Tidbits

There's an interesting post on my LearnAboutCHD blog today if you're not a regular reader of that blog and have a kid with a CHD. Sarah, a virtual friend I've made, is an adult with TGA and is writing a 3-part series on what it's like to grow up having a CHD. Check it out!

Also, updates on friends...
- Harlie's surgery was rescheduled till next Monday because of technical problems (robot was down)
- Amanda is feeling the effects of chemo, big time. The good news is she may get to go home soon. Bad news is she feels like hell. Keep her in your thoughts, as well as her hubby and little boy.
- My friend Karen's little girl, Jameson, has her next open heart surgery on May 15... coming up soon. They need all the strength they can get.

Thanks to everyone who asked about them and is sending positive vibes their way!

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!

Sisters

Hangin' out in a toy bin on a typical Thursday morning around 6 am. All the toys had been taken from the bin and littered through the living room already. You will note some sort of orange substance on Sadie's face and PJs if you look close enough. And Katie's stopped talking only long enough to smile for the camera. The nonstop litany of 5-year-old conversation started the second the flash was gone. And fighting quickly ensued.

But they did look like adorable little angels together for a moment.

Good Report from the Cardiologist!

Yay - finally some good news to report! Sadie had her cardiology appointment today, which we'd been dreading/anticipating anxiously the last couple of weeks since her poor x-ray and pulse ox incidents. It looks like her pulse ox levels were down to some sort of respiratory infection or other ailment, but not because of her heart.

According to the cardiologist, her coronary arteries look great, there's only mild stenosis of the pulmonary vein (to be expected - will have to be watched and may one day require a stent, but for now is a-ok) and her right ventricle pressures look very good (her right ventricle has to be in good shape as with her condition it is responsible for the normal left-ventricle function). These are the three key things to watch with TGA patients as they develop, and all three areas look good. Even better news... there is no sign of pulmonary hypertension any longer. He said it's quite normal for it to abate after surgery and ample time to heal. Hooray!

He also said her pulse ox will run mid-90s frequently, and it's nothing to be concerned about. I had been incorrectly told at UVA that she'd be 99-100, and it simply isn't true. Especially when she's congested, has a chest cold, etc. She was running 96 today, which he was perfectly fine with . If it gets down in the 80s, then we need to double check, otherwise, she's good to go for another year before she needs another echocardiogram.

I also had an opportunity to talk to him a bit about my feelings, recent findings and insurance issues with UVA, which has been a sore spot for me since it was he who told me the only place to send Sadie was UVA. He explained his reasoning, and I agreed we made the right choice for Sadie, but implored him to respect his patients enough to give them options and explain risks more clearly. Though it is a time of shock and stress, often, when he meets with them, I still feel it's essential to have all the information in front of you so that you can make the best decision for your child. He was very kind, agreed to give more consideration to this and thanked me for my frankness. Good guy.

It's amazing to me every time Sadie's had an echo to see that little heart pumping, it's valves moving, the blood flowing. It reminds me of how far we have come since the day she was born, and what a miracle she is. It reminds me of how lucky we are to have her screaming, hysterical little self as part of our family. And it reminds me of all the people who came together to save this one little life. There I go getting a little weepy...

Enough... we're off to the park to celebrate!!

Local news

Here are the photos from our local newspaper (The Mechanicsville Local) this week.

This, apparently, is big news. The annual Shuck N Pull. Rigged up lawn mowers, men camouflaged so that they don't scare the oysters away, and old women in cartoon bikini shirts. Does it get ANY better than this?

Since moving to Bubbasville, we've found little to do in our local 'neck of the woods.' However, one of our favorite pastimes (that we rarely get to imbibe in) is going to the local BW3s to play trivia and a series of Local games... 'best mullet,' 'tallest hair,' and 'best use of camouflage' being resounding favorites. There's no better place to watch the action in our neighborhood

Send Positive Mojo to 'Manda

On Monday my friend Amanda was diagnosed with leukemia after having several weeks (well, really a few months) of weird symptoms that doctors kept dismissing. She's in for the battle of her life, so please keep her in your thoughts/meditations/prayers/whatever you do to send universal love.

