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So, about a week and a half after Patches came home,  she started hiding and not eating.  She’s always been a “scaredy cat”, but she was hiding more than usual, and would gag on  her food that she did actually try to eat.  She was starting with the shakiness, and just not acting right again.  It was at this point that we made the decision to not let her suffer anymore.  It was a Monday night, so Ed called his mom and she came over after Gabe was in bed and we both took her up to the Vet.  After waiting in the waiting room for almost an hour and a half, they finally called us into the exam room, and we discussed our options, and the Vet agreed with us that we can put her back in the hospital, but we would probably end up here again in another 2 weeks.  We had her put to sleep that night, and brought  her home to bury her in the yard.  Gabe and I picked out a nice Japanese Maple and we buried her under the tree the following weekend.  Rest in Peace Patches.  We will miss you.

Patches is now home after spending about 5 days at Quakertown Vet  Hospital.  She was on IV fluids from the moment they took her away from me till I went to pick her up 5 days later.  Her kidney function levels leveled off, (never got the last result) and she is back to her attention demanding self.  I think she’s a bit overwhelmed being back home again with 3 cats looking at her like “who the hell are you?”  And an overbearing dog, and a 3 year old who “loves!” his Patches and “follows” her (i.e.  stalks/chases) around the house.  She doesn’t want any part of the prescribed diet, although the 3 other feline pests want it.  She wants her dry food, and wants peace and quiet.  We’ve been giving her subcutaneous fluids every other day to maintain her hydration at least until her recheck next week and then we’ll have her bloodwork done again.  I feel like the overbearing parent who wants her to eat and drink all the time, and am constantly watching out for her, making sure she’s walking right, she’s acting right, etc.  Hopefully, she’s out of the woods for now.  We shall see…

So, it’s been an interesting week.  Saturday night, we came  home from dinner to find Patches, the cat, hiding in the bathroom.  Gabe ran in there, excited to see her, and she cried when we approached her.  I went in to rescue her, thinking she was just afraid to see him, but when I picked her up, she cried again and when I put her down in the hall, she couldn’t walk.  I was calling for Ed to tell him something is wrong, as she was trying to get up and walk.  She could barely stand up and was very unsteady on her feet.  I called the local emergency vet, and whisked her away to get checked out.  We arrived around 7:30 or so, and it took probably an hour to be seen, then they did x-rays and blood work, and it took another hour to see the x-rays, which were “unremarkable”, nothing stood out as an obvious reason for her collapse, then like another hour or more, the bloodwork came back and the vet took one look at it and made the comment, “this cat should have been on fluids an hour ago.”  It then took some more time before someone came and took her away.  She just laid on me while we waited for all the results.  I’ve never seen her so limp and sad.  I was crying by the time I left there, thinking I’d never see her alive again, but here we are, 3 days later, and she’s showing considerable improvement.  We visited with her tonight, and she was walking around, meowing and rubbing on us, and more like the Patches I know and love (even if she did stink a bit!).  The vet said she should stay another 2 days to continue the IV fluid treatment, and do another blood workup on Thursday before she releases her to come home.  She will most likely come home with fluids for me to give her daily, and special food for kidney support.  She’s officially my high maintenance cat, but it looks like we get her for some more time.  I was not ready to say goodbye.  She’s only 10 years young.  She’s not even the oldest in the house.   The only thing I’m not looking forward to is paying that bill….. ugh.

So, I haven’t posted in a while.  Just been way too busy and unmotivated.  I put up 4 months worth of pictures.

As for updates?   Gabe is now wearing underwear.  I think at this point, it’s a combination  of us being trained to ask him all the time to go potty, and him wanting to go most of the time.  It’s been a rollercoaster week.  A few accidents to clean up, but for the most part, he’s doing really well.  That is a major milestone.  He is nonstop chatter these days.  Sometimes I dream of the days that he couldn’t talk, but he has quite the imagination and is so  smart.  He has almost mastered the 98 piece puzzle he got for Christmas.  He also enjoys playing with all his new Legos almost every day.  

So that’s all for now.  Trying to get my act together and get back into some sort of routine.  And just when you think you’re back on track, it’s time to start looking for a preschool.  Stay tuned for updates there…

Here, Gabe is learning how to play the piano and sing at the same time.

