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This is the weekend that keeps on giving! Thanksgiving day was delightful and delicious. Then on Friday we had Beau, Bridget and Finn, Erin and Marta over for Brunch. Eggs Benny, Mimosas, coffee, tea, fruit, muffins, and cinnamon rolls! Feast number two! Brunch is my favorite. The food is so good, and we always end up sitting at the table for hours talking! I LOVE IT! Sadly I have no pictures from this wonderful morning, but later that evening, we spontaneously decided to hop in the car and head to Seattle for the tree and Macy's star lighting. It took us 11 minutes to get to Seattle, and it took us 50 minutes to park. We drove up and down the Pacific Place garage three times. Hazel loved the Fireworks...it was so cute to watch her.
This brings us to today, which has been one of the most productive days ever!!! I can't believe all that we've gotten done. Dan got us coffee this morning, and I made eggs and english muffins for breakfast. Then we got ready for the day and headed to Home Depot for a Christmas tree. We had a gift card, that we thought only had some change left on it, but to our surprise it paid for our tree and we still have some on it for later! We also hit up the Trader Joe's for much needed groceries! (Hazel's finally big enough to ride in the grocery cart, and she LOVES it)!
Then we came home for Hazel's nap, and decorated the house with Christmas delight!
After that we headed to Target to buy Christmas and Birthday presents for our nieces and nephews. We ended up finding Christmas gifts for 10 out of 13 nieces and nephews and Birthday presents for all 5. Our house if full of TOYS!!!
Then we came back home, had dinner of stuffed peppers, cleaned the house and baked a cake for Hazel's baby dedication tomorrow. While I was doing the dishes, Hazel decided to climb right on into the dishwasher. I took some quick pictures with my phone, before taking her out.
All in all we've had a great extended weekend, and still have one more day left! Life is good...God is good!
Last night Dan and I watched the documentary Food, Inc., "An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry." (quote from IMDB) I thought it was fascinating.
Since Hazel has started eating solids, I've been giving her primarily organic food. I just felt like the food industry had changed so much over the last 25 years, and so have kids, weight, illness, etc. I don't have the stats that the two go together, but I just wanted to feed Hazel foods without all the added sugar, and junk. It's really hard to find food without High Fructose corn syrup for example.
Learning about the South Beach Diet 5 years ago, changed the way I looked at food. Watching this movie also changed the way I looked at food. The animal cruelty is wrong, but my main concern is for healthy natural foods. I wanted it for Hazel...but after watching the movie, I'm going to start cooking with more organic foods for Dan and I as well. The only draw back is the price. It costs more to go organic, but it's important enough to Dan and I, so we'll start to make the change.
One random thing I learned from the movie: I have no idea when most vegetables and some fruits are in season. The movie talked about buying produce only when it's in season. And I realized most of the time, I have no no idea when that is!
If you like documentaries, I'd recommend this one.
One disclaimer: I didn't watch the scene where they butchered the pigs, and Dan said he's glad I didn't watch it.
I enjoy Triscuits...but I LOVE the Rosemary and Olive Oil flavored ones. I could seriously eat a whole box in one setting if I'm not careful. They are absolutely delicious. Plus, they're kinda healthy! Whole grain wheat, no sugar, South Beach friendly!
Does anyone have pillows that they love? I'm willing to spend $ on good ones, but I never know if they're good or not so I get the cheap ones. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a dud! I'm ready for some great pillows! I haven't been sleeping well, and I think my pillow is to blame. Kellie, did you get your guest bedroom pillows in Scotland or here? They are down, and delicious!
image from: www.sevana.com/concepts/pillow/index.html
November has been a bit strange. (Warning: my thoughts are all over the place this morning, so this may be a bit scatterbrained).
For starters, dealing with Sadie was awful. It was hard to see her suddenly invalid and draining to care for her. Then it was hard to let her go. The day after we put her down was brutal. I kept saying, "she's just a dog, why does this hurt so much." I prayed that God would take away the pain, and he did. I've been much better since. It's strange not having her, but it doesn't hurt anymore.
Then little Eden, who was born last Thursday, has been back in the hospital the past few days with what my brother called, Jaundice gone bad. (Everyday a human breaks down and disregards red blood cells. When that happens it creates a biproduct wast called Bilirubin. Basically you and I have a "1" count of Bilirubin. Newborns break down more blood so a typical count for them is 10. If your Bilirubin count goes to 30 it can cause serious brain and nerve damage). Edens count was 23. The saddest part to me was that she had to be in this light therapy chamber thing, and they couldn't hold her. I can't imagine not being able to hold your new baby. BUT...she's doing much better now. As of last night her count was down to 14 and Sarah was able to take her out and nurse her and hold her for a bit. Hopefully they'll be able to take her home in a few days.
Thanksgiving is about a week away. How did that happen! I'll confess, I'm the one that starts listening to Christmas music November 1st, and sets up my tree as early as Dan will allow! But this year, I think with all the craziness, I just haven't gotten into the Christmas mood yet. Last night I put on my favorite Christmas album, Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong, to try and entice me...but it didn't really work. I'm super excited for December, because we're going to spend so much time with my family (going down to Pete and Sarah's, my mom is coming there too, and Brian and Kellie will be here). But it still seems so far away.
