Oops...she did it again....

Sunday afternoon Joe and I took Lulu over to my sister's house for a visit and some play time. She has an actual back yard. Lulu was having a blast running to catch the tennis ball. And then she just started limping. Favoring her right hind leg. Really?! She was just 12 weeks out from her last surgey on her left leg!

She didn't get any better as the night wore on. She was hardly putting any weight on her right leg and basically just sacked out on her bed. We went to the vet yesterday and the preliminary diagnose is she has in fact torn her right cranial cruciate ligament (CCL). The vet and surgeon warned me in April that there would be 60% to 70% chance Lulu would tear her right CCL since she has torn her left CCL. But 12 weeks!?

She goes to the surgeon tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Funny job description

I saw this hanging outside a colleague's cube and asked her to send it to me. I am still perfecting how to describe my job as to not lose peoples attention and explain how important it is for federal agencies to consider the effects of their projects on historic properties. It is hard. I have a very small slice of the federal regulatory pie, and there are issues that could be more important than historic properties, but I will always fight for my slice being represented and complied with.

If you have any further questions....just ask!

Emergency Furiture Purchase

Where have I been for the past two months?! Forgetting to post updates about the family of course! I'll do better, I swear! It has been a crazy couple of months. James was away for six weeks for training and then we picked up the boys for the summer on July 1st. A lot has happened, and I will provide information on what we have been up to...which is quite a lot!

Well, Saturday was laundry day and I asked the boys to strip their beds and bring the sheets down for washing. Joe and Jaime come sheepishly down the stairs and Joe looks particularly concerned. He declares that he has broken Jaime's bed. Really? We go up stairs and sure enough a side rail is completely broken in half, a clean break. Joe says that he only sat down on the bed.....

We bought a set of bunk beds in 2007 which we were smart enough to buy knowing that they could turn into single beds, which is what we did when we moved into the new house and gave each boy a room. Well, there was no way around having to purchase a new bed. I was planning on bringing back a bed frame from my parents for Jaime anyway. But we needed a bed now and not in a month. It was to late in the day to make it to Ikea with traffic so we faced the wrath that is Ikea on a Sunday afternoon. We found a bed, made the purchase and hauled it home. As with any Ikea purchase it took about two hours to assemble.

The boys did great with helping putting it together, but about an hour into the project they were both bored. But they stuck through it. The bed has two drawers under the mattress which is great and Jaime is completely thrilled with the new bed.

I'd post a photo, but I broke the camera during a hike in North Carolina two weeks ago when it fell out of my pocket, hit a rock, and fell about ten feet. That is another story.....

Bundles of organization

Last year before we moved, or maybe even in 2010, I probably did the most Martha Stewart-est thing of my life. I organized the boys clothes. But not just any sort of organizational way. I believe I was inspired by a Martha Stewart organizational segment I saw On Demand two years ago. But I can't be sure. But it was working for me.

We don't have that much room for the boys clothing, which we don't have that much of since we only see them two weekends a month during the fall, winter, and spring. It is during the summer that we need a lot more clothes. Joe is growing every month it seems while Jaime is starting to grow, but at 11 he is still wearing size 8. I had been organizing their clothes by each boy and then by season. I have found this to be troublesome when trying to understand what we had for each boy in terms of clothes. We would buy clothing that we didn't need. And the clothes that were to small for Joe but to big for Jaime were mixed in with all the clothes. Well, I believe I have found a system that will hopefully save time and money! At first, I just took my left over Christmas wrapping supplies, a pen, scissors, and a couple of bins.

Instead of dividing the clothing by boy, I divided it by size. All "large" long sleeve shirts went to a pile. All "10" shorts went into another pile. Then using curly ribbon I wrapped them up like a bundle of clothes of yore. I tied the ribbon and left a little room so the bundle could be picked up from the top. I labeled each bundle by using a gift tag writing the size in the "To" space and then type of clothing in the "From" space. I punched a hole through the tag (I always like the self adhesive kind which would just fall off the clothing eventually) and slipped a end of the ribbon through the hole taking the tag all the way to the knot and then tying the ribbon in a bow. Viola! A organized bundle of clothing! Then I divided the clothing into bins labeled either "summer" or "winter." Now when I need larger clothing for Jaime I can easily find them by sorting through the bundles! A couple of snips with scissors and the bundle will be released. And when Joe outgrow his 16's (yes, the soon to be 13 year old is wearing small men's clothing) I can bundle them up and store them until Jaime is wearing 16's (if that every happens!).

