Lordy, lordy, Brian is 40!

Birthday time!!  Brian turned 40 today.  We started out with tons of friends and a BBQ at a nearby park yesterday.  Here is the rainbow unicorn cake (unicorn was not yet put in place) that was partially smashed by Robin reaching into the back seat to grab the unicorn:

We got the sports package from parks and rec.  All the kids - and many adults - had fun!

Our friend, Patrick, helped indoctrinate B to his 5th decade with some prune juice…. to keep things "running smooth."  Sage advice. 

Of course there was BBQ!

Then today celebrated with multiple soccer games and a dinner at B's parent's house. 

And one challenging game of "Sorry":

Nothing says "40" like a delicious homemade super chocolate cake:

And because his lungs are, well, 40 years old, he had help blowing out the candles. 

Happy 40th Brian*!!!!

* and David!

17 years

That's right.  Brian and I have officially been together for 17 years.  Wow.

We celebrated by getting a sitter (Awesome Anna!) and took BART to Lake Merritt in Oaktown for some walking. Brian took more pictures than me, so hopefully he can post more.  We walked around the botanical gardens, checked out a bonsai garden (some of the specimins are older than me!!!), did some paddle boating, then walked back around the lake for a quick cocktail, hightailed it back to BART and had a lovely time.  Can't think of a better way of celebrating our first 17 years than a long stroll, hand-in-hand, in perfect fall weather.

He's silly! 

He's handsome!!

He learns about the Oakland Scottish Rite Center and all the intricacies of the Freemasons at the bar.  

Happy 17 years, Mr. B.  I promise the next 17 will be even more fun!

Brian's Birthday Bash!

Another year, another birthday.  We celebrated over the whole weekend.  Somehow I only really got 3 mediocre pictures.

The celebration on Friday (the actual b-day):
* Presents and cards over morning oatmeal and coffee.
* 5 miler run together when the kids were at school. (don't tell Brian's work!)
* Pizza dinner out on the lawn.  Frozen pizza.  From Safeway.
* 24 oz Mickey's can to go with the pizza.

Saturday:
Lots of shopping to prepare.

Of course, we need chocolate doughnuts to assist during shopping. 

Sunday:
BBQ at the park!  A great turn out of family and a lot of friends, with ice cream cake too!

Of which the girls each had two pieces.

The apple doesn't fall far....

My dad is a cancer survivor - he had Hodgkin's lymphoma 11 years ago.  It was diagnosed, basically, on our wedding day.  When he was undergoing treatment, the only things that were remotely interesting/tasty/palatable to him were doughnuts and hot dogs. 

Guess what Robin ate for lunch today? 

PUPPY FOUND HIS HOME!

An update to the lost dog post....


... yesterday as the girls and I were walking to the park, I saw a "Lost Dog" flier.  Guess what?  It was the same dog!!!  I called and the mom was ecstatic!  And since I'd told the emergency vet clinic where I left the dog that we were interested in becoming his care taker, I had his animal control ID number and shelter phone number for her.  She will pick him up today.

Apparently the family was away for the day, the dog had broken through or under their gate and they hadn't realized he had escaped until 11 PM.  We picked him up at about 2:30.  I'm certain he'd either never have survived that long on that busy road or, hopefully, some other pet-loving people would have come to his assistance in that time.  Either way he's going home!!!  And my faith in humanity is restored.

Looking for a good home (long and wordy again, sorry!) 10

We're 3 miles from home after a medium-serious drive of 4 hours coming back from Tahoe when we see a lollygagging, happy, alone Golden Retriever standing alone on a corner of a busy street in downtown Orinda.  There's N*O*O*N*E nearby.  He has a collar but not a leash.  I quickly pull over, the roady is very, very busy and we lost two cats to it a couple years ago.  Brian hops out and hooks the dog.  No tags.  We hem and haw a bit over what to do, looking around all the while for a search party.  No one emerges, we pile the dog into our car and head home.

I imagine the scenario where the dog escapes from the yard unexpectedly and is wandering about, maybe the family is out, maybe they're not paying attention.  But they're missing him or soon will be and will soon mount an all-force effort to relocate him and bring him home.

