I-yi (whoa-oh) I'm still alive...

But barely kickin' at this hour. Thought I'd take a minute to update anyway, and to answer the bazillion questions I got about the latest crazy adventures here.

So, here goes (sorry for the brief bullet points, but it's all I've got in me tonight!)

• Japan - finally got around to making some plans! We're staying in Otsu 3 nights, Kyoto 3 nights, Mt Koya IN a Buddhist temple one night and Tokyo 3 nights. Taking a helicopter ride around Tokyo while there. Trying out Ryokan, which are Japanese-style B&B's - sleeping on mats, eating on a table just off the floor, etc. I'm finally getting excited.
• iPhone - Oh soooo money! Love it. Now to find time to really play with it.
• The New Business - It's officially (kind of) off the ground. I registered it as Three Oaks Montessori School. I'm going through the process of getting licensed by Dept of Social services. But then I hit a major snag today. Seems the county doesn't want me to have two businesses at my home. So now I have to go through a 90 day approval process which includes an appearance before the Board of Supervisors. Sweet. I definitely have the time, energy and money for this! Not to mention they want $750 just to talk to me. I heart Hanover at the moment.
• The remodel. OK, so I may have jumped the gun. I just assumed that since I own my property, I could use it, within reason, for my own purposes. I found out it isn't so (see my love of Hanover above). So I don't know if I can use my garage as a home office without paying for a very expensive permit. In fact, I found out it's been illegal all along. Not that anyone ever told me that when I called the county three years ago to register my business (which they don't do) and ask for any ordinances that may apply (of which they said were none). Even better, it was illegal for me to have employees in my home. News to me! Not one to be easily swatted aside, I am thinking of plan B already. Employees work from home, child care is in my home, family lives in one room of our home. That's legal. Or having a dozen kids living in our small home with us. Also legal. Want to build things with a wood shop in the garage? Sure, why not? Want a two-story garage to house your gun collection? Go for it. The more ammo the better. But plug in 3 computers and answer a phone? Well, that will cost ya a plenty in Hanover. You may have sensed my anger. It is only enhanced by the long afternoon in the beautiful new planning offices of Hanover county that must have costed millions to build.
  
• More on Montessori... (deep breath - ok, I'm better). So yeah, I want to do the Montessori school. Only I'm not trained, nor do I know enough to teach. Nor do I want to be a teacher. I'm fine with helping, though. So I'm looking for a part-time teacher. No bites yet. Let me know if you know of someone in VA! This would enable me to be close to Sadie, fill a need in our community in terms of quality preschool offerings (currently slim to none) and possibly make a buck in a few years, if I stick with it. Cross your fingers for me folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
• The "other" business. Yes, I'm still keeping it. I love my microwave scientists and am excited about the changes my other client is making to their organizational structure. I want to see them through. And I like my travel a few times a year. Call me a bad mommy if you will, but I need those adult "breaks" (even though it's usually stressful and full of work), and I thrive on accomplishment.
  
• Katie hates her preschool this summer. It sucks. It is SOOO not Montessori. Her teacher yells, tells the kids they're doing things "wrong" all the time and is generally a cranky old biddy who shouldn't be around children. Or adults. Only a few weeks left. Other than that she's great. She's a total chunk at the moment (around 55 lbs!) so I have a feeling the growth spurt is coming any day. She's always been that way - out then up, out then up... She has a new friend at school. He's not a boyfriend yet she tells me. But he's very cute. Uh oh. Oh, and the Alvin and the Chipmunks CD? Avoid it at all costs.
  
