rain on tulips

today is not a day for full sentences…

migraine. ’nuff said.

anxiety. no new word on baby, last news wasn’t encouraging.

expectant. fingers crossed for a leap-year baby brother for neice O.

struggling. must find topic for writing class assignment.

tired. sleep came in fits and starts, wasn’t much restful, ended far too soon.

feeling guilty that i have things to do, life moving on, projects evolving, while family far away wait anxiously for answers. wish i were closer.

Just got word that Fuul’s sister-in-law had her baby this morning, a month early, and he’s in the NICU with an infection that they haven’t yet identified. Any prayers or good thoughts that can be spared would be hugely welcome!

JS and DA both came home from wrestling practice today with the news that they both made the Varsity team, and will wrestle varsity tomorrow at the meet! Woohoo!

Fuul is on the phone with the xbox live people, and based on listening to him s l o w l y repeat himself, the person on the other end of the line is an idiot…

At least its not me having to argue minutae, because I’d have to just write it off long before now!

(I’m prefacing this with an “I really get fed up with forwarded messages” so I generally don’t forward them on. But a woman on a private bulletin board I read copied this one there yesterday morning, and I just couldn’t help myself! So, I’m not forwarding it in email, and if you’re reading this online, you’ve been warned that its not my original stuff, and just made me giggle. So there!)

9 WORDS WOMEN USE

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you’re welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says “Thanks a lot” - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say! “you’r e welcome” … that will bring on a “whatever”).

(8) Whatever: Is a women’s way of saying F** K YOU!

(9) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking “What’s wrong?” For the woman’s response refer to # 3.

JS had his one week post-op appointment yesterday, and we got the official pathology report that says the growth on his eye was a benign nevus with some inflammatory cells, which is why they think it started growing at such an increased rate recently — it was getting more inflamed.

So, the great news is that there is no real risk of recurrance or other problems arising from the excised site. Now we just wait through the rest of the healing process and hope that the boundary between the cornea and the conjunctiva heals cleanly.

But for now its all good! (And he’s really out of pain, and about ready to go!)

(aka hot chocolate and homemade fudge)

For sale, in front of our house. At least its them out there in the cold, and not me! LOL

Fuul got an email last week, saying that his manager had nominated him for an award at work, and that the nomination had been approved. We were pretty excited, and were looking forward to the surprising monetary bonus that was included.

Little did we know…

When Fuul’s paycheck went into the bank today, he thought they had made a mistake …actually, the bonus was just that much, after taxes! Like, several times what we had expected!

Nothing like a little surprise to make a day purely squeeful!

I decided today that I ought to get moving again, since my clothes just aren’t fitting the way I like anymore. I assume that that means I’ve been gaining weight (no, I don’t own a scale, nor do I want to; I’m afraid it would depress me), and I think I ought to do something about it.

So, EK, CC and I went on a walk this morning. I packed them in the jogger, packed bottles and toys and books and the portable dvd player with Spongebob, and headed out. The battery on the dvd player gave out after about seven minutes. I was afraid I would be spending the rest of the time trying to keep the little ones happy and in their seats, but it wasn’t the case too much. EK did want out at one point, so I let her walk with me for a while. She made it much farther than I thought she would.

Our neighborhood is deceptively hilly… what seems like a nice simple walk turns into a hike up some pretty steep inclines at some point, all made worse by pushing a stroller up in front of me.

But I did it. Forty-five minutes. 1.9 miles. (It felt like a much longer time; I’m glad the distance wasn’t some pathetic half mile or something!)

My legs are feeling the walk now, and my shoulders. But at least I can tell myself that I did something to get movig again.

(via Mia)

Breast Milk Contains Stem Cells.

The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.

He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled.

(There’s lots more at the link above!)

Amazing stuff, that!

JS had his surgery yesterday; it took about twice as long as expected, but its alright. We saw the doctor again this morning, and she said things look good. We’ll go back again tomorrow to see if he’s ready to have the eye patch removed on a permanent basis.

A few photos, for posterity! LOL (I tried to remote blog yesterday as it was happening, but I couldn’t get reliable internet access at the hospital until the last half hour we were there. Ah well!)

All ready to go… nervous but still laughing!

Ah, the lovely hospital couture!

Recovering… slowly.

Ready to roll out… no longer smiling… and way too hungry for his own good.

We ought to hear back from the doctor about the pathology report in two weeks. Feel free to keep JS in your thoughts until then!

…slept in too late. Yeah!

…fridge is full and so is the gas tank.

…laundy started but nowhere finished. There’s always tomorrow.

…hair is pink! Yeah again!

…ears are ringing from watching too-loud live music… wound up with two new cds to show for it! (Five bands at the Showbox… left after four, since it was after 11 and Fuul and I were both tired).

…downside is the migraine I’ve been nursing all afternoon. Maybe it will go away with some sleep.

(Click the ‘more’ for links to the bands we saw tonight!)

(more…)

Yes, the vacuuming does take three times as long lately, since CC has decided that the vacuum is a car. Why do you ask??

We worry about CC’s eating — or, more accurately, his not eating. He won’t eat cheese, pasta, lots of things. Except the things he will. But none of it is as healthy as he needs, and we work daily to try and expand what he can and will eat. (I’ve never had a picky/refusal eater before; weird, huh?)

Anyway, in general he won’t eat Chinese food, unless its off my plate with my chopsticks. And then he inhales it.

Tonight, when he got up to the table and saw Chinese food on his plate, he got down, went to the drawer with the chopsticks in it, and pulled a couple out! I found a couple of ‘chopstick trainers’ we got a few years ago, and CC and EK ate the rest of their dinners — all of it! — with chopsticks! It was so great, because CC ate food on his own! And EK got more OT practice — she’s working really hard to increase hand strength by using tongs, and this is right up that same alley!

So, besides the joy of Chinese food for dinner — yum, yum! — it was a double win with the kids!