Hi, friends!
The South Shore of Massachusetts was hit with another good-size snow storm. Our area got a little over a foot, which meant Mal had no school yesterday and it was essentially a snow day for me too. Of course, I can’t sit still for more than five minutes, so I stayed busy around the house. That said, here’s a little snapshot into what happened during yesterday’s snow day!
Mal and I tag-teamed the shoveling.Β
Mal and I worked together, and it only took us about 20 minutes to shovel out our walkway, driveway, and two cars. Team work, baby! (Side note: My snow pants totally don’t button!)
Murphy and I renewed our therapy dog membership for 2014.
I know I don’t blog about our therapy dog visits all that often, but Murphy and I are still making them on a regular basis to the local senior home. Our membership for 2013 recently expired, so we finally finished the paperwork for 2014, so we can continue to make visits as a therapy dog team. Pug power!
We started clearing out the guest room.
Mal and I started clearing out the guest room to make way for painting and new furniture in the soon-to-be nursery. Mal figured we should do it sooner than later, so I could help him move all of the big furniture down to the basement before my belly got too big and awkward. Good thinking, Mal.
I ordered this pug pillow for Baby Haupert.
I stumbled upon this hilarious-looking pug pillow on Pinterest and debated buying it for weeks. I finally just ordered it because it makes me smile, and I think it’ll be a cute addition to the nursery. Plus, I hope Baby Haupert loves pugs as much I as do!
We received an adorable baby blanket in the mail from my grandmother.
My Grammie sent Baby Haupert the most adorable baby blanket ever. My pregnancy hormones really haven’t made me overly emotional, but when I opened her package and read the card, I started crying. It was just the sweetest gift with a lot of meaning.
Growing up, I had a blanket that I absolutely loved named βHarry.βΒ Actually, it was originally my aunt’s blanket, so maybe she named it βHarry?βΒ Either way, I had a blanket that I slept with every night all throughout my childhood and even through high school. I actually brought Harry with me to college during my freshman year and hid it under my pillows on my bed, so no one would see it. (Being 18 years old and having a blanket was kind of a lot embarrassing.) I eventually parted with Harry and managed to live my life without him it. I haven’t seen my blanket in years, but I have a good feeling my mom snagged it and kept it somewhere safe all this time.
The blanket that my Grammie bought Baby Haupert actually reminds me a lot of Harry. Harry had a big bunny embroidered in the middle of it instead of polka-dots, but it had the same silky lining around the edges. By the time I got to college, the lining was long gone, but I still remember it. And I love that Baby Haupert’s blanket has little puppies all over it because you know we feel about dogs in this house!
The card that my Grammie sent was also especially sentimental because she mentioned Harry and the history of βblankiesβΒ in our family. The card itself is actually a copy of a painting of my Grammie’s house with her and my grandfather standing out front. My grandfather passed away suddenly two years ago almost to the day, so seeing this image made me both happy and so sad at the same time. I miss him so much, and I know my Grammie does a million times more.
Wow, sorry. I got a little carried away with all of that. I’m just surprised how emotional I got over a baby blanket!
Mal tried to teach Murphy how to play dead.
Mal’s efforts were mostly unsuccessful, but it was still hilarious watching him with the pug. Murphy understood that he needed to do something when Mal pointed his finger at him (like a gun) and said βbang,βΒ but he couldn’t quite figure out what.
Murphy would sit on command and then Mal would roll him over onto his side (like he was dead) and then give him a treat, but the pug just didn’t get it.
Instead, Murphy would lay down and sort of shift his weight to the side.
Close enough! Haha!
Speaking of MurphyβΒ¦
He’s super weird. We already knew this, but WHY is he laying like that with his feet up!? Such a weirdo.
Target Gift Card Giveaway
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway to win a $200 Target gift card! Here’s your winner:
Johnna
Love Love Love the French Terry Layering Top & Jacket, the Cozy Fleece Coverup, the Long Sleeve Yoga TeeβΒ¦I could go on and on because I love about all the pieces on the page. Just downloaded Cartwheel. Going shopping tonight
Ugh my wallet.
Congrats, Johnna! Please email me at tina@carrotsncake.com with your full name and mailing address to claim your prize!
Questions of the Day
What’s your favorite thing to do on a snow day?
Did you have a blanket growing up?
Does your dog do any cool tricks?
100 Comments
I’ve been living in Arizona for 13 years, but I grew up in Green Bay, WI. I cannot imagine snow or cold weather anymore. You’re pics bring back memories of me walking to school bundled up like a snowman treading through mass snow piles. It’s been 80 degrees in AZ the last few weeks. It’s like a whole different world!
