I know I haven't updated anything in a really long time. Here's why. You see, Matt works out of town every other week. When he's home, we spend the majority of our time as a family or catching up on everything that fell apart when he left. I'm sure he is quite hesitant when he calls home at times because there is no telling what story he is going to hear on this end. When he's gone, our weeks consist of things like this...
Gracie ate yet another stuffed animal on Thursday - yes, it was about 12 hours after Matt left. I spent all evening trying to vacuum up the little beads that filled the poor puppy's midsection. She usually pulls these stunts within a day or so of Matt leaving town. Sometimes they are easy to handle and sometimes they end up costing a lot of money. Right after Christmas she licked her paws until they were all raw and bleeding. She could hardly stand up and walk. Now, why would one do such a thing? She was miserable. I felt bad and was out of medicine from the last time this happened. So, I took her to the vet. They tried to tell me some big long thing was possibly wrong with her and gave me a long list of treatment options. They also sent me home with some antibiotics, pain meds, cleaner for her feet and numbing solution, and a big cone for her to wear and look like a walking or stumbling "radar." Cost - $250. (Oh, and the cone lasted about 4 days - she kept ramming into things to break it off of her because it drove her crazy. We finally got sick of taping it back around her and being chased down like a bull chases a clown in the rodeo. She would literally start in the front room and run behind us until she hit us from behind and the cone fell off.) Ouch!
The next time Matt left she got really sick. She couldn't keep anything down and had some other problems that I will spare your eyes and minds from. Let's just say it was bad and I got sick of being up all night for 3 nights and cleaning the floors constantly. I took her to an all night animal clinic on the 4th night and they kept her overnight. After an Xray and a shocked vet, we found that she had eaten something - probably another sock or something cloth-like, and it had blocked her intestines temporarily. Lots of fluids, special food and attention, and $600 later she was back home and happy again. Oh yeah, and Matt got home that night - a few hours after she perked up.
The next time he left town Gracie did nothing. She was good. Then I walked into the back yard and found the neighbor's dog in our yard. Yep, she broke the fence (actually it was pretty rotten anyways) and just waltzed right in. When I went to get her and take her back she ran away from me and went back to her own yard. Once on that side I built a temporary "wall" to keep her out until we can get to replacing the fence. Of course, this trip only lasted 2 days thanks to jury duty and an ice storm. I guess Gracie didn't have time to get into much.
We are on trip number four for the year and that is where the stuffed animal got shredded. I don't know why she did it - never do - it has been around for years and she hasn't bothered it, but I guess it just gave her the wrong look one afternoon and she let the poor little puppy have it. Thank goodness she moved on to things that are not "security objects" and necessary for sleeping around here. Someday I will post a picture of all of the "dollies" and "puppies" that have the "mark of Gracie" on them.
Now, when I am not dealing with cleaning up or picking up after Gracie I am working on keeping things picked up so she won't get into them. Yes, I feel like I pace the house from the time my feet hit the floor to the time I fall asleep and I look for potential problems. No food can ever be left on the counters - it is always an easy target. I have to make sure all food is always put away immediately. Braden even had a meltdown tonight because he stepped away from the table and while he was gone I noticed his plate was empty. I picked it up and put it in the sink only to have a HUGE display of dissatisfaction from him a minute later. He accused me of eating his pizza. Now, why would I want pizza that a 3 year old little boy has picked at, licked, and eaten parts of??? My guess is that Gracie took her fair share when no one was looking, I thought Braden was done, and in all reality he probably only got a few bites plus the applesauce and yogurt that went with it. OOps - problem solved with a small container of Jell-O. (For Braden, not the dog). Once we got past that problem I was off to get the kids bathed and into bed at a decent hour - it is a school night for miss Kaylee after all. Before I could do that I had to attempt to solve the mystery of "why the heck is a wet paper towel roll wadded up and in the bottom of the bathtub?" And, "what are all of the polly pockets, Cinderella and Prince charming doing having a swimming party in the bathroom sink? I just finished cleaning this bathroom and this is how I am thanked!?!?" Oh well - bedtime is in 30 minutes - not near enough time to get to the bottom of these so I won't even try.
Well, Matt called home right about the time I was tucking Kaylee in and he got a different story for a change. He got to hear her read her very first "book." Recently I decided that she is ready to learn to read since we have been playing the "how do you spell..." game over and over again in the car. She was very excited and after about 30 minutes of working on it today she was really starting to get the hang of it. I am so proud of her and happy that I got to actually watch her when she first started to get it. She obviously has a long way to go, but it is so priceless to hear your baby sounding out words for the first time. For now, I will take "c," "at", "CAT!" It is SOOO cute and I wanted to make sure and write this down because I know that I will forget the exact date later on. Someday when Gracie stops eating stuff and drama slows down I will get around to updating pictures; but for now know that I am not just sitting on the couch eating bon bons. I may be sitting on the couch, but it is probably because I am listening to my little princess read me a new story. :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment