Sunday, March 15, 2009
I thought your cheeks were red last night...
Violet has a tooth! It broke last night. Before bed, Vi was sitting with Adrienne and had really red cheeks, she was also sucking/chewing on her blanket (so cute), we thought nothing of it. She's tired, we travelled across the country, her hours are all mixed up. At around 9pm she went to sleep, slept until 5:30, ate, back to sleep until 8ish. WOOHOO! Andrew went to get her when she awoke, brought her to the bed and said 'I think she has a tooth', I rushed to the light to check! Yes, bottom right side, Violet cut her first tooth! So exciting and yet soooo sad. It is an exciting milestone but it makes me feel like my little new born is getting bigger! No! Not yet! No major pains at the breast yet (can't wait for that). Speaking of major pains and teeth, Andrew's front tooth fell out today. He has two crowns on his two front teeth, placed there only 3.5 years ago. He was holding the sleeve of his jacket in his mouth and his tooth fell out. BOO. Luckily Adrienne had some polydent (who has polydent laying around? Apparently she lost half a tooth a few years ago) and Andrew pushed it back in, not too sturdy, as it still falls out occasionally much to the horror of Madison. I guess he will call his dentist on Monday and find out if it should be fixed here or at home. I am sure it is really cheap to fix a broken crown....
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Have kid - will travel
BC is great, it is always great to see family (even if it is the Rolt side LOL) and spend time visiting but I think the best part of this trip happened on the way here. Andrew, Vi and I were running late at the airport, we stopped on the way in for Starbucks (I am in love with the new tea latte) then had to throw them out to go through customs (BOO) we got to the gate and needed to check in at the counter for our seats to be assigned. As a special surprise, we were upgraded to executive class! I asked Andrew what that meant on the flight and he said 'probably bigger seats'...was he ever right! Pod seating to be exact!
Vi's first flight was in style. Seriously executive class is the lap of luxury. Full breakfast (fruit plate, hot plate choice of eggs benny or omelet, whole wheat or cinnamon bread stick, coffee, tea and juice). Then a pod style seat that can lay totally flat into a bed, personal T.V.'s, you can pick your programming, hot towel for your face, then later a snack. Cookies, mousse style gelato, any other drink you may desire and peace and quiet except for someone with a crying baby on board. Oh wait, that was me. Just kidding, Vi just fussed a little bit when she was trying to fall asleep (2-3 minutes) then had a 3 hour nap! What a great flight! We decided she was our lucky charm for the upgrade...it will proove true or false on the flight back next week.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Echo Again
We thought Echo was OK after my last post. He did well on Friday and over the weekend, but by Sunday night he started to act up again with the runs, and Monday morning he barfed on the deck. What the heck...
So we called the vet again and booked an appt. for that afternoon. Marn took him in and left him there. We decided to get x-rays done to check for bloat on the very strong advice from the vet, and thankfully he was all clear. They think he may have picked up some kind of bug which they likened to the human flu virus, but not a virus. $300 later, after exam, drugs, radiology, etc, and he seems to be getting better again. This morning he had another solid poop, for those keeping track!! lol (this is a big deal, first in 2 days...). The pills I had to pick up at the human pharmasist because the vet didn't have the correct dosage for the beast. lol
The vet, as I've mentioned in previous blog entries, absolutely loves Echo and mentioned how great he was while they checked him out. They all had a laugh at trying to get him on the table (and laugh everytime they see him because of his size), because it took 3 of them to do so. Their x-ray table is a little small and the machine itself is kind of "weak" for his size. She said even after turning up the machine to Maximum, it still didn't penetrate him as much as she'd like... hahaha. Anyway, she said he just layed there on the table for them, didn't fight them at all. They were all really surprised at how well he let them handle him into whatever position they needed. He was also weighed again, and he's up to 180 lbs, but we think she did the conversion incorrectly (the scale is in KG). 180 lbs! He's almost as heavy as me!
Hopefully all of this clears up today or tomorrow so that Mom doesn't have to deal with any of this crap. Literally. I mean, she's already doing us a HUGE favour by coming to watch him, that's the last thing she should have to deal with.
Thankfully, for Mom, all of the ice is gone off the back deck as well, since he loves to break it apart and eat the chunks; this this the result of that nonsense.
