Busy, Busy, Busy!

I again had a couple more vacation days to use this week, so I finished some more "to do" list items.  Thursday started out as an okay day, but quickly turned into a crazy one by the end.  While sewing "princess capes" for Hailey, she was upstairs playing.  All of a sudden I hear a screaming sound and thought it was Hailey making funny noises until she came to the top of the stairs crying.  Still hearing the screaming sounds, I immediately knew something was wrong with the cat.  My heart was racing.  I run to the sound and find Emma trapped in the toy box with her tail pinched between the side and the lid.  She was in so much pain, that she had urinated all over the inside of the toy box (thankfully it was empty).  Hailey was really upset, but I had to point out that what she did was really wrong.  Talk about an emotional rollercoaster at that moment...scared and sick to my stomach for the pain Emma was in and angry at but wanting to comfort Hailey, because I knew she didn't intend to hurt her.  I got everything cleaned up and then checked on Emma.  Her tail was hanging a little bit in the middle where it was pinched, so I called the vet and was able to get an appointment as soon as I could get there.  The tail is made up of a bunch of tiny bones, so I was really worried it was broken.  The doctor took her to the back to check her tail so Hailey wouldn't see the cat in more pain (I, too, was grateful!), but he said she did really well when he was examining her.  He said he couldn't feel a break, but it still could be fractured.  A fracture can heal on its own, although she may have a slightly bent tail depending on how it heals.  He gave me the option of getting an x-ray done that day or to observe her for the week and see if things get worse.  I chose the latter, because if he didn't feel a break and a fracture can heal, I'd rather observe her for now.  The worst case scenario is that it can't get blood flow to the entire tail and part of the tail dies off.  He told me to check for "coldness" and hair falling out.  He gave us some anti-inflammatory medicine to help keep any swelling down and to encourage healing.  So far, it doesn't seem cold and the hair is staying in, so I'm trying to be as optimistic as I can be.

On Friday, Hailey had a "hoe-down" party at school, so I dropped her off for a couple hours to participate in that.  She had a lot of fun and said they had a "hay fight".  I could tell when I got there to pick her up...there was hay everywhere!  My mom had found her some cowboy boots and a bandana to wear, so she was all decked out.  I, myself, actually own a pair of cowboy boots (and hat) as well, so now we just need get Brian's wardrobe to match (well, and then buy a farm and some horses) and we might be able to be a real farm family! :-)  After we got home, my mom came over to make Apple Cider doughnuts with us.  They turned out very tasty, but a little greasy, because I didn't keep the oil hot enough.  Lesson learned for the next time!

On Saturday, we went over to my parents' house in the afternoon to finally celebrate my sister's birthday.  Her whole household was sick a few weeks ago during her actual birthday, so the plans got postponed.  We had one of her favorite meals, Lasagna with garlic bread and salad.  After we had gotten home, my mom called to say there was a frost warning for the area, so I headed outside to pick some raspberries that were ready to go before the frost ruined them.  On my way back in, I heard some "hooting" nearby and then saw two Great Horned owls in a tree across the street and behind our neighbors' house.  It...was...awesome.  I don't think I've ever seen owls in the wild like that (or if I have, I don't remember it).  This is one nice advantage to living on a forest preserve.  Brian and I tried to get a good picture of them, but point and shoot cameras don't do well in low lighting.  The one below was edited with photo software and at least gives you an idea of what we saw.

Brian got some winter fertilizer on the lawn this morning and cleaned and rinsed out Hailey's pool so we can store that away for the winter.  We're also wondering how much longer the garden will go, but I do remember getting everything cleared out by the end of October last year.  We'll see!  We have lots of tomatoes that I'm hoping will ripen with this upcoming week's warmer temperatures.  We did get the ripened ones we have now into the freezer to use for sauce later on. 

  39 weeks this past Thursday!

God's Promise...this was Hailey's first time seeing a rainbow, which appeared on Wednesday as some rain moved through, so she was really excited and right away sang the song "Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, don't forget there's Purple, too!" she learned from "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse".

Ready for the "hoe-down" party!

 Making Apple Cider doughnuts.

  

 Blue (or Jasmine) and Pink princess capes.

I took this picture of Emma on Saturday.  She normally has a much longer coat, but it takes a little while to grow back after we shave her down in the summer.

Playing on the floor...Natalie on left, Emily on right.

Hailey and Laura playing "Angry Birds" on the I-Pad.

Great Horned owls.

 Freezing ripened tomatoes whole...cut off any stem marks and remove top part of core.  Place on baking sheet lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray.  Do not have them touching each other.  Freeze for 1-3 hours until solid and then transfer to labeled containers/bags and return to freezer.

 The girls enjoy taking toys from one another!