Model Patient

Alstott made it through his surgery last night, and the doctors seem pleased with his progress.  He still isn't out of the woods, but it was reassuring to hear that we intervened before things went from bad to worse.

It was no surprise to receive the call from the surgeon last night and discover the obstruction was attributed to this crazy dog's insatiable appetite for undergarments.  The doctors had to make two incisions (one in the stomach and one in the intestines) to entirely remove the offending underwear.  Apparently a section of his intestines is extremely bruised, a result of his digestive system trying to expel the foreign body, but the surgeon decided not to remove the portion of the intestines in the hopes that it would heal.  On a positive note, it did not appear that any of his organs were torn or punctured, so that was a huge relief.  He is being monitored very closely to ensure the bruised portion of the intestine doesn't die and also to make sure no infections result from the invasive procedure.

Just like all of us, Alexa is extremely concerned and nervous about her beloved dog.  She tried to con me into taking her to Build-A-Bear to make a Get Well present for Alstott, but when I shot down her plan, she thoughtfully suggested that we bring one of Granty's stuffed animals for Alstott.  Before he went to work today, Damon stopped by to visit Alstott and brought a stuffed dog that belonged to Granty.  :)

If all goes well, I should be bringing Alstott home tomorrow night or Friday, keeping a very close eye on him for the next week or so.  Over the weekend, I will be reconfiguring the locks on the pantry and laundry room, as the doors are currently set to simply push open for instances of your hands being full, but I'll be changing them to require the door handle to be used.  I never in a million years expected to be dog-proofing the house more than we've child-proofed the house.  I'll do anything for my Alstott though - he's truly one-of-a-kind and an integral part of our family.

The patient is recovering nicely...accompanied by Granty's stuffed dog.

Emergency Surgery

Last night Alstott left his dinner untouched, so I immediately knew something was wrong again.  He had a little more pep than post-DumDums, but the lack of appetite, coupled with a few instances of vomiting, did not bode well for Alstott.  Damon took him to the vet this morning, and the initial x-rays showed some sort of obstruction in his stomach and large intestine.  The vet did not have any surgery slots available today, so Damon left work tonight to take him back to the animal hospital.  After an ultrasound, it was determined that Alstott needed emergency surgery to remove the obstruction, hoping there is no additional damage to the intestines.  So our beloved puggle is in surgery tonight, as Damon and I anxiously await word from the surgeon on his condition as well as detail of what exactly Alstott ingested to cause the obstruction.

As I drove home from work tonight, I could only think about Alstott and the nine years I've had with this little guy.  He's obnoxious and not exactly the most well-mannered pup (we flunked out of PetSmart Puppy Training), but he somehow is the most loveable dog...he's even forced non-dog lovers to come around!  One image of Alstott stuck in my mind - - I remember how he laid by the closed door of Granty's room with his head on the floor after Granty passed away.  I honestly think he was sad just like the rest of us....  The thought of him by the bedroom door brought me to tears; he is one loyal dog.

I was very nervous to tell Alexa about Alstott; she absolutely adores him and prior experiences with hospitals haven't exactly been good.  She seemed to understand the surgery, and immediately began to think of things to bring to him in the hospital.  When we came home from swimming lessons tonight (make-up class), I set dinner on the table but Alexa was nowhere to be found.  I finally looked in the office, and she was curled up in the desk chair just staring at a picture of Alstott.

We obviously are going to do everything possible for Alstott - - this dog is part of our family!  Our fingers are crossed, and I'm already trying to think of ways to Alstott-proof the house for his return.

Alstott was always by Granty's side....my two boys ;)

The Praying Sticks

It's always interesting to see what Alexa manages to stash in the car for entertainment - apparently conversations with mom aren't all that thrilling.  I think she takes advantage of me being distracted with Ani to bring some of the most random stuff she can find: dolls she hasn't played with in years, a pinwheel, gaudy jewelry, etc...  Yesterday as I helped her out of the car after tennis lessons, I found two pieces of her Pinklets set, essentially TinkerToys for girls, and I was ready to bring them into the house when she grabbed my hand and said, "No!!!  Leave those there....those are my praying sticks for Granty!"  Sure enough, I looked at the Pinklets and realized the rod and connector formed the shape of a cross.  This wasn't the first time I have heard Alexa mention praying sticks - aka a cross - and her immediate association with Granty.

