TO PRINCESS LEAH FROM MAGS

My dearest truest friend, how has your week been, besides the eating of the plastic pretend flowers?   I hope it has been sunny and nice, and you have gotten outside to play and run.  In my case, it has been days of rollercoaster up and downs mostly caused by our imposter of a dad.

I have many complaints of the man but since I am a kind and endearing pug will not even begin to go into them, well ....maybe just a few............first he is very stubborn about all his dr. rules, and mom and him have been arguments about what he can and cannot do...........I am taking notes to use as future reference if I am every to write a book about living in this family.

Mom has not won many fights which is unusual because usually she is the witty and smart one of the two but imposter dad has had much chances at resting and thinking up new strategies too cos mom even more alarm, while mom is working aways making money at the office.

A few days ago he decided he COULD drive the car down to the gas station.  I faught we were going to have to call the ambulance to carry our mom away, I don't believe hers breathed until imposter dad walked back into the house, or as I am being kind, half crawled and walked back into the house.  Of course the next day he was in great pain, and mom just had a malicious look in her eye.  It is not hard to understand why.  He promised mom he would never try that again, mom believes he is untruful.

Yesterday the hospital called to say they seen a new break from his xrays last week, so they are ordering more medicine to go along with the 125 bottles that mom has to sort for him each day.  I do believe on the day he wanted to drive mom told him in very HBO words he could find some other dumbass to sort his pills for him.  He did not comply.

Mom did not even get our new Halloween pictures taken this week, and barely got around to answering our friends blogs.............she is being strong, but it is hard.  We three pugs are trying our best to be good and when dad sits and watches tv we usually all sit with him, which is most of the time, if he is not sleeping, then we sleep, mom is worried we also will turn into mini imposter dads which will make us mini assholes.   I toles her not to worry, I am already half way there.

Well, my dearest and sweetest I must go and check around the house.  Mom has left for work, and I am sure she said I was in charge today, I fink hers told our dad that I was smarter then hims.   Which is true.

I hope you have a wonderful day, we are all just happy it is Friday.  We have made it through one week wif the imposter dad at home.  

I hope you don't care but I is sharing my letter to you on our blog today, ...............mom said I haf to.

Maggie Maes

QUIET WEDNESDAY

OUR mom did not take this picture but we wanted to share it with you.  It was on our local tv station and submitted by a woman in another town.  The interesting thing about it is we live right across the highway from the courthouse so we get to wake up to this picture all week.  My mom works right behind the courthouse.  (Parts of the building is the oldest courthouse in Iowa)

Beautiful fall.

Stella Rose

HERS FORGOT

Hers forgot..............in all the hub bub of our dad an stuff my mom forgot my birday on the 17th and I nose hers feels real bad.  I turned a big 3 years old.  So we looked back through our archives and here is a post that gussie boy wrote about my birfday when I turned 1 years old.......I just love my little brother.
Maggie Mae......

HAPPY BURTHDAY TO MY MARGARET

Stella Rose said, "go ahead Gussie and write about Margaret today and I will help you out" so that is what I is a doing.

Today is Margaret Mae's burthday.  I loves Margaret Mae just as much as I loves my momma and daddy and Stellie Rose and sorta mean ole cat dietzman,  Margaret was a present waiting for me when I arrived here at mys forever and ever home.  Hers just didn't know it.

Margaret was borned in a icky place in Missouri and cos hers had scratches on her beautyful brown eyes the puppy broker man didn't want her. He was a big ole dummy.  Well, someone that knows my Mom heard about hers and since ours house was pretty sad and heart broken cos Angel Trudie and Angel Sammy had to go live at the bridge, that women brought Margaret to ours house.  Mom and Stella Rose just hid in the bafroom, like stoopids but Dad grabbed her up and said hers a staying with us.  Mom and Stella Rose stood on the sidelines.  I finks sometimes they are still standing on the sidelines like stoopids, but don't tell them isa said that cos isa would haf to go on time out.

