First time in the pool!

First she went in the little pool that I warmed up for an hour or so, then it was time to plunge in the big pool. A girl after my own heart! 80 degrees sounds warm but it felt a bit chilly.

RIP Poncho 1997-2008

I will miss him so very much. He was my constant companion whenever I was home. He would follow me into the bathroom even while I took my shower, sitting on the vanity waiting for me to pet him...He was in the kitchen when I cooked, on the couch or in my lap when I was on the couch, following me down to laundry, out on the porch or on his leash when I went outside etc.

After the downturn on Sunday, and going to the vet, he just got worse every day. I started to force him to eat on Monday, and Tuesday morning, but it was apparent he didn't care to go on. He would just lay there moaning...and last night he crawled under the couch - I think to die...I was able to get him out this morning by wedging Jamies step stool under it when I managed to raise it, thinking he was dead. He was alive, barely...I had an important meeting at 9am in Flem Island so I went and made an appt at the vet for late this afternoon. I sat and held him and cried and said Goodbye, Jamie sat with us for a couple of minutes before we left the house...Mike and I took him together to the vet this afternoon and the Dr agreed - It was time. It was very peaceful...

We decided to share the experience with Jamie as when we got home she asked for Poncho and cried when he wasn't there. We showed Jamie his body and explained that this was Poncho's body and that Poncho was gone. But we had to go into further detail because she knows the word gone in the context of her best friend in daycare Sydney who left the home daycare 2 weeks ago. She is constantly telling us in a very sorrowfilled voice 'Syndey gone' so we had to explain Poncho had died. Not just gone, but died.

Then tonight we did our regular ritual and watched the beginning of a dvd I bought for .50 at a garage sale called Cats & Dogs (we finished Finding Nemo last nite - it was great) and read her "goodnight Moon" and "the Napping book" and we put her down as we always do. Well she was crying like her heart was breaking. Mike went in a couple times, and then I did and rocked her for a while, she was really crying...and she said "Poncho Gone?" "Yes baby Poncho is gone, he died" She calmed down and went immediately to sleep when I put her back in the crib.

Gosh I hope it was Ok to handle it this way...I am so sad.

I think my kitty is dying

Poncho is the last of our three cats, Kimba died in Oct and Katie died 2 years ago at Christmas. Poncho has a kidney stone which was diagnosed a year and half ago and we hve been administering fluids subq (under the skin) three times a week since the diagnosis. The diagnosis came shortly after we got Jamie and we were just leaving for a trip north to see the relatives - Mikes folks in N. Carolina and my dad in Michigan. A friend of mine had been a medic in the army and she felt able to come in and not only feed and scoop poop but irrigate Poncho.

Sunday Poncho had a downturn, he was crying (Yowling) and straining at the litter box, and just lying on his side. So we took him to the vet yesterday and did his bloodwork. The vet said he could live another year or another month or two, that there wasn't really anything we could do and that he wasn't in any pain. So we brought him home. He isn't doing well...I am not so sure he isn't in pain, he doing a lot of yowling and not much of anything else. I force fed him by syringe last night this morning...but I hesitate to do it tonight. I think he wants to go. I have an important meeting first thing in the morning, I think I will come home from that and if he is still so bad, I will take him in. This is so hard.

Crib diving

OK so last night we heard Jamie thump thump thumping like we often do when she is in her crib, when we checked her at 11 before I went to bed she was sleeping in a hole, she had broken one of the supports by jumping and the crib was slanted quite a bit towards the wall. I laid down with her in bed while Mike fixed the crib.

Tonight there was a loud THWACK!! -she had climbed out and landed smack dab on her head...pretty big bump but otherwise ok. After tears and snuggles and a bit of a session with an ice pack on her forehead we just put her back to bed with piles of pillows and comforters next to the crib.

Does this mean we should get her a toddler bed now? Or should we wait and see...I can't believe my baby is turning into such a big girl!

