Happy Friday Everyone!

Yes...I know it's not Friday (I'm not crazy). Clearly it's Wednesday. It's true! Your computer will back this up- scroll your mouse over to the time on the bottom right hand of your screen. It's okay- go ahead. You see? It says Wednesday!

I am leaving for Florida tomorrow morning, and because of this I am waltzing around my office with the joy and pride that only Fridays can bring. And so for me, on this beautiful warm day, it is Friday. And because I am in this lovely Friday mood, I thought I'd share some a funny story about the Bailster.

Disclaimer: There are a few moments in this story that I was unable to capture with film. Although when a thougth bubble pops in my head, I've been told that others do not see the tiny little clouds form to display my thought process. Thankfully I've had YEARS of experience re-capturing these moments with Microsoft Paint (thank you University!). And here I was sure I'd never get to use this hidden talent!
 
Our story begins yesterday (Tuesday. Or Thursday. Depends who you ask). We have been desperately trying to come up with a way to get Bailey to communicate to us when she needs to go to the bathroom. She doesn't bark, so the "bark like a crazy animal at the front door" approach won't work. We've got her on a schedule, BUT let's face it- no one really pees on a schedule.

It starts off like this.

It's important to act like going outside to pee is the absolutely most fun, most amazing thing you could ever do. After making the world's biggest deal about peeing on the grass, I usually get this response from Bailey.

And so I thought about using the bell training. Essentially you train your dog to hit the bell when they want to go outside. It's awesome for non barkers like Bails. Usually you hang a bell somewhere, which allows the dog to ring it I imaging her ringing it quite diplomatically. British almost. Something like this.

But the reality is a bell hanging from a string in the front hall would not last two seconds in our house. Rascal, the almighty cat protector would massacre that bell. It would never see it coming.

So I sat for a moment to contemplate my situation, and BAM. The solution was so simple! I would buy a bell that you have to hit- like the ones they put at hotels for you to ring when there's no one at the front desk. If the people in Staples could see my thought bubble, they would have been so impressed.

I ran home. Well not really. I didn't run. I walked.....OKAY. I bused. Anyhow, I burst through the door. I couldn't contain my excitement. I was dying to get on this bell training and teach Bailey how to communicate. I even deemed it "The Bathroom Bell" (creative- I know). I would ring the bell, then immediately give her a treat- I wanted to associate something good with the sound. I then placed it on the ground and put a bunch of treats around it like this (good news- I have real pictures for the next part).

And as I turn around to show Bailey how wonderful and magical the bell is with it's circle of treats, I find her hiding in the corner in the cat bed.

And to top it all off, when I go back over to the bell, this is what I found.....

Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Its a cat. EATING THE DOG TREATS. Let me show you one more time....

And where is Bailey in all this?

Well there you have it folks. I don't know what the future is like for the Bathroom Bell. I do know that my cat will eat anything. I have a dream that one day, my tiny little black pooch will walk on up and somehow tell me "Mom. I have to pee. Right Now". We've all got to have dreams. And this my friends, is mine.

Yes. I said it.

The Yogurt Monster

When Rascal smells yogurt, it's like an entirely different cat takes over his body. His eyes grow in size, his face twitches with excitement. Nothing, and I mean nothing will stand between this feline and his sweet yogurty prize. He will fight anything and anyone who stands between him and that Activia cup. 

I wish I could say the day we realized that Rascal had a yogurt problem. All we know is that our cat is able to stand like a human (or a tiny dinosaur, depending who you ask) for minutes on end, keeping his balance perfectly. 

Is there something your pets do that make you laugh hysterically? Maybe Rascal isn't the only one out there with a yogurt addiction........

Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you are staying warm and safe on this cold, freezing rain inspired evening!

I was inspired by Bogey's Facts to write some interesting little tid bits about one of our animals. Naturally, I went with the craziest animal in my house..... Rascal.

1. Rascal genuinely understands what people are saying when they speak to him. The tone of his responses are always appropriate to the question he was asked.
2. Not only is he fully aware of his size, but he uses it to his advantage to take over half of the bed every single night.
3. In protest (for a reason we're still not clear on), he knocks down his bowl of food every morning, then knocks down Zoe's. He makes sure we are home when he does this. It's all about getting the desired reaction....
4. He has an ongoing 'dispute' with the cat down the hall (who we like to refer to as Newman). They're both orange. Maybe our hallway is only big enough for one orange cat...
5. He drinks out of the toilet and loves to play in the shower.
6. His recall is better than Bailey's. Rascal can be summoned to any room in the house by simply saying his name.
7. Rascal has the dreamiest face I've ever seen on an animal. He can woo any person at any given moment.
8. He can stand completely straight up for at least a minute with no problems (as long as there's yogurt to entice him).
9. I'm not too positive on this one, but I'm pretty sure when I yell at him, he swears back at me.
10. Every morning when I have my shower, he sits on the toilet and stands guard.
11. Deep down, he loves to cuddle with Zoe and Bailey. He's such a big softy!

There's no real point to this post, except to show how cute kittens and puppies are :)

Here are some pictures of the furry family when they were wee little babies. I apologize for the low picture quality. Most of these were taken with my phone back in 2008!

I miss them being so little!!! They grow up so fast :'(

As I've mentioned before, Rascal our cat seems to be more dog than he is a feline.
We've been buying Bailey some bones to munch on. She is notorious for burying them for later consumption, which is fine except for the fact that we live in a condo and there isn't any ground for her burry in. So naturally, she's chosen our bed sheets and pillows to act as a burial site for the treats.
A few nights ago, I crawled into bed, slide my hand under the pillow and pulled out a half-eaten bone. It is VERY funny when Bailey finds out that you've discovered where she hid something. She picks it up and frantically runs around the house trying to find another hiding place. I could never figure out why, as we don't have another dog that would eat the bone. Was I ever wrong! Turns out Rascal has a thing for dog bones, and eats them! And I don't just mean he licks the bone, I mean he chews on them. So that night after I tossed the bone from under my pillow and onto the floor, I was flabbergasted to see my cat pick it up and proceed to eat it. Unbelievable!

I figured no one would believe me, so I made sure to get some photographic evidence!

I also managed to get a quick video of the whole thing. As you can see, Bailey wasn't too impressed with Rascal's choice in food. Don't let the growl fool you, these two are the bestest buds!

My mother-in-law bought me something for Christmas that I had been secretly wishing for.....a Costco membership! Man- that place is huge. I strongly recommend going with a friend your first time out.
I was more than exciting to break in my new membership, and went to Costco as soon as I could. I thought it would be a good opportunity to pick up some toys for Bailey (like she needs them). Anywho, I found these cute little bears that have rope in them. This way, when the dog tears all the stuffing out (which Bailey would), they would still have something to play with.
Knowing my dog all too well, I decided to document the first few minutes of the bears being within Bailey's reach.

Don't be sad. ALL of Bailey's toys look like this. She seems to prefer them with no stuffing, or eyes, or nose or ears. She has a basket of half chewed, completely un-stuffed toys that she loves more than life. That bear even survived a weekend at the camp.

I had to include this because I think it's hilarious. Rascal has this intense need to sleep in what I can only assume are the most uncomfortable places. While Bailey was 'playing' with the bear, I was attempting to take down the Christmas decorations (only took me two hours!!!). Like many out there, I wrestled with trying to get the tree back in the box. In the end, I just left it for Scott to figure out. Rascal however, saw this tree as the absolute BEST place to take a nap. Crazy, crazy cat that Rascal....