Laxie through the Looking Glass

[Laxie]

My Mom used to visit us two or three times a year, but there's been a wee glitch thrown into the mix with the past couple of years which meant she's not been here.  Soooooooo, right before the bash she phoned to say she'd booked 3 tickets to America for the kids!  It's not the first time they've travelled over without me and they're really looking forward to it.  We'll be cutting it to the wire getting them there though. 

Passports are a key factor for any international trip.  Tickets were booked first, passports checked after...as ya do.  All 3 US passports expired last year.  Oops. 

'Ah well, Brian and Sinéad have Irish ones, we'll just sort Sarah with an emergency Irish passport and we're good to go.'  Only means a quick trip to Cork City.  Managed it for Brian when he went to Germany last year, so how hard could it be?  Great idea in theory, but the Irish passport offices are in the middle of some industrial dispute at the minute and 'fast application' doesn't exist right now.  Marv.

Desperation took over yesterday and I phoned the US Embassy to sort something out for Sarah.  Good job I did as it turns out.  If I'd sent Brian & Sinéad (as US citizens) on their Irish passports, immigration could have turned them away for entering 'under false pretences.'  3 kids with dual nationality visiting their Nan sure sounds like an international crisis to me, sigh.  But rules are rules.  And we've an appointment to pick up 3 emergency US passports on June 24th in Dublin.  We all have to be present to apply for them and have to catch a train at 5:30am to be there in time.  Not quite the Cork trip I was hoping for.  They leave fly out the next day.  No pressure then.

Ah well, it'll be worth it in the end.  They'll be spoilt rotten by their American Grandparents and it gives me time to sort some things around here.  Lots of changes coming about...and at some point I'll have time to breathe again.

     

[GreekStein]

My mum got me and my dad tickets to the Greece vs Portugal Euro 2004 cup final and as we're ready to leave we see my passport had expired. By all accounts my uncle had a great time with my dad.

sdjlgsdgl;sd

[mondatoo]

My mum got me and my dad tickets to the Greece vs Portugal Euro 2004 cup final and as we're ready to leave we see my passport had expired. By all accounts my uncle had a great time with my dad.

sdjlgsdgl;sd

WTF,why didn't you go straight to the passport office and get an emergency passport ?

[Laxie]

Considering my Mom spent over 1k per ticket for them, we REALLY need to have their passports sorted.  The joys of being from middle America...airlines get ya good for getting there.  Which is why we don't get there very often. 

[Laxie]

I use to love doing silly things for the kids as they were growing up.  At Easter, we'd colour hard boiled eggs and leave them out for the Easter Bunny to hide.  Along with the eggs, there'd be 3 empty baskets for bunny to fill and a carrot for him to nibble on while he was there.  Just like my own Mom did for us when we were growing up.  

Once the kids would go to sleep, I'd get a wee bowl of flour and a mug of water to make 'bunny footprints' around the house leading to each of the hidden eggs.  Not exactly a proper scavenger hunt, I know.  But when I was growing up, my Mom forgot where she'd hidden an egg one year...and it wasn't found until a few weeks later.  To this day I get the 'smell' when I think of it.  Anyway, baskets would be filled with wee treats and trinkets and I'd chew away bits of the carrot and leave the stump on the plate.  Loved doing those 'bunny prints'.  

At Christmas we'd have a cookie baking party with 2 or 3 other families.  I'd have cookie dough made and divided into balls - one for each kid.  The kitchen was kitted out with rolling pins, cookie cutters, sprinkles and different colours of icing as well as loads of baking trays.  Each kid rolled out, cut and decorated their own batch of cookies while the few Mom's let them at it, only there to supervise the hot oven side of things.  Mess didn't matter.  And when they were done, each kid had their own plate of cookies from which they picked out that special cookie they'd leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve...along with a glass of milk.  Obv.  Loved doing it at the time, despite all the work involved.  But have to say, I'd rather cherish the memories than go through it again!  lol    

Halloween?  Well that wasn't heard of when we first moved to Ireland.  Sorry, but I pretty much missed out on a few years of Halloween growing up and wasn't about to miss out on it now just because they hadn't heard of it!  Every year up to recently (11 or 12 years in total) I'd decorate the Community Centre, hire a D J and make gift bags for up to 150 kids.  I'd help my kids sort costumes for themselves, showing them it wasn't always necessary to buy a ready made one from the shops.  And every year I'd dress up in something different to entertain the kids at their disco.  We'd play party games, dance like mad and just have fun for a couple of hours.  Anyone who didn't have a costume at the start needn't worry.  I also brought face paints and spare costume bits from our own collection to help kit them out.  They've carried it on since, but I've left others be in charge with the past couple of years.  Kind of miss it to be honest.  

