Brutus Eats A Bottle Of Medicine, Ugh!

So when is the best time for a dog to eat a whole bottle of Imodium AD? After the veterinarian's office closes, of course!! Now keep in mind that we are good doggy parents, and we are not above calling the emergency vet line, but we have been there with our cat Princess before, and it ended up costing us about a semester of college, so we decided to use some of the resources we had at hand first.

The number one go to resource? Google. What did we ever do before Google!! I swear. If there is anything I have a question about, to Google I go. First I typed in Imodium AD overdose, dog. It basically just said it wasn't good. Major constipation (that would make sense) and slowed respiratory system (that didn't sound good). It didn't give any solutions. Next I decided I would check to see what the actual "normal" dosage of this drug for a dog would be so I could figure out just how overdosed Brutus was. Turns out he was WAY overdosed. He had taken about five to six times more than his system could handle. OK. Next thing to Google. How to make a dog throw up. Answer: Pour one teaspoon of Hydrogen Peroxide toward the back of the throat. This will bubble and cause the gagging reflex to react and cause the dog to vomit. It warns that you will want to be outside, or have the dog on newspapers on a washable surface. After the fact, I had to laugh at that one. Poor Brutus.

We took him outside, and I had put the peroxide into a 1/4 cup measuring cup so it would be easier to pour in to his mouth. He knew we were up to something, so he locked his jaw, but thankfully he has a little gap in his bottom teeth, so down the hatch it went. We sat there for about five minutes and nothing happened. Well, that wasn't cool. I went back in to the house and poured some of the peroxide in to the sink to make sure it was still good and would bubble. It did. OK. Second teaspoon on it's way down Brutus's throat. We got the second one down, and he backed away from us and looked really sad. Then he started to burp, and then all hell broke loose! That poor boy. I still wasn't feeling great (lucky me), so I went back in the house, but Don was outside with him for about 15-20 minutes, and by the time he came in there was nothing left in that boys tummy, and he was very offended. Apparently he remembered that it was me that did the "pouring" because when he came in the house he wouldn't even look at me. Don was outside cleaning up some "messes" in the yard, and Brutus waited at the top of the stairs for his dad to come back in the house. He wouldn't even come to bed until Don came to bed.

When Don did come to bed, Brutus crawled up in to his arms and laid his head on his chest and went to sleep, snoring like a little bear.

Lessons learned: I have to keep medicine off of my bedside table, and Hydrogen Peroxide works miracles.

Almost Glad I Was Sick!!

Well, it sounds like Don and Brutus had a down and dirty boys weekend at the lake. When I hear about weekends like this, I am always really really glad that I wasn't there to "enjoy" the fun!! I think Brutus has Don in his life to help make up for the fact that I bought him a purple kiddie pool last summer!

Don said that when they got to the lake Friday afternoon, the first thing Brute did was run down and jump in the lake to go for a swim. It's still incredibly chilly in that water, so I assume that he has some kind of long underwear built in to his fur. As soon as he came out of that ice cold lake, he decided it would be great fun to roll around in the mud and get as dirty as he possibly could. Yep, he's all boy. Friday night is pool night at the local bar, so Brutus had a quick bath in the lake, a quick drying off and that was good enough for a Friday night. So not a mom's way of doing things!!

Saturday Don spent the day working out in the yard, and Brutus was back in the lake. This time he found a real treasure. Dead fish. Not only were they dead, but they were rotten, which was all the better. They had washed in to the little nooks along the shore during the course of the ice melting. Apparently at least one of them got eaten, and thrown up, and a couple more got brought up on to shore and rolled in. Oh to be a boy!! Like I said, so glad I wasn't there! I guess there were also wood ticks involved, but I'm not even going to go there. I'm still recovering from last summer's crop. Yuck!! This day he was so dirty and stinky that Don actually pushed him off the dock to give him a pre-bath before he could take him in to the house for an actual bath. I'm thinking that that was a GREAT decision. :D

By the time that Brutus and Don got home on Sunday afternoon, both smelled great. Brutus had been bathed and brushed, and even had his ears cleaned. There was no evidence remaining of the great time that they had had, and I was thrilled that Brutus had gotten to be all boy....with someone other than me!!

