Horrific Storm

Yesterday, I said that tornadoes may be coming through my area.  I had NO IDEA just how big and devastating the storms coming through my area were going to be. There were apparently more than 50 tornadoes in Alabama yesterday, 10 of which were F4 or F5 in strength. 


Our power went off and on starting about 9am and then went permanently off about 11:00am.  About 11:15am, we started getting pounded with hail, which is a precursor to tornadoes. Doug was at work, so Weston and I huddled in the hallway with the dogs.  It's hard to contain a 10 month old and two rambunctious dogs in a hallway, in case you were wondering.


Since we had no power, I got weather reports on my phone. We hung out in the hallway for a while and when it appeared that the storms had passed, I decided to put Weston down for a nap. Since I am spoiled and need air condition to function, I had a lot of trouble relaxing in the stagnant house.  Therefore, I just read by the window until Weston woke up.  About that time, Doug got home.


Although we didn't have power, there was no damage to our house or fence.  We were really blessed.  We did not realize how badly our area was affected.


We decided to go look for dinner, (wrongly) assuming that it was just our area that was out of power and there must be areas around us with power and food.  We drove around for about 90 minutes looking for dinner.  NOTHING in our area had power and the damage we saw around was shocking.  Just north of us, a high school was torn up and a Piggly Wiggly was completely leveled.  We ended up at a Publix grocery store that was running on generators and bought sandwich items.  We sat in the parking lot and ate our dinner.


Doug, Weston and I were planning on leaving this afternoon to go to Atlanta for the baseball game, however Doug didn't have to work today (no power), so we opted to leave this morning for air condition, Internet and family.  My parents are at our house watching the dogs.


I feel horrible leaving my parents, neighbors and community right now.  I am SO very thankful that we were left unscathed from the storm and feel like I should volunteer, helping those who were not so lucky. When we get back from Atlanta, I plan to volunteer at shelters or a church helping in whatever ways I can.


As we left town, the damage in light was so much worse than what we saw last night.  My parents are hearing there will be no power for at least a week, if not longer.  A lot of the repair trucks are going to Tuscaloosa, where there was more damage and there's many abandoned college students down there.


After seeing the damage in our area and around the South the outbreak of tornadoes have done, I am sure that if we were directly hit at our home, we probably all would have been dead.  Our hallway would definitely not have held up, collapsing on top of all of us.  Weston may have been ripped out of my arms.


I'm not trying to be dramatic, but as we drove to Atlanta today, I was thinking about just how much worse it could have been and how my baby and I could have died yesterday.  I am so thankful to God for protecting my family and my immediate neighborhood. 


I will be praying for those families who lost everything and/or family members and hope you will be too.

Beautiful Day

Today, we went to the park to have a picnic and walk around.  It was such a beautiful day here in North Alabama, we just couldn't waste it.

We went and got Publix subs and headed to the park.  It was so nice to sit in the sun, people watch, let Waveland play and get fresh air. 

The fresh air got to us all and we took a very nice late afternoon nap.

As much as I love the snow, I love the early Spring.  It's not too hot yet and the trees and plants are in bloom.  The landscape is lovely to look at and the weather is wonderful to be in.

Unfortunately, tomorrow, we will be stuck inside tutoring, even though it is supposed to be absolutely beautiful again.

Hopefully the weather will be just as awesome a week from now and we can enjoy the outdoors again.  I can't wait until next weekend!!

My ABC's

A. Age: 26

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you dislike: Hanging laundry.  I don't mind washing and drying it.  Even folding it isn't horrible, but I highly dislike hanging clothes.

 

D. Dogs: Two.  Hattie, our almost 5 year old Great Dane and Waveland, our 2 year old black Labrador.

 

E. Essential start to your day: Giving Doug a kiss goodbye and listening to Weston in his crib through the monitor.

F. Favorite color: Red

G. Gold or silver:  Gold...but my rings are platinum.

H. Height:  5’8"  

I. Instruments you play(ed):  I cannot play and never have played any instruments.  Well, except for the recorder in 4th grade and the viola in orchestra for 2 weeks.  I wasn't good at either.  Doug plays the saxophone though.

