Musings by Melissa

While discussing with some of my friends the saga concerning Scout, I realized that I was not the only person who had never considered how to obtain a urine sample from a dog.

When the vet told me they needed a “first morning urine sample, and you need to have the sample to us within 30 minutes of when it was given,” I almost panicked. 

I had no idea how to do that.  Oh, I suppose I had an idea all right, and that’s what scared me!  But as it turned out, obtaining a sample wasn’t nearly as bad as reading testoripped reviews!

Since I needed to do this first thing in the morning, I knew Scout would have to go pretty bad.  This is a good thing. 

Rather than let him run out the door to do his business, I put him on his leash and walked him to a favorite bush.  In my hands I held a plastic bucket that had once housed a gallon of ice cream.  On my feet I wore big rubber boots… just in case!

I could tell Scout thought it odd that I would go stand in a snowbank with him at 7:00 in the morning.  But he had to go so badly, that he didn’t care.  He lifted his leg.  I put the bucket under him, and I breathed a sign of relieve as I heard the beautiful sound of liquid hitting plastic!  ~smile~

He finished.  I put the cover on the bucket, and away I went to the vet.

It wasn’t that bad.  I didn’t even need the big rubber boots!

So, if you ever need to obtain a “sample,” don’t fret.  If I can do it, you can do it, too!

Scout is about seven years old, give or take a year.  We got him from the pound so we’re not quite sure of his age.  He’s a mostly golden retriever in good health.  Last week we took him in for his annual physical.  $180 later, we left with heartworm preventative for another year.

Well, the very next day Scout had an accident.  Scout hasn’t had an accident since the first day or two after we adopted him.  This puzzled us.  We cleaned it up, and wondered what might be up.  I noticed he was drinking more, and thought maybe it was a side effect of one of the shots the vet had given him.  A couple days later, he had another accident.

This is not typical for Scout.  So, I knew something was up.  The “side effect” wasn’t getting any better.

So, in less than a week, I called the vet again.  They wanted a urine sample.  Yup, $107 later my suspicions were confirmed.  Scout has a urinary tract infection and vets are expensive!

We spent almost $300 in two weeks on vet bills for a dog! 

In all honesty, the vet himself wasn’t that expensive.  It was the meds that really added up fast.  Needless to say, those two bills put a dent in our budget for the month.  So much for signing up for a couple nights with Nags Head vacation rentals!  ~smile~

Well, we haven’t broken the bank yet.  We’re still moving forward with our travel plans for the year.  But we’re hoping Scout’s visits to the vet are done for the year!

I am the proud mother of two boys and one girl.  Our daughter is the middle child, and she has to put up with the many antics of… BOYS!  There are times when she just wants to have a tea party, but the only tea party they are interested in is one that would involve Indians, the British, and Boston!

Take tonight, for example, we were putting up our Christmas tree.  Most people probably put up their tree to Bing Cosby singing “Silent Night.”  Not this family.  Carl had made some new “guns” out of k’nex, and they were blasting away…  boom, boom, boom, boom. 

So much for Silent Night.

I told them to put silencers on their weapons.   As the silencers went, “click,” I knew that my ears would soon get a much-needed break.

And so, our Christmas tree is up, the boys are in bed, and the silence of Christmas time fills the home.

Ahhhh….

Now that Carl is a teen, I’m constantly being reminded of things I went through or experienced.  Or if I didn’t go through them, people I knew did.  Things like trying to plan for the future.  What do I want to be when I grow up?  (I still haven’t decided that one!)  Is college for me?  If so, what college?  What should I study?  Who should I date?  When should I marry?  Lots of big decisions need to be thought through during the teen years.

But the teen years can also be a time of physical changes.  With puberty comes changing bodies.  Voices lower (or squeak!).  Bodies develop.  Deoderant needs to be purchased. Maybe blackhead treatment needs to be looked into.

Mentally and intellectually things are clicking.  What teens always took to be true they often challenge.  (And I thought the “whys” were done when my kid turned four!) 

What a joy it is to watch our kids change from children into young adults!  Although I must admit, I’m glad I’m not the one going through puberty.  BTDT!

I haven’t posted very often because we’ve been rather busy lately.  One of the reasons for our busy-ness is that Wayne’s Dad has been in ICU for two weeks.  So, we’ve been back and forth to the hospital countless times.  He’s not doing well.  He’s fighting pneumonia, ARDS, and septic shock.  (I think that’s what the doctors called it.)  His prognosis is rather grim.  He’s completely sedated and on a ventilator.

But the nursing staff and his doctors have been great.  Wayne and I were invited to listen in as rounds were done the other day.  It was difficult for us to tell just by looking at their medical scrubs who was the doctor, who was a nurse, and who were the students!  But the doctor’s identity quickly became apparent.  After rounds she invited the family into a meeting where she took well over an hour explaining things to us until she was pretty sure that we all understood what was going on with Dad.

He is scheduled for a tracheostomy tomorrow (Friday).  It will probably be in the late afternoon/early evening.  That will be the next obsticle for him to overcome.

Well, my boys are back.  Wayne and Carl spent some time with my Dad in the woods just south of Traverse City.  They were hoping to fill the freezer, but alas, the deer are still alive and well.  They saw two doe on opening day, but that was it.  It doesn’t matter whether or not someone has the latest gadget, the best camo, or accurate rifle scopes, if there are no deer, the freezer will remain empty.

