Friday Night in the ER

Friday night we had our first visit to the ER. But it was not for Morgan, me, or Patrick. It was for Bailey!


Around 6:30 I was preparing to get on the webcam with my parents. I was going to webcam from the kitchen since Patrick was shampooing the living room carpet. As I got up, Bailey jumped off the couch. Her left front paw landed on the floor. Her right front paw landed on my foot, which was swinging forward taking a step. The result was her little paw turning 90 degrees to the right! She yelped and yelped, and when I looked down at her I instantly got naseaous. I screamed for Patrick to get her and when he picked her up he ran his fingers gently down her leg and helped ease the paw back into it's rightful place. She would try to walk on it but would just yelp and hop along. I immediately called our vet, who advised us that they do not take emergency calls after 6:00 and that we would have to go to the emergency vet clinic about 30 minutes away. Patrick and I debated on what to do. I was afraid that she had broken her leg. We watched her hobble around on it and decided the best thing to do would be to go to the vet.

So we threw everyone in the car and off we went. Keep in mind that NONE of us had eaten supper (since we normally eat around 6:30 or 7:00) and Morgan had not taken a nap. Thankfully Morgan fell asleep in the car and was still sleeping when we pulled into the parking lot of the ER vet.

I gingerly picked up Bailey in her blanket and went inside. Surprisingly, there were two other families in there waiting on their dogs, who were both back with the doctor. As I sat there holding my shaking, very scared and obviously in some pain, small bundle, I thought about how much she means to our family. I laughed at the fact that we had brought our DOG to the ER, but also thought that we never considered not to bring her (although I will admit that if it had been a week day and we could have got her into our vet's office the next day I would have kept her home overnight).

Just like a regular ER, there were dog families in there with red-rimmed eyes. We waited over 2 hours to be seen (also like a regular ER), but one of the hold-ups was for a dog who was rushed in during the middle of a very intense seizure from potential poisoning (I saw the poor thing....it was super scary!). Finally we were seen. Morgan had woken up and was asking for dinner (of course it's now 8:30) and we kept saying "The doctor is coming to see Bay's foot and then we'll eat". Morgan was very concerned for Bailey. She was very aware that Bailey "fell" on my foot and her herself. She even told the vet that!

When the vet did finally come in, he checked Bailey out. He determined that she had not broken the long bones in her leg (which I kind of chuckled about because she's a dachshund and has very SHORT front legs). The vet did say that he thought Bailey either cracked or fractured the little bones in her paw, kind of like our finger bones. He said there wasn't much he could do if that was the case. We opted not to get an x-ray since the big bones weren't broken. She was given a super pain shot and some pain meds to be administered at home. It was almost 10:00 when we all wearily walked back into our home.

Bailey has been in our family for over 8 years. I love her on some level (but obviously not the same level) as much as I love Morgan. She is most definitely a Mama's dog. She is constantly at my side and will wiggle her way in between me and Morgan or me and Patrick to be sure that she is touching me at all times. It is amazing how she senses when I don't feel well and how much she can lift my spirits with a little wag of her tail.

After the whole episode I tried to think if we were the strange animal owners who love their pets too much. I decided that we, indeed, are NOT. You cannot let something live in your house (and sleep in your bed) and not love it enough to get it help when it is sick. My friend Melanie has had a rash of sick "babies" at her house, and it never once crossed my mind that I wouldn't go to those lengths for Bailey. Maybe we are in the minority, but that's quite OK with me.

I am happy to report that today Bailey is doing much better. She opted to stay in her cage all day on Saturday. She made an appearance outside of her cage yesterday afternoon and was even wanting to play some. She is still limping a good bit on that paw, but each day the size of the limp goes down. Poor baby....I am just glad we didn't have to bring home a dog in a cast!

It's Here!

