The Other Side of The Stethescope

The past few weeks have been harrowing ones. About three weeks ago I got spit on while examining a 3 year old little girl. Then about 5 days after that I developed a crazy case of conjunctivitis. The red eyes lasted for about 5 days before I developed a fever and terrible sore throat for another 5 days. Then as I was getting better the kids got the bug. I was glad that I already had the bug because I wasn't as concerned when they had very prolonged fevers of 3-4 days. But then when Tristan was still with very high fevers and developed a rash I started to get concerned about some sort of bacteremia or Kawasakii's Syndrome.

Monday, the day after the rash developed I made an appointment first thing in the morning. As Tristan's fever seemed to lessen I cancelled the appointment. Then I thought better of it and rescheduled it again! We went in the afternoon after his nap to the Pediatrician and his fever promptly broke in the office. However at that point we had bought ourselves a more significant work-up. Tristan got catheterized and a heel stick in the office which showed clean urine but a slight white count. We would have expected the white count to go down with a virus so the Pediatrician was concerned enough to send us to Scottish Rite. We went to the ER there and the doctor that saw us there was concerned enough by the white count of 22 and elevated CRP and sed rate to admit us to the hospital.

In the waiting room of the ER there is this really fascinating machine that the kids can control that sets these wheels in motion around a very fun obstacle course. Once they are set in motion by the kid the balls are in for a wild, suprising and sometimes frightning journey. I began to feel just like these balls in the machine. I think that once a chain of events is set in motion sometimes it is impossible to stop it.

Off we went dutily to our hospital bed. We must have got settled in around 9 or 9:30 PM. It was a little overwhelming getting a lot of information all at once at the end of a long day. I have a hard time in hospitals. I have a hard time asking for things and being a patient so I wasn't being very diligent about getting answers. I just wanted to get settled and get Tristan some rest.

We were finally seen by the hospitalist on the floor at around 11. He was not very impressed by the Kawasakii's picture which I was glad of. He wanted to make sure his fever did not spike again so we settled in for a little rest. Tristan fell asleep after a fit sitting up with his head leaning on the guard rail. After he was settled and I was almost dozing off they came in to take his vitals AGAIN. I protested and they slunk away. Then at 3 AM they came in to tell me that they were going to need to get a urine and could they put a bag on him. I couldn't believe that they were actually considering disturbing him again to do that. I let them know that I would get it in the AM. Then at 4 AM they came in to put the numbing cream on his arms so they could get the labs drawn. The nurse seemed suprised that he was so upset about being awoken again. (At this point in the night he had torn his IV out) Then at 5 AM they came in to do vitals, followed by the phlebotomist to get the lab draw.

At this point Tristan was really restless and not settling back down so I got into bed with him and we slept until around 7:30 with some restlessness and waking in between. After we were awake we were starving and had no idea how to get food! I guess I expected somebody to bring us something. I figured out how to order the food and the lady at the nurses station said it would be up in 15-20 minutes and if not then she would "put a rush on it". After about 20 minutes I called and they said that no that the food usually takes about 30-45 minutes. I was starting to get a little desperate at this point and wanting to break free of the place since my child was clearly very healthy and fever free.

After a little nudging the nurse was more persistent about calling to spur the pediatrician along. He came and saw us around 11 AM and agreed to let us go. The labs testing for adenovirus were still pending but he was not concerned enough about Tristan to keep us there.

I was reminded of a lot during this experience. I was reminded of my Great Grandmother's words, "You won't ever get what you want if you sit there with your mouth all pinched up". You have to be both persistent and respectful in order to get your needs met in this world.

Tristan is fine and safe and sound at home. He was very traumatized by all of the procedures. I am so very thankful that we do not have sick children. I am reminded of all of the brave Moms and Dads who battle cancer, kidney and heart disease and I am so very humbled.

The experience also left me wondering if the extra cautiousness around our case is due to a more caring society or a more letigious society. What I was really looking for in all of this was just a little reassurance that my medical decision making process was on track. However my worst fears were multiplied by the medical system. I was left with the cynical feeling that I forced their hand.

In the words of William Ross Wallace, "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World". However the hand that rocks the boat of our crazy healthcare system rules not it's own destiny!

