in sickness & in health...

although when my hubs and i spoke these words to one another over 7 years ago, they have been front and center lately.  but probably not in the sense that either of us would have thought.

he is fine.

i am fine.

the girls are both fine.

the furball cat is fine.

but the lil pooch...not so much.

she had lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks.  almost 3 lbs.  and that is A LOT when you are just shy of 16 lbs on a regular basis!  poor lil thing!  so...to vet we went.  i'd changed up her food, which did not go over well with her tummy.  so...the vet we went.  and the first day i spent a couple hours there and he ruled out numerous things, but could not narrow it down.  he gave me a list of 3 possibilities and his suggestions on how to proceed.  i made a couple of decisions and brought her home.  nea and i took her back the next day.  and she spent the entire day at the vet.  all.  stinking.  day.  she was so excited to see me and the girls late that afternoon, though!  but unfortunately that day of tests found the vet with no answers.  he was able to rule out all 3 of his initial possibilities, but has no more concrete info than when we first arrived.  but he gave her some different food to add to her crunchy food and she loves it.  loves it so much that when puddy, the furball cat, comes on over to sniff and try to eat it, ruby lets out a very possessive "BARK"!  and this is a dog that rarely barks.  in the 10 months we have had her, i think we have maybe heard her bark 6 times.  seriously.

so...we are going to stick with the food change and see how she does over the next few days.  her ears are perky again.  her eyes do not look so sad.  she is not having "accidents" in her kennel.  she is much, much better!  and she deserves to be much, much better!  she is a very sweet, lovable and kind pup...the girls adore her.  hubs adores her.  and me?  well, i had to have a friend watch my girls for a couple hours when i initially took her to the vet because i did not want the girls to see me a bawling wreck.  because i was.  i so love that little boston terrier it probably is not even sane.  but i don't care!  she is part of our little family and we will take care of her in sickness and in health!

getting along

it's mandatory at our home.

for the humans.  and the non-humans, too.

peaceful.  happy.  comfortable.  loved.

gone to the dogs (alternative title: love is a many splendored thing)

this sweet girl is ruby.  she was a rescue dog.  she was a breeder surrender.  and although i think that she was not abused and was basically kennel potty trained.  and i think that most of her basic needs were met - food, water, shelter - i think that one was not.

love.

when she came she was timid.  had a bit of a funky odor to her (no, it was not flatulence.  that is entire different story.  ahem.).  she seemed to have some muscle atrophy in her hind quarters.  she did not know how to go up, or down, stairs.  she did not bark or growl.  her fur seemed dull.  her eyes had a sadness to them.  she had no interest in treats.

but there was something about her.  something that drew us each to her.  and her to us.  her & i became good buddies quickly...me being home during the day was good.  i would sometimes carry her on my shoulder like a baby.   the girls and i taught her to go down the stairs to the basement.  before she would sit at the top of the stairs until we came back up. 

fast forward almost 8 months:

this lil dog is very active - we call her "wiggle tooshie" because of the way her hind end goes when she is excited.  she walks with more confidence.  the funky odor is gone.  her fur shines.  her eyes sparkle.  she loves being a lapdog.  or couch dog.  or middle-of-the-bed dog.  we have also met her basic needs.  the girls take turns feeding her.  watering her.  giving her a treat to "kennel up" (we often call her a "treat seeking missile" now!).  taking her out to be a "business doing dog" (although sometimes she does not let us know she needs to go out and will go in the girls' bathroom and poop - but at least it is the "right" room, right?!).

but what i think has made the most difference:

l.o.v.e.

between the 4 of us, i think that we may over-indulged her in that need.  but that's okay.  sometimes you have to make up for it.  we are all together a family.  oh, and the cat, too.

in the past couple days i have finished a book that had a dog as one of the main character.  it is called "lost & found" written by author jacqueline sheehan.  it was good.  so good that last night i stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it.  way past.  and then today the girls & i went to the movie "marmaduke" ( we love the kids' summer movie series - cheap admission and free popcorn!).  talking dogs and cats was right up our alley!  it was a very sweet, funny and engaging story.  will it win any big theatrical awards?  no.  but it was a winner to us pet lovers!

of cake and kee-kees...dogs, too.

this is the pineapple/cherry-upside-down-cake i made yesterday...

if only blogs allowed for smells...this baby wafted deliciousness throughout our house.  and while i am asking for my blog to do something more:  couldya clean that oven, please?  it's self-cleaning, but those fumes nearly make me croak, so if you can do that when i am not at home and without causing a fire, that'd be peachy!  thanks!

and the cake.  cooling on it's tray.  ready to be cut up and eaten after dinner!

and this is the dinner party that coincided with our family dinner tonight.

the buddies were having a very special reunion dinner.  you see, lil white kee-kee has been missing for the past day.  she could not be found.  wren retraced her steps.  the hubs cleaned up the entire basement.  i went throughout our entire room.  little sister...she, ummm?  i'm certain she helped in her own special way.  let's just leave it at that, okay?

aahhhh, how sweet it is to have a best bud-bud back!

and in excellent shape.  albeit a bit hungry.  but in good spirits!

and speaking of best buds...this is my lil sleepy-doo...ruby.

she sometimes likes to snuggle up to a bud-bud herself.

and for the record:  do not let those open eyes deceive you.  she IS asleep.  asleep enough to snore.

yup, our boston snores.  with her eyes open.

or closed.

she ain't picky.  she's a snorer.

besties...

it is sometimes impossible to keep these 2 away from one another. 

and, well, that is most certainly not a bad thing. 

who says a bestie friend has to only have 2 legs?? 

irish eyes are a'smilin'

that's about as irish as we are

we did all wear green today

and we had corned beef, cabbage and carrots last night

(b/c i am working tonight...is it April 15th yet??!!)