J. Job title:  Teacher.  I am a stay-at-home mom for now though and for the foreseeable future.

K. Kids: Weston, 9 months

 

L. Live:  North Alabama.  Since 2008 though, I have lived in Florida, South Alabama, Coastal Mississippi and now here.

M. Mom’s name & Dad's Name:  Terry and Peter

 

N. Nicknames: None really

O. Overnight hospital stays:  When I had Weston and when I have been sick multiple times.

P. Pet peeves: Disrespectful people, people tending to other people's business (I used to do this, but I think I've gotten much better), rhythmic noise (tapping, popping gum)

Q. Quote from a movie: Vivian: "That would make you a...lawyer." Edward: "What makes you think I'm a lawyer?" Vivian: "You have that sharp, useless look about you."  (Pretty Woman)

R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings:  One...William...20

 

T. Time you wake up:  Whenever Weston wakes up.  Varies, but usually between 8:30 and 9.  I have a very good sleeper!

U. Underwear:  What about it?

V. Vacation Spot:  Well, I honeymooned in St. John, which resulted in Weston, so that's definitely a good memory.  I also LOVE NYC.

 

W. What makes you run late: Getting Weston ready to go sometimes takes longer than I expected, but I am generally early, so I'm rarely late, even with getting Weston and myself out the door.

X. X-rays you’ve had:  Teeth for braces, chest for pneumonia and bronchitis, collarbone when I broke it.

Y. Yummy food you make:  I make decent Mexican lasagna, regular lasagna, French toast.

 

Z. Zoo animal favorites:  I like elephants, tigers, giraffes, among others.

Nashville and Little Sleep

Doug, Weston and I went to Nashville for dinner last night, which resulted in us getting in late.

We both tutor on Sundays and needed to be up by 11 so we had an alarm set.  Apparently that wasn't good enough for Waveland, who felt the need to start waking us up at 7:15.  She's as bad as a child!  Meanwhile our actual child slept until 10:15.

We still ended up being late leaving the house, but early to tutoring, so that's good.

We went out to dinner, split a meal and then shared dessert.  It was a nice day too.

Hope you had a great Sunday!  I know we did.

Veterinarian Visit

Today was the dreaded bi-annual veterinarian visit for Hattie and Waveland.  This wouldn't be such a big deal if I didn't have to take a 100 pound Great Dane, a 50 pound Labrador and a sweet little boy to the vet all by myself.  Oh, did I mention they all had to fit into the backseat of a Toyota Yaris?

I had a 9:30 (changed 3 days ago since the vet was going to be in the office late) 10:30 appointment and since I wanted to be home by 11:30 to feed Weston and put him down for his nap, I was at the vet's office early in hopes I could be seen early.  I got a shopping cart (the vet is inside a shopping center), put Weston's carseat and Waveland in the cargo area of the cart.  Then, I walked Hattie in.  Since Hattie was pulling and Waveland was threatening to jump out of the cart, I'm sure it was quite hilarious to see me struggling with my three-ring circus on wheels. 

I was quickly put into a room...to wait.  Apparently, there was a mouse, yes a $2.99 mouse, on life support or something ridiculous like that.  More than once a nurse came in to tell me that not one, but both vets were trying to keep this critically ill mouse alive.  Seriously?  It's a MOUSE.  Go buy another one.  I love my pets and I would be devastated if one of them was dying, but a mouse?  Come on!  And I'm fairly sure it didn't require both vets.

Eventually, a vet (I'd never met this particular vet before) did come in and promptly started chastising me for Hattie's behavior.  No, she's not the best behaved dog, but she really hasn't had to be.  We have a huge backyard that is privacy fenced and we don't take her many places and the places we do take her to are deserted.  When she was a puppy, I took her many places to socialize her and get her used to people, however, she's not really "social" and therefore has to stay home rather than going to the park.  She's a one-family dog, she doesn't like other people much and she definitely doesn't like other animals. Since I knew she was going to be a sizeable dog (the breeder though she'd be about 125 pounds), I paid good money for her to go to obedience school when she was about 5 months old.  Unfortunately, she got a certificate out of it, but not much else.  She knows how to sit, shake and stay, things Doug and I have taught her.  Although she's so large, she's very gentle around Weston, which in my opinion, is the most important thing. 