• Sadie is finally talking. And it's coming more and more every day. She's putting sentences together. I soo love this age. She's got these huge brown eyes that stops everyone in their tracks wherever I take her. I have no idea how many times they tell me she's a little angel. How little they know!!
• Spider bite - after spreading toxins throughout my body, it's finally on the mend. I felt like crap for quite a while. And I had these fun lines of poison that surfaced in various parts of my body. The spots on my leg are healing well, and shouldn't leave very big scars. While cleaning out the office for the remodel, we found a ginormous black widow with tons of sacs and smaller widows around her. I'm wondering if that's what it could have been? No clue.
• Pick up sticks with yellow jackets - Our remodel started Thursday, so I found myself moving out the rest of the office and garage storage stuff Wednesday night. Jason conveniently developed pneumonia (he's still recovering), and my employees were not eager to work overtime for some odd reason. While cleaning out the back shed area that had never been cleaned out since we moved in, I discovered multiple hives of yellow jackets. I'd pick up a board to move it, a swarm would come out. I'd pick up another, a new swarm. I was out there at midnight, in 90 degree weather, with jeans, a leather jacket, a scarf wrapped around my head and armed with two cans of bee killer. I'd move a stick, spray like all hell as I backed out of there, wait a minute and do it again. It only took me 4 hours to clear out an 8 x 10 area. After all the yellow jackets were dead I discovered the paper wasps. Good times.
• The Universalist Unitarians - I went again. It was interesting, and I learned more about their "religion." I dig their creeds and liberal structure, but still don't think I'm ready for organized religion. I may go from time to time just for some mental stimulation. I just don't do the group stuff well. I do like how mission-based they are, and how many they help in the community and beyond. Very cool.
  

Feast or Famine

Last week I think I had blog entries almost every day. Not so much this week. Here's why...

• Answered my SAHM vs. Not to SAHM dilemma. I decided to open a business. Another one. A Montessori preschool to be more precise. Yes, I am certifiably insane. In order to do this, we must completely remodel the garage into living space, to the tune of thousands of bucks. All prior to September 1. In the last 4 days I've met with close to 50 contractors, helpers and handymen. Fun stuff. Wednesday the work begins!
  
• Making plans for Japan. Well, at least realizing the trip is only two weeks away and I have no clue where I'm staying, what I'm doing or how to get around. Or how to speak the language well enough to find a bathroom. Uh Oh. Anyone have a Japanese version of Rosetta Stone laying around they don't need for a month or so? Any one know how to say toilet in Japanese?
  
• Sampled Universalist Unitarianism. Interesting.
• Got bitten by a brown recluse (they think?) and have marks on my leg where the doctor burned out a few small bits of dead skin left behind. Have cool bumps that pop out along various parts of my body following the lines of veins. Right hand has several pussy bumps on the interior of the fingers. Got three steroid shots on the "meatiest" portion of my body. Have been taking a barrage of antibiotics and steriods.
  
• Got rid of the shakes, sweats, night terrors, brain zaps and other fun things that went along with my drug withdrawals. Did I mention Cymbalta sucks?

So, yeah, I'm kinda busy this week.

The 4th (and 5th... and 3rd...)

Last week I was exhausted, so I played hookie a half-day on the 3rd to get ready for a fun, extended weekend with the girls. Here are a few of my favorite memories from our long-overdue family time...

Wendesday, July 3rd. Hat Day!!

Just a few of the many hats we gathered and played with. As a bonus, I discovered that I have a living, breathing garden gnome in our home, which should help satisfy my desire to go out and buy a ceramic one for my yard.


July 4th Fun at Casa Thies

We spent the day listening to Katie beg us to "do fireworks" and Sadie scream for no reason, which she often does to keep us on our toes. I felt like crap all day (thank you, Lilly drug company), so we stayed home and created our own festivities. The evening ended with our discovery that Sadie is terrified of whistling fireworks, Carly likes to eat discarded firework containers and that fireworks that "shoot flaming fireballs" are illegal in Virginia for a darn good reason. Thankfully, it had rained just before we set that one off... the singed leaves that fell down from the sky were easy to stamp out in the damp grass.

Whee! Mommy managed to talk us into matching, patriotic outfits!

The moonbounce... always a hit in our household.

Well, until mommy gets in, gracefully hitting the vent tube and the whole thing collapses.
Then it's just funny, not so much "fun."


