Morgan

We just got back from the vet in Ishpeming (90 minutes away - UGH!). She thinks Morgan had a close encounter with a coyote. There were alot more wounds than we originally thought, and one of them on her belly went all the way through the first wall of muscle. Morgan is now the proud owner of a patchwork butt, three new prescription medications, a continuously oozing drain, a belly wrap, and a pink cast. We have to follow up in a few days to see if additional suturing needs to be done. She'll be bathroom-bound for the week at least, with breaks only for pottying, and then only while wearing spandex pants (honest! It's what the vet said!) and a plastic bag over her splint. She also, unrelatedly, had a tapeworm from eating all the dead squirrell Rob has been shooting lately. Poor thing is in a lot of pain and needs help to sit down. She did so well at the vet's! The vet mentioned what a good dog she was, and what a high pain tolerance she appears to have! I always thought those people who bought health insurance for their pets were whacko, but after today's bill (and the promise of more to come), I can kinda see why it might come in handy.

Poor Doggie-Oggie

Our dog, Morgan, had SOMETHING happen to her, that left her with several very large, deep, puncture wounds in her belly and groin. We woke up this morning to blood on the porch. Rob said "It's like another Passover -- the doorframe is marked with blood". We assumed that Morgan had found a deer carcass or something, and didn't think too much of it. Well, this afternoon, Rob comes inside and says "Morgan's really hurt. She's bleeding all over the snow". It's hard to get a good look at a black, hairy dog groin, but the little I COULD see didn't look so hot. I went inside and called every last local and semi-local vet (all three of them). It's Saturday. No one works on weekends, and no-one takes emergency calls on this particular night. So I gave Morgan a bath in epsom salts and hydrogen peroxide, fed her some of my left-over antibiotics, put some codeine in her water dish, and wrapped her up as best I could with a towel and duct tape to try and stop the bleeding. Within 20 minutes, she was still seeping through our "dressing". I called a vet 90 miles away, who told me to shave the area, pour peroxide directly on the wounds, wrap her up as best I could, and bring her in for surgery tomorrow. Luckily, my old anti-biotics are just the right kind, and the exact right dosage. Apparently, middle-aged women and black labs are mysteriously similar in that regard. I worry about how much blood she's lost. Her breathing is really fast and shallow. We could wait until Monday and have her treated locally, but... don't feel so sure about that. So our plans of going to the Home Improvement Show tomorrw are out, I think. Poor Doggie-Oggie. She's such a good girl.

Olympic Hopefuls

In preparation for Winter Olympics 2024 (to be held in Zimbabwe), Quinn and Colby began training today for the Figure Skating Freestyle Competition. They are hoping to introduce a new genre, which includes synchronized skating with Tonka Trucks, in an effort to draw in more male viewership to the sport. Their grace, coordination, and utter athleticism is awe-inspiring, I know. It was inherited from their father and I.

The Box

My favorite thing about our new elliptical machine is that it came in a BIG BOX. BIG BOXES are the best toys ever invented, and far outshine any Wii or Playstation. BIG BOXES are cheap (unless of course, they come filled with new elliptical machines). BIG BOXES can be anything -- diving boards, slides, castles, pirate ships, volcanos, clubhouses. You can fill them up or empty them out. You can ride on, lie in, jump off, climb up, leap over, or crawl through a BIG BOX. They spark the imagination so much, we can even pretend that my children are wearing clothes. Note to self for Birthdays and Christmas: Forget the toys. Go for the BIG BOX.

Easter

We had a marvelous Easter. After church and a much-needed nap by little folk, we headed to Aunt Andrea and Uncle Allan's for Easter dinner. The children could hardly STAND waiting for the egg hunt. They waited at the door, looking longingly for plastic eggs embedded in three feet of snow. Pretty funny. Hard to take a decent picture of boys when they're on a hunt for candy, though. Couldn't really get them to be still or look at the camera once it all started. Oh well. Maybe NEXT Easter.

Flat Addison Learns About Physical Therapy

Flat Addison accompanied me to work on Friday, and learned all there was to know (or at least all I know) about the field of physical therapy. She had the range of motion on her knee taken (full extension - good job). She learned how to walk with crutches, work on her balance on our platform swing, and did a little of my computer work for me. She also got a ride in our "Lite-Gait" trainer on the treadmill, where we help people re-learn how to walk. It was a full day for one Flat little girl!

