The Shorts' Seasons

I'm BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-31T22:06:00.002+01:00

Okay, after six months of trying to get my laptop fixed after Alex accidentally dropped it and trying to 'survive' on our not-so ancient in age but fossilised in technology desktop, I've got my laptop back and back in business. I haven't been able to post anything as our desktop is so slow and it doesn't take much for it to freezes and needs to be re-started. But, now I'm here, I'm alive, and ready to catch everyone up on all our activities. Just bear with me, and I'll get there.

Little Buddha

2009-04-24T11:06:00.005+01:00

Okay. My son is something else, and can surprise us at a drop of a hat. He's rather sharp and quick of mind, so nothing passes by him.
A few weeks into the school year, he was really having some problems settling down after a full day in class. I was trying EVERYTHING to get him to just chill, but nothing seemed to work. One day, at wit's end, I kind of lost it and had to go upstairs and do some deep breathing to calm myself. Alex came around to find me, saw me sitting on the bed with my eyes closed and blocking out everything. Next thing I know, I felt him crawl up on the bed and sit next to me. I opened one eye, and this is what I saw.

What makes it even better is you could hear him going 'hum... hum... hum...' It was rather quite funny. I started laughing, which defeated the purpose of me trying to get my breathing under control. He started laughing, which was the best thing for him as it seemed to calm him down.
Now, when he starts getting a bit too wound up or just looses control, we tell him that it's time to find his center of calm. So, he'll sit down with crossed legs, hold out his hands with his middle fingers and thumbs pressed together, and you can hear the 'hum... hum... hum...' Give him five minutes and he's okay.
The killer end to this story is: a few nights ago I was watching something on Discovery, and part of the program was about Buddha. Alex took one look at a statue and said 'Hey, mom. Is that what I look like when I'm mediating (meditating)?' What do you think? All we need is for him to show his belly button so we can rub it for good luck. Right now, we can use a bit.

Here they are.......

2009-02-26T12:02:00.004Z

Well, here they are. My new shoes. It has taken a long time to get to this point, where I could actually wear a shoe on my right foot. The break last year was not so bad, but if it had been taken care of properly when it first happend (late Jan 2008), then I would not be in the possition I am in now. It does look like I have my left shoe on my right foot, but that's the shape of it now.

One thing that this has really brought home is how lucky I am to actually have my right foot. In Dec. 2005 I almost lost it to an infection that just wouldn't go away. I had to have two surgeries to clean up the mess and to remove the dead tissue that had been festering for a while (unknown to us). I wasn't responding to treatment, and the Vascular surgeon called in a plastic surgeon to have a look at my foot to see if he could recommend anything as they couldn't take any more of the foot without amputating. I was in an isolation room as I was fighting systemic MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) as well (a secondary infection that is resistant to penicillan that can kill), so to hear the plastic surgeon tell me that I had a 5-70% chance of loosing the foot if it didn't start responding to treatment - well, let's just say that I went into shock.

When Mr. Andrews, my Vascular surgeon, found out what the other guy had said and that he wasn't sympathetic to my situation (let's face it, the guy was as blunt as a dull butter knife rusted to oblivion), he hit the roof. He did some calling around and got a second opinion. After a few more phone calls he came into my room with a smile on his face. He had two choices of treatment, and neither one was cheap. The first one was to use a special honey made only in New Zealand. They would apply it like glue and change the dressings every two days. This sounded reasonable, but he did say that because of the damage done it may not work. Okay. It was the second option that he was advocating and hoped that I would feel the same. It's called larval therapy.

Larval therapy is an age-old treatment that has been used for MANY, MANY years and has a proven track record. It was used during WWII, especially in hot countries when an open and un-treated wound was a death sentence. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It was just the thought of what it involved that turned our stomaches just a bit.

What it involves is taking magots from a certain fly, treating them with radiation, and then applying it to the wound. You leave it for three days, and the larvae then EAT the necrotic (dead) tissue, leaving the healthy tissue alone. After three days, the dressings are taken off and the wound is left alone for a day or two before the next lot are applied. If we were to do it, we had to get the order in quick, so I gave the go ahead before I could talk to Andrew and tell him everything. There is only one lab here in the UK that could treat the larvae, and it is in Wales. Once treated, they have to be implanted in less than 48 hours, including transportation time. As we were looking at the week before Christmas with it's time constraints as it was, there wasn't much time to loose.

Fast forward to 19 Dec 2005. The larvae arrived at the hospital and Mr. Andrews and his team came down to my room to do the application. Now, my room wasn't very big - enough for a bed, a chair, a bedside table, and about four people at a push. I had 15 (yes, 15) people packed into my room as Mr. Andrews and his nurse were the only ones who had seen this done and everyone else was curious. I felt like I was in a gold-fish bowl, to tell you the truth. They managed to get things done, no problem, and I was left with I.V.s in both arms, and one foot banaged up with 'little creepy-crawlies' in residence.

For three days every time I looked at the foot I was curious as to what, if anything, the little monsters were doing. For the first two days I couldn't feel anything, but on the third day I could actually feel if they hit healthy tissue. IT HURT!!! But, you can't actually feel them move around. When the surgeon came down to look at it, I could see by the look on his face that it was working. After just one treatment and three days the therapy was working!!! The order went in for another treatment.

After three weeks in hospital I was released for the night on 23 Dec, with the promise that I would return before lunch the next day to have the treatment applied. I jumped at the chance to go home for the night. So on Christmas Eve, Andrew took me back to the hospital for the treatment. We still weren't sure what was going to happen with me over Christmas as my ward was actually going to be closed for three days, so imagine our joy when the nurses handed over my discharge papers and all the meds I was going to have to be on while we waited for someone to come down and apply the larvae.

Again, I was the subject of intense scrutiny as the nurse applied my friends, this time with almost 20 people crammed into my little room and even over-flowing in the doorway. In fact, several of the patients in my ward who had heard what was going on wanted to see these things!!!! I was just so thankful that it was working, I didn't mind at all being watched again.

Here we are, more than three years later, and I have a foot. In the end, I ended up loosing close to 40% of my right foot from the back of the heel to the top of the arch. They had to cut all the way down to the ligiments, complete from side to side. It took a good 10 months for this to heal, only to loose the big toe on my left foot in Dec that year to a bone infection!!!!

So, as I look at the mishapen mess that is my right foot, I am thankful that I have the foot, even if I will never be able to wear 'fashionable' shoes again. Nor will I be able to ride a bike, run, jump, drive a car, or be very active. I can walk, I can (kind of) dance with Alex, and I can get around. Maybe someday they will come up with a way to correct Charcot foot, but in the meantime, I will wear my shoes with pride. After all, I have two (left) feet!!!

