Wordless Wednesday - Progression Into Uniform

First Day Of School - We've kinda got the right colors going

Second Week Of School - We got the right uniform shirt now

Third Week Of School - We finally have the whole uniform happening

To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.

Ready For A New Week

I am completely hating this entire week and just want it to be over. Or better yet I wish it had never started.

Monday afternoon my brother was coming home from picking his daughter up at school. Just as he got into my mother's yard one of her puppies, her favorite one, Tess, ran under the wheels of the pickup and was killed. My mother, who rarely gets completely upset about the death of her animals is devastated.

Tess, a Blue Heeler, was only a few months old. She was actually a replacement, for lack of a better word, for another Blue Heeler my mother had bought from a breeder. We brought the first baby home late one afternoon and she was dead by the next day. She died of parvo, a virus that she should have been vaccinated against and would have been within the next day or so. So, when the breeder had another litter of pups my mother went and chose Tess.

She was a loving, friendly, little pup who always wanted to be as close to my mother as possible and thoroughly believed she belonged inside the house.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I took my female Rottweiler, Mia, to the vet because she was barely able to stand. Her back legs just wouldn't support her. When she did manage to get to a standing position she'd just sway and if she took a few steps she looked like she was drunk.

Last Thursday she was completely fine. Friday afternoon when I went out to feed the dogs she looked drunk and wouldn't lay one foot straight. Saturday she just seemed to really be favoring one foot although she barely ate her dinner. Sunday and Monday she didn't seem any better but she didn't seem any worse. I did notice her nails were really long and I trimmed them thinking that was why she wouldn't lay her foot down. Tuesday she was worse and by yesterday she was standing lean.

By time I got her from home to the vet, about 10 minutes away, she was breathing hard and twitching. Her eyes were also going back and forth. He said she was really suffering. He offered two courses of action, try and pump her up with antibiotics and see if that would bring her back or put her down. He held out little hope though that the antibiotics could or would be able to do anything for her except prolong her suffering. So, although my heart was breaking, I had her put down.

Mia came to me in a round about way. My older brother, Alex, bought her and my mother bought her brother but Alex's other female kept beating her up and Mia was always at my house. She only went home to eat and even then only some of the time. Eventually, I just bought her from Alex. I'm not overly fond of Rottweilers but she needed a safe home and she was always here anyway. But she was an ill-fated dog from the start. Absolutely everything that was passing by managed to get her. When there was a hurricane in the area and an old tree got knocked down a swarm of bees attacked her. Then there were fleas and whereas everyone else had a few that were easily gotten rid of she was absolutely covered from head to tail and it took a long time to get rid of them. Then it was ticks and she's always the worst for worms. No matter how many times I medicate her for intestinal worms she always had them. And she was never able to put on and keep on any weight. All in all, she was just a sickly dog no matter what I did for her.

So, while I am going to miss her and my heart is aching for my loss, I know she is in a better place and she's out of pain and bounding happily through meadows of grass playing with my other babies who have gone before.

Rest in peace Tess and Mia! We miss you both so much!

Sadly
-Rainforest Mommy

Wordless Wednesday - Because It Looks Cool

To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.

Homemade Soursop Ice Cream

I made soursop ice cream on Saturday!

Last week one of my sisters-in-law told me she had a soursop from her tree that was ready. It was quite hard so I left it to sit on my counter for a few days. By Friday night it was getting soggy so I cut it open and scooped out all the yummy flesh and took out the seeds. This thing had about a million seeds. I mushed it all around and then added some condensed milk, a touch of lime juice and a little vanilla to it and put it all in the fridge.

Saturday I gave it to my mother to taste. Her first response was that it was too thick - I hadn't yet added the milk. Then she said I had to separate the trash from the flesh. When reading online that sounded like an easy enough task but it turned out not to be. I tried to squish it against the side of the colander but that lasted for about three seconds. Then I tried using my fingers to squeegy off the pulp but that lasted for about three pieces. Finally, I dumped some of it in the blender with some milk and pureed it. That thinned it out a bit but it still wouldn't go through the colander, so I added more milk. LOTS more milk.

