I Finally Did It!

Dixie now smiles for the camera! Look at those pearly whites!

Little Lost Kitten

A few weekends we had a major scare. One of my greatest fears is one of the animals getting out or running away and I learned it is a fear for a reason. It started off as a normal day for us. Mike ran out to get us starbucks, we relaxed and drank our coffee in bed, I made some breakfast. After a while I thought to myself, "I haven't seen the kitten in a while." This happened a few times in the past, she is a kitten and kittens hide. So I started with all of her normal spots. Then I moved on to some new spots where I thought maybe she would be. As a last resort I shook her food bowl since she always comes running when it's time to eat. When she didn't come running I started to panic. My heart was racing and I just kept repeating to Mike, "The kitten is gone, the kitten is gone."

After checking all the possible places she could be again, we realized she wasn't in the house. We replayed all of the morning events back in our heads. Mike had gone out to get coffee, and come back in the front door. He also ran out quickly to check a paint swatch for his car and came back in. The dogs had gone out in the back yard too, so we weren't even sure which door she escaped from thus our search and rescue mission began.

Mike started walking the neighborhood. I checked around the back yard and alley. I also checked the laundry room and stairwell. Every time I came in the house I expected to see Purrl pop out of a hiding space, but she didn't. I decided to take to the streets too with a little bell toy to shake that usually sends the kitten into a frenzy. I hoped that she would recognize the sound and run out.

About an hour or so later Mike and I ran into each other and I decided to pass the toy off to him and go home and make some flyers. I ended up posting about 25 - 30 of these babies around the neighborhood while sobbing and repeating to myself out loud "the kitten."

After trekking the neighborhood with no luck knowing that dark was approaching I decided to take a break and sit on my porch in the cold and just hope. I also made some calls to PAWS Chicago and animal control to see if anyone had brought her in. Right about this time my neighbor was returning home. Him and his wife just had a baby so I congratulated him and explained to him what I was doing outside. A few minutes later he came down and said "Meet me in the back, I think I found your little guy!" Again, my heart started racing but in an entirely different way. He met me in the stairwell where he moved two giant doors that were just hanging out up there on the second level. Sure enough, crouched in a little ball was a very scared little kitten. I grabbed her and held her as close as I could, then thanked the neighbor over and over again.

I came in and texted Mike. When he returned home I asked him how he wasn't sobbing like me while she was lost. He basically said he was on the inside but had to keep it together. Awwww. We were so happy and relieved to have our kitten back. The next day we went out and bought her a collar and name tag. It's funny because we actually had one before but she did not like it! We thought we were doing her a favor by taking it off but she is out of luck! From here on out the kitten wears her collar!

O, and we did have to go retrieve all those flyers before dark!

Imagine...

...walking into your house after being gone for just about 20 minutes. The oven door is open, toaster on its side, fridge magnents and papers on the floor. This is what I walked into on Thursday and I immediatly knew the culprit.

We have some medicated pups in our house lately. Finn is taking steriods and allergy pills to overcome a horrible bout with some sort of seasonal allergy he decided to partake in this year. He also frequents the xanax train now that storm season is amongst us. OY! Steroids and xanax make for one weird dog.

And little Dixie, well she officially started her phenobarbital this past Wednesday after, yet another, seizure. I had to face my fear,bite the bullet and tell myself that she is better off.

All these meds don't come without their side effects. Dixie is drinking and eating so much, which in turn means she has to go out A LOT. The meds have also made her much more excitable, she doesn't settle as easily and she is, believe it or not, a little bit more of a barker. Hopefully these symptoms subside after the levels of meds stabalize.

Now Finn, he is just a walking mess. He is very thirsy all the time, hungry like a monster and, well, this hunger apparantly makes him act CRAZY! The scene that I walked into? Well, he was trying to get the pill pockets. He succeddded in getting one bag, even ate the bag! I had left his three pills on the counter to remind myself to give them to him when I got home and the little bastard didn't eat those of course.

