Almost Forgot to Mention....

So this morning I posted about how this baby is never going to come, BUT I forgot to mention we had a little excitement Saturday night! We really thought we were going to have a baby then (4/16/2011).

It started out at my parents' loft... we were supposed to have a birthday celebration for my Grandmother, but since she wasn't feeling well, we all got together at my parents (since the food was made and our calendars were clear). I started feeling a little Braxton Hicks, nothing out of the ordinary, but they were a little stronger than normal. But I kept it to myself, I didn't want everyone getting all excited over nothing....

Then it was off to the 2nd get together of the night. Carrie was hosting a PPParty (Plaid & Pastel Party) in honor of spring/Easter/fun/etc. We were there for about 30 minutes and we started to realize the Braxton Hicks were coming a little more frequently, and a little stronger... They were coming around 20 minutes apart (more or less). After about an hour and a half at the party -- I looked at Jimmy and told him I was having another one, and he said, "I think it's time to go.... just in case."

So we left the party, and we started talking about "what if this is it" -- and Jimmy joked that we should put on the movie Knocked Up just to help us pass the time if it was truly in fact "it."

Well we get home and what do we find? Little Miss Priss, aka Sadie, had destroyed a pillow. She hasn't done this in MONTHS and Jimmy and I both looked at each other and said, "She senses something!" So more signs were pointing toward baby's arrival. Then I lay down on the couch, get comfy and turn on the TV, and what is on? Knocked Up. The movie was on cable. No lie.

Jimmy and I started to get a little nervous at that point... Well I think Jimmy was just excited, I was the one getting nervous (because I haven't really thought about labor. I've been more focused on the end result rather than the whole process).

So then around 10:30 p.m. we decide to get in bed and wait and see.... Well, we woke up the next morning with no baby. Aw man! So close...

Footloose & Bandage Free!

Our little rascal got the thumbs up yesterday to go bandage free - yipee! Which also means she can FINALLY start getting a little exercise. Lately she has been looking so depressed just staring out the window, looking at us like, "Why? Why can't I go out and play. Y'all are mean."

She has been restricted to just the exercise it took to go potty (which is nothing compared to what our crazy pup is used to). Now she can have two 10-minute walks a day. It's not much, but we'll take it!

Another big family milestone - Gracie's 3rd birthday! Her birthday was on Friday (2-11), but we celebrated on Saturday with a Mad Hatter Tea Party that was so much fun! Pictures and details to come...

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig!

... were the words my dad would always say as we came home from a Howard trip. Didn't matter where we were coming home from: California, Simpsonville, Europe, Fountain Inn... Those were always the words that ended a trip. So I thought they were only fitting for the end of this little "TRIP" we've been on with ol' Sadie!

Sadie is home, and we are SO happy to have her here!

It is taking some getting used to - on both Sadie's end and our end to take care of a 3-legged-hyper-active puppy dog, but we are gladly adjusting well.

I picked her up Thursday afternoon around 5:00 p.m. (I was flying solo since Jimmers was still in Charlotte - yes, it is busy season -- things always happen during the "perfect time" don't they?) When I was pulling up I had butterflies in my stomach - I was so excited to love on my four... or three :) legged love bug.

Of course I get there and I have to talk to the nurse, the vet, everybody and their mamma, until they FINALLY bring in Sadie. We were so excited to see each other, and as everyone could have expected -- this has still not slowed Sadie down! She was bee-bopping all around on three legs with her cone just bouncing in the air. She jumped up on me and gave me tons of kisses and did her moaning when it sounds like she is trying to tell you something. (Mom came over to check on her and she seems to think it is Sadie's way of trying to tell us everything that has happened -- I tend to agree :)

After I paid our bill, signed our stuff, it was time to hit the road, and Sadie was ready! This picture was actually the first I got of the rascal - doesn't she look excited??

Of course when we got home Sadie kept running to the backdoor crying, wanting to go out... but unfortunately, we can't let her. She has to be "kept still" for AT LEAST four weeks (ha, yeah right). So every time she goes outside we have to put her on the leash and the only exercise she is allowed to have is when she goes out to potty (this is going to be a long, hard, four weeks - but well worth it!).

Friday AM I took her back to the vet to have her bandage changed (although the bandage looks like a cast - it is actually a soft bandage... It is almost like a colored ACE bandage). Pay close attention to her little leg - they put "cast graffiti" on it as I like to call it.

