RACOONS!

Oh my
It was probably one of the worst nights I have had, last night. I got up around 2 to let the dogs out. Of course, Zoe wanted to just BOLT out the door and go see what she could find. Well, about 10 minutes later, I heard growling and barking and commotion. When I got out side, both dogs were up near the fence in the shrubs going absolutely crazy. They were barking and growling and whimpering. I yelled and tried to get them to come out. Eventually Zeus did and he ran for the house. When I found him later, he was cowering in a corner. Zoe, on the other hand, was not going to budge from where she was. I had no idea what kind of creature she was battling but it SOUNDED horrible! I had to go wake Kris and eventually Nick, too. Kris came out and by that time, Zoe was in the WATER! She was battling a RACOON!! It was one of the worst sounding things I have ever heard and witnessed. She was grabbing the coon by the neck and whipping it all around in the water and then it would get loose and try to scratch her and bite her. We could NOT get her out of the water. Too make a very long and very scary story short....we eventually got a rope lassoed around her front leg and finally got her over to the bank where Kris and Nick got a hold of her and got her out of the water. We got her in the house and into the tub. She was soaked through and was bleeding. We bathed her and put peroxide on her cuts and she just ran around the house. I think she was so riled up she didnt know how to settle down. I have NEVER seen her like this!! CRAZY !!!! At anyrate, we called the vet today, her shots are current so that is a good sign, but we have to watch for her if she becomes lethargic or moody. I dont dare let her go into the back yard. I would be surprised if that racoon lived. I am afraid if she finds it again, dead or alive, it will not be a good thing. We are having someone come and set traps tomorrow and he will scout the backyard for any traces of them. WOW!
What a night! I hope to NEVER go through that again!!

Happy March

Welcome to the month of Green, luck, mischief, etc. Also the month of my oldests birth. We celebrate Nates birthday on March 17th, St, Patricks day! I still remember the day he was born with great clarity! We had woken up to a great blizzard. My dr was supposed to fly to Wyoming to give a lecture, but due to the weather, she cancelled and called me to see if we wanted to have a baby instead. We were scheduled for a c-section that afternoon due to the fact that Nate was in a breech position with his head up under my ribs instead of down. We ventured to the hospital, there were SO many other moms in labour due to the storm front that had come through. Seriously, there were women on guerney's in the hallway waiting for a room! Crazy. At 12:58 pm, Nate arrived in the world, very stressed and not doing too well. They whisked him off the the transitional nursery where they monitored him and watched him and then they took him to the NICU where he stayed for 4 days. I wasnt able to even see him until the next day. My brother Mark took poloroid pictures of him and brought them to my room (no digital camera;s then) and that was all I had of him. I remember seeing him for the first time the next day and thinking "you are not what I expected my baby to look like" and then I just had immediate love for him. He was in an isolet with oxygen and lots of tubes and wires. Let me just say, he was 3 weeks early and weighed 9 lbs 5 oz. He was inbetween a 2 lb baby and a 4 lb baby. he looked like a sumo wrestler. He was so big that they had to tie his little arms down because he kept trying to pull all the tubes out! He is still like that today, determined, annoyed, strong willed and amazing!
It is always fun to recount the experiences you have with your first born! happy birhtday nate!
If you want to wish him a Happy Birthday, you can send him an email to monkeygrandma57@gmail.com