Several of months ago I purchased twine and pre-strung shipping tags to make the effort even more organized. With the warm weather here a couple of weeks ago I was able to reorganize and update the bins. I was much more impressed with what I came up with:

Sometimes I scare James with my organizational fits. But it always pays off in the end.....

Update on Lulu

At the last posting we had found out that Lulu had torn her CCL (dog equivalent to a human's ACL) and had an appointment on Friday to see a surgeon at the Regional Veterinary Referral Center. Lulu and I met with Dr. Anderson and based on her assessment and options I left Lulu in her very capable hands Friday morning for surgery. I guess we were lucky they had availability that day. Lulu had already been denied breakfast that morning so we wouldn't have to fast her later on in the week. While we would have paid any price to repair Lulu's knee, because of her size and her weight (which we maintain at around 60 pounds) Dr. Anderson said that the extracapsular repair was a viable option. Wasn't cheap but was cheaper than the other options. Lulu had to spend the night and I was able to pick her up on Saturday morning.

This is Lulu's third scar. And she is only 2 1/2 years old!

She was so drugged up that it took her about three minutes to realize that I was even at the RVRC to bring her home. Poor puppy! Above is what she looked like for the first couple of days post-operation: high as a kite and napping. The nurse said this would be the best her leg would look during her recovery. We must have a wonder dog because her leg hasn't bruised or swelled in the least. And starting yesterday she is putting more weight on leg. She can take stairs again and surprised me last night when I turned around and she was on the first floor. She shouldn't use stairs until after her first physical therapy appointment next week.

She is ready to rumble and is becoming quite the hand full in her limited capacity. She wants to run and play and frolic. And I cringe and hope that she doesn't hurt herself again while telling her no. Only a week to go before the sutures come out!

Ruptured Anterior (Cranial) Cruciate Ligament (aka torn ACL)

Tuesday night Lulu went on a tear in the backyard, what we call her "crazies," running from gate to gate at brake neck speed after dinner. And then she just stopped and sat down. When I got up from the table she got up and I noticed that she was limping, favoring her left hind leg. This of course was a great concern for me. I sat down and she limped over, I ran my hand over her leg but she didn't pull it away or whimper with pain. Oh boy, was I going to have to go to the pet emergency room?

I gave James a call (he was out to dinner with a friend) and we decided that perhaps it was a pulled muscle or cramp and that we would wait and see. While I couldn't take her to the vet yesterday because of previous work conflicts I did make an appointment for this morning just in case. She continued to favor her leg and would hold it up and not put any weight on it at all. She was drinking water and eating as usual, but she was certainly "off."

We just got back from the vet where the x-rays revealed that she has ruptured her anterior (cranial) cruciate ligament in her left rear knee. If she were a human she has torn her ACL. This is apparently the most common knee injury for dogs and if left untreated can quickly cause arthritis.

X-ray of Lulu's left hind leg. Can you spot the rupture?

There are two options to treat the torn ACL: an extracapsular repair (basically a heavy duty fishing line to takes the place of the ACL) or a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) (where the tibia is cut and rotated in such a way that the natural weight bearing of the dog actually stabilizes the knee joint using a plate). Our vet's office only does the extracapsular repair and we will have to go to a vet surgeon for the TPLO. I have already made an appointment for a consult with the vet surgeon to find out more about the TPLO.

Because Lulu is so young our vet is suggesting that the TPLO is the more appropriate treatment option. But of course (as in all things in life) that is the more expensive option. Frankly, neither option is cheap! However, no more agility for Lulu, no more getting up on the couch or the bed, and no more walks until the after surgery and recovery (six to eight weeks!).

