In what has become tradition now, I have no chance to keep up with what's going on in my life on a daily basis so I am summarizing it (over the course of four or five working sessions since this weekend) in one big post that touches on many different items over the last month or so. Enjoy.
Ms. Macie
Well, it's been an interesting six weeks with MJ. As you may know from a past post, Macie developed a significant rash the day before Halloween. After a series of visits to the doctors, this is what we have learned:
A full set of allergy tests were done, revealing that she only had one minor allergy (1 out of a possible 5 in significance) to pet dander. Everything else came back clean. Obviously this is not good since we have a dog, but the results showed that it clearly was not the cause of the rash at least. Though it definitely could be an irritant to it.
We were really expecting the allergy test to give us the news we were looking for. The rash was moving down her body (covered a good chunk of her) and itched. Even after the rash left her face it continued to stay bright red around her cheeks and mouth as well.
The next step was to make an appointment with a dermatologist. The one we were suggested to see didn't have an opening until 2/11/08. Not cool.
This trip was important because if the dermatologist did not have any answers for us it was going to start to get a bit scarier trying to identify the other possible causes for Macie's condition.
After informing Macie's doctor about this he pulled some strings and got us in on 12/3 (at a differnet place). The appointment revealed a few things.
First of all, Macie had a moderate to severe case of atopic dermatitis (i.e.
eczema). Serious cases of eczema can significantly affect a person's life. While this is not good news, it was still better news then it could have been.
She also was diagnosed with
impetigo on her face.
The next step was to discuss treatment options. They gave us a handful of different creams and the doctor subscribed an ointment for the inpetigo. However, they asked us if we'd like to participant in a study currently being done on children just like Macie.
It was determined that ~46% of her body covered in eczema. At least 35% was needed to participant in the study.
It would take a series of five visits over the next four weeks and would test a corticosteroid that is only approved for children ages one and up by the FDA currently. The study is for children three to twelve months old (hoping to prove to the FDA that they should change the range it's approved for). The doctor said the corticosteroid being tested is fantastic and would help her immediately. However, If we decided against the study there were other steriods we could try with her as well.
After some soul searching (since the testing was a study and would involve multiple blood draws) we decided to do it.
We would have done it for free, but surprisingly they are paying us (fairly well I might add) to participate.
On Wednesday, 12/5, we showed up at 8am with Macie and a painfully long blood draw session occurred that confirmed she was eligible. They study states that parents cannot be in the room while the bloodwork is being done (something I questioned and they allowed me to stay for the initial try). While there are still much harder things to deal with, I can tell you that it tries you as a parent when you see the doctors attempting to take blood from your child's head. Unfortunately Macie's veins collapse (it's nothing serious to worry about) when suction via a needle is applied to them, making it difficult to get any significant amount of blood from her. After a handful of attempts, they got just enough blood to complete the tests (though much less then they had hoped for).
After the bloodwork, we were given the medication, with a diary and specific information about how/when/where to apply it to her.
Here's the good news, since we've been applying both sets of medication (along with nightly baths, approved lotions, etc.) she'd done a complete 180. Her body looks good and she's no longer itching much either. She's even happy. We missed the "real" Macie, as her condition had put her in a perpetual state of unhappiness.
We'll see how the next few weeks go, but as of now things are definitely on the up and up. It's been a serious stresser on the family the last month or so and it's wonderful to finially see some positive progress.
The butt scoot
Gina and I have accepted that Macie is not going to crawl. Instead, she's decided to scoot on her butt. She can make it around the room scooting without much problem (though, carpet is easier for her to maneuver on then hardwood). It's pretty funny to watch her do it. I am going to have to film it sometime and post it in a blog entry.
Super Under Roos
For whatever reason, Nattie has decided to "get it" as she has now gone over a full week without a single accident in her underwear (other then sleep times, which we still use a diaper for). Gina and I are not sure why she made the transition all of a sudden (before this she'd generally be in a diaper and use the potty chair when she felt like it) but we are lovin' it.
Jack Johnson
Interesting story. Gina and I were listening to Jack Johnson's "On and On" (specifically the song "Taylor") Sunday when Natalie asked me if we were about to start watching "Natalie" (which is her first six months DVD I made). I didn't draw the connection right away, but Gina did. Natalie heard Jack Johnson.
His "Better Together" is the first track on her DVD. It didn't matter that the song was different, she associated his voice with her DVD. I must say I am quite impressed with that.
Friday garbage
When you move next, ask what day the garbage man comes. If it's Friday and you still move into the place, you've been warned that it's a miserable day to deal with garbage. Sure, on the surface it sounds great to empty the trash just before the weekend, but in the fine print it's easy to miss that any week there is a holiday your garbage is not picked up until the following Monday. Why do they do double duty on Mondays and not Fridays? Why not Saturday at least? It makes no sense.
Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean
I've been using them for a couple of years now, but I've decided to finally come out and make the statement that I believe the
magic eraser is one of the greatest inventions of the last decade. It even works on walls that are not white! Thank you Mr. Clean.
Seven horses of pure power
Don't get me wrong, I honestly do not mind shoveling when the driveway beckons me to it. I spend so little time outside in the winter that it's nice to enjoy the crisp air, etc. I can usually clear everything in under an hour.
