New Additions, and Old Friends

Well, happy to report, Mandy the beagle is adopted and off to her new home!! We now have new foster dogs! We have two beautiful purebred cocker spaniels rescued just last weekend from a puppy mill. They are both females, about 6 years old. Both are beautiful golden buff coloring. One has a longer american nose, and one the shorter english nose. They got their new names to go with their new life of freedom!!!! Bella and Rosie!!!!


Bella is definitely the better adjusted! She came out and is ready to live her new life to the fullest!!! She is lovable, cuddly, nosey and playful! She is also already getting fully housetrained!!!! Amazing accomplishment!! She is still a little timid, but just meeting her, you'd never suspect her abusive start in life! She's ready for her forever family!!! And whoever gets her will be one lucky family! She loves the kids, is fine with other dogs, and plays with Buster and Andi, loves to run outside with them. Most of all, she just loves to be petted!!! She's soooo sweet!!!! I could just keep her myself! LOL!!!! The 1st top pic is of Rosie, and the one on the left is Bella.....Think Bella in blue! She wears the blue harness!

Rosie needs more time. She is still just terrified and not sure what to make of her new life of freedom. She will not be adoptable until she has had time to rehabilitate and adjust to living in a home with a loving family. She is not aggressive in any way to people, and loves petting and having us talk softly to her. But she growls at other dogs who get too close, and will snap at them. She still shakes when anyone comes near her. She just lays like a lump in the spot you put her in. You have to carry her in/out and take her out of her crate. It's just sad and disgusting the trauma this poor girl must have been thru already in her short life. But she's in a better place now, and will have all the love and time and patience she needs!!! Better days are surely ahead for miss Rosie!!!!!

We also are now fostering a returning friend, Andi!! Through no fault of her own, 5 month old Andi, was returned when her new family decided they just didn't have the time to care for her. So we are sad she has to go thru this, we're happy to see her and always glad to open our hearts to this sweetie!! She is loving playing with Buster to her little heart's content! She's playful, housetrained, and just as cute as can be!! She's a great little girl and available to be adopted now! She is a chihuahua/pug mix and is about 15 lbs. She loves kids, and other dogs and of course, snuggles!!!!!

As always, if you have room in your heart, go to www.hubbardshounds.com and fill out an adoption application today!!!!!

Julia

Beautiful Fall in Upstate NY

Just a few of the reasons I love where I live!!!!
It's funny, but as a kid, I just never realized that EVERYWHERE didn't have fall, with the amazing colors and hues of the changing leaves each year. When I first found that out, I was shocked and amazed! How can that be??

Amazing though it was to me at that time, I still find myself in awe of the season of autumn in the northeast. This year was especially vibrant and colorful, with bright reds, glowing oranges, and beautiful yellows in every shade wherever you look.

We live nestled in the beautiful Finger lakes of Upstate NY. I love it here! From the senic trails, to the abundance of lakes and parks..it's truly a beautiful area to live in, or even to drive through! We have a "Wine trail" area that runs the length of the lake from town to town here, and many many tourists come thru each year, and I'm sure it's not JUST the wineries! I'm sure part of it, is the beautiful scenery! I can't imagine living somewhere where the leaves just turn brown and drop!!! You'd miss the best part of fall!!!

Let's see! Leaf-stuffed scarecrows! Pumpkin face leaf bags! Giant piles of colorful leaves to jump in with your friends! leaf pile forts!! And of course, the ever popular leaf prints, pressed leaves, and leaf collages!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!
From our home to yours...

May this be the spoooooookiest
The most fun, the best........
May this Halloween
just outshine all the rest!
From Ghosties and Goblins
and good treats galore!
Costumes and Pumkins,
And oh so much more!!
We hope you go safely
out into the night
and have lots of fun
but not lots of fright!!

Love
The Hillman Family

Return to health and other happy happenings!

Well, finally, it seems (Knocking on wood of course!) that the kids are back on the road to health! Hooray! Happy me! And more good news is just around the corner!

