Beckett and the Groundhog

Does this look like the face of a killer?

Those of you that have read my blog for a while know that my furkids are hunters.  Sweet, precious, cuddly 99% of the time...then we have what I call "the killing season" every year.  Typically, it's a bird who is just learning to fly that falls prey.  (For the record, before this story - the herd record was 11 birds, 2 chipmunks, 1 squirrel, 1 bunny and a baby skunk.)

Before I tell you the story, I should note that Beckett is typically not the leader of these little adventures.  However, it seems he decided he needed to defend his younger siblings.  Or teach them how it's done.  I'm going with defend them....

About two weeks ago, I noticed that the back grass was moving and did a quick count of my pups - all accounted for!  I proceeded to watch out the window and what pops up, sits on its haunches and starts eating my flowers/grass but a groundhog!  I watch it leave the yard (fenced, by the way and I then reinforced where I believed it entered the yard) and everything was fun for almost two weeks.

I got home and was greeted with "you'll never guess what happened today". It turns out that two groundhogs got into the yard, the pups were ushered into the house and kept inside for about an hour.  Here's where I should note that groundhogs are apparently stupid.  They stayed in the freaking yard!  The entire herd went out and pack hunting ensued.  One groundhog managed to escape unscathed, but Beckett managed to corner and kill the second one.  I'm told that Carmella, my parent's cocker spaniel was his "wing man".

The new "prize" had to be taken from Beckett as he wanted to bring it into the house...GROSS!  Thankfully, no one took pictures of Beckett with the groundhog and he doesn't have a single scratch on him.  Groundhogs are mean!

Do you have a dog that has a strong hunting instinct too?




P.S. Don't forget to enter my Jamberry giveaway.  It ends Friday at midnight.  :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Canine Models

 I iz pretty, no?!  Welcome to my runway debut... I make good model for Momma's Etsy creations!

And I iz handsome!  But sweater iz too big... "Bring in the SPANIEL, Momma!"

Yep, fitz me! Now make me one in PINK!

Photo Shoot Outtakes

Yeesh, it's hard getting Meadow and Beckett to hold still together for pictures. I get one sitting, and the other one wants to head for the hills. What am I complaining about?  I'm sure it's 10 times harder with kids!!

At least they gave me a few cute shots as outtakes.  :-)

Uh, 'scuze me mom...this would be a good picture if the date wasn't printed across my face.

 Meadow looks like a dork with the date across her face.  You funny, mom!



Make the flashy thing stop.  Isn't funny anymore, mom.

I don't waaaant to be on the Christmas card either.  Go away!

I did get some good shots and am happy with my Christmas card.  If you want to me on my Christmas card list this year, email me!

The Doggie Name Game

Frankie decided that there should be a name game for the 4th - and my pups agree.

Carmella Bay- My name is Hebrew for garden or orchard.  I was almost Freckles...but my Grammy's dog started with that name. Sure, his name ended up as Lucky, but I wanted a name that was all me. :-) And, um, the Soprano's was popular when I was a pup.

Meadow Breeze - My name is English for um...well, you know.  When my mom found me she knew right away that I was either a Meadow or a Willow.  The ladies at the Delta ticket counter made her name me before I could get on the plane.  So, Meadow it was.  And I like it!

Beckett Scout - My name is English, but there's a debate over what it means.  It's either "dweller near the brook" or "beehive/bee cottage".  I prefer the whole "live near the water" thingy.  Cuz I'm allergic to bees and the irony isn't lost on me.  The lovely ladies at Delta pressured mom again to name me before I flew home.  For a few days - my name was MacAllister. I'm so much happier as Beckett.

And now that we've pointed out what a hippie goof-ball our mom is...pups and kitties, how did you get your name?

The Life and Times of...Um, Me?

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. I miss blogging and I miss all of you. It’s been a rough couple of weeks…


My “girls” decided to have a little fight. Carmella bit Meadow’s ear and tore it close to in half lengthwise. Their jostle for Alpha status is an extremely rare occurrence and despite my mom running towards them, she didn’t see what started the problem. Meadow is a tough little cookie – and after then went to their separate corners – we thought everyone came out unscathed. Not so, unfortunately. A few minutes later Meadow ran up to her Grammy with blood dripping quickly off her ear. I was called home and the little princess had to have emergency surgery to sew up the ear. She’s been in an Elizabethan collar since then (just over a week) and I bring her for a re-check tomorrow night. To make her more comfortable (and to limit her jumping off my bed), I’m sleeping with her on the couch. I miss my bed!

