The boys have recently become fascinated by x-rays. They always want to look at ours when we go to the chiropracter, and they ask Joe and I to "draw their insides." This weekend they asked Tasha to do it, so she did. We were sitting at dinner, and Dom had brought his picture to the table. I told him that I really liked it, and he said, "Yeah, that's my brain." (pointing to the head) and then he pointed to a thicker line and said, "And that's my penis!" Tasha, who was only half listening looked up in horror and said, "What?! No, that's part of his leg!" Joe and I couldn't stop laughing. If I get the picture scanned in, I'll post it.

Now for the bad news. About a year ago, we noticed a funky little growth on Lexi's (our black lab) chest. We had the vet look at it, and they told us it was just a fatty deposit that would probably get bigger, and when it got to a certain size, they'd remove it. Well, it did get bigger, so while we had her in for a broken claw on Sunday, Joe asked them to take a look at it. They aspirated a fluid sample and sent it to a lab. They didn't seem to think it was going to turn anything up, it was more of a "just to be sure" kind of thing. We got a call from them today saying that it is a cancerous tumor, a very invasive kind, apparently. They're recommendation is obviously surgery, with all sorts of tests to confirm that it hasn't spread, etc. While we haven't even talked to the vet about what that would cost, we are incredibly doubtful that we will be able to afford it, so at first glance it looks like we're going to have to put her down or give her up to an organization that can give her the care she needs. I'm so incredibly heartbroken about this. I suppose if I think about, I've never had a pet that died of old age, or sickness. They all got hit by cars, or just disappeared (outside cats). I'm really struggling with how to explain this to the kids, because they love her so much. We've had her for six years, and I really can't imagine our family without her. So I guess I would appreciate it if you could keep us in your thoughts while we try to deal with this impending loss.

She's gonna be trouble...

I've come to the conclusion that Mia may just be more of a stinker than both of the boys. The following pictures illustrate my point.

In this one, she went into the pantry cabinet and took out a box of cereal. Now, we prefer to let the kids explore and learn about stuff, as long as they aren't in danger of hurting themselves. So, we let her play with it. We figured she'd probably tear the box apart a little bit. Joe and I got involved in a conversation, and when we went back in the living room a few minutes later we found this:

Not only had she gotten the box open, she'd managed to tear open the bag and plopped herself on the couch to have a little snack! Needless to say, child locks were installed on the pantry in short order.

Just today, Dominic had pulled his chair up to the bar height counter to get a book off of it. He didn't put it back at the table however, so Mia climbed up and helped herself to a permanent marker:

Thank goodness that we've dealt with marker art before and I had a bottle of Amodex on hand. I got every bit of that off in under five minutes.

She looks so cute and innocent doesn't she?

While we were at Christmas with my family this year, one of my Aunts told me she checks the blog every day for updates. I realized that I really need to do a better job at updating this...yeah, yeah, I know I've said that before (a lot), but it's a new year, right? So this is going to have quite a few pictures. I have to start with this one of Joe's truck. We got back from a shopping trip and saw this when we pulled in the drive...doesn't it look like his truck has eyes?!

Our holidays were crazy sometimes, but overall quite enjoyable. We had Joe's side on the 20th, a quiet Christmas Day at home with just us and the kids, and then spent four days in IL with my side over New Year's. The boys are at an age where they "get" Christmas, and it was really enjoyable for us to see their excitement. Santa was a bit worn out because he didn't finish their teepee until 11:38 on Tuesday night, but it was worth it to see them going crazy over it! While the boys tore into their presents, Mia just sort of stood by the couch looking very confused...she'll probably "get it" next year. Here are some pics of them from Christmas...Zack and Mia are in the teepee, Zack and Dom are showing off the spaceship they made, and Mia being fascinated by the tree:





We've had plenty of snow so far...I think we're in the neighborhood of fifty-some inches. For a while it was three feet deep on the back porch, and the kids have had a blast playing in it...Zack made himself a cave:Speaking of Zack, I'm happy to report that Meredith found another detox program for him, and we are able to get it into him much better. It will take us around 2 1/2 months to get him all the way through it, so we're just waiting to see how well it works at this point.

And just for laughs, the kids have decided to learn how to make funny faces...Joe taught them quite a few:

The latest update on all of us...

