It might be a long day...

The kids didn't even go camping with us, yet by bedtime, Daniel had a fever of 102. Around 2am, Hanna woke me up, not feeling well. I noticed she seemed rather warm.. also 102. Hanna has just recently made an effort to throw up. Daniel is snuggled up with a blanket on the sofa. I think we're going to have a long day!

What a nice getaway...

John and I had such a nice time this weekend, just the two of us. It's amazing how quickly we can set up and break down camp without the time spent fussing over our children. However, even though it was peaceful, there were often times, it was so obvious that a part of our life was missing this trip out. When the people pulled in either side of us, and set up, as their children were running around, we couldn't help but think how much our children would have loved camping near so many other children. On our walk through the woods, we'd look at trees, and say, "The kids would love climbing those!", and we also took time to notice the stumps and roots along the way, commenting that one if not both of our children would have tripped over them for sure.




We had our camp set up by 6:30 Friday night, and sat down at the picnic table and made our sandwiches. Then we cleaned up our dishes, and built a fire. John laughed as I pulled out the marshmallows, since there were no kids with us. It's camping, and I'm a kid at heart, so yeah, I brought the marshmallows. Fire+camping=marshmallows. Period! When we were setting things up, we realized I forgot to pack the space heater! What was I thinking? However, we did get the chance to test the furnace in the camper, and I'm happy to say it works well. At some point during the night, it began raining and rained pretty much most of the day on Saturday. In the morning, we were standing under our awning, enjoying our coffee, when we heard a rumble of something unknown, that sounded like quite the crash. I said "That didn't sound good!" John suggested, perhaps someone was moving something around, until he walked around the side of our camper, and peaked into the site next to us. He said, "Oh Lord, that's not good!" In the site next to us, a family was set up in an old Coleman popup. So old, they had an old window unit a/c cut into the front wall. When they set up Friday night, apparently, the father neglected to put down the stabilizer jacks, which is why he was in the predicament he was in now. The rumbling was all the contents of his camper, including a cooler, quickly being redistributed to one end of his camper. He'd gone in to get something, and when he stepped to the back of the camper, up it went. Straight up on end! I hurried around the corner, and suggested perhaps we go and give them a hand, however, the mother and her children had managed to grab the front end and pull it back down. They were laughing about it, and everyone was okay. He also lowered the stabilizing jacks.

We walked down to the canoe launch area to determine the weather, as well as tides. We decided the rain had let up enough, and the tide was in far enough, we'd give canoeing a shot. We had a really nice time, despite the rain. As we were loading the canoe up, and shifting it into the water, there was an older gentleman standing on the dock, with his also large dog. He laughed, and said, "How are you going to get that big dog to stay still in the canoe?" We replied, "we're about to find out!" Yes, we took Callie with us in the canoe, and she did a very good job. She didn't jump around, or pace back and forth. It seemed as if she understood, in a canoe even a dog has to sit still. Eventually, she layed down and seemed quite bored with the situation. Until, I reeled in a fish, then she was very interested. John said, "Suzanne, don't start something that's going to get us all wet!" I played it low key, and she just sat there, watching. We didn't keep our fish, and actually only caught two small ones. But, at the end of the day, we could say, we went fishing, and caught something! It's a good day! Around 2:30, it seemed to be getting "late", but when we checked the time on the GPS, it gave us the accurate time; much earlier than we expected. The clouds were rolling in, the air was cooling off, and it was drizzling rain on us. The tide was going out, and we knew judging the tides at the launch early in the morning, if we didn't head back now, we wouldn't be getting back anytime soon! The sky seemed to clear later on, and we went for a nice walk in the woods. During our walk, we found a stick, and sent Callie chasing it several times. She followed it right into the creek, but once she got a mouthful of salty water, she dropped the stick, and headed back to the shore. She had no interest in going back into the water after that. We picked the stick up, and tossed it again, but it must have still had salty water on it, because she didn't want that, either, she rolled her lips to say it was a very distasteful stick!

Earlier in the day, we had considered going home, since it appeared to be looking like a miserable day. However, we stuck it out, and with the exception of the slight drizzle in the late afternoon, it cleared up to be a nice evening. The stars were even visible. That's good! We were glad we stayed, since it was a clear night, and we built a very nice fire, with marshmallows. By 9:30, we decided it was time to go shower, and then snuggle into bed and watch a movie. We'd started watching Pirates of the Caribbean earlier in the day, and never finished that. However, we fell asleep in the evening to Last of the Mohicans. We concluded that even though it was raining, it wasn't so bad with just the two of us, plus the dog. We agreed, had the kids been with us, it would have been miserable, and we would have left early for certain.

