Spray Park Fun

June, 2010 - Midland boasts two spray parks geared towards entertaining young children. Fortunately, one of these spray parks is on-site at their Summer Day Camp. Here are a few pics of Ella splish-splashing.

Ella's First Dance Recital

May, 2010 - Ella was rewarded for her weekly ballet/gymnastics classes with a End of the Year performance which included all levels of dancers. The highlight for her was hands-down, the costume. Her instructor, Olga, bedazzled these aspiring ballerinas in a lavish ensemble, complete with a sequined bodice, tulle skirt and crushed velvet choker-style necklace. I had to hide the outfit until the dress rehearsal for fear that she would try to sleep in it.

Being the stage lover that I am, it was so wonderful to watch Ella's eyes light up upon seeing the brightly lit stage for the first time. "You mean, I get to go up there, mommy?" During the performance I was fortunate enough to have Lily on my lap. She too was enamored with the bright lights, pretty music and beautiful costumes, excitedly proclaiming each dance number to be more beautiful than the last!

World's Longest Bowling Game

Once a month, Ella's preschool has a Parent Interaction Day. On this day, there is no school and parents are asked to participate in a pre-determined activity with their child. Our most recent outing took place on Thursday - Earth Day. And what earth-friendly, age appropriate activity did the staff plan? BOWLING. Forget the fact that it's Earth Day and bowling has virtually no tie in with the environment (other than the fact that the earth and the ball are both round), but have you ever watched a four year old try to bowl? The balls are too heavy, so you can throw form out the window. And because these little guys are so tiny, those big heavy balls had a really hard time making it down the alley at all, let alone knocking over any pins!

Ella and her friend and fellow bowler, Macy.

The excited bowler.


She hated the shoes.

Struggling to hold the 6 pound ball.

Watch mom! Her max speed was 1.57 mph.

Of course, this was all lost on the kids, who had a great time bowling and playing with their friends and families. At the end of the game, which lasted well over one hour, scores and technique forgotten, I realized it didn't matter what we do, as long as we're doing it together.

Backyard Discoveries

I made two rather unfortunate discoveries today as I continued to poke around in our new back yard:

1) I really want to build a raised garden bed for some vegetables this year. I have never done this in the past due to our transient renter status, although I have dabbled here and there with tomatoes and herbs. So this Spring, I have started over 100 seedlings on our dining room table and yesterday, plotted out an area that I thought would get optimal sunshine. While we were outside this morning, shovels in hand, Tim pointed out that the leaves weren't out on the trees yet, so we couldn't be sure that this area would get enough sun. I did not factor leaves into the equation when choosing the area for a vegetable garden. Unfortunately, I don't think I can find a single 12' x 12' plot that will get enough full sun. The only other option is to put it on our patio, which is not that big and already houses our patio set. Once again feeling like a rookie, I have to rethink size and dimensions before moving forward. Good thing the seedlings will need a couple more weeks indoors. Frost warnings are in the forecast for next week!

2) I've been curious as to why there is an oval shaped rock garden in one of the garden beds near the back of our yard, so today I started to put the rocks into a wheel barrow to move to another location closer to the house. The kids quickly joined in, eager to help and get their hands dirty. Fifteen minutes into the project, three distinct mounds started to take shape. The words 'pet cemetery' instantly flashed through my mind, along with the recollection that the former owner did indeed bury her cats on the property. Needless to say, the rocks were replaced, and I am kinda horrified.

The Dog Whisperer

This dog came right up to Ted at the 'Calypso'
And this dog walked right up to Ted and sat on his foot. So cute!

Lunch with Tim

Check out my feather earrings! Yet another purchase from La Farmacia.

Empanadas for lunch.

Our neighbors

Horses appeared in our neighbors yard for an afternoon!

The next day, a HUGE Puerto Rican family showed up for a fiesta. Complete with their own portable deep fat fryer on wheels. They were gone by sunset.

Walking the Horse Trail

I happened across a trail that followed the coast line for about two miles. At times we were on the beach, while the trail also went up over areas with cliffs and rock faces. It was beautiful!

Evenings

The following photos were taken at our local watering hole, the 'Calypso', which is walking distance from Tres Amigos (although Ted and Liz usually drove). "Jersey G and the Drum Bum" were the entertainment for the evening. Awful name, great music.

Not this one, but I had to include it.

The matching earrings are courtesy of Liz. We loved going to La Farmacia on daily runs for chica jewelry, candy and sunscreen.

Jah mon!

Eb wanted mom to dance to bad, he finally pried her off of the barstool for about 30 seconds!

Late night card games. Apples to Apples was fun. Barb was the winner.

Afternoon time

Barb sipping one of Eb's delicious daiquiri's. She looks so happy!

Ted cracked open a coconut! And he said you couldn't do it...

I love this picture! Note the hammock in the background. This was a coveted afternoon siesta spot.

Mojitos!


Liz sporting her signature piece and festive fruity straw.

Ted relaxing on the patio.

Beach time

We spent most mornings down at the beach. Eb rented three boogie boards, which we shared and used frequently. The toughest part was swimming with our flippers out the long distance to get over the surf break. Once out there, it was just a waiting game to find the perfect wave to ride. Totally tubular!