Saturday, I'm off to Hubbard's Hounds to take Mandy the lovebug beagle, and Kayla the adorable pupper to meet prospective adopters!!!! Yay!!! Hopefully, they will be going on to their new forever homes! This leaves me with room! So we are hoping to add a new foster dog to our crew! We may be getting a newly rescued Cocker Spaniel. So far I don't know anything about him/her, so I'll have to make sure to post Saturday night or Sunday with all the juicy details! But the good luck we've had with our two, plus our last foster Rocko, we have totally fallen in love with the Cocker Spaniel breed!

For anyone looking to adopt a furry pal, get your applications in now!! We have a new transport coming in on November 2nd!!!!! Watch the web for details! www.hubbardshounds.com

One note of some very sad news. Sylvia the chihuahua, lost several of her sweet babies this week. They were only a month or so old, and just so tiny, that they got dehydrated and couldn't recover. Please pray for Kim H. and all the people affected by this tragic loss of these tiny little angels.

Buster got a nice bath tonite, and much needed I may add! He was one stiiiiinky little puppy!!!! Now he's all white again and fluffy! ha ha ha! You'd be suprised how dirty he can get roughhousing and rolling around in the leaves and dirt!! Man! Now all we need is to get one of those "Peticure" doggy nail thingys!!! I HATE trying to trim nails! UGH! He has to be muzzled sometimes, and is just not fun at all. Ironically, I can play with his front feet, and he's fine, just don't take him to get them done or try to do it. Brat!!!!!

Julianna is doing so well at her little toddler play group! it's just the greatest thing to see her jump up and down yelling "Me go Skooool!" sigh! She's really growing up on us fast now! I see improvements in her speech and interactions almost daily now, and although it's great, it's now interesting dealing with her saying sentences like "NOWWWWWWWWWW Daddy!" ha ha ha! Got quite the little attitude for such a teeny little kid! I just hope and pray her weight is up enough at her 3 yr checkup that they won't want to start all the poking, prodding and testing that made her stop talking all over again!!

Johnny's doing much better, now that we know it's Asperger's syndrome and it explains a lot to us about his behavior. It's nice to know how to handle things now and different ways to approach things, and helps us and him to not become as frustrated, which is leading to a much MUCH happier, and better behaved little man!!!!! And helpful, and really affectionate too!!!! I'm loving it!! It's like having my boy back after the last 2 years of struggling with the schools and the effect it had on him. I LOVE his teacher! We really got lucky with Mrs. Higby! She's a keeper! LOL!

Guess that's about it for this week, thus far! Stay happy, stay healthy and stay safe! Remember to check and test your smoke detectors!! It's fire prevention time!!!!!

Viruses SUCK!!!!!!!!

Ok, so yes, Fall IS my favorite season....but I forgot one teeny detail. It's also the beginning of GERM SEASON!!!!! I hate germs....I hate viruses......I hate colds... I hate the flu......and mostly I hate the PUKING viruses!!!!!! Especially when the kids bring them home, pass them around... like NOW for instance!!!!!

Even if I'm not actually contracting the virus itself, I still feel nauseous and ill, for no other reason than watching them go thru it and cleaning up after it! I must say, I'm so proud of Jenna!!! She's 7 now, and for the 1st time, she is old enough to hit a bucket, carry it to the bathroom and not get sick all over the house all the way there. Major accomplishment. I'm serious! Two down, two to go.

I'm going to go sit and feel ill, and sip my ginger ale now........pity me....pity my poor sicky kiddies.......ok, so mostly pity me!!!!!!

And he's off!!!!!!!!

To his new home that is!!!! Rocko, our foster cocker spaniel boy, is off to his furr-ever home!!!! He will have a big (and boy do I mean BIG) sheppard brother, who is just the sweetest, most mellow guy to play with! Congratulations to Sheri and her family!!! And most of all, congratulations to sweet Rocko! Who deserves a loving family of his own!! I hope to have pics to post soon!!!!

I hate being crabby!!!!!

Well, it's "one of those days"........always wondered what grown-ups meant when I heard that as a kid, but now I soooo know!!! And today is SOOOOOO one of em!

