Several weeks ago I asked Makena what she wanted for Christmas. She said a bear. A few days later I asked her again and received the same answer, a bear. Not realizing what a bad idea this was, I asked her what color bear. She said purple.
Easy enough, right?
I started my Christmas shopping a few weeks ago. I wasn't stressed about finding a purple bear so that remained at the bottom of my list. Whenever I was in a store that carried stuffed animals I'd take a gander. This occurred a few times before I started to realize purple bears aren't as easy to come by as I originally thought.
This past Sunday I had the babysitter come so that Mark and I could go on a date. Realizing the time was slipping we decided to turn this into a purple bear finding expedition. Seven stores later we were still purple bearless. We did, however, find two. The first of which was a little bear in one of those vending machines with the claw--you know, pay $.50 to watch the claw wrap perfectly around the bounty only to have the tentacles slip off like cooked, wet spaghetti. This was at Toy's R Us and the bear was buried deep beneath a zoo of other animals. :) Mark found the manager who was dealing with his own zoo at the customer service counter. There were at least five customers in line with returns--on a Sunday night at 9:30. We decided to continue on--it was an ugly bear anyway.
The next one we found was at Target--it was a Care Bear though. For some reason, I don't like Care Bears. I don't know why. We bought this one just in case, but letting a purple Care Bear be the result of all of our efforts just didn't sit well with me. Nor did it with Mark.
Yesterday he called me from a store in San Francisco. He was back to bear hunting. He called from store number two, still without bear. I started another online search--we had done many of these but never found a bear worthy of the shipping cost.
That was until I tripped across this site: www.800bear.com. Here, I found Souffle. A beautiful, cuddly, purple bear. Shipping was only 1.5 times as much as the cost of the bear--a bargain compared to other websites. I placed my order which included the words/image for a personalized bib. We Love Makena! In the comments section I asked if it would arrive tomorrow? (please). Within seconds I received an email from Bruce indicating that it would. And, that Souffle is now extinct! We bought the last one!
Mark called to tell me that he was in a store with more purple stuffed animals than he has ever seen in his life. He found another purple care bear, but no real bear. He decided to get a purple racoon and a purple skunk to keep Souffle company.
Souffle arrived about 15 minutes ago--he/she/it is safe and sound waiting in his/her/its box until he/she/it can be placed under the tree with love.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
An Older Photo
This photo was taken at Big Sur when Makena was a month shy of two.
It reminds me of the photo that I posted of Kessler and Mark so I thought I'd post it as well.
It reminds me of the photo that I posted of Kessler and Mark so I thought I'd post it as well.
Chicken What?
Makena was wandering around chatting to herself as she does. I noticed that she was saying something over and over again--Chicken Butt. Chicken what? When Mark came home he noticed as well. He asked me what she was saying and I told him.. Chicken Butt. We decided to question her about it. She repeated what she had been saying, Chicken Butt. I asked where she had heard that. She said, "Goofy"--meaning Goofy said it in an episode of "Clubhouse Mickey"; that's her favorite show.
Okay, so she can't possibly be saying Chicken Butt then. There would be no reason for Goofy to say that. So, after dinner we headed upstairs to watch our dose of Mickey and sure enough, in a sort of tourette syndrome-like outburst, Goofy says, "Chicken Butt!" How surprising!
Saturday morning Makena came in our room to go potty. Mark was helping her--out of no where she looks at him and says, "Chicken Butt!" Later in the day she came up to him to tell him a secret.. she whispered "Chicken Butt."
Needless to say we can't help but laugh. Not just because it's a silly phrase but because of Makena's little devious giggle. She's quite the jokester!!
!
Okay, so she can't possibly be saying Chicken Butt then. There would be no reason for Goofy to say that. So, after dinner we headed upstairs to watch our dose of Mickey and sure enough, in a sort of tourette syndrome-like outburst, Goofy says, "Chicken Butt!" How surprising!
Saturday morning Makena came in our room to go potty. Mark was helping her--out of no where she looks at him and says, "Chicken Butt!" Later in the day she came up to him to tell him a secret.. she whispered "Chicken Butt."
Needless to say we can't help but laugh. Not just because it's a silly phrase but because of Makena's little devious giggle. She's quite the jokester!!
!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Kessman
Semblance of Sanity
There’s a lot to report on the Kessler front! First, there hasn’t been much sanity to go around in my little world. Kessler was waking up between 5:45 and 7:00 a.m. at the latest. Even at 7:00 a.m., I just wasn’t ready for it. I haven’t been sleeping well, so I thought I was just tired. Even still, Mark gets up at 5:30, so I should definitely be able to handle anything later. I finally realized it wasn’t just that he was waking up earlier than I’d like it was that he was waking up quite upset. Often times he wanted to be held, but not while sitting. The day just seemed to go downhill from then on. Anyway, I resolved to get up earlier than him so that I could be mentally ready for it. I did this for about two days and it was great. Then, Kessler started to get up later and later. For the last week he’s slept in until 8:00 most days. A few days I had to wake him up at 8:45 so that I could get Makena to school. AND, when he wakes up he starts talking and talking and talking. It’s so sweet. When I get him from his crib he’s so much happier. Mark and I were even able to sleep in this weekend—though neither of could, it was nice to have a lazy morning for a change. In addition, Kessler has started doing marathon naps, up to four hours at times. I cannot begin to tell you how much better this has made my life (more the sleeping in than the extended naps). I don’t think I’ve completely realized it all yet (I’m very slow that way).
Speaking of naps, two days before Kessler extended his from 45 minutes to four hours, Makena stopped altogether. I thought this was going to be a problem but Makena is so beautiful and it’s nice that she has sometime to play without Kessler jumping all over her.
Kessler’s First Haircut
First, I forgot to bring the camera to Kessler's haircut!! The good/bad thing was that he cried from the time we put him in his little red convertible barber seat until about the time we strapped him in his car seat. Mark and I had to hold him down nearly the entire time while the wonderful stylist quickly made him look like a little man. So, there wouldn’t have been any good photos anyway. Does that make you feel better? Not me. Oh well. Here is our little stud:
Can we breathe now?
With Makena it was easy to commit to having our new life with child resemble our old life without. We still ate and traveled just as always. It wasn’t as easy, and some times were far worse than others, but as a whole it was fine. We definitely felt that keeping her in practice was better than locking ourselves inside. With Kessler we have had to make some changes. This is partially because Makena isn’t completely self sufficient yet but also because he is quite a bit harder to handle. He doesn’t like to sit still for long and the simple distraction techniques that worked on Makena do not work on him. We’ve definitely curbed the traveling and we’ve stopped going to nicer places to eat. But, we still go out, often with dread. We decided to go to Monterey Bay Aquarium today. It took us about two hours to get there, but it wasn’t too bad. Makena and I went to get a sucker (she remembered having one last time we were there in July). Mark and Kessler went to the otter exhibit. We returned to find Kessler glued to the glass. He was pointing and twisting and “talking” away. He didn’t want to miss a thing. We stayed there for several minutes before deciding to move on. He cried and made it very clear that he did not want to leave. We took him to the next big exhibit with sharks, cod and eel, etc—same reaction from Kess. He absolutely loved it. He would point and look at Mark and babble with amazement. We were elated to see him so interactive. I'm hoping we've turned a corner and can start looking forward to trips out of the house again.
We went for a short walk after leaving the aquarium. It was raining pretty hard, but we had such nice day we didn’t want it to end. I had to put Makena’s jacket on so Mark and Kessler went ahead of us. Again..the sweetest thing:
This was taken a little later:
I'm so glad things are getting a little easier.
There’s a lot to report on the Kessler front! First, there hasn’t been much sanity to go around in my little world. Kessler was waking up between 5:45 and 7:00 a.m. at the latest. Even at 7:00 a.m., I just wasn’t ready for it. I haven’t been sleeping well, so I thought I was just tired. Even still, Mark gets up at 5:30, so I should definitely be able to handle anything later. I finally realized it wasn’t just that he was waking up earlier than I’d like it was that he was waking up quite upset. Often times he wanted to be held, but not while sitting. The day just seemed to go downhill from then on. Anyway, I resolved to get up earlier than him so that I could be mentally ready for it. I did this for about two days and it was great. Then, Kessler started to get up later and later. For the last week he’s slept in until 8:00 most days. A few days I had to wake him up at 8:45 so that I could get Makena to school. AND, when he wakes up he starts talking and talking and talking. It’s so sweet. When I get him from his crib he’s so much happier. Mark and I were even able to sleep in this weekend—though neither of could, it was nice to have a lazy morning for a change. In addition, Kessler has started doing marathon naps, up to four hours at times. I cannot begin to tell you how much better this has made my life (more the sleeping in than the extended naps). I don’t think I’ve completely realized it all yet (I’m very slow that way).
Speaking of naps, two days before Kessler extended his from 45 minutes to four hours, Makena stopped altogether. I thought this was going to be a problem but Makena is so beautiful and it’s nice that she has sometime to play without Kessler jumping all over her.
Kessler’s First Haircut
First, I forgot to bring the camera to Kessler's haircut!! The good/bad thing was that he cried from the time we put him in his little red convertible barber seat until about the time we strapped him in his car seat. Mark and I had to hold him down nearly the entire time while the wonderful stylist quickly made him look like a little man. So, there wouldn’t have been any good photos anyway. Does that make you feel better? Not me. Oh well. Here is our little stud:
Can we breathe now?
With Makena it was easy to commit to having our new life with child resemble our old life without. We still ate and traveled just as always. It wasn’t as easy, and some times were far worse than others, but as a whole it was fine. We definitely felt that keeping her in practice was better than locking ourselves inside. With Kessler we have had to make some changes. This is partially because Makena isn’t completely self sufficient yet but also because he is quite a bit harder to handle. He doesn’t like to sit still for long and the simple distraction techniques that worked on Makena do not work on him. We’ve definitely curbed the traveling and we’ve stopped going to nicer places to eat. But, we still go out, often with dread. We decided to go to Monterey Bay Aquarium today. It took us about two hours to get there, but it wasn’t too bad. Makena and I went to get a sucker (she remembered having one last time we were there in July). Mark and Kessler went to the otter exhibit. We returned to find Kessler glued to the glass. He was pointing and twisting and “talking” away. He didn’t want to miss a thing. We stayed there for several minutes before deciding to move on. He cried and made it very clear that he did not want to leave. We took him to the next big exhibit with sharks, cod and eel, etc—same reaction from Kess. He absolutely loved it. He would point and look at Mark and babble with amazement. We were elated to see him so interactive. I'm hoping we've turned a corner and can start looking forward to trips out of the house again.
We went for a short walk after leaving the aquarium. It was raining pretty hard, but we had such nice day we didn’t want it to end. I had to put Makena’s jacket on so Mark and Kessler went ahead of us. Again..the sweetest thing:
This was taken a little later:
I'm so glad things are getting a little easier.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Karma and such
I like the idea of Karma. Do good things and you'll reap the consequences in your next life, maybe even in this life. My only issue is it can make your intentions a bit disingenuous. A kind act toward someone can really be the result of selfish motivation. But, that's only a small flaw relative to the gain of people doing good for others.
I read another theory several months ago. Basically, according to this theory, all you have to do is believe you deserve something and you'll get it. It was more about attitude and positive thinking. I like positive thinking as well. I believe it can work wonders. But, this particular idea intrigues me.
It all links to Mark.
I'll ask you--how often does a '59 Cadillac come up in conversation around your home? How often do you see one? For us, it comes up a bit more frequently than it might in the average home. Mark dreams of getting one and fixing it up. This makes me laugh as we currently pay someone else to WASH our cars. Anyway, the subject might come up once or twice a year--not a lot.
Several months ago we were checking out a new dog park. We went home a different way and well, drove past a house with a '59 Cadillac sitting in the driveway. Many weeks later we went to the dog park again. Mark, having his dream revived from the last sighting, decided to drive by the house again to see the car, only it wasn't there this time. I mocked him, of course. After I was done mocking him, I decided to work on squelching his dream--explaining how he hates doing stuff with his hands. In fact, nearly every time time he's forced to do such work, he ends up calling the object a whore. Wouldn't he be happier with the unrealized joy he envisions?
No sooner than I finish the gist of my rant, a different '59 Cadillac drives by us on the freeway as if to say, "SHUT UP KELLY, you whore."
Moving right along. We have been contemplating a budget for months and months now. It's gotten a little more serious as of late. Mainly because of mint.com. It's an awesome website that reports particularly unawesome spending habits. It has revealed that we spend a lot of money at coffee shops. (I don't like coffee--read between the lines). So, I was discussing with Mark, how we needed to.. say, not go to Peets/Starbucks three, I repeat, 3 times a day.
Mark did not have a response.
Last week, the day after we discussed a possible coffee budget, he called to say he received some letter of recognition from the client, which included a gift card to Starbucks. Of course it did. He called back later that day to say the card ended up being empty so he had to pay for his fix. That lets him off the hook for that particular purchase. The client gave him a new card so he could start all over again at his next visit (in two hours).
Earlier this week Mark called to recount a story. He ordered his decaf coffee at Peets. They were out so they started brewing some more. Several minutes passed and Mark started to wonder about his coffee. He approached the cashier who shamefully realized that he had forgotten about Mark and his decaf coffee. To relieve his guilt, he gave Mark a voucher for a free coffee. Again, of course he did.
Later in the day I received another call. Mark proceeded to tell me about how he went to Peets to redeem his free coffee voucher. The same guilt-ridden cashier was there. He refused to accept the voucher. Instead, he gave Mark a free coffee, leaving the voucher for a future visit. Yep, of course!!!!
It's not as though Mark goes around giving people coffee or anything, so it can't be Karma. It's more like he has conjured up this lot of "in your face, Kelly" spirits who run around creating "this cannot be a coincidence" events that serve only to prove to me that Mark gets what Mark wants.
I read another theory several months ago. Basically, according to this theory, all you have to do is believe you deserve something and you'll get it. It was more about attitude and positive thinking. I like positive thinking as well. I believe it can work wonders. But, this particular idea intrigues me.
It all links to Mark.
I'll ask you--how often does a '59 Cadillac come up in conversation around your home? How often do you see one? For us, it comes up a bit more frequently than it might in the average home. Mark dreams of getting one and fixing it up. This makes me laugh as we currently pay someone else to WASH our cars. Anyway, the subject might come up once or twice a year--not a lot.
Several months ago we were checking out a new dog park. We went home a different way and well, drove past a house with a '59 Cadillac sitting in the driveway. Many weeks later we went to the dog park again. Mark, having his dream revived from the last sighting, decided to drive by the house again to see the car, only it wasn't there this time. I mocked him, of course. After I was done mocking him, I decided to work on squelching his dream--explaining how he hates doing stuff with his hands. In fact, nearly every time time he's forced to do such work, he ends up calling the object a whore. Wouldn't he be happier with the unrealized joy he envisions?
No sooner than I finish the gist of my rant, a different '59 Cadillac drives by us on the freeway as if to say, "SHUT UP KELLY, you whore."
Moving right along. We have been contemplating a budget for months and months now. It's gotten a little more serious as of late. Mainly because of mint.com. It's an awesome website that reports particularly unawesome spending habits. It has revealed that we spend a lot of money at coffee shops. (I don't like coffee--read between the lines). So, I was discussing with Mark, how we needed to.. say, not go to Peets/Starbucks three, I repeat, 3 times a day.
Mark did not have a response.
Last week, the day after we discussed a possible coffee budget, he called to say he received some letter of recognition from the client, which included a gift card to Starbucks. Of course it did. He called back later that day to say the card ended up being empty so he had to pay for his fix. That lets him off the hook for that particular purchase. The client gave him a new card so he could start all over again at his next visit (in two hours).
Earlier this week Mark called to recount a story. He ordered his decaf coffee at Peets. They were out so they started brewing some more. Several minutes passed and Mark started to wonder about his coffee. He approached the cashier who shamefully realized that he had forgotten about Mark and his decaf coffee. To relieve his guilt, he gave Mark a voucher for a free coffee. Again, of course he did.
Later in the day I received another call. Mark proceeded to tell me about how he went to Peets to redeem his free coffee voucher. The same guilt-ridden cashier was there. He refused to accept the voucher. Instead, he gave Mark a free coffee, leaving the voucher for a future visit. Yep, of course!!!!
