School's out--for the summer!

And Zach is officially a 3rd grader now. Wow. I can so vividly remember days from my own 3rd grade year, it's hard to fathom I have a child old enough. Time surely is speeding past...

Anyway, to celebrate we met up with friends for dinner and a movie--Star Trek. It was really good, I always sort of hem and haw about going to action style movies, but I usually end up liking them. This one had an enjoyable story line :)

And I got Kathy to take a pic of me and my boy, who is growing up way too fast.

Basil gone wild

So it's been raining cats and dogs lately. Great for the garden and herbs. Although not great in that I haven't really been out to trim/weed/etc. The basil is once again getting too big for the pot. I'd put it in the ground, but it's doing so well now and I don't want to risk destroying it with our crappy soil. Nematodes, etc. No, they aren't toads. Although the first time I heard the word I thought they were.

Anyone need pesto? Basil free for the taking here! I'm going to let some of it go completely to seed, but I do need to get my butt out there today and trim it back before it overwhelms itself.

May 27

Another 'oh crap, I need a photo' photo. Don't play with knives! Very cool in that I noticed a huge difference in the aperture effects on such a close up image vs. those taken further away.

May 25

As I was wandering around the house, camera in hand, wondering what to photograph, I came upon Zach playing with daddy's glasses. I think he's just too cute in them. Although he may not need them for many, many years. Unless, of course, his fictitious vision problems return.

m,kkkkkkkkkkkkk

Ok, I think I'll leave the title as it is. Misha decided to WALK ACROSS MY COMPUTER just as I began to post this blog and dagnabbit (trying not to curse) that cat knows better. But cats are experts at doing what they shouldn't, right?

Anyway, today is May 24. I have no photos for May 22 or May 23. There has just been too much sadness, with Zach crying every day and just when I think we are over the hump, he breaks down again. Yesterday evening we were watching a movie when he suddenly got up and went outside. I paused the movie and waited for him to return. When he came back in, he was a little sniffly and his eyes were glassy. He told me he'd been petting Elmo - the tree. I just about lost it. I can't stand to see him hurting so much, and beyond that, he doesn't seem to be getting past it. However, he does fine until he comes home...school, Grammy's, etc. Not a problem.

But today...no tears. He has been holding his replacement Elmo, a stuffed dog with silky golden hair, quite a lot, but no tears. We went to the inlaws for a cookout and he had a lot of fun jumping in the pool. So finally, I have happy photos.

May 21

We are still dealing with the loss of Elmo. Zach's first words this morning were to ask if Elmo was home yet. Dh had to leave his body at the vet overnight due to his work schedule and I didn't want to pick him up since I couldn't lift him out of the car, and I still had to pick Zach up from school.

Dh brought him home this morning after taking Zach to school and buried him in the back yard. Zach started bawling again as soon as he got home. It's been a very rough afternoon. However, we did make his memory stone, we even had his dog tag that he's been wearing since he was a pup. Then we went out and bought a tree to plant over his grave. Zach picked out a Red Navel Orange. Please cross your fingers that this tree grows. We'll put the stone down once it's completely dried/set. Zach wants to name the tree "Elmo" and for now, Elmo's collar is wrapped around its trunk.

May 20 = Elmo Day

We lost Elmo today. Dh took him to the vet again this morning since he's not eating at all and has vomited up the little we could get into him. Which means no meds, we wanted to see if the vet could give them IV, I'm sure he needed fluids as well. However, once there they discovered that he now has a palpable mass in the abdomen. It was just the last straw...poor boy, he couldn't even get up on his legs. Dh had to carry him to the car.

It has been a heartbreaking day. Zach is a wreck. I didn't anticipate this level of emotion, it wasn't as if they were buddy buddy boy and his dog of the movies or anything. But he has cried and cried and cried. He went outside in the rain and sat down on his swing, just leaning his head against the chain and bawling. He was such a picture of a completely distraught and broken-hearted boy, I almost grabbed my camera but it was too personal and I couldn't intrude on his grief, exploiting it. And I really don't think I could stand to look at his face so sad over and over. Not to mention I was crying myself.

Over the course of the evening the tears would come and go. He did decide, however, that we should have "Elmo Day" every year, to remember and celebrate the sweetest dog who ever lived. A dog whose life was just too damned short.

My photo for today is a photo almost 7 years old, when we'd had Elmo for about 2 months, he would have been about 5 months old here. It's pure Elmo, taking whatever we or the boys would dish out, no resistance, just gently tolerating it all. And Zach...omg. What a little guy he was. I can't believe he's so big now.

