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Thursday, January 31, 2008

I Don't Want a Puppy Anymore....

Ian has had mixed feelings about Dilly since we brought her home. One minute he loves her and the next he is annoyed with her. Tuesday he got frustrated with her trying to constantly lick him and I tried to explain to him that she's still just a puppy and doesn't always do exactly what we would want her to do, she's learning. He looked at me and announced "I don't want a puppy anymore!"
It didn't take too long for his feelings to change back to love for Dilly. I understand how he feels, she just keeps giving him kisses and the more he tries to escape, the more she tries to get to him to kiss him. She's bigger than Ian so his only true escape is to go into his bedroom and close the door.
For the most part, Dilly is pretty calm for a puppy. She's learning about how to be house broken and what she can chew or not chew, but if I want to take a nap on the couch, she lays on her doggie bed near me and sleeps.
We have a crate for her that we put her in at bedtime and when we have to be gone...she has made it clear that she doesn't like it. She loves her rawhide bone and her doggie bed. She adores shoestrings! Her first morning with us she untied Colin's shoes right after he tied them. I've caught her sneaking my tennis shoes onto her doggie bed for a little shoestring snack. She doesn't mind the rain (a good quality in a dog that lives in the Northwest). Mostly, she loves me. She has become my shadow, following through the house. She lays down near me if I am sitting or laying down, but if I move she is right there seeing what I am doing. Pretty cute shadow!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Dilly Meets Grandma's Dogs

After our Petco adventure, it was time to head toward home. Going home meant a stop at Colin's parents' home as they had been watching Ian for the weekend. So we called his parents and told them we were on our way and not to tell Ian about the dog. We were going to surprise Ian.
When we arrived at their house, they weren't home so we got Dilly out and took her in the backyard with the three boy dogs that Colin's parents have (Angus, Cooper and Six). The dogs were excited. Old Angus slowly walked up for a greeting, Cooper bounced over and said, hi, hi,hi and Six gave Dilly a little sniff. Dilly sniffed them back and started sniffing the yard.
Angus and Six had decided that Dilly was okay, but they weren't too interested, so they went off to do other things and would check back periodically. Cooper kept following Dilly everywhere she went. He was very excited and was overjoyed to follow her every move. Finally, he,too tired of Dilly's sniffing.
Just about the time Cooper found something else to do, Dilly found trouble. Colin's parents have built a fish pond next to their patio and it was very full, so full that it was pretty much level with the ground and since we've had cold weather for at least a week, there was a thin layer of ice on the pond. Dilly walked right onto the ice and then fell through. I had to help pull her out of the water and Colin grabbed a towel to dry her off a bit. As soon as we stopped drying Dilly, she took off running every direction in that yard. No more sniffing for her, she was bounding all over. Running for the sheer joy of running.
It was almost time for Ian to arrive. We had decided that we would have him come in the backyard with all the dogs and introduce him to Dilly back there. As soon as he arrived he put his jacket on and headed to the backyard. Dilly came right up and Ian saw her. His first question was, "Where'd you get that dog?" So we told him that she was our new puppy. He just grinned.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Petco

I promised to share our first adventure with Piccadilly, so here it is. We knew that we needed some doggy supplies, so after we picked up Dilly, we headed to Petco. Keep in mind that so far she hadn't been too keen on the whole idea of being on a leash. She wanted to go where she wanted to go.
So we got to Petco and took her out and tried to get her to go potty. She wasn't going for that so we decided we might as well head into the store. We figured Dilly would really like Petco. Dilly decided we were wrong. We got to the front door and she dug down every claw she could find and refused to walk. We dragged her in the front door thinking she might change her mind, she didn't. The only way she was moving was her heinie sliding on the tile floor in Petco. Colin tried to negotiate with and encourage Dilly, but it did no good.
Finally, we decided that we needed to get going so we put Dilly in the shopping cart and there she remained for our entire shopping time!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Meet Piccadilly

