Kai's Piggy Bank

The boys banks were full.  Time to do a bank run.  They sat on the table for a couple days before I got to it. I emptied Kai's fox first and had all his coins counted ready to roll and the extras in a pile for him to put back into the foxy-bank.  Dinner was ready so I left the project.  Later I was walking by and noticed the loose pile was all neatly sorted and the counted piles had been very neatly moved around.  I asked Kai if he did the sorting.  He said yes.  I told him he did a great job of sorting and started to recount for rolling.  Kai has gotten WAY better at respecting others things so I was a bit surprised he'd touched.  I asked how he knew it was his money.  I didn't really expect an answer.  Really was more mulling out loud.  Kai doesn't typically have productive conversations.  But he actually answered. He said "mine was empty and Luk's was full".  Honestly that was one of our most in depth conversations.  I was impressed at his ability to figure things out. Also picturing him sneakily shaking the banks would have been funny to see.  Luk came and helped me with his.  

Eric sent me a picture of the barn project.  Pretty setting.  He seemed happy enough working last week.  It has meant not seeing much of him as he tries to keep up with home stuff in the evenings.  Yesterday he spent the bulk of the day repairing the waste system on Mom's trailer.  Not a pretty job.  He was outside for hours.  Then he washed/scrubbed his hands for 15 mins and had the longest shower ever.  Haha.  I thought he might take today off but he's banging around in the basement getting the ceiling ready for drywall.  It's clear to me he needs to spend more time just getting rid of stuff first.  I can't even think in the basement total chaos.  I made the mistake of checking in with him down there today and that just never helps my mental health to see the basement.  Also, with our water, flooding issues I'm thinking we aren't ready for drywall versus ceiling tiles.

Mom sent me this picture of me with my Dad. 

Not much else happening around here.  Jia spoke the words "I'm bored" last night.  Rare words here at this house.  Usually I remind them these are forbidden words and I'm happy to find chores for them but last night I just sat quietly thinking "me too kid".

Giant Sandwiches

A little sandwich fun tonight for dinner. Eric and I ran errands all day.  So a perfect night for sandwiches.  

Got a few few lunar new year treats to try at Superstore.  

I drew 50 little cows tonight.  Getting ready.  Trying to make it fun. Another lame covid celebration. 

At Home.

Isabel posed nicely for me.  She is getting so much white on her.  It's her 11th Birthday today.  We need to turn back time for our sweet girl.  

Jia had a wee sewing/surgery lesson on her new bear.  

We were home all weekend except for Eric.  He did get to leave to help Steve build a barn on Saturday and for a coffee with Albi on Sunday.  It's frankly getting alarming how easily my whole family accepts just staying home now.  Honestly the kids have zero interest in going anywhere.  They don't like masks or cold and would rather not leave.  We didn't even bother grocery shopping.  We made do with what was here.  The fridge is crazy empty and we were out of fruit so had canned peachs and apple sauce.  It's my flex today so Eric and I are going to run an errand to the bank and do some grocery shopping.  

Kai's Fire tablet.

This morning.  Great excitement with a new electronic.  It's a smidge different than our other Android tablets.  I loaded Netflix and a bunch of games.  Including Roblox.  I didn't want to set up parental controls because I think part of the problem with him deleting integral parts is about getting around the controls.  So I asked that he refrain from settings.  Also that I'd prefer he ask about new apps.  He agreed.  We'll see. I didn't hide the apps like usual.  They're right there.  Hoping to demystify them.  Fingers crossed.  

Luk wanted to help but Kai was adamant that no one touch his!!  Then when he needs help he'll screech that they have to stop and do it now.  Haha.  

Gramma...I bought the tablet with Kai's Amazon gift card from you.  He thanks you ;)  He has no clue, I tried.  

I love that when you take pictures at our place there is often a cat in the background.

Fei was wait listed for a University Biology course she needs to qualify for the nursing program.  The university called today.  A spot just opened for her.  She needs to call to accept and pay the second she gets home from school today.  Progress!  The online class starts in February.  

I finished up my year end for the accountants yesterday.  Just need to box 2020 files and make new files for the year.  Getting there.  

Special weather report says snow tomorrow.  Ick.  It definitely got cold overnight.  I left the puppies home today.  Figured the sudden cold snap would be uncomfortable for them in the office.  Cement floors don't warm up very quickly.

A friend needs a barn built so Eric is on a new project.  He was at the mill today picking up loads of old wood.  He keeps crazy busy.  Guessing we won't see him much this weekend.  

Crazy Hair Day

Luk says he can see us better with all his peepers.  

