Texas

[jockeyeba]

So, I came up with a spur.of.the.moment response to my husband....

"How do you have time to do anything else with your hands, when you are so busy pointing a finger at ME?"

....yes, I am a smarta$$ but I always tell the hub's that at least he didn't marry a dumba$$, even though sometimes I secretly wonder...

   Edit:  I should edit to add that he and I started dating in 1979 when I was 16 years old and have been married for over 31 years and will probably be for another 31 years! 

40 years with my smarta$$

 

[jockeyeba]

Just be gentle, okay? H-ha....

Wow, that ROCKS! You should totally try to sell them.

X2

 

[mandaleigh1981]

So, I came up with a spur.of.the.moment response to my husband....

"How do you have time to do anything else with your hands, when you are so busy pointing a finger at ME?"

....yes, I am a smarta$$ but I always tell the hub's that at least he didn't marry a dumba$$, even though sometimes I secretly wonder...

Edit: I should edit to add that he and I started dating in 1979 when I was 16 years old and have been married for over 31 years and will probably be for another 31 years!

I am definitely the wisea$$ in this relationship. I am also the immature one who likes to act like a child. What is really funny, is that my husband's EMS partner is exactly the same way. I just told him at his son's bday party last weekend that Randy must attract immature smarta$$es. Randy (my DH) said I know, isn't it great? My one reply that was a huge score, was right after we first got married in 2001. He told me he had married "such a childish person". And I said if I am a child, then what does that make you?

It was amazing how fast his mouth dropped open and then clamped shut.

I grew up with a brother who had a quick cutdown or smart remark for absolutely EVERYTHING. So we waged those wars for years, Randy didn't have a snowball's chance in Texas in late July of winning any kind of argument with me.

 

[mandaleigh1981]

I do joke quite often and say that I must be penance for something Randy did in a past life.

He loves me anyway, and after 12 years expects nothing less than the quickest most sarcastic comments out of me. I speak 4 languages: English, Sarcasm, Profanity, and Real Poop (LOL)

 

[TammyTX]

He told me he had married "such a childish person". And I said if I am a child, then what does that make you?

It was amazing how fast his mouth dropped open and then clamped shut.

I grew up with a brother who had a quick cutdown or smart remark for absolutely EVERYTHING. So we waged those wars for years, Randy didn't have a snowball's chance in Texas in late July of winning any kind of argument with me.

This almost made sugar free cheesecake come out my nose!

 

[TammyTX]

Rachael - that Kindle book is VERY interesting if you like old recipes...which I DO! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Jessica Lynn]

Egg ornaments for Christmas, I LOVE THAT IDEA! Post them on here/FB/Pintrest with a link to your eBay store and I'm pretty sure you'd sell all you could make!

There's an entire thread on it!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/160244/blue-brown-eggs-easter-christmas-eggs-getting-my-craft-on

 

[Jessica Lynn]

Painting eggs was one of those things that evaded me for a long time. I tried when I was younger (Easter decorating, drawing, etc.), but my hands were unsteady. It wasn't until after I learned how to play violin and had to be perfectly balanced that my hands steadied. Not to say you have to learn how to play a delicate instrument to be able to paint or carve eggs, but it certainly helps to practice using your hands for detailed things. Like puzzles! I love puzzles. I never finish them, haha!

My hands are plenty steady (I'm pretty good with a gun). I don't have any artistic talent!
My daughters have a lot more talent than I do. Heaven knows where they got it from!

 

[LauriTX]

Good luck with Sassy.  I've bred Dachshunds and they are notorious for having a mind of their own.  They are also really good chicken killers.  Like many hounds, they are notoriously difficult to housebreak--they just don't seem to care.  I have one that I bred who came back to me from a big show kennel after a successful show and breeding career.  The kennel always sent their females to pet homes after a few litters.  She had always been a kennel dog since she left me at 8 weeks and she has proven impossible to housebreak.  How do you housebreak a dog that is happy to pee in her crate and bed, regardless of how small????  I manage her.  She stays in an ex-pen in the kitchen with a rubber floor and I get her out every two hours and still have the odd accident.

Make sure you have an x-pen of some sort for the puppies.  They will start to move around around by 4 weeks.  One other tip--don't be too quick to start them on solid food.  As soon as they start eating solid food their poop starts to stink.  Before that, there isn't really any smell and mama eats it.  Some dogs won't eat puppy poop once they start eating solids, although I haven't found that.  Sometimes motherhood is what starts dogs into becoming poop eaters.

Be careful of her back.  They have a lot of back problems.  I sometimes think their back problems are part of their housebreaking problems--they may have poor nerve function to their bladder and just don't feel it as strongly as a dog without spinal issues.  Plus they don't care.  They all develop back problems, even if they all don't end up with paralysis or severe pain.  It is a function of the dwarfism gene.

You can tell about 12 to 24 hours before she goes into labor by keeping a record of her temperature.  Once it drops about 2 degrees below normal, whelping is imminent.  The temperature will go back up, so if you want to catch the drop take her temperature twice a day.  Don't worry if the puppies come out breech.  It's not the problem it is with other animals.  Let her eat a few of the placentas as it will give her the hormones to stimulate her uterus to contract after delivery and her milk will let down.  Don't let her have too many or she'll get a nasty case of diarrhea.  Pull the sack away from their face and wipe their faces with a towel and let mama lick them and chew the umbilical cord.  If she chews it too short and you need to tie it, dental floss works well.

Good luck.  Puppies are a lot of work but a lot of fun.

Thanks! I must have lucked out or she is just being really good right now, because she has been so well behaved. I have had the back door open so she is able to go outside with the other dogs. She is crate trained already so that helps. And we bought a big enough crate so she can keep her pups in there for a few weeks. Not sure what my gang would do with them. She was very interested in the chickens today when I was feeding them. (They are pretty ticked off that I didn't let them out of their run today!) I have had one dog that had a litter of pups but she was mostly an outside dog. My dogs have their occasional accident in the house too, but luckily I have hardwood floors throughout!

 

[Italia]

40 years with my smarta$$

That is fabulous!