Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All

Merry Christmas all.  Stay warm, stay safe and be well. To all those family, friends and just passing through, thank you for reading, thank you for adding flags to the map, thank you for the comments. 

Countdown to Christmas

After Saturday's monster snowstorm, I drove down to Maryland to my mother's.  Aside from a ten-mile stretch of I-295 just above the Delaware Memorial Bridge that had an almost un-plowed look to it, the roads were excellent, and almost no one was out and about.

Executive Decision:  The holiday cards got sent today.  No letter enclosed.  It was just time for it to be over and done with.  If I feel like it, I might work on it and send it out in early 2010.  Or not.

Present's got hauled to Oma's on Sunday, and wrapped or bagged today.  (Oma had promised she had wrapping paper, but not in the quantity needed.  A trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond solved that.)

Purchased what I hope will be the last two gifts today, stuffed the children's stockings - also left at Oma's waiting for Christmas morning.

Meanwhile Mom had her second chemotherapy session and afterwards we went to Fran's Nu Image and bought accessories to make her feel and look life her old self.  (We've named the wig "Robespierre" after one of our guinea pigs who looked like a wig on paws.)

Today she had an appointment with the retina specialist who injects my mother's left eye to treat her macular degeneration. Though I love most procedures, I just hung out in the waiting room with my laptop.  Needles and eyeballs meeting just isn't something I want to witness.  I'm a wimp.

10:30 pm back in Princeton, roads clear, but HUGE back up on the Delaware Memorial Bridge so it was the Wilmington/Philadelphia option - and fortunately the gas tank held out until I was back to the Land of No-Self-Service Gas Stations.

Holiday Photos

The 2009 Tree

It only took me two weeks to decorate it, and I am going to leave it up until every last needle falls off.  That's about the only way we'll be able to get it out of the door.

 Micah lights his first candle, Hanukah 2009

(and the house was not reduced to a smoldering pile of ash)

 Micah with his 1st Night of Hanukah presents, a non-flammable menorah

and Llama Llama, Red Pajama

A Jewish Asian Christmas Elf, now you have seen it all . . . .

 

In case you can't read it, Thea's shirt says, "My brother is the naughty one."

 

And Micah's shirt says, "I make noise and trouble."

 

After "A Night of Art and Songs" at YingHua, Micah giving Thea a ride

 

New snowpants, going for their first test drive

 

Bundled up for the first snow of the season, December 19, 2009

They were even cuter, with bright red cheeks, when they came in from playing in the snow.

Fall Photo Update

Just got a chance to play with my new Ohm, which can read my cameras' cards. . . .the joys of a snow day.

Micah at the Farmers' Market at the St. Mary's County Library, October 28, 2009

Thea at Penn's Homecoming, November 8, 2009

The Clone Warriors, Hallowe'en 2009

Thea, Thanksgiving 2009

At Oma's Special Park, November 2009

Micah's Audiogram

His right ear is doing great (finally)!  Dr. Choe asked if we had time for Micah to be tested after the appointment today, sure?  Like I'd say, "No,we have a pressing social agenda that just will not accomodate 15 minutes in the sound booth."

20 decibels (dB) across the board.

The ear can get wet (this was the most thrilling part for Micah).

He only has to wear one BAHA on the left side.

Next appointment in four weeks.

And I spoke with the surgical coordinator to finalize the March 23rd date for the left ear's atresia repair, so it's all good, very, very good.

Roast chicken and tree decorating to celebrate!


Meanwhile, my mother's second chemo is coming up in less than two weeks, and my aunt is hospitalized at UNC Medical Center, so anyone offering up good thoughts being used for Micah and his hearing/ear, please redirect that positive energy their way.

Saturday Update

It's snowing outside - the weather forecast yesterday predicted snow squalls, but the mushy snow I walked through to get to the mailbox and to load stuff for Goodwill in the back of my car is more of a snowstorm versus a 'squall'.

Our garage is turning into something the show 'Hoarders' would be interested in, so I was out there trying to bring a little order into the chaos and trying to find the book "Venus Envy" to mail out to the nice person who purchased it from my half.com store.

Meanwhile, a roast is in the crockpot, and I have a free hour to get caught up on blogging.  The Christmas tree is sitting on the landing, waiting for me to get the motivation or inspiration to put the lights on it.

News tidbits for the week:

This coming week we have another follow-up with Dr. Choe.  Micah's ear canal has been without stents for almost three weeks.  He seems to be doing so very well with talking.  This morning, in the middle of a tiff with his sister, Micah asked her in the clearest of voices, "Why are you angry with me?"  It was just so cute. 

This past week there was a classroom shuffle at Micah's school.  Three children including his friends from the parent-infant group days, Dov and Connor, have moved into Micah's class; two children moved on to another teacher.

We have a new cousin !  And the kids seemed excited to hear the news.  On December 4 the family and the world welcomed Emma Quinn, whose birth promoted her sister Elise to big sisterhood. 

Yesterday both children came back to the office after school, usually it's just Micah.  Once they devoured some of Earla's birthday cake, ran through the halls (hours had ended for the day), we went down the street to to a place I've purchased our Christmas tree in the past.  They had fun running through the rows of trees looking for 'the one' - my eye fell on a beautiful, tall tree, but it had a $125 price tag and would need a step ladder to be able to decorate it.  We settled on one slightly smaller and half the price, and it's still enormous.

Countdown to Chemo. . . .

Back to Maryland again.  My mother's first chemotherapy session is tomorrow, and so on one of the biggest car-travel days, I'll be heading back down to Maryland.

Yesterday I crossed over the NJ Turnpike on my way home from work and the southbound lanes were a solid parking lot (I work just above Exit 5, if the reader is a coinnoiseur of the Turnpike); it looked like the northbound lanes were also starting to slow to a crawl.  That was Saturday at about 3 pm.

Fortunately things were relatively quiet at work - it's always a bonus when we're finished and the staff can go home by noon, and call has been almost nil.

So I'll get four to five hours listening to the Philadelphia and Baltimore oldies stations, reliving high school and college - and feeling like a bit of a geezer.