swimming

Evidently, Michael's little aliens from Toy Story wanted to go swimming this morning.

So glad I cleaned the pool before it opened up for the season.

phases 1 and 2 are complete...

We are working hard on our kitchen and I am loving how it is turning out so far.  Phase 1 was installing the backsplash.  Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5 involves painting the 4 different colors of paint we bought.   I'm just making these phases up to sound super organized....but it's really a disaster zone here.  However, here's a section that IS completed...and clean. lol!  In real life, the yellow paint isn't that yellow...more of a dirty mustard color called Cork from Behr.

So much better than the super bright white wall above the cabinets and lemon yellow paint where the backsplash is....oh, and the new stove (to replace the 16 year old one) is pretty slick too!

Eeeek, I am so excited and I cannot wait until the transformation is complete!!

"Transform....transform...."  A Bug's Life quote that is now stuck in my head.  Michael watches a lot of Disney and Dreamworks movies that we can almost quote by heart.

shoot the moon

I love stargazing and watching rare astrological events.  Very often, you'll find me sitting outside at night waiting for meteor showers or comets or just enjoying the night sky.  I may or may not have a little adult beverage at my side too, especially during those warm summer nights after the boy is in bed.  Before Michael was born, I even talked Gary into going for a drive out into the country to get away from the suburban street lights so we could see the action in the sky even better.

This weekend was a rare "perigee moon" aka Super Moon, so I got out my tripod and remote control in an attempt to "shoot the moon".

Not bad, I guess.  Was definitely wishing for a super zoom lens so I wouldn't have to crop it a ton and end up with lots of grain, but we can't have everything.  Still an enjoyable evening, not too cold out and I had fun playing with my camera.

Whew....what we've been up to this winter

My poor, poor neglected little blog.  {sigh}  I don't mean to ignore you blog or my wonderful family and friends that read about our little life here.  I've just been busy.  Non-stop busy.  Like my head is going to explode with so much going on that it makes-me-want-to-shut-down kind of busy.  It also makes me want to throw away all the clutter, toys, filing/papers, excess clothes...everything, and start fresh. Spring kind of does that to me (you too?)....I always feel so restless and full of cabin fever when winter is almost over (or SHOULD be over!).


I'll do some more bullets to catch the blog up through winter:

• Skiing:  Michael + snow + speed + outside = LOVE.

(if you want, you can turn off the music at the very bottom)

• Painting:  in-laws basement (done).
• Painting:  our kitchen, living room, stairs/hall, and family room (starting in a week or two).
• Tiling: our new kitchen backsplash (working on it at this moment).
• Photography business:  blog, website, portfolio building, lots of schtuff going on in this area (on-going).
• Conductive Education:  special Hungarian therapy for Michael (on-going...except on hold now because of a knee injury).
• Playing:  Michael playing and enjoying his company.

• School:  Michael not doing well in school, plus lots of disappointing things in this area.
• Laundry:  my never-ending nemesis.
• Birthday:  planning a little Toy Story birthday party for Michael (in about 3 weeks).
• Doctors:  see below.  In addition, we're also taking Michael to a specialist at Cincinnati Children's for a 2nd opinion about his knee (it dislocates when his leg is straight) and spine (tethered spinal cord) and scoliosis and possible bone deformities throughout (also in 3 weeks).

Other news and goings on around here.
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Just after Valentine's Day, Michael had a seizure at 9pm while eating yogurt and it aspirated into his lungs. We called 911 and got him to the ER.  He was released from the hospital at midnight, only for Michael to have a 2nd seizure and stop breathing for 20-30 seconds around 3am (as you can imagine - it was THE scariest thing EVER and we've had some scary stuff here!). Called 911 again and the squad took us back to hospital, then Children's Hospital picked him up from Memorial Hospital and transported Michael to Children's in Columbus (Memorial Hosp is about 45 mins away from Children's). Children's admitted him while he fought aspiration pneumonia. He received antibiotics by IV and stayed in the hospital for 5 days.


He's finished with antibiotics and we did a follow up xray 2 weeks ago to make sure the aspiration pneumonia is gone (all CLEAR!). He's acting fine and we're starting to get back into our "normal" routine (whatever the heck that is!!).


He's definitely more resilient than us...that's for sure!  :)


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So 3 days after Michael is home from the hospital, I'm changing a poopy diaper and notice that part of his poop looked weird, so I took a closer look (eewww completely gross, I know).  But what the heck?  Is that... a worm?  OMG!  It's not a worm...it's....it's....a BABY WIPE!  Are you kidding me?!?  He pooped out a 5" long piece of baby wipe!  The previous night I had changed his diaper and he grabbed a wipe from the container.  Not a big deal....he's a "shredder", he likes to shred wipes, tissues, paper, whatever.  But lately, he has been chewing on his shirt collar and the corners of pillows.  He never, never, ever puts smaller things in his mouth...like food or toys.  So I totally didn't think about the baby wipe thing.  This so could've turned out awful:  like choking on it or having a bowel obstruction.  Guess he's in a chewy pre-toddler stage now.  We have been warned!


