Weekends are for Family

It has only been a few days since I posted but I have a lot to write about. For those who visit only to see the pictures feel free to scroll down. I promise that my feelings will not be hurt. I know how long winded I can get on here.

I took our dog Rosie to the vet last Tuesday. We weren't sure what was wrong with her, but all we knew was that she wasn't acting like herself. She wasn't jumping on the couches or our bed and she yelped when Lorne tried to touch her hips last Saturday. The vet did an exam and discovered that her temperature was 103. She decided that Rosie needed to come back Wednesday for X-rays of her hips and lower back. I had to bring her in early Wednesday morning and drop her off. I had a bad feeling about even being in the clinic since that was where we'd lost Maggie just a few months ago. Speaking of Maggie, she would have been eight years old today. I can't believe that she has already been gone for almost four months. I was so worried about Rosie all day. They finally called that afternoon to tell me that Rosie has hip dysplasia, arthritis, and degenerative joint disease. She said that Rosie has the hips of a ten-year-old Lab. She has two vertebrae that have fused together from bone spurs. It was so terrible to see on the X-rays. The vet said that Rosie must have an extremely high pain tolerance since she wasn't displaying more symptoms. I told Dr. Glover that we must seem like such bad pet owners since I didn't know Maggie had an orange-sized malignant tumor and didn't know that Rosie had bone spurs out the wazoo. She told us that there was nothing we could have done and no way we could have known in both cases so that eased my mind a bit. She said that Rosie's is genetic and Maggie's was just bad luck.

Rosie has to have Adequan injections every four days until she has had six. She is also going to have to have follow-up injections every month or so for the rest of her life depending on how she is getting along. She is also on a chewable medication called Cosequin for the rest of her life. She is on amoxicillin for the next two weeks from the fever she had. They decided it must have been due to the pain from her hips and lower back.

I was preoccupied all day Thursday because I was waiting on the results of her bloodwork. Apparently Rosie took her time coming out of the anesthesia during her X-rays and Dr. Glover said that could be because she was enjoying the feeling of being without pain or it could be because something else was wrong. The clinic was swamped all week because they were having their low-cost vaccinations and they were super busy. Dr. Welch was in surgery all day and it was 3:00 before she returned my calls to let me know that her bloodwork was "perfect." I was so relieved. We had to decide what to do with her since we were leaving town but Lorne decided that he wanted her with him during the weekend since she'd had such a bad week.

Sawyer, Rosie, and I hit the road to get Lorne from work and headed to Van Vleck for my cousin Rachael's wedding. I was glad that we were leaving on Thursday because it gave us an extra day with our families. Mom called on the way and said that Dad was going to be able to fly down so that was really good news.

I rode to the airport with Mom on Friday. We got Dad and headed over to Matthew and Jackie's house. Mark was also there so we all went out for Mexican food. I rode back to Larry and Velma's house with Matthew and Jackie because they wanted to see Sawyer. I was away from him for seven hours that day. I think that I called at least three times to check up on him. I knew that he was in good hands with Lorne and his parents but I was still worried about how he was doing. I don't think that he even missed me!

The wedding was lots of fun. It was so great to see all of the family again. Lorne actually said that we weren't going back to Van Vleck until 2011 since this was our third trip since December. We're making up for lost time I guess since we only went there four times in 2005. Sawyer did well during the ceremony but I still took him into the cry room during the vows. I was a nervous wreck because I was so afraid that he would start screeching or howling at any time.

He only had his morning nap Saturday so I think that was why he didn't seem to be in the mood for being held by anyone but me. It was so unlike him to not want anyone else to hold him. He even cried a couple of times when Lorne held him. It may have been because I was gone the day before, who knows?

Rachael was a beautiful bride and the reception and dance were great. I got to dance with Lorne, Dad, and my brothers so I was happy. I even did the polka with Tammy! That is a tradition of ours that we've been doing as long as I can remember.


Uncle Matthew's hat is just a tad too big I think.


Mom and her baby boy.


Mom and her sisters. They all look so pretty!


Mark said this was the longest he had held a baby in his life.


I never got a picture of the groom, but here's the beautiful bride!


Matthew and Jackie are so excited about becoming parents soon.


Lorne was busy with his daddy duties.


It was so great to see Dad again.


I think that my brothers and I are always in the same pose.


Mom was so excited that Dad was able to be there for the weekend.


Tracy and her boyfriend Robert. I hope that we didn't scare him away!


I was so happy that I got to waltz with Dad.


Sawyer obviously thought someone else was more interesting.

I nursed Sawyer for the last time last night. I was sad but at the same time I know that it is a good time to stop. I have been weaning him since December 20 so I took it really slowly. I will be weaning him for the bottle in just a few months time.

Sawyer tried beef for the first time this week. It is the nastiest smelling stuff ever. It smelled like cat food to me. He didn't like it at all until I mixed it with the sweet potatoes I was feeding him. I only bought a few bottles of the plain meats. I bought mostly dinners like the chicken and rice and vegetable beef. I think that he'll try chicken tonight.

I went to Weight Watchers today and I gained .2 pounds. I swear that today I am going to recommit for good. I am soooo tired of gaining and losing this same five pounds. I haven't celebrated at a meeting since before Christmas when I got my twenty-five pound magnet. I am hoping that now that I'm not breastfeeding I can get this weight loss thing jumpstarted. I can eat artificial sweeteners again and that will help with eating fewer points. Today is also my first day to eat 24 points which is what I should be eating for my weight. I was getting ten extra points for nursing and I had been cutting down on those points since I started weaning back in December. I have thirty-five pounds to lose and I want to lose it before Sawyer's first birthday. That only gives me a little over three months so I don't know if it's possible but I'm going to try my hardest. I am sick of this extra weight already. I announced to my leader Lori at my meeting today that I want her to ask me how much weight I lost in front of everyone. I think that extra accountability is what I need to get me motivated this week. I'm also looking over my old food diaries to see what has worked for me in the past. There is no need to reinvent the wheel after all. I'll be sure to post on my progress. Maybe I can use my blog as another form of accountability.