Didn't get enough sleep, didn't get crap accomplished today, havin a disagreement with one of my kids teachers........just feeling bi*chy!!!!!! I think I'm in a "Maxine" sort of mood!

One good thing......kids open house is tonite!! Yay!! I can't wait to see their classrooms and all the cute stuff they do for open house night! Last year was so adorable! My son's teacher, had each kid bring in a shirt, and they made paper plate heads, and they were all stuffed and sitting at the kid's desks!!! It was so cute!! So I'm excited to see what their rooms will be like this year. I generally really like this school, and all the kids teachers.

OH another thing!!!! My horrid, evil, rotten cats!!!!! I go to hang out some laundry, and RIGHT under my clothesline, are not one, but TWO dead squirrels and a mouse!!!!!!! EW EW EW MEGA EWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!! Talk about GROSS!!!!!!! I mean, yes, I know.......they're providing for us, thanking us for a good home so to speak, but EWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!

It was bad enough when I found mice in my garden all summer........then the blue Jay yesterday on the sidewalk....but having to see the entire pile of little critter bodies when I was trying to go hang out laundry, just about pushed me over the edge!!!!! Did I mention how totally gross and disgusting it was???

Little things

You know, sometimes it's just the little things in life that make me happy. Like today for instance.......first, the sun was shining for the first time all week and it wasn't raining. It was one of those beautiful Upstate fall days, with cool brisk temps and beautiful red, orange, yellow and green leaves, a stunning blue sky with white clouds, just my favorite kind of weather! Second, my kids had a perfect day at school today, complete with ice cream at lunch cause it was friday! No time outs, no counting, no nothing!!!!!! Even no homework!!!! And of course, all the cute artwork that comes home on fridays! Third, since we had such a great day, we had a Mommy & kids movie nite, where we all piled into my king bed with snacks and stayed up past bedtime watching movies! Then when Daddy got home, and the kids went to bed, he and I had some quality time watching our shows on tv too! Fourth, the dog rescue work i do brings these little blessings every so often that make it all worth it.

We are fostering 3 puppy mill rescue chihuahua's......affectionately called "Desk Trolls" seeing how they're so scared of people they live in under my computer desk. Well, the one "Tilly" is starting to recognize, that some people are actually nice, and give you food and water, and snuggles! Tonite, for the first time (and I've had her like 2-3 months now) she came out of the sewing room (where the desk is) and CHOOSE to lay on a bed in the living room WITH John and I and some of the other dogs for like over an hour!!!! Ok, you're thinking..whooop, right?? Well, really it's an amazing accomplishment for her!! This dog lived her whole life stuffed in a 2foot wire box with other dogs most likely, with little food (and crap at that) and popping out puppies for money. No love, no vet care, no sanitation......nothing. The only hands she ever knew were for yanking her pups away, stuffing a male in to breed. So this IS A HUGE DEAL for her. And I am the lucky one to get to enjoy it!!!

And it's not just her....today our foster beagle Mandy, actually started using some manners.....sitting for petting, not jumping and pawing at me. Rocko, our foster cocker spaniel, shared a toy for the 1st time, and is playing now with other dogs. Kayla our littlest foster, a chihuahua/pug/? mix puppy is starting to come out of her shell and not be hand shy (from possible abuse before being tossed in a high kill shelter at 12 weeks old!) She's not afraid of being thrown/dropped when we pick her up now either. The other two puppy mill chihuahua's are also starting to come out and roam the house and feel more comfortable now as well. It just is these little signs, that after a really stressful last week/weekend, are like saying "Keep it up....you ARE making a difference!".

