A while ago Gabriel asked me to draw him a picture. He wanted the picture to include: Robert drawn as Luigi helping Gabriel drawn like Mario from the video games Mario Bros. So one day I was avoiding doing work and started to draw the image poster size. (The reason for this size was to replace a picture of a pirate on his wall that scared him half the time.)

I liked how it was looking and checked in with my boss Gabriel to see how he liked it. He smiled "That's great, Mom, but where are Hannah and you?"

So the scene grew to include Hannah as princess Peach and me as Toadette.

It is sweet that he wanted to include all of us in his imagination play.

While I was working on it and left it sitting around Robert and I would find him crouched down next to it telling stories about all of us in Mario Land.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We started slow

The water felt great!  No red bumps from the chlorine!

We went in deeper!

Gee, This is fun!

 This summer seems to be a wealth of new experiences

--Mom

Posted by parents at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As I have mentioned several times before I am a book-a-holic. There is no twelve step program needed, my children and husband come first. House cleaning rarely does. I find having a good book in progress keeps me grounded. My mind gets to have a vacation if my body doesn’t always get to.

My favourite genre is Fantasy. Anything with some wizards, dragons and a few fairies can hook me in seconds flat. Lately, the books that have been captivating my attention are not found in the regular Sci-Fi/Fantasy section. The books I've been excited about in the past few weeks are found in the young readers or young adult section. They are fantasy, there has been an expansion of good fantasy writing categorised in these "childrens''" sections.

Some of my friends, who get caught up in labels, need a little push to expand their minds and get past the labels retail establishments put on books to shelve them. When I say something is a great read. I'm not kidding. If you love the genre like I do, the fact that a book is in the children's section of a bookstore should not get in anyone way of reading it.

With that said I would like to put forward for your consideration the book called The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I had picked up the book several times at the book store and read the cover and set it back down. War books are not my thing. So I would set it back down. Then I would pick up the Wizard Heir book and realise it is the second book and set it back down. I had done this several times over the year. This month I decided to buy the first book.

It is not about war in the traditional sense. It is about a boy thrust into a world of mystery and court type intrigue. I was hooked with in the first paragraph. I was pushed through the book with captivating questions almost answered. I liked that main character had family who loved him to deal with along with everything else. I immediately bought the next book when I was done and devoured it too.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"War Hug!" Gabriel announces.  He steps forward, his arms extended.

This is a new one.  We have Hug, Cuddlefest, and now:  War Hug? 

Gabriel growls and hugs me tightly around the waist.  We're both delaying the inevitable bedtime.  He wants to find ways to stay awake just 'cause he always does; I want to find ways to make a Friday night (no work tomororw!) out of the fast-approaching early morning nursing shift.

"Wait," I suggest, "how about this?"  I crouch, growl, and extend my arms. 

Gabriel copies me.  We size each other up.  We advance.  Growling, we hug.  Gabriel laughs.

"Ok, War Hug!" he shouts.  We repeat.  And again.

"Are you trying to wind him down?" Janette asks from the nearby office.  Hannah is asleep in her room, oblivious to the strangely loving battle taking place steps outside her door.

"Ah, yeah," I say.  "Ok, goodnight!"

"One more?" Gabriel asks, crouching down.

I mimick his crouch.

"War Hug!!!"

-- Dad 

P.S.  As I write this at nearly six a.m., I suspect Hananh would enjoy a War Hug right now, but I am begging and pleading with her to lay down.  Never knew the happiness we have with her ability to sit, position, and roll would irritate me so much at the wrong time (particularly when her activity opens her med port - ah, warm food soaking her clothes and bed.  Fixed now.  Stern go-to-sleep warnings given). 

Posted by Dad at 04:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Gabriel had a two week acting class that ended last Friday with a funny production of Snow White. The kids had helped develop the dialog and the instructor warned us all that he had no idea what any of them would do on stage.

Needless to say it was hilarious. I will do more recaps later but tonight I got to witness a rare treat.

Part of the class involved singing the song Hello Dolly from the play of the same name. Instead of singing Hello Dolly the class would substitute the name of the classmate. Well tonight Gabriel started singing it to Hannah. She lapped it up with loud chortles and cheers. She did long extended giggles. He finished with the dancing number. He went to do a second round. But, Mommy gently reminded him that she was trying to wind Hannah down for bed not up.

"But, she loves it Mom!" he exclaimed exuberantly.

He is right of course and it is always wonderful when siblings get along.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the past couple weeks Gabriel has performed in a play as the result of an acting class. Hannah has gotten more stable standing where I can hold her with her arms straight up rather than at her hips with no worries of dislocation and easier on my back. Both kids have gone to neighbour's house to play in the kiddie pool. I took Hannah into a swimming pool for the first time. Gabriel has discovered a dozen new ways to get Hannah to laugh.

