Clickety-Clack

I wouldn't call myself a crazy dog or cat lady - although my friends would probably disagree.
I try to limit the amount of cutesy animal videos and photos I share on Facebook and I have only 2 dogs here and my 4 cats are in Canada - so really, not that bad. ;)

I've decided to try with my friend (another dog owner) to start clicker training with our dogs.  I was worried that it would be too late because Blue will be 12 in a couple of weeks or so and Loki will be 8 (I honestly had to dig around in my photo albums and use a calculator...I thought he was turning 7!) this December.

But thanks to some encouragement from some other like-minded dog-crazy friends - I wanted and had to try.
We still have some behaviours that I'd like to work on correcting - mostly tugging like a psycho when they see another dog, squirrel or hare.
I can't blame them - a dog's bum is like a Facebook newsfeed and profile in one furry spot and a caught hare or rabbit is free, fresh food!
Also with Loki, he's still half teenager and doesn't come when called all the time - I'd say about 50% of the time he comes when I use my "Momster" voice and I'm already long gone.  If he has his nose in a hole somewhere a rabbit or mouse was - I don't stand a chance!
I had used a clicker before - perhaps three years ago and it never really stuck.  That's entirely my fault for not "conditioning" it first - teaching the dogs that simply a "click" means a treat and showing that it's a super positive thing and just as positive as belly rubs and ear scratches.

My friend wanted to find a better way to recall her dog better and I must've spoke wonders about the clicker because we both went out and got one and this morning was our first time trying it.
I didn't get any photos because I really only have so many hands - but I had conditioned it yesterday (*click, give a treat* repeat about 10x for each dog) and they saw the clicker (as it hangs off my key chain now) and Loki's recall time was much faster than normal!
Even if he did run back to that hole he was digging in and sniffing around - the main point is that he did come to me when called!

I've also seemed to become MORE of an alpha in the household and the dogs seem to track me even more because they know that Mommy has the clicker and the treats. ;)

My friend's dog is nearing 2 years old and he's at the super horny teenage phase and doesn't want to listen either.  He's ultra protective and will bark at anyone and anything that gets near - so for her - this clicker will be super important in curving those un-wanted behaviours in a positive manner.

So I dug around online and found this super simple and basic video on how to start with the clicker.

My friend and I watched it together in the middle of the woods while our dogs ran around freely and figured, "We can SO do this!" 

And once we get the basics down - then we can really push our dogs and ourselves - the sky's the limit!

So far so good.

Click.

BIMU

PS A friend suggested if our local pet store didn't carry them and we had to wait for an online order to come in - to try using a retractable pen that clicks loudly!

RE: Finland

Hey everyone!

Just to let you know that I have been working on this blog steadily for the past few days - whether you noticed it or not - and have started to remove things or copied things over to another separate blog about things in Finland!

I have previously blogged about life in Finland and after that's disappeared, decided after nearly a year to try again and after having lived here almost six years - am starting from scratch! :)
So anything directly related to Finland - whether it's restaurant reviews or information about what to do in Finland if you lost your wallet - as an example - will be in this brand spanking new blog called, "From Finland, With ♥".

The choice to move it over and keep things a bit separate is because I felt this blog was too overflowing if I started from scratch (i.e. Hesburger vs McDonald's, how to grocery shop in Finland etc.) and I want this blog, BIMU, to be focused on kids, life with an autistic child, food and crafts (whenever I get to it!).

So I welcome you with open arms and assure you to not be confused if some posts over there are identical to the ones you may have seen here! :)
I've also deleted some posts here and dropped them over to FFW♥ to help give the blog some things for readers to look over! :)

I'm also going under the moniker "Mrs. Canuck ♥" in the FFW ♥ blog and just so you know, a Canuck is another term for someone from Canada. :)

I haven't decided yet about creating a separate Instagram or Twitter account for that blog - I need to get through my end of the year exams first and then perhaps over the summer I'll start it up! :)

Have a great weekend!
BIMU

Single Parents Rock!

If you have a single parent friend - go give them a hug.  A bottle of wine and offer to baby-sit their kids.  Seriously.

I'm currently living the single-parenthood life for the past few days (while having sinusitis it turns out) as SH went from being "Super Hubby" to "Sick Hubby".
He hasn't eaten since Monday day-time, had fevers, chills, lethargic, body shaking coughs - you name it - he had it.
Caring for 3 very different children and 2 dogs has been quite exhausting to be honest!
Then why is she blogging?!
For the sake of calming myself down and because the ice-cream needed to be drank anyway.  (Keep reading).

Well, today was the big step for him.  He woke up this morning and whispered to me, "Can you take me to the hospital or call the doctor?  I think I might have pneumonia."

I don't know about your partner but mine is the stereotypical man.  He won't go to the doctor for anything and SH has Crohn's and despite the painful flare-ups he's had - nope.  Despite horrible viruses and flus combined with said Crohn's - he still doesn't go.
Once I was done wrestling a child into their clothing and scraped my jaw off the floor - I told him to get a hot shower, get clean clothes and I'll take the munchkins to day-care and call the doctor's office.

I did just that and because it's hard to get a call in, I requested a call back and was home to see SH had taken a shower and was back to lying down again - with some slight difficulty in breathing.
Shortly after I got a call and the nurse suggested that if SH had flu symptoms, he should just try to take ibuprofen and paracetamol and it'll calm the flu down.
And because he only had a fever for 3 days (and ongoing) - of nearly 39*C that he has to have it for 5 days, the fever leave then come back again and it's considered pneumonia.
He's never had pneumonia before.
Anyway, I play the Crohn's card and tell her he at least should see the duty nurse because he's very weak, not himself and he has never once been to a doctor since we moved here nearly 6 years ago (and yes he's been ill) and the fact that he's asking to go in - says A LOT.

