A Rough Patch

We have had a bit of a rough patch in our household lately. For some, more literally than others...

Maggie has definitely had it the worst, as you can see. Her lower back became so sensitive the last few weeks that you could hardly touch it and she started losing fur in one spot. So I took her to the vet, and it turns out Max (our younger dog) bit her while they were playing and her skin got extremely irritated and infected and the infection spread. Two vet bills, a bottle of antibiotics, two shots, a tube of skin cream, some blood work, and a horrible shave job later, things started to get better.

That is, until "the patch" got sunburnt. No biggie, right? I'll just put some sunscreen on it. Brilliant! Apparently having two dogs is much harder than I anticipated -- Max licked all the sunscreen off of Maggie. So the vet suggested another idea, which I was not too thrilled about...

Yep, that's right, my dog is wearing a shirt. It honestly took me 20 minutes to find one that was under $5 in the clearance section at PetSmart that wasn't bedazzled or didn't have the word "Princess" on it somewhere. I'm not quite sure what is worse, the patch or the doggie t-shirt.

To top it all off, Maggie got extremely sick two nights ago. Like on-her-death-bed sick. We took the pups on a walk above Holmberg Park and let them off their leashes because we were out in the woods and no one else was around. We're still not sure if maybe she got into something along the trail, but she started throwing up that night around 10:00PM and threw up every 25 minutes until 7:00AM. Which also meant that I was up all night with her. Literally.

I'm beginning to realize that I am one of those people who just doesn't do well without a decent amount of sleep, especially when I'm already stressed. I am either doomed to get a migraine or I have a meltdown. Yesterday, it was the meltdown. First to my mom, then to the vet over the phone, then when I called into work. Needless to say, it wasn't my best day. And I'm pretty sure our vet clinic has some kind of symbol next to my name in the computer that is code for "psycho."

If I was honest with myself, it hasn't really been a great month. Okay, let me go back a step and say that a lot of AMAZING things have happened this month, but on a personal level, we have all just been completely bogged down and busier than we've ever been. Between working full-time and all of our photography stuff, I literally have not had a day off until today for a full month. And Jordan's schedule with classes and studying for the Bar Exam is worse. On top of all that, I've been sick for two weeks.

What does all of that equate to? Things like me leaving my car door wide open while we grocery shop at Safeway at night. I wish I was kidding. Or looking all over the store for a product at work when it's always in one certain spot, only to find that it was in that spot all along. I guess I forgot to mention in addition to migraines and meltdowns, I apparently get Alzheimer's symptoms when I'm tired and stressed.

My poor husband.

I'm not trying to complain or sound negative, although I'm sure it sounds like it. Actually, I've been counting my blessings more than ever lately because I know there are so many.

Things are starting to look up, which is the good news! I decided not to take any more photography jobs until after the 4th of July weekend, which has been a much needed breather for me. Jordan found out he GOT A JOB! Well, it's a temporary position with S.N.A.P., which is where he did his internship, but it could turn into a permanent position in October. Either way, it's a great thing for us right now! And we have two great weekends coming up -- Hoopfest this weekend and the 4th of July next weekend -- they honestly couldn't have come at a better time for us.

It's a busy season of life for us, but God is good and we are so thankful. Oh, and Maggie (aka "Patches") is doing much better today. :)