It has been one week since Lily received her first injection. I have been monitoring her very closely for complications. Gratefully, she is a good girl who likes to sleep. Overall, she is very strong and gets through the day well. I have to take her out for only 3 minutes in front of the house to relieve herself. I know that she wants to go for a longer walk, but she can't have her heart rate go up. She doesn't know that she has a time bomb inside if she gets too excited.
She and I are spending quality and quantity time together. I am taking many more deep breaths these days. Lily is a gift to me. I'll keep you all posted on her progress. She goes for her next shots on February 5th and 6th. She should be "in the clear" mid March.
Hope you are all well. I hope to visit you soon. Thanks for your good wishes!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Now I have a dog story
It all began in late August. My son, Joe, came home from visiting a friend's house, and he couldn't wait to share with me some sudden revelation that made his face shine with happiness. "Mom! Mom! I know what I want! It will make me happy! A dog!"
Well, to say that I was surprised is definitely an understatement. Joe has been afraid of dogs for as long as I can remember. Actually, three out of four of my kids have been afraid of dogs for a long time. Here is the back story about that fear. Almost 10 years ago, pregnant me (with Joe in the "belly" as Jillian would say) would waddle down the street to pick up my oldest son from the kindergarten bus which stopped at the top of our street. At that time, James was around 3 and jumping up and down next to me as we hustled to get to the bus stop each day. One day, we met "Happy" - don't let his name fool you - this dog was nowhere near the happy state of mind. Happy was a good size mutt who would have probably been just my type of dog if he didn't want to possibly wrestle me to the ground. So during our first meeting (gratefully from a distance), we realize that this dog is owner free and leash free. He starts barking aggressively at us but doesn't get too close. Over the period of a week, he gets closer and closer. I attempted to speak with the owner but he never seemed to be home. I left a handwritten note in his mailbox asking for him to keep his dog inside. Maybe it was my plea as a pregnant lady that pushed him to finally keep Happy indoors. Needless to say, James' fear of dogs cemented in his consciousness during that time.
When Joe came on the scene, we would see Happy from a distance and he wasn't acting all that happy. Well, Joe probably feeding off James' fear became afraid of dogs in those early carriage days. Jillian was afraid because she usually only feels comfortable around stuffed animals or zoo animals. My oldest John was worried about dog hair all over his stuff. My husband was concerned about the cost and limiting our mobility.
I love dogs, but I wasn't prepared for Joe's proclamation of his sudden desire to own one. My husband always said that he has four children and why would he want to add a furry one to the mix. Now the mama in me had a dilemma. How do I either convince Joe that a dog is not the answer to his need for something to make him happy or how do I convince James and Jillian that a dog will not freak them out every day in the house?
We tried bribery on Joe. We would say something like, "Joe, what about a swimming pool? (we can't afford one by the way) or "What about a trip?" He would say, "The dog can count for 10 birthdays and 10 Christmas presents."
Now when we would try to convince James that I would find the most peaceful, mellow dog out there, he would say, "Mom, if you get a dog, I will never ever be comfortable in my own house. You know that dogs make me nervous. What about my feelings?"
Joe has always been my sad sack kid. I have prayed so much to know what would make him happy. Well, God answered my prayers in a way different than I expected. I knew in my heart that having a dog could be a turning point for him.
Well, after much negotiation, begging and tears, I finally managed to get the whole family "pro-dog." An exhausting workout for me. I searched countless dog adoption sites and rescues.
We finally found Lily. She is a 4/5 year old black labrador mix. She has had some tough times. Amazingly, every one of the kids fell in love with her. I can't believe how much James has bonded with her in only 4 short weeks. She is my shadow and buddy during the day. Jillian feels that she finally has a big sister.
I know that this post is going on way too long. I just wanted you all to know what has been consuming my time these past months.
On Saturday, we received the distressing news that Lily is heartworm positive. Well, here I go with the tears again all weekend. More worry kicking in. Gratefully, she is in good physical health and the disease is in its earliest stages. The treatment and recovery period is tough. She has to receive her first painful injection on Tuesday morning. For 6 weeks after, I have to closely monitor her for complications and make sure that she doesn't have any exercise or excitement. There could be a threat of stroke or pulmonary embellism.
Overall, I am very optimistic after speaking with my vet. She feels that Lily will get through it all right.