July 5, The Tomato Festival

For the first time in the three years that we've lived in Bubbasville, we braved the natives and tried out the local Tomato Festival. I enjoyed camouflage watching (I can still see you, people!), the plethora of churches trying to push water on me in exchange for my soul, and watching the many ways in which people displayed some nifty confederate flag stickers that proclaimed "I support national Confederacy month." One very pregnant woman Jason encountered had a sticker on each... well, use your imagination. Good times.

My parents joined us for the humid outing, and despite the stress involved in taking small children out, we managed to create a few nice memories while there.

Mom stops to cheese it up with the girls and Mark Warner, US Senate candidate and previous VA governor. I don't think she realized he's a fairly liberal democrat (did you, Mom?! wahahahaha). Warner was rumored to be a VP consideration by Obama, but he declined, citing his desire to have more time with his family than that position would allow. So, instead, he was sweating his butt off at our hillbilly fair in order to garner a few votes. Yet another reason why I will never enter politics.

Katie fed a donkey at the petting zoo area, and the donkey became her new best friend. He followed her everywhere, nuzzling her for another scratch behind the ears and more food. I so wanted to take him home with us. The neighbors would LOVE it! Katie agreed, but Jason was having no part of that discussion. Sadie, meanwhile, spent time kissing and hugging a calf, mooing softly to it. If only I could get her to be that sweet to her sister.

In the midst of all of the festivities, a photographer walked up and asked if he could take photos of the girls while they decorated tomatoes. I got an email today, and it seems that we are once again "featured" in our local paper... yeeee haww! Not only that, I think we made the front page news. And, my mug on this shot is MUCH worse than my last one in this exciting publication. At least the girls looked adorable. Jason and I looked angry and uninterested. Which is probably accurate, but all the same... front page?! Ugh.

It's official - I think I have to admit we're now locals. But you'll never see camouflage, rebel flags or big bangs adorning on this Bubbaite!

Peace, PunkRockMommy

Since beginning my blogging adventures almost two years ago, I've come across many blogs that I've fallen in love with. When a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer about a year ago, I began looking at a few of her fellow cancer fighters sites, hoping for hints on ways to help, to understand. One of them, along the way, is one that was kept by a offbeat, fun and funky mom of six who was diagnosed with breast cancer just about a year ago. PunkRockMommy became one of my favorite lurking haunts.

Today, PunkRockMommy passed away. Her husband has promised to keep the blog alive with posts on the family's coping and growth after her death. But the blogosphere will be empty without her presence.

Rest in peace, Andrea. Thank you for sharing your life, and death, with total strangers. It brought about an entirely new perspective for many.

I have to go wake up my kids and hug them...

Oh, yeah... it's always been this way!

My good friend Jen, out of sunny CA, called today to commiserate with my recent experiences with the children. Seems that she can relate as her daughter recently stuck a wooden QTip in her toddler brother's ear (far enough to land them in urgent care), as well as gave their kitty's whiskers a very short trim. All in one day. Thank God I'm not alone in all of this.

Jen also reminded me that this Katie-mess-making stuff is not so new, as evidenced from an old email she forwarded to me today. To think this was written almost EXACTLY three years ago to the date (sigh)...

Recipe for Disaster:

1 container Vaseline
1 bottle Baby Powder
A few dashes of Baby Oil
1 Extra Large bottle of Baby Lotion
A two-and-a-half-year old

Place all ingredients in a room unsupervised for 15 minutes. Be sure that it is very quiet in the room before entering it, otherwise the recipe is not working correctly.

Enter room to find mixture of the ingredients throughout the room, rubbed evenly in the carpet, on the walls, curtains, back of a rocking chair and evenly distributed throughout the toddler's hair. IMPORTANT: You will want to clean, but this mixture is impenetrable. Let dry a few hours until carpet changes to a dingy color.

After carpet is adequately ruined, walls are stained and the toddler's hair has been washed using shampoo, baking soda and other home remedies, you should have a disaster well on its way. Now dry the toddler's hair, put cornstarch in it to bring out the Vaseline, and you should have a complete disaster, such as the one pictured here.

