Mischief Monday - Invasion of Rugrats - by Lee

It was a crazy weekend at our house. For about 24 hours we had 2 human children here. Our human cousins, Maggie (aged 5) and Troy (aged 3). Having kids over is exhausting.

I use to be very, very afraid of kids would and I would bark for hours if one was in my house. But as I mellow or get use to them or the drugs work, I am far more tolerant. The kids will say I bark all the time, but I hardly barked at all. I barked like 3 times. Now the kids on the other hand, they were fearful of us. They have cats. They don't spend a lot of time with big dogs. They do not like barking. It makes them cry. Which may at times result in more barking.

Also, Uncle Chris and cousin Emma came over for most of the time, so it was a full house. Lady says she meant to get more pictures, but it was just too busy. She says kids keep you very busy, especially when you are not use to them.

Phod enjoyed watching them dance to the TV. Earlier in the day, I enjoyed sharing popcorn with them.

Because Uncle Chris was also over, the kids slept on a mattress in my room. There is no photographic evidence, but I did sleep in bed with them. Man noticed in the wee hours of the morning and woke up Lady to tell her. (She was thrilled about that . . . not!)

In the morning, the kids were afraid I was going to bark and thought my yawn was too loud. I only started to bark when they covered their years and whined. I thought they wanted to play. 

At any rate, I was an angel this weekend, and all the mischief was caused by the rug rats. I really want to love them more and I hope as they get a little older they will be less fearful of me.

The thrilled for once the mischief wasn't mine Hailey Bug

I Was So Good!

Aunt C said I was so good this weekend, the Lady should blog about it. Saturday morning, Aunt C and our human cousins (M aged 4 and T aged 2) arrived for a sleepover. When they first got here, I barked a lot. I mainly barked because I was so excited to see my Aunt C. I love my Aunt C. 

Then I was good and only barked a little when other people came and when Uncle Chris got home (he is back and Emma is gone), and when things like ravens were on my yard.  The kids were good and didn't upset me. 

I was a little nervous at night because of Canada Day there were SOOOOOOOOO many fireworks. I mostly just refused to go out and hid (we won't say anything about the accident I may have had cause I was too scared to go out, I blame Emma, she was still here at the time).

How I spent most of the weekend

Anyway, the kids did good and I did good and we had a fun time, in spite of it being hot, and the fact that the people went to the beach and we had to stay in the house . . . . 

I didn't even chew on any of the toys that were all over the floor! 

Hailey and the Kids

My sister and her kids, Troy aged 1 and Maggie aged 3, came and spent the weekend with us. I admit I was a little nervous given Hailey's general dislike for kids. Historically kids have been a big source of stress for her and she has barked a lot. Recently Maggie has decided she does not like dogs which I feared was going to make this even more complicated.

Hailey blew all our minds with how wonderful she was. Yes she barked when they first came in and a couple other times. But other than that, she was great.  When it was stormy and she was nervous, at one point she actually tired to herd Maggie to safety. 

We were able to capture some great Hailey moments.

Hailey and Emma happily accepted Fruit Loops from Troy (wouldn't normally encourage eating such things but thought it was a great way to help pair Troy with reinforcement). She was super gentle with him. (There were 3 adults there to make sure everyone stayed safe - My sister taking the picture, Uncle Chris above and just outside the picture behind the girls me). 

Hailey guarding Maggie as she learned to play pinball. 

Phod of course was wonderful too, as we expected. I realize I didn't capture any pictures of him. He was a little confused why Maggie would cry when he was near her, but he was gentle and respectful and really wanted her to be his friend. 

We were all thrilled with how well it went. Tomorrow I have a friend coming up with her kids, so let's hope this trend continues. 

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Happy 4th of July to all our American friends. May you have a safe and relaxing day.

More On The Maggie Visit

We were so proud of how well both the pups did with the Maggie invasion on the weekend. Hailey did bark at her several times a day. It clearly startled Maggie, but she handled it well. Maggie did her best to keep her distance from the dogs. Phod never barks, but is clearly a little jealous of the attention Maggie gets. He tried the sad eyes on us a lot. I think if she played with him more, he would be happier.