Pay it Forward

2009-02-19T17:21:00.001Z

Ok to win on another site I had to post this on mine.. Paying it forward The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what it will be is a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift. Let's see who looks at my blog!If I don't have your home address, please leave it for me. ...and don't forget I get a whole year! SO maybe when you least expect it!!!!

NEW SHOES!!!

2009-02-16T12:38:00.002Z

Okay, I was going to wait until I could get some pictures taken to download, but I am so excited I CANNOT wait!!! I GOT THEM!!!! I am OUT of my AirCast!!! Six months of that thing would drive anyone crazy, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to be walking out of the hospital this morning wearing my new shoes. Well, boots really. They are a type of hiking boot, and even though you can tell there is something wrong with my right foot, IT'S A SHOE!!!! Alex is off of school this week (half-term break), so he was at the hospital this morning with me when we went to pick up to shoes. He took one look at them, kind of grinned, and said, 'cool, mom.' Okay, so he's only five.

It's really strange walking around with these things on. I haven't been able to move my ankle for six months because of the AirCast, and I have had that rigid support all the way up to my knee as well. I'm taking it nice and slow and am just relishing being able to walk 'normally' for the first time in months. Oh well.

Like I said, I was just a bit excited about this momentous event. Photos to come later.

Class mascott

2009-02-10T14:07:00.008Z

When I was in kindergarten ---- years ago, we had a class mascott, a hampster. We all took turns taking him home over the weekends and it was great fun. Only problem, we ended up attracting mice the weekend I took him home.

Alex brought his classroom mascott home this last weekend. Barnaby was a great hit with Alex, and they did EVERYTHING together. What was even better is that Barnaby is a - teddy bear. Alex dragged this poor bear all over the house. He took him 'camping', he took him on imagined trips to America and they Seychelles. He wanted to take him outside in the snow, but we managed to change his mind. He also felt so bad that Barnaby didn't have any winter clothes, so asked me to knit him a little scarf, which I had to do. He picked out the color of the yarn and told me now long to make it, so now he has a little scarf in his overnight case to keep him warm. Barnaby also ended up in bed with Alex, and of course

with us.

Alex was sad to take him back to school today (he was home sick yesterday with a nasty cold), but we took some photos and Alex has asked me to make up some scrapbook pages for his book about Barnaby's visit. For a real boys boy, Alex can be quite sentimental. I am looking forward to working on those pages with Alex next week.

(Alex, Barnaby, and the scarf Alex asked me to knit)

Child of the 80's

2009-02-07T14:14:00.002Z

I am a sad person. Andrew had taken Alex up the road to get some bread and a treat and I started channel surfing. I normally don't watch any music television, but I was working my way through the twenty or so music channels when a title of a program caught my eye: "Bonnie Tyler's Top 50 80's Power Ballads". Okay, I thought, let's give this a try. I can listen to the music and get some chores done.

Three hours later I am STILL listening to the music and singing along to each and every song!!! You know you are a child of the 80's when you can sing along to Bon Jovi, Poison, Ultra Vox, Whitney Houston, George Michael, & right now Bette Middler. Andrew and I have been teaching Alex how to dance to it, (although I'm not moving too well), and we didn't realise how much of an influence our likes are on Alex. When Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" came on, Alex was not only moving REALLY well to it, but he was singing along as well!!!! I mean, I know he loves Queen and Foriegner (just a few of the CD's I play a lot of), but it didn't dawn on me how much he really likes this type of music as well.

Speaking of being a child of the 80's - it's my 20th High School Reuniion this summer. It cannot somehow be 20 years since I was in high school. Twenty years since I've been plauged by Algebra 3, Chemistry 2, Physics 1 & 2, and loving every minutes of working on the school paper. Yes, I was a sucker for punishment my Senior Year. I could have sailed by in my last year as I had fullfilled most of my requirements by the end of my Junior Year. But no, I take Algebra 3, Chem 2, and BOTH Physics 1 & 2. What was I thinking? Even to this day, I don't know.

Anyway, back to the music. I've decided to go through our CD collection just to see what's in there, really. Between the three of us we own over 300 CDs. Most of them are - you guessed it - music from the 80's. Stuff that I had actually forgotten about as well. Don't get me wrong, we like the modern stuff (Andrew's a huge fan of Katie Melua and Dido and I really enjoy James Blunt and Andre Bocceli), but it's kind of sad that we have kind of stuck to this stuff. If you have a listen to my playlist here, you can probably tell that I kind of stuck in a rutt. What can I say.

Interesting fact

2009-02-05T14:46:00.002Z

Hey, have you ever wondered who named a gnome a gnome? I mean, the silent 'g' kind of throws some people, and it just doesn't make any sense. Well, we found out yesterday while watching daytime T.V. how they got their name.

G - guarding

N - naturally

O - over

M - mother

E - earth

I knew I would finally learn something from watching 'Bargin Hunt' every day.

Just thought I'd pass this one. You never know when it's going to come up in a quiz.

Time to flip the grill, Mom

2009-01-13T11:13:00.002Z

Alex has a habit that tends to make life pretty funny for us, especially in the middle of the night. He talks in his sleep. I don't mean mumbling, but actual conversational talking. Some nights if he crawls into bed with us and both he and Andrew have had bad days, they will talk to each other. Some nights I just about make it through without throwing one or both of them out of bed!!

A few weeks ago, Alex decided that he needed to come and get into our bed yet again. He had a bad couple of days, so it was really more for comfort and re-assurance than for anything else. I heard him troddle (yes, that is a word. It's one we made up!!) up the stairs into our room, and we got him into bed where he promptly fell asleep. About five mintues later, Andrew was sound asleep again, and I was just laying there trying to get comfortable and to block out the snoring.

Now, Alex suffers from eczema as well, and it's his legs that tend to be the most effected. They have been pretty clear this autumn, but where had been below freezing for most of the winter (which is REALLY unusual for this part of England) and the central heating in school and home and then the freezing temps outside haven't really helped the situation at all. He really scratched them a lot in his sleep, and he hates having the blankets touch his legs if they are bad.

Now, this particular night Alex was really starting to dig into his legs, so I decided to rub them to help aleviate the discomfort. About twenty minutes after I started, Alex just turned towards me and was talking to me. The next thing I know, he shouts out, "Time to flip the grill, Mom!". It was then that I realised that he was sound asleep. I got laughing so hard it took me a good half an hour to settle back down before I could even think of going to sleep.

