New Chihuahua Ornament

We received an adorable new Chihuahua Christmas ornament the other day. It looks like Stormie, all tangled up in Christmas lights.

This came from a fantastic artist on Etsy, named Pamela Fleming. Her shop, The Magic Sleigh, features individually hand sculptured porcelain clay ornaments. She has them available in many different breeds. Pamela will also do custom ones, made to look specifically like your dog. I am going to order ones for Shimmer and Breezy, too!

Another thing that I am really impressed with from The Magic Sleigh, is that she is donating 10% of all sales to Best Friends Animal Society this year. I absolutely love that place and the work that they do. I love their show, Dogtown, on the National Geographic channel, also.

Pamela's sculptures are individual works of art that can be treasured forever. I love my little Stormie ornament and look forward to getting ones of Breezy and Shimmer to complete the collection.

Doing Our Part to Be More Green

We are trying to become more 'green' here at the Giles household. We have diligently done our recycling for years, but I cannot honestly say that we have done much more than that.

I am trying to get better at taking my own reusable bags to the grocery store. That isn't a problem, really. The problem is remembering to take them out of the trunk and into the store with me. I remember them about the time I am checking out. But, I'm working on it, honest!

I recently received this adorable little reusable snack bag that has little Chihuahua faces on it (of course). It is called a SnackSleeve and it is made by a company called GreenSleeve.

Avoid using plastic baggies by putting your snacks in this reusable fabric nylon-lined SnackSleeve. The SnackSleeve has a French seam which is a self enclosed seam that contains the rough edge. The fabric will not fray. A healthy portion of velcro ensures that the contents of the bag will not escape. You can use a SnackSleeve for your snacks, baked goods, treats for your pet, sewing notions, makeup, etc.

You can see more SnackSleeves, as well as other reusable bags here. It is an Etsy shop and she is on vacation this week, but be sure to check back with her next week!

She also sells the patterns, so you could make them yourself and even give them as gifts (hint, hint. Christmas is coming FAST!)

The girls are thinking that ours should hold some treats for them, of course!

I have a few things in mind to use my little SnackSleeve for

Corraling It All In

I'm not sure if it is years of getting kids ready to head back to school, or if it's knowing that winter is coming and I will be inside more, or if thinking about getting a new puppy has given me the nesting syndrome, but whatever it is, I went on a major organizing flurry recently.

A few months ago I shared with you the dresser that I kept the girls' clothes in. It was a really neat dresser that had belonged to my husband's grandmother. I still love it dearly, but it wasn't really handling the girls' many, MANY clothes in a very efficient manner, so I decided to do some research.

This happens to be the perfect time, by the way, if you are interested in making this kind of change. All the major department stores are having great sales on closet organization stuff as kids head off to college dorms. So, I scored pretty good. I purchased all of this at Target for a total of $65.

I started with a Closet Maid organizer. It came with two shelves, but I didn't use those. Instead I also purchased two small cafe rods (found in the drapery/curtain section). This created the perfect closet for the dresses and shirts. But, it sat kind of low, so I also purchased the two drawer organizer to go under it. This holds the sweaters and jackets. I don't have as many of those, so they fit in the drawers just fine.

I need to insert here a big thank you and a hug to my sweet Shawn for assembling it all for me :)

I have to admit that when I got done and my husband saw all this he went "wow!" What do you expect dear? Their mother is a clothing designer, they are going to have a lot of clothes.

This still left me with all the rest of the STUFF. You know, the miscellaneous important things that you have for your dog, but never know where to put it. I debated this for a while, then went with two of the stacking organizers. We stuck them together with double sided sticky tape, just to keep them from sliding around as I get into the drawers. It works perfectly.

I have all their collars in the top drawer. Yes, that really is a drawer full of collars from Crazy for Collars. Okay, so I have an addiction. The next drawer is leashes, including the flexi-leashes. Next is all their harnesses, as well as hats and sunglasses.

You know, the problem really is having everything in triplicate....

The next drawer is the travel stuff, such as the little on-the-go bag, the bowls, as well as extra hangers. Next is the drawer with the life vests, as well as some larger travel bags, for when we need to travel with more. The bottom drawer holds the beach towels as well as the pop-up cabana.

