Wednesday, November 28, 2007

30 Extra Minutes=Very Happy Mommy

See that care bear pictured above? When you squeeze together its arms, it says, "Mmmmwa (how's a kissing noise spelled?), I love you! Mmmmwa, this hug's for you!"

Riley took it to bed with her last night, and this morning, after she woke up, we heard "Mmmmwa, I love you! Mmmmwa, this hug's for you!" for 30 minutes before she called for us.

30 minutes! Mr. Care Bear, I love you too.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

She's Back!

Riley's favorite aunt* Sheri spent the past six weeks in Peru doing a service internship thing. We all missed her, and we we're excited to have her back. (And from the looks of this picture, Sheri's excited to be back.)

Riley was especially excited about her new Peruvian hat. Although she won't keep it on longer than 30 seconds...


*To all you other aunties: the only reason we play favorites here is because Riley has been known to mistake Sheri for me. Could be the matching haircuts?

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

#1 on the Thanksgiving List

It was six months ago today that Matt woke up with tingly hands and feet. We had no clue it was Guillain-Barré. Or that it would lead to near paralysis and eight long weeks in the hospital.

Now life's back to normal. A few minor residuals aside (numb & painful feet, tingly hands, and occasional fatigue), Matt's as good as new.

That's good. Here's why:

Back in August, I wrote about how Matt's neurologists though he might have CIDP, a chronic version of Guillain-Barré. The docs wanted to get him on a lifelong steroids treatment asap, but Matt resisted. We weren't convinced their diagnosis was accurate, and Matt didn't want to take drugs needlessly for the rest of his life.

When he met with the docs to question their diagnosis, they re-evaluated his condition and said, "Well, you're doing pretty good. But there's still a chance you have CIDP. So don't get your hopes up." (Ok, maybe I just interpreted that last part...)

They told us that, technically, if Matt didn't relapse within six months of onset, THEN they'd feel comfortable NOT calling it CIDP.

So my point is:
  • It's been six months since onset.
  • Matt's doing better than ever.
  • I think it's safe to say that Guillain-Barré is behind us.
  • Anybody want to buy a barely-used wheelchair?

Monday, November 19, 2007

Pajama Mystery Solved?

Remember last week when Riley's pajamas were halfway undone?

Well here's how she looked this morning:



It seems our little Houdini has learned to undress herself.

Not exactly a brag-worthy milestone, but hey, we'll take it!

Let's hope she doesn't figure out the diaper, too... (Unless she's near that new toy.)

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Can $7.99 Buy Happiness?

That's how much this IKEA stool cost:




And here's how happy it made Riley:




Verdict: Worth every penny.

and p.s. to my running friends: trust me, IKEA swedish meatballs are not a recommended pre-race meal...

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Check

In January, I posted a list of dumb, random things I wanted to do this year.

Here it is November, and I'll be honest: most of them just aren't gonna happen. (Europe funds, for example, got spent on a cross-country move, a new home, and neurologist bills. And the triathlon? Same excuse—packing, moving, and hospital visits kind of occupied tri season. Oh, and anyone got a souffle pan I could borrow?)

But I *finally* checked a second item off my list: I ran a half marathon today!

I didn't break any records, but I did survive all 13.1 miles—including the last five in torrential downpours—with enough energy left to chase Riley around all afternoon. Records schmecords. That alone is sweet success!


Thursday, November 15, 2007

What's wrong with this picture?

Here's how Riley looked when we got her from bed this morning:


Exactly how do pajamas come halfway off in the night? Any guesses?

No wonder her come-get-me cries were crankier than usual....

*And if you guessed "her hair's all crazy," you'd be wrong. That's her normal bedhead.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

She's Mature for Her Age


Here's a conversation I had with a nice checkout lady at Fred Meyer last month:

CL: What a cute little girl. How old is she? 18 months?
me: Thanks, she's 14 months.
CL: Close. I was only off by two months.
me: (calculating 18 minus 14) Uh, yeah, close...

Here's a conversation I had with the same nice checkout lady a few weeks ago:

CL: Your daughter is so cute. How old is she?
me: 15 months.
CL: Oh, I would've guessed two!
me: Yeah, her hair makes her look older...

The other day, same checkout lady:

CL: Oh, she's so cute. What is she, 2 1/2?
me: Uh...no... (debating between: 1. Half that lady! 2. Haven't we had this conversation before? 3. Are you for real?)

Sunday, November 11, 2007

No Time for Blogging. Too Busy Boxing.

For the first time in Matt/Kathryn history, I knew what to get Matt for his birthday: a Nintendo Wii.

He'd had his eye on them for months, and I figured since the hospital bills are pretty much paid and cashflow is returning now that he's working again, I'd make up for the past eight years of lame gifts. Plus, I thought he deserved something fun after such a crappy summer.

When he opened his Wii, he was really surprised and really happy.

But the real surprise has been how much *I've* enjoyed it. Who knew fake boxing could be so much fun?

Gotta love mutually beneficial gifts...


My running/biking buddy, Laura, is now my boxing buddy, too!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Guess Who's 31?

Hint: it's not the little one...


Matt doesn't really do birthdays (as his sisters will confirm), but feel free to wish him a happy one anyhow!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Little String Bean

Riley's 15-month checkup was today.
She's 32 inches tall (90th percentile).
And 21 (give or take—she wouldn't sit still...) pounds (25th percentile).

My height: completely average
Matt's height: completely average

Where'd she get those tall genes? Lucky girl!

*Sorry, no pics of the sting bean today. Gotta get that camera (and phone!) working again...

Technical Difficulties

So our phone is on the fritz, big time. Going on 48 hours now.

So Matt's spent a lot of time lately yelling at/into the telephone. We even borrowed our (very kind) friend Ben's cell phone so we could yell at Vonage and Comcast. Of course, neither took responsibility or managed to come close to fixing the problem...

But Riley has learned something from the whole ordeal. Today, she grabbed the phone* (one of her favorite toys), put it to her ear, and yelled some ornery jibberish at/into it. Maybe Vonage would've listened to her!?

*I would've snapped a picture, but the camera's on the fritz too. Argh! Are we jinxed?