Standing Frame Frolics

We have a standing frame on loan at the moment from the Cerebral Palsy League, so that Snail can use it to build up some strength and as part of her rehab.  While it looks like some kind of medieval torture device and takes up more room than a small car, it's worth is for the fun Snail has in it!

Monkey!!

 DinnerDad loaded up the girls on the weekend to storm watch in our front yard, here's Lolly on the front.  Too cute. 

We're probably going to apply for some funding to get one, they're pretty cool :D

Travels and such...now with too many photos!

All has been quiet on the blogging front, for two main reasons.  First, not having anything interesting to report for most of the time, we've been either home with Snail, or sick and home with Snail.  The girls have watched a LOT of My Little Pony.

The other main reason is we had a whirlwind trip overseas to Stockholm and London!  DinnerDad had to work in Stockholm (as you do) and we had a week holiday there and in London before heading back home.

It was awesome!!  Here are some snapshot highlights for your viewing pleasure :D  Sorry about the photo bombing, I've been sick since we got home two weeks ago with a bug we picked up in Sweden.  Blerg.  But worth it!!

Gamla Stan on our first day in Stockholm

Cute hat!

Up close with the Lemurs at Skansen!

More picturesque at Skansen, Stockholm.

Snow!!

More cute hats and frozen puddles.

Wolf hat and half-frozen lake at Uppsala

Butterfly House, Stockholm.

"Keep off the Grass" NOT - at Westminster Abbey.

Kensington Palace

Hyde Park!

Tower of London looks imposing.

FANCY hotel in London!!

Pony on the London Eye

Squirrel!!

After a LOT of flight time, Lolly watches more MLP on takeoff from Singapore.

Doings - August and September!

Not as many doings as we are normally, well, doing, due to being at home a LOT with Snail.  But we get out when we can.

To the wonderful Bush Kindy, organised by a dear and wonderful friend.

Treasure hunt collage!

Sunny days doing a bird ID walk at bush kindy.

The very start of Spring, already roasting here in Brisvegas!

I LOVE that the kids were to "tick" the birds as they spotted the cards, and Lolly drew an actual tick (as in, the little bug).  She'd just had a tick on her neck that week, so it was clearly topical.  ;)

Ticks :D

 To Sushi train, where kitty gets salmon.

More sushi train, in which Lolly is so grown up.

Sisters watching Bananas on the iPad.

All of the drawing.  

"Mummy and Lolly in a house with a sun and birds."

Making the most of an occasional cold August night at our fire pit.

Why yes, Lolly did toast a carrot over the fire as we had no marshmallows!  She ate two!

Sad neglected children get toasted carrot.

Snail is doing really well.  She had to have one of the hip pins out as it had come through her skin (!!) but recovered quickly and we are well into rehab. She is (as of a couple of weeks ago) back in her normal wheelchair, so it's goodbye to the reclining thing we spent 9 weeks in!  She's doing great at physio, and standing transfers are close in our future, which will make all our lives a lot easier, especially hers!  It's been a hard time, but the light is at the end of the tunnel. 

At one of our post-surgical appointments, around 8 weeks after surgery, at the hospital cafe, traveling in style!

Finally, girls with "pricklefoot" have to use their sister's reclining wheelchairs to recover. 

How do you know it's Spring?

Why, when your Hermit crabs come out of hibernation!  Big Alice was spotted in early September, on the sea salt sponge. 

Evidence!

We are rather relieved they are all still alive, Little Alice basically disappeared all winter, I kept opening up the case to see if it smelt like a bad seafood cocktail.  But no, all was well, and Big Alice, Little Alice, and Pinchy are back crabbing around as it heats up.  It's getting even more like a naturalist paradise round ehre, Lolly is insatiable with her need to get new pets and care for them.

In other pet news, here is Squirtle's new home!

A fab red makeover for the stand, courtesy of DinnerDad

Squirtle: OMG, Awesome!

New family members, or: OMG PUPPY!

My delightful sister-in-law and dear friend has a new (ish, she's had her a few months now!) puppy.  A puppy of awesomeness.  A puppy whose cute-osity knows no satiety.  Lou-Lou!!

