First Day of Spring in Seattle

I took today off to do something fun with Grace and decided we would finally go to the Butterfly House at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle (I tried to take her last month, but then I got the flu).. I contemplated taking her to the ocean or to Portland.. but I knew butterflies would be a hit.. She voted to take the bus (someone I know just told me the express bus from Tacoma to Seattle is the only way to go).. but I voted for the ferry.. (we couldn't bring our little buddy Kipper with us if we rode the bus).. So we headed out for Bremerton, running late as usual.. and I resigned myself to the fact that we were going to miss the ferry.. I thought it was at 12:25..in fact it was 12:35.. and we got there at 12:34.. we were the last car to get on the ferry! Grace was pretty excited to ride the ferry (I liked it too).. I don't think she remembers the last time she was on one. We had a mini-photo shoot..and went out to watch the Seattle skyline grow closer.. Someone even offered to take our picture (the wind was blowing like crazy!).. Once back on land we headed to Seattle Center.. found a place to park and checked out the butterflies in the butterfly house.. and they also had a variety of cool insects and reptiles..and some naked mole rats..We spent a long time in the Butterfly House- Grace wanted a butterfly to land on her since you weren't allowed to touch them.. sadly, none did.. After the Science Center, I really wanted to go up to the top of the Space Needle (I've never been) but Grace wasn't in the mood. We shopped in the gift shop instead. By this time I was quite caffeine deficient having not had my normal quota of Diet Coke for the day.. so I convinced her to take a ride on the Monorail.. she was reluctant at first but once we got on she thought it was fun! It dropped us off at Westlake Center.. we were hungry so we got some sushi and soda at the mall. Then we headed out on foot to Pike Place Market.. Grace was pretty tired of walking in the wind but we made it. We bought some blackberries and flowers at the market..The vendors were all packing up for the night.. We watched the fish guys throw a big fish and took a picture on the brass pig. Then we headed back to the monorail and back to our car.. Kipper was happy to see us (his day was pretty boring I'm sure).. we both (Kipper & I) had to pee so we drove back to the Pike Place Market..found a free place to park..and took him for a short walk. Then Grace and I got some mac & cheese at Beechers for dinner.. By this time we were pretty tired but it was rush hour so we headed to the Flagship REI store to kill some time. Grace discovered they have a kid's play area and she got a second wind as there were little girls her age there to play with. I had a dividend burning a hole in my pocket... so we bought Grace some new pink Crocs and got a few other small things.. (I was good and stayed within my dividend. In fact, they gave me $6.00 back and she said "Tonight, we're paying you to shop!") All in all, a very fun day.

The weather's getting better

The weather is getting better and we went to the zoo recently..it was fun!

Well Grace is officially registered for Kindergarten in the Fall....all day...she'll have fun.. I'm gonna miss her :(

The Virus Replicates

I often forget to be grateful for my health when I am busy enduring everyday life- working, trying to sleep, paying bills, running errands.. And then BOOM. Suddenly I'm sick.. and I can't manage to do the most basic of human tasks (like showering, changing clothes, feeding myself)..and I think.."I really should be more grateful I am usually healthy."
I am not a pretty sick person. Or a patient sick person. My sister would probably tell me it's my immune system forcing me to slow down. Take a time out. But this is a little ridiculous. Now I can suffer through a cold with the best of them...they are annoying but I still manage to get everything done.. However this week I was hit with the dreaded influenza.. and that's a different story. I haven't been able to move off the couch or my bed since Tuesday (it's now Friday night). It has made me so weak that even getting up to let the dogs out is exhausting. The fever gives me sweats and chills and interrupts my sleep. And the cough makes my throat feel like it's constricting with every breath. Not only do I feel sorry for myself when I am sick, but because I am a mom, I also feel sorry for my child. Praying she doesn't catch this (because I didn't remember to get her flu shot this year) and feeling guilty that I have no energy to put in her direction. Thankfully she is pretty self-sufficient these days. She is potty trained. She can dress herself. She can turn on the TV. She can find snacks in the cupboard. She knows not to open the door to strangers. She understands that I am sick. Still there is guilt. Thankfully my folks took her on her their day off (and got her that flu shot)...and they brought us medicine, food, did our dishes and changed our sheets (three trips out to Fox Island in one week is one for the record books for them)

Tomorrow, whether I am ready or not, I have to go back to work. Let's hope I wake up with the energy to get through my shift..