Day one was a heart and a smiley face:

 

Day two was a puppy paw and a construction sign that said, "Under Repair" - hahaha:

To say the least Sadie is a little trooper and she is getting around just fine. I'm pretty amazed with how easily she is hopping around. We keep the cone on for most of the time, but while we are snuggled on the couch together I take it off. She seems to really appreciate that :)

Here's to a speedy recovery little puppy girl!

Some more pics of our patient:

Night # 1 (testing out her new bed):

Night #1 (worn out and glad to be home with her toys):

Night # 1 (a little cone-break):

Day #2 ("Mom, can I PLEASE go and chase the squirrels outside? Please? Please?"):

Day # 2 ("Okay.. maybe I'll just snuggle in your lap"):

Day # 2 (Together at last!):

Day # 2 (with her baby brother - ha!):

Sadie's Coming HOME!

Well, it has been a LONG seven days... but Sadie-kens is finally ready to come home!

As I mentioned in my previous post - Sadie was hit by a car Friday morning right at the top of our driveway. Immediately after Jimmy found her hiding under a deck down the road, we took her in to the Animal Emergency Clinic in Greenville, where they have been taking PHENOMENAL care of our little rascal. They call at least twice a day with updates (and it isn't just some receptionist calling, it's the vet that is taking my sweet puppy into surgery making the two calls!).

Most of my friends advised me not to go and see her while she was recuperating because it can have a negative impact on her recovery (it gets the animals really excited and then they think they are coming home) -- but I needed to hear it from "the horse's mouth." So I did ask the vet a couple days ago if I could just go and see her. He also told me it would not be best. He told me that she had her routine down, and she was really doing great... but I think he could tell that I really just wanted to go and give her some loving... So then he reassured me that, "Sadie is getting plenty of TLC." Apparently while we were on the phone Sadie was sitting in some one's lap getting petted while the person was administering her antibiotic... Needless to say it made me feel much better. 

So now it is still a waiting game... We will take her home today and have to take her in either every day or every other day to have her bandages removed and her wounds cleaned. As long as everything continues to progress as it has as of late -- there will be no more surgeries! (Fingers crossed!)

The doc joked with me on the phone today saying, "Your toughest job now is keeping Sadie still... because she definitely has two buttons - ON and OFF." Hahaha... you don't have to tell me that doc!

Can't wait to get the little rascal home! Will post a picture of my little patient later...

Again, thanks for the kind words and support... I know Sadie is just a dog, but she is a part of our family and we'd do anything for her.

The Spoiled Rotten Drama Queen

No, I'm not talking about a family member, co-worker or friend... Nope, this post is dedicated to Miss Sadie-Stinker Larson... aka the Spoiled Rotten Drama Queen of the Larson abode.

Well this morning I left the house around 7:00 a.m. for a Chamber event downtown. As I'm in the event I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. I pull it out - I have 3 missed calls, and it is only 8:00 a.m., something must be going on! Then I noticed Jimmers had texted me... "Send me a message when you get this."

Oh great. Something was wrong! So of course I text back, "WHAT'S WRONG?!" Long story short, Jimmy told me how she hurt her paw outside and that she literally cried for at least 3 minutes, hiding underneath our bed. Jimmy was running late for a meeting, so he had to end up just leaving her under our bed, which we have NEVER done. She typically is left either outside or in the laundry room. (Side note for those who are thinking ill things of Jimmy -- Sadie has always been a bit of a drama queen... and a bit on the sensitive side... You yell at her for tearing up a pillow and she acts as though you have ripped her head off...)

So I rush home to check on the little stinker... and guess who greets me at the door? Tail wagging, toy in mouth? Sadie. She was fine. Noth-ing was wrong. I let her outside, she ran around. She did circles around me. Gave me lots of kisses... Oh what a stinker.

Something's telling me she is starting to figure out why my belly is getting bigger... SOMEONE isn't going to be the "baby" of the house any more! :) Oh little Sadie... we love you!

1/2 Way & Happy Birthday!