Last Saturday when I was getting the supplies for dying Easter eggs, Alexa was taking inventory of the ridiculous amount of decorations I had for the activity.  Thanks some leftover and new Paas kits, I had a variety of sequins, glitter glue, crayons, paints and stickers for the 3+ dozen eggs I hard-boiled (each kid had a dozen to dye).  As Alexa looked at the collection of stickers, she pulled out the card with the religious stickers and said, "I'm going to make a prayer stick egg for Granty."  Awww....as usual, Alexa knows how to make me smile with her talk of Granty.  I love how much she thinks about him, and I thought it was especially sweet that she was ready to make an egg in his honor.  It is interesting to see how the image of a cross immediately evokes thoughts of Granty, likely the result of trips to church and the cemetery to celebrate his life.

Normally I cannot wait to throw away the dyed Easter eggs; hard-boiled eggs completely gross me out.  Honestly, I don't think I have ever kept the eggs past Easter Sunday evening - there's no eating the eggs in the Hovey house.  However, this year, I have been a little slower than normal to toss Alexa's dozen in the garbage.  The sight of the little blue egg makes me very happy...I just have to hold my breath to get past the smell.

And yes, her use of the term "praying sticks" instead of cross probably means we need to get her enrolled in Sunday School in the very near-future.   At least her heart and thoughts are in the right place!

Alexa's "praying stick" egg for Granty....
with a few other random stickers :)

Super Puggle

Yesterday we had a bit of a health scare with Alstott...Damon even left work early last night to take him to the animal hospital.  Alstott had not been himself at all, and the biggest indicator that something was wrong was his lack of appetite.  He didn't even flinch when Damon cooked him a chicken breast; I don't think I've ever seen Alstott shy away from food.

Alstott has been my loyal companion for nine years, so I was a nervous wreck while they were at the veterinarian; I cannot bear the thought of losing my little puggle.  All of the major tests at the animal hospital came back negative, but he was still not behaving like the obnoxious dog we have grown to love.  We speculated that Alsott had some sort of obstruction, an all too common occurrence for a dog who eats everything (socks, crayons, undergarments, etc...).  I can only imagine the things that our landscapers have found thanks to Alstott's "deposits" in the backyard.

Sure enough, after I arrived at work this morning, Damon called to happily inform me that Alstott was back to his normal self.  He passed a mass of DumDums, stolen from my sister's carry-on bag, that had fused together in his stomach to form a rock-solid clump.  One he had ridded his system of the candy, he appetite resumed immediately.  Whew...what a relief!

Terri and I had realized that Alstott had raided her backpack, impressively eating only the DumDum itself and leaving the sticks behind, but I never envisioned that they wouldn't break down if swallowed whole.  The bag of DumDums in our pantry was immediately moved to a higher shelf - - we cannot take another chance with Alstott's seemingly invincible digestive system.

Alstott's definitely one of a kind!
(Sporting a bandanna from the vet)

Long Overdue

Finally - - a long overdue blog update!  When I attempted to do some work on Thursday evening, my laptop was completely dead; it wouldn't even turn on when I plugged it into the docking station.  Thankfully I was scheduled for a PTO day Friday, so an immediate crisis was averted.  I simply sent a note to IT to have a replacement laptop ready for me on Monday morning, and I interpreted the computer malfunction as a way to force me to have an enjoyable, relatively work-free (dang iPhone) long weekend.

My sister Terri and her family were in-town visiting from Milwaukee, so we had three full days of non-stop activity including: swimming, mini-golf, dying Easter eggs, dinner at Wildfish, an Easter egg hunt followed by brunch at Roaring Fork, a trip to the Botanical Gardens for its Chihuly exhibit...This doesn't even capture the full gamut of activities; it was clearly a very fun and busy long weekend.  I expected the dying of Easter eggs or Easter egg hunt would be the most memorable event of the weekend, but surprisingly those activities paled in comparison to the excitement of an unexpected visit from the Scottsdale Fire Department on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday, Alexa and her cousin Mara were playing in the backyard, so I decided to employ some child labor tactics and asked them to clean up the grapefruits and lemons that had fallen from our trees, selling it was prep work for the Easter Bunny's upcoming visit.  After they had nearly filled a plastic grocery bag, I grabbed it and walked along the side of our house to toss it in the garbage can.  On the way, I happened to look to my left and saw part of a very large snake peeking out of the rocks.  I can handle snakes way better than rodents, but nevertheless, I yelled, "Snake!" and sprinted towards the back door, gathering the kids and Alstott along the way.

