This weekend we had a family road trip! Tim has been actively competing this year in hopes of placing in Top 10 and being able to compete for World Champ in tae kwon do. The way it works is that you compete in as many tournaments as possible all year (July-June) in any or all of the following categories: forms, weapons, sparring, extreme forms, and extreme weapons. For each first, second, or third place that you take, you get a certain number of points. The ten people with the most points at the end of the year for each age group and rank compete for world champ at (where else?) World Championships in (where else) Little Rock, AK. Tim is currently ranked number 2 in forms and sparring for men's black belts 30-39 (my little one turns 30 this year :) I have also dusted off my nunchucks and started competing again, too.
This weekend's tournament was in New Hampshire and we decided to make a family trip out of it. We did this in Deleware a few weeks ago, and it worked well. The key is an indoor pool. The kids love it. We all go to the tournament and Tim and I compete first thing in the morning. Then I head back to the hotel with the kids and swim while Tim judges.
We headed up Friday night after I got out of work. Stopped at McDonald's for dinner. A rare treat, and I looove cheeseburger happy meals. We got in late, went to bed, and competed the next morning. I only had one other person in my ring. So I got second in forms and first in sparring. And, by default, first in weapons. Tim took four firsts and a third.
According to plan, I took the kids back to the hotel and got them suited up. We couldn't find the indoor pool (whose existence we had confirmed before booking), so we headed down to the lobby complete with bathing suits and blow up duck. Only to find out there was no pool. Mac handled it extremely well, and we found a Burger King playland instead.Then we stopped at McDonald's fo ice cream. When Tim got back we headed to Boston for dinner, which was really exciting. Then back to our hotel.
We had a delicious McDonald's breakfast Sunday morning, and all was relaxing until we hit the road to go home. 20 minutes into the trip, Mac projectile vomited ALL OVER the back seat. I can't describe how gross it really was. And the worst part was, we had the next 7 (yes 7) hours to smell it on the way home.
10 November 2008
01 November 2008
27 October 2008
Asked and Answered
It's been a jam packed fall so far. To say that we have hardly a second of downtime is an understatement. Overall, things are good. The kids are well; we've had an ear infection and some spina bifida related issues, but we're pretty much back on track. Work is going well for me -- I really like Penn State, I'm getting into the groove of teaching, and I have three separate routes to school (just in case there is traffic). Tim has been competing in tournaments, and has taken a lot of firsts and seconds -- if he stays on this track, he will be able to compete for world champ again this year. I even competed in a tournament for the first time since before Mac was born, and got two third places and a second place. We also participated in our first annual Spina Bifida Stroll n Roll, which was so rainy that we actually spent the walk in a coffee shop instead of actually walking. At least we showed up -- maybe next year we'll actually participate.
As always, the kids keep me busy, and motherhood is always a learning experience. Some questions that I have gotten the answers to in the last few weeks:
Q: What happens when you cut yourself with safety scissors?
A: Mac was nice enough to figure this one out for me. The short answer is you bleed. A lot. Mac was making a birthday card for gram gram (my grandma), and I was mopping and running a bath for her and Oliver. So I was in the room, but not fully attending to Mac. Let me stop to say that she is usually trustworthy; way above doing silly and dangerous things. Never had a phase of putting things in her mouth (Oliver) or touching things she isn't supposed to. But when I looked over to tell her it was bath time, she had blood dripping down her chin. Scissors still in hand. Very calm. The second I asked her what happened, she started crying and didn't stop all the way through her bath until she was dressed. When I asked her what happened, she said "I wanted to see if it would cut." Well...it does. She has since recanted her story and said that she didn't do it on purpose. Mmmhmm.
Q: When is diarrhea not diarrhea?
A: Gross, but pertinent. Diarrhea is not diarrhea when you are so constipated that only mushy poop can leak out. Poor Oliver had to teach me that lesson. Constipation is a common condition with spina bifida, because the trunk muscles are often not strong enough to push the food through the intestines and colon in a speedy manner, which means that most of the water gets sucked out of the food, creating really hard stool. So Oliver is on a daily laxative. But when he started to have diarrhea, I cut back on the laxitive thinking it was too much. Wrong. One bloody diaper later, I have him at the doctors office, followed by x-rays, to find out that he was completely "backed up." Poor guy -- a week of enimas and a new, stronger laxative later, we finally got back on track. Who knew?
Q: How many times can you use the word "berry" to replace "very?"
A: In the average Strawberry Shortcake book, berry replaces very or fairy 10 times. Not to mention the literal use of the word, as in "berry princess" or "berry patch." Berry, berry annoying.
I'm sure I've learned more. But I'm too tired to remember. However, it hasn't been all work this fall. We've really tried to take advantage of seasonal activities, like pumpkin and apple picking, Octoberfest, and Homecoming. And we have some great plans coming up. Never dull, sometimes fun, always interesting.
As always, the kids keep me busy, and motherhood is always a learning experience. Some questions that I have gotten the answers to in the last few weeks:
Q: What happens when you cut yourself with safety scissors?
A: Mac was nice enough to figure this one out for me. The short answer is you bleed. A lot. Mac was making a birthday card for gram gram (my grandma), and I was mopping and running a bath for her and Oliver. So I was in the room, but not fully attending to Mac. Let me stop to say that she is usually trustworthy; way above doing silly and dangerous things. Never had a phase of putting things in her mouth (Oliver) or touching things she isn't supposed to. But when I looked over to tell her it was bath time, she had blood dripping down her chin. Scissors still in hand. Very calm. The second I asked her what happened, she started crying and didn't stop all the way through her bath until she was dressed. When I asked her what happened, she said "I wanted to see if it would cut." Well...it does. She has since recanted her story and said that she didn't do it on purpose. Mmmhmm.