Oops... wrong move because it diluted the taste too much. I've never been one for moderation when it comes to cooking, or in this case ice cream making.

Finally, though I got it all through the blender, through the colander, back through the blender, through the colander, through the blender again on whip to give it some air bubbles, then into some yogurt containers and into the freezer. After a few hours I went and stirred the half frozen ice cream and placed it back in the freezer.

Sunday I took my mother's share over to her. She said it needed more condensed milk but she likes things super sweet. My other sister-in-law, not the one I got the sweetsop from, said it tasted pretty good. Matthew and my niece liked it.

My conclusion is it tastes good but needs less milk next time and it would be much better if it was frozen in an ice cream maker. But all-in-al, homemade ice cream is totally the way to go!

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? And do you prefer homemade or store bought?

Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy

* I forgot to take pictures. Soursop image is from Pokka.

To See The Future Or Not

One day recently, my younger brother, Patrick and I were in the car. I asked him how he was doing and he said okay. I asked him why he was only okay. He said because he'd like to be able to see into the future.

Patrick, his wife Tanis and their daughter, recently moved to the rainforest so I think he's feeling very much at odds with things all the changes right now.

Anyway, I told him probably 90% of the population of the world would like to also be able to see into the future. He asked me if I am part of that 90%.

And you know what?

I said no. I told him I'm happy with my life right now. I have my son, my house and a good idea for a business. The only thing I'd like to change is I need to learn to manage my time better. Somehow, I have so many things to get done and everything is partially finished but nothing seems to get completely done. I mentioned this to my mother and she told me to concentrate on one project at a time so that's what I am going to do.

Project One - Finish as much as I can of the renovations to my house. This means buy the windows and get them installed. Fill the cracks in the floor, sand and varnish it. And sand and varnish the new deck between the two houses.

Project Two - Finish painting three signs that are at various points of completion.

Project Three - Expand my thought processes on the new business idea and get that in motion.

Project Four - Design and build the kitchen cabinets for the new house. (This project hasn't been started at all yet.)

Now that it's all written down like that it seems much easier to accomplish and less jumbled in my head.

So, are you part of the 90% or not?

Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy

We Survived!

Hanging Out Before Heading Off To School

Yesterday, Matthew's first day of pre-school, was a success.

Arriving a few minutes early, I took him into his classroom and introduced him to his teachers. He was a bit hesitant at first but Miss Ava gave him a puzzle to do which settled him down. He immediately put all the pieces in and Miss Ashley told him how smart he was. (I always KNEW he was brilliant!) A few minutes after the second child arrived I told Matthew goodbye which set off the waterworks but I just kissed him and left. I hate when he is crying and I know the only thing I can do for him is leave.

When I picked him up two hours later he was all smiles, clutching a pack of cookies and wearing a bracelet he didn't have before. He said he had a good time but that he wasn't going back today. :-D

I'm Going To School Today

Today was a better. I didn't stay as long and there were no tears when I left. I did get excited squeals when I went back for him though.

As I've said before, Matthew is only going to go to school for two half days a week. I found out today that Fridays there is only a morning class made up of the three and four year olds. That class will have a total of 13 students in it so I've decided to make Fridays one of the days he goes. Currently, there are only three children in his class which makes the socialization experiment kinda meaningless. After all, to just have two children to play with he could stay home and play with my niece and nephew who also live on the property.

September 1, 2010 - Matthew's First Day of Pre-School

As for the teachers, they seem nice and Matthew says he likes them. I want to question them and have them tell me minute-by-minute what Matthew did while he was away from me but I'm not sure how well that would go over. It's quite frustrating having a child who doesn't speak in this instance. I ask him if he colored, he says yes. I ask him if he sang, he says yes. I ask him if he flew, he says yes. Somehow I don't think I'm getting the real answers out of him.

I think I should be asking questions but I don't know what questions to ask or what information to give about Matthew. I did let one of the teachers know that Matthew is not to get anything with red #40 or MSG in it but other than that I'm completely lost.

So, all you experienced mommies, what should I be asking the teachers at this point?

Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy

Wordless Wednesday - Ablaze In The Darkness

To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.