Roosevelt Island

Between Virginia and DC, in the middle of the Potomac River, sits a small island. Frank and I couldn't decide if it was in VA or DC, but we decided it doesn't matter anyway since it is federal land.

Theodore Roosevelt Island is a living memorial to the conservationist President. There is large statue of him in the midst of a few fountains and pillars with his quotes.

The woods on the island are pretty dense, but the foot paths are wide. On occasion we've seen wildlife, but the day we went it was too cold for critters.

Well, some critters. Hamilton came with us, he didn't seem to mind the cold.

Such a fun little adventure, right outside our doorstep! I highly recommend it, and while we've seen strollers there I would suggest using a carrier - the terrain is uneven and there are plenty of muddy areas...I'd hate to try to clean off a stroller after a jaunt around the island.

William

Rutledge has a new home, and a new name; William.

He lives on Capitol Hill now, and is having a ball! His new owner is a sweet woman who loves bassets and has quite the resume for it. She has worked with every basset rescue group in the region, as well as a handful of general canine rescue groups. She has owned many bassets, usually adopting them in old age, so she knows all of the ins and outs of basset ownership.

William lives only a couple of blocks from a fantastic dog park, has a 3yr old yellow lab for a roommate, and has already been on two weekend field trips to the dog beach and a house full of bassets (House of Puddles)! I'm pretty sure he has completely forgotten about us, and that is ok.
Our decision to re-home him has been affirmed for us in many ways, the biggest of which is Hamilton's health and happiness. It was almost immediately noticeable, Hamilton is so much better off as the only dog. He is happier, healthier, and more interactive than he's been since we first brought Rutledge home.

I still miss Rutledge/William, especially because he was so snuggly, but life is much better here now that he is gone. I can handle walking Hamilton and pushing a stroller by myself, I never could have managed two dogs and a stroller. Hamilton likes to sleep in on weekends, so when Henry allows it, too, everyone gets the extra rest. Hamilton has become more loving with us, and spends more time in the room with us rather than away from everyone in another room like he used to do. William already has, and will continue to have an awesome life on the Hill, and now Hamilton will get that same chance at a happy long life with us.

Thanks for the snuggles, R, you're a sweet dog and I'll always love you!

A Boy and His Dog

We've been going on a few family walks lately, what with the weather starting to cool down below "surface of the sun" and all. The BOB stroller has been a huge hit with everyone, and it gives us a chance to get Little Man out for some fresh air.

Little Man has also decided that Hamilton is the most interesting, and hilarious thing he has ever seen! When we go for walks he just stares at Hamilton the entire time. When we are at home, LM will start to smile and laugh any time that Hamilton gets close enough. It is so fun to watch them interact!

We're still a ways away from them having a two-way relationship (Hamilton is not nearly as fond of LM at the moment), but it is fun to look ahead to how their dynamic will shift and change over the coming years.

For now, just getting them both in the picture is still a challenge!

Tears

I've had lots of tears lately, between the childcare issue and the dogs there has been plenty to bring on the waterworks.

We've not found the right fit for a nanny yet, but we're still looking and trying very hard. Grammie isn't complaining about her duties, but I do wonder when Paco is going to pipe up and ask for his wife back...

The search continues and we're doing our best to trust in God's perfect plan. We know that He knows who we need, sometimes we just act like we forgot and get a little wrapped up in making it happen on our time. And by 'we' I mostly mean 'me.'

Now, the dogs. Hamilton is still very sick and we've had to come to a very difficult decision regarding him and his health. We're not putting him down, but we are going to find a new home for Rutledge.

Unfortunately for us, Rutledge is an extremely large (I'd say the single largest) source of stress for Hamilton and in his condition, stress = sickness. If we were talking about Hamilton just being annoyed and grumpy, well, he'd have to get over it, but with Addisons, Hamilton being stressed means that he doesn't eat, won't take his meds, gets dehydrated, has accidents, gets eye infections, looses fur, and has ungodly gastro-intestinal issues. So you see our problem. If we keep both dogs, Hamilton's life will be short and miserable.

The good news is that I've heard from a handful of families who think Rutledge would be a fantastic fit for them! While it is heartbreaking and I often have cried while talking to these families, it does make me happy to imagine Rutledge living in a house with 3 or 4 kids running around and loving on him! In our house, Rutledge is often being fussed at for bothering Hamilton, and that isn't fair to him because he is a puppy and he just wants to play and be loved! We'll be sad to see him go, but I know he will have a better situation in a house where he gets to be happy and rambunctious, that is until his basset switch flips and he just sleeps all day.

