she-nan-i-gans

Admittedly, I thought maybe I could sneak under the blogging radar a bit while you were traversing SE Asia, but no - there you are, hiking stairs and food touring and Facebooking and attracting new friends like a magnet. In all your loveliness. And saying, "Um, friggin' blog already." So here I am.

K.Lo's ear tubes in/adenoids out went well, considering. I mean if we did it all over again with the help of our crystal ball, we would not have had to arrive predawn at the hospital to bargain for a price with a fatted calf. What? Yes anyway - you bargain for a price at 5:45AM in the morning and if you're charming enough you get 30% off the estimated fee and decide you're fine with that. We witnessed K.Lo loopy, gazing at the cloud-covered florescent lights and the curtain walls and saying, "Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a hospital all the time and played hide-and-seek..." which was charmingly slurred when she spoke it. And then they said, "Whoops, have to go back to the other room and wait for x amount of time, we're not really sure how long, because it's too warm in the OR and we can't regulate it.' Which sucked, because she was literally all set to go. And then became very hungry, and very restless, and very whiny. But we all lived, and managed. Stinging ear drops were the most traumatic aspect of the weekend, but cake and birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa compensated. And then one of the tubes became blocked, and if I had a nickel for every time that school nurse called me by now... it was a sub, and he randomly was all - I looked in her ear, and I think this is the problem - followed by some very specific details. And so we went to the doctor two days earlier than scheduled and it turned out he was exactly right. 

Meantime: drinking too much coffee? Trying to pare back by at least a cup anyway. Five is overdoing it, at least when one's thoughts and heart begin racing excessively. So more tea maybe. But I do love coffee. And hair? Approaching or ensconced in another phase of Awkward, so should I cut again or pin up or... I think I'm going with pins, for now. And silent suffering. I have an end-goal in mind. I did taxes today. It's always a nightmare somehow and makes me feel so. on. edge. but I persevered and am nearly certain they are correct this year and the payback was a good one. 

And the next few days will be a whirlwind of errands for K.Lo's science-center party Saturday and birthday Sunday, and something about a big football game for which we are having friends over? So snacks for that. And art and garden planning, somewhere in the midst. I feel like there are suddenly a lot of events coming up: book club, V-Day, possible movie outing (Beautiful Creatures), possible road trip, cabin camping  in March, anxiously awaiting the fate of the won, and a book-themed baby shower and some other things. Women's Bible Study and retreat weekend and possibly knitting? too many items cycling from hands to air to hands to air and demanding to be caught. But I suppose they'll all land in their place. 

Some random pictures: N.Lo had Western Day at school. I crocheted hearts and hung them on the fireplace. K.Lo at the ear doctor for the bazillionth time. Fearsome medical instruments. One of five shadowboxes displaying Things Removed at said doctor's office in the late 70s, early 80s. Bender hears something. K.Lo's surgery incited a Tooth Fairy visit, as well. My mom does awesome needlework. J.Lo does awesome woodwork. I made doll bedding! two mattresses, pillows and sheets. And N.Lo has a cold, too. 

xo to you, who has much to tell! 

~pen

B-dog update

Bender is pitiful after her surgery, shaved and sliced like a punk-rock animal, but recovering pretty well it seems. K.Lo, N.Lo, and I skipped town while most of this surgery/initial recovery was happening because a) my Grandma and aunt were up at my parents' house, and they had not yet met N.Lo, and b) it kind of worked out better for us not to be there and in Bender's way. At least for K.Lo not to be in Bender's way. When we arrived back home in the afternoon, B-Dog Girl still had on that cute but horrible cast, which caused her to whimper profusely. She also wasn't eating or drinking much of anything, and whatever she did take in came right back out in gluey little puddles everywhere. Which I stepped in once or twice with my bare feet.

Once J.Lo took her to get the cast taken off, she was still pitiful, particularly with that shaved back leg and sewed-up incision now so exposed, but already she whimpered less. Because of the excessive vomitation, we severely cut back her original pain med regimen and waited to see if that helped.

She woke up in the morning much more spry, much more Bender, and ate. Whimpered not at all, really, and has been putting some weight on the bum leg. She is not allowed to run, really should stay off the stairs and couch as much as possible, and K.Lo the Two-Year-Old Tornado of Destruction should definitely stay away from Bender and that leg, but in the end, I think she's going to be okay. She's already barked and thrashed her head around a little at the Old Guy Next Door, and dropped a tennis ball at my feet, as if I were actually going to throw it. We're taking care of her the best we can, with J.Lo doing the saintly work, me taking on the better part of the Day Shift, Bailey being the loyal best friend, and K.Lo tossing in her own words of comfort now and again, something about the Boo-Boo Leg and Feeling Better Soon. Love ya, Bender. I think you might just make it through.

W just bought my dog a new leg.

We should get our rebate check next week. Originally, I flaked and thought for some reason the last 2 of the SSN in question was 09, but it's 99. So sad. But not really, because by now I would have had the thing spent, and that would have been bad. Because my dog, my Bender-dog, my B-dog Girl, needs to have surgery. She's been limping around for a few weeks now, not appearing to be in any pain, but clearly not using the one back leg. She's still running, playing, not wincing, which is why we waited to take her to the vet. You know they pretty much rape your wallet for making eye contact with your animal. And our wallet is scheduled to be dearly raped on Monday. The ligament that holds Bender's knee together is completely blown. The other back leg may not be long to follow. It's degenerative, nothing we could do. And she's less than half her life expectancy, only 5 1/2 years old, so of course we are going to fix her. The poor thing. She's not going to move the same again, but hopefully will respond well to the surgery. Which is the "cheap" surgery. At $1,100. So, um, thanks W. Consider this our little contribution to help recharge the economy. And our dog.