The 6 million dollar dog

Move over Lee Majors...meet George, the 6 million dollar dog. Although, nothing is robotic, or controlled by a computer chip or two. Nope, just a lot of pain medication and IV drips going on here. We've decided we're going to change his name to Europe, or perhaps Summer Vacation, since we could have taken some nice trips with the money we're going to have to give the vet when George comes home. He is still at the vet, and will remain there until at least Sat. They started giving him water yesterday in the late afternoon and he has been able to tolerate that. We stopped by for a visit today after lunch, and he was happy to see us, but as we were in the OR and they were about to start a procedure (which I for one would have loved to watch), we couldn't stay long. They are going to introduce food to him this evening and see how he does with that, and if all goes well he should come home on Sat. Which is a bit of a silver lining for us, since we're going to be gone tomorrow night and would have had to get a dog sitter. The down side is we usually pay $20 a day, not $200. He is in good hands, and I do appreciate the vet being cautious. Adam and I did, however, agree that even though we love George, if this happens again we will miss him.
On the bright side, I vacuumed on Tuesday, and the floors are still clean.

The things we do for love

This morning, around 3:00, Adam woke up and said he heard George making noise. How the heck can he hear George when he is locked up downstairs (George, not Adam), and not hear our children who are in a room a yard away from us? Anyway, he said he heard George, so he went down to check on him and without going into detail, came back up to say he was sick. Now, it's not out of character for George to eat something, have it upset his stomach, throw up a time or two and then bounce back. He threw up again in the early morning, and then when the boys and I got up, I went downstairs to let him outside. When he came back in, he wanted a treat, went downstairs to lay on the couch for a bit, then threw up again.
Tuesdays I usually drop the boys off at their schools, stay out doing stuff, work for 2 hours and come home around 2:00. I didn't want to leave George unattended that long, so after I dropped the boys off I came home and he had thrown up AGAIN! So off to the vet we went. It appears he has pancreatitis, but they are awaiting the results of the blood work to say how bad it is. He will spend the night with his IV drip as they continue to monitor him. How much is this going to cost us? Roughly $1,000, maybe more - buh bye stimulus check! How can I not pay this though? We've had George longer than we've had our kids! Not to mention the fact that Jack ADORES George and is so sad that he's at the Dr and can't be home with him. I do hope he's feeling better and can come home soon. Too bad dog's don't learn lessons, like, oh yeah, last time I ate out of the trash can I had to go to the vet. But no, he will come home and do it all over again, most likely.


George and I on a hike when he was a puppy.

Happy Birthday Thornley!

Isn't it funny how six years ago today, about this time I was thinking the exact same thing...why can't everyone leave me alone so I can rest?!
You know how people say that you forget the whole birthing process? Well, let me tell you 6 years later I remember it like it was yesterday! Thornley was born 10 days past my due date. I had gone to the doctor on the morning of the 15th for some "non-stress" tests that frankly, stressed me out! My doctor decided that the next morning I should come to the hospital and they would start the induction process. This was fine with me, the next day would be a Thursday and was the Survivor Africa finale as well as the Friends episode where Rachel had her baby, so I thought I could hang out with a Potocin drip and watch my shows. Later that afternoon we were getting ready to go out to dinner with my mom and Adam's parents and my water broke. So off to the hospital we went. At some point in time Thornley's heart rate dropped, so they did one of those internal monitor deals. At about 4 a.m. I woke up to a steady beep, and was yelling at Adam to go get the nurse because the monitor wasn't registering a pulse. It took a few times to wake Adam who was snoring in the chair. The nurse comes in, says the monitor fell off Thornley's head and he was indeed fine, and oh look, it's time to push. So I pushed, and I pushed, and I pushed and 4 hours later no progress had been made, so off to the C-section room I went. A few minutes later I had the biggest coneheaded son around (really, remember the coneheads from Saturday Night Live - that was Thornley). Now, in Idaho, after a C-section, they take the baby to the nursery to check them out and get them cleaned up and you off to recovery. Finally, some rest I thought. Nope! the nurses talked to me the whole time!!
Six years later and I'm still waiting to get some rest! I love Thornley very much, and he does bring me much happiness and laughter, but he also brings me those moments that I feel like banging my head against the wall! He is so full of life and creativity and curiousity, there is never a dull moment with this one!
Thanks for strolling with me down memory lane! And Happy Birthday to my Thorns!!

Great Expectations

Tomorrow is Thornley's 6th birthday. Hard to believe 6 years has passed! He brings me such joy, and such frustration!! i've always said he is a little Adam, but more and more I'm seeing bits of me in there too (not always a good thing, either).
This morning I said, "tomorrow is your big day!!"
To which he replied, "yes, and I expect my presents on my bed when I wake up".
I knew it was a bad idea to put his Easter gift on his bed!
I will put ONE on his bed, and the rest ON THE TABLE to greet him when he wakes up.
Speaking of his birthday, I guess I should get his "favors" ready for his class tomorrow. His class doesn't do food on birthdays, but each child can bring something for all the kids in the class. Thank goodness for $1 bins! Each boy is getting a Spiderman pen and each girl a Strawberry Shortcake bracelet.
How funny, that as I look at the clock and am about ready to post this, about this time 6 years ago we were headed to the hospital.

