3am catch up

 We had conferences with both kids (it' that time, it wasn't a special conference). It really cemented, to me, that Bertram has the right teacher this year.  We found out in his DreamBox (online math), he'd never finished second grade.  So we've been playing catch up on that.  I told him once he's caught up, he can enroll in coding.  So we've been working on that a few nights a week.  He told me he is caught up now, but I need to find out from the teacher.  Bronwyn's conference was fine.  Nothing too surprising there, except she has an enemy, Wilder.  They do not get along.  I think he is an ASD kid as well.  But her teacher said she's very smart, but she's working on her fine motor.  I've been thinking that I maybe need to ask Kaiser for private OT for her, but with our current schedule there is no where for it to go.  But there has been talk about Bronwyn graduating from ABA.  I don't think Bertram is too far behind her.  So once ABA is done, we'll have a very open schedule.

Bertram has started 2 art classes.  An anime drawing class at the community center, and a regular drawing class after school.  Both are one day a week.  He's been enjoy them, and I love seeing his skills grow.  I think he has a lot of potential, especially when he slows down.  He's always in a rush to get things done.

Bertram had his walk a thon at the beginning of November.  He did 6 miles.  I think he could have done more, but he was just done.  So really he walked 8 that day, since we walked there and back.  I walked all the laps with him, per his request.  All Bert wanted was the Kona Ice snow cone.  Once he got that, he was ready to leave.

My dad is finally starting to feel well, after his surgery.  I was getting worried, because he was kind of despondent.  But he seems to be on the up and up now.  My mom's cancer wasn't quite a simple little cancer, as she needs radiation therapy as well.  It's hard because I had accepted this small, easy breast cancer, and now it's not that anymore.

Dogs:
We had to put Fiona down.  She was doing more and more poorly, and losing more weight and bladder control.  It's hard because there is never a "right time" to do it.  I just kept hoping she would die at home, so I wouldn't have to make the decision.  I started looking for a new dog almost immediately.  As I had a dog-shaped hole in my heart.  We went to the first shelter on a Saturday.  It was a really nice shelter, we visited all the cats, and looked over the dogs.  We met Honey, who was nice, but huge.  And she got too excited for her size (based on the size of the kids).  When we left the shelter Bron was very upset that we didn't leave with a dog.  The next day we went to the city animal shelter, where there were a lot of Pit mixes and Shepherd mixes.  Both breeds are generally bad with cats.  We met a smallish dog.  But he didn't warm to us, and didn't seem like he'd be a good fit for the family.  We went to the last local shelter the same day, and there we found Monty.

Monty has found his niche in our home.  He and Waffles get along, or tolerate each other.  Oona is still a little on edge when Monty is near.  He doesn't particularly care about either of them.  He has been my constant shadow since he came home.  He generally doesn't let me out of his sight.  He is fine with the rest of the family, but really, he only has eyes for me.  He's gotten a little more barky with people and other dogs.  He barks at someone when he meets them the first time, then usually not again.  He walks well on lead, but we're still working on "sit". I've signed him up for training classes at PetSmart (PetsMart?)  That will start in a few weeks.  But he is doing well.  He pees when he gets up, then we do a morning walk, a mid-day walk, and a quick outside in the evening.  We're not walking very far, because when we tried to do that before, he refused to walk any further, and I had to carry him.  Since I was carrying him, I figured I'd order a bag to put him in.  I assumed he'd tolerate, but not like the bag.  But he really enjoys being in there.  He's a snuggly dog, and generally speaking a good boy.

refusing to walk further

happily in his bag.

The kids got their covid boosters. Bert put on quite a show, crying, and falling on the floor.  We had the screamingest kids.  

I donated whole blood last Saturday.  I felt fine afterwards, which is unusual.  Usually I feel fine after donating platelets,  I really enjoy donating blood and platelets. I feel like I'm doing some good in the world, without actually doing anything.

I've been doing a lot of quilting recently.  My cutting skills are improving slowly.  I cut rectangles for a quilt, I have yet to start sewing it.. I made a quilt from scraps.  That turned out really cool.  I still need Aaron to do the binding. I cut the squares for Christmas quits for Aaron's mom and bio-mom.  Aaron got the top of the first one put together last night.  It's a little small, so we're going to add a couple inches of sashing to all the sides.  I worked on Rebecca's quilt some, but that is easiest to do when no one else is home.  It's a big quilt and takes up a lot of space (the whole dining area of the kitchen).

scrappy quilt, before it was done

close up.

rectangle brick-y quilt

fabrics for the Christmas quilts.