I am happy with this as the drawers are deep and still have plenty of room for more. Yes, there will be more, it is inevitable.

I am very happy with how it all turned out, but am pretty sure that I am going to have to get another closet set. I can tell that this one is pretty full already, and the girls keep getting more outfits.

Plus, we always have to keep in mind that little boy that will be coming along one of these days. He's going to need his own closet.

Honey, grab the keys....we're heading to Target!

The Truth Comes Out...

Shawn has been organizing the photos on the computer lately. Sometimes when we are in a hurry, they get loaded, but not placed in to the proper folders, so he has been doing a little 'housekeeping' and getting them put in their proper places.

Have you ever noticed that when you have your first baby, you take TONS of photographs, then as each new child comes along, the pictures get fewer? I have heard many parents speak of this, so I know we are not the only ones that have this problem. Christopher will point out that his older brother Michael has many more baby photos in the family album than there are of him. I just shake my head and say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it before."

Sooo, in looking through all the photos that Shawn has recently organized, I am realizing that there are WAY more pictures of Stormie than the other two girls. Yes, Stormie has been here the longest, but is this just history repeating itself?

Well, I'm not sure, but fortunately, Shimmer and Breezy are clueless, nor do I think they would really be offended even if they did know about it.

But, I have found some pretty cute photos of Stormie that I just have to share....

 

No wonder there are so many photos.....who can resist that face..????

New Chihuahua Magnet

I had to share my new Chihuahua Pupmobile magnet with you. My friend, Nikki, bought one recently at a pet fair and when I saw it I knew I had to have one, too!

Technically it is a magnet to go on your car, but it is so adorable I am afraid someone will steal it off my car, so it is going safely on my fridge instead. That way I can see it more often then if it was on the back of my car.

There is so much I love about this: I love the little Chihuahua faces peering out the window, I love the paw print tail lights (I wonder if I can get those for my car...?), I love the license plate, even though I know you can't really have that many letters. The breeder that I got the girls from has a license plate that reads 'Chiwawa'. Kind of funny, but easy to spot her in a parking lot!

I am also fond of the little bumper stickers, especially the one that reads "My Chihuahua is smarter than your honor student". We have sooo many people around here that have car stickers that say 'my child is an honor student', I really need one like this!

Anyway, thanks Nikki for sharing this in the first place. If anyone else would like one, you can get it here. They are available in lots of different breeds.

"I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Lap"

For those of you too young to remember the movie JAWS, the title of today's blog won't mean anything to you. In the movie, the character played by Roy Schieder is out on a not very large boat helping to hunt down the killer shark. While throwing 'chump' overboard, the shark briefly surfaces and his character gets a really good view of how large the shark is. His comment is a classic and our family quotes it all the time: "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat."

So why am I quoting that movie?

As I seriously consider getting a little boy Chihuahua to add to our brood, the question comes up of how am I going to hold FOUR dogs in my lap? Three is already a pretty good armload.

And don't even get me started about when I sit on the couch and they all three vie for the top spot up on my chest, snuggling under my neck. Actually viewing what is on the television becomes a real challenge.

Shawn also reminds me that if I were to get a little boy, I could no longer refer to everyone as 'the girls'. Point taken, but I think he has an ulterior motive when he says stuff like that.

I will keep you posted as our search continues. I am always very particular about choosing my babies, I will just know the right one when I meet him.

And I will figure out the armload thing somehow.

I'm pretty determined that way.

Visit to a Retirement Center

The girls took a trip to a local retirement center, The Springs, yesterday to visit a friend of my mother's, who is a resident there.

Oh my goodness, were they ever a hit! We sat out in a reception area with Grace and her friend, but others kept coming by to ooh and ahh over the girls.

I was really proud of Stormie, Shimmer and Breezy. They let everyone hold them and hug them and generally love them up. They actually seemed to be enjoying the visit as much as the people were enjoying them!

Some of the residents were so enthralled with the girls, that I wondered if I was going to get home with all three of them!

