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You’re Doing What?

“You’re doing what?” is essentially the reaction I got from Mawsie (my Mom) when I told her about our exciting news.

This is not the best picture of Mawsie, since she looks all pissed off (she doesn’t like dogs). But it’s recent, so I decided to use it.

Anyway…

She didn’t take the news as well as I thought she would. I mean, you’d think she’d understand that, with Eric having just moved out, things are a bit quiet here at the ToadMama Maryland abode. I know he hasn’t been gone long, but this empty nest thing is, well, weird. It’s so, um, boring?

Yeah that’s it. Without the proverbial patter of little feet running around it’s just plain dull. Meg, at 10.5, is down with dull, to a degree, but not so okay with a bored 2.5-year-old Belle harassing her. I try to keep Belle entertained, but playing with adult people is apparently just not that much fun. If the grandkids lived closer and weren’t always so busy, they could come liven things up. But, if they did, it would just be boring again when they left.

Considering that I am still relatively young, Hubby and I thought long and hard, then longer and harder, and made the decision to expand the family. There’s just something about a third little being calling me “Mama” that tickles me.

Yep, believe it or not, we’re adopting another baby girl. And we’re naming her Kay.

She’s about 3.5 years old. It may not look like it, but she is a Brittany, like Meg and Belle. She has a fairly uncommon liver and white roan coat. The “roan” just means she’s got patches of fur where white and colored hair grow together. So she can’t be described as white with liver markings and ticking (aka “dots”).

We (Meg, Belle and I) went to meet Kay on Sunday. Belle, who is always bashful with new dogs and people, took a little while to warm up to her.

Meg was fine with Kay from the start. They’ll need to figure out who is top dog, which is normal, but I don’t foresee any major issues. Meg and Belle went through the same thing.

Kay is larger than Belle, who is a tiny little Britt, but not quite as big as Meg.

I do believe Kay will be the perfect playmate for Belle, but I also think she might just become Meg’s occasional (we hope!) partner in crime. Both were equally intrigued by the open door at the foster family’s house because there was a cat in the room beyond.

I didn’t realize, until I was reviewing the pictures, that Kay does the same weird neck thing that Meg does. Instead of turning her head left or right and looking over her shoulder, Meg will often just lift her chin straight up and back, like Kay is doing in the picture above.

Hubby and I are both quite excited about the expansion. I would love to post a picture of Hubby and I looking excited about the expansion, but he’s off work this week, hanging out at the WV place. So, you’ll just have to trust me.

Kay is moving in on Sunday, November 8. Hubby, the girls and I can’t wait.

As for my Mom… she may like to pretend she doesn’t like dogs…

…but she can’t seem to resist sweet old Meg. Meg is, after all, her oldest Granddog.

Of course, not many people can resist Meg.

UPDATE: I just HAD to add this picture, which K’s foster Mom e-mailed me just minutes ago.

That’s K waving “hi” to her new family.

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Meet Spotty Dotty

I know I already had one post today, but all the cool Fall colors that are finally emerging here in Maryland inspired me to take a couple of FibroDuck pics.

What I just realized today is that “FibroDuck” is the movement. And all the individual ducks have names. Which is the reason behind this post’s title.

Meet Spotty Dotty. She’s my duck. And I’ve been having fun taking pictures of her in various places.

Today I did some outdoor shots. I was inspired by all the colors. While you can’t see any foliage in this picture, it’s my favorite.

Perhaps because it features my two favorite canines AND Spotty Dotty.

Really, it’s just because the expressions on Belle’s and Meg’s faces are priceless.

They are usually very happy-looking dogs. Dogs do smile you know. Really. (Other dog parents will back me up on that one.)

My girls usually smile a lot. ‘Cause I’m such a fun and cool Mama. Usually.

Apparently, they were less than thrilled to be posing with Spotty Dotty.

That just makes this shot even funnier if you ask me.

