I Got To Chase The Kitty!!!!!

Hi everyone!!! Prinnie here!!! Mom said that I could FINALLY write my own blog post tonight. Roof! Roof! Roof!!!!!!!!!! Know how I got her to say I could?? I jump on her, lick her and bark at her every night, but she always says I am too small to sit at the computer. So I pulled off Mom's laptop from the stand, put it on the floor (I think it fell, but Mom didn't see it, so don't tell her, ok?), and here I am!! I just got my nails clipped, ya know, so I think I can type real good.

Mom said I could tell you about how good I was the other night, and how I helped rescue the kitty (my bratty sister) when she got out. She's not like me and my brother. We get to go outside all the time. Sister can't. She has to stay in the house and look out the dumb windows. B...o...r...i...n...g!

Anyway, Pigs (that's what we all call the kitty even though her name is Peanut Butter ----who thought of THAT name???) snuck outside when Digby and I were coming in from our "last outs". That's when me and brother have to go out and pee pee before we get to snuggle up in our caves and the family goes nite nite. It was real late, and it was really dark outside. Mom and Mommy went out searching for her with flashlights, but they couldn't find her. Then Mom said "Prinnie, go find the kitty and get her in the house". "Yahoo", I shouted!!! I had a chore to do, and I FINALLY got to chase the kitty without getting in trouble and having to go to that dumb "time out".

Mom followed me out, but she couldn't keep up with me. Mommy was in some far away place looking...I think they call it a garage. I turned right, looked by our Baby Barn.......nothing. I turned and looked at Mom and said "Nope, not there". I checked one more time. Still nothing. Then I ran across the patio to the other side of the house and down by the place where Mommy was. I knew I'd find Piggy cuz I could smell her real good. Just then, the dumb kitty peaked out from behind a trash can. "Ah ha", I screeched! "My chance to chase you and show my family just how smart I am", I thought. So I began to chase the kitty down the side of the house, but she is fast. So I had to kick it up a few speeds and get ahead of her to corral her toward the back door so she wouldn't go out into MY yard.

I think Mom said her eyes were big as saucers. I don't know what that means, but I knew I was doing good! Mom looked happy. So I kept chasing the kitty right into the house, and then I blocked the door so she couldn't get back out. Mom yelled for Mommy that I had gotten the kitty in, and they both came in. Mom started telling Mommy how incredible I was. They picked me up in their arms, and hugged and kissed me....alot!!! Yucky people kisses, but I think they were real proud of me. Then the best part was that Mom and Mommy gave me a treat for doing a good job. They gave brother one too, and all he did was stand there looking dumb. Go figure!

P.S. Don't tell my family, but I really do love the kitty. I just want them to think I don't.

Camp Bow Wow or Nanny Cam.....

OK you animal lovers, we're looking for some feed back on this one. You've all read by now that we are going to Hawaii in a few months in celebration of Shar's birthday this past month. A part of the planning process any time we travel always includes the question "What will we do with our "kids"?". This trip is no different.

We began planning early this time....first by exploring all of the valley's best pet resorts. We've been through the interview process at Camp Bow Wow in Temecula and they've been accepted. Geez, it was like trying to get your baby into some prestigious preschool. We had to give referrals, bring in their vet records, be interviewed with our dogs, then the dogs had to stay and be evaluated for three hours. We liked that they are selective about which dogs they will let in because we feel secure that our "babies" won't be left with aggressive dogs and come home battered from a dog fight. We also like that they have a "Camper Cam" so that we can check in on them during our travels. BUT, their "Cabins" turned out to be nothing more than cages on a cement floor. The outdoor play area, while equipped with little dogie pools and ramps for them to climb on, has no grassy area what so ever. It's all sand and gravel. During their 3 hour evaluation, we watched on the Camper Cam from home. While Prinnie ventured out to check things out, Digby stayed huddled in the corner and watched the other dogs from afar. Their rates are right in line with other pet boarding places, but they only take dogs, which would leave our Peanutbutter home alone while we're gone.

Today, we bought a "nanny cam" because typically, when we go away, we leave "the kids" home with our awesome neighbor kids and their mom who coming in to feed, water and play with them several times a day. We know we're pitiful, but we bought the nanny cam because if we decide to go the route of leaving them home instead of boarding, we get to see our kids from Hawaii. The neighbors are truly the greatest and we would plan to pay them about what we would pay a boarding place. Our kids love them and are always happy to see them. But, they are a busy family with the kids in school, sports and social lives and we worry that having to look after our animals would be a huge imposition, especially now that we have our hyper active Prinnie.

So what do ya think? Camp Bow Wow or nanny cam?

The Kids Get a Haircut...

Today was grooming day at our house!

"I am SO not happy about this, Prinnie!!"

"Yea, you look like a mutt, but aren't I adorable?"

Let Me Wake Up Please...

We definitely are not, repeat not, morning people, so on weekends we like to sleep in. Our neighbors have been trained not to knock on our door or call on the phone if the morning paper is still in the drive way. Our friends and relatives have been trained not to call us until we've at least had our morning Starbucks, which would be late morning. For years they've known that not to follow this rule, they risk being greeted by the worst grouches ever.

