44!

Happy Birthday to a loving, hard-working man, the World's Greatest Dad, Kevin.
XOXO,
Your wife and cage full of monkeys

ash plumes, ice rinks

I just now acted on a strange impulse to give myself a haircut. I hacked off the dangling wavy front-ends of the A-line bob I had. The look just wasn't working for me anymore. Not that I know what my "look" is. Maybe... AFA:Almost Forty Apathy... or GTWAM: Give This Woman A Mirror.

I went to a baby shower yesterday, and even with my weird hair, bored kids (no husband, no sitter) and early departure (Girl Scout Skating Day) - I had fun seeing old friends again. Martha, Julie, Nicole and some other friends were there. R wanted to see the baby, because he thought it had been born already. I showed him Kyla's belly and he was pret-ty impressed. T was silent and still, wistfully looking around at a house way bigger and nicer than her own. As we were leaving she talked it through, reminding herself that in the years to come we'll have more space and little luxuries. BossLady was bored, then hungry, then set on asking every 5 minutes if we were going yet.


We skated for an hour with about 200 Girl Scouts and had fun. Though I won't likely go back if I have to prop up a kicking/dangling 35-pound boy while I'm leaning forward and trying to stay vertical, surrounded by flailing children and other AFAs and GTWAMs.

The volcano, Mount Redoubt, has been erupting for the past seven days. The first warnings were issued months ago, so I think most of Alaska was ready for it. Flights are all tangled up, ash fell all over Anchorage and a few other places, but our area hasn't been affected much. K got to see a huge ash plume after an eruption yesterday afternoon. He was in Soldotna, east of Redoubt across Cook Inlet, for a hockey tournament. Keepin' the dream alive...

Tuesday

On Tuesday, my nephew and his big fan club in Minnesota found out that he had GREAT results from his bone marrow biopsy done on Sunday. All of the chemo and the miserable side effects have done the job... we are so happy for Abe!

Also on Tuesday, the grandma of one of my best friends died. Ruth, as I remember her, was small and thin and elderly but everything about the way she carried herself showed how tough and confident, wise and caring she was. She had a face made for smiling. Even though she had a very long life I think everyone who knows her feels what a heavy loss it is now that she's gone. Goodbye Ruth, I won't ever forget your smiling, knowing face.

Spring Break aka Winter Craziness

I'm up late, it's been a long day but there was one last load to dry. It's been a long week, actually.

I think I forgot to mention how my appointment went last month. The biggest issue was reducing the number of meds I'm on, and since my pulmonologist says my PH is autoimmune-related, she's taking me off of Revatio (vi-vuhhhh, viagra) and sticking with Cellcept. The rheumatologist also decided to discontinue Fosamax and not do Reclast at all, since I'm not at very high risk for an osteoporotic fracture (yet). I have low bone density in my spine, but not my hips. So I got a reminder to keep up with calcium and a scolding for flaking out on Advair.

Two weeks later I had a follow-up 6-minute walk after reducing the Revatio dose, and I did better than I've done, ever, on a 6MWT. I walked over 2000 feet, and I stayed at 100 on my O2 sat. I have to repeat the walk next week I think. It means I get to joke around with Ray, the Respiratory Therapist. Or talk politics and religion.

We've been busy! The school had some fun events (movie night, Dr. Seuss' Birthday, Pastries for Parents) during the week before Spring Break. On Saturday, we visited Nanny in Anchorage for her 84th birthday, and we also stomped around 4th Avenue to watch some of the Iditarod's ceremonial start.

On Sunday, we drove out to Nancy Lakes Recreation Area and snowmachined in to Red Shirt Lake to camp in a public-use cabin that K rented for two nights. I think it was supposed to be an idyllic, peaceful wilderness experience, but the offspring saw it as an opportunity to sound their barbaric yawps over the roofs of the world.

The day after the Red Shirt trip was done, T had a soccer scrimmage... On Thursday, K and the girls headed back to Nancy Lakes for an overnight snow-shelter-building adventure. The spot they chose wasn't fit for an actual snow cave, but they dug a big hole, and used a lovely blue tarp for a roof!

Today I let the kids loose at Rascals, an indoor jumping-playground. That was a very long hour and a half but it was well worth it. The best part of it wasn't jumping at all but riding in circles on the Plasmacars. AND FINALLY, we met up with Brenna and her boys (yay! cousins!) at the Wasilla Pool for a couple of hours of splashing around. R only lasted until his lips got blue, but the girls and their cousins were the last ones out of the pool.

Now, I think I need to sleep for a couple of days.