Yeah Simon!

It's amazing what a couple of doses of antibiotics can do. Simon has stopped having seizures and is walking around and wagging his tail. He's still not terribly active, but this is such a huge improvement.
He was dropped off at the shelter on January 19th and we adopted him and his brother and the 21st. Simon started having seizures on the 25th. I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn't adopted him so soon. If the people at the shelter had witnessed his seizures, or his post-ictal state, he probably would have been put to sleep. Instead, a careful ear cleaning and medical care have really helped him.

And even better, Chloe slept in her own room last night. It was good to see her so at ease about the dogs.

Puppy drama

All is not well in puppy world. Our calm and placid dog starting having seizures Saturday. Thankfully we got right in to the vet. I didn't realize that an ear infection can cause a seizure. We started him off on some ear drops and thought that might be the end of it. He has since had several more. It's a benefit going to the same church as your vet, because when I saw her today I told her what was going on and she told me she would draw some blood and try to see in his ears (they were horribly swollen from the infection). She is still thinking that this might be ear infection related and he might need more meds, but we'll see what happens.

I just feel so sorry for him! And poor Chloe is a bit traumatized, but in a good way - she feels so badly for him and wants him to be OK. She slept in the living room last night and is planning on sleeping there tonight in order to be available in case he has another seizure. I told her that she wouldn't be able to do much to help him, since he would need to ride out the seizure. But Chloe just wanted to be there to comfort him. What a sweetie!

Chloe wants to be a vet someday, so I thought getting pets would help her get some practice. I had no idea that she would get this much information so soon!

Welcome to the world, Hailey Rae

I have a new niece, born on Thursday. The funny thing is, my children have two Aunt Jennifers. One gave birth Thursday and the other one was due on Thursday. So when I told them about their new cousin and her name, one of them said "I thought she was going to be named Caroline". Oops! So welcome, Hailey, to our family and hopefully we'll get to meet you soon!

When judges are Beatles fans

I love it when legal papers get funny. Here, a judge gives a talking down to a kid who needed a musical lesson. Enjoy!

Our new puppies!

OK, they're not totally puppies, they're 3 year old Schnauzers. We found them at a shelter in St. Charles. We'd talked for a long time about getting a dog, or two. On Monday, I was looking at pics of dogs available in our local area. They didn't have Schnauzers, so I did a search for Schnauzers and found these adorable brothers. They are great! They're sweet, cuddly, and love to have fun. The kids are really so happy that we have them, and nothing says love like having a sweet pair of dogs to treat you like a hero just for coming home from work.
They came with names already, which they don't totally respond to. We've thought about changing their names, and "Walker" and "Texas Ranger" are in the lead so far.

Bits and Pieces

We're halfway through January and classes are about to start. Thankfully we have a three day weekend so I can get caught up on life and actually get online.
I've had to chase the kids off my puter because they've all fallen in love with the internet and they all have internet lives and identities. Kinda scary! But I monitor what they're doing and it's all good.

Missed Angel Food this morning and I felt a little guilty about it, but it's the first time I've missed helping.

Chris' birthday is the 28th and I haven't found the one thing I'm planning on getting him, so I might have to change tactics. I should have ordered it online!

My new niece is due any day!!! I am so excited!!!

It is so damn cold here that I'm REALLY missing Texas!!! And that takes some doing. Every time I miss Dallas I take a deep breath and look outside - no pollution :) Then I go on my 10 minute commute and smile.

I guess this is my ADHD post - maybe it is contagious? Maybe I just need a little chemical help. Or a nice stiff drink ;)

Good things in my life right now:
Dad is improving!
Kids aren't killing each other
My living room is actually clean and presentable (or at least it was 10 minutes ago)
This semester should be easier than last semester.

Bad things:
Classes start this week and I'm NOT ready yet!
Still too much extended family drama
It's COLD

The Original Human TETRIS Performance by Guillaume Reymond

How cool is this!

It's good to be independent

I heard on NPR tonight that most registered independent voters are basically choosing between McCain and Obama. I thought that was great, because I've felt strange that my two favorites were from opposite parties.

I've always liked McCain, and he's seemed typify the idea that the more extreme candidates are the ones who get the nomination. He's usually down the middle on a lot of issues, and that just works against you when you're running in the primaries. It's one of the reasons I hate the party system that we have. I have found myself on the Republican side for a while because my goals and beliefs seemed to be best aligned with those goals. I support lower government interference, greater power for the states than the federal government, and decreased taxes. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has failed miserably on the first two counts.

The Republicans are finally starting to recognize the problems with the environment, which used to be the one thing that really drove me towards the left. I've been recycling since junior high, and it only seems natural to try to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and to find better ways to protect the environment. But I think we need a huge change from the direction our country is headed.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Happy New Year!!!

We did absolutely nothing last night and it was wonderful ;) Because last year had so many problems, I was really thinking of doing something to mark the end of the year. After thinking about what to do, and not finding anything really fitting, I thought that just letting the old year slip into obscurity was probably the best idea.

This year, I'm trying not to make any binding resolutions. I pledge to be healthier, to stay in better contact with friends, and to keep life more balanced. Vague enough? I think so!