I am SO glad I found your blog!! I just recently started getting into Crossfit and have not seen too many Crossfit blogs out there. The fact that you’re still Crossfitting while pregnant is awesome as well!!
I am definitely going to be an avid reader in the future!!
My mom surprised me by putting my childhood blanky in the diaper bag she gave me for my baby shower. My son now cuddles with the same blanky for every nap and at night. I definitely cried when I opened the bag and love seeing my son with the same comfort.
Before I had my daughter, favorite snow day activity was lounging on the couch with a blanket, a hot beverage and a good book. Now it consists of playing with little people toys, duplo blocks and pulling little miss on the sled in our front yard π I love every minute of it. We haven’t had any “snow” days here in WI, just cold days :-/ -20 degrees today! WOO Hoo!
Teaching my dog “Bang” was easier than teaching him to shake! Get him on his side, and then give a treat and say “Good bang!” with your hand in the gun formation. Keep doing that until he associates “Bang” and the gun with laying on his side and getting a treat. My dog got it after a couple tries, and now I can just put my hand in the gun form and point it at him and he’ll lay down. π It’s a crowd pleaser!
1. Best part of a snow day is playing in the snow!!
2. My dog was initially trained to be a show dog so we lucked out that when we got him at 4 months he knew the basics….we taught him one where we said “Freeze” and he went up on back legs, then “bang” he fell to the ground and with each additional “bang” he rolled over. Miss him now that he is gone π
3. Umm….I am in my early thirties and still sleep with my blanket. My dad cut it in half when I went to college and I took half. (it was pretty huge). They still have half and I have half! Luckily my husband is ok with it…though he calls it a rag!
That’s a pretty legit snow storm!! My favorite thing to do on snow days is either read or watch movies.
I would do some chores around the house on a snow day…Also, it would be great to catch up on our recorded shows and maybe a movie! I love making gingerbread lattes on mornings I have time, so that would be a must. Can’t wait to see your nursery room come together π
@Kylie: Mmm a Gingerbread Latte sounds great!
You have me intrigued….how do you make a gingerbread latte?
Murphy cracks me up! I’m currently in the process of trying to teach my coworkers’ dog to shake, so I feel Mal’s pain. It’s tough teaching dogs tricks!
My favorite thing to do on a snowy day is to bake something I haven’t baked before. Snowed in yesterday, I baked Italian Lemon Ricotta cookies. I am half Italian and never knew these beauties existed. They were moist and pillowy and lemony and made our day inside so much sweeter. Tina, I also wanted to thank you for the tip around Christmas to get pug items at Dorothy Perkins. i ordered the pug socks and hats for my little girls for Christmas (we’re adopting a pug), and they were adorable and made my little girls giddy! Great store.
So glad to hear that! Γ°ΕΈΛβ
no blanket but I still have my stuffed animal, a polar bear I named Tim. Its a long standing joke in my family that I will never part with Tim You know that line, “if you ever had a fire in your house, what would be the one thing you would take with you?”. Well, we had a fire in our house a a few year ago and the one thing I went back for was Tim.
Looks like we have some snow heading our way this weekend in Ohio – ugh. I can’t take much more… I’m over this winter. However, if we had a Snow Day, I’d stay in bed for a while, watching all the morning shows, make a nice breakfast and coffee, clean around the house and do laundry and then get some sort of workout in, probably TurboFire. I’d end the day with some baking and making dinner!
I have that pug pillow. I found it on etsy and just couldn’t not get it.
Pug Power!
Murphy is adorable! Our dogs will ‘hug’ on command. The golden retriever ‘hugs’ by resting her chin on your lap (and staring up with those ridiculously pathetic eyes!) and the pug hugs when you’re holding him by leaning up and resting his head on your shoulder.
I did the exact same thing with my blankie in college!…it stayed under my pillows and sometimes pushed in between my bed and the wall. Recently I was cleaning my apartment and worried that I had lost it, but I found it in my closet. At age 26. π
Bahahaha….just a couple weeks ago my husband tried teaching our dog to play dead the same way Mal was! Needless to say, it did not work.
Yes, I sure did have a “blankie” growing up. Silky soft, made by my grandma π
So glad I picked this winter to move to the South! Ohio winter has been pretty ugly this year (well, everywhere has really…).
Snow days are so fun! My little baby girl loved looking at it through the window–and she just went sledding for the first time (held tightly by her dad) this past weekend. Too cute!
That pug pillow is hilarious & super cute!
I love baking, organizing, and cuddling up on the couch to watch movies!
We’re going through a heat wave in Los Angeles.I can’t imagine living with snow.
