I Have an Amazing Husband

It has been mentioned (on more than one occasion,) that my marriage to Todd was not always the most pleasant.  There was a time that we both agreed that we wanted to get divorced; however, we decided to give it one last go before breaking our marriage vows.  We went to a counselor for a few months, learned a lot about one another and how we cope with many things, etc.  Since then, it has been pretty smooth sailing.  I strongly believe that every couple should go through pre-marriage counseling BEFORE getting married.

That being said, I want to let everyone out on the world wide web know that I have an amazing husband. 

Squiggy is deathly ill right now.  He is suffering from hypothermia (even though his house is 65 degrees,) along with a possible hip or back injury (the vet thinks he may have slipped and fallen on the ice.)  When we were giving him steroid shots, he was doing better.  He would stand up, and at least eat and drink if we gave it to him by hand.  Then, last weekend, he wouldn’t even get up.  He has been lying in the same position for several days now.  Some days, he wont even open his eyes to look at us.  Those are BAD days. 

The vet came on Wednesday for the second time to see what he could do.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t do much.  He stated that he was surprised that Squiggy was still alive.  Hypothermia will shut down the organs of an animal, and they don’t generally last a week and a half as Squiggy has.  Well, we knew we had one stubborn pig.  They don’t say someone is “pig-headed” for nothing!

Todd has been doing an awesome job of taking care of Squiggy. He has gone above and beyond…considering, he really doesn’t necessarily LOVE Squiggy as I do. 

I do not generally cry.  I am not one of those girls who cries about the littlest thing.  The last time I sobbed was this week due to Squiggy, but before that, it’s been over a year when Todd and I spoke of divorce.  The vet came out on Wednesday, and Todd was nursing Squiggy throughout the entire day.  Thursday, I got a text from Todd stating that Squiggy was doing worse.  His temperature kept dropping instead of going up.  He refused to even drink the Gatorade we were told to give him. 

I started doing research online, and I saw that dehydrated pigs do not live very long.  It was mentioned that a vet should come out to the house and possibly put an IV in Squiggy, or he should be put to sleep.  I called Todd (which is again, something I don’t normally do from work.)  I was crying and I told him I didn’t know what to do.  The thought of losing my precious pigger absolutely kills me.  PBP’s (pot bellied pigs) live up to the age of 19 or 20!  3 ½ is WAY TOO YOUNG for him to pass. And I also was thinking about the last time I saw him up and walking around, before he was sick.  He had too much life in him to be like this within two weeks.  It is very difficult for my brain to process.

Within a half hour, Todd texted me stating that Squiggy was drinking for him!  Within two hours, Squiggy drank a quart of Gatorade, which is equal to 600 calories.  Mind you, the pigster has not eaten anything in several days now, and would drink only a few sips when we fed him through the turkey baster.

Todd texted me stating that he had pretty much given up on saving Squiggy.  He didn’t know what else he could do.  He covered the pig in a heating blanket, had it set on high, have heat lamps on him, but Squiggy was not getting any better (nor was his temperature going up.)  Todd stated that it was hearing me cry over the phone that gave him the motivation to keep working on the pigger.  Within minutes, Squiggy was actually drinking from the turkey baster.  He was also able to take a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup from a wooden spoon.

When we got piggy, we were told not to give him too many sweets because he would refuse to eat anything else.  But we were informed by the vet to give him the Gatorade and corn syrup so that his glucose levels would increase, therefore making his metabolism work, and by his metabolism working, his body temperature should go up.  Also, the sugary drink and syrup gives him much-needed calories because he’s not eating.

1 quart of Gatorade is more than Squiggy has had to drink in 2 or 3 days.  As you can see, that is a huge accomplishment.

Yesterday when I got home from work, it was so nice outside.  I kept thinking that it’s a shame that Squiggy is sick, because he would have loved walking around the yard, eating grass and some treats that he and Lana had missed out in the yard last year (pumpkin parts, apple cores, etc.)  Hopefully, one day soon, he will be up and running again. 

PS – and how many women can say their husband spent all day nursing a pig AND had dinner on the table by the time she got home?  I’m one lucky girl.

Stay At Home

I have been wondering lately about whether or not Todd’s life would be easier if I were to stay at home.  We struggle with keeping our house clean, which sometimes creates a little bickering between the two of us( where is that darn flashlight?!?)  I will admit, I am a lot of the problem. I hate cleaning, so this falls on Todd’s shoulders.  Todd is the cleaner, he cooks on days he has off and I am at work, he helps take care of the animals, he fixes anything that is broken, he is still doing work on the house to get it completed (I swear, it will never end,) he sews when a button falls off or when pants are ripped, he does the grocery shopping when I’m too lazy to do it on the weekends that I have off and he is at work.  He does A LOT!