A few of you lovelies have seen my job tweets. I try to keep where I work as shielded as possible, but I do need to share my utter disappointment here. I have been performing a job function (in addition to my normal job) for about 2 years now. Well, this project is getting off the ground and it’s time to hire a permanent person to perform this job function. As the person already doing it – and LOVING all that it entails- I applied for this position a six weeks ago. A month and one day after going through four interviews for said position, I found out that someone else was hired to assume my role. I’m sad. I’m disappointed. And, frankly, I’m a little ticked that I need to train the person taking my position. However, my boss has told me that my hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. (HURRAY!) I have yet to see the job description, but it seems a new job is being created for me. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you all know.

This weekend was hospital-centric. Mom has been experiencing side-effects from chemo. Saturday she went into the hospital with a fever, racing heart and shortness of breath. Right now, it looks like these symptoms are all part of moderate dehydration. Darn chemo!! With any luck – she gets to come home today. Not to be outdone by my mom – my grandma has been admitted to the hospital too. Grandma passed out in the parking lot of a restaurant yesterday after breakfast and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. This freaked out my poor Aunt and Uncle! Anytime an 88 year old woman passes out, it causes concern. Both of these lovely ladies are now in the cardiac care unit.

As soon as life settles down a little, I’ll be back to blogging with a vengeance. I know I said it before – but I MISS YOU GUYS!!!! Please let me know what I’m missing. :-)

Blogoversary Winners & Some Randomness

Thanks to everyone that entered my blogoversary giveaway!  You're awesome, and you made me feel special.  :-)  These days, that means more than ever.

Our lucky winners are:
Mrs. Jones - Uncommon Goods glass globe
Dory and her momma Beth - Folded notes & address stamper from Expressionery.com
Practically Perfect - Barnes & Noble gift certificate and bookmark

Ladies, peruse the websites and let me know what your choices are!

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Thanks to all of you that have emailed or tweeted me asking about my mom.  I love you for that!

Mom is keeping her positive attitude.  Chemo started yesterday and quite frankly - she's exhausted and nauseous.  But, we know that given some rest and good anti-nausea meds that she'll feel better in a few days.

I'm sure that the next four months will hold some ups and downs.  Mom is already starting to talk about doing the Avon Breast Cancer walk next year though.  She's something else!  Our next landmark will be the loss of her hair.  I'm told that there's a chance it won't fall out, but it's highly likely. To prepare for this, mom has spoken to our hairdresser and Ed is ready and willing to shave her head for her.  I'll be there to cheer her on (and take pictures)!

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Is this week dragging for anyone else?  Bueller?  Bueller?  Oh, speaking of... did anyone else tear up during the John Hughes montage during the Oscars?

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And... finally; Carmella says "hi".  I don't think I talk about her enough.  She's such a sweetie!

Wordless Wednesday

Carmella, Meadow and Beckett love to run and play in the snow.  Well... MOST of the time.  :-)

The top picture of Beckett taking shelter under the gas grill is my favorite.  :-)

Wordless Wednesday (Christmas Canine Round-Up)

Beckett sporting his Santa hat.

Meadow models the newest in fur-trimmed sweaters.

Shadow and Flicka cuddle and stay away from the crowd.

Maggie helps Billy open presents.

Carmella wants to know if Santa Paws will come back after her nap...  :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Carmella wants to know....

You talkin' to me?!?!

Easily Amused...

Yep, that's me. I'm not too hard to entertain.

I was feeling a little stressed yesterday, so I went shopping on Sephora.com. Do I remember what I bought? NOPE!! It'll be a surprise when it arrives. Today, I arrived home to a surprise... this quarter's BeautyFix package. Woohoo!! So much good stuff! Are any of you BeautyFix members? I'd love to compare notes. :-)

Carmella got a fur-cut yesterday. What did I do to the poor thing before she went? This....

But doesn't she look adorable now? (Ignore the less than pleased expression. She doesn't like the G-R-O-O-M-E-R!)


And, finally... a commercial that I find amusing for absolutely no reason at all.