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Gabe and I met some friends at the zoo today to meet two of Santa’s “helper” reindeer.  Their names were Snowflake and Angel.  Of course it was the coldest day of the season so far.  It hit like 20 degrees today.  I think we were the only ones there at the zoo today to see the reindeer. We visited most of the other animals, had our pictures taken with the reindeer and then headed off to Ihop for lunch!

All Bundled up and ready to go!

“can I pet him?”

Look at this fattie!

Well, I’ve been slacking on posting pictures, so here you go…

Thanksgiving day, making a gingerbread Choo choo train.

Day after Thanksgiving, we went to Longwood Gardens…

Putting up the Christmas tree…

It’s been a long two months, and I have yet to get the rest of the house cleaned up, but the results are amazing!  I’m shocked every time I walk into the kitchen.  I love it.  I may even start cooking again!  Good thing the holidays are upon us and the oven will officially be christened for Thanksgiving!

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And this is why I couldn’t decide which picture to buy…

So Gabe and I were on our way home tonight. Since it’s getting so dark so early, the stars were starting to shine. Our conversation went like this…
G: What’s that?
M: I think that’s a star, Gabe.
G: It’s not a star, it’s a circle.
M: I think it is a star, Gabe.
G: It isn’t a star, it isn’t a circle with points.
M: Gabe, I really think it’s a star.
G: Maybe it’s the smallest planet, Pluto.
M: *sigh*

So, I’ve been brainwashing Gabe by turning on “Elmo’s Potty Time” video when we are in the car.  He’s been doing better with the potty lately, but it is with much effort on our part and being on top of things.  Tonight, on the way home, Gabe was watching and giggling at the usual spots of the video, and he says, “mommy uses the potty.”  I agreed, yes Gabe, mommy uses the potty.  Then he says, “I use the potty.”  To which I agreed again.  He finally said “Daddy uses the potty.  Daddy uses a book to go to the potty!”  Why, yes Gabe, daddy does use a book to use the potty, and that made me giggle.  

We went to the annual Fall Fest at Freddie Hill’s today.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, especially since it poured all day yesterday.  Gabe was so excited to find the biggest possible pumpking he could lift.  

But he settled on something a little more manageable…

We got to go on a hay ride, where, as usual, Gabe tried to bury everyone in hay.

After the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, we came back and Gabe went through the corn maze with Dela and then down the big slide, which I think he would have done all day if we had let him (and had unlimited tickets to do so…) 

And last but not least, we waited in line for the famous pony ride!  That was the only way we could get Gabe away from the slide, but of course he loved it.  

What a fun, yet exhausting day.  We didn’t stay to see the pig races.  That was too crowded, and we couldn’t get close enough to see anyway.  Happy Autumn!

Ever since we saw that silly Chihuahua movie, Gabe goes around saying “Aye, Chihuahua.”  It’s much less annoying than his “Oh, shoot.”  

kitchen demo has begun. I’m a nervous wreck.

Gabe and I went down to NoVA for the holiday weekend.  We left after lunch on Friday and got there around dinner time.  Gabe was really good for the ride.  He took about an hour nap and watched some “Land Before Time.”  When we got there, Miss Miranda talked up the potty to Gabe, so he went right away.  She is 3 months younger than Gabe and pretty much potty trained.  We had a nice evening, yet filled with 2 three year olds who haven’t seen each other in a while and who were faced with the sharing dilema, so it was a little rocky in the beginning, but not too bad.  

On Saturday morning, the two of them were up at the crack of dawn, so we put them in a double stroller and went for a long walk.  We walked up to the park and let them play for a while before heading back.  Gabe taught them a little about dinosaurs because there were 2 dino bouncy swing things.  One was a t-rex and the other was a triceratops.  We headed back home then because another friend was on her way down with her 2 kids and they did arrive soon after we got back.  Once we all had a snack, we headed out to the pool for some splash time.  The pool was a bit chilly, and Gabe was actually the first one to be “done” with it all.  He got cold and had enough.  We went home for some lunch and nap time.  

For dinner, we had some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.  Yet another Hokie friend and his wife and son came over for dinner.  It was a really nice time.  After the kids ate, they all went downstairs to play which I’m so not used to.  They amused themselves for probably an hour so we could actually have a little bit of adult conversation, although that didn’t last too long because the girls were ganging up on Gabe.  They wouldn’t let him in the tent and he was upset by this.  We had to break it up and it was eventually time to get them all bathed and in jammies for bed.  

