Nine Lives Movie Giveaway and Homemade Cat Treats Recipe #NINELIVES #NINELIVESINSIDERS #GIVEAWAY

My family and I love watching movies together. It is a fun and special time to just be together laughing and enjoying each other's company. We're so lucky to have such great movies coming out. Nine Lives is one that we had been looking forward to seeing in the theater so now that it is on Blu-ray & DVD we are extra happy! Have you seen it yet? It's about a workaholic father who gets trapped inside a cats body. It's a silly premise but has a great message. 

We even have a giveaway below but before we get to that we decided to make some fun cat treats (for your own furry friend!) Click on the image to print a copy for yourself!

 

I hope your kitty loves the cat treats as much as ours does. She really did love them but she was being camera shy. Of course. Now, onto the giveaway! Please wait for the Rafflecopter widget to load below and good luck. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crazy Banjo

I think we've come to the conclusion that our dog is crazy. Banjo is 8 months old now. We are still working on the house training. Seriously, this is worse than potty training. Well, it's close at least. He acts completely psycho sometimes with boundless energy. He's chewed a few pairs of shoes. Not the hubby's shoes for some reason. But, when he's mushy and cuddly - we melt. It's the same as with kids I think. You know, thank goodness they're cute because I am on my last nerve. Or, something like that anyway.
Banjo is addicted to water. Not just any water. Fresh water. Rain water. He acts like a damn fool dragging us out in the rain for a drink. It goes something like this...
"Oh rain! I love rain. Let me lick the slide. Let me lick the chairs. Let me lick the grass blades and run around like an idiot! Nom nom nom." 
Every single time this is our experience. Snow is just as bad. He wants to rid Wyoming of all the snow, I swear! Don't believe me? Photo proof right here.

I'm not sure where this love of rain water came from. It's cute but not cute when we are being dragged out into the rain and snow just to get a drink. Even in the house, we give him clean, cold water and he drinks half the bowl right then. But, he doesn't drink the other half. He waits until the next time we give him new water. Eh, dogs are weird sometimes. 

Julie The Grouch

As I sit here unwinding after a particularly stressful day I find my mind racing. In the bedroom above my head, I hear the pitter patter of little paws. Or, not so little paws. Banjo, the new puppy has been a source of daily joy and frustration. Much like a child, I suppose. So far I have lost a roll of paper towels, a part of one of Abby's games, one pair of shoes, and one slipper to this cute dog. 

He is very lucky I already love him. Also, can I just say he is weird? I've never met a dog that attacks snow and ice the way he does. It's like he wants to rid the world of snow and ice. He just eats it up and then stands there shaking because he's cold. Duh. 
Today was one of those days when I felt like I was yelling a lot. I hate when I do that. Honestly I do. I don't like being that person and usually I can rise above. Something about today made me lose my cool. When the hubby came home, we went for a walk around the block and I felt better. It's amazing how that works.
Well, it's time for me to shut this computer down and head to bed. Night all.

5 Ways Having a Puppy is Like Raising Kids

1. They will chew anything. Now while most kids I know don't chew on shoes, or in our case my fuzzy blue socks, I do remember our now five year old finding the smallest things on the floor to attempt to chew. I had forgotten what a huge motivation they both are for keeping my house picked up. 2. They need your attention. You can't just tune out and do whatever you want as a parent. The same is true for raising a puppy. You need to be paying attention to their cues for potty training as well as giving them lots of playtime. 3. They cannot be locked up in a crate all day. If you live in a situation where everyone will be gone all day than a puppy probably isn't for you. See #2. I do think it's important to make the kennel a safe place for breaks throughout the day and to have him/her sleep there as well. And, I hope I don't need to say that you should NEVER put a child in a crate. What I mean in relation to kids here is that being stuck in the house all day every day is no fun for them.  4. Positive reinforcement works way better than punishment. That's not to say discipline has no place, it does. I've just found that both kids and puppies would rather please people if you give them a way to do so. 5. A little bit of training can go a long way. Though I've not seen many training schools for kids (or any) I still believe it's important to "train your child up in the way he should go". A dog is no different. 
Oh, and a bonus...6. Both love and playtime are a necessity. Need I say more?
Obviously, this is supposed to be a light hearted comparison. I know that not everyone treats their pets as family like we do. If we can't laugh at parenting, then what will we laugh at? 

Remind Me to Keep My Mouth Shut

If you hear me talking about warm weather, stuff a sock in my mouth! This is yesterday and today in Wyoming. On the other hand, our dog seems to have taken it upon himself to rid Wyoming of all the snow and rain. He keeps trying to lick and eat it all up. What a nut!

Welcome to the Family!

You may have noticed I haven't been on the computer as much lately. This is why.

This is Banjo. He's a shelter dog. A hound mix puppy at 6 months old. Our cat thinks he is a pain. Isn't he adorable? He has stolen our hearts very quickly. We got him on Wednesday April 23rd. 

He had been adopted before and returned. What floors me are the reasons why.
"Doesn't do well on a leash"

"Doesn't do well in the car."

"Don't recommend with cats or children."

 

Um, yeah. I'm fairly certain those reasons don't fly. As for the reasons about him being untrainable...they had him for less than a month. We've had him for 3.5 days and he is already well on his way to being house-trained. It's called persistence. Honestly, I truly believe they weren't consistent with him and kept him in his crate for most of the day. He's a sweetie and yes, he nips but he is six months old. He will learn. 

He's a member of the family already.

Goodbye Buddy

I know some people don't think of pets as family, but we do. And, I'm sad to say we lost a family member yesterday. Our sweet, barky Buddy. These photos are from October 2005.

He has been a faithful companion for his whole 15 years. He was originally my Mom and Memere's dog along with his sister Kinki. We took them in after my Memere passed away in 2003. Unfortunately, rather suddenly he lost his vision and his quality of life had really declined. It was especially hard to deal with because our 5 year year old was so very upset. When we lost our last dog Kinki, Abby was three so she didn't really understand. Now she does. She was crying and crying and calling out his name all of last night. We had to keep it together for her. Being a parent is hard sometimes. My husband was the one to take him to the vet and he is taking it hard too. More than a few tears were shed for this sweet boy. 

He will be missed.