Romance on our Anniversary?

Well, we celebrated our anniversary in style and went out to eat at a nice Brazilian restaurant.

I've noticed a couple of things that have changed since we met in 2001. We used to go out at 7:30pm for dinner dates and stay out at least until 11:00pm. For our date, we had reservations at 5:00pm! FIVE in the evening? Is this what happens when you age and have kids? We actually finished our meal within the hour...and looked at each other and said let's go home. As I was driving to pick up Eban, I was thinking what a change it was as we would hang out at a restaurant talking and drinking for a long time prior to leaving. Now we simply eat and leave (but we still have good conversations!).

Is this how it is for the rest of our lives now? When we are empty nesters, will we go out to dinner at 7:30pm and stay out late like we used to? I'm just asking these rhetorical questions...that's all! :)

Another side note...when you are 8/9 months pregnant, you can't eat a lot as your stomach is all scrunched up due to the baby taking up so much room...just like one's bladder. As I was eating and eating and eating, I started not feeling well. On the way to pick up Eban, which is hardly 2 miles from the restaurant, I had to pull over and regurgitate my entire fancy meal at the Starbucks. I was so angry because I felt it was a waste of money to go out to a nice restaurant and then I ruined it by eating too much. I was in the bathroom for so long, that I felt obligated to buy something at Starbucks. So I bought a Vitamin Water to hopefully lose the awful taste in my mouth. I'm sure all the patrons knew what I was doing, as I came out of the bathroom with red eyes and I was all sweaty. Man, pregnancy is a delight, isn't it!? :)

Eban has been getting up in the middle of the night lately. We are thinking he's teething again, but of course, we have no clue. If Ryan goes in his room to get him, he sits back down and continues crying. Ryan said it's breaking his heart when Eban does this.

I tell Ryan it's similar when I get Eban from daycare and he cries when he leaves. Anyway, we have his first dentist appointment scheduled for next week. He has eight teeth and loves his electronic, rotating bristle, Seasame Street toothbrush. He loves it so much that when you take it away, half the time he'll cry.

Tomorrow is our third anniversary. My mom was so kind to let me know that I've been pregnant for two of the three years we've been married. That's a nice thought. I'm doing much better than last year at this time. Last year, on August 20th, I woke up and ran and got Ryan's card and gift and gave it to him. I was so proud and happy! Ryan shook his head and opened everything while telling me I had the wrong day...I was celebrating Seamus' birthday instead of our anniversary! He reminded me that our anniversary was on the 22nd. Talk about embarrassing! :)

Other than that, last weekend we went to the Peach Festival in Lafayette, Colorado. We bought a bag of peaches and I made Emeril's peach cobbler. It was SO good. If anyone wants the recipe, let me know and I'll shoot it over to you. Talk about mouth-watering and not lasting long...it just may be my new favorite!

Nani is coming!

Well, we've reviewed many applications through Au Pair International and we've found someone who has agreed to come live with us and be our nanny. Nani (pronounced nanny) will be arriving in late September (hopefully) and she'll help us with the boys as well as be another member of our family. I'm excited to have a female in the house to offset all the testosterone!

She's 18 (almost 19) and from Paraguari, Paraguay. We are thrilled that she accepted our invitation to join our family. She loves soccer so I've already researched soccer leagues in Thornton and she has dreams of becoming a pediatrician. She also wants to learn two more languages! Talk about an achiever...wow. AND she loves to volunteer with kids. I love that about her!

Her birthday is October 24, so please send her a card so she feels like family.

Update as of yesterday

1. Sadie returned! We went outside last night at 9pm and called for her and miraculously, our mean cat answered with a loud meow. She was in the yard next door. She jumped the fence and happily returned. Ryan was thinking we could finally "upgrade" and get a nice cat...oh well, she only likes me and Eban at this point.
2. Eban loves to poke my belly button and giggle. His belly button just isn't as fun as mine which depresses and makes funny shapes. (It's pretty gross).
3. Jackson is continually getting his toe/toes stuck in between my last two ribs. It's quite unenjoyable. I wish I could easily poke them out but instead I have to shove my "buddha" from side to side and hope that they dislodge from their position. I'm sure people stare at me while I do this "funky" maneuver, as it looks as if I'm doing a fat belly dance!
4. I hope to win the lotto tonight!

Miss Murphie

It's taken me awhile to sit down and write this update as I didn't know how to tell people...but my Murphie has gone to doggie heaven (let's hope there's such a thing)!

It happened too quick. She started with a slight cough and over the span of a weekend it progressed so that we were concerned enough to call the vet. They said come in first thing Tuesday morning. This was a week ago today.

We went in and the vet wanted to take x-rays of her chest. The results were perplexing for our vet and she said she wanted us to immediately take her to the ER for animals. Off we went and the ER confirmed terrible news...Murphie had a lemon-sized cancerous tumor on the bottom of her heart so half of her blood was pumping into her heart and the other half into her lungs which was causing all the discomfort. They said we had three options: 1) Open heart surgery followed by chemo to prolong her life by 6 months 2) Inject a needle into her lungs and remove fluid once or twice a week to prolong her life by two or three weeks (but this may cause other damage) or 3) euthanasia. I wasn't prepared to say goodbye...NOT in the least. I asked if she was in pain and the doctor said she was uncomfortable. Therefore, I happily/sadly took her home knowing that I had hours maybe a couple of days left with her.

I slept with her Tuesday night and knew I wanted to give her a "party" of sorts and let her eat anything she wanted for Wednesday. I gave her bologna for breakfast, didn't give her pills, and gave her cereal, etc. She loved it. Seamus loved it too as we couldn't really leave him out. Wednesday night, we ALL had grilled hamburgers which she loved. In the middle of the night on Wednesday, I woke up several times with her as her labored breathing was scaring me. I didn't know if she was in pain or if she was okay with the short heavy breaths. I woke up Ryan saying we needed to go to the ER but when we came back down she was sleeping again.

Thursday morning was awful as that's when we all said goodbye.
She was the best dog...really.

Now we are dealing with a very depressed mastiff who just sits and looks out the back window. He used to look into the house at all the action.

The cat has been extra mean to Seamus as he's been paying more attention to her. And speaking of the cat...she usually goes out with the dogs and comes back in with them but she's been missing for the past 24 hours. I hope she's not out in the neighborhood hunting for Murphie.

So it's been a crappy week of sorts...I wish I had more time to mentally prepare for what happened, but I wasn't given that option. I would happily get another dog but with a baby due in less than two months, the amount of time and energy I'll have wouldn't be fair to the puppy. So we'll have to hold on adding to the family. I think I want a boy dog next as it would be just too hard for me to have another girl...at this stage anyway.

And finally...on another note...one of our cars got egged this morning.