Swim Grad

Today was Eva's last day of swim lessons for this session. Pictures aren't that great, however, I want you all to notice...her hair is sopping wet! For those of you that have heard the story of Eva's last three sessions of lessons, this is a huge accomplishment! She had some random sub today, and she isn't bat an eye at him, bobbed her whole head under water, and even jumped (without reaching down to grab our hands first) into our arms in the water. What a turn around for her...and she has actually graduated up to the next level now, yahoo! Go Eva!

One Rat Down/Healthy/Snow Day

Boy, I sure feel monotonous, but at least I can stop writing about the kids health! Poop cultures came back negative and Eva has steadily improved over the last three days with no vomiting at all!! Yahoo!! I guess it was a virus, and she caused some sort of injury to her intestinal wall which continued the symptoms when the virus was long gone. Whatever, if she's better, that is all we care!
I would have made my sister Jen proud last night! We finally caught one rat last night on a glue trap. Now of course these things have been my bane for many weeks, but I instantly felt sorry for the terrified creature stuck hard. I promptly put a towel over it to calm it, donned gloves, talked soothingly, and went to work with a bottle of rubbing alcohol. It worked like a charm, and I soon had the creature bounding away into the frozen night with no major injury to it's body. It felt very good to set it free and not kill it...much to my husbands dismay. He was ready to kill the mother "explicative". There is no entrance from the outside, so I felt comfortable with it. Now for other (s), which I proved existed last night with some cereal left out...
Our winter weather is turning into fun as the girls can enjoy it with their new health too. We headed back behind our house to the old golf course yesterday, first just Kira and Mommy, and the with Eva and daddy later. Quite a big hill, which Kira loved and Eva thought better of. We returned to a much smaller hill for her enjoyment closer to the house. Fun stuff!

Weekend in Seattle

We braved Eva's bizarre illness and headed up to Seattle for our xmas/Jen's bday/Santa Train celebrations. Eva really enjoyed herself, but then took a turn for the worse and actually stated acting sick during the day which hadn't happened the previous 11 days. And then Kira started with nighttime vomiting, diarrhea, so we headed home a day early on some treacherous roads to be near our Dr. It took 4 1/2 hours, but we made it home grateful, safe, and a bit miserable.
The train was a highlight. All the kids really loved it, and the snowy blizzard outside the windows made it especially Christmas-like. All the kids shocked us and sat happily on Santa's lap and informed them of their wishes. Eva asked for milk and cookies (to which Santa said (Those are for me, what do YOU want!?") And she answered that she would like a bell. Ella asked for some obscure toy (which Kirst and Lance FINALLY figured out and found), and Nate asked for a BIG orange helicopter...good luck on that one Jen and Andrew!
Everybody send some positive energy our way for some healthy kids.

And The Sagas Continues.......

We couldn't possibly still be dealing with rats and vomiting Eva, right??!! Unfortunately, Eva continues to vomit, and we are waiting to collect a poop sample from her to test for parasites. Never thought I would look forward to a poop so much.....I just want this over for everyone, I feel so bad for her. Kira started ding the same weird things.....so that tells us it's nothing too serious in Eva as it can be passed on. I am thinking giardia....but whatever it is, I want to know, treat, and moveon with being healthy, this has really taken a toll on us all.
Super Rat was caught in a glue trap, somehow escaped it, and then proceeded to push the rest of them out of his way, one flipped up on the refridgersator and you can bet that is not coming off without massive amounts of acetone. Mike and I can not make BUDGE (so how in the heck did the rat get off it??! So both the rat guy AND the they guy who installed the furnace convened here today (we figured the rat must be getting in and out somehwere in it since everything else is sealed), and sure enough discovered some possible entries into the crawl space. Of course they are impossibel to access to seal off, so we have a ring of glue traps out. To get anywhere in the garage, it has to cross one. The thing will probably jump over them knowing our luck. Rat bastard!

Goodness Gracious, throw me a bone!

Would you believe, both of our sagas continue? We thought Eva was better. We took her to the Dr. for a THIRD time on Monday b/c she threw up once again on Sunday evening. She was still acting pretty happy and normal on Monday, and the doc still feels with reasonable certainty, with all tings considered, it is a weird virus. The alternative is some pretty unpleasant tests, and thus far, her symptoms have not warranted it, and why put her through it if we can avoid it. Monday passes vomit free!!! Yeah! Then last night, she did it AGAIN. And now she is complaining of her ear hurting (which commenced while she was vomiting, and want constant pressure and coolness on her ear. God, am I really going to go to the Dr again??!! More than anything, I am just worried. The longer the this vomiting continues, the more likely it is something more serious.
Now the rats. We thought we really had em this time. We very creatively and effectively closed off the hole underneath the water heater...quite a feat with only 3" of space clearance. Next morning, the two wheat stalks in a dying flower bouquet had been skillfully removed and shucked. By deduction, there is another entrance we're unaware of, OR (the horror!) they're nesting in the garage somewhere. So all through naptime yesterday, I removed everything from the garage, checked, put some loose items in bins, looked thoroughly for these little buggers.....NOTHING. All sleeping bags have had to be washed and will now be stored inside to remove any temptation there. The clean bags are sitting on the floor upstairs in the luandry room (while the vomit-covered bedding washes and drys) until I figure out how I am going to oragnize them..when I get the time that is. So my guy returns today to put down some giant glue boards.....not exactly pleasant for anything involved...but they won't touch the peanut butter on the traps.

