Month: October 2009

So I missed both of the kid’s Halloween parties at school and Jeremy managed to go to about 30 minutes of Vince’s, just enough to see the parade and not much else. Here they are in the morning. We tried to make their costumes with as much “regular” clothes as we could, I think we did pretty well.

The orange crocs were not part of the costume, but I think they make the costume.

Vince complained bitterly at dinner last night that the room parents had the audacity to hand out GRAPES for Halloween! (Gasp, how awful). Then I unpacked Edda’s backpack this morning and told Vince that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t get candy, Edda got a surgical glove full of veggie puffs (and 5 candy corn). I could only look at this glove in amazement. Someone put really effort into making this Halloween treat. Wow.

Calling all grandparents of Edda and Vincie!

Tomorrow: two simultaneous Halloween parades and parties at two different locations, two excited kids all ready to be sugared up. Two working parents who actually need to do some paid work tomorrow during said Halloween parades and parties. It would be nice to have some back-up here…

I miss you all and wish you were closer (and so do the kiddos)…

Eliana was sick today, so Jeremy and I tagged teamed the child care, Jeremy took care of the morning (Edda’s bus was 20 minutes late) and I hustled home after my last meeting to pick Edda up from school and high-tail it to a 3pm therapy session. It’s a little embarrassing to admit as it is the end of October, but I have never before driven to Edda’s school by myself, so I had to GPS it. Ahh, the trials of a working mom. 🙂

I have talked before about my general dislike of therapy, so it was refreshing to see Edda enjoying herself at therapy – lots of laughing and giggling and lots of good eye contact between Edda and Deb – Edda pretty much ignored me during the session.

I love many of the therapists that we’ve worked with over the years, they have helped me through some rough emotional patches. I rely on them for advice and comfort because 1. they love Edda and 2. they work with lots of families with kids with special needs so I need them for perspective and I’ve found their advice comforting and very helpful.

Jeremy: Last night he lost his voice and today he went to Newark to give a talk. He says it went OK – voice wise. I haven’t yet got the complete lowdown on the actual talk.

Doris: I’ve been sneaking Cheetoes at work. I’m all signed up to work from home – first day November 20th.

Vincent: He’s loving Cub Scouts. For those who don’t know, there is a long checklist of things you have to do to earn badges. Last night he made a birdhouse – used a hammer which was one of tasks on the checklist. There is a random screw in the top of birdhouse, because he had to master the “using a screwdriver” task.

Edda: School’s going well. We are past the being asleep all day phase. Now she’s pretty active and alert all day. Her right arm just went all rigid on me – hypertonic. I know she’s transitioning from hypo to hyper, I just preferred hypo.

Eliana: I came home today to find her not feeling too well. I think she probably needs to sleep in all day tomorrow. She’s decided to stay and help us out until the end of next year! Awesome.

Ruby: Still the best dog ever.

This is the 3rd week of our 12-hr shifts. Mom works from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM & I work from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Every morning at 6:00 AM and, again, at 6:00 PM in the evening, we huddle together to go over our “Engr Log” & “Things-to-do List” on plant’s piping systems for turn-over. Sometimes, I wonder they are just our FAMILY laundry lists.

So far so good. Some days & nights were very busy – the field craftsmen were waiting for our approval on their field changes due to interference (eg., can’t be built) or something else (eg., a tight spot) Upon approval, we were continue busy to get our paper work in order. This paper work is the legal document required prior to firing up the Reactor – going critical.

Some nights were not busy at all, just like tonight. Things are pretty slow … zzz

And, besides working, Mom always keeps our refrigerator full. Does anyonte believe that a -> 68 year old man will suffer from hanger because his wife is working during his chow times?:) Anyway, twice a day, I can’t wait until “6:00” to see Mom.

Well, Nuclear Power isn’t 100% safe. But, nothing is 100% safe or even 90% safe. As a matter of fact, Nuclear Power is pretty safe and environmentally friendly too. Too bad, the current Administration isn’t too enthusiastic to build more. Of course, we need to go “green“, especially on energy. But, how “green” is “green“? Depends!

People just can’t go “green” with much less jobs around. Nuclear Renaissance can bring home the beacon to many Middle-American families (including those of us who work all night), much more than wind and solar combined. And Nuclear Energy is affordable too!

We hosted an open house this weekend from 3-6 pm in the afternoon. We made delicious cakes and had savories from Trader Joe’s. (I really have to figure out this indoor white balance stuff – these photos are painfully yellow).

Everyone was fashionably late – the earliest person came in at 3:45 and the last group of people came by at 5:30. We were a bit worried that NO ONE would show up, but we had a nice group show up eventually. Here’s Vince wondering, “Where is everybody?”

Edda’s school had a field trip to Sharp’s at Waterford Farm. I signed up to help out because I even though Jeremy’s been to class two or three times already, I haven’t had a chance to meet Edda’s teachers, aides and classmates. This field trip involved the whole kindergarden and first grade classes – I’d say about 100-150 kids and parents. Three full buses of kids – all non-staff adults (me and the other parents) had to find our own way to the farm.

I was a little nervous as sometimes Edda can be unhappy at these things. These days I’m in a pretty good mood, so it doesn’t bother me that sometimes people stare at Edda when we are out and about if she’s doing her “regular” Rett thing, but I really, really, didn’t want to be parent with the crying, unhappy, unconsolable special-needs child – which still does happen and even though I can deal with it, it just sucks the life force out of the outing.

Anyways, I shouldn’t have worried, I have never seen a happier girl.

In the pumpkin patch.

On the hay ride.

It was so great.

Jeremy’s been in Chicago on business the past few days – he flew back home late last night. I made a tactical error and decided to wait up for him thinking he’d been home by 11pm. He didn’t get in until 1 am (flights were delayed) – I had fallen asleep at 11:30 pm, which means I got just under 6 hours of sleep. Six hours of sleep is pretty much the minimum amount of sleep I need in order to do my job properly, otherwise all the scientific and legal arguments I need to make just start blurring together. So I was a little tired today and still trying to kick the last of my illness away. In retrospect I should have gone to sleep with the kids. Now (of course), Jeremy’s not feeling well, so he went to bed early tonight. The kids are still holding up well. I’m sure in a few days, they’ll be sick too.

We have a huge (10 inch across) mushroom patch in our front yard. Mushrooms are so weird, one day they aren’t there, the next day – poof, you’ve got a huge cluster.

My cousin-in-law, Christine, just started nursing school this fall. Every week, in addition to classes, she has a full day rotation through a hospital where she shadows a nurse and provides basic patient care to one patient throughout the day – stuff like changing sheets, helping folks to the bathroom, performing vital checks, etc. It’s all very exciting to me because 3 years ago – right before I reentered the work force, I was seriously considering going to nursing school myself. I wanted a job where the pay was pretty good and the hours and location needed to be extremely flexible and the potential upswing was high. Nursing sounded like a really good option! I applied, but (obviously) didn’t end up going.

Last week, at Sunday night dinner, Christine taught me how to set up a sterile field to do wound care, mainly bedsores, which need to have their dressings changed every 8 hours (I think). Everything comes in a compact sterile box – gauze, gloves, tape?, scissors?:

Gotta set up your field:

I’m sure “jazz hands” is part of the official protocol.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I have been a good dog this year. Please get the minivan soon. My neck can only take so much of this. I promise I won’t steal any more food off the table.

Love,
Ruby