When it was time to go, Maggie got brave enough to pet Phod. Phod wasn't paying her any attention because he knew I had the being left behind cookies.

Maggie may have enjoyed petting Phod, but she didn't like the skeleton dog (or much else) we saw at the Halloween village we took her to. (Halloween is the Man's very favourite time of year).

We continue to hope with more time with Maggie, Hailey will become even better and better.


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You have until the 5th to get us your name!

This Happened!

Our girl, who is generally terrified of small people, amazed us last night. Our niece Maggie is staying with us for the weekend. Yes, Lee barked at first, but within a few hours, this happened . . . .

Maggie was eating an orange, not a food Lee even likes. She just snuggled up next to her and was looking for pets! We were amazed (especially because our girl is 5 days off prozac). Let's hope the weekend continues to be so successful! 

Be sure to come back tomorrow as we are joining Dory and the Boyz for No Tricks Just Treats For Shelters. Be sure to visit them as they are having a comment-a-thon.

Also, a friendly reminder that Tuesday is the last day to get on the Christmas Card List. If you want on, please email us at leeandphodATbellDOTnet or give your info to Oreo and you will get on the list.

Finally, remember November 8th is Blogville election day. Zaphod is the election judge and all votes will be submitted at our blog. For all the details of voter rules etc. please click HERE. We will post all the rules on election day. Phod is going to be a strict judge. The polls are only open for 24 hours. To help everyone know when, Murphy and Stanley have created this wonderful poster. (We are testing moderated comments to keep everyone's votes a secret, so it will be on for a day or two now, then be off until after the votes are counted and deleted). If you have any questions about the election let us know. 

Mischief Monday - The Visitor

We had a very busy weekend with our 2 year old niece Maggie staying with us. She was as good as gold and was a true toddler a few times! There was still some mischief that wasn't really about her!

Saturday morning we woke up to no power, thanks to a thunderstorm. It was only out for a few hours so it didn't impact our day much.

The weather didn't cooperate. We had the coldest July days in 7 years. Also, after living in a drought since the spring it rained. We had planned to spend the weekend at the beach but that didn't happen.

While we were out grocery shopping, in the pouring rain, my windshield wipers died. We had to pull over and wait for the rain to stop and were able to make it home. The car is getting fixed today as they are calling for rain the rest of the week, and as I have an out of office meeting, a colleague has kindly agreed to let me borrow her car for the hour I need to be out/

Hailey barked at Maggie, less than she has, but enough to make the poor girl cry. We noticed Hailey is more likely to bark when either the Man or I was touching Maggie.  Hailey quite liked Maggie at meal times. Mostly because she dropped food and got her hands really dirty and they were low enough for Lee to lick!

Zaphod, while not sure of what to do with a little one, is very patient as these pictures show:

Sorry it is a bit blurry, in my haste to get the picture, I didn't have it on the correct setting!

"I'm not sure about this belly rub!"

While it was a big change from our normal, very quiet and dull lives, it was nice to have Miss Maggie visit!

Black and White Sunday - House Guest

Sorry we haven't been around this weekend, our human cousin Maggie has been staying with us. 2 year olds will keep you busy!

Mischief Monday - She Lied - by Hailey and the Lady

Hailey will be in pink
Lady will be in orange

Don't tell Hailey, Maggie and I
went to the park! 

On Thursday, Lady, you left early for work and said "see you tonight". You lied. We didn't see you that night, or the next one. You were gone for 3 whole days!

It wasn't really a lie, I thought I would be home on Thursday but at 4:30 Aunt C asked if I could come over. I was on Maggie patrol for when Troy arrived.

Did you have a suitcase ready?

Yes, I had a suitcase in the car for about a week, just in case.

So you knew you may not be home some night?

Yes, I knew that was a possibility. But I didn't know when. Babies come when they want. If I had known I would have packed more food. This diet away from the house is hard.

I still believe you lied and then you had the audacity to come home smelling not just like baby, and toddler, but like cat. 

Maggie and Panda

I was taking care of your cat cousins Lupul and Panda, of course I smelt like cat.

I am still angry you lied and were gone for 87 million years. The Man doesn't cater to my routine like you do. I hope you got my message that I was angry.

Peeing on one of your beds does send a clear message. 