We recently tried this recipe for Complete Disaster in our home just after placing our house on the market and it worked wonderfully. We also found that similar results can be achieved by substituted lipstick and eyeshadow for baby powder and Vaseline, which we tried on our Open House day. Enjoy!

Not much has changed since the last use of the recip... but I will let you know that you can exponentially increase the quantity of COMPLETE DISASTER if you add another child to the recipe.

Not what I had planned...

I awoke this morning, once again, to chaos and disaster. This time the girls had taken the newly purchased DragonBerry Shampoo and Blueberry Burst Body Wash and lathered everything from waist-height down on the lower level of our house into bubbles (or at least applied a slimy film which would later be "bubbled"). Seriously, what did I do in my past life to deserve this retribution?!

Every baby doll, both dogs, the coffee table, all the Disney plasticine toys, the Shliech animals, the bathroom sink, floor and both girls' lower extremeties were covered in the sticky goo. "But Mommy," Katie told me as I repressed a scream of rage as I realized the magnitude of the latest morning disaster, "We didn't go outside. And now the house smells good." I rinsed and washed, producing even more bubbles (much to their delight) and still found a spot on the carpet that is deeply stained with shampoo. I ran the steam vac over it this afternoon only to... you guessed it... produce more bubbles.

I threatened Katie with an eternity of time out if she makes one SINGLE other mess before I can hit the bottom of the stairs in the morning. Double eternity if she lets Sadie out of her crib. Her reply? Sadie can get out on her own now. Oh crap.

I never got a chance to memorialize George Carlin, one of my all-time favorite comedians who passed away last week. I did so this morning by muttering, thinking or screaming into a pillow six of the seven dirtiest words from his old 70's routine. The 7th word just didn't apply, or I would have used that one, too.

To make it all even better, I'm having some hellacious withdrawals from a medication I started a couple of months ago. When I had Katie, I began to suffer from anxiety attacks (though I didn't know that is what they were at the time). I did some medications back then for a few months, got my head screwed on straight again, and weaned off of them. I'd been able to control them since (now knowing what they were and how they came on) on my own, but in March they began to rear their ugly head once again. I wonder why? That was about the time the girls started their early morning escapades. So, I went to my primary care "nurse" (do doctors still exist?) and asked for something to help me along for a while. She gave me Cymbalta.

Two drugged-out weeks later I started having weird symptoms. Increased anxiety (but no panic attacks) and newly onset depression that I'd never before experienced. Insomnia. Cold sweats. Hot flashes. Irritability (yes, I can be worse!). Constipation like a... well, like it was not good. Then last week in New Orleans it doubled, and I added the shakes to the list. Enough was enough, so I quit. Cold turkey. I had only been on it for about 50 days, so figured I'd do every other day for a week and stop.

Now I have more fun symptoms. Night terrors (which I've never had before). Aching all over. Sharp pains in my legs and feet. Blurry vision. Extreme fatigue. Chills. What the heck?! I looked it all up online tonight and found out that these are all fairly common withdrawal symptoms from Cymbalta. I should have known, given my (and my kids') history with meds. I'm about to go the Tom Cruise route and get all psycho about pharmaceuticals. Tomorrow I get to visit with the lovely nurse who suggested this route toward wellness. I can't wait. She has no idea what she's in for. If I'm in a padded room by the end of the day, please promise to visit and wear a sunny yellow color to cheer me up.

So yeah. After being home for two nights full of night terrors, bathroom visits and incessant sweating, I'm awoken to what looks like a slime attack from a Ghostbusters flick. The devil mommy on one shoulder was oh so close to convincing me to spank them both and send them to bed, as advised in nursery rhymes and by most parents with more than 5 children. But angel-Montessori-loving mommy on the other side balanced her out and the girls ended up with a stern admonishment, a few timeouts throughout the day as required and the threat of eternal timeout and no-playdates-ever-again for Katie should she ever decide to do this again.

Please, please, let the threats work. I need a morning off!!!

