Jack Can Touch...

I was taking Jack's school-work out of his take-home folder and came across this sheet. At school they have been "studying" the five senses. On this sheet, he needed to write and draw 4 different things he could touch. This was the first one...


"I can touch my dog," is what I read, but looked at the picture and thought, "What in the world?" OH!! then it dawned on me...this is a picture of Moose with her cone on, her pink cast and the orange represents her shaved leg!! I laughed out loud! When I showed Jason later that night, we both laughed until we were crying! Jack definitely lives in the moment!!

Here is his model for his picture...coneless.

When we showed Moose, she laughed just as hard (with her spooky zombie eyes!)

Side Note:

Starting this weekend, Saturday or Sunday, or maybe both, I am going to post projects or layouts that I have completed or am working on...I need to get going on things and if I know I need to post a project or layout, then I think it will motivate me to get some things done!  Check in this weekend to see if I have any success!!

Room...

The book, Room, is told from the perspective of 5 year old Jack, who shares about his daily activities and life with his ma. The catch is, is that Jack has lived his entire life in a 11x11 room with her.  His mother was kidnapped 7 years ago by "Old Nick." His mother truly tries to make his life as "normal" as possible, which is laid out in the first half of the book. Suddenly it really dawned on me, that Jack has no idea what the outside world is like...he only knows what is inside the 11x11 room.  

 I really thought this book would bother me, especially the name and age of the boy, but the way the story is told and how fiercely protective and determined his mother is of Jack, it wasn't as difficult of read as I had anticipated.  At one point, I could not put the book down...Jason even woke up and told me to turn off the light!  I would recommend this book...I can guarantee at one point in the book, you too, won't be able to put it down. 

Monday Moose...

We are starting to get into a routine with Moose. the first few days after surgery were pretty rough.
I slept on the couch the first night home,Tuesday, and got about 4 hours of sleep. (for those of you who know me, I value my sleep!) She just couldn't get settled in a comfy place. Every time she got up, I woke up...hence we both took HUGE naps on Wednesday!

On Thursday morning, I came home after taking Jack to school, Sam was home sick, and Moose had chewed her bandages off!! ("That is so nasty, mom!" shared Sam. Oh really, Mr. Obvious? I hadn't noticed her bulging stitches on her shaved leg!) So off to the vet we went to get her re-wrapped. now she has an awesome red cast to go with her ISU collar! The vet shared that her leg had swelled and she may have been pretty uncomfortable and that is why she chewed the bandage off. She could get to the lower part of her leg, because her "daisy" didn't reach that far.

No more daisy for Moose...we now get free cable channels with her cone! She is so good about wearing it, but she in'st happy about wearing it...she runs into things and cannot see anywhere she is heading.

She also wasn't eating well, so I was encouraged to mix some hamburger and rice into her regular dog food. So I did. Friday was the first time she ate her breakfast and dinner!

She still stays close to the boys. (Sam was home with a terrible cold for two days and she laid where he laid!)

See how her little paw is peeking out from the bottom of her cast. Well, about two hours after her rewrap we headed back to the vet because (sorry for the yucky description) it was dripping...liquid. The vet explained that the swelling was going down and her body was getting rid of it. I didn't ask what "it" was that she was getting rid of. So they wrapped up the bottom of her foot this time. i think she is more comfortable with that extra protection (or I am!)

Jack talks with her when he gets home from school...

This looks SO uncomfortable. She isn't able to slide with her bandage, so she slides and her leg doesn't. don't worry, i quickly and gently push her onto her side, which is more comfortable.

And she is still getting alot of TLC...Sam and Jack were watching TV and Jack made sure she knew he was close by!

Third Times a Charm...

Moose is on her thrid bandage set.

On Saturday, my mom was over. I walked her out to her car to say good-bye. While outside, the neighbor stopped by and I got all caught up in neighboring! Headed back inside and Moose had chewed off her bandages...AGAIN!! Off we went to the vet...again!!

Why didn't she have her cone on? She did, until my mom stopped by and we were sitting in the living room with Moose, so I took off her cone. We now have the cone on her except if we are directly in the room!

