Accidents Happen..

WARNING: According to my co-worker, I am one of "those" people that treat my dog like he's my child. If that bothers you butt out.

Recently we got that phone call that all parents dread. My heart stopped when Pet Smart called to inform us that Wrigley was being taken to the Emergency Vet's office. During a routine grooming the large pad on his paw was cut clean open. I know accidents happen but I felt so bad for him. He was in a strange place with strange people and he was hurt. Thankfully they cleaned and bandaged him up. We were on our way in less than an hour (much faster than the ER!)

I'm not sure who was more upset in this picture. Poor Thing.

Needless to say, he spent the next two weeks being his spoiled little self. 

Playing Catch Up

The Etu's have been staying busy! We've had so much happening this winter its hard to keep up. I'll start in chronological order with our weekend in Auburn, (My husband's favorite place in Alabama) Roll Tide.

Baby Sister Graduated!

We drove to Auburn on a Saturday early in December to watch my baby sister graduate. My baby sister is a grown adult woman responsible for teaching other people's children. When did this happen? What happened to my orange popsicle eating, punch bugging, Barney loving baby sister? I feel like an old lady watching her and all her friends graduate and become (married) adults. Congratulations little girl you deserve everything the world has to offer! 

 After the graduation ceremony, we went to check into our hotels and get ready for dinner! Unfortunately for us, being from out of town we got lost, got a speeding ticket and was late for the celebratory dinner. Brian is convinced that someone reported two lost Alabama fans and that is why we got a ticket. That there was no way we were doing 75 mph in a 55 mph zone after having just made a right turn. I would have a picture of the incident to post but Brian made me put my phone down and act like it was a serious situation.

A very wise decision was made at dinner to celebrate with a night out on the town. Hopefully, all pictures taken after dinner have been deleted and will never show back up. I'm not sure what got into this 26 year old girl who never really "partied" herself, but for some reason shots sounded like a fantastic idea. So.. 3 bars later (really two different bars but I guess we didn't get enough of the first bar and had to back track) this girl gets kicked out of her first bar. I'd like to have some awesome reason like I danced my tail off and worked everyone up into a frenzy but I'll just leave it with I was too drunk. I won't go into all the details but I haven't drank since that night and I don't know if I will ever be able to again. I'm convinced I was roofied and that the 234563 shots I took didn't have anything to do with it. Lessons learned a little late in life are lessons remembered!

Why not follow that up with CHRISTMAS!

This was our 2nd Christmas as a married couple and it was filled with so much fun and family I can't possibly blog about it all. But I'll try and hit the high points.

Santa almost didn't make it. That's right, Wrigley chewed holes in his Christmas sweater and was #dogshamed for it. Can't you tell he feels really terrible about it?



We added to our decorations this year. Brian contributed this year by adding his childhood tree ornaments and I got all crafty!

I hope our kids enjoy our tree as much as Wrigley did.

New Years Eve!

We brought the New Year in with our favorite cousins in Nashville. We shopped and ate all weekend/holiday long. We experienced Chuy's for the first time (LOVE) and had so much fun. We're looking forward to the next time we're all able to get together!



Cousin's Weekend

My mothers side of the family has a tradition of what we like to call Cousin's Weekend. We like to get together randomly throughout the year and spend time together. Cousin's Weekend this summer was drastically different for myself and Brian. We had the opportunity to babysit my cousin's 3 kids for the entire weekend! I picked them up Friday after work (thankfully we have an SUV now) and headed to the big city for the weekend.

From Left to Right: Abbie Trip and Kate

 The weekend started with pizza and a power outage on our side of town. Thankfully, my parents still had power and we were able to relocate the party until bedtime. I have to admit we were a little nervous when we got home with 3 kids and no power. It wasn't the best start to the weekend but we managed to pull through the first night.

Our poor dog isn't used to little people around and was so upset that they weren't as excited about him as he was about them. It took a while for us to convince the kids that he does not want to eat their toys. Well not all of them at least, he was eying a few of them.

