Gel Clings Part 2

This morning I found another gel cling cane that wasn't on the front window. It was torn in two and in the bedroom.

I guess Katie brought it upstairs. I have no idea why. I'm taking the window decorations down now minus two red candy canes.

Memorial Park

Mojo visited the dog park at Memorial Park for the first time.

He really liked the ducks by the pond.

Here's a video of him playing with his buddy JPEG.

Christmas with Nugget

While everyone is exchanging gifts, the cats play. Nugget is my brother's orange cat and Tera (short for Terror) is a stray cat without a tail.

Give Katie Kisses

In this video, Matt asks Mojo to give Katie kisses. Katie, however, decides she has something to give Mojo—and it's not kisses.

Window decor

I was sleepily coming in from taking Mojo morning potty. We were walking back up the stairs and all I wanted to do was go back to bed. Then, I saw something weird on the stairs.

I always keep an eye out for odd things on the stairs: things Mojo and Katie might want to put in their mouths or things that might have come out of their mouths. I reached down and picked up what felt like one of those jelly worms you might use as a fishing lure. I tried to wake my brain up and I realized it was a candy cane gel cling from our downstairs window decorations.

The cat had apparently gotten it off the window and then carried it half way up the stairs.

Why? I couldn't tell you. But it might me time to take those gel clings down.

Surprise Christmas Gift

I went to my parents' house for Christmas. We left the kids at home, but their cats were very entertaining.

It was so fun to watch the kittens pounce on each other, chase each other through the dog door and hide in the wrapping paper.

I had hung my coat on a chair and put my purse under the same chair while we swapped gifts, and the cats seemed to think that the coat-draped chair was the best cat tent ever because they kept playing under it. I kept my eye on it to make sure they didn't claw my coat or purse, but generally left them alone.

A few hours after we came home I was looking for the checkbook in my purse and found a pom-pom ball cat toy that one of the cats had apparently hidden in there. I called my mom to make sure it wasn't a cherished toy that needed to be returned immediately. She said it was one of a nine-pack that she had bought for the cats and to keep it for Miss Katie.

Katie loves her new toy and would like to thank Nugget for the surprise gift.

When thanked for the gift, my brother says that his cat Nugget likes to share.

Tuesday Update

Mojo still smells like puppy shampoo after Sunday's bath. He smells great!

Katie is a silly kitty. She tried to take my spot in the bed last night. Seriously I had to kick her out of my spot TWICE last night. Also, she likes to get in Matt's lap when he's playing Modern Warfare 2 on XBox Live.

"She just made me die three times," he just screamed.

She's just trying to help.

What the Kids Have Been Up To

So this is what Mojo and Katie have been doing for the last week:

Last Monday, Mojo decided to barf all over the place. At 3 a.m. of course. Just at the right time to make mom and dad zombies all day at work. We have no idea what made him sick and he was fine afterwards.

Yesterday Mojo got SUPER muddy while playing at his friend's house. He got a bath when we got home. (It took forever to get the mud out of the tub). He was an angel during the bath. He's not so crazy about getting rinsed off but he does love getting towel dried. And I was even more surprised that he likes being blow dried. He stood there like a champ while I dried his fur with my pink Con-Air Ion Shine drier. Our groomer must love him, he's so sweet. And now he smells like puppy shampoo and has extra shiny fur.

Also, blow drying a dog is A LOT harder than blow drying your own hair. Especially when that dog is 60 pounds and especially furry.

Today Mojo decided to eat some poo while on a walk with dad. He got in trouble for that.

Katie's been sweet. She does like to attack the Christmas tree skirt. It has some tiny pom-poms on it and she's determined to detach them.

She also thinks it's cute to try and sit in daddy's lap while he's immersed in modern Warfare 2.

Mojo's Playdate with JPEG

Mojo had a very fun playdate with JPEG recently.

And Mojo might have met his match in playing tugs.





Photos are © Peter Frey.

New Decor

Today my people did something strange.

They put a tree inside the house and then they put weird things on it. Lots of little balls. But not the kind that bounce good. And it has lights on it.

Aren't trees supposed to be outside? I'm so confused.

