Was that a ray of sunshine?

Holy crap, get dressed...let's go outside!!! Too bad I had to persuade (beg) a 2yr old to get in the stroller and let me exercise. And, I might have (kinda sorta) said we could go to the park when I full well knew it was too wet and muddy. Bad mommy. I at least got a lap around the lake in then decided it was too damn cold for a second lap. Wuss, I know.

We did actually leave the house a little last week too. Now, it was just the grocery store and to my parents house, but the point is that we weren't in our house. Ryan even lasted an hour at the coffee playdate...or hot chocolate playdate. Whatever you want to call it.

The icky part of the weekend was coming to terms with my fat-ness when trying on bridesmaid dresses. Honestly, could the lighting in those places be more horrible? I know I'm not a small girl, and I know that my top half requires a bigger size than the bottom, but still...and then I got called "busty." When you used to be small and aren't anymore its hard not to remember when. And this isn't all pregnancy weight, I was too heavy before I got pregnant. I'm carrying about an extra 10lbs from pregnancy. My doctor a few weeks ago told me I had done a good job at maintaining my weight because I've weighed about the same since Ryan was 7 weeks old. Someone told me maybe I'm supposed to weigh what I weigh and that my body has decided its a good place for me. No thanks, let's take another vote! So, i've got about 5 months to lose some weight and we have decided my mom is going to make my bridesmaid dress so it will be custom fitted to me instead of spending $200 on a dress then another who knows what for alterations...I'm so glad she can sew. She actually made all the dresses for my bridesmaids and they looked great.

Now it is time for me to eat a nutritious snack.

Because thats how things go around here...

Nikki got her stitches out Monday night and I had dreams of, well...leaving the house on Tuesday. Nothing too exciting, just getting the hell out of here. But wouldn't you know it, Storm Watch 2008 is here again and we're going to have rain all week. At first it was just two days, but then within one newscast it spanned the entire week. Apparently some cold front from Canada or wherever doesn't give a rats butt that I have been stuck home with a 2 yr old for an entire week already. We have play'doh-ed, markered, played trains, did puzzles...we are out of stuff to keep us occupied.

And I'm tired. Ryan got off track with his sleep schedule and started waking up at 4:30 again. THAT IS JUST WRONG. And as a friend told me, 4:30 still feels like the middle of the night. Yes it does. Now, I stepped up to the plate and tightened up the schedule. Bed at 6:45 and he woke up at 6:15. Call me mommy rockstar, except it only worked that one night. We are back to 5:00am wake ups...yuck. Did you ever notice once you master something, something else is waiting in the wings to bite you in the ass???

Then today I was super excited because we had a coffee playdate...til I looked at the calendar and realized its tomorrow. Well, its only about 25 hrs away so I have something to look forward to. I did manage to go to the gym yesterday while my mother in law watched Ryan. I was hooked on Oprah and decided to just walk on the treadmill for an hour. It has been weeks since I stepped foot on the ellyptical and I just couldn't do it. One of hour of good solid walking is still good, and I think I burned about 250 calories...except the guy next to me who had been running burned over 900. I just cannot imagine that. And do you want to know the sad thing I was thinking, other than I hate you? I thought, man, he can totally go through a drive thru and not feel guilty!!! Yes, I dream of french fries on the treadmill.

And just to make my day a little more anxiety filled, Ryan decided to play with hydrocortizone while Ethan was in the shower. He thinks anything in a tube is soap, so he covers his hands, then wipes his cheeks and hair. There was none on his lips at all when Ethan caught him, but I still had that panic moment...do i call poison control? Because he is my kid and I know what he does, and since there was none around his mouth, and also knowing he can't get anything in his mouth without wiping it all over the area i knew he was ok...but still. SCARY.

Prozac

No, not for me, but thats not a bad idea...I'll ponder that. Anyway, we have managed our week stuck inside caring for Nikki. She is fine, you would never know her sister kicked her butt a week ago. She is running around, jumping, being her usual self. The drain was removed (I am so lucky my sister in law is a vet tech) on Tuesday and now its just an open hole. Gross. You would think they would stitch it back up but nope. The things I've learned...We are still stuck inside for another week to make sure she doesn't lick the hole too much-I can't watch her every minute-and just generally to make sure Shelby doesn't lick her. Good Times. Last night was the first night I slept in my own bed instead of the couch. I decided I was done and if she wanted to stay up licking herself all night then I was fine with that, she could deal w/ infection if she wanted. I just needed some sleep. Today is her last day of antibiotics which is a plus for me because its not fun to stick pills down a dogs throat, no matter how much you love them. On to prozac...

