Phoebe - 18 days old

I'm in love...... :)

Happy Halloween and 1 YEAR LID

Not sure if this is a celebratory note or not... but... I've officially been Logged In to China for one whole year!!!!! Wooohoooohoooo! Ok, seriously, I kind of had a feeling early on that I wouldn't get a referral in the original 6-8 month timeframe. Now, it has moved to approx 14 months until referral. That would be, in theory, January (since my LID is at the End of the month and they've been doing the 2nd half or the last 3rd of the month as the next month... if that makes sense. so, it might be more like 15 months for me). I'm still thinking I might not get a referral until Feb at the earliest. Let's see.

The problem is, today is the last day of October and no Referrals have been sent yet for October. Boohoo. I'm not sure what this means. They keep saying things might speed up, or should stay status quo, but this seems odd with no referrals yet for October. What does this mean, I wonder???

Happy Halloween to all the kiddos out there. :) I'm going trick-or-treating with my nephew tonight! That is always fun. He LOVE love loves Halloween.

Peace.

All in, or not in at all.

So, I did go ahead and decide to get the little Chinese Crested puppy. Even against some advice not to. I have heard they they aren't good alone all day every day... of course, I didn't read that part until after I had already made the decision, so I'm hoping I'm right and just going to move forward with my decision.

Little Phoebe will be ready December 8. I'm going to take a couple of days off that next week, and then the entire week of Christmas. I'm hoping that helps get her used to me and trained a bit.

Referrals are in the pipe, I'm thinking, but who knows when or to what date!

I also selected my insurance and such for next year. I wonder how fast I'll be able to update that when I find out who my daughter will be. They say 30 days... I re-upped my 401K investment, not quite back to what i used to do, but more than what I have been. I've been trying so hard to get some money saved. Oh, one good thing that happened was that my Director said I could roll over 10 days of vacation next year because it doesn't look like there will be any way for me to use it before the end of this year. That is GREAT news, because I'll be able to use part of it for the adoption time!! Very, very good. I do have to use one week of it in the first quarter... so, let's see when my referral comes. Maybe it'll come in Feb/Mar??

I haven't been sleeping so well again lately. I am hoping that changes soon. Work has been stressful, still, but we have hired 2 new people that start Monday and one of our India team members also comes in on Monday to work through our next test cycle. So, that will be pretty good, I hope! :)

I'm rambling, I know. I just had some kind of boring stuff to write about today...

Peace.

No comments?

Wow, I thought for sure that I'd get some comments on my puppy acquisition... or at least from the pics I posted! No dog people here??? i thought for sure i'd get - No, get this or that kind of dog... it's a great family dog... or what in the heck is a Crested?! It's ok, I guess. I am a cat person...turning into a dog person (maybe!)...

I guess I just have to continue to sit here smiling silly all on my own. So there. ha. (my theory that this is a good time to get her is that i feel good about it. let's hope that continues and i don't start worrying about her size and health and stuff! thankfully, she will be here by early Dec.)

I'm also very interested in the rumors of the next batch of referrals! I've heard they'll come next week, and maybe go through Aug 23?? BIG IF. So, we shall see...


Updated: I got a couple of interesting comments today, but not online ones...

Dad and Brother - you're going to name her what? Why don't you name her Sha-quay-quay or Phillipia.... Uli, what's that? Sounds like a disease! Ok... Phoebe ShaQuaQuay it is! ROFL. Dad said that when i bring her over my stepmom won't want me to bring her home! haha.

One of my best friends gave me the most negative comments about my getting a puppy. I was so hurt. I am not sure if she thinks I haven't mourned enough for Rachel (which I continue to do, but just not quite as openly)... or if it is because I gave 2 of the kitties up because of the house problems... or if it is truly because of the baby. She said that she doesn't think this is the right time and that it will be too much with the baby. And if I couldn't deal with the mess of cats (mess? How about destroying the family room so that i couldn't even have guests over or have the baby crawl on the floor... that not just a 'mess'). ... then how could I deal with a Puppy, who will surely make messes!!! OMG. Does this mean that I'm a) irresponsible? b) not capable? c) bad kitty parent so I shouldn't have a puppy? d) i didn't mourn enough, so I'm have no feelings and can just move on like that? (which is SO not true) It REALLY hurt my feelings. REALLY.

I can't even believe she feels that way. I've been looking into getting a dog for 2 years or more! She knows that! I just thought that this seemed like a good time. I've been so sad. I thought a little puppy in the house would liven things up and I could get her potty trained before the baby gets here.