Then mom put my red bandana on me.

I just watched the madness.

I'm gonna wait till they leave and mark it as mine.

—Mojo

Christmas Lists

Mojo and Katie have been good. They are getting ready for Christmas.

From Santa Mojo wants some new tug rings and maybe a doggie jacket that fits.

Katie would like some hams and maybe some milk.

Coming Out of the Closet

Miss Katie loves to explore and she loves to help us get ready in the morning. Whatever room I'm in, she wants to be in too.

Sometimes it's a bit of a problem, because she doesn't want to leave the room when I'm done and I can't close the door without her out. Usually, if she really won't leave I'll pick her up and toss her out.

This morning was our usual "getting ready for work" madness. Matt had to be at work especially early so he was up before I was. He got dressed and left. I was going about my usual routine, slowly brushing my teeth, checking the news, etc. Matt runs back up the stairs looking for a T-shirt he forgot. He opens his closed closet and out comes the cat. Good thing he checked or she might have been in there all day. Instead, she was probably in there five or ten minutes.

I had heard the cat crying, but I thought it was her usual "I want breakfast cry." I hadn't yet fed her breakfast, so I hadn't looked for her yet. (She always runs for breakfast).

I should add, that because things like this have happened before I always find the cat and give her a kiss before I leave for work.

Shepherd

Mojo is part German Shepherd and he loves to herd. He usually doesn't have enough people or animals to herd, but when he does he's happy.

Last Thanksgiving we had our then 8-year-old niece over. We took her and Mojo to the playground near out house. Matt went to take Mojo home because it was his dinner time while I was going to stay and let our niece play a little longer. Mojo wouldn't leave. He refused to go home with Matt. He had to stay until she was ready to go. And he had to stay by her side and keep her safe. Even when we went home, he didn't leave her side all night. She watched TV or played Wii and he had to sit right behind her.

This Thanksgiving, we were all watching movies at the in-laws' house. All seven of us were gathered around the TV until Mojo's grandma went to play on the computer in another room. Mojo was so cute. Every five minutes he'd make his rounds to check on her. He'd make sure she was alright and then tell her she needed to come out and sit with the rest of the family. He'd look in the glass doors to the room she was sitting in and wag his tail and try to be as fun as possible. When he was done with his rounds he'd come back to play with the rest of the family—only to get up in five minutes to check on grandma.

The Sweetest Thing

Today I went to take a nap on the couch. The kitty promptly curled up right next to me. She snuggled me so tightly I couldn't move and started purring up a storm. It was so sweet.

Thanks Katie!

No singing

Today it was surprisingly warm outside so I took Mojo to sit on the porch with me.

This guy came out of the house across the street from us singing loudly. It wasn't bad, it was just unexpected.

Mojo positioned himself directly across from the guy and started woofing at him. The guy would finish a phrase and Mojo would WOOF. Mojo got louder as the guy kept singing.

The guy looked confused and I think he didn't realize he had an audience. Finally he realized that a dog was barking (not meanly) at him and he stopped.

I guess Mojo was the singing police today, because he seemed to be saying "Knock that off!"

P.S. Katie says hi. She just woke up from a nap and is now rubbing against the monitor.

Words Mojo Knows

Mojo has an ever-expanding vocabulary. There are some words he knows and some words that catch his attention.

For example, he knows the word WALK. If you say it, he will go to the door and wait for you to put his leash on. And he knows it more than in the "Do you want to go on a walk?" context. He even knows it if you're talking about something completely different. If I were talking to the hubby and said: "I don't know why I wore 4-inch those heels to work today. I could barely walk in them and now my feet hurt," Mojo would recognize WALK mid-sentence and go crazy. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm saying the word and he'll go nuts.

I started to try spelling it out, but he caught on to that. So now, if we're discussing whose going to talk him, we'll say "the thing" or "around the neighborhood" or whatever we can come up with.

He also knows COME really well. He likes to come when other people call their dogs. He will always come to them. Always. Me? Most of the time, depending on what he wants to do.

He knows his girlfriend's name. It's pronounced Schway, but I think it's spelled Schauii or something....I could be talking on the phone, saying I saw her today and he would go crazy.