Celebrating A Seder

Every year, Rob and I have celebrated a Seder meal. We have always enjoyed this connection to our Jewish ancestry, and celebration of the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper. This year, we had 3 year old boys present. PANIC. We had invited our friends the Sommervilles to participate with us, but a sudden bout of the stomach flu for Tobin changed the evening to just an "Aho" thing. The boys didn't nap this afternoon, so instead I let them watch the movie "The Prince of Egypt", to get a sense of the Exodus and the first Passover. They were very excited to get to sit at the REAL dining room table for dinner, and use "special" (plastic, disposable) champagne glasses. Plus there was fire in the form of a candle, which is always a draw for little boys. So, the combination of being tired, and the novelty of the meal, led to initial good behavior. I was so pleased! They actually PARTICIPATED! Dipped their lettuce in the salt water, said their four questions... the whole bit. Even told us the story of Moses (in a very gibberish, 3 year old fashion). Somewhere around the 3rd cup of applejuice, though, things began to deteriorate. By the time hardboiled eggs in champagne glasses became rocket ships, we called it a night. Flat Addison appeared to enjoy the evening, and sat in rapt attention in front of "Elijah's cup". She wasn't as good as the boys in singing the songs, but then again, she didn't put lettuce on her head either.

Egg Dyeing by the numbers

WHEW! Just finished dyeing our Easter Eggs, and little boys are currently de-dyeing themselves in the shower. Here's the stats of our morning:

Percentage of eggs that survived enough to be colored: 77%

Percentage of eggs that cracked due to over-zealous technique during the coloring process: 50%

Number of times a frazzled mother shouted "SOFT SOFT SOFT!!!": 6,000

Number of little boy hands apparently permanently dyed Easter Egg Blue: 4

Number of little boy LEGS apparently permanently dyed Easter Egg Blue: 2

Number of white linoleum kitchen floors apparently permanently dyed Easter Egg Blue: 1

Number of years to go until the glitter is completely gone from washcloths, hair, and carpets: 5

Number of Flat Addisons who participated sedately, as an unheeded model of self-control to two 3 year old little boys: 1

Peanut Butter Eggs

As family tradition dictates, we are making Peanut Butter Eggs today in preparation for Easter. This entails the mother saying repeatedly "DO NOT EAT THE EGGS", approximately every 3 seconds or so. To no avail. The only one who obeyed was Flat Addison. Thank you Flat Addison, for your good listening. Must be because you are a 2nd grader.

Flat Addison

Flat Addison has come to visit us... all the way from Great Falls, Montana via the U.S. Postal Service. We're very excited to have her here! She will get to enjoy our Seder Meal on Thursday, go to the hospital with me on Friday, and spend Easter here before heading back home to Miss Lindsey Brown's 2nd grade class. The boys shook her hand and said "glad to meet you" when I opened her up out of the envelope. She arrived intact! No missing appendages or anything! We'll see if she stays that way after a week in the Aho household.

A Sunday Afternoon

Palm Sunday is beautiful here today -- bright blue sky, a skiff of fresh white snow, crisp but not frigid temperatures. The boys had their first Sunday School "performance" at church today, singing "All night, All day". Or rather, all the OTHER kids sang. Our children sat perfectly still, with a deer in the headlights look, until the end of the song when Colby ran over to sit with me in the pews. We were just excited that they stayed up there as long as they did. Afterwards, as the day was so beautiful, we decided to do a little snowmobiling! The snowmobile tracks make sledding much easier, as there is still over 2 feet of snow out there (SPRING? ARE YOU LISTENING? TWO FEET OF SNOW!!!) And, being the boys that they are, ours had to add a "demolition derby"-type twist to the activity.

Double Vision Slumber Party

We are having a slumber party tonight with Quinn and Colby's good friends, Zac and Tobin Sommerville. HOW to get four 3 year old boys to sleep at night? Don't know yet, but my plan of attack has been to exhaust them then stuff them. We met the Sommervilles at the Kiwanis Family fair at the mall this morning -- pet the cows and goats, get the free book, eat a cookie, sit on the Easter bunny's lap. Then home and playing outside, sans nap. I especially like the backwards roll that Zachary did down the snow mound. You'll note that playing on the swingset isn't nearly as much fun when the swings hang all of 1 inch above the snow. Next back inside, after a rescue mission by "Mr. Aho" to save Zachary from Morgan the Big Black Dog (he would NOT come near the house, because he just knew that Morgan would eat him. His brother Tobin, calmly sipping hot cocoa in the kitchen, asked "where's Zachary? Is he dead?" Hmmmmm). Then hot-tubbing, pizza, a movie with popcorn (sorry Renata, it was NOT a health-food night), read a few books, and into 4 respective beds. No one's asleep yet, but no-one is wandering the halls, either, so.... I have hope :). The boys have found each other endlessly amusing, with 3 year old humor which involves making up silly words and sounds, imagining telephones and swords of Hot-Wheel car launchers, and laughing hysterically at each other with high-pitched little squeals. Quinn asked if Zac and Tobin could sleep in his room in sleeping bags. What kind of fool does he think I AM?

