winter garden snacks

We have been wondering what our dog, Charlie has been up to when outside - because whenever we call him back inside - he comes racing around from our sideyard, sometimes with very dirty/muddy paws and beard (he's half schnauzer). Well the other day, when we called him inside, he came running into the house with a big CARROT in his mouth!! AH-HA! Figured it out...he's been eating leftover carrots from last year's garden crop...I guess he may as well eat them!! Someone may as well benefit from our garden! Not sure if I would eat any leftover carrots at this point...??? Are you supposed to eat garden foods that have been in below freezing dirt for the past couple months?! Not sure...but I'm probably not going to find out, either. So - more power to you, Charles! Enjoy it now, because this spring, we're putting up a fence to keep you out! :(

OTIS!

We "dog-sat" for some friends the week of Thanksgiving...thought these pictures were cute of the 2 little guys~

Charlie (our poodle mix) & Otis (their shihtzu)

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them.

~Phil Pastoret

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.

~Author Unknown

If dogs could talk, it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.

~Andy Rooney

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.

~Andy Rooney

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.

~Josh Billings

Meet "Betta"

Meet "Betta" - the Betta fish. (to me it's like naming your cat, "Cat" - or your dog, "Dog" - but whatever! The kids picked the name and it's nice and easy and not cheesy, so it's all good!)

He is very similar in color to the last Betta we had a couple years ago...which lived to be 2 years old. I eventually got tired of having to clean the fish bowl 2-4 times per month with our last Betta...BUT we were in WalMart a couple weeks ago and they BEGGED to get another one. It was only $4 - how could I say no?! :) We'll see if this one lives to be another 2 years or not like the last one!

Let me out back

We got a t-shirt for Charlie...it's pretty cute. It says: Australia - Let Me Outback
Since Charlie loves to be outside so much - it's so fitting! Just had to share...

We accidentally got a radish seed in our carrot seed pack. None of us like radishes that much - so we've just been letting it grow and grow...we want to see how big the radish itself will get. So far - the plant stalk has bloomed and is getting very tall. It's been fun to push away the dirt and see how large the radish is actually getting. Not sure when we'll pull it up - but I'll post a picture when we do.

as if 2 weren't enough...

Is this where they get the term "CONEY DOG?" (j/k)

Our little CONEHEAD...

You would think we would have scheduled a third family member's surgery at a later date - like after the girls have fully recovered, maybe?! Well, actually, yes, we would have - but this one had been scheduled for a couple months...the girls' surgery was not planned to be this month originally. ANYWAYS - details all aside - our little buddy, Charlie, had all of his baby teeth removed today, as well as another very important "puppy procedure" - so he's a slow moving chump to say the least. We were told a 5-day recovery for him. So - hopefully he & the girls will all 3 be feeling better around the same time - whew! Let's hope!
Earlier this summer, I told a friend that we really didn't have a busy summer planned at all. She warned me right there on the spot to never say that!! She was sooooooo right... :-)

Dog Whisperer - a must see!!

Our new favorite TV show is the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. See Cesar Millan's website at: http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/index.php

You actually learn more about YOURSELF than your dog by watching this show! If you have not yet watched it - I would highly recommend it - even if you don't have a dog - it's fascinating and you will learn a lot about yourself in the process. If you DO have a dog - it's a no-brainer - you NEED to watch this show and figure out who's the "pack leader" in YOUR house!

Anyways - I was going to share some pictures from today of Charlie. We put him in the kids' backyard pool this afternoon - he actually did swim around a little bit! Fun to watch!

Here are all of the "Charlie" related nicknames SH & the kids have come up with since we brought him home. He gets called a different name depending on his mood (fiesty, energetic, being sweet, mellow, being funny, etc) and/or what he's doing (running laps, sleeping, etc):

Charles

Chuck (but NOT Chuckie!)

Chuckles

Charlie Brown

Cpt. Charlie

What's Up, Chuck?

Charles In Charge (more like Charlie's in Charge!)

Sorry, Charlie

Charlie Marley

Harley Charlie

Charlie's Angels

Charlie Boy

In the TINY pool (no - this is NOT the pool he was swimming in)

His bottom half is completely soaked after swimming - and he resembled a Chinese Crested when walking around the yard.

Lounging in the dirt after swimming...great...needless to say - he had to stay outside for a while until he got out of the dirt and dried off enough. Then he got a bath!

green dog

Isn't Green Dog a kids' clothing brand? Like at Mervyn's or something? Well, it's now what we are calling Charlie. After mowing our yard, take a close look at his feet. Not sure if the picture will show it very well or not...but the fur around his feet is a tint of GREEN! too funny...

*not sure why, but the blog is turning this picture sideways...I've tried everything to get it turned the right way...oh well...

look what I found...

Okay - I'm sure the Charlie pictures are getting old.
But - this is what I found on my way downstairs tonight...(above)

Then I had to get a closer look and he opened his eyes - too cute!

a wet Charlie

Charlie got a bath tonight...he looks so pathetic in this picture, but somehow still super cute!!

would you tell them?

I was the lucky one to find the neighbor kids' turtle in our backyard yesterday afternoon. I saw a cute turtle over in the dirt and wondered when we had bought such a cute ceramic garden turtle for our flower bed...???...I didn't recall ever buying one. As I walked closer for a better look - FLASHBACKS - as I instantly remembered early last fall seeing our sweet neighbor kids taping up "LOST TURTLE" signs on street signs in the subdivision. I totally remember thinking to myself "good luck, finding someone's pet turtle?! yeah right! When the grass is taller than a turtle...oh my...no way! And if it happened to be crossing the street - they move so slow - it wouldn't have a chance...etc..."

Little did I know, it has been in our flower bed since last September. And - all I will say is now - it looks like a cement/dark ceramic, garden decoration. Oh my...

So - should I tell them we found it - 8 months later?! Or let Sweet Hubby just take care of it and not ever say anything to them?! I'm opting for the second choice...

I don't envy Sweet Hubby's "chore"...he is an animal lover and this will be so hard for him...I'm sure it's solidly stuck in the mud after being covered in snow all winter. Poor guy!! I feel terrible. :(

meet Charlie

Meet "Charlie", our newest family member!

He's sooooo cute, sooooo soft, and sooooo cuddly!

(He is a "schnoodle" - a schnauzer & poodle mix)

I know...I'm crazy

but...we are thinking about getting another dog...

We have had 2 dogs in the past - both were miniature pinschers. They are so fun & so cute, but they can be yappy little things. Since we no longer have kids that nap...I don't think that would bother me too much anymore...

Here's what we would want:

small to medium size

minimal shedding

no grooming/hair cuts (or VERY minimal)

cheap to feed

not too terribly yappy

good with kids

I've been doing quite a bit of research - and there are a couple breeds that keep coming up as being good with kids...but all of them have some other non-desireable characteristic that makes me unsure if it would work for us...

Who knows if we'll get a dog or not...we're just starting to talk about it. If anyone has any opinions or knows of a great dog or breed or otherwise - let me know!