Dec 9, 2010

We Are A Family

 We are a family!

I've got all my brothers and sisters with me!

Everyone can see we're together
As we walk on by. . .



We Are A Family

Nov 18, 2010

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

When I was pregnant, the number one piece of unsolicited advice I would always get was "Your life's going to change."  Well, obviously.


It has changed in terms of adding new skills to my life's resume.  Such as the ability to change a diaper one-handed.  And the ability to function on little to no sleep. 





"Speak for yourself.  
Baby or no baby, 
I still manage to squeeze in my beauty sleep."






The one thing I believe people expected to change was the attention I would be able to give to The Mafiosos.  It would in their minds either decrease significantly or diminish completely.  Granted, raising a baby is a lot of hard work.  But that doesn't mean things have to change for the worse.  Things can change for the better.


Such as hiking.  We incorporate the baby in our hikes with The Mafiosos.  Yes, it's a lot harder to hike with a baby, but guess what? It's also more rewarding.  

Well, I guess that depends on who you ask.




"Seriously. 
You just had to bring 'It' didn't you?" says Bruno.






I have no caption for this photo because I am laughing too hard. 
This is Bruno's "LA LA LA! THERE'S NO BABY! WHAT BABY?" face.  
I encourage you to submit your own caption for this photo.






Just because there's an addition to our house doesn't mean the fun diminishes.  It instead increases exponentially.



"Ok, ok.  I'll admit that 'It' hasn't been too bad 
on this hike."







"And I have been finding tons of large sticks to haul around.
I guess 'It' can continue to hike with us."





And I still find the time to torture The Mafiosos during our hikes.  Nothing's changed on that front!





 "OMG, seriously?
This is your idea of a prop?
A freaking stump?"








"Whatever.  
Just take your stupid shot and get it over with.
At least you're not making me pose with the stupid boys."






You spoke too soon, Carmela!








So see, nothing really changed.  It's just adjusted.

Nov 5, 2010

Allow Me To Introduce Myself (Part 3)

Last but not least, we now view Gino's opinion on this baby situation. Since he's a Pug of few words, his opinion is succinct.  His choice of word to describe the baby?


AWESOME.
 

What's not to love?  The baby's face is a constant source of food!  This miniature human constantly had dried milk on his face.  And who else would be better suited to provide a spit-shine job free of charge?

"Alright kid, buckle up. 
Your face is gonna shine like a diamond when I'm done!"





I don't think the baby quite enjoys Gino's attempts at keeping his face sparkling clean. But who am I to tell Gino he can't continue to help?



"That's right! I'm the best helper you'll ever have!"






And speaking of Pugs, I am afraid to inform you readers that Vinnie's influence on the baby has finished uploading.    I now have a kid AND a Pug who constantly stick their tongues out.  Sigh.


Oct 18, 2010

Allow Me To Introduce Myself (Part 2)

I must have stepped away from the computer for too long. Because 1) I have no idea what date it is. I rely too much entirely on the computer to tell me what date and time it is. And 2) Blogger decided to update its template for composing posts. Which is driving me bat shit crazy. But then again, I manage to now function an entire day on two hours of total sleep, so pretty much anything drives me bat shit crazy. ;-)


What I am grateful for is that the baby is not driving the dogs bat shit crazy. Even when he's proudly showing off just how awesome his lungs work. They have adjusted to the baby's presence completely. . . and Bruno's definition of "completely" is that the baby doesn't exist. No sirree! No baby here! Sure, I may be holding something small and smelly in my arms, but it doesn't exist! La la la! No baby here!

It only took Bruno about three weeks to, on his own, take one tiny sniff of the baby. And then he ran. I'm waiting to see just how long it's going to take for the next sniff.


Carmela thinks the baby is alright.  She does, however, have a few complaints.




"He's kind of smelly. Especially his bottom half.  
He reeks like 50% of the time. 
What gives?"







"And before he starts to really stink, 
he makes the weirdest faces.
See?"






"And how come he always acts drunk?
He has no coordination whatsoever."






"Are you sure he's not getting into
your liquor cabinet when you're
not looking?"






"And how come he has so little fur?
It seems to be only concentrated on the top of his head.
Is he some kind of new weird-haired breed?"








"Alright, maybe there's one good thing about him. . .
he always has cozy blankets wherever he goes.
I guess he's alright."








"But don't tell anyone I said that!"

Sep 13, 2010

Allow Me To Introduce Myself (Part 1)

Preface: Me + Newborn = Delirious from lack of sleep.  All typos, muddling and  discombobulation found in this post are solely the responsibility of said Newborn.

The Mafiosos think the new kid on the block is alright.  It looks like the baby is a made man and his name has been permanently written in the books. 


It is quite interesting for me to see how each dog is reacting to the newest member of our family.  I sort of had some idea of how each dog would react based on the dog's personality.  But nothing prepared me for Vinnie's reaction to the baby.

Vinnie is in love.  And I mean, luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurve. He can't get enough of the baby.  His tail will not stop wagging whenever the baby is in the room.  He needs to be near the baby 24/7.   He needs to smell the baby, kiss the baby, cuddle with the baby, sneeze on the baby...well, you get the idea.


"I think you're pretty cool too, Vinnie."








 I suppose that perhaps there is an unspeakable bond between a boy and his dog.  But it does start to cross the line when they start to resemble each other!



"No," instructs Vinnie.
"Ya gotta stick out your tongue a little more. . .
like this!"

 


I am really surprised by Vinnie's enthusiasm.  I knew he'd be the dog least affected by the new addition because Vinnie is pretty darn flexible.  There isn't much that bothers him or anything that he can't adjust to.  But I really didn't think he'd start a new love affair with the baby.


However, on the other end of the spectrum. . .



