday night ;)

Saturday LM practiced his new skill of rolling over some time in the middle of the night and we woke up to him SNOOOOZIN away on his belly happy as a clam.

We then hit up bootcamp and mama got a well deserved pedicure.   We then spent the rest of the day running errands as a family (which we love doing now that it's nice out and no longer flu season!)

One of our errands included a stock up trip at Trader Joes which turned into 'what delicious things can we find for dinner?'  We found all the yummy things including curry chicken tenders, roasted veggies and our favorite rice from there.

I did the bi annual switch out of my closet and put away my winter clothes and got out the summer fun ones.  Which led to me realize I need some new spring and summer clothes...anyone have any recent favorites?  Last year I clearly spent my summer in maternity clothes and did not purchase a thing...mama needs some new clothes! 

Sunday started nice and slow and with cleaning all the things.
Then we headed to LM's very first Reds game!

 It was a tad chilly but we had a GREAT time and he did SO well!
He even got a certificate for it being his first game.

 Have a great week, friends!

Hoppy Easter!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter, we sure did!

It was sunshiny and great weather for most of the day and so we tried to spend lots of time outside.  LM even got to feel the grass on his toes for the first time!

Holidays with kids are just so fun!

The Easter Bunny may or may not have ordered LM's Easter basket back in February and started filling it shortly after.   He got lots of these books, this adorable Peek A Boo-laphant, swim hat and swim diaper and some teething goodies!

We spent our weekend catching up with family and watching LM perform his new trick of rolling over!!

He really propels himself over and then is so proud of himself and just looks around.  And sometimes he just lays his head down and goes to sleep...whatever works for you buddy.

The bow tie just really gets me.
Also have you ever tried to iron an oxford onesie?  It's not for the faint of heart.

 My cute boys in pink!

Happy Easter everyone!
And happy Earth Week-go recycle something!

Floyd's New Role {An Announcement}

Floyd has some exciting news to share with you today...

he's getting a new best friend...

Eeeee! We are so excited to announcement we are growing our family.

 As I said, Floyd is thrilled, as you can tell by his face.

or not quite sure what is about to happen to his world...take your pick.

As for a few details, we are due the end of November...Black Friday specifically (when will I do my shopping?!)
So far (knock on wood) everything has gone well and I've felt pretty good most days.
We are very excited and loving this new time of life.

I will be back later this week with more details or if you have questions send them my way!

I promise this won't turn into a baby blog BUT it is the focus of life right now so there will be some baby posts coming up :)

*Special shout out to Hannah for taking these pictures for us!

Thanksgiving

We hope everyone had a fabulous, tasty and relaxing Thanksgiving.

I love Thanksgiving (sans the yummy food) it really signifies the holiday season for me. 

I was so thankful to start that off with our Friendsgiving and continue it on with Thanksgiving with our families.  

Wednesday I was able to get out of work early and squeeze a 4 mile run in before we headed home.  Wanted to get an early start on all of those calories ;)

Thursday my mom and I whipped up a Waldorf salad and headed over to Mister's house for a very, very delicious Thanksgiving dinner.  My MIL out did herself and really put on a fabulous meal.  It was a lovely day full of food and good ol chit chat.  We rounded the night about with going to see The Mockingjay Part 2....it was good.  Long but good but I do think the other ones were better...

Friday my mom and I headed out to shop.  We Black Friday shop every year and this was no different.   We are not the 3am shoppers but we sure put in a full day.  We spent approximately 12 hours shopping and only had 1 parking spot stolen from us.  

(I almost bought this purse as a treat to myself but I couldn't decide if I would tire of the maroon.)

We came home and I continued my shopping with some online deals and I am proud to say, I am just about done with my Christmas shopping.

Saturday we lounged around and headed back home in the afternoon.  We saw Creed that evening and it was GOOD! If you want to get pumped up...go see that movie.

Sunday was all about church and Christmas card photo shoot.  Floyd was having none of the photos but we did manage to get a few that are worth using.  

You know what they say about working with dogs and children...

We ended our weekend with Sunday night dinner with friends...one of my most favorite ways to end a weekend.   

Cheers to a new week and December starting! 

Weekend Wrap Up : Mamas

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mamas (and dogs mamas!) out there!

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating ours around these parts.

We hosted a Mother's Day Luncheon on Saturday and our weekend was geared towards honoring them all weekend long!

Friday night my mama came up to help me get ready for the luncheon.

I love having help in the kitchen and if it's my mama, it's even better.

Saturday I squeezed in a quick bootcamp and then it was prep time for the luncheon.

