What do you think this is?
tilt your head to the left to see it
tilt your head to the left to see it
a) a messb) fun
c) fun only for the boys
d) every pillow and blanket in my house
e) a bridge
f) my mess
If you guessed:
A, C, and E
you would be correct.
This is one of the boys' favourite (but not my favourite) things to do. It's all of their pillows and blankets from their rooms used to make a path (they call it a bridge) from their rooms to the living room.
Whatever you do, DO NOT fall off the bridge. There are consequences, like being eaten by a crocodile, or having to swim without water wings. Either way, tragedy.
Dexter Turned 3 on Saturday!
One of my cousins had another baby and I still haven't seen her.
Another cousin has a son that I haven't seen in like 9 months.
I didn't get to see all of my cousins (from my mom's side) at Christmas like I usually do.
So, a few days before Dexter's actual birthday, I sent out a quicky little note on Facebook to my cousins and aunties and uncles, and guess what?
Almost everyone was able to come! There were about 18-20 people in my little tiny living room and that includes Richard's mom, Norma, who not only got to meet much of my family for the first time, but also got to be introduced to how loud we are!
Hope you enjoyed that, Norma!
(ps - if you aren't in a picture, sorry I missed you or sorry it was too blurry to put up!)
L-R
Cousin Theresa, my mom (hiding beside her), Cousin Alina with her son, Caeden, Dexter, Richard, and the back of the head is Alina's other half, Rod.
My adorable brother (who got into the RCMP Youth Academy)!
And yes, he's wearing the shirt that I bought him for Christmas that matches the one that AJ and Dexter are wearing. My mom called ahead to see if he should wear it! Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Pollywog!
My cousin, Mike and AJ.
Cousin Theresa and my mom, holding baby Alexis.
In the middle is my cousin Shauna (mother of Alexis and Ethan), her husband, Mike, on the left, and her dad, Uncle Al on the right.
There are Rod and Caeden!
Missing from the pics are Cousin Michelle, Auntie Brenda, Norma, Ethan, and Mike's other half, Erin!
Dexter got Wolverine superhero jammies from Gram (my mom) and some Transformers too!
AJ was quite enamoured with the special jammies, so Grannie (Richard's mom) picked up some Batman ones the next day for AJ.
You can bet they'll be sleeping in these again tonight (minus the hoods).
They were zooming all over the place!
Next thing I knew, they evidently 'needed a break', so AJ took it upon himself to go get them some watered down apple juice.
That's right boys, gulp it back right before bed and hope that you don't have an accident.
Ice Skating Lessons Have Begun!
Phone pictures, sorry.
So, this picture is Dexter's class. There were about 10-12 kids and 3 teachers. The first class for this first level was spent figuring out the status of these little-kids' skills.
Dexter is 3rd from the left in the grey jacket and black helmet.
They first taught the kids how to stand up off of the ice. They then brought them on the ice, sang a little 'head and shoulders' and then had the kids trying to stand.
The kids who could stand and skate a few steps went with one teacher.
The kids who could stand and the fell again went with another teacher.
The kids (including Dexter) who just couldn't seem to get up all by themselves stayed with the other teacher and worked on standing up.....lol.
It was SOOOOO cute. I was welled up with tears the entire time!
AJ's in the second level. I'm glad I put him in that one. It said that the second level would be working on skating the length of the rink and learning to stop properly and such. Since I already knew he could skate across the rink independently, I took the chance and signed him up for this level. Seems that all the other kids in his class skate at the same skill level as him, so that was a good choice.
AJ is the one that looks all black and blurry. He's on the far right of the pack of kids there.
Dexter was VERY upset that he spent about 20 minutes of his 30 minute lesson on his hands and knees and not getting to actually skate.
So....
We went over to the little rink after the lessons and I let the boys just skate around for fun for about another 30 minutes or more. It made for a very late night, but I know that this week, we'll eat an early dinner first.
Here's Dexter, much happier to be up on his skates. Single-bladed today because he had his lessons.
Here's AJ having fun with the training bar. He's having a race with his friend Armaan from preschool who just happens to be in his skating class too.
I had a really nice time at the lessons. I didn't have to skate or even go on the ice, really. I mean, I did, so I could take some pictures, but I know for next time, I can just stand at the side and chit chat with Armaan's mom!
Richard
I just want him home permanently already! He and Norma headed back to the Cancer Lodge on Sunday afternoon.
We are closing in on Day 100 for Richard.
Today was his next (probably 10th or 11th) bone marrow biopsy. He had the gentle doctor again for about the 3rd time (this is the one who whittles away for a long time and then gives up and has to call in a big-man-doctor to get through Richard's bones of steel. However, as in previous posts, you may recall that Richard would much rather have her whittle away for an hour than have a strong powerful man come in and do it in 1 minute. That's when it really hurts.
So, it was Dr. Gentle today and Richard reminded her of his strong bones, and past attempts. She successful whittled away slowly and gave Richard a wonderful bone marrow biopsy experience.
What also helps is the pain-perspective that Richard received when he was given the 3 way catheter . (I don't recommend visiting that link, but if you must, then there it is).
He said that they also took about 15 vials of blood today. Not sure if that's an accurate count or an exaggeration. I'm guessing it's close to accurate, as they've got LOTS of testing to do as he gets closer to Day 100 of the acute phase of his Stem Cell Transplant.
