It is now January 13 and I am writing as I lie here next to Brianna as she sleeps sick with some bug. She threw up at least seven times since waking up this morning and this is the first day she has missed school so far. For all that she seems to be taking it rather well. She is getting so mature! She can read basic books now with very little assistance. She is into Hannah Montana, which is purely via peer influence as she has never seen Miley Cyrus in any program or movie. She also is developing nurturing skills since getting kittens for Yule/Christmas.
The kittens were rescues from New York City in the municipal pound where they kill fairly quickly. The rescue organization in Stamford had the little brothers neutered and up to date on all immunizations. They were twelve week old tuxedo coat mixed breeds with upper respiratory infections and ringworm fungus patches when we got them. The organization was great in supplying us with medicine for free however, and they are in almost tip-top shape now. Brianna named "hers" Boston, short for the Red Sox, and Maya named hers "Baby." Baby is slightly more outgoing than Boston at the moment, and Brianna enjoys cradling him and toting him around like a child. He loves the attention and she loves the fact that he allows her to lug him around. They both have Siamese in them and purr, talk and play a lot. They are also natural fetch and retrieve cats, playing fetch with no training and bringing toys right back to the thrower.
On to our other little love muffin, Maya. She is healthy at the moment with the exception of some out of range labs that we are investigating. Her stomach "G-tube" was accidentally yanked out by me one night in late December when I grabbed her by the front of her pajamas in her crib to pull her up to change her. I felt and pop and she cried for about 20 seconds. Of course I rushed her into our bedroom, opened the pajamas and found the mushroom end of the tube now outside of her body. Victoria called the GI doc on duty and he said not to worry, it might leak a bit for a few days but should close right up. It did not leak and did close right up and we were able to avoid the cost and trauma of sedating her again to have it removed by her GI doc, which was scheduled for January 16. She was so relieved to have it out and still proudly lifts up her shirt, points to the tube wound and says, "Gone - Happy!"
She has had a few bouts with sinus infections since the last post but is clear right now. She also has had several episodes of nosebleeds, similar to a pattern that Brianna had and still occasionally does. My solution is to give her some Nasonex nightly during the dry air months and keep a humidifier on in their room - works 100%.
In other news I have been unemployed since December 19 and we have gone into tight budget mode. The kids are down to two days a week at daycare, the minimum to keep a slot open there. I take care of them the rest of the week all day except for Brianna in the afternoons with Kindergarten. I hope this is very temporary as they deserve the peer interaction and the professional structure and projects at the daycare facility, but work in my computer field is hard to come by and devalued to 1/3 the wages I could get a few years back. At least I am not alone as many others are in far worse shape in this new "near-Great Depression."
We also have Victoria's brother Ryan staying with us in Maya's former room. The girls now share Brianna's room and they enjoy Uncle Ryan's attention. Ryan will be attending courses at Northwest Community College this semester and is doing that unenviable twenty-something process of figuring out what to do with his life. Unfortunately for him and his generation, the opportunities are poor right now. Hopefully by the time he lands a degree the prospects will be much brighter!
Brianna, Maya, Victoria and I along with Nicole, Eiko, Savannah and Jake are being taken to Disneyworld at the end of the month for 4 days by Grandpa Jack! Brianna is so excited! We looked up which rides she can ride at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and she is tall enough for all of them - the requirement is 40" and she is 46" - woo hoo! She even can ride Space Mountain and she is mega excited to try roller coasters! We hope for good weather and no illness in anyone for the duration of the trip.
The next post should either be about Disney or about the results of Maya's latest rounds of tests to figure out her abnormal lab findings.
Here's to hope and peace starting January 20!
-Chris
