Busy Days

There's been so much going on around here I don't know where to start. The biggest thing this week has been the passing of our dear old cat. We thought he was gone when he ran away last year but we found him after almost a week. He was really sick when we got him back and we thought he was going to die then, but he got some fluids at the vet and hung on. I think he hung on for all the pampering and petting and cuddling and loving, which he was showered with when we brought him home. He used to live in the garage but we brought him back in the house since we realized he needed closer supervision due to his age and various medical issues, and that resulted in a lot more attention for him. Martha, Jr. took over his care and was so very responsible with him. The end was hard; he just tanked from one minute to the next. We took him to the vet and the vet sent us to the animal ER. He stayed there over night for an assessment but there wasn't anything to be done, so the girls and I picked him up and took him back to our vet to be put to sleep. Martha Jr. did indeed take it hard, but so did The Eldest. We were all three crying; we loved that old critter.

But we have to move on, and since Martha Jr. was so responsible I decided she's earned another pet. I don't want another cat (I'm allergic, which I found out well after we got our cats, which is one of the reasons he lived in the garage for part of his life) but I was worried about a dog fitting into our slacker lifestyle. We keep very odd hours around here with the homeschooling and all. I was also worried about getting a barky dog. With fibromyalgia I need my sleep whenever I can get it and I can NOT have an animal waking me up at all hours. The Eldest knew all of this and did some research. She discussed her results with Martha Jr. and they came to me with their conclusions- we need to adopt a greyhound. Greyhounds are quiet dogs (they don't bark, they AROOO, and not very often) and they sleep a LOT, around 18 hours a day. Sounds like my kind of dog! We're going to take a road trip on Saturday to a kennel that rescues greyhounds that were used for racing and see if we can find our new baby there.

We've been talking about it and researching it so much that I think we're all excited, even DH who initially said "NO DOG". He's on board with it now; just took him a bit since he's never had a dog. I'm looking forward to having a walking companion. DH runs a few times a week; it will be fun for him to have a running companion. And a greyhound can definitely keep up on a run!!

But all that is minor compared to other issues we're dealing with right now. The Wild Child is still struggling with his reading, to the point that I decided he needed to be tested for learning disabilities. He took six hours worth of tests (over three sessions) and we found out that he does indeed have some challenges to overcome. He doesn't have dyslexia but his issues are very similar. He'll be working with a reading specialist over the summer so we'll see how that goes. They also recommended occupational therapy for him but there are a few more hoops to jump through before I can get that set up for him. And he's also borderline gifted, which is no surprise. (I think he would have tested well over the border into gifted territory but the tester had an accent he had difficulty understanding. My theory is that her accent affected his score. The tests aren't supposed to be affected by that sort of thing, but how could they not be?)

He also had auditory testing today to rule out auditory processing problems; his hearing is fine, which is a welcome surprise. The audiologist said she sees signs of sensory integration problems and said he should do well with the recommended occupational therapy. That was encouraging- she said her son had similar issues and the OT was wonderful with very quick results. I'm anxious to get it set up.

And if that weren't all, we had all three kids checked out by our family doctor this week. The Wild Child had to go to the ER with a needle stuck in his foot (from one of Martha Jr.'s sewing projects) a few weeks ago where we realized he was not up to date on his tetanus vaccine. Which made me wonder if the kids are up to date on all of their other vaccines. We don't have to keep up with that kind of thing for school reasons so I forget about it unless something like this comes up. It's been a while since they had well child visits so it was over due. I still don't know about the vaccines but the family doctor ordered copies of their records from their pediatrician (whom we no longer use) so we'll find out later. We're not homeschooling because we're anti-vaccine, but I don't necessarily believe in following the traditional vaccine schedule to the letter. With our then-pediatrician's blessing, we vaccinated purposely late for a lot of the baby/little kid vaccines. I think their bodies are strong enough now that they are older that we can keep up with the recommended schedule, but I just don't think about it. I catch us all up when I realize, though.

OK, I'm done. I'm too tired to type anymore and the kids want to use the computer to look up funny greyhound videos on You Tube.