reflections (long) . . . September 29, 2013

A Facebook friend recently posted about taking their dog to the vet to be put down.  She was just getting old and having all sorts of health issues, couldn’t walk anymore, etc.  It was so sad and I could really feel her pain.  It brought back so many memories of having gone through the same exact thing 7 years ago.  So I thought I would share a journal entry I made after his death.  I wasn’t keeping a journal at the time, but I wanted to write down the events of those last days so I would never forget and I also needed a way to cope.  If any of you have ever lost a pet, I am sure you understand.

We rescued Bobo from the Humane Society in October 1993.  He was 2 when we got him and seemed so scared.  He quickly warmed up to all of us and became an important part of our family.  I was still living at home at the time (college) and so he was a family dog, but after I moved out he stayed with my Mom and stepdad although he would sleep over at my house from time to time.

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June 18, 2006

On, May 19th Mom took Bobo to the vet.  He hadn’t been eating much and was not himself.  She called me at work from the vet’s before lunch.  His blood test came back very bad.  Some of the liver counts were way out of range.  If the regular range was 0-100, his was  say 1100.  So she was very upset.  I left work and met her at her house.  We were both a mess.  Saturday we took Bobo for an ultrasound.  Our appointment was with Dr. B.  She was so nice but told us that things did not look good.  At this point we could tell that something was wrong.  Bobo was jaundiced.  She explained some possibilities with us.  The doctor said the liver size looked ok.  She could not see his bile ducts because he had actually eaten that morning.  She would send the pictures off and we would hear back in a couple of days.  She gave us antibiotics just in case.  They also gave him some fluid under the skin.

We then had an appointment  to see Dr. O (his regular vet) on Monday morning.  He thought that maybe Bobo might have leptospirosis, a disease that can be caught from wild animals.  (My Mom’s back yard backs up to a county park and there were often coyotes, foxes and deer.)  That test can take up to a week to get back.  He also said that we can come in everyday so he can get fluid shots for a few days this week and he also suggested that we start him on this new liver pill that can help regenerate the liver.  He called that Thursday and said that the results indicated that it was Lepto so he wanted us to use a different antibiotic and we should notice a change in 2 weeks.  He also told us that we needed to be careful around him because he is contagious and we needed to call our doctor about it.  Our doctor put us on Antibiotics as a precaution.

I would help my Mom every morning, before work, give Bobo his pills.  It was so hard.  He hates getting pills and the liver pill had  to be given on an empty stomach and the doctor suggested a pepcid before the new antibiotic. The pills became more difficult to give him.  Every time I would show up and put those gloves on, Bobo would start to shake.  I felt so bad.  I would hold his mouth open (after I would pry it open) and my Mom would put the pill in as far as she could get it.  She had been giving him pedialite with a syringe so she would use that to get him to swallow the pill.  Placing the syringe through the hole left by a tooth that had been pulled previously.  Getting him to eat was a challenge.  He would eat one thing one day and then not want it the next.  He would smell it and turn his head.

About a week after we started the new pills Mom called me Saturday night saying that Bobo had been throwing up.  I drove over there thinking the end was near.  (Thankfully I only lived a half mile away.)  She had given him some baby food so we don’t know if it was the medicine or the disease or the food.  I held him for awhile but he spit up again so we had to put him in his bed.  He has been tied up since the doctor called because we could not risk it since he was contagious.  That was so difficult because he has been such a huge part of our lives and we were always around him and holding him but we couldn’t now.  I felt so badly.

The next few days he seemed ok.  I think Mom struggled because she thought she should have taken him to the vet after he threw up the first time and had him put down.  She said she had finally come to terms with things.  But I am glad she didn’t.  I just felt like the meds could help and he would be ok, just give it time.

My brother and his family were coming to town Thursday, June 1, so Bobo would be staying at my house so as not to risk them getting sick.  I hated being away from him when I was at my Mom’s visiting them.  He must have felt so alone.

In the evenings I tried to get him to eat but he didn’t want much.  We would try anything.  I let him sit in the living room with me and then to sleep I had him in the kitchen.  A couple of nights he wanted in the living room.  It broke my heart.  I ended up throwing my back out so I spent most of Sunday and all of Monday at home with Bobo.  Then Richard (stepdad) came and got him and brought him back home after my brother and his family left.