Crazy hair is hard with a crew cut ;)

Jia opted out this year.  

Missing Phone.

I left my phone at work yesterday.  Felt lost last night without it.  I figure if anyone needed me they would have called the house phone right?  I rely almost solely on text these days.  Also, I had to load my game on my tablet to play last night.  I had no clue what time it was and I had to manually turn my lamp off.  Eric offered to drive me out last night to get it but I insisted that was crazy.  Haha.  I was singing Reunited by Peaches and Herb in the car this morning. Jia was horrified.  Not sure if it was my singing or the words of the song.  Or that I was looking forward to being reunited with a phone.  

So, last week I picked up our three littles from school, dropped them at home then got back in my car and one of them had left lingering body odor.  I had no clue which one.  Guessed likely Jia as the oldest.  Got home and chased her into a shower.  Then last night at bed time Luk swooped in for a hug and it's my littlest guy!!  I'm not ready.  He's not ready.  We're all not ready.  Chased him off to shower.  Then Eric had a wee talk about deodorant with him.  I thought Luk might have been thrilled with the he man smell of Dad but he was not, apparently it was cold.  I want my little kids back.  A do over.  It's all too fast.  

We're all super busy during the days then at night it all comes to a grinding halt.  Eric and I have started watching Yellowstone.  Wow.  Just wow. We don't have anything on the go with Lili and Fei, they're much too busy with homework right now.  

I ordered an Amazon Fire tablet for Kai.  No clue if it's any good but it was cheap and ultimately he needs it mostly for Netflix.  His tablet is a disaster.  He gets into settings and deletes so much stuff.  It's extremely frustrating trying to get him up and running over and over again.  Right now his tablet won't hook to the internet "parameter missing".  The battery is pretty done so I opted for a fresh start.  The funny thing is it came preset to my account!!  All totally ready to go right out of the box.  How crazy is that?!  However, we absolutely can not let Kai have access to my account so I have to work tonight at getting me off of his tablet and making a separate Amazon account for him.

A New Toothbrush for Kai

 

A vibrating tooth shelf.

The inside intel at the Nelson house.  Kai will have been with us 5 years on Feb. 15.  We have not managed to teach him to brush his teeth in all these years. At all.  Seriously, not at all. Like he literally can not move the brush around in his mouth.  Or remember paste or water or rinsing or putting the cap on the paste or where to put his brush after.  Not even if we stand beside him with step by step instructions.  Not with pict-o-grams that he can't see anyways. Not by copying someone. The only thing he knows is that he's to get the brush and it goes in his mouth.  The entire purpose of brushing is lost on him. I have been despairing for YEARS about this.  For me we send a child off to school where the supervision is NO WHERE near where I feel it needs to be and he can't even get dressed or brush his teeth, or his hair or wash his face and hands.  

So I read about this toothbrush for special needs kids and ordered it right away.  He just has to put it in his mouth and it turns off after 45 seconds.  He was super excited to see it yesterday, it had to charge overnight.  This morning he met Eric at the stairs asking about his tooth brush.  :)  It fits his mouth, it worked, he was happy.  Eric sent me a smiley face update.  It's pricey enough that I'm a tad concerned about it surviving Kai in general.  All of his things have a short shelf life ;)  but in the meantime perhaps there is a wee chance of a tiny bit of success.  

Feels like a small win today.  

Blue Monday

It's blue Monday today.  The most depressing day of the year.  I wasn't feeling blue or depressed on the way to work.  Then they said snow this week.  Now I'm feeling a bit blue.  

A Wee Walk

A wee walk at Bright Angel today.  It was time to force an outing.  We couldn't talk Jia into joining us and Lili claimed homework.  We went to 7-11 for gas and they had the much coveted Hires slurpees.  Yum.

Isabel is getting older she used to just run on the swinging bridge.  Today she wasn't so sure, lots of muscles shaking.

Why?

Like father, like son.

I said no climbing on the slimey stumps today, they're supposed to be pouting but trying to pout made them laugh.

We found Jia's fog.

Trying something different for dinner tonight.  None of us were thrilled with our tacos but it was a fun order to bring home and the Jerrito's were a tiny taste of being on the beach in Mexico.  Plus it was fun to leave a huge tip today and the service was great.

Cousin Avery's chandelier made it to Jia's room this weekend.

So fancy and it throws a ton of light.  

Goodnight with Jia

So, new routine.  Eric has tucked me in for three nights now.  Getting Sasha into bed before Coco. Being alpha to get Coco back in line.  It's working.  Once the fur babies and I are settled he heads back downstairs.  Then Jia comes in to amuse/bug me.  

