Monique7500

I have two miniature pinschers, and this breed loves raw vegetables. But there are some that are bad for them! Take note of these things if you have dogs and pets you feed table scraps!

Avocados
They contain a toxic component called persin, which can damage heart, lung and other tissue in many animals. This fruit is very toxic to dogs, cats and most animals.
Beer
Alcoholic beverages can cause the same damage to an animal’s liver and brain as they cause in humans. But the effects can be deadly on animals since they are much smaller than us. The smaller the animal, the more deadly the effects can be. Even a small amount of alcohol may cause vomiting and damage the liver and brain.
Nuts
Walnuts and macadamia nuts are especially toxic. Effects can be anything from vomiting to paralysis to death. Within 12 hours of eating the nuts, pets start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand or walk, vomiting, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness, and an elevated heart rate. These symptoms can be even worse if your dog eats some chocolate with the nuts. The effect can cause kidney failure, often leading to death.
Chocolate
Chocolate contains theobromine, which can kill your pet if eaten in large quantities. Dark and unsweetened baking chocolates are especially dangerous. Giving your pup a piece of chocolate cake or even letting him lick the chocolate icing on the cake could cause him to become ill. Theobromine can also cause a dog or cat’s heart to beat very rapidly or irregularly, which could result in death if the pet is exercising or overly active.
Candy
Candy or anything containing Xylitol (a common sweetener found in some diet products) can cause a sudden drop in an animal’s blood sugar, loss of coordination and seizures. If left untreated, the animal could die.
Caffeine
Coffee, tea or any product that contains caffeine stimulates an animal’s central nervous and cardiac systems. This can lead to restlessness, heart palpitations and death, depending on how much the animal consumes.
Grapes and raisins
Grapes and raisins can lead to kidney failure in dogs. As little as a single serving of raisins can kill them. And the effects are cumulative, which means that even if a dog eats just one or two grapes or raisins regularly, the toxin that builds in his system will eventually kill him.
Onions
Onions are another common food that can be highly toxic to pets. They can destroy an animal’s red blood cells and lead to anemia, weakness and breathing difficulties. Their effects are also cumulative over time.
Medicine
Hide medicine from your pets just like you would from your children. The most common cause of pet poisoning is from animals ingesting a medicine or drug normally prescribed for humans.
And this is not just because furry pals are getting into their pet parent’s medicine cabinets. In many cases, pet owners give their feline and canine friends an over-the-counter medication to ease an animal’s pain. But acetaminophen and ibuprofen, the active ingredients in many common pain relievers, are extremely toxic to dogs and cats. They can cause gastric ulcers, liver damage, kidney failure and sometimes death.
Good news foods
There are a few things that you CAN give to your furry pal. However, you should always consult a veterinarian before introducing a new food item to your pet.
Although these foods are normally harmless, some animals have sensitive gastrointestinal tracts. So even these healthy treats should be avoided if they cause gastrointestinal upset for your pet. Keep in mind that these and other “extras” should not make up more than 5 to 10 percent of the pet’s daily caloric intake.
Lean meats
Any cooked lean meat should be fine for most dogs. High-fat meats, chicken skin and fat from steaks or roasts are not recommended. Ingestion may lead to gastrointestinal upset or even pancreatitis. This can be a very painful condition for dogs. In addition, most companion animals do not need extra fat in their diets. Never give your pet meat with the bone in it. Animals can choke on the bones, and they can splinter as well.
Vegetables
Carrot sticks, green beans, cucumber slices and zucchini slices are all OK.
Fruit
Apple slices, orange slices, bananas and watermelon are all OK. Make sure the seeds have been taken out; seeds are not good for your pet!
Baked potatoes
Plain baked potatoes are fine, but make sure they are cooked — no unripe potatoes or potato plants.
Bread
Plain cooked bread is fine; just make sure there are no nuts or raisins added.
Rice and pasta
Plain, cooked pasta and white rice are OK. Often veterinarians recommend plain rice with some boiled chicken when gastrointestinal upset is present.
In case of emergency
Despite all the precautions you take to keep your pet pals safe, accidents do happen. That’s why the ASPCA, Humane Society and animal advocates advise pet owners to keep the telephone numbers of their local veterinarian and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — (888) 426-4435 — in a prominent location.

Remember, no candy or booze for dogs! They love it, but it can kill them.

Well looks like a holiday weekend is upon us. Being self-employed and a work from home Mom is great and my husband and I get a jump on the weekend. I prefer to beat the weekend crowds on Friday and get it done on Thursday so I don’t have to fight the crowds and traffic. Where are we going? To the Super Wal-mart of course. LOL I know some people don’t like wally mart, but when the other stores around here are nearly twice as expensive (we saw cheeze-its for $3.98, wal-mart has them for under $2) it just doesn’t make sense to give away your money. Being self-employed really makes you look at the world differently.

Being a former vegetarian, we just started eating meat again and I look forward to buying some roast beef. Yum!

