This weekend was adventure filled. Just hours before we (finally)(after seven months of living here) had our housewarming party, two puppies arrived on a plane. (It sounds like the setting of a made-for-TV movie, no?) My poor mother: While they were as well behaved as could be and didn’t make a peep, the little boy, Marley, got a case of car sickness on the way to the airport in Nashville, and spewed all over the place. This continued across the country. When he arrived in San Francisco, it was no different: After a brief hug and pat to both of the pups, we got on the Coastal Highway to veer around Outside Lands traffic, at which point Marley decided to projectile vomit all over my car’s upholstery. Welcome to parenthood! (SVV is the best husband ever; he met us downstairs with cleaning supplies and scrubbed out my Altima for me!)

And, thus, after a traumatizing day, the puppies got their first bath shortly after arriving in their new home state. But all fluffy and clean, we’ve decided they channel ewoks, don’t you think? SVV’s mom said she could whip together an appropriate Halloween costume for the both of them.

That’s Ella. She’s our girl. Eight weeks and four days old, she weighs in at two pounds and a few ounces and is by far the feistiest of the trio. Shelty, the third pup, stayed at home in Tennessee, where she went to live with a family who has one of our Malteses from our very first litter 15 years ago. Marley, on the other hand, was a surprise for my niece and nephew, Kiva and Jack (upon their parents’ consent, of course).

It was so hard separating these two yesterday as they’re quite the peas in a pod.

Though I don’t think anyone took it harder than my mom, who is still mourning Marley’s departure. At least we know where to find him when we want to see him—at SVV’s brother’s house out near Folsom! Family get-togethers will, no doubt, be twice the fun with these two furry additions.

The kids weren’t out-of-control excited like we expected but we think that’s because a) they were shell-shocked by the revelation and b) they were afraid their dad was going to say no. (They’ve been asking for a puppy for years now, and he just finally came around.) Kiva even turned to him and asked, “are we allowed to keep him, Dad?”

I just can’t believe that, after having Malteses in our family since 1979 (three years and change before I was born), I finally have one of my own! Or rather, our own, I should say. And it should be noted that SVV is almost as excited about our new addition as I am. I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot by saying so, but the potty training is already going swimmingly (knock on wood). As long as a dry puppy pad is out and she knows where it is, Ella migrates to it 10 times out of 10 to do her business. That’s fully in part to my mom starting them off early with pads in the pen. THANKS, MOM. Once she’s a bit older, we’ll start moving the pad one foot closer to the door every day and eventually train her to go out (we have a side yard only accessible to our apartment building that no one uses and is perfect for a Maltese). But for now, baby steps.

Truth be told, now that’s it the work week again and I’m slammed with deadlines, I’m having a helluva hard time working. Could you do that with this face looking up at you and chewing on your slipper, begging you to come play?

This opens up a whole new method of living for SVV and me: Pet-friendly travel! We’ve been researching flying with her, since at eight weeks she’s clearly already a seasoned pro, and are appalled at how expensive it is to take a (what will be) full-grown, six-pound dog as a carry-on on a plane. (Any way for the airlines to make an extra buck or so, I suppose. But it’s still ludicrous.) Southwest is the cheapest we’ve found thus far at $75 per way; American and Virgin America charge $100; and United is a whopping $125.

How about you pet owners out there? Have you found an affordable way to take your furry friends on the plane with you?