Doodle people are weird

Doodle people (as in Goldendoodle or Labradoodle owners) are a little bit weird. Everyone knows it. It happens because our dogs are very much like people under their fur. No...really...you can see it in their eyes! Anyway, one of my litters turned a year old over the weekend, and her family sent me these pictures of her birthday party. Is this too cute or what?

Can't call her a rock anymore!

You may remember this post that I made about this time last year. Somewhere I have a video of it. And a few months later (this past April) I posted this update with a video. Last week I did a new video of Angela's swimming progress. I can't believe how far she's come, particularly in the area of self confidence! (make sure to watch both videos so you can see the difference!)

Fruit Flies

My last night in New Jersey we were trying to finish up the Funky Monkey ingredients, when we notices there were fruit flies everywhere. It doesn't take much to entertain us. Well, the fact that we can't SAY "Fruit flies" should be an indicator why! (I only know of 4 people who will actually find this funny, but hey...I'm running out of blogging material!)

Tail of the Dragon

The first week of April, 2009, my friends Tink, Scharlett and some others are planning a trip to Deals Gap to ride the Dragon's Tail, which is on the Tennessee/North Carolina state line. This ride is NOT for the faint of heart. In fact, here's a video from one guy who had a camera on his front fork. I sure hope I can make it on this trip! Oh...and I can't watch more than 2 minutes of the video because watching stuff like that makes me motion sick. (can't play car racing video games either. LOL)



The big question is how I get down there. April isn't really riding weather here yet. It's pretty cold, and...well...I get cold really easy. LOL Yes, I could wear a heated vest and heated gloves would help as well. But that is even MORE money that I don't yet have to spend. Maybe Santa will bring me some of these things for Christmas???? Anyway, I could trailor my bike to some point further south, then meet up with the group somewhere enroute. Lots of things to consider between now and then.

Oh my gosh, I missed a day!

Uh oh. I can't believe I missed a day. Shame on me! So what can I tell you that's interesting?

Well, SOS Players started up again. This is a theater group Angela is involved in that is absolutely wonderful. They do two "demo's" every year...winter and spring...so Angela is now working on her monologue to be performed sometime around Christmas.

You might remember the one she did last spring, with our friend Greg. This time, (well, as of right now, we might change it) she's doing all on her own. All the kids do monologues that are about real-life situations (but are written by someone else.) For Angela, it's easier for her to memorize if it's something meaningful to her. Where last time she told her birth story, (which made for a lot of tears in the audience!) this time she's explaining Down syndrome, and I found a way to address the "R word" in there too!

Special Exposure Weds

Today you can watch Angela grow up in pictures.


5 days old

a few days old

4 months old

26 months

3 1/2 years old with the most amazing hair!

7 years old

8 years old

Posing at 8

Hacky Sac at 9

9 years old

9 going on 15

Still 9!

Turning 10


Not happy about sleep studies at 10

Unless, of course, it involves ice cream!

Finally 11!


6th grade and 12 years old. My little tomboy. Wonder where she got that from?

Think Before You Pink

October is Down Syndrome Awareness month, but it's also Breast Cancer awareness month. Today I saw an yogurt ad on TV, something about pink tops and proceeds going to benefit breast cancer research (or something along those lines.) But tonight, one of the blogs I read that is written by a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 (?) years ago wrote a very interesting post called "Think Before You Pink". Go have a read there, and then...do as she says...Think Before You Pink!

Time to Say Goodbye

Yes, sadly, it's that time of year again. In just a few short weeks the snow and ice will start blowing here in Minnesota, and as usual I'll spend the winter dreaming of moving south. (Actually Dean says if I can find a job for him in a southern state, he's there! LOL Unfortunately the chances of that are very slim for several reasons.)

So what does this mean? Time to say goodbye to Nooner and Spank for the winter. I'm going to miss them a lot! I spent 6,000+ miles on the seat of Nooner this summer, and Angela spent a fair amount riding in Spank.

For the sake of space they'll spend the winter separated, on opposite sides of the garage. I hope they don't miss each other too much, and I hope the mice leave Spank alone! I probably won't seem them again until the end of March or so, which seems like forever away right now. I have tentative plans for a big trip in April, (which seems even further away.) And then Dean and I have plans to ride several big charity runs next summer.