Some words will make him perk his ears up, and some words he knows better than others. Here's a list of words he knows or is learning:

• High five (I taught him this one to watch football with his dad)

• Outside

• Potty

• Treats

• Ice

• Mom

• Dad

• Kiss

• Hug

• Dance

• Katie

• Up

• Off

• Rings

• Bed time

• Toys

• Chicken

• Sit

• Park

• Sophie

And of course, he knows his name.

I'm sure I left some words out so I'll just have to update as I remember.

Autumn Leaves

Today I took Mojo on his usual walk when I got home from work.

At some point I absentmindedly picked a leaf and starting playing with it. I'd gotten 100 or so yards before I even realized that I was playing with the leaf, but I noticed that Mojo was also carrying a leaf (in his mouth). It was the exact same color as mine, so he must have picked it up when I picked mine up.

He dropped his leaf shortly after (probably when he saw a dog he wanted to play with) and when he realized he no longer had it, he asked for mine. Of course I gave the leaf to him and he proudly carried it up the hill to our house.

I just thought it was cute that he proudly carrying a leaf to match his mom.

Do you want a turn?

Last week Matt was home doing some school work on the computer. He heard the kids playing so he turned around to see what was going on.

Mojo and Katie were sitting really close to each other, facing each other in the hallway behind the couch. They turned their heads to face him and when Matt looked a little closer to see what was going on, he saw that they were having a blast taking turns playing with a cricket that had gotten into the house. They made a motion to ask Matt if he wanted a turn playing with the cricket and Matt just had to laugh.

Fun weekend

Mojo had a big weekend. Friday was my furlough day so I took him to a private dog park. None of his usual doggie buddies could make it so I thought it would be just us. But as I was heading over to the park, I got a call from a photographer that I work with that he was going to bring his dog, JPEG, to the park.

We got to the park and Mojo just had a blast running as fast as he could. JPEG and his parents got to the park and I think the dogs were instantly best buddies. They took off running together and just played the entire time. JPEG, a boxer mix, was Mojo's match in tugs (Mojo's favorite game) and they had fun chasing the balls and frisbee I brought. They really played well together.

Both dogs had a blast and just relaxed the rest of the day at home. Mojo hung out on the couch and JPEG's dad texted me that he was very chill for the rest of the day.

On Sunday Mojo got another playdate at the same park, this time with Cody, Billie Holiday and Phoebe (who all attended his birthday party). For some reason, Mojo just played with the poodle the whole time but he had fun. Then he went to his grandparents house, where he was an absolute angel. No running up and down the stairs like he usually does. No climbing on the furniture. And when he wanted to take a nap, he crawled into his popup camper and slept.

On Monday, Matt was furloughed (thank you state of Georgia) and when Matt went to take Mojo on a walk, they ran into Schauii, Mojo's girlfriend who he never sees anymore. I don't know if they're still together but they are definitely still friends. Just now that she doesn't live across the street and lives a block away, it's kind of a long distance relationship.

I hope he had tons of fun. He's sure a great dog.

Happy Halloween from Mojo

Mojo may have been a little devil this year, but he wasn't happy about owning up to it. Or maybe it's just the hat?

Kisses

The hubby and I always give the kids kisses before we leave: goodbye kisses before we head off to work, etc. We usually kiss Mojo and Katie on the forehead and then leave.

Katie is sometimes sly and tries not to get her kiss.

But today Mojo had a surprise for us.

This morning I went to take Mojo downstairs while Matt slept in. Instead of bounding down the stairs like he usually does, he jumped on the bed and gave Matt a big fat kiss on the forehead before he went downstairs. A kiss goodbye kiss—how sweet!

Cat fight

Our kids like to fight. Guess who usually wins.

Salad Thief

Last night I made pasta for dinner. I decided to make some salad while the noodles were boiling. When the salads were done I went ahead and put them at the table. When I brought a bottle of salad dressing to the table a few minutes later, I found the cat pulling a leaf out of one of the salads, gnawing on it.

Apparently, she wanted salad too.

Lunch Break Mud Puddle

Usually my lunch breaks are spent at my desk eating leftover, half-surfing facebook and half working and answering phone calls.

