To Fly a Kite

...You need:

1) a kite. Check.

2) Wind. Check.

3) A field or an open space sans power lines and trees. Check.

4) An attention span longer than 5 minutes. Uh.....

Well, we got a little kite for Ian for a buck at Walmart and of course the next morning at 7am, he was begging to go fly it. We have a little backyard with a fence around it, dogs, outbuildings (tiny), one tree, and several things to trip over should you look straight up and try to run around. So we relocated to a field next to the park and let it fly. I think Chris and I had more fun than Ian. Even Erin seemed transfixed. I don't know what Ian envisioned, but the wind was very strong and we hardly had to do anything but stand there and hold the end of the string. After a few minutes, Ian started throwing rocks and dirt clumps into the wind and had to be challenged to a race to the tree at the end of the field. He was out of breathe at the end of the race, but not worn out. Sigh. It was time for lunch!

Then we went back to Lincoln, AR (again!) to get more of Berry's pills for his Giardia, not to be mistaken or confused with Ghirardelli, good fancy chocolate. Rachel! :) ha ha.

He is taking his pills like a trooper and there is already a marked difference. (Don't ask "in what?" because I really don't want to go into it and gross everyone out, especially since I just mentioned expensive chocolate. Let's just say that there's no more gastrointestinal distress.)

Ian is doing good in his potty training. Nothing magical overnight, but it is steadily getting better. His sticker chart in the bathroom is filling up a lot faster than the last one (Hallelujah!).

There is still a need for constant laundry, but he is getting it and we are all thrilled and relieved. Even when he wears pullups (like when someone needs to get cracking with the laundry, or at night time) he is still peeing in the potty. Pooping not so much. Okay, only once. In six weeks. So we have at least one accident a day from that alone and have used gallons of bleach and color-safe bleach. Shudder!

Moving on to other topics. The frost of last weekend killed ALL of the plants in my garden. They are all brown and shriveled in the row. It is very sad. But today I snuck some money out of the jar and went to the Red Barn and got some seedlings. We've got some tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers and straight-neck squash. At Ian's wheedling (and my own whim) we also got two little strawberry plants. It has to be better than last year's attempt which yielded absolutely nothing. I knew I buried the stems upside down. Or something. This time all you have to do is bury the peat pot and voila! We'll see.

My seedlings got drowned in the torrential downpours of last week and then got copious amounts of lime deposited on them, so they are sad and moldy. A loss. So now I feel EVEN BETTER about the $$ I spent on ready-made plants. Next year I'll do better with my own seedlings. Next year we will be in Florida and won't have this weird weather (yes, I know you had a cold front in FL, but boo hoo! It got to 24 here!).

Plans are now nonrefundable for our trip to Florida next month. Chris will be taking that law enforcement review, commuting an hour and 15 minutes and the kids and I will be staying at Mimi and Grampa's house, chilling. I am looking forward to visiting and enjoying the weather and letting Ian and Erin play in the sprinkler in the backyard. I'm also hoping that Grampa will consent to let Ian decorate the driveway in sidewalk chalk, as he will be over the moon when he realizes that the driveway is THAT BIG.

The only downside is that this time, we can't bring the tricycle.

Chinchillas Beware!

Well, yesterday was interesting. Got everyone up and ready for Buddy's vet appt at 10:30. I mentioned earlier that it's Rabies week here (in a good way) and Buddy's was due. So I gave him a quick bath on the driveway and poor Buddy, it was COLD! But he hadn't been bathed in a month and was also due for more Frontline, so I used the vet as an excuse for a bath. He got towelled off and put in Berry's portable kennel to keep the wind off. Then we all went back to Lincoln. At the vet's office, we finally found out what Berry's problem was! After 2 years and 3 vets, this smart lady finally figured it out (well, she sent in stuff to the lab and got results back). It's called Giardia, ladies and gentlemen. Aka, Beaver Fever. Common out here, though oddly enough, no one here has ever heard of it.