Jia - I tripped on a bra this morning.

It was a booby trap.

Jia- What did 50 do when it was hungry?

58.

Jia- I tried catching fog today. 

Mist 

Haha.  So quiet all day.

Jia playing on my phone.  Me trying to ignore her.

Then Fei joined the party and took a picture of Coco cuddled so sweetly.  Great hair shot.  

Then there was fighting and poor Fred Bear got a bit torn in his nether region during the rough housing so he's having a wee vasectomy tomorrow.  Which opened up a bunch more conversations and ended with Fei leaving and Jia settling in to torment me with Alexa requests.  "Alexa play the Dora theme song" "Alexa play the Bubble Guppies theme song" and in true torment style "Alexa play Caillou theme song on repeat for an hour".  She was laughing so hard. I was begging for sleep.

And that was a pretty normal night around here.  

Boring

Luk at bed time "thanks for the sundae Mom it was the only part of the day that wasn't boring".  Haha. Pandemic life.  Kuddos to all the families with projects.  We're really missing time with friends.  Survival mode.  No one cried today so it was a good day.  

I got a nap today.  Coco is doing better.  She was attempting to attack Walter today but at least she's getting along with Sasha again. 

Mom's trailer.  The carpet was shampooed pre purchase.  It's super wet.  Hopefully the dehumidifier and heaters dry it out.

Check out her view!  Eric has been all over the trailer trying to figure it all out.  He does love a new project.

Couch, table and chairs were moved out today.  Mom made two trips with stuff today.  The cleaning has begun.

Chomping on their new bears from Gramma.

The 5th Wheel

It arrived yesterday.  It's huge.  I haven't been in it yet.  Waiting for Mom to give me a tour.  Eric is all over it.  Furnace on, fireplace on plus a heater.  Dehumidifier in there today. Water system flushed this morning.  She'll be up and running in no time.  

Coco was a doll all night.  Good sleep and cuddles all night for everyone.  Phew.  Hoping normal chaotic life can resume.  

Now, big event today, Lili has to see a dental surgeon in Nanaimo today.  She's asked me to go with her.  I'm leaving our town today!!  Up early, showered, favorite shirt on, filled the car with gas.  Honestly you'd think this was a road trip.  She hooked me in with the lure of my salad at Montanas.  I've made it at home with Kai but it's not the same.  The pecans need to be spiced and their dressing is better.  I could never have imagined the day coming where a doctors appointment could elicit such excitement.  Just happy to get out at all.  Hoping we can sneak a stop at Lee's market for some Chinese New Year supplies.  

Update from today.

Gorgeous day.  Love Nanaimo.  Lili is set for wisdom teeth extraction.  All four are starting to erupt and will mess with her pretty new smile. 

We did some shopping then an early dinner out.  Montanas did not disappoint:)

In the mail today.  How cute are these moon cakes?!  So fun.

Lots of goodies, too fun getting ready for Chinese New Year.  

Rough Night

Little Miss is just not quite right.  Frantic. Fighting over the bed and couch.  The triggers aren't me or food.  Just the resting spots.  Combined with a sudden change in behavior it would seem she is still in pain or uncomfortable.  The vet declares her just fine. What a diva.  There wasn't much sleeping going on last night.  Eric finally took her in the living room at 2 am.  Today at work she is agreeable and doing great with Sasha but still wants to be held and doesn't sleep more than a couple minutes at a time. 

Thank gawd the kids are all in decent shape these days.  Haha.  Oh how I wish there was more interesting things to post about!  

Can sure see Coco's tattoo in this picture!! She got more ear drops this morning so her hair/fur is slicked down.  

Sasha is 2.

Happy Birthday Dearheart.  We simply adore you. She's loving getting cuddles from her FeiFei.

Coco updates.  It's been long haul here.  She was already a pretty big personality.  She has not done well behaviorally and after the pain drugs stopped she got way worse.  Her belly felt hot and she was looking swollen.  I made a vet appointment and took her today.  She is ok.  Everything looking good.  She did finally start eating last night and we've all seen her drinking water.  She is down to 3.8lbs from 4.4 in one week.  Poor muffin.  She has in desperation to get to me figured out how to get up into bed and is getting closer to figuring out getting down.  She is afraid of the puppy stairs.  All to say it's been a week and we're finally able to say it's getting better.  She is a LOT of dog in a little package.  

In other news Mom bought a trailer today.  It's being delivered here tomorrow at 3.  So that's exciting.  This has been talked about for years so it's not a sudden decision.  

Lili has started term 2.  She's enjoying the new classes.  She seems to have settled back into the homestead alright.  

