last monday thatcher left dark and early for a two-night trip to salt lake city for work. what unfolded during the day was one of the toughest puppy days i can remember. ever since the snow melted, winnie has been really bad about picking up things in her mouth she shouldn't have. during our walk, i noticed yarn sticking out of her mouth, but i wasn't sure what exactly it was (maybe a pom pom?). she was guarding it and refusing to give it up, so we stopped into the hardware store that has dog treats at the counter so i could try to persuade her to drop it. in the time it took for me to get the treat and lean down to her, the yarn was gone. i assumed she swallowed it because i didn't see it on the ground anywhere. i googled it and yarn can be dangerous because it can block their digestive track. we headed home, but when we were about a block away, she completely chewed through her leash, freeing herself. thankfully i was able to grab her before she ran away and carry her home. i called the vet and they recommended that i bring her in so they could induce vomiting. so that's what we did for the next half hour. they took her back to another room so i didn't have to watch. they did find yarn in there, but not a huge amount. so whatever she ate probably was small. expensive but small ;) better to be safe than sorry, though. they sent us on our way with instructions to monitor her. in the evening, the kids and i took her to petsmart to look for a new leash. i got the thickest one they sell. we'll see how long it lasts. she has chewed through two leashes now, but one was in the yard. we also got her two new toys. we gave them to her when we got home and she immediately started guarding them. she wouldn't let us go anywhere near her or she was angrily growl at us. she thought we were trying to take them back. we let her be for a while, but then it was time to take off her harness and bring her up for bed and that was extremely challenging. we finally distracted her enough to bring her upstairs and the toys went into the cabinet. and for the grand finale of the night...she peed on the floor in our bedroom corner which she hasn't done in months. this was after i had already taken her outside for her last potty trip of the night. needless to say, i was very ready to move on from this day. but i know i'll look back and laugh.
tuesday was much better with her! zero drama. i'll take it! in the evening, i went to a book club meet up (yes another one - different group). this was with my former neighbors from when we lived here before. i actually helped start this book club in 2014 and it's still going strong 12 years later. of course the group has shifted and changed a bit, but there are at least 5 women who have been in it the whole time. i ran into one of them at the middle school musical and she invited me to join their next gathering. it was so fun! i love my old neighbors and it was nice to meet some new women who live on the blocks surrounding our old house as well. book clubs are becoming the bulk of my social life here. no complaints on that!
wednesday thatcher got home from salt lake city in the evening. we are always happy to have him back! it was another 70-degree day, which was so nice. thatcher, azalea, and i took winnie for a second walk in the evening. the kids almost never want to go on walks, but azalea said she would join us, which made my day.
thursday was azalea's 15th birthday. how i have a 15-year-old child is beyond me. i feel like she just turned 10...or 5...or was just born for that matter. the truest cliche in the book. sigh. here are some of my favorite pictures of her from the past 12 months.
i know we turned her world upside down this year, but i'm so proud of how well she has adjusted. she misses her seattle friends dearly, but she's made new friends here too and continues to amaze me with her compassion, open-mindedness, and kind heart. she's a natural caregiver for children and animals and it's so fun learning about her interests, which are often things i have never even heard of. ha! she had school on her birthday, but we made sure her evening was as festive and fun as possible.
all the grandparents were out of town, but unkie brandon came over and we went to 'mothership pizza' for dinner (her request). it was really busy there and we had to wait a bit for a table, but it was fun and the food was delicious.
then we came back to our house for cake and presents.
she was a happy girl and i hope she felt so loved! she is getting together with some friends later during spring break to celebrate with them.
friday was the kids' first day of spring break (technically it was a day off for the end of Q3). azalea got picked up in the morning by her friend sylvia and her dad to go to an anime convention at a hotel downtown. azalea has been to one other 'con' and she looooved it. she was gone until dinner time and had a great time. ashford had a little photo shoot with winnie.
ashford and i had no plans for the day, so i told him to pick an activity for us. he chose mini golf (indoors) so we went to check out 'puttshack' at southdale. it was the most high-tech mini golf i've ever done. they use computerized balls to keep score for you on a tv screens above each hole. and a lot of the holes had interactive aspects to them. it was pretty cool! he kicked my butt :)
i decided to treat him to coldstone for his win. ok, i wanted to go there too :) i hadn't been to a coldstone in at least 15 years and it was his first time. two of my college roomates used to work there, so i used to eat a lot of coldstone back in the day. i'm happy to report it's still just as delish!
saturday we slept in (well, not me...winnie has been waking us up early these days so thatcher and i trade off). i ran some errands and did some cleaning. in the afternoon i drove azalea to mounds view to a trampoline park for her friend aly's birthday. azalea has multiple friends with birthdays right around hers. after dinner, ashford agreed to go on a walk with winnie and me. a huge feat to get both kids out in one week. we walked over to lake harriet. it was a beautiful spring night, and the ice is melting in a hurry now.
when everyone was back home, we watched 'zootopia 2' which is a sequel to a movie the kids loved when they were younger. winnie makes it hard to watch anything these days, so she ended up in her crate for part of it.
sunday morning we had eggs and biscuits for breakfast and then i took azalea to pick up her friend sylvia for another day of the anime convention. i dropped them off downtown and then ran some errands. it was a beautiful day around 70 degrees. we cleaned and prepped to have some friends over for dinner. jess, jimmy, louise, and phoebe (azalea's babysitting family/my high school friend) came over for burgers and hot dogs. it was our first time hosting them and it was really fun. i can't wait until summer when we can all be out on the patio, but i have to be patient i guess.
now we have a whole week ahead of us with no school. we have some plans sprinkled throughout the week, so it should be a good one.
.JPG)
Comments