Poppy's Birthday

It's 9:30 pm and I almost forgot to mention that today is my dad's birthday.  Yes, that would be this guy:

The guy who can't take a serious picture to save his life.  I even told him it would be on the internet and he told me to just let him know when directors called asking if he could be in their movies.

We had birthday cake - carrot cake at dad's request - tonight at my parents' house.  The little ones could not wait to help blow out the candles.

You can't tell in this picture, but I did arrange the candles in a 5 and 8 since we didn't exactly have enough.

Everyone in the family officially knows all the words to the Happy Birthday song.  We still haven't mastered singing it to the birthday honoree instead of singing it to the cake.

Parker thought the song was lasting a little long so he went ahead and started blowing.  Luckily, Poppy managed to cover him up before the candles went out.

And finally everyone got to spit on the cake help blow out the candles.

Now, if you're Bren, you take this time to look around and make sure everyone's attention is on Poppy opening gifts...

...then you go in for the scoop...

...get a good-sized glob...

...and score!

No one saw that, right?

Of course, we should've seen that coming after Parker's birthday party.  I guess if you ever want to have cake with our family, you just have to be ok with little finger prints in the icing.

Parker's shirt said it all for how much excitement was in the house.

Hey, raise your hand if you're two!

Parker and Bren had nubbin' arms after they found some cardboard fabric rolls.  They thought they were fun and we thought they were hilarious.

Did anyone reading this make a new year's resolution to lose weight?  If so, my dad has come up with the perfect diet solution for you.  Don't waste your time counting calories, exercising, or eating low-fat foods.  All you need is one of these:

As Dad demonstrates, simply wear the cone during meals and it's impossible for you to eat.

The pounds will just drop off!  That's my dad's gift to you on his birthday.

Happy birthday, Dad!

Fondue Night

Last week we sent an email to invite some of our friends over for dinner this past Friday.  Given the week's events, I thought it would be a healthy distraction so we went ahead with the dinner.  I'm glad we did, too, because it was a lot of fun! We decided to make fondue.  I got our fondue pot for my birthday last March and we used it once then but it hadn't come out of the cabinets since.  It was long overdue! I had emailed my friend Sarah for her cheese fondue recipe months ago and luckily she was at dinner to supervise the process.

First to go in the pot was garlic and white wine.

Then came the milk and flour.

After that heated up, Doc added the good stuff....the cheese!  We used sharp cheddar and smoked gouda.

Sarah watched carefully to make sure the cheese sauce made it to the right consistency.

It was starting to smell gooooood!  We were all standing around the table just waiting for the stirring to be done.

Speaking of "we" that would be Chris and Allison,

Charlie and Sarah,

and me and Doc.  Finally, it was ready!  (This picture was taken after bread had already been dipped in a left crumbs behind.)

For dipping, we had pumpernickel bread cubes, green apples, carrots, and tortilla chips. I think the apples were my favorite.

I said it that night and I'll say it again, the cheese fondue was "real gouda!"

Since we started with a big appetizer, Doc and I decided we'd just do a small dish for the main course.  He made bacon-wrapped barbecue shrimp over a bed of rice.  Delicious!

We saved the best course for last...the chocolate fondue.  Here, Doc is stirring the sauce (milk, vanilla extract, milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate) so fast the camera can't even keep up.

For dipping, we had pretzel sticks, marshmallows, pound cake, biscoff cookies, bananas, and strawberries.  Charlie got to be the first taste-tester.

After he gave his approval, it was game on.  That stuff was good. Oh man, was it good!

We ended the meal with a toast.  I realize that usually happens at the beginning, but better late than never, right?

(I got to use my new tripod to take this and it is totally awesome.  Just thought you should know.)

It was so much fun and I'm glad I got to see my friends.  I don't think we'll wait so long to make fondue again since it was so yummy!  Who wants to come over for the next round?

What Happened

The truth is, I don't know exactly what happened.  I have been home alone today replaying yesterday's events over and over again and I can't for the life of me figure out why my sweet Minnie isn't here with me today.  Today has been quiet.  This morning the sound of the sky crying with me is all I could hear. First, thank you for all the kind words today.  The calls, texts, comments, and emails have been so nice.  I know I haven't responded to anything but I have read them all more than once.  I just don't know what to say back.  I took the time to write that last post last night not for sympathy, but because after the hypothyroidism and surgery posts, I didn't want anyone to ask me how she was doing.  I thought it might be easier to write it once than to have to say it over and over again.

As for yesterday's events, they were pretty bad.  I left work at 2:30 to come check on Minnie.  She had thrown up but seemed to be moving around more.  She looked like she felt better after getting some of the medicine out of her belly.  After cleaning everything up, I went upstairs to change clothes.  When I came back down, she had been sick a couple more times.  And that's how the afternoon continued to go.  The last time she threw up was around 6:15 and by then she didn't have a lick of energy.  I assumed she was dehydrated and tried to get her to drink, but she wouldn't.  I also tried to give her her thyroid medicine wrapped in cheese and she wouldn't even lick it.

Doc got home around 7:30 or so.   Minnie and I were still cuddled up on the couch, where we spent most of the afternoon when she wasn't getting sick.  I ate dinner and we watched tv for a while.  I decided to try to take Minnie out since it had been a while.  When I set her in the grass, she immediately laid down.  We brought her back in and Doc tried to force her to drink water but she let it dribble out the sides of her mouth.

At 8:50, I called our vet at home.  He said he'd meet us at the clinic.  When we got there, he said she didn't look good at all.  Her stomach was very hard to the touch.  He thought maybe she was constipated or had air in her intestines.  X-rays were taken but he couldn't tell much from them.  That's when he decided he would have to do surgery and look inside.  Minnie needed to get fluids first though.  We left the clinic...I didn't say goodbye to Minnie because I was too busy making sure he had my cell number written down.  I didn't realize I wouldn't see her again.

He called at 10:30 and said it wasn't good.  Minnie had crashed on the table but he was able to bring her back.  Her liver was diseased and her intestines were deteriorating and falling apart when he touched them.  He said it was in her best interest not to wake up.  There was nothing else that could be done.

I cannot tell you how much I have cried.  I knew Minnie didn't feel well, and in my head I know she's not in pain now, but that doesn't mean I don't wish she was she was still here with me.  I have lost two other dogs in my life - the first one, Max, was a mean dog and I was really too young to hurt much.  I remember crying but it didn't last long.  The other family dog, Greta, died when I was in college.  She was old and we sorta knew it would be soon.  My mom called to tell me and I cried in my dorm room.

It feels different with Minnie.  She was mine.  My dog.  Of course, when Doc came along she became our dog, but she was always my baby.  When I moved out of my parents' house and into my own apartment, it was just me and Minnie.  I don't think I could've made it on my own without her with me.  She was always by my side and even though she drove me crazy sometimes with her barking, I always loved her to pieces.

She was so little when my parents brought her home from the flea market.

She could fit on a five dollar bill.

She could also fit in my pocket.

Her first collar was a kitten collar with a bell on it.

She loved those hogs!

She was 100% mama's girl.

I bought her a winter coat.  She hated it.

Some more recent pics:

I don't know how to end this post except to say that I miss my girl.

Update 9:45 pm

Minnie has gotten progressively worse. She is at the vet now. After two inconclusive xrays, the vet decided he needed to open her up to look inside. He is giving her fluids first to get her pressure up. He sent us home and said he'd give us a call when he could tell more, so right now we're just waiting.