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Okay, I don't mean to carry on and on about poop, but 2 days after he turned into a wipe dispenser, I was on the phone with someone, maybe my dad, and I smell Michael "making me a present".  I tell my dad I have to hang up, that I have to change Michael's diaper.  I go downstairs to find that I don't have to change his diaper after all.  That's because Michael pulled down his pants AND his diaper before doing his business on the family room floor.    NOOooooo!!!!  Oh yes. he. did.


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Merry Christmas...

...and Happy New Year!!

My family and I, wish you and yours a very merry holiday season!

xoxox

bullets

What we've been doing lately, aside from slacking on this poor little 'ole blog, in bullet form:

I am in love with Michael's new kicks!

• Doctor's appointments for the boy - MRIs, x-rays, neurologists, orthotics, physical medicine, pediatrician, neurosurgeon, dentist....you name it, we've probably seen a doctor for it in the last 2 months.  And there's 4-5 more appointments to go before Thanksgiving.
• Insurance...and all the paperwork and headaches that go with them not paying what they should and trying to come up with the money for what they don't cover.
• School and all that goes with it.

We heard Michael sneak out of his room after bedtime and we found him reading a comic book (The Simpson) at the top of the stairs with his partner in crime.

• Conductive Education, a unique therapy-like program from Hungary that Michael has been participating in during the summer and after school.  We're thinking of signing him up for their 5-week/4 hours a day program starting in January...but have to figure out how to get him out of school without penalizing him.  We're also applying for a grant to help fund his therapy.  It's $1,200-$1,700 per session depending on the session type and the hours in that session...and our insurance company doesn't cover this program (nor does any other insurance company in the US).
• Continuing to have Michael self-feed...he's getting better at it, but we have to keep an eye on him because sometimes he'll feed the top of his head or the dog.
• I'm starting a photography business...so I'm testing the waters with my tippy toes by doing some portfolio building.  Getting my business plan and marketing and websites/social media up and running.
• I was able to attend one of my nephew's football games, finally (usually Gary goes to the games and I stay home with Michael, but the last game of the season was free and we thought we'd try it as a family).  Michael would have liked it more without the announcer (not sure what it is about the loudspeaker voices, but they really upset him).  He did great otherwise and loved to cheer and clap.  

That's our nephew with the fumble-recovering-game-winning play, in OT no less!!  Go Dillon!!

• Attempting to keep the house clean...or at least making sure we have food and clean underwear. 
• Michael's name/number came up for our state/county's waiver program that will help with medical bills, so we've started the application process...it takes about 3 months to complete and become officially approved.  We're just starting the 2nd month - hoping for a January start date.
• Volunteer work with the Care Train (an organization that raises money and provides toys and food vouchers for needy local families at Christmas).  I'm on the auction team, so I solicit businesses for donations of goods and services and money.  This year was a record breaker:  we raised over $150,000 for our community....we love our hometown (except for the cold weather!)
• Volunteer work with Brighter Beginnings, where Michael receives Conductive Education.  I helped redesign their website and they've asked me to join their Board of Directors.  It is my hope to help make a difference for Michael and all the kids.
• Halloween was a success for Michael.  He stayed out and watched the kids trick-or-treat for almost an hour - his longest yet.  He cheered for the Buzzes, Woodys, and princesses.  :)  He was dressed as an astronaut.

• Working on cleaning closets, going through clothes & toys, trying to get rid of stuff before we're trapped inside with tons of crap all winter long....and suffocating.
• In between all the craziness, we went to Florida for vacation.  It was nice and we had great weather.  Lots of time for Michael to play in the sand and the water.  It was relaxing, but it took a TON of work to make it happen, if that makes any sense.  You know I'll blog more about this later, with lots of pictures.

Yes, he buried himself in the sand...

...and he had a GREAT time doing it!

Hopefully, I'll be back sooner rather than later to share more stories.  

another sister trip to Seattle - Feb 2010

Okay.  THIS will be the last old post I have to catch up on.  Really.  I think.  Geez Louise, I have been so behind on blogging some of my favorite adventures!  I better just get to it then, huh?

We had some airline credits that we had to use or lose, but only enough to put towards one ticket.  Where to go, where to go...and in February?  After discussing a whole bunch of ideas, Gary decided that I should visit my sister Keni (again-yippee!)...especially since he was going to head to Florida the following month for a fishing tournament with his dad.  Well, what was a girl to do but honor her husband's decision?  :)

So I booked a flight to Seattle, with a connection in Chicago...in February....during winter....the same weekend we had a forecast for 9-16" of snow.  Did I mention that it was a non-refundable flight??  Yeah, I was a little concerned I wasn't even going to make it to the airport, let alone to Seattle.  Oh, and if I did make it to Seattle, I was in for a treat:  rain predicted for my entire trip.

