Sanity is Overrated!

Dear Mommy,

Thank you for taking me to the vet this afternoon to have my nails trimmed.  I know you and Daddy are able to do this task yourself, but for some reason I prefer the vet's capable hands.  I guess I should thank you for taking Dixie and Jenna too.  I love going on rides with you, but hopping up into the car is not as easy as it used to be.  I'm so glad you told the vet I was having a bit of trouble maneuvering the steps in the house.  Hopefully the anti-inflammatory he sent home will do the trick. 

I am really surprised you took all three of us at the same time.  I heard you tell the doc that if he ever saw all of our names at the same time on the appointment book again, to be sure to call you back and remind you of this day!  The hardest part of the afternoon was getting in and out of the car.  I personally think you should have allowed me to ride in the front seat with you.  I promise not to block your view of the road.  I can't believe you let Dixie ride up there.  I guess she was well-behaved, but still . . . I'm your first born!  And you made Jenna ride in the crate this time.  I think she was a little annoyed by that decision.  I really think you should put them both in the same crate for the short ride just to see who survives! 

Once we arrived, you made me stay in the car all by myself while you took the girls in.  Again, first born here!  Why did they go first?  (This is another reason why you need a third arm.)  Oh well.  Dixie told me they took a tour of the inner office.  Where was my tour?  Did they help answer the phones?  She also told me about the scales.  Poor girl.  You weighed her on the scale she could walk onto, and she was only one pound heavier than Jenna.  The two of you were giving each other high fives!  (Literally!)  Once she settled onto the lift table/scale a slightly different picture came to light; she was actually five pounds heavier than Jenna.  The vet tech reminded Dixie she wasn't very still on the previous scales.  Dixie told the doc she preferred the other scales.  Typical girl!  Why can't she embrace her success over the pounds she has lost?  Either way, the doc wasn't worried.

Mommy, when you brought the girls out to the car for the Great Switch Off, I really was worried about you.  You seemed a bit stressed.  It didn't help that there were doughnuts in the parking lot!  Yep!  SIX of them!  I have no idea why they were there, but who cares?  They were yummy!  I'm sorry Jenna helped herself to FOUR of them, and Dixie and I each nabbed one during the loading and unloading process!  Well, I'm not really sorry about the one I ate.  I'm just sorry Jenna ate FOUR before I could help her out.  You know Jenna.  She can't ignore anything food related.  Even those old doughnuts that had been rained upon!  (I guess we should look for those previously mentioned five pounds to show up on Jenna next!)

I was really surprised you didn't take a nap when we got home.  We were only there for thirty minutes, but you looked exhausted.  I know you think your sanity is at stake, but sanity is really overrated.  Besides, didn't you already lose it when you brought Dixie and then Jenna home??  I'm just saying . . .

Wags and Doughnuts,
Hunter

Just So You Know . . .

It has been brought to Mommy's attention that some of our readers are wondering if she is posting blog entries while she's at work . . . the decisive answer is NO WAY! 

For some reason there is a major delay between the actual time we post an entry and the emails you may be receiving.  This delay has ranged anywhere from a couple hours to eighteen hours!  When we post an entry, we can choose to publish it automatically or schedule it for posting at another time or day.  We use both features.  No matter which method we choose, the emails you may be subscribed to are sent MUCH later. 

We DO NOT post while Mommy is at work.  It super important parents monitor their children's internet usage and we are no exception.  We aren't allowed to use the internet when she isn't at home.  We would be in serious trouble if we broke that rule! 

Hunter's Memories: The Grocery Store

Mommy tells me I should let you know about some of my greatest hits.  I think she is feeling my age (soon to be ELEVEN), but I keep telling her not to worry.  I still have a few good years in me . . . I hope!

This picture was taken when I was about a year old. 

It's one of the earliest digital pictures Mommy could find of me.  Look how HUGE I am already!

Have I ever told you the time about when I helped Mommy shop for groceries?  I was probably a mere six months old (that seems like so long ago).   We lived in Minnesota at the time and there was a small store about a mile from the house.  She only needed one pound of ground beef, so she decided to let me ride with her since it would be a quick trip.  She did not put me on a leash (or even put one in the car) because she never intended for me to get out of the car.  You know what they say: the road to the grocery store is paved with good intentions!