We love her and we'll be here for her. The whole gang. We are closer as a family since getting Lily. I sweep up a bunch of dog hair now and love when she looks for her belly rubs. She needed a home, and apparently we needed a dog.
I'll keep you all posted on her progress, and you'll see me more in this wonderful blogging world because I need to stay still a bit too during her recovery period. I have to slow down once in a while. Miss you guys!
P.S. Joe is the one with the big smile!
Well, to say that I was surprised is definitely an understatement. Joe has been afraid of dogs for as long as I can remember. Actually, three out of four of my kids have been afraid of dogs for a long time. Here is the back story about that fear. Almost 10 years ago, pregnant me (with Joe in the "belly" as Jillian would say) would waddle down the street to pick up my oldest son from the kindergarten bus which stopped at the top of our street. At that time, James was around 3 and jumping up and down next to me as we hustled to get to the bus stop each day. One day, we met "Happy" - don't let his name fool you - this dog was nowhere near the happy state of mind. Happy was a good size mutt who would have probably been just my type of dog if he didn't want to possibly wrestle me to the ground. So during our first meeting (gratefully from a distance), we realize that this dog is owner free and leash free. He starts barking aggressively at us but doesn't get too close. Over the period of a week, he gets closer and closer. I attempted to speak with the owner but he never seemed to be home. I left a handwritten note in his mailbox asking for him to keep his dog inside. Maybe it was my plea as a pregnant lady that pushed him to finally keep Happy indoors. Needless to say, James' fear of dogs cemented in his consciousness during that time.
When Joe came on the scene, we would see Happy from a distance and he wasn't acting all that happy. Well, Joe probably feeding off James' fear became afraid of dogs in those early carriage days. Jillian was afraid because she usually only feels comfortable around stuffed animals or zoo animals. My oldest John was worried about dog hair all over his stuff. My husband was concerned about the cost and limiting our mobility.
I love dogs, but I wasn't prepared for Joe's proclamation of his sudden desire to own one. My husband always said that he has four children and why would he want to add a furry one to the mix. Now the mama in me had a dilemma. How do I either convince Joe that a dog is not the answer to his need for something to make him happy or how do I convince James and Jillian that a dog will not freak them out every day in the house?
We tried bribery on Joe. We would say something like, "Joe, what about a swimming pool? (we can't afford one by the way) or "What about a trip?" He would say, "The dog can count for 10 birthdays and 10 Christmas presents."
Now when we would try to convince James that I would find the most peaceful, mellow dog out there, he would say, "Mom, if you get a dog, I will never ever be comfortable in my own house. You know that dogs make me nervous. What about my feelings?"
Joe has always been my sad sack kid. I have prayed so much to know what would make him happy. Well, God answered my prayers in a way different than I expected. I knew in my heart that having a dog could be a turning point for him.
Well, after much negotiation, begging and tears, I finally managed to get the whole family "pro-dog." An exhausting workout for me. I searched countless dog adoption sites and rescues.
We finally found Lily. She is a 4/5 year old black labrador mix. She has had some tough times. Amazingly, every one of the kids fell in love with her. I can't believe how much James has bonded with her in only 4 short weeks. She is my shadow and buddy during the day. Jillian feels that she finally has a big sister.
I know that this post is going on way too long. I just wanted you all to know what has been consuming my time these past months.
On Saturday, we received the distressing news that Lily is heartworm positive. Well, here I go with the tears again all weekend. More worry kicking in. Gratefully, she is in good physical health and the disease is in its earliest stages. The treatment and recovery period is tough. She has to receive her first painful injection on Tuesday morning. For 6 weeks after, I have to closely monitor her for complications and make sure that she doesn't have any exercise or excitement. There could be a threat of stroke or pulmonary embellism.
Overall, I am very optimistic after speaking with my vet. She feels that Lily will get through it all right.
We love her and we'll be here for her. The whole gang. We are closer as a family since getting Lily. I sweep up a bunch of dog hair now and love when she looks for her belly rubs. She needed a home, and apparently we needed a dog.
I'll keep you all posted on her progress, and you'll see me more in this wonderful blogging world because I need to stay still a bit too during her recovery period. I have to slow down once in a while. Miss you guys!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Jesus said, "The greatest commandment is to love..."
