Update on the kids

Kaleb is 8 and going into the 3rd grade. He has been struggling with some social awkwardness and seems to be very concerned about people laughing at him. He doesn't want to wear the new tie dye shirt I made him that is purple and dark blue (colors he choose) because he thinks the purple is too girly. Sigh. We are working on just getting him to love himself and be himself. He is looking forward to starting school and making new friends. He had been in a class that looped from 1st to 2nd grade. In third grade he will be in a class with a different mix of kids and we are both very excited about that. He loves to read and loves science. He made me google umbrella birds and xray fish this morning and read him the facts about each.

Jasmyn just turned 7 and will be starting the 2ndgrade. She is a social butterfly and Harlie's second Momma! She has a BFF named Rachel whom she plays with all the time. Thankfully they get along great and it is a sweet little friendship. Jasmynhas been experimenting alot with makeup and nail polish this summer. I have some funny pictures of her covered in eye shadow and blush. She loves mascara too, but is really bad at putting it on. LOL! She often looks like spiders have attacked her face. I bought her a package of makeup removing wipes so she can get it off when she is done playing. Works like a charm! She is super loving and caring with Harlie. He will cuddle with her on the couch and fall asleep. They are super sweet together!

Mason continues to be my most challenging child. He is stubborn and gets his feelings hurt very easily. He is a sensitive child but explosive at the same time. He has a great sense of humor and really gets comic timing. He just turned 5 and is starting Kindergarten in September. He still struggles with colors and letters so I am a tad worried about him starting Kindergarten. But I Figure if he has a hard time and it becomes clear he needs to repeat K then we will do that. Him being born July 19 makes him one of the youngest in his class. I worry about his social and behavioral skills holding him back from learning. He might just need another year to mature. Or he may just surprise the socks off me!

Harlie is 22 months old. He is all boy. He likes to play in the dirt. He loves to go to the park and dig in the sand/mud area. I was starting to become concerned about his lack of verbal skills. But just in the past month he has added new words and phrases to his vocabulary. His favorite is "mine". The first time he said it he held the toy behind his back and looks defiantly at Jasmyn and said "Mine". It was so cute! My other favorite is when he wants to nurse and says "other side". I don't know why that is what he choose to call it. I guess it is probably because when he finishes on breast I would ask him "Do you want the other side?" Apparently it stuck! So now he will climb into my lap and say "other side". He even gets picky about what side we start with. LOL! Last week he fell in the hallway and hit his head on the wall. He ended up with a smallish gash on his forehead but it split open in a star pattern and the edges wouldn't close. I took him to urgent care and he ended up with 2 stitches. I am sure that is just the beginning of the trips to the urgent care for him!

Jasmyn & Mason Grandma Mary & Harlie
Mason
Jasmyn

Family Picture

Kaleb
Jasmyn & Harlie
Harlie

The story of Kali

Kali

January 1, 1996 - June 15, 2011
May you rest in peace.


I bought Kali for Tim as a Valentine's Gift in 1996. She joined us at home at my Grandma's house with our other cat Zoe. Zoe and Kali became inseparable and went on to have 6 kittens and grow old together. Zoe preceded Kali in death in July 2009.


As a kitten Kali was smaller than the average kitten. She was feisty despite being smaller than Zoe. I loved her cream colored strip on her nose and the way that her eyes looked like someone outlined them with eyeliner.
Kali's favorite place to cat nap was above my head on my pillow. Well anyone's head really. I remember Grandma making us lock her down stairs with us at night so that she would not "nest in my hair". Kali continued to enjoy sleeping on my pillow for the duration of her life.

Zoe and Kali had a love affair. They were together every day until Zoe died. They bathed each other. Played with each other. Shared everything. When Kali went into her first heat Zoe was the only one around to make babies with! LOL! We had thought up until then that Zoe was a female cat. Ha! Weren't we surprised when 60 days later Kali had 6 kittens. When Kali went into labor with her kittens she climbed onto my pillow and would slowly purr with each contraction. She was very calm and content to be petted and loved on. I got to witness all 6 babies come into the world. Kali was a good momma. She cleaned each one off and let it begin to nurse. She was super protective of her kittens. She would not let Zoe around them until the kittens eyes were open and they could walk with ease.

Tim, Zoe, Kali and her kittens
Once the kittens were grown and gone out into the world to good homes Kali and Zoe settled back into their routine. Their love and companionship being the constant.

They moved with us from Sandpoint to Coeur d' Alene to Seattle to Renton to Spokane and then to our home in Spokane Valley. They never ran away or even resented us for making them move. Every night Kali would sleep on my pillow and Zoe would sleep at the foot of the bed. All was right in their world.