When we arrived at the store, Mommy told me to stay put, but I was up for an adventure.  I hopped over her lap and out into the parking lot of the store.  Mommy was NOT happy.  She tried to call me back to the car, but I have always been stubborn and hadn't totally mastered the "come" command at that time.  She calmly followed me around and around the car trying to lure me back in.  You might be worried about my health and safety from other cars in the parking lot or the street running by, but thankfully the town we lived in was tiny and there were no serious threats.  My only real threat was Mommy herself. 

Mommy was reaching her patience limit (which really isn't that high if you know my Mommy), so she opened the rear passenger door hoping I would choose to jump in on that side of the car.  It didn't work.  I continued to make Mommy frustrated and entertain a few other customers in the parking lot.  I was having way too much fun making her follow me around.  I don't recall exactly what made me decide to jump in the car on the driver's side, but I finally did much to Mommy's relief.  She was so tired of me by that point she even called out "SUCKER" when she clicked the button on the key fob and was finally able to head into the store. 

Mommy went to the back of the store to pick up the mere one pound of beef she needed and then headed to the front to pay.  As she came around the corner from the back of the store, she received the surprise of a lifetime . . . I was INSIDE the store and ran to greet her!!!  She was stunned to say the least!  It had not been an easy task for me to catch up to her.  The store had automatic doors, but they didn't slide to the left and right; they opened in like a regular door and there was a series of two you had to go through in order to be inside the store.  These doors were also seriously slow.  A human might have to actually stop walking to wait on these doors to open before proceeding.  Imagine what I must have looked like trying to get in between those two sets of doors.  The stress of negotiating those two doors was worth it when I saw the look on Mommy's face! 

She was quite perplexed as to how I had managed to find my way into the store when she distinctly remembered locking me in the car.  Have you figured it out yet?  Guess who the SUCKER really was?  That's right.  Mommy!!  She had stupidly left the passenger door open and hadn't noticed.  Dumb-de-dumb-dumb!  It was easy for me to accompany her into the store.  I just had to wait until she went inside, so she wouldn't notice me behind her.  When she saw me in the store, she grabbed me by the collar, took me outside, threw me into the car, went back in to pay for the beef, and took me home to regale Daddy with the tale of her stupidity.  He was full of wisdom as always: "I told you not to take him with you!"  

I am still totally amazed they managed to have ground beef that night for dinner . . .

Wags and Memories,
Hunter

[Ahhhh!] The Sweet Smell of Me!

Last night was a great night!  Mommy gave me and Jenna a bath.  It has been quite a while since we've had one.  Mommy is pretty good about giving us regular baths during the summer when we are more active and sweaty, but not so much in the winter . . .

Mommy talked to Grandma Jane and mentioned we were becoming a bit stinky.  Naturally, Grandma said Mommy should give us a bath, but Mommy told her it was a lot of hard work and usually resulted in hair EVERYWHERE!  Thank goodness for Grandma Jane!  She told Mommy she was sure we would feel much better after a nice warm bath.  She was sooooo right! (She was also right to take Mommy on a slight guilt trip.)

Mommy decided the best strategy was to tackle one of us a night for the next three nights.  After her workout, she headed to the bathroom armed with towels and called for Jenna to join her.  Jenna was definitely the smelliest of the three (probably because she runs the hardest in the yard).  Jenna followed Mommy, but I was not going to be left out!  I wanted a bath too.

You may remember that Mommy gives us baths in the shower with her.  She started with me and then had Jenna join us in the shower.  We were both very well behaved, but we shed a LOT of hair in there.  Jenna sheds more than any other dawg I know.  When the shower was over, Mommy hopped out and dried herself off.  She had planned to pull us out of the shower one at a time, but her plan didn't quite work out . . . we both flew out of the shower and ran around the bathroom.  We had HAIR and WATER EVERYWHERE!!! 

