Just a Heads Up!

Warning to all Utah drivers:

My son, Eric, just received his Learner's Permit today and is now legal to drive with a parent or Guardian. I am his legal parent....UGH!

We were at the DMV for nearly 3 1/2 hours this afternoon for him to take his test. It was a VERY LONG day! In the two hours that we waited for them just to call his number, only 3 numbers had gone before us. VERY FRUSTRATING!!

But it was a happy day when he passed the test. You have to get an 80 to pass and the first go-around he got a 78. He missed it by one question. He decided to take it again and he got an 88. Yipee! I think if I had to go back the next day, I would have had to do something drastic. (I'm not sure what yet)......Luckily, we don't have to!

But then it hit me as we were walking out the door. Ummmm.....now I have to let him drive my car.....with me in it.....and I'll have no control on the passenger side. Maybe it wasn't so great that he passed.

Now that I think about it.....since I can't see myself letting him drive with me in the car, perhaps it isn't as bad as it appears. And while Todd thinks he's going to be the one to drive with him, realistically, he's never home.

Okay, nevermind. I guess there doesn't need to be a warning after all.

(Except that I'm pretty sure that at some point, he will be driving, against my wishes)....

So, just incase....you've been warned. Watch out!

The Cone of Shame Nightmare!

This is what I found when I came home from church last week.....See if you can recognize it.

Yes, it's true. My dog (monster puppy) chewed up yet another cone! He was of course in his kennel while we were gone and somehow he pulled off the cone, only this time it was attached to his collar (which appartently was too lose).....so guess what else got chewed up?

Yes, this is the remains of his collar.....all three pieces of it. So, here's the question......should I now be proud of my puppy for being so smart and cone-savvy, or should I be angry that I now have to go purchase ANOTHER cone (and now a collar)? (I haven't decided which to be yet)

At any rate, here he is sporting his new cone....yes cone #3! We got this one at Petsmart. And by the way, doesn't it go without saying that since pet stores sell cones, by the dozens, actually, in a variety of colors, mind you, that puppies everywhere are destroying their cones?! (Just thought I'd bring that to everyone's attention).

I know, I know....he's still cute, isn't he? But he's a little terror!

Well, this story has a happy ending after all. That was a week ago, and yesterday when we came home from church, we freed Ziggy of his cone and today he is cone-less! HHAAAAAAAA (think melodic sounds, operatic, even, and triumphant beauty).....that is me singing Halelujiah!

We survived the week with the 3rd cone (barely). I failed to mention that the first night of his 3rd cone, while Todd was walking him, Ziggy hit some snow with his head and it chipped off the top half of the cone. We taped it up and I'm happy to report that it lasted another 7 days!

SO.....Life is good. Puppy is healed. Yippee!! WE ARE CONE-FREE!

Have a great day! :)

The Cone of Shame (#2)

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's 2010. Just about when the year is winding down, I'll have retrained my brain to write the new number on my checks, and then it will be 2011. It's amazing how quickly the time is going.

We had a good Christmas and I'll try and post about that a little later, but I wanted to write about this first.

Our little Ziggy started the new year off by being neutered. And once again, we are dealing with the "cone of shame." (Okay, I didn't make that up, it's in the movie "Up," and my kids are constantly referring to it as that......)

Unfortunately my little puppy already chewed up the first cone, (within 24 hours of his arrival home) so we're on our second one. Here is a picture of Ziggy sporting his new cone (well....the SECOND new one).

He looks innocent enough, doesn't he? (A likely story).....

Doesn't he look so depressed? He's actually doing quite well with it and hopefully this one will last longer than the first.

I don't think it was his fault that it got chewed up completely (am I making excuses for my dog now?) His jaw got caught on the lower half of the cone and he couldn't get it out, so what's a dog supposed to do? Chew, right? I think I could have saved the cone at that point, which I thought I did, but I had to leave, so I put it back on him and left him in his kennel. Well, in its then weakened state, he got it off again, and while I was gone, he chewed it beyond repair. So I had to call the vet and go get another one. (And by the way, I asked them if this was common, and just so you know.....it's NOT). Lovely!

Here are some pictures of the chewed up cone.....

So, there you have it. Please....if this has happened to anyone else and their pet, I would love to hear about it. If not, then if it does happen to you in the future, you know you're not alone! :)

Happy New Year!