Lost Dog Found

It is two weeks later and I am finally able to sit and try to put this terrible experience into words.

If I let my mind wander/think too much though, my throat closes, my breathing becomes rapid and I start to feel sick and anxious.

The Thursday before Easter we decided to head to Hilton Head for a long weekend of quality family time. I was very excited because we would be meeting up with some friends AND I felt confident in our boarding arrangements for Chloe.

Earlier in the week the kids and I had visited a boarding facility recommended by our vet. It is the place the vet/techs and even a few random folks I have met down here use. The lady who owns it is named Julie and she and her husband bought some property, installed an in ground pool and have dedicated themselves to caring for dogs. She even provides pick up and drop off service. What is not to love?

So Thursday around 11:30 when Chloe got picked up to head to doggie camp for the weekend I was feeling pretty good :)

We made our way to Hilton Head and arrived around 3:30. By 4 we were on the beach and enjoying our vacation. What I didn't know was that around this time Chloe escaped from the kennel. Apparently a dog was entering a play area through one door, and another dog was exiting through another door. Chloe got out. A careless mistake was made, Chloe took advantage and made her getaway.

I WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF HER ESCAPE UNTIL 6:00 FRIDAY EVENING! She had been lost for 24 hours, during a storm, in a national forest, before I was even notified! I was immediately brought to tears and at a loss for what to say to Julie? Since I had already had a couple margaritas pool side, Pete left Hilton Head to drive back to Charleston in hopes of locating her. He searched until midnight. No Chloe. By 6 am the next morning (Saturday) he was back out searching. At 11 when he still hadn't found her (the last sighting of her was actually at 6:30 on THURSDAY night) he headed to HH to pick the kids and I up. Well, 51 miles from HH, he got a call from a neighbor of Julie that Chloe was spotted!

I will never forget where I was when I got the call from Pete. The kids and I had just walked up from the beach and were about to have lunch at the pool when Pete called. He told me he was 51 miles from us and got a call saying Chloe had been spotted and asked me what I thought he should do. My gut told me he needed to turn around and go back to find her. He agreed. Since the kids had no idea what was even going on, I knew getting them to leave HH was not going to be easy, and then by the time we got back to Charleston it would be close to dark.

While at lunch we had Izzy do a voice recording of her "calling for Chloe" as if trying to get her to come. Chloe loves Izzy and if anyone could get Chloe out of hiding it was her! Pete was able to play the recording through his car speakers and drive around searching for her.

Of course since I am able to sit here typing this at just 2 weeks out there must be a happy ending...right :) Pete resumed his search at 1:30 on Saturday and at 4:30 he rescued our Chloe girl!!!! From what I've been told, she was hesitant to come to him when he saw/called for her. He was about 40 yards away and started talking to her about Izzy and Drew. She kind of peeked out at him, became more comfortable and then Pete played Izzy's voice. It was Izzy's voice that got Chloe close enough to Pete that he was able to get her.

Pete brought Chloe home, bathed her, fed her and stayed with her for a few hours before heading to Hilton Head. Our neighbors were kind enough to keep an eye on Chloe (we knew she would just sleep) so that we were able to stay one more night in Hilton Head.

When the kids and I returned home Chloe was so excited that she barked for 6 minutes straight. She rarely barks! It was as if she was filling us in on her adventure....and probably cursing us out too.

We have taken things day by day, but for the most part I think Chloe is back to her self. I never knew how very attached I was to this silly dog (and I mean that in the nicest way) until I was faced with the real fear she might be gone. ...just typing that last sentence has put tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat so I guess I should just end there.

Welcome home Chloe-girl!

Poem By Drew

Fish

Big fish, Medium fish, some fish are small.

Fish come in lots of sizes most of all.

When I picked Drew up from school yesterday he told me that he "just made dis poem up in his head" while he waited for me.

Continuing on with Drew

I just posted this as my facebook status:

I just put a pair of boxers on Drew (4) for bed and he excitedly exclaimed, "Yessss! These have a penis pocket!" That kid sure keeps me laughing :)

He's a nut. The other day he correctly used the word "catastrophe", however he pronounced it "fatastrophe" in a sentence. I will have to check with Pete and see if he remembers why he even used that word?

"Peeps" and not the Easter kind

Drew came down with some sort of virus on Easter. Since we were in Hilton Head I didn't really think too much of it at the time. He had a bit of diarrhea and was extra cuddly - I just assumed he was tired from a busy few days and had swallowed too much ocean water, pool water, and eaten too much Easter candy.

Here we are on Tuesday and he is basically peeing out his butt. This evening Izzy and I were sitting at the kitchen table working on her homework while Drew was on the pot. The following conversation went down...

Setting: Drew in the bathroom where all sorts of unique sounds are coming from his body.

Izzy: "Mom, is Drew pooping or peeing?"
Me: "He has diarrhea. So basically he is pooping, but it is more like he is peeing out his bottom." (how exactly does one explain this concept?)
Izzy: "Oh, cause it just sounds like he is peeing. ...again, and again."

