Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • Life update

    My longest post ever-\
    Kevin’s doctor was about to receive the doctor of year award from us, when two bad things almost happened. Before surgery, the nurse came in to review K’s case. Then the anesthesiologist came in to review K’s case. K reminded them that he is allergic to penicillan and sulpha. Then the dr came in. His normal MO is to give antiobiotics during the surgery and a prescription to take home for the recovery period, just to be safe. The dr handed me the scripts, and by this point K ws getting loopy because of his first narcotic, so I double checked with the dr that neither of the scripts would react badly with what the anesthesiologist already gave K or with his allergy. The dr looked at K’s chart and it said, “No allergies.” Huh? Well, good thing I was there. The dr decided to skip the second antibiotics since it was precautionary and most antibiotics involve either penicillan or sulpha. By the 2nd follow up, K had developed a “bacterial contamination” and he was sent home with a script. The incision was bloody and green pussy. Gross. Too bad K didn’t have has camera with him this time. So, I went to fill the script and double checked with the pharmacist about K’s allergies. She said that the antiobiotic had two ingredients, one of which was penicillan. We talked about it a bit, what his reaction may be like, etc. She asked if I still wanted it. And I said yes. (Now I know that I misunderstood what she was telling me. But oh well.) I came home and told K. He said that at the dr appointement, the dr made sure that he was allergic to sulpha but never mentioned penicillan and I wasn’t there to double check, drat. So, the next day K called the dr and we got the correct scrpit this time. But I am out my \$20 co pay for the penicillan.\
    Max, had his PALS assessment at kindergarten where the teacher attempts to predict how well/easily he will learn to read. Which is totally a moot point, because he is already reading. He brings home library books from the 4th grade level, but can probably read at an 8th grade level. (BTW, he is self-taught. I claim no success in this, because I didn’t “teach” him to read.) Anyway, during the fall of kindergarten, the teacher hopes that students get a 28. My son scored a 94. She also gave him an improptu math test. He did really well and only missed 2×3=? He knew it was a multiplication problem, but didn’t know how to do it. I think it is because the way it was presented. If you ask him verbally,”What are three twos?” he’ll say “six.” He is the brightest in the class and his teacher makes a seperate lesson plan for him and two others. She said it is really unusual to have three kids so bright in one class. But this is a good thing, cuz they have a peer group and can work together. She also asked the gifted teacher to spend extra time with Max. So, yay!\
    Brian was assessed today by the county to see if he qualified for walking therapy. (He was barely walking at 16 months- like only 1 or 2 steps at a time, which is unusual.) He recently had a burst of ability and is not eligible, meaning he is not delayed by 25% or more. So that is good. He is delayed some, but he is on his way. He is also delayed in the speech area. If he isn’t speaking a few words by New Year, I should have him reevaluated. But today, he signed “more” to the therapist, so I feel really validated in my signing efforts. The therapist also said that he is very bright and charming and can communicate, he just doesn’t use spoken words. Max literally could only say “wow” and “uh oh” by his second birthday. He was reading before speaking. How weird is that? (And I know he was reading this early because he would sit at the computer and type words.) We put him in speech therapy and within 4 months, he was where he was supposed to be. So, I am not worried about Brian being a slow speaker. And honestly, Brian’s silence is kind of nice after seeing how chatty cousin Samantha is.\
    As for me, I am getting ready for the Hawaii trip. I need to buy stuff for the 15 hour trip and accessories for when we get there (like video tapes). I need to pack clothes and other stuff. I need to wash some of the stuff I want to pack. I would like to clean up the house so it is clean when I get home. I need to prep the house so Kevin can survive. I feel like I have a million small things to do, yet I only get a few things done each day. Ack, time is running out. And on a totally selfish note: I am tired of Kevin being limpy and the kids are driving me crazy.\
    Hey, good news. The new Dulles area middle school was approved in yesterday’s election. That is the school that Max will go to, if it is built in time. I meant to bug the in-laws about voting for it, but it passed even without me bugging them. So yay!\
    And my new favorite phrase: Don’t you blame me. Don’t you dare blame me! (For those not in the know, it’s from a tv show.)

