Yesterday morning, I scraped off all of the ice from Kevin’s car and warmed it up for him, without being asked.\
Just now I shoveled over an inch of snow/ice/slush mixture while it was precipitating on my head, so that broken-footed Kev wouldn’t slip when he comes home later. And I have fresh, warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for him.\
I am so the wife of the year!
Category: Jen
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Me
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Highlights
Hawaii was wonderful, except for the absent husband. The ocean was a beautiful sea-green or blue-green depending where we were. It was amazing. Our cabin was 20 feet from it and the constant sound of the waves was very comforting.\
I went on: a boat ride, a helipcopter ride, a submarine ride, a canoe ride, and a train ride.\
I went to: “the big island,” The Shrimp Shack (as seen on the Food Network), the Hawaii Mormon Temple, a waterpark, the lava fields of Mt Kilauea, the Dole pineapple plant, the beach (duh), the Polynesian Cultural Center, Sea Life Park, a luau, tha Mauna Loa macadamia nut farm, the North Shore, and Waikiki.\
I saw: three sunrises and one sunset, the biggest active volcano in the world, the most active volcano in the world, volcanic steam vents, a lava tube, many Japanese tourists (the touristy mall’s food court felt like Tokyo. I wish we’d had more time there. I wanted to try some traditional Japanese food.), a Polynesian dance review, undersea boat and plane wreckage, three real waterfalls and several temporary ones, where Mighty Joe Young, the Jurassic Park movies, 50 First Dates and Lost were filmed, the hotel where the cast of Lost stays, and a tree where Elvis once sang.\
I saw, in the wild: crab, fish, sea turtles, and a whale.\
I ate: fresh pineapple everyday and binged on chocolate covered macadamia nuts. I also had spam, poi, chicken long rice, Hawaiian BBQ, yummy seafood, coconut syrup, tropical drinks, haupia, and guava cake.\
The best parts were: seeing my parents, swimming at the beach, the helicopter ride, and the waterpark. (heh, most of those things I can do near my home in Virginia.) -
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.) -
baby Brian
Brian signed “more” today. YAY!
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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.
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I’m a baaad mom
I made both of my kids go to bed early tonight. Neither made a fuss about it though.
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Completely irrational but…
I feel responsible for Kevin’s broken ankle.
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The Music Max
This started out as a response to Katie’s comment from Kevin’s most recent post, but I decided to make this a post on its own.\
I have a friend who only listens to kids music in the car, but I refuse to do that. The car is my domain. I listen to what I want and just turn the station if I hear an inappropriate song. When my oldest was 2, I realized he was singing along to “No Sleep Til Brooklyn.” Apparently the radio had played it enough that he knew the words. We sang it together at the top of our lungs. I knew then that I was either a really great mom or a really bad one.\
A couple of months later we went to visit my parents and I roped them into singing too, cuz how could they say no to their adorable, little, 2 year old grandson? One of the highlights of my life is seeing my 50-ish year old parents singing the Beastie Boys. -
Kevin is super!
On Friday, Kevin sent me roses to thank me for all of my work and support during his broken ankle angst and to say sorry for all of the hassle it has caused. Isn’t that sweet? He is the one with the broken foot so he is the one that should be getting flowers. But he was thinking of me instead. He is so thoughtful. Swoon. We had some mushy kissy time after that. We are such the perfect couple. I don’t mean we are perfect people, just that we are perfect for each other.
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She Speaks Again!! Kev has
She Speaks Again!!
Kev has offered to set up a website of my very own. Nice of him, huh? Personally though, I think it is because he doesn’t want to share his groovy ‘fighting spacemen” with me. And what if nobody goes to my site? Kev already gets tons of traffic, so I would have a ready-made audience for my Max stories (like how he can spell zebra and book, among others) and for my life-as-a-housewife commentary. Ahh well, Kev said he would show me to my own site tonight… So, this is Jen signing off.
Editor’s Note: I’m under the weather, so it may be a couple days till Jen’s site gets set up. But, it will happen shortly!!! And I don’t get “tons” of traffic. 50 unique visitors a day does not mean a “ton”.