Thursday, June 8, Mom took him back to the doctor for a follow-up blood test.  We were still giving him the pills and he continued to not eat too much, but he was drinking quite a bit, so that was good.  The doctor said that if the blood test came back a certain number, then it was not Lepto.  If it came back negative then it was his liver and there was nothing that could be done.  He was still so jaundiced; his eyes, inside of his ears, the belly and the underside of his tongue.  I hoped and prayed it was the Lepto.  If that were the case then the antibiotics would help.

Tuesday morning, June 13, I went over to help give him his pills.  We got the liver pill down and thought we got the antibiotic down.  He spit most of it back up.  Mom decided then that she was stopping the pills until we heard from the doctor.  It was just so tough on him.  Tuesday afternoon my Mom called me at work.  She said the doctor called and said that the results showed that he never had Lepto.  So it was his liver and that it was most likely liver cancer.  I started to cry.  I think I knew something was really wrong, but I wanted to have hope.  So I went over to Mom’s after work and just held Bobo and loved on him.  The doctor said that if he doesn’t eat anything by Thursday we should bring him in so that he isn’t suffering anymore.

Bobo actually ate some stuff that afternoon and also on Wednesday.  But he wasn’t eating too much Thursday.  Mom called and found out Dr. B was working that weekend and that they were booked but would work us in if necessary.  I had gone over every evening to see Bobo.  I didn’t want to accept that he was going to be gone soon but I think I knew.

Friday he didn’t want anything.  I knew the time was coming.  I went over after work.  The whole week I had been crying at work and at home.  I spent the evening there to be with Bobo.  He just slept most of the time.  My poor “bubby” (that was my nickname for him).  I hated seeing him like this.  I felt like we lost so much time when we thought he had Lepto.  Time we could have spent loving on him.  I know he knew we loved him.  I just hope he didn’t remember the bad times.  I hugged him and petted him.  I think we were both comforting each other.  I held his head to mind and said “kissy kissy.”  I would always say that and he would lick my face.  He hadn’t done that in so long and I didn’t try to get him to do it after we thought he had Lepto.  I had been trying to get him to do it once we found out he did not have Lepto and finally that Friday evening, he did.  It wasn’t a big one, but it was enough to make me so happy.  I went home and cried myself to sleep.

Saturday morning, June 17th, I go over about 8:30am.  My Mom told me that we will see Dr. B at 1pm.  I broke down.  It finally hit me.  This was it.  I was going to lose my “bubby”.  I didn’t know how I was going to get through this.

I had a project to do at my Mom’s; putting wire shelving up in her hall closet.  Mom moved the ottoman down the hall so Bobo could be with us (he liked to sit on it).  It was good therapy.  My mom and I were back and forth outside and Bobo would follow.  It was good to see him walk around.  My mom ate a bagel and gave Bobo some bites.  He ate 3 before he spit the 4th one out.  It was good to see him eat but we also knew that this would not sustain him.  And if we waited it would only put off the inevitable and he would probably start suffering a lot.  None of us wanted that.  I went home to grab a quick bite to eat.  While I had been at home in the bathroom washing my hands, I caught a glimpse of my Grandma (she died in 1992).  It was so weird.  I looked again and she was not there.  I had been thinking of her a lot and been hoping that she was going to watch over us and Bobo.  I got back to my Mom’s at 11:30am.  I think the waiting was the hardest .  I just wanted to wrap him in my arms and for him to be all better and live forever.

It was about 12:30 and I picked Bobo up to take him out to pee for the last time.  That is what I was thinking as he walked in my Mom’s front yard.  This would be the last time he would walk there.  I started to cry again.  Mom picked him up when he was done and handed him to be.  I got in the car with Mom and Richard.  We wrapped him in his towels and left for the vet.  The drive was hard.  He would look around.  We drove through the park and he sat up and looked out the window.  We knew he recognized it.  This was the last time he would ever be at the park.  Then he eventually laid down on my lap.

