Merry Doggy Christmas

The dogs had a super fantastic christmas. Here are some pictures of them with their presents.

The dogs first home hair cut

Sean and I decide to save money we would start grooming the boys at home. It costs around 120 each time they are both groomed and for that we could buy a nice pair of clippers. So that sealed the deal. So this past Saturday we gave it a go and let me tell you it is a whole lot harder than it looks. As my Mom put it "They look like they were attacked by the mad clippers!" I thought everyone would enjoy some pictures!

Before


"Stop the torture!"


"What are you doing to me?"


"Oh dear, some one help me!"


After


After

None of the after picture do their "Great" haircuts justice. I'll try to take some better ones.

Almost back to his normal self

Charlie is feeling much better and is almost back to his normal self. The antibotics are doing the trick. Although he is getting feistier and fiestier about taking them. He hasn't spit one out yet so I suppose that is good. Friday morning I had to give it too him all by myself because I forgot to have Sean help me before he went to school. Let me tell you that was an entertaining ordeal. I had to go into the bathroom and shut the dogs out. I penned him between the counter and the wall and manager to pry his mouth open and shove the pill in! I'm sure it would have made and enteraining youtube video. Quincy's ears are almost all better and Toby is still healthy so will call it a good end to a stressful week.

Sick kitty

Charlie was acting funny when we got home from work last night. He didn't meet me at the door and wasn't begging for his dinner. He was just laying on the guest bed sleeping. At the time I thought perhaps he was just extra tired. Well by the time bed time rolled around he still hadn't moved so I picked him up and put him in front of his food dish. Still didn't want to eat. He seem kind of out of it as well. He didn't sleep with us last night and this morning I found him curled up in our closet. He wouldn't come out for breakfast and hadn't eaten all night. This is when I became very concerned. I call the vet as soon as they were open and was able to get him and appointment for 9:15am.

At 9am I got his carrier and loaded him in the car. He peed in his carrier while we were in the car. I didn't notice this until we got to the vet. His whole back end was wet! The vet saved some the urine for a sample and clean out my kennel. He was running a fever and had blood in his urine. Oh and he had some feas again. Sean and I had forgotten to give him his frontline and gave it too him last night. The vet thinks it is probably just a parasite from the feas or possibly a kidney infection. So hopefully it is one of those and not something worse. They took some blood and gave me antibotics.

When I got home from work he seemed about the same. However he seems to have perked up a little since then. I don't think he has eaten anything yet, but hopefully he will over night. He just seems a little more comfrontable then earlier. He is sleeping under my papason chair right now. He even purred for me a little.

I was really worried about him all day and when I got home from work. I hope that the worst is behind us now! All keep you all posted.

Toby is the only healthy animal in the house right now. Quincy had/has an ear infection. He gets to go to the vet tomorrow to have it rechecked. So keep your fingers crossed that Toby is not next!

Sunrise alarm clock: take 1

I received my new sunrise alarm clock yesterday! I read through all the instructions (5 pages) and set it up last night. I tossed and turned and woke up several times during the night. Charlie woke me up at 5am because he wanted me to put him in front of his food bowl and rub his belly (this is a nightly occurence so not out the ordinary) I woke up again a little while later thinking it isn't time to get up yet but I didn't really go back to sleep. I rolled over and there was light in my face. Once Quincy heard me moving around he came and put his paws on the bed and his wet nose in my face. I tried to tell him it wasn't time yet but his was very insistent. I then looked at the clock and it was 5 minutes before when I set the alarm. So I'm not certain if it was light that woke me or something else. I think the light woke Quincy. I could probably shut off the backup beep since it would appear that I have a backup puppy instead!!!

I will say that even after not the best night of sleep I didn't feel to groggy. Stay tuned for trial 2 tomorrow morning.....

The first snow of the season here in Dayton

This morning we woke up to 3 or so inches of snow and it was still coming down. The dogs had a great time playing in it. They were racing all over the yard. They didn't seem to mind the cold. When they came in they had quite a bit of snow stuck in their fur. I got some of it off but didn't worry about the rest because it is just water. However apparently that wasn't good enough for Toby who proceed to lick all the clumps off and eat them! Silly dog. Quincy on the other hand could have cared less. The two of them just crack me up.

