Days with the Dorans

 Well... There are a lot of things I feel like I should be catching up on.  Things that happened before Cobi left us and things that have happened after and yet it pains me a bit to write about anything that may be happy.  Perhaps it is my way... I remember with Andrew finding a comfort in the sadness.  Like a warm blanket almost. Our house feels so strange without him.  I've stepped out on the deck most nights to say goodnight to him and blow him a kiss.  It feels like he should be out there.  Perhaps he is. He had a place~ in every room and it's so strange with him not being there.  Even as I type this, he should be on my right, curled up like he would, taking a little nap.  I can almost hear the rhythm of his (healthy) breathing. I have found my friends to be such an incredible comfort.  I've gotten calls, cards, emails and messages offering loving words and support.  I've also gotten some amazing books that have made ...

Well, we knew this day would come.  Prayed that it would be clear and it was. On Sunday night I laid with Cobi as I have (more so in recent weeks).  He asked to go outside at one point and he was out longer than usual.  I called for him to come inside and he didn't come. I had been cleaning the kitchen and I thought perhaps I had let him inside.  My brain isn't the best. I ran upstairs and to all his favorite places, but he was nowhere to be found.  I grabbed my shoes, wrapped my arms around me and went out to the cold calling for my baby, in a panic.  He came to me slowly from out in the darkness and when we got inside I sat with him, wrapped my arms around him and cried. As promised.  He had told me.  This was it. Somehow I went to school and made the call.  The last appointment of the day was at 5:20pm and since Joey wasn't getting home until 6:00, I took it as a consult and then also booked the first appointment for t...

 I never thought I'd be someone who would own two dogs, but Cobi came along simply because Pele' (our first dog) needed to gain a couple pounds and since nothing seemed to be working, the vet suggested some 'food competition' for Pele' (aka a puppy).  So my mom and I were off quick to find a puppy for Pele' (Jeff worked in business at the time and we were in the last weeks of summer).  We found another Humane Society Special (given the name "Walter") and he and Pele' seemed to not mind each other, so we took him home and renamed him "Cobi Jones" after another soccer player (not a great one but I liked the sound of the name).  Pele' gained the couple pounds he needed, but we gained so very much more... Cobi has been a bit of a lug... he loves his food, he'll chase a ball (and goes nuts for squirrels) but he'd much rather lounge in the water (I mean, just walk in and hang out). I remember when I was pregnant with the boy...

Our two Humane Society Specials have a pretty nice life. They have never been in a kennel and until a few months ago (when someone chewed on a leg of a chair), they had free reign of our house when we were gone. Now while we are away (only three days for them since my folks watch the Littles at our house), they spend their time in our laundry room. They sleep most of the day away there... or so we thought! When we came home yesterday there were two large holes in the wall. Both dogs looked guilty (I think that that is a gift they have... looking guilty... or sorry...), but only one had white evidence under his nails. And so Cobi is going to try to rival his brother when it comes to spending money. Pele' has cost us a ton of money from hospital, vet, and medications. Here Cobi has decided he too can make a dent in our wallets... (er... uh... walls...) To watch the video below on You Tube, you can click HERE.

The last thing I expected to be doing tonight was typing on my computer (or even looking at it). Tomorrow we leave for Tennessee and we have been busy cleaning and packing up the car in hopes to leave early and spend more time with dear friends in Knoxville before our final destination. We usually wait to clean until after the kids are in bed because they are the world's best mess makers! Sean's newest thing is opening any cupboard or drawer and throwing all its contents out over his shoulder. Waiting until he was in bed was a necessity (especially when it came to laundry). I spent a lot of time with Pele' and Cobi tonight including giving them a good brushing with the F urminator in hopes it would help our friend (and wonderful house-sitter) from finding another dog (aka all the fur that is shed in a week). The dog whisperer joined us and also told them how much he loved them. As I type, the dog whisperer, Jeff and the other children (including the firstborns) ...

I was sitting in our room last night, blogging away about Ali Jane, when I thought I smelled skunk. I asked Jeff if he smelled it and he said 'no' and then he sniffed again. We looked at Pele' sitting on his dog pillow and at the same time said, "Where is Cobi ?" Cobi apparently had a rendezvous with Pepe Le Pew! That's right! He had been skunked! I immediately stopped blogging, started googling and Jeff and I were off to give the first two baths of this lovely ordeal. We doused him with tomato juice, baking soda and dish detergent and hoped for the best, but the horrible smell seemed to be everywhere! As I went to bed, I felt that I was tasting skunk. Cobi (after his first two baths) spent the night and the following day locked in our laundry room. The morning was interesting as I couldn't walk through our laundry room to get to our garage. I kept everyone from Cobi , but the coats and backpacks were hanging in our laundry room and so (thoug...