**** 

and here is some utter randomness...

ruby, the lil dog

she enjoys story time almost as much as the girls.  all snuggled up with the daddy.  if ruby is not on one of ours laps, then we can find her snuggled up in our bed. (this would be pre-snuggled-down)

unless, of course, someone has left their circus up on the bed, in which case ruby will sit on her steps.  until it is moved.  all the way off the bed.  she is a bit persnickety.

but we love her anyways!

these are the girls' new rain boots.  wren had outgrown her old ones (and blew a hole in the sidewall...) and well, linnea made it clear that her "boy ones from a garage sale" were much better suited for doing farm work with grandpa james in a couple weeks...so they both got a new pair, because who would argue with that logic?

except that you cannot trust a 5-yr-old to tell you the truth about theirs fitting well.  b/c if you do not check for yourself, momma, you will then become slightly annoyed when your 5-yr-old is walking all weird and dragging her feet.  well, truth be told?  yeah, she was just trying to keep her new boots on and not fall!  so, wren actually had 2 new pairs of boots (shhhh, don't tell the daddy) - one that is the right size and one to grown in to...

today at bible study there was an "adoption drive" to find homes for some poor lost sheep.  two came home with us.  because, well....what's one more stuffy?

i do try to at least wash off the big crumbs from their faces before leaving the house.  this is marker.  because not only was it fun to use the markers to color her noodle necklace, apparently she tasted it too.  please note:  the markers that are scented are maybe not such a good idea for littles...they think that if it smells like a pineapple, it will taste like one, too.  thank goodness for non-toxic marker, right?

the girls still have christmas cd's in their players...so, yep, i finally decided it was time for some new cd's for them.  the company that sells these cd's has such a great concept (besides the obvious one...).  every cd has a 2nd cd that you can tear off and share!  so each of the girls have their own cd.  no deciding who gets it in who's room first.  and no "unauthorized duplication" being done.  and the girls are LOVING them!  linnea just came out to tell me:

"MOMMA MY TD IS TINGIN' ALL ABOUT JESUS!  DID YOU KNOW THAT??" 

i love how high-pitched her little voice gets when she is all excited!

sundry...

these showed up at my home last saturday afternoon. when hubs and wren got home from their errands. which included taking wren to pick out part of her birthday present, more on that later.
this gerb was the "starting flower" for our wedding. that was 6.5 years ago. and this flower still makes me remember that day. one of the best days of my life!

well, except for the part of the day when i made the entire wedding party go for outdoor photos. in july. the temp was a mere 96 that day. and, as it worked out, most of the tuxedo'd fellas were not in any of those photos. none. except the groom. he was a'smilin' amid sweltering in his tux...ahhhhhhh, good memories for all.

and this girl above is the 4-yr-old who asks nearly everyday: "does ______ make me look like a 5-yr-old?" usually it is what she has chosen to wear. like this new coat. (and since her new stocking "matched" it, she wanted it in the photo, too....and, yeah, i bought a new coat, mid-winter...but i just could not pass up the old navy 50% off the already clearanced item...which meant this fluffy red/white number was a mere $8.99 folks...regularly priced at $39.99...). and usually i tell her that she most certainly does look like 5-yr-old. you see, her birthday is in just couple of weeks. and yeah, she'll be 5. how did that happen?? what i don't tell her is that she has "looked like", and been mistaken for on more than one occasion, a 5-yr-old since she was, umm, like 3.5 years old. she is tall. she is well-spoken. and well, she is just about too beautiful for words.

and this one? the daddy with 3 of his favorite girls. all in the "snuggle chair".

and, three girls enjoying a bit of tv-time on momma and daddy's bed...

and this above?? it's garfield carousel. that i got for my 30th birthday. because i did really like garfield...when i was 18. anyways....the girls love it. and it have let them play with it. it is breakable. and they have proven that. but, i figured someone should enjoy it, right??

ruby oreo larson

this is ruby oreo larson.

she is 5 years old.

she is very sweet, quiet and docile.

and sometimes she snores.

we are adopting her through the midamerican boston terrier rescue group. ruby came over on friday evening for a "home visit", and well...she just stayed! we have a "2 week trial" with her in our home. to make sure that we are the family for her, and she is the dog for us.
she loves the girls. she loves the karl. and well, she is rather fond of me, too, it seems. she likes to follow me everywhere...she loves getting petted and loves belly-rubs! she is fond of being a lapdog. (and in fact she is snoozing happily beside me as i type this.)

she is becoming more active each day, which is helping to increase her appetite and thirst. and she is doing really, really well with potty-training! so, unless something hinky happens in the next couple weeks...she will be staying here with us as a larson! i think she is really, really happy and excited about that! (we are, too!)

and to celebrate?
a big, ole snoozer!