My new digital camera arrived on Tuesday! I was so excited to open the box and get everything out. I still haven't figured out how to get the pictures to download from the camera so there is a minor snag in my picture taking system. But I did put the camera card in my old (and still useful) Kodak, so you can see how the pictures look in 9.0 megapixels (ooohh, aaahh). Acutally, I don't care about the megapixels (and don't really know if these were taken at the highest resolution), I wanted more zoom, which I got when I switched from a 4x to a 10x zoom.

The first picture I took.....the camera is obviously VERY sensitive to movements by the photographer! I'll have to get used to this!

Ah, second time around was much better.

Taken from across our living room.

No family picture is complete without Bailey!

With the 4GB camera card I also got, I can currently take 1,652 photographs! Some might laugh, others are probably groaning because they'll have to look at more pictures :)

Wordless Wednesday

Sponsor Morgan's Mutti!

My mother will be participating in the annual March of Dimes' March for Babies on April 18th in sunny Florida. She has been a faithful walker for many years, even finishing last year's walk after suffering a pretty nasty fall near the beginning of the event.

While we have fortunately not been touched by premature or low birth weight babies, this cause is near and dear to our hearts. As many of you know, Morgan spent a few days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) when she was born. Patrick and I saw many, many babies who had been born extremely early, and some that had been born weighing only 3 pounds. Some of those babies had been living in the NICU for over 6 months. It was hard for me to leave Morgan every night while she stayed in the NICU. I can't imagine the pain those children's mothers and fathers felt every night, walking out of the hospital another day with empty arms.

Some of you also know that my sister-in-law, Amy, miscarried their second child, only 8 weeks after conception. While there was nothing she or the medical staff could have done to save the baby, with further research there may be a day when we can save these children.

The March of Dimes does some amazing work, and I would like to ask you, if you can spare a few dollars, if you would sponsor one amazing lady walking for one amazing cause. Of course, your donation is tax deductible, and every little bit counts. If you could give up your morning Starbucks just one day, that would be enough. You can click on the sponsor bar at the top of our website. And if your money is stretched too thin, please pray for mom, pray for the walkers, sponsors, and organizations that help the March of Dimes, and pray for the babies. We all know that prayer is the best way to get results!

Not Me! Monday

It's Monday again, and time for another edition of Not Me! Monday. Hosted by MckMama, this blog carnival asks people to be open, honest, and upfront about things they would NEVER do! So, without further ado, here are some things that I certainly did NOT do this past week.

I did NOT wear flip flops in 30 degree weather just because it is officially spring, darn it, and I can wear sandals if I want! I also did NOT crank up the heater in the car while on my way home to defrost my toes after shopping.

I certainly did NOT purchase organic dog treats for Bailey, especially because I don't buy organic for the people in my house. And I absolutely did NOT think while purchasing them that if Morgan decided to taste them that at least it would be healthy for her.

That is because Morgan has NEVER eaten one (or multiple) dog treats because I would never watch her sneak one from the can and let her eat it. That's just gross!

I also would never order a twisted Frosty and when hearing that the cookie dough was all out order M&Ms. Especially because I would NEVER forget that I gave up candy for Lent. And I would never, after remembering that I NEVER forget what I gave up for Lent, continue to eat 1/2 of said Frosty even though it did have candy in it. Because I didn't have to say to myself that I PAID for the Frosty. I made a promise didn't I?!?! Sigh.

I did NOT purchase hair bows for this poodle....

And since I didn't do this, there was no need to rationalize the purchase because it went to charity, even if they bows were a DOLLAR each! Nope, not me!

And since I didn't purchase the hair bows, I definitely did NOT purchase other items to put in this poodle's EASTER basket! That's a little ridiculous. I am glad I didn't do that.

I definitely did NOT close my office door and watch the first round of the NCAA tournament on my computer all afternoon for TWO DAYS while pretending to be doing "paperwork" Because what kind of example would that be setting to my staff?

I also did NOT stand in my kitchen the evening before Weight Watchers weigh-in day and eat 2 brownies and a bag of Curious George fruit snacks while waiting for the dog to do her business outside. And I certainly did NOT eat more food later during the night while on a "bathroom break".

