March of Dimes Walk

I can't believe it's been 10 whole days since I've posted! It amazes me that it's already Thursday - last weekend and this week have been so busy that it just flew by.

I thought I'd show you some pictures from the March of Dimes event Joe and I participated in last weekend with my company, Birthday in a Box. We had company shirts made up and a lot of people showed up, so we had a nice big group. Our team raised $1,830, and I just have to say THANK YOU to everyone who supported me. It really means a lot.




As you can see from my red face in the last picture, it was a super hot day! But we made it the full 4.1 miles, and it felt good. (If you are wondering, our shirts say "Shop Click Party" on the back - that is Birthday in a Box's slogan.)

The rest of our weekend was spent doing dog transport. We got in two new rescues that needed to be taken to foster homes last weekend. So on Friday, Joe and I braved the rush hour traffice to take sweet Lili to her new foster home, and on Sunday, we drove 2 1/2 hours to pick up Lou and drive him to his new foster home.

It was a hot, busy weekend, but full of good deeds!

This week has just been crazy - Joe is writing his thesis AND seeing patients (yay!), I have TONS going on at work where I am just fried at the end of the day, Joe is developing his own website for his business (check it out - http://drjoechiro.wordpress.com), I am getting a lot of inquiries and releases through IG Rescue, Joe is trying to market himself by attending lots of after-work meetings and Chamber of Commerce events... you get the idea. Oh, and did I mention that we found a tick on Joe the other night?? Yes, it was horrible, but he got the gross little thing off of him eventually and has had no ill side effects.

It's just been crazy, so again, sorry for the late posting. I'll try to do better. :-)

A Weekend for the Dogs

What a busy weekend!! We had a very fun and interesting weekend - all about the dogs. First, we got Jackson groomed for the first time in 8 months. We were not very good parents, and he had some big mats in his hair that had to be cut out. Luckily, he did really well with it, and is now our little brown bear again.

(By the way, this is him with his new squeaky ball that his grandma got him for Easter. Wow - is it LOUD. I love how grandmas can pick out the most obnoxious toys that their granddogs will absolutely LOVE.)

We also took the dogs to the vet last week, got them all checked out and updated on heartworm preventative and Lyme's Disease preventative, and left with a clean bill of health. Yay!

Then, on Friday morning, we got a call from one of our friends in the local iggie group. They had a loss in the family and had to make a trip to Pennsylvania and they needed a last-minute dog sitter for their iggy. We of course said yes and Miss Brita was dropped off on Friday night.

She absolutely ADORES Joe. To the point where she refuses to be more than 6 inches away from him at all times. She slept either on him or next to him the entire time she was with us. It was so sweet, but I have to admit, I was a little jealous. I mean, I was taking damn good care of her, too! But she just didn't even acknowledge my existence. Sigh.



She had a bit of a tough time Friday night. She was anxious and every time she would hear the slightest sound, she would anxiously look at the door, hoping for her parents to come back. Poor girl.

We had a playdate on Saturday, so we took all three dogs to that. They had a great time and it was such a beautiful day!

Headed to the playdate - both girls on my lap.

Are we there yet?

Brita playing with the other dogs, Ava wondering why she is forced to be outside.

She is such a pretty girl!

But not as pretty as this girl!

Two completely tuckered out dogs on the way home!
(Sorry, no pics of Jackson. He was having so much fun and all over the place, and I couldn't get him to stay in one place long enough to get any shots! He did the lure course twice, and was a complete hit! He may have a future in agility!)

Brita went back home on Saturday night. She was very happy to see her parents and they reported back to us that she slept most of the day on Sunday.

For us, Sunday was the March for the Animals in Baltimore! I want to thank everyone who donated to our walk. It was for a great cause and obviously something I'm passionate about. Unfortunately, we had to leave the dogs at home. Jackson still doesn't mesh well in a crowd and we felt bad leaving Jackson at home alone for so long, so we didn't take Ava either. But we had a great time talking to all the other dog owners and it was a nice day for a walk. Here are some of the walkers:

So, as you can see, it was a busy, busy weekend, all for the dogs! Hope all of you out there had a great weekend too!

Joe's Trip to Portland

Joe took a trip back home to Portland over Easter weekend, and he had a great time! He was able to see all of his family, get caught up on everything, and eat lots of stuff he doesn't get around here - like steak!

One of the people he was most excited to see was Marleigh. She is the daughter of Joe's great friends, Bryan and Kari. And boy, was Marliegh excited to see her Uncle Joe!


It was also exciting because Bryan and Kari are expecting their second! Kari is due next month, as you can see by this picture. :-)

Marleigh is convinced that there is a little sister in there, but Joe and I think it's going to be a boy.

More pictures of the family:

Joe's mom, Connie.

Marleigh with Joe's neice, Samantha; her boyfriend Dalton (in yellow), and Joe's nephew, Zach. (Zach is playing rugby now and Joe got to go to one of his games. He got so enthralled in the sport that I'm a bit afraid he's going to want to start playing. And that game is brutal!!)

Joe's Dad, Joe Sr., with the baby in the family, Roxy.