When we woke up Sunday morning, the sky had cleared. We heard it raining sometime during the night, but it had stopped by morning. When we checked the clock, we realized we'd stayed in bed until 8am! That's nearly unheard of in our house. Our children are always up by 7:30 at the very latest! We got up, made some breakfast, went for a long walk, then came back and packed up. Amazingly we did all that, and were still checking out by 11am. I'm not sure how many more times I will have to sweep out the camper before I get out all that sand! When we made it home, we had to set the camper up again, to allow the canvas bunkends to dry. I hope by Tuesday, it will be dry enough to close it up until our next family outing.

At lunch today, with Grandma and her friends, Daniel told Mr.Schreir that his mommy and daddy were going to kiss when they're camping. Mr.Schreir told Daniel to be sure to ask Daddy if he kissed her! Yes, he did...

I don't know how it has happened, or why it seems to be that every time we go camping one of our children, usually Daniel ends up with a fever when we return. It is amazing, that even though Daniel didn't go with us, when I put him to bed, he was running a fever of 102. How does this happen? I guess, like fire+camping=marshmallows, Daniel + camping= fever, regardless of where in the equation the camping and Daniel are.

Tomorrow is finally, nearly here!

I always laugh now, when I think of it being "tomorrow". Daniel asked me a few months ago, if it was tomorrow. I was feeling rather sarcastic that day, and I told him, "it will never be tomorrow, it will always be today." I didn't realize when I said what I did, that he was anticipating the arrival of ponies at his school. One of his teachers had been promising to bring her ponies up to the school, and tomorrow was the day. But, now it was today... Hence, is today tomorrow? Then, and only then, did I say, "Yes, today, Daniel is tomorrow!" He was a happy boy, and the ponies came to school that day!

Tomorrow is finally only an hour and fifteen minutes away! Yay! John and I are headed out tomorrow afternoon for Talbot Island for a weekend of alone time, and camping, and canoeing and fishing! Everything we love, and doing it together! We have our checklist of foods to put into the cooler and fridge in the camper, and the list of things to get at the store in the morning, and the list of things to put together to take to Grandma for the kids. Lots of lists! Lists are important, otherwise, I would forget something! When I've not packed the camper off the list, that's when I have forgotten important stuff, like the keys to the camper, and flash lights. Our tackle box is together, fishing rods ready, canoe gear ready, the plastic bins are half packed, waiting for the "dry" foods to go into them. There's talk of a little rain Saturday, but who cares! We won't have children running in and out of the camper, with muddy, sandy feet! Just us and the dog! I showed John the satellite photos of the river, and where the canoe launch hits the river, planning our fishing route. John asked me this evening, "What are we going to do with the dog while we fish? She won't want to sit in the canoe that whole time?" He's right, although I'd LOVE to have her in the canoe with us. It's kind of funny, we'd like to take her in the canoe, but we're afraid she'll tip us over if she gets excited! So, we'll put her crate in the camper, and lock her in there for the morning/afternoon while we fish. But after that, I hope to find some good beach for that dog to frolic in the surf! I want her to have a fun time too!

So, tomorrow is finally upon us! It will be Friday, and we're going camping! Obviously, I won't be posting anything until at least Sunday evening, if not Monday! Have a great weekend, and Happy Valentine's Day!

What were they thinking?

I couldn't help but wonder when I got the list of spelling words this week in Hanna's folder, what were they thinking? Did the teachers look at the words, and realize what was going to be created out of that list? The words this week for the "test" on Friday are: shop, shut, ship, sham, shed, and splash. In the truck this evening, Hanna and I were reviewing her words. I couldn't remember all the words.. I got to shop, shut & ship.. and said, "what else? what are we missing?" Hmm.. her mind at work, she said, "shop, ship, shut and.. sh*t". Yup, she said it! S-H-I-T. That was exactly what I thought was going to come out of this list! Of course, Hanna continued to say it, and spell it, correctly! The first time she said it, I said, "that's a bad word. Don't say it!" Since she's not one to listen to me these days, she continued, until I threatened the big "R" word.. restriction! I said, "If you say that one more time, you will be grounded!" That stopped it! Shew! Later, on the ride home, I threatened it again, if I saw her feet on the back of the seat again! You'd think 5 times was enough, wouldn't you? Of course, she pouted, and said,'You never like me! You're being ugly to me!"

