Just thinking about the weather.

This weather here in Michigan has been phenomenal.  I must say, for the puppies as well as the people.  They are well acclimated to the heat, wind and water from their time outside.  As well as thunder, lightning and the air conditioning during their time in front of the big picture window.  They made it through the storms with barley a peep while Uncle Jackson tried to find room on the bed to bury his big noggin.

We were without power for most of the day on Monday so nothing much happened.  We had a nice visit with Kathy, another Paws breeder.  What a rock star she is, she has whelped 152 pups for Paws, the last time she had 3 litters within 3 weeks.  WOW!  See why I asked her for advice?     She made me feel better about what was going on and offered me some tips that I have neatly stored away for the next go around.  She escaped without a photo because my camera battery was dead with no way to charge it.  Next time, Kathy.

Tuesday after school we had the Tholls and the Smiths visit.  It was so fun to watch the puppies play and tug and run with the kiddos and the Moms had just as much fun.  Thanks for coming!

Tripp

Sam

Molly

Keaton

Halsey

Melissa

Proud

Our family is proud to be a part of Paws with a Cause and to be able to share this amazing organization with the world.  Having 7 darling pups with us doesn't hurt, either.  Thanks to Miranda and her crew for choosing to feature us and for the nicely done piece.

What a Weekend!

So Sorry for the lack of updates, but what a weekend we had.  The puppies are getting so big, loud, fun, silly, smelly, lovey, squirmy, did I mention loud?  For those of you that have been watching closely for cute photos and antidotes of the "Special K" litter, here goes!

Our Memorial Day weekend started with a second visit from "Kaden's" people.  We do not yet know which puppy is Kaden, but Anna is convinced that it is Mr. Orange.  I will admit that Mr. Orange and Ellen seemed to have a special bond, however, I am quite certain they will be fabulous raisers to any of our boys, they have only raised 8 other puppies for Paws.  Can you believe that? Hats off to them.

Ellen and the K-Boys.  

I think it is fair to say that the pups were whipped after all the attention!

Sunday morning was a highlight of this entire experience.  Aimee came and took and abundance of photographs of my four-pawed babies as well as my two-footed ones.  The sneak peek at the photos have been beautiful, I cannot wait to see more.  The girls had a great time wrangling puppies for Aimee and posing for photos with their favorite pups.  Hearing them giggle and then completely take charge of the dogs was priceless.  Here are a couple of shots I managed while I thought no one was looking :) I will post some of Aimee's work as soon as I can.  

Other things that went on on Sunday?

PLAY TIME.....

....SWIM TIME....

...CHOW TIME......

...NAP TIME....

...REPEAT!

Puppies on TV

Don't forget to tune in or set your DVR's this weekend for 

"Maranda, Where you Live" 

This weekend's show features our family and our Rosie's Paws Puppies.

"Where You Live" airs Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on WOOD TV 8 and 

7:30 a.m. and p.m. on WOTV 4.

If you live out of the west Michigan area, I will post a link as soon as it becomes available.  

A Different Week

 I have been asked frequently, "could a working person whelp and raise a litter of pups".  I could not really answer that question, as I am at home with my kids and, although I saturate my schedule with volunteer efforts, I do not have a set schedule or a paying job.

All that changed for three days this week.  Here is yesterday's schedule:
6AM - I Woke, let Rosie in to nurse puppies and put kibble in to soak.
  Cleaned up night time puppy area and readied daytime area.
  Took puppies outside, and fed gruel.
  Fed big dogs.
  Took a shower.
7AM - Woke kids,  Andy fed them.
  Helped them get dressed, brush hair and ready for school.
  Brought puppies inside.
8AM - Took kids to school
  Went to work.
Noon - Andy checked in with the pups , cleaned, let Rosie in to nurse, (forgot to feed them gruel).  
3:30 - MIL arrived at house with kids
  let Rosie in to nurse
5PM - Andy arrives home
  feeds gruel
  takes puppies outside
  cleans up day area and readies night area.
6 pm - feeds kids and big dogs
8:30 - puts kids to bed
10:00 -  puts dogs to bed
Late - I arrive home.

So, could a working person whelp a litter?  Sure it is possible, it's all a matter of schedule!

The fun stuff....

"The pool is fun!" It is almost unanimous!  

Mr. Red, what is the matter?  "Get me outta heeere....."

"Maybe a nap in the pool....," says Mr. Blue.

"It is all about splashing!" says the bonus pup.  

Tuesday Photos

The bonus Puppy tries a little soccer.  

Mr. Red is so considerate, cleaning up after himself.  

Mr. Blue likes Caroline's new glasses.

Neighbor Tammy heard the puppies yelping from her yard and had to take a peek.  

After many visits, we finally got Ross and Tammy to pose with the "K's".

Quick take the picture these pups are such squirmy bugs!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Mother Nature has brought us July weather in May here in Michigan.  None were as unprepared for the heat as the puppies.  They have been lethargic and whiny all day.

Late this afternoon, my neighbor, Amy dragged over a kiddy pool and we gave the pups their first experience with water.  If I didn't know better, I would not believe that these are water dogs.  They really did not take to the pool and wanted out immediately.  My girls, however, loved the pool and with some coaxing from Anna, Miss Green decided that swimming wasn't so bad after all.  

