Happy Tuesday

Geez, is it really the last week of March already?! In another few days Zen will have been two weeks out from his first birthday! Where has the time gone?

I’ve been taking self-imposed breaks from blogging – and most everything else as well – mainly to keep the perfectionist in me at bay. That little demon on my shoulder, whispering in my ear, telling me that I need to do a better job of this or that. And so far I’ve been pretty successful at telling him to “bugger off” and leave me alone. (I watched “Darkest Hour” again the other night and laughed every time Sir Winston used “bugger” instead of “the f word”.)

Anyway, I’ve gotten a few things done on my “to do” list, especially the most important one. One other I can only do when the county property office returns my call from last week. And a third I can only do while my brother is here to stay with the pups. (Because one can never tell up front how long it will take to accomplish any task at the motor vehicle office.)

So, in between taking care of house cleaning, budget, and other assorted tasks, I’ve been playing with the Z Kids and watching them play with each other. And watching programs on the History Vault (thank you, Prime, for picking up old History Channel programs from the years when they were actually history related). Anyway, here are some pix and videos of of the Z Kids.

Zen
Zoey
Indoor Playtime

The Z Kids are my rocks, my grounders, my reasons for getting out of bed some mornings, my pride and joy (both of them being both pride and joy). They make me crazy at times, but they are definitely my angels with paws. They make every day a happy one, in spite of my leaky-eye times.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ZEN!!! πŸ’šπŸ’šπŸ’šπŸ’šπŸΎπŸΎ

Today my big boy is one year old!! My leprechaun, my personal pot ‘o’ gold was born on St. Patrick’s Day 2022. My sunshine, the light of my life, was born in the midst of what turned out to be the worst year of my life. And he remains my sunshine boy.

Zen’s in there somewhere.

Zen’s mama, Sunny, is also celebrating her birthday today! She is a sweet girl! What a present to give yourself on your birthday! Nine beautiful, healthy puppies! She is a wonderful mother to her puppies!

Zen’s Daddy, Tater
Sam with Zen when Zen was about 4 weeks old
At 4 Weeks Old He Was Already My Boy πŸ’šπŸΎπŸ€

Zen was my little Smudge Muzzle at 4 weeks; and he still has a bit of the smudge around that precious muzzle.

We brought him home on May 14th, when he was just past eight weeks old. I chose the 14th because I needed a happy event to balance the awful monthly anniversary of Bogie’s accident.

Zen’s Going Home Day

Zen spent a great deal of time of the first five months of his life at his Grandpa’s house with his mama Sunny, Aunt Bailey, and cousins Stormy, Charlie, and Skye because of Sam’s dementia. It broke my heart to not have him here with me; but Sam’s dementia demons were taking over more frequently and making poor Zen very nervous. It was better for the poor little guy to be in a stable environment. Two weeks after Sam went into the hospital last July my sweet little Zen puppy came home. He’s been with me ever since, healing my broken heart one day at a time.

I can’t believe how fast and BIG he’s grown over the past year! When Sam and I first brought him home he weighed about 12 pounds. Just ten days ago, when I had to get a weight check for his heartworm preventive, he weighed in at 81.5 pounds!! And it’s all muscle!! This boy is strong!!

Taking a short play break a few days ago

This boy is such a love! He gives me hugs that are as much from Sam as from himself; he gives me kisses “just because” and when my memories are leaking from my eyes; and he adores his little sister, Zoey (who will be six months old tomorrow).

πŸ˜‡ My angels disguised as puppies 🐢

Happy First Birthday my Smudge Muzzle/Leprechaun/Sunshine Boy!! Mama loves you more than I could ever put into words!! I hope I will always be deserving of your unconditional love!! πŸ’šπŸ’šπŸΎπŸΎπŸ€πŸ€πŸŽ‚πŸŽ‚πŸŽˆπŸŽˆβ˜€οΈβ˜€οΈπŸ¦΄πŸ¦΄πŸŽΎπŸŽΎπŸŽπŸŽ‰

Happy Gotcha Day Z Kids!!

Along with it being Valentine’s Day, today is also the Z Kids’ Gotcha Day. πŸ’šπŸΎπŸΎπŸ’œπŸΎπŸΎ

Zen has now been with me for 9 months. (And on Friday he will be 11 months old!) So here are then and now pix of my big boy.

Zen, circa May 14, 2022
Zen today

Zoey has now been with me for 3 months. (And on Saturday she will be 5 months old!) So, here are then and now pix of Zoey …

Zoey, circa November 14, 2022
Zoey today

What could be better than celebrating your fur kids’ Gotcha Day on Valentine’s Day?! Nothing, in my opinion.

Zoey’s First Night Home

Angels with Paws

After all the tears, stress, and losses last year, I needed puppies in my life again, so I’m thankful for these two sweethearts. They keep me company while I’m home, and wait eagerly for me to come back when I have to leave.

Zen is – and always will be – my sunshine boy. He was the bright spot in my life, my sunshine, before he was even born last year. He knows when I need a hug, or just to have him at my feet. He’s not the snuggler that Bogie was; but, like Ducky, he will snuggle with me in his own way and time. And those unexpected snuggles are even sweeter and more precious as a result.

Such a sweet boy!
Mama’s Big Boy

And Zoey is my precious little girl, the starlight in my heart. She’s been growing a little at a time – which is better for her as well as for me – so I can still pick her up when I want to. And, like her older brother, angel Bogie, she loves to snuggle with me. She is truly a cuddle buddy. And Zen gets a little jealous at times.

My Snuggle Sweetie
My Baby Girl

I’m thankful, too, that these two love each other and have bonded so well with each other. They act like big brother and little sister most times, squabbling over a toy or rough-housing. But they also snuggle with each other. They remind me of Ducky and Radar, and Ducky and Bogie. Siblings and best friends at the same time.

πŸΎπŸ’š Playtime πŸ’œπŸΎ
Wrestling in the kitchen

These two hooligans are my angels with paws. They are, at times, more devil than angel; but what puppy isn’t?! Ducky and Bogie knew exactly what I needed and that these two would fill that need.

As usual, I can’t add the Thankful Thursday blog hop link…something about it not being supported?? So I’ll just go add my link on our host’s blog. It won’t even let me do that today. 😀

Happy New Year!!!

The Z Kids – as Monika of Tails Around The Ranch named Zen and Zoey – and I send all our readers best wishes for a safe and happy 2023.

Sharing a photo I took last night of the kids while they were having one of their wrestling matches. Zoey does a pretty good job of holding her own over big brother Zen.