Q: When is diarrhea not diarrhea?
A: Gross, but pertinent. Diarrhea is not diarrhea when you are so constipated that only mushy poop can leak out. Poor Oliver had to teach me that lesson. Constipation is a common condition with spina bifida, because the trunk muscles are often not strong enough to push the food through the intestines and colon in a speedy manner, which means that most of the water gets sucked out of the food, creating really hard stool. So Oliver is on a daily laxative. But when he started to have diarrhea, I cut back on the laxitive thinking it was too much. Wrong. One bloody diaper later, I have him at the doctors office, followed by x-rays, to find out that he was completely "backed up." Poor guy -- a week of enimas and a new, stronger laxative later, we finally got back on track. Who knew?
Q: How many times can you use the word "berry" to replace "very?"
A: In the average Strawberry Shortcake book, berry replaces very or fairy 10 times. Not to mention the literal use of the word, as in "berry princess" or "berry patch." Berry, berry annoying.
I'm sure I've learned more. But I'm too tired to remember. However, it hasn't been all work this fall. We've really tried to take advantage of seasonal activities, like pumpkin and apple picking, Octoberfest, and Homecoming. And we have some great plans coming up. Never dull, sometimes fun, always interesting.
02 September 2008
See You Later, Summer!
As the last days of summer wind down, I can't help but think that it flew by this year! Never has a summer gone so quickly. And I guess that's because we did really good stuff! We had play dates, went to Disney World, went to the park, went to the shore, ate ice cream, went swimming, turned 33 (ugh) and turned 1. That doesn't even count working! No wonder the time went so fast. A brief retrospective...
26 August 2008
Naked Baby!
Well, sort of. Naked legs, anyway. A few weeks ago, we started serial-casting Oliver again (putting casts on his legs for a week, taking him back, changing the casts) because his feet had started migrating back to the club foot position. For two weeks, it worked great. Then, on Saturday, off slipped his left cast. This has always been our problem -- when he was being casted from August-December, his casts always fell off. After his surgery in December, his casts didn't even stay on a week before they slipped off. Same thing with his AFOs (braces), which is why he hasn't been wearing them, which is why his feet have turned back. A vicious cycle. Since I had to work yesterday, Tim had to take him to King of Prussia (far, far away in PA) to get the cast replaced, because that is where our orthopedist was yesterday. When Tim got there, he waited (as is customary when visiting this doctor). While he was waiting, the nurse took off Oliver's remaining cast, saying that the doctor would just replace both casts today so that we didn't have to come back Friday.
Fast forward to the doctor coming in, looking at Oliver's feet and saying "I give up." Um, excuse me? Seriously, that's the last thing a parent wants to hear. I get what he is saying, but his delivery/attitude could be a bit better. This is the same man who called Oliver's legs obese (UM, EXCUSE ME?!), so we have to take it with a grain of salt. What he should have said was that his feet aren't in much better position than they were when we started this round of casting, and the casts weren't staying on, anyway. Without the casts moving his feet into place, the AFOs won't fit. So what is there to do? A good question. His upper legs are "obese" because that's where his working muscles are. His calves and feet are smaller because he has no muscle tone there. So what are we going to do? What do other people do? The answer for now is to stretch, with probable surgery in the future. A totally unsatisfactory answer, because stretching alone is what got him back in the casts.
There are a few upsides to this. 1) Oliver is thrilled to see his feet again. You should see him kick them up when he is laying down. Very happy -- loves his feet. 2) Now that he is eating table food, I would find all sorts of food in his casts. Gross! This latest set was stained with orange ice-pop, anyway. 3) He can have bathes and go swimming! 4) We don't have to drive him to Philly every week.
We still have a great physical therapist, and hopefully, she will be able to help us compensate. I know that I am thinking too far ahead by wanting him to stand (for which he would need flat feet) since he isn't crawling yet. But now that he is officially falling behind in "regular baby" stuff, I am anxious to get him moving ahead. I guess this will be a constant tug as he grows up; balancing hopes and expectations with reality. But I would rather hope and push than wait and see.
Fast forward to the doctor coming in, looking at Oliver's feet and saying "I give up." Um, excuse me? Seriously, that's the last thing a parent wants to hear. I get what he is saying, but his delivery/attitude could be a bit better. This is the same man who called Oliver's legs obese (UM, EXCUSE ME?!), so we have to take it with a grain of salt. What he should have said was that his feet aren't in much better position than they were when we started this round of casting, and the casts weren't staying on, anyway. Without the casts moving his feet into place, the AFOs won't fit. So what is there to do? A good question. His upper legs are "obese" because that's where his working muscles are. His calves and feet are smaller because he has no muscle tone there. So what are we going to do? What do other people do? The answer for now is to stretch, with probable surgery in the future. A totally unsatisfactory answer, because stretching alone is what got him back in the casts.
There are a few upsides to this. 1) Oliver is thrilled to see his feet again. You should see him kick them up when he is laying down. Very happy -- loves his feet. 2) Now that he is eating table food, I would find all sorts of food in his casts. Gross! This latest set was stained with orange ice-pop, anyway. 3) He can have bathes and go swimming! 4) We don't have to drive him to Philly every week.
We still have a great physical therapist, and hopefully, she will be able to help us compensate. I know that I am thinking too far ahead by wanting him to stand (for which he would need flat feet) since he isn't crawling yet. But now that he is officially falling behind in "regular baby" stuff, I am anxious to get him moving ahead. I guess this will be a constant tug as he grows up; balancing hopes and expectations with reality. But I would rather hope and push than wait and see.
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