Tag Archives: animals

Oct14

Kids And Pets: Teaching Your Children Responsibility The Adorable Way

Posted on October 14, 2016 by lifewithlilred

My first pet was a guinea pig way back when in the fifth grade. He was the most precious little thing – black and white with a brown circle around his left eye. My fifth grade level of creativity settled on the name of Oreo and he was simply the best. I have always been really fond of small, furry animals and now the latest battle is getting my boyfriend to get me a bunny! So far I have been unsuccessful but that’s nothing that a little persistence can’t cure! Check out some more ideas for pets that are perfect for children in this article:

Kids And Pets: Teaching Your Children Responsibility The Adorable Way:

Any parent knows the feeling that creeps up when the kids decide that they want a pet. There is a conversation that always takes place between the parent, who is keen and reluctant at the same time, and the kids. You know that there will be early enthusiasm, followed by distraction. You will be left being the one who looks after the pet – which you won’t mind, but there are valuable lessons about responsibility here.

It doesn’t help that the most usual pets are the ones who often require the most looking after. Everyone loves a kitten or a puppy. As they grow, though, they need to be seen through some milestones. Unless you want a misbehaving adolescent dog or a litter of surprise kittens, they need to be “fixed”. And if they act out while you’re away from home, it’s carnage. So to get kids used to looking after a pet, a less high-maintenance one may be a great start.

Birds: Noisy And Full Of Character, But Not Too Much Stress: A tropical bird can be one of the most enjoyable pets for kids and adults alike. It is advisable to find one that is already habituated to humans. Find a hand raised Amazon for sale and look forward to some of the most entertaining years of your life.

Of course, they need to be fed but that’s no sweat. Even the most squeamish kid can find the fun in feeding bits of fruit to a parrot. And be careful of your children trying to teach the parrot rude words. It’s almost inevitable, but the more attention you pay, the less likely there will be “hilarious consequences.”

Bird is the word

Tortoises: The Anti-Parrot (In Most Ways): If you’re looking for a low maintenance pet, you can’t go far wrong with a tortoise. Your kids may initially be skeptical. You can’t take a tortoise for a walk on a leash, or teach it to beg for scraps. However, they are sociable and patient animals. One major advantage that they have is that they can live to a ripe old age. Anyone who has ever consoled a child through the loss of a pet knows how much of a relief this is.

TURTLE!!

Guinea Pigs: Full Of Fun And Easy To Handle: If you’re looking for something in the small rodent family, then the Guinea Pig is the ideal pet to get your kids used to furry friends. They’re highly sociable and don’t mind being handled. They also know when they are about to be fed, which leads to an excitable squeak that the kids will adore. And when they’re euphoric, they do something called “popcorning.” On that, we’ll let the video speak – or squeak – for itself.

So. CUTE!

Of course, you will need to talk seriously with your kids from time to time about how to look after a pet. Naturally, their attention spans are not at the same level as yours. But as they gain the skills to care for a pet, you can think about cats and dogs too. Just watch out if you have a cat and a parrot. Cats like to chase birds, and they may see an adult parrot as the ultimate challenge!

What was your first pet? What kind of pet do you have now? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Apr10

DOGS

Posted on April 10, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and happy Sunday! I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend! As you guys know, our newest addition to the family was adopted on Valentine’s Day. He’s a little dog named Ollie and he’s seriously the cutest thing on the planet. Every day my family learns something new about Ollie and it has been recently discovered that he’s really afraid of storms.

The first major rainfall in Ohio happened a couple of weeks ago and Ollie was so scared that he retreated under my bed. We didn’t know this, though, and my dad ended up calling my boyfriend and I upstairs from the basement because he couldn’t find Ollie anywhere. We scoured all of the closets, cabinets, and corners and finally Kyle found him curled up under my bed. It was so scary not being able to find him for those few minutes so it was definitely a huge relief when Kyle discovered Ollie’s hiding place.

Now that we know of Ollie’s storm phobia we decided to break out the thunder coat that belonged to one of our past precious pooches. But the trick is, is that the thunder coat is five times too big for little Ollie! My mom and I managed to figure out a way to get the coat wrapped and secured on Ollie and he was then able to brave the next storm like the big boy that he is! Take a look:

^^^ Omg. SO cute.