I haven't shared any of it. I've wrote the blogs in my head but haven't typed them out. I have been diverted at night. I have been playing video games. I know it is a shock. After a day of being Mommy, I like to sit down with a moving puzzle and zone out for a while.

My latest diversion is The ancient quest of Saqqarah.

I've have freed all the gods so my blogging should pick back up.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today when I went to pick up Hannah from school she wouldn't look at me. She was seated on her blanket on top of bark dust chips in the playground. I would try to catch her eye and she would deliberately turn away.

Until I put my hand down and scooped up the wood chips and dropped them down. She shook her head at me and tried to bite me.

The onlooking nurse said "She has been great at not picking up the bark dust, today."

So my four year old was giving me a lesson in playground rules. I tried a couple more times and each time she admonished me.

It made the nurse and the onlooking PT(Physical Therapist) laugh.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

About a month ago, Janette and I had this idea:  since we don't have the time or $$$ to travel as extensively as we want this year (heck, any year - we'd love to travel full time), why not do some virtual vacations?  We'd organize each week around a different worldwide city, and theme all of our activities with the kids.  We would make meals, play games, watch videos, learn from the web, organize reading and math activities all around that week's city.

Plus we'd be traveling without all the hassle:  planes, lines, exhaustion, and that inevitable early vacation illness that always strikes within a day or so of arriving at our destination.

So Friday, we traveled (virtually) to New York:  our gateway to exotic worldwide destinations.  And Saturday, both kids promptly got sick (for real).

Yes, yesterday was a Tylenol for two day at our house.  Barely having arrived at our virtual destination, Gabriel spiked a 100+ fever and Hannah's tummy turned yucky.  Needless to say, our first day was a little more low key than we had planned.  Our written itineary had us watching a video on the Natural History Museum, eating hot dogs at a pretend street stand, going to a deli for dinner, and capping the night off with Night at the Museum.  Just as in real life travel, we modified our first plan day to include lots of couch sitting, a video travelogue on New York, extra rest, and lots of water.

Sigh.  I hadn't expected our virtual vacation to feel quite this real.

-- Dad

Posted by Dad at 02:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Mom announces it is time to get ready for bed. Hug your sister and stare at mom incredulous and say, "But Hannah is just about to get married."

Ok, you got your mom hooked now. Especially, if you are a boy, she is not expecting this and doesn't want to give gender specific messages on play. She will comply more so with this tactic. Note if you are a girl try announcing you need to reconfigure the computer.

Mom intrigued will say something like, "Wow, Hannah is getting married. Who is she marrying?"

Smile and look at the toys surrounding her quick. Focus on the one she is currently getting the most entertainment from. "Ah her, rabbit Mp3 player."

Mom will shake her head in agreement, "Good choice. Hannah does love music. Let's do the wedding after everyone is ready for bed."

What a curve. I can't let mom get the upper hand. Oh I know further distraction,. "I'm going to get married, too."

"Wow, this is a big day. Who are you marrying?"

"Um, my girlfriend."

"Who is your girlfriend?"

Ok, Mom is really into the details. I don't have an answer for this. It is time for another distraction, "Hannah is going to have a baby."

"What?"

"She is going to have a little boy. So we need to give her toys at the wedding for her baby."

"Well we better get ready quick."

--Gabriel tactics related through Mom's perspective.

Posted by parents at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Note to self:  Do NOT write about the kids being asleep while you type a blog.  They can sense it in their bones.  It wakes them.  See previous entry Sound of Thunder.  Within five minutes of finishing, they awoke, separately.  Tag team the Daddy.  Daddy must not sleep.

Yes, Dad's a bit punchy on the last of four consecutive early morning nursing shifts.  We're acclimating to our new four nights on/three nights off schedule.  If I haven't dropped by to read your blog lately, I will do so soon when I'm a bit more lucid.

On the plus side, we had a wonderful 4th of July, fireworks and all, with family.  Hannah also had a new first experience today, but I'll leave that one for Mom to blog out (hint:  think big chlorinated bath tub).

I've also posted a new video over at Vimeo for those who are interested.  It is a video of Janette's and my early anniversary trip to Newport, OR.  You'll see the pandering to the kids' humor throughout (hey, if they're going to make us watch it on continuous loop, they can at least have some planted scenes to laugh at).  Hope you enjoy:  Newport, OR video.

