12/25/07

Merry Christmas! Mom had to take a couple of weeks of because of her MS, but now we are back! Christmas was a wonderful time around here! I got all kinds of treats and new toys. Mom has been home taking care of us for a week and I think it is great! We all had our pictures taken with Santa, which was kind of scary, but when I realized that he smelled a lot like Dad, I was much happier.

I have been playing tricks on Dad and Mom again. They want me to go to bed when I am not sleepy or ready to get back into my pen, so I just run outside and sit on the hill. Eventually they get tired of chasing or calling me. Dad will usually chase me until he catches me. Mom won’t! She just waits for me to come inside or gets one of the others to get me to follow them inside. I still think the game is a great deal of fun and I will continue to play it as much as I can.

The other day Mom spent hours grooming all of us again. I don’t know why she thinks pulling my hair and raking out all my nice warm under coat is necessary, but she seems to think it is. Someone needs to tell her it is winter and I was prepared for the cold! Speaking of which, it Snowed again for a day. Everything was covered in it including me! I love to run, jump, and roll in the stuff! It is so light and fluffy and tastes good too!

12/8/07

Saturday, Dad and Mom left in the late morning and got home about the time they would from work. We don’t know where they went, but when they came home, there were more of the treats they make and some new toys being squeaked in the kitchen. Dad kept bringing them up from the basement. Very late in the evening, Dad brought up this thing that looks like a tree and put it next to the television. He moved our dog beds around in that room and I don’t get what is going on, but it looks like I might have fun chewing on this inside tree!

Sunday, that tree no longer looks anything like a tree. Isee and Ever tell me this is a yearly ritual. There are all kinds of thing wrapped under that tree, but none of them smell any good to me. Isee says treats usually show up but not until the night before we get to have them. I don’t believe her. The things under the tree have a couple of corners I could rip out, though. I am thinking of doing so. I started to sniff the silver stuff that covers the tree, but Mom said I could not destroy it. Tempo, that darn bird, thinks it looks like fun to play with, but said he has not been allowed to do so either.

Tuesday, Mom put Bonnet in the crate in the living room and let the rest of us play and Bonnet was crying because she could not see any of us. Tempo started crying with her. It really annoyed Mom! I thought it was fun and tried to go visit Tempo, but Mom does not like it when any of us schnauzers try to go over and see that darn green creature. The older 3 said he was free once while they were out and Bonnet got to yank some of his feathers before Mom caught everyone and made them stop. They wanted to kill him, but she said NO!

Thursday, Mom was doing weird stuff. When she does these weird things, I try to stay far away from her! This time, she started with grooming Ever, which she worked on yesterday as well. Then she pulled out this big wooden contraption, which is taller than I am, and stuck it over Ever’s back. She was very happy with him! She then stuck it over Isee’s back. Isee did not like it at all! She tried to get away, but eventually stood there while Mom put it over her shoulders. Mom was happy with her as well. Then, Mom came after me. It took her a couple of minutes of trying, then she headed for the carrot cookies. I came running for those! I love carrot cookies! Well, she caught me because she tricked me. She took me over to the same big wooden device and drug me under it. All she really did was want me to stand pretty and put this thing over my back. She seemed rather happy about the results and I got a big hug with my carrot cookie! Later that evening when Dad got home, he tricked me in a similar way and got me weighed with everyone else. Then he took me to that same contraption and helped Mom put it on my shoulders again. They both seemed happy with the results. Mom says I can start going to dog shows now. Later when no one was looking, I snuck up the wooding thingy and sniffed it! Mom saw me and told me that I was a good girl for sniffing the wicket. Isee is terrified of it, but she says she got measured a lot when she was a show dog. She said everyone thinks that she is too big. I want to be just as big as she is so I can rule the house one day!