Her day did not go well today. She had done so well yesterday, I was so pleased with her. But not today. I knew it was bad as soon as I pulled up to parent pick up, and her chin was dragging. I asked what kind of day. She cried, and said, "I really don't want you to look at my folder!" I looked.. Yikes! A lot of writing. Hanna said, "Zach wouldn't leave me alone! He made me talk!" Her paper had a green happy face, then a yellow one, followed by orange. Let me also add, yellow and orange are NOT happy faces. The note said, "sorry, she kept changing, and she pushed a child at the end of the day." I asked, "who'd you push?" "Kevin John! He wouldn't get away from my desk! I had to push him! Ms.Kelly was at her computer, and said we were playing the quiet game, and I raised my hand, and she wouldn't look up!" It must be so hard to be in kindergarten. I told her when we returned home, she was going to sit and watch a movie I'd bought.. "Fiddler on the Roof". I know, it sounds like and odd choice, but she loves the old movies, especially the musical ones. I was hoping for quiet, rest time. By 4 o'clock, her little friend came down, and they were going to play webkins or something like that. Okay, that's fine, I was engaged in a client call, and gearing up for my weekly conference call. I was all too happy to have Hanna the Grump entertained somewhere else! I'd had a "challenging day" myself, dealing with people!

When it came time to leave to pick up Daniel, the chaos began again! She started throwing a fit. She did not want to go. Her friend's step father was "missing" temporarily, and i was not quite sure what to do. We tracked him down, and Hanna wanted to stay with him. Since it's Wednesday, that means choir practice night, I'd planned on picking up Daniel and going to McDonald's. Hanna asked if her friend could come with us to McDonald's, I said no. That made her mad. Funny, the step father, Corey said.. she broke the rule, and asked in front of the friend. I said, "Yes, that, as well as the fit that's been going on for the last hour. Her attitude just bought her a trip in the truck!" Not to mention, I just didn't really want to go away, leaving my child running free in the street, under minimal supervision. When I'm home, I typically have my windows open, and have an open ear for things outside.. mostly things that go bump that should not when Hanna is around! It's one thing if I'm minimally supervising, but altogether different when it involves leaving my child in someone else's care.

I hope tomorrow is a better day!

Things seem to be improving...

The battle was minimal this morning, with Daniel and the dreaded drops, Thank You Jesus! He did however, try to negotiate with me. "Just one drop today, Mommy!" I've tried to explain the dose is 5 drops, but he doesn't care! I said.. "we'll be quick!" Yesterday morning, was our 2nd time, and he remembered how much it hurt on Monday night! I finally had to pin him down on my legs sitting on the couch to accomplish the drops in his ear. This is really unusual for Daniel, because he's usually very good about medicine and drops in his ear. These drops, as painful as they are, are the exception. I'm not going to fault him for that. He let me do them, finally, and I told him he was very brave! He did pretty good, all things considering, and he didn't seem to complain too much after they were in his ear. Last night, he was really good, although again, negotiating, and then he said.. "Was I brave again?" to which I replied, "You sure were baby, I'm so proud of you!" I think the drops will not be an issue for Grandma this upcoming weekend, and I know she won't give into the negotiating! She's a tough nut!

The amoxicillin is a piece of cake. He likes it. In fact, last night, he asked if he could have some more of the pink medicine. I had to explain that it is not a desert or treat, it is medicine, and can only be taken "as directed".

The lactose free milk is seeming to work for Hanna. I haven't heard many complaints about a tummy ache. I found some mineral oil, and although it's not tasty, she's asking for it. That's just weird! I also have to remember NOT to drink after her, once she's taken the mineral oil, because I noticed there was an oil slick on her drink after breakfast this morning. Eww! John would never drink after either of the children, for fear of consuming "backwash". I think I might have to pack a cooler for everything going to Grandma's house!

