WHEW WHAT A WEEK

and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

First--the new dog. He is amazing. I had heard stories about shelter rescues being very grateful and wonderful pets and it is so true. I highly recommend it. This little guy's favorite place is draped across your head or shoulder when you are lying down. Cosmo and Harley have become fast friends and if they aren't together, they are looking for each other.

Second--work. It is going to kill me. Does anyone know a rich little old couple that would like to send my kids through college so I can not work 18 hours a day? No? crap. Hey a girl can always hope.

Third--the boys. So much stuff is going on here and most of it is scary. S1 called from school on Wed night/Thu morning telling us he was on his way home-sick. Once we got the whole story out of him it turns out he has been vomiting for 2 weeks. No food stays down. On Thu. using my connections I got him in for an appointment and they told him he has IBD. I wasn't there (he is 19 now and goes into the office as an"adult") so I couldn't ask questions like..if he has IBD why is he vomiting but not having diarrhea etc. Apparently the lad is constipated too and none of the food is going through the way it should so it is coming back up. THEN...this morning when he was still vomiting, I started asking a zillion questions and when I asked him if there was any blood in the vomit, he says "no just some black slimey crap". HOLY SHIT..it probably IS blood. When I asked him if he told the doc on Thu he said "yea, I told him there wasn't any because blood is red mom"--OK I guess he wouldn't know that it can be black, he is a kid with no medical knowledge but don't you think the MD on should have pressed a little bit for more info?? Anyway..now I am going to ask BigD to call a gastroenterologist that is an acquaintance of his (that calls here frequently with police questions so now the tables are turned and it is his turn to help us) and see if we can get this squared away. My guess is that S1 is working on an ulcer. He is a very intense kid, a self proclaimed perfectionist that puts a lot of pressure on himself to be all things to all people. He is also the one of my three that I worry about the most.

Moving on to S2. When he was in 7th grade he was playing basketball and during a game his knee went right when his foot stayed planted. Since then I have suspected an ACL tear because of his continuous symptoms. He has had many MRI's, CAT scans, etc and none have shown a significant problem but I can see the knee doesn't look right and he has significant symptoms off and on, lots of pain etc sooooo to make a very long story short, he is going in for surgery this week. He will be in a brace for 4-6 weeks-and is hoping that he can be crutch free for the prom and graduation. We had contemplated waiting till summer for the surgery but then his whole summer he would be laid up so since he can still go to class (and probably gets LOTS of sympathy from the girls) it made sense to do the surgery now and get it out of the way.

There is a part of me that is terrified taking in a big healthy 17(will be 18 in a couple weeks) year old and doing surgery but this has been bothering him and keeping him from his beloved basketball because of the instability and I finally found an ortho guy that I trust and more importantly he operates in a hospital I trust so we are hoping this will go smoothly and all will be well.

Thankfully S3 is blissfully normal and happy with no concerns at this time. (Did I just jinx myself??)

So, now I have been at the "new" job for a couple of weeks and I can't work this week with all the appointments, procedures, surgeries etc that will be going on. Thankfully, the office is very family friendly so it shouldn't be a problem. Damn, I hate having to even ask for time off, when I was just self employed there was never that concern. I know I need the job, it just makes me appreciate all the years of self employment even more.

Anyway,,I am sure none of you are wanting to hear more of my worries. You came here for pix of the new guy in the house....so without further anticipation..here he is helping S3 IM his friends~ He thrives on being loved and I tell you after a crazy week there is noting better than unconditional doggy love.

Stressed? I don't think so.