By the time the vet examined Hattie, it was already 11:15, Waveland hadn't yet been examined and they both still needed vaccines.  The vet then called Waveland "Dumbo" when she began acting skittish.  I'm not sure why Waveland is scared of the vet, because she hasn't always been like that.  Between the vet jumping down my throat, the fact that she called Waveland a name, the fact that I was already stressed from trying to transport all three "children" to the vet and the fact that Weston was beginning to fuss because he was hungry, to say I wasn't a happy camper would be a gross understatement.

We finally got both dogs vaccinated, Weston semi calmed down and the bill paid around 12.  When we got home, I fed Weston, put him down for a nap and then enjoyed the peace and quiet for a while.

I am NEVER taking the dogs and Weston to the vet by myself again.  EVER.

Are You Kidding Me?

*Bodily fluids will be discussed in this post.  Don't continue reading if you have a weak stomach.*

We are currently in Kentucky for a reason I will discuss tomorrow.  Due to a situation with Hattie, we ended up bringing she and Waveland with us. 

Sunday night, the two dogs, who are usually excellent (and quiet) sleepers, took turns barking, which in turn woke Weston up.  Just about the time we would get him back to sleep, the other dog would bark and re-wake him up.  I ended up sleeping for about 30 minutes because after dealing with the dogs multiple times, I couldn't fall back asleep.

Last night though was the real doozy.  Yes, I used the word "doozy".  After an INCREDIBLY emotionally and physically draining day, Doug and I basically crashed into bed.  We had been asleep about 2 hours when, at about 3:45, Hattie started making all sorts of noise.  She was moaning very loudly, huffing and puffing as if she had been running for miles and basically being a total pain in the rump.  Because we didn't want Weston woken up again, Doug got up a couple times to tell her to shut up.  Finally, we took Waveland out of the crate they were in together to see if that would calm Hattie down.  With that, Hattie had a small amount of diarrhea escape her body.  I guess she was waiting for Waveland to be moved away from her so that she wouldn't poop on her.  I told Doug I'd clean it up, but he volunteered.

Doug began cleaning up the accident, but for whatever reason, my normally tough-stomached husband started heaving.  As I was telling him to leave the bathroom so I could deal with the poop, Hattie let loose with her entire intestinal tract of diarrhea.  Since we aren't dealing with a Chihuahua here, you can imagine how much a Great Dane's belly can hold.  Obviously, that's why Hattie was flipping out, she REALLY had to go and she was trying to tell us.  However, since Sunday night was so rough with the barking, we thought she was just repeating it.

I took Waveland out of the bathroom so that she wouldn't be in the poop.  When I returned to the bathroom to remove Hattie, she had used her nose to try and "hide" the poop.  She had then proceeded to sniff every surface of the bathroom, smearing poop high and low and walking through it.

At 4:30 in the morning, I get to walk up the hall to the front desk to ask if they have a mop I can use.  The clerk tells me that they don't have a mop, but they have a broom I can use.  I'm thinking "look lady, you don't understand the magnitude of crap I am fixing to deal with.  A broom will just not do the job."  So I asked if perhaps she had a dustpan I could use to squeegee the mess up.  She finally found a mop and bucket that I could use.  I sloshed back up the hall to start my custodian job.  Meanwhile, Doug put Hattie in the jacuzzi that was in the room to clean her off.

I cleaned up the mess and returned the mop and bucket.  The room smelled awful, but at least Hattie felt better and we could go back to bed.  Again, I couldn't go back to sleep, but Doug did.

Considering we have to drive back home today, I sure hope that Hattie's gotten everything out of her system!

I Love Dogs

When I was born, my parents had a Beagle named Wendy.  Since she was their baby before I was, my mom dressed her up in clothes and she obviously got all of their attention.  After a short period of time following my birth, Wendy decided that she was no longer getting enough attention and she ran away.  However, she didn't run far.  She started living with people up the street from where we lived.  She would periodically come back to my parents' house to visit with them, but she would never come back in the house, only to the front door.  I feel bad that Wendy's feelings were so hurt that she left.  I unfortunately don't remember Wendy.