I'm hoping that he updates his blog again soon (maybe he already has) because he said lots of other stuff on the phone about pneumonia medication and double dose or something and needing to come in extra days to the LBMT this week since his appointment wasn't booked or something like that.
They're trying to get him to the point of not needing fluids.
Richard's a little worried about the bone marrow biopsy and the results. His platelets are low and he's a little nervous about what that means.
Send LOTS of positive thoughts (or prayers if you wish). He needs all that he can get!
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who came to Dexter's little shindig, and thanks for the birthday money from many naughty people who brought birthday $ even though I said NO GIFTS! He'll enjoy buying himself something very special.
A Thank you to Mom and Ken via Norma who asked me to thank you again for the Timmy's card. She's addicted to ice capps like I'm addicted to Americanos!
Thank you to Norma for staying with Richard these weeks while he's recovering and hopefully getting better and for being a super duper house guest! Not that you're a guest... you can consider this home while you're here, but you know what I mean.
A thank you to Norma too for AJ's jammies so that he looks as cool as Dexy.
A thank you to Aili who sent me a Starbucks card! Woot woot! You rock, pal!
And... Happy Birthday to Bud (aka Papa... aka Richard's step-dad)!
Phone pictures, sorry.
So, this picture is Dexter's class. There were about 10-12 kids and 3 teachers. The first class for this first level was spent figuring out the status of these little-kids' skills.
Dexter is 3rd from the left in the grey jacket and black helmet.
They first taught the kids how to stand up off of the ice. They then brought them on the ice, sang a little 'head and shoulders' and then had the kids trying to stand.
The kids who could stand and skate a few steps went with one teacher.
The kids who could stand and the fell again went with another teacher.
The kids (including Dexter) who just couldn't seem to get up all by themselves stayed with the other teacher and worked on standing up.....lol.
It was SOOOOO cute. I was welled up with tears the entire time!
AJ's in the second level. I'm glad I put him in that one. It said that the second level would be working on skating the length of the rink and learning to stop properly and such. Since I already knew he could skate across the rink independently, I took the chance and signed him up for this level. Seems that all the other kids in his class skate at the same skill level as him, so that was a good choice.
AJ is the one that looks all black and blurry. He's on the far right of the pack of kids there.Dexter was VERY upset that he spent about 20 minutes of his 30 minute lesson on his hands and knees and not getting to actually skate.
So....
We went over to the little rink after the lessons and I let the boys just skate around for fun for about another 30 minutes or more. It made for a very late night, but I know that this week, we'll eat an early dinner first.
Here's Dexter, much happier to be up on his skates. Single-bladed today because he had his lessons.
Here's AJ having fun with the training bar. He's having a race with his friend Armaan from preschool who just happens to be in his skating class too.
I had a really nice time at the lessons. I didn't have to skate or even go on the ice, really. I mean, I did, so I could take some pictures, but I know for next time, I can just stand at the side and chit chat with Armaan's mom!Richard
I just want him home permanently already! He and Norma headed back to the Cancer Lodge on Sunday afternoon.
We are closing in on Day 100 for Richard.
Today was his next (probably 10th or 11th) bone marrow biopsy. He had the gentle doctor again for about the 3rd time (this is the one who whittles away for a long time and then gives up and has to call in a big-man-doctor to get through Richard's bones of steel. However, as in previous posts, you may recall that Richard would much rather have her whittle away for an hour than have a strong powerful man come in and do it in 1 minute. That's when it really hurts.
So, it was Dr. Gentle today and Richard reminded her of his strong bones, and past attempts. She successful whittled away slowly and gave Richard a wonderful bone marrow biopsy experience.
What also helps is the pain-perspective that Richard received when he was given the 3 way catheter . (I don't recommend visiting that link, but if you must, then there it is).
He said that they also took about 15 vials of blood today. Not sure if that's an accurate count or an exaggeration. I'm guessing it's close to accurate, as they've got LOTS of testing to do as he gets closer to Day 100 of the acute phase of his Stem Cell Transplant.
I'm hoping that he updates his blog again soon (maybe he already has) because he said lots of other stuff on the phone about pneumonia medication and double dose or something and needing to come in extra days to the LBMT this week since his appointment wasn't booked or something like that.
They're trying to get him to the point of not needing fluids.
Richard's a little worried about the bone marrow biopsy and the results. His platelets are low and he's a little nervous about what that means.
Send LOTS of positive thoughts (or prayers if you wish). He needs all that he can get!
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who came to Dexter's little shindig, and thanks for the birthday money from many naughty people who brought birthday $ even though I said NO GIFTS! He'll enjoy buying himself something very special.
A Thank you to Mom and Ken via Norma who asked me to thank you again for the Timmy's card. She's addicted to ice capps like I'm addicted to Americanos!
Thank you to Norma for staying with Richard these weeks while he's recovering and hopefully getting better and for being a super duper house guest! Not that you're a guest... you can consider this home while you're here, but you know what I mean.
A thank you to Norma too for AJ's jammies so that he looks as cool as Dexy.
A thank you to Aili who sent me a Starbucks card! Woot woot! You rock, pal!
And... Happy Birthday to Bud (aka Papa... aka Richard's step-dad)!
1 comment:
awwww, thanks, E.
You too.
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