Please Help Us

This is Pippin and Steve.  We found our Mom's blog and learned how to type with our paws.  We are ready to share.  We think it's time for a human baby around the house.  Can you please help????

I might be as sweet as a banana split, but I'm only dressed like this because of my Mom.

I refuse to even look at the camera.

My FIRST Baby!

Our precious boy.

Seven years ago today, my (then) boyfriend & now DH, brought home a tote bag from work.  His dog, Mackey, was very interested in that bag and began to sniff it and check it out.  Soon after, a tiny white puppy peeked out his head to meet his new brother.

I received a call at my house from my then boyfriend (this was before we were living in sin) telling me he "had a surprise."  I instantly knew what that meant.  "You got that puppy, didn't you?" I asked, wondering why in God's green Earth someone would want TWO dogs.  :)

I went over to what is now our house to meet this teensy little fellow named Steve.  He was PRECIOUS - a tiny, white, curious, sweet smelling boy with razor sharp teeth and deadly sharp claws.  My heart changed from that day on  A love for this sweet boy that I could not describe developed so quickly and intensely.  (For the record, I was falling in love with my future husband, too - ha!)  Steve and his mom had an instant bond that continues today.  With my heart so full, I can ONLY begin to imagine the kind of love a mother has for her human child.  It may sound crazy, but that's the kind of dog mom I am.

My precious baby dog was a funny, silly, naughty, crazy, energetic, sweet boy then just as he is today.  Except now his 122 pound body is a little heavier at age 7 than it was as a handful of pounds at 4.5 weeks!

Happy "Gotcha" Day, Steve.  I love you, my "tiny manz."

Steve at school with his new Dad, just before coming home for the first time.



Mom & Baby Stevie - LOVE at first sight!

Mackey (who was about 35 lbs. then) with Steve - now over 120 lbs.!

"A bath?  I just got here!" (cue sad eyes) Love the soap beard!

I loved to climb my Mom and gnaw on her tasty hair.

I could finally reach the tall food bowl.  I was now a big boy!

Goodbye

After a long and excruciating internal battle, I made the decision last night to put my cat, Mindy, to sleep today.  She was getting weaker by the minute, and I did not want her to suffer needlessly.  I first adopted Mindy as a tiny six-week old little girl over eighteen years ago.

I held her and was with her until after she was gone.  We spent some alone time this morning - just Mindy and her Mama - with me holding her, loving her, talking to her, stroking her fur, and crying over her.  I gave her a couple of teaspoons of ice cream, which she delightfully ate.  Then, I held her as I blanketed her in a comfy towel and drove to the vet's office.  For the first time EVER, she did not move, cry, or make a sound while in the car.  The doctor took Mindy back and put a little catheter in her leg.  When the doctor brought her back to me, I cradled my blanketed little baby and spoke sweetly to her while the doctor injected the meds that let her sleep peacefully for good.

I am now devastated by her absence and can't believe she is gone.


My awesome friend, Joyce, sent me this poem which gives me some peace as I grieve.  Thanks again, Joyce.

When The Time Comes

If I should be that I grow frail and weak And pain should keep me from my sleep, Then will you do what must be done, For this--the last battle--can't be won. You will be sad I understand But don't let grief then stay your hand, For on this day, more than the rest, Your love and friendship must stand the test. We have had so many happy years, You wouldn't want me to suffer so. When the time comes, Please, let me go. Take me to where my needs they'll tend, Only, stay with me till the end And hold me firm and speak to me Until my eyes no longer see. I know in time you will agree It is a kindness you do to me. Although my tail its last has waved, From pain and suffering I have been saved Don't grieve that it must be you Who has to decide this thing to do; We've been so close--we two-- these years, Don't let your heart hold any tears. Author Unknown

Dog Parenting

Yesterday, DH and I walked the dogs. We have started walking them all separately because they seem to behave better. DH took Pippin in one direction and planned to walk Mackey afterwards. I took Steve in another direction with the almost always needed bags for poop in hand. As Stevie and I walked, I filled a bag with a bunch of leaves from a neighbor's yard. It's much easier to pick up a big, fresh, warm mound of dog poop when it's covered with leaves.

Surprisingly, Steve didn't give me a need to use the bag, so I saved it for DH's walk with Mack. As DH brought Pippin in and leashed Mackey up, I told him the bag was on the entry table for him to use if he wanted to take it. He asked, "Why a bag of leaves?" I told him the same thing I just told you about picking up fresh poop.

His reply? "You'll be great with kids, Dear." I told him I hope so! :)

I know it sounds silly, but hearing that from the man I love - the father of my future children - really warmed my heart and gave me hope. I think he'll be great with kids, too.

LAST CHANCE to Vote for Steve!

I know. Being infertile has made me a crazier dog mom than I was before. So, help an infertile mom of furbabies out here! The contest ends on Sunday, so please vote every day until then!