We got to the vet and I carried him in and immediately they took us to the room.  There was a nice chair in there and I sat down and just hugged him so tight.  I didn’t want it to be over,They gave us a book to look at to pick out a container for his ashes.,  Mom had decided she wanted him cremated.  I wasn’t sure at first but then felt that it was the right thing to do.  We decided on the black ceramic one.

We then put Bobo up on the table.  We put one towel down and sat Bobo on that and then covered him with the other towel.  He was not shaking.  I was glad.  I think he knew and I think he was ready.  The doctor came in and told us how it would happen and what to expect.  She said his eyes might stay open and that he might take one final “breath.”  It would be his diaphragm leaving the air out – a muscle contraction.  She said he also might urinate or defecate.  It was just all of the muscles relaxing.  She said it would be fast.

She gave him the first shot of sedative.  She said he would feel a little stick and then it would take about 5 minutes.  It would just relax him.  She gave him the shot.  I held him and he winced a little.  Then she left the room to get to the other shot.  He started to droop his head a little.  I took his front paws and laid him down to make him comfortable.  Mom covered him with the towel again and we petted him.  I could barely feel him breathing.  I think his body was just so weak and just giving out.  The doctor came back in, sprayed alcohol on his right leg and stuck the needle in the vein.  The overdose of sedative was pink.  She then listened for a heart beat and said “I think he is gone already.”  She then rolled him gently to his right side, listened again and said “He’s gone.”

It was so fast.  I wanted him back!  I knew this was best for him but at that time it was so hard.  I had hoped that we would not have to do this.  I prayed that he would have gone in his sleep overnight.  I know that I would have felt guilty for not being with him at that time.  So I am glad I could be there with him in the end.  The doctor gave us some time to say our goodbyes.  I bent over to hold him and his last breath left him.  I started to cry so hard.  His body was so lifeless but still warm.  I held his paw and caressed him.  Then before we left I picked up his head and gave him a kiss in my favorite spot, right between his eyes above his nose.  It was the most perfect place for me to kiss my bubby.

We left and the drive home did not feel right.  We had left something so precious and I think we were all feeling empty and numb.  I did not want to go to my Mom’s house.  I did not want to see his bed or anything.  It was just so hard.

I went home and cried.  I have been crying so much, I can’t believe how much one person can cry.  Every where I look I see him or hear him.  Hear him walking on the carpet downstairs or in the kitchen.  Seeing the tree outside where he would always go to mark.  Then the memories start flooding my head.  All the wonderful times we had together , all the joy he brought into my life.  I went through a bunch of pictures to find the ones of Bobo.  It was so neat to see him when we first got him; how dark his hair was (it grayed as he aged).  All of the pictures of him being silly and the hats we would put on him and he would sit there and let us.  He was such a joy in our lives.  He was so amazing and I can’t believe how much this hurts.  I keep thinking that it was all a bad dream and that I will wake up and he will be waiting at my Mom’s and wagging that tail of his, happy as always to see us.  I never thought I would love a pet as much as I loved him.  My heart hurts but I know he is up in heaven and he is not in any pain anymore.   He is up there running around and I know my Grandma is taking care of him.

I emailed a couple of friends to let them know and noticed that my Italian phrase a day desk calendar was still on the 8th of June.  So I started tearing off the days to catch up and got to June 17th (the day we put him down).  I could not believe what I saw.  The phrase that day was “Non preoccuparti, staro benissimo”.  The translation read “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”  I just could not believe it.  I started to cry yet again.  This must have been a sign from Bobo.  There is no other explanation.  I know that in my heart.  I also managed to find the strength to put his bed, cover, bowls and leash I kept at my house, in the living room closet.  I can’t have them out yet it is just too hard.  I hope in time I will be able to.

I love Bobo so much and I just can’t imagine ever getting over losing him.  Maybe I won’t but I have to believe the pain will be easier to bear and it will subside.  I will look for strength in my family , friends and God.

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There were a couple of more entries I made during the week after.  Basically just trying to cope while at work and at home.  The vets that tended to him sent a sympathy card and a print of his paw.  My Mom framed it and gave it to me.  Then Bobo “came home.”  My Mom picked up the urn with his ashes, about the size of a large coffee mug.  It felt good to have him back so to speak and have some closure.  Over 7 years have passed and there are still some times I miss him so much.  Crazy right?  He was my first pet, but he was really so much more.

