Our Sweet Puggy Baby

Fiona had her first hip surgery today. We got to bring her home about 6:30 tonight. From what I can tell she is doing amazingly well. Jordan sat on the floor by her and hand fed her a few handfuls of dog food kernel by kernel. I was surprised she would eat. She isn't doing much walking or standing at all. She did take a few steps outside and peed, I thought that was a good sign too.

She is definitely not her happy self and I do feel sorry for her. I'm sure she doesn't understand what happened to her or that this will make her better. Zoe went up to her and tried to sniff her incision and Fiona snapped at her. It's the first time I've never seen Fiona get mad at one of the other dogs. I guess she has a right to be grouchy.

They did Fiona's right hip today because we suspected it was the worse one. After the surgery the vet x-rayed the left hip. He said it's broken and crumbling as well. It's amazing she did as well as she did for these last few months. The vet said she had to be in a lot of pain with the hips the way they were. He said that her hip that was operated on today will immediately feel better other than the muscle and tissue pain, but her joint pain should be gone immediately.... I guess you don't have hip pain when you no longer have a hip joint. She has what is called a "false hip" where the ball is cut off the femur and they live with the leg attached by ligaments, no hip joint at all. Amazing, huh?

Well, we are happy she is home and she is getting lots of kisses and attention. Jordan's last day of school was today so she's going to stay home tomorrow and cater to her every need. Her other hip surgery will follow in about a month.

Poor Momma Robin

At my request Craig built me this robin nesting box that I found in a birding magazine. We put it up on the back porch and for the last two years I have anxiously waited for a Robin to build a nest in it. Much to my delight this was the year. She's been a good Momma and before we went camping last weekend Craig climbed up on the railing to take a peak..... 3 eggs.

The sad news is that when we got home Momma Robin was no where to be found. Again Craig climbed up on the railing and all the eggs where gone. We found the shells scattered around the yard. We have no idea what got them. Do squirrels like eggs? We have a lot of squirrels around the yard. Or maybe it was a raccoon? We see them around outside in the evenings. Poor Momma Robin.......

A new hobby

Craig and I took Friday off work and headed up north to Silver Lake area camping... just the two of us. We are still here and at this very moment I am sitting around a campfire blogging and enjoying the peace and quiet. I am very content! Craig left a bit ago to run into the dunes for a few hours and I was very happy to be left alone and do nothing but enjoy the cool breeze and crackling of the fire. It's been a wonderful weekend. As much as we love and encourage the kids and their friends to join us when we go camping, I need a weekend like this a few times a year.

We decided to try something new this weekend... Geocaching. If you don't know what it is check out their website. www.geocaching.com It's a hobby where people hide caches all over the world and then put the GPS coordinates along with clues online for others to find. It's really easy. You simply program the GPS coordinates into your GPS which takes you to the vicinity and then you use the clues to find whatever is hidden. Usually it is some sort of box or container. Inside you leave your name, where you are from and the date you found the cache. It's interesting to see when the last person found it and where they were from.

We went hunting for 3 different caches this weekend and were able to locate 2 of them. The first one we found was behind an old historical cemetery a few miles from our campground out on a dirt road. It was a beautiful place!

We found it just into the woods tucked under a fallen down tree. It was an old army ammo box. People leave little trinkets. We didn't have anything to leave but we signed the register.

The next day we went hunting again. This one was by far my favorite. We had no idea where the coordinates were going to take us but away we went. Much to our delight it took us down this little two track at least 3 miles into the woods! We ended up at a nature preserve and then had to go on foot on some hiking trails... right up my alley!

It took us a while to find this one. Just as I was about to give up Craig says "I found it!".

This one was a Tupperware container hidden under a rotting stump.

Here I am signing the register.

If you look at the website you will be amazed at how many caches are hidden all around the world. You can put your zip code in to find ones hidden in the area you are at. Almost anywhere you are at in the US there is a hidden cache a few miles from you. What a great thing for families to do and I'm sure kids would love to do this. And for hardly any cost at all if you have a GPS. Give it a try!

Time For a Fiona Update

Fiona has been to 3 different vets for consultations on her hips (Calve Perthes Disease). All the vets agree that she definitely has the disease, definitely needs surgical correction, and all are recommending the same surgical procedure. We were encouraged that she might only have it in one hip when we heard that only 10 percent of dogs with this condition actually have it in both hips.... no such luck there, it's in both hips.

