Delirious Zoo

Our family profile wouldn’t be complete without introducing our menagerie of animals.

Our two oldest pets are dogs that Hubby Mikey had before we met. Busta, who is 8 is half German Shepherd and half Australian Shepherd. She’s very docile, fairly easy going, and a bit grumpy. Busta would prefer to be the only pet, or at least the only dog. She craves one-on-one attention, but doesn’t seek it out or at least she doesn’t demand it. She’ll wait patiently for her turn to be doted on. Mikey named her after Busta Rhymes (her, she’s a girl. Poor thing.) Actually her full name is Busta Ubu Penelope.(Yes I realize my husband’s a goof. Poor me. )

Hannah, who’s 7, was given to Mikey upon exiting an animal shelter (empty handed) by a Spanish speaking family. He claims they spoke only enough English to explain they were going into the shelter to give up the puppy writhing in their arms. They would give her to him for free! I believe they were faking in order to dupe my well meaning husband into one ornery cuss of a dog. Hannah is an English Pointer and as far as we can tell she’s not mixed with anything else. She can be quite the thorn in my side. Waaaay to smart for her own good (and mine), and always up to something mischievous. However, she is very sweet-hearted and extremely in tune with the feelings of those around her. She’s the first to snuggle up to you when you’re in need of a hug.

Next in line for a family re-introduction is our current youngest child who is commonly known around our house as Sweetiepeas or Baby Girl.

Sweetiepeas came into our lives on a sunny day in June. She’s 19 months going on two-and-a-half, both too smart and too tantrumy for her own age.
From day one she made herself fit nicely into our family. She is Daddy’s little sweetness, Bug’s little cohort, and my darling little girl.

Most days she’s content with following around her big brother and contributing to whatever mischief he has cooked up, however some days she will scream in defiance if Bug so much as looks at her.

She’s a giant fan of water; taking a bath, taking a shower, going swimming (her first time was Saturday) or just drinking it makes her supremely happy. Water was even the theme of her first birthday (well bath time anyway). She had a bathtub cake, rubber duckies, and floating bubbles everywhere (balloons).

In just the last month I’ve noticed a huge surge in her vocabulary. It’s getting so easy to understand what she’s trying to convey, not fitting into the category of second born’s who let their older sibling talk for them.

She’s very much a girlie girl. Pink and frilly are just her cup of tea. Clothes (especially dresses), shoes, and jewelery hold a special place in her heart. We’ll see if that stays the trend as she’s also quite a rough and tumble little girl (very amusing to see when she’s dressed to the nines in her girlie stuff!)

I love our little Sweetiepeas and have to admit, I’m a little sad she won’t be our “baby girl” for much longer. I know she’ll always be my little munchiekins even with a new baby girl in the mix, but it’s still slightly bittersweet.

In order to make myself feel better about dragging Bug to his VCUG and ultrasound test, I promised him a treat would follow the poking and prodding. When he was finished, after we’d received the news of an impending surgery, we drove to Mopsy’s house to pick up Sweetiepeas. From there the three of us proceeded to our local mall.

Bug knew what to expect (I have a knack for not keeping surprises a secret, and had spilled the news while we were still at the Dr’s office) We headed directly to our destination, Build-a-Bear Workshop.

As soon as we stepped into the store Bug made a beeline to his fuzzy animal of choice, a furry pink poodle. Making sure Bug was aware of all of his choices, I walked him past the unstuffed animal skins pointing out what each animal was (all the while the limp poodle was held tight in Bugs arms).

Unswayed and perfectly happy with his choice of animal we proceeded to the stuffing station. We waited while two other children watched their animals come to life with the fluff ‘n stuff, then it was Bug’s turn.

Bug stepped up to the machine like a pro (he’s only made one other animal, and it was for me). The girl running the station kept up a good conversation with Bug as his poodle was filled with the fluff of stuffed animal life. She asked if he’d thought of a name for his new friend and without hesitation he responded with an exuberant, "Sniffy!" Thus, Sniffy the pink poodle was born.

After being sewn together and given a good bath, Bug took up the task to find his doggy some clothes. He had a tough time making a decision. She tried on both Spiderman pj’s and a fairy princess dress complete with wings and a wand, before getting decked out as a firefighter.  Her first true outfit.

Fast forward to yesterday, as a treat for being such a trooper throughout the surgery, recovery and catheter removal, we took him back to the Build-a-Bear Workshop to pick out a new pair of pj’s for Sniffy. He already had the perfect pair in mind before we stepped back into the store -not the Spiderman ones she had tried on over a week before, but a set of pink and white Hello kitty pj’s complete with Hello kitty slippers.  What else would a pink firefighter poodle wear during her time off from saving lives?

Sniffy has already wiggled her way into a special place in Bug’s heart -and mine too. She is a reminder of what a trooper Bug was during such a hard experience for him to understand, and she is proof that he goes to the beat of his own drum (something that makes me very proud).