We whipped up all sorts of goodies and had a full spread.

I wasn't able to taste any (stupid no sugar) but there were rave reviews on the Chocolate Mousse Pie and the Apple Fritter Cake. 

We had a fabulous day spending time with our families and eating yummy food!

Fun tidbit : Trader Joe's gave my mom these flowers for free because it was her first time there!
Sunday my mama and I shopped until we dropped and found some goodies.
(Loving this tank we picked up!  And this one that Mister gave me for Mother's Day)

Mister and I rounded out the day planting the knock out rose and mint his mom brought us!
I will say it again...if our yard could be all flowers, veggie and herbs we would be really happy!

Merry Monday

My tree is still up and I am still in the Christmas spirit.

So Merry Monday it is.

Until Wednesday when it's birthday time around these parts!

But first, our Christmas...was great!

We had a fabulous time with family and friends and even got some relaxation time in too.

We spent part of our time off in Tennessee and managed to start and finish all of Serial there and back.

We are now so, so obsessed and cannot stop thinking about it.  Have you listened?  What are your theories??

Floyd was all about the Christmas spirit last week and since then has been resting.  Seriously, while Mister and I were exchanging gifts he put himself BACK to bed.  

And he has been napping every chance he can since then. 

Mister, my mama and everyone spoiled me rotten this year.

Funnily enough, my mom and I each gave each other Kindle Fires...pink, of course. 

Mister gave me a Garmin watch to run with that I am so excited to test out! And also some super adorable shoes that I am excited to wear when I do not have my running shoes on.

Christmas morning I was making coffee and turned around and Floyd was sitting by the gifts oh so cute.  His gma gave him a fabulous new, fluffy, comfy bed that he is VERY excited about!

And after three Christmases, early birthday celebrations, four states and quite a few days of travel...coming home was a bit tight in the car.  Mr. Floyd was NOT happy.  Thankfully it was not too terribly long in the car and Floyd still had one whole seat with a fleece bed in it to himself. 

And that was our Christmas.  I swear Mister and I participated but we were having SO much fun that we did not manage to get ONE single picture together.  Plus Floyd is cuter.

Hope everyone had a FABULOUS Christmas holiday!! 

Two more days until 30 over here....eeeeeek. 

Gobble Gobble

Going back to the regular grind of Monday to Friday work is extremely hard after a nice holiday break.

We had a really great Thanksgiving at home and I am not particularly fond of seeing my desk today.

Wednesday Floyd and I packed up to and headed home to see Gma to surprise her.  She thought the three of us were coming that afternoon after Mister got off work but oh no no.  Floyd and I pulled a fast one on her and showed up early.  She was thrilled and so was I because I LOVE surprises.

We spent the day baking and cooking our hearts our for Thanksgiving.

Thursday I woke up and ran my own turkey trot of 5.5 miles to burn a few calories before feasting.

We spent the day with Mister's family and ate all sorts of deliciousness.

Friday was all about shopping.  My mom and I are not ones to miss out on Black Friday deals and this year was no different.  We logged a successful 11 hours of shopping.  Mom saved a record amount of money at Kohls and we also hit up deals at Old Navy, Target and Bath and Body Works.  We left no deal unturned.

I even came home and did some more online shopping.  #oops

Saturday we hit up our adorable downtown shops for Small Business Saturday.  

I've always worked for (and loved!) small business so the Saturday after Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite days of the year.  I LOVE supporting small businesses and we made sure to do our part.

That afternoon was dedicated to all things deco mesh.  We made adorable wreaths and bows for the mailboxes.  I am now wondering why I haven't deco meshed more in life.  

After crafting hour we set to work and wrapped up all of our deals.  Nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit more than wrapping.  I love all the options of paper and bows and just letting my creativity flow.

Floyd was SUPER helpful.  So helpful he chunky pawed a few things I had to rewrap.

Sunday we packed up and headed back home.  I managed to squeeze a run in because it was 68* outside and I just could not pass that up.  Floyd and I put our outside decorations out and whipped up this delicious dish for dinner.  

Floyd then put himself to bed at a ungodly early hour because after a holiday weekend, he just can NOT EVEN.

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and happy Cyber Monday! Hope you get some good deals! I know I am planning on a doing a bit more damage...

Floyd Reports : A Weekend at Gmas

I mentioned yesterday that we have an extra special guest poster today.

Mr. Floyd is going to take the stage, with the help of his Gma, to tell the tales of his adventures at her house.  You know, what happens at Gmas, stays at Gmas.

He barked, she typed.

Take it away, folks!