I sat outside with the 6 dogs that go out ( the 3 chi's stay in, not ready for that step yet) and as I sat and watched them playing and frisking in the falling leaves, sun shining, breeze blowing my hair......just made me feel so blessed, so lucky to be able to do this......to be able to share this with my kiddo's....to watch THEM blossoming and growing from it as well! Seeing a blind, middle age cocker spaniel, now little tail stub wagging all the time, prance around the yard she has memorized, seeing a former puppy mill rescue cocker spaniel, head held high, running like a pup, enjoying her new life....my crazy Jack russel, with his best buddy and little playmate girly, all 3 racing and chasing until the beagle has to join in! Then out come my precious kids...the dogs running to them, getting ear ruffles, laughter and fun. Watching my son, who just a year ago, wouldn't love another dog, didn't really like them since our beloved Casey died when he was 3......brag how Buster is HIS dog, and watching him throwing the ball for Rocko and Buster. These things......these simple, maybe to some silly things.......these things make me happy.

I have some who say, "How can you be happy?" My husband got laid off 6 months ago, our finances are in ruin, we're barely hanging onto our house and he's only just found substitute work and is trying to start a small business on the side. We have one working car, affectionately called "Rusty crusty". My son is being evaluated for Asperger's syndrome, my youngest daughter has health problems and is 24 lbs at almost 3 years old, and is in therapy for not talking outside the family. We now have nine dogs in our house, plus the 3 cats, and tortoise, and 4 small kids under 8!

Well, I tell you this.....I am happy. I have a family who loves me. I am doing fulfilling work in dog rescue, my husband is a volunteer firefighter. We have skills that have saved us this past few years......his electrical knowledge and my sewing skills and small business sewing. our garden did great this year, I learned to cook, can, freeze, crochet, sew and teach my children from my grandmother and great grandmother growing up. I made cloth diapers and training pants for Juli (more cozy than pull ups anyway!) We have warm clothes (so what if I made them?) we have a warm pellet stove (he installed himself!) the dogs and the kids are healthy and happy! They know they are loved, and are thriving! In the service of others.......you lose your problems and find joy. We may not have money, but truly.....money is NOT everything. We have each other and in the little things......that's where I know we are truly blessed.

Course, I've been told I'm nuts, and it doesn't take much to make me happy! But I'm ok with that!!!

Buster Baxter, the Insane Jack Russell Terrier

Yep! This adorable creature, cute as it looks, is really the energizer, insanity dog in disguise! I'm serious! Oh, sure, he looks all cute and innocent....but trust me! He's not! This dog can ricochet off furniture, and speed all thru the house, literally bouncing off the walls for what seems like endless amounts of time!!!

Ok, so I can't really complain, he's 9 months old now, and got neutered, and graduated from puppy class with flying colors!!!! He's also a lot calmer than he used to be! (scary thought, isn't it?)
Yeah, I know! He's doing pretty good for a Jack Russell so I've been told. Especially since we've started doing the dog rescue and fostering!!!! Now he has playmates pretty much all the time, and there is just something about having other dogs to play with, that tire him out like no amount of walking or ball tossing by us can accomplish. Right now, it's great, because we have 2 dogs that play with him! Little Kayla is about 3 1/2 months old and a little chihuahua/pug/? mix and has a nice energy level that keeps up with his, and she's still a young puppy so loves to play! Then Rocko, is his partner in crime, his best bud. Rocko is almost 2 years old, and a purebred cocker spaniel. He loves to chase tennis balls even more than Buster does!!!! He steals them though, and will lay on the two, while chewing on the 3rd one, so no one else can have any!!! It's nice though, cause they really like each other, and it's good for Buster to have playmates his own age. Bridgett is older, around 8 or so and she has Marnie who is also around that age, so they don't like to play real hard like the young pups, and they pal around and lay on the sofa all day snuggling. So our poor guy Buster needs a playmate too! Thats one great thing about my dog rescue group!! They always make sure to send me a playmate for Buster!!!!!! And when he FINALLY gets tired, he loves to be held like a baby, just like when he was a tiny 8 week old pup!! Sigh! Wish I could still sleep that good!!!! LOL!!!! When he's zonked out, he's really really zonked out!!!! Feel free to check out his very own doggie diary and cute page on dogster.com!!
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/763249

Future Firefighters

A big "thumbs up" from the 8 year old!! Gotta love the chance to sit in a firetruck! Well, you do when you're whole family basically is or was a firefighter!

