A Day Off

As a Mom, a writer, a chef, and the all around Jane-of-All-Trades for my house, I rarely ever get time to sit on the couch and just veg.
Today, I just took the day off.

I'm still Mom.  I'm still writing.  I'm definitely cooking.  But, I'm not pushing through a schedule for once.
I sent Chaos to nap.  Doc fell asleep.  And I cleared the couch off.  I picked up all the toys.  I pulled out my pile of mending.  And I just sat.  Sewing, I've discovered, is about the only activity I don't do while standing.  Heck- I multi-function so much that I catch up on knitting during nature walks with the kids.  Today's mending pile had two stuffed animals and a shirt in it.  The stuffed animals were nothing- a quick seam repair and they were back in the respective toy boxes.  The shirt, on the other hand, is a real pain in the rear.


Hubby is a big guy.  He's 6 foot 4.  His shirts are expensive.  So, we loved it when his company gave him a stack of high-quality company logo shirts two years ago.  The killer came when the company was bought out.  Hubby kept his job, but under a new company name.  All his shirts became unwearable to work.  So, after doing a clothing inventory, I came to a quick conclusion- either I buy him a stack of new shirts or I find a way to remove the company logo. 


Guess what I'm doing today?  If you said "picking apart embroidery," you'd be right.


I love using a seam ripper--- except on machine embroidery.
Grrr.  It's taken me close to three hours to get the first letter off.


Hopefully, I can use this as an excuse to sit and have some me time.  (Hopefully I won't get faster at it, either!)

eep.

I just dropped a note to Wil Wheaton to ask if he'd be interested in helping with the blog-a-thon.

Oh- the impertinence!

I should be flogged for even dare approach him.

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You know, being impertinent has it's merits.  I'm feeling brave suddenly.

Another Project

...at least I'm excited about this one.

Last year, for GC's holiday feature, I came up with the notion to host a 12 Days of Geekmas feature.  So, for 12 days, each of the Chicas wrote a holiday themed post- most of them were gift suggestions.

Afterward, we weren't horribly happy with the format of it.  I admit, it was amusing but pretty much not in the spirit of Geekmas.

This year, I proposed that we use the 12 Days feature as a blog-a-thon.  Let's raise awareness for someone else with a cause close to the GC's heart.

The proposal passed.  The GCs are all writing their own take on holiday articles- some sentimental, some flippant, some gift lists... 
And now I'm lining up promotional content.

(As if I weren't busy enough between Captain Chaos and Doctor Anarchy...)

But, GC is a website very close to my heart.  I've enjoyed writing for it for the past year and a half.  There's something oddly comforting in knowing that despite my whole "June Cleaver with a dicebag" persona, that I'm accepted by some really feministic women.

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I love that my organizational skills are being put to good use for a good cause.

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As a side note, my Husbeastie, after looking over my notes made the crack that I needed to "start a Non-Profit Organization." 
Why haven't I ever thought of that?  I do have a save the world complex, and I love volunteering and working on causes.  Why not take on a cause or two that are underrepresented such as infantile scoliosis support or Lead Toxicity Emergency Aid?

So, I'm seriously playing with the notion. 

You've come a long way, baby!

Tonight, Chaos and I gave Doc a bath.

Big Brother Chaos is super-protective of Little Brother Doc.  He insists on helping with everything for Doc from changing diapers to playing, even filling sippy cups and trying to read books to him.

I know- that shouldn't be a special thing, but it is.

Doc, has what his therapists describe as "sensory delays and issues".

This is Doc.