The injury isn't keeping her down, but Lulu's new nickname is Gimpy. We'll keep you updated on her progress.

You can call him Al

Last year we welcomed a new member to our family...Alexander. You can call him Al.

I had a crazy idea in my head that we needed to adopt another cat. But I knew that the old house wasn't big enough for two adults, two kids, a dog, and three cats. When we moved to the new house we certainly had the room. My sister volunteers with Fancy Cats Rescue Team at our local Petsmart taking care of the too many cats who need forever homes. I never paid attention to them really until we would visit Molly during her cleaning and feeding of the cats. Many touched my heart. And Alexander was one of them. He had been in the "cage" for WAY TO LONG. And he needed a family.

We started making the preparations and in June 2011 we made the adoption. He lived in Jaime's room for about a week during the transition. After which we swapped Ben and Roosie and Al between the basement and the first and the second floors to allow additional time for Al to become familiar with the house and Ben and Roosie's scents (and vice versa). After three weeks or so we opened up the doors for all the animals to move freely. It didn't go over so well. Not at all. Let's just say some of the best advice I can give is not to go into a cat fight without gloves. I have the scars and phone calls from Fairfax County public health services to prove it.

Roosie constantly freaked out, Ben will always howl with the most heart wrenching cries, and Al just appears to want to play. Al sleeps in the basement at night with the door closed to allow Ben and Roosie the "freedom" of the second and the first floor. During the day the doors are all opened. However, Ben and Rooise stick to the second floor and our bedroom and under our bed.

However, when I got back from a short grocery store run this past weekend, my niece Makayla comes rushing out of the house to tell me that Al and Ben were on Joe's bed and they weren't hissing or howling at each other. I saw it with my own eyes. Ben looked slightly panicked but he wasn't about to move. Al had his front legs stretched out in front of him napping. Perhaps we have turned a corner and a truce, or at least an understanding, is emerging.

Doggie Dooley

This past Christmas my sister bought Lulu a Christmas present. I thought it was just a toy or something small. The biggest box she brought over was for the dog. I had no idea what would be inside of it. And when I opened the box on Christmas morning on behalf of Lulu, I started to laugh....it was a poo composter!

What is a poo composter? It is an in-ground pet waste toilet of sorts. The dog isn't expected to use the composter. It just breaks down the dog's poo naturally instead of using plastic bags going to a land fill. I've been talking about one for two years but didn't really find anything; apparently if I had searched "in-ground pet waste" instead of "poo composter" I would have found it much sooner. Regardless, the Doggie Dooley was installed last weekend.

The directions suggested installing the "toilet" away from the house, but with the size of our back yard that wasn't really an option, but this corner worked quite nicely.

Why did we wait so long? The "toilet" must be installed in a four foot hole. A four foot hole. So we had to wait for the ground to warm up and an extra pair of hands. James' brother-in-law John came in handy.

John and James made quick work of the four foot hole. However, it left a big pile of dirt in my backyard for a week.

To get it started you add 6 gallons of water and the digester power (which is added weekly).

Lulu wasn't that excited about the installation as much as I was. No more plastic bags! Except when we are in public and when the ground temperature falls below 40 degrees. Regardless I am very excited about this latest addition!

Lulu Tunnel!

One of the things you wouldn't think a dog like Lulu could do is leap. But leap she can. We have put up little picket fence pieces up on the backyard to keep Lulu out of some of the beds, or from charging the shared fence with our neighbors when they let one of their dogs out in their backyard. However, if Lulu really wants to, she can leap over the picket fence. It's like she is a bunny.

I have wanted for sometime to capitalize on this trick and continue her training so I was able to finally grab a spot in one of Fairfax County Parks and Recreation's dog agility classes. It isn't competitive agility. Just for fun. And last night was our first class. The instructors, Patsy and Karen, were very patience, supportive, and knowledgeable. I really like them. However, I don't really like some of the other owners in the class. There are only four other dogs: Einstein (some sort of mix working dog breed), Ripley (some sort of hound), Spotty (some sort of lab mix), and Theodore (a very interesting standard Poodle). The owners I'm not really fond of are for Ripley and Theodore.