So at first Dad was gonna name hers Daisy, but later that night Mom thought Maggie would fit her personality cos hers was so fun and friendly.  Stella Rose secretly called her Margaret cos hers was one big pain in Stellie's butt from the moment they met.  Hers started to steal ALL of Stellie's toys, and bite on hers, and pull her back legs, and steal her momma's lap and just normals stuffs like that.  Stella Rose tolds me she pleaded with hers mom to send her back, and a few times hers Mom thought about it, but didn't.  Margaret loved them all in one second.  Hers loved mean ole cat dietzman also, and he slapped the poop out of her everyday.  Hers loved all the grandmonsters and whoevers comed over to ours house, but most of all hers loved me from the moment I said hi to hers.  Even tho I was a little scary looking with my wonky eyes.  Hers tolds me later that Angel Trudie was telling hers stuff about this house even when she lived at the icky place.  Angel Trudie knew Momma needed her real bad.

Margaret is one years old today and hers has grown up to be a beautiful girl. Hers is the watch pug at ours house, and growls and carrys on anytime her thinks she needs to protect us.  Her is finally starting to look like a pug except Stella Rose says she has a tiny head so hers looks weird.  I finks her doesn't.  This weekend we are gonna have a burthday party for hers and hers will get some presents that i can plays with.

Everyday hers and I do zoomies all around the table and even tho isa younger-- hers always wears me down, and then we play tug of war with Stella Rose's toys, and then we zoomies some more and finally we sleeps in a pile in ours bed together.  Its our regular schedule each and everys day.

We love our Margaret Mae, and even STella Rose does down deep in her heart.  Mom always says we are her blessings in disguise, somedays hers see's our horns and somedays hers see's our wings.
Angus McConnell

HE IS AN IMPOSTER

Yep, folks we finks our mom brought home the wrong man!!!  Could her have been so tired that hers went into the wrong hospital room and grabbed up the first man that was crabby to her, and assumed it was our dad...???

We could give you a long list of everyfing that went wrong this weekend but it pains us to replay it in our minds, just know that when mom left for work, I fink hers was RUNNING out the door.  All I can say is the dad that we used to know threatened to give us away if we didn't straighten up.  You can imagine the conversation our parents had wif that comment. 

Anyways today is dad's first day home wif just us and hims.  We may have to use some tough love on hims before mom gets home.

Grandma has another round of chemo on Wed. and then back Thursday for her infusion shot.  It is the shot that makes her the sickest.  She will most likely have chemo until December and then we will see.  She is so brave.

Here are some happy new pictures of Macey. Her mom got a new camera and is showing off.  (yes, we are STILL waiting on the compression wraps to be approved............it has been 7 months now and folks this is with really good insurance)

Here is one mom took of baby bean on Friday night, as you can tell our big sister is the true photographer.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh when you really wanna cry.

Stella Rose, and Momma

18 DAYS

MOM promised us a big surprise today.................we want to share it in pictures wif our dearest friends................

Whose that coming up the steps...should I bark or should I yell YAY real loud........I faught Dad was going to have our strong uncle abe help him up the steps but it looks like our mom ............oh dear..

Whats that grumbling I hear....do you hear it..........

Is that my Dad coming over to sit wif me on the recliner?????

Ha Ha girls I am the first one to jump up on dads lap....oh oh I forgot moms rule about not jumping on my dad.............

I refuse to share Dad's lap with anypug else...............yes dad is smoking..........dang it!!

My question is, does Dad wear a walking harness just like we do now????  See my tongue Dad do you fink it has gotten bigger while you have been gone??

why can't you pick me up and put me on your lap dad, ............what...........are you sure I weigh more than 8 lbs................mom put me on dads lap..........

Quit hogging Dad gussie!!!

Come on Dad pick me up?!!

ah.....home sweet home....me and my dad.


(well butch is home and this is the first time he has sit in a chair for 18 days, he can only sit 30 min. at a time, then he is to rest in bed....the doc told us this morning recovery could take as long as 6 months.........she told him no driving until he was released, he was very unhappy when he heard that...........I am running back and forth between home and work today............I will check back with you all on Monday............thank you again for yesterday, it was magical.)

