As of Late

 The kids will be done with school next week.  It feels like the school year went very quickly. I think mostly because Bertram, who yesterday was a tiny NICU baby, is going to middle school in August. He got placed in the accelerated math class for 6th grade.  I'm worried I won't be able to keep up, to help him with homework.

Bert did most of the year sans Adderall, which either speaks volumes to his teacher, or he's tamped down his behaviour some.  I think it's more the former. But I told him, if I hear about behaviour issues, we'd have to talk about restarting medication for him. He did very well.  His writing has come a long way.  He still doesn't have the times tables memorized, but somehow that doesn't slow him down too much.  Maybe we can work on it over the summer.  

Bronwyn moved back to a GenEd class after Spring Break.  I think she was ready.  She still has the 1:1 aide, Mrs. B. But she is doing very well.  She seems to be having fewer outbursts, and for the most part, is actually doing the class work.  She participated in the Spring dance performance, after previously saying she wouldn't. That would have been fine, because I know performing isn't always her forte.  But in the end, she decided she wanted to.  And she did a great job.  I sat there like a goon, wiping away tears, because she's come so far.  And is doing things I wasn't sure she'd ever do.  Not to say, she doesn't still have issues, but she is making great progress. 

I wrote about the snake, Sneak, in the last entry.  Ever since Julius died, in January, Bert has been asking for another cat.  Using my own language of "There is a cat shaped hole in my heart".  This was probably true.  Though, in his later years, Jules adopted my in-laws, in Bert's younger years, Juli was very much his cat.  They snuggled and Jules was always patient with Bert, even if he wasn't with everyone else.  He was a lovely cat.  And in the back of my mind, since Shy Guy became pretty much an outdoor-only cat (by his choice, not mine), I'd be thinking we could take on one more.
I was a PetSmart a couple weeks ago, dropping off paperwork for Curie's pet hotel stay, while we'll be on vacation. And in the Adopt Us section was a variety of cats.  So I stopped to look at them, like one does.  And one came right over to the glass and started interacting with me.  I kept thinking about her the rest of the day, and asked Aaron if we could get her.  Once he was on board, I excitedly told Bert about the cat.  And the next day, we met and adopted her.

You can tell I was quite taken by her personality, because this colouring is my least favourite.  But she actually looks like a small version on Shy Guy.  She is about a year old, and the name she came with is Wednesday.  We all liked Wednesday (except Bron, who still talks about changing her name, sometimes).  She has fit in quite well.  She is very friendly.  She gets along with Oona and Waffles and with Monty.  But she it still scared of Curie, though, Curie isn't allow in the back of the house, so they don't really interact.

I've been on Ozempic for about 4 months.  So far, I've lost 13lbs.  I had hoped it would go a little faster, but I'm not unhappy with the progress.  And I'll take anything I can get, since I couldn't lose weight before.  8 more lbs and I'll be at my pre-pandemic weight.  But in 3 more lbs, I'll be at my first goal, which was 5% of my body weight.

March

 I graduated from therapy a few weeks ago. I'm feeling better, for the most part. Or at least not letting things overwhelm me as they did.  I still can't tolerate much political news.  But it is what it is. Aaron gets his new from fairly unbiased sources, and he tells me the bare minimum.  I'm at odds of being informed and being sane.

We added a new pet to our brood last week. It's name his Sneak. We don't know the sex. Bert said the snake's pronouns are 'im. I usually just say him/they, the snake doesn't mind, and neither does Bert. 

Bert had been asking for a reptile for probably 6 months. I'd been telling him once he keeps his desk clean we could get a small snake or lizard.  We started researching. And I found 2 different Facebook groups for bay area reptiles. I wasn't going to pull the trigger so soon, but a young corn snake came up on the group and came with all the accessories and tank, for free.  (The lady was given the snake by someone who didn't want it anymore, and she was trying to reduce her collection.). We met her in San Lorenzo (which was the halfway point) and now we have a snake. 'Im's name is Sneak. We haven't handled him yet, per advice. We tried the first feeding last night, but Sneak hasn't eaten yet. We may need to try again later in the week.

Both kids are doing well in school, we just got report cards. Bert is especially good at math, and Bron at reading.  Bron has been doing very well behaviourally for the last 3 weeks. Most days she is getting all, or almost all her stickers. She is still doing ABA and speech after school. Bert graduated from speech in January. 