Just for fun

Christmas Shopping and Meanies

There were such a mean man today in Target. The lines were a million miles long and this guy inadvertently cut in front of another guy. The guy who got cut in front of says, "Merry Christmas". Then a whole series of passive aggressive moves insues. So ridiculous. "The Humanity!!"

It must be true that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they deal with lost luggage, a rainy day and tangled Christmas tree lights. But I think it is also true that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they deal with a crowded Target in December.

Pig Tales And The Power of Childhood Memories

This morning we went on a perilous trip to ride "The Pink Pig" at Lenox Mall. There were bad thunderstorms all over Atlanta but the thought of staying home with the headache I had was terrifying. I was so excited to take part in this Atlanta tradition once again. I knew that I was probably going to be disapointed by it's current location since I remember The Pig being on top of Macy's in downtown Atlanta. But I was feeling nostalgic about this part of Atlanta history so off we trecked through the driving wind and rain. The line was short since it was a Wednesday morning and we road the train for about 5minutes to the tune of 3 dollars per person. It is hard to say if it is my perspective as an adult or if The Pink Pig really isn't all that cool. It is now in a tent on top of the parking garage at Lenox Mall. Somehow it is less charming than the monorail ride that once was above Macy's in downtown Atlanta and prior to that gave a great view of the toy department from the ceiling of the store. (Brilliant marketing by the way) I also wonder if the boys will have as fond a memory of the Pig as I did seeing as it is Pink! They don't really care about that kind of stereotypical stuff right now but going forward will their "boy filters" color their percepeption of this memory. The kids have been talking about the "Pig choo-choo" all morning and I think they had a good time. They liked wearing the stickers too. What strikes me is the fact that the power of a childhood memory can drag a grown woman and her two children out of the house on a blustery fall day down to Buckhead to ride on a pink pig.

Santa and The New Haircuts

I am a slacker on this now that I am thouroughly obsessed with Facebook. We had a great Thanksgiving and now it seems like Christmas is hurtling towards us at the speed of light! Although we had a rough day yesterday Adam and Tristan are really getting into a mode that is really fun. They can be left alone for short periods to play together. Tristan is starting to settle down and actually listen to a book. We are having a ball getting ready for Christmas and Tristan is catching onto Adam's enthusiasm.

Today we went to get our haircut and to the mall to get pictures taken with Santa. We got in a group of about 60 Pre-K kids. Luckily they let us in the middle and they were pretty quick. Tristan looks so cute with his "big boy" haircut. I was dreading actually doing it but now he looks so cute. I was scared he was going to loose all of his babyness. I'm suprised at how blonde he is still!




Tristan is really singing a lot lately. He loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Adam wants to spell out every word he sees. He is developing such a sweet manner and a compassion towards others.

I am cherishing this time so much. They already look so big in Santa's lap. It's crazy to think that we don't have too many more years left of this kind of Christmas. Seems like we had forever when we were young.

Santa letter and other good stuff

We wrote this letter to Santa today and I was so proud of how well Adam wrote his name. With his left hand of course! I think his handwriting will be better than mine pretty soon.

I also wanted to post Tristan's precious foot which is a little late!


This post is not at all coherent just a conglomeration of things I want to remember jotted down while the kids are coloring and playing cars.

We took Daddy down to the airport this AM and when we were driving through Atlanta Adam says, "This is an 'orgeous city, WOW" We are having a nice freezing cold Sunday.

Cute Kids

I never take the time to update this with cute things my kids do and this is the most important thing for me to write down. So if you don't care anything about my kids you will probably want to find another blog!

Tristan is getting so big and starting to really talk in "sentances". Today at dinner he was telling me he wanted a spoon. A second later he was saying "peas". So I got up to get him some more peas and disregarded the spoon command. After bringing him the peas he promptly pitched a fit. I had no idea what was going on. Luckily Daddy figured out and went to get him a spoon. The lightbulb clicked on and I asked him, "oh you want a spoon to eat your peas". This was followed by enthusiastic nodding and "yeah, yeah, yeah". He is starting to pronounce things really well and really likes saying his "k's" at the end of "milk" and "book". He sounds like a little German baby!

