Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween from the Fire Ninja and Flower Fairy.




A lolli on the way to Nana's.



The loot!

Biliary dyskenisia.

Is what I have. My gallbladder is not working like it should or something and so my liver isn't processing things like it should and they are sending me to a general surgeon - I'm assuming to have it removed - who can't see me until Nov. 6. I'm going back to the doctor tomorrow in the meantime to figure out how to get through until surgery. Today is a bad day...the only solution to avoiding pain is not eating right now. Hopefully it will subside soon.

An unexpected slow down.

I haven't been feeling well for the past month now and it turns out that my gallbladder has decided it needs to take life a little easier. It's working, just slowly and I have yet to discover what that means for its future. Apparently, since turning 30, my body has decided to start acting older. Life has been just as busy as usual and I've been working hard at just trying to keep up. For this girl that goes nonstop, this slowing of the insides has been bringing me to a crawl and I'm frustrated more than anything. I'm just plain tired. It's one thing when life slows down. It's another when you slow down and life just keeps going. Unfortunately, I have pushed some of the nonessential items to the side in order to keep things going, such as posting here.

On to some updates.

Colin lost his dear Philbert a few weeks ago and we dealt with the devastation of losing something so loved. We have since aquired 2 new turtle friends who have yet to be named. We are waiting to discover whether they are male or female which won't happen until they are a little bigger. It turns out, after a discussion with the store owner who sold us the turtle, that Philbert was indeed a Phyllis.

Colin also had an appointment earlier in the month with the Craniofacial team which was very promising. The asymmetry in his face seems to have slowed. He is currently at a 7-8 degree difference, which is actually rather minimal in the whole big picture. His upper palate is still too small to accommodate his teeth and will have to be expanded. If he loses more teeth in the next 6 months, he will have the expander placed. If not, we will wait things out another year. The Singulair has been so helpful for him. No more coughing fits, although we had to fight for weeks with insurance to get them to cough up payment.

Insurance, insurance, insurance...we just recently discovered that Jeremy still has coverage with his past insurance...long ridiculous story in which the blame mostly lies in our lap but nonetheless our newest insurance has retracted all payments since January and we are now fighting to get things resubmitted and taken care of as well as removed from our credit history. Thank goodness for insurance, but it is really draining me these days.

Chloe is fantastic. She was evaluated for her speech and is average, which is a relief. My child is average. It is such a shame that we, as parents, constantly fall into the trap of comparing our children. We compare them to each other and with their cousins and others in their peer groups. It really is terrible. Colin talked late but took off as soon as he begin. I have spent the past 6 months trying to figure out what was "wrong" with her. I am now forcing myself to drop the issue. She is fine. She is better than fine. She is a sweet genious without a voice. It'll come to her. I just need to give her the space to find it. She is still as in control of this house as ever, but she makes us all laugh daily. She really is a joy.

So, minus the gallbladder and the unexpected crawl my body has forced me into, life is good.

This fall has been extraordinarily busy. I am not complaining. Life here is full and happy. The kids are doing great. Chloe started gymnastics and Colin joined the Cub Scouts and is playing tennis...so we have been on the run. School is going really well for Colin. He loves his teacher and is enthusiastic about learning, of course.

A few Saturdays ago, Chloe had a day full of first. I have been meaning to post these pictures.

Her first day at gymnastics. (Colin acted as our photographer. He did a great job!) She loved being in the class but had little desire to participate. As you can tell from the pictures, we "participated" from a distance. We began the class with songs, which included a "marching" song. Once Chloe mastered the march, she proceeded to march for the rest of the hour. I am happy to report that she has become more involved each week. :)



We then headed out for our first haircut. She is such a diva. She knew exactly what she was there for and had no issues with having it done. She loved every moment of it...such a girl.



And, finally...her first lollipop! yummy! By the time we got home, she was a beautifully sticky mess.