Category Archives: Family

Christmas Eve: SAC, Samson and Santa Hats!!

Posted in Family, Holidays and Seasons, Samson by

Today is Christmas Eve. The first gift the universe gave to me was a day off of work! Yee ha!

Traditionally, Christmas Eve is a time for our little family to be together.  We do our own thing and then get together with the rest of the family on Christmas Day.

Growing up, the Atencio family had its own traditions. We would open one present on Christmas Eve, which was a big tease and lots of fun.  We always went to midnight mass so we would stay up and watch A Christmas Carol to pass the time. My dad would guffaw with laughter at the exact same spot every time (when the charity guy comes up to Scrooge and says “Excuse me sir, you don’t know me..” and then Scrooge says, “And nor do I wish to”). If you know my dad, you know that he rarely guffaws at anything. Inevitably, one of us girls would fall asleep before the movie ended and my parents would have to wake us when it was time to get dressed for church. Then we’d pile in the car and head out. It was always freezing and so when we got back, my mom would make hot cocoa and we’d warm up with that and some cookies. Then we’d crash in bed and anxiously await Santa’s arrival.

Here I am with my sister. This was taken Xmas Eve 1994, right before we left for church. I was 18 and she was 20. Don’t you love our shiny purple shirts? No we didn’t dress to match on purpose, we just happened to have the same taste in clothes. We don’t look-alike at all, do we? Although, she looks more babe-a-rific here than I do.

Don't you love the look on CJ's face?

CJ and I have tried to start some Trader family traditions of our own. When we were first married, we would drive around town and look at holiday lights while drinking hot cocoa. When we got Samson, we brought him with us and he got car sick and puked in the back seat. We’ve left him at home ever since. Last year we didn’t go look at lights because Isabella was so little…and we were buried in snow. We won’t make it out this year either. That tradition will have to wait until Isabella is older and can enjoy the light show with us.

Samson's bday breakfast

Christmas Eve 2010 started out with me making pancakes for everyone. Isabella enjoyed them immensely, as did Samson. Since today is his birthday (he’s 5, can you believe it?), I put a candle in his pancake and we all sang “Happy Birthday!”

Then we all got dressed and headed out to the SAC Museum because they had a couple exhibits CJ wanted to see and we thought it would be a great place to let Munchkin stretch her legs. SAC is pretty much a big hangar of airplanes so there was lots of room to walk and we didn’t have to worry about her breaking anything.

Isabella was really in to the Christmas trees they had there. We liked the planes, she liked the trees. I guess that would be about right for a 1-year-old.

(It kind of looks like I have a bomber jacket on in this picture. I’d like to say I coordinated it that way on purpose, but I didn’t. She was pointing off camera and shouting “TREE!”)

 
She actually did enjoy running around the hanger under all the big planes. Although, she also enjoyed the garbage can, the utility truck and the signs too so not sure we can say she will grow up to be a pilot just yet. I purposely stood back and let her get ahead of me to show just how tiny she looks under this massive jet. We had a lot of fun there.

Then we came home, had some dinner and started in on the other traditions, like opening one present!

Samson

Isabella

 

Me

 

CJ

Last  year we started a new tradition of taking our family picture wearing Santa hats! CJ and I have had them for years and wear ’em when we go caroling with his old high school friends. CJ’s has a black band, mine is all sparkly and then we got Isabella a “Baby’s First Christmas” hat.

2009 - Aren't we cute?

I love the look on Munchkin’s face that says “OMG my parents are so weird…someone help me…” That, or she’s pooping.

Here is this year’s picture:

2010

She’s still not so sure about this whole hat thing. She didn’t really want to sit still for the picture so this was as good a picture as we could get!

Now the little one is sound asleep, dreaming of sugar plums, airplanes and Christmas trees.

In honor of Samson’s birthday, I’ve included some links to albums I have made of him over the years. If you feel like strolling down memory lane with me, take a look!

Samson Book Volume 1

Samson Book Volume 2

  

If you like this, you might also like:

Samson Stories: The Escape Artist;

That’s the way the cookie crumbles;

Treats and the Wiggles

Samson Stories: Two-Timing

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Yesterday was Samson’s day for Doggie Day Camp. Boy was he ready to go. He was eyeing the hall closet all morning (that’s where we keep his leash) and when I opened it to get my coat, he practically did flips in the air. He bounded in the backseat and was so excited he couldn’t even sit still. I’m not sure why he was so excited. The only thing I could figure was that he couldn’t wait to see his girlfriend, Willow, the Golden Retriever. They’ve probably been messaging each other on Dog Book (doggie Facebook) and sending virtual  love licks. All the other dogs just roll their eyes at how sickly in love Samson and Willow are with each other.