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Waking Up is Hard to Do

This, my friends, is your conventional alarm clock. Sort of. More on that later.

Most days, I don’t need an alarm clock. Unless I want to wake up before approximately 7:15 a.m.

It’s not that I’m one of those old people that says, “I don’t need an alarm clock. I wake up at 6:23 every single day.”

I do need to be woken up, I just don’t need an alarm clock to do it.

Confused?

Yes, I did just say I don’t need a clock, but I do need to be woken. I don’t need a clock to wake me because I have a natural alarm Belle.

THIS is my natural alarm Belle…

And it’s the cutest little alarm Belle ever.

Belle’s small for a Brittany. Not just in girth, either. She’s vertically challenged.

My bed is about 6 inches shorter than this birdbath. When Belle stands beside the bed, like she’s standing beside the birdbath, all you can see are her feet, forelegs and cute little face. When she’s ready to get up (rarely later than 7:15), she comes and stands beside the bed. If I move or make a sound, she gets all excited and starts beating on the bed with her forelegs (picture a dog playing bongos) and wiggling her whole body. I can only actually see her cute little face moving, but I know her whole body is moving because it’s a typical Brittany wiggle.

I could be upset, especially on weekends when it would be nice to sleep in. But she’s so darn cute I can’t ignore her. Once I pet her, she gets even more excited. She even smiles. And I am such a sucker for a cute little Brittany smile.

As for the alarm clock not being conventional… as I was looking for alarm clock images to adorn this post, I discovered this clock, which actually holds and plays MP3s. Cool, eh? I was all excited until I visited the store that supposedly sells it (ThinkGeek.com) only to learn that they no longer sell it. I’m guessing it was way popular. I’ll have to search for another merchant.

I was disappointed, yes. But while there, I couldn’t resist looking around. They sell fun stuff like this coaster.

Got a geeky kid to shop for? Try this cool Jr. Astronaut Helmet.

How about a new t-shirt for your geeky Hubby? Um, you may need to be a little geeky yourself to get that one. If you do have a geeky Hubby, you should buy one of these. Just to make him feel good, know what I’m sayin?

Got a geek who likes chilled shots but hates that they get watered down? These little doohickeys are quite ingenious. I think they’d be a fun gift, too.

How about a spouse that is fascinated by gadgets and LED lights? This is the ultimate kitchen gadget.

OK, I think you get the picture.

I’m off to get more coffee…

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Oh, How Distracting

Working from home has its pluses and its minuses. Having your pets as company is one of the good things. Usually.

Having the dogs around is a plus. As for the cat, well, let me just say Moses is old (about 20), grumpy and VERY vocal. She meows incessantly. Around 4:00 PM she’ll start telling me it’s time for her dinner.

Until recently, I could ignore her. But now that the weather has gotten colder, she’s discovered the joy of sleeping on my warm notebook computer, which sits closed, on a shelf behind the full-size monitor it’s hooked up to.

So now, when Moses decides she’s hungry, she just has to pop her head up to get my attention.

She’ll sit there, giving me the evil eye for a bit. Then she’ll start meowing.

And meowing…

…and meowing. She’s relentless.

She also likes to rub her cheeks on the edge of my monitor, which means I get this film of black cat hair all over the screen. Not to mention a keyboard full of cat hair.

She does eventually stop whining for a bit. Although quiet, she makes sure I still know she’s not happy.

It can be quite distracting. Which is the whole point, I guess.

Until I slid the monitor over a bit, she used to slink through that gap and walk across the keyboard. Now she just sits back there glaring at me.

I wonder how long it’ll be before she hacks up a hairball back there?

Ah, the joy of having cats…

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Giggle Incitement

Something happened earlier today that really made me giggle.

As most of you know, I work from home. My dogs are pretty good about just hanging out, not bothering me as I work, but every now and then nature calls and they’ll come tell me they need to go outside. Keep in mind, I’m all alone in the house except for the dogs, so they have no choice but to come to me.