Fiona

 Yesterday was a really hard day.  We had to put Fiona down.

She was 17 or 18, deaf, not eating, and practically incontinent.  I took her to the vet to discuss end of life stuff, and I knew there was a good possibility she wouldn't be coming home with me.  She had lost another pound, and was pretty skeletal looking.  They think since she probably had some kind of cancer.  And she had just lost her zest for life.  It was time.

But was it time?  

I keep second guessing myself.  I took her, I made the decision.  I just kept hoping she'd die in her sleep.  I told her, on several occasions, that she could go, it was ok.  But she never did.  She slept all day, and looked sad all the time.  But maybe, maybe, I should have given her a little more time.

I should have taken her to do all the things she loved.  We could have gone on a walk, which he didn't do anymore because she was too tired.  I could have gotten her a burger, which she may or may not have eaten, because even people food wasn't interesting to her anymore.  We could have napped together, she would have liked that.

I stayed with her.  They asked if I wanted to.  They suggested I not stay for the actual euthanasia, since they usually poo themselves.  But I stayed while she was sedated.  I petted her, and talked to her.  It was basically like she was in a coma.  I said good bye again.  Then sobbed in the car, and the whole way home, and the rest of the morning.  I had to pull myself together because I had Bronwyn's conference to attend. 

She didn't like that she dog was dead.  She said things don't die.  I had to reassure her a bit, that everything dies, but usually when they're very old.  Bertram was sad for half a second, then suggested we get another cat.  Last night, I was crying.  This upset Bronwyn.  She told me I wasn't sad, I was just hungry.  

I feel like we had a kind of complicated relationship.  She was sort of "my dog".  I wanted to get her, I talked everyone into it.  Really, she tricked me.  In the shelter, she was quiet, the hopped up in my lap.  She got along with everyone.  She liked Zelda, Zelda tolerated her.  We brought her home, and the first thing she did was pee on the carpet.  Then she started barking, and never stopped.  She didn't like anyone but us, strangers, especially men, were a problem.  She bit people sometimes.  She didn't like other dogs at all.  Zelda was the only dog she liked.  Except one time, we met some greyhounds at the beach, and she thought they were ok.  She and the cats didn't get along, except Moss.  She and Moss were buddies.  

We used to close her in our room when people came over, because she hated everyone.  She tried to dig under the door and tore the carpet up, and ruined it.  It was shitty carpet to start with, but still.  She also peed on the carpet on numerous occasions.  

She was afraid of fireworks.  Fourth of July and New Years were always rough.  She would smash herself under the bed and try to dig through the floor. Nothing helped, thunder shirt, CBD, fans, white noise.  Nothing,  She would just shake and shake.  

She was often cold, but hated wearing clothes.  

All in all, the was a bad, stupid dog.  But she was my bad, stupid dog, and I loved her anyway.

This was at the vet on the last day.  She'd gotten so white.

From a couple months ago, when I bought her that tiny bed.

I spent a good deal of yesterday sobbing, missing her and feeling incredibly guilty.  I've cried off and on today, missing her and still feeling guilty.  My eyes have finally almost gone back to normal, and de-puffified.  

End of October

Aaron fixed my shift key!

 We all successfully got our flu shots. Aaron and Bron had to wait for an hour. Bert and I went to a different Kaiser, and only waited five minutes. Bert didn't do well, which I expected. Though, he told me I wasn't going to have to pin him down.  We all have our covid booster appointments as well. So we're ready for Winter.

Mom and I had fun while she was here. We just have a good time doing normal things, and hanging out. We cleaned out my closet, and went through both kids shoes and Bronwyn's clothes. She got home safely, though she got Bertram's cold. Somehow, the rest of us avoided it.

I tried to donate platelets again, but my hemoglobin was still too low.  Boo.

Bertram had a long writing assignment this week. A narrative about Pokemon. I had to do the usual of micromanaging him while he wrote. Otherwise, he wRiTes Like THis.  So I had to keep reminding him to do lower case.  His teacher is very much about "third grade standards" which means not wrinkled work, and neat writing. Both are challenging for him. But it's good, because he needs that. She is really on top of things, I like her a lot. We did probably 50 minutes one night, and 45ish the second night. He did really well on night two, he did much better staying on task. (ASD+ADHD is a challenge, so we work hard). 

