Life's Bittersweet Surprises #2

Almost two weeks after Boomer was diagnosed with Parvo, we feared the worst about Rascal. Saturday morning, December 13th, we later realized, was when Rascal stopped eating. We attributed it at first to him being tired and full.

Then, after a not-quite-so-normal potty episode outside on Sunday morning, we decided we better take him to the Animal Emergency Clinic. Dear Hubby took Rascal this time. About 30 minutes after arriving there, the diagnosis was clear: Parvo! This diagnosis came just two weeks to the day from when Boomer was diagnosed! I still wasn't finished giving antibiotics to Boomer yet! But my technique had definitely improved!

Because Rascal has always been a bit smaller than Boomer, and because I really didn't think I could give him the fluid like we tried twice with Boomer, we decided to keep him at the AEC overnight, despite the extremely high quote from them.

I still feel this was the best decision. When DH picked Rascal up in the morning and brought him home until our regular vet opened, Rascal was already looking like he felt better. But we knew he wasn't "cured" yet, as there really isn't a cure for the Parvo virus; the puppies just need to be supported with fluids until their bodies can fight off the virus.

Back to our regular vet he went by 8:00. We seemed to have realized the symptoms of Parvo much sooner than we had with Boomer. Rascal's disposition was much friskier than Boomer's had been from the very beginning. Even the vet tech commented on this when we dropped Rascal off. In spite of his more frisky behavior, Racscal stayed at our regular vet until Wednesday afternoon/evening, which was the same length of stay that Boomer had. Add to Rascal's AEC visit, and these puppies have cost us almost an arm and a leg!

I asked myself, when Boomer had gotten sick, "Why us?" Dear Hubby replied to me "No, the real question is why Boomer? Why such a nasty virus for such a small guy? It happened to us, becuase God knew we would be strong enough to take care of them; smart enough to realize something wasn't right; and loving enough to know the best thing to do to help get him better."

This time around, I did ask "Why Rascal?" But this time I also knew the answer...because he had us to take care of him.

Rascal is finished with his antibiotics (note to others, don't try using peanut butter or cheese when giving dogs pills; just have them sit in front of you, their back to your chest, open their mouths with one hand, and shove the pill down their throats with the other hand, close their mouths and rub their throats for a few seconds for the pill to go down...just remember to check before you release them...sometimes they can be smarter than you and spit the pill out minutes later!).

He hasn't developed the bark that Boomer learned while at the vet. THANK GOODNESS! He's as playful and rascally as ever!

So glad to have both puppies back home and heathly! And the vet said the chance for them to get Parvo again...is slim to none. But let me tell you this...we'll definitely keep up with the Parvo vaccinations!

Life's Bittersweet Surprises

Less than a week after we brought home our two new puppies, we received some terrible news about one of them. Sunday afternoon, I took Boomer to the emergency vet hospital here at the local U. He had a severe loss of appetite and had had some nasty diarrhea. He also was quite lethargic. These were all abnormal, even in the short amount of time he had become a part of our lives.

One quick test, and the vet diagnosed Parvo. If you haven't heard of this, I'm not surprised. Though we have a 9 year old dog, and I had another dog before, I wasn't aware of this terrible virus. I do know, however, that our adult dogs had received this vaccination every year (it is in another vaccination that they receive yearly). If you are interested in learning about Parvo, all you have to do is Google it and you'll find everything and then some that you need to know.

I was devastated when the vet explained everything to me. How was I going to be able to tell Lego Boy and Princess Sunshine about their very sick Christmas present puppy? Why did God choose us? And even more so...why did God choose this puppy to get this virus?

I spoke with Dear Hubby over the phone and told him the news. He wanted to know our options so I put him on speaker phone so we could both listen to the vet. We decided to treat Boomer at home for Sunday afternoon/evening and call our regular vet on Monday morning. If you have ever had to give a pet shots, you will understand how difficult this was for us to do. We had to give Boomer injections of fluid that is normally given via I.V. The fluid is injected under his skin, but not into any veins. We also had two different oral medications (an antibiotic and an anti-nausea) to give him. As young as he is, he certainly did not like having anything stuck down his throat, though they were both covered in peanut butter.

DH started cleaning the kitchen floor with a strong bleach water mixture. Everything possible that Boomer had come into contact had to be cleaned or thrown out. Bleach is the ONLY thing that kills the Parvo virus.

We did the fluid injections twice...once Sunday evening and once Monday morning. The morning dosage should have been 100 cc's. This required at least two injections because the syringe only held 60 cc's. He was so sweet and yet so pitiful every time I had to stick him. I only succeeded in giving him 70 cc's. He squirmed too much and was always pulling away from the needle, even though DH was holding him in his arms. We couldn't stand the feeling that we were using him as a living pin cushion.

At 7:30 am, I called our regular vet. They would be able to care for him, but only after moving other animals around as Boomer needed to be quarantined due to the nature of the Parvo virus. We took both puppies in to see the vet around 10 am. Rascal weighed in around 5.25 lbs.; Boomer was about 6.8. From the beginning, Boomer was heavier and bigger than Rascal, but we estimated that he had lost up to 2 pounds from being sick. Rascal didn't exhibit any symptoms, so we were instructed to take him home and observe him for any behavior changes.

