Kid therapy

Today was a depressing day at work. I had a sweet, cute, young orange kitty cat come in to see me for becoming acutely ill just the night before. Based on his condition and the diagnostics I ran, I think he has acute renal failure secondary to ethylene glycol toxicity. In layman's terms: he consumed antifreeze and is very sick. I treated him the best way I knew how, but there isn't that much I can do for him other than to refer him to UGA for major expensive treatment, like dialysis, which might not even work at this point and that wasn't an option anyway. Blah...it makes me sad. So...sad. I feel so helpless.

So, when I got off from work, instead of going home or running errands while Gabriel picked up the boys from Tamala's, I went straight to Gabriel's parking lot, switched cars with him, and drove to pick up my boys. I needed what I've come to think of as "Kid Therapy." As soon as I saw my excited Cyrus dancing around in the doorway and saying "I'm happy to see you, Mommy" and my chubby little baby, I felt a lot better. So much better, in fact, that I took them home, snuggled with them, read them books, played outside, made burritos for dinner, and felt like a real person again. (There are a few videos below this post from tonight if you want to see them in action).

Sigh...I have a feeling the rest of my life will be a balancing act between work and home, like it is for all people, especially parents. I hope tomorrow will be a better day so I won't need Kid Therapy again. But, if I do, I certainly know where to find it.

-Shirin

Drinking some water when we got home.

Cyrus taking a picture of me.

The next one he took was too blurry but cute nonetheless (Kai was trying to escape).

Those two little boys...sigh. I just can't get over them.

They are so funny.

Waiting outside for Daddy to come home. It's so great...when Cyrus sees Gabriel's car pull up, he runs down the sidewalk to jump into his arms as a greeting. I love it.

We were also waiting for the big thunderstorm that was threatening to start any minute (dark clouds, lots of wind, exciting energy in the air).

Hey, Baby Kai! Nice to see you out and about.

Exploring his world.

Pine straw! How fun.

Tonight, at bath time.

Smiley little boys.

Did Kai say something funny?

Good videos of the boys

Man, I just love these silly little boys.

-Shirin

Nerd Weekend 2--Washington's revenge

Do you remember the first Nerd Weekend? It was last year for Gabriel and David's birthday and was probably one of Gabriel's favorite weekends of the year. So, we're trying to make it an annual or semi-annual event. Essentially, it's a weekend full of guys, games, and junk food. A perfect example of some of young men's hedonistic desires...food and fun!
I actually enjoy this event, although I'm probably going to be exhausted by the end of it due to all the cleaning and cooking I do. Nevertheless, Gabriel's friends are my friend's too, so I really enjoy a weekend full of people I like visiting our house. The little boys have had fun too. They've had lots of energetic people around them to play with and lots of weird computer games to look at.

-Shirin

The first game we played is my favorite...Settlers of Catan!

Brendan showed up at the end to mess with Gabriel.

Then, the boys set up an internet cafe in my kitchen. They've played lots of networked games, like Alien vs Predator, Dungeons & Dragons, and Mount and Blade.

Scary...

Gabriel has gotten to be a teenager for lots of this weekend, but sometimes he's had to take time out to be a daddy again.

Gabriel's two lives juxtaposed.

Cyrus doing some art before bed.

They've been playing a LOT of computer games.

This was Kai's first introduction to the world of gaming. He was ambivalent.

He's more interested in where Mommy and the camera are.

He's had more fun getting to spend some quality time with his Uncle Brendan this weekend.

So has Cyrus.

What have I been doing? Feeding these boys, of course! We've had subs, a burrito bar, and some homemade hummus & falafel. Yum!

I've been feeding this little boy as well.

Cyrus is just one of the guys, shoveling in the carrots and ranch.

Silly baby

This is a video Gabriel took of Kai earlier this week when he stayed home with him while I worked. Kai is experimenting with everything around him right now, including his Daddy's foot.

-Shirin

Living life

Ever since getting out of vet school, I've sort of felt like something was missing...like my purpose in life. I've never had a time in my life where I wasn't trying to get somewhere higher and better. Now that I'm where I wanted to be all my life, I am trying to understand how to not want more. I don't know if that makes sense, but I know my dad understands it, since I think I've inherited this (ambitious? motivated? accountability?) trait from him.

In any case, I keep telling myself to just enjoy myself and live my life. You know, raise kids, make food, take a walk outside, watch a good show, play a game with Gabriel, visit family, etc. I guess I also get the chance to "better" myself every time I go to work, since there's still so much more for me to learn about being a veterinarian.