Rough draft and final

Bronwyn had her walk a thon last Friday. She trudged a long. We came to cheer her on, and her face lit up when she saw us. The night of the walk a thon was the school's fall festival. The kids had fun at that. Bert did a spin art and got a snow cone, Bron decorated a pumpkin and got cotton candy. We walked to and from the school each time, so I had a lot of steps that day. 

She won the ring toss game

It's getting time to put Fiona down. She's getting less continent. She isn't able to jump up anymore, and she can't hear much. She's super thin and doesn't like to eat. We've been feeding her cat food, because that's the only thing she'll eat consistently. But neither of us want to make the move to put her down. She 17, and her quality of life is low.

Yesterday Bronwyn said she wanted to go to the mall with cotton candy. There is a robot vending machine that makes cotton candy (fresh) at Eastridge.  From the time her got up she kept asking how long til she could get cotton candy. So while Bert (and I) went to soccer, Aaron and Bron drove to the mall for the express purpose of getting cotton candy. Aaron didn't realize that the machine didn't give change, so I also got a cotton candy. After that we got lunch at McDonald's (kids' choice) and Aaron and I went to Outrageous Outgrowns. We didn't get many clothes this time, but we got a lot of books, and one puzzle. I took a nap.

Earlier this week, Bertram pulled the towel rack out of the wall and took some of the dry wall too. Aaron spent some time fixing that today.

Somehow it's been a month since I blogged.  I suck.  

Let's see what I can remember.

Our 12th anniversary came and went without fanfare.  Between being 8 months pregnant, having a 3 year old and being poor, we didn't end up doing anything.  I think sometime after baby is born we'll have a do-over.  We had dinner at Chick-fil-a.  Haha.

Last week my FiLs truck was stolen from in front of their house.  It was his work truck, so all his tools were in it.  We assumed we'd never see it again, or if we did, it wouldn't be driveable.  Bertie and I came back from running errands today, and there it was, back in front of the house.  Nothing was missing, nothing was broken.  And, the weirdest thing, it was found one street over.  So that had a happy ending.  The police guessed maybe some kids wanted to go joy-riding, found they could, got scared, and left it.

Last week Aaron's co-workers threw us a baby shower.

It was really nice, and kind of fancy.  We got a lot of diapers, and clothes.  I'm making Aaron write all the thank you notes (since I did all of them from my shower).

Baby is measuring right on track.  I've had some braxton-hicks, but nothing "real" yet.  I had my GBS test last week.  I'm positive.  Lame, but no big deal.  We have her room mostly ready, I need to put a few more things away, and hang up the wall decorations.

Aaron got a promotion at work!  He was an EW2, now he'll be a supervisor.  Usually, one has to be an EW3 first, but they liked him, so he gets to skip a step (which is really rare).  So he'll make a good deal more money, and have a better commute.  (I should mention that his commute was good before, about 30 minutes, which is practically unheard of around here, but his new one will be 15-20 minutes).  So that's really exciting.  His supervisor pay starts today, but he doesn't actually start the job til next week.

Today Fiona has a seizure.  This happens once or twice a year.  Generally it's not a big deal (as in the vet can't do much).  But she was kind of running as she was seizing, and smacked her head into the bed frame.  I picked her up, and she had cut her forehead open.  I took her to the vet (which was fortunately open).  They kept her for four hours.  Gave her drugs to stop the seizure, and she got iv fluids.  They glued her head back together, no stitches.  They drew blood, but we won't have the results til Wednesday.  I was talking to one of the vet techs about fireworks, and mentioned we'd given Yoie her anti-anxiety medication last night.  The tech said that that medication can cause seizures in dogs that are already prone to seizures.  That was good to know.  She's currently still a little dopped up, so the few fireworks going off haven't bothered her.  We'll see how tomorrow night goes.  (Note: we have a thunder shirt for her, but putting it on her, makes her nervous.).

How far along? 37 weeks 
Total weight loss/gain: About 20lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes, please.  I've been searching for a couple more nursing tops.
Sleep: Surprisingly, no real issues, except some insomnia.  Once I'm asleep, I'm usually good.

Best moment this week: Baby shower with Aaron's co-workers

Movement: She loves to dance

Food cravings: Otter pops, watermelon
Food aversions: Garlic, onions, and sometimes raw veg
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Some braxton-hicks, off and on. (By this time, Bertie was already born.)

Belly Button in or out? In, it's not going anywhere
What I miss: Sleeping on my back.

What I am looking forward to:  Meeting my girl
Milestones: We made it to full term!

