Edda’s well check up.

Today I took Edda to her well check-up.  Neither Edda nor Vince had been to the office for the full year between last year’s well check-up and this year’s.  I’m not sure if that makes me a terrible mother because I refuse to take them in when they feel bad for a day or two or if it means that my kids are so super healthy and I should be grateful.  I think I tend towards the grateful side.   Grateful that I have healthy kids (except for the underlying Rett Syndrome, of course).

Again, the student doctor was there and I had a nice time telling him about Rett Syndrome.  He, of course, had never seen a clinical case, so it was an interesting conversation.  Told him how mildly affected Edda was, in the grand scheme of things, how lucky we are that she’s so healthy.  But also acknowledging that it’s a severe disability and that she requires care in all aspects of daily living.  

Edda got no vaccines this time.  Just a very thorough assessment because it’s interesting to do.  The only assessment that I thought was interesting to note is her small head size.  So we measured it.  But they don’t generally chart head size for a 10 year old, so the information wasn’t really useful.

Cooking and more cooking.

Only at Jeremy’s work is there a vegan soup club.  Every month, Jeremy is responsible for bringing in a vat of soup to the soup club.  The idea that the office should have a soup club did not seem super well thought out.  Given that the bulk of the employees take the Metro to work, it’s not really easy to bring 25 servings of soup on the subway.  This time he made something with leek.

Doctor appt.

I took Vince to the pediatrician for his annual check-up earlier this week.  It was the first well-check appointment where I thought that maybe I should step out of the room while they examined him – that maybe he would have questions for the doctor that he wouldn’t want to ask in front of me.  Vince laughed at me when I asked if he wanted me out of the room, he said there was nothing that he would ask the doctor that he felt he couldn’t ask me first.  He got a meningitis vaccine which means (rounding-up person that I am), of course, that he’s almost leaving home for college.   Jeremy sometimes says that Vince and I bicker like an old married couple (sometimes we do and it’s almost always my fault), but he’s really the best son I could have asked for – kind, outgoing and happy-go-lucky.

There was a student doctor doing a clinical assignment in the office, so it was his job to do Vince’s assessment.  I’m learning the same assessment techniques at school – so we had a lot of fun doing all the extra assessments on a willing Vincent.  Usually, as a med student, you don’t want to ask a patient to sit still for a million assessment tests just for your own practice, but Vince was game and was in no hurry to get back to school and I kept asking – what about bicep reflex?  ear exam? cranial nerves? auscultate the bowel sounds? pitting edema? heart murmurs?  palpate the liver? I kept asking Vince, OK pull up your pants, pull down your socks, pull up your sleeves, OK, now turn around.  The student doctor was excited and pleased.  Everything was normal, but I guess you only learn abnormal from doing a million normal ones.  Fun.

Also, one always feels compelled to lie when they ask how much screen time?  How many fruits and vegetables?  Enough exercise?  Not so much junk food?   They told me the guidelines put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics and I just said – that’s unattainable.  Simply unattainable.  Has any one in this whole country been successful in getting their teenage kids to eat more greens or use their screens less?  I can hardly make myself eat more greens and use my phone/computer/internet/Candy Crush less.

Headed out.

Mom and Dad were both in town this weekend, so we recreated Edda’s pancake breakfast at 7 am today.  Jeremy had frozen the leftover pancakes after Edda’s party and we still have some leftover bacon.  Any meal with bacon feels both fancy and casual at the same time.

Violin / cello duet.

Oh! Vince and Kappa played the Toy Symphony together today.  It was so beautiful.  Kelly did a great job putting together students into chamber groups.  Lots of moms accompanied their children.  Lots of siblings played together.  It made the recital really sweet and the music more interesting.  Vince worked hard on his piece and the pair did sound really wonderful together.  It makes me almost a bit weepy.

Edda came to the 6:30 – 8:30 pm recital.  Sometimes we get lucky and she falls asleep, but not tonight.  She decided that she did not want to be there about 5 minutes before Vince and Kappa went on to perform.  Jeremy ran out with Edda when the piece began and then I ran out after the first movement to insist that Jeremy go inside to listen to the 2nd which then resulted in Jeremy shocked that I was causing more of a commotion by running in and out of the room.  Sigh.  One does what one can.

Old friends

These are the Hungs.  Le Pei was mom’s roommate in college.  And many years ago, they housed Donald in their shed for a few months.  Donald ran an extension cord from the shed to their garage for power.  They were lucky enough to buy into one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the Silicon Valley decades and decades ago when it was just sort of expensive and not insanely crazy expensive – so we made fun of Donald who would tell people that he lived in Los Altos Hills and when his pals gasped, he’d have to explain that he lived in a shed (and not a shed-like house, but an acutal shed with a lawnmower).

Happy birthday Donald!

It’s Donald’s birthday today.  He’s turning 38.  We are so old.   I always like to think about the mothers on a person’s birthday because it was a big day for them too.  So mom!  Happy birthday of Donald to you too.  Did I go to the hospital with your mom and dad to wait for the arrival of Donald?  I vaguely remember that – but I could be making it all up…  Thanks for giving me the best brother ever, even though he’s a bit stubborn.