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!

The Operation Sadie Had

OK, two posts in one night, moments apart. But I just came across this on a fellow CHD mom's blog and had to post. This is the surgery Sadie had in order to survive. Hers was not as simple as the Arterial Switch Sadie underwent, as in addition to TGA she also had two holes in her heart (ASD and VSD) to repair, plus complications with lung issues before and after.

Warning: NOT for the faint of heart, the squeamish or those that freak out over surgery videos (That means you, Mom!). This is graphic.

Tough Day

Sadie went in to the doctor today for what I thought was yet another ear infection. The ear was red, but not bad, but what was not good was her chest. It turns out her 02 Sats are lower than they should be (highest they got was 95) and her chest sounded icky, so we were sent to the hospital immediately for an Xray to see if it's pneumonia or something having to do with her history of pulmonary hypertension or heart. Good news (I guess?) is that it's not pneumonia. Bad news is that we don't know what it is. The doctor called me a few hours later and said that we should get the xrays to her pulmonologist (which we don't have and I only recently found out we should be seeing) and cardiologist. It was after hours, so I have to call the cardiologist tomorrow to see what's up. I don't know if this is a "big" thing or not, as the pediatrician's voice mail told us that "nothing specific turned up, but you should follow up". Does that mean there's something? The pessimist in me says yes, as she wants us to see someone else (specialist). The calm attitude about it all with the underlying urgency is alarming, and my bells are going off all over the place.

Sadie's had a couple of spells in the last two months where her lips turned blue, but always when she was cold, so I wasn't too worried. Then, recently she's been panting a lot, but I chalked it up to allergies, which she appears to have (stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy eyes). Now this. Hopefully it's nothing, but I am anxious to get to a specialist. I've discovered through the whole CHD awareness campaign stuff that our care and follow-up post-surgery has been less than adequate through UVA, and I plan to address that and get some answers to the current issues. I just hope and pray it's not a leaky valve, stenosis, or whatever the "maybes" are. None of them sound nice. I'm crossing my fingers for this to be a serious case of over-zealous pediatrician. Please cross yours too.

Katie, as always, was a little champ about it all today. I could tell it was bothering her because she kind of clammed up at the xrays and after. Tonight we talked for quite a while (while dressed in our finest princess apparel) and she told me she was scared and didn't want Sadie to be sick or go to the hospital. We talked about it, and I think she's ok, but she's one serious (and insightful) little girl and takes in more than I know I even realize.

Speaking of Katie, I have a scene from our daily life to share...

"MOTIVATION"

Setting: on the floor in her bedroom, playing Barbies. One of hers is pregnant.
Katie: My Barbie is fat. She is having a baby.
Me: Katie, it's not nice to say someone is fat when they are pregnant. Having a baby inside you is very special, and the baby makes your tummy big because he or she needs room to grow. It's a miracle, and you should never make a pregnant mommy feel bad by saying they look fat.
Katie: Mommy, I'd never say you are fat. You don't have a fat tummy.
Me (knowing she is lying on the tummy part, but pleasantly thankful for her sweet reply): Thank you, sweetie.
Katie: I'd just say your tummy is HUGE.
My exit stage left, as I go to look up Weight Watchers online. Again.

Out of the mouths of babes... (ugh!!)

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.

Post Pascha Prilosec Please

Ugh... pass some relief this way, please. The girls had a fantastic time this Easter, but this momma could crawl into bed and sleep for a year. Who the heck was it that decided plastic eggs and candy should be a part of this day's festivities? Clearly, not a parent.