Monday morning, I mentioned to the kids they were going to Grandma's this upcoming weekend. Daniel quickly stated "We know! She told us at church!" Excuse me, I didn't realize. I wanted to start paving the road to Friday afternoon, when we pick the kids up in the loaded truck and camper, so as not to throw anyone into jealous shock. When I told them we were going camping, just John and I, Hanna was very upset. She wants to go with us, of course. Daniel didn't seem to mind. Hanna filled the morning with tears, and made me feel ever so guilty. Last night, she started participating more in the idea that we were going alone. She asked if Callie, the dog, was going camping with us. Of course, Grandma does not like big dogs. She's not really a fan of a small dog, but she's certainly NOT going to accept our 90 pound dog into her home. I don't blame her. If I didn't have a dog, I certainly wouldn't want the moose coming to stay in my nice, neat, CLEAN house! (Gee, good thing neither situation exists in my home! I have a dog in my messy home) Hanna then asked me, if Daddy was going camping with me and Callie. John and I both laughed, and I said it would be silly for me to go alone. Wouldn't be much fun, either. I think she's coming around, so I am hoping the "hand off" on Friday afternoon will go as smooth as possible. They're expecting a "surprise trip" from Grandma, like the park, or something. She occasionally takes them to the carousel over in St. Augustine, and has taken them to see their cousins who also live in St. Augustine. I better clue her in this evening at choir practice that they think she's got something great planned. I also better be prepared to pay her off for her efforts, and allowing us to have parental time out!

Infected and embedded are not words to start your Monday off well.

We started out our morning this morning like any other Monday morning, slow and grumpy. Hanna started complaining as usual that her tummy hurt. Daniel was sleepy, and just wanted to stay home and sleep.

We made it out the door a little late, but Hanna still made it to school on time. Dropped her off without hitch. On the way to Daniel's school, he started crying and saying his ear hurt. Well, that's something we just don't mess around with in our household. I personally have had tubes in my ears 6 times, Daniel is "shedding" his 2nd set, and Hanna is in her first set. When somebody says their ear hurts, no doubt it does! About a month ago, I saw the right ear's tube sitting in the outer ear canal in Daniel's ear, and was able to pluck it out. Of course this was the ear that was hurting him. I took him to school, but let the director know he was complaining of an ear ache and I would make arrangements as soon as the doctor's office started answering phones. I got home, and made that call, and to our surprise they had an appointment with the doctor.. not the PA, but the doctor at 11am. We're there, put us in that time slot! I took him to the appointment and sure enough the right ear is infected, and the left ear, the tube is out of the eardrum, but sitting in the canal, embedded into the tissue. That's not good. She said if it continues as it is now, we will have to go to the ENT to have it surgically removed. I actually think the doctor was more concerned about this left ear than she was with the one that I thought was our big problem. We came away with a prescription for amoxicillin and ear drops. I had to laugh when I picked up the drops and the pharmacist said it wasn't ready yet because they wanted to "discuss" the drops with me. The amoxicillin was free, but the ear drops were $101. I kind of chuckled, as I pulled out my "flex card", and said.. "Yes, I know the drops are insanely expensive!" She was relieved, and said that most people tend to go into shock when they tell them how much. It's a "cipro" line of drops, and it is pricey. Thank God my company decided to go with flex cards, allowing us to use for medical expenses up front just as if it were a credit card, rather than fronting the expense and submitting it for reimbursement. If I hadn't had that card, I would have stood there waiting for that prescription with a knot in my stomach, knowing that it was going to be a financial drain on our budget until I could get the funds reimbursed. Just before dinner, I gave Daniel his amoxicillin, which he enjoyed very much, and then we went to the couch to administer the drops. Usually, he finds ear drops entertaining, and says how much they tickle. He approached the activity with laughter, until the third drop went in, then he started screaming, telling me they hurt. These drops are supposed to loosen the tissue around the tube, and hopefully it will work its way out. If not, we'll be headed to our ENT for an early visit! I pray they work. Sitting at the dinner table, Daniel was complaining that his ear that we put the drops in hurt. He looked me square in the eye and said "Why did you have to put drops in this ear? It didn't hurt before!" I felt so bad. I apologized, and told him, unfortunately, even though the drops hurt, they need to go in his ear, and help the tube come out, or we'll have to take him for surgery. Of course, now if we have to have the surgical procedure, he's heard about it as a bad thing, and that will be a battle. It was so much easier when he got his tubes in, and he was only 2 years old. I didn't have to explain anything, and he was clueless. If there is a third time, it's going to be a battle!

Also while at the doctor's office, I brought up the subject of Hanna's tummy aches with the doctor. We discussed what the reasons could be, and she advised taking Hanna off milk with lactose, giving her Lactose Free...which by the way is expensive! Also, suggesting part of the issue might be a bowel regularity issue, I should give her 1 teaspoonful of mineral oil every morning. Okay, we started the milk, and I will go on a hunt for mineral oil tomorrow.

Isn't Grandma just going to love having the kids this upcoming weekend? Hanna's on "special milk", and Daniel's on antibiotics and drops that make him scream! Not to mention the regular dispensing of claritin over the counter hoping to prevent allergy flare ups!

