Oscar the Grouch meets Mr. Roger's Neighborhood

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

I gotta say, most of the time things are pretty sweet around here. By sweet I don't mean like, "Dude,sweet!" but puppies and rainbows kind of sweet.  Wait, on second thought... with two teenage boys, sometimes it is more of the "Dude, sweet!" But, what I mean is, life with 3 kids and 2 dogs is 90% joy, 10% something less than joy.  Those are pretty good stats, I'd say.

Since Rooney came into our lives he has certainly only increased the joy.  Even with all of the trials of puppyhood, I feel as though we are riding out these days with patience and humor. How could moments like these not exponentially increase your happiness quota?

Please note: The Santa jammies and pink bicycle helmet are not necessarily relevant to this discussion, they merely increase the cuteness of this post.  I apologize for the indiscriminate and unabashed use of adorable children and puppies to manipulate the viewing audience.

And normally, even when the adorable scamp manages to slip out the backdoor with his blankie- that is supposed to remain in his crate- my reaction is to grab the camera rather than scold. (I am also even willing to overlook the fact that life with two dogs has left us with a backyard that will never be photographed for Home & Garden unless it is as a cautionary tale). 

But there are days... and here is where the discussion part comes in, because I'm hoping I'm not the only one...

Yes, there are days.. and yesterday was one of those days when this adorable pup, whom I love beyond all reason...

...had all of the behavior, mannerisms and personality of something more like this...

And I, someone who works very hard to maintain a sense of humor in the face of chaos.  Someone who fancies herself a bit of a modern day Mary Poppins, singing included, found herself spitting out words like, "What is wrong with you today!" and unintelligible sounds like, "Aaargh! Grrr! AAACK!" and nary a word about a Spoonful of Sugar or how Supercalafragilistic everything is.

In fact, rather than looking like a put together, slightly uptight, lovely Julie Andrews... I looked more like this:

Please... I know this site is full of true blue Doodle lovers...true blue dog lovers.... The level of dedication, time and affection I see poured out on this site is truly inspiring to me.  And on most days, I am right there with you.  Today, I am right there with you.  But, yesterday...I admit, I was a little grouchy with these furry members of my household.

Please tell me you have those days too. Or, could you at least fib a little and say you do?

P.S. If you could indulge me in one more photo... Reagan is getting really jealous about all the press Rooney receives.  I'm tired of hearing all the "chopped liver" comments and how he's "been around for 8 years and nobody ever wrote a blog about me..."  So, I give you the Old Man himself, our Reagan.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Oh my, Nancy... three dogs! We are definitely at our sanity limit with two.  But I'll be sure to let Reagan know he isn't the only one having to put up with young scamps who get all the attention.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

You are totally excused using those cute kid/puppy photo's in order to garner sympathy... I also totally understand the 10% rule!!!

[Leslie and Halas]

Nope. No days like that for me.  Oh, wait.  Just the other day, Halas tried to smother me.  Oh, well, perfection is boring.  And like you said, sometimes even the naughty things are cute.  At least you have it pretty good most of the time, and those naughty days sounds like they are few and far between.  Your pictures are adorable!  It's hard to be mad at adorable faces like Rooney and Reagan.

[Sally]

I think that's what it is! Even the naughty things are cute!

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Thank you for reminding me that I should feel grateful that neither of the dogs have attempted a violent overthrow, yet.  They seem content to try and drive me into the loony bin which will ultimately still accomplish their goal of total domination.  All the more reason I should stick to my rule of no dogs on the bed.

[Leslie and Halas]

But think of the rest you'll get in the loony bin.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

No kidding.  I should start compiling my reading list since I'm sure I'll end up there sooner or later. Maybe I'll finally learn to play the guitar... then I could be Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Reagan, You are a mighty beautiful looking dog and don't you forget it....LOL!!  Lori, If you read any of my blogs, you will see I have those days quite often :) Didn't I tell you Fudge leaped outta our boat and took off for the hills....I looked like Oscar that day, too. Rooney is so darn cute. They come cute, so we keep them :)

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Yes, but you had good reason to go a little Oscar on Miss Fudge that day... Rooney was just a bit, well, hyper yesterday- which given that he is a puppy didn't seem like enough reason for all of my grumbling and grousing.  Ah well... I have re-channeled my inner Mary Poppins and today there will be birds perched on my finger while I snap my fingers and the house cleans itself.  All will be well.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Way to go, Mary :)

[Lia & Pippa]

I can't handle the cuteness of those doggies. They make me smile. Pippa is also normally calm so on the few TAZ days she has had I didn't know what to do! Good thing she is so cute! 

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

I think that's it, Lia.  It's a blessing when you end up with a mellow pup- but at some point they are still going to act VERY puppyish and then look out!  It's weird how today though he is totally back on his usual routine and is just sacked out on the kitchen floor.  Thank goodness because it is pouring rain today so I don't know how much outside time he is going to get...