Brothers

I bought this wooden bead toy at the flea market at Thomas' school last year for 2 euro. What a deal! However, the kids hadn't been playing with it much so we thought about getting rid of it a couple of weeks ago. Although, lately, it has been the "favorite" toy in the house, so I'm glad that we decided against it.

Until later,

Emily

Another Lost Tooth...but NO Drama!

Tonight, we were watching a movie together as a family, we have been doing that a lot lately. About half-way through, Thomas nudged my shoulder and had tears in his eyes and told me that his tooth was really loose and that it had started to bleed. We both knew what that meant. It had to come out. I guess I'm just mean but once the darn teeth start to bleed, there is no more waiting. Except I wanted to finish watching the movie so I told Thomas that I would wiggle it when the movie was over. Surprisingly enough, about 5 minutes later, he came running into the living room and said, "Mom, Mom, I pulled my tooth all by myself and I'm not even kidding!" And, he wasn't. This tooth had hardly any root left, unlike the first four.

Until later,

Emily

Tailer: Happy & Healthy

I took Tailer to the vet for the third time this week tonight. Mainly it was for a quick check-up, another dose of antibiotics and to pay the bill.

The vet was actually somewhat surprised that Tailer is "functioning" normally now. She shared with me that she and her co-worker really thought that she would have to have surgery.

She does have a slight infection (the only way we know is because she has a low-grade fever), but that's not surprising with all that she's been through this week so it's good that she's had a couple shots of antibiotics.

Until later,

Emily

Tailer: Poor Plugged-Up Kitty!

WARNING: This post is not just about my cat, Tailer, but it is about my severely constipated cat that had to have veterinarian care to finally come un-plugged.

So Saturday morning, James & I were headed out to spend the day in Frankfurt without our kids. I caught Tailer upstairs, outside of Thomas' room in the "pooping" position. Not to say that she's absolutely never done something like this, but she generally poops in places where she's not supposed to when she feels like she's been abandoned or she has been left alone and you are back and so then she poops just to spite us. So I thought it was a little strange to find her like this but quickly scooped her up and locked her in "her room" in the basement.

A few minutes later, I went down to check on her and she had thrown up. About once every other month, she gets somewhat constipated, she throws up, she poops and she's fine again. So, I figured it was about that time. I checked on her again and she had thrown up five times--total. A record. And, no poop. The babysitter came, I told her Tailer was sick and to leave her locked in the room where the "mess" could be contained and I would deal with it all later.

Eight hours later, I came home to no more throw up, no poop, and a cat that didn't want to come out of her room nor eat or drink.

Sunday goes by and she barely moves. She didn't eat nor drink. I started giving her syringes full of chicken broth, which she took. For those of you who don't know, I have taken care of many, many sick cats in my life but Tailer has never been sick before so this is a first with her.

Monday morning, I called the vet on-post. Of course, they could not get her in then and they recommended that I make sure she is seen by a vet on-the-economy, "don't wait!" they said. So, I called my neighbor, who has a dog, and I know she's taken him to a local vet here in my neighborhood. I get the number and make an appointment then take a drive in my neighborhood to find the location. My neighbor was right, it's close enough to walk, if only it weren't bitter cold outside and Tailer didn't weigh over 12 pounds or would walk on a leash.

I took Tailer in Monday night. Monday, it was determined that she did not have an infection (no fever). She was given a homeopathic laxative, a pain reliever and was hooked up to an IV to rehydrate. She was pretty severely dehydrated after not eating nor drinking for 2 days and throwing up five times on Saturday. We were all hopeful that this would all be enough to get her to poop. The vet and her co-worker felt up her back, along what I would assume were her bowels and said that she was "very full" with "very hard waste". I took her home and she even ate and drank a little. I was very encouraged that the next morning all would be well. I have never in my life hoped to wake up to a big pile of poop before!

So, this morning, I ran downstairs first thing, only to become quickly disappointed and instantly worried. No poop. Tailer seemed to be in better spirits, was vocal, and followed me upstairs. She walked funny. She was very careful with the way she sat down. And, she didn't want to eat nor drink again. So I got the kids off to school (when I say this, I mean Thomas and our neighbor boy that I take to school half the week). Got home and called the vet. The vet made an appointment for me at 5 PM. I spent the whole day wishing that she would just go on her own and worrying that she has swallowed something that has ruined her insides forever.

