Delicious Doxies

Last year, we went to a store that had a ton of unique cookie cutters.  After looking through hundreds of different shapes, I finally found a dachshund shaped cookie cutter, so of course I had to get it.  And since that time, it has been sitting in a drawer in our kitchen, unused.

This weekend, I decided that needed to change.  I wanted to surprise Hubby with gingerbread dachshunds.  But this was going to take some finagling.  Since the first step was to bake the cookies and let them cool, I had to make Hubby promise to stay upstairs.  He took the dogs upstairs with him.

I baked up about three dozen cookies.  Unfortunately, the design of the cookie cutter included a really thin tail on the dog, and half of the cookies lost their tails.  It took a little over an hour to mix the dough, bake the cookies, let them cool, and wash all the dishes so Hubby would not suspect what I had been doing.  After the cookies all cooled, I stacked them in a container and hid them.

Later on in the day, Hubby sequestered himself again, this time to wrap Christmas presents.  I took this opportunity to ice all the cookies.  They looked adorable, even the ones that had no tails.  When Hubby came downstairs, I made him close his eyes, and I led him over to the table covered in cookie.

Most delicious surprise ever.

Lookie what I got!

This past weekend was a big arts and crafts festival in our town.  The vendors include lots of people with doggie themed wares, collars, coats, toys, that kind of stuff.  I looked for something for the doggies, but nothing caught my eye.

As we were walking along a stretch, we saw a vendor who made really cute woodworking items.  We had bought something from this particular vendor last year at a different festival, and we had it customized with our last name.  When we saw one of his new items, at an incredibly reasonable price, we could not resist.

Isn't it the cutest?

Healing Dogs, by Dexter and Chloe

So sorry that we have been gone so long friends!  Life has been so busy at our house!  We spent some time watching football with Dad, chasing Nora our kitty sister, and of course loving all over Mommy.

And Mommy can really use the extra love right now, because she has an ouchie.  On her, um, rump.

"I ASSure you, it is no laughing matter"

Last weekend, Mommy and Daddy were being all mushy and lovey, celebrating something called valley times day, what ever that is.  Anywhoser, we wanted in on the love.  We had lots of love and kisses to give them both, so we decided to raise a big stink.  We fussed and fussed and FUSSED until shortly before midnight, Dad came down to take us outside.

But we had other plans.  I, Dexter, waited for Dad to open my crate, and took off upstairs to find Mommy so I could kiss kiss kiss her.  And I, Chloe, sat in my crate making sad eyes so Dad would take me upstairs too.  It worked like a charm.

Who could resist this?

We got in a few minutes of snuggles, before we were carried downstairs.  And that is when the trouble happened.  Mommy had taken her glasses off already, since she was ready for bed, so she did not bother to put them back on.  She simply scooped me, Dexter, into her arms, and down the stairs we headed.

Suddenly, Nora ran by us, and Mommy missed a step.  Next thing I know, down we went.  Mommy fell right on something called her tail bone, which is funny because she does not have a tail.  But we were all so scared.       Dad put us both to bed, and helped Mommy up.  He got her some medicine and she put this warm thing on her bum.  But ever since then, Mommy is not as happy as she usually is, and sometimes, she makes funny faces when she moves, and she says OW a lot.  Dad assures us she will heal, it is just a very bad bruise, but we have to give Mommy extra love.  He says we are her healing dogs.

So, whenever we get a chance, Dexter sneaks upstairs to check on Mommy, and Chloe makes the sad face so Dad will take her up too, since she is too small to climb stairs.

"No one's looking, I am heading upstairs to find Mom".

Please keep Mommy and her ouchie in your thoughts, and rest assured, we  will keep giving her lots of healing love and kisses.

Love,

Dexter and Chloe

Happy Birthday Dexter!

Today is Dexter's first birthday!

Hard to believe isn't it?

Like any good Mommy and Daddy, we got him some presents.

He got 2 new blankets...

and...

TREATS!

Oh my goodness, this is the best day ever!

Even Nora made an effort to be nice to him and celebrate!

He also got a little bit of steak for dinner, as well as some ice cream for dessert.  He is the happiest boy ever right now!

Happy Birthday baby boy!

Sibling Rivalry

Lately, Dex and Nora have been engaging in some sibling rivalry.  It is not entirely a bad thing.  It has really helped both of them calm down a lot, and show us a lot more affection, especially Nora.