This afternoon we were playing Simon Says. I am always amazed at how animated Tristan is. He craves being the center of attention. Nothing could stump him. He was so excited to even do a dance, turn a summersault or sing a song on command during the game. He wants to be just like big brother.




Adam is really maturing too. In the past it has been hard to get much more than one word answers out of him about preschool. If I asked him who he played with he would only give me a yes or no when I asked him specifically. Today he told me a whole long story about what he and Brooks did on the playground. There is starting to be a lot more complex interaction which is fun.

Yesterday at naptime we were reading a story and Adam raises his hand to say "Dogs don't really talk". Who knows how long he had been working that one out in his head.

Lastly when we were playing over at Lori's yesterday I was laughing when Adam comes over to the group who was digging a hole in the ground and says "Can I please play with you guys". So sweet and cautious. Not sure where he gets that from.

Doing it The Old Fashion Way

Lately I have been struggling with Trespassing. Not only the act of others trespassing on my property but struggling with the fact that I actually care. (I have a philosophical debate with myself about if land/property can really be owned.) For the past two years or so we have had a pack of middle schoolers who hang out in our yard in the afternoon when they get off the bus. They used to let them off just a couple of feet up the road and they never really bothered us but since they changed the route to right in front of our house they have taken up residence in our yard. We called the school board to see if they would change the stop but no dice. It is not uncommon for the kids to just hang out even when I am outside with my kids playing. They don't really realize at this age that other people exist and that you might not want to cuss in front of little children.

I am pretty nonconfrontational by nature. I have been thinking that I need to find these kid's parents and talk to them. I just hate this sort of thing. I am reminded of the fact that this is what has always created stability and conformity in a community is the concept of accountability. "Back in the Day" kids actually feared doing stupid crap in public because their Mamas might find out. So yesterday when the kids were playing a football game in my front yard for a good half hour I had had enough. For some reason I still think that I am going to scare them off when I come outside. They didn't budge. They continued their game with their backpacks strewn all over my yard. So I took one of the backpacks and took it inside my house with the full intention of calling his Mama! I got busy with dinner and at about 5 oclock I was looking in his backpack and looking up Mom in the directory. It was about then that the kid rang the doorbell with his tail between his legs. I had a little talk with him about why it isn't a good idea to hang out on people's property without their permission. He was very apologetic and I felt like such an old crow!

I am kind of sorry that I didn't get to call his Mama. Eventhough I hate that sort of confrontation I still crave a community with presence and awareness of others. I pray that I can raise my children with these qualities. I hope that if they struggle along the way that somebody will call their Mama!

End Of Season 2008

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Haunting!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Old Desks, New Technology

Just had to post a picture of the rolltop desk we fixed up. It was my parents' when they were married and has now come into my possession. It is now a very fancy computer desk for the kids!

Spooky Halloween Baking

Monday we spent the afternoon baking some halloween sugar cookies. Tristan liked eating the black sugar. He looked pretty spooky. I also attached some video and pictures taken on our trip up to Madison Springs. Tristan is getting to be a little performer.

Minor Disasters...Shelves Not So Sturdy

Today I had a pretty rough day with the marketing scene. After a day of getting many rejections I picked my boys up and went to the grocery store. I actually had the idea earlier in the week that I should be going around to these "minute clinics" in drug stores that are staffed by nurse practitioners and do a little networking there. So as I am in Publix this lady randomly walks up to me and hands me the info about "The Little Clinic" that is there in Publix. So I got to drum up a little business there in Publix. Kind of serendipitous.

So we go home and I am trying to get groceries unloaded and get outside for a little time with the kids. I put all of the apple cider on the top shelf of my pantry. There were already some heavy things up there and we definately found out the strength of our adjustable albeit seemingly sturdy shelves. This is the end result...





So I have spent the entire night trying to put that back together. I guess we should look on the bright side. I needed to go through the shelves anyway and see what I could throw out. What a mess. This is the end result of my re-org!

Note apple cider now on bottom shelf!

I can't believe that this is the biggest news of my day. I used to be such an interesting person. :) Today I tested the strength of both my pantry shelves and my husband's heart as I was a raging "Beeee-ach" today. He was his normal patient self and didn't take the bait. Lucky I am to have this sweet family. More posts on them to come.