Another Mixed Bag

Renewed Ban on Walmart. Due to the need to penny pinch thanks to ever inflating gas prices and the inability to get rid of our gas-guzzling SUV, I broke my promise and headed to my most hated, dreaded, local W. I finally justified my hiatus from shopping there - not a penny saved. I spent quite a while perusing, carefully seeking bargains. What I found is that my beloved Targét is MUCH less expensive in most areas - kids clothes (and much more stylish), snack foods, toiletries and diapers to name the big ones. Yay - I can once again justify my hatred of the ugly side of big business!

Preschool Ballet Rocks. More to come on that in a later post, when I load the photos and video. Let's just say I cried my eyes out... from laughter. It was well worth every penny invested in the hideous, Dora the Hooker costume for that one hour of comedy.

Yackity Yack. Sadie's talking up a storm these days. Today she got a scrape on her knee. Tonight she told me as I changed her "Mama, I Bad Boo Boo Knee" clear as a bell. She's 21 months in 2 days. She loves to boss Katie around... "TahTay, BAFF!" "TahTay, KeenUp!" and "TahTay, go ny-ny."

Japan is ON! Yep... it's definite... I'm going in 8 weeks!

More requests for your energy/thoughts/prayers:

• Amanda is back in the big house for another intensive round of chemo in an effort to wipe out the leukemia cells that survived the first round. Also, it looks like she's facing bone marrow transplant in the near future. Stay strong, 'Manda!
  
• Jameson is back home and healing after a successful Fontan (heart surgery). Hooray!
• Harlie goes in tomorrow for her jaw reconstruction. Good luck, Harlie, and hang in there, Christy!!!!
  

Thanks, Emily!

I got an award for the CHD blog... woo hoo! Ok, it's a blog award, but all the same, it counts! Fellow blogger Emily of Lovely and Amazing presented the CHD Blog I created with this lovely award:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and that contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, the origin of this award.
5. Post these rules.

So, ahem... speech!

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the CHD blog, and to those who actually took time to read it, even though you're not personally affected by CHD. I'd like to thank those who posted links, and sent stories. But the big thing is the amazing survivors I've been so honored to meet or share experiences with, the parents who've gone on after losing a child to CHD, the children who struggle every day to survive, the ones who no longer struggle but faced horrors in their past, and the adults who are paving the way into a new frontier of survival on the long-term. Thank you!

And onto the viral part of this award... Seeing as this weekend is all about celebrating moms, the chosen award winners are all superwomen in my book. Survivors, fighters, advocates and great moms. My nominees for the Arte y Pico award are (drumroll...)

• Whoa Camel! - Amanda's witty material never ceases to be entertaining, even when she's undertaking the battle of a lifetime against leukemia. I've admired her writing skills since I was a mere lass, and I've learned a lot about zombies from her. Her musings are a true work of art.
  
• Gabriel's Heart - although this is also authored by Emily, she officially gave me the award on Lovely and Amazing, so I can legally do this. Her son has TGA (same brand o' defect as Sadie) and her site is creative, insightful, has gorgeous photos, is fresh, clever and fun.
• Home of the Four Trans - Beautifully designed, well executed, easy to maneuver, and Jen's not afraid to mince words and so tells it like it is about how tough it can be to have a child with a severe form of CHD.
• The Holton Family - The journal of Christy, a mom with an unimaginably intense life caring for a special needs child... she keeps it real, writes eloquently, has some amazing video clips of her kids and her writing brings me to tears or to shear joy on a regular basis.
• Toddler Planet - I'm a regular lurker on the site, but don't know the author. She's a working mom of two small kids who is battling breast cancer... need I say more?! I stumbled upon her when my friend Marie was diagnosed, and have been lurking ever since.

Think of Harlie...

My friend Christy's little girl, Harlie, that's become such a rock star on this blog is in for her Nissen (stomach) surgery this morning. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers and send positive energy her way. Her future surgeries depend on this one going well!

