The Kids are Coming!

We are finally feeling somewhat better, thank goodness.  Still very tired, but at least we are not coughing 24/7 anymore.  So I called Mary last night and asked if we could get the kids this weekend.  We miss them so much and after being sick for so long it's been way too long since we've seen them.  So as soon as Dwight is finished signing up for softball on Saturday they are going to drop them off and they'll stay overnight.  We are so looking forward to this!

So Tired....

That's what we are....so tired of this @%!@#$ cold or flu or whatever we have.  It started the day after Faith's birthday party so I thought I caught something from one of the kids.  I had it for over a week and Fred still hadn't gotten it.  Then it hit him.  Then for 2 days I felt a little better.  Then it hit me back with a vengeance.  I don't know if it's just hanging around or if Fred had something else and I caught that too.  All I know is that it's been over two weeks and we are both tired of having our body sore all over from such heavy coughing, so wore out that walking in to the kitchen for a cup of coffee means stopping at the kitchen table and sitting for a few minutes to get your breath back.  We don't feel like eating but with Fred having such problems lately with his sugar I make sure we are eating something, but full blown meals?  No way.  More like bowls of cereal or rice.  Fred had to cancel his appointment with the spine specialist to have the nerve endings burnt out of the left side of his back.  So that saga continues.  And we wanted so badly to have the kids this weekend.  I hate to chance it because I am still running a 101 fever.  Plus we are so wore out we wouldn't be able to do anything with them or for them.  We are praying we will be well enough to have them at least on Sunday.  We miss them grandkids so much!

Valentine's Day and Bragging Rights

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day so I am going to brag a little about my special valentine Fred.  He is my very best friend.  He's a good listener (well, if you talk loud enough), he's compassionate, faithful, loving, kind, giving and just an all around nice guy.  Some people think he is self centered and a little rough.  Well all you have to do to see that he is none of that is watch him with the Grandkids.  Or with me for that matter.  We are celebrating Valentines day late this year because we are both down with pretty bad colds.  But a movie and dinner night is in our certain future.  Speaking of Valentines day, I think of it like my daughter does, as thanksgiving.  On Valentines day I think of ALL the people in my life I love, not just my spouse.  There is Fred, Mary, Chuck, Tom, Faith, Dwight, JJ, Tim and Cathi and a host of others.  I hope each of them finds this Valentines day healthy and happy.

Now for a little more bragging.  I have to say something about our Peanut.  We always knew he was pretty smart but he is amazing us more and more every day.  He would do things like ring the bell for Ruby when she has to go out, sleep tight against Fred's back when it was hurting, things like that.  We were worried he'd be a little jealous of the new puppy, and he was....for about 24 hours.  Now that puppy is his.  He watches over him, worries over him.  When I am in my sewing room the puppy tends to want to chew on the electric cords for the sewing machines and computer.  After telling him "no" 3 or 4 times, Peanut took over.  Every time the puppy went to the cords Peanut would bark at him.  If that didn't work, Peanut would bark at me.  If that didn't work Peanut would go get a toy to distract the puppy.  If the puppy gets something he's not suppose to have we tell Peanut to go get it away from him and he does.  We tested Peanut last night when the puppy was playing with one of his own toys and told Peanut to take it away from him.  Peanut jumped down from Fred's lap, looked at Lincoln, saw it was a good toy, then turned to both of us and looked at us as if to say "are you nuts?" and he did not go get it.  I could go on and on about the things he does.  So if anyone is looking for a truly intelligent dog (Animal Planet says they are the 2nd smartest, behind only the Border Collie) try a poodle on for size!

Ruby and Lincoln

I promised Fred I would get a picture of Ruby and Lincoln on the blog as soon as possible.  Poor Ruby.  She is trying to put up with Lincoln, but when Peanut and Lincoln are playing together they tend to do so with all their toys in Ruby's bed.  Then Ruby has nowhere to lay down.  Poor girl tries to fit in Peanut's bed but as you can see she doesn't quite fit.  At least when it's naptime Ruby is happy to share her bed with Lincoln.  I have to go in several times a day and remove the abundance of toys that have been deposited in Ruby's bed.  I do have to say we are truly blessed....our pets are the best!