The vet my sister in law works for, and also our vet by association, did some research for us on companion animals that fight, etc. Turns out its super common in female dogs, and that males are more likely to fight another dog out of their home territory, and its usually another male. Someone mentioned the 7 yr itch as a joke, and I do think we might be having a switch in dominance and maybe Nikki isn't ready to let he top dog post go, though she is getting older, has arthritis, and is much smaller. Can't blame a girl for trying!

Shelby has some long standing issues that I've mentioned before. She eats anything we leave out, has separation anxiety, and barks if a car drives down the street--to name a few. Because we have accepted this and modified our life around it, we have created a high maintenance dog. The weirdest part is that the dogs don't usually hang out together during the day. Shelby likes to sleep on our bed, and Nikki follows me around. They don't even sleep together anymore. From the night we brought Ryan home from the hospital, Nikki decided that she didn't want to sleep in our room anymore. Now she sleeps on the couch. So, they are separate a lot, but if Shelby realizes she is alone she freaks out. I've had to take Nikki to the vet before and had her loaded in the car and heard terrible noises coming from the house, along w/ banging on the front door. I looked in the window and Shelby was throwing herself at the door. She just can't be alone in the house.

With all of these issues and the research the vet did on companion agression, the vet recommended we give Shelby some prozac to see if it can take the edge off, relax her a bit. If it works, it should also help if (God forbid) another fight were to happen. She should be able to stop herself, or at least be able to be stopped, instead of locking herself into fight mode. Oh, and hopefully stop the obsessive licking...I just feel weird giving my dog prozac. If it works I'll be stoked.

HORR-I-BLE

That was my friday night: horrible. My two dogs had the awesome idea of getting into a fight with eachother, cuz apparently I don't have enough going on in my daily life. Guess I needed to spice it up. This is the second time its happened in the 7 yrs that we've had them and believe it or not, its common. You think "sisters" (though they are not blood sisters) that have lived together for that long would be nice. Each time we have gone into the ER we here stories about how it just happens. They are being dogs, asserting their dominance. I guess in 7 yrs they haven't figured out who was gonna be the boss...all I know is that it sucks big time and I hope and pray it never happens again. Ethan wasn't here for this (again). Last time my mom had to see it and I think we scarred her for life. This time it was just me and Ryan. Who knows what we've done to his poor psyche. Honestly, its an adrenaline mess. I think it might have been started with some of Ryan's food under the table but i'm not even sure. There was no warning. I pulled on Nikki's collar to move her because she was in the way of Ryan's chair (at the little table that he no loner eats at!) and he doesn't like "things" near his chair...the kid needs access. Anyway, i grab her collar and pull her backward and BAM. Maybe there was food under the table and they were both going for it, maybe I startled her and she just went into fight mode. Who knows. It felt like it lasted forever and I was screaming, Ryan was screaming "mommy" and I even tried to hit them with various objects. Finally I just gave up, grabbed Ryan and walked away. My intent was to grab my keys and leave. Ethan could deal with whatever was in the house when he got home. I was DONE. Even if it meant they died, which sounds terrible...except I got this horrible guilt feeling about why was I trying to break up this fight when I could get hurt myself (which I did) and poor Ryan is watching. What was I thinking? Was I choosing my dogs over my kids? Was I just trying to "fix it" like I do everything else?

Anyway, i walked away and they stopped and ran upstairs. I followed them and they were under my bed licking eachother. Can you freakin believe that? Friends again. I was barely able to call Ethan and my sister in law the vet tech. I was out of breath and seriously shaking all over. I called my mom to come help with Ryan because I just couldn't cope with anything.

