Armies of Chickens

Hugo didn't want to bathe with his sisters tonight.  This was a first.  The girls were more than happy with the extra room in the tub.  Toula watched and watched from the edge of the bath.  I'm not sure if she was curious what the girls were doing in there or if she was nervous for them or if she wanted to be in the tub at the very same time as the stinkers.  I just don't know.  The girls were funny as they poured water over each others heads and slathered bubbles upon themselves and then their partner in crime.  They each screamed with anger as I pulled them one by one from the water to dry them off with their bunny towels.  Then I bathed Toula, while the girls watched from the outside edge of the tub.

Once the girls were tucked into bed, I called Hugo into the bathroom for a trim.  His hair was cut at the sink.  I let him play with the iPad for a bit to help him keep still for me.  It worked for a wee bit of time.  Eventually I had to bribe him with stories of chicken wings popping out of his hair and tales of armies of chickens on the move about his scalp.  I suppose it sounds very silly, but it works for Hugo.  He'll still sit very quiet for me so that I may rid him of these armies of chickens and he wiggles to try to see them in the mirror as I pretend to point them out.  I've been telling him these stories for a long, long time now.  I love that he trusts me so.  Means I have to push myself to be a better mom for him with all this trust.

Another first for Hugo tonight was a shower.  He has always hated them and refused for the last few years to even try one.  Tonight was different.  Hugo jumped in the shower before the water was warm.  I warned him it wasn't ready, but he said it was wonderful.  A second later he jumped from the spray saying it really was too cold!  Mean momma me pushed him back into the cold water and we laughed and laughed as I got wet too.  Soon the water was warm and Hugo loved it.  Said he never would bathe again, only shower.  Well la-di-dah!  Imagine your parents might have some good ideas!  I shampooed his head and stayed to help rinse the soap out of his hair, Hugo piped up with, "Privacy please!"  Privacy?  This word coming from my flasher of a son was laughable.  It's like, with a new hair cut and his first lone shower my babe imagined himself all grown up.

Toula Berry

 

Marlo and Toula are still besties.  At bedtime each night, Toula follows the kids and I upstairs.  She waits at my feet as I change the girls and ready them for teeth brushing.  She follows all of us into the bathroom and then back again into the girls room.  Thank heavens she is pretty much over the toy chewing phase.  She'll flop on the floor next to us I read books to the girls and half sleep with one eye on me as I tuck and kiss each daughter good night.  By the time I turn on the sleep sheep and lower the lights she isn't sure if she wants to listen to my voice and leave her comfy spot to exit the room.  She'll give me the look that says, "Really, really?"  Marlo will blow Toula goodnight kisses.  Sabine snuggles her blanket tighter.  We walk to Hugo's room where Cesar or I will lift Toula up onto his bed.  He snuggles her wrinkle skin and kisses her puppy mug as we begin to read our stories.  By the end of the book, Miss Toula is out like a light and heavy as a 50 pound boulder.  So different from our past Chihuahuas!  Hugo mentioned over breakfast this morning that he can't wait to be in heaven so he can see Rodrigo again... We love our pooches.  Each night as I lift Toula off the bed while preparing to leave Hugo's room, he begs for her to stay.  I promise him that soon, soon she'll be grown enough for us to trust her puppy potty skills. 

Miss Toulouse Nicolau

My sister Millie asked how Toula is adjusting to our family life.  I think the answer is - great!  She is super with the kids.  Plays with them, jumps up on the girls beds looking for Evie the Cat, loves to see Hugo hop off the school bus in the late afternoon.

She is still a puppy and likes to chew, a lot.  This is my problem with her, the chewing.  Our shoes are safe and fine, she prefers the kids toys.  Plastic or wood, she does not discriminate.  So we all keep our eyes peeled trying to catch her before too much damage has been inflicted.  She does like bones.  It took awhile for her teeth and jaws to mature so she could handle them, now she knows better what is okay to chew, her bones! When she takes treats out of your hand she is very gentle.  She still muffles them with her lips like a horse.

Toula adores balls.  Tennis balls, little bouncy balls, soccer balls, or huge bouncy balls that she can only move around with her nose, she adores them all.  She is naturally good at fetching and will drop the item in her mouth for you.  So glad she isn't one of those dogs who want to play keep away or tug and tug and will never, ever let go of their dear ball or drop a super slobbery ball into your waiting hand!  I do still play with "those" dogs, I'm just glad that Toula hasn't yet developed those ball habits.  Toula will do anything for you to play soccer with her. 

She rarely barks.  She does get spooked by odd sounds and will let out a funny sounding yelp/bark.  When the lighting is just right in the new living room, she sometimes catches a glimpse of her own reflection in the glass doors and will goes bananas!  She is excited and timid at the same time.  Funny girl.

