Lucy

Today I went with my mom to take my beloved childhood dog Lucy to be put to rest. Lucy had a good 14 years, despite having no eyes for the last 6. As we sat in the empty vet's office holding her, I thought back to all the times that Lucy got herself on the dining room table to finish the leftovers, eat a stick of butter, or open and devour a 1lb bag of peanut M&Ms. (and they say chocolate is deadly for dogs...) She's spent the last year or so ailing and we knew her time was limited. When she couldn't get up today and was crying and yelping we knew that today was the day. It was time to let her go. Despite knowing this, it was still incredibly hard to say goodbye. I can remember the day my mom surprised me with her when I came home from a babysitting job and she was in a little puppy kennel in my bedroom. I cried on our first day together because I was worried my other dog would be jealous, I cried on our last day together because I miss her already. To say goodbye I gave her one last cookie at the Vet's office, which she ate with delight, then sniffed around for more. I'm posting this tonight to release some of my raw emotion and remind us all that life is a gift. No matter how hard it seems at times, it is a gift and we should all find something to rejoice in each day. Goodnight my Lulu.

Playing Doctor

Why is it that the words "Playing Doctor" makes some people giggle like pre-teens in a sex ed. class? Maybe because pretty much everyone I know has that perverted cousin that always wanted to play doctor in the upstairs bedroom. Or was that just me? Anyway, this post has nothing to do with a perverted cousin, so get your mind out of the gutter and keep reading:

Joey got one of those little doctor kits for his birthday. It the handy carrying case is a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, knee whacker thingy, thermometer, and a plastic band aid. We've been playing with this set a lot lately and he loves to use the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff on us. Tonight while we were cleaning up after dinner I looked into the living room and found Joey with a baby doll turned over on his lap and the plastic thermometer shoved into it's cloth-covered butt! At least it was a doll and not one of the real live babies that live here...

The Longest Breakfast

It's amazing what a weird television show and being confined to a high chair can do to an otherwise energetic toddler at breakfast time. Joey is making a record for the longest amount of time a child takes to eat a meal. Currently we are at the one hour mark. He is so enthralled with watching "Imagination Movers" that he keeps forgetting to eat!

Tired

Tonight I need to sleep. I've dedicated a lot of time to blogging lately, and my sleep has suffered because of it. So, no funny story tonight. Sorry. I promise I have something VERY exciting for tomorrow's readers so be sure to check back!

Warning: Dog Water Can Grow Tadpoles

During my morning cleaning today I decided it was time to rinse out Daisy's water bowl and give her some fresh water. As I lifted the almost empty bowl to the sink I noticed many little black things floating around in it. Crumbs, right? WRONG! When I took a closer look I realized that the crumbs were not floating, they were swimming. Wait, crumbs don't swim. Something has to be alive to swim. These crumbs were most definitely alive. Yes, there were LIVE organisms in my dog's water this morning. Very alarmed and a little bit intrigued, I poured the water into a clear bowl so I could get a better look:


In the water were LOTS of little tiny tadpole looking things. Most of me was terribly disgusted, embarrassed, and worried about the health of my dog and children, but a small part of me was slightly excited and felt like a microbiologist examining scientific findings. Ron assured me that this was NOT a reflection of my cleanliness as I started to get upset that I had a "dirty" house. He also assured me that it was NOT a problem with our drinking water, therefore it was not necessary to contact the local news channels, the Department of Public Health, or the Police. And yes, I contemplated calling the police. Like they would arrest the tadpoles or something... (More likely, they'd probably arrest me for negligence and animal endangerment)

Ron's explanation was that this happens outside all the time when water is left standing for long periods of time, and with all the crazy rain we've had Daisy probably just carried something in on her beard. Her water bowl is one of those self-filling kinds and since she is so little, it lasts for a really long time before it needs to be filled again. Probably a week or more... So I guess a that's enough time to grow tadpoles. EEEEWWW. I am still grossed out when I think about it, and will be using a Brita filter for all of our drinking water... just in case. Oh, and I'll be changing her water bowl with A LOT more frequency from now on.