We've had a rattlesnake by our front door before, but I could not tell the type of snake from the portions peeking out from the rocks.  I looked up the Scottsdale resources for snake removal, but the herpetology group listed was closed, so I resorted to Plan B and called the fire department's non-emergency number.  The operator said she'd send a firefighter to the house within about 10 minutes, so the kids hovered by the windows in Ani's room to keep a visual on the snake per the operator's request.  I told Terri that I assumed one or two firefighters would come in one of the department's SUV's to pick up the snake.  Now I know why you should never assume....

As I moved the trash cans from the side of the house, I heard the rumble of a fire truck entering our community and turned around to see five firefighters jumping out of the huge truck.  How embarassing!  I was glad that none of our neighbors were outside; we would have been all of the talk of our small community.  I greeted the crew (no, I had not primped & prepped for their arrival) and walked them to the spot to show them the snake, as the kids pressed their faces against Ani's screen to take in all of the action.  One of the firefighters took a look at the snake, identifying it as a bull snake - whew!  The next thing I knew, he was reaching down with a gloved hand to pull the snake out of the rocks.  I had been pretty calm and cool up until that point, but the firefighter kept pulling and pulling and pulling; the snake was gigantic - at least five feet long (no joke!).  The sheer size of the snake sent me shrieking away from the scene, and I ran towards the front gate like a total girl.

Before I knew it, the whole gang was out in the backyard, and the kids were petting the snake while Alstott endeared himself to the firefighters (when they found out he was named after Mike Alstott, the football player, they loved him even more).  One of the firefighters heaved the snake into the ways behind our house, and they headed back to their truck.  The guys were very nice, giving stickers and plastic firehats to the kiddos...and me.  To make sure I was thoroughly embarrassed, they were sure to turn on the lights and sirens as they pulled away.

Later that afternoon, I went through the garage and was heading into the backyard, when I saw a snake tail peeking out from underneath on of the garbage cans.  I uttered a few four-letter words; I could not believe it...two snakes in one day (thankfully this one was much smaller than the first).  Thankfully the firefighters had told me how to identify rattlesnakes from a bull snake, so I was able to know that this was another bull snake and avoid a second call to the fire department.  Now that would have been embarrassing.....

Our Hovey family "Easter selfie" at the Botanical Gardens....as taken by Alexa.
(Ani is in the Baby Bjorn strapped to me).

Missing a Laugh

Tax Day....not exactly my favorite day of the year, but I guess it could be worse.  Thankfully I had a little peanut to lighten the mood today.  As you can see from the picture below, Ani is becoming quite the ham!

Tonight Alexa and I were being silly, trying to figure out the things that makes Ani laugh.  Ani is fascinated with Alexa (Alstott too), so it was cute to see her crane her neck to see Alexa whenever she was speaking.  It did not take much to get Ani giggling....all Alexa had to do was laugh, and Ani would immediately being laughing with her.  I just sat back and listened to the laughter of the two girls - what an amazing sound - thinking that only one thing could make the situation a little more perfect.  As if she were reading my mind, Alexa said, "I wish Granty was here too."

Without fail, the happiest of situations always seems to evoke the memories of Granty; no matter how fantastic things are, there's always something missing.  I don't think this will ever change, and honestly I'm rather glad about that.  His memory is very powerful; I would be devastated if I (or Alexa) stopped talking about him or wishing Granty was here with us.

What taxes?!?!

Not So Lazy Weekend

Now that I'm back at work and adjusting to my new position there, I have learned to cherish my weekends, although they seem to pass way too quickly.  This past weekend was no exception, and we made the most of the two days and the beautiful weather we're enjoying in Arizona right now (August will be a different story....).  It's too bad I had to balance the fun activities with my chores that are also now associated with the weekends - laundry, grocery shopping and a little spring cleaning.