I was thinking that it may be easier on him if I were to take care of the house.  Make him a homemade breakfast in the morning, pack his lunch, and then have dinner on the table and ready for when he gets home.  Take care of all the animals throughout the day so that if he wants to just relax in the evenings, he can.  Also, I could see myself out there mowing the lawn and gardening, trying to make the house look nice.

As it is right now, when we get home, we both have lists of things we’d like to do.  A lot of it doesn’t get done because we have so much going on, or we are just too tired to do anything but plop our butts on the sofa and stare at the TV.  Awful.  Life isn’t meant to be like this. 

I would also try to bring in a couple streams of income with the businesses and possibly a part time job.   It’s time for me to step it up a bit.  I’m not a stay at home wife right now, but this weekend, I am going to TRY to be one.  Wake up with him in the morning, get a little bit of cleaning done, some organizing, decide what we’re having for dinner, get some laundry done, maybe some grocery shopping.  I am exhausted just thinking about it.  I enjoy my “lazy weekends” of staying in my PJ’s and doing absolutely nothing that requires me to think.

I think the main thing would be to have a schedule and stick with it to be able to get everything I want to get done – done.  We’ll see how it goes.

Exhausted, Lazy & Overwhelmed

The past week and a half has been a rough one for us.  Squiggy is still sick, VERY sick, more sick than he’s ever been. The vet came to our house earlier last week and gave him a few shots, and then left some with us.  Within a couple of days, Squiggy appeared to be doing better.  He was even walking around a little for us and eating.  Then, this  past weekend, he took a turn for the worst.  He hasn’t stood up in days, nor has he eaten. 

Todd has been a trooper, taking care of our baby boy.  It is strange, but I cant be with Squiggy for too long when he’s like this.  It tears me up inside, and I kind of distance myself.  Todd has stepped it up and taken over where I usually have when it comes to spending time with Squiggy and taking care of him.   

It is amazing how a slight change can mess up the routine of life.  I feel like all we do is worry and talk about Squiggy.  Todd goes in to check on him twice throughout the night, I check on him twice in the morning before I leave for work (and try to give him some liquids,) and then twice in the evening when we get home from work.

Todd realized how exhausted I have been without me even realizing it.  I didn’t realize how must stress of a sick piggy has put on me.  I have felt like a zombie.  I have done nothing but sit and veg out.  I have a stack of paperwork that I need to take care of (home owners insurance, car insurance, hospital bill, tax return paperwork, etc.) that has been sitting on a table for about a week.  I cant even bring myself to go through it and pay the bills.  I haven’t been able to sit down and read for any amount of time, and when I do, I don’t comprehend it because I am not paying attention.

The house is a complete and utter disaster.  There is paperwork everywhere, stuff lying all over the house, and it is just a 100% mess.

The vet is coming out to the house again to diagnose the piggy.  Hopefully, he will be on the mend soon.  This weekend, Todd will be working.  I am planning on trying to clean up as much as I can and get some of these tasks taken care of. 

Book Review: God Gave Us the World by Lisa Tawn Bergren

God Gave Us the World by Lisa Tawn Bergren is an adorable book with great illustrations about a polar bear cub and family.

Mam bear is trying to teach bear cub about what a beautiful world we live in.  She tries to accentuate the fact that things are different in our environment along with other animals (bears in this case.)  The book teaches children about different types of bears and that God created them all. One quote that I love is, “Every bear has a special place in God’s great, big world.”  How true that is.

What a great book to teach the little ones about God and his greatness, creativity and love.  The book is not only biblical, but also educational on different types of bears and how they differ as well as their habitats. 

Disclosure:
I received this book free from WaterBrookMultnomah Publishers as part of their Blogging for Books program.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

MIA

I'm sorry I havent blogged for a little while.  Things are pretty stressful here right now with our ailing piggy.  It has taken most of our time taking care of him, worrying for him, and the like.  The vet will be out again today (for the second time.)  I hope they have a better diagnosis. 

I have posts on a flash drive, but havent had a chance to copy and paste.  That is how exhausting it has been around here.  I cant think or do anything that requires any brain activity.  I've been a vegetable for about a week.

Hopefully, I'll be back soon.

Jobs

Squiggy was sick last week and I had to call the vet to get a farm-animal vet to come out to the house and look at him.  I noticed on their website that they have job openings for a receptionist as well as someone to take care of the animals at their facility about 15 minutes away from our home.

I always said I would love to have a job with a company that worked with animals.  I love animals.  When I told Todd this, he said, “No way!”  When I asked why, he said it was because I would be bringing home animals left and right.  OK.  He may be right, but these are the types of jobs that I would really enjoy.

When I saw these open positions, I said, “I wish we had our last debt paid off…”  There have been a few promising positions I’ve seen open over the past few weeks, and I am glad to see them out there.  I just hope there are some available when it comes time for me to say good-bye to where I am currently employed.