At the moment, I'm simply not looking forward to tomorrow morning, when I have to convince Daniel that these drops are a good thing, when now he knows it's going to hurt! It's going to be a tough morning! Oh yeah, and since I've taken Hanna off of milk, that meant no ice cream (I'll buy some lactose free ice cream tomorrow) so, now I'm headed off to the living room to enjoy a bowl of ice cream in secret!

Today was a very productive day!

Today was a very productive day, indeed! I'd committed to going to the Ladies Group breakfast weeks ago, and I was so glad I went! It was a very nice breakfast, with way too much good food! If there is such a thing as too much good food! This was the Ladies Group's big effort to grow the group once again. It has dwindled down in size dramatically over the past few years, and the handful of ladies that remain faithful, are struggling committing to do everything! So, they opened it up to a Saturday morning, and with success, had a fair number in attendance! They went over the list of things the group wished to acheive this year, and asked for volunteers. I volunteered not only to participate in the church picnic planning and gift baskets, but also offered to "chair" that activity. Oh, why not? It sounds like fun!

I told John before I left this morning, I had two goals for the day: renew the sandbox (aka catbox!) and clean the garage. This didn't include the medical technician that showed up at 7:30 to give John and I our pre-insurance physicals, and the obvious, leave at 9:00 to go to the breakfast! I liked the technician. When taking our blood pressures, he stated John's was 106/57 and mine was 138/89, noting mine was border line for hyper-tenison. He said, "Obviously, she does a better job taking care of you, than you do of her!" I liked that guy!

On my way home from the breakfast, I made a stop at our friend Pat's Nursery. I was disappointed not to see Pat in the office, behind the cash register, not only because I missed seeing him, but also because his brothers don't offer up the "Buddy discount" that Pat always gives to me, for the electrician services John has given him in the past. When I went to the back lot to get my yard of dirt, the guy in the backhoe was loaded and waiting for me. As I pulled in, he came towards me and my truck, but I waived..."Wait a minute" so I could jump out, and line the bed of the truck with the tarp I had purchased just for this reason. When I was in the back of the truck, 4 workers jumped out of a truck on the lot, and said "We'll get it!" So they took over the lining of the bed with the tarp, and lining up the backhoe. As I stepped down, I saw our old friend Pat sitting in the truck that led the workers. Good ol' Pat! He inquired as to what type of project I had John working on this morning, and I informed him we were renewing the dirt in the sand box, aka CAT BOX in the backyard. He laughed, and said, "Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about!" John and I agreed, if it weren't our cats in the sandbox, it would be the neighborhood cats using it as a litter box! We raked it all out, and loaded it up with more than enough new sand! We also put a plywood lid over the top, to keep the cats out of the new fresh sand! We had plenty of additional sand to fill in some "pot holes" in the backyard. John laid down a warning to Callie, that she better stop digging craters in the backyard!

After that project was done, I moved into the garage! I was tired of hitting the bicycles in the garage with my truck doors, everytime we got out of it. I was tired of running into the handle of the wagon, every time I walked past it! I was tired of the MESS in the garage! I gave it a very thorough cleaning, and even went through some of the boxes that have been stacked on the shelves since we moved into our house three years ago! I used the empty boxes to pile up all the junk that has been accumulating on the shelves over these few years! I finished painting the legs on our "chow box" that we use for camping, and when John came out to help me put everything back in the garage, we decided if we stored it in the garage with the legs on it, we could put things underneath it, like the wagon, and Daniel's pedal car. I cleaned out the old mix-matched plastic dishes I'd had in the chow box, and refilled it with the new set of matching plastic plates, bowls tumblers and juice cups I'd purchased a few weeks ago at Wal-Mart for a few dollars. I was a little disappointed in myself that I did not remember to take a picture of the very cool Gator theme painted chow box before we put it back into the garage! The upside to that is, I will take a picture of it next weekend, when John and I go camping by ourselves! I asked Daniel to pick up all the screws and nuts, ans whatever else was on the floor, from the basket I used to have sitting on the water heater. One day, I was in the back corner, when I hit the basket filled with all the little bits that had accumulated on John's dresser, the bits went everywhere! John, being an electrician, brings home those extra screws, nuts and wire nuts, and who knows what else those odd looking things are, and they often end up sitting on his dresser. Now and then, I provide a can or basket to clear them off.. and that was the source of the disaster in the back corner of the garage! Daniel was more interested in sitting on the floor, going through all these pieces, than picking them up. Finally, after an hour, I told him he was fired, and I'd do it myself. I found in a small bag he had in his room at bedtime, he kept a spring toggle screw for himself. He found that one particularly entertaining! I'm happy to report, the garage is all put back together, and after trash day on Tuesday, it will be very roomy once again!

