Props to Jamie...best idea ever!

Jamie rented a photo booth for their wedding, and I am sure I'm not the first one to tell her what a great idea it was.  We had SO SO much fun with this thing.  I was talking to Zach about how much I loved it and he said he was against it from the start.  Boo to that Zach, double boo to that!!  We were entertained for quite awhile with the booth and I just had too share them with you here.  Enjoy!!

"RYAN!!! We have good poopies...."

Yep, 2 months ago, I would NEVER thought I would A. say that B. blog that or C. care about that, but I've gotta say, it was sure a cause for celebration today.  Let me back up and get you all on this wagon.  Ok, so if you've been following my blog, or talking to me at all in the last 3-4 weeks here you know that I've been super stressed and upset about Staley.  She hasn't been doing well, and you can read about this journey here and here.  There is probably some stuff missing between those posts and now, but basically, my baby dog was very very sick and she wasn't doing well at all.  It made me very sad to think about it, talk about, or even type about it but, I really think we may have turned a corner over here at the McGrath household.

I've got to give all the credit to the following people:  My mom and dad for caring for Staley at their house for a few weeks while we figured some things out, my best friend Stina for finding someone with some answers for me, and Dr. Codie and Dr. Sommers at the Freeport Animal Hospital. 

Going back a little to get you all caught up, we tried two different sets of anti-biotics with no results, Staley just kept having really "bad poops" and loosing weight.  A week ago, the vet weighed her in at 57 lbs.  This past Friday, she had lost another 4 lbs and was down to only 53 pounds.  We don't have a perfect starting point, but we guess that she weighed nearly 70 lbs before she started getting sick.  Dr. Condie wasn't very hopeful but promised to do some research on malabsorbtion and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.  Essentially, she had something that was causing her pancreas to not be able to break down her food.  She was eating and eating but literally starving to death before our eyes. 

Then, about 5 days ago, Stina called me to tell me that one of her friends had a Shepard with the same disease.  Sadly, Sondra's dog was hit by a car a few weeks ago (on the 4th of July...sad face!) and she had an entire bottle of meds for the disease that she wasn't going to be able to use.  Sondra was so sweet and offered to let us have her meds to try them out for Staley and see if they would work for us. 

She is just skin and bones. You can clearly see her ribs and hip bones in this picture...she looks Ethiopian. 

The hardest part about this disease is that it is very hard for normal everyday vets to diagnose.  They told us it would take lots and lots of test and that we should think in terms of thousands, not hundreds.  So, finding Sondra was going to allow us to try out some meds and see if they worked without having to rack up a huge medical bill. 

So...today, when I screamed "Ryan, we have good poopies" it was one of the happiest things I've said in a long long time.  Staley has been on this new medicine since Friday afternoon, but I am seeing signs that it is working already.  She obviously hasn't gained noticeable weight yet, as it's only been a few short days, but I'm hopeful that she might be turning a corner. 

All that being said, we have a tough road ahead of us.  This is medicine that Staley will need to be on for the rest of her life.  We will need to sprinkle a powder (of enzymes) on her food every time she eats, and the vet was very honest with us that this is just the beginning of a long list of possible problems that she might have, but it's a start and today I am going to celebrate that.  I don't know how long she will be around (we were told to expect that this could extend her life for a few years) but I'm not going to to think about that right now.  Today is a day to celebrate and be happy!!

These aren't the best pictures of me, but it ain't about me today!!

Jamie and Zach 7.23.11

Well, it's official, Jamie and Zach are officially married!!!  And, I want to start this blog post with a Congratulations to the happy couple...love you both!  So, that means, that I can finally, officially share the pictures of Jamie's dress.  For those of you that have been reading for awhile, you know that I had a few pictures from our dress shopping adventure but took them down to keep it a surprise for you all.

But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, we all know we can't get to this picture without the rehearsal first right.  Well, I hope you have a few minutes, because this is going to be a long post!

The wedding festivities always start with a rehearsal so Friday afternoon after we checked into our house, we all drove to the wedding chapel near Apple River.  The place was Ah-Maz-Ing!!  Imagine the most beautiful, quaint church that the owners relocated onto their property.  I wish I had some pictures to show you all but it was simply perfect.  I was jealous!  Anyways, we rehearsed, just the normal stuff, walk in now, stand here, do this, move there, hold that, walk back out.  You all know the drill. 