Have you entered my giveaway yet? If not, click here. :-)

Revenge Of The Spaniel

I love Carmella. She's a sweetheart. But she also likes things done her way and isn't afraid to let you know it.




See this cute little face? Think she'd ever purposely do something naughty? No?!?! WRONG!




I went bowling last night with Kirstren and Heather (we had to forfeit the game...league rules...long story) and it disrupted the usual evening routine of - greeting, potty, dinner, potty, cuddling for all three of my darling fuzzballs.


Well, time came for us to all claim our spots on the bed and catch up on the evenings DVR'd programs. Carmella looks right at me, circles on the bed and PEES!! That little shit made sure she caught my attention before she made a mess of my down comforter.



Note from Beckett:

I didn't pee on Momma's bed, and am therefore cute and smart and sweet. Plus, while she was bowling, I hijacked the computer and found this.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday...

It's almost time to haul out the Halloween costumes for the puppers again.

Last year, they went as different animals. Any suggestions on a theme this year?

This is my favorite picture of Carmella as a skunk!

My Birthday Giveaway Winner & What A Day!

Thank you all for entering my birthday giveaway! With the last two giveaways.... I have a lot of new followers to go and visit!! I promise I'll come visit you all - SOON. :-) Expect lots of comments.

The winner of my birthday giveaway is: Kirstren @ Lady Kirstren. I'd tell you to email me your mailing address...but I already know where you live!!

Don't fret, there will be another giveaway when my new blog layout/design is done. I can't give you a solid date on when it will be, so keep coming back to check. :-)

Today has been an interesting day! Both of my girls killed birds today. :-( I've given Beckett a firm talking to; if he completed the avian trifecta of death...no new toys. Honestly, during both incidents - I screamed all of their names and he's the one that came running. His hunting instincts are just as strong as Meadow & Carmella's; but he's a Momma's boy and comes as soon as I call. The girls...well, I'm threatening to wash their mouths out with soap; mostly because they are both still prancing about the house all proud of themselves. Sigh.

Don't they both look so sweet and innocent?!?! Yeah, I thought so too....

Today was fun too! I went to the Children's Museum in Boston with Kirstren & her kiddo. What a blast. :-) I'm pretty sure that his favorite part was the three story jungle gym thingie. Don't worry moms...it's virtually impossible to hurt yourself in this thing!

Tomorrow is a lighthouse tour. Ah, I LOVE being on the water!

What are you all up to?

Things That Go "BUMP" In The Night

My dogs are curious...really curious. But in the safety of our back-yard, there isn't anything that can go wrong, right?! Um, wrong!

Friday night, I let the herd out to "potty" before we went to bed around 11:30. Right away Carmella started this screaming bark. A bark like I have never heard from her in all six years of her little life.

So, I hightail my keister out the door and yell at them to head in. Beckett comes running to me like a good boy, so I put his butt in the house and them run over to our cabana. At this point, I should mention that the cabana is jam.packed.full of lawn furniture and a few picnic tables.

I get right up to the cabana windows and hear growling. Not just the barking and growling of my "girls", but something growling back at them! Carmella gets by the door and I grab her by her tail (not my finest moment...but in the same situation, I'd do it again) and haul her into the house.

At this point - Meadow, my fearless little peanut is the only one left in the cabana with this growling animal. After what seemed like hours of screaming at her (while trying to move all the furniture OUT of the cabana) I finally get my hands on her and hear the growling REALLY close up.

I'd like to identify exactly what animal it was for you... but I'm no dumb bunny! I grabbed her and ran into the house.

Yesterday, I saw a dark brown animal walking across my back neighbor's yard. It's either a badger or one hell of a ground hog. I'm talking 20 or so pounds folks.

Now I have to go out with them every night. It's going to be a looooong summer. Sigh.

And The Winners Are....

Can I get a drum roll? No?!?! OK... Beckett, if you run back and forth in the tile hallway, it sounds close. Darn, he's napping.

Without further ado (As I know I slacked by a day already! Sorry!!) the winners are:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
24
5
34
Timestamp: 2009-04-19 20:56:17 UTC

Doesn't tell ya much, huh? OK, OK.
Our grand prize winner is.... Christina.
Our second and third place winners are.... Tiney & Kate.