When I was about 4, my parents decided to get another dog.  They took me to the animal shelter to pick one out.  I chose a little mixed breed and we named her Mindy (I think).  We only had her a short time before she developed a rash.  When we took her to the vet to see what the issue was, it was determined that she had mange.  I don't know if it was untreatable or too expensive, but whatever the reason, Mindy went back to the shelter.  We instead came home with a black Cocker Spaniel we named Bailey.  She was the perfect size for me to be able to walk and play with.  She used to "sing" along with the "Lady and the Tramp" soundtrack and I thought it was quite funny.  I also decided one day to cut my hair and felt maybe Bailey also needed a trimming as well.  I ended up cutting a small chunk out of her ear, causing her to bleed.  Bravo to my mother for allowing her 4 year old to have scissors long enough to cut my hair and the dog's ear.  Unfortunately, we moved to a place that didn't allow pets and so we had to give her to a family my grandmother knew.

When my family moved to Texas between 2nd and 3rd grades, my parents promised me I could get a puppy to help ease the pain of leaving my grandmother and friends behind.  Maybe because my parents had Beagles before I was born or perhaps that's what I wanted, I can't remember, but we searched the papers for Beagle puppies.  We finally found a litter and my parents took my cousin and myself to look at these puppies.  I picked a sweet little girl out and named her Chelsea, which would have been my brother's name had he been a girl.  She tinkled in the car on the way home.  I placed her in an impromptu dog show in which she was one of two contestants.  The prize was an igloo dog house and the judges later told me that had she sat (she was about 2 months old in this dog show), she would have won. Although Chelsea was technically my dog, I was a little young to fully care for a dog, so my parents ended up taking care of her the majority of the time.  We had Chelsea for just over 12 years when her kidneys began shutting down.  It was a very difficult decision to put her to sleep, but I knew she'd be out of pain, which is the humane thing to do.

Between 7th and 8th grade, I was leaving Wal-Mart and happened to see an ad for Beagle puppies.  When I got home, I asked my dad "if you have money, you should be able to buy what you want, right?"  He fell into the trap I had set and he told me we should go "look" at the puppies.  I think he thought since the people didn't have any girls (which is what I wanted), he'd convince me we didn't need a puppy and to wait for a female.  When we arrived at the person's house, a teenage boy came outside (with his fly undone) and led us to the backyard where the puppies were being kept.  We watched the puppies play and my mom picked one up that she thought was cute.  At that moment, another puppy came out from behind a big piece of plywood.  I thought that one was cute, so I picked it up.  In the process of playing with and holding it, I flipped it over.  It was a girl, which was surprising, since we were told they only had boys left.  We should have known from the three warning signs (fly down, outside pups, girl when there were "only boys" left) that this may not be the healthiest puppy.  However, after exchanging my hard-earned money, we left with a sweet little girl I named Daysie.  When we took her to the vet just for puppy vaccines, we found out that she was only 5 weeks old (it's illegal in a lot of states to sell a puppy before 8 weeks), her poor belly was FILLED with many types of worms and she was very anemic (from the worms sucking all of her blood).  Had we not brought her in, the vet thought that would have died within the week and that the other puppies at the house didn't have much of a shot.  Daysie really was my first dog.  I paid for her, I walked her and took care of her.  She had two litters of puppies and we kept a few of her puppies.  My parents still have one from her second litter. We had her for almost 11 years when she was attacked by another dog and died from her injuries.  I feel horrible that her last moments on this Earth were spent in pain and fear. 

I have documented Hattie's purchase here and how we acquired Waveland here.

Waveland's mom had another litter in January, but I don't think we'll be adding to our 4-legged quota at this time.

Each and every dog I have owned holds a special place in my heart.  I miss the ones that have passed on, but cherish the memories.  I try to enjoy Hattie and Waveland each day because I know that far too soon, they too will pass on.