So, there have been and will likely be lots more tears around here, but we're doing our best to keep chugging along and seeking God's will for our lives, and even our pets' lives. I keep reminding myself that this isn't just about us 'losing' a pet, this is about a family getting a pet that they will love for years to come.

I'll keep you posted on our decision with Rutledge, and of course on Hamilton and his condition.

Movin' on Up

Little Man is getting too big for his infant swing, and I'm tired of him just layin' around all day. He does tummy time and has play time on his back, but I decided it was time to find a way to have him upright without being held.

Enter the jumper!

He isn't jumping yet, but he does seem to be aware of his movements. He leans forward, using his arms to hold his head up, and kicks his feet now and then. Little Man's ever watchful guard-dog, Hamilton, was quite interested.

I think he likes it! And I like that he isn't just laying on his back all day! He looks so tiny in it right now, but give it a couple of months and he'll be filling it out, and I won't be able to get a good picture because he'll be bouncing so much.

A little more head control and we'll put away the swing and replace it with his stationary jumper/play saucer. So fun!

Dogs? What dogs?

We still have dogs, right?

I'm kidding! Of course we still have the dogs, and we love them very much (except for when Rutledge chews on stuff...then it is questionable).

The hounds are happy and healthy and are adjusting to life with a baby quite well. They tend to leave him be, but are pretty interested in his stuff. Seems that my diaper bag and LM's car seat are the favorite targets so far.

As we've suddenly entered the dog days of summer - a bit prematurely, especially considering that winter lasted most of way through April - they are happy just to get to take a nap in the AC after spending a morning outside.

We love you hounds, we just wish you didn't smell quite so bad.

Wordless Wednesday: Too Tired To Move

Snow Day

It snowed last night, big time. Not as big time as the snowpocalypses of last winter, but enough that it took me more than 3 hours to get home and it took Frank nearly 4 hours to get home.

The good thing about this storm is that I have gotten to stay home today, and the hounds enjoy playing in the snow!




I'm not looking forward to the part where our back yard become a giant mud pit....but for now I'll just enjoy sending the hounds out to play in the snow.

Wordless Wednesday

Hamilton's Progress

Hamilton had his yearly vet check up this past weekend and came away with a clean bill of health! He has regained the weight he lost during his Addison's episode, and the vet said that if she didn't know he had it she wouldn't suspect it from the exam.

We're happy that our elder hound is back to being healthy, and that the steroids are working! Now we'll order his hormones and start that daily pill at the end of the month. Lucky for us, Hamilton is a champ when it comes to taking pills - he gets his steroid every morning, and has been taking 2 benedryl at every meal for over a year now, with no complaints! Just drop it in his food bowl and he'll eat it!

So, we'll still be watching him as we switch him to oral hormone therapy but at least we know that his condition can be managed.

The vet said that she didn't see any reason that Hamilton wouldn't live a full long basset life as long as we keep his condition under control. Hooray!

Hamilton

Frank just got off the phone with the vet, and she is on board with the Florinef course of treatment. She has never used it before, but as it is a much more affordable option and doesn't require a monthly trip to the vet for injections (or WORSE, us learning to give him injections at home) we're going for it.

She wants us to do some research, along with her, about the potential side effects and different issues that can arise. She specifically mentioned monitoring H's electrolytes and also adding salt to his diet to help him remain hydrated. While I'm not sure how to monitor electrolytes yet, I did already begin to add salt to his food last night.

There are some great websites with information on dogs with Addison's and ways that we as owners can help to manage the disease. I'm so grateful for that! I feel like I have some direction and some things to try, and I don't feel like my world is crashing in on me (which is how I felt last night). I have every intention of doing my best to care for our dog and to simultaneously be a good steward of our finances - it will be a delicate balance, but we'll find it!

As for Hamilton, he seems to be doing better already. He certainly isn't 100% yet, but he is better. More interested in food, more wagging of the tail, responding to our voices and to treats - we're on the right path.

We've increased his steroid dosage, per our vet, and will keep them at an elevated dosage until he is back to normal. He'll eventually be back down to just 1/4 pill each morning.