The only thing I can think that he meant was that he wanted me to move over to give him a bit of room. But this is a kid who can take up an entire King sized bed all on his own. I guess my mom has gotten her revenge on me....

Everyone, meet Frosty...the Snow Lump

2009-01-05T22:31:00.005Z

This morning (5 Jan 2009), Alex ran upstairs to the loft yelling at the top of his lungs "IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT!! It snowed mom!! Dad, it really, really snowed!!!" This kid loved playing in the snow, and we have been lucky that it's snowed every year for at least one day so he can have his playtime.

Now, where we live in England we get cold winters, but it hardly ever snows. Mostly, it rains. And rains. And rains. So to have enough snow to go out and play with daddy is something else. As I've had a lot of problems with my feet I haven't been able to go out with Alex, so I get to stay inside and take the photos and STAY WARM!! Plus, growing up in northern Utah, I've had my fill of the white stuff. But not Alex. I don't think he'll ever grow tired of it.

Anyway, we never get more than a couple of inches - usually just enough to cover the grass and play equipment out back. There's never been enough of it to make a proper snowman, but that doesn't stop Alex from trying. The joke with him is to actually build something more like a large lump. Every year he looks the same. Every year Alex tries and tries, but he still looks like a lump of snow. So, may I introduce you all to Frosty the Snow Lump.This picture was actually taken last year, but what's so funny is that this year's creation looks exactly the same. To color in the face they use an old tea bag to die the snow that color, and yes, that is a flower pot on it's head. Hey, don't you know that all snowmen (lumps) need a hat?

This was such a good ending for Alex's Christmas break, as he had to go back to school today. It's cold enough here right now that the snow hasn't melted, and it won't melt anytime soon, so I can just imagine that he's going to go into his Bob The Builder mode at school and supervise the building of a proper snowman with all the kids in the school involved. With 210 kids, they should be able to get an impressive one made.

New Year's Resolutions - BAH HUMBUG!!!

2009-01-05T11:43:00.002Z

I don't know about you, but every year I try to make resolutions that I fell that I can accomplish. One year it was to write in my journal at least once a week - just about what I was thinking, not what had happened to me. That one was quite fun, and I made it through to the end of December. A few years ago I promised myself that I was going to try to see the best in everyone and not be so judgemental. I'm still trying to stick with that one; I think I'm doing okay.

But most of the time my New Year's Resolutions don't really last beyond March, April at the latest. As you know, I've had some pretty unusual health problems the last few years and have spent some amount of time in hospital each year for the last five years. usually around Christmas. So, last year I made this big song and dance that I was not going to go back in to hospital at all. Um, yeah. That one didn't last a week.

I was admitted back in for another emergency surgery on the afternoon of 4 Jan, and was under the surgeon's knife a few hours later. Okay, I was only in for three days, but I also ended up in hospital another four times. Not only that, but I lost my job, found out that my right foot is now pretty much going to always look like a permanent lump of disfigured wood, and have a scar the size of a dinner plate on my shoulder (hey, it also looks a bit like a gun shot wound - good conversation piece when I'm at the beach). There are a lot of things that I can no longer do because of the foot problem, and yes, there are times when I get pretty resentful about the fact that the SENIOR orthopedic surgeon missed the problems that were even present in late January. My biggest regret is that I can never run in the grass with Alex again.

This year, I decided to try something different. I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions per-say. I decided to just take what life throws at me. I'm going to make lemonade every time I catch a bushel of lemons, and I'm going to set up a stall and give it away. I can't promise that I'm not going to succeed every time (I'm far from perfect), or that I'm going to do a Pollyanna, but I'm going to try. That's all I can do.

Oh, and if I don't end up having to stay in hospital at all, that's an added bonus. Maybe I'll find a recipe for diabetic Lemon Meringue Pie.

My smart alec Alex

2009-01-02T18:57:00.002Z

Alex is good at math. He's always loved to work with numbers, and one of his favorite bedtime activities is to play 'head numbers' - that is, you ask him simple math questions and he'll try to answer them as quick as he can. This isn't just simple addition and subtraction, but multiplication as well. We're still working on the idea of division, but I won't be suprised if he can do that sooner than later.

He also likes to think that he knows E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Hey, he is five years old after all. Not only does that make him brave (see earlier post about him being my hero), but it also gives him the perogative to think he's all knowing. The other day he kind of proved himself right in that effect.

We were having a typical mommy/son discussion about the merrits of eating a healthy lunch to make your mind and body grow up compared to the downside of just eating junk. I made the comment that, hey, I'm Mommy, I know more than you do. He retaliated with "Well, I'm five. I know everything mom". Okay, I was going to prove him wrong. Right.

"Okay honey, if you know everything, what's 10 x 10?" I asked.

Only two or three seconds passed before he answered with "100". Very convinsingly, as well.

"You're right!" Big grin on his face. "What's 100 + 100 then?" I asked again.

Not a moment passed when he shouted out "200!"

Okay. I'm the Mommy. I am GOING to prove to him that he doesn't know everything. I thought for a second as to what question I could ask him when I thought of a rather tricky one for him. "Alex, I know something you don't know. What's the square root of 25?"

He looked at me with a big smile on his face and just said one word: "Five."

Needless to say, we haven't had any more arguments about Mommy knowing everything.

This is a scary thought that he knew that answer. He's only five. He's only in Reception (Kindergarten). He is already causing me sleepless nights knowing what's ahead of us. I just hope that all of his future teachers see this love of math and numbers and cultivate it as much as we are trying. Oh, give me strength to keep this up.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T13:21:00.002Z

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's hoping that we can all forget all the stresses and strains of every day life - even if only for a short time. The state of the world's economies seems to be in the forefront of everyones minds, and our thoughts are with those effected personally by all the uncertainty. Let's all hope that 2009 is less stressfull.

Movies

2008-12-08T10:49:00.005Z

I love my baby sister.

Every year, the five of us 'kids' exchange names for Christmas. This year my sister Rhiannon and her husband Bart had our names for Christmas, and we got thier package on Friday afternoon. There were six gifts in the box; one of them for me said to 'Open Early'. Rhi knows me, and no-one has managed to suprise me very much 'cause I can (usually correctly) guess what my presents are before I open them. This one was a tell-tale DVD, but I wasn't sure which one. I know we had talked about things for Alex & Andrew, but not for me. I guess she had talked to mom a few times about ideas.

