Thanks everyone who checked in on Butter either via this blog, email, or calling me. Both Derek and I - and Butter - appreciate it so much. Derek picked him up Friday night, and the vet successfully got a good chunk of the growth out via the biopsy and only had to sedate him (not put him under). However, he takes after his "dad" (Derek!) in that despite his size, he is quite sensitive to drugs. Derek and a neighbor had to carry Butter up to our place on a make-shift stretcher (a oversized towel) and I don't think he moved more than one time between Friday and 6pm and Saturday at 6pm. At that time, we coaxed him to stand up and I took up on a walk....around our house. So he circled our downstairs area, then plopped down on the rug like he just ran a marathon. Needless to say, the day was filled with me monitoring his breathing and petting him and confirming signs of life. Derek and I were really worried, but the vet assured us that it was just taking a while to have the drugs wear off. He was a bit better on Sunday, and showed spurts of energy......Then was back to himself yesterday afternoon. Whew. We get the test results back at the end of this week and will know then whether the growth is anything to be concerned about. We are seriously hoping it is benign...I couldn't bare to put him under for a surgery knowing how hard the sedation drugs were on him. I felt pretty guilty all weekend because he did not feel well, and before the biopsy his growth was not bothering him at all. I just wanted to be able to explain to him why we were putting him through this. I'd like to explain it more eloquently, but I just felt terrible.

Deuce was sad all weekend, too. He missed his buddy playing with him and walking with him. When Butter finally went on a walk with Deuce on Monday morning, Deuce came back ecstatic. The next time we got the leashes out, he ran up to Butter and kissed him, as if to say, "You are coming this time, too! Yay!" It evidently doesn't matter to Deuce that Butter slows his walks down, and shortens them more often than not. He'd gladly give up fast, long walks just to have his partner out there with him.

We do suspect that Butter played up his lack of energy in order to milk all the attention he could get. Our friends Dave and Roxanne (I went to college with both of them) visited us from DC this weekend for Roxanne's birthday. They are two of our favorite people, and two of Butter & Deuce's favorites. Butter met Dave and Roxanne on his first road-trip with us about 7 years ago, and the friendship was instant. They are his best buddies. They certainly showered him with as much love as they could, too. In fact, Sunday night after we got back from a day of shopping (Derek and I bought a new Mac! We get it later this week. We can't wait to I-Chat with the new i-camera with everyone else who has a Mac!.) and a really good dinner, we were lounging downstairs in our second bedroom watching the Chargers v. Patriots game. After the game was over and we were all depressed, Butter showed signs of life by getting up and walking into the room. Derek and I were laying on the floor, and Roxanne and Dave were on the day bed. Butter made it known he wanted to crawl up with them Dave and Roxanne-- so we got his blanket out and they gladly helped him up into the day bed with them. Spoiled rotten brat:) When I get pictures, I will share them. I took some (hard pics, need to be developed, and hopefully D&R send me some of the digitals) - so will share when I get them. So I guess point is -- don't' feel too sorry for Butter yet. He might know exactly how to press our buttons to get this sympathy!

Other than that we had a great weekend. Dave and Roxanne came up later on Saturday, we hung out at our house, a friend of Roxanne's, Jenny, who also lives in NY joined us. We headed down to Franny's for dinner (one of the best pizza places in NYC....home made pizza, they cure their own meats, really interesting, tastey appetizers, homemade gelato, great drinks, very hip, great service). We closed the place down, came back to the house, and all indulged in the homemade birthday cake I made for Roxanne - which might not have looked pretty since it was falling apart, but it tasted delicious! - with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (Fossil Fuel....if you haven't tried it, you must!). Jenny spent the night with us since the night went much longer than we anticipated, and spooned with Deuce in the day bed much to Deuce's delight (he loves to cuddle!).

The next morning, Deerek and Dave drove Jenny home so she could make her flight to join Cirque de Soleil (she is about to go on tour with Cirque de Soleil -- she is an incredible singer and will sing 10 of the 20 songs during the show, the other ten song by a male vocal). We ate bagels, chatted, and then went shopping for our Mac and had a great time. After we splurged on the Mac - and 2 iPod nanos, and a iPod chip to put in my running shoes, and an armband, oh, and a desk for the Mac! - we went to dinner at Bistro Laurent Tourondel (BLT Burger) and had delicious food and amazing milkshakes (Dave's request, and he really had to twist our arms to get us to agree to indulging!). Ah, now I really miss the birthday cake, the ice cream, and the milkshakes.....If only that were considered healthy eating, life would be so easy:)

When I came to work, I checked out Tracey's blog (it has been a slower day, surprisingly, given all we have to do for the Super Bowl) and read some info on a parenting site she spoke of. I can't remember what it is now...but it has a thread about "real-life" friends. It was ironic because Derek and I spent the majority of yesterday counting our blessings and raving about the friends that I have (a conversation inspired by Dave and Roxanne). Derek often says that he didn't know what true friendship was until he met my friends and got to know the relationships I have with them (although he does have some really good friends, too). That is a testament to the quality of people that I have been lucky enough to meet over the course of my life, and who, for whatever reason, gave me a chance to get close to them, rather than to any quality of mine. I know I have written about some of my friendships in at least one other blog...and I am sorry that I bring them up all the time. But I am just so proud of each of you and the qualities you have. If yuo ever need PR or some good press, come my way! Because I can't say enough good things about all of you:)