Here we go STEELERS!

And the football season keeps going and going and going...You cannot even imagine how obsessed Jim is with football and of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers! (unless you know him, of course) The STEELERS ARE GOING TO YET ANOTHER SUPER BOWL!!! This will be the 3rd Super Bowl for them since he and I have been together. Their current Super Bowl record since 1987 is 1 and 1. Let's hope this one will make it 2 and 1. After all they should be able to take the Arizona Cardinals. I just hope it is a good game! And while I will enjoy watching the game, it is not do or die for me. I will most definitely have my earplugs ready as I already know there will be much screaming. Each game they win, the screaming gets louder and louder. Hopefully the outcome will be good but either way, it will be a successful football season.

"Grandma" Peekaboo

Here is our old friend Peekaboo. She is at least 15 years old. We adopted her before Alyssa turned 2! So, of course, she and Alyssa are the best of friends.


While we are well aware of the fact that she is getting old. We had quite a scare on Sunday, January 4, 2009. The girls and I had gone to see the movie, Marley and Me. Now, I have read the book and was very familiar with the fact that it was about Marley's life. All of her life, if you know what I mean. And while it was after all, just a movie AND I knew the story, I was still unprepared for that sad and empty feeling I had when we left the theatre. Later that evening, about 11:30 pm, Alyssa rushed into our bedroom, very upset, and said that Peek's stomach was all "big." In the past few years, she has lost weight even though her appetite is pretty much the same. I got up to see and sure enough, her stomach was large and very tight. Peek was obviously in pain as she would not lay down (which is mostly all she does these days.) I called the vet but was told that a vet (whom I do not particularly care for, or trust) was on call and that she could be called in but it would cost $120 to $130 just to have her come in. We discussed our options and decided to try and make it until morning. Alyssa slept in the living room on the couch while Peek slept on her bed on the living room floor. Alyssa said that Peek finally went to sleep around 2:00 am. Her stomach had returned to its normal size and she was obviously more comfortable than the night before but I decided to take her in to the vet anyway. Jim was trying to stand her up and she was pretty weak and/or lethargic and did not want to stand up. So, all 3 of us took her into the vet. We were prepared to make her comfortable, no matter what it took. I did not want her to be in pain.


The Vet, Dr. Matt Dredge was awesome. He was very patient and gentle with her and us. He asked us a lot of questions and explained some options to us. He drew some blood and urine, neither of which showed anything out of the ordinary for a dog her age. He gave us some arthritis tablets to give her to see if that would help her getting up and down and told us to update him on her status. Fortunately, she is doing much better. The medication seems to have helped her old bones and we get to have her around for a while longer. It is unclear how much longer as her kidneys are in the early stages of renal failure but we will enjoy having her as long as we can. She has been a great pet and friend.

Ms. Abercrombie

To many of us, this is just a coat. Okay, maybe a cute coat. But to Kylie, aka Ms. Abercrombie, this is a dream come true! She purchased this coat with Christmas money given to her by her grandparents. I am proud of the fact that she purchased something from the clearance section at Abercrombie. That in itself is nearly a miracle but she would much rather nobody knew that part. After all, she is 13!

We have had many discussions about name brand clothing and their status. Obviously, like many other parents, I am ignored. Although Kylie doesn't believe it, I do remember how important name brand clothing is to a teenager. I mean, after all, everybody who is anybody has Abercrombie. But, while I sympathize with her, I also know that money does not grow on trees. I am especially aware of this fact, having worked TWO jobs for nearly 3 years. I will say that anything she or we have purchased for her from Abercrombie, definitely is worth the money because she will wear it until it no longer fits. My only complaint is trying to get the clothing off of her in order to wash it occasionally. I am just glad that something so simple can make her sooo happy! And while we tease her often, we do love our little fashionista!

I just found this picture on a cd I had before I learned how to upload my photos straight from my camera. (Actually I was not uploading them because I thought it would slow down our computer but I have since had it worked on and more memory added so hopefully it will continue to work well.) This is Alyssa and her best friend, Kona Mocha. She is almost 2 years old and she is a great dog/member of our family.

My best friend, Lulu Belle is in our family pictured posted above. Kona thinks she is a lap dog but didn't quite fit into our picture. We have another 4-legged family member, Peek-a-boo. She has been in our family nearly 15 years! She is a black lab mix and was a stray that we adopted when some friends of ours had to move for work. I am sad today because I am facing reality that I will have to call the vet tomorrow and get Peek in for a visit. I realize she is old and we have been fortunate to have her for such a long time. I also know that I have been in denial regarding her health. She has been having a hard time getting up and she no longer does the stairs but there are times when she still acts like a puppy. She went out in the front yard while the girls were sledding and was running around like she was still a young thing BUT she has been urinating in her sleep AND has even pooped while walking as though she had no idea she was even doing this. Well, obviously I will see if the vet can do something for her but I am also facing the reality that her life with us may soon be over. I cannot leave her outside all night during the winter but I cannot have her going all over our house either. We went through this about 2 years ago with a 17 or 18 year old cat, Sam. Unfortunately, just like people, organs stop working the way they should. Sam was in kidney failure. And while we tried to save her (they put her on an IV-dialysis for cats), it did not work.

My greatest fear is how Alyssa will react to the inevitable news that will come sooner or later. Alyssa is 16 1/2 years old so Peek has been a HUGE part of her life. While we will all be sad, it is Alyssa I worry about the most. Alyssa's best friend has always been one with 4 legs. Apparently she learned earlier than most that a dog's love (or other pet) is unconditional...unlike some people in this life. Alyssa is also dog's best friend! She absolutely loves animals. When she was in grade school at Indian Hills, dogs would actually follow her home. They just knew that she would take them in or at the very least, pet them. We have kept several dogs in our home for a night or two until we found the rightful owner. EVERY time though, Alyssa would ask if we could keep them if nobody claimed them. Fortunately for us, they were always claimed. We have told her many times that she will need to have several acres outside the city limits to have room for the all of the pets she will inevitably adopt.

Alyssa's big heart for animals is just as large with humans. Although she could have done better in grade school (with regards to her school work and grades), she was a friend to everyone. In fact, I asked her one day after school how her day was and who she played with, etc. She answered that she played with ...(can't remember his name) because he had nobody to play with. How many young children actually notice things like that? Let's just say that as a parent, I could not have been more proud of her. If we had more people like that in this world, it would definitely be a better place in which to live!