Dora’s good mood continued after school today, significantly bolstered by her being one of ten kids (out of 24) who will advance to the next level of the spelling bee. She joined us on a walk, enjoying a few inches of snow, and right now, she and Beth are making all kinds of noise as they set the table and make drinks for dinner.

Remember that I mentioned Kaleidoscope in a previous blog? Kaleidoscope is a cool kid’s “playground” created and maintained by Hallmark cards. There are... more

Dora completed her required bags of manure last night and came inside much calmer and more relaxed. She cleaned up and joined me in the “lower level” while I worked at arranging new furniture and completing the transformation from "unfinished basement" to family room.

One of the boxes I retrieved from the unfinished side of the basement contained the Cabbage Patch dolls that once occupied a space in our rec room, but were stashed in a box for several years due to frequent moves. These dolls represent my kids: Kyle and Steph, Tommy and Amy, Beth, and Big Amanda,... more

As I am frequently in the elementary school these days, I see various class projects and art masterpieces displayed on the walls and bulletin boards. One of those class projects was a “newspaper” prominently displaying a photo of the person whose “Exclusive Story (was) Told Here for the Very First Time!” I looked for Beth’s on the wall yesterday but I couldn’t find it. So imagine my surprise when I sat down for breakfast this morning after she had caught the bus and found some of her papers left for me to see. One of them was her newspaper.

In... more

I’m in yet another hotel room as I write this. Yesterday was spent having an upper GI endoscopic exam, followed by a really fun party with my vet school classmates. The upper GI exam confirmed that I will need to return for endoscopic surgery sometime after the first of next year.

After taking a nap to sleep off the happy drugs from my GI exam, we headed to the home of one of my classmates for another party. Beth and Dora were the only two kids there. Many of my classmates commented on how polite and well-behaved they were. The girls spent some of the time... more