This is Meg, my 10-year-old Brittany. The one that is famous world-wide for her Meg’s Dilemma slideshow. Meg has a very expressive face and definitely her own personality that never fails to keep us entertained. Her nickname, by the way, which she answers to, is Crazy Dog.

When Meg wants your attention, she’s relentless. Earlier today, I was working away, when Meg came and sat next to me. I was busy, not paying her any attention, so she put her paw on my knee.

I ignored her. The paw pressure increased.

Finally, I looked down.

That’s when I almost choked. Because this is what I saw…

The dog was wearing my bra.

For real. The shoulder strap was around her neck and it was hanging down right in front of her chest. I didn’t have my camera at hand, so these pictures are a recreation, but it really happened.

Not only was she wearing my bra, she’d put it on herself!

How does that happen? My bras were in a heap on the floor by my laundry room, queued up to be washed. I’m guessing she was sniffing around in the pile and somehow managed to get herself entangled.

Now, I don’t know if she came to tell me she had to go out or to say, “Um, Mom. A little help here? Can you get this thing off of me?”

She was a bit indignant that I was laughing at her, but happy I was available to remove the foundation. She was even a good sport about wearing it again so I could take these pictures.

That’s my Crazy Dog…

UPDATE: It gets weirder. If it happens once, it’s probably an accident. Right? Well, it happened again! I was in my office, signing off the work computer for the day when both dogs popped in. I walked down the hall to the bedroom and when I turned around, there Meg was wearing the same bra. Now, that’s just bizarre. I made her walk downstairs, tripping over the thing, so she could show Hubby. I’ll never understand dogs.

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Oh, What A Lazy Day

Fall is definitely here.

We’re at the WV place. It’s 59 degrees outside. And raining. We have the front door and some of the windows open. The only sound is the rain hitting the leaves in the forest that surrounds us. That and water dripping in the puddles just beyond my window, where it lands after running off of the roof (we don’t have any rain gutters).

Meg is curled up on a braided rug beside me. Belle is snuggled down on top of her bed near my feet. They’re both worn out from their morning romp.

Hubby is on the sofa. (Awake, believe it or not.) The air is ripe with the smell of chili simmering in the crock-pot.

A lazy day indeed.

I did take the girls for a walk this morning between rain showers. As you can see from the pics, the leaves are really starting to change colors. In quite a few spots, a carpet of leaves blankets the ground. Those are maple leaves for the most part. They tend to change colors and drop first. Which is fine by me. They’re pretty on the trees certainly, but they’re also pretty interesting to look at (and photograph!) when on the ground.

I’ll share my artsy leaf pics in my next post. First, I have to share this…

Technically speaking, it’s not a great picture. It’s blurry for gosh sake. But look how happy my little Belle looks. This is how she looks as she runs around reveling in her freedom at the WV place.

When outside, she’s almost always–95% of the time–on the move. She moves fast, too. Ears flying. Goofy grin on her face. Tongue hanging out the side of her mouth.

She loves it here.

Here’s a rare shot of Belle standing still. (I deleted about 27 other failed attempts.) We were waiting for Meg to return. Belle stays pretty much at my side. Definitely within earshot. She’s the kind of dog that likes to stick close to her people at all times. (She’s the one who puts her toes under the door when I am in the bathroom.)

Here’s a shot of Turkey Hollow Road. That’s the official name now. The county actually came around and installed road signs.

Here’s a shot from almost the same spot as the last image, facing the opposite direction. That’s our driveway on the left. Turkey Hollow Road continues for about another half mile before it dead ends.

Meg showed up very shortly after the previous shot was taken. Belle greeted her exuberantly, as usual, before the two of them headed down our driveway, back toward the house, with me bringing up the rear.

Look into the back of the picture, among the trees. That’s an awful lot of yellow.

Fall is most definitely my favorite time of year.