We're all moved now. We moved 11 miles to Pewaukee, and are already happier here than we ever were at the other place. Unlike the morons we lived next to before, the family in the other half of this townhouse is great. They've got three kids (12, 3, and 1) and we get along really well. The kids love the new location since we're a 5 minute walk to the beach, although winter is coming early again up here, so we won't be doing that much until spring. This place is also just "brighter"...more windows, lighter colors, and a whole lot less negative energy floating around.

Joe quit his job (at the same time we were moving) and started a new one a few days after the move. He is *incredibly* happy there and is already doing the management that his old company promised, but never delivered on (in addition to overall piss-poor management in general). It's nice to see him excited to go to work, and know he's really enjoying his job again.

For those of you who remember our search to find out what was up with Zack, we confirmed what his naturopath thought in that he has heavy metal poisoning. We're trying to detox him, but it's a struggle. The detox is in adult capsules, which he can't swallow, so we've got to try to mix 4 capsules/day of this stuff in his food. And he's too smart for his own good and can tell when it's in there and refuses to eat it. We've tried: peanut butter, honey, yogurt, pudding, and mixing it into different liquids. We've gotten it in him in milk shakes, but I don't really want to be giving him two of those a day for the next three months!

Here are some recent pics of the kids:

Yes, I know it's August

Don't even start, I'm aware it's been a while.

Two funny stories from Dominic recently:

A) I was putting him to bed, and he was looking at his bedsheets (CARS). He looked at Mater and said "It looks like Mia talking to us!" I'm guessing because she only had two front teeth at the time. I dunno...what do you think?

B) The next day we went for a walk down by the park, and Joe picked some cattails for the boys to play with. On the way home we stopped at Target, and from his carseat Dom said, "Can I buy some toys with my cattail?" I wish!! We'd be livin' the high life then, eh?

Updates on the kids:

Mia has gotten two more upper teeth, so we're up to six now! She is a stair climbing expert, although she hasn't attempted a descent yet. And DANG is she quick! She has also been walking for about two weeks and is quite proud of herself. Here is a pic from her 9 month "shoot" we did outside...no I didn't do any Photoshopping to it, 'cause I just don't have time!

The boys are still the boys! They spend most of their days on the porch playing in the little pool we have set up out there. Zack is becoming more interested in writing and reading, so we're enjoying putting his scribbles up on the fridge. They also are both in love with these kids' CD's Nana got for them. I haven't heard adult radio in weeks. Every time we go in the car it's either "Rinocerous Tap," "Dog Train," or "Philadelphia Chickens." I gotta say, I do like the Bacon Brothers singing "Pots and Pans," but the aardvark song gets a little annoying. Here are some pics of the boys:

You might have noticed Dominic's new accessory...if you missed, please please please never go deer hunting...you'll kill someone. He fractured his tibia on the 23rd of July. We're not exactly sure what happened, but near as we can guess, he and Zack were playing (neither Tasha nor I heard a fight) with her large stuffed snake, and Dom got spun around and smacked his leg into the corner of a wall. On the upside, they said he should be healed in about a total of 3 1/2 weeks...so the cast is scheduled to come off on the 20th.

They've become quite enthralled with Play-doh recently. Zack made me an Elmo using an Elmo cookie cutter I had:

Tasha is spending more time here since it's summer and that has been great. The boys really miss her when she's gone, and are constantly asking when she's coming back when she leaves. She's a really great big sister, and I think she really enjoys the role. Here is a picture of a "lemonade (because they don't drink tea) party she set up in the pool one day.

That's the last few months in a nutshell. I'll try to update more frequently!

Some pics from our zoo trip

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's been a while.

Mia finally has more teeth! She got her two bottom front in when she was three months old, but since then, nothing. Yesterday both of her top two front ones pushed through...which totally explains why she's been crabby lately. She's been pulling herself up on furniture (and my legs) for about a week and half, and walked with a walker for the first time yesterday. I can't believe how big she's getting already!

The boys are good, and are enjoying the warm weather. Dom loves to kick the soccer ball, while Zack is more inclined to play with their big trucks outside.

The van is being fixed this week, and the insurance company is paying for it. Yay! It took me spending half a day on the phone with various mechanics to find out what the problem was...yes, you read that right. The garage had my van for a week and couldn't figure it out, but I got the problem diagnosed over the phone. But hey, at least it's getting fixed.