A few years ago Kali was diagnosed with Mammary cancer. The Vet said that cats that have had kittens and nursed them are at a higher risk to get mammary cancer. She asked me if Kali had been spayed. She had been but not before she became a mother. Who knew that allowing her to have kittens way back then would potentially kill her today? I don't think Kali would have had it any other way. She loved her kittens and was sad to see them leave. We decided to treat her cancer with surgery. 6 months after the surgery the cancer reoccurred and we had another surgery and then another. She did well for about 1 year. Then I noticed a small lump on her tummy again. We waited and watched. It grew very slowly over 4-6 months. Then in a few weeks time it grew so fast. The Vet said that it is likely on the 4th re-occurrance that the cancer is spread throughout her body. We could run some expensive tests but the prognosis was not good. We choose to take her home and provide hospice care.

She got fancy soft food. The kids were extra gentle with her. She got lifted onto our bed to nap. She got extra pets and love. She was spoiled rotten!

But then I noticed she wasn't enjoying things like she used to. She no longer had the strength to jump up on the ledge where we kept her food (away from Harlie). She no longer slept on my pillow at night. She stopped cleaning herself. She started to limp. She stopped purring. She stopped eating.

It was time.

I made the appointment with the Vet. I told the kids very gently that she was going to die. I told them she would go peacefully. I asked them if they wanted to go with me to the Vet. We took pictures. Tons of pictures. I cried. I looked through my photo albums for pictures of her. I started writing this blog entry. I cried again. I held her and pet her and rubbed her under her chin and between her ears. She rubbed me back. I cried into her fur. The kids got home from school. They cried. Kaleb helped me find a box that will be her casket. We covered it in brown paper. The kids decorated it. We found a soft blanket to put inside of it. Kaleb asked me questions about caskets and pillow when people die. We took more pictures.

Pictures from today.

It was time to leave for the Vet. Kaleb wants to go with me. He wants to hold her paw when she dies. I hold Kali in a towel while I drive. She doesn't fight me. We get to the Vet office. We all cry. Kaleb decides he doesn't want to be with her after all. He says goodbye and pets her one last time and heads to the waiting room. I cradle her head in my hand and kiss her head. I whisper softly how much I love her and wish her well on her journey. The Vet pushes the medicine. Almost instantly her head relaxes in my hand. Peaceful transition.

Kaleb comes back in a gives another pet. We gather her up in a box and carry her to the car. Kaleb insists on holding her in his lap. We arrive home. Jasmyn Mason Harlie and Tim say goodbye. We all cry. Kaleb wants her collar for a keepsake. I remove it and give it to him. It is raining outside. Kaleb and I take her to the hole Tim has prepared. Kaleb puts her in the ground and we use shovels to bury her. Tim comes out to hold an umbrella. We say goodbye again and it is done.

Kali and Jen
Forever in my heart.

Kaleb's Teeth 2

We have been waiting for a while for a molar to come through Kaleb's tissue so that Dr. R can anchor the 1st appliance to it. We have been waiting since October. In early January we went to the dentist and had an x-ray done to see what the progress was. At that time the dentist thought that Kaleb's tissue was pulled to tight for the tooth to erupt. The treatment for that was to cut into Kaleb's gum tissue and manually expose the tooth.

Kaleb was a trooper trough the process. We started off with some oral medications to relax Kaleb. After about 30 minutes we went back to the dentist chair and they put some topical medicine on the gum tissue to numb it up some. After that took effect they put some Nitrous gas on Kaleb. I stayed with Kaleb the whole time and held his hand. I kept reminding him to breath through his nose so that he would get the full effects of the Nitrous. The dentist then injected the Novocaine into his gum. Kaleb did not feel a thing! It was fantastic! After a few minutes they took the nitrous off him and then the dentist just cut a slit in the gum line. He also used a dental instrument to push the tissue back around the tooth to help it erupt. Kaleb was amazing through the whole thing and did a fantastic job of holding still and listening to the instructions from the dentist and his assistants.

Fast forward to last week. I was still having some concerned about the tooth. I would check it fairly often to see if more of the tooth has erupted. I could see no change. Last Friday Kaleb has a routine dental cleaning and X-rays. The dentist compared the films from 6 mos ago, to 2 mos ago to the current X-ray. The tooth has no moved. It is growing but it is not moving. The roots are growing longer and into the jaw line, but the tooth is not moving up into it's place. The dentist said we need to go back to the Orthodontist Dr. R and let him know what we found. Basically the tooth is going to require some kind of intervention to get it in place. I am sure it will be another appliance of some kind and that probably means more expense as well. Sigh.

I called the Orthodontist today to get an appointment scheduled and they have one available tomorrow March 15th. So keep us in your thoughts as well start the process with the Orthodontist.