bathroom redo

We are slowly but surely making improvements to our house.  The bathrooms have been in desperate need of help, but took a backseat to the electrical work, new roof, wood stove, and new front door.  While the master bathroom is in a sorry state, it's going to take lots of work and lots of money.  The hall bathroom was much more manageable, and something we could easily do ourselves (read: Jim could do himself). 

Here are some before and after pictures:

I know it's been too long since I last posted.  It's been crazy lately.  But the semester has ended and I will have more free time to post.  Here are three pictures to tide you over:

My birthday in April

The mama bear and one of her cubs in our neighbor's yard

JoJo loves a birthday!

family portraits

I was framing some art and Seamus got a hold of the mat. Hilarity ensued.

secret (stinky) stash

These are the toys that I retrieved from Seamus's diaper pail tonight. It was like a clown car - they just kept coming. Apparently, the diaper champ is a fabulous place to store them.  Good thing I realized that the bag was clunking as I took it out. I'll hit them with a little disinfectant and then try to figure out a way to keep him from doing it again.

The boy is a problem solver, so I may be in trouble.  He's a good blend of imp and sweetheart.  He loves repeating "No!" and has been known to give a smack when you lean in for a kiss.  On the other hand, he loves to give hugs and kisses.  Last night he "helped" me put Eve's slipper back on.  Then he pointed at her g-tube and before I could say anything, he gently tucked it under her shirt. 

JoJo is 5

Happy Birthday, Josie!

Eve finally shook the remnants of the cold about a week ago.  After being put on Amoxicillin, she took a turn for the worse.  Her pediatrician switched her to a broader spectrum antibiotic and we gave her that for 10 days.  She finished on Friday and has no more cough or runny nose.  However, she did get diarrhea.  So, to combat that we backed off the miralax and ended up constipating her.  So, we are back on Miralax and trying to find the balance again (and almost there). Speaking of that issue, I swear that the child has a connection between her butt and doctors' offices.  Without fail, she manages to poop en route to every doctor's  office every single time.  So we get there, and I have to ask for an exam room to change her.  We had two doctors' appointments this week and I wised up.  I thought to ask the nurses for some air freshener, because girl can drop bombs. 

So, about those appointments:
Yesterday she had her neurology appointment.  We upped one of her meds, but nothing has really changed since he saw her in the hospital.  She has lost all of her words for the most part.  She really doesn't even say "Ah" for yes anymore.  I have resorted to asking her to look at her preferred options rather than saying yes to something.  I mentioned how she no longer cries, but has retained her laughter.  She is pretty apathetic about some things, but still manages to laugh hysterically at her brother or father.  She still has her sense of humor.

Today we went for the GI followup.  That went well, too.  She weighs 45lbs!!!  She has put on 9 pounds in the last 6 months.  Consequently, the GI said to back off her feeds a little. So, I'll keep her on 20 hours a day, but reduce the rate a bit.  All else is going well.  He said something to the effect of not rocking the boat. 

Here is a picture of my folks and the kids.  Jim is on a trip this week (more on that later), and they came up to help out.  Seamus is keeping us all entertained.  

Dad's shoes