Today my parents will pay tribute to the vows they promised each other 37 years ago. Vows upheld through the births of three children, through a handful of moves, through prosperous times and times where penny pinching was a must, through thick and thin -just as it should be.

They set a great model for marriage, best friends in love for over 37 years, and they are the model I follow for my own marriage, to stay happy, healthy and in love as well.

Bug did a marvelous job on Friday. He was actually excited about every aspect of being at the hospital until he woke up in recovery. At that time it was a little tough for him to understand what was going on, especially while coming out of his anesthesia daze. Even then he pushed through in his own amazing way. His main nurse commented about what a wonderful job he had done, she even went as far as to say he was the best four year old she’d seen in her 18 years of working there.

He makes me so proud, he has a knack for finding joy in every little thing. Even when it came to his catheter -which he was adamantly against upon discovery- as we were wheeling him out of the hospital in one of their wagons he exclaimed "I’m peeing," then giggled at the thought.

It was a little rough when we had to explain how long he’d have to bear with the catheter (he gets it taken out tomorrow), but it doesn’t seem to bother him all that much anymore.

I just hope and pray he falls in the 60% the procedure works for -which it turns out we have to wait three months to find out for sure.-

This past Friday I took Bug in for some tests with a pediatric urologist to find out why he’s been plagued with a UTI (urinary tract infection) since the end of November. From the time he first came down with symptoms to the time of his appointment he’d been on three antibiotics with no result.

The tests revealed two problems, the more major being Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR) a condition where urine flows back into the kidneys from the bladder through tubes that should be one-way paths.

Some children can outgrow this problem, the tubes can fix themselves and no longer allow backward movement, but given Bug’s age and the severity of his problem it’s not likely to rectify itself. If left without treatment the worse case scenario for VUR is failure of one or both kidneys – dialysis – and kidney transplant.

This Friday my baby is going in for surgery.

The procedure that was chosen by the Urologist and myself is a non invasive one. It involves an endoscopic treatment and a gel which is used to narrow the opening of the malfunctioning tube right at the bladder. In cases like Bug’s it has a 60% chance of fixing the problem.

I’m a mom and I’m nervous for my little man. I believe he’ll have an easier time with the surgery than he did with the tests (one of which includes a catheter – the VCUG – and was hard as heck for us both to be put through – him for obvious reasons and me because it involved a series of x-rays and I had to leave the room – listening from the other side of the door as my baby wailed in pain). He’ll do better because put fully under anesthesia he won’t feel any pain, but it’s concerning too because I won’t be able to be there for him as he goes under (due to Peanut) and any sort of procedure has its scary side.

Four Fridays after this one we’ll be taking him back in for a re-test to see if the gel succeeded. At that same time we’ll be taking Sweetiepeas in as well for the same tests since VUR is generally genetic. I’m not happy that I won’t be able to help out either one of them during their VCUG test, but this time Mikey will be there having to be the strong one while I wait once more outside the door, waiting for it all to be over.

I am still here.  Today my sinuses are suffering, my head feels so heavy and my throat is unforgiving with coughing fits.

I have a few future posts secured within my mind, I’ve been wanting to release them to the site, but feeling so crummy has prevented me from writing them down.  No worries, I’ll remember what I want to write so when I’m feeling better I’ll start right where I left off.

Now on to introducing the kiddos.

Our little man entered this world on the 19th of October 2001. He was a week late, but making his appearance when he did he gets to share a special birthday with his Nana.

Shortly after we brought him home we began calling him Bug-a-Boo as a term of endearment. Contrary to what the nickname may suggest he wasn’t a mistake nor was he a difficult baby, it was just a sweet way of addressing our little bundle of joy. As he got a bit older we started shortening the name to Bug, and when we moved back to Colorado and closer to his five -around the same age- cousins they quickly adhered to the name as well. I almost exclusively call him Bug – unless he’s in trouble, then depending on the degree of trouble he’s in he may hear up to all five of his given names.

As I mentioned (in him not being difficult) he was a great little baby. He slept through the night at a very young age (6-7 hours at 4 months). He took two, 2 hour naps during the day – which evolved to one 3-4 hour nap after he had his first birthday. He was almost always happy (probably from all the sleep), and never had a problem in social situations.

He hit his "terrible two’s" closer to three, but when they hit they hit hard. He’s now (at 4) starting to come down from them a bit. He’s able to talk things through and be reasoned with as opposed to throwing tantrum after tantrum without the appearance of an end in sight. He’s still argumentative and has gotten into the typical child habit of asking "why" for EVERYTHING. To top it off he’s a drama king – he blows every stubbed toe and bad decision way out of proportion.

But, Bug is sweet to the core. On the flip side of being overly dramatic, he’s sensitive in a good hearted way. He watches out for his baby sister better than I ever could have imagined. He does have his issues with sharing, but he makes sure she’s taken care of in the same way he is. For example: if he asks for a balloon at a restaurant, he’ll make sure that Sweetiepeas gets one too. He doesn’t seem to like her to be left out. He never seems to forget to tell Daddy, Sweetiepeas or me how proud he is of us for our accomplishments during the day. "Mommy, you opened that bag of crackers for me! I’m so proud of you! Good job!" "Daddy you took the trash outside! I’m so proud of you!" "Look Baby Girl ate all of her oatmeal! Good job Baby Girl!"

