ina and her buddies

not entirely sure why we decided to do a photoshoot while my husband was still in his pajamas but we did. we tried desperately to get a shot of ina with all the pups but obviously we failed miserably. we took these pictures a few weeks ago when she was much much smaller but i was recently sorting through the photos on my computer and started cracking up as i was going through them. 

before she was born we often wondered how the dogs would react towards her. we are one of those couples that treat their dogs as children so we assumed they would just adjust and automatically accept her as part of the pack. for the most part, they've done just that.

peanut is the gray-haired chihuahua and my baby. i've had him for 11 years. he seems to be extremely protective of her. he follows her wherever she is and when i nurse her he stands guard in front of us and makes sure nobody gets close. not even the hubby is allowed to approach us.

patango is the chunky little guy with stub legs. he's the sweetest of the bunch and the most independent. he doesn't really seem to even notice her, he kind of just goes about his day as usual before she was even here. 

cole is the long legged lanky guy. he's our pup and the rescue doggie so he came packaged with a handful of separation anxiety issues. he's the most curious of the bunch. he would lick her face every second of the day if we let him but instead we've compromised with hand licks and sometimes he sneaks in a kiss on the cheek. 

but the best part is when baby girl notices one of the dogs. she seems to like all of them because when she sees them walk by, she smiles. i have a feeling they're all going to be best buds. 

and here's one of baby girl being rescued from the madness by her mama. 

5 week countdown

i have a feeling that when i look back at this pregnancy i'm going to remember all of her tumbling tricks. she's not much of a kicker but she definitely loves to stretch her little limbs nice and slow to make sure that i feel every single tiny little morsel of it. i've been having more vivid dreams of her in tiny little spurts because sleeping is getting harder and harder. i'm so anxious to see her little face and to watch her daddy hold her for the first time and to see the dogs reaction to this new little being in our home.

speaking of the dogs, this photo strip made me laugh so much. how cute is the last pic where it looks like the dog is actually smiling. i've already got my bet on which dog will end up being her best friend......

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fun interactions with husband

the other day my darling husband posted this on my facebook page with a little message that simply said, "get ready...."

and i responded with this beautiful photoshopped concoction (i'm actually pretty impressed with my photoshop skills here). and for the record, we do sleep with all three dogs on the bed and i strategically placed them here where they usually like to sleep.....

weekend getaway {big sur}

it's hard to get excited about getting out of town for the weekend when you have dogs. i know my little ones are just miserable when i'm not around {at least that's what they tell me} so making the decision to get away this weekend and bring the pups made me incredibly happy! although, it was a bit of a challenge trying to find a rental that accepted dogs but i pride myself on being super resourceful and i was up for the challenge!

mission accomplished. i found this amazing rental in big sur and we invited a few friends to join us for the weekend. we plan on getting in a good hike, making some yummy home-cooked meals, playing board games, drinking wine by the fire, and lots and lots of cuddling with my little furry babies. oh and the view ain't bad either.

have a great weekend!!!

personal day

i took the day off of work today to:

sleep in

make coffee at home

go on a lunch time bike date with my husband

give the doggies baths

exchange gifts with one of my best friends

and

have a glass of wine

all in all...the perfect personal day.

{ skunked }

all three dogs got skunked this weekend.

if your pets have ever been skunked, i'm sure you're feeling my pain right now. but if you've never experienced the joy of bathing a skunky animal then let me give you a tiny bit of advice:

1. do NOT let the dogs in the house once they've been skunked -- do absolutely everything in your power to keep them out. i feel like we were moving in slow motion as i saw our tiny chihuahua roll around all over the new rug. 

2. get a rag and start trying to dab off the oil as soon as possible -- skunks spray a drippy yellow oil -- this is what carries the stank

3. if your dog gets sprayed in the face (which apparently is the worse place to get sprayed) and starts foaming at the mouth -- your dog does not have rabies -- the vet said the taste is just so bad that it's a normal reaction to slobber a bit.

4. give them lots of love and kisses (after the bath of course), because i can't even imagine how traumatizing this experience must be for them, our poor little pooches were so exhausted after the initial panic, the nose-burning smell and the fire-drill bath

here's the recipe recommended by our vet, we also scrubbed the rug/couch/floors with this after the entire ordeal: