Hartley and Sassy

We featured Hartley's new friend a few months ago.

I promise I clean her hands after Sassy bathes her in licks.

It really surprises us with how well Sassy is doing with Hartley. We thought she would just find a corner in the house and hide, but she makes a point to visit Hartley throughout the day. And Hartley absolutely loves Sassy! Her first giggles were for the dogs, especially Maddie's tail.

Maddie has surprised as well. We thought she would be the one protecting Hartley. But she's not. She doesn't care for Hartley to grab at her or anything. We have to force Maddie to lay down so Hartley can visit. I'm sure Maddie will change, though. She's wonderfur with older kids.

Hartley's New Friend

"I love you, Sassy!"

"I love you, too, Hartley!"

nuzzle, nuzzle

kiss, kiss

"We're going to be best friends forever."

[no animals or babies were harmed in the making of this post]

not all things baby

Our life may revolve around Hartley and her 3-hour schedule (or 2.. or 1.5).. but we make time for other things.

Like Maddie! And Sassy, too. We still take our daily walk to the mailbox. Let the girls sniff where unleashed dogs poop on our yard. Argh.

Maddie wanted to be silly and camouflage into the "grass." She so silly.

We've also made time for dinner. This is a must for everyone. It's a Cajun Steak Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries. O. M. g. (courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens)

We made a few tweaks.. since we rarely have all the ingredients required. We used brown sugar instead of molasses, and swapped lettuce for green onions. I had the last sandwich for lunch today and used ranch instead of the dressing.. and added pepper jack cheese. Yumm-o. Of course, Wal-mart nor Bi-Lo had frozen sweet potato fries so we made homemade ones. They weren't as crispy as we wanted.. but we were so ready to eat!!

But we can't leave without a new video of Hartley. She was following Marshall with her eyes the other night and we got it on tape. Or digital?

Marshall obviously didn't want to be in the video.. but Maddie sure did.

the times they are a-changing..

I'm thinking we're going to need to upgrade to a larger vehicle. The current seating arrangements include Marshall driving, Maddie and Sassy fighting over the front seat, and me and Hartley in the back. Now, there's definitely room for one of the dogs to sit in the back with me.. but they enjoy making things difficult, I mean, interesting.

Our family has also been expanding. In Marshall's immediate family, there are four kids in diapers. Three of them being almost within a year of each other. And these two boys.. well, there's going to be a lot of trouble with them..

There's only been girls for the Moore family the past 7 years.. and now two boys in one year! And these boys are very.. boyish. They're at the typical "I'm gonna bang on everything and hit whatever I want" stage.. which means we have to be careful with Hartley.

But I'm glad Hartley will have older boy cousins to play sports with.

And for those who want a "live" viewing of Hartley..

I promise she was doing her version of "talking." It's the only noise she really makes, besides grunting, snorting, smacking, and crying. Of course, when I decide to video her performance she stops. At the end she finds her hand and you can see her begin to smack on it.. telling me that she wants to eat (more).

I do notice a difference with her today. I've been asking her to make eye contact with me when she's nursing and today she did. I try to talk to her when I nurse, but I usually have the tv to distract me for a good 30-45 minutes. She looked at me a good bit today, though! And she "smiles" too! I know, they're not real.. but I'm looking forward to the real thing.

SUYL: Pets

My life revolves around my two wonderfully nutty dogters, Maddie and Sassy. Below is the most recent picture of the three of us. Maddie (in black) is amazingly photogenic; Sassy (in white, blending in with the cotton) is very quirky.

My husband and I adopted Maddie shortly after we got married. We had discussed getting a dog for a while; and though I was convinced we were going to get a purebred German Shepherd, plans continuously fell through and we decided to adopt from a rescue.

We settled for a shepherd mix. Maddie wasn't the little shepherd puppy I wanted.. but she had a "little shepherd" in her. Close enough.

Maddie Girl instantly bonded with me and we became fast friends. Unfortunately, when we made the big switch from city life to country living Maddie changed from a Momma's girl to man's best friend. She loves exploring with her Daddy and helping him around the house now.

She's definitely a lab at heart. She loves the water and has spent countless hours swimming and retrieving.

Maddie Girl is also a clown and camera hog.

After we had Maddie for a few months, and the husband wasn't ready to have kids, I was seeking a playmate for Maddie. She's a high energy dog and we wanted someone to help entertain her. And since we never got a puppy (Maddie was at least 2 years old when we got her), I was wanting one this time around.