I love how the thunder coat looks like a little cape on Ollie! He looks like a tiny super hero dog. The picture of me holding him was taken when it was raining and I couldn’t get over how adorable the way I was holding him was. He got himself like that on his own and it was like cradling a fury little toddler!

So there you have it, some cute new pictures of my brave wittle Ollie!! Has anyone welcomed a new pet into their home recently? How do you help comfort a pup that is afraid of storms? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar31

Spirit Animal Award

Posted on March 31, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and happy Thursday! Yesterday I was nominated by my blogging BFF, Nida, over at ShopaholicBlogs for the Spirit Animal Award. Nida is seriously the sweetest most fabulous blogger around so make sure you check out her page! I was so excited when I was nominated for this award by my friend because the Spirit Animal Award is one that my page has never received before. I was very curious as to what it was and I’m sure you guys are too so let’s take a look at the rules and then get started:

The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their page.
Post the award picture on your blog.
Write a paragraph about yourself and what your blog means to you.
If you could be any animal what would it be?
Pick and notify ten nominees.

All About lifewithlilred:

My blog is basically my online journal. I love to write and interact with new people and blogging has been an amazing outlet and a great way to meet new friends. All of my posts are a look inside the mind of a very creative and unique gal who has a lot of strong opinions to share. You never know what you’re going to get when you tune into lifewithlilred every day and that’s exactly how I want it. My posts range from discussing beauty and fashion to mental health and everything in between. Lifewithlilred is my safe haven where I can write and create anything that I want and I love going to my laptop every day and seeing what I’ll come up with next!

What Animal Would I Be?

Hmm…Probably a peacock because I’m a colorful person inside and out! And they’re pretty. :*)

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

Thank you again so much to my darling Nida at ShopaholicBlogs for nominating me for the Spirit Animal Award! That was so much fun. What animal would you guys be? Why? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar15

Akron Zoo Date

Posted on March 15, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hey everyone and happy Tuesday! Last Friday my boyfriend, Kyle, and I had the most fantastic date day. We went out to lunch at my favorite restaurant and then we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Akron Zoo. Kyle wanted this post to be called “No Bears? No Problem. A Day At The Zoo With My Boyfriend” but that title was way too long so we’ll just stick with Akron Zoo Date for now! Read up on our lovely day together and be sure to check out all of our zoo pictures, compliments of my beau:

For lunch, Kyle and I went to my favorite restaurant which just so happens to be right down the street from me. It’s called the Saffron Patch and it’s seriously the best Indian food I’ve ever had. I recently got Kyle hooked on Indian food when we went to an Indian buffet on Valentine’s Day and I’ve also been craving it something fierce. So when I got to pick where we were going for lunch, I knew exactly where I wanted to go!

The Saffron Patch has such a great atmosphere and the inside of the restaurant is so beautiful. We had a gigantic and insanely delicious meal fit for royalty. Malai Kofta for me and Tandoori Chicken for Kyle along with Naan and jasmine rice for us to share. We ate until we were stuffed silly and were fearful that we might be too full to walk around at the zoo! However, we were dedicated to our idea of exploring the nearby zoo in my neck of the woods so despite our full bellies, we ventured to the Akron Zoo after lunch.

Here are some of the many pictures that Kyle snapped during our visit:

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The rest of our afternoon was spent saying hello to all of the beautiful animals at the Akron Zoo… Except for the bears, who were all out of their exhibits. Hence the meaning of Kyle’s wannabe title “No Bears? No Problem.” Although we didn’t get to see the grizzly and sloth bears, we still got to see so many amazing animal friends. Friday was slightly overcast in good ol’ Akron, Ohio which made the day even better because it was like having the whole zoo to ourselves.

Some of our favorite exhibits that we saw were the penguins, otters, and the lemurs! The lemurs were so active when we were there and Kyle and I spent a solid fifteen minutes watching them jump about and interact with each other. We liked watching them so much that we went back to visit them again before we left! As you can see in the picture of the lemurs, one of them made it into his little tree house and was observing all of the action that was going on with his friends. This made us laugh so hard because one of our favorite phrases, compliments of Borat, is “king of the castle” and this little lemur was definitely king of the castle/tree house!