He also says quite a few other things that keeps a smile on my face. If I ask him to get something for me, it’s not uncommon for him to respond with a "Certainly!" Or other times when he’s trying to sound grown up, like at the Dr’s office, he’ll pause when asked a question such as, "Can you say your alphabet", give you a quizzical look and say "Actually…I can."

I know I could go on a lot longer writing about Bug.  I could explain his love of baking, love for craft time, his crazy long term memory, his absolute fondness for his extended family, but I will save some Bug-isms for future posts about the little man I could not live without.

Next on the re-intro list is my dear husband Mikey. (I promise I’ll try not to gush too much.)

Mikey and I have been married for 6 years and have known each other for only 6 months more (we do things quick). I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that he is my best friend. This makes me think of a magnet my parents had (and probably still have) on their refrigerator when I was young. "Happiness is being married to your best friend" – as children my best friend Christine and I always thought this magnet was silly, as tied to the hip as we were, we would giggle at the thought of us one day tying the knot. Now I know what that magnet was getting at, and I know I’m one of the lucky ones to have had it come true.

Mikey is what I jokingly call semi-British*. He grew up in England, but has lived in the states for so long he is well and truly Americanized. As I mentioned in my Father Christmas post I make fun of him a lot and ask him a ton of questions but in all honesty I am an Anglo-phile and only tease and prod him because I’m so darn interested – After all it is my goal to one day move to Newcastle and open a book store who’s name I won’t post for the mere fact that I don’t want it to be used by anyone but us (just know that it’s pretty darn clever and gives me a smug smile when I think about it).

For me to understand what Mikey does for a living took at least a year of explanation on his part. For me to explain it to others took at least another year. Simply – he is in the telecom industry and works as a Sr. Manager.

He is very technical and not just in a working capacity. He’s a true nerd at heart and loves LOVES to tinker with computer related projects. This is why we each have laptops, a nifty nice home computer, our own server, and the whole lot of it networked together including our XBOX. He practically salivates at the chance to attack a new nerdy task. When he updated my blog to WordPress’s new edition he was positively giddy to show me the changes.

Mikey shares my love for our furry friends – hence him starting off our zoo with our two oldest dogs – and for that matter not saying no to the following 4 fuzzies to grace our home.

He is very good natured, kind, sensitive when he needs to be and definitely has a strong shoulder to lean/cry on. He would do anything for his family or friends in whatever way he’s capable, and I in turn would do absolutely anything for him.

* – all joking aside Mikey is a full fledged Brit – Pip, pip and God save the Queen.

It’s Friday (for another half hour) and I said I’d give myself until today to come up with my resolutions for the new year. Well here I am, seriously sleepy, but determined to stick with my deadline.

1. Most importantly, I resolve to stay as healthy as it’s within my control to do throughout the remainder of my pregnancy. I wish to bring a happy healthy little peanut into the world in April and so far both of us are on the right track.
2. I will try my damnedest not to step foot into a McDonald’s this year, or a tire for the matter (drive thru). Hubby Mikey and I both dislike Mickey D’s and I find it hard to believe Bug likes it either. He barely eats any of his food when we eat there and he always has issues with the play structure – our visit usually ends in tears and not for reason of leaving.
3. I would like to find a preschool for Bug that not only fits what he needs, but isn’t too far away.
4. My cheese resolutions: I want to try both Wendsleydale and Halloumi cheeses and I’m interested in learning how to make my own soft cheeses.
5. I’m determined to plan (and follow through) more activities with the kids, especially after the baby is born I’d like to set aside some one-on-one time between Mikey and the kids as well as myself and the kids. (Oh and I suppose we might as well make some time for just Mikey and me too. Heehee.)
6. I would like to get through all of the new books I received for Christmas (11 total), plus the one I’m currently reading.
7. I’d also like to get caught up on my scrapbooking… this may be a bit too big of a feat, but heck I’ll add it in here. I have yet to finish putting our pictures together from the year 2000… Yikes!
8. Eating out less all around, but coupled with eating in with friends. I’d like to invite our friends over for dinners more often as well as inviting our super friendly neighbors over who we’ve not yet to gotten to know very well.
9. This one may not be possible moneywise, but I would love to be able to visit our families more often. Roadtrips aren’t as inexpensive any more with gas prices on the rise again!
10. Lastly and as important as the first one I’m determined to help Hubby Mikey lower his cholesterol. I vow to make his new low-fat diet as easy as possible on him. I know everyone and their mother seem to make diets their new year’s resolution, but this isn’t for weight it’s for health and it needs to be for life. Darn it if I don’t want to keep Hubby Mikey around for a long, long time!