But do I ever get what I want?? Nope. Instead, we got Sassy- an 11 month old mutt.


At least we have the previous picture to imagine how cute she must have been as a puppy.

But this is what we have now. The LAZIEST dog ever! The most relaxed dog. Content being curled up in a ball all day, especially if she's on the bed, couch, my lap, etc.

She's also the craziest dog. We weren't expecting her quirkiness when we first adopted her.. but it's been enjoyable along the way.

We call Sassy Bean our "special child." And we mean it. She has a slightly lazy eye. She eats paint (there's some on her paw, back, and neck as we type), pens, panties, etc. She chases butterflies until she gets lost. Her favorite toys are bugs, live ones. And her favorite place to be is on top of/next to her Momma. We also usually fight over the wing back chair in the living room.

My husband and I have some amazing dogs and soon we'll be adding to our family. This time it's a real child and we're excited/nervous as to how the girls will respond to our new baby. We know Maddie will be protective about the baby and let us know that we need to make her stop crying. And Sassy.. well.. I'm not sure how she will respond. She'll probably find a quiet room in the house and take a nap.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my wonderful dogters. There are so many posts dedicated to them, including stories of how they caught a mouse, how we came to the conclusion that Sassy is really special, and how Maddie learned the hard way about jumping out of trucks.

Our Special Child

Twas the beginning of the year 2008. Marshall and I hadn't even been married for a year, yet we had already adopted Maddie and I was desperately searching for her a sibling.. since babies were out of the question.

It was April when I eventually convinced Marshall into getting a new dog. It was puppy season and seemed like most of our friends were looking/adopting as well. Or getting pregnant or talking about the possibility of conception. I'm pretty sure I told Marshall that I would help with the monthly heartworm/flea prevention, training, feeding.. blahblahblah. Sucker.. he fell for it.

My heart pined for a yellow lab puppy. Maddie, however, wanted nothing to do with a "puppy." So we settled for a spotted, 11-month old mutt named Sassy.


She was much cuter as a puppy, though.

We went through leaps and bounds to adopt Sassafras. So much as to telling the adoption agency we would never let her ride in the back of a truck.


Sorry, Pawtropolis.

It was shortly after her adoption was finalized, we began realizing Sassy was a little different. Sure, one of her eyes is lazy. And she freaks out with strange noises or if you hold the remote towards her. Or that she didn't care for the other dogs when we went to the park. The list goes on.

Marshall came to the conclusion recently that Sassy is "that" child. The one that gets picked last on the playground. The oddball that chases butterflies. And now..

Now.. she's the one that eats paint.

I've never thought it would come to this. She really is our special child. I love her to death.. but I'm scared.

I fear the day that I walk into Hartley's room, and Sassy and Hartley are sitting on the floor eating glue together. I can imagine Maddie sitting in the corner, giving me the look I told them not to, Momma.. but they didn't listen.

And this isn't the first time I've discovered Sassy eating/licking something that's not a food item. Panties? Yup. Pens? Should have seen the ink all over her. Plastic doodads for the bread bags? Mhmm.

I better make sure to keep laundry detergent out of her reach.. Perhaps this is preparing us for real kids.

My Heroines

This is the story of how two wonderful mutts saved the day.

It was the beginning of a cold, dreary winter. Surrounding crop fields were being harvested and the seasonal mice were seeking out new homes for the four months to follow.

In the early morning, around nine o'clock, Amanda arose from her deep sleep and dragged herself into the living room to learn what was happening in the world of Facebook. She quickly became distracted by a scratching noise coming from another room in the log cabin her husband built with his bare hands.

Amanda motioned Maddie, the beloved oldest dogter, to be still and listen.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

That must be one of those field mice in the kitchen again. Amanda and Maddie crept into the kitchen, only to find an empty, spotless, mouse-free room.

Scratch. Scratch.

The noise was coming from down the hallway.

The two made their way down the hall and heard the scratching coming from one of the many guest bathrooms. They peered into the bathroom and flipped on the light. No mouse behind the door, nor behind the toilet.

Scratch.

It was coming from the bathtub.

Amanda slowly pulled back the shower curtain for Maddie to look.

A-ha! The pest!

At this point, Amanda decided her options. Fix a mouse trap and stick it in the shower... or...

Well, Amanda didn't have time to think. Maddie took charge and jumped in the shower, chasing the mouse around, the mouse jumping up desperately trying to escape.