Tonight, I took her in. I have to say, I am really impressed with this vet that she has seen. She knows her stuff. Tonight, Tailer was given a glycerin suppository. It seemed to cause instant action. And she pooped a little, hard pebble. Then, about 90 seconds later, my calm, quiet kitty went ballistic as she tried to rid herself of a rock-hard poop that looked like it should belong to a dog, not a cat. At this point the vet turned to me and asked if I would allow her to sedate Tailer because it was just too painful for her to pass. I agreed. Then, the phone rang (just when Tailer was going to get her shot and I was thinking, "NO, let her have her drugs first!"). The phone call was quick and then the vet and her co-worker were handling Tailer as she tried to pass the poop all the while yowling and growling and standing on her two back legs. She finally had the bowel movement which had tin foil in it...I might add (darn cat!). Tailer laid down and was really quiet and I thought that she must just feel so much better. The vets continued to poke and prod her and I was quite amazed that Tailer was tolerating it all so well. The vets were speaking in German so at this point I had no idea what they were saying, I could just tell they were trying to come up with a game plan.

Then, the one vet left the room and Dr. Bader motions to me to come a little closer and make sure Tailer doesn't fall off the table. I stand next to her and pick up her face only to notice that her tongue is sticking out and her eyes are fully dilated. My mind starts racing as I think my cat has just gone into shock because she just had the most painful bowel movement EVER. I turned to Dr. Bader and said, "Uh, she doesn't look too great." And that's when Dr. Bader told me it was because of the sedation that I had agreed to. The sedation that she was so quick to give her that I totally missed it.

After that, it was decided that they would take her to a different part of the clinic to give her a colonic. They shoved about 8 inches of tubing up her until they could go no further. Because she still had quite a lot of hard waste left in her. It was their hope and mine that now that the hard "cork" had been pushed out, everything would work well again. Tailer was hydrated again via IV and given another shot of homeopathic laxatives, and an antibiotic shot. Then she was given a shot that woke her up from her sedation. I kind of wanted to keep her asleep because I thought it would be nice to trim her nails without a fight, but I missed my window of opportunity on that one.

I brought her home tonight and she is like a drunk cat. Colonics aren't the cleanest of all procedures so she's spending the night in her room and will be there until she fully cleans herself off. The good news: she has pooped twice since we got home tonight. I was a little worried that other half was as hard as the first half and the problem wasn't really solved, but it's looking like it is.

I take her back Thursday night for a follow-up and another injection of antibiotics. Then, the bill, which I shudder to even think about. Monday night was 51 euro ($70). And tonight they did everything that was done on Monday plus SOOO much more!

Until later,

Emily

Paris November 2009 Pics

They are mainly of Disneyland Paris. We actually went on Thanksgiving Day. We're no traditionalists! This was an awesome day for Disneyland Paris, the weather was mild (for November) and virtually NO lines. When we did have to stand in line, it was only to let one group of people ahead of us go on. We got there when it opened and left when it closed, but we got to on every ride we wanted to and some over and over again...there was no need to come back (we had also been here in February 2009). After a experience like this, it's really going to take us a lot to want to go to Disneyland in California or Disney World (because of the crowds).

This is Toby's "I'm about to do something incredibly naughty, but catch-me-if-you can" look. (Which we witness often.) A split second later he escaped under the bars and ran into an area where only employees were supposed to be.

Scrumptious "Thanksgiving Dinner" of chicken nuggets and french fries.

I am told more and more often that

Thomas looks like me.

Wow...you can't tell these two are brothers, can you?

The "It's a Small World" ride was changed up a little for the Christmas season.

The park was decked out in Christmas decorations. It really got me in the Christmas mood!

There's the proof. I've been there.

Until later,

Emily

GOSH!

We have reached the point in Toby's life where we are really glad that we don't swear or say words that we don't want our kids to say. Because lately, Toby likes to say these phrases quite often:

"Oh, my GOSH!!!"

And, usually, when he says it, he also shakes his head from side to side.

And then there's:

"Oh, gosh dang it!" or just, "Gosh dang it!"

Which he says with quite a bit of intensity.

It's pretty darn cute.

Until later,

Emily

Pic: August 2009

(Yes, I'm sending out Christmas cards this year--I ordered them yesterday--no, this is NOT the photo--James wanted a castle in the back ground).

Until later,

Emily

St. Martin's Parade, 2009

These parades are usually done in some of the German villages at night, on the 11th of November. But, Thomas' school does their own during the day (this year on November 9th), along with a brief assembly/play for the lower grades.

the beggar

(he REALLY got into character!)

St. Martin riding his horse, Shimmel

Thomas getting ready for the parade around the school.

"What do you mean I can't play on the playground?"

You can't see it, but there is a small bonfire there. I understand the bonfires in the villages are pretty large, but they kept it small at the school.

The children all received one of these after the parade, it's a pretzel.

Until later,

Emily

I Loathe Shopping on the Economy!

(This was not actually taken today--but it's the same "look".)