Luckily, I made it out of Columbus on time.  Only to be stuck in Chicago - but only for a couple of extra hours.  The lady I sat next to on the plane was also flying to Seattle to babysit her granddaughter, so we had a lovely dinner together at Harry Caray's restaurant.  It sure did help to pass the time!

Josh picked me up from the airport around 11:00pm their time (2:00am my time), so we didn't stay up too late chatting...I was whipped.

The next morning, I was gently woken up by my cutie-pie niece and I went with Josh to drop her off at preschool.  It stopped raining on the way home, so Josh and I went for a little hike near their house while my sister finished up her work stuff.  Then Keni and I went to get a mani-pedi (they have early morning happy hour discounts - so fun and great marketing on their part!) while we talked about home decorating ideas.  I asked her to stop at Home Depot and I ran in (wearing those cheap-o pedicure flipflops--quite a site, I'm sure) and grabbed a bunch of paint swatches and idea books.

We went back to her house, grabbed Josh and then went to happy hour at The Tides, in Gig Harbor.  We ate a bunch of appetizers and had a few drinks while picking out wall colors, tile colors, countertop colors, etc. etc.  It was very fun for me to help give them ideas, knowing that I wasn't going to do ANY of the work (especially since Gary and I were still working on his parents' house)!!  BTW, Keni and Josh's remodel turned out fabulous!!

That evening, Gabby schooled me in x-box playing Lego Batman.  I totally sucked and she totally rocked.  In fact, she had to put my guy on "hold" a few times because I was keeping her guy from advancing and even told me, "Aunt Val, I think you need more practice".

The next day Josh and Gabby left for an overnight trip with a friend and her dad.  Keni and I took off on a trip to Ocean Shores, WA.  Another trip to the WA coast, but with a beachfront hotel (the Shilo Inn) and no hiking required.

(This is definitely something we don't have in Ohio.)

We got there in time to get settled in our room, pour a glass of wine and head to the beach for sunset.

It rained the entire drive to the coast (almost 3 hrs), but right when we got to the beach the skies seemed to brighten up around us in a giant circle.  So we spent a good hour walking around, taking pictures, drinking wine, being silly, etc.

(taken with my phone)

 Just when the sun went down and we were finished exploring, the skies darkened up again and started to rain.  We had to run back to the hotel, but the heavy rain came just as we made it inside.

We had a few restaurant options for dinner, but we drank so much wine we decided to just order a pizza and have it delivered to our room.  :)  We ate, played games (dirty scrabble) and read books.  We were out cold by 9:00 pm...so sad...but sleep was one thing we were looking forward too.  :)

The next morning, we drove Keni's car out onto the beach (totally legal there...and it was raining again) for another look at the angry, crashing waves.

We had the most delicious and hearty breakfast at the plainest looking dive of a diner (I can't remember the name of the place, but they were trying to sell the place to move closer to their children/grandchildren).  The husband and wife owners were a hilarious comedy team too.  So fun!

We fed our bellies and cruised the beach strip one more time...and did a quick stop at a jetty.

(Get off the rocks!!  It's dangerous!)

(a little blurry, but you get the idea of what happened...you should never, ever stand on a jetty...the dude above was lucky he wasn't knocked INTO the water)

(and these people evidently didn't learn or care that medics were carting someone off after being knocked around on the rocks by the waves)

After the jetty drama, we headed back to Keni's house, stopping at the mall on the way home, and then The Melting Pot for yet another happy hour.

The next day we took a hike across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (do you remember that bridge from the History Channel and history books?? That was swaying crazily?? Famous for crashing into Puget Sound only 4 months after it was completed??

Yep, this is the same bridge, only brand spanking new).  It was crazy windy, but luckily not raining.  We were on the lookout for the local orca pod, but didn't see them.

this silly little girl makes my heart happy

 Making wishes.

On my last night, Keni and Josh went out to dinner (it was Valentine's Day after all) while I watched Gabby play SuperGirl and packed.

Later, we all hung out in their hottub to chill one last time before heading home...which was quite an adventure because I got stranded in Chicago overnight because the Columbus airport was snowed in.  I took advantage of my extra day of vacation and had one of my favorite Chicago pizza pies delivered to my hotel room (if only the Weber Grill delivered--that would have been heaven!).  I ate pizza while watching some chick flick and slept comfortably in a big 'ol bed....much better than the other option of camping out on a cot at the airport, for sure!  Good call Gary.  :)

I cannot wait to visit with my sister again (I wish we lived closer) - we always have a great time together!