I Am So Incredibly Touched.....(Puts Hand To Heart)

I met a friend this past year in my photo club, Andie Jaye, and she is crazy amazing. She has a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) blog called Crayon Freckles that is full of great information on parenting, decorating, projects, photography, mental health, you name it. It's colorful and fun, and I highly recommend it! She is one of the people that I take my photography hat off to because she has actually completed her project365 (taking and posting a photo every day for a year) and still continues to participate. Did I mention that she has a teenage daughter, a toddler son and is taking college classes? Um, yeah!! Throw a husband in there too. Time to put my feet up!!

Anyway, today I found out that my friend bestowed The Versatile Blogger award to me. How cool is that!! So, now I have a job to do. Apparently as part of receiving this award, I am supposed to list seven things that you don't know about me, and also list ten of my favorite blogs. This might be tough because I've always been a pretty open book, but here it goes.

1) I have a blog about our rescue dog Brutus, but I have always been a cat person. Brutus is the first dog I have had since I was about six years old. (And I LOVE him!)
2) I am terribly uncomfortable in large groups of people. :(
3) Sometimes I make a cake just to eat the frosting. My last child had left for college, and I figured I no longer needed to be a good example!
4) I'm a germaphobe, especially after shopping in Walmart or Target. I get in the car and use an antibacterial wipe before I will touch my steering wheel. I know, I know.
5) I don't ever want my kids to move home. People just gasp when I say that, but we tried really hard to raise them to be strong and independant, and I love the relationship we have now that they are on their own.
6) Once a month I sit in my car all by myself and eat a Big Mac. It just has to be done. I cook 95% of the time, and hardly ever eat fast food, so I eat my Big Mac guilt free!
7) In my pretend fantasy life, I live on a beach out in the middle of no where with my dog and cats. I don't know anyone, so no one ever expects anything from me. There is a quaint little store in town that I can walk to for whatever I need, and I spend my time taking photos, writing, reading and cooking. Oh, I'm thin and get to wear all of the cute clothes from J.Jill. How's that for awesome!!

OK, enough silly nonsense about me. Here are my go to blogs that I love to read, and hope you will take a minute to click on too. Each offers something different.

1.crayon freckles  it is primarily child based, but truly offers great ideas for everyone! Awesome layout, and fun, bright colors. If you have littles in your house, it is a must read! :)
2.Enjoying The Small Things  This blog is what started my interest in photography. Awesome pictures, and a beautiful mom story to go along with it.
3.Minnesota Runchey's This mom was our "little" neighbor girl, and is now a mom of three beautiful children of her own. She is awesome at bargain hunting, and posts her "Frugal Finds" to share. I would never know when Ben & Jerry's free ice cream cone day was if it weren't for Tracy!
4.Kerry's Kronicles Kerry was our babysitter for years, and is now the mom of two beautiful children. She is also an accomplished pianist, and part of my project365 photo club. I love her!!
5.Lisa Leonard Designs Blog Lisa is the mom of two little boys, her oldest being born with some challenges. She manages to design beautiful jewelry, take lovely photographs, give decorating ideas and show us her cute outfits once a week. Besides that, she's a curly girl. :)
6.Lamb Cooks Put together a cute girl married to her self described "nerd" husband, their doggy children, and recipes that can actually be made. Yumm-O. Her writing is such a fun read.
7. The Shabby Chic Cottage My friend Andie Jaye turned me on to this site, and it is dreamy. Actually, my pretend house on the ocean is just a little ways down the page. Talk about a blog full of great ideas. If I ever find that house, I'm taking it!
8.) Greg The Duck Greg the duck is the story of a little red duck taking a one year adventure. It's a photo a day project on the project365, but the girl who writes Greg's stories is so funny, and Greg has managed to gather hundreds of followers. If you can't get on the photo project, look him up on Facebook.
9) Italian Recipes Blog This is exactly what it sounds like. I am a carb addict, and the Pizza Margherita on the front page, about 3/4 of the way down.....to die for!
10)Simply Recipes This blog had me at "Hello". Just click on the Appetizer page, and you will know why!! I love recipes, and especially when they come with a beautiful picture of what they will look like.

