Year: 2014

Donald is such a good brother.

Calls me almost every weekend, which is really nice.  We’ve never been in such close contact as we’ve been the past 5 years or so.  His last day at Oracle was Friday, he starts his new gig on Monday.  I don’t know the company’s name.  I only know that it’s in SF proper.

At the Montgomery College track.

At the top of Shady Grove Hospital parking garage.

Jeremy is home from a successful CA trip.  Vince is off camping this weekend.  We are both working /studying this weekend while Edda hangs out.  I’ve been experimenting with my phone’s camera for the blog because I now find myself in places where I don’t want to bring my big camera.  But the camera on the phone frustrates me to no end because I like taking photos of people moving in low light which is the worst thing you can ask a cell phone camera to do.

Vince got Donald’s hand-me-down iPhone 5.  It’s nice to have an uncle who likes the latest and greatest.  Then you get stuff that’s better than the crap Android phone your parents buy you.

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This is Alex our clinical instructor.  She’s fabulous.  I’m learning a lot.  So many, so many stories to tell.  But I can’t talk about it here.

Waiting for the bus with Ruby.

Even though it is cold, flowers are still trying to give it a go in the garden.

October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month.  Edda’s doing well – healthy (except for the Rett, if that makes any sense) and happy.  Edda often gets up at 4:30 am.  Usually one of us wakes up then and crawls into bed with Edda and cradles her back to sleep until a more reasonable 5:30 am.  We switch nights so I only get up super early every other day, but I’ve become so good at this that I can pretend I’m still sleeping when I walk over at 4:30 am and then go back to sleep promptly as soon as Edda’s body curls around mine.  Since Jeremy’s been traveling this week, I’m keeping Edda company every morning.  If I can’t get her to go back to sleep, then I’ll turn on a little TV on her dresser and she roams the room while I try to sleep some more.  This is when she’ll often come back to the bed and sit on my head.   I do still hope for a cure for Rett, but as she gets older, it all seems to fade away.  It’s as if I can’t see it anymore, that the borders are fuzzy and I can never get it smack in the center of my field of view.  

On the left coast, Jeremy saw Ben and Maryann and watched the 18-inning baseball game between the Nats and the Giants.

Then to the Mission, where he stumbled upon a riotous dinner party thrown by Donald in his tiny apartment.  Delicious homemade pasta was served.

On the right coast, Vince sorted through and organized a three-inch-tall pile of schoolwork.   I try not to cringe when I look at his binder.  Nothing in life gives me more pleasure than a well-organized school binder.  Apparently, Vince did not inherit that gene.

Max, on the other hand, has tendencies similar to me.  Every once in a while, the world will overwhelm her and she just wants to hide out under the bed.

Logan slept over last night.  Pizza and popcorn all around.

After he left, Vince made himself some ramen.

I dressed Edda fancy today in a fur vest.  It’s cold here.  Brrrr.

Jeremy is out of town for the week.  Dropped him off at the BWI shuttle bus at 6 am today.  He’s not usually gone for the weekend, but he wanted to see some friends in SF, so it makes it an extra-long trip.

Vince is dressing like a lao gong these days – oversized white undershirt and ill-fitting slippers.  Now he only needs an upside-down bucket to sit on while he reads the newspaper and grumbles about politics.

Took the kids to the flu shot clinic at our pediatrician’s this morning.  Get your flu shot!  That’s right, you!  Don’t turn around and think that I pointed to the person behind you.

Vince introduced Edda to another flu shot clinic client.  Her mom recommended that we try out Special Olympics bowling (which is where they were headed to after the flu shot).  I’m loathe to sign the kids up for anything new because I don’t like to drive them anywhere on the weekends (because I’m lazy that way), so I kind of hemmed and hawed and mentioned that Edda can’t really use her hands.  She said brightly that they use these bowling ball ramps and they have volunteers to coax the kids to do amazing things.   I don’t doubt that.  I’m sure Edda would bowl if I took her bowling. Her daughter, the girl in the yellow shirt, is on the competitive bowling team and is hoping to go to regionals next week and then maybe states later on.

Vince actually watched the needle go in.  I can’t do that if I’m getting the shot myself.

Dora says corn = eating smart.

Vince pumps his first tank of gas.