Here are some pictures of him.

His hair was so dark when he was younger I called him Ewok sometimes. 🙂
This was the day of my Grad school graduation in 1996.
He loved opening presents at Christmas.  Tearing the paper and spitting it out.  Whether it was his present or yours.
My mom sometimes fed him corn on the cob.  Instead of trying to take the entire cob like most dogs, he would actually eat it like you or I would.
He would let us put sunglasses on him  Or hats.  He had such a wonderful demeanor.
This was taken a year before we had him put down.  His hair had so much white and gray in it. but he still had a lot of spunk.
Here is the calendar page, in case you didn’t believe me.  Still gives me chills when I see it.

Thanks for reading.

epic fail . . . September 28, 2013

So maybe not an epic fail or even a true fail, but I wasn’t proud of the result.  I have wanted to make Lactation cookies for a while now.  These are cookies that are supposed to help your milk supply.  I had been putting them off because I was just too lazy to make the trip to Whole Foods.  I don’t normally shop there, so like I said, just lazy.  I finally made my way to Whole Foods to pick up the steel-cut oats and brewers yeast.  Those 2 ingredients plus Flax seed Meal are supposed to help increase your milk.  There are other supplements out there, but with my history of gastrointestinal issues and possible side effects, I decided to try these instead.

I proceed to make them and realize that I forgot to set the butter out to soften.  I really don’t want to have to put these off for another day so I do my best to soften the sticks in the microwave.  After a few rounds using the “soften” program (Yes there is actually a program in the microwave to soften items such as sticks of butter), I give up and put the sticks in a bowl and set it for 30 seconds.  Of course that melted them almost all the way.  Not a good thing for baking.  I add the eggs and realize I have jumbo eggs not large, so I am sure the “extra egg” was not ideal either.   I then get everything mixed and proceed to scoop it into little balls and place them on the cookie sheet.  I place the 1st cookie sheet into the oven and watch as they slowly flatten.  Yes flatten.

Now I pride myself on being a good baker.  Not a fancy french pastry chef by any means, but I can bake what I like to call comfort baked goods really well.  Think cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, etc.  So seeing those cookies flatten out made my heart sink.  I baked until I thought they were ready (3 minutes more than the recipe called for and got them out.  Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or 2 and then did my best to scrape them into the cooling rack.  As they cooled they got hard.  I know the purpose of this is not to win any contests or to give to friends, but it was a little bit personally disappointing.

The recipe called for chocolate chips.  I had planned on adding some chocolate chips and some butterscotch chips along with either walnuts or pecans, but I completely forgot to get them.  I had a small bit of butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips left over so I used both of those.  I ate a couple last night and they aren’t bad. There is definitely an after taste of sorts.  My guess it is the Brewer’s Yeast.  But all in all I can surely stand to eat a few each day if it means that I will get more milk.  I hope to see an improvement in a week or so.  It doesn’t always work, but it is better than taking the supplements that might cause me intestinal issues.

If anyone is interested here is the recipe (there are several out there, this is the one I tried, I also have another I may try after this batch is done).  By the way, I made probably 30 cookies and still have about 25 or so more I froze into balls to bake later.  They took 15 minutes per tray and I just wanted to be done with them.

Lactation Cookies

1 cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons of water

2 tablespoons of flax seed meal (don’t skip this step and no substitutions)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (I added less and it seemed fine)

3 cups of steel-cut oats

1 cup chocolate chips (or what you prefer)

4 tablespoons of brewer’s yeast

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Mix the flax seed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

3.  Cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar.

4.  Add eggs and mix well.

5.  Add flax seed mix and vanilla, mix well.

6.  Sift flour, brewer’s yeast, baking soda and salt.

7.  Add dry ingredients to butter mix.

8.  Thoroughly stir in oats and chocolate chips.

9.  Scoop onto baking sheet, approximately 1″ balls.

10.  Bake for 12 minutes (mine took longer)

11.  Allow cookies to set for a few minutes before removing from tray.

12.  Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

throwback thursday . . . September 26, 2013

Since I missed Wordless Wednesday, I will cover that and today’s post with one photo.  This is a photo of me on my 1st birthday with a photo of lil guy to show a little comparison. 🙂

It is also appropriate because lil guy started crawling yesterday.  He took a few movements forward (what do you call them, they aren’t steps right?) in his play area and also in his crib when I put him down for a nap.  We also got a few out of him today.  He will probably start to move a lot in the next few days!  Oh boy!

