A friend of ours is sick. We've known about it for a while now. Almost nine months. It makes me sad almost every day.
It's hard for me to fathom how someone so full of life, so vibrant a human being, so loved by everyone he knows, could be suffering so.
We had a moment, a fraction of time where it seemed like he was going to beat the beast that is cancer. His tumors were shrinking, he was feeling better. As suddenly as his diagnosis, and remarkable improvement, he has taken a turn for the worse.
I want to blog about it, but I don't want to eulogize him. I want to do something, but what?
I pull up his blog everyday and worry that today will be the day, the day that through all of my optimism, and hope, the worst will be there in black and white.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I've been trying to blog, but ...
...I have no good excuse.
I've been trying to blog about the trip the boys and I took last Thursday, we met my Mom and had an amazing time in San Juan Capistrano at Zoomars Petting Zoo. We first took a walk around the Mission, and then headed across the railroad tracks to the petting zoo. It was really great. We started in the giant pen that had dozens of rabbits and guinea pigs. It was a little overwhelming for me, but the boys seemed to enjoy it. Until they caught a glimpse of the little train. I'd have pictures but I can't get them off of my phone. Lets just say they rode, and there were some tears when they had to get off. After the train, we fed the horse and goats carrots. According to Grandma, Ryan was chased by three goats. I was too busy fending off my five to notice. She said he did fine. He was offering them a carrot, and then got a little spooked, he ran, they followed.
I also have pictures on my phone of the boys riding in a little red Jeep. It was a big hit too.
We really had a great time with Grandma. The boys see carrots and say "Neigh eat car-car" and "Feed" followed by "Choo-Choo". A week later, they are still talking about this trip. We have to go and do this again. Fun was had by all.
I hope I'll start breaking this posting dry spell soon. I think it has something to do with getting ready for vacation, and maybe the fact that the boys have been exercising their "two-ness", and maybe another topic that I will touch on,maybe tomorrow.
I've been trying to blog about the trip the boys and I took last Thursday, we met my Mom and had an amazing time in San Juan Capistrano at Zoomars Petting Zoo. We first took a walk around the Mission, and then headed across the railroad tracks to the petting zoo. It was really great. We started in the giant pen that had dozens of rabbits and guinea pigs. It was a little overwhelming for me, but the boys seemed to enjoy it. Until they caught a glimpse of the little train. I'd have pictures but I can't get them off of my phone. Lets just say they rode, and there were some tears when they had to get off. After the train, we fed the horse and goats carrots. According to Grandma, Ryan was chased by three goats. I was too busy fending off my five to notice. She said he did fine. He was offering them a carrot, and then got a little spooked, he ran, they followed.
I also have pictures on my phone of the boys riding in a little red Jeep. It was a big hit too.
We really had a great time with Grandma. The boys see carrots and say "Neigh eat car-car" and "Feed" followed by "Choo-Choo". A week later, they are still talking about this trip. We have to go and do this again. Fun was had by all.
********
I've also been trying to blog or at least post pictures of Sunday's little detour to the local CAT headquarters. In front of the building, they have these just sitting there, begging little boys to climb in them and have their pictures taken!
I hope I'll start breaking this posting dry spell soon. I think it has something to do with getting ready for vacation, and maybe the fact that the boys have been exercising their "two-ness", and maybe another topic that I will touch on,
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Pay it Forward, Part II: The Winner
As provided by Random.org, the winner is:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
2
Timestamp: 2008-08-07 13:36:05 UTC
© 1998-2008 Mads Haahr
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Valid CSS
Web Design by TSDA
Congratulations Lindsay!!!!!
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
2
Timestamp: 2008-08-07 13:36:05 UTC
© 1998-2008 Mads Haahr
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Valid CSS
Web Design by TSDA
Congratulations Lindsay!!!!!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Two weddings and a NICU
Two years ago, we had an addition to our family. No, not a baby or a pet. If I'm being perfectly honest, this addition came into our lives many years earlier. October 5, 2002. That just so happens to be the date we had two more additions to our family. Wow, this is getting confusing.
Here's what happened: Back in October 2002, Shelley, Scott's sister, married Todd. Therefore, Todd and Cassie (Todd's Daughter) became a permanent part of our family, whether they liked it or not.
On that same day, Scott's brother, Eric, decided to bring a "date" to Shelley's wedding. Okay are all of your warning bells going off. Who brings just a "date" to his sister's wedding. Yeah, the entire family was a twitter. If it wasn't the upcoming nuptials being discussed, it was this mysterious "date" Eric was bringing.
To shorten the story by about 10,000 words. Mary came to Shelley's wedding, fit in perfectly. Did not miss a beat, on the dance floor, or keeping up with this sarcastic, crazy family. She survived the wedding, and the three week European vacation with the entire clan, we decided to keep her and she's been with us ever since. (can't shake the girl)
So, now back to TWO years ago today, Eric and Mary were married.