One of our other fan favorites were the red wolves who were insanely active! While one ran about, the other was busy chasing his tail. The wolf went around and around so many times and then he would change the direction that he was running in to try and catch that darn tail! The wolves were also howling away at the coyotes that were housed next door which was cool to hear! When the coyotes weren’t too busy howling at their neighbors, they spent their time having a race around the exhibit. They were neck and neck and seemed to be having so much fun! It was so cute. :*)

Kyle and I spent close to two hours walking around the zoo and giving “window love”, as Kyle calls it, to all of the precious animals. We explored until it was almost closing time and then we headed back to my house for some R&R. Our evening was spent watching Horrible Bosses and a few episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm before Kyle made his way back home for the night. Our entire day was so perfect. We got to go out and do something that we normally wouldn’t do and make lots of fun new memories. Great success!

Our Akron Zoo Date was such a blast and I can’t wait to have another date day with my beau soon! Where is your favorite place to go on a date? What was one of the best dates that you’ve ever been on? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar4

New Puppy Pictures!

Posted on March 4, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hey everyone and TGIF! We are having so much fun at home with our newly adopted pup, Ollie. So far he loves playing with toys, eating treats, and lots of snuggles! The last time my mom and I went shopping, we picked out a special little Ollie sized toy for him to play with and he’s kind of obsessed. Take a look at some adorable new pics of peanut:

^^^ So precious! ❤

Watching Ollie figure out how to play with his new donkey toy was seriously one of the cutest things of my life. It’s the perfect size and color and Ollie loves to make it squeak and shake him around. Ollie took a quick break from playing with his new friend to pose for the first picture but otherwise, he’s constantly romping about with his buddy and Golden Retriever sister.

Another sweet thing about Ollie is that he loves to be tucked in! The very first day that we had peanut at home, I wrapped him up in a blue towel after he had a bath and he took a little snooze. Now every night that I’m home, I’ll tuck him into a blankie after he’s all settled in for the night. The second picture of Ollie was taken the night that he got his new toy. He brought it with him onto the chair that he likes to sleep on and tucked his buddy under his chin while I covered him with a blanket. Needless to say, my heart was melting!

Every day is a new adventure with little Ollie so definitely expect some more New Puppy Pictures in the future! Do you have any pets at home? If so, what kind and what are their names? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb19

Hi! My Name Is…

Posted on February 19, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hiii everyone and TGIF! Okay, so if you read one of my previous posts, It’s A Boy!, you’ll know that my family recently just adopted a new sweet addition to our home. We finally have decided on a name for our little pup…and “Ollie” stuck! From the very beginning, my mom and I were very pro Ollie but my dad unfortunately was not on board. BUT after almost an entire week of my mom and I calling him Ollie, my dad finally came around! Is he happy about it? I don’t know. But I knew my mom and I had this small victory in the bag when I heard my dad calling him Ollie last night! Score!

My dad snapped some pictures of our little peanut bear and his Golden Retriever big sister, Gem, yesterday so take a look at our dog children:

^^^ Lol, that second picture kills me! #selfie

We are so happy to have our Ollie Bear and Gem and we are extremely thankful to the rescue group, Canine Lifeline, for helping to make them part of the Mushenheim family! Be sure to check out their website and give their Facebook page a like as well! 🙂

Oh, by the way, Ollie says “thank you” to everyone for all of the sweet compliments on my previous post about him! He was so flattered! Happy Friday! Much love. -Sarah

Feb17

It’s A Boy!

Posted on February 17, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! I hope the week is going fabulously so far for all of you. On Valentine’s Day my family said “yes” to opening our home to a sweet baby boy. His name is…Well, he doesn’t have a name yet but he’s the cutest little stinker on the planet. He has four legs, soft fur, a tail, and ears that stand up like a bunny. He’s not a cat, he’s not a tiger, nor an armadillo. Baby No Name is a dog! Take a look at the newest edition to the Mushenheim family:

^^^ It’s A Boy…Dog!! ❤

My family works closely with the amazing rescue group, Canine Lifeline, so of course we adopted baby bear through them! Our Golden Retriever and peanut’s big sister, Gem, was also adopted through CLL two years ago. Both pups came from a rural shelter in Kentucky and ended up being taken in by CLL a few states away in Ohio. My family has been thinking of adopting a new dog for quite some time and this feeling was intensified when my sister moved to her own apartment, taking her rescue pup, Winston, with her.

After looking through the dogs available for adoption on CLL’s website daily, we finally came across our peanut. On February thirteenth, we took him home for the day and over night to see how he would interact with Gem. We bathed him, cuddled him, and played our time away and by Valentine’s Day, we were smitten. Not only did we adore him but Gem got along with him just fine and is very excited about her new little brother!