I tell my CCD class that love is deep within each of us. Think of the power of all that love. One of my students said that she likes to think of the Earth's core being made of love. I pray that humanity's collective love will fuel positive and life affirming energy that will turn into definitive actions to ensure no one's love and life is extinguished in such tragic and violent ways.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
So how do you build a log cabin anyway? Can a girl from the Bronx find quiet somewhere besides the bathroom?
I think that I may have to become Kelly Thoreau and find a cabin in the woods for peaceful, undisturbed and healing blogging time. Has it really been this long since I blogged? It has been a busy time for me with planning for Fright Night at the intermediate school (a big success gratefully), juggling the kids' activities and my volunteer work, and weathering through a week long power outage. All in all, we feel blessed to be safe, healthy and happy here in our home together. I pray for all those who have lost so much due to the storm.
I can't wait to visit all of you soon. My battle with laryngitis is almost over and a vlog will soon be showing up here. Now that the voice is returning, my kids are "thrilled" that I don't have to make all those crazy hand gestures and facial expressions to get my point across to them. How much the teenagers loved to act like they didn't understand my mime attempts at communication. When a battle would brew among the boys, you can be sure that an almost accurately thrown laundry sock ball was thrown into the mix to get their attention. Needless to say, they laughed at my "lame" (their description) attempt at pitching!
I can't wait to visit all of you soon. My battle with laryngitis is almost over and a vlog will soon be showing up here. Now that the voice is returning, my kids are "thrilled" that I don't have to make all those crazy hand gestures and facial expressions to get my point across to them. How much the teenagers loved to act like they didn't understand my mime attempts at communication. When a battle would brew among the boys, you can be sure that an almost accurately thrown laundry sock ball was thrown into the mix to get their attention. Needless to say, they laughed at my "lame" (their description) attempt at pitching!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I was supposed to volunteer less this year...
Guess who is coordinating a Halloween event at the intermediate school? I need to recruit 100 + volunteers. 25 days and counting. I just started planning 2 weeks ago. I will look like the Bride of Frankenstein when this is all over. Call me my town's version of the Celebrity Apprentice, without the big prize money! I'll post another vlog soon to let you know how I'm doing.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
A Top Ten sounds good!
With the happy butterflies in my stomach as I type this post, you would think that I just got asked to the prom. I'm so excited to be here again! The sun is shining through the trees as I type. Those mini brownie bites are happily in my tummy, and I'm enjoying the peace and tranquility before the kids come barging through the door. I can't believe how fast these past two months flew by. It was a wonderful summer vacation full of laughs between the inevitable kid dramatic moments. All in all, I feel rejuvenated and pumped for my re-entry into one of my favorite sanity-saving activities, blogging.
So where do I start? I'm busting with ideas and sarcasm. See? Nothing has changed :)
What about a Top Ten list? It works for Dave Letterman all these years. I'm sure he won't mind if this crazy suburban housewife borrows the idea for my return blog post. So here goes:
So where do I start? I'm busting with ideas and sarcasm. See? Nothing has changed :)
What about a Top Ten list? It works for Dave Letterman all these years. I'm sure he won't mind if this crazy suburban housewife borrows the idea for my return blog post. So here goes:
TOP TEN THINGS SAID IN CRAMPED HONDA DURING 40 HOURS
OF DRIVING TO AND FROM FLORIDA
OF DRIVING TO AND FROM FLORIDA
- The DVD is not working. (I had to do some yoga moves to fix that problem over and over again.)
- Can I pee in a water bottle? (traveling with boys)
- These southern states are LONG! (We were at our breaking point often in the Carolinas.)
- Mom, please not another car game! (I needed to keep the kids from driving daddy the driver crazy.)
- Why are my cookies at the bottom of that bag? (Guess who said that? Me, of course.)
- Now I know what a sardine in a can feels like. (If I had two inches of leg room at times, I was lucky.)
- Are you kidding me that we have THAT many miles until a rest stop? (leg and butt cramps: no fun)
- Please Jillian don't put in another Barbie movie. (The boys started to know the songs by heart.)
- Why didn't we fly? (My answer: money; Jillian's answer: too scary)
- We can't wait to see the Disney World sign! (We fell out of the Honda and practically kissed that Disney parking lot!)
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