Cost has been a big factor in this decision for Craig and I. In years past Craig and I have had general conversations stating that we would never spend a huge amount of money on trying to save a dog. Never did we think that we would actually be in that position of having to make that type of decision. When I'm at work I would be telling myself that we had to make this a practical decision and not let our emotions make this decision... then I would get home and see her and I would absolutely melt. Ultimately, our decision was finally based on the fact that she doesn't have some condition that can't be helped. It's not like she has a terminal or chronic condition that can't be cured such as cancer. All the vets have told us that these dogs go on to live long productive painless lives. They said that after surgery we will not be able to even tell that she has this disease. They will not fix both hips at the same time so she will have 2 surgeries about a month apart. The vet we are going with quoted us about $700 per hip which we were very happy with as the other vets quoted us double that amount. We feel this is doable.

Fiona's first surgery is set up for June 2nd. In the meantime Fiona is getting lots of attention and pampering. Her every whim is catered to and we love babying her. Twice a day she is given anti-inflammatory' and amazingly she gets around pretty well.

More to follow.....

Our Princess and her Prince... Senior Prom

Another Proud Evening

Yesterday afternoon our community Lions Club had it's annual Community Honors dinner celebrating the top 10 graduating seniors, the Hartford Citizen of the year, and the Grant Hitchcock Lifetime award.

Eight of the top ten seniors with Principal Kent.

Aly, Jordan, Lindsey, Emily

Jordan's good friends.

Each year the Lions club awards 3 scholarships and Jordan received the highest honor scholarship! Way to go Jordan!

We love our Jordan!

Morels

When the workers were here putting our fence in last week they found some morels in the yard. Later that night I walked out into the woods behind our house. Boy did I find a bumper crop this year. I found so many I had to run back to the house for a bag, My total for the year was 60! I may take one more walk out there this weekend to check for any last few that might have popped up.

Caleb is always the cook. We enjoyed so many that we were starting to get tired of them. I gave some to my parents and some to the neighbors.

My orioles are back and enjoying the grape jelly I put out for them. They are so beautiful! I'm STILL waiting for my hummingbirds. I really think they have been here but I just haven't spotted them yet. My Dad's been having some at his feeders for the last week.

Tomorrow is Friday. The week has flown by! It's supposed to be cold this weekend... just as long as it's not too cold to do some more yard work.

Weekend Projects, Fiona and a Bluebird

With the new fence in the back yard we've got our work cut out for us with all the landscaping we have planned around the house and around the fence. This area under the bay window of the kitchen used to have ornamental grass. Jordan sprayed it with weed killer a few weeks ago so yesterday Craig and I dug it all out. That was a job!

Fiona is having an OK weekend. We are continuing to give her pain medications. She was so happy to be outside with us all day yesterday. She's hobbling around but getting around pretty good. She puts no weight at all on her right back leg. She'll be seeing the specialist soon.

We are edging and putting river rock all around the fence. Our goal is to edge and rock the west and south sides this year.

Some more Fiona cuteness....

Zoe is a big help, she just makes sure Daddy is doing it right. Craig is edging wide areas around the corners so I can plant pretty things in the rocks.

Craig's working hard!

This part is already for the rocks. In fact, Craig is outside right now spreading the rocks. I'm inside nursing a headache, blogging and watching the Andy Griffith Show. I'll post more photos of our progress soon.

The last 2 days Mr. Bluebird has been visiting us. He's been checking out the bluebird house but unfortunately a pair of house sparrows have also been checking it out. If you know anything about bluebirds you know that house sparrows were responsible for the near extinction of bluebirds. Craig is trying to get rid of the house sparrows. House sparrows are one of the few birds that are NOT protected. The sooner we can get rid of the house sparrows the happier I will be and so will Mr. Bluebird.

Another Fiona update

When I left for work this morning all the dogs were in the back yard. A short time later Craig went out to let them in and found Fiona shivering in pain and not putting any weight on her back right leg. Instead of waiting until Monday Craig took her to the vet today for X-rays. X-rays confirmed the suspicion of Calve Perthes disease and not only does she have it in one hip but BOTH hips. The vet thinks her right hip may even be broken already. Our hearts are breaking for her. We have been referred to a specialist.... more to follow.

Fiona Update

Fiona goes to the vet on Monday to have x-rays of her hips. She isn't getting any better and it's more evident all the time that somethings wrong with her. She walks funny... she uses both of her hind legs together like she's always pushing herself along instead of normal walking. She easily falls over when she tries to run and play with the Seadra and Zoe. Today I watched her try to make a sharp turn while she was running and she fell over and yelped in pain. Also today I gently picked her up to put her on the couch with me and she yelped again. The vet suspects she has a genetic hip problem called Calve Perthes Disease. It's a deterioration of the head of the femur due to insufficient blood supply. As a result of the insufficient blood supply the femur begins to die and disintegrate. It's a known genetic disorder in pugs and shows up between the age of 4 to 9 months. Fiona is 6 months old. We'll know more from the x-rays Monday. We'll keep you posted.