"Oh God!" proclaims Bruno.
"It's gonna bite me, isn't it?!"

Sep 5, 2010

Persian Ponderings


"What is this?" asks Maggie.
"It has a flat face. . ."




"And bug eyes. . .
Wait a minute!
You brought home another ugly Pug, didn't you?!"




"Hey!" exclaims Gino.
"I resent your comments!
I happen to think I look better in a onesie."

Sep 1, 2010

Suddenly Surprised

This Sunday, someone decided to come on down!  I thought I had one more month left, but apparently, the baby wanted to get a head start on running his canine crime mob syndicate.  Can't blame him I guess.  :-)



I wish I had an update for everyone on how the new addition was received by The Mafiosos, but the truth is that it hasn't occurred yet.  I am still at the hospital waiting for the baby to be discharged; he's slightly jaundice and he's currently getting his tan on under UV lights.   Since we are basically living at the hospital right now, The Mafiosos are currently staying at their Uncle and Aunt's house treating this stay as a vacation away from us.  They don't even pretend to miss us!  Ryan stopped by yesterday to spend some time with them and he was largely ignored.  Apparently, it's way more fun to play with your Rhodesian Ridgeback and Jack Russell Terrier cousins and all of their toys than to spend some time with your stinky dad.  Traitors!  ;-)

I hope to be home with the new addition by the end of the week.  And can't wait to photo document this new adventure and share it with all of you.  I am now taking bets on how long it will take Bruno to get over his fear of this new squealing "thing" I brought home.  The winner gets one dirty diaper! :-p



"As if she doesn't torture me enough already. . ."

Aug 11, 2010

Aug 1, 2010

Sporadic Spurts

Fear not, I have not abandoned the blog!

In between my normal doctor appointments I am now having to also visit the high-risk prenatal department twice a week to monitor The Mafioso Jr.  I've been having a hell of a time managing my sugar levels via my diet and I would be lying if I didn't admit that the stress of it all has me dog tired. 

The weather around these parts has also been unbearably hot.  We usually head off to the river in times like these, but it seems everyone else thinks that's an awesome idea.  Our usual play areas are crowded with people, making off-leash river romps next to impossible.



The hot weather however hasn't stopped a certain someone from using it to her advantage. . .


"I have to work on my tan.
I'm determined to finally land a spot in the
Miss Hawaii Tropic calender this year."




Luckily the boys aren't as self obsessed . . .two certain Mafiosos are always down for a game of catch whenever we are fortunate to find the nearby school yard empty.



"Alright! Let's do this!" shouts Gino.







Only this is a different game of catch.  As in Bruno runs to catch the ball and Gino runs to catch Bruno.








"You're not as fast as you think you are, Meathead!"








"I can still keep up with you!"







"Is that all you got?!"










"Oomph!"








"Watch it!!"









"That's why I'm the smart one!
I stay out of his way and have lightening reflexes!"






Jul 7, 2010

Tired of Being Tired


My get up and go must have got up and went!  I've been so exhausted these past four weeks and finally I received an answer as to why.  I was diagnosed with pregnancy induced diabetes earlier this week and will be meeting with my doctor soon to learn how to get my glucose levels under control.  In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the montage of black and white pictures I have been posting.  I promise to come back soon and with a bang!

Jun 9, 2010

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

When everything around me is in total chaos, 
all I have to do is turn around and find a helping paw.


Jun 2, 2010

Everybody's Talkin'


I have a huge, honkin' beer belly now.  It's impossible to hide that I am incubating.  And now that the obvious is well, for lack of a better word, obvious, everyone keeps asking me the same question:  what will I do with my dogs?


What people want to hear me reply is "Oh, we're going to find them all good homes."  Never!  They make my home complete.  Without these knuckleheads, I don't have home.  I may have a building with windows and doors, but not a home.

So I've been instead replying "I'm going to spoil them even more.  I'm grateful for their calming presence in light of my raging pregnancy hormones.  I'm going to love them more than ever possible."

I love the blank look on people's faces when they hear my reply.


So Mafiosos, rest assured that you four are not going anywhere, no matter what the crazy people suggest.  I will continue to spoil you with a plethora of dogs beds and light fires for you in the fireplace because I know just how much you love the warmth.  Because even though we're having a baby, you four are my original babies.  And nothing's gonna change that.




May 26, 2010

Run, Weekday, Run!

I'm hoping this week flies by super fast . . .




I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend.  A day to sleep in is definitely a day to relish!  I suppose I should celebrate that I'm am halfway through the week.  But I can't help to wanting to kick Thursday out of the way. . .




Friday will be here before I know it!  And on Friday, I get to see Flight of The Conchords live.  I just hope my baby bump will also appreciate the music.  :)


What are you guys looking forward to this weekend?

May 19, 2010

Technical Difficulties!

I did something to my computer and I have no idea what it is.  I just know I did something to it.  How do I know this? Because ALL OF MY PICTURES FILES ARE MISSING!!  And now that ya'll know that I did something, I would appreciate it if you could let me know what I did.   Because once I know what I did, I will never do it again.  It will avoid last week's fiasco of missing a post. 


If I ever have a repeat of whatever I did to my computer and my pictures go missing again, you'll see a post like this:








The main thing that's bugging me is WHAT DID I DO??  Honestly, I didn't fiddle with files or delete anything.




"Maybe you spilled some water on it?" asks Vinnie.







No! I know I didn't!





"I dunno what to tell you then!"






"Did you drop a rock on it?" asks Bruno.






No! Why the hell would I do that?!  The only thing I can think of is perhaps one of the cats walked across the keyboard and accidentally deleted my picture folder.  I swear, if that's not the answer, then there's only one thing left for me to do . . .





"I bite your face off technology!!



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