The dog is old, with a greying face and a big lump on his back.  On the sage advice of dog owner and all-around-good-guy Uncle Jim, we looked for a vet to take him to. Being Sat, all the vet's offices are closed by now, but I find one emergency clinic, call them and they say to bring him in.  I do.

He's thirsty but otherwise happy and friendly, as all Goldens are.  He's got no microchip.  They take him in, telling me he'll get picked up by animal control and taken to the closest shelter.  After a waiting period, he'll be put up for adoption.

The receptionist says he looks *just* like a dog that was there yesterday, brought in by a family who said they'd take care of him, but then might have changed their heart and dumped him by the side of the road.  My heart sank that this sweet, elderly dog would ever find his people again.  And it sinks even lower that this dog might have been abandoned by a family no longer able to take care of his needs.  Likely having cancer or another virus, his care taking needs have certainly changed since he was a puppy 10 years ago.  And maybe the family'd ability to take care of him has changed too.

I leave, thinking we've done the best we can, saving the dog from the treacherous road, and B and I consider maybe taking in the geriatric dog to give him his last year or two surrounded by adoring little girls. I feel a responsibility for the animal, having plucked him off the road and trying to get hime to safety.  However, introducing an older dog with health conditions.... am I ready to teach the girls such an immediate lesson in loss? Can I just leave the sweet pooch to his fate?

(P.S. this is a backdated post, so if you're on pins and needles check in on 4/10.)

My Wild Saturday Night

Brian had a daddy-girl date night with some other dad/daughter friends, so I had the night to myself.  I had a sushi date with a friend but she called in sick earlier in the day, her voice at a whisper.  So I took myself out to sushi.  I took my current reading, a requirement to become an LLL Leader which I am in-process. And between bites of some meltingly amazing nigiri and sips of mediocre sake, I ended up bawling.  Why?  I read up on a section of initiating nursing after a difficult birth.  Really?  Really.  I'm going to cry over this? Guess it reenforced that I'm doing appropriate volunteer work with LaLeche.

I cleared the air by coming home and watching Caddyshack and Spies Like Us off Amazon prime (free baby!) I was kinda bored by the first but enjoyed the second so much I watched it half-way through again when Brian came home.

McMiller Technology Update

New Box!

So, around 8:30pm on Saturday, we decided that Erin was calm enough for... for bed? for having a story read to her? for cuddling? No. We decided that she was ready to head out into 30F weather and biting winds to go to the mall and replace our old Dell with an iMac.

It went something like this: after a restful evening, apropos of nothing:

Me: "Hey... want to go get a computer?"
Ash: "Hell, yeah!"

Feelin' Quite Unhip

The Apple story was hilarious. No employee there was over 17 years old. All were so hip I felt like I was back in high school the minute we walked in the door. Instead of saying "Hello! May I help you?" they said things like "Hey, what up? You got questions about that iPod?"

So, we walk in, we're sort of in a hurry to get back home. I just want to pick up our box and go. So, I look for someone to talk to. Ah! I spy a counter. People behind counters can help, right? Wrong. That's the tech support desk. "Oh, this is the help desk. You'll want to talk to people out on the floor." OK, sure. So, I go to someone in an Apple shirt who looks available, "Hi, I'm looking to by an iMac.". "Oh, sorry, I'm the iPod guy, I can't help you with the computer that's 4 feet away. I'll get someone to come help you."

iPod guy: "Why don't you go post up by the Mac you want, and I'll get someone to come help."

Me, not understanding "post up": "Excuse me?"

iPod guy: "Go post up by the Mac."

Me: "Yeah, I'll just go post up by the Mac I want."

Sadly, and very unhiply, I scurried home to go look up "post up" on Urban Dictionary. Oh, the shame of it all!!

Want to Talk to Erin?

The pic above is a snapshot from our first video chat with Grandma and Grandpa McFeely. Anyone who wants to see live video coverage of the most beautiful baby in the world, just send me an email and we'll hook you up.