Our New Baby

This is Lucy, our new baby!! 

Ok, she's not exactly a baby.  Lucy is my brothers dog...she's a 3 year old pug. 

My brother is in the Navy and is being transferred to Japan next week.  Since he will be traveling alot while he's in Japan, Doodle and I agreed to watch his dog for the next 2 years.  Although, we have totally fallen in love with her already...so he may not get her back. ;)

We've known for about six months we'd pick her up from him at our parents house at Christmas.

Well, we originally thought we'd be getting his boy pug, Jon, but that was changed to Lucy a few weeks...long story.

She is completely PRECIOUS!!  So loving, cuddly, and snorty, LOL.

I'm sure you'll be seeing much more of her! :)

Until next time.....

(I linked this post to Debbie's Pet Party at Debbiedoo's Blog on 1/24/11)

Update and Prayers

As I mentioned earlier this week, we've been having a rough couple weeks.

Well, things turned for the worse this week.

I always said I would be an open blogger.  And even though my blog is about small homes, interior design, crafts and the like...I also talk about family and my Doodle.

Well, last week my Doodle wasn't doing so well.

We thought they were the beginning of menstrual cramps.  But after 2 days it was becoming clear it had to be something more.

After spending 10 hours Wednesday evening in the ER, we found out that she had a cyst of some sort.  But the ultrasound wasn't clear what it was attached to.  So, they sent us home while we waited for the results from a culture test because they thought it might just be free floating from a possible intestinal infection.  And Friday we had a follow up ultrasound.

The Radiologist on Friday thought she saw a twisted ovary!  So, our family doctor told her to send us to Riley Children's Hospital ER while he called ahead.

Yesterday an MRI revealed that the ovary was NOT twisted.  THANK YOU GOD!  BUT, there was a large cyst still there and it was not clear what it was attached to.

So, last night she finally went into surgery around 11:00 pm and had a hemorrhaged, blood filled cyst removed from her Fallopian tube.

Unfortunately, the cyst had twisted and it caused blood flow to be lost to the right Fallopian tube, so part of it had to removed. 

The ovaries are fine which is a huge blessing!!!

But can I tell you as a mom...I'm sad.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled she is going to be ok and her fertility is still intact.  And I know that there was no choice...it what had to happen.

But I'm sad for her loss of her Fallopian tube. 

I don't know if that's normal.  But I am.

The doctors say she can still have children.  But of course, I worry it may cause her problems in the future.

She's only 10 years old.

So, I mourned the loss of her Fallopian tube last night.  That might sound strange.  But it feels like she lost a part of her woman-ness.  No one understood it when I felt sad.  So, I don't know if its because I'm her mom or what.  But her dad looked at me like I had a third head and said "But she's healthy right now and that's what matters."

And yes, that is what matters.  But even the thought of her even possibly having an issue with fertility later in her life...well...it makes me sad.  The doctors say she won't as long as she has one good tube. 

But I'm her mom.  That's my job!!  To worry!!  To think long term.  To be scared.  To want to protect her from anything and everything I can.

And maybe that is strange to others.  And maybe I'm alone in feeling this way.  But this is who I am!

 

So, today my prayers include her long term health. 

I'm thankful we live in Indianapolis with one of the best children's hospitals in the world!  And I'm thankful that my baby is going to be ok and pain free again!!!

If you would my friends, just say a prayer for her today, I would really appreciate it! :)

Thank you!!!

Our lives should get back to normal next week and I should be able to get back to my normal blogging.  Thank you for hanging in there with me this week. :)

Until next time...

The Doodle

This may seem like a strange post, but Zerique (who BTW, was my very first follower!!) asked me last weekend if my daughter was creative like me. So, I thought instead of answering her directly, I would dedicate a post to the Doodle!

The answer, Zerique, without a doubt is…YES!!!

As early back as I can remember she has loved to draw!

We had Magna Doodles all over (and no, ironically, that has nothing to do with her nickname) when she was small. In the house for sure and usually one was kept in the car, taken into restaurants with us…you get the idea. And I can’t tell you how many we replaced when they broke or the pictures weren’t clearing away anymore.

She used to spend hours drawing pictures and telling stories to go with them.

One of my favorite pictures of all time, which I actually keep with all my important stuff like birth certificates and passport, etc is the giraffe she drew when she was about three years old. I cherish this little scrap piece of paper!!

In Kindergarten she won third place in a local art contest.

And had two pieces of art shown in the school district art fair in first grade. We thought it was one of those things where every kid had something in it…but nope, it was the real deal, only the best pieces. :)

In more recent years, she’s taken up jewelry making. For now, with larger beads for kids, but I can easily see her transitioning to some pretty cool stuff very soon!

She’s what I would call “artsy fartsy”.

Style trends don’t affect her. She’s not into what all the other kids are into. Doodle makes her own choices about things, like, what shows to watch, what to wear and definitely what music to listen to.

The Doodle, well, she beats to her own drum. She loves music! She listens to Enya and other easy listening musical type stuff when she’s going to bed at night. You’d catch her in Wal-Mart in the candle section picking out a CD from those little kiosk things well before you’ll catch in her in the mainstream area! And yet, the child hates Harry Connick, Jr!! What is wrong with her! LOL

Don’t get me wrong, she loves Justin Beiber too! But it’s clearly her choice when it comes to that stuff and not just doing what everyone else is doing. Which I LOVE and encourage!

She got a guitar last year for her birthday and is getting ready to finally start lessons!

She loves to sing and plans to join choir next year in 6th grade.

She’s been a Girl Scout since second grade.

She is a lover of all animals!! I swear they are drawn to her kind nature. At the state fair a couple years ago a COW followed her around (well, around his pen anyway)! The farmer said, “He’s been waiting for you all day little girl.” A sweet memory. :)  Anyway, she just has a way with animals that can’t be explained until you see it for yourself.

(Sorry for the poor quality…I took this with my cell phone…but I couldn’t pass it up!)

She is a drama queen of the worst kind! And there are days I wonder…will I EVER marry her off! ;)

She’s LOUD! I don’t think she CAN whisper. When she’s next to you, she’s talking to you like you are across the room. I’ve even had her hearing checked when she was younger because she’s so loud!

She’s funny!! And sarcastic…I have NO idea where she gets it. ;)

She’s always looking for the ‘loophole’ in any situation. Sometimes I wonder…will she be a great lawyer someday? Or a fantastic con-artist? Hmmm…

She’s kind! Her heart is huge! She wants to help everyone in need. And she wouldn’t hurt someone’s feelings on purpose if her life depended on it.

She adores hugs!

Doodle still likes bedtime stories…even at 10 years old! It’s always been the one time of day we have solely for each other no matter how crazy the day has been.

And she’s happy!! There are days she is so hyper I want to strap her down and duct tape her mouth. Then I think…but she’s happy. How you can cage that in?

Until next time…