Hernew bandage says, "NO CHEW!" Like Moose can read that! (heehee..just kidding!) That's what i told the boys though! Actually, the bandage is to have a bitter taste and discourage chewing. Get this...the boys actually licked the cast when she got home to see if it was bitter...they reported that it tasted HORRIBLE!! A true Belding Boy moment!! Gosh, they keep me proud!

Landscaping Update...

the landscaping project is coming right along...too bad I won't be able to ever enjoy it...saw ANOTHER snake!! I am really trying to convince myself that it is the same one...not a nest of them! UGH!!

These are steps that will lead down to a second patio and fire pit...

A view of the wall from the lower level. the area between the upper patio and lower patio, will be filled with bushes and perennials.

I listen to this small digger all day...it makes a lot of noise for such a small thing!

Back to my pain:
So I see the snake by our garbage cans. (why do I always see it???) I decided to ask the landscapers if they would be willing to kill it for me (they are landscapers..they must deal with snakes ALL the time!). I go over to them (there are three) and ask, "Hey, I am deathly afraid of snakes and I just saw one. Would any of you be willing to kill it for me?" Two of the guys just looked at each other and thankfully, the third one said, "I'll help you out." So we were walking over to the "spotting area" and the guy whispers to me, "Those two guys are DEATHLY afraid of snakes, too. They would have never helped you out." "It's a good thing you are here then!" What else was I to say??? Unfortunately, he couldn't find the snake.

You all realize, that i will see another snake or a snake mating ball (yea..they mate in one big ball!) and the two that won't help will be the only ones working.

My legs are aching something terrible as I am writing this...

Moose Update...

Moose did well on Monday with her surgery and spent that night at the vet for observation. She was able to come home yesterday, late afternoon. She was as happy (as happy as she could be with a peg leg) when she saw us. You could tell she was ready to be with her family.

When we got home, she went right to her bed and laid down. The short trip home exhausted her! When we aren't around and at night, she gets to wear her blue "daisy" (not the cone of shame) to keep her from licking her bandages.

Her leg has a splint on the back side and then wrapped VERY well. Moose will have the wrap for 4-6 weeks. Amazingly, she is adapting pretty well. She will drag her leg (then you know she is tired) or she will hold it up a bit when she goes outside. I will have to show you her pretty bootie she will wear when it rains!

Here you can see where they shaved her. They did have to take a small bone graph (the really red spots on her upper leg) to help the plate fuse to her leg bone. The other leg was shaved a bit for her IV. The feel of the bald spots amazed the boys...just like skin!

Overall, Moose is doing really well. I feel terrible for her, but now she is REALLY on the road to recovery. The surgeon/vet said that she was such a good dog with all of this! Moose is getting extra treats with her meds and LOADS of TLC...she deserves every minute of it!!
By the way...thanks for all the well wishes!

Moosie May...

Moose hurt her leg about 4 weeks ago and she has adapted to it, but it really hasn't gotten any better. Out next step was to take her to an orthopedic surgeon. We found out that Moose has torn her tendons and ligaments in her left ankle. The Dr. cannot repair the tears, so Moose is having surgery today to have a plate put in her left foot. It will run from the top of her foot to above her ankle. She will no longer be able to move her ankle, but she will heal and be able to go on walks and play ball again, which she has not been allowed to do since the "accident." 

 How did she do this? Well, the surgeon shared with us that this type of injury is usually seen with both ankles. A dog will jump out of the car and tear up both sides...Moose only did one side. We know she ran into the woods after something, so we believe that she hit a hole, tearing up the left ankle.

She will spend the night at the hospital and come home tomorrow. Will let you know how she is doing later this week...please send good healing vibes her way!  Thanks!!

A Nice Day...

The weather has been so nice, that we have been able to be outside..well, the boys have. I have yet to wander out into the grass. Had my camera to take some before pictures of the patio and the boys were sitting there, so decided to take a few fun photos...

One of my favorites...

Just Jack...

This seems to be their "go-to" pose any more...

Moose refuses to be left out...