And what is with the weather? Why did you make it snow?

Hailey, I have nothing to do with the weather, but completely understand why you are angry with it! It was shorts weather yesterday and snow today. Now that Troy is here, I won't be called away again.

Well you have some making up for lying to do. Let's start with extra treats and a belly rub. 

The deck when we got up Sunday

Babysitting - By Hailey

Blogville pals,

First thanks for all the well wishes. I just threw up once and was fine. I think it was because of all the excitement I am about to tell you about.

We were given a very hard job on the weekend. We had to go and babysit our human cousin Maggie. She is 20 months old now. Aunt C and Uncle D were going to be very late, so we had to pack our overnight bags. See their new house is about an hour from ours, so we were just going to stay over.

We had never babysat at their house. Maggie came here after Christmas for a few days. Lady has babysat Maggie at her house, but we have not gotten to help.

It was the one of the coldest days in history at -45C/-49F, so we couldn't exercise. When we were out for about a minute so I could poop, I actually cried because it was so cold. Phod threw up in the car because the people tried to take him without giving him his meds. We were very, very excited to get to Maggie's house and smell the cats (more about them later).

I had to check out the tunnel that was far to small for me.

Phod had to show Maggie how you really play ball

Phod had to make sure that Man was playing right (really when the people sit on the floor he things he needs all the love).

I supervised colouring. She doesn't stay in the lines.

One of the most important jobs was supervising dinner. Gotta make sure she isn't getting anything better than we did. She had orange peppers and green mac and cheese, nothing we wanted.

Then I had to go down these scary slippery stairs to check out the basement. 

Phod had to correct Man for reading the story wrong.

We were exposed to a new show, Bubble Guppies or "buppies".

After we put Maggie to bed, I saw one of the cats, Lupul. He came out to use the litter box and then went back into his hiding room with the other cat Panda. After this, I was on super high alert. I was on such high alert, that I kept my people and Zaphod up most of the night. I would scratch on the door, but they wouldn't let me out to get the cats or check on Maggie. Man did take me out once after Aunt C and Uncle D came home so I could poop and see there were no invaders but I wouldn't sleep.

We left before breakfast in the morning because we can't eat as Phod gets sick (and he still got sick). After we had breakfast at home, we were all very tired. My people and Phod didn't appreciate my guarding all night. We had a 3.5 hour nap. Then, as I mentioned, I threw up in the evening for no known reason. I think it is because I was tired from babysitting.

Lady says I did much better with Maggie. I only barked at her twice. She gives me a B+ for that but an F- for sleeping. 

I think I did a good enough job I will be asked to babysit again! (Clearly as you can see our peeps need our help to do it right!)

Maggie and Zaphod

Yesterday we talked about how Hailey did with Maggie, today we will talk about Phod's thoughts on this all.

Zaphod was super sweet with her and as you will see, put up with a lot. He was clearly sort of jealous and spent a great deal of time trying to lay in the way.

"If I just lie right here, she has to give me the attention."

One of Maggie's favourite things is to wear hats and have everyone around her wear a hat. She thought maybe 'horse' wanted one.

Phod avoided having to have it on by rolling away. 

The Man tried to teach Maggie to play fetch with Phod. Unfortunately, she didn't throw it far enough and he was disappointed. 

"Stop playing and start throwing!"

Phod gets an A+ for his interactions with Maggie. I think if she could learn to play fetch better, he would totally love her and stop being jealous.

Mischief Monday - The Horrible Little One - by Hailey

Dear pals,

The most terrible thing happened. A horrible little one moved into our house. She was hear for 87 million hours (editor's note: 2 days). She brought lots of stuff. She put toys every where. She was very scary.

I had to bark at her, a lot. I would bark and bark until she cried and then I would get in her face and bark some more. This landed me in jail. That is right, an invader came to my house, and I had to spend time in jail. Lady says it was the only way to make sure everyone was safe and happy.  I was so upset the first day, I couldn't sleep at all, unless the horrible little one slept. I was very tired and cranky by the end of the day.  

In jail with only a bone and some toys and a comfy bed

By the second day, she didn't cry when I barked, and when Lady told me to go lay down, I would. I spent less time in jail. Lady also notes, I did a bit better when the Man was around. I barked a little less. 