Mom was here a week ago. We had a good visit. I was glad she didn't need a wheelchair this visit. Though, she did get caught in a plant and fell, and twisted her knee. But she got around pretty well, in spite of it.  We had fun, did a lot of shopping and cleaned out a few things.

Dogwalking is going well. Though there was an incident yesterday. I was walking Miso, and we passed a lady walking 4 Yorkies. I thought, cute, 4 Yorkies. (They live a few houses down from Miso).  I heard a commotion, and turned around to see the lady had tripped over the leashes and 2 of the dogs were off leash, running around. So I stopped walking to wait and see if the dogs would come up to us, and I could pick one up. Both dogs came running to Miso and me. One was barking, and other was trying to bite Miso (fortunately, the Yorkie was too small (or Miso too big) to do anything).  I picked up the bitey one, and they lady came. And I was able to pick up barky. So we started out again, and both dogs got away from the lady again. (I should note, this wasn't an old lady, she was probably late 40s or early 50s). Then a different lady heard all the barking and came to help. She held Miso, so I could grab barky and bite again. I secured bitey and the lady carried barky. And finally they were going back home. It was scary, because it's not my dog.  But Miso reacted well, and was a good girl. I checked her over and made sure she didn't have any bites or scrapes. She was fine. Phew.

We had Bert's birthday party at the trampoline park. All went well, until he jumped wrong and sprained his ankle. He went to the ER and everything.  It was towards the end, but it put a huge damper on the party. Fortunately, the injury was towards the end.

It's been a minute

 I didn't realize I hadn't blogged for 6 months!  Oops.

I guess I'll start with Curie, since I left off with her. Her birthday is next week!  She'll be one, still a big baby.  She still has a lot of energy.  She did 2 training classes: puppy and intermediate.  She passed the first, but not the other.  We'll retake it at some point, when she's calmed down a bit more.  She love running zoomies in the back yard.  And digging!  This is the diggingest dog we've ever had.  She loves Bronwyn, that's her person.  Bron will grab Curie and hug her, and her tail goes nuts.  In the fall, she cut her paw on something (we never figured out what) and needed stitches.  I think that was $1100 we weren't planning on.  Prior to that she got spayed, which was fine, and the adoption agency paid for it.  She's learned a few commands: sit, paw, down, go to bed.  She loves Monty and the cats. The feeling isn't mutual, except from Waffles.  She likes Curie.  The dog also love boxes!  Well, destroying boxes.  

Speaking of dogs, my dog walking gig is really taking off. I have 2 semi-regular "as needed" people, and 3 weeklies.  Miso is three days a week, Allie is three days, Eddie is 2 days (but his walks are an hour long), and Munch is once a week.  I'll be adding a new dog to the rotation called Enzo, they just live a few blocks away, and he'll have 4 days a week so it's a nice addition.  I had a few one-offs as well.  All in all, I made more that $2100 last year.  I feel really proud of that.  It's been so long since I earned any money.  (While my job, domestic engineer, has a high value, it's unpaid).  I was able to pay for Curie's stitches with my walk money.  I had 2 cat sitting jobs over Christmas as well.  They are the easiest, as they pay well, and they're quick.  Half the time, the cat never comes out.  

Another thing for my last 6 months was tattoos.  I got a matching on with Jessica in September (a silhouette of a cat sitting atop a book) and after that I added on to my flower arm piece (marigolds for dad, lilac for mom, gardenia for Grandma Street and a gerbera, just because I like them.  I got the lines done in one session.  And some of the colour (marigolds) done.  But then Curie got hurt, so I couldn't afford to finish.  After tax time, I'm going to make an appointment to get it finished. 

Last year I read/listened to 109 books. A new record!  If the kids are in school, I can finish the average audio book in about 2 days.  I like podcasts too, but I don't listen to them as often.

Bron just had her annual IEP meeting.  She's doing really well.  The goal, for never year, is to do gen-ed with RSP, and no SPed.  I think that will be a good fit, as she is getting irritated with some of the kids in SPed. And she's doing quite well in the mainstream class.  She is moving into 3rd and 4th grade math on the computer.  She's been in ABA since May, but I haven't seen really any progress.  I was hoping for a little, but it's not doing much for her at the moment.  And, also, we still haven't received a bill for any services.  So that will be a  heavy hitter, if it ever shows up.

