The (Maybe-Not-So-Much) Anticipated(?) Part Of the Promised Post: How Reilly Resembles "Momma"

One time, "Momma" had been looking at pictures of a family member, and an infamous one at that. Still, "Momma" couldn't help but crack up when Reilly (at least as "Momma" saw after she'd just looked at the pictures) resembled the family member. To be fair, puppies do end up resembling their owners overtime, and the infamous family member bears (or, at least when he was younger, bore) resemblance to Reilly's "Pop-Pop" and "Great-Granddad" (and that's how "Momma", incidentally and as she's mentioned elsewhere, figured out that "Danilovich" was not just a patronymic in that relative's case).

In Reilly's case, then, whether resembling "Momma" physically's good is a subjective call. Meanwhile, here's at least some of how else Reilly resembles "Momma" (or at least "Momma" thinks, and barring factors such as "Momma"'s OCD/Anxiety):

1. She knows what she wants and why she wants it when she wants it.
2. She's loyal and jealous.
3. She's stubborn and Type A in many ways.
4. She can actually put up with quite a bit, although she's not always the most-patient type!
5. She's a foodie!
6. She has her breaking points and doesn't always react well when she reaches them!
7. She's empathetic (As for "Momma". she tries to be an empath!).
8. She can be defensive, whether rightly or wrongly!

However, she as an extrovert does balance out her introverted "Momma"; and she also balances out introverted Camille.

Last Quick-Break-In-The-Promised-Post Cycle, Part Two

Long story short (as far as "Momma" recalls, anyway, since a couple of days have passed since the incident): never cross Reilly in terms of beef-liver-jerky treats unless you want to risk being bitten, targeted for growling, etc.. Trying to steal Camille's chance at getting groomed with the electric toothbrush, Reilly jumped back up on "Mom-Mom"'s lap and would not take "No" for an answer. Finally, "Auntie Michelle" had to roll over Reilly, since even moving her away from Camille and "Mom-Mom" did not work.

"Where's the beef?" At that point, it was where Reilly couldn't get it—and her attempts at stealing Camille's treat ended up like Walter Mondale's campaign, which was a losing attempt, although Reilly certainly had no support of any human female equivalents. In that case, there would've been a special place in Hell for "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole", "Mom-Mom", and "Auntie Michelle"/"Mimi" had they not helped Camille (Granted that Madeline Albright wasn't speaking of canines like Reilly and Camille, though.).

Last Quick-Break-In-The-Promised-Post Cycle, Part One

On Wednesday, the last day of May 2017, the special anniversary that occurred was the third anniversary of a week since Reilly had been home:

On Saturday, meanwhile, the second anniversary of Camille's homecoming will occur.

Correction (June 10, 2017): Camille came home on June 6^th—oh well; she still came home on a Saturday (Excuse "Auntie Nicole" for having an ADD-, etc.-addled brain and two years in between Cam's homecoming to remember!).

Wait Until Hanukkah & Christmas, and What Reilly & "Momma" Want For Christmas

Even though Reilly was overwhelmed on Thanksgiving, the jury is out on Hanukkah and Christmas. For the past two Hanukkot and Christmases, she did well (😢—"Momma"'s baby's growing. She'll be three human years—and 32.3 dog years—exactly three months after Christmas, and she'll always be "Momma"'s puppy—and a puppy's always a puppy, whether a baby puppy or an adult puppy. 😢—"Momma"'s tearing up again.).

"Momma"'s not exactly sure if Reilly was okay with the nerot shel Hanukkah, though she did well overall. However, she merely tolerated the Hanukkah and Christmas cards for the first ones.

"Momma" made the card using Powerpoint.

"Mom-Mom" took this photo.

Reilly was grinchy about regular pictures on Christmas Eve, too.

As far as Christmas, Reilly liked the treats and toys—and she was heartbreakingly heartbroken and sad when "Momma" had to throw her donut-shaped toy—which was one of her favorite toys—away ("Donut has to go bye-bye". Poor Reilly was whimpering and whining in a gentle and "Please don't throw 'Donut' away" way. Incidentally, "Donut" was replaced with a squeaky-wheel toy named "Speedy".).