The Towel-Eating Dog Story

Here's the whole story about how Hattie became the Towel-Eating Dog:

On February 13, 2009, Doug and I took the dogs for a walk.  It had been raining all day, but the dogs needed to do their business, so we tried to go out when there was a lull in the rainfall.  When we came back inside, the dogs were wet from both puddles and the rain.  After drying them off as best as we could, they were still slightly damp.  We felt bad for them, so we put towels in their crates with them so that the girls could cuddle up and get warm.  They were older towels and the one that was put in with Hattie had frayed edges.  Apparently, overnight, Hattie tore some of the towel apart.  We collected all of the pieces, but since it was scraps, we didn't try putting it back together to find out if there was any missing.  Hattie seemed fine, so Doug and I went about our business, going out for Valentine's Day and not giving it a second thought.

When we came home from church on February 15, Hattie was happy to see us and acted like nothing was wrong.  A little while later, while we were watching football, Hattie threw up.  In the vomit was a piece of the towel.  When I tried to go grab the piece out of the vomit, she ate it back up.  Gross, I know.  Because she had eaten a sock earlier in the week and passed it in its entirety, I wasn't really worried about the piece of towel.

By Monday (the following day), Hattie wasn't really eating and what she did eat wasn't staying down.  That evening, I gave her rice to try to calm her stomach.  Bad idea.  On Tuesday morning, about 4am, she woke me up with a cry that I could tell meant she was in pain.  It was such a pitiful cry, I felt so bad for her.  I went to her crate and she had thrown up what looked to be a few gallons of bile, rice, water, etc.  Later that morning, I took her to the vet.  They gave me medicine and told me to keep an eye on her and bring her back on Friday if she wasn't any better.  That evening, she pooped, so I thought, ok, maybe she just needed to move everything through her system. 

All day Wednesday and Thursday morning, Hattie didn't seem to be getting better, but she wasn't getting worse either.  She was keeping the medicine and food down, but she hadn't pooped.  We had planned on going to Florida for the weekend, so we were trying to decide whether or not to stay or go ahead with our plans.  I decided to call the vet on Thursday afternoon to get their opinion.  (There is a branch of the vet in Florida, where we would be, in case she needed care.)

Two side notes about the previous paragraph:
1) Doug and I had gone to Olive Garden for Valentine's Day and I called them to make a reservation.  For whatever reason, it was towards the top of my "previously dialed numbers", and when I went to call the vet, I called OG by accident.  I didn't hear the greeting when someone answered, so I just began telling the person about what was going on.  "Hey, this is Ellery ______ and I brought my Great Dane, Hattie, in on Tuesday.  She hasn't pooped since Tuesday and I'm a little worried."  About that time, the poor girl on the other end of the phone said, "Um, ma'am? You called Olive Garden."  Well, I guess she didn't really care that my dog had bowel issues then, huh?
2) My mom had planned a surprise bridal shower for me to coincide the weekend that Doug and I would be in Florida.  When my mom found out about Hattie's predicament, she started sweating bullets that we were going to stay in Alabama and the "bride" for which the bridal shower was for would be MIA.  Therefore, she told Doug to keep her apprised of whether or not we were coming. 

When I called the vet, she told me that it was fine if we took Hattie to Florida, but just keep an eye on her and if she gets any worse, take her to the vet ASAP.  If she is still the same by Monday, bring her back in when you return from Florida.  So, I put her and put Waveland, who at that point was only about 10 weeks old, in the car and started to leave the apartment to pick Doug up from work and get on the road.  Before we ever left the apartment's parking lot, Hattie started heaving.  I put the garbage can under her mouth and she barfed in it.  I cried the entire 45 minutes to Doug's work because I was so stressed about what was wrong with my dog.  I was still not thinking the towel could have gotten stuck, because it was such a small piece.  The rest of the 12 hour drive, Hattie slept and didn't get sick again.

Doug and I went somewhere on Friday, while leaving Hattie at my parents' house.  When we got back, my mom told me that Hattie was acting very lethargic and her gums were pale white.  We immediately took Hattie to the vet.  After several tests, it was determined that she had a blockage and that if she was not operated on in the next 24 hours, she would die and even with the surgery, they couldn't guarantee that she'd make it.  Because the blockage had been going on for almost a week, her intestines may be dead or dying.  I felt like SUCH a horrible parent that I let her be in pain and sick this long.  The doctor told us that she must be in INCREDIBLE pain, but she was being very stoic and not showing any signs of pain, even in her belly.  They told us to bring her back the following morning to have the surgery, that they told us should only take "a couple hours".