Last Tuesday, however, I had to go home for Mojo. Matt usually takes care of the dog but couldn't that day, so I actually left the office.

I went to take Mojo on his normal lunch time walk. We passed his girlfriend's house and he drug me straight to her door. (He tries to get her to notice him so her person will let her out). He made such a fuss that she started barking and her owner came to the door (lunch in hand) and decided to let them play.

We went to his backyard and since it had recently monsooned I tried to steer the dogs away from the muddy parts of the yard. I yelled at them every time they ran through the mud because I didn't want Mojo tracking mud in the house. It was going well and it was about time to head home when Mojo headed to his favorite spot behind some flower bushes and plopped down on some pine straw and started chewing on some leaves. I went over to get the leaves/sticks/whatever he was eating out of his mouth, when I realized the pine straw he had flopped on was very thinly covering some very slimy red mud.

He had in essence plopped down stomach-first in a mud puddle to happily chew on sticks and leaves.

It was definitely time to leave so I clipped his leash (which was covered in mud) on and practically dragged him home. Only when we got to the house I didn't know what to do.

His paws were fairly muddy but when I reached down to his belly, I got a handful mud so I couldn't really let him inside. I sprinted inside long enough to grab some paper towels and then went back outside.

I considered hosing him off outside, but thought that would likely make a bigger mess. So instead I wiped his paws as clean as possible with the paper towels and led him upstairs to the bathroom.

He made a break for it when I went to close the bathroom door. I still had his leash on it, but he went running around the bedroom. When I caught him, he firmly planted his haunches on the ground and did not want to be led to the bathroom. He gave me a stubborn look and wouldn't budge.

I managed to pull his leash so hard his collar came off, so he made another break for it. I yelled at him and maybe he got the idea that we really weren't playing. He was trying to hide in his bed and he really had nowhere to go, so I reached down and picked him up. That totally surprised him.

I lugged him to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind us.

He just stared at the door willing it to open.

I ran some warm bath water. When it was the perfect temperature, I picked him up and after a struggle got him in the tub.

Once he was in, he just stood in the bath and smiled. He didn't fight at all. He just let me wash him. And since it was my lunch break, I didn't give him the full bath with his puppy shampoo, I just used water, a wash cloth and only cleaned his legs and belly—just where it was dirty.

When he was done I got out of the tub. I wanted to see what he would do and he just stayed standing the tub. I called him to come and he got out. He shook off and then got towel dried. (He really likes being towel dried).

After he got in the tub it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Maybe those two trips to the groomer helped, or maybe the water was fun?

We went downstairs and he got lots of treats and just smile, smiled until I left to go back to work.

Not four pounds anymore

3 months old (above)

4 months old (above)

5 months old (above)

Our handsome guy at 15 months.

Mojo went to the vet today. Usually he likes the vet, and has to give EVERYONE a kiss before he leaves. Seriously, the receptionist, the vet techs, they all get kisses when he makes he rounds.

Not today, though. He got three shots, they drew blood and he really didn't like having to give them a stool sample.

Matt said he yelped for that last part.

The vet also weighed him (isn't the vet scale so cool?) and Mojo isn't the four-pound teddy bear we brought home last August. Now he's 59 pounds.

Family pix

Family portrait

Mojo sure is a happy guy

Wardrobe change

I never thought getting a dog would prompt me to change my wardrobe, but it did.

I brought home baby Mojo as an eight-week-old puppy over a year ago. Potty-training meant trips outside every three hours or so. The dog would yelp that he had to go and then you sprinted outside as fast as you could—no time to fix your hair, brush your teeth or put on a non-sleep-rumpled shirt. This also meant that it was usually me taking the dog out—not Matt who wouldn’t have time to get dressed.

If we lived in a house with a yard, taking the dog out wouldn’t be a problem. However, we live in a townhome in pretty close quarters with our neighbors and I found that the worse I was dressed on any given trip outside the more likely it would be for me to run into a neighbor.
In a ratty camisole and too-small shorts? The neighbor would be taking her dog out too and want to chat. In a paint-splattered tee and sweatpants? The dog would seek out a neighbor and want to play.