Thanks for reading!

9 months . . . September 24, 2013

On September 8th Lil’ guy turned 37 weeks and 2 days.  Not much of a milestone, but that was actually equal to the amount of time I was pregnant with him.  Just a fun fact.  But on September 21st he turned 9 months!  I know I say this every month, but the time is just going by so fast.  I actually starting thinking of his first birthday party.  I am glad it falls on a Saturday so we can actually have the party on his birthday.  I know we are going to keep it kind of small.  But it is fun to think of what kind of decorations to get and if he will finally be crawling then or be walking and if he will finally have teeth by then.

Still no teeth, but I am not that concerned.  Some babies are slow to get teeth.  Just like some are slow to crawl or walk.  I really think he is moments away from crawling as he gets on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth a lot and also propels himself forward.

He has started babbling more and says Ma Ma more.  Just run-on’s like Da Da, but still fun to hear.  I have gotten the hang of getting him in and out of the car seat more.  When I am getting him out he actually starts to pull his way out.

Other than that not too much going on.  The weather has been really nice lately and we have gone on a 2-mile walk several days in a row.  It feels so good to be exercising again and I know the fresh air is good for everyone.

His sleep is still going well.  He is usually asleep by 7:30-8pm.  Some nights he cries some nights he doesn’t.  He sleeps through until around 6-7am.  If he does wake up crying before then I give it a few minutes and he usually falls back to sleep.  Then once he gets up I feed him and am able to put him back down and he usually falls back to sleep and gets up for the day around 8:30-9am depending on when he first got up.  Napping is still hit and miss.  Some days he will only nap 30 minutes at a time.  Other days, like yesterday, he did 35 minutes and then an almost 2 hour nap.  If he does long naps I can get 2 out of him.  If they are shorter I try for 3.

I introduced pureed chicken on September 13th.  He likes it and I just made some pureed pears yesterday.  I really do enjoy being able to make his food for him.  I think it is much cheaper than buying baby food and I like that I know what is in it. 🙂  And most importantly he enjoys them.

My milk supply is not that great, but I am doing what I need to do for him.  I introduced an additional bottle in the middle of the day.  So he gets 6 ounces of formula then and an 8 ounce bottle at night.  I pump in the evening after he is in bed and if I am lucky can get about 2.5 ounces (2-3 pumps over and hour or 2).  Yesterday I took about 3 bottles that I had pumped the last few nights and gave him breast milk instead of formula in the afternoon.  Not sure if it was that or the fact that he hadn’t napped well the day before but after that is when he napped for almost 2 hours.  I will say it was my milk that did it. 🙂

I set up a little play area in his room and put him in there with some of this toys each day so that he has time to play by himself.  I have the free camera we got set up so I can watch him.  He is getting into that clingy stage a bit.  If he is in a position to see me if I walk down the hall he will start to cry but then will stop after a minute.  Then if he sees me again he will cry again for about a minute then be ok.  I have to fight the urge sometimes to go “rescue” him, as I know he is ok.  Besides, I am usually trying to get some house work done, so it is good for both of us.

The times I take him out to run errands he is such a good boy.  I took him with me to get my flu shot and he did so well.   The other day I had to run to CVS and then to Walgreens (CVS didn’t have what I needed) and each time someone talked to him and he just smiled at them in response.  One time he started to babble.  I am glad that he doesn’t act shy around other people.  I don’t know if he ever will or not.  But a few people commented that he was such a good boy and so sweet.  I have to agree.  I just love this little guy so much!

