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.

La Tarde Del Día de Las Gracias de 2016 á La Casa De Santa Reilly

Last night, "Momma" discussed a noche normal ȧ la casa. On this Tarde Del Día de Las Gracias, partly in memory of one of "ancestors" of Reilly, "Momma" will discuss Thanksgiving Eve 2016 (which has the somber overture of the 42nd anniversary of Reilly's "ancestor"'s passing. Surprisingly, though, that wasn't brought up or recalled—though "Momma" is pretty sure that "Mom-Mom" is thinking about it, and supposes that "Mom-Mom" might be okay with "Momma" calling Reilly's "ancestor" "Pop-Pop Allen" or "Great-Granddaddy Allen" when she mentions him to Reilly.).

So far, Thanksgiving Eve has gone like the following:

• Camille growled at and scared Reilly for trying to also play with "Froggie"—poor Reilly treated "Froggie" like a treat or a toy in a "blankie"—Camille got to keep "Froggie".

Camille knows that she's cute and can get away with a lot.

• Camille also treated "Mimi" much better than she treated Reilly—she showed "Mimi" that she is thankful to be "Camille Dominique Allen-Czarnecki" (or if "Mimi" wants to get into touch with far-less-remote heritage, Camilia Dominica Charnetski y Alen—or really "Alan", since "ll" would be pronounced as "y" en español, and "Allen" was "Allan" beforehand.)

Camille is an undyingly-devoted "dogter". 

• Reilly tolerated as "Momma" positioned her Maltipoo ear in a perked-up position.

• She also reacted, including with a big yawn, as "Auntie Michelle" was doing some kind of tapdance or something.

A sleepy Reilly yawned to tiredness and excitement.

Bug-eyed Reilly made "Momma" laugh: "It was funny to see Ri bug eyed."

By the way:

1. Reilly and "Momma", and Camille and her "Mimi" wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving (and "Momma" and Reilly particularly wish "Momma"'s to-be helpmate Reilly's future "Daddy" a Happy Thanksgiving, and "Momma" would still like to know about that early Christmukkah honor).
2. Since the "ancestor" in question was likely Sephardic through his maternal grandmother (whose father was likely un converso), to the mourners: 

מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם תְּנֻחָמו

From Heaven, may you be comforted.

A Typical Night At La Casa De Santa Reilly Rosalita de Yerushalayim

1. "I was bringing the girls down, and I almost forgot to actually bring them down!" 
2. The one almost-forgotten girl licked "Auntie Michelle" affirmatively when "Auntie Michelle" "asked her if she needed to 'go potty'." The other almost-forgotten one, meanwhile, curled up on one of the chairs to wait for the one almost-forgotten one. (10:34 PM)
3. Both curled-up-on-the-chair Camille and napping-on-the-sofa Reilly napped until Camille decided to jump down and jump up onto the sofa to be near Reilly (10:50 PM).
4. Both Reilly and Camille wait for "Auntie Michelle"/"Mimi" and "Momma"/"Auntie Nicole" to wrap up for the night (10:51 PM).

From Reilly and "Momma" (and Camille and her "Mimi"), "night nights" and early wishes for a:

1. ליום לתודה שמח! ; גוט יום-טוב פון דאַנק! (in "Momma's" ancestral languages)
2. ¡Feliz Día de Las Gracias!; Feliz Dia de Ação de Graças! (in the languages that Reilly's name honoree's father spoke)
3. Bonne fête de l'Action de grâce! Joyeux Jour de Grâce! (since "Auntie Michelle" will insist on the remote-ancestral language)
4.  In one of the languages that one of Camille's name honorees spoke....or not. Trying to look up the Portuguese, check the Yiddish, and endure the pedantry of "Auntie Michelle" was enough, thanks!   

Behaving-Hypocritically Reilly 😞, And Camille The Blankie Dominator and Yogurthead

Leave to Ri to growl at Cam and—as "Auntie Michelle" observed—for being impatient at "num nums" time, and then barking like she's doing as "Momma" types and hasn't stopped since she came in from going "potty". Also leave to Ri to:

1. Give "Momma" a hard time in trying to take her "potty" prior to her walk—and not letting her get her harness and leash on her at all—and at least "Auntie Michelle" acknowledged that blaming "Momma" for Reilly's running in the opposite direction , etc., was (as "Momma" put it) "insensitive bull****"—"Momma" can't run and catch or corner Reilly!
2. Trying to chase a squirrel and eating "nasties" at an earlier time that she's going "potty"
3. Misbehaving on her walk, as "Auntie Michelle" reported

Reilly's misbehavior is disendearing and disingenuous—"Momma" gets that puppies are like toddlers, and she nonetheless knows that Reilly knows better than to inappropriately bark, eat "nasties", chase squirrels, and otherwise misbehave.

As for Camille, she was misbehaving for a bit as well—she tried to, eh, dominate her blankie as usual; and she growled at Reilly yesterday when Reilly tried to play the "Find the Toy In the Blankie" game (and Reilly continues to be afraid of Camille when Camille does that, despite that Ri has the right to keep her mind sharp by playing, too). She also was not patient in waiting for "Auntie Nicole" to drop the blankie:

Reilly finds Camille "weird".

Meanwhile, Reilly surprisingly did not lick Camille's head when some yogurt accidentally got on it—and even left a Harry Potter-scar shape. Cam tried to lick it, though, and licked whatever fell off of her head—of course, she wouldn't let "Auntie Nicole" exactly take a picture or wipe the yogurt off of her head—and she decided to wipe her itchy head on the chair covers.

PS Again, that "Momma" has a hard time managing Reilly due to her disability is part of why "Momma" needs a helpmate and a "Daddy" for Reilly—and if he is who she thinks that he is, he has to contact her, since she doesn't quite know what he wants.