Halloween

We were planning to go to New Orleans today. It would have really been my last chance to see my SIL pregnant. And little Joey (my great-nephew) is 4 weeks old and I've not seen him since he was a day old :( . He's doing pretty well and I wanted to visit him at home while I'd have the chance.

Joey & Mikey...

Last night Gregory told me he didn't want to go. No big surprise there. He doesn't want to go anywhere lately. This morning he was dragging butt getting ready and I eventually found him in tears. I wanted to go so bad. I had already made phone calls (MY phobia!) and we were expected and I'd have to call AGAIN to cancel. My spirit could see that he couldn't do it but my flesh wanted him to get over it. I got very frustrated and wasn't helping. I finally just picked him up and held him and said we wouldn't go. That got him even more upset and he started insisting we would go (I know he was thinking he'd be blamed) because I wanted to go. I told him that yes I wanted to go but that his feelings were more important. I told him I was upset because I don't want him to cheat himself out of ever doing anything because of the fear of leaving home. I even told him I knew how he felt - a burning hole in the belly. BINGO. His face just transformed. I saw the trust return to his face. I wasn't just blowing smoke; I did know how it felt. Anxiety. Not the road I want him to go down. But it's part of the package. He's super sensitive and that applies to food additives, clothing tags, "joking" comments, and any stress around him. He knew I wanted to go. And I know a part of him wanted to want to go. But he couldn't. We went outside and I made my phone calls (I lived) and we just hung out and had a nice afternoon outside.

We watched a spider build her web...

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And Gregory finally believes that he can swing himself. He's been enjoying our "fall" weather. Today he was working on his dismount...

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And just to show how much he doesn't want to leave home - no trick or treating tonight! We've never had any TrT in our neighborhood. There really aren't any other kids. So we usually go with some friends to a neighborhood nearby that really goes all out. Saturday he got to go to a trunk or treat with his best friend and that was about as big of a crowd as he can handle. When we were talking about it today, he sounded like he didn't want to go (and that didn't break my heart). I told him he didn't have to go and he said, "Well I want some candy, so, yeah, I kinda have to go." His face lit up again when I said I had some candy & he did NOT have to go trick or treating. So he and his dad have been having a superhero cartoon marathon complete with dragging out comic books and the DC "encyclopedia" of superheroes.

As I typed all of this it occurs to me that the reason Gregory doesn't like to go to church with me is that it's a big church - seats about 1100 - and it's always crowded. He likes to watch it online with me sometimes & I take what I can get. I've had to really teach my faith by living it. No way could I get away with schooling it. But that's a blessing too. It's made me dive deeper.

Babies...

Well, Joey has been home for over a week and things are going pretty well. If his feedings and enemas continue going well, he should have his surgery in January. It was slow going for a while and there was talk of a temporary ostomy, but he's had several good days now and has surpassed his birth weight(finally!).

Still waiting for my other niece/nephew to be born. Only 16 more days till EDD! There's been a little concern about baby's size and the ammount of ammniotic fluid, but so far just "watching" things. My poor FIL is a nervous wreck. It doesn't take much to get him upset and his anticipation has gotten the better of him.

We're going ice skating today w/a few HS groups and hopefully there'll be a baby or two for me to snuggle. :)


[UPDATE] No babies to hold! Oh well. I had to follow the toddlers around instead.
BTW - I crocheted the hat Gregory's wearing!

Hirshsprung's disease

Well, unschooling has proven it's validity once again. This week, my whole family is learning all about Hirshsprung's disease. My nephew's son was born last Tuesday. By the weekend, it was clear something was wrong with little Joey's gut and he was in the hospital. Basically, the nerves that cause bowel movement are missing &/or incomplete, leaving him without the ability to eliminate properly. Treatment involves surgically removing the affected intestine and reconnecting the rest. But docs want to wait until he's 12 pounds, and he's now only 6 pounds. Until surgery, he'll have to have enemas to help him eliminate.

This is in the IBD (inflammatory bowel disease - not the same as IBS, irritable bowel syndrome) family of diseases. And we are an IBD family. I have Crohn's disease. I have one sister w/ ulcerative colitis. My mother has 2 cousins & 1 brother w/UC. My father's brother died of complications from UC 10 years ago. And if that weren't bad enough, little Joey's mom has a brother very sick with Crohn's. This little man's gut didn't almost didn't have a chance. Thank God for God!!

The blessing here is that this could not have been caught sooner. He wasn't even dehydrated yet when he was hospitalized. And his days are getting better. He's able to keep formula down (we won't go there!!) and had a small BM on his own yesterday. They may get to go home today. So prayers for good weight gain are appreciated. And feel free to join me in praying that these nerves continue to grow and develop making surgery unnecessary! AMEN!

Baby Joey

I met my 3rd great-nephew yesterday. Joseph Paul was born Tuesday, October 2 @ about 1:15 PM. I got to hold him for a while, but never saw his eyes - he slept the whole time. Older brother Mikey was pretty tired too and fell asleep just after we got there. Oldest brother Chase was happy to see Gregory - he thought he'd found a play mate. But yesterday was not a fun day for Gregory. Well, he ended up having fun, but he really didn't want to go. I did what I could to validate that feeling, but staying home was not a good option. He just wanted to be home and we talked about it and agreed to just keep our visits short. Thankfully, once we were there, he did enjoy himself and I really had to drag him out of his Grandpa's house to go home.

I have to say that the more time we spend in NO, the more I realize I really do not want to live there anymore. I used to think we'd end up there again, but I don't see it now. The main drags all seem to be up and running, but you can go down just about any side street and find abandonded buildings - often very large buildings. It's creepy. And I have to say, everyone we know went home and rebuilt/repaired. And everyone of them have said never again. They have all said that next time, they are not coming back.

BUT life DOES go on, and here's some proof:


Joey

Mikey

Baby shower, New Orleans style

My SIL's baby shower was Saturday. It was a suprise, thrown @ the Rib Room of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, on St. Louis St. in the French Quarter. It was lovely. The food was incredible! Mmmmm the gumbo! It was even worth having to wear dress/hose/lycra/heels.

For some reason, I thought I would be the only person from Jason's side of the family attending. I thought it was a suprise from him also(it wasn't) and knew that I was the only woman in our family they knew well. To my suprise, their grandmother was there, 2 aunts, & 3 cousins. I hadn't seen most of them in several months, but one cousin I hadn't seen since Gregory was 5 months old! It was such fun.

We were treated to a 3 piece jazz band, and an open bar .


Outside the giant windows of the hotel, this couple sat and entertained passers by. LSU was playing Tulane @ the dome, and the streets were crowded.


After Katrina, both of Darlene's sisters moved out of state. Her older sister is 14 months older, and the other is her twin, so they are very close. It's been hard on Darlene for them to be gone. Renee has 2 boys, so her family is ready for a girl. Our family, however are all pulling for team blue (Did I mention that they aren't finding out the gender before birth?). Lately, I am secretly hoping for a girl because I know that's what Darlene wants, but I'm still getting that boy vibe. We shall see!