Thanks for reading!

throwback thursday . . .technology September 19, 2013

So last week I posted about the Commodore 64 and got to thinking it might be fun to talk about other technological items that I have used during my lifetime.  Growing up my Mom had a rotary phone.  I remember it seemed like it would take forever to dial a phone number.   Not so bad if there were low numbers but if there were 7’s, 8’s and 9’s geez!  Waiting for that dial to get back around!  LOL  My Mom had this one in her bedroom (she actually rented it from the phone company – and when she decided to upgrade her phones I remember she had to take it back to one of the stores because she did not own it – how funny is that?).  I would go in there to talk to some of my friends after school, because I could sit on her bed.

Other wise I had to use this one hanging on the kitchen wall.  Or we also had one of these in the basement.  You couldn’t walk very far because of the cord.  Boy was I happy when we finally got cordless phones!  🙂

It seems like everywhere you go now everyone is on a cell phone.  What did we do before cell phones?  We actually paid attention to our surroundings when we drove our cars.  We talked to the person sitting across from us at the dinner table instead of keeping our head down in our phone.  We actually talked on the regular phones to people instead of texting.  Well, when I started graduate school, all they offered were evening classes.  So for safety I got a car phone.  Yes a car phone, not a cell phone.  This is what it looked like.  It plugged into my cigarette outlet (yes back in those days there was a cigarette lighter in most cars, not the power outlet it is today).  It was in a bag and not portable.  It stayed in the car.  So if I needed it while I was walking to my car, too bad.  It served it’s purpose.  Today I have a cell phone.  I still do not have a smart phone.  Although I am sure the time is coming soon.  I usually tell people I have a dumb phone.  I don’t really use it to text either.  Once in a while I might send hubby and “I love you” text, but we don’t have texting in our plan, so honestly I don’t even do that too much.  It amazes me how much people text.  Like I said before, what did we do before cell phones?  We survived!  But how?  What is so important that has to posted on your Facebook page the moment you show up at the mall.  I find it humorous sometimes to see people “check in” at various places during the day.  Frankly I don’t want people to know where I am all the time.  I don’t even talk about when we go on vacation.  I think just because I don’t want someone to find out we aren’t at home.  Probably because growing up our house was broken into a couple of times and I don’t want to give anyone a heads up that the house is empty and ripe for the picking.  But that is just me.  To each their own. 🙂

Does anyone remember Colecovision from the early 80s? It was a game console.  I don’t think it was very popular, but we had one.  My brother and I saved up our allowance (my brother also had a part-time job) to buy one with our own money.  It was $100 and my brother chipped in $75 and I chipped in $25.  That was all I could afford.  It was so fun to play.  My favorite game was Q-bert!  Ahhh . . . the memories.  ON a side note – I remember the 1st time I saw the name “Donkey Kong.”  I was in the car with my mom and we drove by a bowling alley and on the marquee it said “we now have Donkey Kong.”  I remember it vividly and thought to myself, “what a weird name.  I wonder what that is.”  LOL

l

Here is one that goes back to grade school – late 70s, early 80s.  Who remembers the mimeograph?  Our teachers would give us handouts (tests, etc) and immediately we would smell them.  They had this smell to them that was intoxicating for some reason.  Weird I know.  They would also feel slightly damp from just coming off the presses.

When I started middle school and we had to start doing papers, I actually used the old-fashioned typewriter.  Something I wonder if my son will ever use in his lifetime.  Probably not.  But I typed many a paper on one.  And you had better hope you didn’t make a mistake or you had to try to use correction tape.  White out was used sometimes, but if you were impatient and didn’t let it dry all the time, you had a real mess.

Then when I was in high school we had a computer and I was able to type my papers on that.  I used Word Perfect and honestly I can’t remember if there was even spell check at the time.  But when I went top print the papers we used our dot-matrix printer.  Remember those?  The paper had edges that had holes in them so that the paper would feed into the printer.  It was all attached together and when you were finished you got to tear the sides off and separate each piece of paper.  It was a real mess if the paper didn’t feed right.  The edge would tear off and then you would have to tear off a sheet or two of the paper and try to feed it again.  I am sure I wasted a tree or two in my time. 😦

Along those lines was the fax machine.  Remember the rolls of thermal paper that you used for faxes?  The fax would come out and the paper would just roll up.  I didn’t get too many of those faxes, but I was glad when they came out with better fax machines that use regular paper.