A vet tech donned a gown, mask, head covering and booties and carried Boomer in from the crate in our truck. She weighed Boomer and took him into quarantine. We waited in the lobby and then listened as she explained the treatments Boomer would receive. Then it was home...with only one sad, lonely puppy.

We kept a very close eye on Rascal and only let him out of his crate for limited minutes of play time, and only on the kitchen floor. He has continued to eat and drink. He wanders to the other crate (where he had been with his brother up until Sunday afternoon), looks inside it and then looks at us as if to say "Where is Boomer?" We have had a few moments of great concern with Rascal today. He had a few spots of blood in his stool, but that has appeared to clear up.

Today, Rascal is much happier than he had been yesterday. We had him out of the crate today for a wild romp between the family room and kitchen. He was running all around: crazy wild pup! Such a bittersweet moment.

I've been calling the vet every few hours during the day for updates on Boomer. Monday didn't have too many positive updates. He was "holding his own" but not much more than that, and he had vomited. Our vet, unfortunately, doesn't have 24 hour care, so he was all alone all night long. This bothered me and DH. I called for an update this morning. Boomer had done great last night: no diarrhea, no vomit, only urine in his crate, and he had left his I.V. alone! YEAH! The vet tech informed me they would try to get him to eat later in the morning. For my after lunch update, he still hadn't eaten. But for my 4:30 update, he had eaten (all by himself!!) between 1/3 and 1/2 jar of baby food. They would try again before they closed, but would use a syringe if necessary to get food down his throat.

Lego Boy has been saying prayers for Boomer. I don't know what he says when he prays like this, but it is so sweet/bittersweet to see my 7 year old pray. Last night at dinner, we asked him to say a prayer out loud. He chose "Angel of God my guardian dear. To whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side. To light, to guard, to rule and guide." This was one of my grandmother's favorite prayers. How bittersweet.

Come on Boomer! You can do it! You can beat this virus! Your brother needs you to! Your kids need you to! We need you to!

Just What I Always Wanted

So I haven't been a dedicated blogger at all with this blog I started in the summer, but with all the excitment that we have been experiencing, I haven't had time to blog anything, but I need to now to get all this down...

Princess Sunshine turned 5 last Tuesday. I don't know how we could top the previous day's surprise (the puppies that are early Christmas presents). But I do know her day was everything she could have asked for.

The day began with taking cupcakes to her class at school (pre-school, that is). And I'm well aware of the fact that she told everyone she could about her new puppies. After school, we went home to be greeted by the pups and both grandmothers (Grandma helped Dear Hubby bring the puppies home, and Grancy, my mom, arrived from Indiana in the afternoon). Grancy had picked up the Barbie Fairytopia cake on her way into town.

Before we headed to dinner at PS's choice, I stole 5 minutes to wrap her birthday presents. Then it was off to Jupiter II's for pizza and arcade games (Deal or No Deal is the favorite). Jupiter's is like a Chuck E. Cheese, but with WAY better pizza and games that are more geared towards adults. Plus, you earn tickets to buy a "toy" that most likely is "made in China" and will break within a few minutes.

After we had spent too much money and (the adults) ate too many jalepenos (on the barbeque chicken pizza...mmm!), we drove home for chocolate cake and presents.

Princess Sunshine was excited to open her cards, and even more excited when there was a check or money or a gift card. Then it came to the wrapped presents, from us. When she opened the Jungle in My Pocket Jungle-Gym Playground, she said in her no-nonsense humor "It's just what I always wanted" as if she hadn't been with me when she picked it out and told me she wished she could have that for her birthday.

The next box that was opened was from Aunt Dee, my sister who has lived in Beijing for the past 14ish months. Dee had been in Seattle the previous week and had sent of a few boxes. This one had a Barbie Vet set (how appropriate!) and several Chinese Match Box cars and a Lego set for Lego Boy. I had to open the Barbie set almost immediately...with the strict instructions that she must take them up to her room to play with because of the tiny pieces. She complied and spent quite some time upstairs playing in her brother's room (he has much more floor space than she does).

Wednesday night, we opened the second box from Aunt Dee. This box had over 20 various children's books...that Dee had purchased over many years, thinking that one day she would have children of her own. As that hasn't happened, and as she lives to travel and travels to live, she has started sending them to us.

Aunt Dee happened to call us just when we started opening the box and she was treated to listening to a few pages from both kidlets.

Lego Boy picked out a Dr. Seuss book to read. It's one I haven't heard of, and whose name escapes me know. But in true Dr. Seuss style, it was filled with tongue twisters and silly sentences. LB gave up on it before he got too far, but did look at all of the pictures. He reads extremely well, but I think he was too tired to work on the tongue twisters. I sometimes have problems myself reading Dr. Seuss books (Fox on Sox anyone?).