Reilly will then want the same kind of gifts for this Hanukkah and Christmas—e.g., treats, toys, family presence. As for "Momma", she wants a God-given gift for herself and Reilly—and Reilly would certainly be a gift in turn, though whether "Momma" would be may be questionable.


PS As "Auntie Nicole" was typing this, she gasped and dropped her mouse because she thought that she saw a bug crawling on her phone—and Camille looked at "Auntie Nicole" with a "What's going on?" and an "Are you okay"? expression.

With The Overwhelmed Reilly Calming Down...

Thanksgiving went much more smoothly—and since she had to be put in her crate during her human family's Thanksgiving dinner, anyway, she (as "Mom-Mom" and "Auntie Michelle" reported) calmed down in her crate (her little space).

Overall, Thanksgiving wasn't too shabby; and it even included Reilly's and Camille's reactions to "A Christmas Story".

Overwhelmed On Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was going peacefully until the oven gave off a tiny smell of smoke from being cleaned. The sequence:

1. "Mom-Mom" thought that Reilly saw and sniffed something outside.
2. "Momma" then thought that Reilly wanted to play with "Mom-Mom".
3. Then "Momma" figured out that Reilly was afraid of the smokey smell—"Mom-Mom" agreed with "Momma".
4. "Auntie Michelle" had to take Reilly upstairs—and off of "Momma"'s lap—for a few moments—though not before Camille gave Reilly a kiss and comforted her.
5. "Auntie Nicole" held Camille on her lap until "Mimi" came back.
6. "Mom-Mom" gave Reilly a calming treat and tried to comfort her.
7. Nothing but massages from "Auntie Michelle" have worked for Reilly—even being on "Momma"'s lap and anti-anxiety music haven't worked.
8. Camille is wondering what's happening.
9. "Auntie Michelle" now is rocking Reilly like one would rock a human baby—and actually holding Reilly over one arm is working best, and "as Auntie Michelle" is taking Reilly upstairs to fully calm her.
10. Camille is looking to the hallway and turning to look at "Mom-Mom" to try to figure out what's up with Reilly, and "Mom-Mom" is reassuring Camille that "[Reilly's] okay."

Thanksgiving So Far

Thanksgiving Eve was something for Reilly and Camille. Today will be something as well, although it's been quiet so far—so far:

Camille is not exactly keen on pictures, since she has learned from Reilly.

Window watchers

"Mom-Mom" had to get Reilly to look at the camera.

Playful Can nibbles "Mom-Mom"'s hand.

Offbeat: The Ring That "Momma" Wore When She Met Reilly

""Are you Reilly?" Mom asked Reilly this and fell in love with her firstborn "granddogter" immediately...To answer "Mom-Mom"'s question and assuage her dreads, Reilly ended up licking the ring on "Momma"'s right ring finger! To confirm her answer when they went into Joyce's house to get to know Reilly better, etc., she crawled up from "Momma"'s lap to her face and licked her face."

Just this weekend, "Momma" ended up finding the ring on the kitchen table, where "Auntie Michelle" had put it after she found it.

Incidentally, if only "Momma" had a different kind of ring on her left hand maybe by Hanukkah or Christmas (or at least some time soon, anyway), God willing; and, God willing, if Reilly's "Daddy" is who "Momma" thinks (or at least hopes) that he is.

"Auntie Michelle" took this picture of Reilly, who's in "Momma"'s lap,

ibid.

Perhaps "Auntie Michelle" and "Momma" contributed to Reilly's flouting of the camera,

ibid.

ibid. Incidentally, you do sometimes wish that they were that little again—or at least 8-9 weeks old. Reilly came home on May 24, 2014; and she was born on March 25, 2014—so, Reilly came home when she was almost nine weeks old and almost a month after she met her human family.

The ring today

Whimpering, Shaking, And...Oh; A Squirrel

Looking intently as two squirrels were coming up to the side of the fence in view of "Momma", Reilly started barking—and then, she started whimpering and shaking as one of the squirrels trekked across the fence—and then, she wanted to bolt after the squirrel whom dreadingly travelled across the fence to a tree in the next-door yard.