What I don't like is that we live on a corner lot and Mr. Snowplow destroys our driveway every time he plows. Generally speaking, after the plow is done with us our driveway has a pile of snow at least 2+ feet high and 3+ feet wide. And, it's the wet/heavy stuff. You can spend an hour shoveling it and it doesn't even look like you did anything. Neadless to say, when the plows come around at 5am (like they did last week), we needed a way to get our cars out of the driveway before 9am. So, we brokedown and bought a
snowblower over the weekend. To better understand how we financed the purchase, please reference Macie's section above.
20/20 visions and murals with metaphors
Gina had her six month checkup this week. She continues to have 20/20ish vision in both eyes. Eye surgery is quite simply amazing.
An additional 274 square feet
While the eight month project downstairs is still not competed, we are definitely nearing the finish line. By 1/1, the project (and all sub-projects associated with it) should be finished. I'm looking forward to having my free time (as minimal as it is) back again. I'm sure my dad would say the same thing as well.
Crash and burn, baby!
Stewie (the name of our computer's hard drive), decided to crash and delete all files in the Documents and Settings folder on the C: drive. This is not the first time he's played tricks on us. While we didn't lose a ton of stuff because we also use an external hard drive for storage, we are now without a couple of weeks of pictures and my work on the Macie DVD was not backed up anywhere else. So, besides deciding to buy a new hard drive and needing to format the drive, re-install progams, etc. I will also need to start over on that project as well. The timing could have been better, as I'm fully emerged with working on the basement and Gina needed the computer to do her homework for school (along with report cards for her kids). I currently have a makeshift version of the computer working and will re-visit the topic more specifically next month.
You're 25% there already?
Speaking of her masters, Gina just finished one of her four semesters. Hopefully, it continues to go fast (for the sake of all of us affected by it).
Guitar Hero III
I finally received clearance to send back my defective guitar to RedOctane around Thanksgiving. I sent it back on 11/26. However, it was just received on 12/10 and they say that there is a three week turnaround to ship a guitar back to me.
Maybe I'll be able to play again by mid-January.
1 of 268,000
Yep, I just got my
letter last night.
We tried, we failed
Our attempt to keep up on three different TV shows this year (House, Boston Legal and Grey's Anatomy) did not turn out as we had hoped. We never even started Grey's and only got two episodes into the other two before we realized there was no chance for us to keep up with them. We have not seen an episode of any of these shows now for a couple of months. So goes the life of a parent.
Name those fish
Even though I had hoped our fish would not make it (I know, that's horrible), I have finally accepted they are going to be with us for a while. We purchased them in January. I suggested getting them, I think I needed something to help me feel like we were ready for Macie. I regret that. It was almost like I was nesting. Initially, there were three but one did not make it. I would never purposely kill them (though I did joke with Gina about flushing them down the toilet).
Which leads me to our current situation. If we are going to own fish, we should name them. The names are TBD.
A mouse in the house
I got a panicked call from Gina while I was on the bus yesterday because a mouse was in the house. I'm pretty sure I know when it got in. When we use the nail gun downstairs, we leave the compressor outside because it's so loud. To do so, a small opening in the patio door is needed.
My guess is that it is the only one who came in but I set some traps last night to find out.
The crazy part of the story is how Gina found it. She had returned home early from her eye appointment and wanted to take a bath before she went to pick up the girls. She saw some black specs in the tub so she started the water to wash them away. After the water was started, the mouse came up through the drain into the tub (which creeped Gina out and rightfully so).
However, both my dad and I reaffirmed to her that the mouse did not get into the house via the drain. I think that helped her deal with it a bit as I am sure the fact that we just watched
Ratatouille wasn't helping matters.
After a call to my dad, she was able to trap the mouse in a container and bring it outside.
I am the greatest
Inspired to discuss this topic by Guitar Hero III (and Messer), I wanted to make the following statement:
In my personal opinion, you are looking at a picture of the greatest living guitarst on the planet. If you want proof, feel free to ask me about it. Better yet, ask Rory.
Fogo de Chao
For our work Chistmas celebration last week, we were taken to
Fogo de Chao. It's a Brazilian resturant in downtown Minneapolis.
It was one of the best meals I have ever had and I strongly recommend it. For $24.50 (the lunch price), it's a steal.
Here's the premise:
When you buy a meal, you are given unlimited access to their extensive salad bar. You are also given a coaster (one side red / one side green). Meanwhile, at least a dozen staff members are walking around with fifteen different cuts/types of meat (filet mignon, top sirloin, bottom sirloin, pork chops, chicken drummies, lamb, etc.). When your coaster is flipped green, the staff members will stop at your chair and ask if you'd like a piece. In a matter of three minutes, you can have five different types in front of you. When you want to stop, just flip the coaster back to red. When you're ready for more, flip it back over.
One time, I flipped my coaster to green and turned down the first couple of meat offered to me. Shortly after that, one of the chefs came out to talk to me and ask if I'd like him to make one specific option that had not been offered to me recently. How cool is that! I asked him for the parmesan pork (which was fantastic).
After a very good molten cake for dessert, I did not eat again for over 24 hours.
I wasn't hungry.