Over the Christmas break with dealt with lice for hopefully the only time.  Bron likely brought them home from school.  And somehow, despite very often sharing a bed, I didn't get them.  No one else got them, but her.  We tried for a week, to get rid of them, but kept finding more.  We ended up going to a lice clinic, and $270 later we were lice free.  (fingers crossed)

I spent most of last week sick with a stomach bug.  I had to cancel a couple of dog walks, which I've never done before.  I was so tired.  I forgot how much is sucks to be sick.  And I lost 4lbs.  But I'm sure it's all back now.  Bert had the bug too.  I'm pretty close to well, but he's still not 100%

Curie

 There has been some excitement at the Keeley house of late. 

We have been talking about getting another Greyhound since Zelda died in 2019. We've looked off and on, but they are much harder to come across then the used to be. The track where Zelda had raced closed, and that was a major source of greyhounds for California. Florida also outlawed dog racing (yay!). Which means, in the US, West Virginia is the only state that allows racing. So there are a lot less retired racers around. Some are imported from Australia. And some are used as blood donor dogs for a time and then retired. Others are rescued from China or Korea. So, I had kind of put the idea of getting another Greyhound away, because it seemed unlikely without having to buy a purebred (which I am against). In fact, the agency we got Zelda from has since shut down, because they had no more dogs to help.

But earlier this year, we started looking again. There are still 2 greyhound adoption agencies in the Bay Area. The first one said our house wouldn't be a good fit for the dogs they get (mostly Australian) because the have a high prey drive, and we have cats. The second agency accepted our application and said they'd contact us when they had a good fit. We waited and followed up after a couple months. They said they had 2 greyhound puppies, would we consider a puppy adoption? We had previously said no, because puppies are a lot of work. But we thought, why no consider it. We decided to go visit the puppies, and see if either were a good fit. 

On Sunday morning, we drove to Santa Rosa (2 hours north) with Nana, Bronwyn and Monty in tow. Bertram refused any part of getting another dog. (He is a staunch cat person). Our main aim was to see if Monty would get along with a new dog. He is not usually very friendly with other dogs. Not aggressive, but likes his space. The ride was uneventful, if not long. When we arrived we met Marni who is fostering several dogs, including the two Greyhound puppies, who was 6 months old. Aaron and I met the dogs first, who were all riled up. Then Bron tried to meet them, but they were too jumpy for her. Then we met the dogs one on one. Lyra had A LOT of energy and really wanted to play. She was not as good on lead as the other puppy. Monty didn't like her, she was too playful. And didn't understand what his low growls meant. So she was put away, and Ursa came out. Ursa was calmer. And when Monty met her, she understood he didn't want to play.

They were happy to exist near each other. So we decided to take the leap. She has had all her puppy shots. She'll need to be spayed in a couple months.

She didn't want to leave or get in the car, so Aaron carries her. Then she didn't want to be in the bed in the back of the van. So she crawled up and sat in my lap.

After a short while, we switched spots. Aaron sat in the third row with her and I drove the two hours back home with Monty on my lap. 

When we got home we introduced her to the family, who were all down the street. Aaron walked her a few times that evening. She ate, but didn't potty until 1230am. But she went outside, so that was fine. She likes the paddle pool.

She is very strong on walks, but doesn't walk very straight yet, so that is a work in progress. And she wants to have everything. Anything she can get she'll pick up and take the her bed. (While I've been typing this, she picked up 2$ and brought it to her bed). She is food motivated, which is good, it makes training easier. But we had to move Monty's food and the cat's food where she can't reach.  None of our other dogs have been interested in toys, so we only had a couple things for her. Yesterday, I went to Ross, Home Goods and PetSmart and bought a plethora of soft toys, chewy things and treats, so we are now well equipped.

After going through a few names, we decided on Curie. Though, today I was thinking Laika would have been a good fit. 

She went to the vet for a check in yesterday. She looks good, except her ear need a little cleaning. She weighs 36 lbs, which will probably be close to  half of her adult weight. She starts puppy class on Saturday.

So far, no accidents 🤞🏽 and she already learned to use the bells to ask to go out. (Something Monty has yet to learn). The cats are getting used to her. Waffles is kind of a badass and just does what she wants, nonplussed about Curie. Oona and Shy Guy are much more circumspect. But everyone is adapting. 

