We Did It!

Remy and I finally made it down to the pool yesterday. It wasn't our first time this year, but it was the first time the water was warm enough for the buddy to do more than just sit on my lap in the shallow end. He had mixed feelings about the experience. Normally he loves water...but he's used to warm, shallow water festooned with tiny shining bubbles and a bucket full of toys. When we first entered the pool he seemed wary, but okay. Then I tried to put him in his baby inner-tube thing and he thought I was pretty much trying to drown him. After that he went from wary to perpetually-on-the-verge-of-tears. Unless I was spinning round and round or swishing him through the water at high speeds while making whooshing and vrooming noises. That he absolutely loved. So I managed to get a work out and he managed to have a little fun and then we collapsed by the side of the pool, me on a chaise lounge and he in his stroller, and just rested there soaking in the warmth and zoning out in the delicious way one does after swimming. It is gonna be a hot weekend so we will see if we can get Ross down there with us next time!

Drummer Boys

To see Ross playing drums at church the weekend of June 4,5 go to Canyon Ridge's media player and you can see him in "Surrender" and "All We Need" (both songs start slow but ramp up as they go.) The crazy thing is that his drums have been in storage for over a year. The first time he has had the opportunity to sit down at a set of drums since the move was when he auditioned for the band last month! I am amazed at how he can just pick it up again after all this time and sound so good. I saw him at the 11 o'clock service on Sunday and it was brilliant, looking forward to seeing him play again the first weekend in July.

And to see Remy drumming, just look at this!

As I may have mentioned - I don't know, I am not much of a complainer ;P - I have been sick all week. Add to that the fact that Ross needed to take my car while his was in the shop and I have spent A LOT of time in the apartment this week. Here are some of the things that have kept me entertained.

Sherlock from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. I am not a Sherlock Holmes snob. I have read The Hound of the Baskervilles and maybe a couple of short stories, but most of my experience of the famous sleuth is apocryphal (see Carol Nelson Douglas's Irene Adler series and Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series) so I have no problem with a smartphone wielding Sherlock. Especially if it is the brain child of two of Doctor Who's best writers. Cumberbatch gracefully walks a fine line between irresistible and alien as Holmes and Freeman plays a wry, humble, soft-spoken Watson. Series Two is currently in production.

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. I started this book because a) it has received rave reviews and b) it was a nearly 700 page novel for just $7.99 on my nook. That's a lot of book. I wouldn't normally read a book about a Jewish family during WWII because I don't like to be sad any more than I have to be but thankfully this has been a wonderful, old fashioned (reminds me a bit of Tale of Two Cities) novel and I love it. It is so vivid, and it is the first book I have read that looks at the war from the Hungarian perspective. However, now I am on page 408 and things have been going poorly for our protagonist for some time, and I need a breather soooo...

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas. Lisa Kleypas writes smart, steamy, heartfelt romance novels that never, ever mention the holocaust. This is the first contemporary romance I have read by her and so far I like it. It is set in the southwest, Texas to be exact, and tells the story of Liberty Jones growing up in a trailer park and overcoming adversity and finding love and all that good stuff!

Today

Sick baby.

Bossy cat.

Silent rose.

Good News

I am still sick and Ross missed his flight to E3 this morning, so we needed some good news and we got the best news - Mom and Dad's offer on a condo in Las Vegas has been accepted! The closing date is set for next month! Yay! So now lots of prayers that they get from this point to the closing without a hitch, and then for a safe move across country! It's going to be an exciting summer :)

Sick Days

Remy and I are on day two of our shared stomach bug, day two of not leaving the house. When he hasn't been weeping and railing against the cruel fates for imposing this diarrhea on him, he has been giggly and chatty and adorable. I think, as of this afternoon, he is on the mend...and if I can make up a little sleep tonight then tomorrow is going to be a good day. I will finally be able to do the grocery shopping I meant to do on Monday and maybe even do a little swimming. Ross is planning on having a good day as well, flying out to California in the morning with his friend Jeff to attend E3.

Piper

Remy and I are both sick with a stomach bug today. Not to be outdone, Piper threw up about half a dozen times. And instead of politely excusing herself to the balcony where she could be sick and I wouldn't have to jump up and take care of it right away, she stayed close to us so she could share the misery. She's 8 years old, but she doesn't want me to forget that she is still my baby too.