Deb & Pugs

FANK YOU

Well I Angus McConnell is writing MOM's post this morning cos hers is lazy, no cos hers has her face stuck in Kleenex box at work cos hers has happy tears.  I toles her time and time again, hers has to be strong like me, cos I is the strongest boy in the house, especially now that dad is a little on the weak side.  I may even ask him to arm wrestle wif me so I can show the world I is the strongest pug in Iowa.

Today is a special day in two ways.  Well we woke up this morning and all we could feel all around us was happiness, friendship and love all wrapped up in a "hug".  Hugs from you to us.  Lots of hugs. Big hugs, little hugs, paw hugs, roo hugs , bug hugs, hugs and more hugs.  Magical hugs.  I faught I could turn this into a funny post cos I is real funny, but instead I is ending up just talking from my heart.  Our hearts.  We thank you blogville, dear friends, for planning this event, and getting it all to come together, just for us, three little pugs in Iowa and our parents.  We feel like superstars.  Want to know how powerful your hugs are?????????????????????????????????????????????

Well, a few hours ago Mom talked to Dad's doc and he said Dad could come home tomorrow......did you hear that..........yep your hugs made Dad well just enough that he can come home to be wif us!!!!  See what you did!!!!!

So Mom had to order a hospital bed, walker, shower chair, and other weird fings so Dad can be in the hospital at our house.  We don't fink hers is going to order that nurse over on Stanley and Murphy's page.........bahahahahahahha....................

Everything is supposed to be delivered today and Mom will get the room ready after work today.  She also has a meeting with the hospital today.  The rules for Dad coming home is no BENDING, LIFTING, TWISTING and very little SITTING........so we guess all he can do is breathe, and lay down and walk a little wif his walker.  Breathing is good.

Mom has to get groceries also.  She remembered last night she hadn't really bought any food in 17 days, since Dad got hurt, luckily Mr. Chewy had sent us food or we might have shriveled up by the time dad got home......we could have turned into tiny dogs or kittens ......

So that is our surprise.............you surprised us, wif your tremendous hugs and we surprised you wif dad coming home.  We loves you all so much.

Stella Rose, Maggie Mae, Angus Mac, Momma and Dad
(we are not including the 951 cats + 4 little kittens cos they went home when dad got hurt, we imagine as soon as they spy him they will be back)

UPDATE ON OUR DAD

Have you seen this guy?   Nope, well we haven't either, ..............Mom says he is right up the road and around the corner from us but we cannot find him.  She toles us over and over he is NOT at Kevin's living wif all those cats, and loving on those kittens............it is rather suspicious though that not ONE cat or kitten has come back to our house since our Dad left us.

Anyway MOM wanted to tell you that Dad has to go back up to the University tomorrow for another round of x-rays on his back.  At first they (skilled care) thought our MOM was going to take him in her teeny weeny car and Mom didn't know if she should laugh or cry or say bad words to them, instead she stayed calm and told them there was no possible way he could get in her car, if he cannot even sit up in a chair yet.  Use your head peoples............so the masterminds at the hospital decided even though mom is not a doctor she was correct so he has to go by ambulance.  Mom is hoping he will be back in the afternoon, with the doc. saying he can come home very soon.

Mom talked to PT about getting him a hospital bed, and possibly a lift chair recliner.  Oh won't we haf some fun with those fings.  So far PT has not worked wif him on climbing stairs, which he will haf to do to get in our house, they say his pain level is to high yet to try that.  We pugs faught maybe we could just have him lay on the sleeping bag and we pull hims up the steps, that is what the grandmonsters like to do????

Today is 14 days.......Dad is sick of the hospital, Mom is sick of the hospital and we are sick of Mom never being home.  WE are grumpy today.

StellaRose, Margaret Mae and Angus Mac.....................

COFFEE WITH CREAMER

The girl in the office on the other side of me  makes me a cup of coffee most mornings....she knows I like creamer in mine, and she buys it for me.  She doesn't have to do any of this. I don't work in her office, and I don't know her very well, but she does. I only drink one cup so I expect she ends up dumping most of it down the drain.  I know this is her way of helping me.