It's not as though Mark goes around giving people coffee or anything, so it can't be Karma. It's more like he has conjured up this lot of "in your face, Kelly" spirits who run around creating "this cannot be a coincidence" events that serve only to prove to me that Mark gets what Mark wants.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Laying the ground work.
Mark and I wanted something sweet after dinner. After Plan A fell through (Mark's mom's chocolate pudding), I decided to use the recipe on the cocoa label, Ghirardelli Chocolate Fudge Cake.
I was pretty late serving it (it came out really well--particularly by my standards). Anyway, when we were all finished Makena asked for some milk. We have this rule, nothing to drink after X:00 so we don't have any accidents or midnight potty runs. (The variable in the time is because I can never remember what time I originally set as a deadline, so I make it up every night.) We were past that time. But, she did just have chocolate cake, so it would be a bit unreasonable not to let her have something to drink. I gave my approval and she asked Mark if she could have some of his. He obliged by tipping his glass to her lips.
When she was finished she said... "Oh no mommy!!!! Daddy gave me too much!!! Now I'm going to be soak and go potty!!! Oh no!! Mommy!!! Mommy!!! Daddy gave me too much!!! I'm going to be soak!!!" (Yes, soak, not soaked.)
Now, when she wets the bed, or more likely throws a nighttime potty party with everyone invited, there will be no one to blame but daddy. Well played Makena, well played.
I was pretty late serving it (it came out really well--particularly by my standards). Anyway, when we were all finished Makena asked for some milk. We have this rule, nothing to drink after X:00 so we don't have any accidents or midnight potty runs. (The variable in the time is because I can never remember what time I originally set as a deadline, so I make it up every night.) We were past that time. But, she did just have chocolate cake, so it would be a bit unreasonable not to let her have something to drink. I gave my approval and she asked Mark if she could have some of his. He obliged by tipping his glass to her lips.
When she was finished she said... "Oh no mommy!!!! Daddy gave me too much!!! Now I'm going to be soak and go potty!!! Oh no!! Mommy!!! Mommy!!! Daddy gave me too much!!! I'm going to be soak!!!" (Yes, soak, not soaked.)
Now, when she wets the bed, or more likely throws a nighttime potty party with everyone invited, there will be no one to blame but daddy. Well played Makena, well played.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Photos
This past Friday we had some photos taken by a photographer we heard about in our neighborhood. We met him at this really cool little vineyard in Livermore. We thought there was no hope of getting any decent photos because Kess was pretty fussy the whole time and Makena was shy much of the time. But, he sent us this link yesterday. He did a wonderful job.
Monday, December 1, 2008
How much is that doggie....
It never ceases to amaze me how both of our kids respond to kid's music. One day, ages ago, Makena was crying in the car. We tried everything to get her to settle, but nothing worked. So, we turned on a kid's CD that we'd had for ages. It worked like a charm. Now, why does the annoying CD featuring awful songs sung by kids who shouldn't be singing appease kids when music that makes me happy won't?
I thought this was just a Makena thing, but "Mary had a Little Lamb" has been working wonders on Kessler. There are several songs on this particular CD that I can't stand. One has to do with pigs saying "wee wee" instead of "oink oink" or something.. and they end up dying. Something bad happens to some kittens in another song. So, I spend a lot of time skipping songs.
Anyway, the other day I noticed that Kessler was making a "squeaking" sound. It's a sound he's made before. It took me a while to make the connection--he was barking. Actually, he was singing the part of the dog that's barking in the song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window."
The next time I played it for Mark--Kessler did the same thing. I took a video of him just hanging out listening to the track before "Doggie" so you can see it's not a fluke. I am including the whole video, even though I did a horrible job, because he's so damn cute.. looking out the window and picking up his milk.
I thought this was just a Makena thing, but "Mary had a Little Lamb" has been working wonders on Kessler. There are several songs on this particular CD that I can't stand. One has to do with pigs saying "wee wee" instead of "oink oink" or something.. and they end up dying. Something bad happens to some kittens in another song. So, I spend a lot of time skipping songs.
Anyway, the other day I noticed that Kessler was making a "squeaking" sound. It's a sound he's made before. It took me a while to make the connection--he was barking. Actually, he was singing the part of the dog that's barking in the song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window."
The next time I played it for Mark--Kessler did the same thing. I took a video of him just hanging out listening to the track before "Doggie" so you can see it's not a fluke. I am including the whole video, even though I did a horrible job, because he's so damn cute.. looking out the window and picking up his milk.
It has since occurred to me that another sound he makes is a fire engine. We are constantly pointing them out to Makena. And we used to always ask her what they "say". He's been making the sound for a while, but I never made the connection. He also says "diggadiggadigga". We always point out diggers. Amazing that he so smart and we're so stupid.
Speaking of "Mary had a Little Lamb"....
Saturday, November 29, 2008
November
I can't believe that November is nearly over!! I'm going to try to catch up before I tear another page off the calendar!
House Guest
We'll start with our house guest! Mus (aka Mooseman) came to visit a few weeks ago. He and Mark met ages ago on a project in Detroit, I think. (Or some other place that's cold.) Anyway, Mus is now living back in Australia after a stint in Turkey. He had a conference to go to in Las Vegas--he made a stop through California to visit us first.
All I can say is.. what a super nice guy. Makena agrees. She misses him a bunch and still brings up his name often. He's such a genuinely nice guy. Mark bullied him into cooking dinner for us one night. We were left speechless. He spent hours in the kitchen and produced a three course meal the rivaled any restaurant I've been too. I tried to hire him to be our butler--he refused. Dammit.
Mus, we miss you!
Lazy Morning in Bed
Get on the Floor
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: What?
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: What?
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: Kelly, are you awake?
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: I guess not.
I haven't been able to sleep very well recently so my doctor prescribed Ambien. That's some crazy stuff. It works--I mean it makes me sleepy. But, I find that if I don't go to sleep right away I do things I can't remember. For example, I made some comments on a friend's blog. A few days later when I saw the original post, it was as though it was my first time reading it. When I saw a comment from my username, I thought I had been hijacked!! It was a weird comment--I didn't recognize it as something I had written. Then I vaguely started to recall the blog entry--but only vaguely. I did the same thing on Facebook. I wonder if I'll find anything else? I was thinking hopefully I fell asleep before I did anything else. Now, Mark tells me I'm talking in my sleep with no recollection. It seems I'm not safe from the affects whether awake or asleep!!!
Reformer
I've been stressed lately--that's probably part of the reason I can't sleep. I'm not sure why as my life has become less complicated recently. But I was finding that my neck and shoulders were so tense, they ached. I've had massages before and while I love them, I knew they wouldn't help me with the tension. I'm not good at yoga. I'm just not limber enough to get anything out of it. I'm sure if I kept at it I'd notice a difference, but I don't have that kind of time to invest.
That's it for now! I hope everyone is doing well!
House Guest
We'll start with our house guest! Mus (aka Mooseman) came to visit a few weeks ago. He and Mark met ages ago on a project in Detroit, I think. (Or some other place that's cold.) Anyway, Mus is now living back in Australia after a stint in Turkey. He had a conference to go to in Las Vegas--he made a stop through California to visit us first.
All I can say is.. what a super nice guy. Makena agrees. She misses him a bunch and still brings up his name often. He's such a genuinely nice guy. Mark bullied him into cooking dinner for us one night. We were left speechless. He spent hours in the kitchen and produced a three course meal the rivaled any restaurant I've been too. I tried to hire him to be our butler--he refused. Dammit.
Mus, we miss you!
Karma has a Long Memory
You might recall that I gloated once, just once, about my new Blackberry phone. Two weeks later Mark found it in the washing machine. Having to pay full price for the next phone, I didn't get the top-of-the-line model. I got the one just beneath it. I loved it, until I was getting out of the car the other day. I forgot I had it plugged into the car charger so when I closed the door the phone jerked out of my hand and flew under the car. I crawled under the car and retrieved the phone.. and its pieces--dammit! It's not so loveable anymore.
(It's missing the toggle button in the middle.)
Thank goodness I learned my lesson from the first phone and purchased the insurance. I received my third phone in less than eight months a few days later.
Kessler's Talking
This a story that has been developing for a while. We were told that he should be talking at his 15 month check up. We said that he wasn't, but--there have been several times that Mark and I have looked at each other and said something like, "Did he just say 'I want ketchup on my french fries'"? One that he seems to say all the time is, "I want some." He doesn't say, "some", or "want", he says the complete sentence. Over the last several weeks we have decided that he is actually saying, "I want some." He's added, "More" and "Sit" to his vocabulary. It's funny, he commands Merlin to sit. Merlin doesn't listen, but Kessie means it! He even points at Merlin. He only stops when Merlin gets bored with it and walks away.
Here's video of some other "talking".
Hi-ho-da-dere-ya-go
Mark and Makena put their listening ears on for another rendition of Hi-Ho the Dario.
Thanksgiving Facial
Lazy Morning in Bed
Get on the Floor
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: What?
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: What?
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: Kelly, are you awake?
Kelly: Get on the floor.
Mark: I guess not.
I haven't been able to sleep very well recently so my doctor prescribed Ambien. That's some crazy stuff. It works--I mean it makes me sleepy. But, I find that if I don't go to sleep right away I do things I can't remember. For example, I made some comments on a friend's blog. A few days later when I saw the original post, it was as though it was my first time reading it. When I saw a comment from my username, I thought I had been hijacked!! It was a weird comment--I didn't recognize it as something I had written. Then I vaguely started to recall the blog entry--but only vaguely. I did the same thing on Facebook. I wonder if I'll find anything else? I was thinking hopefully I fell asleep before I did anything else. Now, Mark tells me I'm talking in my sleep with no recollection. It seems I'm not safe from the affects whether awake or asleep!!!
Reformer
I've been stressed lately--that's probably part of the reason I can't sleep. I'm not sure why as my life has become less complicated recently. But I was finding that my neck and shoulders were so tense, they ached. I've had massages before and while I love them, I knew they wouldn't help me with the tension. I'm not good at yoga. I'm just not limber enough to get anything out of it. I'm sure if I kept at it I'd notice a difference, but I don't have that kind of time to invest.
As I pondered what to do, all I could remember is how good I felt after taking a Pilates Reformer class in Las Vegas. I left feeling so damn relaxed! Every muscle was stretched--I almost couldn't drive home. Getting to a pilates gym isn't going to happen, so I bought a home reformer. I received it on Monday. I've used it every day since, sometimes twice a day. What a relief!!
That's it for now! I hope everyone is doing well!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Now, the world is a better place.
Femme and Husband have taken the best of both and made one little wonder! What a combination! (No pressure Little Husband!)
Congratulations!!!!!!! I'm soooo happy for you!!!
Congratulations!!!!!!! I'm soooo happy for you!!!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Old videos
I downloaded these to my laptop, but don't have the software to edit them! So, some might be a little longer than necessary.
These are from July.
Clapping is fun!!!
Kess perfecting his Miss America wave!
This was before he could really walk. He'd climb up something and fuss when he couldn't get down.
This was taken while Makena was doing her gymnastic's class. This little girl is one month older than Kess. Check out the size difference!
This is the same little girl taking Kessie out! :)
The Olympic march!!
This was at an art festival in Fremont.
The Dentist! Makena went to an awful dentist last year. He held her down to brush her teeth! Jerk! When I found a new dentist for myself I made an appointment for her as well. He was so wonderful with her. This is her second appointment--the first real exam, etc.
These are from July.
Clapping is fun!!!
Kess perfecting his Miss America wave!
This was before he could really walk. He'd climb up something and fuss when he couldn't get down.
This was taken while Makena was doing her gymnastic's class. This little girl is one month older than Kess. Check out the size difference!
This is the same little girl taking Kessie out! :)
The Olympic march!!
This was at an art festival in Fremont.
The Dentist! Makena went to an awful dentist last year. He held her down to brush her teeth! Jerk! When I found a new dentist for myself I made an appointment for her as well. He was so wonderful with her. This is her second appointment--the first real exam, etc.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Get soap.
The conversation over breakfast yesterday:
Makena: We are out of soap. Are you gonna go to the supermarket?
Mommy: Ah, yes.
Makena: After you drop me off (at school)?
Mommy: Maybe.
Makena: Can you get some soap?
Mommy: Sure.
Makena: That's it, just soap.
Mommy: Okay.
Makena: Oh.. and you have to pay for it.
Mommy: Will do.
Makena: We are out of soap. Are you gonna go to the supermarket?
Mommy: Ah, yes.
Makena: After you drop me off (at school)?
Mommy: Maybe.
Makena: Can you get some soap?
Mommy: Sure.
Makena: That's it, just soap.
Mommy: Okay.
Makena: Oh.. and you have to pay for it.
Mommy: Will do.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Arock Obama
Yesterday, the kids and I were waiting for Mark to get home. I was watching CNN. I started to explain that the election was happening today and that we were going to vote for the next president of the United States. I told her that our choices were John McCain and Barack Obama. That was it.
When Mark was home and we were eating dinner. I asked Makena to tell Mark what we were going to do tomorrow. She said, "I don't know." I said, "Remember, tomorrow is election day. Who are we voting for?" I was expecting that she might say president as that's kind of easy to remember. Instead she said, "Arock Obama and John McCain." Mark decided to get my goat and tell her we were voting for John McCain. While I'm completely against imposing my views on my kids--I really want them to figure this out on their own--I just couldn't sit back and say nothing. So, I told her that we were voting for Barack Obama.
I already broke my rule and she's only 3 1/2! It was cute though.
When Mark was home and we were eating dinner. I asked Makena to tell Mark what we were going to do tomorrow. She said, "I don't know." I said, "Remember, tomorrow is election day. Who are we voting for?" I was expecting that she might say president as that's kind of easy to remember. Instead she said, "Arock Obama and John McCain." Mark decided to get my goat and tell her we were voting for John McCain. While I'm completely against imposing my views on my kids--I really want them to figure this out on their own--I just couldn't sit back and say nothing. So, I told her that we were voting for Barack Obama.
I already broke my rule and she's only 3 1/2! It was cute though.
Monday, November 3, 2008
A crib is for babies
While the kids were napping today I decided to look over the ballot measures for the election tomorrow. A little while into it I heard Kessler crying. It was about time for him to get up. I finished what I was doing and headed his way. Just as I was ascending the stairs I heard a loud "Ka-Thump" then silence, then hysterics!
Now, we often hear "thumps" coming from Kessler's room. We had to move him from our room when he was a baby because he kept kicking during the night and waking us up. Even when we moved him, we could here is "thumps" throughout the night; his room borders ours. Anyway, this "Ka-thump" seemed a bit different. I raced up the rest of the stairs. His room is pitch black, so I could hear him before I could see him. I could tell his cries weren't coming from their usual location. I turned on the light--there he was on the floor, face down, bum in the air, crying. I quickly picked him up and started consoling him.
Once he was settled he posed for this picture:
Now, we often hear "thumps" coming from Kessler's room. We had to move him from our room when he was a baby because he kept kicking during the night and waking us up. Even when we moved him, we could here is "thumps" throughout the night; his room borders ours. Anyway, this "Ka-thump" seemed a bit different. I raced up the rest of the stairs. His room is pitch black, so I could hear him before I could see him. I could tell his cries weren't coming from their usual location. I turned on the light--there he was on the floor, face down, bum in the air, crying. I quickly picked him up and started consoling him.
Once he was settled he posed for this picture:
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Small victories
Makena and Kessler have each taken turns being sick the last two weeks. Most recently it has been Kessler. He’s been throwing up the last few days—once or twice a day, so not too much. Friday night at about 10:30, after everyone was in bed, Makena started crying. She woke Kessler. While I was trying to get her settled Mark was trying to get Kess settled. I could hear Kessler wheezing in between each of his cries. He wasn’t hysterical. He wouldn’t settle until I put him in his crib—then he immediately fell asleep. I called the after-hours number for our pediatrician (for the third time in 10 days). The nurse asked me several questions. I asked and she confirmed that one of the questions was intended to rule out Meningitis. Kessler was able to touch his chin to his chest. She was very thorough and finally decided that it was nothing serious. Before I let her go I told her that I would probably wake him up just to see how he’s breathing. She told me to do it with her on the phone. I did—he took a deep breath and she heard the wheezing. She told me that I should probably take him in for an evaluation.
