Kitty Sadness

 The honor of the first Thompson kiddo to break a bone goes to the feline variety.  I came home from Little Guy's piano lesson on Wednesday to find Luna limping.  She wasn't putting any weight on her hind leg, so I called the vet.  He had me bring her in the following morning.  They took X-rays, and it turns out Luna fractured her Tibia.  We don't have any idea how she did it.  It's one of those fluke accidents.  The vet thinks she was climbing something and got her leg stuck.  When she fell the weight of her body most likely caused the break.  

We discussed 2 options: She could have surgery costing anywhere from $4,500-5,000, or we could put a splint on it and have her remain in a dog crate for 4 weeks to keep her from wrestling with her sister and keeping her movement minimal.  We were conflicted, because 4 weeks is a very long time, but I didn't pay that much for the birth of my children, so the price tag was painful.  After discussing it further we found out that because she's a kitten and not finished growing that they couldn't guarantee she wouldn't need a second surgery.  She would still have to be in a splint and caged for at least days after the surgery.  We decided to have the vet splint her.  He kept her with him for 2 days, because Luna had extreme anxiety after she woke up post splint application.  He had to medicate her to calm her down.  

Stella was very confused.  It was the first time she'd ever been without Luna.  She followed me all around the house the first day.  She actually fell asleep with her paws in my hand.  She kept roaming around the house meowing.  She was looking for Luna.  She got mad and started nipping everyone.  By day 2 she was totally depressed.  She's usually so playful, but she spent the day sitting under the chair that Luna normally hides under.  It was hard to watch.  Nights have been hard, because she keeps attacking Joel's feet, so we have to close the door.  She spend the night meowing out in the hallway. 

Luna finally came home today, but she absolutely hates the dog crate.  She had major anxiety for almost 2 straight hours when we first placed her in there.  She was trying to climb up and even scale the top.  We tried to let her spend time with Stella to help her calm down, but the splint threw Stella for a loop , so she kept hissing and growling at Luna.  I'm sure Luna smelled different than normal.  It was heartbreaking to watch.  Everyone was in tears.  Gratefully, Luna finally settled down and Little Lady has camped out next to the crate to be next to her all day. 

 It's going to be a long 4 weeks.

Disappearing 9 Patch

For the months of January and February we're making disappearing nine patches for do.Good Stitches.  January is pink and purple with neutrals, and February is green and blue with neutrals.  

Before cutting:

After cutting:

Interpretive Artwork

 I know my days are numbered with getting cute artwork.  The kiddos are growing up fast, so I'm soaking in all the fun things Little Guy brings home from preschool.  I even had a fun passenger in the car this week.  

This week was Q is for Queen and Quilt.  I loved that he raided my scrap bin to make his own "quilt."

It's a Quilted Queen!

Littles Dates

 It was Little Guy's turn to go on a date with me.  All he really wanted was a happy meal, some ice cream, and a trip to look at the animals at the pet store.  I was happy to oblige.  He was thrilled.  There were 2 black kittens that he tried to tell me would look great at home, but I kindly declined.  

BB went out to breakfast with Daddy and then headed to the PrairieFire museum.  He got pumpkin spice pancakes at The Shack.  Yum!

BB really loves the entrance at the museum, because it has a huge screen with you and dinosaurs.  You can design your own dinosaurs and name them, and then they'll appear on the screen.  It's free and provides hours of entertainment.  Daddy and BB named dinosaurs after each other.

He also named a dragon Snape and got a bit toasty. 

Stitching it Back Together

BB was beside himself, because his new stuffed dinosaur from Christmas tore a little at one of the legs.  I'm fairly sure it's from some serious rough housing with his younger brother, but he came to me in tears asking me to sew it back together.  I also happened to have an ever growing pile of stuffed animals on my shelf that needed repairs, so I took some time this morning and sewed all of them up.  Mom to the rescue!  It even included reattaching Pikachu's tail.  The kiddos were pretty excited.  It was like Christmas all over again, and I cleared off my shelf, so it was a win - win for everyone.