Easter Weekend with my Darling Doggies

Joe was able to take a trip back home to Portland this last weekend, so I spent four days by myself. You know, it's amazing how used to someone you get after so many months. Joe and I have such a great routine, and we always have lots to talk about and lots to do together. There were times I was sitting on the couch, thinking, "okay, what should I do now?" And then I would look at the dogs, and they would be staring back at me, like, "what do we do now?"

But I eventually got back to my independent self and ended up getting a lot of stuff done. And the dogs, for the most part, had a good time with their mom.


Easter Sunday was a little weird, that's for sure. My family isn't religious by any means, but Easter was always another excuse to be together as a family. Lots of talking, eating, gaming, and just hanging out. And to not have that, and then not have Joe to try to re-create that with our little family, it was a little sad.

So, I ended up taking the dogs to the dog park so we could at least have a little family time, just the three of us. Jackson loved it, Ava, not so much. (per usual)

I then headed down to D.C. to have lunch with Stuart, who luckily was still in town. We had a fabulous vegan lunch and then had mimosas at a nice little bar in Dupont Circle. It was a nice day, so we walked around town for a while too.

Then I hopped the Metro back home so I could video-conference with my family. Got to see everyone and even though I wasn't there, it was nice to at least be a part of the festivities.

Joe comes home tonight, and I think all three of us are going to be happy to have him home. Two trips apart have made us realize how excited we are about our next trip - together!

Hope you all had a great Easter weekend!

I Went Purple for Maddie

Purple is a significant color for Maddie's family, so in honor of her, I have changed my background color to purple.

To find out more about Maddie and her family, please visit these pages:
www.marchformaddie.com
http://undomesticdiva.typepad.com

And PLEASE - help me reach my goal for March of Dimes by clicking on the banner on the left!

Thank you!

Madeline Alice Spohr

Madeline Alice Spohr

November 11, 2007 - April 7, 2009

I didn't know her. I haven't even really been following her story for very long. But today I found out she passed away and it totally broke my heart.

It's one of those things where you follow someone online and feel like you start to get to know them. Currently, for whatever reason, whether it's my job or my age, I've loved to read about other people's mothering experiences. When I came across the Spohr's page, it was such a heartbreaking, yet heartwarming, story, and it sucked me in. Heartbreaking because of Maddie's struggle, and heartwarming because she made it.

What I learned was that Maddie was born prematurely, and spent several months in the ICU. Once she was released, she still had lots of medical difficulties due to her early arrival, and was in and out of the hospitals dealing with it all. "Raising a baby... and insurance premiums" was the blog's catchphrase, capturing the good humor the family had about their struggles. Through it all, Maddie fought, and was a sweet, charming, and absolutely beautiful little girl.

I woke up this morning, logged into Twitter, and learned that Maddie passed away overnight. I was shocked, and as I said, even though I didn't know her, it really shook me up.

Their website - www.thespohrsaremultiplying.com - is down because the site can't handle all the traffic. But Maddie's mother, Heather, chronicled her pregnancy, and Maddie's life, and now death, on that blog. But you can read about them on another blogger's site here and also read all the posts others have written about this sweet little girl.

I am walking in the March of Dimes' March for Babies on April 25. Until today, I didn't have much passion around it. I supported the cause, and was happy to join my fellow colleagues to walk, but I had never been exposed to a story that really spoke to the cause before.

Now I have, and I am renewing my efforts. I plan to walk in honor of Maddie, and I'm upping my goal from $100 to $200. I want to do this for her, and you need to help me. Please, if you can give just a few dollars, I would be appreciative. You can donate directly on my page by clicking on the link to the left, or clicking here. I have 17 days, and I know I can do it!

I also have March of Dimes bracelets for sale - $2 each. All sales go directly to my account, and you will have something that will remind you of your donation, and of Maddie's story.

If you would rather donate directly to Maddie's March of Dimes page, you can do so here . A PayPal account has also been set up to assist Maddie's parents, Heather and Mike, with any upcoming expenses. You can donate by sending money, via PayPal, to formaddie@hotmomreviews.com.

For those of you who have already donated to me, another HUGE thank you to you. It means even more to me now.

For those of you who can't donate money, then please donate good energy, and send it the Spohr's way. Thank you.

Update on Dr. Joe

Joe with his new computer!

So, Joe has had some exciting things going on and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about it! First, he scheduled a time with a gym next to his office for him to come in and offer free chair massage for their clients. This was a couple of weeks ago and he saw a few people during his time there. He sent them follow-up letters, and one of those people called and made an appointment to see him! As most of you know, he's been treating a friend of ours a couple times in the office, which has been so great to get him back in the game, but this is his first patient he actually brought in from his own marketing!

He also came up with an idea to send all the schools in the Alexandria area a letter, offering to come in and do chair massage for the teachers. Well, it just so happens that teacher appreciation week is coming up, so THREE schools called back and accepted his offer!

And to top it all off, he bought a booth at the Red Cross Festival in June - which everyone has said is the best place to generate business. It will be all him, for two days, offering chair massage.

Such great stuff on his calendar, and it was all from his marketing ideas! He feels so great actually doing these things for him, as opposed to bringing patients in for someone else.

Everything is falling into place. :-) Hope everyone else is doing well too.