Wild Man Takes a Fall

Brian and I were excited. We were off to the river with our friends the Wrens and the Samuels. It had been a long week of sick kids and Brian traveling...so when it was time to leave we ran out the door and decided to stop at Target for a few river essentials (cough beer and snacks cough). Just as we were heading to the checkout line with our full cart, I got a phone call from my mom. It's a bit fuzzy now but I know she was frantic, I know she was crying, I know Jensen was screaming in the background, and I know she said something about Jensen falling from his playhouse directly onto his head on the wood floor. The cart of river essentials was left in the middle of an aisle and we sped home while trying (in vain) to reach the pediatrician and trying (successfully) to reach my (paramedic) brother and ask him to meet us at the house.

When we got there, Jensen had pretty much stopped crying but was not really responding to us. We could not get him to talk to or really acknowledge us at all. Todd did some of his paramedic tests and concluded that Jensen was probably fine, but that he would feel better if we got him checked out at the hospital, just to be safe. Brian and I headed to Cook's with Jensen in the back seat...all the while me trying to get him to talk and failing miserably.  We kept getting more and more scared and Brian kept driving faster and faster...until we passed a train and Jensen seemed to snap out of his trance and said, "Thomas! Percy!". (Thank you, Thomas the Train!)

When we got to Cook's the wonderful staff not only didn't laugh at the crying first-time mom, but they took us right back and a paramedic blew bubbles for Jensen while a nurse took all his vitals. Once we were put into a room and Jensen was changed into the same little robe he wore for his ear tube surgery, he perked up quite a bit. In fact, by the time the doctor came in the room, he was pretty much running amok in the room and looking not at all like a little dude who needed to be at the hospital!

"Isn't this way more fun than going to the river with your friends, Mom?"

To make a long story a bit shorter, they kept him for awhile to make sure he was okay, then released us to go home. Brian and I debated staying home but, knowing Jensen was in perfectly capable hands, we ended up joining our friends at the river and having a great time. We returned home on Sunday to a perfectly fine little dude, except for some slight evidence of his little spill:

His first black eye! My poor little dude. One of our biggest parenting scares to date...although I'm guessing this wild man has a few more tumbles and spills in his future!

The Return of Wordless Wednesday

Run Free, Lucy Girl!

On Tuesday, I received an email from my very close friend Nick saying that his dog, Lucy, had become very ill very suddenly. He and his fiancé Hilari were faced with the horrible choice of either putting her to sleep now or letting her live out her remaining few months under the influence of medicine that would have several negative side effects and ultimately stop working altogether at any moment.

I know Nick was desperate to have more time with his Lucy Girl, but he did what I believe is the selfless thing to do and let Lucy go peacefully on Tuesday night. It is so hard to see a friend in pain, a pain that you know very well from having gone through something similar. My heart has been really hurting for them over the past few days. Nick adopted Lucy from the shelter when she was just three months old, and he and Lucy went through a lot together over the past 12 years. She was a little scrapper, like our Bailey, and I actually think she was part golden retriever based on her fluffy tail. She will be missed dearly by Nick and Hilari, not to mention their other dog Carlton. In fact, Nick asked Carlton for his thoughts on his sister Lucy, and they came up with the following for me to share on the blog:

My Sissy Lucy 

By Carlton Neitzey (transcribed by Nick Neitzey)


I have seen my sissy Lucy fight cats, chase (and successfully catch) squirrels and rats, and fight 2 opossums to a draw (not both at once but on two separate occasions. She's not crazy!). I am either terrified, or want to be friends, with all of those things. But not my sissy Lucy. She was the bravest and toughest dog I've ever met. Probably tougher than most humans (definitely tougher than my pop).


One time on a walk, some big hulking coward of a dog blind-sided my sissy Lucy and latched to her face for five excruciating minutes. I was so scared! I tried to help her but the big dog didn't feel my bites at all. After my humans got sissy free, she almost had a smile on her face. At the doctors office, she fought all the humans trying to help her. She thought they were on the big dumb dog's side (I think she may have been right!). If that big dumb dog would have come at her head-on, it would have been a different fight I assure you. I would've bet anyone three dog treats that my sissy would have kicked his big dumb butt!

