The Last Month

Well, life has been busy! Since the first of the year we have had birthday parties (Ardon turned 8! How did that happen?!), mourned loss, celebrated with weddings, experienced other familial hardships, kept pushing forward with homeschooling and of course the 55 hours a week of daycare that I started last October. Oh, did I not mention that before? Well let me introduce you to Weston.

It was different at first, having diaper changing around the house again after having had potty trained kids for a while, but he's a bundle of smiles and we've had a lot of fun with him!

We've had a some bitter winter weather but we've also had some beautiful weather to off set it. We spent a lot of time outdoors over the weekend and were hoping it would be similar weather today. It was a bit cool out and since we've got runny noses again we opted for in door fun.

Home made Edible playdough!

I looked over several recipes online, some edible but not as user friendly and others user friendly but not something you'd want in your mouth. Using a combination of recipes I came up with a chocolate dough that was appealing on both fronts and it was a hit!

Homebodies

Well after months of managing to keep everyone well, we've been hit hard by multiple bugs. We had colds that started right before Christmas and it's just gone from there to fevers, stomach bugs, ear infection etc. To say I'm sleep deprived from around the clock care would be somewhat of an understatement, but we're managing. 

To pass the time stuck in the house the kids have dug out some old boardgames when they've felt up for it. 

Monopoly was one of the first games we started with, I'm not sure we played perfectly within the set of rules but they had fun anyway. 

The electronic game option is also handy, especially for those not patient enough for things like Monopoly. 

I'm holding my breath and hoping that my all nighter last night will be it for the time being and that everyone will start to get better! 

Grandma's Here

Still Here...

Yes, we're still here! Things have been crazy for us around this place. A lot of seasonal business of course but also rehabbing Bronze, keeping up with school and adding baby watching to our daily routine just to name a few things. We had a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas and it was nice to have Bronze around for the holidays for the first time in 7 years! 

We are having a relaxing day around the house today and trying to recover from sniffles that have come over our household during the last few days. For the mornings entertainment we are feeding hot sauce to Christmas Furbies and listening to them scream, fun stuff I tell ya!

Meet Shrew

Shrew, meet the world!

Now that formal introductions are out of the way, I can tell you about our new little friend. 

Shrew, who's namesake reflects his creature type, came to our family last Saturday as we were leaving Bronze's first therapy appointment. As we were walking to the car this little round fuzz ball dashed across the sidewalk and snuggled up to my shoe. I was caught off guard and even though I was filled with surprise my soft spot for critters immediately took over and thought how lost and cold it must be and that it was trying to find a warm, loving being to take care of it. Later, of course, as I read about the shrew I realized how far from the truth that thought was and that he was really just looking to see if I was something he could eat. Since I wasn't aware of these facts at the time, we scooped him up in a brown paper bag and brought him home to a warm house and hearty meal. Upon researching him we found out a lot of interesting facts. For instance,  he is not a rodent. The shrew actually have teeth more like a dog or cat and there are venomous groves in them. Not to fear though, the venom can kill mice like there's no tomorrow but is believed to be helpful for migraine headaches and the treatment of high blood pressure! And though I wouldn't nessesarilly call it vicious, according to an article I read it is known as the 'Terror on Tiny Feet' and perceived as more ferocious than a grizzly!

It has been a great educational experience and tons of fun and laughter. And the best part of it all, our tiny ball of entertainment has only cost $1 that was spent on a supply of crickets! I'm not sure how long Shrew will have a home with us, but for now he's hanging around so if you have a headache or your blood pressure is on the rise,  feel free to pop in and give Shrew a visit!

Post Op Therapy

Surgery went well. It took him a little while to get back to feeling like himself after anesthesia and I now have a couple comments to blackmail him with but he's doing well.

A Big Day

After 2 & 1/2 months of waiting and trying to figure out what needed to happen, here we are.

It's surgery day! And even though we are not 'worried' we still appreciate your prayers.