Clawde yowling outside our door...

A closeup of our daily Clawde stalking...

Clawde is bad...

This is how he tries to get in to our bedroom at night... There used to be a cord there that he would unplug from the outlet(annoying as it was our alarm clock).

Warm blanket...

Everyone found a seat!

Pumba's new bed...

Rainy Tuesday

The day started out a little rough. Waited over 30 minutes (in the cold rain!) for the Septa train this morning so that I could go to my doc appointment. Damn Septa. Ended up being about 15 minutes late to the appointment, but I guess that makes up for all the times the OB has made me wait. The appointment was uneventful - heartbeat was strong and she was moving a bit. My blood pressure was elevated, borderline high, so we are going to watch that closely til the end. It may have been a bit high due to my rushing to the appointment, but we will see next week. Negative for protein in the urine - if that had been high in addition to my blood pressure, then we would have been concerned for signs of preeclampsia. I have been given the green light to increase my antacid medication - yes! Maybe I will be able to sleep through the night tonight.
We have an appointment to tour the hospital next week. Finally!

The dogs and I spent the rest of the afternoon napping and watching Martha Stewart. The show was dedicated to spiders (Halloween theme) and I had to look away at only one point in the show. Big huge tarantula scurried around its cage...ewww. Spiders are quite possibly the only creature that truly terrifies me. I hate those legs, particularly the hairy ones.

I am sooo sick of hearing about the Yankees. New York fans are even more obnoxious than Philly fans, and I had doubted that was possible. Ugh...the arrogance. It is absurd how much money the players on that team make compared to every other team in the MLB. Makes me sick. I cannot wait for the games to start - and hope the Phillies kick their overpaid a$$es. First game is tomorrow - you better believe I will be watching.

Finally, I was sorry to hear that Buck and Demetra will not be able to keep their new pup. Lothar (meaTED) has put his paw down firmly on that one...no other dogs allowed! Well, I guess our pack will continue to outnumber the Vermont pack.
-Marie

37 Weeks!

We made it...37 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe so much time has passed. It seems like yesterday that I was vomiting in the mouse house at school (a research facility) and surviving on watermelon. Soon there will be no more quiet alone time here in the house. As usual, lots to do, but tired and not too much energy.

We spent the day watching soccer games (Dawson's and Ryder's) and almost getting my butt kicked by Dawson in checkers. The boy can strategize that is for sure. Smart.

I also found fantastic casual/fashion sneakers at DSW - clearance and multiple coupons-a bargain! Perfect for my aching and busy feet over the next few months. Now it is time to relax and get a foot massage from Ian. A complete day.

Oh, one more thing -can't wait to see the pics of my newest nephew...Buck and Demetra may have adopted another husky pup. About time they matched us in pack size.
-Marie

Down the tube...

Bummed...

We are not going to be able to make the kids' Halloween party this year. It is tonight at 5pm. Ian is not able to leave work until regular time - 5:30pm-and it would take 1.5 hrs to get there from center city on a good day of traffic. Since it is supposed to rain and it is a Friday afternoon, traffic is going to be an absolute nightmare. We wouldn't get there until 8pm which is the ending of the party. I had some good ideas and a good costume this year, so I am disappointed. I don't want to drive by myself for a few reasons: I find that I am extremely distracted when driving lately, particularly at night when I get more tired than normal; it is supposed to rain during the party and I don't want to get sick; and it just wouldn't be the same without Ian to scare the kids. I am frustrated with Ian because he never uses vacation time for anything personal - always reserved for school. It seems we never do anything fun or anything together with his vacation time. Not really vacation time afterall.

Very very bummed today - doesn't help that I am just sitting here alone in this house (my dungeon).
-Marie

Week from hell update...

The car - rear O2 sensor failed triggering the dreaded yellow engine light. It could have been worse of course - the error code initially read a problem with an O2 sensor or with the catalytic converter (apparently that would have cost waay more to fix). Further diagnosis revealed O2 sensor. Whew...I think. The car is due to be inspected the end of this month (I thought it was up in Nov!) so the mechanic also checked for PA inspection, knowing it would fail anyway due to the yellow engine light/O2 sensor failure. Some belts were worn, so we also had to replace a few of those and needed an oil change. Since inspection failed, but we made the repairs, we need to drive 75 miles before re-inspection (at which point it should pass). Shouldn't be a problem, but will have to take it back one day next week for re-inspection. I guess me and a book/magazine have a date with the mechanic again. Fun times.

We picked up the car last night. Engine light still on. Ugh. Took it back in this morning - 1 out of the 8 pins on the sensor were bent, so it wasn't reading properly. Mechanic apologized - he is such a nice guy and very honest - it has been fixed and is ready to go again. Fingers crossed that there are no surprises this evening.

Overall, I have to admit that I love this old beast. Nissans are well made cars...not fancy but reliable and very functional. The Dog Mobile has really held up for me all these years. As someone who is sooo not impressed by cars or people obsessed with them, the dog slobbered windows, furry air vents, and dulling paint along with a few developing rust spots do not bother me in the slightest. This beast is still ticking! I love it, and I love driving it. Who cares if it handles like a pick-up truck? Who needs ultra-sleek design and smooth handling anyway? It gets me from Point A to Point B...that is what matters.

Regarding the philazoo intensive care unit: Sadie is recovering very nicely. The drains were removed and the wounds have finally stopped leaking disgustingness all over the place. In fact, I may remove Ian's pit-stained t-shirt from poor Sadie and give her a nice fancy sweater or something. Maybe not today, as it is quite warm outside, but over the next few days as it gets colder - she is half-shaved afterall. Hailey completed her dexamethasone challenge yesterday at the vets - this should hopefully confirm our suspicions that she has Cushing's and allow us to finally start her treatment for that. Thomas is quite miserable. I feel very badly for him. He hates his E-collar and just lays around upstairs. He has trouble eating and drinking with it on, so I have been helping him with that periodically throughout the day. He also cannot scratch his neck or ears, so I have been helping with that as well - this elicits a very loud and content rumbly purr from him. He is a very very nice kitty. Ian has been medicating him - for a cat, his twice daily pilling is going fairly well. Cats are very difficult to give pills, hence why most medications are a liquid if possible. Unfortunately, the liquid antibiotics were more expensive, so I chose pill form this time. Keeping my fingers crossed that the abscess heals smoothly, and no further treatment will be needed after the course of antibiotics.

Me: as usual, tired. Very very tired. I was so tired last night, that I missed the ending of the Phillies game :(

I have made a to do list for the next week or so. It has too many entries!

I still need to work on a few things for the kids' Halloween party this weekend. Almost out of time...
-Marie

Animal print socks!

Cute! Thanks Grandma Netty!