 
We added a new member to our family this weekend. We now have a five month old Airedale puppy named Piccadilly (Dilly for short). Already she is making life a little more interesting around our house. I suppose you would like to hear the whole story about Piccadilly. I'll begin where all good stories start, at the beginning.
Originally we had tossed around the idea of getting a puppy to have around Lucy, to keep her company and because we knew her health wasn't very good. Unfortunately, she got sick and had to be put to sleep before we could ever go very far with that thought.
After Lucy's death we were sad and discussed getting a puppy, but decided we would wait until summer.
Then I started looking for breeders for that summer puppy and found out that there aren't tons of Airedale breeders and a lot of them want at least $800 for a puppy. Yikes! We didn't want to pay that much for a pet. So I started looking all over the internet for Airedales. Of course, there were older ones to rescue. I'm all for that idea, but didn't want to fence my yard in January and after Lucy, wanted a fairly young dog.
Saturday I searched the internet thoroughly and I found an ad for a 4 month old female puppy in Portland, OR that was in my price range. I called and talked to the "husband" and told him I was very interested in their puppy and that I needed to talk to my husband, but that I would call back. Well I tried to call them back several times and they never called me back even though I left messages. I tried them the next morning, but they still didn't answer. Colin had bookmarked the site where their ad was and when he pulled it up Sunday morning, there was a new ad for 2 female Airedale puppies, so we called that number. No answer. As soon as I hung up, the phone rang and it was the man selling the puppies. I talked to him quite a bit and we decided to meet in Portland.
So we met in the IKEA parking lot in Portland and Mike (that's the guy selling the pups) opened up the back of his SUV. It had been the puppies' first car trip and they both had gotten sick. Piccadilly was the first one out. I was pretty sure she was the one I wanted. She wagged her tail a little and gave me some kisses. Her sister was a little on the shy side and probably didn't feel too groovy. She also had a hernia and I didn't really want to deal with that if I didn't have to.
So we paid for Dilly and after a long time of talking (boy that guy was a talker! Nice guy, just talkative!) we headed out to Petco. It was obvious that we needed a crate, a collar, dog food, treats and a toy for Dilly. I'll tell you all about our Petco adventure in my next post.
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Thursday, January 24, 2008

So That's Sleep!

Well, last night I finally slept with a breathing machine to help keep my airway open while I am sleeping. It wasn't the best night's sleep I've ever had, wasn't the worst either. I was actually looking forward to going to sleep last night, hopeful that I might wake up rested. Of course, the guy who explained the machine to me had warned me not to expect everything to be better in one night and he was right, to some extent.
I didn't fall asleep right away, but I also wasn't stressed out about that like I sometimes am, and I did wake up several times. I think I slept from 12 or 12:30 to 3:00, woke up and went back to bed at 3:05 or 3:10 and slept until Ian woke me up at 6:30. I tried to sleep after tucking Ian back in (his covers had fallen off his bed and he never seems to think he can put them back on) but sleep eluded me and I finally got out of bed around 7.
After feeding Ian and doing some school, I took a nap while Ian played in his room. I actually woke up feeling fairly rested.
So now I just need to get used to my gadget and wearing it while I sleep and maybe I will continue to wake up rested. I hope so!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Light Blogging

Colin commented yesterday that I hadn't blogged for a while. It's true. I am so tired these days that it's hard to get motivated to write out my thoughts. I am hoping that after I get the CPAP machine my sleep will be better and overall, I won't feel so tired.
I'm sure this time of year adds to being tired. It gets dark around 4:30 right now and this week it has gotten COLD. It was 21 degrees out last night. I know that isn't cold for people in Alaska and I must admit it's been colder in Kansas when I lived there, but I want my moderate winter. You know, 40 or 50 degrees, not cold, cold, cold.
Even though it's cold, it may turn out to be a nice week. Tomorrow I go get the CPAP machine and have Bible study. Friday Colin and I have planned a date night and I think we will finally get to see National Treasure 2...it's supposed to be at the theater with open captioning for Colin. Saturday I have a scrapbooking crop from 1-9.....hooray!! I love the scrapbooking crop, I only get a little bit of scrapbooking done, but I get a lot of mommy conversation with being interrupted by children. Talk about a little food for your soul....wonderful!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