Circle of Life

Pictoral theme of the weekend: the circle of life. Hmmmm, profound.





The Doctor Who mid-season finale totally rocked. So good I was frozen with suspense the entire 45 minutes and ended up with a massive crick in my neck. I felt all warm and fuzzy about the ending...for about two minutes and then I was all like, crap, no more Doctor Who until autumn, and I still don't know what the heck is going on.

New Shoes

These are my Crocs. They aren't shaped like wooden shoes and they don't feature the little medallion with the smiling crocodile, but I don't think I'm fooling anybody with my rubber shoes. So why did I buy Crocs when the universal consensus seems to be that they are not cool? Because I have freaky feet, folks. They weren't all that normal before the pregnancy but now they are really whack. The left foot is taller than the right, and the right foot is wider than the left, they are both larger than they were two years ago, and my arches have disappeared.

When I go to the store to try on shoes I end up just wanting to cry. Nothing I try fits BOTH feet. In the winter I can get away with sneakers and slip on shoes, but in the summer in the desert you want something lighter, and so far it has been Reef and Adidas flip flops. Comfy but not girly. So in a fit of inspiration/stupidity/frustration I ordered these off of Amazon during my recovery.

Here is the verdict: Very comfy, and very forgiving. I can wear them both simultaneously and not feel like one of them, or one of my feet, is defective. This alone is worth the dork factor. But there is the small issue of the fact that rubber does not breath. If your feet have sweat glands and you are wearing rubber shoes you may experience foot fart when walking. However, if you live in the desert this will be minimized by the fact that sweat dries here at a delightful rate. Also, and this is bizarre, the gold ones are not as clingy and sweat inducing as the white ones. So, in summary, if shoe shopping gives you anxiety attacks, try Croc slingbacks, they may make your life a little easier.

Thyroid Update

Things are going well since my surgery. Here is the picture of the incision the day after the surgery, and another picture taken today, two weeks after the first. MUCH better.



Now that I don't have a thyroid we are working on getting me on the correct dosage of synthetic thyroid hormone. Originally my endocrinologist prescribed 88mcgs of Levothyroxine daily but after looking at my blood work he has upped that to 112mcgs a day.

The calcium issue has been a little more confusing. After my visit to urgent care when it appeared that my parathyroid had stopped working I was put on Calcitriol and advised to take three tums a day. I upped that myself to 4 tums a day because I was still having the numbness in my hands. About a week later I got a call from the nurse at my endo's office and she told me that I could stop the calcitriol and tums altogether. That sounded fine to me since I had noticed when I skipped a tums or two I was still feeling fine. However, two days later she called back and said that the doctor would like me to go to two tums, and continue with the Calcitriol. Hmmm, very confidence inspiring. Anyway, he confirmed today at my appointment that that is what he wants me to do, so that is what I will do.

Oh, did I mention the pathology? Negative for cancer! And really that is the only thing that matters but I did find one thing interesting. Here is an excerpt from the diagnosis in the report: "Multinodular goiter with areas of fibrosis, and focal calcification and bone formation." Wait a minute, bone formation? I looked it up, it's called heterotopic ossification, the formation of bone outside of the skeleton. And it was happening in my thyroid. Gross.

Anywho, my next appointment is in a month. The doctor warned me sternly not to get pregnant in that time. Then I will have more blood work and an ultrasound to see how everything is looking under that pretty little incision. I am sure I will update you then, whether you want me to or not.

Moss Rose (and other growing things)

According to the website Floridata, Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora) originates in the arid plains of southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina and is

"a beautiful, bright colored, low growing annual that blooms all summer long with little or no care required. It is one of very few annual succulents."

I got mine for $3.50 and have been shocked at how quickly it has burst into color. It seems to be doing so well that I definitely already need a larger pot for it. Looking forward to seeing what it does all summer long!

The day after I brought it home...

And now...

The Moss Rose isn't the only lovely thing happening out on the balcony!

Remy's First Haircut, Before and After

I never intended to be the one to give Remy his first hair cut. However, when you are recovering from surgery...and taking certain prescribed medications...you find yourself doing strange things. I ordered Crocs, I bought a perfume without smelling it first, I painted my nails...and I cut my poor baby's hair. His hair is still pretty thin so I didn't cut a lot, just the sides and the back, but even so I still managed to give him a mostly bald patch about an inch above his right ear. C'est la vie.