Never a dull moment

So here's the story of yesterday...

The started off fine, even good. I was off all day, and that is enough to put a smile on my face in the morning. In fact, I was in a good enough mood to attempt to take Skeletor and Apollo out on a walk. Usually, Skelly and I go out every morning for about 35-45 minutes, otherwise he gets antsy and mischievous in the house. Since Apollo is visiting, though, they usually work out enough of their energy just egging each other on running around the house and the backyard. Plus, it's been CRAZY COLD here, so I haven't been too gung-ho about getting out myself.

Anyway, Skelly woke up and was whining at the garage door we always leave from like he really wanted to take a walk. I caved. It was a bad idea. We had to turn back after about a block for the sake of my sanity. Also, because Apollo was starting to wheeze from all the pressure on his neck as he was pulling, and I was starting to wonder how long my arm would stay attached at the rate we were going.

After that little mishap, we played around the house a little and tried to keep things tidy. After lunch I went to Walmart for supplies for dinner. I still wasn't sure until I got to the store and started wandering around what I was going to make (for the 319th family and for Mike and Lauren who were coming over to hang out). I got a marinade, some instant mashed potatoes, some frozen green beans and break-and-bake cookies. Not exactly gourmet, but good enough.

I left the dogs free in the house when I went to the store. When I got home, the only casualty was an old wooden ornament from the tree. Fortunately, I think I'll still remember that I was a Daisy Scout; I wasn't horribly broken up about it. I WAS pretty unhappy when I looked out to the backyard to check on the dogs a little later and found them shoulder deep in a giant hole in my backyard. I also found two smaller ones when I went out to fill it in. I guess I just have to hope that Skelly doesn't continue with this even after Apollo is gone.

The afternoon was fun. Lauren came over with Jack and the boys acted like any group of three boys. Skeletor was actually the most calm, but I guess since he's had all week with Apollo, fighting is not so exciting anymore. I was glad Lauren was with me to take the food over to the squadron family. We were both really confused because the house's mailbox was across the street, and we almost brought the food to the wrong place. After a bit of awkward small talk, we got out of there and came back to our house. Mike got back from work and we all had dinner. I was pleased that plenty got eaten. After dinner Mike and I tried playing 2-player New Super Mario Bros. Wii. We wasted about 40 lives trying to beat one level, but eventually it was too late and too frustrating. Maybe some other time. Mike, Lauren and Jack went home to chill.

Finally, the really exciting stuff happened. It was about 11pm. Apollo was already in his kennel. Skelly and I were reading in bed, about to turn out the light. He was squirming around trying to find a comfortable spot to lay, when I looked up and saw a weird lump on his butt. At first, I thought he might be about to poop in bed, but then I saw that it was pink. It was like the top part of his butt was swollen. Then I look at the rest of him more closely and I can see that his lips are pretty swollen. After a few minutes of freaking out and trying to decide what to do, I called the emergency vet and they recommended bringing him in. He went outside and pooped, but that didn't change the butt thing. I gave him a Benadryl I had from the last time his face got swollen from an allergic reaction, and we got in the car. Apollo looked fine, so I left him in his kennel and called Lauren to let her know where I was and had her check Jack. He was fine, too.

Forty-five minutes later, we made it to the vet. Of course, the swelling in both areas had started to go down. The doctor checked everything out (even expressing his anal glands "while he was in there"), and said it was most likely the same as last time: an allergic reaction to some kind of bite or sting. It likely wasn't a snake bite since that would have been a lot more painful. He gave him some more injectable Benadryl and some steroids for the swelling. A little after 1am we made it back home, very sleepy and $147 poorer.

Of course, I'm just glad that he's OK. I would do the same thing again in a heartbeat. He's my little boy, and sometimes little boys need trips to the emergency room. Whatever's going on, you can be sure there's never a dull moment. Sometimes I just wish these moments didn't overlap with my bedtime. :)