The morning started with Katie awaking at 5:20 to follow a trail of glittery confetti and eggs that led her to the ultimate payout - Easter basket complete with a new Webkinz and Hannah Montana CD (yes, I am a glutton for punishment, thank you for noticing). She managed to keep things quiet for a little over an hour before waking her sister, who discovered her basket. Sadie proceeded to bite through Hershey kisses wrappers, and when Jason put the basket out of her reach, found a way to get to it, grab candy and then run like all heck to a quiet spot where she could imbibe. Around noon we headed to the Thies clan's homestead in NoVa, where five cousins hunted for 149 more eggs . The ride home was one that even Satan couldn't come close to imagining up as the ultimate punishment in the depths of his fiery kingdom. Two candy-cracked out kids, two irritable parents and an insane lack of sleep led to the best case of heartburn I've ever had. Screaming, kicking (some of it the kids' doing), loud music and a 5-year-old with diarrhea of the mouth, it was one of the longest 1.5 hours of my life. Finally, they are in bed.

Now to hide all the candy they got today, to be given out in small increments over the next, say, three years. I'm sure there's enough that if it were one piece a day we could do that, with a few pieces left over.

Onwards and upwards. I did manage to get out to the office for some quiet moments (now), and read a blog entry in one of the many I keep up with that I'd like to share from AuspicousJot...

To me - resurrection is about the slow invisible pulse of life that flows in our seasons and quickens in Spring.

Resurrection is when you think you can never love again; when your heart is so broken that you let it die instead of trying to heal. When there are years of cold in your heart. And then... and then... you meet someone and you feel it again. The early pangs, the budding, and the full aromatic blossoming of a heart bursting with love. Resurrection.

Resurrection is people who live in the dark and endless tunnels of depression who see a glimmer of light and have the courage and the stamina to start running for it. And the darkness is so much more than that little flicker of light, but they run and run and run.

Resurrection is a hope that more people will resist taking up arms and instead hold hands with strangers. Cities will be rebuilt. Wounds will heal. Peace will be learned and taught.

Resurrection is every person in recovery working the program, going to the meetings, being clean today. Resurrection is starting all over again tomorrow.

Resurrection is apologizing, forgiving, learning from your mistakes, not dwelling on the mistakes of others.

Resurrection is trust, hope, faith, and awe.

Resurrection is leaving a little bit of room in your life for the impossible to take root and become possible.

Resurrection.

Beautifully written. I needed a bit of food for the soul, and this left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling about a beautiful day, and its true meaning. Rock on with your chocolate bunnies, kiddies. Momma's back in the game.

Life with Carly Sparkles

Don't let this photo of a sweetly sleeping dog fool you. She is NOT that way often.

Carly Sparkles's schizophrenia has added to the mayhem that is the Thies household. Here are just a few of the personalities that she has displayed thus far...

Carly the Wanderer. Yes, the pup has total wanderlust. Her yearnings to travel has taken her to every neighbor in our vicinity, despite fences up to six feet high. She digs, climbs and squirms her way into other yards to socialize. She's a conscious traveler, though, and often brings us unique gifts from her explorations, including clothing items, trash, other dogs' toys, and a series of antlers that are currently strewn about our yard (last count, 7 pair). The other day a neighbor from behind our house dropped by to see if we had any of his children's shoes. Alas, we did. Two, actually, one for each of his children. When I mentioned antlers, he admitted that these, too, had come from his yard. Surprisingly, he did not want these trophies back.

Carly the Destroyer. Given the mix of breed, I'm surprised, honestly, that there hasn't been more damage. Mostly, she prefers to chew shoes, diapers (when she can find them) and underwear. However, we've caught her with glass, aluminum siding and, once, chewing on a wrought iron chair.

The real destruction comes from her digging. Through teamwork she's created a six-foot wide hole to gain access under our neighbor's privacy fence to visit his very lonely and neglected black lab mix. Really, in her digging, she's trying to do a good deed, I am convinced. The neighbor is not so appreciative, and on his side has laid down bricks, 2 x 4s and other items to prohibit her entry, and his dog's escape. Carly responds by simply digging deeper or moving down a few inches and starting again. The neighbor will soon run out of bricks.