Princess Sunshine choose to read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." She read almost the WHOLE thing, with assistance here and there. Dear Hubby stated several times that had no idea just how well she can read. It's amazing what she can do.

Lego Boy and Priness Sunshine...

They're just what I always wanted.

Life's Surprises

Last Monday, November 24, we surprised our two children with early Christmas presents: two male Cocker-Bichon puppies. I don't know who was more excited about this..my husband and I or the kids. Part of me thinks it was us...I always wanted a puppy when I was a child, but knowing my parents were not/are not dog/cat/fish/hamster/pet people I knew not to ask for a puppy.

About a year after I graduated from college, in 1995, after I had settled into my first apartment, I went to the Humane Society in St. Louis and picked out my very own puppy. I will always remember the song I heard on the radio, driving home with her in my lap. "I'm in love with you baby and I don't even know your name" the country star sang in his twangy voice.

I ended up naming her Blossom, after a little known song by James Taylor (my favorite singer/songwriter) called "Blossom." The soft guitar and soothing voice of JT still bring a smile to my face whenever I hear him singing it and I think of Blossom "smile some sunshine down my way. Lately I've been lonely. Blossom it's been much too long a day. Melt my cares away."

Blossom and I shared many years together; many addresses (we lived at 8 addresses from 1995 through 2006); many tears; many heartbreaks; a little "big" brother for her (Molson, our Golden Retriever is now 9 1/2); and two babies (Lego Boy and Princess Sunshine).

B, as I so often called her, passed away just over two years ago. It was the hardest decision in my life, and the worst day I have ever experienced. Our kids still remember her and talk about her in Heaven with her dog-cousin, Devlin, often. Princess Sunshine regularly gets "slug Bugs" for her as we drive through our town. I have B's ashes in an urn in my china cabinet. I say hi to her and tell her I love her when I'm in there. I'll miss her for the rest of my life...

But now, back to the puppies. I captured the reveal on video Monday evening. The kids were so excited. We were able to make a dream of theirs come true. On Tuesday evening, we decided upon names...Boomer is the bigger of the two, and Rascal is the smaller. Both names are quite fitting.

A conversation I overheard in the car the other day:

Lego Boy: I have a cut on my finger.
Princess Sunshine: Lick it off.
LB: OK.
PS: What does it taste like?
LB: I don't know.
PS: Ketchup?
LB: I think so.

Where she comes up with this things somtimes, I have no idea!

Time...

Where does it all go? I know how busy we always are, but no matter what I do time goes by way to quickly. And it is the recent time that flys just as quickly as the long term time.

How can it already be August 14th? And almost 3 weeks since I started this blog, without writing anything since then~

The load of laundry from Sunday evening is still sitting in the dryer (how I hope it dried fully Sunday night!)

Summer is really almost over. The cicadias are out in full force. I can hear them singing, even with the windows and doors closed

It has been about 8 weeks since I cut off 12" from my hair to donate. And how I really don't want to spend the $$ to get it cut again, but it desperately needs it. Longer hair, though I always complained about how hot I always was, really does need less maintenance.

My dear first ever dog, Blossom, has been chasing bunnies and squirrels endlessly in Heaven for 1 year and 10 months.

We have lived in the middle of Corn and Beans for 3 years and 7 months (this time around)! Sometimes I even seem to forget about living in North Carolina, even though that was for 5 years!

And with living here means I have been at my current employer for 3 years and 6 months! Which in turn means I have been out of retail for about 4 years!

Princess Sunshine will be 5 in 3 months! And is she ever growing and changing by leaps and bounds. She now receives the Weekly Reader in the mail, and took her first delivery to bed with her last night. She is endlessly word building, and then, in turn, sentence building. Her math skills continue to amaze me. But she never leaves her babydoll, Geeze Louise, far behind.

Lego Boy will be 7 in 2 weeks. And entering 2nd grade in one week! He accomplished so much this summer...finally has his first wiggly tooth; can ride his bike on two wheels (though he hasn't quite mastered the art of braking gradually; he could with training wheels, I don't understand what happened here); he passed his first session of swim lessons, braved learning the sit-dive, attempts to dive in while standing (though his feet hit the water first) and braved the diving board (though not during swim lessons, but with his friends from summer camp).

Molson, the old dog that he is, is closer to 10 than 9. And as always, he still is as playful and protective of all of us as he ever has been.

Our 9th wedding anniversary is only 3 weeks away. And how can it be that our first date ever is 11 years ago this Halloween...


Time goes by; it's a part of life...


Take me as I am

The Beginning

Well, today is the day. The beginning of me joining the blogging community. I have several favorite blogs that I read on a daily (sometimes several times a day). Those blogs have inspired me to try my hand at the professsion I spent four years of college learning.

Yes, once upon a time, before marriage and children, I wanted to be a writer. I studied Writing as a Profession and graduated in 1994 with my degree. But once I graduated, I didn't know where to go next. So other than countless daily work emails, I haven't "written" anything of any significance since.

I'll do my best to be inspiring, to tell it like I see it...

Just remember...
Take me as I am.