November started out rough, but this week has been a breath of fresh air. Shopping with Dan on Sunday, Movie night Monday, and Bible Study last night. I think November is turning a corner. Holidays are coming...family time is almost here. God is good.
Yesterday I became an Aunt again, to Miss Eden Renee Ingraham! We got to video chat with her last night. She's so precious. Congrats to Pete and Sarah! We can't wait to go down and meet her in a few weeks.
When Owen was little he used to pronounce my name as She-Ra. Now that he's older, he can can call me by my full title, Aunt She-Ra: Princess of Power!
I LOVE being an Aunt and I love all 7 of my nephews and 6 of my nieces, plus one more niece due in March!
Mercedes (Sadie)
10/7/02 - 11/10/09
We had to put Sadie down tonight. She just hadn't had any significant improvement since she initially woke up with it on Friday. Because of that, and other signs, the doctor believes it was an issue of the brain rather than the ear. So she probably had a stroke or a brain tumor.
We got her for Christmas almost 7 years ago. She was a great dog, and we'll miss her. 
It's been 5 days and no real change...she may have more control of her head and neck, but that's about it. Please continue to pray for energy and strength for Dan and I. It's exhausting and frustrating to care for her.
Well, it's been a horrible weekend! I don't even know where to start. The doctors still think that Sadie has Old dog Vestibular disease, which is the equilibrium thing. She has no function of the left side of her body, or both back legs. Saturday she was able to sit up, and today's improvement was that she could eat solids. So we brought her home to see if she gets any better over the next 3-5 days. It's just about the saddest thing ever. We had to buy a kennel and pad it for her to be in, and put down pee-pads since she can't walk, stand or go outside. We have to give her fluids via a IV like bag with a needle, twice a day, along with many other meds. It's almost too much for me, but we don't want to/can't pay $250 a day for her to stay at the vet.
It's been an emotional roller coaster all weekend long. Yesterday we were sure we would have to put her down today. Today it's almost unbearable for me to see her in her condition, even though it's considered an improvement. As awful as it sounds, this was my worst case scenario...I would have preferred full recovery, or no recovery and putting her down. This limbo seems so bad, it's miserable to see her in her current state.
Pray for energy and strength for us to care for Sadie, and for a speedy outcome.
Sadie's condition remains the same. The vet is keeping her over night. He thinks she probably has the equilibrium issue and is waiting for her to get better on her own. We won't know anything else until tomorrow.
Poor Sadie...in a padded cage, with an IV, unable to move around without falling.
Last night was the strangest, longest night...or shortest, depending on how you look at it.
For starters, all the food I gave Hazel before bed, didn't help her go longer between feedings. She fed often, and even had a 5 minute freak out during one feed. But I'm working on plan D, which is a repeat of plan B...so here's hoping.
But the craziness started at 5:30am. Sadie woke up and was making quite a bit of noise so I turned on the light to see her stumbling around. I told Dan something was wrong with Sadie. I put her on the bed. She couldn't use her back legs, her head was tilted, and she was rocking herself a bit. Yah, something was really wrong with her. We kept her in bed with us...but I couldn't sleep. She was being so weird. At 6:30am Dan looked online to see what time our vet opened, which was 7am. So he jumped in the shower and took her in.
The vet opens at 7am but the doctors don't come in til 8:30am...kinda strange. So he dropped her off and we waited for a phone call. (He brought home Americanos, ate breakfast and headed to work an hour early, which on the plus side means he gets to come home an hour early tonight)!
He got called and Sadie has one of three things...Old dog Vestibular disease, which is an equilibrium thing, or she had a stroke, or it's a brain tumor! It's probably the first, which just goes away after a day or two. They're giving her meds, and I guess waiting it out. Dan's supposed to call again this afternoon to get an update.
Soooooooooooooo weird. As some of you know. I have been debating getting rid of Sadie since we had Hazel. We have a Love/Hate thing going on. I LOVE love love Sadie. She's a great dog, and is super cute with Hazel. I HATE having a dog right now. We have no yard, so we have to leash her to take her out, and it's much more complicated to do with Hazel. Plus I have no patience with her and her normal dog needs: food, cuddles, etc. We keep going back and forth. Keep her just a bit longer til we move and get a house, or just throw in the towel.
I am a bit embarrassed to say, but both Dan and I thought this might be the end for her this morning...and we were both ok with it. Horrible thoughts, I know. Well, long night/early morning, and no real answers yet, but I'll keep the Internet posted when we know something.
Here's the last pic I took of Sadie
Nothing really going on this week. Here's 5 things off the top of my head.
1. Hazel turned 10 months old today...so crazy. (I love her curly wispies...you can see them if you click on the picture below).
2. She past her weight check on Tuesday, gaining a full pound in the last month. (Hooray for cheese).
3. I'm super sleep deprived this week. But I'm reading and trying new things to help stop Hazel from night feeding so much. This evening I let her munch on cheese, banana, oatmeal, cheerios, and apple puffs from almost 6pm-8pm. Hopefully that will fill her up enough to last longer than 4 hours!
4. Dan and I got a date night last night. We went to the Matador in Redmond for dinner and drinks during happy hour. Soooooooooo delicious.
5. I got so wet today with Hazel while trying to get in and out of Costco. I think Hazel liked feeling the raindrops on her face. She just kept looking up and grinning. (The picture below is what her raindrop face looked like...all squinty and cute).