Mommy did her best to dry us off and contain the mess to the bathroom, but that wasn't a total success either.  When she released us into the bedroom, we went NUTS!!  We ran all over the bedroom, up and down the hallway, and even tackled the stairs.  I sometimes like to remove any extra water by rubbing myself on the wall in the hall.  I gave new meaning to the term "wall-to-wall carpeting!"  Grandma Jane, you might need to visit soon and help Mommy vacuum!

Baths were a bit easier for Mommy when I was a puppy.  I thought you might like to see a picture of me from three years ago.  We have a similar picture of Hunter, but that was before Mommy was in the digital age.  Poor Jenna.  We don't have any pics of her from puppyhood.  She was probably as cute as I was.  Well, maybe not quite!

Wags and Bubbles,
Dixie

Foiled Again!

Jack Frost has foiled us again!  Wednesday night the weatherman called for 1-3 inches of snow.  Although we did receive an inch of snow, life went on as usual the next morning (read between the lines here: Mommy had to go to school!).  It was a beautiful snow, a winter wonderland, but it didn't affect the roads at all.  Daddy was relieved; Mommy was bummed out. 

Hunter's and Dixie's prints in the snow

 

Jenna, the lightweight, adds hers to the mix

We had the same forecast last night, but all we received was a dusting of snow and a tiny bit of icy rain on top.  By the time I finish writing this post, it will probably all be melted.  Of course, Mommy said it didn't really matter what we received last night since today is SATURDAY and she doesn't have to go anywhere!  Here is what our yard looked like this morning:

It's time for Mommy to accept the not-so-cold hard facts.  She is going to have to go to work every day this school year.   Snow is in the forecast for the next few weeks, but still nothing major.  It doesn't appear that any official snow days will occur.  This makes two years in a row!  What are today's schools coming to? 

I guess there is a chance a few more flakes may fall later this month and perhaps even in March, but I won't hold my breath.   I guess technically I can't hold my breath because I'm a dawg and don't know how, but you know what I mean.  I promise this will be the last time I lament over our lack of snow.  I can't guarantee Mommy won't take over the blog and whine about it, but I will do my best to keep her away.  If we should luck up and receive any of substance, you'll be the first to know! 

Now if only the weather would decide to be wet or dry.  Mommy is going nuts cleaning our twelve muddy paws each and every time we go in and out!

Wags and Paw Prints (in the snow, on the carpet, on the tile . . . ),
Hunter

 

 

 

Happy Heart's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!  Love and sweet treats are in the air!  We love this holiday around here.  It's a great excuse for Mommy to TREAT us to extra special treats!  This year Mommy gave us each a small deer antler to chew on.  We have pretty much wiped out the ones we received for Christmas.  She allows us to chew on them until they are about an inch and a half long and then she takes them away.  Any smaller than that and she is afraid we'll choke on them.  Hunter once choked on a bone when it became lodged in his throat as a puppy, and our parents have never forgotten that unpleasant experience.  We can only gnaw on these sweet treats under the direct supervision of an adult human!

For Valentine's Day, Mommy and Daddy will treat each other to dinner out.   This holiday is Mommy's excuse to pick out a new restaurant to try.  She has had her eye on this year's choice for a few years.   She can't wait!   Mommy also treated Daddy to a Mason jar FULL of Skittles! Daddy has been on a Skittles kick lately, but he goes about eating them in a strange way.   He prefers to eat the colors he really doesn't like first: yellow and green.  He follows those colors up with orange and saves his favorites, red and purple, for last.   He has even taken some to work, but apparently his co-workers like to swipe the good ones from him after he has worked hard at eating the bad colors.   This makes him very frustrated.   We don't see the problem.   They all taste good to us! 

Mommy thought by purchasing the classroom size individual Valentine packages, he could enjoy a few of each color and not have to weed through a large bag.   We think this worked at first until his stash was discovered by co-workers yet again!   After going through a few bags of the Valentine candy in the past few weeks, Mommy decided on a different tactic.   She found Skittles in bulk in the candy aisle of the grocery store.   She decided to GO FOR IT!   She placed the plastic bag under the spout of the Skittles candy dispenser and let them pour out to her heart's content . . . before she knew it, she had quite a few pounds of Skittles in her bag! TWENTY dollars' worth!!!!  [gulp]  Mommy had no intention of spending that much money on candy.  There was no way to put the candy back into the dispenser.  She knows because she looked!   Thankfully, a money wasting holiday was quickly approaching and she decided candy would be a great Valentine's Day gift for Daddy!   Hopefully he will agree!