After the rehearsal we drove back to Galena where we had the rehearsal dinner.  That part is always super fun and this time was no exception.  It's a great time because it's a much smaller setting and being part of the wedding pretty much dictates that you know a fair number of people there. 

I actually don't know if there are words to describe what is happening here....but I had to post it because it was too dang funny not to share.

I think this was a little bit more like what we had in mind....

Then, the next morning, all of the bridesmaids and a few special people came over to the house we had rented in Eagle Ridge where we all had our hair and make-up done.  The ladies from Elite Design impressed us all when they showed us their new technique of SEWING thread into your hair, instead of using a million billion bobby pins.  I've got to say, for a girl with a lion's mane of hair like me, this was freaking awesome!  It was tight enough to keep my hair up and off my neck, but loose enough to keep me from getting a headache within hours of having my hair put up.  Here are a few pictures of that whole event for you all.

See...a needle and thread!!

Gotta say, I love these people!!!

The weather has been crazy around here for the past week or week and a half, it's been HOT!  Really really hot, and this weekend was no exception.  We didn't see the 115 degree heat indexes that we got when it hit it's peak, but it was near 100 on Saturday when the wedding started.  Luckily, the little white church was air conditioned and lucky for those of us standing up, the air was located in the front of the church so we were pretty well off.  My mom, who sang stood up in the balcony, I'm sure got the short end of the air conditioning stick.  In any case, the day started with some strong storms, rain and lightening, but the wedding gods were good to us and the sun came out, blue sky and all in time for the ceremony. 

 The official "I Do" moment....

Check out this super cute happy couple!!

If you can't tell, I just love my new sunglasses!! 

I know, I know, this is the picture you all were waiting for....who cares about me, everyone wants to see that beautiful bride

Congrats Jamie and Zach!!  Love you forever and ever and wish you the best!!!

Racine Half Ironman 2011

Today Ryan ran this "warm up" race for Louisville Ironman at the end of August.  If anything, this race gave him a real taste of just what the weather could be like the last weekend in August!  With temperatures hovering around 95 degrees and heat indices around 105 I was just happy to see him cross the finish line, or really, I was just happy to see him standing each and every time we saw him.  The race was a tough one for him and for us as spectators (smile).  But really, it was extremely hot, extremely sunny and a pretty dang tough race for Ryan.  We both have different ideas about his final time.  I'm pretty sure he finished about 5 minutes shy of 6 hours, and he thinks he was about 5 minutes over.  In any case, with a goal of hitting sub 12 hours for Ironman, a few minutes here or there of 6 hours for the half sure isn't bad. 

Ryan had to be all set up in transition by 6:30 am so while he was getting his bike/shoes etc set up, here are a few shots I snapped before the race started:

The lake was beautiful that early in the morning.  Aside from the thousands of racers heading off to get set for the swim it was quiet and peaceful.  I just wished we had had time to stop for a nice iced coffee for me!!

Here are just a few pictures of the swim to give you an idea of just how many people there are and just how insane they all must be!!  Actually, this swim start is NOTHING like Ironman, Wisconsin.  That is a sight I will never forget.  I liken it to what I imagine the scene in the water near the Titanic would have looked like moments after the ship went under.  That was truly an amazing sight to see!!

Here were a few of him coming in and out of transition from the swim to the bike.  As you can tell, it's really hard to get a good picture of him where he is A. looking at you B. paying attention and C. making a reasonable face....jeez!  You would think he was more concerned about something else!! 

It's fine, at this point Dan, Ellyn and I are avid race supporters.  We know how to do it right!!  In the 6 hours that Ryan was racing the three of us (and Lily) found breakfast for ourselves, (after a long hot walk and a LONG wait), saw Ryan at all of his transition points as well as a bonus sighting when we didn't realize the run looped past our chairs, drank a beer or two, and logged alot of miles walking around from place to place.  We sure didn't complete a 70.3 mile half Ironman, but we did pretty well for ourselves!!