New Year - New Goals

 The kiddos evaluated their goals and updated them with the start of a new year.  Little Man decided he wants to improve his singing voice, so I started teaching him voice lessons.  He has the sweetest voice.  I'm pretty thrilled that maybe I'll be able to record him singing before his voice changes.  The rest of the kiddos were all intrigued with his first lesson, so they even brought the kitties to watch through the door.  There's definitely no privacy in this house.

Little Lady has added a few new things she would like to learn how to cook.  One of them is Cheesy Chicken.  It's her first real attempt at cutting and working with raw chicken.  She's doing a great job so far.  

BB turns 8 this year, so it's his first time coming up with goals in the four categories: Intellectual, Spiritual, Social, and Physical.  I'm very curious to see what he wants to work on. 

Kitty Shenanigans

The kittens continue to provide loads of entertainment.  Little Lady has virtual cello lessons in the front of the computer.  It's the only day her case is out where the cats have access.  Without fail every week Stella takes a nap in the open cello case during Little Lady's lesson. Sometimes she even brings a toy.

BB likes to give them his blanket for their afternoon cat naps.

For some reason they always look like they're on the verge of something nefarious while giving you such innocents looks.

Luna has started hiding under the rugs in our home.  Sometimes Stella likes to join her.  The bump is Luna.  

Stella's preference is snuggling under bed covers.  Little Man's bed will randomly have a big lump in it on any given day.

For some reason they also really seem to enjoy pulling stuffed animals out of the bin and dragging them throughout the house.  One day Stella was even taking a nap in front of the entrance to the house with a stuffed animal on top of her.  We're not even sure how she managed the arrangement.  

They turned 6 months old this past week and there's never a dull moment around here with them.

Long Weekend

The kiddos had a 4-day weekend.  I was feeling stir crazy on Friday.  I seriously considered going out and visiting a museum or something.  The weather protested and dropped enough snow to keep us at home.  The kiddos each chose a game with surprisingly few complaints, and then the spent the afternoon in the snow.  

There was enough time that I even chose a game.  

BB also finished reading the 6th book of Harry Potter this weekend, so Monday night we had a popcorn party watching the 6th movie.  They all love it, and are now begging him to read the 7th book.  Little Guy went to bed early before it got too scary, and he was pretty put out that we finished it without him, but I promised him that one day he would get to watch all of it. 

Alas, their long weekend came to an end and they headed back to school today.

I is for Ice

This week in preschool Little Man explored the Letter I in class.  They focused on Ice (including ice cream which made him extremely happy).

He's such a ham.  Meanwhile, he kept trying to convince me that his teachers "wanted" him to eat the marshmallows off the igloo.  Eh - there's just as much glue as marshmallow on the paper, so that was a hard pass.  He still managed to sneak a few before I could throw it away. 

Receiving Blanket

 I made a quick this gift for a new momma.  I always enjoy making receiving blankets, because it's a good use of cute flannel, and it's also one of the few times I actually use an interesting stitch.  

I set the length of the stitch the longest it would go, because I was curious what it would look like.  I think I prefer a tighter wave, but the rolling waves are still lovely. 

Missing

 What is it about being an adult and not wanting our picture taken?  I don't ever remember caring as a child, but for some reason now I'd rather be behind the camera any day than be in the picture.  Are we looking for some elusive perfection before the picture is snapped?  It's funny, because when I go through pictures of family gatherings I always have a ton of pictures of the children.  The cousin pictures are voluminous, but I usually have very few of the adults.  It's a shame really, because one day the only thing my kiddos will have of the older generations will be memories and pictures.  I only have a few pictures with my grandparents, and I treasure them.  I'm positive they didn't want to take those pictures, but now they're priceless.  It really is silly that I'm opposed to pictures so much, because my kids don't care if I thought my hair looked bad that day.  They'll just see the person they love when they look at the picture.  I'm making it a goal that the next time we're with aunts and uncles and grandparents I'm going to do my best to make sure they're in the pictures.  I may even get in a picture or two myself.  Haha.  No one should be missing.  

These are just a couple of pictures doing normal things like studying scriptures and playing a game, but they're the kind of things the kids will want to remember when they're older.