Mixed Bag

Sooo... lots happening, and this is more for family and friends that care to read it, so feel free to skip this post if you aren't interested in our mundane daily life.

Sadie
Took her in again Friday, still running low grade fever. Was diagnosed with (sigh) an ear infection. Isn't that why I went in the first place? This time her pulse ox was 99, where it should be. She's very congested, so perhaps that's something to do with it. To clarify everything we're going to her cardiologist Friday. Hopefully we can get some answers and (cross your fingers) a clean report.

The Harlie Fundraiser
I'm happy to report that the total raised was $56,000!!! Thanks to all of you who sponsored my run or donated and to you guys who went the extra mile and did some fundraising yourselves. Big props to my sister-in-law Kim for her Kaiser group, Jamie and the Ashland Jaycees and my friend Jen in sunny CA for going the extra mile to get donations. (Not that I wasn't touched by everyone who gave - your gifts were incredibly generous!). Harlie seemed to enjoy the occasion, and I know her parents are very, very happy, grateful and relieved. She's gearing up for a Nissen surgery later this month, and jaw surgery in June, so keep her in your thoughts/prayers.

My First 10K
In context with the Harlie fundraiser, I ran my first 10K. I did not train before hand, and I really, really wish I had. I meant to, just didn't quite get there. I managed to get through in 1 hr 22 min, and was disappointed that I hadn't pushed myself earlier on. I stopped and walked around half a mile in mile 2, and I think I could have made it without stopping in hindsight. I'd just never run 10k before, so I had no clue how my body would handle the later miles. Turns out that this fat butt still likes to run, and once I got going again in mile 3 at a good pace, I was ok. Slow, but jogging. I was pumped up by the time I crossed the line, and kind of got teary just knowing that I'd done something I'd never done before... on my own. Next year I hope to recruit a few to run with me. In the meantime, I'm thinking I should get back into running and try the 5k next month. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy long runs. Thanks to Amanda for letting me snag your bib. Hope you feel better soon and can get back to running.

Insurance, Insurance, Insurance!!!!
SADIE IS INSURED AGAIN! After months of being uninsured (and previous months on only a "supplemental" plan), we finally found a company to insure her! I won't say who it is, because I don't want to jinx it (they clearly coded her wrong in their system, but I'm not saying a WORD!). But we're covered, and covered pretty well in terms of insurance options available. A recorded message called Thursday with the news and I cried. Seriously. There's a first - crying over a pre-recorded phone message. I'm becoming a total sap these days. It's just in time, as we have to get Sadie into the cardiologist next week, which isn't cheap.

The agent who worked so diligently to find insurance we could afford and that would accept Sadie is Tammy White. I'm putting in a shameless plug here for her - she went 10,000 miles beyond the call of duty to help us out. She also has a child with a CHD. If you've been screwed by insurance like we have, I highly recommend her:

Tammy White
Vice President/Benefits Specialist
Chas. Lunsford Sons & Associates
800-777-5773

I'd be remiss not to say here that I owe not only our insurance solution, but also the balance billing removal to a local "heart" mom and friend, Christy Davis, who is the co-coordinator of Mended Little Hearts here in central VA. She's given me advise that has literally saved our family from financial ruin, and I can't thank her enough. Christy, I owe you... BIG time!! Thank you, thank you.

I have more, but will save for later dates, as some (such as the Sadie's heart tissue donor) take much longer to tell. Thanks for checking in!

What I don't have...

Back on the ground...

I had a whirlwind weekend complete with a very short trip to Chicago to volunteer with the Children's Heart Foundation on working on a national awareness campaign in collaboration with the newly formed National Congenital Heart Coalition. It was exciting to see so many people devoted to this silent epidemic come together, despite diverse agendas, and be able to set the initial stage to begin work on a national awareness campaign, as well as national advocacy efforts. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work!