See, I told you it was hard to get a good picture.  Or, maybe, that's what a "good picture" looks like after you run a half Ironman in 103 degree heat!!

I think, more than anything, this race was a real wake-up call for Ry as far as is training goes.  Two years ago when he did Ironman he was WAY less busy with work.  He had the hours to put in for the training.  And, I think having never done one before, he was far more neurotic about getting his training in and making sure he was doing it by the book.  Today when I asked him how he felt about this race he described it like this:
"It was soul crushing.  I feel like that race chewed me up and spit me out". I asked him if he wanted to blog this post as I'm sure you all would find it more interesting from his point of view, but he said no.  I asked if he had any words to say about the race and all he said was "It was F-ing HOT!!"

All in all, he is home safe and feeling tired, but overall not too bad!!  1.5 months to go before the real deal!!  I have a feeling I will be seeing a lot less of Ryan over these next few weeks as he will be doing a LOT more training!

UPDATE:  Here are his race times.  I can't seem to get the formatting to work correctly on this so the last number in each row is his Division Rank and the second to last number is his overall rank throughout the race.  We believe there were about 2,000 racers for this race.

TOTAL SWIM	1.2 mi. (35:55)	1:53/100m	425	55
TOTAL BIKE	56 mi. (2:47:51)	20.02 mph	532	81
TOTAL RUN	13.1 mi. (2:32:14)	11:37/mile	837	106

Radom-ness around the house

Tomorrow Ryan is racing a half Ironman race in Racine, Wisconsin so this afternoon we are headed up that direction to camp for the night.  Now, camping the night before a 70 mile race is certainly not ideal, but two months ago when I called the hotels in Racine to make a reservation for the night every single one of them was booked!!  So...we will be camping, in a tent, with Lily (Staley is still with my parents, more on that later).

Tomorrow I will have pictures from the race to share with you all, but this morning we are just getting some work done around the house.  A few weeks ago my X-Terra started making so strange noises.  I took it into the dealer (since it's still under warranty) and man oh man, am I glad I took it in.  I needed my transfer case fluids replaced (free-under warranty), I had a cracked front differential so they replaced that (free-under warranty), and I needed new front brakes and rotors.  The brakes and rotors weren't going to be covered under our extended warranty plan since they are considered part of normal wear and tear so they quoted me just under $500 to grind down the rotors (really just a band-aid) and replace the front brake pads.  This is where I have to say, I'm glad I married a handy man!! 

This morning, before we head out camping, Ryan is replacing my brake pads and roters.  Total cost for the materials $200 and, we upgraded the parts that Nissan would have used if they did it for me.  Long story short, for more than 50% savings and a few hours of work, I will have a brand new set of brakes (and hopefully a car that doesn't sound jankey...yes, that is a word!)

I'm not going to pretend that I know ANYTHING else about what is going on here :O)

Staley Update:

For those of you that are wondering what's going on with the sweet dog of mine, there unfortunately hasn't been much of a change.  Mom and Dad have been taking care of her in Freeport since Tuesday night.  They took her back into the vet this morning to get some more information and get her weighed so we would have a starting point to measure from.  Today she weighed only 57 lbs.  We aren't really sure where she was when she was healthy, but we will at least know if there have been any changes from here on out.  Dr. Sommers has added yogurt to her diet now to see how that will affect her.  So at this point she is getting the following:  Fiber flakes, yogurt, colon health and her lamb and rice formula food.  We aren't giving up on her yet!!  Dr Sommers said that in all his years of being a vet he has only ever seen one other dog with Malabsorbtion so he isn't super familiar with it, but he said that he would read up on it in the next few days and see if we could come up with a solution.

I'm having a hard time dealing with the whole thing.  I wouldn't wish this on anyone.  I guess part of me just isn't ready to believe that we might have to put her to sleep.  She is just so young and the hardest part is that she isn't acting sick at all.  She still runs and jumps and bounds just as she always has done.  I miss her, but know that being home with mom and dad is best for her.  She has Ruby and mom to play with all day and mom and dad tell me she is happy.  I just wish we could start to see some sort of improvement.  For now, I'm trying to stay positive and hopeful.

  
Yep, I will take all the messes to just have you back at home and doing well!!  Thinking of you Staley!!                       