Lulu did very well. While we were working on the tasks. In between tasks she was a hand full. She just wanted to play or charge the other dogs, specifically Einstein and Ripley. Unfortunately their owners couldn't, or wouldn't, see how I was struggling to keep her focused on me and would bring their dogs near us. It was incredibly frustrating.

She has aced getting onto the "table" but that is because she jumps onto the couch, the ottoman, the chair, and the bed all the time. The "tunnel" was more interesting. She will go through but with some coaxing. I am going to see about buying a play tunnel for kids (cheaper than the actual dog agility tunnel) for practicing in between classes.

I'm just very excited about another opportunity to learn with Lulu. And maybe we'll take it to the next level. But we'll see.....

A close shave....

On Friday night I was out in Loundon County helping my dear friend artistically arrange items for a baby shower gift (and I don't think I did that bad of a job) she was giving so I got home rather late. As I was sitting in my car gathering my belongings to go inside the house I heard a tapping on the passenger side window and I saw James starting at me which scared the crap out of me. And then I realized that he had shaved his head!

For those of you don't already know, I fell in love with a bald James. After we met and he returned to Iraq we would instant message almost everyday and he had a photo of himself bald. That was the photo I stared at for months. So I prefer a bald James. However, James prefers to have hair during the winter months. So the compromise is that from April 1 to September 30 he is bald and from October 1 to March 31 he has hair. For the past two years he has shaved a week early. Of course this means the last week in September he'll want to stop shaving.

It is funny about people's reactions to James when he shaves and when he has hair. I much, much, much prefer him bald and tolerate the hair during the winter. But this is yet again another sure sign that Spring is here! My husband is bald again!!! Oh happy day!!!

Spring is in the air...and the touristas are on the ground

Today is the vernal equinox. What is that you might ask? Well....its the first day of spring! And guess what? It came six weeks after February 2nd. So regardless of the groundhog in Pennsylvania, spring is always six weeks away. And quite frankly that groundhog must have been hitting the hooch because these past six weeks have been mild. And I mean mild! As a matter of fact this March is fast becoming the warmest March on record for the Washington, DC area. It hit the high 80s last week and looks to stay in the 70s this whole week. I am not complaining in the least. James and I shut off the HVAC last week and here's to hoping we don't have to turn it back on until June.

The other things that are springing up this week are the cherry blossoms. Oh those beautiful trees. Such a sight to see! They are peaking today through Friday. This is very early and at the very beginning of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. They hardly ever peak during the festival, but as this is the centennial celebration the festival is over a month long. James and I are planning on taking the boys this weekend early one morning to see the blossoms. Once they peak they tend to fall and wind and rain can speed up that process. However, cherry blossoms falling can be just as beautiful because it looks like pink snow!

I've changed the main photo of the blog in honor of the cherry blossoms. The above photo was taking in 2007 during my first spring working in DC. Which was also my first introduction to DC as a tourist attraction from the other side. I call them touristas because it adds a little flare as I mumble under my breath for them to get out of my way so I can go to work or go home. They will be everywhere for the next month while we wait out spring breaks and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. I shouldn't complain...out loud...and I won't. I'll just grin and bear it.

DC is at its most beautiful in the spring.....and if I were a tourista I would want to see it now too....

Moving on UP!!!

After waiting two and half months the promotion list for E-7's (Sergeant First Class) was released....and James was on it!!!!!!

And he has a really great by-number: 80!

So we just have to wait for his number to come up! James is betting on two to four months. But we'll keep you posted as to when the big day happens!

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

An itch to see some changes

Now that James and I are coming up on our first year in our first home, we have started to finally make changes. I sort of focused on furniture first (bookshelves, pie safes, dressers, etc.) and now I'm ready for paint and updates. Last weekend was the first major change we've made. And it was just because a got a bug up my butt to see something different for a change.

We painted and updated the fixtures in the master bathroom. I'm only talking about two and a half walls so it was really easy to tackle being so small and having paint left over from the old house. I wish I had thought to do a before and after photo. But alas, I'll only be able to provide an after photo....later. We need to touch up the ceiling and clean it first!

