Poor Puppy!

It's been a rough time over the last few days, with three vet visits in three days. We still don't know what happened. On Monday the Puppy Princess had a very swollen face. We took her to the vet where they told us that she likely got stung by a bee. After a shot of an antihistamine, they sent us home.

The next day the swelling in her face was reduced, but her neck was swollen and she displayed other icky symptoms. We took her back to the vet where they gave her another antihistamine shot and sent us home with more antihistamines. That night she wouldn't eat dinner. The next morning she wouldn't eat breakfast. She seemed much worse. Oh...and her ear developed an infection. Back to the vet!

They kept her for observation and blood work. They were able to get her to eat some canned food eventually. The blood work showed nothing. : /  They started her on an antibiotic, told us to continue the antihistamine and keep her quiet for the day.

We still don't know what happened for sure. Our best guess is that she was eating some sort of poisonous plant and got stung by a bee. Last night she slept well. This morning she ate and took all her meds. She looks like she is returning to normal!

What a relief!!

Wardrobe Wednesday

Going for the preppy look? Princess sure can pull it off! This is one of the few outfits that still fits her. Looks like we'll be hitting the summer clearance sales. As it turns out, we'll need summer clothes in October because...

...we're going to Disney World! Again!

Head on over to Heathen Family Revival, our Wardrobe Wednesday sponsor, to see what they're wearing.

It's Not Autumn

"Mommy, the leaves are changing colors!" The only problem is that it's the middle of July, I told Princess. The leaves should not be changing colors.

Yeah, the grass is changing colors, too. :-/

Yes, you are experiencing my brown thumb in all its glory. These are the times that I have that extra wish that the Lizard King was around. After talking with a friend, I learned that new lawns and trees need a much longer watering time than established ones. The sprinkler times are adjusted and we're keeping our fingers crossed that the grass and trees become green and vibrant again. Wish us luck!

Unschooling Royalty

Okay...I'm a little nervous to click "Publish Post" on this one. After all, I disappeared for a month and a half and then I drop this bit of information! I mean, I haven't done a very good job of maintaining this blog lately. But really, part of that was this inner bloggy turmoil. Oh well, deep breath, here goes!

You may have noticed that recently I've mentioned unschooling once or twice. Again and again the thought of starting a separate unschooling blog popped into my head. Well, I finally took the leap. What does this mean for My World Behind Big Shades? Well, I'm not exactly sure. At some point, I may switch over to the other blog completely or I may just keep things separate. I supposed we'll have to see how things play out.

I hope you'll join me over at Unschooling Royalty. Although we are royalty, (after all we've got The Lizard King and Princess, so I may as well be Queen Shady Lady, right?) you all know we're not formal. So stop by anytime, no formal invitation necessary!

Royally Yours,
Queen Shady Lady ;)

Home Sweet Home

I know, I know. I sort of fell off the face of the earth, well, the bloggy earth anyway. I just haven't been in much of a bloggy place. I haven't been posting or reading. It's not like there hasn't been anything going on around here. A LOT has happened and I have so much to share and I really want to get back to regular posting. Maybe today can be the start?

Let's catch up! What have I been doing for the last month and a half?

We packed the house over a period of months. My sister was amazingly helpful, coming over weekly to help. She totally rocks! The Lizard King came home on leave on Thursday, June 24th and the whirlwind began. He got to see the house for the first time, which was so exciting! The next day, play structure construction began.

Here is the house, well, some of it anyway.

You will have to wait to see the rest of the house another time. There is still so much more to do! We moved on the 26th of June and spent every day LK was home working on the house. Before we knew it, it was time for him to head back to Afghanistan. That was an adventure as well! LK was on the KLM flight that turned around over the Atlantic. He did make it safely back to Afghanistan...eventually.

Now I need to rewind just a bit. Before LK came home, before we even closed on the house, we hired an attorney. We tried to handle things on our own with Needy Evie, the evil ex-wife. I told you about her here and here. I did all the work and gathered all the information, copied it and mailed it to the attorney. Needy Evie was served. She had until June 29th to respond. On June 28th she called the attorney's office and said that she wanted to come in and sign the papers stating that we were done paying her alimony. We were stunned. Could it really be that simple? After all these years and all the grief she has given us, would she really go down without a fight. We had a hard time believing it, but it was true. She signed!! The attorney overnighted the papers for LK to sign. This week the judge signed the papers, too. It is done. It is over. After 10 long years, Needy Evie is out of our lives for good.

Now I am working on unpacking and making a home for us. The Lizard King will be home on September 18th, Princess' birthday. We have so much to look forward to, but more than anything we are looking forward to being together as a family.

So, what's up with all of you?