Friday Randoms

1- I have to admit to tearing up a little over the cute get well soon cards that several kids made and sent/brought to us this last week. Nolan kept hugging the one Allie sent him and saying "Aww. Tute!" And it was. He's a very loved little boy.

2- OOF is sponsoring this really cool day long photography conference called PhotoCamp Utah. We still have a TON to do to prepare, but it's such a cool opportunity to have 350 photographers in one place at one time and share what we do. . . Wish us luck that we make a good impression!

3- Nolan watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that included some sneezing. . . And so he needed some tissue. . . and then he had to play out the dramatics of the sneeze:



(the first half of the video, which I cut out because it seemed to mean to include it, he did his sneeze and whacked his head on the box sitting there and fell down. He wasn't hurt, and jumped right back up for this take, but it sounded pretty painful. . .)

4- The diet is on week 6 now. My headaches are HUGELY improved, I've lost 12 lbs, and I am starting to get my energy back, among other positive improvements. The dr. thinks I need a couple more months on it, along with the meds I'm taking. I'm inclined to listen, after all the improvements I've felt.

However, as of Tuesday, I was allowed to start adding fruits back in to my diet. I have to add them like babyfood. One at a time for a couple of days, and then, if there's no reaction, try the next. After fruit I get cheese back.

I can't tell you how happy I am about that.

5- After a decluttering break last weekend, due to hospitalization, I'm going to attempt to tackle Nolan's room this weekend. Namely, his closet and dresser. I did pull a lot of the outgrown clothes out a couple of weeks ago, but there is SO MUCH in there that just doesn't need to be.

Time for it to go.

Hospital Fun

So, turns out I spoke too soon. We returned to the doctor on Thursday evening for a recheck and they gave us a free pass to the nearest hospital. Which turned out to be full, so they directed us 15 miles north. We got the last bed in the American Fork hospital. If it had been full, they would have sent us up to Primary Children's.

What's with all of the full beds? RSV is all over the place right now. And there are many MANY children just like Nolan in hospitals, receiving much needed oxygen to get them past this nonsense. There were 10 month old twins in the next room, which made us feel very very lucky.


His first morning there they had him blow bubbles. Apparently it's a fast way to get kids to cough. . . and boy did he enjoy that. I brought more bubbles with me when I ran to Target and it was his favorite game of the weekend.


These were the numbers we watched constantly. The sensor on his toe registered the big number on the right. When that number fell below 88, there was an awful beep that started up. We had to make him cough or move around so that the number would rise. If it fell for more than a minute or two, the oxygen was turned on. Oxygen drops when you sleep, so the first 2 nights, and nap time the first 2 days, he had to have the oxygen on the whole time.

Which meant that he was tethered from his toe and his face. . . Not much fun for a kid that likes to run, and isn't really FEELING all that sick. He could sit in the bed, or the chair next to the bed, but that was it. It was totally frustrating. For all of us. This is as much running around as he was allowed:



With many toys, the DS, and a whole stack of DVDs, we made it through the weekend and were sent home Sunday afternoon.

He's home, breathing great, and we're back to the grind.

Thank you all for your love and prayers. It could have been so much worse.

Sad and Happy

So. . . Nolan has pneumonia, which is super awesome. . . I have never seen him so sick before in his life.

Which means that we've been making very good use of this little device:

It's called a pulse oximeter (though this isn't the exact one we have, it's very close), and though it cost us a pretty penny when we bought it, it appears to have kept the little man out of the hospital, so it has been more than worth it. As long as I monitor the oxygen levels in his blood at home (by sticking his little finger in that clamp and waiting for the numbers to show up) and promise to take him in if it goes below 86%, we get to stay home.

How low has it gotten? Oh, 88, even 87 a few times . . . which is a lot lower than i prefer.

Luckily, it seems to be improving, however slowly, today. . .

We're incredibly grateful for the prayers everyone has been offering in his behalf, I know that they are the reason he's doing better today.

And, on an uplifting note, here's a little video for you. OK, it's 16 minutes long. But it is SO worth it. Makes me want to smile more, that's for sure.

Enjoy!

Jimmy Falon as Neil Young Singing Pants On The Ground

Nolan is a sickie right now, so I haven't slept a lot
(I know, I'm in trouble if/when I ever have a newborn again)

But in my stupor, and as an American Idol fan, I found this very funny.



If you don't watch American idol, here is why it's funny:

DS

This is Nolan, as often as possible these days. He and his DS are permanently joined. Unless his stinkin' parents forget to charge it, and then WATCH OUT.

He has a Mario Brothers obsession. I'm not even kidding. Hums along to the songs as they go, and sings them when he's not playing. It's crazy.

Yes, he's only 2.

No, he's not at all good at the game.