Peanut is the most precious little pup and he’s definitely a change of pace from all of the other sweet dogs that we’ve had throughout the ages. We’ve never had a dog as small as him before so it’s been fun being able to pick him up and hold him like the baby he is! The only problem we’ve had thus far is that we can’t come up with a name for the life of us!

From the moment my mom and I picked peanut up on the thirteenth, we’ve been spit balling names like nobody’s business. We are both dead set on his name being “Oliver” but calling him “Ollie” for short. Unfortunately, my dad isn’t quite sold on that idea yet. So now, I need everyone’s help! Asides from doing me a solid and visiting CLL’s website and giving their Facebook page a like, I want your suggestions on what to name peanut! In case you forgot what he looks like, here’s another darling pic of our baby:

^^^ I LOVE THIS DOG!!!!

My family is so proud to have our household be little peanut’s “forever home” and we can’t wait to begin making memories with him! What do you think we should name our baby boy? Do you have a pet adoption story to share? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan21

ANIMAL LOVERS UNITE!!!

Posted on January 21, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a very important post on lifewithlilred brought to you by the amazing work of Ohio rescue group, Canine Lifeline. There is a sweet pup named Sapphire who desperately needs help here in Ohio. I am sending out the Bat Signal and asking all of my readers to meet Sapphire, read her story, share this post, and please donate if you can to help pay for her extensive medical care:

Sapphire’s Story:

“Sapphire, the emaciated young stray dog, who came to us from the Mahoning County Dog Warden last Wednesday, was transferred yesterday from Macedonia Vet Clinic to the Akron Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center for an ultrasound since she continued to eat very little and appeared to be declining. Her white blood cell count was through the roof and continually rising indicating some type of infection but nothing definitive could be seen on x-rays. The ultrasound this morning showed some foreign masses in her abdomen so she underwent exploratory surgery there this afternoon. Fabric material was found in her stomach and intestinal tract. Her stomach had to be opened to remove this material. Her intestine had been perforated in 5-6 places from having this material in there for so long and was the source of the infection so 16 inches of her intestine were removed. The fact that she survived 2+ hours of surgery in her emaciated state is truly amazing but we had to try as it was the only thing that was going to save her. The surgeon told us that her prognosis is guarded at this point due to the risk of sepsis and will be touch-and-go over the next few days. We are grateful to the extraordinary staff at the Akron Veterinary Referral Center for taking such good care of Sapphire and giving her a chance at a happy and healthy life. Her vet bills are already in the many thousands of dollars so PLEASE consider making a tax-deductible donation to Canine Lifeline to help us save Sapphire. Online donations may be made on our website at www.caninelifeline.org or a check may be sent to Canine Lifeline, PO Box 25742, Garfield Hts OH 44125. THANK YOU!”

Other than visiting CLL’s website, you can also go to their Facebook page for additional information especially if you would like to get in touch with one of their incredible founders or volunteers. Please, please, please share Sapphire’s story and ANY donations are much needed and forever appreciated. Much love. -Sarah

Aug12

Island Boat Lines Wildlife Tour

Posted on August 12, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! So as you know, this week on lifewithlilred I’ll be discussing a different highlight of my Orlando, Florida vacation every day. Last Thursday my family took a break from hanging out at Universal Studios to go on an amazing wildlife tour through Island Boat Lines. We drove about an hour away to the 1,000 Islands of Cocoa Beach and boarded our “tour boat” in search of dolphins, manatees, and birds. I got to see some wildlife that we definitely don’t have in Ohio, so take a look at some pics and let’s get to it!

The Island Boat Lines wildlife tour is two full hours of exploring the 1,000 Islands with the boat captain and two naturalists who are all extremely knowledgeable. Not only did I get to see a lot but I also learned so much from them as well! After a quick lesson on boat etiquette our tour began and within ten minutes of sailing we saw our first manatee! Unfortunately, these sweet and shy creatures were very difficult to photograph but let me tell you: THEY’RE SO CUTE!!! It was so fun to see their big ol’ bodies bobbing along in the water. The entire time I just wanted to jump out of the boat and pet them. We saw five or six manatees on our tour and of course there were more but they are pretty hard to spot because they blend in with the water so well.