My Project

I JUST finished painting the basement, and adding this lettering to our wall. It's so stark down there, I wanted to "warm it up" a little. I thought it didn't turn out too bad, although my picture-arranging skills have a lot to be desired....

We're BAAACK!

We had a FUN TIME in Florida. It was JUST what the doctor ordered to rid us of the winter doldrums! Weather was beautiful, and everything went so well and smoothely, Rob said we should've started gambling, to see if our luck would hold! I've got bucketloads of pictures to share with y'all, so hold on to your seats :).

February 26th - Drive to Chicago. Roads perfect, no foul weather despite dire warnings by incompetent forecasters! Went to Indiana to see where Rob grew up. Saw his old house, elementary and highschools, the church where he was confirmed, all his old friends' houses. Rob thought it all looked alot smaller than he remembered. And it refreshed his memory as to why he DOESN'T want to live in Indiana anymore :). The boys did great in the car. We hit 4 states in one day.... Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. WHEW!

February 27th - Fly from Chicago to Houston to Orlando. All went well! No delays, good weather, boys did great on the plane. Went to go pick up our "compact" rental car and got upgraded to a luxurious minivan! All for $14 a day... not too shabby :). Checked in to our "resort", which wasn't the fanciest thing in the world, but it had a pool and was clean and safe. Plus, THEY were paying US to stay there, as long as we listened to their little time-share talk. No problemo.

February 28th - Time share talk. The salesman was pleasant and non-pushy. Basically said "are you interested? If not, I'm not going to waste your time". We weren't interested, so they paid us $150, and let us go to enjoy the rest of the day. The boys went swimming in the resort pool, and later that evening, Grandma and Grandpa Aho arrived to spend a few nights on the couch (very comfy, I'm sure).





February 29th - DISNEYWORLD!!! How long have we waited for this day!!!! The day started a little frustrating, as it took us til 1 pm to ride all of TWO rides, because the crowds were so intense. We stood in line first thing to meet Mickey Mouse... or so we thought. After an hour, we get to the front of the line and find out NO, this was the PRINCESS line. So go back to the end of the NEXT line. Get to the front and find out (after another 45 minute wait) No Mickey Mouse here. Just Goofy and Donald Duck. That the boys wouldn't even stand next to. What a waste of two hours. The day improved as the crowds lessened in the afternoon, and we had a "Magical" time :). Grandma LaVerne even made the ENTIRE 12 hours we were there, and we didn't even feed her once! That was amazing, and made the day all the more pleasant and memorable.






March 2nd and 3rd - Spent both days at Aquatica, Seaworld's brand spankin' new water park. It was fun! We were chosen as the "First Family", so got a free $150 cabana to spend our time in, complete with lounge chairs, towels, a locker, and a refrigerator full of drinks. Very cool. The boys LOVED the water slides. They are quite the dare devils.









March 4th and 5th - Seaworld. The "fun" was catching up with Colby on our first day at Seaworld, and he was a might crabby. So we spent the morning there, and then went home to nap the rest of the day. We went back the next day, though, with improved moods all around. Very cool place, that Seaworld!


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March 6th and 7th - We spent a day at the resort to just relax a little. Rob and I played tennis in the mornings, then we took the boys swimming. Amazingly, our little fish started SWIMMING, on their own, without life jackets. Both boys were jumping off the sides of the pool, doing head-first dives, somersaulting off the edge into the water (mom put a stop to that quickly for fear of head trauma, but I was still impressed!). On the 7th, we spent the morning at Aquatica again, and then Rob and I had an ACTUAL "date night" at Downtown Disney. We were intending to go to the House of Blues, but the line was enormous to get in, so we walked around and people-watched. All the restaurants at Downtown Disney had a 70 minute wait, so we decided to head back to the House of Blues. Got seated at the table, looked at the menu prices, got up and left! Disney is NOT a cheap endeavor, in any form. We ended up at the Olive Garden at 9 o'clock at night and still had a long wait. Obviously, Orlando-ans do not go to bed at 8 pm like us Chassell-ites do.






March 8th -- Fantasy of Flight Museum. Of course, we had to hit an airplane museum. The boys were a tad impatient at this time, but seem to have just as much fascination with speed and flight as their father does. We came back to the resort, did the nap thing, and then headed for Seaworld one last time in the evening. Given that it was so chilly, we didn't last long. Up at 3:30 am the next morning for our flight to Chicago, and had a lot of packing to do!








March 9th - Up EARLY, plus a "Spring Forward" time change to make it even earlier! But everything went smoothely. Again, our good fortune held out, as the Orlando airport was PACKED. We got there two hours early, and would've missed our flight had it not been for the blessing of a double stroller that got whisked to the front of the LOOOONNNNGGGG security line. Took us forever to get out of Chicago, what with getting "misplaced" and all, but other than that, all was well. Home by 9:30 last night! What a great time we had!