After dinner, and kids' baths, I came back here to the office, where I was able to go over the hymns I'd be playing in church tomorrow for pre-service, and also began working on the audition piece I'd ordered, for my audition with the director of the JU Orchestra. It came in the mail today, so I figured I'd better get started now! I'm no dummy, I ordered a piece I'd played in high school, although, although I didn't realize it's a more difficult arrangement. No better time than the present to get started on that now! I still need to prepare for the Sunday School lesson in the morning, but that won't be too difficult.

All in all, I think it's been a very productive day. I thank God for a beautiful, warm day, allowing me the motivation to do all that I needed to achive. Tomorrow's goal is to do this week's laundry, and maybe rake the backyard. It's full of leaves, and it looks so nice with the full sandbox. I want the whole yard to look nice to show off the new sandbox!

The Sparkles and The Birds are playing in the Superbowl tonight!

As Hanna stood in front of the televsion tonight, she announced the score for her Daddy, who often can't see the score and asks her what the numbers are. She said at the time, The "sparkles" have 10, and the "birds" have 7. John and I couldn't help but laugh at that kind of score announcing, since she didn't realize it was the Stealers and the Cardinals.

My sister and her husband came over for dinner and to pick up their daughter, who had spent the day at our house. We decided to grill Brats, which boiled in beer and onions all afternoon, before hitting the grill, and then we made battered chicken wings! I also made maccaroni and cheese, and baked beans, and we had all kinds of dip and chips. My sister brought a pumpkin spice cake with vanilla pudding filling! Mmmmm.. it was all so good! The kids were running around playing in all kinds of stuff, and wanted something that was still in truck from this mornings trip to church. I went out into the garage, and nearly stepped on top of the shattered mirror that was sitting on my garage floor right in front of the truck. I stepped inside, and asked WHO in the house knew anything about the mirror in a million pieces. Hanna didn't really have to say much, since her face pretty well gave it away! Confirming it was her, I sent her to immediate time out while I cleaned up the slivers of glass! I later explained that I didn't really care so much about the mirror, but it was the fact that there was an accident and broken glass all over the floor, and she did not say anything, this is what got her into trouble! I explained no matter what, when something happens she always needs to let a grown up know about it. Someone could have gone out there barefoot in the dark and stepped right into it and cut up there feet! Then, she would have been in even more trouble! She is now grounded Monday thru Wednesday. Although, I often feel that grounding her is really continuing my aggravation, as she will sit and complain about how LONG three days being grounded is, and she really wants to play with her friends! I said, let's be clear You will NOT watch a movie of your choice, you will do your homework, and if you have any additional time, you will sit and watch what is on telelvions (a luxury timeout) but you WILL NOT play with any of your friends, and you WILL NOT be watching any movies on DVD!

When I returned into the living room, my sister had a look on her face, and said.. "your dog's in trouble too!" What? How could a dog be in trouble? My brother in law, Roger said.. "she ate the oil!" Oh no! The cast iron skillet we used to deep fry the chicken wings was sitting on the cooker, because it was too hot to move when we came in to eat. John forgot it was out there, and let her outside. She came in, and sat in the living room, licking her lips and rubbing her face with her paws, trying to get all that oil off! Oh no! John said, "you can't let her in. She's gonna be sick, one end or the other!" Well, she has been spending some time out in the yard, throwing up, that's for sure! I expect we'll have a day tomorrow when she poops all over the yard. I'm debating, although mostly leaning towards not, as to whether or not to let her sleep inside tonight! If I crate her like I usually do, if she gets "the runs", like I expect to happen, she'll make a mess in her crate (which by the way sits in my office), and I'll have a really bad day tomorrow. If I let her in, but not crate her, she might make a mess in my living room or dining room. If I leave her outside, she's not used to being outside at night, and it's cold. I am struggling with knowing what to do! She's a really big dog, and it will be a really BIG mess! I did look online to see if any damages could be done to a dog if they eat canola oil. The "good news", if it could be considered that, is that it will only cause upset stomach and diarrhea. Hmm.. that's comforting! I guess! I can only imagine the feeling of indigestion this dog is feeling right about now! Fried food gives me miserable indigestion, I can't imagine drinking the oil!

My only thoughts are, "this is a crappy way to start the week!" But, hey, I get to watch the sparkles and birds play in the Superbowl!