It’s a young neighborhood, so I’ve seen my neighbors in their PJ’s, once even a guy in a towel, but that’s another story. But all those 3 a.m. or 11 p.m. trips outside actually made me feel really self-conscious about my Soffe shorts and old ratty summer camp T-shirts from 1996.
Having the dog meant I needed pajamas I didn’t mind the neighbors seeing me in. That meant cute T-shirts and shorts.

I’ve since stocked up on Victoria’s Secret’s Pink T’s (it’s a line, they are not all pink), and a lot of yoga pants and capri’s. Maybe my hubby appreciates my new cuter PJ’s, too.

But there you go, getting a dog can prompt you to go clothes shopping for yourself. Score!

PS> And yes, I do wear pajamas a lot.

Mojo Menu

One of Mojo's worst vices is his tendency to eat really stupid things. It was worse when he was a puppy, I was constantly pulling things out his mouth. It's gotten better but every now and then he eats or attempts to eat something he shouldn't. Here's a sampling of what he's eaten.

• Mulch
• Hair (constantly)
• Cigarette butts
• 7 inches of shoelace (don't ask me how I know)
• String (lots of it)
• A pen (we found the pen before he got to any of the metal but he did crunch some of the plastic)
• Head phones
• The ears off his toys
• Half a phone book cover
• The corner of a newspaper bag
• Worm jerkey (also known as the dried up worms baked on the sidewalks)
• Poop (the more rancid the better)

We do try out best not to let him eat these things, but are not always successful.

Scheming

Today Mojo had a unique afternoon snack. Not the usual chicken, carrots or ice cubes. No, today that cat brought him a snack.

As previously mentioned, Katie's new hobby is knocking things off ledges. Today she decided to knock the computer headphones off of the small desk cubby they are stored in. Katie really likes these headphones, and if they are ever left out she likes to play with the string and try to eat the ear buds. For that reason the headphones are stored in a drawstring pouch when not in use.

Today she knocked the pouch off the desk and we can only guess she pulled the headphones out of the pouch. At which point we guess she decided to share her new prize with the dog.

Last week Mojo ate Katie shoelace, so it's not really surprising that he decided to eat the headphones. Specifically he ate one ear bud, the headphone jack and some of the cord.

Yum.

P.S. We will update you on his condition once we know the outcome.

UPDATE:

We never actually saw any evidence that he ate these things (I do have the remaining parts of the headphones), so maybe they are under a couch somewhere. That or they didn't cause any problems on the way out.

Knock it off!

Katie's new hobby is knocking things off ledges: spoons, cell phones, pens, etc.

We think it started a few weeks ago, when we found a bag of cat treats on the stairs.

It was 7 a.m. and I was getting ready for work. Sleepily I was walking down the stairs to take the dog outside to use the bathroom. I thought it was weird to see a bag of cat treats half way up the stairs. I wondered why Matt had left the cat treats there. When I came back in, Matt asked me why I had left the cat treats there.

At that point we put two and two together and realized the only other creature with access to the cat treats overnight was the cat. She must have knocked them off the table and then dragged them up the stairs because she wanted a treat. (She does have a habit of bringing her brushes and toys to bed).

Ever since then she's been knocking things off the table and desks.

It's jarring to hear a spoon drop off the table only to realize the cat did it.

Looking out

Katie on guard, keeping the house safe from moths and birds on the outside.

We all scream for ice cream

Mojo got some Frosty Paws ice cream to celebrate his first birthday. Katie decided she wanted to help Mojo with his treat.

First birthday

Mojo’s first birthday was Monday and he had a three-day birthday extravaganza.

On Saturday, we took him to Z-Dog bakery so he could pick out a special birthday treat. Unfortunately he was too interested in the feisty shop cat. I picked out peanut butter treats dipped in peanut butter for him.
On Sunday, we held a birthday party for him at Sandy Creek Park. We invited all of his doggie friends to play in a private, fenced-in park.
There were balls to chase, tug-of-war games and lots of running. For party favors, there was an assortment of treats from Z-Dog bakery.
Mojo, Schaui, Toby, Cody, Pheobe, Georgia and Billie Holiday all had a good time.
When we got back from the park, Mojo, Schaui and Toby got Frosty Paws ice cream.
On Monday, there was more ice cream :)

Growing up

Mojo's been SO busy lately and hasn't had much time to post on the blog.