It's a good thing I didn't do all of these things last week. Because it sure would have taken up a lot of time and energy that were channeled into more productive projects at home and at work.

Be sure to hop over to MckMama's blog and see what other people did not do lately!

What was I thinking?!

It's my favorite time of the year....time to get out all of Morgan's clothes for the next size up, ooohhh and aaahhh over all the super cute outfits she will be wearing, revel in the great clearance buys I got, and look forward to spring/summer. This summer's cute outfits include matching green flowered sundresses for Morgan and her baby doll, a princess sundress, the truest t-shirt I have ever read (Backseat Driver....describes Morgan to a t!), and six bathing suits.

Yes you read that right.

S-I-X bathing suits!!!!

What on earth was I thinking? Patrick and I both have summertime jobs. We are not going to be living at the pool. Who on earth needs six bathing suits!

Granted, I didn't pay more than $5.00 for any of the suits, and they are all very darn cute. Now I have the hard job of deciding which to keep. The Elmo tankini is a given....then there's Dora, which Morgan would like, but isn't nearly as cute as some of the others. What to do, what to do?

I wish all my decisions in life were this trivial!

Playing Catch Up

It's been super crazy around the Tenney household lately, thus the lack of updates regarding life in Small Town USA. Patrick and I are both starting our "busy season" of work...lots of presentations, workshops, clients to see, and grants to be written. While it isn't all that interesting, it sure does make the time fly!

My birthday was a great day. I don't think there was a moment during the day that I didn't have food in front of me. Not so good for Weight Watchers, but I didn't care. We continued the celebration over the weekend at the in-laws. It was nice to sit around and do absolutely nothing (although my poor niece had the stomach flu!).

Yesterday Patrick ordered my birthday present....a new digital camera!

It is a Canon PowerShot with 10x optical zoom and 9.0 megapixels. He got it off of Newegg, which offers a lot of combo deals. We were able to get a 4GB memory card and a case for the camera absolutely free! I should have it by Saturday (hopefully) and if not, Monday for sure. I am so excited! My current Kodak, which has been great for the last 5 years, is currently being held together by tape and was becoming more of a hassle to use.

Patrick and I have both started to notice that Morgan is very sensitive about our comings and goings, especially when we are away from her overnight. Monday and Tuesday mights this week I was out of town at a symposium. Morgan called me on Tuesday and we had this conversation:

Me: Hello?
Patrick: Hold on...shuffling around for a minute...
Morgan: "Mommy, why you lost?"
Me: "Baby, I am not lost."
Morgan: "You lost, I not see you"
Me: "I am sorry baby, Mama is at work"
Morgan: "Daddy bring me. I come to you"

When she was little, I took her to every out of town overnight thing I had to do. Now that she is older, I have been leaving her behind more, but I sure do miss her! I almost told Patrick to put her in the car and bring her down. She will be traveling with us a good bit over the next couple of months, which we all should enjoy.

Even though today it is only 30 degrees, the weather overall has been very nice (60s and 70s) and we finally were able to play outside the other day. Morgan was so happy to see her toys that have been sequestered in the garage for the winter. I was just happy to see her running all over the place, because this means soon she'll be going to sleep at her normal time instead of 11:00 PM! We are already starting to plan some weekend trips and that makes me very excited for summer.

We are getting ready to start some big projects at home....nothing major, but big projects for us. This includes a total reorginization of the basement, gathering and preparing for a yard sale, and a reorginization and minor remodel of our bedroom (basically just new curtains (YAY!) and hopefully finishing some staining to the moulding).


So life around the house is normal, crazy, and busy. We are trying to get everyone's schedules aligned to spend some family time together. It's hard to believe we are already looking at scheduling weekends in JULY! My goal this year is to "schedule" some non-scheduled weekends so we don't get over extended like last year. Let's hope that happens.