I loathe shopping on-the-economy. But today, I just had to do it. After all, one can only go so long without a vacuum cleaner (ours broke last Wednesday). I went early (to REAL), 9 AM so Toby would be on his "best behavior". I was armed with treats in my coat pockets. He had just had breakfast 45 minutes earlier and a sippy cup of milk in the car on the way there. Nevertheless, he threw a yelling, screaming tantrum for no reason. It was awful. I had many locals either stare at me and say things that I didn't understand or actually get up in Toby's face. They also didn't like that he was standing in the back of the cart instead of sitting in the front (then provide belts that strap them in people!) I wanted to walk away and leave him, but I was afraid they'd throw him in a recycling bin (joking, and if you've lived here you get it, their recycling program is like a religion).

Until later,

Emily

Take Two!

(Taken in rose gardens in Prague.)

I ordered my prints from shutterfly.com, new updates of Thomas and Toby. Toby's came back really cute. Thomas' was in too low of a resolution so his were really blurry. You win some, you lose some, I guess. I ordered new prints, using this photo. I wish it was more current, this was taken at the end of July, but it's a cute pic.

Until later,

Emily

Mac ³

The last few days of October and into November we had three house guests, James' cousins Shannon & Hillary and their dad, Brian. They stayed at our home the first few days of their trip, then went out on their own exploring various locations in Europe, and then came back and spent their last night with us before flying out of Frankfurt on Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, the first part of their trip was also the exact time when Thomas and Toby and myself were really ill. This was when Thomas & I were diagnosed with Strep Throat, and it took 48 hours once we started antibiotic treatment until we were no longer contagious. Unfortunately, we were diagnosed one day apart, so we were contagious Thursday, Friday and Saturday--the same days that the S family were visiting us!

So, plans were changed a bit, the kids and I stayed home during the day rather than going out with them but James was able to spend time with them. We had our evenings together and that was fun. This pic was taken on Halloween night, after the kids were in bed and all the Halloween festivities were over. We were quite the bunch with our Macbooks! Wild & Crazy!

Until later,

Emily

Halloween 2009

Thomas and Toby were both pirates this year for Halloween. Some of you might recognize Thomas' costume from last year, he wore it last Halloween and last winter for Fasching. When asked in September what he wanted to dress up as, he said, "Why can't I be a pirate again, it still fits doesn't it?" I didn't argue too much with that. About a week before Halloween, he did try to change his mind but I told him it was too late.

We almost missed Halloween this year. Toby had a very bad virus for about 10-14 days. During that same time, Thomas and I both came down with Strep Throat. Thomas and I were both able to get on antibiotics and felt pretty good by Halloween night, Toby still felt pretty miserable and you can kind of tell in his pictures...he's really pale.

James and I took the kids out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with some of our neighbor friends. This was our third and last year together. That seems strange. We let Toby trick-or-treat with the big kids and he had a blast. The Germans loved the 2 almost 3 year old pirate...they were always talking to him for extra long and it was quite common for him to come back with double the candy!

Back at home, James' cousins, Shannon and Hillary and their dad, Brian (sorry guys I couldn't think of any clever alias names either) were handing out the candy. Once we got home, we ordered asian food from our local restaurant and relaxed the rest of the night.

Until later,

Emily

Pumpkin Carving 2009

Tonight, we carved pumpkins. As in five days before Halloween we carved pumpkins and James is quite certain that they will all rot before that night! Nevertheless, I stuck to my guns and we carved them tonight! After all, he is working late tomorrow night and Wednesday night is the night before our house guests arrive so I nixed that suggestion. I also didn't like the idea of carving them while they were here, although I know they would have gone for it, but to tell you the truth I feared that we'd have too much going on Thursday and Friday night and the pumpkins wouldn't end up getting carved at all.

So these were some rather fond memories of our night tonight:

James: "Why did you have to buy four pumpkins?" "Couldn't you just buy one and call it 'good'?"

Thomas: Thomas whined for about 6-7 minutes about how slimy his hands were and he wanted to go wash them. I was adamant that he was not going to go in and out of the bathroom every minute just for the sake of having clean hands. Eventually he got used to it, and did a good job at cleaning out his pumpkin.

Toby: I cleaned out a lot of Toby's pumpkin ahead of time. He didn't quite get the concept of cleaning out pumpkins so he took the "I will spoon some of those seeds in that big bowl, back IN my pumpkin" approach. At least this year, he wasn't trying to eat the pumpkin "guts".

Emily: I ended up getting the tough pumpkin. James carved faces into his and the boys' pumpkins before I could finish mine. Mine was literally like carving a gourd! My arms will be sore tomorrow from my carving--and it didn't even turn out that great!