Anna is playing "Dog Trainer" and trying to get Miss Green to swim.  

"now, splash, splash, good dog"  

Mr. Orange just wanted to run and play, he is always ready for fun.  

Mr. Orange wanted to play with Big J and although the old dog growled and barked, he was ready for playtime, too.  

Wet puppy wrestling!  

Saturday in Photos

Rosie's stylin' tank top does the trick, she can play with the babies and they cannot get to her boobies.  She looks happy, doesn't she?

Playing with baby toys is fun!!

Playing chase is fun!!

Then we must crash!!

Mr. Blue thinks climbing on momma is a good place for a rest.  

Patient mother, they are like piranhas with those sharp little puppy teeth.  Hence the need for the tank.  

"Tennis Ball, can you say Tennis Ball?"

Today's visitors, the Lehmann girls.  Lisa, a fabulously talented jewelry designer, www.StudioJewel.com, was kind enough to drop off a gift I had ordered.   She and her girls were rewarded with puppy snuggles.  Are they darling or what?  

We are closing in on two weeks remaining in our whelping adventure.  Can't believe how fast the time is going.   I think often of the steps that these tiny paws will walk in the future and I am awed.  We are enjoying every minute with these amazing little pups. 

I've been trying....

...to blog, but seriously, these pups are so stinkin' cute that I cannot take my eyes off of them long enough to type.

I have so many funny stories to tell you, like right now.  Rosie is laying in the middle of the floor, wearing a black wife beater tee shirt (a good look) and all 7 pups are jumping all over her and playing.  I want so badly to take some photos, but I'm uploading the 250 photos I have taken in the past couple of days!

The girls and I have had a couple of chances to see Paws dogs at work this week.  The kids and I saw two Paws assistance dogs with their people out for lunch in EGR and Paws Hearing Dog, Brinks came by our garage sale with his person, Jim.  It was a nice reminder of the mission and as I scooped my umpteenth bag of puppy poop later that afternoon, I was smiling.

At 5 1/2 weeks, each pup is weighing over 7 pounds, the wrestling has increased and they have started to tell each other what they think squawking and barking at each other, rather than just randomly.  They are constantly nipping at feet and pant legs and the girls have quickly learned that skirts are not the best attire for puppy play time.

We had a few kids visit on Thursday and for a while there were 7 kids and 7 puppies.  The kids just couldn't get enough of the pups and the pups were pretty happy, too.  Cute kids, Cute Puppies and a beautiful day, what could be better?

Caroline...

...and twin brother Collin

Alexa.....

...and twin brother Gibson. 

"Bonus Puppy" is what we affectionately call the last little girl born.  After delivering 7 puppies, we thought that Rosie was finished, we cleaned up, Aimee was on her way out the door, when she spotted a contraction.  The last puppy was born about 20 minutes later and she has been "BP", "Little Bonus Puppy" or just "Bonus", ever since.  Small and mighty, she was the smallest at birth and still is weighs in a full pound lighter than the largest pup.   She wore whatever scrap of ribbon was left and has changed colors a few times since.   Currently, she has pink and green polka dots, and WOW,  do polka-dots ever fit her personality!  She bounds after the girls attacking their feet, she chases tails, she races around so fast that all four paws are in the air!  She is darling, spunky and the current favorite pup.

I have to get my camera's in order, photos downloaded, video edited and, I promise, more pics very soon.

A Puppy Poem

The "K" Puppies

                            Pudgy Miss Purple

               Miss bonUs puppy

                            Pokey Miss Pink

                      pooPy Mr. Orange

                            I Like Mr. Blue

                        mEllow Mr. Red

                           Silly Miss Green

                                        by Caroline Milnes

Gotta' Love the Sunny Weekend

I started this post over the weekend, so I will just call this the weekend update!

I absolutely cannot believe how much there pups change each day.

Miss Purple 23 days ago

Miss Purple today

Purple is such a pistol.  She is the instigator, the clown and the life of the party.   When she decides that it is playtime, watch out.  She will badger each and every sleeping puppy until they are all awake.   She makes us laugh daily.  

Aimee came by with another ex-pen and some new toys.  We made a big pen outside in the front yard.  She stayed and played for a bit, the puppies love their Great Grandma and so do we!  Rosie is really beginning to play with her babies.   She is a little rough with them but they do not seem to mind at all. 

The slide is still the most fun especially now that they have begun playing "King of the Mountain".  I think Purple is winning!   

Rosie is really starting to play with the puppies.  She is a little rough with them, but they do not seem to mind at all.   

 

Katie, Dee and Ashley came by to visit.  The girls may have had more fun catching toads in the yard with my girls than snuggling puppies, but that was just fine with Dee and I, more snuggles for us.  

 

The Schramm family joined us on this bright sunny Sunday for some snuggles.  I could see puppy raising in their future, I'm absolutely sure these darling girls would be into it.  

We had many additional friends from the neighborhood stop by for snuggles and somehow avoid the house rule of photos with the pups for the blog.  We also had 2 other impromptu drive-bys, one inquiring about purchasing a pup and the other brought their golden, Luna, to check out the babies  :-/

It is great to have this opportunity to tell the PAWS story, these golden nuggets sure to attract a lot of attention.