It has been a while since I've posted. I've been terrified of the new Blogger interface, and the jury is still out as to whether or not I can stand the change. We shall see if I can manage! :) So far, it looks a lot different and I'm a little scared!
Needless to say, there is always a lot going on around the (Funny) Farm! We've been especially busy the past few months and heading into planting season, (and... UGH... baseball season...more on that later!), the busy-ness will just continue.
I didn't post anything on the blog about our Doggy drama, but, our dear, sweet Lyla (Jonah's service dog) had quite the health scare to close out 2011 and we rang in 2012 with a couple thousand dollars in vet bills! (Ahhh, Thank you, Lord, for your provision!) On Christmas day, I was brushing Lyla and found a lump on her back. It was a hard little nodule, barely the size of a pencil eraser. Being a Golden Retriever, I knew they are prone to a certain kind of tumor so I got her in to the vet immediately when they opened after the holiday. Sure enough, it ended up being a Mast Cell Tumor. So, the vet wanted to get her in the next morning first thing for surgery. AYE! What a whirlwind that was! Poor Lyla did not know what hit her... She felt fine and then - BOOM - not so much. I'll spare you the long, drawn out story. I'll spare you the painful puppy in pain pics. I'll even spare you the more than a little funny- even - though - I - felt - a - little - guilty - for - laughing photos of her in the cone of shame. Facebook friends... you got to see them all. But I will say that over the course of the next few weeks, she endured another surgery and more indignity from being a Beautiful Golden with a large bald spot on her back and it took some time to get her back to work full time, but we got an "all clear" from the histiopathology report - the vet got the entire tumor. We need to keep an eye out for more tumors, but "La" is in the clear and back to work!
Lyla also has a new buddy! We got Daniel a puppy this week. He is the sweetest, most adorable little thing. I'm working with a friend who is an experienced dog trainer. We're working on training him as a service dog. He's a little dog (Mini-Doxie), and if he works out at seizure response, Daniel will have a buddy like Lyla. More likely, however (mostly because Daniel has seizures so rarely, his last one was over 14 months ago), puppy will work as a therapy dog. We're looking to get back to the nursing home with a pooch and this little guy will hopefully work out well for that! So, without further ado, meet "Neil" - Neil is 7 weeks old today and a sweet little buddy for Daniel. (And I will say that "Neil" as a name is growing on me but the blatant disregard for not following the "i before e" rule is really messing with me. Sigh.)
Isn't he adorable? So, at his tender age, we are working on socialization, exposing him to lots of different sounds and surroundings and keeping up the cuddle time and pottying outside. I am so proud of Daniel... We've had Neil since Tuesday and in 4 days, this puppy has not had one inside accident (he has a pee pad in his crate, but no accidents on the floor)! Daniel is doing a great job and Lyla is a great big sister. Although, in this pic (on the way home from picking up the Puppy), she looks slightly less than thrilled, huh? :)
In other news... baseball season has started. ERMAH GERD has it ever started!!! (see what I did there, Rachel?) In the last 7 days, the twins have had 7 games and one practice. We did have Tuesday off, though... (and we used the day to get Neil... time well spent!) So, getting all of the things done that need to get done around the (Funny) Farm has been a bit tricky... but we use our time creatively. Papa (my dad) and I got some plumbing done today (REALLY - I did help!!!) - fit that in in between some baking and fixing the chicken coop/run. Baseball game tonight (today is game #7 on day #7) and I get to spend some time with a friend and her kiddos (while our hubbies go to a political dinner together - Well played, Jen... Well played!)
Yesterday, I celebrated birthday #29 again. Had a great day with my family! I went shopping with Mom in the morning - pricing fixtures for the aforementioned bathroom project. Then we all went out for lunch (sushi - my favorite!) Then Hubby took the twins to baseball and the rest of us came home and worked on landscaping and getting the front yard tidied up for Spring. Looks pretty good - the fence planter (with the crocs) was such a cute idea that a friend shared with me - I had to make one! Papa helped with the carpentry part (and even finished painting when I was out with Mom yesterday!). The front yard looks nice again! Always better when the grass turns green & the leaves are on the trees.
Well, that's it for now! Gonna get ready for baseball! :) Have a great weekend!
