Thursday Update

Leak Issue

We finally got the second plummer out here to give us a quote for the class action suit. He has done a lot of the units that our condo is in. He is only going to need to make 12X12 holes because he knows where all the pipes are in these places. We decided to go with him and the class action people said they will have a check for us by Tuesday. The plummers are coming tomorrow to start their 4-5 days of work on our place. At least the ball is rolling and this will all be over soon.

Toby Update

The thyroid meds have seemed to help his bowel issue. He is drinking more often and seem less drooly. Other than that the rest is the same...he's still pretty weak and doesn't really have much interest in eating. He ate well the day that we got back from the vets but today and yesterday he has no interst really. My hope is waivering...

A Glimmer of Hope

We went to the specialist today and found out that Toby has one of three conditions...two are not good at all but the third and best of all is a thyroid condition. The doctor did some xrays on Toby to make sure that he didn't have pnumonia and that his esophogus is working. Everything looked normal. And from blood work done last week we know that his organs are all functioning normally.

The vet gave us thyroid meds and a diet of making meatballs out of the prescription dog food and kinda giving them to Toby so the he's getting food in him. I have made them and have been hand feeding them to him slowly...as he's not had food in a while but he is seriously hungry...just can't get the food to get in there because of the weakness in his mouth.

I gave him a thyroid pill before we got on the road after our visit. The vet said to call him at the end of the week and let him know how Toby is doing.

We are ALL hoping for the best.

Not good news X 2

We met with Toby's vet today. Apparently the fill in doctor I talked to on Monday did not have the right information on what is wrong with him and our regular vet explained why and what the next step would be. He referred us to a specialist that will do further testing (if we wish) on Toby. But right now the prognonsis doesn't sound like it will be good nor an easy fix. Since this weekend one of Toby's eyes has been drooping and now he's not eating. One of the vet assistants mentioned that he may have had a stroke :(

We have an appointment with the specialist tomorrow at noon. Honestly, we are not hopeful. I will update when I can on this.

The Leek

Apparently when the builders constructed the condos we live in they were in a hurry and botched a job with the plumbing – it is not accessible for easy repair. Well, on Thursday our neighbor came over and said she had water in her kitchen….the opposite wall to our place is in our laundry room. Luckily we didn't have any water, but we are not going through a bunch of junk to try to get this repaired as quickly as possible.

There is a class action law suit to get the repairs done to each of our place. We have to have our hot water lines all rerouted :P At least the class action people will pay for that and our insurance will cover the rest….but man let's just say this is not good timing at all.

The good thing for our neighbors is that they were replacing their kitchen things anyway…but man….this is not going to be pretty or fun :(

Toby Update 2.5

Well, toby needs more testing done and we have an appointment to do that on Monday afternoon. His liver enzymes are up which means it is enlarged or has a mass...so he needs x-rays to tell us about that. They are also going to do more blood tests because the doctor thinks that he might have a thyroid issue. If it is just the thyroid then it will be an easy fix apparently with meds. The blood work also showed he has an infection and digestive issues, which he already has meds for. So he has a myriad of things going on - although I am not sure if any of them are related. Our normal doctor was not in and the one that was filling in for him was just giving me information - I feel better talking to our doctor seeing that he knows Toby.

More of an update after we know more on Monday - hopefully.

Short Toby Update

Toby has been put on more meds and a special diet again. He also is having blood work done to see how his kidney and liver are functioning. We will have the results back from that tomorrow.

Toby...

A few weeks ago Toby, our 7 1/2 year old black lab, had some kind of stomach issue that required a trip to the vet. The issue was mainly resolved but his hind legs have really started to bother him. He's now to the point where he is having a really hard time getting around....plus he is still having some digestive issues (to spare the details). Jamie has noticed that the leg he is having issues with seems to the one that he had the tumor removed from two summers ago.

Tomorrow we are taking him to the vet again. We have no idea what the outcome will be from the visit but I am honestly preparing for the worst.

Any prayers and thoughts you can spare for Toby would be appreciated.

Tae Kwon Do, Soccer, Beckham, and Father's Day

This summer we decided to bump Kian down to going to preschool one day a week. The rec department has some really great programs so we signed Kian up for Tae Kwon Do and Soccer!

