52 Week Project - Week 17 - Pastel

I have slacked on this project and have been struggling to find some photos that I have taken in the past few months that fit our themes - I am hoping to catch up sometime over the next few weeks and use all new images in the second half of the year

PASTEL

Living in a house of boys, there is not much pastel in my life. I was thinking of borrowing the daughter of a friend for a girly photo shoot but then had no time or inspiration, plus if I explained it to my friend, she would have thought I was a nutcase.  The other night, the boys and I met up with two other kids from Ryan's class and their moms for a sushi dinner up the street and while we were sitting there, up came this week's shot. 

I have no idea where this pastel prince was coming from but I was pretty happy to have my camera - I think I will need to carry it when I go out more often

Besides being able to get this week's photo, I was able to get a few more of the kids. Our dinner was a ton of fun and I am really happy that Ryan has made such great friends at school, friends that also are nice to Dylan and never treat him like a tag-a-long.  The kids all love the sushi place up the street and they even tried each other's food and now Ryan has some new favorites.   Nothing will top the kid's love of Edamame though.

 With the weather getting nicer and the sun staying out longer, I hope that we will be able to have more fun dinners out with friends.   I know that the boys agree (and next time, I will be sure to bring my 52-theme list because you never know what you are going to see!)

52 Week Project - Week 9 - Free Choice

Still going out of order and still late - week 9 was supposed to be about "School" and I changed it to "Free Choice"   - For my free choice, I pick : 

Music

Music is well said to be the speech of angels.  ~Thomas Carlyle, Essays, "The Opera"

I suspect Mr. Carlyle has never been to an elementary school singing concert.

Aside from Erika's singing voice, I would say my family is not that musically inclined.  I remember playing the clarinet in elementary/middle school and I was not very good.  I also remember my mother cracking up laughing while I practiced (I am sure Erika would remember the same about her own violin practices). On March 29th, 2012, Ryan first school concert and as much I would like to say I was in the audience being a supportive parent, I cracked up laughing almost the whole time.  I think a career as a professional singer will not be in the cards for Ryan.

All of the kids were so excited for the concert and we met up with a few of Ryan's classmates before the concert began.  Ryan looked so handsome and even smelled delicious - he insisted on wearing cologne for the big day

I had heard from some parents earlier in the week that school concerts are craziness - people getting in fights over seats, pictures etc so while I dropped Ryan off, Jay got on line at the "Parent's entrance".   I would say we were probably 20th on line with the other parents from Ryan's class but within minutes, the line was down the block and around the corner
 (the concert was only for Kindergarten and third grades)

The kids were adorable as they marched on to stage.   Ryan had practiced with us a bit so I could not wait to see him perform and he looked so happy when he saw we were sitting right near the front. 

 After the kids sang the first song (they sang 4 in total), the music teacher informed the audience that the kids were not allowed to wave because that would be too distracting.  Instead, they had been taught to "Finger Wave".   I am fairly certain after that announcement, Ryan did not sing again and spent the rest of the time finger-waving or staring in to space. 

I am sorry to say that I am having issues uploading the videos because I don't know that you can get the full effect from the pictures alone.  

I don't think that we will have any more concerts this year but all of my faithful readers are welcome to attend next year's.

52 week Project - Week 13 - Games

(catching up on the project and I will be going out of order - since it is my project, I am allowed to do that lol)

I rarely left the hospital in the 16 days that Dylan was there, but the highlight of my time outside of the hospital was going to Ryan's first Tee Ball game!!!  The weather was perfect, it was so exciting and it was really nice to get to spend some quality with Ryan.  That and it was so funny and adorable!!!

You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen. When baseball is no longer fun, it's no longer a game.

- Joe DiMaggio 

The league is for our neighborhood only and the field is only 3 blocks from us so it is super convenient.   We found out a week before the first game that Ryan was going to be a member of the Rangers and he was so excited (and i was excited he wasn't going to be on the Red Sox lol).  We were not sure if the kids just got a uniform t-shirt or a whole uniform and Ryan was so excited when he saw he got a real baseball jersey, pants, long sock and a hat.   Because we were one of the first ones there, he even got to pick his number - #10!    

Once Ryan got dressed in his uniform, he started warming up with Jay and some other teammates, most of whom he had never met before. The kids all hit it off immediately and all of the parents were very friendly.  Ryan was so excited about the whole thing and I was so happy that Jay and I were able to be there to enjoy this first game.  

 The kids finally got to take the field and none of them had a clue of where to stand, what to do, and I am pretty sure that more than half had their gloves on the wrong hands.   After a little more practice and some last minute advice from the coaches (and Daddy), it was time to play ball. 

 

 There are a few funny things about tee ball:
1.  Ready position - at the start of the game, most of the kids had  pretty decent ready position. 

 By the third batter, "some" of them forgot about ready position

 2. Interest level in playing goes down dramatically as the game goes on.   At any given time, there will be at least one kid sitting, two kids having their own catch in the outfield, and at least 3 other kids playing in the dirt or ripping up grass. 