Realizing that Chinese New Year will look massively different this year.  Sigh.  Kids were listing off the things we won't be doing this year.  

It's been a weird school week. So many kids pulled re: the recent covid scare. 

He moves fast.

I thought I heard him painting super late last night ;)  He just texted me these pictures. This will be life altering for us.  So exciting.  

The weekend.

This was pretty much the weekend for me.  Coco has been pretty severely traumatized.  She is mad at everything and everyone.  Lots of growling and attacking.  There is no possible way for her to get as close to me as she wants.  Right now she is frantic to get to my face or neck.  She has begun taking her shirt off and then bringing it to us.  Also at bed time she is getting her diaper and bringing it to us.  Weirdest thing ever.  She is getting great at taking meds.  Practically opens her mouth for Eric while I hold her.  I came to work without her today.  We're sort of thinking some separation from me might jar her back to normal.  Cuddling got way better with her but in all other areas she's a little disaster.  First day with no pain meds today.  Her wound looks great and I'm a tad hopeful the pain meds have been part of her behavioral problems.  

On sentry duty.  Ready to attack any dog or cat that gets near me.  Apparently I am hers now. Thankfully she hasn't shown any aggression towards people.  

Oh my.  Was fun for the few minutes it took Jia and I to find Eric's tickets and see if we were the winners.  Nope.  Sigh.  

Eric's newest project is almost done.  He is almost done painting.  Can't wait to load those shelves up.  We've needed a pantry since forever!  

Room for the extra fridge and freezer as well.  Eric helped a friend with his truck repairs on Sat.  When he was done we made a trip to Walmart.  My first in public outing in weeks.  Oddly exciting.  Covid is suddenly in our little town so we'll be out even less than our weird new normal.  So we wanted to stock up some more.  Shelves are empty. We filled a cart, paid, loaded it in the car and headed back in for round two.  We've never done that before.  Had to phone home and tell the kids to be ready with shoes on.   Takes all hands on deck to load and put away a double order.  

Eric spotted two giant owls in our side yard so Sasha and Coco aren't allowed out right now.  

Fei ordered a smart bulb for her room.  Now Jia insists she needs one too.  She wasn't so impressed with mine but Fei's changes colors.  

Lots of TV watching.  

That was pretty much our weekend ;)  We've reached the point of it being all good when there were no crisis moments or mental health issues.  Gave us lots of time to just nurse Coco.  Who thankfully can do stairs again.  

Miss Coco

After much debate Miss Coco went in today for a spay.  Lots of controversy over whys and whens.  I choose not to spay Katie or Lacie.  Lacie died of utarian cancer at 16 so we spayed Sasha. Sasha didn't do well under anesthesia, it took her two days to wake up.  Coco didn't do well bleeding for three weeks.  So she went in.  It felt abusive taking her today.  Knowing how brutal it would be for her.  The biggest reason to spay is to avoid puppies which isn't a concern or possibility  here. Then the vet  called because she thinks Coco might have a liver shunt.  Then she called because she had baby teeth that need to come out.  Then she called with concerns about how tiny she is.  After some debate and assurances that her sister is a pound smaller and her Dad is only 4 lbs it was decided she could have the surgery.  So now I'm fighting for her to be spayed when I kind of wanted to run back to town and just take her home.  I was also left feeling extremely uncomfortable about the vet's confidence. The next call was about her microchip which meant she'd survived the anesthesia.  Phew.  Massive relief.  It wasn't a productive day at work.  Turns out Coco had pyometra!!  Life threatening infection in her uterus.  Thank God we spayed her before it became more serious for her.  She was also microchiped, tattooed, had baby teeth pulled and had a yeast infection in both ears.  So she's home with antibiotics, pain meds and ear cream. 

She can't walk or stand yet.  Very drugged. First chance she got she rolled over to show me her owie.  

This is how she is sleeping.  Creepy eyes.  She is agitated and moaning.  Occasional cries.  Heavy breathing.  

Biggest concerns right now are making sure she doesn't get hypothermic.  So we're hanging on the couch attempting to stay super warm.  Poor wee muffin.

Eric made her a shirt out of a sleeve from one of his painting shirts.  It's got paint splatter on it but has been washed and gives her street cred.  We're hoping the diaper holds it over her wound.  She would really like to lick, or rip it open forcing us back to the emergency vet late at night. 

She ate a little. Peed a lot.  She's walking but a bit unsteady and not able to do stairs.  Fei is watching her for a few minutes before bed so I can play on my phone.  

She's super tired and wired at the same time so the naps are super dramatic and about 3 minutes ;)