Of course, upon seeing the two squirrels instead of people—dogwalkers or non dogwalkers—walk by, "Momma" watched as the scene unfolded and told Reilly to stay right where she was instead of do what she was getting ready to do—chase the squirrel, and drag "Momma"'s cart along with herself as she ran to chase the squirrel.

By the way, Reilly tends to have incidents like this frequently—after all, for example, Reilly is the same Reilly whom once escaped the backyard porch to see her friend Leo from the other side of the fence.

Meanwhile, neither Reilly nor Camille have had an apple piece and honey for Yom Teru'ah yet—and speaking of Yom Teru'ah, "Momma" and Reilly wish the following people a good rest of their 5776 (on the Hebrew calendar) and 2016 (on the Gregorian calendar. Before "Momma" knows it, in the meantime, Reilly will be both another Gregorian year—2017—and another Hebrew year—Adar 5776—older!):

1. The people whom inspired her to write about Reilly—especially the one to whom she sent Reilly's first full biography.
2. Everyone whom wants a better 5776 and 2016, and a good 5777 and 2017.
3. Everyone else.

So, Reilly Came Over While "Momma" Was Stretching, And...

The aide who comes over every day to help "Momma" get out and walk, etc. (since "Momma" has Cerebral Palsy) gladly took some pictures of Reilly getting belly rubs from "Momma". Camera-hating Reilly gave the aide the stinkeye and was, as the aide described her, "jealous and possessive".

Incidentally, leave ruining a good moment up to "Mom-Mom"—when "Momma" laughed at one of the first two pictures. "Mom-Mom" accused "Momma" of laughing disingenuously like Reilly's "Pop-Pop" with a "big-mouth laugh"—and then "Mom-Mom" and others wonder why "Momma" hardly ever smiles. "Momma" has to, God willing, eventually get out of "Mom-Mom"'s house and be with whomever Reilly's "Daddy" is supposed to be.

Labor Day And Memory Monday: Just How Did Reilly's Human Family (Including "Momma") Fall In Love With Their First "Fur"-mily Member?

"Saint Reilly Rosalita Of Jerusalem" (as I jokingly call her, although Reilly really is a kalvah kedoshah l'Yehovah, and) is the puppy whom chose us. After a tired Reilly was done playing with her siblings and resting in the house after a long play session, Joyce brought her and her sister out to one of the outside playpen-and-show areas when Reilly's to-be "Mom-Mom" asked if we could see any female Maltipoos—and that's when a tired-and-docile Reilly stayed in the front-right (and from our view, front-left) corner of the playpen and let "Mom-Mom" approach her and pick her up.

"Are you Reilly?" Mom asked Reilly this and fell in love with her firstborn "granddogter" immediately, and (as she later told me) understood why Reilly's to-be "Grandaunt" Frannie loved her own "fur"-mily (including her own "Momma's girl", Abby) so much—she'd never gotten why people love their dogs so much before, as she'd never had a dog when she was a kid and our own first dog—a family dog named "Angelina"—heartbreakingly came from a puppy miller whom disguised herself as a legitimate breeder and gives legitimate breeders like Joyce bad names, since "Angelina" (and her brother Teddy, whom Aunt Frannie owned) died within a week or so of coming home.

To answer "Mom-Mom"'s question and assuage her dreads, Reilly ended up licking the ring on "Momma"'s right ring finger! To confirm her answer when they went into Joyce's house to get to know Reilly better, etc., she crawled up from "Momma"'s lap to her face and licked her face.

Joyce let me take a cell-phone picture of then six-week-old Reilly as she held her.

Fast forward to today, and have a good rest of the Happy Labor Day that Reilly and "Momma" wish you to have*.





*PS "Momma" does still wish that Reilly'd have a "Daddy" with whom to spend Labor Day as another family member—not to mention that "Momma" would like to dance with someone to "Great-Mom-Mom"'s and "Great-Granddaddy"'s favorite dancing song and have him dance with his "dogter". Besides, Reilly's seen what "Momma"'s constant heartbreak and suffering—both romantically and non romantically—is like (Incidentally, Reilly's "Great-Granddad" Czarnecki did say "I don't like music" during a conversation in which "Great-Grandma", I, and others were talking about a tribute to Willie Nelson or something like that—and that's a reminder of an example of non-romantic heartbreak in "Momma"'s life, because "Great-Granddad" was a person that Reilly would not have liked were she a daughter of man and were she living at the time. But since Reilly is a puppy—albe an adult one—she likes everyone—or at least most people.).