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Floyd here! My Mom keeps forgetting to tell you people where I stay when she and Papa are out kicking their heels up on their out of town trips. You know I can’t stay by myself, I am way too “high maintenance” for that! On Thursday night my Papa and I met my Papaw and Grammy in Lawrenceburg  for them to take me to my Gma’s house in Madison for the weekend. I did not have any idea where I was going (because no one told me). I knew something was up and being the dog with the best smeller in town I was on a mission to find out. 

When the car stopped we were at Gma’s house in Madison! She is the best Gma in the world. I was so excited to see Gma because she spoils me rotten! Let the party begin!  

Sophie, Gma’s dog was there to welcome me. In the house we went, the smells at Gma’s are out of this world. She has the best treats and water with magic sprinkles in the world! (More about treats and water with magic sprinkles later). After getting my luggage in the house and settling me in, it was bedtime. You all know I need my beauty rest! 

WAIT A MINUITE I had to check things out at Gma’s. Something might have changed since my last visit. You know new trash in the trash can, treats, Sophie’s dog food and the water with the magic sprinkles in it. Gma and I had a talk about not emptying the trash cans, stop grabbing her socks and taking off with them and sharing Sophie’s dog food. Then she gave me a smooch, a dog treat and put me to bed. 

Friday and Saturday were a blast, but Gma always gives me chores to do! She believes that dogs have to earn their way in life, you know responsibility and all those things that make us better dogs. My chores were to chew a bully stick while laying on my cushy bed in the living room under the ceiling fan. 

But that’s not all I had to take every step that Gma or Sophie took, you know I wouldn’t want to miss something important! I had to lay in the sun, take a walk on the golf course and eat treats every time I came in from outside, even if I didn’t potty! I luvvvvv her dog treats! Sophie is so lucky to get them every day!  

Oh and don’t forget Gma’s talks, and belly rubs. Gma likes for me to listen when she talks to me, don’t’ tell her, but sometimes I groan or grumble and pretend like I really know what she is talking about! She likes that! 

For all of my dog friends, there is something special about the water at Gma’s house. I think she puts magic sprinkles in it. 

On Saturday, I had to do my chores all over again! I was so tired that afternoon I took a nap on the bed that my Mom and Papa sleep on. 

It smelled just like them. 

Then I got the brainy idea that I would try out Gma’s bed and guess what? 

It was the best bed ever!  Gma’s bed was a great place to nap…just call me Goldilocks. It was just right! 

Then came Sunday, I knew something was up when Gma started packing my suitcase. We were going to take a road trip! I love to ride! Gma and I met my parents to take me home. I love to stay at Gma’s house, but for now the party is over!  Hey Gma “when we gonna do it again?? 

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And that is precisely why Floyd sleeps for 3 days after he has visited Gma. 

Who votes that Floyd and Gma should write more posts?

Weekend Wrap Up : Girly

Our weekend was all sorts of crazy, jam packed fun.

Hence why you are getting a weekend wrap up on Tuesday.

We spent the weekend celebrating my fabulous Mama and her birthday!

We are all about birthdays in our house and hers is no exception. 

The weekend was filled to the max but we managed not to miss a beat with our schedule.

Friday night we headed to Cooper's Hawk for dinner to celebrate.

And back home for present time!

Saturday we were up bright and early for a fun filled day.

 First stop was the Princess Diana exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
Shamefully that was only the second time I'd been to the Museum, we really need to make an effort to go more.

They wouldn't let you take pictures inside BUT, let me just tell you, the exhibit was AMAZING.

I'm talking tiaras, dresses, photos and HER WEDDING DRESS. With the 25' train to boot.  It was incredible to see and so well displayed. 

After dreaming about becoming a princess, we were off to be pampered like one.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the spa getting massages and pedicures.

And yes, they were as lovely as they sound.

And if all that wasn't girly enough for us, I had a race that night, aptly named 'Girls Night Out Five Miler'!

It was the inaugural year of the race and it was a great turn out and a GREAT race. Nothing like a quick five miles on a Saturday night.  I beat my own time from a few weeks ago and ran my fastest mile ever.  Not the smartest decision during a race but it helped me achieve a pretty decent time overall so I guess it worked out!

*please excuse the after photo here.  News flash - Ohio is SUPER humid.

Plus any race that serves wine at the end is a winner in my book!

Sunday was all about shopping.
You know, what Mom and I do best.
We made sure not to miss the Nordstrom sale.
I'll show you those goodies later ;)

Come back tomorrow for an extra special guest poster, I promise you won't want to miss it!