There's room for one in the downstairs family room

There were three things Jack wanted for Christmas: Legos (as always), a camera, and an iPod touch. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. No iPod this year. Santa's pockets aren't quite that deep, so Jack will probably have to buy his own like Taylor did.

I had worked really hard to try to convince Taylor she wasn't getting anything at all because she's been bad, but since she has actually not been all THAT bad, Santa came through with a few things, including the iTunes gift card, which was the only thing she had said she wanted. She also got a beautiful cedar chest that my dad built for her.

Addie wanted it all: Barbies, American Girl dolls . . . more barbies, more dolls . . . and a Snuggie. Our Santa is a sucker for a deal, so she got a knock-off Snuggie and a knock-off American Girl doll. She's too young yet to read/care about labels, which is just as well since our Santa isn't much for labels. She also got a scooter, which she promptly fell off on her way to her friend's house and skinned her knee. She is not the most graceful child in the world.

Jack got one of those paddles with the little ball on a string, which kept him and us quite entertained all morning, since he is not good at it. The little ball lit up when it got hit (it didn't light up a lot since Jack was mostly flailing about rather than hitting it) but it looked pretty cool.

The kids even played a board game nicely together . . . for a little while. Before the game ended Taylor got bored and quit. Her punishment for ruining it for everyone was that she had to clean it all up. I guess she didn't learn her lesson, because she pulled the same stunt the next day.

Me . . . well, I was just happy to stay home all day in my jammies. I didn't shower. I didn't even brush my hair. I refused to let the guilt of family obligation get to me about going out for the traditional round of visiting. I stayed home and ate chocolate, played with my kids, laughed at Jack when he hit himself with the paddle ball thingy, enjoyed the fire in the fireplace (a real wood fire, not a modern gas fire), took a nap, and made the very un-Christmas-y dinner of Navajo Tacos. It was as perfect a Christmas as I have ever had, as an adult at least. The only thing thing that could have made it more perfect was if that nasty snow snorm of Tuesday could have come on Christmas morning. A snow storm quickly changes from nasty to beautiful when you don't have to go out in it.

And now that Christmas is over, I have the itch to get it all put away quickly. That's tomorrow's project. And then I'm off to Walmart to see if I can find a screamin' deal on Christmas Tree #3.

Finally . . . pictures

Primary Children's always has the best trees. Lots of the people who buy trees from the Festival of Trees donate them back to the hospital for the children to enjoy. This one is right inside the front doors, just outside the cafeteria. If it doesn't show up well, it is Horton (Hears a Who) climbing on the tree, and the tree is bent over from his weight. It is so cute and a great way to greet all the children (and adults) who come through. We took these pictures on Monday, the 13th, when we were there for a regular appointment. Although I had my camera on Cath Lab day, I failed to take a single photograph.


Everything went perfectly well at Cath Lab on Monday. The cardiologist opted to not close the fenestration after all, since the clots appear to have dissolved and the pressure in her heart was slightly elevated (the fenestration helps keeps the pressures lower). Since they didn't close that up, the procedure only took an hour. They are keeping her on the coumadin a little while at least, and at our follow up visit in February they will likely prescribe an additional medication to help with the pressure in her heart (she's already on one) or put her on oxygen at night.


Addie is not a good waker-upper from anesthesia. As soon as I was able to be with her she was crying and wanting to go home immediately! The anesthesiologist had given her some anti-nausea medication and she was able to keep her juice down for a change, and then moved on to some graham crackers, which she also kept down. As soon as she had eaten a few crackers she perked right up and asked for pizza! So we ordered her some pizza and sprite from the cafeteria and she ate all of my fries (Lane went and got me a cheeseburger) while she waited. She then proceded to eat her entire pizza and goldfish crackers before we left at 3:00. She was in a much better mood after she ate and was back to her usual Ray of Sunshine self.

Another tree by the elevator.

This what happens when you don't download pictures from your camera for a long time. This is Tree Decorating Day, which was apparently a Sunday. I chose this picture because it shows off how tall Jack has grown.

Tonight's dinner. I can't resist photographing a lovely, golden piece of chicken. This is called Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken (or something like that). It was really good. Recipe below. And remember, chicken must always be served with carrots. I'm pretty sure it's a rule.

3/4 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/8 t paprika

1/4 t garlic powder

1/8 t onion powder

1/4 t dried thyme

1/4 t dried parsley

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

2 t garlic powder

3 T lime juice

In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, 1/4 t garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle generously over both sides of the chicken. Heat butter and olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 t garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

Another old picture from November. Jack did this pizza all by himself - dough included. He's getting to be quite the chef. If only I could get Taylor to cook something besides Ramen and baked potatoes . . .

Waiting

So while we wait today at PCMC, I thought I might as well make good use of my time sitting here doing nothing.


For anyone who has never had the opportunity to come to PCMC for a same day surgery, the whole process of simply checking in can be quite an ordeal.