 
I love this goofy picture of Ian. It isn't a gorgeous sight, but it's real. I know I don't usually look like Ian does in this picture, but I assure you, there are days where I feel like this. I took this on his birthday last year and every time I see it, it makes me giggle. That's my goofy boy!
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

AWANA Goose Chase

Tonight was missionary night at AWANA tonight. That meant that a missionary came to talk to the boys and girls and that they gave them pictures of themselves for the boys and girls to put in their AWANA books (in that special section). This seems like a simple thing, but with Ian, things aren't always simple.
When I met up in the hall with Ian after Colin had picked him up, Ian was overly excited about the fact that he finally got through the theme song and that he said his verses. I congratulated him and took his AWANA bag and asked him if he had the missionary picture in his book. He told me that no, he didn't. So I checked and he didn't have the picture even though they had been passing out the pictures. He also had two quarters in his bag, not in a baggie like the 4 quarters we had sent to help with missions.
I did what any mom would do, I sought out an adult AWANA helper. It sounds so simple. Ha! First they said, ask this person, but then we were told they had already left for the evening. Well, check the classroom or hallway outside. Nope, no pictures there. We asked other adults outside the classroom and they had no idea. The missionary had already left. In desperation, I sought out another adult leader and asked my question. She had possessed a copy of the picture earlier, but had put it somewhere else or given it away. So we checked the closet. Only old missionary pictures from last year in that box. Another leader tried to help by giving us one of the old pictures. Suddenly, I saw it! Probably not the picture they had been handing out, but nevertheless, a picture of tonight's missionaries, taped to the closet door (on the inside). So the AWANA leader helping me peeled it off the door and I plunked it into Ian's AWANA book. Amazing, it took at least 20 minutes to hunt down what had probably been sitting next to my child most of the evening just waiting for him to pick up!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Scary Sleep

Well, armed with new knowledge about my sleep, I had a horrible night's sleep last night. First of all, when you know that you stop breathing 22 times an hour, (which is somewhere between 122 and 176 times a night, depending on how many hours you sleep) sleep doesn't seem quite as appealing as it might have before.
So I got to bed around 1 am when I was finally just exhausted. I don't even know how many times I woke up, but it was a lot. I hope the company with the machine calls soon, trying to sleep with sleep apnea and the knowledge of it, is the pits!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Mystery Solved?

Well, I finally may know why I have been so tired and worn out. I took my sleep study test Friday night and returned the machine today (with a little help from Colin's mom). Group Health called me this afternoon and gave me the results of my test. They told me a normal person can stop breathing up to 5 times an hour at night. Someone with severe sleep apnea stops breathing 30 or more times an hour at night. I stopped breathing 22 times an hour. No wonder I wake up feeling really tired and sluggish, I've hardly had any sleep!
So now I'm going to have a machine to help keep my airway open at night. I hope I will finally get a good night's sleep. I'm long overdue.

Sunshine

 
Today is very rainy. I am missing sunny days. Yesterday was fairly warm and sunny. I think it was close to 50 degrees outside. I took Ian out on his bike while I walked. It wasn't easy to get a good walk in as Ian was either stopping or falling over every few minutes. He also kept gravitating toward the middle of the road when we couldn't be on sidewalks. I kept trying to get the point across that the middle of the road was a bad place to be. At one point I told him, "you're in the middle of the road again. That's the perfect spot for a car to hit you from either direction...get to the side." I finally made him walk his bike for a little way, the road we were on was just a bit too busy for him to keep straying toward the middle.
After bringing Ian back home, I went for a little more walk, just to be able to walk without stopping.
In honor of sunny days, I'm posting this picture from our trip to Hawaii. Looking at it makes me feel sunnier inside.
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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Blast From the Past

 
My mom sent me this picture from when I was a little girl. I thought I'd put it on here for fun. My dad's in the picture with me. He must be about 25 and I'm about 2. So it's probably 1973.
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Bad Care Bear