Woofs of applause for everyone that entered. Thank you all for the awesome comments, for reading my blog, and for following; I can't wait to do this all again. For those of you that don't regularly read me... don't wander far, I'll be holding another giveaway in July for my birthday. :-)

Christina, Tiney & Kate, please email me (allthelittlestuff@gmail.com) so I can get your giveaway booty on the way.

Giveaway For the Pupperoos...

It's my very first giveaway!! I'm so excited! Bear with me through this long post. It's worth the wait.

One of the blogs I follow - who's your dachshund is currently having a donation drive to help their selected rescue facilities (from Nova Scotia to South Africa and points in between). I love my dogs and can't imagine life without them. Not to be punny... but animal advocacy is my pet project.

Given the tough economic times, animal surrenders are up and so many facilities don't have a "no kill" policy. It makes my heart cry.

While I didn't get my dogs from shelters; I admire people who rescue dogs. I've already joked with you that I'm no longer allowed in Florida by a family decree because I come back from there with dogs. I now share with you how I came be be Meadow, and then Beckett's mom.

In April 2004 I went to Tampa to visit my Grandma. We did all the usual stuff - beach, movies, getting shown off to her friends, trips to the mall. The second to last day - I walked into a pet store (YES, I KNOW... pet stores are BAD!). I saw this tiny little thing behind the glass, just cowering. I didn't need a dog! I had Peach Blossom, my 12 year old and Carmella Bay, my year old Cocker Spaniels waiting at home. Why would I want a tiny little dachshund anyway? But I saw her...and just knew she was mine. Meadow Breeze had been in that pet store for under an hour when I got her.

Fast forward about two years. This time my mom (who is a teacher) decides that she'd like to go with me on the trip to visit Grandma. Same story... beach, sun, sand, movies, relaxing. I had put Peach to sleep only months before and was missing my two fuzz balls at home. We popped into the same pet store (And YES, I have learned my lesson) and in under a minute my mom had found my new "baby". Again... I didn't need to add to my canine family. Further more, I hadn't had a boy dog in my house since I was seven years old. But there he was. Instantly, he was mine. You just can't ignore that feeling. Beckett Scout became my little boy.

Feel free to make fun of the fact that apparently I'm a hippie (WHO KNEW?!?!) and gave my "kids" some less than conventional dog names. Here comes the good part. READY????

In honor of my dogs, I'm having my first give away! There are three prizes.

The grand prize:

1. A dog bone frame to show off your little (or big) cutie.
2. "So Dog Gone Much To Do" notepad.
3. Vanilla Breeze canine shampoo and conditioner.
4. Vanilla Breeze pet wipes.
5. Booda spearmint rope toy.
6. Dual sized brush.
7. Bone shaped dog cookies.
8. Apple & Yogurt dog cookies.
9. Ducky squeak toy.

The second and third place winners will each win a year subscription to Bark magazine. The deadline for this give away is Friday, April 17th @ 10 PM EST.

Wanna win? You get one entry for leaving me a comment, a second entry for following me, and a third entry if you use the widget to the right and donate. (I can't track donations, so I'm going to trust you) Remember, a dachshund site is hosting this... but ALL dogs at the selected sites will benefit!

Notes from Beckett - Meadow Bites

Hi Gang! Little 'ole me again. Momma says that she won't rat out her little girl (aka Meadow), but I can if I want to.

A few days ago, Momma got bitten! Meadow and Carmella like to play - ROUGH. Momma says it's partly them playing and partly them jockeying for dominance. I kinda tune out when she starts blathering about being the "alpha" dog. I'm a little boy! I know nothing of mere dogs!!

Well, after about 10 minutes of their rough play, Momma decided that enough was enough. She went to separate the girls just as their playing turned into a little hissy fit. Those stubborn girls don't like to back down - especially Meadow (even if she is only 8 pounds in comparison to Carmella's 22)- and Meadow went to pull Carmella's ear.

The problem is, she got Momma's thumb instead. Two tiny toothmarks on the bottom and a bruise on her nail bed. Poor Momma cried! It was more out of shock than anything else... but when she cried, I just had to try and make her feel better. So what did I do? I climbed in her lap and cried/howled too. Momma says that I cry like GIRL!! But it made her laugh.
:-)

I'm such a good boy! I hear rumors that Momma is making homemade doggie cookies this weekend and I get to be her taste-tester!

P.S. Meadow says she really, really sorry.