This is a video Grace made today to wish our friend Amy a happy birthday.

(One of the Reasons) Why I'm Broke

(this pic was right before surgery)

So I know I probably need to do less rescue now due to the impact the economy has had on my paycheck and the ever increasing balance on my CareCredit card .. but recently I fell into another rescue situation. I had just taken over the cases in the hospital for a 2p-11p shift. In rounds I was told this patient was scheduled for discharge because the clients were out of funds (basically a discharge against medical advice but you can't keep them in the hospital if the owner's can't afford to pay for the services). This little dog had been run over by a truck- twice.. and had multiple rib fractures and pelvic fractures. What we didn't know for sure was that he also had a diaphragmatic hernia. I told the owner's he wasn't out of the woods yet, had vomited a couple of times and if he had a d-hernia he needed surgery.. And, if they took him home and he didn't get better he'd need more medical care as soon as possible. Well, the owners asked me if any rescue groups were available to take him on because they absolutely didn't have any more money to spend on vet bills. But they really didn't want him to have to be put to sleep because he was such a good little dog. Unfortunately (for my pocketbook) he met all my criteria to be rescued- he was young, had a decent prognosis, and he was cute (and being a small breed dog helps too- they are more adoptable). My clinic doesn't work with specific rescue groups and rescue groups generally have their hands full (especially these days) and don't really have budgets for surgery and medical care for new rescues. So I offered relinquishment to them. They accepted and were extremely grateful. He had his surgery about 3 weeks ago (thanks Dr. L!) and he is doing great. He is such a good dog that I think he's actually going to stay as a permanent member of our family. We're calling him Kipper.

Happy Birthday to G

(L to R: marissa, scout, panda, amelia, kaylee, jacob,sammy, taylor, ian, elizabeth, feliciana, kate, sam, jake l., jake b., kaitlyn, madeline. back row: savannah, grace, madisyn, david, gus, alexis and chloe. not pictured- sally, sophia and matt)

Yesterday Grace had her big birthday bash at Pump it Up.. it was preceded by a sleepover with her cousins, Savannah and Madisyn.. the girls decorated the butterfly cakes, played the Wii, and watched most of Horton Hears a Who.. Then they slept together on the air mattress in the living room (only partially inflated because the pump was not charged..oops.. but secretly glad I found that out before the next camping trip since it has to be charged for 10 hours!) The party was a huge success.. As always a bit stressful for me- not enough time to really 'visit' with my friends.. and I didn't get as many great pics as I would have liked (the kids aren't really into stopping what they are doing for a photo op)..and I forgot to have the video camera out for the blowing out of the birthday candles (so we did it twice!)..but I think everyone had fun and jumped, bounced and slid to their hearts delight!
Then, at 4:00 Grace and I drove down to Olympia to sing with the Free Choir for the Westside Art Walk and that was fun.. finally home, Grace stayed up singing and playing with her new toys until 11:00 when she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore!

A milestone ahead

I apologize for being a fair-weather blogger... I am not very good at talking about 'everyday life' because it's not really exciting these days. Work. (lack of) Sleep. Work. Repeat. I am just about ready to get off the sofa and shower and get dressed for a grave shift.. I should probably be trying to take a nap but I think it's too late for that now. I have worked the last 7 days in a row between my real job and helping out at the Coalition Humane Spay-Neuter Clinic.. I have 3 night shifts to go before I get a few days off.. And the exciting thing about next week is that it is Grace's 5th birthday on Wednesday. And my sister is flying in for it. And we are having a party at Pump it Up. Actually a few other cool things are happening. I joined the Olympia Free Choir and we had our first performance last Friday at the Grand Re-opening of the Olympia Library. It was so much fun. And, a few days ago I saved another dog from 'the pink juice'. He's a year and a half pekingnese-chihuahua mix who was run over by a Ford F-150 not once, but twice. He has 5 broken ribs, a broken pelvis, had a ruptured diaphragm (now fixed) and a lot of blood in his belly. His family couldn't afford the surgery he needed but didn't want to have to put him to sleep. Not that I can really afford his surgery either.. (if I had a financial advisor they would advise me against putting more rescues on the CareCredit card).. but he was worth it.
(here is a video of Kimya Dawson performing "Trump Style" at the Olympia Library show)