This Week

As I suspected, life around here has been exceptionally busy.  Sweet little Fin has been keeping me company this week and was able to keep up with all of our comings and goings with a smile.  His other grandma arrived last night so she's staying with him for the remainder of the week.  It's very quiet here right now.  I'm already thinking that I'll need to go steal him for a bit this weekend.

There's so much that I should be doing today but I think it's going to be a play day in JulieWorld. I'm feeling the need to make something.  After that I'll probably spend some time reading.  My local book club meets next week and I only just downloaded the book.  We're reading something a bit different this time ... Devil in the White City - A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America.

Before I start my day though I wanted to share the big news of the week. Notice anything different about this girl's smile?

No braces!

She is happy beyond words and three days later still can't keep from checking herself out in the mirror.  Perhaps now she'll allow me to take her picture a bit more often.  :-)





    

Recent Happenings

Just a quick update...

We spent a portion of last week in Charleston, SC followed by a few days on Amelia Island, FL.  I have tons of photos but as of yet, they are still on my camera.

Just two days after arriving home, Jay and his family pulled in with a 26' UHaul.  (I had no idea they had that much stuff!)  Wednesday evening was their first night in their new home.  His parents were very busy during those four days so Fin spent the majority of his time with me.

Tomorrow is my Miami book club meeting.  How I managed to start and finish an entire book this week is beyond me but I did, no doubt in part because it was very good.  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield  I highly recommend it.

We will all be spending Easter at my dear friends Kelley and Hans' home with brunch and an egg hunt for the littles.  Always a good time.

Jay and Colleen start their new jobs on Monday so I am on Fin Duty. Thankfully they are shortened shifts (8:00-4:30) because it's Monday - Friday next week.  Fin is so good but definitely keeps Grandma on her toes.

I hope to be back with photos soon.

Possibly MIA

The next couple of weeks are going to be hectic (so what else is new, right?) and while I will try to get online, I certainly can't promise that I will have the time (or energy).  If you don't see me for a bit, don't worry (eh, hem...Mom). I'm merely exhausted from chasing Fin around.

I'll check in when I can. Thanks!!!

Ease on Down, Canine Style

(My family will get the title reference.)

Adding to the craziness of last week, Bitzy had a freak fall/jump from the couch.  She was right next to me and I didn't even see the whole thing happen. She let out the most blood curdling set of yelps and when I looked down, her front right leg was sticking straight out perpendicular to her body.  Needless to say, panic set in.  She calmed down enough to let me pick her up and while I know she was in excruciating pain, she was such a good little girl.  Not even so much as a whimper in the time afterward.  Because it was 9:30 PM I placed a call to the emergency vet only to find out that there was going to be a several hour wait.  She was calm (and her arm no longer sticking straight out) so we decided to keep her home until our local vet's office opened the next morning.

I was certain that she'd dislocated her shoulder. Upon her initial examination, the vet thought it was her elbow as there was quite a bit of swelling in that area.  X-rays soon revealed that she had three broken bones in her right foot, most likely the result of an awkward twist as she was falling/jumping.  Looking at the couch last night, I'm fairly certain that she must have gotten her paw stuck in between the cushions, unable to remove it as she half tumbled/half jumped off.  I doubt we could re-create it if we tried....not that we would ever want to.

Poor baby girl has been such a trooper.  She's now in a spoon splint from her elbow down.  She gets along pretty well with three legs but the vet assures me that in a few days she'll be weight bearing on all fours.  The splint will remain a minimum of 6-8 weeks.

The blue is actually a rubber glove to prevent the splint from getting wet.  My plans for grooming her are on hold so she's going to be one very shaggy pooch for awhile.  She has been such a good sport but being all too familiar with orthopedic pain myself, my heart breaks for her right now.

Play Ball!

You may all recall that my aunt/uncle and gang have been visiting us from IL every March for the last several years.  Their trips are planned to coincide with start of the Cardinals Spring Training Season in Jupiter and while I am too busy (see previous post...LOL!) to attend any games this time around, they have been at the ball field nearly every afternoon.

They arrived to gorgeous weather and have been staying in an equally gorgeous 4 bedroom three bath home complete with a resort style outdoor living area. My parents were also here for a few days and needless to say, we've had some absolutely wonderful al fresco gatherings.  They are such a fun group and we look forward to their visits every year.

Great company, great food and of course, great drinks.

My compliments to Pat, our resident bartender.  :-)  It was beyond yummy.

Feeding Frenzy

The last week has been crazy to infinity and beyond.  Securing new jobs was easy.  Finding a decent rental home was beyond insane.  I won't go into all of details of my week but house hunting (which soon turned to apartment hunting) consumed my every waking moment for over a week.  Who knew the rental competition was so fierce????  It's like sharks circling chum around here.  Seriously.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the first callers on a home that went up early, early Sunday morning.  (Fortunate because I was stalking all of the rental sites hourly.)  The owner had stipulated "No Pets" but I charmed my way into letting me see it an hour later. By the end of that afternoon, he'd had 30+ inquiries.  Within another twenty-four hours he had over fifty, many of them offering to take the house "sight unseen."  (Feeding Frenzy!)  The charms of a grandma, some very cute photos of Fin with Marley, along with a great credit report on their part finally convinced him that we were "the ones." The deal was finalized on Tuesday and I cannot even begin to tell you the relief I felt at that point.   Had this fallen through their only other option would have been a second floor apartment. Definitely not ideal with a baby.

On the afternoon that I was meeting him to (hopefully) close the deal (he had two others lined up immediately behind us) Colleen sent this photo to me along with a cute little message...

              
        "Here if he needs a family photo, aren't we cute! We deserve a home!"  

Seriously, how could anyone not rent to them?

They will be driving the moving van down on the 20th, there are meetings at the hospital on the 21st and 23rd and somewhere in between they'll be moving into the new place and finishing up the details on their current place.  Their jobs officially start on the 28th. The next few weeks will be just as crazy but at least they will be in a nice home in a quiet neighborhood.  The best part?  Fin will only twelve minutes from Grandma.  :-)  

Slam Dunk

As most of you know, both my son and daughter-in-law are RNs currently working in Orlando. They've been discussing moving here for quite some time but had to wait until Jay's contract at his hospital had been honored, which it now has.

A week ago they both applied for nursing positions at our local hospital and amazingly both had interviews scheduled immediately.

They arrived Sunday night, each interviewed on Monday (she in the morning and he in the afternoon) and both left their respective interviews with great job offers which they both in turn accepted. (Same departments but different campus locations.)  I do believe that was the most productive day ever.

The plan is that they will each work three 12 hour shifts a week, one of which will overlap.  The overlapping day will be a Grandma day.  :-)  That way they both have two days home alone with Fin as well as two days off together.  The new jobs start on the 28th.  (Yes, March 28th!)  It's going to be crazy for awhile but I have no doubt that we will all fall into a nice routine.

They applied, they interviewed, they conquered.  Easy-Peasy.  :-)