According to Wikipedia, giardia is a flagellated protozoan parasite that colonises and reproduces in the small intestine, causing giardiasis (read gastrointestinal distress...). Giardia affects humans, but is also one of the most common parasites infecting cats, dogs and birds . Mammalian hosts also include cows, beavers, deer, and sheep. Giardia infection can occur through ingestion of dormant cysts in contaminated water, or by the fecal-oral route (through poor hygiene practices). The Giardia cyst can survive for weeks to months in cold water[3], and therefore can be present in contaminated wells and water systems, and even clean-looking mountain streams, as well as city reservoirs, as the Giardia cysts are resistant to conventional water treatment methods, such as chlorination and ozonolysis.[3] Zoonotic transmission is also possible, and therefore Giardia infection is a concern for people camping in the wilderness or swimming in contaminated streams or lakes, especially the artificial lakes formed by beaver dams (hence the popular name for giardiasis, "Beaver Fever").

You can read about the rest of it in Wikipedia if that kind of thing interests you. For our protection, we have covered the yard in lime.

It should also be noted at this time that "This parasite is deadly for chinchillas." I guess they just can't handle diarrhea.

This is also an EXCELLENT reason why we should not drink water when we are out in the wilderness! Unless you just enjoy having diarrhea. Let's see how many times we can use, describe or think about diarrhea in one post. Now I've got you going. Just don't start singing the song. Yes, that song. Stop it already!

So we are starting the first day of Berry's 8 day meds on Monday since they did not have enough on hand at the office and we have to go back Tuesday to get the rest of them. As it is, he'll be taking 4 pills at a time, twice a day. Groan! And he seems to be responding mildly to the doggy Valium.

Anyway, we got Buddy's rabies shot and he was complimented by everyone for being a very well-behaved dog. Then the vet saw that he was limping (we think he has arthritis, since it seems to hinge on the weather) and of course recommended that he come in for an x-ray and tests....well, she has great work ethic.

But we went home and had some lunch. About ten minutes before we left again, Chris got called out, so I ended up taking the kids to Girric's birthday party at the park by myself. The nice chill of the morning had fallen away to 30 mph winds and a temperature of 49 when they managed to pause, which was rarely. This in no way had any affect on Ian's excitement to go the park and play with other kids. Erin wanted nothing to do with it and just wanted to get warm. Poor Brian was spread eagled across the tables under the small pavilion trying to keep the gifts and cake from being airborne while the kids tore around the park, noses running freely.

Another mother took Erin from me and took her off to play and I helped Brian put flyaway gifts in his truck to wait. Chris got back and played some with the kids, at least the ones that wanted to rough-house.

Praise report! Ian wore big boy underwear All Day and did not go in them ONCE! There was a dribble at the park bathroom, but I was squatted down and he was standing on my legs to be able to pee in the toilet (there's NO one going to sit on the park toilets...eeek.). I may interject at this point that I have superior balance. Sometimes. Okay, Mom, stop laughing. I am very relieved that I had good balance for that portion of the afternoon. At least until he dribbled. So he was great at the vet and then at home and the whole time at the park. And then all evening. It was a great day in that respect. Then again, it was really really cold. That might've had something to do with it. No one drank anything at the park (Chris thinks he was just dehydrated, but my optimism will not abate!) because it would have flown away. Jeremy's 20 oz Dr Pepper did fly off the table, explode out of the spout and roll madly away, so no one wanted to tackle cups of red Kool-Aid. But we did manage to eat cake and open gifts. Girric had a fun party. We hope he did, because everyone left as soon as possible because they were freezing. Chris had to go to work too, but Ian was sorry to leave.

Another happy thing to report. Our big check for Chris's registration at IPS (in FL!) went through yesterday morning. We hope this is a good thing. We are still waiting to get his packet before getting plane tickets, just in case they tell us something like "The class for May was full, so we just registered you for the July class instead." We are just nervous enough to wait to see the dates for ourselves. :D

Our pastor was fired/resigned, so our church is at loose ends right now. Never a dull moment here. Baby's crying. Naptime's over.