The Tooth Fairy was supposed to be an easy one.  They'd leave the lost tooth under the pillow and wake in the morning to find it had been replaced with a few bob.  They had a bad habit of staying up longer than I could, so it didn't always get done in time.  If we didn't get to it in time they'd be told the Tooth Fairy must have had a very busy night.  Not to worry, put it under your pillow again tonight.  Then they'd get a bonus of a wee trinket under their pillow as well the following morning.  If I weren't so rubbish at staying up later than my kids, it would have been an easy gig.  

And the reason for this rambling post?  Well, last night Sarah lost one of her few remaining baby teeth.  We had a giggle about the old days when I was rubbish at staying awake and how it usually cost me more in the end as a result.  Then we chatted about what age each of them were when they found out the Easter Bunny, Santa & the Tooth Fairy were 'Mom gigs'.  Was a badly needed giggle at the time to be honest.  

Anyway, this morning I was giving Cassie her morning meds when I spotted Sarah's tooth sitting on the mantle.  With a wee giggle to meself, I collected up the tooth and replaced it with a €2 coin.  Finally beat them to it!  Just wondering how long before she notices.  

Made my day.  Hope the rest of you have good days too.  xx

[technolog]

FFS, now I want to be a mum mom.

[Laxie]

FFS, now I want to be a mum mom.

   Tbh, I wasn't sure which one to use at the start.  I know what I say, but I also know what you lot say.  Was a coin flip, but in the end I said 'feck it...going with my version.'

Cassie update - I'm no vet, but she seems to be healing well...much to Rocky's dismay.  Rocky had gone quite cheeky for himself knowing Cassie couldn't chase.  This morning I chanced Cassie off the lead in the backyard as it was just the two of us.  Rocky had to make a mad dash for it again.  Turns out 3-legged greyhounds CAN move a bit.  lol

Sinéad and her friend just took Lily with them to the shop and poor Cassie had heart failure at being left behind.  She pouted for a few minutes, but I've just treated her to a big bowl of food soaked in left over beef stew...so she's delighted with herself now. 

We're all looking forward to when she can head out on the lead around the village again, but will be another while yet.  Stitches come out on Tuesday and she'll get a proper check by the vet with more instructions then.  In the meantime, we're just chillin'.

[Karabiner]

[X] Thread delivers every time.

xx

[Laxie]

Today's the big day - stitches coming out!  Rang the vet's office this morning to find out what time they wanted me to bring Cassie in.  The head guy (owner/ortho specialist) answered the phone and didn't realise who he had at first.

"Hiya, I'm just wondering what time you'd like me to bring Cassie in to have her stitches removed."

"3:30 is free, can you make it then?"

"Yep, no problem...see you then."

"Who is this sorry?  Didn't catch the name at the start."

"Dawn Dineen with Cassie...."

"Oh the Greyhound?"

"Yep, that's right."

"Can you make it 5:30 instead so please?  I want to look after her personally."

"Will do.  See you then."

So there ya have it folks.  No underling looking after our girl.  She's getting VIP treatment all the way.  Will let ya know how it went and what he says when we get home.

Meanwhile, we've re-named the pair of them lately.  Cassie has been affectionately called 'Hop-a-long' with the past week for obvious reasons.  Lily's issue is more to do with age.  She can't seem to get her footing on timber floors these days.  The legs literally fly out from under her so she resembles some sort of cartoon character running in place.  With that, Lily's been called 'Scooby' lately.  (Sorry Jack  lol)  

End of this clip (51secs) is our Lily...except on the ground.  And not the same dog, obv.  lol

[Laxie]

The ortho vet is DELIGHTED with her!!!  He says she's healed up exactly as he would have hoped, with no signs of infection and in good form.  She's use to hopping now and we're to get her out of that habit by starting her physio straight away.  Four slow lead walks a day to get her using the leg again.  Still not allowed to go upstairs for another while, so we'll have to mind her that way.  The stitches were removed, she's off the meds and we're to see him again in two weeks time. 

