Brown Thumb

Puppy Parenthood

Having Maggie in our life for the past 2 months has been many things: fun, exciting, tiring, frustrating, blessing, challenging…all wrapped up in a single day. Now that we have her I know we couldn’t give her up. After all I was the one who begged Kevin for months (even years) that we would get a dog once we were married. And who could resist this face?

Here is Maggie the day we got her at the pound. She was such a little butterball! She slept in Kevin’s lap for almost an hour during the adoption process.

Having a Puppy ~ Having a Child

Now I’ve never been a mother and I probably won’t be for a while. But I definitely feel like our dog is preparing us for having children one day. Here’s why:

• Puppies need constant love and attention
• They are relying on you for their health and well-being
• Bathroom and feeding schedules are a must
• Discipline is key otherwise they will run your household
• When they wake up after a long nap and are ready to eat, play, go potty, etc., they let you know!

Once again, I am not claiming to know how hard the challenges of motherhood really are. I am positive that raising a baby is 1 million times harder. But I do think that if you want a sort of “test run” for having kids, a new puppy is the way to go!

The Apology Face

Here is a cute story from the other day. For about one second I was really mad and then it just turned into laughter. Around 3:00 p.m. everyday I spend some time doing tricks with Maggie. We are working on things like Sit, Down, Spot (going to her bed), and Leave It. She heard me pouring her food into a tiny bowl which I use to treat her. As she followed me out of the kitchen, turning in circles, she could not contain her excitement and just about knocked me to the floor. She was, however, successful at knocking the treats out of my hand and all over the carpet. I immediately snapped at her for doing this, but rather than going after the food like I thought she would, she sulked low to the floor with an “I’m so sorry” face. I then put her in the crate, not so much as a punishment but so I could clean up the food.

The Incident

The Apology Face

At the end of the day, even with all of the ups and downs, we love our little goober.
Have any fun doggie stories of your own? Please share!

Post Numero Uno

Well Kevin and Leann have officially entered the blogging world together! Although Kevin already has his own blog about personal finance, this one is meant more for the enjoyment of our friends and family- to keep them updated on what’s going on with us and to share our random thoughts about life and love.

How We Got Here

A couple of weeks ago I said to Kevin, “wouldn’t it be fun if we had a blog together?” And thus we arrived at BrownThumb. If you’re wondering how we chose the name and what does it have to do with marriage, well it really has nothing to do with marriage =) It is simply a little joke of ours about how even though both sets of our parents seem to be gifted gardeners and they constantly try to pass along their seasoned advice, we often end up killing those plants that “you just can’t kill!” Neither of us inherited the green thumb gene. Don’t get me wrong, we do enjoy gardening, but every blog needs a name right?

A Glance Back

Most of you reading this probably already know me and Kevin very well, but in case you’re someone that we haven’t been in close touch with for a while, here is a brief summary of what we’ve been doing for the last year and a half since we got married.

• We were hitched on January 6, 2007 with a beautiful wedding in Alabama. We spent our honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico at a resort called the Cozumel Palace which we HIGHLY recommend.
• I spent the first 5 months or so of our marriage finishing up my student teaching.
• We found our first house in June of 2007. At the time it was only a few weeks into construction so we moved in during late September when it was completed.
• Last fall Kevin started his MBA while continuing to work for the same company he’s been with the last two years.
• I began my first ‘real’ job as an elementary music teacher.
• We started a new community group at church called “Mosaic” for engaged and newlywed couples. We have made some great friends there!
• We adopted our big baby, Maggie, this past April from the local Humane Society. She is a Labrador Retriever & Shepherd mix, now 4 months old. She is so much fun but keeps us on our toes!

As you can see we’re still experiencing a lot of ‘firsts’.
We hope you all enjoy staying updated on our life and there’s much more to come!

Love,
Leann and Kevin