Yesterday was his first Tae Kwon Do class. It was so cute to watch all the kids doing kicks and practicing standing at attention :) Kian had a hard time calming down - he was SO excited to be there! Hopefully he will start to focus more.

We are going to see David Beckham!!!

In case you aren't sure who I am talking about, David Beckham is a soccer star who joined the LA Galaxy team after leaving England. Ever since he arrived here, Jamie has wanted to see him play. Well, EA had a deal on tickets for tonight's game! So we got three of them as Jamie's Father's Day gift! This will be Kian's first professional game - and really we haven't watched much soccer so it should be interesting and fun!

Our Crazy Last Few Weeks – Good but Crazy

First weekend in May – Kian’s Birthday Party

Second weekend in May - Discovery Kingdom (Trip 1) and Mother’s Day

Our friends Steve and Lisa accompanied us on our first trip to Discovery Kingdom and the following day was Mother’s Day. (I posted already about this if you want to revisit for most details).

Third Weekend in May – The Scottish Games and Discovery Kingdom (Trip 2)

Saturday morning we got up, headed to Costco to stimulate the economy by reloading our freezer and then we headed to the annual Scottish Games held in our city. We got to see knights jousting, dogs herding sheep, ate fish and chips (ok, I did lol), listened to lots of Celtic music, and had some ale. They also had a kids area that had two big, castle themed, jumpy houses. Kian had a BLAST! It was flippin’ hot that day, but having a cold ale and letting Kian run from jumpy house to jumpy house. It was a great day :)

Short video of Kian dancing to some Celtic music while he ate his lunch;


This trip to Discovery Kingdom we went with our friends Greg and Rachael. We all had a blast – well I know that the three of us did anyway ;) Kian got to feed a giraffe and we got to see a really cool tiger show. We spent most of the day at the park – looking at animals, taking photos and feeding the giraffes. Kian also go to “pet” some stingrays and had an enormous walrus named Jocko follow him around the underwater viewing window. There is a video attached of that – so neat (oh, and Jocko was “happy” just be forewarned lol) Oh, and one important thing we learned was that Sunday is THE BEST day to go to the park – no one was there!

Fourth Weekend in May – Maggie’s Graduation Party in Los Angeles area

We kicked off this weekend early – well extra special stuff happened on Wednesday. My friend Shawna was in town and came to visit us! This was extra special because about two years ago I reconnected with her via the wonders of MySpace. This is someone I went to Kindergarten with – can you believe I knew her when we were both around Kian’s age?!?! We hung out a lot at the end of elementary school and then went different ways. When we found each other on MySpace we found we really connected and became friends :) This is the first time we have seen each other in God only knows how long. It was a short visit but a great one. Kian even said a little prayer thanking God for Shawna and Christine (her friend that came along) that was not prompted by me at all.

On Friday we packed up the family (Toby included) and headed south for my cousin Maggie’s college graduation. It was a luau complete with some awesome BBQ and Wisconsin summer sausage (can I get a WOOT?) It was a 5 hour trek one way but it went by fast and was so worth it :) Thanks to the person that invented the portable DVD player and the Game Boy.

Kian and I apparently kicked my grandparents out of having a place to stay so they couldn’t come for the celebration - ok not really lol Although, my Grandpa will tell you that! The week before the party, my Grandpa underwent open heart surgery and had a triple bypass! Thankfully his only symptom of the blockage was fatigue, but he still recovering and having a pace maker installed. We were sad that they couldn’t make it to the party, but we are happy that we still have our grandpa. Kian has prayed for him nightly (mostly without prompting) for his heart’s boo-boos to heal. He is still on the mend so any prayers or thoughts you can send his way are greatly appreciated!

My Aunt Lori volunteered her babysitting services (in exchange for some movie popcorn – oddly enough my Mom accepts the same payment…hmmm…sounds like a deal to me!) so that Jamie and I could see a late showing of the new Indiana Jones movie (which was ok, but I was glad we saw it in the theater.

We enjoyed spending time with family and helping out where we could. I think Toby enjoyed himself more than any of us, in fact, he was spoiled so much by my Aunt Lori that I think he was a little depressed to be home lol! We were so glad that we lived close enough to make it down.