So, Kess and I headed to the ER, but not before realizing that I must have left my purse at Target earlier in the day. At the ER, we were left in triage for an hour or more. From there I was forced to listen to this mother yell and berate her two young daughters. “Don’t do that! Get over here! NO, NO, NO, NO! I’m tired! I told you NO!” It was excruciating.
When the doctor finally came, she said Kessler was fine. She said that he probably just had some irritation in his throat and to just put him in his room with a humidifier, but come back to the ER if his symptoms worsen.
We came home and Kess fell asleep right away. He’s been fine since. We went to Target to get my first and found that everything was there—including the cash. Hooray for small victories.
So, Kess and I headed to the ER, but not before realizing that I must have left my purse at Target earlier in the day. At the ER, we were left in triage for an hour or more. From there I was forced to listen to this mother yell and berate her two young daughters. “Don’t do that! Get over here! NO, NO, NO, NO! I’m tired! I told you NO!” It was excruciating.
When the doctor finally came, she said Kessler was fine. She said that he probably just had some irritation in his throat and to just put him in his room with a humidifier, but come back to the ER if his symptoms worsen.
We came home and Kess fell asleep right away. He’s been fine since. We went to Target to get my first and found that everything was there—including the cash. Hooray for small victories.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Hi-Ho Da Dere-We-Go
This is a seriously long run on story--so, prepare yourself.
I was driving Makena to school yesterday morning. Halfway there Kessler threw up his guts. Unfortunately, he had a lot of guts. When we arrived at school I called the office and asked that someone come grab Makena because Kessler was such a mess. I immediately realized my next problem. The carseat NEEDED to be cleaned. I HAD to take the seat out to clean it. I have NEVER been able to get the seat back in (securely). How was I going to pick Makena up from school without a seat for Kessler?
Taking Scarlett O'Hara's advice, I decided I'd worry about that tomorrow, or at least later that day. I got Kessler home, bathed him, changed him and put him down for a nap. I wrestled the vomit slathered carseat out of the car. I disassembled it--put the cloth pieces in the washer--took a toothbrush to the buckles and such, and a hose to the plastic base. I put all the bits on the hood of the car so I wouldn't lose them. Then I figured I'd better come up with a contigency plan because there was no reason to believe I'd all of a sudden be able to install the carseat. So, I called Mark. He wasn't working in the city yesterday, so he wasn't as far away. He was able to make it work and head home and back before a big meeting. When he got home the seat wasn't dry yet. He decided to just go get Makena while I stayed home with Kessler. He was only a half hour early.
Later in the evening, when Mark was going to install the seat.. I remembered that I had left the buckles and such on the hood of the car--the hood of the car that Mark drove to Makena's school. Sonofabitch. So, I headed for Baby's R Us, then Target with the aide of Femme. (I knew she would have done her homework already
and have the best recommedation! BTW, Target didn't have it either!)
Fast forward to our drive to gymnastics class this morning. Makena was very concerned about Kessler's carseat. "Why does he have a new one?" I explained how the pieces were lost. To my dismay, she then asked, "well, can daddy figer it out?" "Nooooooooo, despite what you might think your daddy cannot poop missing carseat pieces anymore than he can poop solid gold!!" Just kidding, I simply said no. This discussion continued for a while. The rest was pretty unmemorable, until she said, "then put your head in the toilet." "What?" "head in the toilet." We discussed whether that was a good idea or not, she decided it was.
A little later in the drive she said, "Let's sing the 'Head in the Toilet' song." "Hmmm, I don't think I know that one." So, she sang it for me. Here's how it goes, to the tune of "Hi-Ho the Dario".
Head in the Toilet,
Head in the Toilet,
Hi-Ho da dere-we-go,
Head in the Toilet.
In another trip today, she told me to put my listening ears on so she could sing it to me. I told her I had them on. She insisted that I use my hands to put them on. So, I did. Amazingly, the 'Head in the Toilet' song sounded even better than before!
I was driving Makena to school yesterday morning. Halfway there Kessler threw up his guts. Unfortunately, he had a lot of guts. When we arrived at school I called the office and asked that someone come grab Makena because Kessler was such a mess. I immediately realized my next problem. The carseat NEEDED to be cleaned. I HAD to take the seat out to clean it. I have NEVER been able to get the seat back in (securely). How was I going to pick Makena up from school without a seat for Kessler?
Taking Scarlett O'Hara's advice, I decided I'd worry about that tomorrow, or at least later that day. I got Kessler home, bathed him, changed him and put him down for a nap. I wrestled the vomit slathered carseat out of the car. I disassembled it--put the cloth pieces in the washer--took a toothbrush to the buckles and such, and a hose to the plastic base. I put all the bits on the hood of the car so I wouldn't lose them. Then I figured I'd better come up with a contigency plan because there was no reason to believe I'd all of a sudden be able to install the carseat. So, I called Mark. He wasn't working in the city yesterday, so he wasn't as far away. He was able to make it work and head home and back before a big meeting. When he got home the seat wasn't dry yet. He decided to just go get Makena while I stayed home with Kessler. He was only a half hour early.
Later in the evening, when Mark was going to install the seat.. I remembered that I had left the buckles and such on the hood of the car--the hood of the car that Mark drove to Makena's school. Sonofabitch. So, I headed for Baby's R Us, then Target with the aide of Femme. (I knew she would have done her homework already
and have the best recommedation! BTW, Target didn't have it either!)
Fast forward to our drive to gymnastics class this morning. Makena was very concerned about Kessler's carseat. "Why does he have a new one?" I explained how the pieces were lost. To my dismay, she then asked, "well, can daddy figer it out?" "Nooooooooo, despite what you might think your daddy cannot poop missing carseat pieces anymore than he can poop solid gold!!" Just kidding, I simply said no. This discussion continued for a while. The rest was pretty unmemorable, until she said, "then put your head in the toilet." "What?" "head in the toilet." We discussed whether that was a good idea or not, she decided it was.
A little later in the drive she said, "Let's sing the 'Head in the Toilet' song." "Hmmm, I don't think I know that one." So, she sang it for me. Here's how it goes, to the tune of "Hi-Ho the Dario".
Head in the Toilet,
Head in the Toilet,
Hi-Ho da dere-we-go,
Head in the Toilet.
In another trip today, she told me to put my listening ears on so she could sing it to me. I told her I had them on. She insisted that I use my hands to put them on. So, I did. Amazingly, the 'Head in the Toilet' song sounded even better than before!
Monday, October 27, 2008
The 'goings on' of last week.
Sore Tongue
Last weekend Makena started to complain of a sore tongue. Sometimes it was sore teeth. She woke up from her nap on Monday in tears because of it. She also had a fever so I made an appointment to see the doctor. Mark suggested that it was actually a sore throat—that never occurred to me! We had to go to a different office and see a different doctor. She was extremely nice, but the love was short lived. The doctor had to be quite aggressive with the tongue depressor and Makena was equally as aggressive in response. Somehow saliva flung into the doctor’s eye (behind her glasses) and Kessler was kicked. A strep test was done (more tongue depressors with cotton swabs this time) but the in office test results came back negative. The doctor suggested Motrin for her fever and we were on our way home. She was better the next day so she went to school. Unfortunately the rest of us felt like crap so Mark stayed home from work.
Kessler’s 15 month checkup!
He’s still a big boy!
Height: 34 ¼ inches (>100%)
Weight: 25 lbs 12 oz (70%)
Head Cir: 50 (97%)
He had a fever the day before so we skipped vaccinations. Unfortunately for Makena, the doctor’s handy chart let her know that they were out of the Hepatitis Vaccine at her last check up so she suggested Makena get it that day, along with a flu mist. The mist went pretty well. The shot didn’t. It’s tough because Makena is getting increasingly aware of what’s going on. She didn’t associate vaccinations with doctor visits, but she will now. The nurse obtained her trust—told her it would feel like a pinch. Makena was such a good girl but 3 seconds after it was over she realized that it hurt more than a pinch. But, she did get an extra sticker out of it, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Halloween Party
We saw our neighbors outside on Saturday. They invited us to a Halloween party they were having later that evening. I could not get a decent photo for nothing! Here’s the best I could do while we were home. We took some photos with the other camera, but I can’t find it at this moment. Go figure.
We couldn’t find one of Kessler’s claws! So, he’s wearing a Halloween sock on one of his feet.
Dreaded Saturday Night
The party was fun, but by 9:00 Kessler had had enough. We came home and got everyone to bed. At 12:30, we awoke to Makena screaming and crying. I ran to her room—I met her as she was coming out. She was still crying and trying to tell me that she had thrown up. That she did! Mark went to clean it up and I gave Makena a bath. We don’t really use a monitor with her anymore. She and Kessler like to play with it and either unplug it or change the channel so the receiver doesn’t synch up with it. Sometimes, she will have a mishap, like losing Ellie, and she’ll cry for us. We don’t always hear her. A few times she has gotten so upset that she’s thrown up. I thought this was one of those times. I was explaining to her how important it was to come to our room rather than get upset and throw up. She seemed to understand. When I put her back to bed I turned on her monitor. An hour or so later I heard her coughing a little. Then I heard our door open and she came over to my side of the bed. She calmly told me she needed to clean her face. I thought maybe she had a runny nose, so I went to the bathroom to get a tissue. When I turned the light on I saw that she had thrown up all over herself again!! I told Mark. Makena said, “I didn’t cry, Mommy.” Obviously, she remembered our earlier conversation and thought I was telling her not to cry when she threw up—rather than not to cry and make yourself throw up! Poor baby!!!! And, obviously I had gotten it wrong earlier as well. She had probably thrown up then cried! We decided to keep her in our room and she threw up 4 or 5 more times until morning. I called the doctor's office at one point. When Makena heard me say "doctor" she said, "I don't need to go! I don't want her to look at my teeth. I don't want her to pinch." Poor thing! Once she was awake we followed the on-call nurse’s advice to give her a teaspoon of Pedialyte every 5 minutes. She finally stopped vomiting at 7:30 and was good for the rest of the day. She fell asleep watching Mickey at around noon. She didn’t wake up until after 4:00—she was so exhausted, but she’s all better now. And none of the rest of us caught it! Thank goodness!
It Makes Sense
I decided to take the kids to Gracie’s Place again today, specifically so Kessler could get more comfortable there. So, I loaded them into the car—remembering that when we went out yesterday, I brought my keys. I do this a lot even though Mark is driving and has his keys. It’s a bad habit because I tend to hide them somewhere in the car so they can’t be seen when we are out of the car doing something. I do such a great job that I forget to take them inside when I get back home. Anyway, I was running from the garage to the house trying to find them. The kiddos were already loaded—that’s an accomplishment I didn’t want wasted! I heard Makena singing on one of my trips to the car. She was singing “Puff the Magic Dragon”. I’ve never heard her singing this by herself so I slowed my frantic pace to listen. Here was her rendition.
Puff the magic dragon libed by the sea
And frolicked in da autumn mist
In Hallloooweeen
So sweet. She was singing it again when we were driving to Gracie’s Place. It’s so tough sometimes to correct them when they are doing something so cute, but I told her it's Honah-Lee. She thought about it for a second then told me, no, it’s Halloween. It’s really hard to argue. I mean, she learns a new song just a few days before Halloween, it would make sense that the word in question is Halloween, not Honah-Lee.
Last weekend Makena started to complain of a sore tongue. Sometimes it was sore teeth. She woke up from her nap on Monday in tears because of it. She also had a fever so I made an appointment to see the doctor. Mark suggested that it was actually a sore throat—that never occurred to me! We had to go to a different office and see a different doctor. She was extremely nice, but the love was short lived. The doctor had to be quite aggressive with the tongue depressor and Makena was equally as aggressive in response. Somehow saliva flung into the doctor’s eye (behind her glasses) and Kessler was kicked. A strep test was done (more tongue depressors with cotton swabs this time) but the in office test results came back negative. The doctor suggested Motrin for her fever and we were on our way home. She was better the next day so she went to school. Unfortunately the rest of us felt like crap so Mark stayed home from work.
Kessler’s 15 month checkup!
He’s still a big boy!
Height: 34 ¼ inches (>100%)
Weight: 25 lbs 12 oz (70%)
Head Cir: 50 (97%)
He had a fever the day before so we skipped vaccinations. Unfortunately for Makena, the doctor’s handy chart let her know that they were out of the Hepatitis Vaccine at her last check up so she suggested Makena get it that day, along with a flu mist. The mist went pretty well. The shot didn’t. It’s tough because Makena is getting increasingly aware of what’s going on. She didn’t associate vaccinations with doctor visits, but she will now. The nurse obtained her trust—told her it would feel like a pinch. Makena was such a good girl but 3 seconds after it was over she realized that it hurt more than a pinch. But, she did get an extra sticker out of it, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Halloween Party
We saw our neighbors outside on Saturday. They invited us to a Halloween party they were having later that evening. I could not get a decent photo for nothing! Here’s the best I could do while we were home. We took some photos with the other camera, but I can’t find it at this moment. Go figure.
We couldn’t find one of Kessler’s claws! So, he’s wearing a Halloween sock on one of his feet.
Dreaded Saturday Night
The party was fun, but by 9:00 Kessler had had enough. We came home and got everyone to bed. At 12:30, we awoke to Makena screaming and crying. I ran to her room—I met her as she was coming out. She was still crying and trying to tell me that she had thrown up. That she did! Mark went to clean it up and I gave Makena a bath. We don’t really use a monitor with her anymore. She and Kessler like to play with it and either unplug it or change the channel so the receiver doesn’t synch up with it. Sometimes, she will have a mishap, like losing Ellie, and she’ll cry for us. We don’t always hear her. A few times she has gotten so upset that she’s thrown up. I thought this was one of those times. I was explaining to her how important it was to come to our room rather than get upset and throw up. She seemed to understand. When I put her back to bed I turned on her monitor. An hour or so later I heard her coughing a little. Then I heard our door open and she came over to my side of the bed. She calmly told me she needed to clean her face. I thought maybe she had a runny nose, so I went to the bathroom to get a tissue. When I turned the light on I saw that she had thrown up all over herself again!! I told Mark. Makena said, “I didn’t cry, Mommy.” Obviously, she remembered our earlier conversation and thought I was telling her not to cry when she threw up—rather than not to cry and make yourself throw up! Poor baby!!!! And, obviously I had gotten it wrong earlier as well. She had probably thrown up then cried! We decided to keep her in our room and she threw up 4 or 5 more times until morning. I called the doctor's office at one point. When Makena heard me say "doctor" she said, "I don't need to go! I don't want her to look at my teeth. I don't want her to pinch." Poor thing! Once she was awake we followed the on-call nurse’s advice to give her a teaspoon of Pedialyte every 5 minutes. She finally stopped vomiting at 7:30 and was good for the rest of the day. She fell asleep watching Mickey at around noon. She didn’t wake up until after 4:00—she was so exhausted, but she’s all better now. And none of the rest of us caught it! Thank goodness!
It Makes Sense
I decided to take the kids to Gracie’s Place again today, specifically so Kessler could get more comfortable there. So, I loaded them into the car—remembering that when we went out yesterday, I brought my keys. I do this a lot even though Mark is driving and has his keys. It’s a bad habit because I tend to hide them somewhere in the car so they can’t be seen when we are out of the car doing something. I do such a great job that I forget to take them inside when I get back home. Anyway, I was running from the garage to the house trying to find them. The kiddos were already loaded—that’s an accomplishment I didn’t want wasted! I heard Makena singing on one of my trips to the car. She was singing “Puff the Magic Dragon”. I’ve never heard her singing this by herself so I slowed my frantic pace to listen. Here was her rendition.
Puff the magic dragon libed by the sea
And frolicked in da autumn mist
In Hallloooweeen
So sweet. She was singing it again when we were driving to Gracie’s Place. It’s so tough sometimes to correct them when they are doing something so cute, but I told her it's Honah-Lee. She thought about it for a second then told me, no, it’s Halloween. It’s really hard to argue. I mean, she learns a new song just a few days before Halloween, it would make sense that the word in question is Halloween, not Honah-Lee.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Handshakes
I might have mentioned that you are either a Rockstar or a Duffa in our house. (According to Mark anyway). For those that need a refresher:
Duffa = Duffer = Cattle Rustlers which apparently = Silly (in Australian)
So, many months ago Mark taught Makena the "Rockstar handshake". It's a four step process that starts with regular handshake and ends with a fist bump. I guess Mark was bored with that so he taught her the "Girlfriend handshake". Don't ask me. Anyway, this handshake requires the participants wrap their pinky fingers around one another. Then pull them apart while letting out a girlish squeal. I know! Don't ask! Well, the other day Makena came up to Mark and requested the "Boyfriend handshake". He asked what it is. She told him that you press your thumbs together then pull them apart... while letting out a girlish squeal. I will never get video of this because Mark would die before letting anyone else see this. But yes, it is as funny as you imagine.