We spent the remainder of the weekend doing absolutely everything we could to tire these kids out. As a Government Contractor to NASA we got into The Space and Rocket Center for free! They really enjoyed seeing the Rockets. Abbie had to convince Lauren (my sister) to come along for the fun. When my sister inquired as to what was at The Space and Rocket Center, all 3 kids shouted "ROCKETS"! And Brian taught the twins how to play Mario Brothers (the original) on the Wii.  

If anything this experience has taught Brian and myself that these first few years of marriage (without kids) should be treasured. These kids are some of the most well behaved kids I've ever been around. However, the feeling we both got when we dropped them off Sunday afternoon, is one we will never forget.

Please note that Trip put himself in the dog crate.

Fool Me Once...

My senior healthcare teacher taught me that you can never say never in the medical field. Well you apparently can't say it about puppies either. Up until about 2 weeks ago I could say that Wrigley has never chewed anything up (with the exception of his toys). His toys are his business so if he decides to d-fluff them all that's his choice.

Early in the week I went to plug my phone in before bed to charge it and was shocked to find this...

 Imagine my surprise when I found it chewed to bits behind my night stand. I was more worried than anything else that he might have swallowed a piece or maybe gotten shocked a bit. He knew he was in trouble because he hid under the bed. At this point he was the Brian's dog and he needed to let Rigs know that this behavior is unacceptable. I wasn't too upset because we had a few extra cords since Apple products use the same ones.

So about two  nights later (sometime between my shower and climbing into bed) I am once again surprised to find this...

I would imagine it would have taken longer to chew through the cord in several different places but apparently not. All he needed was about a 20 minute window to completely ruin my night. Once again Brian needed to straighten out his dog. Between fits of laughter, he was able to let Wrigley know that he was a "bad boy". Wrigley gets his feelings hurt real easy so normally all you have to do is yell "bad boy" and he hides under whatever is close and trembles. 

I guess maybe I should have been more stern with him because the next night I found this...

So he's now 3 for 3 and we are completely charger less. He really got it this time and spent the entire night  sleeping in the floor. Well maybe not the entire night.. he managed to sneak his way back in the bed sometime while we were sleeping :) 

I wonder if I'll have as much trouble disciplining my children as I do with my puppy. But how can you resist such a cute face?

Tik Tok Braces Off!!

I'm am excited to say that after 6 months I got my braces off! I sincerely feel for anyone who has ever had to wear them. I'll never turn away another chicken wing or rack of ribs again! I promise to keep milk duds on hand at all times and I'll occasionally eat an apple (the old fashion way). I vow to never cut up my hamburger/pizza/sandwich before I eat it. I'm using these teeth baby! So long floss threader I won't miss you!

Blogger - Fail

I'd like to issue an apology to my one follower (and no it isn't either one of my sisters or my mother.. I couldn't get them to follow me if my life depended on it). I know that you feel let down and disappointed that I haven't posted anything in six months. I am truly sorry for being a terrible blogger. I jumped into blogging just like I did weight watchers (and every other fad diet out there). Once the excitement wore off (and I realized that only one person actually cared about it) it seemed to take a backseat to everything else going on.

Not-So Quick Recap: 
So much has happened in the last six months. Let me see if I can catch you up.

 December

 We celebrated our first Christmas as husband and wife with our new puppy! It wasn't easy talking my type A husband into a dog. We went through the pro's and con's of having a puppy and made a decision as a couple to take the next step. Now for the truth. I've learned over the last 4 years of dating that if I really want something I have to be strategic about it. The puppy purchase started with me making subtle hints about how nice it would be to have a companion around when the husband travels. It escalated from hinting to just short of begging and looking up pictures of puppies for sale online. I casually showed him pictures and even made it seem like he got input as to what type of breed. Before you know it, it went from me looking to him looking and showing me pictures. Then Bada Bing Bada Boom puppy!

  Wrigley

DOB: October 25, 2012

Wrigley is 8 months old today and has come such a long way since December! In those early months I thought we made the worst decision ever. He was a true puppy through and through. It was like having a baby to take care of and he has truly turned into a Mama's boy. Now that we are potty trained (for the most part) and crate trained, things are so much easier and we enjoy him so much more! 

