Schmuppy

I had an early morning adventure of negotiating a trip to the vet with the kids and a gimpy Maggie. Wednesday afternoon Maggie charged the fence where she and a neighbor's dog daily bark at each other as a friendly ritual. That particular day she must have stepped in a hole or something because she yelped and limped away from the fence without barking. Yesterday she barely put any weight on her front right foot at all and I had to carry her up and down our steps to go to the bathroom.

The vet this morning gave us the option to have her sedated for x-rays to be taken or try antibiotics (she has a slight fever) and anti-inflammatory for the weekend and see if it improves. I opted for door #2 with the hopes that it's just soft tissue damage and not a bone injury.

So far I've coaxed her to take the medication with bacon grease on her food and a pill wrapped in a slice of deli ham. She isn't a fool so she doesn't fall for the pill in the peanut butter trick. I tried and ended up with two slimy and peanut butter covered pills on the carpet. Gross!

The other dilemma is that I had to run inside to answer the phone, leaving Maggie outside. She tried to come up the stairs by herself and ended up hurting her other front leg so now she can barely walk at all. I'm desperate for the medication to work quickly because it makes me so sad to see her this way. I already mourn the fact that she's getting older (10 this year) so adding an injury to the situation only makes her age more obvious. Although it may sound petty because she is just our dog, I'd appreciate any prayers you're willing to offer up for her healing. It's hard enough to take care of the kids and myself during the day...carrying her around the house and helping her go to the bathroom is almost too much for me to handle. Thanks so much!

Hunting debrief

Justin returned yesterday afternoon after having a harrowing encounter with some bears, one of which looked like this:


That, my friends, is a grizzly bear. Justin did not take this picture...he was too busy taking out his pepper spray and wondering what to do next. After getting home and checking descriptors, he's positive that one of the two bears he (almost literally) ran into was a grizzly. His suspicions were confirmed by the local FWP bear expert whom Justin called to report the sighting. This has left Justin with some serious things to consider before going hunting again!

While he didn't get an elk, he did shoot a grouse on his way out of the woods so one of us will eat dinner one of these nights (for those of you who don't know, the breast meat from one grouse is enough for one moderately hungry adult). We're just glad he's home safe and sound.

First Oreo

Here's Madeleine with her first Oreo cookie. I felt like it was a picture-worthy moment.

Hunting

The time has come. Archery season opened this past weekend and Justin took off yesterday afternoon for three days in the wilderness. He'll be back Wednesday evening. The kids and I are surviving thus far but we had help from our friend Jen last night to tonight will be the true test. It will all be worth it if Justin can get an elk! I'll try to capture Madeleine on video explaining what Justin's out doing. It's pretty cute how she describes it. Okay, back to playing with Parker (they've taken to tag-teaming on naps, much to my chagrin).

Time to brush off the dust

Time to break out the old cleats and shin guards...I'm on a soccer team! Games start in two weeks and no, I haven't been working to get in shape. My soccer shoes haven't even seen the light of day (out of their shoe bag) in, ah, ah, ah, a decade? That's scary! Fortunately my hairdresser has joined the team with me and she and I will get together next week to see if we still know how to kick the ball. The "season" is only 5 weeks long with one game a week. Then maybe I'll finally use my gift certificate for the massage I've been saving :)

No lie

Justin and I've decided to let our hair grow. Why you might wonder? I think we're rebelling against age but that's just a guess! It will be hard to tell in the after picture that I'm actually working on growing it out but I've decided to do things the non-traditional way: maintain a groomed look while letting my locks get longer. In the past I've simply gone without haircuts which results in a pretty disheveled look. I'm investing in myself now and will therefore take my sweet time in getting it to the length I want it. As for Justin, this means no more barber shops...it's the salon for him :) My hairdresser will help him from becoming a mushroom head, just like she's doing for me!

After getting my haircut and putting the kids to bed I spent the entire night watching America's Got Talent and voting for my favorite acts. I never thought I'd be "one of those people" (I used to only listen to NPR for heaven's sake!) but I am and I hope Kevin Skinner wins it all :)

Bound to happen

With the end of summer comes the attack of the bees. The bees always get more aggressive at this time of year and although we've taught Madeleine how to respond to them (waving her hand gently and saying "shoo-shoo"), they still seem to freak her out. She almost fell off our stoop twice panicking when they've flown around her head. But the irony is that Parker was the one who got stung yesterday. Despite minding his own business in his baby swing, he got stung on his hand while rubbing his eyes to get the bee off his face. He whined for a few seconds and then was fine. He wouldn't tolerate any ice and I didn't need to use the baking soda paste so it's still kind of swollen but he's fine.

Both kids have been progressing through a cold so I haven't had much to post as of late but as they start to be themselves I'm sure I'll manage to find something fun to share :)