Duffa = Duffer = Cattle Rustlers which apparently = Silly (in Australian)
So, many months ago Mark taught Makena the "Rockstar handshake". It's a four step process that starts with regular handshake and ends with a fist bump. I guess Mark was bored with that so he taught her the "Girlfriend handshake". Don't ask me. Anyway, this handshake requires the participants wrap their pinky fingers around one another. Then pull them apart while letting out a girlish squeal. I know! Don't ask! Well, the other day Makena came up to Mark and requested the "Boyfriend handshake". He asked what it is. She told him that you press your thumbs together then pull them apart... while letting out a girlish squeal. I will never get video of this because Mark would die before letting anyone else see this. But yes, it is as funny as you imagine.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Why?
There were a few things that happened today that I thought were blogworthy. As I was formulating the contents of the post, I decided that I would just document my entire day. Why? Because I think 17 years from now when both kids are off to college—I’ll appreciate a refresher of the things I will have long since forgotten.
Last year when I was pregnant with Kessler I tried to take Makena to Gracie’s Place. It’s a tot drop—pay as you go preschool. Makena wasn’t enrolled in school at the time and I thought it would be good for the both of us if she had some time away with other kids. As with many things, the plan was far better in theory. Makena cried and cried and threw up and cried more. I would stay for an hour or two and be called back to pick her before I made it home. I tried this for a few days before I realized that whatever it was that I hoped to gain wasn’t worth what was happening—for Makena or me.
I had long since forgotten about Gracie’s Place. But for some reason it came to mind last week. I remembered that unlike most all daycares, they do accept kids under two as long as they are walking. I started thinking this would be good for Kessler. I booked them both in for today hoping Makena’s presence would help Kess. Unlike last year, Makena ran in and immediately started playing with the toys. Kessler promptly followed. Score!!!, I thought. Kessler was keeping an eye on me though. I decided to make my way out.
Now what? I hadn’t really come up with what I was going to do with all this kidless time. I had reserved 9:00 to 12:30. I decided to go to OSH and buy some more baby-proofing stuff. Kessler has found the Tupperware cabinet to be a lot more fun than the toy box. Conversely, I find picking up the Tupperware, washing it and returning it to the cabinet less than enjoyable. In addition, Merlin is getting into the trash everyday so I wanted to find a better solution. I think I found one—we shall see.
Then I decided I should go home and get some other stuff done. Upon arrival, I cleaned up the trash left by Merlin. I chatted with some friends online for about 30 minutes. Then I got the call to come get Kessler. Crap. An hour had passed since I had left them. When I arrived back at Gracie’s Place I found Kessler sitting red-faced and peeved at a table after an apparent bath in his applesauce. I gathered up his stuff and waited for Makena to finish eating. When she was done she told me she didn’t want to leave. The staff was happy to let her stay and said they were fine to have her there until 2:00.
Kess and I headed home. I gave him a bottle and promptly put him to bed. He didn’t make a sound. I decided to make better use of my time this time. I changed the kitty litter, cleaned the kitchen and did other stuff I hate to do. While I was sorting some mail on the table—mail that had already been through the preliminary purge—I found a check that I overlooked the first time! Cool, but how did I miss it?? At 1:30 I had to wake Kessler to head out. When we arrived at Gracie’s Place, Makena ran over to me and said, “Mommy, I’m still not ready.” My how things have changed!
We stopped at the bank on the way back home. They know us there. The bank is usually empty except for a few employees. This time was not much different. I guess it’s been a while since I had both kids at the bank. They each went in opposite directions. I found myself chasing Kessler down as I tried to fill out the deposit slip. He’s much faster than I am—I was relieved when I had the deposit slip completed. That was until I heard, “Mommy, I need to go potty.” Crap, crap! (You may recall the last time this happened). Do banks even have bathrooms?? I think they’re in the vault because I’ve never seen one. I explained that we would go to the supermarket as soon as we were done. Luckily an employee overheard us and offered to take us to the employee restroom. I scooped up Kessler and told Makena to follow the guy. Kessler let out a very loud burp, then another—all eyes were on us. We made it safely to the potty (which isn’t in the vault).
I spent much of my time in the restroom trying to keep Kessler from Makena—while trying to get Makena on the toilet. Then I washed his hands because he decided to crawl all over the bathroom floor and play with the drain. I answered Makena’s many questions, one of which was whether she can put her dirty toilet paper into the trash can rather than in the toilet. "No, no, it needs to go in the toilet" "…..Why?" "Because that’s the best place for it." That answer sufficed. I picked her up to wash her hands—only to glance and see that Kessler was elbow deep in the toilet. Excellent. I abandoned Makena with soapy hands in order to rescue the toilet from Kessler. I finally washed both of their hands and made it back to the tellers to make the deposit.
A banker, who is particularly nice to me, stopped to chat. The kids scattered like rats when the lights are turned on. I tried to be polite as I walked in the direction I last saw Kessler. His trail led to the bank manager’s empty cubicle. For a second, I was relieved to have a visual of him until I realized what he was about to do. He was under the desk with each hand full of cables. Crap, crap! I left the banker talking as I ran to sweep him up. It was definitely time to vacate the bank! The banker carried Makena to the car for me. She put Makena in her seat while I buckled Kessler in his. By the time I got around to buckle Makena’s seat she had made her way to the front seat. She decided now was prime time to play keep away from mommy. I forced a laugh and said, “You silly girl, hop in your seat” while I thought “Holy f)(*#%g hell you had better get your a$$ in your seat before I lose my f)*#%*g mind.’ Makena must read minds—she got in her seat.
Makena talked relentlessly all the way home--completely unaffected by Kessler's constant crying. I figured he was probably still tired. So after a snack I unsuccessfully tried to put him down for a nap. He gave me 15 minutes of false hope about 3 different times. I know when it’s time to give up. I talked to Mark for a few minutes. He let me know that he was going to be late and asked me to keep the kids up as long as I could. We discussed the odds of that happening. I determined he was far more likely to be struck by lightning while dancing for joy after winning the lottery.
What next? I decided to kill two birds. We’ll go get dinner and take it the park. Eat and expend energy! I started to fill a sippy cup with milk for Kessler. Makena asked if I could get her one. I said, “Sure”. She said, “Why?” I said, “Because you asked nicely.” She asked, “Why?” I said, "I just told you why." She said “Why?” Getting frustrated, I said, “Makena, please don’t ask why anymore.” She said, “Can I ask why not?” She won and I laughed in defeat.
After the sippy cups were full and Makena claimed victory in our debate, we were ready to go. I called Chili’s. I was told the food would be ready in 14 minutes, not 15 minutes, not 10 minutes, but 14 minutes. Just about the time it would take to drive there. Just as I hung up the phone, I heard Kessler do his “I’m pooping” grunt. Crap, Crap! I waited for him to finish and headed upstairs. Now, changing Kessler is not an easy feat. He’s as still as he is quiet. I usually have to distract him by giving him something from the top of his changing table. That “something” usually ends up thrown behind the changing table. The items left on the table get increasing less appropriate to give to him. So, I started to change him without the aide of distraction—and failed. The diaper was unfastened by this time. I was just about to hand him some baby oil, when he swiftly grabbed the diaper and pulled it up over his face—wrong side down--Peek-A-Boo Mommy! Lucky enough—Kessler is David Copperfield’s protégé. The poop stayed on the changing table just as the china setting stays on the table after the cloth is yanked from beneath it. Amazing. Lucky Kess. I quickly wiped his face (just in case), cleaned up the poop, tossed the diaper and installed a new one—Kessler and I rejoined Makena downstairs.
I herded the gaggle to the car. I brought a sports bottle full of water with me. Kessie did his, “I want your water” grunt. Makena, having had no interest in my water prior to this moment, decided that she was about to die of thirst. I asked Kessler to give the water to Makena. I knew he wouldn’t but I was hoping to buy some time as Makena was not letting this go. Instead of giving her the bottle, he threw it on the floor. Makena demanded that I retrieve it. I explained that I couldn’t get it while I was driving. “Why?” she asked. Here we go again. I restated that I couldn’t reach it. “Why not?” I decided to cut my losses and just shut up.
We arrived at Chili’s. Like an overworked border collie I tried to keep the kids corralled in the “To go” area. I won—we left with the food and no major incidences. I came to the realization that the park was not going to be the laid back experience I had envisioned. I decided to abort the plan and take dinner back home. We ate. Kessler received a "bath" which was much more like a dunk with a dollop of shampoo. He's in bed. Mark’s home now and Makena is still bathing. Perhaps he should buy a lottery ticket and stay inside during a thunderstorm.
By the way, despite my efforts, the house now looks like it was struck by a bomb--back to square one tomorrow!
Last year when I was pregnant with Kessler I tried to take Makena to Gracie’s Place. It’s a tot drop—pay as you go preschool. Makena wasn’t enrolled in school at the time and I thought it would be good for the both of us if she had some time away with other kids. As with many things, the plan was far better in theory. Makena cried and cried and threw up and cried more. I would stay for an hour or two and be called back to pick her before I made it home. I tried this for a few days before I realized that whatever it was that I hoped to gain wasn’t worth what was happening—for Makena or me.
I had long since forgotten about Gracie’s Place. But for some reason it came to mind last week. I remembered that unlike most all daycares, they do accept kids under two as long as they are walking. I started thinking this would be good for Kessler. I booked them both in for today hoping Makena’s presence would help Kess. Unlike last year, Makena ran in and immediately started playing with the toys. Kessler promptly followed. Score!!!, I thought. Kessler was keeping an eye on me though. I decided to make my way out.
Now what? I hadn’t really come up with what I was going to do with all this kidless time. I had reserved 9:00 to 12:30. I decided to go to OSH and buy some more baby-proofing stuff. Kessler has found the Tupperware cabinet to be a lot more fun than the toy box. Conversely, I find picking up the Tupperware, washing it and returning it to the cabinet less than enjoyable. In addition, Merlin is getting into the trash everyday so I wanted to find a better solution. I think I found one—we shall see.
Then I decided I should go home and get some other stuff done. Upon arrival, I cleaned up the trash left by Merlin. I chatted with some friends online for about 30 minutes. Then I got the call to come get Kessler. Crap. An hour had passed since I had left them. When I arrived back at Gracie’s Place I found Kessler sitting red-faced and peeved at a table after an apparent bath in his applesauce. I gathered up his stuff and waited for Makena to finish eating. When she was done she told me she didn’t want to leave. The staff was happy to let her stay and said they were fine to have her there until 2:00.
Kess and I headed home. I gave him a bottle and promptly put him to bed. He didn’t make a sound. I decided to make better use of my time this time. I changed the kitty litter, cleaned the kitchen and did other stuff I hate to do. While I was sorting some mail on the table—mail that had already been through the preliminary purge—I found a check that I overlooked the first time! Cool, but how did I miss it?? At 1:30 I had to wake Kessler to head out. When we arrived at Gracie’s Place, Makena ran over to me and said, “Mommy, I’m still not ready.” My how things have changed!
We stopped at the bank on the way back home. They know us there. The bank is usually empty except for a few employees. This time was not much different. I guess it’s been a while since I had both kids at the bank. They each went in opposite directions. I found myself chasing Kessler down as I tried to fill out the deposit slip. He’s much faster than I am—I was relieved when I had the deposit slip completed. That was until I heard, “Mommy, I need to go potty.” Crap, crap! (You may recall the last time this happened). Do banks even have bathrooms?? I think they’re in the vault because I’ve never seen one. I explained that we would go to the supermarket as soon as we were done. Luckily an employee overheard us and offered to take us to the employee restroom. I scooped up Kessler and told Makena to follow the guy. Kessler let out a very loud burp, then another—all eyes were on us. We made it safely to the potty (which isn’t in the vault).
I spent much of my time in the restroom trying to keep Kessler from Makena—while trying to get Makena on the toilet. Then I washed his hands because he decided to crawl all over the bathroom floor and play with the drain. I answered Makena’s many questions, one of which was whether she can put her dirty toilet paper into the trash can rather than in the toilet. "No, no, it needs to go in the toilet" "…..Why?" "Because that’s the best place for it." That answer sufficed. I picked her up to wash her hands—only to glance and see that Kessler was elbow deep in the toilet. Excellent. I abandoned Makena with soapy hands in order to rescue the toilet from Kessler. I finally washed both of their hands and made it back to the tellers to make the deposit.
A banker, who is particularly nice to me, stopped to chat. The kids scattered like rats when the lights are turned on. I tried to be polite as I walked in the direction I last saw Kessler. His trail led to the bank manager’s empty cubicle. For a second, I was relieved to have a visual of him until I realized what he was about to do. He was under the desk with each hand full of cables. Crap, crap! I left the banker talking as I ran to sweep him up. It was definitely time to vacate the bank! The banker carried Makena to the car for me. She put Makena in her seat while I buckled Kessler in his. By the time I got around to buckle Makena’s seat she had made her way to the front seat. She decided now was prime time to play keep away from mommy. I forced a laugh and said, “You silly girl, hop in your seat” while I thought “Holy f)(*#%g hell you had better get your a$$ in your seat before I lose my f)*#%*g mind.’ Makena must read minds—she got in her seat.
Makena talked relentlessly all the way home--completely unaffected by Kessler's constant crying. I figured he was probably still tired. So after a snack I unsuccessfully tried to put him down for a nap. He gave me 15 minutes of false hope about 3 different times. I know when it’s time to give up. I talked to Mark for a few minutes. He let me know that he was going to be late and asked me to keep the kids up as long as I could. We discussed the odds of that happening. I determined he was far more likely to be struck by lightning while dancing for joy after winning the lottery.
What next? I decided to kill two birds. We’ll go get dinner and take it the park. Eat and expend energy! I started to fill a sippy cup with milk for Kessler. Makena asked if I could get her one. I said, “Sure”. She said, “Why?” I said, “Because you asked nicely.” She asked, “Why?” I said, "I just told you why." She said “Why?” Getting frustrated, I said, “Makena, please don’t ask why anymore.” She said, “Can I ask why not?” She won and I laughed in defeat.
After the sippy cups were full and Makena claimed victory in our debate, we were ready to go. I called Chili’s. I was told the food would be ready in 14 minutes, not 15 minutes, not 10 minutes, but 14 minutes. Just about the time it would take to drive there. Just as I hung up the phone, I heard Kessler do his “I’m pooping” grunt. Crap, Crap! I waited for him to finish and headed upstairs. Now, changing Kessler is not an easy feat. He’s as still as he is quiet. I usually have to distract him by giving him something from the top of his changing table. That “something” usually ends up thrown behind the changing table. The items left on the table get increasing less appropriate to give to him. So, I started to change him without the aide of distraction—and failed. The diaper was unfastened by this time. I was just about to hand him some baby oil, when he swiftly grabbed the diaper and pulled it up over his face—wrong side down--Peek-A-Boo Mommy! Lucky enough—Kessler is David Copperfield’s protégé. The poop stayed on the changing table just as the china setting stays on the table after the cloth is yanked from beneath it. Amazing. Lucky Kess. I quickly wiped his face (just in case), cleaned up the poop, tossed the diaper and installed a new one—Kessler and I rejoined Makena downstairs.
I herded the gaggle to the car. I brought a sports bottle full of water with me. Kessie did his, “I want your water” grunt. Makena, having had no interest in my water prior to this moment, decided that she was about to die of thirst. I asked Kessler to give the water to Makena. I knew he wouldn’t but I was hoping to buy some time as Makena was not letting this go. Instead of giving her the bottle, he threw it on the floor. Makena demanded that I retrieve it. I explained that I couldn’t get it while I was driving. “Why?” she asked. Here we go again. I restated that I couldn’t reach it. “Why not?” I decided to cut my losses and just shut up.
