Dr. Jekyll & Miss Hyde

Jackie is taking care of Brantley at our house today since the Brocks have all been stricken with the stomach bug. It is great having her at our house and being able to spend more time seeing them interact. Brantley adores "Ja-gee" and I believe the feeling is mutual.

It also gives us an opportunity to compare notes. For example, I came home for lunch and while Jackie washed Brantley's hands and got her in her highchair, I made her lunch - pb&j, yogurt, blueberries and milk. I set it down in front of her and she immediately pushes away her plate and rolls up her mat and tried to undo her seatbelt. Jackie wonders what she is doing. She has never seen this behavior from Little Precious. Apparently Little Precious wanted Jackie to prepare her mid-day meal since she immediately began eating once Jackie gave her a napkin and placed her sandwich on that for her to enjoy. Ok...

Next up, the "ahuum, ahuum, ahuum" at the sight of Matt eating his lunch. This is the sound she makes when she begs for food...even though she just ate. Jackie asked me what she was doing. "What? She has never begged you for food?" "No! She's never begged me for anything!" Hmmm...well, that is her begging for food. Lovely isn't it?

Last up, the "anh, anh, anh". We hear this whenever she wants something but can't get it. "You've heard her do that, right? She does it quite frequently. I'm sure you hear it at least 10 times an hour, right?" "No, no! I've never heard her say that! She comes over and grabs my hand and takes me to what she would like to have." Ohhhh...ok.

You get the Jekyll - I get Miss Hyde!

PS: Do you see her contemplating her next move in the photo? I'm onto her now!

A new low. Even for us.

A few Monday's, we dropped Lola off at the vet for her knee surgery and brought Gunner in because he makes like a cow pretty frequently, grazing on grass in the backyard and eating sticks, and then throws up in Matt's office at night. I think it is his way of showing his love for Matt but boy, does it make for a not so pleasant morning when Matt finds Gunner's calling card. I never quite understood why Matt would get so bent about it. Yes, it's a nuisance and gross but let's just clean it up and move on. Then Matt told me to think of how I would feel if I walked into my office every morning and had to clean up a pile of vomit. Well, if you put it that way...

Dr. Jon gave Gunner some acid reflux meds and we have not had an issue since. Great! That was pretty easy.

Now Lola, easy is not the word for her. Nor is calm, normal, fun, clean, or good. She has been ok about staying on her bed or laying in the kitchen. But every time she does move, her incision bleeds and it got to the point where we thought she had ripped her incision open. So back to the vet we go. The joy that dog finds in going to the vet is off the charts. So excited in fact that poop flew out of her rear end right there in the lobby. There was no warning before the flying poop. No squatting, no whimpering, no attempt to get outside. She did not miss one beat. One second there was a clean floor 2 feet in front of me and the next there was a pile of poo. I told you we had a hit a new low.

Dr. Jon checked her out and assured us that the incision was fine and the blood/fluid coming out was normal. And, by the way, would you like me to prescribe her a sedative to get through the next week? Huh, YES. YES PLEASE. I asked him if she was the worst patient he had ever seen and he said, "If by worst, you mean the most exuberant, yes, she's in the top 10." That's our girl. Of the thousands of dogs he has seen in his career, ours gets on the Top 10 Bad Dog List. We're so proud.

We were looking forward to a nice peaceful evening with Lola laying down calmly and getting the first good night's sleep since Tuesday. We gave her that sedative and not 30 minutes later she is unable to get up and her eyes are glazed over and bloodshot. We don't think this is normal. We place a call to the emergency vet who said that is was ok but if we see any vomiting or labored breathing to bring her in. Or if it didn't look like she was coming out of it in 6-8 hours. At 11:30, 5.5 hours into it, Matt notices that every time she breathes in, her whole body quivers. Off to the vet she goes. Matt has to carry 103 pounds of dead lab weight out to the truck. Miracle of all miracles, she walks when she gets to the vet - because she LOVES the vet.

Thankfully, the Beanster is ok. Nothing can keep that dog down for long. As much as we joke about giving her the blue needle, we will be devasted when her time is up. We love her just as much as she gets on her our every last nerve. We love her for her zest for life, her unbridled joy for the simplest of things, her neverending desire to just be near us. And that face? How can you not love this face?

