My Super Big Prize

A while back I won the grand prize in a contest on the Two Little Cavaliers blog. This was a huge prize, too. I got lots and lots of cool stuff. I'll tell you all about my prizes in another post, though, because today I've got to tell you about just one part of it...

Part of my big grand prize was a special package from Lainey's Pawtique and Bakery. They make lots of yummy cookies and other cool stuff for doggies.

On Monday, a giant box arrived in the mail. Just look at the size of the box! And it had paw prints stamped on the outside, too, so I knew that it was all mine.

In the box was my prize from Lainey's Pawtique! Lainey knows how much of a toy fanatic I am. And I think she also knows that I've had tummy problems lately. So, just take a look at what she sent me...

It's a stuffed doggie that's bigger than me! Yes, I went a little nuts.

Mom didn't get video of me dragging the dog around, but she did get proof of my plucking...

I've had a ton of fun with this guy. I like to pluck his ears and his tail a lot.

Mom and I even played fetch and tug with my new toy. It wasn't very easy for me to fetch, though, so Mom sort of threw it and then we both fetched. Here's me tugging on it.

Lainey also sent me some other goodies in the box. Mom played with those when I was attacking the stuffie. I got some yummy cookies, and valentines, and a smell-good ornament with my name painted on it!

Mom tried to get me to pose with all my prizes, but I was a little disgruntled because I just wanted to play. (And I look even more grouchy 'cause I need a hair cut...)

Here are some of the yummy cookies that I got.

Mom wouldn't let me eat many 'cause of my tummy issues, but she did let me have two cookies. They were so yummy that I followed Mom around until she hid the bag of cookies from me. Anyway, here's me eating a bone-shaped cookie (half is already in my mouth).

You know what Mom did? She actually ate two of MY cookies. Can you believe that?! I thought those were doggie treats for ME but Mom ate some of 'em. The nerve of her. She said they were yummy for her, too, so I'm going to have to watch to be sure she doesn't eat more.

Anyway, I went so crazy playing with that huge dog and then eating the cookies and playing some more, that I had to put myself in time out. I went into my princess tent for a while to chill out. (Mom spied on me through the tunnel, as usual.)

And then I ended up doing this for the rest of the evening:

It really wears you out, you know, playing with a doggie that's larger than you are!

Thanks so much to the Two Little Cavaliers for having the contest and for Lainey's Pawtique and Bakery for this super cool, perfect-for-Buttons prize!

Valentine's Day

I don't have much time to write tonight, but there's one thing that I have to tell you...

It was a goooood Valentine's Day for me. Here's proof:

I'll tell you more about that huge doggie (the stuffed one) later. I wore myself out playing with it tonight and I need to go to bed now.

Coldest Night of the Year

It's been super duper cold outside here lately. Last night, Mom was even cold inside. She had trouble sleeping 'cause of the cold, but she thought it was all in her mind since she was tired and SOMEONE kept her up a lot.

OK...yes, it's true. I'll admit it. I'm "someone." I was ansty and I kept Mom up last night. She even had to take me out to potty at 12:30 a.m. and again at 4:30 a.m. And then I was still awake and antsy after that. I even messed around in bed, burrowing myself under the blankets.

This morning when we got out of bed, Mom realized just why she was cold and why I was so antsy... Our thermostat said it was only 51 degrees in our house! Brrrrrrr! And the thermostat was set so it was supposed to be that cold, too!

How on earth did the heat get turned down so low? We have a theory. Meet the culprit:

That's right. It's a squeaky toy.

See, Mom and I play fetch in our hallway. This is me waiting for Mom to throw the toy:

Yeah, I run ahead and stand there and wait. Anyway, our thermostat is on the wall in the hallway.

Last night when we were playing fetch, Mom tossed the squeaky and it bonked the thermostat. She didn't think to check the thermostat, though, to be sure it was o.k. It was just a light-weight, plush squeaky, right?

Wrong answer. The squeaky turned the thermostat dial when it bonked it, and that's how the thermostat was set to be 51 degrees!