Until later,

Emily

Thomas' 7th Birthday!

We started celebrating Thomas' birthday a little early. Since his birthday is on Saturday, he got to celebrate it at school on the 23rd. The great thing about living here, is that we still get to send in cupcakes. Then, last night, we had a birthday "late-over" with two of Thomas' friends. We took them out to dinner, then to see "Where the Wild Things Are" (which I don't recommend), then we came home and let Thomas open their presents to him. We had cupcakes and took the friends home at 9:45 PM. Today, it is a dark and rainy day, the kids actually slept in until a little after 8 AM. Thomas opened up his presents and has been perfectly happy playing with all of his toys and watching movies (he got Transformers the cartoons and the set of older Star Wars movies) all day. Tonight, we'll order pizza from the neighborhood joint (if only they delivered!)

Until later,

Emily

Seven Years Ago...

Seven years ago tonight I was trying to go to sleep. It was the first day in about a month that I hadn't taken a nap in the afternoon (I quit work 1 month before my due date), and I was exhausted. It was also the first day in a month that I went to bed with a messy house (or what I used to call a messy house--I'd kill to have that as my standard now!). But, I just could not settle down, I thought I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me and kept having to spend time in the bathroom. A little before 10 it occurred to me that I may have been in labor...so I started timing the cramps and they were 3-4 minutes apart. But, for some reason (maybe because this is what the doctors hammer in your heads), I stayed at home for one hour before I picked up the phone and called my doctor's office. The contractions were mostly 3-4 minutes apart, although there were some that were 2 minutes apart. At exactly 60 minutes, I picked up the phone. I managed to make that call in between contractions and I sounded calm. Nevertheless, the mid-wife told me to meet her at the hospital (or rather, once the nurses checked me then they would call her if I was really in labor). James and I left and made our way to the hospital which is about an 8 minute drive from our house. I didn't make it through the brief check-in process (although I had already pre-registered), the lady at the front desk seemed to recognize the urgency in my breathing. So, I was wheeled up (while James was trying to find parking), quickly undressed and discovered that I was dilated to an 8! Then things were very hectic and I discovered that there would be no epidural and that my mid-wife had been called and lived only one exit away from the hospital (she later told me that night that "it was a good thing that she lived so close". James arrived. I quickly went through transition, which was really scary to me. Jeannie (my mid-wife) arrived, I was dilated to a 9 1/2, she broke my water and I immediately dilated to a 10. That was somewhere around 1:10 AM, I had Thomas at 1:23 AM. On his due date, no less.

So, I will say one thing for myself, I may not have a body that likes to get pregnant, or be pregnant but my body is fantastic at having fast babies! (I was even faster the 2nd time around).

Until later,

Emily

Funny Faces

"I told you, I don't want my picture taken!"

"Wow, my mom gave me my own ice cream cone (and I kind of don't know what to do now)."

"But italian ice cream is YUMMY!"

(Note: This was on my birthday, and while James and his mom & dad were trying to find a bathroom, the boys and I stayed behind to finish our ice cream, but the ice cream was SOOO good and since it was MY birthday, I went back in and bought the three of us each another cone!)

"Hee-hee, I'm riding on the top of a double-decker bus, without a car seat or even a seatbelt!" "Rome is cool!"

"Why does my mom keep following me around?" "I'm NOT going to smile!"

"Seriously?"

Until later,

Emily

Like Father, Like Son!

Thomas and James sitting on ancient toliets in Ostia, Italy--October 8, 2009.

Until later,

Emily

Ostia, Italy--Oct 8, 2009

By some miracle I actually caught Toby smiling last week AND my camera took the pic at exactly the right millisecond! Thomas is a smiler but he can also have an attitude or be silly about his smile. It's always something. At least I think they both have clean faces and clothing. And this is what they really look like. I think these two pics will be my 2009 pics in my frames at home--good enough!

Until later,

Emily

One by One

The whole Snow family has managed to get sick to one degree or another this week. Toby was first, and now he is definitely on the mend. I was next, and while I wouldn't say I feel good now, I can honestly say I feel better than Sunday/Monday. The body aches I experienced were awful! Now, I'm just dealing with major sinus pressure and a nasty sore throat. How sad is that when that is relief? Some where in there James said he wasn't feeling well, either but I would say his symptoms are the mildest. He's a big baby when he's sick and he hasn't been too bad. Thomas came home yesterday from school fevered at 102℉, spent the entire evening on the couch but was back to normal this morning, all except for a nasty cough. So, I think we've successfully been sick and now today I will clean and sanitize everything because tomorrow Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Sherry are coming to visit us for 10 days!

Until later,

Emily