We did our taxes this weekend. Well, we didn’t, but our tax guy did. It’s always nice to know that you’re getting a refund. What was even nicer was to know that we are getting back money from the state taxes, too. It’s never really a lot of money, but it is better than having to pay!
Children’s Museum
On Sunday, I took the kids to the Children’s Museum in Flint. The last time I was there was with my two older boys when they were about 2 and 6. They’ve really changed it up and I was impressed.
There is an area that is all done up like you are under water. This reading room had an otter that Ella loved.
They improved the dental area a bit. Andrew had to show me the “tooth that had a cavity, but is now worth a lot of money.”
There is an area that has to be new, because I don’t remember it. It’s a pizzeria. Ella tried her hand at making pizzas.
The store that they had there is still around, but it has been redone. It is much better now. Andrew had to run the cash register for folks.
It was a fun afternoon. They each got a stuffed orca. Ella actually surprised me by calling it an orca! I have no idea where she learned that! We’ll be going back again.
Still to Come
Ella is excited because this Saturday is the Daddy Daughter Dance. She’s got a new dress and new shoes. I’ve gotta see if I can fit in my pants after taking all those steroids! If not, it’s gonna be a trip up to the store so I can look nice for my girl. I cannot wait for our special night.
She is also excited because her birthday is less than a week away!! She will be turning 5 on Monday. I have the day off and we will be celebrating her all day.
It seems like it’s been a while since I posted a non-music/personal blog. Believe me, it is not because of a lack of things going on! It seems like my wife and I have been on the go constantly with the craziness of every day life. So here is a brief update:
Happy Anniversary!
It certainly does not feel like it has been seven years, but who am I to question WordPress? Today marks 7 years of blogging on this platform for me.
This blog has been such an important part of my life the last 7 years. Those who have been with me from the beginning know that it started as my place to vent. Then I began sharing memories that I wanted to document before I couldn’t remember them anymore. Then I began to sprinkle in music, movies and entertainment themed pieces. Over time, I added features and that sort of brings us to where this blog is today.
This blog began shortly before I got remarried. The story of our courtship, proposal and wedding are chronicled here. The roads that led to the excitement and wonder of the birth of our two children are also well documented. Highlights from the last 7 years are here for future reference. The blogs here hold answers to questions my kids might have. These are for the future, just in case I am not around to share them.
I am so grateful to have this place in the Blog-o-verse/Blog-o-sphere to share things. I am happy to have connected with wonderful people – LIKE YOU – who interact with me, share your stories and offer encouragement. Thank you!
Kid Stuff
The entire country is experiencing the cold weather and many places are seeing snow for the first time in ages. I was surprised to see the snow on Pensacola Beach! There were plenty of snowy photos from my friends in the southern states on Facebook.
The cold temperatures canceled the entire week of school for my daughter. She loves school, so she was sad to miss. However, it did allow her and my son to join my wife and her mom at the local Children’s Museum. They had a blast spending the day there. She told me all about it when I got home.
They had a dress up area and a “carriage” that she got to ride in. All princesses need a carriage, right?
We have been waiting to get my son in for his CPAP sleep study. Our lab has been so busy that their first available appointment was in February. The problem is, we wanted it done before his appointment with the sleep neurologist next week. Thankfully, I heard that we had a couple cancellations this week. I called my wife and asked if she could come in that night with him. She was at Dance rehearsal with my daughter. So we made some arrangements and were able to get him in.
He wore CPAP for a short while when he was about 2 years old. He has since had adenoids removed and tonsils shaved. There is still apnea, so we thought it best to try the PAP route again.
Side Note: As a sleep technologist, I can tell you that there are plenty of adults who have trouble with CPAP. When people hear that my son (or any child) is on CPAP, they wonder how they do it! I think my son is a bit more prepared as I wear CPAP and my mask every night. He thinks he’s gonna be cool like dad with his mask.
This time around it was a bit more difficult for him. He was waking up WAY more than he did before. It was strange, because he has done it before. This time, however, he comes in with a diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome/Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. His arms and legs seem to move constantly!
Midway through the study, the tech asked my wife if this was what he did at home. In conversation, she happened to mention that his breathing looked shallow and wanted to know about any respiratory weakness. My wife said that he was working on core muscles in physical therapy. That was all the tech needed to know.
She returned to the tech room and adjusted the settings to ones we use for people with neuromuscular weakness. With a couple tweaks of the setting, my son settled and slept! Now all we have to do is wait for the doc to finalize the results. When finished, they will send over the script for the new machine. With that, my wife and I may actually sleep at night!
He was SO tired here!
Numb
You may recall that I have been suffering with numbness in my hands since the weekend after Christmas. At one point there was swelling, too. After a visit to my PCP, I was given a referral to another doctor in hopes of getting answers. This might include getting an EMG done.
I scheduled that appointment and it is finally happening next week. The problem I am having is that the numbness in my right hand is almost gone. Now there is just pain in the finger tips. My left had still has numbness mainly in the fingers. The pain and numbness is worse when I get up for the day. As much as I wish it would go away completely, I hope it is still there when I visit the doctor.