Today we had our 20 week appointment (although I won't technically be 20 weeks until tomorrow), and it went really well! We not only confirmed we're having a boy, but we really got to see him in action. He was stretching out his wee little legs and throwing his hands all over the place. It was so amazing to see. He was coming in at 11 ounces, and his heart beat is 146. The tech took tons of photos and burned them on a CD for us which was so cool... So I've posted a few of my favorites below for friends and family to enjoy:

BABY BOY YAWNING:

STRETCHING OUT HIS WEE-LITTLE LEGS:

SWEET SIDE PROFILE WITH HIS LEGS CURLED UP :)

ADORABLE PIC OF HIS LITTLE LEGS:

And not to be overshadowed by her "little brother" -- today marks another Larson milestone: Sadie's 3rd Birthday! Although we haven't had her for quite three years, our little rascal turns three today, and I can tell you -- it's a birthday I was ready for. I can tell a huge difference in her from three years ago... Here are a couple pics from then to now. She is a really sweet puppy, or I guess I should start calling her a dog... but although she gets into trouble now and again, I wouldn't trade her for anything! Here's to many more years with our four-legged love bug!

THE NIGHT WE GOT SADIE:

 SADIE'S PUPPY TRAINING GRADUATION:

ME HOLDING SADIE AS A PUPPY AT THE OLD HOUSE:

SADIE NOW:

 A LITTLE HIKE FROM LAST WEEK:

Life as a Brittany Spaniel Owner...

Sadie had an interesting start to this Thursday....

Jimmy and I were going through our typical "work day" morning routine, when all of a sudden our adorable pooch came charging in our bedroom from one of our guest rooms. Jimmy and I both looked at each other and said, "That can't be good..."

Jimmy, the brave one, marched into the guest bedroom, and our sweet little pup-pup had jumped onto the bed (which is is NOT allowed), pulled a set of clean sheets off the bed (the bed wasn't made, but it was on my list of to-do's :-), some how managed to rip them... and found a pillow that she tried to tear it apart.

Well, to be honest... that wasn't all that strange. Our dog has gotten into plenty: tissues of out trash cans, stuffing out of toys, sugar-free gum that resulted in an over-night (EXPENSIVE) trip to the 24-7 animal hospital, Jimmy's glasses, etc... But nothing had prepared me for today.

Since I was training staff on Linked-In today I decided to skip lunch and prepare for the training. Since training concluded a little earlier than expected I decided to run home before going to the gym since my wonderful sister-in-law and brother had invited me over for dinner (Jimmy is in Busy Season Round 2 '09) and I needed to check on Sadie.

Well, I'm riding down our street, and.. oh no. It can't be. But yes, Sadie sitting on the wrong side of the fence. This is quite bizarre because the few times she has gotten on the other side of that fence (without a leash) has resulted in a mad dash down the road. (photo @ start of blog is how she normally looks... on the CORRECT side of the fence!)

So I quickly pull in the drive way and open my car door as she rushes inside the car to greet me ... Well she is giving me lots of love and kisses (which is particularly disturbing and you'll find out why in a minute), but she isn't her typical "Brittany Spaniel" self... She is acting a little funny.
Sadie and I get inside and I am spoiling her with tons of attention because.. I have to admit.. I'm pretty darn proud of her for not running away.

...I suddenly smell something a little funky and....

Errr... Gross. She vomited on the kitchen floor.

After I clean up the puddle, I go and give her a little more attention because my pooch isn't feeling well...

As I'm petting I notice....

Errr... Gross. A tic hanging off her nose.

I take her upstairs, hold an alcohol swab on her nose to get the tic off properly (which Sadie is NOT happy about), and then finally, da-da-da-daaaaaaaaa... GET IT OFF! So we rush down stairs to get a treat. Right as Sadie is in the middle of eating her yummy treat....

Err... Gross. She vomits again.

I begin to wonder... what is up with you dog? So I start to worry that she is sick. She is being completely sweet, which is in her nature, but typically she is very sweet in a HYPER way. She is never the sort of dog to just plop down in your lap.

I decide I need to to go outside and shut the fence, and was going to leave the poor, pitiful pooch inside, but as I approached the door - she started JUMPING with such enthusiasm. So I put her leash on her and we went to take care of business...

I shut the gate, take her off the leash and away she goes... Running her laps in her self-made race track... Then she runs back to me, as if to say, "Alright mom... I'm ready."

So we walk up the deck steps... and then I see it.

Err... DISGUSTING. A dead squirrel on the deck.

As soon as I saw it, and Sadie saw that I saw it (and heard my rather loud reaction)... she started playing the poor, pitiful, puppy routine.

Dogs... especially Brittany Spaniels, sure make life interesting! :-)

Here's to keeping the memories....