And, in honor of passing along this blogging torch, I am going to choose Tracy Runchey for her
Minnesota Runchey's !! She does a great job of being versatile with her recipes, frugal finds and fun party planning ideas. I also love her sense of humor, and the fact that she never takes life too seriously. Great job Tracy!!
                                                                                          For Minnesota Runchey's!!!!

So Glad I Was The Only One In The House!

The only part of this post that has to do with Brutus is the fact that he wasn't home!! I still have this goofy inner ear infection that keeps me from having my balance, so Don and Brutus headed to the lake on Friday afternoon without me. I'm able to get to the bathroom and make sandwiches, so I'm pretty well set. There's no reason to ruin Don's weekend too.

Before I went to sleep on Friday night, I took Sudafed for the congestion in my ears and Dramamine for the motion sickness. I woke up at about midnight, and seriously, for the first time in over a week I had complete clarity. I was nauseous, but not dizzy, and wired. So, me being me, I decided that I better take advantage of whatever time I had. I drug the laundry basket downstairs, scooped cat boxes, tidied up the house, and unpacked my suitcase from being at the lake the weekend before. I think I only threw up three times during this whole whirlwind of cleaning, and by the time I was done unpacking my suitcase I decided I couldn't stand myself anymore. I hadn't been able to shower or wash my hair for over a week, and I was GROSS. I had brushed my teeth, because that would just be beyond acceptable, but the thought of getting in the shower was impossible.

So, I got some fresh jammies, got everything laid out and turned on the hot water. I couldn't wait!! I got in the shower and started washing my hair when this huge wave of vertigo washed over me, and I hit the tub. I didn't fall, but I had to go down. I had the shower wand in my hand, so I took it with me and decided to sit in the tub to take my shower. I had gotten that far and I was going to finish this job. If you've ever been really really drunk and laid down in bed and had the bed spin, that is what this inner ear thing feels like. I decided I better lay down. About that time Princess, our oldest cat, decided she wasn't happy having me in the tub. I don't know if she knew that it was 1:00 in the morning and I should be sleeping or what, but she decided to get on the edge of the tub and scream at me. She was there yelling for a good five minutes when Sophie, our youngest cat, decided she was sick and tired of listening to Princess scream. She comes in to the bathroom and starts meowing at her and swatting at her. I just wanted to get my hair washed and get out of there!! If Don came home on Sunday and found me dead in the tub, he wouldn't be pleased!!

So Sophie takes one final swat at Princess and pushes her in the tub. Room spinning, water spraying, cats screaming, cat with back claws on my chest freaking out and trying to get out of the tub. AHHHHH!!!

I finished getting cleaned up. Crawled out of the tub, put on my jammies (and a couple band aids), put my hair in a ponytail and went to bed. No matter how clear my head gets at midnight, I am staying in bed next time.

OH.....MY.....GOD!! If anyone would have been watching that fiasco, they would have been dying laughing. It's all I could do. It was too crazy to do anything else.

Spring.....and The Fever Is High

This post is going to start with a great big BUMMER. It's spring, the weather is finally starting to warm up, and I am flat on my back with an inner ear infection. I don't know how many of you out there have ever dealt with one of these, but it has given me a whole new sympathy for what my kids went through as babies. Ugh. So not fun. If I stand up, the room spins. I am perpetually drunk without the fun of it!!

So Brutus, who has spring fever big time, is bummin too. The biggest excitement of his day is waiting for the mail man to come down the circle so he can stand on my bed and bark at the mail truck through the window. It's pretty funny. He sounds like some kind of vicious attack dog. If Brutus and I happen to be out walking and the mail man is driving by and sees us, he'll stop and give Brutus a dog treat. Brutus has no problem with him then, but he knows the sound of the mail truck before it even turns the corner on to our street!! The UPS guy doesn't fair much better.

The other bright spot in Brutus's day is when Dad gets home. Dad isn't dizzy, and can run and play and is wonderful. I'm guessing that Brutus wishes Don could just stay home from work full time right about now!!

Yesterday Brutus was sunning himself out in the driveway, and I was able to get a great face shot of him. He is still very afraid of my camera, so most shots I take of him are of his bum. It's cute, but doesn't make for the best pictures to put online. So here is my boy, in all of his warm sunny glory. Happy Spring my friends!