Mom will certainly check the thermostat from now on after any squeakies hit it. And I really hope she improves her squeaky-throwing aim anyway so that no more toys end up hitting the thermostat.

It's been much warmer in here since we got that fixed.

But I'm still going to take my own M&M blankie to bed tonight, just in case!

Visit to the Special Vet

On Monday, Mom decided to take me to see a special vet because I'm still having some tummy problems. Seemed like it took forever for the vet to come into our little room. I sat in the window while we waited.

Did a lot of people-watching out the window, too. There were a lot of people out there!

The special vet did lots and lots of tests. It wasn't very fun, so I'm not divulging info on those. What happens at the special vet's office, stays at the special vet's office.

Here's how I felt by the time I got to go home HOURS later...

The good news is that the tests didn't show any icky bad stuff. Bad news is that we still don't know what's wrong with my tummy. But we're trying some new things to see if they help.

Mom's been putting this yummy powder stuff on my food this week. She said something 'bout the powder being for any sneaky bugs that might be hiding in my tummy. If my tummy gets better this week, then I'll get another week of powder later on. If the powder doesn't help my tummy, then Mom says we'll try something else. So, we'll see!

I finally recovered from all of the icky tests, though. Mom and I went to see our neighbor tonight and she gave me some squeaky fries! They're super loud, too, so I LOVE squeaking 'em.

Yeah, Mom and I couldn't decide which of those two videos we liked the most so we showed you both!

Anyway, I rolled and squeaked until I had to take a break in my couch.

It's been quite a week, you know.

Who Unstuffed My Stuffie?!

When Mom and I woke up the other morning, we discovered a mystery. Someone had plucked a hole in my squeaky toy and pulled the stuffing and squeaker out! The stuffie's remains were right there on the foot of the bed, on the blanket that I sleep on. How rude!

I figured that it HAD to have been Mom because it's just the two of us here. Right? So I gave her a look and said, "Was that YOU, Mom?"

She denied it, of course, and then pointed out the fact that she doesn't play with my toys.

And then, well, she got a photo of this...

She caught me red-handed. I couldn't resist the toy, and I totally blew my cover. Oops.

Perfect Form: The Art of Rolling

This is an educational post for all of you who would like to learn how to roll on your toys to squeaky them.

First of all, you must select your toy to roll on. Any toy will work, but make sure it's not a toy that will poke or ouchy you when you roll on it.

Next, flop on the toy. Then you can begin rolling on your back.

When rolling, it's all about using the perfect rolling form. Always -- and I mean always -- cross your back legs. It's much more lady-like and it gives you more booty power. You can sometimes use your front legs to get extra leverage when rolling, too. Just flop them about a little and you'll see. Always do little shimmies when you roll, too. Those are fun. And sometimes it helps to make snorty noises. (I'm not sure why, but I seem to make a lot of piggy noises when I roll...)

Here's a video demonstration of the proper form to use when rolling:

If you notice your Mom sitting nearby with a camera, it is important to IMMEDIATELY turn your back to her. Do not roll any more until she puts the camera away. Just ignore her. She needs to learn to not disturb your play time.

There you have it! That's all there is to rolling on your squeakies. Now, everyone please practice. Let's hear those squeaks!

Revenge is Sweet

You know how I was planning something to show Mom who's boss after she made me take that bath and then she weed-whackered my bangs? Oh, yes. I got my revenge!

My plan was put in place this morning at 2:40 a.m. Yep. 2:40 a.m. I woke Mom up and made her take me outside so I could go poo. The best part? It was right in the middle of our blizzard! We got lots of ice and then lots of snow on top of the ice. So when Mom had to take me outside, we had deep snow/ice, and it was still coming down. And it was windy and cold. I took my time finding the right spot outside, too. That'll show her for making me take a bath!

Mom says we were lucky that our snows weren't as deep as they were supposed to be. We got more ice than we were supposed to, though. This afternoon we went to go visit our neighbor, and Mom and I both stood on top of the snows without breaking through. That's some strong ice!

Oh -- our neighbor gave me a cool squeaky carrot toy today. This evening I let the carrot sleep in my couch while I napped on the couch cushion.