  • Virginia is For Winners!

    Huge congratulations are in order for Tim Kaine, who won the Virginia governor’s office convincingly. But, more important to Loudoun county, ~~both Bruce Roemmelt and~~ Dave Poisson won!!! I don’t know what this means for trends, or projections for 2006, but a big thank you to the Loudoun County Democrats. I’m sorry I couldn’t help more this time. I should be all healed and ready to go in ’06!!!\
    I feel bad that Creigh Deeds lost. I really liked his platform and his ads were positive and heartfelt. I hope he runs again for something in ’06.\
    UPDATE – In my drug-induced haze, it looks like I spoke too soon and Bruce actually lost. Sorry, Bruce!!!\
    UPDATE #2 – The Attorney General’s race is really really close and there will probably be a recount. Right now, the Republican is up by .08%, but I’m not sure absentee’s have been counted, and I’m pretty sure there will be a recount. We’ll see what happens…

  • Probing The Wrong End

    GOP leaders urge leak probe into secret prisons report\
    I would think that whoever leaked the information would be covered under the whistle blower law. The tactic is illegal, and they’ve uncovered illegal activity. Classified or not, the leaker should be given a medal, not investigated.\
    Again, the GOP has it backwards:

    • The crime is the torture, not pointing out the torture.
    • Outsourcing torture is worse than doing it ourselves. It’s a cowardly act.
    • The traitor is the one who drags our country’s reputation through the mud, not the one who points it out.
    • The traitor is the one who ignores treaties and established international law when it suits their narrow purpose.
    • The liar is the one who said no one in the White House was involved in the leak when they knew they were, not the one who revealed the lie.
    • The patriot wants us to live up to our ideals, not throw them away at the drop of a hat.
    • The patriot points out failure in the hope of fixing them, doesn’t cover them up hoping to save face.
    • The hero does the right thing even though it’s hard, not the expedient thing because it’s the easy choice.\
      The moderates in the GOP that I truly respect: McCain, Hagel, Snowe, Warner and others, are not in control. The crazy cold and culture warriors are driving the ship of state into the rocks, and it’s time for the sane members of the party to do something about it. McCain’s push for the anti-torture legislation, which shouldn’t even be needed because torture is already illegal has revealed the cracks in the Administration’s armor. “We don’t torture, but we want exemptions in case we do… you know, torture.” is not going to fly, because the memos written by the Administrations lawyers redefining torture and dismissing those same laws and treaties are already out there.\
      The problem, Mr. President, is that we don’t trust you any more. We were willing to give you the benefit of the doubt after 9/11, but no longer. You’ve lied and failed too many times for us to believe anything you say. You saying “We don’t do torture” has no value after “I’ll fire anyone involved in the leaking of classified information”, and “We know right where the weapons of mass destruction are”. You’re going to have to give us more proof than a smirk and a wink. Stop the obstruction and give us some real proof..

  • Contamination

    I have bacterial contamination!! No, it’s not an infection, it’s “contamination”. Well, that’s what Dr. Wilson says, and boy is it pretty. Lucky for you, I forgot to bring the camera. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The green discharge around the bloody staples, bruises and redness was impressive. I get to take a really good antibiotic for a while to make sure it doesn’t turn into staph, and keep my foot elevated for another week (although the bandage is getting progressively smaller).\
    In other news, my sleep schedule is completely out of whack, thanks to the pain pills. I usually sleep from 5:30pm-6:30pm, sometimes until 8. Then, from 3:30pm-7pm when everyone else gets up. Sometimes, it’s much later, like today, I slept from 4am until almost noon.\
    It’s really weird to be awake in the middle of the night. The feeds all go to sleep and nothing gets updated except Flickr.\
    Sorry I forgot my camera… it was really impressive. It’s naptime!

  • Old Pictures – King of TP

    I was going through old pictures in iPhoto trying to organize the chaos (over 9,000 pictures from the last five years, only the last two years in categories) and I found these.\
    Max had just turned four (I think) and got into the toilet paper stash. He created snow, a sandbox, a hat, and I got a couple shots of him mid-revel. I love this one so much, I can’t even express it.