 

We hope your day is full of love, sweets, and treats!

Wags and Kisses,
Hunter, Dixie, & Jenna

Fat Tuesday

The Season of Lent is about to begin!  As we prepare for Easter, Mommy is encouraging us to give up something we really like for the next forty days.  That's more than a month!  This is such a difficult decision for us (and her too).  It really requires a sacrifice to give up something for FORTY days.   But that's the point, isn't it?

Mommy has tried to make some suggestions for each of us to consider.  It is really going to be hard to choose . . .

For Hunter, she suggests giving up one of the following:

• barking LOUDLY when Mommy serves up breakfast and dinner
• barking LOUDLY when he hears anything outside
• barking LOUDLY when Dixie and Jenna rough house

(she refrained from asking him to just totally give up barking; it's in his nature!)

For Dixie, she suggests giving up:

• licking the shower
• hogging all of the tennis balls
• worrying about which of us is receiving more love

For Jenna, any of the following sacrifices would be greatly appreciated:

• stop eating the toilet paper
• stop eating dirty tissues
• stop standing in the middle of the kitchen during food preparation

This is going to be a tough decision to make.  We each love doing all of these things Mommy suggested.  It's a good thing we have until midnight tonight to decide . . .



Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 
~ Daniel 9:3

The Life and Demise of a Snowman

I think we had five straight days of snow over this past week, but they amounted to NOTHING, ZIP, NADDA!  Now there is a huge snowstorm approaching our general area, but it is still not going to hit us!  Our lack of a real snow is terribly frustrating.  (Mommy is smart enough to admit she doesn't want two feet of snow, but just enough to keep us all home for a day or two!)  Daddy is pleased we haven't had a major snowstorm this year.  He reminds Mommy that real people still have to go to work in the snow!

Despite how little actual snow we've had, Daddy wanted to build a snowman for one of our human cousins.  Cousin Kate desperately yearns for snow, but the likelihood of her seeing any this year is pretty slim.  Daddy brought out the snow shovel and raked the snow on the deck into a pile (first time this season for the shovel . . . the snow blower hasn't seen the light of day in well over a year).  The snow was really too light and fluffy for snowman construction, but Daddy wasn't going to be deterred.  The result was a heavy bottomed, short, triangular pile of snow.  Mommy helped a little bit, but she was mostly responsible for the decorations.  They decided on a UGA ball cap, red scarf, and black buttons for the eyes and mouth.  In keeping with the Southern theme, Daddy decided to grab a piece of okra for the nose!  It also had two fir branches for arms.  I think it turned out to be a decent looking snowman.  It wouldn't win any contests, but you can tell what it's supposed to be.  I think Kate was tickled pink with our handsome snowman (and maybe a tiny bit jealous)!


Since last Sunday night, the poor snowman has greatly suffered.  Mommy removed his eyes and mouth because she was afraid the buttons would fall off and we might be tempted to eat them.  Daddy removed the hat because he didn't want anything to happen to it.  I'm not sure why he was so concerned; it's not as if he doesn't own dozens of ball caps!!!  Food loving Jenna grabbed the okra nose and ran off with it!  Our poor snowman was left with nothing but two scraggly arms.  Without his decorations, his shape became even more pitiful to view. 



If that wasn't bad enough, Hunter began to chow down on him!  As you already know, Hunter loves snow.  Most of the snow in the yard has disappeared, so Hunter had to resort to the snowman.  He slowly but surely nibbled his way through the pile.  Sometimes Hunter worked on its head, but usually he just ate away at one side.  Perhaps if there was ever a contest to build half a snowman, ours could win?




