Hangin' in There!

I will try to post more, I promise. There really is no excuse, except for that I've been hard at work writing and researching that I forget to post as well. I have joined a four week community writing course and tonight will be my third meeting, so I am always rushing to finish something to share at the class...

As for us, things have definitely mellowed out here over the past few days.

Cohen has been limping a lot on his left leg. Sometimes, he has trouble walking at all. We're not sure why this is becoming such a constant issue for him. We had it x-rayed and the images showed nothing concerning. It's another big mystery for this little guy. He has good days and not so good days, but his health seems to be stable so we will deal with the limp...for now.

I can say this because there are other tests in the works for Cohen and I'm hoping they might indicate something we can begin to treat. We went to the metabolic/genetic doctor we have been waiting FOREVER to see on Tuesday, and although we had to drive over an hour to get to him, it was well worth the drive. We were not disappointed.

The visit lasted two and a half hours and he was very straightforward and honest, no matter what questions I asked. I LOVE THAT! I'm so tired of doctors who try to sugarcoat everything instead of just giving it like it truly is.

So we will wait at least a week for results. Tomorrow, we go back to the hematologist to check Cohen's WBC count. If his ANC is below 1,000, we will start him on medication to stimulate his WBC production, although I have a feeling his numbers will be fine. He seems fairly comfortable right now.

As for the other two kiddos:

Hannah is doing very, very well. She is getting back to her old happy, playful self. The potty-training seems to be finally clicking and if we continue to remind her to go, she does and is fairly independent. For the first time after being a parent for over nine years, I can hand my kid clothes and ask her to get dressed. I can have her pick up her messes and she insists on brushing her teeth and flossing every night before bed. The future is beginning to look a bit easier... :)



Jenna is still our accident-prone child. She got a huge lump below her kneecap - probably happened climbing the jungle gym contraption on the playground at school. When I dug my finger in to feel around, my kid just sat there looking at me and sighed. Huh. I would do a whole heck of a lot more than sigh if someone was doing that to me!!! I'm not sure she feels it as much as I would, which may explain her lack of complaint, or limp for that matter. It is an ugly purple color and looks incredibly painful. Anyways, the swelling went down a little this morning, but if it is still swollen this afternoon we might have to take her to the doctor.

And finally there is Craig, who must have handed down the whole accident-prone thing to his daughter. A few days ago, Hannah wanted to play hide-n-seek, so Craig lay hidden on the couch as she counted. When she ran out of the room to find him, he quickly sat up and scrambled to jump over the back of the couch. You know what's coming, don't you?

Since when do you try to jump over the tallest part of something? To his credit, he almost made it, but caught his big toe on the highest curve of the couch-back and landed awkwardly on his butt on the other side.

The first thing he yells out?

Ow-ow-ow, I broke a nail!

I broke a nail?! I could not stop laughing.

To make up for giving my husband a hard time: Saturday, he was out working hard in the yard and the girls thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch some sunshine.

Our grass had begun to grow little foreign sprouts, so it was time to mow them down.

Our diva-child in the messy garage - hey, we did just move...uhum.

Hannah enjoys all of the toys Jenna received years ago, jeep included.

Jenna, on the other hand...
Loves looking at the very few flowers we actually have in our pathetically sparce flower bed.

Not to be distracted too long by any one toy, Hannah moves quickly from the jeep to the tricycle, yet another remnant from Jenna's younger years.

And just when I started thinking how sad it was that Hannah was enjoying all of Jenna's toys...

Jenna climbs on into her Jeep and becomes the only child to actually push the gas pedal to make it go.

We were only too happy to help her with the steering.