I'm still not happy to find out that my darling hound has a disease that has no cure, but I'm grateful that we discovered it before it hit a 'crisis' level and that there are treatment options that won't bankrupt us or force us to make a really difficult decision.

Bummer

***So, I thought it was cute that H was so tired out from hangin' with other dogs all weekend but it turns out that he is a very sick hound. Frank and I have spent a combined 3 hours (and lots of money) at the vet today and the preliminary diagnosis is Addison's Disease.

It is something that H will have for the rest of his life and we're currently working on figuring out how to best manage his disease once he is back to full health. Right now he is about 8-10lbs underweight and not terribly interested in food, which makes gaining those pounds back more difficult. He was very dehydrated, but has had IV fluids and we're making sure he is drinking water at home. H is getting specialty meals, though this evening he managed to pick out the hunks of chicken and leave the rice and kibble in the bowl...stinker.

I'll keep the blog posted on his status, but for now we're waiting for final tests to come back and for the steroids to kick in (help his appetite and also help with the adrenaline deficiency). We're lucky that we caught the symptoms before he got worse, this disease can be fatal if left untreated and they go into shock.

Lots of TLC and treats for now, and hopefully we'll have him back to normal soon!***


What happens when you board your two hounds with three other dogs for a long weekend? They sleep.

We don't usually cover the hounds with blankets, but we turned the heat down while we were gone so the house was still a bit chilly when they came home. It is cute, though, isn't it?!

I'm Excited About: Sleep

We had a small victory last night - we slept!

We've been trying different things to get Rutledge to sleep peacefully through the night and last night I decided that we would let both dogs stay on the bed in the living room and see how it goes. The big risk was that R tends to be a bit destructive when left uncrated (mostly trash, paper, and occasionally electrical wires), but we were getting desperate.

Frank and I went up to bed and left the hounds snuggled on their bed. No one got up to follow us, no one wandered up to whine at our door, it seemed to be working!

At 2am I woke up to whining. But it wasn't Rutledge, it was Hamilton! He was whining at the back door because he needed to go out. I let both dogs out, picked up the piece of junk mail that R had begun to demolish, and then brought them back in and sent them to the basement. I crated R and had H snuggle into his bed, then went back upstairs and....SLEPT UNTIL MY ALARM WENT OFF AT 7:04AM.

So, it wasn't a total victory as I did have to get up at 2, but I am sure I was back asleep by 2:15 and then slept for nearly 5 more hours.

We know that R still gets into trouble when left unattended, but at least we got some reasonable sleep last night!

Puppy Problems

Our younger hound, Rutledge, has an annoying habit of not wanting to go to bed and then waking up well before 7am in a PANIC each morning. It is pretty annoying, especially when he throws in the 3 or 4am panic attack just for kicks.

He is still crated at night and when we're not home, and this is for the sake of our possessions. We left him uncrated a few nights ago and woke up to a total mess in the basement. He had chewed on everything he could get his little paws on, from paper to a gatorade bottle and a CD case. Basically, he proved to us that he isn't ready to sleep out in the open with Hamilton.

So, tonight I devised a plan. It is too cold and windy for Frank to take them for a walk, and keeping him awake is pretty labor intensive for us, so we've turned to raw hide.

For some reason, Rutledge takes hours to chew down a raw hide. Many, many, many hours, like days. So, here we sit enjoying some Monday Night Football while our little hound chews away at the raw hide that I gave to him 2 hours ago - he's barely made a dent. We're really hoping that this solution will help him to stay awake until bed time, and wear him out just enough that he'll both fall asleep quickly and stay asleep for the night.

Hamilton had a raw hide, too, but he is a big boy and therefore his treat was gone within an hour of giving it to him. Now he is just pacing the living room trying to figure out how to swindle Rutledge's raw hide away from him. Good luck, H, but since it is our precious sleep on the line I don't think you'll be very successful.

If this plan works, we should be able to use one raw hide for at least a week with R and hopefully we'll all sleep better for it.

Happy Birthday Hound!

Happy 2nd birthday Hamilton! We love you!

Waiting

I'm waiting for:

1. The anti-bark collar we ordered for Hamilton. It sprays citronella at his face when he barks. This would be mean if he only barked to come inside, go outside, alert us to something, etc, but he doesn't do that. He stands in the back yard and barks at (wait for it.....) NOTHING. So, yeah, he's getting an anti-bark collar.