Friday, every morning, Mom comes in before she leaves for work and tells all of us that she loves us! We all get a little scratch and then she leaves for the day. Dad comes in a bit later and feeds us. He added some weird smelly stuff to our food that I thought smelled funny. I did not eat all of my breakfast for a change! Mom also changed her routine when she comes home. She started letting Ever, Bonnet and I into the big yard and Isee into the small one. We all envy Isee because she gets to play where we don’t. Then Mom cleans out our pens. She takes all the good smelly poop away! Dad used to do this, but now Mom takes care of it for him. I don’t know why it changed, but I love barking at Isee with Bonnet when we go outside! Mom let us all play as normal, then put us away before Dad got home and left. I don’t know where she went, but when she came home, we did not get let out to see her. Dad came home shortly after and they both left. When they got home, we knew they had been somewhere eating something good and they didn’t even bring us anything! Mom did let me stand on her lap and was petting me for quite a while, which I think is great because I can put my feet on her shoulders and kiss the top of her head or pull on her hair. She does not like it when I do this, but she still lets me! I have such fun around here!

12/2/2007

The weekend was pretty boring around here. I played and was my normal cute self, but nothing really special happened.

Monday, Mom stayed home with us again. I could get used to this! She let us play most of the day. Three of us got to go sleep with her for a while as well. Then she left for a bit. When she finally got home it was almost time for Dad to be home. We each got some loving time from Mom during the day and I felt more special than usual. Then, Mom decided to groom me again! She sat down in front of the television and called me over. I thought it was for more petting, so I came running, but she then held me down and started stripping me! I hate it when she does that! She did this for about an hour when Dad came in and asked if she needed help and she told him she was finished with me.

Tuesday, more grooming. When Mom got home from work, she petted and loved all of us some more. Then when Dad got home, she tricked me again and finished stripping my coat! It was not fun because Dad held me down so she could finish. I got to sleep out with Dad and Mom that night, which is always fun. I bounced on the bed and would not move until Dad came to bed and then I scooted over just enough for him to join us. It is very cozy in bed with Dad and Mom.

Wednesday, what a weird and wonderful day. While Dad and Mom were at work, white stuff started coming down and it did not stop until it covered the ground! It was so neat! Isee said it is called Snow! I love the cooler temperatures and the really neat way this stuff sticks to my fur!  It was a great deal of fun to run outside in the evening and plow through the stuff!

Thursday, more snow! After Mom got home from work, she let us out and I came in from outside with my nose covered in the stuff! Mom took a picture of me with the snow in my face! I am just too cute! It is so fun! Bonnet hates the way it sticks in her furnishings. She gets big balls of the stuff stuck on her. I think it is funny and pound the floor laughing when that happens. Ever is always concerned about Bonnet, so he cleaned up the snowballs that Bonnet picked off herself. He loves ice anyway, so he ate them!

Friday, it snowed again! I had even more fun dragging the stuff in as Mom was doing something with  a big role of paper and things she said were for Dad’s Christmas gift, what ever that is. Anyway, I ran over the paper as she was rolling it out on the floor and got it all wet several times. After she started getting angry, I decided to stay out in the snow until Dad came home. Ever stayed close to Mom and said he would tell me when she stopped doing strange things with paper. Dad came home just after she finished and there is now a pile of wrapped things in the computer room and hallway. Sometimes I just don’t understand my human parents!

11/24/07

Saturday morning Bonnet and Isee got in big trouble! The had been arguing all night, but Mom did not know that when she went to let them out in the morning. Their argument was over bunnies they had seen out side the night before. Mom let us all out together and they decided to rumble over the bunnies again. This time, they really got into it. I was trying to encourage them when Ever decided he had better go tell Mom what was going on. That darn tattle tale!! He got Mom and although she had some trouble, she broke it up and we all headed inside. By this time Isee got what was coming to her and she was bleeding badly. Mom was very concerned and ignored Bonnet and the rest of us. She held Isee still for hours, woke Dad up and they took Isee out for a ride. Now why Isee got rewarded for getting into a fight with Bonnet, I am still not sure. When they got home, we still did not see Isee. Finally, when they let Bonnet, Ever, and I out, we found her curled up in the back of the den in the dining room where she likes to be. We were not allowed in to see her. Mom finally checked over Bonnet and we spent the rest of the day playing and teasing Isee from outside her hiding place. She did not come to bed with us that night either.