So we get to PetSmart and he does his usual trick of dragging me in to the store as if I’m on a sled and he’s pulling me across the Adirondacks. He gets all checked in and I leave to go to work. I get back to pick him up around 6:00 p.m. and this is how it plays out when they bring him up front:

  • Me in a high-pitched dog/baby voice: “Hey dude! Did you have fun playing? How was your girlfriend today?”
  • The PetSmart employee:  “You mean Willow?”
  • [I nod]
  • She gets a weird look on her face and says: “He played with Karen today.”
  • Me: “Oh, so Willow didn’t come today.”
  • PetSmart Employee: “Um, no, she was here.”

[sound of record scratching and music halting]

WHAT?! His girlfriend, the love of his life, was there and they didn’t play? What on earth?

The whole ride home I tried to get the story out of Samson but he refused to talk about it. He just laid down in the backseat. Then we got home and he tried to pretend everything was ok by stealing Isabella’s food, but I knew something was up. As we were watching TV, I look over and he’s laying on the couch with his sad eyes. I pet him and ask about it. He still wouldn’t talk so I could only deduce what happened. It’s one of four possible scenarios:

  1. Willow cheated on him
  2. Samson cheated on her with Karen
  3. They had a fight, broke-up and Karen was his rebound girl
  4. The press corp got some dirt on Willow and Samson is keeping his distance because he’s up for re-election in the Fall.

My money is on #1 based on how Samson was acting. I could tell he had a broken heart. That two-timing bitch, thinkin’ she’s all that and a bag of milk bones because of her long golden flowing locks! She probably cheated with some “stud” who wasn’t neutered and she will end up preggers, drop out of school  day camp and spend the rest of her life wishing she never would have cheated on Samson.

Last night he changed his Dog Book status to single and blocked Willow before  he went to bed. 

I just hope it’s not too uncomfortable at Day Camp going forward. The other dogs will have to pick sides and that can get awkward. I’m pretty sure they’ll pick him though. I mean, he is the Mayor and, let’s be honest, there are some fame whores there.

He’ll be ok in the end. He’s a tough guy and with looks like his (he’s basically the Brad Pitt of the dog world), it won’t be long before he’s found a suitable replacement. It probably won’t be Karen though. I hear she eats poop…

Kissy Face

Posted in Isabella/Munchkin by

Isabella is turning out to be such a loving little girl. It’s really very cute and sweet. And I absolutely LOVE her hugs and kisses. There’s nothing better than coming home and having her run up and give me a great big hug.

However, sometimes I think she takes this kissing thing a bit far.

Before I get in to that, let me share with you the evolution of her affection.

Like any baby, she started out just laying there and cuddling. Then she started doing “headbutts”. See, I would always kiss her on the forehead and she got in the habit of leaning forward and tipping her head toward me so that I could kiss it. One time when she did that, she butted her head in to my nose. I said something like, “Wow, good headbutt Munchkin!” and so she started doing it regularly. It got to the point where we’d say “headbutts!” and she’d lean in and butt us with her forehead. It was cute.

Head butts

We figured it would also come in handy when she started dating. What better way to keep a frisky boy at bay than to headbutt him?

“Hey Tommy, thanks for a great date! [head butt]” 

And we never heard from Tommy again…

The head butting thing started to go too far though as she got bigger because she would “butt” with more force. There were several occasions when she had us saying “ouch!” after her so-called acts of affection. One time I swear she broke my nose. So, we started teaching her actual hugs and kisses.

Kissing her hamster cow*

[That little green cow was actually mine as a baby. My aunt gave it to me when I was born. I’ve kept it all these years and now it’s Isabella’s. It’s well-worn and loved. CJ couldn’t tell what it was when I first busted it out of storage. He thought it was a hamster so now we call it the hamster cow.]

Now that Munchkin has the hugging and kissing thing down, she does it ALL the time and does not discriminate. She literally kisses just about anything that she likes. Here is a list of some of the things she has kissed:

  1. People (CJ, me, and her grandparents)
  2. Samson and Kate (my parent’s dog)
  3. her stuffed animals
  4. the pictures in her books
  5. characters on TV
  6. her pacifier
  7. her socks
  8. the Christmas tree
  9. her toast at breakfast
  10. her macaroni and cheese at dinner
  11. the shower curtain
  12. her bath water
  13. the oven

There are probably  more too that I just can’t remember. It’s funny when she does it but now I’m starting to wonder if that could be going too far. I’d rather have her headbutting guys than running around kissing everyone.