We arrived at Chili’s. Like an overworked border collie I tried to keep the kids corralled in the “To go” area. I won—we left with the food and no major incidences. I came to the realization that the park was not going to be the laid back experience I had envisioned. I decided to abort the plan and take dinner back home. We ate. Kessler received a "bath" which was much more like a dunk with a dollop of shampoo. He's in bed. Mark’s home now and Makena is still bathing. Perhaps he should buy a lottery ticket and stay inside during a thunderstorm.
By the way, despite my efforts, the house now looks like it was struck by a bomb--back to square one tomorrow!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Nothing unnoticed
We were driving home from school today when Makena noticed a school bus driving through a yellow (possibly a little orange) traffic light.
Makena: "Look mommy!!! The cool bus ran through da light."
Mommy: "Yeah, that's a duffa thing to do." (I will often say this when I'm too mentally drained to think of something with more substance.)
Makena: "Yeah.. you did that yesterday."
I guess I won't be doing that anymore.
Makena: "Look mommy!!! The cool bus ran through da light."
Mommy: "Yeah, that's a duffa thing to do." (I will often say this when I'm too mentally drained to think of something with more substance.)
Makena: "Yeah.. you did that yesterday."
I guess I won't be doing that anymore.
Photos
Here are some photos of our last visit to Hap Magee dog park.
Fire Truck Park:
Pumpkin Patch: (I screwed up when downloading these so they are in multiple slideshows for no particular reason.)
Fire Truck Park:
Pumpkin Patch: (I screwed up when downloading these so they are in multiple slideshows for no particular reason.)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Should I have just paid it?
Last Thursday I received a letter from a collections agency stating that I owed them $223.25 The only other information contained in the letter was a name and a date of service of May 30, 2003. That is not a typo--May 30, 2003.
Now, despite the date, my first thought was crap, I forgot to pay a medical bill. For the last 2 years or so we have had private insurance with a high deductible. It rolls over every year and I can never keep track of whether we have met the deductible. Regardless of whether it's met or not, I'll get a bill stating that I owe the entire amount. A few weeks later I'll get a bill saying I don't. So, I thought maybe I missed one. Then I thought, wait--2003. I had insurance through my employer and they always paid for everything.
So, I called the collection company to see what information they had. They had nothing. I did a search online for the doctor's name in Las Vegas, where we were living in 2003. Once I found her information I started to vaguely remember that she was an OB/GYN that I went to see one year for my annual exam. I remembered there were a few things about her practice that I didn't like so I decided not to go see her anymore. Anyway, I called the office. They said my account was paid in full. The billing person suggested I contact the lab and gave me a number.
I'll recount with bullet statements:
Now, despite the date, my first thought was crap, I forgot to pay a medical bill. For the last 2 years or so we have had private insurance with a high deductible. It rolls over every year and I can never keep track of whether we have met the deductible. Regardless of whether it's met or not, I'll get a bill stating that I owe the entire amount. A few weeks later I'll get a bill saying I don't. So, I thought maybe I missed one. Then I thought, wait--2003. I had insurance through my employer and they always paid for everything.
So, I called the collection company to see what information they had. They had nothing. I did a search online for the doctor's name in Las Vegas, where we were living in 2003. Once I found her information I started to vaguely remember that she was an OB/GYN that I went to see one year for my annual exam. I remembered there were a few things about her practice that I didn't like so I decided not to go see her anymore. Anyway, I called the office. They said my account was paid in full. The billing person suggested I contact the lab and gave me a number.
I'll recount with bullet statements:
- Called Lab Corp. Was transferred to a different department. They confirmed that a bill was not paid by the insurance company because my "benefits had been met". Spent several minutes waiting for her to find my file that had been purged. Was asked to confirm address. Their fabulous investigative team deleted the address on record--which was my address until 2006 and replaced it with an address I had in 1995.
- Called number I found online for Blue Cross. Was told I had wrong number and was transfered.
- Wrong number again.. transfered.
- Wrong number again.. No transfer.
- IM'd former coworker who explained that Blue Cross is no longer the insurance provider for company. Therefore he had no contact information.
- Called Lab Corp to see if they had a phone number, but they were closed for the day.
- Monday morning--called Lab Corp. Spent several minutes waiting for her to find my purged file and to tell me they did not have any insurance information on record.
- Called doctor's office who was able to give me a generic phone number and my subscriber ID.
- Called generic number and was routed to the proper department. Was told that they paid the benefit two weeks prior.
- Called Lab Corp. Waited several minutes for my purged file to be found. Was told that two specimens were drawn two weeks apart and sent to the lab.
- Remembered the biggest reason I didn't go back to that doctor's office for subsequent exams--the nurse botched the pap smear and I had to go back to have another specimen collected.
- Contacted the doctor's office to have them send a letter to Lab Corp stating that the second collection was a redraw and shouldn't have been billed to me or my insurance company.
- Received call from doctor's office stating they called Lab Corp to get an address to mail the letter, but the person couldn't find me in the system.
- Called Lab Corp back--waited for them to find my purged file. Obtained the needed address.
- Called the doctors office back with the address.
- Forgot to tell the doctor's office to send a copy to me. Called back and left a message with my fax number.
- Received a call from doctor's office stating they couldn't fax it--it had to be mailed for privacy reasons. Gave home address.
- Called Collection Agency to give update. Was told they really don't care what I had to say--they need something from Lab Corp.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure I left out some calls. I know I talked to the insurance company and the collection agency at least once more. All in all, I spent 3 hours on the phone.
Here's the EXTRA funny part. The original bill for the specimen draw was $92. The insurance company paid $12.10 for the first draw (so that's the allowed billable amount). The collection company was seeking $223. Un-freaking-believable.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Markus...
Mark left before sunrise this morning to catch a flight to LA for a very important/stressful business meeting. He should now be at the airport to catch his redeye flight to Chicago. He and our business partner will be giving a presentation bright and early tomorrow morning. From there he will fly to Atlanta to do it again. He gets back home at about midnight Wednesday night (Thursday morning). He's off to another meeting bright and early Thursday morning.
And all I have to say is.. poor me! Here I sit missing him. I don't appreciate him nearly enough when he's here and it hits me like a ton of bricks the second he's not.
I love you Mark.
And all I have to say is.. poor me! Here I sit missing him. I don't appreciate him nearly enough when he's here and it hits me like a ton of bricks the second he's not.
I love you Mark.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Scissors, Princesses, Stairs, OH MY!
I'll start with a few stories:
Landscaping
Mark and I were talking about the backyard last weekend. I was telling him how I thought it would be a good idea to get a landscaper to come in and prune the trees as they are getting out of hand.. again. I just pruned them last month, so I obviously don't have a clue how to do it properly. Mark expressed his reluctance and headed to the garage to put something away.
Makena asked, "What did you tell daddy?"
I responded, "I was telling him that I thought we should get a landscaper in to cut back the trees in the yard."
Makena very thoughtfully replied, "Oh."
She had a contemplative look on her face so I asked her what she thought of the idea.
She said, "I'll do it with my green scissors."
Problem solved.
Mark Anthony
We were all sitting on the bed talking about something a few mornings ago. Makena turned to Mark and sincerely asked, "What do you think Mark Anthony?" I think he prefers she call him dude.
Non-stop Kessler
He only just started to walk a few months ago, now he's running. He is so adventurous. Makena goes to gymnastics once a week (I have some video I'll post later). The gym is huge and the parents usually go to this area that's up a flight of stairs to watch the kids do their stuff. It's a rather large area. I usually position myself midway across so that when (not if) Kessler heads for the stairs I have time to catch him. This way I can still be somewhat social with the other moms. This past Wednesday Kessler didn't seem to be too interested in the stairs--what a relief! He was headed to the other end where he was corralled or so I thought. Lucky enough he has trained me to keep an eye on him all the time. Soon after making his way to the "safe" end, he quickly got on his belly and started to crawl backward--the undeniable sign that he's about to try to climb down something!! He started in the center of the floor. I looked in the direction he was heading and realized there is a 3 foot opening at the end. My initial thought was holy crap, he's going to drop 30 feet to the floor below. But, the gym owners did have a shred of sense and ensured there were stairs there rather than a gaping hole from which my son would fall. Nonetheless, tumbling down a set of stairs presents its own problems so I raced over and reached him just in the nick of time. Shew. We played "Chase Me to the Other Stairs, Mommy" for the rest of the session! You should try it sometime.
Bad Week for IPODs and Bells.
Last Thursday we accidentally left the garage open! We've probably done it 3 times since we've lived here (18 months). We didn't realized we had left it open until we returned from the park Friday morning. We walked into the garage and noticed that the doors on my car weren't completely closed. Even though we had left the garage open I still had no doubts that I had not closed them properly. When Mark drove his car for the first he noticed that his IPOD, IPOD adapter and some cash were missing. Then I checked my car more thoroughly and noticed I was missing cash and a voice recorder thingy. I guess we were lucky; I have been known to leave my purse or a camera in the car. It's still extremely upsetting. People are jerks.
Anyway, a couple days later I found some bells (an instrument from this musical set that we bought Makena) in the toilet. I couldn't help but laugh. The next day I found MY IPOD. I still laughed. It seems to work still, so no harm I guess. Though, I suppose I won't be licking it anytime soon.
And now some photos:
These are from a Princess Party that Makena and I went to last month. (There are a few of Kessie before we left for the party).
Makena was "Koala of the Week" the week before last. I had to do a poster of 'all things Makena'. She was asked to get up in front of the class and explain it. The first thing she pointed out was the photo of Ellie. She also pointed to the photo of her with a box on her head and said, "That's me being a duffa!!!" as she laughed. Very cute! :) She also played the air guitar on queue!
That's it for now. I do have some video that's long overdue to be posted.
Landscaping
Mark and I were talking about the backyard last weekend. I was telling him how I thought it would be a good idea to get a landscaper to come in and prune the trees as they are getting out of hand.. again. I just pruned them last month, so I obviously don't have a clue how to do it properly. Mark expressed his reluctance and headed to the garage to put something away.
Makena asked, "What did you tell daddy?"
I responded, "I was telling him that I thought we should get a landscaper in to cut back the trees in the yard."
Makena very thoughtfully replied, "Oh."
She had a contemplative look on her face so I asked her what she thought of the idea.
She said, "I'll do it with my green scissors."
Problem solved.
Mark Anthony
We were all sitting on the bed talking about something a few mornings ago. Makena turned to Mark and sincerely asked, "What do you think Mark Anthony?" I think he prefers she call him dude.
Non-stop Kessler
He only just started to walk a few months ago, now he's running. He is so adventurous. Makena goes to gymnastics once a week (I have some video I'll post later). The gym is huge and the parents usually go to this area that's up a flight of stairs to watch the kids do their stuff. It's a rather large area. I usually position myself midway across so that when (not if) Kessler heads for the stairs I have time to catch him. This way I can still be somewhat social with the other moms. This past Wednesday Kessler didn't seem to be too interested in the stairs--what a relief! He was headed to the other end where he was corralled or so I thought. Lucky enough he has trained me to keep an eye on him all the time. Soon after making his way to the "safe" end, he quickly got on his belly and started to crawl backward--the undeniable sign that he's about to try to climb down something!! He started in the center of the floor. I looked in the direction he was heading and realized there is a 3 foot opening at the end. My initial thought was holy crap, he's going to drop 30 feet to the floor below. But, the gym owners did have a shred of sense and ensured there were stairs there rather than a gaping hole from which my son would fall. Nonetheless, tumbling down a set of stairs presents its own problems so I raced over and reached him just in the nick of time. Shew. We played "Chase Me to the Other Stairs, Mommy" for the rest of the session! You should try it sometime.
Bad Week for IPODs and Bells.
Last Thursday we accidentally left the garage open! We've probably done it 3 times since we've lived here (18 months). We didn't realized we had left it open until we returned from the park Friday morning. We walked into the garage and noticed that the doors on my car weren't completely closed. Even though we had left the garage open I still had no doubts that I had not closed them properly. When Mark drove his car for the first he noticed that his IPOD, IPOD adapter and some cash were missing. Then I checked my car more thoroughly and noticed I was missing cash and a voice recorder thingy. I guess we were lucky; I have been known to leave my purse or a camera in the car. It's still extremely upsetting. People are jerks.
Anyway, a couple days later I found some bells (an instrument from this musical set that we bought Makena) in the toilet. I couldn't help but laugh. The next day I found MY IPOD. I still laughed. It seems to work still, so no harm I guess. Though, I suppose I won't be licking it anytime soon.
And now some photos:
These are from a Princess Party that Makena and I went to last month. (There are a few of Kessie before we left for the party).
Makena was "Koala of the Week" the week before last. I had to do a poster of 'all things Makena'. She was asked to get up in front of the class and explain it. The first thing she pointed out was the photo of Ellie. She also pointed to the photo of her with a box on her head and said, "That's me being a duffa!!!" as she laughed. Very cute! :) She also played the air guitar on queue!
That's it for now. I do have some video that's long overdue to be posted.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Dropping Trou
The kids and I were at Target yesterday. Things were going downhill quickly so I decided to cut the trip short and head to the register. I had already piled the cart with unassembled bookcases to use as storage in the playroom. As I was loading the stuff onto the belt, Makena said, "Mommy, I need to go to the potty." Now, we have been very lucky in that her first warning is usually well in advance. So, I explained that we would go to the restroom as soon as I paid for the stuff and continued emptying the cart. When I was nearly done, I glanced in her direction. There she stood pants and underwear down to her ankles. The cashier and I spotted her at the same time. I’m not sure what I said as I was a bit shocked. The wonderful cashier told me it was okay to leave my stuff on the belt and take her to the restroom before she finished what she started. I had to pull Kessler from the cart (I had just gotten him to settle in there). We headed to the restroom where Makena did her business. I carried Kessler and scurried Makena back to the register. Someone else was being rung up by the time we got back. The poor customer was taking each item from her cart and handing it to the poor cashier because the conveyer belt had all of my stuff on it! Kessler refused to go back in the cart, so I had to load a few more heavy boxes onto the belt. Then I loaded all of it back into the cart. I couldn't get out of the store fast enough. Unfortunately, pushing a very heavy cart, while holding a very heavy toddler, with a three year old hanging off the side is a very slow process. I was sweating when I finally got to the car. I felt like I had run a marathon!
Monday, September 22, 2008
He's one of us..
Mark became an American Citizen today!!!! How much more can we lower our standards?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Various and Sundry
I downloaded all the photos from both our cameras. Some are a bit hold. Here are a few anyway:
Here are some that deserve the spotlight.
We went to Santa Cruz while Mark's parents were here. Here are several photos of Kessler putting sand down the back of his shirt. He wouldn't stop doing it!
It was Wacky Dress Up day at school. The photos below show our rendition of Wacky. The only problem was that I was the only parent in Makena's class that remembered. Poor Makena!!
I left a glass of chocolate milk on the counter when I was taking a shower. I heard Kessler doing his "I climbed up something and can't get down" whine. I peaked out to see what he was doing. I had to streak through the house to get the camera for these.
Mark needed some documents for his citizenship interview and they weren't where they are supposed to be. So, we tore up the office. In the middle of it all, Makena shows up with this "hat" on her head:.
As cute as a cookie:
I always say, start training them while they're young!
Here are some that deserve the spotlight.
We went to Santa Cruz while Mark's parents were here. Here are several photos of Kessler putting sand down the back of his shirt. He wouldn't stop doing it!
It was Wacky Dress Up day at school. The photos below show our rendition of Wacky. The only problem was that I was the only parent in Makena's class that remembered. Poor Makena!!
I left a glass of chocolate milk on the counter when I was taking a shower. I heard Kessler doing his "I climbed up something and can't get down" whine. I peaked out to see what he was doing. I had to streak through the house to get the camera for these.
Mark needed some documents for his citizenship interview and they weren't where they are supposed to be. So, we tore up the office. In the middle of it all, Makena shows up with this "hat" on her head:.
As cute as a cookie:
I always say, start training them while they're young!
Forty years ago today..
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Consumed
I have to admit it, I'm consumed by the election these days. I didn't pay too much attention in past elections; I always voted Republican because I thought that was in my personal best interest--specifically as it relates to being a business owner.
This time however, I decided to take a bit more notice. Mainly because I was surprised that McCain won the Republican primary. He just seems a little too emotionally charged for me. That's something I noticed about Bush, but chose to ignore when I voted for him.. twice. I didn't want to make the same mistake three times.