Rats

Much to my horror, while my sister's stroller was parked in our garage overnight, some rats came out and chewed giant holes in it to get to the crumbs!!! Aggg!!! Disgusting!! So now everything in the garage has been thoroughly sanitized, and to be sure they were really gone (we had the outside entrance professionally closed, laid traps, no sign anywhere of them in the traps or otherwise, so after two days of being trapped, figured we caught them while they were out and about and they couldn't get back in) I left a small package of crackers on the floor of my freshly cleaned garage. I woke up, checked, and all 12 crackers were still accounted for....success!!! And then...............as I was checking my freshly sanitized strollers for dryness, AGGGGGGG, there were little chewed up pieces of the stroller on the floor!!! How can this be???!! They would chew a stroller with almost no remnants of anything edible, unless you consider lemon Lysol to be, and leave a fully accessible feast untouched? Someone help me...I thought I understood rats, but apparently, these rat(s) prefer dulling their teeth chewing NOTHING rather than an easy feast. Now I understand then term "rat bastards" so well.

Jumping Fun/Train Ride

We finally had a freeze, and my dahlias, which were still green and blooming kicked the can!! December......who'd a thunk it?! We've had a crazy week at the Simpson household. Eva had some sort of virus which caused her to throw up (in the middle of the night only of course) for three days in a row. The spots on her cheeks turned out to be broken blood vessels from throwing up. Then the diarrhea started, and she she wasn't able to make it to the bathroom, that was day four 1/2. Then that same afternoon, day 5, she vomited twice again...which we eventually figured out was because she had drunken too much water at once (24 ounces), and then was as happy as a clam! Last night was the first solid night of sleep we have all had in 5 days, so we were grateful! I am SO over laundry at this point! Not only did we have pukey/poopy bedding/clothing/towels/rags......................
We have rats!!!
Here's Kira, jumping like a big girl...pretty sure this trampoline does not have 1 year olds in mind, but don't tell her!

We also headed into town for the market, and a train ride.

November

Well, since I've been so delinquent this month, this blog is a summary of anything of note in November of 08!!

• Kira is a BIG fan of chairs she climb up into of her own accord. Of course at the beginning of the month it was to sit in, and now, she pushing the envelope and standing, even in her wooden rocking chair, joy!
• Eva is finally really grasping the idea of Santa this year, and really loves all the "beautiful Christmas lights". She is very into imaginative play, so it is no surprise I caught her playing with some of the yet-to-be displayed decor!
• Kira and Eva continue to really enjoy one another......most of the time anyways! In one video clip, you can see them playing chase, and Kira does one of her piercing squeals as she takes off for big sis. And then in the other, well, make sure the volume is turned up so you can really appreciate it. Eva, as only Eva can, ever so discreetly moves from being sweet and gentle rocking of her sister to rocking a little more roughly so Kira falls out...listen for what Eva exclaims as she catches Kira in her arms, as if it was pure coincidence! (Please pardon the lack of editing abilities in the clips!
  
• We also ventured out on another hike for one of Eva's friend's birthdays. It was a nice little jaunt to the Gorge, and of course they were falls we had never seen as they were trails too short for us in the past......my how kids change things!
• Eva's hair redefined bedhead one morning, does she have her mommy's hair or what??!!!
• My mom and sister Kirsten came down for Thanksgiving. The older girls were simply THRILLED to decorate the entire tree...a little uneven in the disbursement, but they diligently put up every single ornament on their own! As you can imagine, Mammy was coveted at every turn, and here you will see her reading with all the girls. Notice how Kirsten's girls sit quietly listening intently to the story while my two wiggle and touch those around them....oh genes. I guess my spazzy energy is coming back to haunt me in my children!
• Although no pictures to attach with it, Eva has continued her swim lessons. Her previous teacher had left her a bit traumatized and fearful of the water again, and had Eva so anxious, that she started having her first nightmare. It kept recurring and she would wake up crying that "the house is going up and down". It took us awhile to tie the two together, but she felt so anxious/stressed that the teacher was going to dunk her or free float her in the deep end again, it manifested into this nightmare. Wouldn't you know, as soon as we went back to another teacher for the next set of lessons, it immediately stopped. On a happy ending, Eva is doing even better back with her old teacher, and will finally, willingly put her own face in the water, progress!! Meanwhile, Kira and I swim in the background and she submerses herself willingly and seems to enjoy it already..............
• Mike had a great end of the month at work. He was the first and 2nd place winner in a sales contest at work and they handed out loads of fun prizes and gift cards, he brought home quite the booty! It's nice when his work is recognized.