Goodbye Nooner. Goodbye Spank. I'll miss you!

How cool is this?

You may remember my posts about High School Musical, and meeting our new friend Dante Russo, one of the cast members.

Well, today I was googling my blog to see where else it shows up, when I found this. It's the opening speech for a large fundraiser gala that was held in New York. I am truly touched!

You Have Superpowers!

Lifted from the "Love Notes for Special Parents Gallery".

Win a Bedroom Set!

5 Minutes for Mom is running a contest to win a new bedroom set for your child. All you have to do is enter a photo of your child sleeping. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Go here to find out more!

I have lots of photos of Angela sleeping, and some are better than others. In some, she was clearly not well, and the picture shows it! Particularly the ones when she got her new hospital bed. There are others that she looks like a sleeping angel. I think it best I post an "angelic" picture, huh?

Bowling

Angela had her area bowling tournament yesterday. (and of course, I forgot to bring the camera!) Dean took her to the last practice she attended and with his coaching she did great, but I was a bit worried because she missed the last couple of practices all together. To get some practice in quick she and I went bowling on Saturday at the same lanes the tourney would be held at. She's very familiar with the place since it's where Dean league bowls on Thursday nights. Yeah...our little practice didn't go so well. The first game she didn't hit ONE single pin! Every ball was in the gutter. They're not allowed to use bumpers in the tourney, so I wanted her to bowl at least one game without them. The second game I put them up, and although she never once hit them she scored a 52.

So yesterday there were 8 kids between 2 lanes, all of them around the same age and ability. The first 6 frames of the first game NOT ONE PIN was hit between the 8 kids. They were all quite frustrated. Keep in mind that for the tourneys coaches can't coach, and parents can't be down on the floor either. So those of us with control issues sometimes give ourselves a timeout to the parking lot. (we'd go to the bar, but it's closed for this event. LOL) Anyway, finally all the athletes found their groove. Angela ended up scoring a 58 the first game, and 54 the second. She even picked up two spares. Needless to say she was quite proud of herself.

I have decided to get her a ball of her own though. There were about 50 athletes there yesterday who all needed a 7 pound ball, which are hard to come by. I'm going to let Angela pick a really cool one like Hello Kitty or one of the other million design choices.

Dean left early Friday morning to go hunting/fishing/mostly male bonding with his twin brother Dave, while Angela and I just hung out and bowled.

Deaf Couple on Super Nanny

The Friday, October 10th episode of "Supernanny", will feature a family headed by a deaf couple. This episode should provide insight into the interesting situations you never thought about when the parents are deaf, kids are hearing.

Here's a link to a preview, although I just discovered there's no sound. LOL Anyway, it's the mom giving a synopsis about how they got on the show, the interview process, etc.
http://www.aslclips.com/mar2008/supernanny_marie.swf

For the mothers

This was forwarded to me tonight, and I thought I'd share it here, since it IS 31 for 21 month. This is for all "those mothers". You know who you are.

Some Mothers Get Babies With Something More
written by: Lori Borgman Columnist and Speaker

My friend is expecting her first child. People keep asking what she wants. She smiles demurely, shakes her head and gives the answer mothers have given throughout the pages of time. She says it doesn’t matter whether it’s a boy or a girl. She just wants it to have ten fingers and ten toes. Of course, that’s what she says. That’s what mothers have always said.

Mothers lie.

Truth be told, every mother wants a whole lot more. Every mother wants a perfectly healthy baby with a round head, rosebud lips, button nose, beautiful eyes and satin skin. Every mother wants a baby so gorgeous that people will pity the Gerber baby for being flat-out ugly. Every mother wants a baby that will roll over, sit up and take those first steps right on schedule (according to the baby development chart on page57, column two). Every mother wants a baby that can see, hear, run, jump and fire neurons by the billions. She wants a kid that can smack the ball out of the park and do toe points that are the envy of the entire ballet class. Call it greed if you want, but we mothers want what we want.

Some mothers get babies with something more. Some mothers get babies with conditions they can’t pronounce, a spine that didn’t fuse, a missing chromosome or a palette that didn’t close. Most of those mothers can remember the time, the place, the shoes they were wearing and the color of the walls in the small, suffocating room where the doctor uttered the words that took their breath away. It felt like recess in the fourth grade when you didn’t see the kick ball coming and it knocked the wind clean out of you.