Toula is also a surprisingly agile jumper.  When new people come for a visit, especially new kids, imagine an excited Tigger.  She likes to surprise you and jump to bonk your face with her nose.  She surprised my Dad by jumping up on him while he was sitting on the couch watching television, he nicknamed her Devil Dog.  Speaking of nicknames, Toula tinkles a lot, Cesar sometimes calls her Princess Tinkles.

Poor Evie the Cat is still her target.  Every chance Toula gets, she'll chase and bully our Evie.  I tell Evie to just swipe her good one time, but no, our Evie is too nice.  Evie actually slept on our bed last night, first time since Toula's arrival.  So, I suppose that we are all happy with our new puppy dog, except for Evie.  She might boot her on back to the Dakota's if given half a chance.

Toula is a very happy and curious puppy.  She wants to be where the action is.  She is a lot like the girls.  She naps in the afternoon when they do and she can hardly keep her eyes open once we make for the stairs to begin bed time.  She's a keeper.

Stickers

Here is a quick post to inform one and all, that our Miss Marlo loves stickers.  She has even been sticking stickers on her sidekick Toula.  I'm not sure what Toula thinks about stickers.  She doesn't run at the site of Marlo approaching, so I suppose, I'll take that as a sign that Toula must not mind stickers and may even like being stuck with stickers by Marlo.

Not Like Fall

Fall is really here.  I think I've been in denial that winter is fast approaching.  The weather has been unseasonably warm.  I also feel that we never got the real punch of brilliant fall color due to Hurricane Irene.  There is a massive pile of wood right out the back door.  And I have been buzzing like a bee about the house trying to finish painting projects while I can yet air out the house.  I still haven't taken down the garden.  Or emptied out my pots.  Cesar has run the mower to scoop up all the leaves and pine needles, so happy he splurged for the bagger!!!  And Hugo has been making all sorts of pilgrimish projects in school and I have been dreaming of my first bite of pumpkin pie, but it still, still doesn't seem like fall to me.

I can report that Toula seems to be jelling with our family and the yard and our house.  I can also report that she doesn't answer to her name very well and she doesn't respond to the command "come" little to none.  She is still very much in the exploring stage inside and out of the house.  When we aren't playing with her, she is either in her crate or chained to a chair in the living room.  She is not trustworthy to be let loose yet.  Besides not being fully potty trained, she has a problem with chewing.  We are working on teaching her which toys are hers and which belong to the children.  She also likes to nibble on our toes.  None of the kids seem to like it much.  Me neither, really.  When she takes food from your hand, she reminds me a bit of a horse.  She seems to grab the food with her lips, rather than her teeth and muffles the skin of your palm.  She also likes to bonk her nose straight into our face if we are up close.  Wallace, the Bob-A-Loo, used to show affection the same way, so in doing so, she has melted her way into Cesar's heart.  Evie the Cat still will not enter our bedroom.  She has taken up residence at the foot of Hugo's bed.

Toula Has Landed

I'm still not sure how it happened, but somehow or other, I twisted, yanked and pulled at Cesar just so, and now we are dog owners once more.  Yeah!!  Oh how I have missed Annabelle and Rodrigo in our lives.  Little Ira, even though he was only a blind squirrel baby, was the reminder that our house, just wasn't our house, without a pup running around.  So, I searched and searched the internet for dog breeds and info and pics of puppies looking for someone who had our name stamped all over them.  One site, after another and another and another, finally led me to our new puppy. 

The naming of the dog.  My Mom suggested the name Toulouse and I liked it.  I'd been looking for a male and had envisioned calling him Cousteau, so now with a little female on the way, it just didn't seem right and I was at a loss.  One night I sat up in bed and thought for sure I'd name her Violet.  By morning, I was back to Toulouse with the nickname of Toula.  I had hoped that the kids would find Toula easy to say, sounds kinda like Bella.  Anyhoo, Master Hugo has forgotten her name already a few times and has been calling her Tulip, which I also like and it does sound rather similar to Toula.  So, the next time you drop by the house, feel free to choose which ever name rolls off your tongue.  Toula... or... Tulip.  Tulip... or... Toula.  Toula, Tulip, Toula, Tulip, Toula, Tulip, now say that out loud, and real fast, 10 times!

And in case you're wondering, Miss Toula is a hybrid of 1/2 English Bulldog and 1/2 French Bulldog, or Frenchie.  She is 11 weeks old and weighed 11lbs when she flew in from South Dakota.  She is sturdy and bouncy on her feet.  Toula loves Cesar more than me, but she may love Marlo most of all.  Marlo hugs and hugs her and Toula has already fallen asleep on our mothering Marlo's lap.  What a wonder. 

P.S.  Evie the Cat hates Toula.