In any case, I am enjoying the no homework aspect of my life pretty well, and I'm loving the two sweet little bundles of joy that fill up the majority of my free time.

-Shirin

Early this week, Kai was still feeling pretty clingly and wimpy, even though his fever had gone away finally.

He just wanted to hang all over me or Gabriel.

We're so lucky that doesn't make Cyrus jealous. He just comes up to his baby brother and does funny things to make him laugh....

...or gives him hugs. We're so lucky.

Overall, Kai is feeling much better and finally seems ready to start eating some real food again.

Since it's almost Spring, I made Cyrus do a fashion show and try on all his new clothes from the consignment sale. I think I was a little overzealous and bought 4Ts and 5Ts, when his shorts at least needed to be 3Ts. Oops!

This 4T outfit fits OK, though, so I'm not sure how to know exactly what size to buy other than just eyeballing it.

And, as always, when the weather gets nice, we go outside!!! Kai likes watching Cyrus play on the swings...

...and the slide! I am so excited that Baby Kai is finally getting the chance to be part of the playground fun, instead of just an observer. He and Cyrus slid down together a bunch, but I couldn't photograph it since I was making sure no one got hurt.

A stump!

Time to experiment with sliding down the dirt. (I keep reminding myself how much I liked to get dirty as a kid every time I think about all the dirty laundry I'll be doing).

"Aaah..my foot is stuck!"

I went out to lunch with my friend Ruth yesterday, and Kai tagged along. It was so nice to just put him down on the patio so he could go exploring while we talked and ate.

As ever, Gabriel remains our loving and helping husband and father. What would we do without our cheerful, funny, begloved Bubsy?

"Where's Cyrus?"

Cyrus videos

Tita, these are for you.

This one needs subtitles. He's memorized and is repeating a story from Frog and Toad.

The neighborhood

Gabriel and I are still living in the condo that we bought almost 4 years ago. It's been a great home to us, and I'll have lots of fond memories of this place after we leave. It's been both Cyrus' and Kai's first home and a temporary home to many foster cats. Good memories.

One thing about this place that makes me the most happy is my neighbors. After living in a little complex like this for several years, I've gotten to know many of the more long-term tenants. Two of them are stay-at-home moms like me with young kids who can play together, so we often bump into each other outside. Another mom with kids a little older than Cyrus also comes out now and then for a regular neighborhood impromptu get-together.

I really try to get Cyrus outside and running around any day that is nice, like today (kids these day spend way too much time sitting in front of a screen and too little time playing outside, in my opinion). However, Cyrus is not a fan of playing by himself (who is?) and he always wants me to run around with him. While I can do that when Kai is with Gabriel, I don't always have that luxury since Gabriel is often still at work and I am left holding 26 lbs of baby in my arms. That's where my neighbor's kids come in handy! Emilio, 9; Cameron, 6; Aubrey, 4; Lucy, 1; and Nicolas, 1 are all better playmates for him than I am. Here are some photos from the last few play sessions.

-Shirin

Aubrey is just old enough to do things that Cyrus can't. He likes to follow her around and do whatever he can with her, though. In this case, I had to help him climb up on this unit so they could both jump off of it.

Sandra is on the left helping Nicolas walk and Helen is in the middle helping her daughter balance on the "stump." Another neighbor came out to play too...I don't know her too well yet.

Sometimes I force Gabriel to come out into the sunlight with us and then he seems to have some fun. I'm sure he's thinking about his computer the whole time (JK).

Today I tried to take pictures of the three of us...it wasn't easy.

When I can't do it myself...

...and I cut off everyone's heads...

...Cyrus takes the picture for me. It's OK as long as you don't mind the tilt.

Finally, Emilio came by and we got a real photo of us. We were sitting down on the side of the hill near my condo.

We often congregate around the hill because the kids like to play on it so much.

Thankfully, Emilio was there to slide down the hill with Cyrus so I didn't have to.

He's 9, but he's quite good with Cyrus and they took turns sliding down the hill on a piece of cardboard (fun isn't expensive, folks).

Wheeee!

Meanwhile, Baby Kai, high on Motrin, was playing in the leaves at the bottom.

He just likes to pick up and look at everything new.

Thomas, Helen's husband, gave Cyrus a ride home tonight on Emilio's scooter after the three boys went off and had an adventure. What a nice group of neighbors.