Some mothers leave the hospital with a healthy bundle, then, months, even years later, take him in for a routine visit, or schedule her for a well check, and crash head first into a brick wall as they bear the brunt of devastating news. It can’t be possible! That doesn’t run in our family. Can this really be happening in our lifetime?

I am a woman who watches the Olympics for the sheer thrill of seeing finely sculpted bodies. It’s not a lust thing; it’s a wondrous thing. The athletes appear as specimens without flaw - rippling muscles with nary an ounce of flab or fat, virtual powerhouses of strength with lungs and limbs working in perfect harmony. Then the athlete walks over to a tote bag, rustles through the contents and pulls out an inhaler.

As I’ve told my own kids, be it on the way to physical therapy after a third knee surgery, or on a trip home from an echo cardiogram, there’s no such thing as a perfect body. Everybody will bear something at some time or another. Maybe the affliction will be apparent to curious eyes, or maybe it will be unseen, quietly treated with trips to the doctor, medication or surgery.

The health problems our children have experienced have been minimal and manageable, so I watch with keen interest and great admiration the mothers of children with serious disabilities, and wonder how they do it. Frankly, sometimes you mothers scare me. How you lift that child in and out of a wheelchair 20 times a day. How you monitor tests, track medications, regulate diet and serve as the gatekeeper to a hundred specialists yammering in your ear. I wonder how you endure the cliches and the platitudes, well-intentioned souls explaining how God is at work when you’ve occasionally questioned if God is on strike.

I even wonder how you endure schmaltzy pieces like this one — saluting you, painting you as hero and saint, when you know you’re ordinary. You snap, you bark, you bite. You didn’t volunteer for this. You didn’t jump up and down in the motherhood line yelling, “Choose me, God! Choose me! I’ve got what it takes.” You’re a woman who doesn’t have time to step back and put things in perspective, so, please, let me do it for you.

From where I sit, you’re way ahead of the pack. You’ve developed the strength of a draft horse while holding onto the delicacy of a daffodil. You have a heart that melts like chocolate in a glove box in July, carefully counter-balanced against the stubbornness of an Ozark mule. You can be warm and tender one minute, and when circumstances require intense and aggressive the next. You are the mother, advocate and protector of a child with a disability. You’re a neighbor, a friend, a stranger I pass at the mall. You’re the woman I sit next to at church, my cousin and my sister-in-law. You’re a woman who wanted ten fingers and ten toes, and got something more. You’re a wonder.

New project

I'm working on a new project (the full idea will be announced sometime later...when I know what the full idea is. LOL). Here is my first-ever attempt at sculpting clay, specifically a clay baby. I was going to make a WHOLE baby, but notice I stopped at the whn I finished the head. LOL This will eventually be a Down Syndrome related project, but right now it's just me playing around with clay, trying to make a baby that looks...well...not as ugly as my first one! LOL

Did I mention

Did I mention that my dog is going to be famous too? My Zurri (pictured below) will be appearing on the front of "Loyal" dog food, a brand that can be found nationally. We had a photo shoot a couple weeks ago that was really a lot of fun! Unfortunately she won't be called again for awhile. She came in heat the morning of the shoot, and we managed, but hopefully we'll announce a pregnancy in a few weeks and she'll be out out of commision for awhile!

Don't ask me if we'd ever feed this dog food! I can't reply on the grounds that my dog would loose her job! LOL

So you want to get a puppy

(puppies pictured above produced by D & L Doodles)
This post is in response to the 10-15 emails I get every week from people who are interested in getting a puppy for their family. These aren't people looking to buy one of my puppies per se, but after reading my website decide I'm a safe person to ask some specific questions. Guess what? They're right!

First, never ever ever ever ever buy a puppy from a pet store! EVER! Was that pretty clear? 99% of pet store puppies come from puppy mills. If the store owner says, "Our puppies come from local breeders." Ummm yeah so? Does that say ANYTHING about the conditions of the breeding operation or the number of puppies they produce? Not only that but NOT ONE GOOD BREEDER, who knows ANYTHING about canine puppy development would sell their puppies through a pet store! Ok..I'll stop there. If you want to read more on that topic go here.