  • Tips For The Couch-Bound

    Stuck on the couch with a laptop? Tired of your trackpad? ‘\
    I have a little Kensington optical mouse I bought for travelling. It’s tiny (and so cute!), but it works really well on the couch cushion! So, I’m no longer bound by my clumsy fat fingers. I have true computing mobility again!!\
    It’s the little things… like mice.

  • baby Brian

    Brian signed “more” today. YAY!

  • Advice For The President

    CNN asked their viewers to give President Bush some advice, and some of it’s pretty good. I’ve decided to give him some too:

    1. Don’t trust your judgement. You’ve hired some really unqualified, unethical and despicable people to work for you. You have more convicted felons working for your adminstration than any administration in the history of the country. You may not have done all the bad things they’ve done, but you’re ultimately responsible for their actions because you’re the boss. Next time, hire people who are actually qualified for the job, not your friends and patrons.
    2. Stop listening to Dick Cheney. See number one… The man led us into Iraq, turned us into torturers and outed an undercover CIA agent. I know you’re too blindly loyal to fire him, but please, please please stop listening to him.
    3. Listen to the American people. A hearty majority of us think you lied about Iraq, and no longer think you’re a man of integrity (between 55-65% in the latest polls). That same majority thinks that Karl Rove should be fired. We’re right. Yes, we know you’re loyal, and the investigation is ongoing, but the indictment of Scooter Libby pretty much lays it out that Karl leaked to Matthew Cooper and probably Novak, and you know that. You’re the President. You know more about this than Fitzgerald does, and we’re going to hold you and your party accountable for it. Come clean. Get rid of Rove, Cheney and anyone else involved, and tell us the truth. You promised us in 2000 that you would return “honor and integrity to the White House”. Holy cow have you failed. You still have three years to try.
    4. Start answering our questions and fire Scott McClellan. Have you watched the gaggles in the mornings? They’re the most embarrassing exercise in futility I’ve ever seen. Scottie (and you too) refuse to answer questions, and we’re tired of it. If you want us to believe you, you have to tell us the truth.\
      Mr. President, I don’t like your administration. I don’t particularly like you. But, I love my country, and I’m tired of the rest of world laughing at us and/or hating us. We’re The United States of America. I expect more out of my government than dodges, lies and torture. I expect the transparency, honor and honesty of a true democracy. I expect competance from those my President appoints, and responsibility taken when things go wrong. You’ve failed on all counts so far. I hope you’ll take some advice and fix things before it’s too late. If you won’t listen to me, or the 160 million people who think you’re a liar, listen to the smart people in your own party like Chuck Hagel, John McCain, John Warner and others who aren’t crazy, aren’t (or soon to be) convicted felons and who honestly want to do the right thing. They, among others, have been trying to tell you the truth, trying to help you, but you keep going back to the same wrong people over and over and over.\
      UPDATE: Oh, and we’re on to the publicity tricks too. You think this means anything? You knew what they were doing, and if you didn’t, it says more about you than it does about them. You can’t say you didn’t know what was going on and that you didn’t approve because it makes you look like an incompetent leader. You can’t say you knew because it makes you complicit. There is no clean way to weasel out of this one, so you probably shouldn’t try. Just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

  • Say WHAT?

    I just received a call from the school’s counselor that Max said that an adult hurt him. Heads will role, my friends, heads will role.\
    In reality, the class was talking about being a friend and Max said one time an adult hurt him. After class, the counselor took him to her office and they talked more. He said Aunt H’s friend was wrestling with him and Max’s knees ended up in Max’s face, which he didn’t like. He told Babba, who seemed to handle it. The counselor doesn’t think there is anything more to the story, but she wanted to check it out and let me know anyway, which I agree was the thing to do.

  • Nurse Ratchet to the rescue!

    Ack, I am playing nursemaid to two people today, and one of them isn’t Brian who takes up 80% of my time anyway! Wish us luck.