She sees Dexter snuggling on the bed or couch with us, and sees how good behavior is rewarded with kisses and treats, so she has also become a bit of a snuggle buggle.  After Dex goes to bed for the night, Nora will climb into bed with us and cuddle away.  She has even started being nicer to Hubby, and showing him more affection.  But now, she is taking it to the next level.

Last night, we had Dex in the bed with us, watching t.v., and instead of snuggling under the duvet, he kept climbing inside of it.  You see, our duvet has a removable cover. so he would climb inside the cover, and snuggle into the soft downy duvet.  We had to keep removing him, as adorable as it was, because one little chew, and we would have feathers everywhere.  Finally, he got the point, and just snuggled underneath all the covers, between my feet.

This morning, I got up to feed Dex, and it was so cold, I decided to lay in bed and read for a bit.  When I got back into the bedroom, this is what I saw.

Yes, that is Nora.  Yes, she is inside the duvet.

This is getting a little out of hand, this sibling rivalry.

Happy Thanksgiving by Dexter and Nora

Dear Furry Friends and Fur Parents,
We just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving for those of you living in America.  For those of you from other countries, we hope today is wonderful too!  Enjoy a lovely day full of snuggles and kisses, treats and toys, and lots of love from your families, both furry and human.

While we cannot enjoy any of the tasty food Mommy and Daddy are making for this holiday, because Mommy says it is bad for our tummies, she assures us we will get treats that are good for us.  In the mean time, enjoy these silly pictures we made about what it would look like if we took over dinner.

Many blessings to you all.  We want to also say we are very thankful for all the new friends we have made since Mommy started blogging.  We think about you often, and pray for you all.  Thank you for your friendship, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Love (gobble gobble),
Dexter and Nora

Love is....

My birthday is coming up soon, and since we were going home for the Easter holiday, my mom decided I could have my gifts early. I was most excited that the first thing I pulled from the gift bag was as sign to hang on our door. Before hanging it on the door, I had to take advantage of the photo opportunity....

Easter- by Dexter

Happy Easter everyone, from Dexter and Nora! Cartoon is courtesy of Daddy, because he likes to draw pictures to make Mommy smile!




Today, Nora had the run of the house, as Mommy, Daddy, and Me (Dexter) traveled to Ohio to see Mommy's family. I got to meet my uncles Denny and Paul, as well as great aunts DJ and Charlotte. We all had a blast, well, all but one of us.

Grandma and Pappy have a doggie named Phoebe. The first time we met, she did not like me very much. I have grown a lot since then, and I was hoping she would want to play with me. No such luck. She was still pretty stand offish, and hid most of the time. Mommy did manage to sit us both on her lap long enough to get a picture, but you can tell Phoebe was not happy. I do not understand, I just had a bath yesterday, so I know I do not smell. Oh well, with her hiding, I was able to sneak a bite of her food, and drink her water. YUM!



When it was time to leave, Mommy and Daddy tried to put me in the crate in the car. I HATED IT!!! So I cried and finally I got to sit on Daddy's lap. Mommy says I am spoiled. I noticed my mommy has lots of pet names for me. After I eat and have a full belly, she calls me Chubbs. When I cry, like in the car, she calls me Fussy McGullicuddy, and when I am all cuddly she calls me Pup Magup. Mommy's silly names for me make me smile, but Daddy just does this weird eye roll thing....

When we finally got home, I was so excited to see my sister Nora, I ran around and around and around with her. Then I realized Mommy was going upstairs. Since it was such a busy day, I did not get to see her much, so I tried to go upstairs after her, but my legs are still too short to reach. I tried real hard too, but Mommy says I should not be trying to climb the stairs anyway.


Well, all in all I had a great first holiday with Mommy and Daddy. I got to meet new friends on Friday, including Bailey the big black doggie. He let me boss him around, it was great. I also met some of Mommy and Daddy's people friends and got to cuddle a lot. Yesterday I went to Grandma Barb's house, where I met my cousin Bella. She kind of beats me up but I let her get away with it, you know, because she is a girl and all. And then the big trip to Ohio today.

Mommy said since I was so good, I was allowed to write all you nice people about my holiday weekend, so I hope you liked it. I am pretty tired now, so I am going to lay here on Mommy's lap. I am just gonna rest my eyes for a minute.....zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Ciao Bella

Dexter had a big day today, because he got to meet his cousin Bella. She belongs to Daddy's brother's family. Her mommy is Jen, her daddy is Jon, and she has a human brother named Alex.

