Running Errands During the Break in the Snow

We took supplies for Lucas and Elleigh May to Pet Agree in Candia Friday night. Elleigh and Lucas will be attending "overnight camp" at Pet Agree when Michael and I finally head off to the hospital to deliver Gabriel. And now, in case we go to the hospital in a hurry, Elleigh and Lucas already have food, treats, instructions, and check in forms signed and waiting at Pet Agree. They just need a ride to camp when it's time.

After a quick dinner in the bar at the Ninety Nine restaurant in Hooksett, Michael and I went shopping at a pet store in the new Goodwill shopping plaza. Lucky for Lucas, we found a winter jacket for him. The poor middle child goes ignored. Last year at this time, Lucas was still a puppy, so he didn't have a winter coat that fits him so far this winter. We found him a handsome red and black coat that makes him look like a snow patrol dog.

We also hit Target in Hooksett and found the Graco Pack n Play we wanted for Gabriel, that hadn't been in stock in Concord. It has a bassinet attachment and a changing table too. May have found a shelf solution for Gabriel's room too! We needed something extra to hold stuff in the one corner where we have Gabriel's changing pad on top of the dresser, the Diaper Genie will be, we need a place to put diaper changing stuff and the wipe warmer needs to be plugged in.

And since more snow was looming in the forecast, we stopped at a small grocery store in Allenstown on the way home and got some supplies to get us through a possible snowed in Sunday. I also got some makings for cookies and fudge, as I haven't done any holiday baking or cooking yet.

Miss Elleigh May Would Like to Make an Announcement

Elleigh is too tired and recovering on the couch from her time away at the kennel. But, Elleigh May wanted me to write a blog for her to announce that now that the whole family is married, she has chosen to take her Daddy's name. Elleigh May can now be addressed as Miss Elleigh May Abberton effectively immediately. She's thinking she wants Mommy to buy her something with her new monogram on it... EMA. Or maybe even she would like formal announcement cards sent out. We've changed her name with the kennel earlier today and Mommy will call the vet tomorrow to change her name there. Lucas was technically Daddy's dog already, though he's a Momma's boy, so his name was already Abberton.

Lucas

Lucas is a handsome little guy and he is growing so fast. If he really puts his mind to it, he can now jump onto the couch himself. However, he is not even attempting the stairs to go up to the second floor, so we carry him to bed like a baby. He's sleeping through the night, mostly because he is exhausting himself by running around and playing so hard with Elleigh May all evening. He's been a trooper with the start of the cold weather and still going outside to do his potty. He wasn't too impressed when the light rain we got at home tonight, just after the sun wentdown, that froze suddenly to the deck. So he ran out to pee and slid across the deck and off the stairs. Poor little guy! He and Elleigh are fun to watch when they are snuggling and having quiet time. Elleigh is very patient with him and sometimes it even seems like they are whispering things back and forth to one another.

We're Home!

We survived the flight home and Michael's Dad (Grandpa Abberton) was waiting in Manchester to pick us up. We arrived just before noon, having advanced ahead 6 hours with the time zones, and not having been to sleep Friday night. The house was in one piece and, thankfully, Grandpa Abberton mowed the lawn.
We headed out to pick up the four legged children almost immediately, because we really missed them. Miss Elleigh May apparently was exhausted from her stay at pet sitter Susan's house. The little doggy gang staying with Susan had visited the new dog park in Concord frequently. And Susan said Elleigh was a sweet girl. Here's a photograph of Elleigh in her new Hawaiian shirt and the Hawaiian print collar/bandanna that we got for her in Hawaii. You can see she will probably have a permanent scar on her nose from her pre-vacation digger. And she can barely keep her eyes open in this photo. Elleigh has been extra snugly since we have had her home. She also has been trying to catch up on her sleep, passing out any time she can.

Austin didn't seem too overly excited to see us, as he really loves hanging out at "the farm" with his Grandpa Abberton. But he did enjoy the pineapple flavored dog biscuits we brought home for him.

Michael and I were exhausted too. Once we got the kids home, we watched an hour of The Office off the DVR. By 7 pm, we were in bed and slept the whole night through until 8 am this morning. Hopefully, that will be all we need to "catch up" on sleep. Michael has to return to work tomorrow, but I do have one more day to recuperate before heading back to work.

Elleigh's Digger

In the fury of packing for Hawaii and trying to track down the contract for the Lake Opechee Inn reception hall, Elleigh has taken a digger on the steps. She has completely maimed her face. Not sure she will ever recovery fully. I have pointed with a red arrow in the picture to the pink area around the side of her nose where the black flesh has been scraped down to pink soreness. You will see she has pout lip in the photo and is trying to use the injury to keep her Mother from leaving her to go to Hawaii. If she keeps up with all of this drama, she will need to get her own blog to deal with her own issues.

My Blog Partner

It would be wrong to not acknowledge my very helpful blog partner. I never write alone. Elleigh is always there: reading over my shoulder, whispering suggestions on what I should write, giving me inspiration. She is insistent on good grammar and proper spelling. She's quite creative. Wish I had captured something better on the tube in the background.

Elleigh Already Misses Daddy

I got up at 2:30 am this morning so I could shower for work and then take Michael to the Manchester airport for his early morning flight to get him to Hawaii. I went to work before 5:00 am instead of going home and wasting time. I don't think I have ever been to work that early in the morning. It was nice to leave work early, but at this point, I am exhausted and ready for bed. Just waiting for Michael to call and tell me how beautiful Hawaii is and that he arrived safely. According to Detla.com, Michael's plane did land, but it was a few minutes later than anticipated. That must have been a long leg from Atlanta to Honolulu. Michael saw on-line last night that the flight was so long it had time to offer three different movies.

Elleigh May is not pleased at all that Daddy isn't home tonight. She wasn't pleased that Michael was away at the NASCAR race all day yesterday for that matter. She's pouting on her doggy bed. Little does she know that it will be a long 3 weeks before she sees Daddy again.