Pretending she is not on my couch

Pretending she isn't there more. 

I would have done a happy dance when she left, but I was way too tired. I had to sleep the whole next 2 days. 

Standing on my Lady and getting a belly rub because I am scared

Lady says she is giving me a C- for my behaviour. She says I need to work on it and that the horrible little one may be back for a weekend before I know it.  I guess I better get the jail cell ready now.

Hailey

Our Hanukkah Party

We had 3 tables

Sunday was our annual Hanukkah party. To be clear, we are not Jewish. We celebrate Hanukkah because I am weird  because I loves Hanukkah food. I celebrate Christmas without religious belief, so I see it as the same. It started in 2003, I think when I was looking for a different idea for a holiday party and has grown. We have Hanukkah dishes and Hanukkah decorations and Hanukkah music (oh we love the LeeVees).  I exchange Hanukkah gifts with my niece Maggie.  It is the my favourite holiday.

This year we had our biggest party yet. 21 people and cousin Emma (who is a dog). The Man, with Uncle D's help spent like 5
hours cooking latkes. The Man spent over 8 hours slaving over the stove and that isn't an exaggeration. It was a feast fit for a king. (We have leftovers, yay!)

Hailey has issues with kids and people in the house, so it is always hard. Aunt C, Uncle D and cousin Maggie arrived early (so Uncle D could help the Man in the kitchen because I am useless). After a time in her crate, Hailey was great. Then more people arrived and Hailey got totally stressed out. She went back into her crate for a while (over an hour). When we let her out, she was amazing. I didn't get a picture of it, but for a time she was laying on her bed right beside where the kids were playing. I was so, so, so proud of her. I would still never leave her alone with kids, but it was huge progress. Maggie is spending a few days with us over the holidays so we hope she will get use to her.

Phod was slightly stressed throughout the day. He was calm, but you could see he wan't sure. However, he was great with the kids.

Helping Maggie open day one of Hanukkah gift

Maggie was standing and Phod went to stand with her

Overall, while it was a tone of work, and we were exhausted when the last guest left around 6 pm (we ate after 2), it was a great Hanukkah. Although, maybe next years will be a little smaller!

Aunt C is one of her favourite people, so Hailey made sure to give her lots of kisses!

Black and White Sunday - Sharing the Humulation

Our people left us last night (don't worry, we live in the middle of no where and get no trick-or-treaters) to go trick-or-treating with our human cousin Maggie.

We don't think she looks humiliated enough, even if she got a cookie! Maybe now that they have a co-operative dress up participant, they will leave us alone.

A Celebration

We are skipping our regular mischief post (oh and there has been some mischief, mainly barking at wind in the middle of the night and wanting to get up really, really early on the weekend) to wish our Human Cousin Maggie a Very Happy First Birthday!

Even Maggie can't escape the Lady's need to dress things up at her own birthday party. Lady had to stick the big bow on her head. Love Maggie's WTF face! 

Hailey vs. the Baby

As I have mentioned before, Hailey is not a dog who enjoys children. They stress her out. Hosting family Easter dinner was stressful. We had a plan if Hailey couldn't settle down.

The first 15 minutes were hell. Maggie was crying a little. Maggie's crying made Hailey bark. Hailey's barking made Maggie cry. It became a vicious circle.

Once Maggie settle, Hailey settled and other than a few barks throughout the visit, she did fine. She did bark if Maggie cried and she barked when people picked Maggie up or walked with her. She was fairly easily redirected. She particularly liked Maggie during lunch and had to be called away many times. She was even caught licking Maggie's hand.  Throughout the visit I gave her cookies for being calm.

Hailey peaking at Maggie's tray

Eventually, she was even able to relax and have a little nap. Overall, we give her a B+.

I am proud of her for not having to be put in the crate or on leash. Maybe, oh maybe, she can get use to kids. (We may have been helped by the fact that Maggie didn't crawl today, she can, but decided not to).

Mischief Monday - Easter Outtakes

Here are just a few of the outtakes from our Easter shot.

Maybe I can will them off my head! 

Times up Lady

Maggie, we are in this together! 

Emma photobomb! 

Phod thinking about stealing the hat from the baby