AKC registration means NOTHING about a dogs health or quality. Think of the AKC as a large file cabinet, keeping track of the heritage of each litter of puppies registered to them. That means if I have a puppy born with deformities or health problems, I can still register it with the ACK. It's still a purebred. There are many breed groups who hate the AKC because they don't REQUIRE health testing (see below) on the parents of litters registered. This eventually ruins breeds, and is how they end up with a high incidence of things such as hip dysplasia.

Health testing. This is NOT THE SAME as "All my dogs/puppies are vet checked." I would hope that every breeder has their dogs "vet checked". No, Health testing is much more involved, and much more expensive. What does "Health Testing" entail? It depends upon the breed. Each breed is known to carry specific genetic disorders that you do NOT want passed on. However, you don't know the dog has one of them until they've been tested for it. Hip Dysplasia is one problem that is prevalent in MANY breeds. Let me use the Standard Poodle as an example. First, there is blood work: Subacious Adenitis (SA) is a skin disorder common to poodles, and involves a skin biopsy. Von Wilebrands Disease (vWd) is a bleeding disorder similar to hemophilia in people. It is a genetic disorder and found by a blood test. The hips, eyes, elbows and heart should also be xrayed and sent off to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) to be read. The eyes should be examined by a CERF vet. This is a special canine opthalmologist. They will rule out things such as juvenile cataracts (prevalent in MANY breeds!) that cannot be seen using the tools a regular vet has.

To get all the testing completed on one adult dog is approximately $1,000 depending upon where the breeder lives and how easy it is for he/she to get to the appropriate clinics. Some tests need to be repeated. CERF should be done yearly, and Hips done somewhere around a year, and again after age 2. ALL of the tests should be done and paperwork back before a dog is ever bred!

Health Guarantees: Breeders who do the health testing appropriate for their breed will have no problem giving you a 2 or 3 year health guarantee against genetic problems. Breeders who aren't SURE their dogs don't carry any of the breed disorders...IE those who don't do the health testing, will be reluctant to give you ANY guarantee. Some states like MN require a minimum of a 1 year guarantee under the MN Lemon law for pets. Unfortunately 1 year doesn't get you much. Most genetic problems such as hip dysplasia don't show up until after 1 year of age.

And what does that health guarantee say? Does it say, "We'll replace the dog."? Do you really want another dog from the same breeder if there is a problem? Does it say you have to return YOUR dog, whom you've grown to love, in order to get a replacement? QUALITY breeder contracts will say something to the affect of, "We'll refund up to the original cost of the puppy, OR give a replacement puppy." In other words, you get the choice. Most won't say, "But we have to have the original puppy back first!" Who wants to give up their baby?

Most of the breeders I know also have a re-home policy. That means, if something happens in your life next year, and you find you can no longer keep your dog, the dog comes back to ME. I don't want ANY of the dogs I've produced to end up in a shelter ANYWHERE. I want them HERE. If there are problems, I want to know about them. If there's a behavioral issue, I will retrain the dog before re-homing him.

USDA registered breeder. If the breeder you're considering is a USDA registered breeder, don't assume that's a good thing. The only reason to have a USDA number for dog breeding is to produce high numbers of puppies. Here's a link to a list of USDA "Class A" breeders. I believe this is the current 2008 list. Here's the link to the Class B list. (meaning they can sell their own puppies through pet stores AND sell puppies from other breeders as well!) Use your computer's search function to find those listed in your state. I searched MN and found it VERY interesting that a breeder I'm quite familiar with now has their operation listed under the name of one of their adult sons. Hmmmmmm Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Spay/neuter agreements. Good breeders will, at a MINIMUM, require you to sign a spay/neuter CONTRACT which they ENFORCE! This is to prevent people who don't know what they're doing from becoming back yard breeders. Some breeders (myself included) spay/neuter their puppies before they leave for their new families. We found it quite difficult to follow up on spay/neuter contracts on puppies that are on the other side of the country. We did our research, and agree with the opinion of our reproductive specialist who was president of the MN verterinary medical association for many years, that the benefits of early spay/neuter far outweigh the potential risk to the dogs later on.