Dex has been around a few other doggies already, and has done well. But Bella is just two days younger than Dex, so she has the same puppy energy as him. Unfortunately, she is almost twice his weight and her legs are much longer than his, so she gets to overpower him for the most part, but he did a pretty good job of holding his own.

Bella is an adorable black pug, named after the Bella in Twilight. She was incredibly well behaved today, and was very social. She sat on the couch with me for almost 45 minutes, just relaxing. However, this sparked some jealousy from Dexter, so the puppies decided it was play time. They romped around on the floor, and when Bella would get to be too much for Dexter, he would just hide under the couch.

After a couple of hours of playing, Dexter was tuckered out and ready to come home. He fell asleep on the couch with me and Hubby, so we just put him to bed. Tomorrow, it is a trip to Ohio to see Mommy's family. Grandma and Pappy have a dog too, though last time she was scared of Dexter. Hopefully tomorrow they will play, so I can post pictures of them too.

In the mean time, enjoy the pictures of Dexter and Bella...

How I Met Your Brother (and Sister)

I am a firm believer that there are “perfect pets” for people and families, instances where the pet chooses you instead of vice versa. So in this blog, I tell my “kids” how they joined our family.

Nora

A long time ago, before Mommy met Daddy, Mommy decided she needed someone to keep her company in her new apartment. Mommy had lived with kitty cats before, so she knew it would work out well again. Mommy had a sort of idea what kind of kitty she wanted, and older cat, already fixed, and most likely de-clawed. She wanted a kitty that had once belonged to someone else and needed a new home.

So Mommy got in her car, and drove to a local pet store, where they sold pets from local animal shelters. Because the pet store was in Robinson, PA, the pets actually came from several shelters in PA, WV, and OH. Mommy was looking at all the beautiful kitties, trying to see who might be a good fit. Mommy saw the big fluffy kitty, who was about a year and a half old, already fixed and de-clawed, just what she had in mind. Mommy leaned over to the kitty’s cage to talk to the kitty, when suddenly…someone pulled Mommy’s hair. Mommy stood up, and came face to face with a frisky little black kitten. The kitten was tiny, certainly not fixed or de-clawed, and she had never had any home besides the shelter. But Mommy knew, instantly, that this was her kitty. She literally reached out and picked Mommy for herself.



Mommy met with the nice people at the store, who helped her fill out all the papers to adopt the kitty from the shelter. The only thing left was a name. Mommy had just the name in mind…..Nora.


Over the next 2 years, Mommy and Nora lived in Pittsburgh, and life was good, but pretty quiet.


Then Mommy brought her friend home to meet Nora. Mommy told Nora that this friend would be spending more time with them. Over the months, this friend came to visit Mommy lots, and Nora would snuggle on the couch with them both to watch movies. Nora loved this new person. Then one day, the friend asked Mommy to be his wife, so now, he was going to be Daddy. Nora had a new family member!

Over the coming months, Nora had to adjust to moving to a new house, and having Daddy around all the time. Sometimes she gets a little territorial, but overall, Nora loves Daddy and is quite content.

Dexter

After the family was nicely settled into the new house, Mommy and Daddy started talking about adding to the family. Nora was not too concerned, because Mommy talked about wanting another furry baby all the time. Mommy wanted a barking baby, but Daddy said we had to wait until the time was right. So Mommy and Daddy started doing research on what puppies would make good additions to our family. Daddy decided he really wanted a weiner dog, which Mommy calls a dachshund, so Mommy started looking for breeders. Mommy found a breeder close to home around Christmas, but knew that it was not the right time to add to the family. Mommy would look at all the cute little puppies on the breeder’s web page, and wonder when one would come to our house.

Finally, Mommy and Daddy decided that instead of buying Valentines presents, they would get a puppy. Mommy knew exactly which one she wanted. As soon as she saw him on the web site, she knew, this was our puppy.



Daddy was not convinced, so Mommy made an appointment for the two of them to go see the puppies, and figure out which one was a good match,.

Once again, Mommy’s hunch turned out to be right. As soon as Mommy and Daddy saw the puppy, they knew he was the one. They even had a name picked out already- Dexter.

When Mommy and Daddy brought Dexter home, Nora was not happy at all, but after a few days, she really warmed up to him, and now they get along well.


Dexter has gotten to meet Mommy and Daddy’s families now, and is loved by everyone. Our happy little family is complete- for now.


Who knows what Mommy will want to add next?