What a Difference a Day Makes

We were told that we were able to pick up Zoe from the animal hospital tonight..and what a difference! Zoe has tons of energy, her normal coloring is back (although from the picture you would think her eyes are still jaundice..but I think that was the camera). She is sporting a bandage from her her IV catheter was..but other than that we are back to our normal dog!

She has 4 medications to take over the next 14-20 days, and another blood test next week..but if all goes well, then we can put this behind us.


So, while we are out $502.48, we are happy to have our faithful friend home!

Some Sunshine on an Otherwise Gloomy Day

So, yesterday started off as a typical day. I got the kids over to daycare, went to the gym, got some coffee and went home where my housecleaner was finishing up. She is very fond of Zoe and always comes prepared with treats for her. When I got home she informed me that Zoe wasn't quite herself and she noticed that her skin was yellow. I too have noticed that Zoe has been lethargic the last few days and not eating much. I called the vet and he basically said he would need to see her immediately as the symptoms presented as pretty serious.

We were at the vet's an hour later and he confirmed that Zoe was pretty sick. The jaundice she had along with other symptoms were indicative of hepatitis (liver disease) or Hemolytic Anemia. The latter was the worse of the 2. He took her from me and said he had to run some tests and wanted to keep her at least overnight to get her hooked up on IV fluids and medications. It was pretty gloomy. After finding out that we already spent $500 on all the tests, it was possible Zoe would need a liver biopsy to determine prognosis (add another $500). Our thoughts turned to the financial dilemma we faced and Zoe being 12 years old and what our options were. I certainly was not wanting to put Zoe down, but the thought of spending thousands of dollars on a 12 year dog was not a reasonable solution.

So it was a rough night for me last night.

This morning I called the vet to get her status. It turns out that Zoe had an excellent night and has made significant improvement. He did not see a need to biopsy her and recommended that she continue to get fluids all day and we can pick her up tonight with some antibiotics and a change in her dog food.

Yay! This picture of the kids I took this morning brightened my day!

A bite of the Big Apple

With the help of some of the grandparents this past weekend Brian and I were able to get away to NYC for a long weekend. We had 3 days in the city and pretty much did everything we wanted to do on this trip. Friday after checking into our hotel, we ventured into the city to walk around, check out Times Square and walk up 5th Avenue. We finally snagged a table at Serendipity3 (which we failed to get in last time). We were not hungry for dinner yet but decided to try the world famous frrrroozzzen hot chocolate. It was a huge goblet meant to be shared. Pretty good, the first couple sips and then I wasn't so impressed. I'm glad I went but wouldn't wait to go back there.


Saturday, Brian met his college friends and went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play one more time in the original stadium. I decided to skip the game and met up with my friend who now lives in the city. We ate lunch in SoHo and did some shopping. I met up with Brian and his crew after the game and we went to Chinatown for dinner and went to Rice to Riches for dessert (think Ice cream shop, but instead of 24 varieties of ice cream at one time, 24 varieties of rice pudding). Very funky place, awesome dessert.

Sunday, Brian's friend told us how you can score cheap show tickets. The process is called Rush and it is basically a lottery. 2 hours before a show, the box office lets you put your name in a bucket and they draw anywhere from 12-20 tickets and if you are called you get to see the show for $20 and you sit in the front row. We took our chance with Avenue Q, which we both wanted to see. The second pick was Brian's name so we were thrilled. The show was hysterical. Think Sesame Street for mature audiences over 18.

On the way home we stopped at Harold's deli on the New Jersey turnpike for the most gigantic portions of sandwiches and other Jewish fare you can imagine. There is no words describe the portions they serve. Brian and I ordered one sandwich to share and we still took home enough for 3 more sandwiches.

We got home last night and the kids had fun with the grandparents. So, a good time had by all!

and the Cheese Stands Alone

My sister has been having the same toilet training struggles as I have had lately. I have to admit, my sister had more reason to be frustrated. Brooke is over 3 and a-half, a girl and looked like she was going no where fast. Well, much to Amy's delight, something finally struck a chord with Brooke and she has been peeing on the potty for the past 2 days. That leaves Mason, alone in his diapers. Yea! for Amy, and I remain bitter and frustrated.

In other news of the week, I officially ended working yesterday. It was the last day of school, and it feels weird that I won't have a school to go to in August. I've definitely loved my schedule this year, working 2 days for the school and having 3 days with the business at home. Now I will be home 5 days a week. The nice part is I have a great relationship with the director of speech for the county and she let me know there will be per diem work if I want to pick up a day here or there, on my schedule.