Sassy, who had been snoozing away in the bed on the other side of house, began howling and came charging through the kitchen and down the hall.

Maddie and Sassy worked as a team. Maddie had it scurrying around the tub, while Sassy waited for the right moment as it jumped up. Sassy caught the rodent and crushed it's small body in her mouth. And then she spit it out for Amanda to toss into the deep forest behind the house.

Amanda rewarded her dogters with ice cubes and biscuits, only later to find Maddie humping Sassy.

And they lived happily ever after...

...

Side note from the author: Maddie and Sassy are constantly searching for more mice. Sassy sits in front of the tub waiting for another mouse to appear. And they go around the house sniffing like crazy.

I forgot, as usual..

I failed to mention a few important details from the past two weeks..

I have indeed felt Baby move. It was a little tickle for a few days and that was it. One evening I decided to focus on movements. I remember feeling some tickles a few days before that night, but I'm always moving around so I didn't think anything of it. And then I felt it, that tickle I had been feeling lately. It's weird. Like someone is rubbing the inside of my belly button. It went away after another day or so.. I don't feel it that much anymore.

We might have felt some thumps, but that could have been my stomach digesting. Who knows...

I try to discern movements before bed each night. Sit up in bed, with my hands on my belly.. poking around. We even tried Marshall's stethoscope. I thinks there's just a lot of natural gurgling going on in there.

And I forgot to mention how wonderful my husband is. Whoops. Sorry, Marshall. :)

We had babysitting duty (and no doodie!) Friday night. We watched Anna Kate (2) and Caleb (4 months). Anna is pretty easy to watch, when she's in the same room at least. She can entertain herself, which makes for an easy job. However, Caleb.. fussy! He needed to take a nap but he resisted, which made matters worse. He was hungry, but didn't want to be burped. My amazing daddy-to-be swooped in, after a long day of work, and calmed Caleb down, fed him, burped him, and got him to go to sleep. Oh, how thankful was I!

He didn't change any diapers, but that's okay. He saved me from losing my sanity and he let me eat dinner first. What a good husband.

In other news, Maddie continues to amaze me. She likes to help Marshall "burn" in the non-fenced-in area of our yard, so she's pretty much free to run around wherever. Sunday night, she was helping him and I guess Marshall didn't see her run off. Well, all of a sudden there's a knock at our front door. I thought it was Marshall's parents bringing us fried pies, but I was so shocked when I opened the door.

It was Maddie.

She left her Daddy and decided to wander around the yard. I guess she needed some water so she wanted to come inside?? She's so smart.. and polite. I trained her very well. :)

moments of pregnancy.

This pregnancy thing is becoming more and more real. We'll be revealing the news this weekend with my family and then letting it loose on Facebook (that's kinda pathetic, the FB part).

Marshall finally agrees with me this week. I'm showing, a little. It's just really pudgy. Yay! And ugh.. people who don't know (or don't know me) will think I'm a fatty. So either I suck my gut in when out and about, or hold it out so it looks more like a pregnant belly. Oh the dilemma!

Cravings: donuts.

A week or so ago, I was really wanting some powdered donuts.. I didn't get any. On Saturday, I caved in and bought Krispie Kreme from Bi-Lo. Sketch. But soooo good!!

Aversion: strangely textured/tasting cantaloupe (I totally dry heaved in my car on the way to work this morning); Mexican (still).

Weight: I don't know.

Mood: irritable.. I feel so sorry for Marshall, sometimes.

Energy level: looooowwww.. I'm trying not to take naps as much because then I don't sleep well (or much) at night. And it doesn't help Marshall has taken up snoring.. Oh, is it bad that I still sleep on my stomach?? It's really comfortable!

I've been getting headaches lately. I think it's food related, though. Not getting enough food because I don't feel like making anything.. but donuts definitely help!


Maddie has been most responsive lately (in this picture, she's underneath me with her head and paw on my footrest). I like to test her. I'll stand up, she'll get up IMMEDIATELY.. no hesitation. I'll walk a few feet.. stop.. she's right behind me. I get out of the shower.. she's right there, sometimes poking her head around the curtain. She's always been good about keeping me company around the house.. but she's been extra close lately. I'm gonna train her to put her nose to my belly when I ask "where's the baby?"