It's Only Three Decades

My mother sent me a nice note this morning counting down the minutes until I would "officially" be 30. Because I was born in the Philippines, my birthday occurred 12 hours ahead on the East Coast (which is why my grandmother always thought I was born on March 12th). So at 11:51 this morning, I officially began my 4th decade. The card I got from my co-workers put this a little more into perspective.

Thirty.
When you think about it, it's only three decades.

Three Decades
Seven Presidents (or presidential terms)
Eight Olympic Games
28 Volcanic Eruptions
87 Space Missions
203 Overthrown Governments
1,712 Ocsar Nominations
420,000 New Miles of Highway
AND
51 million acres of cleared rainforest

Now, I cannot confirm that some of these numbers are actually true, but the card said so, so I believe it!

Moving On Up

Today I left my 20s behind and headed into a new decade. A lot of people asked how I feel to be 30. I can honestly say no different than yesterday! I am excited to be starting a new chapter of life with this birthday. I guess I am now officially an adult.

Some of my very sweet friends and co-workers threw me a surprise birthday brunch at work (not pictured are Jim and Lori, James' parents). There were tons of goodies to eat, a homemade birthday cake, and some delicious punch. It was so nice of them to remember my birthday. When I got to work this morning my office had been decorated with balloons, streamers, and a happy birthday sign.

With the delicious goodies I got a bag of candy (MY FAVORITE!!!) and a beautiful crown that will probably become Morgan's as soon as she sees it :) We're heading out for birthday lunch and this evening I will spend with my two favorite people, Patrick and Morgan. I am sure we will go out to eat tonight too. A girl shouldn't have to do dishes on her birthday (at least that's what I think!). Patrick is buying me a new digital camera for my birthday, and I am really excited about it!!

Thank you to all who have sent good wishes. It has been a fantastic day so far, and I know the rest of the day will be great as well!

Here's to another great decade.....

Jen

30 by 30--The Final Update

Well, today is the final weigh in day for my 30 by 30 challenge to myself. Over the course of my challenge, I am positive I did lose 30 pounds, BUT was not as successful at keeping it off. So from the beginning to the end I ended up losing

15 pounds

Although I didn't make my intended goal, I am proud that I have lost half and I am not going to give up on the other 15. I also learned some things about myself---

1) It is wise for me to set smaller, more frequent goals. It was easy in the beginning to say, oh I still have plenty of time to make up for the fact that I gained this week. Then it was well, I still have time if I eat right every day and exercise 3-4-5 days a week. Then it was oh crap! I have to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks!

2) Having a bad day does not have to ruin the week. I used to say oh well I have blown the day and now the week is shot, and I would eat without care or thinking. But as I went along I realized that I could have a bad DAY and not have a self-fulfilling prophecy that the rest of the week must be bad due to one bad day.

3) I learned over the course of the challenge that one pound of weight lost means 4 pounds of pressure off your knees/ankles. So I lost 60 pounds of pressure off those joints. For me that is HUGE since my fibromyalgia is most prevalent in my legs and lower back.

4) Probably the biggest thing I learned is that I CAN lose the weight. And I do want to lose it. There was a time that I didn't care about being heavy and I didn't want to lose the weight. I am finally to a point that I do want to lose it and I am excited to lose another pants size and get back into all the cute clothes I have from 2 summers ago. I will actually get a new wardrobe without spending any money!

So good things happened all the way around, even though I didn't make the final goal. It just gives me something to work toward as spring starts and summer approaches.

29 and counting

In honor of my last official day as a "twenty-something" and in anticipation of the big 3-0 I thought I would celebrate by sharing 29 things I would like to do before I die, my Bucket List I guess. So, in no particular order, here we go!