Doug and I spent the night holding Hattie's legs down, so that she wouldn't curl up.  We discovered when she curled up, she was cutting off circulation and that's why her gums were turning white.  The next morning, we took her into the vet, not knowing if we were going to see her again.  We then went to Doug's parents' house and crashed on the couch, since neither of us had slept the night before and his parents' house was closer to the vet.  When we called a few hours later, Hattie was still in surgery. 

Unbeknownst to me, this was also the day of my bridal shower and therefore, Doug had very strict instructions to keep me away from my parents' house until it was time.  All I wanted to do is go cry on my mom's shoulder because she knew how much Hattie meant to me.  Obviously, we couldn't do that, so Doug found other things we could do to keep my mind off of Hattie.

On the way to the bridal shower, some 4 hours into the surgery, we stopped by the vet's.  Because I had previously worked at that vet, they let me in the back to see her, while she was being operated on.  It broke my heart to see her like she was.  I was sad we had to leave, but according to Doug, my mom had planned for Doug's mother and grandmother, my mother and myself to all go out to lunch, so we needed to get going.

About 2 hours after we left the vet, and in the middle of my bridal shower, one of the nurses called to tell me that the surgery was over (finally!) and Hattie was recovering well.  That really cheered me up and allowed me to enjoy my bridal shower.  Her surgery ended up taking 6 hours and parts of both her small and large intestine were removed due to necrosis.

When we picked her up, we saw that she was cut from her sternum to her crotch, which on a Great Dane is about a 3 foot scar.  She was on strict rest, was given tons of medication and a lampshade collar to keep her from messing with the sutures.  Because we lived upstairs, and she was definitely not allowed to climb stairs, my mom volunteered to keep Hattie while she recovered.  My mom made "medical meatballs" (wet dog food balls with pills stuck in the middle), which Hattie loved.  She didn't like wearing the collar or not being able to run around a lot. 

Two weeks later, we returned to Florida to pick Hattie up and to take her to the vet to have the sutures removed.  Everything looked great and Hattie had made a full recovery.  When we took her back to Alabama, she was back to her normal self, running around with Waveland and being a general goof.

We learned our lesson.  Now, the dogs don't get towels in their crates.  We dry them off as best as we can and then they get in their crates.

And THAT, my friends, is how Hattie earned the moniker "The Towel-Eating Dog".

Week Wrap-Up

Since a lot of snow (for our area) was dumped on Sunday night/Monday we were unable to leave the house until Thursday.  Even though the main roads are pretty clear, parking lots and back roads are still very icy.  Therefore, Doug has worked from home all week. 

Since Doug working at home was just a temporary thing, he used our dining room for his office.  The problem with this is that our dining room faces the living room.  The same living room where Weston's toys are and where Weston and I spend most of our day.  This led to a noisy work environment for Doug.  If he worked from home long-term, he'd have to use the 4th bedroom as an office.

Also, I thought I'd enjoy having Doug home, but I really didn't.  This is because it was hard to determine when was work time and when was family time.  Even today, on Saturday, he's working.  At least when he goes to work, I know that when he's home, it's family time, not work time.

Since Weston and I were cooped up at home, we had to find new ways to keep ourselves entertained.  Weston learned this week how to pet the dogs.  Waveland loves going up to Weston and giving him kisses and now that he has learned how to pet her, it just reinforces her kisses.  He doesn't enjoy the overabundance of kisses that much.  Hattie lets Weston pet her, but only if she happens to walk by or lay down close enough to him.  She doesn't go out of her way to be near him.  Just wait until he starts eating real food and dropping it off the high chair.  She'll quickly change her mind!

Last night, we went to see The Dilemma.  It was an ok movie.  The movie was funny at times and it makes you think about what you would do in the same situation.  Weston did pretty well in the movie.  He fell asleep before the movie started, but then woke up about halfway through.  I fed him and then held him the rest of the time.  He fell back asleep on my chest, causing my arms and legs to be very asleep by the time we left.

We Are Snowed In!!