And finally music.  I am sure most people remember record albums.  They have actually started making a comeback.  I remember growing up and every Christmas we would get all of the Christmas records out and play them.  That is some of my fondest memories.

Then of course we had 8-track tapes.  My Mom had one in her 1982 Chevy Cavalier.  She gave me the car my senior year of highschool (1989-90) and at that time I did not have any 8-track tapes.  So I was able to get an adapter to listen to my regular cassette tapes.   Now of course there are CDs and most recently digital downloads.

Wow, it is really something to look back at how far technology has come over the course of the last 30 or so years.  What are we going to see in the next 30 years?  Stay tuned. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

P.S.  Sorry for the formatting of the pictures.  Not sure why it looks the way it does.

wordless wednesday . . . September 18, 2013

thowback thursday . . . September 12, 2013

So I have been horrible about keeping up with this blog this week.  I really was hoping to be back to some of my regular postings, but no such luck.  Want to know why?  Computer issues!  AAAAARRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!  And not just mine.  My hubby’s computer decided to act up too!  It never fails.  You are under a time crunch to get something done and BLAM!  Your computer decides to go on a lunch break.  Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) followed by about 10 reboots just to get it working again.  All this while one of hubby’s clients was waiting on an email from him.  I have been getting the BSOD for quite some time now.  It almost always happens right after I turn my computer on in the morning before I even touch it.  And usually right when I am in the middle of an email or a project I am working on or yes, even Candy Crush Saga (a girl needs a little mental break now and then).

In addition to the computer issues, we have anxiously been waiting on a project and we come to find out that said project has been sitting on someone’s desk for almost a month.  Apparently the guy is now working part-time and the person who is taking over his duties hasn’t gone through the pile of paperwork.  So after calling her, hubby is told that yes the package did arrive (the tracking number showed it had gotten there on August 13th) and it will now be started (FINALLY) and hopefully ship back to us on September 19th.  We will see if THAT happens!

It has been a heck of a week and I also got my period!  The day after my last post about it.  Did I jinx myself?  LOL

I know this is “throwback thursday” so on that note I will leave you with this photo.  Did anyone have one of these?  My brother did and I would say this is what got him interested in computers (yes he works with computers for a living).

In case you don’t know, this is a Commodore 64 computer.  It came out in 1982.  Sure is a lot different from the computers of today!  Who remembers floppy disks?  5 1/2 inch and 3 1/2 inch?  Crazy!  Maybe I will post again about all of the technology changes I have experienced over the years.  That might be fun.

Thanks for reading!

labor day, etc. . . September 8, 2013

Sorry for the absence, but we took a little trip to see my parents for Labor Day.  We drove down on Monday and came back Thursday afternoon and the last few days I have been pretty tired and also hubby has had some late night gigs, so I just haven’t felt much like writing.  I also think I may be getting my period again!  I hate the fact that I get it while I am breastfeeding and that it makes my supply tank each time and the fact that I never know when it is coming any more.  So far my cycles have been 24 days, 32 days, 35 days and 24 days.  Today is Day 26 and nothing yet, but I can feel it coming.  UGH!  As silly as it may seem, each month now, I think about when I might be ovulating which would equate to my fertile time and I can’t help but wonder if we would ever get that surprise pregnancy.  I would say based on my history and age the odds are probably less than .1%, but it doesn’t prevent me from at least thinking about it.  Hubby and I haven’t talked much about a second child.  But I certainly have not shut the door on the possibility.  We have both said that if by some miracle it happens without any medical intervention it would most certainly be a blessing, but as far as trying with the help of doctor’s, we haven’t discussed this in detail.  I am not quite ready for that as I feel I am still recovering and trying to get myself back into shape.  Who knows what next year will hold though.  🙂