-- Dad 

Posted by Dad at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Three weeks ago, Hannah had a post operation appointment with her ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor). He was the person who had made her trach hole originally, and he was the one who stitched it up. Things were going well. Unfortunately, Hannah has been attempting to breath through the hole in her neck still. So it hasn't closed completely.

The doctor examined it and said, "It looks great, but there is the smallest of holes." He went to the counter and pulled out a long stick.

"What's that?" I asked

"Silver nitrate," he said matter of factly

Internally, I was scratching my head. At home, those sticks were used to burn off
granulomas. Granulomas are these bloody bumps created by big holes in a person's body. They are essentially tissue the body is trying to heal itself that the tubes interfere with.

"What are we doing?" I asked quickly as I got a more protective grip on Hannah. That last time I let one of those things be used on her she screamed like it was extremely painful. I hadn't anticipated or told Hannah there would be pain that day. I like to warn her.

He looked at me casually. "Oh, I'm going to rough up the edges in there so maybe we can heal the hole without having to stitch it up."

That made sense. I looked at Hannah, "This might hurt" I gripped her tighter in the chair that had no way of supporting her.

He stuck the stick in, and the hole blackened. She didn't scream or even squirm.

"Ok, I want to see her in six weeks." said the doctor.

I looked at my father in-law and children. Everyone was in a good mood The appointment had been maybe five minutes. The day was beautiful, and we had drove all the way to Portland for it.

So I said, "Let's go to the zoo!"

Gabriel cheered.

Zadie was helping me out because I'm not ready to leave Hannah alone in the backseat of the car for over ten minutes. She needs a medically trained adult next to her. So I can't drive and take care of her at the same time.

When we got to the zoo, Zadie unloaded Hannah and mentioned something about tarnishing. I got us our tickets, and we went inside. For some reason, people were giving us a wide berth: wider than normal. I went to wipe Hannah's face of drool and noticed why: she was bubbling black stuff out of her trach and spreading it with her saliva.

She was in a great mood and felt fine. It just was a little alarming of a sight.

That night, Robert said, "Hannah has a black hole in her neck." We proceeded to wonder what the properties of a neck black hole would be. Yes, we are nerds: through and through.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 01:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sitting in the office on this morning's nursing shift, listening to the sound of thunder rolling in the distance.  A warm night here in Hillsboro, OR, particularly since our air conditioning decided to take a break.  We've popped open the windows, turned on the fans, and settled in.

Hannah is sleeping well in the next room (a bit surprising because the warmth makes it a little more difficult to get comfortable - she tends to run toward the cool side).  Gabriel sleeps, too.  I actually over-slept the start of my nursing shift due to the warmth, and Janette gave me an extra half-hour or so of make-up sleep (thanks!).

Outside of the thunder and sleeping schedules, we're gearing up for the 4th.  Plan to have family over and an abundant collection of firework fountains, etc..  Being that we aren't using oxygen with Hannah (outside of nighttime in bed), she'll have her first opportunity to enjoy fireworks at our house (she saw them a bit last year at a friend's).  We'll see how that goes....

-- Dad

P.S.  Yes, if I can get away with a song title for the blog title, I will ;-) 

Posted by Dad at 01:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Sometimes I think I'm getting myself together and the universe slaps my arrogant thoughts away.

Robert and I are now having less help with Hannah at night because she is doing really well. This means more all night-ors all week long. Hannah still has not figured out sleeping with out medical support at night yet.

I started the kids getting ready for bed early tonight. My hope was to get a few moments to myself. Well the little darlings thought otherwise.

The neat thing was Hannah babbled Mommy sweetly to me. She asked to go to the potty. She tried to get me to have a conversation with her. In the breaks in between Gabriel was doing all the same things. It's genetic or I'm a real soft touch. Most likely a little of both.

I finally used the stern mommy voice on both of them and said go to bed.

Hannah of course grabbed my arm and smothered it in kisses.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Quickie snapshots from our last two days:

• Hannah got her new wheelchair Monday.  It fits her much better, and, believe it or not, it has her name embroidered in yellow on the seat!  I guess they figured we'd waiting long enough that they'd throw in something "extra."  Pictures forthcoming....

• Overheard at the dinner table:

Mom:  "Dad was thinking about going to get some fireworks, Gabriel.  When do you think we should go?"

Gabriel:  "We could go tonight... as a family."

Dad:  "Good idea, Gabriel."

Gabriel:  "I love my genius mind!  I wish I could hug it!" 

The things he comes up with!  Hannah is also keeping up.  Today, for instance, she clapped when Gabriel suggested she could go "half naked" (without a shirt).  This is Gabriel's summer preference, so he thought Hannah would like it, and she did.

I'm sure more stories coming soon from these two creative "geniuses."

-- Dad

Posted by Dad at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)