I Miss Larry

We need Larry Munson to call the game this weekend. Can somebody please bring him out of retirement!? I have been wondering this week what is going on in the Florida locker room after our very unsportsman like behavior last year in Jacksonville. Found this online and thought it was interesting. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3665398

Soccer Stars

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Catching Up

Thought I should write a little about my actual life! This weekend was really low key after a kind of stressful week. Finalized our plans to head out to Seattle. We moved into our new office last week and it is beaufiful. Starting to see some actual patients so that is nice. I have been driving my guys to school since I am pretty slow at work right now. Then Molly was in a bad wreck in the morning going to school. She is o.k. but it is one of those things that gives you pause about how delicate our lives are. Tristan has been so excited about the potty these days we thought we would try a little potty training this weekend. I think he is still pretty young but Saturday he did awesome. Only used two diapers the whole day. Sunday was a little different. Even Adam was having issues after being trained for well over a year. He has had some accidents the past couple of days which is very unusual for him. He told me that he did it on purpose when I asked him. Said that he was frustrated. We talked a lot about jealousy. I don't know if we should be working on all of this right now but when your 19 month old can say "Pee pees coming out" it might be time to try I guess! Tried to catch up this weekend on some scrapbooking. I was horrified to realize that I hadn't scrapped anything since January!! How did it get to be October?? I was looking through all of our pictures back to when Adam was little. It is all going by so fast.

Rapping it up

Comic Relief

Corbin's 2nd Birthday

On Saturday the 4th we headed up to Liz's Mom's place in Marble Hill to celebrate Corbin's 2nd birthday. It was a beautiful day and fun was had by all. Adam was with Daddy at his soccer game. Tristan was a party animal as usual. Kristen and Marc were there with their big kids. Hard to believe that Kara is 11!! Also met Liz's neigbors and their three kids who are really sweet. Happy birthday Corbin!

Bail outs and other crises

We are having a fun week despite personal and public crises. Monday the house rejected a bail out bill. The senate is supposed to vote on it this evening so we are watching with fingers crossed on that one. It is amazing how this issue has been so politicized and distorted. It has set up sort of a perfect storm for our economy and it is quite scary. Robert has been explaining a lot to me in detail and it is amazing at how there is so much misinformation out there. It seems to me that what happens here and what happens in a month with the election will determine the course of country for sometime. It seems like we are on the brink and it is hard to tell what is on the other side. Could be disaster, could be rebirth.

Despite the turmoil it is nice to know that little ones continue unjaded by our self inflicted drama. Adam continues to fight his nap and his brother. Monday we went to the park with our friends Clara, Isaac and Alondra. Tuesday I was home with Adam on a sick day. He had a fever that started Monday night and we were up all night. I got about one hour of sleep. Although I was sad for Adam to be sick it was kind of nice to slow down for a minute. He vegged out in front of the T.V. and slept a bunch and I got a ton of work done in the house.

This morning we went to Peachtree Ridge park over in Suwanee which is really nice. There are so many nice parks in Gwinnett. It is a glorious day with a high of about 71 degrees. Nice change of pace since it has been so warm.

Blackouts and Stage Fright

For some reason I cannot access my network to post some pics on this computer so I thought I would just update the blog without photos for a change. Adam is now doing choir at church. He loves it. I am really suprised. He loved all the songs. He had his first performance on Sunday. It is funny because it is always the same thing with cherub choirs. There are always a couple of kids (usually girls) who are steeling the show and singing really loudly. Then there are the kids that are just kind of staring at the director. Then there are the kids that are just crying their eyes out. Adam was the staring kind. I kind of had a prediction that he would do that.

We had a our second soccer game on Saturday which was fun but a little less organized since we were missing some players and Dads. Adam played all but 2 minutes of the game. He was worn out.

Funny story from last week. Last Sunday (the 21st) we went to church with Lynn and the message in Adam's class was "God wants us to obey". He has been talking about that a little. Meanwhile on Wednesday we went to church for Wednesday night supper and choir. We got a CD with all the choir music on it and Adam loves listening to it. We didn't really talk about the fact that these two places are church or that those places were where we learn about God. So Thursday when we were getting in the car after school he says, "I want to listen to the 'God wants me to obey' songs". He had drawn that correlation all by himself. It was one of those moments where you realized you had a big boy and not a little baby anymore.