On Saturday afternoon, I was able to implement my dream multi-tasking scenario:  I was running on the treadmill with the Cardinals-Cubs game on the television, the sliding door right next to the treadmill was open as Alexa drew with sidewalk chalk outside just feet away, and I had a visual of Ani as she slept in the bouncy seat....a dream come true!  I was able to eek out a 4.5-mile run without any interruptions...only Alexa asking me to look at the pictures she was drawing.  I was ecstatic to knock out my run before 9pm and thrilled that I didn't have to hop off the treadmill to tend to either of the kiddos.  Bliss!

Alexa is still getting used to sharing my attention with Ani, so I am making sure to spend quality one-on--one time with her whenever I can.  This weekend's activity?  A long-awaited bike ride....outside of our neighborhood.  Alexa has officially mastered riding a two-wheel bicycle, and she has passed my start-stop drills with flying colors...the stopping took the longest by-far to master - she initially adopted the "crash into something to stop" method.  Alexa has been begging to leave the confines of our neighborhood, so on Sunday morning we emerged from behind the gate and took to the "mean" streets of Scottsdale and its super-wide sidewalks.  She did have a few issues with veering, as she tends to steer in the direction she's looking, but overall it was a successful two-mile ride.  Not too bad for her first "real" ride!

We're already looking forward to next weekend - tennis lessons begin bright and early on Saturday morning.  "Real" lessons with a tennis pro...not just Dad and Mom. :)

Dining al fresco....a great way to end the weekend.

Nine Years!

Today Damon and I celebrated our nine year wedding anniversary, and, in true Connie and Damon fashion, we spent it apart, as Damon's in Orlando for business.  I think this marks the second or third consecutive year we have not been able to celebrate together on our actual anniversary.  However, I was very busy this afternoon and evening, shuttling Alexa to and from gymnastics, participating in conference calls and getting everything ready for an early morning drop-off tomorrow (conference call at 7:30am).  Damon and I will plan a date night when he returns so we can properly celebrate the occasion.

During the past year, Alexa has becoming seemingly more interested in our wedding, likely because it's as close to a Disney Princess fairy tale as she can get right now.  It's been fun to pull out some of the items to which I have paid little attention in the past nine years.  Alexa is enthralled by my wedding dress that is preserved in a display box; she has been begging me to let her use it for dress-up.  Needless to say, I have ix-nayed that request and told her she can't wear it until she gets married (at age forty if Damon has anything to do with it).  I did cave on letting her play with some of the extra wedding favors - Armenian Demitasse Coffee Cups - and we've had some very elegant tea parties with these cups.

Without a doubt, my favorite thing has been paging through our wedding album with Alexa.  She loves to ooh and ahh over the photojournalistic pictures of my dress, the decor, the church....but she also loves to look at the pictures of so many people she recognizes, just a bit younger than how she knows them today.  It elicits mixed emotions to see the pictures and realize how many important people we have lost in the past nine years, including three grandmothers, a grandfather, an uncle.  During the past nine years, we have unfortunately learned all-too-well how short life is, but most importantly, we have learned to make the best of the time we have.

We are planning a more traditional celebration (together!) for our tenth anniversary next year - - a long-overdue kid-free vacation is likely in the works!  A perfect way to make the best of the time we have together :)

April 9, 2005....we look so young!

Three Months!

Happy 3-month Birthday, Ani!  It's hard to believe the little peanut turned three months-old today, but at the same time, it seems like she has been a part of our family for much longer.

Ani continues to be the easiest baby...fingers crossed.  She eats and sleeps well, has a great disposition and is developing a very charismatic personality.  She's been smiling and laughing up a storm - it makes me wish I could go back on maternity leave - which is a lot of fun for all of us.  Alexa and I try to come up with things to do to make her laugh...there's really no cuter sound than a baby laughing.  So far we've discovered one sure-fire way to get Ani to laugh - we mimic Cookie Monster voices (don't ask :).  I cannot describe how wonderful it is to have a house full of laughter and joy again.  Although I know it's sometimes tough for Alexa to share my time, I know she wouldn't trade her sister for anything in the world.

Tonight we had a belated Opening Day dinner, including hot dogs (low-fat, of course) and Cracker Jacks for dessert, as we tuned into the Cardinals game.  Before we could get settled, Alexa asked me to pause the game - she'll never know what television was like before the days of tv without dvr - and she ran into Ani's room.  She came back holding one of Grant's Cardinals bibs, proclaiming, "I don't think Granty will mind if Ani borrows his Cardinals bib.  Sharing is caring."  After laughing at her latter comment, I had to smile as she put the bib on Ani's neck.  You can definitely see the resemblance to her older brother, and I'm sure Granty was more than happy to pass his signature bibs (some of the few that actually fit him) along to his little sister.