Funny short story: Our new friends, the Downies, are also friends with Marshall's brother and his family. Our niece Bess plays with the Downies' 3-year-old Bella, and Bess has rubbed off on Bella. We ate lunch with the Downies after church on Sunday. When we arrived to the restaurant, Mrs. Downie informed us that Bella asked if "Uncle Marshall" was gonna be there. And for the remainder of our time together, Bella called my husband Uncle Marshall. I'm just Amanda, though.

Bella is quite possibly the cutest kid ever. As we were finishing our meal, Bella asked if I was having a baby, too.. there were two other noticably pregnant ladies at the table. And I informed her that I was indeed having a baby. She was not buying it.. I don't have a big belly!

Really?!

Yes, really.

Nuh-uh. You're not having a baby!

Yes, I am. It's really tiny right now. [measures a 1.5 inch long space]

You're not having a baayyyybeeey!!!

[And she can get really loud]

..

So finally she believes me. And I'm pretty sure she petted my stomach sometime during that discussion. When we were out in the parking lot saying goodbye.. she kissed both my and Uncle Marshall's hips (??).. and then she kissed my belly.

We love Baby Bella!!

we have friends!

We had our first non-familial guests this weekend.. the Downies! The weather was hot.. the mosquitoes were out.. and we had lots of fun!

I was a wonderful hostess and had a spread of snack foods prepared for pregnant lady and 3-year old. And by the end of the day Miss 3-year-old Bella was in love with me! As any toddler should be.

We took the dogs down to the pond and let the true labs practice their retrieving instincts.

Marshall and Joe threw.. umm.. I don't know what they were called.. something like dummy doeys.. IDK.. my bff Jill.


And the ladies giggled and took pictures. Kim's sister Lydia was visiting and taking in all the country. She later shot a shotgun.. Go Lydia.


Sassy is not the best swimmer.. it's really sad.. and kinda funny to watch her swim. So she joined Maddie and Callie briefly.


And she came out of the water to join me. We watched the other girls swim.. poor baby.


Maddie, of course, is amazing at retrieving in the water. The girl would not stop.. we'll have to go to the pond more often.. just be cautious of rattlesnakes. Eek!

For 5 months old, Callie did pretty well. Her paws are the biggest I've seen in a while (for a puppy).. she's gonna be a big girl!


It's become quite obvious the difference between a retriever and a bird dog. Sassy wanted to show off her skills.. so she ran through tall grass and rolled around in who knows. She said, "Momma.. look what I can do.." [points at a butterfly] Good job, baby.


After much thinking, I've decided that the Downies have replaced the Bates. They dress funky. Invite themselves over to our house. And bring their rambunctious black lab to jump all over everyone. However, the Bates don't (yet) have the cutest Bella.. omg.. I could eat her up.
So we had a fun day! The dogs were worn out.. and didn't wake up til 9am.. when we got up. We got to show our house to new people. And we're making lifelong friends who will someday soon move to the Statesboro area and plant a Vineyard.

This makes my heart so warm inside. Maybe it's a baby just increasing my blood flow..

To be continued..

[Warning.. do not interpret this as us being pregnant.. there's always the possibility. We have a few days to find out, be patient with us! But my boobies are so plump and sore..]

whew..

It's been quite a week. No work (for me).. but the Moores have been completely busy.

Marshall's first week was.. overwhelming, a shocker.. the beginning of many long days, nights, hours. He's surviving.. I can give him that. Last weekend all he stressed about was being on call for the first week. He wasn't familiar with the schedule.. didn't know what his week was going to look like.

Poor thing. Really. Sympathize with him.. He was on call..

Monday. Wednesday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Of his first week.

But.. after tonight he won't be on call for another two weeks. Get it over and done with. Good job, baby!

In other news.. I haven't gotten a job. Submitted my resume to the local bank.. and will probably get some more out this week. However.. I've been super busy volunteering. As a personal assistant to my wonderful mother-in-law. She had a brunch Saturday for helpers with her Children's Music. We made a delicious spread of fruit, pies, muffins, ham, and grits casserole (that was a new one). Complete will little thank you gifts wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon. I've been able to express my creativity a little. Yay!

Her end of the year performance is tonight.. so we'll be laughing at little girls and boys that don't want to be singing and cry. Or pick their noses. Or flash us!

So.. Sunday morning. We couldn't leave the Statesboro area because Marshall was on call. That meant.. no hour drive to Savannah for good Vineyard fun. We tried a local church (Connection Church).. and probably won't return. We received an info card from a friend who got it from another friend and decided to try it. The only thing.. there wasn't any service times listed.. so we showed up 30 minutes late when the music was ending. Then.. some lady got up and was giving the announcements and prayed a lot.. and both of us were thinking.. is SHE the pastor??