Snow days are awesome! My kiddos, 11 and 12, love to just lounge around for a while, then there is outside time and then the best part, the warm up time, with hot cocoa and other yummy treats, then its movie watching, game playing and movie watching.
I had a blanket, too but I don’t remember if I named it or not or how I stopped using it.
We have two lab mixes. One is a lab/sharpie mix, he’s super pretty and smart. He will shake for a treat, actually as soon as you tell him to sit, he’s down w/ his paw up, cute! Our other dog, is a lab/beagle mix. She is super sweet but not so bright. She regularly makes us laugh. She is a weird mix of both breeds and so it short and stout and has a hard time getting around. She’s been with us for about 2 1/2 years but she still crashes through the dog door. She is a bull in a china shop. I feel bad laughing at her as she really is super sweet but just oddly made and not so bright that you can’t help it.
I love that pug pillow!! I think I need one π We don’t often get snow days in Colorado because they all assume that we have Subarus and other cars that do well in the snow and we’ll just get there. So yeah, I do have a Subaru and it’s a great car for this climate, but people always forget how to drive in the snow, even in Colorado! It freaks everyone out and it takes forever to go anywhere.
I just teared up a bit reading that story — I can only imagine with pregnancy hormones! π Gonna be one loved little guy π
I love the pug pillow! Its beyond cute.
So much snow! I can’t imagine that much snow being not a big deal π Oh Murphy! I’d love to hear more about your therapy sessions! I bet they are so rewarding!
I’m 25 and I STILL have my blanket :-/
I like to tell myself that I don’t really need it to sleep, and I don’t travel overnight with it, but I totally love having it in bed with me.
I’m pretty sure my brother had the exact same blanket growing up as you did! He loved that thing and had it well into his teen years, as well, until it was basically just the bunny left. So funny!
I had a blanket growing up too with a bear on it. It was on my bed all throughout high school but I didn’t take it with me to college. The college I go to is in the same town my parents live so I can visit it any time I want though haha. I think it’s in a closet somewhere… I’ve since replaced it with other silky soft blankets, but nothing beats your first!
Oh wow, that is a lot of snow! But it’s pretty. I love snow, especially when it’s freshly fallen – so pretty. And oh my goodness, that toy is too adorable!!
No snow days here in Hawaii, we said “Brrr” when it was 62 degrees today…we know we are spoiled. But I DID have a blanket! Rainbow and soft with silk around the edges that I used to rub on my face. I still remember waking up one morning to it being GONE from my bed and REPLACED with an exact replica, only in yellow, not rainbow. I took it into the hallway and stomped on it, but finally loved it just the same. The reason for the swap? The rainbow was so loved and tattered it was unraveling, and my parents were worried I’d strangle myself in the night!
YES I had a blankey, and yes I took it to college with me and hid it under my pillow…I’m betting more people did this than we realize π
Right now our new puppy is learning to do the paw shake…and that he isn’t supposed to eat mommy’s running shoes π
Thanks for making everyone cry!!
Haha! Sorry! Blame Grammie! Γ°ΕΈΛβ°
I was the exact same with my blankie! I brought “her” to college and would hide her under my pillows when friends came over. Now she sadly lives way up high in the bedroom closet.
By high school, my blankie was too tattered to look like a blankie. So I used the tattered pieces as stuffing in a small pillow and took it to college. Blankie still lives on my bed. Camoflage!
Murphy is the weirdest!!!
Kostas gives kisses on command but I guess that’s not really a trick!
What a sweet blanket. I had a little stuffed bunny growing up that I called Hip. My mom had to patch it a bunch of times but she still has it at their house.
Thanks for sharing your story about the baby blanket. Grandparents are real special and it was touching to read. It’s a beautiful blanket π
I know you already have 97 comments and you probably won’t see this, but OMG!! Murphy might be a “weirdo,” but thank God he is because the silly photos you post of him (upside-down with his feet in the air!) are hilarious and certainly make my day!! π And thank you for the story about the blanket and your grandparents; it was very sweet. It’s wonderful when we get to pass down our family “traditions” to our own children. π
First time commenting, actually just found your blog. Murphy is adorable!!
I hate snow days, because I do not have the ability to sit still. Even if I have no where to go, I feel like I should go somewhere and can’t. Luckily in Nebraska, we are pretty used to snow and very seldom get so much we can’t still get out.
No blanket growing up. I grew up on a ranch, so I can only assume it wasn’t allowed outside so I never got attached?
We have a beagle who is the sweetest thing ever!! She knows lots of tricks and does them well, until she gets excited and then gets all mixed up. Ask her to play dead and she sit up pretty, sit and she lays down. It’s pretty funny.