Showing off her bib on-loan from Granty :)

Unique Bond

Alexa loves it when I let her bring the iPad in the car, a very rare occurrence as it's nearly impossible to pry her away from it if she's in the middle of watching her daily television show allotment.  She's able to tune nearly everything out, including Ani crying, when she's using the iPad.  However, as we drove to dinner on Tuesday night, the song "Gone Gone Gone" came on the radio, and Alexa suddenly closed the iPad.  She simply said, "Granty's saying hi to me," and she began singing along with her beloved song.  I was shocked not only that she heard the song (the radio was at a very low volume), but the fact that she voluntarily shut off the iPad was practically unbelievable.  The power of Granty...

Granty has been at the forefront of Alexa's mind lately; I'm not sure what has triggered this (maybe Ani?), but Alexa has been talking about him more than ever.  She will be in the middle of playing with her My Little Ponies and suddenly say, "I miss Granty," and go right back to playing.  She's also planned what dessert we will have to celebrate his second birthday in June - a Sprinkles cupcake :).  I always allot some time on Thursday night to discuss with Alexa what she would like to bring for Friday Show-and-Tell at school.  This week's request?  Alexa wanted to bring pictures of Grant to share with her class.  I hesitated, as I was worried it might be a little too deep for 3-6 year-olds and a little too emotional for her teachers.  Instead I steered her towards bringing a butterfly book we had picked up during our trip to St. Louis, but I couldn't help but wish I had let her bring the pictures.  I would love to hear her show the pictures to her classmates and explain why they are special to her.

When I picked her up from school yesterday, her Aftercare teacher (Ms. Suzie) pulled me aside and mentioned that Alexa had been talking about Granty on the playground.  During the week, Alexa had also talked about how much she misses him and told Ms. Suzie of her plan to bring his photos for Show-and-Tell.  Alexa also confirmed that she was going to tell Ani all about Granty as she gets older.  Ms. Suzie wrapped up our conversation with one of the best things I could possibly hear, "She really remembers him, and he is going to live on through her." :)

It would be easy to downplay the relationship between Alexa and Grant; afterall, she was only three years-old, and Granty was just shy of his six-month birthday when he passed away.  Giraffes and song aside, there is a bond between Alexa and Granty that I won't ever be lucky enough to be privy, but the knowledge that it exists is more than enough for me.  I cannot wait to hear her share the stories with Ani....

The last pics of these two...
there's no denying the love.

Sticky Paws

Admittedly I am pretty indifferent to the concept of the magical fictional characters - Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.  I'm sure a lot has to do with my own childhood experience (I figured everything out in kindergarten), but if it were up to me, I would bypass all of the hoopla and simply tell Alexa the truth.  It's probably a good thing Damon does not share my sentiments and forces me to adopt the traditional approach.

As Alexa, Ani and I were driving home from school last week, I began to see flashes of a young Connie as Alexa began to pepper me with questions about the Easter Bunny.  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed, not to mention proud, to hear some of the logic she was applying.  Maybe the Easter Bunny charade will soon be coming to an end!

Easter is probably Alexa's favorite holiday, so she's been thinking about it and plotting her strategy for the Easter egg hunt as soon as her birthday passed.  As we drove home from school, she asked me a barrage of questions that I'm sure she'd been stewing on for days.  "Why haven't I ever seen the Easter Bunny shopping at Target or WalMart?"  Hmmm...good question, because we would definitely have seen him if he were a Target shopper :)  Before I could craft a clever answer, she began to talk herself through possible answers, "Maybe he has people helpers.  Or maybe he goes at night when no one is there!"  I started to roll with the latter suggestion, as I figured the former would lead to more questions about the bunny's helper selection process.  Bad decision.  She continued her questioning, "If he goes to Target at night when no one is there, does that mean he steals everything?"  It took everything I had not to burst out in a fit of laughter - only my daughter would surmise that the Easter Bunny is a shoplifter.

I didn't want her to think she had a "hot" Easter basket, so I responded the best way I knew how...."I think it's time to call NeNe and ask her these questions."  :)

Loving her "hot" My Little Pony Easter basket from last year...