a visit from the mad hatter

Apparently, our dogs needed hats.  So the Gig decided to make them some. She used her old jeans and some elastic that she found lying about stole from the Bear's party hat, and created hats.  For dogs.  Go figure.

Jasper, being the media tart that he is, wears his hat with pride and, may I say, panache.

Harlan (in the green collar), on the other hand, feels faintly ridiculous in his.  I can't imagine why.

 But the title of Hat-Wearer-Extrordinaire must go to the Bear.  Anyone who can look this sensational in a sparkly purple bowler hat gets my vote!

This was the best photo I could get.  After all, what's the fun of wearing a sparkly purple bowler hat if you're not running around in circles?

time for a catch up!

Slacker McGee, reporting for blogging duty.

I'm still alive!  I just really haven't been in the mood for blogging lately, and we've been so busy that I've barely had time to anyway.  I'm really sorry that I left you all with such a negative post for so long, but I'm in a better mood now, so this one will be happier.  Not that I actually have any idea what I'm planning to write, mind you.  It's a sort of "fly by the seat of my pants" post.  Think of it as an adventure, if you will.

So where to start?  Maybe with our family holiday to the beach last month.  We had a ball, even though it rained most of the time we were there.  The Bear re-discovered his obsession with lifts (elevators), and we passed the time merrily away by riding in the lift probably 40 times every day.  Bear in mind that we were on the ground floor and didn't actually need to use the lift at all.  He lost all of his words that week, but did find one new one - "Ni".  Or, as we might say, "Lift".  Seriously, that was the only word he said all week.  But he said it so often that it took me a day or two to realise that he wasn't saying anything else!

The Gig had a great time swimming at the pool and the beach.  Who remembers those freezing swimming sessions as a child, with your parents wrapped up in winter woollies at the side of the pool, while you, teeth chattering and lips turning a fetching shade of blue, swore blind that you weren't cold?  You do?  Then you'll be able to imagine the Gig's pool time perfectly!

It was a lovely holiday, though not remotely restful or relaxing.  But now we're back to reality, which for me involves a lot, and I do mean a lot, of time in the car, ferrying my children from one activity or therpay session to another.  It seems that everything we do is on the other side of town.  Speech and OT are a twenty minute drive away, and the  autism siblings group that the Gig starts today is half an hour away, in good traffic.  Of course, it finishes right on peak hour...

We do have some sad news.  Our beloved little dog Harlan has heart failure.  It can be treated but not cured, and his life expectancy is probably about eighteen months.  We are very sad, but determined to make his life happy, if cut short.  He's eight years old, and heart failure is very common in Cavaliers, but it's still come as a shock.

I'm having trouble (again!) with uploading pictures, so I'll leave you with something to imagine instead.  The Bear loves Bob the Builder, and every now and then he brings me his Bob shirt, which shows Bob wearing a hard hat and holding a spanner, to put on him.  Then, he grabs his Bob hard hat  and Bob spanner, and runs down to the mirror in my room.  He puts the hat on, and holds the spanner in exactly the same way that Bob is.  Then, deeply satisfied, he looks at himself in the mirror.  That's how my gorgeous little boy plays at "being Bob the Builder".  How cute is that?

Right, the TV is silent, which means that the Wiggles is finished.  More worryingly, the Bear is silent too.  I'll see you later!