There's a Pony in my House

This weekend we played host to J aka Pony, my twin brother from another mother. We lived two houses away from each other and officially met when I was two and he was three, two diaper clad babes looking to learn the mysteries of the potty. His mom used to only allow health food in the house so when he overheard my parents trying to bribe me onto the pot with M&M's he jumped on the opportunity to score some candy and promptly potty trained himself.

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We may not share the same blood but he's been as close as or more so than my biological siblings and people were convinced we were going to get married. We were convinced for most of our lives too until I realized at about 12 that you couldn't marry your siblings and since Pony was obviously my brother, that just wasn't going to fly. Instead, he was the best man/man of honor at my wedding to E, who we met when I was 7, J was 8 and E was 9.

E, S and J <3

I would do anything for those two, for the boys they once were and the men they've become. I'm very fortunate to have married such a wonderful childhood friend since the relationship between J and I is deep and enduring, and someone who hadn't grown up with us would likely misunderstand our bond. One of these days I'll post some footage of our home movies, we have a great one of my four year old self scolding a boy for taking my Pony's toy. We have each other's backs, twin style, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Since my grandpa passed away, I have slowly adopted J's grandpa as my own.  He's an incredible man who has lived a fascinating life and this weekend he turned 90 years old. To celebrate, Pony came into town along with scores of other relatives for a luncheon honoring grandpa. Pony's mother, P, had requested a few hours of my time to help with a video project of grandpa's life.

Baby Grandpa

This quickly turned into a massive undertaking that involved me spending every evening at her house working feverishly on sound editing. I'd go to work in the morning, come home to kiss E and Milou, and then head to P's house. When it got closer to the party, E joined me and again we were in front of her computer all night, sometimes until 3am. We finished just in the nick of time the night before the party and the movie debuted Thursday afternoon at the luncheon. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, Pony and I were sitting in the back crying into our napkins and the biggest praise was from Grandpa who thanked E and I profusely for our efforts.

Pony and family including grandpa and two of his brothers in the front

After the party, the rest of the weekend was a whirlwind. We visited with family, went to Six Flags where it was way too hot, went to a friend's birthday party and paid a visit to the Natural History Museum and the Science Center. More food than our stomaches could hold was consumed with P planning every meal at a different restaurant and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a weekend to recover from the visit.

A New Job

I have a new job. Yes, let me say that again. I. Have. A. New. Job. Those are not words I was expecting to type out for awhile but I admit I am excited about it.

I have worked for this company a few years ago doing database work and very much enjoyed the experience. It's a solid company with genuinely good people and the work environment was always positive.

This time I am returning not as a computer tech but as a researcher and consultant on an Education and Community Development project. It's really exciting stuff, the kind of material I review on my own time for my own personal enjoyment, but this time I get paid for it! It's confidential so I can't discuss much but it is cutting edge research that I'm hoping will have a positive impact on the world.

Thus far I've only committed to part time work but as long as I can fit my classes in with my work schedule  I'll add more hours. If I continue it should be enough to help me save for graduate school and hopefully lead me towards one of my desired careers. Fingers are crossed, I would love to be able to make up my mind!

Also, I will be in an office. With a window. While it's not an exam room, at least it's not a cubicle!

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Happy 15th Birthday Haji

Oh my god, I can NOT believe that my Haji Baba is 15 years old. It feels like only a short time ago that I was picking him out of a litter in the back of a dress shop. He was a one of a kind kitten who has grown into the most unique cat, my constant, loyal companion. He is the first animal that was adopted to be mine and he will always be my baby no matter how old and grumpy he gets.

Happy Birthday Haji, my incorrigible, brilliant, beautiful boy. My heart is not complete without you and I will love you for forever. 

<3 <3 <3

Welcoming Coco's Puppies!

This morning, E's step dad G's pup gave birth to her first litter of adorable lhasa-poos. The mama is the beautiful Coco, a cream colored Lhasa Apso and their papa is the proud Smokey, a grey miniature poodle. Although G and his wife M are regular dog rescuers who have anywhere between 10-14 dogs at any given time, they've never had a litter of puppies before so this is a first for everyone.