After a day of rain, our snowman was even more pitiful.  I have to admit, I couldn't resist and neither could Jenna.  All three of us dug in!  Before we knew it, the head fell off!  We really enjoyed snacking on the snowman.  Poor guy.  He never knew what ate him! (Or saw it coming since his eyes were in Mommy's pocket!)  Oh well.  Better to eat snow than be eaten by snow, don't you think? 

Words to live by,
Dixie Doodle

Going . . .



Going . . .

GONE!

 

Cuttin' Up!

Mommy has spent time the past two weeks working on updating her scrapbook.  I have spent time the past two weeks trying to snatch every scrap of paper I can put my teeth on!  I LOVE it when she brings out all of her supplies.  There is an entire accordion folder of just scrap paper that she tries to keep away from me, but she isn’t always successful.  Paper hangs off the edges of the table and sticks out from a pile on the floor.  It is so tempting.  Sometimes Mommy will shut the door and keep us out of the room, but I don't really think she likes to be in there by herself.  She loves having us for company.  Well, she loves having Dixie and Hunter in there at least!

The best part of the whole set-up is the trash can!  That’s where the extra pieces from the paper and pictures go.  It’s a dark hole, but I love to stick my nose in there to sniff out the best scraps.  Once I have my teeth on them, I take off at a run down the hall to show off my success to my siblings.  Sometimes Mommy is so busy or the paper is insignificant that she doesn’t mind too much; at other times she chases me down the hall calling out my name and trying to grab me by the collar.  She also tries to guard the trash can. She sits all sorts of heavy objects on top of it to block my jaws, but I am patient.  I give the objects an occasional nudge when Mommy isn’t looking.  Eventually, the objects topple over and I make a lunge for the scraps hidden below! 

I really wish I could be more like Hunter and Dixie at scrapbook time.  Dixie doesn’t really care for paper as much as Hunter and I do, so she just hangs out with Mommy and enjoys spending time with her.  Hunter has apparently loved paper all of his ten and a half years, but he doesn’t lurk around waiting for the paper to fall.  If I make my move he will follow, but usually he just lies around sleeping while Mommy works.    I need to have more self-control.  Mommy tries to use this time to reinforce the sit and stay commands, but she isn’t always successful.  She lacks focus.  I have GREAT focus . . . on the TRASH CAN!  [sigh]  Oh well.  Better scraps next time?
 
Wags and Recycling (in the yard),
Jenna

Sunday Snow Day!

Mommy and I are in desperate need of a REAL snow day!  The only snow days we had last year were barely a few inches and all occurred on the weekends.  So far, the same situation holds true this year.  We have officially made it through two Januarys with no days off from school due to snow!  This is sooooo depressing.  I eagerly awaited the outcome of Groundhog Day yesterday.  National celebrity Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow which means spring will be here soon.  Bummer!  The Southern celebrity groundhog, General Beauregard Lee, did see his shadow predicting six more weeks of winter.  These confusing results put me in a quandary; do I have to follow the groundhog closest to me by area code, or can I pick which one I want to subscribe to??

I love having Mommy home from work when it snows.  We go in and out all day playing and enjoying the snow.  My favorite thing to do is roll around in it and EAT IT!  Every once in a while, I even pretend  I need to go potty so I can go out and lick the deck.  I don't think my parents have caught on, but it's only a matter of time before they do.  Those snowflakes just melt in my mouth and they make me look even cuter hanging on my whiskers.  Don't you agree?

 

It was snowing last night when we went to bed.  I don't remember seeing snow in the forecast yesterday, but I'll take it.  We woke to about an inch and a half of light fluffy snow.  It's beautiful, but it's not going to keep Mommy home tomorrow!  I guess beggars can't be choosers.  Mommy took us outside to play early this morning.  I bet our yelping woke up a few of our neighbors.  We apologize for that, but we were just so excited!  Jenna had fun retrieving tennis balls, and Dixie had fun chasing Jenna.  Dixie also helped Jenna locate the ones that went missing in the snow.  If you aren't sure which is which, Dixie will ALWAYS have TWO in her mouth! (Look closely, and you can see the whites of her little worried eyes too!)

 
I'm thankful for the snow, but still crossing my paws for a REAL snow day!

Wags and Sloppy Wet Kisses,
Hunter