The road weren't bad yet they still canceled school for all of the local districts. I miss snow days! There were some kids out playing when I went to work around 9am. I think the last snow day I had was in college when we got several feet of very wet snow. I can remember walking home the day it started down folsom hill in 6-12 inches of very slushy snow. I was wet up to my thighs and freezing when I got home. The next day I can remember tying plastic bags over my shoes and walking to Sean's house. I didn't have any boots at the time. He thought I looked really silly but it mostly kept my feet dry. I have boots now! I had to buy some when we lived in Mass.

Any one having any other entertaining snow day stories they want to share?

de-flea-ing the house

So Charlie definately has/had fleas. The boys also seemed to have a few on them. So they all got Frontlined! That was an expensive trip to the vet!!! Then after the 24 hr waiting period I 've been washing and vacuuming the house like a mad women. Our bed being the first thing to be stripped and washed. I did the puppy beds last night. I have tons more clean/vaccuming to do this weekend. Plus lots and lots of raking! I can't see any grass in my front yard just leaves! More on that later.

I hope to not have to use any chemicals to get rid of the fleas. So keep your fingers crossed.

House Guest

My Mom is visiting this week from Colorado. So far we haven't done anything too exciting. Saturday, we took her disc golfing because the weather was beautiful. She enjoyed it and is even talking about getting some discs of her own! Sunday, Mom helped us with yard work. She picked up all the apples while I hacked down my tomato plants. Monday, we went to trivia at a local restaurant. It was a lot of fun plus good beer. Today she is helping me paint my bedroom while I'm at work. I plan on helping her after work today and tomorrow. Hopefully we can get it finished so I longer have to live with the ugly brownish, pinkish, beigey purple color.

Toby is growing on her although he is at the bottom of the totem pole still because he kept getting his feet muddy every time he went outside yesterday in the rain. He just had to keep checking on his hole that he dug! Although he knows he will never be number one since that spot is firmly held by Max (Mom's only human grandson) he is at least hoping to tie Quincy!

still alive.....sorta

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or something. Just been darn busy. Working is going well. I'm learning Java, XML, XSLT's, ANT, and more. Java isn't as evil as I once thought. Actually I never thought it was evil I just liked C++ better. Now I can see that plus and minuses of both languages in a more fair and even light. I will say though that I won't miss Jovial. No offense anyone I worked with before. It had its place on our program but it is not nearly as powerful as Java or C++.

The boys are good...all three of them. Charlie and Toby love to play and chase each other around the house. Quincy is starting to adjust to having a little brother. They even played some yesterday, which is a first. However the bed issue is still causing problems. Toby has decided that Quincy's bed is now his bed and Quincy should kick him off doesn't. So basically Quincy doesn't have a good place to sleep. We ordered a new bed for Quincy however they sent a medium instead of a large so we are now waiting for them to send the right size. Hopefully that will come soon!

Sean helped me get my craft room painted this weekend. It took two coats which sucked! So I'm going to spend all my extra time in the evening getting that room organized. The only rooms in the house that haven't been painted at this point are: both bathrooms, our bedroom, and the guest room. They is no point in painting either bathroom since both are in need of some remodeling. I'm waiting to paint our bedroom until my Mom visits in October. It is a big room and I'm sick of painting. I have the color picked out and the paint bought so it shouldn't be an issue it is just going to take some time.

Sean is still doing review classes. Real classes don't start for another week or so. We had all the people he is doing review classes over on Saturday for a BBQ. There was tons of food and plenty of football. It was a nice to meet everyone and at least be able to put a name with a face when Sean talks about people.

My babies

I thought it was time to post some picture of all of my babies. So the top one is obviously Charlie and the bottom one is Quincy and Toby. I think it is fairly easy to tell the two of them apart but that could be because I see them everyday. So any guesses as to which one is which?

Toby

Above are some picture of our new baby Toby. We pick up Toby at Sean's cousin, Bob's house on Friday night. Sean's Aunt Tammy and Uncle Bob gave him a ride out since they were driving out to visit their son, Bob and his wife Jessica. Toby is integrating into the family fairly well. Toby and Quincy mostly get along except when bones and toys are involved. Quincy is pretty jealous so hopefully he will get over it. Toby is a big love. He follows me around the house and wants attention all the time. The only time he doesn't follow me or Sean around is when he is following Charlie around. He is absolutely fascinated by the cat. I know he has gotten a claw to the nose at least once since he came yelping down the hallway. Charlie has mostly adjusted and basically rules the house again.

