I thought I would take a moment to introduce some members of our family - the pets. Now, this isn't a "posting the cat" entry so early in the life of this blog, I just thought people would be interested in meeting our furry friends at home who add to this comedy we call our peaceful at-home life. So, I'll begin with the larger of our two four-legged family members, and he-who-is-most-responsible-for-the-big-messes, Charlie. The Dog.

Yup.. he is as cute as he looks. But don't let that fool you. He has a sniffer extraordinaire, and is willing to eat ANYTHING if you leave it within his reach. In fact, being in his reach is not so much a prerequisite - if he can smell it, he wants it. You can imagine that with a toddler running around, often clutching a bun or other such treat in her grubby little palm, he gets a lot of snacks via Gracie. His favourite place is under Gracie's high chair, where he anxiously awaits whatever she will drop his way, and can't wait for her to leave the table so that he can finish whatever she left on the plate. Whether she was finished or not. This past summer, Charlie got very, very, sick with a gastro-something-or-other, and our vet suggested that it might be "garbage-itis" - an upset stomach of sorts, from eating things he shouldn't have.

I have to say, I laughed out loud. Charlie once ate a two-pound bag of dark Belgian chocolate. Enough to kill, or at least, seriously hinder most dogs. Yes, he vomited in about 1000 different places throughout the house, but there were no long-term effects. Trust me, when I was scrubbing the carpet, I was wishing there had been some long-term effects.. like death! He has eaten poopy diapers, rotten food, cooked chicken bones, tin-foil wrapped leftovers (foil and all), a small roast, carrot cake, styrofoam packaging and his favourite...cat turds... There was no doubt, though, that he was ill...

Have you ever seen anything sadder-looking? Poor little bugger... as it happens, he had "prostatitis" which in turn affected his GI tract, which made him very very ill for a few weeks, but he's all better now. Back to his old eat-everything-in-sight self. We do love him, we just wish he wouldn't shed quite as much, or pee on the floor quite as much, or throw up on the carpet quite as much, or steal food from us quite as much. Now, the cuddling on the bed between us, while lying on his back, snoring and occasionally yelping in his dreams was cute at first, but the novelty has worn off.

Charlie, we love you... but please, oh please, stop eating my underwear!