Adam is still making me crazy with the napping situation. I have tried the past couple of days without putting him down for a nap and that did not go well. I hate this transition phase. He just came out of his room for the 10th time while I was writing that last sentance. He doesn't always need a nap but he can't really go the whole day without one either without being completely miserable.

Tristan is a cutey patootie. He is getting gigantic. At his doctor's visit today he was 34.5 inches and 30 lbs. Pretty big for 18months. He knows how to throw his weight around too. As sweet as he is he can throw some fits!! I was proud of both of them in the grocery store today especially since we went right after the shots. Tristan threw a little fit right at the beginning putting him in the cart but the rest of the shopping was smooth. Adam was walking around helping me find things. I don't know why it is so hard for me to catch onto the way he is developing sometimes. I forget that he is pretty big and mature and that he can help with these things now.


And alas....the blackout condition in Athens last weekend. What a tragedy. I have to say I was pretty proud of my Dawgs in the 3rd quarter. I kind of saw it coming with all of the penalties we have been drawing this season. Watching the games for the past couple of weeks I have been a little worried that they might come back to bite them. (actually no pun intended) Hopefully we will tighten up over the next two weeks and destroy Tennessee. I think there will be a rematch in Atlanta in December. I can't believe we dropped down to number ELEVEN in the polls though right in front of Florida who was beat by an unranked team! Alabama looks pretty incredible and I wouldn't be suprised if they win the whole ball of wax.

He's Got the Whole World

Today we went to sign Adam up for the cherub choir at church. He has his first concert on Sunday! He was so cute singing and signing the whole song after practicing for just a half hour. He wanted to listen to the song over and over again.

We definately needed to go to church today. I was loosing my cool with Adam most of the afternoon. We ran a ton of errands in the morning and I was on a mission to get some things organized like the car, playroom and the shoes in our garage. Sometimes when I get too focused in on tasks and getting things done the little ones like to remind you to stay in the moment!

Festivals, Face Painting and First Soccer Game

This past weekend was fun filled and money draining! Saturday kicked off with Adam's first soccer game. He LOVED it! I was amazed at how great they did. They all played so nicely together and it is all that he wanted to do for the rest of the day. Tristan wanted to get in on the action too!

After naps we took a quick trip over to "Suwanee Day" which was pretty fun. There were a lot of people and Tristan loved looking at all the dogs. We had a smoothie and payed for one pass to go on the inflatables and we had spent 20 bucks!!

Sunday we went to visit Lynn. We started out the day early and went to the 9 o'clock service at her church. As I am sitting there I realize that the pastor is my former pastor from Wesley at UGA. I couldn't believe it. Got to talk to him a little bit.

After naps we headed over to the North Georgia Fair which was a definate cultural experience. I can't imagine how people can afford to stay there for more than a couple of hours. I think I spent about 80 bucks on rides, face painting and food! Crazy. The kids had a blast. Adam fell asleep on the long car ride home but Tristan was awake until we got home.

Politics, Thunderstorms and Three Year Olds

Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about the extremism in the presidential race these days? We now have set up a scenerio where there are two polar oposites running against each other. This cannot be good. In Georgia we know what happens when warm moist air and a cold front collide...hellfire and brimstone in the form of thunder and lightening.

Obama and Palin have both had some "splainin' to do" about their religious affiliations. Maybe there is too much spin involved and maybe it is too late and I am reading too much into all of this but it just leaves me more than a little uneasy. I feel like this race is starting to disolve into a debate about dogma instead of democracy. I'm afraid that this election might be determined by 20 second sound bites and catch phrases. As an aside...I found a web site that rates the top 100 catch phrases. http://www.tvland.com/originals/catchphrases/quotes.jhtml I think it is hillarious that "Ask not what your country can do for you" is right ahead of "D'oh". Kind of sums up why we are in this situation today.

