12 days left

Here we are quickly closing in on single digits until Bailey goes back to school - kindergarten! - and this last month of summer feels like it has gotten away from me. My brain can't quite believe it's August, let alone mid-August, and the back-to-school vibes still feel so far away. There are still pencils to buy, a new backpack to select, and a tote of last year's clothes to pull out to see what's going to fit Lil' Sis. 

August has gone by so quickly, in part, because it's been filled with things. 

The kids rode in the annual Sweet Corn Daze parade again this year. My grandpa Ronnie always drives Justy as she advertises her massage therapy business. This year Grandpa was under the weather, so cousin Matt stepped in as the driver - official Ford hat and all.

Our job as supportive sisters this year was to hand out popsicles as we walked the route - definitely more of a sweaty workout than you would think.

The kids took in the festivities - free face painting, unlimited bounce house jumping, watermelon, food and more food.

Batman wears a crown and necklace as part of his disguise, right? 
*insert crying laughing emoji here*

And the yearly street dance.

Thanks to Uncle John for some drinks he didn't know he was buying.  ;)

We've spent many days just doing typical everyday things: walks to the park, the library, the pool. Visits to see great-grandparents and to friends' houses.

And braids. Oh, the braiding. 

Bailey loves 'em. The more the merrier.

(She's stuffing herself with sweets - typical - at Great-Grandma Connie's house.)

Meanwhile Jared's Etsy shop has been exploding. He's been researching a bit, changing his pricing, updating listings and it seems to have made a difference. Which is great except, for someone who works full-time and makes things as a hobby, getting 14 orders in 10 days is a bit overwhelming. Summer has typically been his time to stock-up on items that sell at a crazy pace during Christmas season, and he hasn't been able to do that at all this year. 

He did create this beauty for my parents' lake house in Okoboji, adding it to Etsy afterward, and it's been selling well.

The last few weeks have included doctor visits for Avery. I won't go into great detail, but she's experiencing symptoms that are worrying for us and for her doctor(s). So much so that our pediatric urologist recommended we take her to a large ER so she could get an MRI sooner than could be scheduled. So last weekend we hung out in the Omaha Children's Hospital ER for a good 9+ hours. 

Aunt Fe and Aunt Beaner came to keep us company. Thankfully it was a children's hospital so there was a list of movies a mile long and crayons to color with. 

And even better than crayons was the Cadillac Escalade Avery discovered charging in the corner of a blocked hallway. Within no time we were cruising in style. Believe me when I say they don't skimp on even the kid's version of a Cadillac. This thing had a working radio! The ER was basically deserted, so nurses stood at posts scanning open doors for us as we made our circle around over and over.

I can't say enough good things about our experience at Omaha Children's (oh wait, one exception - the lead anesthesiologist). The doctors and nurses were phenomenal. Just phenomenal.

Avery had an MRI done of her spine and it ruled out the one thing they were looking for, but didn't answer why she is still experiencing other symptoms. So off we go to a pediatric neurologist on Monday afternoon. I'm a worrier by nature and my brain always goes first to worst case scenario, so my mental space has been occupied for the last couple of weeks. However, I'm doing my best to Let Go, Let God. That means on some bad days my Christian playlist is working nonstop for a few hours, but it helps. We're doing all we can to get her the best care possible so we can figure out what is going on.


And along with all this other stuff, we're a foster home for the German Shepard Dog Rescue of Iowa and are now fostering a five year-old named Ben. His elderly owner passed away, and he needed a home while an adoptive family is found. 

Some of you might remember when Jared brought home a German Shepard puppy almost 3 years ago and I made him take it back. (Still sorry-not-sorry about that one.) This is a great way to embrace Jared's love of animals without the commitment of an extra dog full-time. Although, please don't think I am naive. I'm sure one of these times we will all fall hard in love and there will be no need to search for an adoptive home.


Ben is a chill dog. Honestly, he still seems a bit depressed and it is taking a bit for him to adjust to all the activity around our house. But he is sweet and well-behaved. And great with our kids. And our dog. And our cat. 
Graham has tripped and fallen on him multiple times and Ben just looked over, licked him, and went back to napping.

Ben will probably be with us for a couple more weeks. That gives us more time to discover his true personality behind some of the sadness and help in the selection of his forever family.