Best Season Ever

Jordan had a track meet this afternoon and I got some great shots of her. She was first in the 100 hurdles. She was clocked at 17.5. Her PR (personal record) is 17.3. Her goal is to break into the 16's before the end of the year.

I love this photo! And we love track season!

What I'm Loving Right Now

A puppy who has stolen my heart... Yes, I'm ready to admit it.

A major transformation of the yard and all the work that goes along with it. This is a huge hole in the side yard where we had a tree cut down and the stump ground out. We are temporarily using it for burning a lot of junk wood. We are having a truck load of dirt brought in to fill it soon. The fence posts were installed and cemented in on Thursday and Monday they are coming back to string the fence..... Yahoo... I've wanted a fence for as long as we've lived here! There's going to be a lot of work landscaping everywhere we want and it will probably take us a few summers to accomplish it all but I'm loving it!

Spring! And all the great stuff spring brings, including Jordan's track season. I love watching my little girl reach goals she's set for herself and knowing what an amazing life she has ahead of her.

A simple anniversary dinner out with Craig last Monday night celebrating our 24 years and both of us getting teary eyed when we talk about how much we love those kids!

A hammock in the back yard with a big pillow and Seadra snuggled next to me.

Sleeping in on Saturday mornings. I was one to never sleep in but I've so needed it this past winter and spring with my new job.

And speaking of my job, I'm going to add it to this list too. As I've shared on this blog before it's been a tough transformation for me (and my family) but there are so many good things about it. Patients that warm my heart and leave me with feelings of gratitude. Doctors (my bosses) that are compassionate, caring and understanding when I get overwhelmed. They are also so appreciative of what I've been doing. There are some major changes forthcoming that I am excited about that hopefully I'll be able to talk about soon. All good stuff!

Anticipation of an awesome summer ahead.... Lots of camping visiting new places and old favorites. Spending days at the cottage, going for Jeep rides.... my list is long.

Listening to Caleb sit in the living room playing his guitar and hearing him sing in the shower while I'm in the kitchen working. He's not singing to impress anyone, he doesn't even know anyone hears him... he just feels like singing and I love it! Caleb is a true gift, a gentle spirit, a huge heart. Everyday I am more thankful for the person he is.

Our outside fire pit. Last night Craig built us a fire. It was sprinkling but we didn't care. I love those fires and what they mean to all of us. We solve life's problems, we laugh, we plan our lives, our stresses from the days melt away.

Life is good.......

24 Years!

Twenty four years ago today I received one of the greatest gifts of my life...

...... my Hubby! Happy Anniversary to us!

He's my world!

He's my All!

He makes me happy!

He makes me feel safe!

He brings me joy!

I love you Craig!

Fiona Update

It's been awhile since I've done a Fiona update. She's growing but she still has that puppy look to her. She's soooo darn cute. Just yesterday she turned 6 months old. She's still a tiny thing at only about 10 pounds. I thought she would be bigger at this age. Maybe she's just going to be a small pug. Zoe is a monster pug at 26 pounds so I guess she looks tiny compared to her.

She LOVES her dog beds. We've tried to get Seadra and Zoe to like dog beds but they never cared for them. Fiona is very attached to her dog beds. She about wore the first one out so last week she got a new one. She was very happy!

I'm happy to announce she's pretty much housebroken. She rarely has an accident and usually only when we've neglected to take her out in a timely manner.

She loves her Daddy and the feeling is mutual. Craig is quite smitten with her.

I have to tell you about her bark. The poor little thing hardly has a bark at all. Don't get me wrong... she loves to use her voice. She's already learned to bark at the neighbors, barks excitedly when she's being fed, and barks when she plays.... but we still can't believe it. When she barks it's the littlest whip of a bark. It like a deep soft sound. At first we thought she would outgrow it and acquire the sharp shrill sound that dogs make when they bark but so far no such thing. And we LOVE it, we are really hoping she keeps her bark. I have never heard a dog bark like she does.

She is slowly winning my heart like I hoped she would. I've had my days (OK, weeks) where she has stressed me but they are starting to be fewer. I've noticed that she is not so relentless in her badgering of Zoe and I even seen glimpses of Seadra playing tag with her outside, I thought I would never see that.

Seadra has an affectionate nickname of Boo Boo, Zoe is Zo-Zo, and I'm catching myself calling Fiona "My Fiona". I guess that means I love her.