We got an appointment at 10.  I got my prescription for sinusitis - antibiotics for a week...I seriously cannot believe I've gone nearly 30 years without having one - wow it hurts like a bitch!
And after checking SH out, he was whisked away for a blood test.  I guess his infection rates were extremely high because they shipped him off to across the road to the hospital for x-rays of his chest.
Then he came back.  And of course he didn't have his phone, keys or bank card - nothing with him but the sweat pants and "sick clothes" (stuff he won't feel bad sweating in) and his bus card on him.
Funny enough the nurse that was on the phone was the one who took his blood and temperature and other diagnostics and said slightly ashamed that it's a good thing he did come in because his blood infection levels were so high.
A friend suggested I complain and I don't see the point.  She was doing her job and probably has had hundreds of similar calls recently and didn't want to waste the doctor's time or resources.  Another friend advised me there's also a lack of doctors currently - either actual lacking in quantity or they're sick too.

I could only stay so long before rushing out to get a bit of sanity groceries (aka Ben and Jerry's over-priced ice-cream and rotisserie chicken so I didn't have to cook tonight) and also swung by school to show my sick leave note and explain that I'm in a bit of a crunch currently because SH is in the hospital.
By "crunch" I mean my flat looks like a freakin' hidden objects game, the trash needs to be taken out (done it!), my dogs need the bathroom (took care of that too!), someone crapped themselves, someone else is climbing the shelves and dumping my spices on the stove/floor/in a pot etc., the groceries are being torn apart, I need to do a crap load of laundry and dishes and I have a thumping headache and pressure on my face like I'm being sat on by all 3 of my kids at the same time (ON my face).

Then my teacher asked how I was coping.
Cue the flood gates....
I'm horrible when it comes to someone asking how I'm doing - and I KNOW she means well and she's a really sweet teacher (no kids) and I try to push the flood away and just murmured "I'm going to buy some Ben & Jerry's and I think there's a box of red wine at home for tonight."  She smiled, patted me on the back and agreed it was an excellent idea.

So now SH is hanging tough at the hospital for the night and I miraculously got all 3 kids asleep by 9pm - truly impressive considering they're usually asleep by then but with two of us keeping them in their rooms (M-Girl and A-man in 1 room and V-Man on his sofa).

I honestly just shoved a straw into my melted (it was in the fridge for the past 7 hours because my freezer is packed) B&J ice-cream and slurped it up like a milk shake.
I'll probably regret it later.

Anyways, huge props/respect/admiration for all the single parents in the world.
Whether you choose to or it just happened - I applaud you.  It doesn't matter if it's one child or 15, disabled or not - this is definitely not easy and it's testing my patience to the extreme.
I figure if the child is still alive by the end of the day and hasn't hurt anyone else - you're doing an AWESOME job.  It gets better - in case you've had a rough day.
And it can always be worse!

Alright - before I start babbling about useless things - I'll sign off for now!
BIMU

PS On the flip side, I've been hitting my fitness goals with my Polar Loop fitness tracking watch thing.  Amazing what happens when 1 parent is out sick for a few days and can't help out. And I managed to read a JD Robb novel today - thanks to waiting for all of SH's various tests.

A Side of Autism: Appointment & Orange Boogers

Today I took the day off because V-Man had an ear specialist appointment that is necessary prior to him getting ear tubes again.
Of course he fought a lot and I had mentioned that about a month ago, I had to take V-Man to the hospital due to a possible broken nose - courtesy of A-Man and Mr. Hulk.
The swelling had never gone down completely - so the doctor could tell right away that V-Man wasn't breathing through his nose properly and tried looking up his nostrils.
The left one was clear but the right one, where most of the hit had taken place - was blocked.

"We're going to need to take a biopsy - there's a mass in there."

Well punch me in the friggin' guts - CANCER.  I'm internally freaking out and trying to remain calm and responded with, "What?"

She wanted another doctor's opinion and after a few minutes, doctor lady #2 came in and they found some long handled skinny enough tweezers to get up in there and the first grab was a bit of blood and tissue.
Yuck.

The second grab proved to be much more successful.

Apparently in Finland there's a saying, when you're annoyed you shove peas up your nose.
This is not a pea.

It was obvious that neither doctor or the nurse present knew what this was.

At first - because we saw the blackened side first - I thought it was a piece of Chinese sausage.

Then I screamed, "CARROT?!" once it was flipped over and I saw orange.

And he definitely has an infection up in there but it should clear up now that some rabbit food has been removed.

I tried REALLY hard to not laugh and keep a straight face - but the looks on THEIR faces was purely entertaining as I don't think they've ever pulled a chunk of carrot out of a kid's nose before.

My 5-year old had a chunk of a carrot about the size of a 2€ coin shoved up his right nostril for about a month.

Considering he's never, EVER put stuff up his nose before (other than a finger and that's fairly recent) - I was shocked.

They looked over it some more and I took my phone away from V-Man and apologized to the doctor but told her, "I need a photo of this.  My husband would never believe me....and this is SO going on Facebook and Instagram..."

So yeah!  Orange boogers.

They looked at me and asked if I could smell how rotten it was - and I said nope.  Thank you flu for SOMETHING!

So we decided that we'll wait for the appointment time in the mail - about getting the tubes surgery again and they said it would be best to take advantage of his sedation and take a look into his nose because "there could be more that we can't see right now".

Good grief - he probably has the makes of a salad poking up there!

BIMU

PS I just called SH and told him and that a photo was on the way and he laughed and said, "We'll have to apologize to A-Man now for thinking he broke his brother's nose!"