Overnight, 10 inches of white, fluffy stuff fell in our area.  The people up north laugh at 10".  In fact, a family member from Pennsylvania told me she doesn't even have the driveway plowed until the snow gets almost as high.  There are currently flurries, but I doubt that they will add much to the amount we already have.  However, the amount of snowfall we have is the third most they've had in this area in an overnight period.  The number one amount is 17".  That's a lot for a southern state!

We woke up and let the dogs out so that they could run around in the snow.  Hattie is definitely not a fan of snow.  Waveland thinks that it is absolutely wonderful.  However, Waveland convinced Hattie to run around in it with her.  I have a video, but I can't get it to load.  I will work on it though.

The entire area is shutdown today.  The only things open are emergency facilities.  It is very similar to Christmas and it's a little eerie.  Even if we wanted to go anywhere, we can't since there are no plows here and Doug and I don't know how to drive in this much snow.

Doug obviously stayed home, since his work is closed.  I think we will go have a snowball fight and/or build a snowman in a little while.  Maybe we'll take Weston out and take pictures, so we can have pictures of him in snow.

My, How Life Has Changed

In a little more than 2 years, a lot has changed in Doug's and my life.

2008

• Doug and I lived in an apartment.
• Both of us had to have jobs just to pay the bills.
• We drove 45+ minutes to and from work.
• We had a Great Dane.
• We went to the movies about once a week and spent Fridays at the park letting Hattie run and throwing a football or playing catch with a baseball.
• We spent the weekends watching football, hanging out at home, sleeping in until 11 on Saturdays and going to church on Sundays.

2009

• Doug and I lived in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath house with a small yard.
• Doug worked and I planned our wedding or laid on the couch with morning sickness.  My working was not vital to our livelihood.
• Doug drove 15 minutes to work.
• We had a Great Dane and a Labrador.
• We went to the movies twice a month, due to the theater being pretty far away.  We also didn't go to the park much, because there weren't any.
• We spent weekends watching football, hanging out in the backyard with the dogs and sleeping in.

2010

• For several months, we lived in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a huge backyard.
• For the last part of the year, we lived in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with a sizable backyard.
• For the first half of the year, Doug worked and I gestated Weston.  For the second half of the year, I took care of Weston, which is a full-time, but unpaid (financially) job.  Again, it was not necessary for me to have to work.
• Doug drove 5 minutes to work.  After we moved, Doug drove 25 minutes to work.
• We had a Great Dane, a Labrador and a baby boy.
• We went to the movies several times previous to late June.  In fact, we went 3 days before Weston was born.  We have gone to two (2!) movies since Weston has been here.  One was a children's movie.
• We spent the weekends during the first half of the year going to Babies R Us 45 minutes away, shopping for baby things, going to church and enjoying the last few months of couple hood that we had.  We spent weekends the second half of the year getting up before the sun, going places just to get out of the house and entertain the baby, and going to church.

Our life has changed so much in 28 months.  Sometimes I mourn our old life where we could do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.  We could stay up very late because there wasn't a little one beckoning us at 6 am.  However, that said, I also wouldn't trade being a mom for my old life any day.  Seeing Weston smile and watching him discover and learn new things everyday is SO much better than any Hollywood movie!!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Since Doug and I grew up in Florida, neither of us ever had a white Christmas.  I think I am a northern girl at heart, so I have always wanted to live where is snows and have a white Christmas.  One of my complaints about Florida is that it is always warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas Day, so it doesn't feel like Christmas. 

Yesterday, we woke up to this:

I told everyone that they could have not gotten me anything for Christmas and I still would have been THRILLED!!  I guess I'm excited by the little things in life.

Weston's first Christmas was also yesterday!  Santa definitely came to our house.

Since he is still small, Weston didn't really play with much of anything, but as he grows, I'm sure he'll become more interested in the things he got.

He did stay awake most of the day and while we opened presents, but by last night, he was overtired and quite crabby.  We put him to bed about 9 and he didn't wake up until 8:40 this morning.  He needed the rest!

My parents, brother and sister-in-law came from Kentucky to spend Christmas with us.  It was very special to me to have them here, because my brother will be deploying soon.  We had a nice time opening presents, seeing what everyone else got and just laughing and having fun.

It snowed all day today too, but we needed baby food, so we braved the snow.  It was fun to see the city all covered in snow.