May 19

Nothing much photo-wise today. Lots of mental strain over Elmo, he's really been declining. He can barely hold himself up with his front legs and they keep slipping on the floor. Trying to get meds into him, but he has no interest in eating and has even been vomiting some.

So here's all you get. Just a quick messing-around type of photo.

May 18

Today I got Owen some fingerpaints. I used to do this with Zach by spreading some freezer paper or brown paper on a roll over the entire coffee table and letting him just go. This time I waited to see how he'd react, as thus far he hasn't been too fond of gooey mushy things.

He did ok, although he wasn't thrilled. I had to help get him going and it wasn't long before he was done. And then, he was pretty upset about the blue paint on his leg. I will say, these are some odd paints. They are a bit translucent and gel-like, not the fingerpaints I remember from the past.

Here is my little Picasso's work.

It's all a balancing act - May 17

And I think Owen does it much better than I do.

May 16

The main reason for going to Uncle D's house was for him and Aunt Karen to cook us a gourmet meal to celebrate our 10th anniversary. And gourmet it was. I ate more than I thought I would...an aged rib roast slathered in a garlic and horseradish coating slow roasted for hours in the oven to come out tender and bloody and rare, then each slice heated on the grill for just a bit more...omg. Best meat I've ever had. Add a side of creamed spinach, some candied carrots and a funky potato 'pancake' that tasted way better than I anticipated and now I have to look up the recipe...amazing meal.

We took along a bottle of wine that my cool Belgian friend brought to me just before Kevin and I actually started dating. I've had this bottle for 11 years and we finally popped the cork. It was surprisingly good, especially when you consider the fact that I let the cork dry out. Yikes. However, it would only be like Dave to bring me an exceptional wine. That's just how he rolls. Thanks, Dave!

Friday, May 15

Well, Zach's temp got up to 103 again yesterday, so no school for him today. Again. He does now have some nasty blisters and sores in his mouth, we we know he's got some form of viral stomatitis. Just a broad term for a viral illness that causes fever and painful mouth ulcers. Hooray! Not. It really is pretty painful for him.

However, today he's not feverish, and he's feeling enough energy and the prospect of mucho ice cream per the doc's office (you know, cold and soft for that sore mouth) has him extra excited to go to Uncle D's house. We finally got the place somewhat straightened up and off we went. Even poor Elmo who seemed a little animated during the drive. Hope he's going to get better.

The boys have a lot of fun in the magical garden and surrounded by exotic birds and lizards and turtles and all sorts of things mommy won't let in our house.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Well, the good news is that Zach hasn't really had a fever since yesterday afternoon. Great relief. So for today, a small flashback to the best wedding ever. And as I sit in my cluttered house with Owen crying "Mama! Mama! Mama!" over and over while clutching my legs and Zach defies all orders/rules/requests/etc and Elmo drools on the floor while the cats jump around where they shouldn't be knocking things over...I will remember that this is the life I wanted and know how blessed I am. Not to mention daydream about the best dress and bouquet of flowers EVER.

May 13

Yep, no more special events/holidays 'round these parts. Zach spiked a temp of 103.4 last night at midnight which took several hours to come down in spite of both motrin and tylenol. Sigh. Doc appointment today resulted in a negative quick strep test, and a decision to not bother with the flu test. So we get to wait it out. Is it redundant to say I'm tired?

I had planned on a surprise helicopter ride for dh as a gift of sorts for our 10 year anniversary, courtesy of Kathy's husband. I'd link her blog, but she hasn't been updating. It was very thoughtful of them to offer it up in exchange for a Kohl's gift card...how's that for scheming? No money out of the bank account that he'd notice. However, with the sick bugs flying around, we thought it best to avoid them and their sweet daughters, so no surprise heli flight :(

I did make sure to cook a special meal, one of his favorites. It's from the Macaroni Grill, the place we had our first official 'date' so the food has sentimental value as well. Tomorrow he gets to have a hot stone massage at a local spa. He doesn't realize it yet, but my giving him the massage means HE gets to get up with the boys tonight. Mwahahaha. It's only fair, he gets a chance to relax and be pampered, surely that thought will get him through the tough times.

Here's a photo of the Scallopinni di Pollo. Thanks for 10 years, honey...hope the chicken is worth it! PS...thanks also for the midnight Tylenol run :) And the next time you toss the children's tylenol, please replace it ASAP! I love you.

May 12

They get their talent from their dad. I'm pretty sure, anyway.

Actually I'm sad I didn't get a better shot of this. He jams both hands through the sides, so that his hand comes out from underneath on each side, flapping away with his arms essentially trapped. He's like a little penguin plumber.