A common misconception is that the "small breeder" means "backyard breeder". Which is backward thinking. A "small breeder" is just that. Only producing a couple litters per year, but still doing all the appropriate health testing. A "Backyard breeder" is one who might produce a lot of puppies, but they don't do the appropriate health testing for the breed, incorrectly ASSUMING their dogs don't have/carry any of the disorders known to their breed. It has nothing to do with size, and everything to do with knowledge. Backyard breeders tend to breed puppies they don't have homes for. You can easily find them in the paper saying, "price reduced!" etc. Most quality breeders don't have any problem selling their puppies. Ours have always been sold before they're even BORN, which is how a lot of breeders I work with also sell their puppies.

I hope, if you're in the market for a family pet, that some of this information has been helpful, or at least enlightening!

Next, watch for my "So you want to be a breeder?" post!

Win a laptop-Help an adoption

I'm an avid blog reader. (wish I could get paid for it. LOL) One of the blogs I follow "The Sunflower Chronicles" is written by a mom who has 3 kids. A 12 year old son, a biological daughter Caelia who has DS, and Valeria who aslo has DS and was adopted from Ukraine this year.

They are also in the process of adopting another child who has DS. However, there have been some policy/political changes and their expenses have dramatically increased. To help with their adoption process they're holding a raffle for a Dell Mini Inspiron laptop. Entries are just $5!

If you'd like to learn more, please visit her blog post here. Or, if you'd like to just enter, click on the "chip in" button below.

Underarrested

Monday, as we were driving through beautiful Pennsylvania, a state patrol officer decided he'd like to have a little conference with me on the side of the interstate.



Angela, sitting in the front seat engrossed in a movie, wasn't even aware that we'd pulled over. Suddenly there was a State Patrol standing next to her window that I had just rolled down.

With eyes as big as saucers she said, "Uh oh! Was I bad? Am I underarrested?" He assured her that no, she was not. Pointing at me with her thumb she asked, "Is my mom underarrested?" No...your mom isn't under arrest either. "Is my brother Tyler underarrested?" No, not even Tyler.

He proceeded to ask me for all the necessary documentation. The insurance card was right where it was supposed to be, but I couldn't find the car registration. I couldn't even think straight enough to plead my case and get away with a warning instead. Hard to do when you're doing 82 in a 65. Doggone Sante Fe has a mind of it's own!

Anyhow, $150 needs to be sent to the state of Pennsylvania this week.

Times Square... we're HOME!

I can't believe a week went by! As Angela would say, "Holy cows!"

First, the drive out (20+ hours of driving) went very well. Angela did GREAT and we didn't have one single issue. NOT ONE! She slept for a whole 40 minutes of the whole trip. For her, the highlight was swimming at the hotel. LOL

We got to my friends in NJ on after getting only a tiny bit lost (can you hear the sarcasm?) at 10:30 pm on Thursday.

Friday was a fun day! We met Erin Leigh and her family at Chuck E Cheese. Angela had a BLAST playing video games and stuff. Dillion is a DOLL child and it was so fun to see him in person. Say a prayer for Erin Leigh, as she's having c-section this week on Friday. She's anxious to be DONE! LOL

Saturday we went to watch my friend's daughter at her Fencing practice. I've never seen fencing before, and knew NOTHING of how it worked. Angela had fun watching too...that is when she wasn't asking for money to go get snacks from the lady at the snack table. Typical 12 year old! LOL

Sunday was THE BIG DAY we had come for! Oh my gosh..where do I begin? How about getting to the train? We had to leave the house at 7:15, and were up in plenty of time, but Angela was pokey eating breakfast so we didn't leave until about 7:25. Bad...bad...We were to meet Stephanie at 8:00. My friends husband lead the way, and I followed behind in my car. We pulled up to the station at 7:58, and he ran in to get our tickets while Angela and I parked the car, did a record-fast unload, and raced to the building. I order her to "SIT NOW!" in her stroller and we RAN down the hallway to where the train was. As I scanned the crowd for Steph and her family, my friend turned the corner to this big flight of stairs...and me with Angela in her chair. No time to wait for the elevator, I ordered Angela to walk fast down the stairs (yeah right) while I carried the chair down, and David held the train. Before I knew it we were on and headed on our way. I called Steph, and they had just gotten to the station and would be catching the next train so we met them at NYC Penn Station.