Giant fluff ball...and puppy

My DSIL (delightful sister-in-law) has never known so frequent a visitor as young Lolly, since obtaining this puppy paragon.  Lolly barely gets a week before demanding to see "her puppy Lou-Lou."

ZOMG the cute

I mean, seriously.  'tis not a dog, 'tis a fur-ball of cute!

Alarming similarities?

Two happy puppies.

Lou-Lou and DSIL, we loves you!!

Are you ready for too many photos of the Ekka?

I hope so, because here they are!  If not, look away...NOW

The day before the Snail got back home, I took Lolly to the Ekka (for our overseas guests, a big country fair kind of dealio held for a few days every year at these inner-city showgrounds).  We've been every year since she was 2!  Okay, so that's only 3 times, but still.

The best part for a Lolly is the giant baby animal feeding/poop centre.  We seriously spend ages in there. 

OMG tiny animal!

Feeding goats.

 From there, it's a straight route over to the horses.

OMG HORSE!!

 Dogs and cats are next.

More shots of Lolly patting things.

We hit the kiddie ride section pretty hard this year, it was the first year she really wanted to go on anything.

Excuse the finger over the lens, but check out that face!!  On the Ferris wheel with Nanna.

Riding the tea cups with Pop!

Pony ride with Nanna!

Overpriced and ever-shrinking strawberry icecream!

Carousel.

Bees!

Produce!

I'm sure (if you've read this far) that you get the gist of the Ekka from these shots.  It's a kid's paradise, basically.  This year she was quite interested in the show bags, too, and we chose the "pretty pony" bag, with an over-abundance of over-priced ponies.  Awesome!!  She's already counting down the time to next year when we get to go again. 

Can I just give a bit THANK YOU to Nanna and Pop.  And my lovely friend, Vanessa, who made that gorgeous top, which mean Lolly was the cutest identifiable kid at the Show :D

Home again.

Snail is back with us!  She's here for three weeks, then, if she's up to it, we'll be back to week about.  Transfers are a little hard to say the least at the moment!

We're nearly 4 weeks out from her surgery now, and we're getting there...slowly!  Snail still has a fair bit of pain, and isn't eating well.  Given that most of her meds are oral (don't ask about the others!) this is a fun time for all.  Still, she is getting better every day, which frankly is odd. 

Not that she would get better from surgery, of course she would.  Her health is basically good, and her immune system works a treat.  It's more the weirdness of her having something awful happen that will GET BETTER.  We're more used to "oh, that's the suckfullness that is her/our lives now, and we just have to wear it."  The CP, the intellectual disability, seizures that just get worse and worse and don't respond to meds well, then the hips, which have been gradually deteriorating for at least a year now (in the acute phase, longer really in terms of decreasing mobility and increasing pain).  So yeah, we don't really get things that GET BETTER.

This will, you know, get better.  She'll feel gradually better every day.  She'll get MORE movement and ability back instead of less.  She'll get LESS pain instead of more.  When it's all said and done, she'll be better off in a few months than she has been in years.  We might even get some mobility back, it's been ages since she could use her walker, or walk supported.  So, it's kind of awesome.  Though I'm not quite feeling it yet.  Cautiously awesome. 

We've got another nearly four weeks of splints and the foam wedge that holds her legs and hips in position, then hopefully after her follow-up appointment and x-ray we'll get more of a repreive and can move to just using them at night.  Then an intensive couple of weeks of physio at the hospital to get her used to moving again.  Then, back to school and regular physio.  Can't wait!!

So, that's my mildly coherent update.  And here are some shots of our various contraptions, which are numerous!  The recliner for relaxed telly watching that we borrowed from her Mum...

The reclining wheelchair, complete with bonus world's fattest cat and our new turtle tank :D

Snail and DinnerDad are camping out in the lounge because we can't get the enormous chair down our tiny hallway.  At least it's bright and sunny out there!

There's a hoist too, but apparently I haven't uploaded a pic.  Next time.  We haven't had to use it yet as the 2-person lift is working fine.