On the lighter side of things, the trip was as crazy as any of mine... 3 hour delay on Friday on the way out, landed to find snow on the ground and realized I hadn't brought a coat, stayed in a total roach hotel near the airport (avoid PriceLine!!), drove a Chevy Cobalt (not as bad as I thought it would be) and watched a medical emergency unravel on the plane on the way home when a gentleman went into a severe seizure. Unfortunately, he lost control of all bodily functions, which is quite ummm... gross when canned together for an hour. I can only imagine how embarrassed he must have been when he came to. Thankfully we had a cardiologist on flight (he had severe hypertension which led to the episode), and we didn't have to reroute. We were escorted in once we hit the runway by the police and he was met with 3 ambulances. The end result, however, was that the front of the plane cleared out after his episode, as the stench was overwhelming. This caused problems, however, so some were asked to go up front to balance out the plane. No one wanted to. So, seeing as I am frequently faced with poopy pants, vomit and other such lovely things, I went up there, wrapped my jacket around my face (which I bought while in Chicago) and hoped for the best, not knowing if it was contagious at that time. I was relieved to later find out it was not. Hope the guy feels better and it's nothing serious.

I also had a freak-out moment of my own when faced with the fact that Sadie is a "high risk" cardiac patient that will need follow up and, likely, further treatments as she grows. Realizing that there are not enough experienced people out there who know how to deal with CHDs was a real wake up call. I know, I know, I should realize this, but when faced with it written on paper, I felt my stomach plummet. It's easy for me to think that her case is much less severe than most as I have now found myself deeply entrenched in a large social network of children with heart defects much more severe than hers (so I thought at least), but the reality is that it is still extremely serious. I've always known this, but admitting it is an ENTIRELY different matter. I couldn't sleep a wink last night thinking about it all, and was ready to get home and forget about it. As I rocked Sadie to sleep before her nap, the emotion of it all totally overtook me... I am NOT a cryer, but months and months of bottled up stuff just came pouring out. I think I need a breather from all this this week to recoup. That being said, a friend's daughter is going in for cardiac cath this week, so I know it will never be far from my mind. Please send lots of positive energy and prayers to my friend Karen and her family, but especially to little Jameson, who is one of Sadie's heart friends.

So, that was the weekend's fun for me. I was greeted at the airport 30 minutes late by Jason with an overly excited Katie and extremely exhausted and (ah, the irony) thoroughly poopy panted Sadie. The ride home was complete with high pitched screaming, Katie's exhasperating attempts to shout over her sister and Jason's general grumpy, stressed out self. Ah, home again.

Blogging Crack

This is your brain on blog crack.

For my avid readers (all 2 of you), you may have noticed I haven't rated the book I put up over two months ago that is my "current read". That's because I haven't started it.

While last month was a huge interlude into CHD Awareness (sorry for forcing it on you), I also had a guilty pleasure I'd been indulging in private. Like any good narcotic, I've become totally addicted to a clever and witty blog I stumbled across. I tried to limit myself to a few entries a day, but quickly devoured it all. Now I greedily wait for my next fix...

If you'd like to sample my drug du jour, check out Cul de Sac Blues. You have to start at the beginning of the blog, or it won't make a lick of sense. Before long, you'll be as absorbed with the happenings at Burning House and the Three Dougs misadventures as I've been.

How'd you find me?

My friend Amanda posted some of the random search phrases people had used to find her blog, and I found it greatly amusing. So I decided to dust off the forgotten analytics stuff I'd installed for this site and check out who'd been here, and how they got here. It's wierd who's out there watching. And reading. I need to quickly banish it from my mind, or I'll never post like my normal self again. Even stranger is the number of hits I get from search engines... and how people land at my little piece of cyberspace. Here's some of my favorite random searches people that caused them to land here...

"a hokie is not a mercenary"
"c'mon barbie let's go barbie"
"correct dosage of methadone for fish"
"cow attacks" and "maymont cow news"
"busiest time of day at walmart" (man, did they pick the wrong site!)
"stabbed with an iv needle from cats"
"the hand is quicker than the eye"
"so what is reality, really, at 32,000 feet"
"invite preschool class to party with me"
"curly tail pitbull freak"

Can you imagine their disappointment when they landed here?!