No Finn fiasco would be complete without a suicide attempt. He managed to get ahold of Dixie's phenobarbitals. 57 of them in fact, thank god the medication was in a child proof container and I wasn't gone long enough for him to chew it open or we would have had another exciting night at the emergency vet.

The high and the lows

Last week was a long one, I worked over 60 hours and was stressed to my limit! A few big things happened, after much thought I decided to transition into a part time position with my company. I could still very well be working a 40 hour work week, but I am saying good by to the last minute travel. It was taking a toll on me physically and emotionally, let's face it, I am no spring chicken, and that is a tough lifestyle to live! It was not an easy decision, but it is where I am at.

April 23 my mom and my dog had birthdays! I will not share my mother's age, but my little baby turned 4! Dixie has been having a very tough time lately. So, sorry mom, she gets the slideshow this year. Dixie was recently diagnosed with canine epilepsy. We found out one night on a trip to the emergency vet after she had 2 horrible seizures in a row. The Dr. told us if she had more than one a month we would need to look into seizure management options.

I am sad to report my little girl had one last Wednesday and on her birthday Friday. Saturday we made the dreaded appointment to take the plunge into drugs. After additional bloodwork and much conversing our little baby was given a prescription for phenobarbital. It really saddens me that she has to get on medication for life at such a young age but I am grateful this is something we can hopefully control and she can live a long and happy life.

I opted not to put her on the drugs right away and see if, just maybe, they would go away. I gave it one more shot but she had another small seizure this morning. The seizures are really hard to watch and cause brain damage each time, so it is time for me to but my personal feelings aside and do what is best for little Dixie.

In honor of her birthday and what this little dog means to me, I created a slideshow. I even made it from Dixie's perspective(maybe just a little crazy) This little dog has taught me so much. She showed me a lot of love through some tough years and continues to stand by my side (literally all the time)


Here is my homage to my little Dixie, doodlebug, angel butt, booga boo, boogie, muffin head, angel muffin head, angel muffin butt, dixie wixie am I missing any?

A little lost bug

We got dumped on this week, literally!! I think in the end we got well over a foot of snow, one for the all time record books in Chicago during the month of February. Lucky us!

Our babies, unfortunately, are the ones that pay the price. Mike shoveled a little potty spot for them but Dixie aka Doodle Bug is just a lost little pup when she has to go. Her favorite spot is in the back corner of the yard and there is no way she's making it back there!

A little nostalgia...

When Mike's parents were here over Christmas his mom mentioned, when looking at our gas fire place, that she had a green ceramic pot that would match just perfectly. I didn't think to much of it at the time, until she recently sent it to us.

According to Mike this is a very special pot. This pot sat on his stove his entire childhood. His mom would fill it with water and cinnamon sticks or other good smelling treats and the aroma filled their home.

Once we received the pot in the mail, along with cinnamon sticks, Mike filled it up and put it on the fire stove. Within a matter of minutes our home smelled lovely and Mike said "This is really reminding me of home" awwww, it was truly cute the way he said it.

I love the Mike has this little piece of his childhood now. It reminds me of how hard it must be for him living so far away from his family. Little reminders like this are fun to have around.



O, and again, my little nosey shadow had to pose.

Squirrel Meet Skunk!

Most of you have had the pleasure of meeting my perfect little angel bug, Dixie. She is the sweetest, possibly the loudest, 10 pound bundle of joy I have ever come across. Well, that is most of the time. When she gets around her toys she turns into a crazy little monster bug!!

Dixie's Grandma Mashl bought her an amazing toy for Christmas this year. For all of you dog people out there you will appreciate this. Dixie received a stuffing free toy! It's a toy with none of that tempting stuffing to pull out which causes the toy to be destroyed in a matter of minutes and also makes a mess BUT is still has the squeakers. I cannot say enough about these clever toys! They are called Skinneeez and I found a link to a site that sells them!