“Hey Tommy, thanks for the date! I love your new car [kiss the dashboard]! Sorry for spilling your popcorn earlier when I kissed it. Didn’t realize you were about to offer me some. Thanks for the flowers too – they are beautiful! [kisses flowers]. Well, I better go. See you at school on Monday! [kisses Tommy]”

Oh well. As the old saying goes, better to have a kissy child than a pissy child! And after all, you can’t spell “kiss” without ISabella!

*Photos taken by Heather Busselman, who did an awesome job with Munchkin’s 1 year pictures.

Samson Stories: The Escape Artist

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I’ve decided that on days when I don’t really have anything exciting to report, I will recycle and post a Samson Story from years past. He was a rascal and gave us LOTS of material. I didn’t have a blog then (or even Facebook – gasp!) so therefore no real way to share these little gems. I actually wrote them all down in a journal, thinking I might publish a book someday (thanks John Grogan for the idea!). 

1 year old

We got Samson when he was 4 months old and were the 5th house he lived in (not counting the breeder). He was a handful and more work than most folks were ready for. So naturally by the time he got to us, he had absolutely no trust for humans whatsoever and wouldn’t even look us in the eye until we’d had him for close to a year.

Because of that, little Samson was all about getting away. I think he did it as a protective mechanism, kind of like people who break up with their boy/girlfriend because they don’t want to be the one getting dumped. We could never let him out without a leash and trust that he would stay by us. Those people you see who walk their dogs without any type of restraint? Ha! That’s a pipe dream for us!

We live on a corner lot and have a pretty good-sized backyard with 3 gates: 2 on one side and 1 on the other. Of the 2 on the north side, one is a double gate because the previous owner had a boat or motor home or something. Well, one day I was in the kitchen and Samson was outside. I looked out the window and saw him trying to squeeze himself through the opening between the 2 gates! I sort of laughed because at that time he was about 60 lbs and I figured there was no way he could get through there,but it was fun to watch him try.

Then all of a sudden he got his head through the opening and was working on getting his shoulders through. I knew if he did that, he’d be gone. I yelled out, “Samson, no!” which produced the following effect: nothing. His way of dealing with me back then was to ignore me. I opened the door and ran outside. As I was running to the gate (which of course was at the farthest point of the yard from the door), he got his shoulders through and was shimmy-ing the rest of the way out. I got there just in time, stuck my arm through the opening and grabbed his collar .

Let’s pause a moment while I paint a picture for you. Here is the scene:

Samson is on one side of the fence, I am squatted down on the other with my arm stuck through the gate opening. The only thing connecting us and therefore keeping him from running away was the fact that I had a death grip on his collar, which he was now trying to wriggle out of. Oh and did I mention that the gate was locked and I didn’t have my keys on me? Yeah….so now, how to get this big dog back in the yard?

Obviously I couldn’t open the gate. He was too heavy to lift over. I couldn’t walk around because I would have to let go of him to do that. So naturally I thought, well, I’ll bring him in the same way he got out: through the opening in the middle. Well wouldn’t you know it, he was suddenly too big to get his head through. I pulled and twisted and turned and no matter how I tried it, he was not coming back through.

Crap.

I had no phone on me and there were no neighbors outside. I was just about to start shouting for help when CJ popped his head out the back door.  He saw right away the predicament I was in and came running down. He grabbed Samson, bringing him back inside. Within an hour we had put chains on the gate securing the opening and taking away any opportunity for him to try that again (and believe me, he tried again).

He has gotten out on a couple other occasions when gates were accidentally left open (3 times to be exact and all when  he was older and calmer). All 3 times we were able to get him back easily. The first time, he went to the park and was on his way back home when I found him. The second time  he went up the circle and was sniffing about. The third time, he went up the circle and through someone’s yard which led to the park. A couple of college kids found him and brought him to their house and then called us. They put a make shift leash on him and kept him in the garage where they were watching a Husker game. When I saw him, he was laying next to one of the guys begging for chips. Big goofball.

