Earthmom's Musings

About Life, the Universe and Everything

 

October 11, 2005

I mean to tell you, my life is not at all accustomed to such a whirlwind of activity.  You've heard me fuss about all of the hassle to get dental care for Delena and the refi, goodness, the refi.  We were supposed to sign on Friday night, but information from our insurance company did not present itself in time for the documents to be ordered, so it got put off until yesterday.  They didn't actually receive the documents at the title company until this morning and the notary was unavailable today, so in theory, Eric and I are signing tomorrow, then 5 days after that, it is final.  I hope to not do this again for a long, long time.  The refi will lower our payments by almost $400 a month, so that is definitely a good thing. 

JoBu is doing exceptionally well.  He's a good bit smaller than his breastfeed sisters, but he is quite a little cuddle bug.  He has an umbilical hernia that I am hoping will heal (eep), but other than that, which never seems to bother him, he seems happy and healthy.  He's getting onto solid foods and going a lot longer between bottle feedings, which gives me a lot more freedom. They will be 6 weeks old next Wednesday, so ready to wean from Mama. Still no homes for the other two little girls, so I will need to put up a sign at the post office.  I was hoping we would get some bites at the Harvest Moon Festival, but no go.  They are really precious.  So here are some photos (finally):

The girls in their hole right after birth.

JoBu the week he was born

The girls yesterday.  The little dappled ones to the right are the ones who still need homes.

JoBu today.  That's Eric's size 13 sandal next to him.  I got good news from my favorite cyber vet today who told me that usually, umbilical hernias in a puppy are no big deal, so I'm no longer so worried about him.  In the photo to the right, you can see where a little spec of the white tip of his tail is growing back.  When he was less than a week old, he managed to nurse it off.  Today, he got an increase in play area.  We've been letting him out into the house a good bit to play for a couple of weeks now.  He's an amazing scamperer.  His little ass gets going about 1/3 again as fast as his front is going and it's really hilarious.  His favorite toy is an old stretchy glove of the boys' and a little tiny chew toy I found at Walmart today.  He's been staying in a collapsible portable crib as containment facility for when he can't be out loose running around or no one is free to watch him.  Today, I bought a child gate big enough to go across the doors to our laundry room (which is a nice size), put his crib on its side and put the mattress on the side (now the floor), so he has a doggy den.  He can still have his beloved heating pad in there and his cut up pieces of blanket he's used since he was a newbie, but is free to run around the laundry room.  It also lets him pee somewhere other than in the crib, which is now a major relief to him.  He even went on the doggie pad today (yayyyy!).  He's taking to solids well, but still loves a nice, warm bottle 2-3 times a day.  It's a good JoBu day.

This weekend was the Harvest Moon Festival in Placerville.  We were hesitant to be involved because any attempt in the past we made to move out into the Pagan community did not bring us very good results.  We found the leaders to be back-biting (our back was a frequent chew toy) and competitive and it wasn't an atmosphere we enjoyed.  This year, for reasons unknown, I was nudged to bring up the idea to Eric of participating.  It seemed too convenient that it was being held in our town, just 35 minutes away rather than the usual 1 1/2 - 2 hours away in Sacramento County.  Right up until the day, we were skeptical, but it turned out to be such a wonderful time.  The kids had great fun the entire time, which was a major relief.  We taught two workshops, one on each day.  The second was much better than the first.  We also had a ritual each day and they were both well attended, extremely powerful and felt really great.  The people there, many of whom were the same people we have dealt with in the past, were very warm, welcoming and fun to be around.  It was a really bizarre change.  In fact, it was such a great experience that Eric is very eager to be involved in the deeper administration of the event for next year, which should be fun.  We met several new folks who are a lot of fun and got to see other people we've known in the past and not seen for a while.  It was tiring, but it was so much fun.  The kids took photos if you are interested and they are here.

The signing of the papers for the refinancing of our house was supposed to happen on Friday, but they were missing some essential insurance information, so it got put off to Monday.  Then the documents that were ordered did not come into the title company before 4pm, so it got put off until today.  The documents came in this morning, but the notary was booked up all day, so now we are supposedly signing tomorrow.  Eric has taken the day off, so we will get to have lunch together, which will be lovely.  I was just hoping for a date with my husband recently and there it is.  The final numbers on the refi look good and will help us out a great deal.

 

 

Delena finally went to the dentist today.  She will have to be referred out for the root canal, but the dentist she saw today did not think she'd need two, only one.  She has several other cavities and will get them done one quadrant at a time, starting next Thursday.  They are also going to fix a chip in her front tooth that she got from a pogo stick incident a few years ago.  After the dentist, she and I completely raided Michaels (and arts and crafts store) and went to lunch.  All in all, it was a very good day.  My house is a wreck and is in serious need of attention, but it's not going to get it tonight and may not tomorrow, depending on how generous I feel. But dag, yo, it needs it.

 

 

Eric and I have often in the past linked the conquering of our demons together, his being the smoking (he's on little "Black and Milds" cigars or his pipe for months now) and mine being the weight loss.  I was cruising for a while there, but bottomed out in July and have only made minor progresses since then.  What would happen is that we would start together, he'd quit for a day, then give up because it sucked, I'd keep trying and get a little resentful that he was screwing off and then would stop myself.  A month ago, I told him that when he'd stopped smoking for 2 weeks and was settling into not smoking, I'd get back onto the exercise and dieting train.  Suffice it to say, he has not taken up that challenge and I have been eating and drinking as I please and not exercising.  Today, I got up the courage to check "the numbers."  I found that I had only gained a pound.  I was going to be thrilled if I'd only gained 3-4.  My blood pressure is lower than it was when I was exercising and dieting, which really surprised me.  Mind you, that means that when I actually do start exercising and dieting again on Monday, it will get even better.  No, as I said, he still hasn't taken up the challenge yet, which is why I'm not going to *tell* him that I am dieting and exercising again.  That way, it can just start to show and I can tell him it's my wildly magical ways that make me look better.  Bwahahaha.