When Doc turned 13 months old, he got sick with a horrible sounding cold.  Since he'd had pneumonia once before, I took him into the ER to be checked out.  They did a chest x-ray and told me he had bronchitis, then sent me home with some medicine.  Three days later, we were back into the ER again- his bronchitis had gotten worse- he was gasping for breath.  Another x-ray happened.  While waiting for the result, the nurse came in and gave him a breathing treatment.  A few minutes later, two doctors walked in and quietly shut the door.
My son had severe scoliosis.  My baby- my wee little man- was most likely having breathing issues because his lungs were being crushed by his rib cage's rotation and spinal curve.
I was in a bit of shock.  I'd noticed that one side of his rib cage seemed to be at an odd angle to the other.  I'd even seen the curve on his spine, visible through the skin.  But, every doctor I had look at it told me there was nothing wrong- it was the position he sat in, or the direction he was looking, or some other excuse.
Within days I was being seen by the family GP.  She called in a referral to a pediatric orthopedic specialist.  He saw us two days later. One glance at my son's back and he ordered new x-rays.  He sat and played around on his computer screen measuring bone angles and determined that Doc needed treatment- ASAP.  He outlined all the options: surgeries, waiting it out, bracing, and EDF casting.
Without blinking I voted for casting.  (I hadn't been sitting on my butt doing nothing while waiting for the appointment- I'm a researcher.)
Corrective casting is safe, non-invasive, and fairly effective.


There were risks, after all, Doc had to be fully sedated.  I wasn't allowed in the room for the procedure.  And then there was the cast itself- it couldn't come off until it was time to change it out.
Imagine, going MONTHS without being able to feel his sweet, squishy little baby body in my arms.  Instead, all hugs were to a hard, itchy cast.

Doc waking up from his first cast.  Poor kidlet- he was so scared by the changes.  He was a real trooper, though, and was up and at 'em within a day.

I found a great online support group for infantile scoliosis.  They really helped keep me grounded.
I knew from others' experiences it could be years before we saw results.  We might not even see results at all.  We might end up needing to choose corrective surgery.


Imagine my surprise when, after only 4 months, his correction was sufficient to move on to a removable brace! 


Now I can hug his squishy sweetness all the time!  One day into his 2nd cast, he took his first steps!  He started trying to talk.  He started laughing- without coughing at the end of it.  He jumps and plays and scoots toy cars along.   


However, back to the bath at hand...
When I first got the diagnosis, I contacted the local Early Childhood Intervention people.  I didn't think there'd be issues with my little mister, but I wanted to advocate as early as I could.  After several assessments- we were assigned an Occupational Therapist, a Developmental Therapist, and a Physical Therapist.  Doc was about 5 months behind developmentally.  It was discovered during this time that Doc has his sensory issues- bathing was a BIG fight.  He wouldn't even touch water (or anything non-fluffy) with his hands.  Baths were few and far between- typically we'd end up sponge bathing him with a damp cloth while he screamed in panic.
The OT has been working to get him used to water and past his sensory issue with it since May.  And, I admit, she's made progress.  Little did I realize how much progress was made.
Tonight, since his face was smeared with peanut butter and bread crumbs, I filled up the plastic tote we've been using during therapy as a stand in bathtub and put it in the floor.  I cringed, waiting for the usual screams to start.


HE GOT INTO IT ON HIS OWN--- WILLINGLY and EXCITEDLY.  He didn't want to get out.


He let me wash his face.  He let me splash his hair.  He didn't panic, or scream, or tantrum.


I could cry.  Such a little thing, but I couldn't begin to imagine that it would actually ever happen.


Maybe, one day soon, I can hear that his scoli is completely resolved.  That would be amazing.

Missing in Action

I know, I know... I haven't written in a while.

Remember the whole tooth ache thing?
Yeah- I developed some sort of minor blood poisoning... that totally kicked my rear and kept me on it.  Today is the first day I've gotten off my rear in what feels like forever.

And already, I'm so tired that I can't sleep.
Sadly, it's been so bad on the whole lack-of-energy-front that I'm sick of pizza and take-out and I don't want to go out to eat again any time soon.  
Today, with a bit of help from the Husbeastie, I managed beef stew and fresh bread.  Don't get too excited- the stew used a seasoning kit and the bread was from dough I froze last month... so, in a way, it was all pre-made food.

I've got plenty lined up for the weeks ahead- and I WILL be posting.  (Just as soon as I can stand up long enough to make something that isn't pre-packaged.)