1. Visit all 50 States (30 down, 20 to go)
2. Set foot in 6 continents (3 down--North America, Europe, Asia, 3 to go--South America, Africa, Australia)
3. See Mount Rushmore
4. Spend a weekend in Yellowstone National Park
5. Go to Disneyland Tokyo
6. See the Great Wall of China
7. Own a horse
8. Go on a cruise
9. Kiss the Blarney Stone
10. Go on an African Safari
11. See the pyramids in Egypt
12. Work in a family business (my family, but not necessarily run by me)
13. Own a home
14. Plan my daughter's wedding
15. Take a cake decorating class (or two)
16. Save enough to be a half millionaire
17. Take Morgan and Patrick to Europe
18. See the Macy's Day parade live
19. Spend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
20. Count down to the new year in Times Square
21. Finish the baby blanket I have in progress, and start more
22. Go Snuba-ing in Aruba
23. Have a summer cottage/home/time share on the beach
24. Be completely debt free, at least for one day
25. Organize my recipes into the system I have envisioned in my head
26. See a show on Broadway
27. Stand on the Four Corners out west (where 4 states converge in one spot)
28. Go to the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden
29. Sing sweet lullabies to my grandchildren

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to the Not Me! Monday! blog carnival. MckMama hosts this weekly post to be brutally honest about all the things we certainly would never do as parents, wives/husbands, family members, and members of the human race! Feel free to stop over at her site to see what everyone else has NOT been doing (her post this week is hysterical!).

And now...for things that that I most certainly have NOT done in the past week or ever in my lifetime.

I most certainly have never spoken to my husband over the phone while using a public restroom. That would just be a total violation of privacy, not to mention it would probably gross him out.

I have never eaten fruit snacks out of the diaper bag and then told Morgan that there was nothing in the bag to eat. That is literally taking (pseudo) candy from a baby! How rude!

Along the same line, I would never sneak into the kitchen to indulge in a second piece of cake. And I most certainly would never shove the entire piece into my mouth and turn my back when I heard the pitter patter of little feet running quickly toward the kitchen just because I didn't want to share the cake. What kind of lesson would that teach my child?

I have never witnessed Morgan sharing a bite of noodles off her fork with the dog and absolutely would never let her then put the same fork back into her mouth. No not ever!!

I have never heard my boss coming down the hallway and picked up the phone to pretend to be takling to a client. That trick would surely never work, especially not multiple times.

And I have never put off doing the dishes to write about things I don't ever do. Nope, not me!

A Very Sad Day

Today we said goodbye to a huge part of our lives the past two and a half years. Ms. Ellen, Morgan's day care provider, has gotten much sicker and informed us last week that she will not be able to watch the kids anymore due to her deteriorating health. Morgan started going to see Ms. Ellen when she was nine weeks old, on September 5, 2006. She went there for 2 years, 6 months, and 2 days. That short amount of time has amounted to Morgan's entire lifetime, and for me it has felt as if Ellen has always been family. Ellen has survied breast cancer, uterine cancer, metastatic disease (cancer caused from one of her other cancers) in her lungs, and now she is battling metastatic disease once again. Only this time it is in four vertebrae in her spine. Now that the cancer has set in to her bone, it has gotten much more serious, and painful.

Ellen has been undergoing radiation treatments for the past eight days. She has been unable to watch the kids since the first of February. It was very hard for me to hear from her that she cannot watch Morgan anymore. I know it was very hard on her to "give up her kids". She says that's the hardest part. Not the chemo, radiation, intense pain, vomiting, losing of her hair....it's losing her kids that hurts her the most. I can't even type this without crying.

This afternoon Ellen was feeling well enough for a visit from the kids. I picked them up from our house where Anita has been watching them for the past month, and together we made the drive back to Cheat Lake. I couldn't help but feeling a deep sadness as I made the drive there. Not because it would be the last time I would drive there (hopefully) but I knew it was the last time we would "be there". The kids ran in and immediately made themselves right at home. After we were there about 5 minutes, Morgan came running out to the living room. She gave Ellen a huge hug and said "I miss you much". It was so sweet. Ellen immediately began shedding silent tears, and I had to fight hard to hold mine back. Ellen said she missed Morgan much too. We were there about an hour and a half. In that time I could see Ellen's strength fading quickly just trying to interact with the children some. Ellen gathered up Morgan and James' things for me to take home. I tried hard to make it a light-hearted task, but the feeling of heavy sadness was tangible in the room. As I carried things out to the car Ellen said her goodbyes to the kids. Each kid gave her a hug and a kiss. Morgan told Ellen "I love you Ms. Ellen". Ellen had to go to another room so she would not cry in front of the kids. I managed to keep mine in until I was backing out of her driveway.