I really like it and it makes me feel like we've accomplished something. Especially since we also updated the light fixture over our vanity (which is outside the bathroom itself) from a horrible 1980s "modern" monstrosity to a simple bronze finished beauty. That was an adventure. And one that I hope doesn't repeat itself as we slowly replace the light fixtures throughout the house.I even went a little wild by replacing the switches and plugs with brown units instead of the traditional white or almond color and used bronzed plate covers! My sister graciously helped us out by replacing those outlets and switches, including those in the guest bedroom, guest bath, and in Jaime's room. We haven't figured out which breaker controls the outlets in Joe's room yet so they remain on the list to do. That breaker box is a blog post on its own.

The last new change we made was by rearranging our bedroom furniture so that we have easy access to our sole window. The cats and James absolutely love this new layout. You can now find Benning pretty much on the ottoman under the window catching the morning sun. Alexander loves to look out over the neighborhood.

The updated electrical flare will look really great once we get all the rooms painted. We've picked out all of the colors for the rooms except for a couple that we're still debating about. But that will take some time as the painting supplies are currently being used by Molly and Chris as they update their own house. A couple of years ago Molly and I combined our painting supplies to save on costs, so I'll have to time our projects in between their own painting projects.

Creature of habits....

Routines. We all have them. Some more strict than others I suppose. I secretly envy the strict routine that Sheldon has on "The Big Bang Theory" for the comfort of knowing what will be happening next but knowing that I could never have such a routine. Except for when it comes to the animals. That is a routine that is almost never broken. And it is funny how one house guest can change things.

My sister Nancy is staying with us for a few days and helping James and I out by replacing our 30+ year old outlets and light switches. Gives her something to do and saves us some time. Nancy loves Lulu and Lulu loves Nancy. About as much as she loves our other sister Molly. And it is funny how she loves each of my sisters in a different way. Just like a human even. She knows what she can get away with depending on which sister is around.

So the weekday routine starts at 5:00 AM when I crawl/force myself out of bed to give Lulu a bathroom break, feed all the animals, prepare coffee/lunches for James and I, get James out the door, and then spend the next hour and a half trying to get myself out the door for work. Normally after Lulu has finished her breakfast she'll hang out with me downstairs until I go upstairs and then she is hanging out on the bed having a post-breakfast nap. We always go outside one more time and then back to the kitchen to clean up bowls, coffee pot, and any utensils used to prepare lunch which are the last activities I undertake before leaving for work. Now, Lulu usually hangs out with me while this is happening knowing that as soon as I dry my hands I'll go for the bag of big bones and she knows its time to go in her crate. However, with Nancy staying with us Lulu knows there is going to be a different routine.

This morning as I was cleaning up the kitchen I realized that Lulu wasn't on the first floor. And then I knew exactly where I would find her: outside the door to the guest bedroom waiting to be let in and lifted up onto the bed so she could shower her Aunt Nancy with kisses and settle down for post-breakfast nap #2. And sure enough that is exactly where I found her.

So I opened the door, where she immediately went and put her paws on the bed and looked at me with those "Okay Mom! Lift me up! I get to spend the day with Aunt Nancy!!!" eyes

Such a funny dog.....

This time I mean it....

August? Really? I haven't posted a single thing since August? Why can't I just stick to a schedule and actually use this blog for what I intended it to be? Well two factors come to mind for why I'm not really using it: (1) I don't think anyone really reads it and (2) I have just wrapped up a major project at work that has taken up the last five months of my life.

But as 2012 is shaping up to become a year of changes, why not make one more and actually write in this blog? Even if it is just for myself? My goal is to post something at least every two days.Here are some upcoming topics:

(1) Weekend projects around the house;
(2) How I aspire to be Martha Stewart or an employee at The Container Store sometimes;
(3) My thoughts on the Show Me State;
(4) A weekend trip to NYC;
(5)  How I'm overcoming a 13 year smoking habit; and
(6) What it takes to get a husband off of a medical profile in the military.

Let's see if I can actually pull this off.......