We got a call this morning to come as soon as we could since the first case had been cancelled. We were already on the road by the time of the phone call, but still in PG city limits. Luckily both traffic and weather cooperated and we were here by 8:15. I had anticipated that since they were waiting on us, the whole check-in process would be expidited. I was wrong. First you have to check in on a computer and take a pager (there are never any pagers). Then wait for your pager to beep, or your name to be called (still don't understand the pager concept since the check in desk is about 3 feet away). We waited 20 minutes to check in, even though I told them that we had been summoned early. Once called to the check in desk, Lane and I both get stickers with Addie's name on them and wristbands, also with her name on them. Then we go back to the waiting area and wait some more.


Eventually, our name gets called to go to a pre-op room. Addie gets weighed and measured and her vitals taken. She changes into hospital jammies. Then we wait.


After a while the surgeon or doctor comes by to visit and re-explain what they are going to do and answer any questions. Then we wait.


Then a nurse practitioner comes and explains everything again and answers any questions again. When she is done, she takes us to the OTHER pre-op room. And we wait.


The anesthesiolist comes and speaks to us in Pre-Op #2. Today we were blessed with an exceptionally personable anesthesiologist. He was very thorough and spoke as much to Addie as he did to us. He even offered her the choice of going to sleep with the mask on (which she HATES!!) or having an IV placed. She chose the IV, and I wasn't surprised at all. She has had that mask on so many times and I think it is actually the scariest part of the whole experience for her. They have never given her a choice before. The anesthesiologst went to order the IV placed, and when he came back he said that the nurse practitioner didn't give her a choice because "what 8 year old child would want a poke instead of a mask?" Well, like the anesthesiologist said, kids who have been through a lot of this sort of stuff have been poked a lot and it isn't nearly as scary as that mask, with which they are not as familiar. I was so glad that she got to choose. I think it is very helpful in this sort of a situtation, when the child feels that everything is being done TO them, to let them have some control. I think it helps them feel not so helpless.


So she got her IV placed, and off we went to the cath lab. She started to cry a little bit when we reached the part where we can't go any further with her. The nurses were so sweet and let her hold her babies that we had brought with us.


And now we wait again.


We didn't have any breakfast this morning since Addie was fasting. We figured we would eat after her procedure started. We walked away from her at 10:02.

The cafeteria closes from 10:00 to 11:00 to make the change from breakfast to lunch. Naturally.

And so we wait.

About $15 for a good one

. . . and back again we go to Primary Childrens. I got a phone call today from PCMC to schedule Addie for cardiac catheter lab on December 16. I'm glad they could fit us in before the year was out since our out of pocket max is just about met. So we have a regular follow up appointment on Monday, and then back we go again on the 16th for cath lab. Although I knew we would have to do cath lab, I had somehow forgotten about it - probably due to all the other stuff going on in recent months.


Whenever Addie goes for an echo, Dr. Day always goes "Hmmmm. That's weird." And it's pretty much the same whenever she goes to cath lab. "Hmmm. Didn't expect to see THAT." Dr. Day always shows us the film (?) from the cath and last time he showed 2 films. Silly doctor, he said to us "See that?" (Yeah, it's like looking at an ultrasound - nothing recognizable). "Uh huh," we always say. And then he goes on to explain why it is out of the ordinary. It happens every single time and we've just come to expect it as our normal.


I have reached Full Blown Christmas Panic early this year, as I expected I would. I should be able knock off quite a bit of it this weekend, or at least that is my plan which is sure to be foiled. It is the constant and unexpected foiling of my grand master plan that has put me in this position of Full Blown Christmas Panic a full week earlier than usual. And my Christmas cards aren't even mailed yet!!! One of these years I'm just going to go buy Christmas Cards like everyone else. What is wrong with me that I self-sabatoge with too many projects? I really should seek professional help.


I am in the middle (and by middle, I mean almost the end) of my quarterly pricing review at work. This means that I have to research all of my assigned items and verify that the published pricing is still accurate from the previous quarter. For the most part, I have items to research that are fun to look up - dishes, cooking and baking stuff, home decor, massage items, Christmas trees and decorations, . . . you know, fun stuff. I even have to do research on things like blood pressure monitors and bathroom scales that, while not exactly fun, isn't objectionable. Good stuff. Fun times. I also have really awful stuff (by my own infalable estimation). Baseball cards. Hospital beds. Handheld urinals. Yes, that's handheld urinals. Not so much fun. Not fun at all, in fact. But I can tell you when you are, or are not, getting a good deal next time you need to buy one. 'Cause you just never know when you are gonna need one.

Cruise - Part II

We took another trip to Tulum. When the ship docked at Cozumel, it was raining. When we went to meet the ferry to take us over to Playa del Carmen, it rained even harder. It let up some once we got over there, but rained again as we drove to Tulum. Happily, it stopped raining for exactly the amount of time we were at Tulum. When we left, it started to rain again, and contined to rain as we crossed on the ferry. (NOTE: Take Bonine before taking the ferry at Cozumel.) We were among the first getting off the ship, and almost the last getting back on. It make for a frantic day of rushing around and we didn't even get a chance to shop for a single souvenir in Mexico.