Above: lounging on the bed

Below: First snowfall, March 1.

Inspector Katie

We had some built-in cabinets installed today. Katie wasted no time in checking them out. She did eventually give her kitty sign of approval.

Morning cuddles

For the New Year Mojo graduated to sleeping in the bedroom instead of in the bathroom. He has a doggie bed on my side of the bed (where he chose to to sleep).

 

I've read all over that dogs aren't supposed to sleep in the bed, so we don't let him in the bed even though he really wants to sleep in the bed. 

One Saturday morning, Matt made an exception and let Mojo in the bed for some cuddles. They both loved it and Mojo comes in the bed to cuddle most mornings now. He's tried a couple of times to come in the bed at night, but we don't let him. 

Last night I got up at about 3 a.m. to use the bathroom and my little stinker snuck into bed. I guess he thought it was morning and I had the worst time getting him off the bed. I think I had to scoop him up and put him in his bed. He was all confused and kept thinking it was morning and kept trying to get in the bed every hour or so.

I guess he just loves his cuddles. 

Ice, Ice Baby

One of Mojo's new favorite things is ice.

I guess he's always really liked ice. When he was a puppy and we wanted him to drink water, we'd put ice cubes in the water bowl and that always seemed to do the trick. 

Now, ice cubes seem to be his treat of choice.

You can offer them to him as a treat and he'll take them to his treat spot and play, lick and crunch until they're gone.

If we ever have a cup that rattles like it has ice cubes in it, he will stare intently at the cup until you give him an ice cube. Then he will beg unrelentingly for ice cube after ice cube until you have none left.

This past week, we even got him a Chilly Bone at the pet store. It's a fabric bone that you wet and freeze and then let the dog gnaw on. He loves it. 

I don't know what it is about ice cubes that he likes , maybe that they're slippery, but he sure does love them.

Matt's Brilliant Idea

Matt has decided that it's time for Mojo to start sleeping in the bedroom, rather than the bathroom.

He decided this one day at midnight and started frantically cleaning the room to get rid of things Mojo might eat: socks, paper, string, anything. I don't remember what day this was because I was sleeping like a sane person.

I haven't gotten a decent night's sleep since then.

We go to bed and Mojo runs around like a crazy dog for at least 30 minutes. He does laps around the room, chases the cat, steals her toys, etc.

Then he settles down. He tries to start burrowing under the bed and eating whatever he finds in the carpet, like hair. He tries to look out the window and bark at the neighbor dog. He tries to get in to bed. When that doesn't work he just starts licking people.

Bedtime ritual

Mojo and Katie like to play before bedtime. This mostly consists of Mojo trying to play with Katie, and Katie getting annoyed.

They have the playfight routine down. Katie likes to swat Mojo (no claws), which is pretty cute. Eventually Katie will get fed up and run away.

This happens pretty much every night.

Totally disgusting

This morning I took Mojo on a walk around our neighborhood, and when we got back he did his usual squat walk and relieved himself, but that's not the gross part.

He finished up near DeWayne's (our neighbor whom we haven't seen in months) bushes and made a mad grab to eat something in the mulch around the bushes.

Whatever he got looked pretty big, so I reached in his mouth to take it.

In the past he's tried to eat mulch, cigarette butts, soggy hotdog buns, etc. This time I wasn't that lucky, as I soon realized I had reached in to get a handful of something moist, sticky and brown. 

It was dog poo and it was totally disgusting.

I couldn't wash my hands fast enough.

Do I fit?

One of Katie's favorite games is "Do I Fit?"

Basically, it's just her hopping into various boxes, baskets or small spaces around the house, but it's too cute.

Tonight I was organizing closets and she had to see if she fit into one of the baskets I had out. Of course she fits perfectly into our organization plan. 

And if I want to move her out of said space all I have to do is get the camera out and she'll scurry away.