Carly the Killer. She has a taste for rodents, with a particular palate for squirrels. Once she acquires one, she uses it first as a squeak toy, gently squeezing it in her jaws to get the squeaks she so loves to hear until all the air is out. Then she moves to the tail and uses it to toss her new "toy" in to the air. I have tried to save a few, but often find them in a pretty sad state once wrangled from her, so return them to her so she finishes them off quickly. Her hobby has forced us to create a squirrel cemetery in the bamboo patch behind our home. The first few got crosses on their graves, but Katie quickly grew tired of naming them and making gravestones, so now it's unmarked.

She also goes after moles by "flushing" them out of their holes. She'll hear one in the ground, gauge where it's exit is, then start on the opposite side by digging a hole. She digs until the blind little creature is forced out of its hole, at which she grabs it and begins the squeak toy game. Jason is dismayed by the giant holes pocking our yard, but I'm secretly happy. I hate those critters, and I think Carly's pretty ingenious in her tracking methods. Besides, our yard is now blissfully free of unwanted critters.

Carly the Lover. Carly is quite fond of her people and lets us know every waking moment. She has a tongue that is longer than she is, and loves to lick you when you are not aware she's within radius, eliciting "ewwwws" from the younger inhabitants of our home. She's extremely tolerant of Sadie's constant need to stick her fingers down her throat, pull her tail and give her kisses on her nose, and loves to sleep with Katie when allowed. She especially adores poor old Darla, and puts her paws over the senior dog's shoulders to hug her. Which Darla hates, and responds with by nipping at Carly. Carly is either too stupid or too loving to care, and will return the hate with more love, in the form of inner ear licks. Darla is especially fond of this, and a barking match will shortly ensue. Every once in a while, though, I find the two cuddled up side by side or playing in the yard, and I think that even Darla's come around to the newest addition to our home.

Carly the Protector. Perhaps my favorite part of our newest pet is the fear she elicits in others. Though we know her to be sweet and loving, if people catch wind she's got some pit in her, they instantly fear her. A few weeks ago a woman in PetSmart told me how proud she was to pet Carly - that she'd never been brave enough to pet a "killer" breed before. I just sighed. This being said, Carly can put up a good front when necessary. Recently, an unfriendly dog was barking menacingly and came running at us as we passed its yard on our nightly constitutional. Carly stopped dead in her tracks and began to growl in this eery, scary, deep voice I'd never heard escape her muzzle... and it made my hair stand on end and stopped the dog dead in its tracks. Another woman was walking some furry, yippy little rat on a leash (decked out in some hideous fake fur coat), heading our way at that precise moment. Hearing the growl, she turned on her heal, briskly switched to the other side of the street and high tailed it out of there.

'Atta girl, Carly. I guess you're a keeper.

Justice is Finally Served

On October 16, 2003, Jason's cousin, Taylor Blanton (a Virginia state policeman), was murdered in his home. Three days later, we attended what was one of the saddest and strangest funerals ever imagined. Hundreds filled the building for Taylor's eulogy, packing several rooms.

What was so bizarre about the funeral was watching the murderer, there in attendance. Hugging OUR family. Most of our family suspected who it was, but hadn't had the heart to confront Taylor's dad, Jason's uncle Ray. In fact, Ray and his wife were watching the dog for Donna, Taylor's wife and his murderer, at the time. I shuddered as she was carried past me when she "collapsed" outside of the funeral, and my brother-in-law, who is a firefighter and "in the know" about her pending charges, nudged me and told me to "watch the show."

The procession continued to the graveyard, where many in Jason's family lie. Only a short month before Taylor had been a pallbearer for Jason's brother's funeral, in the same cemetery. The irony was not lost on us. Though I didn't know Taylor any more than a casual acquaintance, I could not hold back the tears as I watched his mother and father, his children and Donna kids in front of the grave. I will never forget was when the police presented the American flag - not to Donna, who stood expecting it - but to Taylor's mother. I knew then that the police had confirmed that she was the murderer.

