Category Archives: Life in general

How’s that for a thrilling blog title up there? Tha-rilling.

You’ll have to forgive me but I got to work at 5 this morning so my day is a little skewed along with my brain. I picked up lunch on my way back from a meeting and couldn’t understand why the place wasn’t busier – um, because it was only 11 in the morning. I’m taking a mental break to write this blog post and then jumping back in.

In case you missed it, here’s a cute video of my cute kid saying cute things:

And for you enjoyment (and mine), spam comments I’ve received this week:

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Blogging is awesome because it gives back to much, without having a blog I never would have gotten to read those gems above and been able to share them with you. Plus spammers are so supportive and polite.

Tomorrow Liam has to have an ultrasound of his belly because he has a spot on his belly button that he has had since he was born that NEVER heals, as in, if he rubs it on something, he gets blood on that something (usually a t-shirt). We’ve had it chemically cauterized multiple times and it never fully heals so our pediatrician finally referred us to a dermatologist who instead referred us to a pediatric surgeon (because Liam clearly wasn’t going to sit still long enough for stitches in the office, which the doctor nicely put as, “He’s five, he’s not supposed to be able to sit still for that.”) The pediatric surgeon explained that Liam’s spot wasn’t an umbilical granulanoma as the dermatologist had thought but instead is something from his umbilical cord that got stuck on the outside rather than the inside. He asked me multiple times if urine ever came out of it, which I thought was odd, but can apparently happen as the feed to the bladder can get caught on the outside (the thought of pee coming out of Liam’s belly button actually makes me giggle and also I’m sure I would have had it taken care of much sooner if that were the case. The doctor thinks it’s a blood vessel but it could also be something attached to a cyst (hence the ultrasound). If something different were seeping out, it could be coming from the bowels and while he didn’t specifically say this, I don’t need a medical degree to assume it would be excrement-like. Thank goodness that was not the case. The human body is marvelous.

So, tomorrow we have the ultrasound to make sure there is no cyst and to determine the exact surgical course. Either way, surgery is scheduled for April 27 at the Children’s Hospital as Liam will have to be sedated. The doctor was explaining to me the process for outpatient surgery and I got to tell him it was familiar to me because my other son had a bone from his foot moved to his hand so we were old pros at outpatient surgery. I find it ridiculous that we have to go through the same procedures for Liam’s little open wound spot as we did for Jack’s hand but after watching Liam leaping from the exam table to the floor about five times during our visit, I totally agree that sedation is necessary. I wonder if will calm him down for the whole weekend? Here’s hoping. It is our anniversary that weekend, after all.

Spring Break is in full effect, though next week pretty much looks like any other week for me. Liam is thrilled though, about this magical thing called, Spring Break. I can only imagine the good things he thinks will happen.

• Salt on my cantaloupe, watermelon and some apples
• My coffee ice-cold when I purchase it at a coffee shop, even in winter
• My husband’s #1-all-over haircut
• Avocados and it makes me sad I spent the first 30 years of my life [mostly] not liking them
• Any and all good Mexican food
• Warm chocolate chip cookies
• Road trips
• Being anonymous in a big city
• Feeling at home in a small(er) city
• OPI nail polishes
• Aveda hair products
• Reading until the wee hours of the morning
• Finishing a project
• Making lists
• Feeling my muscles ache after a good workout
• Our minivan… it’s true, I do
• Liam’s overly dramatic approach to life
• Jack’s slight lisp (I really love everything about how he talks)
  and
• You

Liam clearly thought he was pretty hot stuff in his sunglasses and Superman shirt. And even though he requested to have me take his photo, he could not sit still long enough for me to get a non-blurry shot. I think his stomach ultrasound is going to go smashingly well on Friday morning, don’t you? [more on this later]

I’ve been attempting to do fun stuff with my hair and I feel pretty cool until I see a photo and think, my goodness, what a rat’s nest. Thank goodness rat’s nest hair is all the rage. At least in my head because it means I don’t have to dry my hair every morning.

Attempt #2

I also think I’m pretty cool because tomorrow Liam is supposed to dress like a character from a book and after vetoing many of his ideas because they were a) too difficult and b) not really primarily literary characters (e.g., Anakin Skywalker, a Ninjago or a Transformer) I thought of making him a “Thing 1” t-shirt from Dr. Seuss. Liam objected at first but then demanded that instead he be “Thing 2.” Oh, okay.

This woman at the donut shop thought she was pretty cool, she was wearing fuzzy, froggy flip-flop/slippers. In public. At three in the afternoon. But then I wear Mary Jane Crocs in public and a rat’s nest on my head.

Jack thought he was pretty cool with his mohawk in the bathtub. I love his floppy, long hair. It will be a very sad day when we cut it off. Sniff.

If there were any doubt that my husband and my first born are made of the same ilk, I present two conversations from the past two days.

[Between Simon and myself]
Me: I think we should name the car, give it some personality.
Simon: ??
Me: I take it you don’t agree.
Simon: How ’bout we just call it “the car.”
Me: You’re no fun.

Between Liam and myself]
Me: Do you like our new car?
Liam: Yes, what kind of car is it?
Me: It’s a Taurus. Do you think we should name it something? [thinking perhaps I can get the kids into naming the car]
Liam: I think we should just call it Taurus because that’s what it is.
Me: Not something else, something fun… you can pick anything.
Liam: No, just Taurus.
Me: You’re no fun.

I’m banking on Jack being my companion in ridiculous things like naming cars.