Two years ago, Ryan and Evan were stillpermanent residents of the Infant Special Care Center.
Two years ago, a sobbing Motherwalked was dragged out of the Infant Special Care Center, to catch a plane to Oakland, to drive to picturesque Healdsburg, to participate in Maric's very special day. (oh, everyone in our family has combined names. Shelley, Todd and Madison= Shoddison. Scott and Janice = Scanice. I don't think we've come up with our name including the boys. Have I mentioned that this family is oddcute?)
I wouldn't have missed it for the world, but...as I sat there holding my babies, the thought of being away from them for more than a few hours, was killing me. You see, until this day, I had never gone a day with out seeing my boys. I'd been with them, EVERY. DAY. for four months. I made the trek to the hospital each and every day for four months. I sat by their beds, every day for four months. I KNEW they'd be safe. I'd made sure that our primary nurses were on duty for the weekend. We were going to be back Sunday morning. It was only one day.
In the world of the NICU, one day could be critical. In the NICU, one hour could be critical. You just never know. In one day a preemie can go from stable to critical, it changes that quickly. The only reason I could leave those boys, and go on plane, (where I'd be unreachable) was the knowledge that our primary nurses would be with them. They were the only people that knew those better than us. (Well, they didn't know them better, but they knew them and they have far more medical training than Scott or I, so really, they were safer with them than anywhere.) Funny, it still makes me sweat just a little to think about leaving them in the NICU alone.
It was really good for us to get away, to be with family, celebrating. The ceremony took place overlooking a vineyard, there was great food, dancing, laughter, and lots of love. The bride was gorgeous, the groom handsome. There was nary a dry eye in the place during the ceremony.
Scott and I spent a full day, breathing. Not focused on skin color, or numbers flashing on a monitor, or how many ML's someone ate. We were able to focus on the end game. We were able to recharge, relax and gear up for the home stretch.
Most importantly, we were there to share this with two very special people...
...and the boys were just fine.
Here's what happened: Back in October 2002, Shelley, Scott's sister, married Todd. Therefore, Todd and Cassie (Todd's Daughter) became a permanent part of our family, whether they liked it or not.
On that same day, Scott's brother, Eric, decided to bring a "date" to Shelley's wedding. Okay are all of your warning bells going off. Who brings just a "date" to his sister's wedding. Yeah, the entire family was a twitter. If it wasn't the upcoming nuptials being discussed, it was this mysterious "date" Eric was bringing.
To shorten the story by about 10,000 words. Mary came to Shelley's wedding, fit in perfectly. Did not miss a beat, on the dance floor, or keeping up with this sarcastic, crazy family. She survived the wedding, and the three week European vacation with the entire clan, we decided to keep her and she's been with us ever since. (can't shake the girl)
So, now back to TWO years ago today, Eric and Mary were married.
Two years ago, Ryan and Evan were still
Two years ago, a sobbing Mother
I wouldn't have missed it for the world, but...as I sat there holding my babies, the thought of being away from them for more than a few hours, was killing me. You see, until this day, I had never gone a day with out seeing my boys. I'd been with them, EVERY. DAY. for four months. I made the trek to the hospital each and every day for four months. I sat by their beds, every day for four months. I KNEW they'd be safe. I'd made sure that our primary nurses were on duty for the weekend. We were going to be back Sunday morning. It was only one day.
In the world of the NICU, one day could be critical. In the NICU, one hour could be critical. You just never know. In one day a preemie can go from stable to critical, it changes that quickly. The only reason I could leave those boys, and go on plane, (where I'd be unreachable) was the knowledge that our primary nurses would be with them. They were the only people that knew those better than us. (Well, they didn't know them better, but they knew them and they have far more medical training than Scott or I, so really, they were safer with them than anywhere.) Funny, it still makes me sweat just a little to think about leaving them in the NICU alone.
It was really good for us to get away, to be with family, celebrating. The ceremony took place overlooking a vineyard, there was great food, dancing, laughter, and lots of love. The bride was gorgeous, the groom handsome. There was nary a dry eye in the place during the ceremony.
Scott and I spent a full day, breathing. Not focused on skin color, or numbers flashing on a monitor, or how many ML's someone ate. We were able to focus on the end game. We were able to recharge, relax and gear up for the home stretch.
Most importantly, we were there to share this with two very special people...
...and the boys were just fine.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Pay it Forward, Part II
A while back, Swistle had a massive group Pay it Forward contest. I held a contest here on my blog and entered a bunch myself. Well I won! Lucky me won Emblita's
contest and on Friday this great package of "Icelandic Stuff" arrived on my door step.