My heart is heavy tonight. Not simply for my loss. But for Ellen. For all she has gone through and for all that she will continue to go through in this desperate fight against cancer. For the heartache she felt and still feels as she faces reality. For her husband, for her family, and for our family and James' family. This woman has been an angel to my child. She accepted her as one of her own from the very beginning. She has loves Morgan as deeply as we love Morgan. To me she has been a friend, confidant, giver of advice, and a surrogate grandmother, as both of mine are in Heaven. I cannot imagine life without her, and that reality to me has finally hit home. As I backed out of her driveway, I finally had to accept that this was real, happening, and permanent.

If you have a moment, please pray for Ellen. Pray for the kids, as they continue to go through a lot of upheaval in their lives while we try to find a new place for them to go. We hope to keep them together, but that is a slim chance. Pray for all those fighting cancer. And pray for a cure.

Eleven

Today marks the eleventh year that Patrick and I have officially been a "couple". We've been together longer than a lot of Americans have been married! It's hard to believe it has been this long already. We are surging foward into year twelve, looking forward to new memories. Surely the road has not always been smooth, but it has been lots of fun! In honor of today, I wanted to share eleven facts about us and our relationship that you may not know about.

1) Patrick and I met in September 1997. We were introduced by my freshman year roommate, Jessica Rose. At the time, she had a crush on him.

2) Our first date was in January 1998. We went to see Alien Resurrection at the movies.

3) For Valentine's Day that same year (prior to becoming an "exclusive" couple) Patrick treated me to an indoor picnic in his trailer with food from The Italian Oven, complete with a picnic blanket and candles. He's always said he set the bar too high when he planned this!

4) He asked me to be his girlfriend in my dorm room, 5 Dadisman Hall, on March 4, 1998.

5) He asked me to marry him in the above-mentioned trailer on March 14, 2002.

6) Although it was not originally planned this way, our wedding colors were blue and yellow (Patrick always says to match WVU's school colors!). My original hope for a wedding was peach and blue. I couldn't find a pretty bridesmaid dress in peach, so we went with yellow.

7) Patrick gave me a 3 foot tall hand-carved wooden otter statue (which I named Winston) for a wedding gift. I gave him a watch.

8) We went to Disney World for our honeymoon. To celebrate our first anniversary, we went to Virginia Beach (I had a work conference there, so we just extended the trip a little).

9) As an anniversary gift to each other, we purchase season tickets to WVU football games.

10) I have spent every Thanksgiving with Patrick's family since we became a couple. It's been so long I can hardly remember a Thanksgiving when I was NOT at the Tenneys!

11) Tonight we spent the evening together as a family doing something we all love, attending a WVU basketball game. It was a great way to quietly celebrate the day!

My Baby Brother

Happy Birthday to my baby brother, Jeff! Today starts a special week for us, as we remain the same age for one week. Jeff used to say I couldn't boss him around this week because I am not older than him. I always used to remind him that I am ALWAYS older, and thus always in charge!

Here's wishing my only sibling the very best of birthdays. Can't wait to see you this weekend!

On to the Rest of the Story

Last night, at the age of 90, Paul Harvey died. Patrick and I were very sad to hear this, as we used to listen to him on Sunday mornings together. Our generation is the last to know who he is, although I am sure that NPR will continue to play his segmenets for many years to come.

It will be exciting to meet him in Heaven and find out The Rest of the Story.