Sunday, Isee still got special treatment all day. She lost the fight, but she was still being rewarded! Not fair! I played with Bonnet and Ever all day.

Monday, Mom was home with us most of the day, but it rained, so we could not go out much. I played with Bonnet and Isee stayed in her den. Ever just hovered over Isee and then Bonnet and tried to make love to them but they were not interested! Mom had some guy come to the far garage and was over there talking to him while he moved something off the big truck he brought. They talked for quite a while in the rain. We stood out there and did our best to protect her, but she kept telling us to be quite. She must know that we need to protect her from such strange people when we can’t even get near them! I did my best to pound the dirt and tell the guy that my Mom was under our guard. Isee missed out on the fun as she was still in her den.

Tuesday, Mom let Bonnet and Isee out of their pens together, but did not let Isee come outside with the rest of us unless Bonnet was in the new den she put in the dining room. Isee was very smug about the whole thing and tried to protect her bone from us. Like Bonnet will not kill her over that one later! Dad was very late getting home and only Isee got to see him. I heard him, so I know he was back!

Thursday, Mom did some strange stuff when she got home. She came in and fed us right away. Then she ran around for quite a while and did not let us out at all. Bonnet then got let out and a leash was put on her. She was getting to go somewhere without the rest of us! Dad came home and let us all stay out longer than usual. He even let the three of us sleep with him! That was really fun!

Friday, Dad did not get up in time to feed us, so we woke him up! He was not very happy to be woken up, but too bad. We three got to play most of the day together. Mom finally came home later than she would normally get home from work and brought Bonnet with her. Bonnet tells me she went back down to the same area we went to recently. Granddad went with Mom and her. She said Mom was pretty forgetful and did not give her any more food or water after they went to bed. She was taken to the same vet that they went to the last time and this time, she had surgery. She said it still hurt when she got back to Mom and she was put back in the car and they came back! What a horrible trip! Bonnet said she was still groggy when they started on their trip and she complained, but Mom would not listen to her and they kept driving. I was just really happy to see Mom again, so I was gentle when I went up to be petted by her. Mom forced me to go see Granddad when she got home. She also took me in the scary building across from the house. I was afraid I would have to leave and do the same things Bonnet did, but I just got to walk around and then Mom put me away and fed everyone. Dad and Mom left for a while and we all had some out time when they got back, but Isee or Bonnet were in a crate the whole time again.

Saturday, we slept in and were quiet for the rest of the night. Mom put us outside and them took all our stuff to the car. She made a game to trying to catch me! Bonnet went willingly into her crate in the car, but I wanted to show her who was boss! She won, but I held out for a really long time. We drove for what seemed like forever again! Finally we made it home! Bonnet and I were put directly in our pens. Isee complained that she was hoping to never see Bonnet again, so they grumbled at each other for quite a while.

Sunday, Bonnet and I played a great deal we were so happy to still be at home.

Wednesday, Mom and Dad were up later than usual and I was actually ready for bed when they finally wanted to sleep. Before bed, Dad was eating some cheese on the couch and I thought it would be fun to see if he would give me some. So, I just put my front paws on his plate, right on top of the cheese! Wow, was he upset, but he did give me the piece of cheese, so he must have been faking the mad part! I am going to have to try to do this trick  more often, it is very rewarding! I am still playing keep away from both Dad and Mom! It is fun and they get really annoyed with me over it

Thursday, Dad and Mom were home with us all day! They cooked a great smelling meal and tried to keep us from stealing it. This time Dad guarded the food and they left it on the table where I can’t quite reach yet. Even can, so I need to grow as big and he is! Mom let each of us have some cuddle time and we rested on her lap. Dad spent the rest of the day outside putting up some strange things out there. After dark. He turned all these outside lights on and it scared away all the bunnies and critters, I like to chase, but he seemed happy with the lights, so I won’t complain yet. After all, he gave me my cheese yesterday!