So we called the vet again and booked an appt. for that afternoon. Marn took him in and left him there. We decided to get x-rays done to check for bloat on the very strong advice from the vet, and thankfully he was all clear. They think he may have picked up some kind of bug which they likened to the human flu virus, but not a virus. $300 later, after exam, drugs, radiology, etc, and he seems to be getting better again. This morning he had another solid poop, for those keeping track!! lol (this is a big deal, first in 2 days...). The pills I had to pick up at the human pharmasist because the vet didn't have the correct dosage for the beast. lol
The vet, as I've mentioned in previous blog entries, absolutely loves Echo and mentioned how great he was while they checked him out. They all had a laugh at trying to get him on the table (and laugh everytime they see him because of his size), because it took 3 of them to do so. Their x-ray table is a little small and the machine itself is kind of "weak" for his size. She said even after turning up the machine to Maximum, it still didn't penetrate him as much as she'd like... hahaha. Anyway, she said he just layed there on the table for them, didn't fight them at all. They were all really surprised at how well he let them handle him into whatever position they needed. He was also weighed again, and he's up to 180 lbs, but we think she did the conversion incorrectly (the scale is in KG). 180 lbs! He's almost as heavy as me!
Hopefully all of this clears up today or tomorrow so that Mom doesn't have to deal with any of this crap. Literally. I mean, she's already doing us a HUGE favour by coming to watch him, that's the last thing she should have to deal with.Thankfully, for Mom, all of the ice is gone off the back deck as well, since he loves to break it apart and eat the chunks; this this the result of that nonsense.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Echo
I think this dog has a death wish. Is his life that bad, really?
Tuesday afternoon Echo started getting sick in the house. We're not sure why, and still not 100% sure why. Now, dog puke is gross enough, but Great Dane puke (like everything!) is MUCH bigger, and much grosser. Poor Marn had to clean it up as I was at work. From Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday night, he puked tree times on the carpet downstairs, 2 or 3 times outside, once upstairs, and many other times when nothing much else was coming up -- just lovely slimy watery spit. Oh, and don't forget the "loose bowels" - thankfully all of that was outside. Yes, I told you this is gross. If you have any experience with a small to medium sized dog, multiply your "experience" by 5, minimum. (keep in mind that a "large breed" dog is a LAB, and echo TOWERS over labs!)
So yesterday I gave him 1 cup of food for breakfast which came back up an hour later when I was at work. We were really starting to worry about him now as I thought it would have passed over the night, but didn't. It didn't look like Bloat, which is the first thing you need to think of when Dane's are not feeling well. I noticed on Tues. night that one of our bushes was "gone". It was a rather anaemic Rhododendron that we've been trying to grow for 3+ years, but just hasn't taken off. Marn and I also noticed that Echo kept going straight for a "stick" every time he went outside - you know, as soon as he was done puking or crapping himself. We suspect that this stick is the remnants of our Rhododendron bush that Echo had eaten pretty much to the ground. A quick search on Google will tell you that this particular plant is quite poisonous to dogs.... putting 1 and 2 together, we suspect this is what was causing his sickness. Just a little plant poisoning! It's only been 2 months since the last time he tried to "off" himself with boxes if chocolate, so why not with a bush that's been there for the past 3 years?!
We had called the vet to voice our concerns about this and what we suspected, and although she gave us some choices on what to do, she also said that if it was poisoning, there's not much you can do other than to "wait it out" and treat the symptoms. She was worried about bloat, a blockage from eating a toy possibly, or some other things that I can't remember and her choice of "treatment" was to come in for an x-ray and blood work to determine what it is if he didn't seem to be getting any better. We decided to wait out the evening and call in this morning if he didn't look better, since he was "acting" a little more normal by the time I got home. We fed him 1.5 cups of dinner last night which he kept down over night, so that was a good sign. This morning I gave him 2.5 cups of food and he gobbled it up. He must have been starving since we were withholding food for all of Tues night and Wednesday. I haven't checked in at home yet to see if did actually keep it down so far - Marn was heading out for a bit this morning as well, so who knows. There may be a little surprise waiting for her. If he did ok, she was going to give him another cup or two before I get home for dinner.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In all of the "rush" to find flights for the short notice of going to BC for spring break, we forgot about finding a boarding spot for Echo. Nearly everything was booked since it's spring break for everyone. *smacks head* There were spots open at places that only boarded the dog - no play time or interaction with other dogs and we didn't like or want that, so we were really scrambling for something.
So we asked Mom if she would feel comfortable with staying at our house to watch him, even if it was just for mornings and nights - she doesn't need to be there during the day all the time as we normally aren't either. She agreed and saved our butts! I mean he's pretty easy to take care of, but when you're not used to it, I suppose it could be a little much, especially with him. She's been coming over almost every week to watch Violet when Marn goes to Physio, so he doesn't get as wound up anymore, and settles fairly quickly. I think he'll be fine with her. Thank you Mom!!!
Less than a week and we're in BC already! Normally these trips are weeks/months away, but this one was booked only 2 weeks before we were to leave. So quick and looking forward to it!