Kind of like Freaky Friday - but different

I seriously think my 6 year old is a 13 year old in disguise. Today he made 3 lists:
1. The people I like (luckily I made that list along with a few others)
2. The people I don't like (quite lengthy, I guess it was a rough day in school)
and my favorite, that I saw as I was tidying up the house tonight...
3. The Worst Days:
- today
- the whole month

Guess the birthday party wasn't all it was cracked up to be!

Saying goodbye to an old friend

No, don't worry, no one died. A few years back, like even before Jack was born, I think, I found a pair of denim capri pants at Value Village. LOVE my capri pants! I think I paid like $5 for them. How sad was I yesterday, when I noticed that one wrong bend and the whole back would split! So sad, it's very rare for me to wear something until it becomes threadbare, but I loved those pants!!
Now I'm on a mission to find a pair to replace them, but I was so spoiled to find the PERFECT pair at Value Village!
Goodwill here I come!!

Oh Happy Day

In most aspects of life Thornley is a little Adam, except when it comes to party time. Thornley LOVES parties, he likes to help me plan them, he likes to go shopping for them, he likes almost everything about them (except cleaning up before and after, but really who can blame him for that?). The one thing about Thornley is he always picks a random theme, but without fail, the year AFTER we throw him whatever party he chooses, the stores will be filled with party supplies in that theme. Last year it was Larry Boy, a stretch, but it was fun. This year Thornley chose a webkinz theme. GREAT!, no invitations, no napkins, no nothing, so here is what we came up with...




The guests (all 10 of them; two couldn't come) arrived and we went into Chef Gaspacho's kitchen and made cupcakes, a bit of a stretch for 6 year old boys. We then headed outside for our gem hunt. Gems were hidden in Easter eggs, but don't be fooled, not all eggs contained gems, some were rocks or "slag" and you had to keep hunting. Once the gems were found, they headed inside to make their crown of wonder...




We also played Bullseye Batter where they hit the ball off a tee towards a target hanging from our basketball hoop. They really seemed to enjoy this one and some of them hit the bullseye every time!




We also had a fun pie throw - sorry to our neighbors who now have whipped cream all over the far corner of their backyard!





All the while everyone was earning KinzCash, which they spent at the end at the W-Shop, which I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of. I put out a bunch of candy, gum, little toys, glow sticks, etc and the kids could buy stuff for their goody bag with their KinzCash.

One spin on the Wheel of Wow, where they could get trading cards, a ring pop, a pencil, or another trip to the W-Shop was the end of the party.

Now I'm left with a bunch of leftover candy, a messy house, and a happy 6 year old!

Like sand thru the hour glass...

So are the days of my life! Holy smokes it's been a while! And now I'm on here because I'm avoiding work around the house, planning Thornley's party that is Sat., and planning a fundraising dinner at the church later this month. And I'm sure there is a book or two that I could be putting together for Thornley's teacher...
I guess we've been busy...we endured Opening Day and the fireworks and snow...

We celebrated Jack's birthday with a Harry Potter party and magical candles...

We went to Arizona for Spring Break to visit Adam's parents...

And now, I must get back to my laundry, cleaning, planning, bed making craziness of today.

Back in the day...

OK, so I hate it when people tell stories and start with, "When I was...". If you share those feelings, you can just stop reading now.

I know we live in Bellevue so things are a bit above and beyond the norm, but really. The other day I received an email from one of the room moms from Thornley's class reminding us that teacher appreciation week is next week. Now, being a teacher myself, I'm all about appreciating my kids' teachers. I love Thornley's teacher and her assistant and of course can't say enough about those dear, sweet Young 3's teachers that Jack has, and I do let them know from time to time how much I appreciate them and all their hard work. I have to say, though, I think they're going a bit above and beyond for teacher appreciation week at Thornley's school (and I know his isn't the only school, I've talked with friends in other districts)...Monday is breakfast and coffee day, where people are bringing in their espresso machines and making coffee for the teachers, Tuesday is flower and card day so each kid brings in a flower and a card made from a template that they send you, Wed is car wash day so parents are supposed to volunteer to wash the teacher's car, Thursday is a luncheon where people are supposed to sign up and bring things for a special lunch, and Friday is chocolate basket day (not sure where all this chocolate is coming from).

Now, here it comes...when I was teaching in the public schools in California we got A PEN yep, that's right, a single, solitary pen with the school district's name. I can't remember what happened in Idaho, maybe a pencil or a lanyard type thing for our keys - who knows.
Maybe it's time to renew my credential...(just kidding, Adam, I LOVE my job at the preschool!)