She also makes me laugh.  I tell her how my weekend  went with all the drama's of my life at the moment, and she shares her weekend.  Sometimes I cry.  Sometimes she gives me candy  although I wish it was a little stronger.

I think she knows I am trying really hard not to get stuck in the land of "I feel very sorry for myself" and just when I climb that last step out of that sorry place, a light wind blows me back to the bottom.  And I start the climb all over again.  Its not so much that I am weak, but I am just really tired.  She tries to fix me with caffeine and Halloween candy.

It helps till the next wind comes along.


This weekend I finally was able to see my mom.  I watched her sleeping, with her new "no hair" chemo look.  She reminded me of my brother when he was small.  I couldn't breath or swallow.  I might have choked to death right there in her bedroom if she wouldn't have woken up and smiled.  I took a deep breath then.

I asked her about going to town with me so I could buy her a new shirt to wear to her Chemo day this week, and she said YES!!!  Its been a very very long time since I have taken my mom shopping ......so off we went to a new store about 15 miles from where they live.  We found a couple of shirts, and after about 8 min. mom had to sit down, and rest,  I forgot to breath and swallow again,  and then I found myself getting mad at the girl behind the counter for being so slow, and I wanted to yell at her, "don't you see that little lady sitting there with her pink ribbon scarf on, do you see how fragile she is...........can't you go FASTER............"   I took a deep breath and swallowed the mean words instead.

It was a nice Saturday, Mom is excited about wearing her new shirt on Wed.  I was relieved that I remembered to breath most of the day.

Later, I ran out to see Butch.  He is depressed, and dark and although I can breath, I have to sneak-wipe my eyes all the time.  I want him to see me as a strong amazon woman, and not a mouse like I really am.

On Sunday night I remembered the coffee waiting for me on Monday.  It helped me sleep easier.

Stella Rose's Momma

THE CAREGIVERS BLUNDER BOOK

Mom told us last night there needs to be a book that she could order on Amazon that gives her step by step details on how to be a good caregiver.  She even wants "how-to pictures".  She is that confused.

We told Mom that she is a very good care giver....just look at us, and how good we have turned out.  Even meanolecat dietzman lived a wonderful long life but hers is not looking at it that way at all!

Here is a list of her recent blunders................

1. When she called her momma last night to see how she was feeling (cos last week was very hard on her after she had her infusion shot/chemo and of course Momma was in Iowa City and could not help with her MOMMA...guilt heavy on the shoulders.......) anyway her momma told her that yesterday she lost all her hair.  ONLY ten days after Chemo!!!  My grandma's hair has always been her shining beautiful glory....thick and long and red.  I fink grandpa fell in love wif it before he actually did my grandma...lol.................anyway it is now all gone and here is the blunder...................MOM said, "it will grow back momma.".   What mom really wanted to say was, " mom I am so thankful that you are still here with me, that we can always find hair but I can never find you.....I just want you to stay here and not leave me ever."   Mom will have to tell her momma that when she goes sees her this weekend.  Mom wishes she could find a doxie headscarf for grandma to wear.

2. Last night Mom threatened to put a pillow over Dad's face and send him to the moon.  She toles us she was tired, it has been a long two weeks, and he didn't want to eat hospital food, so for the forth time of running for this person and that she ran and got him a sub sandwich.  Yay, he is eating, boo he is such a baby about it.  Mom said they need to have a heart to heart talk over the weekend, and maybe that well help.  So possibly she blundered by babying him in the first place, but when you almost lose someone so fast, you tend to baby cos that is ALL you can do.  I am sure there is a whole section in that book about how NOT to baby a man in the hospital.

We are gonna stop here cos hers at work, and her eyes are getting that red puffy look to them that makes her rather unattractive and it is only 8:15 in the morning. 

We are taking good care of momma.  Every night when she FINALLY comes home to only us and it is all quiet she sits down in the recliner and all of us scramble up in our places, and peacefully go to sleep....and of course Gussie kisses her 100 times.  For awhile all is well in the world.