Our kids just love the chance to sit in them, ride in them with Daddy for parades, and when they visit Grammy and Uncle JP and Uncle Mark at their firehouse!!! They love to ring the bell, sit on the bumper, try on the helmet and all the good stuff you get to do at the firehouse open house, fire prevention week or the pancake breakfast! These are the major events they get to do every year with our family.
My grandfather was a founding member of Campville Volunteer Fire Dept. in Campville, NY. He was killed in the line of duty in 1973. His name is on a plaque at the fire academy in Montour Falls, NY and also on the cool memorial wall at the state capital in Albany, NY. My step-father was a good friend of his, and that's how he met my mom, who is also a firefighter!!!!!! Most impressive when you consider women in the fireservice had a long hard fight to be accepted! She was not only accepted, but for over 15 years, she and my step dad were one of the 1st line in nozzle teams for Campville. She's a life time member with over 25 years of service and still going, although now she is handicapped and can't go in anymore. My step dad, was a wonderful man, and a great firefighter and safety officer too! He passed away in 2001, and is greatly missed. I joined as soon as I was old enough, and that's where I met my husband!! He was friends with my parents, and cute too!!! Hee hee! The rest, they say, is history! I was a firefighter for 5 years, and John for 10. He even won a "firefighter of the year" award.

Course, now I'm a fat ol housewife with four little kids, so I'm not goin anywhere anytime soon!!!! But as soon as we bought our 1st house, the 1st thing John did was join our local fire department. He's now a member of Ovid's Volunteer Fire Dept, and enjoys driving and pump operations. So you can see, that with our kids, it's kinda heriditary!!!!!!!

I chopped down the cherry tree, father

Ok, so actually, John did...with his handy dandy chainsaw! Obviously, by the date stamp, you can see this was waaaaaay back in May, but we just found the pics buried on John's computer! And they were so cute, I just had to blog about it! The tree was gorgeous, in full bloom, and smelled just heavenly - but alas, that bugger had to go!!! It was nasty little choke-cherries....called bees, served no purpose, the middle was dead, and it littered the yard each fall with tons of those nasty hard little things, that got all nasty and smooshy and made a rotten icky mess!!!!! So down it came!! The kids had a total blast with it though!!! We had fun playing around with camera angles trying to make them look waaaaaay up and stuff too! ha ha! And happily, we have friends who heat with an outdoor woodstove, so the wood went to good use as well! Now they'll be toasty this winter



And can think fondly of us as they are basking in the warmth! Ha ha ha! Meanwhile, the kids were totally happy to play in the branch piles the entire week, and stayed out from the minute they got home until they got called in for dinner! Who knew a simple pile of flower covered branches could be so many wonderful adventurous things and places?? Ah, the wonders of children's imaginations!! The birds were pretty happy with our branch pile too!!! It even served as a haven for a little lost baby bunny for a day!! I'm glad we got pictures of how beautiful all the blossoms were before we chopped it all up!!

Pringles....can't have just one!

Ok, so I must say, I looooooove Pringles chips!!! They're a total must have for road trips, like oh, going to Homer for new foster dogs for instance.......or road trips to St. Joe's in Syracuse!!! Well these particular pictures are from our last trip to pick up new fosters....where my evil children STOLE a can of Pringles!!! They had some fun with them.

Yes, you can see Juli, has cheezy doodles too. Then there's my wise acre son, and his hypnotized followers..........Mandy the beagle and Rocko the cocker spaniel!!! You can almost see them saying "Yes Master! Anything you say master!! Just get that chip a liiiiiittttlllllle closer........." They rode really great too!


We got this cute shot of Rocko sitting in the front seat, lookin all happy and adorable, on the way home too! He's such a darn good boy!! I'm sure he'll be adopted soon! I mean, he's a two year old pure cocker spaniel, housetrained, neutered....what more can you ask??









Now that's a happy boy! Look at that face!!!!! How cute is he? If only he'd stay off the sofa when we have food and not hog the bed quite so much! ha ha ha!!!!!! At least we don't have to worry about cold feet this winter, that's for darn sure!!!!!