 
Ian finally cleaned his room yesterday. I'm glad he did, he was really close to having a lot of toys in time out for a while. After he cleaned his room I looked in a bag he had hanging on his door and found his Care bear in hand cuffs. I wonder what dastardly deed a Care bear would do to deserve being cuffed? Smiling too much? Failing to share enough?? Looking too cute?? Whatever he did, it sure made me giggle seeing that bear in shackles!
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Saturday, January 12, 2008

The Saver

Ian is learning how to save. Not real money, his AWANA bucks that he earns for saying Bible verses. Once a month they open the AWANA "store" and kids get to spend the money they've earned for saying verses, inviting friends, etc.
At the first AWANA store night this year (in September), Ian noticed that they had Bionocles (basically they're creepy Lego monsters). Ian wanted a Bionocle but they cost 40 AWANA bucks. So Ian tried to persuade me to buy him one. I told him I didn't really like them and I wouldn't buy one, but if he really wanted one, he could save his bucks and buy one himself. Which is exactly what my 6 yr. old did. He saved his bucks until this Wednesday. Finally, he had enough to buy his creepy Bionocle. He loves it!
Colin helped him put it together Thursday night and he's been playing with it nonstop since then.
I am so proud of his ability to save. I know it wasn't easy. I've seen the stuff they have in the store. There are lots of little items that cost a buck or two that could really cut into your saving plan if you bought a little something every time the store was open, but Ian didn't, he just kept saving for what he wanted. Yeah, Ian!!
I hope he keeps this up. I was terrible at saving my money when I was a kid. As soon as I got my allowance I wanted to spend my money. It's nice to see my son see what he wants and be willing to work for it!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

The Land of Winken, Blinken and Nod

I wish I could say that the land of Winken, Blinken and Nod was working out well for me now. Sadly, I cannot say that. My sleep has been messed up since we got back from Hawaii and it doesn't seem to be getting better. Take last night for example. I went to bed at eleven. I lay there trying to sleep for an hour, but nothing was happening, I was wide awake, so I got up and spent a little time on the computer. At ten till one I realized it might be snowing, I checked and it was. Then I went back to bed and had the same problem. I finally got to bed and sort of fell asleep sometime after 3.
Of course, going to bed that late affected my morning. It's all a weird cycle of not being able to sleep and then crashing and not being able to move when I want to in the morning.
I haven't had any caffeine and today I am refraining from anything chocolate to see if that helps. This weird sleep is wearing me out even more than I was already worn out. Maybe tonight I'll try the warm vanilla milk that I make for Ian when he has a hard time getting to sleep. You never know, it might work for me, too.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Back to Normal??

After all the vacation and holiday celebrations life is settling down and we are getting back to normal. Whatever normal is. Ian is back to doing school work even though he has protested many times that he would rather play. Tough luck, there are a lot of fun things I'd like to do, too, but I live in reality. Sometimes there are things that we have to do before we can do the fun stuff.
Speaking of normal, I'm still trying to figure out why I'm tired and my hair is falling out. This week I went to a pulmonary/sleep specialist to see if maybe my sleep is causing me to be tired. They're going to do a sleep study to see. At least I'll get to do that in my house. I can't imagine getting a good sleep study in a hospital or clinic, too much going on.
I got some of my medical records from when I had my surgery to remove my tumor in '95. Those were interesting to read. The part of my tumor that they could remove was weighed and it weighed about 150 grams. Weird.
We had AWANA this week and Bible study. Tumbling starts back next week, but I'm not sure we're going. I know Ian wants to go to Homeschool sports and I'm tired of taking him places three days a week in a row. So we might just do AWANA and homeschool sports. Pretty soon it will be time to sign up for T-ball. Time just flies sometimes.
We are planning our next vacation already. I am very excited. We're going to Colorado. We're going to stay with my parents and my brother and his family for a week in a cabin in the mountains. This will be Ian's first time to drive for a vacation. He's always flown where we are going. We're going the end of June so it should be absolutely beautiful. I can hardly wait!