PS. Our dad is loving the cards he is getting.  Fanks so much.
Stella Rose, Margaret Mae and Angus Mac

MAGGIE'S POST

I fink my dad has flown the coop, cos he has been gone for 8 days and I cannot find hims anywheres.  He must be a really good hide and seeker or else he is living at Kevin's house wif all those cats and kittens he liked.

See that Halloween cat is not evens afraid of us.  They are all powerful, and since Dad sneakeded them really good food, we finks they have spirited him away.  So now Gussie Boy and I are coming up wif a plan to bring him home.

Mom says we are wrong that he is at the hospital getting better so he can come home, but we don't believe hers.  WE have evidence that Dad really liked those cats.

I don't fink I have been a very good girl since Dad has left because I always pick fights with stellie rose.  All she has to do is look at me and the next fing you know I am growling around and poking at her to fight wif me.  Mom gets pretty upset wif me, and Gus said reform school is in my future if Isa don't STOP.

Reform school would be better than living at Kevins house.

p.s. dad got a new riser on his toilet today..............its the little things mom said that makes us happy.....bahahhahahahahha

Maggie Mae

UPDATE-DOWNDATE

That is what our Mom says, somedays are up days somedays are down days....we have a list of ups to share with you.

1. Dad is alive, we think that is very important to remember because unless you are super human or have really thick skin like our dad an object weighing 450 lbs. usually does some serious serious damage.  Dad does not even have one bruise except from the Heparin shots he gets everyday, those needles leave holes the size of Texas.  He does have a broken L-5 and a shattered L-3 and a broken L-1 but he is still superhuman to us.

2. Dad can now eat food.  He was very happy last night when Mom brought him a hot ham/cheese sandwich from Subways........

3. Dad can drink water, pop and tea.....we look at it as a good thing, he may look at it as a bad thing cos you will notice there is no beer listed.

4. Dad is now in skilled care, which only takes our Mom 3.5 min. to get to the hospital from our house and her work.  No more long long drives each day.

5. Today we got a present in the mail, called a damnit doll, it came from our friends in Australia...with a kangaroo card....we think it  maybe it was meant for our mom but we took it out early this morning to Dad, this was the FIRST time in a week we seen him SMILE.  Thank you dear friends.  WE left it at the hospital in his room, it needs some color in there. 

6.  Today our Dad starts physical therapy so he can get better fast and come home soon.  He will need to wear his brace for at least 3 months so it is not a fast moving recovery.  Mom told Dad last night all your prayers have gotten him to this point.

WE don't really want to share the down things, cos Mom will cry and since she has been a big bawl baby she is working on not bawling around so much.  Dad is still working on getting rid of the pneumonia and coughing .....and his back still needs morphine, so he is pretty crabby and it is hard not to take that personal.  Sometimes Mom cries in the corner where no one can see her.  She feels all your hugs though and that takes the tears away.

We will be back later this week.
Stella Rose, Maggie Mae, Angus Mac and Momma

THANK YOU

Thank you for all your emails, and phone calls, and messages.  I  promise when I can I will answer each of them back personally.  We are still working on getting the hospital here where we live to take Butch, and we are hoping next week that will happen.  He did not have a good night last night, and  a stomach xray yesterday has shown a blocked bowel.  So that is something new we are dealing with today.  They  are starting to think he had nerve damage to that area along with his bladder.  It is a wait and see thing.  It is going to be a long haul so I am so thankful for my friends here on blogville and your prayers.  I will try to update you when I can.
Deb

JIM -OUR BABY GIRAFFE

When we first recused Jim and brought him to our home we did a lot of research on what all a baby giraffe could eat.  We were also worried that the Iowa winters would be to much for the little guy, and Dad would need to build him his own building with tall ceilings and heated floors, BUTT we never worried about the BABY POWDER that MOM has floating around the house all the time.


Everytime Mom uses baby powder on her non-baby body it floats all over the air and lands on the bathroom floor, and all stuffs hers has in there.

Well Jim has been consuming it at a alarming rate, and now, he does not feel very well.  We made need some good thoughts from all his friends, to make him better.  Mom has tried washing out his little filters, and checking all his moving and non moving parts but he is still under the weather.

