Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Buy me some peanuts and CrackerJacks...

The ongoing saga of Arrow continues. Last week, the dog was acting sort of puny again so we went back to the vet. More x-rays were taken on Tuesday and Wednesday and it appears that he's eaten something else. The vets' best guess, a pacifier.

Now, here's the thing, I count the pacifiers. I have ever since the dog's surgery. Out of severe paranoia that he'll eat one. I don't think it's a pacifier, but regardless, there's something in there.

The vet and I had several discussions and decided the best course of action to prevent the dog from eating himself to death is Prozac. Yes, doggy Prozac. I now have a designer dog that requires mood-altering drugs. I wrestled with this decision for a long time. With the baby almost to the point of throwing things and Arrow's constant need for attention that has turned into self-destructive behavior it really seemed the best solution. I still don't like it, but I'm trying to do the best thing for everyone.

On to interesting twist number 3.

Two evenings ago between changing the baby, and feeding the baby, and getting ready for bed, I misplaced a pacifier. We tore the house apart. We looked everywhere. We questioned my sanity. I reiterated the fact that I count the pacifiers. I know for a fact that one of the Avent ones is missing. It's clear with a white handle that glows in the dark. It's one of 3 like that. It is simply gone. The only conclusion? That I left it somewhere the dog could reach and he ate it. I feel positively ill. How could I let this happen?

The next day I kept the dog glued to my side. I looked for signs of him acting sick. I looked for him sniffing out the hidden pacifier from under a chair that I missed. I looked for everything. No joy.

Today, similar day. Dog by my side. He seems fine, but still no sign of the missing sucky. I'm becoming more distraught thinking of the further damage to my dog's insides. I'm thinking of the amounts of money we'll need to continue to spend. I'm thinking that the vet will probably take my dog away from me, or that if we get through this I will have to give the dog away. I just can't keep my hands on all things baby and away from Arrow at all times and stay sane.

This evening Aidan and I had a night out with some of the family and left Andy and Arrow at home for a little guy time.

On the way to dinner I got a phone call. Expecting a question about where something was, or some sort of emergency I answered. Andy asked "Where did you get these special Doritos?" Huh? was the only thing I could think to say. "You know, these special Doritos with the prize inside?" Again I have no idea what he's talking about. "Didn't you buy the special bags? You know? Each one comes with a free pacifier."

Oh Thank God! The pacifier got lumped into the bag of Doritos we'd been snacking on. Somehow it got scooped up with the bag and rolled in. It's not in the dog's stomach, I'm not losing my mind. I might be able to keep my shit together after all.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Crazy? Well, maybe a little...

I've gotten used to carrying on a running conversation with no one to answer me. Which is fine when I'm at home with Aidan. When I ran out to the grocery store by myself on Sunday, not so much.

I was almost done with the shopping before I realized I was quietly commenting on every item I needed to purchase, how nicely the store renovations were going, and pondering whether to take a few extra minutes to swing by and pick up some beer.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Happy happy Aidan


Happy happy Aidan
Originally uploaded by lglendinning
Best. Thing. Ever.

Monday, May 19, 2008

My Boys


DSCN1476
Originally uploaded by inning
Being adorable in Grandpa's vegetable garden.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

They want how much?

I went out to BJs Wholesale today to pick up some essentials, i.e., diapers, wipes, paper towels, etc. As I was walking around checking things out and then later ringing up I could not believe how much everything cost. I bought mostly store brand, name brand when it was cheaper with a couple of indulgences (I didn't really need the chocolate chip cookies from the bakery, but they are soooo yummy) and it tallied up awfully quickly.

Now, some of these things we will use for months, the paper towels and toilet paper will go a long way, but it still keeps making me think of where things are headed. With the rising cost of gas and therefore everything else, not to mention the new sudden urge for all things organic I can see us all moving backward. Back to when everyone had a victory garden in their backyards, back when there were billboards that said things like "Is this trip really necessary?", back to WWII-type rationing.

In some ways this isn't a bad thing. Healthier home-grown food will certainly help stem the growing obesity problem in America; fewer trips to save gas will help the environment. I will however miss the wider varieties of food that are currently available in the local mega-mart. I can't see that being cost effective for too much longer. Bye-bye Chilean fruit available all year round!

I'm not sure where this will all end, if things will make a turn around and start going back to "the way they were" or if we will all move into a new and better direction.

All I can say is that if we go through the 80's again, I'm so not doing the mall bangs this time.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Weekend in Delaware

One shot from this weekend. More to come!

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We have a tooth! Not visible yet, but it can definitely be felt through the gums. Of course this explains the general fussiness and lack of naps over the past 2 days...

Picture coming as soon as it breaks through.
Adventures in travel

This weekend we'll be taking Aidan on his first away-from-home trip. Andy's grandmother has a house at Baywood and we're going for a few days. I'm a little nervous since we've never done that long of a drive with Aidan, but we're planning on coinciding departure time with bedtime so here's hoping he sleeps the whole way. Pictures will of course be on Flickr once we're back.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

5 Months Old

Today Aidan turns 5 months old, nearly half a year! He's changed so much, I can hardly believe it. I've started getting a lot of smiles and a lot more giggles. Right now, tickling really seems to distress him more than amuse him; he's sort of like his Daddy that way I guess.

We started cereal a few weeks ago and he took straight to it. We've worked our way through rice and barley. Oatmeal's next then any other types. After that comes fruit, bananas and apples first, then others. I've heard some bad things about the end results of bananas so the next few weeks will be an adventure.

Aidan's also started being able to entertain himself somewhat. I can put him in the highchair with some toys and actually almost cook dinner. He also doesn't need to be completely passed out before I put him in his crib. I'm looking into one of those exersaucers for him because he's fascinated with new sights and sounds.

Sitting up is still difficult, but I got him to tripod the other day so we're getting there! I'm also starting to show Aidan some of the baby signs when I talk to him, and he seems fascinated. From all our friends that have used the sign language techniques we've heard amazing things. Plus it's serving as a refresher course for those classes I took 13-14 years ago.

Aidan's been an absolute joy to be with lately, it's certainly made up for those long colicky first days. They were a joy of their own learning how to be a new mom, but it seems that each day just keeps getting better.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

For small yapper-type dogs

We're heading out on a date tonight to see Eddie Izzard on his Stripped comedy tour. I'm absolutely thrilled, it should be really, really, really funny.