Various other things

• We switched Bertie's room and the guest room around.  (Our house is weird, you have to walk through bedroom 2 (previously Bertie's room) to get to the master.)  Now that they are switched, we no longer have to sneak through his room at night, or around the back of the house. This is also good now that I work nights, because the dogs want the option of waiting in the front room, or sleeping in bedroom.
  It took a couple nights for Bertram to adjust, as we knew it would.  But he's pretty excited about his new room, and wants to show everyone.
  The set up is also better for both rooms in terms of flow.
  His room is down, the guest room is close, which is good because mom is coming next week!
• I'm still getting used to the night shift 4 days a week.  I think I need to take melatonin on the days I don't work, so I can sleep at a normal hour. 
• Fiona had a seizure last Sunday.  I stupidly took her to the vet.  They kept her over night, and ran some tests, but nothing was wrong, and it cost $500.  It was a long seizure.  And I was worried she'd have a stroke attached to it, like Diamond Jim did.  But all is well, so I just need to remember not to take her in next time.
• I am ready to be done with my blue hair.  But my next hair appointment is 2+ weeks away, so I'll have to keep it a bit longer.
• We were supposed to have major rain Friday-Sunday.  Maybe some other part of the bay area got some, but it is dry and windy here.  That's a bummer, we need it.

Another pet blog

Zelda:
She was our first dog (as in neither of us had ever had a dog before).  We had wanted a greyhound for sometime, and where matched up with her.  She has lived with us for nearly 6 years.  Zelda is the sweetest dog.  She loves all people, and cats!  And she is an easy dog, she sleeps all day.  She has deep brown eyes with Egyptian-looking eyeliner.  She loves walks, holding hands, zoomies, sleeping on the couch and treats.  She will be 11 in October.  Her full name is Zelda Belle.  Aliases: Zelly Belly, Zoody, Zooby, Zelby, Zella, Noodles, Big Dog, Dogzilla, Belly, and Zoo.

Fiona:
Thinking all dogs were awesome, like Zelda, we got Fiona at a chihuahua sale, at the local shelter. She is not full chihuahua, but possibly has dachshund, or terrier as well. She tricked us, she acted very quiet and friendly.  Neither of these things have been true.  When she first came home, she peed on the floor a lot.  That, fortunately, has stopped.  But she barks all. the. time.  And she hates all dogs that aren't Zelda, and is not fond of many people either.  But she is a snuggly little idiot, and we love her.  The age estimate from the shelter puts her about the same age as Zelly.  She still acts like a much younger dog.  Her full name is Fiona Josephine.  Her aliases are: Yoie, Yoie Joey, and Small Dog,

Julius:
Juli is possibly the most handsome, and troublesome cat we've ever had.  He is friendly, and loves to be a lap cat.  But he also sprays whenever he is in the house, and after trying many things, he had to be an outside/garage cat.  Juli got along with our previous cat (Moss) but doesn't like any other cats.  He gets along with the dogs without any issues. He is a jerk, but we still love him.  He is likely about 7 years old.  Neither cat has a middle name.  Aliases: Juli, Jules, Juli-Booli, Julius-Boolius, and Juli-Cat.

Priya:
Priya has only been with us since January.  She is a shy cat, but likes snuggling once she knows you.  She is missing one of her rear feet, so she hops a bit.  Her name was Tinsley when we adopted her.  She doesn't like dogs, but likes hissing and swiping at them.  Priya has Bertie get along fairly well; she likes to sit by him in the big recliner.  She doesn't have many aliases: Pree, Pree-Cat.

The incident

A week ago we took the dogs on their nightly walk.  We went on one of our non-typical routes.  As we were walking down the sidewalk a grey pitbull charged out of a house, and straight towards the dogs.  It all happened so fast, I didn't even have time to think. (We carry pepper spray in our walk bag for that specific purpose, but didn't even have time to grab it).  I hoisted Yoie up by her lead, and the pitbull went straight to Zelda.  In a matter of 2 seconds, Zelda had several bites on her leg (one was muscle deep).  

The friend of the dog owner had let the dog out into the front yard without a lead.  The owner (Regina) was not happy about this, of course.  Aaron called his mom to come pick up him and Zelda, and they went off to the emergency vet.  I walked Bertie and Yoie home.  Aaron had to leave her for a while, and pick her up around 1:30 am.  It was $400-something. When Fiona and I went to bed, I noticed that she was bleeding.  She had been bitten on her chest, but it didn't look too bad, so I decided to take her to our normal vet in the morning.