Reading IS fun!

I'm so thrilled that Zach has finally figured that out. Oh the fights we had when he was first learning, and pushing him to read for his required time in first grade, and even this year he would do the minimum required to get the reward. Somehow, almost overnight, he realized reading was cool! *faint* He chose a 5-6th grade level book for his last one, and even got 100% on the test. I guess that really inspired him because then he got a 6-7th grade level book and decided he could get it done in time to take the test on Friday (last possible day). That meant reading 340 odd pages in about 4 days.

Well, I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen, but I'm happy he felt like he could at least try. Today he was frantically counting out change because the Book Fair is going on at school and he has a list of titles he'd like to buy. And he's willing to spend every last penny on them. What? Not a Transformer? *faint again*

So he is becoming a little clone of me. Curled up on the couch with a good book. Ahhhh.

Happy Mother's Day!

I swear, I'm signing off on 'holidays' for the rest of the year. Owen woke up screaming at 5:40 or something and even though I rocked him and he was quiet, it was obvious by his wide eyed gaze that he was NOT planning on anymore sleep. Luckily, dh agreed to get up at 6 to take over so I could 'sleep in' haha. Unluckily, my body wasn't willing so after 30-40 minutes I quit trying and got up. Dh had to leave for work soon anyway :( And then Zach got up and the day took off in full swing. Owen doesn't want to eat, but he wants to TRY everything in the house anyway. Zach wants to eat, but nothing he can get for himself. Mama just wants to SLEEP!

Both still snotty and coughing, Owen has a funky hive-looking rash, he's WILD hyper insanely crazy running, climbing, laughing, crying, screaming. Finally got him down at 11:30 for a nap, which lasted a whole 30 minutes. Counting the minutes till dh comes home. Thanking my lucky stars I'm not a military wife or a single mom...

The boys did have some fun moments outside in the pool, though.

May 9

The day before Mother's Day...ahhhh...Kevin has to work, as always. Every single Mother's Day weekend that I can remember has been a work weekend. So today, since he goes in for a late shift, we had lunch with his parents to celebrate Mother's Day with his mom. Not too bad, although it WAS Owen's nap time, and both boys are still snotty and coughing and Owen's not been sleeping well. I tried to be good and order a salad, but I still had a few bites of dh's crab and lobster.

The grandparents did take the boys for a few hours after lunch, so dh and I stopped at Joann's for something on the way home. While there, I got a wild hairbrained idea to sew a skirt, and I grabbed some fabric. I hope it turns out ok!

More flowers!

Today dh ran out to the store for me (as he frequently does) to pick up a few essentials. I seem to have a tad of Zach's swine flu myself (relax! It's not really the swine flu, he just told his teacher that's what it was) and have been feeling a little worn down and itchy and sneezy and snotty. Anyway, he brought back this pretty little orchid. He also brought a bouquet of 3 roses. Our 10 year anniversary is next week and he said the roses represent every year that we've been happily married. Ha ha, honey. You know good and well it's only been 2.

I have actually been trying to work with the 85mm lens more, I was getting fairly comfortable with the 50mm and the 85mm is quite different. The zoom is a lot more, which means my shakiness is more noticeable. I probably should have used a tripod for these shots (May 7 and 8) but I think I fudged it fairly well.

May 7

Flowers! These actually arrived yesterday, an early Mother's Day gift from my aunt and uncle. Thanks so much Aunt Karen and Uncle D!

Nothing else today, Owen's caught Zachary's "swine flu" and it's been a long cranky day.

Happy Seis de Mayo!

Wow, did I really miss Cinco de Mayo? For real? Surely there's a photo on my other camera from May 5. There's not? Are you sure? Wow. Don't know how that happened.

I guess I'll have to put up a couple extra today.

The good news is, Elmo saw a third vet today and we have yet a third potential diagnosis. And different treatment. We are actually more hopeful today so keep your fingers crossed. I don't want him to hurt.

Also today I decided to try and make tamales. Estela was laughing at me, crazy Mexicana. AT LEAST I TRIED, chiquita!

What can I say, they tasted good. Even if you had to scoop them out with a spoon. Stupid little tamales, the dough did not set up very well. I may have made them a bit too big and thick, but I did get some to come out of their wrappings without falling apart. After I BAKED them. Sigh.

Here's the start...I had planned on taking a series of photos throughout the process for posterity, but as time progressed and daily life kept happening even though I was clearly too busy for it, I sort of gave up on the slide show. Not a single recipe called for Corona! I had to add it in, I knew it would make the process a little less painful.