Love how the boys are saying, "Mooooosie" and they both have their hands on her...

Another favorite...love how blue Sam's eyes look in this one and how brown jack's are!!

Project or Phase Two..

We have decided to do some more landscaping around our back patio. I refer to it as phase 2...(photos are rough...didn't edit any of them!)

This is what the patio looks like as you walk out the sliding doors.

The view from the patio table...that is our fire pit in the background.

This is a shot of our patio on the left side of the patio table.

This is what it looked like when I got home from work yesterday. If you refer to the previous picture, I am standing by the large stone bench on the right. In this photo, you can see our patio on the left. We are putting in a flower bed, then a stone wall and then a recessed patio. You can see the beginning of the wall on the lower right corner. at the end of the shovels...you can see where one set of steps will be built.

A shot of the stone and dirt from the picnic table...and the boys playing army.

This is the view I have coming our of the sliding glass doors...

The boys love playing our there at this time...jumping from the upper level...

to the lower level.

Will be glad when this project is done!

What I am Scared of...

These darn snakes (all two sightings and one snake skin) are driving me crazy!  After loads of conversations of why are you scared of snakes...and...what else are you scared of, i decided to share!

What scares me....snakes.  When I was little I went on a stick collecting walk. Picking up all sorts of sticks.  At one point, I picked up a stick and it went limp in my hand.  It was a snake...NOT a stick...that is how is all started. 

When something bothers me or scares me, my thighs ache (not in a good way.)  I haven't sorted out if the last weeks aches are from being tense from seeing a snake shimmy across the sidewalk or from jumping up and down every time I go outside...I believe they can feel my vibrations and will go away from my instead of to me.

I am also scared of old men riding bicycles on the wrong side of the road with cards in their spokes...thanks to the movie "In the Mouth of Maddness."  Jason and I will be driving down a dark road and I will say, "What would you do if an old man on a bike rode past us."  We creep ourselves out.

Someone told me once of a story about a woman's whose uterus fell out...WHAT?  I can't imagine being at the mall and suddenly, "pop!"  Me:  "Oops...just my uterus."  SERIOUSLY? That frightens me!

Old mental/phyciatric hospitals scare me.  yuck yuck yuck.

Unknown places...such as when you are traveling. While in chicago, we would turn a corner and I would whisper to jason, "we are going die!"

Now there is a difference between something that scares you and something that really bothers you..

Things that really bother me are:
My old neighbor!!  (heehee)
Cuts or slices on the body...from paper, knives, anything that has the ability to slice the body.
Fish.
Vomit.
The movie "Freaks."
Glass elevators.
Eels. (surprise!)
Swamps.
Black ice.

Ipad Pictures...

The boys love to use some special thing on my ipad that takes funky pictures. They boys think they are hilarious...I actually find them creepy. (Ever see the movie "Freaks?" Some of these "people" would be found in that movie.)

 

Mini Moose...

Jack made a mini Moose out of Legos...

...Moose thought is was the best thing ever! I think she even laughed out loud!

Halloween Doodles....

The boys and I headed to the bookstore on Saturday.  What better thing to do on a rainy day?  Sam picked up a couple books he has had his eye on and Jack picked up these drawing books.  We have spent the entire weekend doodleing!

This books gives you ideas for the pages and a start on your picture.  For example, a page will say "Decorate the witches' hats" and then there are three different witch hats on the page to decorate. Another page is an empty haunted house and you get to draw in whatever you would like in the different room.   Jack loves this book!

If you have or know kids, you need to get them an Ed Emberley drawing book.  These are the best drawing books due to each drawing being based on simple shapes.  It also shows the "illustrator" how to draw the image step by simple step.  (An Ed Emberley book, a new drawing pad and markers would be the perfect Christmas gift!)

See how easy it is to draw!

So Jack and i filled our weekend with "Halloween Doodles" and drawing Ed Emberley figures in our doodles book!  He then wanted to draw the spooky house, so a HUGE sheet of paper was on the menu!

Here you can see the spooky house that Jack drew and the little black cat on the porch!
Great Halloween fun...and it's only the first week in September!