At the same time, Obama was gaining momentum. Very begrudgingly, I decided to see why he was causing such a stir. After reading his books and researching his stance on the issues, I decided I just liked the guy. He has character. He reminds me of Mark (my husband). He's not emotionally driven. He's very level headed and his personality is even-keeled. He's an amazing communicator. He explains himself superbly (not-so-much like Mark). I don't like where he stands on some issues, but I can appreciate his ideas. He has the attributes of a natural leader; one of which is to seek compromise for the better good. That’s what it seemed like to me anyway. When I started to consider defecting from the Republican ticket, I made it a point to read every single article that I could find about the election.
Subsequently, several events in this campaign have left me so disappointed. When McCain aired the celebrity ads comparing Obama to Britney and Paris and the other ad where he mocked Obama for being “The One” I was really taken aback. I couldn’t believe that McCain deviated so far away from the issues. But what’s far worse, is it worked. Immediately after those ads were aired McCain’s standing improved in the polls.
When Palin gave her speech at the RNC, I was disappointed again. I’m certain she’s an amazing woman in many regards. But, character is very important to me. All people have hopes and desires. They have visions of how things should be. Those visions differ for everyone. The fact that Sarah Palin’s vision differ somewhat from mine is not my problem. My problem is character. To me, character is defined not by what someone is trying to achieve, but how they go about doing it. Her approach seemed just a few steps above the bullies I used to be scared of in school. She was mean and insulting and proud of it. She seemed very provincial to me. Rather than appreciating differences and pointing out why her ideas are better, she made fun of anyone who disagreed with her. I swear, I felt like I was in high school. Her approach was so incendiary and counterproductive to unifying the country. There are ways to make progress by not alienating everyone who disagrees with you. That’s what makes a good leader. I know because she is a woman she has a tougher road to travel, but that can't justify the abandonment of civility.
But, her methods worked as seen by the polls. This past week McCain has put out several ads that have been lies. When a McCain spokesperson was asked why they are doing this, he said because it works! He said that when McCain was talking about the issues, he never received any media time. The media is flocking to the negative ads and the public is responding by increasing their support for McCain. I just don’t get it. They are preying on the uninformed; the people who don’t have the time, don’t want to waste the time they have, or don’t have the capacity otherwise to sift through the garbage to get to the issues. They are counting on people staying uninformed and reacting.. overreacting to sensationalized, dishonest headlines.
If those tactics win the election what will they do for running our country? Imagine if we start thumbing our noses at Iran.. North Korea.. Russia.
Here is the definition of diplomacy:
1 : the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations
2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility
I'm a Republican and the McCain/Palin campaign has made me hostile! I shudder to think of how the rest of the world will regard us if they are elected.
This time however, I decided to take a bit more notice. Mainly because I was surprised that McCain won the Republican primary. He just seems a little too emotionally charged for me. That's something I noticed about Bush, but chose to ignore when I voted for him.. twice. I didn't want to make the same mistake three times.
At the same time, Obama was gaining momentum. Very begrudgingly, I decided to see why he was causing such a stir. After reading his books and researching his stance on the issues, I decided I just liked the guy. He has character. He reminds me of Mark (my husband). He's not emotionally driven. He's very level headed and his personality is even-keeled. He's an amazing communicator. He explains himself superbly (not-so-much like Mark). I don't like where he stands on some issues, but I can appreciate his ideas. He has the attributes of a natural leader; one of which is to seek compromise for the better good. That’s what it seemed like to me anyway. When I started to consider defecting from the Republican ticket, I made it a point to read every single article that I could find about the election.
Subsequently, several events in this campaign have left me so disappointed. When McCain aired the celebrity ads comparing Obama to Britney and Paris and the other ad where he mocked Obama for being “The One” I was really taken aback. I couldn’t believe that McCain deviated so far away from the issues. But what’s far worse, is it worked. Immediately after those ads were aired McCain’s standing improved in the polls.
When Palin gave her speech at the RNC, I was disappointed again. I’m certain she’s an amazing woman in many regards. But, character is very important to me. All people have hopes and desires. They have visions of how things should be. Those visions differ for everyone. The fact that Sarah Palin’s vision differ somewhat from mine is not my problem. My problem is character. To me, character is defined not by what someone is trying to achieve, but how they go about doing it. Her approach seemed just a few steps above the bullies I used to be scared of in school. She was mean and insulting and proud of it. She seemed very provincial to me. Rather than appreciating differences and pointing out why her ideas are better, she made fun of anyone who disagreed with her. I swear, I felt like I was in high school. Her approach was so incendiary and counterproductive to unifying the country. There are ways to make progress by not alienating everyone who disagrees with you. That’s what makes a good leader. I know because she is a woman she has a tougher road to travel, but that can't justify the abandonment of civility.
But, her methods worked as seen by the polls. This past week McCain has put out several ads that have been lies. When a McCain spokesperson was asked why they are doing this, he said because it works! He said that when McCain was talking about the issues, he never received any media time. The media is flocking to the negative ads and the public is responding by increasing their support for McCain. I just don’t get it. They are preying on the uninformed; the people who don’t have the time, don’t want to waste the time they have, or don’t have the capacity otherwise to sift through the garbage to get to the issues. They are counting on people staying uninformed and reacting.. overreacting to sensationalized, dishonest headlines.
If those tactics win the election what will they do for running our country? Imagine if we start thumbing our noses at Iran.. North Korea.. Russia.
Here is the definition of diplomacy:
1 : the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations
2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility
I'm a Republican and the McCain/Palin campaign has made me hostile! I shudder to think of how the rest of the world will regard us if they are elected.
Daddy, also known as...
Yesterday, Mark and I were trying to have a serious conversation. It's very tough to do this with the kids around. This attempt proved no different. Makena picked up her "Mary had a Little Lamb" book and brought it to where we were sitting.
Makena looking at Mark, "Sing it with me."
Mark continued talking.
Makena, "Sing it with me. Sing it with me."
Mark, "not right now, sweetie."
Makena, "Sing it with me, Mawk." (Mark with an Australian accent.)
Mark, "Noooo, I'm daddy."
Makena, "Sing it with me... dude. "
Mark, "What did you call me?"
Makena, "dude."
And that was the end of our conversation as none of us could stop laughing.
Later in the day daddy evolved from "dude" to "daddy duffer dude".
Makena looking at Mark, "Sing it with me."
Mark continued talking.
Makena, "Sing it with me. Sing it with me."
Mark, "not right now, sweetie."
Makena, "Sing it with me, Mawk." (Mark with an Australian accent.)
Mark, "Noooo, I'm daddy."
Makena, "Sing it with me... dude. "
Mark, "What did you call me?"
Makena, "dude."
And that was the end of our conversation as none of us could stop laughing.
Later in the day daddy evolved from "dude" to "daddy duffer dude".
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
ANOTHER Birthday Cake
Okay, I have to get caught up again.
The following videos are from late July, when Grandma and Grandpa were still here. Mark wanted to bake another cake with Makena; this time for Grandpa.
You should learn from this video that if the Pellas family (of the US, not to be confused with anyone from Australia) offer to bake you a cake, politely, yet quickly and emphatically decline. We'll call this clip, "Special Ingredient".
The following videos are from late July, when Grandma and Grandpa were still here. Mark wanted to bake another cake with Makena; this time for Grandpa.
You should learn from this video that if the Pellas family (of the US, not to be confused with anyone from Australia) offer to bake you a cake, politely, yet quickly and emphatically decline. We'll call this clip, "Special Ingredient".
This next video is chock-full of little gems. A lot of them should be self explanatory, but I'll explain a few.
We'll start with Kessler attempting to climb on a chair. At this point in time he had only taken a few steps. Little did I know when this video was taken that climbing would become Kessler's favorite pasttime. He loves to climb. He never stopped trying until he mastered it. His only problem now is he can't get down.
You'll notice that Makena is taste testing the batter, which means it's already been mixed, without another key ingredient; no, not spit this time.
At least Kessler's having fun.
On to the chocolate cake. Kessler just couldn't wait. (That's the chocolate mix on the table.)
Alright, now that's he's had some sugar, it's time to break for more sugar (scones with jam and cream). YUM!
The final product was a strawberry and chocolate layered cake with whipped cream in the middle. There was strawberry icing on top, along with various types of sprinkles. (We did omit the special ingredient). I'm proud, yet sad to say we did finish it.
A Visitor
For the last week or so, Makena has had a giraffe in her room.
The first night, it was dark. I think she had called me back to her room after we had already put her to bed. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "There's a giraffe in my room." "A giraffe?" "Yeah, he's right there," she said pointing across the room. She wasn't alarmed, just matter-of-fact. So, I wasn't sure if it was a good giraffe or a bad giraffe; I certainly didn't want to assume. "What's he doing?" I asked. "He's standing there." "Ahhh, he's looking after you, is he?" "No, he wants to eat my tooties." "Noooo, don't be silly. He wants to kiss your tooties, like this," I kiss her neck as a giraffe would, I'm sure. She's not exactly buying it. She tells me that he needs to go home, back to the zoo. "Oh okay, you know, I think he just left." "No, he's still standing there." I believe Mark entered at this point. (The story is a bit hazy as it was only days, maybe just hours after we returned from Australia). I think I went back to our room so Mark could have a go. Not too much later, they both arrived and hopped into bed. We avoided the subject for a bit. Then Makena asserted again that the giraffe needed to go back to the zoo. We all agreed. Then, with alarm, Makena exclaims, "Oh no, he's going to take mommy's car and go back to the zoo!!" I believe Mark convinced her at this point that the giraffe would take a bus or call a cab or something and Makena did go back to her room.
She's mentioned the giraffe nearly every night since. We get past it pretty easily. Tonight we were in our room winding down as we usually do before bedtime. She stated again that the giraffe is in her room. We did some small talk around it. Then Mark asked, "What's the giraffe's name?" We both would have bet on "Puppy Giraffe", but to our surprise, its name is Ephaphant (Elephant) Giraffe.
No wonder he doesn't want to go back to the zoo!!!
The first night, it was dark. I think she had called me back to her room after we had already put her to bed. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "There's a giraffe in my room." "A giraffe?" "Yeah, he's right there," she said pointing across the room. She wasn't alarmed, just matter-of-fact. So, I wasn't sure if it was a good giraffe or a bad giraffe; I certainly didn't want to assume. "What's he doing?" I asked. "He's standing there." "Ahhh, he's looking after you, is he?" "No, he wants to eat my tooties." "Noooo, don't be silly. He wants to kiss your tooties, like this," I kiss her neck as a giraffe would, I'm sure. She's not exactly buying it. She tells me that he needs to go home, back to the zoo. "Oh okay, you know, I think he just left." "No, he's still standing there." I believe Mark entered at this point. (The story is a bit hazy as it was only days, maybe just hours after we returned from Australia). I think I went back to our room so Mark could have a go. Not too much later, they both arrived and hopped into bed. We avoided the subject for a bit. Then Makena asserted again that the giraffe needed to go back to the zoo. We all agreed. Then, with alarm, Makena exclaims, "Oh no, he's going to take mommy's car and go back to the zoo!!" I believe Mark convinced her at this point that the giraffe would take a bus or call a cab or something and Makena did go back to her room.
She's mentioned the giraffe nearly every night since. We get past it pretty easily. Tonight we were in our room winding down as we usually do before bedtime. She stated again that the giraffe is in her room. We did some small talk around it. Then Mark asked, "What's the giraffe's name?" We both would have bet on "Puppy Giraffe", but to our surprise, its name is Ephaphant (Elephant) Giraffe.
No wonder he doesn't want to go back to the zoo!!!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Resilience
A few weeks ago, we received word that Mark’s 93 year old grandmother was quite sick and not expected to survive. Mark had a difficult time with this as he had not seen her in over a decade. So, we decided that we would make a trip to Bendigo (1 ½ hours outside of Melbourne) to see her. That’s where the story begins.
Chapter 1 – Travelatrocity
I decided to contact Travelocity to see if we could use the credit we had from the Fiji trip I had to cancel. With much dread, I made the first of my calls. I told the agent that I had cancelled a trip for my family and wanted to use the credit toward another trip. I explained that I was told this was possible but there would be a $200 change fee. The agent asked questions for which I had already given the answers, but I politely restated them. She used way too many words to tell me that she was going to put me on hold while she checked on this. Several minutes later she returned and confirmed that I could in fact do what I said. I explained that I would like to go ahead and well, do what I said. Again, using far too many words, she asked me to hold. Several minutes later she came back to tell me that I could do that. Realizing this cycle of tell her what I want only to be told it’s possible without actually making it possible would never actually garner any tickets, I decided to do what any sane, rational person would do. I thanked her, hung up and immediately called back to speak with someone else.
The second call was similar to the first, but different enough that I felt I could endure it and actually book the tickets. There were way too many thank yous, apologies and soliloquies that preceded requests to place me on hold. He did however return each time with additional information or questions that gave me reason to believe that we were moving forward. I also found out that my tickets were refundable and not exchangeable. Only, it was $500 a ticket to receive the refund. He managed somehow to circumvent the non-exchangeable rule and reissue the tickets. He was insistent though, that if we left Friday evening at 9:00, we would arrive in Australia Saturday morning at 10:20. I wish. You see, when it’s 9 p.m. on Friday in California, it’s already after 10:00 a.m. on Saturday in Melbourne. He also told me that our flight was direct to Melbourne. Nonetheless he was able to get the job done.
Chapter 2 – Packing too Early
I have this thing. I have absolutely no motivation to pack too early. Too early would be the night before, unless it’s an early flight. In that case, it’s not too early provided it is only the night before and not the day before. With our flight from SF to LA leaving at 5:00 p.m., I had a difficult time deciding when I should actually allow myself to be motivated. I decided to let the confusion serve as a catalyst for turning over a new travelling leaf. I started packing around 9:00 a.m. I was doing really, really well. I used the spare bedroom as a staging area. I had all the kid's stuff sorted into neat little piles. I proudly organized their belongings into travel space bags and placed them into the suitcase. Everytime I'd leave the room, I'd look back and marvel at my organizational accomplishment! I nearly had all of my stuff ready to go too. I watered the plants, left checks for the housecleaning and cat sitter. I had the carry-on bags ready to go with food, diapers, wipes, and spare changes of clothes for the kids. I had Mickey, Minnie, Ellie, Puppy Seal (explanation to come), and Blue Blanket ready to go. I loaded my Ipod with songs, audio books and Spanish lessons. I packed 3 books. I found the camera, but not the charger. Where is that damn charger? All I can say is that I do know where it isn’t!!! Then, it was 1:50. 2:00 was my target for taking Merlin to doggie daycare and Mark called. He had just finished a HUGE meeting, HUGE; he was calling to tell me about it. I listened and scrambled to get the kids ready. As soon as I got the high points from Mark I grabbed Merlin and the kids and headed to Puppy Playland. It was 2:15. I raced there and to the post office as we were expecting some checks. Lucky enough, one of them was there, but this meant I had to go to the bank. Mark was home by the time I got there. I left the kids in the car as we loaded everything up.
On the way to the airport I had one “Damn!" moment after another as I recalled all the items I forgot to pack:
1. Ipod
2. Jacket
3. Sweatshirt (I was only wearing a tank top and was planning to bring some layers for the plane and our arrival in Melbourne).
4. Australian hairdryer
5. Laptop
At least I learned my lesson. I cannot pack too early because the extra time gives me this false sense that I can be more thorough.. more organized. That leads to distractions which completely derail ensuring that the essentials have been taken care of. Oh well. We were off to the airport at 3:20, 20 minutes later than planned.
Chapter 3 – Super Puppy
We made it to Oakland airport and on the plane with no real issues, at least none that I can remember. The kids were good, I think. A traveling salesman gave Makena a stuffed dog with a cape. She names everything Puppy ____. For example, Puppy Dog, Puppy Seal (Kessler’s seal is Puppy Seal too) and so on. She had planned to name the dog Puppy dog, but decided instead to take the gift givers recommendation and name him Super Puppy. Afterall, he has a cape. Super Puppy is only worth mentioning because he was her constant companion throughout the entire trip. It was quite cute.
