MOM'S HOME, HAPPY DANCE, HAPPY DANCE!!!  She came home late this morning and got right to loving on me, head strokes, head massages, snuggles, kisses, singing, medicine on my hands - My Human Mom loves me so much!!

All that stuff she took with her, she brought back and now has to put away. She says she'll do all that tomorrow after she gets some sleep. Apparently she didn't get any last night and just wants to chill and visit with me and Piper.

Why medicine on my hands? My Dr. says my skin hasn't been shedding properly on the bottoms of my hands, so the skin doesn't come off when it's supposed, just builds up like a scab and then when it DOES finally come off, it bleeds. Of course, Mom is a top-notch worrier, calls my Dr., does research, gets the medicine that is needed and takes really good care of me.

Mom and I checked out the plants on the porch, apparently there's a very naughty squirrel who has been digging big holes in the dirt around them and damaging some of the plants. Mom is not happy about this and plans on sticking toothpicks upright in the dirt to discourage the digger.  I sure hope she never gets mad at me!!!

For now though, I'm just super happy she's home!! Love you Mom!

  Mom wanted to try out her new Macro-Lens for her cell phone the other night. I was happy to be her test subject.  She also got some slow-motion videos of me blapping crickets.  Only problem is, she can't figure out how to get them saved onto her computer to post them here.  When she gets it worked out, we'll post.  She's says they're pretty awesome.

In other news; there's really no other big news.  Mom had another movie date with Wills today, saw some cowboy movie.  Tomorrow is GAME DAY.  That means basically that Piper and I are on own for a large portion of the day.  Mom puts on her 49er's red and white jersey and skips out of here fairly early all sparkly like with a big smile on her face.  Last two GAME DAYS she hasn't been smiling when she came home, she's been draggin!  I don't like it when Mom is disappointed.  Those 49er's better step up their game!! We like our Mom happy.

Oh, I do have to say, Mom has been doing a much better job of making sure I get my morning snuggles with her.  She sets her alarm an extra thirty nine minutes early just to have time with me every morning. I love it.  By morning time, I'm usually cold and lonely, so I really like my morning time with Mom. THANK YOU MOM!!

And she keeps talking about pumpkins.  Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!! I wish she'd just bring some home already and get it over with.  Oh man, I don't remember if we posted what Mom did to a pumpkin last year; she carved a ME into one, hallowed it out and stuck a candle in it!!  Maybe she'll do another one this year!!!

Mom is finally back. She was gone for five days, went to visit her "Sweetheart" she said. Piper and I think she gets confused sometimes - "I" am the Sweetheart of the house. Whoever she went to see, is an imposter!! Better watch out Buddy, I'm on to you - trying to influence Mom with your wiley ways!!

It must be getting to be Fall again. Both Mom and Piper get into this weird 'have to bake sweet tasty things' mode, and they like to make the house smell like cinnamon and nutmeg. They keep a small pot of water with those spices simmering on the stove most of the time. Mom says her MOM used to do it. Say WHAAAT I say, Mom had a Mom? I thought Mom was the oldest Human there is? How could she have a Mom? Anyway, I know what it's like outside at this time of year; days get shorter, nights get cooler, and the plentiful bugs of summer are not so many anymore. I'm really glad I don't have to worry about that anymore. 

Oh yeah, Mom just discovered there is a slow-mo video option on her phone. Last night she tried to get video clips of my blapping crickets to post here. The clips were really grainy she said, bad lighting she said, so we're going to work on it some more. So, stand by!!

I read Mom’s note. She’s a tough one to manage sometimes. But after what I’ve seen her do for me, I've cut her some slack.

I need to clarify something; in my last post, I said that if you’d read my previous posts then you’d know I’d been sick. Well, we just looked and realized those posts never actually got “posted”. Anyway, after that last post, I was still having troubles. For about the next six months getting me back on the healthy track was a real struggle. Lots of visits to my doctor, which I really don’t mind, cuz he thinks I’m awesome. He even smiles and talks to me! Last visit, he asked Mom if she’d gotten me my very own big swimming pool yet. He always tells me I am one loved little Toad.

Anyway, since I’m back to good health, some things have changed in my world. I no longer spend time in my daytime house. That room (Mom’s room) is just too cold for me. Dr. Nakamura even said so. If I am going to be in Mom’s room with her now, I have to be in her shirt next to her warm skin. Hmmm, I wonder if that will change when Mom no longer uses the AC in her room? Oh well, we’ll see what the cold weather brings. Since I don’t get to sit by the window anymore, Mom makes sure she turns on a nature video for me if both she and Piper are going to be gone. My favorite is a three hour relaxing beach video, people come and go, birds come and go and rush about and I like the sound.