March/April

At the end of March, I had to opportunity to interview with The Boeing Company for a Contracts Administrator position. On that same day I had a post-bride bridal shoot with my favorite wedding photographer Erin Lindsey of Erin Lindsey Images. Both the interview and the photo shoot went amazingly well. I started my new job at the end of April (Woot Woot) and I really enjoy the position and the people I'm surrounded by daily. The pictures below were inspired by my husbands love for sports. He is a baseball fanatic and when Erin and I started talking about where to do the shoot we just knew it was the perfect place. She did a fantastic job and I really enjoy spending time with this lady! 

 

May

This month was packed full of activities/events for us. We started the month and my new job off right by heading out of town for 9 days. At Christmas, my parents surprised us all with a 7 day Disney Cruise to St. Marrten/Martin, St. Thomas and Disney's Castaway Cay. We took this opportunity to celebrate our 1st  anniversary and enjoy a little bit of time away from all the stress of our lives. Unfortunately for Wrigley, he had to spend the week at summer camp ( he got boarded)! I can honestly say this was the most relaxing and entertaining trip we have ever been on. I can't wait to go on our next Disney Cruise!

First Stop: St. Marrten/Martin

I think that everyone was in agreement that St. Marrten/Martin (apparently spelling depends on what side of the island you're on) was a little underwhelming.

 We were lucky enough to survive the zip-lining adventure without getting injured or contracting a flesh eating bacteria. 

 

 We finished up the day with lunch on the beach and shopping. It was probably the worst shopping trip I've ever experienced. I left without buying anything! 

 

That night on the boat, we decided to celebrate our 1st anniversary at the Animator's Palate restaurant. We had so much fun enjoying the "Turtle Talk" entertainment with Crush and his friends. (I actually got to be part of the show.) We were treated to a special dessert that was so similar to the honeymoon desserts we enjoyed this time last year.

Second Stop: St. Thomas

After the failed shopping trip in St. Marrten/Martin we decided to spend the day relaxing on a beach in St. Thomas. Disney does not "encourage" using services or excursions not provided by them. Since we weren't willing to pay $40 to lay on a beach all day, we found a nice taxi lady and asked her for advice on what beach to visit. She suggested we try the lovely Coki Beach if we were interested in snorkeling, diving, eating and just being lazy beach bums. The boys spent the majority of the day snorkeling, while the girls spent our time sunbathing. The pictures do not do this beach justice! 

 

Our same taxi lady returned to the beach later that afternoon and took us on a taxi tour of the island.

Third Stop: Disney's Castaway Cay

We started this day off with a small rain shower about the time we were supposed to get off the boat. Fortunately for us it stopped raining and everything dried up nicely. We spent the entire day laying around soaking up the sunshine. Since we spent so much time being lazy, I don't have a lot of pictures of the Cay to post. It was however, our favorite stop along the way!

 

^ taken minutes after my sister hit me in the face with a towel.

We ended the trip back in Florida well rested and looking forward to our next trip! 

My mother was sweet enough to bring Wrigley home a souvenir. It's by far his favorite toy!

Memorial Day Weekend/Actual Anniversary

We spent the weekend enjoying each others company, eating cake from a year ago and buying a new car! That's right I got a new ride! Please reference the first section of this post.. I'm not sure which was harder to talk the husband into, a new car or a puppy. The strategy was the same for both and consisted of me wearing him down. It's really just too easy now. 

My New Ride!

Cake topper and bottle of wine from 5/28/11

Dumped

I got dumped today by my work friend. At like 10 and a half months pregnant she decided to be a stay at home mommy. I can't say that I blame her for wanting to spend more time with Lila once she gets here but I'm sad that she won't be with me anymore. It's like quiting cold turkey. 5 days a weeks 8 hour days we see each other... Not any more.. This baby will be more important than me :( I know it sounds selfish but I would like Lila to be a couple weeks late. At least if I have to say goodbye to my work best friend I can have a little more time.

On an unrelated note, I've been asking the husband for a puppy lately and I think it's time to work a new angle. I'm sad my work friend has abandoned me and I need a puppy to make me feel better. And it's not like I'm asking for a baby :). Yes I think this is the approach I'll take.

Work best friend .... Check my blog for updates.. I'll try and post the entertaining things on here. Praying for a healthy baby girl that remembers my voice and has a small head.