2. The prong collars we ordered for both hounds. These are the ones that look mean and scary, but in reality are perfectly safe (when used properly) and are a great training tool. The hounds have to learn to walk like gentlemen on their leash if preggo me is going to be able to walk them, not to mention being able to walk them with a baby strapped to my chest/in a stroller.

3. My bumper form I ordered this week. I decided a little while ago that I would be making my own crib bedding, and since I have the bumper fabric picked out all I'm waiting for is the form (stuffing). I still need the complimentary fabric, but that will have to wait.

4. Our 20 week anatomy scan next Friday. We aren't finding out the sex of the baby, but it will be nice to see the little one again!

5. And finally, our first day care tour and interview. I stumbled upon a place pretty close by to our house and we're going to check it out next week. The wait list isn't too long, actually seems to be just about right for our due date and my return to work!

I Fixed It!

For some reason I really enjoy fixing things and/or putting things together. Whenever we buy a bookshelf or other piece of furniture from Ikea, I can't wait to put it together! Our couch even came in pieces from the distributor and I had a blast working with Frank to get it all fixed up.

I have no explanation for my love of constructing and fixing things, it is just something that is part of me.

There is a bowl in our kitchen that has a chip in it - I have saved the chip and am waiting/trying to remember to buy the right kind of glue so that I can replace it. I'll be so happy when it happens!

Yesterday, I fixed a lamp. It wasn't terribly difficult or exciting, except that in my last two attempts to fix the lamp I've blown the fuse for the entire first floor of our home. Oops. But, I tried it again last night - did a little more thinking, and was able to come up with a solution that accomplished two things: 1. I didn't not lose power on the first floor of our home when I plugged it in. 2. The light came on when I flipped the switch!

I am quite proud of myself, and rode the high of having accomplished this task for most of last night. Yay me!

Now, if any puppy of mine decides to chew on a wire again - my hope is that it will be a live wire this time and puppy will learn his lesson on his own. That is how the first one figured it out, and he doesn't seem too terribly affected by the ordeal!

Visitors

We have two friends staying with us for a little while - one is a person and one is the sweetest, most well-behaved golden retriever you've ever met! We're happy to have both of them here, and I think even the hounds are learning to enjoy sharing their space!

Here is Hamilton (the non-snuggly one) hanging on his bed with Ms Milly (also not much of a snuggler, at least with other dogs) - both being very careful to have no contact with each other. Its like a jr. high dance on that dog bed!


We're hoping the hounds will pick up some of Milly's good manners while she is here. No luck so far, but we've got time.


I didn't want to leave the little dude out, so here is a gratuitous (and weird) picture of Rutledge.

Puppy Visit

We have a third dog this week! Can you count all three in this picture?


This is Canela, the Finnish Spitz. Her owners are in Hungary for the week so she is hanging with us. She and Hamilton are good friends, Rutledge is a little too friendly with her, which she doesn't really care for...

Frisbee, Softball, and Hounds - Oh My!

Frank is taking the Bar, RIGHT NOW. So, please take a moment to pray for him (to remember what he studied, to have a calm heart and mind, to be filled with peace, not to get hungry mid-test, whatever strikes your fancy)

That also means that I'm flying solo until Thursday. The puppies and I are on our own, and we miss him already.

This is a busy week for me anyway - Frisbee last night, softball tonight, frisbee again on Wednesday - but throw in two hungry pups and things get crazy. Luckily, I have awesome friends that are willing to help calm the chaos. The hounds have midday playdates set up today and tomorrow and I'm trying to tire them out from the start.

This morning they woke up about 15 minutes before my alarm went off (thanks, R) so I went ahead and got up to let them out. Since it was just before 7am, we hung out downstairs for a little while and then went on a 20 minute walk. When we got back they had breakfast and played outside while I got ready for work.

We were so productive that I not only got to eat breakfast, but I also had time to do a quick clean up in the bathroom, and empty the trashcans in the house and take out the trash! Oh, and I ran a load of laundry last night and had time to put it away this morning. I'm awesome.

We'll take another walk when I get home tonight, and then lather, rinse, repeat tomorrow.

I know the hounds will be thrilled to see Frank on Thursday, but I think I'll be the happiest!