Friday, Mom was late getting home, but not too much. She brought in bags of stuff, so I guess she went somewhere fun. When Dad got home, they went out and they smelled like food when they came back. I hate it when they go out to eat and don’t invite us! We spent the rest of the evening resting quietly around the house as all the good critters were gone because of those stupid things that Dad put outside.

The weekend was pretty normal around here except Dad let me on his lap for a bit and Mom tried to take pictures of me trying to kiss Dad on the face. He does not like that very much, so it was kind of fun to try! I then jumped off and spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with the other kids.

Monday, Ready was rather upset all evening and I thought it was fun to tease him. He did not want teased, so he got mad at me. He got to sleep with Dad and Mom as a reward for putting up with me, I guess.

Tuesday, Ready was up with Mom, which is unusual and she put him away with us before she left for work. While Dad and Mom were at work, he passed away. Mom found him lying on his side on the floor and we were all rather quiet when she came home. We were hoping she did not notice! Mom said he was 14 years and 2 months exactly and both Dad and Mom were really upset! Mom blocked us from going back into our pens until Dad got home, she was even late feeding us dinner. Ever got to spend all that time out, which is not the normal. He usually has to split time with Ready, but with Ready being gone, I got to chase Ever all evening! When Mom finally decided to feed us, something had changed! Mom had moved Isee into Ready’s pen and me to Isee’s! This worked out well for me since there were a ton of new bones in there for me to chew! Isee did not understand why she got moved out of her pen and wanted to go into her old one. This move put Isee and Bonnet next to each other and I am not sure why Mom decided to do this. They don’t much care for each other.

Wednesday was another day when Mom was late getting home and both she and Dad were very sad and not much fun went on in the house, except that Mom clippered me, darn her! I don’t know why she did this. She did not do any other grooming and none of the others seem to think that we are going anywhere.

Thursday, it appears that the others think something has changed because they are all getting upset. They saw Mom pack a suitecase, but not any of the normal doggy things. She did pack some food, but  that was all. No one got groomed for a dog show and Dad was not found to be packing any of his stuff. Ever and Isee are very worried! They did not like what happened earlier in the week and now things are being packed. I think it is fun when weird things happen around here because it livens up the place. All of the stuff that was packed was taken down stairs by Dad during the course of the evening, so I don’t know why the others are upset. It is all gone now anyway!

