Jesse Puppy

I know Jesse our 12 year old dog is not a puppy, but we still consider him one.  He truly was our first child and as much as Mike fought getting him, he has been the best dog I have ever had.  And Mike came around within the first month and they have been best buds ever since. 

For the past month we have been fighting with a cyst on Jesse's chest.  They drained it about a month ago and it filled back up pretty fast.  I noticed on Tuesday that Jesse was licking at it and when he stood his right leg was distorted because it was so large.  So I thought to myself, "I am a big girl, I can take him in by myself."  Dr. R (at Banfield - possibly the best Vet I have ever dealt with) was surprised with how big it had gotten and said we should drain it and then talk about what we needed to do about it.  She came back from draining it and said we needed to think about surgery to remove it.  We decided we would do a surgical consult scheduled for today to discuss whether or not Jesse was a healthy enough candidate for surgery to remove the cyst.

Then on Tuesday afternoon/evening Jesse would not stop licking the cyst which had filled pretty much back up by then.  On Wednesday morning it was an oozing mess, so back into the vet we went.  They put him on antibiotics and then sent me to PetSmart - right next door - to get a cone/donut to keep him from licking it.  That was easier said than done because I had both Tommy and Morgan with me and of course this was during Morgan's nap time so she was a mess.  She was running up and down the aisles and I had to have Tommy chase her while I tried to talk to a salesman about which thing to buy.  When I couldn't decide I bought them all and figured I would figure it out at home.

We got home and I put the donut on Jesse.  He seemed so sad, but I knew it was better for him and it was helping the cyst to crust over (sorry to be so graphic).  Warning here is a picture of the cyst and Jesse in a donut, so breeze past these if you don't want to see yucky stuff:

So today I dropped Jesse off for his surgical consult and Dr. R called within an hour and said they took x-rays and the cyst seemed to not have gone past the body wall, which was a good thing because it looked like it had not grown into the muscle tissue.  Dr. R said pretty much our decision at this point would be surgery or euthanize him because he can’t live with this cyst on him.  She couldn’t guarantee me that this is not cancer, but he can’t live with this cyst because it bothers him so much. 

She said the surgeon is there and they can do the surgery today so that is what we elected to do.  She said she would call me if anything changed once they got in there and it was a “mess” -then we would need to make a decision to proceed or put him to sleep.  

Then Dr. R called in the middle of surgery to let me know there was a tumor causing the cyst.  They are pretty sure it is cancer, but they were going to remove as much of the tumor as they could as well as the cyst.  So now I sit here waiting to hear whether or not our puppy gets to come home tonight or if we have to make a harder decision and put him to sleep. 

I am so thankful for the wonderful years we have had with Jesse - he is truly a member of our family.  But Mike and I are also very realistic and know we do not want Jesse to be in pain.  And we do not want his quality of life to suffer.  So currently I sit here and wait in tears wondering how our puppy is.

So cheers to the years we have had with this amazing dog and here is to hoping that we have a few more.

Fun Easter Project

Here is a fun Easter project that Tommy did with Grandma Jan last year and I am attempting again this year.  I am sure Grandma Jan's eggs will surpass mine, but here goes nothing...

First these are pictures of Grandma Jan and Tommy's eggs from last year:

We added the egg feet, but they were a fun to have around the house.

Egg with glasses

They were fantastic centerpieces to our Easter Brunch last year.

So I forgot that last years' eggs were brown and I bought white.  But then I decided that was okay, I would color the eggs.  So then of course I had to talk with Grandma Jan to figure out what to do next.  She said last year she hard boiled the eggs and then took off the top and scooped the eggs out.  So that is what I did. 

Of course I googled how to hard boil the perfect egg...because every year, I tend to forget.  I put the eggs in the pot and filled with cold water.  I added one tsp. of salt and 1Tbsp of vinegar and then brought it to a boil.  Once at a boil, I removed from heat and covered the pot and timed it for 15minutes.  Then I transferred the eggs into an ice bath with a slotted spoon.  The resulting eggs were perfect...I know because one of them broke in the transfer process...so I had a lovely afternoon snack. 

Then we colored the eggs.  Tommy had a hard time understanding (as any 4 year old would) why we needed to leave them in the dye so long, but I LOVED the color they became.

Once those colors had dried, I used a sharp large knife and somewhat sawed a circle at the top of each egg and then slightly tapped the circle until it broke off.  Then I used a small spoon (we have multiple types of baby spoons) to scoop out the middles...I tried to be careful not to get shell fragments in there because then I could use the insides to make egg salad.  YUMMMMM! - which happened to be my lunch today.

Don't mind the baby on the table...I promise I was watching her!

The color somewhat crackled (don't even know if that is a word), but I kind of think it is pretty and will hopefully act like hair for my faces when I draw them on with Sharpie color.

Then today I inserted cotton balls and grass seed (thanks Mikey for picking that up for me) and put a bit of water in there...so hopefully next week I will send everyone pictures of lush green haired egg heads. 

Cheers to fun projects!  (Thanks Grandma Jan!!!)

It has been a while...

It has been a while since I have had time to sit and blog.  I know it does not take that much time, but it seems lately we have been busy.  I signed both Tommy and Morgan up for swimming class - and then I signed Tommy up for Karate Class.  While I like to have them active and having fun...it has been pretty busy over the last few weeks.  The swimming lessons will last until June and then I think it will just be Karate Class for Tommy. 

Currently this is what our schedule looks like:

Mondays - Usually Grandma Sue Mondays - we do SS in the morning and then hang out with Grandma
Tuesdays - Preschool day, run/walk with Sara and Megan while Tommy is in school
Wednesday - Do SS, Tommy swimming lessons and Tommy Karate Class (every other week the cleaning lady comes)
Thursday - Preschool day, run/walk with Sara and Megan while Tommy is in school
Friday - Do SS and Morgan swimming lessons
Saturday - Tommy Karate Class
Sunday - Church

So not a ton of free time, which is nice in a way, but it also seems to make the days go by quicker than normal.  And I am sure as the kids get older, the activities get to be more.

The other thing that has kept me away from blogging is Mike has started to travel like he used to travel prior to kids - and I think a bit more. :)  He usually had some rather large international travels, but he has those going on this year as well as some quick 3-4 day domestic travels pretty much every other week throughout the rest of the year.  One nice benefit is that he is taking me to France with him when he goes in August. 

I am very thankful he has a job and likes what he does, but it is definitely harder to be a single parent.  I give major credit to single parents.  Plus I like it when he is home and can spend time with us.  It is much more fun! 

So until school is out, I am pretty much sticking to the schedule above and trying not to lose my mind.  Here are a few pictures from what we have been up to:

We went to the Childrens Museum with Grandma Sue -

Both kids playing in the dirt

Tommy building his project!

Morgan playing with a watering can :)

Tommy on stage as a dino!

And spring is trying to come out...we played in the backyard last week:

So cheers to being busy!