My sissy Lucy was certain the mail man was up to no good. She did not trust the man with the big brown truck either (I think she may have been right on those guys too!). The trash men? Forget about it! She was convinced they were stealing that trash from our humans!
She defended our house and our humans. If there ever was going to be a break-in, I'd lick the intruders face while she bit their leg off.  My sissy Lucy was the bravest and toughest dog I've ever met!

But she was also the sweetest.  Even though she wanted to fight all the bad guys and bad animals, she let every human child pet her beautiful waggity tail (me and my nubbin were quite jealous of that tail!). She was sweet to every human that our humans approved.  She always tolerated me and my tough playing style. We made each other laugh all day when our humans weren't home. She didn't kiss me or our humans very often, but when we were sad, sick or just needed some love, she gave the sweetest kisses (pop describes her kisses as sweet and calls mine aggressive! Whatever!).

Over the last couple months, my sissy Lucy had been clingy with our humans when she had always been a loner. She couldn't hear the mailman or the trash man anymore, and the man in the big brown truck got away with god knows what. My sissy Lucy was sick. I overheard our humans say she had a brain tumor. I also heard them say she fought everyone with a smile on her face until the very end. My sissy Lucy passed away on Tuesday, July 10th 2012. She was 84 years old (12 years old according to that crazy way humans calculate age).


My sissy Lucy was the sweetest dog ever. She was my best friend and me and my humans will miss her dearly. Rest in peace sweet sissy, I hope you catch every squirrel in heaven!

Carlton Neitzey

Run free, sweet Lucy Girl! I know you'll be waiting for Nick at the Rainbow Bridge.

Happy Fourth (through Eighth) of July!

Fourth of July on a Wednesday? Since an awkwardly-placed mid-week holiday doesn't exactly set the stage for a day of all-out partying to celebrate our nation, we just hung out at home and did some swimming with our favorite two firecrackers (only one of whom has a patriotic swimsuit, so he gets the honor of being pictured below):

American boy

We grilled out that night with Todd & Tiff but called it an early night since everyone had to work the next day. On Thursday it was business as usual in the morning but a somewhat momentous afternoon...my knee doctor officially released me from using my crutches and cleared me to drive! After almost a month of relying on others for rides (and not being able to take the kids anywhere) this was very welcome news. After visiting the doctor I returned home to find my backyard in an interesting state:

Keeping it classy in the plastic pool from Wal-Mart.

At least she's wearing a diaper.

On Friday I celebrated my freedom by taking the kids on our first outing since my knee surgery. Location of choice? Target (as if you even had to ask). I had so much fun strolling the aisles with them as they enjoyed their pumpkin bread snack...it's crazy the little things you miss when they're taken away!

We spent the weekend swimming, swimming and more swimming. Saturday we joined Brian's family at the lake where Mr. Jensen was treated to his first jet ski ride!

He was very apprehensive at first but I think he ended up enjoying his ride (before every nap and bedtime since we've been home, I have been asked to "Sing about jet ski".  Have you ever heard any lullabies about jet skis? I haven't, but I sure have been making some up!). And in case you're wondering, Charlotte was NOT ABOUT to have anything to do with the jet ski. In fact, she was most disturbed that Jensen was on it and pretty much cried the entire time they were gone. Between her tears, she alternated between telling me that she was "too big to ride the jet ski" and "too little to ride the jet ski". The only thing I was clear on was that she did not want to ride the jet ski!

We didn't take too many pics but I did want to get one with all the Shelton boys since they were wearing their matching swimsuits from Tita!

Knox, Laird and Jensen

This morning Brian and I took the kids to Tita and Papaw's for a quick swim. Although we have a pool of our own, Tita and Papaw's pool has the advantage of having one of those sunbathing ledges that Charlotte very much enjoys playing on (that is, when she isn't yelling at us that she doesn't "WANT to go under the water!" Our little firecracker, indeed!).

A rare moment of peace and quiet after her swim. We sure do love this dramatic little Bug!