Ok, the first time I cried was when I got to hug Steph! We've met before, and it was great to see and "old friend"! And a HUGE relief that I was no longer alone. SHE was the woman of knowledge that day and got us everywhere we needed to be. I don't know what I would have done without her. I came out of the train station looking like a tourist with my video camera rolling. LOL

We made it to Times Square just as the video was starting. As soon as the first picture came up, I got all choked up and couldn't even talk. The coolest thing was every time someone's kid came up on the screen, you'd hear their family cheering somewhere in Times Square. It gave me the chills! For us, Megan's picture came up first, and it was so exciting to see beautiful Megan up there! But I couldn't share in the celebration, afraid that if I took my eyes off the screen I'd miss Angela. To give you a reference point, it's hard to see in this picture, but there is a patch of sidewalk in the MIDDLE of the street. Right smack dab in the middle of Times Square, that THAT is where we were standing! In the background you can see people crowded on the sidewalk, but there is another street right behind it. I was very nervous that Angela would step into the street and the traffic that was ZOOMING by!


On that picture, notice the black screen that says "Panasonic". That's the screen Angela was on. It's about 5 or 6 stories off the ground, and is 40 feet tall.


And then all of a sudden there she was...40 feet tall for all the world to see, right there in Times Square. She was SO EXCITED to see herself up there, but I was too choked up to say ANYTHING! I did video tape the event, but one of Steph's entourage snapped a still shot.


And then it was done! About that time it started P-O-U-R-I-N-G. We were supposed to catch a shuttle bus to Central Park, and all morning I'd been torn about going or not. Steph's group wasn't, and I had yet to meet Tom and Michel. Fortunately the weather made my decision for me, and we went back to the square.

And there stood Tom and Michel!!! The Mommy and Daddy of Downsyn! I can't tell you how thrilled I was to finally meet the two of them, and especially Mikey! Of course, we all know Tom is a very smart man, and right away he said, "You look MUCH younger in person than you do in pictures!" What a schmoozer. Wink And Michel was full of compliments on my beautiful Angela. All of us looked like drowned rats by that point, but at least we were happy rats.

Here's a picture of Michel, Megan, Stephanie, Angela and me, taken while taking cover under an awning in Times Square. It was POURING out!


I have more pictures, and lots of touristy video, but I have to fine my firewire to get them off the video camera!


We "did lunch in the city", with Mikey flirting with Angela the whole time. It was interesting to see Angela's reaction to the couple of love punches Mikey had for her. Tom...really...it gave her a dose of her own medicine! She looked quite offended at first, but once I explained that Mikey used his hands to talk, and that he was saying he liked her, she changed her approach and started engaging him. Well, that and dishing up stuff for him. Mikey lasted a LONG time in a crowded restaurant. When he made it clear it was time to be done Angela announced, "Someone's having a bad day." in a sing-song voice. Then Tom came back for a bit and Angela had her TRUE love all to herself for a bit! She no longer had to share him with that Michel. LOL She would have gone home with you in a heartbeat Tom!

When it was time for Tom and Michel to head home we said our goodbyes and went to Toys R Us with Steph's group. It is right on Times Square, and is Toys R Us on steroids! Holy cow!

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the train, where I got to spend the best time with Megan!!! Olivia was busy sleeping, so Megan got my undivided attention. She and I sang songs, and I taught her a new one which she loved. She is the most beautiful child! Talking tons, and reminds me so much of a blonde Angela at that age. We had a tearful goodbye at the station (ok, I was crying, everyone else was fine! LOL) and we made it back to the house without even getting lost.

Angela and I headed for home Monday morning, and after a small detour in the Poconos, we were on our way. Note: while the colors in the Poconos were BEAUTIFUL because they were peaking, we weren't SUPPOSED to see them! LOL When I saw, "Last rest stop in Pennsylvania" I thought "Wait a minute. Pennsylvania is MUCH bigger than THAT!" Sure enough, I'd missed a turn which added about 100 miles to our trip. LOL

We're home now. By 8:00 last night it felt like we'd NEVER make it home, but we did at 9:30. Angela is anxious to get back to school today. As for me, after a grand total of 45 hours of driving, I think I'm laying low.

I have to go buy another fire wire for my video camera so I can get the pics off it.