Unfortunately squirrel did meet his match, Finn got ahold of him. You can see he is still intact, just not as cute and squirrely as he once was. Fortunately, last weekend Gma Mashl sent skunk!! Skunk is a total upgrade, and even though he was meant for Finn, Dixie claimed him as her own!



Check out some great action shots:

We all miss the sun

Unlike her brother Dixie has a new habit that is pretty darn cute. She must be missing the sun because she sure loves it when I put the computer lamp on the floor so she can "sun" herself.

Remember the nine lives?

Well now our big buddy has a death wish.



Our big monster has picked up a new habit. Let me tell you, I am about to stop drinking coffee because they are such a pain to clean up.

Pug Party!

This evening the pugs, Stella and Lola, came over for a play date with Dixie. The pugs are pretty mellow and Dixie has recently become an aggressive, territorial spaz which made for a chaotic play date. We spent time in the backyard, took a long walk to Starbucks, and then came home and had dinner with Julie and Trish. Dixie is absolutely pooped now and I've learned she really needs help with her issues. Next week I am signing her up for half days at doggie daycare. I hope this helps her get back to being a non-socially ackward dog!

That's One Funny Guy!

After being a part of our family for some time now, Funny Guy is ready to make his blog debut. What is the whacky looking creature? Well, currently, and for a year or so, Funny Guy has been Dixie's favorite dog toy. Funny Guy is a well recognized name in our house, just those two words sends Dixie into a frenzy and have her running to our bedroom in a matter of seconds.(Funny Guy lives in our bedroom)

I hate to say it but he's seen better days. He started as a she and was, at one time, a witch! I keep telling myself I need to replace him, but conveniently forget each time I am at the pet store. I just can't bring myself to retire him.

tying up some loose ends

I've been meaning to blog about a couple things that happened right before I left for Mass. First, I had to make sure the house was in order. I'm sure I drove Mike crazy the weekend before because I kept giving him all sorts of tips like, "If you don't want the dish towel to get stinky hang it over the faucet so it can dry out" and "I usually vacuum the floors every other day, so you might want to do that" and "Don't forget to clean Kira and Dixie's eyes, brush them, clean Finn's ears and spray his anti-inch stuff on his spots." LOL. Eventually I had to shut myself up because he is a grown man afterall.

Anyways, a mother cannot leave a dirty baby, so angel got a bath:



What a little ugly bug! (only until I blowdry her)

After a day of packing and tying up loose ends, I had my goodbye dinner with my sweetie. We ended up going to a place a few blocks from our place called El Tinajon which serves Guatemalan food. Now, you know it was good if I am making time to blog about it 5 days later!

What I ordered:



This combination was amazing and all veggie! There were plantains that were awesome along with a tamal, potato taco, and a chilaquile if I remember correctly. O, and bonus, the sangria was awesome!! O and sorry for the crappy cell pic.

Three angels

It's been a while since I posted my babies here and today everyone was looking so cozy and comfy I just couldn't resist. Everyone was a little restless for the first few weeks at the new place, but new snuggle spots have been claimed and they are getting back to their routines of sleeping all day.

Love

I Finally Got A Glimpse On Film!

Many of you have heard the unbelievable stories of our ginormous dog Finn. Finn has many insecurities and issues including his fear of water, rain, and thunder. Tonight we had warning that a storm would be hitting in the next 20 minutes. Mike quickly took Finn for a walk to get all the waste out of his body so it did not end up in our house. Once the storm hit our strategy was to just go along with our business and ignore Finn the best that we could. We've spent hours researching techniques to curb his fear of storms and the best thing to do is to just act normal and be playful with him and never, never, baby or cuddle him. Luckily tonight was a pretty calm display of his anxiety, but I managed to take a quick video on my camera. Check it out, it's funny and a little sad all in one. I say fear or no fear he's still a good lookin dawg. O, and Dixie makes a cameo too.