We recently got this for our six month old daugher, and it is great. She loves it, and is entertained for several m minutes at different times of the day playing with it. I am sure as she gets older she will find the different things even more interesting. It has a really pleasant female voice which she really likes. It has detachable legs which we removed for now, so when they learn to walk they can play with it standing up. Very sturdy and well made, it has two volume settings.

Provide a world of learning and musical fun for your child with the LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table. Designed for children ages six months to three years, this innovative toy is chock full of learning and musical activities designed to provide visual and auditory stimulation and motor skill development, as well as opportunities to learn about colors, the alphabet, and opposites for older children — and much more. The toy is full of learning and musical activities designed to provide visual and auditory stimulation.

This plastic-molded table sits flat on the floor for babies to play at while sitting. Grows with your Child. The sturdy, plastic-molded, brightly colored table sits flat on the floor for babies to play at while sitting. You can attach the table’s legs to adjust it to accommodate toddlers’ play while standing. And it offers plenty of activities at different levels of learning to keep your child entertained for these early developmental years. Your child will delight in spinning the maraca to hear a fun rendition of the ABC song; playing the colored piano keys to practice motor skills and learn about colors; moving the trombone’s slide to count to 10; and sliding the cello to learn about up and down. Kids can tap on the colorful drum and learn about colors and primary shapes, too. Then, by flipping the pages of the “book” to go from the Learning Mode to the Music Mode, kids can hear more than 40 songs and melodies, including nursery rhymes and fun individual instrument sounds that will have them singing and dancing.

Plenty to Do, Lots to Learn. With all of these activities, your child will exercise his or her memory and problem-solving skills with lots of things to push, pull, turn, open, and close. And with the flip of a switch, the songs and games switch from English to Spanish, offering a great introduction to foreign-language learning. The Learn & Groove Musical Table requires some assembly and needs 3 AA batteries for operation. Batteries are not included.

It’s a learning fiesta for your little one. This interactive, bilingual activity table engages and entertains your baby for hours. There are songs, melodies, twinkling lights and real instrument sounds, plus lots of things to spin, roll, slide, open and close. The table plays over 40 songs and melodies so your baby stays entertained while exploring. When babies turn the center page, the activity table switches modes and transforms musical discoveries into learning activities where each instrument plays a learning song. The Learn and Groove Musical Table also helps your child develop the motor skills needed for learning to stand. Contoured grips make “pulling up” a piece of cake. As babies learn to stand, their little hands can stay busy with reaching, grabbing and pulling. Measures 23″ x 5.5″ x 15.5″. Requires 3 “AA” batteries (not included).

They sell the LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table on amazon and you can get free shipping as well. A really good purchase. It comes with a blue or pink base, we got the blue because it is so colorful already and not everything has to be pink. Her room is filled with pink!

here’s a couple pics, the last one is my daughter’s unit.

here is the link to purchase: click here to buy this item with free shipping

I finally made some really good use of all the blackberries we picked from our yard. PIE!

I used this recipe, and went ahead and just bought the premade pie crust because I have no time with a six month old baby. And it came out delicious.

BLACKBERRY PIE

4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup white sugar
Directions

Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture
into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top
of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp
the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup
sugar.
Bake at 425 degree F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce the
temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and bake for
an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

It came out perfect! And I ate a piece warm, with vanilla ice cream.

This is too cute! Look at how this cat and dog get along with each other. It’s true love! Polly the Boston Terrier and Hermione the cat are best friends.

Recently my husband and I have been going on nature walks at the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park Barataria Preserve and the Plantation Trail. I always bring my camera.

Right outside of Marrero, Louisiana, the preserve is about 20,000 acres of bayous, swamps, marches, and forests. It is home to alligators, nutria, and over 300 species of birds. Lots and lots of insects and flying things. There are several boardwalks and dirt trails you can explore, and there are no dogs allowed which is nice and keeps it very clean and peaceful.

There is so much history here, and walking under the canopy of trees it is very rainforest feeling and beautiful. Don’t pay any attention to all the buzzing insects, they are all a part of the fragile ecosystem here in South Louisiana. Leave your perfume at home.

Living here in SE Louisiana and being so close to all the nature has given me a deep appreciation for the wildlife and ecosystem here. I still find it amazing at all of the species of life. You are constantly seeing new types of frogs, toads, dragonflies and more.

It is evident just by walkiing through this preserve how delicate and the nature is here. A fragile ecosystem. It brings tears to our eyes when we think about the gulf oil spill and how much damage it is doing to this part of the nation. Hopefully it will not affect this area, but it is scary to think about all the damage it is doing.

So far my husband and I have done a couple of the trails, but plan on going more regularly during different seasons to capture the cycles of life there. His family has been here for literally centuries and they have lived off the land here for as long. He used to walk these same trails as a child with his Grandfather, a true Cajun Frenchman who used to make his own deer sausage. We have started to bring our six month old daugher there in a baby carrier and she absolutely loves it.

I can’t wait until the summer is over and the autumn comes so we can photograph the changing seasons. Here are some of my favorite pics from the last day we went.