Look at all the cool stuff. There's soap, and postcards, (which are beautiful, and make me want to go to Iceland some day) there are Tattoos for the boys, magnets, a really beautiful book on trolls, yummy Icelandic licorice, napkins depicting the classic wool sweaters of the country, (there are a lot of sheep in Iceland) and possibly the most valuable, or the item that will get the most use? The ponytail holder.
It was great fun to get this package in the mail. It was a difficult Friday, and so it's arrival brightened up my day.
So, now it is my turn to Pay it Forward.
Simple, leave me a comment. (Make sure I can contact you if you win)
Answer the question, "What is your favorite Children's book?"
I will randomly select a winner.
Contest ends Wednesday, 12PM Pacific. If you do not have a blog, or do not want to host a contest, enter anyway. Just Pay it Forward in your own way...Do something special for a neighbor, a friend, or for an unsuspecting stranger, Or I'll be happy to pick another winner for you to send a fun little package to. For those 5 regular readers that did not enter the last contest. Please enter this one. I'd love to send YOU something to brighten your day.
contest and on Friday this great package of "Icelandic Stuff" arrived on my door step.
Look at all the cool stuff. There's soap, and postcards, (which are beautiful, and make me want to go to Iceland some day) there are Tattoos for the boys, magnets, a really beautiful book on trolls, yummy Icelandic licorice, napkins depicting the classic wool sweaters of the country, (there are a lot of sheep in Iceland) and possibly the most valuable, or the item that will get the most use? The ponytail holder.It was great fun to get this package in the mail. It was a difficult Friday, and so it's arrival brightened up my day.
So, now it is my turn to Pay it Forward.
Simple, leave me a comment. (Make sure I can contact you if you win)
Answer the question, "What is your favorite Children's book?"
I will randomly select a winner.
Contest ends Wednesday, 12PM Pacific. If you do not have a blog, or do not want to host a contest, enter anyway. Just Pay it Forward in your own way...Do something special for a neighbor, a friend, or for an unsuspecting stranger, Or I'll be happy to pick another winner for you to send a fun little package to. For those 5 regular readers that did not enter the last contest. Please enter this one. I'd love to send YOU something to brighten your day.
In the last 24 hours
I woke up one morning feeling crafty. Or rather, after our trip to the Children's Museum, with Grammie, I decided that I needed to make capes for the boys. They always enjoy playing with them and after looking at the $30 price tag, I decided I could dust off my crafty hat and make capes.
I started with a trip to the local fabric store. I purchased several remnants thinking that they
would be more than adequate. We'll with the boys not all that happy to be shopping for fabric, unless they were ripping the information label off the said remnants, I failed to check all the details on the labels, like width. So, almost a yard of fabric, that is only 22 inches wide, not exactly a cape makes.
I made a return trip on Saturday, sans boys, and purchased an armload of stuff, to be crafty with.
So, in the last 24 hours I've made:
I started with a trip to the local fabric store. I purchased several remnants thinking that they
would be more than adequate. We'll with the boys not all that happy to be shopping for fabric, unless they were ripping the information label off the said remnants, I failed to check all the details on the labels, like width. So, almost a yard of fabric, that is only 22 inches wide, not exactly a cape makes.
I made a return trip on Saturday, sans boys, and purchased an armload of stuff, to be crafty with.
So, in the last 24 hours I've made:
Two black capes.
Two red capes complete with collars.
Two red capes complete with collars.
And you can just see under Ryan, two frog pillows, with zippered removable cases.
It was fun to dig out the old (VERY OLD) sewing machine and get some of the old creativity flowing again. And the boys have some fun things to show for it. Stay tuned because I have another project I'm going to start tonight.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Friends
So I'm a little behind on posting, but a few weeks ago we had a really fun play date with our friends Dylan and Tyler.
We played with books,
with sand,
with chalk,
with crayons,
with paintbrushes,
with trucks,
with each other!!!
Lindsay posted some cute pics of the boys having lunch together.
The boys had so much fun, and all played so well together, that Lindsay and I lost track of time (we actually had several uninterrupted conversations, can you believe it?) it was almost noon before we realized how late it was, and it was WELL after one before we left. Ryan and Evan slept until I roused them out of bed at FOUR!!!! AND, they didn't have any trouble falling asleep that night. I guess four hours of running around with your buddies can be exhausting!
Come to think of it, Lindsay, we need to do that more often.
We played with books,
with sand,
with chalk,
with crayons,
with paintbrushes,
with trucks,
with each other!!!
Lindsay posted some cute pics of the boys having lunch together.
The boys had so much fun, and all played so well together, that Lindsay and I lost track of time (we actually had several uninterrupted conversations, can you believe it?) it was almost noon before we realized how late it was, and it was WELL after one before we left. Ryan and Evan slept until I roused them out of bed at FOUR!!!! AND, they didn't have any trouble falling asleep that night. I guess four hours of running around with your buddies can be exhausting!
Come to think of it, Lindsay, we need to do that more often.
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