Traveling with a pet

Yes, the Thanksgiving post is finally here.  Thanksgiving was amazing.  My family was finally together, I got to see everyone, plus FOOD!  The plan that Brian and I had to visit all the houses did not work this year.  Not only did I get full again on a small plate at the first house, but my Grandmother said we got to her house late again.  Next year, we will be visited her house first.  I didn’t take as many pictures because so much was going on, but I did manage to get action shots. 

Aside from that, we took Mr. Tibbs on the trip with us.  Since this was Mr. Tibbs’ third big travel, I thought he would handle it a little better than last year.  Going there was decent.  We started the trip off with Brian bringing him down stairs.  After dealing with him hissing at me last year for waking him up so early, I got Brian to handle it.  When I uncovered him at the normal time he would wake up, I decided to cover him up partially so the sun wouldn’t get in his eyes.  He wasn’t as agitated as last year, but he issues with big trucks, bumps in the road and me trying to sleep when he wanted my attention.

His hiding place during the bumps in the road.

When he finally arrived at my Mom’s house, he was quiet.  He loves my Mom and will whistle at the sound of her voice but he wasn’t use to her new house.  We moved the birds beside him to make him more comfortable, but he couldn’t get over the fact that he had eyes watching him from the wall. 

The Dining room in my Mom's new house is filled with pictures of our family.   Mr. Tibbs was surrounded by baby pictures of my siblings and myself.

Sky remembered Mr. Tibbs and climbed to the side of her cage to get a glimpse of his awesomeness, while Tweety flapped his wings with jealousy.  I felt bad for leaving Mr. Tibbs in that environment, but I knew he was in good hands.  He finally got comfortable the Sunday morning when my Mom fed him, sung to him and gave him treats.  When we left the house, he couldn’t stop squawking to see my Mom again. 

Coming back home with Mr. Tibbs was a mess.  He didn’t have to endure a bumpy road, because we were stuck in traffic for two hours.  He started to get uncomfortable at sunset.  When it gets dark, he always squawks for the light to be turned on.  Since we were driving, that wasn’t possible.  The only way to handle that was to put him to bed early.  Once he was covered up, he squawked for over 30 minutes.  We finally made it home at 1030pm and he couldn’t have been more happier.  He got out his cage to stretch his wings and enjoyed doing the things he couldn’t do on his 4 day trip.  But then we noticed he picked up a habit from Sky and Tweety:

Mr. Tibbs sitting on top of his mirror. 

It took him two days to shake it, but he was back to his normal self.

Here are some tips I learned over the years and will keep close to my heart for next time:

-It's easy to stress a bird.  If you can, see if a family/friend can watch your bird or check them into a birdie hotel.  If not you can follow these rules too!

-Secure the cage in the back seat and with a seat belt.

-Make sure all toys are either removed or tied to the side of the cage.  If you are tying them, do not use the trash bag ties or any other toxic materials.  Mr. Tibbs has a favorite bell and will go wherever it is.  He will risk getting injured just to be near this bell.  We have to tie it carefully so he has access to it and it doesn’t hurt him if we hit a bump in the road.

-Keep them covered the majority of the trip.  Too many moving vehicles and light can agitate them.  Originally, I covered the side the light was hitting his cage.  After I caught him squawking at a couple of trucks, I decided to cover the sides of his cage and leave the front exposed so he could see my husband and I.  All birds are different, so this rule may not apply.

-Put the food in containers and bring an extra water bottle.  It’s hard to carry his cage down the stairs and in the car at 330 in the morning without spilling his water.  For this trip we emptied his water and when he was in the car securely, we poured water from the water bottle in his bowl.  Not only was it easier, but we didn’t have to go back in the house to refill it.

-Make sure your bird is in a comfortable environment.  If you have to use a travel cage, make sure your bird is familiar with it before the trip.  Also, invest in a birdie platform so they can rest on it if the ride to your destination has a lot of bumps.  Mr. Tibbs usually sits on his perch but when the ride gets rough, he has to catch himself so he doesn’t lose his balance.  When this happens, he jumps on his platform and stays till the ride gets smoother.

-Entertain them.  Mr. Tibbs hates when his cage shakes when the car is moving for 8-10 hours.  He eats a little here and there but he tries to stay on his platform as much as he can.  To make him feel better, we play his favorite songs.  Last year, his favorite was Michael Jackson's History album. This year’s picks are Fresh Prince (Will Smith) and light Jazz:

Happy Early Thanksgiving

Since I will be traveling in less than 24 hours, I would like to wish all my followers (and lurkers) an early Happy Thanksgiving!  Be safe and enjoy!

Exciting Dates

My life hasn’t been that interesting lately but I have been looking forward to a couple of dates:

Thanksgiving is officially 10 days away.

I am more excited than usual this year about Thanksgiving this year because of three things! 

1.      I haven’t seen my family since Thanksgiving 2011 and I will be seeing everyone again for the first time.  Since I’ve moved out of town, I always planned my trips Friday after work.  I always flew, so I didn’t have to worry about driving and eating up my trip.  Now that I’m married and it’s cheaper to drive, Brian and I have been planning our trips around holidays.  This year has been crappy:

a.      Memorial Day weekend is our anniversary so that’s a definite no. 

b.      July 4^th was on a weekday.

c.      Labor Day weekend had a major Hurricane.

d.      I’m not off on other holidays.

