A few weeks ago, after Meg came home from school, she asked me if she could have some Hershey Kisses.
I told her she could.
She then asked if she could have four (that's the limit per day on Hershey Kisses).
I said sure...
...I guess she thought that this meant that she should shove all four into her mouth at once. When I was pregnant with Megan (7 months pregnant), Dixie got very sick. Since I was home on bed rest, I watched as her health deteriorated fast. Jarrad and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. She wasn't eating, she was very lethargic and was just "off". So, after about a day of this, I couldn't sit around and do nothing. We decided it was time to take her into the vet.
Test after test after test, Dixie was diagnosed with renal failure. They treated her for this diagnosis and sent her home with us four days later. We brought her home on a Friday and she was perfect. She wanted to eat, she wanted to drink, she wanted to play.
Unfortunately, the good health was short lived. By Sunday, her signs were resurfacing. Slowly, but surely, she got weaker, stopped eating, stopped drinking. On Tuesday, I took her out to go potty and she collapsed on my front porch.
I picked her up and rushed her back to the vet...they ran more tests. Since I was on bed rest for high blood pressure, everyone thought it was in my best interested to go home and wait on the results.
A few hours later, we got the diagnosis of Addison's Disease. This is a pretty rare condition (the vet that treated her had only seen 3 cases in her 20-years). The good news was that while Addison's isn't curable, it is treatable by medication. So, for the past five years, we've been giving Dixie fludrocortisone every day. Ever since we got her dosage leveled out, she's been fine...
Sunday, we went over to Boompaw & Nawnaw's house for an early thanksgiving celebrations. When we got home around 5:45, I made the dogs dinner and let them in to feed. I could tell as soon as I laid my eyes on Dixie that something was wrong. VERY. WRONG.
She wouldn't touch her food, she was shivering, she was very "off". After a few minutes of discussion, we decided that I needed to get her to the emergency vet. Dixie & I arrived at the vet's office a little after 7:00. After countless blood tests, it was determined that she just had an imbalance with her Addison's.
She had to spend the night in the hospital on Sunday night so she could receive fluids, steroids, and other blood tests. I called to check on her before we went to bed, first thing in the morning and mid-afternoon. She was doing great and it was looking good for her to come home. They just had to run one more blood test at 6:00pm before they could release her.
I was so happy when I heard that the blood work looked good. We loaded up in the car as a family and went to get Dixie from the "hospital".
When she came rushing thru the exam room doors, I could tell that she was her old self. The twinkle was back in her eyes and she was smiling.
After a few words with the nurse, we were free to take the princess back to the house.
Last week, I had Jarrad help me get all the Christmas decorations down from the attic...plan was to put everything up this weekend. I got part of my plan accomplished - the tree is up, the mantle is decorated, Meg's tree is up in her room and my angels are out.
I was feeling a little under the weather this weekend, so I didn't get everything put out. I will work on my villages tomorrow night and then I should be set. I love decorating early - it allows us to enjoy the holidays that much longer. Plus, if I didn't do it this weekend, I don't know when I would have had time to.
Last Sunday, after the Cowboys game, Meg, Jarrad and I headed out to the front yard for some golf. The weather was so beautiful that we just couldn't stay inside any longer! Meg asked me to find her some golf lessons, so I'm going to see what I can come up with in Mansfield. I think we'll get thru the holidays, then find her a lesson.
***lining up***
I think I have found a great place for pictures :) Meg was my model today...and, for once, she was perfectly fine with posing for me.
The other night, Meg was dancing in the living room. I couldn't resist grabbing my camera to snap a few shots. There was no music playing, just the music in her heart! This girl knows how to light up a room. I hope she always dances!
Last week we had some beautiful weather (if you subtract Wednesday night/Thursday, it was the perfect week). Wednesday afternoon, after I picked Megan up from school, I decided that it was too beautiful of a day to stay inside, so we grabbed the chalk and started coloring.
Life is too short for me to miss these moments. I know I should have probably been working, but I guess being able to spend an afternoon in the driveway with my beautiful, creative, energetic daughter is one of the many perks of working from home. (Believe me, there is also a downside).
I grabbed my camera and headed outside to capture the joys of being five. I drew hopscotch on the driveway and Meg hopped her way back and forth. I was amazed at how good she has gotten - she told me they play hopscotch at school.
