Furry Friday: Pretty Boy Snacking

It's no secret that Riley loves to eat, or hang out in Jayson's room, or do both at the same time.  We do limit snacks in the baby's room however, we're not a huge fan of food upstairs on the carpet.  With that being said, here are some recent shots of Riley sitting pretty in Jayson's room, drawn to something out the window.  I'm also sharing a video of Riley and his best bud sharing snacks after daycare.   It started when Jayson was using a walker. Jayson would purposely drop food down for Riley and Riley, stupidly, would be willing to risk being run over for the snack.  It progressed to feeding him from his high chair (Riley puts his front paws on the bottom rung to reach whatever treat Jayson is dangling over the side).  Now that Jayson is walking, Jayson realizes Riley will follow him all over the house for a treat and will occasionally stop to sit down and hand feed him whatever goodies are in his snack cup. This has become a daily ritual. Too cute.

The Joys of Parenting

Let's discuss my night last night.  It was not so great which just builds upon last Monday’s daycare debacle.  I had called Jayson’s pediatrician because it seemed odd that he cried for five hours at daycare last Monday and of course they couldn’t see him until Tuesday this week.  

At any rate, his doctor’s office calls me last night and says his doctor can see him that evening if we were available. I guess he was there on the schedule until 8pm and there had been other cancellations.  I think “this is great, I won’t have to charge time tomorrow and I can ask about his allergies.  He’s always so congested now that they play outside all day…”  Well of course I bring Jayson and everything seems hunky-dory, so $20 copay later I'm told there's nothing wrong with my kid.  Per the doc “best guess, maybe he had an eyelash or something in his eye.  I don’t know, we get appointments like this all the time.”  Great.  Oh and he ignores my asking about the allergies and the possible need for a nebulizer… says to sporadically dope him up on Benadryl.  Not his exact words but you get the gist.  

Empathy

Close your eyes and imagine the scenario.  The doctors come in.  They tell you there's nothing more they can do.  The cancer has spread and is too far advanced for treatment.  Major organs are impacted.  Your lungs.  Your liver.  It's invaded your spine.  How do you feel?  Do you go home and tell your significant other and your kids that you are scared?  Do you shut down?  Do you continue to watch whatever mundane television show has roped you in?  Do you venture on to Facebook as an escape from reality?  Do you tune into the Colbie Caillat station on Pandora because the sad melodies echo your feelings?  Or, do you go into overdrive and try to make the most of what's left of your life?  I have to imagine I'd get angry and think "F%*k this! I should have drank and smoked like a chimney while I had the chance!" But of course anger is only one stage of several when it comes to grief.

The above scenario happens daily, by the second even. I was recently told that a favorite teacher of mine is in a very similar situation.  My heart aches for her family and all those who have enjoyed her spunky self over the years.  A facebook page for updates and well wishes has been created.  We're at over 200 members and it's only been an hour.  Quite amazing to see just how large our little K-12 school's alumni network really is. With that being said, I'll leave you with a thought a friend of mine posted today:

Stay in the moment folks.

F.O.R.D.

F.O.R.D. - acronym for "Fix Or Repair Daily" or so the joke goes.  Yes, I drive a Ford.  Why, I really don't know.  I liked it, it was the right price at the right time.  And yet my Dad works for Dodge.  Repairs would be a lot easier if I'd gone with a product carried at his dealership.  What was I thinking?  Apparently I wasn't.

The miniature man in our house

  Things he's saying:

• I got it
• I did it
• Look at that / "lookit"
• oooh (like an owl)
• Ow/ouch 
• Mom/mama
• Daddy/dada
• No
• Yes / "Yesh"
• bye
• "Uh-oh" is a new favorite
• A whole lot of other gibberish from the minute he wakes up