Tuesday afternoon Echo started getting sick in the house. We're not sure why, and still not 100% sure why. Now, dog puke is gross enough, but Great Dane puke (like everything!) is MUCH bigger, and much grosser. Poor Marn had to clean it up as I was at work. From Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday night, he puked tree times on the carpet downstairs, 2 or 3 times outside, once upstairs, and many other times when nothing much else was coming up -- just lovely slimy watery spit. Oh, and don't forget the "loose bowels" - thankfully all of that was outside. Yes, I told you this is gross. If you have any experience with a small to medium sized dog, multiply your "experience" by 5, minimum. (keep in mind that a "large breed" dog is a LAB, and echo TOWERS over labs!)
So yesterday I gave him 1 cup of food for breakfast which came back up an hour later when I was at work. We were really starting to worry about him now as I thought it would have passed over the night, but didn't. It didn't look like Bloat, which is the first thing you need to think of when Dane's are not feeling well. I noticed on Tues. night that one of our bushes was "gone". It was a rather anaemic Rhododendron that we've been trying to grow for 3+ years, but just hasn't taken off. Marn and I also noticed that Echo kept going straight for a "stick" every time he went outside - you know, as soon as he was done puking or crapping himself. We suspect that this stick is the remnants of our Rhododendron bush that Echo had eaten pretty much to the ground. A quick search on Google will tell you that this particular plant is quite poisonous to dogs.... putting 1 and 2 together, we suspect this is what was causing his sickness. Just a little plant poisoning! It's only been 2 months since the last time he tried to "off" himself with boxes if chocolate, so why not with a bush that's been there for the past 3 years?!
We had called the vet to voice our concerns about this and what we suspected, and although she gave us some choices on what to do, she also said that if it was poisoning, there's not much you can do other than to "wait it out" and treat the symptoms. She was worried about bloat, a blockage from eating a toy possibly, or some other things that I can't remember and her choice of "treatment" was to come in for an x-ray and blood work to determine what it is if he didn't seem to be getting any better. We decided to wait out the evening and call in this morning if he didn't look better, since he was "acting" a little more normal by the time I got home. We fed him 1.5 cups of dinner last night which he kept down over night, so that was a good sign. This morning I gave him 2.5 cups of food and he gobbled it up. He must have been starving since we were withholding food for all of Tues night and Wednesday. I haven't checked in at home yet to see if did actually keep it down so far - Marn was heading out for a bit this morning as well, so who knows. There may be a little surprise waiting for her. If he did ok, she was going to give him another cup or two before I get home for dinner.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In all of the "rush" to find flights for the short notice of going to BC for spring break, we forgot about finding a boarding spot for Echo. Nearly everything was booked since it's spring break for everyone. *smacks head* There were spots open at places that only boarded the dog - no play time or interaction with other dogs and we didn't like or want that, so we were really scrambling for something.
So we asked Mom if she would feel comfortable with staying at our house to watch him, even if it was just for mornings and nights - she doesn't need to be there during the day all the time as we normally aren't either. She agreed and saved our butts! I mean he's pretty easy to take care of, but when you're not used to it, I suppose it could be a little much, especially with him. She's been coming over almost every week to watch Violet when Marn goes to Physio, so he doesn't get as wound up anymore, and settles fairly quickly. I think he'll be fine with her. Thank you Mom!!!
Less than a week and we're in BC already! Normally these trips are weeks/months away, but this one was booked only 2 weeks before we were to leave. So quick and looking forward to it!
My Car
Some of you know we're thinking that we're going to get rid of my car this fall and get something newer, or new for us. We originally were going to dump both cars at the same time, but I think we're going to wait another year on the van.... not sure yet.
Anyway, I'm trying no to put much money into my car for the remaining months, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I had taken the car in to have a noise diagnosed last month. I swore it was a wheel bearing (again!! don't get me started on that...), but they didn't think so, but noticed the front brakes were seized and wearing the rotors. So that had to be replaced. The "wheel bearing" noise is still present, so I'm thinking that is still a problem that they missed, but "got me" for unexpected brake work.
Yesterday morning on my way to work behind a garbage truck, a big rock came bouncing my way and took a big chunk out of the windshield - scared the crap out of me from the noise. I thought, great, ANOTHER chip to get repaired. Yes, there was one already there from this summer, but this new one was much bigger and just by looking at it, I knew it would need to be repaired quick. That makes three chips on that windshield, the first was repaired and happened in the first summer that I owned the car.