I talked to her last night to let her know we got the presents (& also to tell her that customs at this end went through things), and she asked if I had opened the one for me. I told her I hadn't, so she told me to open it while we were talking.

Drum-rolls please...................

For thos of us of a certain generation in the States, there is one Christmas movie that pretty much defines us. All I will say is this: Ralphie and his 'genuine Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle'.

Yup, I love my sister. I have tried unsucessfully for 12 years to find 'A Christmas Story' over here, and now here I am, the proud recipent of one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. For those of you who have never had the pleasure, it is one of those 'must haves' movies. To me it's up there with 'Singin' in the Rain', 'Star Wars', & 'South Pacific' (three of my top-ten movies of all times). I'm lucky that I can play discs from the States on my lap-top, and I've already watched it once this morning. I really want to watch it with Andrew, but me thinks Alex is still a bit too impresionable. At the moment it's cold enough to re-enact the flagpole scene.

Okay, I triple-dog-dare you NOT to watch it this year.

Christmas is coming

2008-11-17T12:35:00.003Z

I just read a blog from one of my step-sisters where she said that she actually used the term "You'd better watch out....." the other day to her kids. You know it's close to Christmas when you find yourself saying things like this.

The other day Alex and his school friend Louise were play-fighting in the car, and both her mom and I were at wit's end. I turned around and told Alex that if he didn't settle down, Santa would leave him all the Barbie toys under the tree. I have never seen that kid get so quiet so fast. Louise started laughing, and her mom told her that she was going to get all the Action Man (the English equivalent to G.I. Joe) toys under thier tree if she didn't start acting like a proper young lady.

All I can say is this: silence for the last ten mintues of the car jouney home.

Next time the kids start acting up, try that one. See if it works. But make sure you have a toy in mind that they really DON'T want before you make the 'threat'.

School photo

2008-11-12T09:42:00.005Z

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! After weeks of problems with posting on this blog and not being able to download any photos, everything is sorted. So, let me do the unveiling of the official FIRST SCHOOL PICTURE!!!!!

I still cannot believe that my baby is in school. Here in England they start Reception (Kindergarten) the September of the school year they turn 5; I think it's just way too early. We didn't hold him back (which we could have legally), but it meant that he would have missed out on Reception all together and gone straight in to Year 2 next year.

I spoke to one of the classroom assistants who actually works at his pre-school as well, and she told me that Alex has just taken to school like a fish to water. He has settled in really well, gets on with all of the students in school (not just in his class), and looks forward to school every day. He has told me there is one girl he has a 'love/hate friendship' with, and as long as he and Adelaide aren't put together in the same groups they get along just fine. It's a case of too many chiefs and not enough scouts!!!!

I guess it's a good sign that he's really settled in when we realised that if he had had his own way last week we would have had close to 100 kids at his birthday party as he wanted to invite ALL of his friends from school!!! As it is, we managed to hold him to 15 invites.... More on the party later on - once I get the photos developed.

I HATE THE RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-07T19:31:00.000Z

Rain, rain
Go away
Come again
Another day
Mommy wants
To get out and play
SO RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I shouldn't complain every November, but this is getting ridiculous. It's now 7 November, and it has rained every single day for the last two weeks, if not the last three. Not all day, every day, mind you. But enough to make the ground permantaly wet and awful. With my AirCast I don't have any traction on the sole, so getting around is a bit tough at times. This morning I slipped walking back up the hill to the car from the school (which is at the bottom - car park at the top) and can still feel the *t*w*i*n*g*e* in my back. I'll be so glad to get rid of this thing. OR.....how about a couple of days of nothing but sunshine? Now, that would be a novel and wonderful Christmas present for me.

Speaking of which - 48 days left!!!!

Alex, my hero....

2008-11-07T19:19:00.000Z

A few weeks ago I was waiting for the bus to get home after taking Alex to school when a couple of the other moms stopped to talk to me. During the conversation we realised that we only lived around the corner from one of the familes, so now Alex and I get a lift to and from school each day. Saves a fortune in taxis!!!!

Anyway, this morning Alex and Louise (his classmate that gives us a lift) were talking about some of the other kids in school and Louise kept saying "Mom, I really don't like the big boys." Jaq, her mom, has been trying to get to the bottom of it for a few days but can't seem to drag anything from Louise. As we were parking, Alex piped up "Don't worry Louise, I'll take care of it. After all, I'm 5 now!!!" To which Louise replies, "Oh Alex, you're my hero!!"

Needless to say, I got laughing so hard I couldn't get out of the car!!!! It was just the way he said what he said and the look on Louise's face...pure bliss. What's so funny is that Alex isn't all that big, but he has the presence to intimidate. He can look at you for a long while with this 'look', and you can feel very uncomfortable. So you can bet he will take care of it. He'll make sure his friends are taken care of.

Alex, you are my hero.

Happy Birthday Alex

2008-11-07T19:17:00.000Z

Alex turned 5 yesterday. Yup, I've got a big boy now. My digital camera isn't working all that well, so we took some photos with the normal camera last night of our small family party, but we are having his big party tomorrow with all of his friends, so I'll take more and once they are developed I'll post photos.

Robo-leg Update

2008-10-22T14:11:00.002+01:00

Okay, quick post to let everyone know what's happenning with my feet. I went to podiatry again yesterday (21 Oct), and we got some GOOD news for a change. It seems the AirCast is doing it's job, and the fracture is FINALLY healing. The Charcot seems to be reversing a TINY bit, and the bone density is increasing according to x-rays taken on last Friday. The ulcer on the bottom of the foot is also nearly healed, so that's an added bonus. The right foot is always going to have a weak spot there, so we will just have to watch the area really well.

I've had a slight infection in the left foot for the last month or two, but yesterday it looked like the NEW antibiotics I'm on are doing the trick as well. The only downfall is that the stuff I'm on can affect liver function, so I have to have a couple more blood tests to check that out, but so far so good.

I still need to wear my Robo-Cop costume until at least Christmas to give the leg that much more time to strengthen up, but that's okay. IT'S WORKING!!!!! To tell you the truth, that is all that matters.

Oh, and as a side note, I'm taking suggestions on what to do with the AirCast once it's off for good. So far, we've had: a) an umberella stand; b) a pot plant planter; and c) Molly's (our cat) new scratching post. Any more? The winner gets a handmade Whitterjane Designs creation.