Oh well. This distraught me to the point that I *actually* told one of my co-worder friends about the adoption (swore him to secrecy, of course)!! He was SO nice about it and about the puppy (knowing, too, the problems i've had with the cats... even though i really do love them.)

So, between him and my dad/brother, I'm feeling much better. They are a riot! Thank you God.

Peace.

Look at the baby girl... pup

A bit blurry, but this is the little girl I've just put a deposit on... :) All black with little white paws. awwww. She is so tiny. She was born 5 days ago and this pic is from a couple of days ago.




Here she is at 5 days. She will have a bit of white on her chest, too, it looks like. But I've got to figure out how to add that little video. :) Here are the udpated pics, anyway. She looks pretty much the same to me, but I imagine that will change soon.





Peace.

Chinese Crested update...

The breeder (in MO) for the little girl I was looking at didn't want to give me references. She said that the references she had on her website were all she'd give out. I think not. So, I am continuing my search for a puppy.

I happened upon another breeder in a different state (VA) who had puppies born on 10/13 of this month! One is a little black haired powder puff girl with white socks. She looks cute. I wonder just how black her hair will stay. I'm seriously considering going ahead and putting a deposit on her. I could get her Dec 8 and that would be good timing for the end of the year and taking a little time off, if need be.

When I called one of the references for this puppy, I spoke with a lady who didn't buy a Crested from this breeder, but a Westie. She had lots of good things to say about them. Then I told her about my adopting...and she said her daughter was thinking of adopting from China! WOW. What a small world! So, I think I talked more than she did!! hahaha. It is so great who you get to meet on this journey. God definitely shows us those connections to each other.

Then, I spoke with one gentleman who was just as nice as could be. He also had great things to say about the breeder, which was nice. He's gotten 2 Cresteds from him, plus a Westie. So, that was nice. It did come out that he is good friends with the breeder, but he did seem very honest and told me that the breeder keeps the pups indoors with them and that they are very loving to the animals. That is a good thing. Socialization is very important, IMO. So, now the question is... do I go with the Powder Puff (likely) or the hairless? I think I'll start with the PP and then if I ever decide to get another, I'll go with the more exotic HL. :D

Oh, and her name will be Phoebe.

Peace.

Chinese Crested puppies... help

I'm looking at getting a puppy. Sis says it is good for the baby to have a puppy, hehe. Actually, I have read that it is good for children to have pets in the home. We have Manna, but she is 12 years old... so, since I am actually allergic to cats (bet you didn't remember that part), I am thinking of getting a puppy instead of a kitten...

I've been online looking up Chinese dogs... Pugs, Shi Tzu (sp?) and Sharpei puppies... and then I happened upon Chinese Crested puppies... some are hairless and some are little fluff balls (called power puffs). The one I found (and sort of fell in love with at first sight, hahaha) is a little black and white one, female. She would be just a bit smaller than sis' dog Max...and we all love him to death. He is a Min-Pin and I wouldn't be opposed to getting one of those either. This little one could travel with me if and when need be... of course, she won't be good to run with, unless I put her in a carriage!!! ROFL.

So, the question is... anyone out there have one of these? Do you like it? I read that they can be hard to house break... but can be crate trained (which is what I would have to do). She is just a cutey pie... and I'm trying to figure out if I should take the plunge now since I've got a little while longer to wait for the baby (like, 'til March?) Oh, and she's about 12 weeks old, so, she's a great age to get started...

(and just for the record... part of the reason why i didn't start looking for a puppy before now is because of the cost (i'm still saving for the adoption and have had other expenses come up, too)... and these little cuties are not cheap. i'm wondering if she is worth the cost or not... but she is So cute... decisions, decisions)

Peace.

Coffee and sis and dreams

Sis and I made our own version of 'fancy-schmancy' coffee house coffee this weekend. YUM. We had a great time this weekend, again, and didn't even go shopping or anything. Neither of us were feeling 100% and so it was nice to just hang out. I made us (me, sis and nephew) pillows out of this bright yellow fuzzy(soft) fabric this weekend. That was fun. Sis gave me one of those little water fountains that is supposed to help you relax. :) It is in my family room now and looks way cool.

Sis said that my odd dream this week was common among parents getting ready to have a child...so, that made me feel better. a little.

I'm starting my usual wondering of when referrals will come in this month and how far they will get! Relaxation is key, as I've been extremely stressed out lately. It is still odd only having one kitty in the house!!

Peace.