Another day at the park

Mike and I took our babies trail walking again at Scott County Park. I couldn't resist posting a couple pics! I realize it's a little nutty that we treat our dogs like our kids, but for now, they are.

Dixie loves the water! Drinking it and swimming in it! It may not be the best thing for her but she didn't get sick so!


Mike found a skull in the woods!


Dixie chillin after our walk.


We had a picnic and they were beat! I love how resourceful Finn is! He headed under the table for shade!



When picking up some goodies for our picnic I stumbled upon Pop Chips in the organic/health section at HyVee. I've seen these "pop" up on many of the blogs I follow and sense they come in individual bags these were perfect for our picnic! I was reading the info on the package and learned that these chips are all natural, not fried and not baked! I guess they have a secret method that involves popping and pressure, not sure what it is, but they are sure good, and even better, guilt free! Try them for yourself sometime!

Tipsy

I can home a little tipsy last night after hanging with my friends Trish and Julie who were visiting from Chicago. We had a fun night drinking champagne at the river, playing in the skybridge and even stopped at the casino! I discovered a new favorite drink, vodka and club soda with a splash of cranberry which I can drink like a champ and not have a hangover! Mike and I kept the party going after Trish and Julie took off and when we got home we had some fun with our babies! They love it when their mommy is tipsy because I let them get away with more. Last night I even let Finn on the couch!







Julie gave me the most amazing bday gift! A while back Julie discovered an artist on etsy.com, she sent me the link and I fell in love! Check out Obsolete World on etsy! Julie got me one that I mentioned to her was my fav titled "All The Time We Are Gone"


and another "Trailing The Funeral Of Some Lofty Vision"


There is something about these paintings that I find sadly romantic in a beautiful way. Julie even framed the two prints for me! They look great, and I can't wait to hang them!

Our Saturday Night

Mike and I attempted to leave the house about 45 minutes ago. As soon as we left torrential down pours hit. I made Mike pull over since I am terrified of driving in the rain, he was not happy, and after about 20 minutes we decided we needed to head back home because our Big Buddy aka Finn was probably flippin out.

Well, turns out he was. We came home to #1 and #2 and a lunatic of a dog. Good thing he was in the basement, we'll slip him a xanax (prescribed of course) and he'll go into a blissful slumber.

Heading back home wasn't too terrible since we knew we had three Unibroues waiting for us...my fav beer, Maudite specifically. As I poured my beer I found myself wishing I had one of the awesome Unibroue glasses that your beer comes in at a drinking establishment. This google search led me to the story of Maudite. I found it entertaining and thought I'd share.

We love Unibroue so much we decided we have to make a trip to the brewery in Quebec very soon!





OK, so there used to be these loggers in Quebec. They worked their hands to the bone like every day. And the pay sucked too. They really needed a vacation. Back in olden times, they didn't get two weeks off every year, so they had to take matters into their own hands.

The main logger guy tracked down the Devil and said, "Hey Devil, we really need a break so we can go visit our women. How about a little help, ya know? Flying boat, maybe?" (they didn't have planes back then). The Devil said, "Yeah, that's no problem. I'm the Devil, your wish is my command! But one thing, you gotta give me your souls."

The main logger was a pretty skillful negotiator, so he was like "OK, but lets make a wager first. If we can fly your cursed air canoe all the way to see our honeys without hitting any steeples or saying Goddamn, then you've got to do all our wood chopping for a week. If not, then you can have our souls."

Well, you can see where this story is going. The Devil won the bet, and he condemned all the Quebecois loggers to canoe around the skies for eternity. To commemorate this event, Unibroue crafted a delicious strong red ale, and this is the glass that goes with it.

Finn Excels...For Once!

This afternoon we took our babies to Scott County Park to hit some nature trails. Both Finn and Dixie has a blast and loved the walk and all the nature. I had to pick Dixie up to give her a break a couple of times, but Finn was a champ, he could have kept going all afternoon! Here are a couple of pics! We can't wait to take the babies back to go camping once the weather is a little better.