His parting words..."Mind her well.  I gave you a break this time, but if she injures it again...cry, win the lotto and then call me."  Dunno why...maybe it was the way he said it, but his addition of the lotto comment had myself, Sarah and her friend Laura laughing our backsides off as we loaded Hop-A-Long into the car.  That said, pretty sure he wasn't joking so you can be sure we'll do our best to look after her.

[Rod Paradise]

I gather there's not vet's version of the Hippocratic Oath then.

[Laxie]

I gather there's not vet's version of the Hippocratic Oath then.

Ah, he's grand to be fair.  He could have stuffed us for a goodly bit more considering the treatment she's getting.  His point was...if she messes this up with another accident, it'll be a right proper mess to fix. 

I will mostly be investigating pet insurance in the very near future just to be safe.  Murphy's Law says, 'If you have it, you won't need it.'  One of the few laws that twisted fecker ever mentioned that I'm happy to work with. 

[EvilPie]

This vet has been very fair to you by the sound of it.

Ronnie's last trip to the vets:

Symptom - Bit of a limp

Cause - Mild arthritis

Chargable items - 1 x x-ray (icluding anaesthetic), 4 visits to vets for check ups, some steroid tablets

Cost - £760. Kerching.

Compare this to what Cassie has had done and I assure you your vet has been really good. He/she could've charged a hell of a lot more.

Get some insurance Dawn. It's well worth it. It'll probably cost less than £20 a month and could save an absolute fortune if something serious happens.

Make sure you get good insurance though. It's a minefield out there and they're all very different.

[Karabiner]

This vet has been very fair to you by the sound of it.

Ronnie's last trip to the vets:

Symptom - Bit of a limp

Cause - Mild arthritis

Chargable items - 1 x x-ray (icluding anaesthetic), 4 visits to vets for check ups, some steroid tablets

Cost - £760. Kerching.

Compare this to what Cassie has had done and I assure you your vet has been really good. He/she could've charged a hell of a lot more.

Get some insurance Dawn. It's well worth it. It'll probably cost less than £20 a month and could save an absolute fortune if something serious happens.

Make sure you get good insurance though. It's a minefield out there and they're all very different.

You may struggle to get anything that covers the leg that has already been injured though.

[Laxie]

I was talking to my brother in America for the first time in AGES on Monday.  Was great to catch up with him and I'd forgotten how much I miss him sometimes.  We mightn't speak often, but Mom fills us in on the latest happenings of each other.  He'd already heard about Cassie's leg.  Sean has a Greyhound too.  That was something I didn't know until Cassie landed, but Mom was there with the info again.  What she didn't tell me was he'd also broken a leg...running around their own back yard! 

Eragon is his name.  What a cool name for a dog.  Anyway, Sean and his family adopted Eragon from a shelter in New Jersey a few years back.  I've seen pictures of him lately and couldn't get The Simpson's out of me head.  lol  He different to Cassie.  Can't put my finger on it, but they just seem like two different breeds of dog.

Apparently when Eragon broke his leg, Sean was given 3 options.  Pin/plate job like Cassie had, cast (for God knows how long) or amputation of the leg.  Pin/plate job was $3k so Sean opted for the cast.  And 8 months later it came off.  8 months?!  That's how long it took to heal and it couldn't have been fun for any of them, but especially not for Eragon.  Their dog is grand now, but geez louise...8 months?!

Meanwhile, back in our world.  Cassie was using her leg last night during her first 'physio' walk.  Initially she tried hopping, but I followed the vet's instructions and just went really slow with her.  The 'slowly does it' plan worked and she got on grand.  Amazing how far she's come in just the two weeks!  Reckon she'll be right as rain in a month or two at the rate she's going. 

Will post up some pictures later today.  For now I must deliver Sinéad to her next exam.  Brian has the day off.  He looked a bit shook after Monday's exams, so I'm glad he gets the break.