Normally, G and M would never have intact pooches on their property. In Coco and Smokey's case, both came to them malnourished and too ill to be fixed at the time. Once both had recovered, their surgeries were put off  and neglected until whoops, Coco was pregnant. I'm happy to say that all the puppies have loving homes waiting for them but it will likely be the last litter G and M's dogs have.

So, without further ado, I present Coco and Smokey's three beautiful puppies! So far it looks like one will be cream colored like Coco while the other two will be grey like their papa Smokey.

Welcome puppies and congratulations to Coco and Smokey!

Happy Four Month Birthday Milou

Happy four month birthday my little Milou. We love you and are so happy that you've come into our lives. We can't wait to watch you grow up <3

RIP Pippin, Our Beloved Boy

At 1am last night, E and I got a phone call from my mom. We were dog sitting for a family friend and were just getting ready for bed. My mom was calling to say that Pippin, our 14 year old Sheltie, was coughing up blood on the kitchen floor. He hadn't eaten much that day and she was frantic and wasn't sure what to do. Since we were bringing Milou to the vet today for her shots and there was nothing to be done in the middle of the night, we advised her to clean up, keep him hydrated and keep an eye on him throughout the night. We went to bed not knowing what to expect the next day.

For the past couple months, Pippin has been feeling progressively worse and worse. We brought him into the vet first when he didn't want to jump on the bed. He was prescribed arthritis medication that worked, but seemed to upset his stomach. We brought him back again when he began to gain weight, despite no increase in food, and he was found to have low thyroid and put on thyroid replacement therapy. When he began to cough and pant heavily, he went back a third time and had x-rays taken of his chest and abdomen. We left with four different antibiotics for a lung infection, but these too upset his stomach and made him vomit. We were advised to give him pepcid and introduce the antibiotics one at a time, but his stool remained a little funny. We began researching everything we could get our hands on to determine what was wrong with him. He no longer wanted to go on his walks, he didn't want to eat. 

At 10 this morning, E and I arrived to a quiet but very much alive Pippin. He was clearly under the weather as he had been and there was more blood spray on the floor. Surprisingly, he was very hungry and ate a breakfast of his favorite dehydrated patties soaked in warm water. He laid with us in the backyard in the shade and enjoyed the nice weather. We left for the vet with Pip, Milou and a list of conditions we wanted the vet to test for. My mom took off work and met us there, ready to run some serious blood work and test for everything from heartworms to Cushings disease. We were not letting him go without a fight.

We brought Pip into the exam room and our vet gave us "the look,"the painful, pitying, searching look that means we're in serious trouble. She brought him up onto the table and started dropping phrases like "quality of life" and "best for the dog". She started examining him at his head and by the time she got to his body our stomaches were sinking. She had found a mass, a HUGE grapefruit sized mass in his abdomen. We asked if it could be a lump of fat, he had plenty of those, his breakfast, a bowel obstruction, a swallowed toy. She shook her head and quietly dropped the C bomb, though she might as well have shouted. The cancer had to be aggressive if it hadn't been found on the x-rays or exam the week before. There was no way to treat it, nothing we could do to prolong his life with any quality. He was in pain and we had to do the responsible thing.

My mom had promised my sister L that she wouldn't do anything without her being there. We decided to walk Pip around in the shade and sent E to go pick her up from summer school. We moved outside the vet, at which point my mom began sobbing so loud the vet came out and gave us a tissue box. We called my grandma who cried in the bank line in Oregon. Somehow things always seem worse when we hear grandma cry though I think my mom needed to hear her own mom's voice. We let Pip pee on some trees and lay in the shade while we showered him with pets and love. People stared at us as they walked by, Pip didn't look physically sick so it must have been difficult to understand our sorrow.

E pulled up with L who got out of the car sobbing and threw herself on Pip. If there's anything as bad as listening to your grandma cry, it's seeing your sister cry and we were now all officially a mess. We said our goodbyes, let him enjoy the shade and then brought him back to the vet. When she gave him the sedative it was the most peaceful and comfortable we've seen him in weeks. He hadn't been able to breathe without gasping in so long and he was finally resting easy. It was that moment I think where we really knew that as hard as it was, we had made the right decision. He passed away with our arms around him, stroking his fur and was finally free from pain. 

RIP Pippin

1997 - 2011

You were the best dog ever. We love you so much and will miss you.