All throughout our tour we saw an abundance of birds like pelicans, herons, storks, and anhingas. They were everywhere!! It seemed like wherever we looked they were perched in their trees, in flight, or in the stork’s case just hanging out in someone’s backyard. I’ll admit that I’m not much of a bird gal, I had two parakeets once…and they died…But that’s neither here nor there. The point is, that it was really cool to see these majestic creatures up close and personal because Ohio obviously doesn’t have anhingas flying around every time you turn a corner.

Not only did we see our fair share of animals but we also saw a lot of plants and flowers native to Florida. I was very excited to see a Naked & Afraid staple of the Mangrove Tree, myself! It was such a nice change to see vivid blossoming flowers and palm trees rather than the yellow grass and weeds that I’m used to in my neck of the woods. Speaking of grass, did you know that palm trees are actually a type of grass? You didn’t? ME EITHER!! #wildlifetour101

Everything that I got to see on the tour was awesome but the most memorable part of the wildlife cruise was seeing the dolphins!!!! During our two hour ride we saw eight to ten playful dolphins splashing and jumping about and it was something that I will never ever forget. Like the manatees, they were next to impossible to photograph but rest assured that they are gorgeous! The major highlight of the tour was seeing two dolphins, a big and a little one, jumping at the same time. It looked like something you would see in a movie and I got to experience it first hand. Most importantly, I got to witness such beautiful creatures in their natural habitat doing what they do best…avoiding getting their picture taken. -_- 😉

If you are ever in the Orlando, Florida area, I seriously cannot recommend the Island Boat Lines wildlife tour enough. All of their information can be found on http://www.islandboatlines.com or they can be reached at 321-454-7414. Make sure to check them out!!

So there you have it, my Island Boat Lines Wildlife Tour experience! What was the most memorable animal you’ve seen in real life? Have you ever been on a tour similar to the one that I described? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: The stud in my featured image photo is my dad!!! Isn’t he handsome?! ❤

Jun11

Bark At The Park!!!

Posted on June 11, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyy everyone and happy Thursday! I had a really fabulous night last night with my sister Kristen and her satanic dog Winston at Bark At The Park. Akron, Ohio’s minor league baseball team the Rubber Ducks play at Canal Park in downtown Akron and two times during the summer, you’re allowed to bring your pup to the game with you. Last night was obviously one of those nights so we got ourselves ready, packed up the devil dog, and was on our merry way! Now you guys may be thinking “Winston looks so cute, there’s no way that he’s as bad as Sarah says he is”. BUT on contrare – he’s literally the worst dog ever! Yes, he’s cute but he’s the biggest yippy yappy brat in the entire world! He loves to bite, bark, growl, and just be flat out annoying. The only person who he likes in my family is Kristen so the rest of us our left to suffer at the paws of a twelve pound dog. SHAMEFUL! Anyways, we got to Canal Park with Winston in tow, purchased our tickets, and found our seats in the “dog friendly” section of the park. Throughout the walkway there were huge kiddie pools filled with water and loving owners walking their tiny, small, medium, and flat out huge four legged (and sometimes three legged!) friends. Winston had a blast getting his hump on and smelling a bunch of butts and Kristen and I had a great time too! We weren’t paying attention to the game at all, so I couldn’t tell you anything about that but we had an awesome time enjoying each others company, petting dogs, looking at dogs, being a dog, and taking a million batrillion selfies! Take a look:

^^^ I LOVE US!!! Our evening at Bark At The Park was seriously so much fun – much more than I thought it would be because I wasn’t too keen on going originally but Kristen talked me into it and I’m so glad that she did! Once we got home from the game, the good times just kept on rolling because one of my favorite guys took me out for a night of drinking and good old fashion tom foolery. White girl wastedness definitely happened and lots of wonderful moments were shared between my handsome devil and I! So yeah, it was a pretty swell night – and after my shit show of a birthday I think I deserved it! All of these outings with my friends has helped take away the birthday blues and I’m feeling much better about the whole situation – especially when drinking heavily is involved! 😉 The big 2-1 is finally here… It started off rocky but it’s been vastly improving as the week goes on which you better believe I’m beyond happy for!!

I hope all of you are having a fabulous day so far! Does any of the sports arenas you live by have an event similar to Bark At The Park? And also, does anyone have any recommendations on how to ease the god awful itch of mosquito bites? I got bit up last night and I basically wanna tear my skin off right now – that’s how bad they itch! I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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