One of the whole ones. That dough looks a bit thick to me. But it was holdable, you didn't need a fork or a spoon! Woohooo!












And Owen, my little tin man.

May 4

Today I was outside checking on all the plants and I saw this little white dot on the dill. I'm letting it flower so it can go to seed and then I can replant. These plants did so well from the last seeds I harvested, much better than the original plants. Anway, there was this tiny white thing in the itty bitty flowers. On closer inspecting, it looked like a super teensy weensy spider. I got the camera and the 85mm lens. Even then I couldn't tell for sure. Not until I uploaded the pics was I more certain. He has these two long legs on each side, but spiders have 8 legs, not 4. On 2 other images, however, I could see two teeny tiny short legs behind the two long legs, making a total of 8.

Crazy freaky looking spider. If you have any idea how dill blooms, you'll know how zoomed in this photo is.

May 3

Poor Elmo, he's having a really rough time. We aren't 100% sure of the problem, but he's in a lot of pain today. Harmony was rubbing her face on him again, which tells me he's seriously hurting. I was in tears, too. We'll be seeing the vet again soon. Poor sweet puppy.

May 2 - It's all Sharon's fault

Today was girls' day out. Sharon and I went shopping, well, once Sharon got OUT OF BED. Just kidding Sharon. I'm just jealous that I can't make sleep a priority in my life.

We made it to 3 whole stores in how many hours? I have never spent so long in a single store as we spent in each of those 3. We did score some good buys, though. And she made me get these. I swear. I know I'm too old for them, they are meant for girls half my age. But she MADE me. I'll never wear them out of the house. Pinky swear.

May 1

Today was a lazy sort of day. I had actually made all sorts of grand plans in my head to do a few loads of laundry, clean the floors and give the bathrooms a semi-thorough wipe down, but after yesterday's fiasco looking like it was going to extend into today, I lost all motivation.

Yesterday at school Zach went to the clinic b/c his eyes were apparently blurry all morning. His teacher, the nurse and myself were all pretty stumped b/c he didn't act like anything was wrong, no itching, redness, no blinking or rubbing his eyes, he just said it was blurry and he had to 'tense himself' to read, although he did large print pretty easily.

Long story short, we ended up at the ophthalmologist's office who, after examining Zach's vision and eyes, decided it was most likely a "fictitious event". I really don't think it was, but I don't think it's an eye issue either. Regardless, the doctor really pissed me off but I was happy this morning when Zach ecstatically proclaimed "I can read again!"

Then the school nurse called. Again. Zach's eyes are blurry again. WTF? I said to just keep him in school unless he's making a big deal of it and disrupting the class. He made it through school and by the time he came home he said they were fine. They did look still a bit dilated this morning from the drops he'd had yesterday so maybe there was some blurring from that? I don't know. I just spent the day with my head spinning from 'should I call the pediatrician again?' to 'is he faking and I'm totally falling for it?' to 'is there some nervous system/brain thing/migraine type event going on and I'm ignoring it?' and all that brain spinning sucked my motivation and energy right out my ears.

So, Sharon, I apologize for the messy house. Although you have seen it this bad and worse, which is actually the reason I wanted it CLEAN for a change when you got here. But thanks for ignoring it and thanks also for allowing me to use you for my photo of the day.

Isn't she pretty?

April 30

Holy cow, April's done already? That's hard to believe.

Today I did something that I've been sort of waiting to do, sort of procrastinating, but I guess the time was finally right b/c now it's done :) I had a feverfew plant that had been kind of straggling along but it was one of the ones that really took off after my aunt sent me that 'in tune with Mother Nature' pendant. A month or so ago I was looking up the uses of it and how to best utilize the plant. It seemed as if the flowers were really something you'd want to have, along with the leaves, but this poor thing had never flowered. Then suddenly, about 2 weeks ago, I saw a big stalk with flower buds! OMG! I waited and waited and when I had several little daisy looking flowers, I sent dh out for a big bottle of vodka to celebrate. Ok, not really. But I did need to vodka to make a tincture.

This morning I went out and trimmed the heck out of that plant. There was a LOT of growth, and I am hoping that by cutting it back the rest of the plant will take off again. There are more flower buds out there :D I also chopped some spearmint and got some lemon peel, for flavor, so I'm anxious to see how it all ends up in a few weeks. Until then, my sweet little herbs and flowers will soak in the vodka, rendering out all their goodness, and I'm crossing my fingers that it will provide some relief for migraines as I have a good friend who suffers with them quite a lot. Estela, this is for you!