Quick Blog update...

Hi all!

A few of you have asked if you can get an email whenever I post something new up.  Well, I've got good news!  I've added an "Email Me" box at the top of my blog.  If you check out the top right hand corner (yes, I verified it's on the right hand side for those of you that know I ALWAYS mix up my left and right) you will see "Email Me" along with a box for you to type in.  Just add in your email address there and you will get an email of my post right into your in-box.

Happy Friday everyone!! 

Staley doggie update

First off, thanks for all the kind words and thoughts from you all since my last post.  I just talked to my mom and she and Staley just got back from the vet.

Right now, they still don't really know what's going on with her.  Stool samples have confirmed that it's not worms, which we sort of figured since she is on Heart worm meds and it should take care of all types of worms.  To start with the vet wants us to change her food to a higher fiber food (Science Diet Lamb and Rice if you wondered) and he has my mom adding fiber flakes to her food to see if we can "firm" things up a bit...pardon the grossness of that!  In addition, Staley is getting Colon Health (just the regular stuff you buy over the counter) to try and give her some good bacteria and probiotics.  The vet said she is looking really really skinny, which I knew.  Since I see her every day, if I'm noticing she is skinny, she really must have lost a lot of weight. 

So...fingers crossed, a change in diet is all she will need.   He didn't talk about the stomach cancer which is hopeful, but he did talk to my mom about Maldigestion Syndrome which after about 5 minutes of Internet research I can tell you is not good.  Basically, it's an insufficiency in the pancreas that doesn't allow her to absorb nutrients.  It can be treated with medicine, but it is a lifelong issue and will be expensive.  Ryan and I would have some hard decisions to make if this was the case, so we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping a change in her diet and some added fiber will go along way to getting our littlest dog back on the road to recovery.

Finally, I just want to thank my Mom and Dad for helping us through this.  It isn't the first time they've come through for my dogs and I'm sure it won't be the last.  I know that Staley is in good hands and although I miss her, I'm sure she is having the time of her life with Ruby to play with and my mom home from school for the summer.  Get well my sweet dog...get well!!

Staley dog is sick! :O(

My poor little Staley dog is sick.  Well, she has been sick.  For about three weeks now.  I will spare you all the gory details, but let me put it this way.  For the last few weeks Staley has been saying "Mommy, I know why my tummy hurted!  I had bad poops". 

For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, it's probably better that way.  For those of you that do know, I figured you would enjoy that one little tid bit.  After 1 week of thinking/hoping she would "get over it" and two weeks of different antibiotics, I finally decided that she was looking a little too Ethiopian for my taste and decided to meet my parents up in Rockford this evening to give them Staley to take to the vet.  I just don't trust the vets out here by us.  Some of you may remember the Lily drama we had about 2 summers ago now with her ear infections and a horrible vet.  Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are great vets out here by us, I just trust my good old vet in Freeport.  Sure, he probably sees more horses and cows than dogs and cats, but you know what, that is fine with me!

For the last week now I've convinced myself that Staley has Stomach Cancer.  Not because I made it up, but because the vet mentioned it to me in passing.  I know, I know...she doesn't.  I am just a worry wort.  And, as my mother pointed out tonight, I get it from her.  If I could turn it off, I would.  But, I can't.  I've convinced myself that I will be getting that dreaded phone call from my mom tomorrow morning saying that it's something bad and we can't fix it.  I'm sure the vet will say it's something silly like her food (which we haven't changed) or her water, or worms, or something completely simple to fix, but for right now, all I can hear is the horrible and the awful.

So, tonight, wish me sweet dreams and a deep sleep.  Say a little prayer for my doggie.  Because I sure has heck can't stop thinking about her.  I will update you all tomorrow when I know more.

Also, on a side note, I haven't forgotten about the 4th of July or this past weekend.  I've got pictures to post and stories to share, I've just been  busy lazy and promise to get to it soon before I get too far behind.  This upcoming weekend Ryan is racing his biggest race of the year so far.  A half Ironman in Racine, Wisconsin.  Just under a month and a half out from the real deal, this race will be a true measure of how ready he is for Louisville.

That's all for now....I'm off to snuggle in with a good book and a glass of wine.