I finally took the plunge and had my hair straightened using this new treatment my friend Lisa has been raving about. It's a Brazilian Hair Treatment. It's basically a keratin product put in your hair and then it is flat ironed out. It takes a while (almost 2 hours), but the results are insane. I have no frizz at all. My hair is shiny, straight and so easy to do. The bad part of it is that is has formaldehyde in it which when it is ironed in causes fumes that can cause cancer, but at least my hair will look great at my funeral.

How Do You Like Your Eggs?

Order up! Because we have an open skillet on our sidewalk. It is that hot out! Yesterday was just oppressive, today is the same but there is a slight warm breeze in the air making it somewhat bearable. Sophie had a birthday party today at Annie's Playground. I lost the coin toss of who takes her, so it was me in the hot sun with a bunch of sweaty 5 year olds and the other parents that loss the coin toss. We lasted about an hour and a half and are now recovering in the air conditioned house. Relief.

Last night we had the first snowball of the year. Snowballs are a definite Baltimore tradition. It's very popular to cover your snowball with marshmallow fluff. Weird, but it is pretty good. It's not Italian ice, which Brian and I are more fond of. Its more like a snow cone. There are stands all over the place with over 100 choices of flavors. Sophie and Mason had theirs straight up..Sophie choosing watermelon and Mason had the orange. I'll still have Rita's any day.

Best Party-Hands Down!

Today we celebrated Sophie's 5th birthday with her friends at her party. When trying to figure out where to have her party I wanted to do something different (there are a handful of places in the county to have it..and it's the same thing all the time). Someone told me about Amer's Cafe in Baltimore County and told me how kid friendly it was. We decided to check it out for dinner one night in March to see if the food was good. The place is Mediterranean and pizza. Strange combination, but it works. So we booked Sophie's party after that night. They do a package where the kids make their own pizzas. The place supplies the decorations, cake, ice cream and party favors. This place also has a belly dancer available that can entertain the kids at the party!


Entertain she did. She had scarves, finger cymbals (whatever they are called), tambourines, etc. She even did makeup for the kids.




Sophie loved being princess for the day and all the kids wanting to sit next to her. She settled for her friend and neighbor, Becke and her not-so-secret crush, Aiden. Sophie adores Aiden and the feeling is mutual since Aiden asked Sophie if he can sleep over at our house in her big bed with her.


Sophie and Aiden

The kids had a total blast and the parents loved the party. I may have got them a few referrals!

The best part was Sophie running up to me at the end and hugging me and telling me I'm the best mommy ever and it was the best party ever. I rock. Hopefully she will remember this day when she is 15 and fighting with me about something trivial.

Tomorrow Sophie has a birthday party for one of the girls in her class..and God help me..it is at a huge playground. Oh, and it's going to be 94 degrees out.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

So today I was dropping the kids off at daycare and the director stopped me on my way in to let me know how funny my son is. She had gone in his room yesterday to try and talk up the 3-year old room and how much fun it was and that some of Mason's friends would be going there soon and that his friends would be leaving. All this in an attempt to "bribe" my boy to start thinking of using the potty. To this Mason told the director "I'll make new friends". She told me she nearly fell over laughing. At least she is finding the situation funny. From what I heard through other parents, they have a big push once the kids turn 3 to get them on the stick to start going on the potty since they can't move up to the next room until they are potty trained. I guess Mason told her.

Then, on my way to pick him up today I was informed by the teachers that Mason was bit in the back by one of his friends in an incident. The policy is the teachers are not allowed to tell parents who was the victim, or who did the biting..but we all know that at age 3 and up, kids talk. Mason promptly told me it was his friend Ernest who is Mason's best buddy there, who I am friends with his mom. His mom called me tonight so apologetic for the kid. It is so funny how we personalize the actions of our kids. I didn't even give it a second thought. Mason just is a kid you want to take a "nibble" at!

3-Year Olds Know How to Party!

We had Mason's birthday party yesterday at My Gym. What a racket these birthday parties are. And I am a parent who has to have 2 of them within a short time of each other. But, I digress.

The party actually worked out great. One of Mason's friend's in his class turned 3 a few days after Mason, so his mom and I decided that since the same kids would be invited, to share the party. Worked out great for the guests too, since mom and dads only had to take their kids to one party.

We did a Blue's Clues Theme for the most part. Blues Clues cake, puppy ears for the boys and some Blues Clues goodies. I have been hanging a Blue's Clues handy dandy notebook over Mason's head for weeks now in an effort to get him to pee in the potty. He got one in his goody pail, so the joke is on me. He happily walked around with it all day. I swear he paid more attention to that stupid 50 cent party favor than any of his gifts. It figures.

Sophie had a great time too. It's amazing how much more adventurous she has become. She was the first to raise her hand to go down the ripcord, where as a year or so ago..no way. Now Mason is the wimp.

Sophie's party is next week and should be really fun. The kids are making their own pizzas and I hired a belly dancer to teach the kids fun dances!