still running around crazy

the baby/shower birthday party is fast approaching (saturday!), which means an action packed weekend. bryan's dad will be in town thursday - tuesday. we are thinking of going to chicago sunday. it will be really neat to take hannah there to see the museums, navy pier, etc. i also realized we would then have the chance to eat dinner at a rick bayliss restaurant. now, i am sitting at work looking at his menus and giggling like an idiot. i love eating good food. i even love reading about good food and tasting it that way. being there is way more fun though. ;)

however, before sunday even arrives, i have mucho work to do in order to get ready for the party. we have most of the supplies, though i still need to get a few and verify mom has all the food so i can start prepping for that. it's going to be a tiring week but i'm pretty excited. it should be a good party, and i can't wait to see our out of town guests!

the month of bryan is in full swing, though he hasn't had a chance to relax as much as usual. yesterday we took an easy day and mostly stayed at the house. hannah and i hit the pool, which was so awesome in yesterday's godawful heat. i told bryan to play video games but he ended up doing work. i guess that's our lives for awhile...

tour de france started saturday. i missed the prologue (hannah and i were out shopping all day), but caught stage 1. luckily we had our cable installed last thursday, so we can dvr everything and thereby miss nothing. it should be a very very exciting tour.

hannah and i had a blast shopping saturday. i had allotted less time than we actually ended up spending being out, but that was only because i underestimated the amount of time we would spend at the limited too. i should have known! even though hannah had all of $3 left on her gift card, picking a dress for the party was quite an ordeal. she found a super cute one, though, so everyone's happy. i managed to find a perfect dress at mimi (along with a few other things), and shannon found a super cute top at the limited as well. we also found hannah some great accessories (white rimmed sunglasses, a strawberry necklace) and the CUTEST sparkly sneakers ever. she is such a fashion maven. too cute!

we're taking mom and dad out to lake park bistro on tuesday in thanks for all the help they've given us. they would never take themselves, and i've been dying to go - the chef was nominated for a james beard award. it should be a fun evening of decadence. hannah has no desire to go, which is funny, because she's usually so excited about eating at fancy places (and could never understand why we wouldn't take her to bacchnalia). i think the idea of spending the evening home alone with shannon is waaaaaaaaay more exciting.

ally's been doing well. she looks like she's feeling alright, and her leg doesn't seem to bother her much. she's even been jumping around on it. i've caught her licking it a few times, but i get the feeling it's more because the stitches are itchy. she gets them out on friday and i'm looking forward to that. i should also hear soon about the lab results on the tumor, which i'm pretty antsy for.

we have so much prep to do and not much time to do it. it's going to be another tiring week. looks like i may be able to relax in august, though...

ally the trooper

ally's surgery went well. the vet expects to hear back early next week on her full biospy; until then, i just have to wait in suspense. ally is doing really well. it's pretty sad to see her so subdued when she is normally so active, but she is moving around really well. she was pretty out of it when i picked her up after her surgery, and i think her pain meds knock her out a bit as well. but overall she's not complaining and is toughing it out. she doesn't enjoy taking her pills but a little roast beef treat helps some. she'll get her stitches out next week friday. the incision is looking good and she's staying away from it, so that at least is healing well. moose is being super sweet and gentle. he hasn't tried to rough house with her at all and isn't getting upset when she gets lots of attention like he normally would. he's a great little brother. we've all got our fingers crossed.

today's the day

i dropped ally off at the vet this morning for her surgery. she was all fine and excited until i handed her off to the vet tech to take her in the back. she was very confused as to why i wasn't coming and almost refused. they'll call me after 2 to let me know how it goes. i'm sure it'll go fine, but i can't help feel nervous nonetheless. luckily i don't have too many meetings today. i'm fairly distracted. ally is a very special girl, and i am constantly praying that everything will turn out alright.

ally

the dogs had their vet appointment yesterday. big ups for both dogs on their pretty sparkly teeth as usual, but while examining ally, the vet found a small lump on her left hind leg. she performed a biopsy to be safe. i spoke with the vet this morning, and they have determined that it is mast cell cancer. they recommend surgery. they are putting together a plan and will call me back.
i'm feeling nervous. i've done a lot of reading on this type of cancer in dogs over the last hour. it seems that the stage the cancer is at cannot be determined until the tumor is removed, nor can they determine if the cancer has spread to her tissue, bone marrow, or lymphs nodes until they do so. i am hoping that we caught it early enough that surgery, and perhaps follow up prednisone treatments, will be enough. i'm at a loss at what to do, and for those of you who know me, you know that is something i like very little. i guess we'll just have to wait and see. please keep her in your prayers.