Speaking of volatile conditions Adam was absolutely insane today. I really don't know what I am doing wrong. Just a highlight.... We were at the post office with a line a mile long where I needed to wait to send this &%$#*&% package back to Disney. Adam was all over the place and Tristan was in the stroller. I didn't think that he was bothering anybody so while I was filling out the certified mail slip (and becoming certifiable myself) I let him wander a bit while keeping an eye on him. Some well meaning good citizens in line went and tried to coerce him back to me. He came back over to my side briefly but I was having to speak to him every 10 seconds about something he shouldn't be doing. One of the ladies who was trying to corral him said, "He needs to work on his listening skills just a little bit don't ya think." I just looked at her and said, "Yeah, thanks for the tip" Then she says "I don't want to embarass you". I thought to myself, "I'm not embarassed, I didn't do anything, he is a three year old and you are annoying". Ooooh storm clouds were a brewin'!! Electricity in the air.

By the time I got to the front of the line I found that I couldn't send the package certified mail unless I payed for the whole thing myself. (I had already waited for 2 weeks to get this stupid pre-paid label) So I just dropped the package in the mail which is what I could have done 2 days beforehand. Ugghhh. I still was calm at this point and not letting anything get to me. Then naptime came. Adam is just testing me to the absolute brink. I can't even really talk about it I am so just at my wit's end.

For some reason for the past couple of days I have been waiting for storm clouds which never seem to come. The heat and humidity just seem to linger and I am so tired of summer. The forecast says that cooler temperatures are on the way tomorrow but I still sit and wait for my thunderstorm. What is it in us that craves the collision of light and dark, hot and cold, right and wrong. It seems sometimes only in conflict can we usher in a new day. I long to feel the peace of passivity and non-resistance in my heart, in my home and in my country not the harshness of a battle of wills and ideology.

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. (Chinese proverb)

Down with the mouse and other mixed blessings

Can I just go on a little rant right now. So as some of you know my credit card info was stollen last month and I am starting to believe it might actually be the Disney Movie Club that started this account fraudulently. They have sent all these movies to my house and said that I am signed up for the Disney Movie Club. Of course this was a fraudlent charge on my account. They will not close the account until I send the movies back. I demanded a pre-paid envelope two weeks ago which has still not arrived. The supervisor actually had the nerve to say that they are victims when this sort of thing happens as well. Right like I am supposed to feel sorry for a trillion dollar corporation. BAD BUSINESS. Anyway, just a very very minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things but one of those things that I wanted to make sure I talk about since I don't want anybody voluntarily signing up for this club!

This afternoon we went to see Grandma Chris and Grandpa Buddy. They seemed like they were doing o.k. Instead of heading back home in trafic we went to eat at the Crescent Moon which was awesome since it was "kids eat free" night and free face painting. (The things that excite me) Face painting just isn't what it used to be. Adam got the most awesome snake on his arms. The food was not at all good which is weird since it used to be my favorite place to go in Decatur.

Later in the evening I found out that my uncle had a seizure in the parking lot on the way to his radiation treatment. He is in the hospital now. Not sure what I expected but I was surely hoping that their first day would be a little easier than this. I know Sharon must be exhausted. For anybody who reads this please keep them in your prayers.

It was one of those days which started out with minor annoyances and ended with God bringing it back full circle and reminding me that all of this is just an illusion. I know that he is telling me to be still and know.

Sarah Palin

I must preface this blog by saying I am an independant. I do not vote the party line. I am not all that excited about Sarah Palin nor am I very offended by her. The past few days have been very interesting watching both the mainstreem media and the alternative press attack her viciously. It is misogyny like I do not remember seeing ever. I think that the extreme left thinks that because she is a conservative woman that she is not really entirely human and can therefore completely disregard her as a person.

I was slightly amused yesterday by her speech (only stayed awake for part of it). To me it was a little like watching a scene from Fargo. So I went on youtube looking for satire about it. I was looking for something that would just make fun of her a little. This is one of the more benign and I think funny things I found on there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEW12XLUM7A (I'm pretty sure that is my friend Nancy.) I am amazed at what horrible things I found. I really do not want to even repeat them here. I'm sure if you look at the post you will stumble upon them. So horrifying.