When we got home, Doug and I had a colossal snowball fight.  Even Hattie and Waveland joined in.  It was a very nice day spending time with my little family.

I'm so glad Doug has the week off so we can just hang out.

Two Years Ago

Two years ago today, I was a third grade teacher in south Mississippi.  I thoroughly enjoyed my little people and couldn't wait to see them everyday.  We were beginning to talk about holidays around the world.

Two years ago today, Doug had a stomach bug, but insisted on going to work.  Shortly after I dropped him off and got to my school, Doug called me and told me that he wasn't going to make it through the day.  Since we worked in a different state than we lived in, we rode to work together.  I left work to pick him up and we drove the 45 minutes back home so he could rest.  That was the last day in 2008 I went to work because I got so sick, I thought I was going to die.

Two years ago today, my mom called me and reported that her yellow Labrador, Remy, was in labor.  Doug and I had already decided that we were going to take one of the puppies, so I was very excited that my new puppy was being born.  We wanted either a chocolate or a yellow Lab.  There was a very good possibility of getting one of the two colors, with mom being yellow and dad being chocolate.  Seven black and zero chocolate or yellow puppies later, Remy was done delivering.  For the record, last December 22, Remy delivered 10 more puppies, fathered by the same chap, all black. 

Since my parents were in Florida and I was in Alabama, I was going to have to wait 11 days until Christmas break to meet the new additions.  As soon as I saw all of the puppies, I knew which one would be ours.  However, Doug picked out which puppy we were taking.  I sort of "led" him to a precious little girl that seemed to be the calmest one.  Over the course of our vacation, we fell in love with Waveland Wrigley.  Doug, a life-long Chicago Cubs fan, named her after a street that surrounds Wrigley Field.

 
In mid-January, my mom brought Waveland up to our home and goodness she was adorable!!  Hattie didn't know what to do with such a little ball of fur.  Shortly after Waveland moved in, Hattie set her straight that she was already established and thus the boss and they have gotten along ever since. 

Waveland thought she'd "walk" her sister who was about 10x her weight.

This was the "doggy daycare" we set up in the closet while we were trying to pack to move.

When we brought Weston home, Waveland took to him and has been like a second mother to him. She enjoys jumping in Weston's crib and sitting or laying down.  She also likes to sit with him for story time.
                                      

 
She is such a sweet girl and gives so much love to everyone she meets.  For her birthday, she had some ham and pineapple and then for dessert, she had a FrostyPaw.  All the dogs in our extended family get one for their birthday.  She'll be getting her actual present as soon as Doug and I pick something out for her. 

Happy 2nd Birthday sweet Waveland!!  We love you very much and are so glad you are the puppy we picked!

On a side note, Hattie and Waveland have a water bowl outside and the past few days, it has been frozen over.  They are very confused as to how to get water from their bowl and it's kind of funny to watch their faces as they attempt.  Apparently Waveland decided she was tired of having a frozen water bowl and figured out how to get the slab of ice out of the bowl and started carrying and eating the ice around the yard.

Day 8 of Advent:

Stay warm y'all!

Welcome!

Hi!  My name is Ellery and I am married to a wonderful man, Doug and we have a very sweet, 5 month old little boy named Weston.  We also have a 4 1/2 year old Great Dane, Manhattan (Hattie) and a 2 year old black Labrador Retriever, Waveland.   We just moved to north Alabama and are starting our lives as a family of 3.  We can't wait to find a church, meet people who will hopefully turn into good friends and expand our family.

Let me explain the name of my blog and the web address.  Almost 2 years ago, Hattie and Waveland were out in the rain, so when they came in, my husband and I dried them off and put the towels in their crates so they could roll around on them and continue drying off.  Unbeknownst to us, Hattie ripped the towel apart and ingested some of it.  We ended up having to have a large piece of towel surgically removed from her intestines.  The web address name came from the fact that it seems everytime Weston is taking a nap while we are doing errands, when he wakes up, we are in Wal-Mart.

I will try my best to keep up with this blog.  I stay at home with Weston, so you would think I would have plenty of time, but anyone who stays at home with children knows that the day escapes them and before you know it, dinner needs to be on the table.

Have a great evening!