Author Archives: Tammie Earl

Guinea Pigs and a Road Trip – Ideas and Tips From a Traveling Family

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We are on the road again! A couple months ago as I started planning the next PCS move, I started worrying about my sweet guinea pigs. My first thought was that I’d bless another military family with these wonderful creatures. I mean, they are delicate little critters, right?
But I was having trouble with the idea, since I’m absolutely smitten and my oldest son has a very strong attachment too. He’s created a Guinea Pig Club at school. All members of the club have 1 special guinea pig power and a nickname. My son, as the leader of the club, has all the powers so that he can properly lead the group, and has plans to open another chapter at his new school. Knowing all this, I thought that I should at least consider trying to move WITH the pigs.
I found answers to all my questions on Guinea Lynx. There’s a forum there for guinea pig lovers and although they are a little on the extreme side with their pig lovin’, the information was very helpful. I learned that plenty of people have moved their pigs for thousands of miles without casualties, so I decided to give it a go.
Food: Today is our first day on the road and so far, Chippy Wippy Nippy Gippy (this is one piggy, not four) and Muskrat are doing GREAT. They both seem to be quite comfortable, although they aren’t eating their usual timothy based food pellets. It was recommended that while traveling, you bring lots of water laden goodies like celery, tomatoes, lettuce and the like, but I forgot that today. While at Subway, I managed to sweet talk the sandwich artist into slipping me a few extra slices of tomatoes for my babies into a cookie sleeve. I’ll go out tonight and grab some goodies for them before we hit the road again.
Water Bottle: The water bottle was questionable. I was planning to leave it in the cage for them, hoping that on a straight stretch of road it wouldn’t be too leaky. I think if we were in a car we’d be fine but we are pulling another vehicle and there are more bumps and jerks so the water bottle leaks a good bit. I took it out and placed it in a cup holder. When we stop for gas or food, I’ll put it in the cage for them.
Bedding: Instead of a loose bedding like wood chips or carefresh, which would surely be strewn all about the vehicle by the end of one day of travels, I’m using towels. Even better would be something absorbent like a towel with a piece of fabric that wicks away moisture such as fleece. I’m just using the towel though, and it’s working fine. Bring enough towels so that you can change it out every evening before you go to bed. I’m tossing the dirty ones into a walmart bag which I’ll launder separately next time I go to the laundromat.
Socialization: Against the advice of all those very hard core guinea pig lovers, we are socializing our piggies on the road! My kids love them and our dogs are small and have never shown any aggression. If you have big dogs or terriers, I don’t necessarily recommend this idea, but one of my dogs is a yorkie! He doesn’t show any type of desire to hurt the guinea pigs though, since he’s about the same size as they are I guess! My other dog is a poodle mix and she’s content to sit in the driver’s lap and sleep.
Lots of animal lovers would have their critters more contained, which is surely more safe for them. With the dogs in a crate and the piggies always in their cage, I’m sure there’s less room for dangerous circumstances, but for us, this is really working. I suggest you read a few more articles on the subject though, and make up your own mind.

Tips and Tricks – Moving Out of Rental Housing

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We move frequently.

If you are a military family, you probably relate to that first sentence well and giggled a little. This article is for those frequent movers or not so frequent movers who are trying to make the best of it and not tackle the project willy nilly. It’s written with Lincoln Housing at Camp Pendleton, California in mind, but is certainly relevant to anyone living in a rental.