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Our trip went well.  We got there late afternoon on Monday.  My Mom had made BBQ pork steaks; a Labor Day tradition and they were yummy!  On Tuesday we went to the Zoo.  It was a nice day and little guy’s first trip.  Well, technically his second trip.  His first trip was 3 days after he was transferred into my uterus.  LOL!  He was still a bit too young to really have a lot of fun, but he did enjoy looking around at the new sites.  Of course wouldn’t you know, we park the car and both my Mom and I realize that we left our cameras at her house and we don’t have smart phones with fancy cameras.  So our first stop was the gift shop.  Thankfully they still sell disposable cameras.  For those of you unaware, these are actual film cameras that you have to get developed.  The lady who worked there said, “you would be surprised at how many people do not know how to use them.”    Grandma also bought little guy a hat as I forgot to bring that as well.  (But I did remember the sunscreen!  I am not a completely bad Mom.)  🙂    I still haven’t taken the camera to be developed.  I am going to do that today or tomorrow and get a CD of the photos.  I do love having a digital camera for this ability.  I don’t think I will forget mine again!

The rest of the trip was pretty low-key.  Just relaxing and visiting.  Little guy did much better sleeping and napping in his pack ‘n’ play than I thought he would.  He has never slept in it before so I was not sure how it would work.  But there really wasn’t any difference, other than maybe a few more minutes to fall asleep.  And that video camera I got with my car seat purchase came in handy and was so perfect!  It was great to be able to keep an eye on him as he fell asleep.

Oh and Wednesday was also a little bittersweet.  We brought the new car seat with us but did not have it installed.  Hubby took the old one out on Wednesday and I installed the new one and then we stopped by the local fire station to have them check it.  They were impressed that I had done such a great job of installing it.  They tightened it just a hair and we were good to go.  It was sad to think that he no longer will be in his little car seat.  I am still getting the hang of putting him in the new one.  It was so convenient having the one you can just take out and carry, but little guy is just too tall for it.  And I really miss the canopy to block out the sun.  For the drive back home I fashioned a towel clipped with clothespins so that it would block the sun from the side window.  Yes I do have one of those window shades, but it isn’t big enough to cover the entire window.  I have an idea of something to make and will hopefully get to that in the next few days.  Right now I load him in thought the rear driver’s side (he is on opposite side).  I don’t like the idea of having my back turned taking the time to load him and buckle  him in.  Can’t see if someone were to approach me from behind.  And in this day and age, you can never be too careful.  So I just get in the back seat with him, lock the door and load and buckle him in.  Then get out and get into the front seat.  I know this probably looks a little funny, but it feels safer to me.  If hubby was with me, I would load normally though.

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As far as little guy, he is not crawling yet.  I thought he might do it while we were visiting my parents, as that is when he finally rolled over from his back to his belly.  But no such luck.  He sits and once in a while he will lean back too far and fall backwards.  If you hold his hands he will pull himself up to a standing position.  And there is still no teeth!  I am kind of thankful as I do dread that day he gets some since I am still breast-feeding.  No idea when this will happen, but I am not worried.  I would love it if he started to crawl, but he may not crawl.  Maybe he will just start walking.  Only time will tell.  He is really still only saying dada and of course the raspberries.  Oh and he is screeching a lot these days!  He screeched so loudly yesterday, my ears actually ached for about an hour after.

We are still feeding purees.  I tried a few pieces of soft food here and there, if they are really soft he does ok.  I also tried the Gerber puffs here and there he did ok, he crunched them with his gums.  But then once in a while he would suck it in and he would gag.  So I would have to stick my finger in and sweep the back of his tongue to get it out.  It freaked me out a little.  That was the last time I gave him one( over a week ago).  I don’t want to rush.  He does like the purees.  We have done, zucchini, butternut squash, sweet potato, apple, nectarines, cantaloupe, acorn squash, avocado, peaches, green beans, carrots, prunes, peas and bananas.  I also did a mixed jar of apples and plums as well as a turkey/vegetable blend (that was the free jar of Earth’s Best we got from the movie theater when we went to the bring your baby matinée which they no longer do.  The only thing that didn’t work was the bananas.  He spit up after those.  I know I can’t eat them without getting indigestion.   So I think he is doing well, especially since he has no teeth.  What are some of the fun purees that you have tried?

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I think that updates things.

Thanks for reading!