So there you have it. A few “tails” of how Samson has tried his darndest to escape our horrible home. Can’t say I blame him. Would you want to live in a house where you got yummy food and treats all the time, a special bone birthday cake, frequent trips to the park, day camp, your own bed and lots of snuggles?  I know, he’s so abused.

Samson Stories: Doggie Day Camp

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Every other Tuesday, we take Samson to Doggie Day Camp at PetSmart. Why? Because he’s a Lab. If that means nothing to you, let me clue you in.

Labs have more energy than the sun. Especially Lab puppies. We got Samson when he was 4 months old. He was your classic cute, soft, cuddly little yellow puppy like you see in all the commercials.  But underneath was a firecracker! This dog had more energy than we knew what to do with. I’d take him for hour-long walks every day and it wasn’t enough. CJ would wrestle and chase him and it wasn’t enough. As a result, he had to get that energy out one way or another so he’d get in trouble. We were at our wit’s end. You know Marley? Yeah, it’s like that book/movie was about Samson.

Then someone suggested we take him to Doggie Day Camp. This would allow him all day play time, so he wouldn’t be stuck in his kennel, and he’d be tired by the time we got him home so we could actually relax.  We started with one day a week. That first night when we picked him up it was like a miracle. He was so tired, he slept the whole way home and all night once at home. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves! He was even still tired the next day! Alleluia and praise  Jesus! Can I get an Amen!

So then we increased it to twice a week, every week. I tell you it made a world of difference. He was more cooperative at home and would actually obey! DDC isn’t very expensive either and for us, it was worth the $19 a day. Another added bonus – it got him socialized to other dogs so that he wasn’t Mr. Spazzy Pants when he encountered one in the neighborhood. All in all, DDC was a life saver for us.

As he got older, he didn’t need to go as much. Plus, we became a one income family and had to make some cutbacks. So we reduced him down to one day a week, every week. Now that he’s almost 5 (his birthday is Christmas Eve…all together now…awwwwww), he only needs to go once a week, every other week. And let me tell you, he knows exactly what day is THE day.

And today was the day. He came bounding out of his kennel and was raring to go. All during our morning ritual, he was looking at me like, “Are you ready yet? It’s Day Camp day! Yippee! Are you ready yet?” Then finally I said the magic words, “Ready to go for a ride in the car?”

I swear to you, he jumped from the top step to the landing in one bound. No joke. He was not about to waste time with steps! Course, he had to wait for the slow human to come down and he did a little dance at the bottom of the stairs while waiting for me. His eyes said, “Hurry up you slow poke! This is why I should be Alpha! You’re way too slow to be the Alpha!”

We got in the car and were off!

Most of the drive was pretty tame. Me listening to the radio and singing at the top of my lungs to sappy Christmas songs while he sat in the back and looked out the window. But, don’t be fooled. Samson knows the route. I take Harrison to 144th and then head over to Oakview Mall. As soon as we approached L St. he started whining and I could hear the tail thumping. Then I got across L St. and got in to the right hand turn lane for Oakview Dr. and all hell broke loose.

He started whining and panting and trying to jump in the front seat! Then he’d jump in the back, then in the front. If he were little it wouldn’t be a big deal but he’s 95 lbs of muscle so it’s kind of distracting.

This is what I saw when trying to look over my shoulder to merge:

And the whining was LOUD! And it’s right in my ear. I thought for sure I had a busted eardrum at one point.

But we finally got to PetSmart and it was time to get out.

(there was no chance of getting a still picture because he would not stop moving. He wanted out of that car and in to the store, like, NOW!)

We got inside at the same time as another guy who had 2 dogs with him: a yellow lab and a Great Dane. And boy was this Dane great. He was frickin’ huge! Probably out weighed me and Samson combined. His name was Zeus which seemed fitting. But Samson is an equal opportunity dog and he did not care that Zeus could eat him for breakfast and still have room for his other lab friend. Samson went ahead and barked and barked and barked at him. Zeus actually looked at him as if to say, “Wow, I admire your cojones brother. You’re a badass.”

They took Samson away to his happy place of playing and licking and humping and peeing freely. Plus he gets to see his girlfriend Willow, who is a Golden Retriever. They heart each other.

Samson has a nickname at DDC. They call him the Governor because when they load up the room, he has to greet and “shake hands” with every single dog that comes through the door. What can I say, he has political aspirations.

Tonight we’ll pick up the big guy around 8pm and he’ll be sleepy and content, dreaming the whole way home about his sweetheart, her flowing golden tail and how he’s totally gonna kick Zues’ ass at the polls.