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Cheeky Bits

I am full of surprises -- 31-Aug-2010

From time to time Mom gets these wild ideas. She has had two recently. The first was that Pippi and I would have a workout on an exercise peanut/ball. She's had us up there the last two days and tells me we will have a session today. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. The good part is that we get treats while we are up there. So it's not all bad. I am more content to sit up there on the peanut than Pippi ... that is if there is not a constant stream of treats.

The other wild idea Mom had was to have Pippi and I play on a teeter totter. Not at the same time, mind you, although someone should remind Pippi of that. Talk about your circus acts! I would be air borne the first time Pip bounced onto her end. BOL. Nothing quite that entertaining in mind here. No, just a short, low teeter totter that we could walk across. The first time Mom brought this contraption out Pippi and I were a bit afraid. And the first time one end bonked on the ground we scrambled away from it. Mom tried holding one end up, but we still weren't too sure about this. Didn't seem like one of her better ideas. So, Mom talked with a friend and got some advice on a better way to get started with this, and the first thing was to put the board flat on the ground and let us get used to walking across it that way. Piece of cake. What could be easier than walking across a short board flat on the ground and getting a treat when you get to the other end? Then Mom threw a twist in. She wanted us to stop at the end of the board with two feet off and two feet on. Whatever. These people have some weird ideas, but I can do that. In fact, I picked up on that bit faster than Pippi. It's usually the other way around. I was first to walk across the board, first to stop with my feet the way Mom wanted. I was so pleased with myself. Almost as excited as Mom was. It takes so little for her to get excited sometimes. Bless her. Well, today Mom threw in another twist and turned the board back into a teeter totter. Hmmm. Maybe we could do this. We tried it but decided it was a little slipperier than we liked. No problem. Mom took an old towel and stapled it to the board. Perfect. So after a few not so great tries and some being timid I decided to go for it. I took my time and went slowly across, let the other end drop and finished my way across, put two feet off and looked for my treat. Well if Mom was excited about us walking across a board on the floor you should have seen her when I did this. Unbelievable. And after all that excitement all I got was a Cheerio. I mean really. Where was the good stuff?!! And only one?!! Good thing I like Cheerios, and seeing Mom so excited, so I went back and forth on this teeter totter, making one end then the other drop. Cheerio after Cheerio. Oh, Pippi took some turns, too, but it took her a lot longer to get the idea of letting it drop then two feet on and two off. I'll cut her a little slack since she is heavier and the thing makes more of a bumping noise when she goes across. Mom really thought Pip would pick it up faster than me and I would be afraid of it for days, but I showed her.

All in all I think this teeter totter thing is going to be okay. I just wonder what Mom will come up with next!

Sneaky Mom -- 29-Aug-2010

Mom tricked me the other day. She was in the bathroom just standing around. A lot of time I won't go in there with her when she is lurking. It often means a bath is coming. Well, she had been loitering long enough that I decided it was safe. Then out of the blue, she reached down and got me. Oh the horror! But then I relaxed because she kissed me and put me back down. I ran out of the room as fast as I could before she changed her mind again. She stayed in there though, still loitering, so after a bit I decided to go check on her. Well, she picked me up again and I panicked. I was relieved when she kissed me and put me back down again and I quickly retreated to the bedroom. This happened a few more times with me coming back a little faster each time. This was getting to be a fun game. Get picked up, get a kiss and run away. And just when I was starting to enjoy myself, she picked me up, kissed me, held on to me and TURNED ON THE WATER! I tried to squirm, but it did no good. I didn't get the best bath in the world, but Mom says I at least got a little cleaner. Pippi must have heard all the commotion and was smart enough to steer clear of the bathroom until it was over and Mom was back in the bedroom. So not fair.

Treat Box -- 22-May-2010

Mom recently got this nice little fabric box that she has been excited about when Pippi or I would sit in it. She would give us treats just for sitting there. Parents can be so funny so we humored her and began to get used to the "treat box". After about a week of this she came home with a HUGE box and began building this big thing. When she was done she put the treat box way up near the top of the thing. I watched patiently as she did all this and I was fine with it until she picked me up and headed for the treat box. Now being in the treat box on the floor or the bed was one thing, and I could even tolerate when Mom would pick the treat box up and carry it around while I was in it. Well, I struggled and resisted a little, but Mom is a lot bigger than I am so it didn't do much good. I was in the treat box on top of this big thing she had built. I got my treats for sitting there and she let me back down. All was good. Welllll, the next day (Saturday) Mom takes the thing she built and went outside with it and rode around on it for a few minutes. Then she came back in the house. We heard her coming up the stairs, or so we thought. When the "person" got to the top of the stairs we were sure it was an alien! It had a deformed head - unusually large. Pippi and I barked and backed up so it couldn't get us. Then it spoke. It was Mom's voice. Oh the horror. Mom abducted and altered by aliens! Pippi got brave and stretched out to sniff and see if it was really Mom. I can't tell you how relieved we were that it really was Mom and not some alien. She was wearing something she called a bike helmet. Well, and relief was short lived. She picked me up and took me outside next to the thing she had built. She called that a bike. She started to put me in the treat box on the front of the bike, but I used my Chihuahua death grip to prevent that. Alas my strength failed me and I was put in the treat box after all. Maybe it was really an alien and not Mom after all. I was fastened in the treat box, Mom got on the bike and we started to move. What the heck?!! And then I felt it ... so refreshing ... kind of exciting ... the wind in my face. Oohhhhhhhh, I put my nose up a little. Just feel that breeze. So the treat box has multiple kinds of treats. Both the tasty kind and this new treat - a breeze in your face. Well, we rode around for just a short time then headed back home. Mom got me out of the treat box and took the helmet off her head, it really was her, and back in the house we went. I was jumping around and telling Pippi all about it. I hope we get to do that again soon!