Marshall and I don't agree with female pastors. We don't hate them.. we just believe men should be the leaders in the church. So.. if she was gonna start preaching to us.. I was gonng prepare myself as Marshall would have dragged me outta there.

But.. eventually she sat down.. and a guy got up and started talking. And he lead the offering.. and he preached to us for like 15 minutes about giving yourselves and asked people to share their praises.. so we were thinking.. is HE the pastor??

So he sat down.. and another guy got up. Okay.. surely this guy is the pastor. Nope.

Just kidding. He was.. and he was pretty good. Nothing spectacular. No Kyle or Kent. He was half interesting.. but still immature. In my opinion. He had some good points.. but the verses he read and what he actually preached on didn't parallel or compliment one another very well.

Needless to say.. we're still on the search. And we definitely booked it once the service was over.

Highlight of our week- getting stuck in a ditch.. late at night.. raining.. muddy. Having 5 trucks pull over to help. Causing a traffic jam in the middle of the country. And Marshall was the driver. Missed a drive and rode right into a ditch. The girls had fun though!

In other news, I made Marshall take a trip with me to the local BigLots. Ooh- fun! I found a cute comforter for only $25. Which.. that's not much at all. Only came with 2 shams.. but hey.. $25. I could have gotten another one at that price! Marshall wasn't convinced at first. He seriously asked if we needed to check our budget first.. Really Marshall!??

So we home and I threw the older one in the wash (it's getting ready to greet visitors in our guest room as we speak).. and put some fresh sheets on our bed.. and wow. I love it. Pictures will come soon..

I then informed Marshall if ever wanted to help me spice up my life.. just get me a new comforter. Watch the sparks fly!

Let's see what pictures we have to share..


I have a hard time getting good pictures of Sassy. She always makes these ugly faces.. with her tongue hanging out. She's a pretty girl.. but not the most photogenic. I thought this was a good one.. with good coloring. You can't tell she's cross-eyed too much in this one, either. :)


Oh, Maddie Girl. This one is for Mollyanne.. Maddie truly loves being in pictures. I get the camera out. She gets in front of me. Sits down. Gets in front of Sassy. She's gotta be the center of attention.. and as much as that drives us crazy sometimes.. we love it. And she loves it, too.

As we speak, she just got up from a nap with her feet up on the wall. Going to see where Daddy Doctor went.. and they're gonna go look for Sassy. Hopefully she hasn't claimed the new bedspread as her own.

oh Maddie Girl..

Marshall took the girls to visit Granddaddy and Mema the other evening.. and he let them ride in the truck.. in the back of the truck. Maddie is slightly familiar with riding in the back.. Sassy no.

So Marshall leaves to pick up last week's Chuck episode (on tape.. yes) and returns a little later. From our kitchen I hear him hurrying Sassy inside.. no Maddie. He's a little frantic and tells me that Maddie jumped out. Where? Oh.. we have no idea. So he jumps back in the truck and I jump in, too.

We pull out of the drive and dodge a family with 3 girls on bikes as we hurry out the subdivision. We saw a cat and assumed she's gotta be around there.. nope. No Mad. Pull out of the subdivision.. nothing by then. Drive down the highway.. and see another dog.. and Maddie! She knew she was in trouble (she always knows.. why she gets herself in trouble we have no idea)..

So, she jumps in the front of the truck with us and we head home.

This was Monday night. And since then she's been acting different, at least I've noticed. Her tail doesn't wag as high.. she keeps closer to me than normal.. which is pretty close already. And she's a got a scratch on her face. I kept telling Marshall something's wrong.. finally Daddy Doctor took a look.

After a thorough visit in our hallway, Dr. Marshall concluded with, hopefully, temporary nerve damage.. in her tail. And her butthole is scratched. I saw her poopie today and Marshall says that's a good sign.. that she can control her bowel movements and there's no nerve damage there.


In other news.. Sassy loves to dig! Lots of big holes.

Maddie Girl

Our oldest dogter.. Maddie. She's got to be the smartest dog. Ever. She's also the most stubborn.

[CAUTION: this a nude photo]
Can you say photogenic?!
She's showing her feminine side.. and her eye boogies.

Sassy Bean didn't want to be left out.. she's just special.