Friday, Mom got up at the same time as Dad, which is very unusual. She did not go to work and Dad did. After a short period of time she came and got Bonnet and I. She took us downstairs and let Bonnet jump in the back of her car. I tried to jump in, but did not quite make it. Mom had to boost me up. Then she got in and we drove, and drove, and drove. After a while, I did not care where we were going as long as I got to get out of my crate! I hate those things in the first place, and I could not believe I was stuck in one for such a long time. Then Mom stopped the car and got out. She left for a couple of minutes and when she came back we got to get out and for the first time, the grass was covered in this white stuff! I have no idea what it was, but it was very cold and I did not like walking in it. I tried to get Mom to carry me, but she just kept telling me to go Hurry Hurry instead. Bonnet buried her nose in it and came up looking like a ghost of herself. She shook her head and all the white stuff went flying. Needless to say, I did not want to go potty in this white grass! So, Mom put us back into the car and off we went again, driving and driving and driving! It was so boring. Finally, Mom stopped again. This time the grass was normal and Bonnet and I were allowed to run for a short bit. We both did our Hurry Hurrries and back to the car we went. I am tired of getting in that thing! So, we drove for another really long time and this time when we stopped and Mom opened her door, Bonnet told me it smelled like her old home to her. She was happy and yet nervous because she really likes life with Mom and did not want to go back to living with the lady Mom calls Aunt Pat. She told me she likes Aunt Pat, but she likes the attention she gets from Dad and Mom much better. Mom finally let us out of the car and then she went inside and left us alone outside in what is to me a strange place. Neither of us were very happy about that and tried to get in to be with her. Mom finally moved my crate into the house and then she did a terrible thing! She left me in it, took Bonnet and went away! Leaving me in a strange place by myself was not right! I did not like it at all! Bonnet told me when she got back that she was taken to a vet who did not do anything really bad to her. They took a blood sample and that is all that happened. Mom then took me and put me in a strange cage in the back of another car. By this time, I was getting upset with her over the time spent in cars, so I decided not to allow her to pick me up anymore. This time, Bonnet got left behind! She deserved it after what I went through! We went to a strange place where I saw my first human mother. Like Bonnet, I was not sure what to do about meeting her again, but decided that Mom would never get rid of me.  I am just too cute! The visit was very short and I was then forced to sit in this strange car for quite a while. I am upset with Mom over all of this! She should know better than to leave me! When we got back from that trip, Bonnet was all in a dither about being left alone. She was so worked up that she had been crying! I laughed at her and she jumped in Mom’s arms and stayed there for a very long time. Finally after such a long day it was time for bed. Mom put us in the crates we rode to this place in, but she had moved them into the house by then. I have never been forced to sleep in such a small spot, but after a while, I settled down. Bonnet and I woke up in the middle of the night and decided to take our frustration about the situation out on Mom, so we both chewed the bones we had been given as loudly as possible on the bottoms of our crates! That got her attentions, but not the results we wanted. She took the good yummy bones away!

Saturday, Dad and Mom were up early for a weekend. Mom is usually up early, but Dad usually sleeps until late. They left the house early with Ever. He said they drove for what seemed like a really long time. Then they went to a vets office. He does not much care for the vets, but this time was different. The lady who came to pet him brought him a girl! He said she was not his type, but when someone needs bred, he is always up for the job! The lady would not leave him alone, but it was ok with him. He also had some blood drawn and his teeth brushed, but he was so happy, he did not care! I will never understand males! Once they were done. Mom went into a building by herself and came out with food. She gave Ever some and he said he spent most of the trip home licking the flavor off the crate he was riding in.

Monday, Ever is in trouble with Bonnet and Isee for tattling again. He went to tell Mom that they were fighting, but she was busy and did not come out to break up the fight. Dad heard them and came running out. He could not break them up, so he went and got Mom. She finally came out and they broke up the fight. Mom insisted on carrying Bonnet in and did not seem happy with her at all. Dad carried Isee in and Mom was yelling at Ever again because he was pestering Isee. He smelled blood and figured she must be in season, but she was not happy about it and was snapping at him. In fact, Bonnet and Isee spent the rest of the week snapping at him because they are not in season and don’t want to be bothered. Isee got the worst of the injuries, so Mom and Dad went over her for quite a while. They left the rest of us in our pens for the night! How boring! She laid around for a couple of days, but is back to normal now. Since this incident, Dad has been afraid to let Bonnet and Isee out at the same time. Mom lets them out together and usually lets Ever out first, so Isee has to run to the crate so she can hide from Ever because she can’t tell Ever off when Bonnet is right next to her. Mom suspects something like this caused the fight in the first place, but we are not going to tell her!

Friday, Mom came home as usual and let all of us outside. Ever and I were wrestling, not fighting outside and he rolled me in some poop! It smelled wonderful! I went back out and rolled in it again because it was so much fun! Mom spoiled all my fun because she did not like the smell. She caught me and took me into the dog room and put me in the large green tub where she washes us. I had to have a complete bath! YUCK! I don’t like baths. Playing in a pool of water is great, but a bath is not even close to fun. Mom soaked me, then put this stinky stuff all over me. She then rinsed it out, but the smell did not go away. I lost all that good poop, and for what? Some smelly stuff that Mom likes the smell of? I don’t even smell like a normal dog now!