Car keys vs. van keys

2008-09-15T22:17:00.002+01:00

How do you lock your car from the OUTSIDE while the keys are still on the inside, in the ignition? Easy. Use your van key. Only problem, it locks the doors, but it won't unlock them.

Our car is a Ford Escort. The van - a Ford Transit. Same company, so you have to assume that the keys look similar, which they do. Too similar. The van key is on Andrew's key chain, as that is his transport for work. The car keys are on seperate key rings which we keep by the front door and just pull off when we use the car, say, oh, just once a week.

Yesterday we had to run to the grocery store. We piled into the car, got to Morrison's, and Andrew locked up. When we got into the store, Andrew had a quick look at the Sunday papers and Alex started pulling on my arm, and was pointing towards the kiosk. I thought he might have seen one of his school friends, but it wasn't. It was Pop-pop (Andrew's dad), who had driven out of his way to get a specific paper!!!! He ended up walking around with us as Alex wanted to spend a bit of time with him. He was going to walk to the car with us as both Andrew and I had our hands full, but when we walked out we ran into an aquaintance who needed to talk about the boys' school, so he left. A few mintues later, we made it to the car.

"Um, Whitney, I've lost my car keys!!" Andrew was a bit paniced as he couldn't feel his car keys in his pocket. I told him to leave the stuff with me at the car and to go back to the till to see if it had fallen out when he paid for the groceries. He put the bag down and just happened to look into the car. What do you know!!!! The car keys are in the ignition.

This is when we found out that the van keys can LOCK the car, but CANNOT UNLOCK it. After calling Andrew's mom to ask her to ask Ian to go back to Morrison's to pick Andrew up to get the spare car key, we went back inside to wait. You know, if we hadn't of run into my friend, we would have been able to get things done sooner.

Almost two and a half hours after we left the house we made it home. It's a good thing I didn't buy any frozen stuff. Next time I am sure Andrew's going to check the ignition AND his pockets more than once.

Really, you just have to laugh. And laugh hard. I know I am.

Meet Robo-Mom

2008-09-08T13:48:00.002+01:00

This is a picture of my right leg with the Aircast on. I really do look like Robo-Cop from the knee down. This thing weighs a ton, but it seems to be working. It's keeping my foot totally immobile, yet I can take it off at night when I go to bed. Every morning I strap it on, and inflate it in four places with the required air pressure. At night, I deflate it and take it off. It's about five mintues each time, but I'm getting better at doing it. I have to keep in on for a few months at least, and we are hoping to find out on Thursday how long exactly. I'm moving around a LOT better than before, but I found out today I cannot walk UP ramps very well.

First day of school

2008-09-08T13:18:00.005+01:00

Well, we did it. We found all the bits for his uniform by Thursday afternoon, and I had to spend a few hours yesterday hemming up his trousers (one pair was 5 inches too long!!!!). Friday we lucked out and found his shoes. So, all that was left was to get Alex to bed at a decent time last night and make sure he was up and ready for school on time.

Not that we had to try to wake him up. He was up before we were, asking "Is it time yet?" The only problem we had was to get him to eat breakfast, but then he was feeling fairly nervous and just couldn't get the toast down with his milk. As he was only going for two hours today, we weren't too concerned about it.

The time came to get in the car and take him to his new school - English Martyrs Primary School. Andrew took this morning off so he could be there as well, so we all piled into the car and off we went. As he wasn't starting right at the beginning of the day we didn't meet any traffic going, but then we didn't realise how long it was going to take me to walk from where we parked to the front doors of the school.

Upon entering the school, we were informed that the school hadn't received any paperwork from his for Alex, with the health forms being the most important!!!! They did let him go in, and we had to collect another set of papers to sign. He went straight to his class with us in tow, met his teacher and the assistant, gave me a kiss, a hug, and a raspberry, and waved good-bye. No tears, no apprehension, no tantrums. At least, he didn't. I cried a bit as this is my baby starting big school. This is my baby making that next step towards independence. This is my baby who is no longer a baby. I'm not sad for him; far from it. I am excited for him. I just had a bit of a hard time getting through this morning. Andrew - he was okay. All smiles and cheer.

We had a lot of erronds to run this morning as Andrew was off, and finished off just in time to pick Alex up at 11:45. As soon as he saw us through the office doors, he ran up to us and gave me a big hug. When we asked if he liked school, the first thing he said was, "I had a great time!!! Can I stay all day tomorrow?" Unfortunatley, he won't get to stay all day for at least five weeks.

All in all, I think he is going to like school. Yes, there will be times when he's not too keen on it, and there will be times when he really doesn't want to do the work (but then, he is a typical kid), but we are sure that he's in a good school, in the school he needs to be in. The next step in his long journey towards adulthood has been taken. I'm just glad that we are here to share it with him.

As an afterthought, I also got to be on the radio today to talk about OUR first day of school. It was kind of wierd talking about it on the radio LIVE, but it was also cool. As I attended schools in the States, I'm going through this for the first time here as there are a few differences. Watch this space to read about our experiences as we go through the school year.

Crutches, casts, and frustration

2008-08-28T18:12:00.002+01:00

Back in late January Alex and I had an accident in the kitchen. He was playing on the floor right behind me while I was cooking dinner, and I didn't see him when I stepped back. I stepped on his head and went down hard on my backside. Luckily Alex was okay, but I didn't fare as well. I went to A & E (Emergency Room), had some x-rays, and all that was said was that there was a possible fracture but they couldn't tell as my right foot had some arthritis in it. Okay. They did say I needed to stay off of my foot for about two weeks, and just make sure I didn't do too much once I was on it.

I followed doctor's orders.

Fast forward six weeks. We are now the weekend after Easter, and I got home from work that Friday night and was in a lot of pain. My leg and foot had been swollen for most of the time after the fall, but then my right leg swells up all the time. I took my shoe off and when Andrew, his mom and I looked at it, the shoe went right back on and I headed off to the hospital again.

This time, I was told I had a bone infection, and was admitted over the weekend to get some strong I.V. antibiotics in my system as I am allergic to penicillin. I was sent home on the Tuesday with orders to stay off of my foot for a couple of weeks and to get some proper footwear, and an appointment was made for me to see the consultant again in six weeks time.

I followed doctor's orders - AGAIN.

I went back for the initial appointment six weeks later, and the consultant was happy with the way things were going, and said he wanted me back in six weeks for another exam and they would decided from there what would need to be done, if anything. I went back for that appointment on 18 July, and the consultant discharged me with the understanding that I would take it easy for a while and wouldn't run around or do anything strenuous on my feet. I agreed, went home, and we had a celebratory dinner.