Chapter 4 – Travelatrocity Strikes Again
We arrive in LA three hours before our flight! No problem—plenty of time to eat and relax before catching our direct flight to Melbourne, right? We set off on our trek from the domestic terminal to the international terminal. I was looking forward to the fresh air, until I remembered there is no such thing in LA. After 20 minutes of inhaling various carcinogens-second hand cigarette smoke and carbon monoxide, we arrived at check in. We checked the board—our flight goes to Auckland. How can that be!? He said it was direct; I even checked the Qantas website. I guess since we don’t change planes (even though we are forced to leave the plane) it’s not considered a layover. Wonderful. Feeling a little deflated we headed to the line and were immediately called up to the counter. After several minutes, the agent said—you have an infant. Travelocity didn’t issue a ticket for him. About an hour and a half later, we had one. Imagine waiting there with a one year old and three year old. It was pretty exhausting. We did make it to the gate with just enough time to grab something to eat and get on the plane.
Chapter 5 – Second Worst Flight of my Life
We were given the “bassinet row”. It’s very deceptive. I remember thinking after our last international flight with Makena that the seats were not what they were cracked up to be. It’s tough to believe because you have so much room between the seat and the wall in front-like another 18 inches between your knees and the wall! How could this be bad? As we started to stow our carry-ons, I remembered the first problem. EVERYTHING has to go in the overhead compartments for take-off and landing. This sucks when you have kids. Shortly into the flight, I realized problem number 2—the other seats might have less knee room but you can stretch your legs a far amount under the seat in front of you. With the bassinet row, there’s no stretching. A few hours into the flight I realized dreaded problem number 3—the arm rest contains the TV and tray. Which means they are wider and make the seat smaller. In addition they do not go up, so you’re stuck in a nearly vertical position the entire time. It really makes no difference that we had a forth seat. But, there was a bassinet. And though it was half the size of Kessler he curls up when he sleeps so we were able to use it despite our doubts. To our dismay, Kessler slept in it for 9 hours. Makena, on the other hand, could not get comfortable. She kept sliding out of her seat. Each time she would wake up crying. I ended up holding her for the better part of the flight. She tossed and turned in my arms desperately trying to get comfortable, unable to accept there was no such thing. My shoulders, back, arms, legs, and butt were so incredibly sore. It was a horrendous night which didn’t get any better as the sun caught up to us. Makena wouldn’t eat her breakfast which is pretty normal. She said her stomach hurt. It’s not that we didn’t believe her, it was just that everything was hurting at this point. No surprise that she would be complaining about her stomach. She was quiet for several minutes when Mark asked her if she was okay. No sooner than he got the words out, she was spewing vomit all over the place. She even managed to hit the wall in front of us. We had 2 hours before landing in Melbourne. We cleaned it as best we could and advised the flight attendant. Thankfully, they changed out the seat during our layover in Auckland. Not to be outdone, Kessler decided to follow suit on the flight from Auckland to Melbourne. I’m so glad I packed a change of clothes for the plane!
Chapter 6 – Kessler Almost Killed Grandma
I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about Mark’s family. We were able to see several of his aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides of his family. They were all so genuinely nice and welcoming. It was great. Mark’s grandma was no exception. She seemed to be in pretty rough shape the day we arrived, but on our last day there she looked wonderful. She was going on walks through the hospice and reading magazines. It was really nice to see. She defines resilience.
There was one point, however, when I thought they were going to have to find a room for me. Kessler and Makena were pretty full on the first day. The combination of being way overtired and meeting new people caused them both to be bundles of energy. The exact opposite of me. I spent much of the time finding distractions for them, but I couldn’t keep up their pace. Kessler was walking around Grandma’s room (he’s gotten quite good at it). All of a sudden there was a very loud beeping sound coming from the foot of the bed where he’s standing…..where he’s standing, holding the end of a power cord. Holy shit!!! He’s unplugged her life support, I think and race off down the hallway to find a nurse. By the time we got back to the room (only seconds had passed) Mark had figured out how to stop the beeping. It was just the adjustable inflator for her air mattress. (She wasn’t on life support, but knowing this didn’t stop the panic. Besides that, anything that makes that much noise when turned off had better be providing something essential to providing life or at least be a bomb or something…)
Chapter 7 – No Punishment Suitable
After visiting with several “relies” we headed back to the hotel. We got the kids to bed and I fell asleep on the sofa. Mark convinced me to drag my butt to bed around 7:00. At 8:00 Mark’s uncle called to give us the plans for the following day. At 10:00 Kessler woke up. We were staying in a two bedroom apartment and he and Makena were sharing a room. So, he woke her up. One of us got her settled while the other brought Kessler to our room. We spent a few hours like that before returning Kessler to his crib. What seemed like only seconds later, we started the whole soothing/relocating process again. At 5:00, I heard Makena crying. Kessler was right against me. Desperately not wanting to wake him up I nudged Mark and sent him off to check on Makena. I immediately realized--it's quiet. Hmmm, did she settle already? Ahhh, uh oh, did I ever really hear her cry? Mark returns, she was sound asleep, (never awake) he reports. Kessler started to stir, then he’s completely awake. What had I done?!??!?!?!? There is no punishment suitable for this crime. I mean, really, I deserved to be strung up naked, by my ankles while ex-boyfriends take turns tickling me with feathers as snakes slither across the floor beneath my head. Nothing less than that is what I deserved. Yet, my husband said, “don’t worry about it, it’s okay” and took Kessler to the living room so I could sleep some more. What a wonderful husband and father he is.
Every night after was about the same, except for the phantom child cries I heard. The one night when Kessler didn’t wake up on his own, Makena fell out of the bed and woke him up. Poor kids. And then there was the night that I had to go to the bathroom. Kessler was in bed with us so I waited as long as I could for fear of waking him. At 4:00 a.m., when I could no longer hold it, I started to sneak my way out of bed. I happened to look over and see Kessler and Mark. Kessler was facing me with head in the middle of Mark’s back. His bum was settled perfectly at Mark’s neck and his legs were wrapped on top of Mark’s head. Poor Mark. Upon return, they were both awake. The exhaust fan was too loud. Seeking redemption, I took Kessler to the living room to entertain him while Mark tried to go back to sleep.
Chapter 7 – Good in Theory
Since Mark’s Grandma was doing so well we thought it would be a shame not to make it to Tassie to see his parents, sister and niece. We flew down Friday morning with plans to return Saturday evening. We’d then spend the night at Melbourne airport so we wouldn’t have to get up super early to catch our flight. Good in theory. The flight (our 4th in 5 days) went well. It was only an hour, though it was on an itty bitty plane which is always unsettling to me. Mark’s sister, Julie, his niece, Phoebe and his mom and dad were at the airport to greet us. It was great to see them. We went back to Mark’s parent’s house, ate and hung out. It was really nice. We went to bed pretty early as we were extremely beat. That night proved to be as bad or worse than any night so far. I can’t count the number of times Kessler woke up. When morning rolled around way too early, Mark took Kess downstairs. I got up for a while but had to return to bed. My stomach ached and I felt like I was going to vomit. There were more symptoms, but I’ll spare you the details. The medicine I took finally started to kick in. I still felt awful, but not desperate. We started to think about getting packed up again. About that time Kessler woke up from his nap. He was crying and coughing. Only it wasn’t your average cough. He sounded like a very pissed off seal. Mark’s dad called the on-call doctor who told me that it could be Croup (I would have spelled it Krup had I not looked it up just now). He wanted to know whether his breathing was labored like he was congested or as if his airway was restricted. Uh, I dunno. He explained that Croup can be dangerous for babies and the elderly as it restricts the airway. He wouldn’t recommend flying. Our flight departed from Tassie in 2 hours and the flight back to the US was in 17 hours. So, off to the emergency room we went. From the moment I spoke with the first doctor until the time we left the emergency room, Kessler did not cough once. He made no sounds when he took a breath. Amazing how that works. He was given a clean bill of health and we were assured that flying would not be a problem. We got back to Mark’s parent’s house, packed, and headed to the airport. We arrived 30 minutes before the flight was to depart. (Note here: We went to an emergency room, packed, and caught a flight in 90 minutes. That’s an indication of how small Wynyard, Tasmania is! :) Did I mention the first time I visited Wynyard, they brought our luggage around from the plane on a trailer attached to a lawn mower? I will be struck by lightning if I’m lying.)
Chapter 8 – A Well Laid out Plan
We arrive back in Melbourne and headed to our hotel. It was blowing a gale outside, but other than that everything went smoothly. The hotel was very nice; we decided to stay there for dinner. That proved to be a good choice. We were beat so after we ate we headed to the room for a good night’s sleep! Everyone was finally tucked in and sleeping until 11:00 when we were suddenly awoken by a barking seal. There was no doubt that his breathing was constricted by a narrow airway and not congestion. He was miserable. He threw up several times. I remembered Mark’s mom telling us that steam will help so I turned on all the faucets on in the bathroom. He still coughed. I took him in the shower, but didn’t get him wet. This didn’t work. He threw up again, so I gave him a shower. This worked!! In the meantime Mark had called a 24 hour doctor call-out service. A doctor was on his way. At 12:15 or so we were all settled and back to sleep. At 2:00, it started all over again. This time Mark took Kessler for a shower. It seemed to work again. Mark assumed the doctor wasn’t going to show so we started calling around again. At 2:45 there was a knock at the door! After only a few minutes he confirmed that it was Croup. He said that Kessler was safe to fly. We needed to get a prescription for some liquid steroid that would stop his throat from constricting. If it got really, really bad we could just give him oxygen on the plane and he’d be fine. And well, if that didn’t work, they have adrenaline shots on the plane.. and that’ll fix it. Are you sure? Yes, he said. He also told us that there was a pharmacy at the airport where we could get the steroids. We called the front desk who confirmed that the pharmacy opened at 7:00 or 8:00. The doctor mentioned that he had tablets and he would send up to the room when he retrieved them from his car. He warned us that they are very bitter and the liquid form would go over much better. We gave him $155 and he left. What a wonderful service.. I mean really, what else would we have done?? Our office visits at home are more than $155. Anyway, feeling a bit better after everything we settled back down. Being ever so optimistic I thought, if we can get him to take the tablets, maybe we can salvage the rest of night. So, I crushed the pills and mixed them with sprite. I loaded the concoction into the dropper that came with infant Tylenol we brought from the States. Kess loves that stuff, so there would be no problem getting him to take it. I was right. But what I didn’t anticipate was the projectile vomit that would follow.. all over the bed. We were out of towels to clean up the vomit—so we used a dirty one. Dirty is a relative term.
At 6:00 a.m. I was wide awake. Our flight wasn’t until 10:30, but I didn’t want to risk not making it to the pharmacy. I called the front desk and asked that they send up more towels and off to the races we went. We were at the pharmacy shortly after 8:00. I waited outside. Mark returned with no medicine. The pharmacist prescribed his last bottle this morning. What? What? You have to be kidding me! Nope! Now what? The pharmacist told Mark where the next closest pharmacy was. It opened at 9:00. We went to the check-in counter. Checking in for an international flight takes forever!! Anyway, once we were almost done the agent gave Mark the go ahead to leave. When I was done I headed to the nearest place to get milk. I asked for two cups of milk. I heard her ask, whole or light? One of each, I said. (Kessler drinks whole milk, Makena drinks reduced fat-perfect!) She pours the first then says something like, I suppose you don’t want foam. Ummm.. no, thank you. Then I watch as she heats up the whole milk and the light bulb above my head turns on---hot or cold?, she asked!!! Oh well, what’s done is done. She sees that I have a credit card and tells me that I can’t use it for purchases under $10 and points me in the direction of the ATM. Oh, hell no. What’s the most expensive water you have… she points me to the fridge behind me and says, “the big yellow one.” I grab it and tell her to throw in another COLD milk as well, please. The total reached $9. She said don’t worry about it took my credit card. I had set up camp at one of the tables a few feet away from the counter. I filled up the bottle and sippy cup with the cold milk. Then I thought, if I put the hot milk in one of the sippy cups and add some cold water.. that would be just like room temperature reduced fat milk, right? It’s really against all laws of nature for a mother to throw away milk. So, I proceded with my plan. The mixture enticed Makena. She asked if she could try it. I said sure and she took a few gulps. I asked how it was; she said “good” and continued drinking the cold milk. Cool, I thought as I proudly loaded the other sippy cup into the diaper bag. It’s nice to have a spare! I packed everything up again and headed to our designated meeting spot to wait for Mark. I took a big swig of the remaining water as I looked around for a clock. Only, it’s not just water. It’s lemon flavored water. Makena won’t eat macaroni and cheese, but she thinks room temperature lemon flavored milk taste “good”.
Before I could really start to panic about how many things could go wrong with Mark going to the pharmacy, he turned up, medicine in hand. We even had time for breakfast. Then we were off to Sydney.
Chapter 9 – The Worst Flight of My Life
We had to be bused from one terminal to another in Sydney. It was a pain but we survived. Mark was selected for random screening. We finally made it to the gate as it the flight was boarding. Our seats were not together so we headed to the counter. We had 2 seats in the “bassinet row” and 1 across the aisle. That’s worst than the scenario coming over. I couldn’t bear to put Makena through it again. The other option was 3 seats together. “We’ll take that!”, I exclaim. Mark has doubts. I’ll give the abridged version of the next 13 hours. Crying, vomiting, more crying, tossing, turning, vomiting, more crying. After 10 hours of this, I started to weep, then bawl. We still had 3 more hours on this plane, we had to walk to customs (with no stroller) clear it and collect our luggage. Walk from the international terminal to the domestic terminal to catch our 8th flight in 9 days. I smelled like sweat and vomit and was weak from not being able to eat the day before. All I could think was, Mark’s a good husband. He’ll let me stay in LA tonight while he heads back to SF with the kids, won't he? I mean, if I suggested that we all stay, he wouldn’t want to do it. He’d want to head home anyway… so what’s the harm if I just stay here one night.. one night? I finally pulled myself together. We landed, made it to customs without a stroller, cleared it, walked 30 minutes between terminals while overdressed and breathing carcinogens… made it through the line at the Southwest ticket counter for what seemed like hours and finally boarded our plane. Makena was asleep before the plane left the ground. Mark and I both fell asleep until Kessler woke the one who was holding him, who would then pass him to the other. This continued until Kessler finally fell asleep in my arms. Mark ordered us all drinks only to fall asleep before they were brought back to us. It seemed like we were in the air for 15 seconds before we were landing again. It was probably the best sleep we had the whole trip. We finally landed, collected our luggage and headed home. It’s good to be home.
The End.
Chapter 1 – Travelatrocity
I decided to contact Travelocity to see if we could use the credit we had from the Fiji trip I had to cancel. With much dread, I made the first of my calls. I told the agent that I had cancelled a trip for my family and wanted to use the credit toward another trip. I explained that I was told this was possible but there would be a $200 change fee. The agent asked questions for which I had already given the answers, but I politely restated them. She used way too many words to tell me that she was going to put me on hold while she checked on this. Several minutes later she returned and confirmed that I could in fact do what I said. I explained that I would like to go ahead and well, do what I said. Again, using far too many words, she asked me to hold. Several minutes later she came back to tell me that I could do that. Realizing this cycle of tell her what I want only to be told it’s possible without actually making it possible would never actually garner any tickets, I decided to do what any sane, rational person would do. I thanked her, hung up and immediately called back to speak with someone else.
The second call was similar to the first, but different enough that I felt I could endure it and actually book the tickets. There were way too many thank yous, apologies and soliloquies that preceded requests to place me on hold. He did however return each time with additional information or questions that gave me reason to believe that we were moving forward. I also found out that my tickets were refundable and not exchangeable. Only, it was $500 a ticket to receive the refund. He managed somehow to circumvent the non-exchangeable rule and reissue the tickets. He was insistent though, that if we left Friday evening at 9:00, we would arrive in Australia Saturday morning at 10:20. I wish. You see, when it’s 9 p.m. on Friday in California, it’s already after 10:00 a.m. on Saturday in Melbourne. He also told me that our flight was direct to Melbourne. Nonetheless he was able to get the job done.