One of the Activities Directors came by and wants to have me bring the girls back for another visit where everyone can see them. We said 'Sure!"

This is my favorite picture. The joy on the woman's face speaks volumes, and you can tell that Stormie is enjoying herself also. Our animals bring so much joy and happiness to our lives and it was a blessing to be able to share some of that happiness with others.

Rollin' Down the River

We have been having some very hot weather here this last week, so when Shawn's sister and her husband suggested we go out on the river and have a picnic dinner on their boat, we didn't hesitate for a moment. Stormie wanted to go in her new boating traveling bag that we found on clearance at PetSmart!

This also gave Stormie a great opportunity to try out her Paws Aboard life jacket that we purchased at Paws for a Cause. Because is was so hot, she only wore it for a short while, but was definitely adorable! I know, the hat and doggles just make the whole outfit complete, huh?

Stormie wasn't so sure she was enjoying herself at first, but after she got used to the noise of the engine and the bobbing up and down, she started relaxing and having some fun.

We settled into a nice shady cove and stopped to have our dinner. Some other friends of ours were out on their boat and joined up with us. They had their little dog, Maggie, with them. She was jealous of Stormie's collar from Crazy for Collars, so we decided it would look really nice on her and let her have it. She went home very happy.

Stormie soon was feeling comfortable enough (other than the heat, always harder on a dog with a black coat. Honestly, she drank lots of water!) to start exploring the boat, even tried to convince everyone that perhaps she should try her paw at driving!

Hannah wanted to take her out on the float tube, but we decided she liked the view better from

my lap.

In the end, we wore the poor little thing out and she snoozed on the way back to the dock.

Life is rough for Stormie, don't you think???

Great Site for Free Stuff!

Our girls love the mail man, as I have mentioned before. They seems to know that if he is actually coming to the door with the mail, it must mean there are packages.

And those packages are usually filled with goodies for them.

I would like to share with you a fabulous blog, called the All Dog Blog. This is a great blog, run by Erin Dunn. Her description for the blog reads:

"All Dog Blog is a blog about all things that pertain to dogs, and the humans that let them drink from their cups, lick their plates, and sleep in their beds (or not). My goal here is to bring you and your dog the BEST OF THE BEST dog related news, websites, products, books and general information about canine health, training, and nutrition."

She does reviews on new products, keeps you informed of food recalls, and basic dog-related news items.

One of the wonderful features of this blog is the free offers she tracks down and supplies you with the information for. This can be samples of dog treats, food, shampoos, treats (the girls' fave!), or offers to win great dog related items. Right now she has a link to enter to win a Bissel Pet Hair Eraser vacuum. Nothing to buy, just enter.

In these days of economic challenges, it is great to have some one like Erin who is willing to take the time to research, find these offers and then share them with others, all for the love of dogs!

Please be sure to mark her All Dog blog as one of your favorites and check in with her often.

You can also follow her on Facebook.

We are heading over there now to see what new items she is featuring for the week!

Shimmer's Birthday Pawty

It was party day for Shimmer today. Normally shy and a bit reserved, she really seemed to revel in the attention and even went around and greeted everyone and let them pet her.

The day was a warm one, that's for sure, but it was still pretty pleasant on our covered patio, out of the hot sun. There was a fun little pool for the dogs to cool off in.

Our wonderful friends at Doggie Couture Shop had provided all the great decorations, plates, cups and other party essentials!

The food table was loaded with goodies, for both the four-footed guests and the two-footed variety!

This end of the table was for the people guests!

While this end had the doggie goodies, treat bags and cake!

Everyone came in their party finery and were ready to go!

The girls decided to share the fun of their Aikiou toy with their friends and let them try their paws at getting the treats out of the puzzle doors. This makes for an awesome party game, fun for both the dogs and their owners!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Shimmer and share in that yummy cake!

 

After everyone was full from that, it was time for Shimmer to open all her gifts, with a little help from Mom!

It was a great party. We thank everyone who came and enjoyed the fun, and we especially send a BIG thank you to the Doggie Couture Shop for sending all the party supplies. You definitely need to check out their party section and plan a birthday bash for your little one!

 

Everyone went home happy!