Introducing Lincoln

 This is our new baby Lincoln.  He is a 9 week old Boston Terrier.  Isn't he just too cute?  We had a terrible time trying to name him.  At first I thought of Cracker Jack so we would have Peanut and Cracker Jack, but Fred wasn't fond of that one.  Then I thought of Bugsy Malone.  That was ok but didn't really ring any bells for either of us.  Then Mary came up with Baby Face Nelson and it seemed to fit perfectly except for one minor problem.  Every time I went to call him "Lincoln" came out of my mouth.  So Fred said that there is a reason for that so we should just name him Lincoln and we have.  And he seems to have taken to it quite readily so I guess we made the right choice.

 Even though my boots are nearly as big as he is Lincoln is not deterred.  He does seem to catch on to things quickly, such as the word no.  And if he is chewing something and sees me coming towards him he runs and chews as fast as he possibly can.  But all in all he's been a very good boy.  He sleeps in his crate at night and doesn't make a sound.  He is getting potty trained little by little and yesterday he rang the bell!  Only he rang it when he came in from going potty, not to let me know he wanted to go out!
Well at least we know he can ring it!

 Peanut was put off by the new puppy for maybe the first 24 hours but they have quickly become best buds, playing for hours at a time.  In fact it is Lincoln who gives out first and goes off to take some nap time before Peanut is ready to stop.  They play tug of war, It, and Hide and Seek.  Fred and I have actually been watching TV and turned the TV off to watch these two play.

OC has been very good with Lincoln.  Now anyone that knows OC knows that our big boxer Ruby is so scared of him.  Well I guess OC is that way with dogs bigger than he is.  Because OC is really good with Peanut and now with Lincoln.  They play together, sleep together and relax on Mom together!
I haven't included a picture yet of Lincoln and Ruby yet.  They are still working things out.  Ruby definately is not happy with the new puppy but we've only had a few incidents where we've had to intervene.  Hopefully as time goes on they will become fast friends also.  I can't wait for Dwight and Faith to get over here and see him.  I know Faith is going to go nuts over him!  We sure have!

Running, Running, Running

Well that's what it feels like as if we are always running.  Fred has had 4 doctors appointments this week and it just seems to never stop.  I haven't posted anything lately as it just seems we are always so busy and when I get to the computer at night I check my email and Mary's blog and then I'm done for the day.
There is new news though.  We've added a member to our family.  He's an 8 week old Boston Terrier puppy.  We originally named him Baby Face Nelson with a call name of Nelson but everytime I called to him "Lincoln" would come out.  I don't know why or where it came from but Fred said there had to be a reason why I continually call him Lincoln, so Lincoln it is.  He's adorable.  Peanut loves him, OC likes him and Ruby tolerates him.  I haven't posted any pictures yet but will soon.  So far most pictures aren't turning out well as he never sits still.  I do have a few of him sleeping, usually cuddled up with OC, but you don't get an idea of his size or how cute he is in them.  So soon.  If you want a quick glimpse of what he looks like, take a look at Mary's blog dressageonthequarter.blogspot.com as she took a few pictures when I stopped by the school to show her while she was waiting for Faith to get out.
Fred had the nerve endings in his back on the right side burnt out on Wednesday and will have the left side burnt out in two weeks.  It's supposed to take 4 to 8 weeks for him to realize the total pain relief this should give him so keep your fingers crossed.  On Friday he had his stomach lining cauterized which should stop the internal bleeding.  He's pretty worn out right now after everything he's been through this week.  Poor guy.  All he wants is a day of feeling good the whole day.  Hopefully that day is right around the corner.
Nothing new with me....trying to work in the sewing room with Lincoln around.  Not getting much done!  LOL! And I've got a cold.  Been doubling up on the zinc so it's not as bad as it could be, just enough to make me feel terrible.
Later......