But he's getting better. And he knows the parts of it he likes and how to get to those parts. It's a little bit scary to watch the determination on his face, actually.

I've convinced myself that it's teaching him hand/eye coordination and how to get along in this tech savvy world.

Mostly, though, it keeps him from acting like a 2 year old.

Friday Randoms

1- It's following me! Remember when I saw this truck on the freeway a couple of months back?

Well this week. . . it was parked in front of my building. . .

Is this a sign of some kind?

2- The one and only "sweetener" I can consume during this diet of mine is one called Xylitol. I won't go into the chemical reasons why this is OK and none of the other are. . . but it's not IN much, so it's not like it makes much of a difference. Ben bought me a bag of it at Good Earth which I use to sprinkle on my oatmeal in the morning, and then there's this gum:

For those times when I absolutely NEED some candy in the middle of the afternoon or I might die (yeah right), this stuff keeps me from caving.

17 days and counting!

3- I didn't do so well on my cleaning/purging last weekend. I barely spent an hour in the office . . . and it will require more like 12 hours, I'm guessing. . . Ben has invitational this weekend, so the odds of it getting done are slim to none. . . Nolan is NOT a good helper, it turns out. (who knew?)

Maybe I should tackle the linen closet instead?

Yeah, probably should.

4- Nolan spends a lot of time playing Wii with us these days. He BEGS for "mario play?!" all. day. long. Every day. He LIVES for the minute Ben walks in the door at night because I usually tell him "we can play when daddy gets home".

This is just a little snippit of what it looks like when they "play".



It's special.

But at least he's stopped touching (and threatening to topple onto himself) the TV. . .

5- If the stars all align as we want them to, sometime in the next 9 months we want to move. We are just plain grown out of our current place. But looking into home builders is just stressful, and buying an older place and renovating whilst we are living in it seems like a nightmare to me, as it would have to be done on a budget.

Does anyone have GOOD experiences with their builder? Or is it inevitable that the home buying & renovating/building process is pretty much a nightmare no matter what? Any thoughts on the subject?

Sundance TwentyTen

My Sundance list is going to be a little shorter than usual this year. Not because I didn't have a desire to go, but because I took such a huge chunk of time off for Christmas that I didn't feel good about taking vacation time for it.

First, was a set of documentary shorts. I went with the creative team from work (me and the 6 guys on my team) The only thing I can say about this series of 7 short films is this. . . I watch a lot of movies. I'm a relatively intelligent human being. But in 4 of the 7 cases, not only did I not understand how the short got in to Sundance, I didn't understand the point of having made it in the first place. There was no narrative. They didn't tell a remotely clear story. . .

But maybe it was just me. . .

So, to start the stretch of full length films, Nick, Cort, Melissa & I went to see Lourdes. The story of a pilgrimage to Lourdes in France, the movie was made by Austrians, but the language was French. It was really really interesting. It brought up huge themes like faith and jealousy and love, all through the story of one young woman, trapped in a wheel chair by paralysis. . . Why would one person be healed and not another? Why are some stricken by illness and not others? It was really interesting. I would not be surprised if it showed up on Netflix, and I would definitely recommend it, though the pace is a little slow.

The second day of films Nick & his cousin Katie & I first saw The Kids Are All Right. The cast was fabulous, the acting was great, and the story was really interesting. Unfortunately, there were a few graphic moments that cause me not to suggest it to those that are sensitive to such things. . . It's one time I'd be grateful to have Cleanflix. . .

And that was followed by Nick & I meeting Melissa at the Broadway for Night Catches Us. I have to admit, I wasn't sure how well I was going to like this. It could have gone either way. . . but this movie was character driven enough, and well enough written, that I found it really really interesting. I have never known much, if anything, about the Black Panther movement, but I dare say this is a perspective that hasn't been taken before.

Random on a Monday

1- My child is getting his 2 year old molars in. . . which means we are ALL miserable. Just when I thought we were past the teething thing for a while. . .

(There are 2 year old molars? WHAT?!)

is there anything more pitiful than a 2 year old sticking his fingers into his mouth and saying "it huts!" I submit that there is not.

2- Today is day 13 of my diet. . .

13 appears to be my lucky number as I have a touch of a headache today (though still not a migraine) and am feeling especially gross.

But I still haven't cheated!


3- 2 guys from Jimmy Johns just walked down our row handing out free sandwiches. . .

Seriously? Of COURSE that happens this week.

Does the fact that they came all the way to XANGO to hand us free sandwiches mean they're struggling? I hope not. I hope it means they're just really good marketers. . . because I don't want them to go away.

4- I saw my first REALLY GOOD movie of the year this week. Young Victoria. I will include it with my next review post, but seriously, RUN, don't walk to this movie. I want it to make money so they'll make MORE movies like this.