So that's our crazy life update. I'm hoping and praying that this next week goes as planned so we can fit in some school shopping between doctor appointments and a little two-day getaway for Jared and me before school starts. 

Here's to enjoying the last of what summer has to offer!

"Little Puppy"

"Little Puppy" has arrived at the Solko household. And he now has a name: Tucker.

He is a bichon/shih tzu mix - commonly referred to as the "teddy bear" breed.
He is 8 weeks old and we have lots of days of potty training and chewed up kids' toys in our future.

 

He is loved by every family member so far.

 

 

 

 

 

Get ready to play dress-up, Tucker.

I have two girls that are just dying to push you in a doll stroller.

Everyday stuff

Nothing too exciting or memorable to write about these past few days... but I am going to anyway. :)

First things first, my last post was a bit premature.
I am a mean wife and mom.
And I basically forced Jared to return our new puppy.
 
When Thursday rolled around, after a few days of just me and the girls with him during the day, I was feeling very overwhelmed. Not because he was a bad dog or hard to handle.
He was just a puppy.
And puppies chew.  A lot.  And it's constant.
{Obviously I knew this beforehand, so don't think I am a total moron, but I was trying to think positively, even though I didn't want a puppy in the first place.}

And after my little hospital scare last week, I had been trying to take it easy... Or as easy as you can take it at home with two toddlers and housework to be done. Every few seconds I was trying to take something out of Puppy's mouth and redirecting him with an appropriate chew toy. The girls couldn't play with a single toy without him trying to steal it away and chew on it. I didn't really feel it was fair to them to not be able to sit on the floor putting together a puzzle or reading a book for fear of the dog tearing it apart.

I was also having brief visions of life in a month or two where I would be sitting on the couch with Baby attached to my chest and trying to quietly (but very sternly) yell at the dog to stop eating a favorite book or beloved stuffed animal. Just the thought of the stress and annoyance was too much. Jared understood my points, but he is still sad about it. I truly think he already loved Reese. He misses having a dog. And to be honest, I do too. But the time wasn't right and right now, Baby (and Mommy's sanity) has to come first.

This past week was the start of my twice-weekly non-stress tests (NSTs). So I get the privilege of driving an hour for 15 minutes worth of testing. Awesome. But it's for Baby to make sure he/she is doing okay in there, so I have little choice.
 
It's a simple thing. I get hooked up to a machine, with one part that measures Baby's heart rate and another that measures for any possible contractions. You want the test to be reactive - meaning that baby was reacting and having at least 2 periods of raised heart rates. If it is non-reactive that could mean potential problems with Baby, although not always. With Avery I had one non-reactive test and it was just because she was sort of on the lazy side for those tests. She apparently liked to nap at the precise time I had them scheduled.


I worked on both Friday and Saturday. And while they were pretty easy days, my feet were feeling the pain. I forgot how tiring it is to be on your feet for 12-hour shifts in your 9th month of pregnancy. My ultra-sexy compression stockings did not do much to help out.  Cankles for sure.  Thankfully I have a loving husband who took pity on me and rubbed them, and they soon resembled human feet again.

Today was a productive day.

I think both Jared and I are nesting.

My mom called this morning and asked if we would like her to take the girls for a few hours so we could finish the painting we have been putting off for going on three months.

Umm... YES. I would love for you to take my children off my hands for a few hours.

 

So after the girls were deposited at Grandma Sherri and Papa's house, things got real.
Jared finished painting the entire upstairs hallway, including all the door frames and bedroom doors. It wasn't a huge job; we just couldn't do it with the girls home because 1) they get into everything and 2) they get into everything. It looks great to have it all finished. Goodbye random spots of yucky grey trim!
Along with painting, mucho housework got done. All the bed sheets changed, load after load of laundry done, three bathrooms cleaned, new wall outlets installed... It's amazing how much you can get done without a 2 year-old and a 1 year-old underfoot.
And I realize that my life is a little pathetic since I get excited about getting long-awaited household tasks done, but hey, it's true. I feel much better knowing that our house is a little bit more put-together and organized.

This next week is going to be a busy one.

