Days with the Dorans

It's been about a month and I've been dreading this post... Dreading my house... Dreading so much.  As I type these words, this sweet face I am looking at in pictures, is no longer here. There was no denying that Pele' was sick.  The truth was that he had been sick for some time, but in the days leading up to these photos, it was worse.  We were picking him up more.  He was having accidents in the house.  He was losing his spunk. It was time... To be sure, Jeff took Pele' to the vet where the vet said yes.  It was time.  We were doing the right thing... Like with Cobi, I had prayed that Pele' would let go on his own, but what faithful pet would ever give up on his family??  Not ours. Jeff gave Pele' a cheeseburger and beer for his "last supper."  I wondered about the beer, but Jeff said... he'll be gone in a couple hours, Laura, give him this.  It was true.  Pele' loved to sneak drinks out of unsuspecting beer drinke...

WHAT A DAY! I was home with Sean today so got the kids on the bus.  Pele' wanted to go out with them, but I knew he'd follow them, so I pulled him inside and watched from the window as the Bigs got on the bus.  I had my shoes on because I was getting on the treadmill- but no coat of course.  I say this because in the past, when I get my shoes on, Pele' gets REALLY excited because he thinks he's going on a walk.  We haven't walked lately because of the cold but mostly because it's hard for him to walk in the big snowbanks and we don't have sidewalks. I figured since I didn't have a coat on, he'd know I wasn't really going anywhere. So about five minutes after the kids left out the front door, Pele' went to the back door to go outside.  I didn't think much of it and let him out.  He doesn't go far in his old age (often with this snow he doesn't even leave the deck).  Anyway, it had been a good five minutes and no Pele...

 Since Cobi died, it's been hard leaving Pele' (pronounced Pay-Lay after the famous soccer player).  It's gotten to the point where if he sees us leaving the house, he'll sneak out and get into the car to come with us.  He's been very happy because he's been coming to all the ball games (and there are MANY) and he's also come with us any time we have gone to the lake.  When he first started joining us, he would shake in the car (which is odd since he was the one who hopped in), but now he's relaxed and comfortable.  Pele' never was very good at walking on a leash. In fact, that's why I used to take Cobi on walks.  That and Pele' used to drag one of his paws.  I don't know how this happened, but now Pele' keeps good step with me and doesn't seem to drag his foot.  He does sometimes trip now and then when his legs don't work like he'd like them, but overall he's done well.  We do one or two miles and he usua...

We were so blessed to be able to go on a vacation earlier this month, but we weren't the only ones in the Doran household to travel.  Morty went to my brother's (let's face it, Morty is the EASIEST pet EVER... If anyone out there wants an easy pet, get yourself a Russian Tortoise). Dogs aren't quite as easy though and with Cobi recently dying we worried about Pele' (by the way, for those of you who just read, Pele' is named after t he famous soccer player and pronounced Pay-Lay). I was worried about Pele'.  He and Cobi had never been boarded.  We'd always had people come and live in our house whenever we've left town.  When Cobi was sick, we made arrangements with the hospital for them to stay there.  After Cobi died, I really didn't think much about our leaving until the week before we left and it was too late to ask someone to come and watch our house.  Plus our old dog-sitter went and had triplets so needless to say she had her ha...

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) ...

Our Thanksgiving Day began at 2am when our first born, Pele', began to have seizures- and they didn't stop- so Jeff had to bring him (once again) to the animal hospital. It is very scary, and very sad and also the reason we haven't been able to spend holidays far from home. We are thankful that my parents live nearby and we were able to spend the day with them, my brother, his wife and daughter, and my dear Nan! My dad was very excited to have all his grandchildren together and gave them all matching Wolverine hats (much to the dismay of my Buckeye mom). As always it's a little tough to get Zach in a picture. But everyone had a great time! I brought two dishes, green bean casserole and sweet potato balls. The sweet potato balls are from a recipe my Nan always used and thankfully I remembered it and they turned out quite yummy! (There are no measurements in the recipe- a little of this- a little of that- so I felt like quite the cook!) The food was delicious an...