I had followed the doctor's orders exactly as I was told. I stayed off of my feet for ten weeks in total, using my crutches (or death sticks as my mom calls them) when we went out.

I had to see the podiatrist today as part of my regular diabetes care with my feet and as I have had an ulcer appear on the bottom of my right foot. She took one look at the foot and was on the phone in a flash with the plaster clinic to make sure they could fit me in the morning as well as getting some prescriptions and appointments done for me. It seems I had a fracture which has lead to what's known as Charcot's Deformity. In other words, I have a huge protusion on the instep of my right foot, and it could have easily have been prevented back in January. If not January, then in April when I was admited. I was never told to keep my foot immobile; a plaster cast was never mentioned. All I can say is, "What the............."

So, here I am sitting on the couch with my foot up, being waited upon by Andrew and Alex, and going totally mad. It's not even been a full day. How am I going to get through the next six weeks? I got a bunch of old musicals on DVD for my birthday, so I know what next week is going to entail.

Uniform shopping

2008-08-23T10:07:00.002+01:00

One thing I am tring to get use to here in England is shopping for school uniforms. As Alex is starting Reception in just over two weeks (8 September is his first day), we have the WHOLE lot to get him - trousers, shirts, socks, sweatshirt/fleece, P.E. outfit, shoes, etc. Do you know how many kids are in the same situation? Have you EVER tried to find non-polyester trousers in a size 5/6? Do you know what it's like to go to the uniform shop only to be told that his P.E. shirt color (green) isn't in stock and they have to order it? We have been trying to get bits and peices as we go along this summer to no avail. We FINALLY managed to get a pack of five shirts, ONE pair of trousers, ONE pair of shorts and ONE pack of sock all in his size. There is no way a four and a half year old can keep ONE pair of trousers clean all week. Because of his eczema we have to be carefull with what we put on him as polyester can be a trigger for it. His P.E. kit is STILL on order. Andrew is off on Monday, so we are going to try to get a few more things, but I'm not holding my breath. We still need to get the sweatshirt, but we know where we can get that (and yes, it's in stock)!!!!

Growing up, I thought school shopping was a bit of an adventure. You know, looking for that elusive 'now' notebook and folder, trying on new clothes that only seemed to materialize in August and at Christmas. The boredom of looking for the 'right' pair of shoes that your mom and dad wouldn't buy you anyway. The smell of new pencils, paper, and backpack. Well, I'm not feeling that now, let me tell you.

When we finally manage to get all of his uniform together, I'll post a photo of him. It may take until his first day of school, but I am determined that we will find more. The search is on. Mommy is on a mission.

Watch this space.

Typical Alex

2008-08-17T13:06:00.003+01:00

My sister Rhiannon captured a typical argument with Alex on video while they were here earlier this year. If you want a really good laugh, go to http://www.facebook.com/, and look for the page for Rhiannon Burnham Atkin. The video is titled "Alex Wars". Remember, he was four and a half when this was taken. Stubborn little mule, but we love him.

Wife Swap - Alex style

2008-08-09T09:20:00.000+01:00

We have never seen this program. At least, never all the way through one episode, and definately NEVER when Alex is around. Tonight, he proved just how hard it is to protect your children from programs you just don't want them to see.

We have had one of my best friends and her two kids stay with us this weekend. I've known Gail longer than I've known Andrew, and the three of us get along really well. In fact, Gail is one of Alex's godmothers. Anyway, her daughter (Carlianne) is only seven months younger than Alex, and her son (Gus) is eight and a half. She's been a single mom for quite some time, and we have them come here about once or twice a year if we can so the kids can spend some time together. Tonight as we were getting the kids ready for bed, Carlianne jumped on Andrew's lap for a cuddle while Alex was waiting to cuddle with his 'Auntie' Gail. She had to go into the kitchen and Andrew said something like "Kid Swap"!!!! Gail commented that as long as it wasn't a wife swap, it was okay.

Right.

Alex piped up "Yeah, let's do a wife swap!!" I asked Alex if he knew what that was. His response: "Yes I do mom. You go off with Gus and Carlianne and Auntie Gail stays here with daddy and me!!!"

If I didn't know any better and that my son loves me very much, I'd be a bit worried about him.

Cheeky Monkey strikes again!!!!

2008-08-07T22:23:00.002+01:00

Alex is one funny little boy. The other day he started calling me a 'Darlek' and running from me while I was chasing him saying - of course - 'Exterminate! Exterminate!' When I'd catch him he'd starting laughing and saying, 'You're beautiful mommy!! And sweet!! And lovely!! And smart!!' while I would tickle him. This has been a game he's been playing with us for some time now. And yes, he likes Dr. Who.

For those of you who don't know, he is also probably the world's biggest 'Toy Story' fan around. Both movies. Which he has memorised from start to finish. Buzz and Woody are his favorites, and his two dolls get a lot of play time. He often pretends to be either, and will re-enact the movies word by word. This morning Andrew's parents came over to help me with some heavy housework as I can't move the big peices of furniture now that I only have nine toes. Anyway, Andrew's mom went upstairs to change into some work clothes and Alex followed her up.

'Mere', he said, 'you know, you're unstable!!!!'

This is from one of the movies, and he knew exactly what he was saying. So, I'm insane, Mere is unstable, and everyone else (except, of course, Alex) is just plain human. His words. Not mine.

Is it true that my son really is only four-years-old?

PS. For those of you who don't know, 'mere' is French for 'mother'. Andrew called his grandmother 'mere', and so it's stuck with his mom. 'Pop-pop' is Alex's way of saying 'Grandpa'. He couldn't say it when he first started talking, and that's how it came out. It's stuck, and all three grandpas are Pop-pop. At least he's graduated from Mamaw to Grandma.

"You should write a book about it"

2008-08-05T05:17:00.004+01:00

We are always asked how we met. Well, when you have an American girl from the western USA and an English boy who grew up in the Seychelles it is sometimes hard to see where the connection comes in. Well, we have been told it's the stuff of romance novels and wild imaginations, so sit back, relax, and enjoy a glass of something and I'll tell you a story.

"Once upon a time........."

In August 1994 Andrew was working at a commercial greenhouse as assistant manager. He didn't have a lot of spare time - especially during the growing season - but still found he was missing something in his life. At the same time, Whitney joined a pen-pal agency to learn more about the world around us and maybe make a friend of two. Michael (Andrew's little brother) was a member of the same pen-pal agency, and he handed the list over to Andrew to pick out a name or two to write to. One of the names was Whitney's, and they started corresponding by snail mail that month.