Although we had scheduled to go again with Helaman, we were instead met by Helaman son-in-law, Carlos. He did a good tour for us, which was different enough from Helaman's tour of 3 years ago to make me feel like it was all brand new. Tulum is still breathtaking, not only in the ruins themselves, but also the way it sits up on the cliff overlooking the ocean.


These stairs down to the beach were washed out on our last visit from a recent hurricane.

The next day we had a day at sea, so I killed some time trying to get a picture of me and Lane. He kept pulling faces - but none so funny as this one. I laughed and laughed until I cried. The ship photographer took a pretty funny one of him at dinner one night, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay $20 for it. We laughed thinking about what the cashiers reaction would have been if we had taken it up to purchase. Still - it wasn't as good as this one. I don't care what anyone says. I'm blowing it up and putting it on my desk. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Yep. That's champagne. One of my frustrations this cruise was that instead of giving away their "Ship on a Stick" trophies like they have in years past to winners of various games, this year they only gave away champagne. I'll have to write a letter to Carnival about that because I refuse to believe that we were the only 6 non-drinkers on the entire ship. And I wanted another trophy! Anyway, I have a bottle of champagne now (yes, we brought it home), and my friend Jennifer has one too. We would have had a 3rd if not robbed in one competition! It still hurts.

The other good thing about this picture is photographic evidence of Lane in a Hawaiian print shirt. He actually has 3 of them and he will only consent to wearing them on the cruise ship. He does it under duress and only to please me. But whatever it takes, you know?

Cruise - Part I

Oh, the silky, soft sand of the Carribbean islands. Our first stop on our trip was at Grand Cayman. We've been there before, 2 years ago, and we did the Stingray thing. This time we visited 7 Mile Beach and paid nearly $40 for a mediocre lunch. The day was warm enough, not hot, and we enjoyed a long walk on the beach and some souvenir shopping around town. There were 4 cruise ships there that day, so it was crowded downtown and the streets and sidewalks are narrow and the car traffic is always heavy so getting around town is a bit frustrating when your life-long philosophy is that crowds should be avoided.

Please don't notice that I still have old nail polish on my toes. I'm so ashamed.

The silky soft sand of the Carribbean islands is accompanied by crystal clear water. It's my Happy Place.

The water is too shallow for cruise ships to come all the way in to a pier, so they anchor a ways out and transport passengers in and back by tender. This is Lane and I headed back to the ship on the tender. This is also one of the few decent photographs of Lane before he decided to be non-cooperative in photo-taking.

This is our ship as we approached it on the tender. And we were one of the smallest ships there that day. You can see another tender alongside the ship.

Looking back over the back edge of the ship. I'm surprised this turned out this well since the sun was bright in my face and I couldn't really see what I was doing.

Baptism

Addie was baptized on Saturday. How is it possible that 8 years have passed since those early, scary days of her life? We went through weeks of agony, wondering if we would even be able to bring our baby home, and now here we are, 8 years later, with a beautiful girl who is too healthy for her own good. You would never know there was anything wrong with her - and sometimes we manage to forget. What a blessing she has always been to us.


So it was with great pride and gratitude that I helped her change into her white clothes to be baptized. She, too, was very excited about the whole thing. She smiled at everyone who came to share her special day, and listened reverently to the speakers.


When her turn came to be baptized, I walked with her into the changing room, and opened the door to the font, where her dad was waiting. It was at this point that she fell apart. I don't know if she was overcome by the magnitude of being baptized . . . or feeling the spirit . . . or just plain scared. But she cried. And cried. I hugged her tight and told her how much we love her. Finally she nodded that she was ready, and off she went to be baptized. Poor Lane - it must have seemed like an eternity that he was standing there, wondering what was going on.


It is sort of a sad thing to have the last one baptized. It is such an exciting day: a day they are old enough to always remember, a day they have been anticipating since they were in nursery.


This was especially important to me because Addie never had a Blessing Day. This was her first Big Day in the world of Mormon milestones. She was blessed the same day she was born. Lane and his dad gave her a blessing and they were the only ones in attendance. We had received permission from our bishop to give her the blessing there at PCMC because her prognosis was so precarious, we wanted to get her on record . . . just in case. They couldn't even put their hands on her head - they had to do her foot because it was the only part of her tiny body not hooked up to something.


Well, after some pretty scary days and nights over the course of those 7 weeks in November and December, we were able to bring her home and she has thrived and been amazingly healthy. I think she only ever had 1 ear infection and rarely got sick (other than a few occurances of RSV and croup). She still doesn't get sick with all the stuff going around as much as the rest of us do. There is no logical explanation for it - we were told she would always be small-ish and sickly looking. My faith tells me it comes from the words of the blessing given that Halloween afternoon, 8 years ago; words of a blessing I never heard with my ears . . . but felt with my heart.