I've Been Given Permission

to "pee on things." When I told DH that I'm not feeling so great (explained the watermelon/rubber band ute and heavy boobs), he told me to not "get excited and cross your fingers." Damn naysayer.

I asked DH when he thought I should test. After I explained when I could/should test - because he has no clue and hasn't asked a damn thing about anything - he said I could start peeing on things. I asked him what things. His reply, "Whatever you want. It obviously doesn't matter to Mackey (our dog). He pees on everything & I can just yell 'Who peed on THIS?'"

On a totally different note: I love my dog. Stevie makes me smile, cry with joy, and warms my heart on a constant basis. If I feel jsut some of this with a baby I will be more than blessed, more than fulfilled, and absolutely insane with love.

I know I'm talking/rambling/blogging a lot today. I'm nervous and excited and hopeful and prepared for complete disappointment.

VOTE FOR STEVE!

Vote for my pup Steve as the Cutest Dog in America. He can't help being so handsome!

My Morning, My Day, My Experiment

I LOVE sleeping in, all cuddled up in bed. It's my week off, so I've been looking forward to this for weeks now. I thought if I stayed up late last night that I'd sleep in this morning. Uh, no. That didn't happen. So now, with less than 5 hours of sleep, I have my day ahead of me.

So far, I have:

• Practice peed (BFN of course, so no more for me.)
• Grabbed my nipples (Remember my last nipple post? Same deal.) OUCH!
• Hugged Todd goodbye (Poor guy has to work!)
• Read some blogs
• Got poor, crazy Mackey to quit howling like he's being murdered.
• Snuggled with my baby dog, Steve. Not for long though - he's gassy again today. (WTH has he been eating??)
• Said good morning to my cat, Mindy, as she walked in & out of the bedroom.
• Thought about what shopping I'd like to do today.
• Stayed in bed
• Thought about Thanksgiving cooking that needs to be done.
• Pet my girlfriend dog, Pippin, since she's finally awake.
• Grumbled about the fact that I need to make an appt. for my annual. Have enough people not been in my hooha lately? ggrrr
• Remembered that I also need to make a mammogram appointment. Not right now. Not with these nipples.
• Worried about finances, remembered I need to pay my bills
• Made a to do list in my head
• Thought of the foods I'd like to eat for breakfast, but I'm too lazy to get out of bed to eat them.
• Checked the clock to see if it was around 11:00. I want a tuna fish sandwich, but I can't rationalize eating tuna during breakfasting hours.
• Checked the exact time for my post-op appointment with Dr. G&D (the RE) this afternoon. I don't know what to ask or say or do. Guess he'll have to be in charge of this meeting. Hope he doesn't want to do any checking out of anything because I ain't shavin' nothin'.

Speaking of shaving, did I tell you I'm conducting an experiment? Yes, I am. (I know this is rambling, thus the blog title.) To let you know upfront, I LOVE my Epilady. What is an Epilady you ask? It is a wonderful electronic device donning spinning coils that rips the hair out of your legs from the root. Some would consider it a torture device, but it's really not that bad.

Anyway, to my experiment . . . I recently Epiladied my right leg and shaved my left. Honestly, I ran out of time trying to Epilady, so I decided it would be a good time for an experiment. The right left is still fairly smooth, but the left leg is awfully hairy now. Time to break the Epilady out for BOTH legs. But, not today. (Time to refer back to the disclosure regarding my post-op appoinment!)

I guess it's time to figure out what I else I don't want to do today . . . . . . OOoooo! The Price is Right is on! :)

Show & Tell: This Being a Mom Thing is Hard!

Today's Show & Tell is a little like a confession. I'm sure that many of you don't know that I'm already a mom. I have two daughters and two sons. There are sixteen legs running around this house on a constant basis. One cat + three dogs = sixteen legs of my kids! Okay, okay . . . so they're feline and canine kids, but they are my babies. Seriously.

My youngest is Steve, our lab/pit mix baby dog. We rescued him at 4.5 weeks, so Stevie pretty much thinks (knows!) I am his only mother. And I am. :) Well, my big baby (now age 4) had surgery on Thursday. For the show part of today's S&T, you can see pictures & read more about it all in my other blog. Steve came home from the vet hospital yesterday, and he is a heartbreaking, pathetic, little sight. He went through some pretty major surgery and is in a good amount of pain & discomfort. Being his mom and all, I decided to sleep on the couch next to the palette that I made for him on the floor.

Through last night, I learned a teeny bit what it's like to be a mom. We didn't get to sleep until around 3:00am, and we were up every hour or hour and a half to potty, get water, take meds, check on him, receive licks, etc. I am absolutely wiped out today after less than five interrupted hours of sleep.

That's okay, though. It is worth it for my baby now, and the rough nights will be worth it for my human babies too. I better get some sleep before that happens, though!