* Bailey is evaluated for her speech on Monday. If all goes well she is due to be discharged from the Early Access program and I am not sure how I feel about that. Because of her cleft, her speech is something we want to stay on top of and work on to prevent any problems. At the age of 3 she can be part of the speech program through the school system, so that is something we will have to look into.
*Along with my trips for NSTs, I also have one final trip to Ames for an endocrinologist appointment.
*And for fun things this week, trick-or-treating is Tuesday night. I am excited to dress the girls up and watch them go beg for candy. {Here is hoping Bailey stops choosing those nasty flavored Tootsie roll things!}  Bailey is going as a cheerleader and Avery is a chicken.  Cute pictures to follow.

Reese

 

Somebody bought himself his own belated birthday present.

 

And I am not going to pretend that I am overjoyed about it...

Said birthday gift is an 8 week-old German Shepard male named Reese.

Yes, he is cute. I will give him that.
And he has yet to have an accident. In fact, he will go to the door and whine to be let out. So he has that going for him.

Plus the girls seem a bit taken with him.

 

He is mild mannered and tolerates lots of "love" from both girls.

 

He is their new baby.

And they are very concerned that he is getting enough to drink.

 

 

So that makes three very happy family members.

Mama Solko has some reservations though.

Mostly the timing.

Ya know, the whole newborn arriving in like 3-5 weeks thing?

But apparently I am the only one concerned with this...

 

At 9 months pregnant, I do not appreciate having one more thing added to my list of obligations during the course of a day.

My grotesquely swollen feet {seriously, it's baaaaaddd} would like to log as many minutes up in the air as possible. Constantly keeping a puppy from attacking Bailey's hair - which I am sure is a great chew toy - is not my idea of fun.

 

But he is here now, so I know I have to make the best of it.

He is sweet.

And we did get him named in record time.

(An amazing accomplishment for us.)

Maybe that is a good sign.

 

 

Welcome the newest Solko family member...

In early September we lost our dog Willie. We were back home for our friend Shelby's wedding and Willie was at my parent's house. He loved my parent's house and had been going there for years. He would chase my mom's ducks and go eat disgusting things he shouldn't have. But he never got lost or tried to run away. He would never run on the road. My parents attended the reception and three hours later when they arrived home - Willie was gone.

We looked for miles around my parent's house and called and called for him. We put up posters in the surrounding towns. We called all the neighbors, the local animal shelters, and local vets. No one ever saw him. We have been heartbroken. We had Willie since 2007. He was our first dog together. Jared bought him home after spending a weekend in Herndon helping his Aunt Jane.



Jared & Willie  - May 2007

He was a Shih tzu-poodle mix. Admittedly, he was a weird little dog sometimes. [He would suck -not chew- on blankets or clothes until he made a hole in them. yeah...weird...] He was fiercely protective of Bailey the minute we brought her home. "Willie" was one of Bailey's first words. He was a good dog. And he loved to visit his Grandma Sherri's house.



 We miss him. I miss him sitting under Bailey's highchair waiting for her to "accidently" drop some food {talk about easy clean-up}. I miss him resting his front paws on the rim of the bathtub while the girls got their baths. I even miss him trying to sneak off with Bailey's farm animal toys. For weeks I would think I heard him running to come eat or to accompany me while I used the bathroom [I told you he was weird]. Nevertheless, we miss him... If someone took him from my parent's house, I would like to believe they are loving on him right now. And if he died, I would like to picture his furry little ass running through grassy fields in doggy heaven (you know there is one!) and sucking holes in all the blankets his little heart desires.


But now there is a new guy in town {aka the Solko house}. His name is Murphy and he's a Malit-Poo. He was born in May (just like Avery) and soon will be 6 months old. And he is tiny. Like TINY tiny. Like we-could-sit-on-him-and-crush-him tiny.

The potting training is going as well as can be expected. I think Jared and I both forgot how tedious and annoying toliet training a puppy can be. While taking care of two kids during the day, the potty training can sometimes take a back seat. Speaking of the girls, he loves them. Or maybe I should rephrase that... He loves Avery; he tolerates Bailey. On his first day Bailey proceeded to give him about 10 kisses in a row on the top of his head and then chased him around the living room. She thought this was all in great fun - Murphy not so much. With Avery he loves to curl up on the couch near her head while I am feeding her. They have both fallen asleep cuddled up together. {so sweet!} He is very much a lap dog. (Which is fine because like I said - tiny!)

So as much as we miss Willie, we are moving on with our newest furry friend. I hope he can be a loyal {and tolerant} friend to our girls as they grow up.

[And let's hope he likes rides in a stroller and playing dress-up!]