Sunday morning was yet another early morning, but Gabe did sleep till 7:30.  We had breakfast and then played for a while.  It was soon time to pack up and leave.  We had a snack and then hit the road.  The ride home was much easier than the drive down since we came back on Sunday and not Labor day.  Gabe took a nap near the end of the ride and woke up as we pulled into the driveway.  

Gabe did really well using the potty most of the weekend.  I guess peer pressure works wonders!  I didn’t change one poopy diaper! 

All in all, it was a very good weekend.    

Gabe had his first “real” visit to the dentist today.  I say real because he was there twice before, but it was due to his mouth accident last Thanksgiving.  He had his teeth cleaned and flossed and he did wonderful.  The hygenist was really good with him.  She told him exactly what she was going to do each step of the way, and he was cool with it.   She let him pick what flavor toothpaste she would use, and of course he picked bubblegum, and then he got to pick what flavor fluoride she used and he picked marshmellow.  He got to pick 4 prizes afterwards and he also got a Diego toothbrush for being such a star patient.  He was such a good boy that she told him he could come back every week for a cleaning if he wanted.   And to think that the receptionist gave me a hard time for wanting a 4pm appointment.  She said they only do the 2-3 year olds in the morning because that’s just a better time of day for toddlers.  I assured her on the phone that Gabe would be fine (crossing my fingers behind my back) and she finally agreed.  Sheesh.  All that fuss for nothing.  We went to Friendly’s for dinner as a reward.  

Now, I am packing because Gabe and I are off to DC for a Hokie weekend.  Pictures when we get back!

On the topic of naps…
Gabe doesn’t nap much anymore, even though it’s painfully obvious on most days that he needs one. He occasionally falls asleep on the way home and sleeps through the night, which is definitely a sign of being over tired. That and his hyperactivity level when we get home.
Today, on the way home, I asked him why he doesn’t take naps anymore. I know… ask a stupid question, right? Gabe’s reply?

“I don’t sleep when the sun is out. I only sleep when the moon is out.”

How’s that for a well thought out reply?

Gabe, 4:41pm *yawn*
4:42 pm “momma, i not sleepy.”
mom “really Gabe?”
Gabe “yeah.”
4:44pm *zzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

We were out to eat at our usual Saturday night place when we were almost done and Gabe announced that he needed to poop! And he needed to poop in the bathroom! So I took him and sat him on the potty and he took care of business. I was so proud of him and he was so excited. He was so excited that he announced it to everyone in the restaurant. As we were walking back to the table, he shouted to daddy ” I pooped in the potty! I did a big poop!” Gabe got some applause and a high five and he was just giddy. It was a big moment in potty progress. He got to pick a special sticker for his potty chart when we got home. It may not be consistent progress, but I’ll take it!

On another note, bloodwork came back normal. Shocking, I know.

Gabe had his 3 year old well check last week. It went well, except for the fact that he isn’t exactly tall, and if you’ve met our family, on either side, that would be no surprise. The doctor recommended that I take him to get his thyroid function checked. This means a blood draw. I knew it was coming since it’s status quo to test for everything in the book to avoid getting sued. I mean, c’mon. I’m 4′10″. It’s not like I’m winning any height competition. I went through the whole family tree with the doctor and he assured me that it was just “in case” and he didn’t want anyone to fall through the cracks and have something get missed. I agreed, cursing under my breath, took the referral and got around to calling for an appointment a few days later.
We went for the bloodwork this afternoon. I had already prepped Gabe for it. Told him what they were going to do and what reward he would get for being a big brave boy. I told him again when we got there that he had to be brave and that he would get one of Nana’s special lolli pops when he was done. The boy didn’t even flinch. There were three other nurses standing and waiting for the kicking and screaming to start, ready to jump in and wrestle him to the ground to get a vial of blood. Gabe sat in my lap. I held his left arm against his tummy in a big bear hug, another nurse held his right arm and someone else drew his blood. He sat calmly and watched the whole thing happen. They put a cool band aid on his boo boo, he got a sticker and gave a high five to the guy who drew his blood. Gabe sat out in the waiting room and ate his special lolli pop and then we came home. He fell asleep on the way home, and is now napping in his bed. I’m so proud of my big boy.