Odd dream

I had the oddest dream of my daughter that I just can't seem to shake. This was a few days ago, but the image is still with me. We were in a restaurant and she was sitting/standing facing forward on a lady's lap (probably sis') and i was across from them standing talking to someone. I was looking over in admiration at my daughter who was beautiful... black wavy (almost curly) hair (odd) that was a little shorter than shoulder length.... she had a beautiful face with ONE EYE in the middle instead of 2 eyes. Ok, now I have NO idea what this means. She was smiling and happy and just cute as she could be, but freakish because of this ONE eye.

Odd.

Peace...

A happy birthday and a precious memory

First, Happy Birthday to my Brother-n-Law - Jake!!

That's about as happy as it gets today. Last night was one of the most difficult I've had to face with my little fur-family. Rachel, who was approximately 12 years old, had been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. I had the Vet do more than one blood work up to see if her numbers would come down any (creatnine was 16 and then 14, when it was supposed to be 1.5-2). Her numbers just wouldn't come down. They kept her on fluids since Saturday morning and had to eventually back off a little because it was going into and affecting her lungs (and breathing). I went to visit her twice yesterday and stayed with her as long as they'd let me. My vet said that he didn't expect her to live through the week, and most likely not through the night. :( OMG. I could't even begin to stand if she passed there all by herself in a cage. He had already suggested I put her to sleep (and I would only consider this as a final resort to the inevitable). So, finally, at about 7:30 pm last night, they injected her with the med that put her to sleep... she was asleep in less than 10 seconds. Seriously. She laid in my lap and cuddled my arm in her last couple of hours. She was so desperately weak and hadn't been able to eat because of the ulcerations/lesions on her tongue caused by the kidney failure. Apparently, signs of kidney failure go unnoticed until they have 30% or less of their functioning kidney and that is why it was SO SO SO fast. :( Unbelievable. I'm still quite in shock and I'm missing her terribly. She was and is definitely loved.

The vet's office gave me a little clay reminder with her name and her paw print that I baked today. They also cut a couple of tufts of her hair for me and I had her cremated. I couldn't even begin to sleep or do anything 'normal' last night...and am still just so very sad, depressed. I realize this was a cat, but she spent the last 10 years or so with me.

She was the sweetest cat I had. She would greet 'everyone'...and think that any guests I had were there to see HER. She was a hoot. She was my 'mommy' cat of the 4 and she took good care of Lancelot, especially. She will definitely be missed. I think Manna could even tell last night that something was wrong (perhaps 'cause I slept in the 2nd bedroom instead of my room)... I am definitely looking for God's comfort at this time. This was so quick and I hope Rachel is in heaven feeling much better today than she did last night.

Peace. Especially to all animal lovers out there. Give you cat or dog some love for me today.

A lesson in names

So, I went to my grandmother's Bible today and found some interesting stuff. First, I was wrong about her middle name being Maria. It was Margretta (meaning "Pearl"). Elizabeth means "dedicated to God", which is lovely, too. I did find, however, that her sister's name was Helen (which I did remember) and that has the same meaning as Ellen (my middle name), Elaine (sis' middle name) and the Baby's middle name of Elaina, all meaning "Light". So, she will be connected to her Aunt Mimi and her great, great Aunt Helen, and her mommy, of course!

On the name of Mia == Maria == Mary... (besides my other grandmother Marie), apparently, my Great, Great Grandmother's name was Mary Susan. So, it fits, afterall. Not that I was ready to give up on what I decided this weekend, but I just wanted to see what our family history had to say, too. And figure out if there was a reason I was drawn to it.

Especially, since I'm trying to keep my mind off how Rachel is feeling right now. :( I'm so sad for her.....

11 month +1day

So, I didn't write yesterday, but it was my 11 month LID anniversary. Getting there, getting there. The fact that I picked a name (and still have a couple just in case), was a great accomplishment this weekend.

Now for the BAD news. My sweet, sweet, sweet kitty RACHEL is dying. I found her Friday night looking like she was dehydrated and throwing up blood. (she was fine the day before...this was unbelievably quick) NOT GOOD. So, I force-fed her some water/tuna juice to see if that would help at all, and then first thing Saturday took her to her Vet. Well, apparently, she is in renal failure. They weren't sure if she was in acute or chronic, but now they think it is chronic and that she won't make it the week. Her blood work was super high and unless it comes down dramatically today (which isn't likely), this is it. I just can't even get over this. This is HORRIBLE. I went to see her this morning and she is just so weak/lethargic. They are going to do more blood work, but the vet wants me to put her to sleep. That just tears my heart out. Of course, I don't want her to suffer. So, I am praying about this and will do what is right (I hope!) when the time comes.

Prayers are welcome.

Peace.