Each of those have stories behind them, yet I can't seem to muster the energy to write them all out. Here are the shortened versions:
We've moved: We're now living about 20 minutes from Alex. It still seems way too far, but at least it's not an hour away anymore. We are able to visit more often, and that's really nice.
Alex has been hospitalized: His lip swelled up a whole bunch and he had sores all over the inside of his mouth. He was miserable, and spiking fevers. After 10 days (three of them on antibiotics) with no improvement, I had them take blood to make sure he didn't have sepsis or anything. The dr admitted him after finding out he had a neutrophil count of zero (neutrophils are the part of the white blood cells that help fight off infections). He spiked a 105.6 fever while in the hospital, which had the dr concerned as he'd been on three days of oral antibiotics and two days of IV antibiotics. Finally after an xray, they found he had pneumonia, switched to the proper antibiotic and he rapidly recovered. His neutrophil count was so low because he is on the sirolimus, which is an immunosuppressant, to help shrink the SEGA growth in his brain. As soon as he was hospitalized, we stopped the sirolimus for a month. He's now back on it, but at a much lower dose. We're going to do an MRI in October and see how this dose is working for him. If he develops any sores in the meantime, we will d/c it and have to start preparing for surgery to remove the SEGA.
Long distance yard sale: We had the bright idea of moving everything we wanted to keep and leaving all the yard sale stuff at the old house. I don't recommend this. It was majorly disorganized since I wasn't there the days leading up to the sale to get everything priced and organized. Plus, it was a rainy morning and as we'd moved out, didn't have anything to sit on except the chairs we were selling...and once those sold...
Claire is crawling: Yep, she finally figured out at 8.5 months old. She still doesn't know how to roll back to belly (silly girl!), but she has super fine motor skills and is now putting all her effort into learning to stand and walk.
Ben is bored: He is bored and driving me i.n.s.a.n.e! Is it September yet? Unfortunately our new neighborhood doesn't have a nearby park he can bike to, and there don't seem to be many kids around. He does a few laps around the block on his bike, but then it's back inside. We do have an extraordinary amount of snails in our new yard, and that keeps him busy for awhile when it's wet outside.
Blueberries: Yay! One of the housed we had decided against had a blueberry bush (and apple and pear trees) and I was bummed because that would have been really nice. Then, after moving in here, I was walking in the backyard and noticed a bunch of white berries on one of the bushes. They were shaped an awful lot like blueberries, so I was hopeful...and then our gardener confirmed it. So far I've picked about 6-8 cups of blueberries over the past couple weeks. Love it!
Broken air conditioner: We noticed it wasn't working when we moved in, but then it cooled off and we didn't think much about it. They sent the a/c repairman out Friday morning, and he found that the refrigerant was low...but then had to leave before repairing it because we had to wait for the property management company to contact the homeowner to see how they wanted to proceed (just put more freon in, or check to see if there is a leak). So, they come back on Monday to finish the job.
Van broke down: Thursday evening I went to pick Jeremy up from work so we could go down and visit Alex. I noticed the van sounding pretty loud as it was idling, and made a mental note that I'd need to get it in to be checked out. Then, as I was driving the a couple warning lights on the dash came on. I made a mental note that I'd need to get it in really soon to be checked out. Then, the more warning lights came on. And went back off for awhile. And then came back on. Eventually, the airbag light, ABS light, ESC light, check engine light, battery light were all on...and the radio and fan kept turning off and then back on. I made a mental note to tell Jeremy perhaps we'd better not try to go see Alex tonight. I got off the highway, and while waiting for the green light decided we'd actually be lucky to make it back home. When the light turned green...the car wouldn't accelerate. It limped about 5mph across the intersection where I pulled over. I decided to turn it off and call Jeremy to let him know what was up. I tried turning it on again after a bit of a rest, but it just make a horrible noise while trying to start. I called the insurance company and had them send out a tow truck. Meanwhile, Jeremy had to walk the mile to the bus station, wait 45 minutes for the next bus, then walk another mile from the bus stop to our house before getting the car and coming back to pick up me and the kids. Luckily there was a hotel nearby, and we were able to wait in the lobby. Friday morning I called, and they said they'd try to get to it that day, but couldn't promise anything as they had 25 cars already scheduled for service. They didn't ever find the time, and are closed until Monday. So there it sits.
Wow, look at me! Once I start writing, I get on a roll. Must be picture time. (Click on a picture to see it larger.)
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