Good morning everyone! It’s finally December, and that mean’s it’s officially the most wonderful time of the year! If you’ve been following me for awhile now, you already know that I love Christmas time. I love driving around and enjoying all of the twinkle lights, sledding, snow fort building, and hot chocolate drinking If you live anywhere near us, you’re also getting to enjoy snowy evenings by the fire.
And if you’re like me, then you’re also standing outside in the snowy cold night waiting for your new puppy to go potty. It’s seriously a good thing he’s cute!
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you’ve already met him, but I’d still like to officially introduce you to our newest family member, Bandit.
He’s was originally named Cosmo after “Cosmo’s moon” in the movie Moonstruck with Cher and Nicolas Cage. I saw it years ago, and when I saw him I start singing… “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that’s amore”
I also used it as a selling point for my husband because in the movie Cosmo sees a moon so big and bright that it reminds him of the night he proposed to his wife. How romantic right? And thus our new puppy would obviously remind me of how much my husband loves us!
However for some reason the name Cosmo just didn’t stick, and we ended up going with Bandit. Since he’s fairly sneaky and stealth, I think Bandit is also a good fit!
Anyway, he’s super duper cute and cuddly. He’s a Borgie that came from some very good friends of ours. Are you’re wondering what the heck a Borgie is? Don’t worry, I didn’t know what that was either! It’s a Border Collie and Corgi mix. He looks just like one of our first border collies, however he is much shorter! Like he disappears in snowdrifts over about 5” tall. But don’t worry, he loves the snow and always comes back out the other side. So it’s all good.
So far he’s very smart, cuddly, and playful. Both Corgi’s and Border Collies are stock dogs, so they’re used to herding their flock. And he’s definitely very good herding the children! Everyone is super excited to have a puppy for Christmas, and he’s been lots of fun to have around. He’ll be even more fun once he’s potty trained 
Anyway, onto the reason for this post, it’s time for the December 2015 Monthly Meal Plan! This one is a yummy month as it includes lots of warm comfort foods, along with some festive winter snack ideas and treats too! I hope you enjoy it, and have a wonderful holiday season!
Download the 2015 December Monthly Meal Plan:
If you haven’t already used this before, you can click on any of the underlined menu items to get to the recipe.
I like to shop once a week, so I just make a list off of my menu plan and head to the store. I find that I spend less when I shop off of a list, then flying by the seat of my pants. I also end up with ingredients that will actually go together instead of a bunch of random items that don’t amount to anything.
For more fun recipes, visit my Recipes Page!
Here are some of our favorite smoothie recipes, just click on the image below!
Merry Christmas!
Oh Erica, your new pup is cute! Aren’t puppies fun to potty train in the winter? LOL (Not so much… I’ve had plenty of experience with that one. Two of our shelties were brought home in the winter. Then our latest, an Aussie, was brought home in Feb. 2013, during that really cold spell of lots of -30F windchills here in WI.) He will do a great job of herding the kids. All of ours have. Our Aussie used to like to play tag around the kitchen island when he was really little. He would stand back, looking over the top for the kids’ heads. LOL He is a smart pup! 🙂 Enjoy your new furry family member. 🙂
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!
Hey Michelle! You have an Aussie?!?!? We are thinking of getting one, but honestly, the exercise needs concern me.. I love them tho! Can you give me any tips ??
I hear they’re very hyper much like the border collies and corgi’s are. We definitely have to walk Bandit 2-3 times/day and we always take him to the park to play with the other dogs each morning as well. That is easy for us though because they’re are a ton of dogs in our neighborhood and they all meet up at the park because the bus picks up and drops off the kids there. So he get’s a puppy play date everyday LOL!
I really should plan out my entire months of meals .. especially in December. This month is just crazy all the time!
We are a homeschooling family also and are thinking of getting a puppy… Tell me the truth… how hard is it to homeschool and have a dog? We are looking into getting an Australian Shepherd, which is also a herding breed.. Any advice one be greatly appreciated:)
Thanks
It’s been a bit of a challenge since it’s kind of like having a new baby. We do have an outside area that leads into our garage with a kennel so he can go out during school without being stuck out in the cold. It was tough the first few weeks while we were potty training him because we had to keep a constant eye on him. And everyone had to take turns keeping him occupied LOL! But he’s about 5 months old now and he’s not having accidents inside anymore or chewing up things he’s not supposed to (for the most part!) Now we take him on a walk first thing in the morning, then he comes back and eats breakfast, then sleeps in the school room while we work. Then we all have lunch together, including the puppy. Then we finish school and he gets to go outside for a bit. Then we walk him after school again 🙂 So I’m not gonna lie, he does take a lot of work, but he’s also been a lot of fun!!