Not 5 minutes later while going over a bumpy part of the road I hear a loud crack, crack, crack -- Great! The chip cracked right across the whole windshield, and now has to be completely replaced. Probably a good thing at this point as there would be 3 repairs, and 1000's of "micro pits" in it. I'm actually looking forward to some new glass - it can be hard to see at night with headlight glare, that I think is because of the "pitting". But I could have put up with it for another few months.
So that's getting repaired this morning - the company has a mobile unit that comes to you, so they'll be coming to work and repairing it here. Nice! I also decided to put this through insurance after having them assure me that it's not a "charge inducing claim". He assured me that ONLY at-fault accidents cause rates to go up at renewal time. (I thought Ontario did away with at-fault accidents? I guess not according to insurance companies...) So I probably save about $50 by paying my $300 deducible. It actually will cost me $200 as the glass company pays the first $100. whatever, all I know is I pay $200 for a new windshield, which I think is pretty good considering.
So, please car Gods, no more expenses on that car until I dump it onto some sucker 18 year old!! I am fully expecting to have to do a wheel bearing before then, however. Cars suck.
Anyway, I'm trying no to put much money into my car for the remaining months, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I had taken the car in to have a noise diagnosed last month. I swore it was a wheel bearing (again!! don't get me started on that...), but they didn't think so, but noticed the front brakes were seized and wearing the rotors. So that had to be replaced. The "wheel bearing" noise is still present, so I'm thinking that is still a problem that they missed, but "got me" for unexpected brake work.
Yesterday morning on my way to work behind a garbage truck, a big rock came bouncing my way and took a big chunk out of the windshield - scared the crap out of me from the noise. I thought, great, ANOTHER chip to get repaired. Yes, there was one already there from this summer, but this new one was much bigger and just by looking at it, I knew it would need to be repaired quick. That makes three chips on that windshield, the first was repaired and happened in the first summer that I owned the car.
Not 5 minutes later while going over a bumpy part of the road I hear a loud crack, crack, crack -- Great! The chip cracked right across the whole windshield, and now has to be completely replaced. Probably a good thing at this point as there would be 3 repairs, and 1000's of "micro pits" in it. I'm actually looking forward to some new glass - it can be hard to see at night with headlight glare, that I think is because of the "pitting". But I could have put up with it for another few months.
So that's getting repaired this morning - the company has a mobile unit that comes to you, so they'll be coming to work and repairing it here. Nice! I also decided to put this through insurance after having them assure me that it's not a "charge inducing claim". He assured me that ONLY at-fault accidents cause rates to go up at renewal time. (I thought Ontario did away with at-fault accidents? I guess not according to insurance companies...) So I probably save about $50 by paying my $300 deducible. It actually will cost me $200 as the glass company pays the first $100. whatever, all I know is I pay $200 for a new windshield, which I think is pretty good considering.
So, please car Gods, no more expenses on that car until I dump it onto some sucker 18 year old!! I am fully expecting to have to do a wheel bearing before then, however. Cars suck.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Spring B.C. Visit
I think this makes 3 years in a row. Maybe 4? That we've decided to go out to BC for another visit given all the news out there recently. We also want the kids and Den to meet Violet before she gets too big!
We had been tossing around the idea of going out after Den's surgery and before we heard Adrienne's news, but weren't sure we could swing it. For those who haven't heard, she's been diagnosed with an Acoustic Neuroma that will require (brain) surgery to remove. What better way way to lift spirits than a visit from us! Ok, well, I'm sure Violet might actually be the source of spirit-lifting in this case....
We leave on Friday the 13th and come back 1 week later on the first day of Spring. So, we'll be there during the kid's March break. This was on purpose to maximize the visit with the kids and Violet. It's actually a little bit of a shorter visit than "normal" as we'll only get one weekend in instead of both, but these flights were the cheapest I could find, and even cheaper than going through Buffalo this time (due to the March Break, I'm sure). It will be nice to have a weekend at home before the usual going back to work the next day that coming home Sunday posses.
We had been tossing around the idea of going out after Den's surgery and before we heard Adrienne's news, but weren't sure we could swing it. For those who haven't heard, she's been diagnosed with an Acoustic Neuroma that will require (brain) surgery to remove. What better way way to lift spirits than a visit from us! Ok, well, I'm sure Violet might actually be the source of spirit-lifting in this case....
We leave on Friday the 13th and come back 1 week later on the first day of Spring. So, we'll be there during the kid's March break. This was on purpose to maximize the visit with the kids and Violet. It's actually a little bit of a shorter visit than "normal" as we'll only get one weekend in instead of both, but these flights were the cheapest I could find, and even cheaper than going through Buffalo this time (due to the March Break, I'm sure). It will be nice to have a weekend at home before the usual going back to work the next day that coming home Sunday posses.
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