Phew! So that brings us up to the present. Jamie is back to normal hours at work now, which is very nice, and we are just taking it easy this weekend. The only new thing to report is that Kian is a Spongebob Squarepants fanatic now lol

The Bug Was Not Gone :(

....because I got it the day before Kian's birthday :( I was in bed all day and wasn't able to even make cupcakes as I had planned. I did manage to get his gifts wrapped and Jamie brought them all upstairs so I could see him open them. He had a great time playing with all of them from what Jamie told me and from what I heard of the new toys "talking" and buzzing downstairs. I felt SO bad that I was so sick on my little man's big day :(

Here is a slideshow of Kian ripping through all his gifts in record speed!

Friday I rested and felt ok. Saturday we went to Discovery Kingdom with our friends Steve and Lisa. Since this was Kian's big birthday thing - we let him ride an elephant (daddy rode too of course). Since Lisa has a "bun in the oven" (hehe) she wasn't able to ride any rides - not even Thomas the Train! So she had to hang back with me and Kian. We went to several shows - which we all liked and hung out at Thomas Town for a while (well we were stranded thanks to a broken lock on the stroller that Jamie saved the day by fixing when he arrived). Next year she will be able to ride though and I will gladly hang back with little baby "D."

Here is a slide show of our time at Discovery Kingdom. Since my stomach was still recovering, Daddy rode everything with Kian.

Well, Sunday, Mother's Day, I was down again. Just felt like crud. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband that let me hang out in bed when I needed to. i did manage to get energy enough to go shopping at Kohl's and use a coupon I got along with our economic stimulation check to buy me some new pants. The ones I own have been falling off of my body! I didn't realize how much weight I really lost until recently! Anyway, the check came at a good time so I wouldn't be walking around with the possibility of my pants falling down walking across the street. lol

Jamie also did me a big favor and defrosted my deep freeze WOOT! This weekend we are going to restock - thanks again to the US governement lol

As of now I am on the mend. Kian and I have mainly hung out at the house and just took things easy. The house has been a complete wreck so I have been slowly working on areas without burning myself out energy wise.

We are gearing up for another big weekend. Saturday we are going to go to the Scottish Games Festival in town. Sunday we are going to go back to Discovery Kingdom with some other friends of ours. May has been a busy month for us so far and hopefully the illness is behind us now :)

Kian's 4th Birthday Party!

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends! Saturday our house quickly filled up with people who love Kian and came to celebrate him coming into his 4th year! Kian LOVED having so many friends over and was itching to dig into the Lightening McQueen cake I made him as well as his presents hehehe We grilled hotdogs, had my mom's famous baked beans and some carrots (which is one of Kian's faves). The of course there was cake an ice cream :)

Kian got LOTS of wonderful gifts! He has spent all morning playing with all of them! He even received a gift card which he has almost spent all of already on a remote control Lightening McQueen ;) The biggest gift he got was a GameBoy Mini from Jamie and me. In fact, it's a good thing that he opened gifts toward the end because he spent the rest of the time zoned into the games he got lol

Here are some photos of the festivities!





Kian showing he's 4


Yummy CAKE!






Kian got a Cars game for his GameBoy!


Rachael, the pro, showing Kian how to work his new GameBoy :)






Kian, smiling because he was told to but really wants to be playing his game lol!


This is what Kian looked like for the rest of the night LOL!

We are Bug Free!!!

Well, our house is bug free!!! Well, if the stomach bug anyway lol Kian happily returned to preschool today.

Kian's teacher did a tested each kid indiviually on how ready they are for kindergarten. Kian excelled everything! She has yet to do the writing test, but we know that is something he needs to work on. She is trying to see where each kid is at to see what they need to work on.

While Kian was at school I was able to do a lot of running around and prep work for Kian's party on Saturday. Since I had been playing nurse for about a week, the house was a wreck and there were a lot of things that needed attending to :P We have a pretty busy rest of the week - but I am SUPER excited for Kian! He knows he's having a party but I dn't think he knows how many people will be here :) It's going to be a good time :)

The Bug

Well, Kian got the stomach flu early on Thursday morning. It was so bad I had to camp out with a blanket and pillow on his bedroom floor. He continues to be sick throughout the day on Thursday but seemed to perk up a bit toward the end of the night. He was ok through the night but when he woke up in the morning and had some pedialyte he couldn't keep that down :( He was getting lethargic so off to the doctor we went to make sure nothing else was going on. We left with a presription of the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast).