Turns out Nikki had to go to the ER because she had some deep wounds. Shelby had some scratches on her face and chest and some bruising, but she was fine, and obviously the winner. She is 25 lbs heavier, but who is counting. Nikki spent the night in the ER and had to be put under which is always scary. She has 5 different areas where she has stitches, and the deepest one has a drain. Fun. Have you ever had to clean out a drain? Priceless. Ethan picked her up Saturday, cone on her head, and just looking pathetic. Today...you wouldn't know anything was wrong with her, except she is licking the drain all the time and I have to yell at her. I've been sleeping on the couch with her to make sure she doesn't lick because the cone on her head was not working. Poor thing kept running into the walls.

And now I find myself in great anxiety in case it happens again. I'm a "what if" kind of gal. I know that it was mostly a fluke, but I've been researching ways to break up fights that are safe, in case it happens again, and hopefully it wouldn't be as serious. I've even thought of getting rid of one (though Ethan and I would never agree on which one). But, they are so high maintenance that no one would be able to provide the proper environment and I know she would end up at the pound and euthenized. Not because they are mean, i do believe this is a pack mentality and not just being mean. But, they are "special." They are inside dogs because one of them can jump a 5 ft fence or dig under 6 ft fence. We cannot leave anything out when we leave because they eat it (plastic, wood, food). Its a process everytime we leave the house. No one would put up with this BS, but we do cuz we love them. So I will continue to watch them like hawks and worry like crazy, and pray it never happens again.

Aaaahhhhhhh

He is usually super mean to her, but look what I found when I came downstairs from putting laundry in the washer!

Where have I been?

I don't even freakin know where I've been. Just be ready for some random postingt because there is lots of "stuff" going on in my head and we've been busy over here. First, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I finally got my bling (diamond stud earrings--from my stud, LOL) and the all too elusive red purse. I have been wanting a red purse forever and will not let my mom (or myself) spend hundreds of dollars on a purse that will end up with goldfish stuck to the bottom of it. But, my mom found one at...Ross. I know! $19.99. My mom is a rockstar. Its kinda funny because she kept pointing our purses whenever we were together and I would say no cuz she has a tendency for the "grandma" purse. Then she told me she bought two and wanted to see if I liked either of them. The first was a "no way" but the second was a homerun. Then I realizd the last 3 purses I've bought were Nine West. So, I heart Nine West purses.

I took pictures of our holiday decor and I fully intend to post my pics. But I realized that I forgot to take a pic of the wreath which really is just too cute to miss, so I have to take one more pic. Luckily for me I'm so lazy that the wreath is still on the door! The other decorations are already boxed up...promise. We never use our front door unless people come over so my sister had to point out to me that my wreath and snowman were still there.

THE COLD FROM HELL. So, Ryan had a cold at the beginning of December. It lasted about a week, he ended up sleeping with us...then we had to transition him back to his bed when he was better. Y'all remember. Anyway, the cold came back the day after Christmas AND ITS STILL HERE. Oh yes, don't be jealous of our 2 week cold. You have no idea how much green snot I have had on my clothing. Snail trail :( I finally took him to the doctor today, just to make sure we hadn't crossed the border into bacterial infection. Knowing someone at your doctor's office is the best thing ever. We get in with just a phone call! Luckily Ryan did not need an RX, its just one persistent virus and we just need to let it run its really LONG course--unless he gets a fever or the cough gets worse. I have to say, the little man is such a trooper. You would not know this boy was sick if the snot was not always visible. He runs around, plays, eats, sleeps--nothing like his parents who are down and out at the slightest sniffle. We are blessed indeed!

And, we've had us some weather. I almost can't type that without laughing. Being born and raised in this town, then moving an hour north to go to college, I'm used to this weather. Its cold, we get some rain and fog, normal winter weather. When we moved to San Diego Ethan and I would laugh because if you got a drop of rain it seemed like everything shut down. Every news cast would talk about "storm watch" and we would laugh hysterically. Well, last week we actually had a storm watch here. EXTREME WEATHER. We had rain for 3 days, winds in the 50mph and gusts in the 70s. So with Ryan's cold and the weather, we've been stuck in the house FOREVER. There has been flooding, fences knocked down, power out. Ethan got his car back from the body shop (remember he killed a tree with it?) and it came home and straight under the car cover IN THE GARAGE. You know, you need double protection for this kind of weather.

I guess I'm just trying to say we're hanging in...sometimes barely, but we're here. I probably have lots more to say but Ryan is napping (yes!) and I've got some other things to do.