Rincon, Puerto Rico

Our beach house was a dodecagon with two bedrooms upstairs and a cabana suite downstairs. Mom and Eb took the mini cottage down stairs, while the 'kids' laid claim on the upstairs bedrooms. These pictures are all from the back of the house. The front of the house faces the ocean, which is approx. 250 ft. in fron of us, separated by a vacant lot. Our beach access was a hot spot for the local surfer population. Liz and I enjoyed watching the 'sweet brah's' load up their boards at the end of each day.

Mom treated us to tapas and mojitos at Casa Islena on our first evening in Rincon. We ate outside for every meal we had while in Rincon. The breeze was always steady and warm!

Catheter ablation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Catheter ablation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Catheter ablation is an invasive procedure used to remove a faulty electrical pathway from the hearts of those who are prone to developing cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardias (SVT) and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
It involves advancing several flexible catheters into the patient's blood vessels, usually either in the femoral vein, internal jugular vein, or subclavian vein. The catheters are then advanced towards the heart and high-frequency electrical impulses are used to induce the arrhythmia, and then ablate (destroy) the abnormal tissue that is causing it.
Catheter ablation is usually performed by an electrophysiologist (a specially trained cardiologist) in a cath lab.
Catheter ablation of most arrhythmias has an extremely high success rate.[citation needed] For SVT, WPW, and atrial flutter, the success rates are 95-98%.[citation needed] For automatic atrial tachycardias, the success rates are 70-90%.[citation needed] The potential complications include bleeding, blood clots, pericardial tamponade, and heart block, but these risks are very low, ranging from 0.5-3%.

Jack's abnormal tissue is located right posterior septal (back of the right side of his heart). Kind of a tricky spot, but Dr. Dick is confident and very reassuring.

Jack's heart

I wanted to take a moment to share recent developments from our latest trip to U of M's Mott Children's Hospital's Pediatric Cardiology clinic with Jack. Jack was born with a rare congenital heart disorder, known as Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome. Below gives a brief explanation:

Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome : University of Michigan Health System: "Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a rare congenital heart disorder involving irregularities in the electrical system of the heart. In individuals with WPW syndrome, an abnormal alternate electrical pathway (accessory pathway), exists between the atrium and the ventricle, resulting in abnormal heartbeat rhythms (arrhythmias) and faster than normal heartbeats (tachycardia).

The normal heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers are the atria and the two lower chambers are the ventricles. Within the right atrium of a normal heart is a natural pacemaker that initiates and controls the heartbeat. The electrical stimulus travels from the pacemaker (sinoatrial or SA node) to the ventricles along a specific pathway consisting of conducting tissue and known as the AV (atrioventricular) node. The extra electrical pathway in individuals with WPW syndrome bypasses the normal route and causes the ventricles to beat earlier than normal (preexcitation) and can allow electrical impulses to be conducted in both directions (i.e., from the atria to the ventricles and from the ventricles to the atria)."

With the exception of the first 15 days of Jack's life, he has been for the most part, asymptomatic. Since then, he has only had a few instances of SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia), where his heart races uncontrollably. We've known that Jack will most likely need a catheter ablation to eliminate the WPW and risks associated, completely. Dr. MacDonald Dick has been our cardiologist for seven years now, and annually we have met with him to hear his thoughts on Jack's candidacy for this procedure. Each year Dr. Dick has told us that yes, Jack has WPW, but no, the procedure is not necessary. Yet.

Yesterday at Jack's appointment in Ann Arbor, I was told that Jack weighs enough and is now a good candidate for the catheter procedure. Tim and I have been in agreement, and I shared with the medical staff, that I feel as though we are just waiting for another episode of SVT to occur, and I don't want to wait anymore. I would prefer that Jack have the procedure so he can live a normal, active life, with no fear of passing out, dizziness, or God forbid, cardiac arrest. I was so fortunate to see a friendly face yesterday at the clinic, Brynn Dechert! She is an LPN who works closely with Dr. Dick in scheduling the ablations, and although she will be on maternity leave in June, it was so nice to see her yesterday. We went through middle school together and spent many summers together at Interlochen Arts Camp.

So this June, after school gets out, our brave little man is heading to U of M to fix his heart! He will likely only spend one day in the hospital, and have little or no scarring, as the catheters will be enter through his nose, armpit, and groin. I will include info in the next post on the procedure.

Nervous? A little, but I am mostly feeling relief in knowing that we will finally be able to put this 7 year chapter behind us. After we returned home yesterday, and I had a moment to process things, I started thinking about the 10 day nightmare we went through in 2002, when we rushed Jack to the ER because his lips were turning blue and his heart rate was over 300 bpm, and I became overwhelmed with emotion. That was the most difficult, scary time of my life, and I am very much looking forward to the day when I can send Jack off to a soccer or baseball game and not worry about a racing heart, but rather, the score of the game.

Moving Right Along...

Thanks to the help of two guys who know how to tile and drywall, our bathroom project is moving right along. Tim and I did all of the demo work and painting, but needed a hand with the details... you know, like taking a toilet off the phalange, and laying tile and drywall. Here's where we're at so far!

The saw...
Avocado. The previous back splash color.

Kate just wanted to help.

Demo man. He ripped his favorite pants, and considered cut off short-shorts.

Pocket door is gone, the wall is on its way!

Bye bye wall!

New paint and flooring. Vanity, mirror, sinks, fixtures and lighting still to come!

The shiny new floors.

Our finished mantle.