Sharp Tongues In Nostrils And A Hard Time Breathing: AKA...

Puppy kisses right up the nostrils! Ouch! Camille also licks my nostrils, despite the "no nostrils" rule. Meanwhile, I keep my mouth closed while I'm getting puppy kisses, and I've also implemented a "no ears" rule.





Incidentally, Cam even got a booger once (Yuck!). As I've said, Ri and Cam provide never-dull moments.

Reilly And Camille Always Provide Never-Dull Moments

For example, who could call Pooh Bear- and Piglet-faced, chew-toy and blanket chewers on a Saturday night dull?

Who can call Camille dull when she's taken the opportunity to turn a sofa cover into a blanket?

Also, who could call undyingly-devoted-to-her-"Mimi" Cam dull?

Whom could call a puppy whom sits up for a belly rub and turns away just as you're about to get her picture (and, in this case, somewhat resembles her "Great-Great-Grandma" Czarnecki, of blessed memory) dull?

Aw! She turned away just as "Auntie Michelle" was trying to get another picture.

After all, nobody could call a Reilly whom tolerated a perfect picture opportunity and a Camille whom added to the picture-perfect opportunity dull, could he or she?

Besides, nothing is dull about a Reilly and a Camille whom, e.g., insist on running out of the back door to eat mulch whenever they can—and despite that Reilly's "Momma" is not to blame for it, and despite that Reilly and Camille took the opportunity to run out when "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole" was in the backyard to check on her plants after she successfully lifted the backyard-blocking chair out of the way and back to its right side up.

Of course, "Mom-Mom" blamed "Momma" for it; and meanwhile, "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole" even had a hard time getting the chair back down on its side to reblock off the backyard, notwithstanding that she thought that she could maybe at least get the chair back down. By the way, Reilly and Camille do know that "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole" is not as fast or strong as abler human beings for some reason, although they don't understand the reason (Cerebral Palsy with Scoliosis, and draining mental illnesses)—and like younger human children, they take advantage of that. 

Nonetheless, they do help keep "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole" in at least somewhat of a state of sanity—at least when they're behaving, or even when they're misbehaving and "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole" laughs when she shouldn't laugh or even has her maternal instincts kick in, although the kicking in of the instincts certainly affects the mental-illness flareups (e.g., OCD/Anxiety) in a vicious cycle (e.g., with "Momma" once obsessively looking for a chocolate that she may have dropped because she saw Reilly going for something on the floor—or at least to the back-door window to bark at something—knowing that she probably didn't drop a chocolate and Reilly probably didn't get a chocolate—since "Momma" ate it over the table and directly from a 16-ounce glass).

Incidentally, a friend did once tell "Momma" that she could be a good Orthodox Jewish mother, and others (as far as she remembers) have said that she could be a good mother—and yet, "Momma" has a hard time being a good Jewish Christian ima to her kalvbat* (i.e., "daughter dog", a contraction of "bat" and "kalvah", which comes out to also be a word for "affectionate" and "lovely". Awww. Reilly is כלבבה—after her "Momma"'s heart and the hearts of anyone else whom'll give her scritches and other attention, and jealously trying to keep Cam and other puppies from getting that same attention).

PS Reilly is waiting patiently as night-owl "Momma" is typing this entry with one finger on each hand and having a Bruxism flareup as well as aches and pains due to CP, OCD/Anxiety, etc..

*For a discussion on that, see why "Momma" needs a "Poppa" for Reilly—with the Cerebral Palsy and mental illnesses , of course, being part of why. After all, not being able to catch mulch-eating Reilly can be detrimental to her in the end, as Reilly's own vet explained as well. Reilly generally does not listen to admonitions such as "Get out of the mulch." or "Drop it!", by the way.

May, God willing, "Momma" find Reilly a "Poppa" and/or God send "Momma" a "Poppa" for Reilly soon—of course, "Momma" wants a "Poppa" whom'll love Reilly's "Momma", though that's another discussion.