Chapter 2 – Packing too Early
I have this thing. I have absolutely no motivation to pack too early. Too early would be the night before, unless it’s an early flight. In that case, it’s not too early provided it is only the night before and not the day before. With our flight from SF to LA leaving at 5:00 p.m., I had a difficult time deciding when I should actually allow myself to be motivated. I decided to let the confusion serve as a catalyst for turning over a new travelling leaf. I started packing around 9:00 a.m. I was doing really, really well. I used the spare bedroom as a staging area. I had all the kid's stuff sorted into neat little piles. I proudly organized their belongings into travel space bags and placed them into the suitcase. Everytime I'd leave the room, I'd look back and marvel at my organizational accomplishment! I nearly had all of my stuff ready to go too. I watered the plants, left checks for the housecleaning and cat sitter. I had the carry-on bags ready to go with food, diapers, wipes, and spare changes of clothes for the kids. I had Mickey, Minnie, Ellie, Puppy Seal (explanation to come), and Blue Blanket ready to go. I loaded my Ipod with songs, audio books and Spanish lessons. I packed 3 books. I found the camera, but not the charger. Where is that damn charger? All I can say is that I do know where it isn’t!!! Then, it was 1:50. 2:00 was my target for taking Merlin to doggie daycare and Mark called. He had just finished a HUGE meeting, HUGE; he was calling to tell me about it. I listened and scrambled to get the kids ready. As soon as I got the high points from Mark I grabbed Merlin and the kids and headed to Puppy Playland. It was 2:15. I raced there and to the post office as we were expecting some checks. Lucky enough, one of them was there, but this meant I had to go to the bank. Mark was home by the time I got there. I left the kids in the car as we loaded everything up.
On the way to the airport I had one “Damn!" moment after another as I recalled all the items I forgot to pack:
1. Ipod
2. Jacket
3. Sweatshirt (I was only wearing a tank top and was planning to bring some layers for the plane and our arrival in Melbourne).
4. Australian hairdryer
5. Laptop
At least I learned my lesson. I cannot pack too early because the extra time gives me this false sense that I can be more thorough.. more organized. That leads to distractions which completely derail ensuring that the essentials have been taken care of. Oh well. We were off to the airport at 3:20, 20 minutes later than planned.
Chapter 3 – Super Puppy
We made it to Oakland airport and on the plane with no real issues, at least none that I can remember. The kids were good, I think. A traveling salesman gave Makena a stuffed dog with a cape. She names everything Puppy ____
Chapter 4 – Travelatrocity Strikes Again
We arrive in LA three hours before our flight! No problem—plenty of time to eat and relax before catching our direct flight to Melbourne, right? We set off on our trek from the domestic terminal to the international terminal. I was looking forward to the fresh air, until I remembered there is no such thing in LA. After 20 minutes of inhaling various carcinogens-second hand cigarette smoke and carbon monoxide, we arrived at check in. We checked the board—our flight goes to Auckland. How can that be!? He said it was direct; I even checked the Qantas website. I guess since we don’t change planes (even though we are forced to leave the plane) it’s not considered a layover. Wonderful. Feeling a little deflated we headed to the line and were immediately called up to the counter. After several minutes, the agent said—you have an infant. Travelocity didn’t issue a ticket for him. About an hour and a half later, we had one. Imagine waiting there with a one year old and three year old. It was pretty exhausting. We did make it to the gate with just enough time to grab something to eat and get on the plane.
Chapter 5 – Second Worst Flight of my Life
We were given the “bassinet row”. It’s very deceptive. I remember thinking after our last international flight with Makena that the seats were not what they were cracked up to be. It’s tough to believe because you have so much room between the seat and the wall in front-like another 18 inches between your knees and the wall! How could this be bad? As we started to stow our carry-ons, I remembered the first problem. EVERYTHING has to go in the overhead compartments for take-off and landing. This sucks when you have kids. Shortly into the flight, I realized problem number 2—the other seats might have less knee room but you can stretch your legs a far amount under the seat in front of you. With the bassinet row, there’s no stretching. A few hours into the flight I realized dreaded problem number 3—the arm rest contains the TV and tray. Which means they are wider and make the seat smaller. In addition they do not go up, so you’re stuck in a nearly vertical position the entire time. It really makes no difference that we had a forth seat. But, there was a bassinet. And though it was half the size of Kessler he curls up when he sleeps so we were able to use it despite our doubts. To our dismay, Kessler slept in it for 9 hours. Makena, on the other hand, could not get comfortable. She kept sliding out of her seat. Each time she would wake up crying. I ended up holding her for the better part of the flight. She tossed and turned in my arms desperately trying to get comfortable, unable to accept there was no such thing. My shoulders, back, arms, legs, and butt were so incredibly sore. It was a horrendous night which didn’t get any better as the sun caught up to us. Makena wouldn’t eat her breakfast which is pretty normal. She said her stomach hurt. It’s not that we didn’t believe her, it was just that everything was hurting at this point. No surprise that she would be complaining about her stomach. She was quiet for several minutes when Mark asked her if she was okay. No sooner than he got the words out, she was spewing vomit all over the place. She even managed to hit the wall in front of us. We had 2 hours before landing in Melbourne. We cleaned it as best we could and advised the flight attendant. Thankfully, they changed out the seat during our layover in Auckland. Not to be outdone, Kessler decided to follow suit on the flight from Auckland to Melbourne. I’m so glad I packed a change of clothes for the plane!
Chapter 6 – Kessler Almost Killed Grandma
I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about Mark’s family. We were able to see several of his aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides of his family. They were all so genuinely nice and welcoming. It was great. Mark’s grandma was no exception. She seemed to be in pretty rough shape the day we arrived, but on our last day there she looked wonderful. She was going on walks through the hospice and reading magazines. It was really nice to see. She defines resilience.
There was one point, however, when I thought they were going to have to find a room for me. Kessler and Makena were pretty full on the first day. The combination of being way overtired and meeting new people caused them both to be bundles of energy. The exact opposite of me. I spent much of the time finding distractions for them, but I couldn’t keep up their pace. Kessler was walking around Grandma’s room (he’s gotten quite good at it). All of a sudden there was a very loud beeping sound coming from the foot of the bed where he’s standing…..where he’s standing, holding the end of a power cord. Holy shit!!! He’s unplugged her life support, I think and race off down the hallway to find a nurse. By the time we got back to the room (only seconds had passed) Mark had figured out how to stop the beeping. It was just the adjustable inflator for her air mattress. (She wasn’t on life support, but knowing this didn’t stop the panic. Besides that, anything that makes that much noise when turned off had better be providing something essential to providing life or at least be a bomb or something…)
Chapter 7 – No Punishment Suitable
After visiting with several “relies” we headed back to the hotel. We got the kids to bed and I fell asleep on the sofa. Mark convinced me to drag my butt to bed around 7:00. At 8:00 Mark’s uncle called to give us the plans for the following day. At 10:00 Kessler woke up. We were staying in a two bedroom apartment and he and Makena were sharing a room. So, he woke her up. One of us got her settled while the other brought Kessler to our room. We spent a few hours like that before returning Kessler to his crib. What seemed like only seconds later, we started the whole soothing/relocating process again. At 5:00, I heard Makena crying. Kessler was right against me. Desperately not wanting to wake him up I nudged Mark and sent him off to check on Makena. I immediately realized--it's quiet. Hmmm, did she settle already? Ahhh, uh oh, did I ever really hear her cry? Mark returns, she was sound asleep, (never awake) he reports. Kessler started to stir, then he’s completely awake. What had I done?!??!?!?!? There is no punishment suitable for this crime. I mean, really, I deserved to be strung up naked, by my ankles while ex-boyfriends take turns tickling me with feathers as snakes slither across the floor beneath my head. Nothing less than that is what I deserved. Yet, my husband said, “don’t worry about it, it’s okay” and took Kessler to the living room so I could sleep some more. What a wonderful husband and father he is.
Every night after was about the same, except for the phantom child cries I heard. The one night when Kessler didn’t wake up on his own, Makena fell out of the bed and woke him up. Poor kids. And then there was the night that I had to go to the bathroom. Kessler was in bed with us so I waited as long as I could for fear of waking him. At 4:00 a.m., when I could no longer hold it, I started to sneak my way out of bed. I happened to look over and see Kessler and Mark. Kessler was facing me with head in the middle of Mark’s back. His bum was settled perfectly at Mark’s neck and his legs were wrapped on top of Mark’s head. Poor Mark. Upon return, they were both awake. The exhaust fan was too loud. Seeking redemption, I took Kessler to the living room to entertain him while Mark tried to go back to sleep.
Chapter 7 – Good in Theory
Since Mark’s Grandma was doing so well we thought it would be a shame not to make it to Tassie to see his parents, sister and niece. We flew down Friday morning with plans to return Saturday evening. We’d then spend the night at Melbourne airport so we wouldn’t have to get up super early to catch our flight. Good in theory. The flight (our 4th in 5 days) went well. It was only an hour, though it was on an itty bitty plane which is always unsettling to me. Mark’s sister, Julie, his niece, Phoebe and his mom and dad were at the airport to greet us. It was great to see them. We went back to Mark’s parent’s house, ate and hung out. It was really nice. We went to bed pretty early as we were extremely beat. That night proved to be as bad or worse than any night so far. I can’t count the number of times Kessler woke up. When morning rolled around way too early, Mark took Kess downstairs. I got up for a while but had to return to bed. My stomach ached and I felt like I was going to vomit. There were more symptoms, but I’ll spare you the details. The medicine I took finally started to kick in. I still felt awful, but not desperate. We started to think about getting packed up again. About that time Kessler woke up from his nap. He was crying and coughing. Only it wasn’t your average cough. He sounded like a very pissed off seal. Mark’s dad called the on-call doctor who told me that it could be Croup (I would have spelled it Krup had I not looked it up just now). He wanted to know whether his breathing was labored like he was congested or as if his airway was restricted. Uh, I dunno. He explained that Croup can be dangerous for babies and the elderly as it restricts the airway. He wouldn’t recommend flying. Our flight departed from Tassie in 2 hours and the flight back to the US was in 17 hours. So, off to the emergency room we went. From the moment I spoke with the first doctor until the time we left the emergency room, Kessler did not cough once. He made no sounds when he took a breath. Amazing how that works. He was given a clean bill of health and we were assured that flying would not be a problem. We got back to Mark’s parent’s house, packed, and headed to the airport. We arrived 30 minutes before the flight was to depart. (Note here: We went to an emergency room, packed, and caught a flight in 90 minutes. That’s an indication of how small Wynyard, Tasmania is! :) Did I mention the first time I visited Wynyard, they brought our luggage around from the plane on a trailer attached to a lawn mower? I will be struck by lightning if I’m lying.)
Chapter 8 – A Well Laid out Plan
We arrive back in Melbourne and headed to our hotel. It was blowing a gale outside, but other than that everything went smoothly. The hotel was very nice; we decided to stay there for dinner. That proved to be a good choice. We were beat so after we ate we headed to the room for a good night’s sleep! Everyone was finally tucked in and sleeping until 11:00 when we were suddenly awoken by a barking seal. There was no doubt that his breathing was constricted by a narrow airway and not congestion. He was miserable. He threw up several times. I remembered Mark’s mom telling us that steam will help so I turned on all the faucets on in the bathroom. He still coughed. I took him in the shower, but didn’t get him wet. This didn’t work. He threw up again, so I gave him a shower. This worked!! In the meantime Mark had called a 24 hour doctor call-out service. A doctor was on his way. At 12:15 or so we were all settled and back to sleep. At 2:00, it started all over again. This time Mark took Kessler for a shower. It seemed to work again. Mark assumed the doctor wasn’t going to show so we started calling around again. At 2:45 there was a knock at the door! After only a few minutes he confirmed that it was Croup. He said that Kessler was safe to fly. We needed to get a prescription for some liquid steroid that would stop his throat from constricting. If it got really, really bad we could just give him oxygen on the plane and he’d be fine. And well, if that didn’t work, they have adrenaline shots on the plane.. and that’ll fix it. Are you sure? Yes, he said. He also told us that there was a pharmacy at the airport where we could get the steroids. We called the front desk who confirmed that the pharmacy opened at 7:00 or 8:00. The doctor mentioned that he had tablets and he would send up to the room when he retrieved them from his car. He warned us that they are very bitter and the liquid form would go over much better. We gave him $155 and he left. What a wonderful service.. I mean really, what else would we have done?? Our office visits at home are more than $155. Anyway, feeling a bit better after everything we settled back down. Being ever so optimistic I thought, if we can get him to take the tablets, maybe we can salvage the rest of night. So, I crushed the pills and mixed them with sprite. I loaded the concoction into the dropper that came with infant Tylenol we brought from the States. Kess loves that stuff, so there would be no problem getting him to take it. I was right. But what I didn’t anticipate was the projectile vomit that would follow.. all over the bed. We were out of towels to clean up the vomit—so we used a dirty one. Dirty is a relative term.
At 6:00 a.m. I was wide awake. Our flight wasn’t until 10:30, but I didn’t want to risk not making it to the pharmacy. I called the front desk and asked that they send up more towels and off to the races we went. We were at the pharmacy shortly after 8:00. I waited outside. Mark returned with no medicine. The pharmacist prescribed his last bottle this morning. What? What? You have to be kidding me! Nope! Now what? The pharmacist told Mark where the next closest pharmacy was. It opened at 9:00. We went to the check-in counter. Checking in for an international flight takes forever!! Anyway, once we were almost done the agent gave Mark the go ahead to leave. When I was done I headed to the nearest place to get milk. I asked for two cups of milk. I heard her ask, whole or light? One of each, I said. (Kessler drinks whole milk, Makena drinks reduced fat-perfect!) She pours the first then says something like, I suppose you don’t want foam. Ummm.. no, thank you. Then I watch as she heats up the whole milk and the light bulb above my head turns on---hot or cold?, she asked!!! Oh well, what’s done is done. She sees that I have a credit card and tells me that I can’t use it for purchases under $10 and points me in the direction of the ATM. Oh, hell no. What’s the most expensive water you have… she points me to the fridge behind me and says, “the big yellow one.” I grab it and tell her to throw in another COLD milk as well, please. The total reached $9. She said don’t worry about it took my credit card. I had set up camp at one of the tables a few feet away from the counter. I filled up the bottle and sippy cup with the cold milk. Then I thought, if I put the hot milk in one of the sippy cups and add some cold water.. that would be just like room temperature reduced fat milk, right? It’s really against all laws of nature for a mother to throw away milk. So, I proceded with my plan. The mixture enticed Makena. She asked if she could try it. I said sure and she took a few gulps. I asked how it was; she said “good” and continued drinking the cold milk. Cool, I thought as I proudly loaded the other sippy cup into the diaper bag. It’s nice to have a spare! I packed everything up again and headed to our designated meeting spot to wait for Mark. I took a big swig of the remaining water as I looked around for a clock. Only, it’s not just water. It’s lemon flavored water. Makena won’t eat macaroni and cheese, but she thinks room temperature lemon flavored milk taste “good”.
Before I could really start to panic about how many things could go wrong with Mark going to the pharmacy, he turned up, medicine in hand. We even had time for breakfast. Then we were off to Sydney.
Chapter 9 – The Worst Flight of My Life
We had to be bused from one terminal to another in Sydney. It was a pain but we survived. Mark was selected for random screening. We finally made it to the gate as it the flight was boarding. Our seats were not together so we headed to the counter. We had 2 seats in the “bassinet row” and 1 across the aisle. That’s worst than the scenario coming over. I couldn’t bear to put Makena through it again. The other option was 3 seats together. “We’ll take that!”, I exclaim. Mark has doubts. I’ll give the abridged version of the next 13 hours. Crying, vomiting, more crying, tossing, turning, vomiting, more crying. After 10 hours of this, I started to weep, then bawl. We still had 3 more hours on this plane, we had to walk to customs (with no stroller) clear it and collect our luggage. Walk from the international terminal to the domestic terminal to catch our 8th flight in 9 days. I smelled like sweat and vomit and was weak from not being able to eat the day before. All I could think was, Mark’s a good husband. He’ll let me stay in LA tonight while he heads back to SF with the kids, won't he? I mean, if I suggested that we all stay, he wouldn’t want to do it. He’d want to head home anyway… so what’s the harm if I just stay here one night.. one night? I finally pulled myself together. We landed, made it to customs without a stroller, cleared it, walked 30 minutes between terminals while overdressed and breathing carcinogens… made it through the line at the Southwest ticket counter for what seemed like hours and finally boarded our plane. Makena was asleep before the plane left the ground. Mark and I both fell asleep until Kessler woke the one who was holding him, who would then pass him to the other. This continued until Kessler finally fell asleep in my arms. Mark ordered us all drinks only to fall asleep before they were brought back to us. It seemed like we were in the air for 15 seconds before we were landing again. It was probably the best sleep we had the whole trip. We finally landed, collected our luggage and headed home. It’s good to be home.
The End.
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