Toby's training is sadly lacking. Sean and I are pretty sure he walked all over Michael and April. Every time you tell him to do something he doesn't want to do we just lays down and rolls over. Like I'm so cute rub my belly....I'm innocence I swear....I didn't do anything wrong what are you talking about? He is also a bit of a "chunky monkey!" He was getting to free feed and not getting a ton of exercise. So now he only gets fed twice a day and he has been walking and running with Sean and I. He still hasn't completely gotten this whole we only eat twice a day thing and has gone partially hungry a couple of mornings. But don't feel sorry for him. He is at least 2 inches shorter than Quincy and has smaller paws yet weighs at least as much as Quincy if not more.

So the picture above are "Before" pictures. He has now gotten a trim so he is not so shaggy so after he loses some of his flab I'll post some "After" pictures.

He is really a sweet dog and I think will be a good addition to our family. It is just going to take some time to adjust!

Finally have internet

We finally got our internet and cable TV setup last night. However by the time we got all the routers setup and working it was time to head to bed so I'll post some pictures tonight. We also got the fence done yesterday. Quincy loves his new yard! He was sprinting around last night will his ball. We couldn't be happy either since now all we have to do is open the door and let him out. Which is especially good since he has some sort of infection right now where he is drinking tons of water and needing to go out every couple of hours. I promise to post some pics tonight!

Unhappy babies....

Quincy and Charlie are kind of freaking out about the move. All of this morning from like 4am on Charlie was wondering around the house crying. I'm not sure if he was trying to voice his displeasure and confusion or what. It made me wish that I spoke fluent cat. He was extremely lovey to me and even Quincy. He rubbed up against Quincy like almost to say don't let them leave me or I love you or your mine I won't let them forget you. Quincy is just as confused, just not as vocal about it. He just seems kind of on edge. I think they are really confused about the lack of stuff. Charlie doesn't have any good places to hide and Quincy can't lay on his couch.

I have to say that is it kinda of weirding me out as well. When I got home last night I want to set my stuff down somewhere and my choices were the floor or the kitchen counter. I'm really looking forward to leaving this empty house and arriving at my new empty house. The good news is though that the truck with all of our stuff in in will arrive on Saturday as well so we won't really have to be stuff less for very long. I'm really looking forward to sitting in my new recliner. Oh and sleeping in my bed again. The air mattress wasn't too bad last night but whenever one of us moves the whole bed moves because the air shifts. I think it was weirding the dog out since he didn't sleep with us very long last night.

Expecting a new addition to our family...

Sean and I are expecting a new FURRY addition to our family. Sean and I will be taking in Sean's brother Michael's Brittany Spaniel Toby. Toby has become too much for them to handle so he is going to become a part of our family. Sean and I have been considering getting a second dog for sometime now so it was an easy decision.

Toby is a very sweet dog who is in some serious need of some training and more exercise. I imagine he will be a pill to deal with some of the time but hopefully having Quincy around will help. Sean and I will also have to adjust our habits again so we aren't leaving things around the house that puppies might want to chew on. We have gotten lazy now that Quincy knows what he is and isn't allow to chew on.

Toby is close to a year old so is still very much a puppy with a lot of energy. I think Toby will be arriving in early September. I will need to step up my efforts to locate a good dog walker and perhaps a daycare for a couple of times a week so the boys get plenty of exercise.

At this rate I think I'm either doomed to have all boys or all my children will be girls! Because I'm already out numbered 3 to 1 and now it will be 4 to 1. Good thing the furry ones don't get a vote. Oh and everyone should keep their fingers crossed that Quincy learns to share! Cause all the barking will definitely get old.