Bron has done amazing with Curie. She knows not to run, or the dog will chase her. She doesn't panic if Curie jumps up on her. She pushes her and tells her down. Bert has had very little interaction with the dog, which is how he prefers it.

She goes in her crate at night and when we leave the house. So far, the longest we've been gone is an hour or so. She's not too fond of the crate over night. Actually, that's not true, she sleeping in it right now. But if I close the gate and go back to bed, she starts whining. So for now, I'm out here with her (and Monty, the Velcro dog). 

All things considered, she has been very easy so far, especially for a puppy.  (I said I would never have a puppy. Never say never, I guess).

Vacation 2024

The pictures loaded in reverse order. So we'll go backwards.

As a bonus of doing a bunch of somewhat complicated one-way flights, the kids and I were able to fly direct without layovers to all the destinations. (When Aaron flew alone, he did have a layover).

The last day in Minnesota:

We flew Sun Country, which, for unknown reasons, uses the international terminal at SFO. My dad parked in domestic (which was fine), but didn't take careful note of where his car was. Because it's the international terminal, it has its own domestic baggage carousel, which is well hidden in the bowels of the building.  I was trying to describe where we were, but Dad was getting more turned around. It didn't help that it was after midnight, and the airport was relatively empty. Eventually, he found a cop who directed him to us, just as the suitcases were finally coming out.  Then we had to try to find the car. And oh, was it an adventure. A helpful janitor told us to take the airtram. We did that an eventually arrived at domestic parking. Dad insisted he parked in 2L14. The letters only went to G, and we were in the 30s.  I assumed he meant second level 14. (There are 5 levels). So I was hoping for the best, as it was now nearing 1am and Aaron was losing his cool. We wandered towards the lower numbers (and letters) and Dad started clicking the horn button. Lo and behold, there was the car in 2nd level C14.

Bron wasn't feeling 100%. And was asleep.

We changed gates THREE times before finally boarding, an hour late.

Bron, asleep at 7pm

Earlier that day, we went bowling. It was Bron's first time, and Bert couldn't remember the last time he went (Bron was a baby). Bert did great. Bronwyn rolled 2 frames, then gave up. We let them play arcades while we finished, but Bron had a meltdown.

Before the bowling fiasco, the kids caught frogs with Bufu

Day 3 MN

We played mini golf

Rocks near Minnehaha Falls

Us, at Minnehaha Falls

Day 2 MN (the Children's museum)

Both kids had a good time.

Day 1 MN

(Trish and Rob's house, Mall of America)

We were hoping to spend time wandering the Mall of America.  (Aaron and I had been there before having kids). We thought the kids would like it. But once they went to the Lego store (our first stop), they had enough MoA. So it was a short trip, fortunately, it's only 20 minutes from Rob and Trish's house.

Lego store at MoA

Lego store

Playing pool was a favourite for Bron.

Last day VA

Watching sparklers

Trying to take a decent picture with the grandkids. It didn't go great.

At girls day out

Aaron and nephew at Rebecca's pool

The kids at Mrs. Howard's pool

We found a frog in the filter

Science museum 

Outside the science museum 

At Kid Empire

One of the days before Aaron arrived we went to the zoo. Bert was a grump for 70% of the day, but perked up at the end. Bron had a great time, but was afraid to feed the animals.

The Zoo.

Ill-fated Richmond Children's museum trip.  Bron was upset almost from the outset. I'm not sure what set her off. It was loud, but she had her head phones. But it wasn't what she expected. Even the splash pad couldn't tempt her. So we left. And waited int he car for Nana and Bert.

The day of the nuclear meltdown. 

It started off great. We played mini-golf with Nana. It was hot when we finished, so we got treats from Sonic.  Then we drove over to the trampoline park. While we were there Bronwyn stated to get upset because there were "no kids to play with". There weren't a ton of kids, but enough. I told her to ask to play with the one's that were there. When the jumping time was up, both kids wanted to play air hockey. It was only $2, so I said they could play 2 games.  Bert won the first, which was fine. The second game was tied at 4-4, before Bert made the winning shot.  (In my mind, I was telling him to let her win, I should have said it in real life too). That was the end of the fun times. She was screaming, crying, hitting, kicking.  "I should have won! He shouldn't have won! It's not fair!" All the way back to the car, through the drive thru. Once, she was nearly calm, Bert tried to be helpful and told her she played well and it was a close game. That set her off all over again. She took a long nap that afternoon.

Leaving San Francisco