From the bathroom Drew pipes in: "Hey, we should call it 'peeps'. Hey, Mom! We should call it 'peeps'. You know, kind of like we say 'poops', but because it is like pee coming out of my tush, we should call it 'peeps'. Get it? 'Pee - eeps'."

Me: "Yes, Drew. I get it."

Yep, that boy is going places :)

Him and Her

Today was a good day.

I am going to focus on the good, and not mention the "bad" (at least not tonight) that brought about this good. The "bad" is going to get an entire entry devoted to it soon enough.

Two kids. Two great days today.

Drew had his FIRST playdate since we moved. After school today we met up with two boys from his class at a local playground for them to play for a couple hours. I showed up armed with silly string, new giant bouncy ball, and snacks galore! We were there to play and form some friendships (even if that meant I had to buy/bribe those kids)!

I won't say that the 2 hour gathering wasn't without tears - Drew did get kicked by one little boy, and then that same little boy announced "I DON'T LIKE DREW!" when his mom asked him what was wrong with him? BUT Drew had fun and is already talking about the next time we are going to play together.

Moving onto Miss Izzy...

That girl is on a role! She is in a really good place right now, and making her parents extra proud! She is stepping out of her comfort zone and blossoming into quite an amazing little person.

She was given a scrapbook for her birthday, and decided to write a story with it.



Last night she finished up the 2nd chapter of her book (how cute is it that she wrote a chapter book) and then announced she wanted to take it to school to read to her class. Oh my ... I certainly didn't want to crush her spirit but I was so nervous because she truly wrote the entire book on her own. I think she only asked me to help her with the spelling of words on the cover? And to see how she spells words at age 6 is both amazing/comical at the same time. I knew the teacher would be very encouraging, but I was worried about the other students. Kids can be cruel and about 80% of the words in her book weren't spelled with vowels :)

Here's a sneak peak...

This page says: Bugs are nature


This says: Chapter 2 Where we live


We live on a planet called Earth


The beach is in Charleston (I like to see how she spelled Charleston - the page before this one said "we live in Charleston").


...getting to the good part...

When I picked Izzy up from school today the teacher informed me that Izzy was on the "news show" at the end of the school day. I immediately asked why and the teacher told me Izzy would explain. Once in the car I asked for all the details. Apparently Izzy was selected to be on the school news at the end of the day. This is a big honor because although the news show runs everyday, it is only a few minutes and there are 1200+ students to select from.

Izzy told me that she went to "you know that little room in the back of the library with all the plastic stuff" (no, but sure?) and sat on a couch. She then had a microphone attached to her shirt and then the principle came in to interview her. How cool is that? I asked her if she answered him (she can get QUITE shy and hard to hear/understand and that is if she actually speaks) and she assured me that she did. Go Izzy! She is certainly coming into her own and I am loving the little lady that she is becoming!

This page made me smile the most - it was the last page in her book and do you know what it says?



We love where we live.

I'd say she is adjusting just fine.

Now Drew, he's another story for another day.

Mickey's Magic Show

Yesterday I picked Izzy up from school at 2:15 and the kids and I headed to North Charleston to see Mickey's Magic Show!







True to Drew form he does not like loud situations and sat like this the entire show (or on my lap with my hands covering his ears).



I thought the show was cute, but the Disney on Ice productions are better. It will be a sad day for me once the kids stop begging to go see these types of shows.

Kindness Owl Award

I mentioned earlier that the only thing I was really "concerned" with on Izzy's kindergarten report card was how she is doing socially. I want her to have respect for others, good manners, follow directions, listen, be kind to others, and show empathy. I could not have been more proud (Pete too...so much so that he put it on facebook) when the day after report cards came home Izzy told me she had gotten a "kindness owl award". I asked what it was for, and if she knew why she received it? She did.

Izzy has a boy in her class named Timothy. I believe Timothy struggles a bit academically because Izzy has mentioned a couple times that "Mr. Jim" will come into class to help him with his schoolwork. Unfortunately Timothy's dad recently passed away. From the stories Izzy tells, Timothy is having a tough time in school. He often gets his "turtle" moved (form of reward/punishment type system) and recently even wet his pants. Last Wednesday the children were given the option to pick what center they would be participating in that day. Izzy picked a center with her best friend Brianna, and Timothy picked "small blocks". When no one else picked to be in centers with him, he became upset and started to cry (something Izzy told me he is doing alot of lately). Well sweet Izzy raised her hand and asked her teacher if it would be okay for her to switch centers and work with Timothy. sniff, sniff, tear, tear for proud moment pause :)

How great is that? When Izzy told me this story I smiled so big and told her how proud I was of her! I told her these are the things that make her daddy and I so happy, and I thought I could feel my heart getting bigger cause I loved her so darn much at that moment! ...she knew I was proud cause everytime she looked at me the rest of the day I would just smile real big at her.

Those are the actions/moments that remind me through all the bad stuff, and as rotten as I think I am as a mom somedays, I (and Pete) must be doing something right! ...cause it can't all be just her, can it?