2.      My family is hosting Thanksgiving in Virginia.  Every Thanksgiving, my family host dinner in a different State at an Aunt or Uncle’s house.  Last year, they had it in Mississippi.  2010 was in Georgia.  2009 was back in Virginia.  2008 was in Texas.  It’s tough for everyone to make it because of the distance.  This year, we are having it in Virginia again and everyone is going!  My family hasn’t been together since 2004.  Even at my wedding in 2008, everyone was there except for my Uncles in Mississippi and Texas.  Oh and my camera is working again, so I can document this!

3.      Three house visit.  This tradition started in 2008.  Once I moved to Georgia, I had a tough time visiting everyone during the holidays.  I visited my family on my Mom’s side and my in-laws, but my Grandparents on my dad’s side complained that I didn’t visit enough during the holidays.  So I split my Thanksgiving dinner to three visits.  Last year, I made the mistake of portioning my visits incorrectly.  This year, Brian and I made a plan:

a.      Visit my Mom’s house and drop Mr. Tibbs off.

b.      Visit my Mom’s side of the family and make a to-go meal and socialize. 

c.      Visit my Grandparents, eat my first meal and socialize.  My grandmother hates us coming to her house with a full belly, so I have no choice.

d.      Visit my in-laws, eat dessert and socialize.

e.      Stay at my Mom’s house for the first night and eat the to-go meal on Friday.

f.       Stay at my in-law’s house the next two days to make up for the short visit.

Mr. Tibbs’ bird-a-versary is officially 3 days away.

I can’t believe I have had my “little man” for almost 4 years.  His personality has changed so much and I love having him as a pet.  I will post more about it on Tibby Thursday. 

12/16/2012!

My car will be paid off!  My car was the major bill that I needed to be wiped out so I can start saving even more for my exams.  I’m still aiming for January/February to take my first exam.

The Monday after Thanksgiving

Happy Cyber Monday and Happy 6 month anniversary to my Husband and I!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

On Wednesday, my job let us leave 2 hrs early so I was able to catch up on all the cleaning and packing we had to do before our 10 hour drive.  Thursday morning, we were so tired that we left the house at 430am.  We had Mr. Tibbs with us during the whole ride.  He is a morning bird, but early morning...not so much.  I had to deal with him hissing at me everytime I got near him.  He changed his tune after our first stop after 5hrs.

We finally made it to our destination at 2pm.  We only had enough time to drop Tibby off at my Mom's house and then freshen up because of our future visits. The thing that makes our Thanksgiving different from others is that we have to visit 3 houses; my Mom's, my grandmothers, and my in-laws.  To make everything easier on us, my Mom decided to move Thanksgiving to my God-Mom's house so that all the house we had to visit were in the same city.  That made our day!

First we headed to my God-Moms.  Before we left, my boss gave me a tip on how to eat.  "Grandma is always the most important.  Eat at her house first and then take little bites at everyone else's house."  I wish I had taken that advice.  As you can see in the pictures below, my God-parents and my Mom made everything that was soooo yummy.  The two things I was looking forward to was my Mom's macaroni and cheese and cheese cake.  I think I gained 10lbs before I left for my Grandma's.

Before we left, my God-brother told me he got a new pet...a turtle.  Never seeing a turtle up close, I instantly grabbed him.  To my family, I am known as "dog girl" and the girl who loves animals.  The first reaction my family said was "EWWWW."   Lol.   I loved this little turtle, especially since Mr. Tibbs was giving me no love.

Next, we headed to my grandmothers.  My sister decided to tag along with Brian and I.  Their first reaction when they opened the door was that we were "strangers."  Oops.  The rest of the time at my grandparents house was filled with conversation and my sister and I getting fussed out by my grandmother for coming over with full bellies, especially my sister.  I didn't get to eat her famous pineapple upside down cake, but I did get to visit :-).

Finally, we made it to my in-laws.  I couldn't fit anymore food down, so we stayed up and socialized with the family.  By 10pm, I was fighting sleep, but I was able to stay up for another 2 hrs.

For the rest of the weekend, we visited my Mom and Mr. Tibbs to make sure they were okay.  As usual, she spoiled him.  I let him out of the cage on Friday and he flew around the room and before he landed on the china closet and then my arm.  And I was the main one that said that I wasn't going to let him out.

Saturday, we went shopping with my in-laws and for our pre-anniversary, Brian and I went to see Twilight, Breaking Dawn.  I actually liked it.  Kristen is getting better with her acting and the make up was awesome...her facial expressions, not so much.  What I didn't like is that Jacob just can't back away.  Come on dude, they are married now!!!

Sunday, we said our good byes to our parents, picked up Mr. Tibbs and left to go back home.  In those 10hrs, we had some adventures:

Tibby finally got comfortable with the drive...until the last hr.

South of the Border.  I have never been, but I always enjoy the signs on the border of South Carolina and North Carolina.

And finally, Mr. Tibbs and his love for Michael Jackson.  In this video, he is whistling to "Heart break Hotel."

Tomorrow is the day!

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

While I am not looking forward to a 10hr drive back to see my family in the morning, I am usually on top of packing.  Here's what I have done so far:

Packing (1/3 complete so far)
Cleaning the House
Cleaning Tibby's cage
Moving Tibby's food in a smaller container
Wash my Hair
Pack pillows and blankets for the ride
Bring CDs

Thank you to my wonderful husband for distracting me with awesome TV shows, lol.  Hopefully, everything will be set by 8pm. (Mind you that I get home at 6pm).

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!