Around that time, Andrew met a Polish girl, whom we shall name 'Crash-car'. She was living in north London, and Andrew was living in Bexleyheath, Kent, just outside of southeast London. They started dating, and were growing closer. In the meantime, Whitney was working, going to college, and dating various guys. This friendship was growing stronger with each letter.

A few months after this friendship started, Andrew and 'Crash-car' got engaged. The letters stopped on Andrew's side as his and 'Crash-car's' relationship was on tenuous grounds the whole time, and she took a lot out of him emotionally. Whitney did think about him from time to time, and decided that she would wait until spring to write back. If no letter returned, then she knew that the friendship wasn't to be. But low and behold, in April of 1995, Whitney received a letter of apology explianing everything that had gone on and to ask if she still wanted to write. Of course, she wrote back, and the friendship flurished once more.

In June, Whitney met and got engaged to Dave. The weekend they got engaged, Whitney got a suprise phone call from England. It was Andrew, who called to tell her something, but before he could tell her he thought he was falling in love with her, she blurted out "I'm engaged!!!". Needless to say, this took the wind out of Andrew's sails, but he swollowed his pride, said congradulations, and just talked to her for a while longer about life in general. When he hung up, let's just say his heart was broken.

They continued to write. Whitney and Dave's wedding plans were coming along, and she was getting ready to introduce him to her family at her brother's wedding at the end of June. At the last minute Dave decided he couldn't go up to Utah with her, so she headed up for the weekend on her own. Upon her return to Arizona, Dave informed her he didn't love her. In fact, he didn't think he even liked her.

That weekend, Whitney made her own phone call to England. Two hours and a $120 phone bill later, Whitney felt much better about the state of things and had an invitation to England for later that year. Two weeks later, reservations were made, and soon a ticket appeared in Whitney's hand for arrival at London on 17 Nov. 1995.

In late August, Andrew, his parents, and a friend of the family took a trip to the Lake District in north England. Andrew's dad took a picture of him near Conniston Water with a spectacular view behind him. Andrew sent this picture to Whitney in his weekly letter, along with a post card and a few other photos. Whitney took one look at the photo and her heart filled with something more than friendship. So, that afternoon another phone call was made. Andrew answered the phone at his end, and before anything else was said, out blurted Whitney: "I think I'm falling in love with you. If you don't feel the same, let me know." Now it was Andrew's turn to tell her how he really felt.

Over the next few months the relationship grew closer, and they got to know each other better through both letters and late night/early morning phone calls. Postage bills and phone bills went through the roof, but they didn't really mind.

On 17 Nov, Whitney walked through the doors into the International Arrivals hall at Gatwick Airport and heard those two words she had been waiting for: "Hi Princess". She turned around and threw her arms around the man standing behind her - hoping it was Andrew. Luckily, it was. As they laid eyes on each other for the first time in person, they knew. It was love, and they had finally found each other.

But, that's not the end of it. Oh no, not by a long shot. The next night, Andrew took Whitney out for dinner and they went to a nearby park afterwards to talk. They both cried, laughed, and cried some more whiile they went over everything that had happend to them both over the last 18 months. At one point, Andrew asked Whitney if there was anything he could do for her, and Whitney thought she had ruined it all when out popped the words: "Marry me." The air around them fell silent as Andrew just looked at her. No words came out, and Whitney was sure she had really ruined the best thing to happen to her.

When Andrew finally said something, he didn't say 'yes' or 'no'. He told her to give it a week at least, let them get to know each other better, and then they could see how it would pan out.

For the rest of the ten days, they had a wonderful time getting to know each other a lot better. They traveled all over the south-east of England during the day and spent the nights at Andrew's parents' house playing games or just visiting. It really was just what was needed by both of them.

Two nights before Whitney went back to Arizona, Andrew took her out to dinner. While they were driving to the pub, Andrew asked how she felt about getting married now. She still felt possitive about it, and come to find out, so did Andrew. So, Whitney flew back to the States engaged, with plans to return to England in six months time to spend at least six months with Andrew.

Of course, going back was hard, but leaving Arizona was even harder come April 1996. Whitney has been working for a wonderful family as a live-in nanny, and had come to love and appreciate the Snidecors and Winners a great deal. They had been so supportive of her and had given her a lot of her self-confidence back after a few blows. She finally left on 7 April 1996 and went back up to Utah for a week to un-load eight years worth of accumulation and to spend a bit of time with her family before heading off to England. The ORIGINAL idea was that Whitney was going to go to England for six months, fly back to the States, get all the immigration paperwork taken care of, fly back to England, and they were going to get married on 14 Feb 1997. Um, right.

Whitney had a really good friend living in south Wales at the time, and she and her husband invited Whitney and Andrew to visit them one weekend in early August. The two couples started talking about wedding plans, and something was said about the Immigration Advisory Service in London. Whitney had a lot of paperwork to fill in (oh, the life of never-ending paperwork!!!!) and she wanted to make sure that everything was above board and that all the 'ts' were crossed and 'is' dotted. So, the day after they returned from Wales, they headed off to the IAS with all the relevant papers that were needed.

As they were talking to one of the councellors, she asked them why they just didn't get married before the end of Whitney's visa. Okay. Throw a spanner in the works. They looked at the calander on the wall, worked out how long they had, and said to each other, 'okay, we can do this in seven weeks'.

Phone calls were made that night, and over the next few weeks mad dashes were made to get the wedding dress done in time, invitations out in the mail (with mail strikes looming, it wasn't the best time to try to get 200 hand written invitations done and out with plenty of time), and rushed visits with florists, photographers, and caterers. Luckily a venue was found for the reception, the church was free, and Whitney's dad, mom, and two sisters were able to get tickets at such short notice to come over for the wedding.

On 27 Sept. 1996, Andrew Christopher Short and Whitney Star Burnham were married at Our Lady of the Angels Roman Catholic Church in Erith, Kent, England with 42 guests present. Everyone there said that it was the best wedding and reception they had been to.

Nearly 12 years later, we are still going strong. We have loved every mintue of our lives together, and wouldn't change MOST of what's happend to us. We've had good times, we've had bad times, but we have always been there for each other. Now we have Alex, and fingers' crossed we will soon have Eva as well. Who would have thought 37 years ago that a little boy living in Bexleyheath, Kent, and a baby girl who had just entered the world in Holbrook, Arizona would be sharing this journey through life together.