Zelda came home and looked alright.  When we got up, Fiona's bit was really, really swollen.  I took her to the vet.  She had a hematoma and needed a drain.  So I left her for the day, her bill was around $500.  

Then on Wednesday we noticed that Zelda's stitches looked really bad, like she'd popped a stitch.  Thursday I took her to our vet, who told us that the emergency vet didn't fix her correctly and she had necrotic tissue in her wound.  So she needed a drain too.  Another $500.  Aaron is still in talks with the ER vet to reimburse us for their error.  The pitbull's owner paid $1000 for the first round of bills (but it it's right for her to have to pay for the vet's error).

In the meantime, my sister made a go fund me for Zelda and in a day we raised enough money to cover the bill, in case the ER vet doesn't pay.

Fiona had her drain out on Saturday.  She's looking a little better, and her appetite is coming back.  Zelda's leg is still looking bad.  She's suppose to have the drain out tomorrow, but we'll see that the vet says.

It's been a very stressful week.

Just a couple things

Bertram is 7 months old today.

He had a couple firsts today: rolling back to front, and banana.

 I'd been a little concerned about his rolling.  He rolled front to back around 3 months, but we had yet to see him go the other way.  I'd assumed he could do it, but I'd never had proof.  Today I put him in his crib for a nap.  He was babbling, and playing like usual.  Then he got quiet, so I looked at the monitor, thinking he was asleep.  There he was, playing on his belly!

Prior to that, he accidentally had banana.  He and I went to visit my dad.  Dad is leaving on a trip soon, and said, "here, eat this banana, it's getting mushy and I'm not going to eat it".  I agreed, and set the banana on the table in front of me.  Bertie started playing with it, and biting on the outside.  Then he pulled the top (stem) off. Then he got part of the peel down and put it in his mouth again.  I took it from him.  I took a bite, and then mushed up a bit for him with my finger, and put it in his mouth.  We shared the whole banana that way.  He loved it.  (I gave him a little more with dinner.  I mushed up a bit of banana from my freezer and mixed it in his cereal).

Fiona has been on my last nerve.  She's learned to jump up on the counter and eat the cat food.  If we forget to push the desk chair in, as soon as my back is turned, she'll hop up and chow down.

We've all had colds this week.  It started with Bertie, then moved to me, then Aaron.  Aaron also had a tummy bug (or food poisoning?) on top of the cold.  We've all been trying to take it easy.

Blog all the things!

The past two days

My mom left early yesterday.  I was am emotional, weepy mess most of the rest of the day.  (I envy people who live close to their moms).  I did manage to get a few things done, as Bertie slept pretty well during the day.  I cleaned up, and did some laundry.  The previous day, I found a floppy sun hat for Bertie at H&M in size 2-4 months.  I'd been looking for a hat for him, but everything I'd found previously was either huge, or expensive.  This hat was $6.  I washed it yesterday, and when I pulled it out of the machine, it had completely fallen apart.  I read the instructions, and I'd washed it correctly.  So that bummed me out further.
I left the house with Bertie, and we first went to Kaiser to pick up my meds.  We then went to the mall to exchange the hat.  (I bought the hat at a further away H&M, and chose to go to the one near home).  That store was really messy, and disorganized.  I searched and searched, and finally found the hat.  They only had two: 0-1 months and 1-2 months.  So I ended up choosing a different hat in 4-6 months.  Then I went to the register.  The sales girl was pretty rude, and implied that you generally can't return things after they've been washed, and in the same breath stating you should always wash baby clothes before using them.  She asked why the hat was damp (because it just came out of the washer), and asked if I'd washed the receipt too, since it was damp from being next to the hat.  She did the exchange, but the whole situation was really frustrating.  On the way out of the mall, I really needed to pee, so we went through Target.  There was only one large stall, and for some reason, a mom had sent her small child into that one (alone).  And the door didn't stay closed on it own.  So we left.

In the parking lot, Bertie started wailing.  So I fed him in the front seat, and just sat there sobbing.

From there we went to Sprouts to get a couple things.  That was uneventful, except that I'm the worst line chooser.

After we had dinner, Bertie started crying and didn't stop for two hours.  We tried everything.  I even drove him around.  At one point he was crying so hard, I pulled over and climbed in the back with him.  I took him out of his seat, and held him, and cried with him.  When I thought I'd calmed him, I put him back in the seat, and he started up again.  (Also, he cries tears now, so it's extra sad).