However, for my boys it’s not so much about filling the freezer as it is about spending time together and just getting away.  Let’s just say that the local Ponderosa profits nicely during November!

The other day I stumbled across a website that showed practical jokes being played on unsuspecting people.  Maybe you’ve seen similar clips.  I enjoyed the clips of the waterbed shoppers who plopped down onto a waterbed that had a huge hole in it.  They were all instantly drenched.

Or the poor people who step into a port-a-potty.  While they are inside, a crew places a “pod” on the other side of the door.  The pod is carpeted with a table and chairs.  And it’s full of people in suits having a business meeting.  When the person in the port-a-potty emerges, they find themselves walking in on a business meeting that’s full of people giving them dirty looks for interrupting their important meeting.  The bewildered potty users don’t know where to go.  After all, they can’t exactly use the back entrance to the port-a-potty!

My own practical jokes pale in comparison, but every April Fool’s Day, I usually get somebody with my tried and true prank of putting a rubber band around the sprayer on the kitchen faucet.  Someone always gets a bit wet when they turn on the water.  I’m just waiting for the year in which I’m the one who gets the soaking! 

Practical jokes… oh they bring back so many fun memories!

Anyone who knows me even remotely knows that I’m not a shopper.  I will run in for what I need, and then I’m done.  Wandering through the mall as something to do is, well, something I’d never do!

But this last week did find me in a local mall.  Someone had a good sale on shoes, and with three kidlets it seems like someone always needs a pair of shoes.  So, away we went.  Now, because of my aversion to shopping, my kids have spent very little time in malls.  Our oldest is almost 14, and I think he’s still in awe of escalators.  I’m not sure if my youngest (age 6) has ever been on one.  I know.  I’m depraving my children of a typical American upbringing. 

Anyway, we get to the mall, and their eyes get big.  My eyes zero in on the store where we need to go, but the kidlets are taking in everything.  (Thankfully, this mall had no glaring Victoria Secret postors!)  As we walked past the jewelry store, Justin couldn’t believe all the diamond engagement rings!  He was amazed by the bigness of the place.  (Poor kid.  I guess he’s only been exposed to the bigness of God’s beautiful creation!)

After trying on what seemed to be a million pairs of shoes, the kids all decided that their old shoes were by far the most comfortable.  So, we loaded up the van and headed back for home. 

And no, we didn’t browse the rest of the mall.  I think maybe I’ll save that for a day when I’m feeling very brave…

Well, September 18, 2010 has come and gone and the planning committee of Women in the Outdoors is alive and recovering.  I’m pretty sure the ladies who attended the event had a decent enough time, but for those of us working behind the scenes, stress and hair loss could pretty much sum up the day!  Ugh!

The weather forecast was not good.  Rain.  Rain.  Rain.  And it did.  But we’re used to rain.  Every year it rains on our OUTDOOR event.  So, we bring all the raingear we can find from home to try to ensure that everyone there has at least an umbrella.

So, we get into the clubhouse.  The light switches are in a locked utility closet, but not to worry.  The guy said he’d leave the door unlocked for us.  Nope.  I’m not sure what happened there, but we got to set up in the dark and the guests got to sit in the dark for way too long while we waited for someone with a key to turn on the lights.

The day prior to the event we had three instructors bail on us.  Of course, they all had excuses, but still…

Four days prior to the event our support staff, including our cooks, bailed.  I never heard an excuse from them.  Ugh…

The day of the event two instructors never showed up.  They never called.  They just didn’t show.  Hmmm….  What to do with 10 ladies who are sitting in front of me wanting to learn self-defense?!?  Ugh…

Yeah, we survived.  It wasn’t pretty from our point of view.  But we got through the day anyway.

I’m just glad it’s over.

After waking up, showering, and spending some time reading and praying, I checked my email and Facebook.  Then it was time to start the day.

Today was a bit different than most days because tomorrow is our Women in the Outdoors event, and I had to make four dozen cupcakes and cheesy potatoes for about fifty people. 

But before I started that, I got a bunch of apples peeled sliced, and simmering.  I was going to can the resulting applesauce, but it seems a bit tart.  So, I think I’ll buy some super-sweet apples to add to it so that I don’t have to add sugar to my applesauce.  So, the applesauce is waiting for a bit of natural sweetener.  ~smile~

After breakfast, I started school with the kidlets.  We got through all the tough subjects.  Reading, spelling, Spanish, and math.

Then it was on to sorting through my daily box of stuff in the garage.  I figure if I do one box a day, eventually it’ll get done, right?!?

I helped Justin shoot his bow for awhile.

Then it was back upstairs to frost the cupcakes.  While I was doing that, the kids were watching a science video about pimples.  No, it didn’t mention www.getacnetreatments.com, but it did teach them how pimples form and how to try to prevent them.

After writing a couple emails, I decided to sit down and write a blog.  So, here I am.  The house is picked up and ready for Wayne’s arrival home from his Canadian fishing trip.

Dinner is in the crockpot.

And I’m waiting for a phone call to come get him.

I can’t wait.  I’ve missed my hubby!