New toys from Santa!

Little Seanie update

Sean seems to be feeling better.
He has perked up quite a bit. No vomiting. Eating and drinking great.
And he has his buddy Riley taking good care of him.

Little Seanie

My little boy Sean has been sick this week. Monday he started vomiting and just couldn't seem to stop. Really scared me. It lasted about 20 minutes and I was just about to bundle him off to the ER when he settled down. But something told me he just wasn't right. He has always been a regurgitator. My vet had told me to elevate his bowl because he gobbles his food and ingests a lot of air. But I had noticed over the last couple of weeks that even with doing that he wasn't keeping his food down. And then that episode happened. I thought it best to check it out.
And I am so glad I did.
Turns out my baby has pancreatitis.

He's on medication and a special diet and he seems to be responding. I have noticed an improvement in his activity and he seems to have perked up. And luckily, he loves his special diet. So do his brothers. :)
I'm so happy he is on the mend.

Such sweetness

Sean loves to be babied and Riley always steps up and takes such good care of him.
Considering that Riley was an orphan I have no idea how he knows how to be so nurturing. But he is very good at it and Sean laps it up. And they do look a bit ridiculous together. Sean is so much bigger than Riley.

Puppy and kitty love - Bella and Chaz

My Bella - the Suffragette

Happy Hallowen!

Bella refused to dress up for Halloween.
So here is a picture of Toby - sweet patient Toby - from 2004.

Pumpkins from Michael's

These pumpkins are on my dinette table.
This photography course is helping me to see the world in a new way.

Sunset in Fountain Hills

Learning to edit as well as frame, etc.

I love the new decorations, Mom

Riley has decided the wreath on the coffee table makes a good pillow.

More photo fun

Chaz and Bella

Chaz is madly in love with Bella and tries to snuggle with her any chance he gets. She is not always cooperative especially when he insists on rubbing on her but they found a moment of mutual bliss this morning.

More photo fun

The new cat tree

Sean and Chaz

I forget sometimes just how much bigger Sean is than his brothers. So much for being "the baby".

Photography course

I have enrolled in an online photography course and as part of my celebration of my 35th wedding anniversary, I treated myself to some fancy camera lenses.
Lucky me - I have a house full of subjects - sometimes unwilling, but I can usually talk them into it.
Some of my recents -

Riley's nose

Riley's paw

Riley's whiskers

Riley said "Enough!" so I went on to more conventional victims - I mean, subjects..

This is going to be a fun course.

Bella's new haircut

Monsoon season

The monsoon season brings something we rarely see in Arizona - clouds. And chances for colorful sky photos.

Enjoying tonight's rainstorm

Why Bella comes home so wet from day care

But she enjoys herself so much and has such a good time playing with her friends, it's worth it.

Monday, Monday

The Mommas and the Poppas had a song about Monday. Their Monday didn't turn out so well and I have apprehension about mine if the first few hours are any indication.
I woke up suddenly this Monday morning and had a feeling I was already behind the eight ball. I was right. I had overslept. It was 7:27 and Bella was due at daycare at 8:00!!!!!
Somehow I managed to shoot out of bed with my head only partially cleared. Brushed teeth, got dressed, took Bella out for potty, fed the cats, fed Bella.
Packed her up in the car and away we went.

We actually made it there on time.
Nothing bad would have happened if she had been late but sometimes her play group goes out first at 8 so I didn't want her to miss any of that.
Dropped her off and headed home, all the while congratulating myself on how well I had done.
Went into the kitchen and headed to the coffee pot to make that oh-so-needed first cup of coffee.
Popped a pod into the Keurig, pressed the start button, and turned my back.
Headed over to the sink and started washing dishes.

And that's when I heard it.
I did NOT put a mug under the spigot!

I was this close...............

Scorpion

I think I would rather have a rattlesnake in my house than a scorpion. Thank goodness for the cats. They are immune to their venom and they are very good at hunting them down. Chaz and Sean alerted me to one the other night and I was able to suck it up with the vacuum cleaner and get it out of the house. It had wedged itself between this bookccase and the hearth.
And no, I did not stop to take a picture before I got rid of the scorpion. This is a picture of Sean still looking for the scorpion after I removed it.
I said he was a good hunter but I didn't say he was smart. :)

Kitties and boxes

Somebody was being a brat

Chaz wanted me to get his laser light out of my desk drawer and play with him. But I was busy at the computer and so I tried to put him off. He stood on his hind legs and pawed at my arm as I typed. That is his signal that it's time to play. But I pushed his paw away and kept typing.
Chaz was not happy about this and I heard him in the hallway meowing his displeasure. Then I heard the hallway closet open. When I looked a few minutes later, this is what I found.

 I guess he showed me who's boss!

Does this sink make my butt look big?

"Baby" Sean is an armload these days. Still a snuggle bug though, especially at night.

Bella loves the deck

It's been pretty hot out lately so Bella and I try to spend time on the deck in the early morning .

Happy Fathers Day, Dad!

We miss you so much. Thank you for taking such good care of us.

Problem solved

I love my dog. I really do. She can be the sweetest thing some days but she takes her job very seriously - too seriously, sometimes. And her job - in her doggie brain - is to protect me from everyone who is trying to kill me. And goodness knows, those people can be anywhere.

Take a few weeks ago, for instance.

I was picking Bella up from daycare that Saturday at 4 in the afternoon. We had a short walk from the daycare front door to my SUV in the parking lot. The parking lot was empty except for one gentleman who pulled up just as we were exiting the daycare. I tried to be calm. I didn't want to telegraph to Bella that she needed to do anything but walk past him and on to our car.

But I was not so lucky. Just as we passed the young man, she started barking. I'm not sure exactly what happened. It's all a blur but Bella barked and then growled and then lunged. I didn't want her to get loose so I held on with all my might. Bella is no small dog. She weighs 65 pounds and is very strong. And keep in mind, she had her job to do.

Before I knew it, I was on the ground and Bella was still pulling and I was still holding on. By this time, the young man was upset too, thinking he had caused the accident. So he leaned toward me to see if I was all right and started to apologize. 

That made Bella more upset. "Don't talk to my mother!"

I must have been a sight. I had hit the ground with full force on my left knee which was now killing me. Then, because Bella was still pulling, I fell further and hit my right hip and shoulder. So, there I was, sunglasses askew, holding my knee and desperately holding on to a barking and now growling dog.

I managed to settle her down, decided my knee probably wasn't broken, and hobbled to my car and got her in.

By this time, I was in severe pain and worried if maybe I had broken something after all. I was so upset I was actually feeling physically ill. All I knew was I needed to get home.

Home was about 5 minutes away but I wasn't sure how I was going to make it.

I prayed. I took deep breaths.

Needless to say, I did make it home. Thankfully, nothing was broken.

But I knew something had to change.

So I set up a training session with Tracy Bella's trainer the following week.

The training session was a success and Bella did great on the leash, even allowing complete strangers to approach her and pet her.

But Tracy noted that Bella is very strong, too strong for me to control safely.

So he suggested a harness with a front attachment for her leash. I immediately bought it and it has made a world of difference.

Bella walks very well now and is less fearful.

RIP, Harambe.

Bella's summer haircut

Happy birthday, Bella!

Bella is 3 years old today. It's hard to believe that much time has gone by already. She is a grown-up. I miss the little wee one that she was but I love the big girl she has become.