Tips:
■Start Early. Start planning and putting thought into the move at least a month prior to packing day. Don’t wait until a week before the packers are coming to start collecting your thoughts, boxes, and planning the move. If you only have a week left and you are just reading this article, bless your heart. You are going to have to work very fast or you will not be ready come moving day.
■Get Organized. Because of The Planner – namely, my husband- we are pretty well organized all the time. If you are not, I recommend that you spend a few weeks trying. Put all the packing tape in the same drawer, for instance. Get little cheap containers and try to put items together. Use ziplocks in childrens’ bedrooms to organize toys.
■Put Away Hardly Used Items. If you rarely use something, go ahead and put it nicely away. If you are boxing yourself, then by all means, get some boxes and start packing. If a moving company is going to move you, being organized will make unpacking and arranging the new home much easier.
■Fix Things. If you’ve got some small damages in your home, get those fixed right away. Do not procrastinate on those items. Once you know you are moving it’s time to take action as some fixes SEEM simple but are time consuming. If you wait too long you may end up paying Mr. Fat Pockets three to five times more money than if you’d fixed it yourself. One item in particular that we had fixed was a very big red marker stain on the carpet. No amount of cleaning was getting it out so I bleached it and hired a professional to dye it back to the original color. I don’t really recommend this process as it cost us $110 for a little bitty spot, but we have only been in the house a little over a year and the carpet has a 5 year lifetime. If we’d left that spot we might have had to pay hundreds to replace that carpet.
■Clean, Clean, Clean. We had a pre-inspection and the gal said my house was lovely and complimented me on my housekeeping skills. I’m thinking ok, but you aren’t the actual inspector! Later that week we were talking to some friends who just moved out, and they got dinged for over $1300. It seems at pre-inspection they don’t tell you that they may check the carpets for urine stains with a black light! Pretty shady, right? As awesome as it feels to hear that you are a great house keeper, don’t forget that someone else will probably do the actual inspection. Clean your house from top to bottom before you leave. Don’t let Mr. Fat Pockets force you to pay for something that you could have taken care of for much less money.
■Carpet Black Light Inspection: If your landlord is going to black light inspect and you have pets that peed on the carpet, you’re probably out of luck. I could NOT get the pee out. Believe me, I tried. I followed the directions to the letter and tried the following products with NO luck: Urine Gone, Nature’s Miracle, Spot Shot, WD-40, vinegar and water, boiling hot water, and detergent. I did not try Urine Out Powder and if I had it to do over again, I’d certainly give it a go. I ran out of time on the other products. Don’t waste your money paying a professional to clean the carpets, they don’t care and charge you anyway.
■Think Ahead: Not only do you have to get organized, clean the house, and fix things, you also have to think ahead to the travels and new living arrangements you face. If you are going to be living in a motel for a month or more, planning for that and packing appropriately will save you lots of money and hassle once you are on the road. We like KOA cabins, since they are more often than not, pet friendly, and honestly since they are made of wood and simple plastic covered mattresses, I feel they are cleaner too. No carpet, bedbugs, etc. The downfall to cabins is there’s no bathroom in the room, but they are a short hike down a path, with hot showers to boot. They are generally cheaper than hotels and much more fun. If the weather is decent you could even opt to camp in a tent but you’ll need more gear.
■Good luck on your journey and Semper Fi!

The Journey Begins, USMC Family PCS’ing – Moving Again!

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The Journey Begins, USMC Family PCS’ing – Moving Again!

I guess it’s fitting that on Memorial Day we start our road trip toward our new home. This past weekend we went to Mataguay with Cub Scout Pack 790 where a great time was had by all who attended. The ceremony was precious, Cubs became Boys, rain was felt, and as we parted ways with outstanding friends, tears were shed. We are, on Memorial Day, living out the sacrifice but so thankful for the men and women who gave all. Thank you to them and their families left behind. We salute you as we serve this beautiful country you’ve made for us.

Yesterday we spent a beautiful afternoon and evening with another great family, the Rios’. Hubby is deployed to Afghanistan, but Zulie and Zea managed to hold down the fort and welcomed us warmly with open arms. During the day, our boys played in the pool with Zea while Stuart dried out all our gear and Zulie helped me get our sleeping bags and laundry washed and dried. Well, that was mostly Zulie, I must admit, as I spent most of the day under the freshly laundered covers on Zulie’s very comfortable guest bed! I hardly slept the night before, listening to the pitter patter of rain on the tent.

Breakfast was lovely, at Moes Egg House with fluffy pancakes, bottomless coffee, and some of the finest company you’ll ever find, the Rios’! Had the Ford F150 loaded with guinea pigs and doggies, pulling our little truck, and although the weather is nice, had to leave the engine running so the pigs didn’t get too hot.

Tune in tomorrow for another page in the life of a Marine and his family on the road to their next duty station! Remember those who gave all, and don’t forget to thank the family members of the ones left behind as we enjoy another day of life of freedom in this beautiful USA. Semper Fi!