We got home, and I handed the screaming car seat to Aaron and told him "I give up".  And as soon as Aaron took him out, he stopped.  It was like a miracle.

He slept in his crib for 3 hours, and the rest of the night in bed with me, waking every 3 hours (which is more often than usual).

Today Bertie and I got up early (for us) around 7:30, but went back to sleep for a few hours.  Once we were awake, he didn't want to be put down.  I think I got him to sleep for an hour at one point.  Eventually I put him in the Mai-tai.  He slept for 3 hours, and I got some house work done.

I fed him at 3ish, and then took him to Aaron's folks' house.  They watched him so I could run to the bank, and post office.  Normally I'd just bring him along, but with him wanting to be held all the time, it's a lot of in and out of the car seat.  But they were happy to watch him, and I was happy to have a break.  He was still happy (sleeping) when I got back, so I left him, and did the dishes and put some laundry away.

Aaron came home, we ate, and Bertie went back in the Mai-tai.  We got ready to go on a walk with the dogs.  They get really excited when it's walk time.  And as I was bending over to get my sweater, Fiona jumped up and scratched Bertram across his forehead and the top of his head.  (She wasn't trying to hurt him, or even be near him, she's just a dumb excitable dog).  He woke up and cried.  I cried.  He was ok (I even called and woke up my mom to back sure I didn't give him brain damage).  We went on our walk.

 When we got back he started getting fussy, so I gave him a bath.  Often, the bath will back him really mad, but today I propped his head up on a towel and he was pretty happy.  And he didn't have a screaming period.  And he went down to sleep really easily (in the bassinet, but that's ok).

Body

I'm not crazy about my body right now.  I'm just slightly under 190 lbs (I think, I haven't weighed in a couple weeks).  Pre-pregnancy weight was about 164, which is high for me.  My goal is to be back at 140 (or under).  50 pound seems really daunting, especially when time to exercise doesn't often occur, and I'm so tired.  But I need to start.  I'm going to get the tires pumped up on the jogging stroller, and start the couch potato to 5k workout, and possibly throw in some weights too.

Bertie

He is 7 weeks today.  As of Tuesday he weighed 9.7lbs.  He's smiled a couple times.  His neck is getting really strong.  He likes to throw his head around when we hold him.  He's still a good sleeper when he sleeps.  He's spending a little more time awake.  And lately he's been spitting up, which is a new development.  We had his baby blessing at church on Sunday

Road-tripping (with Dogs)

Aaron is up in Sonora running the boy scout camp, all Summer.  It's about 120 miles away, or 3 hours, with no traffic or stops.

We (the dogs and I) have traveled up to see him twice now.

I made a lot of mistakes the first time we went.

• We left at rush hour on a Friday.
• I didn't take the girls for a walk first.
• My Adderall wore off part way through.

We left right after I got home from work, and hit the road at 4:10.  We hit major traffic in Fremont.  Then, while we were stuck (the traffic was crawling a long), Zelda announced that she needed to go to the bathroom.  She started whining and didn't stop until I was able to pull off about 20 minutes later.  And then it took her a long time to find the perfect spot.  The whole excursion took up 20 minutes.  Then it took a long time to get back on the road.  By the time we'd been on the road for 2 hours, we'd only traveled 40 miles.  It was a long day.  We were stuck on 680 a long time, then on 580 for a long time too.  

We stopped in Manteca for another potty break.  There wasn't any traffic after that, but I still had to stop a few more times for Zelda to pee more.  That was pretty annoying.  We didn't get to camp til after 10, so I 3 hour trip became a 5+ hour trip.  

The first trip home was more or less the same.  Lots of stops, lots of whining.  It's all Zelda.  Fiona is a great travel dog.  She's quiet, and she stays in my lap the whole time.  Zelda whines, lays down, gets up (has jelly legs) whines, lays down and repeat (ad infinitum).  It's frustrating.  Anyway, the trip back took about 4 hours.

Last week we went up again, this time on July 3rd.  Still a bad travel day.  But this time, we didn't leave until 6:30, in hopes of missing most of the traffic.  Also, I got a sedative for Zelda.  We still got stuck in traffic, but not nearly as badly as the previous week.  The trip still took 4 hours.  But the sedative seemed to help some.

Today's trip home was much better.  Zelda slept most of the time, and we made the trip in 3.5 hours.  

Zelda at a happier moment.

Fiona's standard riding pose.

Zelda sat in the from seat for about a minute while we were stopped.