So here's our dilemma: How do we train our "kids" to differentiate between a work day and a weekend day? Do they not get it that it's in their best interest to let us sleep in a little? Do they not get it that we can't put together a two word sentence until we've had our cup of Jove? Oh no, of course not! As soon as the sun peeks over the horizon, Prinnie starts whining and pawing at her kennel door, Digby sits at the side of the bed and stares at K and Peanutbutter (who I swear gains a hundred pounds overnight) starts walking all over our bodies, pawing at our hands and sniffing our faces.

Now, I think Prinnie can tell the difference between a week night and weekend night. Why? Because, all week long she pees up a storm during her "last outs" of the night. But, I'll be darned if on Friday night she suddenly doesn't have to go potty during last outs. We'll stand outside for what feels like an hour waiting for her to do her thing and all she does is walk along the edge of the patio, then chase God knows what in the grass, then go to the door like she's saying "OK let's go in, I'm done."

Today, Saturday, was a mandated "shopping" day, so we picked up what we hope might help us in our training class for the "kids"......a neon sign that K hung on the back yard fence that comes on when doggies go out for the final sniff-fest of the night. It reads "PEE NOW OR DIE AT SUNRISE". I think it might work.....once we train them how to read!!!

For our lil' Eileen...

Happy Tuesday everyone! Not too much to report here....no earthquakes, no hurricanes, and of course, still no rain. Who'da thought that us reformed New Yorkers would wish for rain?? It's hard to justify complaining about gorgeous sunny days, when for years we lived in either extreme cold, snow, icy conditions or the scorching heat of the southwest desert. But a little rain now and then would be nice! We're practicing a new rain dance (and that is ONE SCARY SITE!!!) to help bring that liquid gold here to So Cal. Maybe it's back to the "kids" pool after all!!

This flower is for you, lil' Eileen! We love you!

A Cloud In The Sky...

As we were driving away from our house yesterday, we saw these really weird clouds. Maybe they were weird because we hardly ever have clouds. I know, what a sad story for those of you that so rarely ever see a full blue sky. Anyhow, we thought they were odd enough to take a few pictures of.









This formation of clouds looks to have a hole in it. It actually looked better in person, but you get the
jist.

This is just an odd picture that we thought was intriging of an outdoor fan and it's shadow that we have on our patio.

Pup's Pool Update

Well, we were hopeful. Isn't that what a parent is when they buy their kid that perfect toy?? Seems like our "kids" weren't too fond of their new pool after all. I mean, what did we do wrong?

The water had hours to warm up to a nice 75 degrees, the placement on the concrete meant their little paws wouldn't get filled with mud or grass, they wouldn't have to share with the neighbors "kids".....geez, what more could a kid want??

Treats! All they wanted was treats!! Go in the water? No way - not without a treat. Digby got the hang of it pretty easily, first going after one of his favorite balls, and then....the treats! Prinnie, on the other hand, was stedfast in her determination to get the treat...WITHOUT going in the water. That dog can run circles for days in hopes of creating a moment of weakness by the treat holder (mommy).

We even tried "showing" them how to use it. All to no avail! But all is not lost. Maybe we can use their pool to practice our snorkeling for when we head off to Hawaii this fall.

The New Pool...

OK, so the "kids" were bored today. It was a typical hot summer day for this time of year, right about 100 degrees. We, on the other hand, were lazily hanging out in the air conditioned house. But wait....it's Saturday - the law in our house is that we MUST go shopping each weekend day, and yep, this was a weekend day.

So other than the "have to's" and "we really shouldn't, but...'s" of shopping, we had to get some turtle and cat food. With Starbuck Frappacino's in hand, off we head to PetsMart. What do we see as soon as we get in there (beyond the gazillion animals that S is forbidden to look at)? Yep, that's right, a doggy pool. Probably actually just a smaller version of those plastic kiddy pools back in the day (you know, the days LONGGGGG ago).

"Ah perfect" we both shout at the same time, ignoring all the other people looking at us in the store. Yes, we NEED this pool for the dogs, we both agree. Somewhere deep in our psyche, we ALL know that the pool is for two overgrown moose who long for the days of sitting in those metal tubs that we thought were the best swimming pools in the world! So grabbing this blue little pool, off we head.

We get home, and fill it up. Well, almost up. Don't want the dogs to drown. We HAVE to show the dogs how to step in it. How would they know? They've never had a real pool before, we both say! But wait - the water is cold. "Poor things, they can't go in this water", I screech! So the obvious thing for a mom to do is to "test the waters", right? Right!

We decided that it takes TWO adults to test the water! One, and then the other. Hmmm, not sure if it's ok for the dogs yet. Better wait until tomorrow, we both say in unison.

So here we are...the day is winding down, and our dogs have a new pool! Stay tuned tomorrow to see how much they like it, and how much the adults have to "show them" how to use it!!!

UPDATE

Site Meter is up and running - as of right now, at least!!! Great news for all of us monitoring geeks!

Technology...UGH!!!!!

OK, so it seems like we are back up and running, but apologies to all who have tried to log in to our blog and had problems today. Apparently, one of our widgets, Site Meter, crashed today as they were beginning to update their system. For some stupid reason, it caused many of us using Internet Explorer 7 to be blocked from accessing our blogs. We love that dumb widget, but have hopes that it will be up and running in a few days (or maybe it's just wishful desires from this blogger junkie).

Regardless, it is maddening when technology doesn't work like we want it to. But after the drama, it's kinda funny to look back at how a perfectly normal adult (no comments!!!!) one minute can turn into a fire breathing dragon screaming at inanimate objects the next!