In the days that followed, we heard the hideous details of Donna's plan for murder, from staging a break in two days before, to a note left on the porch. She even said that Taylor had been shot while she'd been in the shower that morning, preparing to have sex with him, and that she came out when shots were fired, saw Taylor's gun lying on the floor, and fired shots at the fleeing intruder. We held our breaths and hoped that there was enough evidence to nab her.

Four days later Donna was arrested. She finally was convicted in 2005 to 28 years. Our family was appalled and sickened at the light sentence. Then came another blow - she won an appeal based upon the media coverage of the incident in the local area she was tried in, and got a retrial. That trial has been taking place for the last few weeks in Virginia Beach.

This past week, the jurors heard testimonies from two Taylor's kids and Donna's OWN children. (I have the highest respect for those four kids!!) They heard about Donna's web of lies, saw physical evidence and heard the investigator's reports.

Today, the jury recommended life in prison. Finally, a bit of conciliation.

Rest in peace, Taylor. Justice is finally served.

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?!

Last Day!!!

It's the last day of my mega-blog-a-thon and I can not be more relieved. I learned a lot through this experience (shared on the learnaboutchd blog if you're interested), but most of all I learned what great family and friends I have that have undertaken this campaign with me. I really appreciate all of you who posted logos, referenced websites, sent encouraging emails, called, etc. I can't tell you how much it means.

This is just the beginning for me, though I won't be quite so intense about the entire effort (I don't have the energy!). I really feel that CHD awareness is vitally important to tomorrow's unborn children, to our children who have CHD and will soon be adults without experienced medical care available for their special hearts and for moms around the world. I hope you'll join me in these efforts!

Here at home, I'm finally starting to recover. I ate solids and kept them down! Hooray. It's the little things, right?!

Sadie has been in rare form all day. She's learned to climb on top of the coffee table, on the backs of the couches, throwing fits, biting the heck out of me (anyone have suggestions on that particularly lovely behavioral issue?), tore open a package of pretzels stolen from the cabinet, crunching them and spreading them into the carpet, pulled the cat's tail (multiple times), sat on Carly Sparkles (clucking like she was riding a horse) and that's just what happened before noon... she wears me out.

Thank God for her mended heart. How boring and pale life would be without her!

Darn.

So close to my goal of a blog a day, but didn't quite make it. I did put up a post yesterday on learnaboutchd, so I guess that counts, right?

Flu is still raging. I thought I was better this morning, and headed out to work in the office a bit, only to be promptly reminded about 45 minutes later that the flu had not had enough of me yet.

I am dying to get out of this house! Katie doesn't seem to have the flu. Just sore throat and slight fever. Thank goodness. Sadie's still ok. Guess I'm just the lucky one!

I promise to be back to my blogging self soon...

CHD Awareness

Sick today. Please see post on learnaboutchd.blogspot.com.

Four days to go on this silly blog-a-thon idea I had. Ugh.

Flu.

Need I say more?!

I woke up Saturday morning in Boston with my throat raw at 4:00 a.m. I figured it was from playing outside in the snow the night before with only a light jacket on (totally didn't pack right for Boston), so drugged myself with ibuprofen and coffee and headed to the mall for last minute souvenirs. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the flu bug made itself known.

The flight home was uneventful (thankfully) and the kids and the rest of the zoo at our house were most welcoming. I however, just wanted to curl upstairs for some shuteye. Not happening.

Fast forward to today... been battling a 101 temp all day, chills, angry throat, angrier bowels and a raging headache. Katie was great all day - played on her own often, and tried to entertain Sadie from time to time. Sadie, on the other hand, is a teething banshee who was not having anything to do with anything I wanted her to do today.

Whatever happened to sick days?!