Another change, I no longer have the coconut fiber substrate I had before. It seems that part of the reason I was so sick is because the coconut fiber substrate is prone to having fruit-flies in it. Mom didn’t know this. But I was blapping and eating the fruit-flies that came out of the fibers and then, swallowing some of the fibers too. The fibers and twigs got all tangled up inside me. It was awful. But Mom helped me get the mess out. Mom tried reptile turf in my house to replace the substrate. Excuse me, but I am no reptile. I showed her exactly what I thought of that awful stuff, I wouldn’t touch it! That’s right. I pulled off great acrobatic feats to keep from touching that stuff. Finally she gave up on that and bought me some super soft towels. Those were better than the turf, but I still missed burrowing. She finally found a substrate that’s mostly dirt – no fibers, no fruit-flies. It does however, have little twigs. Mom, or Piper actually puts this dirt through a sifter to get all the twigs out before they put it in my dirt dish. So now I have soft towels, some rocks, my water dish and a dirt dish for burrowing, all in my big house.
      
The other part of the problem was my metabolism. Never even knew I had one. Anyway, I do, and we finally got that problem figured out as well. Now I have a sun lamp AND heat lamp, and every third night I have to take calcium drops – YUCK!!! I don’t like it one bit. I put up such a fight every time that it takes both Mom and Pip to hold me down and get that stuff in my mouth. I was getting so good at wriggling free that Mom finally had to resort to wrapping me up in one of my soft blankets, straight jacket style. Like a little burrito Mom says. Yeah, so every third night, I’m a Buntah Burrito. Biiiiig woop, woop.
   
But, the coolest part, I have a better understanding of what this word ‘LOVE’ means. Love is what happens when Mom drives me to the doctor in the middle of the night, over and over, and instead of sleeping when I’m sick, she stays up with me to read and sing to me and help me feel better. It’s what happens when my family wants me to be with them so much that they make sacrifices to give me the care I need. Love is when my Humans have lots of pictures of me on their cell phones. It’s when they smile at me, and tell me they are happy I am with them. Love means sometimes Moms eyes leak when she is worried or scared. I like being loved.

If you read my previous few posts, then you know I was very ill for a time. During that time, I visited  the doctor several times.  Well, I might have been having health issues, but, never let it be said of me that I'm too ill to dazzle strangers in a lobby! Hey, when you've got the crowd and their attention, that's when you need to shine!  So, of course, that's what I did. 

Here's how it works; when you hear a stranger approaching, scuffle about a bit.  They'll hear the soft noises and ask your people about the occupant of the carrier.  My people are great and LOVE to talk about me. Timing is key.  When the carrier is opened, and the strangers face appears, you sit up tall and look cute.  If that alone isn't enough to elicit the "awwwwws", tilt the head slightly and smile. Blink once if you have to, turn this way and that way, offering all your angles for their enjoyment and appreciation.  By now you should have their "toadal" (sorry, couldn't help myself) attention. The ooooos and awwwwwws always draw a bigger crowd. Remember timing is crucial to winning the day. At the very moment they begin to ask more questions of your people, diverting some of their attention from yourself, you reach up and place a tiny hand on the zipper of the carrier, pull yourself up tall and look the room over.  The tiny hand ALWAYS makes them loose it.

And that's that.  You've made someone smile and you've made an impression for life.  How do I know this?  The woman Mom works for had been asking her hair dresser for vet recommendations.  The hair dresser works two towns away from my doctor.  My doctor just happens to be the doggie doc the hair dresser suggested.  She was telling the woman Mom works for all about how awesome this vet clinic is.  "They even take Amphibians! I was there couple weeks ago with my dog, and this adorable little toad was waiting to be seen." (Sound familiar?)   Well, the lady Mom works for knows ALL ABOUT ME, so she said, "Toad? What kind of toad?"  The hair dresser told her, "Oh the cutest little toad person you'll ever see!  She just sat up tall, and smiled, and turned and turned and looked at all of us, she was ADORABLE."

"And did this toad person have a name?"

"Why of course, her name was Buntah."  The lady Mom works for just smiled and said, "I know of that toad, she lives with my nanny!"

And there you have it. Bing badda bing, call me Rockstar! People two towns away from here know of me!