I've created a monster!

Ever since Caroline has been home, I have always told her that she is pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, etc. It didn't take her long to start standing in front of her mirror saying: "Mama, I so pretty", "Mama, I gorgeous", which at first I thought was oh so cute, but now I tell her that we really don't say those things about ourselves but we say them about other people, that they are compliments and you should say "thank you" when someone says that to you. That went over like a lead balloon as she is still saying it. Yesterday was Caroline's first birthday party she has ever been invited to and it was held at Libby Lu. If you click on the link it will tell you all about it. OMG, she is now a certifiably self loving, narcissistic 5 year old! And I am going to pull my hair out! Here are some pictures from yesterday:










It really was a treat for both Caroline and myself. I got to stay and watch all the fun, and really see Caroline in an evironment other than at home and with just me. She still needs some social skills training, i.e. eating her ice cream with her hands when she couldn't find her spoon (not very princess like!) and picking her nose with wet, blue, glittery nail polish! but she is doing great!

In other news: Daisy's tumor came back benign! Yeah!! She is doing fantastic and healing up very nicely.

Daisy's doing well!

Daisy did well with her surgery yesterday and is at home resting comfortably. The vet called about 11 am yesterday and told me the tumor had doubled in size since he first found it only 10 days ago. He removed it successfully and it has been sent to pathology for examination and we will get the results back tomorrow. Please pray it is benign as the vet thinks it is. Daisy was put in "puppy icu" for the rest of the day and was heavily sedated. We went to pick her up about 5 pm and Chase and Caroline went with me. They got a tour of the vets office, got to see the sick pets along with Daisy and also the boarded ones. They took Sasha, a boarded Golden Retriever out to play with them in their back playard while I spoke with the vet about Daisy's post op care. I think Chase now wants to be a veterinarian, he was just fascinated with all of it, Chase and Caroline have come a long way since the blood curdling screams at the sight of my dogs when we first arrived home.

Daisy did well her first night home, I think I slept with one eye open on her all night. I've been dosing her with pain meds q 8 hours to keep a constant level in her system so she hopefully won't have any breakthrough pain. So far it's working. The vet could not stress enough to me how painful this recovery is and I think he said it about 10 times, I cried every time he talked about it!. My poor baby, I pray everything is smooth sailing for her now.

So much going on

Whew, it's only Wednesday and I feel like it should be Friday of next week. Chase started his preschool on Monday. This is the preschool thru the school district for kids with delayed learning issues, although there is some controversy with putting children in this, I felt like this was the best place for Chase to learn to behave in a group setting, if he doesn't grasp this concept now, he's going to be a holy terror once he reaches elementary school. He went thru a battery of tests back in November and although the school district psychologist felt like he is a "puzzle" they agreed to place him in the program and focus on not only his behavior and attention issues, but also his speech. He is going 5 days a week for 3 hours a day in the morning; the great thing about this is that he cannot get kicked out! I don't know if I blogged about it, but Chase lasted a whopping 45 minutes in the last private preschool before they called me to come and remove him! I am literally at my wits end with him; he can be so sweet and loving and then the next he is tearing something apart! We so far have been asked to leave stores, he's been asked to leave his first preschool and we got asked to leave church at the Christmas eve children's service. I do know he is better than he was 4 months ago when we first came home, but we have a long way to go. He still goes to occupational therapy twice a week for sensory issues and I honestly don't know if it's working or not, his attention span is about 30 seconds! and does not seem to be improving. He still does ridiculous things like eating dog food. Yesterday I caught him eating it twice and both times he landed in time out, then when I caught him the third time, I swatted him on his backside. I'm not an advocate of spanking, but nothing seems to get thru to him. I don't know if this is just a 4 year old being a rambunctious 4 year old, or is it related to attachment issues or what?? I do hope that a year from now we will be able to laugh about this, but dear Lord he is one rascally kid!

Thank goodness Caroline is doing great. Caroline got invited to her first birthday party for this weekend, she is so excited. The problem that Caroline is having is that she is into "everything is mine" right now. I'm sure this is related to the fact that before me, she never had anything to call her own and now she seems to think "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine"! She became very upset yesterday when I explained to her that the party this weekend is for her friend, it is not "her" party. She gets over it, but not without a LOT of drama.

We are also having dog issues. The dogs boarded at the vets office while we were on vacation and they all got their physicals and shots while they were there. The vet called me in Chicago to let me know the finding of their physicals. Daisy my golden/Shepard has a tumor on her bottom that may or may not be malignant, she is in surgery today for removal and apparently this will be a very painful recovery and she will be on a fentanyl patch, and oral pain meds as well as anti-inflammatory pills and antibiotics. I am waiting on the vets call right now to let me know how she did in surgery. The path report on the tumor will not be back until Friday, we'll know at that time if it's benign or malignant and what the best treatment plan for her will be. I am so worried about her, she is my "baby" who survived hurricane Katrina and was my first adoption. If you can spare some prayers for her, I would appreciate it. Here is one of my favorite pictures of her:


The other dogs are having issues as well, Rosie my Scottish terrier has elevated liver enzymes and will need to watched for the next few months to see if this is a fluke or if there is indeed a problem. Violet, the Boston terrier has giardia! She probably got it from the kids as they were treated for it shortly after we returned from Russia, so she is on flagyl.

Oy, I need an assistant to keep up with all this!

Jane

Happy New Year from Chase and Caroline

We're still here in Chicago and it is coooooold and snowy! As Caroline says, "It's Russia Cold". Caroline and Chase are having a ball. Here's some pictures from the week:
Gail making my kids work for their supper:




The "Royal Plunge"



Happy New Year!



We'll be back in Dallas tomorrow night.
Love,
Jane