Alex's shopping trip

2008-08-05T05:08:00.002+01:00

The other day I was explaining to Alex that we had to do some shopping the next day, and that I needed him to be really good. The following is the conversation we had - in a nut shell.

Alex: Mommy, what are we out of?
Me: Nothing really. We just need to go get a few things.
Alex: Well, if we are going shopping, then we must be out of something. What are we out of?
Me: We really aren't out of anything.
Alex: Yes we are, if we are going shopping.
Me: Well, I am out of sanity.
Alex: What's sanity?
Me: Oh, it's what makes people normal.
Alex: Yea, we need to go buy you some sanity mom!!

I know I opened myself up for that one, but I didn't think my smart Alex was going to be a Smart Alec!!!!!

Andrew Christopher Short

2008-07-22T18:28:00.004+01:00

Andrew Christopher Short was born on 22 April 1970 in Plumstead, Kent, England. He's the eldest of two boys. At the age of two, he and his parents moved to the Seychelles (where his mother is from) where they lived for nine years. While growing up there, Andrew learned the fine are of fishing with just a line (no pole), climbing trees, ultimate friendship, and just how to be a kid. Unfortunatley the ideal childhood came to an end with a series of governmental coups and they moved back to England, this time with a brother in tow.

After finishing his 'O' levels at St. Colmba's RC School, he took a year out and worked on a local farm in order to get into Horticultural college. He graduted from Writtle Horticultural College in 1992 with a National Dipoloma in Commercial Horticulture, and entered the adult world.

After a few years as assistant manager for B.L. Gibson and Son, he was offered the position of Manager of the greenhouses, which of course, he took. It was at the time he started writing to a particular American, and they became pretty good friends. Of course, that relationship is still going on strong.

Several jobs later (some good, some not so good, one really bad), Andrew now owns his own gardening business which he started up about five years ago. It's a pretty good venture; although it's been tough at times, it does give him a lot of joy. He is also secretary of his local Kinghts of St. Columba council. In his spare time (um, what spare time?), he likes to study the history of WWII, play with Alex, travel, visit the many historical places around here, and just chill with a good movie. He also loves to teach Alex the finer points of comedy and the joy of (fun) practical jokes. His sense of humour is something else; the perfect British dry.

Andrew loves being a dad, and for him that is his greatest accomplishement. As Alex likes to tell people, he and his dad are best friends and a great team.

Whitney Star Burnham Short

2008-07-18T11:10:00.005+01:00

Born on 10 July 1971 in Holbrook Arizona, Whitney is the oldest of five siblings. The family moved around a lot, living in Holbrook and Phoenix, Arizona; Union City and Pleasonton, California; Littleton, Colorado; Tremonton and Howell, Utah. After graduating from Bear River High School in Garland, Utah in May 1989 she went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for a year before taking a big jump and became a nanny. This took her to Groton, Massachusetts (about 45 minutes from Boston) and Germantown, Maryland (about 10 miles from Washington, D.C.) for 18 months. After saying good-bye to the Davis/Tran family she went to Arizona to spend some time with her grandparents before going back to Utah to go to university. Yeah, right.

That summer she decided to stay on in Arizona and go to college at Mesa Community College part-time while working. This arrangement was working out with a job as a housekeeper for a blind lady and her three kids - for a while at least. After leaving that position, she decided to become a nanny again. The Snidecor/Winner family were a real turning point for her. At about the same time she joined a pen-pal agency, & in the next few years she became good friends with several people in Europe; one in particular became very close. In April 1996, after three years with them, she left for what was suppose to be six months in England. It's now been over 12 years.

Whitney has just finished up a book-keeping course and is now fully qualified and is looking for a job that fits in with being a mom and doing all the odd-bod and admin jobs for Andrew and his business. She loves to teach scrapbooking and card making (which she had been doing with her last job), and Alex and mommy do like to sit down and do some crafting of their own when the kitchen table is over-taken with one of Whitney's projects. She also loves to read, write, listen to music (varied), watch movies (especially old musicals), go to the theatre (when we get the chance), visit historical places (in England, there's no shortage), travel, and just about anything else that does not involve bungee jumping, jumping out of planes, eating watermelon, or staying in hospital.

Living in England has been a joy. It's something that has been a dream from a small age, and it was meeting Andrew that made this possible. For more of that story, you will have to stay tuned........

Alex Jay Ian Short

2008-07-17T01:36:00.008+01:00

I guess we shall begin with the youngest member of our family, Alex. As any parent of a four-year-old will know, they can be full of beans, vinegar, and love all at the same time. That is our little man. He's as smart as a whip, with his daddy's sense of humour (OH BOY!!!) and his mommy's sense of sarcasm (double OH BOY!!!). He finished St Justus Pre-school on 17 July 2008, and on 8 September 2008 he starts 'proper' school - English Martyrs Primary School. Although he won't be 5 until November, it's a good idea to stick this kid in a normal school. He's just way too smart for our britches!!!!!!!

Born on 6 Nov 2003, Alex joined our family on 5 April 2004. Most parents get at least six months notice that they have a little one arriving - but not us. We had SEVEN weeks from the time we learned about him to the time he came home. It was a mad dash to find all the bits and pieces any new parents need for a baby. He's fit in from the very beginning. On 3 Nov 2004 the judges told us we were a family, although it's felt that way from the start.

Since he was a baby, he has been interested to the point of driving us crazy with 'Bob the Builder'. All I can say is, he's pretty good at D.I.Y around the house. A lot better than daddy. He also loves to run (away from me), jump (on the bed), paint (our walls), and just create as much mischief as he can. Like most little boys he also likes cars, trains, planes, and anything with an engine. Recently he's started making up his own jokes, and he can have us rolling on the floor with some of the stuff he comes up with.

We love him to death and we wouldn't have it any other way. This boy is a treasure, and he knows it!!!!!

"And Away We Go........."

2008-07-16T10:56:00.006+01:00

Okay, here we go. With Andrew's family going forth and Whitney's family mutiplying, we figured that this would be the best way for us to keep everyone up to date with the day-to-day events of our family. You would think that with only three of us (plus a VERY neurotic cat) life would not be that eventful. Yeah, right. That has never been the case and I doubt it will ever be that way. This space will grow, if not day-by-day, then at least weekly. Watch as we try to tackle the problems of everyday life, parenthood, childhood, and just the normal wear and tear of being a loving and close family. Oh, and the joys and pains of growing up. So, sit back, enjoy a cuppa of something, and be ready to laugh, cry, groan, or titter at our attempts of living life to the fullest.