 

(notice in the picture above, the short stop is watching the other game, he is not looking at the batter.  Also, I am pretty sure Ryan was telling Jay he was tired and needed to sit down in this picture) 

 3.  There is no such thing as positions except first base.   Usually 5 kids stand within 5 feet of the pitcher's mound and all of them go for every ball, diving every time.   By the end of the game, Ryan was covered in grass stains and had a small hole in one of his uniform knees.  Then, about 10 seconds after the batter gets to first base, someone throws the ball to the first baseman. (who by this point, is not paying attention anymore)

 4.  Batting - the kids bat in number order, then reverse number order so nobody gets upset.  Almost every kid hits the ball to the mound.   I couldn't believe it but at his first at bat, Ryan whacked it on the first try!!

 5.  Hitting the ball was easy. Running around the bases was the tough part.

- Mickey Mantle

 Running - this is always pretty funny.   Many of the kids run like nuts (ryan included), swinging their arms the wrong way, holding or fooling around with their helmets, and always completely oblivious that someone may try to throw to first.  I really don't know how none of the base runners have been hit by a ball yet.  

6.  The kids are only allowed to get a single - they must stop at each base and can only run to the next one when the next kid hits the ball.  They are also only allowed to throw to first base so there is never anyone on second or third and there is no catcher.   The kids really do love though when they get home.  

7.  Each game is an hour and a half.  That is 3 innings - lol.

After the game, the kids were encouraged to shake hands and say "Good game" - Ryan was screaming at one of the kids on the other team "hey you, you are supposed to say good game to me"  lol.  

 

The game was declared a tie, but I am pretty sure the Rangers were the real winner.  What a fun time we had!!

March 31, 2012

 (super long post)

It is amazing how life can change in one day, one hour, one minute- something I could not have really, truly understood until that day: March 31st, 2012.  How is it possible that within a 24 hour period, a 3 year old boy that was NEVER sick a day in his life could go from being perfectly fine to being wheeled into an operating room for surgery?  How could my toughest decision on Friday night be popcorn or cotton candy at a Ranger game with Ryan and Saturday's decisions involved blood transfusions and surgeries with Dylan? 

What happened?  Dylan woke up at midnight on Friday and complained of a stomachache.  He was crying a lot and I thought that he seemed to be complaining a lot for him and in the back of my mind, wondered if he might have appendicitis.  We could not get Dylan to calm down for at least 30 minutes and started discussing taking him to the ER when he said that he had to vomit - he got a little sick and then said he felt better and laid down.  Not long after, the whole thing repeated and finally around 3, Dylan had calmed down and fell asleep in our bed.  Around 7:30, I woke up and heard Dylan breathing strangely, in panted breaths. A few minutes later, Erika called waking me up more and at that point, I thought that not only did Dylan sound worse but I noticed his lips were white.   I thought that maybe he was dehydrated from getting sick but when I tried to give him water, I couldn't get him to really wake up.   I hung up with Erika, woke up Jay and together we tried to get Dylan to wake up, watch some tv, get him to respond - anything.   We both quickly realized he was not just tired, something was really wrong.   We woke up Ryan, got dressed quickly and packed a bag to go, where we weren't sure.   We thought about going to Marc's office but upon getting in the car and talking with Dad, decided ER would be the better choice.  This will always be the most important and right decision we ever made.

As soon as we got to the ER check in desk (around 8:30) and they heard he was 3, we were rushed back to the ER and the entire staff was waiting for us.  Within seconds, Dylan had 10 doctors/nurses surrounding him and he was started on iv liquids and oxygen to stabilize him.   The next few hours are a bit of a blur in terms of timing/discussions- about an hour later, my parents showed up, Marc and Carrie not much after that.  At some point, Grandma left with Ryan so he wouldn't see what was going on - at some point later, Michael and Jasmine took over watching Ryan so Grandma could come back.  Omi and Poppy came later too.  About two hours after getting to the hospital, Dylan started vomiting "coffee grounds" - as the doctors called it.   All I could think at the time was how could Dylan have eaten a whole keurig k-cup without me knowing?  Obviously, I wasn't thinking clearly and later found out that coffee grounds is what they call  bloody vomit.  That is when the surgeon was called.  Dylan was given a blood transfusion (the first of 2) and  X-Rays and ultrasounds were taken but all were inconclusive.  Around 12, the decision was made to do a laparotomy to determine the problem - we were presented with a few possible causes, none of which I remember except severe intestinal blockage and none of which were right.  About an hour and a half into surgery, one of the doctors came out and told us that they discovered the problem and were working to fix it: Dylan was born with a very rare, undiagnosable and unpredictable defect of his mesentary.  Essentially, there was a hole in his mesentary and his small intestine had slipped in to that hole, causing it to become necrotic. (His non-responsiveness that morning was caused by a shock-like state due to internal bleeding and toxins being released from the necrotic intestine)   All affected portions of his intestine would need to be removed and the hole sealed up.  We found out later that they removed 240 centimeters of intestines (leaving 260 cm.) and his ileum.  Thankfully, the remaining intestine is healthy and was unaffected.