Favorite Childhood Book
I will begin posting the contributions from other bloggers for Share Your Nostalgia Part 2 the first week of February. It isn’t too late if you want to take part. The topic is to write about your favorite book from your childhood. It could be one your parents read you or the first book you checked out of the library. It could be one that you read to your children as they grew up. If interested, drop me a note at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com
Time Off – But Not For Fun
I am hoping to work ahead on the blog. At the end of February and early March I am taking time off work. My wife is having some surgery and I will need to be home with her. She’s not going to be able to do much, and I will have to play referee to the kids. She’ll be in a lot of pain, and so I need to be there with her. I’d appreciate if you would keep her in your thoughts.
I will try to post updates as I am able during that time.
This week, while it has been nice to have some new features to post here, I feel like I haven’t really told you what’s been up our way. It’s been a pretty busy week or so.
I had the chance to spend the day with my daughter this week. We went to lunch at McDonald’s (her choice). We went to one of the big public libraries that we had never been to before. They had all kinds of cool things for the kids to play with there. I could hardly get her to leave so we could go to the Children’s Museum.
At the Children’s museum, we did our normal stuff: the big water table, the indoor treehouse, played on the indoor ambulance, and went down the big slide. We took a detour and walked through another part of the museum which has old cars, old uniforms, an army tank, and other neat stuff. She was really fascinated by the cars, an old sled, and the old logging stuff.
We had a couple nice days where we got to sit outside and play. Both kids were excited to get on their scooters.
Daisy was loving playing fetch with her ball. I swear, she could play this all day. The school kids who play ball on the baseball diamond behind our house must have fouled a couple into our yard, because Daisy was chewing the cover off a couple of them.
She eats everything! Sam made the mistake of leaving one of the canvas laundry bags that hangs on our hamper on top of Daisy’s cage while we were gone the other day. We came home and that dog pulled the whole thing (including the metal rods) into her cage and chewed/ate it! Urgh!
It was actually nice enough last weekend that I was able to mow the grass for the first time. I am overdue to change the oil on my riding mower, so I hope to be able to do that before the next mow. It’s probably a guy thing, but I love the look of a fresh mowed lawn (even if there are spots because of the moles!).
The kids and I got to sit down and watch the new Bluey episodes. There were three of them – the third one being a “bonus” that no one said anything about. This little cartoon is something that I absolutely love. The extended 28 minute episode was to be the Season 3 finale and it was just amazing. It was so well done.
My buddy from work has a little girl and I was asking him how she was doing. He was talking about how they watched the new Bluey together and before we knew it, there we were – two grown men – talking about how great the show is. We joked and said that the show is an adult cartoon that kids can watch, too. It isn’t odd for my wife and I also find ourselves talking about the show.
The biggest thing from this week is that we took Andrew in to get more genetic testing. He is still having some issues and they wanted to dig a bit deeper. They are thinking there is a possibility of Muscular Dystrophy. Nothing is 100% yet, and we are certainly praying about it. We’re hoping that the results will help give us a few more answers and some direction.
I guess that brings you up to speed. Thanks for reading.
On Friday, my son told me that he wasn’t coming over for the weekend. Sam and I decided that we’d take Ella somewhere to burn off some energy (Andrew came along for the ride). When I got home from work Saturday morning, I stayed up and we all went to the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw.
I’d never been there before, but I was impressed with it. There was plenty of stuff for Ella to do. We thought she would spend more time at the “water area,” but she was only there for a short time. She was running from station to station and I probably lost a few pounds chasing her around.
We got there right when it opened, so there wasn’t a lot of people there. The longer we were there, the more crowded it got. Both Sam and I felt our anxiety levels rising, so we wrapped things up with a trip to the gift shop. Ella found a stuffed kitty cat that she hasn’t really let go of since our trip.
On our way home, we stopped at Halo Burger. Halo Burger is a Flint area restaurant that is known for their Olive Burgers. They are SO good!! They are also known for serving Boston Coolers (It’s like a shake with Vernor’s ginger ale and vanilla ice cream). We don’t go there often, but when I do, I always get a Boston Cooler. I brought it home and Sam had Ella try it. She called it “Ice Cream Pop.” Needless to say, she finished it off for me.
Later than night, we took the kids to see Sam’s grandma. She loves her great grandbabies. She is in her 90’s and sharp as a tack! I am so glad that the kids have had the opportunity to know her and love her.
Andrew has been scooting all over the floor now. I’m sure he is trying to keep up with his sister. I know that it won’t be long before his is crawling and walking all over the place. This week, he actually got himself sitting up. It’s not consistent yet, but he seems pretty dang happy when he is sitting up and able to look around.
He was recently evaluated by the doctor and he will need a helmet. We’re hoping that he will only have to wear it for a couple months. The helmet will basically help to make sure his head is shaped properly. We’re hoping that the helmet won’t slow down his progress by weighing him down. He should be getting it this week.
He is such a happy baby. He always seems to be wearing a smile. Sam has been playing a game with the kids where she makes Andrew “get” Ella. They both laugh out loud and I love watching them!
I just love the outfit Andrew has on …
All of my kids are pretty awesome, there is no doubt about that.
A friend of mine posted something on Facebook that was 100% true and really struck a chord with me this week. It said:
Your first kid teaches you how long the days are. Your last kid teaches you how short the years are.
Powerful stuff! That’s why I try to take advantage of all the time I can with them.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 