Our Little Outpatient

Yesterday Lucy came home from the vet as (I hope) an outpatient. She has to go back a few times a week for a while but hopefully she won't have to stay in overnight again. We're back in for a check-up on Monday

Unfortunately she still has an open wound that ideally needs cleaning and medicated gel applied five times a day - fun! I've
included a close-up photo for your viewing pleasure; if I have to poke and prod it five times a day you can all stand to have a peek at it!

She seems happy enough and is very lively. I'm scared that Ned will catch her leg with his claw when they're play fighting. If not that, she will catch it when chasing madly around the house - it seems that four weeks of confinement have been saved up and are all tumbling out now.

Ned is fine and loves having his sister back home - I've included his photo as he's been rather left out on that front recently.

Snowy Day

Well the Internet and phone have only just been restored - nine days without has made us realise how much we use it. I thought I'd do a quick post just in case the four inches of snow persuade it to go down again!

The snow started yesterday afternoon and carried on, very lightly, all night so there was a perfect amount for sledging when we got up. We wrapped up very warm and spent a few hours around the village messing about and sledging. I'm quite surprised how long we all lasted without getting cold. We met up with some friends and carried on for a bit longer before a break for hot chocolate and coffee.

This afternoon I think we'll light the fire and lounge about in front of it doing very little. Perhaps we'll have a little wander out before bed to enjoy the snow before it turns to sludge.

As for Lucy, she again stayed at the vets all week, just coming home yesterday. She's back there again tomorrow morning (along with Ned who's getting 'done'). We're not sure if she'll be home again during the week, I suppose it depends how her leg is looking. At the moment she still has a full leg bandage but while at the vet she only has a little one on, I think they know that she'll be jumping and playing with Ned and the kids at home so want to give that extra protection.

A Week in January

I've been meaning to do a post all week and then the Internet (and phone) went down and still hasn't come back on as it seems repair people don't work over the weekend! I'm going hi-tech and doing this on my phone.

Lucy is doing well, she spent all week at the vets as they wanted to change her bandage every day. She's home for the weekend but has to go back first thing in the morning. They are talking about letting her home on Wednesday with dressing changes every few days but I think it depends on how it looks then. The vets have a Facebook page and are going to feature Lucy since she will be a long term patient! I'll let you know the address once it's up so you can have a look.

In other things, we went for a wander at Clumber Park last Sunday and had a really nice morning. We walked around the lake and through the wood to reach the discovery centre and play area. On the walk we climbed trees, played hide and seek and generally chased and played our way around. Toby got a bit tired by the end but it was a fab morning.

Oh, and Toby made his first cake - it turned out pretty well and was gobbled up by hungry children. :)

Poor Puddy Cat

Lucy has been having a few adventures in the last week. On Saturday night she didn't come home - we were up every hour seeing if she was about as she has never not come home and it was -2°C (28°F). Eventually she appeared at 7:30am with a chunk missing from her leg. We think she had a play with a fox.

Of course it would happen on a weekend when only the emergency vets were open! She was operated on, got stitched up along with a couple of drains and given a nice cone to keep her from pulling them out. Unfortunately she had lost some skin so what was left was pulled pretty tight. On Monday morning it pulled open, not where her stitches were but further round. Thankfully I was already taking her to our regular vet Monday afternoon.

They looked at her skinless leg and decided to keep her in. They operated again and have coated her wound in medical grade honey and then put her entire leg in a bandage. We went to visit her this afternoon and they said we could bring her home for the weekend as long as we keep her fairly immobile (yeah right!). She doesn't seem very comfortable and can't work out where to put her leg - she keeps falling asleep in her litter tray, standing up with her chin rested on the side.

Anyway, she is back to the vets on Monday and they're going to take the bandage up and see if her skin is showing signs of repair. Think it could be a long process as there's talk of a skin graft. Thank goodness for pet insurance! I'll keep you updated.

Oops!

Beth woke up on new years day with her first wobbly tooth - all very exciting since a couple of her friends have lost teeth and she has been desperate to join them. I seemed to remember loosing teeth as a rather long and drawn out process, never quick enough. It seems not for Beth. On January 2, she bit into her breakfast sausage sandwich, knocking out her wobbly tooth, which she promptly swallowed; oops!

Steve and I were concerned about the blood and hole - we couldn't see if it had just fallen out or been snapped, but Beth was far more concerned about the implications for the tooth fairy visiting! Thankfully the letter of explanation she wrote did the trick and there was a shiny £1 waiting under her pillow the next morning. She won't have a gap for long, her new tooth had already popped up behind it and is halfway up (I'm not quite sure how we

missed that before!).

Overall we had a very lazy Christmas and new year with the kids staying in their pjs all day at least twice. On the last day off, we took a trip to Clumber Park to look at their new discovery centre. We use to go quite often to Clumber but with school and pre-school we just don't seem to have had time recently.

I thought we'd probably last a few minutes in the centre and end up at the play area but we were there for over an hour. There were two guides and since to begin with we were the only ones in they pretty much took a child each - very handy. There were creatures to find, crafts to do, an insect/fish tank and loads of other bits. We all really enjoyed it. Of course we did end up at the playground after but it was quite chilly so didn't stay all that long. On the way back to the car we tried, unsuccessfully, to catch a squirrel for lunch!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone, here's hoping it's a better one than 2011! Our little family of four had not a bad year but looking at our wider family and friends it was filled with rather too much death. Thankfully 2012 started on a better note as we celebrated the new year surrounded by friends.

Here's a few pics we had taken just before Christmas, I think they have captured the kids pretty well. ;)

Merry Christmas!

We had a fantastic Christmas, slightly extended, rather indulgent and very relaxed! My parents and sister Jane came to stay on Christmas Eve and we spent the day eating and drinking. We had our turkey lunch, with home-grown sprouts, and perhaps a glass or two of wine before heading to the church for the evening service. It was good to see friends and get in the (other) Christmas spirit by singing a few carols and watching local children act out the story of Christmas.

Amazingly the kids didn't get up until after half six (though they were both up multiple time in the night). They were both excited but thankfully not hysterical and just loved opening their presents. Toby had got the idea of it this year and it was lovely that they both stopped and played with some of their gifts as they went, rather than tearing through them all at one go.

After a walk and scoot to the park (the kids got a scooter each, complete with flashing lights) we had a lovely, picky brunch with a mixture of samosa, onion bhajis, savoury tarts, cheese and crackers and left over puddings from the day before. Don't worry, we did have home-grown bacon and sausage but for a quick snack breakfast (along with the chocolate!). :)

After brunch, we headed up to Steve's parents for the afternoon. It worked pretty well as the drive gave the kids time to relax and calm down a little. Of course there were lots more presents to open and play with at gran and grandad's. We also got to catch up with lots of family, a great way to finish Christmas day.