We have a call into an expert on baby giraffes and baby powder.....................BUTT until we here are some moments we have enjoyed with our buddy.

Jim and Stella enjoying autumn.

Jim finding his wolf roots with us.

Jim going to Sullys house with princess leah and mags.

We should have read the fine print on the back of that Baby Powder and the affects it has on little Jims.

Stella Rose

BUSY WEEKEND

FURST on Friday night it was HOmeCOMing....and our house was the hot spot.  Here are our two football players for that night.

(The two boys in the middle, last week the four boys went to the Hawkeyes game.)..........so Micah and Ty played Friday night, they lost by 2 points.  That is always hard to swallow when it is your homecoming game.

THEN because it was so cold outside mom and dad ended up staying home wif these two ..........

She likes us, butt she talks all the time and we never have a chance to talk when hers is visiting.  And this one

they stayed until the game was over......................

We were wore out............

then on Saturday this one came for the night...........we watched movies and ate popcorn

He talked all the time also.

Later on Sunday everyone had went home, and we took another nap...................Mom called Grandma and she said her bones were hurting from her infusion shot on Thursday, and she had to take her first Nausea pill............but she thought she was feeling better than she did on Saturday.  One day at a time.

Here is my pink hat for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

stella rose 

P.S. Dad is no longer working on the highway to hell, the flagging season is over, so now he is working in the factory from hell....we don't understand why it cannot be the factory from heaven, mom told us it has something to do with Karma................................

MY TRUDIE

{Today we are celebrating our Aunt Trudie who came to live with us in early 2011 and went to live at the  Rainbow Bridge on 2012.}



Taking a dog right from the cage of a puppy mill comes with its rewards and heartbreaks, and when we first starting getting the pugs we were not so smart on the heartbreak part.

Trudie was six years old when we took her.  She had given her breeder many litter of puppies but because she had lost her last litters she was no longer useful in his horrible world.  To save her life we took her. 

At first I wasn't very happy about it.  We were struggling with learning to live with Stella Rose and Sammy J. and all the issues the puppy mills puppies have. We were without resources at the time, and didn't know where to go for help.  So taking one more upset me.

Until I saw her, hiding behind our bathtub, shivering, scared beyond belief.  I immediately put a towel in the dryer and got it toasty warm, and wrapped her in it, she so appreciated the heat, and calmness, and I felt her start to relax.  That night Trudie fell in love for the first time in her life, and I will always believe until the day she left us, I was her first and last love.

We tried to give her experiences that she had never gotten to have.  Getting her first bed, toys, walk in the grass, walks to the park......

One of my most favorite pictures of her happiness.

This was our gang.  Trudie being older helped calm the pups down.  She was like a mother to them.  She was very patient.

But Trudie was six and in puppy mill years she might as well been 100, and that came with some medical issues.  Trudie had a hard time breathing because of a collapsed trachea.....we tried to watch the amount of activity she got, but as time went on, she would have some fainting spells.

Let me out mom.


We had her checked out by our Vet and he explained what we needed to watch for, and that she could not have surgery because the damage was to severe.  He explained years of her breathing ammonia instead of fresh air did not help.

So on September 26, 2012 we had to let her go.   Afterward, I felt guilty cos I thought I had made the wrong decision, and I couldn't breathe, and wanted to set the clock back, I wanted to change my mind.....I wanted a do over.

Its hurts me to remember Trudie and I know that is unfair to her, because I am absolutely for sure she is waiting right on the front steps of the rainbow bridge for her one and only momma.

So today I celebrate loving you sweet baby and all the lessons you have taught me. 

Your Momma

(Please remember no matter if a dog is white or black or whatever color to give them a chance because in the end you are the one who will receive the biggest gift.)

SADIE HAWKINS DANCE

Tonight we are all going to the Sadie Hawkins Dance, along with our surprise guests.  It has always been on my grandma's bucket list to dance the night away; so we called her up to see if grandpa and her would like to go with us.  Guess what....they said YES!!!!!

Careful don't get in their way cos they are jitterbugging and doing dances we have never heard of.  What a special night for us, and we hope you enjoy them also.

Stella Rose