Birthdays and Airport food

Last day of August. I am so excited! It is my least favorite month. On Saturday we set out on some more adventures to the park and to watch the planes take off from Briscoe Field. There is a little restaurant there with a patio and you can sit out and watch the planes and the occasional jet take off and land. I can't believe we have never been there before. The kids loved it!

Saturday afternoon after naps we went up to Pendergrass to Jamie and Josie's 13th birthday. Mom and Sam met us there with Tristan in tow. The kids had a ton of fun jumping on the trampoline and Abby loved playing dress up with the girls' shoes. It was a little chaotic having three little ones at a party. When there are so many big people there are so many places for them to hide! Jolee and the girls were gracious hosts as usual and even let us spray off the kids in the shower as they were filthy.

This morning was a real juggling act with all three kids in the house. It went by really fast though. The Tristan factor really changes things up a bit. I am in awe of women who do this everyday and seem to do a really good job at it. It is nice to work part-time. Not too many profound sentiments this afternoon. I am exhausted. :)

Yellow River Fever

Here it is...my first blog. Wow so this is what it's like. I have been wanting to do this for sometime and finally inspired by having just too much fun today. I wanted to call somebody everytime Adam or Abby said anything funny. Some background..



Yesterday I got a wild hair after talking with my friend Lynn. We were lamenting over how long it has been since we have seen each other and how our respective children were driving us absolutely crazy. On Wednesday I had sent Adam to "camp Grandma" up in Madison Springs and enjoyed some "one on one" time with Tristan. The idea was to trade off kids on Thursday and then meet up again on Saturday where I would take all of my offspring home with me.



After hanging up with Lynn I got a crazy idea that I could take her little one Abby up with me to "camp Grandma" and Adam and Abby and I could come back on Friday to Lawrenceville and make a fun weekend of it. Lynn and Abby agreed and we were on our way to Madison Springs!



Tristan happily "chatted" with Abby all the way up to "camp" which really means Tristan babbled all the words he knows and Abby recapped by telling me "Tristan said shoe. My brother Luke doesn't know how to say that yet" and so on down Tristan's list. Tristan was captivated by Abby and relished all of the attention he got from Adam's girlfriend.






So Thursday night was a great night at Camp Grandma. We cooked out over at the "campsite". For those of you who haven't been to the campsite yet my parents put in a sweet little campsite on the area where my aunt Audrey's home used to be. There is a screened in porch, a blacktop, a firepit and their vintage Airstream trailer. We sent Tristan home to bed with Grandma and roasted marshmallows over the fire pit. What a blast.



Today we came back to Atlanta and went to the Yellow River Game Ranch. The ranch is a great place that has been there since before I was Abby and Adam's age. It is a petting zoo/regular zoo. They have such a variety of animals and you could spend hours there with kids. It was amazing to watch them run around together because it struck me that they are creating there own real bond together. They have been forced together because their parents are great friends and until the past year or so they mainly engaged in "parallel play". Now I can see the formation of a real relationship and it is fascinating. I couldn't help but wonder if they would always be friends. The chances of real friendship enduring are slim considering the difference in their gender and the likelihood of their separation. I was then struck with the reality of the fact that all we are promised is this moment and that I should just be living in it with them! Kids understand that so much better than we do.

It is funny how a change in scenery or changing out your kids can make all the difference in the world not just for the parent but for the child as well. Abby has so many wonderful qualities and like any child so many not so pleasant ways of expressing herself. It was so nice to deal with somebody else's idiosyncrasies for a while but at the same time I still felt very indoctrinated into my own family drama. It reminds me of when I was in Peace Corps and we would visit our friend's sites. We each had our own horrible things about where we lived and each of us had completely adapted to them even if it was a dysfunctional adaptation. I would visit my friend Ariann and just be so inconvenienced by the distance (and peril) of the travel but she would visit me and be aghast by my lack of water system. Raising a child is so similar. Whatever it is going on in your little world you just suck it up and trod through. It is nice to be intimately involved in somebody else's world like I have been with Abby these two days. It helps so much just to create space around your own issues and trials. It really does "take a village". Never has the need for community been more apparent to me. Lynn keeps thanking me for helping with Abby but just like in all experiences of giving, you get back what you give in spades.