Because his intestines and stomach needed some time to rest post-surgery, a few days later a picc line was placed so that Dylan could receive all his treatments intravenously, including fluids, antibiotics and even his nutrition (tpn and ppn).  He also needed an ng tube for most of our stay - in Dylan's case, the tube was used in aspiration mode to drain all of the stomach contents to give Dylan's intestines a rest and to prevent build up of gas and bile.  Unfortunately, we had many issues with the tubes getting clogged which led to the tube's premature removal and reinsertion a few times.   On the 8th, Dylan started vomiting and we could not get him to stop, something that should not have been happening due to the tube. On April 9th, the doctors decided that they would do another surgery on the 10th, and the surgery was early that morning - thankfully, there were only some "minor" issues - there were a few adhesions (areas where the intestines were basically sticking together) and the area where the intestines were reconnected needed to be widened.   Our surgeon also removed Dylan's appendix during surgery so that in the future, he would not have to worry about that.  (The family was very relieved for this decision)

Within a day and a half of the second surgery, Dylan was back on track!!

 

He finally started back on liquids on the 14th and solids on the 15th.  I never thought I could be so happy to see him eat!

We had a lot of visitors in the hospital to keep us company but every morning, the first thing Dylan would say is "Where is Ryan?".  There were some days we didn't let Ryan come to the hospital because Dylan was sick and we didn't want him to worry, but he came to visit on most days and Dylan's eyes would light up as soon as he walked in.

 

When Ryan would visit, we spent a lot of time in the playroom or our room (luckily we were in the same room the entire time, except for the picu stay).  The pediatric ward was fantastic and the staff does their best to make it feel less like a hospital.   There is a video rental room and activities everyday, a craft cabinet and a bookshelf of games, magicians and clowns and the Easter Bunny even came (there was an egg hunt all over the floor Easter morning) 

 

(the view from our room)

 

Looney Lenny came to visit Dylan in the room

Finally, on April 16th, we were able to go home. It felt like we waited so long for the day to come and while we were nervous to leave the constant care of the doctors and nurses, there was so much relief that Dylan finally got to go home with us!!! That he could walk out on his own, no more "tubeies" attached, that he could fight with us over who opened the door and who pressed the button on the elevator.

 

 Dylan spent a total of 16 days in the hospital and the doctors and specialists all agree that he will fully recover and should have minimal long-term side effects from this.   Minus a little lingering soreness, the outside observer would never even suspect anything happened to him.  His scar is healing wonderfully and both our surgeon and GI specialist are happy with his progress.   We will have some longer digestion/food matters to sort through but Dylan's age should definitely assist in his healing and adaptability.  

Our 16 days in the hospital were extremely difficult at times and we could not have gotten through this experience without the help of a lot of people.  I am thankful for every doctor and nurse that took care of Dylan - I could never say enough positive things about them or thank them enough for what they did, especially Dr. Tomita and her entire team of residents, Dr. Levy, Becky the day nurse on our toughest days, Rachel the night nurse on our toughest nights and Iris, the most amazing med student who I think cared more about Dylan then anyone outside of our family. 

I am thankful for Jay who took care of Ryan when I couldn't, didn't let Ryan forget or doubt how much I loved him despite the fact that I was with Dylan all the time, brought me dinner every night and kept it together through everything.  I am thankful for my mother who spent almost as much time in the hospital as I did and spent the rest of her time with Ryan - she cried with me (although she tried VERY hard not to cry in front of me), got me countless cups of coffee, made me eat and shower, braided my hair, and just held my hand when I needed her - that doesn't even begin to cover how much she helped me. Mom - thank you for EVERYTHING - I love you!! I am thankful for my Dad - for being the calm one the first day and everyday after, for being the best researcher, for being the one that we turned to for advice about tough decisions, and for rivaling Michael in text message humor to lighten the mood xo.  Thankful for Erika and Richie - my movie date and my chimichanga partner, for FaceTiming with me in the middle of the night and for driving to NY even when we told them not to because they couldn't stand not being there (I was so glad you came).  Thankful for Michael and Jasmine- for coming whenever they could, calling and texting whenever they couldn't and for watching Ryan when it was really needed (I am sure that the Lorax was low on your list of things to do that day). Thankful for Marc and Aunt Carrie - for the medical advice no matter what the hour, for explaining things we didn't understand, and for being there (Monty - this goes for you too) when needed and when not needed lol. To Omi and Poppy - for making sure that the Easter Bunny didn't forget about Ryan and for spending more time in the city this month than in the entire past year. I am thankful for my amazing cousins, friends and co-workers that came to the hospital, called every day, sent gifts and messages of good thoughts and prayers.

More than anything else though,  I am thankful that today I have two healthy children - for as sick as Dylan was, we are home from the hospital now and there are other children that are still there.  I will never forget how lucky we are. 

The greatest wealth is health.  ~Virgil

Truer words there never were!