Visions of the future

I came into the bedroom last night to get ready for bed and Sean and Quincy were cuddling together on the bed. Quincy was making himself quite comfortable in my spot. He is allowed on the bed but only when we invite him up and there is sheet covering the comforter and pillows. They looked so cute and content (except Quincy was giving me the don't make me get down yet...this is my spot eyeball) I suddenly had visions of a King sized bed full of animals and children. Sean has been talking about upgrading to a King bed for sometime....I'm not sold on the idea since I'm not sure I want Quincy sleeping with us nightly. Besides a bigger bed just seems like an invitation for other people and animals to join in. Although the image looks cozy....I think my sleep would suffer. Charlie already wakes me up at least once a night!

Today's Smile: Pack order

For today's smile I'm going to share a slightly amusing story about the pack order within my house right now.

Background information: Quincy my 45 pound Brittany spaniel is a fairly passive dog. Charlie my 11 pound cat has been above Quincy since they were wee ones. So basically Charlie rules the house.

Currently we are watching our friend's greyhound Cerin. Cerin is a 72 pound male greyhound. Just trying to give you guys a good imagine in your head of the size of this dog. He is a fairly dominant dog and established dominance over Quincy a long time ago. Well the order between him and Charlie has been ambiguous until now. Cerin has always been curious of Charlie and Charlie has always been a little unsure of him. Cerin will run after Charlie and he will go under the bed where Cerin can't get him. Well after much of this on many occasions Charlie has decided that Cerin just isn't scary. So this time there were having staring contests. They would just sit and stare at one another. It was like the cat was daring Cerin to come and get him. Well Cerin apparently decided last night to go up to him during one of these occurrences. I was on the phone at the time and I hear some hissing. I turn and look and Cerin is in shock and backing away for Charlie. From this point on last night and this morning Cerin skirts around Charlie with his head down. He doesn't make much eye contact when close and give him a wide berth.

It is quite the amusing site to see the large greyhound scooting around the small cat. Charlie is quite pleased with the outcome because now he can move freely in HIS house again. Cerin on the other hand seemed a little put off by not being at the top of the pecking order anymore!

Silly animals!

Charlie's attempt to poision Quincy failed!

Sean and I had a bit of scare last night when we came home from dinner and found Quincy chewing on a bottle of Rx pills. Apparently Charlie had knocked the bottle off the dining room table and batted it into the kitchen where Quincy was confined. Quincy is his infinite wisdom decided that it would be a good chew toy and chewed off a corner spilling out some of the pills. There were 7 partially chewed on pills on the floor and a bunch still in the bottle. So then there was mad counting to figure out how many he might of ingested. We determined that he didn't actually eat any whole just may have ingested some from the chewed on pills. So I then call the emergency number at my vet and then he told me to call animal poison control. I didn't even know there was an animal poison control! Anyways that cost me 55 dollars, of course worth the money. It turned out that he didn't ingest enough to cause to many problems. We just had to watch him for more mild symptoms such as: anxiety, sleepiness, dilated pupils, drunkenness (walking like drunk).

He seems okay last night and this morning so disaster adverted. I got a well deserved lecture from my mom about not leaving those kind of things lying around and for not taking better care of her granddog. Sean is also little mad at me for being careless. I feel awful and will be more careful in the future! My mom also told me to give Charlie a stern look and talking to which I did however I'm not sure he really understood.

Morning Person: On Demand

Most people would tell you that I'm not a morning person and for the most part that is true. However when I have to be, I am. I don't get grumpy in the morning and after I have my shower I can be quite chiper. This morning I got up at 3:15am to take my friend Dan and his girlfriend Lisa to the airport. It was great to see them and I hope they enjoyed their stay! I'll post more about their trip later but for now I'll leave you will my observations from this morning:

1. 5am is too early for "Hey Mickey." It will probably be stuck in my head all day! Damn DJ, what a cruel joke!

2. Too many people leave too far away and commute into Boston. I mean I knew this was true but there was already a ton of cars on the road at 4:15 and by 5ish on my way to work there were more. No wonder 93 gets so jammed. You couldn't pay me enough money to want to do that commute everyday.

3. Chai not a good choice for that early stick to something without milk.

4. Quincy is a slave to routine. He wanted to be fed at 3am and I almost did before I remember it was way too early.

5. The main lights don't turn on until 5:30am at work. Although that still seem too early to me.

6. Nice and peaceful this early in the morning...I think I would still rather be sleeping though.