Parks and Fun with Jamie

Jamies New Push Buggy

Choo Choo

First Pony Ride


Park between Rain Showers


We have been having so much fun. Yes we both went back to work last week which was tough, especially since I had a work event on Friday night which kept me away from my family until 10pm. Last weekend we went to Kids Kampus and on the way it was pouring rain. We almost turned back but after we crossed the river the rain slowed and when we pulled up it stopped. So we grabbed the trusty towel I keep in the Mommy van for just this purpose and played in puddles and wiped down the playground equipment for Jamie to use. SHe got soaked anyway, and when we left it started raining again.

Then this weekend, on Saturday morning first thing, we went to a garage sale where this lady was holding a Push Buggy I had found on Craigs List...We got it for only $15 and it should be good for another year or so. We found a park down there in that part of town, but not until we tried to pull into the YMCA where they were having some sort of carnival and we were waiting for this lady to back out onto the road...and she backed right into someones car who didn't notice her backing out...MIke was mortified, he felt guilty that he didn't honk the horn. Too bad I wasnt driving, I never forget to honk the horn. Anyway we found another park and we played and rode her new buggy and she even tried out a battery powered car these folks had just bought for their 2 year old. Very cool, but is that necessary do you think? I like the idea of the Push Buggy - let me have the control while I can! Mike got to fly his kite for a bit but it really wasn't windy enough.

Then we went further down the road in search of food really, we were going to go to Q..znos because we had a Entertainment book coupon for $5 off with the purchase of $5 in food. On the way we saw another carnival at an elementary school and it had ponies and other farm animals as well as a Bounce House and a small train. We stopped and it was a fund raiser for this public elementary school. Tickets were Four for a Dollar and most of the stuff cost four tickets - even the Pony ride, bounce house and Train ride. Well we do enough bounce houses at no charge and Jamie had never been on a pony or a train. We did the Pony first and she like it, but there wasn't a meltdown like there is when we take her off the carousal horses...maybe she was a bit intimidated? There were lots of animals right there where we got off the pony so maybe that was it. Baby rabbits, chicks, goats,ducks and a baby pig all there to pet and touch.

Then we put her on the train ride, it was so cute, this guy had fixed up a lawn tractor to look like a train, and taken barrels and cut them and painted them and put on wheels for the little kids to ride in. After the train ride I asked her 'Which do you want to do again? Pony ride or Train?" And she Picked the pony ride. She cried a bit when we went to leave, but nothing like the melt down she has exhibited both times after the carousal ride.

Then we went to Q...znos. Do you think it's right that they change the offer of the coupon? They had a sign up that said 'Because everything has gone up so much in cost we need you to purchase a drink and chips to get the $5 off.' What a rip...Well i had just seen that clip on Negotiating for what you want, and I offered to buy 2 large subs to get the $5 off - In other words to spend $20 to save $5. It was turned down the first time, but not the second. I just can't see buying chips and a drink when you have that at home. So that is my rant about using coupons.

Anyway life is grand, wish I could take another week off soon with my girl.

Jamie's Spring Break

Spring break

Well my Mom was here for a visit - she stayed a week and left Friday at 8pm to drive back to Clearwater. Why 8pm you say? Well she had brought her cat Kiwi because she didn't want to leave her alone so soon after her boy cat Corky died. Anyway, Kiwi wouldn't come out from under the bed so I went up there with Mike and we attempted to get her. After 20 minutes of struggle, in which we moved furniture while wearing socks on my arms, I was bitten right through the sock- quite a painful puncture wound. So we gave up, and Mom spent the next 7 hours sitting up there waiting for her to come out, which finally happened at 8pm at which time she left. ( We had taken Jamie to the Mall play area to get her wiggles out so we were quite surprised to see that she had left that late to drive 5 hours home!)

She thinks she found a place that she can move in here in Jacksonville, but she still needs to sell her mobile home and that may not be doable so quickly.