Sabbatical - Part II: The Not So Fabulous

Where the heck did my font option go?

Anyway, we had a couple of not so fabulous things occur the last 3 weeks but, thankfully, I had to rack my brain to remember what they were. I almost hate to even write about them but...such is life, right? I'll keep it short and to the point so if you're in a good mood while reading this you have a good chance of staying that way.

First, our AC didn't work in the condo for the first week and half! Long story short, there was a mix up and what should have been a 3 day inconvenience turned into 10. I feel a bit wronged here and am thinking about writing a letter to the rental company. It seriously would not have been a big deal except that (a) I had more than one restless night of sleep due to the 747, also known as a portable AC, they installed to keep the master bedroom cold. I mean cool. I mean borderline warm; (b) I missed out on 4 nights of sleeping to the sound of ocean waves; (c) Our guests did not have the benfit of the 747 and really were pretty warm; (d) Meeting the AC techs and coordinating with the rental co. took precious, precious, time; and (e) The rental company just was not that apologetic about the situation. They definitely handled it the best they could but I still feel like I paid for something that I did not receive.

Second, Matt called me the first Monday I was there to let me know that Lola would need surgery on her knee when I got back. She tore a ligament and was limping badly. The vet gave her some pain meds to get her through the past few weeks and Matt and I dropped her off this morning for the surgery. Thankfully, she came through fine and, as Dr. Jon reported, "She is on narcotics and is enjoying the ride." It is VERY weird not having her here. Our shoebox actually seems bigger but the house just seems empty without her. We pick her up tomorrow at which time we will beg Dr. Jon for a 4 month supply of narcotics so that we can keep the Beanster calm during recovery. For those of you who have met Lola, you know that calm is not in her limited vocabulary.

Third, and this is the most freaky although I'm pretty sure it was harmless, I received a message through my Flickr account that someone wanted to add me as a contact. I did not recognize the name so I logged on to check him out. His profile came up "Single" and "Male". And "Child Photographer". If you watch Oprah you know how those 4 words in this context can FREAK YOU OUT. I looked at some of his current contacts and he really did seem harmless but who is he and how did he find my stuff? I thought I had made all my photos for "Friends and Family Only" but apparently not. I denied the request and am now in the process of making sure everything is for "Friends and Family Only". Such a sucky feeling.

So that is a wrap for the Not So Fabulous. Am really thankful that the Not So Fabulous was really not so bad...

Sabbatical - Part 1: The Fabulous

I CANNOT believe that I have only 2.5 more days left at the beach! I seriously tried to slow time down these past 3 weeks and here we are, shocked at the reality of how it has all gone way too fast. Fast but fabulous. For the most part.

Brantley...what can I say? I love that little being with every once of myself. The week that just she, Matt and I were together was perfect. B thinks that Matt is the most hilarious person ever and he LOVES that she thinks that. And I love all of it. Lots of love going on here. The cool part is that we think she is the funniest little thing we've seen. I would say that my biggest joy these past weeks is that I really got to know my baby. That is fabulous and so, so, so sad to me at the same time.

Taylor and Joel came for a visit which was super fun. 2 pitchers of margaritas and watching Joel run from B as she tried to lay kiss after kiss after kiss on him - good times.

Mom and Dad are here to round out the beach vacay. It is great to be with them and have them get to know B. I think she knows they're special people in our lives. Today on the beach, M&D went for a walk and as they were walking back towards us she caught sight of them pretty far out. They were just figures walking but she knew it was them and she wouldn't stop looking at them until they got closer at which point she got up and ran to them. Sweetness.

Matt and Dan fished and we feasted on Mahi Mahi - delicious!

As far as hitting the beach goes, the weather could not have been better. Boating, not so good but we're sticking to the fabulous here.

I cooked! Once...but it was good...

Finished Pillars of the Earth. Great, long read. Some parts were very disturbing to me but overall I would recommend it.

I actually have some color for the first time in years. I know it isn't healthy but IT FEELS SO GOOD.