Unfortunately Jamie is feeling pretty sick himself so he stayed home from work. Since I really needed to pick up somethings at the store I left the two of them to be bumps on the couch together while I went to a few stores.

When I came back home an hour or so later I was happily greeted by Kian. I was like, wow, I guess my kid is back lol He was talking a mile a minute and wanted to help me unload groceries :) He's now keeping things down, but he's still under the weather. i bought him the movie Shrek so he would have something new to watch so he is doing that right now as he eats a banana. i am hpiong the rest of the day he just gets better and better.

My New Car Decals!

I have been wanting to get those stick figure family decals for a while. But I could never find anything I liked. I NEVER wear dresses and I wanted something to suit myself and my family. So I turned to ebay. I didn't find stick figures but I found something else :) I ordered them on Saturday and got them TODAY! CRAZY! And my order was personalized. I asked for some additions and had personalized wording on both of them :)

Anyway, here they are! ;)


Full shot of the back of my car - I erased my plate numbers lol

The "Family" one:

Here is the other one:

New Pictures on Snapfish

So, I have been a big time slacker with getting photos uploaded to my snapfish account. The last I had uploaded was in November 2007 ::blush::

I shared the albums so if you are on the list to view, you will get an email to view them. If you didn't get an email and would like to see the photos, just reply with a note to this post and i will get in touch with you to get you on the list to view :)

Update to Kian's Wishlist

We made some updates to Kian's Target wishlist. I removed some things and added somethings. Take a look if you wish :)

Kian's First Ripped Pants

Tonight I was getting Kian's clothes laid out for the next day. I was looking at a pair of jeans he had worn this weekend once to see if he could wear them to school tomorrow. well, I noticed that one knee has a rip in it and needs a repair - how cute is that! It's his first (yes, i know of many), but it just made me think of how much of a big boy he's getting to be!

Kian's Birthday Planning, Spring Cleaning and Scooby Doo

Kian's Birthday is ONE Month from Today!

I can't believe that one month from today my little Kian will be 4!!!! Sheesh time just flies!

I have been planning for a small party for Kian. He has decided on a Cars (the Pixar/Disney movie Cars) as his theme. I am going to make a Lightening McQueen cake (wish me luck!). I have yet to buy party supplies. And I am hoping to be able to make some special invites to his party. I just need Kian to keep his forehead bruise free so I can get a photo of him for them LOL The little turkey seems to get a bruise RIGHT on his forhead every time we want to take photos around his birthday lol I might have to resort of trying to photoshop it out :P

The Spring Cleaning Bug has Bit Us

Jamie started some spring cleaning this weekend. I have continued on that note int he kitchen and pantry areas. I have done a lot of rearranging, purging, and donating. Thankfully on Thursday Big Brothers and Sisters is picking up donations. It is nice to get rid of some things that others can use that we just haven't in years.

Scooby Doo - Where are You?!?!

Kian has discovered Scooby Doo and man has it brought back a lot of memories! Tivo has been recording it as a suggestion. It's funny because when I was his age and older Scooby Doo was one of my FAVORITE shows! We are having a lot of fun watching episodes together from time to time :)

Man-to-Man Time

Jamie and Kian started a new tradition last month. Every Saturday they have their own time together. Jamie takes Kian to have breakfast at McDonalds and then the go out and do something together. Usually it means a trip to Best Buy :)

Kian really looks forward to that time with his Daddy. I am so glad that they started it :)

Kian really likes his new teacher

Kian is such a sweetie! Today when I picked him up from school his teacher, Miss Perry, told me that he told her "I love you" and gave her a hug and kiss! He rarely gives those to people outside our family so I know that he really does love Miss Perry. How sweet is that!

Speech Update and other random things

Speech Update

I am currently in the works of getting Kian started with a new speech therapist. They are trying to get him into group therapy - but right now our schedule doesn't line up great with other kids his age. We can do solo therapy though and it looks like we will be going that route. He will start with the new therapist on Thursday.

Kian is Writing!

Here is a photo of Kian's hand writing. His teacher wrote where he did it by himself. Right now we are working on writing and cutting as he wants to at home. We are so proud of him!