Mid-January Happenings

Since I use this blog as my journal...a way to chronicle the little things so that I can remember the bigger picture- the smell of pumpkin muffins reminding me of our first Seattle autumn, looking back on a photo of a bowl of cherries and remembering my summer spent at home with Jack, just him and I spending a lazy summer afternoon on our deck looking for crows and planes and spitting out cherry pits...I'm really liking the idea of doing a little monthly snapshot on what is happening at this moment in time in the lives of the three of us. So, without further ado...

JACK

Jack's new favorite word is "poop" and his new favorite two word combo is "eat poop." Makes me a proud mama! I often go in to wake him up on school mornings and am greeted in the peaceful and cozy darkness by his sweet two year old voice saying "mama, eat poop" before he even rolls over! It all started very innocently with him learning the word "pulp" while eating a grapefruit...he rightfully made the connection that the word "pulp" sounded like the word "poop" so I laughed, in hindsight MUCH too hard, and he hasn't stopped talking about poop since...! I do find it the tiniest bit appropriate that the toddler of a doctor and a dietitian would be fascinated by poop talk, but enough is enough...I am secretly hoping, however, that his poop talk phase will lead him to at least TRY the potty soon...

Jack had his first surgery last week...he got ear tubes in both of his ears. He passed the time waiting for his surgery by "playing doctor"- trying on the gloves and hat, laying on the hospital bed, etc. and did fantastically well post-surgery with no nausea or pain or grogginess, perhaps because we opted out of the pre-anesthesia sedative and just went straight for the smell-good gas to put him to sleep. We figured the less medications in his system, the better the outcome and it proved right this time. He was such a brave little guy...I was so relieved when it was over and so proud of him. He did admit to being a little scared when they carried him off kicking and screaming....I would say "a little scared" was a quite the understatement. He didn't really need a whole day to recover, but we stuck to our surgery day plan and spent much of the day on the couch eating snacks and watching Curious George and his first episode of Thomas the Train on Netflix...he thought the day was pretty great!

WEATHER

Oh, January...you have been so good to us. While the temperatures have been down right frigid...the skies have been so clear...and, there is sun- glorious, magnificent sun! Your sunrises and sunsets make me stop in my tracks...your sky colors are some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen...and, it doesn't hurt to have the amazing colors against a backdrop of the wondrous Cascade Mountain Range and perfectly visible Mt Rainier. Oh, sometimes it's just too much. When I'm driving to work, I often have to force myself to look away so I can keep my eyes on the road.

And then, Mr. January, you brought us SNOW! What a fun treat for the long MLK holiday weekend. We walked through our yard with our rain boots to hear the snow crunch, we threw snowballs, and we made a snowman.

WINTER COLDS

Not a big fan of you...you steal away good sleep from my sweet boy making both boy and mama tired. Please go away now.

MEDICINE

So thankful that I've gotten through two weeks without the dreadful side effects I've read and heard so much about. There are some side effects, but nothing like what I was trying to brace for. I will continue to be religious about my anti-flu routine, however, since perhaps this is why I'm tolerating it so well and continue to hope for the best as my dose continues to increase. What I'm especially hopeful for is that it's working...stopping new lesions from growing and preventing any new symptoms from sneaking in and disrupting our lives.

SURGERY INTERN YEAR

I don't like you much, either. Please stop stealing David away from us...we want real weekends and real night times. Thank goodness we are halfway finished with you!

FISH

Thank you for finally finding your way into our weekly dinner menu. It's so easy to cook you and I have so many delicious new recipes starring you that I'm ready to try. You are making us happy, healthy, and lean.

WEEKEND

I'm looking forward to one of those real weekends this weekend, you know the kind when both adults are home?! I'm excited for our pizza and champagne night, for, hopefully, sleeping in a bit later, for eating doughnuts and going to the Seattle Aquarium, and for taking a long walk around Green Lake.